''■'>Bi>?^<M?^''>^i'^Mm^ 
 
 D'/<; ' 
 
L  I  B  PI  A-  R  Y 
 
 11-      Tilt". 
 
 Theological    Seminary. 
 
 PRINCETON,  N.  J. 
 
 BL  80  .A74  1853 
 Cas    Arnold,  John  Muehleisen, 
 She       1817-1881. 
 
 I  r.      True  and  false  religion 
 
 Boc 
 
 L 
 
0/2. 
 
 /%^  ^  a^^i^  4C^x  ^^^ 
 
 «^^  ^^-tT-    ««>^»^^*. 
 
 TU^./a-  /^^3 
 
^Vr 
 
TRUE 
 
 AND 
 
 FALSE     RELIGION: 
 
 A  COMPENDIOUS, 
 SCRIPTURAL  AND  CONSECUTIVE  VIEW  OF  THE  ORIGIN, 
 DEVELOPMENT,  AND  CHARACTER  OF  DIFFERENT 
 SYSTEMS  OF  BELIEF. 
 
 EEV.   DR.   J.   MUEHLEISEN   ARNOLD, 
 
 CHAPLAIN    OP  ST.  MARY's    HOSPITAL,  PADDINGTON  ;    FELLOW   OP    THE    ROYAL    ASIATIC   SOCIET? 
 OP     GBEAT     BRITAIN     AND     IRELAND;     CORRESPOK  DI SG     MEMBER     OF     THE 
 EGYPTIAN     LITERARY    ASSOCIATION;    AND    MEMBER    OP 
 THE    GERMAN   ORIENTAL   SOCIETY. 
 
 Si  tameii  in  eo  erraverim  et  amice  de  errore  monear,  seu  publice  ieu 
 privatim,  aures  praebebo  :  in  hoc  unum  intentus,  ut  hi  aliique  labores  mei 
 cedant  ad  triumphum  verifatis  et  fidei  Evangelicse,  ultimumqne  fineni 
 omtiium  actionum  nostrarum  gloriam  solius  et  uniiis  veri  Dei,  Patris-, 
 Filii  et  Spiritus  Sancti. 
 
 REPUBLISHED  IN  ONE  VOLUME. 
 
 LONDOx\  : 
 J.    H.   JACKSON,    21,   PATERNOSTER    ROW 
 
 SEELEYS,  FLEET  STREET  AND  HANOVER  STREET. 
 
 1853. 
 
I^rrfare. 
 
 The  Author  of  the  following  pages  contemplates  pub- 
 lishing a  series  of  smaller  works  upon  some  of  the 
 most  important  subjects  connected  with  the  East.  He 
 could  not,  however,  seriously  think  of  carrying  out 
 his  favourite  plan  without  a  number  of  grave  but 
 desultory  inquiries  presenting  themselves  to  his  mind, 
 which  seemed  to  require  some  preliminary  consider- 
 ation. Hence  the  appearance  of  the  present  work, 
 which  comprises  a  few  general  reflections  upon  the 
 History  of  Genuine  and  Spurious  Religion. 
 
 The  object  of  the  present  work  being  of  a  purely 
 practical  nature  and  tendency,  the  Author  has  brought 
 its  contents  before  a  Christian  public  in  a  less  scien- 
 tific and  philosophical  form  than  he  could  otherwise 
 have  wished  to  do.     His  design  has  been  to  write 
 
VI  PREFACE. 
 
 for  the  immediate  benefit  of  those  who  have  not 
 sufficient  means,  powers,  opportunity,  time,  or  inclina- 
 tion, to  obtain  direct  information  from  the  various 
 sources  which  are  scattered  abroad  upon  a  vast  field 
 of  scientific  research. 
 
 It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  state  that  part  of  the 
 subject  which  constitutes  the  theme  of  the  present 
 work,  is  beset  with  singular  dangers  and  difficulties. 
 The  student  of  Eastern  systems  of  Mythology  is,  at 
 all  times,  encompassed  with  a  series  of  disadvantages 
 of  the  first  magnitude.  The  character  of  foreign 
 languages,  the  sometimes  arbitrary  theories  of  other- 
 wise able  and  zealous  men  on  what  has  been  rendered 
 accessible  by  translations  from  those  languages;  the 
 circumstance,  that  notions  which  have  been  errone- 
 ously formed  from  want  of  more  explicit  information, 
 are  sometimes  propagated  from  one  authority  to  an- 
 other ;  the  fact  that,  however  much  has  been  done 
 in  the  department  of  Oriental  research,  much  remains 
 yet  to  be  achieved,  to  bring  it  beyond  the  state  of 
 infancy  ;  the  fact,  moreover,  that  those  very  authori- 
 ties which  we  find  in  the  East,  and  on  which  we 
 must  chiefly  depend,  are  strange  compounds  of  facts 
 and  fictions,  mixtures  of  historic  events   and   poetic 
 
 \ 
 
PREFACE.  Vll 
 
 coruscations, — all  these  and  many  other  circumstances 
 are  highly  unfavourable  to  the  acquisition  of  a  sound 
 view  of  spurious  systems  of  Religion. 
 
 The  advantages  under  which  the  Author  has  at- 
 tempted to  give  a  general  view  of  the  leading  systems 
 of  ancient  and  modern  Paganism  have  been  neither 
 small  nor  few  in  number.  He  has  enjoyed  access  for 
 a  considerable  time  to  English,  Continental,  Classical, 
 and  Oriental  resources.  He  was  enabled,  by  a  length- 
 ened and  laborious  sojourn  in  divers  countries  of 
 Africa  and  the  East,  to  acquire  to  some  extent  a 
 knowledge  of  several  Oriental  languages ;  to  examine 
 the  most  magnificent,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most 
 important,  classical  remains  of  Pagan  antiquity ;  to 
 ascertain  the  peculiar  views  and  feelings  of  Heathen 
 and  Mohammedan  nations,  from  personal  observation ; 
 to  trace  the  actual  working  of  the  human  mind,  under 
 the  various  phases  of  religious  error,  and  to  study 
 spurious  systems  of  belief,  as  they  are  practically  ex- 
 pounded in  the  general  character,  and  exemplified  in 
 the  moral  complexion,  of  whole  nations  and  commu- 
 nities. 
 
 The  Author  feels  greatly  indebted  to  the  valuable 
 labours  of  several  eminent  writers,     As  it  was,  how- 
 
VIU  PREFACE. 
 
 ever,  foreign  to  his  plan  to  crowd  the  pages  of  this' 
 work  with  critical  annotations  and  detailed  references 
 to  an  endless  variety  of  authorities,  they  have  never 
 been  acknowledged.  Nor  would  it,  under  any  circum- 
 stances, be  in  his  power  to  determine,  in  numerous 
 instances,  what  has  been  derived  from  others,  having 
 omitted  to  identify  his  authorities  at  a  period  when  he 
 gathered  his  information  for  mere  practical  purposes, 
 without  the  remotest  view  of  himself  writing  upon  the 
 subject.  For  the  satisfaction,  however,  of  such  per- 
 sons as  may  feel  desirous  of  obtaining  further  infor- 
 mation respecting  the  numerous  sources  to  which 
 the  Author  is  indebted  for  part  of  his  materials, 
 an  imperfect  catalogue  has  been  added  to  the  second 
 volume  of  the  work. 
 
 There  being  nothing  more  detrimental  and  less 
 favourable  to  scientific  inquiries  than  a  systematical 
 spirit,  or  a  mind  stereotyped  by  a  set  of  prejudices  and 
 preconceived  theories,  pains  have  been  taken  to  acquire 
 and  preserve  that  kind  of  mental  type  which  can 
 be  changed,  enlarged,  or  contracted,  as  may  be  found 
 expedient  on  the  acquisition  of  additional  light  and 
 more  accurate  information.  New  discoveries  suggest, 
 or  may  suggest,  fresh  theories ;  new  wine  requires  new 
 
PREFACE.  IX 
 
 bottles,  and  new  facts  demand,  or  may  demand,  new 
 systems.  It  was  by  acting  on  this  simple  principle, 
 that  a  Baconian  spirit  emancipated  the  intellect  of 
 Europe  from  the  bondage  of  being  guided  by  deep- 
 rooted  prejudice  and  the  authority  of  antiquated 
 systems.  Whilst  it  is  pleasant  to  agree  at  all  times 
 with  people  who  are  looked  upon  as  authorities  in  the 
 various  paths  of  Literature,  and  who,  indeed,  have  a 
 just  claim  upon  our  regard  and  veneration,  there  may 
 be  circumstances  in  which  it  must  be  our  motto : — 
 "Amicus  Socrates,  amicus  Plato,  amicus  Aristoteles, 
 sed  magis  amica  Veritas." 
 
 When,  therefore,  the  author  has  deemed  it  neces- 
 sary to  deviate  occasionally  from  the  mode  in  which 
 part  of  the  subject  has  been  hitherto  represented  in 
 this  country,  it  was  neither  ignorance,  nor  vanity,  nor 
 wantonness,  which  induced  him  to  differ  from  vene- 
 rable Authors  to  whom  he  feels  otherwise  deeply 
 indebted. 
 
 It  is  hoped  that  the  very  brief  account  respecting 
 the  grand  and  marvellous  Jubilee,  which  was  cele- 
 brated in  the  brilliant  orbits  of  our  planetary  system  at 
 the  time  of  our  Saviour's  advent,  will  tend  to  extol  the 
 mystery  of  godliness,  that  God  was  manifested  in  the 
 
X  PREFACE. 
 
 flesh  when  the  fulness  of  lime  was  come  !  Such  is 
 the  result  of  astronomical  calculations  which  have 
 been  recently  made  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  men 
 of  our  age,  and  which  has,  as  far  as  we  know,  never 
 before  been  brought  before  the  British  public.  When 
 Uranus,  the  remotest  of  all  the  planets,  had  completed 
 the  fiftieth  of  his  revolutions  around  the  sun,  each  of 
 which  being  a  complete  Theocratical  year  of  the  plane- 
 tary system,  the  multitude  of  the  Heavenly  host 
 sounded  the  evangelical  silver  trumpets  of  a  universal 
 Jubilee  on  the  fields  of  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  "praising 
 God,  and  saying,  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
 earth ])eace,  good-will  toivards  men.'' 
 
 In  perfect  harmony  with  the  original  design  of  the 
 work,  the  Author  has  taken  pains  to  preserve  the 
 style  of  the  argument  free,  as  much  as  possible,  from 
 the  appearance  of  controversial  elements.  These  may 
 well  grace  the  pages  of  a  more  scientific  perform- 
 ance ;  but  they  are,  unquestionably,  stumbling-blocks 
 in  works  of  a  more  simple  and  popular  nature.  There 
 w^ere,  however,  some  few  occasions  in  w^hich  the 
 interests  of  divine  truth  demanded  a  peremptory 
 exposm'e  of  certain  pernicious  notions,  by  which  the 
 poor  victims  of  a  spurious  and  infidel  Philosophy  have 
 
PREFACE.  XI 
 
 recently  attempted  to  impeach  the  originaUty  of 
 revealed  Religion.  It  was  our  object  to  expose,  briefly 
 though  it  might  be,  certain  plausible  arguments,  by 
 which  it  was  made  to  appear  as  if  some  of  the  pecu- 
 liarities of  our  blessed  Religion  were  plagiarized  from 
 the  Mythological  systems  of  the  ancient  Egyptians, 
 Persians,  and  Phoenicians.  Again,  some  palpable 
 errors,  into  which  honest  and  intelligent  writers  were, 
 from  unavoidable  causes,  at  times  betrayed,  have  been 
 invariably  rectified,  it  is  hoped,  in  the  tone  and  spirit 
 of  Christian  authorship.  "  Homines  sumus  omnes  et 
 erroribus  obnoxii."  If,  however,  in  spite  of  the 
 general  frailty  of  all  human  efforts,  the  following  work 
 contribute  another  mite  towards  a  sounder  and  more 
 comprehensive  view  of  the  actual  and  real  History  of 
 True  and  Counterfeit  Religion,  which  is  still  desirable 
 to  the  comparative  analysis  of  an  important  chapter  of 
 the  history  of  our  race  ;  if  it  tend,  under  God's  bless- 
 ing, to  bring  the  deplorable  character,  the  melancholy 
 position,  and  the  just  claims  of  the  Pagan  world,  in  a 
 new  form  and  with  more  emphasis,  before  the  Chris- 
 tian public  ;  if  by  any  means  the  cause  of  Christianiza- 
 tio7i  and  Civilization,  of  science  and  humanity,  be 
 advanced  :    in   short,  if  in  any  measure   glory  result 
 
XU  PREFACE. 
 
 "  to  God  in  the  hi(/hest,  and  on  earth  peace  and  (jood- 
 will  towards  men,''  the  arduous  labour  of  thought,  and 
 the  toil  of  study  and  research  bestowed  upon  the  sub- 
 ject, will  be  considered  abundantly  rewarded.  "  In 
 magnis  voluisse  sat  est." 
 
 Finally,  the  Author  embraces  the  opportunity  of  this 
 his  first  appearance  upon  the  field  of  literary  enter- 
 prise, to  express  his  very  cordial  thanks  to  a  numerous 
 circle  of  generous  friends,  for  the  kind  manner  in  which 
 they  came  forward  to  encourage  him  in  his  arduous 
 undertaking,  by  offering  to  subscribe  for  the  work. 
 And  he  would  fail  in  his  duty  were  he  to  omit  express- 
 ing his  deep  sense  of  obhgation  to  some  of  the  Right 
 Reverend  Prelates  of  our  Chm'ch,  and  others  distin- 
 guished by  their  position,  learning,  and  piety,  for  the 
 encouragement,  the  kind  advice,  and  the  valuable 
 assistance  with  which  they  countenanced  both  the 
 composition  and  the  eventual  publication  of  this 
 work. 
 
 Little  Hampton, 
 Oct.  23,  1849. 
 
CnHtnits  nf  tjit  .first  itDhiniL 
 
 CHAPTER   I. 
 
 JBcftnition,  antJ  iSrcIiminavi)  l^emavlig  upon  tlje  Subject  of 
 
 Mfltgton. 
 
 Page  1—25. 
 Difficulty  of  defiiiiug  Religion — Definition  from  etymology — Definition 
 upon  the  professedly  liberal  principle  of  eclecticism — The  only  safe 
 and  legitimate  method  of  defining  Religion — Religion  gradually  deve- 
 loped— Its  practical  nature — Religion  is  one  as  God  is  one — Human 
 nature  neither  needs  nor  admits  of  various  kinds  of  Religion — Analogy 
 between  genuine  and  spurious  Religion — An  important  feature  in 
 which  true  and  false  Religion  coincide — The  most  giievous  errors  in 
 Religion  are  perversions  of  most  vital  truths — Instances  drawn  from 
 the  chronology  and  other  branches  of  Pagan  systems — To  every 
 inquiry  as  to  his  nature,  Jehovah  replies,  "  I  am  that  I  am ;  In  the 
 name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost" — Fellowship 
 with  the  eternal  Father,  through  the  blessed  Son,  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
 
 CHAPTER  II. 
 Historical  JBcbtlopmcnt  of  Sivcligion  in  tf;f  <BVii  CfsStanmit. 
 
 Page   26—176. 
 The  finite   nature  of  man  demanded  always  a  special  revelation — His 
 destiny  implied  a  state  of  probation — Contrary  to  his  high  vocation, 
 man  did  faU— The  two  families  of  the  human  race — God  as  the  right- 
 eous Judge— The  dispersion  and  settlement  of  the  nations— The  cause 
 
XIV  CONTENTS. 
 
 why  divine  revelatiou  was  heucefortli  to  assume  a  national  character 
 — The  training  of  a  peculiar  nation  as  the  object  of  his  choice — Re- 
 demption of  a  typical  nature — A  politico-religious,  or  a  Theocratical 
 constitution — A  divine  symholical  tuition  to  counteract  and  suppress 
 the  s2mrious  symbol — Difference  between  the  genuine  and  spurious 
 symbol — Distinction  between  the  true  type  of  genuine  Religion  and  the 
 fictitious  elements  of  a  spurious  Mythology — The  working  of  the  Theo- 
 cratical Constitution  amongst  a  chosen  people  in  a  chosen  place — 
 Jehovah,  amidst  every  vicissitude,  is  always  the  same — The  opportune 
 revival  of  the  Spirit  of  prophecy,  to  infuse  new  life  into  a  dying  people 
 — Melancholy  ciFects  of  a  separation  of  the  priestly,  prophetical,  and 
 judicial  functions — In  its  brightest  day  the  Theocratical  constitution 
 retains  its  exclusive  character — Part  of  the  salt  of  the  earth,  which  has 
 lost  its  savour,  is  cast  out — The  remnant  of  God's  people  also  go  into 
 exile,  but  they  return  for  important  purposes — Progress  under  adverse 
 circumstances — A  deep  silence  broods  over  the  elements  of  revealed 
 Religion — The  pagan  world  agitated  by  a  convulsive  and  universal 
 expectation  of  the  "  Desire  of  all  nations''' — Heavenly  bodies  the 
 "  poetry  of  heaven" — Sympathy  existing  between  man  and  the  heavenly 
 bodies — Man  bearing  in  his  own  mysterious  nature  the  sole  standard  to 
 resolve  the  problematical  anomaly  between  solar  and  lunar  revolutions 
 — Remarkable  coincidence  of  ancient  systems  of  chronology — The 
 starry  firmament  was  ever  contemplated  by  passing  generations  as  the 
 stupendous  clock  which  has  been  suspended  in  the  universe  for  sacred 
 and  mysterious  purposes — The  glorious  jubilee  of  the  world — The 
 grand  and  marvellous  jubilee  of  our  planetary  system  coinciding 
 with  the  blessed  advent  of  the  Redeemer  of  the  world — The  star  of 
 the  wise  men  of  the  East  probably  the  conjunction  of  Jupiter  and 
 Saturn. 
 
 CHAPTER  III. 
 
 JScbflopmcnt  of  true  ^Idcltgton  tn  ti)f  J^ciu  Cfstamrnt. 
 
 Page  177—286. 
 
 Retrospect  of  the  condition  of  the  world  at  the  time  when  the  grace 
 of  God,  which  bringeth  salvation,  appeared  unto  all  men— The  Word 
 
CONTENTvS.  XV 
 
 was  made  flesh — The  character  of  tlie  God-mau  Jesus  Christ — His  ap- 
 pearance amongst  Israel  and  liis  ministerial  character — The  priestly 
 functions  of  the  Messiah — Mors  Christi,  vita  raundi — The  outpouring 
 of  the  Spirit  of  life  and  of  liberty,  and  the  bursting  of  the  preparatory 
 constitution — The  Gospel  transmitted  from  the  Jews  to  the  Gentiles 
 tlirough  the  medium  of  the  Semi-Pagan  Samaritatis  and  the  Semi- 
 Jewish  Ethiopians — Christ  the  adorable  head,  under  whom  all  men  and 
 all  things  were  gathered  together  in  the  fulness  of  time — Retro- 
 spect of  the  history  of  true  Religion  in  past  ages — The  reason  why 
 Christianity  appeared  at  so  late  a  period  of  the  history  of  the  world 
 — The  gathering  of  the  elect  under  the  new  dispensation,  and  the 
 consummation  of  all  things — The  marvellous  analogy  existing  between 
 the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  historical  development  of  true 
 Religion. 
 
 CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 Natural  i^tligioii  roniiitJcrttr  luitlj  gpccial  rtfcrntft  to  (©n'tntal 
 ^agamsim,  antf  i\)t  sipedfic  rcsiiiltsi  of  ^asittin  sipfnilattou  in 
 mattcviS  of  3l^tligton. 
 
 Page  287—439. 
 
 Preliminary  remarks — Doubtful  way  of  ascertaining  the  strength  of 
 speculative  reason  in  religious  matters  by  reference  to  Christian  philo- 
 sophers— The  only  safe  and  legitimate  method  of  ascertaining  the  cha- 
 racter of  natural  Religion  by  reference  to  Pagan  Mythology — The 
 character  of  the  primitive  form  of  Pagan  Idolatry  amongst  the  Ba- 
 bylonians— Review  of  the  Iranian  Pireworship,  or  the  character  of  the 
 Persian  Dualism — Plagiarism  of  Zoroaster's  system  exposed — Dis- 
 covery of  the  twenty  sacred  books,  which  were  considered  to  be  lost — 
 The  heterogeneous  elements  of  the  Iranian  superstition — The  Bible  has 
 adopted  none  of  the  elements  of  the  Religion  of  the  ancient  Persians 
 — The  Hebrew  doctrine  of  angels — Natural  Religion  in  India — Hindu- 
 ism as  it  was — Hinduism  as  it  is — The  Veda  Religion — The  Religion 
 of  the  Pooranas — The  plurality  of  creations  and  destructions — The 
 philosophical  system  of  Emanation  and  Metempsychosis  reviewed  and 
 
XVI  CONTENTS. 
 
 exposed — Exposure  of  some  of  the  scientific  blunders  of  the  Hindoos 
 — Moral  Influence  of  the  Hindoo  Beligion — The  natural  Religion  of 
 Buddhism — Review  of  the  characteristic  features  and  dogmas  of  Buddh- 
 ism— Strictures  upon  the  system  of  Buddhism — Natural  Religion 
 among  the  Chinese — The  Confucian  creed — The  religious  ideas  of  the 
 Tao-tse  sect — The  Buddhistical  Religion  in  China. 
 
Cnntrnb  nf  tjir  Innnli  'Mmn, 
 
 CHAPTER  I. 
 
 £5atural  3^rItston,  fon^^itJfrrtJ  luitl)  siprrtal  vtfcvcncr  to  (©rn's 
 Ucntal  ^aganisim,  anU  ti)c  £ipcdftc  vcsiultsi  of  ^ijilo^opi)ifal 
 ^prculatton  in  mattrviS  of  3tlfligion. 
 
 Page  1—145. 
 
 Natural  Religion  of  the  Egyptians — The  primal  deities — The  first  ranlc 
 of  Egyptian  deities — The  second  rank — The  third  rank — The  war  of 
 the  giants,  and  the  flood — The  creation  of  man  from  clay — Transmigra- 
 tion of  the  soul — Animal  worship  —The  Mosaic  constitution  not  copied 
 from  Egyptian  Mythology — The  tabernacle  of  the  Hebrews,  and  the 
 Egyptian  temples — The  ark  of  the  covenant,  and  the  holy  boat  of  the 
 Egyptians — The  priesthood  of  Israel,  and  that  of  Egypt — The  sacri- 
 fices and  festivals  of  both  contrasted — The  natural  Religion  of  the 
 ancient  Phoenicians — The  Phoenicians  in  Egypt — Baal  in  his  threefold 
 character — Baal- Adonis — Baal- Saturnus,  or  Belitan — Baal-Chammon, 
 or  Moloch — Baaltis,  or  MyUtta,  with  her  idols  Ashara — Ashtoreth  to 
 be  disti)iguished  from  Baaltis — Jao  of  the  Phoenicians  and  Chaldeans 
 not  to  be  confounded  with  Jehovah — Natural  Religion  of  the  Greeks — 
 The  age  of  Krouos — Elemental  worship — The  new  principle  of  the 
 Grecian  Mythology — Olympian  gods — Peculiarity  of  the  Grecian  My- 
 thology— Natural  Religion  amongst  the  ancient  Romans — Character 
 of  the  Roman  Mythology — Its  final  decay — Natural  Religion  in  the 
 Western  and  Northern  parts  of  Europe — Among  the  Piunish  tribes — 
 Amongst  tlie  Slavonian  family — Amongst  the  German  tribes — Hebdo- 
 
VI  CONTENTS. 
 
 madal  divisiou  amongst  all  natious — Amougst  the  Celtic  family — Com- 
 parative view  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Mythologies — General 
 character  of  the  natural  Religion  of  the  Pagan  world — Remarkable 
 aspect  of  the  East  and  West  in  modem  days — Merits  of  the  philoso- 
 pliical  speculations  of  the  Pagans — Philosophy  in  the  Christian  era — 
 Philosophy,  reason,  and  revelation — Revelation  and  manifestation. 
 
 CHAPTER   II. 
 
 @tiural  Witio  of  t\)t  dTuntfamtntal  ©rrov^  m  l^fligion,  antJ 
 tijc  ^tantlartJ  of  Cruti;  in  J^cltgtou^  mattcrsi. 
 
 Page  146—196. 
 
 The  corruption  of  human  nature  the  prolific  cause  of  every  anomaly  in 
 the  natural  history  of  Religion — General  remarks  on  superstition  and 
 unbelief  as  the  radical  errors  in  Religion — The  cause,  rise,  and  pro- 
 gress of  scepticism,  infidelity,  atheism — The  difficulties  and  incon- 
 gruities of  infidelity — The  nature  of  mysticism  delineated — General 
 strictures  upon  the  religious  error  of  mysticism — Comparative  view 
 of  superstition,  infidelity,  and  true  religious  belief — Necessity  of 
 a  standard — It  cannot  be  the  Holy  Scriptures  before  their  divine 
 character  lias  been  acknowledged — The  apostolic  usage — The  standard 
 to  be  acknowledged  by  all  parties — Difficulty  to  invent  and  to  agree 
 upon  a  test — It  cannot  be  the  universal  prevalence  of  a  Religion — 
 It  cannot  be  general  consent — It  can  neither  be  the  antiquity  nor  the 
 novelty  of  a  Religion — It  cannot  be  the  temporal  prosperity  of  a 
 nation — It  cannot  be  abstracted  from  human  reason — It  cannot  a  priori 
 be  the  internal  evidence  of  the  truth  of  a  Religion — Certain  principles 
 peculiar  to  human  nature — It  must  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to 
 others  from  whence  we  derive  our  standard — The  standard  brought 
 forward — The  Christian  Religion  is  irue  in  all  its  parts  and  bearings 
 — The  Christian  Religion  is  complete  to  all  intents  and  purposes — 
 The  Christian  Religion  is  authenticated  by  a  body  of  evidences 
 which  will  cari-y  home  conviction  to  every  unprejudiced  mind — The 
 Christian  Religion  is  practically  adapted  to  the  moral  and  spiritual 
 wants  of  mankind  at  large — The  characteristic  excellences  of  revealed 
 Religion. 
 
CONTENTS.  Vll 
 
 CHAPTER  III. 
 Ifntcinal  ©cbttopmcnt  anU  Cijaractcv  of  ^asauisim. 
 
 Page  197—229. 
 Original  deuomiuatiou   of  Pagan   and  Heathen,    and   the   meaning  it 
 acquii-ed  in  the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era^-The  anti-scriptural 
 sense  which  the  term  Pagan  acquired  amongst  some  of  the  early  fathers 
 of  the  Church— The  anti-scriptural  sense  the  term  Pagan  acquired  in 
 modern  days,  by  which  Islam  is  excluded — Exposure  of  the  so-called 
 liberal  view,  which  contemplates  the  various  forms  of  Pagan  idolatry 
 as  innocent  expressions  of  devotion  and  piety — Exposure  of  the  erro- 
 neous view,  which  resolves  Pagan  Mythology  into  a  mere  mystification 
 of  either  astronomy,  history,  philosophy,  politics,  or  even  of  physics 
 and  chemistry — Several  strictures  upon  the  theory  which  makes  man- 
 kind gradually  emerge  from  Polytheism — Grand  cause  of  Paganism  in 
 man's  separation  from  God — Man  was  created  good  and  holy— Con- 
 current testimony  of  Pagan  antiquity  in  favour  of  the  historical  fact, 
 that  man  degenerated  from  a  comparatively  far  more  perfect  state — 
 The  natural  process  by  which  Pagan  idolatry  was  developed  in  the 
 human  heart,    and  spread  over  the  various  ramifications   of  human 
 existence — Scriptural  view  of  Pagan  idolatry — Heathenism  appears  in 
 a  double  light — Paganism,  on  the  one  hand,  embodies  noble  remnants 
 of  divine  truth,  and  retains  some  of  the  noblest  features  of  a  shattered 
 humanity :  Paganism,  on  the  other  hand,  with  its  vanity  of  mind,  is 
 reprobated  in  Holy  Scripture  as  an  abominable  thing — Accountability 
 of  the  Pagan  world — Prospects  of  the  heathen,  and  in  what  sense 
 inexcusable — Review  of  the  characteristically  painful  efforts  of  Pagan- 
 ism ;  their  demerits  and  subsequent  failure. 
 
 CHAPTER   IV. 
 
 iffioial,  Cibil,  ant)  Social  Ifnflumrc  of  ^puiiousi  Mdigion 
 tipon  ti)c  2i2IoilU  in  genfral. 
 
 Page  230—308. 
 General  reflections  upon  the  effects  of  genuine  and  spurious  Religion — 
 Material  difference  of  Judaism  and  Paganism,  as  to  their  respective 
 character  before  and  after  the  Christian  era — Absence  of  every  element 
 
viii  CONTENTS. 
 
 of  genuine  morality  in  Paganism,  with  a  confirmed  tendency  to  spiri- 
 tual decay  and  moral  dissolution — The  most  obscene  abominations 
 assume  the  form  of  practical  piety  and  devotion — Strictures  upon 
 Pa^an  morality — Cwil  influence  upon  the  world — Exposure  of  the 
 arbitrary  theory  which  makes  mankind  gradually  emerge  from  a  state 
 of  \tdx\idx\'sm.— Social  influence  of  spurious  Religion — The  universal 
 degradation  of  the  tender  sex — The  anomaly  of  slavery  a  Pagan 
 institution — General  review  of  the  horrors  of  Paganism — Paganism  at 
 all  times  enforced  human  sacrifices — Human  sacrifices  traced  through- 
 out the  length  and  breadth  of  Pagan  Mythology — Conclusion. 
 
 Appendix •    •     • 309 
 
GENUINE 
 
 AXD 
 
 SPURIOUS    RELIGION. 
 
 CHAPTER  I. 
 
 DEFINITION,    AND    PRELIMINARY    REMARKS    UPON    THE 
 SUBJECT    OF    RELIGION. 
 
 1.  The  term  "Religion"  has  been  generally 
 adopted  to  express  the  highest  and  the  happiest  rela- 
 tion between  God  Almighty  and  man  his  dependent 
 creatiu'e.  As  it,  however,  never  once  occurs  in  Holy 
 Scripture  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  commonly  under- 
 stood, and  as  we  have  neither  isolated  historical,  nor 
 yet  abstract  doctrinal  definitions  upon  the  subject  in 
 Holy  Writ,  it  cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise  to  find 
 a  variety  of  opinions  as  to  the  precise  import  of  the 
 term  under  consideration. 
 
 Religion,  according  to  the  definition  of  some,  sim- 
 ply signifies  our  duty  to  God.  According  to  others,  it 
 implies  those  sentiments,  affections,  and  feelings,  which 
 relate  to  the  Deity.     Others,  again,  consider  Religion 
 
 vol.  i.  b 
 
3  DEFINITION    OF    RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 to  be  synonymous  with  the  worship,  the  fear,  or  the 
 knowledge  of  God.  Again,  others  identify  ReHgion 
 with  devotion,  with  piety,  or  virtue.  And  according 
 to  others,  again,  it  consists  in  a  reverence  for  divine 
 things,  or  in  a  feehng  of  dependence  upon  Ahiiighty 
 God.  It  will,  however,  easily  appear  that  neither  of 
 these  and  similar  definitions  can  satisfy  the  enlightened 
 mind  of  the  Christian  believer.  True  Religion  con- 
 sists neither  in  the  one  nor  the  other  of  these  defini- 
 tions, which,  in  a  general  way,  are  equally  applicable  to 
 the  vilest  species  of  Pagan  superstition. 
 
 Whenever  we  speak  respecting  Religion,  we  speak  of 
 a  subject  "  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from  of  old, 
 from  the  days  of  eternity."  It  has  neither  grown  upon 
 Grecian,  nor  upon  Roman,  nor  yet  upon  British  soil. 
 Religion  cannot  be  said  to  be  the  indigenous  plant  of 
 any  certain  part  of  the  globe.  We  may,  indeed,  trace 
 its  salutary  effects  from  country  to  country,  and  we 
 may  follow  its  blessed  footsteps  from  one  nation  to 
 another ;  but  being  a  sojourner  upon  earth,  and  a 
 stranger  among  men,  and  having  its  origin,  its  home, 
 its  hopes,  and  its  dignities,  in  a  higher  sphere  of 
 existence,  the  wind  at  last  "  bloweth  where  it  listeth, 
 and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell 
 whence  it  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth." 
 
 Much  learning  has  been  wasted,  and  great  ingenuity 
 has  been  displayed,  in  order  to  discover  the  precise 
 etymological  derivation  of  the  term  "  Religion."  It 
 was  found  to  be  a  classical  word,  appertaining  to  Fagan 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY    REMARKS.  3 
 
 antiquity.  It  was  discovered  that  the  term  was  of 
 Boman  origin.  But  the  very  circumstance  of  its  being 
 derived  from  Pagan  antiquity  seemed  to  be  against  all 
 hope  of  solving  the  difficulties ;  for  what  communion 
 has  the  foul  superstition  of  the  ancient  Romans  with 
 the  pure  and  un defiled  Religion,  which  has  diffused  a 
 flood  of  peace  and  happiness,  of  joy  and  comfort, 
 amongst  a  sorrow-stricken  and  desponding  race  of 
 men,  and  which,  moreover,  contains  the  foundation  for 
 the  brightest  hopes  of  the  Cluristian  believer?  Reli- 
 gion, in  a  Christian  sense  of  the  term,  cannot  be  esti- 
 mated by  the  original  signification  of  some  poor  and 
 insipid  term  which  has  been  borrowed  from  classical 
 Paganism.  Or  what  profit  and  pleasure  can  it  yield  to 
 the  Christian  mind  to  hear  of  a  variety  of  perplexing 
 speculations  as  to  its  probable  derivation  ;  specula- 
 tions, moreover,  which  have  been  put  forth  by  Cicero, 
 Lactantius,  and  similar  heathen  authorities  of  classic 
 renown  ?  If  it  were  even  probable  that  we  could  at 
 length  obtain  the  orthodox  derivation,  it  would  at  all 
 events  afford  but  little  satisfaction  to  the  practical  and 
 the  intelligent  Christian  to  know  what  have  been  the 
 ideas  of  some  Pagan  sage,  in  the  olden  times,  respect- 
 ing Religion.  Philology  is  a  science  which  assumes, 
 indeed,  a  sacred  character  in  the  documents  of  divine 
 revelation  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered,  in  the  present 
 instance,  that  the  Church  of  Cluist  associated  very 
 different  ideas  with  the  term  Religion,  from  those  that 
 were  attached  to  it  by  classical  Paganism. 
 
 b2 
 
4  DEFINITION    OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 Equally  futile,  but  less  harmless  than  the  above, 
 has  been  the  attempt  to  furnish  a  definition  of  Re- 
 ligion upon  the  principles  of  a  bold  and  arbitrary 
 Eclecticism  in  religious  matters.  There  have  been 
 some  people  who  ventured  to  place  the  Christian 
 religion  on  a  footing  of  equality  with  other  religious 
 systems  of  belief,  which  are  severally  considered  as 
 being  of  the  same  kind  and  species.  They  profess 
 that  they  have  adopted  these  latitudinarian  views  in  the 
 hope  that  the  fundamental  notions  of  religion  will  be 
 sounder  and  fuller,  and  that  they  will  be  the  more 
 liberal  and  free  from  prejudice  the  more  carefully  the 
 several  systems  of  Religion  are  consulted  and  brought 
 into  account.  According  to  this  method,  all  religious 
 systems  on  record  are  to  be  examined  and  put  together, 
 and  from  this  aggregate  amount  of  religious  truth  and 
 religious  error  we  are  to  abstract  what  is  to  be  under- 
 stood by  the  subject  of  Religion.  Whatever  happens 
 to  be  at  variance  with  the  individual  views,  inclinations, 
 and  prejudices  of  the  eclectic  compilers,  is  dissevered 
 by  the  operation  of  a  bold  criticism,  and  rejected  as 
 unprofitable  and  superfluous.  In  thus  forgetting  that 
 the  question  is  not,  which  is  a  better  and  which  a 
 worse  system  of  belief,  but  which  is  the  true  Religion, 
 and  which  are  spurious  creeds,  they  likewise  forget, 
 that  if  any  given  number  of  religious  systems  be  false, 
 they  are  not  only  warranted  but  even  bound  to  reject 
 them  all.  This  method,  therefore,  leads  to  no  satis- 
 factory result.     Every  fresh  attempt  will  necessarily 
 
CHAP.  1.]  PRELIMINARY   REMARKS.  5 
 
 increase  the  number  of  spurious  systems  of  Religion ; 
 and  we  are  therefore  obliged  either  to  embrace  an 
 unnatural  compound  of  falsehood  and  truth,  or  else 
 define  Religion  from  the  inspired  documents  of  the  Bible 
 as  our  sole  infallible  guide  in  religious  matters. 
 
 2.  In  defining  Religion  specifically  from  the  divinely 
 revealed  and  authenticated  source  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
 tures, we  escape  on  the  one  hand  the  contradictory 
 and  uncertain  definitions  from  etymological  resources ; 
 and  we  avoid,  on  the  other  hand,  the  dangers  arising 
 from  the  arbitrary  measures  of  a  religious  Eclecticism. 
 We  are  not  only  treading  on  solid  ground,  but  we 
 have  the  advantage  of  tracing  Religion  from  its  most 
 primitive  stages  down  to  its  consummate  perfection. 
 In  full  harmony  with  all  the  other  works  of  the 
 Almighty,  we  observe  a  gradual  development  of  an 
 all-embracing  subject.  Every  form  in  the  animal  or 
 vegetable  kingdom  has  its  embryo  state,  advancing  by 
 an  almost  imperceptible  progress  towards  maturity. 
 We  observe  the  same  characteristic  in  the  system  of 
 revealed  Religion.  According  to  the  analogy  which 
 pervades  all  the  works  and  ways  of  the  Almighty, 
 Religion  was  gradually  developed  through  a  long 
 succession  of  ages. 
 
 The  method  of  appointing  a  Religion  in  the  above 
 manner  was  attended  with  the  peculiar  advantage,  that 
 it  bespoke  its  practical  tendency,  by  being  placed 
 before  mankind  in  a  succession  of  historic  events,  and 
 by   thus    adapting   itself    upon    every    stage   to   the 
 
6  DEFINITION   OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 religious  wants  of  the  moral  nature  of  man.  The  con- 
 dition of  man  demanded  not  only  a  revealed  Religion, 
 but  a  Religion  at  the  same  time  which  was  gradually 
 developed,  and  Avhich  entered  at  all  times  practically 
 into  the  feeble  elements  of  sinfid  humanity. 
 
 The  object  of  Religion  was  the  happiness  and  salva- 
 tion of  man.  As  man,  however,  was  a  morally  free 
 agent,  it  could  only  be  realised  on  his  part  by  a 
 voluntary,  free,  spontaneous,  and  conscious  act  of 
 liberty.  The  moral  liberty  of  man,  however,  w^ould 
 have  been  destroyed,  his  faculties  would  have  been 
 overwhelmed  and  overpowered,  if  revelation  had  poured 
 forth  its  whole  contents,  either  at  the  commencement 
 or  the  middle  of  the  development  of  true  Religion, 
 without  reference  to  the  wants,  circumstances,  and 
 capacities  of  man.  But  the  divine  gift  was  too 
 precious  ever  to  be  forcibly  thrown  upon  those  who 
 neither  had  a  heart  to  desire,  nor  yet  a  mind  to 
 appreciate  its  value. 
 
 We  have  in  the  history  of  man  a  most  mysterious 
 complication  of  action  and  reaction ;  but  amidst  all  the 
 changes  and  chances  of  human  life,  God  graciously 
 condescends  to  reveal  his  character;  and  from  the 
 commencement  of  the  history  of  Religion,  God  "  hum- 
 bled himself,"  as  it  were,  and  in  his  dealings  with 
 man  was  "  found  in  the  fashion  of  man."  New 
 revelations,  by  an  immutable  principle,  were  ever  fol- 
 lowed by  renewed  and  enlarged  capacities  on  the  part 
 of  man ;  and   "  to  him,  that  hath,  is  given  that  he 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY    REMARKS.  7 
 
 might  have  it  more  abmiclantly."  Rehgioii,  therefore, 
 grew  with  the  growth  of  man.  But  in  growing 
 amongst  men,  it  received  none  of  the  frail  elements  of 
 humanity  into  its  system.  It  enters  into  the  world, 
 without  being  of  the  world,  and  without  becoming  of 
 the  world ;  and  as  it  acted  neither  as  a  charm,  nor  yet 
 by  force,  it  was  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  abuse  and 
 misapprehension  on  the  part  of  man. 
 
 Hence,  also,  as  regards  the  method  by  which  God 
 appointed  a  Religion,  "  he  doeth  all  things  well." 
 Whilst  he  would  not  speak  to  the  world  at  large 
 through  his  Son,  before  he  had  spoken  by  fathers  and 
 prophets  to  a  particular  nation,  he  yet  spoke  at  all 
 times  exactly  so  much,  and  in  such  a  manner,  as  man- 
 kind was  prepared  to  receive  and  able  to  bear.  It 
 was  the  purpose  of  God's  eternal  love  to  cause  his 
 face  to  shine  brightly  upon  his  people ;  but  in  order  to 
 prepare  them  for  the  splendour  of  this  light,  they  were 
 to  pass  through  a  succession  of  preparatory  stages. 
 Whilst  spurious  creeds  rendered  comparatively  pure 
 ideas  more  and  more  dark  and  emblematical  in  the 
 process  of  time  ;  we  observe  in  true  Religion  a  gradual 
 progress  from  a  general  to  a  more  detailed  revelation  of 
 heavenly  truths. 
 
 In  true  Religion,  therefore,  possession  and  want, 
 enjoyment  and  hope,  fulfilment  and  prophecy,  are 
 taking  alternately  place,  until  all  be  perfect,  and  the 
 things  which  were  in  part  are  done  away.  It  was, 
 therefore,  calculated  to  engage  the  heart  and  to  win  the 
 
8  DEFINITION    OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 intellectual  faculties  of  man  without  forcing  or  bewitcli- 
 ing  either  the  one  or  the  other.  It  would  certainly 
 have  been  in  the  power  of  God  to  make  Religion  appear 
 in  such  a  contrast  with  the  common  laws  of  nature 
 and  the  common  course  of  events,  that  the  whole 
 world  would  have  been  amazed,  and  given  their  assent. 
 But  this  would  have  been  moral  force,  which  could 
 not  have  produced  moral  conviction.  As  it  is,  the 
 essentials  of  true  religion  were  such  upon  every  stage, 
 that  they  could  be  seen  and  heard  by  every  one  that 
 would  see  and  hear  without  being  charmed  into  an 
 acknowledgment  of  its  truth.  It  is  owing  to  this 
 admirable  principle,  upon  which  God  dealt  in  the 
 history  of  true  Religion,  that  true  Religion  appears  not 
 unfrcquently  as  natural  in  its  course  ;  whilst  in  reality 
 it  is  the  crown  of  all  the  ways  and  works  of  the 
 Almighty.  Like  its  author  and  finisher,  it  travels 
 across  the  ages  of  the  world  in  the  "  form  of  a  servant," 
 apparently  serving  all  things,  but  in  reality  overruling 
 all  other  events  in  the  providential  kingdom  of  the 
 Almighty. 
 
 3.  It  is  sacrilege  to  place  revealed  Religion  on  a  par 
 with  spurious  systems  of  belief.  Christ  will  not  be 
 received  amongst  the  deities  which  crowd  the  Roman 
 or  any  other  Pantheon,  nor  can  his  pure  and  undefiled 
 Religion  be  enrolled  in  the  catalogue  of  spurious  creeds. 
 The  living  God  can  have  no  fellowship  with  the  deities 
 that  "  have  not  made  heaven  and  earth."  The  Religion 
 of  the  Bible  is  not  one  out  of  manv  rcli2;ions,  but  ihe 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY    REMARKS.  9 
 
 Beligion  in  the  exclusive  sense  of  the  term.  We  can 
 only  speak  of  the  Hindoo  or  the  Roman  Religion,  in 
 that  primitive  sense  of  the  term  in  which  it  was  under- 
 stood before  it  was  adopted  by  the  Church  of  Christ. 
 And  it  was  because  the  Christian  Religion  claimed 
 from  the  commencement  this  exalted  position,  that  it 
 was  considered  "  religio  ilUcita"  in  the  Roman  empire, 
 whilst  all  foreign  rites  and  systems  of  belief  were 
 indulged  and  tolerated.  It  is  the  standard,  at  the 
 same  time,  by  which  all  spurious  religions  can  alone 
 be  measured.  False  religions  can  only  be  delineated 
 in  the  hght  of  their  divine  original.  Human  works 
 can  only  be  estimated  when  contrasted  with  what  God 
 hath  wrought.  Human  imaginations  and  human 
 devices  can  only  be  measured  by  divine  revelations. 
 
 As  God  could  only  have  revealed  and  appointed 
 this  one  Religion,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  there  could  be 
 no  occasion  for  a  variety  of  religious  systems.  We 
 admit,  that  certain  speculative  truths,  abstracted  from 
 the  Christian  Religion,  are  or  may  be  calculated  to 
 engage  the  European,  whilst  they  fail  to  interest  the 
 Oriental  mind.  But  it  is  very  different  with  the  his- 
 torical facts  of  true  Religion,  which  bear  upon  all 
 human  beings  with  the  same  force,  without  difference 
 of  colour,  climate,  or  temperament.  Again,  if  there 
 was  nothing  which  could  give  general  peace,  comfort, 
 and  satisfaction  to  man  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
 globe,  we  should  be  led  to  the  conclusion  that  human 
 nature  was  not  everywhere  the  same ;  that  there  was 
 
10  DEFINITION    OF    RELIGION.  [chap.  t. 
 
 not  only  a  difference  of  races,  but  a  difference  in  kind 
 and  species ;  a  proposition  which  has  never  yet  been 
 put  forth  by  any  sober-minded  person.  But  if  the 
 principles  of  human  natm-e  are  the  same  in  Greenland 
 and  in  the  South-sea  Islands  ;  if  we  observe  the  same 
 moral  wants  on  the  shores  of  the  Senes-al  and  the 
 Ganges,  the  Nile  and  the  Mississippi,  the  Rhine  and 
 the  Thames,  there  must  needs  be  something  provided 
 by  the  God  of  nature,  w^hich  will  satisfy  them  all 
 alike. 
 
 Man,  therefore,  never  needed  different  religions; 
 and  if  we  speak  of  a  plurality  of  religious  systems,  we 
 can  only  speak  of  spurious  systems  of  belief. 
 
 4.  Yet  notwithstanding  all  that  may  be  said  of  the 
 spurious  and  worthless  nature  of  counterfeit  systems  of 
 belief,  we  are  ready  to  admit  that  there  are  striking 
 analogies  between  genuine  and  spurious  Religion. 
 "  Nulla  falsa  doctrina  est,  quae  non  aliquid  veri  per- 
 misceat."  This  must  be  so,  because,  from  the  nature 
 of  the  case,  it  cannot  be  otherwise.  Spurious  counter- 
 feits, of  whatever  character,  naturally  preserve  at  all 
 times  a  studied  likeness  and  a  striking  resemblance 
 to  the  original  in  all  its  parts  and  bearings.  If  we 
 suppose  that  the  contrary  had  been  the  case,  how 
 could  we  fancy  that  spurious  Religion  should  ever  have 
 succeeded  to  gain  the  ascendancy  which  it  has  gained 
 over  genuine  Religion  among  mankind  ?  If  it  were 
 otherwise,  if  there  was  no  likeness  between  genuine 
 and  spurious  Religion,  how  could  the  ancient  apologists 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY    REMARKS.  11 
 
 of  Christianity  advance  the  very  strong  evidence  in 
 favour  of  true  Religion  Avhich  they  have  derived  from 
 spuiious  creeds  around  them?  Unmixed  falsehood 
 can  only  be  found  with  the  devil,  "  who  abode  not  in 
 the  truth,  and  in  whom  there  is  no  truth  at  all,  who 
 when  he  speaketh  a  lie,  speak eth  of  his  OAvn,  who  is 
 a  liar  and  the  father  of  lies."  But  all  spurious 
 systems  of  belief  consist  of  a  mixture  of  isolated  truths 
 with  the  dark  ingredients  of  falsehood  and  vanity. 
 And  how  could  it  be  otherwise,  when  we  recollect  that 
 both  genuine  and  spurious  Religion  start  from  the 
 same  point,  under  the  same  circumstances,  amongst 
 the  same  race  of  men?  Mankind  being  at  a  loss 
 where  to  fix  themselves,  how  to  recover  their  original 
 position,  and  how  to  retrieve  their  once  happy  state, 
 they  naturally  seek  and  feel  after  God  in  every  form  of 
 Religion,  be  it  true  or  false. 
 
 If  we  consider  the  inferior  stages  of  true  Religion, 
 we  observe  its  principal  features  to  be  those  of  promise 
 and  prophecy.  Israel  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  true 
 Religion,  but  never  to  that  degree  which  could  fully 
 satisfy  the  craving  of  their  mind.  They  have  a  land 
 of  promise,  but  they  seek  a  better  country,  that  is, 
 a  heavenly.  They  have  Moses  and  the  prophets,  but 
 they  wait  for  the  time  when  God  at  last  woidd 
 speak  by  Ms  Son.  They  have  the  glorious  ministra- 
 tion of  the  law,  but  they  desire  to  behold  with  an 
 open  face  the  glory  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father, 
 full  of  grace  and  truth.     God  promises  to  his  people : 
 
12  DEFINITION   OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 "  I  will  betroth  tlice  unto  mc  for  ever,  yea  I  will 
 betroth  thee  unto  me  in  righteousness,  and  in  judg- 
 ment, and  in  loving-kindness,  and  in  mercies;  I  will 
 betroth  thee  unto  me  in  faithfulness,  and  thou  shalt 
 know  the  Lord."  And  from  amongst  his  people 
 echoes  the  anxious  cry :  "  Oh !  that  thou  wouldest 
 rend  the  heavens,  that  thou  wouldest  come  down,  that 
 the  mountains  might  flow  down  at  thy  presence !" 
 
 The  manna  by  which  this  people  was  fed,  the 
 country  which  they  inherited,  the  deliverance  which 
 had  been  achieved,  the  eminent  glory  to  which  they 
 were  exalted ;  all  these  and  a  thousand  other  things 
 were  only  shadows  of  good  things  to  come. 
 
 Now  it  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  a  strong 
 feeling  after  God  in  spmious  systems  of  belief.  The 
 Pagan  world  seeks  after  the  unknown  God,  "  who 
 hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell 
 on  all  the  face  of  the  earth ;  and  hath  determined  the 
 times  before  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habita- 
 tion, that  they  might  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they 
 might  feel  after  him  and  find  him."  (Acts  xvii.)  In 
 watching  the  working  of  the  Pagan  mind  in  its 
 strenuous  efforts  to  seek  the  "  living  amongst  the 
 dead,"  is  it  not  as  if  we  did  catch  the  accent  of  that 
 beautiful  prayer  of  one  of  the  Christian  saints  :  "  Tu 
 fecisti  nos  ad  te,  et  inquietum  est  cor  nostrum  donee 
 requiescat  in  te.  Quies  apud  te  est  valde  et  vita 
 imperturbabihs  !  "  Paganism  did  "  grope  after  God," 
 according  to  the  original ;  but  further  we  cannot  go. 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY    REMARKS.  13 
 
 and  more  we  cannot  say  upon  the  subject.  Paganism 
 did  not  find  him,  because  it  sought  amiss.  It  com- 
 menced with  uncertainty,  it  proceeded,  "groping"  in 
 darkness,  and  ended  with  confusion.  Yet  notwith- 
 standing this  melancholy  feature  in  spurious  Rehgion, 
 it  is  natural  that  we  should  discover  solitary  truths  in 
 a  disfigured  and  mutilated  condition,  which  indicate 
 a  noble  descent,  and  tell  the  tale  of  a  very  doleful  and 
 melancholy  wreck.  In  true  Religion,  on  the  other 
 hand,  we  discover  not  only  solitary  truths,  but  we 
 have  the  truth  itself  in  all  its  original  pm'ity  and  inte- 
 grity. Whatever  meagre  remnants  of  truth  are  retained 
 in  spmious  creeds,  we  have  in  their  divine  originality 
 and  plenitude  in  genuine  Rehgion. 
 
 If  at  any  time  it  may  be  said  of  genuine  Religion, 
 that,  like  the  path  of  the  just,  it  "  shineth  more 
 and  more  until  the  perfect  day,"  it  will  be  upon  being 
 contrasted  with  the  several  caricatures  of  spmious 
 systems  of  belief.  Each  system  of  spurious  Religion 
 will  call  forth  in  genuine  Religion  such  a  multiplicity  of 
 Divine  excellences,  as  to  create  surprise,  and  command 
 the  admiration  of  every  unprejudiced  mind.  Like  a 
 diamond,  which,  by  each  turn,  emits  fresh  lustre  and 
 a  fresh  variety  of  hues  and  aspects,  so  peculiarly 
 striking  in  that  gem,  so  each  turn  of  "  the  pearl  of  great 
 price"  is  fraught  with  fresh  glory,  which  comforts  and 
 rejoices  the  very  heart,  and  transports  the  mind  of  the 
 beholder ;  each  monster  of  a  mythology  eliciting  fresh 
 and  uncreated  beauty  in  the  Religion  of  Jesus.     As 
 
14  DEFINITION    OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 falsehood  can  only  be  known  by  the  standard  of  truth, 
 and  spurious  creeds  by  the  divme  origmal,  so  again 
 the  deformities  and  absurdities  of  falsehood  cause  us 
 to  notice  more  fully,  and  to  prize  more  highly,  the 
 excellences  and  characteristic  perfections  of  divine 
 truth. 
 
 5.  Falsehood  being  at  all  times  the  perversion  of 
 truth,  we  discover  in  the  most  grievous  errors  in 
 Religion  a  perversion  of  the  most  vital  truths  of  revela- 
 tion ;  and  it  may  not  be  without  interest  to  specify  a 
 few  instances  in  which  the  Pagan  mind  has  given 
 utterance  to  an  undefined,  but  strong  desire  "  to  seek 
 the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him  and  find 
 him." 
 
 No  form  of  Religion  has  ever  existed  which  did  not 
 endeavom'  to  show  that  it  had  been  preparatively 
 introduced  in  long  by-gone  ages.  All  false  creeds  of 
 apparently  modern  date,  labour  to  satisfy  the  more 
 advanced  and  higher  wants  of  the  present,  and  at  the 
 same  time  to  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  most 
 ancient  times.  With  no  exception,  the  religious  chro- 
 nology of  Pagan  systems  carries  us  back  into  the  depths 
 of  a  past  eternity.  They  are  invariably  searching  for 
 a  historic  foundation,  from  a  fear  lest  they  proceed 
 arbitrarily  in  matters  of  Religion ;  and  they  endeavour 
 to  fill  up  the  deficiency,  of  which  they  are  sensible, 
 by  means  of  poetry,  mythology,  and  by  a  number  of 
 isolated  pseudo-miraculous  deeds.  But  even  more  than 
 that — and   this    is  remarkable — thev    are  anxious  to 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY  REMARKS.  15 
 
 have  their  respective  systems  estabHshecl  in  the  deepest 
 recesses  of  past  eternity.  And  is  there  no  proof  in 
 this  of  the  deeply-rooted  suspicion  in  the  human 
 mind,  in  reference  to  such  rehgious  opinions  as  have 
 spontaneously  risen  within  man  ?  is  there  no  evidence 
 of  a  desire  to  discover  a  deeper  foundation  than  the 
 unassisted  efforts  of  the  mind  are  able  to  afford  within 
 the  limits  of  time  ?  It  is  a  loud  testimony,  that  the 
 moral  constitution  of  man  required  at  all  times,  and  in 
 all  places,  a  divine  revelation  from  beyond  the  narrow 
 precincts  of  time  ;  and  this  noble  desire  to  build  upon 
 that  "  rock  of  ages,"  which  is  unaffected  by  the  lapse 
 of  time,  has  found  utterance  in  the  absurd  and  fabu- 
 lous chronologies  of  the  leading  systems  of  Pagan 
 mythology. 
 
 Again,  a  most  superficial  acquaintance,  more  espe- 
 cially with  eastern  mythologies,  will  impress  our  minds 
 with  the  fact,  that  there  is  invariably  manifested  a 
 relish,  not  only  for  what  is  rare  and  extraordinary,  but 
 what  exceeds  all  the  bounds  of  truth,  all  probability, 
 sound  reason,  and  common  sense.  How  often  do 
 mythological  creeds  act  upon  the  strange  maxim, 
 "  Credo,  quia  absurdum  !"  In  so  strange  a  delight  in 
 what  is  extravagant,  wonderful,  and  marvellous,  as  it 
 has  been  exemplified  in  Pagan  systems,  we  have  the 
 perversion  of  one  of  the  noblest  principles  of  the 
 human  mind.  The  absence  of  the  true  object  induces 
 the  powers  of  the  human  soul  to  shape  unto  itself 
 mimic  representations  and  spurious  forms  of  what  it 
 
IG  DEFINITION    OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 actually  needs  and  follows  after,  if  haply  it  might  find 
 it.  These  undefined  and  restless  motions  of  the  soul 
 to  repose  upon  the  bosom  of  the  great,  the  infinite, 
 and  the  marvellous,  though  noble  in  themselves,  have 
 subsequently  ministered  abundantly  to  aggravate  the 
 amount  of  human  folly  and  impiety  to  an  almost  un- 
 limited extent. 
 
 Again,  God  instructed  mankind  originally  in  a 
 manner  which  was  best  calculated  to  engage  their 
 interest,  and  to  suit  their  infantine  capacities.  He 
 appears  to  man  as  his  father  and  friend ;  they  see  him 
 with  their  eyes,  and  they  hear  him  with  their  ears. 
 This  familiar  intercourse  is  followed  by  revelations, 
 through  the  instrumentality  of  nightly  dreams  and 
 visions,  as  well  as  by  angelic  messengers  ;  then  follow 
 revelations  by  the  immediate  inspiration  of  certain 
 chosen  vessels ;  and  when  God  at  sundry  times  and 
 in  divers  manners  had  spoken  in  times  past  unto  the 
 fathers  by  the  prophets,  he  at  last  spoke  unto  men  by 
 his  Son.  The  Word  was  made  flesh.  Perfectly  analo- 
 gous to  this  divine  mode  of  instruction,  which  was 
 adapting  itself  to  the  gradual  development  of  man- 
 kind, Paganism  throughout  proceeds  on  the  same 
 principle,  in  its  spurious  efforts  to  instruct  the  world, 
 piu-suing  the  same  course,  only  in  a  material  sense. 
 As  the  original  commenced  with  manifestations  of  the 
 Deity,  and  ended  with  the  incarnation  of  the  blessed 
 Godhead ;  so  Paganism  commenced  with  similar  mani- 
 festations of  the   Godhead  cultivating  familiar  inter- 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY  REMARKS.  17 
 
 course  with  the  human  race.  This  immediate  and 
 famihar  converse  of  God  with  man  was  also  here 
 followed  by  a  counterfeit  inspiration,  by  spurious 
 oracles,  and  similar  workings  of  a  pseudo-prophetical 
 spirit :  and  in  full  accordance  with  the  original,  they 
 also  ended  with  incarnations  of  the  Deity,  in  various 
 forms  and  for  various  purposes.  And  this  leads  us  to 
 another  instance,  how  the  errors  of  spurious  creeds 
 are  a  perversion  of  sublime  truths,  which  could  not  be 
 revealed  by  flesh  and  blood.  We  know,  upon  divine 
 authority,  that  the  Pagan  world,  in  seeking  and  feeling 
 after  truth,  did  not  seek  the  "  Divinity  "  in  general, 
 this  being  already  known  to  them,  "  for  God  hath 
 showed  it  unto  them"  (Rom.  i.  19,  20);  but  they 
 seek  the  "  Lord''  a  term  which  in  the  New  Testament 
 invariably  signifies  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  (Acts  xvii. 
 27,  28.)  Spurious  creeds  do  not  seek  the  Godhead  in 
 general,  but  they  do  seek  reconciliation  to  this  un- 
 known but  dreaded  Divinity.  And  is  not  the  universal 
 deification  of  heroes  and  men  of  renown  the  offspring 
 of  a  significant  aspiration  after  the  God -man  Jesus 
 Christ  our  Lord,  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  the 
 King  of  his  people,  the  Hero  of  heroes,  and  the  Lord 
 of  lords?  The  worship  of  God  in  human  form  and 
 human  nature  was  the  ever-restless  effort  of  Pagan 
 idolatry,  however  poor,  cramped,  and  insipid  may 
 have  been  the  forms  in  which  they  struggled  to  reahze 
 and  to  fix  the  great  idea  which  was  the  object  of  their 
 hopes  and  desires.      Paganism   was    groping   in  the 
 
 VOL.  I.  c 
 
18  "DEFINITION    OF    RELIGION.  [chap.  I. 
 
 dark  after  the   "  Lord "  Jesus,    as   an   approachable 
 intercessor,  and  the  truly  incarnate  Deity  from  on  high ; 
 and    in   its   fabled   incarnations,   it   exemplified    the 
 outgoings  and  yearning  of  the  human  nature  in  its 
 forlorn  and  deplorable  condition  in  search  after  Him 
 who  is  emphatically  styled  "  the  desire  of  all  nations." 
 Again,  notwdthstandiug  all  that  can  be  m-ged  against 
 it,  may  we  not  go  further,  and  find  a  caricature  in 
 almost  every  false  creed  of  that  most  mysterious  and 
 sublime  doctrine  of  Religion,  viz.  the  blessed  truth  of 
 the  divine  Trinity  ?      If  errors,  when  universal,  may 
 generally  be  traced  to  some  perversion  of  truth,  we 
 might  certainly  expect  to  do  so  in  this  present  case. 
 We  have  doubtless  a  corruption  of  the  doctrine  of 
 the  Trinity,    as    dimly   shadowed   forth  in  primitive 
 revelation,  in  the  monstrous  error  of  Polytheism ;  and 
 it   is   at   least   possible,    that   this   dogma,  corruptly 
 remembered,  perhaps  gave  rise  to  that  very  error  of 
 Polytheism,  which  at  length  obliterated  almost  every 
 trace  of  rational  Religion.     But  we  have  besides  in 
 almost  every  Heathen  Mythology  a  divine  Triad,  if  not 
 a   Trinity ;    and  in   some   cases,  even    a   Monad   in 
 connexion  with  a  divine  Triad.     Let  it  be  said,  that 
 the  eagerness  of  primitive  Christianity  to  obtain  for 
 itself  the  patronage  of  philosophy,  professed  to  find 
 the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  the  writings  of  Plato ; 
 and  that  if  they  had  happened  to  maintain  instead, 
 a  duality  or  a  quaternity  of  the  Godhead,  the  same 
 writings  would  have  equally  befriended  them  ; — let  it  be 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY    REMARKS.  19 
 
 said,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  in  the  Christian 
 sense,  was  not  only  unknown  to  the  Pagan  world,  but 
 even  to  the  Jews; — let  it  be  said,  that  the  dogma  of  the 
 divine  Trinity,  as  it  appeared  upon  the  highest  and  last 
 stage  of  revealed  Religion,   was  never  given   as  an 
 object  of  speculation,  but  of  godliness  and  practical 
 comfort :    but    all   these   and   other   sayings    do   not 
 interfere  with  our  present  argument.     Waving  for  the 
 present  the  point,  that  it  is  the  abstract  metaphysical 
 unity  of  the  Deity,  and  not  the  doctrine  of  the  ever- 
 blessed  Trinity,  which  is  against  reason,  let  it  suffice 
 to  remind  the  reader,  that  if  it  be  what  men  practically 
 need,  then  this  amounts  to  nothing  more  than  what 
 we  venture  to  presume,  viz.  that  human  nature  also,  in 
 this  present  instance,  has  given  utterance  to  wants  in 
 Pagan  errors ;    wants  which  are  deeply  felt,  because 
 deeply  engraven  in  its  moral  constitution.     Indistinct 
 and  undefined  as  these  anticipations  must  have  been, 
 and  far  beyond  the  power  of  human  reason,  they  were 
 yet  keenly  felt ;  and  nature  in  her  desperate  efforts  to 
 "  grope"  after  the  holy,  blessed,  and  glorious  Trinity, 
 kept  not  silence  of  her  wants. 
 
 6.  Whatever  the  analogies  between  genuine  and 
 spurious  Religion  may  be,  they  both  agree  in  seeking 
 and  feeling  after  God.  But  whilst  Mythology  seeks  in 
 vain,  true  Religion  reunites  the  creature  to  his  God 
 and  Maker.  The  object  of  Religion  is,  that  we  might 
 have  fellowship  with  him,  "  fellowship  with  the  Father, 
 and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ."     Christ  is  the  way, 
 
 c  2 
 
2{)  DEFINITION    OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 the  truth,  and  the  life,  and  no  one  cometh  to  the 
 Father  but  through  him.  The  Father  also  will  love 
 him,  and  they  will  come  unto  him  and  make  their 
 abode  with  man.  The  mystery  of  true  Religion  was 
 proclaimed  by  our  blessed  Lord,  when  he  declared: 
 "  At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  the  Father, 
 and  ye  in  me,  and  I  in  you.  He  that  hath  my 
 commandments  and  kcepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth 
 me ;  and  he  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father, 
 and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself  unto 
 him."  Until  this  equilibrium  had  been  gained  in  the 
 history  of  true  Religion,  the  soul  of  mankind  had  been 
 seeking  and  feeling  after  God ;  it  had  been  yearning 
 and  thirsting  four  thousand  years  "  for  God,  for  the 
 living  God."  Man  had  been  wandering  through  every 
 place  and  every  sphere  of  Creation ;  he  had  been 
 searching  every  corner  of  his  own  mysterious  nature, 
 exclaiming  as  he  w\indered  through  perplexing  mazes 
 of  clouds  and  darkness :  "  As  the  hart  panteth  after 
 the  water-brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O  God. 
 My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for  the  living  God :  when 
 shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God?"  Psalm xlii.  1,  2. 
 The  ultimate  view  of  Religion  is  fellowship  with 
 God;  and  man  from  before  the  foundation  of  the 
 world  w^as  set  apart,  as  it  were,  to  be  the  prime 
 sacrament  for  the  divine  presence,  and  indwelling  of 
 the  Most  High.  God  Almighty  in  manifesting  himself 
 for  this  most  gracious  purpose,  reveals  himself,  not 
 what  he  is  to  himself,  but  what  he  was  pleased  to  be 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY   REMARKS.  21 
 
 unto  man.  *'  Qualiter  cognovi  te  ?  Cognovi  te  in  te  ! 
 Cognovi  te,  non  sicut  tibi  es,  sed  certe  sicut  mihi  es, 
 et  non  sine  te,  seel  in  te,  quia  tu  lux,  quse  illuminasti 
 me.  Sicut  enim  tibi  es,  soli  tibi  cognitus  es,  sicut 
 mihi  es,  secundum  gratiam  tuam  et  mihi  cognitus  es — 
 cognovi,  quoniam  Deus  mens  es  tu!"     (Augustin.) 
 
 Yea  even  in  the  most  sublime  character,  as  God  the 
 Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  have  no 
 actual  description  of  the  divine  nature  and  essence ; 
 it  is  a  revelation  "  via  gratiae,"  not  "  via  eminentise." 
 God  Almighty  revealed  himself  as  the  triune  God, 
 according  to  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  '^  that  they  all  may 
 be  one,  as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that 
 they  also  may  be  one  in  us." 
 
 In  the  revelation  of  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
 the  Holy  Ghost,  all  things  necessary  to  godliness  and 
 the  consummation  of  true  Religion  have  been  unfolded. 
 The  election  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of 
 true  Religion,  emanates  from  the  love  of  the  Holy 
 Father  as  from  its  prime  cause ;  it  was  duly  un- 
 folded and  organized  by  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
 Christ;  and  it  was  finally  rendered  effectual  by  the 
 quickening  and  sanctifying  fellowship  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost.  Religion,  in  the  broad  Scripture  sense  of  the 
 term,  is,  therefore,  not  only  to  be  above  us  as  the 
 Father's  will  and  pleasure ;  it  is,  farther,  not  only  to  be 
 among  us  as  a  gracious  institution  and  work  of  the 
 blessed  Son ;  but  dwelling  and  working  within  us,  as 
 the  powerful  and  blessed  Communion  of  the  Holy 
 
22  DEFINITION    OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 Ghost.  God,  as  Eatlier,  resolves  upon  our  rescue 
 before  the  foundation  of  the  world;  God  the  Son 
 organizes  the  economy  of  redemption  in  the  process  of 
 time ;  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost  effectually  applies  and 
 individualises  this  most  gracious  purpose  for  all  ages ; 
 that  the  triune  God  might  be  above  all,  through  all, 
 and  in  all. 
 
 The  covenant  name  of  Jehovah  in  the  Old  Tes- 
 tament did  hide  within  itself  something  awfully 
 mysterious  and  unexplained ;  and  it  was  from  a  feeling 
 of  reverential  awe  that  the  Jews  never  ventured  to 
 pronounce  it.  Likewise  and  if  possible  still  more 
 mysterious,  is  the  covenant  name  of  the  triune  God 
 in  the  dispensation  of  the  Gospel.  The  most  gracious 
 appellation  of  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
 Ghost  is  fraught  with  some  unutterable  mystery. 
 It  is  peculiar  to  the  character  of  divine  revelations, 
 that  they  always  point  back  to  the  Most  Holy  of  the 
 temple  of  truth,  from  which  they  emanate;  which, 
 however,  is  never  fully  disclosed. 
 
 So  much  is  certain,  that  whenever  Scripture  speaks 
 of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  pre- 
 serves always  a  unity  without  a  sameness ;  a  diversity 
 and  difference  without  a  separation.  The  Father  does 
 not  appear,  but  sends  the  Spirit  and  the  Son,  and  in 
 both  he  takes  up  his  invisible  abode.  The  Son  is  not 
 the  Father,  but  is  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  is  in 
 him.  The  Father  never  says  that  he  is  the  Son ;  but, 
 **  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased ; 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY    REMARKS.  23 
 
 hear  ye  him."  And  the  Son  adds,  "  Whosoever 
 heareth  me,  heareth  the  Father."  Thus  we  read  that 
 God  is  Spirit,  and  that  the  Lord  is  the  Spirit,  and 
 that  God  was  the  Word  ;  but  never,  the  Father  and  the 
 Son  are  the  Spirit,  although  the  Father  and  the  Son 
 are  present  in  the  Spirit.  The  Spirit  is  called  the 
 Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  proceeding  from  the 
 Father,  and  sent  by  Christ.  Again,  not  the  Son  of 
 God,  but  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  anointed  with  the  Holy 
 Ghost.  In  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  we  have,  there- 
 fore, neither  a  mere  abstract  divinity  with  accidental 
 differences,  nor  a  number  of  single  deities ;  but  one 
 living,  incomparable,  and  unspeakable  God !  To 
 every  inquiry  regarding  his  natiu-e  he  replies  in  the 
 New  Testament;  "  I  am  that  I  am,"  in  the  name  of 
 the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Neither 
 philosophical  nor  ecclesiastical  definitions  will  fully 
 unseal  the  mystery,  nor  settle  the  question.  But  the 
 time  will  come,  when  our  hearts  shall  be  comforted, 
 "  being  knit  together  in  love,  and  unto  all  riches  of  the 
 full  assurance  of  understanding,  to  the  acknowledgment 
 of  the  mystery  of  God,  and  of  the  Father,  and  of 
 Christ,"  (Col.  ii.  2  ;)  and  when  all  shall  be  able  to  com- 
 prehend, with  all  saints,  what  is  the  breadth,  and 
 length,  and  depth,  and  height  of  this  ineffable  mystery 
 of  godliness.  The  Scriptures  repel  every  attempt  that 
 now  can  be  made  "  to  see  Him  as  he  is,"  as  vain 
 deceit.  It  behoves  us  rather  to  bow  with  our  dull 
 understandings  in  profound  humility ;  to  admire  with 
 
24  DEFINITION    OF   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 adoring  gratitude  that  divine  goodness  which  even  in 
 this  mystery  condescended  to  our  low  estate ;  and  to 
 remember  that  good  old  proverb :  "  Nescire  velle, 
 quae  magister  maximus — docere  non  vult,  erudita 
 inscitia  est !" 
 
 .  We  may  rejoice,  indeed,  over  a  Religion  so  full  of 
 life,  and  truth,  and  love,  and  peace,  redeeming  our 
 whole  existence,  and  exalting  our  whole  being  to  a 
 blessed  communion  with  the  "  happy  God."  He  is 
 glorified,  and  man  is  redeemed.  Jehovah  originally 
 announced  himself,  by  word  and  deed,  as  the  living 
 God;  in  the  end  "  the  life  is  manifested;"  and  that 
 which  has  been  seen  and  heard  and  handled  of  the 
 Word  of  Life  is  declared  unto  us,  that  we  might  truly 
 have  fellowship  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus 
 Christ.  In  the  beginning  of  the  development  of  true 
 Religion,  we  have  the  promise — "  Blessing,  I  will 
 bless  thee;"  and  in  the  end,  the  Church  of  Christ 
 responds,  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual 
 blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ :  according  as  he 
 hath  chosen  us  in  him  before  the  foundation  of  the 
 world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame 
 before  him  in  love :  having  predestinated  us  unto  the 
 adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  accord- 
 ing to  the  good  pleasiu'e  of  his  will,  to  the  praise  of 
 the  glory  of  his  grace,  wherein  he  hath  made  us 
 accepted  in  the  beloved.  In  whom  we  have  redemption 
 through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PRELIMINARY    REMARKS.  25 
 
 to  the  riches  of  his  grace ;  wherein  he  hath  abounded 
 toward  us  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence ;  having  made 
 known  unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will,  according  to 
 his  good  pleasure  which  he  hath  purposed  in  himself : 
 that  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times  he 
 might  gather  together  in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both 
 which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth ;  even  in 
 him :  in  whom  also  we  have  obtained  an  inheritance, 
 being  predestinated  according  to  the  purpose  of  him 
 who  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own 
 will."  Now  we  have  within  us  the  first-fruits  of  the 
 Spirit,  which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance;  but 
 then  we  shall  be  satisfied,  when  we  awake  in  his  like- 
 ness, to  see  him  as  he  is.  FeMotvshvp,  tlien,  loith  the 
 Father,  tlifomjh  the  Son,  Ijy  the  Holy  Ghost, — this  be 
 our  definition  of  genuine  Religion. 
 
CHAPTER  11. 
 
 HISTORICAL    DEVELOPMENT    OF    RELIGION    IN    THE    OLD 
 
 TESTAMENT. 
 
 1.  In  tracing  the  development  of  true  Religion,  we 
 enter  upon  a  subject  of  the  most  comprehensive  and 
 important  character.  We  have  indeed  none  of  the 
 systems  of  philosophical  speculation  respecting  divine 
 things,  in  which  theory  upon  theory  have  been  doomed 
 to  exhaust  the  resources  of  human  wisdom  and  in- 
 genuity ;  but  we  have  nevertheless  a  philosophy  of  the 
 plan  of  salvation,  a  body  of  divine  truth,  and  a  ''■form 
 of  sound  loords''  which  we  must  hold  fast,  lest  we 
 separate  what  "  God  hath  joined  together."  Dealing 
 in  fragments  leads  at  all  times  to  errors  of  a  most 
 grievous  nature,  even  in  Natural  Science.  The  neces- 
 sity of  taking  enlarged  and  comprehensive  views  in  the 
 sphere  of  Natural  Philosophy,  has  been  felt  already  by 
 Pagan  Philosophers.  Hence  the  beautiful  remark  of 
 Pliny,  respecting  tliis  subject :  "  Natures  rerum  vis 
 atque  majestas  in  omnibus  momentis  fide  caret,  si  quis 
 modo  partes  ejus,  ac  non  totum  complectatur  animor 
 
CHAP.  II.]       DEVELOPMENT    OF    RELIGION,    ETC.  27 
 
 But  if  this  be  true  respecting  "  earthly  things,"  how 
 much  more  does  it  apply  to  the  heavenly  truths  of 
 revealed  Religion  ! 
 
 With  a  view  to  illustrate  the  above  remark,  that 
 Holy  Scripture  eschews  philosophical  speculations 
 respecting  divine  things ;  we  beg  to  allude  only  to  one 
 great  fact,  which  lies  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  history 
 of  revealed  Religion.  When  the  Bible  first  introduced 
 the  Deity,  it  was  not  as  an  abstract  object  of  philo- 
 sophical and  metaphysical  speculation;  but  he  is 
 introduced  as  God  Almighty,  as  the  Maker  and 
 Creator  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible.  Revealed 
 Religion,  therefore,  led  man  in  a  most  direct  and 
 practical  manner,  from  an  unknown  to  a  revealed, 
 from  a  dead  to  a  living,  from  every  false  and  imagi- 
 nary to  the  only  true  God ;  and  in  so  doing  it 
 ministered  a  most  effectual  antidote  against  the 
 vanity  of  a  reprobate  mind,  which  has  been  exhibited 
 in  all  systems  of  spurious  Religion. 
 
 Man  was  to  grow  up  in  the  image  of  God  in  which 
 he  was  created,  and  to  expand  his  moral,  intellectual, 
 and  spiritual  capacities  in  the  likeness  of  his  Maker. 
 As,  however,  his  nature  was  finite  and  limited,  he 
 stood  in  need  of  special  divine  communication  regard- 
 ing the  nature,  the  character,  the  attributes,  and  the 
 will  of  the  Almighty.  Upon  coming  forth  from  the 
 hand  of  his  Maker,  man  was  good,  "very  good;" 
 there  being  no  defect  in  his  nature.  He  was,  however, 
 to  advance  to  higher  and  higher  perfection.     He  was 
 
28  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 wise,  but  possessing  no  absolute  measure  of  knowledge, 
 his  intellectual,  as  well  as  his  moral  capacities,  were 
 capable  of  being  expanded.  This  contemplated  growth 
 in  the  divine  likeness  appears  in  a  striking  contrast 
 with  the  condition  of  Him,  of  w^hom  David  says 
 "  Thou  art  the  same'' 
 
 There  being,  however,  no  possibility  of  spiritual 
 growth  without  the  exercise  of  spu'itual  powers ; 
 and  there  being  no  virtue  without  moral  liberty  to 
 choose  between  good  and  evil ;  there  being  neither 
 safety  nor  firmness  in  w^hat  is  good,  without  a  faithful 
 dependence  upon  the  guidance  of  a  superior  wisdom, — 
 man  was  necessarily  subjected  to  a  state  of  probation. 
 Being  endowed  with  a  god-like  spirit,  and  raised  far 
 above  the  vegetable  and  animal  spheres  of  life,  man 
 could  not  unfold  the  peculiarities  of  his  superior 
 nature  by  an  unconscious  and  natiu-al  process.  He 
 could  not  grow  and  vegetate  like  one  of  the  noble 
 plants  of  Paradise,  but  he  w^as  rather  to  resolve  to  do  that, 
 which  it  was  his  high  destiny  to  accomplish,  and  for 
 which  he  had  received  the  necessary  strength.  It  was, 
 however,  in  his  power  to  abuse  what  was  intended  for 
 the  immediate  advancement  in  his  Maker's  image.  God 
 manifested  himself  to  man  as  the  Creator,  the  Father, 
 and  the  Lord  of  his  whole  existence.  He  breathed 
 into  his  soul  that  indescribable  something,  that 
 law  written  upon  the  hearts,  that  conscience  bear- 
 ing witness ;  and  it  was  now  part  of  the  divine 
 instruction   and  guidance,   to   aid  this   progress  and 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  :29 
 
 growth  in  what  is  good,  by  giving  a  distinct 
 commandment.  (Gen.  ii.  16,  17.)  The  Lord  God 
 commanded  man  ;  but  from  the  beginning,  his  com- 
 mandments were  not  heavy.  The  Hberal  character  of 
 this  very  simple  command,  permits  the  fidl  enjoyment 
 of  all  things,  with  one  exception  only.  This  fu'st  and 
 extremely  simple  distinction  between  good  and  evil 
 was  not  only  sufficient  for  the  primitive  state  of  man, 
 but  it  would  have  sufficed  for  aU  ages,  if  our  first 
 parents  had  reposed  confidence  in  the  guide  of  their 
 youth.  But  without  necessity  they  fell.  In  the 
 likeness  of  the  first  man  all  were  tempted,  and  in  his 
 likeness  aU  did  fall ;  and  thus  was  entailed  upon 
 the  entire  race,  the  fatal  and  deadly  consequences  of 
 the  melancholy  catastrophe  of  that  fall;  out  of  one 
 transgression  arose  a  countless  train  of  kindred 
 transgressions,  and  out  of  one  simple  command  a 
 countless  train  of  kiudi-ed  commandments. 
 
 The  moral  liberty  of  man  shmibers  instinctively,  as 
 it  were,  in  the  human  breast ;  and  man  is  put  into 
 the  position  to  act  with  consciousness  and  deliberation, 
 only  when  the  distinction  between  good  and  evil  has 
 'been  brought  before  his  mind.  This  is  indeed  the 
 great  moment  from  which  truly  religious  life  can  date 
 its  origin  ;  but  it  is  likewise  the  important  crisis 
 which  determines  the  future  relation  of  man  to  God 
 above  and  the  world  around  him,  and  which  involves 
 his  future  personal  happiness  or  woe. 
 
 It   was   not   the    impossibility   to   sin    {luui  posse 
 
30  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 peccare,)  in   which  the  original  hohness  of  man  con- 
 sisted.     This   moral  impossibility   to  transgress    was 
 not  to  be  the  beginning,  but  the  final  object  of  his 
 religions  and  spiritual  development.     Nor  yet  could  it 
 be   said  that  the   divine  likeness  of  the  first  parents 
 consisted  merely  in  the  possibility  not  to  sin,  {posse 
 non  peccare,)  so  that  the  primitive  state  of  man  would 
 have  been  neither  good  nor  bad.     In  this  latter  case, 
 man  would  have  sustained  no  actual  loss  by  the  fall ; 
 but  he  would  only  have  failed  to  obtain  what  he  ought 
 to  have  obtained.      The  primitive  state  of  man  was 
 rather  a  condition,  in  which  he  was  positively  endowed 
 with  every  good  and  holy  disposition,  for  the  specific 
 purpose  of  exemplifying  these  talents  in  the  likeness  and 
 in  the  service  of  his  God  and  Maker,     This,  however, 
 w^as  not  to  be  effected  by  some  unconscious  process  of 
 Nature,  but  by  a  faithful  cooperation  on  the  part  of  man, 
 and  by  a  deliberate  choice  of  what  is  good,  and  holy, 
 and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God.      By  thus  living 
 conformably  to  the  will  of  God,  the  original  holiness  of 
 man  would  have  become  a  self-elected  attribute  in  his 
 human  nature ;    man  would  have  acknowledged  the 
 original   gift   by   an   expression    of  gratitude  to  the 
 gracious  Donor.      The  possibility  not  to    sin  would 
 eventually  have  transpired  into  a  moral  impossibility 
 to  transgress  ;  and  the  tree  of  life  in  the  midst  of  the 
 garden  would  then  only  have  been  fulfilling  its  signifi- 
 cant position. 
 
 Man  in    his   state  of   innocence  possessed  all  the 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  31 
 
 means  and  powers  which  could  ensure  his  victory  in 
 the  hour  of  temptation.  He  knew  "  what  is  that  good, 
 and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God."  He  had 
 received  a  command  which  was  just,  and  good,  and 
 holy.  He  was  expressly  warned  of  impending  danger 
 in  the  approaching  trial.  Man  could  and  should 
 resist  the  temptation  ;  but  he  could  likewise  neglect 
 the  voice  of  God,  and  give  heed  to  that  of  the  tempter. 
 He  can  determine  to  act  against  the  express  will  of 
 his  Maker.  God  indeed  foreknew  the  end  of  this  pro- 
 bation ;  yet  he  must  permit  its  taking  place,  to  bring 
 about  the  necessary  crisis — a  crisis  the  necessity  of 
 which  was  founded  in  the  human  nature.  God  can, 
 however,  permit  it  without  yielding  one  iota  of  his 
 eternal  purpose,  inasmuch  as  he  had  already  provided 
 the  means  and  ways  to  restore  his  fallen  creatures. 
 (Ephes.  i.  4).  The  Father  of  spirits  w^as  endeavouring 
 to  lead  his  offspring  forward  diu'ing  the  hour  of  proba- 
 tion to  their  great  and  endless  j)roJit,  that  they  might 
 be  partakers  of  his  holiness  hy  their  own  p^ee  choice ; 
 but  having  no  root,  they  fall  away  in  the  time  of 
 temptation.  God  had  forbidden  sin,  and  desired  that 
 the  world  should  be  very  good.  But  when  man 
 wished  to  have  it  otherwise,  God  had  already  provided 
 a  remedy  against  it.  The  fall  of  man  could  not 
 frustrate  God's  eternal  purpose  of  love.  Instead  of 
 stirring  up  the  good  gift  of  God,  and  instead  of 
 striving  lawfully  against  the  evil  which  was  already 
 existing,  man  would  fall.      God  is  not  mocked,  for 
 
32  DEVELOPMENT    OF  RELIGION  [chap.  ir. 
 
 whatsoever  a  man  sowcth,  that  shall  he  also  reap. 
 God  had  sowed  good  seed  into  good  ground ;  but  while 
 man  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares  among 
 the  wheat,  and  went  his  way. 
 
 The  purpose  of  God  could  not  make  it  necessary 
 that  sin  should  enter  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  with 
 a  view  to  glorify  his  great  name.  This  would  indeed 
 be  equivalent  to  the  maxim,  "  Let  us  continue  in  sin, 
 that  grace  may  abound."  If  we,  however,  assume  the 
 scriptural  view  of  the  case,  that  it  was  the  destiny  of 
 man  to  grow  up  in  the  divine  likeness  to  higher  and 
 higher  perfection  ;  that  he  was  destined  to  be  a  fellow- 
 helper  in  the  exceeding  great  problem  of  creation, 
 according  to  which  a  "  whole  family  in  heaven  and 
 earth  "  should  be  organized  ;  and  if  we  hold,  on  the 
 other  hand,  that  redemption  was  not  merely  a  restitu- 
 tion of  all  things  ;  we  entertain  no  contradictory  views. 
 The  intended  growth  in  the  divine  image  involved  the 
 necessity  that  they  should  advance  to  the  liberty  of  the 
 sons  of  God  by  way  of  obedience,  and  thus  to  know 
 good  and  evil,  as  God  knew  good  and  evil.  As, 
 therefore,  Adam  did  attain  this  knowledge  of  good 
 and  evil  neither  before  nor  by  his  fall,  we  come  to  the 
 conclusion,  that  the  redeemed  child  of  God  attains 
 something  through  Christ,  which  was  not  attained  nor 
 possessed  by  the  first  man  in  his  state  of  innocency. 
 
 2.  Mankind  w^ere  hitherto  guided  in  their  religious 
 development  by  the  Word  of  the  living  God.  There 
 was,  as  yet,  no  obstacle  which  obstructed  their  growth 
 
CHAP.  ii.J  IN    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT.  33 
 
 in  spiritual  life,  and  in  religious  knowledge.  But  this 
 mode  of  training  the  innocent  children  of  God  became 
 inadequate  after  the  catastrophe  of  the  fall  had  placed 
 them  suddenly  in  a  fearfully  altered  condition.  How 
 deplorable  was  now  the  situation  of  man  !  how  still 
 more  deplorable  would  have  been  his  condition  if  God 
 had  turned  his  face  from  man,  when  man  was  hiding 
 his  face  from  his  Creator  !  Instead,  however,  of  with- 
 drawing his  divine  revelation  from  the  scene  of  misery 
 and  confusion,  it  was  made  to  assume  a  still  more 
 gracious  character.  God  now  promises  to  accomplish 
 an  everlasting  deliverance  in  behalf  of  the  tempted, 
 and  a  final  victory  over  the  tempter.  "  Ye  shall  be 
 like  God,"  was  the  insinuation  of  the  wily  tempter. 
 Satan  spoke  these  words  as  the  father  of  hes,  but  they 
 were  nevertheless  prophetical  of  things  to  come.  Man 
 did  fall ;  incident  to  the  fall  of  man,  was  divine  re- 
 demption. In  the  plan  of  redemption  God  was  found 
 in  the  likeness  of  man,  in  order  that  man  should 
 indeed  once  more  become  like  God. 
 
 Man  was  undeceived  at  the  time  the  fatal  trans- 
 gression was  accomphshed.  He  has  no  longer  peace 
 with  God,  with  himself,  or  with  the  world  around 
 him.  He  flies  from  the  presence  of  an  offended  God, 
 and  is  pursued  by  deeds  of  vengeance  on  the  part 
 of  "  the  creature.''  Man  brought  Nature  into  the 
 bondage  of  corruption,  and  under  the  curse  of  the 
 Almighty,  instead  of  propagating  peace  and  blessing 
 by  ruling  over  the  earth,  and  having  dominion  over  it 
 
 VOL.  I.  D 
 
34  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 in  the  likeness  of  his  Maker.  Natnre  had  been 
 abused  ;  the  earth,  with  all  her  elements,  and  with  all 
 her  living  creatures,  had  been  witness  of  the  treacherous 
 character  of  the  appointed  vice-regent  of  the  Almighty. 
 Hence  the  groaning  and  travailing  in  pain  together  of 
 the  whole  creation  until  now.  The  curse  which  fell 
 upon  the  ground,  audibly  reproaches  man  at  every 
 turn  of  his  life.  Man  was  to  •  dress,  to  cultivate,  to 
 keep,  and  to  preserve  the  garden  of  Eden.  He  was 
 to  "  subdue'  the  whole  earth,  the  character  of  which 
 was  reflected  in  his  own  nature ;  for  it  will  be  remem- 
 bered that  Adamah  signifies  the  earth,  over  which 
 Adam  was  to  exercise  his  gentle  and  beneficent  rule. 
 The  beginning  of  Adam's  blissful  rule  should  be  made 
 where  God  had  placed  him,  and  it  should  gradually 
 extend  to  the  whole  of  this  globe,  which  was  destined 
 to  become  a  glorious  paradise.  The  scene  of  his  fatal 
 deed  had,  however,  become  his  enemy,  an  enemy  with 
 whom  he  has  to  struggle  in  the  sweat  of  his  face  to 
 maintain  his  very  existence,  until  at  length  his  terres- 
 trial body  is  overwhelmed  and  swallowed  up  :  for  dust 
 he  is,  and  unto  dust  he  shall  return  ! 
 
 Yet,  although  warned  by  the  fatal  consequences  of 
 the  original  fall,  which  had  given  type  and  tone  to 
 every  succeeding  eruption  of  evil,  few  only  were 
 guided  by  the  star  of  hope  which  had  brightened  on 
 the  horizon  of  a  fallen  world.  Not  only  had  man  no 
 longer  peace  with  God  above  and  the  world  around 
 him,  but  sin,  which  had  become  "  quick  and  powerful, 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  3S 
 
 and  sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword,"  was  piercing 
 even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  one  brother  from 
 another.  The  fallen  generation  was  a  house  divided 
 in  itself,  and  split  into  two  divisions.  One  part,  with 
 Cain,  "w^ent  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,"  to 
 follow  their  own  devices  in  another  country ;  but  the 
 meek  inherit  the  earth,  and  dwell  in  God's  presence. 
 This  pious  remnant  formed  themselves  into  a  separate 
 communion,  the  members  of  which  were  known  by  the 
 appellation  of  the  "  sons  of  God,"  in  contradistinction 
 to  the  "  children  of  men."  The  latter  were  the 
 descendants  of  Cain ;  the  former  were  the  descendants 
 of  Seth,  who  "  now  began  to  call  upon  the  name  of 
 Jehovah."  Whilst  the  pious  branch  of  the  human 
 family  thus  walked  with  God,  the  children  of  this 
 world  were  rapidly  sinking  deeper  and  deeper  into 
 sensuality,  ungodliness,  oppression,  and  violence;  there 
 w^as  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes.  The  laws  of 
 nature,  too,  were  violated ;  and  the  springing  up  of 
 the  evil  root  of  Polygamy  at  that  early  period,  gives 
 a  loud  and  unequivocal  testimony  of  how  suddenly 
 the  alarming  corruption  had  unstrung  some  of  the 
 strongest  and  most  sacred  ties  of  civil  and  social 
 life. 
 
 The  very  marked  separation  of  the  two  branches  of 
 the  human  family,  was  caused  by  a  departure  of  the 
 family  of  Cain  from  the  living  God.  This  separation 
 had  eventually  served  to  diminish  the  danger  which 
 might  have  arisen  from  a  possible  amalgamation   of 
 
 D  2 
 
36  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 both  families  in  the  cause  of  true  Rehgion.  Yet  some 
 difficulty  was  to  be  anticipated  at  a  more  advanced 
 stage  of  the  history  of  mankind,  in  preserving  so 
 desirable  a  distinction  between  the  two  families.  The 
 time  would  naturally  come  when  both  M'ould  have 
 so  increased  in  number  as  to  bring  them  into  contact 
 with  each  other.  This  seems  to  be  the  mind  of  Holy 
 Scripture,  when  the  intermixture  of  the  "  sons  of  God" 
 with  the  "  children  of  men "  is  brought  into  con- 
 nexion with  the  period  "  when  men  began  to  multiply 
 upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 
 
 It  M^as,  however,  not  a  mere  local  and  fortuitous 
 cause  which  brought  about  so  unhappy  an  alliance 
 between  the  two  branches  of  the  human  family.  There 
 is  another  reason,  which  deserves  to  be  mentioned, 
 because  it  is  one  so  perfectly  analogous  to  that  which 
 became  notorious,  when  sin  and  misery  were  first 
 introduced  into  the  world.  As,  namely,  at  the  begin- 
 ning the  woman  beguiled  the  man  that  he  did  eat,  so 
 now  the  daughters  of  Eve  beguile  the  "  sons  of  God" 
 from  the  simplicity  of  the  patriarchal  faith;  and  by 
 their  bewitching  charms,  they  became  a  snare  unto 
 the  people  of  God. 
 
 The  wall  of  partition,  which  had  hitherto  served  as  a 
 barrier  between  the  godly  and  the  ungodly  generation, 
 had  now  been  removed;  and  the  mortal  disease,  with 
 its  very  dreadful  and  alarming  symptoms,  acquired  addi- 
 tional fuel.  The  poisonous  root  of  bitterness  gained 
 fresh  soil,  in  which  it  coidd  luxuriate  and  bring  forth 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  37 
 
 its  deadly  fruit.  "  The  wickedness  of  man  was  great 
 in  the  earth."  Giants,  in  a  physical  sense,  were  the 
 natural  offspring  of  this  ill-starred  intermixture  of 
 hitherto  distinct  branches  of  the  human  family;  and 
 a  mighty  impulse  was  given  to  a  fearfully  rapid  and 
 gigantic  growth  of  corruption  and  ungodliness.  The 
 impending  catastrophe  is  announced  with  a  marvellous 
 simplicity,  (Gen.  vi.  6,  7) ;  and  the  resolve  of  Jehovah 
 to  destroy  his  creation,  can  only  be  understood  under 
 the  supposition,  that  *'  every  imagination  of  the 
 thoughts  of  the  heart  was  only  evil  continually." 
 All  flesh  upon  the  whole  earth  had  become  a  mould- 
 ering carcass  before  Jehovah,  and  if  his  purpose 
 regarding  mankind  was  to  stand,  the  degenerated  race 
 mast  inevitably  perish  from  his  presence,  and  a  new 
 order  of  things  commence.  One  sound  member  only 
 of  the  once  pious  family  of  Seth  remained,  and  it  was 
 for  the  above  purpose  that  "  Noah  found  grace  in  the 
 eyes  of  the  Lord." 
 
 The  justice  of  a  holy  God  interposes,  however,  in 
 a  most  significant  manner.  We  have  already  alluded 
 to  the  revenge  of  Nature,  which  has  been  deeply  felt 
 by  man  ever  since  the  ground  was  cm'sed  for  his  sake. 
 The  Judge  of  all  the  earth  gives  now,  more  especially, 
 power  to  one  element  over  the  other,  and  to  all 
 the  elements  he  gives  power  over  a  corrupted  genera- 
 tion. The  groaning  and  travailing  of  the  creature 
 had  become  so  intense  and  painful  under  the  tyranny 
 of  man,  that  all  the  elements  of  nature  were  convulsed, 
 
38  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 and  gave  birth  to  a  phenomenon  in  the  history  of  our 
 globe,  which  will  ever  stand  single  in  its  kind,  as  long 
 as  the  w^orld  endureth!  When  God  was  about  to 
 cleanse  the  earth,  and  to  destroy  our  whole  species, 
 with  a  few  solitary  exceptions,  he  would  execute  his 
 judgment  by  the  instrumentality  of  that  particular 
 element,  which  originally  embodied  the  several  germs 
 for  the  organization  of  this  our  globe.  (Gen.  i.  2.) 
 It  was  formed  in  the  water,  and  by  the  water  also  it 
 was  to  be  dissolved.  The  generation  which  had  pre- 
 maturely waxen  old,  and  become  rotten,  should  be 
 baptized  by  a  flood  of  destruction.  When  the  family 
 of  Noah,  with  the  several  species  of  living  creatures, 
 were  safely  lodged  in  the  ark,  the  fountains  of  the  deep 
 were  broken  up,  the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened, 
 and  the  rain  was  upon  the  earth  forty  days  and  forty 
 nights ! 
 
 3.  The  account  of  a  universal  flood,  which  drowned 
 the  ancient  Avorld,  has  been  imperfectly  preserved 
 in  the  traditions  of  almost  all  the  different  tribes  of 
 the  human  family;  but  in  none  of  them  has  the 
 judicial  character  of  this  awful  catastrophe  so  dis- 
 tinctly been  acknowledged.  In  a  religious  point  of 
 view,  it  has  imprinted  an  imperishable  seal  upon  the 
 antediluvian  Religion,  respecting  the  holiness  of  God, 
 and  the  necessity  of  an  unconditional  subordination 
 to  the  divine  will  on  the  part  of  m-an.  It  has  been 
 established  for  all  ages,  that  rebelHon  against  the  Most 
 High  shall  not  escape  his  judicial  visitation ;  and  that 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  39 
 
 mankind  is  fast  approaching  to  inevitable  destruction 
 when  God  and  Rehgion  are  set  at  defiance.  What 
 a  solemn  reflection  for  the  present  generation! 
 
 A  new  feature  which  is  apparent  in  the  develop- 
 ment of  Religion  upon  the  cessation  of  the  flood,  is 
 the  divine  covenant  with  Noah.  A  new  order  of  things 
 begins.  With  it,  the  season  of  the  "  forbearance 
 of  God "  commences.  It  was  the  substance  of  this 
 covenant,  that  while  the  earth  remained,  the  Father  in 
 heaven  would  make  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on 
 the  good,  and  send  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust. 
 Seed-time  and  harvest,  cold  and  heat,  summer  and 
 winter,  day  and  night,  shall  not  cease.  Neither  shall 
 all  flesh  be  cut  ofl"  any  more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood: 
 neither  shall  there  any  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the 
 earth.  God  would  not  leave  himself  without  witness, 
 in  that  he  did  good;  but  whilst  he  suflered  all  nations 
 to  walk  in  their  own  ways,  he  was  giving  them  rain 
 from  heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  their  hearts 
 with  food  and  gladness.  (Gen.  viii.  ix..  Matt,  v..  Acts 
 xiv.)  It  is,  indeed,  very  characteristic  of  the  infinite 
 goodness  and  long-suflering  of  God,  that  he,  as  it  were, 
 pledged  himself  to  spare  his  people,  to  bear  with  sin, 
 and  to  withhold  his  final  judgment,  until  He  should 
 come,  who  would  offer  an  all-sufficient  sacrifice,  which 
 speaketh  better  things  than  the  sweet-smelling  sacrifice 
 of  Noah.  A  renovated  earth  has  come  forth  from  this 
 baptism  of  water,  (1  Pet.  iii.  21,)  and  '^  feio,  that  is, 
 eight  souls"  who  "  were  saved  hy  water'  shall  replenish 
 
40  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  il. 
 
 the  same.  (1  Pet.  iii.  19,  20,  Gen.  ix.  7.)  The  earth 
 was  replenished  from  Noah  and  his  sons,  as  has  been 
 certified  by  the  tables  of  genealogy  which  succeed  the 
 account  of  the  flood.  But  this  brings  us  to  another  most 
 important  and  critical  moment  in  the  development  of 
 true  Rehgion,  and  that  is,  the  dispersion  of  the  post- 
 diluvian tribes  over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth. 
 
 Hitherto  the  whole  earth  was  of  one  language  and 
 of  one  speech;  and  their  Religion,  too,  was  one  only. 
 It  is  the  same  God  who  appears  alternately  under  the 
 names  of  Jehovah  and  Elohim,  without  distinction  of 
 attributes  or  character.  The  same  precepts,  instructions 
 and  promises  are  given  to  all,  without  respect  of 
 persons.  In  speaking  of  the  two  families  of  Seth  and 
 Cain,  and  in  calling  the  one  the  pious,  and  the  other 
 the  ungodly  branch  of  the  human  family,  we  do  not 
 take  it  for  granted,  that  they  ever  held  different  systems 
 of  Religion.  The  "sons  of  God"  walked  after  the 
 Spirit,  being  spiritually-minded;  the  children  of  men 
 could  not  please  God,  because  they  were  minding  the 
 things  of  the  flesh,  and  walked  after  the  flesh.  The 
 latter  had  neither  a  genuine  nor  yet  a  spurious  system 
 of  religious  belief. 
 
 It  was  the  divine  will  and  pleasure  that  the  inhabit- 
 ants of  the  new  world  should  increase  and  multiply, 
 and  be  scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  whole 
 earth.  Being  still  averse  to  what  is  good  and  holy, 
 and  opposed  to  the  will  of  Jehovah,  man  had  deter- 
 mined to  prevent  theii*  being  scattered,  by  the  building 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  41 
 
 of  a  tower,  "whose  top  might  reach  imto  heaven;" 
 but  w^hat  was  intended  as  a  standard  of  union  and 
 strength,  is  made  a  monument  of  dispersion,  inability 
 and  confusion.  They  are  taken  in  their  haughty  scheme, 
 as  the  bird  in  the  snare  of  a  fowler.  God  had 
 promised  unto  Sliem.,  to  make  him  a  name.  These 
 rebelhous  tribes  now  say,  according  to  the  original, 
 "  Let  us  make  us  a  Shem — a  name."  What  a  contrast 
 between  the  high  resolve  of  these  proud  patriarchs  of 
 the  families  of  the  whole  earth,  and  the  promise  of 
 God  made  unto  Abraham:  "  I  will  bless  thee,  and 
 7)ial-e  thy  name  fjreat,  and  thou  shall  be  a  blessing!  " 
 (Gen.  xii.  2.)  And  then  what  a  difference  in  the  end  ! 
 His  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear  him,  throughout  all 
 generations.  He  showeth  strength  with  his  arm,  and 
 scattereth  the  proud  in  the  imagination  of  their  hearts. 
 He  putteth  down  the  mighty  from  their  exalted  seat, 
 which  was  to  reach  unto  heaven,  and  he  exalteth  the 
 humble  and  meek.  These  nations  now  go  abroad  as 
 sheep  having  no  shepherd.  They  are  dismissed,  but 
 not  for  ever.  They  are  left  for  a  season  to  themselves, 
 but  not  forsaken.  They  wander  far  from  a  heavenly 
 Father's  house  as  prodigal  sons,  but  not  without  hope 
 of  returning  once  more  to  their  real  home.  They 
 separate  at  the  foot  of  the  tower,  the  pride  of  which 
 should  be,  to  reach  unto  heaven,  until  they  meet  again 
 at  the  foot  of  the  cross;  for  when  Christ  was  to  be 
 exalted  on  that  tree,  he  would  draw  all  men  unto 
 himself;    and  the    tongues    which    now   have   been 
 
42  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 confounded,  shall  yet  speak  together  the  "  wonderful 
 works  of  God." 
 
 With  this  dispersion,  the  foundation  was  laid  of 
 distinct  nations  and  people;  of  states  and  empires, 
 as  well  as  of  new  systems  of  belief.  The  period 
 immediately  following  the  flood  was  indeed  charac- 
 terised as  a  period  of  separation  and  division.  In 
 consequence  of  the  mighty  catastrophe  of  the  flood, 
 the  surface  of  the  earth  was  torn  (Gen.  x.  25).  The 
 human  family,  according  to  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
 chapters  of  Genesis,  was  divided  into  tribes,  and 
 nations,  and  kingdoms — into  servants  and  lords.  The 
 globe  seems  to  have  been  divided  into  climates  and 
 seasons.  But  the  same  process  of  separation  com- 
 menced in  matters  of  Religion.  As  little  can  we 
 conceive  the  development  of  any  offshoot  from  the 
 general  stock  of  the  human  race,  without  forming  its 
 own  language,  together  with  its  national  and  social 
 peculiarities,  as  we  can  fancy  it  without  forming 
 some  system  or  other  of  spurious  religious  belief. 
 That  the  fundamental  notions  of  Religion  at  that 
 period  were  carried  abroad  by  the  dispersing  tribes, 
 is  evident  from  their  reappearance  in  all  ancient  systems 
 of  Mythology.  They  were,  indeed,  mixed  up  with  a 
 variety  of  historical,  geographical,  and  fabulous  ele- 
 ments ;  yet  they  all  have  retained  a  sufficient  amount 
 of  truth  to  recognise  their  general  features.  The 
 stream  of  time  would  carry  many  things  along  with  it 
 in  its  downward  course  ;  others,  again,  it  would  deposit 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  43 
 
 and  leave  behind ;  and,  again,  others  it  would  moidd 
 and  fashion  into  different  shapes.  The  spirit  of  man, 
 in  the  process  of  time,  would  forget  some  things ; 
 others  would  be  retained ;  and,  again,  others  would  be 
 cast  into  a  different  mould.  Scripture,  as  the  only 
 means  by  which  religious  traditions  can  be  safely 
 handed  down  from  sire  to  son,  did  not  yet  exist  at 
 that  early  period. 
 
 We  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact,  that  the  dis- 
 persion of  the  human  race  has  given  impulse  to  the 
 respective  formation  of  their  national  peculiarities. 
 Now  the  influence  of  this  circumstance  upon  the  modi- 
 fication and  reconstruction  of  the  religious  elements 
 which  then  existed,  must  necessarily  have  been  very 
 great.  The  national  character  gives  type  and  tone  to 
 the  several  civil,  social,  and  moral  phenomena  in  life. 
 Hence  every  nation  of  Pagan  antiquity  has  its  own 
 national,  civil,  and  social  institutions,  as  well  as  its 
 own  national  Religion.  The  primitive  elements  of 
 holy  tradition  were  imperceptibly  wrought  up,  and 
 modelled  agreeably  to  the  national  taste  and  the 
 national  wants ;  they  lost  their  primitive  purity  and 
 integrity,  by  being  amalgamated  with  the  national, 
 physical,  and  ethnographical  circumstances  of  the 
 several  nations. 
 
 Again,  in  glancing  at  the  character  of  the  most 
 celebrated  ancient  nations,  we  observe  that  those  which, 
 from  some  cause  or  other,  were  cut  off  from  all  inter- 
 course with  other  nations  after  the  grand  separation, 
 
44  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  li. 
 
 remained  far  behind  in  the  cultivation  of  arts  and 
 sciences.  The  circumscribed  nature  of  human  faculties 
 demands  foreign  aid,  even  in  worldly  matters.  It  is 
 evident  that  a  combination  of  human  powers  is  able  to 
 accomplish  more  than  can  be  expected  from  isolated 
 exertions.  It  was  upon  this  principle  that  the  tower 
 of  Babel  was  founded.  Now,  in  applying  this  prin- 
 ciple to  the  development  of  true  Religion  after  the 
 dispersion  of  mankind,  we  observe  that  the  facility 
 to  interchange  or  to  rectify  religious  tenets  was  cut 
 off.  Each  tribe,  when  left  to  itself,  would  natm^ally, 
 sooner  or  later,  reach  a  point  in  which  the  religious 
 development  would  come  to  a  stand  still ;  or,  what 
 would  be  still  more  natural,  they  would  be  driven 
 backward  by  the  mighty  current  of  natural  de- 
 pravity. 
 
 From  what  has  now  been  said  of  the  manifold 
 dangers  and  difhcidties  to  which  the  development  of 
 true  Religion  was  liable  amongst  the  dispersed  tribes, 
 it  will  appear,  that  only  a  continuance  of  divine 
 revelation  amongst  them  severally  could  possibly 
 remove  and  overcome  them.  And  the  question  now 
 arises,  Could  divine  revelation  embrace  the  idUoU 
 human  family,  with  its  dispersed  tribes,  under  these 
 altered  circumstances  ? 
 
 4.  The  amalgamation  of  the  two  lines  of  the  ante- 
 diluvian race  had  greatly  tended  to  accelerate  that 
 corruption,  which  hastened  the  most  awful  visitation 
 of  the  divine  justice  which  has  ever  been  witnessed 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT.  45 
 
 since  the  world  was  made.  The  unity  of  the  post- 
 diluvian family  of  man  was  likewise  abused,  and  very 
 considerable  was  the  impulse  which  was  given  to  the 
 process  of  a  corruption,  the  germs  of  which  had  been 
 translated  from  the  old  into  the  new  world.  It  was 
 the  will  and  pleasure  of  Almighty  God,  that  they 
 should  be  scattered,  and  that  in  their  dispersion  they 
 should  severally  unfold  their  national  peculiarities, 
 independently  of  each  other.  If  this  was  the  real 
 destiny  of  man,  divine  revelation  could  no  longer 
 preserve  its  Catholicity/,  which  it  had  maintained  up  to 
 this  very  period.  The  family  of  Cain  had  not  been 
 excluded  from  divine  revelation  before  the  flood,  but 
 they  excluded  themselves.  If  it  was  the  divine 
 purpose  that  the  nations  should  be  dispersed,  and  if 
 this  dispersion  necessarily  implied  that  they  should 
 separately  unfold  their  national  character,  revelation 
 could,  under  these  circumstances,  no  longer  confine 
 itself  to  the  more  general  and  leading  ideas  of  religious 
 truth.  It  would  have  been  necessary  to  support  the 
 development,  and  to  aid,  likewise,  the  formation  of  the 
 national  peculiarities  ;  for  the  human  family  was  as 
 yet  far  from  being  ripe  for  that  era  of  Gospel  liberty, 
 in  which  Religion  could  mount  into  the  more  exalted 
 sphere  of  the  Spirit.  It  would  have  become  neces- 
 sary that  revelation  should  assume  that  form  which 
 would  have  been  most  adapted  to  the  circumstances, 
 the  wants,  and  the  national  interests  of  each  particular 
 nation.     In  short,  if  God  further  intended  to  reveal 
 
46  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 himself  to  the  dispersed  nations,  he  would  have  revealed 
 himself  to  each  of  them,  to  some  extent  at  least,  in  a 
 different  form.  He  would  have  dealt  with  eacli  of  the 
 several  nations — if  we  may  be  allowed  to  express  the 
 idea — as  he  afterwards  dealt  with  only  one  of  them. 
 He  would  have  approached  and  guided  each  one  of 
 them  in  that  circumstantial  way,  and  in  that  peculiar 
 manner  in  which  he  afterwards  revealed  himself  to  one 
 of  these  nations  only.  But,  what  was  possible  with 
 one  single  nation  only,  was  impossible  and  inexpedient 
 with  all  the  dispersed  tribes  of  mankind. 
 
 If  we  suppose  the  case,  that  divine  revelation  had 
 preserved  its  catholic  character  after  this  dispersion  of 
 the  human  family,  the  fundamental  dogmas  of  religious 
 truth — the  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  the  blessed  Godhead, 
 for  instance — could  not  have  been  preserved  without 
 imminent  danger.  The  Deity,  in  some  sense  at  least, 
 would  have  been  obliged  to  become  a  national  God- 
 head. Now,  constituted  as  mankind  was  in  those 
 days,  the  consequence  would  have  been,  that  we  should 
 have  to  do  with  as  many  national  deities  as  there  were 
 nations  to  whom  God  had  thus  revealed  himself. 
 And  this  religious  error  would  have  been  incorrigible, 
 because  founded  by  the  instrumentality  and  upon  the 
 authority  of  divine  revelation.  On  the  other  hand, 
 the  unity  of  the  Godhead  stood  perfectly  safe,  if  God 
 revealed  himself  to  one  particular  nation,  be  it  even  in 
 a  modified  sense  of  the  term,  as  a  national  Deity ; 
 provided   this  revealed  Deity  be   the  only  true  and 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  47 
 
 living  God,  who  has  assumed  the  character  of  a 
 national  God  for  a  certain  time,  in  order  to  manifest 
 himself  eventually  as  the  God  of  all  nations.  As  little 
 could  it  interfere  with  the  truth  and  authority  of 
 divine  revelation,  if  all  other  nations  were  to  create 
 false  deities  in  their  own  blindness  ;  for  the  time  was 
 to  come  when  they  would  return  from  their  evil  ways, 
 and  join  themselves,  not  to  a  national  godhead,  but 
 to  the  God  and  Saviour  of  the  whole  world.  But 
 even  this  catholic  revelation,  which  should  in  the  end 
 again  embrace  the  whole  family  of  mau,  would  have 
 been  rendered  impossible  by  national  revelations  to 
 the  several  tribes  of  the  human  family,  and  its  authen- 
 ticity would  have  been  undermined. 
 
 Again,  harmony  and  truth,  connexion  and  unity, 
 being  some  of  the  most  essential  characteristics  of 
 divine  revelation,  we  cannot  understand  how  they 
 could  have  been  preserved,  if  revelation  had  been  split 
 into  a  thousand  national  forms,  if  it  had  been  adapting 
 itself  to  the  peculiarities,  to  the  different  stages  of 
 mental  cultivation,  and  to  the  various  interests  of  the 
 several  nations.  Would  not  divine  revelation,  with 
 its  very  minute  character,  have  come  into  the  predica- 
 ment of  teaching  one  thing  to  one  nation,  and  of  pre- 
 scribing another  to  another  nation  ?  Or  are  there  no 
 weightier  diflferences  than  that  the  Chinese,  for  in- 
 stance, in  opposition  to  our  own  views,  have  considered 
 red  to  be  the  most  suitable  colour  for  mourning  and 
 lamentation?     Are  not  the  manners,    and  even  the 
 
48  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 moral   principles,    of  different   nations  so   utterly   at 
 variance  with  each  other,  that  with  one  nation  some- 
 thing may  be  considered  laudable  and  beautiful,  which 
 is  prohibited  as  indecent  and  abominable  with  others  ? 
 And  by  what  means,  may  we  ask,  would  it  have 
 been  possible  to  reconcile  the  differences  and  contra- 
 dictions in  maxims  of  morality  and  doctrines  of  Re- 
 ligion? It  could  not  have  been  by  the  different  nations 
 themselves  ;  neither  could  it  have  been  accomplished 
 by  fresh  revelation,  for  how  could  revelation  at  last 
 declare  something  to  be  erroneous  which  at  a  previous 
 period    had  been  established  upon  divine  authority? 
 It  could  not  contradict  itself  in  so  striking  a  manner, 
 and  yet  presume  to  have  a  claim  upon  the  confidence 
 of  man.      If,   however,  God  in    his    wisdom   would 
 permit  error  to  grow  spontaneously  out  of  the  natural 
 development  of  the  dispersed  nations,  it  was  worthy  of 
 his  goodness  to  interfere  by  some  fresh  manifestation 
 of   his  redeeming  love ;     and,    under  these   circum- 
 stances, it  was  probable  that  mankind  would  acknow- 
 ledge its  own  errors,  and  embrace  with  joy  and  grati- 
 tude what  God  would  prepare  for  them. 
 
 As,  therefore,  God  could  not  reveal  himself  to  all 
 nations  in  that  peculiar  way  which  the  character  of 
 these  nations  and  the  nature  of  revelation  demanded, 
 "  he  suffered  all  nations  to  walk  in  their  own  ways," 
 choosing  one  only  to  be  the  steward  of  his  past,  and 
 the  depositary  of  his  future  revelations.  The  whole 
 history  of  true  Rehgion  is  marked  by  the  character  of 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN   THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  49 
 
 its  being  holy.  All  the  elements  which  refuse  to  sub- 
 mit to  its  salutary  and  sanctifying  influence  are 
 separated  and  cut  off. 
 
 Again,  we  have  the  earth  replenished  with  men,  but 
 not  with  righteousness.  They  are  foreigners  to  the 
 knowledge  of  God,  which  is  life  eternal,  and  strangers 
 as  to  his  purpose  of  eternal  love.  It  had  been  shown 
 as  early  as  the  flood  that  man,  though  under  the 
 immediate  guidance  of  divine  mercy,  was  yet  corrupt 
 at  the  very  core ;  that  his  moral  depravity  was  such 
 as  to  rush  suddenly  into  a  premature  excess  of  evil ; 
 and  that  in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  a  recurrence 
 of  a  catastrophe  similar  to  the  flood,  some  new 
 element  was  to  be  introduced,  which,  whilst  it  suffered 
 for  a  season  the  existence  of  evil,  would  yet  limit  its 
 growth,  and  finally  ensure  its  being  entirely  subdued 
 and  eradicated.  This  new  element  was  the  separation 
 of  some  particular  nation,  which  should  receive  a  con- 
 stitution of  divine  appointment ;  a  constitution  which 
 was  calculated,  by  a  temporary  toleration  of  evil,  to 
 ensure  the  final  triumph  of  good  to  such  an  extent  as 
 far  to  outweigh  the  amount  of  evil  which  had  been 
 incurred  by  its  temporary  toleration.  In  this  modifi- 
 cation of  the  plan  of  redemption  measures  were 
 adopted  to  counteract  effectually  not  only  the  gigantic 
 growth  of  idolatry,  and  to  prevent  its  becoming 
 universal ;  but  chiefly,  also,  to  rear  upon  an  im- 
 mutable basis  the  happiness  of  all  nations,  for  time 
 and  for  eternity.      The  nations  now  to  be  separated 
 
 VOL.  I.  E 
 
50  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION         [chap.  il. 
 
 are  not  set  apart  for  destruction,  but  they  are  spared 
 for  future  purposes  of  divine  mercy.  Unable  to  bear 
 the  torch  of  revelation  any  further  through  the  dark 
 ages  of  antiquity,  they  were  yet  to  partake  in  its 
 blessings,  when  the  fulness  of  time  had  come. 
 
 5.  We  are  now  come  to  the  great  turning-point, 
 at  which,  for  the  first  time,  there  exists  genuine  and 
 spurious  Religion.  Paganism  takes  its  rise  amongst 
 the  separated  and  scattered  tribes  of  the  earth.  The 
 development  of  Religion  amongst  the  Gentiles  is 
 spurious,  and  beyond  the  pale  of  divine  revelation. 
 On  the  other  hand,  a  chosen  generation  becomes  the 
 depositary  of  special  revelations,  and  the  recipient  of 
 gracious  providences ;  which  have  the  religious  and 
 national  development  for  its  immediate,  but  one  of  a 
 far  more  comprehensive  character,  for  its  more  distant 
 object.  The  history  of  this  people  is,  therefore,  the 
 history  of  the  religious  development  of  mankind  under 
 the  continual  and  immediate  guidance  of  revelation. 
 In  spurious  Religion  we  have  a  scene  of  struggle  with 
 a  thousand  difficulties  ;  human  nature  struggling  with 
 its  great  weakness  ;  human  reason  striving  Avith  its 
 feeble  powers.  The  liberty  of  man  bending  always  to 
 what  is  evil,  the  Gentile  world  was  gradually  sinking 
 deeper  and  deeper  into  corruption,  until  they  were 
 sold  under  sin  and  unrighteousness.  This  could  not 
 indeed  be  the  immediate  purpose  of  a  holy  God,  when 
 he  dismissed  them  to  walk  after  their  own  ways.  But, 
 independent  of  the  impossibility  of  revealing  himself 
 
CHAP,  n.]  IN    THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  51 
 
 to  each  particular  nation,  there  was  something  in- 
 finitely just  and  wise  in  God's  giving  to  human  liberty 
 and  human  reason  full  time  and  ample  sphere  to  un- 
 fold their  powers,  even  in  spite  of  the  danger,  that 
 they  would  rush  into  a  thousand  errors.  And  was  it 
 not,  after  all,  impossible  for  them  to  escape  the  good 
 hand  of  a  gracious  God,  who  could  bring  them  back 
 from  their  eccentric  course  of  riotous  living  ?  And  did 
 not  even  they  also  produce  some  good  features  in  cul- 
 tivating arts  and  sciences,  which  found  an  appropriate 
 place  in  a  new  order  of  things  ?  Arid  then,  if  the 
 residt  of  a  lengthened  experiment  should  happen  to 
 consist  in  a  feeling  of  despondency  respecting  their 
 own  imaginary  powers,  would  not  even  this  tend  to 
 prepare  them  for  the  offer  of  divine  help  ?  Was  it  not 
 probable  that  humanity  would  eventually  call  upon 
 the  living  God,  after  it  had  called  in  vain  upon  a  thou- 
 sand false  gods  ?  Was  it  not  likely  that  these  nations 
 should  eventually  desire  the  kingdom  which  cannot 
 be  moved,  after  having  witnessed  all  states  and  empires 
 crumble  into  dust,  from  which  happiness  and  comfort 
 were  hoped  in  vain  ? 
 
 The  dispersing  nations,  like  the  prodigal  son,  are 
 dismissed  with  their  inheritance  from  a  father's  house 
 into  an  evil  world.  They  carry  abroad  with  them 
 the  recollections  and  hopes  of  primitive  days,  the  law 
 also  being  vvritten  in  their  hearts.  And  when  once 
 these  prodigal  sons  had  wasted  all  their  substance 
 with  riotous  living,  it  was  to  be  hoped  and  expected 
 
 E   2 
 
52  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap,  ii 
 
 that  tlicy  would   recollect   their  paternal  home,  and 
 that   they  would  return,  saying   unto  the  Father, — 
 "  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  in  thy 
 sight,  and  am  no  more  ivorthij  to  he  called  thy  son!' 
 In  the  now  opening  development  of  spurious  Religion, 
 mankind    is  being   prepared   in   a  peculiar  way  for 
 salvation ;    for   Paganism,   with   all   its   mysteries  of 
 iniquity,  with  all  its  vanities  of  mind,  and  with  all  its 
 infidelity  and  superstition,  could  indeed  weary,  but 
 it   could  never  comfort   poor   immortal   souls.     The 
 people  of  God,  comparatively  speaking,  remain   far 
 behind,  in  arts  and  sciences,  if  compared  with  some 
 of  the  nations  of  antiquity.     There  is  very  little  left 
 to  the  efforts  of  human  reason  and  human  enterprise. 
 Already  their  fathers  have  been  taught  \\\aX  faith  was 
 the  chief   element    and  the   leading  feature  of  true 
 Religion.     But  whilst  they  were  behind  in  some  of 
 the   worldly   accomplishments,    they   were   preserved 
 from  the  religious  confusion  of  Paganism,  on  the  one 
 hand,  and  from  the  gross  barbarity  of  its  devotees,  on 
 the  other.     God  gave  laws  to  this  nation,  which  pre- 
 scribed  every  one   of  its  motions,  without  reducing 
 them,  however,   to  mere  automatons.     They  were  a 
 prepared  people  amidst  other  people,   and  that  not 
 for  their  own  sake,  but  for  higher  and  more  general 
 pm'poses.     They  have  a  national  constitution  in  order 
 to  preserve  their  independent  existence  among  other 
 nations ;  but  all  their  institutions  have  a  double  cha- 
 racter,— a  national  one,  to  meet  the  circumstances  of 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  53 
 
 the  present ;  and  a  universal  one,  respecting  futurity. 
 Hence  everything  given  to  this  people  was  accom- 
 panied with  a  promise  of  what  they  have  yet  to 
 expect.  The  present  in  its  history  is  always  preg- 
 nant with  futurity ;  and  the  typical  and  prophetical 
 character  of  this  people  is  peculiar  to  its  whole 
 history. 
 
 6.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  the  documents  of  Holy 
 Scripture  henceforth  assume  likewise  a  different  cha- 
 racter. After  the  above-mentioned  separation  of  the 
 nations,  the  history  of  true  Religion  is  confined  to  one 
 people  only.  In  meandering  down  through  the  ages 
 of  the  world,  this  history  recognises  the  dispersed 
 nations  only  as  far  as  they  are  brought  into  contact 
 with  the  chosen  generation.  They  are  not  only  sepa- 
 rated one  from  the  other,  but  they  are  henceforth 
 separated  also  from  the  special  providence,  and  ex- 
 cluded from  that  particular  care  which  is  to  watch 
 over  Israel.  It  is  touching  to  observe  how  the  most 
 ancient  records  of  the  Bible  allow  the  Pagan  nations 
 to  emigrate  and  settle  in  their  new  abodes ;  and  how, 
 after  having  done  unto  them,  as  it  were,  the  last 
 honour,  by  rehearsing  the  names  and  genealogies,  the 
 Holy  History  takes  leave  of  them,  and  takes  no  further 
 notice  of  their  existence,  except  it  be  when  peculiar 
 judgments  are  pronounced  against,  or  when  gracious 
 prophecies  are  uttered  respecting  them. 
 
 True  Religion  had  been  safely  translated  from  the 
 old  into  the  new  world.     But  here  also  it  was  soon 
 
54  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION        [chap.  ii. 
 
 again  endangered  by  tlie  fearful  degeneracy  of  the 
 rising  generation.  The  spiritual  worship  of  the  in- 
 visible Godhead  became  less  and  less  congenial  to  the 
 depraved  mind  of  man.  He  "wished  to  have  some- 
 thins;  which  misrht  aid  his  rclisjious  devotion  as  a 
 representative  of  the  invisible  Majesty  of  Heaven,  and 
 a  wide  door  was  opened  to  a  foul  superstition  and  a 
 gross  idolatry  of  every  description.  The  evil  threat- 
 ened to  become  as  general  as  before  the  flood.  When, 
 therefore,  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  were  forming, 
 God  also  would  take  a  mustard  seed,  from  which 
 should  arise  his  eternal  kingdom,  which  cannot  be 
 moved.  As  long  as  mankind  existed  in  families, 
 God  had  a  people  in  the  midst  of  these  families  to 
 serve  him.  When  mankind  had  grown  into  large 
 nations,  God  also  would  choose  for  himself  a  peculiar 
 nation,  which  should  bear  a  Protestant  character 
 amongst  other  nations,  and  show  forth  the  praises  of 
 him  who  had  called  them  also  from  darkness  to  his 
 marvellous  light.  God  "  testified''  before  mankind 
 were  dispersed,  (Heb.  xi.  2, 4,  5) ;  but  the  primitive  plan 
 is  now  modified,  and  has  assumed  the  character  of  a 
 calling,  (Heb.  xi.  8  ;  Gen.  xv.  1,  xvii.  1,  xviii.  1).  God 
 calls  one  man  out  of  many  men ;  he  chooses  one 
 country  out  of  many  countries,  one  nation  out  of 
 many  nations,  in  the  general  process  of  separation. 
 God  separated  a  small  dry  branch  from  the  family 
 of  Shem  for  himself;  he  transplants  this  vine  into  a 
 separate  soil ;  he  waters  it  with  indefatigable  patience. 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  55 
 
 and  watches    over  it  Mdtli  infinite    forbearance  and 
 long-snfFering. 
 
 With  the  specific  view,  not  only  to  preserve  a  single 
 family  from  the  snares  of  a  prevailing  Idolatry,  but 
 to  effect  by  that  means  the  spread  of  true  Religion 
 amongst  all  nations,  God  made  one  nation  out  of 
 many  the  object  of  his  especial  care.  As  this  people, 
 however,  was  to  be  a  peculiar  people ;  as  they  were  to 
 be  the  representatives  of  the  world  at  large ;  as  they 
 were  in  all  points  to  be  educated  for  a  peculiar  pur- 
 pose ;  it  could  not  be  a  nation  which  had  been  already 
 full-grown  and  developed  with  all  their  national  pecu- 
 liarities. It  was  to  be  a  nation,  rather,  which  should 
 be  under  God's  special  training  from  its  very  child- 
 hood, and  grow  up,  as  it  were,  under  God's  own  eyes. 
 Hence  God  calls  a  single  man  from  Mesopotamia,  the 
 country  where,  from  local  causes,  the  sacred  tradition 
 of  divine  revelation  must  have  been  still  vivid  in  the 
 recollection  of  many  ;  but  the  country,  at  the  same 
 time,  which  had  already  been  inundated  by  a  flood  of 
 Idolatry.  Terali  had  already  taken  his  son  "  Abram," 
 and  Lot,  the  son  of  Haran,  on  a  previous  occasion, 
 and  emigrated  from  Ur  of  the  Cbasdim,  or  the 
 Chaldees.  And  if,  according  to  an  eminent  scholar, 
 "  ChasdimJ'  or  "  Chaldees,''  signifies  "  worshippers  of 
 idols,"  we  can  with  safety  conclude  that  the  exodus  of 
 Terah's  family  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  was  prompted 
 already  by  the  high  motives  to  escape  the  contami- 
 nating influence  of  idolatry.     But  when  Haran  also 
 
56  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 proved  no  better  shelter  against  idolatry, — and  wc 
 shall  see  on  a  later  occasion,  how  it  became  a  most 
 notorious  place  of  Pagan  idolatry, — it  was  then  high 
 time  that  Abraham  should  go  out  altogether  from  his 
 father's  house  and  his  native  country,  the  land  of 
 Mesopotamia.  Abraham,  in  order  "  that  he  might 
 be  the  father  of  all  them  that  believe,"  was  first  of  all 
 to  become  a  man  of  faith.  A  very  honourable  pre- 
 ference and  distinction  had  been  conferred  upon  him, 
 but  it  was  one  which  demanded  self-denial  and  a 
 faithful  reliance  upon  the  divine  guidance.  The  cir- 
 cumstance that  he  was  childless,  upon  separating  from 
 his  own  kindred,  and  that  he  yet  received  the  promise 
 of  a  numerous  posterity,  at  an  advanced  age,  taught 
 him  very  forcibly,  that  he  was  to  expect  nothing  from 
 nature,  but  everything  from  Jehovah.  The  super- 
 abundance of  the  blessing  which  he  was  to  receive 
 was  founded  upon  physical  impossibilities.  The 
 nation  also,  of  which  he  is  to  be  the  patriarch,  was  to 
 be  brought  under  a  most  rigid  discipline,  and  under 
 the  rod  of  a  schoolmaster.  Their  high  privilege  involved 
 the  possibility  of  falling  under  judgments  more  severe 
 and  more  lasting  than  those  of  any  other  nation  could 
 ever  have  been.  The  privilege  to  be  God's  own 
 nation  was  a  yoke  upon  the  neck  of  this  people,  which 
 would  have  been  found  insupportable  by  any  other 
 nation  of  antiquity. 
 
 Abraham  obeys  the  call  which  directs  him  to  go  to 
 a  land  which   was   probably  less  infested   with   the 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  57 
 
 general  evil  of  idolatry  ;  and  with  this  quiet  unob- 
 trusive event,  vvrhich  seemed  in  no  w^ise  to  interfere 
 with  the  gigantic  strides  of  spurious  Religion,  a  most 
 important  step  was  taken  towards  the  revival  of  pure 
 and  undefiled  Religion,  and  with  it  the  foundation 
 was  laid  for  a  new  series  of  divine  revelations  upon  a 
 most  extensive  scale.     That  there  should  be  no  mis- 
 take as  to  the  cause  and  the  motives  which  prompted 
 the  calling  of  Abraham,  there  was   given  a  definite 
 promise,  that  through  Abraham's  seed  "  all  nations  " 
 should  be  blessed.     Abraham,  a  servant  and  prince  of 
 Jehovah,  a  hero  in  faith  and  in  prayer,  reached  the 
 land,  which  should  be  the  heritage  of  his  posterity 
 after  him ;  and  how  well  he  understood  the  nature  of 
 his  heavenly  call,  building  altars  to  Jehovah  wherever 
 he  went,  and  calling  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  ! 
 But  although  he  had  gained  the  esteem  of  some  of 
 the  great  people  of  the  land,  and  obtained  at  length 
 in  his  promised  son  a  sure  pledge  of  the  fulfilment  of 
 the  future  spiritual  blessing,  the  land  itself  could  not 
 yet  be  given  unto  him,  because  "  the  measure  of  the 
 sins  of  the  Canaanites  was  not  yet  full."     There  were 
 indeed  a  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  but  there  was  also  as 
 yet  a  royal  priest  of  the  true  God  to  be  found  in  the 
 land  in  the  person  of  Melchisedek. 
 
 Abraham  was  looking  for  a  city  which  had  foun- 
 dations, and  confessing  that  he  was  a  stranger  and 
 pilgrim  upon  earth,  he  sojourned  in  the  land  of 
 promise  as  in  a  strange  country.     It  was  a  remark- 
 
58  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 able  fact  in  the  history  of  this  great  man  of  faith,  that 
 the  first  particle  of  land  which  he  could  consider  as  his 
 own  property  in  the  land  of  promise,  was  a  burial- 
 place  at  Hebron!  It  was,  however,  by  no  means 
 unimportant  that  the  chosen  country  of  the  chosen 
 people  should  thus  early  have  been  brought  into  con- 
 nexion with  their  national  history.  It  was  of  the 
 utmost  importance  that  the  recollections  of  the  very 
 childhood  of  this  people  should  thus  be  connected 
 with  that  land,  in  Avhich  they  should  ultimately  be 
 prepared  and  fitted  as  the  instruments  by  which  the 
 true  God  would  manifest  himself  to  the  Gentiles. 
 Tliere  is  nothing  like  liome.  There  are  no  associations 
 so  strong,  no  feelings  so  indelibly  imprinted  on  our 
 hearts,  as  those  connected  with  the  dearest  scenes  of 
 our  infancy,  peopled  as  they  are  with  the  beloved 
 parents  and  friends  of  our  youth.  Every  path  in  the 
 field,  every  corner  of  the  house,  every  tree  in  the 
 garden,  every  prospect  of  the  scenery  of  nature  around, 
 will  tell  its  tale  and  rehearse  its  story.  In  like  manner 
 the  land  of  promise  was  now  consecrated  by  the  pre- 
 liminary sojourn  of  the  Patriarchs ;  and  it  gained  for 
 its  future  inhabitants  a  peculiar  charm,  which  could 
 not  have  been  substituted  by  any  other  excellency  of 
 the  country  itself.  And  was  it  not  involved  in  the 
 divine  plan,  that  also  the  national  character  of  this 
 people  should  be  formed  and  developed  ? 
 
 When    Abraham  and    Isaac  had  entered  into  the 
 "  better  land,"  Jacob  only  was  left  in  this   country 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD  TESTAMENT.  59 
 
 with  his  numerous  family.  As  in  all  probability  the 
 increasing  idolatry  of  the  Canaanites  would  have 
 proved  fatal  to  the  interests  of  Rehgion  and  revelation, 
 of  which  the  Patriarchs  had  been  the  sole  depositaries, 
 they  were  now  removed  to  Egypt.  This  country  was 
 indeed  more  full  of  idols  akeady  than  the  land  of 
 promise,  yet  the  spell  of  the  temptation,  which  had 
 existed  in  Canaan,  was  broken  in  Egypt.  Canaan 
 might  probably  have  led  to  a  separation  of  the  holy 
 family,  to  a  mixtiu-e  with  other  tribes  of  that  country ; 
 and  the  great  object  with  Israel  would  have  been 
 defeated.  Egypt,  on  the  other  hand,  with  the  land 
 of  Goshen,  offered  an  appropriate  spot  in  which  the 
 family  could  grow  into  a  large  nation;  and  then  it 
 was  even  in  Egypt  that  Israel  was  able  to  unfold 
 with  comparative  safety,  if  not  their  theocratical,  yet 
 certainly  their  national  peculiarity,  the  Egyptians  being 
 religiously  forbidden  to  cultivate  any  intercourse  what- 
 ever with  a  tribe  of  impure  shepherds. 
 
 It  was  here  under  a  severe  oppression,  that  that 
 portion  of  the  divine  promise  which  related  to  a 
 numerous  posterity  was  speedily  accomplished ;  whilst 
 the  spiritual  part  relating  to  their  destiny  of  eventually 
 becoming  a  blessing  to  the  world,  was  still  involved  in 
 obscurity.  Yet,  although  the  family  history  of  the 
 Patriarchs  intimated  nothing  which  could  lead  to  the 
 idea  that  it  was  their  destiny  to  become  heralds  to  an 
 idolatrous  world,  one  thing  was  certain — the  promise 
 had  gathered  strength ;    a  testimony  had  been  given 
 
60  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 in  the  land  of  Canaan ;  and  in  the  land  of  Egypt  a 
 remarkable  providence  in  the  history  of  Abraham,  and 
 more  particularly  in  that  of  Joseph,  had  attracted 
 attention.  And  then  there  existed  for  once  a  family 
 separate  and  holy,  with  the  prospect  of  growing  np  into 
 a  mighty  nation,  through  the  instrumentality  of  which 
 God  had  promised  to  bless  all  nations ;  and  although 
 there  appeared  nothing  more  for  the  present,  there 
 was  sufficient  to  encourage  the  interest,  the  faith,  and 
 hope  of  the  believing  Israelite  relating  to  those  great 
 things  that  were  yet  to  come. 
 
 7.  The  Rehgion  in  which  the  pecuhar  nation  was  to 
 be  trained,  and  which  they  were  called  upon  to  ex- 
 emplify, was  the  redeeming  Ueligion.  Their  national 
 education  had  for  its  avowed  object  the  salvation  of 
 the  world.  It  was  therefore  to  be  expected  that  in 
 the  history  of  this  nation,  God  would  glorify  his  great 
 name  as  Redeemer  by  mighty  deeds  of  deliverance ; 
 and  that  future  spiritual  salvation  would  be  pledged 
 and  shadowed  forth  by  occasionally  administering 
 temporal  help  of  an  extraordinary  kind.  The  children 
 of  God's  choice  are  now  in  bondage ;  they  groan 
 under  the  burden,  and  cry  for  help  under  the  cruel 
 hand  of  oppression.  A  very  long  time,  too,  had  now 
 elapsed  without  any  fresh  manifestation  of  God's 
 special  care  and  favour,  to  refresh  and  quicken  the 
 great  hopes  and  promises  which  they  had  inherited 
 from  their  fathers.  The  long  silence  of  Jehovah  was 
 now  to  be  at  an  end.     The  promise  of  a  numerous 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  61 
 
 posterity  had  been  rapidly  fulfilling  during  this  period ; 
 but  they  were  sorely  tried  in  the  furnace  of  affliction. 
 The  state  of  things  demanded  an  extraordinary  deed, 
 if  they  should  not  only  be  delivered  from  the  oppres- 
 sive hand  of  one  of  the  great  powers  of  the  earth,  but 
 delivered  in  a  manner  which  should  mark  them  before 
 the  world  as  God's  own  people,  in  contradistinction  to 
 all  other  nations  who  seemed  to  be  their  own  masters. 
 
 God  was  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God,  and 
 he  therefore  revealed  himself  as  Jehovah,  as  the  cove- 
 nant God  to  a  fallen  race  of  man.  "  Jehovah  ad 
 manifestationem  Dei  per  fcedus  in  Jesu  Christo,  uno 
 verbo,  ad  vitam  Dei  spiritualem :  Mohim  ad  mani- 
 festationem ejus  per  opera  naturae  s.  ad  vitam  Dei 
 naturalem  refertur.  Quamvis  enim  naturalis  vita  in 
 Deo  simul  sit  spiritualis  indivisim,  tamen  per  nomina 
 diversa  innuitur  manifestatio  unius  vitse  prsealia.  Deus 
 est — omnium  rerum,  Elohim,  omnium  actionum  Je- 
 hovah." 
 
 As  Elohim,  God  is  the  creator,  preserver,  and  the 
 judge  of  all  his  creatures ;  as  Jehovah,  he  is  known 
 only  to  his  chosen  people  Israel.  As  Elohim,  God  is 
 also  the  God  of  the  Gentiles  under  the  old  dispensa- 
 tion, for  all  the  divine  manifestations  by  creation  and 
 by  providence  emanate  from  God  Almighty.  Jehovah 
 is  manifested  to  his  pecuhar  people  ;  the  Pagan,  being 
 separate  from  that  body,  has  no  immediate  part  in  the 
 covenant  God.  The  history  of  the  Patriarchs  com- 
 menced with  Jehovah.     He  called  Abraham  to  become 
 
02  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 the  father  of  a  great  nation,  and  a  blessing  to  the 
 whole  world.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  workmf/  of 
 Jehovah  loas  intelligible  to  their  mind  only  by  faith,  as 
 they  could  not  clearly  discern  the  blessings  which  were 
 reserved  to  their  posterity,  it  could  well  be  said  that  the 
 name  of  Jehovah  had  not  yet  been  made  known  unto 
 the  children    of  Israel  before.     (Exod.  vi.  3.) 
 
 The  nation  of  the  Hebrews  was  led  forth  by  an 
 "  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  there  was  no  guile."  As 
 it  was,  however,  above  the  nature,  the  position,  and 
 the  character  of  Israel  at  that  period  to  produce  a 
 man  of  that  extraordinary  character,  God  had  pre- 
 pared Moses  for  his  great  work  by  one  of  those  chains 
 of  providences  in  which  he  so  frequently  gains  his 
 object  by  means  which  seem  the  most  unfavourable 
 and  the  most  unnatural  of  all  that  could  be  imagined. 
 The  divine  deliverance  was  wrought  at  a  period  when 
 Idolatry  was  the  established  Religion  of  the  whole 
 world.  Every  land  was  covered  with  the  dark  sha- 
 dows of  Pagan  superstition.  Even  before  the  throne 
 of  the  ruler  of  tlie  land  of  Egypt,  where  Joseph  made 
 no  secret  of  the  true  and  living  God  as  the  God  of  his 
 fathers,  nothing  more  would  be  heard  of  the  God  of 
 the  Hebrews !  But  in  the  midst  of  all  this  utter 
 darkness,  God  is  announced  to  his  people  as  the 
 unchangeable  Jehovah,  who  is  always,  and  under  all 
 circumstances,  the  same.  With  unprecedented  clear- 
 ness and  emphasis  appears,  therefore,  even  now  the 
 character  of  Jehovah  in  contradistinction  to  every  false 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  03 
 
 God.  The  haughty  and  proud  spirit  of  Egypt  can 
 only  render  the  difference  more  prominent,  more  im- 
 pressive, and  more  conspicuous.  A  heavy  storm  has 
 been  gathering  over  the  celebrated  idolaters  of  that 
 land;  the  tempest  of  divine  judgments,  which  fall 
 heavily  upon  the  country,  teaches  the  Egyptians  the 
 falsity  of  their  gods,  and  convinces  them  of  the  vanity 
 of  their  own  imaginary  greatness  in  a  most  practical 
 way ;  whilst  the  Israelites  receive  in  every  fresh  peal 
 a  renewed  pledge  of  a  pending  deliverance,  such  as 
 was  never  before  experienced  by  any  other  nation. 
 
 The  chosen  family  had  grown  into  a  large  nation ; 
 but  they  were  far  from  having  obtained  an  inde- 
 pendent position  as  a  nation  amidst  other  nations  of 
 the  ancient  world.  With  the  triumphant  exodus,  the 
 Hebrews  celebrated,  as  it  were,  their  national  birth. 
 A  flock  of  degraded  slaves,  forsaken  apparently  by 
 every  Deity,  now  starts  forth  from  Egypt  as  a  nation 
 saved  and  delivered  by  the  mightiest  of  all  Gods. 
 What  deep  impression  this  marvellous  deliverance, 
 and  the  destruction  of  the  army  of  Egypt,  had  made 
 upon  the  idolatrous  nations  around,  especially  the 
 Canaanites,  has  been  recorded  in  the  pages  of  Sacred 
 History.     (Exod.  xv.  15;  Josh.  ii.  9,  10.) 
 
 8.  As  the  people  of  God  were  to  be  educated  for 
 a  most  extraordinary  object,  their  training  demanded 
 the  utmost  care  and  attention  to  the  minutest  details 
 of  their  religious,  civil,  and  social  life.  God  was, 
 therefore,  not  only  to  reveal  himself  as  their  Redeemer, 
 
04  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap,  il 
 
 and  as  the  guide  of  liis  people,  but  also  as  their  Law- 
 giver. If  the  exodus  was  remarkable  for  being  the 
 transition  from  slavery  and  bondage  to  national  inde- 
 pendence and  liberty,  the  giving  of  the  lav\r  was  the 
 rite  of  consecration  by  which  they  were  exalted  above 
 other  nations.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  :  "  If  ye  will 
 obey  my  voice  indeed,  and  keep  my  covenant,  then  ye 
 shall  be  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  me  ahove  all  people  : 
 for  all  the  earth  is  mine  :  and  ye  shall  be  unto  me  a 
 kingdom  of  priests,  and  an  holy  nation^'  (Exod.  xix. 
 5,  G.) 
 
 The  family  had  grown  into  a  nation,  and  the  child 
 had  become  a  vigorous  youth,  who  was  to  be  brought 
 under  the  schoolmaster  of  the  law.  The  law  of  a 
 holy  God  is  now  "  added,  because  of  transgressions, 
 till  the  seed  should  come  to  whom  the  promise  was 
 made."  Abraham  was  the  friend  of  Jehovah ;  but 
 this  confiding  intercourse  with  the  heavenly  parent 
 was  no  longer  adapted  when  the  state  of  infancy  had 
 passed  away.  Israel  was  the  son  who  was  to  be 
 brought  up  in  the  father's  house,  and  to  the  law 
 written  in  the  heart  was  added  another  law,  with  the 
 injunction :  "  Do  this,  and  thou  shalt  live."  The 
 prodigal  son  of  Paganism  is  to  be  prepared  for  "  the 
 fulness  of  time  "  without  this  law,  and  at  a  distance 
 from  the  father's  house,  although  God  never  "  left  him- 
 self without  witness." 
 
 The  law  was  the  schoolmaster,  as  the  apostle  signi- 
 ficantly calls  it,  which  was  to  prepare  a  people  unto 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN    THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  65 
 
 the  Lord.  A  spirit  of  docility  and  obedience  was  to 
 be  produced,  and  a  feeling  of  dependence  upon  the 
 great  Jehovah  was  to  be  nourished  during  this  age  of 
 minority.  Considered  in  this  light,  the  old  dispensa- 
 tion was  looked  upon  as  a  state  of  servitude,  compared 
 with  the  liberty  of  the  Gospel  dispensation.  But  in 
 order  to  prepare  "  the  Israel  of  God  "  for  the  liberty 
 which  was  to  come,  it  demanded  not  only  a  few  scanty 
 precepts,  but  a  constitution  which  should  embrace 
 every  affection  of  the  human  heart,  and  every  relation 
 in  life.  As  no  man  was  able  fully  to  comprehend 
 the  tenour  of  a  constitution  which  should  embrace  all 
 ages — as  no  one  could  either  anticipate  futurity  with 
 its  hidden  store  of  events,  or  yet  fully  conceive  the 
 ultimate  destiny  of  the  chosen  generation,  God  only 
 could  ordain  and  institute  the  whole  of  this  Theocra- 
 tical  constitution.  The  minutest  particular,  together 
 with  its  most  prominent  features,  was  of  profound 
 importance.  Small  as  well  as  great  things  were  made 
 to  bear  upon  the  great  ultimate  object  of  the  whole 
 constitution.  Hence,  the  private,  civil,  and  religious 
 character  of  this  people  was  formed  upon  a  divine 
 model  which  was  given  in  the  wilderness. 
 
 In  a  religious  point  of  view,  the  law  given  by  Moses 
 is  single  in  its  kind,  inasmuch  as  it  builds  the  whole 
 political  superstructure  upon  the  sole  foundation  of 
 the  worship  of  the  only  true  and  living  God ;  every 
 species  of  idolatry,  even  if  it  have  respect  to  the  true 
 God,  being  prohibited  as  an  offence  against  the  State. 
 
 VOL.  I.  r 
 
GO  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  it. 
 
 Pure  Monotlieism  receives  the  most  ample  development, 
 and  is  enforced  in  the  most  solemn  manner.     It  was 
 the  primitive  Faith  of  mankind,  it  was  the  family  Reli- 
 gion of  the  Patriarchs,  and  it  is  now  made  the  ground 
 and  pillar  of  the  national  Religion  of  the  Israel  of  God. 
 This  people  was,  therefore,  bound  to  Jehovah  by  so 
 many  and  likewise  by  so  powerful  ties,  that  idolatry 
 was  not  merely  a  moral  crime  of  the  first  magnitude, 
 but,  in  a  political  point  of  view,  it  was  the  greatest 
 crime  that  could  be  imagined; — it  was  felony,  and 
 treachery  against  the  State  and  its  Divine  Sovereign ; 
 and  by  committing  this  act  of  high  treason,  the  nation 
 abandoned  all  claim  to  political  independence  and  the 
 possession    of  the  land !     If,  therefore,   Monotlieism 
 was   established   and  confirmed   in   so  impressive  a 
 manner,  it  is  evident  that  the  revelation  of  Jehovah  as 
 God  and  King  of  his  people  had  been  considerably 
 enlarged  and  extended  from  what  it  was  under  the 
 family  of  the  Patriarchs.     The  constitution,  in  a  reli- 
 gious, moral,  and  civil  point  of  view,  was  calculated  to 
 make  the  nation  the  happiest  upon  earth.     It  was 
 even,  therefore,  a  demonstration  at  the  same  time,  that 
 there  is  in  all  ages  an  inseparable  connexion  between 
 religious,  moral,  and  civil  prosperity.     By  a  faithful 
 adherence  to  this  Theocratical  constitution,  Israel  was 
 to  be,  in  reality  and  truth,  the  priestly  tribe  amidst 
 the  families  of  the  earth. 
 
 The  Theocratical  character  of  the  Israel  of  God  was 
 both  of  a  politico-national,  and  of  a  catholic-religious 
 
CHAP.  H.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  07 
 
 nature ; — one  could  not  exist  without  tlie  other.  The 
 poHtico-national  part  of  the  Theocratical  constitution 
 resulted  from  the  national  history  and  the  high  des- 
 tiny of  this  people.  As  Jehovah  was  a  Father  to 
 the  Patriarchal  family,  he  becomes  a  King  to  their 
 numerous  posterity.  But  the  character  of  this  people 
 demanded,  at  the  same  time,  that  they  should  have  no 
 other  king  besides  Jehovah.  The  Israel  of  God  were 
 not  only  destined  to  preserve  the  fundamental  elements 
 of  true  Religion  from  falling  into  oblivion,  but  they 
 were  the  very  nation  in  the  heart  of  which  it  was  to 
 be  further  unfolded,  under  the  immediate  guidance  of 
 revelation.  There  could,  therefore,  be  nothing  de- 
 structive or  unfavourable  to  this  great  plan  in  the  civil 
 and  political  constitution  of  this  nation.  As  the  laws 
 of  this  people  could  neither  emanate  from  the  nation 
 itself,  nor  yet  from  some  wise  legislator  of  this  world, 
 it  was  natural,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  sole  execu- 
 tive power  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Divine 
 Sovereign.  God  was  to  be  sole  King  over  Israel. 
 The  unfavourable  influence  of  political  institutions 
 upon  the  national  Religion  has  been  frequently  witnessed 
 even  among  Pagan  nations.  And  when  Israel  de- 
 manded and  obtained  a  king,  in  direct  opposition  to 
 the  leading  principles  of  the  Theocratical  constitution, 
 they  were  very  soon  led  into  Pagan  idolatry. 
 
 The  solemnities  under  which  the  law  of  the  Theo- 
 cratical constitution  was  introduced  and  administered, 
 were   calculated  to  impress  the  chosen  people  with 
 
 Y  2 
 
OS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 the  goodness  as  well  as  the  terrors  of  Jehovah.  Bless- 
 ing and  curse,  happmess  and  misfortune,  reward  and 
 punishment,  were  attached  to  each  one  of  the  several 
 commandments;  and  the  promises  and  curses  which 
 were  then  uttered,  embraced  every  description  of  bene- 
 diction and  woe,  excepting  only  annihilation,  to  which 
 it  should  never  come.  (Jer.  xxi.  35 — 37  ;  Deut.  xxx. 
 1—5.) 
 
 9.  The  Israel  of  God  was  to  be  educated  from  the 
 state  of  infancy — yea,  from  "  the  mother's  womb." 
 (Isa.  xliv.  2.)     Now,  in  imparting  knowledge,  of  what- 
 ever  kind,   the  faculties,  the   general  character,   the 
 advancement,    and   knowledge   of  the   person  to  be 
 taught  are  generally  taken  into  consideration,  and  the 
 mode  of  instruction  is  adapted  accordingly.     God  had 
 called  his  son  out  of  Egypt.     The  Patriarchal  family 
 had  multiplied  exceedingly  in  number,  but  as  they 
 had   not    grown    into  manhood  as  regards   religious 
 knowledge  and  spiritual  life,  provision  was  to  be  made 
 for  their  infantine  faculties  to  comprehend  spiritual 
 things.     The  plan  of  training  evidently  demanded  a 
 symbolical  construction.     Religious  truths  were  to  be 
 conveyed  by  types  and  figures,  which  at  once  were 
 calculated  to  engage  the  juvenile  mind  of  the  chosen 
 nation,    and   which   were   fitted   to    convey   spiritual 
 knowledge.     Antiquity  in  general,  as  the  childhood  of 
 human  existence,  was  fondly  given  to  symbolical  forms ; 
 whilst  riper   experience   prefers   dealing  more  freely 
 with  abstract  notions  and  ideas. 
 
CHAF.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  09 
 
 It  is  peculiar  to  all  systems  of  Religion  to  adopt 
 certain  forms,  and  to  prescribe  certain  rites,  to  mani- 
 fest their  character.  If  there  were  systems  of  Religion 
 which  admitted  no  more  than  the  naked  form  of  the 
 word  as  audible  symbols  and  signs,  they  would  still, 
 in  a  measure,  partake  of  a  symbolical  character.  This 
 typical  and  symbolical  character  being  founded  in  the 
 very  nature  of  Religion,  we  must  expect  to  find  this 
 peculiarity  likewise  in  the  history  of  the  development 
 of  genuine  Religion ;  and  we  must  likewise  expect 
 that  these  symbolical  rites  would  correspond  to  the 
 degree  of  the  religious  knowledge  of  those  for  whom 
 they  are  intended.  Whilst  we  cannot,  however,  appre- 
 ciate too  highly  the  divine  condescension  in  giving 
 symbolical  instruction,  there  is  another  view  of  the 
 case  which  rendered  the  introduction  of  symbols  and 
 types  not  only  desirable,  but  necessary  to  an  eminent 
 degree. 
 
 We  have  already  seen  that  Israel  was  chosen  wdth  a 
 view  to  preserve  the  remnants  of  pure  Religion  against 
 the  rapid  spread  of  Pagan  idolatry ;  but  Pagan  idolatry 
 was  at  that  early  period  of  a  purely  symbolical  cha- 
 racter. Pagan  systems  of  belief  were  strictly  sym- 
 holical  in  the  earlier  stages  of  their  development. 
 The  host  of  heaven  above  and  the  elements  beneath 
 were  originally  contemplated  as  the  visible  symbols  of 
 the  invisible  God.  There  was  no  Idolatry,  properly  so 
 called ;  no  Mythology,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the 
 term;  but  a   simple,   comparatively  pure  symbohcal 
 
70  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 creed  of  the  natural  man,  who  had  lost  the  spiritual 
 Godhead.  These  religious  symbols  are  the  inventions 
 of  man;  and  although  they  were  dealt  with  less 
 severely  than  the  more  degraded  forms  of  Pagan 
 superstition,  (Deut.  iv.  19,  20,)  yet  they  were  never- 
 theless looked  upon  as  spurious  in  themselves,  and  as 
 repugnant  to  the  invisible  Majesty  of  heaven.  Hence 
 their  spell  was  broken  in  the  Patriarchal  Religion ;  and 
 though  it  was  not  thoroughly  eradicated  from  the 
 wider  circles  of  the  holy  family,  it  was  yet  entirely 
 suppressed  in  the  patriarchs  themselves. 
 
 The  religious  symbols  in  Pagan  idolatry  were  natu- 
 rally increased  in  number  amongst  the  dispersed 
 nations,  placed,  as  they  were,  under  the  different 
 geographical  and  physical  influences  of  their  new 
 abodes.  When  these  Pagan  symbols  had  laid  the 
 foundation  of  Pagan  idolatry,  they  invariably  tran- 
 spired by  degrees  into  the  more  developed  features  of 
 Pagan  mythology :  and  it  may  be  said,  that  the  less 
 developed,  the  richer  Pagan  systems  are,  in  symbolical 
 forms,  and  the  poorer  in  the  pseudo-historical  elements 
 of  a  spurious  Mythology.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
 more  developed  and  refined  has  been  the  form  of 
 Pagan  systems,  the  fewer  have  been  its  symbols,  and 
 the  richer  have  been  the  elements  of  spurious  history, 
 or  of  Mythology.  It  is  remarkable,  on  the  other  hand, 
 to  observe  a  decrease  of  symbols,  the  further  we  go 
 back  in  the  development  of  true  Religion ;  and  the 
 more  developed  the  latter,  the  more  abiuidant  are  the 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  71 
 
 elements,  not  of  Mythology,  but  of  true  genuine 
 religious  history.  The  Pagan  symbol  transpires  into 
 Pagan  Mythology ;  the  symbol  of  true  Religion  be- 
 comes type  ;  and  every  true  type  is  adding  to  the  ever 
 growing  fund  of  genuine  history.  The  symbol  and 
 the  type  eventually  give  place  to  the  substance,  the 
 shadow  to  the  body,  the  image  to  reality.  Whilst 
 Pagan  Mythology  attempts  in  vain  to  quicken  the 
 mouldering  carcass  of  Pagan  symbolisation,  the  spirit 
 of  prophecy  animates  the  whole  body  of  genuine 
 symbols  and  emblems ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
 that  the  greatest  number  of  the  personal  types  of 
 Christ,  in  whom  they  all  concentrate,  as  in  the  key- 
 stone of  the  eternal  temple  of  truth,  fall  into  that 
 period  when  the  spirit  of  prophecy  was  not  yet  so 
 richly  poured  out  among  the  Israel  of  God;  when, 
 therefore,  it  was  most  needed,  to  give  sufficient  secu- 
 rity of  the  future  advent  of  the  great  Prototype  that 
 was  to  come. 
 
 From  what  has  now  been  said  of  the  natural  process 
 of  the  spurious  symbol,  against  which  the  symbolical 
 constitution  of  Israel  was  in  a  measure  directed,  we 
 are  enabled  to  appreciate  the  opportune  introduction 
 of  the  latter.  The  promise  of  life  had  indeed  been 
 concentrated  by  Abraham's  choice,  and  received  fresh 
 support  upon  the  Patriarchal  stage  ;  but  it  could  not 
 support  itself  for  any  length  of  time  against  the  rapid 
 progress  and  the  very  powerful  charms  of  the  spurious 
 symbols   which   now   abounded   in    every    direction. 
 
70 
 
 /.::  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 Pure  and  iindefiled  Religion  had  preserved  its  spiritual 
 character  in  the  bosom  of  the  patriarchal  family,  but 
 this  could  no  longer  be  done  when  the  family  had 
 grown  into  a  large  nation.  Much  less  could  the 
 knowledge  of  Jehovah  be  communicated  to  other 
 nations ;  an  event  which  was  directly  anticipated  by 
 the  letter  and  by  the  spirit  of  the  divine  promise. 
 The  law  was  added  to  aid  the  divine  promise  in  sup- 
 porting its  influence  against  the  inroads  of  a  spurious 
 symbol ;  but  scai'cely  had  the  thunderings  and  light- 
 nings ceased  to  terrify  the  trembling  audience,  when 
 "  they  cpiickly  turned  aside  out  of  the  way  which  was 
 commanded  them,  and  made  them  a  molten  image." 
 (Deut.  ix.  12.) 
 
 In  order,  therefore,  to  give  the  necessary  support  to 
 the  law  and  to  the  promise,  the  latter  was  folded  up 
 in  a  complex  apparatus  of  types  and  emblems,  and 
 embodied  in  a  system  of  symbolical  institutions.  God 
 in  his  goodness  and  wisdom  arrested  in  due  time  the 
 vehement  desire  of  his  fallen  creatures  to  go  a-whoring 
 after  a  spurious  symbol,  by  instituting  the  true  symbols 
 and  the  genuine  types  of  good  things  to  come. 
 Promise  had  stood  alone,  unprotected,  and  exposed 
 to  a  flood  of  erroneous  symbols ;  but  it  was  secured 
 in  due  season,  for  the  same  reasons  for  which  the 
 sacred  traditions  were  now  safely  deposited  in  the 
 "written  form  of  Holy  Scriptures. 
 
 The  connexion  of  the  sacred  name  of  Jehovah  with 
 almost  every  single  nail  in  the  tabernacle,  was  cal- 
 
CHAx-.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  73 
 
 Ciliated  to  stamp  the  whole  system  of  symbols  with  a 
 strictly  religious  character.  It  was  on  this  wise  that 
 the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto  Christ. 
 We  have  nothing  in  the  whole  body  of  the  Mosaical 
 institutions  which  does  not  strictly  partake  of  the 
 symbolical  character.  If  the  spirit  of  life  animates 
 the  heart,  it  will  communicate  itself  to  the  very  ex- 
 tremities of  the  body.  Every  single  hieroglyphic 
 figure  in  the  constitution  had  its  meaning.  All  his- 
 toric characters,  events,  and  circumstances,  so  studiously 
 recorded,  down  to  the  very  items  of  the  drapery  of  the 
 tabernacle  and  the  ornaments  of  the  temple,  were 
 divinely  chosen  symbols  for  conveying  intimations  of 
 truths  deeply  interesting  to  the  whole  race  of  man. 
 The  character  of  the  chosen  people  demanded  a  plan  of 
 divine  education  with  some  tangible  form,  without  in- 
 ducing a  morbid  taste  for  empty  forms  and  ceremonies. 
 10.  Much  discussion  having  at  various  times  arisen 
 upon  the  subject,  w^e  shall  offer  a  few  remarks  upon 
 the  rites  of  the  Mosaic  constitution  and  those  of  Pagan 
 antiquity  in  general.  A¥e  first  notice  the  marked 
 distinction  between  the  external  form  and  the  thing 
 signified.  With  reference  to  the  symbolical  form,  we 
 have  already  alluded  to  the  fact,  that  it  had  been 
 adopted  in  the  development  of  true  rehgion,  partly  on 
 account  of  the  general  character  of  mankind  at  that 
 primitive  period,  partly  from  considerations  which  had 
 been  suggested  by  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the 
 chosen  generation.     They  were  originally  "like  unto 
 
74  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ir. 
 
 other  nations."  Previous  to  the  separation  they 
 formed  part  and  parcel  of  the  world  at  large.  Their 
 choice  and  separation  were  not  a  miraculous  trans- 
 lation of  the  nation  from  one  epoch  of  the  world  into 
 another.  They  were  not  placed  under  circumstances  of 
 an  age  which  was  a  thousand  years  in  advance.  It 
 was  indeed  a  thorough  separation  from  an  evil  world, 
 but  yet  not  a  momentary  magical  tearing  off  from  all 
 connexion  with  nature  and  the  world  around  them. 
 If  the  probation  of  our  first  parents,  which  involved  so 
 deadly  a  risk,  could  not  be  overleaped  in  tlie  develop- 
 ment of  Religion,  how  could  it  at  any  later  period  be 
 expected  that  any  very  essential  and  important  stage 
 should  be  miraculously  overleaped  and  surmounted  ? 
 
 The  beginning  of  the  separation  was  the  opening 
 of  a  protracted  course  of  divine  education.  But  the 
 people  to  be  educated  remained  a  people  of  their  day, 
 a  branch  of  the  human  family,  and  as  such  they  were 
 subject  to  the  general  laws  of  the  physical  and 
 spiritual  development  of  the  human  race.  To  pre- 
 scribe, therefore,  to  a  nation  at  that  period  of  the 
 world,  a  religion  in  which  the  spiritual  elements  would 
 have  been  exercising  a  preponderating  influence  over 
 certain  external  forms,  rites,  and  ceremonies,  would 
 have  been  to  apply  artificial  means,  as  it  were,  to  accele- 
 rate the  growth  of  a  plant ;  it  would  have  been  to  apply 
 moral  force  in  order  to  produce  a  premature  result, — 
 a  plan  which  would  have  defeated  its  own  object.  The 
 circumstance,  therefore,  that  true  Religion  partook  of 
 
CHAP,  ii.l  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  75 
 
 the  symholical  character  of  Pagan  systems  of  belief, 
 can  never  be  urged  as  an  objection  against  its  original 
 and  divine  character.  It  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  cri- 
 terion of  its  divine  origin,  and  was  naturally  involved 
 in  the  plan  of  Jehovah  to  bring  up  Israel  as  a  people 
 unto  his  great  name.  Symbolical  forms  constitute  at 
 all  times  a  kind  of  language,  the  component  parts  of 
 which  have  been  derived  from  the  various  elements 
 which  exist  in  nature  around  us.  This  language  of 
 symbols  was  uttered  by  Almighty  God  when  he 
 created  the  universe.  He  wrote  his  power,  and  his 
 wisdom,  and  his  goodness,  upon  every  leaf,  upon 
 every  herb,  and  upon  every  particle  of  his  glorious 
 creation.  God  revealed  himself  by  creation ;  he 
 s})oke,  and  his  speech  transpired  into  a  thousand 
 forms,  and  sounds  which  rendered  nature  vocal.  "  The 
 heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament 
 sheweth  his  handy  works."  As,  however,  in  language, 
 properly  so  called,  words  are  only  the  less  material 
 external  forms  of  thoughts  and  ideas,  so  also  in  sym- 
 bolical language. 
 
 It  can  be  no  objection  against  the  documents  of 
 revelation,  that  they  have  been  written  in  a  language 
 which  has  a  singular  affinity  with  several  other  lan- 
 guages ;  as  Kttle  can  the  originality  of  true  Religion 
 be  affected  by  its  having  certain  symbolical  features 
 in  common  with  spurious  rehgious  systems.  As  in 
 language  in  general,  so  also  in  symbolical  language, 
 we  have  certain   fundamental   principles,    which   are 
 
76  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 founded  in  nature.  Thus  it  has,  for  mstance,  never 
 been  made  a  subject  of  inquiry  whether  l^lack  was  a 
 significant  colour  for  purity  and  innocence.  We  meet, 
 therefore,  very  naturally,  with  several  coincidences  in 
 the  religious  symbols  of  Pagan  antiquity,  without  the 
 one  having  necessarily  been  borrowed  from  the  other. 
 If  this  be  the  case  with  reference  to  Pagan  symbols  in 
 general,  we  reject  as  unfounded  the  very  arbitrary 
 notion,  according  to  which  part  of  the  Mosaic  con- 
 stitution was  borrowed  from  Pagan  systems  of  belief. 
 
 Abraham  was  called  out  of  his  previous  circum- 
 stances and  connexions,  with  a  view  to  separate  him 
 from  all  idolatry.  Again,  God  called  Israel  out  of 
 Egypt,  that  they  should  be  a  separate  people  ;  and  it 
 would,  therefore,  indeed  have  been  a  strange  method, 
 perhaps  worthy  of  an  Egyptian  deity,  to  confirm  and 
 strengthen  this  separation  by  adopting  Egyptian  rites 
 and  ceremonies.  And  yet  with  what  confidence,  with 
 what  boldness  and  plausibility  has  not  this  imperti- 
 nent notion  been  set  forth  in  latter  days  by  some  of 
 the  all-wise  philosophers  of  this  world  !  By  receiving 
 the  elements  of  Egyptian  Mythology  and  Symbolatry 
 into  revealed  Religion,  spurious  Religion  would  have 
 been  sanctioned  and  perpetuated  amongst  God's 
 people.  But  who  can  forget  the  scene  of  Egyptian 
 Idolatry  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai,  and  the  terrific 
 judgment  which  ensued  upon  so  base,  wilful  and 
 bold  a  departure  from  the  pure  worship  of  Jehovah  ! 
 As  regards  that  notorious  assumption  which  has  been 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  77 
 
 propagated  in  latter  clays,  and  according  to  which 
 God's  people  had  received  a  modified  form  of  Egyptian 
 idolatry,  it  has  been  shown,  as  in  a  thousand  other 
 instances,  how  the  truth  has  been  perverted,  and  how  a 
 frivolous  disregard  to  both  common  sense  and  historical 
 facts  has  been  manifested,  in  order  to  deprive  true 
 Religion  of  its  divine  character,  and  to  strip  it  of  the 
 power  which  it  exercises  over  the  conscience  of  man  ! 
 
 Nature,  indeed,  is  by  no  means  losing  its  symbolical 
 character  only  because  Paganism  had  misunder- 
 stood and  abused  the  same,  and  lost  sight  of  the 
 Creator.  And  if  we  discover  certain  religious  sym- 
 bols in  the  Mosaic  constitution  which  exist  likewise 
 amongst  Pagans,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  not 
 the  symbol,  but  the  thing  signified,  which  is  of  the 
 greatest  importance.  Again,  if  we  assume  the  fcti- 
 tious  case,  that  Jehovah  had  borrowed  any  of  the 
 Pagan  symbols  with  a  view  to  teach  Israel  his  son, 
 whom  he  had  called  out  of  Egypt, — who  will  let  it,  or 
 who  will  say  aught  against  it  ?  This  would  as  little 
 depreciate  the  divine  character  of  the  Jewish  constitu- 
 tion, as  it  could  weaken  the  covenant  made  with  Noah 
 after  the  flood  were  we  to  assume  that  the  rainbow 
 had  previously  existed,  but  was  only  then,  and  on 
 that  occasion,  "  given,"  or  "  appointed,"  according  to 
 the  original,  as  a  sign  of  his  covenant  with  the  sur- 
 yivers  and  their  posterity ;  or  as  little  would  the 
 circumstance  of  other  nations  having  used  circum- 
 cision deteriorate  the  validity  of  Hebrew  circumcision  ; 
 
78  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 or,  to  allude  only  to  one  more  fact,  as  little  would  it 
 affect  the  efficacy  and  nature  of  Christian  baptism, 
 that  all  Pagan  systems  of  belief  had,  and  still  have, 
 their  religious  ablutions. 
 
 Pagan  symbols,  in  short,  are  arbitrarily  chosen, 
 whilst  the  symbols  of  true  Religion  are  of  divine  ap- 
 pointment. The  spurious  symbols  are  empty  and  void; 
 the  genuine  are  replete  with  divine  truth,  and  calcu- 
 lated to  instruct  man  in  the  things  pertaining  to  God 
 and  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  one  has  reference 
 to  deified  nature ;  the  other  to  the  mysteries  of  the 
 living  God.  The  one  endeavours  in  some  instances  to 
 retain  some  of  the  flying  sparks  of  primitive  revela- 
 tion ;  the  other  points  into  futurity,  and  is  a  shadow 
 of  good  things  to  come.  The  one  appears  as  a  dis- 
 organized mass,  without  head  or  tail ;  the  other  is  a 
 sound  body  of  truth,  which  is  animated  by  the  spirit 
 of  prophecy,  and  preserved  in  a  healthy  frame  by  the 
 vigour  of  that  "  schoolmaster,"  even  the  law,  which 
 preserved  the  Israelite  from  that  "  vanity  of  mind  " 
 which  is  peculiar  to  all  systems  of  spurious  Religion. 
 And  whilst  Pagan  symbols  were  either  suddenly 
 arrested  by  a  state  of  stagnation,  or  superseded  by 
 a  spurious  Mythology ;  the  genuine  symbol,  from  its 
 connexion  with  the  whole  body  of  divine  revelations, 
 was  pressing  forward  to  a  period  when  all  should  be- 
 hold, with  open  faces,  the  glory  of  the  only-begotten 
 Son,  full  of  grace  and  truth. 
 
 If,  finally,  religious  rites  and  symbols  are  strictly 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  79 
 
 expressive  of  religious  truths  and  religious  ideas,  then 
 naturally  the  Mosaic  symbols    are  as  little  intended 
 to  express  Pagan  ideas,   as  Pagan  symbols  in  their 
 connexion  with  Paganism  are   calculated  to  express 
 the  ideas  of  revealed  Religion.      The  pomegranates, 
 the    almonds,    the   flowers,    and    the   blossoms,    and 
 even  the  numbers,  have  a  moral  and  spiritual  signifi- 
 cation in  true  religion.      The  same  objects  in  Pagan 
 Religions   are    symbolical   of    purely  physical   ideas. 
 Both  genuine  and  spurious  Religion  have   amongst 
 their   numerous    symbols    that   of    holy   arks,  which 
 are  indeed  similar  in  some  points,  but  they  are  yet 
 expressive  of  very  different  ideas.     The  several  holy 
 arks   amongst  the  ancient  Pagans    contained  plants, 
 salt,    serpents,    pyramids,   pomegranates,    Nile-water, 
 and  other  objects  indicative  of  the  physical  process  of 
 procreation.     The  holy  ark  of  the  tabernacle  contained 
 the  testimony  of  Jehovah,  the  holy  law  of  a  holy  God, 
 the  ratification  of  his  covenant  with  a  holy  nation.    As 
 different,  therefore,  as  the  Phallus  of  Dionysus  and 
 the  Decalogue  of  Moses — as  different  as  the  comb  of 
 Venus    and  the  law  of  Jehovah,  and  as  different  as 
 Nile-water,  plants,  and  cakes,  and  serpents  are  from 
 the  words  which  proceeded  from  the  mouth  of  God, 
 and  were  written  by  his  finger ;  so  different  are  Pagan 
 symbols  in  general  from  those  of  the  Mosaic  constitu- 
 tion !     In  the  symbolical  ark  of  the  testimony  are  con- 
 centrated the  fundamental  truths  of  divine  revelation, 
 the  chief  glory  of  the  people  of  God,  the  essence  of  a 
 
80  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 spiritual  and  holy  Religion.  In  the  symbolical  arks 
 of  the  Egyptians,  the  Greeks,  and  the  Romans,  on  the 
 other  hand,  are  concentrated  the  fundamental  prin- 
 ciples of  Paganism,  as  the  Religion  of  nature,  with  its 
 great  problem,  the  mystery  of  procreation  ! 
 
 11.  The  sold  of  all  the  types-  and  symbols  of  the 
 Mosaic  constitution  was  the  sacrifice  and  priesthood. 
 Sacrifices,  indeed,  had  existed  long  before  the  constitu- 
 tion was  called  into  existence.  They  were  instituted 
 when  guilt  was  contracted ;  and  sacrifice  was  one  of  the 
 few  simple  rites  of  the  Patriarchs  of  old.  It  was, 
 however,  reserved  to  the  Law  which  came  by  Moses,  to 
 define  the  sacrificial  rites  and  to  prescribe  every  detail 
 in  their  performance.  This  had  become  the  more 
 necessary,  as  Paganism  had  also  in  this  point  sadly 
 departed  from  the  good  old  paths,  and  grossly  per- 
 verted this  very  sacred  rite.  The  very  simple  act  of 
 the  Patriarchal  sacrifice  was  now  brought  into  a  more 
 detailed  and  complicated  form.  If  sacrifices  are  con- 
 sidered as  a  mere  ceremony,  and  looked  upon  as  the 
 residt  of  superstitious  notions  respecting  the  character 
 of  the  Deity,  the  modification  of  sacrifices  under 
 Moses  will  certainly  appear  as  a  relapse,  rather  than  a 
 progress  in  Religion.  The  sacrificial  institutions,  how- 
 ever, as  they  now  appear,  are  eminently  calculated  to 
 be  a  thorough  schoolmaster  to  the  nation,  which  was 
 to  be  brought  up  for  all-important  purposes.  Nor  can 
 it  be  said  that  the  more  simple  things  are  at  all  times 
 the  most  perfect. 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  81 
 
 Amongst  all  the  various  kinds  of  sacrifices,  those 
 connected  with  the  oblation  of  blood  were  by  far  the 
 most  significant  and  important.  "  For  the  life  of  the 
 flesh  is  in  the  blood  :  and  1  have  given  it  to  you  upon 
 the  altar,  to  make  an  atonement  for  your  souls  :  for  it 
 is  the  blood  that  niaketh  an  atonement  for  the  soul." 
 (Lev.  xvii.  11.)  In  this  remarkable  passage,  nothing  is 
 mentioned  of  the  death  of  the  animal,  but  the  blood  is 
 made  the  essential  part  of  the  sacrifice.  The  laying 
 on  of  hands,  the  slaughter,  the  skinning,  and  the 
 parting  of  the  sacrificed  animal,  could  be  done  by 
 others,  but  the  sprinkling  with  blood  was  always  the 
 part  of  the  priest.  (Lev.  i.  iii,  iv.  vii.  2  Chron.  xxix.) 
 Was  anything  carried  into  the  Most  Holy,  it  was  the 
 blood  only.  (Lev.  iv.  vi.  xvi.  Heb.  ix.)  As  the  object 
 of  the  shedding  of  blood,  is  mentioned  the  atonement 
 of  sin  or  the  covering  of  guilt.  Reconciliation  is  there- 
 fore the  leading  idea  of  the  symbolical  character  of 
 sacrificial  rites.  God  has  given  blood  upon  the  altar 
 to  make  an  atonement  for  their  souls.  The  atonement 
 therefore  emanates  from  God,  and  has  for  its  object 
 the  reconciliation  of  human  souls.  (Jer.  xviii.  Neh.  iii. 
 Psalm  Ixxxv.  xxxii.  Ixxix.  Ixv.  Dent,  xxi.)  The  blood 
 has  this  efficacy  in  the  hand  of  Jehovah,  but  never  in 
 the  hand  of  man.  It  is  indeed  the  priest  who  offici- 
 ates with  blood  in  the  sacrificial  rites,  but  he  officiates 
 in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  appears  sprinkling  as  the 
 mediator  between  God  and  man.  Hence  none  but 
 the  ordained  priest  was  permitted  to  make  an  atone- 
 
 VOL.  I.  G 
 
82  DEVELOPMENT    OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 ment.     Jehovah  is  never  represented  as  havmg  been 
 atoned,  and  this  is  remarkable ;  but  the  atonement  is 
 always  represented  as  having  been  accomplished  by 
 God  upon  man.     Human  transgression  is  said  to  be 
 covered  from  before  the  face  of  Jehovah.      (Jer.  xviii. 
 23.)     The  original  meaning  of  the  word,   to  atone, 
 being,  to  cover,  to  make  invisible,  to  expiate,  and  to 
 annihilate,  it  is  altogether  inapplicable  to  God,  there 
 being  nothing  to  be  blotted  out  in  his  holy  character. 
 The  idea,  therefore,  of  atoning  God  would  involve  blas- 
 phemy of  a  most  awful  character,  inasmuch  as  it  would 
 necessarily  imply  that  there  was  in  his  character  some- 
 thing which  needs  to  be  covered,  some  dark  spot  which 
 is  to  be  expiated.     On  the  contrary,  Jehovah,  as  the 
 Holy  One  of  Israel,  always  covers  and  atones  in  man 
 what  is  unholy,  and  He  has  given  him,  for  that  purpose, 
 blood  to  make  an  atonement  for  his  soul  upon  the  altar. 
 The  reason  why,  through  blood,  atonement  can  be 
 made,  is  said  to  be  because  "  the  soul  of  the  flesh  is 
 in  the  blood,"  to  which  is  added  in  the  end  of  verse  11 , 
 according  to  the  original,  "  for  the  blood  atones  by  the 
 soul."     It  is  because  the  life,  or  the  soul,  is  in  the 
 blood,  that  the  blood  atones.     Not  the  material  com- 
 ponent parts  of  the  blood  are  said  to  have  the  efficacy  of 
 atonement,  but  they  are  atoning  only  because  they  are 
 connected  with  the  soul .    If,  therefore,  the  blood  be  the 
 most  essential  part  in  the  sacrifice,  and  if  the  blood  be 
 for  an  atonement  only  because  it  is  the  bearer  of  the 
 soul,  we  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  soul  is  the 
 
CHAP.   II.]  IN   THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  83 
 
 centre  around  which  all  is  turning,  towards  which  all 
 is  pointing,  upon  which  all  is  made  to  bear.  God 
 promises  to  atone  our  souls  by  the  blood,  whose  life 
 and  strength  is  the  soul.  The  soul  in  the  sacrificial 
 blood,  and  the  soul  of  the  individual  to  be  atoned  for, 
 are  brought  to  bear  one  upon  the  other. 
 
 The  soul  of  man  is  that  part  of  human  existence  by 
 which  the  body  and  the  spirit  are  connected,  and  which 
 in  Scripture  is  considered  as  the  birth-place  of  cor- 
 ruption. The  object  of  sacrificial  rites  is,  covering  sin. 
 Sin  comes  from  lust :  lust  has  its  seat  and  origin  in 
 the  soul  (James  i.  14,  15);  and  the  soul  is  in  the 
 blood.  Against  the  blood,  therefore,  as  the  seat  of 
 the  soul,  is  directed  the  punishment.  The  wages  of 
 sin  is  death.  As  the  soul  of  man  is  frequently  identi- 
 fied with  his  own  person,  the  offering  up  of  the  animal 
 soul  in  the  sacrificial  blood  upon  the  altar  likewise 
 intimated  the  offering  up  of  the  "  soul"  of  man  to  the 
 Deity.  As  the  offering  of  the  blood  is  the  yielding 
 up  of  animal  life,  so  the  whole  soul  of  man  was  to  be 
 offered  up  and  given  unto  God.  By  the  death  of 
 man's  sinful  nature,  the  cause  of  our  separation  from 
 God  has  been  removed.  Man  is  atoned,  reconciled, 
 and  thus  prepared  to  be  received  into  communion  with 
 God.  But  this  leads  us  to  the  sacramental  character 
 of  the  sacrificial  rites. 
 
 The  shedding  of  blood  was  the  divinely  instituted 
 means  to  cover  transgression,  to  atone  for  sin,  and  to 
 sanctify  man,  by  bringing  him  again  into  fellow^ship 
 
 G  2 
 
84  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap,  ii 
 
 with  Jehovah.  "  I  have  given  the  blood  to  atone  your 
 souls."  The  cause  of  this  efficacy  is,  therefore,  not  in 
 man  himself  Indeed,  human  blood  was  never  used 
 as  a  means  of  atonement  among  the  Israel  of  God ; — 
 yea,  to  spill  their  own  blood  for  any  religious  purpose 
 was  absolutely  forbidden,  as  one  of  the  evil  ways  of 
 idolatrous  nations.  The  person  for  whom  the  offering 
 was  made  was  not  even  permitted  himself  to  assist  in 
 the  actual  sacrifice.  This  was  always  to  be  done  by 
 the  ordained  priest,  who  officiated  in  the  name  of 
 Jehovah.  The  means  by  which  atonement  was  to  be 
 made  was  something  independent  of  man ;  man  not 
 having  the  principle  of  holiness  within  himself,  it  was 
 to  be  something  ordained  by  God,  as  the  source  of  all 
 true  holiness  and  sanctification.  In  the  appointment 
 of  the  means  of  atonement,  it  was,  however,  necessary 
 that  it  should  be  something .  analogous  to  man.  It 
 was  to  be  something  beside  him,  yet  it  could  not  be 
 absolutely  beyond  all  connexion  with  his  nature.  It 
 was  only  by  being  in  a  measure  homogeneous  to  him- 
 self that  the  means  of  atonement  could  carry  within 
 itself  the  virtue  to  heal,  and  to  cover,  and  to  reconcile 
 his  sinful  nature.  The  divinely  ordained  means  of 
 atonement  was,  therefore,  in  nowise  accidental  and 
 arbitrary.  The  means  by  which  the  soul  of  the  saeri- 
 ficer  was  to  be  atoned  was  again  another  soul ;  but  as 
 this  soul  was  that  of  an  animal,  which,  as  such,  stood 
 in  no  particular  connexion  with  man,  it  was  inadequate 
 to  take  away  sin.   (Heb.  x.  4.)     And  here  we  must 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  85 
 
 remember,  that  this  character  of  imperfection  is 
 peculiar  to  the  religious  development  under  the  Old 
 Testament.  It  pointed  as  a  symbolical  institution  to 
 something  more  perfect,  and  set  forth  by  types  and 
 emblems  what  it  was  unable  to  accomplish.  This 
 character  of  imperfection  cleaves  to  its  sacrifices  and  to 
 its  sprinkling  with  blood.  The  animal  blood  effected 
 an  external  sanctification  '*  to  the  purifying  of  the 
 flesh"  (Heb.  ix.  13);  and  the  whole  nation,  indeed, 
 to  whom  it  was  given,  was  an  "  Israel  according  to 
 the  flesh." 
 
