316" AN ESSAY ON THE 



VII. This sacred mountain, or heaven-like coun- 

 try, made parr, it seems, of the sacred cosmogra- 

 phy of the ancients. The Jews had some notions 

 of it, and called it the mountain of God: they 

 afterwards, with great propriety, gave that name 

 to mount Moriah. The Greeks > liad their mount 

 Olympus, inaccessible but to the Gods; and I'da- 

 vratta, or Ild-vratta, signifies the circle of I la, 

 the Eartli, which is called also Ida. Olympus is 

 derived from the Sanscrit Ilapu, or lldpus, the lioly 

 city of Ila, or Ida : thus it appears, that Olympus 

 and Ida were originally the same. In remembrance 

 of this holy circular space, the Greeks and Romans^ 

 when wishing to build a town, marked. out a circle, 

 which the first called Olympus, and the others 

 Mundus, from the Sanscrit Man da, a circle ; they 

 said also urbs orb'is, which is a translation of mawda, 

 in the language of the Gods, into that of mortals. 

 According to Du Perhon, the Farsisave acquaint- 

 ed with such a mountain in the centre of the world; 

 and so are the Musuhums to this day. It was not 

 unknown to our ancestors, the Scythians ; for they 

 are introduced by Justin, saying, that their na- 

 tive country was situated on an elevated spot, 

 higlier than the rest of the world, and from which 

 rivCrs flowed in all directions. The Jezvs and 

 Greeks soon forgot the oiiginal Meru, and gave 

 that name to sonie favourite mountain in their own 

 country ; the first to mowwt Sion, ax Moriah. The 

 Greeks had tlieir Olympus, and mount Ida, near 

 which was the city of Ilium, yiileyam in Sanscrit, 

 from Ila, whose inliabitants were Meropes, from 

 Merupa; being of divine origin, or descended from 

 t)ie rulers of Meru. 



This mountain was even known in Ein^ope to a 

 iale period; for it is mentioned in the Nubian geo- 

 nra{)her, unrler the name of Aloregar, from Meru- 



