The God-Idea of the Ancients | Page 9

of the religious idea and the mental qualities which
among primitive races prompted worship, so, also, through extinct tongues and the
symbolism used in religious rites and ceremonies, many of the processes have been
unearthed whereby the original and beautiful conceptions of the Deity, and the worship
inspired by the operations of Nature, and especially the creative functions in human
beings gradually became obscured by the grossest ideas and the vilest practices. The
symbols which appear in connection with early religious rites and ceremonies, and under
which are veiled the conceptions of a still earlier and purer age, when compared with
subsequently developed notions relative to the same objects, indicate plainly the change
which has been wrought in the original ideas relative to the creative functions, and
furnish an index to the direction which human development, or growth, has taken.
As the human race constructs its own gods, and as by the conceptions involved in the
deities worshipped at any given time in the history of mankind we are able to form a
correct estimate of the character, temperament, and aspirations of the worshippers, so the
history of the gods of the race, as revealed to us through the means of symbols,
monumental records, and the investigation of extinct tongues, proves that from a stage of
Nature worship and a pure and rational conception of the creative forces in the universe,

mankind, in course of time, degenerated into mere devotees of sensual pleasure. With the
corruption of human nature and the decline of mental power which followed the
supremacy of the animal instincts, the earlier abstract idea of God was gradually lost
sight of, and man himself in the form of a potentate or ruler, together with the various
emblems of virility, came to be worshipped as the Creator. From adorers of an abstract
creative principle, mankind had lapsed into worshippers of the symbols under which this
principle had been veiled.
Although at certain stages in the history of the human race the evils, which as a result of
the supremacy of the ruder elements developed in mankind had befallen the race were
lamented and bewailed, they could not be suppressed. Man had become a lost and ruined
creature. The golden age had passed away.



CHAPTER II.
TREE, PLANT, AND FRUIT WORSHIP.
When mankind first began to perceive the fact of an all-pervading agency throughout
Nature, by or through which everything is produced, and when they began to speculate on
the origin of life and the final cause and destiny of things, it is not in the least remarkable
that various objects and elements, such as fire, air, water, trees, etc., should in their turn
have been venerated as in some special manner embodying the divine essence. Neither is
it surprising although this universal agency was regarded as one, or as a dual entity, they
should have recognized its manifold expressions or manifestations.
To primitive man, the visible sources whence proceeded his daily sustenance doubtless
constituted the first objects of his regard and adoration. Hence, in addition to the homage
paid to the earth, in due course of time would be added the worship of trees, upon which
the early race was directly dependent for food. At a time when the art of agriculture had
not been attained, all such trees as yielded their fruit for the support of the human race,
and which afforded to mankind pleasant beverages or cooling shade, would come to be
regarded as embodying the universal beneficent principle--the great creating and
preserving agency of Nature, and therefore as proper objects of veneration.
According to the Phoenician theogony, "the first gods which were worshipped by
oblations and sacrifices were the fruits of the earth, on which they and their descendants
lived as their forefathers had done."
Although, after the art of agriculture had been developed, mankind was gradually
relieved from its past dependence on the tree as a means of support, it nevertheless
continued to be regarded with veneration as an emblem of creative power or of
productive energy.

Among the traditions and monuments of nearly every country of the globe are to be
found traces of a sacred tree--a Tree of Life. In various countries there appear two
traditional trees, the one typical of the continuation of physical life, the other representing
spiritual life, or the life of the soul. After the age of pure Nature-worship had passed,
however, and serpent, fire, and phallic faiths had been introduced, the original
signification of the tree, like that of all other religious emblems, became considerably
changed. Through its energies, or life-giving properties, existence had long been
maintained, and for this reason, as has already been observed, it became an object of
veneration; but, after the reproductive power in man had risen to the dignity of a