96 CEREMONIAL INSTITUTIONS. 



living ; but that the presentation of meat, bread, fruits, and 

 liquors to Jahveh had a kindred derivation, is a thought 

 not to be entertained not even though we have a complete 

 parallel between the cakes which Abraham bakes to refresh 

 the Lord Avheii he conies to visit him in his tent on the 

 plains of Mamre, and the shew-bread kept on the altar and 

 from time to time replaced by other bread fresh and hot 

 (1 Sain, xxi, 6). Here, however, recognizing these paral 

 lelisms, it may be added that though in later Hebrew times 

 the original and gross interpretation of sacrifices became 

 obscured, and though the primitive theory has since under 

 gone gradual dissipation, yet the form survives. The offer 

 tory of our Church still retains the words &quot; accept our 

 alms and oblations; &quot; and at her coronation, Queen Victoria 

 offered on the altar, by the hands of the archbishop, &quot; an 

 altar-cloth of gold and an ingot of gold,&quot; a sword, then 

 &quot; bread and wine for the communion,&quot; then &quot; a purse of 

 gold,&quot; followed by a prayer &quot; to receive these oblations.&quot; 



Evidence from all parts of the world thus proves that 

 oblations are at first literally presents. Animals are given 

 to kings, slain on graves, sacrificed in temples ; cooked food 

 is furnished to chiefs, laid on tombs, placed on altars; first- 

 fruits are presented to living rulers, to dead rulers, to gods; 

 here beer, here wine, here c/tica, is sent to a potentate, 

 offered to a ghost, and poured out as libation to a deity; 

 incense, burnt before ancient kings, and in some places 

 burnt before distinguished persons, is burnt before gods in 

 various places; and besides such consumable things, valua 

 bles of every kind, given to secure goodwill, are accumu 

 lated in royal treasuries and in sacred temples. 



There is one further remark of moment. We saw r that the 

 present to the visible ruler was at first propitiatory because 

 of its intrinsic worth, but came afterwards to have an 

 extrinsic propitiatory effect as implying loyalty. Similarly, 

 the presents to the invisible ruler, primarily considered as 

 directly useful, secondarily come to signify obedience; and 



