“Yet once I was blind, and could not see the light,
And straight to Jeru-_salem_ I then took my flight;
They led me through a wilderness, with a multitude of care,
You may know me by the system, or badge I wear.
Twelve dazzling lights I saw, which did me surprise;
I stood in amaze where I heard a great noise;
A _serpent_ came by me,--I fell unto the ground,
With joy, peace, and comfort the _secret_ I found.”[592]
The _principle_ of all mysteries having been already elucidated, it only
remains, that in this concluding chapter, I point out a few more instances
of their practical application.
In the Gospel, then, according to St. Matthew, I find the words, “_O
generation of vipers_, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to
come?”[593] And in that according to St. John, the following, “We be not
_born of fornication_; we have one Father, even God.”[594]
The juxtaposition of these texts, one with another, and the comparison of
them, mutually, with the explication of the _serpent_, given at p. 229,
will not only confirm the _truth_ of all the foregoing developments, but
satisfy you further, what I am very certain you did not before identify,
viz. that the phrases _generation of vipers_, and the being _born of
fornication_, are one and the same--the _viper_, or _serpent_, being the
symbol of _lustfulness_, making the former equivalent to _ye offspring of
concupiscence_; that is, in other words, ye _born of fornication_![595]
And the very stress laid upon this mode of _geniture_, implies not only
the _possibility_ of a different sort, but its _frequency_ also!
“In the Purana prophecies concerning the expected Saviour,” say the
_Asiatic Researches_, “it is said, that he was the son, or rather the
incarnation, of the great serpent: and his mother was also of that tribe,
and incarnate in the house of a pot-maker. She conceived, at the age of
one year and a half, the great serpent gliding over her while she was
asleep in the cradle: and his mother, accordingly, is represented as
saying to the child, once that she brought him to a place full of
serpents--‘Go and play with them, _they are your relations_.’”
Here it will be seen that, under the form of a serpent, is personified the
_Deity_, or the _generative power_.
Nunez de la Vega, Bishop of Chiapa, in Mexico, when describing Nagualism,
in his _Constitutions_, as observed in that country, says: “The Nagualists
practise it by superstitious calendars, wherein are inserted the proper
names of all the Naguals, of stars, the elements, birds, beasts, fishes,
and reptiles; with observations upon the months and days; in order that
the children, as soon as they are born, may be dedicated to that which, in
the calendar, corresponds with the day of their birth; this is preceded by
some frantic ceremonies, and the express consent of parents, which is an
explicit part between the infants and the Naguals that are to be given to
them. They then appoint the _melpa_, or place, where, after the completion
of seven years, they are brought into the presence of the Nagual to ratify
the engagement; for this purpose they make them renounce God and His
blessed Mother, instructing them beforehand not to be alarmed, or sign
themselves with the cross: they are afterwards to embrace the Nagual
affectionately, which, by _some diabolical art or another, appears very
tame, and fondly attached to them, although it may be a beast of a
ferocious nature, as a lion, a tiger, etc._ They persuade the children, by
their _infernal cunning_, that this Nagual is _an angel sent by God_ to
watch over their fortunes, to protect, assist, and accompany them; and
that it must be invoked upon all occasions, business, or occurrences, in
which they may require its aid!”
It is very clear, that the _Nagualism_ above notified is but a degenerate
offshoot of that _serpent_ worship, which is coeval with the _fall_: yet,
degenerate as it is, it is equally indisputable, that this good man’s zeal
outsteps far his judgment, the exaggerations of his fancy even committing
him so far, as to make him imperceptibly contradict himself!
Surely, were it a principle of action with those unfortunate beings to
make their children, on their entrance upon active life, to _renounce
God_, they would not teach them, at the same time, to _reverence_ a brute
creature, merely as being a _subordinate servant of that God_!
To reconcile the Bishop, therefore, to something like truth, I will
suppose him to mean by the word _God_, where it first occurs, _Christ_,
which is evident from the context, of “His blessed Mother”: and then the
prohibition against the sign of “the cross,” must be understood
exclusively as in reference to _him_; a conclusion which is confirmed by
an additional reference to that _oath_, which I have before mentioned, as
still prevalent amongst the Irish.
_By the cross_ is the oath, accompanied by a transverse location of the
forefinger of one hand upon that of the other: and the addition alluded to
is _of Christ_, which is never volunteered except when equivocation is
suspected; and then it is exacted as a matter of _distinction_ between
_His_ cross and the _more antecedent_ one!
But no further proof is requisite to prove the Bishop’s want of candour
than his _withholding_ documents from the public eye, which would appear
to illustrate the subject.--“Although in these tracts and papers there
are,” says he, “many other things touching primitive paganism, they are
not mentioned in this epitome, lest, in being brought into notice, they
should be the means of confirming more strongly an idolatrous
superstition.” He should have had more confidence in his own cause, and
feel that--“If anything, in consequence of this scrutiny, totter and fall,
it can only be the _error_ which has attached itself to truth, encumbering
and deforming it. _Truth_ itself will remain _unshaken, unsullied, fair,
immortal_!”
Now, in the description of the ancient city, near Palenque, quoted before,
I find some words, which prove an affinity between the worship of the
ancient inhabitants of America and those of Ireland, and which rescue both
from the imputations of bigotry. “I am _Culebra_,” says _Votan_, one of
the early princes, I believe, of Mexico, who wrote an historical tract in
the Indian idiom, “because I am Chivim.”
The man’s name, you perceive, was _Votan_, but his ambition was to be
considered _Culebra_, or the _snake_, that is, the deity so personified:
the mode whereby he sought to establish it is foreign from my inquiry.
The _Gadelglas_ of the ancient Irish was precisely similar to this
_Culebra_ of the Americans: _gad_ signifying a snake, or tortuosity: _el_,
god; and _glas_, green--in all, the _green snake-god_! And conformably
with this import, we are assured by a man who knew very little as to the
_reason why_, but whose testimony is here valuable in a matter of
_record_, not of _opinion_; namely, that the “Milesians, from the time
they first conquered Ireland, down to the reign of Ollamh Fodhla, made use
of no other _arms of distinction in their banners_ than a _serpent twisted
round a rod_, after the example of their Gadelian ancestors.”[596]
You have now the _proof_ of “_who puts the snakes_ upon our _ancient
crosses_?” And, independently of such proof, the antiquity itself of all
the traditions associating the _serpent_ with the early memoirs of our
ancestors was so great as to appal even the _monks_! And as they could
not, in their system of _transferring_ our history, _bring down_ this
serpent to the era of the _saints_, they resolved, at all events, to have
him in their dispensation, and so made _Moses_ the hero!
This they contrived by inventing the name of _Gadel_ for one of our
forefathers, and then transplanting him to the coast of the Red Sea, just
as the Legislator of the Jews was conducting them out of Egypt! They then
very unsacerdotally make a serpent bite him in some part of the heel, but
very graciously afterwards restore him to sanity by Moses’s interposition!
with a stipulation, however, that the former _sore_ should ever appear
_glass_ or _green_! And thus was he called _Gadelglas_, or _Gadel the
Green_!!!
In truth, it was from this _green_ snake-god, above explained, that the
island obtained the designation of _Emerald_; and not from the _verdure_
of its soil, which is not greater than that of other countries.
The Arabians have a tradition, that Enoch was the first who, after Enos,
son of Seth, son of Adam, wrote with a pen, in the use of which he
instructed his children, saying to them additionally, “O, my sons, know
that ye are _Sabians_!”
Although the substance of the _religion_, couched under this designation,
has been already explained, yet the origin of the name itself remains yet
to be unfolded.
Then be it known, that in the _sacred_, _i.e._ _Irish_ language, the word
_Sabh_,[597] has three significations--firstly, _voluptuousness_, or the
_yoni_; secondly, a _snake_, or sinuosity; and, thirdly, _death_ or life!
And in accordance with this triple import, if you roll back the leaves as
far as p. 229, you will find in the plate inserted there, and which has
been transcribed from the sculptures of the ancient Palencian city before
alluded to, those three symbols, viz. the _yoni_, the _serpent_, and
_death_, all united in design, and illustrating my development of that
mysterious scene wherein--
“Eve _tempting_ Adam by a _serpent_ was stung.”[598]
The sculpture itself is intended to pourtray the situation of those
progenitors of the human species in the Garden of Eden. And yet, striking
as it is, would its tendency remain ever a _secret_, were it not for the
instrumentality of the _Irish_ language!
“That the society of free and accepted Masons possess a grand _secret_
among themselves is an undoubted fact. What this grand secret is, or of
what unknown materials it consists, mankind in general, not dignified with
the order, have made the most ridiculous suppositions. The ignorant form
incoherencies, such as conferring with the devil, and many other
contemptible surmises, too tedious to mention, and too dull to laugh at.
While the better sort, and more polished part of mankind, puzzle
themselves with reflections more refined, though equally absurd. To dispel
the opinionative mist from the eye of general error is the author’s
intention; and however rash the step may be thought, that he, a mere atom
in the grand system, should attempt so difficult, so nice a task, yet he
flatters himself that he shall not only get clear over it, but meet with
the united plaudits both of the public and of his brethren. And he must
beg leave to whisper to the ignorant, as well as the judicious, who thus
unwarrantably give their judgment, that the truth of this grand secret is
as delicately nice as the element of air; though the phenomenon
continually surrounds us, yet human sensation can never feelingly touch it
till constituted to the impression by the masonic art. The _principal_,
similar to the orb of light, universally warms and enlightens the
_principles_, the first of which, virtue, like the moon, is heavenly
chaste, attended by ten thousand star-bright qualifications. The masonic
system is perfectly the emblem of the astronomic; it springs from the
same God, partakes of the same originality, still flourishes in immortal
youth, and but with nature will expire.”[599]
The _contortions_ of the snake were easily transferred to the revolutions
of the heavenly bodies. “When the ancients,” says Boulanger, “found out
the true cycle of the sun, they coined names by a _jeu de mots_, or words,
signifying its heat, or its course, that made up the number 365, as they
had done before to make up 360. The name Sabasins, that has so much
perplexed antiquaries and etymologists, is no more than a _numerical
name_, which was given to Jupiter and to Bacchus as _periodical_ deities.
When the suppliant was initiated into the mysteries of Sabasins, a
_serpent_, the symbol of revolution, was thrown upon his breast. Το ΣΑΒΟΕ,
which the Greeks repeated so often in the feasts of Bacchus _without
understanding the meaning of the words_, meant no more than the cycle of
the year, from the Chaldean _Sabb circuire vertere_, etc. The ancient
religion, which applied entirely to the motions of the heavens and
_periodical return_ of the stars, was for that reason named _Sabianism_,
all derived from the Chaldee _Seba_, a _revolution_”; and this, though
Boulanger knew it not, from the Irish Sabh, _serpent_, or _pith_.
