50 OF THE ORIGIN OF 



was venerated at Memphis and Thebes, under the 

 names of Apis and Mj^tevis. Ihe Phallos of Osiris 

 was an object of worship, and it is known to be. the 

 hieroglypliic of Si'va : and lastly, Osiris, like 

 Brahm^^, is described as a great lawgiver. 



If the conjecture I have set out with in this article, 

 be considered with attention, it will accoLint for the 

 mixed character of the Grecian Bacchus. 



The word Surd in Sanscrit signifies both wine and 

 true wealth ; hence in the first C^hand of the lid- 

 maijan of Va'lmi'c it is expressly said, that the Di- 

 ^oatas, liaving received the Surd, acquired the title 

 oi^ Suras, and the Daityas that of A sura from not 

 having received it. The Veda is represented as that 

 w^ine and true wealth ; and the Devatds as enjoying 

 it in a superior degree, being termed Suras: the 

 prince, or supreme leader of the Suras, became in 

 me Grecian Deity (by a confined translation of the 

 word), the god of wine and drunkards. 



Bacchus, or Osiris, was represented by an equi- 

 lateral triangle; Si'va has the same hieroglyphic: 

 the worship of Bacchus was the same as that which 

 is paid to SiVa ; it had the same obscenities, the 

 same bloody rites, and the same emblem of the ge- 

 nerative power. 



In Bacchus may be traced the characteristics of 

 each of the personages in the Indian triad ; and this 

 may be accounted for by supposing the Greeks to 

 have been deceived by the title Osiris; they, con- 

 sidering it as the name of an individual, mingled 

 the characters and adventures of all the three in one 

 personage. Bacchus may possibly be derived from 

 a title of Vrihaspati, Va'g-I's'a, the lord of 

 speech, which might be applied to Brahma' as the 



