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1 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINHRY , |
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1 BY 1 |
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JVIfs. Ale3iander Proudfit. |
SUCCINCT ACCOUNT
O F ALL TVS
RELIGIONS,
AND VARIOUS
SECTS IN RELIGION,
That have prevailed in the World,.
IN ALL NATIONS AND ALL AGES,
From the earlieft Account of Time to the prefent Period.
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT
OF ALL THE
RE L I G I O N S,
AND V ARI OUS
SECTS IN RELIGION,
That have prevailed in the World,
IN ALL NATIONS, AND IN ALL AGES,
From the earliell Account of Time, to the prefent Period, from th« molt indilputable Tradition j
SHEWING SOME OF THEIR GROSS ABSURDITIES, SHOCKING IMPIETIES, AND RIDICULOUS INCONSISTENCES}
EXTRACTED
From Ancient and iMoDERN History,
And fome of the moft Illuftrious Philofophers s
SUCH AS
HERODOTUS, ] PLINY, \ SIR ISAAC NEWTON.
EUSEBIUS, I PLUTARCH, J MR. LOCKE,
LIVy, 1 JOSEPH US, 1 &ci &c. &c.
WITH A COPIOUS INDEX.
A Hiftory fo replete with an almoft incredible diverfity of Sentiments and Opinions, as cannot fail to excite in the Mind WonJer and Aftonifliment, while it affords a no le^s pleafuig Entertainment.
v' BY WILLIAM HECKFORD, Esc^
And if it fcem Evil unto you to ferve the Lord, choofe you this day whom you will ferve, w.iecher the Gods which your Fathers ferved, that were oa the other Side of ths Flood, or the Gods of the Amoritcs, in whofe Land yc dwell : but as for me and my Houfe, we will ferve th- Lord.
Joshua, chi xxiv, ver. 15, fear God and keep his Commandments : for this is the whole Duty of Man.
EccLEsiASTES, ch. xii.ver, 13.
LONDON: PRINTED FOR WILLIAM LANE,
AT THE
SOinaba IPrcG?,
LEADENHALL STREET*
^ M DCC XCl.
PREFACE.
History is generally allowed by all dif- tinguiihed writers, to be the moft inftruding and ufeful branch of literature, and as no work of this kind (divefted of all extraneous matter) has ever appeared in this fhape, it cannot fail to render the enfuing pages en- tertaining to a curious and inquifitive mind, and needs little further apology to the reader.
The many glaring abfurdities, and fhock-
ing impieties to be met with in the courfe
a of
ii PREFACE.
of the following hiftory, among the ancient Seds in Religion, in diflant and remote parts of the world, among the rude Barbarians, in that dark and unenlightened age, when a blind ignorance prevailed in their untutored mind, joined with a mixture of enthufiafm ^nd fuperflition, involved in idolatry, wick-^ ednefs, and immorality, the natural confe- quence of that ignorance which then over- fpread the face of the earth. It is lefs (I fay) to be wondered at, when we read in hiflory of whole nations degrading human nature into that of beafts. The Cynics laying afide all the natural reftraints of fliame and mo- defty, commit their unnatural luils openly, *One of our greatefl philofophers maintaining the dodrine of men having their wives in common : and -f- another teaching the woril of incefl, that of fathers with their daughters, and the Stoicks affirming that no word or f|)eech of any kind, ought to be cenfured or
* Plato. t Chiyfippns.
avoided
PREFACE
lU
avoided as filthy or obfcene. And J another great writer tells us of the philofophers of his time : that the mod: notorious vices w^ere fcreened under the fpecious vail of religion, and that they did not labour to maintain the character of philofophers, by any virtuous a6tions, or modeft deportment, but con- cealed their vicious lives, under an auftere countenance, and a habit different from the reft of the worlds
It may not be amifs, by way of preface, to take a fummary view, in a moft concife manner, of all the prevailing religions in the worldf which, in the enfuing pages, are fo accurately delineated, and which conilitute the fubjed: of the following work. In order to which I fhall divide them into four parts, and fpeak firll of
EUROPE,
IN Great Britain and Ireland, and the a 2 territories
J QuiniUUan,
^v PREFACE.
territories thereunto belonging, the Refor-» med Rehgion is univerfally eftabhfhed, and in England and Ireland, the Epifcopal go- vernment is obferved ^ but in Scotland, Prel- bytery ; though in all, there is the indul- gence of other perfuafions publicly allowed. The Inquifiticn has fo great an influence in Italy, and thofe Ifles, that no Heretics arc publicly allowed to dwell there, and all of them are called fo, who difown the Pope for their head, and refufe to fubmit to ail the fuperftitions of the church of Rome ; only fome Jews are tolerated, and for which they pay a tribute to the Pope, throughout the ecclefiaflical territories j the Venetians tolerate no Jews ; in Naples, a few profelTors of the religion of the Greek church are allowed : Sicily, Sardinia, and Malta, permit no profcllion but that of the Roman Catholics : Dalmatia is partly pof- feiTed by the Venetians, and partly by the Turks ; the Republic of Ragufa pay tribute
to
PREFACE. *
to the Turks, but are of the Romifh church, and have an archbifliop of their own : the lilanders of Corfu, though fubjeft to the Ve- netians, are of the Greek church : the ifle of Candia is under the dominion of the Turks, but befides Mahometans, there are Roman Cathohcs, Greeks, and Jews, who pay tribute for their hberty. In Spain and Portugal the Inquifition is fo rigid, that none but Romaniils are tolerated. In France they are univerfally Romanifts, and alfo in all thofe parts of the Netherlands that belong to France or Spain. In the flates of Hoi- and, the Reformed Religion, following Cal- vin, is mofl univerfal, though all other opi- nions are tolerated, whether, Jews, Papills, or Lutherans, only the Papifts are not al- lowed the open and public exercife of their religion, but the others are allowed to build fynagogues, churches, &c. At Geneva the Reformed Religion is general. Of the Thir- teen Swifs Cantons, five are Romaniils, the
a 3 others
1^1 P R E F A C E;
Others either Calvinifts or Zuinglians, and in moft a mixture of Ramanifts and Reformed. Germany has almoft as many profeflbrs as there are princes, ftates, and free cities ; but the Emperor is a Roman Catholic, but Lu^ theranifm is moil countenanced by authority: Calvinifm is the moft profeiTed in the Pala- tinates, in the country of HefTe, the dutchy ©f Wirtembourg, and the Hans towns ; Hun- gary is partly Roman Catholics, and partly Lutherans, and a great number of Arians : Poland is generally Catholics, excepting in Lower Poland, where there are fome Pro- teftants : and in the provinces bordering upon Hungary, Moravia, and Silefia, and thofe advancing towards the fouth and Le- vant, are generally of the Greek church : Tranfilvania has all forts, but feweft of the Romanifts : Swedeland and Denmark are commonly ftiled Lutherans. The Mufco- vites follow the Greek church, and though they have a patriarch at Mofcov/, yet they 6 acknow-
PREFACE.
Vil
acknowledge the church of Coftftantinople ^ thofe upon the frontiers of Mufcovy circum- cife hke the Jews and Turks, though in other circumftances they are not of their re- ligion, nor are they profefTed Chriftians or idolaters, but live according to the laws of" nature, and worfhip one God, Creator of thd World, Crim Tartary profeffes Mahometan nifm, there are alfo among them, fome Jews and Roman Catholics, to whom they give toleration, upon their paying tribute. Tur- key generally profefTes Mahometanifm, but Jews and Chriftians are tolerated in many places, particularly thofe of the Greek churchy who have a patriarch at Conftantinople*
I now proceed regularly to ASIA.
IN Turkifh Afia Mahometanifm is up- permoft, though other opinions are tolerated ;
the
Viii 1P R E E A C E.
the Greeks have two patriarchs here, one at Antioch, the other at Jerufalem ; in this empire principally are thofe called Arminians, Georgians, Neftorians, Jacobites, and Ma- ronites (all treated of hereafter), there are alfo fome Roman Catholics, Sabeans, Cop- tes, and a great number of Jews ; the Ro- man Catholics are for the moft part French and Venetian merchants, who are affifled by the Francifcan monks, whofe common re- fidence is at Jerufalem and Bethlehem. In Periia, Mahometanifm, according to the Sedt of Ali, is the national religion, but all Grangers have liberty of confcience : fo that there are all forts of Chriftians, Jews, Ba- nions, and other idolaters. Arabia is fub- jed: to the Grand Signior, and Mahometan princes, who permit Chriftians to live there, who have built a famous monaftery upon Mount Sinai, poilelTed by the religious Greeks of the order of St. Bafil. The em- pire of Mogul, in India, is fubjed to a Ma- hometan
PREFACE. ix
hometan prince, of the fedl of All : In this dominion there are many idolatrous heathens, and alfo fome Roman CathoHcs, Jews, and Abyffines, all nations and opinions being to- lerated. The Peninfula of Indies on this fide the gulf of Bengal, comprehends many king- doms, but moft of them heathen idolaters : but the ifland of Goa, belongs to the Portu- guefe, who have divers churches and monaf- teries in it : the archbifhop of this ifle hath under him all the bifhops of the Eafl Indies, and here the Inquifition exercifes its tyranny againft all that they call apoilates : but Ar- minians, Jews, Moors, and Banyans, are fuffered to live there, according to their re- ligion, befides Arabs, Periians, and Abyf- fmes, who partly follow Chriftianity, and partly the Moorifh Mahometanifm, the people of Calecut generally believe in God, The kingdom of Narlingua pradtifes the fame fuperflitions, and have abundance of Pagods and Temples built in honour of their
demons ;
3C PREFACE.
demons ; the king of Golconda follows the religion of the Perlians, but the people are grofs idolaters : the main land of India, be- yond the Ganges, is poiTefTed by divers ido- latrous princes : the peninfula of the fame Indus, on the eafl fide of the gulf, is alfo a country where they worfliip idols and falfe gods. The king of Siam permits the exer- cife of all forts of religion, and fhews parti- cular marks of eileem to Chriftianity : The peninfula of Melaca is dependant upon Siam, but the greateft part of it is poiTefTed by the Hollanders, who grant liberty of confcience to all merchants trading among them : thers are many Roman Catholics in the kingdom of Tonquin and Lao, where the Jefuits preach : the people of Pegu are fo addid:ed to idolatry, that all attempts of converting them to Chriftianity have hitherto proved fruitlefs : the Chinefe are idolaters, but Chriftianity is tolerated among them, and the Jefuits have divers churches there ; there are
alfo
PREFACE.
XI
alfo a great number of Jews, who have their fynagogues by the permiiTion of the emperor of China : Tartary is fubje(5t to divers prin- ces, the chief of whom is the great Cham, fome of the fovereigns are Mahometans, others are Pagans and Idolaters : There are alfo Neftorians and Jews, butfuch as obferve but little of the law of Mofes ; idolatry reigns in Japan, and iince the perfecution in 1630, theChriftians have had no church in that coun- try, though they formerly had ; the Phillipine iflands belong to the king of Spain, who gives liberty of confcience to all thofe of the coun- try, who are idolaters, and to divers Indian Chinefes. The iflands of Java and Sumatra, are inhabited by people addid:ed to idolatry; there are alfo mixed with them Mahome- tans and Chriflians. The Hollanders are very potent in the iile of Java, wherein they have Batavia ; the natives of Cevlon are idolaters, but there are many Mahometans and Chriilians among them 3 the Dutch
pofleffing
xu PREFACE.
pofleffing many [cities there ; the ifle of Cy- prus is under the dominion of the Turks^ but both the Latin and Greek Chriflians live there without moleftation, as do alfo the Ar- minians, Coptes, and all forts of fedls, pay- ing only a tribute for their liberty.
The next quarter of the world is AFRICA.
THE people of Nabia have a mixture of the Chriftian ceremonies, with thofe of Ju- daifm and Mahometanifm. The Abyffines are the purefl: of all the Oriental Chriflians -, Heathen Idolatry is the ancient religion of Mcnomotapa, but the Jefuits have intro- duced Chriflianity in many places. Barbary is inhabited by Moors, Turks, and Arabs, who are Mahometans ; fome places are polTefled by the Engiifh, Spaniards, and Portuguefe ; there are fome towns where the
infidels
PREFACE. xiii
infidels fuffer the Chriilians and Jews the ex- ercifc of their religion upon paying tribute. The chief religion of Egypt is the Maho- metan, obferved by the Turks, Moors, and Arabs (as it is accurately defcribed in the following work). The Chriftian Coptes have their churches, and the Jews their fy^ nagogues; the people of Zanguebar, and on the coaft of Abex are Mahometans : but the Portuguefe, who have fome places in Zanguebar, have there introduced Chrifti- anity : there are alfo Jews and Idolaters , the natives of the ifle of Madagafcar believe there is one God, creator of heaven and earth, but they alfo worfhip an evil fpirit. The French who are eftablifhed there, endeavour to bring: them over to Chriftianity ; Cafraria is peo- pled with idolaters, the Hollanders having only two forts towards the Cape of Good Hope, and the Portuguefe, a caftle in the kingdom of Sophala ; there are many idola- ters in the kingdom of Congo, fome Ma- hometans,
XlV
PREFACE.
hommetans, and divers Chriftians, particu- larly ill the province of Angola, of vi^hich the Portuguefe are mailers. The Guineans wor- fhip idols, but the Englifh, Hollanders, and Danes, pofTefs fome places upon that coaft, and the Portuguefe have habitations in the country, where they endeavour to introduce chriflianity. The negroes mix with their idolatry fome ceremonies of Mahometanifm. The laft I have to fpeak of are the pre- vailing religions in America, before our un-« happy divifions and fatal feparation.
AMERICA.