Sabaism, therefore, and Ophiolatreia were all one with Gadelianism; and
while, apparently, purporting to be the worship of the _serpent_ and the
_stars_, were in reality the worship of the _Sabh_ or _Yoni_--so that the
dialogue in Genesis between Eve and the _serpent_, was, in truth, a parley
between Eve and the _Yoni_: and the materials for the allegory were
afforded by the fact of _serpent_ and _yoni_ being both expressed in the
sacred, _i.e._ Irish language, by one and the same name, just as the
Lingam and the Tree of Knowledge have been before identified.
The mystery, then, of our ancient escutcheon, viz. a _serpent_ twisted
_round a rod_, resolves itself into the _Yoni embracing_ the _Lingam_.
Hence, too, it was that the portals of all the Egyptian temples were
decorated with the impress of the circle and the serpent. You see also,
why the _seasons_, at the equinoxes and solstices, should have been marked
upon the circle at p. 225; and you further see the mysterious tendency of
the Prophet’s injunction to his children, when he said, “Remember that ye
are _Sabians_,” to have been equivalent with--Keep constantly in view that
you are the offspring of _concupiscence_, and, by the suggestion of the
_serpent_, begotten in _sin_, the penalty of which, as a breach of the
Creator’s commandments, is inevitable _death_, from which you are only
extricated through the promised Redeemer, emanating from the same source
which was before instrumental in entailing your sorrow!
Every syllable of this is hieroglyphically expressed upon the plate
inserted at p. 223, where you observe the _cockatrice_, or snake-god,
placed at the bottom; over him the _crescent_, or mysterious _boot_,
_i.e._ _yoni_, the object seduced; and, finally, the _cross_ in triumph
over both, intimating emancipation by the vicarious passion of God’s own
Son.
This, then, is my answer to V. W.’s question at p. 225, where he asks,
“What relation had this with the Nehustan, or brazen serpent, to which the
Israelites paid divine honours in the time of Hezekiah?”
From this _Sabaism_, or _serpent worship_, Ireland obtained the name of
_Tibholas_ or _Tivolas_; _S_ and _T_ being commutable letters, _Tibholas_
is the same as _Sibholas_, and this being derived from _sibal_, a circle,
shows the name to have been equivalent with the _land of circles or
revolutions_, otherwise, both to the serpent and the planets.
Those prophetic women of Etruria, designated _Sybils_, were named from the
same cause, being priestesses of the _serpent_, _i.e._ the _Sabh_ or
_Yoni_--allegorically represented as married to Apollo, and gifted with a
longevity of a thousand years. Here, again, the same conversion of letters
occurred, for the place which _they_ inhabited was called from themselves,
_Tivola_, corresponding to our Tivolas, the _S_ and _T_ being, as before
explained, commutable, and _b_ or _bh_ being equivalent to _v_.
_Pythia_ is exactly synonymous with _Sybil_, meaning the priestess who
presided over the _Pith_, which, like Sabhus, means as well _serpent_ as
_yoni_: and the oracle which she attended was called _Delphi_, from _de_,
divine, and _phith_, yoni--it being but a _cave_ in the shape of that
symbol,[600] over the orifice of which the priestess used to take her seat
upon a sacred _tripod_, or the religiously emblematic pyramid,[601] while
the inspiring vapour issued from beneath through a tube similar to that
exhibited at p. 460, and one end of which, passing through the aperture,
held fast the tripod to which the priestess had been secured, so that she
should not, in her delirium, relinquish the position.
The great Samian philosopher, known as Pythagoras, only assumed this name
in deference to those rites: for _Pyth-agoras_ means one who _expounds_
the mysteries of the _pith_, viz. _death_ from its weakness, and
_redemption_ from its virtue.
“Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name
Immanuel,”[602] was the spiritual substance of those _expositions_: the
only difference being in that _Isaiah_ spoke prospectively towards a
lately verified issue, whereas the _initiated_ took the promise from the
moment of the _fall_: and of its _partial_ accomplishment prior to our
era, there can be no doubt, even from the writings of this prophet.
On the opposite plate are three profile likenesses of Christ, as He
appeared upon earth in human form--the first is a facsimile from a _brass_
medal, found at Brein Owyn, in the Isle of Anglesey, and published in
Rowland’s _Mona Antiqua_. The inscription upon it has been translated as
meaning, “Jesus the Mighty, this is the Christ and the Man together.”
The second, likewise of brass, and found at Friar’s Walk, near Cork, is
now in the possession of a Mr. Corlett.--Inscription upon one side, “The
Lord Jesus.”--Upon the other, “Christ the King came in _peace_, and the
light from the heaven was made life.”
You will please observe here, that he does not say the _Word_ was made
life, but the _Light_ was made life.
The third is of silver, and the inscription means, “Jesus of Nazareth, the
Christ--the Lord and the Man together.”
The originals of these inscriptions are all in Hebrew, and the
likenesses which accompany them, although on different metals, appear
almost copies one of another: whereas the cruciform figures herein already
inserted, have no one feature of correspondence whatsoever with them, but
prove themselves, on the contrary, in every particular, an antecedent
generation.[603]
[Illustration]
As everything else appertaining to the history of the Round Towers has
already been explained, I shall now account for the difference of
appropriation noticed at p. 6. Having been all erected in honour of the
_Budh_, they all partook of the phallic form; but as several enthusiasts
personified this abstract, which, in consequence of the _mysteries_
involved in the thought and the impenetrable veil which shrouded it from
the vulgar, became synonymous with _wisdom_ or _wise man_, it was
necessary, of course, that the Towers constructed in honour of each should
portray the distinctive attributes of the individuals specified. Hence the
difference of apertures towards the præputial apex, the crucifixions over
the doors, and the absence or presence of internal compartments.[604]
Those venerable piles vary in their elevation from fifty to one hundred
and fifty feet. At some distance from the summit there springs out a sort
of covering, which--accompanied as it sometimes is with a cornice, richly
sculptured in foliage, in imitation, if you must have it, _præputii
humani_, but such also was the pattern of the “nets of checker-work and
wreaths of chain-work,” which graced “the chapiters which were upon the
top of the two pillars belonging to Solomon’s temple”--terminates above in
a sort of sugar-loaf crown, concave on the inside and convex on the
outside.
Their diameter at the base is generally about fourteen feet through, that
inside measuring about eight, which decreases gradually, but
imperceptibly, to the top, where it may be considered as about six feet in
the interior.
The distance of the door from the level of the ground varies from four to
twenty-four feet. The higher the door the more irrefragable is the
evidence of the appropriation of the structure to the purposes specified.
The object was two-fold, at once to keep off profane curiosity and allow
the votaries the undisturbed exercise of their _devotions_; and to save
the _relics_ deposited underneath from the irreverent gaze of the casual
itinerant.
Analogous to these would appear to have been the edifices which the Lord
had in view when He said, “Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto Mine
altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon,”[605] which
additionally proves the antiquity of the Irish _philebeg_; for, as with
any other costume, such a prohibition would be needless, it follows that
the prevailing fashion, in the eastern habiliments, must have been diffuse
and open in the nether extremes.
I beg the reader will now be pleased to look back at the Tuath-de-danaan
cross at p. 358, and he will at once see how it happened that the _Goban
Saer_, who is there represented, has been imposed upon the Royal Irish
Academy, or rather promulgated by them, as a _woman_! viz. from the
peculiarity of his _dress_! being the distinctive badge of his sacerdotal
order.
Nor is it only the character of those sculptures, but the existence of any
sculptures upon those relics, as well crosses as towers, that proves them
to have been Tuath-de-danaan; for the reason why Jehovah forbade the
Israelites from using any _tools_ upon the stones used in their religious
edifices was, that other nations had loaded theirs with sculptured images
of different gods, which made Him say, “If thou wilt make Me an altar of
stone, thou shalt not build it of _hewn_ stone, for if thou _lift up thy
tool upon it_, thou hast polluted it.”
In their masonic construction there is nothing in the Irish Towers
appertaining to any of the four orders of architecture prescribed by the
moderns. It is so also with those in the East. They approach nearest,
however, to the Tuscan, and the reason of that similarity may be imagined
from what I have already stated as to the Etrurians.
Prepared stone is the material of which they are generally composed, and
evidently, in some instances, brought from afar. Sometimes also they
appear constructed of an _artificial_ substance resembling a reddish
brick, squared, and corresponding to the composition of the Round Towers
of Mazunderan. Now if the monks possessed this secret, why were not the
monasteries, the more important edifices, according to our would-be
antiquarians, composed of the same elements? And is it not strange that
all _elegance_ and _extravagance_ should have been lavished upon the
_appendages_, while _uncouthness_, _inelegance_, want of durability, or
other architectural recommendation are the characteristics of what they
tell us were the principals? Yet neither in the monasteries, nor in any
other Christian building, do we meet with those materials above described,
either _generally_ or _partially_, except where the ruins of a
neighbouring Round Tower have made them available, which, in itself, is
sufficient to overthrow for ever the anachronisms of those who would deny
the existence of those temples anterior to the present era.
But Christian edifices, they say, are generally found in their vicinity.
Yes, and as I have already explained the reason why,[606] I forbear now
rehearsing the fact. But even _this stronghold_ of the _moderns_ I cut
away from them, by stating that at the “Giant’s Ring,” in the county Down,
the indisputable scene of _primordial veneration_, we have an instance of
a Round Tower, _without any church hard by_! And while recalled by this
circumstance, I must observe that the vitrification manifest within the
walls of that structure arose from the _burning of the dead bodies_
therein, and not from the indications of the _sacred fire_.
With three exceptions, all have a row of apertures towards the top, just
under the projecting roof, made completely after the fashion of those
which Solomon had built, being windows of narrow lights.[607] In general
the number is four, and then they correspond to the cardinal points. In
three instances there is one aperture towards the summit, in one instance
there occur five, in one six, in one seven, in one eight.
Inside they are perfectly empty from the door upwards, but most of them
divided, either by _rests_ or _projecting_ stones, into lofts or storeys,
varying in number from three to eight. In the temple of Solomon we find
the same, for “within, in the wall of the house, he made narrowed _rests
round about_, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the
house.”[608] And the images which I have shown to have been cupboarded
upon these rests, were nothing more than what Solomon himself did, when
“he carved all the walls of the house _round about_ with carved figures of
cherubims, and palm-trees, and open flowers, within and without.”[609]
In a future publication I intend to show a more startling correspondence
between our Round Towers and some other parts of Solomon’s temple.
Meanwhile I wish it to be borne in mind,--as in some degree accounting for
the correspondence,--that Solomon’s architect was a Sidonian.
