Certainly; and that of _Noah_, and the _ark_, and the _dove_, and the _raven_. But did I not, also, concede the story of the _giants_, and of the _serpent_? of the _sons of God_, and of the _tree of knowledge_? Nay, _have I not put the truth of those particulars beyond the possibility of scepticism_, much more of _denial_? But, believe me, that the _liquid_ which composed this “deluge” was more of the colour of _claret_ than it was of _water_;--that there was no more of _wood_ or _timber_ in the construction of this “ark” than there was in that of the “tree of knowledge”--that those two latter were congenial and correspondent to each other,--in their configuration and intention,--and that _flesh_ and _blood_ were the elements of which they were both composed. “For all that meets the bodily sense, I deem Symbolical, one mighty alphabet For infant minds------” Could the coincidence of measure[279] between the great Egyptian _pyramid_ at its base, and that of the Noachic _ark_, in ancient cubits,[280] have been accidental, do you imagine? And if not, what community of purpose, do you think, had been subserved by such numerical analogy? The _triangle_, in the old world, was a sacred form. It represented the properties--capacity and dilatation--of the _female_ symbol. Lucian, in his _Auction_, states the following dialogue as having occurred between Pythagoras and a purchaser, viz.:-- PYTH. How do you reckon? PUR. One, two, three, four. PYTH. Do you see? What you conceive _four_, these are _ten_; and a perfect _triangle_, and our _oath_. Now, Pythagoras, though a Samian, was educated in Egypt; and the religious mysteries, with which he had been there imbued, are what is so profanely ridiculed by this infidel scoffer. It is not my province to justify the ceremonial of the Egyptians, any further than as indicative of gratitude to the Godhead; but the reflection must suggest itself to every observant mind, that they are never called _idolaters_ in any part of the Pentateuch; and Plutarch, in addition, _positively asserts_ that “they had inserted nothing into their worship without a reason,--nothing merely fabulous,--nothing superstitious; but their institutions have reference either to morals or something useful in life, and bear a beautiful resemblance, many of them, to some _facts_ in _history_, or some _appearance_ in _nature_.” If we investigate the secret of this Pythagorean asseveration, we shall find that the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, thrice joined, and touching each other, as it were, in three angles, in this manner-- [Illustration] constitute an equilateral _triangle_, and amount also, in calculation, to _ten_. While the _inward_ mystery, couched under its figure, embraced _all that was solemn in religion and in thought_, being, in fact, the index of _male_ and _female_ united--the unit, in the centre, standing for the Lingam.