CANADA, or new France, is peopled with Roman Catholics, the greatefl part of the country, being fubjed: to the king of France : New England, New Holland, and New Swedeland, are colonies of the refpec- tive nations whofe name they bear, and pro- fcfs their own religion. The favages have
fcarce
PREFACE.
XV
fcarce any religion at all, except thofe who converfe with the Europeans : the Englifh have divers places in Virginia; the natives believe there are many Gods of different or- ders, who depend upon one chief, who is their fovereign, and hath been fo from eter- nity ; they efteem the fun, moon, and ftars, as demi gods : the Salvages of Florida are idolaters, and worfhip the fun and moon, but the Spaniards and Englifh having feveral colonies there, have introduced Chriflianity in many places ; Mexico or New Spain, is well peopled with Roman Catholics, where there is an archbifhop, and divers bifhops ; the Spaniards are alfo mafl:ers of New Cafcile, where they have introduced the Popidi re- ligion : the Mountaineers of this country are ftill idolaters, worfliipping the fun and moon as their principal divinities, fuppoiing them to be man and wife : the Caribbee illands, and natives of Guinea, adore idols, and fame among them believe the immortality of
the
xvi PREFACE.
the foul ; the inhabitants of the country of the Amazons are idolaters, but the Portu- guefe have a fine city there, called San Sal- vadore, where is an archbifhop's fee ; the Salvages are daily converted to Chriftianity.
The Spaniards have divers places there, and a town called L'Aifumption, which is both a bifhop's fee, and has alfo a college of Jefuits : there are feveral feminaries eflab- liihed on purpofe to convert thofe natives, who of themfelves have little or no religion. The Roman Catholic religion is eftablifhed in Peru, which belongs to the king of Spain : there is an archbifhop at Lyma, fo that ido- latry is almoft rooted out from among the natives of America.
To conclude —The author, or editor, (call him which you pleafe) of the following work, claims little more merit than what is derived from a general reading, and is the fruit pluck- ed from every branch of hiftory, ancient and
mgdern.
INTROr.
INI^RODUCTION,
IN WHICH ARE INTERSPERSED
SOME BEAUTIFUL EXTRACTS
T ROJ«
Sir Ifaac Newton, Mr. Locke, and other illuftrious Philofophers.
God, fays the Holy Apoftle St. John, * is a Spirit, and they that worfhip him, muft worfliip him in Spirit and in Truth. Ta define him agreeable to the fentiments of Sir Ifaac Newton, Mr. Locke, and other dif-
b tinguifhed
* St. John, chap. iv. ver. 24.
xvlii INTRODUCTION.
tlnguiflied philofophers. He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omnifcient ; that is, he endures from eternity to eternity, and is prefent from infinity to infinity. He governs all things that exift, and knows all things. He is not eternity, or infinity, but eternal and infinite. He is not duration and fpace, but he endures and is prefent, he endures al- ways, and is prefent every where, confli- tutes the very things we call duration and ipace, eternity and infinity. He is omni- prefent, not only virtually fo, but fubflan- tially : for power without fubflance cannot fubfift. We know him only by his proper- ties or attributes, by the moffc wife and ex- cellent ftrud:ure of things, and by final cau- fes : but we adore and worfhip him, on ac- count of his dominion over us. The admi- rable and beautiful ftrudture of things, for final caufes exalt our ideas of the contriver : the unity of the defign {hews him to be one. The great motions in the fyflem performed
with
INTRODUCTION. x\x
with the fame facility as the leaft, fuggeft his Almighty power, which gave motion to the eacth, and the celeftial bodies with equal eafe as to the minuteft particles. The fim- plicity of the laws that prevail in the world, the excellent difpofition of things, in order to obtain the beft ends, and the beauty that adorns the works of nature, far fuperior to any thing in art, fuggefl: his confummate wifdom. The ufefulnefs of the whole fcheme fo Well contrived, for the intelligent beings that enjoy it, with the internal difpolitions, and moral flrudlure of thofe beings them- felves, fhews his unbounded goodnefs. He is not the objedt of fenfe ; his effence, and indeed that of all other fubftances, is beyond the reach of our difcoveries, but his attri- butes clearly appear in his admirable works. We know that the higheft conceptions we are able to form of them, are flill beneath his real perfe(flions : but his power and domi* nion over us, and our duty to him are ma- b 2 nifefl :
yi% INTRODUCTION,
pifeft : His attributes may puzzle our un- derflanding, without fhaking our faith.
Whatever God has revealed is certainly true, confequcntly whatever is divine reve- lation, fays an ingenious writer, * ought to over-rule all our opinions, prejudices, and in- terefts, and has a right to be received with full alTent : and fuch a fubmiffion as this of our reafon to Jaithy takes not away the land- marks of knowledge. The grounds of a ra^ tional faith, fays the fame learned author, are, iirfl, that the things revealed are not contrary to, though they may be above na- tural reafon. Secondly, That the revealer be well acquainted with the things he reveals. Thirdly, That he be above all fufpicion of deceiving us. Where thefe criterions are found, no reafonable perfon will deny his affent 3 thus, we may fis v/ell doubt of our .exiilence, as of the truth of a revelation coming from God, who, can neither be de- ceived
* Locke on Human Underftanding.
INTRODUCTION. xxi
ceived himfelf, nor deceive others, by pro- pofing things to be believed, that are con- tradicflory to the faculties he has given us. Whatever proportions therefore are beyond reafon, but not contrary to it, are, when re- vealed, the proper matter of faith.
I proceed now to the worfliip and homage, which is due to the Supreme Being, con- Udered as our creator, preferver, and mofl bounteful benefactor -, and fhall make ufe of the arguments laid down by the aforemen- tioned great philofophers.
As our afFe(5tions depend on our opinions of their objedls, it feems to be among the iirfl: duties we owe to the author of our Being, to form the leaffc imperfect, fmce we cannot form perfed, conceptions of his charader and adminiftration : for fuch conceptions will render our religion rational, and our difpo- litions refined. If our opinions are diminu- tive
%di INTRODUCTION.
tive and diftorted, our religion will be fuper- flitious, and our temper abje(5t. Thus if we afcribe to the Deity that falfe majefty which confifts in the unbenevolent and ful- len exercife of mere will or power, or fup- pofe him to delight in the poftrations of fer- vile fear, or as fervile praife, he will be wor- fhipped with mean adulation, and a profu- fion of compliments. If he be looked upon as a .{tern, and implacable Being, delighting in vengeance, he wall be adored with pom- pous offerings, or whatever elfe may be thought proper to footh and mollify him ; But if we believe perfed; goodnefs to be the charadler of the Supreme Being, and that he loves thofe who refemble him moft, in this, the moft amiable of his attributes, the wor- ship paid him will be rational and fublime, and his worfliippers will feek to pleafe him, by imitating thatgoodnefs which they adore. Indeed, wherever right conceptions of the Deity and his Providence prevail, when hQ
is
IMTRODUCTION. xxlJi
is confidered as the inexhaufted fource of light and love, and joy, as adling in the joint chara(5ler of a father and governor, what ve- neration and gratitude muft fuch conceptions, thoroughly believed, excite in the mind ? How natural and delightful muft it be to one whofe heart is open to the perception of truth, and of every thing fair, great, and wonderful in nature, to engage in the exer- cifes of religion, and to contemplate and adore him for his wonderful wifdom, power, and goodnefs. When we confider the unful- lied purity, and abfolute perfed:ion of the di- vine nature, and refle(5t on the imperfecflion and various blemifhes of our own, and the ungrateful returns we have made to his good- nefs, we muft fmk into the decpeft humility and proftration of foul before him, and be confcious, that it is our duty to repent of a temper and condud; fo unworthy of our na- ture, and fo unbecoming- our ubliE^ations to its author -, and refolve to endecivour to ad: a wifcr and better part for the future. And if
the
xxlv INTRODUCTION.
the Deity is confidered as the father of mer- cies, who loves his creatures with infinite tendernefs, and in a particular manner all good men : nay, who delights in goodnefs, even in its moft imperfect degrees : what re- fignation, what dependance, what generous confidence, what hope in God, and in his all-wafe providence, muil arife in the foul that is poflcffed of fuch amiable views of him. It is theref9re our duty, as well as our high- eft intereft, often, at ftated times, and by decent and folemn ad:s, to adore the great original of our exiftence, to exprefs our ve- neration and love, by a devout acknowledge- ment of his perfedions, and to fhevir our gratitude, by praifing his goodnefs, and grate- fully eonfeffmg his benefits. We ought to acknowledge our dependance upon God, our truft in his mercy and forgivenefs, and our refignation to the difpofal of his providence, and this not only in private but in public worfhip.
7 OF
OF THE SEVERAL
RELIGIONS;
LIKEWISE
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT
OF THE DIFFERENT
SECTS IN RELIGION,
AMONG THE ANCIENTS.
SECTION I.
I. T/je Religion of the Egyptiajis.
THERE are few nations in the world Year of the flood 3Sa— which can pretend to an equal anti- '^^^'ore chrift . , , 1996.
quity with the Egyptians. Their country is
the only one in the world which has borne
the name of a fon of Noah. And yet the
B Egyp-
2 A SUCCINCT ACCOtTNT OF THE
Year of the Egyptians themfelves, ignorant of their true
flood 3 52 — J - , . ,
before chrift Qeicent, pretended even to a greater antiqui- '^"^ ' ty, aflerting themfelves to have been the firil men in the world, who (as well as animals) they imagined muft have been originally pro- duced in their country, rather than in any other part of the world, becaufe of the be- nign temperature of the air, the natural fe- cundity of the Nile, and its fpontaneous bringing forth feveral kinds of vegetables, as proper food for the newly produced men and animals *, As much as the Egyptians feemed to excel other nations in the wifdom of their laws and conflitutions, they yet fur- palTed them more in bigotry and fuperflition.
Idolatry was fo antient among them, that the Grecians confefled they borrowed not only their religious ceremonies, but the names of almofl all their Gods from Egypt. For the Egyptians are faid to have been the iirft people who ere(5led altars, images, and temples, and the firft inventors of feilivals, ceremonies, and tranfacHions with the Gods,
by
* Pliny's Natural Hiftory, book x, chap, 65.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 3
by the mediation of others ; and alfo to have parof ihe
J ' nooJ, 352—
iirft ffiven names to the twelve Gods. ^^^^'^ ^'"'^
o 1996.
* They had a great many deities of diffe- rent ranks and orders. Thofe v/ho were chiefly honoured in Egypt, were Ofiris and TJiSy by which it is moft probable they origi- nally meant th^ftm and the moo?2y whofe influ- ences governed and preferved the world ; thofe two planets being reckoned by them, the great caufes of nutrition and generation, and as it were, the fources from whence the other parts of nature, which alfo they looked upon as Gods, and to which they gave dif- tindl names, were derived. Thefe were Ju- piter, or fpirit, the vis vivica of living crea- tures ; Vulcan, or fire ; Ceres, or the earth ; Oceanus, (by which the Egyptians meant their Nile) or moifture 3 and Minerva, or air.
Befides thefe celefl:ial or eternal Gods,
they had alfo terreflirial and mortal deities,
which had merited the honours paid them,
by the benefits they conferred on mankind
B 2 in
* Pliny's Natural Hlllory, book x. chnp. 66.
4 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Jood fs^— ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^"^^' feveral of them having before chriit I^qqh kliigs of Egypt : fomc of thefe bore the
1996.
fame names with the celeftial Gods, and others had proper names of their own ; fuch were the Sun, Chronus or Saturn, Rhea, Jupiter, (called by them Amnion) Juno, Vulcan, Vella, Hermes or Mercury, Orus, Venus, Pan, and others, Serapis is faid to have been an upftart deity, introduced by one of the Ptolemies at Alexandria : but others fuppofe that to be only another name for Oliris, w'ho was alfo called Bacchus. As Ofiris was fuppofed to have been of a good and beneficent nature, fo his brother Ty- phon was eileem^ed the reverfe, and held in univerfal deteftation, for the evils brought by him on his family and nation. Though the bodies of thefe mortal deities remained in their fepulchres on earth, yet they believed their fouls fhone in the flars in heaven ; the foul of I lis in particular in the dog itar, called by them Sothis ; the foul of Orus in Orion ; and that of Typhon in the bear *
Notwithftanding this polytheifm of the Egyptians, they are faid, in reality, to have
acknow-
* PJutnrcb, pag? 362.
blF'FERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ^
acknowledo:ed one fupreme God, the maker "^''a-- of the
and ruler of the world, whom they fome- I'^fv^re ciuift
1996. times denoted by the name of Ofiris or Se- ' ^ — -*
rapis, fometimes by that of liis, and at other times by that of Neith, on whofe tem- ple at Sais was the following remarkable in- fcription : •
* / am all that hath bcen^ isy and /hall bej and my veil * hath no imrtalyet uncovered*,''
There is alfo an infcription to Ifis, Hill remaining at Capua, to this efted:.
' To thee J vjhoy being one-^ art all things., the goddejs of ' Ifis,
The inhabitants of Thebais, are reported to have worfhipped only the immortal and unbegotten God Cneph, or Emeph j for which reafon they were exempt from all contributions towards the maintenance of the facred animals which were worfhipped in the lower Egypt -f*.
From this God Cneph, they fuppofed a
fecondary God proceeded, reprefenting the
world, and was called Phtha, which word is
B3 at
• Plutarch, page 354. f Idem, pngc 359.
6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
IoTd'^\— at prefeiit ufed among the Copts, to figmfy
before chiiit t^g dlvlne bein?. 1996. ^
However the idolatrous humour, which pevailed at iirft, perhaps only in fome parts of Egypt, appears at length to have entirely over- run it, and, what feems fcarcely cre- dible, they came at length to beftow divine honours on feveral amimals, nay even on ve- getables ; as leeks and onions j and that with fo great variety and difagreement among; themfelves, that, except fome of the princi- pal Gods, who were honoured all over the kingdom, the worfhip of every deity was- confined to one or two cities or provinces ;: whence it come to pafs, that a great number of the chief cities of Egypt, were by the Gre- cians named after the Gods or animals that were worfliipped there : as Diofpolis, or the city of Jupiter, Heliopolis, or the city of the fun ; and in the fame manner, others bore the names of Pan, Apollo, Latona,. Hermes, Hercules, and Venus, and alfo of the dog, the lion, the wolfe, the croco- dile, &c.
6 This
DIFPEREf^T SECTS IN RELIGIO^fi 7
This diverfity of worHiip wasfometimesat- J^^r of the
•' ^ liood 352, — •
before Chrift
tended with very ill confequences,efpeeiallyif their deities happened to be fucli as were na- turally enemies to one another ; the inhabi- tants of one place,often paying their adoration to that kind of animals which were held in the greateft abhorrence by their neighbours* Hence proceeded inveterate quarrels and dan- gerous w^ars 3 as happened in particular be- tween thofe of Heracleopolis who worfhipped the Ichneumon, and thofe of Arlinoe, who worfhipped the crocodile ; and to mention no more between the cities of Oxyrynchus and Cynopolis, the former of which facrificed and eat dogs, the deity of the latter, in re- venge for theif eating that fort of fifli which was the object of their own wor/liip *. It was thought, however, that the kings them- felves, out of policy, firll occafioned, or at leafl encouraged and fomented thefe diflen- tions, to divert the people from attempting any thing againfl the ftate 3 for Diodorus tells us that one of their iiril and moil: prudent kings finding the Egyptians very prone to fe- dition, enjoined to each province the wor- ship of fome particular animal; different from B 4 all
* Plutarch, pa^e 380.
1996.
8 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Yenr of the ^^ ^^^^ j.^^ ^^^ likcwife to ufc a different before Chrift ^[q^ . fo t^at the Egyptians, being by this means divided into fo many diftind; focieties, prejudiced againft each other in religious mat- ters, and mutually defpifing one another, on account of their different cuftoms, in the or- dinary affairs of life, there was no likelihood of their ever uniting again *
It would be rather tedious than entertain- ing to fet down all the fables and uncertain traditions which might be found in antient authors, concerning the Egyptian Gods, or the images by which they reprefented thofe deities that were moft peculiar to this na- tion, likewife their facrifices, feftivals, and religious ceremonies -f,
* Diodcrus, page 80. f Plutarch, page 371.
No. II.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
No. IL
l!he Religion of the Moabites. We are but little acquainted with the cuf- Y^^''' of tte
■*• flood zoi6,
toms and manners of the Moabites. They before chrift
332. were governed by kings, ufed circumcifion*, < ■,■ i,j
and feemed to have employed themfelves moftly in pafturage, and breeding cattle, wherein their riches chiefly conlifted. They were one of the nations whofe good the Jews were forbidden to feek, nor were they to be admitted to intermarry with the Ifraelites to* the tenth generation -f-. However, they ap- pear to have cultivated a good underflianding with that people, after their fettlement in Canaan, as appears from the fojourning of Elimelech there J, and the reception David met with in his troubles at Mizpeh§. What
language
• Deut. chap. xxli. ver. 3.6. f Ibid. ver. 3. | Numb. xxv.
ver. 1 1 .
§ I Sain. chap. xxli. ver. 3, &:c. — Numb. xxv. 11.— Numb. xxi. aj. J Kings, xi. 7. — Jeremiah, xlviii. ij.
lO A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THfi
J^Z *fo?6" ^^^gu^g^ ^^^y ^^^^ w^ know not ^ but fuppofe before chiiit they fpoke a dialed: of the Canaaitifh or He- brew.
That they had once the knowledge of the true God, we may not only conclude from the piety of their great anceftor, who, with- out doubt, inftrudied his offspring in their duty ', but likewife from Scripture : for they retained this knowledge till the time of Mo- fes, even after they had monftroufly cor- rupted their religion, by introducing the worfhip of the falfe Gods, which they feem to have done pretty early, though the time cannot be fixed*.
The idols of the Moabites taken notice of in Scripture, are Chemofh and Baal-peor -f, fometimes fimply Peor J, or as the feptua- gint write the name Phegor, but what Gods' thefe were, learned men are not agreed. St. Jerome fuppofes that they were both names of one and the fame idol, and from the de- baucheries into which thofe fell, who defiled
them •
* Numb. xxi. 29. f Numb. XXV. I. 3, J Ibid. ver. 18. Jofluia xxii. ver. 17, .
I
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. If
themfelves with their worlhip, feveral wri- Year of the
flood 2016,
ters, both ancient and modern, have repre- before chrid
332. fented them as obfcene deities, and not much
different from Priapus. This opinion they endeavour to fupport from the etymologies of the names, and fancy fome indecency is im- pUed therein ; others, however, imagine, that though the Ifraelites and Solomon were inticed by the Moabitifli women to worfhip thofe idols, yet it does not thence follow that any immodeft ceremonies were ufed in their wor/hip ; nor are any fuch mentioned in the mofl ancient authors ; and the etymologies we think are not much to be relied on, Peor was the name of a mountain, where the high places of Baal were fituated * : which word fignifies no more than Lord, and was a title of the fun, perhaps added to that name, by way of diflindtion, to denote the deity adored in that place, though he had alfo probably a temple at Beth-peor, which flood in the plain -f ; Voflius fuppofes Baal-peor to be Bacchus ; and Dr. Cumberland fays he was properly called Meon, and this learned pre- late
•Numb, xxlli. 1%, f Jo(hua,chap. 13. 17. 2®.
12 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the j^te takcs him to be the fame with the Me-
flood 2016,
before chrift nes, Mifraim, and Ofiris.
332.
Of their religious rites and ceremonies, we can fay very little. The obfcenity which fome authors charge them with, the pfalmift takes notice, in fpeaking of thofe who were joined to Baal-peor -, but fays only that they eat the offerings of the dead : by which words, he may either mean,, that the idol which they impiouily honoured with divine worfhip, was no more than a dead man ; or elfe, that their oblations were made to the infernal Gods. *
They facrificed both in the open air, oil mountains dedicated to that fervice*, and in temples built to their idols in the cities ; and befide oxen and rams, on extraordinary occalions, offered human vi<5tims, according to the Phenician cuflom.
* Numbers x;cll. v. 41.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION,
No. III.
13
T^he Religion of the Ammonites » 1 HIS people were the pofterity of Ammon, Year of the
flood 14.51,
otherwife called Ben Ammi, iignifying the before chrift fon of my people, our kindred, the offspring of Lot and his younger daughter *.
We are as little acquainted with the cuf- toms and manners of this people, as of the Moabites aforementioned. Thefe had like- wife kings, and were circumcifed -f*, and feem to have been principally addicted to hufbandry alfo.
The religion of the Ammonites, as we have already obferved concerning that of the Moabites, was originally as pure as it could flow from fo clear a ftream, as the inflruc- tion of Lot ; but they alfo fwcrved from it by degrees, and at length degenerated into
the
* Gen. chap. xix. 31. -f DiUter, chap. ii. ver. ao.
14 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
S f ^i^ *^^ n\o{)i ftupid, and as is generally fuppofed, before chriit the moil cfucl idoktry.
Their chief and peculiar deity is in the Scripture called Molech or Moloch. He is alfo thought to be underflood under the names of Baal, Milcom, Melech, Adrame- lech, Anamelech, and the like.
Thefe names or titles fignify no more than lord or king ; and fometimes have an epithet prefixed to them, as in the two laft, where he is ftiled the mighty and rich Melech or Moloch or king : thefe two were the Gods of the Sepharvites. I fhall only fpeak of the Ammonitifli Moloch. The learned are not pofitively agreed in what relates to him. It is on all hands allowed that they addreffed him under the title of king or Moloch. His image is faid to be hollow, and divided into feven receptacles. The firft was opened for an offering of fine flour ; the fecond for an offering of turtles ; the third for a fheep ; the fourth for a ram, the fifth for a calf, the fixth for an ox ; the feventh for a child. It had the head of an ox, and the arms of a man flretched out in the ad; to receive. Thefe
feven
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I^
fcven receptacles are alfo called feven cha-- ^''-^ of A* pels ; and inftead of being within the image before chriit itfelf, are placed orderly before it *.
Whatever was the difpofition of thefe {qvcti places, their number correfponding with that of the fun, moon, and five other plan- ets, has given room to fuppofe that they worfliipped the fun ; and the rather, as the oblations feem to rife in fuch proportion as might beft anfwer the degree of each of thefe heavenly bodies. But it would be endlefs to expatiate in conjectures upon fo obfcure a fubjed: as the learned have done.
As to the fuperftitions paid to Moloch, there is great difagreement among authors. By the fcripture it is often faid, that the Am- monites paffed their feed through fire to Mo- loch. This expreflion is taken in a literal fenfe'by fome, in a figurative fenfe by others.
The firfl fentiment is embraced by the Jewidi writers -f* who for the moft part hold,
that
t Bedford's Script. Cliron. page 259. * Some of die Jewlftiwnters hold, that the children were folemnly delivered to the priefts ; wlio upon their returning them, were carried
by
X$ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the tj^^t the children were barely carried or led
fliood 1451, •'
before Chrift between two fires, by way of purification : the latter is adopted by the chriflian writers chiefly, who think that they actually burnt their children by way of facrifice to this grim idol. There was a place near Jerufa- lem, where this horrid cuftom was obferved ; it was called the valley of the '\-fons of Hinnom\
fo
by their parents upon their flioulders between two fires. According to others the priefts caixied them.
A very eminent Jewifh writer fays, that the priefts or fervants of fire, ^erfuaded men, that their children would die, if they did not pafs them through fire : wherefore parents, being anxious for the lives of their children, and perceiving there was neither danger or difficulty in per- forming the ceremony, no one neglected it, confidering that the chil- dren were not to be confumed by fire, but only to pafs though it.
However, Voffius infifts on it, that wherever the expreffionof pafs- ing through fire is met with, itmuft be taken in the ftriftnefs of the letter, but allows, that in cafes of a great calamity, and upon other particular occafions, they gave up their offspring as an expiatory facrifice to their god.
Selden is of a quite different fentlment, and will have it that they not only led their children through fire, but burnt them alfo at the fame time.
This he proves as far as a matter of this nature can be afcertained» Upon the whole remembring how common a practice it was to offer up thefe unnatural oblations among fome of the neighbouring nations, the fame may probably have prevailed among the Ammonites.
■\ This valley was a delightful place, watered by the fprings of SI- loah. It was Ihady and beautiful, with gardens. And, indeed, it Is,
remark.-
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION, 1/
Co named from the fhrieks of the children ^^^^f^^]]^ facrificed. They ufed among other inflru- ^^^"^'■"g^^;"'** ments a drum, to drown the dreadful outcries of the unhappy vidims.
No. IV.
T/je Religion of the Midianites, The Midianites were, in their moft early Year of the
' flood iioi,
times, evidently confounded with the Ifhmae- before cinift lites * and many ages afterwards, they are mentioned in conjunction with the Nabate-
C ans
remarkable, that the heathens commonly ckofe fountain heads and fo- lemn groves for the Icepes of the homage they paid their deities. This euftom is fuppofed to be borrowed from the Ammonites.
* Gen. XXXV. 37. — Nehemlahii. iv. vi. xiil. — Jofephus Antiq. lib. la. chap»ii. xz.— Gen. xxv. 4.— Judges chap. viii. ver. 24..
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year flood
°^' t^e ans and Kedarenes, the pofterity of Nabal-
II02, *■ •'
hd'ovt chrift oth and Kedar, the fons of Iflimael. They 1245.. ' ■ ' . ,
f v/ere fo incorporated as it were with the Mo-
abites, that Mofes almoft confidered them
as one nation. Their reUgion was the fame,
and they a6led in the flrideft concert againffc
the Ifraehtes. The ties of blood united
them Ukewife, as on the one fide they were
defcended from Abraham, and on the other
from Lot : It appears very plain from Job,*
that the ufe of writing was very early known
in thefe parts among the defcendants of
Abraham : and the Midianites being alfo of
the number, we cannot fuppofe them to
have been unacquainted with it. Sir Ifaac
Newton allows them the honour of inftrud:-^
ing Mofes in writing.
It is plain that the Midianites varied as much from each other in matter of religion, as in their manner of life. At firft, they were no doubt pure and right in their way : how long they perfevered in it, is not faid. But in the days of Mofes, they wallowed in
all
» Job, xlx. J3, 24.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I9
all the abominations of the Moabkes ,^ w 110^2!
thofe we mean who were nearefl to that ido- ^^'"''^ ^^''^
124.5.
latrous nation ; nay, they exceeded them in their endeavours to pervert the children of Ifrael, when they lay in the plains of Moab, in perfuading them to bow down to Peor ; but we are indeed told that Peor was wor- shipped by the Midianitifli women chiefly. Thus flood religion in the north of Midian. Now in the fouth we find them enlightened by a rational and fublime fyftem, long after their brethren had fallen into the fouleft cor- ruption. As a proof of this we need only mention Jethro, who is commonly filled the priefl of Midian, and is faid to have lived among, and by fome thought to have pre- fided over, the Midianites, -f* near the red fea. His behaviour in the camp of Ifrael is a fufiicient argument X i" favour of them, yet, though their religion was other wife very pure, it is fomewhat remarkable they could not bear circumcifion. § They offered up C 2 praifes,
* Clu'onicles of Ancient Kingdoms, page 210. 125.— 'Gen. chap, xlix. 13.
f Jofephus Antlq. book iv. chap. 6. — \. Exothis, cliap. xviii. ver. 10. iz,— §Ibid. chap. iv. 25, 26.