A striking perfection observable in their construction is the inimitable
perpendicular invariably maintained. No architect of the present day, I
venture to affirm, could observe such regularity. Nelson’s pillar itself
has been proved to vary somewhat from the perpendicular line; but the
keenest eye cannot trace a deviation, in a single instance, from amongst
the whole of those Sabian monuments. Even the tower of Kilmacdugh, one of
the largest in the kingdom, having from some accident, earthquake, or
other cause, been forced to lean terrifically to one side; yet, miraculous
to mention, retains its stability as firm as before; such was the accuracy
of its original elevation.[610]
If asked how it was I conceive them to have been constructed, I should
answer, by a scaffolding raised gradually from within. The expense in this
case would be infinitely less, and the labour also. It would be very easy
to let fall a plumb-line at various intervals of height, by which at all
times the perpendicular may be ascertained, and the masonry carried on by
what may be called overhanding, while the cement employed in giving
solidity to the whole, and which is the direct counterpart of the Indian
chunan, bids defiance to the efforts of man to dissever, except by the
exertion of extraordinary power.
That this was the mode in which their erection was effected, is evident in
the instance of Devenish Tower, which, from the elegance of its cut-stone
exterior, would seem to negative the idea of their being built from
within. But a judicious eye cannot but at once discern that near the top,
where it is probable that one or two of the artists may have come out, by
the help of some contrivance devised for the purpose, the execution and
finish which the workmanship displays is incomparably superior to that of
any of the lower parts. In other instances, where the ancient top having
been removed, a modern one has been substituted, the case is very
different indeed.
The cohesiveness of all these columns will be best estimated by the fact
of the Round Tower at Clondalkin having firmly stood its ground when, in
the year 1786-87, the powder-mill explosion, which took place within
twenty-four feet of its base, shivered to annihilation every other
structure within its influence; nay, extended its violence so far as to
shatter the windows in some of the streets of Dublin. That at Maghera also
lay unbroken after its fall, exhibiting to the spectator the almost
appalling spectacle of a gigantic cannon!
That both Indians and Irish performed circular _dances_ around them,
typical of the motions of the heavenly bodies, is highly probable, as we
have still the name of a particular movement, apparently that practised on
the occasion, still amongst us in common use, namely, _Rinke-teumpoil_, or
the temple dance: and that they otherwise honoured them by performing
_penances_ around them, is evident from the name of _Turrish_, which means
a _religious circuit round a tower_! applied afterwards by the Catholics
to any penitential _round_. And we have the authority of Sanchoniathon,
when talking of the Creation, for stating that “the next race consecrated
_pillars_--that they _prostrated themselves before them_, and made annual
libations to them”![611]
These, I conceive, were the halcyon days of Ireland’s legendary and
romantic greatness. In this sequestered isle, aloof from the tumults of a
bustling world, this Tuath-de-danaan colony, all of a religious race, and
all disposed to the pursuits of literature, united into a circle of
international love, and spread the fame of their sanctity throughout the
remotest regions of the universe. That its locality was familiar to the
Brahmins of India I make no earthly question; that it was that sacred
island which they eulogised so fondly, and spoke of with such raptures, I
am sanguinely satisfied; and equally convinced am I, that it was that
beautifying region, whose widespread holiness, and far-famed renown, made
such an impression on the minds of Orpheus and of Pindar, when those
divine bards, speaking of its Hyperborean inhabitants, thus enchantingly
sung--
“On sweet and fragrant herbs they feed, amid verdant and grassy pastures,
and drink ambrosial dew, divine potation: all resplendent alike in coeval
youth; a placid serenity for ever smiles on their brows and lightens in
their eyes; the consequence of a just temperament of mind and disposition,
both in the parents and in the sons, inclining them to do what is great,
and to speak what is wise. Neither disease nor wasting old age infest this
holy people, but without labour, without war, they continue to live happy,
and to escape the vengeance of the cruel Nemesis.”[612]
Though clothed in the cadence of measured phraseology, and decked in the
charms of an imaginative style, this is scarely more beautiful than the
simple summary of the Tuath-de-danaan moral code, as given you at page
112, and of which, in truth, this is but the paraphrase. For instance,
they fed, it is stated, “on sweet and fragrant herbs,” because they were
prevented by their first commandment from eating “anything endowed with
life.”[613] They drank “ambrosial dew,” because their fifth commandment
forbade their touching “any intoxicating liquor.” And the healthful
aspects they exhibited were but the natural result of temperate habits and
virtuous demeanour.
“The simplest flow’ret of the vale,
The simplest note that swells the gale,
The common air, the earth, the skies,
To them were opening Paradise!”
Five hundred years after the period of their dethronement, while the
influence of their example still continued to operate, we are told by the
Dinn Seanchas, that “The people deemed each other’s voices sweeter than
the warblings of a melodious harp, such peace and concord reigned amongst
them, that no music could delight them more than the sound of each other’s
voices.”
With these compare what Cambrensis, who was no friend, has said of this
island, about two thousand years after. “Of all climes,” says he, “Ireland
is the most temperate; neither Cancer’s violent heat is felt there in
summer, nor Capricorn’s cold in winter; but in these particulars it is so
blessed, that it seems as if Nature looked upon this zephyric realm with
its most benignant eye. It is so temperate,” he adds, “that neither
infectious fogs, nor pestilential winds, are felt there, so that the aid
of doctors is seldom looked for, and sickness rarely appears except among
the dying.”
The repose of this happy people being at length disturbed by the ungenial
inundation of the Scythian intruders, the ritual of the temple worship was
precipitated apace; and this, if I mistake not, “satisfactorily removes
the uncertainty in which the origin and uses of those ancient buildings
has been heretofore involved.”[614] For the Scythians being warriors[615]
rather than students, and looking with distrust upon the emblematic images
of their temple-serving predecessors, which they considered to be
idolatry, did all in their power by legislative, as well as military
enactments, to efface every trace thereof; so that in a few years the
temple, or tower, worship became utterly extinct, and--more than
annihilated--forgotten.
Instead thereof, they substituted the worship of _fire_,[616] which,
though their predecessors were far from recognising as a deity, yet they
always showed to it some reverential respect: and this approximation of
sentiment, on both parts, contributed to what may be called a passive
reconciliation; the victors assuming the mastery of the soil; and the
vanquished, in deference to their high literary repute, being continued as
superintendents of the national education, as well as the practical
followers of all trades and professions.
It was so also at Rome, when Romulus dislodged the Pelasgi, who, we are
told by Festus, had themselves some time previously, under the name of
“Sacrani,” that is, the religious caste, corresponding to “Irish,” which
signifies the same thing, drove the Ligures and Siculi from Septimontio,
_i.e._ Rome.
The only use now made of those Sabian edifices, after stifling the
religion for which they were designed, was, we may suppose, to promote the
study of astronomical science, for which they were admirably adapted, and
with which their _original_ destination was inseparably interwoven.[617]
But as the stimulus of religion was wanting for the prosecution of those
researches, we cannot be surprised that _this_ part of their purpose, too,
sharing the fate of its collateral helpmate, insensibly repined under the
altered aspect of the scene; for, to apply to it what has been said of the
great scheme of the creation itself, viz. that--
“if each system in gradation roll
Alike essential to the amazing whole,
The least confusion--but in one--not all,
That system only, but the whole must fall.”
The knowledge of this delightful study, however, did not yet completely
die away; it formed still an essential in the education of every Irish
youth; and the remnant of our language, at this very moment, shows how
piously attentive were its framers to that divine precept which told them,
that the “lights of the firmament of heaven were for signs and for
seasons, and for days and for years.”
The profligate degeneracy of the Druids, however, tended to bring _this_
also into disesteem.
This order of priests got so overbearing here, grasping at not only high
ecclesiastical power, but also intermeddling in secular transactions,
that they made themselves obnoxious to the great body of the people, and a
disregard both to the literature and the religion which they inculcated
was the inevitable result. To this I ascribe the plebeian war of Ireland,
A.D. 47, that deplorable state of a country, when faction and rage usurp
the place of counsel and discretion! when commerce stagnates! confidence
decays! when lust stalks abroad to desecrate everything holy! and all is
doubt, suspicion, melancholy, and death!
How beautifully and how aptly, but yet, for himself, how unwisely, did the
philosophic Callisthenes apply the sentiment of Euripedes to Philip of
Macedon, at Alexander’s Feast?--viz.:--
“When civil broils declining states surprise,
There the worst men to highest honours rise.”
Many virtuous persons, we are told, opposed themselves to the
encroachments of this degenerate hierarchy. When Conlah, in his retreat
from the glitter of life, betook himself to an humble cottage, and devoted
the faculties of his comprehensive mind to philosophical pursuits and the
improvement of his species, the greatest praise which the analyst, in
recording such worth, could bestow, was, “She do rinni an choin
bhliocht-ris inna Druwdh”; that is, It is he that disputed against the
Druids!
The Books, however, of their predecessors, the Boreades, still remained,
and the knowledge of astronomy was kept alive by their perusal. But of
these we were despoiled, very shortly after, by that mistaken piety
elsewhere deplored. Some few treatises even then must have escaped, and
their effect was best illustrated, as shown before, by the unprecedented
success with which the gospel dispensation was hailed in this island.
I have before shown the instance of Fergil or Virgil, who, in the eighth
century, maintained the rotund and true form of the earth, when the rest
of Europe were ignorant on the subject. “He was,” says Sir James Ware,
“the author of a Discourse on the Antipodes, which he most truly held,
though against the received opinion of the ancients, who imagined the
earth to be a plain.”
In this sweeping ban upon the ancients, however, Sir James must not
include the ancient Irish, whose hereditary doctrine upon the subject it
is evident that Fergil did here only give utterance to; and dearly did he
suffer for it; his life, like that of Galileo, having been forfeited
thereby, at the hands of the same enlightened tribunal. This was enough to
put the _last_ extinguisher upon the cultivation, or at least avowal, of
the Irish notions of astronomy. It is astonishing, notwithstanding, what
an instinctive thirst still lurked in the Irish mind for the sublimities
of this pursuit.[618] Smith mentions an instance of a “poor man near
Blackstones, in the county Kerry, who had a tolerable notion of
calculating the epacts, golden number, dominical letter, the moon’s
phases, and even eclipses, although he had never been taught to read
English.” The author of this essay has known many such characters;--one in
particular who, from his great proficiency in the art, had obtained for
himself the honourable designation of the _Kerry Star_.
LIST OF IRISH ROUND TOWERS AND CROSSES.[619]
_An asterisk (*) is prefixed to the names of the most remarkable._
I. TOWERS.
AGHABOE (Queen’s Co.).
AGHADOE (Kerry), only 12 or 15 feet left. Its masonry greatly superior to
that of the church near it (167).
AGHAGOWER (Mayo), near Westport. Imperfect.
AGHAVILLER (Kilkenny), six miles south of Thomastown. Imperfect.
ANNADOWN (Galway), only 7 feet of a very fine base left.
*ANTRIM (Antrim), one of the most perfect, but of the smaller class.
