to come;* the knowledge of whom as the Univerfal Parent, was by thefe communi- 
cated in the folemnities of the Temple. And it is evident, how confpicuoufly thefe 
were the original Types of the Myftic Attributes, wherewith the early fculptures 
ef the Virgin were inverted, as mentioned in the beginning of this Effay. 
Moreover, in thofe ages the facred Oracles could not be known, but by bend- 
ing before the Throne of that refplendent Image ; it was therefore devoutly re- 
vered. When the initiated, in their folemn rites had the illuftration of thefe facred 
fymbols rehearfed, this being to them, the Revelation of the Word of God, and 
manifeftation of every divine Truth, it could not but excite the deepeft veneration ; 
which time had not wholly done away, when the Evangelifts were fent forth to pro- 
claim the glad tidings of Salvation; and gave the dofilrines of their great Teacher 
to be a light to lighten the Gentiles. 
When, therefore, in the Roman Empire, the Catholic inrtitutions arofe in eccle- 
liaftical fplendor, o’er the auguft remains of the ancient Myfteries, in procefs of 
time it was judged requifite, by fome of the Fathers of the Church, that advantage 
fhould be taken of the deep-rooted reverence for the fhrines of Isis, and accom- 
modated in fome degree the Evangelical folemnities to the prevailing fpirit of De- 
votion, f 
Many of the moll learned of the Chriftian Paftors, faw, with a divine enthufiafm, 
the Symbols of the Ancient Myfteries, as allegorical types, which prefigured, and' 
bore prophetical allufion to the nature of that homage and adoration, which they 
were commiffioned to offer at the Throne of Heaven ; and therefore revived many 
of the Isiac Offices, and fublime terms of primaeval devotion, in the Hymns 
and Addreffes dedicated to the Mother of our Lord ; thefe all equally exprefs their; 
high origin, and the fpirit of that adoration, which was authroized as due. 
“ To the Ever Glorious Virgin, the Guardian of Saints and Angels; the 
" admirable Record of Divine Grace ; the confecrated Temple of the Divinity, in 
“ which is the Throne of God. 
“ The Tabernacle of His Word; the Residence of His Wifdom ; the Ark of 
« His Covenant — Incomparably more honourable than the Cherubim and Seraphim 
«« The Queen of Heaven; and cause of Joy to the whole Creation. ’'J 
In the ancient Liturgy of the Church of Jerufalem, indeed, we do not find any 
fuch Addreffes made, nor any fuch exalted epithets bellowed on the Virgin Mary. 
But this only leads to an additional teftimony to the truth of thefe Remarks. 
In Jerufalem, by a particular difpenfation of Providence, the Ifiac Rites and So- 
lemnities had been cautioufly guarded againft. By the profound fecrecy obferved in 
them, they often had become involved in Myftery ; and by the continuation of 
obfeure ceremonies, wherein the Symbols of the Divinity were exhibited and re- 
vered, had been found fraught with ail the illufions of Idolatry. 
The inrtitutions of Mofes, therefore, handed down with hallowed ' care, and the 
appointments of the open homage to the Supreme Being, correfponding with thefe, 
in the Temple of Jerufalem, excluding all fymbolical worlhip, efpecially every fym- 
bolical figure in the human form, had preferved that molt perfefl piety, which not only 
* Such fymbolical reprefentaeon feems alluded to Rev, xix. 1(5. f Isiac Oracle. 
■f See Cafaubon’s 16 fixers, againft Baronius. 
prepared 