20 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
jTd°lill pj*^i^^s, thankfgivings, and facrifices to God,
before chrift, j^m their rcliffious rites or ceremonies are no 124.5. '^
where fpoken of. The moll ancient record
we find concerning this nation is, their pur- chafing Jofeph from his brethren, for twenty pieces of filver, and carrying him away with them into Egypt, where they fold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's chief officers*
* Gen. chap, xxxvii. v. a8. 36.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 21
No. V.
THje Religiofi of the Edomites, The charadler of the Edomites is, that Year of the
flood 609,
they were a bold and daring people, fond of before chiift broils and tumults, which they as much de- lighted in, as others did in the foftening pleafures of luxury.* The Edomites, (thofe who migrated into Judea and were the latter Edomites,) whofe charader Jofephus draws, were a degenerate race, quite ftrangers to the liberties, and noble fpirit of their fore- fathers.
Concerning their religion, we are much in the dark. They at firft were right in their belief and practice, as they were de- fcended from Ifaac, and ufed circumcifion j
* Jofephus's Antiq. book 13,
C ^ but
22 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
'^ffoocUoc^^ but they by degrees forgot all, and erred into before chrift Idoktry (for idols we are told they had,) and had quite laid aiide circumcifion, till Hyr- can incorporated them with the Jews, from which time they were coniidered as but one nation with them in divine matters.
When the period of the downfal of the ancient kingdom of Edom arrived (as de- fcribed in their hiftoryat large,) when thefe troublefome times came upon them, we know not how it fared with the Edomites in Idu- mea, except that they feem to have been continually agitated by broils and wars, till they were conquered by John Hyrcanus, who reduced them to the fore neceffity of embracing the Jewish religion, or of quit- ting their country. They chofe the former, and fubmitted to be circumcifed, became incorporated with the Jews,* and, con- fidering their defcent, as well as their con- verlion, they were, upon a double account, reckoned as natural Jews ; and accordingly in the firfl century after Chrifl, the name of
Idumean
* Jofsphus Antiq. book. xili. chap. 17.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 23
Idumean was loft and quite difufed. * I v^rof the
-•• nooci 609,
fliall here break off and refer the reader to before civ.ui
1739. the hiftory of the Jews for further fatisfac-
tion.
Before I quit the Edomites, I fhall fay, (though foreign to the main fcopc of this hiftory) a word or two on their arts and fai- ences, which were doubtlefs great, con- fidering the time, and were many and well perfected -, and though perhaps there may be no neceffity to fuppofe (as the excellent Sir Ifaac Newton has done,) that they were the parents of tliofe amiable fifters ; yet we may fafely pronounce, that they were not much, if at all behind hand with the moft ancient learned nations. The inyention and ufe of conftellations appear -f- by the book of Job to have been known to the Edomites, among whom he dwelt : a rare inftance of the early progrefs of aftronomy, if we fuppofe his book to be of fuch ancient date as many think.
C A No.
t
*Prideaux'* Connect, of the Old and New Teftament, bookv, pags 307. f Job, chap. ix. vcr, z6.
24 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. VI.
T!he 'Religion of the Amale kites.
Year of the A
flood 1253, rVMALEK was the father of this people,
before Ckrift , ^ , ^ r *
1095. and from him were they called Amalekites, and their country Amalekitis. Of their re- ligion and civil cuftoms we can know no- thing for certain, Unce we are in the dark about their defcent. If from Efau, we may fuppofe they ufed circumcilion ; and that the decree of their total excifion was ow- ing to the outrages they committed on the diflreffed Ifraelites 5* but if of a Canaanitifh race, their horrid idolatries fubjedled them, without all doubt, to one common doom with the Canaanitiili nation : if the former, they had, at leaft for fome time, the fame religion with their progenitors, Abraham
Ifaac,
* Exodus, chap. xvii. vcj-. 8. 14. 16.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 2.^
Ifaac, &c. if the latter, they gave probably, ^00^^°^^^'^^
into all the abominations of their neigh- ^''^^"' ^^^'■'^
1095.
bours. Jofephus mentions their idols -, but the fcripture terms them the idols of mount Seir ; fo that they feemed to have more properly belonged to the Edomites than to the Amalekites.
No.
2$ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. VIL
^^e Religion of the Canaanites, flood 4.27, 1 HEY were a daring, obilinate, and in
before Liiiift . , .
1921. war, very expert, and almoit invincible peo- ple, and in the example of the Gibeonites, , they wanted not craft or policy. Tliey re- tained the pure religion quite down to the days of Abraham, who acknowledged Mel- chifedek to be prieft of the moft high God; and Melchifedek was indifputably a Canaa- nite, or at leaft dwelt there at that time, in high efleem and veneration. *
They never offered to molefl: Abraham ; on the contrary they were ready to oblige
him
* Sir Ifaac Newton concludes, that they perfevered in the true re- ligion till the death of Mclchifedeck ; but that afterwards they fell from it, and began to embrace idolatry, now fpreading, as he thinks, from Chaldea. They are liiid to have been given to the fuperftition of tke ancient Perfians. 5
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 2/
him in every thing, a noble example of ^o^^j^^l'^ which we have in the behaviour and ffood ^^^^^'^ '-•^"* intentions of Ephron towards him, in the affair of the cave of Machpelah, To dwell no longer on this fubjed;, we mufl: hence allow, that there was not a general corrup- tion of religion among the Canaanites at this day : but it mufl be granted, that the very Hittites, fo feemingly commendable in the days of Abraham, degenerated apace, fince they were become the averfion of Ifaac and Rebecca, who could not endure the thoughts of their fon Jacob's marrying among the daughters of Heth, as their fon Efau had done, to their great grief. * So that about this time we muft date the rife of thofe abo- minations, which fubjedted them to the wrath of God, and made them unworthy of the land which they polTeffed. In the days of Mofes they were become incorrigible idolaters : for he commands the Ifraelites to dejlroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire* And left they
ihould
* Shuckford's Connefl. of the Sacred and Prophane Hiftoiy, vol. i. book 2. page 100 — 163,
28 ■ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
^Md^V''^^ iliould pervert the Ifraelites, the latter were bdoieChrift f^ric^ly enjoioed not to intermarry with them, but to Jmitey a?id utterly dejiroy thcm^ nor /hew mercy upon the?n. By this we may form aa idea of their abominable errors. They are accufed of the cruel cuflom of facrificing men, and are faid to have pailed their feed through fire to Moloch. The cuftom of facrificing men they are charged with, as being the ancestors of the Phoenicians.
Their morals weiX as corrupt as their doc- trine ; adultery, beaftiality of all forts, pro- fanation, inceft, and all manner of unclean- nefs, are the fins laid to their charge, and which brought on the calamities they were doomed to.* And this was the charad:er of this people, after they had erred from the right way.
* Lcvidcus, chap, xviii. ver. 21,
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 29
No. VIIL
^he 'Religion of the Fhilijlines,
1 HE Philiftines had very idrong notions of Yearoft-he liberty: They did not circumcife, and in before Sia their earlieft times at leaf!:, held adultery in
1897.
the greateft abomination.
In the days of Abraham and Ifaac, they were a righteous people, and a hofpitable nation, but they degenerated afterwards, and a revolution in government, religion, and morals, fucceeded. From that time they became like other idolatrous nations, the fame enormities crept in and prevailed among them. They are conftantly mentioned in Scripture as flrangers, and though pollefTed of amoft confiderable part of that delicious fpot, the Land of Promife, yet God would 5 never
30 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
^ood^^f*^ never fuiFer them to be driven out; they be- before chrift [^ig Egyptians by defcent, and not original natives, whofe land only was promifed to Abraham and his feed. Their arroo-ance
o
and ambition were great, and fo irreconcile- able was their enmity to the Ifraelites, * that one would be almoft tempted to think they were created on purpofe to be a thorn in their fide ; for though the hand of God was evi- dently againfl them feveral times, and par- ticularly when they detained the ark, yet they hardened their hearts, and clofed their eyes againft convidion, flattering them- felves that they might one day compafs their ends againfl the Ifraelites.
They feemed to have entertained a very fond veneration for their deities; in which they perfifted, though they were eye wit- nelTes of the fhame and ignominy which be- fel them in the prefence of the captive ark; nay they were fo biaffed in their favour, as to imagine that their gods might prevail again ft him, who had, in fo glaring a man- ner, put them to fliame and difgrace.
Their
* I Chroa. chap. vil. ver, ti.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ^l
Their religion was different at different "^Tear of the times ', under their nrft race of kings, they i^efoie ciuift were of one rehgion with the Hebrews ; Ly'V'XJ Abimelech, in the lin he had like to have committed with Sarah, through Abraham's timidity, was favoured with a divine admo- nition from God ; and by his fpcech and be- haviour at that time, it feems as if he had been ufed to converfe with God. In after times they erred into endlefs fuperftitions and different kinds of idolatry : each of the prin- cipal or five cities, feeming to have an idol of its own. Marna, Marnas, or Marnafh, was worfhipped at Gaza, and is faid to have migrated into Crete, and to have become the Cretan Jupiter. Dagon was worfliipped at Azotus ; he feems to have been the greateft, the moff ancient, and moft favourite god they had : To which may be added, that he perhaps fubfifted the longeft of any, * that did not ftraggle out of the country. To him they afcribed the invention of bread corn, or of agriculture as his name imports. We cannot enter into the common notion of his
being
• I Mace. X,
^2 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
liood^^^l** being reprefented as a monfter, half man, before chriii ^^^ j^^lf fifh, or confequcntly into another almofh as common, that he is the fame with the Syrian goddefs Decreto, who we are told was reprefented under fome fuch mixed form. Our opinion is, that this idol was in Ihape, wholly like a man ; for we read of his head, his hands, and his feet. He flood in a tem- ple at Azotus,* and had priefls of his own, who, it feems, paid a very conilant attend- ance on him. -f- Next to Dagon was Baal- zebub, the god of Ekron. In the text of the New Teflament he is Beelzebub, and the prince of devils. His name is rendered lord of flies, which by fome is held to be a mock appellation beftowed on him by the Jews ', but others think fo ftiled by his wor- fhippers, as Hercules and others were, from his driving thofe infcdts away ; and urge that Ahaziah in his iicknefs J would fcarcely have applied to him, if his name had carried any reproach with it. But it mufl be remem- bered, it is the facred hiflorian that makes ufe of that contemptuous term in derifion :
whereas
• vide Univerfal Ulilory, vol. ii. page ^^^. f i Sam, chap. y.
ver. 3,4. %! Kings, chap. i. ver. 2.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ^3
whereas the idolatrous monarch, who was Jearofthe
nood 451 —
one of his votaries, might call him by his ^^^"""^ ^'^'"^^
' o •' 1897.
common name, fuppofed to have been Baal- zebaoth, the Lord of armies, or Baal-fha- mim, lord of heaven, or fome other border- ing on Baal-zebub. How, or under what form he was reprefented, is uncertain : fonxe place him on a throne, and attire him like a king, others paint him as a fly, a very wide difference ! Not to dwell on this obfcurity ; it appears that he became an oracle of the highefl repute for omnifcience and veracity ; that he had priefts of his own, and that he, in the middle times at leaf!:, was much fought after by thofe who were anxious about futurity, or folicitous concerning other hidden matters. Decreto we take certainly to have been the goddefs of Afcalon ; but as we are herein only fupported by prophane authority, without the leafl countenance from Scripture, we fhall not infifl on it. Gath, is feemingly the only city of all the five, unprovided with a deity ; wherefore as the Scripture declares, that Afhtaroth, or Aftarte *, was worfhipped by this people,
D we
• X Sam. xxxi. 10.
34 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
S°^?' ^^ ^^^ ready to place her at Garth -, and the before Chrift rather, as this of all their cities, may have had moil communication with Sidon. To fpeak in general concerning their religious rites and ceremonies, which is all we can do ; they feem to have eredted very large and fpa- cious temples, or very wide halls, for the ce- lebration of their folemn feafons and fefti- vals *, for fuch they furely had : that their religious offices were attended with much pomp, and a great concourfe from all parts : and that they prefented their Gods with the chief of their fpoil, and carried them about to war with them. We do not find in Scrip- ture that they facrificed their children, and yet the Curetes are faid to be derived from them -f*.
Abimelech their king, in Abraham's days, was an holy and jufl perfon, and appears to have had fome intercourfe with God J. He
refided
* Judges, chap. xvi. ver. 27. ■f The Curetes did lacrifice their childern to Saturn, and from tlie fimilitude this name bears to Cherethites, or Philiftines, it has been ad- vanced that they are the fame people, but as we have no warrant for faying the PhiUftines pra6lifed lo barbarous and unnatural a cuftom, we may venture to pronounce that they learned it not from them, but bor- i-«wed itelfewhere.