 The  true  and  perfect  means  of  atonement  and  sanc- 
 tification was  the  blood  of  Christ,  to  which  all  was 
 pointing  in  the  sacrificial  rites.  The  pouring  out  of 
 his  blood  was,  "  eo  ipso,''  a  giving  of  himself, — the 
 yielding  of  his  ''soul  as  a  ransom  for  many;''  and 
 it  was  of  that  infinite  value,  because  he  has  offered  his 
 soul  in  his  blood  in  connexion  with  the  "  eternal  Spirit." 
 (Heb.  ix.  12 — 14.)  The  symbolical  character  of  the 
 sacrificial  rites  under  the  old  dispensation  was  so 
 precise,  that  even  the  Rabbinical  Theology  acknow- 
 ledged that  animal  sacrifices  should  cease  to  be  offered 
 in  the  days  of  the  Messiah. 
 
 Bloody  sacrifices  have  existed  in  every  system  of 
 spurious  Religion ;  yea,  it  can  well  be  said,  that  as 
 yet  no  nation  has  been  discovered  which  is  without 
 sacrifices  and  oblations.  But  if  there  be  a  marked 
 difference  between  genuine  and  spurious  symbols,  it  is 
 also  in  this  present  particular.     It  is  not  the  place  to 
 
86  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 enter  upon  detailed  comparison  between  the  genuine 
 and  the  spurious  rites  in  question ;  a  few  short 
 hints  may  suffice  upon  the  subject.  The  sacrifices  of 
 the  Israel  of  God  are  given  to  cover  sin,  to  atone  for 
 man ;  whilst  spurious  sacrifices  invariably  aim  to  atone 
 the  anger  of  the  Deity,  to  appease  his  wrath,  to  satisfy 
 a  thirst  for  revenge.  And  how  often  do  we  meet  with 
 this  Pagan  idea  amongst  Christians  regarding  the 
 atonement  of  Christ !  God  reconciles  the  ivorld  unto 
 himself  under  symbolical  forms  already  in  the  Old 
 Testament ;  whilst  in  all  Pagan  sacrifices  the  atone- 
 ment is  made  by  man,  and  the  deity  is  forced,  by 
 means  of  sacrifices,  to  accomplish,  nolens  volens,  what 
 is  desired  by  the  sacrificer  !  We  have,  in  Pagan  sacri- 
 fices, the  idea  of  the  death  of  the  Godhead,  from  which 
 the  life  of  the  world  is  to  result :  but  this  is  a  purely 
 Pagan  idea,  and  founded  upon  the  supposition  that  the 
 essence  of  the  world  and  the  essence  of  the  deity  are 
 one  and  the  same  thing.  The  sacrificial  blood  of  the 
 Old  Testament  is  never  looked  upon  as  divine,  but 
 only  as  the  divinely  appointed  means  of  atonement ; 
 and  that  only  in  a  symbolical  sense,  as  it  pointed  to 
 the  true  sacrifice,  whose  death  is  indeed  the  life  of  the 
 world.  But  we  have  nothing  here  of  the  death  of  the 
 Godhead,  in  the  Pagan  sense  of  the  term  : — "  For 
 their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself,  that  they  also  may  be 
 sanctified."  (John  xvii.  19.) 
 
 The  character  of  the  Levitical  priesthood  was  that 
 in  which  they  were  to  represent  the  holy  nation  and 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  87 
 
 the  royal  priesthood.  The  priestly  character  of  the 
 nation  was  concentrated,  in  the  first  place,  in  one  of 
 the  twelve  tribes ;  in  this  tribe  it  was  conferred  upon 
 a  certain  family,  and  in  this  family  it  was  brought 
 together  under  one  individual — the  high  priest  of 
 Jehovah.  It  was  the  office  of  the  priesthood  in 
 general  to  impart  knowledge  to  the  people,  and  to 
 mediate  between  them  and  Jehovah ;  whilst  the  Pagan 
 priesthood,  in  accordance  with  tlie  whole  spirit  of 
 Paganism,  is  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  universe,  in 
 the  contemplation  of  the  firmament,  and  in  the  exami- 
 nation of  the  laws  and  mysteries  of  nature.  The 
 wisdom  of  the  Egyptian  priest  initiates  him  into  the 
 mysteries  of  mathematics,  music,  astronomy,  medicine, 
 zoology,  botany,  and  architecture.  The  priesthood  of 
 Israel  is  engaged  with  the  law  of  Jehovah,  with  the 
 covenant  of  God,  and  with  such  means  and  ways  as 
 he  has  ordained  to  sanctify  his  people.  All  is  practi- 
 cally religious :  hence,  even  the  books  which  have 
 been  looked  upon  as  embodying  the  Hebrew  philo- 
 sophy abound  with  words  like  these  : — "  The  fear  of 
 God  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  and  the  knowledge 
 of  the  Holy  is  understanding  ;" — "  Behold,  the  fear  of 
 the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom,  and  to  depart  from  evil,  that 
 is  understanding."  Whilst  the  Pagan  priest  was 
 occupied  with  natural  philosophy,  the  priests  of  Jehovah 
 were  engaged  with  the  knowledge  which  is  life  eternal, 
 that  they  might  know  the  only  true  God,  and  the 
 Messiah  whom  he  had  promised  to  send.     The  Pagan 
 
88  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 priesthood  assumed  the  character  of  secrecy — they 
 would  not  communicate  their  knowledge  to  common 
 people  that  were  not  initiated  into  the  priestly  craft ; 
 whilst  in  Israel  the  priesthood  existed  for  the  avowed 
 purpose,  that  the  knowledge  of  which  they  were  the 
 depositories  should  become  general  amongst  all.  The 
 tribe  of  Levi  was  to  be  the  medium  through  which  the 
 testimonies  and  the  laws  of  Jehovah  should  be  infused 
 into  the  life-blood  of  the  whole  nation.  Yet,  as  the 
 sacrifice  was  a  svmbolical  institution,  so  was  also  the 
 priesthood  of  a  strictly  typical  character.  They  all 
 pointed  to  a  time  when  they  should  cease.  It  was 
 necessary  that  both  should  exist ;  but  they  were  not 
 sufficient  for  the  wants  of  the  nation.  Much  less  could 
 these  temporary  institutions  communicate  the  promised 
 blessing  to  other  nations.  How  could  it  make  good, 
 for  instance,  the  many  lapses  into  idolatry,  when  the 
 most  solemn  denunciations  were  uttered  against  them 
 by  the  divine  lawgiver  ?  Yet  it  was  necessary  by  the 
 sacrificial  rites  of  the  priesthood  to  retain  the  remem- 
 brance of  sin,  and  to  ensure  to  the  believing  Israelite 
 the  future  participation  in  the  good  things  that  were 
 to  come. 
 
 1 2.  God  had  thus  revealed  his  holiness,  his  good- 
 ness, and  mercy  in  a  more  than  ordinary  degree, 
 Jehovah  had  manifested  his  zeal  for  the  glory  of  his 
 great  name.  He  had  shown  how  he  has  means  and 
 ways  to  substantiate  his  claims  to  the  supreme  adora- 
 tion  of   his   creatures,  both  within   and  beyond  the 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  89 
 
 sphere  of  his  own  peculiar  people.  It  had  been  shown 
 how  the  mysteries  of  the  divine  piu-pose  of  love  Avere 
 capable  of  a  worthy  symbolical  representation,  but 
 that  the  Godhead  himself  could  as  little  be  represented 
 by  a  living  symbol  as  by  any  graven  or  molten  image. 
 God  had  revealed  himself  as  the  lawgiver  and  judge  of 
 all  men,  who  insists  upon  the  sanctity  and  immuta- 
 bility of  his  law  being  acknowledged,  yet  as  being 
 willing  also  to  give  "  blood"  unto  his  people,  to  make 
 an  atonement  for  then'  sins.  The  impression  upon 
 other  nations,  which  were  wholly  given  to  idolatry,  had 
 apparently  as  yet  been  very  insignificant.  Yet  it  could 
 in  no  wise  be  indifferent,  that  now  in  the  midst  of  them 
 had  arisen  a  Godfearing  nation,  a  Theocratical  State, 
 the  ultimate  destination  of  which  was  becoming  more 
 and  more  apparent.  One  nation  was  to  be  separated 
 with  a  view  to  convert  an  idolatrous  world  ;  and  out  of 
 a  temporary  separation  an  eternal  union  was  to  result 
 upon  the  grandest  scale,  and  upon  the  most  solid 
 foundation.  Temporary  separation  of  discordant 
 elements,  with  a  view  of  bringing  about  in  the  end  a 
 more  beneficial  harmony  between  them,  is  a  measure 
 of  divine  wisdom,  of  which  traces  appear  not  less  in 
 the  moral  and  spiritual  than  in  the  physical  world. 
 
 Again,  the  distinction  between  the  succour  of 
 Jehovah  and  the  fallacious  support  of  the  Heathen 
 deities  had  become  more  and  more  apparent.  Nor  could 
 the  contrast  between  the  immoral  nature  of  demon 
 worship  and  the  service  of  the  living  God  ;  between 
 
UO  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 spurious  miracles  and  wonders  of  his  mighty  arm  ; 
 between  a  civil  constitution  founded  upon  the  solid 
 basis  of  the  worship  of  the  one  true  God,  and  one 
 built  upon  the  adoration  of  false  deities,  escape  the 
 notice  of  the  most  superficial  observer.  And  then  was 
 it  not  this  constitution  which  rendered  a  universal 
 sway  of  Paganism  upon  earth  morally  impossible, 
 which  without  it  would  have  been  the  unavoidable 
 consequence?  As  long  as  this  constitution  of  the 
 Theocratical  state  of  the  Israel  of  God  existed,  no 
 Pagan  powers  could  succeed  to  establish  idolatry  upon 
 earth  to  an  unlimited  extent,  and  to  extinguish  true 
 Religion  from  among  its  inhabitants  without  exceptioii. 
 If  it  was,  however,  the  ultimate  object  of  the  divine 
 constitution  to  transmit  true  Religion  to  the  world  at 
 large,  even  the  very  Geographical  locality  of  their 
 future  abode  was  to  possess  a  singular  combination  of 
 advantages.  Salvation  to  the  scattered  nations  of  the 
 earth  was  the  great  object  of  the  Theocratical  consti- 
 tution. But  the  tree  which  should  produce  this  fruit 
 required  a  singular  care,  as  it  were,  in  a  separate 
 garden.  It  was  therefore  highly  desirable  that  the 
 garden  should  be  carefully  hedged  in  and  closed,  until 
 the  fruit  should  become  sufficiently  ripe,  and  the  leaves 
 of  this  tree  might  be  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
 A  country  this  people  was  to  have  upon  a  very  fruit- 
 ful hill,  in  which  Jehovah  might  plant  his  vine,  his 
 choicest  vine,  and  fence  it  round  about  with  a  wall  of 
 partition,  in  a  physical  sense,  as  he  had  fenced  it  already 
 
CHAP. 
 
 II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  91 
 
 by  giving  it  a  law  and  a  constitution  to  distinguish  it 
 from  otlier  nations.  Now,  if  we  follow  the  Israel  of 
 God  in  their  migrations,  we  observe  how  they  are 
 gradually  led  up  step  by  step  into  the  land  of  Canaan, 
 which  is  hedged  in  from  the  South  and  from  the  East 
 by  the  desert,  from  the  North  it  is  sheltered  by  the 
 mountains,  and  from  the  West  by  an  almost  unap- 
 proachable shore,  without  one  single  good  harbour 
 which  was  calculated  to  attract  the  ships  of  foreign 
 merchants. 
 
 There  are  two  great  points  around  which  the  pro- 
 mises given  unto  the  Patriarchs  seemed  to  revolve. 
 The  one  was  \\\.q  jJromised  seed  of  the  woman,  the  other 
 the  possession  of  the  Imid  of^Jromise.     It  was  here,  in 
 this   remarkable  land,   that  the    son    promised  unto 
 Abraham  was  born.      The  history  of  the  childhood  of 
 this  nation  was  to  transpire  in  this  land,  in  order  that 
 the  chosen  generation  might  become  attached  to  it, 
 as  to  their  real  home  and  the  home  of  their  fathers. 
 But  as  the  people  of  Israel  themselves  had  become  the 
 purchased  possession  of  Jehovah,  so  he  was  likewise  to 
 instal  his  peculiar  people  in  their  new  abode.     This 
 abode  of  the  Israel  of  God,  was,  however,  not  only  to 
 shield  and  protect  their  peculiar  character  from  foreign 
 influence,  but  it  was,  on  the  other  hand,  to  possess 
 every  facility  to  communicate  the  promised  blessing 
 easily  in  due  time  to  the  most  important  nations  of 
 the  w^orld.      Israel  is  placed  in  the  land  of  Canaan 
 as  in    the    "  Most  Holy "    of    all    countries   of    the 
 
92  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 earth.     The  land  of  promise  formed  the  centre  of  the 
 then  known  world,  and  round  about,  as  in  the  court  of 
 the  Gentiles,  were  encamped  the  most  important  and 
 celebrated  nations  of  the  world.     They  were  placed 
 between   Egypt   and  Arabia  on  the  one  hand,  and 
 between   Syria,   Chaldea   and  Assyria   on  the  other, 
 countries    in    which    the    first    great  kingdoms  were 
 founded,  and  from  whence  learning  and  wisdom  was 
 transplanted  to   the  West.      In   the    neighbourhood 
 were  Tyre  and  Sidon,  two  of  the  greatest  emporiums 
 of  the  world.     Towards  the  West  were  the  countries 
 of  Greece  and  Rome,  in  which  the  germs  of  future 
 greatness  were  already  deposited  by  the  providence  of 
 the  Almighty.     Por  "  TIlus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  This 
 is   Jerusalem  :    I  have   set   it   in    the   midst   of  the 
 nations   and  countries,  that  are   round  about  herT 
 (Ezek.  V.  5.)     And  thus  it  was  rendered  possible,  that 
 in  the  last  days  it  should  come  to  pass,  that  the  moun- 
 tain of  the  house  of  tlie  Lord  should  be  established 
 in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  that  it  should  be 
 exalted  above  the  hills,  that  the  people  from  every 
 direction  might  flow  unto  it.     As  a  lioness  Israel  lies 
 down   to   nourish    her   whelps   among   young   lions. 
 They  were  not  to  acquire  political  greatness  by  conquest 
 and  alliance  with  other  powers ;  but  in  all  quietude 
 they  were  to  unfold  their  priestly  character  in  a  land, 
 which,   under   the    diligent   hand  of  an   industrious 
 people,  would  flow  with  milk  and  honey.    The  blessings 
 of  this  land  were  to  be  enjoyed  by  them  and  their 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  93 
 
 posterity  provided  they  continued  to  hearken  unto  the 
 voice  of  the  Lord  their  God ;  (Deut.viii.  1,  xxviii.  1 — 6;) 
 but  if  they  would  not  keep  his  commandments,  the 
 Lord  God  would  stir  up  adversaries  against  them,  and 
 most  disastrous  and  painful  would  be  the  consequences. 
 Yet  it  w^ould  seem  as  if  Israel,  in  taking  possession 
 of  this  land,  would  carry  woe  and  destruction  abroad, 
 rather  than  the  blessing  of  peace  and  salvation,  when 
 they  were  commanded  to  destroy  the  tribes  of  the  land 
 of  Canaan.  Were  there  indeed  nothing  in  the  charac- 
 ter of  the  constitution  of  this  people  which  pointed  to 
 purposes  which  only  futurity  could  unfold,  some  unin- 
 habited place  of  abode  could  have  been  marked  out  for 
 the  occupation  of  the  Israel  of  God.  But  some  of  the 
 causes  why  the  land  of  Canaan  was  fixed  upon  prior 
 to  the  calling  of  Abraham  have  been  already  specified. 
 If  it  was  the  destiny  of  the  Israelites  to  be  placed 
 in  direct  opposition,  locally  as  well  as  morally,  to  all 
 idolatry ;  if  they  were  to  bear  an  unequivocal  testi- 
 mony to  the  world,  of  the  living  God,  and  his  sove- 
 reign title  as  the  proprietor  and  Lord  of  all  the  earth  ; 
 if  their  entrance  into  the  land  of  promise  was  to 
 testify  of  the  holiness,  the  truth,  and  the  righteousness 
 of  the  Judge  of  the  whole  earth,  who  will  certainly  do 
 right ;  if  it  was  their  special  calling  not  only  to  pre- 
 vent idolatry  from  becoming  universal,  but  also  to 
 assume  a  position  and  a  place  of  abode,  in  which  the 
 worship  of  Jehovah  could  secure  a  permanent  refuge  ; 
 if  the  light  of  the  Geritiles  was  to  be  placed  upon  such 
 
94  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 a  candlestick  in  the  world,  that  it  could  be  observed 
 with  ease  and  comfort  from  every  quarter;  if  these 
 and  similar  desiderata  were  necessarily  implied  in  the 
 plan  of  Jehovah,  then  certainly  no  country  in  the 
 world  was  better  calculated  to  suit  such  a  variety  of 
 pm'pose  than  the  land  of  promise,  even  the  land  of 
 Canaan. 
 
 Canaan  was  originally  inhabited  by  worshippers  of 
 the  true  God,  which  is  evident  from  the  beautiful 
 character  of  Melchisedek,  the  king  of  peace,  and  the 
 king  of  righteousness,  the  priest  of  the  most  high  God, 
 in  whose  similitude  the  Son  of  God  abideth  a  priestly 
 king  continually  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 
 But  notwithstanding  a  variety  of  high  privileges,  and 
 warnings  of  the  most  appalling  description,  this 
 country  became  eventually  the  scene  of  a  most  abomi- 
 nable idolatry.  The  Dead  Sea  was  a  standing  memo- 
 rial of  the  holiness  and  vengeance  of  the  Judge  of  the 
 whole  earth  ;  but  it  preached  repentance  in  vain  to  an 
 impenitent  race.  Finally,  the  measure  of  their  sins 
 was  full,  and  where  the  carcase  is,  the  eagles  always 
 gather  together.  In  former  days  Jehovah  punished 
 part  of  the  human  family  by  fire  and  brimstone  ;  uow 
 he  called  the  sword  of  his  people  Israel  to  execute  his 
 judgments.  And  again  we  ask,  Shall  not  the  Judge 
 of  all  the  earth  do  right  ?  The  Canaanites  were  ripe 
 for  a  signal  destruction.  And  it  was  not  without 
 signification  that  the  Theocratical  State  should  be 
 founded  directly  upon  the  ruins  of  idolatrous  king- 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  95 
 
 doms.  It  was  a  loud  proclamation,  far  and  wide,  of 
 how  diametrically  opposed  this  rising  kingdom  of  God 
 was  to  all  idolatry  and  its  vices  ;  how  Jehovah  will 
 utterly  abolish  a  nation,  not  so  mncli  on  account  of 
 idolatry  itself,  which  should  be  winked  at  by  the 
 Lord  of  Heaven  until  the  times  of  forbearance  had 
 expired,  as  on  account  of  the  excess  of  vice  and  moral 
 depravity. 
 
 The  inhabitants  who  were  to  be  rooted  out  had 
 just  attained  the  utmost  height  of  their  impious  career 
 when  Israel  had  reached  the  boundaries  of  the  land  to 
 which  they  were  entitled  by  divine  promise  as  their 
 own  and  Immanuel's  land.  Other  nations  had  often 
 been  made  the  instruments  in  the  hand  of  God  to 
 punish  a  people  which  had  abused  God's  forbearing 
 goodness,  without  being  aware  of  wdiat  they  were 
 about ;  but  Israel  should  know  what  it  was  doing, 
 and  learn  from  it  how  hateful  and  obnoxious  it  is  to 
 depart  from  the  living  God.  The  land  had  been  given 
 to  the  Amorites  and  others,  not  as  their  property, 
 but  they  were  to  be  faithful  stewards,  and  use  well 
 the  talent  which  was  entrusted  to  their  care.  They 
 were,  how^ever,  unfaithfid  to  their  charge;  and  being 
 destroyed,  the  land  was  given  to  others.  Israel,  in 
 being  put  in  possession  of  the  vineyard,  from  which  the 
 stones  had  been  gathered  out,  should  remember  this 
 awful  visitation  to  their  profit.  "And  it  shall  be, 
 if  thou  do  at  all  forget  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  w^alk 
 after    other    gods,    and    serve    them,     and    worship 
 
Of)  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  n. 
 
 them,  I  testify  against  you  this  day  that  ye  shall 
 surely  perish.  As  the  nations  which  the  Lord  de- 
 stroyeth  before  your  face,  so  shall  ye  perish ;  because 
 ye  would  not  be  obedient  unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
 your  God."    (Deut.  viii.  19,  20.) 
 
 13.  As  regards  the  immediate  effects  of  the  Theo- 
 cratical  constitution,  and  its  working  amongst  the 
 chosen  people  in  a  chosen  place,  it  may  naturally  be 
 expected  that  their  personal  welfare  and  temporal 
 happiness  would  greatly  depend  upon  how  far  they 
 had  a  mind  to  appreciate  these  exalted  privileges. 
 Their  whole  conduct  bore  witness  to  the  truth,  that 
 they  were  a  rebellious  people.  But  all  these  eruptions 
 of  an  evil  heart  were  fidly  calculated  upon  prior  to 
 the  organization  of  the  plan,  so  as  not  to  interfere 
 materially  with  God's  ultimate  object.  Yea,  their 
 most  perverted  conduct,  with  all  its  melancholy  effects, 
 was  made  subservient  to  the  same.  Education  of  a 
 sinful  humanity  demanded  that  sin  should  be  con- 
 fessed and  acknowledged,  and  that  in  some  cases  its 
 curse  should  be  felt.  Sin  could  never  be  known  in 
 its  fearful  extent,  if  not  developed  in  its  sinfulness, 
 and  felt  in  its  consequences.  Hence  God  often  per- 
 mitted nations  to  gather  strength  in  their  impious 
 career,  with  the  sole  view  to  cause  them  to  languish 
 under  its  bitter  consequences,  and  thus  to  prepare 
 them  for  salvation.  Thus  it  Avas  part  of  the  dealings 
 of  Jehovah  with  his  people  to  make  them  deeply  feel 
 their  misery,  and  despair  of  their  own  wisdom  and 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  97 
 
 strength,  in  order  to  convince  them  that  their  salva- 
 tion standeth  only  in  the  Lord,  and  that  help  cometh 
 only  from  above. 
 
 Some  very  material  points  had  been  gained  in  the 
 external  development  of  true  Religion  when  Israel  had 
 settled  in  their  new  abode,  yet  the  final  object  which 
 the  whole  train  of  the  leadings  of  Providence  had  in 
 view  was  as  yet  far  from  being  attainicd.     Not  even 
 their  temporal  prosperity  was  sufficiently  and  perma- 
 nently settled.     Israel  had  indeed  a  land  flowing  with 
 milk  and  honey,  a  Rehgion  which  contemplated  the 
 salvation  of  the  universe,   a  constitution  which  was 
 established  and  organized  by  Jehovah  himself.     But 
 another  generation  had  sprung  up,  which  "  knew  not 
 God,  nor  his  works,  which  he  has  done  unto  his  people 
 Israel."     (Judges  ii.  10.)      Instead  of  executing  the 
 judgment,  which  demanded  a  thorough  extirpation  of 
 the  Heathen  tribes  in  the  Land  of  Promise,  they  were 
 satisfied  with  making  them  tributary.    (Chap.  i.  28.) 
 Hence  they  "  were  to  be  thorns  in  their  sides,  and 
 their  gods  snares  unto  them."    (Chap.  ii.  3.)     Instead 
 of  fleeing  from  them,  instead  of  avoiding  to  touch  the 
 unclean  thing,  "  they  took  their  daughters  to  be  their 
 wives,   and  gave  their  daughters  to  their  sons,  and 
 served  their  gods."     (Chap.  iii.  G,  7.)      It  was  under 
 these  circumstances  that  a  foundation  was  laid  for  all 
 the  misery  and  woe  with  which  the  foHowing  centuries 
 were  replete.     Their  personal  happiness  was  natm-afly 
 dependent  upon  their  maintaining  the  high  religious 
 
 VOL.  I.  H 
 
98  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 standing  wliicli  tliey  enjoyed  upon  taking  possession 
 of  the  land.  The  condition  not  being  fulfilled,  a  long 
 series  of  events  was  introduced,  at  the  end  of  which 
 they  seemed  as  far  from  the  contemplated  end  as  they 
 were  before.  Tor  more  than  three  hundred  years 
 we  perceive  a  perpetual  change  of  fortune  and  mis- 
 fortune. 
 
 In  order  to  soften  our   surprise  at  this  apparent 
 standing  still  of  a  work,  the  progressive  natm^e  and 
 tendency  of  which  had  been  already  satisfactorily  de- 
 monstrated during  a  succession  of  ages,  we  must  again 
 revive  our  recollection  as  to  what  is  the  true  nature  of 
 the  relation  between  the  Israel  of  God  and  the  Gen- 
 tiles of  the  world.     The  position  of  Israel,  and  the 
 object   of    their    education,    implied    nothing   which 
 demanded  an  immediate  and  extraordinary  progress 
 upon  their  having  taken  possession  of  the  Holy  Land. 
 If  it  had  been  the  object  to  subdue  several,  or  all  the 
 Pagan  tribes  of  the  earth,  then  we  might  have  justly 
 felt  sm-prise  at  the  backwardness  of  Israel  to  carry 
 these  religious  wars  of  Jehovah  beyond  the  boundary 
 of  Canaan.     But  this  could  not  be  contemplated  in 
 the  process   of  the   development   of    true   Religion. 
 The  pure  elements  of  the  Theocratical  constitution  did 
 not  permit,  much  less  could  they  demand,  so  extra- 
 ordinary a  mode  of  procedure.     Nor  could  the  con- 
 quest of  the  Land  of  Canaan  gender  such  a  notion,  as  if 
 it  had  given  tone  and  type  to  future  proceedings  upon 
 a  similar  principle.     It  was  not  even  permitted  to 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  09 
 
 Israel  to  show  animosities  against  the  sm'roundinG: 
 tribes,  nor  molest  them  in  the  possession  of  their 
 country ;  for,  as  the  proprietor  of  the  whole  earth, 
 Jehovah  had  given  it  unto  others  for  a  possession. 
 (Deut.  ii.  9,  19.) 
 
 The  religious  constitution  was  besides  unsuited  to 
 proselytize  in  a  more  peaceable  manner  from  other 
 nations.  The  garden  which  enclosed  the  tree  of  life 
 could  not  yet  be  thrown  open  to  the  world  at  large. 
 The  priesthood  was  devoted  to  the  national  wants  of 
 the  people  ;  and  instead  of  converting  the  nations,  they 
 themselves  betrayed  a  perpetual  tendency  to  Pagan 
 idolatry.  There  was,  on  the  contrary,  every  provision 
 made  to  keep  the  Gentiles  at  a  distance  for  a  long 
 time  to  come.  All  seemed  calculated  upon  a  pro- 
 longed duration  and  toleration  of  the  evil  of  idolatry. 
 Jehovah  had  taken  a  comparatively  small  country  unto 
 himself,  which  was  sanctified  and  set  apart  as  Imma- 
 nuel's  land ;  and  it  was  as  little  in  the  divine  plan  to 
 convert  the  Pagan  tribes  at  once,  as  it  could  be  to 
 destroy  them  in  a  body.  The  times  of  the  long- 
 suffering  and  forbearance  of  God  should  expire  with- 
 out obstruction,  until  something  should  have  ripened 
 into  maturity  which  could  be  infused  into  the  veins  of 
 a  dying  world  ;  until  the  blessing  should  appear  which 
 would  fully  indemnify  the  evil  consequences  which 
 had  resulted  from  a  protracted  toleration  of  idolatry. 
 The  economy  of  Israel  was  as  yet  satisfied  to  secure 
 Israel  as  much  as  possible  from  participating  in  the 
 
 H  2 
 
100  DEVELOrMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ir. 
 
 superstitious  practices  of  the  Gentiles  around  them. 
 Spurious  Religion,  in  its  several  forms,  was  an  evil  of 
 the  first  magnitude;  but  it  was  one,  the  protracted 
 toleration  of  which  was  looked  upon  as  being  far  pre- 
 ferable to  an  immediate,  and  still  more  to  a  forcible 
 suppression. 
 
 Although  we  perceive,  therefore,  no  very  decided 
 progress  during  this  troublous  period  in  the  history 
 of  revealed  Religion,  we  may  yet  affirm,  that  the 
 honour  of  Jehovah  was  more  advanced  dming  the 
 same  than  it  could  otherwise  have  been  had  it  been  as 
 calm  and  prosperous  as  it  was  agitated  by  alternate 
 victory  and  defeat.  The  alternation  of  woe  and  pro- 
 sperity was  rapid  and  great,  but  always  brought  about 
 in  a  manner  which  was  calculated  to  maintain  the 
 dignity  of  true  Rehgion,  in  contradistinction  to  a  foul 
 superstition.  Yea,  in  this  period  the  chosen  nation 
 was  to  show  what  it  could  do  after  having  received 
 blessings  and  privileges  of  so  distinguished  a  cha- 
 racter. And  we  have,  in  some  of  the  more  quiet 
 periods,  very  pleasing  pictures  of  Theocratical  Religion. 
 Can  we  forget  the  sweet  and  pleasing  history  of  the 
 book  of  Ruth,  and  the  zeal  which  was  called  forth 
 throughout  the  nation  by  the  crime  of  the  Benjamites  ? 
 There  was  indeed,  under  all  circumstances,  and  amidst 
 all  the  vicissitudes  of  this  stormy  period,  something 
 existing  which  precluded  the  possibility  of  Paganism 
 ever  succeeding  in  extinguishing  the  lamp  of  truth  or 
 casting  it  from  its  exalted  position  ;  there  was  some- 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  101 
 
 thing  which  stood  firm  like  a  rock,  and  bid  defiance  to 
 the  proud  waves  of  the  troubled  ocean  of  the  Pagan 
 world  around  the  Israel  of  God.     Never  was  there  a 
 period  before  that  of  the  Judges  which  abounded  with 
 so  many  striking  evidences,  that  Jehovah  is  always  the 
 same,  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever  ;  that  in  the  Old, 
 as  well  as  in  the  New  Testament,  he  is  the  "  Amen,  the 
 faithful  and  true   Witness^''  whose  words  remain  un- 
 altered under  the  most  altered  circumstances ;  that  no 
 vicissitude  of  time,  no  aspect  in  man  or  in  matter,  could 
 in  any  measure  affect  the  sure  basis  of  his  everlasting 
 covenant,  or  change  an  iota  in  the  Theocratical  con- 
 stitution, or  alter  the  position  of  Israel  to  the  world  at 
 large ;    that,   on  the  contrary,    ever   fresh    seals   are 
 impressed  upon  the  economy  of  revelation,  under  the 
 most  adverse  of  circumstances  ;    and  that,  although 
 grieved  with  this  generation  as  a  people  that  do  err  in 
 their  hearts,  and  that  have  not  known  his  ways,  he 
 does  yet  make  it  appear  more  and  more  how  unshake- 
 able  and  immovable  is  the  foundation  upon  which  he 
 in  future  ages  intended  to  build  the  Church  which 
 should  not  be  overthrown  by  the  gates  of  hell. 
 
 14.  Israel  was  at  all  times  the  depository  of  reli- 
 gious truth  in  the  preparatory  periods  which  revolved 
 under  tlie  Old  Testament;  but  from  what  has  been 
 already  observed,  the  religious  spirit  which  animated 
 Moses,  Joshua,  Phinehas,  and  similar  pillars  of  the 
 ancient  Church  of  God,  had  almost  fled  in  the  suc- 
 ceding  period  from  the  peculiar  people.     Indifference, 
 
103  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  h. 
 
 infirmity,  and  the  very  features  of  spiritual  decay,  are 
 conspicuous  in  the  character  of  the  Israel  of  God. 
 Under  priests  like  Eli  and  his  sons,  the  Theocratical 
 constitution  seemed  to  draw  nigh  to  its  dissolution  ; 
 for  wherever  the  Spirit,  with  its  quickening  powers, 
 has  fled  from  a  body  of  men,  or  from  a  system  of 
 ritual  forms,  life  becomes  extinct. 
 
 The  heroic  deliverers  who  had  stood  up  during  the 
 previous  critical  period  were  generally  more  distin- 
 guished by  a  spirit  of  military  bravery  than  by  spiritu- 
 ality of  mind  and  purpose ;  and  the  nation,  in  spite 
 of  these  repeated  deliverances,  seemed  to  sink  lower 
 and  lower  into  ignorance  and  a  state  of  lethargy  and 
 deadness.  The  chosen  people  threatened  to  relapse 
 into  the  corruptions  of  that  world ;  and  the  "  salt  of 
 the  earth"  was  in  danger  of  losing  its  savour,  unless 
 something  should  appear,  which  was  in  every  way 
 sufficiently  powerful  to  create  new  life,  and  restore 
 energy  and  health  to  the  powers  and  faculties,  which 
 now  seemed  utterly  paralysed.  In  order  to  make  "  the 
 spices  Jloio  ouf  from  the  past  leadings  and  dealings  of 
 Jehovah ;  in  order  to  rouse  the  torpid  mass  of  the 
 nation  by  warning  and  admonition  ;  in  order  to  in- 
 fuse new  life  into  the  soul  of  the  nation  by  the  opening 
 of  more  cheering  prospects, — neither  the  transient  en- 
 thusiasm of  a  Jewish  conqueror,  nor  yet  the  oracle  of 
 the  priestly  breastplate  was  henceforth  sufficient.  It 
 demanded  something  more  fresh  and  stirring ;  some- 
 thing more  quickening  and  spiritual ;  and  something 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  103 
 
 which  in  every  vicissitude  would  redeem  the  honour 
 of  Jehovah,  confound  his  enemies,  and  inspire  the 
 nation  with  confidence  and  strength. 
 
 Such  extraordinary  aid  was  imparted  in  this  time  of 
 need ;  for  in  this  most  critical  moment  the  Bpirit  of 
 Propheci/  was  again  revived.  A  voice  sounds  again  in 
 the  camp  of  the  Israel  of  God,  like  that  of  Moses,  and 
 in  Samuel  the  nation  received  a  guide,  a  leader,  and 
 prince  of  Jehovah,  such  as  had  not  been  since  the  days 
 of  J\Ioses.  In  this  opportune  revival  of  the  Spirit  of 
 Prophecy  the  nation  was  supplied  with  a  living  com- 
 mentary upon  the  dead  letter  of  the  law,  and  upon 
 the  complicated  hieroglyphical  forms  of  the  ritual  part 
 of  the  constitution  in  general.  The  law  which  came 
 by  Moses  was  now  to  become  succus  et  sanguis, 
 and  penetrate,  under  the  cjuickening  powers  of  the 
 Spirit,  the  very  marrow  of  the  Theocratical  nation. 
 But  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy,  as  a  good  steward,  brought 
 forth  both  old  and  new^  things ;  the  mouth  of  the 
 Prophet  illustrated  not  only  with  more  precision  the 
 essence  and  scope  of  the  antecedent  revelations ;  it 
 unfolded  not  only  the  prophetical  sense  which  was 
 folded  up  in  a  whole  system  of  typical  forms  and 
 symbolical  figures,  but  it  gave  utterance  to  things  and 
 subjects  which  could  neither  be  expressed  by  the  law 
 nor  by  the  ritual  constitution.  Prophecy  arose  upon 
 the  basis  of  existing  revelations,  and  delineated  from 
 hence  the  whole  scope  of  Israel's  choice  peculiar  to 
 itself. 
 
104  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap,  ii. 
 
 The  Patriarchs  were  permitted  to  look  into  futurity, 
 but  it  was  Jehovah  himself,  and  not  a  prophet,  that 
 prophesied  of  good  things  to  come.  Moses  was  a 
 prophet,  but  the  most  remarkable  of  his  prophecies 
 was  that  in  which  he  prophesied  prophecy.  (Deut. 
 xviii.  15 — 18.)  We  do  not  deny  that  this  prediction 
 refers  to  Christ,  in  whom  all  prophecy  is  fulfilled,  but 
 we  can  see  no  reason  why  the  '■^ goodly  fellowship  of 
 the  prophets^  of  which  he  was  the  head,  should  be 
 excluded.  This  our  vievv  is  confirmed  by  the  context, 
 — previous,  namely,  to  the  prophecy,  that  God  would 
 raise  up  a  prophet  like  himself,  Moses  had  been 
 speaking  of  the  abominations  of  the  nations  of  the 
 Canaanites,  that  foster  those  false  prophets  who 
 use  divinations,  are  observers  of  times,  enchanters, 
 charmers,  witches,  consulters  of  familiar  spirits,  wizards, 
 and  necromancers.  As  they  are  to  come  soon  into 
 contact  with  these  nations,  Jehovah  warns  his  people 
 against  these  abominations,  admonishes  them  to  be 
 perfect  with  the  Lord  their  God ;  and  immediately 
 follows  the  prophecy  respecting  the  prophet  whom 
 God  would  send.  As,  therefore,  the  spurious  symbol 
 was  counteracted  by  the  genuine  symbol  of  true  Reli- 
 gion, so  are  here  the  pseudo-prophetical  modes  of  a 
 spurious  divination  opposed  by  the  revival  of  the 
 spirit  of  genuine  prophecy. 
 
 According  to  the  sketch  which  was  originally  given 
 to  Israel  in  their  Theocratical  constitution,  the  royal 
 authority  was  to   be  united   to  that  of  the  priest ; 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  105 
 
 and  this  royal  priest,  or  higli-priest,  was  at  the  same 
 time  to  make  known  the  counsel  of  Jehovah  by  the 
 prophetical  Urim  and  Thummim.  (Numb,  xxvii.  21.) 
 Hence  he  was  to  unite  not  only  the  royal  and  priestly 
 dignity,  but  also  that  of  a  prophet.  The  high-priest 
 with  his  breastplate  exercised  the  royal  or  the  judicial, 
 the  priestly  or  the  ecclesiastical,  as  well  as  the  pro- 
 phetical functions  ;  and  in  this  threefold  character  he 
 was  to  be  the  visible  representative  of  Jehovah.  In 
 consequence  of  this  relation,  by  which  kings  and 
 judges  in  Israel  virtually  acted  as  representatives  of 
 Jehovah,  they  were  called  gods.  (Psalm  Ixxxii.  6.) 
 That,  however,  this  appellation  was  likewise  appli- 
 cable to  the  other  two  branches  of  the  threefold  office, 
 and  more  especially  to  the  prophetical,  is  evident  from 
 the  application  of  the  passage  by  our  Saviour,  when 
 he  added,  "  unto  whom  the  word  of  God  came." 
 (John  X.  35.)  Hence  also  the  words  of  the  prophet 
 Moses  were  literally  true,  when  he  declared,  "  The 
 people  come  unto  me  to  inquire  of  God."  (Exod. 
 xviii.  15.) 
 
 From  what  has  now  been  said,  it  is,  however,  hke- 
 wise  apparent  that,  like  many  other  points  in  the 
 Theocratical  constitution,  the  union  of  the  threefold 
 office  has  been  carried  into  effect  in  a  very  partial 
 manner.  The  high-priest  never  fully  occupied  this 
 exalted  and  significant  office,  nor  did  he  at  any  period 
 exercise  the  functions  of  his  threefold  dignity  to  any 
 great  extent.     As  in  many  other  instances,  so  also  in 
 
106  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ir. 
 
 the  present  case,  the  sovereign  will  of  Jehovah, 
 although  expressed  as  a  testimony  and  as  a  statute 
 of  what  ought  to  be  done,  was  never  actually  carried 
 out  in  practical  life.  But  like  every  other  short- 
 coming of  Israel,  the  one  now  in  question  w^as 
 attended  with  disadvantages  of  a  very  serious  cha- 
 racter. The  threefold  office  was  in  a  measure  ren- 
 dered necessary  by  the  very  idea  of  the  Theocratical 
 constitution.  Its  separation  was  naturally  attended 
 with  a  long  train  of  melancholy  effects  with  reference 
 to  the  personal  happiness  of  Israel.  The  nation  had 
 now  recovered  mider  the  ministry  of  a  man,  who,  by 
 special  calling,  united  in  his  person  the  function  of 
 judge,  priest,  and  prophet.  And,  like  Moses,  this 
 man  was  faithful  in  all  God's  house,  and  the  threefold 
 duties  appertaining  to  it.  New  life  was  now  introduced 
 into  the  precepts  delivered  by  Moses ;  the  forms 
 which  were  given  by  him  w^ere  now  infused,  by  the 
 ministry  of  Samuel,  with  that  spirit  without  which  the 
 best  forms,  including  even  those  of  divine  appoint- 
 ment, can  only  lead  to  superstition.  That  super- 
 stition was  already  at  work  amongst  Israel,  is  apparent 
 from  the  superstitious  veneration  for  the  ark  of  the 
 covenant  which  had  been  manifested.  (1  Sam.  iv.  3.) 
 Before  Samuel,  "  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  precious, 
 there  being  no  prophesy  ;"  (1  Sam.  iii.  1;)  now  appears 
 Samuel  standing  as  the  head  and  father  "  over  a  com- 
 pany of  prophets  prophesying."  (1  Sam.  xix.  20  ) 
 The  nation  seems  to  be  born   again ;    and  in  every 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  107 
 
 department  of  their  spiritual  and  national  existence 
 a  thorough  revival  was  manifesting  itself. 
 
 No  sooner,  however,  had  they  reached  an  eminent 
 degree  of  national  greatness  and  worldly  prosperity, 
 than  they  were  tempted  to  ask  for  a  king,  and  thus 
 to  demand  a  separation  of  what  God  had  joined 
 together.  No  longer  satisfied  with  the  priestly  repre- 
 sentative of  the  Most  High  and  his  government,  they 
 demand  a  king,  and  the  threefold  dignity  is  split  into 
 three  different  branches.  The  political  power  mounted 
 the  throne,  and  assumed  the  reins  of  government  "  to 
 judge  them  like  all  the  nations,"  upon  Avorldly  prin- 
 ciples ;  the  priestly  authority,  which  lost  more  and 
 more  of  the  prophetical  Urim  and  Thummim,  fell  a 
 prey  to  the  newly  rising  power  of  the  royal  dignity ; 
 whilst  the  prophetical  branch  was  to  stem  a  torrent  of 
 national  corruption,  and  oppose,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
 worldly  royalty  and  a  slumbering  priesthood. 
 
 How  opportune  the  introduction  of  the  prophetical 
 element  was  at  the  time  as  a  separate  office,  after  the 
 other  two  branches  were  divided  into  two  distinct 
 offices,  in  order  to  watch  over  and  counteract  the 
 influence  of  worldly  power,  was  already  fully  shown 
 under  the  first  king  of  the  Theocratical  state.  In 
 David,  indeed,  we  have  again  united  the  royal  and  the 
 prophetical  dignity,  and  thus  in  a  measure  the  future 
 spiritual  union  of  the  several  offices  under  one  spiritual 
 head  Avas  dimly  shadowed  forth;  for  although  he 
 never  partook  in  any  of  the  priestly  administrations. 
 
lOS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ir. 
 
 he  yet  faithfully  supported  that  dignity  in  those  to 
 whom  it  was  particularly  entrusted ;  and  thus  the 
 elements  of  the  royal,  prophetical,  and  priestly  func- 
 tions were  at  all  events  acting  in  perfect  harmony  for 
 a  season. 
 
 The  process  of  the  alternate  harmony  and  dis- 
 cord between  the  civil,  priestly,  and  prophetical 
 authorities  continued  for  a  period  of  about  seven 
 hundred  years.  The  political  power,  because  not 
 included  in  the  original  plan  of  the  Theocratical  con- 
 stitution as  a  separate  branch,  soon  commenced  to 
 decline.  The  civil  kingdom  was  rent  and  dissolved  as 
 a  cumbersome  appendage  upon  having  shown  forth 
 what  could  not  be  effected  upon  the  primitive  plan. 
 But  the  more  the  political  confusion  gathered  strength 
 and  accelerated  the  approaching  dissolution,  the  more 
 bright  and  brighter  still  shone  the  divine  light  of  pro- 
 phecy. Whilst  the  national  systems  of  Pagan  anti- 
 quity were  invariably  the  handmaids  to  the  political 
 governments,  and  served  political  purposes,  we  find  in 
 he  hi  story  of  Israel  exactly  the  reverse.  The  political 
 power  is  tolerated  only  for  religious  purposes,  so  as  to 
 show  to  the  world  that  the  civil  branch  is  introduced 
 and  preserved  only  on  account  of  the  more  essential 
 religious  branch  of  the  constitution.  When  the  civil 
 power  fell,  Jeremiah  stood  upon  the  ruins  of  the 
 sanctuary  ;  Daniel  watched  near  the  Babylonian  throne 
 in  behalf  of  his  people,  and  Ezekiel  guarded  the  scat- 
 tered flock  of  the  Almighty  in  the  captivity  on  the 
 
CHAP.  11  ]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  109 
 
 shores  of  Chaboras.  The  political  power  had  died 
 away,  but  it  was  outlived  by  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy ; 
 and  because  the  prophetical  dignity  was  invulnerable 
 by  the  civil  power  and  civil  influence,  Israel  could 
 come  forth  from  the  furnace  of  national  affliction  with 
 renewed  vigour  and  health.  Israel  had  no  longer 
 kings,  but  it  had  prophets ;  the  ruined  sanctuary  was 
 restored,  and  the  prophetical  word  gave  its  last  sound 
 by  pointing  to  the  Lord,  who  was  coming  to  his 
 temple.  It  was  silent  at  last,  because  separated  not 
 only  from  the  other  branches  of  the  royal  and  priestly 
 authority,  but  also  because  there  was  to  be  a  tem- 
 porary silence  prior  to  God  speaking  at  last  through 
 his  Son. 
 
 Amongst  all  the  different  institutions,  the  pro- 
 phetical office  was  that  which  had  decidedly  the  most 
 important  influence  upon  the  development  of  true 
 Religion.  But  as  the  Theocratical  constitution  had 
 a  national  and  a  imiversal  character,  so  likewise  the 
 office  of  the  prophetical  dignity  appears  under  a 
 double  aspect.  According  to  the  definition  which 
 has  been  put  forth  by  the  inspired  documents  them- 
 selves (Deut.  xviii.),  the  Prophet  was,  in  the  first 
 place,  to  guard  Israel  against  idolatry  and  idolatrous 
 practices ;  to  teach  the  will  of  Jehovah ;  to  utter 
 things  relating  to  futurity,  and  to  watch  in  general 
 over  the  strict  observance  of  the  law  and  its  several 
 precepts.  And  this  was  the  national  character,  which 
 had  reference  only  to  the  Israel  of  God.     The  history 
 
110  DEVELOPxMENT    OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 of  this  nation    abounds   with  testimonies   as  to  the 
 faithful  discharge  of  the  prophetical  functions  in  this 
 respect.     The  Prophets  watched  with  a  conscientious 
 assiduity  over  the  actions  of  the  kings  and  princes,  no 
 less  than  over  those  of  the  priests  and  the  people ;  they 
 attended  most  dihgently  to  all  the  national  Avants  of 
 God's  people,  being  "  instant  in  season  and  out  of 
 season,"  to  warn  and  to  admonish,  to  encourage  and  to 
 rebuke,  to  threaten  and  to  comfort.     Notwithstanding 
 the  unceasing  efforts  on  the  part  of  these  servants  of 
 Jehovah,  the  nation  with  their  leaders  too  often  went 
 "  a-whoring  after  strange  gods,"  transgressing  God's 
 holy  commandments  and  .neglecting  his  testimonies. 
 And  when  the  political  position  consequently  assumed 
 a   more    and   more    gloomy    aspect,   the    prophetical 
 visions  seemed  gradually  to  forsake  the  concerns  of 
 the  HehreiD  nation,  and  to  dwell  more  immediately 
 upon  the  salvation  of  the  loorld  at  large.     The  horizon 
 of  their  vision  was  becomiuGr  more  and  more  enlaro:ed, 
 until  at  length  it  embraced  the  universal  blessedness 
 of    all    the  nations   upon   earth.     When    it   became 
 more  and  more  apparent  that  the  Theocratical  con- 
 stitution   had   benefited   the    Israel  of  God   compa- 
 ratively so  little,   it  w^as  natural  that  the   Spirit    of 
 Prophecy  should  rise  upon  the  wings  of  inspiration, 
 penetrate  futurity,  assume  more  and  more  a  universally 
 religious  character,  and  enlarge  with  unprecedented 
 precision  and  emphasis  upon  the  universal  spread  of 
 the   kingdom    of  Jehovah.      As   in    times   past   the 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  Ill 
 
 prophets  had  been  zealous  for  the  law,  and  for  a 
 strict  adherence  to  the  letter  regarding  the  rites  and 
 ceremonies  prescribed  by  the  constitution,  so  they 
 assumed  gradually  a  broader  and  a  still  broader  basis, 
 upon  which  they  laboured  as  forerunners  to  Him,  who 
 declared,  "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days 
 I  will  build  it  again."  As  the  final  glorious  con- 
 summation of  their  far-piercing  visions  could  only  be 
 accomplished  by  the  great  Messiah  of  the  world,  who 
 would  unite  in  his  own  blessed  person  the  threefold 
 dignity  of  King,  Priest,  and  Pro]iJiet,  it  was  neces- 
 sarily of  him  that  "  Moses  and  all  the  prophets 
 prophesied." 
 
 15.  The  people  of  God  had  at  length  reached  a 
 height  of  prosperity  and  national  greatness  under 
 David  and  his  son  which  was  unprecedented  in  the 
 history  of  the  nation.  The  spiritual  character  of  the 
 nation,  also,  had  been  comparatively  encouraging  and 
 prosperous.  As  one  of  the  fruits  resulting  from  this 
 striking  prosperity,  we  mention  the  completion  of  a 
 national  temple  at  Jerusalem,  to  which  a  limited  access 
 was  even  granted  to  the  Gentile  nations.  And  in  per- 
 mitting the  Gentiles  to  partake  in  a  measm-e  of  the 
 blessings  of  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  a  decided  step 
 seems  to  be  taken  towards  the  ultimate  scope  of  the 
 whole  constitution.  This  remarkable  featm-e  in  the 
 present  state  of  things  was,  moreover,  supported  by  the 
 Spirit  of  Prophecy,  which  rose  still  higher,  and  went  far 
 beyond  this  elevation,  when  it  spoke  of  the  latter  days, 
 
112  DEVELOPMENT    OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 in  which  true  ReHgion  should  entirely  throw  off  its 
 national  and  typical  character.  There  was  a  very  high 
 degree  of  national  bliss,  but,  notwithstanding  this 
 unprecedented  elevation,  the  national  Religion  had 
 retained  all  its  peculiarities,  which  were  of  an  exclusive 
 character  as  regards  other  nations.  The  access  of  the 
 Gentiles  to  the  services  of  Jehovah  was  only  partial  and 
 of  a  limited  nature.  Again,  neither  Solomon  nor  the 
 nation  retained  the  high  religious  life  which  was  then 
 existing  when  the  temple  was  consecrated  for  the 
 worship  and  the  services  of  Jehovah. 
 
 The  plan  of  the  Theocratical  constitution  was  from 
 the  commencement  calculated  upon  such  startling  re- 
 lapses, when  the  final  object  seemed  well-nigh  attained. 
 As  the  traveller,  who  finds  his  way  across  hill  and  dale, 
 is  yet  progressing  in  his  onward  march,  although  the 
 end  of  his  journey,  from  the  nature  of  his  path,  recedes 
 from  his  view  from  time  to  time  ;  so  in  every  apparent 
 relapse,  we  have  yet  a  decided  progress  in  the  develop- 
 ment of  true  Religion.  It  was  evident  from  the  whole 
 aspect  of  things  and  circumstances,  that  something  far 
 more  important  was  aimed  at  than  could  be  obtained 
 by  the  building  of  the  temple  as  a  house  of  prayer  for 
 all  nations ;  and  if  any  thing  could  impress  upon  the 
 mind  of  the  nation,  that  the  desired  blessing  could  not 
 be  expected  from  the  power,  the  wisdom,  or  even  the 
 piety  of  the  royal  representative  of  Jehovah,  it  was  the 
 history  of  Solomon.  With  the  commencement  of  his 
 peaceful  reign,  the  brightest  prospects  had  opened  to 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  113 
 
 the  Hebrew  nation ;  and  they  had  all  vanished  before 
 Solomon  had  finished  his  royal  career. 
 
 The  nation  rapidly  ripened  for  one  of  the  very  sorest 
 judgments  of  Jehovah.  Yet,  to  allow  an  idolatrous 
 power  to  destroy  Solomon's  temple,  and  to  overthrow 
 David's  house  and  David's  throne,  would  have  been 
 against  a  distinct  promise  which  had  been  given  upon 
 the  possible  event  of  Solomon's  committing  iniquity. 
 (2  Sam.  vii.  13,  14.)  It  was  impossible  for  Israel  to 
 retain  their  national  prosperity  under  circumstances 
 which  had  been  so  entirely  altered;  the  kingdom 
 was  weakened  by  being  divided  into  a  "  house  of 
 IsraeV  and  a  "  house  of  Judah"  The  latter  retained 
 the  capital  and  the  temple,  whilst  the  former  fell  into 
 grievous  idolatry.  Yet  the  wisdom  of  Jehovah,  which 
 was  greater  than  that  of  Solomon,  could  never  be 
 baffled  by  the  depravity  of  man.  The  separation  was 
 permitted  for  deeper  and  more  important  purposes. 
 The  greatness  and  holiness  of  Jehovah  were  made  ma- 
 nifest, and  much  resulted  from  this  unhappy  rupture 
 which  tended  to  advance  the  interests  of  pure  and 
 undefiled  Religion,  and  to  confound  the  working  of  a 
 degrading  superstition.  But  more  especially  it  had 
 been  again  shown,  how  full  scope  was  given  to  the 
 passions  of  men  and  their  liabiHty  to  temptation,  and 
 yet  how  no  human  error  could  make  void  the  purposes 
 of  the  Almighty.  Even  in  this  bold  career  of  wicked- 
 ness and  corruption,  God  did  not  leave  himself  without 
 witness  amongst  his  erring  children.     Whilst  Judali 
 
 VOL.  I.  I 
 
114  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 enjoyed  the  ministry  of  Isaiali  and  Jeremiah,  which  did 
 more  to  maintain  the  hope  of  the  nation  than  a  whole 
 priesthood  conhl  effect,  there  was,  on  the  other  hand, 
 the  display  of  the  fiery  zeal  of  Elias  and  Elisha  among 
 the  apostate  branch  of  the  house  of  Israel.  Yet,  not- 
 withstanding all  these  efforts,  idolatry  was  gaining 
 ground,  and  corrupting  the  nation.  The  abominations 
 of  Baal  were  soon  added  to  the  image-worship  of 
 Bethel ;  and  where  the  carcase  was,  there  the  eagles 
 were  gathering  together. 
 
 Abraham  was  called  from  Mesopotamia  by  the 
 Almighty,  with  a  view  to  rear  from  his  seed  a  people 
 worthy  of  his  great  Name.  The  ten  tribes  are  now 
 separated  from  the  "  Israel  of  God,''  and  sent  back  to 
 that  very  land,  because  they  have  become  unfit  to 
 belong  any  longer  to  that  separate  and  holy  nation. 
 Whatever  portion  of  the  salt  of  the  earth  has  lost  its 
 savour,  is  hencefoi'th  good  for  nothing :  it  was  to  be 
 cast  out,  and  trodden  under  foot  of  men.  The  Holy 
 One  of  Israel,  with  his  two-edged  sword,  makes  an 
 excision  of  that  part  of  the  body  of  his  people  which 
 has  become  dead,  putrid,  and  obnoxious  to  his  eyes. 
 They  are  driven  into  exile  from  God's  own  presence, 
 to  have  their  conversation  amongst  those  very  nations 
 by  whose  sin  they  had  provoked  his  holy  anger. 
 "  Every  branch  in  me  that  heareth  not  fruit  he  taketh 
 aivay :  and  every  branch  that  beareth  fruit  he  purgeth 
 it,  that  it  may  bring  forth  more  fruit.  If  a  man  abide 
 not  in  me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch  and  is  withered: 
 
CHAP.  IJ.]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  115 
 
 and  men  gather  them,  and  cast  tlicm  into  the  firc_,  and 
 they  are  burned."  (John  xv.) 
 
 The  house  of  Judah  remained  longer  in  the  land, 
 but  this  remnant  also  was  to  follow  them  into  captivity. 
 Whilst,  however,  Israel  went  to  return  no  more,  the 
 house  of  Judah  was  to  return,  for  sacred  and  important 
 pin^poses,  which  were  set  forth  with  increasing  preci- 
 sion and  emphasis  by  the  mouth  of  God's  holy  prophets. 
 Isaiah  especially  spoke  of  a  branch  out  of  a  diy  ground ; 
 of  a  king,  whose  throne  no  idolatry  could  undermine ; 
 of  a  prophet  without  his  equal,  who  would  possess  the 
 Spirit  without  measure ;  of  a  priest,  who  was  to  sacri- 
 fice himself,  and  pass  from  death  to  life,  from  humilia- 
 tion to  glory.  He  spoke  of  a  return  to  a  wasted  land, 
 not  as  under  Joshua,  to  achieve  military  exploits  in 
 the  battles  of  the  Lord,  but  to  realize  the  blessing 
 which  was  promised  unto  Abraham,  and  to  his  seed 
 for  ever. 
 
 We  should,  however,  be  much  mistaken,  were  we 
 to  consider  the  captive  nation  already  a  goodly  band 
 of  missionaries,  to  convert  the  tribes  of  the  earth  to 
 the  worship  of  Jehovah.  It  is  indeed  beyond  question, 
 that  Abraham  was  originally  called  from  those  very 
 regions  j  it  is  certain  that  all  Pagan  idolatry  originated 
 in  that  very  land,  and  emanated  from  thence  to  over- 
 flow the  habitable  parts  of  the  globe  ;  and  it  is  equally 
 true,  that  it  is  at  all  times  well  to  cure  the  bitterness 
 of  the  waters  at  the  head  of  the  fountain.  But  the 
 nation  was  neither  qualified  for  this  great  work  in  their 
 
 I  2 
 
116  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 present  position,  nor  could  their  recent  attachment  to 
 idolatry  gender  a  hope  that  such  was  likely  to  be  the 
 case.  Neither  was  their  still  existing  national  consti- 
 tution as  yet  altered  in  favour  of  such  a  movement ; 
 nor  did  there  as  yet  exist  among  them  a  bond  of  union, 
 for  the  due  cementing  of  the  body  of  true  worshippers 
 that  were  to  be  gathered  from  among  all  nations. 
 
 Yet  even  this  apparent  breaking  up  of  the  chosen 
 nation  and  their  Theocratical  constitution  was  made  to 
 jiromote  the  best  interests  of  true  Religion.  Israel 
 continues  a  separate  people,  and  even  in  their  seemingly 
 hopeless  condition  there  was  now  and  then  something 
 to  promote  the  good  of  the  Church,  and  to  enhance  the 
 glory  of  Jehovah  in  the  eyes  of  the  nations.  And  then, 
 even  this  their  unhappy  condition  had  been  marked 
 out  beforehand  in  the  book  of  prophecy  ;  nor  was  that 
 Spirit  of  Prophecy  departed  from  amongst  them. 
 AVith  Ezekiel  the  sanctuary  was  translated,  as  it  were, 
 into  the  land  of  their  captivity ;  and  Jehovah  now 
 appears  as  bound  neither  to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem, 
 nor  to  any  other  particular  place.  Amidst  the  keen 
 sense  of  present  affliction,  prospects  were  opened  of 
 better  things  to  come.  This  was  likewise  done  by 
 Daniel,  whose  singular  position  near  the  throne  of  the 
 Babylonian  monarchy  qualified  him,  in  an  especial 
 manner,  to  exhibit  the  striking  contrast  between 
 Jehovah  and  the  false  deities  of  the  land.  Jehovali 
 was  named  and  glorified  at  that  period  in  the  very 
 centre  from  which  Pagan  idolatry  liad  originated.    And 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  117 
 
 as  the  fall  of  the  Assyrian  empire  had  already  borne 
 testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  "  sure  loord  of  prophecy," 
 so  the  destruction  of  the  Babylonian  monarchy,  and  the 
 immediate  rise  of  the  Medo-Persian  empire,  stamped 
 fresh  seals  upon  divine  revelation ;  and  the  nation  did 
 well  to  take  heed  of  the  yet  unfulfilled  parts  of  divine 
 prophecy,  as  of  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place, 
 until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day-star  arise.  As  the 
 Babylonian  rulers  had  made  a  strong  confession  of  the 
 greatness  of  Jehovah,  as  having  no  equal,  so  a  royal 
 proclamation  was  likewise  made  in  the  Medo-Persian 
 empire,  in  which  Cyrus  acknowledges  the  great  God 
 of  the  Hebrews  as  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  owns 
 his  throne  to  be  the  gift  of  Jehovah,  and  permits  the 
 Jews  to  return,  and  to  rebuild  the  temple  under  the 
 most  auspicious  circumstances. 
 
 And  who  can  tell  how  much  good  seed  was  sown 
 by  this  dispersion  into  the  promising  soil  of  the 
 nations,  which  were  being  prepared,  in  divers  manners, 
 for  the  reception  of  the  truth,  as  it  was  to  appear  in 
 Jesus  unto  the  whole  world  ?  The  time  had  now  come 
 when  Israel  could  be  brought  into  contact  with  other 
 nations,  without  the  danger  of  being  so  easily  swallowed 
 up  by  the  sin  of  idolatry.  Their  national  character  had 
 now  been  formed,  and  it  was  not  likely,  for  instance, 
 that  now  they  would  so  easily  enter  into  matrimonial 
 alliances  with  Pagans,  as  they  did  upon  entering  the 
 Land  of  Promise;  and  then,  the  experience  which  they 
 had  gathered,  during  the  period  of  a  thousand  years,  as 
 
118  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  n. 
 
 to  the  truth  of  their  holy  Rchgion,  must  have  had  some 
 weight  with  them.  It  is  true  they  had  come  hither  as 
 exiles  from  their  own  land,  on  account  of  that  capital 
 crime,  which  was  always  to  be  punished  with  the  loss 
 of  their  fatherland,  and  of  their  liberty.  But  because 
 they  did  even  then  smart  under  the  evil  consequences 
 of  the  sin  of  idolatry,  there  was  less  danger  that  they 
 should  be  now  overwhelmed  by  the  power  of  tempta- 
 tion. We  hope,  on  some  future  occasion,  to  point 
 out  the  vast  and  salutary  influence  which  this  exiled 
 nation  exercised  upon  the  modification  of  Pagan 
 idolatry  in  those  countries,  and  we  advert  only  to  the 
 one  great  fact,  that  if  not  Israel  in  general,  yet 
 certainly  Judah  was  thoroughly  cured  of  their  inclina- 
 tion to  idolatry. 
 
 As  regards  the  rest  of  the  world  in  those  days,  there 
 had  been  several  things  which  tended  to  prepare  the 
 nations  for  what  was  to  be  accomplished  in  the  fulness 
 of  time.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  had  been  striving 
 for  ages  to  obtain  the  supremacy  one  over  the  other; 
 and  the  country  of  Immanuel,  being  placed  in  the 
 centre  of  commerce  and  policy,  was  occasionally  drawn 
 into  these  political  feuds  of  the  contesting  powers. 
 When  Israel,  however,  had  forgotten  its  high  calling, 
 and  mixed  with  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  more  than 
 was  absolutely  necessary  to  preserve  their  own  indepen- 
 dence, they  were  sure  to  be  humbled.  These  powers 
 were  frequently  commissioned  to  chastise  the  Israel  of 
 God;    but   whenever   they   happened   to   touch   this 
 
CHAP,  ir.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  119 
 
 people  without  a  cause,  or  polluted  tlic  sanctuary  of 
 God,  they  invariably  crumbled  into  dust.  As, 
 already,  in  ancient  days,  the  curse  of  destruction, 
 Avhich  was  to  fall  upon  Israel,  did  return  upon  Egypt, 
 upon  Amalek,  upon  Moab,  and  upon  Amnion;  so,  also, 
 in  after  ages  it  was  true  respecting  the  Assyrians,  the 
 Chaldeans,  the  Persians,  and  the  Romans.  "  Whoso- 
 ever shall  fall  upon  this  stone  shall  be  broken^  If  we 
 have,  therefore,  no  direct  efforts  manifested  on  the 
 part  of  the  captive  people  of  Israel,  to  propagate  the 
 worship  of  the  true  God  among  these  nations,  for 
 which  event  neither  Israel  nor  yet  the  world  was 
 sufSciently  ripe,  we  have  yet  a  very  decided  progress 
 towards  that  blessed  end. 
 
 16.  Upon  having  obtained  the  royal  permission  of 
 Cyrus,  who  is  styled  the  Lord's  Anointed  (Isaiah  xlv.), 
 the  house  of  Judah  returned,  or,  at  least,  so  many 
 of  that  house  as  were  required  to  form  again  a  civil 
 state  and  a  religious  body.  Their  condition,  however, 
 was  not  such  as  to  permit  of  the  fulfilment  of  the 
 promise  given  unto  Abraham,  and  which  involved 
 a  blessing  to  all  nations.  They  w^ere  the  remnant  of 
 a  sifted  nation,  and  in  every  point  of  view  their  cir- 
 cumstances were  of  a  very  trying  description.  They 
 rebuilt  the  temple  of  Jehovah  at  Jerusalem;  but  not 
 only  was  this  sacred  building  far  inferior  to  the  former 
 house  of  prayer,  regarding  its  external  beauty  and 
 greatness,  but  even  the  most  essential  glory,  the  ark 
 of    the   covenant,   and    the   visible   token    of    God's 
 
120  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 presence,  had  departed  from  between  the  Cherubims. 
 As  regards  the  house  of  David,  there  was  remaining 
 a  very  faint  and  insignificant  shadow,  and  after  Zerub- 
 babel,  it  sank  back  into  entire  obscurity.  Neither  the 
 law  nor  the  priesthood  could  support  the  deeply  hum- 
 bled remnant  of  God's  peculiar  people.  But  in  this 
 remnant  were  yet  preserved  a  living  hope,  and  pro- 
 spects of  a  brighter  nature;  and  this  smoking  flax  was 
 once  more  rekindled  by  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy. 
 The  prophet  Daniel  specifies  the  very  year  when 
 the  "  Lord "  should  come  and  redeem  his  people 
 Israel. 
 
 But  even  the  most  spiritual  and  animating  element, 
 which  had  been  enjoyed  by  the  chosen  people  since 
 the  days  of  Samuel, — which,  even  in  the  most  trying 
 period  of  national  distress,  broke  forth  in  a  torrent 
 of  consolatory  language,  saying:  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort 
 ye  my  people,  saith  your  God,  speak  ye  comfortably  to 
 Jerusalem^ — the  element,  moreover,  which  survived 
 the  exile,  and  was  a  comfort  till  after  the  restoration 
 of  the  temple,  was  eventually  withdrawn.  The  Spirit 
 of  Prophecy  departed.  We  enter  upon  a  period  of 
 dead  silence.  We  observed,  in  the  history  of  true 
 Religion,  several  intervals  of  a  similar  nature,  in  which 
 the  nation  of  God's  choice  was,  as  it  were,  left  to 
 themselves.  They  were  in  Egypt  for  about  four  hun- 
 dred years,  without  a  single  voice  being  heard  which 
 brought  words  of  comfort  or  encouragement  from  the 
 God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob.     After  they 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  121 
 
 had  taken  possession  of  the  promised  land,  they  were 
 again  in  a  state  of  coinparative  desolation,  as  to  imme- 
 diate revelations  from  Jehovah,  for  more  than  three 
 hmidred  years.  And  now  we  enter  again  upon 
 a  similar  silence  for  four  hundred  years.  How  truly 
 the  kingdom  of  God  is  like  unto  a  man  travelling  into 
 a  far  country,  who  called  his  servants,  and  delivered 
 unto  them  his  goods ;  to  every  man  according  to  his 
 several  ability,  that  they  might  trade  with  the  same, 
 and  gain  other  talents  besides  them !  Again,  the 
 kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  planting  a  vine- 
 yard, letting  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and  going  into 
 a  far  country.  When  God  has  administered  a  fresh 
 capital  of  revelations  of  grace  and  truth,  he  withdraws 
 from  the  visible  scene  of  action.  Instructive  revela- 
 tion, from  its  practical  nature,  has  ever  been  followed 
 by  instructive  silence.  Every  thing  in  divine  revelation 
 has  its  season.  The  ancient  church  of  God  had  now 
 been  brought  to  a  state  of  manhood.  It  had  been 
 nourished  up  from  its  earliest  infancy,  and  passed 
 through  the  several  stages  from  the  childhood  of  its 
 existence  to  the  age  of  maturity.  It  was  now  again 
 to  be  seen  to  what  good  account  they  would  bring  the 
 experience  of  former  days,  and  how  they  would  profit 
 by  "  Moses  and  the  prophets  "  during  this  approaching 
 period  of  silence. 
 
 It  is,  however,  highly  remarkable  how  this  silence 
 of  the  voice  of  prophecy  falls  into  the  very  same  period 
 in  which  the  house  of  David  sank  back  into  obscurity. 
 
1.22  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [ciiAr.  ii. 
 
 We  have  observed  on  a  former  occasion,  that  tlie  royal 
 and  the  prophetical  office,  as  separate  branches  and  as 
 distinct  dignities  in  the  IMieocratical  constitution,  had 
 commenced  at  one  and  the  same  time  ;  and  we  now 
 shall  offer  a  few  more  remarks  upon  the  close  con- 
 nexion between  them,  and  the  internal  bearing  of  one 
 upon  the  other.  We  recollect  that  it  was  in  the 
 primitive  plan  to  unite  the  three  functions  of  prophet, 
 king,  and  priest  in  one  person  ;  and  when  severed  by 
 men,  to  make  them  so  agree  with  each  other  as  to 
 constitute  in  tendency  and  spirit  but  one  and  the 
 same  government.  "^l^his  harmony  could  never  per- 
 fectly be  preserved,  not  even  under  the  better  princes 
 of  the  house  of  David.  The  inestimable  blessing  of 
 the  prophetical  influence  became,  however,  more  con- 
 spicuous when  the  more  impious  rulers  of  Israel 
 attempted  to  render  their  government  altogether  in- 
 dependent of  the  invisible  head  of  the  Theocratical 
 constitution.  The  worldly  rulers  may  have  been  sup- 
 ported by  the  priesthood  themselves  ;  but  the  prophet 
 was  opposed  to  both  the  royal  and  the  priestly  dignity, 
 in  order  to  redeem  the  honour  and  glory  of  Jehovah. 
 When,  therefore,  the  house  of  David  had  fallen  into 
 oblivion,  the  guardianship  of  the  prophetical  office  was 
 no  longer  required.  As  regards  the  regal  power  of  a 
 worldly  government  which  had  crept  into  the  Theo- 
 cratical constitution,  the  prophetical  dignity  had  accom- 
 plished its  work  and  was  required  no  longer,  when 
 the  last  prince  of  the  house  of  David,   Zerubbabel, 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  123 
 
 who  had  walked  in  the  w^ays  of  his  father  David,  had 
 resigned  his  crown  and  his  throne,  and  was  marked  by 
 Jehovah  in  a  manner  which  significantly  pointed  into 
 that  futurity  which  hid  in  its  bosom  a  new  order 
 of  things.  (Hagg.  ii.)  The  kingdom  of  Israel  was 
 to  appear  in  a  new  form,  after  the  Lord  of  Hosts  had 
 shaken  the  heaven  and  the  earth. 
 
 But  Prophecy  had  also  fulfilled  its  important  office 
 in  the  Theocratical  constitution,  having  given  such 
 detailed  information  regarding  the  spiritual  head  who 
 was  to  unite  the  human  and  the  divine  government, 
 that  no  one  familiar  with  the  nature  and  spirit  of 
 prophecy  could  be  mistaken  on  his  appearance.  As 
 the  royal  house  of  David  appeared  once  more  in  its 
 truly  characteristic  greatness  before  the  setting  sun, 
 which  was,  however,  to  rise  again,  (Amos  ix.  11,) 
 so,  on  the  other  hand,  the  priestly  office  resumed  a 
 more  primitive  aspect  in  the  high  priest  Jehoshuah, 
 the  contemporary  of  Zerubbabel,  and  reflected  its  lost 
 glory,  with  a  view  to  its  revival  in  that  exalted  person 
 in  whom  all  that  is  high  and  glorious  should  be  for 
 ever  united.  (Zach.  vi.  13.)  The  house  of  David 
 fell  into  obscurity,  and  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy  fled ; 
 and  in  its  ffight  nothing  more  is  said  of  a  "  house 
 of  David,"  but  the  character  of  the  Messiah  is  dis- 
 tinctly marked,  as  the  "  ruler  desired,"  who  would 
 "  come  to  his  temple."  He  is  signified  as  a  purifier 
 of  the  nation,  who  would  separate  the  genuine  gold 
 from  the  dross,  and  be  introduced  by  a  mail  of  the 
 
124  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 spirit  of  Elias,  in  order  to  awaken  the  mind  of  the 
 fathers,  the  Patriarchs,  in  their  posterity.  (MaL  iii. 
 1—4  ;  iv.  5,  6.) 
 
 17.  With  the  silence  of  the  voice  of  prophecy,  and 
 the  total  disappearance  of  the  house  of  David,  the 
 Theocratical  constitution  also  seemed  to  break  up  and 
 to  disappear.  The  nation  still  existed,  but,  except- 
 ing the  house  of  Judah,  they  were  scattered  abroad 
 upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  ancient  city  of  the 
 great  king  was  built  again,  but  it  stood  without  the 
 royal  representative  of  Jehovah.  The  Temple  also 
 was  reconstructed  on  the  mountain  of  his  hohness, 
 but  it  stood  without  the  mysterious  ark  of  the  cove- 
 nant, and  without  the  cloudy  pillar  which  once  bespoke 
 the  visible  presence  of  Jehovah.  The  priesthood  and 
 the  sacrificial  rites  were  again  restored  in  their  outward 
 form,  but  life  seemed  extinct.  The  nation  seemed  for- 
 saken and  left  to  itself.  They  had  indeed  "  Moses 
 and  the  prophets ;"  and  this  was  sufficient  to  preserve 
 them  from  relapses  into  idolatry,  and  to  shme  in  a 
 dark  place,  as  the  star  of  hope,  which  was  able  to 
 guide  the  true  Israelite  in  safety  through  this  gloomy 
 period.  Whilst  the  Greek  in  his  wisdom  searched  for 
 an  ideal  of  perfection  and  bliss  in  the  golden  age 
 which  had  passed  by,  the  pious  Hebrew  by  faith  looked 
 into  futurity,  and  a  thought  of  the  coming  Redeemer 
 was  sufficient  to  dispel  the  darkest  night  of  tribulation 
 and  national  distress. 
 
 The  time  of  blossoms  had  indeed  passed  away ;   the 
 
CHAP,  ii.j  IN    THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  125 
 
 sweet  flowers  which  adorned  this  plant  of  Jehovah  in 
 a  world  "  without  form  and  void  "  had  all  fallen  into 
 decay.  But,  nevertheless,  the  tree  of  life  was  yet  exist- 
 ing, and  although  all  seemed  hopeless,  salvation  was  yet 
 to  come  from  the  Jews.  There  are,  indeed,  blossoms 
 in  the  moral  as  well  as  in  the  vegetable  world,  which 
 yield  no  fruit,  but  are  satisfied  to  diffuse  for  a  season 
 a  delicious  scent,  and  to  give  pleasure  to  the  eye. 
 Not  so  was  the  Israel  of  God,  which  was  to  become  a 
 blessing  to  all  nations.  The  chosen  people  were  not 
 created  to  be  a  mere  ornament  amidst  the  nations  of 
 antiquity ;  it  was  not  their  destiny  to  relieve  the  eye 
 of  the  religious  philosopher,  as  it  wandered  through 
 space  and  time  in  search  of  some  green  cheering  spot 
 in  the  vast  wilderness  of  moral  and  religious  life. 
 The  condition  of  the  world  demanded  something  more 
 material ;  it  demanded  all  manner  of  spiritual  fruit, 
 and  leaves  which  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
 Israel  was  indeed  to  flourish,  but  the  time  of  blossoms 
 was  only  to  be  a  stage  of  transition ;  it  was  not  for 
 ever  to  bear  blossoms.  The  period  between  the 
 silence  of  prophecy  and  the  advent  of  the  Messiah, 
 was  that  in  which  the  blossoms  had  fallen  off,  and  the 
 fruit  had  not  yet  come  to  appearance.  Nor  "would 
 the  Son  of  man  have  pronounced  his  withering  curse 
 upon  the  Jewish  fig-tree  during  this  present  period. 
 
 All  that  the  religious  and  moral  condition  of  the 
 world  demanded  was  long  ago  prepared  and  depo- 
 sited within  the  Thcocratical  constitution  of  the  pecu- 
 
126  DEVELOPMENT  OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 liar  people  of  God.  The  great  sclieme  to  satisfy  the 
 religious  wants  of  mankind  had  been  fostered  and 
 nourished  for  ages  Avithin  the  narrow  sphere  of  this 
 royal  priesthood.  Suddenly  indeed  the  mighty  ap- 
 paratus seemed  to  have  come  to  a  stand  still,  and 
 all  seemed  to  die  away.  But  this  was  exactly  what 
 the  nature  of  the  constitution  demanded.  The  new 
 event  should  not  immediately  follow  upon  the  apparent 
 standing  still  of  the  preparatory  machinery,  because 
 the  peculiarity  of  what  was  to  come  did  not  admit  of 
 so  sudden  a  change  in  the  complexion  of  things.  The 
 former  things  should  indeed  be  remembered,  inas- 
 much as  without  them  those  things  that  were  to  come 
 could  not  be  understood;  yet  the  past  should  no 
 longer  absorb  the  entire  attention  of  the  true  Israel  of 
 God.  Not  a  return  to  the  old  national  glory  was  to 
 be  desired,  but  they  were  to  press  forward  to  some- 
 thing comparatively  far  greater,  even  to  something 
 entirely  new,  which  eye  had  not  seen  and  ear  had  not 
 heard,  and  which  had  not  entered  into  the  heart  of 
 man.  The  law  and  the  prophets  prophesied  of  Christ ; 
 both  were  to  be  held  fast  during  this  solemn  period, 
 and  Christ  w^as  to  be  expected.  The  people  of  God 
 were  left  to  themselves,  and  the  voice  of  prophecy  was 
 silent  upon  having  made  the  solemn  proclamation,  that 
 the  name  of  Jehovah  should  be  great  among  the  Gen- 
 tiles,  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  of 
 the  same,  and  in  everg  place  incense  shall  be  offered 
 wito  his  great  name,  and  a  pure  offering,  in  contra- 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT.  127 
 
 distinction  to  tlie  desecration  and  the  profanation 
 which  it  received  from  the  people  of  the  covenant. 
 (Mai.  i.  11,  6;  ii.  10.)  The  approaching  advent  of 
 the  messenger  of  the  covenant  is  solemnly  announced 
 as  resembling  the  refiner's  fire  and  the  fuller's  soap  ; 
 he  himself  was  to  sit  over  the  very  remnant  of  the 
 house  of  Judah,  as  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver,  who 
 should  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as 
 gold  and  silver,  that  they  might  offer  unto  the  Lord 
 an  offering  in  righteousness.  (Mai.  iii.  1 — 3.)  And 
 the  very  last  words  of  the  Old  Testament  announced 
 the  coming  of  the  day  of  the  Lord  as  a  day  which 
 should  burn  up  the  stubble,  leaving  neither  root  nor 
 branch  of  the  reprobate  part  of  his  people  ;  whilst 
 unto  those  that  feared  his  name  should  arise  the  sun 
 of  righteousness,  with  healing  in  his  wings.  The  law 
 of  Moses,  with  its  statutes  and  judgments,  was  to  be 
 remembered  whilst  the  coming  of  the  Lord  should  be 
 expected,  who  would  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to 
 the  children,  and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their 
 fathers,  lest  he  come  and  smite  the  land  with  a  curse, 
 (Mai.  iv.) 
 
 The  necessity  of  holding  fast  the  remnants  of  the 
 Theocratical  constitution  became  soon  apparent  in  the 
 history  of  this  intervening  period.  The  bold  attempt 
 of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  to  dissolve  the  religious  form 
 of  a  hated  constitution,  and  to  substitute  the  abomi- 
 nations of  Pagan  idolatry,  very  soon  convinced  the 
 nation  of  the  imperative  necessity  to  watch  over  the 
 
128  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 very  form  of  the  Tlieocratical  macliinery,  until  the 
 "  Lord  come  to  Ms  temple."  The  persecution  was 
 severe ;  and  it  no  doubt  greatly  tended  at  this  ad- 
 vanced period  to  purify  the  nation,  to  separate  the 
 chaff  from  the  wheat,  and  to  sharpen  the  desire  for 
 a  pending  deliverance,  under  the  keen  sense  of  the 
 misery  and  the  distress  which  lay  heavily  upon  the 
 nation.  If  it  be  asked,  whether  this  was  not  the 
 period  at  which  the  promised  deliverer  might  have 
 opportunely  entered  upon  the  scene,  let  it  be  remem- 
 bered that  it  was  far  more  necessary  that  he  should 
 sit  at  this  very  season  heldnd  tJie  scene,  in  the  character 
 of  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver.  His  appearance 
 would  indeed  have  been  very  opportune  and  season- 
 able, if  a  deliverance  similar  to  that  which  was  wrought 
 by  the  hand  of  Moses  or  in  the  days  of  the  Judges  had 
 been  contemplated.  But  such  was  not  the  case ; 
 although  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  Pagan  power, 
 which  was  bent  upon  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish 
 constitution,  was  just  at  that  time  swallowed  by  the 
 Roman  empire.     (Dan.  ii.  39,  40.) 
 
 The  majority  of  the  Hebrew  nation  were  absorbed 
 in  their  own  imaginary  greatness,  and  blinded  by  a 
 fanatical  national  pride,  in  which  they  w^ould  cleave  to 
 the  dead  letter  of  the  constitution.  It  was  the  interest 
 of  a  time-serving  priesthood  to  flatter  a  narrow- 
 minded  Pharisaical  bigotry,  and  to  give  new  consis- 
 tency to  the  outward  form  of  the  constitution,  so  as  to 
 render   the   external    ceremonies   of   the   services   of 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  129 
 
 Jehovah  attractive  and  imposing.  On  the  other  hand, 
 the  infidehty  and  licentiousness  of  the  Sadducees  had 
 so  corrupted  the  whole  body  of  the  nation,  that  Jose- 
 phus,  the  Jewish  historian,  did  not' hesitate  to  confess 
 of  the  mass  of  the  people  :  "I  cannot  refuse  to  declare 
 what  the  nature  of  the  case  demands.  I  believe  if 
 the  Romans  had  hesitated  to  fall  upon  this  frivolous 
 nation,  an  earthquake  would  have  swallowed,  or  a 
 flood  would  have  drowned  them,  or  the  lightning  of 
 Sodom  would  have  burned  them  up.  For  this  gene- 
 ration was  more  wicked  than  all  those  could  have 
 been  who  suffered  these  things."  But  amidst  all 
 this,  there  was  a  remnant  according  to  the  election 
 of  grace,  which  was  most  earnestly  waiting  and  look- 
 ing for  the  Consolation  of  Israel,  and  the  Desire  of 
 all  nations  ! 
 
 18.  Whilst  a  profound  silence  was  thus  brooding 
 over  the  elements  which  had  been  deposited  in  the 
 bosom  of  the  Jewish  nation,  the  Pagan  world  was 
 being  agitated  by  a  convulsive  expection  of  the  Desire 
 of  all  nations.  God  had  not  left  himself  without 
 witness  among  the  Gentiles.  But  a  different  method 
 had  been  adopted  to  prepare  them  for  the  promised 
 blessing  in  which  they  were  to  participate.  There  was 
 a  deep  calm  upon  the  face  of  the  peculiar  people  for 
 about  four  hundred  years ;  but  the  waters  of  the 
 Pagan  world  were  being  troubled  in  the  meantime  by 
 a  radical  dissatisfaction  as  to  every  existing  form  of 
 spurious  Religion.     The  Pagan  nations  were  left,  in 
 
 VOL.  I.  K 
 
130  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 a  general  sense,  to  their  own  devices.     God  permitted 
 the  deadly  disease  which  had  poisoned  their  whole 
 existence    to   assume   all  the  alarming   symptoms  of 
 extreme  danger  and  distress,  in  order  to  prepare  them 
 for  the  appearance  of  the  divine  Physician,  and  to  pro- 
 duce a  deep  sense  of  their  deplorable  inaptitude  to 
 effect  a  cure  by  their  own  efforts.      The  misery  of  sin 
 and  its  awful  consequences  should  stare  mankind  in 
 the  face ;    the  departure  from  the  living  God  should 
 be   acknowledged,    and   its   effects    should   be   most 
 bitterly  felt.     The  lying  and  murdering  propensities  of 
 the  old  Serpent  should  universally  and  experimentally 
 be  brought  before  the  human  race  at  large.     In  order 
 to  wean  them  from  following  any  longer  their  own 
 ways,  the  sting  of  sin  should  for  once  pierce  into  their 
 consciences  in   such  a  manner  as  to  render  it  hard 
 for  them  to  "  kick  against  the  pricks." 
 
 Pride  is  the  radical  evil  of  fallen  man,  in  which  he 
 fancies  himself  to  possess  powers  and  faculties  which  are 
 no  longer  his  own  after  he  has  separated  himself  from 
 the  living  God.  A  proud  individual  cannot  be  brought 
 better  to  a  conviction  of  his  own  weakness  than  by  being 
 allowed  to  make  every  possible  experiment  upon  the  re- 
 sources of  his  own  imaginary  power  and  might.  Before 
 he  has  felt  the  overwhelming  extent  of  his  own  infirmity, 
 he  will  never  stoop  to  desire  foreign  aid.  The  experi- 
 ment had  been  made  amongst  all  the  distinguished 
 nations  of  Pagan  antiquity,  and  the  doleful  confession 
 had  been  successively  wrung  from  them  severally,  that 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN    THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  131 
 
 they  had  gained  nothing  firm  and  nothing  satisfactory  ! 
 According  to  Phny,  one  thing  only  was  certain,  and 
 that  one  thing  was,  that  nothing  certain  was  to  be  found 
 upon  earth ;  and  that  nolhirig  was  found  more  miserable 
 and  more  proud  than  mafi !  The  scattered  rays  of 
 truth,  which  had  been  a  rod  and  a  staff  to  comfort 
 Pagan  philosophy,  could  suffice  no  longer.  The  self- 
 created  systems  of  religious  belief  had  lost  their  primi- 
 tive charm,  and  ceased  to  fascinate  the  mind  of  their 
 original  admirers.  In  vain  was  every  effort  to  infuse 
 new  life  into  the  mouldering  mass  of  Pagan  supersti- 
 tion. The  philosophical  systems,  which  had  for  ages 
 engaged  the  attention,  and  gained  the  admiration  of 
 the  wiser  and  more  serious  portion  of  the  Gentile 
 population  of  the  globe, — they  also  had  exhausted  the 
 wisdom  of  the  wise,  and  completed  their  time  of  revo- 
 lution. A  pestilential  miasma  arose  now  from  the 
 accumulation  of  their  corruptible  remains.  One 
 system  had  given  way  to  the  other,  and  a  yearning 
 desire  for  something  more  permanent  and  abiding, 
 which  would  serve  as  a  haven  where  the  weary  might 
 be  at  rest,  now  agitated  the  human  breast. 
 
 Whilst  Josephus  characterised  the  Jewish  nation  as 
 being  more  desperately  wicked  than  the  people  of 
 Sodom  and  the  people  that  were  drowned  in  the  flood, 
 the  Pagan  writer,  Tacitus,  in  like  manner,  anticipates 
 the  destruction  of  the  world  on  account  of  the  corruption 
 of  mankind.  And  Seneca,  in  his  day,  makes  the  obser- 
 vation : — "  All  is  replete  with  crime,  and  vice  every 
 
 K  2 
 
132  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ir. 
 
 where  abounds.  More  evil  is  committed  than  can  pos- 
 sibly be  healed.  The  struggle  and  confusion  are  becom- 
 ing most  desperate.  Whilst  lust  daily  grows  into  sin, 
 shame  is  rapidly  declining.  Veneration  for  what  is  good 
 and  pure  is  unknown.  Every  one  yields  to  his  own 
 lusts.  Vice  is  no  longer  the  occupant  of  secret  places, 
 but  it  is  made  public  before  all  eyes.  Depravity  has 
 so  far  advanced,  that  innocence  has  become  not  only 
 more  rare,  but  now  is  a  thing  altogether  unknown." 
 What  a  striking  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the  picture 
 which  has  been  drawn  of  the  Gentile  w^orld  by  the 
 inspired  Apostle!  (Rom.  i.  21—32.)  The  whole  body 
 of  the  Gentile  world  was  poisoned  in  all  its  members, 
 and  required  a  radical  cure  at  no  distant  period. 
 
 Thus  a  loud  demand  was  created  for  something 
 more  real  and  satisfactory  than  could  be  expected  from 
 Pagan  creeds,  which  could  not  stem  the  mighty  torrent 
 of  corruption,  or  arrest  the  process  of  general  disso- 
 lution. According  to  the  candid  confession  of  the 
 most  sensible  Pagans,  help  was  to  come  from  above, 
 to  satisfy  the  demands  of  a  languishing  humanity ; 
 — a  humanity  which  had  been  harassed  and  torn 
 for  ages  by  the  superstitious  vanities  of  a  cruel  idol- 
 atry. The  great  blessing  of  deliverance  which  had 
 been  promised  to  the  fathers,  and  prepared  in  the 
 education  of  a  peculiar  people,  had  thus  emphatically 
 become  "  the  Desire  of  all  nations!''  There  was  one 
 great  and  universal  sympathy  as  regards  the  feeling 
 of  despair ;  the  whole  human  race  travailing  in  pain 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  133 
 
 together,  and  waiting  with  earnest  expectation  for  the 
 manifestation  of  the  grace  of  God,  which  should  bring 
 salvation  unto  all  men.  It  was  a  day  of  trouble 
 and  rebuke ;  the  children  were  come  to  the  birth,  and 
 there  was  no  strength  to  bring  forth.  We  have  groans, 
 anguish,  and  despair  of  nations  which  were  labouring 
 under  the  bondage  of  corruption,  the  like  of  which 
 had  never  before  been  uttered  since  the  world  was 
 made.  We  remember  the  Roman  expectation  of  a 
 mighty  deliverer  from  the  East  at  that  period.  We 
 are  informed  of  the  Chinese  having  expected  "  the 
 Holy  One,"  who  would  "  appear  in  the  West,''  accord- 
 ing to  one  of  the  predictions  of  Confucius.  The 
 Hindoos  were  even  then  looking  for  one  of  their  last 
 divine  incarnations.  The  Persian  Sosiosh  was  then 
 expected  to  bring  peace  and  salvation,  as  the  true 
 Oshanderbega,  or  "  man  of  the  loorld."  "  For  thus 
 saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Yet  once  more  it  is  a  little 
 while,  and  I  loill  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and 
 the  sea,  and  the  dry  land.  And  I  will  shake  all  nations, 
 and  the  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come :  and  I  will 
 fill  this  house  with  ylory,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts." 
 (Hagg.  ii.  6,  7.) 
 
 In  order  to  sharpen  this  keen  sense  of  misery,  the 
 judgments  of  the  Almighty  were  abroad  upon  the  face 
 of  the  earth.  Under  Tarquinius  Priscus,  pestilence 
 destroyed  the  greater  part  of  the  nation.  Whilst 
 Nehemiah  was  engaged  in  rebuilding  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
 salem, this  sore  calamity  spread  over  Ethiopia,  Lybia, 
 
134-  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 Egypt,  Judea,  Plieiiicia,  Syria,  the  whole  of  the  Persian 
 and  Roman  empires,  over  Greece  and  the  adjacent 
 comitries,  and  raged  for  about  fifteen  years.  On 
 another  occasion,  it  started  from  the  ruins  of  Carthage, 
 penetrated  into  Africa,  and  in  Numidia  only  it  counted 
 no  less  than  eight  hundred  thousand  victims !  Two 
 years  only  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  pestilence  walked 
 in  darkness  over  Italy,  and  few  people  were  left  to 
 cultivate  the  ground.  Now,  if  the  stork  in  the  heaven 
 knoweth  her  appointed  time ;  if  the  tm'tle,  and  the 
 crane,  and  the  sAvallow,  observe  the  time  of  their 
 coming;  if  the  inanimate  and  the  animate  creature 
 waiteth  with  earnest  expectation  for  the  manifestation 
 of  the  sons  of  God ;  if  the  brute  animals  and  the  in- 
 significant insects  prophesy  a  change  in  the  atmosphere ; 
 if  they  have  a  foreboding  of  the  fall  of  mountains,  of 
 earthquakes  and  volcanic  eruptions ;  if  the  American 
 savage  dreams  of  the  children  of  the  sun,  who  were  to 
 come  from  the  West,  with  a  new  Religion  and  new 
 manners;  if  the  Kaffers,  and  the  Hindoos,  and  the 
 Chinese  recognise  the  fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecies, 
 when  white  teachers  of  Religion  appear  amongst  them 
 from  the  West;  if  the  Etruscan  priesthood  and  the 
 Pythian  oracle  anticipate  their  impending  destruction ; 
 • — if  these  and  a  thousand  other  things  be  done,  can  we 
 feel  surprised  at  the  discovery,  that  prior  to  the  advent 
 of  Christ,  the  nations  of  the  world  should  be  sliaking 
 tvith  expectation  of  the  tJmif/s  that  were  to  come  ? 
 To  heal  and  soothe  a  broken-hearted  world,  which 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  135 
 
 was  smitten  with  despair,  and  groaning  amidst  the 
 dissohition  of  every  system  of  spurious  Rehgion,  it 
 required  an  object  of  adoration  which  condescended  to 
 man,  first  and  foremost,  in  the  soothing  character  of  a 
 divine  Redeemer.  It  required  something  which 
 appeared  not  again  in  the  exclusive  form  of  a  national 
 constitution,  similar  to  that  of  the  Jewish  dispensation  ; 
 but  the  general  condition  of  the  world  demanded  a 
 divine  herald  of  peace  to  all  mankind.  It  was  not  the 
 revival  of  pseudo-prophetical  oracular  powers  that 
 was  to  be  desired,  but  the  appearance  of  an  individual 
 who  would  concentrate  in  his  own  divine  person  all 
 the  different  rays  of  divine  revelation  which  had  been 
 scattered  throughout  the  vast  limits  of  space  and  time, 
 and  which  were  shed  abroad  both  in  the  world  of 
 matter  and  in  the  world  of  spirit.  It  required  a 
 sacrifice,  of  which  the  Jewish  sacrificial  institutions 
 laboured  to  convey  an  imperfect  shadow,  not  a  modifi- 
 cation of  those  modes  of  mediatorial  atonement  which 
 had  exhausted  the  forbearance,  and  worn  out  the 
 patience  of  an  idolatrous  world.  It  demanded  the 
 opening  of  the  impenetrable  veil  of  the  invisible  world 
 from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  in  order  to  show  the  true- 
 connexion  of  the  present  and  the  future ;  not  a  modi- 
 fied edition  of  what  Pagan  Mythology  had  fabled  upon 
 the  subject.  And  behold,  all  that  was  requisite  to 
 suit  this  variety  of  purposes  God  had  already  prepared 
 for  the  whole  family  of  man. 
 
 Whilst,  therefore,   both  Jews   and    Gentiles  were 
 
136  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  il. 
 
 concluded  wider  sin;  whilst  the  former  had  nothing 
 left  whereof  to  glory  against  the  latter;  whilst 
 apparent  death  was  stamped  upon  the  once  efficient 
 apparatus  of  the  Theocratical  constitution;  whilst 
 Gentiles  and  Jews  united  in  the  desire  for  the  blessings 
 which  were  to  be  unto  all  nations;  whilst  sin  had 
 entered  into  the  world  without  respect  of  person,  and 
 so  death  had  come  upon  all  men;  whilst  both  Gentiles 
 and  Jews,  like  sheep,  had  erred  and  strayed  from 
 God's  ways,  and  followed  too  much  the  devices  and 
 desires  of  their  own  hearts ;  whilst  there  Avas  left  no 
 remedy  which  had  not  been  tried  to  cure  the  evil 
 with  which  mankind  was  afflicted;  whilst  all  flesh 
 had  corrupted  his  way  upon  the  earth;  whilst  from  the 
 sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the  head  there  was  no 
 soundness  in  the  human  species,  but  wounds,  and 
 bruises,  and  putrifying  sores,  which  had  not  been 
 closed,  neither  bound  up,  nor  mollified  with  ointment ; 
 "whilst  all  were  overwhelmed  by  the  feeling  that  they 
 had  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God; 
 whilst  the  words,  " Behold  it  is  very  good''  were 
 actually  reversed  into  those — "  The  tvhole  world  lieth 
 in  wickedness ;  "  whilst  the  history  of  the  world  had 
 assumed  the  character  of  "  a  revelation  of  ivrath ;" — 
 whilst  all  this  was  taking  place,  the  fulness  of  time 
 had  come,  m  which  the  promised  deliverance  could  be 
 offered  to  a  withered  generation  of  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
 under  the  most  auspicious  circumstances.  "And 
 where  is  the  wise  ?     Where  is  the  scribe  ?     Where  is 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  137 
 
 the  disputer  of  this  workl  ?     Hath  not    God   made 
 foohsh  the  wisdom  of  this  world  ?  "     "  God  hath  con- 
 duded  them  all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy 
 upon  all.     Where  is  boasting  then  ?    It  is  excluded  !" 
 Should  we,  however,  not  expect  that  the  fulness  of 
 time  should  be  ushered  in  by  a  civil  and  political,  as 
 well  as  by  a  moral  and  religious  revolution  of  circum- 
 stances, in  favour  of  this  great  and  mighty  event  ? 
 As   in   certain    artificial    clocks,    many    and   various 
 figures  are  brought  into  motion,  when  the  bell  strikes 
 the  horn';  so  the  conclusion  of  some  large  and  impor- 
 tant period  of  time  is  always  accompanied  by  a  variety 
 of  events  and  revolutions  in  the  history  of  nations. 
 The  advent  of  Christianity  was  by  no  means  to  be 
 attributed  to  some  casual  and  accidental  concurrence 
 of  favourable  cu'cumstances.     All  was  brought  about 
 "  according  to  the  purpose  of   him    loho  worketh  all 
 things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will.''     If  it  be 
 true,  that  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to  him  are  all 
 tilings ;  the  whole  aspect  of  the  fulness  of  time,  the 
 whole  complexion  in  men,  in  matter,  and  in  circum- 
 stances at  that  period,  must  have  been  the  work  of  his 
 hand.    We  have  already  seen  that  the  advent  of  a  new 
 order  of  things  could  not  have  resulted  from  either 
 the   Jews   or   the    Gentiles ;    both   labouring    under 
 a  moral  and  spiritual  weakness  and  infirmity,  which 
 had  been  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  man.     To 
 expect   that    mankind    shoidd   of    itself  be   able   to 
 create  a  suitable  remedy  against  the  malady    which 
 
138  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 was  raging  in  every  one  of  its  members  and  faculties, 
 would  have  been  to  "  seek  the  living  among  the  dead.'' 
 All  that  had  passed  was  brought  about  by  the  divine 
 goodness  and  mercy.  All  that  was  now  favoiu^able  to 
 the  advent  of  Christianity,  was  not  the  productive 
 cause,  but  formed  part  of  the  preparations  which  had 
 been  made  for  its  introduction.  There  was  a  "  fulness 
 of  time,"  because  there  was  a  blessing  to  be  commu- 
 nicated to  the  world,  and  not  the  reverse.  Let  us  see, 
 therefore,  what  was  the  posture  which  the  political 
 aspect  of  the  world  had  assumed  at  this  present 
 period. 
 
 The  blessing  which  now  was  expected,  was  to  be 
 unto  all  people.  Now,  as  long  as  the  ancient  nations 
 flourished  in  their  highest  glory,  there  was  much  to 
 obstruct  the  national  intercourse  between  them;  and, 
 with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  philosophers  and 
 merchants,  no  one  ever  frequented  foreign  countries. 
 If  a  highway  was  to  be  prepared  for  the  spread  of  the 
 gospel,  this  national  exclusiveness  was  to  be  subdued 
 and  removed.  The  pliability  of  the  Grecian  character 
 had  done  much  to  break  down  the  middle  walls  of 
 partition  which  had  existed  between  the  dispersed 
 nations.  By  the  famous  expedition  of  Alexander  the 
 Great,  the  interior  of  Asia  was  opened ;  and  thus  the 
 free  intercourse  between  the  East  and  the  West  was 
 for  ever  established.  But  this  barrier  between  the 
 nations  of  the  earth  was  still  more  effectually  put  out 
 of  the  way  by  the  warlike  exploits  of  the  Romans  in 
 
CHAP.  Ti.]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  139 
 
 Africa  and  the  East,  and  by  their  successful  attempts 
 to  subdue  the  surface  of  the  then  known  world. 
 According  to  the  testimony  of  an  ancient  historian, 
 the  history  of  the  world  only  now  assumes  its  universal 
 character.  All  the  different  lands,  from  the  river 
 Euphrates  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  from  the  Elbe  to  the 
 shores  of  North  Africa,  were  united  under  one  head, 
 under  one  law,  and  under  one  government !  The 
 communication  between  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
 East  and  the  West  was  now  rendered  comparatively 
 easy;  and  the  messengers  could  traverse,  under  the 
 protection  of  the  Roman  citizenship,  all  these  immense 
 tracts  of  land,  as  soon  as  the  gospel  should  have 
 appeared.  The  scattered  Jews  themselves,  also,  lost 
 much  of  their  national  exclusiveness,  which  very  soon 
 should  be  required  no  longer.  The  Hebrew  Scrip- 
 tures, too,  had  already  been  translated  into  the  Greek 
 language,  and  thus  rendered  accessible  to  the  Gentile 
 world. 
 
 The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  compassed  sea  and  land 
 to  make  proselytes  from  among  the  Gentiles;  and 
 although  most  of  them  were  made  two-fold  more  the 
 children  of  hell  than  themselves,  there  were  yet  others, 
 who  were  sincerely  cleaving  to  the  Jewish  Religion, 
 and  who  appear  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  as 
 "  religious  proselytes,"  as  "  the  people  fearing  God," 
 as  "  devout  men,"  who  were  prepared  for  the  message 
 of  the  gospel.  Many,  again,  were  neither  Jews  nor 
 Pagans,  who  worshipped  at  one  time  in  the  synagogue, 
 
140  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  li. 
 
 at  another,  tliey  frequented  the  Pagan  temples  ;  and 
 it  is  respecting  this  class  of  people,  that  Com- 
 inodianus  says  in  his  Instructions  : — 
 
 "  Nudatus  a  lege  decrepitus  luxu  procedis  ? 
 Quid  in  syaagoga  decurris  ad  Pharisfeos, 
 Ut  tibi  misericors  fiat,  quern  denegas  ultro  ? 
 Exis  inde  foris,  iterum  tu  fana  requiris." 
 
 Judaism  had,  indeed,  so  far  made  an  impression  upon 
 the  Pagans,  that  some  of  the  Roman  authors,  at  the 
 time  of  the  first  Emperors,  thought  to  have  just  cause  to 
 complain  over  it.  And  Seneca,  at  last,  could  even 
 declare,  respecting  the  Jewish  influence  : — 
 
 "  Victoribus  victi  leges  dederunt." 
 
 Thus  the  way  had  been  smoothed  by  the  hand  of 
 that  Providence  which  subdueth  all  things  to  himself, 
 and  maketh  them  work  together  for  his  own  mysterious 
 purposes. 
 
 19.  There  is,  however,  one  more  circumstance  which 
 no  doubt  was  likewise  instrumental  in  stirring  up 
 the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  preparing  them  for  the 
 blessed  advent  of  our  God  and  Saviour.  Not  only 
 was  the  moral,  religious,  and  political  state  of  the 
 world  now  such  as  to  permit  of  his  coming  in  "  the 
 fulness  of  time,''  a  fulness  such  as  there  had  never 
 been  one  since  the  world  began ;  but  even  the  phi/- 
 sical  universe  seemed  to  conspire  with  all  other  events 
 and  circumstances  to  solemnize  the  entrance  of  the 
 Lord  of  Glory.     There  may  be  something  novel  to 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  141 
 
 some  of  our  readers  in  this  announcement ;  but  before 
 they  form  a  judgment  of  the  case  in  question,  we  would 
 ask  them  to  Usten  to  a  sober  statement  of  facts. 
 
 When  God  Ahiiighty  made  "  two  great  Hghts,  and 
 the  stars  also,"  we  are  distinctly  informed  that  they 
 were  created  not  only  to  divide  the  day  and  the  night, 
 and  to  rule  the  same,  but  also  for  the  purpose  of 
 giving  "  signs  for  seasons,  and  for  days,  and  for 
 years!' 
 
 There  is  something  marvellously  grand  and  myste- 
 riously majestic  in  the  firmament  of  heaven,  the  sober 
 contemplation  of  which  will  always  wring  from  the 
 pious  spectator  the  exclamation,  "  What  is  man,  that 
 thou  art  mindful  of  him ;  and  the  son  of  man,  that 
 thou  visitest  him?"  Hence  also  the  pure  delight  of 
 a  pious  author,  when  he  gave  utterance  to  words  like 
 these  : — "  I  cannot  say  that  it  is  chiefly  the  contem- 
 plation of  their  infinitude,  and  of  the  immeasurable 
 space  they  occupy,  that  enraptures  me  in  the  stars. 
 Still  less  do  I  regard  them  absolutely  with  reference 
 to  the  life  after  this.  But  the  mere  thought  that  they 
 are  so  far  beyond  and  above  everything  terrestrial — 
 the  feeling  that  before  them  everything  earthly  so 
 utterly  vanishes  to  nothing — that  the  single  man  is  so 
 infinitely  insignificant  in  the  comparison  with  these 
 worlds  strewn  over  all  space — that  his  destinies,  his 
 enjoyments,  and  sacrifices,  to  which  he  attaches  such 
 a  minute  importance,  how  all  these  fade  like  nothing 
 before  such  immense  objects — then  that  the  constel- 
 
142  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 lations  bind  together  all  the  races  of  man,  and  all  the 
 eras  of  the  earth — that  they  have  beheld  all  that  has 
 passed  since  the  beginning  of  time,  and  will  see  all 
 that  passes  until  its  end.  In  thoughts  like  these  I  can 
 always  lose  myself  with  a  silent  delight  in  the  view  of 
 the  starry  firmament."  Hence  it  no  doubt  came 
 to  pass,  that  after  man  had  ceased  to  find  delight  in 
 the  pure  worship  of  a  holy  God,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes 
 with  reverence  to  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the 
 stars,  which  have  been  styled  the  ''poetry  of  heaven!' 
 He  did  not  from  the  contemplation  of  the  heavens 
 understand  and  acknowledge  the  eternal  power  and 
 Godhead  of  their  Creator  as  by  the  things  which  are 
 made  ;  but  he  was  led  to  view  the  heavenly  bodies  as 
 chosen  emblems  of  "  the  Father  of  Lights ;"  he  per- 
 ceived in  them  the  symbols  of  that  invisible  and 
 spiritual  Majesty,  which  receded  more  and  more  from 
 the  horizon  of  his  depraved  mind.  The  mental  facul- 
 ties of  man  were  blighted,  and  he  adopted  the  brilliant 
 luminaries  as  emblems  of  Him  who  dwelleth  in  light, 
 which  no  man  can  approach  unto.  This  was  the  first 
 step  towards  idolatry.  Man  did  not  contemplate  to 
 depart  from  the  good  old  paths,  nor  did  he  anticipate 
 that  anything  derogatory  to  the  divine  Majesty  or  to 
 himself  would  accrue  from  the  fact  of  viewing  the 
 heavenly  bodies  as  symbols  and  emblems.  Yea,  there 
 may  have  existed  a  plaisible  cause  to  wish  for  a  sym- 
 bolical representation  of  the  object  of  his  religious 
 worship — a  desire   to  preserve  the   sacred   trust  by 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  143 
 
 hiding  it,  as  it  were,  in  something  visible,  something 
 tangible,  something  accessible  to  every  one's  senses. 
 When  mankind  was  dispersed,  there  seemed  to  be 
 nothing  more  adapted  to  serve  as  a  symbol  of  the  only 
 true  God  than  the  great  light  that  was  made  to  rule 
 the  day ;  who  was  so  glorious  in  his  form,  so  sublime 
 and  regular  in  his  apparent  motions  ;  his  diminished 
 vigour  allowed  nature  to  relapse,  as  it  were,  into  gloom 
 and  decay.  Thus  the  sim  seemed  well  adapted  to 
 assist  in  his  devotional  exercises,  and  to  serve  as  a 
 remembrancer  of  the  invisible  God ;  and  the  rest  of 
 the  heavenly  bodies  seemed  also  in  their  own  way  to 
 facilitate  the  same  object.  But  all  this  became  a  sad 
 snare  unto  the  sensual  mind  of  fallen  man.  The 
 heavenly  bodies  soon  appeared  as  the  abode  of  the 
 Deity ;  and,  finally,  the  symbol  assumed  the  place, 
 and  received  the  honours  of  the  Godhead,  which  it 
 was  originally  supposed  to  represent.  The  gratitude 
 which  was  supremely  due  to  the  Disposer  of  all 
 bounties  was  gradually  transferred  to  his  instrument 
 by  the  growing  ignorance  of  man.  The  first  instance 
 in  which  mention  is  made  of  this  idolatry  we  have 
 recorded  in  Job  xxxi.  26 — 28.  Hence,  also,  the 
 severe  prohibition  in  the  law  of  Moses,  according  to 
 which  "  the  man  or  the  woman  which  have  committed 
 that  wicked  thing"  were  to  be  taken  to  the  gates, 
 "  and  stoned  with  stones  till  he  die."  (Deut.  xvii. ; 
 iv.  19,  20.) 
 
 Israel  was  not  to  be  defiled  by  the  symbolization  of 
 
144  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 the  heavenly  host ;  the  Lord  had  "  taken  them  to  be 
 unto  him  a  people  of  inheritance  ;"  but  to  the  Gentile 
 nations,  according  to  the  original,  God  had  "  measured 
 out"  the  heavenly  bodies.  The  mild  and  extenuating 
 view  which  Holy  Scripture  takes  of  this  kind  of  spuri- 
 ous worship,  at  a  period  when  God  "  winked  at  the 
 times  of  that  ignorance,"  was,  however,  never  extended 
 to  the  worship  of  beasts  and  images ;  and  we  can 
 clearly  see  that  the  prophets  were  always  more  severe 
 against  the  adoration  of  stocks  and  stones  than  against 
 the  symbolization  of  the  God  of  Israel  by  the  heavenly 
 host. 
 
 As  the  worship  of  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars, 
 seems  to  have  gained  ascendency  amongst  all  the 
 Pagan  nations,  at  a  very  early  period,  it  deserves 
 some  further  inquiry  as  to  the  causes  of  this  their 
 propensity.  Our  readers  will  probably  remember  the 
 great,  but  vain  efforts  of  Charles  V.  to  make  two 
 watches  perfectly  agree  with  one  another,  and  an 
 experiment  on  our  own  part  will  easily  convince  us  of 
 the  impossibility  to  prevent  variation  taking  place  for 
 any  length  of  time.  They  will,  perhaps,  likewise  re- 
 collect M.  Breguet's  happy  experiment  to  remove  these 
 difficulties,  by  placing  the  machinery  of  two  watches 
 in  one  and  the  same  case.  There  seems  to  be  a 
 strange,  magical  influence  of  one  upon  the  other, 
 which  counteracts  every  irregularity,  and  produces 
 perfect  harmony. 
 
 Now  man  seems,  in  every  respect,  most  intimately 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  145 
 
 connected  with  the  universe  around  him,  not  as  one 
 machine  is  brought  under  the  influence  of  another, 
 but  the  connexion  subsisting  between  man  and  the 
 world,  is,  in  some  respects,  of  a  real  and  organic 
 character.  As  regards  the  planet  upon  which  man 
 lives,  the  connexion  is  too  palpable  to  require  any 
 detailed  remarks.  Man  was  made  from  earth,  and 
 the  earth  was  made  subject  unto  hira.  When  man 
 corrupted  his  ways  before  God,  the  lightning  of  the 
 divine  curse  passed  the  head  of  the  ofiender,  and  fell 
 upon  the  ground,  which  it  w^as  his  destiny  to  bless  by 
 his  presence  and  activity.  At  length  his  corruptible 
 body  should  return  to  his  mother  earth.  (Job  i.  21.) 
 "  For  the  creature  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  not 
 willingly,  but  by  reason  of  him  who  hath  subjected 
 the  same  in  hope;  because  the  creature  itself  also 
 shall  be  dehvered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption, 
 into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  For 
 we  know  that  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and 
 travaileth  in  pain  together  until  now."  (Rom.  viii.) 
 Trom  these  and  similar  considerations,  the  intimate 
 connexion  between  man  and  the  planet  which  he 
 inhabits  is  sufficiently  clear. 
 
 The  earth  in  its  revolutions  is,  however,  only  one 
 link  in  the  stupendous  machinery  of  the  universe,  and 
 we  are  thus  likewise  put  under  the  immediate  influence 
 of  other  planets  and  other  worlds.  Thus,  for  instance, 
 the  moon  exercises  a  most  powerful  influence,  not . 
 only   upon  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom,  but  even 
 
 VOL.  I.  L 
 
146  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  ii. 
 
 upon  the  constitution  of  man.     The  influence  of  the 
 moon  upon  the  human  body   has  been  observed  by 
 every  medical  practitioner,  of  whatever  colour,  climate, 
 country,  skill  or  age.     People  are  taught  to  believe 
 the  existence  of  such  an  influence  in  their  childhood, 
 and  as  they  grow  up,  they  believe  it  from  personal 
 experience.     In  colder  climates,  this  influence  is  less 
 evident  than  in  tropical  latitudes.     After  the  combined 
 observations  of  a  body  of  professional  gentlemen,  who 
 were  resident  in  warm  climates,  a  medical  theorem  has 
 been  framed,  and  it  has  been  established  as  a  matter  of 
 fact,  that  "  the  fluctuating  force  of  sol-lunar  influence, 
 co-operating   in   all  its   various   stages   and   degrees 
 with  the  various  modifications  of  the  paroxysmal  dis- 
 positions, excites  febrile  paroxysms  to  attack  on  all 
 the  days  of  the  neaps  and  springs,  and  supports  and 
 reiterates  them,  according  to  various  types,  until  the 
 commencement  of  the  different  neaps  ;  at  which  junc- 
 tiu-es,  the  matm'ity  of  the  critical  disposition  happening 
 to   concur   with   the   periodical   dechne   of   sol-lunar 
 influence,  these  paroxysms  subside,  and  come  to    a 
 termination  or  crisis,  and  thus  form  different  succes- 
 sions  of  paroxysms,    constituting   fevers    of   various 
 leno:th    and   duration.      The    tendencies    of   fevers, 
 during  the  springs  and  neaps,  are  indeed  hable  to 
 frequent  and  remarkable  deviations,  from  the  various 
 stages  that  the  moon  may  happen  to  occupy  on  her 
 own  orbit;  by  which  her  distance  from  the  earth  may 
 be  considerably  increased  or  diminished,  and  conse- 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT.  147 
 
 quently  also  lier  power."  This  is  one  instance  of  the 
 sympathy  existing  between  man  and  the  heavenly 
 bodies. 
 
 Again,  we  discover  at  a  very  early  period  of  the 
 world,  two  modes  of  computing  the  lapse  of  time,  the 
 one  following  the  apparent  revolutions  of  the  sun,  the 
 other  those  of  the  moon ;  and  the  attempt  to  reconcile 
 both  has  caused  much  confusion.  It  was,  however, 
 the  mysterious  nature  of  man  which  was  found  to 
 resolve  the  problematical  anomaly  between  the  solar 
 and  the  lunar  revolutions ;  and  that  in  man,  as  the 
 crown  of  all  the  works  of  the  Almighty,  as  the 
 end  of  his  w^ays,  and  as  the  solution  of  the  great 
 problem  of  the  visible  creation,  a  measure  should  be 
 found,  by  which  the  seeming  irregularities  of  the 
 universe  should  be  solved  and  peaceably  adjusted,  can 
 hardly  be  a  matter  of  surprise.  When  the  moon  has 
 completed  ten  revolutions,  we  have  nine  solar  months, 
 or  three-quarters  of  a  year.  And  this  period  of  nine 
 solar  months,  or  ten  lunar  months,  which  consists  of 
 two  hundred  and  seventy-three  days,  is  properly  the 
 human  year,  man  being  born  into  the  world  at  the 
 expiration  of  that  time.  Generally  speaking,  during 
 this  period,  man  attains  the  fourth  part  of  his  stature. 
 In  four  times  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  days,  or 
 in  three  years  more,  he  attains  another  quarter,  or, 
 one  half  of  his  total  stature.  In  eight  times  two 
 hundred  and  seventy-three  days,  or  in  six  years  more, 
 he  attains  a  third  quarter ;  whilst  in  sixteen  times  two 
 
 L  2 
 
148  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 hundred  and  seventy-three  days,  or  in  twelve  years 
 more,  he  reaches  his  whole  length.  How  intimately, 
 therefore,  man  is  concerned  in  the  revolutions  of  the 
 heavenly  bodies,  as  to  his  growth,  could  not  remain 
 a  secret  to  the  ancients.  And  we  know,  for  a  certainty, 
 that  the  ten-monthly  lunar  year,  which  was  adopted 
 amongst  them,  was  adopted  with  special  reference  to 
 the  measure  of  time,  which  was  given  in  the  nature 
 and  history  of  man. 
 
 The  supposition  of  different  methods  of  computing 
 time  can  alone  solve  the  differences  which  exist  between 
 the  chronology  of  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment and  that  of  the  Septuagint.  Hence  the  dis- 
 crepancy is  likewise  to  be  adjusted,  according  to  which 
 there  was  a  famine  of  seven  years  in  Egypt,  whilst 
 another  account  speaks  of  nine  years.  Again,  whilst 
 sacred  and  profane  waiters  estimate  human  life  at 
 seventy  or  seventy-two  years,  others,  computing  by 
 a  different  method,  speak  of  ninety-six  years.  Hence, 
 also,  to  mention  only  one  more  instance,  we  can  alone 
 solve  the  difficulty  which  arises,  when  Josephus  writes 
 at  one  time  that  the  twenty-two  books  of  the  Jews 
 embraced  a  period  of  five  thousand  years,  whilst  in 
 another  place  he  himself  reckons  only  three  thousand 
 seven  hundred  and  twenty-seven ;  because  five  thou- 
 sand ten-monthly  lunar  years  make  three  thousand 
 seven  hundred  and  twenty-six  solar  years. 
 
 Again,  the  general  age  of  man  is  supposed  to  be 
 seventy  years,  and  this  is  exactly  the  three  hundred 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  149 
 
 and  sixty- fifth  part,  or  one  day  of  the  great  year  of 
 the  world,  of  which  we  shall  probably  have  to  speak 
 on  a  future  occasion,  and  which  amounts  to  twenty- 
 five  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty  earthly 
 years.  Holy  Scripture  considers  the  average  age  of 
 man  to  be  one  of  these  days.  "  In  the  morning  it 
 flourisheth  and  groweth  up  :  in  the  evening  it  is  cut 
 down  and  withereth."  (Psalm  xc.  6.)  The  Jews 
 divided  the  day  into  twenty-five  thousand  nine 
 hundred  and  twenty  parts,  which  is  the  average 
 amount  of  the  respiration  of  a  healthy  individual  per 
 day.  There  are  likewise  in  the  human  age  an  equal 
 number  of  risings  and  settings  of  the  sun,  that  great 
 light  which  ruleth  the  day ;  for  seventy  years  amount 
 to  about  twenty-five  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
 twenty  days. 
 
 Hence  it  would  appear  that  the  starry  firmament  is 
 to  man,  as  it  were,  a  stupendous  clock,  which  regu- 
 lates his  very  breath,  the  number  and  the  length  of 
 his  days  and  months,  and  the  average  number  of  his 
 years.  The  smafiest  hand,  which  points  out  the  hours 
 of  the  day  and  of  the  night,  moves  on  the  dial-plate 
 one  degree  in  the  time  of  four  minutes.  The  hand 
 which  regulates  the  month  advances  one  degree  every 
 day.  And  the  third  hand,  which  points  out  the  very 
 age  of  man's  earthly  existence,  advances  in  about 
 seventy-two  years  one  large  degree,  and  perambulates 
 the  whole  of  the  heavens  in  twenty-five  thousand  nine 
 hundred  and  twenty  years  ! 
 
150  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  il. 
 
 When  the  chikl  of  man  discerns  Venus  agam  in 
 the  same  position  as  evening  star  at  the  same  season 
 of  the  year,  he  is  reminded  that  a  ninth  part  of  tlie 
 average  age  of  man  has  elapsed  to  return  no  more. 
 The  reappearance  of  Jupiter,  and  still  more  of  Mercury, 
 •under  the  same  circumstances,  points  out  the  lapse  of 
 one  quarter  of  the  average  age  of  man.  The  re- 
 appearance of  Mars  announces  the  lapse  of  a  fifth  part 
 of  his  earthly  existence.  When  the  same  man  again 
 recognises  Saturn  in  the  same  position  at  the  same 
 hour,  then  his  days  will  be  declining  fast ;  and  when 
 at  last  Uranus  is  again  discovered  in  the  same  sign  of 
 the  Zodiac  in  the  spring,  and  when  the  hand  of  the 
 large  clock  of  the  heavens  has  thus  passed  over  one 
 of  its  large  degrees,  then  the  hour-glass  will  have  run 
 down,  and  dust  return  unto  dust  ! 
 
 If  it  must  be  admitted  by  every  candid  mind  that 
 wonderful  is  the  connexion  of  human  existence  with 
 the  motions  of  the  brilhant  luminaries  of  the  heavens, 
 should  we  think  it  unreasonable  that  these  heavenly 
 bodies,  the  destiny  of  which  it  was  to  be  "/or  signs 
 AND  TOR  SEASONS,  and  f Of  days  and  for  years,''  should 
 in  some  way  or  other  have  been  likewise  pointing  to 
 the  great  jubilee  of  the  world,  to  the  fulness  of  time 
 in  which  God  had  purposed  to  visit  his  people  ?  In 
 order  to  ascertain  this  point,  we  shall  now  return  to 
 our  immediate  subject,  from  which  we  have  apparently 
 swerved  in  the  previous  remarks. 
 
 20.  We  shall  now  attempt  to  lay  very  briefly  before 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  151 
 
 our  readers,  that  there  had  been  a  most  extraordinary 
 coincidence  in  the  ancient  systems  of  Chronology ;  that 
 there  was,  according  to  all  of  them,  a  new  era  of  time, 
 commencing  at  the  time  of  which  we  have  been  speaking 
 in  the  latter  part  of  this  present  chapter;  that  as 
 cln'onological  systems  are  the  reflection  of  the  revolu- 
 tions of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  nations  of  antiquity 
 must  have  contemplated  the  starry  firmament  as  the 
 stupendous  clock  which  the  Almighty  had  suspended 
 in  the  universe,  for  the  sacred  and  mysterious  purpose 
 of  serving  "for  signs"  respecting  the  blessed  event  by 
 which  the  great  jubilee  of  the  world  should  be  ushered 
 in ;  that  there  was,  indeed,  a  grand  and  marvellous 
 jubilee  celebrated  in  our  planetary  system,  which  coin- 
 cided with  the  blessed  advent  of  the  Saviour  of  the 
 world;  that  the  position  of  the  different  planets  to  each 
 other  at  the  time  of  his  advent  was  for  the  first  time 
 again  exactly  the  same  in  which  they  were  at  the  time 
 of  their  creation ;  that  the  different  wheels  and  hands  in 
 the  stupendous  machinery  of  the  magnificent  clock  of 
 the  universe,  which  had  been  made  to  be  for  signs, 
 have,  from  the  very  commencement,  been  put  in  motion 
 in  such  a  manner  as  to  point  out  withal  that  great  and 
 solemn  hour  in  which  he  had  resolved  to  enter  the 
 world ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  universal  expectation 
 of  Christ  was  also  in  this  respect  most  natural  and 
 necessary ;  for  when  this  "  fulness  of  time"  was  come, 
 God  sent  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman. 
 
 The  whole   ancient  world,  with  a  fervent  desire, 
 
152  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 watched  for  the  rise  of  this  bright  luminary  of  the 
 world  of  spirits.  Tliere  was  something  mysterious  in 
 the  firmament  above  them,  which  aided  materially  in 
 bringing  about  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 
 The  world  at  large  recognised  a  kind  of  language 
 in  the  stars ;  astronomy  and  the  interpretation  of  the 
 *'  signs "  of  heaven  was  of  a  purely  religious  cha- 
 racter. But  how  sadly  it  was  misunderstood  by  the 
 Pagans  in  general !  How  far  did  they  swerve  from 
 apprehending  the  real  character  of  this  heavenly  lan- 
 guage, even  after  the  mystery  was  in  all  probability 
 revealed  to  the  primitive  fathers  ! 
 
 It  was,  however,  the  "  hope  "  and  privilege  of  the 
 people  Israel  to  celebrate  in  every  cycle  of  the  moon, 
 and  in  every  jubilee  of  their  solemn  assemblies,  the 
 type  of  the  period  of  periods,  and  to  recognise  in 
 every  revolution  of  the  heavenly  bodies  a  pledge  of 
 the  fulfilment  of  the  times  when  God  would  visit  his 
 people.  Hence,  also,  the  inspired  Psalmist  seemed  to 
 read  in  the  stars  not  only  the  insignificance  of  the 
 child  of  man,  but  also  the  certainty  of  God  "  visiting 
 him."  "  What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ; 
 and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him?''  In 
 order,  therefore,  to  inc[uire  more  deeply  into  the  cause, 
 ■why,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  not  only  Israel,  but  the 
 whole  world,  from  China  to  the  isles  of  Great  Britain, 
 was  in  solemn  expectation  of  the  wonderful  "  star  of 
 Jacob,"  let  us  for  a  moment  glance  at  some  of  the 
 leading  systems  of  ancient  Chronology. 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  153 
 
 Of  all  sciences,  that  of  tlie  most  punctual  calcula- 
 tion of  time  was  most  religiously  attended  to  by  the 
 ancients.  Nothing  has  been  more  abused,  indeed, 
 than  even  this  science  of  Chronoloy;  confusion  has 
 been  caused  by  the  solar  and  the  lunar  calculations, 
 both  of  which  were  attended  to,  as  well  as  by  a 
 tendency  to  exaggerate  the  numbers  to  a  most  extra- 
 vagant and  wild  extent.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the 
 lamentable  want  of  perspicuity  and  reasonableness  of 
 most  of  the  ancient  chronologies,  we  yet  perceive  a 
 certain  fundamental  number,  which  seems  to  recur 
 again  and  again,  and  that  number  is  four  hundred 
 and  thirtt/-two,  or  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
 twenty.  This  number  occupies  a  conspicuous  place, 
 not  only  in  the  chronological,  but  also  in  the  metro- 
 logical  and  astronomical  systems  of  the  ancients. 
 
 It  may  be  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 
 number  four  hundred  and  thirty-two,  or  four  hun- 
 dred and  thirty,  expresses  the  relation  of  our  globe  to 
 the  planetary  worlds  ;  that  is,  the  mass  of  the  several 
 planets,  if  put  together,  is,  four  hundred  and  thirty, 
 or  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  times  as  great  as  that 
 of  the  planet  upon  which  we  live  and  move.  The 
 diameter  of  the  orbit  of  the  earth  around  the  sun, 
 consists  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-tw^o  semi-diame- 
 ters of  the  latter  luminary.  The  diameter  of  the 
 orbit  of  the  moon  around  the  earth,  amounts  exactly 
 to  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  diameters  of  the 
 moon.     The  year  of  Jupiter,  or  his  orbit  round  the 
 
154  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 sun,  amounts  to  ten  times  four  hundred  and  thirty- 
 two  days,  or  an  equal  number  as  our  planet  counts 
 revolutions  during  that  period,  viz.,  four  thousand 
 three  hundred  and  twenty.  A  year  of  Saturn  consists 
 of  four  hundred  and  thirty  periods,  each  of  which  is 
 about  twenty-five  days  long.  The  remotest  planet, 
 Uranus,  counts  ten  times  four  hundred  and  thirty-two, 
 or  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  solar  semi- 
 diameters,  as  his  distance  from  the  sun.  The  distance 
 of  the  fixed  stars  amounts  to  about  four  thousand  three 
 hundred  and  twenty  semi-diameters  of  the  orbit  of 
 the  remotest  planet,  Uranus. 
 
 A  year  was  by  some  nations  divided  into  four  thou- 
 sand three  hundred  and  twenty  hours  ;  and  the  day 
 again  was  subdivided  into  four  thousand  three  hun- 
 dred  and  twenty  minutes.  The  synodical  motion  of 
 the  moon  advances  during  the  time  of  a  lunar  year 
 exactly  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty 
 degrees  ;  and  in  a  hundredth  part  of  a  day  exactly 
 four  hundred  and  thirty-two  seconds ;  and  the  time  of 
 iwice  tioenty-jlve  thousand  nine  Jmndred  and  twenty 
 synodical  months  was  exactly  four  thousand  one  hun- 
 dred and  ninety-one  solar,  or  four  thousand  three 
 hundred  and  twenty  lunar  years,  at  the  expiration 
 of  which  period,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  "  God  sent 
 his  Son,  made  of  a  woman!'     See  page  149. 
 
 The  number  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  and 
 four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  seems  like- 
 wise to  have  been  sacred  among  the  Hebrews.     In  the 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  155 
 
 first  place,  tlic  Kor  as  a  measure  of  solid,  and  the 
 Ploraer  as  a  measure  of  fluid  substances,  were  at  last 
 subdivided  into  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
 twenty  smaller  portions.  The  year  consisted  of  three 
 hundred  and  sixty  days,  and  as  each  day  contained 
 twelve  Chaldean  hours,  we  have  four  thousand  three 
 hundred  and  twenty  hours  per  annum.  Again,  if  we 
 refer  to  another  mode  of  reckoning  time,  which 
 assumed  seventy-two  periods  per  day,  we  have  four 
 thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  periods  in  the 
 space  of  two  months.  If  every  one  of  the  twelve 
 hours  of  the  day  be  subdivided  into  minutes  and 
 seconds,  w^e  have  ten  times  four  thousand  three  hun- 
 dred and  twenty  seconds  per  day. 
 
 But  the  same  wisdom  which  has  thus  balanced  the 
 heavenly  bodies,  seems  to  have  introduced  the  above 
 number  of  four  hundred  and  thirty -two  also  into  the 
 history  of  his  people.  The  period  from  the  creation  to 
 the  flood  amounts,  according  to  the  Hebrew  text,  to 
 one  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  solar  years, 
 or,  in  other  words,  it  amounts  to  twenty  times  the 
 time  of  seven  times  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
 twenty  days.  The  Hebrews  were  in  the  bondage  of 
 Egypt  for  the  time  of  four  hundred  and  thirty  years. 
 The  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety  days  in 
 Daniel  xii.  11,  are  exactly  three  times  four  hundred 
 and  thirty  days.  Then,  again,  the  time  of  three  hun- 
 dred and  ninety,  and  again  forty  days,  during  which 
 Ezekiel  was  to  bear  the  iniquity  of  Israel  and  Judah, 
 
153  DEVELOPMENT    OF  RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 amounted  to  four  hundred  and  thirty  days.  (Ezek. 
 iv.  5,  G.)  The  emigration  of  Abraham  from  Haran  took 
 place  about  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  years  after  the 
 catastrophe  of  the  flood.  From  the  going  forth  of 
 Abraham  from  his  kindred  to  the  journey  of  Jacob 
 into  Egypt,  we  have  exactly  one  half  of  that  remarkable 
 period  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  years.  To  the 
 time  of  their  sojourn  in  Egypt,  as  amounting  to  four 
 hundred  and  thirty  years,  we  have  already  alluded. 
 Erom  the  time  of  the  Hebrews  taking  possession  of 
 the  Land  of  Promise  to  the  building  of  the  temple,  we 
 have  again  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  years.  Erom 
 the  foundation  of  the  temple  to  its  destruction  by 
 Nebuchadnezzar,  we  have  again  four  hundred  and 
 thirty  years.  Erom  the  time  of  the  first  destruction 
 of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar  until  the  desecration 
 of  the  temple  of  Jehovah  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  we 
 have  again  four  hundred  and  thirty  years.  We  count 
 on  the  whole  three  and  a  half  times  four  hundred  and 
 thirty-two  years  from  the  taking  possession  of  the 
 Holy  Land  to  the  destruction  of  the  last  temple  by 
 Titus ;  or  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twelve  years, 
 a  period  which  was  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
 ancient  Egyptians. 
 
 Now,  it  is  surprising  to  find  that  this  apparently 
 sacred  number  of  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
 twenty,  or  ten  times  four  hundred  and  thirty-two, 
 should  form  the  basis  of  all  ancient  chronologies,  to 
 which  in  the  lapse  of  time  noughts  were  added  without 
 
CHAP. 
 
 II.]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  157 
 
 number  and  without  discrimination.    We  first  refer  to 
 the  Chaldean  Chronology. 
 
 The  account  of  Berosus  and  Suidas  brings  the 
 period  from  the  Creation  to  the  Flood  down  to  one 
 hundred  and  twenty  Saros.  According  to  Berosus,  a 
 Saros  consists  of  three  thousand  six  hundred  years ; 
 and  the  whole  period  therefore  would  amount  to  no 
 less  than  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  years  ! 
 Suidas  considers  the  hundred  and  twenty  Saros  to  be 
 equal  to  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-two 
 years.  The  Hebrew  text,  in  perfect  harmony  with  his 
 account,  fixes  the  said  period  at  one  thousand  six  hun- 
 dred and  fifty-six  years,  since  one  thousand  six  hundred 
 and  fifty-six  solar  years  are  exactly  two  thousand  two 
 hundred  and  twenty-two  years  of  ten  lunar  months. 
 Again;  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  solaryears 
 were  equal  to  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty 
 periods  of  each  fourteen  days  long,  or  about  four  hun- 
 dred and  thirty -two  thousand  tenths  of  the  bi-monthly 
 period  from  new  to  full  moon.  We  have  already 
 spoken  of  years  consisting  of  ten  lunar  months,  or 
 two  hundred  and  seventy-three  days.  We  know, 
 likewise,  that  the  Egyptians  had,  besides  their  solar 
 calculation,  years  consisting  of  no  more  than  one,  or 
 of  two,  or  of  four  months.  The  Arcadians  had  a  three- 
 monthly  year.  We  mention  this  to  soften  our  surprise 
 at  the  statement  of  Berosus,  when  he  makes  the  one 
 hundred  and  twenty  Saros  equal  to  four  hundred  and 
 thirty-two  thousand  years,  which  were  no  more  than 
 tenths  of  bi-monthly  periods. 
 
158  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 According  to  the  Chronology  of  tlie  Hindoos,  the 
 first  period  of  the  world  contained  four  times  four 
 liundred  and  thirty-two  ;  the  second  period  contained 
 three  times  four  hundred  and  thirty-two ;  the  third 
 period  contained  twice  four  hundred  and  thirty-two ; 
 and  the  fourth  and  last  period  contains  simply  four 
 hundred  and  thirty-two  years ;  or,  altogether,  ten 
 times  four  hundred  and  thirtv-two,  or  four  thousand 
 three  hundred  and  twenty  years.  The  noughts  at  the 
 end  were  doubtless  added  without  calcidation,  simply 
 to  gratify  a  wild  imagination,  which  delights  in 
 exaggeration  of  the  grossest  kind ;  thus  we  have  at 
 one  time  4,320,000,  at  another  4,320,000,000,  or 
 even  as  many  as  4,320,000,000,000. 
 
 We  have,  therefore,  distinctly  the  n amber  of  four 
 thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  years  ;  and  what 
 is  particularly  to  be  observed  is  the  fact,  that  each  of 
 the  several  ages  was  concluded  and  opened  by  the 
 advent  of  some  incarnate  deity  as  the  Saviour  of  the 
 Hindoos.  Chalias  appears  on  Ceylon  in  that  cha- 
 racter after  the  buman  race  had  fallen  deeper  and 
 deeper  for  the  period  of  four  million  three  hundred 
 and  twenty  thousand  years.  The  incarnations  of 
 Vishnoo  are  effected  at  the  end  of  some  one  or  other 
 of  the  ages  of  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
 twenty  years ;  and  one  is  yet  to  take  place  at  the  end 
 of  this  present  age,  consisting  of  four  thousand  three 
 hundred  and  twenty  years.  Shalivaganan,  or  the  era 
 of  Shalivan,  commences  pretty  nearly  at  the  com- 
 mencement of  the  Christian  era. 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  159 
 
 The  Sosiosli  of  the  Persians  was  expected  at  the 
 end  of  the  third,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the 
 fourth  period  of  the  Avorld.  As  we  shall  see,  on 
 another  occasion,  the  age  of  the  world  in  the  Parsee 
 Mythology  was  divided  into  four  periods,  each  of 
 which  consisted  of  four  thousand  years.  According  to 
 another  account,  the  periods  amounted  only  to  one 
 thousand  four  hundred  and  forty  years ;  the  three 
 periods,  therefore,  which  had  expired  when  Sosiosh 
 was  to  appear,  amounted  together  to  four  thousand 
 three  hundred  and  twenty  years.  It  is,  therefore, 
 worthy  of  remark,  that  the  third  period,  which  bore 
 the  name  of  Sal  Chodai,  or  ''year  of  God,"  expired  in 
 the  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twentieth  lunar, 
 or  in  the  four  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
 second  solar  vear  of  the  world,  when  Christ  was 
 born  ! 
 
 In  the  Egyptian  Chronology  we  have  not  indeed 
 the  remarkable  number  of  four  thousand  three  hun- 
 dred and  twenty;  but  it  is  as  remarkable  as  it  is 
 certain,  that  the  Canicular  period,  which  embraced 
 one  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-one  years  of 
 three  hundred  and  sixty  days  each,  was  concluded, 
 according  to  the  testimony  of  Censorin,  with  the  third 
 period,  or  the  Sal  Chodai,  of  the  Persians. 
 
 In  the  Buddhist  system  of  Religion,  also,  every  age  is 
 concluded  and  opened  under  the  particular  supervision 
 of  some  divine  Buddha  or  other.  The  era  of  Shakya- 
 Muni  was  generally  fixed  at  the  middle  of  the  sixth 
 
IGO  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION         [chap.  il. 
 
 century  before  Christ.  Shakya-Muni  was  to  appear, 
 according  to  the  Varaha  Sanhita,  in  the  year  two 
 thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-six  after  Yudhis- 
 thira,  who  lived  at  the  Flood.  If  we  add  the  sum  of 
 years  which  were  counted  before  the  Mood,  we  receive 
 again  four  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  solar, 
 or  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  lunar 
 years  !  Although  we  perceive  that  Shakya  appeared, 
 according  to  Buddhist  Chronology,  several  centuries 
 before  Christ,  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  he  was 
 thought  to  appear  in  the  four  thousand  three  hundred 
 and  twentieth  year.  If  we  assume  four  Buddhas,  and 
 divide  the  number  of  four  thousand  three  hundred 
 and  twenty  years  into  four  equal  parts,  the  fourth  and 
 last  holy  period  was  opened  by  the  fourth  Buddha, 
 at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era.  That 
 the  last  was  meant  to  appear  at  the  end  of  the  four 
 thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  years,  is  likewise 
 confirmed  by  the  Chronology  of  the  Jains,  a  here- 
 tical sect  of  the  Buddhists.  According  to  the  Hyper- 
 borean doctrine,  Apollo  descended  after  the  lapse 
 of  eacli  cycle  of  nineteen  years,  or,  according  to 
 another  account,  at  the  end  of  each  Apis  period  of 
 twenty-five  years ;  and  the  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
 second  cycle  of  the  former  was  concluded  in  about 
 the  year  4320. 
 
 According  to  the  Chronology  of  the  Etruscans,  the 
 new  sovereign  of  the  world  was  expected  sixty  years 
 before  Christ,  when  their  chronology  completed   the 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  IGl 
 
 eighteenth  century ;  but,  according  to  Censorin,  their 
 cycle  was  completed  in  the  year  four  thousand  one 
 hundred  and  ninety-one,  or,  according  to  lunar  calcu- 
 lation, in  the  year  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
 twenty. 
 
 Again,  one  hundred  and  nineteen  years  before 
 Christ,  it  was  declared  in  Rome  that  the  eighth  age 
 or  revolution  of  time  was  concluded,  and  that  a  new 
 era  had  commenced.  Juvenal,  who  wrote  towards  the 
 end  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  declared 
 that  the  age  in  which  he  lived  w^as  worse  than  the 
 iron,  and  had  no  longer  any  name.  One  of  the 
 eight  periods  w^as  considered  by  some  to  consist  of 
 five  hundred  and  forty  years,  by  others  it  was  re- 
 duced to  five  hundred  years.  If  we  assume  the  former 
 to  be  correct,  we  shall  find  that  each  consisted  of  the 
 eighth  part  of  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty 
 years.  But  the  reason  why  these  eight  periods  did 
 not  coincide  with  the  four  thousand  one  hundred  and 
 ninety-one  solar,  or  the  four  thousand  three  hundred 
 and  twentieth  year  of  the  world,  was  a  confounding  of 
 solar  and  lunar  calculation.  The  uncertainty  as  to 
 the  precise  conclusion  of  the  eighth  era  of  the  Roman 
 chronology,  will  further  appear  from  the  conduct  of 
 Nigidius  Pigulus,  who  was  highly  celebrated  as  a  pro- 
 found astronomer  and  mathematician,  and  who  was 
 at  the  same  time  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  his 
 day.  The  Senate  being  assembled  on  the  23d  of  Sep- 
 tember, in  the  year  sixty-three  before  Christ,  in  order 
 
 VOL.  I.  M 
 
162  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 to  consult  about  some  urgent  business  of  the  State, 
 Octavius,  one  of  the  senators,  appeared  rather  late. 
 By  way  of  making  an  apology,  he  said  that  the  reason 
 of  his  being  too  late  was  because  a  son  had  been  born 
 to  him.  Nigidius  Tigulus,  on  hearing  the  excuse, 
 exclaimed :  "  Well,  then,  unto  thee  is  born  the  son, 
 Avho  will  be  Lord  and  king  over  us  !  "  The  Senate, 
 being  already  confounded  by  the  oracles  of  the  Sybil- 
 lian  books,  which  declared  that  Nature  was  about  to 
 produce  a  mighty  sovereign,  seemed  now  still  more 
 confused.  They  passed  the  resolution,  that  no  son 
 who  should  be  born  during  that  year  should  be 
 brought  up ;  and  the  execution  of  the  resolution  was 
 only  prevented  with  difficulty  by  those  senators  whose 
 wives  were  in  circumstances  which  were  likely  to  bring 
 them  into  embarrassment.  Some  of  the  flattering 
 tongues  of  the  age  afterwards  explained  the  prediction 
 of  Nigidius  Tigulus,  as  referring  to  Augustus,  who  was 
 born  sixty-one  years  before  Christ.  The  fact,  there- 
 fore, that  Augustus  Avas  deified  and  honoured  with 
 temples  and  sacrifices  during  his  lifetime,  may  have 
 been  caused  by  the  misapplication  of  the  national 
 expectations  in  the  Roman  empire. 
 
 Well  known  are  the  words  of  Virgil,  who  wrote 
 about  the  beginning  of  the  period  of  Herod  the  Great. 
 Complimenting  as  he  was  to  the  Roman  consul,  Pollio, 
 in  one  of  his  famous  pastoral  poems  on  the  birth  of 
 his  son,  he  expressed  the  mind  of  the  nation  on  the  sub- 
 ject which  is  now  under  consideration,  when  he  sung : — 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT.  103 
 
 "  Now  the  last  age  decreed  by  fate  is  come, 
 And  a  new  frame  of  all  things  does  begin ; 
 An  holy  progeny  from  heaven  descends  ; 
 Auspicious  be  his  birth,  which  puts  an  end 
 To  the  iron  age,  from  whence,  too,  shall  arise 
 A  golden  state,  far  glorious  through  the  earth ; 
 Enter  upon  thine  honour,  now  's  the  time. 
 Offspring  of  God,  oh,  thou  great  gift  of  Jove  ! 
 Behold,  the  world,  heaven,  earth,  and  seas  do  shake, 
 Behold  how  all  rejoice  to  greet  that  glorious  age  !  " 
 
 Now  what  is  remarkable  is  the  fact,  that,  according 
 to  the  best  chronologists,  the  advent  of  the  "  Desire  of 
 all  nations  "  was  celebrated  in  the  four  thousand  one 
 hundred  and  ninety-second  solar,  or  in  the  four  thousand 
 three  hundred  and  twentieth  lunar  year  of  the  world  ; 
 a  period  of  which,  more  or  less,  all  the  ancient  nations 
 had  some  idea!  When  the  ''time  was  fulfilled''  in 
 the  most  eminent  of  Pagan  chronologies,  God  sent 
 his  Son,  made  of  a  woman  I  The  holy  period  of  four 
 thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  years  seems  to 
 have  been  written  in  very  legible  letters  in  the  magni- 
 tude, the  distance,  and  the  revolutions  of  the  heavenly 
 bodies  ;  but  we  can  scarcely  fancy  man  to  have  been 
 able  to  understand  its  meaning  without  a  revelation 
 havhig  been  given  to  the  primitive  fathers.*  Of  this 
 we  discover  traces  in  the  coincidence  of  the  chief 
 systems  of  Pagan  chronologies;  in  the  recmTence  of  the 
 same  sacred  number  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-two, 
 
 *  Lest  this  should  seem  fanciful,  we  simply  refer  to  the  glean- 
 ing of  one  of  the  antediluvian  prophecies,  respecting  the  second 
 advent  of  Christ,  in  the  Epistle  of  St.  Jude,  v.  14, 
 
 M  2 
 
164  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  ii. 
 
 or  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty ;  and  in 
 the  fact  that,  more  or  less,  all  of  them  expired  about 
 the  time  of  the  advent  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
 who  was  "the  unknown  God"  of  every  worship,  the 
 desire  the  Gentiles.  Yea,  every  single  year  with  three 
 hundred  and  sixty  days,  counted,  as  it  were,  four  thou- 
 sand three  hundred  and  twenty  typical  hours,  and 
 pointed  to  the  great  Jubilee  of  the  world  ! 
 
 Before  we,  however,  show  that  the  planetary  system 
 itself  celebrated  a  jubilee  on  the  grandest  scale  at 
 the  time  when  God  sent  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman, 
 we  must  indeed  first  inquire,  what  was  the  state  of 
 things  respecting  the  chronology  of  the  people  Israel  ? 
 
 The  Jubilee  period  of  the  Hebrews  consisted  of 
 forty-nine  solar,  or  of  fifty  lunar  years.  The  seventh 
 day  of  the  week  was  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord ;  the 
 great  atonement  fell  on  the  seventh  month  of  the 
 year;  the  seventh  year  was  to  be  a  "  sabbath  of  rest 
 unto  the  land  ;  "  and  seven  times  seven  "  sabbaths  of 
 years  "  should  be  counted  as  the  Jubilee  period  of 
 forty-nine  solar,  or  fifty  lunar  years.  In  the  fiftieth 
 year  should  the  trumpet  be  caused  to  sound  on  the 
 seventh  day  of  the  seventh  month  in  the  day  of  atone- 
 ment !  Liberty  was  to  be  proclaimed  throughout  all 
 the  land ;  every  man  returned  to  his  possession  and  to 
 his  family.  The  Jubilee  period  was,  on  a  larger  scale, 
 what  every  day,  every  week,  and  every  year  was  in  a 
 small  way.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  lunar  year  con- 
 tained  as   many  weeks   or   sabbaths    as    the    great 
 
CHAP.    II.]  IN   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  165 
 
 Jubilee  period  contained  days  of  atonement.  The 
 solar  year  of  the  Hebrews,  which  they  reckoned  before 
 they  went  out  of  Egypt,  was  also  after  that  period  the 
 foundation  of  their  civil  era.  Whilst  the  civil  year 
 commenced  at  the  time  of  the  autumnal  equinox,  the 
 supposed  time  when  the  world  was  created,  the  ritual, 
 or  ecclesiastical  year,  commenced  six  months  later, 
 at  the  time  of  the  vernal  equinox  ;  and  whilst  they 
 counted  forty-nine  solar  years,  they  lived  already  in 
 the  fiftieth  lunar  or  Jubilee  year.  As  the  forty-nine 
 solar,  or  fifty  and  a  half  lunar  years  are  equal  to 
 six  hundred  spiodical  months,  the  beginning  of  the 
 seventh  hundred  fell  exactly  into  the  middle  of  the 
 Jubilee  year;  and  we  have,  therefore,  in  the  seventh 
 hundred  of  months,  a  Jubilee  sabbath  indeed,  when 
 the  ox  was  freed  from  the  yoke,  and  the  servant  from 
 his  master. 
 
 The  Jubilee  period  of  fifty  years,  or  the  period  of 
 six  hundred  months,  seems  to  be  important  in  the 
 history  of  man  ;  as  important,  indeed,  as  we  found 
 the  period  of  ten  lunar  months,  of  which  we  have 
 spoken  above,  and  with  which  the  period  now  under 
 consideration  is  closely  connected.  The  lapse  of  the 
 first  seven  years  in  the  age  of  the  child  is  attended 
 by  the  change  of  teeth.  At  the  age  of  the  second 
 period  of  seven  years,  the  age  of  puberty  commences, 
 and  it  is  completed  at  the  end  of  the  third  and  the 
 fourth  period  of  seven  years.  The  expiration  of  the 
 fifth  period  of  seven  years  is  attended  by  the  system 
 
166  DEVELOPMENT    OF   RELIGION         [chaf.  ii. 
 
 being  finally  matured  and  settled.  At  the  completion 
 of  seven  times  seven  years,  the  daughters  of  Eve,  who 
 are  most  liable  to  periodical  changes  and  infirmities, 
 celebrate  a  year  of  Jubilee,  in  being  now  set  free 
 from  the  troubles  and  the  "  sorrows  "  which  were 
 "  multiplied  greatly  "  unto  them  from  the  beginning  ! 
 The  body  becomes  now  more  composed  and  tranquil, 
 and  thus  ripens  for  the  grave. 
 
 Again,  as  we  found  the  number  four  hundred  and 
 thirty-two  important  in  the  history  of  the  chosen 
 people,  so  the  epoch  of  ten  Jubilee  periods,  of  ten 
 times  six  hundred,  or  of  six  thousand  months,  seems 
 to  be  very  conspicuous.  From  the  building  of  the 
 tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  to  the  construction  of  the 
 temple  of  Solomon,  we  have  exactly  ten  Jubilee  periods, 
 or  six  thousand  months.  From  the  consecration  of 
 the  first,  to  the  consecration  of  the  second  temple, 
 we  have  again  six  thousand  months,  or  ten  Jubilee 
 periods.  The  same  period  of  time  we  have  from  the 
 commencement  of  the  kingdom  under  Saul,  to  its 
 destruction  under  Zedekiah.  Finally,  from  Moses,  by 
 whom  was  given  the  law,  until  Christ  Jesus,  by  whom 
 came  yrace  and  truth ;  from  the  taking  possession  of 
 the  Land  of  Promise,  to  its  final  devastation;  from  the 
 giving  of  the  law  to  its  fulfilment, — we  have  exactly 
 three  times  six  thousand  months,  or  thirty  Jubilee 
 periods ! 
 
 The  period  of  six  hundred  years  was  sacred,  accord- 
 ing to  Josephus,  already  to  the  fathers  before  the  flood ; 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  1G7 
 
 and  it  is  highly  remarkable,  that  the  completion  of  the 
 seventh  cycle  of  six  hundred  years  falls  into  ilie  midst 
 of  the  days  of  the  Messiah,  or  into  the  four  thousand 
 three  hundred  and  twentieth  lunar  year  of  the  world. 
 We  have,  therefore,  exactly  eighty-five  Jubilee  periods, 
 or  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  lunar 
 years,  as  the  "fulness  of  times;"  and  the  advent  of 
 Christ  fell,  therefore,  into  the  beginning  of  the  eighty- 
 sixth  Jubilee  period.  We  have  already  seen,  that  the 
 constitution  of  Israel  lasted  three  and  a  half  times 
 four  hundred  and  thirty-two,  or  one  thousand  five 
 hundred  and  twelve  years.  But,  if  we  count  from  the 
 slaying  of  the  Paschal  lamb,  to  the  end  of  the  eighty- 
 sixth  Jubilee  period,  we  are  brought  to  the  very  hour 
 when  the  great  sacrifice  was  made  on  Golgotha,  in 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Whilst  we  have  three  and  a  half  times  four  hundred 
 and  thirty-two,  or  one  thousand  five  hundred  and 
 twelve  years,  during  which  the  constitution  of  Israel 
 existed,  we  have  again  seventy  times  one  thousand  five 
 hundred  and  twelve,  or  seven  times  four  thousand 
 three  hundred  and  twenty  days,  from  the  date  when 
 it  was  renewed  by  the  mandate  of  Artaxerxes,  or  from 
 the  beginning  of  the  seventy  weeks  of  Daniel,  to  the 
 days  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  Who  will  fail  to  recog- 
 nise a  ''fulness  of  time  "  in  these  circumstances  ?  We 
 have  a  day  of  rest  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  week ; 
 we  have  a  Sabbatical  year  in  every  seventh  year ;  we 
 have  six  hundred  months  in  fifty  years;   and  when 
 
16S  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 the  last  of  the  six  hundred  months  expired,  on  the 
 eleventh  day  of  the  seventh  month  of  the  forty-ninth 
 solar  year,  commenced  the  solemn  Jubilee  festivity ! 
 The  expiration  of  four  hundred  and  eighty-five  solar 
 years,  which  contained  six  thousand  months,  was 
 always  attended  in  the  history  of  Israel  with  some 
 great  blessing,  or  some  great  promise;  as  we  have 
 already  observed,  at  the  interval  of  six  thousand 
 months  the  tabernacle  and  the  temple  are  finished. 
 After  another  six  thousand  months,  the  second  temple 
 stands,  and  the  promise  is  given,  that  though  inferior 
 in  external  glory,  it  would  yet  be  more  glorious  than 
 the  first,  because  of  the  Lord  coming  to  his  temple. 
 Prom  the  renovation  of  the  Jewish  state  to  the  advent 
 of  Christ,  we  have  again  ten  Jubilee  periods,  or  six 
 thousand  months.  The  importance  of  the  number  of 
 ten  times  six  thousand  will  appear  from  the  fact,  that 
 a  talent  was  divided  into  sixty  thousand  gerahs. 
 
 Six  hundred  years  before  Christ,  commenced  the 
 Babylonian  captivity;  and  three  times  six  hundred 
 years  before  that  period,  was  the  beginning  of  the 
 Egyptian  captivity.  When  seven  of  these  periods  of 
 six  hundred  solar  years  had  expired,  since  man  fell 
 into  the  captivity  of  sin,  "  the  time  tvas  fulfilled,  and 
 the  kingdom  of  God  was  at  hand^ 
 
 We  cannot  forbear  to  digress  for  one  moment  from 
 our  subject,  in  order  to  allude  to  the  remarkable  fact, 
 that  the  period  of  six  hundred  years  seemed  to  be 
 important  in  the  history  of  man  in  general.     If  we 
 
CHAP,  ii.l  IN   THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  1G9 
 
 count  from  the  year  one  thousand  two  hundred  before 
 Christ,  when  the  Egyptians  and  the  Phoenicians  seemed 
 to  figure  in  the  history  of  the  world,  we  shall  find 
 Nebuchadnezzar,  after  six  hundred  years,  in  power 
 and  greatness.  Erom  him,  to  the  commencement  of 
 the  Christian  era,  Ave  have  again  six  hundred  years ; 
 and  from  Christ  to  Mohammed,  once  more  the  same 
 period.  From  the  commencement  of  the  Mohammedan 
 era  to  the  power  of  Genghis  Khan,  we  have  again  six 
 hundred  years.  When  the  Roman  empire  seemed  to 
 be  at  an  end,  the  priesthood  appealed  to  ancient 
 oracles,  which  had  prophesied  the  existence  of  the 
 State  to  be  twice  six  hundred  years.  The  Oriental 
 empire  had  lasted  six  hundred  years,  when  Constan- 
 tinople was  taken  by  the  Turks.  From  the  time  when 
 David  took  possession  of  Jerusalem,  to  its  destruction 
 by  Titus,  we  have  again  twice  six  hundred  years. 
 Exactly  six  hundred  years  after  Carthage  was  destroyed 
 by  the  Romans,  Genserich  retaliated  the  deed  upon 
 Rome.  When  six  hundred  years  had  expired,  after 
 the  Anglo-Saxons  had  subdued  the  Britons,  the  former 
 were  subdued  by  the  Normans.  The  Germans  had 
 destroyed  flourishing  provinces  and  towns  of  the 
 Grecians,  and  after  six  hundred  years,  the  Hungarians 
 measured  with  the  same  measure  to  the  Germans. 
 And  again,  after  six  hundred  years,  the  Turks  fell 
 upon  the  Hungarians.  It  seems  that  already  the 
 ancient  Pagans  recognised  this  dealing  of  an  over- 
 ruling Providence,  when  they  declared  that  every 
 nation  had  allotted  to  it  its  "  own  dayT 
 
170  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap,  ii- 
 
 As  the  six  hundred  months  of  the  Jubilee  period 
 were  divided  into  seven  Sabbatical  years,  of  which  each 
 contained  eighty-five  months  and  three  quarters,  so 
 likewise  the  period  of  six  thousand  months  tvas  suh- 
 divided  into  seventy  smaller  periods,  of  which  each 
 contained  eighty-five  months  and  three  quarters ;  and 
 we  understand,  therefore,  why  a  period  of  six  thousand 
 months  was  called  ''seventh/  weeks''  by  the  prophet 
 Daniel.  A  week  contained  seven  days  ;  a  Sabbatical 
 year  embraced  seven  common  years.  A  Jubilee  period 
 consisted  of  six  hundred  months ;  and  the  period  of 
 four  hundred  and  eighty-five  solar  years,  or  six  thou- 
 sand months,  embodied  again  seventy  periods  of  seven 
 years,  or  seventy  times  eighty-five  months  and  three 
 quarters.  The  seed  of  the  woman,  therefore,  appeared 
 when  eightij-five  and  three  quarters  Sabbatical  years 
 had  expired  since  the  Babylonian  exile,  and  exactly 
 after  the  revolution  of  eighty -five  and  three  quarters 
 Jubilee  periods  since  the  melancholy  exile  from  Para- 
 dise !  Whilst  the  sacred  number  of  six  thousand 
 years  consists  exactly  of  seventy  Jubilee  periods,  or 
 seventy  times  eighty-five  years  and  three  quarters; 
 if  the  time  is  computed  by  solar  calculations,  we  have, 
 from  the  creation  of  the  world  to  its  redemption,  four 
 thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  years.  If  we 
 calculated  by  lunar  months,  we  find  that  the  Messiah 
 appeared  at  the  expiration  of  four  thousand  three 
 hundred  and  twenty  lunar  years,  to  which  period  all 
 Pagan  chronologies  seemed  to  point  as  the  great 
 Jubilee  of  the  world.    That  Christ  was  expected  at  the 
 
CHAP.  li.J  IN   THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  171 
 
 time  when  "  he  came  to  his  oion"  by  those  who  were 
 waitmg  for  the  joyful  sound  of  the  silver  trumpet,  is 
 sufficiently  clear.  And  a  certain  Nehemiah  had  de- 
 clared, fifty  years  before  Christ,  that  the  Messiah  could 
 not  come  later  than  after  the  expiration  of  another 
 Jubilee  cycle.  According  to  a  very  ancient  prophecy, 
 which  is  found  in  the  tract  Sanhedrin,  in  the  Talmud, 
 and  which  was  ascribed  to  the  prophet  Ellas,  the 
 advent  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  end  of  the  world,  would 
 fall  together  with  the  expiration  of  the  eighty-fifth 
 Jubilee  period.  According  to  another  Talmudical 
 prophecy,  the  war  with  the  dragon  was  to  cease,  and 
 the  days  of  the  Messiah  be  ushered  in  by  the  year  four 
 thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-one.  Now,  this 
 sum  also  has  been  identified  by  eminent  chronologists 
 with  the  fulness  of  time,  during  which  the  Messiah 
 appeared,  viz.  in  the  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
 twentieth  lunar  year  of  the  world. 
 
 That  the  Jubilee  periods  pointed  distinctly  to  the 
 fulness  of  time,  is  clear  from  the  circumstance,  that 
 with  a  view  to  excuse  their  unbelief,  they  corrupted 
 their  chronology  after  the  commencement  of  the  Chris- 
 tian era.  The  present  chronology  of  the  Jews  has 
 not  been  universally  received  amongst  them  before  the 
 eleventh,  or  even  before  the  fourteenth  century  of  the 
 Christian  era !  but  it  is  ascribed  to  Kabbi  Hillel, 
 who  lived  in  the  fourth  century.  When  the  Messiah 
 appeared,  ten  times  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  lunar 
 years  had  expired.  The  Jews,  however,  from  motives 
 of  a  base  character,  dropped  a  tenth  part  of  the  period 
 
172  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 of  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  years,  or, 
 in  other  words,  they  omitted  four  hundred  and 
 thirty-two  years  in  their  calculations. 
 
 If  we  once  more  reflect  upon  the  chronologies  of  the 
 ancients,  and  the  Jubilee  periods  of  the  Hebrews,  we 
 indeed  find  occasionally  a  discrepancy  as  to  the  exact 
 moment  of  their  expiration.  But  whilst  we  willingly 
 allow  them  to  vary  in  the  same  manner  as  some  of  the 
 best  watches  will  do  occasionally,  we  yet  find  that  all 
 pointed  to  the  days,  "  when  the  time  was  fiilJiHed.'' 
 But  as  all  chronologies  are  merely  the  reflection  of 
 the  motions  of  those  heavenly  bodies,  which  were  made 
 for  signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  years,  we  may 
 naturally  expect  that  the  cycles  of  time  had  their  pre- 
 scribing cause  in  the  solar  and  planetary  system. 
 The  chronologies  celebrated  a  Juhilee,  and  spoke  of  the 
 ^^ year  of  the  Lord''  because  the  heavenly  bodies  cele- 
 brated a  Jubilee  of  a  most  wonderful  character. 
 
 When  Christ  was  born  in  the  city  of  David,  our 
 planet  counted /o^^r  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty 
 lunar  years.  Mars  had  completed  his  two  thousand 
 two  hundred  and  twe^ity -second  revolution.  We  found 
 that  the  antediluvian  w^orld  counted  exactly  2222 
 lunar  years ;  which  period  was  subdivided  into  four 
 hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  portions  of  time. 
 
 Saturn  finished  his  twelve  times  twelve,  or  his  one 
 hundred  and  forty-fourth  rotation.  Jupiter  counted 
 as  many  years  as  the  ancient  lunar  and  ritual  year 
 counted  days,  viz.  three  hundred  and  fifty-four.  The 
 Asteroids  completed  nineteen  times  the  Jubilee  num- 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  173 
 
 hev  oi  fifti/,  in  their  revolutions.  Mercury  had  num- 
 bered seven  times  seven  as  many  revohitions  as  the 
 ritual  year  comprehended  days,  viz.  three  hundred 
 and  fifty-four,  and  forty-nine  times  the  amount  of 
 Jupiter;  or,  in  other  words,  whilst  the  Asteroids 
 had  celebrated  nineteen  Jubilees,  Mercury  celebrated 
 seven  times  seven  the  Jubilee  period  of  fifty  years. 
 Venus  numbered  as  many  years  as  one  of  the  most 
 eminently  important  chronological  and  astronomical 
 periods  counted  days,  viz.  six  thousand  seven  hundred 
 and  ninety-seven.  And  finally,  Uranus,  the  remotest 
 of  all  planets,  whose  distance  from  the  sun  amounts 
 to  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  solar  semi- 
 diameters,  had  just  comjjleted  the  fiftieth  of  his  revolu- 
 tions around  the  sim,  each  of  them  being  a  complete 
 Theocratical  year  of  the  planetary  system.  Having 
 always  taken  the  sovereign  lead  in  the  bright  courses 
 of  the  goodly  company  of  his  felloio  planets,  Uranus 
 at  length  celebrated  a  Theocratical  Jubilee  in  the 
 four  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-first  solar,  or  the 
 four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twentieth  lunar  year 
 of  the  loorld;  for  at  tJiat  time  was  born  "  in  the  city  of 
 David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord."  When 
 he  had  travelled  his  orbit  fifty  times,  the  multitude  of 
 the  heavenly  host  sounded  the  truly  evangelical  silver 
 trumpets  of  a  universal  Jubilee  on  the  fields  of  Beth- 
 lehem, ''  praising  God,  and  saying,  Glory  to  God  in 
 the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  and  goodwill  toicards 
 men!" 
 
 Let  no  one  be  surprised  at  this  marvellous  display 
 
174  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  it. 
 
 of  sympathy,  at  a  period  when  the  mightiest  of  all 
 the  deeds  of  the  Almighty  was  accomplished.  There 
 shall  be  once  more  "  signs  in  the  sun,  and  in  the  moon, 
 and  in  the  stars ;'  "  cind  then  shall  again  appear  the 
 sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  heaven,"  and  all  the  tribes 
 of  the  earth  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the 
 clouds  of  heaven,  with  power  and  great  glory.  (Luke 
 xxi.  Matt.  xxiv.   Gen.  i,  14.) 
 
 We  therefore  infer  from  the  preceding  facts,  that 
 the  great  period  in  which  fell  the  great  event  of  our 
 Saviour's  advent  was,  in  the  whole  planetary  system, 
 and  in  the  history  of  its  revolutions,  the  most  marked 
 and  the  most  significant  since  the  world  was  made ; 
 and  that  this  system  even  then  touched  in  several 
 respects  the  most  gracious  and  joyous  notes  of  the 
 jubilee  trumpet.  And  it  is  therefore  no  matter  ot 
 surprise  that  the  ancients  have  searched  and  studied 
 so  religiously  the  hieroglyphical  book  of  the  firma- 
 ment, in  which  it  was  written,  in  ''  what  or  what 
 manner  of  time"  should  come  the  "Desire  of  all 
 nations,"  by  whom,  and  in  whom,  and  unto  whom 
 were  all  things  made.  When  in  the  most  ancient 
 times  the  emperor  of  China  solemnly  ascended  the 
 observatory  at  the  time  of  the  new  moon,  to  celebrate 
 the  revolution  of  the  small  cycle  of  time,  in  which 
 were  typified  the  cycles  of  the  great  jubilee  of  the 
 world ;  when  the  Egyptian  priest  celebrated  amidst 
 manifold  ceremonies  the  lapse  of  the  year ;  when  by 
 divine  command  the  new  moons  were  to  be  kept  as 
 solemn   feasts,    and   when    the   Paschal    lamb    was 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT.  175 
 
 annually  to  remind  the  Hebrew  of  the  sacrifice,  which 
 was  to  be  made  at  the  end  of  days, — we  have  every 
 where  the  same  hand  pointing  into  that  futurity  in 
 which  God  would  send  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman.  The 
 heavenly  bodies  were  made  to  "be  for  signs"  respect- 
 ing the  fulness  of  time,  but  never  for  the  astrological 
 purposes  for  which  they  were  subsequently  abused. 
 
 It  is  apparent  from  the  above  considerations  that 
 the  period  in  cjuestion  was  as  remarkable  in  an  astro- 
 nomical  point  of  view  as  it  was  in  its  moral,  religious, 
 and  political  aspect.  We  should  indeed  wonder  if 
 any  one  should  feel  surprised  on  being  told  that  some 
 extraordinary  phenomena  in  the  heavens  had  been 
 recognised  by  the  wise  men  of  the  East  at  that 
 period  of  our  Saviour's  blessed  advent.  For  the 
 satisfaction,  however,  of  some  unbelieving  Thomas, 
 we  would  simply  allude  to  the  fact,  that  part  of  the 
 jubilee  in  the  planetary  system  was  a  conjunction  of 
 Jupiter  and  Saturn,  which  took  place  in  the  year  of 
 Christ's  birth.  It  was  first  seen  in  the  month  of 
 May,  and  that  "  in  the  East:'  (Matt.  ii.  2.)  It 
 reappeared  in  the  month  of  October;  and  the  third 
 time  it  became  visible  was  in  the  month  of  November, 
 when  it  appeared  no  more  in  the  East,  but  in  the  South, 
 and  this  at  the  time  of  the  evening.  Supposing, 
 therefore,  in  connexion  with  our  preceding  argument, 
 that  this  conjunction,  which  appeared  to  the  naked  eye 
 only  as  one  bright  star,  was  the  identical  star  of  the 
 wise  men,  the  going  before  them  on  their  way  to 
 Bethlehem  would  only  be  understood  in  that  modified 
 
176  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ii. 
 
 sense  of  the  words  in  which,  for  instance,  we  speak  of 
 the  rising  and  the  setting  of  the  sun.  Again  ;  as  it  is 
 no  where  said  that  the  star  stood  over  the  very  house, 
 but  generally  "  over  where  the  child  was,"  whilst  the 
 house  is  only  afterwards  mentioned,  there  seems  to  be 
 no  very  serious  objection  against  the  assumption. 
 We  do  not  deny  the  miracle,  after  having  proved 
 that  the  condition  of  the  world,  in  a  physical,  moral,  * 
 and  religious  aspect,  was  emphatically  miraculous ;  but 
 as  it  is  one  of  the  principles  of  divine  government 
 never  to  incur  any  waste  of  miraculous  powers  when 
 they  can  be  spared,  we  should  feel  inclined  to  think 
 that  the  star  of  the  wise  men  was  the  conjunction 
 of  Jupiter  and  Saturn.  In  connexion  with  the  solemn 
 asjpect  of  the  loorld  around  and  the  heavens  above 
 them,  the  bright  conjunction  was  quite  sufficient  to 
 identify  the  star  of  Jacob's  hope,  and  the  object  of 
 Abraham's  faith,  to  whom  the  promise  was  given, 
 that  through  his  seed  all  nations  of  the  earth  should 
 be  blessed.  Or  was  there  nothing  sublime,  marvellous, 
 and  wonderful  in  Jupiter  and  Saturn  contributing 
 their  radiant  glory  to  the  star  of  Him  in  whose  person 
 even  then  appeared  a  gracious  conjunction  of  the  light 
 to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  of  the  glory  of  his  people 
 Israel  ?  And  this  at  a  time  when  the  one  planet  had 
 exactly  finished  the  significant  number  of  twelve  times 
 twelve  of  his  rotations  ;  whilst  the  other  had  completed 
 as  many  years,  as  the  sacred  year,  which  pointed 
 universally  to  the  "■fulness  of  time  J'  counted  days  !  — 
 See  Rom.  xi.  33—36. 
 
CHAPTER  III. 
 
 DEVELOPMKNT    OF    TRUE    RELIGION    IN    THE    NEW 
 
 TESTAMENT. 
 
 J .  From  what  has  been  said  in  the  previous  chapter 
 respecting  the  condition  of  the  world  at  the  coining  of 
 the  Messiah,  it  is  plain  that  only  the  appearance  of 
 the  grace  of  God,  which  hringeth  salvation  to  all  men, 
 could  really  comfort  the  human  family.  It  is  evident 
 that  the  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  world  had,  even  at 
 that  period,  overtaken  the  human  race  as  a  woman  in 
 travail.  Despair  and  woeful  disappointment  seemed 
 to  be  the  only  result  of  all  the  efforts  which  had 
 been  made  to  soothe  and  comfort  a  broken-hearted 
 humanity.  The  boasting  of  imaginary  powers  was 
 at  an  end,  for  the  treasures  of  human  power  and 
 wisdom  were  entirely  exhausted.  The  Pagan  world 
 had  been  borne  by  the  divine  forbearance  for  ages, 
 and  permitted  to  spend  the  last  breath  of  energy 
 in  the  pursuit  of  peace  and  happiness.  But  it  is  a 
 notorious  fact,  that  the  Heathen,  having  sinned  without 
 the  law,    were   then  actually  perishing   without   the 
 
 VOL.   I.  N 
 
I 
 
 178  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION        [chap.  in. 
 
 law.  As  the  offspring  of  God,  they  were  to  seek  after 
 the  heavenly  parent,  if  haply  they  might  find  him. 
 But  although  he  did  not  leave  himself  without  a 
 witness,  they  did  not  find  him,  but  changed  the  truth 
 of  God  into  a  lie. 
 
 On  the  other  hand,  the  Jews  were  endowed  with 
 the  law  which  was  good  and  holy,  but  they  did  not 
 keep  it,  nor  were  they  saved  by  the  same.     Whilst 
 endeavouring  to  keep  the  law,  they  were   to   expe- 
 rience their  weakness  and  sinfulness,  and  be  prepared 
 to    embrace    the    righteousness   which    is    by   faith. 
 Not  having  attained  the  righteousness  Avhich  is   by 
 the   works   of  the   law,  or  the  righteousness  which 
 is  by  faith,  they   sinned  against  the  law,  and  were 
 judged  by  the  law.     The  melancholy  disease  had  thus 
 come  to  its  very  crisis  respecting  the  whole  family  of 
 man ;  all  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary  means  from 
 which   help   was   expected    having   proved   fallacious 
 cisterns,   which   yield   no  water.     If,    therefore,  sal- 
 vation was  to  be  obtained  from  any  other  source  than 
 from  heaven,  this  was  the  most  unfavourable  of  all 
 ages  of  the  world  ;  and  the  condition  of  the  world  at 
 that  period  was  the  most  hopeless  of  all  that   ever 
 existed,   or  could   be   imagined.     According   to   the 
 united  testimony  of  the  most  sober  individuals  of  the 
 Jewish  and  the  Gentile  world,  mankind  M^as  stretched 
 as    a  mouldering  carcass   before  the  open  sepidchre 
 which  was  to  bury  them,  with  all  their  theories  of 
 salvation,  with  all  their  manifold  and  grievous   dis- 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  179 
 
 appointments,  and  with  all  their  mighty  schemes  to 
 ameliorate  the  world.  The  process  of  dissolution 
 and  decay  being  felt  most  severely  where  the  highest 
 flights  of  human  intellect  had  been  accomphshed,  the 
 truth  could  be  no  longer  hid  from  the  eyes  of  the 
 world,  that  it  required  the  making  bare  the  arm  of 
 the  living  God  to  effect  a  satisfactory  reorganization  of 
 the  whole  state  of  the  universe.  The  time  was 
 fulfilled ;  i\\Q  fulness  of  time  had  come ;  the  erid  of  the 
 world Xmdi  appeared;  the  crisis  in  the  history  of  the 
 world  had  ushered  in  the  grand  catastrophe  of  the 
 universe,  wdiich  involved  the  redemption  as  well  as  the 
 jiidffmetit  of  the  world.  It  was  the  day  of  the  Lord, 
 which  should  at  once  burn  like  an  oven,  and  be 
 distinguished  as  "  that  day "  on  which  the  sun  of 
 righteousness  should  arise  with  healing  in  his  wings. 
 (Mai.  iv.)  The  world  was  united  as  it  had  never 
 been  before,  in  a  sense  of  unutterable  misery;  in  a 
 feeling  of  universal  despair ;  in  a  desire  after  the  grace 
 of  God,  which  should  appear  to  bring  salvation  unto 
 all  men, — as  much  as  it  was  united  in  language  and  by 
 the  bond  of  political  government.  It  will  be  remem- 
 bered that  the  successive  efforts  of  the  Assyrian, 
 Persian,  Macedonian,  and  Roman  powers  had  all  aimed 
 at  founding  a  universal  empire,  which  should  embrace 
 the  whole  world.  But  instead  of  bringing  that  hap- 
 piness and  peace  which  were  expected,  it  brought 
 universal  misery,  woe,  and  destruction.  And  it  came 
 now  to  pass  that  the  height  of  human  misery  was 
 
 N  2 
 
ISO  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 concentrated  in  tliis  fulness  of  time ;  and  the  marked 
 desire  of  all  nations  for  help  and  comfort  now  opened 
 the  gates  of  the  world,  that  the  King  of  Glory  might 
 come  in. 
 
 The  condition  of  the  world,  the  history  of  which  had 
 assumed  the  character  of  the  "  revelation  of  lorath'' 
 demanded  the  manifestation  of  God  in  a  manner  in 
 Avhich  he  had  never  yet  appeared  during  any  of  the 
 previous  ages  of  the  world.     Sin  and  death,  which 
 came  into  the  world  by  the  first  man,  should  now  be 
 removed.     On  the  other  hand,  the  eternal  purpose  of 
 divine  love,   which  was  to  be  carried  out  from  the 
 beginning,  was  now  to  be  resumed  by  the  second  man, 
 as  the  Lord  from  heaven.     It  is  worthy  of  Almighty 
 God  to  accomplish  the  very  greatest  things  by  small 
 and  insignificant  means.     If  the  present  crisis  could 
 have  been  met  by  the  introduction  of  another  ritual 
 constitution,  upon  some  modified  or  new  plan,  or  by 
 the  mission  of  some  chosen  and  inspired  vessel,  there 
 Avould  have  been  no  necessity  for  the  incarnation  of 
 the  Deity.     But  it  could  not  be  accompHshed.     Nor 
 was  it  to  be  any  other  than  the  immediate  agency 
 of  the  blessed  Godhead  that  should  confer  so  great  a 
 boon  upon  the  human  race  at  so  great  an  emergency. 
 In   order  to  carry  out  the  original  purpose  of  God 
 respecting   mankind,   he    was   to    descend    into    our 
 nature,  and  bring  life  and  immortality  to  light,  by 
 being  tempted   like  ourselves  in  all  things,  and  by 
 taking  upon  himself  human  guilt,  bearing  the  sins  of 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  181 
 
 the  world  in  his  body  upon  the  tree.     He  was  to  be 
 tempted  in  all  things  like  ourselves,  so  as  to  represent 
 the  type  of  humanity  in  its  immaculate  purity  and 
 integrity,  and  thus  unfold,  as  the  Son  of  man,  the 
 glorious  character  which  should  have  been  exemplified 
 in  mankind  at  large.     But  Christ  our  Lord,  by  virtue 
 of  his  own  divine  nature,  represented  not  only  what 
 man  was  originally  destined  to  represent  in  the  presence 
 of  God ;  he  also  became  "  the  author  of  eternal  salva- 
 tion to  all  that  obey  him."     In  him  all  were  to  pass 
 from  death  to  life,  that  through  him  they  might  have 
 it  more  abundantly.     The  guilt  of  the  first  man  was 
 propagated  upon  his  posterity  by  generation  and  birth  ; 
 and  as  with  the  guilt,  so  it  was  to  be  with  the  grace 
 of  God  that  appeared  unto  all  men.     We  are  to  be 
 made  partakers  of  the  holiness  and  righteousness  of 
 the  second  Adam  by  being  horn  again  of  incorruptible 
 seed,  and  regenerated  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit.   Being 
 baptized  into  his  death,  and  raised  again  by  the  power 
 of  the  Father,   we  are  to  walk  in  newness   of  life ; 
 being  conformed  to  the  image  of  his   Son,  that  he 
 might  be  the  first-born  among  many  brethren.     "  JJt 
 homines  nascereniur  ex  Deo,  primo  ex  ipsis  natiis  est 
 Beus.     Descendit  Deus,  ut  asswffamus."     Christ  was 
 not  only  to  be  an  individual  member  of  the  human 
 family ;  he  was  to  appear  not  only  as  a  man  amongst 
 men ;  nor  yet  was  he  to  descend  from  heaven  in  the 
 mere  character  of  one  who  is  the  bearer  of  some  extra- 
 ordinary revelation  to  the  world  ;  but  he  was  to  appear 
 
182  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 as  the  "  Lord  from  heaven^''  as  the  head  over  all  things 
 visible  and  invisible  ;  as  the  son  of  man,  as  the  second 
 Adam,  from  whom  a  new  race  should  date  their  origin  ; 
 for  "  to  as  many  as  received  him,  he  gave  power 
 to  become  the  sons  of  God." 
 
 It  is  from  this  circumstance  that  the  genealogy  by 
 which  the  Gospel  history  is  introduced  derives  so  great 
 an  importance.  This  genealogy  of  the  Redeemer  is  one 
 of  those  phenomena  in  sacred  literature  which  have 
 nothing  equal  in  the  history  of  man.  It  was  preserved 
 pure  and  entire  down  through  more  than  four  thousand 
 years.  By  the  fact  of  this  genealogy  of  the  genesis  of 
 the  Redeemer  being  placed  at  the  opening  of  his  bio- 
 graphy, the  intimate  connexion  which  existed  between 
 him  and  the  first  man,  on  the  one  hand,  and  between 
 him  and  the  progenitor  of  Israel,  on  the  other,  has 
 been  strikingly  exhibited.  Jesus,  the  Son  of  man,  in 
 his  genealogy,  appears  as  the  heir  of  the  blessing  of 
 Abraham — yea,  of  the  blessing  of  humanity  in  general. 
 On  the  other  hand,  he  is  likewise  represented  as  having 
 inherited  the  entire  curse  which  rested  upon  the  house 
 of  David,  upon  the  nation  of  Israel,  and  upon  the 
 whole  family  of  man !  Both  seem  to  be  implied  in 
 the  remarkable  division  of  the  genealogy  of  Christ  into 
 three  times  fourteen  generations,  and  the  reception 
 into  it  of  members  of  the  human  family  who  were 
 distinguished  by  grievous  sins  no  less  than  by  their 
 piety  and  faith.  The  number  seven  was  that  of  the 
 perfect  development  of  nature  ;  the  number  twice  seven 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  183 
 
 intimated  a  perfect  development  of  the  genealogical 
 line ;  and  the  number  three  times  fourteen  implied  the 
 most  perfect  development  of  the  holy  line  as  the  depo- 
 sitory of  the  Theocratical  treasures.  And  then,  what 
 a  noble  line  of  descent  from  the  great  parent  of  our 
 race !  The  family  of  Seth  is  separated  from  that  of 
 the  ungodly  Cain,  the  line  of  Shem  from  that  of  his 
 brothers  ;  Abraham  is  called  from  his  country  and  his 
 kindred ;  the  promised  seed  in  Isaac  from  that  of  a 
 scornful  Ishmael ;  the  lion  of  Judah  from  his  weaker 
 brethren ;  the  inspired  king  from  the  rest  of  the  sons 
 of  Jesse ;  and  from  this  royal  branch,  at  last,  is  set 
 apart  the  Son  of  Man,  who  is  separate  from  sinners, 
 and  higher  than  the  heavens  !  God  is  showing  mercy 
 unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation — yea,  unto  thou- 
 sands of  them  that  love  him !  (Exod.  xx.  6.)  Soon 
 after  the  promise  of  a  serpent-bruiser  was  given,  a  long- 
 chain,  as  it  were,  of  successive  births  was  opened,  the 
 last  link  of  which  was  the  ivoinans  seed,  the  Son  of 
 man,  the  Lord  from  heaven  ! 
 
 It  will  hence  appear,  that  the  manifestation  of  the 
 Deity  in  the  flesh,  however  marvellous  and  startling 
 it  may  appear,  by  no  means  took  the  world  by 
 surprise.  God  had,  at  sundry  times,  and  on  divers 
 occasions,  manifested  himself  to  his  people,  if  not  in 
 human  nature,  yet  certainly  in  human  form.  This 
 partial  anticipation  of  future  events  in  the  history  of 
 revealed  ReHgion,  is  one  of  the  most  striking  features 
 which   are  met  in   its   gradual   development.     After 
 
184  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  in. 
 
 having  been  plainly  shown  forth  in  the  first  of  all 
 promises,  this  mystery  of  godliness  had  been  further 
 prepared  by  numerous  Theojjhanies,  or  manifestations 
 of  Jehovah,  in  the  Old  Testament.  And  it  is  cer- 
 tainly one  of  the  most  pleasing  discoveries,  to  observe 
 how  new  epochs  in  true  Religion  existed,  long 
 before  their  actual  appearance.  Yet  this  extraordi- 
 nary feature  is  by  no  means  without  some  analogy 
 even  in  the  province  of  physical  life.  How  inva- 
 riably, for  instance,  is  it  the  case  in  the  animal 
 sphere  of  life,  that  the  several  organs  of  the  body 
 are  growing  towards  maturity  long  before  they  are 
 actually  required.  There  are  no  parts  of  the  animal 
 body  which  have  not  been  in  existence  a  considerable 
 time  before  they  are  actually  required  to  discharge 
 their  several  functions. 
 
