Part 38 (1/2)

In connection with the worshi+p of the Sun and other heavenly bodies, as practised in ancient times by Eastern nations, it e of the vast distances that separate them from the earth led them to the belief that these bodies were so near as to exert a direct influence upon y, with all its acco mystifications; this was practised under the impression that the Sun, Moon, and planets were near to the earth The suh Places” thus became ”sacred,”

and were for this reason resorted to for the perforious cereh Places” could not be transported to the Te trees, which were naturally associated with these elevated places, in a manner partook of their sacred character, and the fruit of the trees became in a like manner sacred Hence the Fir Cone becaly in the assyrian Worshi+p, so clearly represented to us in the assyrian Sculptures in our Museu presented by the priests towards the head of their kings as a high function of Beatification So sacred was the Fir Cone, as the fruit of the sacred tree, that the priest who presents it has a reticule-shaped bag in which, no doubt, the sacred emblem was reverently deposited when not in use for the perforious ceremonies

The same e fro in Fellows's Researches in Asia Minor, 1852 (p 175), showing the Fir Cone as the finial to the staff of office of the Wine-God Bacchus

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To this day it is erape previous to fer it by contact with the fruit of the Sacred Tree This is still practised by the Greeks in Asia Minor and in Greece, though introduced in times of remote antiquity

The Fir Cone communicates to most of the Greek wines that peculiar turpentine or resinous flavour which is found in theh the sanctification motive has departed, the resinous flavour is all that survives of a onceso close a relation to the worshi+p of the Sun and the heavenly bodies

In like hly probable that ”The Christhted tapers, which is introduced at that sacred season for the entertain people, is ”a survival” of the worshi+p of the sacred tree and of the Sun The toys which are hung on the twigs of the tree s which were usually made to the Sun and the heavenly bodies If I am correct inlight on what is considered as a ent for the amusement of children

Next, with respect to the Cuneiform Character When I first went to reside in London, in 1829, I often visited the British Museu of all the public institutions which I had yet seen I eagerly seized every opportunity I could spare to spend as alleries, especially those which contained the assyrian, Egyptian, and Greek antiquities By careful and repeated exaed in theht and reflection

Ast these objects, I was specially impressed and interested with the so-called ”Arrow-head” or ”Cuneiform Inscriptions” in the assyrian Departe tablets of burnt clay They formed the chief portion of the then comparatively limited collection of assyrian antiquities in the British Museu 1

I was particularly impressed with the precision and simple beauty of these cuneiforly distinctive nature of what I e-like form, of which the vast variety of letters or words of these inscriptions were coular or three-sided indentation will be observed in the above engraving (Fig 1) This elementary form, placed in various positions with respect to each other, appeared to be capable of yielding an infinite variety of letters and words, as seen in Fig 2

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Isubject with no pretensions as a linguist, nor with any idea of investigating theof these remarkable inscriptions; but only as a Mechanic, to ascertain thecharacters were produced, so as to convey words and ideas through their variety of combinations

I soon perceived that the simple but distinctive characters shown in the above representations were essentially connected with the e the material most suitable for their impression, by ular extremity of this instrument, when depressed into the surface of a tablet of plastic clay in different positions and directions, would leave these cuneiform impressions in all their beautifully distinct and characteristic forms And thus, after the tablets had been subjected to fire and made into hard brick, the impressions have come down to us, after the lapse of thousands of years, as fresh and distinct as if they had been produced but yesterday!

I was so fortunate as to have my conjectures confirmed with respect to the exact form of the instrument by which these re, in what appeared to be a hastily-fore brick, that the inscriber had apparently used rather more pressure on his stylus than was requisite

In consequence of which, the end of it had been so deeply depressed into the soft clay as to leave an exact counterpart of its size and form I secured a cast of this over-deep i 3 is taken, after a photograph

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In order further to illustrate the siive in Fig 4 a tablet inscription produced by means of the stylus which is seen laid over the tablet