X Genefis, chap. xx. ver. 3. et feq.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 35
refided at Gerar, of which place he is called Y^^\ ^^ ^^^
^ flood 4.51,
king-, and had like to have been drawn into before Lhrift a very fatal fnare, by the too great caution of Abraham ; who coming into his kingdom, to be at a diftance from the vale of Siddim^ pretended that Sarah was not his wife, but his lifter. Abimelech faw her, was taken with her charms, and underftanding fhe was a linglc woman, refolved to take her to his bed : but ere he had accomplifhed his defires, he was warned by God to return the woman to 'her concealed hufband, and that upon pain of death. Abimelech hereupon excufed him- felf to the divine vilion, upon the innocence of his intentions ; and feeming to have frefh in mind the terrible overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah ; Lord, fays he, wilt thou alfo flay a righteous nation ? as if he would take vengeance on his people for a crime he was going ignorantly to commit. But he had the comfortable anfwer in a vilion or dream, that God knew well, and approved his integrity : that he had withheld him from finning, and that Abraham fhould, at his requeft, pray for him, and he fhould live. Being thus ad- monifhed, he firft acquainted his fervants with what had happened, who were inftantly D 2 feized
■^6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the feizcci witli ffreat dread : then Gallino: Abra-
flood, 451— ^ ° ,
before chriii ham, hc afkcd what he had done to him, , I that he fliould miflead him into fo dangerous
an error, or what offence he had ever com- mitted againft him, that he fhould tempt him to luch a fin, as might have proved the ruin, not of himfelf only, but of his whole kingdom. Indeed, fays he, you have not u fed me well: What have you obferved in the morals or behaviour of me and my peo- ple, that you fliould imagine we would offer any violence to your wife ? The anfwer he received from Abraham, was a frank confef- iion of the truths he acknowledging without difguife, that he feared they had not been endued with right notions of God and his laws, and that he certainly fhould be de- prived of his life, that they might the more freely enjoy Sarah. He added, that in fay- ing fhe was his liffer, he had fpoken nothing hut the truth, fhe being really fo -, and ended in his apology, with acquainting the king, that in flrange places it had always been his ' cuflom to make her pafs for his filler only, for fear of the worfl. Abimelech, fatisfaed Vv ith Vvhat he heard, in confequence thereof, ! and in obedience to the divine command, not;
only^
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 3/
only returned Sarah to Abraham, but made Year of the
-' _ flood 451,
him a very handfome prefent in fheep, oxen, before ciuiit and fervants, both men and women, declarmg to him withal, that he was welcome to live in what part of his dominions he beft liked. He alfo made a confiderable prefent to Sa- rah, and accompanied it with a fpeech, which ours, and mcft verfions have rendered as a reproof > but was quite the contrary, as may <0 be feen in the Jewifli hiftory. "^
In this, manner did Abimelech comply with the divine admonition, and upon the prayers of Abraham, he and his whole houfe were reftored to their natural faculties, of which they had been deprived for Sarah's fake : the Lord having rendered the men impotent, and the women barren.*
Ever after this Abimelech lived in perfedl harmony with Abraham ; and that the fame might be tranfmitted ,down to poflerity ; Abimelech, with participation of Fhicol, the chief- captaia of his hoft, propofed an oath D 3 ;o
* Or with Rich fwellings in the lecret parts, that the men could nei- ther enjoy their wives, or the women who were with child be delivered. We find this ftory altered by jcjiiynus, who fays, Abimelech was taken
wiUi
38 ' A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
^o?°''i~ *° Abraham, whereby he fliould bind his before chrift pofterity to Uve in amity with his, and deal by them j ufl as he had dealt by him . This was readily embraced by Abraham; but firfthe de- fired a difpute might be decided concerning a welljwhich Abimelech's fervants had forcibly taken froni him. Abimelech declared he never heard of this outrage till that moment ; ^ ^rid that nothing of the kind fhould have ^ been then to be complained of, had Abraham informed him of it.
And, that this matter might be terminated in fuch a manner, as to admit of no further difpute, Abraham, among the numerous prefents he made him of flieep and oxen, fevered feven ewe lambs, which he gave him to be a ftanding teftimony of his having dug, and confequently of his being the right owner of that well. Abimelech accepted of them accordingly, and the well was, from them, called Beerfhebah.*
with fb violent a fit of ficknefs that his life was defpaired of: that In the midft of it he had a dream, which admoniftied him concerning Sa- rah ; that finding hirafelf mending, he called together his friends, and diicloled to them his dream, and the violence of his paffion, and that thereupon he made up the matter with Abraham, S:c.
♦ Genefis, chap, xx and xxi. ver, Z2 to 32.
No,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
m
No. IX.
T^e Religion of the Pagans,
They were a fe6l of Heathens who wor- fhipped idols and falfe Gods ; idolatry was not confined alone to the Pagans, every na- tion abounded with idolaters, who were guil- ty of impious, fuperftitious, and facrilegious worfhip. At this time idolatry flourifhes mofl in China.
All religions, true or falfe, have their myf- teries ; The Pagan religion was remarkably full of them, but they were generally myfte- ries of iniquity, and concealed only becaufe their being publilhed would have rendered their religion ridiculous and odious. Thus the facred writings often fpeak of the infa- P 4 mouft
40 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
mous myfterles of the Pagan deities, in which
mofl ihameful crimes were committed under
the fpecious veil of religion.
t
The whole religion of Egyptians (who were equally idolatrous) was myfterious from the beginning to the end, and both their doc- trine and worfhip wrapped up in fymbols and hieroglyphics.
The Heathens had formerly idols of all forts, and of every kind of matter, as gold iilver, brafs, flone, wood^ &c. ; even in the church of Rome too much of this is prac- tifed, whofe extravagant veneration for the images and pidlures of faints, efpecially the Virgin Mary ; and the pretended efficacy and ^ power they attribute to the crofs, gives too much ground for the charge of idolatry in their worfhip, though they pretend to the only true religion of Jefus Chrift.
No,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. /
No. X.
41
T'he Religion of the Antediluvians,
''^ The only thing we know as to their re- ligious rites is, that they offered facrifices, and that very early, both of the fruits of the earth, and of animals j but whether the blood and flefh of the animals, or only their milk and wool were offered, is a difpute not plainly cleared up. Some have endeavoured to prove that all the Patriarchs from Adam, had ftated places, and annual and weekly times fet apart for divine worfhip, and alfo a feparate maintenance for the priefts ; all which par- ticulars may be true, though they cannot be made out from the Scripture. But what is jjnore extraordinary, they pretend to tell us
the
• Univerfal Hiftory,voI i, page 229, feft. 7.
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
the very day of the week on which the An- tediluvian fabbath was kept, and that it was^ the fame with the Chriftian fabbath, or Sun- day ; which notion is, we fear, very ground- lefs and precarious.* ^
When I am fpeaking of the religion of the Antediluvians, a Ihort digreffion concern- ing their longevity may not be altogether un- pleaiing to the reader, though foreign to the fcope of this hiftory.
One of the mofl extraordinary circum- Hances which occur in the Antediluvian hiftory, is the vaft length of mens' lives in thofe firft ages, in comparifon of our own. Few now arrive to 80 or 100 years, whereas before the flood they frequently lived to near 1000 ; a difproportion almoil incredible, were it not inconteftibly certain, from the joint teftimonies of facred and prophane writers, -f-whofe authority in this point being not to be eluded -, fome, to reconcile the matter with probability, have imagined that
the
* Smith's Doftrine of the Church pf England, concerning the Lord's Day. f Jof^hus,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 43
the ages of thofe firft men might poffibly be computed, not by folar years, but months, * which reduces the length of their Hves rather to a fhorter period than our own ; but for this there is not the leaft foundation ; belides the many abfurdities that would thence fol- low, fuch as their begetting children at about fix years of age, as fome of them in that cafe muft have done, and the contrac- tion of the whole interval between the cre- ation and the deluge, to confiderably lefs than two hundred years, even according to the larger computation of the Septuagint.
The caufes of this longevity are varioufly affigned; fome have imputed it to the fo- briety of the Antediluvians, and the limpli- city of their diet ; that they eat no flefli, -f* and had none of thofe provocations to glut- tony, which wit and vice have fince invented. This, were it true, might have fome effedt, but not pofTibly to fuch a degree as we are ' >
fpeak-
* Auguftin de CivitDei, lib. xv. chap li.
•}• A learned phyfician has advanced a very contrary opinion. Among - feveral caufes of the longevity of tlie firlt men, enumerated by him, one • is, their eating of raw flefh ; the moll nourifliing and beft payts whereof, he fuppofes, ^re carried off in dreffing, by the aflion of the fire.
^4 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
fpeaking of, lince we have had many tem- perate and abflemious perfons in latter ages, who yet fcldom have exceeded the ufual pe- riod. Others have imputed it to the excel- lency of their fruits, and fome peculiar vir- tue in the herbs and plants of thofe days ; but as the earth was curfed immediately after the fall, its fruits we may fuppofe gradually de- creafed in their virtue and goodnefs till the ' flood i and yttwc do not fee the length of
mens' lives decreafed confiderably, if at all, during that interval. Others have thought that the long lives of thofe inhabitants of the old world proceeded frcm the llrength of their ftamina, or iirft principles of their bo- dily conflitutions, which might indeed be a concurrent, but not the fole and adequate caufe of their longevity : for Shem, who was born before the delude, and had all the virtue of the Antediluvian conftitution, fell 300 years fhort of the age of his forefathers, becaufe the greatell part of his life was paifed after the flood.*
It
* Dr. Burnet's Body of Divinity, p. 307.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
It has therefore been more rationally fup-- pofed, that the chief caufe of this longevity,, was the wholefome conflitution of the Ante-' diluvian air, which after the deluge became corrupted and unwholefome, breaking by degrees the priftine crafis of the body, and fhortening mens' lives, in a very few ages, to the prefent ftandard. But how the flood ihould induce or occafion fuch a change in the air, is not eafy to comprehend.*
* See Stackhoufe'sHiftoryoftlieBible.— — Ray ontheDeluge/p. ijz. Burnefs Theory, book zd.
45
No.
46 \ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF TH]
No. XI.
ATHENIANS.
*' oOLON, the great lawgiver of the Athe- nians, made but few laws relating to Religiom and againil Parricides he made none, allign- ing for it this reafon : That he fcarce be- lieved that any Athenian would be fo wicked. "^
* Vide UniverfalHift. vol. vl. p. 316.
•f Matters ofReligion among the Athenians, as blafphemy againft the Gods, contempt of myfteries, confecration of new Gods, new ceremonies in divine worfhip, belonged to the Judges. Plato therefore having learned in Egypt that there was but one God, was forced to conceal his knowledge, for fear of being queftioned by the Areopagites, and St. Paul was on this account arraigned before them, as a fetter forth of ftrangeGods, when he preached Jefus and Anaftafis, that is, the refur- reftion,— — A6ls, chap, xviii. ver 18, 19,
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION, 47
No. XIL
The ReJigwz of the a?icient Syrians,
It is certain the ancient Syrians had many Year of the idols or very great repute j among the reft, before chrift Rimmon, whofe temple ftood at Damafchus; , _^^1 ^ he feems to have been at leaft the principal God of Damafcene, v^^hich is all I can ven- ture to fay about him.
This ancient god in time gave way to another : for the Syrians deifying their king Ben-hadad, under the flile of Adad, or Ader,* he was confidered as their moft glo- rious and aufpicious god. This god, and others of the fame ftamp, flourifhed as long, we may fuppofe, as the ancient Syrians 'pof-
feffed
• Jofeph. Antiq. lib. ix, chap. 2.
48 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the fefTed this their feat. But both they and
tlood lO/X, J
before chiift their Gods, in a o;reat meafure, underwent 674. *-"
the fame fate, when Syria was conquered and tranfpknted by Tiglathpilefer.
Hereupon the rehgion of this country may have faid to change face : A new idolatry was introduced, or many additions to the old were brought in by the new inhabitants, who were fent hither by the AfTyrians. What changes and alterations this fyftem fuifered under the Babylonians firft, the Perfians afterwards, and lailly, under the Seleucidie and Romans, we cannot prefume to fay ; but an account of it, fuch as it was in the fecond century of the Chriftian asra, I iliall borrow from Lucian, who was an eye witnefs of what he fays, for the moft part, and the refl he learned from the priefts.
At Hierapolis, or the holy city, or Magog, as the Syrians themfelves are faid * to have called it in the province of Cyrrheflica, flood the temple of the great Syrian Goddefs, upon an eminence in the midft of the city, fur- ^ rounded
•Pliny's Nat. Hift. lib. v. c. aj.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION* ^q
rounded by a double inclofure, or two walls: Jo^Jj^^g^ At the north fide it had a court or porch be- ^'•'^"'^^ ^*"'^ fore it, of about five or fix hundred feet iri circumference, where ftood the priaps 300 fathom, or 306 cubits high. Thefe obfccne images, or rather columns, were but flender^ but by whom, or to whom they were ered:ed, was the fubje(fl of much fable. The front of the temple itfelf fiiood eaft, and before it was a tower, raifed upon a terrace about twelve feet high. It was built after the manner of the Ionian temples, the porch was adorned with golden doors, nay the whole temple glittered with gold, and particularly the roof. The air there, was nothing infe- rior to the fweetefl: of Arabia, and it fo ftrongly perfumed the garments of all who vifited the temple, that they retained the fra- grancy for a confiderable time.
This temple was not without its fandiu- ary, into which no admifiion was allowed^ even to fuch of the priefts as were not in an efpecial manner allied to the Gods there kept, or wholly addid:ed to their fervlce and wor- jliip. There were a variety of idols, ftatues^Scc.
