Mr. Deane's _Worship of the Serpent_ (London, 1830); and _The Cross and the Serpent_, by the Rev. Wm. Haslam (London, 1849), are noble works both of them, and ought to be in the hands of every Christian scholar. In these two words, "Cross" and "Serpent," we have an epitome of the history of the world and the human race, as well as the ground-work for all our hopes and fears. In them are bound up the highest mysteries, the truest symbolism, the deepest realities, and our nearest and dearest interests. Lord Bacon thus narrates the classical fable which accounts for the serpent's being gifted with the power of restoring youth: "The gods, in a merry mood, granted unto men not only the use of fire, but _perpetual youth_ also, a boon most acceptable and desirable. They being as it were overjoyed, did foolishly lay this gift of the gods upon the back of an ass, who, being wonderfully oppressed with thirst and near a fountain, was told by a serpent (which had the custody thereof) that he should not drink unless he would promise to give him the burthen that was on his back. The silly ass accepted the condition, and _so the restoration of youth_ (_sold for a draught of water_) _passed from men to serpents._"--_The Wisdom of the Ancients_ (Prometheus, xxvi.). That this, as well as the whole of the legend relating to Prometheus, is a confused account of an early tradition relative to the Fall of Man, and his forfeiture of immortality, is obvious to any {41} unprejudiced mind. Lord Bacon's explanation shows that he has been overreached by his fancy and ingenuity. In all the ancient mysteries, the serpent was more or less conspicuously introduced, and always as a symbol of the invigorating or active power of nature. The serpent was an emblem of the sun. _Solar_, _Phallic_, and _Serpent_ worship, are all forms of a single worship.[8] The Hindu _Boodh_, Chinese _Fo_, Egyptian _Osiris_, Northern _Woden_, Mexican _Quetzalcoatl_ (feathered serpent), are one and the same. (See the _American Archaeological Researches_, No. 1.; _The Serpent Symbol, and the Worship of the Reciprocal Principles of Nature in America_, by E. G. Squier: New York, 1851.) In Hindostan, to this day, we have the _Chaudravanasas_ and the _Snaryavanasas_, worshippers of the moon, the aqueous or female; and of the sun, the igneous or male principle. The _Saivas_ conjoin the two. Clemens Alexandrinus has a curious remark, referring to the calling on _Evoe_ or _Eva_ in the orgies of Bacchus; he says: "The symbol in the orgies of Bacchus is a consecrated _serpent_; and, indeed, if we pay attention to the strict sense of the Hebrew, the name _Evia_, aspirated, signifies _female serpent_." In my list of saints who are represented with a dragon or serpent beneath their feet, I omitted St. Hilary: