THE DOCTRINES OF THE ORPHIC MYSTERIES 157 
until they are purified and released from the wheel, the chosen few remain 
in Elysium until the cycle is completed and the last vestige of earthly 
taint is purged away. 
donec longa dies, perfecto temporis orbe, 
concretam exemit labem purumque relinquit 
aetherium sensum atque aurai simplicis ignem. 
When at length the purgation is accomplished, what becomes of the pure 
ethereal essence? ‘The inevitable answer is: The pure spirit returns 
to its pure source. Like to like, is the law of mystic thought. The 
earthly taint is left behind in its earthly and under-earthly life, and the 
spirit goes back to the god who gave it and the place whence it came." 
80ev 5? Exacrov els TO oGm’ Adlxero 
évradé’ daedOetv, mvedua wéev mpds albépa 
TO c@ua 8 els yp. 
If it be objected that Vergil does not say this in so many words, it 
may be said in reply that the aim of the sixth book is not primarily to 
give a notion of the ultimate destiny of the soul, but to furnish a dramatic 
setting for Anchises’ prophecy of the greatness and glory of Rome. 
t Eurip. Suppl. 532-35; Epicharmus, fr. 35. 