 2.  The  Word  was  made  flesh.  This  is  the  mystery 
 of  godliness.  But  here  again  we  have  to  begin  with 
 very  small  things ;  with  a  small  babe,  an  infant  of 
 days.  These  are  i\\Q  ways  of  the  Almighty  in  the 
 kingdom  of  grace,  no  less  than  in  the  kingdom  of 
 nature.  Christ  appears  as  the  brightness  of  his  glory, 
 and  the  express  image  of  his  person  ;  but  not  in  the 
 splendour  of  worldly  greatness.  Christ  was  born  not 
 in  the  imperial  palace  of  the  celebrated  Romans,  but 
 in  a  dark  corner  of  the  holy  land,  amongst  the  insigni- 
 ficant people  of  the  Hebrews.  And,  from  his  birth  to 
 his  death  upon  the  cross,  his  lowliness  of  mind,  and 
 his   humble  appearance  in  person,  were  the  rock  of 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  185 
 
 offence.  Whilst  the  Hmdoo  was  looking  ont  for  an 
 incarnation  of  Vishnoo  ;  whilst  the  Iranian  fire-wor- 
 shipper was  expecting  the  ''man  of  the  toorld''  in  the 
 person  of  Sosiosh ;  whilst  the  Chinese  were  awaiting 
 the  advent  of  "  The  Holy  one  from  the  West ;"  whilst 
 the  Buddhists  were  anxious  to  welcome  the  appearance 
 of  another  Buddha,  and  whilst  the  interpreters  of  the 
 Sybilian  divination  waited  in  Rome  for  the  arrival  of 
 some  "  mighty  deliverer  from  the  East ;"  whilst  the  wise 
 men  in  the  East  were  watching  during  the  stillness  of 
 night  for  the  star  of  the  promised  King  of  the  Jews ; 
 whilst  the  worldly  Jew  was  looking  into  futurity  for  the 
 coming  oi?^  worldly  Messiah,  and,  finally,  whilst  the  true 
 Israelites  were  devoutly  waiting  for  the  consolatio7i  of 
 Israel,  Christ  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  in  Beth- 
 lehem, and  laid  in  a  manger.  The  first  intimation 
 of  this  great  event,  as  being  about  to  be  accomplished, 
 was  communicated  to  a  ministering  priest  in  the 
 temple  at  the  hour  of  prayer ;  and  it  was  by  this 
 circumstance  that  the  still  existing  remnant  of  the 
 Theocratical  constitution  was  honoured  by  Jehovah. 
 The  Saviour  of  the  world  appeared  not  as  the  son  of 
 Adam,  but  as  the  "  seed  of  the  looman ;"  for  that  which 
 is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  that  which  is  born  of 
 the  Spirit  is  spirit.  In  contradistinction  to  the  old 
 corrupted  type  of  humanity,  he  represented  the  visible 
 and  glorious  image  of  the  invisible  God,  being  a  "  new 
 man,  which,  after  God,  is  created  in  righteousness  and 
 true  holiness."     Human  nature,  therefore,  celebrated 
 
186  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 in  Jesus  a  triumph  of  unspeakable  magnitude,  being 
 raised  in  his  blessed  person  to  a  far  greater  height  of 
 happiness  and  dignity  than  we  could  ever  have  aspired 
 to  reach,  even  upon  the  supposition  of  onr  retaining  a 
 state  of  immaculate  holiness  and  purity.  The  coming 
 of  Christ  was  not  like  that  of  the  first  Adam,  but  his 
 mission  from  the  Father  bears  a  peculiar  impress.  He 
 descended  from  that  sphere  of  life,  and  from  those 
 heights  of  glory,  which  are  peculiar  to  the  "  Father  of 
 glory,"  and  which  "  no  one  can  approach  unto.'* 
 
 The  advent  of  Christ  was  a  free,  spontaneous  act  of 
 taking  upon  him  the  seed  of  Abraham.  Being  in  the 
 form  of  God,  he  took  upon  himself  the  form  of  a  ser- 
 vant, and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men ;  and  being 
 found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  hwnhled  himself.  Hence 
 his  birth  could  not  be  brought  about  by,  nor  was  it 
 dependent  upon,  physical  necessities,  and  the  general 
 laws  of  nature.  He  enters  upon  his  state  of  incarna- 
 tion by  virtue  of  the  same  power  by  which  mankind 
 was  originally  created  in  him,  by  him,  and  unto  him. 
 He  is,  according  to  his  own  testimony,  at  once  the  root 
 and  the  offspring  of  David.  The  coeternal,  coequal, 
 and  ever-blessed  Son  of  the  eternal  Father,  is  con- 
 ceived of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ! 
 
 Mankind  could  not  produce  salvation  from  their 
 own  resources  ;  and  with  all  their  groaning  and  tra- 
 vailing in  pain  together,  the  nations  of  the  earth  were 
 unable  to  produce  and  give  birth  to  a  Saviour.  As 
 the  animal  world  had  not  the  power  in  itself  of  pro- 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  187 
 
 ducing  and  creating  the  first  man,  as  little,  and  much 
 less,  was  it  in  the  power  of  mankind  to  produce  the 
 second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven.  Yet,  with  all 
 the  alarming  weakness  and  frailty  by  which  mankind 
 were  encompassed,  they  were  yet  to  have  some  part 
 in  this  great  event ;  God  sent  his  Son,  made  of  a 
 ivoman.  The  fact,  however,  of  God  sending  his  Son 
 made  of  a  looman  when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come, 
 distinctly  implies  that  the  mission  of  Christ  not  only 
 concluded  the  period  of  time  which  was  then  fulfilled, 
 but  that  it  likewise  opened  a  new  era  in  the  history  of 
 the  world.  This  new  man,  who  appears  opening  the 
 second  and  the  last  era  of  the  world,  was,  however, 
 put  under  the  law  of  the  old  humanity,  that  through 
 him  they  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons.  He  is 
 made  of  the  woman,  but  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
 he  is  circumcised,  and  thus  put  under  the  law,  but 
 his  name  was  given  unto  him  by  God ;  he  is  presented 
 to  Jehovah  as  a  "  male  that  openeth  the  womb,"  but 
 a  just  and  devout  man,  who  waited  for  the  consolation 
 of  Israel,  feels  inspired  at  the  sight  of  the  great  sal- 
 vation which  God  had  prepared  before  the  face  of 
 all  people ;  he  is  subject  to  his  parents,  but  he  knows 
 at  the  same  time  that  he  must  be  about  his  Father's 
 business ;  he  comes  to  John  to  be  baptized  with  water, 
 but  he  is  anointed  with  the  Spirit  without  measure. 
 He  goes  unto  the  Jordan  with  those  multitudes  that 
 went  to  confess  their  sins  and  to  be  baptized  with  the 
 baptism  of  repentance,  but  he  went  thither  with  the 
 
188  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 high  resolve  to  fulfil  all  righteousness,  and  to  keep  the 
 law,  which  had  been  transgressed  by  the  whole  world. 
 He  might  have  had  "joy,"  but  he  endured  the  cross, 
 and  entered  as  a  sound  member  of  the  human 
 family  to  carry  their  sorrow.  When  Christ  appeared 
 amongst  a  multitude  of  sinners  to  fulfil  all  righteous- 
 ness, and  when  the  spirit  descended  upon  him,  John 
 recognised  "  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
 sins  of  the  world." 
 
 3.  There  was  a  period  in  the  history  of  true  Reli- 
 ligion,  when  we  rejoice  to  behold  a  holy  and  a 
 separate  people  in  the  midst  of  a  world  which  was 
 immersed  in  superstition  and  idolatry ;  we  recognise 
 in  their  Theocratical  constitution  the  antidote  asjainst 
 the  corruption  which  had  seized  upon  the  whole  family 
 of  man.  We  have  now  no  longer  only  a  separate 
 nation  as  the  depository  of  these  great  hopes  which 
 involved  a  blessing  unto  all  nations,  but  we  have 
 standing  in  the  midst  of  men  Jesus  Christ,  "  God 
 blessed  for  ever."  Christ,  as  the  sole  bearer  of  the 
 divine  revelations  to  angels  and  to  men,  now  dwells 
 among  us,  and  we  behold  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of 
 the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
 truth.  Having  spoken  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
 manners  in  times  past  unto  the  fathers,  God  spoke  at 
 last  by  his  Son. 
 
 There  is  a  profound  mystery  of  godhness  hanging 
 over  the  private  life  of  our  blessed  Saviour  previous  to 
 his  baptism,  and  we  have  but  a  very  few  ghmpses 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  189 
 
 vouchsafed  unto  us  in  Holy  Scripture.  One  thing  is 
 certain ;  ever  since  the  fall  of  man  there  has  been  a 
 "  wheel  within  a  wheel "  in  the  propagation  of  the 
 mystery  of  iniquity.  This  mysterious  wheel  has  been 
 revolving  with  every  succeeding  generation,  in  every 
 single  human  breast,  from  lust  to  sin,  and  from  sin  unto 
 death  !  The  corruption  had  been  gathering  strength 
 in  its  downward  progress  ;  the  wheel  had  been  in- 
 creasing the  velocity  and  power  of  its  rotation,  and, 
 like  a  mighty  torrent,  the  temptation  now  rushed  against 
 the  "  Rock  of  ages,"  who  now  dwells  among  men  in 
 order  to  stem  this  overwhelming  flood ;  he  was  come 
 into  the  world  to  break  the  cm-rent,  to  retrieve  the 
 motions  of  that  mighty  wheel,  and  to  break  effectually 
 the  power  of  temptation  at  every  step  of  his  holy 
 life.  As  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  Christ  was  to 
 open  a  new  and  living  way ;  and  in  order  to  accom- 
 plish this,  he  would  gather  all  the  fiery  darts  of 
 temptation  into  his  holy  soul.  And  who  could  con- 
 ceive and  tell  the  great  agonies  of  his  spotless  mind 
 when  these  manifold  temptations  advanced  against 
 him,  like  a  mighty  torrent,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh, 
 and  when  he  offered  ujj  prai/ers  and  supjjUcations,  with 
 stro7ig  crying  and  tears,  unto  him  that  was  able  to  save 
 him  from  death,  and  loas  heard  in  that  lie  feared? 
 (Heb.  V.  7.)  Christ,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case, 
 must  have  been  sensible  to  temptations  as  no  one 
 could  be  sensible  besides  him.  And  as  he  under- 
 stood and  felt  them  as  no  one  besides  could  feel  and 
 
190  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 understand  them,  lie  was  likewise  the  only  one  who 
 could  resist  and  overcome  them.  How  infinitely  great 
 and  blessed  appears  our  adorable  Saviour  in  the 
 sinless  development  of  his  human  nature,  amidst  so 
 powerful  temptations  in  the  world  around  him.  He 
 is  treading  the  wine-press  alone,  and  there  is  no  one 
 with  him  !  He  is  sacrificing  his  whole  life  to  the  will 
 of  his  heavenly  Father.  His  whole  existence,  his  every 
 thought  and  desire,  is  diametrically  opposed  to  the 
 rapid  stream  which  rushes  against  him.  But  there 
 was  to  be  another,  a  more  particular  temptation  to  be 
 endured,  before  he  entered  upon  his  public  ministry. 
 The  Spirit  which  descended  upon  Christ,  and  which 
 was  seen  remaining  on  him,  driveth  him  into  the 
 wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil,  because  the 
 temptation  of  the  Messiah  could  as  little  be  avoided, 
 as  it  was  to  be  dispensed  with  in  the  case  of  the  first 
 Adam.  Christ  having  been  anointed  as  the  Son  of 
 man  to  judge  the  prince  of  this  world  by  his  public 
 life  and  ministry,  it  was  meet  and  right  indeed  that 
 the  temptation  should  be  placed  at  the  beginning  of 
 his  ministerial  work. 
 
 If  we  were  to  have  an  high-priest  who  could  be 
 touched  with  a  feeling  for  our  infirmities,  he  must 
 needs,  in  all  points,  be  tempted  as  was  Adam,  and 
 as  we  are,  yet  without  sin.  (Heb.  iv.  15.)  He  was 
 without  sin,  having  resisted  every  breath  of  evil, 
 and  broken  the  power  of  temptation  at  every  step  of 
 his  humiliation.     As  the  children  of  men  are  partakers 
 
CHAP,  in.]  IN    THE   NEW  TESTAMENT.  191 
 
 of  flesh  and  blood,  so  he  also  took  part  of  the  same,  for 
 he  took  not  on  Idm  the  nature  of  angels,  but  he  took  upon 
 him  the  seed  of  Abraham.  Wherefore  in  all  things  it 
 behoved  liim  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren,  that  he 
 might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  high-priest  in  things 
 pertaining  to  God,  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins 
 of  the  people.  For  in  that  he  himself  hath  suffered, 
 being  tempted,  he  is  able  to  succour  them  that  are 
 tempted.  (Heb.  ii.)  Nor  yet  could  Christ  have  left 
 us  an  "  example,  that  we  should  follow  his  steps,"  if 
 he  had  not  been  tempted  in  the  days  of  his  flesh, 
 and  had  not  overcome  the  temptation.  But  there  are 
 mentioned  especially  two  particular  occasions  in  the 
 public  life  of  our  Saviour  on  which  he  was  tempted ; 
 the  one  being  at  the  beginning,  and  the  other  at  the 
 end  of  his  public  ministry. 
 
 It  was  the  devil's  fraud  to  tempt  the  first  man  to 
 anticipate,  in  a  faithless  manner,  what  he  was  to  attain 
 by  a  faithful  obedience  to  the  prescribed  mode  by 
 which  he  was  to  grow  up  in  the  likeness  of  his  maker. 
 The  second  Adam  was  come  as  the  Lord  from  heaven, 
 to  "  bind  the  strong  man  and  to  spoil  his  house/'  and 
 to  bring  to  light  immortality  and  life  by  the  gospel ; 
 and  it  was  the  subtlety  of  the  old  serpent  to  suggest 
 likewise  to  him  such  means  as  should  offer  him 
 a  speedy  accomphshment  of  that  object.  It  was 
 in  the  plan  of  the  murderer  from  the  beginning  to 
 induce  the  Lord  Jesus  to  take  a  step  in  which  he 
 would  have  abused  the  power  of  his  divine  nature,  as 
 
193  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 well  as  the  newly  obtained  ministerial  unction  of  the 
 Spirit,  for  selfish  purposes ;  it  was  the  object  of  the 
 tempter  to  draw  the  Messiah  from  those  paths  of  obe- 
 dience and  humiliation,  in  which  he  was  to  learn 
 obedience  by  suffering.  But  Christ  was  the  obedient 
 "  servant "  of  his  heavenly  Father ;  and  it  was  the 
 meat  and  drink  of  the  Son  of  man  to  do  the 
 will  of  his  "  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  Instead 
 of  yielding  to  the  insinuations  of  the  tempter  re- 
 specting his  Sonship,  Christ  relied  upon  the  autho- 
 rity of  the  written  Scriptures,  in  the  character  of  a 
 mere  man,  who  would  take  no  single  step  upon  any 
 other  responsibility.  When  Satan  had  thus  discovered 
 how  truly  great  and  strong  his  dangerous  foe  ap- 
 peared in  thus  adhering  obediently  to  his  Father,  even 
 unto  death,  he  attempted  to  kindle  in  his  holy  soul  a 
 precipitant  zeal,  by  suggesting  such  means  and  ways 
 as  seemed  calculated  to  accomplish  shortly  the  great 
 work,  and  to  achieve  quickly  the  mighty  task,  by 
 which  he  was  to  subdue  all  men  and  all  things  unto 
 himself.  But  Christ,  in  patient  and  humble  reliance 
 upon  the  slow  but  certain  progress  of  his  mighty  work, 
 disappointed  the  wiles  of  the  devil,  declining  to  tempt 
 the  power  of  God,  which  would  be  faithfully  admi- 
 nistered in  the  behalf  of  his  work,  as  long  as  he  was 
 guided  in  every  one  of  his  steps  by  what  was  pleasing 
 to  his  heavenly  Father. 
 
 When  the  tempter  finally  had  hoped  to  bring  this 
 ^'  servant "  of  God  at  his  feet,  by  exhibiting  before 
 
CHAP,  in.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  193 
 
 him  all  the  glory  of  his  usurped  power  and  greatness, 
 the  holy  soul  of  Jesus  is  kindled  with  zeal  for  his 
 Father's  honour  and  glory,  who  will,  at  his  own  time, 
 subdue  all  things  under  his  feet,  and  with  the  velocity 
 of  lightning  he  thrusts  the  vile  tempter  out  of  his 
 august   presence.     "  And,  behold,  angels  came  and 
 ministered  unto  him !"     Thus,  Christ,   the  mediator 
 of  the  new  covenant,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 
 faith,  kept  the  commandment  of  his  Father,  and  abode 
 in  his  Father's  love.  He  had  come  down  from  heaven, 
 not  to  do  his  own  will,  but  the  will  of  him  who  had 
 sent  him  ;  and  was  ready  to  minister,  and  to  give  his 
 life  as  a  ransom  for  many.     He  receives  not  honour 
 from  man ;  will  do  nothing  of  himself ;  but  as  the 
 Father  has  taught  him,  so  he  speaks  and  acts  in  his 
 state  of  humiliation.    He  knew  that,  by  walking  in  the 
 light  of  his  Father's  countenance,  he  could  not  stum- 
 ble in  the  path  which  had  been  marked  for  his  minis- 
 terial career.     What  a  similarity  between  the  tempta- 
 tion of  the  first  and  the  second  Adam !  and  what  a 
 mighty  diff'erence  as  to  the  result ! 
 
 4.  It  was  the  object  of  our  Saviour's  mission  to 
 save  the  world,  and  to  destroy  the  work  of  the  devil. 
 In  being  tempted  like  his  brethren,  Christ  descended 
 to  that  depth  in  which  he  could  demolish  its  very 
 foundation,  and  build  upon  the  ruins  a  new  order 
 of  things.  Having  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God, 
 the  Messiah  stood  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil,  and 
 wrestled  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  prin- 
 
 VOL.  I.  o 
 
194  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 cipalities,    against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the 
 darkness  of  this  world,  and  against  spiritual  wicked- 
 ness in  high  places.     With  the  shield  of  a  faithful 
 reliance  upon  the  word  of  truth,  he  quenched  the  fiery 
 darts  of  the  wicked  one  ;  and  with  the  sword  of  the 
 Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God,  Christ  had  entered 
 into  the  strong  man's  palace.     And  it  was  even  his 
 purpose  to  descend,  in  faithful  obedience  to  his  Father's 
 counsel,    into    hell;    that   through   death    he   might 
 destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the 
 devil.     So  deep  should  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
 spiritual  temple  be  laid  !     As  true  Religion  had  from 
 the  commencement  been  descending  into  the  high-ways 
 and  by-ways,  upon  which  the  human  family  have  erred 
 and   strayed   from   God's  ways  like  lost  sheep,   and 
 followed  too  much  the  devices  and  desires  of  their  own 
 hearts ;  as  it  had  entered  upon  the  several  forms  of 
 the  natural  elements  of  human  existence,  in  order  to 
 deposit  the  germs  of  eternal  life  in  the  very  ground, 
 upon  which  sin  and  corruption  were  luxuriating  and 
 bringing  forth  their  deadly  fruits, — so  Christ  took  upon 
 him  our  flesh  and  blood ;  he  entered  into  the  feelings 
 and  infirmities  of  our  nature,  being  tempted  in  all 
 points  like  unto  his  brethren ;  he  descended  even  into 
 the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,  and  destroyed  the  king- 
 dom of  darkness  in  its  very  deepest  foundations.    But 
 neither   the    one   nor   the   other   was    stained  by   a 
 sliadow  of  blemish.  Both  descended  only  that  they  might 
 ascend,  far  above  all  heavens,  leading  captivity  captive. 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  195 
 
 Again,  as  in  the  development  of  Religion,  all  has  been 
 progressing  gradually,  with  an  almost  imperceptibly 
 slow  but  measured  progress,  so  in  the  private  and  public 
 life  of  our  Saviour  every  thing  has  its  season.  Christ, 
 in  teaching,  acting,  and  suffering,  hence  declareth  the 
 mind  of  the  Father.  He  speaks  that  which  he  knows, 
 and  testifies  that  which  he  has  seen ;  but  he  yet  speaks  at 
 all  times  only  so  much  as  the  Father  has  taught  him. 
 (John  viii.  28.)  The  knowledge  which  he  imparts  of 
 things  heavenly,  passes  all  human  understanding,  and 
 confounds  all  human  wisdom  and  power;  yet  all  is 
 unfolded  according  to  the  strict  rules  which  his  state 
 of  humiliation  imposed  upon  him.  For  every  motion 
 in  his  holy  life,  there  was  a  time  and  a  season.  He 
 lived,  and  moved,  and  had  his  being  in  the  blessed 
 Father,  wdio  had  sent  him.  Without  him,  he  would 
 do  nothing;  apart  from  him,  he  would  accomplish 
 none  of  the  works  which  the  Father  had  given  him. 
 He  manifests  his  glory  to  glorify  the  Father ;  but 
 always  at  the  right  place,  and  in  the  right  time,  when 
 his  "  hour  was  come."  And  none  of  the  most  tender 
 connexions  upon  earth  could  disturb  the  harmony  of 
 his  pure  soul,  whose  meat  and  drink  it  was  to  be 
 about  his  Father's  business,  and  to  do  the  will  of  his 
 Father.  What  was  said  of  his  works,  is  equally  true 
 of  his  words  and  doctrines.  Hence  he  postpones  the 
 revelation  of  many  of  the  words  of  life,  until  the  Spirit 
 was  poured  forth.  Hence  it  was  that  his  disciples 
 were  to  do  still  greater  things  than  himself.     Hence 
 
 o  2 
 
19G  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 only  also  can  it  be  explained,  that  lie  not  only  omitted 
 to  testify  of  tlie  day  and  the  hour,  in  which  the  king- 
 dom of  God  should  be  fulfilled,  but  that  he  actually 
 declared,  that  he  himself  did  not  know  it.  (Mark  xiii. 
 32.)  The  hour  in  which  the  Father  would  manifest 
 this  great  secret  to  the  Son  in  his  great  humiliation, 
 had  not  yet  come.  But  the  revelation  of  this  and 
 other  mysteries  was  given  unto  his  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
 by  God  the  Father,  when  "  the  hour  was  come,"  and 
 he  showed  some  of  the  things  unto  his  servants,  which 
 were  shortly  to  come  to  pass,  whilst  others  were  to 
 remain  sealed  up.  (Rev.  i.  1 ;  x.  4.)     [ 
 
 As  Christ,  in  his  own  private  character,  was  to  grow 
 in  wisdom  and  grace,  so  also  in  his  official  capacity,  as 
 the  mediator  of  divine  revelations,  he  was  to  hear  and 
 to  see  more  and  more,  and  to  testify  accordingly  more 
 and  more  of  the  Father,  until  he  knew  "  that  the  Father 
 had  given  all  things  into  his  hands,  and  that  he  was 
 come  from  God,  arid  went  to  God."  (John  xiii.  3.) 
 There  is  "no  rohhery "  in  his  desiring  to  be  hke 
 anto  the  Father,  after  he  had  made  himself  of  no  repu- 
 tation, and  taken  upon  himself  the  form  of  a  servant, 
 and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  man  !  Having  hum- 
 bled himself,  he  glorified  the  Father  on  the  earth,  and 
 when  he  had  finished  the  work  which  the  Father  gave 
 him  to  do,  he  said,  "  And  now  glorify  thou  me  with 
 thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee 
 before  the  world  was."  Having  been  obedient  unto 
 death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,   God   also  had 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  197 
 
 highly  exalted  him,  and  given  hira  a  name  which  is 
 above  every  name.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  testifying  of 
 Christ,  and  through  him ;  but  when  exalted  and  glori- 
 fied, the  promise  of  the  Father  is  shed  forth  by  him  ; 
 the  Spirit  glorified  him  in  receiving  from  him,  and 
 showing  it  unto  his  disciples.  (John  xv.  xvi.  xvii.; 
 Acts  ii.) 
 
 Thus  it  was  by  degrees  that  the  Son  of  man 
 acquired  power  over  all  flesh,  and  received  all  things 
 into  his  hands.  He  manifested  his  glory  whenever 
 the  "  hour  was  come."  He  was  at  all  times  conscious 
 that  he  might  show  forth  the  brightness  of  his  own 
 blessed  Godhead,  which  was  folded  up  in  the  un- 
 seemly form  of  an  obedient  servant.  He  knew  that 
 if  his  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then  would  his 
 servants  fight,  that  he  should  not  be  delivered  to 
 the  Jews.  He  was  aware  that  Pilate  could  have  no 
 power  at  all  against  him,  except  it  were  given  him 
 from  above.  He  felt  that  he  could  pray  to  his 
 Father  to  give  him  presently  more  than  twelve  legions 
 of  angels.  With  the  consciousness  of  this  indwelling 
 dignity,  he  kept  the  law  and  sanctified  the  Sabbath, 
 although  the  Son  of  man  was  Lord  even  of  the  Sab- 
 bath day.  With  these  feelings  he  paid  tribute,  and 
 was  subject  to  the  authority  of  government  as  ap- 
 pointed by  God,  even  to  the  death  upon  the  cross  ! 
 Although  he  received  not  testimony  from  man,  he  yet 
 from  the  same  cause  appealed  to  the  testimony  of  John 
 the  Baptist  and  of  Moses.    He  was  willing,  for  the  joy 
 
198  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 that  was  set  before  him,  to  endure  the  cross,  and  to  be 
 obedient  unto  death,  despising  the  shame,  enduring  the 
 contradiction  of  sinners  against  himself,  in  order  to  sit 
 down  as  the  first-born  of  many  brethren  at  the  right 
 hand  of  the  throne  of  God.  Yet,  with  all  this  humi- 
 liation, it  was  not  excluded  from  his  public  ministra- 
 tions, to  manifest  his  glory,  as  that  of  the  only -begotten 
 of  the  Father. 
 
 According  to  the  original  order  of  things,  man  was 
 the  divinely  installed  representative  of  God  upon 
 earth,  upon  which  he  was  to  exercise  his  royal  and 
 priestly  functions.  (Gen.  i.  26 — 28.)  The  power 
 given  to  man  on  this  occasion  was  lost.  The  second 
 Adam,  as  the  Lord  from  heaven,  was  to  possess  the 
 power  not  only  in  that  ordinary,  but  in  an  extra- 
 ordinary measure,  inasmuch  as  not  only  a  harmonious 
 development  was  required,  but  a  subjecting  of  the 
 adverse  powers  which  now  were  at  Avork  in  the 
 creation.  Human  nature  in  its  fallen  state  was  unable 
 to  do  either  the  one  or  the  other.  Christ  was  in 
 all  things  like  ourselves,  sin  only  excepted ;  and  in 
 order  to  regain  the  lost  power  over  nature,  it  re- 
 quired the  manifestation  of  the  Godhead  which  dwelt 
 bodily  in  his  spotless  humanity.  He  redeemed  as  our 
 kinsman  the  lost  sovereignty  over  nature,  and  exercised 
 as  God-man  his  miraculous  functions.  With  the  first 
 man  miraculous  power  to  a  certain  extent  would  have 
 been  natural ;  it  would  have  been  a  manifestation  of 
 his  sovereign  power  over  the  earth.      In  Christ  this 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW  TESTAMENT.  199 
 
 sovereignty  was  to  assume  a  strictly  miraculous  cha- 
 racter, inasmuch  as  human  sinfulness,  debility,  and 
 infirmity  were  now  the  natural  state  of  things.  But  as 
 much  as  his  own  person  was  above  that  of  a  common 
 man,  so  much  was  his  power  over  nature  superior  to 
 that  of  Adam  in  his  state  of  innocency. 
 
 Without  difference  of  past  or  future,  and  without 
 reference  to  local  distance,  he  searches  alike  the  hearts 
 of  men,  the  depths  of  Scripture,  and  the  bottom 
 of  the  sea.  A  breath  of  his  blessing  feeds  the  multi- 
 tude with  a  few  loaves.  A  breath  of  his  rebuke  calms 
 the  tempest  of  the  sea,  and  withers  the  barren  fig-tree. 
 A  breath  of  his  healing  powers  cures  the  sick,  gives 
 sight  to  the  blind,  and  strength  to  the  feeble.  A 
 breath  of  his  life  quickens  the  dead,  and  rescues  them 
 from  the  power  of  the  grave.  He  is  a  discerner  of 
 the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart,  and  recognises 
 the  deeds,  the  plans,  and  fortunes  of  each  individual, 
 in  great  as  well  as  in  small  things.  The  mysteries  of 
 the  kingdom  of  heaven,  together  with  the  future  cata- 
 strophes in  the  history  of  the  world,  are  made  plain  to 
 his  mind.  His  powerful  influence  reaches  down  to 
 the  gates  of  death  and  hell,  whilst  his  perpetual  inter- 
 course with  the  regions  of  the  world  above,  is  opening 
 a  new  and  living  way  to  eternal  glory  and  bliss.  But 
 nothing  is  gained  as  robbery;  as  the  Pather  giveth 
 unto  him,  so  he  giveth  unto  the  world. 
 
 5.  When  Christ  was  about  to  enter  upon  his  minis- 
 terial work,  he  was  anointed  with  the  Spirit  without 
 
200  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  ill. 
 
 measure,  and  received  the  testimony  of  the  love  and 
 good- will  of  his  heavenly  Father.  When  he  had  well- 
 nigh  finished  his  work  as  the  great  ^^vopJict  of  the 
 Father,  he  was  being  prepared  for  his  more  immediate 
 functions  of  priest,  which  w^ere  yet  to  be  accomplished. 
 His  body,  having  been  so  impregnated  with  his  divine 
 Majesty,  and  with  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come, 
 during  his  previous  course  of  obedience  to  the  Father, 
 by  having  habitually  repelled  every  breath  of  the  pol- 
 lution of  the  world  around  him,  and  by  his  perpetual 
 intercourse  with  his  Father  and  the  spiritual  world ; 
 was  now  prepared,  and  made  capable  of  being  trans- 
 figured, to  render  visible  his  intrinsic  majesty,  and  to 
 receive  from  God  the  Father  glory  and  honour.  And 
 as  he  some  time  before  received  the  seal  of  his  divine 
 Sonship  upon  the  occasion  of  his  entrance  upon  his 
 ministry,  so  now  again  there  came  "  a  voice  to  him 
 from  the  excellent  glory :  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 
 whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear  ye  him."  He  was 
 transfigured  before  them,  and  his  face  did  shine  as  the 
 sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  the  light,  whilst 
 Moses  and  Ehas  appeared  in  glory,  and  spake  of  the 
 decease  which  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem  ! 
 The  Holy  One  was  by  no  means  subject  to  the  law 
 which  involves  the  physical  necessity  of  death.  The 
 Father  had  given  him  power  over  all,  and  therefore 
 also  over  his  own  flesh.  He  had  power  to  lay  down 
 his  life,  and  power  to  take  it  again.  No  one  could 
 take  his  life,  but  he  laid  it  down  of  himself.      This, 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  201 
 
 however,  could  only  be  done  by  means  of  the  very 
 deepest  huraihation,  and  the  very  greatest  self-denial. 
 Death  to  the  ungodly  sinner  is  the  natural  wages  of 
 sin  ;  but  the  tasting  of  death  to  Christ's  holy  soul  was 
 unnatural  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  term,  and  it  could 
 not  be  otherwise  than  fraught  with  unutterable  woe. 
 His  whole  existence  was  filled  with  a  holy  repugnance 
 to  surrender  himself  to  the  curse  of  death  and  the 
 power  of  darkness ;  for  he  that  until  then  had  the 
 power  of  death  was  the  devil !  As  his  anointing  with 
 the  Spirit  was  followed  by  his  conflict  with  the 
 tempter,  so  now  again,  after  the  transfiguration,  the 
 prince  of  this  world  was  to  be  cast  out.  Christ, 
 through  death,  was  to  destroy  him  that  had  the  power 
 of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ! 
 
 But  his  own  soul  likewise  was  troubled  above 
 measiu-e,  even  unto  death,  and  was  to  be  reconciled  to 
 the  laying  down  of  his  life  and  brought  into  harmony 
 with  the  will  of  his  heavenly  Father.  Yet  here  also 
 he  is  more  than  conqueror  ;  willing  to  seek  that  which 
 is  lost  amidst  the  terrific  curse  of  death,  to  sacrifice 
 himself  to  the  pleasm^e  of  his  Father  and  the  glory  of 
 his  name,  and  ready  to  die  for  us,  while  we  were  yet 
 sinners.  It  was  his  own  free  and  most  gracious  act 
 to  drink  to  the  last  drop  the  cup  which  the  Father 
 had  given  him ;  and  it  was  his  own  good  wall  and 
 pleasure  to  taste  death  in  its  bitterest  extremity — • 
 the  feeling  of  being  forsake /i  hy  his  heavenly  Father. 
 Hence   he  was   not   overpowered   from    without,    or 
 
202  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 exhausted  from  within,  when  he  terminated  his  hfe. 
 He  rather  laid  down  his  own  hfe ;  with  a  loud  voice 
 he  commended  his  spirit  into  the  hands  of  the  Father, 
 and  gave  up  the  ghost,  no  one  taking  it  from  him. 
 The  going  of  Christ  to  the  Father  was  not  according 
 to  the  law  of  necessity,  but  he  brought  his  tribute 
 unto  death  as  an  act  of  perfect  liberty ;  yea,  his  death 
 was  brought  about  by  an  absolute  power  to  lay  down 
 his  hfe  and  to  take  it  again  (John  x.  17,  v.  26) ;  and 
 it  was  by  this  power  that  he  passed  from  death  unto 
 life,  and  went  to  the  Father  in  behalf  of  mankind. 
 And  because  he  gave  his  soul  unto  death  by  the 
 eternal  Spirit,  his  blood  is,  even  on  that  account,  the 
 blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  which  cleanseth  from  all  sins. 
 (1  John  i.  7.)  Out  of  that  fountain  of  redeeming 
 blood  streams  of  healing  will  pour  forth  for  evermore 
 through  that  sacrifice,  full  and  sufficient,  once  accom- 
 plished upon  the  Cross.  Through  immeasurable  ages 
 and  countless  worlds  the  glory  of  it  will  continue  to 
 resound,  and  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  will 
 never  die  away.  In  his  death  the  obedience  of  the 
 Son  of  man  was  made  perfect.  His  whole  great  work 
 wasfmshed.  With  his  death  the  hour  was  come  that 
 the  Son  of  man  should  be  glorified.  And  as  the 
 gifts  which  he  received  from  the  Father  as  a  reward 
 during  his  humiliation  were  received  in  behalf  of 
 humanity,  so  also  now,  after  having  sanctified  himself, 
 he  lives  by  the  Father,  and  in  taking  again  his  hfe,  he 
 becomes  the  life  of  the  world.     Christ  tasted  the  full 
 
CHAP,  in.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  203 
 
 bitterness  of  death ;  hence  it  is  never  said  in  Holy 
 Scriptures  that  he  fell  asleep.  But  he  died,  that  his 
 ransomed  saints  might /«//  asleep. 
 
 Christ,  the  Son  of  man,  had  thus  been  a  good  and 
 faithful  steward  of  the  treasure  of  life  and  light, 
 which  he  had  received  from  his  heavenly  Father  in 
 behalf  of  his  Church.  Rich  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit, 
 he  was  as  if  he  had  not.  There  was  never  a  diffusion 
 of  his  mediatorial  blessings  before  the  hour  was  come  ; 
 he  never  reapeth  where  he  hath  not  sown  ;  he  never 
 taketh  anything,  "  except  it  be  given  him  from 
 heaven."  He  is  so  far  from  taking  anything,  and 
 from  thinking  it  "  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God," 
 that  he  rather  robbed  himself,  making  himself  of  no 
 reputation,  and  taking  on  himself  the  form  of  a  ser- 
 vant, and  humbling  himself  in  the  fashion  of  men  to 
 the  death  upon  the  Cross !  Christ  was  always  sowing 
 good  seed  in  a  promising  soil,  and  having  done  so, 
 he  would  patiently  abide  the  blessed  harvest.  He 
 assumed  flesh,  that  he  might  give  it  for  the  life  of 
 the  world ;  he  has  again  taken  his  life,  that  they 
 might  have  it  more  abundantly,  and  that  as  sin  had 
 reigned  unto  death,  even  so  thenceforth  grace  might 
 reis-n  unto  eternal  life  bv  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  All 
 that  was  required  to  be  done  and  suffered  on  account 
 of  the  sins  of  the  world,  was  done  in  his  own  body ; 
 his  soul,  therefore,  was  not  left  in  hell,  nor  did  his 
 flesh  see  corruption.  Dying,  he  destroyed  the  power 
 of  death  ;  rising  again,  he  opened  the  path  of  an  indis- 
 
204  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  iir. 
 
 soluble  and  endless  life  to  his  ransomed  Cliiirch,  and 
 ascending  to  heaven,  he  leads  many  sons  mito  glory. 
 And  all  this  was  achieved  by  a  course  of  the  deepest 
 humiliation.  Christ,  our  Redeemer,  neither  claimed 
 nor  received  a  single  gift  as  unmerited  grace  from 
 his  "  righteous  Father ;"  but  all  was  pure  merit  and 
 righteous  reward  of  his  mediatorial  work. 
 
 6.  The  Messiah  appeared  amongst  the  Theocratical 
 nation  as  the  son  of  Abraham,  and  the  root  and 
 offspring  of  David ;  as  the  Son  of  man,  Christ  broke 
 down  the  middle  wall  of  partition,  which  had  hitherto 
 separated  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles.  As  the  Messiah 
 of  his  people  Israel,  our  Lord  came  to  his  temple,  and 
 as  such  he  was  not  dissolving  but  fulfilling  the  law. 
 His  disciples  were  not  to  preach  but  to  the  lost  sheep 
 of  the  house  of  Israel.  Christ  himself  fulfilled  in  his 
 own  person  every  one  of  the  minutest  precepts  of 
 the  Mosaical  constitution ;  and  he  demanded  from 
 liis  followers  the  same  implicit  obedience  to  the  spirit 
 and  the  letter  of  the  law.  (Matt,  xxiii.)  Yet,  as 
 w^as  to  be  expected,  Christ  appeared,  on  the  other 
 hand,  already  during  his  lifetime  as  the  Saviour  of 
 the  whole  w^orld.  His  miraculous  power  was  not  only 
 exerted  in  behalf  of  the  Gentiles,  but  he  intimated 
 the  spread  of  his  gospel  among  all  nations,  and 
 predicted  in  no  less  unequivocal  terms  the  approaching 
 dissolution  and  humihation  of  his  people  Israel. 
 
 When,  however,  Christ  declared  at  one  time,  thai 
 he  was  not  sent  ''  but  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  205 
 
 Israel,"  and  at  another  expressed  himself,  that  there 
 were  yet  other  sheep,  which  were  not  of  the  Jewish 
 fold,  which  were  to  be  brought  under  one  shepherd, 
 he  in  nowise  contradicted  himself.  Salvation  was  to 
 come  from  the  Jews ;  and  the  Pagans,  were  to 
 participate  in  the  blessing  which  was  to  be  given  to 
 them  through  Abraham's  seed,  by  means  of  the  rightly- 
 appointed  channel  of  the  Theocratical  constitution. 
 It  was  to  honour  this  venerable  constitution  that  Jesus 
 at  first  withheld  his  aid  from  the  Syro-Phoenician 
 woman,  who  had  neither  given  up  her  Pagan  idolatry, 
 nor  yet  believed  in  him  as  the  promised  deliverer  and 
 Messiah  of  the  Israel  of  God.  The  covenant  of 
 Jehovah  with  Israel,  and  the  validity  of  the  Theo- 
 cratical constitution,  were  to  be  acknowledged  by  the 
 Gentiles  before  they  could  partake  of  the  joy  which 
 was  to  be  unto  all  people.  Christ  was  ready  to  help 
 the  centurion  of  Capernaum,  and  to  give  his  Holy 
 Spirit  to  Cornelius,  because  they  believed  in  him,  not 
 as  some  extraordinary  incarnation  of  a  Pagan  divinity, 
 or  even  as  merely  a  remarkable  prophet,  but  as  the 
 Messiah,  vs^hose  advent  had  been  long  ago  prepared 
 amongst  Israel.  They  acknowledged  the  Theo- 
 cratical character  of  the  Jews,  adored  the  living 
 God  Jehovah,  and  had  given  evidence  of  this  their 
 belief  in  the  Jewish  dispensation.  (Luke  vii.  4,  5 ; 
 Acts  X.  2.) 
 
 All  this  seems  to  have  been  very  questionable  with  the 
 woman  of  Syro-Phoenicia.   No  sooner,  however,  had  she 
 
206  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 acknowledged  that  the  children  of  the  house  of  Israel 
 had  the  first  claim  upon  the  Messiah  and  his  blessings, 
 and  that  she  begged  as  a  Pagan  only  a  blessing  which 
 could  not  interfere  with  their  peculiar  privileges, 
 being,  in  addition,  supported,  like  the  centurion,  by 
 intercession  from  children  of  the  promise,  than  the 
 Messiah  no  longer  withheld  her  request,  but  "  her 
 daughter  was  healed  in  the  same  hour."  He  appeared 
 to  the  Gentiles  as  ''  the  light  of  the  world,"  and  admi- 
 nistered his  miraculous  blessings  to  all  such  of  that 
 body  who  acknowledged  in  him,  not  only  a  certain 
 divinity,  and  a  worker  of  mighty  deeds,  but  the 
 Messiah  of  Israel,  who  as  such  only  was  to  be  the 
 Saviour  of  all  nations. 
 
 The  blessings  of  the  promise  could  not  be  fully  com- 
 municated to  the  Gentile  world  until  he  had  reconciled 
 both  Jews  and  Gentiles  unto  God  in  one  body  by  the 
 Cross ;  having  slain  the  enmity  thereby,  he  came  and 
 preached  peace  to  the  Jews  that  were  nigh,  and  to  the 
 Gentiles  that  were  afar  off.  Mors  Christi  vita  Mundi. 
 When  he  was  lifted  up  and  exalted  upon  the  cursed 
 tree,  he  would  draw  all  men  unto  him.  And  there- 
 fore it  was  that  when  Christ  was  told,  that  amongst 
 "  the  world  which  was  gone  after  him,"  there  were 
 certain  Greeks  who  were  anxious  to  see  him,  he 
 answered  them,  saying :  "  The  hour  is  come  that  the 
 Son  of  man  should  be  glorified ;"  and,  pointing  signi- 
 ficantly and  emphatically  to  his  death,  as  the  means 
 by  which  the  Gentiles  should  gain  free  access  to  the 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  207 
 
 blessings  of  the  covenant,  he  added  those  remarkable 
 words :  "  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you.  Except  a  corn 
 of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone  : 
 but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit."     When 
 the  Greeks  would  see  Jesus,  his  soid  is  troubled ;  he 
 asks  the  Father  to  save  him  from  this  hour ;  and  yet, 
 remembering  that  "  for  this  cause,"  of  becoming  the 
 Saviour  to  the  whole  world  of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  he 
 would  ''fall  into  the  ground"  he  adds,  with  calm  re- 
 signation :  Let  the  hour  come.     "  Father,  glorify  thy 
 Name!"  (John  xii.)     And  as  Christ  was  declared  as 
 the  beloved  Son,  the  first  time  on  the  occasion  of  his 
 baptism,  and  the  second  time  in  the  chosen  circle  of  a 
 few  disciples,  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  so  now 
 the  third  time,  "  there  came  a  voice  from  heaven," 
 after  a  solemn  entrance  into  the  temple,  when  he  was 
 surrounded  by  the  Jewish  nation,  and  by  the  repre- 
 sentatives of  the  Gentile  world.      According  to  this 
 heavenly  voice,  God  had  glorified  his  name  amongst 
 the  peculiar  people  during  the  old  dispensation ;  and 
 he  would  glorify  it  again  by  the  foundation  of  a  ncAV 
 economy  of  salvation,  which  should  embrace  not  only 
 the  Jews,  but  also  the  Gentiles.     For  if  the  ministra- 
 tion of  death  was  glorious,  which  glory  was  to  be  done 
 away,  how  shall  not  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit  be 
 rather  glorious  ?    The  heavenly  Father  declared,  in  the 
 sacred  building  of  the  temple,  before  all  the  people,  that 
 by  the  death  of  his  dear  Son,  which  was  then  spoken 
 of,  the  first   preparatory  revelation   should  be  made 
 
208  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap,  ui 
 
 perfect,  and  that  a  new  and  more  exalted  order  of 
 things  should  commence  when  liis  name  should  be 
 glorified  through  Christ  among  all  nations.  And  it 
 was  thus  that  the  destruction  of  the  temple  of  his 
 body,  and  the  temple  which  had  been  in  building  forty 
 and  six  years,  and  which  had  served  many  centuries 
 for  a  place  where  God  had  put  his  name,  were  things 
 perfectly  identical.  (John  ii.)  When  the  Messiah  went 
 for  the  last  time  out  of  the  temple,  saying :  "  Your 
 house  shall  be  left  unto  you  desolate:"  Ichabod,  the 
 glory  had  departed  ! 
 
 7.  When  Christ  appeared,  the  nation  and  the 
 form  of  the  Theocratical  constitution  still  remained ; 
 but  the  spirit,  which  in  former  days  animated  the 
 body  of  ceremonies  and  precepts,  had  escaped.  It  was 
 honoured  by  our  Saviour  himself  during  his  lifetime, 
 "  being  daily  in  the  temple ; "  and  only  five  days 
 previous  to  his  meritorious  death,  he  had  again  "  sud- 
 denly come  to  his  temple  like  a  refiner's  fire,"  to  purify 
 it,  amid  the  joyful  acclamations  of  the  multitude,  from 
 the  abominations  by  Avhich  they  had  made  a  den  of 
 thieves  of  what  was  intended  to  be  a  house  of  prayer 
 for  all  nations.  But  as  this  barren  fig-tree  had  retained 
 merely  a  rich  foliage,  without  bringing  forth  fruit ;  as  the 
 Spirit  had  fled,  leaving  only  the  dead  letter  of  an  empty 
 ceremonial ;  as  the  substance  was  lost  in  the  shadow ; 
 the  constitution  was  now  to  be  given  over  to  destruction. 
 The  nation  itself  was  to  be  dispersed  among  all  nations, 
 for,  in  rejecting  the  Messiah,  they  discontinued  to  be 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE    NEW   TESTAMENT.  209. 
 
 God's  peculiar  people,  and  could  no  longer  be  instru- 
 mental in  diffusing  the  blessing  of  wliich  tliey  had 
 hitherto  been  the  sole  depositaries.  The  preparatory- 
 constitution  could  no  longer  benefit  the  nation,  after 
 they  had  refused  the  exalted  person  who  was  the  very 
 soul  of  their  complicated  ceremonial.  Jehovah  had 
 indeed  planted  a  vineyard  upon  this  fruitful  hill,  and 
 let  it  out  to  husbandmen  ;  but,  they  having  stoned  his 
 servants  and  killed  his  Son,  they  were  to  be  miserably 
 destroyed  ;  and  the  Lord  was  about  to  let  out  his  vine- 
 yard unto  other  husbandmen,  who  should  render  him 
 the  fruits  in  their  seasons.  (Matt.  xxi.  41,  42.) 
 
 When  the  Son  died,  he  broke  down  the  middle  wall 
 of  partition  between  Jews  and  Gentiles.  He  abolished 
 the  law  of  commandments  contained  in  ordinances, 
 making  in  himself  of  twain  one  new  man ;  there  being 
 a  faithful  remnant,  which  were  to  be  the  nucleus,  to 
 which  foreigners  from  the  commonwealth  might  be 
 added  as  members  of  a  new  body.  Like  that  brave 
 soldier,  who  figures  in  the  annals  of  Swiss  heroism 
 for  having  embraced  as  many  spears  from  the  terrific 
 phalanx  of  a  mighty  enemy  as  he  could  gather  together 
 into  his  own  heart,  with  a  view  to  open  the  enemy's 
 ranks  in  behalf  of  his  surviving  brethren, — so  the 
 Captain  of  our  salvation  fell ;  but  his  fall  was  the  fall  of 
 the  foundation-stone,  which  ground  into  powder  the 
 sovereignty  of  death,  and  destroyed  the  law  as  far  as 
 it  was  set  in  ritual  ordinances.  Hence  it  was  that  co- 
 instantaneously  with  his  giving  up  the  ghost,  the  vail  of 
 
 VOL.  I.  p 
 
210  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 the  Temple,  and  with  it  the  whole  ritual  constitution, 
 was  rent  in  twain,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom.  After 
 our  Saviour  had  wept  and  lamented  over  Jerusalem, 
 because  they  would  not  be  gathered  under  his  Almighty 
 wing,  "  he  went  out  and  departed  from  the  Temple  " 
 for  ever,  pronouncing  those  awfully  solemn  words, 
 "  Your  house  shall  be  left  unto  you  desolate ;"  and  he 
 added,  that  they  should  not  see  his  face  again,  till  they 
 should  say,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name 
 of  the  Lord."  This  salutation  ought  to  have  been 
 responded  by  the  scribes,  elders,  and  priests  of  the 
 house  of  Israel,  to  the  acclamation  of  the  children ; 
 "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  !  "  And  as  they  have 
 never  yet  so  responded  unto  this  hour,  their  house 
 and  country  has  ever  since  been  left  desolate ;  and  the 
 countenance  of  the  Most  High  has,  unto  this  day, 
 been  turned  from  his  ancient  people.  (Matt,  xxiii.  24.) 
 What  then  took  place  in  the  Temple  when  our 
 Saviour  "  departed "  from  it,  became  visibly  exhi- 
 bited when  the  vail  of  the  Temple  was  rent  in  twain 
 by  the  finger  of  Jehovah.  There  was  to  exist  hence- 
 forth no  longer  a  Most  Holy  upon  earth ;  the  sacrificial 
 rites,  as  shadows  and  types,  were  fulfilled,  and  there- 
 fore abolished.  The  Priesthood  had  lost  its  Theocra- 
 tical  character,  when  Christ  entered,  not  into  holy 
 places  made  with  hands,  which  are  the  figures  of  the 
 true,  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  in  the  pre- 
 sence of  God  for  us.  When  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles 
 were  made  friends  on  that  memorable  day  of  atone- 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  211 
 
 ment,  and  covenanted  one  with  the  other  to  accomplish 
 the  destruction  of  the  Lord  of  Glory,  no  fire  fell  from 
 heaven  to  consume  them,  nor  did  the  earth  open  her 
 mouth  to  swallow  them  alive ;  but  when  Christ  had 
 given  up  the  ghost,  the  sun  put  on  sackcloth,  the  earth 
 trembled,  the  dead  left  their  dark  abode,  the  rocks  were 
 rent  in  twain ;  and  with  the  rending  of  the  vail  of  the 
 Temple,  terminated  the  whole  Theocratical  constitution. 
 By  crucifying  their  Messiah,  the  Jews  with  their  own 
 hand  crushed  their  national  glory  and  greatness  for 
 ever,  to  be  recovered  no  more. 
 
 The  object  of  the  constitution  was  partly  to  preclude 
 the  possibility  of  Paganism  ever  becoming  universal ; 
 this  barrier  was  now  required  no  longer,  inasmuch  as  a 
 standard  had  been  raised,  around  which  the  Jews  and 
 the  Gentiles  might  rally  as  worshippers  of  the  one  true 
 and  living  God ;  a  point  of  union  having  now  been 
 gained  which  could  not  be  discovered  before  the  ap- 
 pearance of  Him,  who  was  the  true  image  of  the  invi- 
 sible God  in  contradistinction  to  a  spiritless  idolatry,  by 
 which  fallen  man  had  endeavom^ed  for  ages  to  stereo- 
 type, as  it  were,  the  blessed  Godhead  before  their  de- 
 graded and  grovelhng  minds.  The  distinctive  rites 
 of  the  constitution  were  no  longer  required  as  a  means 
 to  protect  the  nation  from  the  pernicious  influence  of 
 Pagan  idolatry.  The  Spirit  of  life  and  of  liberty 
 having  been  poured  out,  the  abolition  of  the  prepara- 
 tory institutions  was  unavoidable.  The  shadows  of 
 good  things  to  come  gave  place  to  the  substance.     A 
 
 p  2 
 
212  DEVELOPMENT    OF   RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 symbolical  religion  was  no  longer  required,  nor  indeed 
 could  such  meet  the  wants  of  mankind  under  the 
 Christian  dispensation.  This  has  been  shown  in  later 
 ages  of  the  Church,  a  variety  of  religious  rites  being 
 from  time  to  time  introduced  in  proportion  as  "  the 
 light  was  put  under  a  bushel." 
 
 The  law  of  commandments  contained  in  the  Mosaic 
 ordinances  is  transformed  into  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of 
 life  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  covenant  is  no  longer  a 
 covenant  of  the  letter,  but  of  the  Spirit,  including, 
 without  respect  of  persons,  all  the  true  members  of 
 the  Israel  of  God  ;  as  they  hold  fast  the  unity  of  the 
 Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace ;  being  knit  together  by 
 one  faith,  one  baptism,  and  animated  by  one  Spirit ; 
 and  adopted  into  the  family  of  one  God  and  Father, 
 who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  them  all. 
 
 The  Spirit  of  Prophecy  had  been  most  minutely 
 setting  forth  this  new  order  of  things,  and  beheld  from 
 a  remote  distance  of  time  how  the  nations  of  the 
 earth  were  to  Avalk  in  the  light  of  Jehovah.  We 
 refer  to  only  the  last  two  chapters  of  the  prophet 
 Isaiah.  In  this  remarkable  part  of  Holy  Scripture 
 the  Prophet  plainly  sets  forth,  that  the  brightest  jewel 
 and  the  highest  honour  of  the  Israel  of  God  should  be 
 conferred  upon  the  Gentiles ;  whilst  Israel  according 
 to  the  flesh  should  be  punished  and  destroyed ;  that 
 there  should,  indeed,  be  a  remnant  saved  of  the 
 ancient  people  of  God,  but  that  they  should  be  called 
 hy  a  neiv  name,  whilst  the  old  one  should  be  left  for 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE  NEW   TESTAMENT.  213 
 
 a  curse;  that  a  new  order  of  things  should  be  estabUshed, 
 and  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  should  eventually 
 be  created ;  that  a  spirit  of  Gospel  liberty  should  burst 
 the  shackles  of  ordinances  "  which  were  not  good." 
 Mercies  as  well  as  judgments  were  to  be  set  up  as  pil- 
 lars on  the  way  of  this  new  order  of  things.  The  fame 
 and  the  gloiy  of  Jehovah  was  to  penetrate  the  utmost 
 parts  of  the  globe  ;  and  the  priests  and  Levites,  which 
 should  be  taken  from  amongst  the  Gentiles,  were  to  be 
 a  royal  priesthood  in  a  new  sense  of  the  term ;  whilst 
 the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  to  be  remembered  no  more, 
 nor,  according  to  some  of  the  best  translators  and 
 conmientators,  should  there  be  sacrifices  any  longer. 
 (Jer.  iii.  16.)  And  thus,  out  of  a  small  thing,  the  sal- 
 vation of  the  whole  family  of  man  resulted  at  length 
 upon  the  grandest  scale. 
 
 8.  There  is,  however,  a  striking  peculiarity  in  the 
 method  by  which  this  dispensation  of  the  blessings  of 
 the  Gospel  has  been  accomplished.  When  our  Lord 
 took  leave  of  the  Temple,  in  which  he  "  daily " 
 taught  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
 heaven,  he  did  not  rush  fortli  from  the  sacred  build- 
 ing in  a  state  of  excitement.  But,  having  already 
 uttered  those  remarkable  words,  "  Your  house  shall 
 be  left  unto  you  desolate,"  he  yet  once  more  sat 
 over  against  the  treasury,  and  beheld,  like  a  strfinger 
 from  another  world,  how  people  cast  money  into  the 
 treasury.  Again,  on  the  glorious  morning  of  the  re- 
 surrection, all  was  brought  about  with  that  unearthly 
 calmness  and  dignity  which  was  becoming  the  grand 
 
214  DEVELOPMENT  OF   RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 character  of  so  solemn  an  occasion.     When  he  left  the 
 sepulchre,  "  the  napkin  that  was  about  his  head  was  not 
 lying  with  the  linen  clothes,  but  wrapped  together  in  a 
 place  by  itself."     Everything,  small  as  well  as  great, 
 was  accomplished  in  a  suitable  manner.      So,  also, 
 when  Jehovah  was  about  to  scatter  his  once  beloved 
 people  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the    earth,    and  to 
 dissolve  the  venerable  constitution  which  had  served 
 for  ages  as  a  channel  by  which  to  communicate  his 
 divine  revelations  to  his  people,   the  new  order   of 
 things  was  to  be  introduced  by  a  course  of  events 
 which  suited  the    occasion.      The  gulf  between  the 
 Jews  and  the  Gentiles  had  been  the  work  of  his  own 
 hand.     He  had  himself  separated  this  people  from  all 
 other  nations  of  the  earth,  to  be  a  peculiar  people. 
 He  had  fashioned  the  constitution  which  should  serve 
 as  a  wall  of  partition  between  the  Israelites  and  the 
 Pagan  world  at  large.     And,   however   cormpt  the 
 nation  may  have  been  in  its  totality,  there  was  left  a 
 remnant  of  true  Israelites  to  serve  his  gracious  pur- 
 poses.     And  the  gulf  under  consideration  was    too 
 great  to  be  overleaped  without  some  preparatory  mea- 
 sure which  could  serve  as  a  medium  to  transmit  the 
 fulness  of  his  blessing  from  the  Israel  of  God  to  the 
 Pagan  nations  of  the  earth.      There  were  indeed  a 
 number  of  remarkable  featiu^es,  which  could,   vmder 
 all  circumstances,  render  the  transition  less   startling 
 even  to  the  Jews  themselves.     The  event  itself  had 
 been  contemplated  ever  since  Abraham  was  called  out 
 of  his  own  country.     The  Spirit  of  Prophecy  had  been 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  215 
 
 setting  it  forth  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  features 
 of  the  new  dispensation.  The  appearance  of  the  wise 
 men  from  the  East ;  the  manner  in  which  the  Greeks 
 were  received  by  our  Saviour ;  the  miracles  which  he 
 performed  upon  several  members  of  the  Gentile  com- 
 munity ;  the  prediction  of  this  great  event  by  parables 
 and  plain  language ;  all  these  and  other  things  tended 
 to  soften  the  surprise  respecting  the  plan,  which 
 directly  irapHed  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  fellow- 
 heirs,  and  of  the  same  body,  and  partakers  of  his 
 promise  in  Christ  by  the  Gospel. 
 
 When  our  blessed  Lord  gave  his  last  command  to 
 his  chosen  heralds,  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  to 
 preach  the  Gospel  to  all  nations,  he  added,  that  they 
 were  to  begin  at  Jerusalem.  They  were  to  receive  the 
 power  of  the  Holy  One,  and  to  be  his  witnesses,  first  in 
 Jerusalem,  then  in  Samaria,  and  finally  unto  the 
 uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  The  apostles  fulfilled 
 literally  the  command  of  their  ascended  Master.  In 
 reading  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  we  observe,  during 
 the  first  seven  chapters,  how  their  operations  were 
 exclusively  confined  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
 Israel.  And  it  was  only  when  the  plant  of  the 
 heavenly  Father  had  been  watered  by  the  purple  dew 
 of  the  first  of  Christian  martyrs,  and  the  testimony  of 
 the  Son  of  man  had  been  opposed  by  a  fierce  persecu- 
 tion which  arose  at  Jerusalem,  that  "  they  that  were 
 scattered  abroad  went  everywhere  preaching  the 
 word  "  in  Judea. 
 
210  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 After  the  church  of  God  had  been  rooted  in  Jeru- 
 salem, it  was  next  planted  amongst  the  half-brethren 
 of  the  Israelites  which  inhabited  Samaria.  According 
 to  the  prescribed  method,  (Acts  i.  8,)  the  witnesses  of 
 Jesus  Christ  were  to  transmit  the  Gospel  from  Jeru- 
 salem to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  by  way  of 
 Samaria.  From  the  whole  history  and  the  character 
 of  this  singular  semi-Pagan  population,  it  was  evident 
 that  they  were  appointed  by  divine  Providence  to  con- 
 stitute a  medium  by  which  Christianity  should  be 
 transmitted  from  the  genuine  Jews  to  the  nations  of 
 the  earth.  Philip  the  deacon  went  down  to  Samaria 
 and  preached  Christ  unto  them,  and  "there  was 
 great  joy  in  that  city."  The  field  which  had  been 
 cultivated  amongst  these  semi-Pagans  by  our  blessed 
 Saviour's  own  ministry  was  "  white  already  to  harvest." 
 Philip  gathered  fruit  unto  life  eternal,  that  "both  he 
 that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together." 
 And  herein  is  the  saying  once  more  true :  "  One 
 soweth  and  another  reapeth."  And  the  hour  had  now 
 come  when  the  Samaritans  should  "  neither  in  this 
 mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the  Father." 
 
 Scarcely,  however,  had  Philip  entered  upon  the 
 labours  of  his  adorable  Master,  and  preached  the 
 Gospel  in  many  villages  of  Samaria,  when  the  angel 
 of  the  Lord  bade  him  to  go  toward  the  south,  to  add 
 unto  the  church  a  man  of  Ethiopia,  an  eunuch  of  great 
 authority  under  Candace,  queen  of  the  Ethiopians, 
 who  was  returning  to  his  own  land  from  Jerusalem, 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW  TESTAMENT.  217 
 
 whither  he  had  gone  to  worship.  And  thus  the 
 Gospel  seemed  to  be  given  unto  the  Gentiles  in  the 
 '■''uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,''  after  it  had  taken  root 
 amongst  the  semi-Pagan  Samaritans.  We  will  not 
 bring  into  consideration  the  coincidence,  that  our 
 Saviour  had  on  a  former  occasion  (Matt.  xii.  42)  used 
 the  words,  "  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,"  as  syno- 
 nymous with  Ethiopia,  so  that  his  command,  to  be  his 
 witnesses  "  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth," 
 would  in  the  first  instance  have  implied  (he  country 
 of  Ethiopia.  (Acts  i.  8.)  But  there  is  something  far 
 more  important  connected  with  the  circumstance  that 
 Ethiopia  should  first  stretch  out  her  hands  unto  God 
 after  semi-Pagan  Samaria  had  received  the  Gospel. 
 
 The  inhabitants  of  Samaria  were  worshippers  of  the 
 only  true  God ;  they  considered  the  patriarchs  of  Israel 
 to  be  their  patriarchs.  They  received,  moreover,  the 
 five  books  of  Moses  as  divinely  inspired ;  and  they 
 were,  notwithstanding  the  admixture  of  Pagan  blood 
 and  Pagan  ideas,  the  people  who  stood  next  to  the 
 nation  which  had  the  Theocratical  constitution  in  its 
 full  integrity.  We  conceive,  therefore,  why  our  Sa- 
 viour expressly  commanded  that  after  Judea,  the  Gospel 
 should  next  be  preached  to  them.  As  little  was  it 
 merely  accidental  that  the  Gospel  was  carried  into 
 Mliiopia,  immediately  after  the  Samaritans  had  been 
 made  partakers  of  its  inestimable  blessings.  There 
 would,  indeed,  have  no  longer  been  any  reason 
 why  Christianity  should  not   be  planted  among  any 
 
218  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 one  of  the  nations  that  inhabit  the  globe,  "  unto  the 
 uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,"  as  no  other  nation 
 besides  the  Samaritans  had  been  particularly  specified. 
 But  we  maintain  that  there  was  a  specific  reason 
 why  UtJiiopia  should  be  the  first  after  Samaria  to 
 receive  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel. 
 
 According  to  traditions  which  are  by  no  means 
 incredible  in  themselves,  the  Ethiopians  had  partially 
 embraced  the  Jewish  Religion  almost  since  the  days 
 of  Solomon,  to  whom  came  the  Queen  of  the  South 
 "from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  (Compare 
 Matt.  xii.  42,  with  Acts  i.  8.)  The  remnants  of  Judaism 
 which  are  still  found  among  that  remarkable  people 
 are  very  numerous  and  striking.  Excepting,  perhaps, 
 the  Nestorians,  who  had  in  all  probability  been  part  of 
 the  ten  tribes  of  the  house  of  Israel,  there  is  no  other 
 nation  on  earth  that  can  show  so  many  elements  of 
 a  purely  Jewish  character.  The  Jewish  Sabbath  is 
 kept  holy  amongst  them,  to  a  certain  extent,  up  to  this 
 present  period,  in  addition  to  the  Lord's-day  of  the 
 Christian  Church.  The  sacred  rite  of  circumcision 
 is  practised  amongst  them  with  almost  the  same 
 scrupulosity  with  which  baptism  is  administered ;  and 
 numerous  other  practices  of  a  Jewish  complexion  are 
 retained  amongst  them.  And  whilst  it  would  be  im- 
 possible for  the  dispersed  tribes  to  exhibit  a  shadow 
 of  the  house  of  David,  that  nation  (we  refer  particu- 
 larly to  the  kingdom  of  Shoa),  to  this  very  hour 
 pretend  to  have  upon  their  throne  a  descendant  of  the 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  219 
 
 son  of  David  ;  and  they  have  preserved  a  complete 
 genealogy  of  his  descent.  Nor  do  the  Abyssinian 
 princes  know  of  any  other  code  of  law  than  that  which 
 is  preserved  in  the  five  hooks  of  Moses.  We  are  not 
 at  present  to  investigate  the  character  of  the  tradition 
 by  which  a  son  of  Solomon  was  transplanted  into 
 Ethiopia  through  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  on  the  occasion 
 of  her  famous  visit  to  Jerusalem.  (1  Kings  x. ; 
 2  Chron.  vi.)  But  it  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to 
 know  that  the  Abyssinians  universally  and  firmly 
 believe  that  their  forefathers  were  proselytes  to  the 
 Jewish  religion  previous  to  the  Christian  era.  Nor 
 is  the  visit  to  Jerusalem  of  an  Ethiopian  courtier  of 
 (jreat  autliority,  which  was  evidently  of  a  religious 
 nature,  against  this  their  allegation. 
 
 After  the  word  of  God  had  thus  been  taking  root 
 amongst  the  faithful  remnant  of  true  Israelites,  and 
 was  hence  successively  planted  amongst  the  semi- 
 Jewish  population  of  Samaria,  and  amongst  the  Jewish 
 proselytes  of  Ethiopia,  it  is  only  then  that  the  con- 
 version of  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  is  recorded 
 in  sacred  history ;  and  the  Apostles  were  then 
 taught  by  extraordinary  visions,  to  extend  their  minis- 
 trations indiscriminately,  "  without  respect  of  persons,'^ 
 to  the  Gentiles  at  large.  And  when,  for  the  first  time, 
 the  Holy  Gho§t  fell  on  those  who,  from  among  such 
 as  had  been  entirely  "  foreigners  from  the  common- 
 wealth," had  heard  and  embraced  the  word,  Corne- 
 lius with  his  whole  Roman  company  was  added  unto 
 
220  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 the  Church !  And  it  was  because  these  were  the  jird 
 genuine  Pagans  that  were  baptized  with  the  Holy 
 Ghost,  that  "  they  of  the  circumcision  which  beheved 
 were  astonished,  as  many  as  came  with  Peter." 
 
 9.  Christ   then    appears  in  the  historical  develop- 
 ment of  true  Rehgion  as  the  chief  corner-stone,  the 
 head  of  the  corner ;  embracing  both  testaments  in  his 
 own  blessed  person.     The  law  was  given  by  Moses ; 
 grace  and  truth,  however,  came  by  Christ  Jesus,  inas- 
 much as  through  him  the  law  became  truth  indeed, 
 and  the  promises  effectually  grace.     In   Christ,  many 
 that   came  from  the  East  and  West  sat   down  with 
 Abraham  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  !   As  the  first  man 
 of  eartb  formed  as  it  were  the  keystone  of  the  several 
 works  of  the  Almighty,  and  was  as  such  appointed 
 lord  and  head  of  the  visible  creation,  so  all  the  pre- 
 ceeding  works  of  revelation  in  the  spiritual  sphere  were 
 concluded   in    the    second  man,  who   was  the  Lord 
 from   heaven.      In   him    is    given    the    true    centre 
 of  gravity,  the  true  focus  from  which  all  emanates, 
 and   towards    which    all    is    pending    in    every   de- 
 partment of  revealed  Religion.    He  appears  through- 
 out  as   the   Alpha   and    Omega,    the   first   and   the 
 last.     The  whole  purpose  of  God's  eternal  love,  with 
 its  gracious  predestination  to  gloiy ;  the  wdiole  system 
 of  creation,  providence,  and  redemption  ;  every  grace, 
 preparatory,    mediate,    and   immediate ;    every   thing 
 divine,  and  every  thing  human — in  short,  the  whole 
 fulness  has  its  focus,  centre,  and  headship  in  Christ. 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  221 
 
 In  him  all  religious  truth  is  embodied;  in  him  all 
 religious  life  is  deposited ;  all  revelation  by  word  and 
 deed,  by  creation  and  redemption,  finds  scope  and 
 energy  in  his  adorable  person.  Without  Christ,  death 
 rules  in  every  province  of  spiritual  and  physical  exist- 
 ence. In  Christ  only  has  been  brought  to  light  im- 
 mortality and  life,  for  he  came  that  we  might  have  it 
 more  abundantly. 
 
 In  the  economy  of  divine  revelation,  Christ  appears 
 before  all  things  as  the  servant  of  God.  (Isa.  xl.  1  ; 
 Matt.  xii.  58.)  In  his  servile  capacity,  Jesus  was  put 
 under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  the  servants 
 of  unrighteousness  under  the  law.  The  first  disciples 
 of  the  primitive  Church,  who  considered  themselves 
 as  still  under  the  law,  made  use  of  the  same  appellation, 
 according  to  the  original.  (Acts  iii.  13,  26  ;  iv.  27,  30.) 
 In  the  capacity  of  the  Son  of  man,  elesus  of  Nazareth, 
 the  servant  of  God,  receives  the  unction  of  the  Holv 
 Ghost,  like  all  other  servants  of  God.  But  he  advanced 
 to  the  very  high  and  exalted  position  of  Lord  over 
 all,  by  way  of  that  obedience  which  he  learned  in 
 his  humiliation.  His  position  as  servant  being  only 
 of  a  transitory  character,  that  title  also  could  only 
 be  temporary.  There  was,  indeed,  already  a  strong 
 allusion  to  this  higher  position  of  the  Son  of  man  in 
 the  appellation  which  was  used  by  the  primitive  Church, 
 whence  the  translation  of  "  child"  in  our  English 
 version. 
 
 It  is,  however,  to  be  observed,  that  Jesus  is  said  to 
 
222  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 have  been  made  Lord  and  Christ  by  God  the  Father. 
 (Acts  ii.  36.)  The  Son  of  man  was  anointed  with  the 
 threefold  unction  of  king,  priest,  and  prophet ;  and  in 
 being  made  Lord,  he  was  clothed  with  the  executive 
 power  for  the  exercise  of  his  several  functions.  Hence 
 it  is  evident,  that  Christ  is  made  by  special  divine 
 appointment  the  head  over  all  things,  and,  in  a  pecu- 
 liar sense,  the  blessed  head  of  the  Church.  Now, 
 there  is  nothing  extraordinary  in  the  fact,  that  Christ 
 is  clothed  with  divine  powers.  We,  as  Christian 
 people,  glory  in  his  Divine  Majesty,  and  joyfully  adore 
 his  blessed  Godhead.  But  what  is  remarkable,  is  the 
 circumstance,  that  this  title  of  Lord  and  head  over  all 
 things  is  represented  as  being  derived  from  God  the 
 Father ;  that  he  was  crowned  with  glory  and  honour, 
 because  he  humbled  himself,  and  tasted  death  for 
 every  man ;  that  it  is  represented  as  a  divine  instal- 
 lation, and  that  in  this  sense,  and  on  this  account,  God 
 is  called  the  head  of  Christ.   (1  Cor.  xi.  3.) 
 
 Be  it,  however,  remembered,  that  it  was  in  the  cha- 
 racter of  the  Saviour  of  the  «67or/^that  Christ  was  thus  in- 
 stalled, at  a  certain  time,  to  be  the  crowned  head  of  the 
 kingdom  of  God.  The  title  of  Lord  over  all  things  was, 
 indeed,  derived  from  God,  and  conferred  upon  Christ, 
 in  the  economy  of  revelation,  as  the  Messiah  of  the 
 world;  and  as  this  particular  dignity  was  conferred 
 upon  Christ  for  a  special  purpose,  at  a  certain  time,  so 
 he  will  again  surrender  the  kingdom  to  the  Father 
 after  the  restitution  of  all  things.     The  same  rule, 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  223 
 
 authority,  and  power,  which  Jesus  has  received  from 
 the  Father,  he  shall  put  down  when  the  end  cometh, 
 and  he  shall  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the 
 Father.  When  all  things  shall  be  subdued  unto  him, 
 then  shall  the  Son  also  himself  be  subject  unto  him 
 that  put  all  things  under  him,  that  God  may  be  all  in 
 all.  (1  Cor.  XV.  24,  28.) 
 
 Christ,  however,  is  Lord  and  Son,  unbounded  as  to 
 qualification,  and  unlimited  as  to  time.  This  dignity 
 has  never  been  conferred  upon  Christ,  nor  will  it  ever 
 be  taken  from  his  adorable  person.  This  may  already 
 be  inferred  from  the  preceding  remarks.  In  the  first 
 instance,  Christ  could  not  have  been  raised  to  his  ex- 
 alted dignity  as  our  blessed  Redeemer  without  causing 
 a  suspension  of  the  sovereignty  of  God  the  Father,  if 
 God  had  not  been  present  in  him  in  such  a  manner  as 
 to  render  the  administration  of  the  appointed  Lord 
 and  Head  over  all  things  equivalent  to  the  government 
 of  the  only  true  God.  On  the  other  hand,  the  peculiar 
 exaltation  of  Christ,  which  distinguished  him  so  highly 
 above  all  men  and  all  creatures,  could  not  fail  to  inti- 
 mate a  peculiarity  in  his  own  blessed  person,  as  the 
 cause  of  this  exaltation. 
 
 The  Spirit  of  the  Bible  ever  draws  a  strict  line  of 
 demarcation  between  His  humanity  and  humanity  in 
 general.  h\  contradistinction  to  the  general  frailty 
 and  sinfulness,  he  appears  throughout  in  the  original 
 bloom,  vigour,  and  integrity,  as  the  prototype  of  our 
 species ;  and,  what  is  particularly  striking,  he  appears 
 
224  DEVELOPMENT    OF    RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 without  sin,  without  blemish,  without  spot.  This 
 exalted  original  of  humanity  gains,  however,  still  more 
 in  our  admiration,  when  we  are  given  to  understand, 
 that  he  descended  from  a  higher  sphere  of  pre-existence 
 with  the  Pather,  as  the  only-begotten  and  well-beloved 
 Son,  in  whom  the  Father  is  well  pleased ;  that  from 
 before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  the  Father  had 
 founded  upon  him  the  whole  structure  of  divine  reve- 
 lation, and  the  entire  plan  of  his  purpose,  with  special 
 reference  to  the  deliverance  and  happiness  of  the 
 human  race.  According  to  the  flesh,  he  descended 
 from  the  ''fathers ;"  but  as  the  only -begotten  of  the 
 ''Father y  he  appears  in  the  transcendent  position  which 
 elevates  him  over  all  men  and  over  all  things,  as  the 
 Lord  from  heaven  !  Both  natures  being  united  in  one 
 person,  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  is  God,  blessed  for  ever, 
 in  whom  dwelleth  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily ; 
 whilst  his  glorified  humanity  will  for  ever  serve  to 
 draw  all  his  members  after  him,  and  to  render  the 
 indwelling  fulness  of  the  Godhead  more  and  more 
 visible,  more  and  more  tangible,  more  and  more  com- 
 municable, and  more  and  more  approachable  to  his 
 Spouse,  his  body,  the  Church. 
 
 Whilst,  however,  his  dignity  as  Lord  and  Head  over 
 all  things,  in  the  economy  of  redemption,  is  something 
 derived  from  God, — something  conferred  upon  him  at 
 a  certain  time,  for  a  certain  period,  and  with  a  certain 
 object  in  view, — this  divine  nature,  with  all  its  dignity, 
 and  with  all  its  glorious  majesty,  is  underived ;  it  is 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  225 
 
 essentially  and  eternally  his  own,  and  has  been  brought 
 across  the  great  gtdf  down  into  his  humanity,  from 
 the  mysterious  heights  of  his  pre-existence  with  the 
 Father. 
 
 Whilst  we  thus  have  in  Christ  the  sole  image  of  the 
 invisible  God,  which  in  like  manner  can  be  seen  no 
 where  besides ;  whilst  we  also  possess  in  his  blessed 
 person  the  great  Archetype  of  humanity,  our  adorable 
 Saviour  further  appears  in  the  supereminently  exalted 
 character  of  "  the  firstborn  of  alt  creation.''  God  the 
 Father  has  chosen  us  in  him  before  the  foundation  of 
 the  world.  The  world  was  founded  as  the  sphere  in 
 which  the  chosen  ones  should  appear  holy  and  without 
 blame  before  him  in  love.  In  Christ  they  were  already 
 present  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  without 
 blemish.  Christ  alone  was  the  cause  of  their  being 
 chosen,  and  of  the  world  being  founded,  the  Father 
 having  "  purposed  in  himself  that  in  the  dispensation 
 of  the  fulness  of  times  he  might  gather  together  in  one 
 all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven  and 
 which  are  on  earth,  even  in  him."  Christ,  therefore, 
 as  the  first-born  of  all  creation,  could  not  be  a  creature. 
 Much  rather  all  that  is  high  and  glorious  in  the  de- 
 partment of  created  existences — in  short,  the  whole 
 fulness  of  creation,  dwelleth  in  him  in  so  abundant  a 
 measure,  "  that  in  all  thinr/s  he  might  have  the  pre- 
 eminence;''  for  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him 
 should  all  fulness  dwell,  and  that  he  should  be  the 
 heir   of  all   thino^s.      He   is  the  first-born   of  every 
 
 VOL.  T.  a 
 
226  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 creature,  because  "  by  him  were  all  things  created 
 that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and 
 invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or 
 principalities,  or  powers  ;  all  things  were  created  by 
 him  and  for  him.  And  he  is  before  all  things,  and 
 by  him  all  things  consist."  (Col.  i.  16, 17.)  Christ  in 
 Holy  Scripture  is  never  introduced  as  alone  the  creator 
 of  the  universe,  but  he  is  always  represented  as  the 
 mediator  of  creation.  As,  however,  creation  pre-sup- 
 poses  nothing  existing  besides  God,  the  mediator  must 
 necessarily  be  the  divine  agent.  In  him,  and  to  him, 
 and  by  him,  were  all  things  created,  because  in  him, 
 as  "  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God,"  the  wdiole 
 fulness  of  created  life  was  deposited  prior  to  its 
 existence.  (Rev.  iii.  14.)  And  since  all  creation  was 
 commenced  through  him,  and  received  scope  by  him, 
 Christ's  mediation  could  naturally  be  the  only  means 
 by  which  the  melancholy  disorder,  which  had  been 
 introduced  by  the  fall,  could  again  be  effectually  re- 
 moved. In  the  world  of  matter,  and  in  the  world  of 
 spirit,  he  has  the  pre-eminence.  In  the  world  of 
 matter,  he  is  the  "  first-born  of  all  creation  ; "  in  the 
 world  of  spirit  he  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the  Church, 
 "  the  first-born  from  the  dead."  By  him,  and  in  him, 
 and  unto  him,  all  things  were  created ;  and  bearing  all 
 things,  and  upholding  the  whole  system  of  creation  by 
 the  word  of  his  power,  he  is  the  sole  and  only  legiti- 
 mate mediator  and  Saviour  of  a  fallen  creation,  himself 
 purging  our  sins.  (Heb.  i.  2,  3.) 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   TEIE    NEW   TESTAMENT.  227 
 
 It  was  the  office  of  a  kinsman  under  the  law  to 
 redeem  that  which  was  sold  when  the  "  brother  had 
 waxen  poor  "  (Lev.  xxv.  25) ;  and  it  was  usual  to  give 
 a  sealed  document  to  the  redeemer,  to  ensure  his  title 
 to  the  property  which  had  been  thus  acquired.  Christ 
 Jesus  became  man,  and  he,  as  our  kinsman,  engaged 
 to  redeem  the  world.  Adam,  the  appointed  vice-regent 
 of  God  upon  earth,  by  transgression  had  forfeited  his 
 right  to  that  creation  over  which  he  was  to  rule  in  the 
 likeness  of  his  Maker.  The  claim  and  title  being  like- 
 wise forfeited  by  his  whole  posterity,  and  because  they, 
 in  his  likeness,  all  had  transgressed,  and  with  him 
 "  waxen  poor,"  there  was  naturally  no  kinsman  to 
 redeem  the  possession.  No  one  in  heaven,  or  on 
 earth,  either  iinder  the  earth,  was  able  to  open  this 
 book,  and  to  loose  the  seals  thereof,  excepting  the 
 "  head  over  all  things^  "  the  head  of  the  Cliurch," 
 the  "  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,"  the  7Vot  of  David, 
 the  lamb  loithout  blemish,  as  it  had  been  slain,  pre- 
 vailed to  open  the  book,  to  loose  the  seven  seals  of  the 
 title-deed  of  the  inheritance  of  the  earth,  which  he 
 undertook  to  regain  for  those  by  whom  it  had  been 
 forfeited  ! 
 
 Our  adorable  Saviour  hence  appears  before  us  as 
 the  "  IFord,"  which  was  in  the  beginning,  without 
 whom  was  "  not  any  thing  made  that  was  made." 
 Without  him  we  can  do  nothing  in  religious  matters. 
 Without  him  the  Father  would  do  nothing  in  the 
 revelation  of  rehgious  truth  and  the  procreation  of 
 
 q2 
 
228  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 religious  life.  Nothing  was  revealed,  nothing  was 
 manifested,  nothing  was  made,  and  nothing  was  re- 
 deemed, which  was  not  revealed,  manifested,  made  and 
 redeemed  through  him.  From  those  depths,  un- 
 utterably deep,  which  are  folded  up  in  the  Father's 
 bosom,  proceeds  every  fresh  manifestation  of  religious 
 truth  and  spiritual  life  by  Christ  Jesus,  wdio,  being  in 
 the  Father's  bosom,  "  declareth  unto  ns."  It  is  Christ, 
 whose  name  is  to  be  blessed  in  all  ages,  ''  ^er  quern 
 pater  loquens  ormiiafacit,  quipaterna  ad  nos  loquitur!''' 
 As  thoughts  are  expressed  by  words,  the  mysteries 
 which  were  shut  up  in  the  Father's  bosom  were  brought 
 to  light  through  Christ  Jesus.  In  him  the  thoughts 
 of  a  heavenly  Father  are  brought  home  to  our  hearts, 
 and  rendered  visible  to  the  eyes  of  our  understanding. 
 Christ  as  the  Word,  which  was  with  God,  appears 
 throughout  as  the  sole  speaker  and  the  only  mediator 
 between  God  and  man. 
 
 Whilst  the  Father  is  pleased  to  do  all  things  through 
 his  well-beloved  Son,  "  it  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth," 
 and  "  it  is  the  Spirit  that  beareth  witness,  because  the 
 Spirit  is  truth."     With  the  Father  and  the  blessed 
 Son  the  Spirit  is  equally  active  in  the  opening  of  the 
 seals  of  divine  revelation  and  the  development  of  true 
 religion.     The  worlds  were  created  by  the  mediatorial 
 operations  of  the  Word,  which  was  from  the  beginning 
 the  bearer  of  the  whole  system  of  divine  revelation  ; 
 and  the  Spirit  is  represented  already  in  the  creation  of 
 matter  as   quickening   the  elements  of  the  primeval 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  229 
 
 cliaos.  The  Spirit  is  sent  fortli,  and  they  are  created ; 
 he  taketh  away  their  breath,  and  the  living  creatm^es 
 return  to  their  dust.  The  Spirit,  however,  in  a  special 
 manner,  exercised  his  gracious  functions  in  the  province 
 of  the  economy  of  revelation,  judging  and  rebuking 
 the  world,  quickening,  and  purging,  and  endowing 
 with  special  gifts  and  graces  the  chosen  vessels,  by 
 whose  instrumentality  a  fresh  supply  of  religious  truth 
 was  to  be  added  to  the  already  existing  amount  of 
 revelation . 
 
 As  the  Holy  Ghost  unfolded  his  divine  energies 
 in  the  various  stages  of  the  economy  of  revelation 
 under  the  Old  Testament,  so  w^e  find  that  even  the  in- 
 carnation of  the  Son  was  dependent  upon  him.  His 
 entrance  into  the  flesh  could  be  effected  only  by  the 
 Spirit's  influence.  Whilst,  however,  the  agency  of  the 
 blessed  Spirit  preceded  in  a  preparatory  measure  that 
 of  the  incarnate  Saviour  of  the  Avorld,  we  find  again, 
 on  the  other  hand,  that  he  could  not  fully  unfold  his 
 gracious  operations  in  the  hearts  of  individuals  pre- 
 viously to  the  organization  of  the  new  creation  by  the 
 instrumentality  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "  The  Holy 
 Ghost  was  not  given,  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet 
 glorifled  ;  "  and  the  Apostles  were  to  tarry  in  the  city 
 of  Jerusalem,  until  they  were  endued  with  power  from 
 on  high.  The  elements  of  immortality  and  life  eternal, 
 which  were  brought  to  light  by  the  ministry  of  Christ, 
 were  only  subsequently  impregnated  with  the  quick- 
 ening, renovating,  and  regenerating  principles  of  the 
 
230  DEVELOPMENT  OE    RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 Spirit  from  on  high,  until  man,  in  liis  whole  existence, 
 was  made  meet  for  a  living  fellowship  Avith  the  Father 
 and  the  Son. 
 
 The  effects  of  the  agency  of  the  Spirit  being  not 
 merely  a  hovering  about  or  above  the  believer,  not 
 a  mere  stirring  emotion,  not  a  mere  passing  religious 
 excitement,  nor  yet  merely  an  imparting  of  spiritual 
 gifts  and  graces ;  but  a  new  birth,  a  newness  of  life, 
 an  abiding  and  indwelling  in  the  heart — man  is  made 
 a  living  habitation  of  the  living  God,  who  works  all  in 
 all  through  the  Son  by  the  Spirit.  "  Quanto  magis 
 Spiritui  venerationem  debemus,  cui  non  templum 
 facimus,  sed  sumus.  Si  ex  lignis  et  lapidibus  tem- 
 plum Spiritui  juberemur,  quia  cultus  hie  soli  Deo  de- 
 betur,  clarum  esset  divinitatis  ejus  argumentum ;  nee 
 ergo  quanto  clarius  istud  est,  quod  non  templum  illi 
 facere,  sed  nos  ipsi  esse  debemus?"  (Augustin.)  The 
 Holy  Spirit  was  thus  "poured  out"  into  the  hearts  of 
 men,  as  soon  as  the  whole  system  of  redemption  had 
 been  duly  instituted  and  organized. 
 
 The  respective  agency  of  the  ''Word"  and  of  the 
 Spirit  of  God,  as  it  has  been  exemplified  in  the  economy 
 of  revelation,  corresponds  also  to  the  natural  sense  of 
 the  terms.  The  organic  sound,  as  the  bearer  and  re- 
 vealer  of  the  unknown  and  hidden  ideas  of  the  mind  of 
 man,  naturally  presupposes  the  activity  and  energy  of 
 spiritus.  He  again  precedes  the  Word,  is  in  the 
 Word,  and  streams  from  the  Word.  From  the  begin- 
 ning to  the  end  of  the  ways  of  the  Almighty — from 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  231 
 
 the  creation  of  tlie  world  to  tlie  restitution  of  all 
 things — the  Holy  Ghost  appears  as  the  breath  of  the 
 living  God.  He  is  the  great  mover  of  all  that  moves, 
 and  lives,  and  has  its  being ;  he  is  the  living  breath 
 that  agitates  the  ocean  of  divine  life,  so  as  to  cause 
 rivers  to  flow  into  the  multifarious  spheres  and  pro- 
 vinces of  life !  He  is  God's  own  self,  as  the  spirit 
 of  man  is  his  own  self;  and  yet  he  is  not  the  whole 
 index  of  the  nature  of  God,  as  the  spirit  of  man  is 
 not  the  whole  index  of  the  nature  of  man.  We  can 
 as  little  separate  the  Godhead  from  the  Spirit  of  God, 
 as  we  can  separate  the  spirit  of  man  from  humanity. 
 The  Spirit  of  God  penetrates  the  profoundest  mysteries 
 of  his  being,  the  most  secret  peculiarities  of  his  nature; 
 and  because  he  searches  all  things,  even  the  inmost 
 recesses  of  the  Godhead,  and  contemplates  them  as 
 they  are  in  reality  and  truth,  "  tJte  Spirit  is  truth!'  God 
 the  Father  '■'■is  a  sjnrit ^  he  dwelleth  in  secret,  and 
 reveals  the  things  which  are  secret ;  he  is  beyond  the 
 reach  of  contemplation,  and  known  only  to  himself.  The 
 Lord  Jesus  is  "  the  Sjnrit,''  inasmuch  as  he  removes 
 the  impenetrable  veil,  glorifying  himself  from  glory  to 
 glory  in  every  one  that  cometh  unto  him. 
 
 The  Lord  Jesus  hence  assumes  the  same  relation  to 
 the  Holy  Spirit,  which  the  Father  occupies  respecting 
 the  Holy  Spirit.  And  again,  the  Spirit  is  related  to 
 Christ,  as  the  Son  is  related  to  the  Father.  As  the 
 Father  sends  the  Son,  so  Christ  sends  the  Spirit, 
 as  also  does  the  Father.     As  the   Son  takes  of  the 
 
232  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 things  of  the  Father,  so  the  Spnit  takes  of  the  things 
 of  Christ.  The  Spirit  bears  witness  to  the  Son, 
 and  glorifies  the  Son,  as  Christ  bears  Avitness  to  the 
 Father,  and  glorifies  the  Father.  The  Spirit  was  with 
 the  Father  before  he  proceeded  from  the  Father,  as 
 also  was  the  Son  before  he  went  out  from  the  Father. 
 The  cause  of  the  proceeding  of  the  Spirit  is  both  in 
 the  Father  and  in  the  Son,  and  the  object  is  the  glo- 
 rification of  both  the  Father  and  the  Son.  He,  how- 
 ever, wdio  is  not  draAvn  by  the  Father,  cannot  come 
 unto  the  Son ;  and  the  world  which  receiveth  not  the 
 witness  of  the  Son,  cannot  receive  the  Holy  Ghost. 
 And  as  the  Holy  Ghost  is  thus  essentially  Godhead, 
 he  only  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit  can  enter  the 
 kingdom  of  God.  He  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is 
 born  of  God,  and  hath  both  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
 All  divine  revelation  is  thus  communicated  and  sealed 
 by  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  by  him  the  Father  and  the 
 Son  dwell  in  the  believer ;  and  the  believer  has  fellow- 
 ship with  the  Father  through  the  Son  by  the  Holy 
 Ghost.  Upon  this  same  ground,  blasphemy  of  the 
 Holy  Ghost  is  the  sin  unto  death,  unpardonable  in 
 this  life,  and  in  the  life  Avliich  is  to  come.  (Mark 
 iii.  28.) 
 
 It  was,  therefore,  on  the  appearance  of  our  Lord 
 Jesus  Christ  that  men  felt  as  they  had  never  felt  before. 
 A  new  Spirit  had  revived  in  the  wdiole  mass,  which, 
 prior  to  his  blessed  advent,  was  smitten  with  anguish 
 and  despair.      The  coming  of  the   ]\Iessiali  was  not 
 
CHAP.  HI.]  IN    THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  233 
 
 only  the  centre  of  the  Avhole  development  of  spiritual 
 life,  but  it  was  also  the  turning  point  ingeneral  history^ 
 And  as  we  trace  the  far  and  wide  shooting  rays  of  the 
 natural  light  to  the  sun,   as  their  fountain-head,   so 
 Christ  is  the  sole  "  light  of  the  world,"  and  the  bright 
 luminary  of  its  history.     All  the  moral  and  political 
 changes  of  by-gone  ages    seemed   pointing  to  him. 
 And  the  observation,  how   all  the    divers    events  of 
 the  history  of  men  seem  to  bear  upon  him,  and  to 
 fall  into  the  great  plan  of  the  Almighty,  is  calculated 
 to  wring  the  confession  from  every  lip  : — "0  Lord,  hoio 
 (/reat  are  thy  loorks,  and  thy  thouyJits  are  very  deejj  !'' 
 This  evidence  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  is,  indeed, 
 of  a  second  order,  inasmuch  as  all  and  every  thing 
 within  the  boundaries  of  God's  providential  kingdom 
 must  and  will  agree.    The  origin  of  the  Roman  empire, 
 the   rise  and  progress   of  the   spurious    Religion   of 
 Mohammed, — in  short,   all  the  great  and  prominent 
 features  on  the  platform  of  universal  history,  must  and 
 will  agree  with  other  events ;  for  how  otherwise  could 
 the  world  be  a  whole?     Hence  the  bearing  of  the 
 universal  history  upon  the  appearance  of  the  Son  of 
 man  can  only  be  discovered  by  those  who  possess  the 
 mind,  as  well  as  the  requisite  amount  of  information, 
 to  discern,  that  not  only  has  all  been  in  accordance 
 with  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  but  that  all  tilings  have 
 been  made   subservient  to  the   same.      We  have  in 
 Christ   the    spirit   of  every  type,  the    soul  of  every 
 promise,  the  fulfilment  of  all  hopes,  the  highest  per- 
 
234  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 fectioii  of  all  philosophy,  the  explanation  of  all  prophecy, 
 the  exemplification  of  all  holiness,  the  key  to  all  the 
 apparent  contradictions  in  the  physical,  moral,  and 
 religious  world. 
 
 There  are  many  solitary  truths  without  Christ ; 
 there  have  been  truths  before  his  manifestation  in  the 
 flesh,  which  we  have  again  in  Christianity ;  and  there 
 have  been  also  many  anxious  minds,  who  feared  that 
 the  originality  of  the  Christian  Religion  would  be 
 endangered  by  the  discovery  of  certain  analogous 
 expressions  or  sentiments  in  other  systems  of  belief. 
 But  should  we  even  discover  a  great  many  more,  the 
 anxiety  is  utterly  without  foundation ;  for  in  Christ 
 we  have  united  more  than  has  ever  been  scattered 
 abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  moral  or  the  religious 
 world.  Religious  truths,  such  as  perhaps  have  existed 
 beyond  the  circumference  of  revealed  Religion,  are 
 buildings  without  foundations,  members  without  body, 
 a  body  without  head,  waters  without  a  fountain,  and 
 planets  without  a  sun. 
 
 Om^  blessed  and  adorable  Lord  appears  so  infinitely 
 great  and  august,  that  even  Rousseau  was  so  far 
 struck  with  admiration  as  to  consider  it  less  incom- 
 prehensible to  suppose,  that  the  Scriptures,  which 
 testify  of  him,  should  have  been  forged,  than  that  one 
 individual  only  should  have  supplied  all  the  materials 
 for  the  representation  of  so  supremely  excellent  and 
 incomparable  a  person.  Nor  can  we  be  surprised,  that 
 the  glorious  rays  of  the  distinguished  luminary  of  the 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE   NEW    TESTAMENT.  235 
 
 world  should  have  been  reflected  for  thousands  of  years 
 in  symbolical  and  typical  forms,  before  mankind  was 
 sufficiently  prepared  to  bear  its  inefiable  splendour. 
 The  veil  of  symbols  is  now  taken  away  from  the  coun- 
 tenance, and,  beholding  with  open  faces  the  glory  of 
 the  Lord,  we  are  changed  into  the  same  image,  from 
 glory  to  glory ! 
 
 In  this  all-comprehensive  and  incomparably  exalted 
 position,  Christ  is  particularly  represented  in  the  first 
 chapter  of  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Ephesians. 
 The  Apostle  reminds  his  readers  most  affectionately 
 of  the  manifold  spiritual  blessings  by  which  they  had 
 been  made  rich,  through  Christ,  in  heavenly  things. 
 And  from  hence  he  opens  to  their  enlightened  minds  one 
 of  the  very  brightest  visions  which  human  faculties  are 
 capable  of  embracing.  He  reviews  the  immutable  basis 
 upon  which  the  Eather  has  chosen  us  in  Christ  Jesus 
 before  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  that  we  should 
 be  holy  and  without  blame  before  him  in  love.  In 
 this  was  already  included  his  having  predestinated  us 
 unto  the  adoption  of  children  to  himself,  by  the  same 
 Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his 
 will.  They  were  seen  in  Christ  holy  and  without  blame 
 already  in  the  bosom  of  eternity  ;  and  when  they  were 
 created,  they  were  created  by  the  Eather,  in  the  beloved, 
 by  the  beloved,  and  unto  the  beloved,  as  a  family  of 
 adopted  and  accepted  children. 
 
 It  is  again  in  the  Beloved,  that,  after  the  fall  of 
 man,  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  for- 
 
236  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap,  hi- 
 
 giveiiess  of  sins,  according  to  the  riclies  of  his  grace. 
 And  it  is  the  abundant  riches  of  this  grace  from  which 
 the  inspired  Apostle  anticipates  the  final  solution  of  the 
 profoundest  mystery  of  godliness,  according  to  which 
 God  had  purposed  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
 that  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  time  he  would 
 gather  together  into  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both 
 which  are  in  heaven  and  which  are  on  earth,  even  in  him ! 
 This  exceeding  great  scheme  of  the  whole  economy 
 of  divine  revelation,  wdiich  is  likewise  so  power- 
 fully described  in  what  may  be  particularly  called 
 the  "  Lord's  Prayer,"  (John  xvii.)  embraces,  there- 
 fore, the  height  and  the  depth,  the  length  and  the 
 breadth  of  the  eternal  purpose,  which  he  pui-posed  in 
 Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  And  the  Apostle  proceeds  to 
 show  how  this  mystery  had  been  already  unsealing 
 some  of  its  columns  in  the  history  of  the  world,  inas- 
 much as  the  Jews  (ver.ll,  12)  had  been  separated  from 
 other  nations,  according  to  the  original,  and  ordained 
 beforehand,  that  they  should  be  to  the  praise  of  his 
 glory,  and  prepared  to  trust  fird  in  Christ.  This 
 setting  apart  of  Israel,  how^ever,  was  not  founded  upon 
 any  peculiar  merit  of  the  nation  itself,  but  it  w^as  all 
 done  "  according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh 
 all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  owai  will."  Not  only, 
 however,  the  Jews,  but  also  the  Gentiles  w^ere  to  be 
 added  to  the  chosen  priesthood,  as  soon  as  they  had 
 heard  the  w^ord  of  truth,  believed  the  Gospel  of  salva- 
 tion, and  been  sealed  with  that  holy  Spirit  of  promise. 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.'  237 
 
 It  is,  however,  necessary  that  the  Spirit  of  wisdom 
 and  revelation  enhghten  the  eyes  of  the  understanding, 
 in  order  that  we  may  know  how  rich  are  the  hopes  in- 
 volved in  this  calling  ;  how  rich  the  harvest  of  glory 
 which  is  to  result  to  God  in  the  highest  from  the 
 inheritance  of  his  saints ;  and  what  is  the  exceeding 
 greatness  of  his  power,  which  he  should  reveal  in 
 believers  according  to  the  energy  of  his  mighty  power, 
 which  had  already  shown  itself  effectual  in  Christ 
 Jesus,  when  he  was  raised  from  the  dead,  and  set 
 at  his  right  hand  far  above  every  principahty,  and 
 power,  and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that 
 is  named,  not  only  in  this  Avorld,  but  also  in  that 
 which  is  to  come  ;  and  hath  put  all  things  under  his 
 feet ;  whilst  the  church  is  united  to  him  as  the  body 
 to  its  head. 
 
 Inasmuch,  then,  as  all  divine  revelation  was  accom- 
 plished through  the  mediation  of  Christ,  all  the  works 
 of  the  Almighty  are  stamped  with  the  Christian  name 
 and  the  Christian  character.  This  was  already  felt 
 by  Tertullian  when  he  declared  "  Anima  naturaliter 
 Christiana  est."  We  have  been  tracing  not  merely 
 the  history  of  the  Belicjion  of  Jesus,  which  would  ex- 
 hibit the  sole  act  of  human  deliverance,  and  compre- 
 hend only  an  important  branch  of  a  yet  wider  scheme 
 of  divine  revelation ;  but  we  have  emphatically  to  do 
 with  the  Religion  of  Christ,  with  the  Christian  Reli- 
 gion, which  significantly  embraces  all  the  religious 
 elements   in   the    Old  Testament,    as   well  as   every 
 
238  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 department  of  tlie  infinite  system  of  revelation  by 
 creation,  providence,  and  redemption.  This  is  tlie  cause 
 why  tlie  primitive  Christians  eschewed  the  appellation 
 of  Jesuits,  being  "  first  called  Christians  at  Antioch." 
 We  have,  therefore,  in  the  Old  as  well  as  in  the  New 
 Testament,  the  development  and  the  working  of  the 
 Religion  of  the  Messiah  ;  or  we  have,  in  other  words, 
 the  development  of  the  Christian  ReHgion  ;  and  every 
 true  believer  in  the  coming  Messiah  was  virtually 
 as  well  as  nominally  a  Christian  of  the  Old  Testament 
 dispensation.  For  this  cause  St.  Paul  bowed  his 
 knees  unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  "Christ," 
 of  whom  the  whole  household  of  the  Father  in  heaven 
 and  upon  earth  is  called  and  named  a  Christian 
 household  ?a\di  a  Cliristian  family  !    (Eph,  iii.  15.) 
 
 10.  In  reviewing  the  history  of  genuine  Religion 
 in  former  ages,  the  light  which  we  have  now  gained 
 solves  all  difficulties  and  makes  everything  plain  before 
 our  eyes.  The  mystery,  which  was  kept  secret  since 
 the  world  began,  is  at  last  manifested  by  the  Scriptures 
 of  the  prophets  and  the  ministry  of  the  Apostles, 
 "  according  to  the  commandment  of  the  everlasting 
 God  made  known  to  all  nations  for  the  obedience  of 
 faith."  (ICor.  xvi.  25,  26.)  Having  the  key  of  the 
 Gospel,  we  are  now  able  to  trace  the  wisdom  and 
 goodness  of  divine  Providence  in  his  household  the 
 church.  And  what  a  surprising  and  unearthly  dis- 
 covery is  that  of  the  golden  thread  leading  back, 
 through  a  complicated  weft  of  human  actions,  to  the 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE    NEW   TESTAMENT.  239 
 
 most  primitive  days  of  the  history  of  man  !  Like  as 
 the  individual  man  is  first  educated  and  pohshed 
 within  the  narrow  sphere  of  family  life  before  he  is 
 considered  fit  to  launch  forth  into  the  open  sea  of  the 
 world,  so  God  had  prepared  him  a  people ;  first  a 
 small  famili/,  then  a  nngle  nation,  for  all-important 
 purposes.  It  is  one  of  tlie  (/reatest  mysteries  in  the 
 history  of  the  tvorld,  that  a  nation  exercised  the  very 
 greatest  influence  vj^on  the  rest  of  mankind  only  after 
 it  ivas  destroyed  and  scattered  all  over  the  face  of  the 
 earth ;  lohilst  it  loas  comjjaratively  unknown,  and 
 remained  unnoticed,  during  the  time  of  its  formation 
 and  existence  I  The  people  of  God's  special  care  abide 
 under  the  secret  cover  of  his  tabernacle.  The  cele- 
 brated ancients  were  scarcely  aware  of  their  existence. 
 It  was  the  destiny  of  this  singular  people  to  hide  in  the 
 first  place,  and  then  to  reveal  something  uncommon 
 and  holy.  But  when  it  was  revealed  the  nation  lost 
 its  importance ! 
 
 The  peculiarity  of  this  people  and  the  ultimate  ob- 
 ject of  so  extraordinary  a  train  of  providences  respecting 
 them,  was  more  or  less  involved  in  a  mystery.  But 
 the  eventual  solution  of  the  problem  throws  light  upon 
 the  whole  of  the  preparatory  apparatus.  It  is  shown 
 that  it  was  not  partiality  which  prompted  the  choice  of 
 a  peculiar  nation,  at  the  expense  of  the  whole  world ; 
 but  in  order  to  appreciate  the  Old  Testament,  we 
 require  to  understand  the  New.  And  as  the  Scriptures 
 of  the  Hebrews,  which  contain  the  records  of  these 
 
240  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 tilings,  have  the  peculiarity  that  they  are  to  be  read 
 backwards  from  the  right  to  the  left ;  so  the  nation 
 itself,  with  its  whole  Theocratical  constitution,  can 
 only  be  fully  understood  when  we  consider  them  in 
 the  light  of  the  Gospel,  reading  their  whole  history 
 from  the  right  to  the  left !  Or,  to  use  another  simile : 
 as  the  inspired  documents  were  originally  written  only 
 with  consonants,  and  therefore  only  intelligible  to  some 
 of  the  Hebrews  themselves,  the  vowels  having  only 
 been  added  sometime  after  the  beginning  of  the 
 Christian  era  ;  even  so,  after  the  Gospel  dispensation 
 supplied  the  living  vowels  to  the  consonants  of  the 
 Old  Testament,  "  lie  may  run  that  readeth  it.''  The 
 history  of  Israel  is  plain  to  every  Christian. 
 
 The  chosen  nation,  which  was  to  be  a  barrier  against 
 the  torrent  of  idolatry  that  seemed  to  overwhelm 
 mankind,  was  small  and  insignificant  in  comparison 
 with  other  nations,  yet  it  was  an  instrument  by  which 
 God's  purpose  was  made  to  stand.  If  we  suppose  the 
 case,  that  no  such  nation  had  existed,  everything  would 
 have  taken  a  perfectly  different  course.  Idolatry  would 
 have  overrun  mankind,  and  retained  its  cruel  sv^ay  up 
 to  the  present  hour.  It  might  have  changed  its  forms 
 and  systems  ten  thousand  times,  but  to  rise  above  the 
 level  of  superstition  and  infidelity  would  always  have 
 been  beyond  its  power.  The  small  link,  however,  in 
 the  chain  of  divine  providence,  not  only  opposed  the 
 disease  in  its  rapid  strides  over  the  face  of  the  globe, 
 but  so   connected  the  development  of  true  Religion 
 
CHAP.  III.]         IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  241 
 
 from  the  commencement  witli  the  history  of  the  world, 
 as  to  render  it  of  the  utmost  consecjuence  in  the 
 event.  If  toe  remove  this  link,  we  have  a  purely  idol- 
 atrous loorld  without  the  least  exception  ;  a  world  dark 
 andineligious,  loith  tio  elemettt  ivhich  could  serve  as  a 
 foundation  for  the  happiness  and  salvation  of  mankind. 
 The  history  of  Israel,  considered  in  this  light,  eclipses 
 in  importance  the  history  of  all  other  nations  of  an- 
 tiquity together ;  for  it  contains  elements,  and  is  the 
 ncord  of  events,  which  were  intensely  important  to 
 the  whole  family  of  man. 
 
 The  generalization  of  the  promised  blessing,  how- 
 ever, could  not  be  efiected  until  the  whole  was  so  pre- 
 pared, as  to  allow  its  introduction  under  the  most 
 favourable  prospects,  and  when  the  want  of  it  was  felt 
 to  be  most  urgent  and  imperative.  The  affairs  of  the 
 world  were  at  the  time  of  Christ  exactly  in  such  a 
 position,  that  if  Christianity  had  not  appeared,  the 
 world  would  have  inevitably  fallen  a  prey  to  the 
 tyrannical  yoke  of  Pagan  superstition,  or  Pagan  in- 
 fidelity, because  the  constitution  which  had  hitherto 
 served  as  a  safe  barrier  to  its  becoming  general  was 
 abolished  with  the  national  independence  and  the 
 Theocratical  apparatus  of  the  Israel  of  God.  The 
 nation,  in  refusing  the  Messiah,  had  thrown  away 
 their  whole  dignity ;  they  had  forfeited  the  right  to 
 the  possession  of  the  land  and  to  national  independence 
 in  general ;  they  had  for  ever  cast  from  them  their 
 prosperity   and  happiness.     With  the  Messiah,   they 
 
 VOL.    I.  H 
 
242  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 rejected  Jehovah  also.  The  Son  came  unto  his  own, 
 and  his  own  received  him  not.  By  this  act  they  had 
 humbled  themselves  beneath  the  level  of  those  nations, 
 from  whom  they  were  so  honourably  distinguished,  in- 
 asmuch as  they  were  now  made  an  object  of  scorn  and 
 derision.  In  this  degraded  condition  they  could  no 
 longer  be  the  salt  of  the  earth,  and  oppose  the  in- 
 fluence of  Pagan  idolatry. 
 
 If,  therefore,  something  had  not  been  substituted  for 
 the  once  efficient  constitution  of  Israel,  Paganism  now 
 would  have  stood  unrestrained,  and  obtained  the 
 supremacy  for  itself.  Christianity,  however,  not  only 
 entered  as  an  efficient  bar  to  obstruct  the  influence 
 of  Paganism,  but  administered  comfort  and  peace  to 
 the  Pagan  world,  which  was  even  then  writhing  in 
 agony  and  despair,  Christianity  could  make  its 
 way  with  comparative  ease  into  the  heathen  world, 
 as  it  was  no  longer  shackled  by  the  peculiarity 
 which  prevented  Judaism  from  proselytizing  amongst 
 the  Gentiles.  The  object  of  the  separation  being  now 
 gained,  the  dam  was  required  no  more,  and  every 
 effort  to  uphold  it  any  longer  was  against  the  whole 
 scope  of  the  preparatory  institution.  "  Neither  do 
 men  put  new  wine  into  old  bottles  :  else  the  bottles 
 break,  and  the  wine  runneth  out,  and  the  bottles 
 perish :  hit  tliey  put  new  lo'ine  into  neio  bottles,  and 
 both  are  preserved."  When  mankind  was  in  its 
 childhood,  and  spake  as  a  child,  and  understood  as 
 a  child,  and  thought  as  a  child,  Religion  condescended 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  243 
 
 to  its  low  estate  ;  but  when  mankind  had  become 
 a  man,  Rehgion  also  "  put  away  childish  things."  A 
 right  conception  of  the  relation  between  the  Old  and 
 the  New  Testament  will  preclude  the  expectation  of 
 any  other  dispensation  before  the  second  advent  of 
 Christ. 
 
 Judaism  has  been  standing  still  for  1800  years  ;  not 
 a  spark  of  spiritual  blessing  has  it  been  able  to  com- 
 municate to  the  rest  of  humanity,  since  it  would  have 
 no  part  in  the  great  blessings  which  were  promised  to 
 their  patriarchs.  And  the  nation  wanders  about  like 
 a  ghost  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  without  country, 
 without  king,  without  prophet,  without  sacrifice,  with- 
 out Pagan  images,  and  without  the  ephod  of  the  high- 
 priest,  without  Urim  and  Thummim ;  without  Teraphim 
 or  family  idols  ;  and  the  true  meaning  of  that  re- 
 markable passage  in  Hosea  iii.  4,  is  :  "  They  shall  be 
 neither  Jews  nor  Gentiles,  and  shall  have  neither  a 
 true  nor  yet  a  false  sanctuary."  The  leaven  of  idolatry 
 is  indeed  cleansed,  but  they  are  no  longer  Israelites  ; 
 for  what  is  an  Israelite  without  temple  and  sacrifice, 
 without  priest  and  without  prophets,  without  a  Theo- 
 cratical  constitution,  and  without  Messiah  ?  They 
 have  zeal  for  God,  but  without  knowledge.  They  have 
 Moses  and  the  prophets,  but,  notwithstanding,  they  are 
 blind ;  "  for  until  this  day  remaineth  the  same  veil, 
 untaken  away  in  the  reading  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 "  When  Moses  is  read,  the  veil  is  upon  their  hearts." 
 They  imagine  to  serve  the  God  of  their  fathers,  but 
 
 r2 
 
244  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap,  in, 
 
 with  the  Son,  "  The  Lord  our  Ri(/hteousness,  "  they 
 have  rejected  the  Father  also.  And  as  this  nation  stood 
 singular  in  the  midst  of  other  nations  in  the  days  of 
 old,  so  they  appear  singular  in  these  latter  days. 
 Scattered  all  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  yet  unmixed ; 
 persecuted  and  oppressed,  yet  undiminished,  they 
 preserve  their  nationality  without  a  native  land,  and 
 without  rites,  they  have  a  Religion.  There  being  no 
 eternal  cm'se  in  this  world,  and  the  gifts  of  God  being 
 without  repentance,  we  may  yet  hope  better  things  of 
 this  remarkable  nation. 
 
 One  thing,  however,  seems  to  be  sufficiently  clear 
 from  their  former  character  and  their  present  condition, 
 and  that  is,  that  they  have  fulfilled  their  destiny 
 as  a  nation.  How  different  was  their  situation  before 
 the  Christian  era,  in  comparison  with  their  present 
 position  !  Israel  had  been  again  and  again  under  the 
 oppressive  hand  of  foreign  powers ;  but  how  could 
 Jehovah  better  show  that  he  would  spare  this  nation 
 for  some  specific  purpose,  than  by  delivering  them 
 from  the  hand  of  their  enemies  against  all  human 
 probability,  and  by  taking  them  again  under  his 
 special  protection  ?  Thus  they  were  delivered  from  a 
 state  of  servitude  in  the  "house  of  bondage,"  which  had 
 lasted  no  less  than  four  hundred  years.  And  when  they 
 were  vexed  during  a  period  of  another  four  hundred 
 years  by  the  Philistines  and  similar  nations,  he  aided 
 them  from  time  to  time  by  giving  them  victory  over 
 their  enemies,  until  they  were  at  length  entirely  deli- 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  245 
 
 vered  from  these  petty  annoyances  under  David. 
 When,  at  a  still  later  period,  dangers  and  oppression 
 threatened  to  come  from  the  powerful  nations  of  the 
 East,  God  saved  his  people  by  allowing  one  of  these 
 powers  to  swallow  the  other.  The  Assyrians  were  hum- 
 bled by  the  Chaldeans ;  and  the  Babylonian  empire 
 again  was  destroyed  by  the  Medes  and  by  the  Persians  ; 
 and  it  was  under  this  latter  reign,  that  the  captive 
 Jews  in  Babylon  were  allowed  to  return  to  their  own 
 land.  The  efforts  which  were  made  by  the  Syrian 
 kings  in  later  days,  especially  by  the  bitter  enemy  of 
 the  Jewish  Religion,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  were  con- 
 founded by  the  spirited  heroism  of  the  house  of  the 
 Maccabees  ;  whilst  the  triumphant  eagles  of  Pompey 
 and  Anthony  were  to  pass  harmless  by  Jerusalem, 
 until  they  had  tilled  up  their  measure  of  sin  in  cruci- 
 fying the  Lord  of  Glory.  And  when  the  holy  city  was 
 become  a  carcase  after  that  memorable  event,  the  Ro- 
 man eagles  were  again  gathered  together  to  execute  the 
 judgments  of  the  Almighty. 
 
 Since  that  time  the  nation  has  smarted  under  the 
 unmitigated  curse,  which  has  followed  them  to  every 
 land  wliither  they  have  been  scattered.  The  power 
 which  had  been  made  instrumental  in  the  hand  of 
 God  to  visit  the  sins  of  his  people,  has  long  ago  fallen 
 into  decay ;  and  several  new  empires  and  kingdoms 
 have  arisen  upon  the  ruins  of  the  colossal  power  of 
 ancient  Rome.  But  amongst  all  the  emperors  and 
 kings  who  have  since   arisen  in  Asia  and  in  Europe 
 
246  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 there  has  as  yet  been  found  no  Cyrus,  whose  spirit 
 was  moved  to  aid  the  captives  in  returning  to  the  land 
 of  their  fathers.  And  amongst  all  the  great  men  of 
 the  Jews  themselves,  there  may  be  Rothschilds,  but  no 
 second  Zerubbabel  has  yet  been  discovered,  who  has 
 succeeded  to  take  the  lead  of  his  brethren  in  such  a 
 homeward  movement !  According  to  the  express  pre- 
 diction of  our  adorable  Messiah,  whom  they  have 
 given  up  to  the  Gentiles,  Jerusalem  and  its  inhabitants 
 "  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  imtil  the 
 time  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  "  And  they  also,  if 
 they  abide  not  in  unbelief,  shall  be  graffed  in  :  for 
 God  is  able  to  graff  them  in  again  ;"  not,  perhaps,  into 
 "  Jerusalem,"  but  "  into  their  own  olive  tree,"  Avhich 
 is  the  true  Israel  of  God ;  the  church  of  Christ  now 
 being  the  good  olive  tree  :  and  as  it  is  not  nnfrequent 
 in  nature  that  the  engrafted  sprig  far  outgrows  the 
 original  stock  in  circumference,  so  also  the  Israel  from 
 amongst  the  Gentiles  has  far  outgrown  the  Israel  of 
 God  from  amongst  the  Israel  of  the  flesh  ! 
 
 In  reviewing  the  very  remarkable  history  of  the 
 Israel  of  God,  we  confess  there  was  something  natural, 
 we  had  almost  said  justifiable,  in  the  pride  of  Jewish 
 patriotism ;  for  never  had  those  whom  history  had 
 most  gorgeously  blazoned  in  the  heraldry  of  human 
 achievement  and  ancestral  glory — never  had  they  such 
 marvellous  honours  to  boast  of !  All  the  conquests  of 
 ambition  and  earthly  renown  are  not  to  be  compared 
 with  that  wreath  of  splendour  which  sat  upon  the  men 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  247 
 
 of  Judali !     There  is  nought  in  all  that  is  recorded  of 
 the  sages  and  warriors  or  the  prowess  of  other  lands 
 that  so  irradiates  their  names  as  that  which  irradiates 
 the  land  of  the  Hebrews.     Theirs  were  the  prophets 
 and  patriarchs   and  holy  men  of  God  !     Apart  from 
 piety,  there  is  that  of  the  poetic  and  picturesque  about 
 them  which  has  furnished  writers  with  the  most  pleasing 
 delineations  of  character  and  costume.     The  traveller 
 whose  feehngs  have  been  elevated  by  what  he  saw  in 
 the  classic  territories  of  Greece  and  Rome,   and  in 
 Egypt,   will  always  confess  that  a   deeper   awe  was 
 filling  his  mind  as  he  trod  the  sacred  land  of  Judea. 
 Israel  was  a  nation  selected  by  God,  instructed  by  his 
 prophets,  visited  not  only  by  the  angels  of  heaven,  but 
 even  by  the  Son  of  God.      Our  Lord  sprang  out  of 
 Judah  ;    salvation  is  of  the  Jews.      To  them  belonged 
 the  glory  of  this  high  and  heavenly  relationship,  and 
 with  theii"  fathers  were  those  covenants  made  which 
 enveloped  the  great  spiritual  destinies  of  the  human 
 race.     Paul  felt  much  of  it  when  he  made  mention  of 
 the  Israelites    as    a  people   to   whom   pertained   the 
 adoption,  and  the  (/lori/,  and  the  covenants,  and  the 
 fjimng  of  the  laxv,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the  pro- 
 mises ;    and   he  finished  the  stately  climax   of  their 
 honours  and  national  glories  with  what  he  deemed  the 
 brightest  of  their  ensigns,   that  from  them  as  concern- 
 ing the  flesh  Christ  came,  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed 
 for  ever.     (Rom.  ix.  1 — 5.)      They  were  indeed  the 
 most  illustrious  nation  on  the  face  of  the  world.  There 
 
248  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 shines  upon  tliem  a  glory  from  on  liigli ;  and  all  that 
 the  heroic  and  classic  page  has  enrolled  of  other  na- 
 tions cannot  stand  a  most  distant  comparison.  The 
 daughter  of  Sion  was  a  crown  of  glory  and  a  royal 
 diadem  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  ;  Hephzibah  she  was 
 called,  for  his  delight  was  in  her ;  and  as  a  bridegroom 
 rejoiceth  over  his  bride,  even  so  rejoiced  the  Lord  over 
 Sion.  But,  alas!  "  Ichabod,  the  glory  is  departed.^' 
 The  ways  of  Sion  do  mourn,  because  none  come  to 
 their  solemn  feasts ;  all  her  gates  are  desolate,  her 
 priests  sigh,  her  virgins  are  afflicted,  and  she,  in  the 
 bitterness  of  her  soul,  is  sitting  in  the  dust,  covered 
 with  mourning  as  a  widow,  and  giving  vent  to  her 
 grief  in  words  of  lamentation  :  "  The  Lord  hath  for- 
 saken 7ne,  and  my  Lord  hath  forgotten  me  !  "  Many 
 were  their  provocations  and  temptations  in  the  wil- 
 derness, and  many  were  their  sufferings  and  captivi- 
 ties ;  but  since  He  came  unto  his  own,  and  li:s  own 
 received  him  not — since  they  have  rejected  Jesus, 
 and  with  him  rejected  the  glory  of  their  nation — since 
 they  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory,  and  slain  the 
 Captain  of  our  salvation — since  they  have  called  his 
 blood  to  be  upon  them  and  upon  their  children — since 
 ihey  have  neglected  so  great  a  salvation,  and  trodden 
 underfoot  the  Son  of  God,  and  counted  the  blood  of 
 the  covenant  an  unholy  thing — since  that  time,  Lchabod, 
 t'le ylory  is  departed!  They  are  banished  from  his 
 presence,  and  scattered  abroad  among  all  nations  as 
 living   monuments    of  his   holy  anger,  to  become   a 
 
 \ 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  210 
 
 reproach  in  the  face  of  the  world,  a  proverb  and  byword 
 among  all  nations.    He  poured  out  his  fury,  and  kindled 
 a  fire  in  Sion,   which  devoured  the  very  foundations 
 thereof;   and  more  than  seventeen  hundred  years  the 
 unhappy  Jew  wanders  through    the    world,    ivithout 
 country  and  icithoiit  king,  without  prophet  and  without 
 temjplc,  iDitltout  altar  and  without  sacrifice,  without  God 
 and  ivithout  Messiah,  exclaiming  as  he  wanders,  "  The 
 Lord  hath  forsaken  me,  my  Lord  hath  forgotten  me  !  " 
 Whilst  in  Jerusalem,   the  writer  attended  one  of 
 the  Jewish    anniversaries  in    commemoration    of  the 
 destruction  of  the  temple  of  Jehovah.      He  went  and 
 found    them  sitting  on   the    ground,   on   purpose    to 
 mourn  and  weep  over  the  sacred  dust  of  their  ancient 
 glory,  each  holding  a  candle  in  one  hand,  and  the  book 
 of  the  Prophet's  Lamentations  in  the  other.      One   of 
 the  Elders  in  Israel  began  chanting  these  Lamenta- 
 tions  in  the  holy    and    expressive   language   of   the 
 original.      Each  note  was  swollen  with  a  sigh,  if  not 
 broken  by  a  sob  ;    and  the  mourning  congregation 
 gave  way  to  their  smothered  groans  at  certain  particular 
 passages.     There  he  observed,  amongst  others,  a  little 
 boy  heartily  sobbing ;  there  another  little  boy  buried 
 his  face  in  the  lap  of  his  father,  and  the  eyes  of  both 
 father  and  son  were  literally  flowing  with  tears  !    An 
 old  Rabbi  arose  from  the  weeping  assembly,  to  open  a 
 most  pathetic  discourse  by  lamenting   the  melancholy 
 event  which  was  commemorated  by  the  anniversary. 
 His  tears  flowed  fast,  and  rolling  down  his  face  mingled 
 
250  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  in. 
 
 with  his  beard,  which  was  white  as  snow.  Many  of  the 
 weeping  congregation  soon  began  to  sob  aloud  and  to 
 veil  their  faces.  "  Where  is  the  beauty  of  the  holy 
 city  Jerusalem,  our  mother?  "  asked  the  old  llabbi ; 
 "  where  our  temple,  and  the  token  of  the  presence  of 
 our  God  ?  Where  is  our  high-priest?"  "We  have 
 cast  them  away  through  our  transgressions  !  "  was  his 
 reply.  When  at  last  he  opened  a  chest  towards  the 
 Temple  mountain,  containing  the  Law  of  Moses,  and 
 showed  the  meagre  shadow  of  their  ancient  glory  to 
 the  congregation,  praying  for  all  Israel  in  Jerusalem 
 and  abroad,  "  they  all  we^d  icith  a  loud  voice." 
 Sion  said,  "  The  Lord  hath  forsaken  me,  and  my 
 Lord  hath  forgotten  me  !" 
 
 11.  If  it  be  asked  why  Christianity,  with  its  inesti- 
 mable blessings,  appeared  at  so  late  a  period  of  the 
 world,  we  might  indeed  answer  to  similar  queries  with 
 Boniface,  when  he  said,  "  Why  not  rejoice  rather 
 when  we  again  behold  the  glorious  sun  after  the  heavens 
 have  so  long  been  covered  with  clouds  ?  "  There  are, 
 however,  inquisitive  minds  which  are  not  satisfied  with 
 a  similar  answer.  And  we  find,  indeed,  already  in 
 the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  church,  that  whilst 
 Pagan  philosophers  could  not  possibly  deny  the  ex- 
 cellency of  the  Christian  Religion  in  many  respects, 
 they  opposed  it  on  the  ground  of  its  appearing  so 
 late  !  In  their  opposition  to  the  primitive  defenders  of 
 the  faith,  they  maintained  that  if  the  Christian  Religion 
 were  indeed  so  excellent  and  perfect,  it  would  liave 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  251 
 
 been  unjust  on  the  part  of  the  Deity  to  withhold  it 
 from  man  till  so  late  a  period ;  and  that  if  God  did 
 not  commit  an  act  of  injustice  to  the  previous  genera- 
 tions in  withholding  it,  it  could  not  be  supremely 
 excellent  in  itself,  nor  could  it  be  considered  by  any 
 means  indispensably  necessary  to  the  happiness  of 
 mankind.  This  idea  naturally  appeared  very  plausible 
 to  the  Pagan  mind.  Being  both  ignorant  of  the 
 history  of  divine  revelation,  and  strangers  to  the  bene- 
 ficial efTects  which  it  produces,  the  Pagan  sages  could 
 have  no  sound  notion  of  its  character  and  tendency, 
 nor  could  it  hence  be  expected  that  they  Avould  be 
 able  to  comprehend  the  principles  upon  which  spiritual 
 life  in  general  is  developed.  They  were,  moreover, 
 naturally  inclined  to  ascribe  arbitrary  and  capricious 
 motives  to  the  acts  of  their  gods,  and  were  totally  in 
 the  dark  as  to  an  allwise  Providence,  which  balances 
 the  history  of  the  universe  upon  the  laws  of  righteous- 
 ness, benevolence,  and  true  holiness. 
 
 It  was,  according  to  their  views,  the  privilege  of  the 
 Deity  to  act  freely,  without  reference  to  those  merciful 
 and  just  motives  which  in  the  Christian  mind  are  in- 
 separable from  the  character  of  God.  The  Deity, 
 according  to  their  views,  was  able  to  communicate  any 
 Religion  to  any  people,  at  any  period  ;  and  because 
 the  most  perfect  Religion  stood  first  in  rank  as  to  its 
 real  and  intrinsic  value,  they  considered  it  natural 
 that  God  would  reveal  it  from  the  commencement  of 
 days.     That  there  is  some  truth  in  this,  cannot  be 
 
252  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  in. 
 
 doubted  ;  nor  can  it  be  difficult  to  infer  from  our  pre- 
 vious remarks,  that  the  Christian  Religion  was  being 
 revealed  from  the  very  beginning  of  time.  But  this 
 connexion  between  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the 
 history  of  true  Religion  was  a  point  which  was  be- 
 yond the  knowledge  and  comprehension  of  the  Pagan 
 philosophers. 
 
 Our  previous  sketch  of  the  history  of  Religion,  it  is 
 hoped,  contains  a  copious  reply  to  the  above  objection, 
 as  regards  the  late  appearance  of  Christianity.  Already, 
 in  the  province  of  animal  or  vegetable  life,  we  observe 
 certain  laws  and  principles  of  a  peculiar  kind.  In  the 
 whole  sphere  of  the  administration  of  Divine  provi- 
 dence, nothing  is  done  or  perfected  at  once,  in  the 
 ordinary  course  of  events ;  but  every  thing  passes, 
 by  a  slow^  but  sure  process,  through  several  distinct 
 periods  and  stages  of  its  existence  to  maturity.  No 
 essential  part  can  be  omitted  in  the  ways,  nor  over- 
 leaped in  the  works  of  the  Almighty.  The  very  history 
 of  the  creation  stamped  these  imnmtable  laws  upon 
 every  province  of  nature.  Now,  we  observe  the  very 
 same  thing  in  intellectual,  moral,  or  religious  matters ; 
 and  as  the  power  which  controls  both  departments  is 
 the  same,  it  would  be  highly  strange  if  it  were  other- 
 wise. As  mankind  had  been  formed  and  fashioned 
 by  God  with  this  very  same  peculiarity  in  nature  and 
 disposition,  it  would  be  unreasonable,  and  involve  a 
 singular  act  of  miscalculation,  to  suppose,  that  God 
 would  have  no  regard  to  this  peculiarity  in  man,  but 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  253 
 
 anticipate  any  one  of  the  future  stages  of  revelation. 
 That  Christ  did  not  appear  before  the  fuhiess  of  time, 
 was  therefore  founded  in  the  nature  of  the  history  of 
 man,  and  in  the  character  of  divine  revelation;  both 
 Avere  controlled  ''according  to  the jmrpose  of  him  who 
 loorhetli  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  oion  willT 
 
 If  it  be,  however,  true,  that  in  the  world  of  matter, 
 and  in  the  world  of  spirit,  nothing  is  done  at  once ;  and 
 if  we  give,  for  instance,  from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand 
 years  to  the  growth  of  an  oak ;  we  may,  perhaps,  have 
 sufficient  liberality  to  allow  to  the  growth  of  genuine 
 Religion  a  few  thousand  years,  without  being  in  the 
 least  surprised.  The  stately  plant  of  true  Religion, 
 which  the  heavenly  Father  has  planted,  demanded 
 some  time  to  be  reared  in  a  most  unfavourable  climate, 
 and  amidst  the  wild  thorns  and  thistles  which  cover 
 the  breadth  and  length  of  the  world.  And  it  is  even 
 because  its  branches  are  to  reach  into  a  future  eternity, 
 and  make  it  replete  with  ineffable  beatitude,  that  we 
 cannot  be  surprised  at  the  apparently  slow  progress 
 by  which  it  has  advanced.  We  observe,  in  the  animal 
 and  vegetable  sphere  of  life,  that  a  rapid  growth  in- 
 volves always  a  rapid  decay.  The  animal  and  the 
 plant  that  grow  most  rapidly,  carry  already  in  them- 
 selves the  germs  of  an  equally  rapid  decay.  What  a 
 duration,  therefore,  does  the  sloio  jjrogress  of  God's 
 kingdom  implg,  if  loe  mag  judge  from  analogy  !  What 
 a  great  harvest  of  salvation  and  glory  shall  eternally 
 be  reaped  from  this  tree  of  life  !     If  it  be  true,  that 
 
254  DEVELOPiMENT  OF    RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 Religion  could  not  rusli  into  the  world,  in  its  most 
 perfect  form,  without  causing  confusion  and  misappre- 
 hension on  the  part  of  man,  it  must  be  likewise  true, 
 that  it  appeared  most  seasonably  when  it  appeared. 
 It  is  hoped,  that  its  seasonable  appearance  has  been 
 already  made  plain  in  the  previous  chapter.  We  have 
 seen  that  there  was  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  man 
 to  receive  the  Saviour  of  the  world  prior  to  his  advent, 
 but  that  there  was  both  a  preparedness,  and  a  feeling 
 of  paramount  necessity  for  his  appearance,  when  he 
 did  appear.  Let  us,  however,  once  more  take  a  cm'sory 
 view  of  the  all-important  subject  under  consideration. 
 In  glancing  at  the  religious,  moral,  and  political  con- 
 dition of  the  world  before  the  appearance  of  Chris- 
 tianity, we  observe  throughout  the  symptoms  of  decay. 
 
 Amongst  the  celebrated  Greeks,  philosophy  had  un- 
 dermined the  whole  fabric  of  the  national  system  of 
 religious  belief;  and  the  philosophical  commentations 
 of  the  later  systems  of  Grecian  wisdom,  which  were 
 calculated  to  support  the  Mythological  fables,  could 
 after  all  do  but  little  to  respite  their  poor  existence. 
 The  religious  assemblies,  which  united  the  nation  in 
 the  exercise  of  religious  ceremonies,  were  abolished, 
 upon  the  loss  of  liberty  and  independence.  The  most 
 celebrated  and  most  frequented  temples  were  robbed 
 of  their  treasures,  and  the  oraculous  fame  which  some 
 of  them  possessed,  was  rapidly  on  the  decline.  The 
 final  silence  of  the  oracles  themselves  was  owing  to 
 these  natural  causes,  and  might  be  looked  upon,  at  the 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  255 
 
 same  time,  as  one  of  tlie  providential  signs  of  that 
 time.  Otlier  temples  again  were  utterly  destroyed  in 
 time  of  war ;  and  such  of  the  most  splendid  works 
 of  art  as  had  escaped  the  ravages  of  destruction, 
 were  carried  away !  The  celebrated  Mysteries  also, 
 which,  during  the  breaking  up  of  the  national  creed, 
 had  served  as  a  refuge  for  some  of  the  more  serious 
 people,  had  likewise  sadly  degenerated  into  mysteries 
 of  iniquity.  Religion,  therefore,  was  confined  to 
 obscure  family  devotions,  which  were  performed  accord- 
 ing to  such  traditional  fragments  as  had  escaped  the 
 danger  of  falling  into  oblivion.  The  national  creed, 
 therefore,  maintained  a  very  precarious  existence,  and 
 it  was  sure  ere  long  to  give  place  to  some  other  form 
 of  superstition  or  infidelity. 
 
 Amongst  the  Romans  the  state  of  Religion  was  in 
 nowise  better  than  it  was  amongst  the  Greeks.  Riches 
 and  power  had  led  the  nation  to  look,  on  the  one  hand, 
 with  contempt  upon  the  national  deities ;  and,  on  the 
 other  hand,  the  luxury  in  which  they  revelled  induced 
 an  effeminate  weakness  and  aversion  to  more  serious 
 concerns  in  the  best  members  of  the  nation.  Both, 
 however,  the  scepticism  regarding  the  national  creed, 
 and  the  extreme  weakness  in  matters  of  public  busi- 
 ness, were  to  be  covered  with  the  cloak  of  an  Epicu- 
 rean philosophy.  From  this  general  corruption  of  the 
 nation,  not  even  the  better  part  of  the  people  re- 
 mained free.  And  even  Cicero, — from  whose  letters  we 
 are  enabled  to  gather  an  insight  into  the  Atheistical 
 
256  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 spirit  which  animated  the  higher  dasses  of  his  day, 
 and  who  endeavours  in  his  philosophical  writings  to 
 inculcate  some  of  the  leading  articles  of  natural  Reli- 
 gion,— how  sceptical,  and  even  how  scornful,  are  not, 
 at  times,  his  remarks  respecting  the  institutions  of  the 
 Roman  Religion  and  its  practices  ?  And  if  Horace 
 confesses  of  himself,  "  Parous  Deorum  cuUor  et  wfre- 
 quens,"  we  may  well  consider  it  to  have  been  the  general 
 character  of  the  whole  nation  at  that  day  !  With  what 
 ridicule  did  Ovid  treat  the  whole  chronique  scandaletise 
 of  the  Grecian  Mythology !  And  how  satirical  w^ere 
 the  observations  of  Persius  and  Juvenal  upon  the  reli- 
 gious practices  and  manners  of  their  cotemporaries  ! 
 
 Pagan  morality  is  at  all  times  of  a  very  doubtful 
 character ;  but  it  w^as  to  be  expected,  that,  with  this 
 decline  of  the  religious  systems,  the  moral  degeneracy 
 Avould  be  simultaneous.  The  Greeks  had  always 
 been  far  in  advance  of  the  Romans,  as  to  their 
 early  development  in  a  civil,  scientific,  and  religious 
 point  of  view ;  they  seemed,  also,  to  distinguish  them- 
 selves by  their  subsequent  demoralization  !  As  the 
 Greeks,  however,  formed  very  soon  part  and  parcel 
 of  the  Roman  empire,  and,  therefore,  shared  in  the 
 casualties  of  the  latter,  we  shall  proceed  to  a  few 
 remarks  upon  the  moral  state  of  the  Romans  about 
 the  time  of  our  Saviour's  advent,  confining  ourselves 
 to  the  picture  which  had  been  drawn  by  the  master- 
 hand  of  the  Roman  historians,  Sallust,  Tacitus,  and 
 Suetonius. 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  257 
 
 After  Antiochus  was  subdued,  aud  Carthage  de- 
 stroyed, all  the  riches  of  the  world  seemed  to  accumu- 
 late in  Rome.  The  mind  of  the  nation  seemed  kindled 
 with  an  ardent  desire  for  money,  for  honour,  and 
 power.  This  thirst  after  wealth  and  power  became 
 soon  manifest,  for  instance,  in  the  jealousy  and  cor- 
 ruptibility of  the  chief  leaders  of  the  army,  and  in  the 
 fact,  that  seats  in  the  senate  were  capable  of  being 
 purchased.  The  same  passions  soon  gendered  civil 
 wars,  which  were  remarkable  for  treachery,  cruelty, 
 and  perfidiousness  of  every  description.  Corruption 
 was  becoming  more  and  more  apparent  in  every  rela- 
 tion of  life ;  and  little  was  attempted  by  the  emperors 
 to  stem  the  progress  of  depravity, — yea,  they  themselves 
 might  be  looked  upon  as  a  compendious  index  of  the 
 state  of  the  nation,  being  distinguished  by  despotism, 
 cruelty,  and  vice  of  every  shape  and  colour.  In  the  wives 
 and  daughters  of  the  Emperors  we  behold  the  deepest 
 degradation  of  the  female  character  amongst  the  nation. 
 The  ordinary  symptoms  of  the  celebrated  Roman 
 Jtcrisjjrudence  at  that  age,  were  false  accusations  on  the 
 part  of  the  accusers,  perjury  and  treachery  on  the  part 
 of  the  witnesses,  fear  and  corruptibility  on  the  part 
 of  the  judges.  The  corruption  of  the  capital  spread  like 
 a  moral  plague  over  the  several  provinces,  and  with  such 
 rapidity  and  power,  that  Tacitus,  who  was  by  no  means 
 a  credulous  man,  prognosticated,  from  the  symptoms 
 which  appeared  in  every  direction,  the  approaching 
 destruction  of  the  Empire  !     He  gave  it  as  his  convic- 
 
 VOL.  I.  s 
 
258  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 tion,  that  the  gods  were  no  longer  concerned  as  to  the 
 preservation  of  the  Empire,  but  that  they  meditated 
 its  pmiishment. 
 
 As  a  shrewd  pohtician,  who  calculated  from  the 
 external  phenomena  of  the  age,  he  was  perfectly  right 
 in  his  judgment.  Those  who  looked  yet  deeper  than 
 himself,  not  only  anticipated  woe  and  destruction  of 
 the  sinking  fabric  of  the  Empire,  but  likewise  ex- 
 pected, that,  at  a  period  when  moral  depravity  had 
 reached  its  acme,  a  new  order  of  tldngs  was  at  hand ; 
 and  they  expressly  declared  their  belief  in  the  approach 
 of  an  extraordinary  and  mighty  deliverer  from  the  East 
 — expectations  to  which  we  have  abeady  adverted  in 
 the  previous  chapter. 
 
 As  regards  the  Jewish  nation,  we  recollect  that 
 amongst  them,  also,  every  thing  was  indicative  of 
 decay,  and  that  it  was  consequently  drawing  near  to 
 the  time  when  the  old  promises  and  prophecies  were 
 to  be  finally  fulfilled.  Upon  the  return  from  the  exile, 
 the  Holy  City  w^as  restored,  with  its  temple ;  but  all 
 was  done  on  a  very  reduced  scale  in  comparison  with 
 what  it  was  in  former  days.  The  people  were  dis- 
 heartened, and  the  latter  prophets  were  the  more  active 
 to  comfort  them,  by  opening  the  prospects  of  a  speedy 
 appearance  of  the  Messiah.  Whilst  his  chariot,  how- 
 ever, tarried  in  coming,  they  enjoyed  political  quietude 
 as  long  as  they  were  under  the  protection  of  the  Persian 
 power.  But  soon  they  were  again  troubled,  first  by 
 Egypt,  and  then  by  the  Syrians.    The  opposition  which 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  259 
 
 they  met  from  the  latter  being  of  a  rehgious  character, 
 it  raised  the  energy  of  the  broken-hearted  nation  once 
 more  so  far  as  to  maintain  their  independence  for  some 
 time  longer.  Yet,  want  of  harmony  in  the  ruling  dynasty 
 of  the  otherwise  brave  house  of  the  Maccabees,  and 
 feuds  between  brothers,  offered  an  opportunity  to  the 
 Romans  to  meddle  with  the  concerns  of  the  nation ; 
 and  from  this  period  all  prospect  of  retaining  their 
 national  independence  seemed  to  be  lost,  until  Augustus 
 at  last  placed  a  stranger  of  Idumea  to  rule  over  them. 
 The  sceptre  had  departed  from  the  house  of  Judah. 
 More  and  more  ominous  became  the  symptoms  in  the 
 character  and  the  reign  of  Herod,  in  the  worthless- 
 ness  of  his  sons,  and  in  the  rebellious  spirit  of  the 
 people,  that  the  end  of  the  Jewish  State  was  at  hand. 
 Perfectly  analogous  to  the  political  confusion  was 
 the  state  of  Religion  in  Israel.  The  nation  had  been 
 split  for  some  time  into  two  distinct  sects,  which, 
 though  difiFering  greatly  from  each  other,  were  yet  both 
 calculated  to  corrupt  both  the  theory  and  the  practice 
 of  sound  Religion.  When  the  Sadducee,  as  a  true 
 Materialist,  denied  the  Spirit,  mocked  at  the  idea  of 
 ''  life  and  immortality,"  and  considered  riches  and 
 pleasure  as  the  highest  good  which  man  could  attain — 
 his  maxim  was  as  dangerous  to  Religion  and  morality 
 amongst  the  chosen  people  as  the  Epicurean  principles 
 were  amongst  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans.  When 
 the  Pharisee,  on  the  other  hand,  amalgamated  his 
 doubtful  traditions  with  the  dogmas  of  the  Theocratical 
 
 s 
 
 9, 
 
260  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION        [chap.  in. 
 
 constitution,  and  increased  its  ceremonial  precepts  with 
 a  multitude  of  his  own  inventions,  he  fell  from  the 
 pure  Religion  of  his  forefathers  into  a  worship  of 
 deadening  forms,  which  neglects  the  weightier  matters 
 of  the  law. 
 
 When  Christ  appeared,  the  measure  of  the  sins  of 
 the  world  was  full ;  his  appearance,  therefore,  was 
 seasonable  in  the  extreme.  God'  healed  not  man- 
 kind, however,  previous  to  the  fulness  of  the  time, 
 because  the  tree  of  corruption  was  to  bring  forth 
 all  its  deadly  fruit.  Christ  appeared  not  earlier,  be- 
 cause, on  the  one  hand,  salvation  was  to  be  prepared 
 for  mankind,  and  on  the  other,  mankind  was  to  be 
 prepared  for  salvation.  At  the  time  of  the  fall  of  man, 
 sin  had  taken  root  in  his  own  free  will ;  it  had  been 
 embraced  by  an  act  which  was  entirely  his  own.  Hence 
 sin  could  not  be  remedied  by  a  sudden  blow  ;  nor  yet 
 was  it  possible,  under  these  circumstances,  that  salva- 
 tion should  appear  unprepared.  It  was  man's  own 
 free  choice  to  surrender  himself  to  the  charms  and 
 miseries  of  sin ;  he  could,  therefore,  by  no  means  be 
 forced  to  accept  deliverance  from  its  curse.  He  was 
 to  act,  in  this  point,  with  the  same  moral  liberty  ;  and 
 in  order  to  enable  him  to  stretch  forth  his  hands  unto 
 God,  he  was  gradually  to  be  educated,  and  led  into 
 the  way,  by  which  he  was  most  likely  to  feel  and  to 
 confess  his  utter  need  of  a  divine  Saviour.  Bedemptioti 
 was  probably  most  acceptable  to  the  world  after  it  had 
 passed  through  a  lengthened  period  of  instruction,  pro- 
 
CKAP.  III.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  261 
 
 bation,  correction,  deception,  and  struggle.  Ungodli- 
 ness was  to  ripen  before  it  could  be  effectually  cured. 
 Sin  was  to  assume,  under  the  forbearance  of  God,  all 
 its  hateful  and  hideous  forms.  Man  should  deeply 
 feel  and  taste  the  bitterness  of  living  without  God  in 
 this  world,  and  without  hope  as  to  the  world  to  come. 
 When  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  Christ  came  unto 
 his  own,  but  his  own,  as  a  nation,  received  him  not. 
 Much  less,  indeed,  would,  therefore,  his  advent  have 
 been  hailed,  had  he  appeared  immediately  after  the 
 first  fall  of  man.  His  appearance  could  have  told 
 much  less  upon  the  wild  generation  of  transgressors  at 
 the  beginning  of  days.  The  effects,  also,  which  might 
 have  been  produced  by  his  advent  on  the  woman's 
 seed,  at  that  early  period,  would  have  been  again  dis- 
 appearing very  fast.  The  new  wine  of  the  element  of 
 sin,  which  had  been  poured  into  the  heart  of  man,  was 
 to  have  its  time  of  fermentation.  Man  started  upon  a 
 new  road  when  he  fell,  and  this  new  path  was  that  of 
 Independence,  self-sufficiency,  and  pride.  He  would 
 use  all  his  efforts  to  create  a  fountain  of  happiness 
 independent  of  his  Lord  and  Maker.  Under  these  cir- 
 cumstances, it  would  have  become  necessary  that  Christ 
 should  appear  after  every  fresh  fall,  and  after  every 
 fresh  attempt  on  the  part  of  man  to  redeem  himself. 
 
 We  know,  from  melancholy  experience,  that  it  was 
 possible  for  man  to  fall  in  his  state  of  infancy.  Salva- 
 tion could,  however,  be  brought  before  him  with  the 
 hope  of  its  being  favourably  received,  only  upon  having 
 
2G3  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 advanced  towards  a  sober  state  of  maturity,  and  com- 
 pleted his  eccentric  course  of  "  riotous  living''  If 
 Christ  had  appeared  at  any  previous  period  of  the 
 history  of  man,  there  might  have  arisen  many  a  doubt 
 in  the  mind  of  a  self-sufficient  world  in  after  ages, 
 whether,  after  all,  it  would  not  have  been  in  their 
 power  to  reap  the  honour  of  having  been  their  own 
 Saviours,  provided  God  had  delayed  sending  his  Son. 
 From  the  above  remarks,  as  well  as  from  our  previous 
 sketch  of  the  historical  development  of  true  Religion,  it 
 will  be  plain  to  all  the  world,  that  Christ  appeared 
 "  in  the  fulness  of  time,  horn  of  a  ivoman;"  that  the 
 Gospel  was  preached  when  "  the  time  iv  as  fulfilled ; " 
 and  that  "there  is  one  God,  and  one  Mediator  between 
 God  and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself 
 a  ransom  for  all ;  a  testimony  to  the  world  at  a  par- 
 ticularly appropriate  season."  (See  1  Tim.  ii.  6,  in 
 the  original.) 
 
 12.  Righteousness,  immortality,  and  life  eternal, 
 have  thus  been  brought  to  light  through  the  Gospel. 
 The  Holy  Sacraments,  as  the  most  effectual  means  of 
 grace,  have  been  instituted.  The  Holy  Spirit,  leading 
 into  all  truth,  has  been  poured  forth.  The  ministry  of 
 the  word  of  life  has  been  established.  The  Church 
 of  the  living  God,  as  the  ground  and  pillar  of  truth, 
 has  been  founded  upon  the  Rock  of  Ages.  Divine 
 revelation  has  been  deposited  in  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
 whicli  are  able  to  make  man  wise  unto  salvation. 
 And  the  leaven  of  the  Gospel  is  at  Avork  amongst  the 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  263 
 
 whole  tribe  of  tlie  family  of  man.  The  preaching  of 
 the  Gospel  of  peace  was  supported  in  the  Apostolical 
 age  by  signs  and  wonders,  "  the  Lord  working  with 
 them."  When  the  Church  was  founded,  the  miraculous 
 demonstrations  of  the  power  of  God  Avere  discontinued, 
 and  superseded  in  the  "  latter  days  "  by  the  operations 
 of  the  Spirit  through  the  ordinary  means  of  grace.  It 
 is  one  of  the  principles  upon  which  the  Almighty  rules 
 the  universe,  never  to  vi^aste  any  portion  of  his  energy 
 and  power ;  and  of  the  working  of  this  principle  we 
 have  abundant  evidence  in  God's  providential  kingdom, 
 as  well  as  in  the  kingdom  of  grace. 
 
 Since  the  time  that  the  Church  of  Christ,  in  her 
 appearance  and  in  her  operations,  assumed  the  cha- 
 racter of  a  miracle,  which  is  single  in  its  kind,  and 
 unprecedented  as  to  its  effect,  Christianity  has  thrown 
 away  the  crutches  of  those  extraordinary  signs  and 
 wonders  by  which  it  was  supported  in  the  days  of 
 comparative  weakness  and  infirmity.  The  Church, 
 being  in  possession  of  all  the  necessary  means  of 
 grace,  aspires  no  longer  after  the  extraordinary  illumi- 
 nation which  was  necessary  until  the  whole  apparatus 
 of  the  new  dispensation  was  duly  organized.  There 
 are  miracles  and  wonders  performed  now  as  they  were 
 in  the  primitive  days  of  the  Church ;  but  the  demon- 
 strations of  the  power  and  of  the  Spirit  have  retired, 
 as  might  have  been  expected,  from  the  province  of 
 matter  to  that  of  the  Spirit.  The  quiet  and  unob- 
 trusive   miracles   of    illumination,    justification,    and 
 
264  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 sanctificatioii  amongst  sinners, — the  marvellous  energy 
 of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  converting,  guiding,  and  elevating 
 the  souls  of  immortal  creatures  who  have  been  dead  in 
 trespasses  and  sins, — the  making  heralds  of  "  babes," 
 of  "  fools  "  teachers  of  the  world,— the  fact  of  the  world 
 that  lieth  in  wickedness  being  changed  into  a  house  of 
 God  and  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord,— the  conversion  of 
 sinners  into  Saints  of  a  glorious  Church,  not  having 
 spot,  nor  wrinkle,  nor  any  such  thing — these  are  signs 
 which  to  an  enlightened  mind  appear  far  greater  than 
 all  the  healing  of  the  sick,  or  the  raising  of  the  dead 
 to  life.  The  faith  of  the  Christian  is  to  overcome  the 
 world,  "  for  whatsoever  is  born  of  God  overcometh 
 the  world." 
 
 It  was,  however,  not  the  object  to  bring  about  a 
 quick  consummation  of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel 
 on  the  very  largest  scale.  As  all  along  the  previous 
 history  of  true  Religion,  so,  also,  from  the  commence- 
 ment of  the  Christian  era,  everything  has  its  time. 
 The  general  spread  of  true  Religion,  and  the  sudden 
 disappearance  of  Pagan  darkness,  could  not  yet  be 
 expected.  Paganism  remained  still  powerful  in  the 
 world,  but  even  the  continuance  of  its  monstrous 
 enormities  was  calculated  to  endear  the  Religion  of 
 Christ  to  the  Israel  of  God,  whilst,  on  the  other  hand, 
 a  wide  door  was  opened  to  the  Pagans  themselves.  It 
 was,  on  the  whole,  a  position  which  Christ  himself 
 has  led  us  to  expect  for  a  long  time  respecting  the 
 spread  of  true  Religion.  We  find  a  mixture  of  tares  and 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  265 
 
 wheat,  which  were  to  ripen  together  towards  the  great 
 day,  for  which  all  other  days  were  made — the  day  of 
 a  general  cleansing,  the  day  of  final  retribution.  In  the 
 meantime,  the  tares  are  growing  with  the  wheat.  But 
 the  time  is  coming  when  every  plant  which  the  heavenly 
 Father  has  not  planted  shall  be  rooted  out.  "  As  the 
 tares  are  gathered  and  burned  in  the  fire,  so  shall 
 it  be  in  the  end  of  the  world."  At  that  day  it  shall 
 come  to  pass,  that  the  dead  shall  rise,  and  be  judged 
 according  to  their  works.  But  as  the  separation  of 
 the  body  and  soul  was  the  wages  of  sin,  so  their  re- 
 union  in  the  resurrection  shall  appear  as  the  fruit  of 
 redemption.  For  if  the  soul  of  man  had  no  power  to 
 preserve  its  own  body  from  decay,  much  less  will  it  be 
 in  its  power  to  restore  a  corrupted  tabernacle,  and  to 
 make  a  serviceable  instrument  for  most  important 
 purposes.  Christ  being  risen  from  the  dead,  and 
 become  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept,  all  shall  be 
 made  alive  in  him. 
 
 "  The  body  of  the  believer  is  sown  in  corruption ; 
 it  is  raised  in  incorruption.  It  is  sown  in  dishonour, 
 it  is  raised  in  glory  ;  it  is  sown  in  weakness,  it  is  raised 
 in  power.  It  is  sown  a  natural  body,  and  it  is  raised  a 
 spiritual  body."  The  Christian  hence  looks  for  the 
 Saviour  from  heaven,  who  shall  change  his  vile  body, 
 "  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body, 
 according  to  the  working  whereby  he  is  able  even  to 
 subdue  all  things  unto  himself." 
 
 It  is  remarkable  how  certain  important  Scriptural 
 
2G6  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 truths  are  frequently  seized  upon  by  individuals  of  an 
 enthusiastic  temperament,  and  "  held  in  unrighteous- 
 ness." Many,  for  instance,  have  been  led  to  regard 
 with  suspicion  and  dislike  the  doctrines  of  free  grace, 
 because  they  have  been  so  frequently  perverted  to 
 promote  the  unhallowed  purposes  of  antinomian  licen- 
 tiousness. While  others,  observing  how  often  personal 
 holiness  has  been  substituted  as  the  ground  of  a  sin- 
 ner's acceptance  for  the  alone  scriptural  basis  on  which 
 a  sinner's  hope  of  salvation  can  rest — even  the  blessed 
 Redeemer's  righteousness — have  been  led  to  embark  in 
 an  unhallowed  crusade  against  those  very  truths  which 
 constitute  the  ultimate  design  and  highest  glory  of  the 
 doctrines  of  the  cross ;  and  in  the  ardour  of  their  zeal 
 to  humble  and  destroy  the  presumptuous  claims  of  self- 
 righteousness,  they  engage  in  an  open  warfare  against 
 that  holiness  without  which  no  man  shall  see  God ! 
 
 But  there  is  perhaps  no  doctrine  of  Scripture  which 
 has  suffered  more  severely  from  the  habit  of  confound- 
 ing together  human  error  with  divine  truth,  than  the 
 all-important,  comforting,  and  most  glorious  doctrine 
 of  the  second  coming  of  the  Son  of  God.  This  doctrine, 
 from  which  the  Christian  believer  is  directed  to  draw 
 the  most  animating  motives  for  watchfulness,  zeal, 
 holiness,  and  consolation,  has  been  at  various  times, 
 and  never,  perhaps,  more  remarkably  than  in  our  own 
 day,  so  mixed  up  with  startling  heresies  and  wild 
 schemes  of  millennarian  prophecy,  that  many  sober- 
 minded   Christians  have  felt  alarm.     And  what  has 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  267 
 
 been  the  result  ?  While  steering  their  course  amidst 
 surrounding  perils,  in  their  eagerness  to  escape  from 
 the  whirlpool  of  extravagance,  many  have  struck  against 
 the  rock  of  indifference  on  this  momentous  subject. 
 Because  one  class  have  given  the  second  coming  of 
 the  Son  of  God  an  undue  prominence,  placing  it  as 
 the  principal  figure  in  the  foreground  of  every  repre- 
 sentation of  divine  truth,  and  grafting  upon  it  heretical 
 opinions  or  speculative  dreams,  the  other  class  have 
 unduly  depreciated  its  importance,  and  neglected  an 
 essential  portion  of  a  Christian's  privileges  and  a  Chris- 
 tian's hopes.  Because  the  one  class  have  forgotten 
 that  it  is  not  given  unto  them  to  know  the  times  and 
 the  seasons,  in  venturing  to  predict  the  exact  period  of 
 the  Redeemer's  promised  advent,  others  have  neglected 
 to  fasten  their  fond  and  steadfast  gaze  on  this  glorious 
 object,  and  forgotten  that  suddenly  as  the  lightning's 
 flash,  unwelcome  to  the  world,  as  a  thief  in  the  night, 
 the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come,  and  that  blessed  are 
 those  ser\'ants  of  his  whom  when  he  cometh  he  shall 
 find  watching  ! 
 
 Ours  is  pre-eminently  a  time  of  distress  of  nations, 
 with  perplexity ;  in  which  the  saints  of  the  Most 
 High  are  admonished  to  be  patient,  to  stablish  their 
 hearts,  when  crowding  signs  in  heaven  and  earth  seem 
 to  betoken  the  drawing  nigh  of  the  Lord's  coming. 
 If  we  were  asked  to  describe  the  general  tone  of  feel- 
 ing that  pervades  all  classes  and  characters  in  our  day, 
 could  we  find  terms  more  strictly  appropriate,  more 
 
2G8  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION  [chap.  lir. 
 
 painfully  correct,  than  to  call  it  a  time  "  of  distress  of 
 nations,  with  perplexity,''  and  a  period  when  "men's 
 hearts  are  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking  for 
 those  things  that  are  coming  upon  the  earth?" 
 Whether  derived  from  the  convulsions  of  the  political 
 or  the  excitement  of  the  religious  world  ;  whether 
 derived  from  personal  observation  or  from  the  page  of 
 prophecy ;  is  there  not  gone  abroad  a  general  expecta- 
 tion that  we  are  on  the  eve  of  some  mighty  change, 
 some  tremendous  catastrophe  in  the  history  of  our 
 race  ! 
 
 A  spmt  of  infidelity  has  been  shed  forth  upon  this 
 our  present  generation ;  the  mighty  conflict  between 
 the  powers  of  light  and  the  powers  of  darkness  is 
 growing  more  and  more  intense ;  can  we  then  look 
 upon  the  restless  movements  of  that  spirit  of  revolu- 
 tion which,  under  the  spurious  name  of  reform,  is  walk- 
 ing through  the  earth,  uprooting  things  long  esta- 
 blished, overturning  things  that  seemed  immovable, 
 threatening  to  rend  asunder  the  very  framework  of 
 society,  to  dissolve  the  entire  fabric  of  civilized  govern- 
 ment ;  can  we  observe  those  mighty  heavings,  and 
 that  universal  process  of  fermentation  in  the  various 
 elements  of  the  political,  religious,  moral,  and  social 
 relations  of  life,  without  being  impressed  with  the 
 solemn  reflection  that  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth 
 nigh  ? 
 
 We  would  not  indeed  attempt  with  presumptuous 
 hand  to  pull  aside  the  thick  veil  of  intentional  obscurity 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  269 
 
 which  God  himself  has  flung  over  the  precise  p)6riod 
 of  the  approaching  advent  of  his  well-beloved  Son. 
 "  The  secret  thmgs  heloi^g  unto  the  Lord  our  GodJ" 
 But  the  same  lips  which  at  one  time  reproved,  saying, 
 "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  and  the  seasons, 
 which  the  Father  has  put  in  his  own  power,"  at 
 another  uttered  those  words  of  rebuke :  "  Ye  hypo- 
 crites !  ye  can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky,  and  can  ye 
 not  discern  the  signs  of  the  times?  " 
 
 Now,  as  regards  the  second  coming  of  the  Son  of 
 God,  we  observe  how  it  is  exhibited  in  the  scheme  of 
 the  Gospel  as  the  Chiistian's  most  blessed  hope.  It 
 has  been  at  all  times  the  comfort  of  his  church.  When 
 he  ascended  on  high,  his  flock  was  comforted  amidst 
 all  the  sorrows  of  separation  by  the  assured  promise 
 and  realized  prospect  of  his  second  coming  in  the 
 clouds  of  heaven,  lo'ith  power  cuid  great  glory.  And 
 siu-ely  if  this — and  not  so  much  the  prospect  of  so 
 soon  being  reunited  to  the  ascended  Saviour  by 
 their  own  approaching  death — if  this  was  the  mes- 
 sage sent  from  heaven  to  stir  up  the  Apostles'  zeal 
 and  to  soothe  their  sorrow,  it  must  have  derived  with  us 
 an  increase  of  suitableness  proportioned  to  the  num- 
 ber of  years  which  have  brought  us  so  much  nearer 
 the  accomplishment  of  the  glorious  prophecy  !  Again  ; 
 the  Apostle  admonished  his  churches  to  patience,  and 
 administered  consolation  under  bereavements,  upon 
 very  different  grounds  from  what  we  are  apt  to  do 
 under  similar  circumstances.     Would  we  comfort  a 
 
270  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 mourning  child  of  God,  who  is  sorrowing  for  some 
 beloved  object  that  has  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  ?  Do  we 
 not  endeavour  to  comfort  by  reminding  him  that  the 
 beloved  one  has  escaped  from  all  the  storms  of  life's 
 tempestuous  sea,  and  reached  the  haven  of  eternal  rest  ? 
 Now  we  will  not  depreciate  the  sweet  and  precious 
 comfort  which  is  contained  in  the  assurance  of  the 
 immediate  blessedness  of  those  who  have  fallen  asleep 
 in  Jesus.  Yet  this  is  not  strictly  the  apostolical  mode 
 of  administering  consolation  under  such  bereavement. 
 The  inspired  Apostle  directs  his  Thessalonian  mourners, 
 not  to  the  immediate  blessedness  of  those  who  had 
 fallen  asleep  in  Jesus,  not  to  the  prospect  of  a  speedy 
 reunion,  but  to  the  promised  day  of  the  appearing  of 
 the  Son  of  God!  How  does  St.  Peter  comfort  the 
 Christians  to  whom  he  wrote,  who  though  greatly  re- 
 joicing in  the  prospect  of  the  inheritance  incorruptible 
 and  undefiled  reserved  for  them  in  heaven,  were  yet 
 for  a  season  in  heaviness  through  manifold  tempta- 
 tions ?  He  tells  them  that  it  was  the  gracious  design 
 of  their  heavenly  Father,  in  their  mercifully  appointed 
 afflictions,  that  the  trial  of  their  faith,  being  much  more 
 precious  than  of  gold  that  perisheth,  though  it  be 
 tried  with  fire,  might  be  found  unto  praise  and  honour 
 and  glory,  at  the  ajopearing  of  Jesus  Christ.  Again; 
 amidst  fiery  trials  they  were  to  rejoice,  inasmuch  as 
 they  were  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings,  that  when  his 
 glory  should  be  revealed,  they  might  be  glad  also  with 
 exceeding  joy !     Again  ;  the  believers  are  admonished 
 
CHAP,  iir.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  271 
 
 to  be  patient  amidst  suffering  and  affliction;  to 
 stablisli  their  hearts  when  driven  by  some  fierce  tem- 
 pest of  woe  and  sorrow,  because  the  coming  of  the 
 Lord  draweth  nigh  ! 
 
 The  resurrection  of  Christ  pointed  ah^ady  to  the 
 fact,  that  it  is  only  the  future  resurrection  of  the 
 body  to  hfe  at  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord,  which 
 will  fully  qualify  our  human  nature  for  the  enjoyment 
 of  the  pleasures  which  are  at  God's  right  hand  for 
 evermore.  The  resurrection  of  our  bodies,  to  use  our 
 Lord's  significant  expression,  will  be  a  true  Palin- 
 genesis, a  regeneration  and  second  birth,  which  will 
 introduce  our  whole  existence  into  eternal  communion 
 with  the  eternal  Father,  by  the  eternal  Son,  through 
 the  blessed  Spirit.  (Matt.  ix.  28.)  As  the  ''frst- 
 born  of  the  creation,''  Christ  was  the  exalted  head  of 
 the  universal  kingdom  of  the  Almighty.  As  Christ 
 was  "  the  first-born  of  creation  "  in  the  old  world,  he 
 is  the  head  of  the  world  which  is  to  come,  as  ''  the 
 first-begotten  of  the  dead'"  All  that  shall  have  passed 
 when  the  hour  of  the  general  resurrection  shall  be 
 announced  by  the  trump  of  the  archangel,  will  be 
 of  a  merely  introductory  character.  It  will  form 
 the  birth-day  of  the  ransomed  church,  the  grand  be- 
 ginning of  the  endless  futurity  of  a  never-ending- 
 eternity  ;  the  solemn  awakening  to  the  realities  of  the 
 pure  pleasures  of  heaven. 
 
 Can  we  feel  surprise  that  the  earnest  expectation  of 
 the  creature  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons 
 
0  7  c: 
 
 72  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 of  God  ?  As  yet  they  are  not  manifest  as  a  body. 
 Some  fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  and  are  present  with  the 
 Lord.  Others  are  members  of  the  chm^cli  militant 
 here  on  earth.  Again,  others  are  born  in  the  flesh, 
 but  they  are  not  yet  born  in  the  Spirit.  And  finally, 
 although  they  are  the  sons  of  God,  it  doth  not  yet 
 appear  what  they  shall  be ;  but  we  know,  that  when 
 Christ  shall  appear,  they  will  be  like  him.  Tiiey  are 
 not  manifest.  Their  life  is  Jiid  with  Christ  in  God. 
 When  Christ  their  life  shall  appear,  then  shall  they 
 also  appear  with  him  in  glory  !  In  perfect  harmony 
 with  the  all  embracing  character  of  the  economy  of 
 revealed  Religion,  the  creature  itself  also  shall  be  de- 
 livered from  the  bondage  of  corru])tion,  into  the  glo- 
 rious liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  Nature  shall  put 
 ofif  her  old  garments,  and  rise,  as  it  were,  from  the 
 grave,  by  which  it  was  held  in  the  bondage  of  corrup- 
 tion. The  creature  was  made  for  eternal  purposes  of 
 love  and  goodness,  and  it  was  directly  involved  in  the 
 destiny  of  man,  to  lead  it  forward  to  that  glorious 
 consummation  in  the  likeness  of  his  Maker.  But, 
 instead  of  replenishing  the  earth  with  blessing  and 
 peace,  he  brought  it  into  the  bondage  of  corruption, 
 and  drew  down  upon  it  the  curse  of  heaven.  What 
 was  neglected  and  interrupted  then,  was  to  be  made 
 good  by  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven. 
 The  Son  of  Man  had  already  upon  earth  cured  some 
 of  the  wounds,  soothed  some  of  the  sorrows,  and 
 wiped  off  some  of  the  tears  of  a  creation,  which  was 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE    NEW   TESTAMENT.  273 
 
 travailing  "in  pain  together  until  now."  Wherever 
 the  Son  of  Man  placed  his  foot,  there  was  produced 
 blessing  and  salvation  to  man  and  the  -'creature!" 
 But  all  these  blessings  were  only  mviples  of  the  final 
 and  great  Jubilee  of  the  world.  For  the  *'  creature  " 
 shall  not  groan,  wait,  and  travail  in  vain ;  the  Lord 
 will  create  a  new  heaven,  and  a  new  earth  !  As  the 
 creation  sympathised  most  painfully  in  the  sufferings 
 and  groans  of  humanity,  and  was  in  expectation  with 
 them  of  the  final  deliverance,  so  also  it  sympathises 
 in  the  dawning  of  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God. 
 We  read  in  the  correspondence  of  the  celebrated  Gothe 
 with  Bettina,  "  When,  in  silent  sohtude,  I  enter  the 
 sanctuary  of  nature,  during  the  stillness  of  night,  it  is 
 to  me  as  if  creation  implored  me  for  deliverance.  Very 
 often  have  I  had  the  sensation  that  nature  entreated 
 me  for  something,  with  an  accent  most  melancholy 
 and  plaintive,  and  it  broke  my  heart  not  to  compre- 
 hend what  it  was  she  desired."  Gothe,  the  illustrious 
 poet  of  Germany,  could  not  comprehend  the  language 
 of  nature ;  bat  St.  Paul,  the  inspired  Apostle  of  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ,  interpreted  the  groans  of  the  suffer- 
 ing "  creature."  The  connexion  of  the  expectation 
 of  creation  with  the  redemption  of  the  body  of  the 
 sons  of  God,  is  clearly  shown  forth  in  Holy  Scripture. 
 (Rom.  viii.)  There  will  be  a  restitution  of  all  things 
 upon  the  grandest  scale.  When  the  children  of  Israel 
 went  forth  out  of  the  bondage  of  Egypt,  it  was  the 
 definite  command  of  Jehovah,  that  "  there  shall  not 
 a   hoof  he   left  behind."     Likewise,  when  the    great 
 
 VOL.    I.  T 
 
274  DEVELOPMENT    OF   RELIGION         [chap.  hi. 
 
 captivity  of  the  churcli  shall  once  be  turned,  all  that  is 
 capable  of  being  restored  shall  follow  the  great  and 
 glorions  conqueror  from  the  "  bondage  of  corruption," 
 into  the  "  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God."  On  the  great 
 morning  of  resurrection  to  life,  all  things  shall  be 
 made  new.  "  Not  a  hoof  shall  he  left  behind!'  Even 
 "  the  creature  shall  he  delivered!  " 
 
 All  this,  however,  cannot  be  done  in  a  peaceable 
 way.  In  order  to  allow  the  creature  to  have  a  share 
 in  the  final  restitution  of  all  things,  it  must  needs  pass 
 through  the  baptism  with  fire ;  and  it  will  be  from 
 this  final  catastrophe  of  a  universal  conflagration,  by 
 which  that  great  and  terrible  day,  for  which  all  other 
 days  were  made,  shall  be  lighted  up,  that  a  new 
 heaven  and  a  new  earth  shall  come  forth,  "  ?ipon  lohich 
 dioelleth  righteousness."  The  whole  creation  will  be 
 cleansed  from  the  dross,  and  all  the  refuse  cast  into 
 the  lake  of  fire. 
 
 As  a  soldier,  who  has  committed  a  capital  crime, 
 is  first  stripped  of  his  sword  and  his  uniform,  before  he 
 is  to  sufler  the  punishment  of  death,  so  at  the  last 
 day,  "  from  him  that  hath  not,  shall  be  taken  that 
 which  he  hath."  The  damned  shall  be  stripped  of  the 
 last  particle  of  the  good  which  they  had  upon  earth. 
 Not  a  shred  of  humanity,  not  a  trace  of  the  image 
 of  God,  shall  be  left  upon  them ;  and  the  howling  and 
 gnashing  of  teeth  of  this  ''cursed''  band  of  semi-devils, 
 shall  form  a  singular  contrast  to  the  hallelujahs  of  the 
 ransomed  on  Mount  Sion  ! 
 
 What  an  awfully  solemn  crisis,  that  of  the  last  day  ! 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN   THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  275 
 
 What  a  ghastly  sight,  that  of  the  departure  of  the 
 damned  !  What  a  solemn  subject  for  deep  and  anxious 
 reflection  to  every  one,  whether  we  are,  indeed,  to  be 
 numbered  with  his  saints  in  glory  everlasting  !  If  we 
 are  only  attached  to  Christ  as  the  life-giving  vine,  by 
 the  artificial  string  of  a  barren  and  unfruitful  pro- 
 fession; if  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God  do  not  animate 
 our  every  thought,  our  every  word,  and  our  every 
 deed  ;  if  we  are  not  alive  to  those  good  things  which 
 lie  beyond  the  horizon  of  this  mortal  life — then  we 
 are  dead,  we  are  now  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins ; 
 and  we  carry  already  in  our  own  bosom  that  mortal 
 corruption,  and  we  accumulate  within  us  that,  mortal 
 decay,  which  produces  the  worm  which  will  never, 
 never  die !  If  we  have  no  intercourse  with  heaven, 
 no  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  with  the  Son  and 
 with  the  Spirit,  no  communion  of  saints  ;  if  we  have 
 no  spiritual  mind,  and  no  spiritual  life  ;  if  we  have  no 
 faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  no  love  for  his  name,  no  in- 
 terest in  his  cause,  and  no  zeal  for  his  glory ; — then 
 we  carry  already  within  our  own  bosom  the  combus- 
 tibles, and  we  daily  accumulate  within  us  the  mate- 
 rials for  that  eternal  flame,  which  no  power  in  heaven, 
 or  on  earth,  can  ever  quench ! 
 
 The  last  judgment  will  be  the  last  act  of  Christ's 
 mediatorial  work.  The  threefold  office  of  the  Messiah 
 shall  then  be  fulfilled.  His  prophetical  office  shall  be 
 ended,  because  there  will  be  no  longer  need  of  his 
 instruction  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world.     His  priestlj/ 
 
 T  :2 
 
276  DEVELOPMENT    OF   RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 functions  shall  be  accoinplishecl,  because  all  that  would 
 and  could  be  saved  have  entered  into  the  joy  of  their 
 Lord  ;  and  all  that  was  capable  in  man,  and  in  "  the 
 creature,"  to  be  reconciled,  has  been  redeemed  !  The 
 royal  dignity  of  the  Son  of  Man,  in  his  character  as 
 the  Messiah  of  the  world,  shall  be  at  an  end  ;  there 
 being  no  more  friends  to  shield,  and  no  more  enemies 
 to  conquer.  "  Tlien  the  end  cometli,  lohen  he  shall  have 
 delivered  uj)  tlie  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father  ; 
 2vhen  he  shall  have  put  doion  all  rule,  and  all  authority, 
 and  poiver.  For  he  must  reign  till  he  hath  2iut  all 
 enemies  under  his  feet.  The  last  enemy  that  shall  he 
 destroyed  is  death."   (1  Cor.  xv.  24 — 26.) 
 
 Vast,  indeed,  will  be  the  revolution  produced  by 
 the  final  triumph  of  the  God-man,  Jesus  Christ.  Sin 
 will  be  no  more!  Death  will  be  no  more!  God  will 
 be  all  in  all !    The  redeemed  shall  see  him  as  he  is  ! 
 
 From  what  has  been  now  said,  it  will  appear,  that 
 the  history  of  the  development  of  true  Religion  will 
 be  winding  up  its  last  scenes  beyond  the  boundaries 
 of  time.  It  Avill  not  be  completed  here  below.  All 
 things  are  now  ready,  the  apparatus  is  complete,  the 
 action  is  sure  and  certain,  but  the  work  is  not  yet 
 accomplished.  This  world  will  be  sifted,  and  a  new 
 heaven  and  a  new  earth  will  appear,  there  being  now 
 nothing  eternal,  and  nothing  perfect  under  the  sun. 
 The  whole  frame  and  scope  of  the  preparatory  scheme 
 pointed  to  something  beyond  the  duration  of  the 
 present  scene.     All  the  slow  but  stately  progress  of 
 
CHAP,  in.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  277 
 
 revelation  through  past  ages,  imported  a  work  which 
 was  calculated  for  eternity !  The  blessing  of  revealed 
 Religion  was  seen  to  emanate  from  below  the  threshold 
 of  past  eternity,  it  was  expected  and  prepared  through 
 the  ages  of  promise  and  prophecy,  and  it  will  demand 
 a  future  eternity  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  Church  of  the 
 living  God. 
 
 13.  We  have  had  frequent  opportunity  to  show  the 
 internal  and  organic  connexion  of  the  systematic  deve- 
 lopment of  revealed  Religion.  The  Christian  Religion 
 appears  by  no  means  as  a  number  of  detached  pre- 
 cejjts,  or  as  a  set  of  doctrines,  which  could  be  brought 
 suddenly  and  unexpectedly  before  man.  Every  stage 
 of  divine  revelation  was  founded  upon  one  which  had 
 previously  existed,  whilst  it  was  likewise  typical  of  one 
 that  was  yet  to  come.  This  prophetical  character  of 
 every  single  featm^e  in  revealed  Religion,  is  one  of  the 
 most  pleasing  and  wonderful  discoveries  which  can  be 
 made  by  the  human  mind,  and  it  stamps  upon  every 
 member  of  its  system  the  character  of  divinity.  There 
 is  something  so  incomparably  sublime  in  the  circum- 
 stance, that  the  several  members  are  not  only  joined 
 together  under  one  head,  and  united  by  one  common 
 bond  of  union,  but  that  each  one  at  the  same  time 
 embodies  a  miniature  of  the  stupendous  system  of 
 revealed  Religion  hi  its  totality.  Hence  it  will  appear, 
 that  the  most  glorious  consummation  of  the  historical 
 development  of  true  Religion,  which  is  set  forth  in  the 
 last  three   chapters   of  the  Bible,    has  been    already 
 
278  DEVELOPMENT   OF    RELIGION  [chap.  hi. 
 
 anticipated  in  the  first  three  chapters  of  the  hook  of 
 Genesis.  It  is  remarkable  to  observe  the  manner  in 
 which  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  Bible  are 
 linked  together,  as  it  were  by  one  holy  and  indis- 
 soluble bond  of  divine  perfection  and  harmony.  It  is 
 pleasing  to  note  how  this  final  glorious  consummation 
 of  the  whole  counsel  and  purpose  of  God's  eternal 
 love,  has  in  its  general  outlines  been  already  shadowed 
 forth  from  the  very  commencement  of  time.  In  read- 
 ing attentively  the  last  three  chapters  of  the  book  of 
 Revelation,  we  observe,  how  every  single  incident 
 seems  to  be  brought  into  close  connexion  with  some- 
 thing which  has  been  recorded  in  the  first  three  chap- 
 ters of  the  book  of  Genesis.  It  seems  as  if  the  Dis- 
 ciple whom  Jesus  loved  was  finally  to  seal  up  the 
 Volume  of  Inspiration  by  exhibiting  the  close  con- 
 nexion subsisting  between  the  final  history  of  the 
 Church  triumphant,  and  that  of  the  Church  militant 
 here  on  earth,  as  detailed  in  the  first  three  chapters  of 
 the  book  of  Genesis. 
 
 Thus,  for  instance,  it  is  said,  that  "  In  the  begin- 
 ning God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth  ;"  and  at 
 the  end  we  are  told,  that  the  first  heaven  and  the  first 
 earth  having  passed  away,  St.  John  saw  a  new  heaven 
 and  a  new  earth.  In  the  beginning,  God  made  two 
 great  lights,  to  rule  the  day  and  the  night.  In  the 
 end,  there  will  be  no  more  need  of  the  sun  nor  of  the 
 moon  to  shine ;  there  shall  be  no  night  there,  for  the 
 glory  of  God  shall  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  shall  be 
 
CHAP.  lu.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  279 
 
 the  light  thereof.  In  the  begmning,  the  waters  were 
 gathered  together  unto  one  place  ;  and  God  called  the 
 gathering  together  of  the  waters,  seas.  In  the  end, 
 "  there  shall  be  no  more  sea,"  but  a  sea  of  glass  as  it 
 were  mingled  with  fire ;  and  them  that  had  gotten 
 the  victory  standing  on  the  sea  of  glass,  having  the 
 harps  of  God,  singing  and  harping  the  song  of  Moses 
 the  servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb.  In  the 
 beginning  of  the  Bible  we  read  of  Paradise  with  its 
 goodly  rivers,  with  its  pleasures  of  pure  delights,  with 
 its  divers  kinds  of  trees ;  and  the  tree  of  life  in  the 
 midst  of  the  garden.  In  the  end,  we  read  of  the  city 
 of  God,  with  its  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as 
 crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and 
 the  Lamb  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  street,  and  on 
 either  side  of  the  river,  is  the  tree  of  life,  bearing 
 twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  the  leaves  of  which  are 
 for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  In  the  beginning,  man 
 was  made  out  of  the  dust  of  the  ground  ;  and  in  the 
 end,  he  shall  rise  from  the  dust  of  the  grave  in  the 
 general  resurrection  of  the  dead.  Again,  it  is  recorded 
 in  the  beginning,  that  the  Lord  God  said :  "  It  is  not 
 good  that  the  man  should  be  alone ;  I  will  make  an 
 help  meet  for  him."  And  when  the  Lord  God  had 
 made  the  woman,  he  brought  her  unto  the  man  ;  and 
 Adam  said  :  "  This  is  now  bone  of  my  bones,  and 
 flesh  of  my  flesh  !"  In  the  end,  the  Lamb's  wife,  the 
 holy  city,  is  spoken  of  as  coming  down  from  God  out 
 of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  hus- 
 
280  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION       [chap.  hi. 
 
 band.  In  the  beginning,  God  walked  with  man  in 
 the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  evening ;  and  in  the  end, 
 we  are  told  that  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men, 
 and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his 
 people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them  and  be 
 their  God  !  In  the  beginning,  God  rested  the  seventh 
 day  from  all  his  works  ;  and  man  being  made  in  the 
 image  of  God  was  commanded  also  to  rest.  In  the 
 end,  the  servants  of  God  enter  into  his  rest,  to  serve 
 before  his  throne  for  ever  and  ever.  In  the  begin- 
 ning, man  was  to  rule  over  all  the  earth,  and  to  subdne 
 it,  and  to  have  dominion  over  it.  In  the  end,  they 
 are  made  kings,  to  reign  with  Christ  for  ever  and  ever. 
 In  the  beginning,  death  enters  the  w^orld ;  in  the  end, 
 there  shall  be  no  more  deatli.  In  the  beginning,  the 
 seed  of  the  Avoman  is  to  braise  the  head  of  the  ser- 
 pent ;  and,  in  the  end,  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent, 
 which  is  the  devil,  is  bonnd,  and  with  a  bruised  head 
 he  is  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  for  ever  and  ever.  In 
 the  beginning,  man  is  judged  with  his  guilty  com- 
 panion after  their  mutual  transgression  ;  and  in  the 
 end,  small  and  great  shall  stand  before  God,  and  they 
 shall  all  be  judged  according  to  their  works.  In  the 
 beginning,  God  said  unto  the  woman,  "  I  will  greatly 
 multiply  thy  sorrow;"  and  to  the  man  he  said,  "In 
 sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  thy  bread  all  the  days  of  thy 
 life :"  in  the  end,  the  sorrow  of  the  man  and  the 
 sorrow  of  the  woman  shall  be  no  more.  In  the  be- 
 ginning, the  ground  was  cursed  for  the  sake  of  man ; 
 
(HAP.  in.]  IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.  281 
 
 in  the  end,  there  shall  be  no  more  curse.  In  the 
 begmning,  God  said  unto  the  man,  "  In  the  sweat  of 
 thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread  till  thou  return  unto  the 
 ground."  In  the  end,  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears 
 from  all  eyes  ;  all  sweat  from  all  faces ;  there  shall  be 
 no  more  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain, 
 for  the  former  things  are  passed  away.  In  the  be- 
 ginning, God  also  made  unto  Adam  and  his  wife  coats 
 of  skins  ;  and  he  thus  clothed  them  significantly  with 
 the  skins  of  animals  typically  slain,  in  all  probability, 
 immediately  after  their  transgression.  In  the  end,  they 
 are  arrayed  in  fine  linen,  clean  and  white ;  they  are 
 clothed  with  white  robes,  which  they  have  washed  and 
 made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  which  has  been 
 emblematically  slain  in  every  sacrifice  from  the  found- 
 ation of  the  world  !  In  the  beginning,  man  was  driven 
 out  of  the  garden  because  he  kept  not  the  command- 
 ment of  God,  and  the  flaming  sword  of  the  cherubim 
 turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life. 
 In  the  end,  we  hear  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying, 
 "  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  commandment,  that 
 they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter 
 in  through  the  gates  of  the  city."  The  description  of 
 this  city,  the  new  Jerusalem,  consists  not  of  mere 
 figures  and  allegorical  expressions  ;  but  we  are  plainly 
 told,  that  the  earthly  Jerusalem  was  a  type  of  Jeru- 
 salem which  is  above,  and  the  mother  of  us  all ! 
 And,  as  if  to  intimate  that  the  old  Jerusalem  was  a 
 mere  figure — a  mere  passing   shadoiv — the    heavenly 
 
282  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION       [chap.  hi. 
 
