Edward Sylvester Ellis

“ This is the autobiography of a Soul glad of life—one who finds riches in the possessions of others and, above all, a golden wealth in man’s Impersonal Estate—in SKY and STAR, SUN and CITY, the SEA and the OPEN WORLD—one who finds the Religion of Beauty in all things, and reveals the secret whereby all who will may dig up “real wealth” while having a good time. ”

“ Vesta (Ves′ta) , daughter of Saturn and Cybele, was the goddess of the hearth and its fire. She had under her special care and protection a famous statue of Minerva, before which the Vestal Virgins kept a fire or lamp constantly burning.
Vestal Virgins (Ves′tal Vir′gins) were the priestesses of Vesta, whose chief duty was to see that the sacred fire in the temple of Vesta was not extinguished. They were always selected from the best families, and were under a solemn vow of chastity, and compelled to live perfectly pure lives. ”

“ Mercury was accounted a most cunning thief, for he stole the bow and quiver of Apollo, the [Pg 87] girdle of Venus, the trident of Neptune, the tools of Vulcan, and the sword of Mars, and he was therefore called the god of thieves. He is the supposed inventor of the lyre, which he exchanged with Apollo for the Caduceus. There was also an Egyptian Mercury under the name of Thoth, or Thaut, who is credited with having taught the Egyptians geometry and hieroglyphics. Hermes is the Greek name of Mercury. In art he is usually represented as having on a winged cap, and with wings on his heels. ”

“ Juno was the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Hebe, and Lucina. She prompted the gods to conspire against Jupiter, but the attempt was frustrated, and Apollo and Neptune were banished from heaven by Jupiter. Juno is the goddess of marriage, and the protectress of married women; and she had special regard for virtuous women. In the competition for the celebrated Golden Apple, which Juno, Venus, and Minerva each claimed as the fairest among the goddesses, Juno was much displeased when Paris gave the apple to Venus. ”

“ History is told here with Maeterlinck’s charm of style; scenes are painted with the power and beauty of Hearn; philosophy is unconsciously brought forth from events. Greek legend weaves a necklace of imagery which holds ETNA in its clasp. Martial echoes mingle with the voices of ancient poets, the murmur of the Ionian Sea and of olive leaves in sunny Sicily. ”

“ Eternity, that which has neither end nor beginning, baffles the most profound human thought. It is impossible to think of a point beyond which there is absolutely nothing, or to imagine the passing of a million years without bringing us one day or one minute nearer to their close. ”

“ In Scandinavian mythology the god of wisdom.
Mind, see Erinnys.
Minerva (Miner′va) , the goddess of wisdom, war, and the liberal arts, is said to have sprung from the [Pg 89] head of Jupiter fully armed for battle. She was a great benefactress of mankind, and patroness of the fine arts. She was the tutelar deity of the city of Athens. She is also known by the names of Pallas, Parthenos, Tritonia, and Glaukopis. She was very generally worshiped by the ancients, and her temple at Athens, the Parthenon, still remains. ”

“ Somnus (Som′nus) . The Roman god of sleep, son of Erebus and Nox (Night) . He was one of the infernal deities, and resided in a gloomy cave, void of light and air.
Sospita (Sos′pita) . A name of Juno, as the safeguard of women. She is called the “saving goddess.”
Soter (So′ter) . A Greek name of Jupiter, meaning Savior or deliverer.
Soul, see Psyche.
South Wind, see Auster.
Spear, see Pelias.
Sphinx, The. A monster having the head and breast of a woman, the body of a dog, the tail of a serpent, the wings of a bird, the paws of a lion, and a human voice. ”

“ Every student in college or school, every lawyer, every teacher, every clergyman, every man or woman occupying an official position, every citizen and every youth who is likely ever to have occasion in committee, or in public, to enlist the interest, to attract and hold the attention of one or more hearers, and convince them—every person who ever has to, or is likely to have to “speak” to one or more listeners will find in our new book a clear, concise, complete handbook which will enable him to succeed! ”

“ Elder brother of Saturn, who made war [Pg 136] against him, and was ultimately vanquished by Jupiter.
Titans (Ti′tans) were the supporters of Titan in his war against Saturn and Jupiter. They were the sons of Uranus and Gaea, men of gigantic stature and of great strength. Hence our English word Titanic.
Tithonus (Ti-tho′nus) . The husband of Aurora. At the request of his wife the gods granted him immortality, but she forgot at the same time to ask that he should be granted perpetual youth. The consequence was that Tithonus grew old and decrepit, while Aurora remained as fresh as the morning. ”

“ Seventh, To capture the Bull which was desolating Crete.
Eighth, To capture the mares of Diomedes, which breathed fire from their nostrils, and ate human flesh.
Ninth, To procure the girdle of Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons.
Tenth, To bring to Eurystheus the flesh-eating oxen of Geryon, the monster king of Gades. ”

“ For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation ”

“ Every people, no matter how degraded and sunken in barbarism, has some perception, some explanation of, and a more or less well-grounded belief in, a First Cause. Far back among the mists of antiquity, at the [Pg 5] remotest beginnings of the shadowy centuries, sits enthroned a Being, who in His infinite might and power brought mankind, the universe, and all animate and inanimate things into existence, and who rewards those of His children who do His will, and punishes those who disobey His commands. ”

