Mercure de France

“ Mercury, the Roman god, is identical with the Greek god Hermes and was considered the god of diplomacy, arts, sciences, commerce, gain and riches, especially of sudden and unexpected riches and of good luck at the games. ”

“ By the power thus given him, Mercury taught men the love of peace, and of home and country, and made commerce the bond of nations. Adorned with two light wings, and entwined with serpents, the Hazel rod given to the god of eloquence by the god of harmony is still, by the name of caduceus, the emblem of peace, commerce, and reconciliation. ”

“ The fan-makers, ever ready to seize upon a popular incident, promptly issued a fan with five figures, representing ‘France,’ ‘Mercury,’ ‘The Colonies,’ ‘England,’ and the ‘United States,’ holding scrolls with inscriptions in English, heraldic devices on either side. La France, with shield bearing staff of Unity and cap of Liberty, is saying, ‘We find true happiness but by making others happy.’ Mercury, holding fetters, says, ‘Don’t go to deceive me nor believe you will escape. ”

“ Mercury is the type of cowardly intellect, of every possible vice, but of vice full of wit. Mercury, the god of vice, serves Jupiter the god of crime. This fawning in evil is still marked to-day by the veneration of the pickpocket for the assassin. There is something of that law in the arrival of the diplomatist behind the conqueror. The chefs-d'œuvre are immense in this, that they are eternally present to the deeds of humanity. Prometheus on the Caucasus, is Poland after 1772; France after 1815; the Revolution after Brumaire. Mercury speaks ”

“ In the center a figure representing the British empire sits enthroned, resting one hand on the sword of justice, and holding in the other the symbol of victorious rule. A lion is seen on each side of the throne. At the feet of the seated figure lies Mercury, the God of Commerce, the mainstay of our imperial strength, holding up in one hand a cup heaped with gold. ”

“ The Mercury became his inseparable darling, his symbol, his private god, the one dignified and serious thing in a little life much congested by the quaint, the burlesque, and all the smiling, dull condescensions of adult love. ”

“ In their Mercury, the ancients realized their beau ideal or archetype of go-between which they called, in vulgar language “pimp.” That God, as go-between for Jupiter, was often involved in the most hazardous enterprises, such as abducting Io, who was guarded by Argus of the hundred eyes; Mercury, I say, was the God of concord, or eloquence, and of mystery. Except to inspire them with friendly feeling and kind affections, Mercury never went among mortals. ”

“ The king, at the name of Mercury, looking earnestly upon them, asked them what religion they professed. "We worship," replied Hengist, "our country's gods, Saturn and Jupiter, and the other deities that govern the world, but especially Mercury, whom in our language we call Woden, and to whom our ancestors consecrated the fourth day of the week, still called after his name Wodensday. ”

“ When not afflicted; that is, when no ray from an evil planet crosses the Mercurian ray, Mercury gives one a quick, sprightly manner, fluent speech, quick wit, bright intellect, and fondness for change and travel. ”

“ Mercury it was who gathered men into society and substituted social customs for barbarism. He invented the lyre and was the master of Amphion, who opened the walls of Thebes by the charm of his singing. Mercury or Hermes gave the first man knowledge ”

“ By the planet Mercury, you are taught continually to mistrust, shun, and run away from those who, by a false practice, maintain commerce with people of a vicious life, who seem to despise the most sacred mysteries—that is, to depart from those who by the vulgar fear, or a bad understanding, are ready to deny the solemn obligations that they have contracted among us.—When you come to the foot of our arch you are to apprehend that you come to the "Sanctum Sanctorum." ”

“ The insignia and device of the red cross belongs to another organization and its use is not proper for the medical profession. It represents a character of work entirely different.
From the fact that Mercury was the Roman god of trade and commerce and his magic caduceus was the symbol of authority over trade and commerce and was the enchanted wand of prosperity, it is not adapted to be an emblem for the healing art. ”

“ Mercury is the Patron Deity of Mercantile Speculators, as well as of crack-brained Poets; indeed, he is much more favorable, more a friend at a pinch, to the former class of his protégés than he is to the latter. ”