 Jerusalem  is  declared  to  have  been  seen  afar  off  by 
 the  patriarchs,  as  the  city  "  which  hath  foundations." 
 This  holy  city,  of  which  our  Saviour  said,  "  /  (jo  to 
 prcjjare  a  place  for  you''  is  seen  coming  down  with 
 him  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
 adorned  for  her  husband.  Being  carried  away  in  the 
 Spirit  to  a  great  high  mountain,  St.  John  saw  it 
 descend  from  heaven ;  and  he  drew  thence  a  most 
 glowing  picture,  and  gave  a  most  transporting  view. 
 In  describing  this  holy  celestial  city,  the  inspired  seer 
 employed  figures  of  temporal  objects  which  men  are 
 wont  highly  to  appreciate;  and,  in  order  to  imprint 
 the  general  features  of  this  holy  city  upon  the  pages 
 of  divine  revelation,  he  exhausted  all  the  glory,  the 
 beauty,  the  goodness,  'and  the  riches  of  nature.  His 
 inspired  pen  is  seen  to  labour,  as  it  were,  in  order  to 
 imbue  our  minds  with  some  general  idea  of  what  God 
 hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him.  Hence  the 
 profuse  display  of  all  the  perfection  of  symmetry  and 
 form ;  of  all  the  precious  stones,  of  all  the  costly 
 pearls,  and  all  the  pure  gold.  Let  it,  however,  be 
 remembered,  that,  as  the  old  Jerusalem  is  but  a  type 
 of  the  new,  so  this  present  world,  with  all  its  glory, 
 with  all  its  riches,  and  with  all  its  forms  of  beauty, 
 is  but  a  type  of  the  world  to  come.  And  when,  ere 
 long,  these  feeble  shadows  and  emblems  of  good  things 
 to  come  shall  have  passed  away ;  when  the  present 
 scene  shall  be  folded  up ;  when  the  veil  that  now 
 hides  from  our  view    the  realities  of    the   world  to 
 
CHAP.  III.]  IN    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  283 
 
 come — when  this  veil  shall  be  rent  in  twain  from  the 
 top  to  the  bottom — then  we  shall  know  how  to 
 admire  that  bright  inheritance,  which  is  incorruptible, 
 imdefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away  ! 
 
 But  what  is  the  hght  of  those  precious  stones,  clear  as 
 crystal  ? — what  is  the  garnishing  of  the  foundation  of 
 the  walls  of  the  holy  city  with  all  manner  of  precious 
 stones  ? — what  are  the  twelve  gates  of  divers  pearls  ? — 
 what  are  the  walls  of  jasper?  and  what  the  streets 
 of  pure  gold,  as  it  were  transparent  glass  ? — what 
 are  these  things  in  comparison  with  the  brightest 
 ornament,  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  glory  of  the 
 Lamb,  which  shall  be  the  light  thereof?  The 
 brightest  jewel,  and  "  the ]3earl  of  great  jprice^  which 
 adorns  this  heavenly  bride,  is  the  most  impressive 
 exhibition  of  the  glorious  presence  and  majesty  of  the 
 holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth.  If  it  be  asked, 
 Avhy  the  Almighty  has  so  eminently  adorned  this 
 city  ?  why  impressed  the  works  of  his  hand  with 
 such  brightness  and  majesty?  Avhy  prepared  a  place 
 of  abode  for  himself,  whom  the  heaven  and  heaven  of 
 heavens  cannot  contain  ?  St.  John  writes  :  "  And 
 I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying.  Behold, 
 the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell 
 with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God 
 himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God !  "  All 
 things  shall  be  new,  to  wax  old  "no  more ! 
 
 There   can   be   no   decay  in  the  presence   of  the 
 fountain   of  life.     After  the   day  of   judgment    shall 
 
284  DEVELOPMENT   OF   RELIGION        [chap.  hi. 
 
 have  cleansed  God's  heritage  from  everything  that 
 defileth,  his  Church  will  enter  upon  a  permanent  state 
 of  triumph  and  glory.  Without  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or 
 any  such  thing,  complete  and  holy  and  perfect  in  Jesus 
 their  Redeemer,  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  see 
 God's  face ;  they  shall  behold  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
 face  of  Jesus  Christ ;  they  shall  be  made  glad  with 
 the  light  of  his  countenance ;  they  shall  be  satisfied 
 with  his  likeness ;  they  shall  see  no  longer  through  a 
 glass  darkly,  but  they  shall  see  him  as  he  is,  face  to 
 face.  They  shall  hear  from  the  human  lips  of  the  Son 
 plainly  of  the  Father,  for  in  that  day — in  that  bright, 
 eternal  day — he  will  speak  no  more  in  parables,  but 
 show  them  plainly  of  the  Father;  they  shall  be  his 
 people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  their  God.  They 
 shall  walk  together  in  the  full  blaze  of  the  light  of 
 his  countenance  ;  the  whole  breadth  and  length  of  the 
 city  ^\\\\  be  so  illumined  with  the  glory  of  God — so 
 adorned  with  the  most  tangible  exhibition  of  his 
 ineffable  Majesty — that  the  inhabitants  everywhere 
 shall  be  alike  sensible  of  his  beatifying  presence. 
 There  will  be  no  temple  in  the  Father's  house — 
 devotion  ^vill  form  no  longer  a  distinct  part  of  their 
 blessed  existence.  With  him,  even  with  God,  is  the 
 fountain  of  life ;  as  the  "  happy  God,"  he  possesses  in 
 himself  every  principle  of  beatitude  and  felicity ;  from 
 his  blessed  presence  alone  flows  fulness  of  joy,  and  at 
 his  right  hand  alone  are  pleasures  for  evermore. 
 Whatever  gladdens  the  face  of  his  angels  above,  and 
 
CHAP,  in.]  IN   THE    NEW   TESTAMENT.  285 
 
 whatever  cheers  the  heart  of  men  below,  is  only  a 
 feeble  ray  of  the  ineffiTble  felicity  of  the  Almighty. 
 Every  approach  to  him  in  Christ  Jesns  must  be, 
 therefore,  an  approach  to  felicity,  life,  glory,  peace, 
 and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  enjoyment  of  his 
 immediate  presence  must  be  the  consummation  of  joy 
 unspeakable,  and  the  realization  of  happiness  without 
 mixture  and  without  measure.  Oh  !  what  a  multitude 
 of  sweet  things  are  folded  up  in  the  declaration,  that 
 God  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people  ! 
 When  God  is  with  his  people  as  their  God,  there 
 must  needs  flow  from  his  presence  ten  thousand  plea- 
 sures of  pure  delights,  which  now  we  have  neither 
 faculties  to  comprehend,  nor  powers  to  enjoy.  There 
 will  be  an  eternal  progression  of  those  faculties  by 
 which  we  shall  be  qualified  to  love  God,  and  to  know 
 God,  and  to  enjoy  his  presence ;  yet  these  faculties  of 
 ours  will  never  cease  to  be  finite ;  hence  the  object  of 
 our  knowledge,  of  our  love,  and  of  our  adoration, 
 can  never  be  exhausted,  nor  yet  searched  out  by  finite 
 creatures  unto  perfection.  And  if,  for  instance,  in  a 
 flower,  in  a  herb,  in  the  human  frame,  in  a  litmian 
 face,  we  find  such  wonders,  such  joy,  such  satisfac- 
 tion ;  if,  in  the  examination  of  the  works  of  his  hand, 
 we  are  to  ascend  such  heights,  and  dive  into  such 
 unfathomable  depths ;  if,  in  expatiating  upon  the 
 length  and  breadth  of  only  part  of  his  ways,  we  find 
 such  marvels,  such  an  accumulation  of  pleasure,  such 
 a  complication  of  mysteries ;  what  may  we  not  expect 
 
286  DEVELOPMENT  OF    RELIGION.         [chap.  hi. 
 
 when  the  great  Author  will  lay  himself  open  to  the 
 view  of  his  admiring  and  adoring  creatures !  when 
 he  will  permit  them  to  ''see  him  even  as  he  is!'' 
 when  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their 
 God  !  Oh,  for  the  impatient  language  of  patient  Job, 
 when  he  ejaculated,  "  Oh  that  I  knew  tohcre  1  mi/jht 
 find  him,  that  I  might  come  even  to  his  seat!"  And 
 oh  for  the  soul  of  David,  when  he  exclaimed,  "  Mg 
 soul  thirstetli  for  God,  for  the  living  God!  oh,  when 
 shall  I  come  and  appear  before  him  !  " 
 
CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 NATURAL  RELIGION  CONSIDERED  WITH  SPECIAL  REFER- 
 ENCE TO  ORIENTAL  PAGANISM,  AND  THE  SPECIFIC 
 RESULTS  OF  EASTERN  SPECULATION  IN  MATTERS  OF 
 RELIGION. 
 
 We  have  an  endless  variety  of  religious  systems  in 
 the  world.  There  are  Jews  and  Gentiles,  Christians 
 and  Mohammedans.  Each  of  these  have  formed  them- 
 selves into  religious  communities,  and  have  maintained 
 a  certain  position  in  the  religious  world.  But  it  has 
 never  yet  happened  that  a  religious  community  has 
 been  founded,  which  exists  under  the  denomination  of 
 the  Church  of  the  Natural  Religion.  The  attempt  has, 
 indeed,  been  made,  both  on  the  Continent  and  in 
 England,  but  it  has  proved  utterly  futile.  And  we 
 might  feel  inclined  to  infer  alreadv  from  this  circum- 
 stance,  that  Natural  Religion,  in  the  common  sense 
 of  the  term,  was  a  thing  without  meaning,  and  that 
 it  was  one  of  those  phenomena  in  the  world  of 
 Religion,  which,  from  its  indefinite  form,  and  from  its 
 beggarly  elements,  was  too  weak  to  form  a  distinct 
 community    of   professing    members.      This   is   very 
 
288  NATURAL   RELIGION.  [chap.  iv. 
 
 natural.  If  it  be  granted,  as  an  article  of  this  natural 
 creed,  that  each  individual  is  able  to  frame  from  his 
 own  resources  what  is  to  serve  as  the  foundation  for 
 his  religious  faith,  it  must  follow,  that  every  one  will 
 needs  have  his  own  Religion,  his  own  Church,  estab- 
 lished upon  his  own  authority  !  Perhaps,  a  few  soli- 
 tary individuals  may  happen  to  agree  in  some  measure 
 with  each  other ;  or  limited  numbers  may  be  so  far 
 influenced  by  some  extraordinary  persons,  as  to  form 
 themselves  into  smaller  sects.  But  a  larger  com- 
 munity could  not  be  formed  under  these  circum- 
 stances, there  being  no  centre  around  which  all  could 
 rally.  A  universal  Religion  could  not  be  thought  of, 
 because  every  one  would  labour  to  maintain  his  own 
 view  in  opposition  to  that  of  another ;  and  every 
 change  of  religious  opinions  would  be  followed  by  a 
 change  of  the  leading  articles  of  this  natural  creed. 
 
 There  has  been,  however,  much  confusion  as  to  the 
 definition  of  Natural  Religion  ;  and  it  has  been,  very 
 probably,  on  this  account,  that  its  existence  has  been 
 utterly  denied  by  some  individuals,  whilst  others  have 
 lavished  upon  it  the  most  unlimited  ascriptions  of 
 praise.  Natural  Religion,  in  some  sense  of  the  term, 
 has  been  acknowledged  by  the  Holy  Scriptures  them- 
 selves. We  have  already  seen  how  the  all-com- 
 prehensive scheme  of  divine  revelation  embodies  every 
 word  and  every  deed  of  the  Almighty,  which  has 
 been  impressed  upon  the  broad  face  of  the  created 
 universe,  and   upon   the  nature  and  constitution    of 
 
CHAP.  IV.]        GENERAL  REMARKS.  289 
 
 man;  as  well  as  those  truths  which  are  contained  in 
 the  inspired  records  of  the  Bible.  For  when  the  Gen- 
 tiles can  clearly  see  the  invisible  divinity  and  his 
 eternal  power  from  the  things  which  are  made  in  the 
 creation  of  the  world,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  a 
 knowledge  of  God  and  divine  things  to  be  derived 
 from  the  works  of  creation,  and  that,  if  we  do  not 
 know  God  from  his  works,  and  glorify  him  for  the 
 sake  of  his  works,  we  are  without  excuse.  And  when 
 the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature 
 the  things  contained  in  the  law,  and  when  these, 
 having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  to  themselves,  it  is 
 evident  that  there  must  be  written  a  law  in  their 
 hearts,  their  consciences  also  bearing  witness,  and 
 their  thoughts  the  mean  while  accusing,  or  else  ex- 
 cusing one  another.   (Rom.  i.  &  ii.) 
 
 But  in  this  point  also,  bigotry,  as  one  of  the  beset- 
 ting sins  of  human  nature,  has  done  its  work,  and 
 induced  one  party  to  depreciate  the  merits  of  the  case 
 in  question ;  whilst  others,  from  a  partial  investigation 
 of  the  subject,  were  led  to  exalt  natural  Religion  to  an 
 undue  elevation.  Both  views  of  the  case  lead  to  fatal 
 extremes ;  and  to  both  may  be  applied  the  complaint 
 so  characteristically  descriptive  of  partisan  zealotism : 
 Quid  non  placet,  quid  non  intellipmf,  Jiaresis  est. 
 Greece  scire  hceresis  est,  expolite  loqui  hceresis  est ;  quid- 
 quid  i2Jse  nonfacitint  liceresis  est! 
 
 If  natural  Religion  be  the  amount  of  truth  which 
 human  reason  has  discovered,  it  cannot  be  our  present 
 
 VOL.  I.  u 
 
290  NATURAL   RELIGION.  [chaf.  iv, 
 
 object  to  speculate  what  man  without  revelation  may 
 or  may  not  accomplish.  The  shortest  way  of  ascer- 
 taining the  strength  of  speculative  reason  in  matters  of 
 Religion,  will  be  simply  to  investigate  what  it  has 
 actually  clone.  In  order  to  gain  this  point,  we  must 
 not,  however,  consult  Christian  authors.  Some  of  our 
 most  deep-thinking  and  honest  philosophers  have 
 too  often  ascribed  certain  discoveries  to  the  natural 
 faculties  of  human  reason  which,  in  point  of  fact,  were 
 nothing  but  unconscious  plagiarisms  from  the  source 
 of  divine  revelation.  In  endeavouring  to  distinguish 
 too  nicely  the  timid  suggestions  of  the  human  mind, 
 and  the  result  of  human  reason  abstractedly  considered, 
 from  the  associations  of  revelation  with  which  they 
 were  familiar  from  their  very  infancy,  and  which  they 
 could  not  avoid  imbibing  during  the  earliest  stages 
 of  the  development  of  their  reasoning  faculties,  they 
 unconsciously  attributed  more  to  the  native  powers  of 
 speculative  reason  than  was  due  to  them  in  reality  and 
 truth.  But  how  often  does  it  happen  that  the  debtor 
 forgets  the  obligation  which  is  due  to  his  creditor, 
 especially  when  a  long  period  has  elapsed  since  the 
 debt  has  been  contracted  ! 
 
 If  India,  Persia,  Egypt,  China,  Greece,  and  Rome 
 did  not  discover  the  several  articles  of  natural  Reli- 
 gion, which  are  laid  down  with  remarkable  precision 
 in  the  modern  systems  of  Christian  philosophers, 
 why  should  we  suppose  that  the  latter  are  in- 
 debted for  the  improvement  to  their  own  reasonings  ? 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  GENERAL    REMARKS.  291 
 
 The  self-deception  is  obvious  to  the  most  superficial 
 observer.  The  latter  were  indebted  to  the  beneficent 
 rajs  of  revealed  Religion,  whilst  the  former  had  nothing 
 but  the  scattered  remnants  of  primitive  tradition  to 
 aid  their  metaphysical  speculations.  The  Christian 
 author  composed  his  works  respecting  natural  Rehgion 
 after  having  breathed  the  pure  and  invigorating  atmo- 
 sphere of  revealed  Religion  through  every  stage  of  his 
 existence,  and  this  in  a  measm-e  with  or  against  his 
 pleasure.  In  order,  therefore,  to  obtain  an  unqualified 
 record,  from  a  more  impartial  source,  as  to  what 
 amount  of  good  has  been  accomplished  by  natural 
 Rehgion,  we  must  retire  from  the  region  which  has 
 been  standing  under  the  genial  influence  of  divine 
 revelation,  and  turn  our  minds  to  the  systems  of  Pagan 
 mythology,  which  may  be  emphatically  styled  the  reli- 
 gious systems  of  nature. 
 
 2.  It  cannot  be  our  present  object  to  trace  the 
 spread  of  Pagan  idolatry  over  the  face  of  the  earth 
 according  to  its  chronological  and  genealogical  de- 
 velopment. Much  has  been  written,  and  many  have 
 been  the  fanciful  speculations,  as  to  the  natural  history 
 of  spurious  Religion;  but  as  it  is  also  apphcable  to 
 the  present  subject,  quantum  est  quod  nescimus  !  The 
 efforts  of  too  minute  inductions  must  ever  remain 
 hazardous  in  the  extreme.  So  much  is  plain  upon  the 
 present  subject,  that  the  dawn  of  general  and  religious 
 history  broke  in  the  East.  The  more  extensive  our 
 inquiries,  and  the  more  profound  our  researches  re- 
 
 u  2 
 
292  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap,  iv 
 
 specting  the  origin  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  the 
 more  we  find  ourselves  directed  to  the  East  as  the 
 cradle  of  the  human  race ;  whatever  may  have  been 
 the  effects  of  remote  climates.  We  have  already- 
 traced  the  history  of  revealed  Religion,  and  the  whole 
 of  the  scene  was  thrown  into  the  East ;  it  is  therefore 
 natural  to  search  for  the  rise  and  progress  of  its  spu- 
 rious counterfeits,  where  true  Religion  was  originally 
 promulgated  and  unfolded.  The  history  of  revealed 
 Religion  leads  neither  to  India,  nor  to  Egypt,  nor  to 
 China,  as  the  primitive  seat  and  central  point  from 
 which  the  human  race  emigrated  after  the  catastrophe 
 of  the  flood.  But,  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  result 
 of  the  most  profound  philosophical  researches,  the 
 Bible  leads  us  to  Mesopotamia  as  the  cradle  of  the 
 postdiluvian  race.  The  regions  of  Babylonia  are 
 distinctly  specified  as  the  seat  of  true  Religion  after 
 the  flood ;  and  Babylon  also  became  the  notorious 
 "  mother  of  harlots,"  from  which  all  Pagan  superstition 
 spread  itseK  to  the  south,  to  the  east,  to  the  west,  and 
 to  the  north. 
 
 The  dispersed  nations  were  left  to  themselves  from 
 the  j)eriod  when  Abraham  was  called  out  of  his  native 
 country.  They  were  confined  to  the  law  written  in 
 their  hearts,  and  to  the  general  revelation  which  is 
 exhibited  in  the  works  of  creation.  If,  therefore, 
 natural  Religion  be  that  which  embodies  those  reli- 
 gious truths  which  the  speculative  reason  of  man  can 
 discover  without  extraordinary  revelation  of  the  Deity, 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   BABYLONIANS.  293 
 
 the  Religion  of  the  Pagan  world,  who  were  destitute 
 of  this  extraordinary  revelation,  must  be  the  "  Natural 
 Belifjion'''  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term.  Tliere 
 must  be  truth  in  the  natural  Religion  of  the  Pagan 
 world,  because  they  did  enjoy  part  of  the  divine 
 revelation,  God  having  not  left  himself  without  wit- 
 ness. That  which  may  be  known  of  God  is  mani- 
 fest to  them,  for  God  hath  showed  it  unto  them ;  and 
 when  they  knew  God  and  glorified  him  not  as  God, 
 they  were  without  excuse.  God  hath  indeed  suffered 
 all  the  nations  to  walk  in  their  own  ways  ;  nevertheless, 
 he  did  them  good,  gave  them  rain  from  heaven  and 
 fruitful  seasons,  filling  their  hearts  with  food  and 
 gladness,  that  they  should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply 
 they  might  find  him,  and  feel  after  him,  as  one  who 
 was  not  far  from  each  one  of  them.  It  would  indeed 
 be  intensely  interesting,  as  well  as  instructive,  to  dive 
 more  deeply  into  the  systems  of  Pagan  Mythology,  and 
 to  trace  the  actual  working  of  the  human  mind,  as  it 
 went  forth  with  the  dismal  lamp  of  human  reason 
 "  to  feel  after  God''  in  every  department  of  the  created 
 works  of  the  Almighty.  It  can,  however,  be  as  little 
 in  our  present  plan  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  the 
 several  systems  of  spurious  creeds,  as  it  was  to  trace 
 the  means  and  ways  by  which  they  were  gradually 
 propagated  upon  the  face  of  the  globe.  We  shall, 
 however,  take  a  cursory  view  of  the  actual  state  of 
 Pagan  Mythology,  in  order  to  enable  us  to  form  a 
 distinct  idea  of  the  amount  of  religious  truth  which 
 
294  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap,  iv, 
 
 the  natural  man  is  able  to  acquire  without  the  aid  of  a 
 special  revelation. 
 
 The  primitive  form  of  Pagan  idolatry,  which  seems 
 to  have  been  established  prior  to  the  dispersion  of  the 
 postdiluvian  family  of  man,  was,  as  we  have  already 
 seen,  a  symbolical  representation  of  the  "  leather  of 
 lights"  by  the   heavenly   host ;    which   was   quickly 
 superseded  by  actual  worship  of  these  luminaries  which 
 brighten  the  firmament.     These  superstitious  notions, 
 which   recognised   the  person   of   the   Deity   in   the 
 brightest  works  of  his  hands,  and  derived  from  them 
 not  only  the  fertility  of  the  ground,  but  even  the  good 
 or  ill  that   befals   man,    had  been  propagated  from 
 Chaldea  to  the  whole  of  Western  Asia,  yea,  all  over 
 the  whole  world  ;    and  this  at  a  very  early  period. 
 The  worship  was  first  confined  to  the  sun  and  the 
 moon,  and  it  was  only  by  degrees  that  the  smaller 
 luminaries  of  the  nightly  hemisphere  were  allowed  to 
 participate  in  the  honom-s.     We  have  already,  in  the 
 last    Chapter,    specified  some   of  the  more  profound 
 causes  of  this  species  of  idolatry  in  primitive  days. 
 
 Babylon  was  the  seat  of  the  first  empire  of  the 
 world,  and  Bel,  or  Belus,  appears  as  the  founder  and 
 sovereign  of  the  same ;  whilst  the  same  personage,  in 
 a  mythological  point  of  view,  appears  always  in  the 
 character  of  the  solar  deity.  The  temple  of  this  deity 
 was  yet  standing  at  the  time  of  Herodotus ;  whilst  a 
 no  less  celebrated  temple,  sacred  to  the  moon,  was 
 standing   at   Haran.     The    existence   of  this   Pagan 
 
CHAP.    IV.]  OF    THE    BABYLONIANS.  295 
 
 temple  at  Haran,  or,  at  least,  the  idolatrous  tendency 
 of  the  people  at  that  place,  seems  sufficient  to  account 
 for  the  call  to  Abraham  to  come  out  from  thence. 
 (Gen.  xi.  31 ;  xii.  1.)  This  lunar  temple  in  the  upper 
 parts  of  Mesopotamia,  where  the  family  of  Abraham 
 had  sojourned  after  they  had  left  Ur  of  the  Chaldees, 
 was  the  place  near  which  the  emperor  Caracalla  was 
 murdered.  It  was  still  much  frequented  at  the  time 
 of  Julian,  when  Haran  was  already  in  ruins.  When 
 man,  however,  had  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a 
 lie,  there  appear  still  darker  spots.  God  gave  them 
 over  to  vile  affections,  as  was  soon  evident  in  the 
 impure  services  of  this  goddess,  which  involved  the 
 sacrifice  of  modesty  and  female  virtue  on  the  part  of 
 every  Babylonian  woman  once  in  her  life,  from  which 
 persons  of  the  highest  ranks  were  not  exempted. 
 
 Thus  early  it  had  been  shown  that  man  was  in- 
 clined to  worship  and  serve  the  creature  more  than 
 the  Creator ;  and  that  this  was  the  more  inexcusable, 
 as  the  sacred  traditions  had  been  preserved  amongst 
 them  in  comparative  purity.  We  allude  to  one  single 
 instance,  to  show  that  they  were  without  excuse : — 
 According  to  the  fragments  of  the  annals  of  Berosus, 
 which  have  been  preserved  by  Syncellus,  Xisuthros 
 was  the  tenth  king  of  Babylonia,  as  Noah  was  the 
 tenth  after  Adam.  It  was  to  him  that  the  Supreme 
 Deity  announced  a  great  flood,  which  should  destroy 
 mankind  on  account  of  their  wickedness,  on  the 
 fifteenth  day  of  the  second  month  ;   and,  according  to 
 
296  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Genesis,  it  was  to  come  on  the  seventeenth  clay  of  the 
 second  month.  Xisuthros  Avas  commanded  to  build  an 
 ark,  which  should  receive  him,  his  family,  and  his 
 friends.  But  before  all  things,  he  was  to  write  an 
 account  of  all  events,  and  deposit  it  in  Sepharvaim, 
 i.  e.  "the  city  of  the  books,"  for  the  benefit  of  posterity. 
 The  ship  was  to  be  625  paces  long,  and  250  paces 
 broad.  When  the  flood  was  subsiding,  Xisuthros  sent 
 a  raven  and  a  dove  to  spy  the  state  of  the  surface 
 of  the  earth ;  they  returned  with  mud  on  their  feet, 
 and  the  third  time  they  returned  no  more  !  The  king 
 observed  from  this  that  the  waters  had  disappeared  ; 
 he  opened  the  ark,  and  found  that  the  vessel  had 
 landed  upon  the  top  of  a  mountain.  Having  gone 
 forth  with  his  wife,  his  daughters,  and  his  pilot,  he 
 worshipped  the  earth;  and  having  sacrificed  to  the 
 gods  he  disappeared !  There  is  in  Sabaism  the  noblest 
 eflPort  on  the  part  of  man  to  represent  the  Father  of 
 hghts.  They  acknowledge  "  Bel,"  "  Baal,"  or  "  Lord  ;" 
 but  their  Supreme  Lord  is  the  sun  !  1\\  addition,  they 
 have  "lords  many;"  none  of  whom,  like  the  "Lord 
 of  Hosts,"  is  the  Lord  of  all  the  universe,  but  they  are 
 all  parts  of  a  whole,  to  the  laws  of  which  they  are 
 subject.  How  difierent  appears  Jehovah,  who,  as  the 
 Lord  of  all  the  hosts  of  heaven,  protests  in  his  holiness 
 against  the  abominations  of  these  nations  by  the 
 mouth  of  his  holy  prophets !  These  deities  formed 
 part  of  Nature ;  their  worshippers  were  "  without  God 
 in   the    world,"  and  capable  of   committing   all  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]         OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND    MEDES.  297 
 
 cruelty  and  lasciviousness  for  which  the  rites  of  the 
 sidereal  divinities  were  distinguished.  What  a  fearful 
 caricature  this  of  the  Natural  Religion  in  which  the 
 Gentiles  were  to  know  God,  to  glorify  him  and  to  be 
 thankful ! 
 
 3.  There  has  been  much  boasting  of  the  successful 
 efforts  of  human  powers,  which  are  said  to  have  been 
 made  in  the  religious  belief,  which  existed  originally 
 in  the  Bactrian  provinces  of  Central  Asia,  which  be- 
 came the  established  Religion  of  the  Persian  empire, 
 upon  the  accession  of  the  Bactrian  Prince  Darius  to  the 
 Persian  throne,  and  which  has  been,  in  a  measure, 
 preserved  amongst  the  Parsee  fire-worshippers  of  the 
 present  day.  To  give  a  detailed  view  of  the  Iranian 
 fire-worship,  it  would,  however,  be  necessary  to  give 
 the  history  of  this  interesting  nation,  with  an  account 
 of  the  ante-Zoroastrian  character  of  their  Religion,  It 
 would  require,  that  we  should  enlarge  upon  the  history 
 of  its  reformer,  and  the  nature  of  his  reformation.  It 
 would  farther  be  desirable  to  trace  the  chronological 
 development  of  this  religious  belief,  to  show  its  affinity 
 to  other  systems  of  Mythology,  and  minutely  to  exa- 
 mine the  character  of  its  sacred  literature.  But  in  order 
 to  determine  in  a  general  way,  what  the  ancient  Medes 
 and  Persians  have  accomplished  in  matters  of  Religion, 
 without  participating  in  the  privileges  of  God's  pecu- 
 liar people,  all  these  examinations  will  not  be  requu'ed. 
 We  shall,  therefore,  proceed  to  give  a  general  view 
 of  their   religious   system,    without  reference  to  the 
 
298  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 resources  which  may  have  been  at  their  command,  in 
 order  to  determine  what  are  the  characteristic  features 
 of  the  natural  Religion  of  that  remarkable  and 
 energetic  people. 
 
 The  Supreme  Being  of  the  Zoroastrian  system  of 
 belief,  is  Zeruana  Akarana.  He  is  the  prime  cause  of 
 all  things  that  were  and  are  existing.  He  is,  as  his 
 name  implies,  the  uncreated  all-comprehending  deity, 
 and  is  as  such  unknown,  invisible,  and  incomprehen- 
 sible. He  is,  in  another  point  of  view,  and  with  a 
 different  turn  in  the  translation  of  his  appellation, 
 "  Time  ivit/wi/t  hounds  Upon  the  authority  of 
 classical  and  Oriental  authors,  this  Supreme  Deity 
 created  before  all  things  light  and  darkness,  fire  and 
 water ;  but  these  elements  were  not  those  which  were 
 afterwards  created  with  the  material  world.  These 
 primal  elements  are  to  be  distinguished  from  those 
 which  were  to  be  created  by  Ormuzd.  The  primal 
 light  was  independent  of  that  which  is  peculiar  to 
 the  heavenly  bodies,  which  as  yet  did  not  exist ;  and 
 it  is  also  worshipped  separately  from  the  latter.  Ac- 
 cording to  the  view  which  the  Grecian  authors  took  of 
 the  subject,  these  prime  elements  emanated  from 
 Zeruana  Akarana,  but  according  to  the  sacred  books 
 of  the  Parsees,  which  are  known  under  the  name  of 
 Zendavesta,  they  were  created  by  him. 
 
 The  creation,  according  to  the  Zendavesta,  was 
 brought  about  by  the  creative  Word  of  the  deity.  This 
 "  Word,"  Honover,  is,  however,   already   existing  as 
 
CHAP.  IV.]         OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND   MEDES.  299 
 
 something  besides  the  deity,  and  it  is  frequently  adored 
 in  the  hymns  and  prayers  of  the  Zendavesta  as  a  self- 
 existing  being,  which  was  created  before  all  things. 
 "  The  pure  holy  Word,  Honover,  O  Zoroaster,  was 
 before  the  heaven,  before  the  water,  before  earth,  be- 
 fore the  flocks,  before  the  trees,  before  the  fire,  the 
 son  of  Orrauzd,  before  the  pure  men,  before  the  evil 
 spirits,  before  the  whole  world,  before  all  substance, 
 and  before  all  the  pure  genii  of  Ormuzd."  The  "  word" 
 is  represented  as  having  a  soul  and  a  body  of  resplen- 
 dent light.  This  "  word"  is  afterwards  also  effectual 
 in  the  mouth  of  Ormuzd,  who  created  every  pure 
 creature  by  Honover.  Zeruana  Akarana  created 
 therefore  the  prime  elements  of  light  and  darkness, 
 fire  and  water,  by  the  "  word"  Honover  ;  and  it  was, 
 doubtless,  by  the  same  means,  that  he  afterwards 
 created  an  innumerable  host  of  Spirits,  the  Feruhars, 
 or  Frawasi.  These  Spirits  were  the  archetypes  of  the 
 future  world  of  angels  and  of  men,  which  were  yet  to 
 be  created.  The  nature  of  man  consists  of  body,  soul, 
 and  spirit ;  but  the  spirit  is  thought  to  have  pre-existed 
 with  God  before  the  birth  of  man ;  and  it  is  on  the 
 latter  occasion  that  it  descends  from  the  upper  re- 
 gions, to  be  united  with  the  human  body  and  the 
 human  soul. 
 
 The  chief  of  these  created  and  immortal  Spirits,  are 
 Ormuzd  and  Ahriman ;  Ormuzd  having  a  body  of 
 light,  and  dwelling  in  light ;  Ahriman  having  a 
 body  of  darkness,  and  dwelling  in  darkness.     Each 
 
300  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 appears  at  the  head  of  six  other  Spirits,  which  corre- 
 spond in  rank  and  nature  to  their  respective  leaders. 
 Ormuzd  superintends  his  six  congenial  immortal  Arch- 
 angels, or  Amshaspands,  of  whom  he  is  the  seventh ; 
 and  Ahriman,  on  his  part,  is  aided  by  six  evil  Dews, 
 or  demons.  In  addition  to  the  mighty  Amshaspands, 
 there  are  twenty-four  Yzeds,  or  good  Spirits,  which 
 were  ranked  under  the  host  of  Ormuzd.  These  Ya- 
 zatas,  or  Yzeds,  have  been  generally  represented  as  an 
 inferior  class  of  beings  to  the  Amshaspands,  but  their 
 name  simply  signifies  "  Adorable  beings,"  which  claim 
 the  adoration  of  men ;  and  hence  Ormuzd  himself,  as 
 the  chief  of  the  seven  Amshaspands,  is  called  a  Yzed 
 in  the  Zendavesta.  On  the  other  hand,  beings  which 
 are  generally  classed  with  the  Yzeds,  are  occasionally 
 styled  Amshaspands ;  thus,  for  instance,  fire  is  called 
 the  quickest  of  Amshaspands.  Ahriman,  as  the  chief 
 of  the  seven  Archdemons,  either  created  or  adopted 
 other  Spuits  of  a  congenial  character,  which  are  known 
 under  the  appellation  of  Daruds. 
 
 When  Zeruana  Akarana  had  created  the  invisible 
 world  of  Spirits,  he  withdraws  from  the  scene,  and 
 Ormuzd  the  Amshaspand  commences  the  creation  of 
 the  material  world  by  tlie  same  Honover,  by  which 
 the  Supreme  Deity  had  created  the  prime  elements  and 
 the  world  of  Spirits.  The  creations  of  Ormuzd  were 
 accomplished  in  six  successive  periods,  which  embraced 
 a  considerable  space  of  duration.  Ormuzd  created  in 
 the  first  period  the  heavens,  in  the  second  the  water. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]         OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND   MEDES.  301 
 
 in  the  third  the  earth,  in  the  fourth  the  vegetables,  in 
 the  fifth  the  animals,  and  in  the  sixth  period  he  finally 
 created  man.  The  mighty  mountain  Alborti  arose 
 out  of  the  centre  of  the  earth.  It  grew,  in  two  hun- 
 dred years,  to  the  height  of  the  moon  ;  in  another 
 two  hundred  years  it  reached  the  height  of  the  sun ; 
 in  two  hundred  years  more  it  reached  the  sphere  of 
 the  stars ;  and  in  another  two  hundred  years  it  had 
 grown  to  the  height  of  the  primal  light,  which  had 
 been  created  by  the  Supreme  Deity !  When  it  had 
 outgrown  its  stupendous  height,  during  the  period  of 
 eight  hundred  years,  the  bright  luminaries  of  the 
 firmament  commenced  their  revolutions  around  it,  as 
 their  common  axis ;  and  when  Ormuzd  had  finished 
 creating  the  world,  and  appointing  its  guardian  Spirits, 
 he  withdrew  into  the  highest  heaven  of  bliss  and  hap- 
 piness, which  is  supported  by  the  fabulous  mountain 
 Alborti.  And  with  the  completion  of  the  pure  creation 
 of  Ormuzd,  three  thousand  years,  or  the  first  quarter 
 of  the  world's  duration,  had  expired.  Ahriman  and 
 his  Dews  could  not  disturb  the  reign  of  the  pure  Or- 
 muzd during  this  first  quarter  of  the  age  of  the  world, 
 for  so  it  was  decreed. 
 
 But  when  Ormuzd  had  now  finished  the  creation  of 
 heaven  and  earth,  Ahriman  suddenly  appears  upon 
 the  latter  in  the  form  of  a  serpent,  to  destroy  the  good 
 and  pure  works  of  Ormuzd.  And  the  struggle  be- 
 tween both  armies  of  Spirits  is  described  as  having 
 been  attended   with  most  extraordinary  and  terrific 
 
302  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 signs.  The  comets  of  Aliriman  caused  confu- 
 sion in  the  heavens;  and  Ormuzd  brought  a  flood 
 upon  earth,  to  destroy  the  evil  host  of  Spirits  which 
 were  led  by  Ahriman,  the  chief  of  devils.  The 
 issue  of  this  fierce  conflict  was,  that  Ormuzd,  indeed, 
 preserved  the  upper  hand;  but  Ahriman  could  not 
 be  banished  from  the  world  of  Ormuzd.  He  had 
 occupied  some  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  placed  his 
 Dews  over  certain  parts  of  the  earth,  in  opposition  to 
 the  pure  Amshaspands  of  Ormuzd.  He  had,  in  short, 
 poisoned  the  pure  creation,  and  created  the  smoke  in 
 connexion  with  the  "pure  fire,  the  son  of  Ormuzd." 
 Night  and  darkness,  cold  and  heat,  make  now  their 
 appearance  for  the  first  time. 
 
 When  the  world  was  thus  defiled  by  Ahriman, 
 Ormuzd  determined  to  increase  his  powers  upon 
 earth  by  sending  the  pure  Feruhars  to  become  incar- 
 nate :  the  first  of  them  being  embodied  in  Goshu- 
 run,  the  primal  bull,  who  is  at  the  same  time  counted 
 amongst  the  twenty-four  Yzeds  and  worshipped  like 
 them.  This  famous  bull  was  the  first  of  living  crea- 
 tures upon  earth,  and  contained  the  germs  of  both 
 animals  and  men.  Ahriman  endeavoured  to  kill 
 the  contemplated  creation  of  Ormuzd  at  one  blow, 
 in  destroying  the  holy  animal.  But  whilst  the  soul 
 of  the  bull  escaped  from  one  of  his  sides,  Kaiomorts, 
 the  first  man,  sprang  out  of  the  other.  In  ascending 
 to  heaven,  the  spirit  of  the  bull  carried  with  it  the 
 seminal  fluid  of  the  holy  bull,  and  handed  it  over  to 
 
GHAP.  IV.]      OF   THE   PERSIANS    AND   MEDES.  303 
 
 Anahicl,  the  guardian  Spirit  of  the  moon,  in  order  that 
 she  might  preserve  it  for  futm-e  creations  of  Ormuzd. 
 If  the  creation  of  men  and  animals  and  plants  has  been 
 said  to  have  been  accomplished  during  the  fourth, 
 fifth,  and  sixth  periods  of  the  creation  which  has 
 been  stated  to  have  taken  place  during  the  first  quar- 
 ter of  the  tv^^elve  thousand  years ;  and  if  it  be  now 
 related  as  an  event  which  has  taken  place  during  the 
 second  quarter  of  the  age  of  the  world, — this  must  not 
 be  attributed  to  a  non-philosophical  method  of  repre- 
 senting the  subject  on  our  part,  but  the  contradiction  is 
 founded  in  the  religious  documents  themselves.  With 
 reference  to  the  dead  body  of  the  bull  Goshurun  it  is 
 further  distinctly  added,  that  from  his  tail  grew  all 
 manner  of  corn,  from  his  marrow  all  manner  of  trees, 
 and  from  his  blood  was  the  vine  produced !  This 
 fable  has  been  preserved  likewise  by  a  number  of 
 monuments,  vv^hich  have  been  discovered  even  in  Italy 
 and  on  the  Rhine  ! 
 
 Kaiomorts  now  was  naturally  exposed  to  the  wrath 
 of  Ahriman ;  and  he  had  scarcely  reached  his  thirtieth 
 year  when  he  was  killed  by  the  Dews.  But  again  the 
 devices  of  Ahriman  were  discomfited,  inasmuch  as 
 from  the  dying  Kaiomorts  sprang  the  first  pair  of  men, 
 Meshia  and  Meshiane,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
 the  human  race  in  the  natural  way  of  procreation ;  a 
 pure  Peruhar  descending  upon  every  newborn  child, 
 to  be  united  with  his  body  and  soul.  Whilst  Meshia 
 and  Meshiane  sprang  from  the  seed  of  the  dying  Kaio- 
 
304  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 morts,  Ormuzd  created  from  the  seed  of  the  primal 
 bull,  which  had  been  preserved  by  Anahid,  another 
 bull  and  a  cow,  and  from  them  originated  all  the  dif- 
 ferent kinds  of  animals.  Thus  the  whole  creation 
 of  Ormuzd  was  finished.  But  Ahriman  was  not 
 behind  in  his  exertions.  He  created  a  counter  crea- 
 tion of  impure  plants  and  trees,  of  poisonous  fruits 
 and  vegetables  to  oppose  the  pure  vegetables  of 
 Ormuzd.  Again  impure  animals,  wild  beasts,  poison- 
 ous reptiles  were  set  in  opposition  to  the  pure  animal 
 world,  created  by  Ormuzd.  The  powers  of  Ormuzd 
 and  those  of  Ahriman  seemed  to  be  equally  strong ; 
 and  it  now  depended  upon  Meshia  and  Meshiane, 
 whether  they  w^ould  preserve  their  pmity  and  adhere 
 steadfastly  to  Ormuzd  their  creator.  Ahriman  beguiled 
 Meshia  and  Meshiane ;  they  did  eat  the  fruit  which 
 was  given  unto  them  by  the  tempter :  they  wor- 
 shipped Ormuzd  no  longer,  but  adored  Ahriman  and 
 his  evil  Dews.  But  they  lost  the  happiness  which 
 they  had  hitherto  enjoyed,  and  their  souls  were  cast 
 into  hell  until  the  day  of  resurrection.  And  it  is 
 added,  that  if  they  had  been  faithful  to  Ormuzd,  they 
 would  have  raised  their  pure  souls  to  bliss  and  happi- 
 ness in  the  presence  of  Ormuzd. 
 
 Notwithstanding  the  revelation  of  Ormuzd  to  man- 
 kind through  a  prophet  called  Home,  Ahriman  in- 
 creased with  every  new  generation  his  power  upon 
 earth,  and  it  came  to  pass  towards  the  end  of  the  second 
 cycle  of  the  Chronological  era  of  the  world,  that  his 
 
CHAP.  IV.]      OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND    MEDES.  305 
 
 kingdom  had  gained  the  ascendency  over  Ormuzd  and 
 his  pure  influence.  He  revealed  himself,  therefore, 
 once  more  to  Zoroaster,  the  illustrious  reformer  of  the 
 Iranian  fire-worship,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
 third  cycle  of  three  thousand  years.  According  to  this 
 reformation  of  the  Avorship  of  Ormuzd,  every  other 
 form  of  Religion  is  to  l)e  opposed,  yea,  still  more  every 
 follower  of  Ahriman  and  his  demons  "  is  to  be  beaten 
 in  body,  soul,  and  substance."  This  war  of  Ormuzd 
 aa-ainst  Ahriman  was  to  be  extended  from  man  and 
 morals,  even  to  plants  and  animals.  It  is  made  a 
 rehgious  duty  to  extirpate  the  obnoxious  plants  of 
 Ahriman,  and  to  kill  all  manner  of  impure  animals. 
 Every  Amshaspand,  every  Yzed,  with  every  pure  par- 
 ticle in  the  creation  of  Ormuzd,  is  to  be  adored  and 
 worshipped.  The  pure  flocks  of  Ormuzd  are  to  be 
 attended  to  with  religious  scrupulosity;  pure  trees 
 and  plants  are  to  be  cultivated ;  pure  cattle  are  to  be 
 brought  up ;  the  ground  is  to  be  rendered  fertile. 
 The  bringing  up  of  holy  dogs,  the  digging  of  wells, 
 the  killing  of  reptiles,  the  destruction  of  vermin  of  all 
 kinds,  the  feeding  of  the  holy  fire  with  pure  wood, 
 are  meritorious  acts  to  cover  a  multitude  of  sins ! 
 Purity  of  thought  and  action  are  likewise  enforced 
 upon  the  followers  of  Ormuzd.  The  elements  of 
 earth,  fire,  and  water  are  to  be  preserved  pure  from 
 everything  that  is  vile.  Hence  the  extraordinary  cus- 
 tom, that  the  Parsees  to  the  present  day  neither  bury 
 their    dead,   nor   burn    them  like   the   Hindoos,   but 
 
 VOL.  I.  X 
 
306  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 expose  tliem  in  the  tomb  of  silence  to  the  birds  of 
 heaven ! 
 
 We  found  that  the  law  given  by  Home  could  not  stem 
 the  influence  of  Ahriman  during  the  second  period  of 
 three  thousand  years ;  as  little  could  all  the  pure  laws 
 of  Ormuzd,  which  he  revealed  to  Zoroaster,  at  the 
 commencement  of  the  third  period  of  three  thousand 
 years,  secure  a  triumph  to  the  kingdom  of  Ormuzd. 
 Ahriman  is  again  to  get  the  upper  hand  towards  the 
 end  of  this  period.  Troubles  are  to  increase.  Pesti- 
 lence and  famine  will  be  some  of  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
 chief  of  devils.  He  will  cause  his  comets  to  fall  from 
 heaven  upon  earth.  Such  will  be  signs  that  the  expi- 
 ration of  this  third  period  of  the  world  is  drawing 
 to  a  close.  Holy  men  will  rise  in  vain  to  admonish 
 people  to  repentance,  nor  will  their  signs  and  mira- 
 cles produce  any  effect. 
 
 It  will  be  under  similar  circumstances  that  the 
 fourth  and  last  cycle  of  three  thousand  years  will  be 
 ushered  in.  Zoroaster  had  opened  the  third  period ; 
 but  the  fourth  and  last  will  be  introduced  by  one  far 
 mightier  and  greater.  It  will  be  "the  man  of  the  world" 
 — the  redeemer  SosiosJi,  who  will  appear  entirely  to 
 destroy  the  works  of  Ahriman.  And  now  commences 
 a  period  of  millennial  bliss  and  happiness.  Not  only 
 will  the  happiness  of  those  three  thousand  years  be 
 re-established,  in  which  Ahriman  was  prevented  from 
 interrupting  the  harmonious  and  peaceful  reign  of  Or- 
 muzd ;    but  Ahriman  himself  with  all  his  evil  Dews 
 
CHAP.  IV.]         OF   THE    PERSIANS   AND    MEDES.  307 
 
 shall  be  converted,  and  partake  of  the  blessings  wliicli 
 the  advent  of  Sosiosli  is  to  bring  into  the  world. 
 
 In  order  that  all  generations  of  past  ages  should 
 partake  of  the  happiness,  Sosiosh  will  raise  the  dead 
 from  the  dust.  This  resurrection  to  life  shall  follow 
 in  the  same  order  in  which  they  were  born  in  the 
 world.  First  Kaiomorts,  then  Meshia  and  Meshiane, 
 and  so  forth  to  the  last  man  born  of  a  woman. 
 Sosiosh  shall  sit  in  judgment.  The  righteous  ones 
 shall  enter  into  the  joys  of  paradise  ;  but  the  wicked  in 
 passing  over  the  famous  bridge  of  Chinnavad,  which 
 leads  over  the  abyss  Dutzak,  into  the  paradise  Ge- 
 rotmon,  shall  fall  down  into  hell.  The  state  of  dam- 
 nation, however,  is  very  short,  and  far  from  being 
 eternal.  Three  crimes,  however,  of  an  unpardonable 
 nature  are  mentioned ;  first,  the  eating  of  the  flesh  of 
 dead  men ;  secondly,  the  eating  of  the  flesh  of  dead 
 dogs  ;  and  thirdly,  a  virgin  refusing  to  marry  until  her 
 eigliteentli  or  iiventieth  gear  I  These  criminals  are  to 
 suffer  until  the  end  of  the  world  ! 
 
 The  whole  creation  is  to  be  reorganized  and  pu- 
 rified. To  this  end,  a  universal  conflagration  will 
 ensue  from  the  fire  of  Dutzak,  which  will  melt  down 
 the  elements  of  the  earth  like  wax,  Ahriman,  his 
 Dews,  and  all  their  followers,  shall  be  purged  in  this 
 severe  purgatory  of  the  boiling  fluid  for  three  days 
 and  for  three  nights,  amidst  unutterable  torments,  and 
 after  that  they  will  be  made  fit  for  admission  into 
 Gerotmon,  and  the  presence  of  Ormuzd.     Thus,   all 
 
 X  2 
 
308  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 shall  be  cleansed  from  Ahriman's  defilement,  and 
 Ormuzd  himself  shall  be  supreme. 
 
 The  bodies  of  all  men  shall  be  spiritual ;  they  shall 
 require  no  longer  food ;  they  shall  cast  no  shadow. 
 A  nectar  of  immortality  shall  be  prepared  from  the 
 juice  of  that  wonderful  Home  tree,  or  from  the  water 
 of  the  pure  bull  Iledeiawesh !  And  to  all  Sosiosh 
 shall  administer  this  nectar,  to  make  their  bright 
 bodies  immortal,  "  and  they  shall  be  incorruptible  as 
 long  as  time  endures."  All  shall  be  united  to  the  chief 
 of  Amshaspands ;  and  Ahriman,  once  the  chief  of 
 devils,  shall  now  act  as  Dshuti,  or  priest,  and  lead  the 
 choir  of  praise  and  Avorship  which  is  to  be  given  to 
 Ormuzd.  This  happiness  shall  last  for  the  remaining 
 three  thousand  years,  which  is  the  last  cycle  of  the 
 twelve  thousand  years  of  the  world's  duration.  The 
 Parsee,  and  his  sacred  books,  are  silent  as  to  what 
 new  scenes  will  take  place  at  the  expiration  of  this 
 happy  period  of  time.  Plutarch,  the  Grecian  writer 
 upon  these  subjects,  only  adds,  that  Zeruana  Akarana, 
 who  had  brought  all  these  things  about,  shall  retire  for 
 a  season  to  rest ! 
 
 4.  There  is  hi  many  a  heart  a  secret  interest  to  doubt 
 the  certainty  of  those  truths  of  divine  revelation,  which 
 have  become  obnoxious  and  disagreeable.  If  it  be 
 the  determined  wish  of  a  man  to  look  with  a  sceptical 
 eye  upon  some  holy  truth  which  militates  against  his 
 besetting  sins,  he  will  make  his  way  through  a  thou- 
 sand metaphysical   "  perhapses  "  until  he  has  gained 
 
CHAP,  ivj         OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND    MEDES.  309 
 
 sufficient  boldness  to  remove  one  pillar  of  divine  truth 
 after  the  other.  It  was  from  similar  motives  that 
 many  individuals  of  this  degenerated  age  hailed  the 
 discovery  of  some  remarkable  coincidences  between  the 
 natural  Religion  of  the  Persimis  and  Medes,  and  the 
 revealed  Religion  of  the  Bible.  There  was  great  joy 
 in  the  camp  of  the  Philistine  philosophers  at  the 
 discovery,  which  it  was  maintained,  would  at  once 
 destroy  the  claim  of  the  Bible  to  originality,  and  re- 
 move the  disgrace  which  Avas  thought  to  have  been 
 undeservedly  cast  upon  human  reason  and  its  specula- 
 tive powers.  Yea,  not  only  did  they  expect  that  by 
 these  analogies  revealed  Religion  had  gained  a  deadly 
 rival,  but  it  was  confidently  asserted,  and  is  still  be- 
 lieved by  some,  that  revealed  Religion  is  indebted  for 
 some  of  its  leadiuc:  features  to  the  discoveries  which 
 the  natural  man  had  made  in  the  Iranian  fire-wor- 
 ship. But  the  anxiety  of  some  anxious  minds  was 
 as  unnecessary  as  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel  adver- 
 saries was  ill-timed  and  premature  in  the  extreme.  In 
 the  first  place,  it  may  be  observed,  with  reference  to 
 the  speculative  powers  of  human  reason,  that  little  as 
 they  have  accomplished  as  to  the  discovery  of  truth, 
 they  could  not  have  accomplished  tliat  little  if  all  super- 
 natural aid  had  been  denied.  The  solitary  strength  of 
 human  reason  and  the  natural  faculties  of  man,  has 
 never  yet  received  a  satisfactory  trial,  not  even  amongst 
 the  Pagans,  inasmuch  as  God  has  not  left  himself 
 without  witness.     And,  although  the  Pagan  world  was 
 
310  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 denied  a  special  revelation,  they  were  never  yet  alto- 
 gether without  the  fragments  of  primitive  revelation. 
 There  is  no  Pagan  Mythology  which  cannot  be  shown 
 to  have  richly  embodied  these  scattered  rays  of  that 
 primitive  revelation,  which  sent  its  solitary  but  salu- 
 tary and  cheering  sparks  across  the  gloomy  field  of 
 Pagan  Mythology.  These  precious  relics  of  divine 
 truth,  which  have  been  transmitted  through  the  dubious 
 channel  of  obscure  tradition  from  sire  to  son,  were  the 
 source  from  which  human  reason  derived  some  inde- 
 finite and  general  ideas  of  God,  his  attributes,  his 
 works,  and  his  counsel.  Tradition  being  supplementary 
 to  reason,  its  dim  light  served  in  all  ages  to  aid  the 
 feeble  efl'orts  of  a  reason  which  could  not  boast  of  a 
 spark  of  light  which  it  could  call  its  own.  Human 
 reason  commenced  with  a  fair  amount  of  primitive 
 truth,  but  instead  of  being  a  faithful  steward  in 
 leading  it  forward  to  higher  perfection,  we  invariably 
 observe  a  gradual  decay  of  the  Pagan  systems  of  My- 
 thology ;  and  the  influence  of  philosophy  in  all  ages 
 and  under  all  circumstances  accelerated  the  process 
 from  better  to  worse. 
 
 There  are  some  very  striking  facts  exhibited  in  the 
 Persian  creed  ;  and  it  is  now  to  be  examined  whether 
 true  Keligion  lias  borrowed  from  this  system  of  belief, 
 or  whether  the  Persian  Mythology  has  been  guilty  of 
 plagiarism  from  the  tenets  contained  in  the  documents 
 of  the  Bible.  We  must  suspect  plagiarism  when  cer- 
 tain analogies  are  discovered  in  one  system  after  it  has 
 
CHAP.  IV.]        OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND   MEDES.  311 
 
 been  brought  into  contact  with  another  system  which 
 did  not  exist  before  that  period.  Now  it  cannot  be 
 proved  that  there  exists  in  the  Zoroastrian  creed  one 
 single  truth  which  had  not  existed  long  before  in 
 the  Bible.  But  it  is  evident  that  the  Persian  system 
 embodied  truths  after  it  had  been  brought  into  con- 
 tact with  the  exiled  nation  of  the  Hebrews,  which 
 were  unknown  to  it  before  that  period.  And  we 
 maintain  that  Zoroaster  was  enabled  by  favourable  cir- 
 cumstances to  draw  those  ideas  of  divine  truth  from 
 the  source  of  divine  revelation,  which  had  not  come 
 down  to  him  and  his  nation  by  the  medium  of  ancient 
 tradition.  And  this  only  accounts  for  the  fact  that  his 
 system  of  Beligion  embodies  a  few  remarkable  ideas 
 which  are  foreign  to  any  other  religious  system 
 except  that  of  the  Bible. 
 
 According  to  the  Zendavesta,  Zoroaster,  or  Zardusht, 
 appeared  during  the  reign  of  the  Bactrian  king  Vis- 
 taspa,  which  was  changed  at  a  later  period  into  Kish- 
 tap  or  Gustap.  It  has  been  .made  plain  from  Grecian 
 authors,  as  well  as  from  inscriptions  which  have  lately 
 been  discovered  in  Persia  itself,  that  Gustap  is  no 
 other  than  Hystaspes,  the  father  of  the  Persian  king 
 Darius.  Hystaspes,  who  is  mentioned  as  the  re- 
 former of  the  Magian  creed,  was  a  contemporary  of 
 Cyrus,  King  of  Persia.  Cyrus  revolted  in  the  year 
 559  before  Christ  against  Astyages,  and  this  was 
 at  the  same  period  during  which  Zoroaster  appeared 
 at  the  court  of  Hystaspes,  King  of  Bactria.     In  the 
 
312  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 coui'se  of  ten  years,  Cyrus  felt  sufficiently  strong  to 
 undertake  his  warlike  expeditions. 
 
 lie  conquered  Sardis  in  the  year  546  B.C.,  and 
 whilst  his  agent  Harpagos  subdued  Asia  Minor,  Cyrus 
 Avent  against  the  Medes  and  the  surrounding  nations. 
 In  538  B.C.  he  took  possession  of  Babylon ;  and  after 
 this  he  subdued  the  Bactrians  and  the  Massagetse. 
 After  Cyrus  had  made  the  Bactrians  tributary,  Ilys- 
 taspes,  or  Vistasp,  the  patron  of  Zoroaster,  went  Avith 
 him  against  the  Massagetae  who  were  inhabiting  the 
 country  beyond  Bactria.  This  will  account  for  the  fact 
 that  Cyrus  himself  is  addressed  in  the  Zendavesta  by 
 Zoroaster  as  Ilusraves.  Cyrus  being  dead,  his  son 
 Cambyses  succeeded  him  in  the  Persian  government ; 
 and  it  was  Cambyses  who  took  Darius,  the  son  of 
 Vistasp,  as  hostage  to  his  court,  because,  like  his 
 father,  he  suspected  the  young  Bactrian  prince  of  re- 
 bellious intentions.  But,  in  spite  of  all  these  ])recau- 
 tionary  measures,  the  energetic  Darius  at  length 
 succeeded  in  obtaining  the  Persian  crown  under  the 
 successor  of  Cambyses.  "  Darius  the  Median  took  the 
 kingdom,  being  about  threescore  and  two  years  old." 
 (Dan.  Y.)  It  was  this  Darius  who  was  the  son  of  the 
 patron  of  Zoroaster  who  walked  in  his  father's  ways, 
 and  who  propagated  over  the  Persian  empii'e  the 
 Rehgion  which  had  been  reformed  under  his  father 
 Hystaspes. 
 
 Now,  if  we  refer  to  the  manner  in  which  these 
 Persian  princes  were  brought  into  contact  with  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]        OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND    MEDES.  313 
 
 chosen  generation,  we  find  in  the  first  instance  tliat 
 Cyrns,  who  was  brought  into  immediate  connexion 
 with  the  Persian  Dualism,  had  been  called  by  name  by 
 the  prophet  Isaiah,  (chap,  xlv.,)  about  one  hundred  and 
 fifty  years  before  he  assumed  the  reins  of  the  Persian 
 rule.  Jehovah  had  anointed  him  to  subdue  nations  be- 
 fore him ;  and  declared  that  he  would  prosper  him  to 
 the  end,  that  he  might  know  him  as  the  God  of  Israel. 
 Jehovah  called  him,  though  Cyrus  did  not  know  him. 
 And  in  opposition  to  the  leading  principles  of  the 
 Zoroastrian  creed,  with  which  Cyrus  nuist  have  been 
 familiar,  Jehovah  declares,  ''  I  am  the  Lo7'd,  and  there 
 is  7ione  else,  there  is  no  God  beside  me ;  I  girded  thee, 
 though  thou  hast  not  known  me.  That  they  may  hioio 
 from  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  from  the  West,  that  there 
 is  none  beside  me.    I  am  the  Lord  and  there  is  none  else ; 
 
 I    rOEM    THE    LIGHT   AND    CREATE  DARKNESS  ;     I   MAKE 
 PEACE  AND   CREATE  EVIL  ;    I  THE  LoRD    DO  ALL   THESE 
 
 THINGS."  In  perfect  harmony  with  this  prophetic  an- 
 nouncement, the  Lord  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  Cyrus,  King 
 of  Persia,  to  make  a  confession  of  his  great  name,  and  of 
 his  obligation  to  build  him  a  house  at  Jerusalem,  and  to 
 allow  the  captive  Jews  in  Babylonia  to  return  to  their 
 own  land  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign.  (Ezra,  chap,  i.) 
 Darius,  the  son  of  the  patron  of  Zoroaster,  the  son- 
 in-law  of  Cyrus,  and  the  zealous  propagator  of  the 
 Iranian  fire-worship,  was  pleased  to  place  Daniel,  then  an 
 old  man,  over  the  third  part  of  his  mighty  empire,  "  and 
 the  king  thought  to   set  him  over  the  whole  realm." 
 
314  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 And  as  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  Belsliazzar,  and  Cyrus 
 had  made  confession  of  the  greatness  of  the  God  of 
 Israel,  so  also  Darius  was  forced  to  make  a  decree,  "  that 
 in  every  dominion  of  his  kingdom  men  tremble  and 
 fear  before  the  God  of  Daniel."  (Dan.  vi.)  And  finding 
 the  decree  of  Cyrus,  that  the  house. of  God  should  be 
 again  built  at  Jerusalem,  he  removed  the  difficulties 
 which  had  been  put  in  the  way,  and  commanded  that 
 the  building  should  be  accomplished  with  speed.  (Ezra, 
 chap,  vi.)    And  it  is  remarkable,  that  whilst  the  Persian 
 monarchs  were  extremely  rigorous    against  idolators, 
 they  were  favourably  disposed  towards  the  Jews.    The 
 Persian  representatives  in  Jerusalem  received  no  salary, 
 and  entertained  besides,    daily,    a  hundred  and  fifty 
 guests  at  their  table,  whilst  their  own  servants  aided 
 in    the    restoration    of  the   Holy   City.     Cyrus    dis- 
 missed Zerubbabel,  with  such  of  the  captives  as  wished 
 to  return,   under  the  most  auspicious  circumstances. 
 Artaxerxes,   understanding  the  cause  of  Nehemiah's 
 sadness,  who  was  his   cupbearer   and   minister,  sent 
 him  with  letters  to  Jerusalem,  upon  a  most  peaceable 
 mission.     Darius,  the  son  of  Zoroaster's  patron,  sent 
 Ezra.     And  Xerxes,  or  Ahasuerus,  who  was  the  suc- 
 cessor of  the  son  of  Vistasp,  raised  Esther,  the  Jewish 
 maid,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  upon  his  throne  as  queen, 
 "  and  set  the  royal  crown  upon  her  head ;  "  and  Mor- 
 decai,  a  Jew,  is  made  the  prime  minister  of  the  empire  of 
 Xerxes,  which  was  "  from.  India  even  unto  Ethiopia, 
 an  hundred  and  seven  and  twenty  provinces." 
 
CHAP.  IV.]        OF   THE    PERSIANS   AND    MEDES.  315 
 
 Can  we  yet  be  surprised  at  finding  remarkable 
 coincidences  in  the  Zoroastrian  system  of  Religion, 
 when  its  reformer  lived  and  acted  under  circumstances 
 such  as  we  have  now  mentioned  ?  And  can  we  not 
 understand  why  the  Arabian  authors  declared  that 
 Zoroaster  propagated  his  Religion  as  the  Faith  of 
 Abraham  ?  And  if  a  prophet  of  Jehovah  was  not  only 
 set  over  provinces  and  princes,  but  also  was  made 
 "  master  of  the  magicians,  astrologers,  Chaldeans,  and 
 soothsayers,"  because  there  was  found  in  him  "  light 
 and  understanding,  and  wisdom,  like  the  wisdom  of 
 the  gods,"  can  we  not  give  some  credit  to  the  assertion 
 that  Zoroaster  was  the  servant  of  a  prophet  in  Israel  ? 
 If  we,  in  addition,  take  into  consideration  how  much 
 the  Israelites  were  addicted  in  their  own  land  to  the 
 lighting  of  sacrificial  fires,  and  recollect  the  sacred 
 flame  which  was  to  bui-n  without  intermission 
 upon  the  Jewish  altar,  can  we  not  conceive  for  what 
 reason  the  Israelites  were  particularly  favoured  by  the 
 Persians  ?  Nor,  as  far  as  we  know,  have  we  any  dis- 
 tinct record,  that  the  house  of  Israel,  or  the  ten  tribes, 
 did  not  yield  in  a  measure  to  the  idolatrous  practices 
 of  the  fire-worshippers,  who,  moreover,  had  almost  as 
 deep  an  aversion  to  the  actual  worship  of  idols  and 
 images,  as  could  be  entertained  by  the  true  Israehte, 
 
 Again,  the  Zendavesta,  or  the  collection  of  the  sacred 
 Scriptures  of  the  fire-worshippers,  is  a  strange  pheno- 
 menon in  the  literary  w^orld.  The  classical  writers  men- 
 tion, indeed,  certain  books,  which  were  in  existence 
 
316  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 amongst  the  ancient  Persians;  but  tlieir  accounts  are  far 
 from  being  sufficiently  definite  to  enable  us  to  recognise 
 tlie  Zendavesta.  It  was  only  in  the  tenth  century  after 
 Christ,  that  Mohammedan  writers  first  mention  its 
 existence.  The  Parsees  themselves  consider  it  only  a 
 remnant  of  the  sacred  books  of  their  forefathers.  And 
 whilst  the  Persian  writers  all  agree  that  at  the  expira- 
 tion of  the  Parthian  rule,  no  sacred  books  were  to  be 
 found,  and  that  the  Religion  of  the  fire-worshippers  was 
 restored  from  the  memory  of  the  priesthood,  the  Arme- 
 nian writers  deny  that  they  ever  had  any  religious  books 
 whatever.  And,  indeed,  the  present  cohection  of  sacred 
 writings  consists  chiefly  of  hymns  and  prayers,  which 
 might  well  have  been  restored  or  handed  down  by 
 tradition.  The  Zendavesta  is  composed  of  books  in 
 different  languages,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that 
 the  most  striking  analogy  to  certain  ideas  which  are 
 peculiar  to  revealed  Religion  are  contained  in  that 
 part  which  is  called  the  Bundehesh,  and  written 
 in  the  Pehlevi  language.  This  book  bears  internal 
 marks  of  being  written  at  a  much  later  period  than 
 even  the  Zendavesta.  It  contains,  for  instance,  ac- 
 counts of  things  which  happened  after  the  conquest 
 of  Persia  by  the  Arabs !  It  has  been  proved  that 
 it  could  not  have  been  written,  at  all  events,  before 
 the  conquest  of  Persia  by  the  Macedonian  conqueror. 
 And  if  it  be  true  that  Grecian  influence  is  visible  in  its 
 pages,  can  it  be  denied  that  it  has  still  more  promi- 
 nently a  colouring  from  those  ideas  which  are  clia- 
 
CHAP.  IV.]        OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND   MEDES.  317 
 
 racteristically  Jewish  ?  And  it  is  chiefly  in  this  book 
 that  we  read  of  the  creation  of  the  workl  out  of  nothing 
 by  the  "  word,"  Ilonover,  which  strongly  reminds  us  of 
 the  Logos  of  the  Jewish  philosophy,  as  well  as  of 
 Christian  ideas.  It  is  in  this  part  of  the  Zendavesta 
 also,  in  which  we  read  of  the  temptation  of  Meshia 
 and  Meshiane  by  the  Devil,  in  the  form  of  a  serpent — 
 of  their  fall  by  eating  fruit,  and  forsaking  Ormuzd — of 
 the  Redeemer,  Sosiosh,  which  reminds  us  strongly  of 
 Joshua  and  his  prototype  Jesus — of  his  work — of  the 
 judgment  to  come — of  a  resurrection  to  life — of  the 
 final  dissolution  and  purification  of  the  universe 
 by  fire,  and  of  life  eternal !  How  easily  can  all 
 these  ideas  be  explained  from  the  certain  influence 
 which  true  Religion  had  upon  the  development  of 
 this  system  of  belief ;  but  there  is,  indeed,  no  necessity 
 for  assuming  that  the  Bundehesh  had  been  written 
 prior  to  the  Christian  era,  inasmuch  as  a  sober 
 continental  learned  Avriter  had  given  it  as  his  opinion, 
 that  it  was  not  composed  prior  to  the  period  of  about 
 two  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  Christ ! 
 
 There  have  been  great  lamentations  amongst  the 
 modern  Parsees,  as  Avell  as  amongst  the  European 
 literati,  regarding  the  great  and  serious  loss  Avhich  the 
 world  had  sustained  by  the  non-preservation  of  by 
 far  the  greater  part  of  their  sacred  literature.  Out  of 
 twenty-one  books,  one  only,  the  Zendavesta,  is  said 
 to  have  been  preserved.  A  few  more  observations, 
 however,  will  serve  to  show  that  the  supposed  grievous 
 
318  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 loss  is  by  no  means  irreparable,  but  that,  perhaps, 
 future  researches  will  confirm  what  w^e  now  shall 
 venture  to  put  forth  upon  this  very  important 
 subject. 
 
 We  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact  that  the  Arme- 
 nian writers  deny  the  Parsees  having  ever  had  any 
 doctrinal  standard  works,  and  this  is  confirmed  by  the 
 Persian  authors  ;  and  both  parties,  from  their  vicinity, 
 must  be  considered  competent  judges.  And  it  was 
 very  natural  that  the  Parsee  community,  like  the 
 Mohammedan  sect,  should  be  anxious  to  lean  upon 
 some  more  antique  authority.  If  the  above  statement 
 of  Arab  writers  be  correct,  that  Zoroaster  had  given  out 
 his  creed  as  that  of  Abraham,  the  question  would  be 
 decided.  That  the  Jewish  Scriptures  must  have  roused 
 attention  in  those  fermenting  days  is  beyond  doubt, 
 especially  as  the  fate  of  the  different  governments  was 
 prophetically  laid  down  in  them.  It  is  expressly 
 stated  of  Cyrus,  that  he  became  favourable  to  the 
 Jews  in  consequence  of  his  name  being  prophesied 
 in  it. 
 
 Now,  as  regards  the  lost  books,  their  number  is  at 
 one  time  stated  to  be  twenty,  and  in  another  place 
 they  are  said  to  be  as  many  as  twenty-one  volumes. 
 In  a  tract,  wdiich  has  lately  been  translated,  mention  is 
 made  of  tw^enty-one  volumes,  besides  "  the  Zand  and 
 Pazend,"  which  w^ould  make  a  twenty-second  volume. 
 The  Vasta,  or  the  language  of  the  books  which  are 
 considered  to  be  lost,  is  explained  to  be  the  language 
 
CHAP.  IV.]      OF    THE   PERSIANS    AND   MEDES.  319 
 
 of  Ormiizd,  and  the  Zand  is  said  to  be  their  own  lan- 
 guage, ill  whicli  the  Zeiidavesta,  as  well  as  its  com- 
 mentary, the  Pazend,  was  written.  From  this  state- 
 ment we  infer,  according  to  the  literal  sense  of  the 
 passage,  that  the  twenty-one  lost  works  were  written 
 in  a  different  language  from  the  Zendavesta,  which 
 was  to  be  committed  to  memory. 
 
 How  can  we  forbear  to  think,  under  these  circum- 
 stances, of  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 
 are  computed  at  twenty- two  books  by  Josephus,  the 
 Jewish  historian  ?  The  discrepancy  of  the  numbers 
 of  twenty-one  and  twenty-two  will  be  removed  upon 
 recollecting  that  the  prophet  Micali  had  not  yet  been 
 written  when  the  ancient  Parsees  appealed  to  the 
 authority  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 
 Diogenes  Laertius  and  Hermippus  speak  of  the 
 lost  books  having  contained  two  millions  of  verses, 
 and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  con- 
 tain about  that  number  of  letters,  which  had  been 
 carefully  counted  by  the  Jews.  The  books  of  the  Zand 
 language  containing  only  prayers  and  hymns,  not 
 much  information  can  from  them  be  expected  upon 
 the  subject  in  question.  It  is  very  probable  that  the 
 Hebrew  Scriptures  were  lost  among  the  ten  tribes  ; 
 but  as  they  were  preserved  amongst  the  house  of 
 Judah,  there  was  no  moral  necessity  why  they  should 
 have  been  preserved  amongst  the  dispersed  tribes  of 
 the  house  of  Israel. 
 
 Again,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  there  were  three 
 
320  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 "laws"  given  before  the  advent  of  Zoroaster;  just 
 in  the  same  way  as  Mahoramed  maintained  tliat  prior 
 to  him  was  given  the  Law  and  the  Gospel.  The 
 first  law,  given  to  Mahahad,  was  called  the  ''Regu- 
 lation,"  or  the  "  lawj"  The  second  was  given  to 
 Home,  and  the  third  to  Hushang.  In  connexion  with 
 the  above  arguments,  it  will  not  appear  indifferent 
 that  the  Old  Testament  was,  at  a  very  early  period, 
 divided  by  Philo,  Josephus,  and  Jesus  Sirach,  into 
 three  classes,  viz.,  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  other 
 writings. 
 
 The  foregoing  remarks  may  suffice  to  account  for 
 the  appearance  of  religious  ideas  in  the  Persian  creed, 
 which  are  justly  looked  upon  as  the  exclusive  property 
 of  the  Hebrew  nation.  Before,  however,  we  dismiss 
 the  present  subject,  we  notice  one  particular  doctrine, 
 which  is  supposed  by  some  people  to  be  of  a  purely 
 Persian  origin : — we  allude  to  the  doctrine  of  angels. 
 We  should  exceed  the  limits  of  our  plan  were  we 
 to  enter  upon  a  detailed  view  of  this  important 
 subject.  We  admit  that  there  was,  indeed,  addi- 
 tional light  thrown  upon  the  Hebrew  doctrine  of 
 angels,  at  the  period  of  the  exile ;  ucav  definitions 
 were  added,  and  we  might  hence  suppose  that  a  de- 
 cided influence  of  the  Parsee  system  upon  divine  reve- 
 lation had  then  taken  [)lace.  Whilst  we,  however, 
 acknowledge  that  the  Persian  Dualism  had  an  influence 
 upon  true  lleligion,  we  do  solemnly  protest  against 
 the  arbitrary  notion,  that  the  latter  has   borrowed  a 
 
CHAP.  I.]         OF    THE    PERSIANS   AND    MEDES.  321 
 
 particle  from  the  former.  On  the  contrary,  we  have 
 irresistible  evidence  that  divine  revelation  has  never 
 once  engrafted  Pagan  elements  into  its  system.  All 
 that  was  revealed  was,  however,  made  known  in  per- 
 fect adaptation  to  the  time  and  the  circumstances  of 
 mankind.  We  must  again  refer  to  the  character  of 
 divine  revelation,  in  which  it  adapted  itself  through- 
 out to  the  moral  wants  of  man.  Under  the  Mosaic 
 dispensation  could  not  be  revealed  what  was  revealed 
 in  the  era  of  the  prophets.  Truth  was  given  to  con- 
 found its  spurious  semblances ;  it  reveals  what  is  good, 
 in  order  to  neutralise  what  is  evil.  The  new  features 
 in  the  Hebrew  doctrine,  respecting  the  angels,  at  a 
 period  when  the  Jews  were  brought  into  contact  with 
 the  Zoroastrian  theories  respecting  beings  of  that  kind, 
 is  no  proof  of  its  having  been  derived  from  the  latter, 
 but  rather  a  confirmation  of  the  uniform  character  of 
 revelation,  in  which  it  adapted  itself  most  seasonably 
 to  the  special  requirements  of  every  age  and  the  cir- 
 cumstances of  each  successive  generation. 
 
 It  has  been  particularly  brought  forward,  that  the 
 naming  of  angels,  as  it  appears  in  the  books  of  the 
 Old  Testament  which  were  written  in  the  period 
 when  the  Jews  came  into  contact  with  the  Persians, 
 was  borrowed,  and  must,  therefore,  be  looked  upon  as 
 Pagan.  Now,  the  older  books  of  the  Bible  do  not, 
 indeed,  mention  the  names  of  angelic  beings,  although, 
 on  two  occasions,  they  were  most  anxiously  sought. 
 The   reasons    for   this   refusal,  may  have  been  of  a 
 
 VOL.    I.  Y 
 
322  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 complicated  nature.  In  the  first  instance,  there  had 
 been  no  spurious  theories  existing  among  the  Pagans 
 at  that  early  period,  as  was  the  case  in  the  time  of  the 
 exile.  The  angels  of  Zoroaster  all  bore  their  respective 
 names,  and  the  Jews  having  been  made  acquainted  with 
 these  phantoms,  was  sufficient  cause  that  those  that 
 were  angels  indeed  should  likewise  have  their  names. 
 Again,  nothing  being  allowed  which  could  have  drawn 
 the  attention  from  the  Lord  who  sends,  to  the  mes- 
 senger  who  is  sent,  there  might  have  been  some  danger 
 in  revealing  the  names  of  these  ministering  Spirits 
 to  people  who  were  greatly  tempted  to  believe  in  the 
 existence  of  "  lords  many."  Now,  the  inclination 
 of  the  Jews  towards  idolatry,  during  the  period  when 
 the  names  of  angels  were  unknown,  and  the  absence 
 of  that  danger  when  the  names  were  revealed,  are 
 both  points  which  are  clearly  established  by  their  his- 
 tory. If  there  was,  moreover,  a  time  when  individual 
 angels  were  to  oppose  individual  phantoms,  it  was 
 the  period  of  the  Exile. 
 
 The  fact  of  angels  being  called  by  particular  names 
 was,  however,  in  no  wise  a  thing  altogether  new  and 
 unprecedented  in  the  history  of  revealed  Religion. 
 
 That  the  doctrine  of  angels  was  known  to  the  He- 
 brews long  before  the  exile,  no  one  will  deny ;  nor 
 can  it  be  overlooked,  that  it  is  the  general  character 
 of  the  divine  revelation,  to  pass  from  generalities  to 
 particularities  and  individualities.  The  names,  again, 
 of  some  of  the  angels  of  Jehovah,  which  seem  to  have 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   PERSIANS   AND   MEDES.  328 
 
 reminded  certain  people  of  the  Zoroastrian  appellations 
 of  angelic  Spirits,  are  very  simple  and  easily  trans- 
 latable into  any  one  given  language ;  let  us,  for  in- 
 stance, take  that  of  Gabriel,  the  "  Man  of  the  Al- 
 mighty ; "  and  this  was,  moreover,  the  signification  of 
 the  name  in  the  very  language  in  which  it  was  used. 
 
 The  assertion,  therefore,  of  Rabbi  Simeon,  that  the 
 names  of  angels  were  brought  by  the  Israelites  from 
 Babylon,  implies  by  no  means  a  negation  of  their 
 having  been  revealed.  The  revelation  of  certain  names 
 of  angelic  beings  took  place  in  Babylon.  How  natural 
 this  was  at  the  time  of  the  exile.  The  temple  was 
 destroyed  ;  the  priesthood,  as  mediating  between  God 
 and  his  people,  was  dissolved ;  the  visible  token  of 
 God's  presence  amongst  his  flock  had  departed ;  and 
 how  comfortable  and  seasonable  must  have  been  the 
 doctrine  of  the  angelic  messengers,  and  the  divine 
 guidance  of  the  fortunes  of  nations  by  their  agency, 
 just  at  that  period.  (Dan.  x.  13,  20,  21.)  Again,  if 
 we  take  into  consideration  the  notion  which  prevailed 
 amongst  the  nations  of  antiquity,  that  the  victory  of 
 one  nation  over  the  other,  especially  when  the  national 
 sanctuaries  were  destroyed,  was  looked  upon  as  the 
 triumph  of  the  gods  of  the  victors,  we  may  well 
 imagine  that  the  deeply  humbled  Hebrews  might  have 
 given  way  to  doubts,  whether,  perhaps,  the  Amshas- 
 pands  and  Yzeds  might  not  have  overcome  Jehovah. 
 It  is  not  improbable  that  they  were,  at  all  events, 
 to    hear    similar   remarks   from    their   victors.      The 
 
 Y  2 
 
324  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Hebrew  Chui'cli,  therefore,  required  something  to 
 strengthen  and  confirm  their  confidence  in  Jeliovah ; 
 and  the  best  comfort  that  could  be  given  under  the 
 circumstances,  was  the  revelation  that  the  angels  of 
 Dualism  could  do  nothing  against  Him,  whose  messen- 
 gers are  even  the  highest  of  spirits.  As  regards  the 
 classification  of  the  angels  of  the  Hebrews,  we  find 
 angelic  princes  already  in  the  prophet  Isaiah ;  inas- 
 much as  the  Seraphim  are  nothing  but  angelic  princes. 
 The  very  name  of  Seraphim  is  preserved  in  the  Arabic 
 Sherifoon,  which  signifies  princes  j  and  it  may  now 
 happen  to  European  travellers  in  the  East  to  be 
 called  Sherifoon,  or  princes,  by  the  flattering  tongues 
 of  Orientals.  Every  other  translation  of  the  word 
 Seraphim,  which  makes  it  "  serpents,"  or,  "  sacrificing 
 priests,"  are  fanciful  and  untenable  to  any  one  ac- 
 quainted with  the  original,  and  its  cognate  forms  in 
 the  Semitic  languages. 
 
 From  the  days  of  Genesis  to  the  days  of  the  prophet 
 Samuel,  the  manifestations  of  angels  were  closely 
 interwoven  with  the  covenant  "  Angel  of  the  Lord," 
 who  was  "  the  prince  of  tJie  host  of  the  Lord"  At  a 
 later  period,  the  Angel  of  the  covenant  seems  more  and 
 more  to  withdraw,  and  the  prophets  behold  angels 
 around  the  throne  of  God.  At  the  advanced  period 
 of  Daniel,  the  Covena?it  Angel  no  longer  appears  him- 
 self, but  sends  his  angels.  When,  however,  Michael, 
 one  of  the  latter,  is  styled  the  prince  and  protector  of 
 the  Jewish  nation,  we  must  not  confound  him  with 
 
CHAP.  IV.]        OF   THE   PERSIANS    AND    MEDES.  325 
 
 the  "  Covenant  Angel^  or  the  "  captain  of  the  LorcVs 
 host"  (Josh.  V.  15);  although  he  is  called  the  great 
 prince,  or  one  of  the  great  princes,  in  the  prophet 
 Daniel, 
 
 Michael  is  called  the  prince  of  the  Jews,  and  in  the 
 same  way  Gabriel  appears  throughout  the  prophet 
 Daniel  as  the  guardian  of  the  Israel  of  God.  Those 
 who  seek  in  chap.  x.  13,  20,  the  idea  that  Pagan 
 nations  in  like  manner  enjoyed  the  same  privilege, 
 seek  for  something  which  is  certainly  not  in  the  text. 
 Gabriel,  indeed,  is  represented  (Dan.  x.  13)  as  having 
 rendered  special  protection  to  the  Persian  kings,  or  rather 
 as  having  overruled  the  plans  of  the  Persian  monarchs ; 
 but  this  was  done  because  they,  no  doubt,  were  in 
 some  connexion  with  the  Theocratical  history  of  Israel. 
 The  prince  of  Greece,  on  the  other  hand,  (Dan.  x.  20,) 
 is  no  other  than  Alexander  the  Great.  Help,  more- 
 over, was  rendered  by  Gabriel  to  the  Persian  monarch, 
 (Dan.  xi.  1,)  in  order  to  enable  him  to  conquer  Baby- 
 lon, the  conquest  of  which  was  necessarily  intimately 
 connected  with  the  history  of  the  Theocratical  nation. 
 
 In  order  to  repel  the  idea  of  the  Bible  having 
 derived  a  single  spark  from  the  Persian  creed,  respect- 
 ing the  angelic  spirits,  it  will  be  recollected  that  whilst 
 the  number  seven  is  of  the  greatest  importance, 
 we  have  only  two  angelic  princes  in  the  canonical 
 books.  The  prophet  Daniel  must  not  be  ranked  with 
 the  Book  of  Tobit,  in  which  we  have  indeed  seven 
 angelic  princes,  or   archangels,    similar   to   those  of 
 
32G  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Oriniizd.  But  the  book  in  question  is  apocryphal, 
 because  it  admitted  tlie  elements  of  spurious  Religion. 
 Even  the  later  Jews  classified  the  angelic  host  by  the 
 number  ten,  and  not  by  the  number  seven. 
 
 Finally,  if  the  doctrine  of  angels  in  the  Bible  were 
 derived  from  the  Persian  creed,  we  should,  at  all 
 events,  have  a  very  different  system  in  both  cases.  If 
 the  ideas  contained  in  the  Bible  were  plagiarised  from 
 the  system  of  Zoroaster,  it  would  appear  very  strange 
 that  it  should  be  more  simple  and  unadorned  than 
 its  original ;  instead  of  the  one  derived,  as  is  generally 
 the  case,  being  the  more  adorned,  expanded  and 
 drawn  out  to  ridiculous  lengths.  Pagan  nations, 
 however,  have  discovered  nothing  which  revelation 
 brings  in  at  a  later  period.  The  doctrine  of  angels  is 
 purely  Hebrew^  and  as  old  as  revelation  itself;  and 
 how  poor,  misciable,  and  insipid  is  the  Zoroastrian 
 theory  respecting  angels,  as  regards  its  origin,  its  phy- 
 sical import,  its  ridiculous  and  fantastical  character,  in 
 comparison  with  the  occupants  of  an  invisible  w^orld, 
 who  always  appear  in  a  manner  in  which  they  give 
 glory  to  God  and  comfort  to  the  believer. 
 
 5.  Amongst  all  the  systems  of  natural  Religion 
 which  have  been  produced  by  mankind  without  the 
 pale  of  divine  revelation,  there  is  none  so  complicated 
 and  so  confused  as  that  of  the  Hindoos.  When  it  \vas 
 first  made  known  in  Europe,  w'ith  its  enormous  preten- 
 sions to  antiquity,  there  was,  likewise,  great  rejoicing 
 in  the  camp  of  the  unbelievers.     The   school  of  an 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    HINDOOS.  327 
 
 infidel  philosophy  eagerly  swallowed  its  contents,  and 
 being  intoxicated  with  another  draught  of  the  "  cup  of 
 fornication"  they  prophesied,  and  shouted  as  they 
 prophesied,  that,  sooner  or  later,  Christianity  would  be 
 buried  in  oblivion.  But  the  circumstance  of  this  reli- 
 gious system  being  a  strange  compound  of  contradic- 
 tory elements,  was  extremely  unfavourable  to  the 
 cause  of  those  who  were  determined  to  humble  reve- 
 lation, and  to  raise  the  reasoning  faculties  of  proud 
 humanity  upon  the  throne. 
 
 From  the  above-mentioned  confusion  of  ideas  in  the 
 Hindoo  Religion,  it  has  come  to  pass  that  we  may  read 
 and  study  a  thousand  works,  all  of  which  will  pro- 
 pound different  systems,  and  take  a  different  view  of 
 the  case.  But,  although  thus  differing  in  most  essen- 
 tial points,  they  may  yet  be  faithful  representations  of 
 Hindooism.  There  is  no  shade  of  religious  error, 
 no  philosophical  turn  in  the  religious  speculation  of 
 the  natural  man,  which  has  not  been  expressed  in  this 
 Mythology.  Not  only,  however,  are  the  writings  of 
 English,  German,  and  French  authors  upon  the  sub- 
 ject confused  in  the  extreme,  but  if  we  go  even  to  the 
 Hindoos  themselves,  and  question  them  on  religious 
 matters  of  the  greatest  importance,  we  find  that  these 
 accounts  are  likewise  at  variance  one  with  the  other ; 
 and  for  a  thousand  contradictory  statements  the  Hin- 
 doos will  know  some  sacred  book,  to  which  they  will 
 appeal  as  to  their  authority.  It  was,  indeed,  this 
 unparalleled  confusion  of  the  Hindoo  Scriptures  which 
 
328  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  IV. 
 
 has  been  the  cause  both  of  the  uncertainty  and  the 
 contradictory  character  of  the  verbal  accounts  of  the 
 Hindoos  themselves,  as  well  as  of  European  authors, 
 upon  these  matters.  And  it  is  this  consideration 
 which  ought  to  have  produced  among  authors  more 
 forbearance  than  has  been  shown  towards  each  other, 
 upon  finding  that  different  accounts  were  given  of  the 
 same  subject. 
 
 There  have  been  numerous  and  radical  changes  in 
 the  Rehgion  of  the  Hindoos,  according  to  their  sacred 
 literature.  The  Natural  Beligion  of  the  Aborigines, 
 or  the  ante-Brahminical  Religion  of  Ancient  India, 
 was  a  worship  of  devils  and  the  powers  of  nature ;  a 
 creed  which  is  still  retained  amongst  the  hill  tribes 
 of  the  present  day.  Their  superstition  rests  as  much 
 on  the  natural  suggestive  fears  and  desires  of  the 
 human  mind,  as  on  traditions,  which  were  handed 
 down  from  father  to  son,  alike  without  embellishment 
 of  song,  or  the  precision  of  the  established  chronicle. 
 Their  imagination  fills  their  gloomy  forests  with  male- 
 volent Spirits,  human,  super-human,  infra-human,  and 
 particularly  the  ghosts  of  their  ancestors,  and  of  the 
 divers  beasts  of  prey  Avhich  were  their  companions. 
 Their  worship  is  principally  a  deprecation  of  evil, 
 conducted  by  bloody  sacrifices  and  peace  offerings  to 
 the  beings,  seen  and  unseen,  from  whom  they  appre- 
 hend injury.  When  they  rise  above  this  devotion,  it 
 is  to  worship  the  midtifarious  powers  of  nature,  the 
 elements  of  the  earth.      They  have  no  regular  and 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  329 
 
 established  priesthood.  Their  principal  ceremonies 
 and  services  are  conducted  by  the  aged  and  honoured 
 persons  of  their  community,  both  male  and  female. 
 Thus,  the  Keligion  of  the  aborigines  is  retained 
 amongst  a  large  portion  of  the  Hindoos  up  to  this 
 present  day. 
 
 In  treating  of  the  Hindoo  Religion,  much  of  the 
 above  confusion  has  arisen  from  considering  all  the 
 nations  settled  in  the  plains,  and  ranging  over  the 
 mountains  of  Hindostan,  from  the  Himalaya  to  Cape 
 Comorin,  as  originally  embued  with  one  faith,  and 
 following  one  religious  ritual. 
 
 It  is  now,  indeed,  generally  understood,  that  within 
 the  above-mentioned  limits  there  is  not  one,  but  se- 
 veral nations,  diverse  in  origin ;  and  it  is  obvious  to 
 the  observation  of  every  one,  that  there  are  now, 
 within  the  boundaries  of  Hindostan,  different  reli- 
 gious systems.  Yet  it  is  still  a  common  opinion,  that 
 what  is  usually  called  Hindooism,  or  the  Brahminical 
 Religion,  was  the  ancient  faith  of  the  whole  country ; 
 and  that  it  maintained  undisputed  sway  till  inroads 
 were  made  upon  it,  first  by  Buddhism,  and  subse- 
 quently by  Mohammedanism.  A  close  inspection, 
 however,  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  practised  by  the 
 Hindoos  throughout  India,  will  convince  us,  that  the 
 notion  of  a  universal  prevalence  of  Brahmanism,  and 
 that  of  its  being  the  original  faith  of  the  whole  of 
 Hindostan,  are  alike  unfounded. 
 
 In  the  first  place,  the  Brahmins  themselves  have  a 
 
830  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 tradition,  that  tlieir  primitive  seats  were  to  tlie  north 
 of  the  Himalaya  momitains.  It  was,  hkewise,  from 
 those  regions  that  the  myriads,  under  the  names 
 of  Scythians,  Goths,  Turks,  and  Mongols,  emigrated 
 into  the  southern  regions  of  Europe  and  Asia.  In 
 confirmation  of  this  tradition,  wc  find  in  that  vast 
 plain,  (amid  the  mountains  of  Tibet,  marked  in 
 D'Anville's  Ancient  Geography  as  the  primitive  seat 
 of  the  BracJmanni,)  the  Manassarowar,  i.  e.  the 
 Lake  of  Intellect,  by  far  the  most  sacred  of  all 
 the  Hindoo  places  of  pilgrimage,  and  the  Brahma- 
 putra River,  winding  its  way  to  the  eastward  for 
 more  than  fifteen  degrees  of  longitude,  till  at  last 
 it  bursts  through  its  mountain  barriers,  and  descends 
 into  the  plains  of  Hindostan  ;  just  as  the  Brahmins, 
 those  other  sons  of  Brahma,  (for  this  is  the  meaning 
 of  Brahnaputra^  descended  to  take  possession  of  the 
 more  genial  plains  to  the  south  of  the  Snowy  Moun- 
 tains. Tradition  relates,  that  the  descent  of  the 
 Brahmins  took  place  near  the  western  extremity 
 of  the  chain,  at  the  chasm  by  which  the  Ganges 
 makes  its  way  into  India,  and  which  is  called  the 
 Gomukhi. 
 
 If,  then,  it  once  be  admitted  that  the  Brahmins  at 
 first  were  but  foreigners  in  India,  we  are  not  to  sup- 
 pose that  the  country  was  uninhabited  till  the  period 
 of  their  migration.  Besides,  the  lighter  shade  of  colour, 
 and  the  bolder  physiognomy  of  the  priestly  race,  show 
 them  to  be  decidedly  a  diff'erent  tribe  from  the  lower 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  331 
 
 castes  of  the  population,  even  after  every  allowance 
 has  been  made  for  their  better  appearance  from  less 
 exposure  to  the  elements,  and  a  superior  mode  of 
 living.  Their  ancient  traditions  at  the  same  time 
 speak  of  all  the  country  to  the  south  of  the  Vindhya 
 Mountains,  namely,  the  Dekhan,  the  DalcsJiin,  or 
 south  country,  the  Carnatic,  &c.,  as  being  anciently 
 inhabited  by  Rakshasas,  or  demons,  a  name  no  doubt 
 applied  to  the  unlettered  and  uncivilized  aborigines 
 of  India. 
 
 If,  then,  the  Brahmins  were  once  foreigners  in  Ilin- 
 dostau,  and  the  country  previously  peopled  by  a 
 different  race,  there  is  a  strong  presumption  against  the 
 Religion  of  that  aboriginal  race  being  Brahmanism. 
 
 It  is  farther  to  be  considered,  that  at  the  present 
 day  the  above-mentioned  hill-tribes  of  Bhils,  Ramoosis, 
 and  Koolis,  which  inhabit  the  mountains  in  the  Dek- 
 han, have  no  communication,  in  matters  purely  reli- 
 gious, Avith  the  Brahmins  ;  and  even  the  Mahars  who 
 live  in  the  villages,  though  outside  the  walls,  require 
 none  of  their  services  in  making  offerings  to  their 
 gods,  and  have  gurus,  or  spiritual  guides  of  their  own 
 caste  to  02)671  their  ears,  as  they  term  it,  to  divine  in- 
 struction, and  whisper  into  them  the  sacred  incan- 
 tation. The  Brahmins  have,  however,  so  far  prevailed 
 as  to  make  their  services  essential  at  births,  deaths, 
 and  marriages.  Young  children  receive  their  names 
 from  a  Brahmin  ;  the  person  contaminated  by  a  dead 
 body   requires    water    for   his    purification    from    a 
 
332  NATURAL  RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Brahmin,  and  at  the  marriage,  he  puts  the  grains  of 
 rice  into  the  hands  of  the  parties.  These  are  institu- 
 tions, however,  partly  civil,  and  partly  religious ;  and 
 the  Brahminical  interference  in  these  points  tends  to 
 confirm  our  main  position,  by  holding  up  the  Brah- 
 mins rather  as  having  promoted  civilization,  with  which 
 those  rites  are  intimately  connected,  than  as  having 
 from  the  beginning  acted  the  part  of  priests  between 
 the  worshipper  and  the  deity. 
 
 Several  of  the  gods  worshipped  by  the  common  peo- 
 ple are,  moreover,  unknown  to  the  Mythology  of  the 
 Brahmins.  The  same  deities  are  worshipped  by  the 
 outcast  mountaineers,  Mahars,  &c.,  and  the  Hindoo 
 agricultural  population,  while  it  is  looked  upon  as  a 
 disgrace  to  a  Brahmin  ever  to  have  recourse  to  the  aid 
 of  such  demons. 
 
 All  these  considerations  go  to  prove  the  existence 
 of  a  more  ancient  form  of  Religion  among  the  Hin- 
 doos, prior  to  the  introduction  of  Brahmanism — a  Re- 
 ligion, too,  which  the  new  system,  in  some  parts,  has 
 yet  but  very  partially  succeeded  in  supplanting. 
 
 In  investigations  of  this  nature,  however,  it  is  to 
 be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  Brahminical  Religion,  like 
 that  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  is  exceedingly 
 accommodating  to  other  idolatrous  systems.  When 
 the  ancient  Romans  came  to  any  new  country,  they 
 were  sure  to  find  there  a  Jupiter.  Not  content  with 
 a  Jupiter  Capitolinus  at  Rome,  and  a  Jupiter  Olympius 
 in  Greece,    they  must   make    one   of   the   Egyptian 
 
CHAP,  iv.l  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  333 
 
 Hammon.  According  to  the  same  principle,  tlie  Brah- 
 mins find  everywhere  incarnations  of  their  principal 
 divinities.  Whenever  they  find  among  other  idolaters 
 a  god  they  wish  to  reverence,  they  make  him  an  in- 
 carnation of  that  one  of  their  own  who  most  resembles 
 him  in  attributes  and  worship.  Innmiierable  local 
 incarnations  of  gods  have  thus  sprung  up  throughout 
 the  country ;  and  as  soon  as  any  one  of  these  becomes 
 somewhat  famous,  a  legend  of  the  god  of  the  place  is 
 composed,  and  given  out  as  belonging  to  one  or  other 
 of  the  Pooranas. 
 
 A  close  investigation  of  the  subject  will  show  that 
 there  is  much  of  what  is  now  esteemed  Brahmanism, 
 foreign  to  that  system.  Some  of  these  things  are 
 ancient,  and  some  modern  ;  but  neither  is  the  one 
 class  nor  the  other  perfectly  incorporated  with  the 
 ancient  Religion  of  the  Brahmins.  And  it  is  this  in- 
 completeness in  the  amalgamation  of  the  different  and 
 heterogeneous  systems,  which  enables  us  to  resolve 
 the  whole  into  its  proper  elements,  and  to  detect  the 
 traces  of  that  ante-Brahminical  worship  in  India. 
 
 The  worship  of  Vetal,  for  instance,  seems  decidedly 
 ante-Brahminical ;  and  yet,  in  a  large  district  of  the 
 Maratha  country,  scarcely  a  village  is  to  be  found  that 
 does  not  publicly  testify  its  respect  for  him. 
 
 Vetal  is  generally,  in  the  Dekhan,  said  to  be  an 
 incarnation  of  Siva,  the  prince  of  devils,  and  wonderful 
 exploits  performed  by  him  are  related  in  a  book  called 
 the  Vetal  Puchisi ;  but  this  composition  has  not  had 
 
334  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 tlie  good  fortune  to  gain  the  voice  of  the  Brahmins. 
 On  the  contrary,  they  look  upon  it  merely  as  a  parcel 
 of  fables,  and  dispute  the  claims  of  Vetal  to  any  divine 
 honours  whatever.  As,  then,  the  Brahmins  univer- 
 sally reprobate  both  his  character  and  worship,  and 
 acknowledge  him  in  none  of  their  sacred  books,  it 
 seems  rather  hard  to  tack  him  to  their  system,  and 
 call  his  worship  a  part  of  Brahmanism. 
 
 That  the  worship  of  this  demon  is  not  of  modern 
 invention,  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  Vetal  has  no 
 proper  image  whatever.  It  seems,  then,  probable  that 
 this  worship  was  introduced  previous  to  the  custom  of 
 likening  the  gods  to  men  and  other  animals.  Again, 
 Vetal  has  no  temple,  but  is  worshipped  in  the  open 
 air,  generally  under  the  shade  of  a  wide-spreading 
 tree.  This  circumstance,  also,  connects  his  worship 
 with  the  most  ancient  forms  of  idolatry.  The  Canaan- 
 ites  in  the  time  of  Moses  had  no  temples,  for  while 
 the  Israelites  were  commanded  to  remove  every  ves- 
 tige of  their  idolatry,  even  to  cast  down  their  idol- 
 groves,  no  mention  is  made  of  temples. 
 
 Vetal  is  worshipped  in  sickness,  and  vows  are  made 
 to  him,  which  are  paid  on  recovery.  The  votive  offer- 
 ing is  generally  a  cock,  the  same  that  the  Greeks  were 
 in  the  habit  of  giving  to  ^sculapius,  when  he  inter- 
 posed with  his  sanitary  powers  on  their  behalf.  The 
 blood  is  presented  in  a  vessel,  and  the  deity  is  sup- 
 posed to  smell  it,  and  be  satisfied.  The  carcass  is 
 taken  away,  and  eaten  by  the  person  who  has  charge 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  335 
 
 of  the  place.  No  priest  is  required  to  make  the  obla- 
 tion ;  the  person  who  pays  the  vow,  or  supplicates  the 
 aid  of  the  god,  being  his  oion  priest,  himself  offers  the 
 prayer,  slays  the  animal,  and  presents  the  blood. 
 
 Another  occasion  of  worshipping  Vetal  is  when  any 
 one  is  possessed  by  a  devil,  afflicted  by  madness, 
 epilepsy,  any  severe  nervous  disease,  or  obstinate  in- 
 termittent fevers,  which  are  all  ascribed  to  demoni- 
 acal agency.  In  such  a  case,  a  person  expert  in 
 discerning  the  marks  of  possession  is  sent  for.  After 
 going  through  a  number  of  magical  ceremonies,  and 
 saying  charms  which  are  kept  a  profound  secret  from 
 the  uninitiated,  he  determines  whether  Yetal  or  what 
 other  god  has  caused  the  disease,  whether  the  demon 
 has  been  moved  by  the  magical  incantations  of  any 
 one  to  afflict  the  sick  or  insane  person,  who  the  magi- 
 cian is,  (if  magic  has  been  used,)  and  how  the  god  is  to 
 be  propitiated  and  the  demon  expelled.  The  expiation 
 for  the  afflicted  person  is  generally  a  cock  to  Vetal.  If 
 so,  one  of  his  friends  takes  it  to  the  god,  and,  after 
 waving  it  round  his  head,  and  entreating  favour  for 
 the  afflicted  person,  offers  it  in  the  way  just  men- 
 tioned. 
 
 A  singular  coincidence  exists  between  the  history  of 
 the  Greek  word  for  demon  and  the  Sanskrit  Bhuta. 
 The  Greek  word  is  applied  by  Homer  and  early 
 Grecian  writers  to  the  highest  intefligences,  and  means 
 one  possessed  of  superior  knowledge.  The  Sanskrit 
 Bhuta  is  derived  from  the  verb  which  signifies  ex- 
 
33G  NATURAL  RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 isfcence,  and  is  applied  to  the  elements  of  nature,  and 
 even  to  the  great  god  Siva  himself.  But  as  demon 
 with  a  change  of  Rehgion  lost  the  sense  of  a  deity 
 amongst  the  Greeks,  and  came  to  be  fused  down  to 
 mean  an  evil  spirit,  so  now,  in  the  Indian  languages 
 derived  from  the  Sanskrit,  Bhuta  is  entirely  confined, 
 in  common  speech,  to  a  wandering  ghost  or  malicious 
 spirit.  Again,  as  the  term  demon  was,  among  the 
 Christian  Greeks,  frequently  applied  in  a  bad  sense  to 
 the  gods  their  fathers  worshipped,  so  among  the 
 Brahmanized  Hindoos,  the  term  Bhuta  is  applied  con- 
 temptuously to  the  ante-Brahminical  objects  of  worship. 
 Those  classes,  however,  who  worship  these  Bhutas 
 never  apply  this  term  to  the  objects  of  their  adoration. 
 They  style  them  gods  and  village  gods,  but  never 
 Bhuta  or  devils,  although  they  do  not  deny  that  the 
 term  Bhuta  is  applicable  to  them. 
 
 We  infer,  then,  from  the  pertinacity  with  which  the 
 common  people  cling  to  this  demon-worship,  notwith- 
 standing all  the  ridicule  cast  on  it  by  the  Brahmins, 
 and  their  constantly  terming  them  gods,  while  the 
 Brahmins  as  constantly  call  them  devils,  that  this 
 worship  was  established  before  the  arrival  of  the 
 Brahmins  in  the  country,  though  perhaps  in  some 
 things  it  may  have  been  a  little  modified  by  their  in- 
 fluence and  that  of  their  Hindoo  disciples. 
 
 We  are  also  informed  respecting  the  primitive 
 Religion  of  Ceylon,  that  the  whole  of  that  island,  pre- 
 vious to  the  arrival  of  Buddha,  was  overrun  with  devil 
 
(HAP.  IV.]  .         OF    THE    HINDOOS.  337 
 
 and  serpciit-worship ;  and  analogy  may  lead  us  to 
 conclude  that  the  same  was  the  case  in  India  before 
 the  arrival  of  the  Brahmins.  It  may,  however,  be 
 observed  that,  in  the  proper  English  sense  of  the  word, 
 no  such  being  as  a  devil  is  known  among  the  Hindoos. 
 The  idea  of  an  angelic  being  fallen  from  its  pristine 
 holiness  and  glory,  and  now  possessed  of  malicious 
 qualities,  is  a  Hebrew  and  Christian  idea,  and  in  this 
 sense  no  Hindoo  worships  devils.  What  Hindoos, 
 both  the  followers  of  the  Brahminical  system  and  all 
 the  others,  do  worship,  are  superhuman  powers.  Some 
 of  these  beings  are  endued  with  good,  and  some  with 
 bad  qualities  ;  and  the  Hindoos  suppose  they  are  to 
 be  worshipped  according  to  their  natures.  When 
 they  worship  a  malicious  being,  tliey  do  it  in  the  spirit 
 in  which  an  honest  citizen  pays  black-mail  to  a  robber, 
 and  not  because  they  respect  and  love  his  character. 
 
 The  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  formed  as 
 much  a  part  of  the  Religion  of  the  aliorigines  of  India, 
 as  that  of  demons.  It  is  still  part  of  the  modern 
 system  of  the  Hindoos.  Yet  commonly  those  planets 
 only  are  worshipped  from  which  they  have  to  fear  some 
 evil,  in  consequence  of  having  been  born  under  some 
 unfavourable  conjunction  or  other.  If  the  Hindoo  is 
 born  under  a  lucky  conjunction,  he  is  indifferent  about 
 the  planets  ;  if  the  case  is  against  him,  he  will  worship 
 them  with  all  religious  scrupulosity. 
 
 Brahmanism,  then,  has  evidently  not  always  been  the 
 Religion  of  India.     The  Brahmins,  as  the  higher  class 
 
 VOL.  I.  z 
 
338  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 of  the  population,  have  evidently  been  foreigners,  who 
 invaded  the  country  to  subdue  the  aborigines.  Although 
 we  are,  perhaps,  unable  to  decide  at  present  whether 
 they  came  from  Central  Asia,  or  from  the  Caucasian 
 mountains,  or  from  the  plains  of  Babylonia,  or  from 
 the  borders  of  the  Caspian  sea,  still  it  is  certain  that 
 they  are  emigrants,  and  that  their  Religion  was  exotic 
 in  India,  at  least  as  regards  its  primary  elements. 
 Hindooism  has  undergone  many  serious  alterations, 
 modifications,  and  changes  from  various  causes.  The 
 elemental  worship  has  grown  old  ;  the  animal  sacri- 
 fices have  been  abolished ;  the  gods  of  the  Hindoos 
 have  been  displaced  from  their  former  spheres  and 
 stations,  and  other  gods,  unknown  to  them  by  name 
 or  description,  have  taken  their  place.  Private  sanc- 
 tuaries have  been  converted  into  public  temples.  The 
 site  of  the  ancient  fire-altars  was  occupied  by  images, 
 the  works  of  man's  hand.  Primitive  equality,  modi- 
 fied by  the  respect  paid  to  influence,  attainments,  and 
 occupation,  has  been  destroyed  by  the  establishment 
 or  reinforcement  of  caste.  Laws,  regulations,  precepts, 
 and  ceremonies  have  been  multiplied  to  infinity. 
 Tradition  has  been  supplanted  by  discussion,  and  dis- 
 cussion has  been  superseded  by  imaginative  invention. 
 The  customs  of  society,  and  the  national  creed,  have 
 been  so  completely  altered,  that  the  Hindoos  of  the 
 present  day  would  not  share  the  privileges  of  Religion, 
 nor  move  in  the  same  circles  of  social  life  with  their 
 ancestors,  were  they  to  revive  ! 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    HINDOOS.  339 
 
 The  earliest  records  of  Hindoo  sentiments,  indicative 
 alike  of  the  imaginative  and  devotional  cast  of  their 
 mind,  are  unquestionably  contained  in  the  Vedas.  Of 
 these  ancient  books  it  may  well  be  said,  in  a  religious 
 point  of  view,  that  "  Every  one  that  doeth  evil  hateth 
 the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light,  lest  his  deeds 
 should  be  reproved.''  The  obscurity  in  which  the 
 major  portion  seems  to  be  enveloped,  has  tended  to 
 increase  their  authority  in  the  mind  of  the  Hindoos, 
 and  to  give  an  edge  even  to  European  curiosity.  This 
 is  natural.  When  curiosity  is  once  called  into  exist- 
 ence, the  absence  of  the  object  is  apt  to  augment  its 
 value,  and  to  inflame  the  desire  of  seeing  it.  The 
 Brahmins  have  evinced  no  contemptible  knowledge  of 
 human  nature,  by  studying  to  conceal  the  sacred 
 writings  from  the  public  gaze.  The  veil  of  obscurity 
 which  they  have  thrown  over  it  is  a  master- piece  of 
 priestly  artifice.  Ignorance  has  shrouded  its  imper- 
 fections from  popular  observation,  and  ensured  them  a 
 credit  which  a  familiar  acquaintance  might  probably 
 have  soon  overthrown.  Unseen  and  unknown,  they 
 have  ever  possessed  an  appearance  of  awe  and  ma- 
 jesty, of  which  nearer  inspection  might  easily  have 
 denuded  them.  That  which  we  cannot  see,  we  do  not 
 despise.  The  farther  the  object  is  removed  from  our 
 sight,  the  more  advantageous  is  it,  in  many  cases,  for 
 its  credit.  The  scarcity  of  the  Vedas,  which  has  in  no 
 small  degree  served  to  enhance  their  value,  is  so  great, 
 that    it   has  been   supposed  that  no  integral  copy  is 
 
 z  2 
 
340  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 now  procurable  in  any  part  of  India !  There  is  a 
 transcript  of  what  is  considered  to  be  a  complete  copy 
 of  the  Vedas  in  the  British  Museum.  But  how  con- 
 fined the  circle  upon  which  their  light  now  shines,  in 
 comparison  with  the  primitive  days,  when,  according  to 
 the  accounts  of  the  Hindoos,  the  Vedas  actually  loalhed 
 ahoiit  as  gods  incarnate  in  the  country  of  Vishnoo  ! 
 
 The  Vedas  are  properly  five  in  number, — the  Rik, 
 the  Sama,  the  White  Yajur,  the  Black  Yajur,  and  the 
 Atharva,  A  Veda  consists  properly  of  two  perfectly 
 distinct  parts,  the  first  being  collections  of  hymns,  the 
 second  liturgical  treatises.  The  first  part  is  called 
 Sanhita,  the  second,  Brahmana.  These  two  parts  are 
 probably  not  of  the  same  age, — the  hymns  being  more 
 ancient  than  the  liturgical  treatises.  Among  the  five 
 Vedic  books  denominated  Sanhita,  there'  are,  however, 
 only  four  collections  of  hymns.  The  fifth,  or  the  so- 
 called  hymns  of  the  Black  Yajur,  is  a  liturgical  work. 
 Among  the  four  collections  of  hymns,  the  Rik  is  the 
 most  extensive,  amounting  to  nearly  11,000  verses. 
 The  Atharva  hymns  are  nearly  as  numerous ;  the 
 hymns  of  the  White  Yajur  may  amount  to  half  as 
 many  as  those  of  the  Atharva,  and  those  of  the  Sama 
 to  one-fourth  of  those  of  the  Atharva.  The  hymns  of 
 all  the  four  Vedas  taken  together  may  amount  to  about 
 30,000  verses.  But  the  hymns  of  one  Veda  are  often 
 repeated  in  one  or  more  of  the  others.  Nearly  the 
 entire  Sama  is  in  the  Rik.  About  half  the  Yajur  is 
 in  the  Rik.      The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Atharva; 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  341 
 
 respecting  which  it  has  been  conjectured  that  one  third 
 was  contained  in  the  Rik  Veda.  The  collection  of  the 
 sacred  hymns  of  the  Rik  Veda  is  an  astonishing  work, 
 and  proves  the  existence  of  a  scientific  development  of 
 mind  among  the  Hindoos  at  a  date  long  anterior  to  that 
 when  the  Homeric  poems  were  brought  together. 
 More  than  one  thousand  hymns  are  here  before  us,  in 
 which  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Punjab  implored 
 blessings  on  themselves  and  their  herds,  saluted  the 
 glowing  East,  sang  the  combat  of  the  lightning-darting 
 god  with  the  dark  night,  and  rendered  thanks  to  the 
 celestial  powers,  which  had  dispensed  to  them,  as  they 
 believed,  succour  amid  their  battles.  It  must  not  be 
 supposed,  however,  that  the  hymns  of  this  Veda  are 
 exclusively  religious.  One  of  the  hymns  describes  in 
 jocular  language  the  revival  of  the  frogs  at  the  com- 
 mencement of  the  rains,  and  compares  their  croaking 
 to  the  singing  of  the  Brahmins  in  worship.  Probably, 
 those  non-religious  portions  belong  to  a  later  period. 
 The  Rik  professes  to  give  the  hymns  in  the  complete 
 form  in  which  they  were  "  seen  "  by  the  Rishis.  Not 
 so  the  Sania  and  Yajur,  the  liturgical  purpose  of  which 
 has  materially  affected  their  contents.  In  the  Sama, 
 the  metre  has  had  much  influence  ;  similarity  of  sound 
 even,  appears  frequently  to  have  affected  the  succes- 
 sion of  verses.  The  undoubted  fact  that  the  hymns  of 
 the  Sama  and  Yajur  form  part  of  the  Rik,  does  not 
 prove  that  the  contents  of  the  Rik  were  first  collected. 
 Probably,   those   that  were   required  in  worship,  viz: 
 
342  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  IV. 
 
 those    of  the  Sama  and  Yajur,   were    first   brought 
 together.     The  collecting  of  the  Rik  hymns  depended 
 on  other  and  more  scientific  grounds.     The   Atharva 
 does  not  present  us  with  single  unconnected  verses, 
 but  with  complete  hymns,  the  order  of  which  is  de- 
 termined   by    their    subjects.      In    this    respect,   it 
 resembles  the  Rik.     Indeed,  it  may  be  called  a  supple- 
 ment to  the  Rik, — a  supplement  which  aimed  at  com- 
 prising the  religious  hymns  of  a  period,  when   the 
 Mantra  was  no  longer  the  expression  of  direct  religious 
 feeling,  but  had  degenerated  into  a  kind  of  charm  or 
 magical  formula.     This  Veda,  then,  consists  mainly  of 
 texts  intended  to  protect  against  the  hostility  of  divini- 
 ties, against  sickness,  against  wild  beasts,  &c. ;  it  con- 
 tains curses  against  enemies,  invocations  of  healing 
 herbs,  and  prayers  for  aid  in  the  occurrences  of  or- 
 dinary life,  for  safety  in  travelling,  success  in  play,  and 
 so  forth.     In  the  passages  common  to  the  Rik  and 
 Atharva,  the  latter  introduces  many  capricious  inver- 
 sions and  alterations.     In  the  portions  peculiar  to  the 
 Atharva,  the  Sanskrit  approaches  to  the  flowing  diction 
 of  a  later  age,  although  the  forms  of  the  words  still 
 remain  archaic.     A  remarkable  fact  in  the  relation  of 
 the  Rik  and  Atharva  is,  that  the  Rik  towards  the  end 
 contains  many  sections  decidedly  bearing  the  character 
 of  Atharva  hymns,  and  actually  found  to  be  contained 
 in  the  Atharva. 
 
 There  have  been  certain   historical  facts  deduced 
 from  the  Rik  Veda  by  modern  researches,  relating  to 
 
CHAP.  IV. j  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  343 
 
 the  two  celebrated  Saints  Vishwamitra  and  Vaslnshta. 
 There  are  certain  passages,  relating  to  a  great  struggle 
 which  is  represented  as  carried  on  by  the  ancient  chief 
 families  on  the  banks  of  the  Yaska,  which  are  identified 
 with  the  Hydraotes  in  the  Punjab.  It  is  held  to  be 
 established  by  the  Rik  that  the  ancient  Hindoo  families 
 resided  farther  to  the  North-west  than  we  find  them  in 
 the  later  books,  and  nearer  the  Indus  than  the  Yamuna. 
 The  Sindhu  or  Indus  is  often  mentioned,  and  highly 
 celebrated ;  in  the  Rik  hymns,  it  is  termed,  for 
 example,  the  most  copious  of  streams ; — whereas,  the 
 Ganges  is  only  once  referred  to,  and  then,  with  no 
 special  commendation.  The  remaining  rivers  of  the 
 Punjab  can  also  be  clearly  made  out. 
 
 We  find  the  ancient  families  which  are  accounted 
 holy  in  the  later  Indian  books,  represented  in  those 
 early  poems  as  actively  engaged  in  strife  and  war. 
 Races  which,  at  the  remote  period  referred  to,  pos- 
 sessed a  common  habitation,  a  common  speech,  and  a 
 common  creed  with  those  holy  families,  were  after- 
 wards widely  separated  from  them  in  all  respects. 
 The  Religion  that  was  born  on  the  five  rivers,  was 
 reared  into  a  stupendous  system  in  more  southern 
 lands ;  and  the  Brahminic  people  apphed  the  appella- 
 tion of  barbarians  to  those  tribes  which  they  had  left 
 behind,  and  which  received  a  different  development 
 from  themselves.  The  ancient  songs,  breathing  strife 
 and  slaughter,  were  succeeded,  in  the  fertile  plains  of 
 the  South  and  South-east,  by  sacrificial  hymns  and 
 
344  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 prayers ;  the  gods,  too,  changed ;  and  the  once  chival- 
 rous race,  courting  ease  and  abandoning;  itself  to 
 superstitious  dreams,  retained  no  trace,  except  in  a 
 rigid  asceticism,  of  that  dauntless  and  energetic  spirit 
 by  which,  in  days  of  old,  it  had  been  so  remarkably 
 distinguished.  Among  the  Vedic  Rishis,  Vashishta 
 was  farthest  to  the  South-west,  and  already  possessed 
 the  region  that  subsequently  came  to  be  regarded  as 
 the  holy  land.  Vishwamitra  was  farther  to  the  North- 
 east, and  in  the  tract  which  was  afterwards  held  to  be 
 barbarous,  Vashishta,  in  whom  the  lineaments  of  the 
 future  Brahmin  are  discernable,  was  in  subsequent 
 times  exalted  above  his  warlike  compeer.  Vashishta  is 
 the  priestly  hero  of  the  new  order  of  things.  Vish- 
 wamitra is  the  last  representative  of  the  warrior-shep- 
 herds of  the  Punjab. 
 
 It  has  been  generally  admitted,  that  there  are  noble 
 remnants  of  a  shipwrecked  Monotheism  in  the  ancient 
 Vedas  of  the  Hindoos.  These  sacred  books  declare 
 that  there  is,  indeed,  but  one  deity,  the  Supreme  Spirit, 
 the  Lord  of  the  Universe — who  is  perfect  truth,  perfect 
 happiness,  without  equal,  immortal,  absolutely  supreme 
 — whom  neither  speech  can  describe,  nor  mind  compre- 
 hend— all-pervading,  all-transcending,  delighted  with 
 his  own  boundless  intelligence — unlimited  by  space  or 
 time — without  feet,  moving  swiftly;  without  hands, 
 grasping  all  worlds  ;  without  eyes,  all-surveying  ;  with- 
 out ears,  all-hearing;  without  an  intelligent  guide; 
 understandhig  all — without  cause,  and  the  first  of  all 
 
CHAP.   I 
 
 .]  OF    THE   HINDOOS.  .        345 
 
 causes  —  all-ruling,    all-powerful  —  tlie  producer  and 
 former  of  all  that  is  produced  and  fashioned. 
 
 Angelic  beings  crowded  the  eternal  throne,  and 
 humbly  asked,  what  the  Supreme  Spirit  was  himself. 
 Brahm  answered,  "  If  there  was  another  than  myself, 
 I  would  describe  myself  through  him.  I  have  been 
 from  eternity,  and  shall  remain  to  eternity ;  I  am  the 
 first  cause  of  all  that  exists  in  the  East  and  the  West, 
 in  the  North  and  in  the  South,  above  and  below.  I 
 am  all,  older  than  all.  King  of  kings.  I  am  the  truth. 
 I  am  the  Spirit  of  creation,  the  Creator  himself.  I  am 
 knowledge,  and  purity,  and  light.  I  am  the  Al- 
 mighty." 
 
 It  is  scarcely  credible,  that  associated  with  these 
 lofty  ideas  we  should  find  other  elements,  which 
 obhge  us  to  charge  the  oldest  and  most  revered  com- 
 positions of  one  of  the  earliest  cultivators  of  learning 
 with  the  crime  of  having  at  the  same  time  fostered  a 
 spirit  of  idolatry  and  Polytheism  in  the  truest  sense 
 of  the  term.  The  Vedas  may,  indeed,  be  exonerated 
 from  such  a  charge,  if  by  idolatry  be  only  meant  the 
 worship  of  graven  images,  and  by  Polytheism  the 
 acknowledgment  of  separate  gods,  with  equal  powers 
 and  perfect  independence.  But  as  the  worship  of 
 created  substances  in  general  is  idolatry,  and  as  the 
 acknowledgment  of  any  gods  besides  the  Supreme 
 Spirit  is  Polytheism,  we  are  obliged  to  look  upon  the 
 most  ancient  form  of  Hindooism  as  being  idolatrous  in 
 nature  and  tendency,  however  readily  we  may  acquit 
 
346  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 the  Vedas  of  ever  liaving  inculcated  the  making  images 
 of  wood  and  stone. 
 
 We  have  already  alluded  to  the  character  and  spirit 
 of  the  most  ancient  hjauns  and  prayers  of  the  Vedas, 
 as  being  directed  to  the  heavenly  bodies  above, 
 and  the  elements  of  nature  around  them.  A  supreme 
 Governor  of  the  Universe  is  indeed  acknowledged, 
 under  whose  vassalage  the  inferior  deities  hold  a  kind 
 of  feudal  dominion.  The  very  first  efforts  of  the 
 devotion  of  the  Hindoo,  of  which  the  Sanhitas  may  be 
 considered  proper  indices,  were  accordingly  directed 
 towards  a  simple  but  imperfectly  developed  species  of 
 idolatry,  not  dissimilar  to  what  we  have  already  dis- 
 covered amongst  the  Persians  and  Medes,  as  well  as 
 amongst  the  Babylonians.  Whilst  they  acknoAvledge  one 
 Supreme  Being,  the  immediate  objects  of  worship  are 
 without  number.  The  Sanhitas,  as  effusions  of  the 
 rude  devotion  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Brahmins,  contain 
 prayers  and  ascriptions  of  praise  to  the  sun,  the  moon, 
 and  the  stars  ;  to  fire,  water,  air,  and  some  imaginary 
 powers.  This  is  no  doubt  genuine  idolatry.  They 
 lapsed  from  an  adulterated  Monotheism  into  ele- 
 mental worship,  or  the  deification  of  the  powers  of 
 nature. 
 
 The  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Vedas  is  the  doctrine 
 of  the  Divine  unity.  But  whilst  the  Bible  teaches  that 
 there  is  but  one  God,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  gods ; 
 the  doctrine  of  the  Vedas  is,  that  there  is  one  God,  to 
 the  exclusion  of  all  other  existences  whatever.     In  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    HINDOOS.  347 
 
 whole  universe    nothing   exists  but    God !       This   is 
 Pantheism ! 
 
 The  worship  of  the  heavenly  host,  and  the  worship 
 of  the  elements,  was  evidently  an  attempt  to  simplify 
 and  to  familiarise  the  majesty  of  the  Supreme  Spirit. 
 Metaphysical  Deism  will  always  induce  a  similar  sym- 
 bolization  and  materialization  of  the  Deity.  The 
 belief  of  the  unity  of  God  was  introduced  into  the 
 Vedas  from  tradition.  But  they  perverted  the  truth 
 of  God  into  a  lie ;  and  it  has  come  to  pass,  that  in  all 
 India  there  is,  at  present,  no  one  temple  consecrated  to 
 this  Supreme  Deity.  The  Grseco-Roman  systems  were 
 founded  upon  the  acknowledgment  of  the  great  "  Father 
 of  gods  and  men,"  Jupiter-Zeus,  and  after  the  revolu- 
 tion of  a  number  of  flourishing  centuries,  the  Apostle 
 Paul  found  in  "  Athens  the  illustrious  "  but  one  altar 
 dedicated  to  the  "  unknown  God!'  This  is  the  Spirit 
 of  Polytheism ! 
 
 The  framers  of  the  Sanhitas  combined  the  elements 
 of  Monotheism  and  Polytheism.  Religion  with  them 
 being  more  a  matter  of  sentiment  than  rational 
 conviction,  they  ignorantly  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
 thousand  difficulties.  They  believed  in  one  God, 
 but  were  betrayed  into  practical  Polytheism.  This 
 difficulty  being  felt  by  their  successors,  the  defi- 
 ciency Avas  to  be  supplied  by  the  didactic  treatises 
 attached  to  the  Vedas,  and  called  the  Brahmanas  and 
 Upanishads.  We  have  an  effort  in  these  parts  of  the 
 Vedas  to  reduce  the  Vedautic  dogmas  to  a  uniform 
 
348  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 system.     In  speaking,  therefore,  of  the  ancient  system 
 of  Brahmanism,  we  must  lay  it  down  as  a  first  prin- 
 ciple, that  no  modern  description  of  the  ancient  system 
 is  for  a  moment  to  be  listened  to,  further  than  it  is 
 supported  by  the  genuine  and  undisputed  productions 
 of  the  Uishis  themselves.     These  productions  arc  the 
 Sanhitas  of  the  Vedas,  especially  of  the  Rig- Veda,  and 
 nothing  else.     The  treatises  called  Brahmanas  juay, 
 some  of  them,  be  ancient,  but  by  no  means  so  an- 
 cient  as   the    Sanhitas;    while   the   Upanishads    are 
 nothing  but  modern  philosophical  tracts   and  essays 
 tacked  to  the  Vedas.     Yet  it  is  these  last-mentioned 
 works  alone  that  Ram  Mahun  Roy,  and   some  other 
 writers,  have  particularly  cited  to  prove  that  the  Vedas 
 contain  the  doctrines  of  the  unity  and  spirituality  of 
 the  Deity.     That  the  Sanhitas  and  Upanishads  belong 
 to  eras  far  removed  from  one  another,  is  evident  from  a 
 slight  inspection  of  their  contents.     The  Sanscrit,  like 
 all   other   languages,    must   originally   have    been   a 
 spoken  tongue,  and,  as  long  as  it  continued  to  be 
 so,  must,  hke  all  other  spoken  languages,  have  been 
 constantly  undergoing  change.     When  the  Sanhitas 
 of  the   Vedas  were  written,   the  language  was   still 
 in  a  rude  state,  and  far  from  the  perfection  it  has 
 since  attained.     When  the  Upanishads  were  written, 
 it  had  already  received  its  last  polish,  and  was  the 
 finished,   and   nearly   unrivalled,    vehicle    of    human 
 thought  it  has  since  continued  to  be.     The  Sanhitas 
 show  us  the  language  in  its  first,  the  Upanishads  in  its 
 
CHAP.  IV  ]  OF    THE    HINDOOS.  349 
 
 last  stage.  Nor  are  the  diftereiices  between  the  two 
 forms  of  the  language  few  or  trivial.  It  is  impossible 
 to  find  two  consecutive  lines  of  a  Sanhita,  in  which 
 there  is  not  some  obsolete  word,  some  antiquated  form 
 of  construction,  or  some  unusual  inflection  ;  so  that 
 without  the  glossaries  and  comments,  no  Pundit,  how- 
 ever well  versed  in  modern  Sanscrit  literature,  could 
 understand  the  Sanhitas. 
 
 The  Religion  of  the  Poor  anas  is,  again,  totally  at 
 variance  with  that  of  the  aborigines,  as  well  as  with  that 
 of  the  ancient  Vedas.  The  deities  are  changed,  and  the 
 ceremonials  altered ;  old  divinities  are  forgotten,  neg- 
 lected, reproached,  and  even  laden  with  malevolent 
 imprecations,  and  new  ones  have  been  substituted  in 
 their  place.  The  deities  become  incarnate  in  animal 
 and  in  hiunan  forms,  and  the  more  simple  elements  of 
 primitive  Brahmanism  are  superseded  by  the  worship 
 of  a  thousand  fresh  divinities.  It  has  thus  come  to  pass, 
 that  the  whole  of  the  Hindoo  Mythology  represents  on 
 a  large  scale  the  scene  which  the  author  Mdtnessed  in 
 one  of  the  idolatrous  villages  of  India.  He  approached 
 the  temple,  which,  as  is  usual,  was  situated  on  the  out- 
 skirts of  a  small  hamlet.  As  he  drew  nigh,  he  was 
 struck  with  some  thirteen  or  fifteen  idols,  which  lay 
 scattered  all  around  in  a  mutilated  condition,  whilst 
 some  two  or  three  received  the  devotions  of  the  simple 
 villagers  in  the  temple.  Upon  inquiry  what  ill  had 
 befollen  those  unhappy  gods  whch  were  scattered 
 here  and  there,  and  all  around  the  sacred  place,  he  was 
 
350  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 informed,  as  he  had  expected,  that  they  all  had  their 
 d[iy  of  honour  amongst  them  ;  that  they  were  once  in 
 the  temple,  and  received  divine  worship  ;  but  that  they 
 were  thus  disgraced,  because  they  were  found  to  be 
 good  for  nothing,  and  others  had  been  substituted  in 
 their  place. 
 
 The  Supreme  Being,  Bralim,  becomes  Brahma,  the 
 first  member  of  the  Hindoo  Triad.  He  is  generally 
 looked  upon  as  the  producer  of  the  universe ;  but  the 
 ideas  of  the  Hindoos,  respecting  the  creation  of  the 
 world,  are  utterly  confused  and  contradictory ;  each  of 
 the  four  or  five  Vedas,  and  each  of  the  numerous 
 Pooranas,  containing  different  accounts  of  this  im- 
 portant subject.  If  the  contradictory  nature  of  the 
 account  of  the  creation  of  the  universe  is  urged  against 
 its  authenticity  and  reasonableness,  the  shrewd  Brah- 
 min will  endeavour  to  evade  our  objection,  by  de- 
 claring that  there  has  been  more  than  one  creation  of 
 the  world,  all  of  which  are  recorded  in  the  Hindoo 
 Scriptures.  That  this  is  really  one  of  their  extrava- 
 gant notions,  we  shall  now  endeavom'  to  show. 
 
 An  ordinary  year  is  considered  to  be  equal  to  a  day 
 and  a  night  of  the  gods.  Three  hundred  and  sixty 
 of  these  divine  days  and  nights  constitute  a  '^  year  of 
 the  (/odsy  Twelve  hundred  such  years  form  an  "age 
 of  the  gods  r  or,  as  it  is  generally  termed,  a  Mahay ug, 
 or  great  age.  One  of  these  ages  is,  therefore,  equal 
 to  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  years  of 
 mortals ! 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    THE    HINDOOS.  351 
 
 One  of  these  great  ages  of  the  gods  is  subdivided, 
 upon  the  principle  mentioned  on  a  former  occasion, 
 into  four  smaller  ages,  which,  in  some  measure,  cor- 
 respond in  number,  succession,  and  character,  to  the 
 golden,  silver,  brazen,  and  iron  ages  of  the  Greek  and 
 Roman  Mythologies. 
 
 Seventy-one  of  the  great  ages  of  the  gods  compose 
 a  grand  period,  styled  a  Mavantara ;  a  cycle  of  time, 
 during  which  one  Manoo,  or  Saint,  with  his  posterity, 
 is  supposed  to  be  invested  with  the  sovereignty  of  the 
 earth.  Of  these  Manoos,  there  are  fourteen  in  number, 
 who  reign  in  succession  ;  and  there  are,  therefore, 
 fourteen  Mavantaras  of  equal  length. 
 
 These  fourteen  grand  periods  of  time,  with  certain 
 residuary  additions,  equal  in  all  to  one  thousand  Maha- 
 yugs,  make  together  one  Kalpa.  This  Kalpa,  consisting 
 of  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  millions 
 of  common  years,  is  again  looked  upon  as  "a  day  of 
 Brahma,  and  his  night  also  has  the  same  duration." 
 Three  hundred  and  sixty  of  these  enormous  days  and 
 nights  compose  a  year  of  Brahma,  a  period  which 
 exceeds  in  length  three  billions  of  the  years  of  mortals. 
 A  hundred  such  years  is  the  duration  of  Brahma,  and 
 of  the  universe;  or,  in  other  words,  the  age  of  Brahma 
 and  the  duration  of  the  world  is  calculated  at  upwards 
 of  three  hundred  billions  of  common  years  ! 
 
 Above  half  of  this  time  has  already  expired ;  and 
 we  are  now  living  in  the  four  thousand  nine  hundred 
 and  fifty-fourth  year  of  the  Kali  Yug,  of  the  twenty- 
 
352  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 eighth  Mahayug,  of  the  seventh  Mavantara,  of  the  first 
 Kalpa  or  day  of  the  fifty-first  year  of  Brahma's  age. 
 In  otlier  words,  we  are  now  considerably  beyond  the 
 hundred  and  fifty  billionth  year  of  the  creation  ! 
 
 Having  thus  ascertained  the  age,  and  estimated  the 
 duration  of  the  universe,  we  proceed  to  the  changes 
 which  have  taken  place  in  the  world.     The  Mexicans  of 
 old  divided  the  age  of  the  world  into  four  cycles,  at 
 the  end  of  each  of  which,  by  the  agency  of  one  of  the 
 elements,  the  human  family  was  swept  from  the  earth, 
 and  the  sun  blotted  out  from  the  heavens,  to  be  again 
 rekindled.      There  were  similar   periodic  mutations, 
 according  to  the  notions  of  the  Hindoos.    At  the  com- 
 mencement of  each  important  cycle  of  time,  such  as 
 the  Mahayug,  mankind  is  declared  to  be  on  the  whole 
 comparatively  virtuous  and  happy.     The  latent  pre- 
 dispositions to  evil,  which  are  inherent  in  their  nature, 
 are,  however,   made    manifest  by   degrees.      Human 
 depravity  is  becoming  worse  and  worse.    Accordingly, 
 at  the  termination  of  each  cycle  of  time,  there  are 
 great  changes,  ushered  in  by  floods  and  storms,  de- 
 signed for  the  punishment  and  destruction  of  a  dege- 
 nerate race  of  men.     These  catastrophes  affect  only 
 the  terrestrial  globe,  which  is  again  repeopled  by  the 
 righteous,  whose  lives  have  been  preserved  by  a  mira- 
 culous interposition  of  the  Deity. 
 
 But  there  are  other  changes  recurring  at  wider  in- 
 tervals, of  a  far  more  momentous  character.  At  the 
 close  of  each  Kalpa,   or  day  of  Brahma,   commences 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  353 
 
 his  night.  The  deity  retires  to  sleep  after  the  fatigue 
 of  the  day  !  When  about  to  enter  upon  his  night  of 
 repose,  which  is  of  equal  length,  he  surrounds  himself 
 with  darkness.  The  heavenly  bodies  are  shrouded  in 
 gloom ;  torrents  of  rain  pour  down  from  the  sky,  and 
 mighty  tempests  trouble  the  ocean.  The  seven  lower 
 worlds  are  at  once  submerged,  as  well  as  the  earth 
 which  we  inhabit.  Yea,  the  waters  even  rise  to  the 
 two  worlds  next  in  order  of  ascent  above  the  earth. 
 In  the  midst  of  this  tremendous  abyss,  Brahma,  as 
 Vishnoo,  reclines  on  the  huge  serpent  Ananta,  or 
 eternity,  with  closed  eyes,  and  reposes  in  mysterious 
 slumber !  Here,  then,  we  have  a  deluge,  which  by 
 covering  the  seven  lower  w^orlds,  and  the  first  three  of 
 the  seven  superior  worlds,  reaches  above  the  Polar 
 Star,  according  to  the  position  assigned  to  it  by  the 
 Hindoos.  All  the  wicked  utterly  perish ;  those  that 
 were  good  and  righteous,  and  the  progenitors  of  man- 
 kind in  the  world  above  the  earth,  Indra.  and  all  his 
 inferior  gods  inhabiting  the  third  world,  all  rush  in 
 consternation  and  terror  into  the  fourth  world,  or  that 
 which  rises  immediately  beyond  the  Polar  Star.  Those 
 amongst  them  that  are  most  distinguished  for  merito- 
 rious virtue,  may  ascend  still  farther  into  one  or  other  of 
 the  highest  worlds.  In  these  worlds  they  remain  un- 
 affected by  the  deluge,  until  Brahma's  night  is  over. 
 When  he  awakes,  the  heavenly  bodies  shine  again,  the 
 waters  disappear,  and  the  earth  reappears  ;  every  form 
 of  being  is   renewed,  by  a  process  which,  in  many 
 
 VOL.    I.  A  A 
 
354  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 respects,  is  only  a  repetition  of  that  pursued  at  the  pri- 
 mary manifestation  of  the  universe.  A  partial  destruc- 
 tion of  the  same  kind,  or  a  disorganization  of  the  ten 
 lower  worlds,  recurs  at  the  close  of  every  Kalpa,  or 
 day  of  Brahma,  and  a  similar  renovation  at  the 
 termination  of  every  succeeding  night.  And  as  there 
 are  thirty-six  thousand  days  and  as  many  nights  in 
 his  life,  there  must  be  thirty-six  thousand  partial  de- 
 structions, or  disorganizations  of  the  larger  moiety  of 
 the  universe,  and  as  many  reconstructions  of  it  during 
 the  period  of  its  duration.  But  when  Brahma's  life 
 comes  to  a  close,  there  is  no  longer  a  partial  destruc- 
 tion, but  an  utter  annihilation.  Then  takes  place  a 
 Maha  Pralaya,  or  great  destruction  of  the  entire 
 universe,  with  all  its  furniture  and  inhabitants,  for 
 then  all  things  are  reduced  to  absolute  nonentity. 
 
 This  catastrophe  is  said  to  be  ushered  in  by  a  hun- 
 dred years'  rain  ;  and  whilst  for  a  hundred  years  more 
 storms  and  hurricanes  are  fiercely  drifting,  dismal 
 vapours  will  darken  the  atmosphere;  the  sun  with 
 terrific  beams  will  drink  up  the  sea  and  the  rivers  of 
 water.  Circling  masses  of  flame  will  envelop  the 
 world  in  a  universal  conflas-ration.  Thev  will  com- 
 mence  the  grand  process  of  the  dissolution  of  all 
 things,  or  their  resolution  into  those  seminal  principles 
 whence  they  sprang.  (See  2  Pet.  iii.  6 — 10.)  When 
 all  shall  thus  be  re-fused  into  the  essence  of  the 
 Supreme  Brahm,  all  souls  good  or  evil,  all  spirits  just 
 or  unjust,  will  find  a  speedy  absorption  in  Brahm ;  in 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  355 
 
 short,  all  things  corporeal  or  incorporeal,  animate  or 
 inanimatq,  gods  and  men,  angels  and  devils,  animals, 
 vegetables,  minerals,  earth,  sea  and  sky,  fu'e  and 
 ether,  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  all  things  visible  or  in- 
 visible, will  shrink  away  into  more  and  more  general 
 forms,  till  they  are  wholly  re- absorbed  into  the  imper- 
 sonal essence  of  the  Supreme  Spirit,  the  sole-existent 
 incomprehensible  Brahm ! 
 
 But  the  present  universe  is  not  the  last  and  only 
 one ;  it  is  only  a  link  in  the  chain,  one  end  of  Avhich 
 is  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  past  time,  and  the  other 
 will  be  in  the  depths  of  the  future.  After  this  grand 
 destruction,  when  myriads  of  ages  (compared  with 
 which  the  life  of  Brahma  is  but  as  a  grain  of  sand 
 compared  to  the  solar  system)  have  passed  away, 
 Brahm  always  awakes  again.  No  sooner  does  he 
 awake,  than  he  wishes  to  manifest  the  universe,  and 
 then  all  things  are  reproduced  by  the  same  process 
 above-mentioned.  Every  successive  universe  is  but  a 
 repetition  of  that  which  preceded  it.  During  the  ex- 
 istence of  each,  it  is  subjected  to  the  samxC  periodic 
 disorganizations  at  the  close  of  every  day  of  Brahma ; 
 and  to  a  corresponding  series  of  renovations  at  the 
 close  of  every  night  of  Brahma.  And  always  when 
 Brahma's  life  expires,  the  universe  is  again  and  again 
 completely  absorbed,  or  annihilated.  Thus,  there  has 
 been,  according  to  the  Hindoo  Shastras,  an  alternating 
 succession  of  manifestations  and  annihilations  of  the 
 universe,  at  intervals  of  inconceivable  length,  through- 
 
 AA    2 
 
356  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 out  the  ages  of  eternity ;  and  there  will  be  the  same 
 alternate  succession  of  both  production  and  reduction, 
 throughout  the  eternity  that  is  to  come. 
 
 Before  we  conclude  this  subject,  we  must  make 
 some  reflection  on  the  present  Kalpa.  Brahma  awoke 
 from  his  slumber  as  usual,  and  with  the  period  Avhen 
 the  lower  worlds  emerged  from  the  waters  of  the  great 
 deluge,  the  sacred  History  of  the  Hindoos  is  made  to 
 commence.  In  the  same  way  as  at  the  dawn  of  pre- 
 ceding Kalpas,  Brahma's  first  work  was  to  renew  the 
 different  races  of  animated  beings,  which  had  perished 
 in  the  deluge.  Practice  does  not  seem  to  have  im- 
 proved his  productive  skill ;  for  at  the  last  renovation 
 his  difficulties  were  as  great,  and  his  experiments  as 
 ridiculous  and  numerous,  as  ever.  After  arranging 
 the  divisions  of  time, — days,  months,  years,  and  ages, — 
 he  at  length  succeeds  in  producing,  first,  trees,  climb- 
 ing plants,  fruits,  ]-oots,  and  all  manner  of  herbs ; 
 secondly,  birds,  cattle,  and  creeping  things;  thirdly, 
 many  sons,  who  became  the  heads  of  classes  of  supe- 
 rior beings,  gods  and  demi-gods,  good  and  bad ; 
 lastly,  the  human  race.  The  production  of  all  these 
 orders  of  beings  was  carried  on  in  one  of  the  higher 
 heavens,  that  had  remained  unaffected  by  the  deluge ; 
 and  after  the  water  subsided,  they  were  let  down  to 
 take  possession  of  earth  and  other  lower  worlds. 
 Along  with  them  descended  the  first  of  the  Manoos, 
 Swayambhura,  with  his  spouse,  the  beauty  Shatarupa, 
 to  exercise  dominion  over  the  earth.     To  them  were 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  357 
 
 born  many  sons,  some  of  wlioni  embraced  an  ascetic 
 life ;  and  seven  were  appointed  viceroys  over  the  seven 
 great  continents.  Some  of  these,  again,  had  seven 
 sons,  among  whom  the  continents  were  equally  sub- 
 divided, and  separated  by  seven  rivers  of  divers 
 fluids,  and  seven  chains  of  mountains.  One  of  these 
 chains  was  four  hundred  thousand  miles  high,  reaching 
 to  the  moon  ! 
 
 Of  these  monarchs,  who  lived  about  two  thousand 
 millions  of  years  ago,  various  minute  particulars  are 
 recorded.  Some  reigned  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
 years.  Some  voluntarily  abdicated  the  throne,  re- 
 nounced the  world,  embraced  an  ascetic  life,  retired  into 
 forests,  and  became  entitled  to  celestial  happiness. 
 Some,  like  Jemshid,  taught  their  subjects  agriculture, 
 manufactures,  and  various  arts.  Some  became  uni- 
 versal conquerors,  and  raised  their  country  to  the 
 highest  pitch  of  prosperity  and  renown.  Similar  fables 
 seem  to  refer  to  the  primitive  days  in  which  the  dis- 
 persed tribes  of  the  human  family  were  settling  in 
 their  new  abodes. 
 
 The  accounts  of  the  first  Mavantara  having  been 
 brought  to  a  close,  we  are  next  furnished  in  succession 
 with  various  particulars  respecting  the  second,  third, 
 fourth,  fifth  and  sixth,  at  the  commencement  of  each 
 of  which  a  different  Manoo  began  to  reign,  and  trans- 
 mitted his  empire  to  sons  and  grandsons  onwards  to 
 its  close.  The  prese?it,  or  sevent/i  Mavantara,  was  in- 
 troduced, as  usual,  by  one  of  the  inferior  deluges ;  that 
 
358  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 is,  a  general  deluge  confined  to  this  eartli.  Of  this 
 deluge,  different  accounts  are  given  in  the  sacred 
 writings,  in  many  respects  irreconcilably  discordant, 
 but  agreeing  in  most  of  the  leading  particulars,  which 
 strongly  resemble  the  principal  features  in  the  Mosaic 
 description  of  the  flood. 
 
 Immediately  before  the  deluge,  towards  the  end  of 
 the  Kaliyug  of  the  last  Mahayug  of  the  preceding 
 Mavantara,  the  holy  Manoo,  Satyavrata,  like  Noah, 
 stood  almost  alone  in  the  midst  of  universal  depravity. 
 By  the  margin  of  a  sacred  stream  he  was  accosted  by 
 a  fish,  in  which,  without  his  knowledge,  according  to 
 one  account  Brahma,  according  to  another,  Vishnoo, 
 had  become  incarnate.  The  fish  appealed  to  the  hu- 
 manity of  Manoo  to  save  it,  being  of  very  small  size, 
 from  the  more  powerful  and  rapacious  monsters  of  the 
 deep.  The  kind-hearted  Manoo  at  once  complied,  and 
 put  it  into  a  crystal  vessel.  As  time  rolled  on,  the 
 fish,  waxing  too  large  to  find  room  for  moving  in  the 
 vessel,  begged  to  be  removed  to  another  place.  It 
 was  then  borne  to  a  spacious  lake,  but  soon  grew 
 too  large  for  the  lake  to  contain  its  bulk.  At  its  re- 
 quest, it  was  next  carried  to  the  Ganges,  but  it  so 
 increased  in  size,  that  that  stream  became  too  narrow 
 for  it.  Lastly,  from  the  Ganges  it  was  conveyed  to 
 the  ocean  ;  and  there  expanded  to  the  distance  of  a 
 million  leagues,  blazing  like  a  thousand  suns.  The 
 fish  then  addressed  Manoo,  promising  to  be  his  guar- 
 dian and  protector ;  foretold  the  approaching  deluge. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    HINDOOS.  359 
 
 by  wliicli  the  world,  and  all  things  there  hi,  would 
 be  submerged ;  commanded  him  to  build  a  ship, 
 and  to  go  on  board  with  seven  sages.  (2  Pet.  ii.  5.) 
 Mauoo  being  forewarned  of  the  waters  of  the  deluge 
 coming  in  seven  days,  he  went  into  the  ship,  bearing 
 with  him,  according  to  one  account,  the  seminal  prin- 
 ciples of  all  existing  tilings  ;  and  agreeably  to  another, 
 the  birds  and  beasts  after  their  hinds.  As  the  time  ap- 
 pointed drew  nigh,  Manoo,  with  his  illustrious  com- 
 panions, embarked.  The  horned  fish  appeared  in  his 
 form,  ^Hike  a  mountain  huge  and  high!'  Lashed  to  the 
 prominent  horn  of  the  fish,  Manoo' s  new-built  ship  com- 
 menced its  perilous  voyage.  Earth  was  seen  no  more ; 
 all  was  water  only ;  and  except  the  ship,  the  seven 
 sages,  and  Manoo  and  the  fish,  nothing  remained  to 
 be  seen  for  years  and  years.  Till  at  length  it  came  to 
 the  loftiest  peak  of  Himavan,  where  the  fish  addressed 
 Manoo,  asking  him  to  bind  the  ship  to  the  said  peak. 
 The  sage  obeyed,  and  ever  since  the  loftiest  peak  of 
 Himavan  is  called  Naubandhanam,  or,  "  the  binding 
 of  the  ship  !"*  The  king  Manoo,  with  his  seven  saints, 
 left  the  ship,  and  they  worshipped  the  Deity !  It  is 
 rather  remarkable,  that  according  to  the  Talmud,  king 
 Og,  of  Basan,  (Deut.  in.  11,)  remained  as  one  of  the 
 great  giants  ;  and  it  is  said,   that  he  rode  over  the 
 
 *  The  root  of  the  Sanscrit  word  "  JVan,"  ship,  is  retained  in 
 Ndvg,  navis,  navy.  In  "  handhanam  "  we  recognise  the  Saxon, 
 band,  bind,  binden,  &c.  The  author  is  convinced  in  his  own 
 mind  that  the  analogy  between  the  cognate  branches  of  what  is 
 generally  called  the  Indo-Germanic  tribe  of  languages  is  far  greater 
 than  is  generally  supposed  by  European  philologists. 
 
360  NATURAL   RELIGION.  [chap.  iv. 
 
 flood  upon   an  unicorn,  which  was   tied  by  Noah  to 
 the  ark ! 
 
 If  we  take  a  comparative  view  of  the  flood  of  the 
 Bible,  and  of  that  which  is  especiafly  reported  in  the 
 Mahabharata,  and  in  the  Bhagavad,  we  find  that  in 
 both  cases  mankind  was  corrupted.  In  both  cases, 
 the  Deity  forewarns  a  pious  man,  that  the  flood  should 
 break  in  after  seven  days.  In  both  cases  he  is  to 
 build  a  ship  for  his  safety.  The  saint,  in  both  cases, 
 is  accompanied  by  seven  other  persons,  and  the  Padma 
 Poorana  mentions  three  of  them  having  been  Sherma, 
 Charma,  and  Jyapeti.  Both  arc  to  take  with  them 
 food,  and  all  manner  of  living  seed.  In  both  cases 
 the  flood  is  occasioned  by  Avaters  from  above  and  from 
 below.  In  both  cases  the  ship  rests  upon  a  mountain, 
 and  in  both  cases  also  the  redeemed  saints  worshipped 
 God,  and  became  the  progenitors  of  a  new  race  of 
 men.  According  to  another  account,  we  have  also 
 an  analogy  to  the  intoxication  and  the  curse  of  Noah, 
 in  the  Hindoo  legends.  In  both  cases,  finally,  new 
 laws  are  given  to  men. 
 
 The  present  Mavantara  having  been  thus  intro- 
 duced, we  may  pass  over  the  twenty-seven  Mahayugs 
 that  have  intervened  since  its  commencement,  and 
 come  at  once  to  the  twenty-eighth,  in  which  our  own 
 lot  is  cast.  This  Mahayug,  like  all  the  rest,  consists 
 of  the  four  lesser  Yugs  :  the  Satya,  Treta,  Dwapar,  and 
 Kali.  Of  these  ages,  from  what  we  ascertained  on  a 
 former  occasion,  the  first  tln-ee  have  expired,  and  we 
 are  now    in    the   four    thousand   nine   hundred   and 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF  THE   HINDOOS.  361 
 
 fifty-fourtli  year  of  the  Kaliyng.  According  to  the 
 notions  of  the  Hindoos,  each  Manoo  does  not  reign 
 in  person  thronghout  the  whole  of  the  seventy-one 
 Mahayngs  of  his  Mavantara;  but  he  reigns  only  in 
 every  first  age,  or  Satya  Yug,  and  then  disappears 
 during  the  remaining  three  that  follow  it;  continu- 
 ing "  to  dive  and  emerge  like  a  water-fowl  till  the 
 close  of  Ms  Mavantara.''  Thus,  then,  during  the 
 whole  of  the  last  Satyayug,  nearly  two  millions  of 
 years,  the  Manu  Satyavrata  reigned.  He  left  nine 
 sons,  among  whom  he  divided  the  earth,  partitioning 
 to  each  his  separate  kingdom. 
 
 At  the  time  of  the  last  reproduction  of  the  universe, 
 the  best  of  beings  were  not  absolutely  perfect.  Im- 
 mediately on  having  emanated  from  the  divine  essence, 
 they  were  at  once  endowed  by  the  Supreme  Lord  with 
 the  seeds  of  all  manner  of  qualities,  "  noxious  and 
 innocent,  harsh  and  mild,  just  and  unjust,  false  and 
 true  ;"  but  in  degrees  and  modes  infinitely  diversified. 
 These,  however,  have  been  acquired  in  a  previous  state. 
 As  the  assuming  of  a  corporeal  form  is  not  the  com- 
 mencement of  the  soul's  existence,  so  neither  is  the 
 dissolution  of  tlie  corporeal  form  its  termination.  But 
 as  bodily  forms,  the  temporary  abodes  of  souls  undergo 
 a  constant  succession  of  mutation,  the  proper  destiny 
 of  every  soid  heiny  to  transmigrate,  loith  a  vieio  to 
 expiate  its  guilty  and  loijpe  aivay  its  stains,  by  means  of 
 pains  and  siifferinys,  through  millions  and  millions 
 more  of  these  forms,  throughout  the  stupendous  cycle 
 
3C2  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 which  constitutes  the  life  of  Brahma,  or  the  duration 
 of  the  present  universe,  with  its  fourteen  worlds. 
 
 With  the  doctrine  of  Metempsychosis  all  is  con- 
 nected in  the  Hindoo  mind.  All  revolves  in  everlast- 
 ing cu'cles  around  the  centre,  which  is  the  great 
 Brahni.  The  notion  of  Metempsychosis  is  one  wath 
 Avhich  the  whole  system  of  the  present  and  future 
 existence  of  the  Hindoo  is  connected.  As  this  system 
 is  one  of  the  most  powerful  bulwarks  that  oppose 
 themselves  against  Christianity,  so  it  is  the  mother 
 of  innumerable  errors  and  vices.  According  to  the 
 notions  of  the  Hindoo  Scriptures,  Brahm  is  the  centre 
 of  all;  the  Soul  of  the  universe.  Around  him  are 
 drawn  the  several  worlds  as  the  peripheries  within 
 which  the  eternal  transmigrations  of  the  soul  in  search 
 of  bhss  and  happiness  are  to  be  effected.  Every  indi- 
 vidual has  upon  it  his  owai  wearisome  journey,  until  at 
 last,  like  a  wandering  comet,  he  returns  to  the  central 
 power  of  attraction  from  which  he  proceeded. 
 
 According  to  the  Pooranas,  a  man  having  forfeited 
 the  sphere  of  his  human  existence,  is  obliged  to  pass 
 through  eight  millions  of  births  of  the  lower  creation, 
 until  he  is  again  able  to  attain  to  the  station  he  had 
 lost.  Of  these  eight  millions  of  births,  he  attains  two 
 milHons  one  hundred  thousand  bu^ths  in  the  inanimate 
 creation,  the  mineral  and  vegetable  kingdom;  nine 
 hundred  thousand  years  more  he  is  detained  amongst 
 the  insects  and  worms ;  another  million  he  migrates 
 through  the  birds  of  heaven ;  and  three  millions  he 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  3G3 
 
 passes  throiigli  the  animal  world.  If  he  is  found  faith- 
 ful up  to  this  stage,  he  will  continue  moving  among 
 the  lower  castes  for  four  hundred  thousand  years  more, 
 and  then  ascend  four  hundred  birtlis  to  the  dignity  of 
 a  Brahmin ;  from  this  last  station,  with  an  inconceiv- 
 able leap  he  is  united  to  Brahm !  Now,  the  iiitel- 
 lectual  and  moral  state  of  the  Hindoos  show  distinctly, 
 how  injuriously  this  belief  operates  upon  the  indi- 
 vidual as  well  as  the  whole  community  of  the  nation. 
 Every  individual  in  holding  this  doctrine,  is  at 
 once  deprived  of  the  whole  basis  of  thought  and 
 reflection,  and  obliged  to  calculate  upon  laws  and 
 principles  perfectly  different  from  those  which  are  sug- 
 gested by  sound  reason  and  common  sense.  Man,  in 
 forming  his  judgment  of  any  occurrence,  or  given  his- 
 torical fact,  naturally  goes  upon  the  simple  method  of 
 tracing  the  effect  to  its  corresponding  cause.  But 
 this  connexion  between  cause  and  effect  is  utterly 
 taken  away  from  the  Hindoo  mind,  by  the  belief  in 
 the  doctrine  of  Metempsychosis.  He  is  not  allowed  to 
 form  an  opinion,  as  he  is  prompted  by  his  own  nature, 
 but  he  is  forced  to  derive  his  effects  from  causes 
 which  he  neither  knows,  nor  has  observed,  nor  can 
 comprehend.  All  he  daily  experiences,  is  the  fniit  of 
 a  former  existence  of  which  he  has  no  shadow  of  recol- 
 lection. The  Hindoo  is  thus  forced  by  his  religious 
 belief  to  disown  a  law  which  he  sees  in  operation  all 
 around  him ;  he  cannot  unite  the  causes  within  or 
 about  him,  with  the  effects  of  which  he  is  either  the 
 victim   or   the   recipient.      The   world   of  causes   is 
 
3C4  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 beyond  bis  horizon,  in  a  former  existence,  which  is 
 closed  before  his  eyes.  He  Uves  only  in  the  world  of 
 effects ;  and  the  disciples  of  Metempsychosis  study  a 
 science  called  Kurrembaypuck,  by  which  they  pre- 
 tend to  discover  the  character  of  any  man  in  his 
 former  state  of  existence ;  and  those  who  acquire  this 
 science  are  gifted  with  the  power  of  prescribing  par- 
 ticular expiation  for  each  crime.  We  shall  give  a  few 
 examples  of  diseases  which  are  supposed  to  be  punish- 
 ments for  crimes  committed  in  a  former  state  : — 
 
 Lameness  is  a  punishment  for  having  kicked  a  Brah- 
 min. The  cure  of  this  may  be  effected  by  presenting 
 one  tola  of  gold  in  the  shape  of  a  horse  to  the  Brahmins, 
 and  feeding  one  hundred  and  eighty  Brahmins. 
 
 Fever  is  a  punishment  for  killing  a  Brahmin : 
 Cure — making  a  lotus  of  four  tolas  of  gold,  and, 
 after  repeating  certain  incantations,  giving  it  to  a 
 Brahmin.  A  stealer  of  gold  from  a  Brahmin  has  whit- 
 lows on  his  nails ;  a  drinker  of  spirits,  black  teeth ;  a 
 malignant  informer,  fetid  ulcers  in  his  nostrils ;  a  false 
 detractor,  a  stinking  breath ;  a  stealer  of  grain,  the 
 defect  of  some  limb  ;  a  mixer  of  bad  wares  with  good, 
 some  redundant  member ;  a  stealer  of  dressed  grain, 
 dyspepsia ;  a  stealer  of  holy  words,  or  an  unauthorized 
 reader  of  the  Scriptures,  dumbness ;  a  stealer  of 
 clothes,  leprosy ;  a  horse  stealer,  lameness  ;  an  adul- 
 terer, blindness.  Evil-minded  persons  suffer  a  morbid 
 change  in  their  bodies ;  a  slanderer,  palsy.  A  fox  is 
 inhabited  by  a  man  who  was  guilty  of  a  breach  of 
 promise  to  a  Brahmin. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  365 
 
 Every  crime,  therefore,  must  be  atoned  for  by  a 
 particular  penance,  and  all  those  who  have  not  been 
 absolved  of  their  guilt  will  again  spring  to  life  with 
 disgraceful  marks  ! 
 
 For  the  same  reason,  to  return  to  our  argument,  the 
 Hindoo  is  unacquainted  with  the  idea  of  moral  obliga- 
 tion, a  sense  of  which  can  only  result  from  a  clear  per- 
 ception of  our  present  existence.  He  finds  himself 
 doomed  to  eat  the  fruits  of  such  deeds  as  he  has  done 
 in  the  body  during  a  previous  birth.  Hence,  every 
 idea  of  moral  responsibility  is  utterly  unknown  to 
 him;  for  he  only  reaps  the  fruits  which  had  been 
 sown  in  a  former  life,  of  which  he  knows  nothing,  but 
 which  he  must  believe,  because  the  Shastras  and  the 
 Brahmins  demand  his  belief  on  authority  unknown. 
 Thus,  the  poor  Hindoo  is  destitute  of  every  true 
 spiritual  and  moral  idea ;  he  is  nothing  but  a  dead, 
 unhappy  machine,  which  is  put  into  motion  by  the 
 deserts  of  a  prior  existence,  and  to  which  he  must 
 submit,  until  he  has  completed  his  circles,  and  time  be 
 no  more. 
 
 With  this  spiritual  and  moral  anniliilation  of  the 
 character  of  single  individuals,  is  intimately  connected 
 THE  STATE  OF  SOCIETY  in  general.  The  rights,  pri- 
 vileges, and  duties  of  individuals,  arise  upon  the  basis 
 of  the  laws  of  civil  society,  and  by  these  ties  they  are 
 linked  together  as  a  body  of  various  members.  Punish- 
 ment and  rewards  are  distributed  agreeably  to  this 
 relation,   and  upon  these  grounds.     The   nations   of 
 
3GG 
 
 NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Hindostan  are  destitute  of  any  basis  of  this  description. 
 They  must  indeed  bear  with  each  other,  Hve  together, 
 obey  laws,  and  be  punished  for  transgression  ;  but  all 
 this  is  merely  a  practical  correction  of  a  wild  and  fear- 
 fully unreasonable  theory.      The  Hindoo  is  punished, 
 but  very  wrongly ;  and  the  belief  in  a  former  existence, 
 which  makes  him  a  dead  machine  in  matters  of  faith, 
 makes  him  also  a  dead  machine  in  a  civil  point  of  view. 
 The  Hindoo  must  be  content  to  bear  with  everything. 
 Hence  their  country  has  ever  been  an  easy  prey  to 
 every  foreign  invader,  and  hence  it  has  never  enjoyed 
 a  state  of  national  independence.      History  gives  a 
 responsive  echo  to  this  statement.     Darius  Hystaspes 
 conquered  every  province  on  the  Indus  tuithout  much 
 effort,  experiencing  none  of  that  opposition  which  he 
 met  with  at  the  plain  of  Marathon,  nor  encountering  a 
 single  bold  patriot  to  be  at  all  compared  Avith  the  cele- 
 brated Miltiades.     Alexander  the  Great  mA-%  reduced 
 a  great  part  of  India.      Seleucus  held  an  undisturbed 
 sway  over  most  part  of  Bengal.      Encritides  held  five 
 thousand  cities  east  of  the  Indus  without  the  slightest 
 opposition.     The  Mahomedans  ravaged   India's   best 
 portions  with   impunity.      And    now,   after   a   series 
 of    petty   intermediate  invasions,    India    has     fallen 
 into  the  hands  of  a  people  whose  name,  but  a  few 
 years  ago,  was  quite  unheard  of  in  that  land.     Thus 
 has   India   repeatedly  been   attacked,    her    treasures 
 drained,  and  her  people  ever  doomed  to  bow  beneath 
 a  foreign  yoke.      But  on  all  those  occasions,  not  one 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  3G7 
 
 has  had  the  true  patriotic  spirit  to  stand  against  the 
 many  ruthless  invaders  whom  her  riches  have  ever  since 
 attracted.  Poor  Hindoos  !  They  have  ever  been 
 under  the  yoke,  passive  machines  in  vy^hatever  hand 
 chose  to  wield  them. 
 
 There  is  a  tendency  in  human  nature  to  give  to  the 
 most  extravagant  notions  the  appearance  of  a  philoso- 
 phy, and  to  error,  the  form  of  a  superior  wisdom,  as 
 soon  as  it  ministers  to  man's  selfish  purposes.  These 
 attempts  are  the  more  dangerous,  the  more  they  con- 
 ceal the  false  reasonings  and  erroneous  inferences 
 from  the  beginning  of  the  argument.  This  is  espe- 
 cially the  case  with  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  Ema- 
 nation and  Metempsychosis,  upon  which  the  whole 
 system  of  Hindoo  Theology  and   morality  is  founded. 
 
 We  shall  attempt,  therefore,  to  expose  some  of  those 
 false  reasonings,  by  which  the  learned  Brahmin  seeks 
 to  justify  his  pernicious  dogmas. 
 
 The  doctrine  has  been  defended  by  the  following 
 propositions  : — First,  "  The  lohole  spiritual  life  of  man 
 is  a^^art  of  the  deityy  This  allegation  embodies  the 
 fundamental  lie  which  poisons  the  whole  system  of 
 Hinduism.  The  deity,  being  infinite,  cannot  be  di- 
 vided ;  we  can  only  divide  finite  things  into  parts. 
 If  the  Hfe  of  man  be  part  of  the  deity,  then  the  deity 
 is  necessarily  a  finite  creature.  The  true  God  cannot 
 be  divided,  but  remains  always  the  same.  The  deity 
 indeed  operates,  but  this  operation  is  as  httle  a  separa- 
 tion and  division  of  his  essence,    as  the   artist    has 
 
368  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 divided  himself  when  he  produces  a  beautiful  land- 
 scape. Equally  false  is  the  proposition  that  man's 
 whole  life  is  a  part  of  the  deity ;  for  our  life  consists 
 of  spirit,  soul,  and  body,  and  the  soul  has  nothing  to 
 do  w^th  the  divinity,  because,  like  the  spirit,  it  is  cor- 
 rupted by  error  and  shi.  Our  spirit  indeed  descends 
 from  God,  but  this  spirit  is  essentially  different  from 
 the  Spirit  of  God,  it  is  not  a  part,  but  a  dependent 
 creature  of  the  same.  Again,  our  spirit,  in  connexion 
 with  the  soul,  is  defiled  and  impure  by  reason  of  sin, 
 and  can  only  be  purified  again  by  the  blood  of  Jesus 
 and  the  Spirit  of  God.  Were  our  spirit  indeed  part 
 of  the  deity,  God  would  participate  in  the  corruption 
 of  our  spirit,  and,  still  more,  he  would  be  the  very 
 source  of  evil ! 
 
 Again,  we  are  told  tliat  these  parts  of  the  deity  have 
 indeed  been  separated  from  the  essence  of  God ;  hut, 
 notwithstanding  this  division  and  separation,  they  re- 
 main essential  parts  of  the  great  Spirit  that  animates 
 the  universe.  This  is  a  necessary  consequence  of  the 
 preceding  assertion ;  but  is  false  in  all  its  parts  and 
 bearings  as  soon  as  the  other  has  been  proved  to  be 
 false.  More  than  this,  the  above  assertion  embodies 
 a  direct  contradiction,  which  it  will  be  impossible  for 
 any  learned  Hindoo  to  reconcile.  It  is  maintained 
 that  the  several  parts  of  the  deity  were  severed 
 from  each  other  by  the  individualities  which  it 
 comprehends,  but  that  they  are,  notwithstanding,  be- 
 longing to  the  Soul  of  the  world,  and  constitute  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  369 
 
 same.  But  if  these  parts  are  separated  from  God, 
 then  they  cannot  be  miited  to  him,  for  this  would  in- 
 volve a  contradiction.  If  they  are  separated,  then  the 
 deity  is  divided — i.e.,  discontinues  to  be  God.  If 
 these  parts,  on  the  contrary,  constitute  one  and  the 
 same  deity,  then  their  individuality  has  not  separated 
 them  from  God.  Thus  the  attempt  to  divide  the 
 deity  implies  a  very  strange  contradiction.  If  the 
 essence  of  the  Supreme  Deity  be  split  and  divided 
 into  a  thousand  individualities,  then  we  have  left  no 
 world ;  we  have  a  God,  who  is  the  world,  and  we  have 
 a  world,  which  is  God.  In  other  words,  our  Religion 
 thus  ends  in  a  gross  and  grovelling  materialism. 
 
 Again,  it  is  maintained  that  t/ie  single  jKirts  of  the 
 emanated  deity,  idMcU  have  transjnred  into  iiidivi- 
 dualities,  are  to  he  considered  as  excluded  parts  loJiich 
 are  imprisoned  in  matter,  a7id  they  are  therefore  to  be 
 considered  in  a  suffering  condition  ! 
 
 Here,  also,  we  have  a  confusion  of  erroneous  views 
 and  words  heaped  together.  Whilst  the  former  of  these 
 propositions  still  regards  the  individualised  parts  of  the 
 deity  as  a  whole,  the  present  looks  upon  them  not  only 
 as  separate,  but  as  excluded  and  imprisoned  in  matter. 
 Hence  it  would  follow  that  matter  is  stronger  than  God; 
 for  the  weaker  can  only  be  kept  by  the  stronger  one. 
 Body,  or  matter,  is  able  to  lay  in  fetters  the  Spirit,  which 
 is  part  of  the  deity  !  This  contradiction  dissolves  every 
 true  notion  of  the  deity,  and  has  its  origin  in  the 
 opinion   that  the   human   soul  is  part  of  the  deity. 
 
 VOL.  I.  B  B 
 
370  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Hence  it  would  further  follow,  that  God,  accordmg  to 
 this  system,  is  in  a  suffering  condition,  for  the  deity 
 being  divided  in  millions  of  creatures,  his  parts  are 
 suffering  in  captivity,  and  thus  God  is  himself  a  being 
 which  is  imprisoned   in  matter ;    matter  has    every- 
 where overcome  the  intelligence  of  the  divine   Spirit ! 
 Against  such  absurd  conclusions  common-sense  loudly 
 protests.     Such  a  proposition  contradicts  every  expe- 
 rience.    If  we  are  to  understand  that  the  divine  parts 
 residing  in  creation  are  the  living,  moving,  and  agita- 
 ting principles  wdiich  are  peculiar  to  each  creatm-e,  then 
 we  cannot  say  that  this  principle  of  life  is  overcome  by 
 matter,  and  put  in  a  suffering  condition.     If  this  were 
 the  case,  all  life  would  be  extinguished,  and  death  rule 
 supremely  over  all.     But  we  are  well  aware,  that  the 
 principle  of  life  in  every  individuality,  be  it  spiritual, 
 psychical,  animal,  or  physical,  is  the  ruling  power,  and 
 not  the  one  overruled,  whilst  matter  is  the  passive  part 
 in  every  province  of  creation.   If  such  were  not  the  true 
 case,  nothing  could  live  and  move ;  nothing  could  grow. 
 Again,    the    original   quality    and  quantitg  of  the 
 divine  ^art  is  said  to  be  never  changed  in  all  its  trans- 
 migrations,  which  affect  only  the  body,  but  not  its  occu- 
 pant.    Now,  the  essence  of  the  deity  is  originally  one 
 and  the  same,  before  it  appears  in  the  emanations. 
 God   manifests   himself  in  every  part  that  emanates 
 according  to  the  wish  of  the  deity.     The  first  body 
 was  the  original  abode  of  the  divine  Soul,  which,  at 
 a  subsequent   period,   by  the  individual's   own  fault. 
 
CHAP,  iv.l  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  371 
 
 was  reduced  and  degenerated.  The  soul  wanders 
 into  an  inferior  body,  until  at  last  it  reaches  the  lowest 
 degree  that  can  be  attained  through  millions  of  trans- 
 migrations. But  the  form  only  is  changed.  The 
 Soul  is  the  same,  and  remains  at  all  times  the  same 
 until  it  is  reunited  to  God.  This  again  contradicts 
 sound  reason  and  common-sense.  It  is  against  our 
 experience,  void  of  every  authority,  and  opposed  to  all 
 we  know,  and  feel,  and  see,  and  hear,  and  acknowledge. 
 It  dissolves  the  difference  between  creatures  which 
 we  observe  to  exist,  as  to  their  spiritual  or  animal  life ; 
 we  should  have  the  same  intellect  and  feeling  in  the 
 tree  or  the  worm  as  we  have  in  the  form  of  a  man  I 
 Thus  the  dignity  of  human  nature  is  abolished ;  all 
 thought,  knowledge,  and  human  activity  is  fettered  by 
 the  gross  error,  which  makes  it  unlawful  to  make  use 
 of  certain  creatures  which  are  supposed  to  be  inhabited 
 by  a  deity. 
 
 It  is  hence  further  maintained,  that  the  more  the 
 body  dominates  over  the  divine  Soul,  the  more  is  the 
 latter  ptit  into  a  state  of  suffering.  Disengagement, 
 therefore,  of  all  the  impressions  of  sense,  entire  separa- 
 tion from  the  body,  destruction  of  bodily  feelings,  upon 
 all  occasions,  an  absolute  abstraction  of  the  mind,  is 
 the  highest  duty  a  man  can  ever  perform,  in  order  to 
 obtain  absorption  into  the  Supreme  Spirit.  If  the  first 
 proposition  be  true,  the  truth  of  this  one  follows.  The 
 consequence  is  fearful  in  the  extreme,  and  leads  to  the 
 wildest  excess    of  a  heated   imagination.     There  is, 
 
 B  B  2 
 
372  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 indeed,  a  power  in  the  body  which  is  opposed  to  the 
 Spirit  of  God.  But  the  spiritual  part  of  man  is  neither 
 as  pure  and  un defiled  as  the  Hindoo  believes,  nor  is 
 the  body  so  vile  and  accursed  as  he  would  have  it. 
 According  to  reason,  experience,  and  revelation,  we 
 must  look  for  the  germ  of  evil  deeper  than  the  body 
 only.  The  body,  indeed,  is  sinful,  but  the  human 
 soul  also  is  polluted ;  its  tendency  is  towards  that 
 which  is  evil.  If,  therefore,  man  be  ever  cured,  the  cure 
 must  begin  not  with  the  body,  but  with  the  soul.  If 
 the  fountain  be  cured,  the  waters  will  be  cured  also. 
 
 Again,  it  is  argued,  iliat  the  moral  lihertg  of  man 
 is  calculated  to  preserve  the  soul  pure  in  its  wanderings 
 from  the  vile  influence  of  the  body.  We  do  not  see  how 
 man  gets  into  possession  of  this  free  will.  We  suppose 
 it  is  brought  in,  as  it  were,  by  stealth,  to  remedy  the 
 fearful  confusion  just  mentioned.  According  to  the 
 above  view,  we  have  the  divine  soul,  and  the  body 
 of  matter;  the  former  is  captive  and  passive,  the 
 latter  is  dominant.  Both  are  engaged  in  a  severe 
 conflict.  How  and  wherefrom  the  free  will  comes  in, 
 we  cannot  conceive,  nor  are  we  told.  It  is  not  in  the 
 body,  for  the  body  is  the  enemy ;  it  is  not  in  the 
 divine  Soul,  for  this  is  suffering.  We  are,  then,  unable 
 to  see  where  this  free  will  comes  from,  and  what 
 it  has  to  do  with  the  subject  in  question. 
 
 Finally,   it  is  alleged  that   the   soul  transmigrates 
 
 through  millions  of  stages,  luith  a  vieio  to  he  purified 
 
 from  its  lejirosy ;  and  being  j^urified,  the  Spirit  of  man 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OV   THE   HINDOOS.  373 
 
 zvill  at  length  obtain  final  emancijJation.  Even  not  taking 
 into  consideration  the  foolish  doctrine  of  Metempsy- 
 chosis, this  doctrine  contains  contradictions  of  an  enor- 
 mous description.  The  question  naturally  is,  from  what 
 shall  man  be  purified  ?  According  to  the  Hindoo  sys- 
 tem, the  divine  part  in  man  is  pure  and  holy,  although 
 passive  and  captive.  This  part  in  man,  therefore, 
 which  emanated  from  God,  needs  no  purification,  as 
 arising  from  transmigration.  The  seat  of  impurity  is 
 supposed  to  be  in  the  body,  and  the  indwelling 
 sensuality.  But  how  shall  that  be  removed,  when  the 
 sold  leaves  the  defiled  body  at  death,  and  transmi- 
 grates into  another  body  ?  In  this  new  body  nothing 
 enters  but  the  part  of  the  divine  being  which  is  the 
 soul  of  men.  Now,  either  transmigration  fails  to  pro- 
 duce the  desired  effect,  or  the  evil  is  seated  far  deeper 
 than  the  body.  If  the  transmigrating  soul  is  infected 
 with  the  evil,  as  a  part  of  the  deity,  then  God  must 
 be  possessed  by  this  evil  equality.  Thus  we  are  again 
 thrown  into  confusion. 
 
 We  feel  that  we  have  scarcely  touched  upon  the 
 leading  items  of  the  complicated  and  interminable 
 system  of  the  natural  Religion  of  the  Hindoos.  In- 
 stead, however,  of  descending  into  the  horrible  pits  of 
 a  most  beastly  superstition,  we  shall  conclude  the 
 present  subject  with  a  few  more  remarks  respecting 
 the  philosophical  speculations  of  Hinduism  respecting 
 religious  matters. 
 
 We  have  already  seen  that   the  compilers  of  the 
 
374  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Ii3'mns  of  the  Vedas  were  immersed  in  a  grovelling 
 worship  of  the  elements  of  natiu'e.  The  successors  of 
 the  composers  of  the  Vedas  found  themselves  enveloped 
 in  a  polytheistic  nature-worship.  They  strove  to  re- 
 cover the  doctrine  of  Monotheism,  and  to  correct  the 
 debasing  notions  of  the  deity  which  their  more  imagi- 
 native and  less  philosophical  predecessors  had  formed 
 from  their  rude  natm-al  feelings  of  dependence  upon 
 something  supernatural  and  divine.  New  discoveries 
 in  the  physical  world,  and  the  wider  expansion  of  the 
 intellectual  faculties,  suggested  that  the  natm^al  elements 
 of  fire,  and  water,  and  the  air,  could  not  be  the  great 
 unknown  deity  which  their  mind  spontaneously  longed 
 after.  Philosophy  now  had  to  correct  the  ancient 
 belief,  which  was  sanctioned  by  the  recollections  of 
 revered  ancestors.  Difierent  theories  were  invented, 
 harmonizing  their  speculations  with  the  more  ancient 
 worship  of  the  elements.  But  the  delusive  chart  of 
 the  speculations  of  unaided  reason  led  them  into  errors 
 more  monstrous  than  the  elemental  worship.  They 
 magnified  the  great  Spirit,  and  asserted  his  claims  to 
 the  worship  of  his  creatures;  but  not  understanding  what 
 may  be  called  his  personality,  they  adored  him  as  the 
 all-prevailing  soul  of  the  universe  in  that  Pantheistic 
 sense  of  the  term  to  which  we  have  already  alluded, 
 and  which  renders  every  creature  a  portion  of  the  deity. 
 The  impetus  which  religious  philosophy  imparted  to 
 the  Hindoo  mind,  brought  forth  a  variety  of  religious 
 philosophical  systems.      But  none  of  them  was  able  to 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  375 
 
 overcome  the  worship  of  the  elements  of  nature,  which 
 the  Vedas  enjoin,  and  the  fabrication  of  images  which 
 some  of  their  most  venerated  sages  had  subsequently 
 encouraged  and  tolerated.  They  were  anxious  to  rec- 
 tify the  mistakes  of  the  Vedas,  but  they  would  at  the 
 same  time  preserve  their  authority. 
 
 All  the  different  systems  of  Hindoo  philosophy 
 agree  in  regard  to  the  essential  unity  of  the  deity ; 
 but  they  cannot  with  propriety  be  said  to  recognise  a 
 God  at  all.  According  to  all  the  different  systems, 
 Brahni,  the  great  incomprehensible  Spirit,  existed  from 
 all  eternity  in  a  state  of  most  profound  repose,  utterly 
 unconscious  even  of  his  own  existence.  Hindoo 
 philosophy  recognises  only  an  eternal  and  indestructible 
 ihing,^  a  thing  without  beginning  and  without  end,  a 
 thing  possessed  of  the  most  extraordinary  and  contra- 
 dictory qualities,  but  possessed  of  no  moral  attributes 
 whatever.  That  thing  comprehends  all  that  exists ; 
 and  it  does  so  either  as  the  seed  comprehends  the 
 plant,  or  as  the  plant  comprehends  its  several  parts. 
 In  this  latter  state,  it  is  no  bigger  than  an  atom ; 
 it  is,  they  say,  "impenetrable  to  a  needle's  point." 
 It  lies  motionless  and  unconscious  in  the  silent  and 
 dark  abyss,  where  there  is  neither  earth,  nor  sea,  nor 
 sky,  neither  element  nor  life,  neither  mind  nor  matter. 
 In  this  state  Brahm  remains  for  a  long,  long  night. 
 The  years  of  its  fated  continuance,  however,   at  last 
 
 *  Brahm,  even  in  a  grammatical  point  of  view,  is  of  the  neuter 
 gender  in  the  Sanscrit  language. 
 
376  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 fulfil  their  regular  course ;  and  the  atom  which  had 
 remained  in  an  unconscious  and  dreamless  repose  for 
 millions  of  ages,  becomes  conscious  and  awake,  and 
 says  or  thinks  :  "  I  am."  No  sooner  is  this  imagina- 
 tion conceived,  than  it  expands  into  the  enormous  bulk 
 of  fourteen  worlds,  seven,  including  the  earth,  above, 
 and  seven,  exclusive  of  the  earth,  below.  It  expands  at 
 the  same  time  into  every  shape,  and  form,  and  species 
 of  being.  It  becomes  gods,  demigods,  angels  and 
 devils,  men  and  animals,  vegetables,  metals,  stones. 
 It  becomes  a  huge,  illimitable  being,  whose  eyes  are 
 the  sun  and  moon,  whose  hairs  are  the  trees  of  the 
 forests,  whose  veins  arc  rivers,  whose  nails  are  rocks, 
 and  wdiose  bones  are  mountains.  These,  however, 
 being  periodically  absorbed,  and  disappearing  in  con- 
 sequence, are  not  regarded  by  the  Avise  as  having  any 
 real  existence ;  the  only  real  existing  thing  is  the  atom 
 of  which  they  are  an  expansion  ;  and  the  well-informed 
 Hindoo  does  not  consider  himself,  or  his  wife,  or  his 
 children,  as  having  any  individual  existence,  or  bearing 
 any  relation  to  each  other,  but  merely  as  illusory  mani- 
 festations of  the  one  imperishable  thing.  He  feels,  in- 
 deed, that  he  is  apt  to  imagine  that  he  is  somebody,  and 
 that  he  has  hands  and  feet  of  his  own,  and  a  wife  and 
 children  that  are  said  to  belong  to  him ;  but  his  better 
 judgment  rebukes  him  in  this,  and  tells  him  that  it  is 
 an  imagination,  and  nothing  more.  The  day  of  illusion 
 is  equal  to  the  night  of  stern  and  dark  reality.  And 
 when  the  ages  of  the  long  day  have  completed  their 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  377 
 
 circuit,  and  its  evening  lias  come,  all  beings  rush  amain 
 into  that  simplicity  out  of  which  its  morning  called 
 them  ;  all  earths  are  reduced  to  the  earthy  principle  ; 
 all  waters  to  the  watery  principle ;  all  fire  to  the  fiery 
 principle  ;  all  airs  to  the  aerial  principle ;  all  spaces  to 
 the  prmciple  of  space.  These  five  principles  are  again 
 reduced  to  one  great  principle ;  and  that  one  principle 
 is  absorbed  in  the  essence  of  the  one  imperishable 
 thing.  All  bodies  are  thus,  by  a  speedy  process  of 
 reduction,  resolved  into  that  essence,  and  all  souls  find 
 a  still  speedier  and  simpler  resolution  ;  so  that  gods, 
 and  men,  and  animals,  and  vegetables,  and  minerals ; 
 earth,  and  sea,  and  sky  ;  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ;  fire, 
 wind,  and  space  itself,  shrink  away  into  more  and 
 more  general  forms  of  being,  till  nought  but  one  thing 
 is  left,  and  that  is  the  unconscious  and  imperceptibly 
 minute  particle,  of  which  a  description  has  already 
 been  given. 
 
