The Eleusinian mysteries & rites. - The Masonic Trowel

70 ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES AND RITES
Without this preparation no one could be admitted
to the Mysteries. There was, however, neither
secret doctrine nor dogmatic teaching in this prehmi-
nary instruction. Revelation came through contem-
plation of the sacred objects displayed during the
ceremonies by the hierophant, the meaning of which
was communicated by means of the mystic formulae ;
but the preparation demanded of the initiates,
the secrecy imposed, the ceremonies at which the
initiates assisted, all of which were performed in
the dead of night, created a strong impression and
lively hope in regard to the future life. No other
cult in Greece, still less the cold Roman religion,
had anything of the kind, or approaching to it,
to offer. Fasting from food and drink for a certain
period before and after initiation was essential,
but the candidates did not attach to this act any
idea of maceration or expiation of faults : it was
simply the reproduction of an event in the life of
the goddess, and undergone in order that the body
might become more pure. Bowls or vases of con-
secrated or holy water were placed at the entrance
of the temple for the purposes of aspersion. In
cases of special or particular impurity an extra
preparation extending over two or three days longer
became necessary, and unctions of oil or repeated
immersions in water were administered. The out-
ward physical purity, the result of immersion prior
to initiation, was but the symbol of the inward