Note 164 — Chapter VIII · THE ÆSCULAPIAN STAFF AND SERPENT.

In most of the Oriental countries, including Egypt, there was always more or less of a belief in one great divinity. “The Supreme Omnipotent Intelligence” of the Hindus was “a spirit by no means the object of any sense, which can only be conceived by a mind wholly abstracted from matter.” (Institutes of Menu). El was a name given the Ineffable One by the Phœnicians and other peoples. Il or Ilu and Jaoh, the “being,” the “Eternal,” the “Jehovah” of the Hebrews, were designations of him used by the Babylonians, and from him, it was believed, the great trinity, Anu, Hea, and Bel emanated. Some, however, especially in early times, confounded him with Anu. Baal, the “Lord,” was a common designation of him in Syria and elsewhere.