 The  whole  history  of  the  several  systems  of  philo- 
 sophy is  the  history  of  an  attempt  to  blot  out  the 
 name  and  character  of  God  from  the  miiverse.  Yet  the 
 attempt  has  not  entirely  succeeded.  Even  the  Hindoo 
 mind,  corrupted  as  it  is  by  a  false  philosophy,  retains 
 a  reason  and  conscience,  which  tell  him  other  things. 
 It  is  true  the  lower  classes  have  taken  hold  of  the 
 results  of  this  philosophy ;  the  meanest  day-labom-er 
 will  tell  us  that  God  speaks  within  him,  and  none 
 other  ;  but  although  he  is  taught  that  he  himself  is 
 God,  he  cannot  help  feeling  that  he  is  a  man  and  a 
 
378  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 creature.  Although  the  Hindoo  is  taught  that  God  is 
 a  thing,  he  cannot  help  thinking  that  he  is  a  person. 
 And  although  he  is  taught  that  he  is  not  responsible  for 
 his  own  actions,  he  cannot  help  thinking  the  contrary. 
 After  considering  some  of  the  brightest  flowers  of 
 Oriental  speculation  respecting  divine  things,  and 
 after  having  purposely  abstained  from  entering  into 
 any  of  the  abominable  chambers  of  imagery,  we  shall 
 now  ask  our  readers  what  they  consider  of  the  estimate 
 of  an  English  Divine  respecting  this  system  of  natural 
 Religion,  when  he  compares  it  to  a  "  beautiful  and 
 radiant  cherub  from  heaven,  bearinfj  on  his  persuasive 
 lips  the  accents  of  j^ardon  and  peace,  and  on  his  silken 
 toinffs  satisfaction  and  blessing !'  We  must  honour 
 truth  wherever  it  be  feund ;  but  alas  !  for  the  "  cup  of 
 the  fornication  "  of  the  great  whore,  the  woman  ar- 
 rayed in  purple  and  scarlet  colour,  and  decked  with 
 gold  and  precious  stones,  having  a  golden  cup  in  her 
 hand,  full  of  abominations  and  filthiness  of  her  for- 
 nication !  How  long  will  some  of  our  wdse  men 
 cry,  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
 sians!''  The  kings  of  the  earth,  the  princes  of  philo- 
 sophy, the  heroes  of  literature,  who  have  committed 
 fornication  and  lived  deliciously  with  her,  shall  bewail 
 her  and  lament  for  her,  when  they  shall  see  the  smoke 
 of  her  burning  ;  when  they  see  "  another  angel "  than 
 "  the  beautiful  and  radiant  cheriib  from  heaven  "  come 
 down  from  heaven,  having  great  power,  the  earth  being 
 lightened  with  his  glory;  and  when,  instead  of  "  bearing 
 
CHAP  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  379 
 
 on  his  persuasive  lips  the  accents  of  pardon  and  pteace, 
 and  on  Ids  silken  loings  satisfaction  and  hlessint/,"  he 
 will  cry  miglitily  with  a  strong  voice,  saying  :  "  Babylon 
 the  great,  the  mother  of  harlots,  and  abominations  of  the 
 earth,  is  fallen,  is  fallen!" 
 
 Christianity  has  been  most  effectual  in  reclaiming 
 barbarous  nations ;  in  diffusing  science,  peace,  lite- 
 rature, and  civilization  ;  in  subduing  cruel  and  un- 
 natural customs  even  in  India,  and  in  introducing 
 mildness,  charity,  and  benevolence;  whilst  Hinduism 
 has  led  the  nation  backward  in  science,  knowledge, 
 and  civilization  !  Not  only  was  human  reason  unable 
 to  preserve  the  Hindoos  from  falling  into  "  vanity  of 
 mind"  to  a  most  alarming  extent,  respecting  heavenly 
 things,  but  even  in  scientific  and  earthly  concerns  it 
 has  evidently  very  far  swerved  from  the  paths  of 
 soberness  and  truth ;  and  this,  after  science  has  been 
 made  a  branch  of  Hindoo  Theology  !  There  is  some- 
 thing novel  to  the  Christian  mind  in  this  amalgama- 
 tion of  scientific  matters  with  religious  truth.  If  we 
 look  at  Hinduism,  a  number  of  discordant  and  dis- 
 proportioned  elements  present  themselves  at  every 
 turn.  The  artificial  means  by  which  its  philosophic 
 supporters  have  vainly  endeavoured  to  preserve  its 
 unity,  serve  only  to  betray  the  genuine  impotency 
 of  the  system.  Opinions  against  opinions,  theories 
 against  theories,  definition  upon  definition,  have  been 
 fastened  on  its  unshapen  form.  The  Rishis  despising 
 all  external  aids  of  knowledge,  and  trusting  to  their 
 
380  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 imagination  alone,  propounded  systems  without  num- 
 ber, embracing  a  wide  range  of  sacred  and  pro- 
 fane, spiritual  and  physical  topics.  Thus  we  have 
 astronomy,  geography,  chemistry,  natural  philosophy, 
 metaphysics,  anatomy,  logic,  and  history,  all  linked 
 together  with  theological  subjects,  and  set  forth  in 
 melodious  strains  of  poetry  by  the  repetition  of  which 
 the  Hindoo  is  to  obtain  final  beatitude ! 
 
 Physical  sciences  are  not  a  fit  subject  for  revelation. 
 There  can  be  no  point  imagined  short  of  communi- 
 cation of  Omniscience,  at  which  such  a  revelation 
 might  have  stopped  without  imperfections  or  omis- 
 sions. A  revelation  of  so  much  only  of  astronomy  as 
 was  known  to  Copernicus,  would  have  seemed  im- 
 perfect after  the  discoveries  of  Newton,  and  a  revela- 
 tion of  the  science  of  Newton  would  have  appeared 
 defective  to  La  Place.  A  revelation  of  all  the  chemical 
 knowledge  of  the  eighteenth  century  would  have  been 
 as  deficient  in  comparison  with  the  infoniiation  of  the 
 present  day,  as  what  is  noio  known  in  this  science  will 
 probably  appear  before  the  termination  of  another  age. 
 In  the  whole  circle  of  sciences  there  is  not  one  to 
 which  this  argument  may  not  be  extended,  unless  w^e 
 should  acquire  a  full  disclosure  of  all  the  mysterious 
 agencies  that  uphold  the  mechanism  of  the  material 
 world. 
 
 Such  a  revelation,  however,  might  have  been  suited 
 to  a  different  class  of  beings  from  that  of  our  species. 
 But  unless  human  nature  had  been  constituted  other- 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    HINDOOS.  381 
 
 wise  than  it  is,  the  communication  of  such  omniscience 
 would  have  been  imparted  to  creatures  utterly  incapable 
 of  receiving  it,  and  would  have  been  also  at  variance 
 with  the  design  of  all  the  divine  revelations  of  God 
 himself,  the  end  of  which  has  uniformly  been,  not  to 
 impart  scientific,  but  moral  and  intellectual  knowledge. 
 The  Hindoos  have  greatly  erred  in  this  matter.  As  a 
 human  production  their  religious  system  is  interwoven 
 with  the  national  history,  the  national  character,  with 
 their  habits,  their  amusements,  their  general  learning 
 and  literature,  their  political  and  domestic  institutions. 
 The  language  of  their  sacred  books  is  the  language  of 
 the  Deity,  the  magnificent  remains  of  antique  archi- 
 tecture are  considered  the  works  of  the  gods.  Every- 
 thing assumes  a  religious  character,  and  goes  forth 
 under  the  sanction  of  divinity.  All  these  things  are 
 to  be  regarded  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  Hindoo 
 Religion,  and  wherever  we  demolish  a  member  of 
 their  body  of  profane  knowledge,  and  exhibit  their 
 "inspired"  nonsense  in  its  nakedness,  we  demolish  and 
 expose  a  member  of  their  body  of  divinity. 
 
 In  every  department  of  Hindoo  knowledge,  there  is 
 a  perpetual  tendency  tc  run  out  into  the  vast,  the 
 huge,  the  extravagant.  Nothing  seems  worthy  of 
 being  stated,  unless  it  has  incredible  magnitude  to 
 recommend  it.  The  more  anything  transcends  the 
 bounds  of  nature  and  of  truth,  the  greater  is  the 
 gravity  with  which  it  is  asserted,  and  the  more  un- 
 questioning the  credulity  with  which  it  is    received. 
 
382  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 When  time  is  calculated,  nought  will  suffice  but  mil- 
 lions and  hundreds  of  millions  of  years.  When  earth 
 is  measured,  we  must  have  millions  and  hundreds  of 
 millions  of  miles.  When  armies  and  battles  are  de- 
 scribed, there  must  be  introduced  on  the  field  of 
 action  millions  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  soldiers 
 and  elephants.  The  period  of  human  life  seldom 
 extends,  even  in  extreme  cases,  much  beyond  a  hun- 
 dred years.  The  Mythology  of  the  Hindoos  stretches 
 it  to  ten  thousand  years  !  The  progeny  of  a  single 
 individual  rarely  exceeds  ten  children ;  but  the  Hindoo 
 historians  assert  that  King  Sagar  had  sixty  thousand 
 sons  born  in  a  pumpkin,  nomished  in  pans  of  milk, 
 and  reduced  to  ashes  by  the  curse  of  a  saint !  Nature 
 has  endowed  men  with  two  arms  and  one  face.  The 
 Hindoos  have  assigned  to  some  of  their  heroes  twenty 
 arms,  and  ten  faces.  Our  earth  is  declared  to  be 
 "  circular  or  flat,  like  the  flowers  of  the  water  lily,  in 
 which  the  petals  project  beyond  each  other."  Its 
 habitable  portion  consists  of  seven  circular  islands,  or 
 continents,  each  surrounded  by  a  different  ocean.  The 
 central,  or  metropolitan,  island,  destined  to  be  the 
 abode  of  man,  is  named  Yamba  Dweep,  around  which 
 rolls  the  sea  of  salt  water;  next  follows  the  second 
 circular  island,  and  around  it  the  sea  of  sugar-cane- 
 juice  ;  then  the  third,  and  around  it  the  sea  of  spi- 
 rituous liquor ;  then  the  fourth,  and  around  it  the  sea 
 of  clarified  butter  ;  then  the  fifth,  and  around  it  the 
 sea  of  sour  curds  ;  then  the  sixth,  and  around  it  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    HINDOOS.  383 
 
 sea  of  milk ;  then  the  seventh  and  last,  and  around  it 
 the  sea  of  sweet  water  !     Beyond  this  last  ocean  is  an 
 uninhabited  country  of  pure  gold,  so  prodigious  in 
 extent,  that  it  equals  all  the  islands  with  their  accom- 
 panying oceans  in  magnitude.     It  is  begirt  with  a 
 boundary  wall  of  stupendous  mountains,  which  enclose 
 within  their  bosom   realms  of  everlasting  darkness. 
 The    central   island,   the    destined  habitation   of  the 
 human  race,  is  several  hundred  miles  in  diameter,  and 
 the  sea  that  surrounds  it  is  of  the  same  breadth.     The 
 second  island  is  double  the  diameter  of  the  first,  and 
 so  is  the  sea  that  surrounds  it.     And  each  of  the  re- 
 maining islands  and  seas,  in  succession,  is  double  the 
 breadth  of  its  immediate  predecessor.     So  that  the 
 diameter  of  the  whole  earth  amounts  to  several  hun- 
 dred thousand  millions  of  miles  ;  occupying  a  portion 
 of  space  of  manifold  larger  dimensions  than  that  which 
 actually  intervenes  between  the  earth  and  the  sun  ! 
 Yea,  if  we  could  stretch  our  imagination  to  conceive  of 
 a  circular  mass  of  solid  matter,  whose  diameter  ex- 
 ceeded that  of  the  orbit  of  Herschel,  the  most  distant 
 planet  in   our  solar  system,  such  a  mass  would  not 
 equal  in  magnitude  the  earth  of  the  Hindoo-Mytholo- 
 gico- Geographers,  who  were  taught   the   science   by 
 divine  authority  !     In  the  midst  of  this  almost  im- 
 measurable  plain,    from  the   very  centre   of  Yamba 
 Dweep,  shoots  up  the  highest  mountain,  Su-Meroo,  the 
 Abborti  of  the  Persians,  of  the  height  of  six  hundred 
 thousand  miles,  in  the  form  of  an  inverted  pyramid. 
 
3S4  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 having  its  summit,  which  is  two  hundred  times  broader 
 than  the  base,  surmounted  by  three  sweUing  cones,  the 
 highest  of  these  cones  transpiercing  the  upper  vacancy 
 with  three  golden  peaks,  on  which  are  situate  the 
 favourite  residences  of  the  Hindoo  triad.  At  its  base, 
 like  so  many  giant  sentinels,  stand  four  lofty  hills,  on 
 each  of  which  grows  a  mango  tree,  several  thousand 
 miles  in  height,  bearing  fruit  delicious  as  nectar,  and 
 of  the  enormous  size  of  many  hundred  cubits.  From 
 these  mangoes,  as  they  fall,  flows  a  mighty  river  of 
 perfumed  juice,  so  communicative  of  its  sweetness, 
 that  those  who  partake  of  it  exhale  the  odour  from 
 their  persons  all  around  to  the  distance  of  many 
 leagues !  There  also  grow  rose-apple  trees,  whose 
 fruit  is  "  large  as  elephants^'  and  whose  juice  is  so 
 plentiful,  as  to  form  another  mighty  river,  that  con- 
 verts the  earth  over  which  it  passes  into  purest  gold ! 
 This  is  a  brief  geographical  outline,  furnished  by  their 
 sacred  writings,  of  the  earth  on  which  we  dwell. 
 
 The  world  is  often  said  to  consist  of  three  worlds, 
 heaven  above,  earth  below,  and  the  interambient  ether. 
 In  a  minuter  division  it  is  usually  partitioned  into 
 fourteen  worlds,  seven  inferior,  and  seven  superior, 
 consisting,  with  the  exception  of  our  own  earth,  which 
 is  the  first,  of  immense  tracts  of  space,  bestudded 
 with  glorious  luminaries  and  habitations  of  the  gods, 
 rishig,  not  unlike  the  rings  of  Saturn,  one  above  the 
 other,  as  so  many  concentric  zones,  or  belts,  of  almost 
 measureless   extent.     Of  the  seven   inferior   worlds, 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  3S5 
 
 which  dip  beneath  our  earth  in  a  regularly  descending 
 series,  it  is  needless  to  say  more,  than  that  they  are 
 destined  to  be  the  abodes  of  all  manner  of  wicked  and 
 loathsome  creatures.     The  first  of  the  ascending  series 
 being  the  earth,  the  second  world  is  that  which  im- 
 mediately over-vaults  the  earth,  and  is  the  region  of 
 space  between  us  and  the  sun,  which  is  declared,  on 
 divine  authority,  to  be  distant  only  a  few  hundred 
 thousand  miles.     The  third  in  the  upward  ascent,  is 
 the  region  of  space  intermediate  between  the  sun  and 
 the  polar  star.  Within  this  region  are  all  the  planetary 
 and  stellar  mansions.     The  distances  of  the  heavenly 
 bodies  are  given  with  the  utmost  precision.    The  moon 
 is  placed  beyond  the  sun,  as  far  as  the  sun  is  from  the 
 earth.     Next  succeed  at  equal  distances    from  each 
 other,  and  in  the  following  order,    the  stars,   Mercury, 
 Venus,  Mars,  Jupiter,  Saturn,   Ursa  Major,   and  the 
 Pole  Star.     The  four  remaining  worlds  beyond  the 
 Pole  Star,  continue  to  rise  one  above  the  other  at  im- 
 mense and  increasing  intervals.     The  entire  circum- 
 ference of  the  celestial  space  is  then  given  with  the 
 greatest  exactitude  of  numbers.     The  worlds  above 
 this  earth  are  peopled  with  gods  and  goddesses,  demi- 
 gods,  and  genii,  the  sons  and  grandsons,  daughters 
 and    grandaughters   of   Brahma,  and  other   superior 
 deities.     All  the   superior   deities   have   heavens   for 
 themselves.     The  inferior  deities  chiefly  dwell  in  the 
 heaven   of    Indra.      There   they    congregate    to   the 
 number  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  millions.     The 
 VOL,  r.  c  c 
 
386  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 gods  are  divided  and  subdivided  into  classes,  which 
 vary  through  every  conceivable  gradation  of  rank 
 and  power.  They  are  of  all  colours,  some  black, 
 some  white,  some  red,  some  blue,  and  so  through 
 all  the  blending  shades  of  the  rainbow.  They  ex- 
 hibit all  sorts  of  shape,  size,  and  figure  ;  in  forms 
 wholly  human,  or  half  human,  wholly  brutal,  or  vari- 
 ously compounded,  like  many-headed  and  many-bodied 
 centaurs, — with  four,  or  ten,  or  six  hundred,  or  a 
 thousand,  eyes,  heads,  and  arms.  They  ride  on  all 
 sorts  of  etherialized  animals,  elephants,  buffaloes,  lions, 
 deer,  sheep,  goats,  peacocks,  vultures,  geese,  serpents, 
 and  rats !  They  hold  forth  in  their  multitudinous 
 arms  all  manner  of  offensive  and  defensive  weapons, 
 thunderbolts,  scimitars,  javelins,  spears,  clubs,  bows, 
 arrows,  shields,  flags,  and  shells.  They  discharge  all 
 possible  functions.  They  are  gods  of  the  heavens 
 above,  of  the  earth  below,  and  of  the  region  under 
 the  earth ;  gods  of  wisdom  and  gods  of  folly ;  gods  of 
 war  and  gods  of  peace ;  gods  of  good  and  of  evil ; 
 gods  of  pleasure  and  love,  gods  of  wrath  and  revenge. 
 All  the  virtues  and  all  the  vices  of  men ;  all  allotments 
 of  hfe,— beauty,  jollity,  and  sport ;  the  hopes  and  fears 
 of  youth;  the  felicities  and  infelicities  of  manhood; 
 the  joys  and  sorrows  of  old  age ;  all  are  common 
 to  them,  and  all  are  placed  under  their  presiding 
 influence. 
 
 But  to  return  to  our  immediate  subject.     All  the 
 planets  revolve  round  the  sun  at  different  distances. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  387 
 
 Mercury  is  nearest  to  tlie  sun ;  Venus  next,  the  earth 
 next,  and  next  in  order  are  Mars,  Jupiter,  Saturn,  and 
 Uranus  respectively.  Venus  has  a  larger  circuit  to 
 perform  around  the  sun  than  Mercury,  and  takes 
 longer  time  to  perform  it.  And  so  Avith  Mars,  Ju- 
 piter, Saturn,  and  Uranus,  whose  circuits  and  periods 
 of  revolution  exceed  each  other  in  the  order  in  which 
 they  have  been  enumerated.  The  Hindoos,  however, 
 tell  us  of  sad  misfortunes  that  happened  to  Saturn  in 
 his  young  days,  by  which  he  became  lame.  His 
 fond  mother,  the  wife  of  the  sun,  could  not  bear 
 her  husband's  excessive  heat,  and  ran  away  to  her 
 father  Paulastya,  to  make  a  complaint  on  the  subject. 
 He  advised  her  to  repair  to  the  forest,  to  perform 
 austerities,  and  in  the  mean  time  to  substitute  Chaya 
 in  her  own  place  by  the  side  of  her  husband.  Saturn, 
 as  might  have  been  expected,  was  not  overfond  of  his 
 stepmother,  and  one  day  went  so  far  as  to  give  her  a 
 kick.  This  she  bitterly  resented  by  a  curse,  to  the 
 effect,  that  his  legs  might  be  destroyed.  This  imme- 
 diately took  place  ;  the  boy  lost  his  legs,  and  he  has 
 been  able  only  to  creep  ever  since  !  Now,  if  Saturn 
 be  maimed,  and  in  consequence  creeps  slowly  along, 
 Uranus  is  nearly  three  times  more  a  cripple  tlian  he, 
 and  it  would  be  well  to  hear  what  has  happened  to 
 him ;  and  to  Jupiter,  who  has  his  measure  of  lameness 
 too ;  and  to  Mercury,  the  swiftest  of  the  planets,  com- 
 pared with  the  moon.  It  is  on  account  of  a  planet's 
 greater  distance  from  the  sun,  that  it  moves  more 
 
 c  c  2 
 
3S8  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap,  iv 
 
 slowly  than  its  neighbour.  Were  they  to  change 
 places,  they  would  change  paces  too.  We  shall  add  a 
 few  more  instances  with  regard  to  the  notions  of  the 
 Hindoos  in  Astronomy. 
 
 The  Brahmins  declare  that  most  of  the  fixed  stars, 
 as  well  as  the  planets,  are  of  their  own  caste.  All  the 
 stars  in  the  Great  Bear  are  Brahmins,  and  the  Polar 
 Star  is  a  Brahmin  too.  It  was  on  account  of  his  re- 
 solute spirit,  and  his  fixed  aljandonment  of  all  mutable 
 things,  that  the  last-mentioned  personage  was  exalted 
 to  that  station  which  he  now  holds.  It  was  an  im- 
 movable place  he  desired ;  and  as  the  story  goes,  an 
 immovable  place  he  obtained.  They  do  not  appear  to 
 have  known  that  the  other  stars  move  quite  as  little 
 as  the  polar  star;  that  its  apparent  fixedness  is  owing 
 to  its  being  opposite  to  the  pole  of  the  earth.  It  is 
 because  the  pole  of  the  earth  does  not  move,  that  the 
 star  opposite  to  it  does  not  appear  to  move ;  and  had 
 the  pole  of  the  earth  happened  to  point  to  any  other 
 star,  that  star  would  have  been  the  one  which  would 
 have  appeared  fixed.  The  poles  of  the  jolanets  are  not 
 opposite  to  what  we  call  the  pole  star ;  and  hence,  to 
 the  inhabitants  of  tliose  planets,  that  star  appears  to 
 move,  while  other  stars  appear  fixed. 
 
 It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  revolutions  and 
 phases  of  the  moon  were  settled  by  God  at  the 
 creation,  and  that  they  have  continued  to  this  day  as 
 they  were  fixed  at  first.  If,  however,  we  may  believe 
 Brighu,  the   moon   did  not   wax    and  wane  at  the 
 
CHAP,  ivj  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  3S9 
 
 beginning,  but  was  afterwards  subjected  to  these 
 vicissitudes,  by  a  Brahmin.  Daksha,  it  is  said,  cursed 
 the  moon,  and  by  his  curse  afflicted  it  with  con- 
 sumpfmi !  The  alleviation  of  this  curse,  with  which 
 it  was  favoured,  was  that  it  should  be  afflicted 
 with  a  consumptive  disease  for  fifteen  days,  and 
 recover  its  bulk  during  the  same  period.  Accord- 
 ing to  a  different  account,  the  Brahmins,  denominated 
 progenitors,  live  in  or  near  the  moon ;  of  their  days 
 and  nights  each  is  composed  of  fifteen  common  days. 
 Now,  when  awake,  these  holy  Brahmins  cut  the  moon 
 into  slices,  and  eat  them  up  ;  and  the  moon  recovers 
 its  former  dimensions  while  they  sleep  ! 
 
 Again ;  when  the  gods  of  the  Hindoos  felt  the  work- 
 ings of  mortality,  they  assembled  in  full  council  on 
 Mount  Su-Meroo,  and  it  was  resolved  to  search  for 
 Amrita,  or  the  ambrosial  nectar  of  immortality,  in 
 order  to  exempt  them  "  from  grey  hairs,  wrinkles,  old 
 age,  and  infirmities !" 
 
 The  ocean  was  now  to  be  churned  to  discover  the 
 nectar;'  Mount  Mander  served  for  a  pivot,  a  great 
 serpent  for  a  rope,  and  the  moon  for  a  churning  stick. 
 After  the  gods  and  demi-gods  had  rolled  it  to  and  fro 
 for  a  thousand  years  with  all  their  might,  the  serpent, 
 which  was  used  for  a  rope,  being  distressed,  vomited 
 poison,  which  came  forth  like  fire  to  burn  them  to  ashes. 
 Indra  and  his  gods,  being  affrighted,  called  upon  Shiva, 
 the  "  wearer  of  snakes/'  who  swallowed  the  poison, 
 and  removed  their  distress.  Shiva  returned  to  Koilasu, 
 and  the  gods  again  churned  the  ocean  with  pleasure. 
 
390  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Then  appeared  gems,  yielding  all  kind  of  treasure  on 
 being  touched ;  a  white  elephant,  a  white  horse,  the 
 divine  cow,  the  goddess  Lukshmi,  and,  last  of  all,  the 
 nectar  !  Vishnoo  was  to  distribute  it  among  the  gods  ; 
 but,  before  giving  the  nectar,  he  thought.  The  Azuras 
 are  naturally  strong  and  wicked,  and  if  they  eat  the 
 nectar,  they  will  become  immortal,  and  distress  the 
 world  more  than  ever.  Vishnoo  assumes  the  form  of 
 a  beautiful  female,  with  every  accomplishment,  who 
 displayed  herself  meretriciously  before  the  gods  and 
 Azuras.  The  Azuras  were  overcome  witli  admiration  ; 
 while  the  gods,  knowing  the  stratagem  to  entice  the 
 Azuras,  did  not  indulge  their  senses.  Vishnoo  made 
 this  female  to  divide  the  ambrosia,  giving  into  her 
 hand  a  golden  pot,  and  a  spoon.  Two  of  the  Azuras 
 came  to  the  feast  in  disguise  of  gods,  and  they  ate 
 with  them  of  the  nectar.  They  were  soon  discovered, 
 and  informed  against  by  the  sun  and  moon,  who  are 
 supposed  to  be  animated  beings,  Vishnoo,  having 
 again  assumed  his  proper  form,  and  being  in  a  great 
 rage,  he  immediately  cut  ofi'  their  heads  with  the 
 spoon.  Their  bodies  perished,  but  as  the  nectar  had 
 descended  as  low  as  their  necks,  their  heads  were 
 immortal.  Having  ascended  into  the  heavens  as  two 
 serpents,  called  Rahoo  and  Ketoo,  and  performed 
 penance,  they  obtained  power  to  revenge  themselves 
 npon  the  sun  and  moon  at  certain  seasons  hy  taking 
 them  into  their  mouths  !  By  occasionally  attempting  to 
 devour  them,  they  occasion  solar  and  lunar  eclipses  ! 
 According  to  a  law  impressed  by  the  wise  Creator 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    HINDOOS.  391 
 
 of  all  things,  one  thing  is  made  to  attract  the  other ; 
 the  heavenly  bodies  affect  our  globe,  and  especially  the 
 liquid  part  of  it,  in  the  same  manner.  We  find, 
 accordingly,  that  the  moon  draws  up  the  sea  towards 
 itself,  and  thus  occasions  a  fulness  of  water  in  one 
 place,  and  a  deficiency  in  another.  And,  again,  when 
 the  sun  and  moon  are  in  one  line  with  the  earth,  as  at 
 the  time  of  the  new  and  full  moon,  the  water  is  still 
 more  cbawn  up,  and  there  is  a  greater  fulness  and 
 deficiency  than  usual.  This  appears  to  be  a  very 
 natural  and  rational  account  of  the  tides  of  the  ocean. 
 The  Hindoos,  however,  relate  with  gravity,  that  a 
 certain  Brahmin  was  so  enraged  at  the  military  tribe, 
 for  their  attempt  to  destroy  him  and  all  his  race,  that 
 he  desired  to  consume  men,  giants,  gods,  and  all ! 
 They  inform  us,  that  this  Brahmin  being  intreated  by 
 Brahma  to  quench  his  wrath,  replied,  that  it  was  utterly 
 insatiable,  and  that  it  must  have  something  or  other 
 to  consume.  The  sea,  it  was  thought,  would  satisfy 
 and  cool  his  anger.  Assuming  the  head  of  a  mare, 
 the  Brahminical  wrath  retired  to  the  ocean,  and  every 
 day  vomiting  flames  out  of  his  mouth,  it  burnt  up  the 
 great  deep  to  the  extent  of  eight  hundred  miles  ! 
 When  the  Hindoos  see  the  phosphoric  appearance  of 
 the  waters  of  the  waves  of  the  sea  at  night,  they  con- 
 clude that  the  story  of  the  mare-fire  is  correct. 
 
 Not  more  skilful  seem  the  Hindoos  in  the  depart- 
 ments of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Physiology.  There 
 are  ten  winds  lodged  in  various  parts  of  the  body. 
 
392  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 some  of  which  cause  respu-ation,  laughter^  weeping, 
 cough,  sneezing,  and  hickups.  One  of  them  remains 
 in  the  head  three  days  after  death,  when  it  bursts  the 
 head,  and  escapes  through  the  cleft.  All  these  winds 
 are  saluted  most  solemnly  Avhilst  the  Hindoo  performs 
 his  ablutions  ! 
 
 When  nourishment  is  received  into  the  body,  it 
 undergoes,  according  to  the  chief  of  inspired  sages,  a 
 threefold  distribution,  according  to  its  fineness  or 
 coarseness;  corn  and  other  terrenae  become  flesh ;  the 
 coarser  particles  are  rejected,  whilst  the  finer  nourish 
 the  mind!  Water  is  chiefly  converted  into  blood ; 
 part  of  the  element  is  ejected,  the  finer  part  supports 
 the  breath !  Oil  and  other  combustible  substances, 
 deemed  igneous,  become  marrow  ;  the  coarser  part  is 
 deposited  as  bone,  and  the  finer  supplies  the  faculty  of 
 speech  !  Again  ;  a  hundred  and  one  arteries  flow  from 
 the  heart,  and  one  of  them  passes  to  the  crown  of  the 
 head.  It  is  along  this  artery  that  the  liberated  soul, 
 whose  proper  abode  is  the  heart,  makes  its  escape. 
 From  the  crown  of  the  head  it  passes  along  a  sun- 
 beam, through  various  regions,  to  the  sun.  Thence  it 
 proceeds  to  the  moon,  which  is  far  beyond  the  sun  ! 
 If  it  is  to  be  rewarded  with  absorption,  it  advances 
 from  the  moon  to  the  region  of  lightning,  which  is 
 far  beyond  the  moon  !  Thence,  again,  to  the  realm 
 of  Varuna,  the  region  of  water ;  and  all  these  are  far 
 beyond  the  moon,  which,  as  has  been  already  men- 
 tioned, is  again  far  beyond  the  sun  !     At  length,  if  it 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    HINDOOS.  393 
 
 have  sufficient  merit,  the  soul  arrives  at  the  realm  of 
 Indra,  the  abode  of  Brahm  ! 
 
 In  order  to  wind  up  these  learned  absurdities,  we 
 shall  only  alhide  to  a  few  more  instances.  If  we  speak 
 to  a  literate  Hindoo  about  the  peculiar  formation  of 
 the  serpent,  by  which  it  is  enabled  to  move,  he  will 
 tell  us  that  he  has  feet,  although  they  are  carefully  con- 
 cealed below  his  skin.  If  we  describe  to  him  the  ser- 
 pent's ears  as  wanting  the  outer  cartilage  which  is 
 generally  attached  to  that  organ,  he  will  reprove  our 
 ignorance  by  telling  us  that  the  serpent  has  no  ears  at 
 all,  but  hears  with  its  eyes  !  The  age  of  the  snake  is 
 calculated  at  a  thousand  years,  and  every  century  it 
 throws  off  its  skin  once. 
 
 Again ;  every  observing  person  will  have  noticed  the 
 small  horny  excrescences  that  appear  a  little  above  the 
 fore  legs,  and  a  little  below  the  hind  legs,  of  the  horse. 
 They  are  formed  by  secretions  from  the  skin,  and  re- 
 semble the  nails  and  warts  of  the  human  body.  The 
 holy  Religion  of  the  Hindoos  teaches,  that  the  horses 
 had  wings  in  former  days  ;  that  these  wings  Avere 
 clipped,  and  that  the  four  marks  referred  to  are  stand- 
 ing evidences  of  the  correctness  of  the  statement ! 
 
 But  not  only  the  horses,  the  hills  and  mountains 
 too  were  endowed  with  volatile  powers.  Mountains 
 were  flying  about  like  birds,  in  former  days,  and 
 sometimes  perching  upon  a  city  or  village,  they  natu- 
 rally overwhelmed  everything. 
 
 Indra,  the  god  of  the  heavens,  was  annoyed  at  such 
 
394  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 a  display  of  wanton  injuries,  and,  in  order  to  resent 
 this  conduct  of  theirs,  he  chpped  their  wings,  and  they 
 dropped  down  every  one  on  the  place  where  they  are 
 now  !  The  same  persons  who  hold  that  mountains 
 were  formed  with  wings,  believe  that  they  were  placed 
 on  the  earth  as  weights  to  keep  it  steady,  or  inserted 
 into  the  earth  as  nails  to  fasten  it !  How  they  could 
 serve  both  these  purposes  is  hard  to  conceive.  These 
 difficulties,  however,  do  not  perplex  the  sages  of  Hin- 
 dostan,  inasmuch  as  with  great  gravity  and  self-satis- 
 faction they  relate  long  stories  involving  still  greater 
 difficulties  than  these.  Let  one  more  instance  suffice, 
 according  to  which  a  certain  giant  on  a  certain  occasion 
 folded  up  the  earth  like  a  piece  of  paper,  and  flung  it 
 into  the  sea  !  Guardians  are  now  placed  in  every 
 quarter  of  the  heavens,  to  prevent  his  doing  so  again  ! 
 
 Before  we  conclude  our  desultory  remarks  on  the 
 merits  of  the  natural  Religion  of  the  Hindoos,  we  shall 
 finally  give  an  illustration  of  its  practical  influence 
 upon  the  social  and  domestic  relations  in  life.  It  will 
 be  recollected  that  the  girls  are  married  when  they  are 
 perfect  children.  And  as  it  is  an  unpardonable  crime 
 for  a  Parsee  girl  to  refuse  marriage  until  she  is 
 eighteen  or  twenty  years  of  age,  so  among  the  Hindoos 
 the  divine  laws  censure  the  delay  of  her  marriage 
 beyond  the  tenth  year  of  her  age. 
 
 As  regards  the  choice  of  the  partner  of  his  life,  the 
 young  Hindoo  is  furnished  in  one  of  the  sacred  Poora- 
 nas  with  the  following  admonition:     "The  youth,  if 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  395 
 
 he  marry,  must  select  a  maiden  who  is  of  a  third  of 
 his  age,  one  who  has  not  too  much  hair,  but  is  not 
 without  any  ;  one  who  is  not  very  black  nor  yellow 
 complexioned,  and  who  is  not  from  birth  a  cripple  or 
 deformed.  He  must  not  marry  a  girl  who  is  vicious 
 or  unhealthy,  of  low  origin,  or  labouring  under  disease. 
 He  is  not  to  marry  one  who  has  been  ill  brought  up, 
 or  one  who  talks  improperly,  or  one  who  inherits  some 
 malady  from  father  or  mother.  He  is  not  to  wed  one 
 who  has  a  beard,  or  one  who  is  of  a  masculine  appear- 
 ance, or  one  wdio  speaks  thick  or  thin,  or  croaks  like  a 
 raven.  He  is  not  to  marry  a  girl  who  keeps  her  eyes 
 shut,  or  that  has  very  prominent  eyes,  or  one  who  has 
 hairy  legs,  or  thick  angles,  or  one  who  has  dimples  in 
 her  cheeks  when  she  laughs.  Let  not  a  wise  man  wed 
 a  girl  of  such  a  description ;  nor  let  a  considerate  man 
 marry  a  girl  of  a  harsh  skin,  or  one  with  white  nails, 
 or  one  with  red  eyes,  or  with  very  fat  hands  and  feet ; 
 or  one  who  is  a  dwarf,  or  one  who  is  very  tall ;  or  one 
 whose  eyebrows  meet,  or  whose  teeth  are  far  apart, 
 and  resemble  tusks.  Let  him  not  marry  a  girl  that 
 bears  the  name  of  a  constellation,  of  a  river,  of  a  bar- 
 barous nation ;  or  that  has  the  name  of  a  mountain' 
 of  a  winged  creature,  of  a  snake,  of  a  slave ;  or  w^ith 
 any  name  raising  an  image  of  terror  !  Let  a  house- 
 holder marry  a  maiden  who  is  in  kin  at  least  five 
 degrees  remote  from  his  mother,  and  seven  from  his 
 father,  with  the  ceremonies  enjoined  by  the  law." 
 After  having  made  the  choice  of  his  bride  in  the 
 
396  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 above  manner,  the  nuptials  are  celebrated.  There  are 
 eight  different  rituals  prescribed  for  the  occasion.  We 
 shall  confine  ourselves  to  describe  one  of  these  rituals, 
 which  is  now  in  use. 
 
 Previous  to  marriage,  the  father  of  the  bride  sits 
 down  to  await  the  bridegroom's  arrival  in  the  apart- 
 ment chosen  for  that  purpose,  and  at  the  time  chosen 
 for  it  according  to  the  rules  of  astrology.  The  jewels 
 and  other  presents  intended  for  him,  are  placed  there ; 
 a  cow  is  tied  on  the  northern  side  of  the  apartment, 
 and  a  cushion  and  other  furniture  are  arranged.  On 
 his  approach,  the  bride's  father  rises  to  welcome  him, 
 and  recites  the  following  prayer,  while  the  bridegroom 
 stands  before  him  :  "  May  she  loho  stijoplies  oblations 
 for  religious  worship,  ivho  const  anil  i/  follows  her  calf, 
 and  who  was  the  milkcoio  in  the  days  of  Yama,  abound 
 loith  milk,  and  fulfil  our  wishes  year  after  year."  The 
 bridegroom  is  then  presented  with  a  cushion ;  and 
 then  are  rehearsed  by  him  some  prayers  addressed  to 
 the  moon.  After  this  he  receives  water  for  ablution, 
 and  under  ejaculations  washes  his  feet,  with  petitions 
 to  Varuna.  After  he  has  partaken  of  honey,  curds, 
 and  clarified  butter,  presents  are  exchanged,  and 
 chiefly  given  to  the  bridegroom.  The  cow  tied  at  the 
 end  of  the  apartment  is  let  loose,  and  a  prayer  ad- 
 dressed to  her  by  the  bridegroom  to  expiate  his  sins  ! 
 Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  bridegroom,  the  bride 
 bathes,  during  the  recital  of  several  prayers  addressed 
 to  the  god  of  love,  to  the  primeval  sages,  and  other 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  397 
 
 objects.  When  they  are  both  brought  together,  the 
 bride's  right  hand  is  placed  on  his  right  hand,  both 
 having  been  previously  rubbed  with  turmeric,  or  some 
 other  auspicious  drug.  A  matron  must  bind  both 
 hands  with  cusa  grass,  amidst  the  sound  of  cheering 
 nmsic.  The  bride's  father  takes  a  vessel  of  water  con- 
 taining sesamum  and  cusa  grass,  and  pours  it  on  the 
 hands  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  whilst  he  utters 
 the  words,  "  God  the  existent!  "  Having  repeated  at 
 full  length  the  names  and  designations  of  the  bride- 
 groom, of  the  bride,  and  of  himself  ;  and  having 
 solemnly  declared  that  he  will  give  him  the  damsel 
 adorned  with  jewels,  the  father  of  the  bride  ties  a  knot 
 with  the  sku'ts  of  the  bride's  and  bridegroom's  mantles, 
 saying,  "  Ye  must  he  inseparahly  united  in  matters 
 of  dutij,  loealth,  and  love''  The  bridegroom  on  this 
 recites  a  text  to  the  effect  that  love  gave  her,  that  to 
 love  she  was  given ;  that  love  was  the  giver,  and 
 love  the  taker  ;  and  that  with  love  he  would  enjoy 
 her.  While  the  couple  thus  affianced  walk  forth,  the 
 husband  admonishes  his  young  wife  to  be  (jentle  in 
 aspect,  loyal  to  Iter  husband,  to  be  fortunate  in  cattle, 
 amiable  in  mind,  and  beautiful  in  person  ;  to  be  mother 
 of  valiant  sons,  fond  of  delights ;  to  be  cheerful,  and 
 bring  prosperity  to  their  bipjeds  and  quadrupeds.  After 
 some  other  ceremonies,  the  bridegroom  causes  the 
 bride  to  be  clothed  with  a  scarf,  whilst  the  words  are 
 recited  :  "  May  est  thou  reach  old  age.  Put  on  this 
 raiment.    Be  chaste,  be  lovely.    Live  a  hundred  years. 
 
398  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Preserve  and  obtain  beauty,  wealth,  and  male  off- 
 spring." Then  they  say  :  "  j\Iay  tlie  assembled  gods 
 unite  our  hearts ;  may  the  waters  unite  them.  May 
 air  unite  us.  May  the  Creator  unite  us.  May  the 
 god  of  love  unite  us  !  " 
 
 After  many  and  various  oblations  and  prayers  to 
 the  sun,  the  moon,  the  elements,  and  other  ceremonies, 
 such  as  pouring  water  and  clarified  butter  over  the 
 hands  of  each  other,  they  assemble  again  by  star- 
 light, the  bride  seated  on  the  red  hide  of  a  buU,  and 
 the  bridegroom  seating  himself  near  her,  he  makes  six 
 oblations,  while  he  names  the  three  worlds  as  usual, 
 and  each  time  pours  of  the  remainder  of  the  clarified 
 butter  on  the  bride's  head.  He  obviates  by  this  full 
 oblation  all  ill  marks  in  the  lines  of  her  hands,  in  her 
 eyelashes,  in  her  air,  in  the  spots  on  her  body,  and 
 whatever  is  sinful  in  her  looking  or  in  her  crying ;  he 
 obviates  all  that  may  be  sinful  in  her  temper,  in  her 
 speaking,  or  in  her  laughing ;  all  ill  marks  in  her 
 teeth,  and  in  the  dark  intervals  between  them ;  all  ill 
 marks  in  her  hands  and  in  her  feet :  on  her  thighs, 
 haunches,  &c.,  and  on  the  lineaments  of  her  figure. 
 Whatever  natural  or  accidental  evils  are  in  her  limbs, 
 he  thus  obviates  with  clarified  butter  !  They  both  rise 
 up  ;  he  shows  her  the  polar  star,  and  ejaculates  : 
 '' Heaven  is  stable ;  the  earth  is  stable;  this  miiverse 
 is  stable;  may  this  woman  he  stable  also T  After 
 having  pointed  to  his  young  wife  the  polar  star  as  an 
 .emblem  of  stability,  the  young  couple  partake  of  a 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   HINDOOS.  399 
 
 meal  together  from  the  same  plate,  as  the  token  of  the 
 closest  union.  But  it  will  be  rather  startling  to  hear 
 that,  notwithstanding  this  close  union,  it  is  the  first 
 and  the  last  time  that  they  ever  eat  together.  The 
 privilege  of  the  wife  to  eat  with  her  husband  is  con- 
 fined to  her  wedding  meal ! 
 
 With  reference  to  their  wedded  life,  which  now 
 follows,  suffice  it  to  advert  to  some  sacred  poetry, 
 which  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  estimation  in 
 which  the  wife  is  to  be  held.  The  husband  receives 
 the  following  injunction  : — 
 
 "  Preserve  your  ivlfe,  'pre&erve  your  pelf. 
 Bid  give  them  both  to  save  yourself ! 
 There  is  another  ivealth,  another  wifCy 
 But  where  is  there  another  life  f 
 
 The  holy  and  learned  Brahmin  puts  his  wife  into 
 the  same  list  as  that  of  "  goods  and  chattels,"  and  the 
 only  relation  in  which  he  views  her  is  that  which 
 she  bears  to  his  domestic  comfort  and  convenience. 
 She  promotes  these,  and  is  a  desirable  acquisition 
 because  she  does  so ;  but  individually  considered,  she 
 is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  secure  them,  for  another 
 can  supply  her  place.  But  life  is  absolutely  necessary, 
 and  cannot  be  renewed  or  substituted.  All  that  he 
 wants  is  enjoyment ;  his  wife  is  not  absolutely  neces- 
 sary to  continue  enjoyment, — not  more  than  his  house 
 or  clothes ;  therefore,  he  must  sacrifice  his  wife  to  pre- 
 serve himself.  In  the  wife's  mind,  he  supposes  to 
 exist  quite  the  reverse  feeling  to  his  ow^n.     According 
 
400  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 to  liis  notions,  she,  instead  of  regarding  her  own 
 enjoyment  as  the  chief  thing,  will  regard  his  as  such. 
 Instead  of  viewing  liim  in  the  light  of  her  own  enjoy- 
 ment, she  takes  quite  an  opposite  view  of  the  case. 
 Instead  of  classing  him  with  "  goods  and  chattels,"  she 
 will  rank  him  with  the  gods — nay,  she  will  set  him 
 above  them  all,  for  she  will  have  no  other  god  but 
 him.  Instead  of  giving  him  up  to  save  her  life,  she 
 will  give  herself  up  to  save  his  ;  she  will  burn  herself 
 alive,  because  he  is  dead,  and  must  be  burned  !  So 
 far  from  thinking  of  another  husband  during  his  life- 
 time, she  will  not  think  of  another  during  the  pro- 
 tracted term  of  her  own,  even  although  he  may  have 
 died  when  she  was  only  ten  years  old !  She  will, 
 in  short,  devote  herself,  soul,  body,  and  spirit  to  him  ; 
 she  will  have  no  will  but  his,  no  affections  but  which 
 terminate  in  him  ;  but  will  receive  none  in  return. 
 
 Now  it  so  happens,  that  the  love  of  a  wife  towards 
 a  husband  does  not  come  under  the  class  of  instinctive 
 affections,  like  that  of  a  mother.  It  is  produced 
 by  moral  causes,  such  as  symmetry  of  form,  con- 
 geniality of  disposition,  harmony  of  spirit,  excellence 
 of  character,  whether  fancied  or  real,  and  love,  either 
 supposed,  or  seen,  or  hoped  for.  The  Hindoo  female 
 is  recpiired  to  love  her  husband,  although  he  may  be 
 the  most  ill-favoured  of  men.  As  for  congeniality,  she 
 must  even  get  on  with  the  very  opposite ;  she  must 
 love  her  appointed  husband,  though  to  her  the  most 
 uncongenial  and  disagreeable  of  mortals.     Instead  of 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    THE    HINDOOS.  401 
 
 looking  to  excellence  of  character,  she  has  only  to  look 
 to  personal  relation.  Whatever  her  appointed  husband 
 may  be  to  others,  he  is  a  god  to  her  ;  impure,  he  is  to 
 her  spotless ;  faithless,  he  is  to  her  faithful ;  though 
 cruel  to  her,  she  is  to  think  him  very  kind;  niggardly, 
 he  is  to  her  hberal ;  foolish,  he  is  to  her  wise  and 
 prudent ;  the  vilest  of  men  on  earth,  he  is  to  her  the 
 most  excellent  of  beings,  whether  on  earth  or  in 
 heaven.  If  love  is  to  smooth  and  soften  all  these 
 defects,  she  is  in  this,  too,  doomed  to  disappointment. 
 Her  husband  is  not  to  love  her ;  he  is  to  love  himself, 
 to  approve  or  disapprove,  seek  or  shun,  keep  or  cast 
 her  away,  just  as  she  happens  to  minister  to  himself. 
 
 Now  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  as  well  as  in  the 
 Hindoo  laws  and  legends,  the  wife  is  enjoined  to  love 
 her  husband,  to  reverence  her  husband,  to  obey  her 
 husband,  be  subject  to  her  husband  in  everything,  as 
 the  Church  is  subject  to  Christ.  But  for  the  exercise 
 of  this  great  affection  and  devotedness,  she  is  fur- 
 nished w^itli  corresponding  moral  means.  She  is  thus 
 to  love  and  devote  herself  to  the  husband  of  her  choice, 
 the  man  whose  appearance  and  disposition  of  spirit 
 and  character  all  combined  to  engage  her  affections, 
 and  whose  choice  of  her  and  love  to  her  fixed  them 
 for  ever.  Her  affection  is  not  a  vain  unnatural  effort 
 of  the  will,  but  the  sweet,  and  easy,  and  harmonious 
 response  of  a  loving  heart.  The  influences  from  with- 
 out are  such  as  are  fitted  to  act  upon  and  move  it ;  and 
 choice,  and  love,  and  devotedness,  are  but  the  natural 
 
 VOL.    I.  J)  1) 
 
402  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 expressions  of  the  movements  within.  Is  she  to  love 
 him  ?  He  is  also  to  love  her  as  himself, — to  love,  and 
 nourish,  and  cherish  her  as  his  own  body.  Is  she  to 
 have  no  other  love  but  him  ?  He  is  also  to  love  none 
 besides  her.  Is  she  ahvays  to  exhibit  a  meek  and 
 quiet  spirit  ?  He  is  also  to  love  her  and  never  be 
 bitter  against  her.  Is  she  to  reverence  him?  He  is 
 to  cultivate  every  excellence,  and  to  do  all  that  is  cal- 
 culated to  call  forth  respect  and  esteem.  Is  she  to 
 devote  herself  to  him,  and  be  subject  to  him  in  every- 
 thing, as  the  Chm'ch  is  subject  to  Christ  ?  He  is  to 
 love  her  even  as  Christ  also  loved  the  Church,  and 
 gave  himself  for  her.  There  are  great  ends,  and  at  the 
 same  time  great  means,  great  affections,  and  also 
 great  and  suitable  objects  to  call  them  forth ;  great 
 duties,  and  also  great  motives  to  yield  the  power  of 
 performing  them.  This  constitution  of  things  is  like 
 the  constitution  of  the  universe  ;  it  is  like  the  w^ork  of 
 God.  The  Hindoo  constitution  bears  no  such  character. 
 Its  framers  wish  their  wives  to  be,  and  feel,  and  do 
 everything.  All  uncultivated  as  they  leave  them,  they 
 expect  and  require  the  fullest  and  happiest  fruits ;  and 
 as  if  to  make  up  for  all  other  deficiencies,  they  furnish 
 them  with  orders  and  threats  enough,  and  with  high 
 and  glorious  assumptions  not  a  few^  It  is  thus  they 
 idly  and  eagerly  grasp  at  ends  without  means,  affections 
 without  incentives,  and  performances  without  motives ! 
 Once  more,  we  ask,  can  the  w^ords  of  an  English  divine 
 have  given  a  true  estimate  of   the  natural  Religion 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    BUDDHISTS.  403 
 
 of  the  Hindoos,  when  he  compared  it  to  "  a  bcanti- 
 ful  and  radiant  Cherub  from  heaven,  bearing  on  his 
 persuasive  Hps  the  accents  of  pardon  and  peace,  and 
 on  his  silken  wings  satisfaction  and  blessing  ?  " 
 
 6.  Buddhism  is  another  branch  of  the  natural  Re- 
 ligion of  the  Pagan  world,  and  that  by  no  means  one 
 of  the  least  important,  it  being  the  Melifjion  of  ticarli/ 
 half  the  human  race  !  As  Buddhism,  however,  is  re- 
 markable on  account  of  its  extent,  so  also  when  we 
 consider  its  antiquity,  its  influence  upon  the  customs, 
 the  government,  and  the  constitution  of  Asiatic  nations, 
 and  the  powerful  eff'ects  upon  the  minds  of  people 
 resident  in  opposite  climates.  The  Nomadic  tribes 
 of  Central  Asia,  and  the  Tartars,  acquired  the  arts 
 of  comparative  civilization  by  its  instrumentality. 
 Buddhism  appeals  to  the  feelings  of  man;  it  is  opposed 
 to  the  exclusiveness  and  monopoly  of  an  hereditary 
 hierarchy,  and  boldly  asserts  the  equality  of  all  men  ; 
 Avhilst  the  monastic  system  imparted  vigour  to  its 
 Missionaries.  It  united  in  former  days  the  North 
 and  the  South  of  India,  Kashmir  with  Ceylon,  in  the 
 bonds  of  one  common  faith.  The  Religion  of  Buddlia 
 not  only  divided  with  Brahmanism  the  empire  of 
 opinion  for  ages,  within  the  limits  of  India  proper, 
 but  it  has  reached  an  unparalleled  extension  beyond 
 those  limits  of  India  in  more  recent  times,  wdiich  it 
 has  maintained  up  to  the  present  day.  It  is  probable, 
 that  dui'ing  four  or  five  centuries  at  least.  Buddhism 
 was  as  influential  within  tlie  bounds  of  the  Continent 
 
 D  n  2 
 
404  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 of  India  as  Bralmianism ;  and  it  is  certain,  that  the 
 period  of  its  greatest  influence  was  synchronous  witli 
 the  bri2;htest  era  of  the  intellectual  culture  of  that 
 country.  The  Brahmins,  themselves,  attest  again  and 
 again  the  philosophical  acumen  and  the  literary 
 abilities  of  their  rivals.  Buddhism,  at  this  hour,  has 
 religious  sovereignty  not  only  over  the  Highlands  of 
 Asia,  but  even  over  the  countries  beyond  the  Ganges ; 
 Birmah,  Pegu,  Assam,  Arakan,  Siam,  Kambodia, 
 Tonquin,  Cochin-China,  as  well  as  over  great  part  of 
 the  Chinese  empire  proper.  The  population  of  China 
 has  been  estimated  to  be  about  three  hundred  and 
 fifty  millions ;  and  it  has  been  calculated  that  no  less 
 than  three  hundred,  of  the  three  Inmdred  and  fifty 
 millions,  are  followers  of  the  great  Buddha  !  But 
 these  are  not  the  bounds  of  its  dominion.  It  gained 
 the  ascendency  in  Japan,  Ava,  the  coast  of  Corea,  the 
 empire  of  the  Mongols,  Kalmuks,  and  over  Great 
 Tibet !  If  we  inquire  as  to  the  origin  of  Buddhism, 
 we  are  sadly  at  a  loss ;  for  the  name  of  Buddha  sig- 
 nifies nothing  but  a  holy  sage,  a  divine  and  wise  man, 
 who  has  raised  himself  to  the  height  of  a  deity. 
 According  to  Buddhistical  notions,  every  one  of  the 
 many  worlds  has  its  human  and  divine  occupants ; 
 but  it  is  the  privilege  of  the  world  which  we  inhabit, 
 to  produce  Buddhas,  and  which  is,  therefore,  called 
 the  hcqopy  world.  Every  age  has  its  own  Buddha.  In 
 some  ages,  however,  no  person  attains  the  perfection 
 of  Buddhahood ;    whilst  in   others,  as  many  as  four 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    THE    BUDDHISTS.  405 
 
 or  even  five  of  tliein  are  produced.  The  Buddha  of 
 the  present  age  is  distinguished  from  his  predecessors 
 by  the  cognomen  of  Sakya.  In  common  with  other 
 Buddhas,  he  is  called  the  perfect  sage  ;  the  destroyer 
 of  sin,  the  Omniscient,  the  chief  of  biped  beings, 
 the  Lord  of  sages,  the  fortunate,  or  successful  being, 
 the  Saviour,  the  possessor  of  eyes,  the  cflFulgent,  the 
 sapient,  the  deliverer  of  the  world,  the  highest,  the 
 Supreme,  the  all-seeing  being,  the  august  progressor, 
 the  vanquisher  of  the  five  deaths,  the  man-lion  or 
 the  supreme  man,  the  chief  of  mankind,  the  King  of 
 Religion,  the  great  sage,  the  God  of  gods,  the  teacher 
 of  the  world,  the  supremely  wise,  and  the  chief  of 
 conquerors  ! 
 
 Shakya,  or  Sakya  Muni,  the  Buddha  of  the  present 
 rge,  has  left  the  seats  of  the  gods,  and  descended  in 
 the  form  of  the  king  of  the  elephants.  He  was  born 
 in  the  form  of  a  rainbow,  and  was  attended  at  his  birth 
 by  Spirits.  He  spoke  as  soon  as  he  was  born,  stood 
 on  his  feet,  and  measured  the  globe  in  seven  paces ! 
 At  the  age  of  seven  he  was  instructed  in  all  the  fine 
 arts  suitable  to  his  situation,  but  he  soon  outstrode 
 his  teachers.  His  hohness  was,  however,  yet  to  be 
 acquired  upon  earth.  He  was  served  by  thirty-five 
 virgins  ;  in  his  young  days,  when  he  was  awake,  they 
 endeavoured  to  entertain  him  by  music  and  dancing. 
 In  beauty  he  was  superior  to  any  mortal,  and  the 
 people  gathered  around  him  to  satisfy  their  eyes. 
 When  grown  up,  he  denied  himself  every  enjoyment 
 
406  NATURAL    RELIGION  [ohap.  iv. 
 
 of  the  royal  glory  around  liim ;  he  felt  the  misery 
 resting  upon  mankind,  and  retired  to  embrace  an 
 ascetic  life.  During  his  seclusion,  he  was  fed  by  the 
 king  of  monkeys,  with  figs  and  honey ;  one  evening, 
 however,  whilst  giving  expression  to  his  joy,  by  dancing 
 and  shouting,  the  poor  monkey  fell  into  the  water, 
 and  was  drowned  !  When  Buddha  reappeared  amongst 
 men,  his  grand  theme  of  teaching  was  to  inculcate 
 contempt  for  the  world,  and  the  destruction  of  all 
 changeable  things.  The  Buddha  in  question,  is  re- 
 garded by  the  Brahmins  as  an  incarnation  of  Vishnoo, 
 and  to  have  preached  heretical  doctrines. 
 
 Buddhism  dissents  from  Brahmanisni,  by  denying 
 the  inspiration  of  the  Vedas,  by  rejecting  the  institu- 
 tion of  caste,  and  by  refusing  to  acknowledge  the 
 divinity  of  any  of  the  sub-deities  of  the  Brahmins. 
 Whilst  the  deity  of  Brahmanisni  actively  penetrates 
 and  moves  all  nature,  the  deity  of  Buddhism  is  an 
 Epicurean  principle,  wrapped  up  in  eternal  repose; 
 and  the  highest  happiness  attainable  by  man,  is  a  con- 
 dition of  deliverance  from  all  passion,  suifering,  or  in 
 the  acquisition  of  absorption.  Whilst  Brahmanisni 
 destroys  the  very  soul  of  moral  feeling,  and  reduces 
 man  to  a  play  of  fantastic  absurdities,  the  Buddh- 
 istical  creed,  on  the  other  hand,  exercises  a  sort  of 
 moral  discipline  upon  the  human  nature,  and  hence 
 it  has  come  to  pass,  that  some  nations  who  were 
 found  savages,  received  a  tinge  of  civilization.  Ad- 
 mitting these  differences,  we  find,   on  the  other  hand 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    THE    BUDDHISTS.  407 
 
 that  the  grand  essential   principles   of  Buddhist  and 
 Brahminical  religious  speculations  are  the  same. 
 
 In  the  first  place,  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Deity, 
 distinct  from  the  world,  and  creating  and  preserving 
 the  universe,  was  not  one  of  the  essential  principles  in 
 either  of  the  two  leading  systems  of  rehgious  specula- 
 tions in  India. 
 
 Again ;  the  great  aim  of  philosophy  among  all  sects 
 was  the  liberation  of  the  soul  from  the  bonds  of  matter, 
 and  the  dominion  of  the  passions  ;  thus  putting  an  end 
 to  its  transmigrations,  when,  according  to  the  differing 
 theories  of  different  sects,  it  was  either  absorbed  into 
 the  essence  of  deity,  or  into  the  great  fountain  of 
 intellect,  or  entered  on  a  state  of  ineffable  bliss,  uncon- 
 cerned about  what  was  transacting  in  the  world  of 
 men.    This  was  the  great  principle  of  their  philosophy. 
 
 Again ;  the  grand  agent  in  this  work  was  the  soul 
 itself,  meditating  on  its  own  nature  and  dignity,  ceas- 
 ing from  all  efforts  to  conciliate  deity,  and  other 
 inferior  gods,  by  sacrifices,  or  other  works ;  and  seek- 
 ing to  free  itself  from  all  worldly  affections,  by  abstrac- 
 tion of  thought ;  thus  preparing  the  way  for  its  final 
 emancipation.  This  principle  of  Hindoo  philosophy  is 
 next  in  importance  to  the  preceding,  and  can  scarcely 
 be  separated  from  it. 
 
 The  Sanscrit  words  Moksha,  Nirvana,  Nivritti, 
 meaning  respectively,  Liberation,  Impassibility,  Inac- 
 tion, are  the  words  commonly  used  by  the  Brahmins 
 to  express  the  highest  state  of  bliss  which  the  soul  can 
 
408  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 attain.  The  equivalents  of  these  words  in  the  Ma- 
 gadhi,  Mookha,  Nivvana,  Nivvui,  are  those  used  by 
 the  Jains,  a  heretical  sect  of  Buddhism,  and  the  Buddh- 
 ists themselves  use  in  connnon  the  Pali  words 
 Mokho,  Nibban,  and  Nibbooti,  to  express  the  same  * 
 idea.  In  all  of  the  systems,  as  we  shall  immediately 
 see,  meditation  on  spirit  is  the  means  of  attaining  to 
 this  state  ;  and  so  the  three  philosophical  schemes  are 
 one  in  their  essential  principles. 
 
 Every  one  acquainted  with  these  subjects  knows 
 that  of  the  six  philosophical  systems  mentioned  by  the 
 Brahmins,  the  principal  is  the  Sankhya.  In  all  of  the 
 Poorans,  except  the  Bhagavad,  it  is  the  system  adopted. 
 Now  there  are  two  divisions  of  the  Sankhya  scheme  of 
 philosophy,  the  Theistical  and  Atheistical.  It  is  true 
 that  the  modern  Hindoos  reject  the  latter  variety  as 
 heterodox ;  still,  Theism  is  not  essential  to  the  system, 
 or  it  could  not  admit  of  an  atheistical  school.  The 
 Vedanta  system  itself  is,  more  properly,  Pantheistical ; 
 inasmuch  as,  according  to  it,  matter  does  not  exist, 
 and  all  the  spirit  that  exists  is  only  a  part  of  the 
 deity. 
 
 In  Nepaul  and  Tibet,  the  prevailing  system  of 
 Buddhism  in  the  present  day  is  that  which  admits  of 
 an  Adi  Buddha,  as  Supreme  Deity,  of  five  Dliyani' 
 Buddhas,  his  attendants,  and  of  a  multitude  of  Nir- 
 mankaya  Buddhas,  who  have  beeu  manifested  in  this 
 lower  M'orld,  the  last  of  these  being  Shakya,  who, 
 according  to  the  Tibetans,  appeared  about  a  thousand 
 
CHAP.  IV. J  OF    THE  BUDDHISTS.  409 
 
 years  before  the  Christian  era,  but,  according  to  the 
 Ceylonese,  only  about  six  hundred.  In  the  Ceylonese 
 system,  witli  which  that  of  Burma  agrees,  there  is  no 
 Adi  Buddha,  nor  any  personage  going  under  the 
 name  of  Buddha,  except  those  who  have  raised  them- 
 selves by  meditation  to  the  state  of  Buddhahood.  In 
 Nepaul  there  are,  also,  sects  holding  similar  sentiments, 
 so  that  the  doctrine  of  a  Supreme  Deity  is  not  essen- 
 tial to  the  system  of  Buddhism. 
 
 The  Jains,  also,  agreeing  with  the  Ceylonese  Buddh- 
 ists, have  no  higher  objects  of  worship  than  the 
 twenty-four  Tirthankaras,  —  sages  who  have  raised 
 themselves  from  manhood  to  godhead,  and  who  remind 
 us  strongly  of  the  twenty-four  Yzeds  of  the  Iranian 
 fire-worshippers.  Nor  do  the  Jains  admit  of  any  other 
 first  cause,  than  Nature  developing  the  world  according 
 to  the  principles  eternally  inherent  in  it.  This  is  fully 
 admitted  by  the  Jains  themselves,  as  well  as  imputed 
 to  them  by  others.  In  fact,  how  can  proper  Theism  be 
 the  attribute  of  systems,  all  of  which  teach  the  sage 
 that  by  his  own  efforts  he  can  raise  himself  to  equality 
 with  the  Supreme  God,  if  such  a  being  exists,  or  put 
 himself  in  a  condition  to  supply  his  place,  if  there  is 
 previously  no  such  being  in  the  universe  ? 
 
 The  state  of  emancipation  is  the  end,  the  means  to 
 obtain  it  is  mental  effort. 
 
 In  reference  to  the  Brahminical  doctrine,  the  folloAv- 
 ing  passages  may  be  quoted  : — "  Works  are  prescribed 
 for  persons  aifected  by  ignorance,  and  other  faults, 
 
410  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 and  not  for  the  Avise  man  skilled  in  the  unity  of  spirit ; 
 therefore,  it  is  said,  that  those  go  to  the  inferior  hea- 
 vens, while  he  ascends  to  that  state  of  imniortalit}^ 
 which  consists  in  union  with  the  Supreme."  "Know- 
 ledge of  the  unity  of  spirit  is  attained  by  restraining 
 every  natural  feeling  and  action,  and  ceasing  to  think 
 that  you  are  an  agent  or  causer  in  anything,  or  that 
 you  have  performed  any  action,  or  shall  receive  any 
 punishment  or  reward." 
 
 To  the  same  effect  in  the  exposition  of  the  Sankhya 
 Philosophy,  the  summing  up  at  the  end  is  as  follows : 
 "  By  the  attainment  of  perfect  knowledge,  virtue,  and 
 the  things  connected  with  it,  produce  no  effects  .... 
 When  separation  of  the  informed  soul  from  its  cor- 
 poreal frame  at  last  takes  place,  and  nature  in  respect 
 of  it  ceases,  then  is  absolute  and  final  deliverance 
 accomplished."  The  Jains  also  propose  emancipation 
 as  the  end  after  which  the  wise  man  aims,  and  medi- 
 tation as  the  means  by  which  he  attains  his  end,  as 
 will  sufficiently  appear  from  the  following  passages, 
 taken  from  one  of  the  most  sacred  works  of  that  sect : — 
 
 "  Inflaming  his  mind  with  devotion,  and  seated  on 
 the  heated  earth,  after  a  fast  of  three  days  without 
 the  use  of  water,  engaged  in  abstract  meditation,  he 
 attained  infinite,  incomparable,  undecaying,  unclouded, 
 all-embracing,  perfect,  certain,  supreme  intelHgence 
 and  perception." 
 
 After  enjoying  this  state  many  years  on  earth,  it  is 
 said  that,  at  the  time  of  his  death  "  the  bonds  of  decay 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    BUDDHISTS.  411 
 
 and  death  were  cut  asunder,  and  he  entered  on  a  state 
 of  perfect  bliss,  of  freedom  from  care  and  passion,  an  d 
 of  the  absence  of  all  pain." 
 
 In  respect  to  the  Buddhists,  Csoma  Koros,  who 
 lived  several  years  in  a  Buddhist  monastery  in  Tibet, 
 and  made  a  study  of  the  language  and  hterature  of  the 
 Tibetans,  declares  "  that  the  highest  point  of  the 
 Buddhistical  philosophy  among  the  Tibetans,  is  to 
 regard  as  pain  every  bodily  existence  in  whatever 
 region  of  the  world  it  be,  to  aspire  to  final  emancipa- 
 tion, and  wish  to  arrive  at  supreme  perfection,  that 
 they  may  become  able  to  help  others  in  their  miseries." 
 In  one  of  the  sacred  works  of  Ceylon  which 
 have  been  rendered  accessible,  mention  is  made  of 
 a  sage  "arriving  at  the  state  of  victory  over  the 
 passions,"  in  the  prescribed  course  of  ''  sanctified 
 meditation." 
 
 Emancipation  then  as  the  end,  and  meditation  as 
 the  means,  are  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  whole  of 
 the  Brahminical,  Jain,  and  Buddhistical  philosophy. 
 
 The  final  deliverance,  which  is  sought  after  in 
 Buddhism,  is,  however,  by  no  means  a  state  of  con- 
 scious bliss,  nor  yet  of  inert  quiescence,  but  an  abso- 
 lute absorption  and  annihilation.  Hence,  the  Buddhists 
 only  adore  the  memory,  the  images,  and  the  relics  of 
 their  Buddhas.  They  do  not  imagine  them  to  be  now 
 existing;  but  they  verily  believe  that  they  lost  their 
 intellectual  entity  upon  finishing  the  transmigratory 
 existence.     What  a  fearful  contrast  this  deliverance  of 
 
412  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Buddhism  to  the  liigliest  interests  and  the  dearest 
 hopes  of  the  Christian  believer !  How  different  the 
 Christian's  hope,  io  he  icitJi  the  Lord  for  ever,  if 
 compared  with  the  monstrous  ideas  which  have  been 
 conceived  by  the  unassisted  speculations  of  man's 
 natural  Rehgion  ! 
 
 The  redemption  of  man  being  the  problem,  which 
 Buddhism,  like  every  other  rehgious  delusion,  attempts 
 to  solve,  it  will  be  of  some  interest  to  make  a  few 
 remarks  upon  the  method  and  the  process  by  which  it 
 is  thought  to  be  accomplished;  and  we  shall  chiefly 
 be  guided  by  the  statements  of  one  of  the  most 
 learned  Buddhist  priests  that  lived  at  Ceylon.  Ac- 
 cording to  Buddhist  notions,  metempsychosis  and 
 redemption  are  one  and  the  same  thing.  The  births 
 Avhich  alternate  with  death  are  of  four  different 
 kinds.  They  are,  in  the  first  place,  either  of  an 
 ovarious  nature,  such  as  fishes,  serpents,  and  birds  of 
 every  species ;  or  they  are,  secondly,  placental,  which 
 includes  the  human  and  all  animal  births.  A  third 
 kind  is  the  humectous  birth,  including  the  generation 
 of  flies,  gnats,  and  worms,  which  are  bred  from  mois- 
 ture. The  fourth  and  last  kind  of  births  may  be  called 
 the  ajjparitional,  and  comprehends  the  Dews,  becoming 
 suddenly  manifest  as  such  in  the  appropriate  regions. 
 
 All  beings  subject  to  these  births  are  a  prey  to  the 
 changes  of  time,  and  there  is  not  one  who  in  a  con- 
 secutive series  of  generations  is  begotten  by  the  same 
 father,  born  by  the  same  mother,   or  who  belongs  to 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    BUDDHISTS.  413 
 
 the  same  tribe  or  country.  At  one  time  the  soul  is 
 inhabiting  a  human  being,  at  another  some  brute 
 animal,  enjoying  the  pleasures  and  enduring  the  pains 
 consistent  with  the  previous  merit  or  demerit. 
 
 The  miseries  natural  to  beings  who  are  constrained 
 thus  to  travel  the  endless  circle  of  birth,  decay,  and 
 death,  after  the  various  stages  of  pleasures,  are  great 
 and  numerous.  The  number  of  disorders,  distempers, 
 and  casualties  which  afflict  the  transmigrating  soul, 
 are  estimated  to  amount  to  no  less  than  two  hundred 
 and  three.  In  death,  the  nine  hundred  nerves  and 
 veins  are  snapped  asunder,  the  three  hundred  bones 
 are  fractured,  and  life  is  extinguished  ! 
 
 The  perpetual  causes  of  the  successive  bii-ths  of  all 
 transmigratory  beings,  in  the  various  retributive  states 
 of  happiness  and  of  woe,  are  ignorance,  passion, 
 avarice,  fruition  of  avarice,  and  concupiscence.  If 
 the  virtuous  affections  prove  predominant,  they  will 
 superinduce  future  felicity.  If  sinful  passions  prove 
 predominant,  they  will  insure  the  just  retribution  of 
 new  births  in  the  regions  of  misery  and  woe. 
 
 Now,  it  sometimes  happens,  that  some  wise, 
 virtuous,  compassionate,  and  merciful  man,  contem- 
 plating the  incalculable  miseries  endured  by  the  multi- 
 tudes of  beings  who  travel  on  the  stage  of  a  transitory 
 world,  resolves  upon  acquiring  omniscience,  and  be- 
 coming a  Buddha,  in  order  to  rescue  those  hapless 
 beings.  For  that  purpose  he  maintains  throughout  a 
 million  Asankas  of  Calpas,   the  mental   aspiration  of 
 
414  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 becoming  a  Buddha.  During  the  next  nine  hundred 
 thousand  Asankas  of  Calpas,  he  retains  his  resokition, 
 and  beholds,  during  that  time,  as  many  as  three  hun- 
 dred and  eighty-seven  thousand  Buddhas.  In  tlie 
 next  four  hundred  thousand  Asankas  of  Calpas  he 
 obtains  admission  to  the  presence  of  twenty-four 
 Buddhas,  from  each  of  which  he  receives  the  assurance 
 that  at  a  certain  future  period  he  will  succeed  in  his 
 wishes  to  become  a  Buddha. 
 
 From  this  time  he  is  exempt  from  being  born  in 
 eighteen  conditions,  which  would  disqualify  him  for 
 being  a  fit  candidate  for  Buddahood.  He  enjoys  the 
 privilege  of  not  being  born  of  a  deaf,  blind,  dumb, 
 idiot,  cripple,  savage,  slave,  hermaphrodite,  or  a  de- 
 formed person.  His  parent  will  not  be  larger  than  an 
 elephant,  nor  smaller  than  a  snipe ;  nor  yet  will  he 
 descend  from  wretched  demons,  and  evil  spirits.  He 
 will  be  endowed  with  compassion,  benevolence,  forbear- 
 ance, and  equanimity,  practising  charity  in  every  stage 
 of  his  upward  travels.  He  has  not  only  to  bestow 
 riches  upon  the  necessitous,  but  he  has  to  give  his 
 wife,  his  children,  to  those  who  require  servants  !  Yea, 
 he  is  not  to  refuse  his  own  blood,  flesh,  his  eyes,  his 
 head,  his  limbs,  when  he  has  opportunity  of  sacrificing 
 them  meritoriously ! 
 
 It  will  appeal*  from  the  following  table  what  a 
 quantity  of  eyes,  limbs,  heads,  flesh,  and  blood,  a  can- 
 didate for  Buddhahood  will  have  sacrificed  during  tlie 
 above-mentioned  introductory  period  of  four  hundred 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    THE    BUDDHISTS.  415 
 
 thousand  Asankas  of  Calpas  as  part  only  of  the  time 
 of  his  probation  :  — 
 
 Ten  decads  are  equal  to  one  hundred. 
 
 Ten  hundred  are  equal  to  one  thousand. 
 
 One  hundred  thousand  are  equal  to  one  Laksha. 
 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  are  equal  to  one  Kela,  or  Koti. 
 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Koti  are  equal  to  one  Koti  pre  Koti. 
 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Koti  pre  Koti  are  equal  to  one  Nahuta. 
 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Nahuta  are  equal  to  one  Ninnahuta. 
 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Ninnahuta  are  equal  to  one  Aksho- 
 
 hini. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Akshohini  are  equal  to  one  Bindu. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Bindu  are  equal  to  one  Arbuda. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Arbuda  are  equal  to  one  Nirarbuda. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Nirarbuda  are  equal  to  one  Ahaha. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  Ahaha  are  equal  to  one  Ababa. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Ababa  are  equal  to  one  Atata. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Atata  are  equal  to  one  Soghandika. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Soghandika  are  equal  to  one  Uppala. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Uppala  are  equal  to  one  Kummuda, 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Kummuda  are  equal  to   one  Poon- 
 
 darika. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Poondarika  are  equal  to  one  Paduma. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Paduma  are  equal  to  one  Kathaa. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Kathaa  are  equal  to  one  Maha  Kathaa. 
 One  hundred  Lakshas  of  Maha  Kathaa  are  equal  to  one  Asanka. 
 
 Now  the  aspiring  Buddha  is  to  pass  through  a 
 period  of  no  less  than  two  million  three  hundred  thou- 
 sand of  similar  Asankas  of  Calpas.  In  order  to  form 
 an  idea  of  one  Caljja,  Mdiich  term  does  not  occur  in 
 the  above  table,  we  are  called  upon  by  the  Buddhists 
 to  imagine  a  cube  of  solid  rock,  whose  squares  are  four 
 gows  each.     A  person,  they   say,  endowed   with  the 
 
410  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 power  of  soaring  in  the  air,  perhaps  passes  over  it 
 once  in  a  thousand  i/ears,  allowing  the  hem  of  his 
 garment  to  trail  on  the  rock.  The  rock  might,  in  con- 
 sequence of  such  slight  attrition  occurring  at  such  long 
 intervals,  become  dwindled  to  the  size  of  a  mustard 
 seed,  but  the  years  of  a  Caljja  loill  not  have  exjjired ! 
 Thus  the  number  of  an  individual's  lives  in  the  course 
 of  one  Calpa  is  inconceivable  ;  likewise  the  drops  of 
 blood,  the  morsels  of  flesh,  and  the  number  of  eyes 
 which  he  must  have  sacrificed  during  the  above  period 
 of  two  million  three  hundred  thousand  of  Asankas  of 
 Calpas  is  altogether  bewildering,  and  surpasses  all 
 conception.  Yet  it  must  be  understood  that  such 
 sacrifices  are  only  taken  into  account  when  rendered 
 willingly,  and  with  the  sacred  purpose  in  view" ;  but 
 they  avail  nothing  if  extorted  or  yielded  from  vain 
 motives  and  futile  ostentation. 
 
 In  the  process  of  time  this  eminent  being  receives 
 his  penultimate  birth  in  the  region  of  Tusita,  and 
 expatiates  on  the  felicities  of  that  divine  state  which 
 extends  to  seventy-five  Koti  and  sixty  Lakshas  of 
 years.  Towards  the  close  of  that  life,  the  gods  of  a 
 thousand  worlds  assemble  at  his  mansion,  and  announce 
 that  the  time  of  his  becoming  a  Buddha  is  at  hand. 
 Having  been  enclosed  for  ten  months  "  like  a  golden 
 statue  in  a  diamond  shrine,''  he  is  born  in  due  time, 
 and  received  into  a  golden  net,  and  placed  on  celestial 
 linen.  And  whilst  the  earth  puts  forth  blossoms  of 
 Lotus,  all  the  gods  of  the  four  quarters  exclaim  :   ''  In 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE  BUDDHISTS.  417 
 
 all  these  realms  there  is  not  one  (greater  than  thou!" 
 He  then  proclaims  his  own  pre-eminence  with  the 
 voice  of  a  mighty  lion,  in  the  four  quarters  of  the 
 globe,  saying  :  ''  I  am  the  most  excellent  in  the  tvorld  ; 
 I  am  supreme  in  the  loorld ;  this  is  my  last  life;  I 
 shall  not  be  horn  again."  This  is  the  method  and  the 
 process  of  every  one  Buddha.  And,  having  reached 
 that  eminence,  and  being  moved  by  the  matchless 
 compassion  and  benevolence  of  his  nature,  he  provides 
 a  refuge  and  protection  for  those  who  are  tormented 
 by  the  effects  of  their  evil  works,  in  teaching  them  the 
 way  of  truth  ;  the  sum  and  substance  of  which  is,  that 
 alms,  abstaining  from  evil,  and  contemplation,  follow 
 the  virtuous  person  into  all  his  future  state  of  ex- 
 istence. Even  as  one's  shadow^  attends  only  on  his 
 own  person,  and  never  on  that  of  another,  so  whatever 
 merit  one  may  have  acquired,  or  whatever  demerit  he 
 may  have  incurred,  adheres  to  that  identical  individual 
 alone,  and,  following  him  into  futurity,  superinduces 
 appropriate  retributions. 
 
 Now  in  all  this  we  hear  nothing  of  God  as  the  author 
 of  salvation.  And  to  the  whole  brotherhood  of 
 Buddhas  we  must  object  on  several  grounds.  It  is 
 true,  they  are  represented  as  being  moved  by  match- 
 less compassion  on  contemplating  their  fellow  men  under 
 the  pressure  of  the  miseries  which  they  endure.  But 
 they  were,  after  all,  mere  men,  wlio  in  addition  teach 
 as  one  of  the  sublime  truths  which  they  discovered 
 during  a  period  of  time   exceeding   two  millions  of 
 
 VOL.  I.  E  E 
 
418  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Asankas  of  Calpas,  that  every  one  is  to  suffer  or  enjoy 
 what  he  merits  or  deserves,  and  that  no  vicarious 
 mediation  is  possible ! 
 
 Buddha  is  said  to  have  sacrificed  drops  of  blood, 
 morsels  of  flesh,  numbers  of  eyes,  heads,  wives,  and 
 children,  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  Baddhahood,  which, 
 if  taken  at  the  rate  of  a  unit  in  each  Calpa,  would 
 amount  to  four  Lakshas  of  Asankas,  and  the  aggregate 
 must  therefore  have  been  exceeding  one  thousand  of 
 oceans  in  quantity,  and  the  stars  of  ten  thousand  hea- 
 vens in  number.  But  for  all  these  wild  ideas  we  have 
 no  further  authority  than  the  naked  statement  of  a  set 
 of  men,  unsupported  by  either  historical  or  internal 
 evidence.  Jesus  Christ,  hy  once  shedding  his  blood, 
 has  perfected  for  ever  them  that  believe  on  his  name  ! 
 
 Buddha  was  a  man,  vile  and  sinful  like  all  the  rest, 
 and  it  was  part  of  his  work  to  subdue  the  corruptions 
 in  his  own  nature.  In  order  to  become  a  god  of  gods 
 by  his  own  efforts,  and  able  to  teach  mankind  sublime 
 truths,  the  candidate  for  Buddhahood  was  to  *'  aspire' 
 after  this  exalted  station  during  one  million  of  Asankas 
 of  Calpas,  each  of  which  was  of  inconceivable  length. 
 After  the  expiration  of  this  period,  he  was  to  "  express' 
 his  resolve  for  nine  hundred  thousand  Asankas  of 
 Calpas.  After  the  lapse  of  these  countless  ages,  it 
 required  another  four  hundred  thousand  Asankas  of 
 Calpas  to  obtain  the  assurance  from  his  predecessors, 
 that  at  a  certain  period  he  should  succeed  in  his  efforts. 
 And,  amidst  all  this,  he  is  to  be  employed  in  sacrificing 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   BUDDHISTS.  419 
 
 blood,  limbs,  eyes,  heads,  lives,  wives,  and  cliildren  ! 
 If,  therefore,  the  lives  which  the  candidate  must  have 
 sacrificed  defy  all  calculation,  what  shall  we  say  of  the 
 generations  of  human  soals  which  have  passed  away 
 without  the  benefit  of  his  "  sublime  truths  "  before  he 
 was  made  perfect !  But  he  has  now  only  obtained  the 
 assurance  of  becoming  a  Buddha,  and  it  will  require 
 fifty-nine  Koti  and  sixty  Lakshas  of  years  more, 
 before  he  can  proclaim  his  own  pre-eminence  ivitU  the 
 voice  of  a  micjlity  lion  ! 
 
 How  different  the  case  of  our  blessed  and  adorable 
 Saviour !  There  was  indeed  a  preparation  on  the 
 part  of  the  world  which  was  to  be  redeemed  ;  but  his 
 atonement  was  retrospective  as  well  as  prospective; 
 whilst  his  own  personal  preparation  did  not  exceed 
 the  number  of  thirty  years  !  And  whilst  Buddha  is 
 lost  in  obtaining  Ninrana,  Christ  Jesus  I'weth  for  ever 
 to  make  intercession  for  us !  The  "  four  sublime 
 truths "  which  Buddha  attained,  it  is  worthy  to 
 observe,  contain,  after  all,  nothing  which  men  did  not 
 already  know.  He  teaches  them,  for  instance,  that 
 they  are  really  miserable,  a  truth  which  they  felt 
 already  painfully  enough ;  and  the  other  verities  which 
 he  teaches  the  world  are  of  a  similar  character.  And 
 then,  when  we  recollect  the  number  of  unmeasured 
 Calpas  during  which  Buddha  had  to  transmigrate,  it 
 would  speak,  after  all,  very  unfavourably  of  the  efficacy  of 
 the  means  which  he  adopted  and  which  he  recommends 
 to  others  for  obtaining  perfection  !  He  wasted  his  time 
 
 E  E  2 
 
420  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 in  preaching  eighty-four  thousand  sermons  on  good 
 and  evil,  giving  rules  for  conduct,  and  teaching  methods 
 to  subdue  evil  propensities ;  but  we  assert  that  our 
 Lord's  one  Sermon  on  the  Mount  contains  more  true 
 wisdom  and  divine  morality  than  all  the  sermons  of 
 the  twenty-five  Buddhas,  which  they  propounded  to 
 the  world  during  the  unmeasured  Asankas  of  eternal 
 ages  !  We  do  readily  admit  that  Buddhism  has  done 
 much,  comparatively  speaking,  towards  the  partial 
 civilization  of  Central  Asia,  and  other  countries.  We 
 rejoice  to  find  that  there  is  more  stress  laid  upon 
 the  keeping  of  the  precepts  of  Buddha  than  on  the 
 ofi'ering  of  flowers,  and  rice,  and  sandal-wood,  and 
 other  things.  But  the  Ethics  of  Buddhism  have  been 
 greatly  exaggerated  by  European  writers.  The  prac- 
 tical precepts  of  Buddhism  are  ten  in  number.  The 
 major  precepts  are,  not  to  kill  any  thing  alive ;  not  to 
 steal ;  not  to  commit  adultery ;  not  to  bear  false 
 witness ;  and  not  to  drink  wine.  They  are  to  prac- 
 tise instead  the  five  following  virtues, — humanity,  pru- 
 dence, justice,  sincerity,  and  temperance.  The  minor 
 precepts  are  likewise  five  in  number.  They  are,  not 
 to  take  elevated  seats ;  not  to  use  flowers  and  ribands 
 upon  the  dress  ;  not  to  indulge  in  singing  and  dancing ; 
 not  to  wear  ornaments  or  jewels  on  the  hand ;  not  to 
 eat  after  midday  or  noon  !  The  minor  precepts  seem 
 chiefly  to  relate  to  the  Clergy. 
 
 The  keeping  of  these  laws  will  entitle  a  man  to  be 
 born  among  the  higher  intelligences ;  but  whosoever 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    BUDDHISTS.  421 
 
 neglects  these  precepts,  and  dies  without  any  merit, 
 has  to  descend  to  the  lowest  of  hells,  and  begin  his 
 migrations  afresh  !     How  different  the  royal  law  of  the 
 Decalogue  in  the  Bible,  if  compared  to  the  ten  com- 
 mandments of  Buddhism  !     The  latter  are  devoid  of 
 every  religious  foundation.     Yea,  the  very  precepts  are 
 given  differently  in  some  places ;   some  being  left  out, 
 others  are  inserted  instead.      And  as   Buddhism  is 
 ignorant   of  the   nature  of  sin,  so  it  holds  out  no 
 heaven  and  no  hell,  in  spite  of  its  speaking  of  one 
 hundred  and  thirty  hells,  and  of  eighteen  heavens  ! 
 Fate  cannot  be  propitiated,  necessity  cannot  be  evaded, 
 and  where  the  sense  of  accountableness  is  extinguished, 
 there  can  be  no  repentance,  no  fear,  no  gratitude,  no 
 hope !     Knowledge  only  is  virtue ;    and  apathy  the 
 highest  bliss.     This  is    a  negation  of  Religion,  and 
 annihilation  of  all  moral  sense  and  moral  feeling.  And 
 then,   what   are  the  negative   virtues  of  Buddhism  ? 
 What  the  qualifications  of  a  man  for  heaven,  who 
 does  not  steal,  nor  tell  untruth,  who  is  not  proud,  who 
 destroys  no  animal  life,  who  wears  no  gay  apparel, 
 uses  no  perfumes,  who  neither  sits  nor  sleeps  in  lowly 
 places,  nor  eats  out  of  prescribed  hours,  who  neither 
 paints  his  body  nor  his  hair,  who  does  not  lie  on  soft 
 beds,  and  possesses  no  gold  and  silver  ? 
 
 It  could  not  be  our  present  object  to  enter  into  the 
 subject  of  Buddhism,  with  its  boundless  field  of  literary 
 research.  The  late  Abel  Remusat  of  Paris,  having  de- 
 voted twenty  years,  in  the  prime  of  life,  to  the  study  of 
 
422  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Buddhism  in  its  exoteric  and  esoteric  forms,  confessed. 
 at  the  end  of  that  period,  that  he  was  still  an  inquirer 
 into  the  arcana  of  Buddhist  lore.  After  sucli  a  con- 
 fession from  such  a  man,  it  can  hardly  be  expected 
 that  we  can  state  in  these  few  pages  all  that  is  desir- 
 able to  be  known  upon  the  subject.  It  will,  however, 
 suffice  to  show  how  deficient  and  how  poor  have  been 
 the  elements  of  religious  truth  in  this  mighty  branch  of 
 Natural  Religion. 
 
 It  may,  perhaps,  be  expected,  before  we  leave  the 
 subject,  that  we  should  say  a  word  upon  the  affinity 
 of  the  ecclesiastical  polity  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
 the  ecclesiastical  constitution  of  Buddhism.  We  have, 
 indeed,  some  very  remarkable  coincidences  before  us. 
 Who  can  overlook  the  numbers  of  Buddhist  monas- 
 teries, with  their  different  orders,  occupations,  and 
 their  adoption  of  the  vows  of  celibacy  ?  The  High 
 Priest,  or  the  High  Lama  of  Tibet,  is  found  in 
 many  points  to  resemble  the  Pope  of  the  Church  of 
 Rome.  We  have  hosts  of  begging  monks,  whose 
 demeanour,  whose  dress  and  customs  are  much  like 
 those  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Nunneries,  too,  are 
 as  frequent  as  amongst  the  Roman  Catholics.  The 
 fastings,  the  contemplations,  the  chantings  of  sacred 
 hymns,  the  use  of  rosaries,  of  images,  of  candles,  of 
 incense  amongst  both  are  found  to  be  extremely  alike. 
 Amongst  both  we  have  pilgrimages  to  sacred  places, 
 which  contain  the  relics  of  some  saint  or  other.  The 
 religious  ceremonies  are  equally  imposing  and  com- 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   CHINESE.  423 
 
 plicated.  The  ringing  of  bells,  tlie  richly  ornamented 
 robes  of  the  Buddhist  priest  who  serves  at  the  altar, 
 the  use  of  sacred  water,  the  keeping  of  Saints'  days, 
 and  other  particulars,  cannot  fail  to  sm-prise  us  in  the 
 ceremonial  of  the  Buddhistical  worship.  Now  it  is  a 
 common  idea,  that  in  the  earhest  times,  the  Nestorians 
 propagated  Christianity  in  Tibet,  and  that  the  religion 
 of  the  Grand  Lama  of  Tibet  has  an  admixture  of 
 the  Christian  faith.  At  all  events,  it  seems  to  be 
 established,  that  Buddhism  has  been  entirely  changed, 
 and  that  its  present  constitution  is,  perhaps,' not  older 
 than  the  fom-th  century  of  our  era.  If  this  be,  indeed, 
 the  case,  the  very  striking  analogy  would  be  no  longer 
 a  mystery. 
 
 7.  In  turning  from  the  combined  efforts  of  the 
 several  nations  which  have  embraced  Buddhism,  we 
 meet,  on  the  extreme  boundaries  of  the  East,  the  re- 
 markable nation  of  the  Chinese ;  a  nation  which  was 
 enjoying  the  blessings  of  comparative  civilization,  whilst 
 the  countries  in  the  Western  outskirts  of  the  Eastern 
 hemisphere  were  still  sitting  in  utter  darkness,  without 
 a  glimpse  of  light  to  fall  upon  their  state  of  barbarity 
 and  ignorance.  If  we  inquire  as  to  the  state  of  natm-al 
 Religion  amongst  them,  we  discover  that  it  embodied, 
 in  its  more  primitive  stages,  some  few  remarkable  and 
 venerable  remnants  of  a  Patriarchal  Monotheism.  But 
 the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  deification  of 
 the  elements  and  of  their  ancestors,  prevailed  at  a  very 
 early  period  amongst  them.    Heaven,  earth,  and  their 
 
424  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 ancestors,  seem  to  have  been  the  divine  Triad  amongst 
 the  Chinese  from  times  immemorial,  whilst  they  are 
 actually  ignorant  of  a  word  which  signifies  God,  in- 
 dependent of  that  which  is  used  for  heaven. 
 
 In  ordinary  conversation,  the  sun  and  the  moon  are 
 spoken  of  as  the  great  male  and  female  divinities ; 
 whilst  at  the  time  of  the  winter  solstice  they  have  a 
 general  thanksgiving  to  the  fire,  or  its  presiding  deity, 
 for  his  preserving  care  during  the  past  year.  With 
 this  system  of  a  physical  and  astronomical  Religion 
 M^ere  originally  combined  some  noble  elements.  They 
 knew  of  a  divine  Being,  who  was  so  far  of  a  spiritual 
 character  as  to  be  incapable  of  being  worshipped 
 through  images ;  who  was  Lord  over  all ;  who  knows 
 all  things,  and  penetrates  all  things;  who  without 
 ears  hears  all  things,  and  having  no  eyes  sees  all 
 things,  and  who  is  generally  endowed  with  the  several 
 metaphysical  attributes  of  the  Deity.  But  these  grand 
 ideas  of  the  Supreme  Deity  were  soon  smothered, 
 amidst  the  innovations  of  the  several  sects  which  were 
 successively  grafted  upon  it ;  and  although  China  was 
 never  free  from  idolatry,  the  evil  was  yet  greatly  aggra- 
 vated by  new  sectarian  systems. 
 
 It  has  been  the  general  idea,  that  the  Religion  of 
 Confutse,  or  Confucius,  is  the  established  Religion 
 of  China;  but,  strictly  speaking,  he  was  as  little  a 
 religious  teacher  as  he  was  a  philosopher.  Confucius, 
 indeed,  exhorted  to  the  practice  of  virtue,  and  enforced 
 a  moral  code  of  comparative  purity,  but  his  precepts 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   CHINESE.  425 
 
 related  chiefly  to  political  economy.  He  is  considered 
 to  be  author  of  five  "  kings,"  or  books.  One  of  the 
 books  contains  historical  notices  of  princes  and  rulers 
 of  the  Chinese  in  days  of  old.  Another  "  king  "  pre- 
 serves the  favourite  sayings  of  emperors,  politicians, 
 and  philosophers,  and  gives  an  account  of  the  bliss 
 and  glory  which  the  Chinese  enjoyed  under  the  rule 
 of  these  sovereigns,  who  governed  them  in  days  of 
 comparative  innocence  and  purity,  exhibiting  many 
 ideal  sketches,  which  are  no  where  realized.  The 
 Chinese  have,  therefore,  in  common  with  other  Pagan 
 nations,  pursued  the  shadows  of  an  abstract  felicity 
 and  virtue,  which  are  supposed  to  have  existed  in  former 
 days,  in  order  to  disguise  the  fearful  realities  of  sin, 
 and  the  miseries  incident  to  the  fall  of  man.  A  third 
 book  or  "  king"  preserves  some  three  hundred  chosen 
 national  songs  of  their  ancestors,  the  subjects  of  which 
 are  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people,  the  vices 
 and  virtues  of  their  sovereigns,  the  duties  of  hospitality 
 to  strangers,  and  of  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the 
 heavenly  realm  of  the  Chinese  Empire.  These  hymns 
 are,  finally,  in  honour  of  heaven,  and  the  most  cele- 
 brated Patriarchs  of  the  nation.  A  fourth  book 
 contains  rules  for  private  life,  the  intercourse  of 
 friends,  precepts  for  children  and  parents,  subjects 
 and  rulers.  It  contains  models  for  some  three  thou- 
 sand ceremonies  and  compliments,  such  as  bowing, 
 saluting,  eating,  drinking ;  it  prescribes  rules  for 
 marrying,    and   being    given   in    marriage,    sickness, 
 
426  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 death,  burial,  mourning,  and  similar  occurrences  in 
 common  life.  The  last  of  the  five  books  ascribed  to 
 Confucius  is  of  a  strictly  Cabalistic  character.  It  pre- 
 tends to  explain  what  some  ancient  sage  has  attempted 
 to  express  by  six  perfect  and  six  broken  lines.  And 
 whosoever  has  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of 
 this  Chinese  Apocalypsis,  has  obtained  a  key  to  all 
 mysteries. 
 
 These  are  evidently  books  which  are  far  from  being 
 able  to  lay  claim  to  a  religious  character.  They 
 contain  severally  a  collection  of  precepts  of  a  motley 
 description,  referring  to  common  life  and  the  interests 
 of  the  state;  and  we  find  occasionally  interspersed 
 religious  sentiments,  apparently  with  no  other  view 
 than  to  supply,  in  a  small  measure,  the  absence  of 
 everything  that  could  satisfy  the  religious  wants  of 
 immortal  souls,  and  to  give  authority  and  consistency 
 to  a  mass  of  heterogeneous  precepts  and  ceremonial 
 observances.  And  in  order  to  pay  their  debt  of 
 gratitude  for  these  achievements  of  Confucius,  the 
 Chinese  have  erected,  in  every  town  of  the  empire,  a 
 public  building,  which  is  called  the  house  of  Confutse. 
 In  the  large  hall  of  this  building  is  a  tablet,  on  which 
 is  written  the  golden  inscription,  "  O  Confutse,  our 
 adorable  Lord,  be  pleased  to  descend  in  spiiit,  and 
 rejoice  in  this  our  adoration,  which  we  bring  before 
 thee  in  great  humility."  And  on  a  certain  day,  the 
 learned  people  of  the  place  bring  fruits,  wine,  flowers, 
 and  other  odoriferous  things   before  the  tablet,  and 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   CHINESE.  427 
 
 burn  incense.  To  obtain  similar  honours  after  death 
 is  the  chief  motive  which  the  Chinese  has  in  adhering 
 to  the  precepts  of  the  Ancients. 
 
 We  have  in  Confucius  the  poUtician  of  the  Chinese 
 empire.  His  books  and  doctrines  all  relate  to 
 the  common  affairs  of  life  and  the  concerns  of  the 
 empire,  without  reference  to  God  and  eternity.  The 
 spirit  of  the  politician  makes  all  to  bear  upon  the 
 more  general  benefit  of  the  nation ;  the  precepts  are 
 considered  good  and  laudable  as  long  as  they  are 
 calculated  to  promote  these  interests ;  and  whilst 
 all  the  passions  of  the  human  heart  in  its  natural 
 state,  such  as  prudence,  pride,  ambition,  are  kindled 
 by  a  similar  system,  the  very  fountains  of  pure 
 morality  are  naturally  destroyed.  The  absence  of  a 
 priesthood  in  such  a  system  cannot  be  surprising ; 
 the  natural  Religion  of  the  Chinese  is  stamped  with 
 a  political  character.  Every  public  officer  of  the 
 state  is  legally  authorized  to  perform  the  ceremonies 
 of  Religion.  And  we  can  well  conceive  that  the  three 
 thousand  ceremonies  which  are  annually  performed, 
 are  gone  through  witliout  a  thought,  and  without 
 a  spark  of  devotional  feeling.  The  priestly  magistrate 
 of  the  Chinese  realm  has  no  more  warmth  of  feeling 
 during  these  functions  than  the  worshipper  of  the 
 Lama,  lolio  writes  his  petition  upon  a  hit  of  pa2)er,  and 
 exposes  it  to  the  wind,  which  he  considers  equivalent  to 
 his  making  j^ersonal  svpplication  !  He  burns  his  gold 
 paper  with  the  same  indifference  with  which  another 
 
428  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 constructs  a  "  mill  ofpra7/er,"  hy  loliich  Us  desires  are 
 to  be  kept  in  constant  motion  ;  and  hij  which  his  peti- 
 tions continually  ascend  and  descend  before  the  Deify! 
 The  character  of  God,  as  Creator  of  the  universe,  is 
 unknown  in  this  system.     The  dualism  of  hght  and 
 darkness,  of  heaven  and  earth,  of  male  and  female, 
 are  ideas  which  are  conspicuous  throughout  the  system 
 of  Confucius.     The  beginning  of  heaven  and  earth, 
 and  the  end  of  the  created  universe,  are  things  unheard 
 of  in  their  sacred  books.     The  creation  as   it   now 
 appears,  is  to  be  attributed  to  a  process  in  nature. 
 We  might  expect  that  so  loose  a  system  of  Religion 
 would  not   escape   the  philosophical   speculations   of 
 thinking  men.     Hence,  w^e  observe  that  this  system 
 soon  branched  into  two  systems  of  religious  philosophy, 
 one  of  which  was    bordered   on  a   rude,  degrading 
 Materiahsm,  whilst  the  other  rushed  to  the  extreme  of 
 a  subtle  system  of  Atheism.     And  whilst  the  vulgar 
 mass  of  the  population  was  overwhelmed  by  a  grovel- 
 ling superstition,  the  more  educated  class  of  the  nation 
 became  the  victims  of  a  bold  infidelity.     The  national 
 deity,  however,  has  always  been  the  state,  the  monarch 
 the  officiating  high-priest,  and  the  Chinese  realm  "  the 
 kingdom  of  heaven  ! " 
 
 The  Confucian  creed  is  absorbed  with  the  things  of 
 this  world ;  another  branch  of  the  Religion  of  the 
 Chinese  takes  no  notice  of  temporal  matters,  and  it  is, 
 on  that  account,  understood  and  followed  by  a  very 
 few  people.      The  mystical  philosopher  Laokiun,  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   CHINESE.  429 
 
 founder  of  the  Tao-tse  sect,  maintained  that  Chaos 
 was  before  heaven  and  earth;  and  previous  to  the 
 Chaos  was  a  silent  being,  immeasurable,  sole,  immu- 
 table, full  of  activity,  the  parent  of  the  universe. 
 Laokiun  did  not  pretend  to  know  its  name,  but  he 
 called  it  "  Beasoii!'  Man  had  his  model  from  the 
 earth,  the  earth  her  model  from  heaven,  heaven  from 
 Reason,  and  Reason  was  the  original  of  all  things ! 
 The  "Reason"  of  this  religious  sect,  as  being  the 
 fountain  of  all  intelligence,  has  some  affinity  to  the 
 Logos  of  the  Grecian  philosophers,  and  the  Honover 
 of  the  Persians.  Virtue  was,  in  some  instances,  en- 
 couraged in  the  Tao-tse  system  of  Religion  by  motives 
 which  were  drawn  from  a  future  state.  But  idolatry 
 was  still  more  encouraged  in  this  system  of  the 
 Chinese  Mythology,  than  it  was  in  that  of  Confucius ; 
 although  the  latter  is,  in  other  respects,  inferior  to  the 
 former.  It  was  a  Religion  of  Nature ;  and  Nature  knew 
 how  to  secure  her  interests.  To  be  happy,  and  to 
 enjoy  the  pleasures  of  life,  was  considered  to  be  the 
 chief  thing  to  be  desired.  Whilst  the  lower  classes 
 cannot  dive  into  the  system  itself,  they  can  heartily 
 join  in  its  practical  results,  which  were,  living  in  plea- 
 sure, and  being  dead  whilst  they  live  ! 
 
 The  fear  of  death,  which  puts  an  end  to  the  plea- 
 sures of  life,  produced,  however,  an  uncomfortable 
 feeling,  and  the  founder  of  this  sect  was  induced  to 
 search  for  the  nectar  of  immortality ;  it  was,  however, 
 only  natural  death  whose  power  they  desired  to  sub- 
 
430  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 due  by  the  desired  essence  of  life.  It  was  in  searching 
 for  some  means  to  prevent  the  natural  death,  that 
 intercourse  was  to  be  held  with  the  world  of  spirits. 
 This  led  to  all  manner  of  witchcraft  and  consulting  of 
 familiar  spirits ;  they  entertained  even  the  wild  idea  of 
 inventing  the  art  of  flying,  in  order  to  raise  their  bodies 
 into  heaven  without  the  crisis  of  the  natural  death ! 
 The  hope  of  avoiding  death  induced  many  to  become 
 followers  of  this  system  of  Laokiun.  The  "  doctors  of 
 Reason,"  for  this  is  the  meaning  of  Tao-tse,  became  fools 
 in  their  wisdom  ;  and  in  their  folly  they  filled  heaven 
 and  earth  with  innumerable  demons  and  spirits ;  they 
 practised  at  all  times  witchcraft,  astrology,  magic,  and 
 other  favourite  arts  of  a  base  superstition.  The 
 teachers  of  Lao-tse,  or  of  the  "  doctrine  of  the  word," 
 live  in  mountains  and  deserts  as  monks  and  ascetics. 
 This  sect  has,  however,  their  married  priests  in  towns 
 and  cities ;  and  even  those  who  have  yet  retained  their 
 ascetic  character  are  now  spread  all  over  the  land 
 as  religious  teachers  and  mendicants,  as  magicians, 
 charmers,  and  quacks ;  and  thousands  of  human  lives 
 fall  a  sacrifice  to  their  horrible  treatment.  Although 
 the  Tao-tse  sect  had  few  followers  at  the  commence- 
 ment, it  spread  by  degrees  all  over  the  several  pro- 
 vinces, and  was  at  one  time  even  countenanced  by  the 
 sovereign  of  the  land. 
 
 There  is,  however,  another  Religion,  which  has  found 
 a  gracious  reception  amongst  the  Chinese  population, 
 and  this  is  the  Buddhist  Jlcligion,  which  was  propa- 
 
CHAP.   IV.]  OF    THE   CHINESE.  431 
 
 gated  in  the  Chinese  empire  by  foreign  missionaries 
 with  great  success  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian 
 era.  But  however  zealously  the  Tao-tse  sect  and  that 
 of  Buddhism  might  propagate  their  respective  religious 
 systems  in  the  country,  the  Confucian  creed,  if  such 
 it  may  be  termed,  maintained  its  stand  against  every 
 innovation  respecting  the  constitution  of  the  empire 
 and  its  government.  The  foundations  of  the  empire 
 seemed  to  be  laid  deep,  and  could  not  be  easily 
 shaken  by  any  foreign  influence.  The  history  of  China, 
 indeed,  speaks  of  severe  disturbances,  which  were  con- 
 nected both  with  the  spread  of  the  Tao-tse  and  the 
 Buddhist  Religions  ;  but  these  feuds  were  chiefly 
 carried  on  between  the  respective  priesthoods  of  these 
 sects,  and  did  not  aS'ect  either  the  mass  of  the  people 
 or  the  government  of  the  country.  Buddhism,  though 
 foreign  as  to  its  origin,  seemed  to  have  made  the 
 greatest  impression  upon  the  Chinese  mind.  But 
 although  coming  from  another  country,  it  had  many 
 things  in  common  with  the  already  existing  systems 
 of  Religion  ;  and  it  received  again  a  strong  tinge  from 
 the  national  superstition,  thus  causing  it  to  differ 
 in  some  respects  from  the  Buddhist  Religion^  of  other 
 countries.  Since  one  of  the  Buddhist  priests  was 
 canonized  a  Shangtee  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Bud- 
 dhism has  obtained  a  strong  ascendency  over  the 
 ancient  sects  of  the  Chinese  :  and  when  the  Mongols 
 had  succeeded  in  obtaining  supreme  power  in  China, 
 the  imperial  court  w^as  highly  favourable  to  Buddhism, 
 
433  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 which  was  already  the  Rehgion  of  the  Mongols ;  and 
 there  is  sufficient  reason  to  consider  the  Buddhist  Reli- 
 gion as  the  national  creed  of  the  Chinese  empire. 
 
 Convents  without  number,  and  an  army  of  begging 
 monks,  infest  the  country  and  deceive  the  people  with 
 their  rosaries,  their  mummeries,  and  their  legends. 
 In  the  temples,  incense  is  profusely  burnt,  bells  are 
 ringing,  drums  are  beaten,  and  the  prayers  of  the 
 Buddha  are  muttered.  In  every  corner  of  the  towns 
 and  cities  a  monk  has  placed  himself  to  bring  heaven 
 and  hell  in  glowing  pictures  before  his  audience,  in 
 order  to  obtain  alms  for  himself,  and  gifts  for  his  con- 
 vent. How  numerous  the  Buddhists  must  be  in  China 
 will  appear  from  the  fact,  that  the  priesthood  alone 
 has  been  estimated  at  more  than  two  mihions. 
 
 It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  neither  of  these 
 three  systems  of  spurious  Religion  in  China  seems  to 
 have  made  any  strongly  marked  impression  upon  the 
 nation.  There  are  Buddhist  and  Tao  priests,  but 
 frequently  the  people  do  not  rank  themselves  under 
 them  as  leaders.  As  it  was  in  the  days  of  Pliny 
 amongst  the  Romans,  the  doctrines  of  all  three  sects 
 are  often  received  by  the  unlearned  as  equally  worthy 
 of  belief,  and  by  the  learned  they  are  equally  despised 
 and  ridiculed.  Whilst  the  priesthood  of  the  Tao  and 
 Buddha  sects  are  generally  ignorant  of  their  sacred 
 books,  the  vulgar  superstitions  float  at  random  upon 
 the  popular  mind.  The  worship  of  the  ancestors 
 seems  to  be  the  Shibboleth  of  all  parties. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE    CHINESE.  433 
 
 If  we  sum  up  the  articles  of  the  natural  Religion  of 
 the  Chinese,  we  must  declare  that  they  are  a  people 
 without  God  in  this  world ;  and  that  although  they 
 attained  a  considerable  degree  of  civilization  at  a  very 
 early  period,  they  were  ever  far  behind  the  rest  of  other 
 Asiatic  nations  in  their  religious  speculations.  Where 
 is  the  wise,  where  is  the  scribe,  where  is  the  "  doctor 
 of  reason'"'  where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world?  God 
 hath  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  the  Chinese,  after 
 that  by  wisdom  they  knew  not  God. 
 
 The   educated   Chinese  never  speaks   on    religious 
 subjects.     God  and  Religion  is  neither  the  first  nor 
 the  second  concern  of  his  existence.     If  you  speak  to 
 him  of  things  eternal,  he  asks  with  a  contemptuous 
 smile,  whether  any  one  has  seen  heaven  and  hell.    He 
 laughs  at  the  supposed  fancies  of  a  future  world  as 
 ridiculous  things,  which  are  below  the  level  of  those 
 things  which  concern  the  wise  and  the  learned.     And 
 then  the  State  is  the  Deity,  and  the  Emperor  its  high- 
 priest  ;  not  because  he  is  full  of  patriotism  and  loyalty, 
 but  because  these  are  the  customs  of  the  nation.     The 
 vulgar  mass  create  their  deities  after  their  own  plea- 
 sure.    The  image  of  the  Chinese  serpent,  or  any  other 
 form,    will   serve   his  purpose.     In  Java,   a  print  of 
 Napoleon   has    been    made   the  guardian  deity  of  a 
 Chinese.     He  erects  his  altar  before  his   gods,   and 
 burns  upon  it  daily  a  small  bit  of  Chinese  gold  paper, 
 of  which  he  receives  a  thousand  leaves  for  a  Spanish 
 dollar.     Although  this  paper  is  very  inexpensive,  the 
 
 VOL.  I.  F  F 
 
434  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Chinese  annually  burn  it  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred 
 and  sixty  millions  of  Spanish  dollars  !  But  all  this  is 
 done,  not  so  much  with  a  view  to  honour  the  idol,  as 
 under  the  impression  that  in  so  doing  they  will  not 
 be  without  money  in  the  world  to  come !  Twice 
 a-year  he  sacrifices  pigs  and  fowls  upon  the  tombs  of 
 his  ancestors,  which  he,  however,  consumes  himself 
 with  a  singular  appetite ;  and  once  a-year  he  adorns 
 his  house  with  lamps,  when  all  the  cities  and  towns 
 and  villages  of  the  Chinese  empire  are  brightly  illu- 
 minated ! 
 
 Notwithstanding  this  extreme  poverty  of  the 
 Chinese  Religion,  it  embodies  some  few  relics  of  pri- 
 mitive revelation.  They  have  an  ancient  tradition 
 that  heaven  and  earth  had  a  beginning ;  that  Niu-hoa 
 had  taken  yellow  earth,  (yellow  being  the  sacred 
 colour  of  the  Chinese  ;)  that  he  had  kneaded  the 
 same,  and  from  it  framed  man.  The  first  pair  of 
 mankind  was  called  Prigaurata  and  Utanapa.  They 
 have  distinct  recollections  of  a  Paradisaical  state  ;  they 
 know  of  a  garden  of  bliss,  with  a  yellow  fountain 
 of  immortality,  which  divided  into  four  streams.  It 
 was  adorned  with  all  manner  of  trees,  especially  one 
 which  is  remarkable  for  being  called  the  tree  of  end- 
 less life ;  and  the  enjoyment  of  its  fruit  produced 
 immortalityo  Man  lived  in  peace,  and  was  surrounded 
 by  the  animals,  who  were  yet  harmless  and  inoff'ensive. 
 But  all  was  lost  by  the  sensuality  of  the  human  race. 
 "  Our   corruption  does  not  come  from  Tien,  but  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   CHINESE.  435 
 
 cause  of  it  is  the  woman.  We  jjossessed  happy  fields, 
 the  woman  has  deprived  us  of  them.  All  ivas  subject  to 
 us,  hut  the  loomcm  has  brought  us  into  slavery.  And 
 ivhen  man  was  fallen,  all  wlldatiimals,  birds,  and  insects 
 and  reptiles  became  our  enemies''  One  of  the  "  kings" 
 commences  with  the  account  of  a  flood  as  a  tremen- 
 dous catastrophe.  And  other,  (non-canonical,)  books 
 often  speak  of  such  a  visitation ,  but  Niu-hoa  is  said 
 to  have  subdued  the  waters  by  the  wood,  or  by  the 
 ship  built  from  wood  ;  and  the  firmament,  which  had 
 been  broken,  and  poured  down  its  waters,  was 
 restored  by  a  stone  of  five  colours,  which  is  evidently 
 an  allusion  to  the  rainbow  as  the  sign  of  peace.  Ac- 
 cording to  another  tradition,  the  mother  of  Fohi  was 
 encircled  by  a  rainbow ;  and  Fohi  himself  is  repre- 
 sented as  having  trained  seven  kinds  of  animals,  and 
 then  sacrificed  them  to  the  Deity  ! 
 
 Nor  could  we  justly  deny  to  that  remarkable  people, 
 that  they,  like  other  Gentiles,  did  feel  after  the 
 "  Lord''  Jesus,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him  and 
 find  him.  It  is  said  of  Confucius  that  he  declared,  in 
 one  of  his  last  hours,  "  The  Holy  One  shall  appear 
 from  the  West!'  How  probable  that  this  was  a 
 feeble  echo  of  the  promised  Seed  of  the  woman,  which 
 may  have  been  revived  at  his  own  day  from  the 
 Persian  empire,  over  which  the  Israelites  were  scat- 
 tered in  those  days !  The  Holy  One  which  was  ex- 
 pected  is    described  as   a   person    "  who   knows  all 
 
436  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 things ;  whose  words  furnisli  instruction  ;  whose 
 thoughts  are  truth  ;  who  is  altogether  heavenly  and 
 wonderful ;  whose  wisdom  knows  no  limit ;  before 
 whose  eyes  futurity  is  unsealed ;  whose  speech  is  full 
 of  energy.  He  is  one  with  Tien,  (heaven  or  God) ; 
 without  him  the  world  knows  not  God ;  he  only  can 
 bring  unto  God  an  acceptable  sacrifice ;  and  the 
 nations  expect  him  as  withering  plants  are  expecting 
 the  shower  from  heaven."  Again ;  "  He  is  a  man, 
 the  highest  of  mankind ;  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
 men ;  the  most  excellent  amongst  men ;  he  is  the 
 wonderful  man  ;  he  is  the  first-born  !  Pie  will  reno- 
 vate the  universe  ;  he  will  change  the  public  manners  ; 
 he  will  expiate  the  sins  of  the  world ;  he  will  die  in 
 pain,  and  open  the  heaven."  Again ;  "  Oh,  how 
 exalted  are  the  ways  of  the  Holy  One !  His  virtue 
 shall  embrace  the  universe,  he  will  communicate  to  all 
 new  life,  and  new  strength,  and  raise  them  again  to 
 heaven.  What  a  broad  path  shall  be  opened  unto  us ; 
 what  new  laws  and  duties  shall  be  enforced !  What 
 excellent  customs  and  festivities  !  But  how  should 
 they  be  kept,  if  he  gave  not  first  of  all  the  example  ? 
 His  advent  alone  can  prepare  and  facilitate  their  being 
 fulfilled.  Hence  the  saying  of  all  centuries  :  The  ways 
 of  perfection  shall  only  then  be  trodden  more  fre- 
 quently, when  the  Holy  One  has  consecrated  them  by 
 his  own  footsteps."  Again  ;  "It  is  reserved  to  the 
 Great  Saint,  the  Holy  One  of  all  ages  and  all  nations. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   THE   CHINESE.  437 
 
 to  unite  in  his  person  all  the  ways  of  wisdom,  and  to 
 reach  the  perfection  of  all  virtue.  His  penetrating 
 spirit,  his  prudence,  his  intentions,  and  his  counsels, 
 shall  embrace  the  government  of  the  world  without 
 effort.  The  nobility  of  his  soul ;  his  magnanimity, 
 his  complacent  unassuming  demeanour,  shall  unite  all 
 interests,  and  gain  the  heart  of  all  men." 
 
 We  confess  our  suspicion,  that  the  wily  Jesuit  was, 
 perhaps,  concerned  in  the  composition  of  some  of 
 these  expressions,  which  we  have  inserted  in  the  above 
 lines.  One  thing  is  certainly  true,  that  Christian 
 ideas  were  propagated  in  China  at  the  commencement 
 of  the  Christian  era.  There  is,  hence,  room  for  doubts 
 respecting  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  similar 
 pieces  of  sacred  literature.  Yet  we  should  be  sorry  to 
 take  away  from  the  Chinese  the  last  and  only  shred 
 of  good  sense  in  their  whole  system  of  Religion,  We 
 will,  in  justice,  allow  them  the  merit  which  we  readily 
 concede  to  all  Pagan  nations,  that  they  were  feeling 
 after  and  expecting  "  the  Desire  of  all  nations  !  "  It 
 was  from  similar  ideas  which  are  met  with  amongst 
 the  Chinese,  that  the  latter  Jesuits  extracted  so  bright  a 
 picture,  and  discovered  so  strong  a  resemblance  to  the 
 Religion  of  the  Bible.  The  superstitions  of  the  Chinese 
 were  quickly  metamorphosed  into  the  Christian  Re- 
 ligion. The  bells,  the  burning  of  incense,  the  rosary, 
 the  convents,  the  monasteries  for  males  and  females, 
 and  the  mysiiuJ  prayers  of  the  Buddhist,  were  found 
 
438  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  iv. 
 
 SO  analogous  to  similar  practices  in  the  Romish 
 Church,  that  they  were  easily  combined  together. 
 The  three  Pagan  deities  were  confounded  with  the 
 blessed  Trinity :  the  blessed  Virgin  was  substituted 
 for  the  female  divinities  of  the  land.  The  ancient 
 legends  contained  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Chinese 
 were  made  to  harmonise  with  the  Bible,  and  a  mixture 
 of  Paganism  and  Christianity  was  brought  about  of 
 the  most  melancholy  description.  The  Pope  remon- 
 strated against  the  disgraceful  proceedings  of  this 
 missionary  band,  but  the  Jesuits  paid  no  heed  to  his 
 admonition  and  excommunication.  It  was  only  the 
 prohibition  of  this  order  in  many  parts  of  Europe, 
 and  the  death  of  the  emperor  Konghe,  which  put  an 
 end  to  this  work  of  spurious  conversion  ! 
 
 We  have  now  reviewed,  imperfectly  though  it  may 
 have  been,  the  natural  Religion  of  the  Gentile  world, 
 with  special  reference  to  Oriental  Paganism,  and  the 
 specific  results  of  Eastern  speculations  in  matters 
 of  Religion.  And  can  we  find  an  estimate  more 
 true  and  more  to  the  point  than  that  of  the  inspired 
 Apostle :  The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things 
 of  the  Spirit  of  God,  neither  can  he  know  them,  because 
 they  are  spiritually  discerned  .'^  The  wisdom  of  this 
 Avorld  is  foolishness.  The  Lord  taketh  the  wise  in 
 their  own  craftiness.  He  "  knoiveth  the  thoughts  of 
 the  loise,  that  they  are  vain.     Therefore  let  no  man 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OE   THE   CHINESE.  489 
 
 (jlory  in  men  .•"  but  let  us  ascribe  glory  and  honour 
 to  the  blessed  and  only  Potentate,  the  Kmg  of 
 kings,  and  Lord  of  lords ;  for  he  alone  hath  immor- 
 tality, and  dweUeih  in  ligld  luhich  no  man  can  approaclt 
 unto  !  Yea,  to  God,  the  only  Wise,  be  glory,  through 
 Jesus  Christ  for  ever !     Amen. 
 
 END    or    VOL.   I. 
 
 R.    CLAY,    PRINTER,    BREAD    STREET    HILL. 
 
GENUINE 
 
 AND 
 
 SPURIOUS     RELIGION. 
 
 CHAPTER  I. 
 
 NATURAL  RELIGION  CONSIDERED  WITH  SPECIAL 
 REFERENCE  TO  OCCIDENTAL  PAGANISM,  AND  THE 
 SPECIFIC  RESULTS  OF  PHILOSOPHICAL  SPECULATION 
 IN  MATTERS  OF  RELIGION. 
 
 1.  It  is  only  the  Oriental  Pantheon  which  has  sur- 
 vived the  general  shock  which  the  spread  of  the 
 Christian  Religion  has  imparted  to  the  stupendous 
 fabric  of  Paganism.  It  is  a  wise,  moral,  and  practical 
 sentence,  in  which  the  acute  female  Tamul  philoso- 
 pher Avyar  recommends  her  disciples  not  to  pursue  a 
 conquered  enemy.  Yet  we  consider  it  still  wiser,  in 
 the  present  instance,  to  take  a  passing  glance  at  those 
 huge  ruins  of  mighty  systems  of  Paganism  which 
 have  given  up  the  ghost,  and  yielded  the  triumph  to 
 the  Christian  Religion.    A  cursory  view  of  the  western 
 
 VOL.  II.  B 
 
2  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 branch  of  Paganism,  whicli  once  included  the  mytho- 
 logical systems  of  Egypt,  Greece,  Rome,  and  Germany, 
 will  not  only  convince  us  of  the  poverty  of  natural 
 Religion  amongst  the  Pagans,  but  at  the  same  time 
 inspire  our  hope  of  the  final  destruction  of  the  spurious 
 systems  of  belief  in  the  East. 
 
 Whilst  the  Babylonian  superstition,  as  "  the  mother 
 of  harlots,"  became  the  parent  of  the  Persian,  Hindoo, 
 and  Chinese  Mythologies  in  the  east  and  the  south, 
 and  of  the  Scandinavian  Religions  towards  the  north- 
 west, there  was  another  of  these  polluted  streams 
 winding  its  meandering  course  in  a  westerly  direction, 
 towards  Syria,  Egypt,  and  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
 ranean. 
 
 The  country  where  these  fragments  of  primitive 
 Paganism  were  first  arrested,  and  speedily  developed 
 under  the  genial  influence  of  the  nature  of  the  land 
 and  the  character  of  the  people,  was  the  remarkable 
 country  of  Egypt. 
 
 The  Mythology  of  Egypt  was  thus  neither  derived 
 from  the  Brahminical  system,  nor  yet  was  Hinduism 
 the  offspring  of  the  spurious  Religion  of  Egypt.  Nor 
 was  the  supposed  influence  of  one  upon  the  other  at 
 a  subsequent  period  more  than  one  of  the  dreams  of 
 a  prolific  imagination.  On  the  contrary,  both  systems 
 derive  their  origin  historically  from  one  and  the  same 
 fountain.  Hinduism  was  developed  in  India,  the 
 creed  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  in  Egypt;  and  the 
 striking   analogy   between  both  Mythologies    is   not 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    EGYPTIANS.  3 
 
 peculiar  to  India  and  Egypt  only,  but,  in  a  measure, 
 to  all  Pagan  systems.  If  all  have  started  with  the 
 same  elements  of  primitive  tradition  and  primitive 
 Paganism,  there  must  needs  be  some  affinity  between 
 them. 
 
 If  human  speculation  would  only  have  been  guided 
 by  the  blessed  light  of  divine  revelation,  which  alone 
 can  give  support  and  consistency  to  those  fragmentary 
 glimpses  by  which  general  history  has  feebly  endea- 
 voured to  remove  the  utter  darkness  from  the  ages 
 of  remote  antiquity,  much  ingenuity  and  labour  of 
 thought  might  have  been  better  employed,  than  by 
 theorizing  without  end,  and  speculating  without  mea- 
 sure, as  to  which  of  the  two  creeds  was  the  parent  of 
 the  other. 
 
 The  several  theories  which  have  made  the  Egyptian 
 or  the  Hindoo  Mythology  the  parent  of  all  other 
 spurious  systems  of  belief,  have  been  severally  resulting 
 from  partial  information.  How  often  it  has  been  the 
 case,  that,  in  the  course  of  zealous  inquiry,  all  is  made 
 subservient  in  the  argument  to  some  favourite  system 
 of  the  author !  In  whatever  man  feels  deeply  inte- 
 rested, whatever  has  been  made  a  special  object  of  his 
 study  and  research,  that  subject  is  very  easily  exalted 
 to  an  undue  elevation.  Hence,  it  is  natural,  for 
 instance,  that  the  student  of  Egyptian  antiquities  and 
 Egyptian  Mythology  feels  tempted  to  derive  all  from 
 his  favourite  subject.  And  the  student  who  has  more 
 exclusively   occupied   his    attention   with    Persia,    or 
 
 B  2 
 
4  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 India,  or  China,  will  be  tempted,  in  his  way,  to  solve 
 all  things  by  reference  to  the  darling  subject  of  his 
 particular  inquiry.  Has  it  not,  indeed,  happened  that 
 some  of  the  most  eminent  scholars  in  Mythology  have 
 not  scrupled  to  derive  from  the  Egyptian  creed  not 
 only  every  other  form  of  spurious  worship,  but  even 
 the  Theocratical  constitution  of  the  Israel  of  God? 
 
 Before  we,  however,  venture  to  express  an  opinion 
 on  the  merits  of  the  Mythology  of  Egypt,  and  the 
 character  of  Religion  in  that  remarkable  country, 
 it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  cursory  view  of  this 
 system  of  religious  belief.  The  Egyptians  have  done 
 much.  The  stupendous  monuments  of  arts  and  of 
 physical  power  which  still  exist,  attract  the  curiosity 
 and  command  the  admiration  of  this  highly  civilized 
 age  of  the  world.  The  writer  is  convinced,  from  his 
 observation  during  a  repeated  sojourn  in  Egypt,  that 
 no  descriptive  powers  will  ever  succeed  in  doing  justice 
 to  the  grandeur  of  the  architectural  conceptions  of  the 
 ancient  Egyptians.  Every  visitor  may  well  use  the  words 
 of  the  Queen  of  Sheba  respecting  the  great  nation  of  the 
 ancient  Egyptians  :  "It  was  a  true  report  that  I  heard 
 in  mine  own  land  of  thy  arts,  and  of  thy  wisdom,  oh, 
 land  of  Egypt !  howbeit  I  believed  not  the  words  until 
 I  came,  and  mine  own  eyes  had  seen ;  and,  behold, 
 the  half  was  not  told  me  ;  thy  wisdom  and  prosperity 
 exceedeth  the  fame  which  I  heard."  But  let  us  look 
 what  this  energetic  and  civilized  nation  has  accom- 
 plished   without    immediate    revelation    in    religious 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE   EGYPTIANS.  5 
 
 matters.     Let  us  shortly  examine  what  was  the  cha- 
 racter of  natural  Religion  amongst  them. 
 
 The  Egyptian  Mythology,  like  all  other  systems  of 
 spurious  Religion,  started  with  the  remnants  of  Mono- 
 theism, as  the  primitive  belief  of  the  human  race. 
 The  deity,  according  to  the  books  of  Hermes,  can 
 only  be  revealed  to  those  who  desire  to  be  like  him. 
 He  is  without  colour,  without  figure,  without  change, 
 beyond  the  reach  of  sense,  and  can  only  be  known  by 
 revelation.  He  governs  all  things  by  his  will ;  every 
 thing  is  dependent  on  him.  He  is  eternal;  Nature 
 is  his  image ;  being  himself  unknown,  he  reveals  all 
 things,  in  order  that  he  should  be  known  from  his 
 creation.  He  is  without  name  ;  it  is  difficult  to  know 
 him,  and  impossible  to  pronounce  his  character.  He 
 has  only  two  names ;  he  is  'Father  and  Kindness. 
 Upon  considering  the  world,  we  find  that  One  must 
 have  created  it ;  hence,  there  is  only  one  God. 
 
 But  these  and  similar  fragments  of  religious  truth 
 were  only  known  to  those  who  were  initiated  into  the 
 mysteries.  Some  of  the  attributes  of  this  Supreme 
 Deity  were  subsequently  conferred  upon  the  deities  of 
 inferior  ranks,  of  which  we  have  several  in  the 
 Egyptian  Mythology.  The  foundation  of  Egyptian 
 Polytheism  was  laid  by  two  pairs  of  divinities  ;  Kneph 
 and  Neith,  Sevek  and  Pasht. 
 
 Kneph,  in  the  Egyptian  tongue,  signifies  Spirit; 
 and  his  spouse,  the  great  mother  Neith,  is  the  primal 
 Matter.    And  whilst  Spirit  and  Matter  were  considered 
 
6  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 one  pair  of  deities,  Sevek,  or  Infinite  Time,  and  Pasht, 
 or  Infinite  Space,  formed  another  pair  of  divinities. 
 
 Neith,  as  the  primeval  chaos,  was  uncreated,  eternal, 
 and  embodied  ail  the  elements  of  life.  She  is  repre- 
 sented as  holding  the  symbol  of  water  in  her  hands ; 
 and  in  an  inscription  at  Sais,  she  declares  of  herself, 
 "/  am  all  that  ivas,  and  is,  and  shall  be!''  whilst 
 Kneph  was  looked  upon  as  the  great  unknown  God, 
 or  as  Amun-Kneph,  as  the  great  unknown  Spirit ;  the 
 meaning  of  Amun  being  "hidden,  unknown,  secret." 
 Sevech,  or  Sevek,  the  Grecian  Kronos,  is  declared  to 
 be  a  masculine  deity,  which  existed  before  the  sun 
 and  the  heavenly  bodies.  As  infinite  time,  or  as 
 "  Time  without  bound,"  he  was  considered  a  good  as 
 well  as  an  evil  deity,  inasmuch  as  time  not  only  pro- 
 duces all  manner  of  things,  but  likewise  destroys 
 them  again.  As  Sevek  was,  therefore,  considered  to 
 be  the  author  of  evil,  the  Egyptians  recognised  the  first 
 cause  of  moral  and  physical  evil  in  one  of  the  mem- 
 bers of  the  Supreme  Deity.  His  wife  was  Pasht,  or 
 infinite  space,  with  which  was  associated  the  idea  of 
 darkness.  She  was,  indeed,  expressly  styled  Kake,  or 
 Chebe,  which  signifies  darkness.  Pasht,  therefore, 
 seemed  a  fit  associate  to  her  husband  Sevek,  who  was 
 of  an  indifierent  character. 
 
 In  these  four  divinities,  therefore,  Egyptian  specu- 
 lation had  united  the  germs  of  all  the  future 
 elements  of  good  and  evil,  of  procreation  and  de- 
 struction.    From  this  uncreated  double  pair  of  divini- 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE   EGYPTIANS.  7 
 
 ties,  all  things  now  in  existence  have  derived  their 
 origin  by  a  process  of  nature.  The  idea  of  a  creation 
 out  of  nothing,  is  foreign  to  the  natural  Religion  of 
 the  Egyptians.  The  visible  things  have  been  produced 
 from  something  which  has  before  existed.  There 
 being  no  essential  difference  between  the  nature  of  the 
 world  and  its  productive  cause,  the  idea  of  an  all  wise 
 and  omnipotent  Providence  is  equally  foreign  to  their 
 religious  notions.  Spirit  and  matter,  Kneph  and 
 Neith,  are,  according  to  their  views,  of  the  same  sub- 
 stance. The  world  is  the  visible  godhead,  the  mani- 
 festation of  the  unknown  deity  Amun.  But  the 
 universe  was  formed  only  gradually,  and  after  long- 
 intervals  of  time. 
 
 According  to  the  system  of  the  Egyptians,  there 
 emanated  from  the  two  primal  pair  of  divinites,  three 
 ranks  of  deities ;  the  first  consist  of  eight  in  number, 
 and  although  they  were  produced,  and  therefore 
 secondary  beings,  in  contradistinction  to  the  parent 
 divinities,  they  yet  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  the 
 Egyptian  Mythology.  As  they  were  called  into  ex- 
 istence only  by  degrees,  the  Egyptians  were  not  back- 
 ward in  filling  up  the  intervals  of  time  by  an  extrava- 
 gant chronology.  According  to  the  fashion  of  all 
 ancient  nations,  they  commence  the  history  of  their 
 country  with  the  creation  of  the  world ;  and  the  deities 
 which  were  first  made  were  likewise  considered  to 
 have  been  the  first  rulers  of  their  land,  which  was 
 naturally  regarded  as  the  centre  of  the  world. 
 
8  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  I. 
 
 The  first  of  these  eight  divinities  was  Pan,  or  Phan, 
 or  Phanes,  which  signifies  the  emanated  god.  He  is 
 also  styled  the  second  Kneph,  the  father  of  gods,  the 
 father  of  the  sun  ;  whilst  Neith  was  called  the  mother  of 
 gods,  and  the  mother  of  the  sun.  Pan  is  also  styled 
 Harseph,  the  producing  deity;  or  Monthu,  Menth, 
 the  creator,  and  HiJc,  or  Hake,  which  signifies  Lord. 
 
 This  second  Kneph,  Pan,  produced  Phtah,  the 
 primal  fire ;  and  from  this  and  the  mundane  spirit 
 Pan,  we  must  expect  all  future  creations.  The  mun- 
 dane egg,  which  had  emanated  from  the  mouth  of 
 Kneph  Amun,  now  bursts  into  two  halves ;  from  the 
 more  refined  particles  is  produced  the  third  of  the 
 eight  divinities,  the  goddess  Pe,  or  the  firmament 
 above ;  whilst  the  ruder  mass  afforded  the  elements 
 from  which  Anuke,  the  goddess  of  the  earth,  was 
 formed.  Both  the  goddess  Pe,  and  the  goddess 
 AnuJce,  are  called  the  daughters  of  Neith.  The  earth, 
 however,  was  as  yet  void  and  without  form  during 
 this  first  period  of  creation.  There  was  as  yet  no 
 sun,  but  Phtah  illuminated  the  world  without  inter- 
 ruption. And  there  being  no  days  or  nights,  no  num- 
 bers of  the  duration  of  this  period  could  be  given. 
 
 At  the  commencement  of  the  second  period,  the 
 combined  eflPorts  of  Pan  and  Neith  produced  the  solar 
 deity  Re.  As  Pe  and  Anuke  were  considered  the 
 emanations  of  Neith,  Re  is  now  introduced  as  the 
 Sha-mise,  or  as  the  first-born  among  the  gods.  The 
 second  son  of  Pan  and   Neith  was  the  lunar  deity. 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE   EGYPTFANS.  9 
 
 Joh-Thot,  or  Cho/isu,  the  ruler  of  the  month.  If  some 
 of  the  Grecian  authors  make  the  deity  of  the  moon 
 to  be  of  feminine  gender,  we  must  ascribe  this  mis- 
 take to  their  own  habit  of  viewing  the  moon,  with 
 most  other  nations,  as  a  female  deity.  It  arose  partly 
 also  from  the  inclination  of  the  later  writers  of  that 
 nation,  in  which  they  confounded  the  more  ancient 
 deities  of  the  Egyptians  with  Osiris  and  Isis ;  and  as 
 they  made  Osiris  to  be  the  solar  deity,  so  Isis  was 
 surely  to  be  the  goddess  of  the  moon.  And  it  is, 
 doubtless,  from  these  mistaken  representations,  that 
 similar  notions  in  modern  works  on  Egyptian  My- 
 thology have  been  copied.  The  two  sons,  therefore, 
 which  were  born  unto  Pan,  by  Neith,  the  mother 
 of  the  gods,  were  Be  and  Joh,  the  sun  and  the  moon. 
 
 When  the  second  Kneph,  Pan,  was  united  to  the 
 goddess  Pasht,  she  brought  forth  the  pair  of  goddesses 
 Sate  and  Afhor,  or  Hathor.  Sate  was  the  illuminated 
 upper  half  of  infinite  space ;  but  Hathor,  the  second 
 daughter,  was  the  lower  region,  which  was  considered 
 dark.  Hathor  signifies  the  house  of  the  solar  deity, 
 in  which  he  reposes  and  hides  his  face  from  the  world. 
 Sate  signifies  the  shining  and  bright  goddess ;  she  is 
 often  called  the  mistress  of  the  heavens,  and  the  queen  of 
 all  the  gods.  Hathor,  therefore,  took  upon  her  the  nature 
 of  her  mother  Pasht,  who  was  also  called  darkness. 
 
 Amongst  these  eight  deities,  the  sun  was  considered 
 by  far  the  most  important.  The  solar  deity  was 
 directly  called  Ammi-Re.     As  author  and  regulator  of 
 
10  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 time,  lie  was  likewise  considered  to  be  a  personifi- 
 cation of  Sevek,  and  called  Sevek-ke.  He  was  like- 
 wise taken  for  his  father  Pan ;  and  in  being  called 
 Amun-Re,  he  is  as  often  taken  for  the  second  Kneph 
 as  for  the  primal  deity.  As  the  first-born  among  the 
 gods,  and  as  the  representative  of  the  first  and  second 
 Kneph,  the  solar  deity  is  called  Horus,  which  signifies 
 exactly  the  contrary  to  Amun.  Amun  means  "  un- 
 know^n and  hidden;"  Horus,  "manifested  and  revealed." 
 This  Horus  is,  however,  not  to  be  confounded  with 
 the  son  of  Isis,  who  appeared  in  human  form,  and 
 belonged  to  the  class  of  mortal  deities.  The  solar 
 deity  is  generally  mentioned  Avith  the  attribute  of 
 Hor-hat,  or  Horus  of  the  north ;  because  Heliopolis, 
 the  cliief  sanctuary  of  the  solar  deity,  was  in  the  north 
 of  Egypt,  or  in  the  Delta  of  the  Nile.  He  is  also 
 Tliot-trismegistos,  the  "three  times  great"  deity,  who  is 
 the  guardian  of  the  upper  and  the  lower  regions  by 
 his  apparent  revolutions. 
 
 The  second  rank  amongst  the  eight  deities  is  given 
 to  the  lunar  deity  Joli,  or  Chonsu.  Whilst  Re,  or 
 Horus,  is  styled  the  "three  times  great"  deity,  Joh  is 
 called  Tlioi-dismegas,  the  "  two  times  "  great  divinity. 
 The  name  Joh  signifies  his  bright  and  shining  character. 
 He  is  the  creator  of  the  heavenly  waters,  and  the 
 productive  cause  of  the  nightly  dew.  He  is  at  the 
 same  time  the  fountain  of  all  wisdom  and  knowledge, 
 by  whom  the  sacred  books  are  to  be  communicated  to 
 the  Egyptians. 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    EGYPTIANS.  11 
 
 In  the  first  period  of  the  creation  were  produced 
 Pan,  and  Phtah,  and  Pe,  and  Anuke.  During  the 
 second  period  were  brought  into  existence  Re  and 
 Joh,  the  sun  and  the  moon ;  Sate  and  Hathor,  hght 
 and  darkness.  Pan  and  Phtah,  or  the  mundane  spirit 
 and  fire,  emanated  from  the  primal  deity,  Kneph.  Pe 
 and  Anuke,  the  firmament  and  the  earth,  were  the 
 daughters  of  Neith.  Re  and  Joh,  the  sun  and  the 
 moon,  were  the  sons  of  Sevek.  Hathor  and  Sate, 
 night  and  darkness,  were  the  daughters  of  Pasht.  At 
 the  commencement  of  the  third  period  of  creation. 
 Pan  formed  the  country  of  J^gypt,  as  the  centre  of  the 
 world.  And  when  the  earth  was  thus  adorned,  the 
 four  primal  deities,  Kneph  and  Neith,  Sevek  and 
 Pasht,  descended  into  Egypt,  and  were  embodied  in 
 visible  forms.  As  all  their  fictitious  gods  were  brought 
 into  connexion  with  the  sun,  so  now  with  the  river 
 Nile,  or  Okeanos,  as  it  is  called  in  the  Egyptian  tongue. 
 Kneph  is  turned  into  Okeanos,  and  his  spouse  into 
 Okeame.  As  the  Nile,  also,  was  the  regulator  of  time 
 and  season  by  his  inundations,  he  was  also  considered 
 as  the  offspring  of  Sevek.  He  now  becomes  Seh,  or 
 Kronos.  Pasht  also  finally  appears,  and,  under  the 
 name  of  Reto,  protects  the  land  of  Egypt. 
 
 In  addition  to  these  four  descendants  from  the 
 great  deities,  we  have  eight  more  from  the  eight 
 divinities  of  the  first  class  of  Egyptian  gods.  And 
 thus  the  second  rank  of  deities  are  now  exactly 
 twelve  in  number  ;  and  these  are  Okeanos  and  Nepte ; 
 
12  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 8eb-Kro?ws  and  Jleto ;  Imuteph  and  Nehimeu ;  Mid 
 and  TapJme ;  TJiot-Hermes  and  Se2)li,  or  Cliaseph ; 
 Pliarmuti  and  Tme.  The  first  class  of  deities  began 
 their  career  twenty-three  thousand,  and  the  second, 
 seventeen  thousand  years  before  Amasis.  And  now 
 follows  the  third  rank  of  deities,  which  were  born 
 fifteen  thousand  vears  before  Amasis.  In  contradis- 
 tinction  to  the  first  and  second  class,  they  are  called 
 the  mortal  divinities.  This  third  generation  consists 
 chiefly  of  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  Osiiis  and  Isis, 
 and  their  posterity. 
 
 Osiris,  Arueris,  Ti/phon,  Isis,  Nepldhys,  and  Sliai, 
 were  severally  the  children  of  Nepte,  or  Okeame, 
 the  mother  of  gods.  The  fathers,  however,  were 
 difierent  characters.  Osiris  and  Arueris  were  the 
 sons  of  the  solar  deitv.  Isis  was  the  dauo;liter  of 
 Joh-Thot,  the  godhead  of  the  moon.  Ti/phon  and 
 Nephlliys  are  the  children  of  Seb-Kronos.  It  was, 
 therefore,  only  by  degrees  that  Osiris  and  his  sister 
 and  spouse,  Isis,  gained  their  celebrity  in  the  Egyptian 
 Mythology.  As  the  older  divinities  receded  on  the 
 mythological  horizon,  the  younger  deities  advanced  in 
 the  estimation  of  the  nation.  Osiris  gradually  assumed 
 the  place  of  Amun-Kueph,  the  great  unknown  Spirit, 
 and  also  the  honoui-able  distinction  of  his  father,  the 
 solar  deity,  Re.  Isis,  the  daughter  of  the  moon  and 
 the  great  goddess  Neith,  or  Okeame,  received  the 
 honours  of  her  mother  and  grandmother.  Typhon  the 
 "adversary"  is  substituted  for  his   grandfather  and 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  1:3 
 
 father,  Sevek  and  Seb-Kronos.  Typlion  is  a  name,  or 
 rather  a  surname,  which  never  appears  in  the  hiero- 
 glyphical  writings,  so  far  as  they  have  been  deciphered. 
 It  is  probably  derived  from  a  root  of  the  Egyptian  lan- 
 guage, which  signifies  the  "  enemy ;  "  and  this  nom.en 
 appellalivum  was  probably  added  to  his  proper  name. 
 Bore  or  Setli,  after  he  had  subsec^uently  shown  himself 
 the  fierce  adversary  of  Osiris.  Like  his  father  and 
 grandfather,  Typhon  was  not  absolutely  of  an  evil 
 nature  ;  he  had  his  priests,  and  temples,  and  oracles, 
 at  the  beginning,  like  his  brothers  and  sisters.  It  was 
 only  after  his  opposition  to  Osiris  that  he  was  more 
 and  more  considered  of  an  evil  nature ;  and  towards 
 the  end  of  the  Egyptian  Mythology  he  was  considered 
 as  the  principle  of  evil.  It  was  in  this  latter  period 
 that  the  distinguishing  mark  in  his  name  was  destroyed, 
 especially  in  some  of  the  temples.  It  was  found  to  be 
 against  the  national  feehng  that  Bo7'e,  or  Ombte-Seth, 
 should  be  the  same  person  with  Typhon,  the  adversary 
 of  Osiris.  As  Osiris  was  the  follower  of  Amun-Re, 
 and  Isis  of  Neith-Okeame,  and  Typhon  of  Sevek-Seb, 
 so  Nephthys  finally  succeeded  the  goddess  Paslit. 
 
 Whilst  the  gods  increased  and  multiplied  upon 
 earth,  the  earth  also,  or  the  goddess  Anuke,  is  repre- 
 sented to  have  produced  ApopM,  or  giants.  This  was 
 the  golden  age  of  the  history  of  Egypt,  in  which 
 Okeanos  was  sovereign  amongst  the  gods  that  inha- 
 bited the  land.     No  evil  was  yet  upon  the  world. 
 
 But  Kronos   put   an  end   to   this  happy   state  of 
 
14  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  r. 
 
 things.  He  brought  discoi'd  amongst  the  gods  and 
 spirits,  and,  supported  by  the  children  of  Anuke,  (the 
 giants  which  had  sprung  from  the  earth,)  commenced 
 an  open  war  against  the  army  of  the  gods.  As  the 
 chief  leader  of  the  Ajjojjhi,  or  the  giants  of  the  earth, 
 Seb-Kronos  is  called  himself  Apophis.  In  the  hiero- 
 glyphical  representations,  he  is  always  represented 
 as  a  giant,  or  as  a  serpent.  That  the  giants  before  us 
 are  the  giants  of  Gen.  vi.  4,  is  apparent  from  the  whole 
 context  of  the  legend.  The  giants  of  the  Genesis  are 
 translated  in  the  Koptic  version  by  the  word  Apojji. 
 Arueris,  or  Horns y  called  the  elder,  in  contradistinction 
 to  the  son  of  Osiris,  is  seen  standing  upon  the  head  of 
 a  ffif/antic  serpent,  over  which  is  written  the  name 
 Apophis.  Also  Osiris,  the  brother  of  Arueris,  is 
 represented  as  fighting  against  Ajjophis  in  the  form  of 
 a  serpent.  And  the  name  of  Apophis  is  always  given 
 with  the  figurative  sign  of  a  serpent,  which  has  been 
 pierced  by  the  daggers  of  the  gods.  No  one  will  fail 
 to  recognise  the  old  serpent  of  Genesis,  the  bruising  of 
 its  head  by  the  woman's  seed,  and  the  scenes  of  the 
 wicked  giants  as  the  serpent's  seed  prior  to  the  flood. 
 Again,  as  the  two  families  of  Cain  and  Seth  were 
 closely  related  to  each  other,  so  was  also  Apophis  to 
 the  benevolent  deities.  The  confusion  of  ideas  is 
 peculiar  to  all  the  remnants  of  ancient  history  in 
 Pagan  Mythology. 
 
 This  war  between  the  giants  and  the  gods  has  been 
 also  the  subject  of  the  songs  of  Hesiod.     Titans  in 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE   EGYPTIANS.  15 
 
 the  Koptic  language  signifies  fighting  persons,  and 
 would  therefore  have  reference  to  the  army  of  gods. 
 And  as  Kronos  with  his  giants  is  subdued  in  the 
 Grecian  song  by  the  Titans,  so  also  Apophis  with  his 
 giants  at  last  falls  before  the  gods,  and,  being 
 drowned  in  the  water,  they  are  banished  into  Tartarus. 
 That  there  has  been  a  mighty  flood,  which  has  cleansed 
 the  earth  from  the  rebellious  and  tyrannical  giants,  is 
 sufficiently  clear  from  the  Egyptian  Mythology ;  but  a 
 detailed  account  of  the  flood,  by  which  the  war  of 
 the  gods  was  successfully  terminated,  has  not  yet 
 been  discovered.  In  order  to  show  that  Bore-Seth, 
 or  Typhon,  was  not  yet  the  adversary  of  everything 
 that  is  good,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  he,  as  the 
 god  of  war,  was  engaged  with  the  deities  against 
 Apophis,  and  that  the  latter  fell  by  his  hand  ! 
 
 In  order  to  atone  and  purify  the  fallen  spirits,  which 
 were  tempted  by  Apophis  to  rebel  against  the  gods, 
 the  solar  deity  Horus,  or  Thot-trismegistos,  mixed  'water 
 with  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  AmunKneph,  the  great 
 Sjjir it,  fashioned  from  this  material  human  bodies,  as 
 their  future  abodes.  The  account  which  Eusebius 
 gives  of  tliis  work  of  the  deity  is  confirmed  by  hiero- 
 glyphical  representations  at  Philse,  which  exhibit  the 
 scene  of  the  human  bodies  being  framed  from  clay 
 by  the  supreme  Kneph.  A  number  of  the  fallen 
 spirits  were  now  united  to  these  frames  of  clay,  and 
 this  is  the  origin  and  the  creation  of  the  human  race, 
 according  to  the  natural  Religion  of  Egypt. 
 
16  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 The  newly-created  family  of  man  was  now  placed 
 under  the  direct  guidance  and  superintendence  of  the 
 twelve    deities   of  the   second,  as  well  as  under  the 
 patronage  of  the  third  class  of  deities,  who  severally 
 instructed   them   in    arts  and  sciences  of   all  kinds. 
 Thot-Hermes  is  the  founder  and  patron  of  the  priest- 
 hood ;  and  he  transmitted  to  them  the  sacred  books, 
 the  contents  of  which  had  been  already,  before  the 
 flood,  engraven   upon  tablets  of   stone  by  the  solar 
 deity  Thot-trismegistos,    and  which  were  afterwards 
 translated  into  the  Egyptian  language  by  the  lunar  deity 
 Thot-Dismegas.     Chaseph,   the  wife  of  Thot-Hermes, 
 is   always  represented  as  aiding  her  husband  in  his 
 benevolent  work.     Imutejjh  is  the  god  of  medicine, 
 and  Nehimeu,  his  spouse,  aided  him  in  the  same  way 
 as    Hermes    was    supported   by   Chaseph.     The   god 
 Mui,  and  his  wife  Taphne,  are  the  patrons  of  poetry 
 and   music.     Pharmuti   and   Tme  were   the   pair   of 
 deities  which  superintended  justice  and  jurisprudence. 
 Osiris  was  the  deity  which  introduced  the  cultivation 
 of  wine.      Isis  was    the   protectress   of  agriculture. 
 Ombte-Seth,    or    Typhon,  was   the  god  of  war,  who 
 instructed   the  kings  according  to  the  hieroglyphics 
 in  the  use  of  arms.     Nepldhys  finally  superintended 
 the  art  of  building  houses,  and  was  the  protectress  of 
 the  family,  as  was  Hestia  among  the  Greeks. 
 
 When  the  foundation  of  the  civil,  social,  and  re- 
 ligious life  amongst  the  Egyptians  was  thus  laid,  Osiris 
 leaves  home  upon  a  warlike  expedition,  upon  which  he 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  17 
 
 was  accompanied,  amongst  others,  by  Arueris  his 
 elder  brother,  and  by  Anubis  his  son,  who  was  born 
 to  him  by  Nephthys,  but  adopted  by  Isis.  The 
 country  was  left  in  charge  of  Isis  and  her  two  chil- 
 dren, Horns  and  Bubastis,  or  Anatli.  They  were 
 to  be  supported  by  Seth  or  Typhon,  and  by  Thot- 
 Hermes.  During  the  absence  of  Osiris,  his  brother 
 Bore-Seth  became  his  "  adversary,"  or  Typhon,  and 
 endeavoured  to  destroy  his  children.  Isis  brought 
 them  under  the  protection  of  the  goddess  Meto,  that 
 they  might  be  safe  from  the  intrigues  of  their  uncle. 
 But  Typhon  succeeded  in  killing  his  brother  upon  his 
 return.  The  body  of  Osiris  was  put  into  a  coffin  and 
 thrown  into  the  Nile,  which  carried  it  down  into  the 
 Mediterranean  sea ;  and  from  it,  was  thrown  on  shore 
 at  Tyrus.  Typhon  was  now  sovereign  of  Egypt. 
 After  the  death  of  Osiris,  Isis  gave  birth  to  another 
 son,  Harpokrates,  which  signifies  in  the  Egyptian  and 
 Koptic  languages  the  "  infantine  fforus  /'  not  to  be 
 confounded  with  Horus  who  was  left  with  his  mother 
 upon  the  departure  of  Osiris.  And  as  much  has  been 
 fabled  in  ancient  and  modern  days  as  to  the  cause  of 
 the  "  infantine  Horus"  being  always  represented  with 
 his  finger  on  his  mouth,  we  may  add,  that  it  is  pecu- 
 liar to  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphical  representation  of 
 an  unweaned  child. 
 
 After  her  confinement,  the  widowed  goddess  wan- 
 ders about  in  despair  in  search  of  her  husband's  body ; 
 and  when  she  found  it  at  last  at  Tyrus,  she  brought 
 
 VOL.  II.  c 
 
18  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 it  back  to  Egypt.  But  Typhon  cut  it  into  pieces,  and 
 scattered  the  parts  in  every  direction.  She  col- 
 lected them  again,  with  the  exception  of  one  member, 
 which  had  been  swallowed  by  the  fishes,  whence  the 
 Egyptians  abstained  from  eating  fish.  Whilst  Osiris 
 in  the  meantime  was  made  king  in  Hades,  his  son 
 Horus  meditated  to  revenge  the  death  of  his  father. 
 Making  war  against  Typhon,  Horus  was  killed,  but 
 restored  to  life  by  his  mother.  And  at  last  Isis  and 
 Horus  at  Ombos  succeeded  in  killing  Typhon  ;  hence 
 the  name  of  the  former  of  Persephatta  or  "  killer  of 
 Typhon."  Isis  was  now  Queen  of  Egypt  till  her  death. 
 Her  disappearance  from  earth  was  ascribed  to  Osiris 
 having  beguiled  her  into  Hades. 
 
 Isis  was  succeeded  in  the  government  of  Egypt  by 
 her  son  Horus.  And  as  the  eight  succeeding  sove- 
 reigns were  looked  upon  as  demi-gods,  Horus  was  the 
 last  of  the  divinites  which  ruled  in  the  country.  The 
 mortal  deities  had  disappeared,  and  the  Egyptians 
 showed  their  tombs  ! 
 
 The  twelve  deities  of  the  second  rank  took  up  their 
 abodes  in  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac.  The  others 
 inhabited  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  ancient  five 
 planets.  As  they  ruled  upon  earth,  so  now  in  the 
 heavenly  bodies  ;  and  what  was  more  natural  to 
 the  Egyptian,  than  to  lift  up  his  eyes  to  the  host  of 
 heaven,  as  the  abodes  and  visible  bodies  of  his  gods  ? 
 Astronomy  and  astrology  were  now  the  chief  part  in 
 their  creed.     Like  the  Chaldeans,  they  wearied  them- 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    EGYPTIANS.  19 
 
 selves  in  the  multitude  of  the  counsels  of  their  astrolo- 
 gers, their  monthly  prognosticators,  their  enchanters, 
 and  sorcerers.  (Isa.  xliv.)  Every  month,  every  day, 
 and  every  hour  in  the  Egyptian  almanac  had  its  pre- 
 siding deity  among  the  heavenly  host.  Every  occur- 
 rence in  human  life,  from  the  hour  of  birth  to  the 
 hour  of  death,  was  considered  to  depend  upon  the 
 motion  and  position  of  the  host  of  heaven.  Before  a 
 marriage,  or  a  journey,  or  a  cure,  or  a  war,  or  a  law- 
 suit could  be  undertaken,  the  position  of  the  stars  was 
 to  be  consulted.  The  very  members  and  parts  of 
 the  human  body  were  placed  under  different  sidereal 
 divinities.  And  thus  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Egyp- 
 tians, according  to  Herodotus,  observed  more  signs 
 than  all  other  nations  put  together. 
 
 When  one  of  the  guilty  spirits  descends  upon 
 earth  to  assume  a  human  body,  in  order  to  expiate 
 the  crime  committed  during  a  former  existence,  he 
 passes  through  the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  and  his  dis- 
 position, his  character  and  fate,  will  entirely  depend 
 upon  the  influence  of  the  stars  under  which  he  enters 
 the  world.  Hence  the  importance  of  the  constellations 
 at  the  hour  of  birth. 
 
 Before  they  are  re-admitted  into  the  heavenly 
 abodes,  the  spirits  are  to  descend  upon  death  into  the 
 lower  regions,  to  be  examined  and  judged  by  the 
 deities  which  are  to  judge  the  dead.  These  are  forty- 
 two  in  number,  of  whom  Osiris  is  chief-justice.  The 
 departed  soul  is    represented   kneeling  before  them. 
 
 c  2 
 
20  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 And  then  commences  the  solemn  act  of  weighing  the 
 sins  in  the  balances.  In  one  of  the  scales  is  placed  a 
 vessel  containing  the  heart  of  man ;  in  the  other  scale 
 is  a  small  image  of  Tme,  the  goddess  of  justice.  Horus 
 watches  one  part,  and  Anubis  the  other  part  of  the 
 balances.  Upon  the  top  of  the  balances  is  Thot,  super- 
 intending the  whole  transaction.  Near  the  balances  is 
 stationed  the  lunar  deity  with  pen  and  a  tablet,  ready 
 to  note  down  the  result.  And  Osiris,  accompanied  by 
 Isis  and  Nephthys,  pronounces  the  final  judgment. 
 
 The  whole  of  this  graphic  representation  is  given 
 with  much  spirit  in  the  subterraneous  tombs  of  the 
 kings  at  Thebes.  The  spirit  which  has  been  found 
 righteous  ascends  to  the  regions  of  solar  and  lunar 
 deities  ;  yea,  to  the  highest  heaven,  which  is  inhabited 
 by  Phtah  and  Neith.  The  obituary,  which  was  gene- 
 rally placed  with  the  dead  in  the  Sarcophaguses,  and 
 which  is  explanatory  of  the  sculptures,  informs  us 
 that  the  whole  is  concluded  by  prayers  to  the  primal 
 deity,  the  great  spirit  Amun-Kneph.  If  found  wanting, 
 the  human  soul  is  doomed  for  three  thousand  years  to 
 transmigrate  through  all  the  animal  forms  upon  the 
 earth,  and  in  the  waters,  and  in  the  air,  before  it  again 
 is  able  to  obtain  a  human  body. 
 
 Partly  the  idea  that  all  creatures  are  of  the  same 
 nature  with  the  deity,  partly  the  just-mentioned  prin- 
 ciple of  transmigration  of  the  human  soul  through 
 animal  forms,  partly  the  hieroglyphical  mode  of  repre- 
 senting deities  by  animal  forms,  together  with  other 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  21 
 
 considerations,  may  have  induced  the  Egyptians  to 
 create  animal  gods  to  an  extent  which  throws  even  the 
 extravagance  of  the  Hindu  mythology  into  the  shade. 
 The  hieroglyphical  mode  of  writing,  as  is  well  known, 
 uses  all  manner  of  figures  and  forms.  The  goddess 
 Neith,  e.g.  appears  with  a  weaver's  shuttle  over  her 
 head,  not  because  she  was  the  patron  of  that  trade,  but 
 because  that  emblem  in  the  Egyptian  tongue  is  called 
 Net,  and  signifies  at  the  same  time  the  letter  N  in  the 
 alphabet  of  the  hieroglyphics.  Isis  is  represented 
 with  a  throne  or  chair,  because  this  convenience  is 
 called  Ese.  Okeame  is  symbolised  by  a  shield,  which 
 is  called  Okham.  The  goddess  Me  is  represented 
 with  an  ostrich's  feather  on  her  head  ;  but  this  feather 
 signifies  the  letter  M  in  the  hieroglyphical  alphabet. 
 The  deity  Seb-kronos  has  a  goose,  but  the  Egyptian 
 word  for  goose  has  reference  to  the  initial  letter  of  the 
 godhead's  name.  A  certain  vessel  is  associated  with 
 Nepte,  because  the  initial  letter  of  the  name  of  the 
 vessel  was  N.  Kneph  and  Plitah  are  symbolised  by 
 the  beetle  Scarabseus,  which  was  the  symbol  of  pro- 
 duction. Pasht,  Sate,  and  Hathor,  as  the  guardians 
 of  the  orbits  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  have  an  eye  placed 
 over  their  head.  At  last,  animal  forms  were  directly 
 used  as  names  of  the  deities.  And  when  they  were 
 accustomed  to  see  certain  animals  associated  with 
 certain  deities,  the  animals  themselves  were  conceived 
 to  be  sacred  to  them.  The  Ibis,  for  instance,  was 
 invariably  used   to  represent  the  lunar  deity,  Joh  or 
 
22  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 Chonsu.  Ibis  was  called  CJdb  in  the  Egyptian  tongue, 
 and  the  initials  of  the  bird  were  the  initials  of  the 
 deity.  Sevek  is  represented  as  a  crocodile  ;  the  mun- 
 dane spirit  Pan,  by  a  ram ;  Anubis,  the  guardian  of 
 the  gods,  as  a  dog.  Re,  the  solar  deity,  by  the 
 sphinx,  which  represents  a  lion,  with  the  head  of  a 
 human  being.  The  cow  was  sacred  to  Isis ;  the  bull 
 to  Osiris  and  to  Horus  ;  the  ass  to  Typhon ;  the  cat 
 to  Bubastis. 
 
 In  this  manner  Egypt  was  converted  into  a  domicile 
 of  holy  animals,  which  were   the   reflections  of  the 
 deities  which  inhabited  the  zodiac  and  other  heavenly 
 bodies  ;  or  the  animal  figures  which  imagination  had 
 engraven   upon   the   vault   of  heaven.       Of    all   the 
 animals,  the  ox  kind  received  the  highest  honours. 
 When  one  of  the   holy  cows   died,   its   carcase  was 
 reverentially   thrown    into    the    sacred    stream.     The 
 bulls  were  buried  with  much  ceremony,  and  after  the 
 flesh  had  been  decayed,  a  boat  was  sent  from  Proso- 
 pitis  with  people,  whose  office  it  was  to  exhume  the 
 bones,  and  to  bury  them  at  Atarbechis.     To  kill  any 
 of  these  animals  was  a  capital  crime.     The  Egyptian 
 Mythology,  in  short,  assumed  emphatically  a  bestial 
 character.    It  was  a  beastly  Relipon.    The  worship  of 
 animals  at  last  choked  every  better  element  in  their 
 Religion  ;  it  predominated  even  over  the  worship  of 
 the  heavenly  bodies  and  the  elemental  deities.     The 
 pompous  and  grotesque  religious  processions  of  this 
 highly  celebrated  nation  excited  the  admiration  of  the 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    EGYPTIANS.  23 
 
 beholders ;  but  the  admiration  was  turned  into  ridicule 
 on  beholding  the  objects  of  their  devotions.  It  was 
 remarked  by  Clemens  and  Origen,  that  those  who 
 visted  Egypt  approached  with  delight  its  sacred  groves 
 and  splendid  temples,  adorned  with  superb  vestibules 
 and  lofty  porticos,  the  scenes  of  many  solemn  and 
 mysterious  rites.  But,  upon  inquiry  for  the  image  of 
 the  deity,  the  priest  lifts  up  the  veil,  and  shows  to 
 the  anxious  inquirer  a  snake,  a  crocodile,  a  cat,  or 
 some  other  ugly  beast ! 
 
 The  Religion  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  most 
 polished  nations  was  therefore,  strictly  speaking, 
 7)iaterial,  elemental,  physical,  astronomical,  astrological, 
 animal,  and  beastly,  destitute  of  any  spiritual  element ! 
 The  animal  world  was  placed  above  man,  and  made 
 an  object  of  adoration.  How  reverse  to  the  laws  of 
 God,  whom  they  were  to  seek  in  the  works  of  his 
 hand  !  What  a  mockery  of  his  command,  "  to  subdue 
 the  earth,  and  to  have  dominion  over  the  jish  of  the  sea, 
 and  over  the  foiol  of  the  air,  and  over  every  living 
 thi?ig  that  moveth  upon  the  earth."  God  is  not 
 MOCKED.  Because  that.^hen  the  wise  Egyptians 
 knew  God,  and  glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither 
 were  thankful ;  but  became  vain  in  their  imaginations, 
 and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened ;  professing 
 themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools  ;  for  fools 
 only  could  change  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God 
 into  an  image  made  like  unto  corruptible  man,  and 
 to  birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things  ! 
 
24  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 wherefore  God  also  gave  them  up  to  unclean ness 
 through  the  lusts  of  their  own  hearts.  The  sensual 
 character  of  their  religious  observances,  in  which 
 Religion  hallowed  vice,  has  excited  the  displeasure  of 
 Pagan  writers. 
 
 It  will  be  an  easy  matter  now  to  form  an  impartial 
 judgment  of  the  merits  of  the  natural  Religion  of  the 
 ancient   Egyptians.     We   have   seen   how  small   has 
 been    the    amount    of    religious     truth    which    was 
 discovered   by  the  wisdom  of  a  nation,  whose  early 
 development  of  intellectual  powers  we  are  taught  to 
 admire  from  our  childhood.     We  might  now  leave  the 
 matter,  and  proceed  to  some  other  branch  of  spurious 
 Religion  ;    had  not   some  of  our  home-bred  Pagans 
 shown    sufficient    com-age    to    spread   the   erroneous 
 notion,  as  if  the  Theocratical  constitution  of  Israel  had 
 been  derived  by  Moses  from  the  Mythology  of  ancient 
 Egypt !     There  is  something  remarkable  in  this  great 
 anxiety  of  that  school  of  infidels  to  deprive,  if  possible, 
 the  Christian  Rehgion  of  its  original  character.     The 
 elements  of  true  Religion  are  at  one  time  derived  from 
 the    Persian   fire-worship   of    Central   Asia,    and   at 
 another  from  the  Egyptian  Mythology !     It  will  not 
 be  superfluous  to  add  a  few  more  remarks,  to  show 
 how  unfounded  is  the  supposition  of  Moses  having  em- 
 bodied any  of  the  Pagan  elements  of  the  Mythology  of 
 Egypt.     The  Persian  creed  we  found  to  have  plagiar- 
 ized some  of  the  leading  articles  of  revealed  Religion. 
 The  Egyptian  creed  contains  nothing  worthy  of  being 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE   EGYPTIANS.  25 
 
 derived  from  so  pure  a  source  as  that  of  immediate 
 revelation.  On  the  other  hand,  true  ReHgion  borrowed 
 none  of  the  spurious  elements  of  the  Egyptian 
 Mythology. 
 
 We  have  already,  on  a  previous  occasion,  alluded  to 
 the  essential  difference  of  Pagan  symbols  and  those  of 
 the  Thcocratical  constitution  ;  and  we  have  there  shown 
 how  true  Religion  created  its  own  symbohcal  forms, 
 and  that,  if  coincidences  should  even  happen  in  some 
 few  instances,  it  would  yet  by  no  means  prove  the 
 necessity  to  assume  that  one  w^as  derived  from  the 
 other  ;  their  signification  being  totally  different  in  both 
 cases. 
 
 If  we  refer,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  tabernacle 
 and  the  temple  of  Jehovah,  we  find  that  both  are 
 different  in  their  plan,   construction,  and   character, 
 from  the  temples  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.    The  latter 
 are  clearly  representations  of  the  physical  universe ; 
 the  writer  will  never  forget  the  ornamental  roofs  of 
 these  sanctuaries,  which  to  this  day  are  painted  blue, 
 and  interspersed   with    stars,   with  the    signs  of  the 
 zodiac,    and   other    astronomical   figures;    whilst  the 
 great  pillars  which  support  the  roof  are  ornamented  in 
 their  beautiful   chapiters  with  green  festoons.      The 
 tabernacle  of  Israel  partakes  of  the  symholical  character 
 of  all  ancient  temples  and  places  of  worship ;  and  it 
 would  be  surprising  if  it  stood  single  amongst  the 
 sacred  buildings  of  antiquity  in  this  respect.     It  was, 
 indeed,  the  object  of  primitive  Religion  to  subdue  and 
 
26  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 counteract  the  symbol  in  its  spnrious  character,  by  the 
 introduction  of  the  genuine  symbol.  But  Jehovah,  whom 
 the  heaven  and  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain,  ad- 
 monished Moses  when  he  was  about  to  make  the  taber- 
 nacle, "  See  that  thou  make  all  things  according  to 
 the  pattern  shown  thee  in  the  mount."  The  pattern, 
 therefore,  was  a  heavenly  one,  and  not  the  physical 
 world,  which  served  as  an  example  to  the  ancient 
 Egyptians  in  building  their  temples.  The  heavens 
 were  divided  by  the  Egyptians  into  thirty-six  provinces, 
 and  thus  also  the  land  of  Egypt.  Every  province  in 
 the  nightly  hemisphere  has  its  sacred  animal,  which  is 
 kept  in  a  corresponding  temple  in  the  several  pro- 
 vinces of  the  country.  All  the  Egyptian  temples 
 collectively,  were  a  type  of  the  physical  heavens, 
 and  Egypt  itself,  again,  was  a  temple  full  of  sacred 
 animals. 
 
 Both  the  tabernacle  of  Israel,  and  the  Egyptian 
 temples,  have  certain  divisions  and  measures,  by  which 
 all  is  regulated.  The  former  was  divided  into  three 
 parts,  the  most  holy,  the  holy,  and  the  court.  Not 
 one  of  the  many  temples  of  Egypt  has,  strictly  speak- 
 ing, the  above  division ;  nor  is  there  the  remotest  idea 
 of  the  relation  of  the  several  apartments  one  to  another, 
 which  we  find  in  the  former.  And  as  the  tabernacle 
 of  Israel  was  no  copy  from  the  Egyptian  temples  in 
 its  general  outhnes,  much  less  in  its  very  minute 
 arrangements.  Yet,  if  it  should  even  have  happened, 
 that  the  temples  of  Egypt  had  actually  the   threefold 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  27 
 
 division  of  the  temple  of  Jehovah,  it  would  by  no 
 means  follow  that  it  was  borrowed  from  them,  inas- 
 much as  all  Pagan  nations  know  of  sacred  triads  in 
 divine  things.  The  Egyptians  divided  the  world  into 
 three  divisions,  and  likewise  their  own  country;  and  if 
 this  division  could  be  found  in  their  temples,  it  would 
 have  been  founded  upon  mere  physical  ideas,  of  which 
 the  Mosaic  Rehgion  knows  nothing.  The  Roman 
 temples  were  divided  into  three  apartments,  but  they 
 had  yet  as  little  similarity  with  the  tabernacle  of 
 Moses,  as  with  the  temples  of  Egypt.  The  palace  of 
 the  emperor  of  China,  and  that  of  Montezuma,  in 
 Mexico,  have  the  threefold  division,  which  the  Egyp- 
 tian temples  have  not,  yet  no  one  will  charge  Moses 
 with  having  taken  his  model  from  them. 
 
 If  the  tabernacle  of  Moses  had  assumed  a  character 
 which  had  not  been  symbolical,  it  would  have  denied 
 its  antique  character,  and  withholden  something  from 
 Israel,  which  was  necessary  in  those  days.  But 
 amongst  all  the  sacred  buildings  of  Pagan  antiquity, 
 which  bear  the  symbolical  character,  those  of  Egypt 
 and  Nubia,  which  are  boldly  stated  to  have  been  the 
 models  of  the  tabernacle  and  the  temple,  are  less 
 similar  than  others!  This  is  extremely  unfortunate 
 for  the  argument  of  those  people  who  consider  that 
 Moses  derived  all  his  models  from  the  land  of  Egypt ! 
 The  divisions,  and  measures,  and  numbers  of  Pagan 
 temples,  as  temples  of  natural  Religion  in  its  spurious 
 form,  have  severally  reference  to  physical  ideas,  those 
 
28  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 of  the  tabernacle  to  heavenly  and  spiritual  things, — 
 hence  the  very  common  numbers  of  thirty-six,  and 
 three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  are  totally  wanting. 
 And  after  an  examination  of  very  many  of  the  sacred 
 buildings  of  the  most  important  countries  of  the 
 East,  we  maintain,  without  fear  of  contradiction, 
 that  the  Pagan  temples  of  different  nations  have 
 more  analogy  between  themselves,  than  all  Pagan 
 temples  together  have  in  common  with  the  temple  of 
 Jehovah ! 
 
 The  question,  again,  whether  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
 and  the  mercy-seat  be  derived  from  Egyptian  ideas,  is 
 fraught  with  the  deepest  interest ;  inasmuch  as  they 
 seem  to  be  the  very  centre  of  the  Mosaic  constitution . 
 With  the  originality  of  these  things,  therefore,  stands 
 or  falls  likewise  the  original  character  of  the  religious 
 system  of  the  Israelites.  And  as  there  was  nothing  in 
 their  system  which  has  been  more  boldly  asserted  to 
 be  of  a  genuine  Egyptian  character,  we  cannot  leave 
 the  subject  without  making  a  few  passing  remarks 
 upon  it.  We  have  already  on  a  former  occasion  made 
 the  observation,  that  almost  all  ancient  nations  had 
 amongst  them  sacred  cases,  and  we  at  once  admit 
 that  they  also  existed  amongst  the  Egyptians. 
 According  to  Plutarch,  the  death  of  Osiris  was  com- 
 memorated in  the  month  of  Athyr,  or  November, 
 when  the  water  of  the  sacred  Nile  had  retired  to  its 
 lowest  ebb,  and  the  length  of  days  also  was  on  the 
 decline.       On    the    nineteenth   of    this    month,    the 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE   EGYPTIANS.  29 
 
 priests  carried  a  holy  ark  to  the  sea,  in  which  was 
 placed  a  golden  vessel,  containing  Nile  water.  A  re- 
 presentation of  this  procession  is  yet  found  in  temples 
 at  Karnak,  and  at  Philse.  Now,  this  has  been  be- 
 lieved by  some  learned  antiquaries  to  be  the  model 
 upon  which  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  framed. 
 There  were  amongst  the  Egyptians  other  sacred  arks, 
 which  contained  the  holy  animals,  which  had  been 
 embalmed ;  the  coffin  of  Osiris  was  another ;  and 
 Synesius  speaks  of  holy  arks  which  contained  globular 
 bodies.  According  to  Pausanias,  a  holy  ark  was 
 captured  at  Ilium,  which  contained  an  image  of  Osiris ; 
 and  according  to  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  there  were 
 others,  which  contained  the  Phallus  of  Osiris.  Upon 
 the  same  authority,  we  know  that  the  sacred  arks 
 which  were  used  by  the  Egyptians  at  their  ceremo- 
 nials, contained  Sesamen,  Pyramids,  gourds,  cakes, 
 salt,  serpents,  pomegranates,  hearts,  umbels,  ivy, 
 poppies,  and  combs.  All  these  things  were  symbols 
 of  the  productive  powers  of  nature,  and  were  used 
 in  connexion  with  the  worship  of  their  physical 
 deities. 
 
 Baal-Chammon,  again,  or  the  Moloch  of  the  Phoe- 
 nicians, was  known  to  the  Egyptians  under  the  name 
 of  Chom ;  and  his  image  was  preserved  at  Papremis 
 in  a  golden  ark.  In  the  arks  of  this  deity  were, 
 moreover,  preserved  the  arcana  or  secreta  Clialdceormu. 
 And  what  were  the  mysterious  treasures  which  were 
 shut  up  in  these  holy  arks  ?  In  the  Phoenician  temples 
 
30  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 of  Baal-Chammon  were  preserved  the  burned  bones  of 
 the  deity  Chom.  In  Tyrus,  also,  they  had  a  similar 
 treasure,  which  was  kept  in  the  temple,  but  brought 
 upon  a  sacred  boat,  which  was  to  accompany  the 
 Phoenician  fleet  in  the  time  of  war.  But  the  legend  of 
 the  bones  of  the  deity  being  deposited  in  the  holy  ark, 
 although  analogous  to  what  has  been  above  observed 
 respecting  the  office  of  Osiris,  seems  very  questionable 
 in  this  instance,  for  several  reasons  ;  and,  to  judge  from 
 other  accounts  respecting  the  rites  of  this  deity  among 
 the  Arabs  and  other  Semitic  nations,  it  seems  more  than 
 probable  that  these  golden  cases  or  arks  contained  the 
 bones  of  children,  who  were  sacrificed  to  this  god ! 
 If  the  remains  of  these  victims  were  thus  deposited  in 
 sacred  arks,  we  can  easily  explain  what  Ammian 
 relates  of  the  golden  ark  of  Baal-Chammon  at  Seleucia, 
 near  Babel,  when  he  declares,  that  when  a  Roman 
 soldier,  under  Marcus  Antonius,  had  opened  the  same, 
 the  plague  seized  upon  him,  and  spread  as  far  as  the 
 Rhine  and  Gallia !  "  Milites  fanum  scrutantes  in- 
 venere  foramen  angustum  :  quo  reserato,  ut  pretiosum 
 aliquid  invenirent,  ex  adyto  quodam  concluso  a  Chal- 
 daeorum  arcanis  labes  primordialis  exilivit,  qua  insana- 
 biliuni  vi  concepta  morborum  ejusdem  Veri  et  Marci 
 Antonii  temporibus  ab  ipsis  Persarum  finibus  adusque 
 Rhenuni  et  Gallias  cuncta  contagiis  polluebat  et 
 mortibus."  It  will,  indeed,  require  a  moral  infection, 
 originating  from  a  far  more  corrupting  source  than 
 the  mouldering  mass  of  these  sacred  arks,  which  will 
 
CHAP,  i]  OF   THE    EGYPTIANS.  31 
 
 insist  upon  the  ark  of  the  covenant  having  been 
 derived  from  such  abominable  and  disgusting  objects ! 
 We  have  ah'eady  contrasted  the  contents  of  these 
 holy  arks  with  those  which  were  deposited  in  the  ark 
 of  the  covenant,  on  a  former  occasion.  The  Egyptian 
 arks  were  closed,  as  containing  mysteries  which  should 
 only  be  known  to  the  priesthood.  The  ark  of  Israel 
 had  actually  no  cover,  nor  did  it  contain  any  thing 
 besides  the  Law  of  Jehovah,  which  was  known  to  the 
 meanest  member  of  the  camp  of  Israel.  It  was  the 
 published  Law  of  Jehovah,  and  the  ark  was  merely 
 the  depository  of  the  same.  And  if  it  be  true,  that 
 the  Egyptian  arks  be  severally  copies  of  the  coffin  of 
 Osiris,  as  we  are  distinctly  told,  what  fellowship  has 
 the  coffin  of  a  mortal  deity  with  the  depository  of  the 
 Law  of  Jehovah  ?  Was  it  necessary  for  the  servant  of 
 God  to  copy  these  disgraceful  arks,  in  order  to  frame 
 a  depository  for  the  documents  which  contained  the 
 words  of  the  covenant  of  the  God  of  Israel  ?  Captain 
 Cook  discovered  a  holy  ark  amongst  the  inhabit- 
 ants of  the  South  Sea  Islands,  which  was  called 
 "  Juharre  no  Itoj"  or  the  House  of  God.  Why  did  it 
 never  occur  to  these  philosophers,  that  Moses  might 
 have  copied  it  from  them  rather,  as  it  contained 
 neither  plants,  nor  fruits,  nor  flowers,  nor  holy 
 animals,  nor  the  remains  of  a  mortal  deity,  as  those  of 
 the  ancient  Egyptians?  And  then,  where  is  the 
 mercy-seat  of  the  Egyptian  arks,  which  was  connected 
 with  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and  to  which,  as  the 
 
32  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap,  i, 
 
 chief  thing,  the  ark  itself  seemed  merely  to  serve  as 
 a  support  ?  To  every  one  that  has  taken  the  least 
 trouble  to  study  the  Egyptian  Mythology,  it  mil  be 
 clear,  that  the  ideas  of  reconciliation,  of  mercy,  and  of 
 sanctification,  which  were  connected  with  the  mercy- 
 seat,  were  entirely  unknown  in  this  system  of  spurious 
 belief.  And  it  follows,  therefore,  that  the  ark  of  the 
 covenant  was  originally  part  of  the  furniture  of  the 
 tabernacle  of  Israel ;  and  that  the  idea  of  its  having 
 been  borrowed  from  the  Egyptian  arks,  is  based  upon 
 a  notoriously  false  and  impious  hypothesis,  which  has 
 no  shadow  of  support  in  its  favour. 
 
 As,  however,  the  form  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
 seems  to  have  bred  the  idea  of  its  being  copied  from 
 Egyptian  monuments,  we  must  speak  a  word  upon 
 that  subject  before  we  dismiss  it.  The  form  of  the 
 Egyptian  ark  is  that  of  a  boat,  the  rudder  of  which  is 
 ornamented,  in  the  temple  at  Karnak,  with  the  head 
 of  a  ram ;  at  Phila^,  we  recognise  the  head  of  Isis. 
 In  the  midst  is  raised  something  in  the  form  of  an 
 altar,  which  is  considered  to  be  the  holy  ark  of  which 
 Plutarch  speaks  in  his  work.  It  is  twice  as  high  as 
 it  is  broad,  not  having  a  flat  but  an  angular  top. 
 On  the  front  side  of  the  ark,  not  on  the  top,  are  seen 
 the  usual  Egyptian  figures,  with  wings,  and  which 
 signify,  in  all  probability,  the  four  primal  deities, 
 Kneph  and  Neith,  Sevek  and  Pasht.  The  whole  boat 
 also  is  covered  with  other  mythological  figures ;  most 
 of  which,  as  also  the  winged  double  pair  of  figures 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    EGYPTIANS.  33 
 
 on  the  front  side  of  the  ark,  carry  globes  as  the 
 emblems  of  heavenly  bodies.  The  whole  boat  is 
 carried  on  poles  by  four  rows  of  priests,  each  row- 
 consisting  of  ten  men.  It  is  acknowledged  that 
 the  chief  figure  is  that  of  the  boat,  which  is  a  fre- 
 quent symbol  amongst  the  Egyptians,  but  never  occurs 
 in  the  Mosaical  constitution.  The  ark  itself  is  in 
 form  and  figure  exactly  the  reverse  of  the  ark  of 
 the  covenant,  which  was  not  narrow  and  lofty,  like 
 that  placed  in  the  boat,  but  long  and  low.  The 
 mercy-seat,  as  the  chief  part  of  the  ark,  is  entirely 
 wanting.  The  upper  part  of  the  Egyptian  ark  was  so 
 formed,  that  nothing  could  be  placed  upon  it.  The 
 figures  which  are  placed  on  the  front-side  of  the  ark 
 in  the  boat,  are  those  which  occur  everywhere  on  the 
 walls  of  the  temples  and  on  other  monuments,  and 
 have  no  other  similarity  with  the  forms  of  the  che- 
 rubim over  the  mercy-seat  than  that  they  are  winged. 
 But  winged  figures  of  animals  we  discover  amongst 
 the  Hindoos,  Persians,  Chinese,  and  Babylonians.  In 
 short,  the  Egyptian  ark  is  in  every  point  so  different 
 from  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  that  only  motives  of  a 
 sinister  kind  could  have  influenced  men  of  reflection 
 and  learning  to  pronounce  the  latter  to  be  a  copy 
 from  the  former. 
 
 No  other  analogy  seems  left  than  the  poles  and  the 
 priestly  bearers.  If  we  think  of  the  migrating  cha- 
 racter of  the  sanctuary  of  Israel,  this  also  will  appear 
 very  natural.     All  other  holy  things  belonging  to  the 
 
 VOL.  II.  D 
 
34  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 tabernacle  were  carried  in  the  same  manner.     When 
 the  writer  was  traveling  in  Arabia,  he  observed  the 
 natives  carrying  even  smaller  things,  such  as  boxes, 
 bags,  and  parcels  upon   poles !     And,  as   the   most 
 natural   mode  of  carriage,   it  is  in  use  all  over  the 
 East.     We  might,  with  the  same  propriety,  derive  the 
 mode  of  carrying  our  dead  to  the  burial-ground  from 
 the  Egyptian  boat,  of  which  the  mode  of  carrying  the 
 ark  in  the  wilderness  is  considered  an  imitation.     The 
 carrying  of  the  boat  was   in  itself  a  rehgious  cere- 
 mony ;  but  no  one  will  consider  the  conveyance  of  the 
 ark  of  the  covenant  tlu'ough  the  desert  to  have  been 
 a  religious  rite. 
 
