Page 107.—“_He spoke of the preexistence of the soul_,” _&c._—For a full account of the doctrines which are here represented as having been taught to the initiated in the Egyptian mysteries, the reader may consult _Dupuis_, _Pritchard’s Analysis of the Egyptian Mythology_, &c. &c. “L’on découvroit l’origine de l’ame, sa chute sur la terre, à travers les sphères et les élémens, et son retour au lieu de sa origine ... c’étoit ici la partie la plus métaphysique, et que ne pourroit guère entendre le commun des Initiés, mais dont on lui donnoit le spectacle par des figures et des spectres allégoriques.” _Dupuis._ Page 108.—“_Those fields of radiance._”—See _Beausobre_, liv. 3. c. 4. for the “terre bienheureuse et lumineuse” which the Manicheans supposed God to inhabit. Plato, too, speaks (in Phæd.) of a “pure land lying in the pure sky (_την γην καθαραν εν καθαρω κεισθαι ουρανω_), the abode of divinity, of innocence, and of life.” Page 110.—“_Tracing it from the first moment of earthward desire._”—In the original construction of this work, there was an episode introduced here, (which I have since published in another form,) illustrating the doctrine of the fall of the soul by the Oriental fable of the Loves of the Angels. Page 111.—“_Restoring her lost wings._”—_Damascius_ in his Life of Isidorus, says, “Ex antiquissimis Philosophis Pythagoram et Platonem Isidorus ut Deos coluit, et _eorum animas alatas esse_ dixit quas in locum supercœlestem inque campum veritatis et pratum elevatas, divinis putavit ideis pasci.” _Apud Phot. Bibliothec._ Page 112.—“_A pale, moonlike meteor._”—_Apuleius_, in describing the miraculous appearances exhibited in the mysteries, says, “Nocte mediâ vidi solem candido coruscantem lumine.” _Metamorphos._ lib. 11. Page 113.—“_So entirely did the illusion of the scene_,” _&c._—In tracing the early connection of spectacles with the ceremonies of religion, Voltaire says, “Il y a bien plus; les véritables grandes tragédies, les representations imposantes et terribles, étoient les mystères sacrés, qu’on célébroit dans les plus vastes temples du monde, en présence des seuls Initiés; c’étoit là que les habits, les décorations, les machines étoient propres au sujet; et le sujet étoit la vie présente et la vie future.” _Des divers changemens arrivés à l’art tragique._ To these scenic representations in the Egyptian mysteries, there is evidently an allusion in the vision of Ezekiel, where the spirit shows him the abominations which the Israelites learned in Egypt:—“Then said he unto me, ‘Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in _the chambers of his imagery_.’” Chap. 8. Page 118.—“_The seven tables of stone._”—“Bernard, Comte de la Marche Trévisane, instruit par la lecture des livres anciens, dit qu’ Hermes trouva sept tables dans la vallée d’Hebron, sur lesquelles étoient gravés les principes des arts liberaux.” _Fables Egyptiennes._ See _Jablonski de stelis Herm._