ARANMORE (Galway), base only.
ARDFERT (Kerry), site only.
ARDKEEN, or ARDKYNE (Down).
ARDMORE (Waterford), very perfect specimen, 97 feet high by 52 feet round
(_v._ p. 71).
ARDPATRICK (Limerick), imperfect.
ARDRAHAN (Galway), site interesting from having a subterranean passage.
ARMAGHDOWN (Galway).
ARMOY (Antrim), near Ballycastle, 40 feet only left.
ASSYLIN (Roscommon), site only.
BAAL, or BALLA (Mayo), only 40 feet left, but fine specimen.
BALLYBEG (Cork), site only.
BALLYCARBERY (Kerry), alluded to by O’Brien as a “Cathoir ghall” (p. 48).
BALLYGADDY (Galway), near Kilbannon.
BALLYVOURNEY (Cork), site only.
BELTURBET (Cavan).
BRIGOON (Cork), site only; tower blown down in 1704.
CAILTREE ISLE, so mentioned by Vallancey; probably INISCALTRA (_q.v._).
CASHEL (Tipperary), 90 feet high by 42 feet round. Sculptured doorway.
CASTLE DERMOT (Kildare), imperfect, but with fine doorway.
CLAREEN (King’s Co.), see SIERG KIERAN.
*CLONDALKIN (Dublin), complete, but renovated, specimen, nearly 80 feet
high by 45 feet round; curious projecting base 13 feet high (p. 101).
CLONES (Monaghan), imperfect.
*CLONMACNOISE (King’s Co.), two fine, but renovated, specimens.
CLOYNE (Cork), well preserved, but tampered with in rebuilding. Originally
92 feet high, which has been increased to 102 feet.
CORK (near St. Finbar’s), site only.
DERRY (city), site only.
*DEVENISH (Fermanagh), the most perfect and highly finished of all, 79
feet high by 48 feet round (p. 38).
DISART CARRIGEN, or DISERT ANGUS (Limerick), near Adare; about 60 feet
left; ornamented doorway.
DONOUGHMORE (Meath), 79 feet left; fine, but imperfect, specimen.
DROMCLIFFE (Clare), very imperfect remains of.
DROMESKIN (Louth), a reconstruction; church now stands on original site.
DRUMBOE (Down), only the base, with quadrangular doorway, remaining.
DRUMCLIFFE (Sligo), only 40 feet left.
DRUMLAHAN, or DRUMLANE (Cavan), only 20 feet of original left, with
“belfry” added.
DUBLIN (city), site on left side of Ship Street, now built on.
DURROW (King’s Co.).
DYSART ENOS (Queen’s Co.), imperfect.
DYSART O’DEA (Clare), near Ennis; 50 feet left, 61 feet in circumference.
FERBANE (King’s Co.), Vallancey mentions two specimens.
FERNS (Wexford), evidently a modern structure made out of the old
materials.
*FERTAGH (Kilkenny), one of the loftiest and most perfect.
FINGLAS (Dublin), site only.
GIANT’S RING (Down), a specimen “without any church hard by” (O’B.), p.
514.
*GLENDALOUGH (Wicklow), locality most interesting; contains two specimens,
one 110 feet high by 50 feet round.
INISCALTRA (Galway), probably the “Cailtree Isle” of Vallancey.
INIS KEEN (Monaghan), 42 feet left standing.
INIS MACNESSAIN (Ireland’s Eye) (Dublin), site only.
INIS-MOCHOE (Down), on shore of Lough Strangfal; imperfect.
*INIS SCATTERY (Clare), more than 100 feet high, injudiciously repaired.
IRELAND’S EYE (Dublin), materials of tower taken to build R.C. church.
ISLE OF ARAN (Galway).
KELLISTOWN (Carlow), site only.
*KELLS (Meath), in very good preservation, though unroofed; quite
unaltered; 99 feet left.
KILBANNON, or BALLYGADDY (Galway), 40 feet left.
KILCOONA (Galway).
KILCULLEN (Kildare), 40 feet remaining.
*KILDARE, very fine, and elaborately ornamented; 105 feet high, but top
spurious.
*KILKENNY, perfect, all but the top 108 feet high. Good specimen.
KILLALA (Mayo), good specimen, judiciously repaired; 84 feet high by 50
feet round.
KILLASHEE (Kildare), also known as Killossy. Imperfect.
KILLESHANDRA (Cavan).
KILLESHIN (Queen’s Co.), site only.
*KILMACDUAGH (Galway), fine Cyclopean base; 120 feet high by 57 feet
round; 3 feet out of the perpendicular.
KILMALLOCK (Limerick), very imperfect, and much altered.
KILNABOY (Clare), 12 feet only standing.
KILREA (Kilkenny), nearly perfect.
KINNETH, pronounced KINNEIGH (Cork), remarkably fine hexagonal base,
underground passage, rock basins, etc.
LORUM (Carlow), site only.
LUSK (Dublin), fine Cyclopean doorway; much repaired; 100 feet high by 43
feet round.
MAGHERA (Down), only 20 feet left, rest blown down in 1704.
MAGHTURREIDH (Sligo), doubtful.
MAHEE ISLAND (Down), imperfect.
MEELICK (Mayo), 72 feet left; in good condition.
*MONASTERBOICE (Louth), characteristic doorway, top shattered by
lightning, otherwise perfect; 110 feet high by 50 feet round.
ORAN (Roscommon), only 12 feet left, must have been one of the largest.
OUGHTERARD (Kildare), scanty remains.
RAM ISLAND (Antrim), scanty remains; said to have been used as a
sepulchre.
RATH (Clare), site only.
RATHMICHAEL (Dublin), stump only.
*RATTOO (Kerry), very perfect; the loftiest and least injured by
renovation.
ROSCOM (Galway), three miles east of Galway. Imperfect.
ROSCREA (Tipperary), imperfect, curiously sculptured rounded doorway.
ROSENALLIS (Meath?), site only; the subject of a bitter controversy (_v._
Petrie, pp. 40-42).
ROSSCARBERY (Cork), site only.
*SCATTERY ISLAND (see INIS SCATTERY), 125 feet high by 52 feet round. The
only specimen having doorway level with the ground.
SIERG KEIRAN or CLAREEN (King’s Co.), site only.
SLANE (Meath), very doubtful site.
SWORDS (Dublin), almost entirely rebuilt; 73 feet high.
TAMLAGHTFINLOGAN (Derry), scanty remains.
TEGHADOE (Kildare), 60 feet left, in excellent preservation.
TEMPLE FINGHIN (at Clonmacnoise).
*TIMAHOE (Queen’s Co.), 96 feet high by 60 feet round; beautiful specimen.
TOMGRANEY (Clare), site only.
TORY ISLAND (Donegal), imperfect.
TRUMMERY (Antrim).
TULLAGHERIN (Kilkenny).
TULLOSHERIN (Waterford), near Dungarvan; mentioned by Vallancey.
*TURLOUGH (Mayo), good specimen, but reconstructed in part.
WEST CARBERY (?), so mentioned by Vallancey, but probably ROISCARBERY
(_q.v._).
NOTE.--Round Towers, evidently imitations of the Irish R. T., exist at
Brechin and Abernethy in Scotland. There is, also, a rather doubtful
specimen at Peel (Isle of Man), and a still more doubtful one at Hythe
(Kent).
II. CROSSES.
_Achath_, _Abhall_, or _Aghold_ (Wicklow), much weather-worn.
*_Ardboe_, or _Arboe_ (Tyrone), about 20 feet high, with remarkable
sculpture.
_Armagh_, imperfect; when complete, at least 26 feet high; sculptured.
_Banagher_ (Derry), curious sculptured figure of man on horseback.
_Cashel_ (Tipperary), much weather-worn.
_Castle Dermot_ (Kildare), two specimens of some interest.
_Clondalkin_ (Dublin), ancient granite specimen, 9 feet high.
_Clones_ (Monaghan), handsomely sculptured, but weather-worn.
_Clonfeacle_, (Armagh), without sculpture or inscription.
*_Clonmacnoise_ (King’s Co.), two fine specimens (_v._ p. 358).
_Cong_ (Connemara), base only, with inscription in Erse.
_Conwall_ (Donegal), only the socket remaining.
_Donoughmore_ (Meath), imperfect, and much weather-worn.
*_Drumcliffe_ (Sligo), handsomely sculptured.
_Drumeskin_ (Louth), used as a headstone in burying-ground.
_Duleck_ (Meath), handsomely sculptured.
*_Durrow_ (King’s Co.), very beautiful, but hard to find, being situated
among trees in an old burial-ground.
*_Dysart_, or _Disert_, _O’Dea_ (Clare), now in ruins, once richly
sculptured.
_Fassaroe_ (Wicklow), in private grounds.
_Ferns_ (Wexford), remains of four specimens in different places.
_Finglas_ (Dublin), well cut, but without ornament (_v._ p. 366).
_Glanculmkill_ (Clare), base only.
_Glen_ (Donegal).
*_Glendalough_ (Wicklow), _v._ p. 466.
*_Kells_ (Meath), three beautiful specimens (_v._ p. 491).
_Kilclispeen_ (Tipperary), with very remarkable sculptured base.
*_Kilcullen_ (Kildare), portions of two specimens (_v._ p. 338).
*_Killkieran_ (Kilkenny), three specimens.
*_Killamery_ (Kilkenny), beautiful specimen.
_Kilmacduagh_ (Galway).
_Kilnaboy_ (Clare), has been shifted from its original position.
*_Kilnafora_ (Clare), remains of five out of seven.
_Kilnafosse._
_Kilrea_ (Kilkenny).
_Maheramore_, or _Banagher_ (Derry). See _Banagher_.
*_Monasterboice_ (Louth), the most perfect in Ireland.
*_Moone Abbey_, or _Timolin_ (Kildare), two specimens; one very
remarkable.
_Moville_ (Donegal), ancient cross, with hole in top of shaft.
_Nevinstown_ (Meath), in mutilated condition.
_Old Leighlin_ (Carlow), only the base remaining.
_Oughterard_ (Kildare), several specimens near the Round Tower.
_Roscrea_ (Tipperary), broken, but with curious carving.
_Rosstrevor_ (Down), fine specimen in burying-ground.
_Temple Cronan_ (Clare).
_Temple Kieran_ (Leitrim).
*_Termon Fechin_ (Louth), fine specimen.
_Timolin_, or _Moone Abbey_ (Kildare).
_Tory Island_ (Donegal), several specimens.
*_Tuam_ (Galway), “the finest monument of its class and age” (Petrie).
_Tynan_ (Armagh).
INDEX.
(_R. T. signifies Round Tower, or Towers._)
AARON, or Inaron, 149.
ABAD (Persian dynasty), 246.