 We  admit  that  the  sacred  arks  of  the  Greeks  and 
 Romans  were  derived  from  those  of  Egypt ;  because 
 we  know  that  to  be  the  case.  But  who  will  fancy 
 Moses  to  model  the  ark  of  the  covenant  after  the 
 coffin  of  an  Egyptian  deity  ?  The  originality  of  the 
 holy  ark,  with  its  significant  seat  of  mercy,  stands, 
 therefore,  unimpeached,  whether  we  consider  its  form, 
 or  its  contents,  or  its  symbolical  character.  The 
 Egyptian  idolatry  was,  hke  all  other  mis-worship,  an 
 abomination  to  Jehovah ;  and  he  would  not  even 
 borrow  from  it  any  of  the  forms  of  his  divine  con- 
 stitution. If  no  one  shows  a  mind  to  deprive  the 
 Egyptian,  the  Hindoo,  or  Persian  Mythology  of  their 
 original  character,  why  should  people  be  so  anxious 
 to  deny  this  character  to  the  sanctuary  and  the  several 
 rites  of  Israel  ?     Why  not  suum  cuique  ? 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE   EGYPTIANS.  35 
 
 The  organization  of  the  Jewish  priesthood  was  con-  \ 
 sidered  to  be  a  faithful  copy  of  the  priestly  caste  of  1 
 ancient  Egypt.  Now,  from  what  we  know  of  this 
 caste,  they  studied  the  laws  of  Nature,  the  position 
 and  motion  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  were  known 
 as  magicians,  soothsayers,  conjurors,  astrologers,  and  / 
 sorcerers, — men  who  were  put  to  death  in  Israel. 
 Their  occupation  was  chiefly  natural  philosophy, 
 mathematics,  music,  literature,  astronomy,  zoology, 
 medicine,  botany,  and  architecture.  Hence  the  dif- 
 ferent classes,  which  are  mentioned  by  Clemens 
 Alexandrinus.  In  describing  a  procession  of  the 
 priesthood  of  Isis,  he  speaks  of  the  singer,  who  bears 
 a  symbol  of  music  in  his  hand.  He  is  followed  by 
 the  horoscopus,  who  carries  in  his  hand  the  horo- 
 logium  and  the  palm-branch,  as  symbols  of  astrology. 
 The  astrological  priest  is  succeeded  by  the  scribe, 
 whose  knowledge  consists  in  the  understanding  of  the 
 hieroglyphics,  the  laws  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the 
 geography  of  the  land,  and  the  ornaments  of  the 
 temple.  Then  follows  the  keeper  of  the  sacred  gar- 
 ments belonging  to  the  temple  service  ;  and  he  again 
 is  succeeded  by  the  maker  of  oracles,  who  was  at  the 
 same  time  the  steward  of  the  priestly  revenues,  and 
 the  guardian  of  the  laws  respecting  the  gods  of  the 
 nation.  And  finally,  he  mentions  the  Pastophori,  the 
 bearers  of  images  and  holy  arks  in  pubhc  processions. 
 These  last  also  swept  the  temples,  and  acted  in  the 
 capacity  of  physicians.     How  different  the  occupation 
 
 D  2 
 
30  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 • 
 
 of  the  priests  of  Jehovah,  who  were  to  teach  the  Law 
 to  the  people,  and  make  reconcihation  for  their 
 sins !  Who  can  prove  that  the  tribe  of  Levi  was 
 engaged  in  any  one  branch  of  knowledge  which  was 
 cultivated  by  the  Egyptian  priesthood  ?  These  knew 
 nothing  of  the  mediatorial  office  of  the  priests  of 
 Jehovah, 
 
 As  every  other  branch  in  the  Mosaic  constitution, 
 so  also  the  priesthood  was  to  be  appointed  by  Jehovah 
 himself.  His  choice  fell  upon  one  tribe  of  the  royal 
 priesthood.  The  existence  of  the  priestly  tribe  as  a 
 separate  class  was,  however,  peculiar  neither  to  Egypt 
 nor  to  Israel ;  for  we  have  the  same  in  India,  Babylonia 
 and  Persia.  As  there  were  priestly  castes  in  spurious 
 Religions,  there  was  to  be  also  a  priesthood  in  genuine 
 Religion.  Again ;  notwithstanding  the  separation  of 
 a  special  tribe  for  the  ministry,  it  was  not  the  irrevo- 
 cable decree  of  an  impersonal  fate  which  overruled  the 
 whole,  but  the  living  God,  who  says :  "It  shall  come 
 to  pass  that  the  man's  rod,  whom  I  shall  choose,  shall 
 blossom."  Again ;  whilst  the  priestly  caste  was  not 
 permitted  to  intermarry  with  other  people,  the  Levites 
 married  wives  from  other  tribes  ;  and,  in  cases  of 
 necessity,  non-Levites  were  permitted  to  officiate  in 
 sacred  things.  The  Levites  were  by  no  means  above 
 other  tribes,  whom  they  were  to  instruct ;  but  the 
 Egyptian  priesthood  were  Lords  over  the  people.  If 
 the  priests  in  Israel  had  been  in  this  position,  the 
 prophets  could  never  have  succeeded  in  maintaining 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    EGYPTIANS.  37 
 
 their  influence.  And  as  tlie  Egyptians  soon  lost  the  idea 
 of  the  divine  unity,  they  were  equally  ignorant  of  the 
 office  of  high-priest,  who  acted  as  one  mediator  be- 
 tween God  and  man.  Every  temple  had  its  own  deity ; 
 and  every  deity  its  own  priests.  And  if  the  priests 
 of  each  deity  had  a  high  priest,  there  were,  naturally,  as 
 many  high-priests  in  Egypt  as  gods.  Who  will  recog- 
 nise the  model  of  the  priesthood  of  Jehovah,  in  the 
 priesthood  of  the  astronomical,  elemental,  and  bestial 
 deities  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  ? 
 
 Another  item  in  the  constitution  of  the  Israelites, 
 which  has  been  said  to  have  been  derived  from  Egypt, 
 is  the  official  (/armetits  of  the  priesthood.    As  regards 
 the  colour  of  the  priestly  habit,  we  observe,  that  it  was 
 white  amongst  all  ancient  nations.   The  Roman  priests 
 wore  black  when  they  were  about  to  sacrifice  to  the 
 gods  of  the  lower  regions.     And  as  no  one  ever  has 
 considered  black  a  fit  symbol  for  purity  and  light,  we 
 should   expect   that   Jewish   priests    also    should    be 
 dressed  in  white  garments.    That,  however,  the  Egyp- 
 tian priests  were  dressed  in  white  Byssus  garments, 
 had  its  special  reason  in  its  having  been  the  pure  pro- 
 duction of  the  " immortal  earth''  and  on  account  of 
 its  being  particularly  sacred  to  Osiris  and  Isis.     If, 
 therefore,  there  had  been  no   other  priesthood  than 
 those   of  Israel   and  Egypt  which  wore  white   gar- 
 ments, still  we  could  not  speak  of  the  former  having 
 been  copied  from  the  latter,  as  the   idea  connected 
 with  them  amongst  the  Egyptians  was  foreign  to  the 
 
38  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  I. 
 
 Mosaic  constitution.  That  white  garments,  however, 
 were  not  used  only  by  the  priests  in  Egypt  will  clearly 
 appear  from  Gen.  xli.  42.  If,  however,  the  fine  linen  of 
 Egypt  was  proverbial  amongst  Israel,  (Prov.  vii.  16) ; 
 if,  moreover,  the  Jews  procured  the  linen  for  their 
 priests  from  Egypt ;  if  it  was  worn  in  that  country 
 not  only  by  the  priests,  but  by  small  and  great, 
 we  cannot  conceive  how  it  could  follow  from  these 
 things,  that  the  priestly  garments  were  copied  from 
 the  Egyptians. 
 
 But,  in  order  to  disprove  this  arbitrary  supposition, 
 we  refer  to  the  different  parts  of  the  sacred  vestments. 
 Let  us  look  at  the  bearers  of  the  holy  boat :  they  are 
 clothed  only  from  their  loins  to  then*  feet.  But  the 
 Jewish  priest  was  habited  in  a  coat  with  sleeves,  from 
 his  neck  down  to  his  very  heels.  Again,  a  French 
 artist  has  given  some  twenty-seven  kinds  of  caps  and 
 bonnets,  which  are  worn  by  the  figures  on  the  walls  of 
 the  remains  in  Egypt ;  and  no  one  will  be  able  to 
 recognise  in  any  one  of  them  the  bonnet  or  the  mitre 
 of  the  Jewish  priest.  Again,  it  was  positively  forbid- 
 den for  a  Jewish  priest  to  uncover  his  head,  or  to  have 
 it  shaved,  (Lev.  xxi.)  whilst  the  Egyptian  priests  were 
 called  "  calvi,"  and  had  their  heads  shaved.  The 
 girdle  has  always  been  used  in  the  East,  and  it  was 
 called  by  the  Persians,  the  crown  of  garments  !  Now, 
 we  have  a  girdle  of  needlework  as  part  of  the  priestly 
 garment  of  the  Israelitish  priest.  But,  unfortunately 
 for  the  cause  of  those  whom  we  oppose,  this  item  does 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    EGYPTIANS.  39 
 
 not  exist  among  the  garments  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
 tians, wliilst  all  other  nations  have  it.  It  cannot, 
 therefore,  have  been  derived  from  Egypt.  Again,  the 
 "linen  breeches"  of  the  Jewish  priest  were  peculiarly 
 Jewish,  and  are  not  found  amongst  the  Egyptians,  or, 
 indeed,  amongst  other  nations  of  the  East.  And, 
 finally,  whilst  the  priests  of  Israel  were  barefooted,  the 
 Egyptian  priesthood  wore  shoes  or  sandals  of  papyrus, 
 as  they  objected  to  leather,  as  coming  from  the  skin 
 of  holy  animals. 
 
 If  the  constitution  was  copied  from  the  Mythology 
 of  Egypt,  it  might  be  expected  that  this  would  particu- 
 larly appear  in  the  sacrificial  rites.  Now,  the  chief 
 sacrifice  of  the  Egyptians  was  that  of  a  bull,  near  the 
 tomb  of  Osiris,  and  at  the  shi'ine  of  Isis,  at  Busiris. 
 The  skin  was  taken  from  the  victim,  the  bowels  were 
 removed,  whilst  the  fat  and  other  parts  were  left 
 inside.  The  legs  and  head  also  were  separated,  and 
 the  trunk  of  the  animal  was  filled  with  pure  bread, 
 honey,  raisins,  figs,  spices  and  incense.  And  thus  it 
 was  burned,  whilst  oil  was  profusely  poured  into  the 
 fire.  The  people  fasted  beforehand,  whilst,  during  the 
 ceremony,  some  wounded  their  foreheads  with  knives, 
 and  others  amused  themselves  by  beating  each  other. 
 The  remainder  of  the  bull  was  eaten.  The  whole 
 ceremony  related  to  Osiris,  his  character,  his  history, 
 his  mythological  connexion  with  physical  ideas  and 
 poAvers.  Another  annual  sacrifice  was  made  at  Thebes 
 in  honour  of  Amun-Kneph;  the  victim  was  a  ram. 
 
40  NATURAL  RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 When  the  animal  was  skinned,  it  was  buried  in  a 
 coffin,  with  much  ceremony,  whilst  the  skin  was 
 placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  image  of  Kneph. 
 The  whole  connexion  of  this  sacrifice  was  of  an  astro- 
 nomical character.  On  a  third  occasion  w^as  sacrificed 
 a  pig ;  and  this  was  done  when  the  Taurus  of  the 
 zodiac  was  brought  into  a  certain  conjunction  with 
 the  sun  and  the  moon.  The  only  analogy  which  we 
 can  find  in  the  whole  of  the  sacrificial  rites,  is  that 
 in  the  Mosaical  constitution  the  sacrifice  of  a  "  red 
 heifer"  is  commanded,  (Numb,  xix.)  and  that  red  bulls 
 were  sacrificed  in  Egypt.  We  are  told  that  if  the 
 bull  had  a  single  white  or  black  hair,  w^liich  were  the 
 colours  of  Apis,  the  Egyptians  considered  it  unfit  for 
 sacrifice.  Red  was  the  colour  of  Typhon,  and  I'ed- 
 haired  men  were  styled  Typhonites,  and  sacrificed  to 
 that  obnoxious  deity.  Where,  however,  do  we  find 
 similar  ideas  connected  with  the  "  red  heifer"  as 
 one  of  the  sacrificial  animals  of  the  Mosaic  consti- 
 tution ? 
 
 Finally,  respecting  t\\Q  festivals  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
 tians and  of  the  chosen  people,  w^e  may  expect  that  they, 
 also,  were  as  different  in  nature  and  tendency  as  the 
 Religions  of  both  nations.  The  holy  days  of  the  former 
 were  closely  connected  with  the  seasons  of  the  year, 
 with  the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  the  nature 
 of  their  country.  They  had  nothing  but  public  amuse- 
 ments ;  vile  processions  of  a  most  infamous  character ; 
 observations    of  the    stars    through    the   horns  of  a 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  41 
 
 holy  gazelle  ;  coverings  of  the  well- gilt  figure  of  a 
 bull  with  black  Byssus  cloth  for  three  days  ;  proces- 
 sions of  the  above-mentioned  sacred  boat  to  the  sea  ; 
 the  leading  of  sacred  cows  round  and  round  the  temple 
 of  Osiris;  merry  expeditions  of  men  and  women  in  boats 
 to  places  of  pilgrimage ;  the  clapping  of  hands  on  the 
 part  of  the  women,  and  the  playing  of  flutes  on  the 
 part  of  the  men  ;  songs  and  dances  of  a  lascivious 
 character  ;  the  drinking  of  abundance  of  wine,  and  the 
 administering  of  blows  between  parties  of  priests  as  a 
 religious  ceremony !  AVho  will  recognise  in  these  and 
 other  indescribable  scenes,  the  holy  sabbaths  of  the 
 Lord?  What  have  the  Jewish  festivals  to  do  with 
 solstices  and  equinoxes  ?  The  new  moon,  indeed,  was 
 observed,  because  it  was  given  by  Jehovah  to  measure 
 the  time,  and  to  regulate  the  holy  seasons,  which 
 pointed  into  the  future,  and  of  which  it  is  written : 
 "  I  gave  them  to  be  a  sign  between  me  and  them,  that 
 they  might  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  sanctify 
 them."  And  these  sabbaths  were  so  exclusively  Jew- 
 ish, that  it  was  synonymous  in  the  mouth  of  Pagan 
 authors  to  keep  the  sabbath,  and  to  be  a  Jew.  His- 
 torical festivals  the  Egyptians,  of  course,  could 
 never  have ;  inasmuch  as  their  whole  history  is 
 purely  fabulous;  and  festivals  of  atonement  and 
 sanctification  were  equally  strange  to  their  system  of 
 belief. 
 
 We  regret   to   have   been   obliged  to   enter    thus 
 fully   into   the    subject.      But   it    seemed  to  be    the 
 
42  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 only  method  to  silence  those  arrogant  declamations, 
 according  to  which  the  Mosaic  constitution  is  of  a 
 purely  Egyptian  origin  !  It  may,  perhaps,  tend,  with 
 the  divine  blessing,  to  remove  an  unfavourable  im- 
 pression from  some  anxious  mind,  which  may  have 
 been  troubled  by  the  spread  of  these  pernicious  no- 
 tions, without  being  able  to  meet  them,  from  want  of 
 information  respecting  these  matters. 
 
 2.  As  it  must  be  of  peculiar  interest  to  become 
 acquainted  with  the  natural  Religion  of  the  neighbours 
 of  the  Israelites,  we  shall  now  glance  at  the  Phoenician 
 Mythology.  A  thorough  acquaintance  with  this 
 spurious  system  of  belief  would  throw  light  upon 
 many  a  difficult  passage  of  Holy  Scripture.  But  this 
 cannot  be  our  present  object.  The  repeated  relapses 
 of  the  Hebrews  into  idolatry  form  dark  spots  in  their 
 history ;  but  how  brilliant  their  heavenly  Religion 
 stands  in  the  midst  of  the  abominations  of  the  nations 
 that  dwelt  round  about  them,  will  appear  from  the 
 desultory  and  brief  notices  which  we  shall  now  give 
 upon  the  subject. 
 
 According  to  the  profound  researches  which  have 
 recently  been  made,  the  term  Ph(jenicia?is  is  appHcable 
 to  all  the  nations  which  occupied  the  western  coast  of 
 Palestine.  The  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  land  were 
 called  Canaanites,  i.  e.  Keuaani,  or,  the  inhabitants  of 
 the  Lowlands,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Arami,  or, 
 the  Highlanders.  Phoenician  signifies  a  di/er.  The 
 most   powerful   tribes    of   this    nation   occupied    the 
 
CHAP.  I.J  OF   THE   PHCENICIANS.  43 
 
 regions  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  the  writer  was  deeply 
 impressed  with  the  beauty  and  with  the  grandeur  of 
 the  remains  of  their  ancient  capitals.  The  Fkilistmes 
 were  of  the  same  tribe,  and  their  name  signifies  origi- 
 nally nothing  but  wanderers,  or  Beduiiis.  They  were 
 also  called  Flethi,  or  the  emigrants ;  and  Krethi,  or 
 the  exiled  ones.  In  order  to  throw  light  upon  these 
 latter  names,  it  will  be  requisite  to  remember  their 
 emigration  into  Egypt,  under  the  name  of  "  Phoinikes 
 allophi/loi,"  which  took  place,  according  to  Manetho, 
 about  two  thousand  three  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
 They  are  also  called  Shepherds,  or  wanderers ;  and 
 they  founded  a  Phoenician  kingdom  in  Egypt,  the 
 capital  of  which  was  Memphis.  This  is  the  notorious 
 dynasty  of  the  Hyhsos,  which  signifies  in  the  ancient 
 Egyptian  language  ^Hhe  Shepherd  Kings T  The  Hyksos, 
 with  their  subjects,  were  called  by  the  Egyptians  the 
 emigrants,  the  Fhilisti,  and  the  Flethi.  According 
 to  Herodotus,  the  Egyptians  ascribed  the  building  of 
 the  Pyramids  to  a  hated  shepherd  tribe,  called  Fhi- 
 litis.  And,  in  an  inscription  at  Medinat-Aboo,  men- 
 tion is  made  of  the  "conquered  Philistines,"  The 
 emigration  of  the  Phoenician-Philistines  into  Egypt  was, 
 however,  not  followed  by  a  total  subjection  of  Egypt ; 
 the  dynasty  of  the  Egyptian  rulers  was  driven  into 
 Upper  Egypt,  whilst  the  Hyksos  were  for  five  hundred 
 years  in  possession  of  Lower  Egypt,  after  which  period 
 they  were  expelled. 
 
 That    there   should,    consequently,    be   an  analogy 
 
44  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 between  the  Egyptian  and  the  Phoenician  ReHgions, 
 cannot  surprise ;  and  the  account  of  the  creation  of  the 
 universe,  as  far  as  we  can  gather  it  from  the  writings 
 of  Sanchoniathon,  Philo,  and  Augustin,  clearly  shows 
 the  interchange  of  religious  ideas.  The  Supreme  Deity 
 amongst  all  the  Syro-Phoenician  nations  was  the  Chal- 
 dean Baal;  and  the  Hebrews,  upon  taking  possession 
 of  Canaan,  found  his  sanctuaries  already  upon  the 
 high  mountains,  (Numb.  xxii.  Deut.  xxii.) ;  and  they 
 became  a  snare  to  Israel  in  the  days  of  the  Judges. 
 The  Chaldean  form  of  the  Phoenician  Baal,  was  Bel, 
 (Isa.  xlvi. ;  Jer.  1,)  whilst  the  Grecian  and  Latin 
 writers  called  him  Belus. 
 
 Baal,  or  Bel,  or  Belus,  simply  signifies  Lord  and 
 Master;  and  the  Grecians  and  Romans  generally 
 identify  him  with  Jupiter.  But  the  Baal  in  question 
 was  the  solar  deity  under  various  modifications.  Since 
 in  the  days  of  Samuel,  "  the  children  of  Israel  did 
 put  away  Baalim,  and  Ashtaroth,  and  served  the 
 Lord  only,"  (1  Sam.  vii.  4,)  it  did  not  reappear 
 until  the  days  of  Ahab's  reign,  who  introduced  it 
 again  for  Jezebel's  sake,  from  Tyre,  (1  Kings  xvi. 
 30 — 33;)  and  this  wicked  queen,  who  was  the  daughter 
 of  the  king  of  Phoenicia,  fed  some  eight  hundred  and 
 fifty  priests  and  prophets  of  Baal  and  Baaltis  at  her 
 table.  (1  Kings  xviii.  19.)  The  idolatry  of  Solomon, 
 Jeroboam,  and  other  kings  of  Judah  and  Israel,  was 
 not  that  of  Baal. 
 
 Although  Baal  was  the   solar  deity,  he  was  like- 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    PHCENICIANS.  45 
 
 wise  represented  in  the  characters  of  Saturn  and 
 Mars.  As  Saturn,  he  is  called  Baal-Chewan,  and 
 Baal-Ithan.  In  the  character  of  Mars,  he  appears 
 under  the  terra  of  Baal-Chammon,  and  Baal-Moloch. 
 But  even  in  this  threefold  character,  Baal  appears  again 
 in  his  solar  character.  As  Adonis,  Baal  was  the  sun 
 in  the  spring ;  Baal-Chammou  was  the  sun  in  his 
 burning  character  during  the  summer.  Baal-Chewan 
 gathers  strength  during  the  winter  for  new  pro- 
 ductions. Baal- Adonis  is  associated  with  his  spouse 
 Baaltis,  or  Mylitta.  Baal-Chammon  is  sometimes  the 
 rival  of  Adonis,  but  generally  he  appears  as  the 
 husband  of  Melechet,  or  Astarte.  Baal-Chewan  is 
 associated  with  the  Syrian  Rhea,  and  at  other  times 
 is  brought  likewise  in  connexion  with  Baaltis  and 
 Astarte. 
 
 None  of  the  Phoenician  deities  was  more  common 
 than  Baal-Adonis.  He  was  worshipped  at  Byblus 
 with  Baaltis,  as  the  Supreme  Deity ;  and  their  rites 
 were  of  a  most  abominable  character.  The  death  of 
 the  solar  deity  Adonis,  which  reminds  us  of  the 
 Egyptian  Osiris,  and  over  which  the  Hebrew  women 
 likewise  lamented,  (Ezek.  viii.  14,)  was  celebrated  in 
 the  month  of  September.  (Ezek.  viii.  1.)  Tammuz 
 signifies  in  the  Egyptian  tongue,  "  the  buried  one'' 
 To  his  ceremonies  allusion  is  made  in  Zech.  xii.  2, 
 for  Hadad-rimmon  signifies,  "  the  eooalted  solar  deity ^ 
 According  to  Hieronymus,  these  lamentations  were 
 even  to  be  heard  in  Bethlehem.     He  writes  :  "  Beth- 
 
46  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 lehem  nunc  nostrum  et  augustissimura  orbis  locum, 
 de  quo  Psalmista  canit :  Veritas  de  terra  orta  est,  locum 
 imimbrabat  Thammus,  id  est  Adonis :"  and  he  adds, 
 that  it  was  painful  to  hear  the  lamentations  for  Adonis 
 where  the  child  Jesus  had  wept ! 
 
 Baal-Chewan,  or  "  the  Lord  of  Eternity,"  was 
 adored  at  Gaza,  as  Baal-Cheled,  or  the  "  Lord  of 
 time."  He  is  the  Grecian  Kronos,  and  the  Roman 
 Saturnus.  He  is  mentioned  as  Chiun  in  Amos  v.  26, 
 and  is  called  Remphan  in  Acts  vii.  43 ;  which  was, 
 according  to  an  Arabico-Coptic  list  of  the  planets,  one 
 of  the  names  of  Saturnus.  Kevan  is  the  Persian 
 name  for  the  same  planet ;  and  from  it  we  have  the 
 name  of  Chiun  in  the  prophet  Amos.  Baal-Adonis, 
 and  his  spouse  Myhtta,  were  never  worshipped  with 
 human  sacrifices ;  but  Baal-Chewan  assumed  the 
 character  of  Moloch,  and  was  honoured  with  annual 
 sacrifices  of  children,  both  in  Phoenicia  and  its  colonies. 
 Before  an  expedition  of  war,  or  the  founding  of  some 
 new  colony,  or  the  biiildmg  of  a  new  town,  as  was 
 the  case  when  the  foundation  of  Antioch  was  laid,  a 
 pure  virgin  was  sacrificed  to  the  god  !  On  occasions 
 of  public  calamity,  such  as  famine,  war,  and  plague, 
 recourse  was  had  to  similar  means  to  subdue  the 
 wrath  of  the  deity.  When  Alexander  was  before 
 Tyrus,  the  lot  was  to  decide,  whose  only  child 
 was  to  be  sacrificed !  And  it  is  singular  that 
 this  stern  deity  could  not  be  approached  by  any 
 woman.      Only   young    animals,   innocent    children, 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE   PHCENICIANS.  47 
 
 and  pure  virgins,  were  acceptable  sacrifices  on  his 
 altar. 
 
 Baal-Chammon,  or  Moloch,  was  different  both  from 
 Adonis  and  from  Baal-Chewan.  He  is  the  Typhon 
 of  Egypt ;  and  his  name  signifies  "  the  Lord  of  the 
 burning  heat."  He  is  the  fire  deity,  but  with  reference 
 to  the  sun  and  the  solar  heat.  He  is  Adramelech, 
 or  the  "  king  of  the  fire,"  (2  Kings  xvii.  3 ;)  to 
 him  the  Sepharvites  burned  their  children.  He 
 is  Mars,  the  god  of  war,  and  Typhon,  the  divinity 
 of  the  sea,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Philo. 
 Amongst  the  Ammonites  he  was  called  Malchan,  "  our 
 king,"  and  by  the  Hebrews,  Malcham,  "  their  king." 
 
 The  Moloch  of  the  ancient  Canaanites  reappears  in 
 the  valley  Hinnora,  together  with  the  Tophets,  or  the 
 sacred  fireplaces,  since  the  Hebrews  came  into  contact 
 with  the  Assyrians.  (2  Kings  xxiii.  10  ;  Jer.  vii.  31, 
 32  ;  xix.  6,  13,  14.)  It  appears  now  again  for  the 
 first  time  since  the  days  of  Moses,  being  revived 
 by  King  Ahaz.  The  idolatry  of  the  heavenly  host 
 too  becomes  now  more  generally  a  snare  to  the 
 Israelites.  The  sun  is  honoured  with  horses  and 
 chariots,  as  among  the  Persians ;  and  the  idolatrous 
 apparatus,  which  was  destroyed  by  King  Josiah,  con- 
 tained the  idols  of  Baal,  Ashtoreth,  Chemoch,  and 
 Milcom.  (2  Kings  xxiii.  11.)  The  Moloch,  who  was 
 fire  and  solar  deity  at  the  same  time,  devoured  many 
 a  child,  which  was  dedicated  to  Jehovah.  (2  Kings 
 xxiii. ;  Jer.  xxxii. ;  Deut.  xii.  xviii. ;  2  Kings  vi.  xvii. ; 
 
48  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 Jer.  vii. ;  Lev.  xviii.)  He  was  the  sacrificial  fire  him- 
 self, which  consumed  the  children.  (Ezek.  xv.  xvi.  xxii. 
 xxiii. ;  Jer.  xxxii.) 
 
 A  member  of  that  Neologian  school  which  has 
 bred  so  many  "foxes  in  the  Lord's  vineyard"  on  the 
 Continent,  has  lately  brought  himself  to  that  pitch  of 
 erudition  and  accomplishment  in  literature,  which 
 makes  him  feel  quite  competent  to  enlighten  the  present 
 generation  with  the  novelty  of  his  discovery,  according 
 to  which  tlie  Hebrews  kept  holy  the  SaLbath-day 
 in  honour  of  Moloch !  "  They  became  vain  in  their 
 imagination,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened ;  2iii'o- 
 fessiny  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools.  Clouds 
 they  are  without  toater  ;  trees  twice  dead,  icithout  fruit. 
 Their  mouth  spealeth  great  swelling  words  !  " 
 
 The  much  agitated  question,  whether  the  term  "  to 
 make  pass  through  the  fire'  signified  simply  a  lustra- 
 tion in  that  pure  element,  or  an  actual  sacrifice,  is 
 clearly  decided  by  those  passages  where  an  actual 
 slaughter  and  burning  of  the  victims  is  mentioned. 
 (Ezek.  xxiii.  37  ;  xvi.  20,  21 ;  Ps.  cvi.  37,  38  ;  Jer.  vii. 
 31  ;  xix.  5.)  The  passing  through  the  fire  was  con- 
 sidered a  fiery  baptism  of  the  victim,  who  was  cleansed 
 from  the  dross  of  the  body,  and  thus  prepared  for 
 a  unity  with  the  pure  deity.  It  is  only  since  the 
 revival  of  the  rites  of  Baal-Moloch,  that  we  read  of  an 
 idolatrous  priesthood  in  Israel ;  for,  although  they  had 
 often  fallen  into  idolatry,  they  never  before  that  time 
 had  a  Pagan  priesthood.     In  Tyrus,  the  chief-priest 
 
 \ 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    PHCENICIANS.  49 
 
 was  not  seldom  raised  to  the  throne,  as  was  the  case 
 with  the  father  of  Jezebel. 
 
 The  character  of  these  three  distinct  deities  or  Baals 
 was,  however,  confounded  in  the  lapse  of  time ;  and, 
 according  to  Menander,  it  was  King  Hiram  who  broke 
 down  the  ancient  sanctuaries,  built  a  temple  to  the 
 solar  deity  Baalzamim,  and  celebrated  again,  for  the 
 first  time,  the  death  of  Adonis,  who  was  killed  by 
 Typhon,  on  his  expedition  to  Lybia.  It  would  appear, 
 from  the  language  of  Elias,  that  the  legend  of  this 
 deity  was  known  to  the  Hebrews.  "  Cry  aloud,  for 
 he  is  a  god ;  perhaps  he  is  meditating,  or  pursuing, 
 (like  Hercules  Philosophus  Tyrius ;)  perhaps  he  is  on 
 a  journey  (to  Lybia) ;  or,  peradventure  he  sleepeth, 
 (being  killed  by  Typhon,)  and  must  be  awakened,  (as 
 by  Jolaus.)"  (1  Kings  xviii.)  But  even  here  we  have 
 a  conjunction  of  all  that  is  vile  and  cruel  in  Pagan 
 idolatry.  The  same  Baal- Moloch,  who,  amidst  his 
 cruel  rites,  was  served  by  pure  virgins  and  monastic 
 priests,  into  whose  temples  no  impure  animal  was  to 
 enter,  upon  whose  altars  burned  a  perpetual  flame, — 
 the  same  deity  was  subsequently  honoured  by  the 
 grossest  impurities.  The  men  are  habited  in  the 
 garments  of  women,  and  the  women  are  dressed  in 
 the  garments  of  men  ;  a  custom  which  is  already  pro- 
 hibited, in  Deut.  xxii.  5.  The  attendants  upon  the 
 goddess  are  dwelling  in  "  liouses  of  Sodomites ;" 
 (2  Kings  xxiii.  7  ;)  whilst  the  valley  of  Gehinnom 
 smokes  with   the  blood  of  innocent   children,  which 
 
 VOL.  II.  E 
 
50  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap,  i, 
 
 are  sacrificed  to  Moloch.  (Jcr.  xxxii.  35.)  In  Samaria 
 we  have  the  same  abominable  rites ;  and  in  the 
 Libanon,  they  were  practised  as  far  down  as  the  days 
 of  Constantine. 
 
 The  chief  goddesses  of  the  Phoenicians  are  deifi- 
 cations of  the  powers  of  Nature  and  of  the  heavenly 
 bodies.  To  the  former  belong  the  goddesses  Baaltis, 
 Mylitta,  and  Ashera.  The  latter  has  been  confounded 
 with  the  goddess  Astarte,  whilst  the  Scriptures  make 
 a  broad  distinction  between  them.  (2  Kings  xxiii. 
 0,  14,  15.)  They  are,  indeed,  both  associated  with 
 Baal ;  but  they  are  different  goddesses.  The  name 
 of  Ashera,  which  occurs  thirty-nine  times  in  Holy 
 Scripture,  has,  in  the  authorized  version,  been  always 
 translated  by  the  word  "grove!'  The  application  of  the 
 term  uniformly  shows  that  it  is  more  an  image  of  the 
 goddess,  than  the  goddess  herself,  which  is  meant  by 
 Ashera.  We  hear  of  four  hundred  prophets  of 
 Ashera ;  of  tents  of  Ashera,  which  were  made  by 
 the  women  in  "  the  houses  of  the  Sodomites ;"  of  a 
 "  horror  of  Ashera,  which  was  made  by  Maachah ;" 
 of  "  vessels  made  for  Baal  and  Ashera;"  which  dis- 
 tinctly shows  the  connexion  of  Ashera  with  Baaltis. 
 
 We  have  this  Ashera  in  Samaria  and  in  Jerusalem. 
 She  is  placed  in  the  temple  by  Manasseh,  until 
 burned  by  his  successor  after  half  a  century.  Baal's 
 images  of  stone  are  generally  placed  together  with  the 
 loooden  figures  of  Ashera.  Being  of  wood,  the  Ashera 
 is  always  ''  cut  down''  and  "  burned  with  fire."    Whilst 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    PHCENICIANS.  51 
 
 the  altars  are  destroyed,  the  statues  broken  down,  the 
 Ashera  is  invariably  cut  doion.  Hezekiah  "  broke  doimi 
 the  images,  or  statues ;  he  cut  doivn  the  Ashera,  and 
 brake  in  pieces  the  brazen  serpent."  The  idol  Ashera 
 seems,  therefore,  to  have  been  some  rude  image  of 
 Baaltis,  placed  on  or  near  the  altar  of  Baal,  or  under 
 some  "  green  trees  "  upon  some  elevated  spot. 
 
 The  word  Ashera  has,  however,  been  rendered  grove 
 or  tree  in  many  ancient  and  modern  translations. 
 Now,  although  this  translation  is  inapplicable  to  most 
 of  the  passages,  it  is  yet  one  which  is  counte- 
 nanced by  some  few  expressions.  Jehovah  threatens 
 to  "pluck  up  "  their  Asheras.  (Micah  v.  14.)  And 
 (Deut.  xvi,  21)  it  is  said  :  "Thou  shalt  wot  plant  thee 
 an  Ashera  of  many  trees  near  unto  the  altar  of  the 
 Lord  thy  God."  We  should,  therefore,  conclude  that 
 Ashera  was  a  rude  idol  of  wood,  which  in  most  cases 
 was  placed  in  groves  and  under  green  trees.  Hence 
 we  read  of  Asheras  "  bg  the  green  trees  upon  the  high 
 hills,"  (Jer.  xvii.  2  ;)  of  "  idols  under  everg  green  tree," 
 — a  sight  which  is  most  common  in  modern  India. 
 
 Another  goddess  was  Derceto,  in  the  compound 
 form  of  a  woman  and  a  fish ;  she  is  the  Uagon  of  the 
 Philistines.  Her  chief  seat  was  Askelon ;  and  she  is 
 the  Syrian  goddess  Atergatis.  The  goddess  Beruth, 
 or  Bareuth,  from  whom  the  name  of  the  Syrian  town, 
 was  only  another  name  of  Baaltis. 
 
 Baaltis  and  Mylitta  already  partook,  in  a  measure, 
 of  a  sidereal  character  among  the  Phcenicians;    but 
 
 E  2 
 
52  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  I. 
 
 this  is  particularly  true  of  AsJdorefh,  the  goddess  of 
 the  Sidonians,  whose  rites  were  occasionally  intro- 
 duced into  Jerusalem  after  the  days  of  Solomon. 
 (1  Kings  xi.  5;  2  Kings  xxiii.  13.)  As  we  have  a 
 plurality  of  Baalim,  so  also  of  Ashtoreths.  She  is 
 the  "queen  of  heaven,"  (Jer.  vii.  18;  xliv.  17,  18;) 
 and  is,  at  one  time,  taken  in  the  character  of  Venus, 
 at  another,  in  the  character  of  the  moon.  Aphrodite, 
 which  signifies  a  dove,  is  the  same  goddess,  but 
 assumed  far  more  the  character  of  Melechet,  the  firey 
 spouse  of  Moloch,  than  that  of  the  lascivious  goddess 
 oi'  the  Babylonian  Baaltis. 
 
 The  sidereal  divinities  were  always  worshipped  in 
 the  open  air,  or  upon  the  roofs  of  houses.  (See  Zeph. 
 i.  5 ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  12;  Jer.  xix.  13.)  Hence, 
 Manasseh  bnilt  altars  for  all  the  host  of  heaven  in  the 
 two  open  courts  of  the  house  of  the  Lord.  (2  Kings 
 xxi.  5  ;  xxiii.  12.)  Hence  Ahaz  took  away  "  the  covert 
 for  the  sabbath,"  on  account  of  the  king  of  Assyria, 
 who  was  a  worshipper  of  the  heavenly  host,  which 
 were  always  worshipped  by  bowing,  and  turning  to 
 the  east.  (2  Kings  xvi.  18;  Dent.  iv.  19;  Ezek. 
 viii.  16,  17.)  As  the  Assyrians,  like  the  Persians, 
 were  adverse  to  idols  and  symbols  in  general,  Ahaz 
 was  obhged,  by  Tiglath-pileser,  to  destroy  the  brazen 
 sea,  which  rested  upon  twelve  oxen,  and  other  orna- 
 ments of  the  temple.  (2  Kings  xvi.  17.)  He  also 
 changed  the  position  of  the  altar,  (2  Kings  xvi.  14  ;) 
 as  the  great  ahar,  which  was  twenty  yards  broad,  and 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    PIICENICIANS.  53 
 
 ten  yards  high,  prevented  the  idolaters  from  worship- 
 ping to  the  East ! 
 
 In  the  natural  Religion  of  the  Phcenicians  we  have, 
 therefore,  all  the  cruelty  and  all  the  moral  depravity 
 which  is  peculiar  to  Paganism.  We  shall  not  further 
 trouble  our  readers  with  their  deifications  of  the  ele- 
 ments, rivers,  lakes,  fountains,  woods,  and  mountains. 
 Nor  should  we  feel  inclined  to  enter  into  a  detailed 
 account  of  the  disgusting  rites  of  their  deities.  Yet, 
 with  all  the  contrast  between  these  and  the  living 
 God,  there  were  some  individuals  sufficiently  impious 
 to  look  upon  the  name  of  Jehovah  as  being  derived 
 from  one  of  the  vile  Phoenician  deities,  to  whom  we 
 ought  finally  to  allude,  and  who  was  known  by  the 
 mystical  name  of  Jao. 
 
 The  name  Jehovah  is  of  a  purely  Hebrew  origin, 
 and  is  explained  to  signify  the  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord 
 God  Almighty,  lohich  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come.  (Rev. 
 i.  8 ;  iv.  8.)  That  there  was  something  mysterious  in 
 its  character,  as  being  the  covenant  appellation  of  the 
 God  of  Israel,  has  been  already  observed  on  a  former 
 occasion.  But  that  the  Jews  had  a  superstitious 
 veneration  for  the  name,  and  that  they  abstained  from 
 pronouncing  it,  was  not  according  to  the  spirit  of  the 
 Bible.  We  are  rather  inchned  to  think  that  they 
 imitated  the  Pagans  in  this  respect.  We  know  that 
 the  Pagans  had  mystical  names  of  their  deities,  which 
 were  not  to  be  pronounced.  Hermes,  for  instance, 
 had  such  a  name ;  and  it  would  have  been  a  capital 
 
54  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap,  i 
 
 crime  if  any  one,  not  initiated  into  the  mysteries, 
 had  happened  to  hear  the  same.  Jambhchus  speaks 
 of  such  mystical  names,  which  were  in  use  amongst 
 the  Chaldeans  and  the  Egyptians.  The  sacred  word 
 Om,  or  Aum^  may  not  be  uttered  amongst  the  Hindoos, 
 except  by  a  Brahmin. 
 
 The  Chaldean  and  Phoenician  Jao  was  the  Supreme 
 Deity,  but  he  was  the  solar  deity  with  a  fourfold  signi- 
 fication ;  and  we  would  remind  our  readers  that, 
 according  to  Eustathius,  Baal  was  represented  wdth 
 four  faces.  According  to  Suidas,  the  idolatrous  king 
 Manasseh  had  placed  a  similar  image  of  Baal  in  the 
 temple  at  Jerusalem  !  Jao  is  the  god  of  the  four 
 seasons  of  the  year,  and  more  especially  that  of  the 
 Autumn.  That  Jao  is  therefore  Adotiis  is  beyond  all 
 doubt.  In  the  first  place,  the  surname,  "  Jao  the 
 Tender"  is  applicable  to  him.  Secondly,  Adonis  was 
 particularly  the  god  of  the  Autumn.  Thirdly,  Adonis 
 was  adored  as  the  Supreme  Deity  in  Mount  Lebanon 
 and  at  Byblus.  Fourthly,  Adonis  had  a  mysterious 
 name.  And  lastly,  we  have  evidence  that  Adonis  was 
 called  Jao  at  Cyrus.  Jao  signifies,  ''He  makes  alive ;" 
 and  that  this  was  meant  only  in  a  physical  sense  is 
 clear,  from  the  supposed  death  of  the  solar  deity 
 Adonis,  from  his  resurrection  in  the  Spring,  and  from 
 his  reviving  the  whole  of  nature.  We  shall  abstain 
 from  tracing  the  natural  process  by  which  it  came  to 
 pass  that  the  names  of  Jao  and  Jehovah,  or  Jah,  were 
 sometimes  confounded  by  profane  writers,  as  we  wish 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE   GRECIANS.  55 
 
 to  adhere  to  certain  principles  which  we  have  laid  down 
 for  our  guidance.  One  thing,  however,  is  certain,  that 
 the  word  Jehovah  is  as  little  derived  from  Jao  as  the 
 ark  of  the  covenant  was  derived  from  the  holy  ship  of 
 the  Egyptians.  What  communion,  then,  may  we  ask, 
 has  the  Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  who  was, 
 and  is,  and  is  to  come,  with  the  lascivious  and  abomi- 
 nable character  of  Baal- Adonis  ? 
 
 The  Phoenicians,  with  all  their  wisdom  and  power, 
 by  which  they  made  themselves  conspicuous  in  the 
 history  of  the  world  at  a  time  when  our  forefathers 
 had  perhaps  not  yet  emigrated  into  Western  Europe 
 from  the  distant  East, — these  Phoenicians  knew  not 
 God !  Instead  of  cultivating  the  natural  Rehgion  in 
 which  they  were  to  glorify  God  and  be  thankfid,  their 
 foolish  heart  was  darkened.  They  served  the  creature 
 more  than  the  Creator  ! 
 
 3.  It  will  not  be  expected  that  we  should  give  a 
 minute  description  of  Grecian  Mythology ;  nor  does  it 
 fall  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  give  a  detailed 
 account  of  the  natural  Religion  of  the  highly  polished 
 nation  of  ancient  Greece.  It  will  suffice  to  glance  at 
 the  general  character  of  this  creed,  with  a  view  to  de- 
 termine what  man  could  accomplish  in  speculating 
 upon  religious  subjects,  without  being  aided  by  special 
 revelation.  We  shall  the  less  hesitate  to  confine  our 
 remarks  to  a  few  leading  features  of  this  Mythology, 
 as  people  generally  know  more  of  the  Grecian  and 
 Roman  systems  of  belief,  than  of  any  other  spurious 
 
56  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  I. 
 
 ^  kind  of  Religion.     They  are,  in  some  way  or  other, 
 brought  before  our  notice  from  our  childhood. 
 
 The  classical  authors  speak  of  a  golden  age  of  hap- 
 piness and  bliss,  during  which  no  evil  was  yet  in 
 existence.  But  the  next  generation  began  to  be  filled 
 with  pride,  arrogance,  and  neglect  of  the  altars  of  the 
 deities.  But  it  was  the  third  age  of  the  world,  or 
 the  age  of  brass,  which  was  peopled  with  a  generation 
 of  men  so  utterly  wicked,  as  to  bring  upon  them  a 
 general  jlood,  in  which  the  righteous  Deucalion,  with 
 his  excellent  wife  Pyrrha,  and  her  children,  according 
 to  Apollodorus,  were  saved  by  an  ark.  Plutarch 
 speaks  of  doves,  which  were  sent  to  ascertain  the  de- 
 cline of  the  waters  ;  and  Lucian  mentions  "  all  manner 
 of  animals"  which  went  into  the  ark  with  Deucalion  ! 
 
 Prom  what  we  can  learn  of  the  character  of  the  pri- 
 mitive Religion  of  the  Grecians,  it  would  appear  that 
 they  w^orshipped  divine  beings  which,  as  yet,  had  no 
 distinct  names.  They  adored  the  powers  of  nature, 
 the  heavenly  bodies,  the  elements  of  the  earth,  and 
 the  spirits  of  their  ancestors.  We  hear  of  their  deify- 
 ing trees,  rocks,  and  stones.  Rehgious  rites,  too, 
 were  found  to  exist  among  them  at  an  early  period,  in 
 honour  of  some  unknown  Deity.  And  even  Kronos, 
 i.  e.  Time,  who  ruled  during  the  age  of  primitive 
 happiness  and  bliss,  cannot  be  looked  upon  as  a 
 personal  deity.  The  Romans,  as  well  as  the  Grecians, 
 honoured  this  deity  originally  only  through  Saturna- 
 lian  festivities,   during  which  the    agricultural  slaves 
 
CHAP,  t.]  OF   THE    GRECIANS.  57 
 
 were  permitted  to  have  their  full  measure  of  mirth  and 
 gladness.  The  Olympian  deities,  as  yet,  were  unknown 
 amongst  the  Grecians.  The  deities  which  are  said 
 to  have  been  propagated  by  Kronos,  are  such  as  to 
 indicate  the  physical  character  of  the  ante-Homerian 
 creed. 
 
 The  genuine  Grecian  Mythology  was  founded  at 
 a  subsequent  period,  upon  ideas  wdiich  were  intro- 
 duced from  the  East,  and  by  way  of  Egypt.  But 
 these  foreign  elements  were  cast  into  the  Grecian 
 mould,  and  hence  the  purely  Hellenistic  character  of 
 Grecian  Mythology.  Whilst  the  Oriental  nations,  and 
 even  the  Egyptians,  were  inclined  to  represent  their 
 deities  by  rude  symbols,  which  were  drawn  from  the 
 heavenly  bodies  and  the  elements  of  the  earth ;  from 
 animate  and  inanimate  nature ;  and  even,  not  unfre- 
 quently,  from  a  mixture  of  human  and  animal  forms  : 
 the  Grecian,  on  the  contrary,  anthropomorphises  the 
 deity.  To  speak  perhaps  more  correctly,  it  theomor- 
 phises  humanity,  in  raising  human  nature  to  the  level 
 of  the  deity.  Or,  to  use  the  Apostle's  plain  speech, 
 it  changes  the  glory  of  the  incorruptihle  God  into  the 
 image  of  corruptible  man  !  This  distinction  between 
 the  Oriental  and  the  Grecian  Mythology  grew  more 
 and  more  apparent  as  the  latter  gradually  threw  off 
 the  elemental  and  symbolical  character  which  it  had, 
 in  the  ante-Homerian  ages,  in  common  with  the 
 Eastern  systems  of  belief.  The  Grecian  Religion  was, 
 therefore,  the  perfection  of  Paganism,  inasmuch  as  it 
 
58  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 endeavoured  at  last  to  represent  the  Deity  by  the  noblest 
 of  all  forms.  With  the  deification  of  man,  and  the  repre- 
 sentation of  the  attributes  of  the  Deity  in  human  forms, 
 the  Grecian  Mythology  finished  the  circuit  of  Pagan 
 speculations.  But  we  shall  presently  see  that  they 
 were  far  from  accomplishing  their  great  design.  As 
 the  natural  man  had  lost  the  Divine  image,  the 
 Grecian  Mythology  could  only  deify  the  image  of  the 
 natural  man  in  his  fallen  condition,  with  all  his 
 defects,  imperfections,  and  vices,  which  could  not  be 
 liidden  by  all  the  ingenuity  of  the  Grecian  mind, 
 although  it  shed  a  certain  lustre  and  glory  around  their 
 earthly  frames.  What  the  Grecian  Mythology  at- 
 tempted to  do,  could  only  be  accomplished  by  the 
 Christian  Religion,  in  which  the  believer  is  made 
 "partaker  of  the  Divine  nature!" 
 
 The  Grecians  connnenced  by  personifying  the  dif- 
 ferent elements  of  nature,  like  all  other  systems  of 
 Oriental  Paganism,  but  they  did  more  by  degrees. 
 Whilst  ancient  philosophy  fell  prostrate  before  the 
 sidereal,  physical  and  elemental  deities  of  the  East ; 
 whilst  the  Egyptians,  Babylonians,  and  Phoenicians 
 concentrated  their  Mythological  system  in  the  heavenly 
 bodies  and  their  supposed  influence  upon  the  earth 
 and  its  inhabitants, — the  Grecian  Mythology  assumed 
 neither  the  one  nor  the  other  of  these  forms  of  the 
 natural  Religion  of  the  Pagan  world.  The  peculiar 
 tendency  of  the  branch  of  Paganism  which  we  have 
 exemplified  in  the  Grecian  Religion,  was  indeed  already 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    GRECIANS.  59 
 
 contained  in  other  svstems  of  belief,  but  it  was  left  to 
 the  former  to  carry  it  into  effect. 
 
 In  all  the  systems  of  natural  Religion  which  have 
 until  now  come  under  our  observation,  man  is 
 directly  subjected  to  the  rule  of  physical  powers, 
 the  sovereignty  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  the  ele- 
 ments of  the  earth.  In  all  and  every  system  man  falls 
 a  sacrifice  to  the  wrath  of  these  physical  deities ;  and 
 in  Egypt  he  has  in  the  four-footed  beasts,  not  only 
 his  equals  but  his  superiors.  Man  could  never,  there- 
 fore, raise  himself  to  the  dignity  and  liberty  which 
 was  absolutely  necessary  to  the  development  of  true 
 Religion.  The  ancient  Grecians  were  inspired  by  an 
 indefinite  feeling  of  the  great  destiny  of  man  and 
 humanity  in  general.  It  appeared,  therefore,  to  them, 
 that  humanity  was  capable  of  being  raised  to  a  com- 
 paratively far  higher  elevation.  Hence  their  deification 
 of  nature  led  them  to  deify  humanity. 
 
 This  change  in  Pagan  Mythology  was  no  doubt 
 suggested  and  greatly  facilitated  by  the  power  and 
 strength  of  the  Grecian  mind,  and  its  singular  taste 
 for  what  is  beautiful  and  great.  As  the  national  fond- 
 ness for  what  is  fine  and  beautiful  prevailed  among  the 
 Grecians,  what  was  more  natural  than  to  sift  and 
 to  sever  those  repugnant  elements  of  rude  physical  or 
 animal  forms  in  religious  matters,  which  they  had  in- 
 herited from  their  uncivilized  and  barbarian  ancestors  ? 
 The  charm  of  their  poetical  mind  changed  the  gods 
 into  nobler  beings ;  and  Grecian  civilization  gave  to 
 
> 
 
 GO  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap,  i. 
 
 Grecian  divinities  a  more  comely  and  agreeable  ap- 
 pearance. The  gods  are  indeed  born  and  educated 
 upon  earth,  they  appear  in  all  things  like  men,  are  still 
 subject  to  human  infirmities  and  passions  ;  but  they 
 are  more  mighty  and  more  wise  than  falls  to  the 
 common  lot  of  mankind. 
 
 f,  The  Grecians  were  naturally  endowed  with  faculties 
 to  emancipate  the  idea  of  the  godhead  from  the  more 
 
 '  degrading  forms  and  powers  of  nature,  and  to  intro- 
 duce the  same  into  the  circle  of  human  life  and  human 
 circumstances.     Divine  attributes  were  represented  in 
 
 1  human  form,  and  the  individual  who  was  invested 
 with  the  same  became  a  deity.  As  every  being  has  its 
 own  history,  it  was  natural  that  the  Grecians  should 
 fashion  a  spurious  history  of  these  god-men  ;  and  hence 
 their  Mythology  !  Thus  the  whole  Olympian  cuxle  of 
 deities  was  the  creation  of  the  natural  intellect  of  the 
 Grecians,  and  their  personifications  were  based  upon 
 Mythos.  The  nation  was  endowed  with  the  talent  of 
 an  inexhaustible  imagination,  connected  with  a  dis- 
 tinguished taste  for  beauty  in  every  form  and  figure. 
 And  to  these  talents  the  Grecian  Mythology  owes 
 much  more  than  to  their  intellect.  The  beauty  of 
 form  and  the  charms  of  poetry  have  much  contributed 
 to  the  fact,  that  the  great  defects  and  errors  of  the 
 Grecian  Mythology  have  been  treated  so  frequently 
 with  too  much  indulgence.  If  we  put  aside  this  merit, 
 the  Grecian  Mythology  is  nothing  but  an  incongruous 
 and  heterogeneous  mass  of  ridiculous  fables.    This  was 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    GRECIANS.  61 
 
 very  early  discovered  by  the  intelligent  part  of  the  Gre- 
 cian population.  And  indeed  Herodotus  declares,  that 
 Hesiod  and  Homer,  and,  we  may  add,  some  of  their  un- 
 known predecessors,  created  the  Olympian  deities. 
 
 In  order  to  prove  what  we  have  now  said  of  the 
 peculiarity  of  the  Grecian  Mythology,  we  confine  our 
 remarks  to  the  chief  deities  of  the  Grecians.  Jupiter 
 and  Juno,  or  Zeus  and  Hera,  were  originally  physical 
 and  elemental  deities,  which  ruled  and  controlled  the 
 upper  regions ;  they  are  Ly  degrees  metamorphosed 
 into  human  characters,  in  which  they  appear  as  the 
 king  and  the  queen  of  Grecian  divinities.  Jupiter  is 
 born  on  the  island  of  Crete,  and  he  grows  up  nnder 
 the  care  of  Adrasteia  and  Ida,  being  nourished  by  the 
 goat  Amalthea  with  milk  and  honey,  and  entertained 
 by  the  armorial  dances  of  the  Kuretes.  He  appears 
 always  as  supreme  lord  of  the  gods,  but  is  never  repre- 
 sented as  the  creator  of  the  universe.  The  fire  and 
 water  deities  are  placed  at  his  disposal.  Yet,  as  his 
 character  is  professedly  of  human  origin,  and  as  the 
 person  who  is  invested  with  these  powers  is  after  all 
 a  mortal  being,  the  king  and  father  of  gods  falls 
 into  all  the  excesses  to  which  mortals  are  exposed  in 
 the  possession  of  extraordinary  power.  He  is  not  only 
 overruled  at  times  and  seasons  by  an  irrevocable  fate, 
 but  labours  under  the  most  disgraceful  infirmities  of 
 the  fallen  nature  of  man.  His  royal  spouse,  the  queen 
 of  the  Olympian  throne,  was  originally  one  of  the 
 physical  goddesses.    She  was  born,  according  to  some, 
 
62  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  t. 
 
 upon  Samos,  which  is  also  mentioned  as  the  place  in 
 which  she  was  wedded  to  her  royal  partner.  But  in 
 this  point  the  accounts  do  not  agree,  as  many  other 
 places  would  claim  the  honour  of  being  connected  with 
 her  history.  She  Avas  the  patron  of  nuptials,  and 
 many  of  her  festivals  bear  distinctly  this  character. 
 She  is  represented  as  a  revengeful  and  jealous  goddess  ; 
 and  Jupiter  himself  seems  to  have  given  abundant 
 cause  for  that  jealousy  and  want  of  confidence  of  which 
 she  w^as  the  victim. 
 
 In  Apollo,  the  sun  was  originally  personified  and 
 worshipped.  But  the  poets  have  changed  him  into  a 
 handsome  representation  of  youth ;  and  with  the 
 bodily  comeliness  was  connected  the  beauty  and 
 accomplishment  of  the  mind.  He  is  the  god  of  music 
 and  song,  and  the  patron  of  fine  arts  in  general.  But 
 as  his  accomplishments  have  no  other  foundation  than 
 that  of  a  refined  and  noble  species  of  sensuality,  they 
 are  by  no  means  able  to  protect  him  against  the 
 power  of  temptation.  Mercury,  in  the  Grecian  My- 
 thology, exemplifies  the  spirit  of  prudence,  and  is 
 described  as  the  inventor  of  the  art  of  persuasion. 
 But  as  these  accomplishments  are  merely  measured  by 
 a  human  standard,  it  was  natural  that  they  should 
 likewise  degenerate  into  human  infirmities.  Discretion 
 becomes  cunning  and  craftiness ;  the  art  of  per- 
 suasion, lies  and  deceit ;  prudence  in  the  common 
 affairs  of  life  degenerates  into  dishonesty;  and  thus 
 the  patron  of  prudence  and  justice  becomes  the  tutelar 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    GRECIANS.  63 
 
 god  of  thieves.  Mars  is  the  deification  of  courage 
 and  strength ;  but  as  it  is  not  that  moral  courage  which 
 grows  from  moral  strength,  and  which  is  guided  by 
 sound  reason  and  animated  by  the  highest  motives, 
 we  have  nothing  but  a  rude  manifestation  of  an 
 angry  and  revengeful  disposition  of  the  human  mind, 
 which  delights  in  destruction. 
 
 Besides  Juno,  we  have  three  other  chief  goddesses. 
 Venus,  or  Aphrodites,  was  the  goddess  of  love,  the 
 goddess  of  beauty ;  but  amongst  all  the  descriptions 
 which  Pausanias  gives  of  her  character,  there  is  indeed 
 not  the  slightest  allusion  to  higher  and  nobler  quali- 
 fications. She  is  endowed  with  all  the  personal  charms 
 of  her  sex ;  whilst  in  her  fabulous  character  are  con- 
 centrated all  the  qualities  which  anything  but  the  most 
 profane  licentiousness  would  have  protested  against. 
 Diana,  or  Artemis,  is  of  a  more  respectable  character 
 than  Venus ;  but  as  an  anomalous  feature  in  her 
 feminine  character  appears  her  being  passionately 
 addicted  to  hunting  !  Minerva,  lastly,  exhibited  manly 
 wisdom  and  intrepidity,  which  is  likewise  an  anoma- 
 lous feature  in  the  tender  sex. 
 
 Whenever  a  scene  of  human  exploits  was  brought 
 to  a  conclusion,  the  Grecian  poets  removed,  as  it  were, 
 the  veil  from  the  summit  of  Olympus,  upon  which 
 the  deities  were  considered  to  be  enthroned.  The 
 large-eyed  and  jealous  Juno  is  placed  by  the  side  of 
 the  god  of  thunder.  Whilst  courage  and  wisdom  are 
 shown    to  dwell  upon  Minerva's  brow,   Venus,    the 
 
64  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 spray-born  goddess  of  love,  displays  all  the  charms  of 
 beauty,  and  exhibits  all  the  powers  of  love  intrigues, 
 which  are  peculiarly  her  own.  Diana,  armed  with  her 
 bow,  and  accompanied  by  a  host  of  nymphs,  rushes 
 through  forests  and  over  mountains  ;  whilst  the 
 former  are  filled  with  the  echo  of  her  arms,  the  latter 
 are  represented  as  trembling  under  her  feet.  Whilst 
 Mars  returns  agitated  from  the  excitement  of  the  field 
 of  battle,  Apollo,  as  the  god  of  song  and  inspiration, 
 unlooses  the  silver  bow,  and  grasps  the  melodious 
 strings  of  the  well-tuned  lyre.  Whilst  Vulcan  gives 
 heed  to  his  cyclopeans  and  forge,  Isis  is  always  ready 
 to  glide  down  swiftly  upon  the  splendid  rainbow,  to 
 fulfil  the  commands  of  Juno  the  great.  Mercury, 
 with  his  staff*,  guides  the  dying  into  Hades ;  whilst 
 Ceres  draws  from  the  bosom  of  mother  earth  the 
 blessings  of  the  harvest,  which  rejoice  man  and  beast. 
 And,  moreover,  every  darkened  wood,  every  rising 
 mountain,  every  bubbling  fountain,  enjoys  the  presence 
 of  heavenly  nymphs  and  guardian  spirits ;  the  dark- 
 haired  Neptune  dashes  through  the  fierce  waves  of 
 the  mighty  ocean ;  and  Pluto,  with  Proserpine,  rules 
 over  the  shadows  of  departed  spirits  in  the  lower 
 regions  ;  and  at  the  entrance  of  their  dark  abode  howls 
 the  three-headed  Cerberus.  Charon  is  pulling  his 
 boat  hither  and  thither  on  the  waters  of  the  Styx ; 
 whilst  on  the  farther  shore  many  are  seen  tormented 
 by  vain  hopes,  because  their  bodies  have  not  been 
 duly  buried  in  this  world. 
 
CHAP.  I.]  GF   THE    GRECIANS.  65 
 
 But  the  living  also  are  under  the  special  care  of 
 certain  tutelar  deities.  Whilst  Helios  descends  and 
 ascends  the  heavens  in  behalf  of  the  good  and  of 
 the  evil ;  Jupiter  cares  for  the  stranger  ;  Juno  minds 
 the  ladies  of  the  house  ;  Diana  guards  the  sportsman ; 
 Ceres  blesses  the  agriculturist ;  Apollo  inspires  bards 
 and  seers  ;  Mars  is  the  protector  of  the  man  of  war ; 
 and  Vulcan  is  the  master  of  men  working  in  iron 
 and  brass. 
 
 A  connecting  link  between  the  Olympian  gods 
 and  mortal  men  was  found  in  that  famous  race  of 
 heroes  and  demi-gods  which  were  the  illegitimate 
 offspring  of  an  Olympian  with  a  merely  human  parent. 
 Sons  and  daughters,  as  the  descendants  of  the  deities, 
 is  an  idea  extremely  absurd,  but  it  has  nothing  extra- 
 ordinary when  we  remember,  that  the  Olympian  gods 
 have  throughout  shown  their  human  nature.  The  gods 
 are  always  framed  on  a  pm'ely  human  model.  The 
 godhead  of  the  Grecian  Mythology  combines  certain 
 human  excellencies,  which  were  seen  scattered  here 
 and  there  in  several  persons. 
 
 As  the  Grecian  deities  were  only  eminent  and 
 extraordinary  men,  they  naturally  could  not  satisfy 
 the  craving  of  the  human  mind  after  something  more 
 solid  than  what  it  could  produce  from  its  own  re- 
 sources. This  tendency  Avas  indeed  calculated  to 
 encourage  the  development  of  the  natural  powers  of 
 the  natural  man.  But  whilst  these  deities  called  forth 
 the   faculties   of  the   Grecian  nation,  the   moral  and 
 
 VOL.    JI.  p 
 
66  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 spiritual  wants  of  man  were  left  unheeded.  This  un- 
 satisfactory character  of  the  Olympian  gods  rendered  it 
 natural  that  the  more  ancient  deities  maintained  a 
 place  in  the  back-ground  of  the  Grecian  Mythology, 
 although  they  receded  farther  and  farther  on  the 
 horizon.  The  elemental,  astronomical,  and  physical 
 deities,  which  preceded  the  Olympian  gods,  were 
 indeed,  as  poor  as  these  ;  but  there  was  still  afloat  in 
 the  Grecian  mind  an  idea  of  the  "  unhwiun  God'' 
 and  to  him  was  consecrated  an  altar  as  far  down  as 
 the  days  of  the  Apostles.  As  no  one  of  the  Olympian 
 gods  was  ever  mentioned  as  the  creator  of  the  universe, 
 and  as  all  were  equally  finite,  infirm,  imperfect,  and 
 subject  to  human  passions,  there  was  always  above 
 them  an  "  imlxnoum  God.''  Every  one  of  the  Grecian 
 deities  was  "  snch  a  one''  as  themselves;  and  the 
 reason  they  looked  up  to  them  with  a  certain  degree 
 of  reverence  was,  because  they  were  their  superiors  in 
 wisdom  and  strength,  and  because  they  expected 
 from  them  certain  good  things  which  they  needed. 
 
 Beauty  of  form  being  a  peculiar  characteristic  of 
 the  deities  of  the  Grecian  Mythology,  it  Avas  natural 
 that  the  influence  of  these  deities  upon  the  feeling  and 
 imagination  of  the  Greeks  should  be  very  considerable. 
 There  was  a  strong  religious  motive  to  personify 
 the  comparatively  perfect  features  of  the  imaginary 
 deities,  which  have  been  created  by  the  imagina- 
 tive powers  of  the  poet,  in  the  history  of  the 
 nation,  and  to  fix  them  in  the  finest  possible  forms  of 
 
CHAP.  1.]  OF    THE    GRECIANS.  67 
 
 statues  of  stone  and  of  brass.  Art  and  poetry,  how- 
 ever, could  not  give  permanent  satisfaction  to  the 
 human  mind ;  and  Grecian  civihzation  could  not 
 satisfy  the  religious  wants  of  the  nation,  much  less 
 could  it  benefit  the  world  at  large.  There  was,  in- 
 deed, some  good  resulting  from  these  efforts,  as  some 
 of  the  Grecian  statues  still  serve  as  models  to  the 
 sculptor  of  the  present  generation.  Inasmuch  as  the 
 Grecian  master  of  arts  furnished  not  only  a  common 
 ornament,  but  strove  to  represent  the  highest  ideal 
 which  the  Grecian  mind  was  capable  of  conceiving  of 
 the  Deity,  it  was  natural  that  the  highest  faculties  of 
 man  should  be  enlisted  in  the  service  of  sculptures 
 and  statuary  among  the  Greeks. 
 
 Like  all  other  nations,  the  Grecians  had  a  singular 
 fear  of  their  imaginary  deities.  And,  according  to  the 
 original,  St.  Paul  declared,  upon  Mars'  Hill,  at  Athens, 
 that  he  perceived  they  were  altogether  absorhed  in  the 
 fear  of  the  gods.  (Acts  xvii.  23.)  They  consequently 
 established  a  multitude  of  religious  rites  to  appease 
 their  wrath.  Yet  this  natural  fear  of  something  above 
 the  natural  man  was  greatly  modified  by  that  singular 
 light-mindedness  and  the  all-absorbing  and  fantastical 
 cheerfulness  of  temper  which  is  peculiar  to  the  Grecian 
 character;  and  thus  it  followed  that  the  religious 
 rites  in  honour  of  the  deities  assumed  the  character  of 
 public  amusements,  rather  than  of  devotional  exercises. 
 This  is  the  general  character  of  their  religious  festivals; 
 they  were   made   occasions    of  national    amusement, 
 
 f2 
 
68  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 wliicli  consisted  in  magnificent  processions,  dancing, 
 singing,  and  playing !  If,  by  similar  accompani- 
 ments, the  devotion  of  the  people  was  rather  pre- 
 vented than  encouraged  and  supported,  w^hat  shall 
 be  said  of  certain  kinds  of  religious  rites,  which  were 
 directly  opposed  to  the  general  principles  of  morality  ? 
 As  almost  in  every  other  system  of  natural  Religion,  so 
 also  amongst  the  Grecians,  has  an  abandoned  sensu- 
 ality succeeded  in  deifying  the  vilest  species  of  vice. 
 We  refer  only  to  the  abominable  rites  of  the  goddess 
 Aphrodites,  at  Paphos,  and  in  Cyprus ;  and  to  the 
 lewd  festivals  of  Adonis  and  Bacchus  !  And  how  the 
 rites  of  the  famous  Mysteries,  Avhich  exercised  a 
 salutary  influence  in  former  days,  have  at  last  de- 
 generated, can  be  easily  learned  from  the  writings 
 of  Livy.  The  peculiar  defects  of  the  Grecian  Reli- 
 gion are,  therefore,  the  natm^al  consequence  of  its 
 peculiar  tendency.  The  godhead,  which  was  to  others 
 involved  in  a  profound  mystery,  was  amongst  the 
 Greeks  dissected  by  a  cold  intellect  into  a  number  of 
 vague  notions,  which  were  considered  to  be  realized 
 in  human  beings  and  their  peculiar  characters.  Each 
 one  of  these  deities  was,  therefore,  a  distinct  person ; 
 and  in  order  to  make  them  appear  still  more  isolated, 
 each  was  surrounded  by  his  own  fabulous  history, 
 which  had  reference  to  different  places,  persons, 
 and  tribes.  And  thus  it  happened  that  all  internal 
 connexion  between  the  deities,  as  the  bearers  of 
 divine  attributes,    was  destroyed.     A  want    of  unity 
 
CHAP.  1.]  OF    THE    GRECIANS.  09 
 
 was,  therefore,  an  essential  defect  in  the  Grecian 
 ReHgion,  which  was  by  no  means  remedied  by  the 
 subordination  of  some  gods  to  others.  The  Mytho- 
 logy, with  all  its  pompous  character,  embodied  no 
 rational  ideas  regarding  the  godhead  and  divine 
 things  ;  whilst  a  sentimental  admiration  of  the 
 beauties  by  which  it  was  surrounded  served,  perhaps, 
 to  blind  the  judgment  of  the  spectator  for  a  season  ; 
 but  this  false  lustre  could  not  endure  the  sober 
 reflections  of  even  common  philosophy.  It  was,  no 
 doubt,  through  the  poverty  of  this  system,  as  regards 
 morality  and  religious  truth,  that  their  ideas  of  the 
 future  state  were  so  poor  and  comfortless.  They  be- 
 lieved, indeed,  that  there  was  an  immortality  of  the  soul 
 after  death,  but  without  making  it  in  any  wise  bear 
 upon  this  present  life,  and  without  expectations  of 
 something  futm-e.  It  was  a  dreamy  existence  of  the 
 soul  in  a  world  of  shadows  ! 
 
 These  and  similar  defects  could  not  escape  the 
 scrutiny  of  the  })hilosophical  spirit  amongst  that 
 remarkable  nation.  Hence,  philosophy  is  soon  found 
 to  be  opposed  to  Mythology.  There  was,  mdeed, 
 an  effort  made  by  one  of  the  later  philosophical 
 schools  to  discover  beneath  the  charming  poetry 
 of  spirited  bards  some  philosophical  ideas ;  but  what- 
 ever they  may  have  imagined  to  exist  below  these 
 gaudy  forms,  it  was  always  but  a  dream ;  and  not 
 even  the  peculiarity  of  Grecian  civilization  was 
 found   to  be  of  a  purely   religious  origin.     It  was  a 
 
70  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 fair  show,  M^hicli  vanislied  as  a  floating  mist  before 
 the  rising  sun. 
 
 As  soon  as  the  source  of  the  Grecian  Mythology 
 failed,  the  mighty  efforts  of  art  and  science  to  sculpture 
 the  forms  of  the  deities  were  brought  to  an  untimely 
 conclusion.       When   Greece  was   brought   into   con- 
 tact with  other  nations,  the  Grecian  peculiarity  sud- 
 denly  disappeared.      When   Greece   was    conquered, 
 the  national  creed,  the  political  and  civil  virtues  of  the 
 nation,  dwindled  away  with  the  national  independence. 
 This  was  the  judgment  of  God  upon  Grecian  tvisdom  ! 
 The  Greeks  thought  much  of  their  being  free  citizens ; 
 and  their  greatest  philosopher,  Plato,  connected  the 
 highest  bliss  with  the   State.     They   minded  earthly 
 things ;    and   Religion     and    the     adoration    of    the 
 gods  all  being   made  to  serve  the   interests    of  the 
 State,  the  glory  of  the  latter  departed,  and  with  it 
 their  Religion  and  civilization  !     Religion  being  only 
 a  luxuriating  in  fine  arts  and  in  the  charms  of  poetry, 
 it  was  destitute  of  the  least  spark  of  a  spiritual  ele- 
 ment.    There  was,  therefore,  nothing  left  by  which 
 the  Grecian  mind  could  rally  and  recover  itself  from 
 the  shock  which  it  received  on  the  breaking-up  of  the 
 national  constitution.     The   Grecian   Mythology  was 
 entirely  of  a   Grecian   character,   and   had   so  com- 
 pletely grown  together  with  the  social  and  political 
 existence  of  the  country,  that,  with  the  loss  of  this  their 
 national  independence,  they  had  likewise  to  deplore 
 the  fall  of  their  Mythology.     In  the  eyes  of  antiquity, 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    ROMANS.  71 
 
 political  subjection  was  at  all  times  considered  a  sure 
 sign  that  a  nation  bad  been  forsaken  by  its  national 
 deities.  Such  was  the  natural  Religion  of  ancient 
 Greece ! 
 
 4.  We  shall  now  turn  from  the  nation  which  has 
 excelled  all  other  nations  in  poetry  and  fine  arts,  to 
 another  of  a  more  recent  date,  which  has  given  laws 
 to  the  world.  The  Mythology  of  the  ancient  Romans 
 has  been  too  often  considered  as  a  mere  compound 
 from  other  systems  of  belief.  But  it  had  far  more  of 
 its  own  than  is  generally  admitted.  It  is  true,  the 
 Bonian  Mythology  received,  at  a  later  period,  Grecian 
 and  other  elements  into  its  system ;  but  it  is  equally 
 true,  that,  from  the  beginning,  the  Romans  had  their 
 own  creed.  And  we  observe,  also,  with  regard  to 
 them,  that  they  proceeded  from  an  ideal  to  a  sym- 
 bolical, and  from  a  symbolical  to  a  mythological 
 system  of  belief. 
 
 Plutarch,  in  speaking  of  the  laws  of  Numa,  dis- 
 tinctly declares,  that  the  lawgiver  sanctioned  9io  image 
 of  the  Godhead,  either  in  the  form  of  men  or  animals ; 
 that  they  built  temples  and  chapels,  but  fashioned  no 
 images  of  the  Deity,  considering  it  wrong  to  represent 
 the  better  one  by  something  far  inferior.  The  sacri- 
 fices, too,  were,  according  to  this  author,  of  a  simple 
 and  peaceable  character,  there  being  no  bloody  obla- 
 tions offered  by  the  people. 
 
 Even  after  the  symbols  of  the  Godhead  were  intro- 
 duced into  the  worship  of  the  ancient  Italians,  it  is 
 
72  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 evident  that  tbeir  creed  had  no  affinity  to  that  genuine 
 Grecian  Mythology  which  so  soon  superseded  the 
 more  ancient  and  simple  form  of  Religion  in  that 
 nation.  The  superiority  of  the  Roman  to  the  Grecian 
 system  of  belief  has  been  acknowledged  even  by 
 Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  when  he  declared  that  the 
 Romans  knew  nothing  of  the  ridiculous  stories  of  the 
 Grecians ;  that  they  neither  speak  of  Uranos  having 
 been  mutilated  by  his  offspring,  nor  of  Kronos  having 
 swallowed  his  own  children,  nor  of  Jupiter  having 
 dethroned  his  father,  and  banished  him  into  Tartarus. 
 He  also  gives  credit  to  the  Romans  for  not  speaking, 
 as  the  Grecians  did,  of  w^ars,  and  wounds,  and  fetters, 
 and  toils  of  the  deities ;  or  lamenting  over  lost  divi- 
 nities. Dionysius  likewise  declares,  that  the  Romans, 
 although  already  corrupt  in  manners,  were  yet,  in 
 their  religious  ceremonies,  more  sober  and  reasonable 
 than  the  Grecians,  in  not  having  amongst  them  the 
 lascivious  processions  and  rites  w^hich  existed  among 
 the  latter.  The  national  creed,  in  its  simple  form, 
 was  guarded,  amongst  the  Romans,  by  the  pious  zeal 
 of  the  priesthood,  against  the  license  of  the  poet  and 
 the  liberties  of  the  artist,  which  had  exercised  so 
 unfavourable  an  influence  upon  the  moral  tendency  of 
 the  Grecian  Mythology. 
 
 The  most  ancient  deity  of  the  Romans  was  Jiqjifer 
 Ojptimus  Maximus ;  to  him  was  added  Quirinus,  the 
 founder  of  the  capital  of  their  empire,  after  he  had 
 disappeared  during  a  thimderstorm,  and  was  supposed 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF   THE    ROMANS.  73 
 
 to  have  ascended  in  it  to  heaven  !  They  also  knew  of 
 sovereigns  and  great  men,  who  had  come  in  ancient 
 days  to  Italy  to  propagate  the  first  germs  of  know- 
 ledge and  civilization,  such  as  Janus,  Saturnus,  Faunus, 
 Evander,  and  Hercules,  who  came  from  the  East. 
 These  benefactors  of  the  country  and  nation  were 
 retained  in  the  memory  of  the  people  with  great  vene- 
 ration, and  partly  received  rehgious  worship.  Jupiter, 
 Mars,  and  Quirinus,  however,  remained  the  chief  gods 
 aaiongst  the  Romans ;  and  Numa  regulated  their 
 services,  by  appointing  a  regular  priesthood  to  super- 
 intend their  worship.  He  at  the  same  time  sanctioned 
 the  worship  of  the  goddess  Hestia  or  Vesta,  whose 
 sole  image  was  the  sacred  flame  of  fii'e,  which  was 
 fed  upon  her  altars  by  her  priestesses. 
 
 A  second  peculiarity  in  the  Roman  Mythology,  is 
 the  deification  of  virtues  and  qualities  which  are  cal- 
 culated to  make  a  nation  great  and  excellent,  and  with- 
 out which,  especially,  no  civil  state  can  be  permanently 
 founded.  The  Greeks  were  ignorant  of  these  par- 
 ticular deities.  Beauty  of  form  was  the  guiding  prin- 
 ciple which  inspired  the  Grecian  mind  in  its  work  of 
 fashioning  its  divinities ;  and  being  blinded  by  this 
 passion  for  what  is  beautiful,  it  never  hesitated  to 
 sacrifice  every  moral  feeling.  The  Romans  were  more 
 grave,  more  sober  and  serious,  in  these  matters,  than 
 their  volatile  neighbom's ;  and  they  preserved  this 
 character  till  the  fifth  century  after  the  building  of 
 their  capital.     They  knew  and  felt  that  a  civil  com- 
 
74  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 nionwealtli  could  not  exist  without  certain  virtues, 
 which  should  be  the  guardians  of  the  law^s  of  the  land. 
 Hence,  they  founded  temples,  and  built  altars  in  their 
 city,  to  remind  every  citizen  of  his  duty  to  the  State. 
 Courage  and  bravery  is  necessary  before  all  things 
 to  preserve  the  independence  of  the  great  city  in 
 ancient  days,  amidst  still  greater  and  more  ancient 
 cities;  Virtus,  therefore,  was  the  first  of  these  guardian 
 deities.  As  courage  and  bravery  are  greatly  supported 
 by  a  feeling  of  honour  amongst  a  nation,  the  altar  of 
 Honor  was  placed  next  to  that  of  Virtus.  As,  how- 
 ever, a  nation  is  preserved  not  only  by  the  fear  which 
 bravery  diffuses  around  it,  but  also  by  the  fidelity 
 wdiich  it  shows  towards  others  in  dealing  with  them, 
 the  Romans  placed  the  image  of  Fides  near  that  of 
 Jupiter  in  the  Capitoliura.  In  the  same  manner, 
 those  virtues  which  had  reference  to  more  private  life 
 were  likewise  honoured  Avith  temples  and  religious 
 rites ;  such  as  Concordia  and  Pudicitia.  And  as,  in 
 the  most  critical  periods,  the  only  remedy  seems  to  lie 
 in  not  despairing  of  success,  but  in  hopefully  expecting 
 a  better  fortune,  the  Romans  consecrated  temples  to 
 the  divine  trio,  Sjjes,  Salus,  and  Fortuna  ! 
 
 In  addition  to  this  political  theology  of  the  ancient 
 Romans,  we  discover  another  element,  which  seemed 
 more  of  a  religious  character,  and  which  was  made 
 the  som*ce  of  nearly  aU  the  ceremonial  observances 
 which  we  discover  in  the  Grecian  Mythology.  The 
 Romans,  namely,  believed  that  the  gods  were  not  only 
 
CHAP.  1.]  OF   THE    ROMANS.  75 
 
 concerned  as  to  the  affairs  of  the  nation  and  of  the 
 State,  but  that  they  would  Hkewise,  beforehand,  sig- 
 nify by  signs  in  the  heavens,  by  birds  and  animals, 
 what  were  their  decrees  respecting  them.     If  the  fable 
 of  the  vultures  of  Remus   and  Romulus  be  not  the 
 creature  of  a  much  later  period,  it  is  evident  that  the 
 Romans  had  similar  ideas  from  very  ancient  days.     It 
 is,   however,   certain  that  the  art  of  prognosticating 
 future  events  was  chiefly  introduced   amongst  them 
 from  Etruria.     The  Romans,  consequently,  gave  their 
 whole  mind  to  the  observation  of  these  oracular  signs. 
 Numa  had  already  established  the  institution  of  augiuy ; 
 and  the  later  ordinance  of  the  college  of  a  pontifical 
 priesthood,  was  to  watch  over  the  sacred  rites  which 
 were  connected  with  the  inspection  of  the  entrails  of 
 sacrificed    animals.      Another   college   of  wise   men, 
 again,  was  charged  with  the  exposition  of  the  Sybil- 
 line  books ;  and  they  were  to  signify  by  what  means 
 the  wrath  of  the  gods  was  to  be  appeased  in  seasons 
 of  public  calamities.    Religion,  therefore,  was  thus  not 
 only  the  concern  of  private  individuals,  but  it  regu- 
 lated the  whole  machinery  of  the  State.     And  inas- 
 much as  nothing  could  be  undertaken  in  the  national 
 affairs  of  the  empire, — as  every  motion  in  times  of 
 war,  and  during  the  enjoyment  of  public  peace,  was 
 regulated  by  the  established  Religion, — the  Romans 
 seemed  to  have  been  the  most  religious  nation  of  the 
 earth.      The  whole  fabric,   indeed,   Avas  based   upon 
 pure  superstition ;  and,  in  the  more  corrupt  periods 
 
76  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 of  the  republic,  it  was  abused  to  serve  the  vilest 
 species  of  poHtical  intrigues  ;  but  there  was  expressed 
 in  these  pseudo-oracles  a  feeling  "  after  God,"  a 
 "  groping  "  after  his  providential  care  which  he  exer- 
 cises in  b  ehalf  of  his  creatures  ! 
 
 The  ancient  Religion  of  the  Romans  in  its  more 
 simple  form  was,  however,  not  preserved  in  its  rigid 
 simplicity.  As  soon  as  they  were  brought  into  con- 
 tact with  other  nations,  they  not  only  admitted  foreign 
 gods  and  foreign  rites,  but  they  even  distinguished 
 themselves  above  all  other  nations  in  modernising 
 their  Religion.  With  Grecian  literature,  Grecian  super- 
 stition and  Grecian  infidelity  were  likewise  introduced 
 among  the  Romans.  There  was,  indeed,  a  strong  pre- 
 judice against  foreign  rites,  as  the  whole  fabric  of  the 
 Roman  Mythology  was  so  intimately  interwoven  with 
 the  State  and  the  whole  character  of  the  nation,  that 
 every  innovation  in  religious  matters  seemed  pregnant 
 with  the  most  disastrous  consequences. 
 
 A\Tien,  however,  the  Roman  empire  had  extended 
 itself  over  nations  and  countries  of  a  most  different 
 character,  when  the  national  character  of  the  Romans 
 was  brought  into  contact  with  other  nations,  there  was 
 no  longer  a  remedy  against  their  assuming  foreign 
 views  and  foreign  rites  of  Religion.  And  thus  it  came 
 to  pass  that  Rome  was  the  refuge  of  the  fugitive  gods 
 of  other  nations;  in  Rome  were  concentrated  all  manner 
 of  religious  forms  and  practices,  as  a  common  pan- 
 theon.    Arnobius  called  Rome,  therefore,  a  "  cidtrix 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    THE    ROMANS.  77 
 
 numinum  cimctorum."  Tacitus  pronounces  the  capital 
 to  be  the  "  Urbs,  quo  cuncta  imdique  atrocia  aid 
 pudenda  confluunt,  celebranturque.'"  The  syncretism 
 which  was  observed  in  the  last  period  of  the  Grecian 
 Mythology,  reached  amongst  the  Romans  its  very 
 highest  point.  The  Emperor  Severus  had  placed  in 
 his  domestic  sanctuary  the  statues  of  Abraham,  of 
 Christ,  of  Orpheus,  and  of  ApoUonius  of  Tyana  ! 
 
 When  the  national  Religion  was  thns  brought  to- 
 gether with  other  elements,  it  lost  in  the  estimation  of 
 the  nation.  The  national  deities  were  observed  to 
 sink  lower  and  lower  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  And 
 when  liberty  and  independence  were  gone,  the  attach- 
 ment of  the  nation  to  traditional  customs  and  insti- 
 tutions was  too  weak  to  support  the  Religion  any 
 longer.  The  grave  pursuits  of  literature  and  science 
 had  also  died  away  ;  and  the  collection  of  gods  from 
 every  quarter  of  the  globe,  was  rather  calculated  to 
 produce  a  desire  in  the  mind  of  the  nation  for  a 
 universal  Religion.  The  mind  of  the  nation  was  para- 
 lysed at  the  sight  of  the  decay  of  everything  from 
 which  peace  and  comfort  was  expected  ;  and  how  earn- 
 estly they  desired  something  better  and  something 
 more  solid,  under  the  feeling  of  a  general  debility  and 
 despair,  has  been  already  signified  on  a  previous  occa- 
 sion. The  Sun  of  Righteousness  arose  with  healing 
 in  his  wings,  when  the  mighty  nation  had  deeply  felt 
 its  own  inability  to  know  God,  and  to  worship  the 
 Lord  of  heaven   and  earth  in  an  acceptable  manner 
 
78  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 without  his  divine  revelation  !  The  natural  Religion 
 of  the  ancient  Romans  vvas  calculated,  like  all  other 
 systems  of  Paganism,  to  show  the  necessity  of  divine 
 revelation.     The  world  without  it  knew  not  God ! 
 
 5.  Whilst  Paganism  was  spreading  towards  the 
 west,  south,  and  east,  from  the  regions  of  Mesopo- 
 tamia, another  branch  grew  towards  the  north-west, 
 and  at  length  reached  the  western  extremity  of  Europe. 
 From  what  we  can  learn  from  Roman  authors,  the 
 natural  Religion  of  the  different  tribes  of  Germany, 
 and  Western  Europe  in  general,  was  of  a  purely  phy- 
 sical character.  They  worshipped,  at  the  commence- 
 ment of  the  Christian  era,  the  heavenly  bodies,  with 
 the  elements  of  the  earth.  And  thus  we  find  hoAv 
 totally  the  reverse  from  what  it  was  intended  had  been 
 the  Religion  of  all  nations  without  revelation.  They 
 were  to  know  and  to  worship  the  invisible  Majesty  of 
 heaven  from  the  things  which  are  seen,  and  we  find 
 that,  without  exception,  they  worshipped  the  creature 
 more  than  the  Creator ;  instead  of  glorifying  God,  and 
 being  thankful,  the  Pagans,  without  exception,  deified 
 nature,  and  changed  the  ti'uth  of  God  into  a  lie. 
 
 The  north  of  Europe  has  ever  been  inhabited  by 
 the  Finnish,  the  Slavonian,  the  German,  and  the 
 Celtic  tribes.  The  general  aspect  of  their  Mythology 
 bears  a  strong  analogy  to  Oriental  Paganism.  This  is 
 exactly  what  we  should  expect ;  for,  as  far  as  tradi- 
 tional accounts  can  be  relied  upon,  we  must  assume 
 that  these  tribes   themselves   emigrated    at    different 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    WESTERN    EUROPE.  79 
 
 periods  subsequent  to  the  original  dispersion  of  man- 
 kind. The  Celtic  tribe  first  emigrated  from  the  East ; 
 and,  being  followed  by  the  German  family,  they  were 
 partly  expelled  from  their  abodes  by  the  latter.  We 
 have  no  distinct  account  of  the  settlement  of  the  Finns, 
 and  it  is  clear  that  the  Slavonian  is  the  youngest  of 
 the  four  tribes. 
 
 As  regards  the  Finnish  family,  and  its  natural 
 Religion,  little  more  can  be  said  upon  the  subject,  than 
 that  its  chief  characteristic  was  the  practice  of  magic, 
 and  a  numerical  mysticism.  The  practice  of  the  art 
 of  magic  was,  probably,  encouraged  by  the  inhabitants 
 of  Lapland  being  physically  predisposed  to  those 
 operations  of  a  disordered  constitution,  which  were 
 generally  made  to  pass  in  ancient  days  under  that 
 term.  The  magical  tendency  of  the  Finns  led  them  to 
 have  intercourse  with  imaginary  beings  of  another 
 world.  The  spirits  were  considered  to  be  either  bad 
 or  good ;  and  according  to  this  division  they  practised 
 a  black  and  a  white  magic,  as  circumstances  might 
 require. 
 
 According  to  their  numerical  mysticism,  the  number 
 three  was  at  the  bottom  of  all  their  superstitious  ideas. 
 All  their  hymns  were  composed  with  reference  to  this 
 all-important  number.  And  also  amongst  the  other 
 tribes,  the  national  anthems  were  all  made  to  con- 
 sist of  trisyllabical  lines.  The  three  supreme  deities 
 of  Lapland  were  the  gods  Fiennes,  Sforjimkare,  and 
 Baiwe.    Fiennes  was  lord  of  the  souls  of  men,  and  the 
 
80  NATURAL  RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 god  of  tliimder  and  lightning.  Storjunkp.re  diffuses 
 his  blessings  over  water,  wood  and  mountain ;  and  the 
 goddess  Baiwe  is  the  guardian  of  the  unborn.  This 
 triad  is  modified  amongst  the  Finns  properly  so  called. 
 Amongst  them  Bmoe,  the  supreme  godhead,  was  born 
 from  Kundtarris  ;  and  like  Zeruana  Akarana,  Rawe 
 becomes  the  author  of  good  and  evil  sons.  Six  of  his 
 twelve  Fons  are  good,  and  are  headed  by  Wahia- 
 moinen ;  whilst  Hilsi  is  the  leader  of  the  evil  party  ; 
 which  strouQ-lv  reminds  us  of  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman 
 and  their  respective  trains  of  good  and  evil  spirits. 
 
 Amongst  the  Hungarians,  the  twelve  deities  are 
 triplicated  into  thirty-six,  a  number  which  frequently 
 occurs  in  the  Chaldean  and  Egyptian  systems  of  belief. 
 The  number  seventy -two,  as  the  duplicate  of  thirty - 
 six,  is  also  sacred  amongst  the  ancient  Germans,  and 
 it  had  probably  reference  to  its  being  the  fifth  part 
 of  a  year. 
 
 Amongst  the  ancient  Prussians  we  discover  three 
 classes  of  deities.  The  first  rank  consists  of  Potrim- 
 pos,  Perkunos,  and  Pikollos.  The  number  of  the 
 second  class  consisted  likewise  of  three  deities.  In 
 the  third  class  of  deities  we  have  twelve  divinities ; 
 Potrimpos,  one  of  the  first  rank  of  deities,  has  the 
 three  symbols  of  a  sJieaf,  a  pof,  and  a  serpent  I  Pi- 
 kollos is  represented  by  the  symbols  of  a  sbdl,  a 
 horse,  and  a  cow.  If  we  count  Potrimpos  and  his 
 three  symbols  together  with  the  second  class  of  deities, 
 we  have  the  number  seven.     The  number  seven   and 
 
CHAP,  i]  IN    NORTHERN    EUROPE,  81 
 
 that  of  Pikollos  would  amount  to  eleven,  and  if  we 
 add  Perkunos,  of  whom  no  symbols  are  mentioned, 
 we  obtain  the  third  rank  of  deities,  which  consisted 
 of  twelve.  These  are  the  general  outlines  of  the 
 branch  of  the  European  Mythology,  which  was  exist- 
 ing amongst  the  most  northern  of  the  four  tribes. 
 
 Whilst  we  might  look  upon  the  Finns  as  a  kind  of 
 northern  Egyptians  and  Colchians,  on  account  of  their 
 magic  arts  and  witchcraft,  we  discern  a  touch  of  the 
 character  of  the  Romans  in  the  Slavonian  branch.  The 
 Slavonians,  as  the  last  emigrated  of  the  four  tribes, 
 naturally  borrowed  here  and  there,  as  did  the  Romans 
 in  the  later  period  of  their  religious  history. 
 
 We  have,  again,  white  and  black  divinities,  amongst 
 this  most  numerous  branch  of  European  nations, 
 which  division  savours  strongly  of  Persian  ideas. 
 Amongst  the  Russians,  the  planetary  deities  seem  to 
 be  quite  forgotten,  but  they  are  again  united  amongst 
 the  Bohemians  and  the  inhabitants  of  Poland,  with 
 the  white  and  black  species  of  deities.  We  have 
 amongst  them  the  worship  of  the  subterraneous 
 Iliam,  and  Krok  the  god  of  light,  who  at  last  sub- 
 dues the  former.  If  the  idea  of  some  learned  men 
 can  be  otherwise  supported,  that  the  Slavonian  tribes 
 descended  from  the  Median  race,  their  religious  views, 
 as  well  as  the  affinity  which  exists  between  their 
 languages,  are  strongly  in  favour  of  this  supposition. 
 When  other  polytheistical  notions  were  eventually 
 engrafted  upon  the   Religion   of    the    Slavonians,   we 
 
 VOL.    II.  G 
 
82  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  I. 
 
 must  remember  that  they  were  the  youngest  of  the 
 emigrated  tribes,  and  their  geographical  situation, 
 besides,  was  such  as  to  expose  them  in  every  direction 
 to  foreign  influence.  Hence  it  was  by  no  means  un- 
 natural, when  we  find  Grecian  names  of  deities  in  use 
 among  the  Bohemians ;  and  when  we  find  Slavonian, 
 Wendish,  German,  Finnish,  and  Grecian  divinities 
 congregated  in  some  of  the  maritime  towns. 
 
 Whilst  comparing  the  Finns  with  the  Colchians 
 or  the  Egyptians,  and  the  Slavonians  with  the  Romans, 
 we  may,  with  some  propriety,  look  upon  the  German 
 branch  as  the  Grecians  of  the  north.  The  peculiarity  of 
 the  Gennan  branch  of  the  Northern  Mythology  is  that 
 of  Herolatry  ;  it  richly  partakes,  however,  on  the  other 
 hand,  of  the  peculiarities  which  we  discover  amongst 
 the  Finnish  and  Slavonian  nations.  As  amongst 
 the  Greeks,  so  amongst  the  Germans,  the  charms  of 
 poetry  raised  mortal  men  to  the  dignity  of  gods. 
 
 The  German  family,  properly  speaking,  consists 
 again  of  six  subordinate  branches,  of  Avhich  three 
 occupied  Sweden,  Norway,  and  Denmark,  and  the 
 other  three  are  denominated  Franks,  the  Saxons,  and 
 the  Goths.  The  three  northern  divisions  are  generally 
 known  as  Scandinavians ;  and  they  alone,  amongst  all 
 others,  were  in  possession  of  a  sacred  literature,  which 
 has  been  handed  down  to  us  in  the  sacred  book 
 which  is  known  under  the  name  of  Edda. 
 
 According  to  the  Edda,  the  Supreme  Being,  All- 
 fadur  or  Alfadir,  is    an  unknown  god,  from    whom 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    NORTHERN    EUROPE.  83 
 
 sprang  twelve  inferior  deities,  who  inhabit  the  twelve 
 signs  of  the  zodiac,  and  are  known  by  the  name  of 
 Asen.  The  chief  of  these  twelve  divinities  is  Othin, 
 Wodan,  Odhin,  or  Godan,  from  whence  the  Saxon 
 *'  God."  Those  who  consider  Wodan  to  be  a  historical 
 character,  suppose  that  he  emigrated  from  Asia  into 
 Scandinavia,  shortly  before  the  Christian  era.  Others 
 look  upon  him  as  a  mere  personification  of  his  doctrine, 
 which  had  been  brought  from  the  East,  and  propa- 
 gated in  the  North  of  Europe.  He  is  associated  with 
 his  sister  and  spouse  Friya,  Erea,  or  Erigga, 
 
 The  Universal  Parent,  who  is  represented  as  un- 
 known and  eternal,  sends  light  into  the  primitive 
 darkness.  Ymer,  the  prodigious  giant,  was  the  first 
 being  which  he  produced ;  and  he  was  nourished, 
 according  to  the  legend,  by  the  sacred  cow  Audum- 
 hla.  This  holy  cow  also  aided  the  creation  of  the 
 universe,  by  licking  the  primal  man,  Bare,  out  of  a 
 salt  rock.  Biure's  son,  called  Bor^  had  three  sons, 
 OtJdn,  IFile,  and  JFe.  The  giant  Ymer  fell  by  their 
 hands,  and  all  his  descendants  were  drowned  in  his 
 blood  with  the  exception  of  one,  who,  with  his  wife, 
 was  saved  during  this  blood f/  flood,  in  a  boat !  and  from 
 him  sprang  another  race  of  giants.  Out  of  the  carcase 
 of  Ymer  was  now  fashioned  heaven  and  earth.  The 
 sons  of  Bor,  on  the  other  hand,  created  the  first  pair 
 of  our  species,  called  Askr  and  Emba,  from  tw^o 
 wooden  substances,  which  they  obtained  from  the  sea. 
 
 Othin  and  his  benevolent  Asen  are  opposed  by  the 
 
 G   2 
 
84  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 evil  Lohe ;  who  now  destroys  the  son  of  Wodan,  in 
 order  to  avenge  the  murder  of  the  giant  Ymer.  Bal- 
 der being  fixed  to  the  rock,  his  painful  motions  are 
 the  cause  of  mighty  earthquakes.  With  his  death 
 began  the  process  of  decay  in  gods  and  men.  The 
 gods  are  now  to  fight  manfully  against  Loke  and 
 his  malevolent  agents  ;  but  they  perisli  in  the  victory, 
 as  to  their  bodily  existence.  And  what  is  more  sur- 
 prising, Balder's  death  is  the  cause  of  new  life.  The 
 daily,  monthly,  and  annual  transitions  from  death  to 
 life,  from  warfare  to  victory,  are  types  and  shadows 
 only  of  the  final  conjlagration  of  tlie  universe,  from 
 which  a  new  world  will  arise,  which  will  contain 
 three  large  halls,  one  of  reward,  one  of  punishment, 
 and  one  of  an  intermediate  character.  In  the  conflict 
 with  Loke,  not  only  Balder  but  all  the  rest  of  the 
 gods  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  victory  over  Loke.  The  race 
 of  Loke  also  will  perish.  And  it  will  be  then  that 
 Allfadur,  the  unknown  Great  Parent  of  all  things,  will 
 produce  a  new  world,  to  which  the  first  was  merely 
 preparatory.  The  highest  good  which  the  Scandina- 
 vian believer  could  obtain  was  to  reach  the  Walhalla 
 of  Wodan  and  the  heaven  of  supreme  godhead. 
 
 These  hopes  animated  the  heroic  spirit  of  the  Scan- 
 dinavian race,  and  produced  that  utter  contempt  for 
 death,  and  that  passion  for  the  field  of  battle,  by  which 
 the  ancient  Germans  were  so  distinguished.  Every 
 one  dying  by  the  sword  proceeded  at  once  to  the 
 Walhalla  of   Wodan.     Those    who  died  not    bv   the 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    NORTHERN    EUROPE.  85 
 
 sword  proceeded  to  Ilela,  or  Hell,  the  daughter  of 
 Loke.  It  was  considered  a  misfortune  and  a  shame 
 not  to"  die  in  the  field  of  battle  ;  and  if  natural  death 
 seemed  to  be  coming  on,  they  would  cut  wounds  in 
 their  flesh,  that  Odin  might  receive  them  as  warriors 
 wlio  had  been  slain  in  the  battle-field  !  Again,  as 
 Wodan  was  to  oppose  tlie  giants  and  tlie  evil  Loke, 
 so  also  man  is  born  to  war  and  battle.  In  the  likeness 
 of  Wodan,  man  is  to  make  excursions  all  his  life  long 
 against  giants,  dragons,  and  monsters.  From  these 
 and  similar  ideas,  which  are  strongly  marked  with  a 
 Persian  character,  we  may,  in  a  measure,  explain  that 
 heroic  spirit  of  the  Germans,  which  at  length  over- 
 threw the  Roman  empire,  and  laid  the  foundation  for 
 the  organization  of  the  European  world. 
 
 Wodan,  Thor,  and  Balder,  are  likewise  the  leading 
 deities  of  the  three  southern  branches  of  the  German 
 family,  the  Franks,  the  Saxons,  and  the  Goths.  We 
 have  the  same  fables  amongst  them.  And  the  death 
 of  Sigfrit,  who,  in  the  Saxon  and  Frankish  edition  of 
 the  heroic  legend,  obtains  his  bride  from  the  enemy, 
 but  perishes  in  the  effort,  is  exactly  what  Balder's 
 death  is  in  the  Scandinavian  branch,  namely,  the 
 giving  the  type  and  tone  to  the  destruction  of  the 
 whole  race  of  gods  and  heroes.  As  the  Edda  con- 
 cluded with  the  return  of  the  A  sen  to  the  Supreme 
 Allfadur ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  southern  branches  of 
 the  German  nations  know  nothing  beyond  the  destruc- 
 tion of  the  heroes. 
 
86  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  I. 
 
 The  three  deities,  Thor,  Wodan,  and  Baldur,  or 
 Odin,  seem  to  have  been  the  chief  and  most  general 
 deities  amongst  the  German  tribes.  This  appears  also 
 from  tlie  form  of  abdication  which  was  to  be  made  on 
 being  admitted  into  the  Chmch  by  baptism.  According 
 to  Bonifacius,  they  were  to  declare,  amongst  other 
 things,  the  following  words  : — 
 
 "  IBnU  c?i  forsacfio  aUum  Biabolus  focvkum,  cnti  SSaov- 
 trum  ^ijunner,  tnUt  SgEotrcn  cnKc  ^mtn  CBUe,  mtit  allam 
 tbcm  5Hn|^ollJum,  if)t  Dira  CJenotas  sint." 
 
 The  heroic  and  astronomical  elements  of  the  Ger- 
 man Mythology  are  closely  visible  in  its  whole  frame. 
 The  astronomical  character  has  been  preserved  in  the 
 Saxon  names  of  the  days  of  the  week.  It  is  a  most 
 remarkable  thing  that  the  Pagan  inhabitants  of  Wes- 
 tern and  Northern  Em^ope  should  agree,  in  adopting 
 the  hebdomadal  division  of  time,  with  the  calendars  of 
 the  Jews,  the  Egyptians,  the  Hindoos,  the  Chinese, 
 the  Arabs,  the  Assyrians,  and  the  Peruvians  in  the 
 West  of  America.  The  division  of  time  into  seven 
 days  has  been  made  without  reference  to  the  duration 
 of  either  the  motions  of  the  moon,  or  the  tropical 
 orbit  of  the  sun.  It  has,  indeed,  been  thought  that 
 the  week  had  reference  to  the  accidental  duration  of 
 the  phases  of  the  moon ;  yet  this  division  was  prac- 
 tically useless.  As  the  period  of  four  weeks  coincided 
 neither  with  the  solar  nor  with  the  lunar  month,  it 
 would    have   been    necessary    cither   to    divide    one 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    NORTHERN    EUROPE.  87 
 
 week   between   two   months,   or  to   make    perpetual 
 intercalations. 
 
 The  fact  that  the  Romans  besides  reckoned  their  time 
 by  ninths,  or  eighths,  and  the  ancient  Greeks  by  tenths, 
 or  decades,  only  shows  the  practical  inconvenience  of 
 the  division  into  seven  days,  which  they  nevertheless 
 retained  by  making  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  five 
 ancient  planets  preside  over  the  hebdomadal  divi- 
 sion. And  we  can  only  explain  the  existence  of  the 
 division  of  time  into  seven  days  amongst  all  ancient 
 nations,  by  assuming  that  it  was  one  of  those  frag- 
 ments of  tradition,  which  were  handed  down  from  the 
 first  beginnings  of  the  history  of  man  and  the  creation 
 of  the  world.  It  has  not  been  derived  from  the  Jews, 
 but  has  escaped  the  fate  of  being  utterly  lost  from  the 
 memory  of  the  scattered  tribes  of  the  human  race. 
 The  real  character  of  the  institution  of  the  weekly 
 division  of  time  was  indeed  lost  amongst  the  Gentile 
 world,  which  was  ignorant  of  God,  the  only  true  God. 
 They  retained  the  days  of  the  week,  but  they  never  could 
 account  either  for  the  origin  or  for  the  retention  of  a 
 sacred  but  inconvenient  method  of  numbering  their 
 days. 
 
 There  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  some  vague  idea 
 left  amongst  the  Pagans,  of  the  primitive  character 
 of  the  hebdomadal  division,  as  the  original  mea- 
 sure of  time  which  was  given  to  man,  independent 
 of  the  times  and  seasons  which  were  given  by  the 
 motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies.     "  God  blessed  the 
 
88  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 seventh  clay,  and  hallowed  it,"  and  made  it  a  day  of 
 rest.  Indeed  the  Lotus,  which  was  a  most  sacred 
 emblem  and  symbol  amongst  the  ancients,  seems  to 
 point  to  that  holy  day  of  rest  amidst  the  six  days  of 
 labour  and  toil.  In  the  middle  of  its  six  petals,  which 
 fade  and  wither  so  soon,  is  enthroned  the  crowned  ruler 
 with  the  seed  of  future  vitality.  On  a  Pagan  altar 
 of  the  Mythology  which  we  are  now  considering,  and 
 which  has  been  discovered  in  Germany,  are  seen  the 
 seven  days  of  the  week,  represented  by  the  figm'es  of 
 the  presiding  deities.  But  what  is  remarkable,  is  the 
 fact,  that,  between  the  figure  of  Frea  and  Saturnus, 
 or  between  the  sixth  and  the  sevetith  day,  is  repre- 
 sented a  genius  with  a  horn  of  plenty  !  Monday  was 
 a  sacred  day  amongst  the  Grecians  ;  Tuesday  amongst 
 the  Persians ;  Wednesday  amongst  the  Assyrians ; 
 Thursday  amongst  the  Egyptians;  and  Friday  amongst 
 the  Joins,  a  heretical  sect  of  the  Buddhists,  as  well  as 
 amongst  the  ancient  Arabs. 
 
 The  Pagans  have,  therefore,  retained  the  division 
 of  time  into  seven  days.  That,  however,  the  real 
 meaning  of  the  institution  of  the  week  was  lost  at 
 an  early  period,  is  shown  from  the  circumstance,  that 
 they  placed  the  heavenly  bodies  to  preside  and  rule 
 over  the  days  of  the  week  successively.  The  great 
 antiquity  of  this  superstition  is  apparent  from  the 
 fact,  that  they  all  make  the  same  heavenly  bodies 
 preside  over  the  same  days  of  the  week,  in  the  same 
 order.     The  hebdomadal  division  of  time  is  clearly  of 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    NORTHERN    EUROPE.  89 
 
 divine  origin ;  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  as 
 connected  with  these  days  must  have  been  made  prior 
 to  the  dispersion  of  the  human  race  from  the  plains  of 
 Babylonia ;  for  how  could  we  find  them  exactly  in  the 
 same  order  amongst  nations  which  could  have  had  no 
 intercourse  after  the  dispersion  ?  With  all  Pagan 
 nations  of  importance  the  solar  deity  reigns  the  first 
 day  of  the  week ;  then  follow^  in  due  order  the  Moon, 
 Mars,  Mercury,  Jupiter,  Venus,  and  Saturn. 
 
 As  regards  the  circumstance,  that  amongst  these 
 seven  days  the  Pagans  considered  one  of  them  as 
 particularly  sacred,  we  recognise  a  faint  shadow  of 
 "  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord ;'  but  as  the  seven  days 
 have  been  associated  with  astronomical  ideas,  the  holy 
 day  was  far  from  having  preserved  the  sacred  cha- 
 racter of  the  Sabbath.  The  Chaldaeans  and  Egyptians 
 are  stated  to  have  celebrated  the  seventh  day  in 
 honour  of  Phsenon,  who  is  identical  with  the  Gre- 
 cian Kronos,  and  was  considered  to  be  the  supreme 
 Deity.  Other  Pagan  nations  sanctified  a  day  out 
 of  seven,  because  the  presiding  deity  was  the  na- 
 tional god  of  the  people.  Homer  and  Hesiod  often 
 mention  the  seventh  day  as  sacred ;  but  it  was  be- 
 cause it  was  the  birth-day  of  Phoebus,  the  god  of 
 light,  which  was  celebrated  by  the  Grecian  games. 
 And  when,  therefore,  Josephus  maintained  that  there 
 vras  no  city  in  which  the  ancient  Sabbath  was  not 
 celebrated,  he  only  errs  in  considermg  the  Sabbath 
 to  be  of  the  same  import  as  the  holy  Monday  of  the 
 
90  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  r. 
 
 Greeks.     The   inhabitants  of   Mysore,   in   India,  are 
 described  as  keeping  the  same  day  as  a  day  of  rest, 
 especially  from  all  work   in    which   their   cattle  are 
 required.     On   Monday,  however,  is  the  sacred  bull 
 to  be  worshipped  amongst  them.  Our  Saxon  ancestors 
 worshipped  Odin,    or  Wodan,  above  all  other  gods. 
 Their  sacred  day,   therefore,   was  Wednesday.     That 
 our  Saxon  word,   God,  is    derived   from  Wodan,   is 
 evident,  from   the   fact,  that  the   inhabitants  of  the 
 Netherlands  still  denominate  Wednesday  Godansday  ! 
 Sun- day  was  sacred  to  the  sun;  for,  in  worshipping 
 the  sun,  the  Germans  made  no  exception  to  the  rest 
 of  the  Pagan  world.     The  holy  fires,  called  7iedfyr  or 
 nodfyr,  which  were  kindled  at  the  times  of  equinoxes 
 and  solstices,  were  part  of  these   deep-rooted  super- 
 stitious rites,  which  were  continued  after  their  being 
 converted  to  Christianity;  and  it  was  only  by  repeated 
 prohibitions    that   they    were    at   length   suppressed. 
 Monday  was  sacred  to  the  moon ;  and  it  is  well  known 
 that  the  new  and  full   moons   were  of  the  greatest 
 importance  in  the  general  consultations  and  projects 
 of  warlike  expeditions.     Nor  does  this    exclude   the 
 circumstance,  that  some  tribes  may  have  associated 
 the  Hertha,  or  the  earth,  with   the   lunar   goddess. 
 According   to   Egede,    the    barbarous    Greenlanders 
 ascribed  a  favourable  influence  to  the  moon  ;  and  they 
 believed  that  this  deity  now  and  then  came  down  to 
 visit   their  wives.     The   latter,   in    order   to  prevent 
 it   from  taking  any  familiar  intercourse   with  them. 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    NORTHERN    EUROPE.  91 
 
 are  careful  to  spit  upon  tlieir  fingers,  and  to  rub 
 themselves  before  they  fall  asleep !  From  similar 
 reasons,  young  maidens  are  afraid  to  stare  at  the  moon 
 for  any  length  of  time.  And  at  the  time  of  an  eclipse 
 of  the  moon,  no  woman  ventured  to  go  abroad ! 
 Tuesday  was  sacred  to  Mars,  or  to  Thuisto,  the  patriarch 
 of  the  Germans,  and  the  son  of  the  mother  Earth. 
 Wednesday  was  Godan's  or  Wodan's  day,  who,  ac- 
 cording to  Paul  Warnefried,  is  the  same  as  Mercury. 
 Thursday  was  sacred  to  Thor,  the  god  of  thunder. 
 He  is  called  the  Most  Mighty,  but  loses  his  life 
 in  killing  the  great  serpent  Midgard.  Loke  was 
 the  parent  of  this  great  serpent,  and  Thor,  one  of 
 the  twelve  peers,  is  said  to  have  bruised  the  head 
 of  this  serpent  Midgard  with  his  mace.  It  was 
 farther  believed  of  him,  that,  in  his  final  engage- 
 ment with  the  reptile,  he  indeed  destroyed  it,  but  was 
 suffocated  by  a  flood  of  poison  which  the  dying  crea- 
 ture vomited  against  its  enemy.  Frea  was  the  goddess 
 of  Friday ;  and  whilst  sacrifices  were  made  to  Thor 
 at  the  seasons  of  famine  and  plague,  and  to  Wodan  at 
 the  time  of  war,  the  fair  goddess  was  honom'ed  with 
 oblations  on  the  day  of  marriage.  Saturday,  as  the  last 
 day  of  the  week,  was  placed  under  Sader  or  Saturn. 
 
 This  hebdomadal  division  of  our  Saxon  ancestors,  as 
 well  as  the  above  legend  of  the  serpent,  which  had  been 
 bruised  by  the  mighty  Thor,  reminds  us  of  the 
 discovery  of  a  most  interesting  sacrificial  vessel,  which 
 was  found   in  the  year  1639  by    a  Danish  peasant. 
 
92  NATURAL    RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 It  was  a  horn  of  gold,  embossed  in  parallel  circles,  of 
 rude  workmanship.  These  circular  compartments  are 
 seven  in  number,  referring,  doubtless,  to  the  pre- 
 siding deities  of  the  days  of  the  week.  In  live,  out  of 
 the  seven  circles,  the  figure  of  a  serpent  is  seen  in 
 various  attitudes.  One  circle,  for  instance,  represents 
 a  boy  or  a  woman  kneeling,  in  a  state  of  nudity.  The 
 extended  arms  are  held  up  to  heaven ;  on  each  side  of 
 the  figure  is  a  large  serpent  in  the  attitude  of  attack. 
 In  the  second  compartment  of  this  circle  the  same 
 naked  figure  appears  flying  before  a  serpent,  which 
 pursues.  Another  circle  represents  a  figure  seated  on 
 the  ground,  with  the  hands  brought  together,  as  if  in 
 the  act  of  prayer. 
 
 It  will  not  be  difficult  to  recognise  in  these  cir- 
 cumstances, the  caricatures  of  truths  which  are  as 
 old  as  tJie  institution  of  the  hebdomadal  division  and  the 
 origin  of  the  Sabbath  of  the  Creator  of  the  universe. 
 
 Yet,  with  all  this,  we  have  in  the  Religion  of  our 
 ancestors  a  Relif/ion  of  nature ;  and  as  far  down  as 
 the  eighth  century  of  our  present  era,  we  read  of 
 "  de  simulacro,  de  co?ispersa  farina,  de  simidacris  de 
 pan7iis  faciis.  De  simulacro,  quod  per  camjjos  por- 
 tant.  De  li(/neis  p)Gdibus  vel  manihis  pagano  ritu  " 
 which  intimates  the  lowest  species  of  Pagan  idolatry, 
 amongst  the  ancestors  of  the  Teutonic  race.  But  if 
 similar  things  lower  our  estimation  of  the  merits 
 of  the  natural  Religion  of  the  ancient  Germans, 
 still  more  so  do  their  ideas  of  the  state  of  men   after 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    NORTHERN    EUROPE.  93 
 
 death.  They  believed,  indeed,  in  the  immortality  of 
 the  soul,  bnt  the  future  life  was  considered  a  mere 
 continuation  of  the  present  scenes  of  our  existence. 
 According  to  the  Edda,  the  noble  heroes  enter  the 
 Walhalla  of  Odin,  but  they  do  nothing  in  this  heaven 
 of  the  god  of  war  but  what  they  did  on  earth.  They 
 feast  together,  drinking  out  of  the  skulls  of  their 
 enemies  whom  they  slew  upon  earth,  and  out  of  large 
 horns,  such  as  the  writer  observed  to  be  in  use  amongst 
 the  Abyssinians,  and  others  nations  of  the  East. 
 
 The  Celtic  division  of  the  population  of  Western 
 and  Northern  Europe,  though  last  in  order,  was  the 
 most  ancient  amongst  them.  The  account  which  is 
 current  amongst  them  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  is 
 closely  allied  to  those  systems  of  cosmogony  which 
 are  mixed  up  with  astronomical  and  astrological 
 ideas.  Whilst  the  doctrine  of  the  final  conflagra- 
 tion of  the  universe  is  brought  forward  in  a  promi- 
 nent degree,  as  in  the  other  branches  of  the  Northern 
 Mythology,  we  have  the  transmigration  of  the  soul, 
 and  therefore  also  the  doctrme  of  its  immortalitv. 
 When  we  think  of  the  surprise  which  this  Pytha- 
 gorean dogma  created  amongst  the  ancient  Greeks, 
 we  may  infer  that  the  Western  system  of  belief 
 was  in  this  respect  superior  to  the  Grecian  Mythology. 
 It  was,  no  doubt,  owing  to  this  doctrine,  that  the 
 Germans  were  inspired  with  that  marked  contempt  of 
 death,  and  with  that  extraordinary  heroism  by  which 
 they  were  distinguished. 
 
94  NATURAL   RELIGION  [chap.  i. 
 
 Similar  to  the  Edda  of  the  German  tribes,  the  Celtic 
 Mythology  knows  nothing  of  eternal  punishment ;  and 
 as  the  doctrine  itself,  so  also  the  time  allotted  for  the 
 pmification  of  the  soul  savours  clearly  of  oriental 
 origin.  The  funeral  pile  amongst  the  Galli  was  a 
 symbol  of  the  final  conflagration  of  the  universe.  The 
 planetary  character  of  the  Gallic  divinities  is  sufflicently 
 evident  from  the  short  accounts  which  Csesar  has 
 bequeathed  to  us.  The  chief  seats  of  the  Celtic  belief 
 were  on  the  Island  of  Great  Britain;  and  it  was  here 
 that  the  national  bards  saved  many  a  relic  of  Druidical 
 tradition  from  falling  into  oblivion.  That  British 
 Druidism  underwent  many  serious  changes,  appears  dis- 
 tinctly from  the  accounts  which  have  been  handed  to  us. 
 
 As  in  many  other  instances,  the  account  of  the 
 creation  of  the  world  has  been  confounded  with  the 
 ancient  traditions  of  the  flood.  The  latter  catastrophe 
 appears  also  here,  as  in  India  and  Greece,  to  have 
 assumed  a  local  character.  The  lake  of  Llion  breaks 
 out,  and  all  the  inhabitants  are  drowned  except- 
 ing Dioywan  and  Bioywach,  who  were  saved  in  a 
 hoat ;  and  the  generation  after  the  flood  date  their 
 origin  from  these  highly  favoured  individuals.  The 
 sacred  buhs  of  Hu  drew  the  Avanc  to  the  shore, 
 to  prevent  the  lake  from  overflowing  again.  Hu  is 
 one  of  the  most  distinguished  characters  in  the 
 Druidical  system.  lie  is  the  man  of  the  w^aters,  the 
 Narayana  of  the  West.  He  is  the  lord  of  the  land 
 as  well  as  of  the   sea.     He  is  the  solar  deity.     His 
 
CHAP.  I.]        IN  NORTHERN  EUROPE.  95 
 
 image  was  placed  upon  a  high  pillar,  and  was  shaped 
 in  the  form  of  a  man.  Whilst  his  face  was  irradiated 
 with  the  solar  rays,  he  had  a  flaming  wheel  upon  his 
 breast,  and  before  it  was  kept  a  perpetual  fire.  Hu,  is 
 the  Supreme  Deity,  the  lord  of  the  heavens,  and,  in  a 
 local  sense,  the  lord  of  the  British  islands.  He  is  the 
 god  of  Mona,  and  has  every  where  his  sacred  islands, 
 fields,  and  lakes,  where  he  once  appeared  and  walked 
 with  his  worshippers.  As  his  names  and  titles,  so 
 also  his  symbols  are  innumerable. 
 
 As  IIu  is  conceived  to  be  the  solar  deity,  so  Ceredtvin, 
 his  spouse,  appeared  in  the  character  of  the  moon. 
 As  Hu,  so  also  Ceredwin  has  many  names,  symbols, 
 and  rites ;  and  they  both  together  seem  the  great 
 parents  of  the  Druidical  Polytheism,  and  the  mysteries 
 by  which  the  system  was  made  notorious.  For  as  the 
 Finnish,  so  also  the  Celtic  branch  of  the  Western  My- 
 thology was  eminently  distinguished  by  its  mystical 
 and  magical  tendency.  Such  was  the  Religion  of  our 
 ancestors  ! 
 
 Blessed  be  God  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  which 
 according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us 
 again  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
 Christ  from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  incorruptible 
 and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away.  Forasmuch 
 as  we  know  that  we  were  not  redeemed  with  cor- 
 ruptible things,  as  silver  and  gold,  from  our  vain 
 conversation,  received  by  traditions  from  our  fathers ; 
 but   with    the    precious    blood   of   Christ,    as    of   a 
 
96  NATURAL   RELIGION  :  [chap.  i. 
 
 lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot ;  who  verily 
 was  foreordained  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
 but  was  manifested  unto  us  in  these  last  times ! 
 
 6.  It  would  have  been  interesting  to  dive  deeper 
 into  the  religious  systems  of  ancient  Egypt,  Greece, 
 Rome,  and  the  Western  parts  of  Europe;  but  as 
 they  are  eradicated  from  the  earth,  which  is  the 
 Lord's,  we  may  leave  them  on  the  field  of  battle, 
 where  Christianity  has  triumphed  over  them,  and 
 made  a  show  of  them  openly.  They  will  ever  remain 
 standing  monuments  to  humble  man,  to  testify  how 
 little  he  has  accomplished  in  religious  matters  without 
 special  revelation,  how  poor  mankind  would  be  if  they 
 were  confined  for  religious  comfort  to  these  huge  car- 
 cases of  the  stupendous  efforts  of  the  wisest,  bravest, 
 and  most  civilized  nations  of  the  world.  They  carried 
 in  themselves  the  germs  of  decay  and  dissolution,  and 
 therefore  they  are  vanished.  We  have,  at  the  same 
 time,  a  very  sure  pledge  of  the  final  destruction  of  the 
 Oriental  Pantheon  ;  as  all  are  members  of  the  same 
 l)ody,  branches  of  the  same  tree,  the  productions  of 
 the  same  misguided  and  erring  human  race. 
 
 In  taking  a  comparative  view  of  the  Oriental  and 
 Occidental  branches  of  Paganism,  we  observe  a  striking 
 difference  between  them.  Oriental  creeds  proceed  from 
 an  infinite  Deity  to  a  finite  world.  Western  Mytho- 
 logies open  their  speculative  career  with  finite  crea- 
 tures, and  end  with  the  infinite  Deity.  Both  seek  the 
 union  of  man  with  the  deity.     In  the  East  we  have 
 
CHAP.  I.]  ITS    GENERAL    CHARACTER.  97 
 
 to  this  end  incarnations  of  the  deity  ;  in  the  West,  we 
 have  deifications  of  men.  In  the  East,  the  human 
 mind  strove  with  no  ordinary  powers  to  be  emanci- 
 pated from  the  shackles  of  the  material  world,  and  for 
 liberty  in  the  great  unknown  and  infinite  Being,  who 
 is  a  Spirit ;  but,  alas !  it  fell  into  the  grossest  Mate- 
 rialism which  could  be  imagined.  In  the  West,  man 
 created  his  own  heaven,  his  own  gods,  and  made  the 
 most  strenuous  efforts  to  become  like  unto  God.  But 
 how  his  eyes  were  opened  after  eating  of  this  for- 
 bidden fruit  !  How  fearfully  the  attempt  to  produce 
 the  Deity  from  human  resources  was  revenged  in 
 the  tragical  end  of  the  Western  Mythology !  When 
 the  Romans  had  obtained  universal  dominion,  they 
 lost  their  liberty,  and  were  degraded  to  be  slaves. 
 When  the  Grecians  became  aware  of  their  greatness, 
 when  arts  and  sciences  were  in  their  fullest  bloom, 
 they  felt  the  workings  of  decay  !  Instead  of  having 
 leisure  to  glory  in  their  uncommon  achievements,  they 
 felt  that  they  were  poor  and  needy.  Nothing  was 
 left  but  a  deified  world ;  and  as  such  a  world  could 
 not  give  satisfaction  to  the  Grecian  mind,  that  world 
 also  was  to  be  done  away.  The  Neo-Platonists  left 
 nothing  in  the  end  but  an  unknown  Deity  and  finite 
 appearances.  The  Grecian  mind  commenced  its  specu- 
 lations where  the  Oriental  mind  had  ended ;  and  it 
 ended  where  the  latter  had  commenced.  And  as  the 
 starting  point  of  natural  Religion  in  the  West  coin- 
 cided with  the  point  where  Oriental  speculation  had 
 
 VOL.    J  I.  II 
 
98  NATURAL    RELIGION  :  [chap.  i. 
 
 ceased,  the  whole  circuit  of  the  natural  Religion 
 of  the  Pagan  world  was  for  ever  completed.  It 
 found  a  sepulchre  of  its  own  making.  In  finally 
 retiring  to  its  poor  beginnings,  it  passed  judgment 
 upon  its  own  folly  and  weakness  ;  and  this  judgment 
 has  been  confirmed  by  the  experience  and  the  history 
 of  every  succeeding  generation. 
 
 We  have  seen  in  the  course  of  our  argument 
 that  AVestern  Mythology  has  encouraged  a  taste  for 
 science  and  the  fine  arts.  This  is  its  chief  merit, 
 indeed,  the  only  thing  that  can  be  said  in  its 
 praise.  The  natural  Religion  among  the  nations  of 
 Northern  and  Western  Europe  being  more  rough,  it 
 was  calculated  to  foster  a  spirit  of  military  prowess 
 and  heroism.  This  is  a  laudable  quality,  but  far  too 
 insignificant  to  be  the  sole  blessing  which  natural  Reli- 
 gion conferred  upon  Europe.  Mythology  in  the  East 
 failed  to  produce  eitlier  the  one  or  the  other  efiect 
 upon  mankind.  All  that  can  be  said  of  its  influence 
 is,  that  it  has  ever  cherished  the  most  abandoned 
 sensuality,  and  fostered  the  most  desperate  depravity 
 of  human  nature.  And  drawing  thus  perpetual 
 nourishment  from  this  never-failing  source  of  a  de- 
 basing and  brutalizing  corruption,  it  still  thrives,  or, 
 at  least,  has  been  able  to  maintain  its  existence, 
 whilst  the  other  branches  of  the  same  tree  have 
 exhausted  their  strength  and  withered,  under  the 
 influence  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  who  at  once 
 brings  judgment  and  healing  in  his  wings.     It  was 
 
CHAP.  I.]      ITS  GENERAL  CHARACTER.  99 
 
 first  of  all  shown  in  the  East,  that  man  was  flesh ; 
 and  here  we  have  the  piUars  of  Oriental  Paganism'. 
 Eastern  systems  of  belief  are  the  most  formidable,  not 
 only  because  they  are  the  most  antique  and  the  most 
 systematic,  but  chiefly,  also,  because  they  are  most 
 akin  and  analogous  to  the  moral  degeneracy  of  a 
 depraved  humanity.  Yet  we  shall  see,  before  con- 
 cluding this  present  chapter,  that  its  hour  of  visita- 
 tion is  approaching  fast  even  now^ 
 
 Erom  what  we  have  now  seen  of  Oriental  and 
 Occidental  Mythological  creeds,  we  find  that  they  all 
 uttered  in  succession  such  feelings  as  press  sorely  upon 
 the  Pagan  mind.  They  seek  after  God ;  but  as  they 
 seek  amiss,  God  recedes  farther  and  farther  from  their 
 horizon.  We  have  scattered  truths  here  and  there, 
 but  in  all  systems  of  Paganism  together  we  have 
 nothing  equivalent  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  In 
 natural  Religion,  we  have  images  only  and  Mythology. 
 In  true  Religion,  we  have  divine  history,  and  sound 
 words  of  doctrine.  As  Paganism  gave  no  solid  comfort 
 to  a  comfortless  world,  its  several  systems  either 
 perished,  or  were  petrified.  Having  passed  a  certain 
 round,  they  became  stationary,  and  dried  up.  Whilst 
 Christianity  has  ever  been  the  salt  of  the  earth,  and 
 the  leaven  which  is  leavening  "  tlie  loliole  lump'' 
 spurious  Religion  must  sooner  or  later  terminate 
 its  career  in  a  solution  of  its  component  parts.  The 
 Spirit  of  life  is  working  in  true  Religion,  and  the  fire 
 which  it  kindled  upon  earth  is  spreading  far  and  wide 
 
 H  2 
 
100  NATURAL   RELIGION:  [chap.  i. 
 
 in  every  direction.  This  has  been  especially  the  case 
 during  the  last  and  present  centuries.  According  to 
 statistical  estimates,  there  were  in  the  last  century 
 about  one  hundred  and  forty  millions  of  Mohamme- 
 dans, two  or  three  millions  of  Jews,  six  hundred  and 
 fifty-seven  millions  of  Heathen,  and  two  hundred  mil- 
 lions of  Christians.  The  number  of  Christians  in  the 
 last  century  has  been  increased  by  forty-five  millions, 
 and  it  increases  still  more  rapidly  in  the  present  cen- 
 tury ;  whilst  the  number  of  other  sects  remains  essen- 
 tially the  same  !  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  Allien 
 we  remember  that  it  is  against  the  principles  of  most 
 false  Religions  to  admit  converts  from  other  denomina- 
 tions. The  Hindoo,  for  instance,  would  be  horrified 
 at  the  idea  of  receiving  a  foreigner  into  religious  com- 
 munion with  himself. 
 
 As  we  discovered  in  Pagan  creeds  noble  relics  of  a 
 better  state  of  things ;  so  we  noticed,  on  the  other 
 hand,  anticipations  of  truths  which  futurity  only 
 was  able  to  unfold  to  their  minds.  Pagan  creeds 
 are  emphatically  Religions  of  nature, — as  Religions 
 of  this  world,  they  will  enjoy  what  they  only  could 
 hope  for ;  they  will  reap  where  they  have  not  sown  ; 
 they  will  behold  that  which  they  are  required 
 to  believe !  As  Rehgions  of  nature,  and  creeds 
 of  pleasure,  they  never  open  reasonable  prospects  of 
 happiness  beyond  this  narrow  sphere  of  existence. 
 Yea,  the  impatient  nature  of  spurious  Religion  an- 
 ticipated trutlis   which  could   only   be  brought  to  a 
 
CHAP.  1.]  ITS    GENERAL    CHARACTER.  101 
 
 sound   state    of   maturity    in    future    periods   of  the 
 history  of  true  Rehgion  ;   and  these  truths  naturally 
 became  miserable  caricatures.     Paganism  in  this   re- 
 spect was  a  hot-house,  as  it  were,  in  which  the  exotic 
 plants  of  futurity  are  placed  into  an  unnatural  ground, 
 and  forced  with  an  unnatural  rapidity.    The  notorious 
 Shibboleth  of  Pantheism,  "  That  God  may  he  all  in 
 all"  (1  Cor.  XV.)  is  one  of  those  noble  truths ;  but  one 
 which  can  only  be  brought  to  maturity  at  the  end  of 
 this  present  economy  of   divine   revelation.     It  was 
 impatiently  anticipated  in  the  development  of  natural 
 Peligion,  and  not  unfrequently  placed  at  the  begin- 
 ning of  religious  speculations.      Hence  it  cannot  be 
 wondered  at,  that  this  hot-house  has  brought  forth 
 many  blossoms,  but  no  fruit.     In  this  unnatural  mix- 
 ture of  falsehood  and  truth,  in  this  early  appearance  of 
 blossoms  and  flowers,  lies  the  attraction  and  charm  of 
 Pagan  Rehgions.      Its    spell  could  only  be  broken, 
 when  these  fair  blossoms  and  flowers  had  withered 
 and  fallen  off  without  producing  fruit,  and  when  its 
 impotency  and  vanity  could  be  no  longer  hid  from 
 the  deluded  race  of  man.     It  has  been  declared  by 
 agricultural  people,   that  chaff  will  grow  for  a  time 
 upon  being  sov/n  in  the  field,  but  that  after  a  short 
 period  it   will  naturally  wither,  having  no  substance 
 from    which   it   could  maintain   itself  longer.      This 
 was  the   case  with  Paganism   in   the    western  parts 
 of  the  Eastern  hemisphere,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
 Christian  era  ;   and  the  remarkable  aspect  of  the  East 
 in  modern  days  presents  a  similar  spectacle.  ■ 
 
102  NATURAL   RELIGION.  [chap.  t. 
 
 It  is  one  of  the  characteristic  signs  of  the  present 
 age,  that  the  Western  portion  of  the  human  family  has 
 been  drawn  with  an  irresistible  and  unprecedented  feel- 
 ing to  the  native  soil  of  its  existence.  The  politician, 
 the  philosopher,  the  philanthropist,  and  the  Christian 
 believer,  have  their  attention  equally  riveted  by  fore- 
 boding phenomena  which  are  risen  on  the  Eastern  hori- 
 zon, and  which  seem  pregnant  with  portentous  events. 
 As  children  in  mature  age  return  to  cherish  an  aged 
 and  broken-hearted  parent,  being  prompted  by  the 
 tender  emotions  of  filial  affection  and  gratitude  ;  so  the 
 younger  members  of  the  human  family  in  the  West 
 seem  to  turn  homeward  to  administer  the  cordials  of 
 temporal  and  spiritual  consolation  to  an  aged  parent. 
 
 Whilst,  however,  from  various  motives,  the  nations 
 of  the  West  look  to  the  East,  we  find  that  this  feeling 
 of  sympathy  has  been  responded  to  in  the  latter  place 
 in  a  no  less  remarkable  degree.  As  the  man  of 
 Macedonia  once  stood  in  the  vision  before  Paul  the 
 Apostle,  saying,  "  Come  over  and  help  us;''  so  the 
 Oriental  nations,  without  exception,  appear  now  before 
 their  Western  brethren  with  uplifted  hands,  saying : 
 "  M^  sons,  children  of  mi/  youth,  come  over  and  help 
 tis  ! 
 
 It  is,  we  understand,  the  experience  of  physicians, 
 that  madness  often  disappears  on  the  approach  of 
 death,  or  after  some  very  severe  delirious  fever ;  that, 
 after  years  of  unconscious  insanity,  the  faculties  awake 
 from  their  torpid  state  and  become  once  more  sound 
 and  sober.     Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  a  notorious  fact. 
 
CHAP.  I.]      GENERAL   ASPECT   OF   THE  EAST.  103 
 
 that  the  Eastern  tribes  of  the  human  family  awake  as 
 if  from  a  state  of  intoxication  and  madness,  into  which 
 they  have  fallen  upon  drinking  from  the  "  cuj)  of  the 
 fortiications  of  the  mother  of  harlots."  As  regards 
 their  systems,  Oriental  creeds  have  leng  ago  finished 
 their  course.  They  are  a  mass  of  inconsistent  and 
 incoherent  elements,  of  a  heterogeneous  character. 
 But  the  patience  of  the  Oriental  nations  is  as  well 
 nigh  exhausted  in  these  present  days,  as  that  of  the 
 Western  nations  was  at  the  coming  of  Christ.  There 
 can  be  no  standing  still  any  longer.  And  the  devo- 
 tees of  these  systems  of  spurious  Religion  are  brought 
 to  a  point  of  degradation  from  which  it  is  impossible 
 to  sink  any  deeper. 
 
 Extensive  travels,  not  only  amongst  Oriental 
 Churches,  but  also  amongst  the  Mohammedan  and 
 Pagan  tribes  of  Africa  and  the  East,  have  convinced 
 the  author,  that  there  is  at  this  period  such  a  heaving 
 and  fermenting  in  the  mouldering  mass  of  Oriental 
 superstition,  such  a  dissatisfaction  with  every  existing 
 form  of  spurious  Religion,  as  will  terminate,  sooner  or 
 later,  in  religious  convulsions  of  a  most  important 
 character;  convulsions  upon  a  grander  scale,  more 
 sudden,  more  intense,  and  more  striking,  if  possible, 
 than  the  political  earthquakes  which  have  been  agi- 
 tating the  whole  of  civilized  Europe.  Oriental  nations 
 at  large  seem,  even  now,  to  feel  more  deeply  than 
 they  probably  ever  felt  before,  that  the  resources  of 
 their  own   imaginary  power  and  wisdom  are  finally 
 
104  NATURAL   RELIGION.  [chap.  I. 
 
 exhausted.  The  general  confession  is  now  being  wrung 
 from  the  numerous  tribes  of  the  East,  that  help  must 
 finally  come  from  above.  Like  that  of  the  Canaanites 
 of  old,  their  heart  is  melting  within  them  for  despair ; 
 and  they  are  stunned,  as  it  were,  by  a  mysterious 
 apprehension  of  the  pending  dissolution  of  their 
 national  creeds.  And  the  writer  feels  that  he  speaks 
 no  less  advisedly  when  he  adds,  that  not  only  has  fear 
 and  pain  taken  hold  upon  them,  as  of  a  woman  in 
 travail,  but  the  conviction  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
 Christianity  is  likewise  more  and  more  deepening  in 
 the  Oriental  mind ;  and  this,  at  times,  under  circum- 
 stances where  it  was  to  be  least  expected.  It  is 
 evident  that  the  approaching  crisis  in  the  religious 
 complexion  of  the  East  involves  the  temporal  welfare 
 and  the  eternal  happiness  of  the  majority  of  the  human 
 race  !  And  should  not  the  Church  of  Christ  increase 
 her  exertions  a  hundi'cdfold  to  follow  the  conqueror, 
 whose  wheel  has  seemed  to  tarry  in  coming  ? 
 
 The  beginning  of  our  history  is  in  the  East,  in  Asa 
 or  Asia,  which  signifies  the  "  holi/  land.''  From 
 thence  it  proceeded  in  a  westerly  direction  until  it 
 reached  the  extremities  of  the  West.  It  seemed  as  if 
 an  invisible  hand  carried  the  lamp  of  religious,  civil, 
 and  moral  advancement  and  civilization  from  land  to 
 land.  But  it  is  remarkable,  that  countries  which  for 
 centuries  enjoyed  its  light,  sink  back  into  darkness ; 
 whilst  others  emerge  and  take  their  stand  among 
 civilized  people,  until  again  they,  in  their  own  turn, 
 
CHAP.  I.]      GENERAL    ASPECT   OF   THE  EAST.  105 
 
 are  deprived  of  the  candlestick  which  had  given  them 
 hght  for  a  season. 
 
 When  thus,  upon  the  principles  of  unalterable 
 justice  and  righteousness,  the  history  of  the  spiritual, 
 moral,  and  intellectual  development  had  been  carried 
 to  the  boundaries  of  the  western  parts  of  the  Eastern 
 hemisphere,  and  had  already  set  one  foot  on  the  shores 
 of  America,  it  was  a  question,  whether  America  now 
 would  become  the  scene  upon  which  Religion  and 
 civilization  would  be  enthroned  ;  and  whether  Europe 
 was  destined  to  fall  back  into  darkness,  as  was  already 
 partially  the  case  with  its  south-eastern  extremities, 
 and  with  other  lands  and  nations  of  Asia,  which  once 
 enjoyed  the  blessings  of  this  lamp. 
 
 It  is  not  difficult  to  divine,  that  if  the  irreligious 
 tendency  of  Europe  gains  the  ascendency,  the  Eu- 
 ropean world  will  be  humbled  and  thrown  down  from 
 its  proud  elevation.  Whilst,  however,  America  in  the 
 West  enjoys  a  goodly  measure  of  the  beatifying  light  of 
 this  heavenly  lamp,  it  is  pretty  clear  already  that  the 
 history  of  the  march  of  true  Religion  and  civilization 
 is  now  tm'ning  and  pointing  back  to  the  cradle  of 
 mankind,  and  the  birth-place  of  human  existence. 
 "  For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee ;  but 
 with  great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee.  In  a  little 
 wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee ;  but  with  ever- 
 lasting kindness  will  I  have  mercy  on  thee,  saith 
 the  Lord,  thy  Redeemer."  Prom  some  mysterious 
 cause,  the    spread    of  true  Religion  had  passed  the 
 
106  NATURAL   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 vast  continent  of  Africa,  and  touched  only  with  the 
 hem  of  its  garment  the  northern  extremities  of  that 
 benighted  land;  but,  on  its  retrograde  march,  peace 
 and  civilization  will  penetrate  and  bless  that  land 
 also  ! 
 
 We  may,  indeed,  judge  \Adth  more  safety  of  events, 
 when  they  actually  are  being  fulfilled,  or  are  lying 
 behind  us  as  historical  facts.  It  is  natural  that  the 
 quiet  preparations  which  necessarily  precede  all  impor- 
 tant events,  should  not  strike  our  senses  in  the  same 
 degree  as  the  rush  of  events,  when  they  actually  come 
 to  pass.  Yet  the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  the  direction 
 of  the  wind,  the  face  of  the  sky,  which  have  been 
 already  compared  to  the  signs  of  the  times  by  Him 
 who  ^'  knew  all  things ^  enable  the  intelligent  observer 
 to  judge  with  comparative  certainty  of  the  impending 
 storm,  or  of  the  approaching  fair  weather.  And  it  is 
 likewise  in  the  power  of  the  "  hypocrites  "  of  the 
 present  day,  to  anticipate,  from  the  present  signs  of 
 the  times,  what  is  to  come. 
 
 Lest,  however,  there  remain  a  doubt  upon  the  mind 
 of  the  reader,  as  to  the  solemn  truth  that  the  Western 
 nations  are  on  the  eve  of  their  decline,  we  may  point 
 to  the  fading  flowers  of  Spain,  and  Portugal,  and  the 
 Dutch.  Germany,  which  strives  to  make  itself  a 
 "  name,"  and  to  build  a  "  tower,  whose  top  may 
 reach  unto  heaven,"  will  be  miserably  disappointed  in 
 its  ungodly  career.  Who  will  venture  to  predict  the 
 coming  greatness  of  France,  when  all  indicates  disso- 
 
CHAP.  I.]        GENERAL   ASPECT   OF   THE   EAST.  107 
 
 lution  and  decay  ?     And  shall  we  omit  to  remember, 
 that  the  nearer  Great  Britain,   as  the  brightest  star  of 
 European  greatness,  approaches  its  point   of  culmina- 
 tion, the  nearer  will  come  the  solemn  hour  of  its  de- 
 cline ?  It  is  with  deep  solicitude  that  we  have  observed 
 certain  symptoms  of  late  in  this  country,  which  seem 
 to  intimate  as  if  England  contemplated  walking  in  the 
 paths  of  the  ungodly  Continent.     The  revolutionary 
 commotions  of  Europe  in  latter  days  were   severally 
 marked  with  the  character  of  a  lawless  insubordination 
 to  the  laws  of  God  and  man.     It  was  not  only  the 
 desire  to  put  dow^n  certain  institutions,  the  existence 
 of  which  caused  uneasiness  to  a  more  civilized  people. 
 The  chief  supporters  of  the  movement  were  "  filthy 
 dreamers,  that  defile  the  flesh,  despise  dominion,  and 
 speak  evil  of  dignities."     The  principle  which  moved 
 the  whole  mass,   was  a  spirit  which  opposeth  itself      y 
 "  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped." 
 The  people,  if  they  at  all  tolerated  their  former  rulers, 
 were  determined  to  have  no  longer  kings  who  ruled 
 over  them  ''  Bel  p'aiiaj"    They  were  wearied  of  being 
 governed  "  b^  the  grace  of  God''      They  wished  a 
 government  which  was   "  Populi  f/ratia^'  not  "  Dei 
 gratia!'     They  blotted  it  out  from  the    decrees   of 
 the  Government,  and  from  the  superscription  of  their 
 coins.      Kings  should  henceforth  rule  by  the  grace 
 of  men !     Now,  we  are   averse  to  a  prostitution  of 
 sacred  things ;  but  in  the  present  case,  the  anxiety 
 of  the  people  to  abolish  the  words  "  Dei  gratia"  was 
 
108  NATURAL    RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 clearly  produced  by  that  spirit  of  infidelity,  which 
 makes  people  take  counsel  together  against  the  Lord, 
 and  against  his  Anointed.  The  same  people  who  made 
 war  against  "Dei  gratia  "  in  the  title  of  their  rulers, 
 contemplated  abolishing  matrimony,  and  every  thing 
 that  is  considered  holy  and  religious  !  They  were 
 "  ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of  our  God  into 
 lasciviousness,  and  denying  the  only  Lord  God,  and 
 our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  They  were  "raging  waves 
 of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own  shame ;  wandering 
 stars,  to  whom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness 
 for  ever." 
 
 It  may  appear  of  small  importance  to  some  of  our 
 readers,  that  those  significant  words  "  Dei  gratia' 
 should  for  the  first  time  be  omitted  in  the  "  image  and 
 sttperscription'  of  the  new  coin  which  has  lately  been 
 issued  in  this  land.  But  observing  the  tendency  of 
 this  degenerated  age,  we  confess  we  take  alarm  at 
 this  innovation.  England,  with  its  favoured  sons  and 
 daughters,  may  well  say  :  "  Bg  the  grace  or  God  I  am 
 ivhat  I  am."  If  England  disown  the  giver  of  its  dis- 
 tinguished privileges  ;  if  England  deny  the  Lord  who 
 bought  us ;  if  England  desire  that  her  most  gracious 
 Queen  should  rule  no  more  over  us  by  the  grace  of 
 God  ;  fJieii,  Ichabod,  the  glorg  has  departed!  Whilst 
 the  writer  travelled  on  the  Continent,  during  the  latter 
 part  of  its  intestine  commotions,  he  had  frequent  oppor- 
 tunities of  hearing  it  stated  in  various  quarters,  that 
 England  was  saved  from  these  troubles  because  the 
 
CHAP,  i.j        GENERAL    ASPECT    OF   THE    EAST.  109 
 
 English  were  a  God-fearing  nation,  and  because  the 
 Government  of  England  acknowledged  lis  dependence 
 upon  Almighty  God !  But  did  the  Government  of 
 this  land  preserve  this  high  character  lately,  when  it 
 refused  to  respond  to  the  feeling  of  the  nation  in  com- 
 manding a  day  of  national  humiliation,  on  account 
 of  the  fearful  ravages  of  Cholera  ? 
 
 Could  we  lift  up  our  voice  like  a  trumpet,  and  make 
 it  heard  "  from  Dan  even  to  Beersheba,"  we  would 
 implore  the  Christians  of  Great  Britain,  in  the  words 
 of  the  Apostle,  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which 
 was  delivered  unto  the  Saints  !  Let  not  Endand  be 
 ashamed  of  her  own  God,  who  alone  "  is  able  to  keep  her 
 from,  falling r  Let  her  children  walk  in  the  truth,  as 
 we  have  received  a  commandment  from  the  Lather. 
 Let  not  England  depart  from  the  grace  of  the  living 
 God,  lest  she  lose  those  things  which  she  has  "  wrought, 
 but  receive  a  full  reward."  Righteousness  exalteth  a 
 nation ;  but  the  tmgodlg  bring  it  down  to  the  ground! 
 The  nations  that  have  sown  to  the  wind  are  now  reap- 
 ing the  whirlwind  !  L'eland,  too,  has  been  declining 
 fast,  chiefly  from  religious  and  moral  causes.  These 
 are  days  of  sifting  and  purging ;  times  when  the 
 judgments  of  the  Almighty  are  abroad  amongst  the 
 nations  of  Christendom.  *'  For  the  time  is  come  that 
 judgment  must  begin  at  tlte  house  of  God,  and  if  it  first 
 begin  at  us,  tchat  shall  be  the  end  of  them  that  obey 
 not  the  Gosj)el  of  God?'' 
 
 Oriental  nations,  too,  are  brought  forward  in  such 
 
110  NATURAL   RELIGION.  [chap.  i. 
 
 a  degree  as  they  have  never  been  before.  Tribes,  whose 
 names  were  scarcely  known  to  our  ancestors,  are  now 
 invaded  by  European  armies,  and  guided  by  European 
 diplomacy.  Almost  in  the  centre  of  Asia,  kingdoms 
 are  overthrown,  and  a  new  order  of  things  is  intro- 
 duced. The  slumbering  empire  of  the  Chinese  has 
 at  last  been  roused  by  the  thundering  accent  of  un- 
 known strangers  from  the  most  distant  West.  Yet  Ave 
 need  not  accumulate  evidence  of  what  has  been  said. 
 
 It  is  the  Lord  God  Almighty  who  gives  light  to 
 the  lamp,  and  whose  invisible  hand  has  impressed  a 
 direction  upon  its  travels  through  the  earth.  Never 
 has  there  happened  anything  new  and  blessed, — never 
 has  there  been  wrought  anything  great  and  mighty, — 
 without  the  impulse  of  religious  belief.  And  now, 
 again,  it  will  be  a  religious  movement,  which  already 
 agitates  and  troubles  the  stagnant  waters  of  the  East, 
 to  give  to  its  tribes  that  new  form  which  they  demand. 
 The  honour  to  enlighten,  to  civilize,  and  to  prepare 
 mankind  for  this  world  and  for  the  life  to  come,  be- 
 longs to  the  Gospel.  (1  Tim.  iv.)  The  events,  how- 
 ever, which  are  of  a  religious  character,  are  commonly 
 so  interwoven  with  the  ordinary  course  of  things,  that 
 perhaps  the  beholder  fails  to  recognise,  amidst  the 
 variety  of  external  circumstances,  the  true  hidden 
 cause,  which  controls  a  complicated  system  of  events. 
 God  often  hides,  as  it  w^ere,  the  greatest  events  in  his 
 kingdom,  under  the  general  course  of  the  things  of 
 this  world.     Events  of  a  worldly  character  produce 
 
CHAP.  I.]  GENERAL  ASPECT  OF   THE   EAST.  Ill 
 
 more  excitement,  create  more  surprise,  engage  more 
 attention;  whilst  God's  own  comisels  are  accomplished 
 amongst  them,  as  it  were,  in  sacred  quietude ! 
 
 It  often  appears  as  if  God's  kingdom  was  a  stranger 
 in  the  world,  who  by  some  accident  or  other  went 
 astray  among  the  worldly  scenes  which  rivet  the  atten- 
 tion of  the  multitude  on  the  stage  of  general  history. 
 But  whosoever  is  wise,  and  inquires  after  God,  will 
 know  Avhich  is  the  reality  and  what  are  the  appear- 
 ances. And  whilst  perhaps  also  for  the  future  the 
 political,  intellectual,  and  social  part  of  the  great 
 problem  be  all  that  may  strike  the  superficial  observer, 
 the  wise  will  recognise  a  fulfilment  of  what  God 
 hath  before  declared  by  the  mouth  of  his  prophets. 
 The  w^ord  of  prophecy  standeth  sure  :  the  lamp  of 
 God  seemed  to  recede  more  and  more  to  the  West, 
 but  it  was  turned  backward  to  the  East.  God  has 
 roused  a  thousand  hearts  to  pray  for  the  coming  of 
 his  kingdom ;  he  has  also  made  a  thousand  hands  to 
 labour  in  this  long-neglected  portion  of  his  vineyard  ; 
 and,  according  to  his  purpose,  a  thousand  events  are 
 now  bringing  about  the  final  destruction  of  those 
 spurious  systems  of  natural  Religion,  which  are  the 
 curse  of  Eastern  countries. 
 
 7.  If  it  be  objected  to  the  above  definition  of  the 
 
 general  (Character  of  the  natural  Religion  of  the  Pagan 
 
 world,  by  which  it  is  proved  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
 
 fundamental  principles  of  general  Religion,  that  the 
 
 fov)ers   of   Pagan    speculation    on    religious    matters 
 
112  RELIGIOUS    PHILOSOPHY  [chap.  i. 
 
 were  contained  in  the  philosophical  portion  of  the 
 systems  of  Mythology,  it  will  be  necessary  to  glance, 
 lastly,  at  what  human  reason  has  accomplished  in 
 this  particular  sphere.  It  is  certainly  true,  that  if 
 human  reason  could  have  created  and  unfolded  reli- 
 gious truth  from  its  own  resources,  we  might  expect 
 that  certain  distinguished  heroes  of  thought  should 
 have  bestowed  so  desirable  a  boon  upon  humanity,  in 
 the  religious  and  philosophical  firmament  of  which  they 
 shone  as  bright  luminaries  of  the  world  of  intellect. 
 And  if  the  history  of  religious  philosophy  did  exem- 
 plify that  "  infallihle  "  reason,  which  has  been  looked 
 upon  by  some  as  the  fountain  of  religious  truth,  we 
 might  likewise  expect  that  those  who  possessed  an 
 extraordinary  measure  of  these  faculties,  would  agree, 
 if  not  in  all,  yet  at  least  in  the  most  important  points. 
 Truth  is  harmony  with  itself,  and  can  never  involve 
 contradiction. 
 
 Now  in  going  about  to  establish  a  certain  point,  or 
 to  elucidate  a  certain  truth,  there  is  danger  that  only 
 those  things  are  drawn  from  a  mass  of  materials 
 which  will  best  suit  the  purpose.  There  is  danger  in 
 the  subject  before  us,  that  in  diving  here  and  there 
 into  systems  of  philosophy,  with  a  view  to  measure 
 their  depth  and  to  weigh  their  merits,  we  may  for- 
 get to  do  justice  to  their  real  character.  To  give,  for 
 instance,  only  "  discer_pta  membra  "  from  the  documents 
 of  revealed  Religion,  would  be  considered  unfair,  and 
 we  would  protest  against  such  a  mode  of  proceeding. 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    PAGANISM.  113 
 
 In  giving,  therefore,  an  estimate  of  the  efforts  of  the 
 Pagan  mind  to  solve  the  problem  in  which  man  and 
 the  world  are  involved,  we  intend  to  deal  fairly. 
 
 In  adverting  to  the  religious  speculations  of  the 
 ancient  Greeks,  whom  we  are  taught  from  our  child- 
 hood to  venerate,  we  find  that  the  Ionian  philosophers 
 worshipped  one  or  other  of  the  different  elements,  as 
 the  prime  cause  of  all  things  in  existence.  In  one 
 instance  it  was  water ;  in  another  it  was  fire ;  in 
 another  it  was  air  ;  and  again  in  another  it  was  a 
 composition  of  these  elements.  Heraclitus  considered 
 the  universe  to  be  an  eternal  and  living  being,  and 
 his  religious  philosophy  contained  merely  physical 
 speculations.  Anaximander  believed  in  an  immortal, 
 infinite,  divine  cause  of  the  universe,  which  con- 
 tained, as  a  mixed  being,  the  elements  of  the  world. 
 Anaxagoras  is  said  to  have  been  the  first,  prior  to 
 Socrates,  who  acknowledged  an  intellectual  supreme 
 cause,  and  yet  the  production  of  the  world  is  con- 
 ceived to  have  been  brought  about  upon  mere  physical 
 principles. 
 
 The  great  defects  of  the  philosophical  systems  prior 
 to  Socrates,  are  especially  marked  with  regard  to  the 
 immortality  of  the  soul.  The  undefined  world  of 
 shadows  which  is  pictured  forth  by  the  poets,  was 
 but  a  poetical  dream,  which,  upon  sober  reflection, 
 could  no  longer  delude,  nor  yet  bridle  the  spirit  of 
 scepticism  and  infidelity.  Pythagoras,  who  has  the 
 honour  of  first  having  taught  the  dogma  of  the  immor- 
 
 VOL.    II.  I 
 
114  RELIGIOUS   PHILOSOPHY  [chap.  i. 
 
 tality  of  the  soul  in  the  West,  had  introduced  it  from 
 the  East,  and  with  it  he  propagated  the  error  of  its 
 transmigration.  Socrates  affirmed  that  human  wisdom 
 had  little  or  no  value  whatever ;  and  he  esteemed  it 
 the  highest  fortune  to  ascertain  the  will  of  the  gods. 
 As  he  felt  convinced  it  could  not  be  found  by  reason 
 alone,  he  recommended  oracles  and  divinations  as  means 
 of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  will  of  the  deities. 
 
 The  contradictory  opinions  which  were  consequently 
 started,  and  supported  with  the  greatest  ingenuity ; 
 the  confusion  of  ideas,  and  the  growth  of  a  spirit  of 
 scepticism,  had  a  most  unfavourable  influence  upon 
 the  nation.  Whilst  one  party  fostered  sentiments 
 which  led  to  the  denial  of  a  deity,  the  other  main- 
 tained views  which  seemed  equally  irrational  and 
 monstrous  ;  inasmuch  as  they  implied  the  extrava- 
 gant idea,  according  to  which  the  material  world  was 
 a  mere  illusion.  One  of  their  Sophists  opened  his 
 doctrine  by  denying  all  truth,  and  he  declared  that  if 
 there  were  such  a  thing,  it  would  be  beyond  the  ap- 
 prehension of  our  faculties.  The  Grecian  Philosophy 
 despised  the  national  creed,  but  it  could  give  nothing 
 better  in  its  stead. 
 
 Philosophy,  however,  reached  its  highest  point  in 
 the  days  of  Plato  and  Aristotle  ;  and  if  human  reason 
 were  able  to  furnish  the  knowledge  of  what  is  good 
 and  holy,  Ave  might  naturally  expect  it  from  these 
 princes  of  Philosophy.  They  had  done  much  to 
 establish  their  fame  with  all  future  generations.    Every 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    PAGANISM.  115 
 
 succeeding  hero  of  human  thought  has  first  sat  with  a 
 docile  mind  at  the  feet  of  these  great  men.  We  might, 
 therefore,  expect  all  and  everything  from  the  researches 
 of  these  deep-thinking  and  high-soaring  intellects. 
 
 The  leading  idea  of  the  Philosophy  of  Plato  is,  that 
 there  is  dwelling  in  man  a  remnant  of  a  prior,  com- 
 paratively far  more  perfect,  glorious,  and  spiritual  con- 
 dition, or  an  indistinct  recollection  of  a  former  state  of 
 perfection.  This  noble  remnant  was  reduced  to  a 
 mere  recollection  by  the  imperfect  and  changeable 
 character  of  the  world  around  us.  It  was  thus  that 
 we  were  filled  with  changeable  and  erroneous  ideas. 
 Yet  this  recollection  within  us  is  revived  when  we 
 discover  something  great  and  extraordhiary  around 
 us.  The  admiration  of  these  remaining  shadows  of 
 perfection  produces  a  state  of  rapture,  a  species  of 
 inspiration,  from  which  all  knowledge  of  higher  truths 
 is  to  be  derived.  Truth,  therefore,  is  the  result  not 
 so  much  of  a  cool,  deliberate  induction  of  the  reason- 
 ing faculties,  as  the  gift  of  a  kind  of  supernatural 
 inflation.  Plato,  therefore,  assumed  a  higher  source 
 of  knowledge  than  that  which  is  looked  for  by  many 
 in  the  human  reason.  And  this  is  the  distinctive 
 character  of  his  Philosophy.  A  feeling  of  the  great 
 need  of  help  from  above,  is  expressed  in  all  his 
 writings ;  and  that  he  would  have  been  thankfid  to 
 hear  the  announcement,  that  "  God  is  manifested  in 
 the  flesh,"  may  be  understood  after  a  deep  investi- 
 gation of  his  philosophical  works. 
 
 I  2 
 
IIG  RELIGIOUS   PHILOSOPHY  [chap.  i. 
 
 The  leading  idea  of  the  Philosophy  of  Aristotle  can- 
 not be  so  easily  discovered,  on  account  of  a  remarkable 
 want  of  perspicuity,  which  has  been  complained  of  by 
 some  of  his  greatest  admirers.  It  may  be  asked,  how 
 it  came  to  pass  that  this  distinguished  man  answered 
 so  darkly  and  unintelligibly  to  questions  of  so  mo- 
 mentous a  nature  as  the  inquiries  respecting  the  origin 
 of  the  world,  the  character  of  its  maker,  and  the 
 destiny  of  man  its  inhabitant.  He  has  ever  been 
 considered  the  master  of  thought  and  of  language.  He 
 has  ever  been  considered  by  philosophers  as  one  of  the 
 keenest  observers,  and  as  one  of  the  soundest  judges 
 in  every  department  of  knowledge  and  wisdom.  He 
 has  ever  been  considered  as  the  author  of  clear  and  de- 
 finite reflection,  who  reduced  the  principles  of  thought 
 to  a  systematic  form.  The  simple  answer  to  all  this 
 inquiry  is,  that  Aristotle  disowned  the  supernatural 
 source  of  knowledge  which  was  hinted  at  by  Plato, 
 and  the  need  of  which  was  felt  by  that  great  philoso- 
 pher so  deeply.  Aristotle  considered  it  to  be  unphilo- 
 sophical  to  admit  of  any  medium  beyond  reason  and 
 experience.  Thus  the  great  problem  respecting  God 
 and  the  world  remained  unanswered. 
 
 Thus  Plato  and  Aristotle  had  exhausted  the  store- 
 house of  human  speculations  in  religious  matters ;  and 
 though  imperfectly  understood  by  their  cotemporaries, 
 they  have  obtained  an  abiding  influence  upon  the 
 religious  speculations  of  their  successors.  Even  after 
 the  accumulation  of  the  stores  of  knowledge  during  a 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    PAGANISM.  117 
 
 period  of  more  than  two  thousand  years,  when  the 
 ideas  of  Aristotle  respecting  the  solar  system  seem  to 
 us  like  that  of  a  child,  we  may  still  say  that  Philosophy 
 is  either  that  of  Plato,  or  of  Aristotle,  or  a  combination 
 of  both  elements.  Whosoever  admits  of  any  higher 
 source  of  knowledge  than  that  of  human  faculties, 
 approximates  to  the  reasonings  of  Plato.  Whosoever 
 confines  himself  to  mere  speculation  in  search  of  super- 
 natural truth,  treads  in  the  footsteps  of  Aristotle. 
 
 As  Grecian  Philosophy  gained  universal  applause, 
 we  may  consider  it  as  the  flower  of  Pagan  speculation. 
 Oriental  Philosophy  is  equally  barren  ;  there  was  no 
 return  to  the  labour  of  its  husbandmen.  It  had  leaves 
 and  flowers,  but  they  have  never  been  for  the  healing 
 of  the  nations. 
 
 Well,  therefore,  may  we  say  :  "  Amicus  Socrates, 
 amicus  Plato,  amicus  Aristo teles,  sed  magis  amica 
 Veritas."  The  Religious  Philosophy  of  Paganism  knew 
 not  God.  In  Greece,  where  the  didactic  Philosophy 
 saw  its  proudest  days, — at  Athens,  where  it  was  en- 
 throned,— its  last  effort  was  to  rear  an  altar  "  to  the 
 unknown  God."  At  Rome,  the  famous  asylum  of  the 
 fugitive  gods  of  the  Pagan  world,  the  intellectual 
 powers  of  Cicero,  though  rising  far  above  his  own 
 age,  could  add  nothing  to  the  meagre  store  of  reli- 
 gious knowledge  which  existed  in  his  own  days. 
 Justin  Martyr  declared  of  the  philosophers  of  his  own 
 day :  "  Most  of  them  never  think  whether  there  be 
 one  deity,  or  whether  there  be  many  gods,  whether 
 
118  RELIGIOUS    PHILOSOPHY  [chap.  i. 
 
 there  be  a  providence,  or  whether  there  be  none, 
 as  if  such  knowledge  had  nothing  to  do  with  our 
 happiness."  Prom  the  moment  that  Philosophy  had 
 reached  its  meridian  in  the  lofty  intellects  of  Socrates, 
 Plato,  and  Aristotle,  it  began  to  decline.  Reason 
 revenged  herself  for  the  prodigious  efforts  with  which 
 it  was  tasked  to  discern  the  things  beyond  its  horizon, 
 by  abandoning  herself  to  the  charms  of  a  foul  super- 
 stition. 
 
 The  religious  speculation  of  the  Pagan  world  con- 
 fesses the  necessity  of  a  revelation  from  heaven,  and  of 
 the  redemption  of  the  world;  but  it  could  neither 
 effect  the  one,  nor  realize  the  other.  Those  Philoso- 
 phers in  whose  minds  an  ideal  redemption  seemed  to 
 be  afloat,  either  overlooked  the  extent  of  the  evil,  or 
 considered  it  necessary  by  way  of  transition.  They 
 could  not  invent  the  truth  which  should  make  the 
 world  free.  Their  ideal  remedy  could  not  radically 
 cm-e  a  real  disease.  Human  reason  in  Pagan  Philo- 
 sophy could  indeed  seek  and  feel  after  a  Saviour,  who 
 is  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life;  but  it  could 
 neither  prophesy  his  coming,  nor  yet  believe  in  him 
 before  his  appearance.  Christ  was  as  much  "  the 
 desire  of  all  honest  philosophers,"  as  he  was  "  the 
 desire  of  all  nations."  AVhen  the  zealous  Porphyry 
 had  collected  a  number  of  ancient  oracles,  he  declared, 
 respecting  his  own  motives,  "  What  shall  be  the  use 
 of  such  a  collection  will  be  best  understood  by  those 
 who  at  last,  amidst  the  painful  desire  after  truth,  wish 
 
CHAP.  I.]  OF    PAGANISM.  119 
 
 for  the  aj)pearance  of  the  deity,  in  order  to  obtain 
 through  authentic  instructiofi  rest  from  tormenting 
 doubts!'  Pagan  Philosophy  has,  therefore,  left  the 
 natural  man  "without  God  in  this  world,"  and  "  with- 
 out hope"  as  to  the  Avorld  to  come  ! 
 
 We  mentioned  on  a  former  occasion,  that  we  must 
 needs  confine  our  inquuies  to  the  speculations  of  Pa- 
 ganism, if  we  hope  to  obtain  a  right  view  of  what 
 may  properly  be  considered  the  articles  of  natural 
 Religion.  As,  however,  modern  philosophers  avowedly 
 abstain  from  drawing  the  materials  of  their  specula- 
 tions from  revelation,  we  may  as  well  touch  upon  the 
 results  of  their  investigations.  The  Philosophy  of  Plato 
 and  Aristotle  had  too  clearly  marked  the  two  paths 
 of  speculation,  not  to  remain  the  models  for  future 
 ages.  There  was,  therefore,  a  repetition  of  that  rest- 
 less driving  and  shifting  about  of  unintelligible  forms 
 and  hollow  ideas ;  a  strife  of  words  which  engenders  a 
 sectarian  spirit ;  another  sowing  of  Philosophy  to  the 
 wind,  and  another  reaping  of  the  whirlwind,  in  the 
 Christian  era. 
 
 In  the  fifth  century.  Paganism  was  subdued  by 
 Christianity,  and  Christianity,  again,  was  ere  long 
 infected  with  the  elements  of  Paganism.  The  rites 
 of  the  Pantheon  had  taken  refuge  in  the  Christian 
 Church,  and  the  philosophical  subtleties  of  the  schools 
 stole  an  entrance  into  her  "  sound  form  of  doctrines." 
 The  ill-starred  alliance  between  the  old  Philosophy 
 and  the  new  faith,  was  brought  about  amongst  the 
 
120  RELIGIOUS    PHILOSOPHY  [chap.  i. 
 
 voluble  Greeks;  and  when  learning  revived  in  the 
 West,  similar  trifles  occupied  the  minds  of  the  school- 
 men ;  and  the  fomenting  and  fermenting  of  rehgious 
 errors  were  by  them  repeated  in  the  middle  ages. 
 
 The  revival  of  ancient  literature  had  opened  the 
 fountains  of  Grecian  errors  ;  and  the  dross  of  scholas- 
 tic elements  was  more  and  more  purged  away.  But 
 the  revival  of  Philosophy  in  its  Grecian  purity,  gave 
 occasion  to  the  revival  of  old,  and  the  production  of 
 new,  errors.  It,  indeed,  seemed  that  the  deeper  single 
 individuals  would  drink  of  the  Grecian  fountains,  the 
 more  frequently  they  fell  into  notions  which  were 
 destructive  at  once  to  genuine  Religion  and  morality. 
 Several  followers  of  Aristotle  mentally  adored  an 
 "  Anima  Mvmdi,"  and  denied  the  immortality  of  the 
 soul.  This  was  especially  the"  case  in  Italy,  about  the 
 time  of  the  Reformation. 
 
 The  ancient  Philosophy  never  professed  to  be  useful 
 in  matters  of  this  life.  It  could  not  condescend  to 
 minister  temporal  blessings  to  mankind ;  as,  indeed,  it 
 had  nothing  to  do  with  the  material  world.  A  spirit 
 of  pride  and  unprofitableness  animates  the  whole  body 
 of  Philosophy  from  the  time  of  Socrates  down  to  the 
 middle  ages  of  the  Christian  era.  The  tree  of  Philo- 
 sophy,  as  planted  by  antiquity,  and  watered  by  modern 
 sages,  produced  many  blossoms,  but  no  fruit.  Some 
 good  indeed  must  have  been  eff'ected,  as  no  contro- 
 versy can  be  so  idle  as  not  to  be  useful  in  some 
 measure.     But   the  energy   of   such  brilliant   talents 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN   THE   CHRISTIAN    ERA.  121 
 
 must  have  been  sadly  misdirected ;  for  how  could  they 
 have  failed  to  add  to  the  stock  of  useful  knowledge  ? 
 There  was  no  heritage  of  religious  truth  acquired  by 
 the  labour  of  one  generation,  and  bequeathed  to  the 
 other ;  nor  was  there  an  accumulating  of  practical 
 knowledge  for  the  common  things  of  daily  life.  Where 
 Philosophy  was  in  the  days  of  Cicero,  there  it  was 
 still  in  the  middle  ages.  The  same  sects  were  still 
 battling  with  the  same  arguments,  about  the  same 
 questions  which  gender  strife.  Words,  and  words 
 only,  had  been  the  fruit  of  the  common  toil  of  about 
 sixty  generations ;  and  we  cannot  wonder  that  proud 
 antiquity,  with  its  high-sounding  authorities,  could  at 
 last  keep  mankind  no  longer  in  superstitious  bondage. 
 The  sixteenth  century  was  the  time  of  fermentation, 
 and  it  was  only  towards  the  end,  that  human  intellect, 
 upon  the  impulse  of  a  religious  character,  began  to 
 recover  its  senses,  and  to  open  new  paths  of  thought. 
 Lord  Bacon  gathered  in  his  own  person  the  scattered, 
 elements  of  his  own  age,  and,  in  leading  Philosophy 
 back  to  nature,  and  from  nature  to  nature's  God,  he 
 became  the  parent  of  Experimental  Philosophy.  Phi- 
 losophy now  brought  forth  much  fruit ;  but  the  tem- 
 poral blessings  which  it  conferred  upon  the  world, 
 were  owing  to  the  revival  which  Philosophy  experi- 
 enced from  the  Spirit  of  true  Religion  !  The  sole 
 praise,  therefore,  is  due  to  Christianity,  and  not  to  the 
 powers  of  human  reason.  The  merits  of  the  Baconian 
 Philosophy  were  great  and  lasting,  only  because  the 
 
122  RELIGIOUS    PHILOSOPHY  [chap.  i. 
 
 light  of  true  and  revealed  Religion  shone  upon  it. 
 Because  there  was  no  sowing  to  the  wind,  but  into 
 good  land,  we  have  fruit,  some  fifty,  some  an  hundred- 
 fold. 
 
 Upon  descending  to  the  days  of  Spinoza,  we  are 
 struck  with  the  contrast  between  a  Philosophy,  which 
 has  been  rendered  fruitful  by  the  genial  rays  of  revela- 
 tion, and  a  Philosophy  which  is  the  indigenous  plant  of 
 nature's  own  soil,  and  is  watered  by  reason's  own  toil. 
 We  have  nothing  new,  but  a  repetition  of  the  errors 
 of  Hindoo  Philosophy !  Spinoza,  who  was  neither 
 a  Jew  nor  a  Christian  by  profession,  is  considered  a 
 most  powerful  character.  But  his  Philosophy  is  no- 
 thing but  a  confounding  of  the  Creator  with  the  crea- 
 ture, which  is  a  genuine  feature  of  Paganism ;  for 
 Paganism  deifies  nature,  and  dethrones  nature's  God. 
 This  monstrous  offspring  of  human  reason  annihilates 
 the  very  soul  of  true  Religion,  destroys  the  personality 
 of  the  blessed  Godhead,  and  actually  denies  existence 
 to  individuals  !  It  deprives  man  not  only  of  his  moral 
 liberty,  but  it  actually  does  away  with  the  difference  of 
 good  and  evil,  in  ascribing  simple  appearances  to 
 moral  depravity  and  all  manner  of  ungodliness.  There 
 could  never  exist  a  spark  of  religious  feeling,  for  the 
 system  is  without  a  personal  deity.  The  fact,  that 
 the  author  of  this  wild  system  is  said  to  have  been  a 
 morally  good  and  harmless  man,  can  in  no  wise  give 
 security  against  the  pernicious  tendency  of  his  philoso- 
 phical creed  ;  but  it  shows  simply  that  the  practice 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    THE    CHRISTIAN    ERA.  123 
 
 of  many  a  philosopher  is  much  superior  to  his  theory ; 
 and  that  a  feeUng  of  the  insufficieucy  of  the  latter, 
 rectifies,  in  some  measure,  the  absurdities  of  his  dark- 
 ened mind,  without  his  being  aware  of  the  fact.  How 
 different,  therefore,  the  result  of  Bacon's  Christian 
 Philosophy,  and  the  effects  of  the  Pantheistical  reveries 
 of  a  bewildered  brain  ! 
 
 The  great  philosopher,  Locke,  in  his  celebrated 
 Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding,  considers  man  to 
 be  a  mere  tabula  rasa,  with  no  innate  ideas.  Human 
 reason  could  not  obtain  any  knowledge  without  its 
 being  derived  through  our  senses.  Man  is  reduced  to 
 a  dead  marble  plate,  to  which  he  would  not  even 
 permit  some  of  the  ornamental  veins,  which  are  visible 
 upon  it.  To  the  fundamental  principle  of  his  Philo- 
 sophy, according  to  which,  "  Nihil  est  in  intellectu, 
 quod  non  prius  fuerit  in  sensu,"  we  might  with 
 much  propriety  oppose  the  other,  "  Nempe  nihil  est 
 in  intellectu,  quod  non  fuerit  in  sensu  nisi  ipse  in- 
 tellectus."  Whilst,  however,  that  wdll  ever  remain 
 true  which  a  Continental  philosopher  has  declared  of 
 Locke  and  his  philosophical  systems,  when  he  said  : 
 "  Inclinavit  ad  Socinianos  quorum  paupertina  semper 
 fuit  de  Deo  et  mente  philosophia ;"  we  do  yet  ap- 
 preciate the  testimony  of  that  otherwise  great  man, 
 which  is  calculated  to  humble  the  supremacy  of 
 reason. 
 
 If  we  descend  farther  with  the   rapid  stream   of 
 time,  we  find  that  Philosophy,  in  the  age  of  Leibnitz, 
 
124  RELIGIOUS    PHILOSOPHY  [chap.  I. 
 
 was  opposed  to  all  its  previous  forms  and  systems. 
 But  tins  new  form  of  Philosophy  reposed,  nevertheless, 
 in  a  measure,  upon  the  Epicm'ean  and  the  more 
 modern  atheistical  systems.  There  was  nothing  done 
 by  this  Philosophy  to  benefit  the  w^orld,  much  less  was 
 there  any  discovery  of  divine  truth.  And  how  poor 
 must  have  been  our  race  towards  the  end  of  the 
 seventeenth  centmy,  wdien  its  most  distinguished 
 heroes  of  thought  had  not  yet  gained  sufficient  courage 
 to  settle  the  momentous  question,  as  to  the  existence 
 of  a  world  of  spirits,  in  the  affirmative !  With  these 
 remarks  we  would  not,  however,  depreciate  the  great 
 and  important  services  which  this  other  great  philo- 
 sopher has  rendered  to  the  world  in  other  paths  of 
 literature. 
 
 The  prodigious  efforts  of  Philosophy  in  the  age  of 
 Kant  are  being  tossed  to  and  fro  between  the  two 
 chief  sources  of  Philosophy,  viz.  the  universe  around 
 man,  and  the  "  light  that  is  within"  him.  Being 
 wearied  to  death,  the  hero  of  this  new  Philosophy 
 yields,  with  Locke,  to  experience.  The  greatest  merit 
 of  this  system  will  ever  be  in  favour  of  our  theme. 
 Kant  has  demonstrated  by  his  arguments,  and  shown 
 by  his  own  example,  that  human  reason  is  in  its  ele- 
 ment only  when  placed  under  the  influence  of  observa- 
 tion and  experience.  Instead,  however,  of  admitting 
 that  the  knowledge  of  divine  things  can  only  be 
 gained  by  internal  experience  of  something  divinely 
 given ;  instead  of  assigning  to  human  reason,  in  reli- 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    THE    CHRISTIAN    ERA.  125 
 
 gious  matters,  a  secondary  position, — he  again  places 
 reason  upon  the  throne,  under  the  mask  of  a  certain 
 artificial  belief;  and,  as  a  bird  taken  in  his  own  net, 
 he  yet  hopes  to  escape  from  the  confusion  which  he 
 had  created.  Yet  we  cannot  but  admire  the  candour 
 with  which  he  writes  to  a  brother  philosopher,  when 
 he  says  :  "  It  is  very  clear  that  reason  would  not 
 have  discerned  the  principles  of  morality  to  such  per- 
 fection if  the  Gospel  had  not  taught  them  beforehand 
 in  all  their  purity  ;  although,  after  they  have  once  been 
 thus  called  into  existence,  it  can  be  no  longer  diificult 
 to  convince  every  one  of  their  justness  and  validity 
 from  mere  reason." 
 
 And  was  it  not  Descartes  who  declared,  that  the 
 Holy  Scriptures  were  indeed  able  to  teach  better  and 
 higher  things  than  he  could  propound  in  his  system, 
 inasmuch  as  he  derived  all  his  knowledge  from  the 
 mere  "  lumen  natiirale  ?  " 
 
 Being  wearied  by  the  toil  of  creating  a  new  system 
 of  Philosophy,  Fichte  declared,  in  one  of  his  last 
 works  :  "  We  have,  after  all,  started  from  Christianity 
 with  our  philosophical  researches ;  and  upon  its 
 foundation  we  can  alone  find  repose.  Christianity 
 has  had  its  influence  upon  our  whole  education  ;  and 
 we  should  be  nothing  of  all  that  we  are  now,  if  this 
 mighty  principle  had  not  preceded  us." 
 
 Jakobi,  a  most  able  opponent  of  Fichte,  writes  of 
 his  own  personal  experience  in  the  following  terms  : 
 "  I  do  indeed,  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  agree 
 
126  RELIGIOUS   PHILOSOPHY  [chap.  r. 
 
 with  the  complaints  as  to  the  unsatisfactory  character 
 of  all  our  Philosophy;  yet  I  can  see  no  remedy." 
 Again :  "  I  should  be  happy  to  exchange  my  sickly 
 philosophical  Christianity  for  one  of  a  historical  and 
 positive  character.  Altogether  a  Heathen  in  intellect, 
 and  a  Christian  in  mind,  I  am  afloat  between  two 
 waters,  which  will  not  flow  together;  so  that  both 
 deceive  me.  No  sooner  I  fancy  to  be  raised  by  the 
 one,  than  I  am  drowned  by  the  other." 
 
 We  shall  not  trouble  our  readers  with  the  mighty 
 efforts  which  have  been  made  in  more  modern  days  to 
 avoid  the  necessity  of  being  taught  of  God.  There 
 being  no  foundation  in  all  these  systems  of  spurious 
 Philosophy,  one  gives  way  to  the  other.  Plato,  Aris- 
 totle, and  a  whole  legion  of  Pagan  and  Christian 
 philosophers,  have  all  had  their  day  of  triumph ;  but 
 a  short  period  saw  them  spring  up,  and  flourish,  and 
 wither  like  the  flower  of  the  grass.  For  all  flesh  is 
 grass !  How  well  might  the  Church  of  Christ  erect 
 one  common  monument  to  these  bastard  Philosophies, 
 "with  the  inscription  :  "  Let  them  be  as  grass  upon 
 the  house-tops,  which  withereth  afore  it  groweth  up : 
 wherewith  the  mower  filleth  not  his  hand ;  nor  he 
 that  bindeth  sheaves  his  bosom."  (Psalm  cxxix.)  "  Cer- 
 tissimum  est  atque  experientia  comprobatura,  leves 
 gustus  in  Philosophia  movere  fortasse  ad  Atheismum, 
 sed  pleniores  haustus  ad  Religionem  reducere.  Philo- 
 sophia obiter  libita  a  Deo  abducit,  pleniter  hausta  ad 
 Deum  rcducit." 
 
CHAP.  I.]  IN    THE  CHRISTIAN    ERA.  127 
 
 The  Philosophy  of  reason  and  the  wisdom  of  this 
 world  have  amply  demonstrated  their  fallacy  and  un- 
 profitableness. They  have  ever  proved  broken  cisterns, 
 which  yield  no  water.  The  Herculean  efibrts  of  the 
 most  eminent  sages  that  ever  breathed  upon  earth 
 have  always  proved  utterly  futile  and  delusive. 
 
 "  An  endless  round  the  wearied  soul  must  tread, 
 Certain  of  nought,  but  calling  blest  the  dead  : 
 Terrors  are  hanging  o'er  its  fainting  head. 
 And  hope  no  sooner  born  than  withered  !" 
 
 Human  reason  would  wind  its  way  for  ever  in 
 endless  circles  and  perplexing  mazes,  without  ad- 
 vancing one  step  towards  the  only  legitimate  end  of 
 all  its  labom's.  As  God  once  allowed  the  wise  phi- 
 losophers, metaphysicians,  theorists,  and  hierophants 
 some  thousand  years  in  which  to  exhaust  their  in- 
 genuity and  their  fragments  of  tradition,  before  he 
 offered  them  revealed  and  heavenly  truth ;  so  he  still 
 permits  every  renewed  effort  to  spare  the  pride  of 
 weak  and  finite  reason,  to  languish  and  to  die  its  own 
 natural  death,  with  a  view  to  confound  the  wisdom  of 
 this  world,  and  thus  to  make  them  desirous  after  him 
 by  whom  came  grace  and  truth,  and  life  and  immor- 
 tality. In  Christ  were  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom 
 and  knowledge  from  the  foundation  of  the  w^orld. 
 As  these  treasures,  however,  are  hid  in  his  blessed 
 person,  no  man  knoweth  the  Son,  except  it  be 
 revealed  of  the  Father.  Philosophia  quajrit,  Religio 
 possidet  veritatem. 
 
128  PHILOSOPHY   AND    REVELATION.        [chap.  i. 
 
 8.  Human  nature  from  tlie  beo^innin";  Las  never 
 been  self-taught ;  nor  liave  the  faculties  of  man  been 
 able  to  discover  divine  truth  in  the  state  of  his  primal 
 integrity.  Hence,  upon  the  fall  of  man,  the  revela- 
 tion became  doubly  imperative.  Divine  things  are 
 naturally  above  the  human  understanding.  And  if 
 human  reason  could  not  have  produced  truth  before 
 the  catastrophe  of  the  fall,  much  less  could  we  expect 
 such  to  be  the  case,  when,  by  the  transgression  of  man, 
 all  his  faculties  became  deranged.  As  om-  bodily  eye, 
 which  is  called  the  light  of  the  body,  is  in  itself  a 
 dark  and  not  a  luminous  body,  and  cannot  see  without 
 the  reflection  of  light ;  so  reason,  as  the  light  within 
 us,  is  dark  in  itself  without  the  light  of  special 
 revelation.  Our  reason  resembles  the  blind  Theban 
 soothsayer,  to  whom  his  daughter  Manto  described 
 the  flight  of  birds ;  and  he  prophesied  according  to 
 her  description  !  As  the  eye  cannot  see  without  light, 
 so  man,  in  his  natural  condition,  is  unable  to  discover 
 the  things  of  the  Spirit,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto 
 him ;  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  to 
 be  spiritually  discovered.  We  are,  indeed,  inclined  to 
 deceive  ourselves  in  these  matters,  bv  mistaking  con- 
 ception  for  reality,  and  a  theoretical  knowledge  for 
 actual  experience.  We  mistake  tilings  which  ought 
 to  be,  for  things  which  really  exist. 
 
 Natural  reason,  with  regard  to  revelation,  is  pre- 
 cisely what  the  eye  is  with  regard  to  the  natural  light. 
 Let  us,  therefore,  beware  of  founding  a  kingdom  of 
 
CHAP.  I.]         PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.  129 
 
 reason,  and  propliesying  its  eternal  duration.  There  is 
 a  wisdom  which  commences  where  human  reason 
 despairs.  There  is  a  spirit  of  knovA'ledge  which  gives 
 Hght  where  human  reason  is  stricken  with  bhndness. 
 There  is  also  a  peace  which  passeth  all  understanding. 
 The  highest  boast  of  sound  reason  will  ever  be,  to 
 acknowledge  that  there  are  a  thousand  things  beyond 
 its  horizon ;  and  it  is  imbecility  not  to  admit  this 
 conviction.  There  is  nothing  more  reasonable  than  to 
 deny  the  powers  of  reason,  where  the  nature  of  things 
 demands  implicit  faith ;  and  there  is  nothing  more 
 unreasonable  than  to  deny  the  faculties  of  reason, 
 when  the  nature  of  the  subject  demands  nothing  of 
 faith.  One  party  will  deny  reason ;  another  party 
 acknowledges  nothing  but  reason.  Whosoever  receives 
 the  history  of  the  Prophets  and  Apostles,  believes  them 
 to  have  been  men  who  received  immediate  revelations 
 of  divine  things.  They  must,  therefore,  have  been 
 endowed  with  faculties  differing  from  those  which  are 
 common  to  the  generality  of  men.  But  as  they  were 
 men,  in  every  sense  of  the  term,  there  must  yet  be 
 a  faculty  in  hinnan  nature  to  receive  immediate  im- 
 pressions of  things  revealed  from  God. 
 