£ m
^6 A SUCCINCT ,A.CCOtJNT OF THfi
Year of the [^ ^j^g templc, which Lucian very mi-*
flood 1678, i •'
nutely defcril is referred.*
fl
before chiiit nutelv defcfibes, to whom the curious readeif
674.. -'
Clofe to this temple was a lake, where fa- cred fillies were preferved and attended 5 fome of the largefl had names, and came when called. One of thefe had golden fins ', The lake itfelf was 200 fathoms deep, as the priefts reported ; and in the midil of it llood a ftone altar, which feemed to fwim, as moft thought it did ^ for the pillar Or what elfe fupported it, was not eafily to be difcerned^ This altar was for ever crowned, and reeking with incence, and daily frequented* With- out the templc flood a large brazen altar, and flatues of kings and priefls almoft innu- merable*
The oracle in this temple was quite ex- traordinary, and may ferve to evince how deeply the priefts were verfed in the myflery of their profeffion. Here were images which feemed to move, fweat, and deliver oracles, as if alive; and noifes were often heard in the
temple,
* Lucian, chap, xxviii. 3f .
ijtFJ'£RE^if §eCts in religion* ^t
temple when it was (hut Up. Apollo, we flJ^jf/J*
are told, was the chief oracle. Other idols before chriit
674.
delivered their anfwers by the prieils : this l^'V^kJ fyrian Apollo did all himfelf* He was the only God that had cloaths ; the reafon of which was, as we apprehend, that a living perfon might the more eafily be concealed under the covering, and aft the part of the pretended deity. When he condefcended to anfwer thofe who confulted him, he firft be- gan to move himfelf, upon which he was immediately lifted up by the priefls; for if they did not run to his affijftance, he foon fell into violent agonies and convullions. However, the priefts who came to his af- fiftance, he treated very roughly, till the high • prieft coming up to him, propofed his quef-* tion. He had the diredion of all matters, facred and civil, being upon all occafions con- fulted 5 and he always declared the time when it was proper to carry the image, called the iign, in proceffion to the fea. In fine, my author alTures us that he faw this God walk in the air.*
E 2 The
'' Lucian, chap. 3^-
5^ A SUCCll^cr ACCOl/NT OF THE
Jood^Vs* The revenues and treafure of this temple, before chriit vvcrc in proportion to its fplendour, to the great majcfly of the goddefs, and to the mighty power and excellence of her kindred deities that attended her.
It is remarkable - of their eunuch priefts, that they were emafculated by the voluntary operation of their own hands. How this un- natural cuftom came to prevail, is accounted for by the following flory.
Stratonice, who built this temple, having for feme time negledted the admonitions of the goddefs, requiring her to undertake the work, was in the end, by a grievous diftem- per Vv'ith which the goddefs afflidled her, forced to comply.* The king, her hulhand, readily agreed to her obeying the goddefs, but committed the care of her to a beautiful youth nam.ed Combabus, who, no way fond of his commiffion, but dreading the confe- quences of being fo much alone Vv'ith the beauteous queen, deprived himfclf of the marks of his fex, and gave them carefully
fealed
* Lucian, chap. 19.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ^-9
fealed up, to the kino;. Bein^ aftrwards '^^earof the
tempted by the queen to betray his truft, he b.Lr-chnit
674, acquainted her with the condition to which
he had voluntarily reduced himfelf. How- ever, he was, through malice or envy, con- demned to expiate with his death his infide- lity to the prince, and impiety to the god- defs. As they were leading him to the place of execution, he called for the treafure he had left with the king ; which being pro- duced, his intended punifhment was con- verted into the moft tender embraces in the arms of his prince, who heaping honours and riches on him, granted him leave to finifh the temple, where he pafTed the re- mainder of his life j and there flood his fla- tue in brafs.
With refped: to the facrifices, ceremonies, and cuftoms peculiar to this holy city ; — they Sacrifice twice a day to Jupiter in lilence ; to Juno with great noife of minftrels and fingers. Every fpring they celebrated an extraordinary facrifice ; for felling fome great trpes in the court of the temple, they gar- nifhed them with goats, fi:ieep, birds, rich ♦ E 3 veftments,
54 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
"^S'fiA^ veftments, and fine pieces of wrought gold
before Chnft ^iud filvcr ; thev then carried the facred
67+. ^ ' • ^
images round thefe decorated trees, and fet fire to thenij a.nd all was confumed. There are many more fcftivals, ceremonies and fa- prifices made ufe of, but a further recital would only prove tedious to the reader, and at the fame time lead me too far out of my ^ay,
I fhall conclude hy obfervxng they had fometimes a way of facrificing, which was truly fhocking and barbarous. They firffc crowned the victims with garlands, and theri drove them out of the porch or court of the temple, one fide of which was a fleep pre- cipice, where they periihed. Nay, fome were fo mad as to tie up their children in facks, and then (hove them down the fame precipice,*
♦Lucjan, chap. 57.
No,
©IFFERENT SECT$ IN RELIGION. I^$
No, XIII.
T'/je Religion of the ancient Fhcenicians,
It is univerfally allowed by hiftorians, that Year of the •the Phoenicians were Canaanites by defcent, before ckift though their blood muft have been mixed v^4^ with that of foreigners, in procefs of time, as happens in all trading places,
In refpedlto their religion, the Phoenicians being originally Canaanites, muft once, as well as the reft of their kindred, have had a knowledge of the true God, whom they, as is moft likely, called Baal, or Lord. But by degrees degenerating to the deification and worftiip of fuch as were once mortals like themfelves, they became perverfe and blind idolaters.
E 4 The
5^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THg
Year of tVie 'pt^g ^j.|^ qj. chief of thcif deitics, as wc
flood 1750, '
before chrift find thcm 111 their pwn records, is Beelfamen, 598. ..'... ■
which in Phoenician, is Lord of Heaven;,
thereby meaning the fun. There are a number pf others which I fhall pafs over. How far they retained or loft a due fenfe and notion of the true God, in this their multi- farious idolatry, is hard to determine. It i§ reported of the Egyptians, that amidft their endlefs polytheifm, they ftill acknowledge one fupreme God ; and the religion of the old Phoenicians, was in fubftance hardly different from that pf the Egyptians.
Baal had his prophets and his priefts irx great number. We read of 450 of them, which were fed at Jezebel's table only. They w^ere wpnt to offer burnt offerings and facrir fices to this God, and dance about the altar with violent gefticulations, and having worked themfelves to the height of phrenzy by this exercife^ ^nd a violent ftraining of their voices, they began to cut their bodies with l^nives and lancets ; then they betook themfelves to prophecy, as it is called, or rather raved, as if poffelled by fome invifible
pov/er^
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELiaJON. JJ7
power, which was thejr barbarous way of ^'^^'^Jj'^^j^yfo. worfhip. Nor need we wonder at it, con- betore chnit fidering their more barbarous cuftom in ear- lier days, of /licrificing even fuch perfons, as were moft dear to them, to appeafe or recon^ cile their falfe gods, \yhen they laboured un- der any public calamities. This is charged very home upon them, not only by the tefti- mony of others, but by their own confeffion : fo barbarous a pra€tice they had in common with the Egyptians. But it was difcontinued here, as well as in Egypt, pretty early ; tho' at what time, and upon what mgtives, we are not made acquainted with,
* Herodotus xuppofes the Phoenicians to Jaave beea pircumcifed, but Jofephus -f af- ferts, that none of the nations, included un- der the vague rjames of Paleiline and Syria, ufed that rite, the Jews excepted : fo that if the Phoenicians had anciently that cuftom, they canie jn tjme tp negledl it, and at length wholly laid it afide. They ^bftaiqed from ^he flefh of f\yine,
Nq,
f Herodotus, bpok ii. ch^. 104, f Jofephus, book \^
rS A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No, XIV,
T^he Religion of the AJfyrians^ flo?d%\7, We are pretty much in the dark as to their
before Ciiiift, t • - 11 ^i • i
771. rehgion -, in general we know they were ido^ laters, and that they had their idols and tem^ pies,
Nifroch is likely to have been their princi-» pal God, at leaft at one time ; but Seldon declares * he knows nothing at all of him, and therefore any enquiry after fo palpable an obfcurity would be needlefs, Nergal was not properly, it feems, an AfTyrian deity : Adramelech may perhaps be properly termed a God of this country, and is faid to have been reprefented as a mule or a peacock : Anamelech, in like manner, is faid to have
been
• Pe diis SyrJi, lib, ii. chap. \o.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGIOKT, ^J
been reprefented as an horfe, or a pheafant, \''^,''^ *•'
■^ ' r ' flood 1957,
or a quail : but thefe are all rabinical dreams, bcbveChiift
771-
and ought to be looked on as fuch. For this fmall part of their religion, and fome- thing more which vye fhall recoiled: in the religion of Babylon, which may have been the very fame, we are beholden to the Scrip- ture and the Jews, the reft we muft more immediately trace out elfewhere ; and ac- pordingly look back to the fuperftitions of the Philiftines, Syrians, and Phcenicians.
In the next chapter we fhall make ample amends for the deficiency in this, when we fpeak of the religion of the Babylonians.
We /hall therefore only for the prefent ob- ferve, that the Aflyrians, and likewife the Syrians, paid particular devotion to fi flies, in memory, as we are told, of the goddefs Derceto of Afcalon, who was wholly or part- ly metamorphofed into a creature of that fort, and that they honoured Semiramis in the form of a dove, or pigeon, either be- caufe fhe was nurfed by them, whenexpofed
after
60 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Vcar ofthe aftcf her birth, or becaufe they attended her
flood 1957)
before chnit at her death, when it is fabled flie was
771. I. y f changed into a bird of that fort, which is all
I can fay of the AfTyrian religion.*
. ♦ Diador Sicul, lib. ii.
No. XV.
n?
The Religion of the Babylonians,
lood 1^% The religion and boafted learning of the before chr.ft g^bylonians are fo blended together, that we hardly know how to feparate them into dif- tin(5t heads ; for the Chaldees, properly fo called, were not only their priefls, but alfo their learned men, whofe whole fcience feems
to
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGIOM. 6l
to have been fiibfervient to the purpofes of Year of the
■^ ^ flood 1601,
fuperfiition and infatuation. Thefe Chal- btfoieChHit
747. deeans were perhaps more diftinguifhed from
the people j than thw clergy are from the laity with us ; and were as much revered ia their country as the Egyptian priefts were in theirs ; and are faid to have enjoyed the fame privileges. They were wholly devoted to the bufinefs of their fuperilitions and their religion : and pretended to prophecy, and to the gift of predicftion by the rules of augury, the flight of birds, and the infped:ion of vic- tims ; they explained dreams, and all the extraordinary phenomena of nature, as por- tending good or evil to men or nations, and were thought by their enchantments and in- vocations to aifedl mankind either with hap- pinefs or mifery. Having by their fituatioa been early addidled to celeftial obfervations, they, inftead of conceiving, as they ought to have done, juft notions concerning the omnipotence of the Creator and mover of the heavenly bodies ; and of being confirmed in
a due belief and pra(5tice of what had been handed by tradition down to men by Noah
and his fons, fell into the impious error of
efteeming
62 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the efleemlnff thofe bodies as Gods* and the im-*
flood 1 60 1, *-*
before chiiit mediate governors of the word, in fubordina-
747"
tion, however, to the deity, who was invi- lible, but by his works and the efTetfts of his power* They concluded then, that God had created the flars and great luminaries to govern the world ^ that he had accordingly placed them on high and fubflituted them, his minifters ; and that it was but jufl and natural they fhould be praifed, honouredj and extolled : and that it was even the will of God they fhould be magnified, feared, and worfhipped ; jufl as a king defires his fervants fhould be refpedled in honour of himfelf.
Perfuaded of this, they began (in their .firft ilage of idolatry) to build temples to the flars, to facrifice to them, to praife them, and to bow down before them, that through theif means they might obtain th^ f„vour and good will of God, fo that they efleemed them as me- diators between God and them ; for that there was a neceflity for a mediatory ofHce between God and man, is cbferved * to have been a
notion
* PrJJeaux's Coniieft. of the Hiftory of the Old and Nevr Teftament, part j.bookiii. p. i77j wOftavo.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 63
notion generally maintained among mankind J^^^ of^*'^* from the beginning:* before chrift
^ ° 74-7-
* Confcious of their bwn meannefs, vile-
* nefSj and impurity, and unable to conceive
* how it was poffible for them, of them-
* felves, alone to have any accefs to the all
* holy, all glorious, and fupreme governor
* of all things : they confidered him as too ' high, and too pure, and themfelves as too
* low and polluted for fuch a converfe ^ and
* therefore concluded there muft be a medi-
* ator, by whofe means only they could
* make any addrefs to him, and by whofe in-
* terceffion alone, any of their petitions could
* be accepted of. But no clear revelation
* being then made of the mediator, whom
* God had appointed, becaufe, as yet, he ' had not been manifefted unto the world,
* they took upon them to addrefs themfelves
* unto him, by mediators of their own
* choofmg ; and their notion of the fun,
* moon, and ftars, being, that they were the
* tabernacles, or habitations of intelligences,
* which animated thofe orbs in the fame
* manner as the foul of man animates
6 < hig
64 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
'flood iL?*^ * ^^^ body, and were the caufes of all their
before ciuift < motions, and that thofe intelligences were
747. ' fe
* of a middle nature, between God and them,
* they thought thefe the properefl; beings to
* become the mediators between God and
* them ; and therefore the planets being the
* neareft to them of all thefe heavenly bodies>
* and generally looked on to have the great-
* efl influence on this world : they made
* choice of them, in the firfl place, for their
* Go^s mediators, who were to mediate for
* them with the fupreme God, and procure
* from him the mercies and favours which
* they prayed for ; and accordingly they di-*
* reded divine worship to them as fuch, and
* here began all the idolatry that hath beea
* pradifed in the world/
For perfuading themfelves of this do6lrInei they became anxiouS' about the moll eifediual means of making their worihip acceptable to the feveral deities ; whence they firfl began to build temples or tabernacles to them, and ^dicated to their fervice, and to be as places ©f abode for them j but as in matters of this kind, there can be no ilable form, where
there
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 6^
there is no immediate revelation, and men ."^^^f^/"^^^'-
ilood 1001,
adiuated either by fear, or avarice, or am - b^^'^'"- ^'^"^
^ 74-7-
bition, or aught elfe, had Uberty to pretend to what they knew nothing of, in procefs of time impoftors arofe, and gave out that they had had it enjoined and commanded from God himfelf, that this ftar, or that, or all of them, fhould be worfliipped in this or that manner, and reprefented under this or that form, and that none of any age or degree, fliould be exempt from the worfhip thereof: and this they impudently gave out in a fo^ lemn manner for revelation. Upon this it was that men began to furnifli the tabernacles or temples with images, and to ered; the fame under trees, and upon the tops of hills or mountains : and from hence forward they aflembled themfelves together to pay them worfhip, and began to hope for all good, and to dread all evil, as proceeding from them, and to honour them with the deepefl re- verence, and to fear them : and their priefts, fenfible of the fweets of the trade, began to think, of forms of duty and pradice, to be obferved by the credulous and deluded mul-
' F titude/*
66 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the titudc* Other impoftors there were v/ho
tiood 1601 ^
before chrift improved upon the firft, and pretended to have been honoured with particular inftruc- tions from particular flars, concerning the exacft mode of the worihip due, or peculiar to them, and what ought, and what ought not to be done to pleafe them, fo that in Drocefs of time, the name of God became obliterated among men, and the mofl ftupid idolatry pofTefTed the place of true religion.