“ Jupiter saw him depart, and said to Mercury, “Mercury, go, guide King Priam to the ships of the Greeks, so that no man see him before he comes to the tents of Achilles.”
Then Mercury fastened on his feet the fair sandals of gold with which he flies, fast as the wind, over sea and land, and in his hand he took the rod with which he opens and closes, as he wills, the eyes of men. And he flew down and lighted on the plain of Troy, taking on him the likeness of a fair youth. ”

“ Here, then, are the four attributes of Mercury through whose aid he speaks to men: the Caduceus, stylus or magic wand; the Coin or ring, emblem of eternity; the Sword, and the Cup or chalice.
Always depicted as a youthful or, perhaps, [Pg 79] irresponsible man, sometimes described as inconsequent, volatile and light-hearted, still Mercury was the most affording and helpful of all the gods of Olympus, and it was he who interceded for men, who presided over births and deaths, as well as over love affairs, business, and the arts. ”

“ The epithets applied to Mercury by the ancients were Εναγωνιος, the presider over combats; Στροφαιος, the guardian of doors; Εμπολαιος, the merchant; Εριουνιος, beneficial to mortals; Δολιος, subtle; Ἡγεμονιος, the guide, or conductor.
As to his origin, it must be looked for amongst the Phœnicians. ”

“ Mercury begs him at last, for old acquaintance' sake, and in remembrance of the many little scrapes which his pilfering propensities would have brought him into with his master, but that he, the god of craft, helped him out of them,—to have a little fellow-feeling for a servant out of place and thrown upon his own finding. ”

“ Ans. They were various; his most important function was to carry the commands of Jupiter. Mercury is commonly called the messenger of the gods. He also swept the room where the gods supped, and made their beds.
[Pg 37] Ques. What else is said of Mercury?
Ans. He was the inventor of letters, and excelled in eloquence. The Greeks worshipped him as the patron of orators, under the name of Hermes. Mercury was also the inventor of weights and measures, and the patron of commerce. ”

“ The researches for this subject, and the duties in editing for Le Mercure, chained him more and more to commercial interests, while the companionship of Rousseau and kindred spirits raised him above the rank of mere narrator, and instilled a philosophic spirit which soon evolved the Histoire Philosophique. ”

“ Mercury, that was at hand it seems, heard his Lamentation, and Dipping once again for his Axe, as he had done for the Other; up he brings him a Golden Axe, and Asks the Fellow if That were it. Yes, says he, This is it. Oh thou Impudent Sot, cryes Mercury; to think of putting Tricks upon Him that sees through the very Heart of thee.
The Moral.
The Great Searcher of our Hearts is not to be Impos'd upon, but he will take his Own Time either to Reward or Punish.
REFLEXION.
Heaven Hates Dissemblers, and Hypocrites, as it Loves men of Truth and Integrity. ”

“ Under the splendor of it shall be an occult form, that is, under that conjunction lyeth a great mystery.
Mercury in the fire shall discover them, viz. Mercury of the Philosophers, made by Cœlestial fire.
[163]
And by a Warlike rumor shall be provoked; that is, the Planet of Mercury shall be provoked to mix his variable and changable disposition with theirs, by his Aspects, Oppositions, Conjunctions, &c. It is not possible to speak more plainly.
XXIX.
French. ”

“ Mercury, the patron of commerce, being so greatly dependent on the good offices of the Naiads, in return obtains for them the friendship of Minerva, the goddess of war: for military power, at least the naval part of it, hath constantly followed the establishment of trade ”

“ This charming composition by J. A. Delorme, in the Luxembourg, represents Mercury preparing to depart upon some errand for the gods. He is seated upon a rock in an easy, graceful attitude and is binding on his sandals while he seems to be deliberating upon the nature of the task he is about to perform. His limbs give an impression of strength combined with agility. ”

“ In character the Mercurial is busy and prattling. But when well affected, Mercury gives his subjects a strong, vigorous, active mind, searching and exhaustive, a retentive memory, a natural thirst for knowledge. [13] The persons signified by Mercury are astrologers, philosophers, mathematicians, politicians, merchants, travellers, teachers, poets, artificers, men of science, and all ingenious, clever men. When he is ill affected, however, he represents pettifoggers, cunning vile persons, thieves, messengers, footmen, and servants, etc. ”

