484 THE OCTAVIUS OF addressedto hismother, thatunder fear of his power there had been betrayedto him by the priestthe secretof the gods having been men : toher he makes Vulcan theoriginalof all, and then the race of J upiter. And you behold the swallow and thecymbal of Isis,1and thetomb of your Serapisor Osiris empty, with hislimbs scatteredabout. Then consider the sacred ritesthemselves,and theirvery mysteries: you will find mournful deaths,misfortunes,and funerals,and the griefsand wailings of the miserable gods. Isisbewails, laments,and seeksafterher lostson,with her Cynocephalus and her bald priests;and the wretched Isiacsbeat their breasts,and imitatethe griefof the most unhappy mother. By and by,when the littleboy isfound,Isisrejoices,and the priestsexult,Cynocephalus the discovererboasts,and they do not cease year by year eitherto losewhat they find,or to findwhat they lose. Is itnot ridiculouseitherto grieve for what you worship,or to worshipthatoverwhich you grieve? Yet thesewere formerlyEgyptian rites,and now are Roman ones. Ceres with her torcheslighted,and surrounded2 witha serpent,with anxietyand solicitudetracksthe footstepsof Proserpine,stolen away in her wandering, and corrupted. These are the Eleusinian mysteries. And what are the sacred ritesof Jupiter? His nurse isa she-goat,and as an infanthe istaken away from hisgreedy father,lesthe should be devoured; and clanging uproar3 is dashed out of the cymbals of the Corybantes,lestthe fathershould hear the infant'swailing. Cybele of Dindymus — I am ashamed to speak of it— who couldnot enticeher adulterouslover,who unhappilywas pleasingto her,to lewdness,because she her self,as being the mother of many gods,was ugly and old, mutilatedhim, doubtlessthat she might make a god of the eunuch. On account of thisstory,the Gallialso worship her by the punishment of theiremasculated body. Now certainlythese things are not sacred rites,but tortures. What are the very forms and appearances[ofthe gods]? do 1Thispassageisverydoubtfulbothinitstextanditsmeaning. 2Otherwise," carriedabout." 3 Otherwise," hisapproachisdrowned."