Page 67 - STOLEN LEGACY By George G. M. James

Thirdly, this doctrine of the Nous, is a doctrine that originated from the ancient mysteries of
Egypt, where the God Osiris was represented in all Egyptian temples by the symbol of an Open
Eye. This symbol indicated not only sight that transcends time and space, but also the
omniscience of God, as the great mind which created and which directs the Universe. This
symbol is carried as a decoration in all modern Masonic lodges and has the same meaning.
(Ancient Mysteries: C. H. Vail p. 189).

(ii) The Doctrine of the Supreme Good

This doctrine of the supreme good or summum bonum is likewise a very ancient doctrine which
takes us back to the Egyptian mysteries. As stated in the books on Greek philosophy and by
Socrates, it is only in part, and consequently a mistaken notion of the original doctrine has
resulted. To say that the supreme good is happiness, that happiness is well-being, that well-being
is knowledge, and that knowledge is virtue, is the same thing as saying that the Supreme Good is
virtue. (Xenophon Memorabilia I 4, 5; Wm. Turner's Hist. of Phil. p. 81–83).

In the Egyptian mysteries, however, the concept of the supreme good is expressed as the purpose
of virtue, and that is the salvation of the soul, by liberating it from the ten bodily fetters. This
process of liberation is a process of purification both of mind and of body: the former by the
study of philosophy and science, and the latter by bodily ascetic disciplines. This training was
continued from the baptism of water, and was subsequently followed by the baptism of fire,
when the candidate had made the necessary progress. This process transformed man and made
him godlike, and fitted him for union with God.

The concept of the Supreme Good, which originally came from the Egyptian Mysteries is the
earliest theory of salvation: and Socrates must have derived this doctrine from that source, or
indirectly from the Pythagoreans. (Plato's Phaedo C. 31; 33–34; Ancient Mysteries, C. H. Vail p.
24–25; Fire Philosophy, R. S. Clymer p. 19; 74; 80).

(iii) The Following Doctrines are Generally admitted as having been derived from The
Pythagoreans:

(a) Transmigration of the Soul

(b) The immortality of the Soul

(c) The tomb of the Soul is the body.

(d) The doctrines of opposites and harmony.

66

Stolen Legacy: Greek Philosophy is Stolen Egyptian Philosophy by George G. M. James
The Journal of Pan African Studies 2009 eBook