THE BUILDER January 1917

THE ORIGIN OF DRUIDISM
BY BRO. DUDLEY WRIGHT, ED. LONDON FREEMASON

IT is doubtful whether the question, so often asked, as to what
period in the history of man witnessed the origin of Druidism will
ever be answered. Some writers maintain that it was a development
or offshoot - of the Egyptian religion, and, along with
Freemasonry, originated in the sublime teachings of Ptah, which are
said to have been brought out of Egypt by Moses.

Philology does not render much assistance, although few modern
scholars would consider seriously the suggestion once very
frequently made that the word "Druid" is derived from the Greek
word drus, meaning "an oak" or the argument that the original
Druids sprang from the oaks of Mamre, mentioned in the Book of
Genesis. One explanation given is that derwydd means "the body of
an oak," formed from derw, oak, and ydd, a substantive termination;
that Ovydd (Ovate) implies the sapling or unformed plant, from ov,
"raw," "pure," and ydd; and that bardd signifies the branching,
derived from bar, "a branch" or "the top." Others give the
derivation as from the Hebrew word derussim or drussim, the meaning
of which is given as "contemplators." Another explanation is that
it is an old Celtic word, druis, formed from trowis or truwis,
meaning "a doctor of the faith." The Persian duru means "a good and
holy man"; the Arabic deri, "a wise man"; and the Welsh drud, "an
absolver or remitter of sins." In Scotland the Druids were called
Dercergli; in Spain, Turduli or Turdutan. The Oriental Dervishes
are thought by some to derive their name from the same source as
the Druids. Mr. D. Delta Evans, who may be regarded as an
authority, says that according to the best informed Celtic scholars
it would appear almost beyond doubt that the word derwydd is
derived from dar, meaning "above" and gwydd meaning
"understanding," "learning," "knowledge." Cynwal, an eminent Welsh
poet of the sixteenth century, so employs the term and thus
apostrophises an ancient Bard:

Dywed weithian dad ieithydd
Dy feddwl ym, do foddawl wydd !
Declare thou then, thou father of languages, 
Thy mind, if of well-cultured knowledge.

According to Caesar, who, of course, had to depend upon other
people for his information, the Gauls boasted that they were
descended from Dis as their father, a tradition handed down to them
by the Druids. Dis, or Dives, according to mythology, was one of
three brothers, of whom Jupiter and Neptune were the two others.
They had Saturn for their father and Minerva for their mother.
Dives is the same word as the Hebrew "Japheth," and this is
probably the foundation for the tradition that Japheth was the
progenitor of the Celts, who are believed to be the earliest
colonists of Western Europe. Whatever the origin, however, few
would venture to quarrel with Theodore Watts-Dunton's statement
that, compared with Druidism--that mysterious poetic religion which
more than any other religion expresses the very voice of nature--
all other religions have a sort of commonplace and modern ring,
even those which preceded it by centuries.

Let it be at once admitted that nothing precise is known with
regard to the origin of Druidism, that the statements made even
with regard to its religious tenets are, in many instances,
deductive only; that even where there is anything approaching
definite statements, the source is in every instance outside
Britain.

There is, however, no conflict in the testimony regarding their
rites and ceremonies and it is difficult to explain the many points
of strong resemblance between the rites and institutions of the
Druids of Britain and Gaul, the Magi of Persia, the Chaldeans of
Babylonia, the Brahmins of India, and the priests of Egypt except
upon the hypothesis that the rites and institutions of these
various religions were derived from one common source, which would
be of a date anterior to the time when the Greeks and Romans
produced those "elegant mythologies."

O'Curry, in his "Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish," says:
"It must occur to everyone who has read of Zoroaster, of the Magi
of Persia, and of the sorcerers of Egypt mentioned in the seventh
chapter of Exodus, that Druids and Druidism did not originate in
Britain any more than in Gaul or Erin. It is indeed probable that
notwithstanding Pliny's high opinion of the power of the British
Druids, the European Druidical system was but the offspring of the
Eastern augury, somewhat less complete, perhaps, when transplanted
to a new soil than in its ancient home." Pliny was of the opinion
that the Druids were the Gaulish Magi, and, according to Porphyry,
"the name Magi in the East was most august and venerable: they
alone were skilled in divine matters and were the ministers of
Deity." Higgins believed them to be Pythagoreans, and, therefore,
akin to the Essenes, while Madame Blavatsky held the opinion (one
which, of course, cannot be substantiated) that the Druids were the
descendants of the lost Atlanteans! Alexander Bertrand maintained
that Druidism was not an isolated institution, without analogy, but
that its parallel is to be looked for in the lamaseries which still
survive in Tartary and Thibet.

