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Read Ebook: Abury A Temple of the British Druids With Some Others Described by Stukeley William
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Ebook has 115 lines and 68561 words, and 3 pages
'Tis not to be wonder'd at, that the ancients wrap'd up this doctrine in an abstruse and symbolic way of speaking, of writing, and in hieroglyphic characters and works, as we have seen. It was communicated to them in the same manner; they did not, could not comprehend it any more than we, but they held it as a precious depositum of sacred wisdom.
We may therefore make this deduction from what has been said, that the christian doctrine of distinct personalities in the deity, is so far from being contrary to reason, as some would have it, or above human reason as others, that 'tis evidently deducible therefrom, at least highly agreeable thereto, when seriously propos'd to our reason. And when most undoubtedly the ancients had such a notion, even from the creation, those minds that were of a contemplative turn, would embrace it and cultivate it, as being the most exalted knowledge we are capable of. Of such a turn were our Druids, as all accounts agree.
I had no hesitation in adjudging this to be a temple of our Druids. All reasons imaginable concurr'd. Tho' instead of stones, they have made this work with mounds of earth; I suppose for want of stones, lying on the surface of the ground. It makes the third kind of the Druid temples which I proposed to describe. The vertical line of it is north-east and south-west, the upper part being directly north-east; and the barrows generally conform to this line, being either upon it, or at right angles with it; the head of the barrow sometimes one way, sometimes the other.
This very extraordinary work, which I could not sufficiently admire, has very often entertain'd my thoughts. We see an uniformity in human nature throughout all ages. We build our churches, especially cathedrals, in a cross, the symbol or cognizance of Christianity; the first builders of churches did it in the symbol of the deity, which was pictur'd out with great judgment, and that from the beginning of the world.
I observ'd a line, or little bank and ditch, cast up above our figure, which I judg'd to be done with an intent to keep off the inundation of the ocean at the times of sacrifice, which seems to have been perform'd within that inclos'd area, where I have set the figure of the compass in the engraven view. Likewise just without that line, eastward, I remarked three little square plots, which perhaps were habitations of the Druids who were keepers of the temple.
Thus we have sail'd thro' a wide ocean of antiquities, and that not without a compass. We set old things transmitted to us in writing, in parallelism with these we may now see at home, in such a manner, as I think evidently shews them to be the same.
I shall conclude, with 1. what we may very well imagine to have been the ratiocination of the Druids among one another, in their theological contemplations, concerning this last kind of their works, these winged temples. Of such sort would be their speculations thereon, in their serious scrutiny into the nature of the deity.
But thus the Druids would reason. There are three modes of divine origin and existence, quite different from creation: they are these: the self-existent, unoriginated first cause; divine generation; and divine procession: all equal in nature, self-origination excepted, and equally necessarily existent. When the supreme produces his likeness, it must be divine filiation; or the son of God is produc'd. Divine procession must be from them two: but it cannot possibly be filiation: for besides that, in these acts of the divinity, we must separate all ideas like that of human production, it would be absurd to call this generation; because, as it is done prior to all notion of time, or eternity itself; it is making the son to be son and father in the same act. Therefore there remains no other word for this, than procession from the father and son.
Whether these abstract and metaphysical notions would occur to a mind wholly unacquainted with any doctrine of this sort, may be matter of doubt; but when propos'd to a serious and contemplative genius, they would be embraced and improved, as agreeable to reason; and as an advance towards the most sublime and most useful knowledge of all others, that of the nature of the deity.
But concerning the knowledge of the cross which the Druids had, and of their religion more at large, I shall discourse fully in the next volume, which will conclude what I have to say concerning them and their works.
Kist vaen, 13
Cunetio Marlborough, 19, 26
Verlucio Hedington, 27
ETYMOLOGY.
Abl, Hal, Healle, 19
Au, Aux, Awy, ibid
As, Ata, Atys, 100
Atlas, 9
Apher, 77
Avim, Hevaeus, 81, 98
Athamanes, 71
Belenus, Baal, Bel, Belus, 100
Bratanac, 77
Beth, 5
Canopus, 94, 96
Cnephtha, 93
Cronius, 97
Cneph, 92
Cromlechen, 49
Dionysus, 11, 98
Efi, 100
Esar-haddon, ibid.
Elohim, 71
Elagabalus, 24
Gilgal, 11
Genessa, Geneva, Gnaphalus, Gnavus, 96
Gable, Gaveloc, 9, 24, 29
Hesus, 100
Har, 67
Hakpen, 16, 31, 32, 75, 76
Hycsi, 71, 78
Javelin, 9, 24, 25
Kibla, ibid.
Kist-vaen, 12, 49
Knave, Knap, 96
Kneph, 62
Magus, 38, 55, 69
Neptune, 94
Nebula, Nebulo, 96
Nahas, 67
Nesi, 72
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