shiped as a _god_,
and splendid temples erected to his memory.[216:5]

_Zoroaster_, the founder of the religion of the ancient Persians, who
was considered "a divine messenger sent to redeem men from their evil
ways," _ascended to heaven_ at the end of his earthly career. To this
day his followers mention him with the greatest reverence, calling him
"The Immortal Zoroaster," "The Blessed Zoroaster," "The Living Star,"
&c.[216:6]

_AEsculapius_, the Son of God, the Saviour, after being put to death,
_rose from the dead_. His history is portrayed in the following lines of
_Ovid's_, which are prophecies foretelling his life and actions:

"Once, as the sacred infant she surveyed,
The god was kindled in the raving maid;
And thus she uttered her prophetic tale:
Hail, great Physician of the world! all hail!
Hail, mighty infant, who in years to come
Shalt heal the nations, and defraud the tomb!
Swift be thy growth, thy triumphs unconfined,
Make kingdoms thicker, and increase mankind.
Thy daring art shall animate the dead,
And draw the thunder on thy guilty head;
_Then shalt thou die, but from the dark abode
Shalt rise victorious, and be twice a god_."[217:1]

The Saviour _Adonis_ or _Tammuz_, after being put to death, _rose from
the dead_. The following is an account given of the rites of Tammuz or
of Adonis by Julius Firmicius (who lived during the reign of
Constantine):

"On a certain night (while the ceremony of the Adonia, or
religious rites in honor of Adonis, lasted), an image was laid
upon a bed (or bier) and bewailed in doleful ditties. After
they had satiated themselves with fictitious lamentations,
light was brought in: then the mouths of all the mourners were
anointed by the priests (_with oil_), upon which he, with a
gentle murmur, whispered:

'Trust, ye Saints, your God restored.
Trust ye, _in your risen Lord_;
For the pains which he endured
Our salvation have procured.'

"Literally, 'Trust, ye _communicants_: the God having been
saved, there shall be to us out of pain, _Salvation_.'"[217:2]

Upon which their sorrow was turned into joy.

Godwyn renders it:

"_Trust ye in God, for out of pains,
Salvation is come unto us._"[217:3]

Dr. Prichard, in his "_Egyptian Mythology_," tells us that the Syrians
celebrated, _in the early spri