Dr. Churchward, in "Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man," holds
that the ancient Druids "were undoubtedly descendants of the
ancient Egyptian priests, who came over and landed in Ireland and
the west of England, and who brought with them their religious
doctrines and taught and practiced them there. The Tuatha-de-Danann
who came to Ireland were of the same race and spoke the same
language as the FirBolgs or the Formarians, possessed ships, knew
the art of navigation, had a compass or magnetic-needle, worked in
metals, had a large army thoroughly organized, a body of surgeons,
and a Bardic or Druid class of priests. These Druids brought all
their learning with them, believed and practiced the Eschatology of
the solar doctrines, and came from Egypt. That their temples are
older than those found in Uxmah, in Yucatan, in Mexico (which are
stated to be 11,500 years old), those amongst the Incas in South
America, and some of the Zimbabwe in South Africa, is clearly
proved by their want of knowledge in building an arch, although we
find in the oldest remains amongst the Zimbabwe lintels at
Umnukwana and no doubt there are others in South African ruins, but
successive immigrants have obliterated most of the original, which
was the old Egyptian, as can be proved by other facts."

Concerning the arrival of the Tuatha-de-Danann in Ireland, Keating
in his "History of Ireland," says that they journeyed to Erin after
seven months sojourn in the north of Scotland. They landed on the
north coast of Ireland, but, in order that they should not be seen
by any of the Fir Bolg, they, by means of the magical powers with
which nearly all ancient writers invest them, raised a mist around
their vessels until they reached Sliabh-an-iarainn
(Slieve-an-ierin), the iron mountains in County Leitrim. Once
landed they made their departure impossible by burning their boats.

With regard to Druidism in Ireland we are treading upon more
certain ground than when dealing with Druidism in Britain, inasmuch
as the sole source of information of Irish Druids comes from Irish
writers, whereas all our knowledge of Gaulish and British Druidism
is derived from Latin and Greek writers. According to the Irish
ancient writings, Parthalon made his advent into Erin about three
hundred years after the date assigned to the Deluge. He came from
Middle Greece and brought with him three Druids: Fios, Eolus and
Fochmare, names which mean Intelligence, Knowledge and Inquiry.
Three hundred and thirty years later there came another colony of
immigrants, led by Nemid and his sons, who entered into a conflict
with the Druidical forces they found established in the island.
From that time there is a practically unbroken record or chronicle
of the acts of the Druids in Ireland. In ancient Irish writings
they were referred to frequently as "men of science" and
extraordinary powers were attributed to them. They were credited
with the power to raise storms and atmospheric disturbances as well
as with the ability to quell such disturbances. The following
translation of an incantation used by them is taken from the "Book
of the Invasions of the O'Clery's" in the Royal Irish Academy:

I pray that they reach the land of Erinn, those who are riding upon
the great, productive, vast sea.

That they may be distributed upon her plains, her mountains, and
her valleys; upon her forests that shed showers of nuts and all
other fruits; upon her rivers and her cataracts; upon her lakes and
her great waters; upon her spring-abounding hills.

That we may hold our fairs and equestrian sports upon her
territories.

That there may be a king for us in Tara and that it (Tara) may be
the territory of our many kings.

That the sons of Milesius may be manifestly seen upon her
territories.

That noble Erinn may be the home of the ships and boats of the sons
of Milesius.

Erinn which is now in darkness, it is for her that this oration is
pronounced.

Let the learned wives of Breas and Buagne pray that we may reach
the noble woman, Great Erinn.

Let Eremon pray and let Ir and Eber implore that we may reach
Erinn.