ABARIS, the Boreadan;
his mission to Delos from the Insula Hyperboreorum, 53-56, 397, 448;
why he did not adopt the Scythian dress, 56;
meaning of the “arrow” which he bore with him to Delos, 328.
ABERNETHY (R. T.), 10, 431.
AGRICULTURE, an object of Sabaic worship, 111.
AGNARUPI, a manifestation of the Deity (Brahminic), 288.
AICHE BAAL-TINNE and AICHE-SHAMAIN, 199, 200.
AITHAIR FOADHA, or the tree of Bhudda, explained, 472.
ALPHABET (Irish), a “tree” code, 229, 418.
See ST. PATRICK.
AMERGIN, the bard, brother of Heremon and Heber, 22, 387, 388.
ANNALS of Ulster and of the Four Masters, cited against the theory that
R. T. were belfries, 364;
also to prove that they existed before the 5th century, 374.
ANATTA, ANUZZA, and DOCHA, their respective meanings, 114.
APIS, the Egyptian deity, what he represented, 159.
APOLLO, meaning of the name, 61;
his alleged cyclic visits to the Insula Hyperboreorum (Ireland), 52,
397;
Christnah, the Indian equivalent of, 218, 219;
sculptured with the Python at Knockmoy, 330;
meaning of the Python myth, 291;
the “great year” of the Greeks, 397;
his musical worship in Ireland, 403;
his supposed temple at Kilmalloch, 202;
Phrygian account of his visit to the Hyperboreans, 436;
_Grynæus_ and _Lycæus_ explained, 466.
See SUN-WORSHIP.
APPLE, Eve and the, 227 _et seq._
ARABIC Sabaism, 503-506.
ARCHITECTURE of the R. T., 513.
ARD-MELCHAN, derivation of the name, 203.
ARDMORE (R. T.), 71, 75;
meaning of the name, 75.
ARGUES, its Sabaic import, 195.
ARIMASPI, their connection with Cyclopean architecture and mining, 86,
407.
ARK of Scripture, what it means, 224-226, 267, 270 _et seq._
ARMAGH (R. T.), destruction of, by lightning, 50.
ARON distinguished from TEBAH (both signifying “ark”), 270.
ARRAN, meaning of the name, 429 _n._
ARROWHEAD character, 340.
ARTEMIDORUS cited, 301, 302, 400.
ARYANS, site of the ancient Aria or Artacoana, 183;
Aria and Ariana distinguished, 183, 184;
the latter equivalent to Iran or Eriene, 184;
Eriene corrupted into Ierne, 185;
Zendavast description of the Aryan country, 185 _et seq._;
change in its climate, 186, 187;
consequent Western migration of the Aryans, 187;
Jemshid and his times, 188;
policy of Zoroaster, 188;
laws of Ormuzd corrupted, 188;
two claimants for the name of Zoroaster, 189;
antiquity of the original Zoroaster, 189;
his predecessors, 189;
the Dabistan and its author, Moshan or Fani, 189;
religion of Hushang, 189, 190;
the Mahabadean dynasty, 190;
antiquity of the Iranian monarchy, 190.
ASIA, the “cradle of the human race,” 265, 266.
ASTARTE, phallic worship of, 101, 102;
description of her temple at Hieropolis, 168;
known also by the name Rimmore, 102;
signification of the latter, 102;
perpetuation of this meaning in sculpture at Glendalough, 473;
traces of her worship (as the Moon) at Athlone, 204;
the Irish term of endearment, “Astore,” derived from her name, 213;
Astarte distinguished from Militta, 213;
use of bells in her worship, 175.
ASTORE. See ASTARTE.
ASTRONOMY, proficiency of the ancient Irish in, 59, 60, 521-3;
R. T. used for purposes connected with, 61, 62, 521;
entered into the religion of the ancient Egyptians and Indians, 77-79;
connection of serpent-worship with, 515;
Fergil and the theory of the earth’s rotundity, 523;
predilection of the Irish peasantry for, 523;
malign influence of the Druids on, 521.
ATHLONE, 204.
ATREUS, “treasury” of, its analogy to the Round Towers, 454, 458.
AUGURS (Roman), symbolism of the cross connected with, 490.
AVATARA and AVANTARA, incarnations (Brahminical) of the Deity,
distinguished, 288.
AVENTINE (Roman), derivation of the name, 198 _n._
AVIENUS on the _Insula Sacra_, 28, 29, 117;
his opinion of Irish antiquities, 28;
applies the term “Hibernian” to the Irish, 28.
BAALS, plurality and divinity of, 29;
meaning of “Baal,” 29, 65;
connection between them and the R. T., 29;
twofold signification of the word “Baal” in Scripture, 74;
Septuagint rendering of the expression “high place of Baal,” 75;
the Irish _Bail-toir_ and _Aoi-Bail-toir_ distinguished, 75.
BAAL-PHEARAGH, how connected with the _Baal-peor_ of Scripture, and with
the African _Belli-Paaro_, 111;
signification of the name, 103;
form of the R. T. attributable to his influence, 29.
See FARRAGH or PHEARAGH.
BAAL-THINNE, or sacred fire of Baal, 88-90.
BAALTIS, meaning of, 65.
BABEL, tower of, its purpose, 63, 64;
meaning of “Babel,” 65;
the Hebrew (scriptural) name for, indicative of its phallic character,
283, 284.
BABYLONIANS, proficient in astronomy, 64 _n._
BACCHUS, name of, found in ancient Irish inscriptions, 437;
only another name for one of the various Buddhas, 235 _n._;
the “Maypole” ceremony specially connected with his worship, 235;
significance of the name _Sabasins_, 505.
BADHHA, worshipped by the Tuath-de-danaan women, 132.
BAKU, description of fire-temple at, 72.
BALLYCARBERY (R. T.), 48.
BANAVAN (in Scotland), its connection with the Tuath-de-danaans, 114 _n._
BARDS, nature of their office, 22, 23;
their high reputation, 23, 24;
their use of rhyme and verse, 25;
also of music, 25, 405, 406;
their decadence into prose after their conversion to Christianity, 25;
suppressed by the English, 26;
superiority of Irish bardic music, 405, 406;
origin of the name “Bards,” 451;
the knowledge of astronomy preserved in their sacred books, 522.
BASILISK, or COCKATRICE, its Sabaic and scriptural significance, 225,
226.
BAVANA and DANA, 113, 114.
BEAUFORT (Miss), and the enactment of Tara (A.D. 79), 88-96.
BELFRIES, the R. T. could not have been intended as, 5-13, 36, 37;
the names _Cloic-teacha_ and _Erdam_ applied to them in the Irish
Annals, as distinguished from _Fiadh-Nemeadh_, 50, 51.
BELLI-PAARO, or _Baal-Peor_, and _Baal-Phearagh_, phallic nature of, 111.
BELLS, origin of, 10, 11;
Irish CEOL and _Ceolan_ date from pagan times, 11;
the Sabian and Druidic use of, adopted by the Christian missionaries
to their own worship, 11, 170-175;
introduced into England from Ireland by Gildas, 11, 173, 174;
miraculous effects supposed to result from the tolling of, 35 _n._;
date of their introduction into churches, 174;
shape of the Irish _crotals_, or pagan bells, 175;
square bells, 175;
connection of bells with the worship of Astarte, 175;
St. Finnan’s bell, 174 _n._;
references to bells in Scripture, 171;
traces of apparatus for ringing bells found in some of the R. T.
accounted for, 172, 173;
used for worship in Ceylon, Burmah, and China, 173, 174.
BELUS, description of the tower of, by Herodotus, 283 _n._
BENARES, cruciform shape of pagodas at, 352;
sepulchral pyramids at, 75, 76.
BETH (Irish alphabetical letter), significance of, 228, 229.
BIRS-NIMROD, or tower of Nimrod, its Sabaic character, 65 _n._
_Bleain_, the Irish for year, its meaning and derivation, 58.
BOAR-INCARNATION (of Vishnu) and the White Island, 326-328.
BOAT (lunar), or crescent, 273.
BOAZ and JACHIN (pillars of Solomon’s temple), 372, 511-514.
BOLATI, meaning of, 65.
BONA DEA, Sabaic rites of, 348, 349.
BOO and A-BOO, origin of the Irish expressions, 132, 133.
BOREADES, or Tuath-de-danaan priests of Boreas, superseded by the
Scythian Druids, 56;
relics of their costume, 56, 57;
likewise priests of Apollo, 397-401;
origin of the name, 401;
Irish astronomy preserved in their sacred books, 522.
See BARDS and INSULA HYPERBOREORUM.
BRAHMINISM, subsequent to and distinct from Buddhism, 108, 213-215;
its doctrine of multiple divine emanations, 287, 288.
See INDIA.
BRAZEN SERPENT (of Scripture), or _Nehushtan_, its relation to the
basilisk, 225;
also to Sabaism generally, and to that of Ireland in particular,
501-506.
See SERPENT-WORSHIP.
BRECHIN (R. T.), 8, 10, 431;
description and explanation of its symbolic sculpture, 299-301.
BRITAIN, inclusive of Ireland, in ancient writings, 58;
derivation of the name, 427;
Irish etymology of some English local names accounted for, 426, 427.
BRONTES, Sabaic import of the name, 195.
BROOCHES (Irish) of crescent form, their symbolism, 273, 274.
BUDDHISM, speculations regarding nature of, 107;
antecedent to Brahminism, 108, 213, 214;
Buddhists expelled from India, 108, 109;
date of Buddha’s ministry, 109;
abstract character of his teaching, 109, 110;
the Sun and Moon (_i.e._ generation and production) as objects of
primitive worship, 109, 110;
Buddhism preceded Buddha, 109, 110;
definition of Bhud and Buddhism, 112;
transmigration of souls, a tenet of, 112, 113;
abstract purity of, 112, 220;
moral code of Buddhists, 112, 220;
_Dana_, _Bavana_, _Anuzza_, _Docha_, and _Anatta_ explained, 113, 114;
forbids the taking of animal life, 113;
reverence of Buddhists for the elephant, 113 _n._;
_Budh-Nemph_, _Nemph-Thur_, and _Tor-Boileh_ equivalent, 114 _n._;
_Badha_, _Macha_, and _Moriagan_ worshipped by Tuath-de danaans, 131,
132;
_Farragh_ or _Phearagh_ (Irish), identical with Bhud, 132;
origin of the Irish suffixes _Boo_ and _a-Boo_, 130, 132;
Tuath-de-danaan effigy of Buddha, 139, 141;
its Sabaistic and Phallic character, 213, 227, 311;
Colebrooke’s charges against considered, 214, 215;
subterranean temples for practice of, 215, 216;
Buddha distinct from Paramon, 216;
_Dearg_, _darioga_, and _darag_ as epithets of Buddha, 216, 217;
meaning of _Magh_ and _Maghody_, 217;
CHRISTNAH, or the “Indian Apollo,” 218, 219;
_Buddha_ stands for a series of incarnations, 220, 221;
_Budh_, the forbidden “apple” of Scripture, 227;
twofold meaning of _Budh_, or _Fiodh_, 228 _et seq._;
Eve, the first Buddhist, 230;
Cain, the first priest of Buddhism, 230;
Bacchus identical with Buddha, 235 _n._;
significance of the Ceylon “Maypole” festival, 238, 239;
the Palencian “tree”-symbolism, 229;
original seat of, 244, 264;
_Budh_ and its derivatives, _Fiodh_, _Fidhuis_, _Fides_, with Deus and
Hercules, 250;
_Tuath_ and _Suath_ identical with _Buddha_, 264;
birthplace and parentage of Buddha, 264;
corresponding Brahminic doctrine of multiple incarnation 287;
its doctrine of a virginal conception, 288;
its symbolism of the cross compared with that of Christianity, 293,
294, 295;
_Budh_ synonymous with _Phallus_, 311;
also with the Egyptian _Thot_, 323;
Bhagavan, Crishna, the White Island, and snake-legend of the _Puranas_
considered, 325-329;
connection of the “boar incarnation” with Ireland, 326-328;
Buddhist sculpture at Knockmoy, 328-336;
also on Cross at Old Kilcullen, 337, 338;
analogies between Buddhism and Christianity, 364, 365;
theory that Orpheus was a Buddhist, 405.
