the moon when in many countries the moon is masculine. He is
quite positive that if Isis is the moon, Ceres, Proserpine,
Venus, and all the other female gods were the same, which in view
of the facts everywhere at hand cannot be true. It is true,
however, that "the planet called the moon was dedicated to her in
judicial astrology, the same as a planet was dedicated to Venus
or Mars. But Venus and Mars were not these planets themselves,
though these planets were sacred to them."[33] Higgins then calls
attention to her temple at Sais in Egypt, and to the inscription
which declares that "she comprehends all that is and was and is
to be," that she is "parent of the sun," and he justly concludes
that Isis can not be the moon.
[33] Anacalypsis, book vi., ch. ii.
Apuleius makes Isis say:
"I am the parent of all things, the sovereign of the elements,
the primary progeny of time, the most exalted of the deities, the
first of the heavenly gods and goddesses, whose single deity the
whole world venerates in many forms, with various rites and
various names. The Egyptians worship me with proper ceremonies
and call me by my true name, Queen Isis."
Isis, we are told, is called Myrionymus, or goddess with 10,000
names. She is the Persian Mithra, which is the same as Buddha,
Minerva, Venus, and all the rest.
Faber admits that the female principle was formerly regarded as
the Soul of the World. He says:
"Isis was the same as Neith or Minerva; hence the inscription at
Sais was likewise applied to that goddess. Athenagoras informs
us that Neith or the Athene of the Greeks was supposed to be
Wisdom passing and diffusing itself through all things. Hence it
is manifest that she was thought to be the Soul of the World; for
such is precisely the character sustained by that mythological
personage."[34]
[34] Pagan Idolatry, book i., p. 170.
The same writer says further:
"Ovid gives a similar character to Venus. He represents her as
moderating the whole world; as giving laws to Heaven, Earth, and
Ocean, as the common parent both of gods and men, and as the
productive cause both of corn and trees. She is celebrated in
the same manner by Lucretius, who ascribes to her that identical
attribute of universality which the Hindoos give to their Goddess