“ Neptune [Pg 94] is represented as being seated in a shell chariot, drawn by dolphins or sea-horses, and surrounded by Tritons and sea-nymphs. He holds in his hand a trident, with which he rules the waves. Though a marine deity, he was reputed to have presided over horse-training and horse-races; but he is principally known as the god of the ocean; and the two functions of the god are portrayed in the sea horses with which his chariot is drawn, the fore-half of the animal being a horse, and the hind-half a dolphin. ”

“ Jupiter (Ju′piter) , son of Saturn and Cybele (or Ops) , was born on Mount Ida, in Crete, and nourished by the goat Amalthaea. When quite young Jupiter rescued his father from the Titans; and afterward, with the help of Hercules, defeated the giants, the sons of earth, when they made war against heaven. Jupiter was [Pg 77] worshiped with great solemnity under various names by most of the heathen nations. The Africans called him Ammon; the Babylonians, Belus; and the Egyptians, Osiris (see Jove) . ”

“ Many temples were erected in honor of Aesculapius, and votive tablets were hung therein by people who had been healed by him; but his most famous shrine was at Epidaurus, where, every five years, games were held in his honor. This god is variously represented, but the most famous statue shows him seated on a throne of gold and ivory. His head is crowned with rays, and he wears a long beard. A knotty stick is in one hand, and a staff entwined with a serpent is in the other, while a dog lies at his feet. ”

“ Since the Greeks and Romans were not among those who received the divine story of creation, they were forced to devise a theory to explain their own existence and account for the origin of all things. ”

“ Christianity has inculcated the worship of idols, which usually take the form of beasts, and it will be noted in the study of myths that the gods often assume the forms of birds and animals. If it were in our power mentally to become savages for a time, so as to look upon nature and our surroundings as do the Blackfeet Indians, or the Patagonians, or the South Africans, it would be a long step toward making clear this particular phase of the question. ”

“ Fraud, one of the evil deities, was represented as a goddess with a human face and a serpent’s body, and at the end of her tail was a scorpion’s sting. She lived in the river Cocytus, and nothing but her head was ever seen.
Freyr (Frey′r) . The Scandinavian god of fertility and peace. The patron god of Sweden and Iceland.
Freyja (Frey′ja) . The Scandinavian Venus. The goddess of love.
Friga (Fri′ga) . The Saxon goddess of earthly enjoyments. The name Friday is derived from her. In Scandinavian mythology she is the goddess of marriage. ”

“ She was a very swift runner, and, to get rid of her admirers, she promised to marry any one of them who should outstrip her in a race, but that all who were defeated should be slain. Hippomenes, however, with the aid of Venus, was successful. That goddess gave him three golden apples, one of which he dropped whenever Atalanta caught up to him in the race. She stopped to pick them up, and he was victorious and married her. They were both afterward turned into lions by Cybele, for profaning her temple.
Ate (A′te) . The goddess of revenge, also called the goddess of discord and all evil. ”

“ Plutus (Plu′tus) , the god of riches, was son of Jasion or Iasius and Ceres (Demeter) , the goddess of corn. He is described as being blind and lame; blind because he so often injudiciously bestows his riches, and lame because fortunes come so slowly.
Pluvius (Plu′vius) . A name of Jupiter, because he had the rain in his control.
Podalirius (Podalir′ius) . A famous surgeon, a son of Aesculapius and Epione. His skill in medicine made him very serviceable among the soldiers in the Trojan war.
Poet, see Parnassus.
Poetry, see Apollo, Calliope, The Muses. ”

“ The folk-lore of all countries shows that the savages consider themselves of the same nature as beasts, and regard “even plants, inanimate objects, and the most abstract phenomena as persons with human parts and passions.” ”

“ That will, as interpreted by believers, is as various in its application to the conduct of man as are the standards of right and wrong among the civilized and even among the barbarous nations of to-day. What is virtue with one is vice with the other, as beauty and ugliness of form or feature, being relative terms, are opposites with many different peoples. ”

“ Achilles (Achil′les) was the most valiant of the Greek heroes in the Trojan War. He was the son of Peleus, King of Thessaly. His mother, Thetis, [Pg 15] plunged him, when an infant, into the Stygian pool, which made him invulnerable wherever the waters had washed him; but the heel by which he was held was not wetted, and that part remained vulnerable. He was shot with an arrow in the heel by Paris, at the siege of Troy, and died of his wound.
Acidalia (Acida′lia) , a name given to Venus, from a fountain in Boeotia.
Acis (A′cis) . A Sicilian shepherd, loved by the nymph Galatea. ”

“ He then threw himself into the sea, and one of the dolphins took him up and carried him to Taenarus, near Corinth. For this act the dolphin was raised to heaven as a constellation.
Aristaeus (Aristae′us) , son of Apollo and Cyrene, was the god of trees; he also taught mankind the use of honey, and how to get oil from olives. He was a celebrated hunter. His most famous son was Actaeon.
[Pg 27] Armata (Arma′ta) , one of the names of Venus, given to her by Spartan women.
Artemis (Ar′temis) . This was the Grecian name of Diana, and the festivals at Delphi were called Artemisia. ”