Such was the rife and firfl progrefs of ido- latry, and fuch were the original Sabian doc- trines ; which taking root firft among the Chaldeeans, afterwafds fpread their branches fo far, as to keep in, darknefs, at one time, all the nations of the call. For it muft be difficult to conceive how men could have been led into fo grofs an abfurdity as to wor- fhip wood, ftone, or metal, formed and fafliioned by their own hands, if it be not at the fame time allowed, that they muft have imagined their images to have been animated or informed with a fupernatural power, by fome fupernatural means. A late author-f*
thinks
* Prideaux, as before cited, f Ibid.
747
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. d'j
thinks it more natural to fuppofe that their ^''^'^ of the
flood 1 60 1,
lofs to know how to addrefs themfelves to before Chriit the planets, when they v/ere beneath the ho- rizon, was, what iirft fuggefled to them the ufe of images, for that, whenever they paid their devotions to any of them in their taber- nacles, they directed their worfliip towards the planet : which they may have thought of none efted:, when he was abfent and hid- den from iight ; and that therefore they thought to fupply his abfence by a reprefen- tation. Thus it may have been, though it may be as natural to fuppofe, that as their priefts obferved the flars as their Gods, and made them the chief objedl of their ftudy, and perfuaded themfelves that each ftar or plannet was adluated by an intelligence they gave out to the people from time to time, that thofe fuperior beings had revealed their will to them, jufl as their crazy imaginations or defigning craft may have fuggefled to them.
Be that as it will, it is certain that the firft image worfliippers did not pretend to pay adoration to uninformed wood, flone, or
F 2 metal.
68 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the rnetal, and that the Sabians, in their tran-
fiood 1 601
before chiid fition from planet worlhip to image worfliip, « , ' pretended to have infufcd the virtues of the planet into the image that was meant to re- prefent it, which they thought to efFed: by forms of conlecration, and by various incan- tations, whereby to draw down from the ftars their feveral intelligences into their re- fpediive idols ; and hence came all the fooliih fuperflition of T^alifmans ;* and upon thefe pretended principles of communicative oper- ation, all the branches of magic and forcery muft have had their foundation.
That this was the firft origin of image worfhip is evident ; and that the fame was firft derived from the heavenly bodies, the moil confpicuous and glorious to fight, is evident, by the primary Gods of the heathens in general, which are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Apollo, Mercury, Venus, and Diana, by which we can underftand no other than the fun and moon, and the five greateft: lumi- naries next to them.
This
* Piideaux :is before cited.
7+7-
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 69
This was the relis:ion of the Babylonians, J^arof the
O . ' ilo-jd 1 601
Aflyrians, and Mefopotamians, even before •'*-'"'^ ^'^"^ the days of Abraham ; nay, in the days of Enos, the fon of Seth, whofe dcfcendants are faid to be the iirfl that cultivated aftro- nomy and aflrology ; the Sabians themfelves boalling the origin of their religion from Seth, and pretending to have been denomi- nated from a fon of his, called Sabius, as alfo to have among them a book, which they called the book of Seth.*
This was the ftate of the old Babylonian religion, till they came to deify mortal man, as well as the celeiliial bodies. In this we are apt to think they were not the firll:, and that the Syrians, whofe empire was confef- fedly older than either the Affyrian or Baby- lonian, fhewed them the way, by deifying their great kings, Benhadad the fecond, and Hazael. A late learned author -f- is inclined to think, that the firll Sabians or Idolaters, defirous to have all the mediation poffible with the fupreme God, and imagining that good men had a power with him to intercede
F 3 for
' * Prideaux, ibiJ. f Ibid.
7^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF T H13
lood itot' ^°^ them, deified many of thofe they thought ^^^°747^^"^ to be fuch i and that thus they increafed the number of their Gods. This opinion is very favourable to them, but refledls not a little upon the purity of the Roman church, which teaches the fame dodrine, and allows the fame pradlice 3 and this calls to my mind how frequently Rome is fuppofed to be lignified under the type of Babylon ; and perhaps there may not be fo wide a difference between fome parts of the two religions, as may be generally imagined. But to wave this, as foreign to my purpofe, I {hould rather choofe to think that they deified their greats eft and moft powerful men ; and that how- ever they may have paid the fame honour to men of virtue, their moft confpicuous Gods were their warriors, and moft potent kings.
According to this we are told, * that by the vain glory of men, idols entered into the world. That m procefs of time, afi ungodly cuflo7?t grown Jirojzg, was kept as a law, and graven images were wor/ljipped by the command^ pent of kings, or as fome authors will have
it,
*Wifdom of Solorron, chap, xlv. ver. \\. i6, 17.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 7I
it, tyrants : That whom men could not honour ^'^^J ^^^'^^^ in prefence, becaufe they dwelt far off] they ^'^'^^^ <^h"*- took the counterfeit of his vifaye fro7nfary and made an exprefs image of a kifig, whom they honoured to the endy that by their forwardjzefsy they might fatter him that was ahfent as if he was prefent.
This was moft certainly the cafe, with re- gard to the deification of the kings, who could not be contented with being lefs than Gods. The fame author* affiens two other reafons for this prad:ice, which muft ftrongly co-operate with the former : Firfl, the grief of a parent for his child, untimely fnatched away, whofe image he may have been temp- ted to honour as God when dead, and to de- liver to thofe beneath, or in fubjedtion to him, ceremonies and facrifices of duty and com- • memoration : And fecondly. The ikill of the workman, who by his art might greatly con- tribute to the deception of the ignorant ; for that, ambitious to flatter fome great man, he may have exerted all in his power to repre- fent him beyond what he truly was, and fo, F4 . by
* WIfdom of Solomon, ver. 15. i8, 19, zo, 21,
747'
72 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year cf the )^y the beautv of his work, captivate and de-
nood 1601 •' J -i
before ciuift JQ^g the uflwary multitude, who took him now for a god, whom a little before they ho- noured but as a man ; and that thus, men, fubjedt either to calamity or tyranny, afcribed unto ftones and flocks, the incommunicable name of God,
However, it was an opinion that Ninus was the fir (I who fet up images to be wor-^ fhipped, and particularly one of his father Belus, and granted privileges and pardons to thofe who reforted to it. This Belus had a temple eredted to him in the city of Babylon, and was received as their primary god, he being the firfl founder of all the Aflyrian and Babylonian grandeur, and fource of all the reverence and adoration claimed by his fuc^ ceflbrs, both at Babylon and Nineveh. To him they ered:ed the tower fo famous in all ages fince ; though it fliould feem that the honour of this tower or temple was meant to be divided between him and the true God, This building confifled of eight towers raifed upon one another ; and the uppermofl was a jpgcj piagnificently Cct forth, and a golden
table
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 73
table near it, but no imas^e : nor was any J^^J ^^^^^
' ^ ' J flood 1601,
body fuffered to be here in the ni^ht, but a before chriit particular woman, who, as the prieils gave out, was in an efpecial manner, preferred by the God before all others. In this place they taught that he ufed to come and repofe him- felf j fo that they muft have confidered him as the fupreme God, who either could not be reprefented, or would not bear fuch pre- fumption in them as to offer at it. But be- neath this there was another temple, where there was a gigantic image of Jupiter [Belus] all of gold, with a table before him all of the fame metal ; his throne was gold alfo, as well as all the furniture about him, infomuch, that the whole work was valued at 800 ta- lents of gold.*
This, it feems, was not the only ftatue In this temple -, for we read of another, all of folid gold, and twelve cubits -f* in height ; but whether our author really defigns to de- fcribe two diftindt idols, by giving the weight of the one, and the dimenlions of the other, or whether he gives the weight and dimen^
fioii^
* Herodotusj book i. cliap. 183, f Idem ibid.
74 -^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the gons abovc, as belon2:in? to one and the fame,
flood, 1601 00 J
before cbift is a point not altogether cleared up.
747-
There are a vaft variety of gods, goddef- fes, temples, facrifices, ftatues, altars, &c. re- lative to the fuperftitious idolatry, and re- ligious rites and ceremonies of the Babylo- nians, vi^hich I fhall pafs over, as they would tire the reader, and afford very little amule- ment, and conclude the whole with a few words, on fome of their idols, which were of gold, and lilver, and of wood, as defcribed in Jeremiah, which were carried about in pro- ceffion, furrounded with multitudes worfhip- ing them.* They were crowned and cloathed in purple, and black with the fmoke of in- cenfe. Their temples were full of fmoke and duft, raifed and caufed by the numerous refort of votaries. The priefts made fome- times free with the gold and filver prefented to their gods, and either kept it for them- felves, or beftowed it upon lewd proftitutes, who were accounted facred. Whatever was offered as a facrifice to their gods, they were wont to embezzle, and appropriate to them^ •» felves,
* Baruch, chap. 6.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 7^
felves, and clothe their wives and children y^ai-ofthe
' flood 1 601,
with the garments that had been given to before chiift adorn their idols. In return for this, they were fure to light up numbers of tapers and candles to their images, and to fit in the temples with their beards and heads clofe fhaven, uncovered^ and with garments rent and torn, crying out before their gods, as for the lamentation of fome perfon deceafed. Such was the corruption and degeneracy of this people, and fuch their practice, which could not help having a very bad effed on their morals.
The Babylonians having given rife to all the idolatries and fuperfliitions in vogue among the neighbouring nations ; we muft charge them with the horrible cuftom of facrificing human vidlims, to appeafe or con* ciliate their god or gods. That this cuftom prevailed among moft of thefe nations, is manifeft from all accounts we have of them -, and it is no lefs manifefl:, that it took birth among the Babylonians, who communicated the reft of their fuperflitions to all their neighbours. This cuftom however, grew fo
fhockring
^6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Yenrof the fhockiii^ to human nature, that it feems In
flood 1601, ^
before chrid thc latter days, at leafl, of the Babylonians, \^X'y^\J to have been confined to a particular fed; or tribe. For the Sepharvites are faid, by way of diftindion from the other Babylonians, to have burnt their children in the fire to Adra- melech and Anamelech, the gods of Sephar- vaim.*
There are traces of this ancient cruelty to be difcerned in the worship and rites of the Syrian, or rather Aflyrian goddefs at Hiera- polis, to whom parents, without remorfe, fa- crificed their children, by throwing them down a precipice in her temple, as has been already defcribed, under the religion of the Syrians.
• 2 Kings, chap. xvii. ver. 31,
'No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 'JJ
No. XVI.
T!he 'Religion of the Ancient Fhrygians. As to the relio^ion of the ancient Phrygians p^ ^^ ''^*
o JO > flood 1713,
they were greatly addided to fuperilition. before chriit
They had many idols, but the goddefs Cy- bele feems to have been their principal deity. She was called Cybele, Berecynthia, Dindy- mene, from Cybelus, Berecynthus, Dindy- menus, all hills of Phrygia, and Idea, from mount Ida, in Troas, becaufe, on thefe hills flie was worlhipped in a particular manner. She was alfo named Cubebe, becaufe her prielts, when feized with their frantic fits, ufed to throw themfelves on their heads, that name being derived from a Phcenician verb
of
^8 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the ^f ^-[^^^ import. An antient author * srives
flood 171 3, ^ ^ ^ *-^
before Cmiii us thc followiiig account of Cybele, from the
635' , ,
mythology of the Gentiles : There was a vafl rock on the borders of Phrygia, called in the language of that country Agdus, from whence Deucalion and Pyrrha, by the direc- tion of Themis, took the ftones, which they made ufe of, to repair mankind after the de- luge. From one of thefe fprung Cybele, the great mother of the gods. The fame rock conceived by Jupiter, and brought forth Ac- deilis, who is faid to have been an herma- phrodite of invincible ftrength, and of a moft cruel and intradlable temper ; and, above all, a moft outrageous enemy of the gods, who were in no fmall fear of him; till Bacchus, by a cunning contrivance, found means to deprive him of his manhood, and thereby rendered him fomewhat more tra<5lable. From the blood he fhed on this occaiion, i^^rung up a pomegranate tree, loaded with fruit, in full perfedion and maturity, which Nana, daughter to king Sangarius, being wonderfully taken with, gathered one -, and as it was of a moft beautiful appearance, put
5 i'
* Arnobius contra Gentes, lib. 8.
flood 1 71 3,
before Chiilt
655.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 79
it in her bofom. This coft her dear .; for IZ^tfZ foon after proving with child, notwithftand- ing all her proteftations of innocence, flie was by her father iliut up, and condemned to ftarve. But being maintained alive with fruit conveyed to her by Cybele, ihe was in due time delivered of a fon, who, being ex- pofed by his grandfather's order, was pri- vately taken up by one Phorbus, and nurfed with goats milk ; whence he was called Attis, the word Attagos, in the Phrygian dialed, fignifying a goat. As he grev/ up, he proved a mofc beautiful youth, and was on that fcore greatly favoured both by Cy- bele and Acdeilis -, nay, Midas, king of Phrygia, then refiding at Peffinus, was fo taken with him, that he defigned to beftow on him his only daughter, by name la. The day appointed for the nuptials being come, Midas, to prevent any diflurbance that other fuitors might create, caufed the gates of the city to be fliut and well guarded. But no gates or guards could keep out the great mother of the gods, who being flung with jealoufy, prefented herfelf at the gate of the royal palace, with the walls of the city, and
all
8o A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the ^\\ their turrcts, on Jier head ; whence fhc
flood 1713,
before chrift ^as cver after pidlured with a crown of 635.
towers on her head. At the fame time came
Acdeftis, who, infpiring with an enthufiaf- tic frenzy, all who affifted at the fatal nup- tials, changed the genial banquet into a fcene of horror and confufion. The unhappy bridegroom, in the height of his fury, emaf- culatinghimfelf under a pine tree, foon after died of the wound ; the bride, laying violent hands on herfelf, accompanied her fpoufe to the ihades. Acdeftes and Cybele, drenched ill tears, long bewailed the untimely and cruel death of their beloved Attis, and Ju- piter, having at their joint intreaties, ex- empted his body from corruption, a magnifi- cent temple was ered:ed to his memory in Peffinus.
