ances; this was accomplished by
a removal at one sweep of _all_ the organs of generation, the phallus
being generally retained as a trophy,--a practice which was also carried
into effect with dead enemies, to show that the victor had vanquished
_men_. It has been the practice from time immemorial for a victor to
carry off some portion of the body of his victim or defeated enemy, as a
mark or testimony of his prowess; it was either a hand, head or scalp,
lower jaw, or finger. The carrying off of the phallus or virile member
was considered the most conclusive proof of the nature of the
vanquished, and, as it established the sex, it conferred a greater title
to bravery and skill than a mere collection of hands or scalps, which
would not denote the sex. In conformity with this custom, we find that
Osiris, when he returned to Egypt and found that Typhon had fomented
dissension in his absence, being vanquished by the latter in the
conflict that followed, was dismembered and cut into pieces, the
followers of Typhon each securing a piece and Typhon himself securing
the phallus or generative member. Isis, the spouse of Osiris, seems in
turn to have secured the control of government, and, having secured all
the pieces of the dissected Osiris except the phallus,--Typhon having
fled with that, and, according to some traditions, having thrown it into
the sea,--Isis ordered that statues should be constructed, each to
contain a piece of the unfortunate Osiris, who should thereafter be
worshiped as a god, and that the priesthood should choose from among the
animals some one kind which should thereafter be considered sacred. The
phallus which was missing was ordered special worship, with more marked
solemnities and mysteries; from this originated the phallic worship and
the sacredness of the white bull, Apis, among the Egyptians, which was
chosen to represent Osiris.

By gradual evolution and the progress of society, the cultivation of the
ground and the need of menials, warriors found some other use for their
prisoners taken in strife besides merely cutting off the phallus as a
trophy; these prisoners began to have some intrinsic value. From this a
change came about; the warrior instinct, however, still claimed that the
vanquished, even if a slave, should still convey or carry some sign of
servitude. The original idea of the ablation of the phallus was to
emasculate the victim; investigation developed the idea that the same
object coul