Mercury (mythology)

“ 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. ”

“ Enough seems now to have been said to indicate clearly the hopelessness of looking for any analogies between Mercury and the earth which would warrant the conclusion that the former planet is capable of supporting inhabitants or forms of life resembling those that swarm upon the latter. If we would still believe that Mercury is a habitable globe we must depend entirely upon the imagination for pictures of creatures able to endure its extremes of heat and cold, of light and darkness, of instability, swift vicissitude, and violent contrast. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ And turning once more to the screen, all witnessed the dreadful climax ... the end of the planet Mercury.
For how long a time it had been tugging at its cosmic bonds none knew, but suddenly a critical point of balance was reached. With a great, impulsive leap the tiny planet burst free of its solar gyves. Like a gleaming stone hurled from some gigantic catapult it flashed outward from its orbit, writhing, shimmering, shaking. ”

“ 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. ”

“ We have seen how Mercury revolves in a path inside that of Venus, and it is therefore nearer to the sun. Indeed, Mercury is so close to the sun that it is generally overpowered by his brilliance and cannot be seen at all. Like every other planet, Mercury is lighted by the sun’s rays, and shows phases in the telescope just as the moon does (Fig. 48) . In this figure the different apparent sizes of the planet at different parts of its path are shown. Of course the nearer Mercury is to the earth the larger does it seem. ”

“ He is the messenger of Jupiter, and has wings on his cap and sandals. He flies swifter than the wind and wears a cloak which makes him invisible. As the wind carries things away, Mercury is sometimes called the captain of thieves, and he likes to play tricks.
While walking along a river bank one day, he carelessly hit a tortoise shell, and it gave forth a musical sound. Mercury at once fashioned it into a lyre. This [Pg 135] musical instrument he gave to his brother Apollo, who was so delighted with it that he gave Mercury a wonderful wand called the caduceus. ”

“ 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 ”

“ In this he became so skillful that he even restored the dead to life, and so incurred the wrath of Jupiter, who, fearing that Æsculapius20 would receive undue honor, killed him with a thunderbolt. To these stories Mercury added many more that told of the loves of the gods, and at last all the hundred eyes of Argus were closed. Then Mercury, drawing a sharp sword, cut off the great head as it drooped forward, and rolled it down the rocks. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ Moreover, that Mercury is the steward of the souls, and that on this account he has the name of Conductor, and Commercial, and Infernal, since it is he who conducts the souls from their bodies, and from earth and sea; and that he conducts the pure souls to the highest region, and that he does not allow the impure ones to approach them, nor to come near one another, but commits them to be bound in indissoluble fetters by the Furies. ”

“ The question seems to be settled, with considerable certainty, that nothing exists inside of Mercury large enough to be dignified by the name of planet. There may be, and there probably are, for the perturbations of Mercury indicate it, multitudes of small masses circulating around the sun like the planets, being fragments of comets or condensations of primitive matter, whose combined luster is seen in the zodiacal light. ”

“ That alone is enough to make it seem impossible that Mercury can be the home of living forms resembling those of the earth, for imagine the heat of [Pg 26] the sun in the middle of a summer's day increased six or seven fold! If there were no mitigating influences, the face of the earth would shrivel as in the blast of a furnace, the very stones would become incandescent, and the oceans would turn into steam. ”

“ Mercury, by himself taking the domination of the soul, in an honourable position makes those who are born under him wise, shrewd, thoughtful, learned, inventive, experienced, good calculators, inquirers into nature , speculative, gifted, emulous, beneficent, prudent, good at conjecture, mathematicians, partakers in mysteries, successful in attaining their ends. ”

“ Mercury, if he gains the rulership, is, generally speaking, in nature like whatever of the other planets may be associated with him. In particular, he is above all stimulating, and in predictions concerning men is keen and very practical, ingenious in any situation; but he causes robbery, theft, piracy, and assault, and furthermore, brings about unsuccessful voyaging when he is in aspect with the maleficent planets, and occasions diseases of dryness, quotidian agues, coughs, raising, and consumption. ”

