244 THE EEV. W. ST. CLAIE TISDALL, D.D.^ ON MITHRAISM. 



ceremonies of Mithraism, its pretence to Eastern wisdom and 

 great antiquity, its connexion with magic, its mysteries and 

 secret doctrines known only to the initiated, its worship in dim 

 caves and crypts, its solemn sacrifices, in which the victims 

 were said not always to be merely animals,* its orders and 

 priesthood, and its claim to reveal the secrets of the after-life, all 

 combined to attract the attention, arouse the curiosity, and 

 revive the dying hopes of an age ever fluctuating between the 

 utmost extremes of Atheism and abject superstition, unable to 

 find the truth, unable to rest without it, unwilling to accept it 

 when revealed, cruel, licentious, and devoid of hope for time 

 and for eternity. 



In its Eastern forms, the worship of Mithra can be traced 

 among the Aryans to very early times. They carried it into 

 India with them, perhaps as early as 2000 B.C. In the Eig- 

 Veda, Mitra is one of the seven Adityas or sons of the goddess 

 Aditi, the Expanse. "f His father is at one time called 

 Kasyapa,j: at another Daksha,§ and at another Rita.|| Mitra is 

 generally mentioned in close connexion with Varuna (Ovpav6<;), 

 so close indeed that the dual of the word Mitral" is used to 

 denote Mitra and Varuna, while in the plural it means " the 

 [three] friends," Mitra, Varuna, and Aryaman. The Sun is the 

 common eye** of Mitra and Varuna. Mitra is rarely mentioned 



* The Ecclesiastical historian Socrates {Hist. Fee, Lib. iii, cap. ii, 

 2-6) tells of a ruined temple of Mithra at Alexandria, eV w ot 

 "EWi/ves" (z'.e. Gentiles) to TraXaiou rtT' MiOpa 7c\era9 Troiovure.f avOpw7rov<i 

 KareOvoi/. Of the objects found in the ruins he says : ravja 7)v Kpavlx 

 avOfni^TTVov TToWa veuov t6 kol TraXniicv^ o'vs \6^/09 Karei^e TrdXat 

 dvnipeiaOai. Sozomen, however {Hist. Ecc, Lib. v, cap. vii, §§ 5, 6) does 

 not mention the skulls. Cumont {Mysteries of Mithra, Eng. Version, 

 p. 161) says: "Sometimes the terrified mystic took part, if not as an 

 actor, at least as a spectator, in a simulated murder, which in its origin 

 was undoubtedly real. In late periods the officiants were contented with 

 producing a sword dipped in the blood of a man who had met a violent 

 death." ^ 



+ E.g., SatapcLtha-Brdhmana, 2 Kanda, 3 Adhyaya, 4 Brahmana, si. 37. 

 It is said that " Aditi is this earth" (1 Kanda, 1 Adh., 4 Brah., si. 5 : and 

 1 Kanda, 3 Adh., 1 Brah., §11. 15 and 17). 



X Agni-Purdiia, cap. xix, §11. 1 and 2 (where tivelve Adityas are 

 mentioned). 



§ Eig-Veda, Mandala viii. Hymn 25, §11. 3 and 5. 

 II Atharva-Veda, vii, 6, 1. 



IT Vide Grossmann, Worterhuch zitm Rig- Veda, s.v. Mitra. 

 Eig-Veda, Mandala vii, Hymn 61, §1. 1 : 



Udvam cakshur, Varuna, supratikam devayor eti sfiryas tatanvan : 

 Abhi yo vi§va bhuvanani cashte, sa manyuin martyeshv aciketa. 

 O Varuna, the Sun, the beauteous Eye of you two gods, having 