BUDH (Irish), or FIODH, its signification, 103;
primary and secondary meaning of, 228, 229.
BUDH-GAYE (Irish) and BUDDA-GAYA (Indian), their phallic meaning,
310-312.
BUD-NEMPH and NEMPH-THUR (birthplace of St. Patrick), also TOR BOILEH
(Indian local name), identical in meaning, 114 _n._
BUNS (I. for children), e.g. _Surage-buns_, or children of the sun;
cf. with _Hindu-Buns_ (E. I.), children of the moon, 74.
BURWAH SANGOR, description of snake-sculpture on Hindu temple at, 363;
its mutilation by Mohammedans analogous to that of the similar
sculpture on Irish crosses by St. Patrick, 364.
CABIRI and CABIRIC, origin and meaning of the name, 354;
connected with Freemasonry, 354, 359.
CAIN, the first priest of Buddhism, 230;
nature of his offence, 230;
and of the “sin-offering” prescribed for him, 230, 231;
also of the “mark” set upon him, 232;
computation of the time at which he lived, 234;
his predecessors, 241, 242;
his immediate progeny, 247.
CAMADEVA (Hindu god of desire), origin and meaning of his name, 94;
other names for, 94;
his parentage, marriage, and friendships, 94, 95;
personal aspect of, 94, 95;
hymn to, 95, 96;
his connection with the phallic symbolism of the R. T., 91-101.
CAMBRENSIS (Giraldus Cambrensis) on the R. T., 49, 83;
on the climate of Ireland, 529.
CAMDEN on the R .T., 374.
CANONISATION of local pagan objects of worship in Ireland, 43, 44.
CARNAC, Buddhist symbolism at, 321-323.
CASTLEREAGH, evidence of Sabaic worship at, 205, 206.
CATHOIR-GHALL (as a name of R. T.), its meaning, 48, 61, 62, 103.
CAUCASUS, origin and meaning of the name, 354, 355;
existence of buildings similar to the R. T. in, 74.
CAVES. See MITHRATIC CAVES.
CELESTIAL INDEXES, theory of the R. T. being, considered, 52.
CELESTINE (pope), his commission _Ad Scotos_, 41.
CELLS, theory of the R. T. being, 13, 14.
CEOL and CEOLAN (bells), their pagan use, 11.
CEYLON, bells used at the _Dagob_ temples in, 173 _n._;
the Maypole ceremony as observed in, 238;
Buddhist temple of _Calane_ in, resemblance between it and Brechin
R. T., 300;
meaning of the name _Dagobs_, 369;
description of a _Dagob_, 369-371;
sepulchral character of, 370, 371.
CHAILDEES, or CULDEES, not connected with the Egyptian Cophtes, 40, 41;
the latter may, however, have derived their knowledge from the
Tuath-de-danaans, 155;
did not admit the papal supremacy, 46;
meaning of the name, 44.
CHALDEANS, their connection with the Tuath-de-danaans, 155.
CHRISTIANITY, existed in Ireland before the time of Pelagius, or of St.
Patrick, 41;
early Irish Christians ostracised, 42;
St. Patrick’s actual share in the diffusion of, 42, 43;
canonisation of objects of pagan worship by the apostles of, 44, 492;
to what its reception by the Irish pagans, is attributable, 344 _et
seq._;
prophecy in the Hindu Puranas of a coming redeemer of mankind, 345;
the “Yugas” to the same effect, 345, 346;
Hindu “History of Vicrama Ditya,” 346;
Arabic poetic prediction to same effect, 346;
analogous inscription on pillar at Buddal, 346, 347;
theory that, in its leading essentials, it was introduced into Ireland
as a revival of an early Eastern religion by the Tuath-de-danaans,
493;
the Greek term _logos_ considered with reference to this point, 478,
479;
also the reference in St. John’s gospel to Christ’s coming to his
“own,” 478;
the incident of the _Magi_, and the symbolism of the cross in its
sculptured representation, 482, 483;
meaning of the expression “Lamb of God,” 486-489;
conformity between Buddhism and Christianity, 365;
the Church festivals derived from the Tuath-de-danaan ritual, 493.
CHRISTNAH (the Indian Apollo), 218, 219;
the legend of his incarnation and his connection with the “White
Island” (Muc-Inis), 326, 327.
CHRONOS, deification of, accounted for, 197.
CHURCHES, arguments from their being found in the neighbourhood of Round
Towers, Cromleachs, and Mithratic caves against the pre-Christian
antiquity of the R. T. considered, 7, 8, 356, 357.
CLEMENT (the Irish doctor), German testimony to his learning, 54 _n._
CLIMATE of Ireland praised by Geraldus Cambrensis, 529.
CLOGAD, meaning of, 12;
the name accountable for a mistake as to the R. T., 12.
CLOICTEACH, or belfrey, distinct from R. T., 36, 37.
CLONDALKIN (R. T.), 101, 359.
CLONMACNOISE, antiquity of its crosses, churches, and round towers
accounted for, 356, 357;
once a stronghold of Buddhism, 356, 357;
its sculptures unconnected with Christianity, 358, 359;
inferiority of the architecture of its churches to that of the other
remains, such as crosses and round towers, 163;
Abbot O’Brien and his “cell,” 13, 14.
COCKATRICE, or BASILISK, its symbolism, 225.
COLEBROOKE’S statement regarding Buddhism refuted, 214.
COLGAN on the R. T., 37, 51.
COLZOUM (Egyptian monastery), supposed to resemble the R. T., 30-33.
COPTIC, Hurd’s description of the Ethiopian monks so-called, 45, 46;
such monastic orders not analogous to the Irish Culdees or Chaildees,
45.
CORMAC (bishop of Cashel), his allusions to fire-worship, 81, 82;
his description of the R. T., and opinion of their great antiquity,
368, 394.
CRESCENT-WORSHIP, its origin and significance, 261, 262, 273 _et seq._;
its symbolism preserved in the Irish crescent brooches, 273, 274;
crescent on the summits of R. T., 103;
the crescent of Sheva (Hindu), 103;
the crescent and the “ark,” 224-226;
the Pish-de-danaan votaries of, 261, 262.
CRIOCH-NA-FUINEADHACH, a name of Ireland, its meaning, 344.
CROCODILES as objects of worship, 165, 166;
bearing of this on the question of sub-pyramidal (and R. T.) cavities,
166.
CROMLEACHS, their Buddhist origin, 2, 3;
that churches are found in their vicinity no disproof of this, 8;
possibly the work of Firbolgs or Scythians, 428.
CROSS-WORSHIP, its antiquity and universality, 289-308;
Egyptian interpretation of the cross symbol, 289, 291;
Druidic cross worship, 289;
practised among all ancient Gothic peoples, 290;
the Egyptian _Taut_ symbol, 291;
Buddhist origin of cross-worship, 291;
Greek allegory of Apollo and the Python, 291, 292;
the Irish _Tuath_ cross, 291;
the cross a symbol of universal nature, 294;
Irish cross with _kilted_ figure thereon--of whom? 295-297;
crosses on obelisk at Sandwick (Ross-shire), 305-309;
crosses in cryptograms of heathen deities, 308;
Plato on the prevalence of the cross symbol, 308;
cross symbols found at the temple of Serapis, 312;
the forehead “mark” in Ezekiel, a cross, 313;
cross on the coinage of the Emperor Decius, 314;
also on Phœnician medals, 314, 315;
description of the great cross at Forres, 317-320;
the latter cross probably erected by Tuath-de-danaans, 320;
theory that such crosses are of Danish origin refuted, 321;
cross symbols on monolith at Carnac, 321, 322;
resemblance of sculpture on cross at Old Kilcullen to those on the
temple at Kalabche in Nubia, 337-342;
crucificial Buddhist effigy of Deva Thot, 343, 344;
freemasonry and the crucifixion, 344;
cruciform construction of Mithratic temple at New Grange, 350;
also of the so-called “Devil’s Yonies,” 314, 350, 351;
also of pagodas at Benares and Mathura, 352;
union of cross with lingam symbol at Elephanta, 353;
analogy between Irish and Eastern cross-symbolism, 353, 354;
snake-sculpture on Irish crosses, 502;
the crosses of Clonmacnoise, Clondalkin, Armagh, Finglas, etc.,
357-367;
cross-symbolism at Brechin and Donoghmore R. T., 8;
its connection with serpent-worship, Freemasonry, and Buddhism,
358-367;
all ancient Irish crosses the work of Tuath-de-danaans, 359-361;
the dog-effigy on the cross at Clonmacnoise, 359;
demolition and restoration of cross at Finglas, 365-367;
cross-worship symbolised in the shamrock, 440;
meaning of the expression “Lamb of God,” 486-489;
also of the emblem × for the number _ten_, 487, 488;
also of the Druidic “key” emblem, 488, 489;
also of the Irish cross (or “finger”) oath, 489;
theory of crosses having been introduced into Ireland by the Pope,
489-492;
the cross-symbolism of Palencia, 490;
the cross-staff of the Roman Augurs, 490;
pagan sculpture on the cross at Kells, 490, 491;
how Irish crosses became associated with Christianity, 492-494;
how the crosses over the doors of some of the round towers may be
accounted for, 511.
CRUCIFIXION, sculpture of, at Knockmoy, explained, 328-345;
analogous sculpture on temple at Kalabche (Nubia), 337;
Hindu (Purana) legend of, 339;
testimony of Buddhists and of Freemasonry to the fact of a primeval
crucifixion, 343, 344.
