THE WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER.

The worship of the "Virgin," the "Queen of Heaven," the "Great Goddess,"
the "Mother of God," &c., which has become one of the grand features of
the Christian religion--the Council of Ephesus (A. D. 431) having
declared Mary "Mother of God," her assumption being declared in 813, and
her Immaculate Conception by the Pope and Council in 1851[326:1]--was
almost universal, for ages before the birth of Jesus, and "the _pure
virginity_ of the celestial mother was a tenet of faith for two thousand
years before the virgin now adored was born."[326:2]

[Illustration: Fig. No. 16]

In _India_, they have worshiped, for ages, _Devi_, _Maha-Devi_--"The One
Great Goddess"[326:3]--and have temples erected in honor of her.[326:4]
Gonzales states that among the Indians he found a temple "_Pariturae
Virginis_"--of the Virgin about to bring forth.[326:5]

_Maya_, the mother of Buddha, and _Devaki_ the mother of Crishna, were
worshiped as _virgins_,[326:6] and represented with the infant Saviours
in their arms, just as the virgin of the Christians is represented at
the present day. Maya was so pure that it was impossible for God, man,
or Asura to view her with carnal desire. Fig. No. 16 is a
representation of the Virgin Devaki, with, the infant Saviour Crishna,
taken from Moor's "Hindu Pantheon."[327:1] "No person could bear to gaze
upon Devaki, because of the light that invested her." "The gods,
invisible to mortals, celebrated her praise continually from the time
that _Vishnu_ was contained in her person."[327:2]

"Crishna and his mother are almost always represented _black_,"[327:3]
and the word "_Crishna_" means "_the black_."

The _Chinese_, who have had several _avatars_, or virgin-born gods,
among them, have also worshiped a Virgin Mother from time immemorial.
Sir Charles Francis Davis, in his "History of China," tells us that the
Chinese at Canton worshiped an idol, to which they gave the name of "The
Virgin."[327:4]

The Rev. Joseph B. Gross, in his "Heathen Religion," tells us that:

"Upon the altars of the Chinese temples were placed, behind a
screen, an image of _Shin-moo_, or the '_Holy Mother_,'
_sitting with a child in her arms_, in an alcove, with rays of
glory around her head, and tapers constantly burning before
her."[327:5]

Shin-moo is called the "Mother Goddess," and the "Virgin." Her child,
who was exposed in his infancy, was brought up by poor fi