Ancient Faiths And Modern: A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends and Divinities in Central and Western Asia, Europe, and Elsewhere, Before the Christian Era. Showing Their Relations to Religious Customs as They Now Exist.Inman, Thomas
Religion
Ancient Faiths And Modern: A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends and Divinities in Central and Western Asia, Europe, and Elsewhere, Before the Christian Era. Showing Their Relations to Religious Customs as They Now Exist.
Inman, Thomas
Religions
Some of the winged Etruscan demons must be regarded as "angels
of death," for they are represented as hovering in the air over
individuals, such as Cassandra and Polynices, who are about to be
sacrificed. One angel, who, as usual, Diaitized bv is spoken of by the
Christian describer thereof as a goddess, is designated "Cunina." Her
business was to look after and take charge of infants in their cradle.
A being such as this, by whatever name we may designate her, cannot fail
to remind us of the expression in the New Testament--"Take heed that ye
despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my father which is in heaven"
(Matt, xviii. 10). In another Etruscan painting we find two angelic
beings, fully draped, carrying a nude corpse apparently to the future
or invisible state. These naturally remind us of the passage in Rev.
xx. 1--"I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of
the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand." In some Etruscan
paintings we have scenes which are supposed to indicate the preparation
of a bride for the wedding ceremony. In these there are diminutive
angels introduced, which are sometimes hovering in the air and sometimes
seated on the edge of the bath; these are by the learned supposed to
represent Cupid, Eros, Hymen, or Love, and they indicate the devout
feeling, that an angel watches over those who contract marriage in an
orthodox manner.*
* Whether the Romans obtained all their inferior deities
from the Etruscans, or whether the priests of the Eternal
City in ancient times improved upon the mythology which came
to them from their predecessors, just as the priests of
modern Rome have expanded, without improving, the
Christianised paganism which came to them, is a matter
difficult to decide. But it is certain that the old Romans
multiplied their "gods," as the modern ones have multiplied
their "saints." Amongst the former were many curious
deities, who presided at the wedding of young people, some at
the public ceremony, and others at the private rites.
"PRema" was the angel of quietness, whose business it was to
see "ne subacta virgo se ultra modum commovens semen a vulva
ejiceret." "Subigus" was another angel or demigod, whose
duty it was to see that the consummation should take place
in an appropriate manner--lovingly, pleasantly, and
peacefully. There was another--Pertunda--of whom Augustine
(Civ. Dei, vol. 9) remarks--"Si adest dea Prema ut subacta se
non commoveat quum prematur, dea Pertunda quid ea facit?" In
modern times the Papal saints, Cosmo, Damian, Foutin, and
sundry others, have had the special duty assigned to them to
make the husband fit for his marital duties.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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