The tempest is said to have ceased and the survivors enabled to
land immediately after this oration had been pronounced by the
Druids.

It would certainly appear from an examination of the evidence that
the Druids settled in Ireland at a much earlier date than they did
in England. The Druidical faith also survived in Ireland to a much
later period than it did in Britain. Long after the advent of St.
Patrick in Ireland the chief monarchs adhered to Druidism. Two of
the daughters of King Laogorius, in whose reign St. Patrick
preached the doctrines of the Christian faith, were educated by the
Druids and maintained their ground in a dispute against the new
religion. Laogorius and all the provincial kings of Ireland,
however, granted to every man free liberty of professing and
preaching the Christian religion. Rowlands gives it as his opinion
that when the Druids were expelled from Anglesea they sought refuge
in Ireland, the north of Scotland and the Scottish Isles. Certainly
when Druidism was inhibited in Gaul and the active persecution of
the Druids began they appear to have retired to Caledonia, there to
practice and teach their religion. According to Spotswood's
"History of the Church of Scotland" they were in force in Scotland
in the latter part of the third century. He writes: "Cratylinth,
king of Scotland, coming to the throne in the year 277, made it one
of his first works to purge the kingdom of heathenish superstition,
and to expel the Druids, a sort of people held in those days in
great reputation. They ruled their affairs very politely; for,
being governed by a president who kept his residence in the Isle of
Man, which was then under the dominion of the Scots, they did once
every year meet in that place to take counsel together for the
ordering of affairs, and carried things so politely and with such
discretion that Cratylinth found it difficult enough to expel them,
because of the favour they had amongst the people."

Although, in Britain, the Romans issued stringent laws ordering the
suppression of the Druidical groves and altars, there is strong
reason for believing that Druidism was not eradicated. It was too
deeply rooted not to spring up again after the Romans had taken
their departure. In many parts of the island the Romans permitted
the natives to retain many of their laws and usages and to be
governed by their own princes, and here, undoubtedly, they would
continue the performance of their ancient and sacred mystical
rites. It may also be inferred from some of the ancient poems that
a seminary for the training of Druidical priests was maintained
after the Roman invasion somewhere in the north of Britain and
there are not wanting writers who assert that Druidism was not
suppressed completely until the end of the sixth century. A
rescript of Augustus forbade Roman citizens to practice Druidical
rites, but in Strabo we find the Druids still acting as arbiters in
public and private matters, though they do not appear to deal then
with charges of murder as formerly they did. Celtic and Gaulish
Druids and Druidesses are mentioned in the third century as
connected with events in the lives of Aurelian and Diocletian. They
are mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus and Ausonius in the fourth
century and their practices are noticed in the sixth century by
Procopius. Gibbon epitomises the history of the Druids in the
Christian era in the following words: "Under the specious pretext
of abolishing human sacrifices, the Emperors Tiberius and Claudius
suppressed the dangerous power of the Druids; but the priests
themselves, their gods and their altars, subsisted in peaceful
obscurity till the final destruction of paganism."

Like Mithraism, however, Druidism was eventually swept off the face
of the earth. But it must not be forgotten when speaking of the
supplanting by Christianity of Druidism, that the Druids held many
of the tenets inculcated by Christianity. The doctrine of the
immortality of the soul, the belief in miracles, and other beliefs
of the Christian faith had already been taught them by their own
priests and they were no strangers to the rite of Baptism, which
every Christian neophyte had to undergo.

Life is what we make it, boys, 
Be it paradise or hell. 
When things go wrong, just sing a song 
As if it all was well. 
Life is what we make it, boys, 
You can't get away from that. 
Make life worth while, and wear a smile 
When your castles all fall flat. 
Life is what we make it, boys, 
You can bet your bottom dollar. 
When you hit a snag, don't stop and lag, 
But brace right up and holler. 
Life is what we make it, boys, 
Be it cloudy, fair or bright. 
If you have hard luck, revive your pluck, 
Roll up your sleeves and fight. 
Life is what we make it, boys, 
So let's cheer up and sing-- 
"We're here today to make it pay, 
We thank thee God, for everything."
--O. A. Fick, Jan. 19,1916.