CUMMAN, the Irish astronomer, 59.
CYCLE, of nineteen years--“the great year” of the Greeks, 52.
CYCLOPEAN WALLS, their origin, and derivation of the name, 86;
found wherever the Pelasgi settled, 86.
CYCLOPS, public origin of the name, 86;
its Sabaic import, 195, 196.
DAGOBS (Cingalese temples), analogous to the R. T., 369-372.
DAHAMSOUDA (King of Baranes, or Benares) and the _Bana_, or Buddhist
gospel, sculpture of the legend at Glendalough, 470 _et seq._
DALTON on the date of the Scotch R. T., 10;
his theory that _Iris_ was not Ireland considered, 398.
DANA, as the root of _Danaans_, its meaning, 113.
DANCING, connected with Sabaic worship, 110;
circular dances performed round the R. T., 517;
_Rinke-teumpoil_ and _Turrish_ dances, 517.
DANES, the R. T. could not have been constructed by, 9, 10;
nor have been intended as places of refuge from, 35, 36;
crosses not commemorative in any way of the, 321.
DAVIES on the genealogy of the Irish language, 58.
DEARG, DARAG, and DARIOGA, their origin and meaning, 206, 216, 217.
DECIUS (Roman Emperor), the cross-emblem on his coinage, 314.
DELOS, visit of Abaris to, 53-56, 397, 448;
why the fleet of Xerxes did not molest, 69;
Hyperborean embassies to, repulsed, 445, 446;
account of the subsequent transmission of Hyperborean offerings to the
shrines of Apollo and Diana there, 446.
DELPHI, poetic account of the foundation of the oracle by Hyperboreans
representative of the Irish priesthood, 445;
similar tradition at Delos, 445;
hymn of Alcæus commemorating the visit of Apollo to the Hyperboreans
on his way to, 446, 447;
derivation of the names _Delphi_, _Pythia_, and _Sybil_, 507;
whence the Pythia derived her inspiration, 507.
DELUGE, scriptural narrative of, explained, 266 _et seq._;
number of the Noachidæ, 269, 270;
distinction between _Aron_ and _Thebit_ (both signifying “ark”), 270;
meaning of the name _Noah_, and of the mandate, “Come thou and all thy
house into the ark,” 272;
derivation of _Deucalion_, 275;
figurative character of the, 275, 276;
the argument from marine strata, 276-278;
signification of the _raven_, _dove_, and _olive branch_, 278;
Purana account of the, 279 _n._;
whence the Mosaic version may have been derived, 280, 281;
_Japhet_ and _Javan_ explained, 283 _n._;
coincidence between the diluvian period and that of the
Tuath-de-danaan migration from the East, 436;
legend of Fintan and Caisarea, niece of Noah, 385;
Moses and the Pish-de-danaans, 283.
DENDERA, resemblance between the respective worships of ancient Egypt
and India exemplified by conduct of Sepoys at, 143, 144.
DEUCALION, origin of the name, 275.
DEUS and Hercules synonymous, 250;
meaning of Deus Fidhius, 250.
DEVA THOT (Buddhist), represented as crucified, 343.
DEVENISH (R. T.), 38, 71, 167.
DEVIL’S YONIES, 314, 350, 351.
DIODORUS SICULUS and _Iris_, or the _Insula Hyperboreorum_, 120 _n._,
397-399.
DIONYSIUS OF SICILY, sense in which he uses _Iris_ and _Irin_, 120.
DOCHA, included with _Anuzza_ and _Anatta_ in the _Bavana_, 114.
DOG, personified in sculpture at Persepolis and Clonmacnoise, 359.
DOGHDA (Milk), the title of the tutelar goddess of Ireland, 339.
DONATUS (bishop of Etruria, 9th century), his description of _Scotia_,
or Ireland, 54.
DONOGHMORE (R. T.), bas-relief of crucifix over door of, 8.
DOVE, its signification in the Noachian allegory, 278.
DOWNPATRICK, St Patrick’s alleged “granary” near, 164.
DRUIDS, superiority of the Irish, 57;
Cæsar and Pomponius Mela on the, 57;
whence the Irish Druids derived their superiority, 57;
were fire-worshippers, 82;
significance of the golden “sickle” used by them in cutting mistletoe,
200;
influence of their degeneracy on the study of astronomy in Ireland,
521;
how that study was kept alive by the books of their predecessors, the
Boreades, 522.
DUMBOE (R. T.), 81.
DUNE OF DORNADELLA (Scotland), its resemblance to the R. T., 455;
the mystery of its stone shelves explained, 456.
DUNGEONS, theory of the R. T. being, 16 _et seq._
EGYPT, ancestral connection of Ireland with, 77;
Sabian character of its ancient worship, 77;
resemblance of the latter to that of India and China, 143;
remarkable confirmation of this in the conduct of Sepoys at Dendera,
143;
its Ghizan pyramids popularly ascribed to Philitis (a _shepherd_), and
the evidence of Sanskrit records to the same effect, 144-146;
the _Uksi_, or shepherd kings, 146, 151;
derivation of the word “pyramid,” 146-148;
the Coptic name and its signification, 148;
_Armæus_, _Amosis_, and _Inaron_ (the supposed founders of the Ghezan
pyramids), who they were, 149;
sojourn of the Israelites in, 149;
did not take place until after the Uksi invasion, 151;
the dislike of the Egyptians to the Israelites accounted for, 151;
Manetho’s account of Osarsiph or Moses, 151;
proximity of Goshen to Ghiza, 153;
date of the Exodus, 150;
civilisation and magic of the Egyptians borrowed from the Chaldeans,
155;
connection of this circumstance with Irish history, 155;
the ancient Egyptians not idolaters, 268;
indebtedness of Moses to them, 281.
ELEPHANTA (subterranean or Mithratic temples of), Buddhist sculptures
of, 215;
their defacement by the Brahmins, 215, 216;
cross-symbolism in, 353.
ELEPHANTS, objects of reverence to Buddhists, 113 _n._
ELEUSINIAN _mysteries_, their nature, 110, 111, 347, 348;
kindred rites of _Bona Dea_ and _Phiditia_, 348, 349;
degradation of such rites into the _Saturnalia_, 349, 350;
the Irish _Nullog_, 350;
the typification of regeneration, or the _new birth_, 350.
ELLORA (caves of), 215, 216.
EMERALD ISLE, explanation of the name, 503.
ENGLAND, traces of the Danaans in, 425.
ENOCH (Book of), 401, 402, 475-478.
ERDAM (Irish for belfry), contradistinguished from _Fidh-Nemead_, 50.
ERIGENA, or SCOTUS (John or Shane), the Irish doctor, 54 _n._
ETRURIANS, their origin and connection with the Tuath-de-danaans, 85.
EVE, the forbidden fruit and the serpent, 227-230, 285 _et seq._, 506,
508.
EXODUS. See EGYPT.
FARRAGH, or PHEARAGH, 56;
identical with Budh and Moriagan, 132, 141;
meaning of the name 132;
Spencer’s theory as to his being Fergus, king of Scotland, 132;
his identity with _Peor_ and _Priapus_, 132 _n._;
his effigy in the Museum of T. C. D., 137, 138;
similar effigies found at Rampore (Himalayas), 139;
as to his being synonymous with Pharaoh, 142;
represented as wearing a kilt, or philabeg, 141, 341.
FENIUS, or FENI, ancestor of the Scoto-Milesians, 432;
date of his era, 432.
FERGIL, Irish astronomer, who in the 8th century taught the rotundity of
the earth, 523.
FIDH-NEMEAD, or FIDH-NEMPHED, its meaning, 50, 105, 353;
Colgan’s and O’Connor’s errors respecting, 51.
FINE ARTS, existed in remote antiquity, 407;
proficiency of the ancient Irish in, 411;
evidence of this proficiency, 412;
Oriental character of the Tuath-de-danaan fine art work, 412, 413.
FINGER-OATH of the Irish peasantry, its connection with cross-worship,
489, 501.
FINGLAS, old cross at, 365-367.
FIODH, or FIDHUIS, its derivation and meaning, 228, 250.
FIRBOLGS, or Celtic inhabitants of Ireland before the Tuath-de-danaans,
297;
assisted the Scythians to expel the latter, 297, 428;
their attire described, 297;
could not have built the R. T., 386, 387;
but probably constructed the Cromleachs, 428;
origin of the name, 428;
their religion akin to that of the Scythians, 428;
how the existence of two distinct races (Celtic and Scythian) in Arran
and the northern isles may be accounted for, 428, 429;
duration of their rule between the first Tuath-de-danaan emigration
(from Persia) and the second (from India), 442, 443;
confusion as to the battle of Moytura, which they fought with the
Tuath-de-danaans, 386, 387, 448, 449.
FIRE-WORSHIP, alluded to in Scripture, 67, 68;
originated in “Ur of the Chaldees,” 68;
spread thence to Persia, 69;
the Persian “Ur,” 69;
the “Pyrea” noticed by Brisson, its nature, 69;
question as to whether the round towers were fire-temples, 70-75,
80-82;
also as to whether the Ghebre or Parsee temples were exclusively
devoted to this worship, 71;
structural peculiarities of fire-temples, 71, 72;
the temples at Baku and Smerwick, 72;
Strabo’s description of the “Pyratheia,” 72;
fire-temple at Zezd, 72;
pagodas considered and described, 73;
derivation of the name “pagoda,” 73, 352 _n._;
pagodas devoted to worship of the sun and moon, 73;
significance of their form, 73, 74;
fire-worship introduced into Italy by the Pelasgi, 86, 87, and into
Ireland by the Scythians, 520;
could not have been the exclusive purpose of round towers, 80-82;
Cormac’s allusion to, 81, 82;
Druidic fire-worship, 82;
St. Bridget’s fire-temple, 82, 83;
testimony of the Venerable Bede to its existence in Ireland, 83;
structural affinity of the Irish fire-temples to those of ancient
Greece and Rome, 85, 86;
the vestal fire, 87;
the _Baal-thinne_, Miss Beaufort’s theory as to, 88-90.
FOMORIANS, in what sense they may be regarded as builders of the R. T.,
394, 395;
their affinity to the Tuath-de-danaans, 393-395;
meaning of the name, 394, 395.
FORBIDDEN FRUIT (of Scripture), its meaning, 227, 229 _n._
FOREHEAD-MARK (Ezek. ix. 4, 5, 6), a cross, 313.
FORRES (Scotland), description of sculpture on cross at, 317-320.
FOUR MASTERS. See ANNALS.
FREEMASONRY, 20;
essentially Christian in principle, 344;
its Cabiric rites similar to those practised in the Fiodh Aongusa or
the Mithratic caves of Budh, 353, 354;
its connection with the R. T., 19, 20.