“ 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 first of the other worlds that we are going to consider, fascinates by its grotesqueness, like a piece of Chinese ivory carving, so small is it for its kind and so finished in its eccentric details. In a little while we shall see how singular Mercury is in many of the particulars of planetary existence, but first of all let us endeavor to obtain a clear idea of the actual size and mass of this strange little planet. Compared with the earth it is so diminutive that it looks as if it had been cut out on the pattern of a satellite rather than that of an independent planet. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is practically impossible to bridge the chasm between the abandonment of the actual and open worship of Mercury in his own temples to the transference of his heraldic emblems to the unbound leaves of a book that could be concealed on the persons of his priests, for doubtless the rites of Mercury were practised privately for many years by people who had every motive for concealment ”

“ When ill-dignified at birth Mercury gives a person of very small stature, with small, insignificant features and very small and quickly-moving eyes; and in character he is shifty, a boaster, foolishly loquacious and a great liar.
He rules the liver, the tongue and the nerves, and the illnesses he gives are epilepsy, giddiness, dry cough, any affection of the tongue, and all nervous affections. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Viewing the globe of the planet as a whole, the velocity of its movement is but a stately and dignified progress appropriate to its dimensions.
As we can learn little or nothing of the true surface of Mercury, it is utterly impossible for us to say whether life can exist on the surface of that planet. We may, however, reasonably conclude that there cannot be life on Mercury in any respect analogous to the life which we know on the earth. The heat of the sun and the light of the sun beat down on Mercury with an intensity many times greater than that which we experience. ”

“ Now the reason why Gold was found, and generated betwixt the teeth of the dead man is this, because in his life time Mercury was by some Physitian conveyed into his infirme body, either by unction, or by Turbith, or some other way, as the custome, and manner was, and it was the nature of Mercury to goe up to the mouth, and through the sores thereof to be evacuated with the flegme. ”

“ The influences of the stars appear to be as intimately known to Astrologers as though they had walked among, and carefully examined and fully realized their occult properties, for example:—
In every work observe Mercury, for he is a messenger between the higher gods and the infernal gods; [Pg 55] when he goes to the good, he increases their goodness—when to the bad, he hath influence on their wickedness. It is an unfortunate sign or planet, when it is by the aspect of Saturn or Mars especially, apposite or quadrant, for these are the aspects of enmity ”

“ It is needless for you to know what the beginning of this Spirit of Mercury requires, because it can in no wise help nor advantage you, only take notice of this, that its beginning is supernatural, out of the Celestial, Sydereal and Elementary, bestowed [Pg 48] on it from the beginning of the first Creation, that it may enter further into an Earthly Substance. ”

“ As Chthonius, Mercury was always the useful helper of mankind. He presided at birth, when [Pg 78] he recorded the future events of a child’s life on “the tablet of fate,” as had been done by his predecessor, the god of the Babylonians, Nebo. He also attended the dead, when the tablet was broken, (which was Thoth’s perogative) , so he is allegorically represented on funeral urns, where he is seen leading Proserpine to Hell. The vase has been converted into one of Mercury’s emblems on the cards, as the Cup or Chalice. ”

“ We can never see Mercury with the naked eye except when he is near one elongation or the other; and even then he is visible only about an hour after the sun is down in the evening or about an hour before it rises in the morning. ”

“ Mercury, alone, having dominion of the mind, and being in a glorious position, renders it prudent, clever, sensible, capable of great learning, inventive, expert, logical, studious of nature, speculative, of good genius, emulous, benevolent, skilful in argument, accurate in conjecture, adapted to sciences and mysteries, and tractable: but, when placed contrarily, he makes men busy in all things, precipitate, forgetful, impetuous, frivolous, variable, regretful, foolish, inconsiderate, void of truth, careless, inconstant, insatiable, avaricious, unjust ”

“ 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. ”

“ There is another way in which Mercury is remarkably like the moon. The latter, as we have seen, always keeps the same side turned toward the earth, which is the same thing as saying that it turns once on its axis, while going once around the earth. So Mercury keeps always the same side toward the sun, making one rotation on its axis in the course of one revolution in its orbit. Consequently, one side of Mercury is continually in the sunlight, while the opposite side is continually buried in night. ”