 Thus  the  problem  is  solved  why  and  how  far  human 
 reason  may  eminently  distinguish  itself  in  fine  arts, 
 in  sciences  where  the  requisite  materials  are  furnished 
 to  his  mind,  whilst  the  same  individual  in  matters  of 
 Religion  is  utterly  vague,  blind,  and  imbecile,  without 
 special  communication  of  light  from  above.    In  shutting 
 
 VOL.  II.  K 
 
130  PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.        [chap,  i. 
 
 the  eye  against  the  light  of  revelation,  man  can  obtain 
 no  more  knowledge  of  spiritual  objects  than  he  could 
 acquire  proficiency  in  natural  Philosophy  without  being 
 placed  under  the  tangible  influence  of  the  visible 
 creation.  And  it  may  be  observed,  that  all  Pagan 
 systems  of  belief  go  upon  the  supposition  that  a  reve- 
 lation of  the  deity  had  taken  place  at  the  commence- 
 ment respecting  religious  truth. 
 
 To  exclude  and  to  depreciate  reason  in  matters  of 
 Keligion,  and  to  speak  lightly  of  its  use,  is  to  take 
 aw^ay  the  eye  through  which  as  the  only  medium  the 
 divine  light  can  reach  the  human  soul.  Although  the 
 eye  be  only  a  small  and  dark  body  of  inert  matter, 
 yet  if  we  remove  or  injure  it,  the  whole  body  will  be 
 dark,  were  it  even  surrounded  wdth  the  most  brilliant 
 light.  Every  skin,  every  nerve,  and  every  one  of  its 
 minutest  component  parts,  is  of  the  utmost  service, 
 and  nothing  can  be  injured  without  causing  pain  or 
 offence.  It  is  wTitten  in  indelible  characters  in  the 
 history  of  genuine  and  spurious  Religion,  that  revela- 
 tion without  reason  is  an  unknown  treasure,  and  will 
 lead  to  fanaticism.  On  the  other  hand,  whosoever  ex- 
 cludes divine  revelation  from  human  reason,  deprives 
 the  bodily  eye  of  the  natural  light,  and  separates  what 
 God  hath  joined  together. 
 
 Sound  reason  demands  of  man  that  he  receive  the 
 testimony  of  God.  Human  faculties  can  do  nothing 
 without  divine  revelation.  There  can  be  no  harvest 
 without  seed,  no  house  w^ithout  foundation,  no  diges- 
 
CHAP.  I.]         PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.  131 
 
 tion  without  food,  no  reflection  without  aught  to  think 
 upon.  To  bestow  the  gift  of  divine  revelation  upon 
 any  other  than  intellectual  and  reasonable  beings, 
 would  be  to  throw  pearls  before  swine  ;  it  would  be 
 furnishing  materials  where  there  is  no  power  to  re- 
 ceive, digest,  or  arrange  them.  Both  revelation  and 
 reason  are  good  and  perfect  gifts,  coming  down  from 
 the  Father  of  lights.  Human  reason,  however,  can 
 only  shine  in  the  borrowed  splendour  of  that  bright 
 luminary  of  the  world  of  spirits,  the  natural  type  of 
 which  the  fable  allows  to  terminate  the  contention  of 
 the  stars  of  heaven,  as  to  pre-eminence  and  rank  : 
 ■'  Sidera  contendebant  de  principatu,  sol  oritur  cessat 
 omnis  contentio  ! " 
 
 It  has  been  observed  on  a  former  occasion,  that 
 divine  revelation  was  given  to  educate  man  for  most 
 important  purposes.  Now,  according  to  sound  prin- 
 ciples of  education,  the  master  brings  a  variety  of 
 subjects  before  the  mind  of  his  pupil ;  he  mixes  diffi- 
 cult and  abstruse  subjects  moderately  with  those  that 
 are  more  simple,  in  order  to  foster  in  the  youthful 
 mind  a  desire  for  personal  study  and  reflection.  When- 
 ever God  gives  to  man  a  new  revelation,  it  is  always 
 brought  into  connexion  with  something  preceding. 
 It  either  renders  complete  what  has  been  already 
 revealed ;  or  it  rectifies  what  has  been  misapprehended 
 on  the  part  of  man ;  or  it  contains  the  germs  of  some 
 future  revelation.  Whatever  is  new  will  be  more 
 unintelligible    and  mysterious    than    what   has  been 
 
 K  2 
 
132  PHILOSOPHY   AND   REVELATION.         [chap.  i. 
 
 already  brought  forward.  Man  feels  overpowered, 
 and  gives  his  reason  into  captivity  ;  and  it  is  revelation 
 only  which  can  solve  the  mysteries  of  godliness.  As, 
 however,  the  divine  education  is  calculated  not  only 
 for  our  earthly  existence,  but  for  the  future  ages  of 
 eternity,  the  final  solution  of  problems  is  naturally 
 put  to  a  far  greater  distance. 
 
 Whatever  is  mysterious  will  not,  however,  neces- 
 sarily remain  laysterious  for  all  ages.  Although  man 
 does  not  comprehend  it  from  the  beginning,  he  may 
 yet  enter  into  its  depths  at  some  future  period.  As 
 divine  revelation  is  not  the  result  of  any  philosophical 
 speculation,  in  matters  of  religion,  it  may  truly  be 
 said  to  pass  all  understanding.  But  we  are  to  know 
 more  and  more ;  we  are  to  grow  in  knowledge  until 
 we  know  even  as  we  are  known. 
 
 It  will,  however,  be  sufficiently  plain,  from  what  has 
 been  said,  that  every  new  revelation,  as  part  of  the 
 divine  education,  will  always  retain  something  of  this 
 mysterious  character.  Every  fresh  manifestation  of 
 divine  truth  emanates  from  the  Most  Holy  of  the 
 temple  of  truth,  which  is  never  fully  disclosed.  If 
 it  were  otherwise,  revelation  would  cease  to  be  a 
 divine  education.  To  educate  a  person  for  what  he 
 already  is,  or  to  teach  him  what  he  already  knows, 
 would  be  unreasonable,  and  is  a  thing  without  sense. 
 If  there  be,  and  if  there  must  needs  be,  a  revelation, 
 it  will  be  rather  an  evidence  of  truth,  and  a  criterion 
 of  its  divine  origin,  than  an  argument  against  it,  when 
 
CHAP.  I.]         PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.  183 
 
 it  can  be  shown  to  contain  things  which  pass  human 
 understanding.  And  whosoever  objects  to  these  mys- 
 teries of  revealed  Rehgion,  might  as  well  be  without 
 it  altogether ;  for  divine  revelation  will  necessarily 
 retain  this  mysterious  character. 
 
 The  medium  by  which  revelation  reaches  the  heart 
 of  man,  is  his  faith,  and  not  his  intellect.  By  con- 
 fidence, or  a  certain  kind  of  faith,  commences  tlie 
 acquisition  of  all  knowledge  in  the  most  common 
 things  of  life.  The  whole  effect  of  general  instruction 
 is  entirely  dependent  upon  the  confidence  of  the  pupil 
 in  his  master.  And  should  it  surprise,  when  we  find 
 that  in  divine  revelation  a  confidence  of  a  far  more 
 exalted  character  should  be  necessary  on  account  of 
 the  mysteries  which  it  proclaims  ?  There  is  a  period 
 in  common  life  when  the  faculties  of  man  are  yet 
 dawning,  and  there  is  also  in  Christian  experience  a 
 time  when  faith  and  the  elements  of  Christian  know- 
 ledge are  existing  only  in  the  germ. 
 
 Man  believes  what  passes  understanding,  because  it 
 is  revealed  by  God,  and  a  higher  authority  for  its 
 truth  cannot  reasonably  be  expected.  And  as  divine 
 revelation  has  always  accredited  itself  to  human  reason, 
 it  demands  faith  again  from  the  latter  in  return.  God 
 revealed  a  mystery  to  the  first  man,  and  demanded 
 faith ;  but  as  he  sought  to  solve  it,  now  by  doubts  and 
 then  by  unbelief,  this  was  his  sin  and  his  destruction. 
 God  revealed  a  mystery  to  Abraham,  but  Abraham 
 believed  God,  and  this  was  reckoned  unto  him  for 
 righteousness. 
 
134  PHILOSOPHY   AND   REVELATION.        [chap.  i. 
 
 When  man  has  by  faith  received  divine  revelation, 
 and  he  discovers  in  it  things  of  a  mysterious  cha- 
 racter, he  must  either  abandon  his  faith,  and  receive 
 it  as  revelation  no  longer,  or  he  must  "  cast  down 
 reason  and  everything  that  exalteth  itself  against  the 
 knowledge  of  God,  and  bring  into  captivity  every 
 thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ."  If  he  reject 
 revelation  in  unbehef  on  account  of  its  mysteries,  he 
 sinneth  against  his  own  reason,  and  elevates  himself 
 above  God.  If  he  submit  to  the  obedience  of  faith, 
 he  would  do  nothing  but  acknowledge  the  finite  and 
 limited  nature  of  his  reasoning  faculties ;  and  in  so 
 doing,  he  would  only  accomplish  what  is  due  to  God, 
 and  what  he  owes  to  himself  as  a  dependent  creature. 
 
 As  nothing  is  more  injurious  in  the  common  walks 
 of  literature  and  education,  than  the  erroneous  im- 
 pression which  causes  an  individual  to  imagine  he 
 knows  what  in  reality  he  kno"ws  not,  the  mysterious 
 character  of  divine  revelation  is  always  calculated  to 
 preserve  a  humble  and  docile  frame  of  mind.  Although 
 the  bringing  into  captivity  of  every  thought,  is  founded 
 upon  the  very  nature  of  divine  revelation,  human 
 reason  is  not  subjected  by  an  arbitrary  or  compulsory 
 process,  but  it  voluntarily  embraces  such  "  captivity ^^ 
 as  the  only  method  which  can  lead  to  the  true  liberty. 
 It  gladly  acknowledges  its  finite  character  and  gives 
 glory  to  divine  revelation. 
 
 There  is  nothing  more  favourable  to  the  growth  of 
 knowledge  and  wisdom  in  divine  things,  than  the 
 exercise  of  our  reasoning  faculties  in   the  service  of 
 
CHAP.  I.]        PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.  135 
 
 true  and  living  faith.  As  tlie  faculties  of  man  expand 
 under  the  influence  of  revelation,  the  mysterious  cha- 
 racter of  revelation  decreases.  He  first  believes, 
 and  this  is  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness.  In 
 holding  fast  the  divine  character  by  faith,  man  pre- 
 serves himself  against  an  inveterate  enemy,  which  so 
 frequently  suppresses  Christian  knowledge  in  its  very 
 first  beginnings.  And  as  divine  revelation  is  far  from 
 being  simply  of  a  theoretical  character,  as  it  enters 
 practically  into  the  whole  nature  of  man,  not  merely 
 nor  yet  chiefly  into  his  reasoning  faculties,  there 
 is  yet  another  medium  by  which  to  obtain  Christian 
 knowledge.  The  eccperience  of  the  gracious  effects  of 
 revelation  constitutes  a  rich  and  never-failing  source 
 of  all  manner  of  knowledge  in  spiritual  things.  And 
 thus  by  degrees  one  doctrine  throws  light  upon  another 
 doctrine ;  the  mystery  becomes  less  mysterious ;  re- 
 velation is  viewed  as  a  whole,  and  even  the  un- 
 educated and  unscientific  individual  often  gains  a 
 profound  insight  into  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of 
 heaven.  He  that  putteth  his  trust  in  divine  revelation 
 by  faith,  shall  never  be  confounded. 
 
 A  living  faith  seems  thus  to  be  the  parent  of  all 
 sound  and  real  knowledge  in  divine  things.  There 
 must  be  of  course  something  given  by  God,  which  is 
 to  be  received  and  understood  by  man.  No  man  can 
 take  anything  of  himself,  except  it  be  given  him  from 
 heaven.  Unbelief  is  blind,  and  cannot  receive  the 
 things  of  God.     But  faith  is  never  superseded  by  the 
 
136  PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.        [chap,  i- 
 
 reasoning  faculties  of  man  ;  not  even  vrith  those  who 
 obtain  a  more  distinct  and  systematic  knowledge  of 
 divine  revelation.  Faith  never  will  cease  till  it  be 
 changed  into  sight ;  VYhich  will  induce  a  new  order  of 
 things.  Faith  cannot  be  superseded  by  Christian  know- 
 ledge. Both  have  indeed  the  same  object,  but  yet  they 
 are  based  upon  different  foundations  in  one  respect. 
 
 The /««'//<  of  the  Christian  believer  is  founded  upon 
 the  historical  facts  of  divine  revelation,  which  are 
 brought  before  us  in  the  form  of  a  divine  testimony 
 The  knowledge  of  divine  things  is  based  upon  the  ex- 
 perimental acquaintance  with  revelation,  which  is 
 cultivated  subsequently  to  that  period  in  which  man 
 believed  without  seeing.  Now,  as  the  facts  of  revela- 
 tion remain  always  the  same,  and  are  always  true,  the 
 faith  which  is  built  upon  it  will  likewise  continue  to  be 
 exercised  in  it.  Thus  faith  will  abide,  whilst  knowledge 
 is  increasing  under  its  genial  influence.  It  would  be 
 unnatural  to  suppose  that  the  reception  of  an  his- 
 torical fact  was  discontinued,  when  being  understood 
 as  to  its  cause,  its  origin,  its  import,  and  its  effects. 
 Faith  will  abide  until  it  be  changed  into  sight.  Know- 
 ledge of  di\dne  things  will  be  increased,  and  mysteries 
 will  be  solved,  until  we  shall  no  more  know  in  part, 
 nor  prophesy  in  part ;  until  that  which  is  in  part  shall 
 be  done  away,  and  we  behold  with  an  open  face,  and 
 be  changed  from  glory  to  glory. 
 
 9.  When   man    first    was   created,    he   was    "  very 
 good,"   and  appeared  at  once  as  the  end  of  the  ways 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PHILOSOPHY    AND     REVELATION.  137 
 
 and  works  of  God.  The  glorious  character  of  the 
 Almighty  was  reflected  in  him,  as  it  was  reflected  in 
 no  other  sphere  of  creation.  Christ  was  in  all  ages 
 the  bearer  of  divine  revelation  to  man,  as  the  image  of 
 the  invisible  God  ;  and  man  was  "  the  glory  and  image 
 of  God,"  (1  Cor.  xi.)  as  far  as  he  lived  in  Christ 
 and  Christ  in  him.  This  image  was  to  be  unfolded 
 in  his  whole  nature ;  hence  Christ  was  called  the  first- 
 born of  many  brethren.  Whilst  he  appears  in  this  cha- 
 racter as  the  "  Lord  who  is  the  Spirit,"  man  on  the 
 other  hand  was  to  be  led  by  the  Spirit  from  glory  to 
 glory.  God  having  given  eternal  life  to  mankind  in 
 Christ  Jesus,  and  having  adopted  them  as  sons  before 
 the  foundation  of  the  world,  it  was  part  of  the  human 
 destiny  to  receive,  preserve,  and  unfold  the  image  of 
 God  in  his  whole  nature.  Whatever  portion,  there- 
 fore, of  mankind  subsequently  refused  to  receive  life 
 and  knowledge  through  Christ,  was  cut  off  from  eternal 
 life,  and  doomed  to  everlasting  perdition.  Every  soul, 
 therefore,  that  feigns  to  possess  power,  energy,  and 
 faculties  to  produce  life  and  to  know  the  truth  from 
 its  own  resources,  falls  a  prey  to  spiritual  decay  and 
 death  eternal. 
 
 Man  was  to  multiply  himself  not  in  his  own  image, 
 but  in  the  likeness  of  his  maker  ;  and  unfolding,  as  a 
 good  steward  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God,  the  divine 
 likeness  in  the  liberty  of  a  son  of  God,  he  was  to  be- 
 come a  fellow-helper  in  the  solution  of  the  exceeding 
 great  problem  of  creation,  by  which  a  great  and  holy 
 
138  PHILOSOPHY   AND   REVELATION.         [chap.  i. 
 
 family  should  be  organized  in  Christ  Jesus.  Whilst 
 God  revealed  to  man  for  this  pm"pose  grace  and  truth, 
 the  hymn  which  filled  the  human  breast,  and  re- 
 sounded from  every  province  of  creation,  was  :  "Glory 
 to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace,  and  good-will 
 towards  man  !  "  Upon  the  melancholy  fall  of  man, 
 the  original  faculty  to  discern  and  receive  divine  com- 
 munications was  reduced  to  a  mere  possibility  of  its 
 being  restored.  According  to  Tertullian,  the  divine 
 image  could  be  darkened,  as  it  was  not  God  himself ; 
 but  it  could  not  be  utterly  extinguished,  as  it  was  some- 
 thing from  God. 
 
 Divine  revelation  was,  therefore,  to  appear  no  longer 
 simply  in  the  form  of  a  communication  to  man ;  but 
 it  was  to  reform,  to  restore,  and  to  renew  m.an.  Ori- 
 ginally his  pure  faculties  were  simply  exjjanded ;  now 
 they  were  to  be  restored  in  order  to  comprehend 
 spiritual  things.  The  functions  of  the  faculties  of 
 inspired  men  were  by  no  means  interrupted  or  ob- 
 structed when  they  received  fresh  revelations  from  God, 
 but  they  were  renovated  by  a  mii'aculous  influence 
 of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  restored  to  their  primitive 
 state.  The  laws  of  the  human  nature  are  the  same 
 under  a  new  aspect  of  things,  and  in  a  new  sphere  of 
 life.  The  new  ideas  which  are  communicated  to  man, 
 do  not  render  human  intellect  superfluous.  We  might 
 rather  say,  the  reason  of  man  only  now  assumes  its 
 primitive  and  healthy  functions.  We  have,  therefore, 
 in  very  deed  a  natural  Beli(/ion  in  a  higher  order  of 
 
CHAP.  I.]      PHILOSOPHY   AND    REVELATION.  139 
 
 things,  and  in  a  higher  sense  of  the  term,  inasmuch  as 
 human  intellect  and  reason,  with  its  faculties,  can  only 
 find  in  revelation  their  ultimate  repose  from  an  end- 
 less tiu-moil  and  solicitude.  Man  is  only  now  in  his 
 peculiar  element,  having  full  scope  for  his  mental, 
 moral,  and  intellectual  faculties.  Revelation  calls 
 forth  in  man  a  new  mode  of  life,  new  principles  of 
 reasoning,  new  methods  of  thought.  If,  according  to 
 the  words  of  St.  Paul,  (1  Cor.  x.)  the  Christian  man 
 already  eats  and  drinks  differently  from  one  who  is 
 not  a  Christian,  how  much  more  may  we  expect  that  all 
 his  higher  powers  and  energies  should  receive  a  new 
 stimulus  and  a  new  tendency  !  Every  revealed  truth  is 
 strictly  supernatural,  but  it  becomes  natural,  as  it 
 were,  by  entering  into  the  elements  of  humanity. 
 
 Revealed  Religion  again  may  be  termed  NaUiral, 
 from  the  circumstance  of  its  not  being  confined  to 
 that  special  revelation  which  is  contained  in  the  Bible. 
 It  comprises,  from  what  we  have  seen  on  a  former 
 occasion,  every  religious  truth  which  is  to  be  recog- 
 nised upon  the  broad  face  of  nature.  Before  the  will 
 of  God  was  expressed  by  the  revelation  of  his  word,  he 
 had  already  impressed  his  great  name  upon  the  visible 
 creation  of  the  universe.  The  earth,  from  her  deep 
 foundations,  combines  with  the  celestial  orbs  in  de- 
 claring the  glory  of  God.   (Ps.  xix.  ;  Rom.  i.  ii.) 
 
 God's  eternal  power  is  known  from  the  creation 
 of  his  works.  Every  leaf,  every  herb,  with  the  whole 
 frame  of  the  universe,  has  been   created  with  a  view 
 
140  PHILOSOPHY    AND   REVELATION.        [chap.  i. 
 
 that  from  it  the  incense  of  praise  should  ascend.  He 
 created  tongues  to  declare  his  goodness  and  his  great- 
 ness. He  created  all  things  to  bear  the  signatures  of 
 his  Almighty  power  and  might.  It  was  a  goodly  say- 
 ing of  Athanasius  when  he  declared  :  "  As  the  great 
 artist  Phidias  is  recognised  by  the  form  and  peculiar 
 taste  of  his  statues,  so  God  is  recognised  in  his  great 
 works."  There  is  hence  a  figurative  and  typical 
 character  which  is  peculiar  to  the  visible  creation.  In 
 order  to  bring  heavenly  truths  within  the  comprehen- 
 sion of  man,  the  Holy  Scriptures  speak  a  language 
 which  has  been  greatly  enriched  from  the  imagery  of 
 the  visible  frame.  The  economy  of  the  written  reve- 
 lation reflects  in  glorified  and  exalted  features  the 
 character  of  the  economy  of  creation. 
 
 The  present  world,  with  all  its  glory,  riches,  and 
 forms  of  beauty,  is  a  type  only  of  that  Avhich  is  to  come. 
 And  when  ere  long  these  feeble  shadows  and  emblems 
 of  good  things  to  come  shall  have  passed  away  ;  when 
 the  present  scene  shall  be  folded  up ;  when  the  veil 
 that  now  hides  from  our  view  the  great  realities  of  the 
 world  to  come, — when  this  veil  shall  be  rent  hi  twain 
 from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  then  shall  we  behold  the 
 full  purport  of  genuine  natural  Religion,  and  com- 
 prehend the  mysterious  character  of  the  world  that 
 now  is,  in  connexion  with  that  which  is  to  come. 
 
 "  Non  propterea  abjicienda  est  doctrina  certa,  et 
 utihs  vitae,  de  niultis  rebus  etiamsi  multa  ignoramus — 
 preparamus  etiam  nos  ad  illani  seternam  Academiam, 
 
CHAP.  I.]  PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.  141 
 
 in  qua  integrain  physicen  discemus,  cum  ideam  miindi 
 nobis  arcliitectus  ipse  monstrabit."  That  divine  reve- 
 lation by  nature  and  nature's  works  has  ever  been  a 
 sealed  book  to  the  Pagan  world ;  and  that,  therefore, 
 natural  Religion  in  its  genuine  character  has  never 
 been  known  to  the  Gentile  world,  is  evident  from  the 
 fact,  that  there  is  no  acknowledgment  of  its  merits 
 beyond  the  Bible  Religion.  The  natural  Religion  of 
 the  Pagans  is  of  a  thoroughly  spurious  and  miserable 
 character.  It  is  only  the  Christian  believer  that  will 
 address  his  Maker  with  words  like  these : — "  Thy 
 creatures  have  been  my  books ;  but  thy  Scriptures 
 much  more.  I  have  sought  thee  in  courts,  in  fields, 
 and  gardens,  but  I  have  found  thee  in  thy  temples  !" 
 Never  was  there  a  Pagan  astrologer  who  finished  his 
 works  in  the  words  with  which  a  Christian  astronomer 
 of  great  celebrity  concluded  one  of  his  books  on  the 
 harmony  of  the  worlds :  "  I  thank  thee,  my  God  and 
 my  Creator,  that  thou  hast  delighted  my  soul  by  the 
 works  of  thy  creation.  I  have  been  enraptured  in  the 
 contemplation  of  the  works  of  thy  hand.  Thou  in- 
 creasest  our  desire  for  the  light  of  thy  grace  by  the 
 consideration  of  the  light  of  nature,  that  we  might  at 
 last  be  transplanted  into  the  light  of  thy  glory  !" 
 
 If  there  be  truth  in  the  assertion  that  the  kingdom 
 of  grace  and  the  kingdom  of  nature  have  but  one  and 
 the  same  glorious  head,  it  must  be  the  bounden  duty 
 of  Christian  Theology  and  Natural  Philosophy  to  take 
 each  other  by  the  hand  before  the  throne  of  Majesty ; 
 
142  PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.       [chap.  i. 
 
 to  touch,  as  sisters,  together  the  strings  of  the  harp  of 
 praise,  and  to  chant  a  joyful  psalm  to  his  great  name. 
 The  intelligent  Christian  will  always  feel  that  taste 
 may  be  combined  with  piety,  and  that  the  same  heart 
 may  be  occupied  with  all  that  is  serious  in  the  con- 
 templation of  Religion,  and  be  at  the  same  time  alive 
 to  the  charms  and  loveliness  of  nature. 
 
 Creation,  however,  with  its  eloquent  tongues,  could 
 not  sufficiently  instruct  mankind  before  the  fall ;  much 
 less  could  this  be  the  case  after  that  fearful  catastrophe. 
 The  revelation  in  natural  Religion  is  not  only  confined 
 to  the  character  of  the  "  divinity"  and  "  its  eternal 
 power,"  but  the  contemplation  of  creation  made  a  dif- 
 ferent impression  upon  different  individuals.  Nature 
 appeared  to  man  exactly  as  man  appeared  to  nature. 
 The  Pagan  beheld  his  fallen  and  shattered  image  re- 
 flected in  every  thing  around  him  ;  and,  instead  of 
 being  led  from  nature  to  nature's  God,  we  invariably 
 observe  that  it  is  the  spirit  of  Paganism  to  deify 
 the  universe,  both  as  a  whole,  and  in  its  constituent 
 parts.  Nature,  to  him  who  despises  revelation  in 
 Scriptm*e  is  dumb.  Nay,  it  is  not  dumb,  it  speaketh. 
 But  what  does  it  speak  ?  "  \A  e  know  that  the  whole 
 creation  p'oaneth."  Not  able  to  help  itself,  nor  yet 
 to  help  man  in  his  search  for  happiness,  the  creation, 
 with  earnest  expectation,  "  waiteth  for  the  manifestation 
 of  the  sons  of  God  ! "  The  unbeliever  is  banished 
 from  his  Maker's  presence,  and  placed  in  some  dark- 
 some corner  of  the  world,  without  knowing  who  has 
 
CHAP.  I.]         PHILOSOPHY   AND   REVELATION.  143 
 
 placed  liini  there,  or  for  what  purpose  he  was  created. 
 He  discovers  too  much  to  doubt,  aud  too  Uttle  to 
 beheve  the  wisdom  and  the  goodness  of  the  great 
 God  of  nature.  "  Surely  vain  are  all  men  by  nature, 
 who  are  ignorant  of  God,  and  could  not  out  of 
 the  good  things  that  are  seen,  know  him  that  is  : 
 neither  by  considering  the  works  did  they  acknowledge 
 the  workmaster.  But  deemed  either  fire,  or  wind,  or 
 the  swift  air,  or  the  circle  of  the  stars,  or  the  violent 
 water,  or  the  lights  of  heaven  to  be  the  gods  which 
 govern  the  world.  With  whose  beauty  they  being 
 delighted  took  them  to  be  gods.  Let  them  know  how 
 much  better  the  Lord  of  them  is,  for  the  first  author 
 of  beauty  created  them."  (Wisdom,  xiii.  1 — 3.)  To 
 such  people  there  are,  therefore,  no  longer  sermons 
 in  stones,  no  books  in  trees,  no  tongues  in  running 
 brooks.  But  the  intellect,  which  has  been  enlightened, 
 purified,  and  restored,  will  receive  truth,  whether 
 found  in  the  words  or  in  the  works  of  the  Almighty. 
 
 "  Concludiamur  igitur  Theologiam  sacram  ex  verba 
 et  oraculis  Dei,  non  ex  lumine  naturae  dictamini 
 haurire  debere.  Scriptum  est  enim :  Coeli  enarrant 
 gloriam  Dei ;  aut  nusquam  scriptum  invenitur :  Coeli 
 enarrant  voluntatem  Dei." 
 
 The  above  view  of  the  subject  is  in  perfect  accordance 
 with  the  scriptural  use  of  the  terms,  "  Revelation," 
 and  "  Manifestation."  Revelation  always  implies  an 
 unveiling  and  disclosing  of  hidden  things,  which  were 
 strictly  un discoverable  to  man.     And  it  is  a  remark- 
 
144  PHILOSOPHY   AND    REVELATION.        [chap.  i. 
 
 able  fact,  that  the  term  Revelation  has  never  been 
 applied,  in  Scripture,  to  those  testimonies  \vhich  God 
 has  given  of  his  existence  and  his  character  through 
 the  means  of  reason,  conscience,  creation,  and  pro- 
 vidence. Hence,  the  term  Revelation  is,  strictly 
 speaking,  inapplicable  to  the  Pagan  world.  God  has 
 revealed  his  counsels  to  Prophets  and  Apostles ;  but 
 he  is  said  to  have  manifested  certain  things  to  the 
 Gentiles.  (Rom.  i.)  He  is  declared  not  to  have  left 
 himself  without  witness,  (Acts  xiv.)  And  when  Christ 
 is  set  forth  as  the  Mediator  of  all  spiritual  blessings 
 to  mankind,  as  well  as  of  every  rational  intelligence 
 which  is  diffused  throughout  the  world,  it  is  distinctly 
 said  that  he  "  liglitenetli  every  man  that  cometh  into 
 the  world."     (John  i.) 
 
 Revelation,  in  its  preparatory  stages,  always  pro- 
 duces a  salutary  change  in  man ;  and  it  has,  without 
 exception,  a  healing  effect  upon  his  nature.  Mani- 
 festation, to  the  Heathen  world,  is  of  an  indefinite  and 
 more  general  character.  If  " manifestation'  is  used 
 in  the  development  of  genuine  Religion,  it  always 
 follows  "  revelation"  as  a  further  illustration  of  what 
 has  been  already  revealed.  Thus,  for  instance,  in  the 
 New  Testament,  God  is  manifested  in  the  flesh,  whilst 
 the  truth  of  this  incarnation  has  been  already  revealed 
 in  the  Old  Testament.  The  Christian  converts  from 
 the  Jeics  had  revelation  in  the  Old,  and  manifestation 
 in  the  New  Testament.  The  Gentile  believers,  on  the 
 contrary,    had    revelation   in    the    Gosj)el  and    mani- 
 
CHAP.  I.]         PHILOSOPHY    AND    REVELATION.  145 
 
 festation  in  the  Old  Testament ;  because  they  became 
 acquainted,  in  the  first  instance,  with  the  Gospel,  and 
 through  the  Gospel,  with  the  Law  and  the  Prophets. 
 
 Hence,  St.  Paul,  in  writing  to  the  Gentile  Churches, 
 significantly  declares,  that  the  mystery  was  revealed 
 to  them  by  his  Gospel  ministry,  and  that  the  Mani- 
 festation of  the  same  followed  in  the  Scriptm-es  of  the 
 Prophets.  (Rom.  xvi.)  And  St.  Peter,  in  writing  to 
 Jewish  converts,  supposes  the  Revelation  to  have  taken 
 place  in  the  typical  constitution,  but  the  Manifestation 
 only  in  these  last  days  of  the  Gospel  dispensation. 
 (1  Pet.  i.)  Hence,  also,  St.  Paul,  in  writing  to  the 
 Ephesian  Church,  as  having  once  been  aliens  from 
 the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the 
 Covenants  of  Promise,  declares,  that,  in  being  brought 
 nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  they  were  first  built  upon 
 the  foundation  of  the  Apostles,  and  then  upon  that  of 
 the  Prophets,  through  the  Apostles,  Jesus  Christ  him- 
 self being  the  chief  Corner-stone.     (Eph.  ii.) 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
CHAPTER  II. 
 
 GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  FUNDAMENTAL  ERRORS  IN 
 RELIGION  ;  AND  THE  STANDARD  OF  TRUTH  IN 
 RELIGIOUS    MATTERS. 
 
 1.  Every  thing  good  and  excellent  will  be  imitated 
 by  something  erroneous  and  spurious ;  and  this  error, 
 "  like  the  shadow,  2>roves  the  substance  truej" 
 
 True  Religion  has  been  placed  above  the  con- 
 taminating influence  of  human  depravity ;  but  being 
 directly  opposed  to  the  latter,  it  produces  spurious 
 semblances.  True  Rehgion  cannot  be  corrupted ; 
 and  when  we  speak  of  errors  in  Rehgion,  we  can  only 
 mean  to  speak  of  a  degeneracy  in  the  rehgious  de- 
 velopment, or  a  departure  from  true  Religion.  Now, 
 degeneracy  in  Religion  always  emanates  from  what  is 
 feeble,  sensitive,  and  voluptuous  in  the  nature  of  man. 
 Religious  errors  are  at  all  times  entrenched  in  the 
 corruption  and  fortified  by  the  weakness  of  human 
 nature ;  hence  the  prevalence  of  religious  error  upon 
 earth  in  every  form  and  shape. 
 
 There  are,  however,  two  forms  of  religious  error  to 
 which  all  others  may  be  reduced;  and  these  funda- 
 
CHAP.  II.]     FUNDAMENTAL  ERRORS  IN  RELIGION.       147 
 
 mental  errors  are,  unbelief  and  superstition.  These  are 
 diametrically  opposed  to  each  other ;  yet,  strange  as  it 
 may  appear,  we  not  unfrequently  observe  a  sudden 
 transition  from  the  one  extreme  to  the  other.  We  have 
 witnessed  striking  examples  in  Christian  countries  of 
 sudden  transitions  from  the  worship  of  images  to  the 
 denial  of  a  God.  And  in  Pagan  lands  we  have 
 instances  in  which  the  vilest  species  of  idolatry  has 
 been  quickly  exchanged  for  atheistical  sentiments. 
 We  have  also  instances  of  infidels  being  frequently  ter- 
 rified by  natural  phenomena,  and  of  their  speaking  in 
 a  most  superstitious  strain.  The  highly-polished  Pliny 
 may  be  mentioned  as  an  instance.  Augustus  wore 
 charms  on  his  body  against  thunder  and  lightning; 
 and  he  was  terrified  when  he  discovered  that  he  put 
 the  first  shoe  on  his  left  foot  instead  of  on  the  right ! 
 Even  Napoleon  has  been  charged  with  superstition. 
 
 This  seemingly  problematical  occurrence  is,  how- 
 ever, easily  explained,  from  the  working  of  certain 
 laws  and  principles  which  are  peculiar  to  the  human 
 nature.  It  is  upon  a  mathematical  principle  that  the 
 balance,  after  having  been  drawn  down  upon  one  side, 
 will  immediately  afterwards  descend  almost  as  far  on 
 the  other  side,  instead  of  resting  at  the  point  of  equili- 
 brium ;  and  it  is  a  psychological  principle  upon  which 
 man  in  quick  succession  will  embrace  the  opposite  ex- 
 tremes of  a  foul  superstition  and  an  impious  infidelity. 
 
 Unbelief,  properly  speaking,  can  only  exist  where 
 divine  truth  has  been  brought  before  the  mind.     The 
 
 L  2 
 
148  FUNDAMENTAL   ERRORS  [chap.  ii. 
 
 believer  is  made  a  partaker  of  Christ,  in  holding 
 fast  his  confidence  steadfast  from  the  beginning  unto 
 the  end ;  but  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief  departs  from 
 the  living  God.  Tor  how  shall  they  call  upon  him 
 in  whom  they  have  not  believed ;  and  how  shall  they 
 believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ?  The 
 Pagan  world,  accordingly,  could  not  strictly  be  said 
 to  be  labouring  under  unbelief.  But,  as  it  is  repre- 
 sented by  Scriptm*e  to  have  known  God  before  it 
 went  a-whoring  after  other  gods,  Paganism  also 
 stands  guilty  of  unbelief.  They  are  without  excuse. 
 But  unbelief,  strictly  speaking,  is  a  wilful  disobedience 
 to  the  message  of  the  Gospel.  It  receives  not  the 
 love  of  truth  that  it  might  be  saved,  or  it  holds  truth 
 in  unrighteousness.  The  word  not  being  mixed  with 
 faith  in  them  that  hear  it,  the  unbelieving  heart  be- 
 comes hardened  under  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  and 
 prepared  to  believe  a  lie. 
 
 As  '' by  faith  loe  understand'' \\\q  things  of  God, 
 unbelief,  on  the  other  hand,  begets  ignorance,  and 
 produces  a  foolish  heart,  a  darkened  understanding, 
 and  a  reason  which  is  bewildered  by  the  vain  ima- 
 ginations which  emanate  from  a  vain  mind.  God  sends 
 to  unbelievers  strong  delusions,  that  they  should 
 believe  a  lie. 
 
 Atheism,  or  unbelief,  in  its  matured  form,  is  a  term 
 which  has  been  applied  to  various  kinds  of  rehgious 
 errors.  The  barbarian  who  was  without  religious 
 rites,  and  citizens  who  had  abandoned  the  established 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGION.  149 
 
 Religion,  were  Atheists  in  the  eyes  of  the  Greeks 
 and  the  Romans.  Pagans  in  general  are  called 
 Atheists  by  St.  Paul  in  the  original.  (Eph.  ii.  12.) 
 An  idol  temple  was  termed  a  house  of  Atheism  by 
 the  Grecian  Jews.  A  man  who  had  heterodox  views 
 respecting  the  Trinity  was  likewise  styled  an  Atheist, 
 in  the  language  of  the  primitive  Church.  Holy 
 Scripture  knows  nothing  of  Atheism  in  the  absolute 
 sense  of  the  term.  Nor  does  the  moral  nature  or 
 constitution  of  man  admit  of  pure  Atheism,  which 
 implies  a  virtual  annihilation  of  his  moral  character. 
 Man  can  as  little  exist  without  believinsi;  in  the  exist- 
 ence  of  God,  as  he  can  without  thought.  The  very 
 blasphemies  of  Atheists  are  the  strongest  evidence 
 that  they  are  not  genuine  Atheists ;  "  because  that 
 which  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  to  them,  for 
 God  hath  showed  it  unto  them!'  Holy  Scripture, 
 therefore,  knows  of  no  Atheism,  but  generally  speaks 
 of  the  fool  who  "  saith  in  his  heart,  There  is  no  God." 
 Plutarch  declares,  in  one  of  his  books  :  "  The  most 
 important  of  all  laws  are  those  which  have  reference 
 to  the  gods.  Lycm^gus,  Numa,  and  Deucalion  have, 
 therefore,  taught  them  to  their  several  nations,  in 
 giving  precepts  respecting  prayers,  oaths,  oracles,  and 
 feelings  of  hope  and  of  fear.  Yea,  if  you  walk 
 through  the  earth,  you  may  find  human  abodes 
 without  walls,  people  without  king,  without  houses, 
 without  coin,  without  theatres  and  learned  schools, 
 but  you  will  never  meet  a  town  without  God,  without 
 
150  FUNDAMENTAL   ERRORS  [chap.  ii. 
 
 prayer,  without  oracles,  and  without  sacrifices  !  A  town 
 may  rather  exist  without  foundation,  than  that  a  state 
 should  exist  without  faith  in  the  gods.  This  is  the 
 bond  of  union  in  society,  and  the  support  of  all 
 legislation."  Theophilus  of  Antioch  argued  with  an 
 atheistical  Pagan :  "  Thou  canst  not  speak  without 
 testifying  of  God ;  thy  very  breath  bears  witness  to 
 his  existence." 
 
 We  shall  hint  at  a  few  of  the  causes  which  favour 
 the  rise  and  accelerate  the  growth  of  this  monstrous 
 error. 
 
 In  the  first  instance,  as  we  grow  older  we  observe 
 that  more  advanced  experience  has  proved  fatal  to 
 many  sentiments  which  we  held  in  our  past  lives,  and 
 this  may  tend  to  make  us  doubtful  of  those  opinions 
 which  we  now  entertain.  Moreover,  the  history  of  the 
 sentiments  of  wise  and  intelligent  people  being  so  full 
 of  conflicting  opinions  and  opposite  notions,  might  give 
 us  occasion  to  doubt  the  truth  of  everything.  Again ; 
 the  fact  that  so  many  things  arc  shrouded  in  a  veil  of 
 the  profoundest  mystery,  so  as  to  defy,  as  presump- 
 tuous, the  efforts  of  the  keenest  intellect,  may  foster  a 
 spirit  of  scepticism  in  the  human  breast.  Lastly  ;  a 
 desire  for  evidence  of  a  different  kind  from  what  can 
 be  expected,  is  another  cause  of  infidel  sentiments. 
 It  is  folly  to  demand  mathematical  proof  in  order  to 
 support  the  character  of  historical  facts,  or  to  expect 
 moral  evidence  where  mathematical  proof  can  alone  be 
 available.     We  cannot  measure  the  degrees  of  heat 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   RELIGION.  151 
 
 by  the  yard,  nor  ascertain  the  strength  of  moral 
 evidence  by  the  inch. 
 
 We  have  already  alluded  to  another  prolific  source 
 from  which  infidelity  has  derived  the  most  powerful 
 and  constant  support ;  and  that  is,  a  secret  or  open 
 inclination  of  the  human  heart  to  doubt  the  certainty  of 
 truths  which  have  become  disagreeable  and  obnoxious. 
 Scepticism  may  do  good  in  consuming  the  putrid  mass 
 of  superstition,  but  it  will  proceed  to  attack  also  the 
 sound  parts  of  divine  truth.  Scepticism  will  do  the 
 work,  in  this  respect,  which  is  ascribed  by  a  French 
 author  to  a  spurious  Philosophy  :  "  Philosophic  refute 
 d'abord  les  erreurs ;  mais  si  on  ne  I'arrete  point  la, 
 elle  attaque  les  verites ;  et  quand  on  la  laisse  faire 
 a  sa  fantaisie,  elle  va  si  loin,  qu'elle  ne  salt  plus, 
 oil  elle  est,  ni  ne  trouve  plus  oii  s'asseoir." 
 
 If  it  be  the  determined  wish  of  a  man  to  rid  himself 
 of  certain  revealed  truths,  which  militate  against  his 
 besetting  sins,  he  will  be  led  to  remove  them  one  after 
 the  other.  Having  paved  his  way  by  a  thousand 
 metaphysical  "  perhapses,"  as  to  the  credibility  of  the 
 documents  of  revealed  Religion,  the  Gospel  will  gra- 
 dually appear  to  him  what  he  wished  it  to  be ;  and 
 the  Christian  has  been  converted  to  a  Deistical  creed. 
 But  even  Deism  will  not  stand  the  ordeal  of  the 
 sceptical  mind.  The  essential  attributes  of  the  meta- 
 physical deity  become  involved  in  the  dark  mist  which 
 evaporates  from  a  sceptical  mind.  Having  dragged 
 his    existence    through    a   succession   of    self-created 
 
152  FUNDAMENTAL    ERRORS  [chap.  li. 
 
 inconsistencies,  problems,  improbabilities,  and  impossi- 
 bilities, the  poor  victim  will  eventually  awake,  as  if 
 from  a  terrible  dream,  and  in  looking  up  he  Avill  find 
 himself  v:ithout  God  in  this  world !  The  sceptic  has 
 become  an  infidel ;  and  the  infidel  has  become  an 
 atheist,  in  the  modified  sense  of  the  term. 
 
 These  unhappy  victims  of  atheism  forget,  at  the 
 commencement  of  their  career,  that  the  certainty  of 
 some  things  cannot  be  made  doubtful  because  of  the 
 uncertainty  of  others  ;  that  unsearchable  things  cannot 
 deprive  things  which  can  be  searched  into  of  their 
 truth  and  reality  ;  that  the  impossibility  of  the  eye 
 seeing  all  things  does  not  prevent  it  from  seeing  7)ian?/ 
 things ;  that  though  human  thought  cannot  fathom 
 things  in  themselves  unfathomable,  it  can  yet  dive  into 
 others.  Human  reason  can  see  some  things,  but, 
 being  short-sighted  and  finite,  it  cannot  see  all  things. 
 We  can  recognise  everything  which  falls  within  our 
 own  horizon,  but  what  is  beyond  we  cannot  see.  And 
 whilst  a  faithful  and  humble  improvement  of  our 
 limited  powers  is  rewarded  wath  increased  powers  and 
 improved  faculties,  the  hiding  of  the  talent  is  attended 
 by  irreparable  loss.  The  incontrovertible  fact,  that 
 we  must  not  depart  from  holding  what  is  known, 
 because  there  exist  things  which  are  unknown, — this 
 fact  must  be  apparently  controverted  to  allow  of  the 
 sceptical  mind  becoming  atheistical. 
 
 Doubts  must  first  be  made  plausible  and  reasonable, 
 before  the  unhappy  victim  can  resolve  upon  removing 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGION.  153 
 
 certain  hateful  truths  which  are  against  him.  Before  a 
 man  can  fall  into  the  grievous  error  of  scepticism,  he 
 must  forget  that  human  nature  is  not  made  to  specu- 
 late without  end  and  without  measure ;  that  there  is  a 
 darkness  of  reason  as  there  is  one  of  the  bodily  eye ; 
 that  it  is  no  less  ridiculous  in  wise  men  to  demand  an 
 explanation  of  every  mystery  in  nature  and  in  Reli- 
 gion, than  it  is  in  children  to  doubt  a  parent's  word 
 because  the  truth  of  it  cannot  be  demonstrated  to 
 their  little  minds.  Whosoever  speculates  without 
 measure,  abuses  his  reason ;  and  reason  will  revenge 
 itself.  As  soon  as  reason  is  stretched  beyond  its  non 
 plus  ultra,  it  will  be  involved  in  a  labyrinth  of  doubt 
 and  scepticism.  When  forced  to  see  too  much,  it  will 
 become  blind,  and  lose  all  its  powers  of  vision. 
 
 Man  being  once  struck  with  *'  blindness  of  heart'"' 
 can  discern  no  longer  the  things  of  the  Spirit.  Athe- 
 ism, it  must  be  remembered,  is  no  system  of  Religion  ; 
 but  an  utter  negation  of  all  truth :  hence  it  cannot  lay 
 claim  to  consistency.  It  leads  into  the  ditch,  with- 
 out offering  a  means  by  which  to  extricate  oneself 
 again.  It  breaks  down,  without  building  a  system  of 
 its  own.  Like  ill-disposed  children,  the  followers  of 
 this  atheistical  creed  take  pleasure  in  destruction. 
 They  are  throwing  down  as  fast  as  they  can,  but  they 
 never  think  of  building  up  something  better  instead. 
 
 It  is,  however,  not  to  be  expected  that  the  human 
 mind  wiU  abide  under  this  atheistical  tyranny.  Con- 
 science will  resume  its  authority  j  nature  will  assert 
 
154  FUNDAMENTAL    ERRORS  [chap.  ii. 
 
 her  right ;  reason  will  be  abandoned,  and  the  victim 
 of  infidelity  and  scepticism  succumb  to  the  blindest 
 and  most  irrational  superstition. 
 
 From  superstition  and  unbelief  we  have,  again, 
 errors  of  Rehgion  which  are  of  a  compound  nature. 
 As  superstition,  in  the  mouth  of  Pagans,  has  been  mis- 
 applied and  made  to  designate  the  Christian  Ueh- 
 gion,  so  has  mysticism  been  considered  by  some  as 
 descriptive  of  the  most  essential  part  of  Christian  ex- 
 perience. We  observed  in  the  history  of  true  Rehgion, 
 that  the  whole  being  of  man  was  brought  harmo- 
 niously under  the  influence  of  divine  revelation.  His 
 intellect,  his  feelings,  and  his  will,  are  drawn  out  in 
 perfect  harmony,  and  brought  under  its  salutary 
 influence.  Religious  errors,  on  the  other  hand,  can 
 only  result  when  any  one  of  the  several  faculties  of 
 man  is  wrought  upon  without  due  reference  to  the 
 whole  constitution  of  our  nature. 
 
 When  the  influence  of  Religion  is  confined  to  the 
 feelings  and  the  imaginative  powers  of  man,  the  fer- 
 vour of  his  imagination  \\dll  erroneously  be  imputed  to 
 divine  inspiration,  and  the  fanciful  emotions  of  a 
 heated  brain  ascribed  to  revelations  from  heaven.  This 
 is  the  character  of  mysticism  !  These  private  tuitions 
 are  then  extoUed  above  revelation,  and  revelation, 
 in  the  spirit  of  genuine  infidehty,  is  merely  subservient 
 to  the  contemplative  powers  of  man.  Thus  mysticism 
 will  be  more  conformed  either  to  superstition  or  to 
 infidelity,  in  proportion  as  the  fervent  heat  of  super- 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   RELIGION.  155 
 
 stition,  or  the  coldness  of  atheistical  principles,  have 
 the  predominating  influence.  As  superstition  produced 
 much  evil,  and  caused  serious  desolation  in  the  Church 
 of  God;  so  also  mysticism,  as  the  indigenous  plant 
 of  Pagan  soil,  has  at  all  times  nourished  a  number  of 
 fanatical  sects  in  her  bosom. 
 
 A  devoted  Christian  may,  how^ever,  be  termed  mys- 
 tical, simply  because  he  sees  and  enjoys  what  others 
 neither  can  see  nor  enjoy  ;  whilst  a  mystical  person 
 imagines  himself  to  see  and  to  possess  what  he  neither 
 sees  nor  possesses.  Physical  powers  and  illumina- 
 tions are  often  confounded  with  divine  inspiration. 
 There  is,  indeed,  according  to  St.  John,  an  internal 
 anointing,  which  makes  the  teachings  of  false  minis- 
 ters superfluous,  but  not  the  ministry  of  the  word  in 
 general ;  for  "  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom 
 they  have  not  heard,  and  how  shall  they  hear  without 
 a  preacher  ?  "  (1  John  ii.  ;  Rom.  x.)  Every  Chris- 
 tian, indeed,  is  "  taught  of  God,"  but  this  teaching  of 
 the  Pather  involves  our  obedience  when  he  draws 
 us  to  the  Son.  (John  vi.  44,  45.)  We  have  a  light 
 within  us  ;  but  it  is  a  light  only  in  the  sense  in 
 which  the  eye  is  called  the  light  of  the  body.  Both 
 are  dark,  not  luminous  bodies  in  themselves ;  and  it  is 
 only  when  the  "  true  light "  shineth  upon  the  soul, 
 that  the  whole  man  becomes  full  of  "  the  light  of  the 
 knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
 Christ."  As  an  efficient  remedy  against  the  mystical 
 error   which    luxuriates    in    fantastical    feelings   and 
 
156  FUNDAMENTAL   ERRORS  [chap.  ii. 
 
 quietistical  contemplations,  the  Christian  behever  is 
 encouraged  to  give  all  diligence  to  add  to  his  faith 
 virtue,  to  virtue  knowledge,  and  to  knowledge  tem- 
 perance, and  to  temperance  patience,  and  to  patience 
 godliness,  and  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness,  and  to 
 brotherly  kindness  charity ;  and  in  so  doing  he  will 
 neither  be  barren  nor  unfruitfid  in  the  knowledge  of 
 our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     (2  Pet.  i.  1 — 8.) 
 
 Superstition  gives  credit  to  the  most  incredible  and 
 unreasonable  things.  Infidelity  withholds  its  assent 
 from  the  most  authenticated  facts.  The  Christian 
 believer  embraces  truth  as  it  comes  forth  triumphantly 
 from  the  scrutiny  of  every  sober  investigation.  Super- 
 stition beholds  things  where  nothing  is  to  be  seen ; 
 Infidelity  shuts  its  eyes  to  the  great  light  which 
 shineth  in  darkness ;  the  Christian  believer  adores  that 
 God  who  is  "  light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all." 
 Superstition  gives  heed  to  every  fable,  as  if  it  wxre 
 the  oracle  of  God  ;  Infidelity  discovers  impositions  in 
 the  most  genuine  history ;  the  Christian  believer  re- 
 ceives every  unadulterated  account  of  what  God  hath 
 wrought,  as  it  ought  to  be  received.  Superstition  in 
 its  mai-vellous  credulity  listens  to  every  talker ;  Infi- 
 delity will  discover  a  deceiver  in  every  honest  witness  ; 
 the  Christian  believer  suspects  nothing  amiss  where 
 divine  truth  is  set  plainly  before  his  eyes.  Whilst 
 superstition  will  always  appeal  to  feelings  which  are 
 devoid  of  every  species  of  evidence ;  Infidelity  is  full  of 
 improbabilities,  impossibilities,  and  absurdities ;    but 
 
CHAP,  n.]  IN    RELIGION.  157 
 
 the  Christian  believer  reposes  all  his  confidence  upon 
 the  historical  facts  of  divine  revelation.     Superstition 
 produces  careless,  childish,  and  feeble  minds  ;  Infidelity 
 perverts,  hardens,    and    puffs   up    the    hearts    of  its 
 victims ;   but   true  Religion    cherishes,   at  all    times, 
 honest  and  truth-loving  dispositions  in  man.     Super- 
 stition denies  reason  to  have  any  right  to  interfere  in 
 religious  matters  ;   Infidelity  ascribes  to  human  reason 
 an  authority  which  it  coidd  never  be  meant  to  have ; 
 but  the  Christian  believer  ascribes  to  those  faculties 
 that   measure  of  strength  and  infirmity  which  they 
 really  have,     Superstition  cleaves  to  the   dead  form 
 with  a  pertinacious  grasp  ;   Infidelity  strives  to  be  in- 
 dependent of  both  the   spirit   and  the   letter ;    true 
 Religion  fosters  a  profound  deference  for  the  spirit, 
 and  on  account  of  the  spirit,  also  for  the  letter.     Super- 
 stition  mistakes    the     mechanical   part    of    religious 
 exercises  for  devotion ;    Infidelity  ridicules  both   ex- 
 ternal   signs   and    internal   feelings    of  devotion    as 
 fanatical  and  fantastical ;  the  spirit  of  true   Religion 
 cultivates  both   in  that  due  proportion  which  alone 
 can  make  them  beneficial.     Superstition  enslaves  men 
 by  deadening  formalities ;  Infidelity  breeds  a  genera- 
 tion of   scofi^ers ;    true  Religion    produces   people   of 
 practical    piety    and   virtue.      Superstition    produces 
 Pharisees,  who  in  straining  at  the  gnat,  and  making 
 long  prayers,    swallow  camels,  and    eat  the  widows' 
 houses  ;  Infidelity  hatches  Herods,  who  reward  dancing 
 maidens  with  the  heads  of  the  preachers  of  righteous- 
 
158  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 ness ;  true  and  undefiled  Religion  produces  souls 
 without  guile,  like  Nathanael,  who  love  the  truth  above 
 all  things ;  men  like  John,  who  love  the  brethren  above 
 all  things  ;  and  people  like  Paul,  who  love  the  king- 
 dom of  heaven  above  all  things.  Superstition  exposes 
 men  to  the  terrors  of  conscience ;  Infidelity  rewards 
 them  with  a  blindness  which  loves  darkness  rather 
 than  light ;  true  Religion  imparts  abundance  of  peace, 
 and  prepares  them  for  the  joys  of  the  world  which  is 
 to  come.  Thus  we  see  that,  whilst  superstition  pro- 
 duces unbelief,  and  infidelity  genders  superstition, 
 true  Religion  teaches  man  to  avoid  these  extravagant 
 errors,  which  like  a  pestilence  walk  in  darkness. 
 
 2.  In  order  to  discriminate  between  religious  truth 
 and  religious  error,  it  will  be  necessary  to  fix  upon  a 
 standard  of  truth  in  religious  matters. 
 
 We,  as  Christian  men,  acknowledge  the  Bible, 
 and  maintain  that  it  is  the  sole  and  infallible  standard 
 by  which  every  religious  sentiment  must  be  mea- 
 sured. But  to  refer  our  opponents  at  all  times  to  the 
 fact,  that  such  and  such  things  are  written  in  the 
 Bible,  previously  to  their  having  been  convinced  that  it 
 is  true  because  it  is  in  the  Bible,  and  that  it  is  in  the 
 Bible  because  it  is  true,  may  indeed  seem  a  strange 
 method  of  supporting  an  argument  of  so  important  a 
 character;  and  our  opponents  might  answer  us  in 
 their  turn  by  declaring,  that  such  and  such  things 
 must  also  be  true,  because  they  are  plainly  written  in 
 their  sacred  books ! 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  159 
 
 When  we  refer  to  the  ApostoUc  usage  respecting  the 
 subject  before  us,  we  invariably  observe  that  a  broad 
 distinction  was  drawn  between  those  that  knew  and 
 acknowledged  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament, 
 and  those  who  received  the  Gospel  before  they  were 
 acquainted  with  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 Hence,  for  instance,  we  have  infinitely  more  quotations 
 in  the  Gospel  by  St.  Matthew  and  the  Epistle  to  the 
 Hebrews,  which  were  both  addressed  to  Jews,  than  in 
 the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Luke  and  the  Epistle  to 
 the  Ephesians,  which  were  primarily  and  chiefly  written 
 to  Gentiles. 
 
 It  will,  therefore,  be  requisite  to  agree  upon  a  test 
 by  which  religious  systems  may  be  examined  appa- 
 rently without  reference  to  the  documents  of  the  Holy 
 Scriptures ;  a  test,  at  the  same  time,  which  can  be 
 applied  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties. 
 
 We  have  already  shown  that  there  is  but  one 
 Religion ;  and  that  only  the  Christian  Religion  has 
 a  claim  to  be  a  revelation  from  heaven.  The  Chris- 
 tian knows,  believes,  and  confesses  that  his  Re- 
 ligion alone  embodies  the  true  and  infallible  rule  by 
 which  all  others  must  be  examined.  But  will  it 
 appear  in  the  same  light  to  those  who  are  not  Chris- 
 tians ?  The  question  is  of  a  rehgious  nature  ;  and 
 the  Religions  of  different  individuals  may  be  as  dif- 
 ferent as  light  from  darkness.  The  individuals 
 concerned  may  be  members  of  different  branches  of 
 the    human    family,    speaking    different    languages. 
 
160  STANDARD    OF    TRUTH  [chap.  it. 
 
 breathing  a  different  atmosphere,  dwelHng  in  different 
 climates ;  they  may  have  contracted  different  habits  of 
 living,  acting,  and  thinking ;  they  may  have  imbibed 
 different  prejudices  in  the  very  earliest  stages  of 
 their  existence.  These  prejudices  may  have  been 
 nourished  in  childhood  by  marvellous  tales,  as  well  as 
 by  constantly  recurring  ceremonies  which  are  inter- 
 woven with  their  very  existence.  The  different  indi- 
 viduals, again,  may  have  received  different  impressions 
 from  different  objects.  Their  birth,  their  training, 
 and  their  education,  in  all  probability,  has  given  a  dif- 
 ferent stamp  to  their  every  feeling  and  thought.  They 
 may  possibly  have  grown  up  under  the  influence  of  a 
 greater  or  smaller  amount  of  superstition  and  pre- 
 judice ;  and  all  of  them  may  be  more  or  less  the 
 creatures  of  fashion,  climate,  or  society. 
 
 It  is  natural  to  take  up  the  Religion  of  our  fathers ; 
 as  natural  as  it  is  to  take  up  their  habits  and  their 
 language.  Early  prejudices,  as  well  as  early  impres- 
 sions of  truth,  will  always  leave  a  tincture  upon  the 
 mind  which  will  seldom  be  obliterated  without  much 
 pain  and  ingenuity.  Each  religious  community  will 
 naturally  defend  its  own  views,  and  argue  with  all 
 possible  fervour  and  zeal  to  support  the  Religion 
 of  its  ancestors.  Each  party  will  urge  the  sanctity 
 which  a  hoar  antiquity  has  bestowed  upon  its  reli- 
 gious tenets,  which  are  looked  upon  as  a  sacred  trust 
 from  their  progenitors.  Each  community  will  appeal 
 to  a  cloud   of  witnesses,   by   which  it  is  or   fancies 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  101 
 
 itself  to  be  surrounded.  Each  will  bring  forward 
 the  real  or  imaginary  miracles  and  mighty  deeds  by 
 which,  in  bygone  days,  the  pecular  doctrines  it  ad- 
 vocates profess  to  have  been  established.  Each  party 
 will  point  out  heroic  minds,  hosts  of  saints,  and 
 a  goodly  number  of  martyrs.  Each  will  boast  of 
 certain  illustrious  characters  who  have  supported  their 
 creed  with  shining  talent.  Each  party  will  most 
 naturally  quote  passage  after  passage  from  their  sacred 
 scriptures,  and  all  will  enlarge  upon  the  nations  and 
 kindreds  who  have  lived  in  the  belief,  and  died  with 
 the  impression,  that  theirs  was  the  true  Religion. 
 
 All  these  difficulties  are  calculated  to  becloud  our 
 minds  with  prejudices  of  no  ordinary  description. 
 We  are  about  to  view  the  position  of  certain  stars  in 
 the  horizon  of  Religion  ;  and  these  our  prejudices,  as 
 it  were,  imperceptibly  dislocate  the  tube  of  our  tele- 
 scope. Each  party  will  look  through  its  own  glass, 
 and  find  what  it  wishes  to  discover.  Each  will  be 
 tempted  to  set  up  its  own  views  as  the  standard 
 of  truth.  Each  will  commit  the  very  natural  mistake 
 of  the  unsophisticated  and  over-fond  mother,  who 
 considers  all  the  little  ones  in  the  world  to  be  far 
 inferior  to  her  own  child.  It  is,  moreover,  melancholy 
 to  observe,  how  an  earnest  desire  to  see  one's  own 
 opinion  established  upon  the  ruins  of  all  others,  in- 
 variably deprives  man  of  an  honest  wish  to  discover 
 truth,  and  of  a  willing  mind  to  embrace  the  same. 
 Man  is  naturally  prone  to  overlook  his  own  defects, 
 
 VOL.  II.  M 
 
162  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 and  to  place  the  deficiencies  of  what  concerns  his 
 own  person  more  and  more  into  the  shade.  The 
 shadows  grow  daily  longer,  broader,  deeper,  and 
 darker ;  and  by  degrees  they  darken  the  whole  region, 
 that  we  can  see  nothing  but  perfection  within  and 
 about  us. 
 
 This  may  especially  be  said  to  be  the  case  in  reli- 
 gious matters.  Our  mind  becomes  warped ;  and  we 
 gradually  feel  inclined  only  towards  what  is  pleasant, 
 and  not  towards  what  is  good,  and  true,  and  excellent. 
 Thus  when  our  interest  would  seem  to  demand  that  we 
 should  discover  a  Religion  to  be  false  and  defective, 
 we  are  so  predisposed  to  wish  it  to  be  false,  that  before 
 long  we  gain  sufficient  courage  to  believe  it  so.  We 
 have  a  double-sight,  and  see  erroneously,  because  it 
 is  our  wish  and  interest  to  take  an  erroneous  view 
 of  the  case.  Obstinate  disobedience  to  the  truth 
 of  God  gradually  fosters  an  inveterate  hatred  against 
 it.  The  heart  will  become  hardened,  and  the  cha- 
 racteristics of  a  hardened  heart  are  exemplified. 
 (Acts  vii.  54 — 57.)  It  gnashes  with  the  teeth  where 
 it  should  give  an  answer,  but  cannot  "  answer  one  to 
 a  thousand."  It  stops  the  ears,  and  is  determined  not 
 to  hear,  where  it  ought  to  listen  with  all  humility  and 
 meekness  of  spirit.  It  raises  a  cry  of  blasphemy, 
 where  it  ought  to  keep  silence.  It  condemns,  when 
 it  ought  to  adore  and  worship,  but  will  not.  Finally ; 
 a  hardened  heart  will  without  remorse  "stone"  the 
 truth,  because  it  loves  darkness  rather  than  light. 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  163 
 
 3.  It  is  very  clear  that  the  standard  of  truth  cannot 
 be  found  in  the  universal  prevalence  of  a  certain  Reli- 
 gion ;  inasmuch  as  Paganism  was  the  Catholic  Beli^ion 
 of  the  world  before  the  Christian  era.  Again,  it 
 cannot  be  found  in  the  multiplicity  or  the  imposing 
 character  of  the  ritual  observances  of  certain  systems 
 of  Religion ;  nor  yet  in  the  austere  and  rigid  natiu'e  of 
 their  religious  discipline.  In  both  these  points  avowedly 
 false  systems  of  Religion  have  eminently  distinguished 
 themselves.  If  universality  were  to  afford  the  standard, 
 we  should  be  sadly  deceived.  If  the  exploits  of  the 
 followers  of  certain  creeds  were  to  be  a  sign  of  their 
 truth,  who  would  venture  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the 
 Religion  of  Alexander  the  Great,  or  of  Cyrus,  or  of 
 Julius  Csesar?  And  yet,  having  perished  from  the 
 earth,  they  must  have  been  necessarily  false.  If, 
 again,  the  austere  and  self-denying  lives  of  certain 
 parties  be  a  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  their  Reli- 
 gion, who  would  venture  to  doubt  the  divine  character 
 of  the  Religion  of  Diogonus  Cynicus,  and  of  the 
 Gymnosophists  and  Brahmins  ? 
 
 Again ;  although  prosperity  and  wealth  be  the 
 general  effect  of  genuine  Rehgion,  yet  we  have  seen 
 degraded  idolators  to  lord  it  over  distressed  worshippers 
 of  the  true  God,  whilst  "  the  wicked  rejoiced  in  their 
 prosperity."  And  the  Jewish  nation,  as  the  depository 
 of  true  Religion,  has  been  defeated  successively  by  the 
 Chalda3ans,  Assyrians,  Egyptians,  and  Romans. 
 
 Again ;  that  the  standard  of  truth  cannot  be  general 
 
 .m2 
 
164  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH  [chap,  ii 
 
 consent,  is  sufficiently  evident  from  the  history  of 
 fashion,  both  in  the  world  of  politics,  of  literature,  and 
 of  Religion.  One  thing  is  superseded  by  the  other ; 
 and  yet  all  in  their  turn  have  the  applause  and  the 
 general  consent  of  the  multitude.  "  Woe  unto  you, 
 tvhen  all  men  shall  speak  well  of  you  !  For  so  did  their 
 fathers  to  the  ykl^'^  jwophets.''  (Luke  vi.  26.)  Nor 
 was  general  consent  highly  esteemed  among  the 
 Pythagoreans ;  for  it  was  their  motto  :  "  Go  not  upon 
 the  public  roads."  The  judgment  of  the  multitude 
 cannot  be  true  or  just  because  it  is  the  opinion 
 of  the  mass  of  the  people,  nor  yet  is  it  necessarily 
 false  because  it  is  so.  It  is  weakness  to  believe  a 
 thing  to  be  true,  because  many  believe  it  to  be  so; 
 and  it  is  equal  weakness  to  consider  a  thing  to  be 
 false,  because  most  people  believe  it  to  be  true.  What 
 a  majority  of  people  consider  to  be  true,  ought 
 to  be  fairly  examined  before  we  give  our  assent  to 
 it ;  the  opinion,  on  the  other  hand,  of  an  individual 
 who  says  nay,  because  all  others  say  nay,  deserves  no 
 examination.  To  contradict,  and  refuse  to  believe  a 
 doctrine  because  it  is  generally  believed,  is  to  sin 
 against  reason,  and  to  commit  a  heinous  crime 
 against  the  truth.  But  it  is  our  duty  to  give  our 
 assent  to  things  which  are  commonly  believed,  after 
 we  have  satisfied  our  minds  by  an  honest  examination 
 as  to  their  truth. 
 
 Again ;  neither   the    novelty  nor   the    antiquity  of 
 a  creed  can   afford  a  standard  of  truth  in  religious 
 
CHAP.  I!.]  IN    RELIGIOUS   MATTERS.  1G5 
 
 matters.  The  antiquity  of  a  Religion  exerts  a  most 
 powerful  spell  over  the  human  mind;  and  there  can 
 be  no  doubt  that  true  Religion  must  have  antiquity  in 
 its  favour.  But  it  cannot  form  a  criterion  of  truth. 
 We  may  love  and  admire  antiquity,  because  we  feel 
 the  powerful  claims  which  it  has  upon  our  regard  and 
 veneration.  But  frequently  we  love  what  is  old, 
 because  it  is  convenient  for  us  to  act,  and  to  think, 
 and  to  believe  as  we  have  always  been  accustomed  to 
 act,  and  to  think,  and  to  believe  from  our  youth.  We 
 too  often  admire  what  is  old,  because  it  is  admired  by 
 others.  Antiquity,  therefore,  can  be  no  criterion  of 
 truth ;  nor  can  it  furnish  a  sufficient  reason  either  for 
 giving  or  withholding  our  consent.  Antiquity  can  as 
 little  form  a  standard  of  truth  now,  as  it  could  have 
 been  a  criterion  of  truth  at  any  previous  period. 
 What  now  is  old  and  appears  venerable  on  account  of 
 its  antiquity,  must  needs  have  been  neto  at  one  time. 
 And,  again,  what  now  is  young  or  new,  will  have 
 waxen  old  before  long,  be  it  false  or  true.  The  fact, 
 therefore,  that  a  certain  Religion  is  of  an  ancient  date, 
 can  have  no  other  influence  upon  us  beyond  encourag- 
 ing us  to  examine  the  character  of  its  claims.  If  we 
 declare  a  Religion  to  be  true,  only  because  it  is  old,  it 
 will  follow  that  we  should  be  prepared  to  admit  Hin- 
 dooism,  or  any  other  Religion,  to  be  true,  if  it  can 
 be  proved  to  be  of  equal  antiquity. 
 
 Again ;  the  novelty  of  a  thing  is  no  argument  a  priori 
 against  its  truth.     Our  own  experience  cannot  lead  us 
 
166  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 to  look  with  contempt  upon  every  thing  that  is  novel. 
 The  most  forcible  argument  against  such  an  error 
 would  be  the  fact,  that  all  opinions,  arts,  sciences,  and 
 truisms,  which  are  now  reverenced  as  old,  have  each 
 been  new  and  novel  in  their  season.  How  uncom- 
 fortably, for  instance,  the  present  generation  would  be 
 situated  if  every  new  invention  was  repudiated,  just 
 because  it  bore  the  character  of  novelty!  New  dis- 
 coveries, new  ideas,  which  did  not  happen  to  be 
 already  in  our  favourite  system,  would  be  to  us  like 
 odoriferous  bodies  to  a  man  who  is  utterlv  devoid  of 
 olfactoiy  nerves. 
 
 Novelty,  however,  much  less  than  antiquity,  can 
 furnish  an  authoritative  standard  of  religious  truth. 
 True  Religion,  indeed,  will  be  ever  fresh,  ever  new,  and 
 flourishing ;  it  will  always  unfold  new  life  and  propa- 
 gate renewed  health.  But  absolutely  new  systems  of 
 Religion  were  not  even  found  improvements  in  the 
 natm'al  history  of  spurious  Religion.  Nor  can  it  be 
 said  that  an  unqualified  tendency  to  novelty  leads 
 to  beneficial  results  in  matters  of  science.  There  is 
 indeed  a  tendency  to  new  discoveries  in  matters  of 
 science,  and  we  are  never  satisfied  wdth  the  know- 
 ledge which  we  have  already  acquired.  But  to  ascribe 
 value  to  a  novelty  because  it  is  new,  is  a  great  weak- 
 ness, and  will  lead  to  grievous  errors  in  judgment  and 
 in  practice.  In  matters  of  Religion,  new  systems 
 have  invariably  proved  new  falsehoods.  The  author  of 
 some  new  system  of  belief  may  indeed  commiserate 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN   RELIGIOUS   MATTERS.  167 
 
 former  generations  for  not  having  been  benefited  by 
 the  lamp  of  his  kintlHng,  but  he  generally  proves  a 
 new  deceiver ;  and  whilst  he  himself,  in  all  probabihty, 
 has  buried  some  old  system,  he  yet  fancies  that  his 
 new  Religion  shall  be  immortal.  An  old  system  of 
 Rehgion  may  be  true,  but  it  may  also  happen  to  be 
 false.  An  old  Religion  must  be  examined,  lest  we 
 embrace  ancient  errors.  If  an  old  Religion  be  true,  it 
 is  not  true  because  it  is  old.  Whatever  is  new  must 
 be  examined,  lest  we  reject  some  new  truth,  or 
 embrace  some  new  error.  The  novelty  or  antiquity  of 
 a  thing  cannot  change  its  quality. 
 
 Again ;  the  desirable  standard  of  religious  truth  can- 
 not be  established  from  human  reason.  We  indeed 
 find  that  man  is  prompted,  under  certain  circum- 
 stances, to  take  the  same  view  of  things  ;  but  then  we 
 have  already  seen  that  we  have  in  human  reason  a  most 
 fallible  guide  as  regards  matters  of  Religion.  Yea,  still 
 more,  we  discovered  that  even  in  scientific  matters  it 
 becomes  the  victim  of  inconceivable  folly.  In  addition 
 to  what  has  been  said  with  reference  to  the  sciences  of 
 the  Hindoos,  we  observe  that  a  philosopher  of  our  own 
 day  proved  scientifically,  to  his  own  satisfaction  and 
 that  of  his  admirers,  that  it  was  absurd  to  believe  that 
 steam-ships  could  ever  cross  the  Atlantic ;  yet,  in  a  few 
 years  afterwards,  he  crossed  that  ocean  in  a  steam 
 vessel  himself  !  If  human  reason  prove  such  a  poor 
 guide  in  things  natural,  much  more  does  it  show  its 
 weakness  and  presumption  when  it  attempts  to  find 
 
168  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH  [chap.  ri. 
 
 out  the  Almighty  to  perfection,  and  dogmatically  to 
 assert  what  should  serve  as  a  standard  of  truth  in 
 religious  matters.  And  then  we  should  always  be  at 
 a  loss  where  to  find  this  perfection  of  reason.  We 
 must  either  refer  to  our  own  opinion,  or  appeal  to 
 some  great  man  who  contains  this  standard  of  truth, 
 according  to  the  best  of  om*  judgment.  There  would 
 be  a  never-ending  revolution  in  an  eternal  circle.  The 
 Mahommedan  will  go  to  his  prophet,  the  Hindoo  to 
 his  Avatars  and  Risliis ;  the  Buddhist  will  appeal  to 
 his  Buddhas,  and  the  Parsee  to  Zoroaster.  As,  how- 
 ever, the  best  and  most  able  of  men  know  not  the 
 things  of  the  Spirit,  we  shall  not  find  our  standard  in 
 this  way. 
 
 We  have  seen  that  religious  truth  cannot  be  invented 
 by  human  faculties,  nor  can  the  criterion  of  religious 
 truth  be  obtained  from  that  doubtful  source.  It  can 
 be  obtained  only  where  God  hath  deposited  the  same. 
 And  here  it  may  be  observed,  that  it  may  be  a  matter 
 of  indifference  to  om'  opponents  from  whence  we 
 derive  our  criterion  of  truth,  provided  the  standard 
 we  propose  be  such  as  to  command  their  unqualified 
 assent.  As  natural  Religion  has  been  considered  by 
 some  writers  to  be  so  called,  not  because  it  was  dis- 
 covered by  the  unassisted  natural  powers  of  man,  but 
 because,  when  once  made  known,  it  was  exactly  the 
 Religion  of  which  human  reason  must  approve  ;  so  we 
 now  demand  a  standard  of  which  our  faculties  must 
 approve,    although   they   cannot    discover   it   without 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS   MATTERS.  169 
 
 being  revealed.  We  cannot,  therefore,  recognise  this 
 criterion  in  the  enjoyment  of  certain  advantages,  such 
 as  worklly  prosperity  ;  nor  yet  in  the  respective  Scrip- 
 tural authorities,  which  are  alleged  by  the  several 
 parties  to  be  inspired ;  nor  can  we  recognise  it  in  the 
 universality,  antiquity,  or  novelty  of  a  Rehgion.  It 
 can  neither  be  general  consent,  nor  can  we  hope  to 
 find  it  in  the  natural  powers  of  human  reason.  All 
 these  things  are  separately,  or  collectively,  incapable 
 of  forming  a  standard  of  truth  in  rehgious  matters. 
 
 Again ;  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  every  Christian 
 believer  to  hold  fast  the  doctrine  of  the  blessed 
 Gospel ;  also  to  contend  earnestly,  if  requisite,  for  the 
 faith  which  was  once  delivered  to  the  saints ;  and  to  be 
 ready  always  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is 
 within  us,  with  meekness  and  fear.  Christianity,  as 
 the  standard  Religion,  from  the  commencement  of  her 
 career,  met  her  adversaries,  but  demanded  no  favour ; 
 she  has  always  given  quarter,  but  taken  none.  Con- 
 scious of  her  divine  integrity,  she  stepped  forth  amidst 
 her  friends  and  her  foes,  challenging  them  to  examine 
 claims,  which,  if  realized,  must  cause  the  overthrow  of 
 every  other  creed.  According  to  one  of  her  earliest 
 champions,  truth  demands  no  favour  in  her  cause,  for 
 she  wonders  not  at  her  condition.  She  knows  that 
 she  is  a  sojourner  upon  earth,  that  she  must  find 
 enemies  amongst  strangers ;  and  she  has  but  one 
 desire,  not  to  be  condemned  unknown.  There  was  no 
 erudition,  however  deep  and  comprehensive ;  no  hatred, 
 
170  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 however  great  and  deadly,  from  which  either  the  docu- 
 ments or  tenets  of  the  Christian  Rehgion  had  occasion 
 to  shrink ;  and  how  remarkably  the  records  of  past 
 ages  celebrate  its  praises  and  establish  its  divine  cha- 
 racter !  Whenever  it  was  apparently  crucified  and 
 buried  again  with  its  adorable  Author,  it  started  with 
 him  again  and  again  from  the  tomb,  to  confound  and 
 triumph  over  all  its  foes.  Christianity  is  either  true 
 or  false.  Its  truth  has  been  demonstrated  by  a  cloud 
 of  witnesses  ;  and  "  if  the  witness  of  man  be  true,  the 
 witness  of  God  is  greater."  Whatever  changes  and 
 chances  the  defence  of  the  Gospel  has  undergone  in 
 the  lapse  of  ages,  there  has  ever  been  one  great  and 
 mighty  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  Religion, 
 an  evidence  always  the  same,  and  always  fresh  and 
 eloquent.  He  that  believeth  the  record  which  God 
 gave  of  his  Son,  has  set  to  his  seal  that  God  is  true 
 and  every  man  a  liar.  Who,  therefore,  amongst  an 
 endless  variety  of  religious  systems,  "  has  the  bride, 
 he  is  the  hridegroom  !'^ 
 
 But  although  the  truth  of  the  Christian  Religion  be 
 thus  established  by  the  attestation  of  God  and  man, 
 as  it  has  ever  been,  we  are,  nevertheless,  brought  back 
 to  that  syllogism  within  those  secret  chambers  of  the 
 heart  which  are  not  accessible  to  public  gaze :  ''If 
 any  man  will  do  the  loill  of  God,  he  shall  knoio  whether 
 this  doctrine  be  of  God."  The  Gospel  is  "  the  power 
 of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth."  It 
 will  always  be,  not  in  enticing  and  persuasive  words 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  171 
 
 of  human  wisdom,  but  in  the  demondration  of  the 
 Spirit  and  of  poioer.  It  will  always  be  the  light  of 
 God  shining  into  the  heart,  that  must  give  the  know- 
 ledge of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face  of  Christ  Jesus  ; 
 and  it  will,  therefore,  ever  be  a  leading  feature  in  the 
 evidences  of  Christianity  :  "  ^-s  it  is  written,  I  believed, 
 and  therefore  have  I  spoken'' 
 
 The  heart  is  already,  in  a  physiological  point  of  view, 
 older  than  the  head ;  and  we  must,  therefore,  be  the 
 less  surprised  that  also  in  religious  matters  it  takes  the 
 precedence,  and  is  that  part  in  man  which  prescribes 
 as  the  central  power  the  whole  of  the  motions  and 
 actings  of  the  human  spirit.  To  speak  of  the  beauty 
 of  the  Christian  Religion  to  an  unenlightened  mind,  is 
 to  talk  of  colours  to  the  blind.  But  if  it  be  received 
 into  the  heart,  the  conviction  of  its  truth  will  be  co- 
 instantaneous  with  its  reception.  The  Christian  be- 
 liever may  even  look  with  composure  upon  the 
 abstruse  nature  of  certain  points ;  for  if  only  the 
 paralytic  experience  the  beneficial  effect  of  the  elec- 
 trical powers,  what  can  it  matter  to  him  whether 
 RoUet  or  Pranklin,  or  neither,  be  right  as  to  the 
 scientific  definition  of  the  thing.  "  Fides  prsecedit 
 intellectum,  neque  vero  intelligo,  ut  credam,  sed 
 credo  ut  intelligam."  (Augustin.)  The  chief  glory  of 
 true  Religion  being  thus  unknown  and  inaccessible  to 
 the  world  in  general,  and  the  chief  evidence  of  true 
 Religion  being  in  truth  like  that  new  name,  "  luhich 
 no  man  knoweth,  saving  he  that  receiveth  it,"  we  shall 
 
172  STANDARD    OF    TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 require  a  standard  of  a  more  tangible  nature,  which 
 can  be  more  generally  discerned. 
 
 4.    It  has  been  sufficiently  shown  that  man  could 
 not  educe  from  his  own  faculties  a  criterion  of  what  is 
 truth  in  religious  matters.     Yet,  although  unable  to 
 create  such  a  standard  of  excellence,    man  has   the 
 power  to   discern  its   general  features  when  brought 
 before  his  mind.     There  are  in  man  certain  principles 
 which  are  peculiar  to  human  nature.     We  observe 
 certain  moral  and  physical  principles  and  dispositions, 
 which    are   inseparable   from   it.     These   views    and 
 sentiments,    of  which  the  whole  human    race  natu- 
 rally  partake,    act   that    part   in    the    moral   world 
 which  the  law  of  gravity  is   acting  in  the  world  of 
 matter.     They  lay  the  foundation  of  that  harmony  in 
 social  intercourse,  without   which  no  bond   of  con- 
 nexion would  exist.     There  is  an  internal  principle, 
 which  prompts  man  in  his  natural  condition  to  make 
 a  difference  between  right  and  wrong,  and  produces 
 the  primary  laws   of  veracity  and  justice,  by  which 
 society  is  regulated.     Now,   as  it  is  peculiar  to  the 
 human    mind  to   distinguish  in   some  way  or   other 
 between  right  and  wrong,  good  and  evil,  so  it  is  also 
 peculiar  to  man  to  form  a  standard  of  excellency  by 
 which  he  adjusts  things  of  the  same  kind.     We  have 
 such  a  standard  concerning  the  common  things  of  life. 
 We  all  have  certain  standards  of  beauty,  of  goodness, 
 of  justice,  of  riches  and  poverty,  within  our  minds, 
 which  will  naturally  vary  according  to  the  extent  of 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  173 
 
 our  knowledge  and  acquaintance  with  the  forms  of 
 beauty,  and  with  the  exhibition  of  goodness,  justice, 
 righteousness,  riches  and  poverty,  which  we  have  wit- 
 nessed, or  with  which  we  have  otherwise  become 
 acquainted. 
 
 The  human  mind  will  act  precisely  upon  the  same 
 principle  when  we  have  the  religious  world  displayed 
 before  our  eyes.  Our  standard  of  religious  excellence 
 will,  no  doubt,  be  according  to  oiu*  general  knowledge 
 of  religious  systems.  We  know,  from  the  fact  of  there 
 being  conflicting  systems  of  Religion,  that  most  of 
 them  must  be  of  a  spurious  character.  If  there  are 
 spurious  systems  of  belief,  there  must  needs  be  a 
 genuine  system  of  Religion  ;  as  there  is  no  shadow 
 without  there  being  a  substance.  How  far  we  shall 
 be  indebted  to  the  character  of  true  Religion,  which 
 must  have  existed  amidst  its  spurious  counterfeits, 
 is  immaterial  to  our  present  argument,  and  it  is 
 probable  that  we  shall  derive  our  whole  standard 
 of  religious  excellency  from  the  same. 
 
 We  shall  demand  of  the  standard  Religion,  in  the 
 first  place,  that  it  be  true  in  all  its  parts  and  hearings ; 
 giving  sufficient  and  satisfactory  information  respect- 
 ing the  nature,  the  attributes,  the  works,  and  the  pur- 
 poses of  the  Creator  of  the  universe ;  particularly,  also, 
 respecting  his  will  and  pleasure  regarding  the  reason- 
 able portion  of  his  creatures.  Religion  must,  secondly, 
 be  complete  to  all  intents  and  purposes  ;  complete, 
 more  especially,  as  regards  the  origin,  the  present  con- 
 
174  STANDARD   OF   TRUTH  [chap.  ir. 
 
 dition,  and  the  future  destiny  of  mankind.  As  none 
 of  the  mightiest  intellects  has  ever  succeeded  in 
 piercing  the  mysterious  cloud  in  which  the  past,  pre- 
 sent, and  future  history  of  man  is  enveloped,  we  must 
 expect  it  from  true  Religion.  We  expect,  thirdly, 
 that  a  Religion  coming  from  God,  and  leading  to  God, 
 should  be  authenticated  by  a  body  of  evidences  which 
 will  carry  conviction  to  every  heart,  overthrow  every 
 reasonable  objection,  and  remove  every  shadow  of 
 excuse.  Religion,  however,  must  not  only  be  true 
 respecting  the  Deity,  complete  respecting  man,  and 
 certain  respecting  its  evidences,  but  it  must  also  be 
 practically  adapted  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  wants 
 of  mankind  at  large.  We  may  conceive  a  Religion 
 which  aflPords  all  that  we  wish  to  know  regarding 
 Him,  for  whose  pleasure  we  exist  and  were  created. 
 It  may  give  us  worthy  thoughts  of  the  character  of 
 God  ;  it  may  rest  upon  the  surest  foundation  as  to  its 
 divine  appointment ;  it  may  be  true,  complete,  and 
 certain  on  all  these  points,  and  still  we  may  fancy  the 
 case  of  its  not  being  practically  that  which  we  need. 
 A  Rehgion  may  be  worthy  to  be  received  by  beings 
 of  a  brighter  world,  and  adapted  to  their  pecuhar  con- 
 dition ;  but  the  question  is.  Does  it  suit  our  case  ? 
 Does  it  bring  to  man  a  plan  of  salvation  worthy  of 
 God,  and  adapted  to  his  practical  wants  ? 
 
 A  true,  complete,  certain,  and  suitable  Religion 
 will  serve  as  a  standard  or  criterion  of  truth,  by  which 
 all  spurious   forms  of   Religion   nuist  be    tried    and 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  175 
 
 examined.  We  shall  now  apply  this  test  to  the  Christian 
 system  of  religious  belief,  and  if  found  applicable,  no 
 one  will  question  our  right  to  set  it  up  as  the  standard 
 of  truth  in  religious  matters. 
 
 5.  As  regards  the  first  point,  we  find  that  the 
 Christian  Religion  affords  the  most  sublime,  complete, 
 and  comprehensive  representation  of  the  character  and 
 the  attributes  of  the  Deity  ;  of  all  his  works,  and  ways, 
 and  counsels  regarding  his  creatures.  The  revelation 
 of  the  character  of  God,  as  we  have  it  in  the  Bible, 
 was  evidently  extremely  desirable,  and  our  expectations 
 on  this  important  point  have  not  been  disappointed ; 
 whilst  there  is  a  strange  and  sickening  desolation  in 
 all  Pagan  systems  of  belief.  These  we  have  found 
 to  be  utterly  deficient  in  the  most  essential  points. 
 They  have  no  clear  ideas  either  of  the  unity,  or  of 
 the  spirituality,  or  of  the  holiness,  or  of  the  goodness 
 and  providence  of  the  Supreme  Being. 
 
 Again ;  the  origin,  the  condition,  and  the  high  calling 
 of  man,  are  revealed  only  in  the  Christian  Religion. 
 The  origin  of  his  species  was  naturally  a  point  which 
 could  only  be  known  to  man  by  immediate  revelation. 
 The  absence  of  this  revelation  has  produced  those 
 fabulous,  absurd,  and  degrading  ideas  which  are  gene- 
 rally connected  with  the  creation  of  man.  Until  in- 
 formation was  given  upon  this  point.  Reason  had  no 
 data  from  which  to  make  her  eductions ;  Philosophy 
 was  tormented  with  doubt  and  uncertainty;  and  History 
 in  this  respect  could  only  commence  with  a  hypothesis 
 
176  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 of  a  most  arbitrary  character.  As  regards  the  present 
 condition  of  man,  we  hkewise  observe  that  Christianity 
 alone  throws  sufficient  hght  upon  this  dark  subject. 
 It  dehneates  the  character  of  man  as  we  find  it  repre- 
 sented in  history,  and  as  it  is  experienced  in  our- 
 selves, without  reflecting  moral  imputation  upon  the 
 character  of  the  Deity.  He  is  represented  as  having 
 suffered  a  violent  shock,  by  which  he  has  gone  very 
 far  from  his  original  integrity.  He  is  likewise  repre- 
 sented as  having  drawn  the  whole  creation  after  him, 
 and  brought  it  into  an  unnatural  condition.  Every 
 other  religious  system,  being  without  chart  and  com- 
 pass, steers  in  the  darkest  imcertainty,  and  labours 
 under  the  grossest  ignorance  on  this  important  sub- 
 ject. Paganism  is  uncertain  as  to  the  original  and 
 present  condition  of  man,  and  confused  as  to  his 
 future  destiny,  which  involves  the  great  and  eternal 
 emancipation  of  the  whole  creation  from  the  bondage 
 of  sin,  vanity,  and  corruption. 
 
 But  the  Christian  Religion  is  supported  by  suf- 
 ficient evidence  as  to  its  divine  character.  As  it  is  true 
 and  complete,  so  also  it  is  authenticated  by  such  a 
 body  of  evidences  as  will  carry  conviction  to  every 
 unprejudiced  mind.  Revelation,  unless  repeated  to 
 every  individual,  must  clearly  be  supported  by  the 
 testimony  of  others.  Now,  as  we  cannot  be  present 
 at  the  same  time  in  all  places,  and  cannot  observe 
 every  thing  in  our  own  person,  we  are  naturally 
 guided    by  the  testimony  of  others.     There  are  in- 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  177 
 
 numerable  things  in  which  we  are  immediately  inte- 
 rested, which  have  occurred  at  a  great  distance  from 
 us,  and    sometimes  even    in  former  ages.     It  must, 
 therefore,  have  been  the  purpose  of  God  in   consti- 
 tuting us  as  he  has  done,  that  we  should  in  reference 
 to  these  things  be  assisted  by  the  accounts  of  those 
 who  have  been  witnesses  of  the  transactions.     We 
 must    suppose  the   individuals  in    question    to   have 
 been  endowed  with  the  same  capacities  with  which  we 
 are   endowed.     The   same   objects   which   we  should 
 have  seen,  heard,  handled,  and  examined,  were  seen, 
 heard,  handled,    and   examined   by  those  who  lived 
 at  the  time,   and  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  circum- 
 stances which  they  have  recorded.     If  the  events  were 
 such   as   to   make   those   persons   feel   interested  in 
 them,  they  in  all  probability  acted  as  we  should  have 
 acted,  had  we  been  in  their  position.     We  must  yield 
 to  the  same  principle  respecting  moral  and  spiritual 
 subjects.     In   religious    matters  we  must   act    upon 
 the  same  principle  ;  indeed,  if  we  had  not  this  dispo- 
 sition of  mind,  we  should  be  incapable  of  estimating 
 the  claims  which  Religion  has  upon   our  confidence, 
 and  of  appreciating  the  evidences  upon  which  it  is 
 founded.     Now,  if  we  inquire  by  what  means  God, 
 with  whom  "  nothing  is  impossible,"  has  supported 
 the  character  of  revealed  Rehgion,   we  find  all  that 
 human  faculties  can  comprehend  and  an  enlightened 
 mind  can  demand. 
 
 It  is,  indeed,  not  a  mere  logical  process  by  which 
 
 VOL.  II.  N 
 
178  STANDARD   OF   TRUTH  [chap.  il. 
 
 its  divine  character  is  supported.  For  true  Religion 
 itself  is  far  above  the  freezing  atmosphere  of  so 
 mechanical  a  mode  of  procedure,  and  its  evidence  is 
 brought  home  to  the  heart  of  man  by  the  demonstra- 
 tion of  Spirit  and  power.  It  is  approved  of  God 
 among  men  at  all  times  by  miracles  and  wonders  and 
 signs.  The  Christian  Religion  is  anointed  with  the 
 power  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  it  gathers  the  evidences 
 of  its  truth  by  going  about  and  doing  good,  and 
 healing  all  that  are  oppressed  with  devils.  Its  evan- 
 gelists and  apostles  go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
 good  tidings  to  every  creature,  because  they  cannot 
 but  speak  the  things  which  they  have  seen  and  heard. 
 It  Cometh  every  where,  not  Avith  outward  observation 
 and  words  only,  but  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
 and  in  much  assurance.  It  demands  every  where 
 that  men  should  "  come  and  see,''  and  do  the  will  of 
 our  heavenly  Father,  that  they  may  know  whether  it 
 be  of  God  or  of  man.  The  experience  and  the 
 acknowledgment  of  its  truth  necessarily  synchronize ; 
 and  men  believe  not  so  much  on  account  of  its 
 circumstantial  evidence  as  on  account  of  personal 
 experience.  Having  received  it,  all  know  for  a  cer- 
 tainty that  it  comes  from  God,  and  that  God  has 
 sent  it. 
 
 This  mode  of  manifesting  its  efficacy  is  inse- 
 parable from  its  very  character.  Being  strictly  of  a 
 supernatural  nature,  which  cannot  be  derived  from 
 anything  already  existing,   it  can  only  be  known  by 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  179 
 
 experience.  It  would  cease  to  be  what  it  really  is, 
 were  it  to  permit  any  individual  to  sit  in  judgment 
 upon  its  merits.  Having  been  hidden,  as  the  mystery 
 of  mysteries,  from  the  eyes  of  man  since  the  founda- 
 tion of  the  world,  it  would  have  been  inconsistent, 
 upon  its  being  revealed,  that  it  should  submit  to  the 
 wretched  and  miserable  criticisms  of  the  speculative 
 powers  of  that  reason  which  had  shown  itself  utterly 
 incompetent  to  do  anything  in  the  sphere  of  religious 
 truth. 
 
 In  order  to  prepare  man  for  the  reception  of  this 
 mighty  evidence,  Christianity  not  only  demands  a 
 single  eye  to  behold  its  glory,  and  the  docility  of  babes 
 to  receive  its  instruction,  but  it  awakens,  strengthens, 
 and  restores  every  faculty  in  his  nature.  It  docs  not, 
 indeed,  demand  from  man  a  blind  submission,  but  its 
 claims  upon  his  heart  are  founded,  first  of  all,  upon 
 its  prophetical  character,  in  which  it  searches  the 
 secrets  of  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men,  and  prophesies 
 truth  into  their  consciences,  telling  them  all  they  "  ever 
 did."  The  secrets  of  the  heart  are  made  manifest ; 
 and  the  Hindoo  who  is  touched  by  the  truth,  will 
 insist  that  St.  Paul  must  have  been  a  Hindoo  himself 
 to  have  been  able  to  describe  his  character  in  the  way 
 he  does.  Not  walking  in  dishonesty  nor  craftiness, 
 true  Religion  commends  itself  to  every  man's  conscience 
 in  the  sight  of  God,  by  the  manifestation  of  the  truth. 
 Whilst  this  character  of  true  Religion  leads  the  honest 
 mind  to  see  greater  things  than  these,  those  that  love 
 
 N  2 
 
180  STANDARD   OF   TRUTH  Cchap.  ir. 
 
 darkness  rather  tlian  liglit  are  confirmed  in  tlicir  un- 
 belief. He  that  is  not  with  it  will  be  against  it.  For 
 unto  judgment  it  was  manifested  in  the  world,  that 
 they  which  see  not  might  see,  and  that  they  which 
 imagine  themselves  to  see,  might  be  made  blind. 
 They  do  not  understand  the  nature  of  true  Rehgion, 
 because,  their  deeds  being  evil,  they  cannot  hear  its 
 testimony  against  them.  Because  it  tells  them  the 
 truth  concerning  all  they  ever  did,  they  believe  not ! 
 To  such  a  people  no  other  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
 Christianity  remaineth  but  the  final  judgment.  (See 
 John  xii.  48.) 
 
 When  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  is  poured 
 out  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  eyes  of  his  understanding 
 are  enlightened  to  appreciate  the  numerous  evidences 
 which  are  set  forth  in  the  person  of  Christ,  in 
 his  body  the  Church,  and  in  his  word  the  Holy 
 Scriptures. 
 
 The  testimony  of  Christ,  whicli  he  gives  of  himself, 
 and  which  the  Father  gives  of  the  Son,  is,  at  the 
 same  time,  a  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
 Religion,  which  is  intelligible  to  every  one  that  is  of 
 God ;  for  he  that  is  of  God  heareth  his  w^ords.  Christ 
 doeth  the  works  of  the  Father ;  and  the  works  which 
 the  Father  has  given  him  to  finish  bear  witness  of  the 
 Son.  The  Father  is  in  him,  and  he  is  in  the  Father  ; 
 and  he  is  so  one  with  the  Father,  that  he  that  be- 
 lieveth  in  the  Son  believeth  in  the  Father. 
 
 The  person  of  Christ  was  the  miracle  of  miracles ; 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  181 
 
 liis  word  and  liis  doctrine  were  miraculous  ;  all  his 
 works  and  deeds  were  miraculous.  His  doctrine  was 
 miraculous ;  his  works  and  miracles  were  doctrinal. 
 All  his  words  and  deeds  Avere  so  many  reflections  of 
 that  Godhead  which  was  dwelling  in  him  bodily. 
 He  was  the  fountain  of  all  that  is  gracious,  and  great, 
 and  glorious,  and  wonderful,  and  powerful,  and  holy. 
 Hence  it  was  that  his  inspired  disciples  wrote  of  his 
 person  in  that  remarkable  language :  "  JFe  beheld 
 his  glory,  the  (jlory  as  of  the  only-heyoUen  of  the 
 Father,  full  of  yrace  and  truth!''  He  "  manifested 
 forth  his  ylory,  and  his  disciples  believed  on  hiniJ' 
 "  In  him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily." 
 "  We  have  not  followed  cunningly  devised  fables,  when 
 we  made  known  unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of 
 our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  were  eye-ivifnesses  of  his 
 majesty"  And  when  they  are  about  to  portray  the 
 future  happiness  and  to  describe  the  ineffable  bliss  of 
 his  redeemed,  they  can  find  no  terms  more  appropriate 
 than  such  as  these :  ''  We  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 
 They  are  "  to  be  present  with  the  Loed  ;"  they 
 shall  "  be  with  Christ  !" 
 
 Verily,  Christ  and  his  Religion  may  v/ell  say : 
 "  /  receive  not  testimony  from  man."  "  He  that 
 believeth  not  is  already  condemned ;  because  he  hath 
 not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only-begotten  Son  of 
 God."  "  He  that  hath  received  his  testimony,  hath  set 
 to  his  seal  that  God  is  true."  "  He  that  believeth  not 
 the   Son,   shall   not  see  life;  but  the  wrath    of  God 
 
182  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH  [chap.  n. 
 
 abicleth  on  him."     These  are  the  authoritative  decla- 
 rations of  the  Mouth  of  Truth. 
 
 Again ;  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  testify 
 of  Christ,  because  the  Prophets  were  searching  into 
 these  things,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  being  in  them.  As 
 Christ,  therefore,  testified  of  himself  in  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment as  well  as  in  the  New,  the  Jews  did  not  believe 
 Moses,  because  they  did  not  believe  in  Christ. 
 
 As  the  Prophets  testified  of  Christ  through  his 
 Spirit  which  was  in  them,  (1  Pet.  i.  10,  11,)  so, 
 again,  the  Apostles  bear  witness  of  Christ  by  the  self- 
 same Spirit.  Their  testimony  is,  again,  not  "  with 
 wisdom  of  toords^  not  "  \oith  enticing  loords  of  mans 
 wisdom''  but  "  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and 
 of  poiver,"  that  man's  faith  should  not  stand  in  the 
 wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God.  The 
 weapons  of  their  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty, 
 through  God,  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds, 
 casting  down  reasonings  and  every  thing  that  exalteth 
 itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bringing  into 
 captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ. 
 
 The  testimony  of  the  Apostles  was  always  accom- 
 panied by  that  Spirit  who  searcheth  the  mind  of  the 
 Lord,  and  the  deep  things  of  the  Godhead. 
 
 We  shall  not  enlarge  upon  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
 tianity, and  the  testimonies  which  the  Church  has 
 given  of  her  adorable  Head ;  but  whosoever  has  such 
 testimonies  given  unto  him  as  were  given  to  Christ, 
 may  indeed    declare,  with  all    authority  and  power. 
 
CHAP.  11.]  IN   RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  183 
 
 *'  Whosoever  believeth  not,  shall  be  condemned.  Heaven 
 and  earth  shall  jJ ass  away,  hut  these  my  ivords  shall  not 
 pass  away  !  " 
 
 0.  The  Christian  Religion  is,  however,  not  only- 
 true  in  all  its  parts  and  bearings ;  it  is  not  only  com- 
 plete to  all  intents  and  purposes;  it  is  not  only 
 authenticated  by  a  body  of  evidences,  which  carry  con- 
 viction to  every  unprejudiced  mind ;  but  it  is,  lastly, 
 also  practically  adapted  to  the  moral  and  spiritual 
 wants  of  mankind  at  large.  We  are  not  onlv  theo- 
 retically  informed  of  the  Deity  and  his  attributes,  but 
 we  are  made  acquainted,  at  the  same  time,  with  the 
 terms  upon  which  he  is  willing  to  be  our  God.  We 
 are  not  only  told  what  we  were,  and  are,  and  must 
 become,  but  tlie  Christian  Religion  provides  likewise 
 all  necessary  means  and  ways  by  which  to  make  this 
 our  callins;  and  election  sure.  If  we  are  to  have  a 
 Religion,  let  it  suit  our  case  and  answer  its  practical 
 purpose.  If  we  suppose  the  case,  that  the  revelations 
 of  a  Religion  did  not  approve  themselves  to  our 
 nature,  however  much  we  might  be  persuaded  of 
 their  speculative  truth,  they  would  be  inapplicable  to 
 any  purpose  of  practical  utility.  The  Christian  Re- 
 ligion is  eminently,  and  above  all  others,  a  practical 
 Religion.  It  appeals  to  our  hopes  and  fears  ;  it 
 approves  itself  to  our  rational  faculties;  it  bespeaks 
 our  love,  engages  our  gratitude,  and  leaves  untouched 
 none  of  our  affections. 
 
 It  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  Christian  Religion,  that 
 
184  STANDARD   OF   TRUTH  [chap.  if. 
 
 it  appears  to  the  inquiring  mind  under  a  variety  of 
 aspects.  Like  a  diamond,  which  at  each  turn  emits 
 fresh  histre  and  exhibits  another  variety  of  hue  and 
 colour,  so  pecuhariy  striking  in  that  gem,  so  each 
 aspect  of  the  pearl  of  great  price  is  fraught  with  fresh 
 glory  and  goodhness.  It  appears  as  wisdom  to  the 
 foolish;  it  opens  riches  to  the  poor,  abundant  grace 
 and  free  pardon  to  the  sinner.  It  thus  bears  directly 
 upon  the  several  wants  of  mankind.  And  as  at  the 
 beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  one  man  was  roused 
 
 Do 
 
 by  mighty  and  miraculous  events;  another  by  the 
 wonderftd  fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecy ;  a  third  by 
 the  incomparable  character  of  the  Divine  messenger ; 
 another,  by  the  extraordinary  nature  of  his  Divine 
 revelations;  and  again  another  by  the  soothing 
 accents  of  the  Gospel  message;  so  this  Religion 
 has  ever  since  been  found  to  be  remarkably  adapted 
 to  every  diversity  of  the  human  character.  All, 
 indeed,  have  to  come,  and  see,  and  to  taste  the 
 graciousness  of  the  Deity ;  and  there  is  ample  occa- 
 sion, in  the  variety  of  peculiarities  and  wants  of 
 men,  to  prompt  their  coming  to  Christ  and  to  his 
 gospel. 
 
 The  restless  driving  about  of  Paganism  in  empty 
 forms  and  unprofitable  ceremonies,  sufficiently  shows 
 that  man  was  not  altogether  unconscious  of  his  de- 
 plorable condition.  It  was,  therefore,  of  the  utmost 
 practical  importance  that  true  Religion  should  not  only 
 propose  a  reasonable  and  satisfactory  plan  of  salvation, 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN     RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  185 
 
 but  actually  administer  all  that  was  necessary  to  redeem 
 the  intellect,  the  mind,  the  affections  of  the  whole  man 
 from  their  unhappy  and  forlorn  condition. 
 
 Man  being  impressed  with  a  deep  sense  of  his  guilt, 
 we  have  the  universal  prevalence  of  atoning  sacrifices  ; 
 and  a  Religion  without  sacrifice  would  have  been 
 unsuited  to  a  fallen  and  guilty  race  of  men.  We 
 have  not  only  a  keeping  alive  of  the  remembrance 
 of  sin  during  the  time  of  the  Old  Testament,  but,  (and 
 this  is  the  greatest  charm  of  the  Gospel,)  the  Lamb  of 
 God  taketh  away  in  the  fulness  of  time  the  sins  of  the 
 whole  world. 
 
 Again ;  constituted  as  we  are,  it  would  seem  that  a 
 Religion  without  some  external  positive  institutions 
 would  not  be  suited  even  to  the  days  in  which  we  now 
 live.  We  have  found  that  true  Religion  was  strictly 
 adapted  to  the  primitive  days  of  mankind  by  its  sym- 
 bolical character.  And  if  we  should  find  in  these  latter 
 days  a  Religion  with  some  sacred  obligatory  and 
 spiritualizing  institutions,  we  must  consider  it  a  strong 
 presumptive  argument  in  favom'  of  that  Religion. 
 
 Now  the  rites  of  the  Christian  belief  are  not  only 
 simple,  and  free  from  all  the  vain  pomp  of  imposing 
 ceremonies ;  they  are  not  only  innocent  and  profitable 
 ceremonies, — but  they  are  Divine  sacraments,  in  which 
 an  invisible,  spiritual,  supernatural  grace  is  communi- 
 cated through  a  visible  sign. 
 
 Again ;  such  a  Religion  only  seems  to  be  suited  to 
 our  nature  which  would  humble  and  impress  us  with 
 
186  STANDARD    OF    TRUTH  [chap.  il. 
 
 a  deep  sense  of  our  weakness  and  guilt.  All  spurious 
 systems  of  Religion  fill  the  human  heart  with  self-com- 
 placency and  arrogance  ;  sentiments  which  are  directly 
 calculated  to  destroy  every  principle  of  true  piety  and 
 vital  morality.  Christianity  alone  imbues  the  heart  of 
 man  with  the  principle  of  genuine  humility.  It  is  said 
 of  Apollonius  Tyanseus,  a  Pythagorean  philosopher, 
 who  was  considered  a  pattern  of  perfection  by  his 
 fellow-Pagans,  that  he  was  accustomed  to  conclude 
 all  his  prayers,  "  Give  unto  me,  0  ye  gods,  what  I 
 deserve!''  IIow  different  the  conclusion  of  Christian 
 prayers,  when  we  generally  hear  words  like  these  : 
 "  Hear  us,  0  God,  through  the  merits  and  mediation 
 of  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  our  Lord ;"  or,  "  We  be- 
 seech thee  to  hear  ns,  for  the  love  of  thy  only  Son, 
 our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ;"  or,  "  Through  Jesus  Christ 
 our  Lord  r'  How  different  the  prayer  of  Apollonius  : 
 "  Give  unto  me,  O  ye  gods,  what  I  deserve,"  if  com- 
 pared with  that  humble  petition,  "  Forgive  ns  our 
 trespasses  /  "  Again,  what  a  fearful  contrast  is  Apol- 
 lonius to  the  publican,  who  when  he  appears  in  the 
 house  of  prayer  is  ashamed  to  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven, 
 and  exclaims,  "  God  he  merciful  unto  me  a  sinner  !  " 
 Plow  different,  again,  the  sentiments  of  the  native  con- 
 vert of  the  Malabar  coast,  who,  in  aiding  the  transla- 
 tion of  1  John,  chap.  iii.  1,  was  so  struck  with  the 
 magnitude  of  the  idea,  that  he  thought  it  too  high,  too 
 bold,  and  too  much,  that  we  should  be  called  the 
 children  of  God;  and  proposed  that  he  should  render 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  187 
 
 the  passage,  "  Behold  what  manner  of  love  the  Father 
 hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  allowed  to 
 kiss  the  feet  of  the  Father  !  " 
 
 We  discover  a  further  adaptation  of  true  Religion 
 to  the  wants  of  humanity  in  the  blessed  character  of 
 our  adorable  Redeemer,  who  is  the  very  centre  of  the 
 whole  system.  The  Christian  Religion  alone  furnishes 
 a  perfect  model  of  what  is  pure,  and  good,  and  holy, 
 represented  in  a  historical  person.  It  has  always  been 
 a  peculiar  wish  of  the  human  mind  to  shape  unto  itself 
 certain  models  of  moral  perfection.  Hence,  the  crea- 
 tion of  imaginary  heroes  in  the  Grecian  and  other 
 mythologies,  to  whom  they  looked  as  examples,  and 
 for  encouragement  in  their  various  pursuits.  Yet  even 
 these  fictitious  persons  were  far  from  being  free  from 
 human  infirmities.  Hence  Plato  still  desired  to  be- 
 hold  an  incarnation  of  virtue,  because  he  was  con- 
 vinced that  the  example  would  act  far  more  powerfully 
 than  all  teaching  and  exhortation  could  accomplish. 
 Philosophy  in  the  following  ages  framed,  it  was 
 thought,  a  model  of  perfection  upon  the  principles  of 
 Stoicism,  in  which  man  was  considered  to  excel  even 
 the  Deity,  Some  there  were,  however,  who  looked 
 for  this  image  of  moral  perfection  in  real  life.  Amongst 
 these  was  Seneca.  "We  must  needs  have  a  virtuous 
 man,"  he  says,  "  and  always  keep  him  before  our  eyes  ; 
 so  that  we  live,  as  it  were,  under  his  eyes,  and  look  at 
 him  in  all  our  actions.  Our  soul  must  have  some- 
 body  for  incessant  contemplation,  by  which  it  may 
 
188  STANDARD    OF    TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 improve  its  purity.  Choose  Cato,  therefore,  or,  if  he 
 perhaps  be  too  strict  for  you,  make  Laelius,  a  man  of 
 softer  manners,  a  model  of  thy  actions.  In  short,  choose 
 him  whose  words  and  actions  please  thee  best.  Always 
 recollect  his  sentiments,  and  remember  his  conversation, 
 and  keep  him  before  thee  as  guardian  and  examiple." 
 
 Now,  Christ  Jesus  was  born  to  this  end,  and  for  this 
 cause  he  came  into  the  world,  that  he  by  word  and 
 deed  should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth ;  and  as  the 
 way,  as  the  truth,  and  as  the  life,  he  has  left  us  an 
 example  that  we  should  follow  his  steps ;  and  the  ad- 
 monition is  to  all :  *'  Let  this  mind  be  in  you  which  was 
 also  in  Christ  Jesus."  "  I  have  given  you  an  example," 
 saith  Christ,  after  every  action  of  his  life,  "  that  ye 
 should  do  as  I  have  done."  We  are  to  be  followers 
 of  God  incarnate,  as  dear  children.  No  common  man 
 can  be,  strictly  speaking,  a  sufficient  and  authoritative 
 example  for  other  men :  partly  because  all  men  are 
 placed  upon  the  same  level  before  God,  with  whom 
 there  is  no  respect  of  persons ;  partly  because  all  are 
 labouring  under  sin  and  infirmities  ;  and  partly,  also, 
 in  consequence  of  the  peculiarity  and  the  limited  cha- 
 racter of  each  common  individual.  As  man  is  created 
 to  grow  up  in  the  likeness  of  his  Maker,  he  can  have  no 
 other  example  and  model  of  action  than  God  himself. 
 (Eph.  V.  1.)  God  was  manifested  in  the  flesh,  to 
 render  visible  the  "  express  image  of  his  person  "  to 
 mortal  eyes.  This  image  of  his  person  was  Christ, 
 who  could  say,  "  Philip,  he  that  hath  seen  me,  hath 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN     RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  189 
 
 seen  the  Father."     As  far  as  his  mmcl  is  in  us,  we  are 
 
 again  to  become  cnsaniplcs  one  to  the  other.     (Phil,  iii, 
 
 17  ;  1  Thess.  i.  7  ;  1  Tim.  iv.  12.)  And  as  Christ  was  in 
 
 all  respects  like  unto  us,  sin  only  excepted,  he  was  thus  ■ 
 
 enabled  to  exercise  that  experimental  sympathy,  which 
 
 he  learned  when  tempted  in  all  things  like  ourselves. 
 
 Again ;  not  a  national,  but  a  universal  Religion 
 was  suited  to  mankind.  For,  in  order  to  benefit  the 
 whole  race  of  man,  it  could  not  limit  its  blessings  to 
 any  particular  nation.  Genuine  Religion  bore  its 
 national  character  no  longer  than  was  absolutely  ne- 
 cessary ;  and  it  is  the  only  system  of  Religion  which 
 bears  this  universal  character ;  for  even  the  Religion 
 of  Islam  has  only  the  appearance,  but  not  the  reality, 
 of  this  universality.  But  what  it  could  not  have, 
 partly  on  account  of  its  dogma  of  predestination,  partly 
 on  account  of  its  ritual,  it  would  substitute  by  a 
 fanatical  application  of  external  force. 
 
 Again ;  we  should  expect  that  true  and  perfect  Reli- 
 gion would  particularly  provide  for  the  simple  of  the 
 people,  as  they  were  so  totally  neglected  by  all  other 
 systems  of  Religion.  When  Socrates  had  once  attempted 
 to  gain  the  heart  of  the  Athenians  by  the  popular 
 mode  of  instruction,  it  was  said  in  his  praise,  that  he 
 had  brought  wisdom  from  heaven,  and  introduced  it 
 into  towns  and  houses.  How  much  more  can  be  said 
 of  the  popularity  of  the  Gospel  Religion!  Our  blessed 
 Lord,  with  all  his  wisdom,  despised  the  art  of  rhetoric, 
 and  yet  the  people  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine ; 
 
190  STANDARD    OF    TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 for  his  word  was  with  power ;  "he  taught  them  as  one 
 having  authority,  and  not  as  the  Scribes."  At  another 
 time  all  bear  him  witness,  and  wonder  at  the  gracious 
 words  which  proceed  out  of  his  mouth.  How  well 
 adapted  were  his  incomparable  Parables  to  instruct  the 
 simple,  and  to  make  them  wise  unto  salvation  !  The 
 mysteries  of  the  kingdom  were  revealed  by  his  minis- 
 try unto  babes.  When  conversing  near  the  well  at 
 Samaria,  or  preaching  in  the  Temple,  whilst  the  water 
 was  brought  thither,  he  calls  himself  the  fountain  of 
 livincj  ivaters ;  when  he  heals  the  blind,  he  stands 
 forth  as  the  liglit  of  the  ivorld ;  when  he  is  feeding 
 miraculously  a  great  multitude,  he  makes  himself 
 known  as  the  bread  of  life  which  came  down  from 
 heaven  ;  when  he  raises  the  dead,  he  shows  himself  as 
 the  resurrection  and  the  life.  The  Gospel,  therefore, 
 will  ever  be  the  stream  in  which  the  elephant  may 
 swim,  and  in  which  the  feeble  lambs  are  not  in  danger 
 of  being  drowned. 
 
 Finally,  to  allude  only  to  one  more  point,  the  history 
 of  true  Religion,  in  its  temporal  effects  upon  the  world 
 at  large,  fully  demonstrates  how  admirably  it  is  suited  to 
 civilize  and  to  ameliorate  the  human  species.  A/^niether 
 it  be  true  or  false  in  its  claims  upon  the  universal 
 belief  of  mankind,  its  salutary  influence  upon  the  life  of 
 man  in  all  its  phases  has  been  admitted  by  its  most 
 determined  adversaries.  A  highly  gifted  enemy  of 
 Christianity  confessed  in  the  last  century,  that  if  it  be 
 nothing  but  a  human  invention,    it  is  certainly  the 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN     RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  191 
 
 most  suitable  and  beneficial  by  which  the  human  race 
 could  have  been  deceived  to  their  real  benefit.  Now,  it 
 is  very  clear  that  whatever  leads  to  the  advancement 
 of  human  happiness  must  needs  be  consonant  with 
 and  adapted  to  the  whole  constitution  of  our  nature, 
 and  must  harmonize  with  the  great  machinery  of  the 
 universe  in  general. 
 
 The  Christian  Religion,  being  true,  complete,  cer- 
 tain, and  adapted  to  our  wants,  it  must  be  considered 
 the  standard  of  truth  in  religious  matters. 
 
 7.  The  Christian  Religion  satisfies  the  deepest 
 wants,  and  realizes  the  highest  expectation.  We  have 
 not  in  the  gospel  a  mere  experiment,  an  additional 
 theory  to  redeem  the  world ;  but  the  way,  the  truth, 
 and  the  life,  are  practically  unfolded.  The  law  and 
 the  gospel  aim  jointly  to  regenerate  the  world.  We 
 have  indeed  a  form  of  doctrine,  but  every  thing  bears 
 upon  the  hfe  and  the  moral  constitution  of  man,  in 
 contradistinction  to  every  other  creed.  We  have  here 
 no  religious  philosophy,  no  problem  to  be  solved,  no 
 empty  play  of  metaphysics.  Were  it  left  to  human 
 device  to  produce  religious  truth,  the  latter  would 
 naturally  embody  in  its  system  the  individual  views  of 
 the  party  concerned  in  its  production.  Were  man  to 
 be  allowed  to  frame  his  own  religious  system,  it  would 
 be  as  if  to  attempt  to  fetch  life  from  the  dead.  To 
 allow  man  to  aid  in  any  measure  in  the  appointment 
 of  Religion,  would  be  to  administer  fuel  to  the  lire 
 which  it  is  intended  to  quench. 
 
192  STANDARD   OF    TRUTH  [chap,  n. 
 
 To  avoid  all  these  dangers,  the  gospel  Religion 
 appears  in  the  character  of  a  testimony' which  God 
 hath  given  of  his  Son.  By  so  doing,  true  Religion 
 opens  an  altogether  new  view  of  God  to  mankind. 
 
 True  Religion  is  made  to  rest  upon  the  immutable 
 basis  of  a  divine  testimony  !  It  is  brought  within  the 
 horizon  of  man  in  the  form  of  divine  words  and 
 deeds  ;  whilst  the  candour  and  openness  with  which  it 
 demands  the  honest  investigation  of  man,  is  a  pre- 
 sumptive argument  strongly  in  its  favour.  It  loves 
 the  light,  and  moves  with  an  air  of  simplicity  which 
 we  find  in  no  other  creed.  All  spurious  systems  of 
 belief  abide  and  love  to  abide  in  darkness. 
 
 But  the  fact  that  true  Religion  is  offered  to  man  as 
 a  testimony  of  something  which  God  hath  wrought, 
 places  it  beyond  the  reach  of  man's  egotism.  True 
 Religion  infers  the  divine  character  of  its  doctrines 
 from  the  divine  character  of  the  testimony.  If  Chris- 
 tianity had  offered  itself  as  a  system  of  speculative 
 doctrines,  man  could  only  have  sought  a  standard  in 
 himself,  and  his  judgment  would  have  been  beclouded 
 by  the  reasonings  of  a  depraved  mind.  Religion  would 
 unavoidably  have  received  the  stamp  of  fallen  man  ; 
 it  would  have  been  reduced  to  a  spurious  system  of* 
 belief. 
 
 In  order  to  avoid  the  predicament  into  which  all 
 spurious  creeds  have  fallen,  revealed  Religion  was 
 founded  upon  the  rock  of  a  divine  testimony,  which 
 is  altogether  independent  of  man  ;    and,    like   every 
 
CHAP.  II.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  1 93 
 
 other  testimony  of  a  given  historical  fact,  it  is  placed 
 above  the  obnoxions  influence  of  man.     The  depraved 
 passions  of  man  may,  indeed,  becloud  his  view  of  the 
 record  which  God  has  given  of  himself,  but  they  can 
 neither  change  the  contents,  nor  yet  alter  the  form  of 
 this  testimony.    Facts  which  are  independent  of  us  are 
 always  the  same,  and  will  always  appear  in  the  same 
 light.      What  is  false,  is  false ;    and  what  is  true,  will 
 remain  true,  whether  we  consider  it  false  or  otherwise. 
 What  is  true  cannot  be  changed  into  false  by  our  sub- 
 jective belief.      Man  may  obstinately  shut  his  eyes  to 
 certain  historical  facts,  but  when  he  again  opens  them, 
 he  will  find   that  they  are  still    placed  before  him. 
 Man  may   shut  his  ears  to  the  divine  testimony,  but 
 the  testimony  will  still  sound  as  loud  as  at  any  other 
 period.      Man  may  reject  the  witness  in  unbelief,  but 
 the  testimony  will  ever  remain  the  same.      Nor  can 
 man  for  ever  withhold  his  assent  from  what  is  true, 
 any  more  than  he  can  for  any  length  of  time  believe  to 
 be  true  what  is  false  in  itself. 
 
 True  Religion,  therefore,  assumed  a  position  among 
 men,  which  while  it  affords  to  every  one  full  means 
 of  examination,  yet  preserves  itself  free  from  the 
 contaminating  influence  of  humanity.  It  thus  avoids 
 being  thrown  into  the  predicament  in  which  spurious 
 creeds  are  found.  Man  cannot  mix  his  own  ideas 
 with  the  testimony  of  God,  as  he  might  have  done 
 if  Religion  had  been  offered  in  the  form  of  a  philo- 
 sophy.    Man  cannot  derogate  from  the  merits  or  the 
 
 VOL.  II.  o 
 
194  STANDARD     OF    TRUTH  [chap.  ii. 
 
 force  of  the  divine  testimony.  This  testimony  is  con- 
 tained in  the  Bible ;  and  this  holy  book  may  vindicate 
 the  divine  character  of  the  testimony,  if  necessary,  in 
 the  same  words  with  which  Martin  Luther  defended 
 his  German  Translation  of  the  New  Testament ;  saying, 
 "  I  beseech  all  my  friends  and  foes,  my  masters,  print- 
 ers, and  readers,  to  allow  this  New  Testament  to  be 
 my  own.  If  they  find  fault  with  it,  let  them  make 
 one  of  their  own.  I  know  well  what  I  do ;  and  I 
 also  see  what  others  have  done.  But  this  Testament 
 shall  be  Luther's  New  Testament  in  the  German 
 tongue ;  for  there  is  no  end  and  no  measure  in  finding 
 fault  and  passing  censure." 
 
 Each  individual  is  at  liberty  to  receive  or  to  refuse 
 the  divine  testimony;  but  no  one  is  authorized  to 
 abstract  a  Religion  from  miscellaneous  sources,  and 
 then  to  give  it  the  name  of  the  Christian  Religion. 
 
 This  is  the  elevated  position  which  true  Religion  by 
 the  appointment  of  divine  wisdom  has  taken,  in  bring- 
 ing before  man  divine  Truth  as  an  object  of  faith,  and 
 not  so  much  as  an  object  of  knowledge.  We  do  not 
 deny  that  religious  truth  is  as  much  an  object  of 
 knowledge  as  it  is  of  faith.  But  in  order  to  obtain 
 a  living  knowledge  of  this  Truth,  we  must  first  yield 
 to  its  regenerating  influence,  which  is  extended  as 
 much  over  the  intellectual  as  any  other  of  the  human 
 faculties. 
 
 Christian  faith  and  Christian  knowledge  are  inse- 
 parably connected  one  with  the  other.     The  method 
 
CHAP,  u.]  IN    RELIGIOUS    MATTERS.  195 
 
 of  obtaining  Christian  knowledge  is  believing  with  the 
 heart,  (Rom.  x.  10,)  and  understanding  through  faith, 
 (Heb.  xi.  3).  By  this  method  the  above-mentioned 
 rock  is  avoided.  The  believing  with  the  heart  pre- 
 cedes all  intellectual  demonstration,  and  forms  the 
 basis  upon  which  a  sound  Christian  knowledge  is  to 
 arise.  By  faith  man  comes  to  receive  the  Divine  testi- 
 mony into  his  heart ;  the  germs  of  Christian  know- 
 ledge are  developed  with  the  growth  of  the  Christian 
 belief.  Faith  doth  not  commence  where  knowledge  is 
 at  a  loss,  or  where  it  is  at  an  end  ;  nor  is  faith  super- 
 seded by  knowledge ;  nor  are  both  originally  one  and 
 the  same  thing.  But  knowledge  inheres  and  takes 
 root  in  a  living  faith,  and  is  gradually  drawn  forth 
 into  perfection.  Faith,  again,  is  neither  merely  con- 
 templative, nor  yet  simply  intellectual,  but  it  receives 
 and  embraces  what  God  hath  wrought. 
 
 As  regards,  however,  the  certainty  of  the  things 
 which  are  thus  believed,  it  is  not  less  perfect  than  any 
 derived  from  contemplation.  It  gives,  on  the  con- 
 trary, scope  to  all  true  knowledge,  and  tone  to  all 
 sound  contemplation  of  divine  things.  And,  accord- 
 ing to  the  original,  (in  Heb.  xi.  1,)  the  perception  of 
 these  things  is  made  dependent  upon  it.  Christian 
 knowledge  springs  from  a  living  faith ;  it  is  a  new 
 process  of  thought  upon  a  new  principle ;  reflections 
 are  at  work  in  a  new  sphere  of  life,  and  the  dangers 
 Avhicli  threatened  to  compromise  the  interests  of  true 
 Religion  are  now  removed.     Credo  id  intelligam.    The 
 
 o  2 
 
196  STANDARD    OF   TRUTH.  [chap.  ii. 
 
 Christian  faith  is  intellectual,  and  is  made  fruitful  in 
 all  manner  of  knowledge  and  spiritual  understanding. 
 The  Christian  Religion  commences  the  process  of  heal- 
 ing where  it  ought  to  commence,  viz.  in  the  lieart  of 
 man  which  is  desperately  Avicked,  and  the  fountain- 
 head  of  human  existence.  It  demands  a  tliorougldy 
 new  heart,  and  a  right  spirit,  and  in  so  doing  it  avoids 
 the  follies  of  spurious  creeds,  which  at  all  times  put  a 
 new  piece  of  clotli  upon  old  garments. 
 
 When  mankind  therefore  had  corrupted  their  ways, 
 and  lost  sight  of  God,  God  did  not  lose  sight  of 
 them,  but  gave  them  a  true  Religion,  which  should 
 at  all  times  serve  as  a  Standard  of  Truth  in  matters 
 of  Religion  :  a  Religion  which,  flowing  through  the 
 width  and  breadth  of  time  and  space,  should  gladden 
 a  desponding  world,  and  rejoice  the  human  soul  in  its 
 weariness  and  despair. 
 
CHAPTER  III. 
 
 INTERNAL    DEVELOPMENT    AND    CHARACTER    OF 
 
 PAGANISM. 
 
 1.  Heathenism  and  Paganism  are  terms  perfectly 
 synonymous,  the  former  being  of  Saxon,  the  latter  of 
 Latin  origin.  The  Latin  word  Paganus  signifies, 
 however,  originally  nothing  beyond  a  peasmit,  a  man 
 of  the  country,  an  inhabitant  of  the  village,  in  contra- 
 distinction to  people  living  in  the  town  or  city.  The 
 Anglo-Saxon  Heathen,  and  the  German  Haide,  or 
 Heide,  originally  meant  only  a  person  living  in  a 
 heathy  district.  The  present  sense  of  the  terms 
 Heathen  and  Pagan,  according  to  which  they  signify 
 an  idolater,  is,  therefore,  different  from  the  primitive 
 signification  which  etymology  assigns  to  both  words. 
 The  Christian  Religion  having  celebrated  its  first  and 
 most  conspicuous  triumphs  in  large  and  populous 
 places  of  the  Roman  empire,  we  descry  Christian  con- 
 gregations in  the  towns  and  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  Italy, 
 Spain,  England,  France  and  Germany,  whilst  the  whole 
 
198         INTERNAL  DEVELOPMENT     [chap.  in. 
 
 country  round  about  was  still  sitting  in  the  darkness 
 of  idolatry  and  superstition. 
 
 In  the  year  of  our  Lord  350,  Idolatry  was  inter- 
 dicted and  driven  back  to  the  confines  of  the  country. 
 The  word  Pagan  in  its  present  sense,  in  which  it 
 signifies  an  idolatrous  person,  appears  first  in  a  law 
 of  Valentinian  in  the  year  368  ;  we  find  it  also 
 about  the  same  time  in  the  writings  of  Marinus  Vic- 
 torinus.  He  uses  it  in  this  sense  both  in  his  Arian 
 controversy,  and  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Epistle 
 of  St.  Paid  to  the  Galatians.  In  the  days  of  Theo- 
 dosius,  the  term  Pagan,  in  the  sense  of  an  idolator, 
 had  obtained  general  currency.  The  light  of  the 
 gospel  shone  upon  the  cities  and  towns,  whilst  Pagan 
 ignorance  still  brooded  over  the  mass  of  the  country 
 population ;  and  it  was  natural  that  to  the  early 
 Church,  a  paganus,  an  inhabitant  of  the  country,  and 
 a  worshipper  of  false  gods,  became  synonymous  terms, 
 and  were  applied  promiscuously  at  the  beginning, 
 until  the  whole  country  was  converted  to  Christianity, 
 and  the  term  Pagan  designated  no  longer  an  inha- 
 bitant of  the  country,  (for  this  original  sense  of  the  term 
 became  obsolete  in  usus  locpiendi,)  but  an  individual 
 who  was  yet  without  Christ,  and  a  stranger  from  the 
 covenant  of  the  gospel,  having  no  hope,  and  living 
 without  God  in  this  world. 
 
 2.  The  sense  in  which  Paganism  was  viewed  in  the 
 primitive  Church  w^as  in  perfect  accordance  with  the 
 word  of  God. 
 
CHAP.  III.]       AND   CHARACTER   OF    PAGANISM.  199 
 
 As,  however,  in  all  things,  so  also  in  this  present 
 instance,  men  will  embrace  erroneous  ideas  as  soon  as 
 they  cease  comparing  spiritual  things  with  sjnritual 
 things.  Paganism  was  looked  upon  by  degrees  as  a  pure 
 and  unmixed  emanation  of  the  devil.  Now,  although 
 Paganism  was  emphatically  "  the  toorld  which  lieth  in 
 wickedness y  yet  there  are  other  considerations  which 
 greatly  modify  this  view  of  the  case.  When  we  recollect 
 the  fierce  and  bloody  persecutions  which  had  befahen 
 the  Church  during  the  first  centuries  of  its  existence, 
 we  can  well  conceive  how  similar  views  were  produced 
 in  the  minds  of  the  early  Christians.  And  that  the 
 early  Pathers,  in  their  estimate  of  Paganism,  were 
 much  nearer  the  truth  than  are  many  individuals  of 
 the  present  day,  appears  very  clearly  from  Holy 
 Scripture.  According  to  the  unequivocal  testimony  of 
 Scripture,  the  Pagan  world  does  worship  devils ;  and 
 sacrifices  offered  to  them  put  men  into  connexion  with 
 those  evil  spirits.  (Lev.  xvii. ;  Deut.  xxxii. ;  2  Chron. 
 xi. ;  Psalm  cvi.  j  1  Cor.  x.  j  Rev.  ix.) 
 
 Paganism  was,  however,  looked  upon  by  degrees  in 
 a  light  different  from  that  in  which  it  was  viewed  by 
 the  early  Fathers;  and  a  Pagan  was  considered  an 
 individual  who  worshipped  images,  and  whose  natural 
 Religion  was  Polytheism.  The  Jews  and  Moham- 
 medans, as  well  as  the  Christians,  were  considered 
 worshippers  of  the  true  God.  According  to  this  view, 
 it  does  not  signify  how  correct  or  incorrect  the  notions 
 of  the  Deity  may  be,  or  from  what  source  they  may 
 
200  INTERNAL  DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  hi. 
 
 be  derived.  This  definition  of  Paganism,  according  to 
 which  it  inchides  all  nations  which  are  not  Christian, 
 or  Mohammedan,  or  Jewish,  has  now  been  generally 
 adopted ;  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  unscriptural,  and 
 militates  against  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  Divine 
 revelation. 
 
 But  the  above  idea  of  Paganism  only  paved  the 
 way  to  one  still  more  unchristian  and  anti-scriptural. 
 There  has  been  a  certain  class  of  people  in  Europe, 
 whose  liberal  views,  as  they  are  termed,  have  led 
 them  to  consider  Pagan  systems  as  expressions  of 
 pious  and  innocent  religious  feelings,  which  ought  to 
 be  revered  and  held  inviolable.  Such  as  had  once 
 adopted  those  views,  felt  naturally  bound  to  support 
 them  in  every  possible  way ;  and  several  ingenious 
 attempts  have  been  made  to  exhibit  the  beauties  of 
 these  spurious  systems  of  belief.  All  the  charms  and 
 graces  which  were  at  the  command  of  poetry  and 
 sentimental  feeling  were  freely  and  bountifully  poured 
 upon  them.  Where  they  could  not  help  feeling 
 ashamed  of  the  absurdities  of  a  degrading  idolatry,  all 
 was  done  to  mollify,  by  allegorical  interpretation,  the 
 most  offensive  features,  which  are  repugnant  to  every 
 feeling  of  propriety  and  sound  reason. 
 
 Yet,  with  all  the  goodwill  to  shield  Pagan  creeds 
 from  wdiat  they  are  pleased  to  call  bigotry,  these 
 modern  sages  have  displayed  considerable  uneasiness. 
 When  they  maintained  that  there  was  a  philosophical 
 system  concealed  below  the  popular  creeds,  which  was 
 
CHAP.  111.]      AND    CHARACTER   OF   PAGANISM.  201 
 
 materially  superior  to  the  latter,  they  betrayed  anxiety 
 to  lean  their  own  mortal  systems  of  spurious  Religion 
 against  the  esoteric  branches  of  Pagan  idolatry.  In  so 
 doing  they  impeach  the  persons  acquainted  with  these 
 philosophical  mysteries  with  a  studied  concealment  of 
 the  truth,  and  a  studied  deception  in  allowing  and 
 propagating  tenets  which  were  opposed  to  those  which 
 they  really  held.  How  many  of  our  European  Atheists 
 or  Pantheists  have  been  found  in  the  situation  of  the 
 Ephesians,  when  they  made  a  tremendous  uproar,  and 
 cried  out :    "  Great  is  the  Diana  of  the  Bphesians  T 
 
 Already,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  Boccaccio  had 
 made  the  attempt  to  render  Paganism  more  agreeable 
 in  aspect,  and  more  attractive  in  form.  Marsilius 
 Ficinus,  in  the  following  century,  directed  attention  to 
 its  philosophical  treasures,  and  by  degrees  men  of 
 great  talent  undertook  to  establish  a  certain  harmony 
 between  Judaism,  Christianity,  and  Paganism ;  the 
 latter  being  looked  upon  as  a  slight  and  modified 
 degeneration  of  the  Monotheism  of  the  Bible.  It  was 
 particularly  in  this  line  of  argument  that  Vossius 
 endeavoured  to  excel.  Bochart,  Banier,  Bryant, 
 Hallemann,  and  others,  seemed  charmed,  and  endea- 
 voured to  charm  others,  by  the  suppc/sed  discovery  of 
 the  historical  treasures  which  were  considered  to  be 
 contained  in  Paganism.  Bacon,  in  his  work  on  the 
 wisdom  of  the  ancients,  directed  the  attention  of  the 
 public  to  \Xvd  political  and  ethical  elements  of  Pagan- 
 ism.   Again;  others  have  metamorphosed  mythological 
 
202  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  ni. 
 
 systems  into  a  regular  almanac.  Paganism  was  trans- 
 formed into  a  system  of  astronomy,  without  any  further 
 (3eremony.  And  the  Trench  savant,  C.  Dupuis,  has 
 not  scrupled  to  declare  our  blessed  and  adorable 
 Saviour  to  be  nothing  more  than  the  sun,  his  Church 
 nothing  more  than  the  moon,  and  the  twelve  Apostles 
 nothing  more  than  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac! ! ! 
 Many  authors,  following  his  track,  have  found  nothing 
 in  Paganism  but  an  ill-judged  and  wild  system  of 
 astronomical  ideas.  Natales  Comes  and  ToUius,  with 
 others,  have  solved  Pagan  Mythologies  in  the  crucible 
 of  the  chemist  and  the  natural  philosopher. 
 
 Thus,  each  gratified  himself  in  his  own  w^ay  in  dis- 
 covering in  Paganism  what  he  listed;  and  all  the 
 various  methods  of  viewing  the  subject  were  calculated 
 to  disguise  its  monstrosity,  to  give  it  a  more  agree- 
 able character,  and  to  render  it  more  attractive. 
 
 3.  Before  we  proceed  to  give  the  scriptural  view  of 
 the  character  of  Paganism,  we  shall  make  a  few  general 
 remarks  as  to  the  development  of  spurious  Religion  in 
 the  heart  of  man. 
 
 When  Europe  was  yet  under  the  sway  of  Spmious 
 Philosophy,  a  theory  obtained  according  to  which 
 mankind  gradually  emerged  from  idolatry  and  Poly- 
 theism. The  primeval  state  of  man  was  delineated  as 
 that  of  a  savage,  whose  time  was  spent  in  a  struggle 
 for  his  subsistence,  in  a  melancholy  conflict  with  fierce 
 elements  and  wild  beasts.  This  theory  M^as  supported 
 by  a  series  of  gratuitous  assumptions,  to  explain  the 
 
CHAP.  III.]      AND   CHARACTER   OF   PAGANISM.  203 
 
 gradual  development  of  the  social  principle  amidst 
 chance,  suggestions,  and  arbitrary  conventionalities. 
 This  arbitrary  method  of  reasoning  is,  however,  at 
 variance  with  the  spirit  of  true  Philosophy,  with  the 
 remnants  of  ancient  tradition,  and  with  the  records  of 
 sacred  and  profane  history.  It  was  natural  that  the 
 above  theory  should  have  as  quickly  exploded  as  it 
 was  commonly  believed  at  one  period.  The  contrary 
 of  what  it  propounded  was  shown  to  be  the  case  by 
 every  philosopher,  by  every  student  of  Mythology,  as 
 well  as  by  the  common  traditions  which  are  preserved 
 in  the  Pagan  world. 
 
 The  degeneracy  of  mankind  is  a  very  common  topic 
 of  complaint  with  ancient  philosophers  ;  and  the  almost 
 universal  chronological  division  of  the  dm'ation  of  the 
 world  into  four  different  ages,  and  the  fact  that  each 
 succeeding  age  was  inferior  to  the  previous,  clearly 
 shows  the  futile  character  of  the  above-mentioned 
 theory.  How  otherwise  shall  we  understand  the  order 
 in  which  the  golden  age  is  followed  by  the  silver  one, 
 and  the  silver  one  by  the  age  of  brass,  and  the  age  of 
 brass  by  the  iron  age,  if  the  degeneracy  of  the  human 
 race  be  not  an  article  of  every  form  of  spurious 
 Religion  ? 
 
 That  from  the  first  the  religious  condition  of  man 
 was  that  of  Polytheism  or  Atheism,  whence,  by  some 
 fortuitous  circumstance,  he  had  obtained  certain  ideas  of 
 God  and  divine  things,  is  contradicted  by  the  common 
 testimony  of  all  sages  in  all  ages.     On  the  other  hand, 
 
204  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  hi. 
 
 the  account  of  the  Bible,  if  viewed  even  hypothetically, 
 can  alone  give  a  satisfactory  solution  of  those  otherwise 
 inexphcable  phenomena  that  crowd  upon  our  minds. 
 With  this  lamp  to  guide  our  footsteps,  all  difficulties 
 are  made  plain,  and  every  thing  before  our  eyes  ap- 
 pears mournfully  illustrated. 
 
 Man  was  created  good  and  holy ;  and  if  there  had 
 been  no  degeneracy  from  this  primitive  condition, 
 there  would  have  been  no  degrading  system  of  Pagan- 
 ism. Man  enjoyed  a  knowledge  of  his  Maker,  which 
 could  only  be  limited  by  the  disproportion  between 
 finite  faculties  and  the  infinite  nature  of  the  object  of 
 his  knowledge.  The  attributes  of  the  Almighty  were 
 reflected  in  his  pure  natnre  as  in  a  bright  mirror.  All 
 his  thoughts,  affections,  and  feelings  were  regulated 
 by  the  Divine  will  and  pleasure.  All  his  hopes, 
 joys,  and  wishes  Avere  consecrated  to  God,  and  con- 
 centrated in  his  adorable  Maker.  In  this  intimate 
 communion  with  God,  in  which  he  was  to  grow  up  in 
 the  likeness  of  his  Maker,  man  was  happy  ;  and  he 
 drank  from  the  fountain  of  this  happiness  as  long  as 
 he  was  holy. 
 
 But  the  germ  of  all  his  degeneracy,  the  first  cause 
 of  the  anomaly  in  his  moral  nature,  in  which  he  wor- 
 ships the  creatures  of  his  own  imagination,  is  intro- 
 duced upon  his  separation  from  God.  Man  desired 
 to  possess  a  happiness  hi  his  own  resources  inde- 
 pendent of  his  ]\laker,  and  this  was  his  destruction. 
 In  falling,  his  whole  constitution  m\is  shattered  and 
 
CHAP.  III.]       AND    CHARACTER    OF    PAGANISM.  205 
 
 broken.  Man  would  pursue  a  way  and  a  will  of  his 
 own,  and  to  the  best  of  his  abilities  he  carved  out  new 
 paths  of  happiness  and  bliss.  The  harmony  of  his 
 mental  faculties  was  disturbed  ;  his  peace  of  conscience 
 was  broken ;  his  love  to  his  Maker  had  waxen  cold ; 
 and,  as  from  a  shattered  mirror,  the  Divine  image  was 
 reflected  distorted,  beclouded,  multiplied,  and  sadly 
 obscured. 
 
 As,  however,  man  could  not  separate  himself  entirely 
 from  God,  and  become  godless  in  the  absolute  sense  of 
 the  term,  he  now  endeavoured  to  bring  the  Deity 
 down  to  his  own  sinful  standard.  With  a  view  to 
 pursue  his  wicked  career  with  the  very  least  incon- 
 venience, he  endeavoured  to  undermine  and  weaken 
 as  far  as  possible  the  authority  which  conscience 
 claimed  within  his  breast.  The  noble  remnant  was 
 to  be  defiled  and  polluted,  to  protect  himself  against 
 any  reproaches  which  might  come  down  upon  his 
 head,  whilst  he  created  and  moulded  his  gods  accord- 
 ing to  his  own  imaginations  and  lusts. 
 
 The  origin  of  all  the  atrocities  which  man  committed 
 ill  matters  of  Religion,  is  founded  on  his  aversion  to 
 God  and  the  spirituality  and  purity  of  the  Divine 
 character.  The  presence  of  God  was  once  the  source 
 of  unspeakable  happiness  and  joy ;  now  it  became  a 
 burden  intolerable.  Man  was  determined  to  forget 
 God,  whose  holy  character  was  felt  to  be  entirely 
 uncongenial  with  his  own.  As  God  once  impressed 
 his  image  upon  man,  whom  he  created,  so  man  now 
 
206  INTERNAL  DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  hi. 
 
 created  deities  in  "  his  own  image ^  in  his  likeness 
 created  he  ihem!"  Man  would  never  form  his  deities 
 upon  the  model  of  a  holy  Being,  whom  he  disliked 
 and  disowned.  He  receded  from  all  resemblance  to 
 the  holy,  omniscient,  and  glorious  character  of  God,  to 
 the  utmost  distance  to  which  he  possibly  could  recede. 
 Impure  and  depraved  to  the  very  core,  he  neither 
 could,  nor  yet  would  he,  conceive  a  God  of  immaculate 
 purity,  which  would  have  defeated  the  object  he 
 had  in  view,  which  was,  to  escape  the  torment  of 
 living  in  the  presence  of  a  holy  God.  Man  was 
 proud  and  haughty,  and  he  would  no  longer  acknow- 
 ledge the  supreme  power  of  a  Divine  Sovereign.  He 
 was  full  of  evil  passions  and  iniquity,  and  could  no 
 longer  conceive  a  God  of  love  and  infinite  compassion. 
 The  germ  of  all  manner  of  Pagan  idolatry  and  abomi- 
 nation was  thus  sown  in  the  lascivious  soil  of  a 
 corrupt  nature,  and  it  brought  forth  7uuch  fruit,  some 
 fifty,  some  a  hundred-fold ! 
 
 Man  would  commit  sin ;  and  in  order  to  do  this 
 with  every  comfort,  he  drew  down  his  Maker  to 
 his  own  sinful  standard,  instead  of  raising  his  sensual 
 mind  to  the  invisible  Godhead.  When  they  knew 
 God,  the  Pagans  glorified  him  not  as  God ;  neither 
 were  they  thankful.  When  man  considered  himself  to 
 be  wise,  he  became  a  fool ;  for  a  fool  only  can  seek 
 things  where  they  are  not  to  be  found ;  a  fool  only 
 can  change  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into 
 the  image  of  corruptible  things. 
 
CHAP,  in.]      AND   CHARACTER   OF    PAGANISM.  207 
 
 Man  fell  deeper  and  deeper.  God  is  a  Spirit,  and 
 his  spiritual  divinity  disappears  more  and  more  from 
 man's  religious  horizon  ;  until  he  at  last,  like  a  perfect 
 fool,  seeks  his  very  gods  deliberately  among  the  birds 
 of  heaven,  among  the  creeping  things  of  the  dusty 
 globe,  and  amongst  the  beasts  that  perish  !  Man 
 would  have  his  gods  evident  to  his  sight,  and  worship 
 such  a  one  as  himself.  This  is  the  secret  of  all  manner 
 of  idolatry.  When  once  the  mind  of  man  has  been 
 given  over  to  "  strong  delusion,  that  it  should  believe  a 
 lie,''  the  objects  of  religious  worship  will  be  confined 
 to  no  limits.  It  will  descend  from  one  abyss  of  a 
 degrading  superstition  to  another ;  which  superstition 
 has  ever  proved  *'  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit "  to 
 its  deluded  victim. 
 
 4.  Paganism  cannot  be  known  by  itself;  without 
 the  torch  of  divine  revelation,  we  grope  in  the  dark. 
 There  is  indeed  such  a  bewildering  aspect  in  counterfeit 
 Religion,  with  its  hideous  forms  of  spurious  worship, 
 such  a  confusion  of  the  darkened  phases  of  error, 
 such  a  vast  variety  of  discordant  elements, — that  we 
 must  err  in  our  conclusions  and  inferences,  unless 
 guided  by  the  heavenly  light  which  irradiates  the 
 Christian  Religion.  Hence  the  waste  of  talents,  and 
 the  misapplication  of  profound  erudition  and  learning, 
 which  many  authors  have  incurred  in  treating  upon 
 this  melancholy  subject.  Pagan  creeds  are  invariably 
 the  result  of  a  spurious  seeking  and  feeling  after  God  ; 
 they  are  the  abortive  productions  of  broken  intellects 
 
208  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap,  hi 
 
 and  darkened  minds,  wliicli  have  ''  (jone  astray,  like 
 lost  sheej)  having  no  sltepherd!'' 
 
 The  records  of  what  has  been  akeady  shown  to 
 be  the  standard  of  truth  in  rehgioiis  matters,  repre- 
 sent Paganism  at  all  times  as  being  opposed  to  the 
 true  Religion  in  nature  and  tendency.  There  is  ever 
 made  a  marked  distinction  between  the  Church  of  God, 
 and  the  loorld  of  Paganism.  There  w^as  originally 
 built  a  wall  of  partition  between  them.  God  had 
 made  choice  of  one  nation  out  of  many  nations.  He 
 gave  them  precept  upon  precept,  and  line  upon  line, 
 by  figurative  and  typical  instruction.  Promise  was 
 balanced  by  precept,  and  the  whole  religious,  political, 
 and  social  character  of  the  Mosaic  constitution  was 
 framed  in  direct  opposition  to  Paganism.  Hence, 
 under  the  Old  Testament,  all  were  designated  Parians, 
 or  Heathen  nations,  or  Gentiles,  who  were  beyond  the 
 wall  of  partition,  which  had  been  raised  to  protect 
 God's  peculiar  people. 
 
 Likewise,  in  the  New  Testament,  a  Pagan  is  every 
 one  who  is  a  foreigner  to  the  knowledge,  and  a 
 stranger  to  the  blessings  and  privileges,  of  the  cove- 
 nant of  the  triune  God.  Whosoever  contrives  to 
 fashion  a  deity  from  any  other  ideas  than  those  con- 
 tained in  the  Scripture  of  truth,  the  same  has  made  an 
 idol,  and  is  become  a  worshipper  of  a  false  deity  ! 
 Hence  it  has  been  the  language  of  the  Church  in  all 
 ages  :  "  TFe  know  that  we  are  of  God,  and  the  lohole 
 world  lieth  in  wickedness.     And  we  know  that  the  Sou 
 
CHAP.  III.]      AND    CHARACTER    OF    PAGANISM.  209 
 
 of  God  is  come,  and  hath  (j'lven  us  an  understandhf/, 
 that  we  may  hioio  him  that  is  true,  even  his  Son  Jesus 
 Christ.    This  is  the  true  God,  and  eternal  life.    Little 
 
 CHILDREN,    KEEP   YOURSELVES   FROM   IDOLS  !" 
 
 5.  When  Paganism  is  viewed  in  the  light  of  divine 
 revelation,  it  appears  in  a  double  aspect.  Hence 
 the  Apostles  addressed  them  at  one  time  as  very  devo- 
 tional, and  at  other  times  they  speak  of  them  as  Foly- 
 theists  and  Atheists.  (Acts  xvii.  22,  and  Eph.  ii.  12. 
 See  both  in  the  original.)  Tlie  Holy  Scriptures  recog- 
 nise in  Paganism,  on  the  one  hand,  the  kingdom  of 
 darkness.  They  describe  idolatry  as  being  adultery 
 with  stocks  and  stones.  They  characterise  Pagan 
 creeds  as  demanding  sacrifices  offered  to  devils  and 
 not  unto  God.  (Lev.  xvii.  Deut.  xxii.  1  Cor.  x.  Dent, 
 xiii.  xvii.  Lev.  xvii.  Jer.  xliv.  2  Cor.  vi.  1  Pet.  iv. 
 Rev.  xxi.)    This  is  the  dark  side  of  Paganism. 
 
 When  we,  on  the  other  hand,  observe  the  aspira- 
 tions of  the  human  mind ;  when  we  hear  of  the  prayers 
 and  supplications,  when  we  listen  to  the  vows  and  high 
 resolves  of  the  Pagan  idolater ;  when  we  give  heed 
 to  his  desire  after  deliverance  and  peace, — when  we 
 think  of  Paganism  with  these  associations,  we  recog- 
 nise nobler  features,  which  call  forth  a  strong  feeling 
 of  sympathy  in  our  minds.  Heathenism  is  of  the 
 devil,  who  is  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  a 
 liar ;  but  when  we  observe  the  actings  of  the  human 
 mind  under  this  strange  tyranny,  we  observe  remnants 
 of  a  nobler  constitution.     If  it  can  be  said  that  the 
 
 VOL.  II.  P 
 
210  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  hi. 
 
 inanimate  and  brute  creation  groanetli  and  travailetli 
 in  pain  together,  as  we  know  it  does,  until  it  shall 
 be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  and 
 brought  to  partake  of  the  glorious  liberty  of  God's 
 children,  how  much  more  may  we  expect  this  to  be 
 the  case  with  regard  to  the  rational  portion  of  creation, 
 who  are  themselves  called  to  partake  of  that  liberty 
 in  their  own  persons !  Man  cannot  exist  without 
 a  species  of  spurious  peace ;  he  has  something  mys- 
 teriously aAvful  about  him,  with  which  he  approaches 
 every  kind  of  Religion,  however  false  it  may  be,  and  is 
 seen  to  cleave  with  despair  to  something  supernatural, 
 something  beyond  the  sphere  of  earthly  existence. 
 There  is  a  degree  of  susceptibility  to  receive  the 
 "  truth.,  which  maheth  free,"  and  a  desire  for  that  true 
 light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
 world. 
 
 Paganism  in  this  point  of  view  is  not  of  a  diabolical 
 character,  but  is  like  unto  the  Prodigal  Son,  who 
 gathered  all  his  substance  together,  took  a  long  jour- 
 ney into  a  far  country,  and  there  wasted  his  goods 
 with  riotous  living;  whilst  the  elder  brother  {i.e.  the 
 chosen  people)  abides  in  the  father's  house,  to  enjoy 
 the  comforts  and  smiles  of  home,  and  to  serve  him 
 "  for  many  years."  Whatever  may  be  the  case  of  the 
 Prodigal  Son,  he  has  yet  a  home ;  he  is  still  a  son,  who 
 has  still  a  father  who  waits  to  be  gracious  to  a  repent- 
 ing child  ;  he  has  still  a  heart  to  think  of  returning ; 
 he  has  eyes  to  lift  up  to  heaven ;  a  month  to  make  a 
 
CHAP.  III.]      AND   CHARACTER   OF    PAGANISM.  211 
 
 confession  of  his  guilt  and  his  folly,  and  feet  to  carry 
 him  to  his  own  home. 
 
 He  had  desired  to  go  abroad,  and  he  even  went 
 with  his  father's  sanction,  Avho  well  knew  that  future 
 misery  would  produce  anxiety  to  return  to  a  comfort- 
 able home.  The  goods  which  he  took  away  with  him 
 from  his  father's  house,  and  which  he  wasted  in  the 
 divers  systems  of  the  natural  Religion  of  Paganism, 
 are  no  other  than  the  relics  of  primitive  revelation ; 
 the  first  impressions  and  recollections  of  the  childhood 
 of  the  human  family.  But  the  Pagan  prodigal  sons 
 were  accompanied  by  a  schoolmaster,  which  was 
 *'  the  laio  wrUten  in  their  hearts ;"  and  even  at 
 the  remotest  distance  of  their  eccentric  orbits,  there 
 was  something  to  attract  their  minds,  and  that  was 
 the  consciousness  that  "  tve  are  his  offsjjriiif/j"  (Acts 
 xvii.  29.)  And  when  they  had  found  misery,  distress, 
 hunger,  nakedness,  instead  of  peace  and  happiness,  the 
 Pagan  nations  were  meet  for  the  harvest  of  the  Gospel, 
 having  in  vain  searched  for  wisdom,  righteousness, 
 sanctification,  and  redemption. 
 
 6.  Paganism  not  only  retains  some  of  the  noblest 
 featiu:es  of  a  shattered  humanity  ;  it  embodies  like- 
 wise some  noble  remnants  of  truth.  If  we  ask,  (and 
 who  can  forbear  to  inquire  ?)  whence  all  the  various 
 torrents  of  Pagan  systems  took  their  rise,  we  receive 
 always  one  and  the  same  answer.  When  we  compare 
 the  Pagan  systems  of  belief  with  the  most  ancient 
 records  of  the  Bible,  we  discover  that  the  history  of 
 
 r  2 
 
212  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  iir. 
 
 tlie  primitive  days  of  the  human  race,  and  the  primary 
 elements  of  sacred  tradition,  constitute  the  foundation 
 of  every  ancient  system  of  Pagan  Mythology.  Truth 
 and  fable,  Mythology  and  history,  are  interwoven  one 
 with  the  other  in  a  most  grotesque  and  strange 
 manner. 
 
 We  have  already  alluded  to  the  analogies  of  genuine 
 and  spurious  Religion,  and  found  that  they  are  as 
 natural  and  necessary  as  the  resemblance  of  spurious 
 coin  to  that  which  is  genuine.  The  latter  is  repre- 
 sented by  the  former  in  a  corrupt  form,  and  imitated 
 in  after  ages.  This  view  of  the  case  is  confirmed  by 
 those  traces  of  resemblance  which  we  find  to  in- 
 crease in  number  and  force,  in  proportion  as  we  go 
 back  to  the  cradle  of  mankind,  as  the  common  som-ce 
 whence  they  all  emanated. 
 
 We  cannot  deny  that  Paganism  contains  some  truth, 
 but  such  as  there  is  it  is  held  in  unrif/ldeoiisness ! 
 Pure  falsehood  can  never  bind  the  human  mind  for 
 any  length  of  time.  It  maintains  its  power  over  the 
 minds  of  people  only  because  it  contains  some  ele- 
 ments of  truth.  It  is  not  possible  that  a  naked  lie 
 should  be  able  to  move  mankind,  however  deluded 
 they  may  be,  to  make  such  sacrifices  as  have  continually 
 been  made  by  the  Pagan  world.  It  was  not  purely 
 superstition  which  impelled  reasonable  beings  to  sa- 
 crifice whole  hecatombs  unto  the  gods.  It  was  not 
 ordinary  madness  which  led  the  priests  of  Cybele  to 
 exercise  the  most  unnatural  atrocity  upon  their  own 
 
CHAP.  III.]      AND   CHARACTER   OF    PAGANISM.  213 
 
 bodies.  It  was  not  a  common  lasciviousness  which 
 Jed  noble  females  at  Babylon  to  sacrifice  their  most 
 precious  good  at  the  shrine  of  the  goddess  Mylitta. 
 It  was  not  want  of  natural  affection,  nor  was  it  purely 
 a  barbarous  cruelty,  which  led  human  parents  to 
 throw  their  children  into  the  glowing  arms  of  Moloch. 
 It  was  not  want  of  better  occupation  which  stimulated 
 the  ancients  to  excavate  stupendous  mountains  of 
 rocks  all  over  the  face  of  the  globe ;  nor  was  it  mere 
 ambition  which  moved  thousands  of  individuals  to  un- 
 dergo the  most  awful  privations,  to  make  the  greatest 
 sacrifices  of  comfort,  to  incur  the  most  terrific  pe- 
 nances, to  sacrifice  the  most  precious  goods  which 
 they  had  upon  the  altar  of  spurious  Religion.  But 
 we  have  all  these  things  because,  in  the  first  place,  no 
 time,  no  corruption,  and  no  accident,  could  obliterate 
 that  part  of  man's  nature  by  which  he  must  seek  and 
 feel  after  God,  if  haj)I?/  he  migld  find  Mm  ;  and  secondly, 
 because  there  are  noble  remnants  of  truth  in  spurious 
 systems  of  belief ! 
 
 We  find  a  striking  analogy,  in  the  first  place,  in  the 
 history  of  the  creation  as  it  is  given  in  the  Bible,  and 
 in  almost  all  the  fragments  of  tradition  which  exist 
 scattered  over  the  world  of  PaQ;anism.  It  matters 
 nothing  to  our  argument,  that  the  Pagans  could  not 
 have  derived  their  ideas  from  the  Bible.  This  is  not 
 what  we  maintain,  except  it  be  in  some  few  instances. 
 But  because  these  things  have  actually  occurred,  the 
 Pagans   had   accounts  of  them  by  way  of  primitive 
 
214  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  hi. 
 
 tradition.  We  admit  that  the  Pagans  were  in  possession 
 of  certain  facts  relative  to  the  creation  and  the  flood, 
 prior  to  the  days  of  Moses,  the  inspired  scribe  of  sacred 
 tradition.  We  Ukewise  maintain  that  they  had  cor- 
 rupted it  previously  to  that  period,  vv^hicli  was  one  of 
 the  reasons  why  Moses  was  to  write  it  at  last.  And 
 Moses,  the  servant  of  God,  might  in  this  respect  have 
 prefaced  his  account  with  the  words  of  St.  Luke,  at  the 
 commencement  of  his  gospel  narrative.  It  was  be- 
 cause many  had  taken  in  hand  to  set  forth  a  declara- 
 tion of  the  creation  of  the  world  and  the  primal 
 history  of  man,  that  it  seemed  good  to  Moses,  the 
 servant  of  God,  to  write  them  in  order,  having  had  a 
 perfect  understanding  of  all  things  from  the  first,  that 
 the  Israel  of  God  might  know  the  certainty  of  those 
 things  wherein  they  had  been  instructed  !  What  we 
 have,  therefore,  in  the  one  case  as  a  plain  authentic 
 record,  we  have  in  the  other  disguised  under  a  pro- 
 fusion of  grotesque  ornaments  and  fables.  It  is  not 
 in  our  plan  to  show  the  analogies  of  spurious  creeds  to 
 the  system  of  revelation,  in  reviewing  some  of  the  lead- 
 ing systems  of  Mythology;  but  certain  it  is,  that 
 Avherever  we  have  any  notice  of  the  creation  amongst 
 Pagans  in  general,  it  always  contains  allusions  to  the 
 Mosaic  account.  And  as  regards  the  confusion  of 
 events  connected  with  the  flood,  and  incidents  belong- 
 ing to  the  creation  of  the  world,  we  can  very  easily 
 account  for  it. 
 
 The  leading  facts  of  the  original  condition  of  man. 
 
CHAP.  III.]        AND   CHARACTER   OF   PAGANISM.  215 
 
 of  the  glories  and  the  happiness  of  Paradise,  of  his 
 temptation  and  his  melancholy  degeneracy,  are  all 
 more  or  less  transcribed  in  Pagan  Mythologies.  The 
 universal  prevalence  of  sacrificial  rites  is  in  itself  an 
 evidence  of  their  being  derived  from  some  common 
 source ;  but  according  to  Pagan  accounts,  sacrifices 
 were  instituted  either  by  the  deity  himself,  or  by  the 
 patriarch  of  the  human  family ;  and  the  detailed 
 account  of  their  institution  points  in  the  one  case  to 
 Noah,  or  to  Adam  himself.  Whilst  the  miscellaneous 
 traditions  of  Paganism  relative  to  the  period  betAveen 
 the  creation  and  the  deluge  are  without  number,  it 
 has  been  thought  that  the  almost  universal  prevalence 
 of  divine  triads  in  Pagan  Mythology,  arose  from  the 
 historical  fact  of  the  progenitor  of  the  antediluvian 
 world,  and  the  father  of  the  postdiluvian  race,  having 
 each  had  three  sons. 
 
 Nothing,  however,  has  been  so  universally  adopted 
 and  set  forth  in  Pagan  Mythology,  as  the  tradi- 
 tional accounts  of  the  great  catastrophe  of  the  flood, 
 which  was  given  in  the  most  distinct,  and  yet  again 
 in  the  most  extravagant  figures.  We  recognise  in  this, 
 as  well  as  in  other  allusions  to  the  history  from  the 
 creation  to  the  flood,  the  noble  features  of  the  original ; 
 and  we  nuist  venerate  truth,  wherever  it  may  be 
 found.  There  are  elements  and  fragments  of  a  better 
 state  of  things  in  Pagan  Mythology ;  and  when  we 
 ascend  its  muddy  streams,  we  are  always  carried  back 
 to  that  pure  fountain  of  light,,  which  is  opened  in  the 
 
21G  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  in. 
 
 revelation  from,  heaven.  There  are  misrepresentations, 
 but  we  have  sufficient  analogies  to  trace  the  spurious 
 likeness.  Even  Celsus,  the  Epicurean,  felt  this,  when 
 he  endeavoured  to  make  the  building  of  the  tower  of 
 Babylon,  and  the  confusion  of  tongues,  appear  to  have 
 been  copied  from  one  of  the  fables  in  Homer;  and 
 when  he  considered  the  flood  of  the  Genesis  as  being 
 derived  from  the  story  of  Deucalion,  and  the  Mosaical 
 Paradise  from  the  gardens  of  Alcinous,  and  the  huin- 
 ing  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  from  the  story  of  Phaeton. 
 Origen,  however,  very  ably  replies,  by  showing  him 
 that  exactly  the  reverse  had  been  the  case ;  that  Pa- 
 ganism had  borrowed  from  the  Bible,  and  not  the 
 Bible  from  Paganism. 
 
 7.  Yet,  however  great  and  numerous  the  elements 
 of  truth  may  be,  which  Paganism  retained  in  its  sys- 
 tems, we  must  not  on  that  account  forget  the  dark 
 side  of  the  question.  This  admonition  is  particularly 
 necessary,  as  the  existence  and  practice  of  idolatry  is 
 too  often  looked  upon  Avithout  that  holy  indignation 
 which  only  the  Scriptm'es  produce  and  maintain.  Men 
 have  in  this  respect  swerved  very  far  from  the  standard 
 which  is  given  us  in  the  Gospel.  The  word  of  God 
 every  where  reprobates  idolatry  as  an  abominable 
 thing  which  God  abhors.  To  provide  against  its  be- 
 coming universal,  and  to  introduce  the  elements  for 
 its  eventual  destruction,  was  the  principal  object  of 
 tke  Mosaic  constitution.  Idolatry  was  to  be  opposed 
 by  divinely  given  symbols,  and  it  was  expressly  pro- 
 
CHAP.  III.]        AND   CHARACTER   OF    PAGANISM.  217 
 
 liibited  by  the  first  and  second  commandments  of  the 
 Decalogue ;  the  first  being  given  to  confirm  the  wor- 
 ship of  Jehovah,  and  the  second  was  to  prohibit  any 
 idolatrous  form  of  worship  with  reference  even  to  the 
 true  God.  Idolatry  makes  a  visible  symbol  of  the 
 invisible  God,  who  has  forbidden  not  only  the  worship 
 of  any  false  god,  but  even  the  worship  of  himself  by 
 the  medium  of  a  graven  image.  The  golden  calves  of 
 Aaron,  and  the  calves  of  Jeroboam,  it  is  believed,  were 
 intended  to  be  representatives  of  Jehovah ;  yet  the 
 worship  occasioned  in  one  instance  the  slaughter  of 
 three  thousand  persons,  and  in  the  other  the  depor- 
 tation of  the  house  of  Israel  into  captivity,  from  which 
 they  never  retmnied !  When  the  Israelites  were 
 tempted  to  sacrifice  to  Baal,  and  to  commit  idolatry 
 at  Peor,  twenty-four  thousand  were  slain  at  once,  and 
 the  Moabites  were  rooted  out  because  they  proved  a 
 snare  imto  Israel  in  that  respect.  According  to  the 
 mind  of  Jehovah,  credit  was  to  be  denied  to  an 
 idolater.  All  this  marks  idolatry  as  the  unclean  thing 
 in  the  eyes  of  Him,  who  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
 and  for  ever ! 
 
 If  God  still  suffers  Paganism,  it  is  because  he 
 waits  to  be  gracious,  commanding  all  men  every  Avhere 
 to  repent,  having  appointed  a  day  in  which  he  will 
 judge  the  world  in  righteousness.  In  setting  up  an 
 idol,  we  affront  the  Majesty  of  Heaven,  to  whom  as 
 the  only  Potentate  we  owe  supreme  allegiance.  It 
 makes  no    material   difference  as  to  the    nature    of 
 
218         INTERNAL  DEVELOPMENT     [chap.  hi. 
 
 idolatry ;  were  it  even  cast  into  tlie  monlcl  of  the 
 purest  morality,  it  would  still  be  an  unclean  thing, 
 and  nothing  could  diminish  the  guilt  of  the  offence. 
 Idolatry  excludes  from  the  favour  and  the  presence 
 of  God. 
 
 8.  There  have  been  indeed  not  wanting  learned 
 divines,  in  divers  countries  of  Christendom,  who  have 
 given  it  as  their  opinion,  that  Christ  will  be  the  judge 
 of  men,  as  far  as  he  was  known  to  them  here  upon 
 earth ;  but  that  those  who  died  without  having  had 
 the  opportunity  of  hearing  the  Gospel,  would  be 
 furnished  with  the  means  to  know  God  and  his  Son 
 Jesus  Christ,  between  their  death  and  the  day  of  judg- 
 ment. This  their  opinion  has  been  chiefly  supported 
 by  the  passage  in  1  Pet.  iv.  5,  where  the  Holy  Ghost 
 declares  that  Christ  was  to  judge  the  living  and  the 
 dead ;  and  where  he  inunediately  adds,  that  even  on 
 that  account  was  the  Gospel  preached  to  the  dead,  in 
 order  that,  if  even  they  could  not  escape  the  judgment 
 on  their  bodies,  which  demands  death  on  the  part  of  a 
 sinner,  they  might  yet  be  saved  according  to  the 
 Spirit,  (verse  C.)  This  they  conceived  to  be  in  perfect 
 harmony  with  the  expression  of  the  same  Apostle, 
 (1  Pet.  iii.  19,  20;)  according  to  which  Christ  "  de- 
 scended into  hell,"  and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in 
 prison,  which  sometime  were  disobedient.  From 
 hence  they  further  inferred,  that  the  grace  of  God 
 was  off'cred  to  those  men,  in  a  manner  unknown 
 to  us,    who  had    not    the  opportunity    of   becoming 
 
CHAP,  in.]       AND   CHARACTER   OF   PAGANISM.  219 
 
 acquainted  with  it  in  this  present  hfe ;  that  God  will 
 that  all  men  should  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
 truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  ;  that  the  final  judgment  would 
 be  according  to  the  obedience  of  men  to  the  truth, 
 which  was  heard  by  them  either  before  or  after  death ; 
 that  the  glorious  plan  of  redemption  would  be  incom- 
 prehensible without  such  a  provision  being  made ; 
 that  we  should  have  nothing  to  dispel  the  fearfid 
 gloom  which  envelops  those  that  die  in  unavoidable 
 ignorance  of  God ;  that  only  under  such  circum- 
 stances, which  are  beheved  to  be  intimated  in  the 
 above  passages,  the  perpetuity  of  the  punishment  of 
 the  damned,  and  the  eternal  bliss  of  the  ransomed, 
 as  plainly  stated  in  Scripture,  would  agree  with  divine 
 wisdom,  goodness,  and  righteousness ;  that  the  idea 
 of  a  righteous  judgment  had  not  only  reference  to 
 moral  worth  and  demerit  in  general,  but  that  it  sup- 
 posed acceptation  or  rejection  of  a  proffered  mercy, 
 fulfilment  or  non-fulfilment  of  the  condition  upon 
 which  it  was  offered.  It  has  been  further  inferred  by 
 these  divines,  that  only  the  conscious  and  obstinate 
 refusal  of  divine  mercy  made  man  incapable  of 
 happiness ;  and  that  this  deliberate  refusal,  which 
 gives  evidence  of  an  incorrigible  state  of  mind,  was 
 "  the  sin  unto  death,"  of  which  our  Lord  said  that  it 
 was  unpardonable  in  this  life,  and  in  the  world  to 
 come;  and  which  consists  in  an  open  rejection,  in 
 deliberate  blasphemy,  and  conscious  grievance  of  the 
 Holy  Ghost. 
 
220  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [ciiap.  iir. 
 
 The  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord.  One  tiling, 
 however,  is  certain  from  the  word  of  God,  and  that 
 is,  that  the  Pagans  are  accountable  subjects  of  the 
 divine  government.  They  possess  all  the  requisite 
 powers  Avhich  render  them  accountable  beings.  They 
 have  intellect  to  understand  the  law  which  was  written 
 upon  the  tables  of  their  heart.  They  have  a  conscience 
 to  feel  obligations,  and  faculties  to  do  the  will  of  their 
 God  and  Creator,  loho  never  reapetli  ivhere  he  hath  not 
 sown. 
 
 They  are  said  (Rom.  i.)  to  be  under  the  divine  dis- 
 pleasure, in  consequence  of  their  having  suppressed 
 and  neglected  to  exemplify  the  genuine  natural  Reli- 
 gion, which  they  were  expected  to  cultivate.  The 
 knowledge  of  God  was  attainable  by  all  Pagans,  as  far 
 as  God  did  expect  it,  for  "  God  has  showed  it  zmto 
 them."  The  pecidiar  character  of  God  is  indeed 
 unattainable  to  the  kind  of  natural  Religion  which 
 Paganism  was  to  exhibit ;  but  they  were  yet  to  under- 
 stand the  nature  of  the  divinity  in  the  things  which 
 were  made ;  and  as  Paganism  has  not  attained  this 
 knowledge  of  God  from  conscience  and  nature,  its 
 members  "  are  tcithoid  excuse."  When  they  knew 
 God  as  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither 
 were  thankful !  The  ingratitude  of  Paganism  is  very 
 striking.  They  always  received  the  bounties  of  Pro- 
 vidence as  things  which  were  naturally  due  to  them. 
 Their  superstitions  never  commenced  with  giving  of 
 thanks  where  it  was  not  due ;  but  it  was  the  dread  of 
 
CHAP.  III.]        AND    CHARACTER    OF    PAGANISM.  221 
 
 ill,  wliicli  tliey  desired  to  avert  by  religious  ceremonies. 
 The  Hindoo  worships  the  planets  ;  but  amongst  them 
 he  will  adore  those  only  from  which  he  has  to  dread 
 some  evd  ;  and  he  never  thinks  of  worshipping  those 
 of  which  he  knows,  by  the  laws  of  astrology,  that 
 they  are  favourably  disposed  towards  him. 
 
 God  was  to  be  praised  and  acknowledged,  even 
 upon  Pagan  grounds.  Where  this  did  not  act  as  an 
 antidote  to  the  vanity  of  the  Pagan  mind,  all  ^^as  lost, 
 and  the  remaining  wholesome  parts  were  gradually 
 destroyed.  Pagans  are  described  as  sinning  wilfully  ; 
 "  Who,  hiowing  the  judgments  of  God,  that  they  lohich 
 commit  such  things  are  ivorthy  of  death,  not  only  do  the 
 same,  hut  have  pleasure  in  them  that  do  them!'  They 
 are  represented  as  being  conscious  of  accountability, 
 and  of  guilt.  Not  having  the  law  in  the  written 
 form,  "  they  are  a  law  unto  themselves,  their  own  con- 
 sciences also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the 
 mean  while  accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another." 
 
 Paganism  knows  that  there  is  but  one  God,  and  yet 
 it  worships  gods  without  number.  It  knows  that  the 
 Maker  of  all  things  is  wise,  and  holy,  and  good  ;  and 
 yet  the  gods  to  whom  it  sacrifices  are  foolish,  and 
 unholy,  and  depraved.  Hence  the  Bible  is  true  when 
 it  declares  that  the  Pagans  "  know  God,''  and  that  they 
 '^  Jcnow  not  God."  The  greatest  inconsistencies  meet 
 too-ether  in  the  mind  and  in  the  conduct  of  the  de- 
 graded  idolater.  Pie  answers  generally  to  the  ques- 
 tion as  to  the  number  of  gods,  that  God  is  one ;  and 
 
222  INTERNAL    DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  hi. 
 
 yet  he  adores  millions  of  gods !  He  is  aware  that 
 God  is  omnipresent;  and  yet  he  thinks  to  confine 
 his  personal  existence  to  a  stock  or  a  stone.  The 
 Pagan  feels  God  is  almighty ;  and  yet  he  fancies  that 
 he  can  do  with  him  whatever  he  listeth.  He  feels 
 God  must  be  holy,  but  never  hesitates  to  ascribe  to 
 him  all  manner  of  evil  deeds  and  evil  passions.  He 
 is  convinced  of  the  truth,  that  God  wdll  judge  the 
 sinner,  and  yet  he  delights  in  committing  sin,  and 
 looks  upon  him  as  the  patron  of  all  manner  of  vice. 
 The  idolater  knows  too  well  that  God  is  exalted  above 
 everything,  but  he  yet  thinks  to  represent  him  worthily 
 by  a  four-footed  beast,  by  a  bird,  by  a  stock  or  a 
 stone,  or  by  some  monstrous  image.  The  idolater 
 feels  that  he  ought  to  worship  the  Creator,  but  he 
 w^orships  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator.  The 
 Pagan  tlms  has  the  truth,  but  he  holds  it  in  unright- 
 eousness, and  changes  it  into  a  lie.  Every  view  that 
 can  be  taken  of  idolatry  is  a  lie  against  the  Divine 
 majesty.  The  number  of  idols  is  a  lie  against  the 
 Divine  unity.  Their  corporeal  and  material  nature  is 
 a  lie  against  the  spirituality  of  God.  Their  local 
 confinement  is  a  lie  against  his  omnipresence  and 
 inmiensity.  Their  limited  nature  is  a  lie  against  his 
 universal  rule  and  all-comprehensive  government. 
 Tlieir  follies  are  so  many  grievous  lies  against  his 
 infinite  wisdom.  Their  criminal  characters  and  vices 
 are  so  many  impudent  lies  against  his  unspotted  holi- 
 ness and  most  perfect  purity. 
 
CHAP.  III.]      AND    CHARACTER   OF    PAGANISM.  223 
 
 The  cause  of  all  these  grave  offences  of  the  Pagan 
 world  lies  not  indeed  in  their  judgments,  but  in  their 
 affections.  They  loould  not  retain  God  in  their  hiow- 
 ledye,  but  they  icould  retain  their  sins  in  their  hearts 
 and  lives.  The  holiness  of  God  frowns  upon  sin,  and 
 his  infinite  power  renders  these  frowns  terrible  to  their 
 consciences.  His  presense  produces  fear  and  hatred 
 of  his  character  at  the  same  time.  Because  their 
 works  are  evil,  they  flee  from  God's  presence,  and 
 love  darkness  rather  than  light.  As  long  as  they 
 stood  before  God  as  wilful  transgressors  of  his  holy 
 law,  and  as  long  as  they  felt  weak  before  an  offended 
 judge,  there  was  no  prospect  of  happiness  and  peace 
 of  mind. 
 
 Instead,  however,  of  changing  themselves,  the 
 Pagans  would  rather  change  the  character  of  God  ; 
 and  such  was  their  success,  that  before  long  they  could 
 stand  before  their  deities  and  contemplate  them  with- 
 out alarm :  they  were  all  such  ones  as  themselves  in 
 every  point  of  view.  As  God  created  man  in  his  own 
 image,  man  now  fashions  his  gods  in  his  own  unholy 
 likeness,  as  vile  as  himself,  as  full  of  all  manner  of 
 pride  and  malice  as  himself,  as  much  the  creatures  of 
 caprice  and  the  slaves  of  passion  as  himself.  Yea, 
 to  crown  human  folly,  the  Pagan  degraded  his  deity 
 below  the  level  of  corruptible  men,  in  being  made  like 
 unto  beasts,  and  birds,  and  reptiles.  The  Pagan  gods 
 assume  every  form  and  figure,  every  character  and 
 every  attribute,  their  worshippers  may  wish  to  bestow 
 
224  INTERNAL    DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  m. 
 
 upon  them.  They  are  worshipped  in  every  form 
 imaginable ;  and  no  mode  of  service  is  too  vile  and 
 too  abominable  not  to  be  acceptable.  They  are 
 satisfied  with  flowers,  with  money,  with  vows,  and 
 with  pilgrimages.  If  the  worshipper  desire  retire- 
 ment and  solitude,  he  may  have  it ;  if  he  be  merry, 
 there  is  loud  song  and  dance  in  abundance ;  if  he  be 
 addicted  to  the  grosser  vices,  the  deity  shows  by  his 
 own  example,  that  he  can  never  be  excelled  in  vile 
 abominations.  If  filled  with  remorse,  if  tormented  by  a 
 guilty  conscience,  and  the  forebodings  of  the  judgment 
 to  come,  the  deity  prescribes  a  set  of  disgusting  and 
 empty  ceremonies,  in  Avhich  to  divert  his  heavy  laden 
 soul,  and  to  calm  his  troubled  conscience.  If  desirous 
 to  obtain  heaven  by  good  works,  the  deity  brings 
 down  the  law  to  whatever  level  man  may  wish  to 
 have  it.  In  short,  the  Pagan  god  is  made  to  comply 
 with  every  wish.  He  is  made  to  suit  his  character, 
 his  law,  and  his  attributes,  to  the  habits  and  desires  of 
 his  worshipper.  Thus  the  Pagan  falls  down  and 
 worships  the  work  of  his  own  hand ;  the  creature  of 
 his  fear  and  of  his  lust. 
 
 "  Their  gods  are  liieroglypliics  of  the  heart : 
 To  fashion  them  their  guilt  and  feai's  combine." 
 
 The  glory  of  God  is  changed  into  dishonour;  his 
 truth  into  a  lie.  The  mind  is  dark  and  very  foolish  ; 
 and  man  himself  a  slave  of  divers  lusts  and  pleasures ; 
 being  full  of  enmity  against  man,  and  full  of  hatred 
 against  God. 
 
CHAP.  III.]       AND    CHARACTER    OF    PAGANISM.  225 
 
 The  Pagan  is  without  holiness  ;  and  without  holi- 
 ness he  cannot  see  God,  and  is  disqualified  for  heaven. 
 He  has  become  alienated  from  God  in  a  superlative 
 degree.  With  a  reprobate  mind  he  pays  divine 
 honours  to  his  own  devices  and  inventions.  Regard- 
 ing their  final  state  we  can,  therefore,  not  be  in  the 
 dark.  God  is  righteous,  and  will  not  condemn  any 
 portion  of  mankind  for  having  violated  principles  and 
 laws  which  have  never  been  revealed  to  them.  He 
 will  accept  from  a  man  of  what  he  has,  and  not  of 
 what  he  has  not.  But  a  man,  as  long  as  he  remains 
 a  Pagan,  cannot  be  saved,  because  he  habitually 
 transgresses  the  law  which  God  hath  revealed  to 
 him,  and  which  is,  that  he  should  love  Ms  Maker, 
 mid  serve  him  as  his  Lord!  The  idolator  doetli  the 
 things  which  are  not  convenient  ;  he  turneth  aside 
 and  feedeth  on  ashes.  "  Neither  fornicators,  nor  idol- 
 ATORS,  nor  adulterers,  nor  thieves,  nor  drunkards, 
 shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  If  the  fearful, 
 the  unbelievers,  the  abominable,  the  murderers,  the 
 whoremongers,  the  sorcerers,  will  be  admitted  into 
 the  presence  of  God,  so  also  will  idolators,  who 
 commit  all  these  things.  We  cannot  be  charitable 
 at  the  expense  of  truth.  To  palliate  or  deny  the  guilt 
 of  Paganism  does  not  alter  the  unhappy  condition  of 
 its  votaries.  To  form  charitable  opinions,  and  to 
 indulge  in  idle  hopes,  never  does  good,  but  always 
 injury.  Nothing  but  the  gospel  can  redeem  'he  world 
 from  the  thraldom  of  Pagan  idolatry.     As  long   as 
 
 VOL.  II.  Q. 
 
2.26  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  hi. 
 
 their  sin  and  guilt  and  misery  be  doubted,  no  remedy 
 will  be  administered. 
 
 9.  Thus  in  Paganism,  on  the  one  hand,  we  have 
 remnants  of  stately  columns,  which  once  adorned  the 
 eternal  temple  of  truth;  and  on  the  other,  we  are 
 witnessing  tlie  workings  of  the  power  of  darkness. 
 We  have  thirstings  after  salvation,  and  a  supersti- 
 tious vanity  of  mind  at  the  same  time.  The  Pagan 
 felt  a  conflict  within  his  own  person,  and  he  endea- 
 voured to  bring  about  a  truce  between  these  con- 
 flicting powers.  The  systems  of  Paganism  contain 
 the  efforts  of  the  human  mind  to  appease  and  to 
 reconcile  these  powers.  The  Pagan  world  looked  for 
 peace  in  obeying  the  law  of  their  gods ;  but  as  this 
 law  had  emanated  from  the  corrupt  nature  of  man, 
 obedience  to  the  will  of  Heaven  was  no  more  than 
 obedience  to  his  own  will  and  pleasure.  Conscience 
 w^as  weakened,  and  forced  to  accommodate  its  demands 
 in  accordance  with  the  inclinations  of  man. 
 
 Man  was  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  having  a 
 lawgiver  superior  to  himself,  and  he  felt  his  absolute 
 need  of  an  authoritative  rule,  to  which  he  might 
 surrender  his  own  will,  which  was  his  destruction, 
 and  of  the  fallible  nature  of  which  he  had  obtained  the 
 most  painfid  evidence.  The  existence  of  God  was  a 
 point  which  was  never  cjuestioned,  '''for  God  had  shown 
 it  unto  them."  But  how  should  they  become  acquainted 
 with  the  apocryphal  deity  ?  This  was  a  gulph  which 
 cansed  great  inconvenience.    Instead,  however,  of  wait- 
 
CHAP.  III.]      AND    CHARACTER    OF    PAGANISM.  227 
 
 ing  for  such  a  revelation,  Paganism  at  once  invested  the 
 deity  with  such  attributes  and  desires  as  he  wished  to 
 give  unto  it.  The  imaginary  deity  was  commissioned 
 to  speak  the  sentiments  of  man  ;  and  thus  the  human 
 will  and  pleasure  were  again  invested  with  divine 
 authority.  Religion,  therefore,  which  was  expected  to 
 remedy  the  evil,  turned  out  to  be  nothing  but  an 
 expression  of  man's  own  character.  His  passions  and 
 his  imaginations  were  stamped  with  a  religious  and  a 
 divine  character.  Man  had  just  done  the  reverse  of 
 what  he  contemplated  accomplishing.  Harmony  was 
 brought  about  between  the  conflicting  powers,  but 
 it  was  done  by  human  natiu'e  being  made  the  legisla- 
 tive power.  According  to  the  testimony  of  one  of 
 their  own  sages,  the  Pagans  transferred  the  human 
 nature  to  the  gods,  lohilst  tliey  ivould  have  done 
 better  to  transfer  the  character  of  the  deity  to  hu- 
 manity!  But  this  was  beyond  their  power.  Hence 
 Homer  painted  his  Jupiter  deficient  in  every  divine 
 attribute.  Juno  appears  as  the  victim  of  eternal  jea- 
 lousy. Mars  personifies  all  that  is  violent  and  fero- 
 cious ;  and  Mercury  appears  as  the  patron  of  theft 
 and  artifice.  This  is  the  character  of  all  Pagan  sys- 
 tems. They  are  all  from  below,  and  carry  the  image 
 of  the  fallen  nature  of  man  upon  their  very  forehead. 
 How  broad  it  made  the  road  that  leadeth  to  destruc- 
 tion ! 
 
