e Sun in winter, crucified on the tree, which denoted its fructifying
power.[490:1] As Mr. Wake remarks, "There can be no doubt that both the
Pillar (Phallus) and the Serpent were associated with many of the
_Sun-gods_ of antiquity."[490:2]

This is seen in Fig. No. 39, taken from an ancient medal, which
represents the serpent with rays of glory surrounding his head.

[Illustration: Fig. No. 38]

[Illustration: Fig. No. 39]

The Ophites, who venerated the serpent as an emblem of Christ Jesus, are
said to have maintained that the serpent of Genesis--who brought
_wisdom_ into the world--was Christ Jesus. The brazen serpent was called
the WORD by the Chaldee paraphrast. The Word, or Logos, was _Divine
Wisdom_, which was crucified; thus we have the cross, or Linga, or
Phallus, with the serpent upon it. Besides considering the serpent as
the emblem of Christ Jesus, or of the Logos, the Ophites are said to
have revered it as the cause of all the arts of civilized life. In
Chapter XII. we saw that several illustrious females were believed to
have been selected and impregnated by the Holy Ghost. In some cases, a
serpent was supposed to be the form which it assumed. This was the
incarnation of the Logos.

The serpent was held in great veneration by the ancients, who, as we
have seen, considered it as the symbol of the beneficent Deity, and an
emblem of eternity. As such it has been variously expressed on ancient
sculptures and medals in various parts of the globe.

Although generally, it did not always, symbolize the god _Sun_, or the
power of which the Sun is an emblem; but, invested with various
meanings, it entered widely into the primitive mythologies. As Mr.
Squire observes:

"It typified wisdom, power, duration, the _good_ and _evil_
principles, life, reproduction--in short, in Egypt, Syria,
Greece, India, China, Scandinavia, America, everywhere on the
globe, it has been a prominent emblem."[491:1]

The serpent was the symbol of Vishnu, the preserving god, the Saviour,
the _Sun_.[491:2] It was an emblem of the _Sun_-god Buddha, the
Angel-Messiah.[491:3] The Egyptian _Sun_-god Osiris, the Saviour, is
associated with the snake.[491:4] The Persian Mithra, the Mediator,
Redeemer, and Saviour, was symbolized by the serpent.[491:5] The
Phenicians represented their beneficent _Sun_-god Agathodemon, by a
serpent.[491:6] The serpent was, among the Greeks and Romans, the emblem
of a _beneficent genius_.