“ Mercury, the god of science, was in his exaltation in Virgo, where Venus, the goddess of love, had no sway. Venus was in her exaltation in Pisces, and there Mercury was in his dejection. A man could not be under the government of incompatible planetary powers, and since scholars served Mercury,
Therefore no woman is of clerkes praised. ”

“ Mercury, in the philosophic work, signifieth the Pharisees, who cannot endure the dear child. When he sees it, it gives him trembling and anguish. Thus trembles Venus also, before the poison of the wrathful Mercury: they are, one with the other, as though a sweat went from them, as the Artista will see. Mars saith, ‘I am the fire-heart in the body: Saturn is my might, and Mercury is my life: I will not endure Love. I will swallow it up in my wrath.’ He signifies the Devil, in the wrath of God ”

“ Mercury: Though the least in the Kingdom of God, the Solar System, it is nevertheless of the greatest importance, on account of its influence upon body, soul and spirit, which is shown by the fact that its symbol contains all the component parts of the planetary symbolism, namely, the circle, half-circle and cross. This is because in the mind all are linked together in one whole physico-spiritual organism called man. Without Mercury this could not be. ”

“ If this line continues to the mount of Mercury it argues that the man will live in a foreign country in great esteem. If it extends to the Liver line it shows an honest behaviour and a long life. If to the mount of the Sun, single or double, it denotes great good and enables the man to govern and rule in great affairs. If it pass to the mount of Mercury it betokens a man fit for many things. If it does not extend to the mount of Mercury, but is broken about the middle and ends beneath that mount, it denotes an untruthful, tittle-tattling, discontented person. ”

“ Jupiter and Juno, willing to do honour to the marriage of the two famous rivers Thamesis and Rhine, employ their messengers severally, Mercury and Iris, for that purpose. They meet and contend: then Mercury, for his part, brings forth an anti-masque all of spirits or divine natures ”

“ Phœbus and Mercury have Manners assign'd very disagreeable to their Condition. The later abating Propriety of Language, talks more like a Water-man than a Deity. They rail against the Gods, and call Mars and Vulcan the two Fools of Heaven. Mercury is pert upon his Father Jupiter, makes jests upon his Pleasures, and his Greatness, and is horribly smutty and profane.p. ”

“ As she ends she is accosted by Mercury, who has been sent to summon Paris to appear at Juno's suit before the assembly of the gods on a charge of partiality in judgement. A pretty dialogue ensues in broken fourteeners, in which the subtle god elicits a description of the shepherd from the unsuspecting nymph--it too contains some delicate reminiscences of the lover's duet.
Mercury. Is love to blame? ”

“ Although treated by modern writers as one of the minor of the twelve gods of Olympus, Mercury was by no means so looked upon by the ancients, who revered, feared, consulted and obeyed him as they did no other deity, so he wielded more influence over the lives of mankind than did all the other gods put together. ”

“ The print likewise shows that the box of the snuffers bears a boldly chased winged head of Mercury, who had more employments and occupations than any other of the ancient deities. Whether as the director of theft, as the conductor of the departed to their final destination, as an interpreter to enlighten, or as an office-bearer constantly in requisition, the portrait of Mercury is a symbol appropriate to the implement before us. The engraving shows the exact size of the instrument, and the present appearance of the chasing, which is in bold relief, and was, originally, very elegant. ”

“ Mercury, he in the nature of a conjurer, raises up Echo, who weeps over her love, or daffodil, Narcissus, a little; sings; curses the spring wherein the pretty foolish gentleman melted himself away: and there's an end of her.—Now I am to inform you, that Cupid and Mercury do both become pages. ”

“ When we in our turn have learnt all the lessons of this miserable globe of folly, when we have mastered all the virtues and shed all the vices, when we long to be free from the trammels of sense and appetite and sickness and ambition, we are transferred to Mercury. Mercury is a highly evolved planet, a spiritualized existence, free from the obsessions of sex and greed, an abode of love and freedom. ”