 Idolatry  is  a  corrupt  institution,  which  takes  hold 
 upon  the  whole  nature  of  man,  and  which  involves  a 
 
 Q  2 
 
228  INTERNAL   DEVELOPMENT  [chap.  in. 
 
 whole  system  of  manners  and  sentiments.  Paganism 
 moulds  the  whole  character  of  its  votaries,  and  is  inti- 
 mately blended  together  with  all  their  ideas,  infirm- 
 ities, passions,  and  fears.  Its  influence  is  felt  in  all 
 the  ramifications  of  human  nature,  and  it  presses  upon 
 it  like  the  atmosphere,  from  every  direction. 
 
 All  IMythologies  are  from  below,  and  they  endea- 
 vour in  vain  to  conceal  their  low  and  earthly  origin. 
 As  human  productions,  they  are  always  interwoven 
 with  the  national  history,  the  national  character,  the 
 national  vices  and  virtues ;  with  their  habits,  learning, 
 and  literature ;  with  their  civil  and  social  institutions. 
 The  language  of  their  sacred  books  is  the  language  of 
 the  deity ;  the  remains  of  antique  architecture  are 
 considered  the  works  of  the  gods.  Everything  assumes 
 a  religious  character,  and  goes  forth  under  the  sanc- 
 tion of  divinity. 
 
 All  these  circumstances  greatly  aggravate  and  in- 
 crease the  difficulty  of  overthrowing  these  Mythologies. 
 They  are  exactly  what  human  nature  delights  to  set 
 up ;  and  the  world  will  love  its  own  things.  The 
 national  creeds  of  Paganism  reflect  the  natural  and 
 moral  physiognomy  of  the  respective  nations.  Thus, 
 for  instance,  the  gods  of  sensual  Athens  bear  a  difier- 
 ent  stamp  from  those  of  warlike  Sparta  in  the  days  of 
 old.  Hence  the  Roman  creed  was  naturally  different 
 from  that  of  Carthage ;  hence  also  the  Asiatic  creeds 
 vary  according  to  the  diff'erent  character  of  the  nations 
 and  the  nature  of  the  climate. 
 
CHAP.  iii.J        AND  CHARACTER  OF    PAGANISM.  229 
 
 It  is  in  this  fact  that  we  have  the  most  powerful 
 bulwark  which  opposes  itself  to  a  more  rapid  spread 
 of  Christianity.  We  have  not  only  to  overthrow  the 
 altars  of  a  national  Religion ;  we  have  not  only  to 
 expel  imaginary  deities  from  the  minds  of  the  people ; 
 but  the  attempt  to  extirpate  these  creeds  becomes 
 almost  equivalent  to  an  attempt  to  extirpate,  as  it 
 were,  the  roots  of  their  social,  national,  civil,  domestic, 
 and  moral  existence  !  But  every  plant  which  our 
 heavenly  Father  has  not  planted,  has  its  time  of  groAvth, 
 and  as  certainly,  also,  its  day  of  decay.  Paganism 
 carries  within  itself  the  elements  of  dissolution,  and  the 
 remains  of  that  pernicious  system  will  sooner  or  later 
 crumble  into  the  dust. 
 
 "  Babi/lon  hath  been  a  golden  cujp,  that  made  all  the 
 earth  drunken :  the  nations  have  drunhen  of  her  wine ; 
 therefore  the  7iations  are  mad.  But  saith  the  Lord, 
 Behold,  lam  against  thee,  0  destroying  mountain,  which 
 destroyest  all  the  earth  :  and  I  loill  stretch  out  mine 
 hand  upon  thee,  and  roll  thee  doionfrom  the  rocks,  and 
 I  will  make  thee  a  burned  mountain." 
 
CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 MORAL,    CIVJL,    AND    SOCIAL    INFLUENCE     OF    SPURIOUS 
 RELIGION  UPON  THE  WORLD  IN  GENERAL. 
 
 1.  The  reader  may  feel  surprise  at  the  inscription 
 of  the  present  chapter,  but  we  humbly  trust  that  a  few 
 reflections  upon  the  subject  will  not  prove  so  unpro- 
 fitable as  might  be  expected.  It  may,  perhaps,  be 
 wholesome  to  the  Christian  to  glance  now  and  then  at 
 the  dark  parts  of  the  habitations  of  vice  and  cruelty, 
 which  may  make  him  feel  more  thankful  for,  and 
 prize  more  highly,  the  intrinsic  excellency  of  his  holy 
 Rehgion.  As  we,  however,  advanced  a  sketch  of 
 the  origin,  the  development,  the  character,  and  the 
 general  working  of  true  Religion,  before  we  entered 
 upon  the  consideration  of  spurious  systems  of  belief, 
 so  we  shall  now,  first  of  all,  give  a  few  hints  as  to  the 
 real  character  of  what  Christianity  has  wrought  upon 
 earth.  As  mankind  generally  did  not  enjoy  the  bless- 
 ing of  true  Religion  before  the  Christian  era,  we  shall 
 always  find  it  difficult  to  give  a  just  estimate  of  the 
 moral  and  civil  influence  of  true  Religion,  owing  to  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]      INFLUENCE    OF  GENUINE   RELIGION.        231 
 
 shortness  of  time  during  wliicli  it  has  been  generally 
 enjoyed  by  the  human  race.  An  estimate  of  its 
 beneficial  effects  can  properly  be  made  only  at  the  end 
 of  the  world,  when  all  that  now  consists  only  in  the 
 germ,  shall  have  been  brought  to  perfection.  But 
 even  this  view  of  the  case  will  be  strongly  in  favour  of 
 its  miraculous  operations ;  for,  if  the  Christian  era  be 
 short  in  proportion  to  the  previous  ages  of  the  world  ; 
 if  many  centuries,  again,  of  this  short  period  have  been 
 sadly  beclouded  ;  and  if,  nevertheless,  great  and  mar- 
 vellous changes  have  been  wrought  in  the  complexion 
 of  things  during  this  comparatively  short  period,  how 
 wonderfully  great  shall  be  the  blessed  effects  in  future 
 ages  ! 
 
 Again ;  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  operations 
 of  Christianity,  as  being  chiefly  of  a  spiritual  character, 
 cannot  well  be  measured  by  the  fallible  standard  of 
 human  estimate.  There  will,  indeed,  always  be  cer- 
 tain prominent  features  which  may  strike  the  ob- 
 server; but  the  most  essential  peculiarities  of  the 
 salutary  effects  of  Christianity  do  not  fall  within  the 
 limits  of  our  horizon  at  once.  The  most  lovely  flowers 
 of  the  plants  which  the  heavenly  Father  hath  planted, 
 unfold  their  fragrance  and  their  beauty  in  secret 
 places.  The  purer  and  the  more  spiritual  the  effects 
 of  the  Christian  Religion,  the  more  obscure  and  un- 
 obtrusive they  will  appear.  As  Nature  generally  utters 
 her  voice  on  being  torn  and  tormented,  but  is  folded 
 up   in    the    profoundest    silence   when    she   produces 
 
232  GENERAL   INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 plenty  and  peace ;  even  so  in  the  history  of  Religion 
 we  hear  generally  more  of  the  abuses ;  but  its  salutary 
 influences  are  felt  most  deeply  by  the  sufferer  who  is 
 comforted,  and  they  are  best  known  to  the  angel  that 
 numbers  the  tears  which  have  been  dried  up.  Who 
 can  enter  the  secret  chambers  of  prayer,  and  behold 
 the  incense  of  pure  devotion,  of  holy  resolution,  of 
 high  resolves,  of  wrestling  against  sin,  of  sacred  vows, 
 of  genuine  humility,  of  ardent  love  to  God  and  to  the 
 brethren  ?  All  these  things  are  still  as  the  shining 
 of  the  light,  quiet  like  the  growing  of  plants.  They 
 do  not,  nor  can  they  appear  in  the  pages  of  general 
 history.  The  moral  beauty  of  the  primitive  Church 
 Avould  not  shine  as  brightly  as  it  does,  if  it  had  not 
 been  for  the  persecutions  which  now  and  then  opened 
 the  veil,  and  permitted  us  to  look  into  the  heart  of 
 some  goodly  martyr,  or  some  other  saint  of  whom  the 
 world  was  not  worthy.  We  know  little  as  it  is  ;  but 
 we  maintain  that  we  should  know  still  less  if  it  had 
 not  been  for  the  public  opposition  which  Christi- 
 anity endured.  In  the  primitive  Church  it  could 
 be  said  that  "  they  live  in  their  native  country  like 
 strangers.  They  live  in  the  flesh,  but  not  after  the 
 flesh.  They  live  upon  earth,  but  have  their  conversa- 
 tion in  heaven.  They  obey  the  laws,  but  their  lives 
 are  above  the  law.  They  love  all  men,  and  are  per- 
 secuted, disowned,  and  condemned  by  all.  When 
 they  are  cursed,  they  bless  their  enemies.  In  short, 
 what  the  soul  is  in  the  body,  the  Christians  are  in  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    GENUINE   RELIGION.  233 
 
 ■world.  As  the  soul  is  invisible,  and  yet  supports  and 
 animates  the  whole  body,  so  is  the  Christian  in  the 
 world."  In  the  quiet  and  unobtrusive  way  of  her 
 adorable  head,  the  Church  of  Christ  goes  about  in  the 
 form  of  a  servant,  and  thus  accomplishes,  like  hira, 
 the  very  mightiest  of  works. 
 
 In  the  ordinary  style  of  ecclesiastical  history  we 
 discover  least  what  is  meant  by  the  moral  effects  of 
 Christianity.  Church  history  generally  walks  upon  the 
 high-roads,  and  perambulates  the  walls  and  bulwarks 
 of  distinctive  confessions,  and  the  decrees  of  councils 
 and  the  dissenting  bodies  of  the  Church.  It  neither 
 enters  the  closet,  nor  leads  into  the  Christian  circles  of 
 domestic  life.  The  life  of  the  believer,  "  is  hid  ivHh 
 Christ  in  God.''  When  he  prays,  he  enters  into  his 
 closet  and  shuts  his  door ;  when  he  fasts,  he  anoints 
 his  head  and  washes  his  face.  When  he  gives  alms, 
 he  does  not  sound  the  trumpet  before  him,  that  he 
 may  have  glory  of  man ;  but  he  doeth  it  in  secret,  and 
 his  left  hand  knoweth  not  what  his  right  hand  doeth 
 to  honour  the  Father  who  seeth  in  secret.  The  cha- 
 racter of  spurious  Religion  is  far  otherwise ;  scarcely 
 has  a  good  work  been  accomplished,  when  the  sound 
 of  the  trumpet  publishes  the  deed  in  the  synagogue 
 and  in  the  streets.  This  hypocritical  character  of 
 spurious  Religion  reminds  the  writer  strongly  of  the 
 natural  propensity  of  the  hen,  which  invariably  makes 
 an  effective  proclamation  on  having  made  herself  useful 
 by  multiplying  the  eggs  of  her  mistress. 
 
234  GENERAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Again  ;  the  salutary  influence  of  Christianity  upon 
 the  civil  history  of  the  world  has  been  often  disowned, 
 because  it  aimed  first  of  all  to  regenerate  the  principles 
 of  the  personal,  domestic,  and  social  character  of  society. 
 Hence  the  fact,  that  Christianity  had  not  a  promi- 
 nent and  visible  effect  upon  the  political  condition  of 
 the  world  till  a  considerably  later  period  than  the  com- 
 mencement of  the  Christian  era.  And  is  it  to  be 
 wondered  at  that  some  time  was  necessary  to  cleanse 
 the  leaven  of  Paganism  from  the  corners  of  civil  life, 
 with  which  it  was  so  closely  connected  ?  The  Pagan 
 forms  of  philosoi)hy,  poetry,  architecture,  and  other 
 branches  of  knowledge,  were  retained  in  the  first  cen- 
 turies of  the  Christian  era,  until  the  Christian  influence 
 had  gained  sufficient  strength  to  create  new  forms, 
 and  the  new^  wine  could  be  put  into  new  bottles. 
 
 There  is,  however,  another  difficulty  in  forming  a 
 due  estimate  of  the  salutary  effects  of  the  Christian 
 Religion  ;  and  this  arises  from  a  danger  of  disowaiing 
 what  has  been  accomplished  by  spmious  Religion.  It 
 has  been  the  fashion  with  some  authors  to  blacken 
 the  virtues  of  Paganism,  with  a  view  to  give  an  addi- 
 tional lustre  to  Christian  morality.  This  is  as  unfaii* 
 and  imjust,  as  it  is  unwise  and  ill-judged.  When  we 
 read,  for  instance,  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindoo, 
 that  we  are  not  only  to  forgive,  but  to  do  good  to  our 
 enemies,  wdio  seek  our  destruction, — like  the  sandal- 
 tree,  which  perfumes  the  axe  which  is  engaged  in 
 cutting  it   down, — it  behoves  us  to  appreciate  these 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    GENUINE   RELIGION.  235 
 
 precious  pearls,  wliicli  sliiiie  beneath  a  mouldering 
 mass  of  a  base  superstition.  We  need  not  degrade 
 the  few  noble  characters  of  Pagan  antiquity,  with  a 
 view  to  exalt  the  heroes  of  Christianity.  The  Gospel 
 morality  needs  none  of  these  shades  to  shine  forth  in 
 its  unequalled  beauty  and  brightness.  It  needs  no 
 chrotiique  scandcdeiise,  in  order  to  exalt  its  moral 
 strength.  The  bright  mirror  of  genuine  Rehgion  has 
 no  need  to  breathe  calumny  upon  other  mirrors,  in 
 order  to  be  considered  the  brightest  of  all.  The 
 prayers  of  Cornelius  are  heard,  and  his  alms  are  had 
 in  remembrance  in  the  sight  of  God,  with  whom  of  a 
 truth  there  is  no  respect  of  persons.  "  In  every  nation, 
 he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness  is 
 accepted  with  him."  He  is  the  God  of  the  Gentiles 
 also,  and  has  not  left  himself  without  witness  in  the 
 natural  Religion  of  the  Pagan  world. 
 
 How  unfair,  for  instance,  would  it  be  in  every  point 
 of  view,  were  we  to  contrast  single  deeds,  instead  of 
 comparing  the  whole  moral  tone  of  different  systems 
 of  belief !  How  fallacious  would  be  the  result,  were 
 we  to  compare  merely  single  individuals,  instead  of 
 whole  nations  and  communities  !  How  strange  would 
 be  the  effect,  were  we  to  compare  the  amiable,  virtuous, 
 and  modest  Pagan  Julian,  with  the  passionate,  sus- 
 picious, and  cruel  temperament  of  the  Christian 
 emperor  Constantine  the  Great !  What  an  altogether 
 wrong  estimate  we  should  form  from  these  individuals 
 of  Pagan  and  Christian  morality  !    Again,  were  we  to 
 
236  GENERAL   INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 compare  the  outburstings  of  tlie  moral  corruption 
 within  the  pale  of  the  visible  Church,  which  are  by 
 no  means  attrihutahle  to  the  principles  of  genuine 
 Religion,  with  those  more  cheering  features  of  Pagan 
 morality,  which  are  not  owing  to  Pagan  systems  of 
 belief,  but  to  the  remnants  of  the  otherwise  shattered 
 constitution  of  the  moral  nature  of  man,  how  totally 
 false  would  be  our  estimate  of  both  genuine  and 
 spurious  Religion ! 
 
 We  need  not  be  reluctant  to  acknowledge  what 
 Paganism  has  accomplished  in  civil  and  social  life  ; 
 and  we  may  yet  show,  at  the  same  time,  how  all  these 
 relations  in  life  have  been  infinitely  ennobled  by  the 
 benignant  influence  of  Christianity.  And  it  will, 
 besides,  always  be  a  notorious  fact,  that  the  bare 
 civilization  of  Paganism  has  been  always  associated 
 Avith  the  rudest  barbarity,  and  with  the  most  abomi- 
 nable immorality.  It  is  hoped,  a  generally  correct 
 view  has  been  given  of  the  character  of  Paganism. 
 We  have  obsen^ed  a  lamentable  poverty  of  religious 
 ideas,  and  we  shall  perceive  in  this  final  chapter,  how 
 ill  calculated  spurious  Religion  has  ever  been  to  pro- 
 pagate the  elements  of  sound  civilization,  and  to 
 promote  the  true  happiness  of  man  even  in  a  temporal 
 point  of  view. 
 
 Yet  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  in  the  providential 
 kingdom  of  Almighty  God,  who  is  "  the  King  of 
 nations^  every  nation  has  to  accomplish  that  part 
 which  has  been  assigned  to  it.     Even  Paganism,  as 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  237 
 
 such,  was  to  prepare  certain  stones  for  the  buildmg  up 
 of  that  great  temple  of  God's  everlasting  kingdom  of 
 happiness  and  peace.  Israel,  in  contradistinction  to 
 all  other  nations,  bore  the  character  of  deep  humility  ; 
 they  were  to  live  a  life  of  faith,  and  to  wait  in  patient 
 hope.  Israel  was  to  expect  nothing  from  its  own 
 wisdom  and  power,  but  every  thing  from  Jehovah, 
 who  was  their  strength  and  their  Redeemer.  Israel 
 alone  of  all  nations  was  to  expect  every  thing 
 from  futurity,  and  nothing  from  the  present.  The 
 promises,  the  types,  and  the  prophecies,  with  all  the 
 rites  of  the  Theocratical  constitution,  pointed  signifi- 
 cantly into  future  ages.  Israel  was  a  prophet  indeed, 
 the  voice  of  a  preacher  in  the  wilderness  of  Paganism, 
 to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord.  The  general  cor- 
 ruption of  man  was  made  to  appear  in  very  marked 
 features  throughout  their  whole  history ;  and  they 
 appear  the  more  dark,  the  more  conspicuous  the  glory 
 by  which  they  were  surrounded  as  the  chosen  gene- 
 ration. But  even  when  they  were  visited  by  heavy 
 judgments  for  partaking  of  the  ways  of  the  Gentiles, 
 it  became  apparent  that  they  were  a  peculiar  people 
 with  a  peculiar  calling  !  As  Israel  was  distinguishea 
 by  the  purely  religious  tendency  of  its  education,  so, 
 on  the  other  hand.  Paganism  shone  by  its  culti- 
 vation of  arts  and  sciences,  by  worldly  civilization 
 and  accomplishments.  The  Phcenician  workmen  built 
 the  temple  of  Jehovah];  but  in  this  temple  the  only 
 true  and  living  God  was  worshipped  by  the  Hebrews  ! 
 
238  GENERAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Whatever  Paganism  was  lamentably  deficient  in,  we 
 find  to  have  been  prominently  brought  forth  amongst 
 the  people  of  God.  Whatever  Israel  was  deficient  in, 
 was  richly  accomplished  in  Pagan  systems  of  belief. 
 Arts  and  sciences  should,  according  to  the  purpose  of 
 God,  come  from  the  Gentiles ;  but  (^race  and  *'  salva- 
 tion  cometh from  the  Jews!" 
 
 From  Avliat  has  now  been  advanced,  we  should 
 expect  that  Paganism  had  accomplished  its  work  at 
 the  fulness  of  time,  in  the  same  manner  and  in  the 
 same  degree  as  Israel  had  accomplished  and  made 
 sure  his  calling  and  election  :  we  should  expect  that 
 Belif/ion  in  the  one  case,  and  science  and  civilization 
 in  the  other,  would  have  reached  that  state  of  ma- 
 turity, which  woidd  render  the  introduction  of  the 
 new  element  comparatively  easy  amongst  Jews  and 
 amongst  Gentiles  :  we  should  expect  that  Pagan 
 civilization  would  have  reached  that  point,  which  in 
 some  measure  would  facilitate  the  spread  of  that 
 Christian  civilization,  which  was  to  penetrate  the  rude 
 mass  of  mankind  at  large.  We  find  that  all  this 
 was  the  case ;  and  these  flowers  of  Paganism  were 
 not  like  those  religious  blossoms,  which  fall  away  and 
 wither  without  bringing  forth  fruit !  Pagan  civilization 
 brought  forth  much  fruit,  when  it  was  incorporated 
 into,  brought  under  the  influence  of  genuine  Religion, 
 and  imbued  with  a  Christian  spirit.  A  thoroughly 
 Christian  civilization  was  the  combined  result  of  the 
 deahngs  of  God  with  Israel  and  the  Gentile  world. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF  SPURIOUS   RELIGION.  239 
 
 When  this  preparation  had  been  accomplished,  the 
 destiny  of  Israel  and  the  destiny  of  the  Pagan  world, 
 prior  to  the  advent  of  Christ,  was  accomplished. 
 Whatever  remained  of  Judaism  and  Paganism  had 
 lost  its  character  and  its  divine  sanction.  The  times 
 of  the  long-suffering  of  God  respecting  the  Gentile 
 world  had  expired  ;  and  ancient  Paganism,  as  well  as 
 the  ancient  constitution  of  Israel,  had  fulfilled  its  pur- 
 pose in  the  fulness  of  thne.  The  Paganism  which  has 
 existed  since  the  advent  of  Christ  is  as  much  a  carica- 
 ture of  ancient  Paganism,  as  Judaism  is  a  caricature 
 of  the  Theocratical  constitution  of  Israel.  Both  have 
 become  a  dead  carcase,  without  life  and  without 
 meaning.  Both  are  ruins  of  something  comparatively 
 far  better.  Hence  the  impotency  of  modern  Paganism 
 to  produce  anything  similar  to  that  ancient  treasure 
 of  arts,  sciences,  and  civilization,  which  Paganism  had 
 accumulated  before  the  coming  of  Christ.  When 
 the  merits  of  ancient  Paganism  have  been  fre- 
 quently denied  in  this  temporal  point  of  view,  it 
 has  been  weU  meant,  but  it  has  been  sadly  used  by 
 ungodly  writers  as  an  argument  against  Christianity, 
 When  we  hold  fast  the  foregoing  points,  it  will  like- 
 wise appear  plain  why  the  favoured  nation  of  the  Jews 
 were  so  far  behind  the  accomplished  Greeks  in  some 
 material  points.  There  is  never  a  wasting  of  power  in 
 the  providential  kingdom  of  God.  The  polish  of  the 
 Grecians  was  not  obtained  without  the  most  strenuous 
 efforts  of  every  faculty ;  and  even  the  infusion  of  a 
 
240  GENERAL    INFLUENCE  [ch\p.  iv. 
 
 religious  spirit  was  requisite  in  order  to  do  what 
 they  accomphshed.  The  calhng  of  Israel  was  of  a  far 
 different  character.  Instead  of  feeling  surprised  that 
 God  should  assign  a  minor  task  to  the  Gentile  world, 
 and  favour  its  being  accomplished,  we  must  rather 
 adore  that  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God,  who 
 would  even  employ  his  prodigal  son  to  do  something 
 laudable  and  useful,  besides  his  being  otherwise  fitted 
 for  the  reception  of  a  spiritual  salvation,  Avhicli  the 
 Pagan  world  with  all  its  w^isdom  could  not  produce. 
 
 Well,  therefore,  has  the  holy  Augustine  said,  respect- 
 ing the  good  which  Paganism  has  effected,  "  As  the 
 Egyptians  had  not  only  idols  and  heavy  burdens,  from 
 lohich  the  Israelites  jled  icith  a  feeling  of  abhorrence, 
 but  also  p)recious  jewels  of  silver  and  jewels  of  gold,  and 
 such  things  as  they  required,  which  they  made  use  of 
 for  better  purposes ;  even  so  have  the  doctrines  of  the 
 Gentiles  not  only  images  and  heavy  and  useless  burdens, 
 which  must  be  abhorred  by  every  Christian,  but  also 
 liberal  arts  and  sciences,  which  are  fitted  for  the  service 
 of  truths 
 
 2.  As  every  seed  contains  the  hidden  germs  of  the 
 peculiar  form  and  property  of  the  plant,  its  leaves, 
 flowers,  and  fruits,  so  we  have  deposited  in  every 
 system  of  Religion,  the  peculiar  moral  influence  which 
 it  will  exercise  upon  its  followers.  If  the  Religion  be 
 sound  and  true,  the  morality  of  the  religious  system 
 will  be  sound  also.  As  the  slightest  motion  with  the 
 sextant  in  our  hand  will  vastly  influence  our  calcu- 
 
CHAP,  iv.j  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  241 
 
 lation  of  the  position  of  a  given  star,  and  as  a  single 
 line  may  cause  a  miscalculation  of  thousands  of  miles, 
 so  misapprehension  as  to  the  fundamentals  of  Religion, 
 although  they  may  seem  small  in  themselves,  will  yet 
 influence  the  moral  system  in  a  most  material  degree. 
 As  the  fountain,  so  are  the  waters ;  as  the  tree,  even  so 
 is  the  fruit.  To  teach  morals  without  engrafting  reli- 
 gious principles,  is  to  outstrip  the  folly  of  the  gardener 
 who  hopes  to  destroy  the  noxious  plants  in  his  ground 
 by  cutting  their  branches.  To  inculcate  moral  precepts 
 without  imbuing  the  mind  with  the  living  principles 
 of  true  Religion,  from  which  they  are  to  spring  spon- 
 taneously, is  acting  the  part  of  the  stupid  agriculturist, 
 who,  instead  of  removing  the  cause  of  marshy  ground 
 by  draining  the  water,  will  rush  forth,  day  by  day,  with 
 threshing  implements,  and  similar  w^eapons,  to  dispel 
 the  unhealthy  fogs,  and  to  fight  against  the  foul  ex- 
 halations of  the  swamp,  which  poison  the  atmosphere. 
 Christianity  administers  moral  precepts  together 
 with  religious  motives,  but  Paganism  know^s  nothing 
 of  the  latter.  The  Pagans,  indeed,  are  not  without 
 a  system  of  morality ;  for  wdien  "  they  by  nature  do 
 the  things  contained  in  the  law,  which  have  not  the 
 law,  they  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  thenj- 
 selves."  Those  that  have  the  law,  and  those  that  have 
 not,  are  placed  on  a  par  in  this  respect  so  far,  that  each 
 has  a  knowledge  of  the  law,  the  one  by  revelation, 
 the  other  by  nature.  The  Gentiles  are  expected  to  do 
 the  things  of  the  law  which  is  written  in  their  hearts, 
 
 VOL.   II.  R 
 
242  MORAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 their  conscience  bearing  witness.  Having  a  different 
 standard,  they  will  be  judged  accordingly  in  righteous- 
 ness, and  "  perish  without  the  law."  But  it  is  a  very 
 different  thing  what  the  Pagans  ought  to  be,  and  what 
 they  actually  are.  We  have  already,  on  a  former  occa- 
 sion, shown  what  the  Religious  systems  of  Pagans 
 were  intended  to  be,  and  what  they  actually  were.  As 
 they  were  nothing  but  an  expression  of  the  moral  state 
 of  the  age  in  which  they  were  founded,  an^  of  the 
 individuals  who  were  engaged  in  their  fabrication, 
 it  was  natural  that  whatever  was  considered  to  be 
 desirable  was  conceived  to  be  morally  good  ;  and 
 whatever  was  incompatible  with  the  laws  of  the 
 country  and  the  state  of  society,  was  considered  to  be 
 morally  wrong.  As  must  be  expected,  large  allow- 
 ances would  be  made  in  such  systems  for  the  lust  of 
 the  eye,  and  of  the  flesh,  and  for  the  pride  of  hfe. 
 
 Paganism,  therefore,  destroys  the  soul  of  duty, 
 which  is  obedience  to  the  Divine  will,  and  conformity 
 to  the  Divine  command.  There  may  exist  an  external 
 rectitude  independent  of  a  written  revelation,  but  our 
 only  standard  can  be  conformity  to  Divine  revelation. 
 The  Scriptures  assure  us,  that  with  God  nothing  is 
 acceptable  which  is  not  done  under  the  influence  of  a 
 sincere  regard  for  his  will.  Where  the  single  eye  is 
 wanting,  the  whole  body  walks  in  darkness.  Men 
 may  do  good,  and  accomplish  great  things,  from  self- 
 interested  and  ambitious  motives,  and  they  may  gain 
 their  reward  in  the  applause  of  the  world.     As  Pagan 
 
CHAP.  iv.J  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  243 
 
 philosophers  recommended  the  virtues  of  temperance 
 and  moderation  without  regard  to  the  Divine  will, 
 St.  Augustine  considers  their  virtues  as  splendid  sins. 
 God  was  not  at  all  in  their  thoughts,  as  little  in  their 
 virtues  as  he  was  in  their  vices. 
 
 The  absence  of  every  element  of  genuine  morality 
 in  spurious  Religions,  cannot  surprise  us  when  we  re- 
 member that  they  were  formed  and  framed  on  purpose 
 that  man  might  indulge  in  his  sins.  Pagan  nations 
 expressed  their  virtues  as  well  as  their  vices  in  the  cha- 
 racters of  their  gods ;  and  how  should  these  depraved 
 deities  be  able  to  elevate  man  to  any  moral  greatness  ? 
 The  deity  of  Paganism  naturally  demands  to  be  wor- 
 shipped, reconciled,  and  appeased  like  man ;  and  to  do 
 this  it  required  more  prudence  than  moral  elevation. 
 
 As  there  is  nothing  so  descriptive  of  the  cause  and 
 the  development  of  Paganism  as  that  remarkable  first 
 chapter  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Romans,  so  it  will  ever 
 stand  unequalled  in  its  description  of  the  character 
 of  Pagan  morality.  The  vivid  picture  which  is  there 
 drawn  by  the  hand  of  inspiration,  is  as  terrifying  as  it 
 appears  true  to  life  to  every  one  acquainted  with  the 
 moral  state  of  ancient  and  modern  Paganism.  In 
 diving  into  the  mysteries  of  iniquity,  we,  like  Ezekiel, 
 tm'n  and  turn  again,  and  at  every  turn  we  are  shown 
 still  greater  and  greater  abominations.  There  is  in 
 spurious  Religion  a  perpetual  action  and  reaction, 
 vice  generating  idols  and  vicious  deities,  and  deities 
 encouraging  and  fostering  vice. 
 
 R  2 
 
244  MORAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 The  Christian  cannot  but  associate  in  his  mind 
 Rehgion  and  morality,  because  both  are  related  to 
 one  another  as  the  cause  and  the  effect,  as  the  tree 
 and  the  fruit.  A  religious  man  is  considered  to  be  a 
 pious  man,  an  individual  of  moral  rectitude  and  prin- 
 ciple. But  Christian  devotion  would  quench  all  the 
 feelings  of  a  Pagan  piety ;  inasmuch  as  the  Religion 
 of  the  latter  is  far  from  being  ''pure  and  tmdpfiled." 
 A  man  is  unfit  for  the  worship  of  an  idolater,  in  pro- 
 portion as  the  love  and  fear  of  God  animates  and 
 inspires  his  soul.  As  Pagan  deities  have  ever  been 
 cast  in  the  mould  of  a  depraved  imagination,  their 
 worship  partakes  of  the  defects  and  vices  of  their 
 worshippers  :  and  as  it  behoves  the  worshipper  to 
 imitate  the  deity,  there  will  always  be  sufficient  motive 
 and  ample  scope  for  the  commission  of  all  manner  of 
 moral  depravity. 
 
 The  writings  of  the  Pagans,  according  to  Justin 
 Martyr,  "  tend  to  corrupt  and  deprave  the  minds 
 of  those  who  learn  them  ;  all  taking  pride  in  being 
 imitators  of  their  gods."  Every  individual  will  cleave 
 to  that  peculiar  deity  whose  character  is  most  con- 
 genial to  his  own.  Achilles,  for  instance,  would  emu- 
 late Mars  in  ferocity  and  deeds  of  blood.  Ulysses 
 would  be  like  Mercury  in  stratagem  and  craft.  The 
 ambitious  minds  of  Alexander  the  Great  and  Julius 
 Csesar,  would  act  the  part  of  Jupiter  upon  earth. 
 There  is  not  a  vicious  passion  or  crime,  to  which 
 man  may   be   tempted,    for    which  the  idolater   may 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  245 
 
 not  find  a  sanction  or  an  example  in  tlie  legends 
 of  his  gods.  The  Pagan  world  being  dependent  for 
 its  moral  examples  and  models  of  actions  upon  deities 
 so  corrupt,  lascivious,  adulterous,  cruel,  revengeful, 
 bloodthirsty,  hateful,  envious,  jealous,  partial,  angry, 
 arbitrary,  what  could  we  better  expect  from  their 
 moral  state  than  what  is  set  forth  by  St.  Paul  in  the 
 first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  ? 
 
 The  impure  services  of  the  Babylonian,  the  Hindoo, 
 the  Grecian,  the  Egyptian,  the  Syrian,  the  Roman 
 gods  and  goddesses,  have  ever  hallowed  vice,  and  raised 
 the  service  of  sin  to  the  dignity  of  divine  worship. 
 And  when  Paganism  has  thus  debased,  darkened, 
 and  brutified  the  soul  of  man  below  the  beasts  that 
 perish,  can  we  wonder  that  the  moral  nature  of  man 
 should  sicken,  droop,  and  die  an  unnatural  death  in 
 so  poisonous  an  atmosphere  ?  Can  we  wonder  when 
 we  behold  idolaters  with  uplifted  hands  before  their 
 base  divinities,  imploring  them  to  sweeten  the  most 
 unnatural  pleasures  of  sin,  to  aid  them  in  their  strata- 
 gems to  poison  their  fellow-men,  to  crown  with  success 
 their  efforts  to  rob  the  poor  widow,  and  to  spoil  the 
 helpless  orphan  ?  So  vile  indeed  were  their  petitions, 
 that,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Seneca,  they  paused 
 for  very  shame  if  they  found  themselves  overheard  by 
 a  fellow  being. 
 
 There  is  a  class  of  spurious  Christians  who,  from 
 ignorance  of  facts,  consider  that  Paganism  is  mis- 
 represented, and    made   to  appear  worse  than  it  is. 
 
246  MORAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 To  such,  we  might  enlarge  upon  the  abominable  pro- 
 cessions of  ancient  and  modern  Paganism,  in  which 
 the  worshippers  rode  upon  donkeys,  led  about  brute 
 beasts,  swallowed  raw  meat,  danced  like  madmen,  car- 
 ried the  symbols  of  abominable  objects,  and  played 
 with  live  serpents  !  We  might  speak  of  the  dark  and 
 dreadful  Eleusinian  mysteries  in  honour  of  the  god- 
 dess of  lust.  We  might  enlarge  on  the  frantic  orgies 
 of  the  rites  of  Bacchus.  We  might  speak  of  the 
 fact  of  certain  statues  of  notorious  prostitutes  having 
 been  made,  to  which,  subsequently,  divine  worship 
 was  paid  by  the  devotees.  We  might  refer  to  the 
 arguments  of  Aristotle,  by  which  he  admonished  the 
 government  to  prevent  the  exhibition  of  such  religious 
 statues  and  pictm'es,  which  were  calculated  to  shock 
 the  feelings  of  the  less  corrupted  of  the  nation.  We 
 might  speak  of  the  motives  which  induced  Socrates  to 
 devote  all  his  powers  to  the  sculpture  of  the  attired 
 Graces.  We  might  speak  of  the  poets,  who  were 
 chiefly  the  creators  of  the  gods,  and  their  represent- 
 ations of  all  that  is  bad  and  evil  in  the  most  fasci- 
 nating and  pleasing  colours.  We  might  enlarge  upon 
 the  debasing  character  of  most  of  their  national  songs, 
 some  of  which  were  even  condemned  in  Sparta.  We 
 might  go  into  the  theatre,  and  expose  the  abominable 
 scenes  and  songs  which  were  there  applauded  by  the 
 audience  of  the  fair  sex.  We  might  speak  of  the 
 most  famous  artists  and  sculptors  of  the  gods,  and 
 the  circumstances  under  which  they  were   made  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   SPURIOUS   RELIGION.  247 
 
 arbiters  of  the  charms  and  graces  of  female  beauty. 
 We  might  also  feel  compelled  to  speak  of  the  things 
 of  which  Plato  declared  that  they  were  unnatural,  and 
 of  such  a  base  character,  that  even  the  beasts  did  not 
 do  the  same.  We  might  speak  of  those  temples  of 
 ancient  and  modern  Paganism,  which  resemble  more 
 the  character  of  brothel-houses  than  places  of  public 
 worship.  We  might  dwell  upon  the  circumstances 
 under  which  the  contests  for  beauty  of  form  were 
 conducted  by  the  most  civilized  of  Pagan  nations. 
 W^e  might  dwell  upon  the  sacred  rites  of  Reli- 
 gion, which  in  a  most  revolting  form  demanded  the 
 sacrifice  of  female  virtue  at  Babylon,  in  Eastern  India, 
 in  Egypt,  in  Phoenicia,  in  Cyprus,  in  Sicily,  and 
 in  Greece.  We  might  speak  of  still  more  heinous 
 crimes  and  bestialities  in  the  Pagan  services.  We 
 might  enter  upon  the  details  under  which  the  youth 
 contemplated  a  painting  of  Jupiter  on  the  ceiling  of 
 the  room,  and  ejaculated  :  "  Ego  homuncio  hoc  non 
 facerem  ?  Ego  vero  illud  feci  ac  lubens."  W^ere  we 
 writing  chiefly  for  the  apologists  of  Paganism,  we 
 should  speak  thus  fully  of  these  things  in  order  to 
 show  its  true  character;  but  to  avoid  shocking  the 
 feelings  of  our  general  readers,  we  very  gladly  pass 
 these  depths  of  iniquity.  If  there  remained  any  sober 
 and  serious  persons  among  the  Pagan  nations,  be  it 
 remembered  that  they  were  preserved  only  so  far  as 
 they  partially  withstood  the  obnoxious  influence  of  their 
 Religion,  which  they  were   anxious  to  see  banished 
 
248  MORAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 from  the  State.  And  we  ascribe  it  to  a  noble  repug- 
 nance to  immorality,  when  a  friend  of  Socrates,  whose 
 indignation  was  kindled  against  the  abominable  cha- 
 racter of  the  Grecian  divinities,  and  their  corrupting 
 influence  upon  the  morals  of  the  people,  gave  utter- 
 ance to  the  words :  "  So  many  honourable  and  excel- 
 lent women  has  the  goddess  Aphrodite  corrupted,  that 
 if  I  could  catch  her,  I  surely  would  transfix  her  icith 
 a  spear  !  " 
 
 Yet,  notwitstanding  such  instances  of  heathens  being 
 superior  to  the  standard  of  morality  established  among 
 them,  it  is  a  melancholy  fact  that  the  better  class  not 
 only  committed  things  which  betray  an  extraordinary 
 corruption, — for  this  might  be  said,  perhaps,  of  some 
 of  the  noblest  saints  of  the  Bible, — but  they  in  general 
 considered  morality  far  inferior  to  Philosophy.  Suicide 
 was  commended  by  the  morality  of  the  Stoics ;  Aris- 
 totle sanctions  revenge,  and  thinks  that  the  pleasure 
 resulting  from  virtue  is  the  highest  good ;  and  even 
 Plato  approves  of  falsehood,  as  a  wise  means  in  the 
 hands  of  government.  To  become  like  God  is  the 
 highest  object  of  man.  But  Plato  nowhere  says  whe- 
 ther like  Jupiter,  or  Venus,  or  the  "  unhioivn  God." 
 Socrates  declares  virtue  to  be  the  object  of  all  know- 
 ledge. But  what  w^as  his  standard  of  virtue  ?  Wisdom, 
 virtue,  temperance,  and  fortitude,  according  to  him, 
 lead  to  righteousness ;  but  it  is  not  the  righteousness 
 acceptable  with  God.  Virtue,  happiness,  and  perfec- 
 tion are  inseparable  in  his  moral  system.     But  it  was 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF  SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  249 
 
 all  fighting  in  the  air.  According  to  Antisthenes, 
 man  becomes  a  deity  by  loving  what  is  beautiful  and 
 just.  His  successor,  Theodorus,  taught  that  prudence 
 M^as  identical  with  virtue.  The  whole  moral  code  of 
 Zeno  embraced  the' cardinal  virtues,  sobriety,  temper- 
 ance, and  righteousness ;  but  how  vague  and  unmean- 
 ing all  these  terms  seem  to  be  ! 
 
 When  the  French  nation,  on  the  occasion  of  one  of 
 its  revolutions,  publicly  denied  the   God  who  made, 
 and  the  Saviour  who  redeemed  them,   they  exhibited 
 all  the   vices   which   a  fallen    nature    is   capable   of 
 committing.     But  with  all  the  excess  of  wickedness 
 which  was  then  made  manifest,  they  never  could  do 
 what  was  done  during  the  rule  of  Roman  emperors. 
 Emperors  who  fought  amidst  the  gladiators   before 
 the  people  in  a  state  of  nudity ;  emperors  who,  like 
 Caligula,    converted   their   palaces    into    "  houses    of 
 wickedness  ;"  emperors  who,  like  Nero,  drove  through 
 the  chief  streets  of  the  "  eternal  city  "  with  a  strumpet 
 by  their  side ;   empresses  like  Messalina,  who  was  a 
 stain  to  the  honour  of  her  sex ;    emperors  who,  like 
 Commodus,  dishonoured  and  murdered  their  sisters ; 
 emperors  who,  like  Heliogabalus,  distributed  the  high- 
 est  offices  of  the  state  for  purposes  of  immorality, 
 and  gave  to  their  concubines  the  possession  of  whole 
 nations  ;   and  emperors,  finally,  who  for  their  amuse- 
 ment superintended  the  murder  of  their  fellow-crea- 
 tures ;  who  demolished  bridges  in  order  to  have  the 
 pleasure  of  seeing  a  multitude  of  people  perish  in  the 
 
250  MORAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 waves,  or  who  set  fire  to  the  city,  in  order  to  witness 
 a  large  conflagration ; — such  an  awful  demoralization 
 could  only  gain  ascendency  amongst  a  people  who 
 have  altogether  turned  aside,  and  become  entirely  des- 
 titute of  the  knowledge  of  the  only  true  God,  and 
 the  moral  principles  which  he  has  implanted  in 
 human  nature. 
 
 It  is  a  pleasure  for  the  Christian  mind  to  retire 
 from  similar  scenes  of  moral  desolation ;  but  it  can 
 be  by  no  means  altogether  unprofitable  for  the  Chris- 
 tian believer  to  reflect  from  time  to  time  upon  the 
 abominations  of  Pagan  idolatry.  It  will  endear  to  our 
 souls  the  blessed  Gospel,  Mdiich  has  delivered  us  from 
 such  a  thraldom  of  corruption  and  darkness,  and  has 
 enlightened  the  eyes  of  our  understanding,  that  we 
 know  what  is  the  hope  of  our  calling,  and  what  the 
 riches  of  the  glory  of  His  inheritance  in  the  saints  ! 
 
 3.  The  ethics  of  Paganism  have  a  baneful  influence 
 upon  the  moral  nature  of  man.  The  manifold  idola- 
 tries, the  impure  rites  of  heathen  worship,  the  bad 
 example  of  the  deities,  and  the  innate  corruption  of 
 human  nature,  combined  together  to  bring  about  that 
 inveterate  immorality  which  we  witness  in  Pagan 
 lands.  The  civil  laws  were,  indeed,  obhged  to  inter- 
 fere and  prescribe  certain  moral  rules,  but  they  could 
 not  substitute  the  divine  standard  which  alone  can 
 be  an  authority  in  these  matters.  The  civil  law  did, 
 moreover,  allow,  and  in  some  instances  prescribe, 
 things   Mdiich    are   incompatible    with   the   piu-ity  of 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  251 
 
 Religion  and  virtue.  The  same  applies  to  the  moral 
 systems  of  Pagan  philosophers  ;  the  best  of  them  are 
 deficient  in  material  points  of  duty.  But  if  we  should 
 ever  find  the  moral  precepts  of  Paganism  perfect  as  to 
 their  demands,  what  could  they  profit  man  without 
 being  furnished  with  moral  prhiciples  ?  When  the 
 love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  his  heart,  man  is  en- 
 abled to  overcome  the  love  of  sin,  and  the  love  of  the 
 things  of  this  world.  But  love  to  God  is  something 
 unknown  to  the  spirit  of  Paganism ;  so  much  so,  that 
 the  great  philosopher,  Aristotle,  in  his  discourse  upon 
 morality,  declared,  "  Priendship  cannot  subsist  with- 
 out a  reciprocal  feeling  of  affection.  Such,  however, 
 cannot  be  the  case  with  the  Supreme  Being ;  and  it 
 would  sound  very  strange  if  any  one  toould  venture  to 
 say  that  he  loves  Jujjiter  T' 
 
 The  Pagan  world  is  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins ; 
 and  the  great  object  which  Christianity  alone  could 
 hope  to  accomplish,  was  its  moral  renovation  and 
 sanctification.  In  doing  this,  as  we  have  already 
 seen,  it  does  not,  as  even  the  best  of  Pagan  mora- 
 lisers  do,  put  a  new  piece  of  cloth  upon  an  old 
 garment.  God  reconciled  the  world  unto  himself, 
 through  his  dear  Son  ;  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel 
 urges  the  children  of  God  to  be  perfect  as  their 
 "  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect ;'  and  to  be  ''followers 
 of  God  as  dear  children.''  The  love  of  God  is  shed 
 abroad  in  the  heart  of  a  pardoned  sinner,  and  "■  he 
 that  saith  he  abideth  in  him,  ought  himself  also  to 
 
252  MORAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 walk  even  as  he  walked."  The  keeping  of  his  com- 
 mandments, and  the  abiding  in  him,  and  the  loving 
 him  who  first  loved  us,  are  things  which  are  never 
 severed  in  the  Bible.  The  end  of  the  commandment 
 is  love,  out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  of  a  good  conscience, 
 and  faith  unfeigned. 
 
 Christian  morality  restores  the  image  of  God  in 
 Christ  Jesus,  which  is  created  in  knowledge,  righteous- 
 ness, and  true  holiness.  The  fruits  of  the  Spirit  are 
 love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
 faith,  meekness,  temperance.  What  a  contrast  to  the 
 picture  of  Pagan  corruption,  as  described,  Rom.  i. 
 26 — 32  !  The  virtues  of  Christianity  qualify  man 
 for  the  joys  of  heaven ;  and  as  the  Almighty  cannot 
 perform  moral  impossibilities,  he  cannot  introduce 
 into  his  presence  those  who  are  not  qualified  for  it. 
 The  superiority  of  the  Christian  morality  to  every 
 thing  that  Paganism  has  accomplished,  has  been 
 acknowledged,  even  by  those  who  are  adverse  to  the 
 spirit  of  Christianity.  If  it,  however,  be  acknow- 
 ledged that  the  system  of  Christian  morality  is  supe- 
 rior to  any  other  moral  precepts,  let  it  be  remembered, 
 that  with  it  the  superiority  of  the  Christian  Religion 
 is  likewise  admitted;  one  necessarily  implies  the 
 other.  To  admit  the  excellency  of  the  spirit  and 
 the  working  of  Christian  morality,  and  to  reject  the 
 Religion  from  which  it  flows,  is  equal  to  relishing 
 the  fruit  of  a  certain  tree,  and  condemning  the  tree  as 
 unprofitable.    Such  individuals  enjoy  the  sweet  waters. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  253 
 
 but  disapprove  of  the  fountain  from  which  they  spring  ; 
 they  acknowledge  the  effects,  but  repudiate  the  cause 
 which  has  produced  them.  Every  tree  being  known 
 by  its  fruits,  and  every  Rehgion  by  its  moral  influence 
 upon  the  world,  we  must  abhor  Paganism  as  an  evil 
 of  the  first  magnitude. 
 
 4.  Before  we  enter  upon  the  consideration,  as  to 
 what  has  been  the  influence  of  Paganism  in  a  civil 
 point  of  view,  it  will  be  necessary  to  make  a  few 
 reflections  upon  the  primal  state  of  man.  As  in  the 
 religious  and  moral,  so  we  observe  also  in  every  other 
 department  of  intellectual  and  physical  existence,  an 
 accelerated  progress  towards  degeneracy.  Before  the 
 fall  of  man,  all  was  intended  to  advance  to  higher  and 
 greater  perfection.  Man,  in  his  primitive  state,  was 
 moving  towards  a  definite  perfection  with  the  whole 
 creation  around  him ;  after  the  fall,  all  was  tending 
 towards  a  general  degeneracy.  The  savage  state,  far 
 from  being  the  primeval  condition  of  man,  is,  in  every 
 point  of  view,  a  melancholy  degeneracy  from  one  more 
 cultivated,  and  more  elevated.  All  sound  philosophy, 
 in  harmony  with  profane  and  sacred  history,  points 
 emphatically  to  this  conclusion.  Now,  as  the  simple 
 child  becomes  an  intelligent  man  only  by  his  living 
 together  with  other  men,  so  man,  again,  attains  a  cer- 
 tain polish  and  civilization  by  his  intercourse  with 
 other  beings  of  the  same  species.  As  mankind  did 
 not  always  exist  in  a  large  body,  the  first  men  were 
 naturally  to  derive  their  education  and  culture  of  mind 
 
254  MORAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 from  God  himself ;  there  must  have  been  a  time  when 
 God  introduced  man  into  his  present  circumstances. 
 When  man  fell,  it  was  certainly  a  most  serious 
 interruption  to  his  onward  progress  towards  perfec- 
 tion. But  we  must  at  the  same  time  suppose,  that 
 man  brought  great  and  uncommon  j)owers  from  his 
 primitive  into  his  fallen  state.  If  this  w^ere  otherwise, 
 how  could  w^e  account  for  the  very  important  phe- 
 nomena in  the  primal  history  of  our  race?  Whence 
 that  early  proficiency  in  astronomy,  in  mathematics, 
 in  natural  philosophy,  in  architecture,  and  similar 
 accomplishments,  among  the  Chaldeans,  Egyptians, 
 Chinese,  and  Hindoos  ?  If  the  primitive  nations 
 w^ere  mere  animals  and  savage  barbarians,  whence  the 
 fact,  that  the  states,  the  manners,  the  arts  and  sciences 
 which  existed  among  them,  were  all  founded  upon 
 Religion,  and  that  religious  worisMp  was  the  whole 
 centre  of  gravity  in  their  existence  ?  Well,  therefore, 
 said  the  famous  antiquary  Ouw^aroff,  "  L'etat  nature! 
 de  rhomnic  n'est  ni  l'etat  sauvage  ni  l'etat  de  cor- 
 ruption, c'est  un  etat  simple,  meilleur,  plus  rap- 
 prochc  de  la  divinite ;  I'homme  sauvage  et  Thomme 
 corrumpu  en  sont  egalement  eloignes."  The  history 
 of  man  represents  the  bright  and  terrible  image,  which 
 in  the  dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar  had  a  head  of  fine 
 (jold ;  his  breast  and  his  arms  were  of  silver ;  his  belly 
 and  thighs  of  brass  ;  his  legs  of  iron  ;  and  last,  his  feet 
 were  part  of  iron  and  part  of  clay.  The  further  we 
 descend  from  the  fountain-head  above,  the  more  de- 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  255 
 
 generated  are  the  elements  of  which  it  is  composed. 
 Hence  the  idea  of  the  golden,  silver,  brass,  and  iron 
 ages.  The  blessings  of  art  were  ascribed  by  Plato 
 to  a  revelation  bestowed  by  the  Deity  upon  our  fore- 
 fathers, by  whom  it  was  handed  down  to  posterity. 
 
 The  degeneracy  was  not  instantaneous ;  but  the 
 transition  from  better  to  worse,  or  from  good  to  evil, 
 was  effected  in  some  instances  by  such  insensible 
 degrees  as  to  be  almost  imperceptible  within  limited 
 periods.  In  other  cases  it  was  arrested  by  extra- 
 ordinary causes,  as  was  the  fact  in  the  history  of  the 
 people  of  God.  It  is  however  worthy  of  remark,  that 
 the  most  melancholy  extent  of  civil  degeneracy  to  a 
 state  of  barbarism,  and  the  melancholy  extremes  of 
 Pagan  superstition,  have  invariably  kept  pace  together. 
 The  religious  and  civil  degeneracy  synchronised  so 
 completely  throughout  the  historical  development  of 
 both  processes,  that  we  may  infer  the  state  of  civiliza- 
 tion or  barbarism  from  the  state  of  the  Religion  of  a 
 certain  nation ;  and  from  the  features  of  the  barbarism 
 or  civilization  of  a  people  we  may  safely  argue  as  to 
 the  leading  features  of  their  religious  belief. 
 
 The  root  of  all  civilization  is  Religion,  without  refer- 
 ence to  its  genuine  or  spurious  character.  "  La  religion 
 est  le  fond  de  toute  civilisation  naissante,  et  en  particu- 
 lier  de  celle  de  I'lnde."  (Cousin.)  If  the  Religion  be 
 spurious,  its  civilization  will  partake  of  the  same  cha- 
 racter. If  the  Religion  be  genuine,  the  civilization  will 
 be  genuine  also.     As  the  Grecian  Mythology  was  one 
 
256  MORAL    INFLUENCE.  [chap.  iv. 
 
 of  the  noblest  branches  of  Paganism,  it  was  amongst 
 others  best  fitted  to  advance  the  cnltm-e  of  the  human 
 mind,  and  to  encourage  the  fine  arts.  But  we  find 
 that,  having  no  root,  it  withered  and  died  away.  The 
 most  ancient  civihzation  was  connected  with  temples, 
 priests,  and  divine  worship.  If  we  look  at  civilization 
 amongst  Paoran  nations,  we  find  that  Pao-anism  was  bv 
 no  means  calculated  to  polish  the  tribes  of  the  earth, 
 although  we  have  acknowledged  that  before  the  advent 
 of  Christ  there  was  more  accomplished  by  Pagan  nations 
 than  amongst  Israel,  in  that  peculiar  department.  The 
 central  points  of  Paganism  and  Pagan  civilization  in 
 the  West,  were  Egypt,  Greece,  and  Rome.  When  it 
 was  to  be  communicated  to  other  nations  from  them,  it 
 became  soon  visible  how  ill-adapted  these  systems  of 
 Religion  were  to  civilize  the  world.  Being  intimately 
 connected  with  the  national  character  of  the  people, 
 with  the  nature  of  their  country,  the  propagation  of 
 their  Religion  was  the  propagation  at  the  same  time  of 
 all  the  national  peculiarities  of  the  people.  The  nations 
 converted  were  actually  made  Egyptians  or  Grecians, 
 as  the  case  might  be,  instead  of  becoming  simply  wor- 
 shippers of  certain  deities. 
 
 Thus,  for  instance.  Nubia  and  Abyssinia  received 
 with  the  Egyptian  Religion  also  Egyptian  manners  and 
 peculiarities.  Thus,  again,  Thracia,  Macedonia,  and 
 Lower  Italy,  received  with  the  Grecian  Religion  also  a 
 Grecian  character.  Grecian  Religion  and  Grecian 
 sciences  were  introduced  in  Rome  at  a  later  period  of 
 
CHAP.  iv.J  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  257 
 
 its  history.  Again,  Gallia  and  Spain  were  Romanized, 
 as  far  as  they  were  brought  under  the  influence  of 
 the  Roman  Mythology.  This  was  ever  the  case  with 
 the  chosen  people  of  God,  as  long  as  their  Religion 
 was  of  a  national  and  not  of  a  universal  character, 
 because  it  was  intimately  interwoven  with  the  national 
 institutions.  The  Idumeans,  and  afterwards  many  of 
 the  Syrians  and  Greeks,  who  received  the  Jewish 
 Religion,  were  made  Jews  in  every  point  of  view. 
 
 The  idea  that  all  nations  should  embrace  one  mode 
 of  worship  was,  therefore,  considered  a  fantastical  idea 
 by  the  ancient  philosophers.  Celsus  exclaims  :  "  Who- 
 ever can  fancy  that  Greeks  and  harharians  in  Asia, 
 Eiirojie,  and  Lyhia  shall  ever  agree  in  one  and  the 
 same  JReliyion,  must  be  a  fool!''  Christianity  alone 
 could  accomplish  the  universal  civilization  of  the  world 
 without  injury  to  the  national  characters  of  the  several 
 tribes  of  mankind.  Instead  of  bringing  dead  for- 
 malities, usages,  and  precepts  of  a  national  character 
 before  the  people,  it  was  heavenly  seed  which  was 
 planted  in  the  heart  of  humanity ;  it  grew  up  and 
 brought  forth  much  fruit.  The  civil,  social,  and 
 national  peculiarities  were  not  destroyed,  but  renovated 
 and  ennobled. 
 
 What  would  have  become  of  the  wild  hordes  of  the 
 Huns  and  Vandals  which  emigrated  from  the  East 
 into  Europe,  if  they  had  been  cast  into  the  dead  forms 
 of  Roman  Paganism,  instead  of  being  brought  under 
 the  influence  of  the  Gospel  ?     Whilst  Rome  was   at 
 
 VOL.  II.  s 
 
258  CIVIL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 that  period  weak  and  imbecile  in  the  extreme,  China 
 was,  comparatively  speaking,  in  its  most  flourishing 
 state  when  the  Mantchoo  tribes  entered  the  country ; 
 yet  we  cannot  discover  that  the  Chinese  Religion  has 
 infused  that  spirit  of  life  into  the  rude  mass  of  emi- 
 grants which  was  produced  amongst  the  wild.  Huns 
 and  Vandals  by  the  Christian  Religion.  The  former 
 were  enslaved  by  the  same  dead  forms  of  Religion 
 by  which  the  Chinese  themselves  were  and  still  are 
 fettered  down.  Both  are  in  the  same  predicament, 
 and  are  afflicted  with  the  same  infirmity.  The  effect 
 which  Christianity  produced  among  the  Huns  and 
 Vandals  has  become  visible  since  that  time  in  innu- 
 merable instances.  How  salutary  has  been  the  effect 
 of  Christian  influence  upon  the  most  common  relations 
 of  life !  To  give  one  instance  only  from  the  days  of 
 the  primitive  Church ;  what  was  there  more  despised 
 amongst  the  ancients  than  the  profession  of  an  inn- 
 keeper ;  so  much  so,  that  the  word  cauponare  was 
 used  to  express  the  dishonest  adulteration  of  a  thing. 
 But  the  inn -keeper,  Thcodotus  of  Ancyra,  in  Galatia, 
 who  died  a  martyr,  sufficiently  showed  that  even  the 
 profession  of  an  inn-keeper,  infamous  as  it  was  con- 
 sidered, could  be  redeemed  from  its  evil  character  by 
 the  influence  of  Christianity.  The  inn  of  Theodotus 
 was  a  place  of  refuge,  and  a  place  of  worship  too, 
 for  the  persecuted  Christians.  His  biographer  likens 
 it,  as  a  refuge  in  the  storm  of  persecution,  to  the  ark 
 of  Noah ! 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  259 
 
 All  real  civilization  is  necessarily  of  religious  origin; 
 man,  as  a  dependent  creature,  can  advance  only  under 
 the  immediate  influence  of  a  higher  religious  principle. 
 Now,  Pagan  systems  of  belief  can  no  more  ennoble 
 the  faculties  of  man,  than  they  can  satisfy  his  intel- 
 lectual powers.  They  could  never  stand  even  before 
 the  tribunal  of  reason  in  its  fallen  condition.  Hence 
 they  always  withered  and  perished  as  soon  as  other- 
 wise feeble  philosophical  speculations  tested  their 
 reality.  The  Western  systems  of  belief  decayed  as  soon 
 as  Philosophy  had  sprung  up,  and,  in  the  end,  they 
 perished.  The  Oriental  systems  of  belief  fell  into  a 
 state  of  relaxation  ;  and  whilst  the  dead  forms  main- 
 tained a  position  among  the  vulgar  mass,  the  educated 
 class  of  society  had  an  esoteric  creed  of  unbelief  and 
 Atheism.  The  Christian  Religion,  on  the  contrary, 
 being  the  highest  Philosophy,  satisfies  not  only  the 
 wants  of  the  less  educated  class  of  people,  and  rouses 
 those  reasoning  faculties  which  have  been  lying  dor- 
 mant ;  but  it  opens  to  the  intelligent  believer  depths 
 of  divine  wisdom  which  satisfy  his  mind,  and,  more- 
 over, pass  all  his  understanding.  Respecting-  the 
 effects  of  the  Gospel  upon  the  intellect  and  lives  of  the 
 common  people,  the  defenders  of  our  holy  faith  de- 
 clared in  the  first  centuries  :  "  Every  Christian  trades- 
 man who  has  found  God,  can  show  respecting  him  all 
 that  can  be  desired,  although  Plato  declares  it  to  be 
 difficult  to  find  the  Creator  of  all  things,  and  considers 
 it  to  be  impossible  to  make  him  known  to  all  after  he 
 
 s  2 
 
260  CIVIL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 has  been  found."  Again;  "With  us  you  will  find 
 untaught  people,  artisans,  and  old  women,  who  clearly 
 demonstrate  the  truth  of  their  Religion,  if  not  by  words, 
 yet  by  their  works  exhibiting  the  salutary  effects  of 
 their  sentiments.  They  do  not,  indeed,  commit  words 
 to  their  memories,  but  by  not  striking  again  when  they 
 are  struck,  by  giving  to  those  that  need,  and  by  loving 
 their  neighbours  as  themselves,  they  show  it  by  good 
 works."  It  was  their  motto,  "  Non  loqui  magna,  sed 
 vivere."  Respecting  the  character  of  the  Gospel,  and 
 its  relation  to  human  intellect  in  its  polished  and 
 enlightened  state,  what  St.  Paul  declared  will  ever 
 be  true :  "  Howbeit  we  speak  wisdom  among  them 
 that  are  perfect :  yet  not  the  wisdom  of  this  world, 
 nor  of  the  princes  of  this  world,  that  come  to  nought ; 
 but  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the 
 hidden  wisdom,  which  God  ordained  before  the  world 
 unto  our  glory."  (1  Cor.  ii.  G,  7.)  Hence  the  most 
 acute  philosophers  of  the  West  and  the  profoundest 
 thinkers  of  the  East  have  found  light,  comfort,  peace, 
 and  satisfaction,  when  they  sought  it  in  the  appointed 
 way.  Christ  is  both  the  light  of  our  intellect  and  the 
 life  of  our  hearts.  But,  in  order  to  be  the  former,  he 
 nmst  first  become  the  latter. 
 
 It  was,  therefore,  in  vain  that  Infidelity  attempted 
 to  shake  the  pillars  of  divine  truth.  Porphyry  and 
 Julian,  Toland  and  Bolingbroke,  Hume  and  Gibbon, 
 Voltaire  and  D'Alembert,  and  a  host  of  others,  have 
 departed;  but  Christ  is  the  same  yesterday y  and  to-day. 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  261 
 
 and  for  ever  I  Christianity,  as  regards  its  salutary 
 effects  upon  the  world,  has  outlived  the  scoffing  Gen- 
 tile, with  all  the  host  of  French,  German,  and  English 
 infidels ;  and  when  it  seemed  well  nigh  swallowed  up, 
 it  raised  its  head  with  new-born  strength  to  bless  the 
 nations  of  the  earth  ! 
 
 5.  If  we  regard  the  social  injluence  of  Paganism 
 upon  the  world,  we  find  that  it  directly  destroys  the 
 natural  affections,  and  debases  man  to  the  level  of 
 beasts  that  perish.  Whilst  genuine  Religion  refines, 
 ennobles,  and  purifies  every  feeling  of  our  nature,  and 
 produces  a  sound  and  healthy  action  of  its  powers, 
 Paganism  has  at  all  times  tended  to  brutify  every 
 faculty  of  our  nature.  This  is  exactly  what  we  should 
 expect.  In  what  other  creed  besides  the  Christian 
 Religion  has  woman  assumed  the  position  in  society 
 which  God  designed  for  her  at  the  time  of  creation  ? 
 
 The  fearful  degradation  of  the  female  sex  all  over  the 
 world,  and  throughout  all  the  ages  of  its  history,  has 
 become  too  notorious  to  require  any  detailed  account. 
 Because  Paganism  is  destitute  of  that  lofty  view  which 
 genuine  Religion  only  could  reveal,  she  is  generally 
 regarded  as  a  mere  slave,  to  minister  to  the  comforts 
 and  the  pleasure  of  her  lord  and  master.  Christianity 
 alone  could  bring  to  perfection  the  germs  which  were 
 already  deposited  in  the  Old  Testament,  by  teach- 
 ing man  to  view  these  connexions  in  their  momentous 
 bearing  upon  eternity.  If  we  descend  to  the  ossified 
 system  of  Rabbinical  Judaism,  we  hear  the  Jew  in  the 
 
262  SOCIAL   INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 performance  of  his  morning  orison  exclaiming,   "  / 
 jjraise  ihee,  0  Lord,  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  that 
 
 THOU    HAST    NOT    MADE    ME    A    AVOMAN  1 "       Whilst   the 
 
 woman  is  reminded  of  her  low  estate  in  a  prayer  of 
 her  own,  in  which  she  is  taught  to  say,  "  Be  thou 
 praised,  0  God,  that  thou  hast  created  me  as  it  was 
 pleasing  in  thy  sight!''  He  that  teaches  the  law  to 
 his  daughter  is  a  fool,  according  to  the  Talmud  1 
 The  court  of  women  was  significantly  joined  to  the 
 court  of  the  Gentiles.  If  such  be  the  case  in  modern 
 Judaism,  what  are  we  to  expect  from  the  Pagan  world  ! 
 And  if  that  great  prince  of  philosophers,  Aristotle, 
 declared,  concerning  these  tender  portions  of  our  spe- 
 cies, that  they  were  a  "  kind  of  monsters,  and  the 
 beginning  of  a  degeneracy  in  our  nature^'  what  must 
 we  dread  to  find  amongst  those  Pagans  who  are  alto- 
 gether strangers  to  higher  views  and  nobler  feelings  ! 
 Christianity  alone  had  the  power  to  break  the  chain 
 and  to  remove  the  curse,  by  which  not  God,  but  man 
 himself,  liad  laden  her  in  the  process  of  time  !  And 
 in  this  her  new  position  she  was  a  wonder  in  the 
 primitive  days  of  the  Church. 
 
 Tertullian  thus  describes  the  happiness  of  a  Chris- 
 tian couple  :  "  What  a  communion  of  two  believers, 
 who  have  but  one  hope  and  one  object  of  all  their 
 wishes !  They  have  one  doctrine  and  serve  one  com- 
 mon Lord.  There  is  a  communion  of  the  spirit,  as 
 there  is  one  of  the  body  ;  they  are  one  spirit  and  one 
 flesh.     They  read  the  Holy  Scriptures  together,  they 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  263 
 
 pray  together ;  they  instruct,  admonish,  and  bear  with 
 one  another ;  they  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  together 
 in  the  church ;  they  share  mutually  in  the  distress,  in 
 the  persecution,  and  in  the  joys  of  life ;  nothing  is  hid- 
 den from  each  other  ;  neither  avoids  the  other,  neither 
 is  burdensome  to  the  other ;  each  is  at  liberty  to  visit 
 the  sick  and  to  support  the  poor.  Psalms  and  hymns 
 are  sung  by  both,  and  they  vie  with  each  other  as  to 
 who  can  give  most  praise  unto  God.  Christ  rejoices 
 in  hearing  and  observing  these  things ;  and  he  it  is 
 who  gives  them  peace.  Where  thus  two  are  found  in 
 his  name,  he  is  in  the  midst  of  them ;  and  where  he 
 is,  the  wicked  one  cannot  abide." 
 
 Polygamy  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  offspring  of  irre- 
 ligion  and  Paganism ;  and  holy  Scripture  considers 
 it  an  unnatural  state  of  things.  A  man  will  forsake 
 his  father  and  mother,  and  cleave  to  his  wife,  and 
 they  both  shall  be  one  flesh.  Good  men,  such  as 
 Abraham,  David,  and  Solomon,  are  represented  as 
 having  suffered  great  injury  from  the  practice  which 
 they  borrowed  from  the  ungodly ;  it  was  always  a 
 source  of  vexation  to  their  domestic  comfort,  and 
 not  unfrequently,  a  cause  of  still  greater  crime  and 
 misery.  If  polygamy  were  founded  in  the  nature  of 
 man,  God  would  have  given  unto  man,  whom  he 
 created  in  a  happy  state,  more  than  one  wife.  Again, 
 there  being  not  more  women  than  men  in  the  world, 
 polygamy  would  render  it  impossible  for  many  men  to 
 procure  wives. 
 
2G4  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 Those  wlio  defend  polygamy  as  allowable  in  cer- 
 tain climates,  ought  also  to  bring  forward  proofs  of 
 God  having  fitted  the  moral  wants  of  the  women  of 
 these  countries  to  such  marriages.  If  it  were  in  accord- 
 ance with  the  nature  of  man  to  possess  several  wives, 
 then  would  there  also  be  such  an  organization  of  the 
 female  heart,  as  to  enable  several  wives  cheerfully  to 
 divide  among  themselves  the  affections  of  one  man. 
 We,  however,  observe  the  contrary,  even  where  for  a 
 succession  of  years  manners  and  customs  have  done  all 
 they  could  to  blunt  domestic  feelings.  Jealousy  has 
 always  most  dreadfully  tormented  and  torn  to  pieces 
 the  hearts  of  wives,  so  that  even  those  of  the  pseudo- 
 prophet  Mohammed  could  not  free  themselves  from  it, 
 notwithstanding  the  notion  of  the  happiness  conse- 
 quent upon  so  intimate  a  connexion  with  an  "  ambas- 
 sador "  of  God. 
 
 In  all  the  arrangements  of  Nature  we  discover  the 
 most  beautiful  harmony  ;  and  is  it  likely  that  we  shoidd 
 find  her  in  this  respect  evidently  contradicting  herself? 
 Can  we  imagine  that  she  would  have  implanted  in  the 
 constitution  of  man  the  physical  want  of  possessing 
 several  wives,  and  in  w^oman  the  moral  want  of  pos- 
 sessing one  man  only  ?  We  are  rather  compelled  to 
 look  upon  polygamy  as  contrary  to  nature,  which  is 
 further  evident  from  the  fact,  that  polygamy  does  away 
 with,  or  leaves  scarcely  a  shadow  behind  of,  spiritual 
 love  in  the  marriage  state.  The  external  part  of  mar- 
 riage is  altogether  the  ruling  one  in  polygamy ;  this, 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  2G5 
 
 again,  is  very  significant  in  the  religion  of  Islam  and 
 other  systems  of  spurious  Religion.  Christianity  is  a 
 spiritual  Religion,  and  the  spirit  of  genuine  Religion 
 only  could  bring  marriage  back  into  the  sphere  of  the 
 Spirit.  As  the  external  and  the  internal  parts  are 
 essential  to  a  sound  definition  of  the  Church  of  Christ ; 
 and  as  all  that  is  external  in  the  Church  is  only  the 
 image,  the  expression,  or  the  visible  organ  of  the  in- 
 ternal, and  never  can  be  self-existing,  or  possess  any 
 great  value  of  its  own, — so  also  in  marriage.  This 
 sacred  institution  has  not  merely  a  spiritual  character 
 or  appearance;  so  the  invisible  Church  cannot  exist 
 M^ithout  the  visible.  The  spiritual,  however,  must  be 
 the  principal  and  ruling  element,  and  a  mere  physical 
 union  establishes  a  very  different  relation  to  what  is 
 established  by  matrimonial  affection.  How  can  matri- 
 monial love  be  thought  of  amongst  people  given  to 
 polygamy,  since  the  former  demands  a  giving  up  of 
 each  party  wholly  and  indivisibly  to  the  other.  With 
 polygamists,  the  wife  is  considered  a  commodity,  an 
 instrument,  a  slave  ;  and  that  this  is  their  view  upon 
 the  subject  is  proved  in  the  most  striking  manner  by 
 the  poor  possessing  but  one  wife,  just  as  he  possesses 
 few  articles  of  luxury  ;  whereas  the  number  of  wives 
 increases  with  the  increase  of  riches. 
 
 Now,  if  from  these  observations  it  is  evident  that 
 nature,  which  forms  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich 
 according  to  the  same  laws,  does  not  require  poly- 
 gamy, the  want  of  faith  in  that  truth,  which  is  the 
 
266  SOCIAL   INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 basis  of  genuine  Religion,  wliich  has  alone  made 
 known  to  man  the  true  worth  of  his  species,  and  which 
 jDrohibits  the  use  of  fellow-men  for  selfish  purposes,  be- 
 comes equally  apparent  in  the  defenders  of  polygamy. 
 It  has  been  gravely  asserted  by  writers  upon  the 
 Mohammedan  creed,  that,  according  to  the  teaching  of 
 the  Koran,  women  have  no  souls !  That  the  Moham- 
 medan creed,  however,  teaches  such  doctrines  is  very  far 
 from  the  truth.  But  what  has  the  poor  woman  gained 
 if  she  is  permitted  the  privilege  of  claiming  an  immortal 
 soul,  when  she  is  otherwise  treated  as  a  soulless  being, 
 as  a  piece  of  property,  which  the  thief  hides  in  a  dark 
 corner  of  the  house  ?  The  wives  of  the  Mohammedans 
 are  actually  stolen  from  the  world,  and  from  general 
 society ;  and  the  woman  herself  is  deprived,  if  not  of 
 a  soul,  yet  of  everything  which  is  calculated  to  ennoble 
 that  soul,  and  to  sanctify  it  for  the  indwelling  of  the 
 Holy  Ghost.  Let  the  civihzed  people  of  this  country 
 imagine  the  melancholy  case  of  woman  being  banished 
 from  their  general  society,  from  their  religious  and 
 social  assembhes !  But  although  Christian  men  have 
 both  the  calling  and  the  strength  to  be  holy  in  all 
 things,  and  to  enjoy  the  good  gifts  of  a  heavenly 
 Pather  without  abuse,  they  yet  remember  that  to 
 marry  and  to  be  given  in  marriage  belongs  to  this 
 passing  world,  and  to  the  things  thereof;  and  so  far 
 from  looking  with  Mohammed  for  similar  things  in 
 the  world  to  come,  they  consider  it  as  part  of  the  tra- 
 velling attire,  which  they  hope  to  lay  aside  when  they 
 
CHAP 
 
 .  IV. 1  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  207 
 
 enter  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord,  and  are  as  the  angels 
 of  heaven ! 
 
 To  the  unciviUzed  Pagan,  ^jht/sical  j'ower,  and  to 
 the  more  refined  Pagan  a  poUtical  career,  was  the 
 most  important  of  all  things,  and  for  both  these  things 
 the  tender  sex  was  disqualified  by  nature.  Hence 
 women  lost  all  importance  in  society.  As  from 
 them  was  dreaded  every  evil,  and  as  they  were  sus- 
 pected at  every  turn  of  life,  they  were  restrained  to  a 
 life  of  private  seclusion.  Unmarried  women  were  kept 
 in  apartments  which  were  secured  with  locks  and 
 bars ;  nor  could  they  move  from  this  one  part  of  the 
 house  without  permission,  being  guarded  by  old  female 
 servants  and  eunuchs.  By  this  restrained  mode  of 
 treatment,  the  woman  was  deprived  of  every  oppor- 
 tunity of  cultivating  those  feelings  of  tenderness,  and 
 those  graces,  which  constitute  the  most  powerful  of 
 her  charms.  No  wonder  that  there  were,  under  these 
 circumstances,  enemies  to  the  conjugal  life.  As  mar- 
 riage was  a  mere  civil  act,  no  considerations  but  those 
 of  a  civil  and  political  nature  were  to  influence  the 
 choice  of  a  wife.  Lycurgus,  from  political  motives, 
 could  not  suffer  old  bachelors.  As  a  punishment,  they 
 were  to  be  brought  every  winter  in  a  state  of  nudity 
 to  the  market  place,  where  they  were  obliged  to  sing 
 songs  in  derision  of  the  dishonourable  condition  of  an 
 old  bachelor !  And,  amongst  other  things,  they  were 
 to  be  dragged  by  women  on  a  certain  festival  round  the 
 altai',  and  beaten  with  fists  !     A  marriage  which  was 
 
268  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 forced  by  means  similar  to  these  could  indeed  have 
 little  of  that  tenderness  and  affection  which  constitute  a 
 never  failing  source  of  conjugal  bliss  and  happiness. 
 
 Whilst  we  find  Socrates  and  Plutarch  to  entertain 
 higher  ideas  of  the  female  sex,  and  of  their  position  in 
 married  life,  Plato,  again,  has  sadly  miscalculated  their 
 real  dignity  and  worth.  But  even  when  the  Pagans 
 had  some  better  ideas,  how  sadly  did  they  fall  behind 
 what  matrimony  is  shown  to  be  according  to  the  spirit 
 of  the  gospel.  The  Pagan  world  is  entirely  destitute 
 of  the  spiritual  principle  of  unity.  It  is  only  when 
 Christ  becomes  the  common  centre  of  the  mutual  affec- 
 tions of  husband  and  wife,  that  conjugal  life  receives  a 
 heavenly  and  a  priestly  character. 
 
 Another  stain  in  the  social  character  of  the  Pagan 
 world  was  Slavery ;  which  was  likewise  discountenanced 
 by  genuine  Religion  from  the  commencement,  and 
 was  openly  disavowed  by  the  principles  of  Christianity. 
 It  is  necessary  to  a  civil  body  that  there  should  exist 
 different  classes  of  people.  But  never  can  it  be  a 
 sound  state,  when  one  part  is  considered  to  have  only 
 rights  without  duties,  and  the  other  to  have  only 
 duties  without  rights.  The  servant  is  to  be  bound  to 
 his  master,  not  by  force,  but  by  affection  and  fidelity. 
 The  condition  of  a  slave  makes  him  as  it  w^ere  a  crea- 
 ture of  an  inferior  species  and  kind ;  and  the  dignity 
 of  man  is  insulted.  If  we  are  willing  to  admit,  from  an 
 extended  observation,  that  slavery  in  some  instances  is 
 not  attended  by  any  inhuman  severity,  yet  it  cannot  be 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  269 
 
 denied  that  it  is  directly  opposed  to  the  rights  and  the 
 dignities  of  our  species,  and  that  it  has  occasioned  the 
 most  shameful,  abominable,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
 the  most  inhuman  spectacles  which  can  be  witnessed 
 under  the  sun. 
 
 Without  referring  to  the  modern  state  of  slavery  and 
 its  consequences,  let  us  again  recur  to  the  most  refined 
 of  Pagan  nations.  Let  us  look  at  the  Helotes  in 
 Sparta.  A  poor  garment,  and  a  cap  from  the  skin  of 
 a  dog,  were  the  distinguishing  marks  of  his  caste. 
 Those  that  promised  to  become  too  corpulent,  were  to 
 be  ill-used  by  their  masters  to  reduce  their  strength  ; 
 and  when  it  was  omitted,  the  masters  became  subject 
 to  the  law  and  its  punishment.  Every  slave  received 
 annually  a  certain  number  of  lashes,  to  remind  him  of 
 his  low  estate.  How  different  the  custom  of  the  first 
 Christians,  who  recognised  in  the  Christian  slaves  their 
 brethren,  and  were  not  ashamed  to  greet  them,  after 
 the  Lord's  supper,  with  "  an  holy  Jdss  !  "  That,  how- 
 ever, they  were  not  to  forget  their  position  amidst  all 
 the  tenderness  of  their  masters,  may  be  gathered  from 
 the  words  of  Bishop  Ignatius,  which  he  wrote  to  Poly- 
 carp  :  "  Despise  not  the  slaves  ;  they  are,  however,  not 
 to  be  made  proud,  but  serve  more  zealously  to  the 
 honour  of  God,  in  order  to  obtain  from  God  the  true 
 liberty.  They  are  not  to  seek  to  be  bought  free  by 
 the  congregation,  lest  they  show  themselves  to  be  the 
 slaves  of  worldly  desires  !  " 
 
 It  was  not  permitted  that  slaves  should  sing  any  of 
 
270  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 the  nobler  national  songs.  Sometimes  they  were 
 forced  to  sing  songs,  which  were  composed  in  derision 
 of  their  slavery.  In  order  to  make  drunkenness  hate- 
 ful to  the  sons  of  Sparta,  they  were  obliged  to  intoxi- 
 cate themselves  at  public  festivities.  If  they  increased 
 too  much  in  numbers,  they  were  murdered  in  secret. 
 Once  in  a  year  the  young  men  of  Sparta  were  to 
 hunt  them  like  so  nianv  wild  beasts.  If  the  treat- 
 ment  of  the  slaves  was  less  cruel  in  some  respects 
 in  other  parts  of  polished  Greece,  their  condition  was 
 not  the  less  degrading  and  dishonouring.  They 
 were  used  for  the  vilest  of  purposes.  Solon  him- 
 self had  sent  a  number  of  female  slaves  to  the  temples 
 for  disreputable  purposes.  If  brought  before  the 
 bar,  their  evidence  was  always  drawn  forth  with  the 
 most  fearful  tortures. 
 
 Almost  equally  insupportable  was  the  condition  of 
 the  slaves  among  the  civilized  Romans.  Some  of  the 
 Roman  slaves,  the  Osiiarii,  were  continually  lying  in 
 chains,  like  dogs,  before  the  palaces  of  the  great.  One 
 of  the  laws  was,  that  if  the  master  was  murdered,  and 
 the  person  who  perpetrated  the  deed  could  not  be  dis- 
 covered, all  the  slaves,  with  their  wives  and  children, 
 should  be  killed.  When  Pedanius  Secundus  was  mur- 
 dered, four  hundred  innocent  slaves  lost  their  lives. 
 Slaves  were  generally  considered  not  as  persons,  but 
 as  goods  and  chattels. 
 
 The  same  Cato  who  made  such  an  honourable  dis- 
 tinction in  his  vicAvs  respecting  other  social  relations 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS   RELIGION.  271 
 
 in  life,  was  in  this  respect  no  better  than  his  country- 
 men.    And  there  is  much  soundness  in  some  of  the 
 expressions  of  which  Plutarch  makes  use  respecting  the 
 conduct  of  Cato   in  this  instance.     He  saith,   "We 
 must  give  a  much  wider  scope   to  charity   than   to 
 justice  ;    and  I  must  ascribe  it  to  a  great  hardness  on 
 the  part  of  Cato,  that  he  considers  man  to  stand  in 
 no  other  relation  to  his  fellow-creatures  than  that  of 
 profit;    or  else  how  could  he  drive  his  slaves  to  the 
 market  in  their  old  days,  after  they  had  served  him  all 
 their  lives?      We  must  deal   according  to   law  and 
 justice  with  men  ;   bat  benevolence  in  some  instances, 
 like    a   bountiful  fountain,    overflows  in  charity  and 
 kindness  even  to  brute  beasts.      It  is  from  a  principle 
 of  benevolence  that  horses  are  fed  which  are  incapaci- 
 tated for  labour,   and  dogs  are  also  nursed  in  their 
 old  days.      We  are  not  to  use  live  creatures  as  we 
 make  use  of  our  shoes  and  our  furniture,  which  are 
 instantly  thrown  aside  when  they  have  become  unpro- 
 fitable ;    but  we  are  to  exercise  a  mild  and  tender 
 spirit,  in  order  to  learn  charity  towards  men.     I,  at 
 least,  would  not  sell  an  ox  who  had  become  old  in  ray 
 service,  much  less  would  I  sell  an  old  slave  for  a  few 
 pieces  of  money,  who  has  grown  up  with  me,  and  be- 
 come useless  to  the  seller  and  the  purchaser."     Thus 
 far  the  noble-minded  Plutarch.      We   shall   omit   to 
 multiply  instances  of  Roman  cruelty  after  what  has 
 been  said  of  one  of  its  best  citizens. 
 
 What  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  above  we  observe 
 
272  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 already  under  the  first  Christian  Emperor  of  the  Roman 
 empire,  when  the  emancipation  of  single  slaves  accord- 
 ing to  law  was  to  be  announced  by  the  bishop  in  the 
 church !  Every  one  will  observe  that  to  appreciate 
 the  real  worth  of  man  is  purely  a  Christian  idea.  The 
 abolition  of  slavery  was  a  Christian  movement.  And 
 as  we  find  exactly  the  contrary  of  these  benevolent  laws 
 amongst  people  that  profess  spurious  systems  of  be- 
 lief, we  clearly  see  that  the  difference  must  arise  from 
 the  belief  which  teaches  the  sublime  truth — God  be- 
 came man  to  redeem  the  world !  And  before  this 
 mystery  was  fully  revealed  and  felt  in  the  hearts  of 
 men,  no  sound  notions  of  the  dignity  of  humanity 
 were  entertained.  A  most  singular  constitution  must 
 have  been  given  to  the  human  mind,  if  that  which  is 
 considered  error  by  some  people  should  exert  such 
 influence  as  what  to  them  seems  truth  has  never 
 exerted.  Only  truth  can  produce  such  glorious, 
 lasting,  and  deep  effects  ! 
 
 Paganism  in  its  general  working  blunts  not  only 
 the  dearest  and  strongest  ties  which  bind  man  to 
 man,  but  it  deprives  man  of  his  humanity.  Murder 
 of  fellow-creatures  has  been  made  the  gratification  of 
 the  amphitheatre  among  some  of  the  most  polished 
 nations.  We  are  informed  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
 South  Sea  islands  have  been  known  to  pierce  their  aged 
 parents  with  a  spear  when  wearied  of  waiting  upon 
 them.  In  other  cases,  the  father  has  been  carried, 
 under  the  pretence  of  taking  him  to  bathe,  to  a  grave 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  273 
 
 previously  prepared,  and  buried  alive.  The  inhabit- 
 ants of  Sumatra,  when  weak  and  infirm,  were  cus- 
 tomarily devoured  by  their  own  children.  The  indi- 
 vidual to  be  consumed  ascended  a  tree,  around  which 
 the  friends  and  offspring  assembled.  The  latter 
 whilst  shaking  the  tree,  chanted  a  funeral  tune,  the 
 import  of  which  was,  "  The  fruit  is  ripe,  and  the 
 season  is  come,  when  it  must  fall!"  Upon  his 
 descending,  the  nearest  relatives  took  the  life  and 
 devoured  the  remains  of  the  unhappy  parent  at  a 
 solemn  banquet ! 
 
 Cannibalism  has  been  abolished  in  every  island  of  the 
 Pacific  Ocean.  But  New  Caledonia  was  in  1848  still 
 one  of  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  full  of  the  habita- 
 tions of  cruelty.  At  a  festival  then  held,  the  subjects 
 appeared  before  their  chief.  Amongst  them  was  a  very 
 corpulent  man,  for  whom  the  son  of  the  chief,  about 
 six  years  of  age,  asked  his  father.  When  the  latter 
 inquired  whether  the  man  should  be  killed,  the  boy 
 answered,  "  Let  him  he  cut  in  pieces  alive ! "  The 
 arms  were  first  cut  off,  then  the  legs,  then  the  head  ! 
 These  were  people  of  the  same  blood,  of  the  same 
 country,  and  of  the  same  tribe.  How  different  the 
 occasion  for  that  exclamation  of  the  Pagans  in  the 
 first  centuries :  "  Behold,  hoiv  they  love  one  another, 
 and  how  ready  to  die  for  one  another  !  " 
 
 And  what  were  the  practices  of  Pagans  respecting 
 their  dead  ?  The  wives  and  the  servants  of  the  Goths 
 were  made   to  follow  tlieii'    deceased    husbands  and 
 
 VOL.    II.  T 
 
274  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 masters  by  a  cruel  death.  The  ancient  Scythians 
 destroyed  upon  the  tombs  of  their  kings  the  best 
 beloved  of  their  wives  and  concubines,  together  with 
 other  persons  who  had  acquired  some  merit  during 
 theu'  reign  !  A  sad  recompense  for  services  rendered 
 to  the  state  !  A  year  after  were  killed  fifty  horses  and 
 as  many  of  the  domestics  of  the  departed  sovereign. 
 There  are  many  Negro  tribes  who  slaughter  from 
 two  hundred  to  five  hundred  concubines  and  slaves 
 near  the  sepulchre  of  a  chief :  and  in  order  to  secure 
 them,  they  are  frequently  seized  before  he  dies,  lest 
 they  should  escape  :  sometimes  their  limbs  are  broken, 
 and  they  are  thus  exposed  till  they  die.  Amongst 
 the  Dahoraes  these  slaughters  are  repeated  every  year, 
 when  from  forty  to  fifty  slaves  are  sacrificed.  With 
 the  bodies  of  the  kings  of  Mexico  and  Peru  were 
 burned  or  buried,  treasures,  clothes,  servants,  and 
 sometimes  the  dearest  of  brothers.  The  princes  of  the 
 Franyas  thought  they  could  not  be  buried  decently, 
 and  appear  in  the  other  world,  unless  the  first  of  their 
 wives,  and  the  chief  of  their  servants,  and  at  least 
 twenty  of  their  subjects,  accompanied  them.  In 
 North  America  it  was  the  custom  to  torture  captives 
 to  death,  and  to  call  upon  their  fallen  heroes  to  come 
 and  to  drink  the  blood  of  their  enemies.  Alexander 
 the  Great  slaughtered  upon  his  father's  tomb  all  those 
 who  were  in  any  way  privy  to  his  murder.  Even  the 
 ancient  Romans,  too,  were  followed  by  the  slaves, 
 who  were  killed  upon  their  tombs.     The  first  wife  of 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  275 
 
 the  Tuitunga,  in  the  South  Seas,  is  to  die  immediately 
 after  her  husband. 
 
 In  order,  however,  to  breathe  again  more  freely,  let 
 us  come  forth  from  these  abominable  recesses  of  Pagan 
 ignorance  and  cruelty,  and  refresh  our  souls  by  look- 
 ing into  the  Church  which  God  hath  planted  in  this 
 evil  world.  In  one  of  the  epistolary  charges  of  Bishop 
 Dionysius  to  his  Egyptian  congregations,  he  writes, 
 amongst  other  things,  with  reference  to  a  fearful 
 plague,  that  many  of  his  brethren  sacrificed  their 
 lives  in  the  service  of  brotherly  love  and  charity ;  in 
 which  they  cared  not  for  themselves,  but  attended 
 upon  the  sick  without  intermission ;  that  not  a  few 
 died  in  consequence  of  the  diligence  by  which  others 
 recovered ;  that  some  of  their  best  priests  and  dea- 
 cons, as  well  as  laymen,  thus  in  faith  and  piety  left 
 this  world  in  a  manner  which  was  little  inferior  to 
 the  death  of  their  martyrs ;  that  those  who  shut  the  ■ 
 eyes  and  the  mouths  of  dying  Christians,  and  interred 
 their  remains  in  a  most  affectionate  manner,  were 
 likewise  soon  gathered  to  their  rest ;  and  that  all  these 
 things  were  done  whilst  the  Gentiles  fled  from  their 
 dearest  relatives,  and  cast  them  half-dead  into  the 
 streets. 
 
 Respecting  their  feelings  as  regards  those  that  died 
 in  faith,  Tertullian  says  :  "  We  shall  once  again  be  the 
 more  intimately  re-united ;  being  destined  for  a  more 
 perfect  state  of  things,  we  shall  rise  again  to  a  more 
 spiritual  communion ;  we  shall  recognise  ourselves,  as 
 
 T  2 
 
276  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 well  as  those  that  belong  to  us.  How  should  we  be 
 able  to  praise  God  in  eternity,  if  our  recollection  of 
 what  we  owe  to  him  should  not  remain  ?  We  shall 
 be  with  God,  and  therefore  we  shall  also  be  together, 
 inasmuch  as  we  shall  all  be  one  in  him."  That 
 Christianity  did  never  suppress  the  bitter  feelings  of 
 separation,  but  that  it  modified  his  natural  grief,  by 
 teaching  the  believer  to  consider  death  but  a  sleep, 
 will  appear  from  the  manner  in  which  Christians  of 
 all  ages  remember  their  departed  relatives  and  friends. 
 There  is  no  voluntary  or  involuntary  slaughter  upon 
 their  tombs !  They  know  that  their  communion  is 
 one  which  is  founded  for  eternity,  and  which  cannot 
 be  broken  by  the  power  of  death.  They  are  con- 
 scious of  this  union  all  the  days  of  their  lives.  In 
 their  prayers  they  feel  that  they  stand  in  connexion 
 with  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect.  With  similar 
 feelings  the  primitive  Christians  celebrated  the  days  of 
 the  death  of  their  beloved  as  "  birth-days''  unto  life 
 eternal.  They  particularly  celebrated  on  these  days 
 the  Lord's  Supper,  in  the  consciousness  that  they 
 were  united  to  the  Lord,  and  in  him  also  to  those 
 that  are  with  him  already;  and  particular  mention 
 was  made  in  the  Liturgy  for  this  sacred  occasion,  of 
 their  communion  with  the  glorified  saints,  saying : 
 "  And  we  also  bless  thy  holy  Name  for  all  thy  servants 
 departed  this  life  in  thy  faith  and  fear;  beseeching 
 thee  to  give  us  grace  so  to  follow  their  good  examples, 
 that  with  them  we  may  be  partakers  of  thy  heavenly 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  277 
 
 kingdom.     Grant  this,  O  Father,  for  Jesus  Christ's 
 sake,  our  only  Mediator  and  Advocate.     Amen." 
 
 It  has  been  remarked  by  a  modern  Continental 
 writer:  "■It  can  only  he  ascribed  to  ignorance,  that 
 some  consider  the  Christian  Religion  a  Religion  of 
 love  in  contradistinction  to  all  other  creeds!  The 
 Hindoo  Religion  much  rather  deserves  to  he  styled  by 
 that  distinguished  appellation,  inasmuch  as  charity  is 
 extended  even  to  the  brute  creation,  a  provision  lohich 
 has  been  neglected  in  the  Christian  revelation!'  We 
 know  not  whether  this  writer  is  more  ignorant  of  the 
 principles  of  the  Christian  Religion,  or  of  the  tenets 
 and  practices  of  the  Hindoo  Mythology.  As  regards 
 the  charity  of  the  Hindoo  towards  animals,  it  will  be 
 remembered  that  it  is  without  any  moral  foundation 
 whatever,  and  is  solely  supported  by  the  gross  super- 
 stitious doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  the  soul. 
 
 Again,  although  the  Hindoo  is  ignorant  whether 
 he  does  or  does  not  drive  about  his  deceased  father, 
 or  his  wife,  or  his  grandfather,  or  his  child,  in  the 
 body  of  his  cattle,  he  yet  is  too  indifferent  to  bring  in 
 a  sufficient  quantity  of  hay  from  the  mountain  after 
 the  rainy  season ;  and  the  consequence  is,  that  all  the 
 cattle  of  the  Hindoos  are  reduced  to  mere  skeletons 
 before  the  rains  again  commence.  As  the  road 
 between  Cairo  and  Suez  was  lined,  some  years  ago, 
 with  the  skeletons  of  dead  camels,  so  are  the  moun- 
 tainous passages  in  India  lined  with  the  skeletons  of 
 sacred  bullocks,  which  the  charitable  Hindoo  killed, 
 
27S  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 by  overloading  them  with  rice  and  other  articles  of 
 merchandise  ! 
 
 Again,  how  vehemently  does  the  charge  of  igno- 
 rance return  upon  the  head  of  that  writer,  when  we 
 recollect,  that  whilst  the  Hindoo  builds  hospitals  for 
 old  coivs,  he  throws  Ms  children  and  his  parents  alive 
 into  the  river,  and  burns  his  unhappy  loidoivs  upon  the 
 funeral  pile,  wherever  he  is  not  prevented  by  civil 
 force  from  ])erpetrating  these  crimes  in  the  name  of 
 Religion !  And  the  eulogy  of  the  said  author  would, 
 perhaps,  have  been  less  warm  upon  the  subject,  had 
 he  ever  witnessed  the  frequent  spectacle  of  a  holy  cow 
 lying  for  a  couple  of  days  sick,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
 house  of  the  owner,  and  near  the  high-road,  whilst 
 the  dogs,  and  the  crows,  and  the  vultures,  and  other 
 carnivorous  creatures,  fed  upon  the  ill-fated  animal 
 alive!  Is  this  a  Beligion  of  love,  which  makes  a 
 "  righteous  man  to  he  merciful  even  to  his  beast?''  Is 
 this  "  the  beautiful  and  radiant  cherub  from  heaven, 
 bearing  on  his  persuasive  lips  the  accents  of  pardon 
 and  peace,  and  on  his  silken  wings  satisfaction  and 
 blessing,"  to  the  creature  which  was  subject  to 
 vanity,  and  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together 
 until  now  ? 
 
 When  the  faithful  Hindoo  is  carried  to  the  sacred 
 stream  in  his  last  agony,  he  is  brought  thither  with  a 
 view  of  being  tormented  to  death  by  the  superstitious 
 and  cruel  ceremonies  of  his  Religion.  When  perhaps 
 the  individual  might  have  recovered  under  the  care  of 
 
CHAP,  iv.l  OF   SPURIOUS   RELIGION.  279 
 
 filial  affection,  the  dissolution  is  accelerated,  whilst 
 they  cover  the  body  of  the  patient  with  sacred  mud, 
 write  upon  it  the  name  of  some  deity,  and  pour  water 
 down  his  throat !  But  if  a  person  chance  to  revive, 
 and  to  escape  the  murderous  treatment  of  his  nearest 
 relatives,  he  is  nevertheless  a  dead  man  in  the  eye  of 
 the  Hindoo  law  !  His  property  is  transferred  to  his 
 heir,  he  himself  becomes  an  outcast,  his  own  children 
 refuse  to  eat  with  him  again,  or  to  afford  him  any 
 accommodation.  A  certain  man  was  carried  to  the 
 funeral  pile  under  the  impression  that  he  died  from 
 cholera.  He,  however,  revived,  when  a  near  relative, 
 who  was  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  burning  his 
 remains,  struck  him  with  a  bamboo  upon  the  head 
 until  he  died  !  When  another  took  hold  upon  a  boat, 
 which  descended  the  river,  with  a  view  to  escape 
 being  drowned  after  he  was  brought  to  die  in  the 
 river,  the  individuals  in  the  boat  knocked  down  his 
 hands,  and  prevented  him  from  being  saved. 
 
 In  the  year  251,  a.d.,  a  fearful  plague  raged  in  the 
 Roman  empire,  especially  in  the  North  of  Africa.  The 
 Pagans  of  Carthage  did  not  ventiu-e  to  attend  to  their 
 fellow  Pagans  who  were  seized  with  this  malady  :  and 
 many  were  thrown  half-dead  into  the  streets.  The 
 dead  bodies  remained  in  heaps,  and  a  universal 
 pestilence  threatened  to  be  the  consequence  if  they 
 were  not  interred.  Just  before  this  plague  the  Chris- 
 tians had  passed  through  a  severe  persecution,  and  the 
 calamity  itself  caused  fresh  attempts  upon  them,  as  if 
 
280  SOCIAL   INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 the  gods  had  brought  this  judgment  upon  them  on 
 account  of  then*  enemies  the  Christians.  But  the 
 noble  Bishop  Cyprian  knew  well  that  it  was  a  Clu-is- 
 tian  duty  to  heap  coals  of  fire  upon  the  heads  of  their 
 enemies  by  well-doing.  He  gathered  his  humble  flock 
 around  him,  and  said  :  "  If  we  only  do  good  to  those 
 that  belong  to  us,  we  do  nothing  more  than  '  the  pub- 
 licans and  the  Gentiles ;'  we  must,  as  Christians,  over- 
 come evil  by  good,  and  love  our  enemies,  as  our  Lord 
 has  commanded ;  we  are  to  pray  for  those  that  perse- 
 cute us.  As  we  are  born  of  God,  we  must  be  followers 
 of  this  our  heavenly  Father ;  and  we  are  to  shovv  our- 
 selves worthy  of  his  goodness  by  so  doing."  The 
 Christians  dispersed,  and  by  their  combined  efforts  the 
 dead  were  buried,  and  the  impending  danger  was 
 removed  ! 
 
 At  Gango  Sagor  many  a  woman  had  forgotten  the 
 "  son  of  her  womb,"  where  they  were  accustomed  to 
 throw  from  their  bosom  the  innocent  infant  into  the 
 water,  in  fulfilment  of  some  solemn  vow.  And  they 
 considered  the  sacrifice  not  propitious,  unless  a  shark, 
 or  some  other  monster  of  the  deep,  swaUowed  it  before 
 their  ej'es  !  The  burning  alive  of  the  widows  with  the 
 corpses  of  their  deceased  husbands  would  still  be  in 
 force,  had  not  a  Cln*istian  government  prohibited  the 
 custom.  The  registers  of  1815—1824  testify  that  in 
 the  Bengal  Presidency  alone  five  thousand  nine  hundred 
 and  ninety-seven  unhappy  widows  were  thus  burned 
 alive.     There  are  still  parts  of  India  which  are  beyond 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS   RELIGION.  281 
 
 the  influence  of  the  government  of  Great  Britain,  in 
 which  these  crimes  are  continued ;  and  if  the  Enghsh 
 were  now  to  withdraw  from  that  mighty  empire,  the 
 funeral  piles  of  the  widows  would  be  lighted  again  in 
 an  instant ! 
 
 Infanticide  was,  and  is  still,  a  crime  as  widely  ex- 
 tended as  Pagan  influence  has  poisoned  the  moral  atmo- 
 sphere. Some  few  instances  do,  indeed,  occasionally 
 occur  within  the  boundary  of  the  visible  church,  but 
 that  it  is  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  no  one 
 will  believe.  The  Israelites  of  old  now  and  then 
 adopted  it  from  the  Pagans  amongst  whom  they  lived. 
 (Isaiah  Ivii.    Jer.  ii.  xix.  Ezek.  xvi.    2  Kings  xvii.) 
 
 Amongst  the  savage  Americans  numerous  children 
 are  annually  destroyed  by  the  parents ;  and  among  the 
 Choctaws  the  mothers  sometimes  dig  the  grave  before 
 their  birth,  to  bury  them  alive  as  soon  as  they  are 
 born  !  Sometimes  death  is  produced  by  their  stamp- 
 ing upon  the  breast  of  the  infant ;  sometimes  they 
 strangle  it,  or  knock  it  upon  the  head.  In  some 
 countries  the  trouble  and  expense  of  bringing  them  up 
 is  alleged  as  a  sufficient  cause  for  their  destruction  ; 
 whilst  those  Pagan  nations  that  are  in  the  habit  of 
 destroying  their  female  offspring,  ascribe  their  custom 
 either  to  the  uselessness  of  daughters,  or  to  the  fear 
 that,  from  remaining  unmarried,  or  marrying  below 
 their  expectations,  they  should  in  any  way  be  the 
 means  of  dishonouring  their  family. 
 
 There  have,  however,  been  cases  in  which  infanticide 
 
282  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 was  sanctioned  by  law  in  some  instances,  and  in  others 
 it  was  commanded.  The  Athenians  and  the  Gauls  were 
 empowered  to  destroy  their  children.  The  lawgiver 
 of  Sparta  obliged  the  father  to  bring  the  new-born 
 son  before  an  examining  committee,  who  were  to  view 
 the  child.  If  the  child  was  found  deformed,  or  of  a 
 weakly  constitution,  he  was  cast  into  a  deep  cavern, 
 near  the  mountain  Taygetus,  as  the  council  thought  it 
 neither  good  for  the  State  nor  for  the  child  that  he 
 should  be  brought  up !  Even  Aristotle  declared  in 
 his  writings  concerning  the  State,  that  it  was  necessary 
 in  certain  cases  to  destroy  the  embryo,  and  to  expose 
 weak  and  sickly  children,  with  a  view  to  prevent  the 
 too  rapid  increase  of  the  number  of  citizens.  What  a 
 contrast  to  the  Foundling  Asylums  which  Christian 
 charitv  has  instituted,  to  receive  the  infants  which  are 
 exposed  by  semi-pagan  parents  ! 
 
 As  the  civil  and  political  virtues  were  the  distin- 
 suishinff  features  of  Roman  and  Grecian  Religion,  the 
 unnatural  disregard  to  children  not  qualified  for  that 
 purpose,  as  well  as  for  women,  who  could  not  distin- 
 guish themselves  in  that  sphere,  was  a  necessary  con- 
 sequence. The  laws  of  Romulus  endowed  the  Romans 
 with  unlimited  power  over  the  lives  of  their  children ; 
 and,  according  to  Tertullian,  they  exposed  their  sons, 
 drowned  them,  or  allowed  them  otherwise  to  perish  by 
 famine,  or  by  dogs.  How  truly  may  it  be  said,  that 
 Greece  produced  distinguished  Grecians,  and  that 
 Rome  produced  eminent   Romans  ;  but  that  in  the 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  283 
 
 most  flourishing  periods  of  their  respective  histories, 
 they  could  never  raise  themselves  to  the  dignity  of 
 men  ! 
 
 Previous  to  the  spread  of  Islam  in  Arabia,  the  Arabs 
 are  declared  to  have  been  addicted  to  the  destruction 
 of  their  female  infants.  They  buried  them  alive,  lest 
 their  families  should  be  reduced  to  poverty  by  pro- 
 viding for  them ;  also  to  avoid  the  disgrace  which 
 would  befall  them,  should  they  happen  to  be  made 
 captives,  or  become  scandalous  in  their  conduct.  For 
 these  reasons,  the  birth  of  a  daughter  was  considered 
 a  great  misfortune.  Up  to  the  present  day,  whilst  the 
 birth  of  a  male  child  occasions  a  general  shooting  and 
 shouting  amongst  the  Arabs,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
 the  Eastern  shores  of  Africa,  the  author  observed  a 
 dead  silence  if,  on  the  other  hand,  an  "  insignificant 
 female  infant''  was  born  into  the  world. 
 
 Until  put  down  lately  by  the  salutary  influence  of 
 Christianity,  the  unnatural  custom  of  destroying  female 
 infants  in  the  above  manner  prevailed  to  a  dreadful 
 extent  among  the  South  Sea  Islanders — scarcely  a 
 third  of  the  children  which  were  born  being  brought 
 up ;  and  instances  are  related  of  mothers  having  suc- 
 cessively destroyed  from  six  to  eight  children.  An 
 old  chief  of  Otaheite  made  the  following  confession 
 after  his  conversion  to  Christianity  :  "  Great  was  my 
 family,  but  I  only  am  left.  All  my  children  died  in 
 the  service  of  the  devil.  They  knew  not  the  good  vjordy 
 which  I  am  preserved  to  see.     My  heart  longs  after 
 
284  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 them,  and  often  reproaches  me  as  to  their  early  and 
 unthnely  end.  Great  and  many  are  my  crimes.  I 
 have  been  the  father  of  nineteen  children,  but  I 
 became  likewise  their  mm-derer  I  Now  my  soul  desires 
 after  them.  If  they  had  been  spared,  they  would 
 now  be  men  and  women,  and  would  have  learned  to 
 know  the  word  of  the  true  God.  But  when  I  mur- 
 dered them,  there  was  none  to  prevent  my  hand, 
 none  to  say  unto  me,  Spare  iliy  children  !  None  there 
 was  to  tell  me :  The  good  word,  the  true  word  is 
 come,  Spare  thy  children  !  And  now  my  heart  yearns 
 after  them,  and  weeps  over  them  ! " 
 
 In  China  it  is  stated  to  be  a  very  common  thing  to 
 destroy  female  infants,  with  a  view  to  save  the  trouble 
 of  bringing  them  up ;  and  that  in  some  families  as 
 many  as  five  or  six  daughters  are  smothered.  These 
 facts  are  too  notorious  to  require  any  particulars. 
 
 The  practice  prevails  among  several  tribes  of  the 
 peninsula  of  Hindostan,  and  it  is  too  probable  that, 
 owing  to  the  privacy  of  the  native  houses  and  the 
 concealment  of  their  women,  it  is  carried  to  a  far 
 greater  extent  than  is  generally  known.  It  is  noto- 
 rious that  it  was  openly  done  among  the  Rajkumar, 
 and  the  Rajawansa  tribes,  near  Benares ;  among  the 
 Jadeja,  and  the  Jatwa  Rajputs,  in  Kutch  and  Katia- 
 wad ;  among  the  Rhatores  of  Jaipoor  and  Jaudpoor, 
 as  well  as  amongst  the  Jaut  tribes  of  Hindostan  : 
 all  of  whom  destroyed,  and  partly  yet  destroy,  their 
 female  offspring,  from  avarice  and  from  pride.    British 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF   SPURIOUS   RELIGION.  285 
 
 philanthropy  has  been  beneficially  exerted  towards  the 
 suppression  of  these  black  crimes,  which,  under  the 
 degrading  influence  of  Pagan  idolatry,  the  history  of 
 our  race  discloses. 
 
 In  the  northern  parts  of  Bengal,  the  horrid  custom 
 is  said  to  prevail,  that  if  an  infant  refuse  the  mother's 
 food,  and  decline  in  health,  the  mother  fancies  that 
 it  is  under  the  malignant  influence  of  some  demon : 
 she  places  the  child  in  a  basket,  and  hangs  it  upon  a 
 tree,  where  the  evil  spuit  is  supposed  to  reside.  It  is 
 generally  destroyed  by  ants,  or  birds  of  prey ;  but  if 
 it  should  survive  three  days,  which  of  course  rarely 
 occurs,  the  mother  takes  it  home  and  nurses  it  again  ! 
 
 There  is  one  more  crime  which  is  strictly  of  a 
 Pagan  character,  and  that  is,  the  destruction  of  chil- 
 dren before  their  birth.  It  is  a  known  fact,  that 
 always  in  every  large  bazaar  of  British  India,  there 
 are  individuals  who  gain  their  livelihood  by  making, 
 selling,  and  administering  drugs  for  this  iniquitous 
 purpose.  It  would  be  a  great  blessing,  if  the  enhght- 
 ened  government  of  that  land  would  pay  some  atten- 
 tion to  this  melancholy  subject ;  although  we  feel 
 convinced  that  these  dark  shadows  of  an  inveterate 
 demoralization  must  be  scattered,  and  can  be  over- 
 come only,  by  the  influence  of  the  leaven  of  the 
 gospel,  which  is  at  work  in  the  mass  of  people  in 
 that  country. 
 
 How  precious  Christianity  appears  when  we  con- 
 sider the  social  influence  of  that  heaven-born  Religion 
 
28G  SOCIAL    INFLUENCE  [chap.  iv. 
 
 upon  the  condition  of  the  world  !  Let  us  hear,  in 
 conckision  of  the  above  reflections,  what  that  excellent 
 man.  Bishop  Athanasius,  could  declare  of  the  influence 
 of  the  gospel  in  his  own  day.  He  saith  :  "  Who  is 
 there  amongst  mortal  men  that  could  hope  to  pene- 
 trate to  the  Scythians,  the  Ethiopians,  the  Persians, 
 the  Armenians,  the  Goths,  the  Egyptians,  the  Chal- 
 deans, and  the  inhabitants  beyond  the  ocean,  and 
 preach  against  the  worship  of  idols  with  courage  and 
 wisdom  ?  Who  could  have  done  this,  but  the  Lord 
 of  the  universe,  the  power  of  God,  and  that  of  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  He  sent  not  only  his  disciples  to 
 preach,  but  he  convinced  those  nations  of  their  errors, 
 so  that  they  sacrificed  no  longer  to  the  deities  of  their 
 fathers,  but  abandoned  their  fierce  manners  and  prac- 
 tices. When,  formerly,  the  Greeks  and  the  barba- 
 rians served  their  idols,  they  lived  in  perpetual  feuds 
 one  with  the  other.  They  were  exercising  cruelties 
 against  their  own  relatives.  No  one  could  travel  across 
 land  or  sea  without  being  armed.  Their  whole  exist- 
 ence was  a  military  exercise  ;  the  sword  was  their  staff", 
 and  the  support  of  all  their  hopes.  And,  although 
 they  dihgently  served  their  gods  amidst  all  these 
 things,  it  could  not  change  their  sentiments  and  man- 
 ners. But  scarcely  had  they  embraced  the  doctrines 
 of  Christ, — scarcely  had  their  hearts  been  made  to  feel 
 a  contrition  by  their  miraculous  influence,  when  all 
 their  murderous  propensities  and  barbarian  manners 
 disappeared.     What  mere  man  could  have  ventured 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  OF    SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  287 
 
 thus  to  oppose  all  idolatry,  with  the  whole  army  of 
 demons,  all  the  magic  and  all  the  Grecian  wisdom, 
 and  to  subdue  it  with  one  single  and  mighty  eftbrt  ?  '* 
 
 And  Justin  Martyr  could  declare  before  the  ene- 
 mies of  the  Cross  -.  "  We  did  once  live  in  pleasure  and 
 sin,  but  now  we  aim  after  purity  of  life  ;  we  did  once 
 use  magical  powers,  but  now  we  have  devoted  our- 
 selves to  the  eternal  and  gracious  God.  We  once 
 loved  filthv  lucre  more  than  others,  but  we  now  com- 
 municate  what  we  have  to  the  poor  and  needy.  We 
 once  hated  and  murdered  each  other,  and  dechned 
 to  have  any  fellowship  with  strangers ;  now  we  do 
 not  hesitate,  after  the  appearance  of  Christ,  to  live 
 together  with  them  in  harmony.  We  pray  for  our 
 enemies,  and  endeavour  to  lead  those  that  hate  us  to 
 receive  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  partake  of  the  same 
 blessed  hope,  which  we  have  received  from  Almighty 
 God." 
 
 G.  Lest,  however,  there  remain  a  doubt  upon  our 
 minds  as  to  the  fact  that  Paganism  is  directly  answer- 
 able for  the  havoc  which  has  been  caused  in  the  moral, 
 civil,  and  social  condition  of  mankind,  we  will  allude, 
 finally,  to  the  circumstance  of  Paganism  having  always 
 enforced  cruel  immolations  under  the  pretence  of 
 divine  authority.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the 
 universality  of  sacrifices,  and  the  traditional  accounts 
 are  strongly  in  favour  of  the  proposition  that  they  all 
 spring  from  one  common  source.  Thoth,  in  Egypt,  is 
 mentioned  as  the  author  of  sacrifices.     In  Italy,  Janus 
 
288  INFLUENCE    OF  [chai-.   iv. 
 
 was  considered  to  have  first  taught  men  to  build  tem- 
 ples to  the  gods,  and  to  have  instituted  the  sacred  rites 
 with  which  they  were  adored.  The  Argive  PJioroneiis, 
 who  was  considered  the  parent  of  men,  is  said  to  have 
 been  the  first  who  built  a  temple  and  an  altar  for  sacri- 
 ficial rites  in  honour  of  Juno.  Thus  the  Chinese  Fold 
 is  represented  as  breeding  seven  sorts  of  animals,  the 
 number  according  to  which  Noah  was  directed  to  take 
 the  clean  animals  into  the  ark,  of  which  he  sacrificed 
 to  God  Almighty.  Deucalion  is  equally  described  as 
 building  an  altar,  and  as  offering  up  sacrifices  imme- 
 diately after  the  deluge.  The  British  Hii,  who  sailed 
 with  his  seven  companions  in  an  ark  over  the  inter- 
 minable ocean,  is  styled  emphatically  the  Sacrificer. 
 And  by  sacrifices  the  Peruvian  Manco  Capac  is  sup- 
 posed to  have  first  reclaimed  mankind  from  a  savage 
 life,  and  to  have  taught  them  the  worship  of  his  father 
 the  sun  ! 
 
 In  short,  the  traditional  accounts  of  the  origin  of 
 sacrifices,  as  it  is  given  in  Pagan  systems,  distinctly 
 show  that  it  was  derived  from  one  or  the  other  of  the 
 ante  or  the  post-diluvian  patriarchs,  Adam  or  Noah,  or 
 from  both  together.  After  the  coming  of  the  Messiah 
 was  promised,  propitiatory  sacrifices  were  immediately 
 instituted  ;  not  that  it  is  possible  for  the  blood  of  bulls 
 and  of  goats  to  take  away  sin,  but  as  a  divine  shadow 
 of  things  to  come,  and  of  Him  who  was  to  put  away 
 sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself.  Sacrifices  were  com- 
 manded, to  keep  up  the  remembrance  of  sin,  and  to 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  289 
 
 declare  that  without  shedding  of  blood  there  can  be 
 no  remission  of  sin.  But  this  commandment,  as  every 
 other  revealed  truth,  became  soon  corrupted  in  the 
 hand  of  Paganism.  The  sign  itself  was  suddenly  more 
 trusted  in  than  the  thing  signified.  (Gen.  iv.  5.)  When 
 by  degrees  God  was  more  lost  sight  of  by  man,  sacri- 
 fices continued,  but  they  were  sadly  perverted  into  a 
 powerful  instrument  of  Satan  and  his  kingdom. 
 Spurious  creeds  having  no  other  principle  by  which  to 
 regulate  their  expiations,  but  the  nature  of  the  trans- 
 gression, not  only  created  a  very  costly  worship,  but 
 also  originated  the  unnatural  practice  of  sacrificing 
 men,  w^omen,  and  children  !  The  sacrifices  were  now 
 performed  upon  a  false  principle  :  it  was  no  longer  a 
 "  remembrance  of  sin,"  but  a  means  of  perpetuating 
 crimes  more  absurd  and  unnatural  than  those  which 
 were  intended  to  be  expiated  and  removed  by  the 
 sacrifice. 
 
 It  is  not  known  when  and  where  the  custom  of 
 offering  human  sacrifices  was  first  practised ;  but  that 
 it  existed  at  a  very  early  period  is  proved  from  the 
 Mosaic  records.  The  Canaanites  were  in  the  habit  of 
 committing  this  abomination  more  than  three  thousand 
 three  hundred  years  ago.  In  spite  of  the  strongest 
 prohibitions  of  Jehovah,  their  example  was  now  and 
 then  followed  by  the  Israelites  ;  especially  by  two  of 
 their  kings,  Ahaz  and  Manasseh,  who  "  sacrificed  their 
 sons  and  daughters  unto  devils^  and  shed  innocent  bloody 
 even  the  blood  of  their  sons  and  of  their  dau(/7iters, 
 
 VOL.  II.  u 
 
290  INFLUENCE   OF  [chap.  iv. 
 
 loliom  they  sacrificed  unto  the  idols  of  Canaan^   (2  Kings 
 xvi.  Psalm  cvi.  37,  38.) 
 
 The  general  leading  idea  of  the  Pagans  in  sacrificing 
 was,  that,  as  the  wrath  of  the  deity  must  he  propitiated, 
 such  a  propitiation  was  best  effected  by  the  shedding 
 the  blood  of  the  devoted  victim.  How  opposed  this 
 idea  is  to  that  of  genuine  Religion,  has  been  already 
 shown.  We  hear  of  Pagans  endeavouring  to  appease 
 the  wrath  of  the  deities  with  bulls  and  lambs,  with 
 blood  and  slaughter,  with  the  sacrifice  of  animals,  and 
 of  human  beings ! 
 
 The  Ethiopians,  the  Phcenicians,  the  Scythians,  the 
 Celts,  the  Chinese,  the  Egyptians,  the  Peruvians,  the 
 Hindoos,  the  Greeks,  the  Latins,  the  Carthaginians, 
 the  Canaanites,  the  Arabians,  the  Persians,  the  Cretans, 
 the  Cyprians,  the  Rhodians,  the  Africans,  the  Mexicans, 
 and  the  islanders  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  have  all  polluted, 
 or  are  still  polluting,  their  religious  exercises  with  the 
 abominations  of  human  sacrifices  ! 
 
 Amongst  the  ancient  Greeks,  the  immolation  of  a 
 human  victim  either  previous  to  the  commencement  of 
 a  voyage  or  after  its  successful  termination,  agreeably 
 to  a  vow  which  had  been  made  in  the  hour  of  danger, 
 was  a  common  practice.  Thus,  for  instance,  was 
 Tphigenia  given 'up  by  her  father  Agamemnon,  to  pro- 
 cure a  favourable  wind  to  waft  him  to  the  shores  of 
 Troy ;  and  a  similar  sacrifice  was  demanded  on  his 
 return.  The  Athenians  and  the  Massilians,  in  their 
 remarkable  annual  sacrifice  of  a  man,  loaded  the  victim 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  SPURIOUS    RELIGION.  291 
 
 with  curses,  and  entreated  that  the  wrath  of  their  gods 
 might  fall  upon  his  devoted  head,  and  then  cast  him 
 into  the  sea,  as  an  offering  to  Neptune.  Menclaus, 
 being  detained  in  Egypt  by  contrary  winds,  offered  up 
 two  Egyptian  children ;  whilst,  according  to  the  ancient 
 historians,  every  Grecian  state  formerly  made  it  a  rule, 
 before  they  marched  towards  an  enemy,  to  solicit  a 
 blessing  on  their  undertaking  by  the  sacrifices  of 
 hmnan  victims. 
 
 In  Rhodes  a  man  was  sacrificed  to  Kronos  on  the 
 6th  of  July.  In  Salamis  a  human  being  was  slaugh- 
 tered to  Agraulus,  the  son  of  Poseidon,  in  the  month 
 of  March ;  and  afterwards  the  same  rites  were  per- 
 formed in  honour  of  Diomedes.  The  youth  who  was 
 chosen  for  the  purpose  was  pierced  by  the  lance  of  a 
 priest,  after  he  had  been  led  three  limes  round  the  altar; 
 and  his  corpse  was  burned  with  fire.  Aristomenes,  the 
 Messinian,  sacrificed  to  Jupiter  at  Ithome,  Lacedae- 
 monians with  their  king  Theopompus  !  In  Chios  and 
 Tenedos  a  man  was  offered  to  Dionysus  by  being 
 torn  in  pieces.  In  Lacedsemonia  also,  according  to 
 Apollodorus,  human  sacrifice  was  offered  to  Ares.  The 
 ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Crimea  were  accustomed 
 to  sacrifice  to  Diana  every  stranger  shipwrecked  on 
 their  coasts,  by  striking  the  victim  on  the  head  with  a 
 club.  The  Pelasgians,  in  a  time  of  scarcity,  offered  up 
 the  tenth  of  their  children,  in  hopes  of  procuring 
 plenty.  The  Taurians,  like  the  people  of  Crimea, 
 sacrificed  to    Artemis   every    stranger  that  was   cast 
 
 u  2 
 
292  INFLUENCE   OF  SPURIOUS  RELIGION,    [chap.  iv. 
 
 on  their  coast.  At  Pella,  in  Thessalia,  human  sacri- 
 fices occiuTed.  Erechtheus,  in  Attica,  sacrificed  his 
 two  daughters  to  Persephone.  Even  Aristides  sacri- 
 ficed to  Dionysus  the  three  sons  of  the  sister  of  the 
 King  of  Persia,  whom  he  had  taken  captives.  Themi- 
 stocles  also  sacrificed  several  noble  Persians. 
 
 Though  polite  and  civilized,  and  the  admiration  of 
 the  whole  world  for  their  laws,  literature,  and  science, 
 the  Romans  sacrificed  human  beings  for  centuries  ! 
 According  to  Dionysius  Halicarnassus,  the  Romans 
 were  in  the  habit,  about  the  middle  of  May,  of  going 
 in  procession  to  the  Tiber,  to  cast  thirty  images  of 
 men  into  the  river,  in  memory  of  former  sacrifices 
 of  real  men.  According  to  Livy,  there  were  buried 
 alive  two  men  and  two  women,  natives  of  Gaul  and 
 Greece,  to  avert  public  calamity  from  the  state.  And 
 well  said  Lactan tins  respecting  this  case;  "How  could 
 the  Gods  be  more  favourable  to  them  now,  when  they 
 attempted  to  obtain  their  favour  by  such  cruel  means 
 as  these  ?"  According  to  Plutarch,  a  similar  crime  was 
 committed  in  the  times  of  Flaminius  and  Turius  ; 
 whilst  there  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  the  prin- 
 cipal captives  which  graced  the  Roman  triumphs  were 
 afterwards  immolated  at  the  altar  of  Jupiter  Capitoli- 
 nus.  Caius  Marius  is  mentioned  as  having  offered  up 
 his  own  daughter  Calpurnia  as  a  victim,  in  order  to 
 ensure  success  in  a  battle  against  the  Cimbri ;  and  to 
 these  many  more  examples  might  be  added.  The 
 frequency  and  publicity  of  these   criminal  deeds  of 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  HUMAN    SACRIFICES.  293 
 
 blood  under  the  sanction  of  Religion,  is  fully  shown 
 by  the  necessity  which  existed  in  the  year  90  b.c. 
 to  enact  a  law  prohibiting  their  continuance,  which, 
 however,  seems  to  have  been  far  from  effecting  a 
 remedy — as  Augustus  Heliogabalus  and  Aurelian  are 
 accused  of  having  followed  this  inhuman  custom ; 
 and  as,  above  three  centuries  after  its  prohibition,  a 
 man  was  annually  sacrificed  at  the  shrine  of  Jupiter  ; 
 and  as  Lactantius  was  able  to  declare,  about  300  a.d., 
 that  the  said  deity  was  still  worshipped  by  the  shed- 
 ding of  human  blood. 
 
 The  ancient  kings  of  Tyre  were  accustomed,  in 
 times  of  great  danger  and  calamity,  to  sacrifice  their 
 sons,  and  one  of  them  procured  divine  honours  by  this 
 bloody  deed !  El,  or  Saturnus,  when  the  nation  was 
 endangered-  by  a  perilous  war,  dressed  up  his  son  in 
 the  emblems  of  royalty,  and  offered  him  up  on  an 
 altar  specially  prepared  for  that  purpose.  There  is  a 
 parallel  case  recorded  in  Scripture,  according  to  which 
 the  king  of  the  Moabites,  when  pressed  by  the  success- 
 ful progress  of  the  Israelites,  devoted  his  eldest  son  as 
 an  offering.  (2  Kings  iii.)  The  examples  of  kings  were 
 followed  by  other  individuals,  who  were  desirous  of 
 averting  from  themselves  any  calamity  they  feared ; 
 and  those  who  had  no  children,  would  even  purchase 
 them  from  the  poor  for  that  purpose !  That  the 
 Israelites  also  polluted  their  history  by  adopting 
 these  crimes  from  their  neighbours,  has  been  already 
 adverted  to. 
 
294         INFLUENCE  OF  SPURIOUS  RELIGION,      [chap.  iv. 
 
 The  Carthaginians  learned  this  cruel  practice  from 
 their  ancestors,  the  Tyrians ;  and  numerous  are  the  in- 
 stances recorded  in  which  they  sacrificed  children  in 
 the  time  of  pestilence  and  other  public  calamities. 
 When  Agathocles  was  about  to  besiege  their  city,  its 
 inhabitants,  imputing  their  misfortunes  to  the  anger  of 
 Saturn  on  account  of  having  been  served  only  with 
 the  children  of  slaves  and  strangers,  now  endeavoured 
 to  atone  for  this  neglect  by  sacrificing  two  hundred 
 children  of  the  best  families  of  "  enlightened "  and 
 civilized  Carthage,  by  placing  them  upon  the  arms  of 
 a  glowing  brazen  statue,  which  being  turned  down- 
 wards allowed  the  child  to  fall  off"  into  the  furnace  at 
 its  feet !  In  addition  to  this  wholesale  slaughter, 
 three  hundred  citizens  devoted  themselves  to  the 
 same  fate !  little  remembering  that  such  "  sacrifices 
 God  would  7iot  /"  Children  were  thus  sacrificed  down 
 to  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era,  when  Tibe- 
 rius hanged  the  sacrificing  priests  themselves,  on 
 crosses  made  of  the  trees  which  shaded  their  temples 
 as  houses  of  murder.  We  have,  indeed,  evidence 
 that  it  was  secretly  performed  down  to  the  time  of 
 Tertullian,  who  states  that  in  his  day  human  sacrifices 
 were  common  in  Arcadia  and  Carthage. 
 
 AVhen  the  Chinese  were  suff'ering  from  a  famine 
 which  lasted  seven  years,  and  when  it  was  declared 
 that  only  human  sacrifices  could  avert  the  calamity  of 
 the  nation,  the  aged  king  Ching-Tang  offered  himself  for 
 that  purpose ;  but  it  is  said  that  the  will  was  accepted 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  HUMAN   SACRIFICES.  295 
 
 for  the  deed.  In  Timquin,  cliildren  are  annually  killed 
 by  cutting  them  into  two  equal  halves,  or  by  the  ad- 
 ministration of  poison,  in  order  to  induce  the  gods  to 
 grant  a  plentiful  harvest.  In  Laos  no  temples  are 
 built  without  throwing  into  the  foundation  those  that 
 happen  first  to  pass  by  !  It  is  likewise  not  uncommon 
 among  the  Chinese  to  throw  children  into  the  river  as 
 sacrifices  to  the  water. 
 
 The  Hindoo  Religion  has  been  defiled  by  the  blood 
 of  men  to  a  fearful  extent.  Since  the  ascendency  of 
 the  Muhammedan  and  European  powers,  human  sacri- 
 fices have  been  greatly  suppressed.  But  even  until 
 very  lately  several  victims  have  been  at  various  times 
 discovered,  who  had  evidently  been  ofiered  up  during 
 the  preceding  night  at  the  shrines  of  various  deities. 
 This  seems  natural  to  every  one  acquainted  with  its 
 literature  and  the  w^orking  of  its  system.  Nor  can  we 
 judge  it  to  be  a  "  Religion  of  Jove'"'  when  we  hear  of 
 the  numerous  kinds  of  self-immolation  which  have  been 
 practised  in  former  days.  Many  are  still  in  practice 
 among  them,  but  are  too  well  known  to  demand  our 
 giving  any  particulars.  Hindooism,  above  all  other  sys- 
 tems, demands  abominable  sacrifices  from  its  votaries. 
 
 Annestris,  one  of  the  wives  of  Xerxes,  ordered  four- 
 teen children  of  noble  birth  to  be  buried  alive,  as 
 a  thank-ofiering  for  her  reaching  a  happy  age  !  That 
 the  Egyptians  sacrificed  red-haired  men  has  been 
 mentioned  on  a  former  occasion.  When  in  the  dog- 
 days  the   glowing   heat   singed   every   green   object, 
 
296         INFLUENCE  OF  SPURIOUS  RELIGION,      [chap.  iv. 
 
 tliey  burned  human  sacrifices  to  appease  Typlion ! 
 During  the  period  of  the  IJyhsos,  three  individuals 
 were  daily  sacrificed;  and  Manetho  expressly  men- 
 tions that  the  king  Amasis,  who  expelled  them, 
 ordered  that  three  candles  should  daily  be  burned 
 instead. 
 
 It  is  likewise  clear  that  the  northern  Mythology 
 required  human  sacrifices.  Harold  slew  two  of  his 
 children  in  order  to  obtain  such  a  storm  as  would 
 destroy  the  fleet  of  the  King  of  Denmark.  Another 
 king  killed  nine  sons,  in  hopes  of  adding  to  the  length 
 of  his  own  life.  Two  kings,  Domalder  and  Olaus  Tri- 
 liger,  on  whom  fell  the  lot,  were  sacrificed  by  their 
 own  subjects  with  great  rejoicings. 
 
 It  was  as  late  as  the  tenth  century  of  the  Christian 
 era  that  in  Russia  a  man  was  chosen  by  lot  to  appease 
 by  his  death  the  wrath  of  the  gods  ! 
 
 In  Sedu,  a  place  in  Zealand,  ninety-nine  persons 
 were  annually  sacrified  to  the  god  Swantowite.  And 
 some  writers  afiirm,  in  speaking  of  the  grove  of  Upsal, 
 where  these  horrid  rites  were  celebrated,  that  there 
 was  not  a  single  tree  which  was  not  reverenced  as  a 
 deity,  because  they  were  all  stained  with  human  blood. 
 In  Sweden  there  was  every  nine  years  a  national  festival, 
 which  lasted  nine  days,  and  on  each  day  were  sacrificed 
 a  man  and  seven  kinds  of  animals,  so  that  they  ofiered 
 eight  times  nine,  or  seventy-two,  victims.  The  Danes 
 likewise  had  a  similar  festival  every  nine  years,  in 
 January,  on  which  they  sacrificed  at  the  capital,  Lede- 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  HUMAN    SACRIFICES.  297 
 
 rum,  ninety-nine  men,  ninety-nine  horses,  ninety-nine 
 dogs,  ninety-nine  cocks,  and  ninety-nine  hawks. 
 
 The  Scandinavians  vowed  before  their  wars  to  sa- 
 crifice all  the  captives  to  Odin,  in  case  he  would  grant 
 unto  them  the  victory  over  their  enemies.  The  Sla- 
 vonian priests  drank  the  blood  of  sacrificed  enemies, 
 in  order  to  obtain  the  gifts  of  divination  !  The  mode 
 of  sacrificing  was  different  by  different  tribes.  The 
 Galli  killed  the  victim  by  the  stroke  of  an  axe.  At 
 other  times  the  priests  cut  the  victim  down  from 
 behind,  in  order  to  obtain  from  the  convulsions  of  the 
 dying  individual  divinations  as  to  the  lucky  or  un- 
 lucky result  of  certain  undertakings.  The  Celts  placed 
 the  poor  victim  on  a  block  or  altar,  with  his  breast 
 upwards,  and  killed  him  with  a  sword.  The  Cimbri 
 destroyed  the  devoted  individuals  by  ripping  open  the 
 bowels.  In  Norway  they  knocked  out  his  brains  with 
 the  yoke  of  an  ox.  In  Iceland,  they  dashed  the  victim 
 against  an  altar  of  stone ;  in  other  places,  they  pierced 
 him  with  arrows  ;  and  again,  in  other  places,  they  were 
 placed  within  huge  colossuses  of  twigs,  and  burned 
 alive. 
 
 From  the  testimony  of  antiquity,  we  fear  that  the 
 ancient  Britons  were  in  nowise  behind  in  these  cruel 
 deeds  of  religious  worship.  Especially  was  the  interest- 
 ing Isle  of  Man  the  scene  of  barbarous  cruelty  !  We 
 are  particularly  told  that  upon  it  were  sacrificed  those 
 that  were  taken  captive  from  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  ! 
 
 According  to  Caesar,  it  was  not  unusual  for  Gallic 
 
298  INFLUENCE  OF  SPURIOUS  RELIGION,    [chap.  iv. 
 
 youth  to  be  sent  over  to  that  island  for  instruction  in 
 the  Druidical  rites.  According  to  Tacitns,  the  Bri- 
 tons were  in  the  habit  of  embruing  their  altars  in  the 
 blood  of  their  prisoners ;  and  exploring  the  will  and 
 pleasure  of  the  gods  in  the  entrails  of  human  victims  ! 
 The  Romans  are  said  to  have  dealt  with  the  greatest 
 severity  against  the  Druidical  priests  of  Gaul  and 
 Britain,  because  they  considered  them  as  the  chief  in- 
 stigators of  human  sacrifices  !  What  great  things  God 
 hath  wrought  upon  this  island  by  his  glorious  gospel ! 
 
 In  the  midst  of  wealth  and  luxury,  and  many  of  the 
 polished  arts  of  life,  Montezuma,  the  last  emperor  of 
 Mexico,  offered  human  sacrifices.  All  the  captives 
 were  sacrificed  to  the  gods ;  and  it  thus  happened  that 
 thousands  of  victims  were  slain  to  the  bloodthirsty 
 divinities. 
 
 The  deity  Tezcalepoca,  who,  similar  to  the  Bralim 
 of  the  Hindoos,  was  called  "  the  soul  of  the  world," 
 deserves  particular  mention.  A  year  before  the  cele- 
 bration of  his  festivals,  which  were  always  stained  by 
 these  horrid  crimes,  a  captive,  distinguished  for  his 
 personal  beauty,  was  selected  to  represent  this  deity. 
 His  guardians  instructed  him  how  to  perform  this  new 
 part  with  becoming  grace  and  dignity.  He  was  dressed 
 in  most  gaudy  apparel,  and  perfumed  with  all  manner 
 of  odoriferous  substances.  When  he  went  out  he  was 
 escorted  by  a  train  of  the  royal  pages,  and  as  he 
 halted  in  the  streets  to  play  some  favourite  melody, 
 he  received  the  homage  of  the  multitudes.    He  feasted 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  HUMAN    SACRIFICES.  299 
 
 at  the  banquets  of  tlic  nobles  of  the  land,  received 
 from  them  divine  honours,  and  led  a  most  easy  and 
 luxurious  life  till  within  a  month  of  his  sacrifice. 
 
 As  the  fatal  hour  drew  nigh,  one  of  the  royal  barges 
 transported  him  across  the  lake  to  a  temple  which 
 rose  on  its  margin,  about  a  league  from  the  city.  As 
 the  procession  wound  up  the  sides  of  the  pyramid,  the 
 victim  threw  away  his  gay  chaplets  of  flowers,  and 
 broke  in  pieces  the  musical  instruments  with  which 
 he  had  charmed  the  ears  of  adoring  multitudes.  On 
 the  summit  he  was  received  by  six  priests,  who  were 
 habited  in  sable  robes.  Tliey  led  him  to  the  sacri- 
 ficial stone,  a  huge  block  of  jasper,  with  its  upper 
 surface  somewhat  convex.  On  this  the  prisoner  was 
 stretched ;  five  priests  secured  his  head  and  his  limbs, 
 whilst  the  sixth,  clad  in  a  scarlet  mantle,  dexterously 
 opened  the  chest  of  the  victim  with  a  stone  knife,  and 
 inserting  his  hand  in  the  wound,  tore  out  the  palpi- 
 tating heart.  Having  presented  it  to  the  sun,  he 
 threw  it  into  the  face  of  the  idol,  whilst  the  multitudes 
 below  prostrated  themselves  in  humble  adoration.  The 
 corpse  was  allowed  to  roll  down  the  steps  of  the 
 temple. 
 
 Sometimes  preliminary  tortures  of  the  most  exqui- 
 site kind  were  inflicted  upon  the  victim,  but  they 
 always  terminated  with  the  bloody  ceremony  above 
 described.  Women,  as  well  as  the  other  sex,  were 
 sometimes  reserved  for  sacrifice.  On  some  occasions, 
 particularly  in  seasons  of  drought,  at  the  festival  of 
 
300  INFLUENCE  OF  SPURIOUS  RELIGION,     [chap.  iv. 
 
 the  insatiable  Tlaloc,  the  gocl  of  rain,  children,  for  the 
 most  part  infants,  were  offered  up.  As  they  were 
 borne  along  in  litters,  dressed  in  fine  robes  and  decked 
 with  the  fresh  blossoms  of  spring,  they  moved  the 
 hardest  heart,  though,  as  was  the  case  with  infants 
 sacrificed  to  Moloch,  their  cries  were  drowned  in  the 
 tumultuous  music  and  chant  of  the  priests,  who  read 
 in  their  tears  a  favourable  augury  for  their  petition. 
 These  innocent  victims  were  generally  bought  by  the 
 priests  from  their  poor  parents. 
 
 The  remains  of  the  victims  who  were  taken  captive 
 were  delivered  to  the  warrior  who  had  taken  them  in 
 battle,  and  by  him  they  were  served  up  in  a  banquet 
 prepared  with  art,  and  attended  by  both  sexes  of  his 
 friends ! 
 
 Human  sacrifices  reached  the  utmost  height  on  the 
 accursed  altars  of  Mexico,  which  form  a  horribly 
 dark  and  indelible  stain  in  the  history  of  humanity  ! 
 Scarcely  any  author  pretends  to  estimate  the  yearly 
 sacrifices  at  less  than  twenty  thousand,  and  some 
 carry  the  numl^er  as  high  as  fifty.  On  great  occa- 
 sions, as  the  coronation  of  a  king  or  the  consecration 
 of  a  temple,  the  number  becomes  still  more  appalling. 
 At  the  dedication  of  the  great  temple  Huitzilopotchli 
 in  1486,  the  prisoners,  wdio  for  some  years  had  been 
 reserved  for  the  purpose,  were  drawn  from  all  quar- 
 ters to  the  capital.  They  were  ranged  in  files,  form- 
 ing a  procession  nearly  two  miles  long.  The  ceremony 
 lasted  for  several  days,  and  seventy  thousand  captives 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  HUMAN    SACRIFICES.  301 
 
 are  said  to  liave  perished  at  the  shrine  of  the  Mexican 
 Moloch !  It  was  customary  to  preserve  the  skulls  of 
 the  sacrificed  in  buildings  appointed  to  the  purpose. 
 The  companions  of  Cortes,  the  conqueror  of  Mexico, 
 counted  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand  of  these 
 grinning  horrors  in  one  of  these  edifices  !  If  no  human 
 sacrifices  had  been  offered  for  some  time,  the  priests 
 sent  word  to  the  ruler  that  the  ''gods  were  hungry^ 
 and  he  sent  at  once  to  make  captives  for  this  abomi- 
 nable purpose.  When  Montezuma  was  asked,  "  Why 
 he  had  suffered  the  republic  of  Tlascala  to  maintain 
 her  independence  on  his  borders,"  he  replied,  "  That 
 she  might  furnish  him  with  victims  for  his  gods!" 
 Such  is  the  spirit  of  Paganism  !  These  horrors  blacken 
 the  history  of  a  people  who  had  a  regular  government, 
 and  were  considerably  advanced  in  civilization. 
 
 Human  sacrifices  are  found  all  over  the  vast  con- 
 tinent of  benighted  Africa.  The  Petish  of  the  Fantih 
 tribes  demands  a  human  sacrifice  every  new  moon  up 
 to  this  present  day.  It  has  been  likewise  found  to 
 have  existed  upon  every  newly  discovered  island  of 
 the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  Otaheite,  human  sacrifices  were 
 offered  in  appalling  numbers  to  the  gods,  after  the  eye 
 of  the  victim  had  been  presented  to  the  king,  who 
 pretended  to  eat  it  ! 
 
 The  Marquesans,  the  inhabitants  of  Paliser  Islands, 
 the  Harvey  islanders,  and  the  New  Zealanders,  were 
 not  only  accustomed  to  sacrifice  their  enemies  within 
 the  last  fifty  years,  but,  like  the  Mexicans,  to  devour 
 
302         INFLUENCE  OF  SPURIOUS  RELIGION,     [chap.  iv. 
 
 them;   a  practice  which  is  still  believed  to  exist  in 
 difFercnt  parts  of  Polynesia,  and  in  central  Africa. 
 
 In  Peru,  two  hundred  children  were  annually  sacri- 
 ficed for  the  health  of  Yuka ;  and  in  cases  of  sickness, 
 it  was  usual  among  the  Peruvians  to  offer  up  then- 
 sons  to  Virachoca,  beseeching  him  to  spare  their  lives, 
 and  to  be  satisfied  with  the  blood  of  their  children. 
 
 In  taking  this  general  view  of  the  cruel  sacrificial 
 rites  of  the  Pagan  world,  we  have  confined  ourselves 
 to  a  few  facts,  in  order  to  show  that  there  is  an 
 organized  system  which  demands  the  sacrifice  of  our 
 fellow-men  unto  devils.  The  Pagan  world  had  some 
 faint  idea  of  the  vicarious  nature  and  virtue  of  these 
 sacrifices.  It  has  been  particularly  well  expressed 
 by  one  Pagan  writer,  who  describes  the  purport  of 
 sacrifices  in  general  by  intimating,  that  the  heart  of 
 the  victim  was  intended  to  serve  as  a  substitute  for 
 the  heart  of  the  offerer;  the  fibres  of  the  victim 
 for  the  fibres  of  the  sacrificer ;  the  life  of  the  beino; 
 sacrificed,  for  the  life  of  the  being  who  sacrificed ! 
 Another  declares  it  to  have  been  the  traditional  belief, 
 that  sacrifices  were  resorted  to  in  such  cases  as 
 required  life  for  life  ! 
 
 We  discover,  therefore,  in  the  midst  of  these  cruel 
 rites  of  Paganism,  another  going  forth  of  the  yearning 
 of  a  guilty  conscience  after  the  true  sacrifice,  which 
 alone  could  take  away  sin.  We  discover  still  more,  in 
 the  cruel  choice  of  innocent  little  children  for  sacrificial 
 purposes,  a  loud  testimony  as  to  the  necessary  quali- 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  HUMAN   SACRIFICES.  303 
 
 fication,  and  the  spotless  cliaracter  of  the  mediatorial 
 and  atoning  sacrifice,  of  which  mankind  stood  in  need. 
 
 Sacrifices  and  oblations  were  originally  a  Divine 
 ordinance,  bnt  the  piacular  sacrifices  of  genuine 
 Religion  only  shadowed  forth  the  expiatory  oblation 
 of  a  nobler  sacrifice.  We  learn,  however,  from  the 
 general  prevalence  of  human  sacrifices  and  animal 
 immolation,  the  necessity  of  a  far  superior  victim, 
 which,  being  Divine  as  well  as  human,  should  once 
 for  all  be  able  to  carry  our  sins  into  the  wilderness  of 
 forgetfulness,  after  a  full  oblation,  sacrifice,  and  atone- 
 ment had  been  made  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  ; 
 also  for  the  sins  of  those  cruel  sacrifices  which 
 Paganism  has  enforced  upon  its  deluded  votaries  in 
 search  of  happiness  and  peace. 
 
 If  the  truth  of  the  Christian  Heligion  be  thus 
 established  by  the  attestation  of  God  and  man,  as  it 
 has  ever  been,  it  is  then  a  Helif/ion  for  us,  our  chil- 
 dren, our  nation,  our  race,  and  the  world  at  large ; 
 and  it  behoves  us  as  Christian  men,  not  only  to 
 review  and  examine  the  martial  bands  of  Gospel  foes, 
 and  to  scrutinize  their  position;  not  only  to  repel  their 
 occasional  attacks,  and  to  spy  the  nakedness  of  the 
 land ;  but  also  to  march  boldly  amongst  their  ranks, 
 and  to  commence  and  carry  on  the  battles  of  the 
 Lord.  It  is,  then,  our  religious  duty,  having  put  on 
 the  whole  armour  of  God,  to  pull  down  those  strong- 
 holds which  superstition  has  reared  in  ancient  and 
 modern  days,  and  which  have  been  fortified  by  hoary 
 
304  INFLUENCE  OF  SPURIOUS  RELIGION,     [chap.  iv. 
 
 antiquity,  and  by  arguments,  wliich  loudly  proclaim 
 how  deeply  man  has  been  injured,  and  how  seriously 
 his  mind  and  his  intellect  have  been  shattered  and 
 broken  by  the  fall. 
 
 Instead  therefore  of  merely  defe7idm(/  the  Gospel, 
 it  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  believer  to  carry  the 
 "  controversy  which  the  Lord  has  with  the  nations" 
 abroad  into  the  midst  of  them.  The  days,  indeed, 
 appear  to  be  fast  disappearing,  when  the  best  flowers 
 of  Christian  activity  and  energy  withered  over  internal 
 disputes,  and  not  unfrequently  over  "foolish  questions," 
 that  gender  strife  and  kindle  the  fire  of  discord  in  the 
 bosom  of  that  body,  the  Church,  to  which  peace  was 
 bequeathed  by  Christ  as  an  abiding  legacy.  If,  how- 
 ever, in  a  spirit  of  charity,  we  absolve  our  forefathers 
 of  a  sinful  indifference  to  the  world  at  large,  and 
 ascribe  their  forgetfulness  of  the  Heathen  and  Moham- 
 medan world  to  a  laudable  anxiety  to  watch  over  the 
 household  of  faith,  to  defend  their  sacred  trust  against 
 home-bred  schisms  and  damnable  heresies,  this  can 
 no  longer  be  done  in  our  days,  when,  comparatively 
 speaking,  the  Lord  has  given  "  peace  to  Israel,"  and 
 when  the  increasing  influence  of  Christian  power  and 
 civilization  is  bringing  Christian  men  into  such  close 
 contact  with  immortal  fellow- creatures  still  enslaved  by 
 every  species  of  superstition. 
 
 When  our  adorable  Saviour  was  about  to  ascend  to 
 heaven,  he  lifted  up  his  pierced  hands  to  bless  the 
 little  flock  of  his  chosen  Apostles,  and  breaking  for 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  CONCLUSION.  305 
 
 ever  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  between  Jews 
 and  Gentiles,  he  commanded :  ''  Go  ye  into  all  the 
 
 WORLD,  AND  PREACH  THE  GoSPEL  TO  EVERY  CREA- 
 TURE!" Ever  since  that  memorable  day,  the  ever- 
 lasting Gospel  has  been  flying  throngh  space  and 
 time,  preaching  peace  to  lis  that  were  afar  off,  and  to 
 them  that  were  nigh  !  O  for  that  blessed  Gospel, 
 and  O  for  that  exalted  name  at  Avhich  every  knee 
 shall  bow  !  Take  away  that  adorable  name,  and  we 
 are  without  God  in  this  world,  and  Avithout  hope  in 
 the  world  which  is  to  come  !  If  we  take  away  the 
 Gospel  from  the  troubled  conscience,  if  we  take  away 
 the  blood  of  sprinkling  fi'om  the  contrite  heart,  we 
 abandon  the  world  to  everlasting  anguish,  to  ever- 
 lasting death,  and  to  everlasting  despair  ! 
 
 The  obhgation  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature 
 has  been  as  much  the  duty  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
 as  it  has  been  her  privilege  to  enjoy  its  blessings. 
 
 The  duty  to  evangelize  the  world  rests  upon  the 
 same  grounds  as  the  obligation  to  commemorate  the 
 Lord's  death  until  he  cometh.  We  have  a  distinct 
 command  in  both  cases.  "  Do  this  in  remembrance  of 
 mef  is  the  command  for  the  one  ;  "  Go  and  jireach  the 
 Gospel  to  evert/  creature  !"  is  the  reason  for  the  other. 
 Hence  the  cause  of  Christianising  the  nations  of  the 
 globe  by  no  means  rests  upon  the  mere  benevolent 
 principles  of  some  philanthropic  body  of  men ;  nor  is 
 it  the  success  of  Christian  Missions  by  which  the 
 obligation  can  be  measured.     It  is  not,  perhaps,  to  be 
 
 VOL.  IT.  X 
 
306  INFLUENCE  OF  SPURIOUS  RELIGION,     [chap.  iv. 
 
 expected,  that  the  several  systems  of  spurious  Religion 
 will  be  thoroughly  eradicated  prior  to  the  second 
 coming  of  our  Lord.  Christianity  will  indeed  be 
 universally  received ;  Christ  will  go  forth  conquering 
 and  to  conquer ;  for  it  is  on  this  noble  consummation 
 that  prophecy  pours  its  most  animated  strains. 
 
 But  we  must  not  expect  from  human  exertions 
 what  is  reserved  for  the  visible  making  bare  of  the 
 arm  of  the  Lord.  Yet,  if  there  be  truth  in  prophecy, 
 the  end  cannot  come,  and  the  glorious  and  palmy  days 
 of  Christianity  cannot  be  introduced,  until  the  Gospel 
 has  been  preached  to  every  creature  !  The  message 
 of  God  must  be  preached  for  a  witness  in  every  habi- 
 table part  of  the  globe.  And  as  soon  as  there  has 
 gone  through  a  land  a  proclamation  of  the  Gospel 
 message,  the  inhabitants  of  that  land  have  passed  the 
 demarcation  line  between  willing  and  unavoidable 
 ignorance.  An  important  change  is  wrought  in  the 
 moral  position  of  the  Gentile  world.  They  may  reject 
 the  message,  and  cleave  to  idolatry;  but  they  henceforth 
 stand  in  a  new  moral  position,  inasmuch  as  they  will 
 be  classed  at  the  last  great  day  of  reckoning  with 
 those  to  whom  the  Gospel  was  preached  in  vain. 
 
 There  are,  however,  other  motives  to  urge  every 
 member  of  the  Church  of  God  to  take  part  in  the  great 
 work,  which  has  for  its  immediate  object  the  spread 
 of  Gospel  principles  through  every  land,  and  the 
 triumph  of  Gospel  grace  in  every  heart.  God's  word 
 shall  not  return  vain,  but  it  will  accomplish  that  for 
 
CHAP.  IV.]  CONCLUSION.  307 
 
 which  it  is  sent.  Now,  if  we  estimate  the  Moliani- 
 inedan  and  Pagan  world  at  about  six  hundred  mil- 
 lions, and  if  we  assume  that  a  generation  ordinarily 
 lasts  thirty  years,  we  arrive  at  the  appalling  conclusion, 
 that  no  fewer  than  fifty-four  thousand  of  immortal 
 sinners  die  every  day,  without  knowledge  of  the  only 
 name  whereby  we  must  be  saved  !  They  pass  through 
 life  without  God,  without  understanding,  without 
 natural  affection ;  and  when  they  appear  before  the 
 bar  of  judgment  at  that  great  day  for  w^hich  all  other 
 days  are  made,  they  are  said  to  be  without  excuse ! 
 The  Pagans  are  sinners  without  a  Saviour ;  they  are 
 children  of  sorrow,  without  a  drop  of  comfort  to 
 refresh  their  souls  when  tossed  to  and  fro  by  the  fierce 
 waves  of  affliction.  They  feel  the  rebukes  of  a  guilty 
 conscience,  without  knowledge  of  that  precious  blood 
 which  cleanseth  from  all  sins.  Shall  we  refuse  to 
 fulfil  the  command  of  our  ascending  Lord  and  King, 
 and  deny  them  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  our  table  ? 
 
 What  was  this  favoured  land  before  it  had  pleased 
 God  to  kindle  the  sympathy  and  to  inflame  the  pious 
 zeal  of  foreign  Christians  to  visit  its  shores,  and  to 
 sound  the  silver  trumpet  of  the  jubilee  to  its  be- 
 nighted and  savage  inhabitants  ?  The  praise  of  British 
 zeal  and  English  liberality  in  behalf  of  the  propa- 
 gation of  Christianity  and  civilization  amongst  Pagan 
 nations  is,  indeed,  in  all  the  Churches.  But  the 
 Church  of  Christ  in  this  land  expects  every  one  of 
 her  members  to  do  his  duty.     Oh,  therefore,  for  the 
 
 X  2 
 
308  CONCLUSION.  [chap.  iv. 
 
 anointing  Spirit  and  his  cloven  tongues  to  dispel  the 
 lethargy,  the  slothfulness,  and  the  sinful  indifference, 
 we  feel  in  our  Master's  service  !  "  Curse  ye  Meroz, 
 said  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  curse  ye  bitterly  the  itiha- 
 bitants  thereof ;  because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of 
 the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty!' 
 (Judges  V.  23.)  The  inhabitants  of  Meroz  were  cursed 
 bitterly  because  they  did  rwthing  !  Be  therefore  dili- 
 gent in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord. 
 Stand  not  idle  in  the  market  the  whole  day.  The 
 time  is  short.  Work  whilst  it  is  day.  Hold  fast  the 
 sword  of  the  Spirit,  until  you  carry  the  palm  of  vic- 
 tory. Desire  no  rest  until  you  enter  into  that  which 
 remaineth  for  the  people  of  God.  Put  on  the  whole 
 armour  of  God,  until  you  walk  amidst  the  great 
 multitude  in  spotless  white.  So  hve  for  Christ,  so 
 travail  in  his  service,  that  the  world  may  miss  you 
 when  you  are  removed.  Or  whether  this  world  may 
 miss  you  or  not,  so  live  to  Him  who  died  for  you,  that 
 when  you  fall  asleep  in  Jesus,  a  voice  may  be  heard 
 from  heaven,  saying,  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die 
 in  the  Lord :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest 
 from  their  labours  ;  and  their  works  do  follow  them  !" 
 And  may  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  under- 
 standing, keep  our  hearts  and  minds  in  the  know- 
 ledge and  in  the  love  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ 
 our  Lord.     Amen. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 CTatalogue  of  aSSor^is  cbieflg  consuItet(  prcbious  to  tf)c 
 publicfltfott  of  tl)e  present  S2Eovk. 
 
 1.  Ancient  Universal  History,  from  the  earliest  account  of  time, 
 
 compiled  fi'om  original  authors.     Vol.  xxiv. 
 
 2.  Veterum  Persarum   et   Parthorum  et  Mediorum    Religionis 
 
 Historia.     Thomas  Hyde. 
 
 3.  Dogmatik,  von  Prof.  Nitzsch. 
 
 4.  Brown's  Comparative  View  of  Christianity.     Vol.  ii. 
 
 5.  Kritik  des  Lebens  Jesu,  von  Prof.  W.  Hoffmann. 
 
 6.  Heeren's  Asiatic  Researches. 
 
 7.  Rollin's  Ancient  History. 
 
 8.  Adam's  Religious  World  Displayed.     Vol.  iii. 
 y.  Missionsgeschichte,  von  Inspector  Blumhardt. 
 
 10.  Gender's  View  of  all  Religions. 
 
 11.  Christliche  Lehrwissenschaft,  von  Prof.  Beck. 
 
 12.  The  Origin  of  Pagan   Idolatry,  ascertained   from  historical 
 
 testimony  and  circumstantial  evidence.     Rev.  G.  S.  Faber. 
 Vol.  iii. 
 
 13.  Christliche  Apologetik,  von  Prof  Sack. 
 
 14.  Biblische  Archaiologie,  von  Dr.  Scholz. 
 
 15.  Bryant's  Analysis  of  Ancient  Mythology.     Vol.  vi.     1778. 
 
 16.  Morgenland,  von  Prof.  Preisswerk. 
 
 17.  Prideaux's  Connexion  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.   Vol.  iii. 
 
310  APPENDIX. 
 
 18.  Kern  der  Lehre  vom  Reiclie  Gottes.     Dr.  J,  J.  Hess. 
 
 19.  Astronomie,  von  Prof.  Schubert. 
 
 20.  Die  Urwelt  und  die  Fixsterne,  von  Prof.  Schubert.      1823. 
 
 21.  Schubert's    Ahndungen    einer   allgemeinen    Geschichte    des 
 
 Lebens.     1821. 
 
 22.  Symbolik  des  Traumes,  von  Prof.  Schubert. 
 
 23.  The  Worship  of  the  Serpent  traced  throughout  the  World,  and 
 
 its  Traditions  referred  to  the  Events  in  Paradise  :  proving 
 the  temptations  and  the  fall  of  man  by  the  instrumen- 
 tality of  a  serpent  tempter.     Rev.  J.  B.  Deane.     1 830. 
 
 24.  Bauer's  Weltgeschichte.     Vol.  vi. 
 
 25.  Dr.  Dick's  Lectures  on  Divinity.     Vol.  iv. 
 
 26.  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion,  by  Greenfield. 
 
 27.  Prof.  Hug,  liber  den  Mythus  der  alten  Viilker.     1823. 
 
 28.  Ainsworth's  Assyria,  Babylonia,  and  Chaldea. 
 
 29.  G.  Ch.  Vossius,  de  Theologia   Gentili    et  Physiol ogia  Chris- 
 
 tiana :  sive,  de  origine  ac  progressu  Idolatrite.  Vol.  iii. 
 1G75. 
 
 30.  Rich's  Ancient  Babylon  and  Persepolis. 
 
 31.  Van  Dale,  de  Origine  et  Progressu  Idolatrite  et  Superstiti- 
 
 onum  :  de  vera  ac  falsa  prophetia ;  uti  et  de  divina- 
 tionibus  idololatricis  Judseorum.      1696. 
 
 32.  Theoph.  Gale's  Court  of  the  Gentiles.     Vol.  iv.     1669. 
 
 33.  Religionssysteme  des  Orientes,  von  Prof  Stuhr.     Vol.  ii. 
 
 34.  Errors  regarding  Religion,  by  J.  Douglas,  Esq. 
 
 35.  Maier's  Mythologische  Lexicon. 
 
 36.  Lord  Herbert's  Ancient  Religion  of  the  Gentiles.     (De  reli- 
 
 gione  Gentilium  errorumque  apud  eos  causis.)     1705. 
 
 37.  Herodotus  :  edidit  Reiz  et  Schaefer. 
 
 38.  Lehrbuch  der  Kirchengeschichte,  von  Dr.  Gieseler. 
 
 39.  Reeve's  Apologies  of  Justin  Martyr,  Tertullian,  and  Minutius 
 
 Felix.     Vol.  ii.     1709. 
 
 40.  Symbolik  und  Mythologie,  von  Prof  Bauer.     Vol.  iii. 
 
 41.  R.  Mignau's  Travels  in  Chaldea. 
 
 42.  Hunter's  Religion  der  Babylonier. 
 
APPENDIX.  311 
 
 43.  Broughton's  Historical  Lexicon  of  all  Religions. 
 
 44.  Stollberg's  Religion sgescluchte. 
 
 45.  Sir  Ker  Porter's  Travels  to  Babylonia.     Vol.  ii. 
 
 46.  The  Religions   of  the  World,  and  their   Relation   to   Chris- 
 
 tianity ;  by  the  Rev.  F.  D.  Maurice. 
 
 47.  D'Herbelot  Bibliotheque  Orientale,  ou  Dictionnaire  universel, 
 
 contenant  tout  ce  qui  regarde  la  Connaissance  des  Peuples 
 de  I'Orient,  leur  Ilistoire,  leur  Religion,  leurs  Sciences, 
 leurs  Arts,  leurs  Hommes  Illustres,  &c.     Vol.  iv.      1777. 
 
 48.  Meiner's   Allgemeine    kritische   Geschichte    der    Religionen. 
 
 Vol.  ii. 
 
 49.  Bernstein,  de  Initiis  et  Orig.  Religio.  in  Orient,  dispers. 
 
 50.  Mythengeschichte    der    asiatischen    Welt.       Vol.   ii.       Prof 
 
 J.  GiJrres. 
 
 51.  Packingham's  Travels  in  Assyria,  Media,  and  Persia. 
 
 52.  Creuzer's  Symbolik  und  Mythologie.     Vol.  iv.     1810. 
 
 53.  Dupuis'  Origin  of  all  Religions. 
 
 54.  Ueber  das  Alter    und  Werth  einiger  morgenUindischer  Ur- 
 
 kunden,  von  J.  G.  Rhode. 
 
 55.  Alley's  Vindiciae   Christianas  :  a  comparative  estimate  of  the 
 
 genius  and  temper  of  the  Greek,  the  Roman,  the  Hindoo, 
 the  Mohammedan,  and  Christian  Religions. 
 
 56.  Paganism    and    Christianity    compared,   by    John    Ireland, 
 
 D.D. 
 
 57.  Xenophontis  Cyroptedia. 
 
 58.  Prichard's  Analysis  of  the  Egyptian  Mythology. 
 
 59.  Egypt  j  by  His  Excellency  Chevalier  Bunsen. 
 
 60.  Vernunftlebre,  von  Bischof  J.  M.  Sailer.     Vol.  iii. 
 
 61.  Moor's  Oriental  Fragments. 
 
 63.  Christliche  Dogmatik,  von  Dr.  Storr. 
 
 63.  Conversations  on  Mythology. 
 
 64.  History  of  Chaldaic  Philosophy,  by  Th.  Stanley.      1662. 
 
 65.  Dubistan  Mirzahib  ;  an  account   of   the    religious  creeds  of 
 
 various  nations. 
 
 66.  Mcihler's  Gesamnielte  Schriftcn. 
 
312  APPENDIX. 
 
 67.  Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities,  or  Dissertations  relative  to  the 
 
 Geography  and  Theology  of  Hindustan  compared  with  the 
 Religious,  Laws,  &c.  of  Persia,  Egypt,  and  Greece.  Vol.  vii. 
 1800. 
 
 68.  Landseer's  Sabean  Researches. 
 
 69.  Arriani  Hist.  Indie,  edidit  Fr.  Schmieder. 
 
 70.  The  Advantage  and   Necessity  of  the   Christian  Revelation. 
 
 Vol.  ii.     By  Dr.  Leland. 
 
 71.  Bruckeri  Historia  Critica  Philosophise.     Vol.  vi. 
 
 72.  Literse   Sacrte ;    or,  the  Doctrines  of  Moral   Philosophy  and 
 
 Christianity  compared. 
 
 73.  Fabricius  Antiquitaten  Lexicon. 
 
 74.  A  Mythological  Dictionary  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  Deities. 
 
 75.  On  Heroes   and   Hero  Worship,  and  the  Heroic  in  History. 
 
 By  Thomas  Carlyle,  Esq. 
 
 76.  Natural  History  of  Enthusiasm. 
 
 77.  Fanaticism.     By  the  Author  of  Enthusiasm. 
 
 78.  Picart's  Ceremonies  of  all  Religions.     Folio,  vol.  vi. 
 
 79.  Works  of  Sir  William  Jones.     Vol.  vii. 
 
 80.  Fr.  Heinerich  Jakobi's  Sendschreiben  an  Fichte. 
 
 81.  Kleuker's  Zendavesta. 
 
 82.  Religionssystem  der  alten  Perser.     Prof.  Rhode. 
 
 83.  The  Religion  of  the  Parsees.     By  H.  Lord.      1630. 
 
 84.  Delia  Valle's  and  Tavernier's  Travels. 
 
 85.  Colebrooke's  Miscellaneous  Essays.     Vol.  ii. 
 
 86.  Elphinstone's  History  of  India. 
 
 87.  Burnouf,  Commentaire  sur  le  Ya9na,  I'un  des  Livres  Religieux 
 
 des  Parses,  ouvrage  contenant  le  Texte  Zend,  expliquant 
 pour  la  premiere  fois  les  variantes  des  quatre  manu- 
 scrits  de  la  Bibliotheque  Royale  et  la  Version  Sanscrite 
 inedite  de  Neriosengh.     Vol.  ii.      1833. 
 
 88.  Dr.  "Wilson's  Parsee  Religion. 
 
 8^  La  Perse,  ou  Tableau  de  I'Histoire  du  Gouvernempnt  et  de 
 la  Litterature  de  cet  Empire,  par  A.  Jourdain.  Vol.  v. 
 1814. 
 
APPENDIX.  813 
 
 90.  Researches  into  the    nature   and    affinity  'of  Ancient  unci 
 
 Hindoo  Mythology.     By  Vans  Kennedy. 
 
 91.  Shia's  Translation  of  Mirkhund's  History  of  the  Early  Kings 
 
 of  Persia,  from   Kayumars   to  the  Conquest  of  Iran  by 
 Alexander  the  Great. 
 9:3.  Indische  Eibliothek,  von  Schlegel. 
 
 93.  British  Empire  in  the  East.     By  Count  Bjornstjerna. 
 
 94.  A  Key  to  the  Chronology  of  the  Hindoos.     Vol.  ii. 
 
 95.  Ueber  die    Sprache    und  Weisheit    der    Indier,   von    Prof. 
 
 Schlegel. 
 
 96.  A  View  of  the  History,   Literature,  and  Mythology  of  the 
 
 Hindoos.     Vol.  iii.     Rev.  Mr.  Ward. 
 
 97.  Major  Moor's  Hindoo  Pantheon. 
 
 98.  Vyasa  iiber  die  Philosophic,  Mythologie,  und  Litteratur  der 
 
 Hindus.     Von  Frank. 
 
 99.  Prank's  Vedanta  Sara,  die  Philosophie  der  Hindus. 
 
 100.  Vedanta  System.     By  General  Vans  Kennedy. 
 
 101.  Marshman's  Indian  History. 
 
 102.  Vishnoo  Purana.     Translated  by  Prof.  Wilson. 
 
 103.  Prof.  Wilson's  Indian  Sects. 
 
 104.  Dr.  Wilson's  Exposure  of  Hinduism.     Pamphlet. 
 
 105.  Mundy's  Christianity  and  Hinduism  contrasted. 
 
 106.  Ramayana,  id  est.  Carmen  Epicuna  de  Ramte  Rebus  gestis 
 
 Poetse,  Antiquissimi  Valmicis   opus.     Aug.  G,  Schlegel. 
 Vol.  ii. 
 
 107.  Transactions   of  the  Literary  Society;  Bombay  Branch  of 
 
 the  Royal  Asiatic  Society. 
 
 108.  Asiatic  Researches,  or  Transactions  of  the  Society  instituted 
 
 in  Bengal  for  inquiry  into  the  History  and  Antiquities, 
 the  Arts,  Sciences,  and  Literature  of  Asia. 
 
 109.  The  Oriental  Christian  Spectator.     Bombay. 
 
 110.  The  Calcutta  Review. 
 
 111.  Madras  Journal  of  Literature  and  Science. 
 
 112.  Coleman's  Mythology  of  the  Hindoos.      1832. 
 
 113.  Deen  Hayke  Jaquiq.     Prize  Essay. 
 
314  APPENDIX. 
 
 114.  Robertson's  Historical  Disquisition   concerning  the   Know- 
 
 ledge Avhich  the  Ancients  had  of  India. 
 
 115.  Easier  Missions  Magazin. 
 
 116.  Ancient  Egypt.     By  G.  R.  Gliddon.     1843. 
 
 117.  Pope's  Ardai  Viraf  Nameh. 
 
 118.  Sanhita  from  the  Rigved.     By  Dr.  Stevenson. 
 
 119.  Hodgson's  Illustration  of  the  Literature  and  Religion  of  the 
 
 Buddhists  at  Nepaul. 
 
 120.  Buddhism.     By  a  Buddhist  of  Ceylon. 
 
 121.  Klaproth's  AVorks  on  Buddhism. 
 
 122.  Upham's  Sacred  and  Historical  Books  of  Ceylon  :  in  vol.  iii. 
 
 123.  Tournour's  Mahavansa,  with  Introduction. 
 
 124.  Franklin's  Researches  on  the  Tenets  and  Doctrines  of  the 
 
 Joins  and    Buddhists,    conjectured    to    be    Brahmins  of 
 Ancient  India.     1827. 
 
 125.  Ramohun  Roy's  Writings,  and  Translation  of  parts   of  the 
 
 Vedas. 
 
 126.  Mackintosh's  Hill  Tribes  of  India. 
 
 127.  Reynold's  Thugs  of  India. 
 
 128.  Dr.  Duff's  India  and  Indian  Missions. 
 
 129.  Translation  of  the  Sanhita  of  the  Samaved.     By  the  Rev. 
 
 Dr.  Stevenson. 
 
 130.  Dubois's  Description  of  the  Character,  Manners,  and  Cus- 
 
 toms of  the   People   of  India,  and  of  their  Institutions, 
 Religious  and  Civil. 
 
 131.  Translation  of  the  Bhagavadgita.     By  G.  A.  Schlegel. 
 
 132.  Nalus,   Carmen   Sanscritum  e  Mahabharato    edidit,  Latine 
 
 vertit  et  adnotationibus  illustravit.     Prof.  Fr.  Bopp. 
 
 133.  Bishop  Heber's  Journal.    Vol.  ii. 
 
 134.  Translations  of  Manoo  into  English  and  French. 
 
 135.  Townley's  Answer  to  the  Letters  of  Abbe  Dubois,  on  the 
 
 state  of  Christianity  in  India.   1824. 
 
 136.  On  the  Intermixture  of  Buddhism  with  Brahmanism  in  the 
 
 Religion   of  the  Hindoos  in  the   Dekkan.      A  pamphlet 
 by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stevenson. 
 
APPENDIX.  315 
 
 137.  Ante-Braliminical  Worship  of  the  Hindoos  in  tlie  Dekkan. 
 
 A  pamphlet  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stevenson. 
 
 138.  An  Account  of  the  Buddo-Vaishnavas,  or  Vithal-Bhaktas, 
 
 in  the  Dekkan.  A  pamphlet  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stevenson. 
 
 139.  The  Nestorians  ;  by  Dr.  Grant. 
 
 140.  Bruce's  Travels.    Vol.  vi. 
 
 141.  Statistics  of  the  Western  Coast  of  India,  by  Major  T.  B. 
 
 Jervis. 
 
 142.  Dr.  Wilson's  Second  Exposure  of  Hinduism.  A  pamphlet. 
 
 1832. 
 
 143.  Topography  of  Thebes,   and  general  view  of  Egypt,  by  Sir 
 
 Gardner  Wilkinson. 
 
 144.  Burckhardt's  Travels  in  Arabia.    Vol.  ii. 
 
 145.  Dissertation  on  the  Languages,  Literature,  and  Manners  of 
 
 Eastern  Nations,  by  J.  Richardson.     180G. 
 
 146.  Mohammedanism  Unveiled;  by  the  Rev.  Mr,  Forster  :  in 
 
 vol.  ii. 
 
 147.  H.  Martyn's  Persian  Controversy,  by  Prof .  Lee. 
 
 148.  Relandus,  de  Relig.  Muhammedica. 
 
 149.  Sale's  Koran. 
 
 150.  The  Koran  Translated  and  Refuted  by  Lud.  Marraci.    Folio. 
 
 151.  Mohamniedanismus,  von  D.  A.  Wiesner. 
 
 152.  Church  Missionary  Register. 
 
 153.  Life  of  Mohammed,  by  the  Rev.  G.  Bush. 
 
 154.  Pfander's  Nature  of  Mohammedanism.   A  pamphlet. 
 
 155.  Taylor's  History  of  Mohammedanism,  and  its  Sects. 
 
 156.  Biographies  of  Moslem  Monarchs,  during  the  First  Seven 
 
 Centuries  of  the  Hedgira. 
 
 157.  Mill's  History  of  Mohammedanism.    1818. 
 
 158.  Morgan's  Mohammedanism.    1723. 
 
 159.  Kanon-e-lslam ;    comprising  a  full  account  of  their  Cere- 
 
 monies from  birth  to  death,  by  Jaffar  Sheriff.    1832. 
 
 1 60.  Neale's    Mohammedan   System    of  Theology ;    or,    a   com- 
 
 pendious survey  of  the  History  and  Doctrines  of  Islamism, 
 contrasted  with  Christianity.     1828. 
 
316  APPENDIX. 
 
 161.  Pitt's  Account  of  the  Religion  and  Manners  of  the  Moham- 
 
 medans.   1731. 
 
 162.  Pocockii  Specimen  Historise  Arabum,  sive   Gregorii  Abul 
 
 Faragii  Malatiensis  de  origine  et  moribus  Arabum.   1650. 
 
 163.  Ramussen  Historia  prsecipuorum  Arabum  reguorum,  rerum- 
 
 que  ab  iis  gestarum  ante  Islamismum.    1817. 
 
 164.  Boulainvillier's  Life  of  Mohammed.    1743. 
 
 165.  Pocockii    Specimum    Arabum    Histoi'iae,    accessit    historia 
 
 veterum  Arabum  ex  Abul  Feda.    1806. 
 
 166.  Prize  Essay  towards  the  History  of  Arabia,  antecedent  to 
 
 the  birth  of  Mohammed.    1824. 
 
 167.  Dialogue  between   Mohammed  and   a  Jew  ;  translated  by 
 
 Mr.  Davis.     1847. 
 
 168.  Cory's  Mythological  Inquiry. 
 
 169.  Second  Advent,  by  the  Rev.  H.  White. 
 
 170.  Mushet  on  the  Trinity  of  the  Ancients. 
 
 171.  Couleurs  Symboliques,  par  M.  Portal.    1840. 
 
 172.  Misan   el   Hakk  ;  by  the  Rev.  Mr.   Pfander.     In  Persian 
 
 and  Hindustani. 
 
 173.  Spence's  Polymetis.    Folio. 
 
 174.  Banier's  Heathen  Mythology.    4  Volumes. 
 
 175.  Andrew  Tooke's  Pantheon. 
 
 176.  Die  Pieligionen  aller  Vcilker  in  Philosophischer  Darstellung 
 
 von  Kraft.    1848. 
 
 177.  Das  Wesen  der  Religion,  von  C.  Schwarz.    1848. 
 
 178.  Populare  Gotterlehre,  leichtfassliche  Darstelling  der  Mytho- 
 
 logie  der  Aegypter,    Griechen    und    Romer,    von    F.   C. 
 Schall.    1848.    Gottingen. 
 
 179.  Chr.   Lassen's   Indische  Alterthumskunde.    Vol.  ii.    1848. 
 
 Bonn. 
 
 180.  Ciceronis  de  Natura  Deorum. 
 
 181.  Ancient  Fragments  ;  containing  what  remains  of  the  writ- 
 
 ings  of  Sanchoniatho,   Berosus,  Abydenus,  Megasthenes, 
 Manetho,  &c.  ;  by  Cory. 
 
 182.  Francolin's  Grundziige  der  Religionslehre. 
 
APPENDIX.  317 
 
 183.   Kaut's    Vorlesungen    liber    die    philosophische    Religions- 
 
 lehre. 
 18-1-.   Schmidt's  Forschingen  ini  Gebiete  der  aelteren  religiosen, 
 
 politischen,  und  literarischen  Bildungsgeschichte  der  Vol- 
 
 ker  von  Mittel  Asian. 
 
 1 85.  Mede's  Apostasy  of  tlie  Latter  Days. 
 
 186.  Deutiiche    und  gedrjingte   Uebersiclit   liber  die   Glaubens- 
 
 lebre  Schleiermacliers.     18.36. 
 
 187.  Philosopliie  und  Christenthum,  von  Rust. 
 
 188.  Apologie  des  Cbristenthums,  in  Briefen  an  gebildete  Laser; 
 
 von  Oberconsistorialrath  und  Hof  Kaplan  Stirm. 
 
 189.  H.  J.   Schmitt's  LTrofFenbarung  nachgevviesen  in  den  Sagen 
 
 und  Urkunden  der   altesten   Volker,   vorzUglich  in    den 
 Biichern  der  Chinesen.    18.34. 
 
 190.  Symbolik   des  Mosaischen  Cultus,  von  Dr.  Bahr.     2  Bande. 
 
 1837. 
 
 191.  Pantheum  der  altesten  Naturphilosophie,  die  Religion  aller 
 
 Volker,  von  J.  A.  Kanne.      1811. 
 
 192.  Ueber  die  Religion,  ihr  Wesen,  ihre  Erscheinung,sformen, 
 
 und   ihren  Einfluss  auf  das  Leben,      Professor  W.  M.  L. 
 de  Wette.     1827. 
 
 193.  Religio  Gentium  Arcana,  von  F.  E.  PufFendorf.     1773. 
 
 194.  Erste  Urkunden  der  Gescliichte,  oder  allgemeine  Mythologie, 
 
 von  J.  Arnold  Kanne.     Vol.  ii.     1808. 
 
 195.  Ueber  den  Buddbaismus  in    Kochasien  und  in  China,  von 
 
 Wilhelm  Schott.      1846. 
 
 196.  Ueber  den   BegrifF,  die  Behandlung  und  die  Quellen    der 
 
 Mythologie.     Professor  Weisse.      1828. 
 
 197.  Fides,  von  J.  Peter  Gerlach.     Vol.  ii.     1830. 
 
 198.  Deutsche  Mythologie,  von  Jacob  Grimm.     Vol.  ii.      1844. 
 
 199.  Die  Wissenschaft  des  Slawischen  My  thus,   von   Dr.  Ignaz 
 
 Johann  Hanusch.     1842. 
 
 200.  Ghillany,  die  Menschenopfer  der  alten  Hebraer.     1842. 
 
 201.  Der  Fouer  und  Molochdienst  der  alten  Hebraer,  von  Daumer. 
 
318  APPENDIX. 
 
 202.  Die  Phonizier,  von  Dr.  F.  C.  Movers.      1841. 
 
 203.  Urgescliichte  xind   Mythologie   der  Philistaer,  von  Prof.  F. 
 
 Hitzig.     1845. 
 
 204.  Die  Philosophie  im  Fortgang  der  Weltgeschiclite,  von  Win- 
 
 dischmann.     1829. 
 
 205.  Vergleichende  Darstellung  der  Indisch-Persiscli  und  Chi- 
 
 nesischen  Religionssysteme,  von  Dr.  J.  C.  Kroger.      1842. 
 20G.  Thieme's  Grundlinien  zu  einer   Geschichte    aller  positiven 
 Religionen.    1803. 
 
 207.  R.  Nyerups'  Worterbucli  der  Skandinavischen  Mythologie. 
 
 1816. 
 
 208.  Beytrage  zur  Alterthumskunde,  von  J.  G.  Rhode. 
 
 209.  Die  Chinesische   Reichsreligion  und  die  Systeme  der  Indi- 
 
 schen  Philosophie,  von  P.  F.  Stuhr.      1835. 
 
 210.  Geschichte  der  Meinungen  alterer  und  neuerer  Volker  von 
 
 Gott,   Religion  und  Priesterthum,  von  J.  G.  Lindemann. 
 1788.     Vol  V. 
 
 211.  Die  Gotter  Syrians,  von  F.  Korn. 
 
 212.  Ideen  zur  Kunst  Mythologie,  von  C.  A.  Bottiger.     Vol.  ii. 
 
 213.  Geschichte  und    Kritik  des   Mysticismus    aller   bekannten 
 
 Volker  und  Zeiten,  von  J.  Ch.  Aug.  Heinroth. 
 
 214.  ReligionsbegrifF  der  Alten,  von  Prof.  Nitzsch. 
 
 215.  Rossseus  de  Religionibus  Mundi. 
 
 216.  Inquiries  touching  the  Diversity  of  Languages  and   Reli- 
 
 gions through  the  chief  parts  of  the  World.     By  Edward- 
 Brerewood.     1635. 
 
 217.  Neumeyer's  Versuch  einer  Religionsgeschichte.     1747. 
 
 218.  Meiner's  Grundriss  der  Geschichte  aller  Religionen.      1787. 
 
 219.  Judenthum  und  Heidenthum,  von   J.  W.  R.  Dr.  Chlebus. 
 
 1846. 
 
 220.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Symbolical  Language  of  Ancient  Art 
 
 and  Mythology.     Payne  Knight.      1818. 
 
 221.  Wagner's   Ideen  zu  einer  allgemeinen  Mythologie  der  alten 
 
 Welt.     1818. 
 
APPENDIX.  319 
 
 222.  Das  Wesen  unci  die  sittlichen  Einfliisse  des   Heiuenthunis 
 
 von  dem  Standtpunkte  des  Christenthuras  aus  betrachtet, 
 von  Prof.  Tholuck. 
 
 223.  Das  Verlialtniss  der  christlichen  Theologie   zur  Philosophie 
 
 iind  Mythologie,  von  Stuhr.     1842. 
 
 224.  Nordische  Mythologie,  von  Dittmar.     1 848. 
 
 225.  Missionsfragen,  von  Prof.  Hoffmann. 
 
 226.  Missionsstunden,  von  Prof.  Hoffmann. 
 
 227.  Die   Heilige   Sage  und  das  gesammte  Religionssystem  der 
 
 alten  Baktrier,    Meder,  und  Perser,  oder  des  Zendvolkes, 
 von  Prof.  J.  G.  Rhode.     1820. 
 
 228.  Gcschichte  der  Philosophie,  von  Prof.  Rotlie. 
 
 229.  Cudworth,  Systema  Intellecfcuale. 
 
 2.30.  Harless  da  Supranaturalismo  gentilium. 
 
 231.  Pfanner  Theologia  Gentilium. 
 
 232.  Salisbury's  History  of  Buddhism. 
 
 233.  Das  alte  Indien  und  Aegypten,  von  v.  Bohlen. 
 
 234.  K.  0.   Miiller.      Prolegomena    zu    einer   wissenschaftlichen 
 
 Mythologie. 
 
 235.  Hugh    Farmer's    General    Prevalence    of   the    Worship    of 
 
 Human  Spirits  in  the  ancient  Religions.    London.    1783. 
 
 236.  Ritter's  Vorhalle  der  Europaischen  Volkergeschichte. 
 
 237.  Romany's  System  der  natlirlichen  Theologie. 
 
 238.  Ueber  die  Schiksale  der  Seelenwanderungs  Hypothese  bey 
 
 verschiedenen  Volkern.     1791. 
 
 239.  White's   Lectures  on  Comparison  of  Mohammedanism  and 
 
 Christianity,  in   their    History,     Evidence,    and    Effects. 
 London.     1811. 
 
 240.  Tholuck's  Vermischte  Schriften.     Vol.  ii. 
 
 241.  Verwandschaft  des  Christenthums  mit  dem  Parsismus ;  in 
 
 den  Thcologischen  Studien  und  Kritikcn. 
 
 242.  Geiger's  Preisschrift :  Was  hat  Mohammed  aus  dem  Juden- 
 
 thum  genommen  1 
 
 243.  Christologie  des  Koran,  von  Prof.  Gerock.      1839. 
 
 244.  Tholuck's  spekulative  Trinitiitslehre. 
 
320  APPENDIX. 
 
 245.  Ed.  Ryan's  History  of  the  Effects  of  Religion  on  Mankind. 
 
 24G.  Der  Mohammedanismus,  von  Prof.  Vfeis. 
 
 247.  Muliarameds  Religion,  von  H.  11.  Cludius.     1809. 
 
 248.  Historisch-kritische  Einleitung  in   den   Koran,  von  Dr.  G. 
 
 Weil.     1844. 
 
 249.  Muhammed  der  Prophet ;    sein  Leben  und  seine  Lehre,  von 
 
 Dr.  G.Weil.      1843. 
 
 250.  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico.     Vol.  ii.     By  W.  H. 
 
 Prescott. 
 
 THE   END. 
 
 S.  CLAY,    PRINTER,    BKEAD    STREET    HILL.