The Great Law. By W, Williamson, (Longmans and Co. 14s.)
—" Science," says Mr. Williamson, "has hitherto refused to investigate the phenomenon of religion." What does he mean by " science " P The "Science of Religion," in one way or another, has been treated in many volumes,—in most of the " Gifford Lectures," for instance. But if he would complain that mathematicians and physicists consider that this province is beyond their scope and are silent, is he just in his complaint ? As for his own contribution to the subject, we recognise much learning, but we do not discern the profit. Early in the volume we encounter the solar myth. The sun-disk was, in the teaching of the monotheistic Adept, the symbol of the supreme God. Examples of its concrete form are to be found in the story of Mithra, the myth of Osiris and Horns, and the gospel narrative of the resurrection and death of Jesus. The next page introduces to us " an Atlantean Adept who migrated in the days of Poseidonis—the last island-remnant of the great continent of Atlantis—to carry the seeds of civilisation to Mexico." " Poseidonis," Mr. Williamson remarks, " lay to the East of Mexico." How does he know? He might be talking of Africa and Madagascar. The Madonna and child are the same as Mylitta and Tammuz. The ark is representative of the female potency in Nature. The " serpent-rod of Moses bears a marked re- semblance " to the caduceus. But the reader has seen enough.
Previous page