See MASONIC.
FULLER, allusion in his writings to the Irish harp, 406.
GADELGLAS, origin of the name, 502, 503;
its connection with serpent-worship, 502.
GADELIANS, ancestors of the Milesians, 432, 502.
GAL AND NOUDABAL (Persian legend from Ferdosi), its meaning, 102 _n._
GALLAMH, father of Heber and Heremon, 393, 432.
GAUR TOWERS of India, similar to the R. T., 371.
GAYE-PHALLUS, twofold meaning of, 311, 312.
“GENERATION OF VIPERS,” meaning of the phrase, 498 _et seq._
GHEBRES, or PARSEES, their fire-temples, 71.
GHIZEH and its pyramids, 144-153.
GIANT’S RING (R. T.), an instance of a R. T. without a church near it,
514.
GILDAS, introduction of bells into England by, 11, 121, 173, 174.
GIRALDUS. See CAMBRENSIS.
GLENDALOUGH (R. T.), 167, 469, 474.
See SAINT KEVIN.
GNOMONS, theory that the R. T. were. See CELESTIAL INDEXES.
GOBAN SAER (the supposed architect of the R. T.), legendary account of,
375-385;
not contemporary with St. Abhan, 383, 384, 493;
was a Tuath-de-danaan, 386, 492;
meaning of his name, 385, 386;
his individuality, 379, 385;
his effigy at Clonmacnoise, 358;
the sacerdotal character of its attire, 513.
GOSHEN, significance of its situation, 153.
GRANARD, derivation of the name, 208.
GREECE, not the source of Irish religion or learning, 41, 453;
nature of Greek Sabaism, 194-197;
Herodotus on the Greek theogony, 196;
remarkable derivative analogy between Greek and Irish names, 453-470.
GRIAN (Irish), as the root of _Grynæus_ (epithet of Apollo), 208.
GYAH, Buddhist subterranean temple, 215.
GWALIOR (Hindu temple), its subterranean passage, 166.
HARP, cultivation of harp music in Ireland, 403-406.
HEBER and HEREMON, 387;
their parentage, 393, 432;
headed the Scythian invasion of Ireland, 393;
their epoch according to Irish chronology, 432;
distinct, except in language, from the _Danaans_, 393.
HEBREW, its affinity to Irish, 228.
HECATÆUS on the mission of Abaris from the island of the Hyperboreans to
Delos, 53-55;
on the peculiar appearance of the moon as seen from the latter island,
397;
on the cyclic visits of Apollo to the latter, 397;
on the prevalence of _harpers_ there, 403.
HEEREN on the history, language, architecture, and institutions of
ancient Persia, 178-183.
HELIOGABALUS, connection of the name with the perverted sense of
_Gaye-phallus_, 312.
HERCULES, and his twelve labours, 195;
worshipped in Egypt, Phœnicia, and elsewhere, before his inclusion in
the Greek theogony, 195;
a personification of the sun, 195;
pronounced by Orpheus the father and destroyer of all things, and the
great deliverer of mankind, 195;
explanation of the Zodiac, 195, 196;
Hercules Astrokiton, 196;
worshipped by different nations under a diversity of names, 196;
Hercules Fidhius, 250;
Hercules and Deus synonymous terms, 250;
the founder of Western philosophy, 437;
worshipped as _Osiris_ and _Bacchus_, 437.
HERODOTUS cited, 160, 161, 180, 196.
HIBERNIA, meaning and derivation of the name, 28, 29, 115-126, 128, 129.
See IRAN, IRELAND, INSULA HYPERBOREORUM.
HINDUS, their origin and the meaning of their name, 74.
See INDIA.
HOLY and MOST HOLY (places mentioned in Scripture), anatomical
significance of, 373.
HYPANIS (River), identity of the Egyptian and Indian religions, and of
the destination of their respective pyramids, suggested by
architectural remains found near, 76.
HYPERBOREAN (an epithet of Ireland), its twofold meaning, 55.
See INSULA HYPERBOREORUM.
INARON. See AARON.
INDEX theory of the R. T. See CELESTIAL INDEXES.
INDIA, idea underlying the morphology of Brahminism, 77, 78;
purpose of the Indian cave-temples, 78;
devotion of Brahmins to astronomy, 78, 79;
ancient Hindu civilisation, 79, 80;
its decadence under Mohammedan rule, 80;
Sir W. Jones on the pantheistic idealism of, 94 _n._;
Buddhism, 107-114 (and see BUDDHISM);
identity of ancient Egyptian worship with Brahminism, 143;
Sepoys worshipping in Egyptian temples, 143;
reference in Sanskrit records to the Pyramids, 144;
Indian origin claimed for Orpheus, 405;
second migration of the Tuath-de-danaans to Ireland was from, 443;
sculpture at Glendalough explained by reference to the history of,
469-474.
INSULA HYPERBOREORUM, identity of Ireland with, 52, 396-403, 437, 445
_et seq._;
twofold meaning of Hyperborean, 55;
description by Hecatæus of, distorted by Diodorus, 397, 398;
likewise by Dalton and Macpherson, 398;
incredulity of Diodorus accounted for, 398, 399;
known also as Ogygia, 437;
scepticism of Müller respecting, 443, 444;
mission of Abaris from, 447, 448;
Greek evidence of its identity with Ireland, 451 _sq._
IONA, derivation of the name, 83 _n._;
its connection with St. Columbe Kille, 83 _n._
IRAN, the generic name of both Persia and Ireland, 127;
its specific form, _Irin_, appropriated to Ireland, 120-127;
meaning of both these names, 127;
origin of the diverse forms, _Ire_, _Eri_, _Ere_, _Erin_, 128;
how _Iran_ was metamorphosed into _Ierne_ and _Hibernia_, 128, 129;
its occupation by the Tuath-de-danaans, and their expulsion by the
Pish- (or Pith-) de-danaans, 252-259;
equivalent in meaning to _Paradise_, 285;
properly applicable to all India lying north-west of the Indus, 184;
changed by the Greeks into _Ariana_, 185;
Pahlavi _Erin_ and Zend _Eriene_ and Pelasgic _Ierne_, 185;
_Irad_ and _Iran_, 244;
_Iranians_ and _Turanians_, 123-126.
See PERSIA and IRELAND.
IRELAND, its early repute for academic learning, 45, 46, 59 _n._;
its learning not borrowed from Greece or Rome, 45, 46;
the “Insula Hyperboreorum” of the Ancients, 52, 396-403, 445 _et seq._;
alleged cyclic visits of Apollo to, 52, 397;
description of, by Donatus (9th century), 54;
its identity with _Scotia_, 54 _n._;
why called the “Sacred” Island, 55, 117, 130;
persecution in Scotland of exiles from, 57 _n._;
included by the Ancients in the general term _Britain_, 58;
antiquity and astronomic character of the Irish language, 58, 250;
also of its alphabet, 416-418;
genealogy of the language according to Davies, 58;
Mosheim’s testimony to the learning of the ancient Irish, 59 _n._;
also that of Henricus Antisiodrensis, 59 _n._;
description of Ireland by Artemidorus, 400;
its ancestral religious affinity with Egypt and India, 77-80;
resemblance of its early architecture to that of ancient Greece and
Rome, 86;
derivation and meaning of the name Hibernia, 115-126;
Tacitus on, 119;
_Iran_ and _Irin_ as names for, 120, 121-126;
_Irenses_, 121;
origin of the name _Ogygia_, 131;
also of the names _Fuodhla_, _Fudh_, _Inis_, and
_Inis-na-Bhfiodhbhadh_, 131;
its connection with Sabaism, 193-210;
Hebrew and Irish, branches of the same root-language, 228;
twofold signification of Irish letters and words, 228, 229;
the Irish alphabet a “tree” code, 229;
Irish (_i.e._ the language of Iran) an original and universal tongue,
250;
Artemidorus on the ancient religion of, 301, 302;
mentioned in the _Puranas_ as “the white island” (_Muc-Inis_) 325-328;
significance of its readiness to accept Christianity, 344;
_Crioch-na-Fuineadhach_ as a name of, 344;
St. Patrick not the introducer of letters into, 416-419;
proof that the Irish is not derived from the Roman alphabet, 416-419;
the Ogham character, 340, 419, 420;
views of Montmorency and Whittaker refuted, 418-428;
ancient celebrity of, not due to the Celts or Scythians, 428;
resemblance of the Irish, as regards physique, manners, customs,
religious observances, etc., to the ancient Persians, 437-440;
in ancient times an “Oriental Asylum,” 441;
twice invaded by the Tuath-de-danaans, 442, 443;
Firbolg occupation of, 442, 443;
meaning of _Bana-ba_ as a name of, 470-474;
also of its Sabaic name _Tibholas_, 507;
its existence known to the Greeks and Brahmins, 517, 518.
IRIS and IRIN and IRAN, names of Ireland, 120, 121, 127, 398.
ISIDORE of SEVILLE, on the identity of _Scotia_ with Ireland, 54 _n._
ISIS (Egyptian deity), phallic worship of, 105, 106;
what she personified, 106.
ISRAELITES, sense in which the author uses the term, 11;
their use of bells, 11.
JAPHET (Noachian) and JAVAN (his son), derivation and meaning of the
names, 283 _n._
KAIOMURS (king of Persia), 245-247;
identical with Noah, 272.
KALABCHE (Nubian temple), resemblance of its sculptures to those at
Knockmoy and Old Kilcullen, 337-342.
KELLS (R. T.), 83;
snake sculpture on cross at, 361, 490.
KILL (in Irish names), its origin and signification, 43;
existence of a “Kill” evidence of previous existence of paganism, 43,
44.
KILCULLEN, or OLD KILCULLEN, remarkable Tuath-de-danaan cross at, 337;
its Buddhist character, 337, 338.
KILLESHANDRA, phallic meaning of the name, 207.
KILLMALLOCK (R. T.), 44, 167, 202;
derivation of the names, 201;
description of its tower as contrasted with the churches in its
vicinity, 202, 203.
KILMACDUGH, remarkable leaning round tower at, 515.
KILT, or PHILABEG, 138, 296;
originally a Tuath-de-danaan article of attire, not a Celtic, 297;
disappeared from Ireland before the introduction of Christianity, 298;
kilted figures of Budh, 138, 296;
antiquity of the Irish philabeg, 512.
KNOCKMOY, description of supposed Buddhist sculptures at, 328-335;
refutation of theory that they depict the death of MacMurrough’s son,
333, 334;
representation of the kings, with doves, explained, 330;
similarity of the sculpture to that on temple of Kalabche (Nubia),
337-341;
confirmatory Purana evidence, 339;
Phrygian attire of the subordinate figures, 329, 437.
LA-BEUIL-TINNE (first of May), or day of Baal’s fire, 201.
LAMBH and LUAMH, twofold meaning of, 487-489.