Cybele had her peculiar priefls, ceremo- nies, and facrifices : The ceremonies per- formed by the priefls in honour of this god- defs, were : Firft, At flated times they ufed to carry her ftatue about the ftreets, dancing and Ikipping round it ; and after having with violent gelliculations, worked themfelves up
3 '"
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 8t
Vear of tlie flood 1 71 3,
to the height of frenzy, they began to cut and llafli their bodies with knives and lancets, i^efoiT chnii appearing feized with a divine fury. This ceremony was performed in commemoration of the grief wherewith Cybele was traiif- ported at the death of her beloved Attis. Secondly, A pine tree is yearly wrapped up -in wool, and with great folemnity carried by the priefls into the temple of the goddefs, in memory of her wrapping up, after the fame manner, the dead body of Attis, and carry- ing it to her cave : On thefe occafions the priefls were crowned with violets, which were fuppofed to have fprung from the blood of Attis, when he had laid violent hands on himfelf. At Rome, a fow was yearly facri- ficed, and the ceremony performed by a priefl and prieftefs, fent for out of Phrygia on that occafion.
Her priefts were all eunuchs ; this the great goddefs required of them in memory of Attis ; the waters of the river Galius, when plentifully drank, were believed to infpire them with fuch a frantic enthufiafm, as to perform the operation on themfelvcs, without 6 G the
82 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
flSd °j f^^ ^^^ le2.{\: reludtancy. They were not allowed before chriii (q dflnk wliie, becaufe Attis, overcome with
035-
that liquor, difclofed his amours with Ac- deftris, which he had ever before concealed with the utmoft care. They abftained from bread, in commemoration of the long fafl which Cybele kept after the death of the fame Attis. They held oaths to be unlaw- ful on all occafions, which tenet, fome tell us, was common to all the Phrygians. The priefls were placed, after their death, on a ilone ten cubits high. Though the Romans pofTefTed a great veneration for Cybele, yet we find that they looked upon her priefts as the very refufe of mankind, of which we have a ii ?nal inftance in Valerius Maximus, who tells us, that an eunuch of Cybele, hav- ing by a decree of the pretor been admitted to the poffeffion of an eftate, that had been bequeathed him, Mamercus Emilius Lepi- dus, at that time conful, being appealed to, reverfed the decree of the pretor, adding thereto, that an eunuch, as being neither man nor v/oman, could not enjoy any privi- leges of that nature. This judgment Vale- rius Maximus extols, as a decree worthy of 3 Mamer-
DIFJ'ERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. S^
Mamercus, worthy of one that was at the Y^^^, ^^ *^®
' -^ flood 171Z*
head of the fenate, lince it put a fhop to the ^^^"^'^ chHii appearing of eunuchs in the courts of judi- cature, and defiling the tribunals with their unhallowed prefence, under pretence of fu- ingfor juflice.
They, like other religions of old, had their idols, deities, facrifices, temples, altars, and we read likewife of fome dances and fongs, ufed in folemnizing the fellivals of their gods : but enough has been faid of them, without tiring the reader.
G2 No.
84 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XVIL
The Religion of the Trojans,
Year of the *
flood 1164-, ■ iVS to the religion of the Trojans, It was in
betoi-e Chnft ° "^ . .
1 1 84. fubftance hardly different from the inhabi- tants of Greater Phrygia, which I have aU ready defcribed.
Their principal deities feemed to have been Cybele, or as they ftiled her, the Great Mother of the Gods ; who according to the common opinion, was brought into Troas from Crete, by Teucer, lord of that ifland, and the progenitor of the Trojans ;* fhe was chiefly worshipped on the hills of Ida, Din- dymus, Berecynthus, and Cybele, whence fhe borrowed her name : Apollo, who had
a temV
* VIrgU, book ill.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 8^
a temple in the citadel of Troy, called Per- "^^^if^^^^ gamus ; in this temple, and by this god, beiorechnii Homer feigns, that iEneas was concealed, till the wounds he had received in an en- counter with Diomedes, were cured by La- tona and Diana, Apollo's mother and liiler : Minerva or Pallas, from whole temple Vir- gil pathetically defcribcs Caliandra dragged by the vidorious Q reeks, while the city was in flames.*
• TEneld zd.
No.
86 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XVIIL
floo'd f M, "^^^ Religion of the Medes,
Vefore Ciuift,
As to the religion of the Medes, it was much the fame with that of the Ferfians, wherefore I (hall defer what may be faid of it, till I come to the religion of the Perjiansy from the Oriental writers. In refpedt of their laws I fliail only obferve, that when a law was once enaded, it was not in the king's power to repeal it, or to reverfe a de- cree he had once made : whence the laws of the Medes are, in Holy Writ, called un^ changeable,*
Ifliall
* Panlel, chap, vi, ver. 8,
DIFFERENT SECfS IN RELIGION. 8/
I fnall defer the religion of the Medes Jzlefz,
before Chrift
without any further difcuffion, to the next chapter y concerning that of the Perlians, and fhall there make abundant amends for the feeming deficiency in this.
710.
No. XIX.
^he 'Religion of the Perjians,
IHERE is hardly any fubjedt which hath Vearofthe employed the pens of authors, ancient or btforechu.i
ego.
modern, that deferves to be treated with greater accuracy, or to be read with more attention, than this, which I am now about
G 4 * to
88 ^ A SUCCINCT ACCOU-NT OF THE
Year of the jo difcufs. The relimon of the Perfians, if
nood 174.9, o »
beiore thrift y^Q j^i^y credit the mofl learned and induf-
599- . "^ .
V— ~v-— » trious writers,* is venerable from its anti- quity, and worthy of admiration, from ita having fubfifted now fome thoufand years, in as great, or greater purity, than any other j-eligion knov/n to us at this day. But the accounts which are ftill extant, of the re- ligion of the ancient Perfians, are far from correfponding exadly ; and the defcription which modern travellers have given us of. thofe who profefs this religion in Pcrlia and India, even in our time, differ fo widely, though not indeed in ellential articles, that it requires no fmall degree of patience to fe- parate the ore from the drofs ; and to pre- fent the reader with what is worthy of being known and believed, among heaps of fables and mifreprefentations.
If we had ftill any conliderable collection of the ancient Perfian records, we fhould doubtlels find in them what would fatisfy us, as to the primitive dodrines of their wife
men ;
* Conne6l. of the Hift. of the OU and New Teftament, by Dean Prideaux, vol. i. p. 299.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 8^
men : but as thefe are mofl of them, either T'^^'; "^^^^ longiince deftroyed, or at leaft hidden from '^^^"^e v hrift us, we mufl be contt nt to follow fuch lights as yet remain ; and where we cannot make the reader underUand things as clearly as we would, it is our duty, however, to make them as clear as we can. This is certain, that the Perlians have preferved the worfhip of one God, and other eifential articles of true religion, * through a long courfe of years, without fuffering themfelves to be drawn over by fraud, or fubmitting through force to any new faith, though they have fo often changed their mafters : a thing very fmgular, and in fome fort commendable, if we confider how much they have been de- prelTed fince the death of Yezdegherd, the laft king of their own religion, and the op- probrious treatment they have met with from, the Mohammedans, who are wont to call them and Chriftians, with like contempt. Infidels ; though the principles of the form- er, as well as the latter, are far more reafon- able than the ill conneded legends of the
Arabian
* Religious Hlft. of the Old Perfians, chap. 33,
90 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
loodf^^^ Arabian impoilor ; and though the modern before Chiift Perfians (taking that proper name in a re- ligious, not a civil fenfe) are unanimoully acknowledged * to be as honell, as charita- ble, and inofFcnfive people, as any upon earth.
So that in God's due time, wehavejuft reafon to believe they will, at laft, acknow- ledge the truth of the Gofpel Difpenfation, and be included within the pale of the Chriilian cliurch.
The original inhabitants of Perfia de- fcended from Elam, the fon of ^hem, and from thefe two patriarchs, it is moft proba- ble, they derived the true religion, which at firfl flouriflied among them with the utmoft purity, but in procefs of time, was corrupted by an intermixture of fuperftitious rites, and heretical opinions, at fuch time as the reft of the Oriental nations were overfpread with that deluge of falfe religion, which generally goes under the name of Zabiifm. From this it is affirmed, by fome ancient authors, -f-
they
* Connexion of the Old and New Tefta-.nent f Religious Hift. of the Ancient Perfians, chap. 2 and 3.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 9I
they were thoroughly recovered by the Pa- Y^ai-°f the triarch Abraham, who, they fay, undertook ^^^'^''^ chHii the reformation of their religion ; and hav- ing freed it, as well from the pernicious doc- trines they had imbibed, as from the fuper- fluous ceremonies they had adopted ; left it them once more in its pure and primitive condition, and iimplicity, wherein he tranf- mitted it to his own defcendants. * But if this were fo, they v/ere a fecond time cor- rupted and engaged, if not in idolatrous practices, yet in fufpicious a^ls of reverence to the heavenly bodies, and in practices in- con liftent with the true faith.
However the fplendor of their religion might be darkened with thefe fpots, yet it was never fo far obfcured as to admit any degree of comparifon betw^een it and the worfhip of the neighbouring nations (ex- cepting the Jews), for the Perfians con- tinued zealous adorers of one all-wife and omnipotent God, whom they held to be in- finite and omniprefent ; fo that they could
not
♦ Conneilion of the Old and New Teftament, pait i, book iv. page 25, oftavo.
^2 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the j^^j ^^^^ ^j^^^ }^g fhould be reprcfented by
flood 1749, ^ ■'
before chnit either molten or craven images ; or that the 599. ° ° ^
creator and lord of the univcrfe Ihould be
circumfcribed within the narrow bound of temples.* On this account they overturned the ftatues and places of public worlliip among the Greeks, as unworthy of the Deity, and not, as they have been falfely charged by the Greeks, from any facrilegious contempt of the gods of any other country. In the decline, indeed, of the ancient Per- iian empire, the worfliip of Venus was in- troduced by one of the princes, but it was condemned by the Magi, \ who remained firm to this great article of their faiths There is one Godj and took care to tranf- mit it religiouOy X.Q their poflerity.
The only obje6lion to which the ancient and modern Perlians have rendered them- felves liable, flows from the refpect which they have conflantly paid to fire, and to the fun : yet if this matter be feriouily and im- partially confidered, it will be found, that
there
* Religious Hiftory of the Ancient Perfians, page 3. f Ibid. p. 90.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. O?
there is nothing of idolatry In this refpcdt of Year of the-
n • 1 flood 1749,
theirs, but that they only woriliip God in before ciuiii the fire, and not fire as a God. That they fliould have an extraordinary veneration for the element of fire, and make choice rather of it, than of any of the reft, to be the fym- bol of the divine nature, v^^ill appear lefs ex- traordinary, if we confider, that a never dy- ing fire w^as kept on the altar of burnt offer- ings at Jerufalem -, * that God revealed himfelf to Mofes by a flame in a bufh ; -f* and chofe to teflify his prefence in the hofl of Ifrael by a pillar of fire, vi^hich v^^ent be- fore them in the night, and which appeared only as a column of fmoke in the day. ^ As to their veneration of the fun, it is founded on their belief, that he is the noblefl creature of the Almighty vifible to us, and that his throne is placed therein. Nor need we wonder either at the miflakes of ancient writers, or at the flories told us by fome Mo- hammedan authors on this head, fince it was
very
*a Chron. chap. vll. ver. 1 .— Levlt. chap. x.v. 1. •}• Exodus, chap. ill. V. a.— -Afts, chap. vii. v. 30. J Exodus, chap. xiii. v. ai. Numbers, chap, xiv, ver. 14.. — Nchemlah ix. ver. 19.— i Corinth, chap. X. ver. 1.— Pfalm Ixxviii. ver. 14.
94 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
^00^17^9, very difficult for them to get a true knoW- b fore cjiiiiit ied2:e of the relio^ious tenets and cuftoms of
599- ^° °
•— — V ' this people, becaufe they were forbidden by
, their legiflator, Zoroafter, as appears from the book Sadder, to teach either their ancient language, or its character, to ilrangers, or to inftrucl them in their religion.* If any fur- ther regard had been had to the fun in an- cient times, it would certainly have defcended v»^ith the other parts of their religion, to the
(modern Perfians': but that it never reached them, the learned and judicious Dod:or Hyde aflures us ; for an intimate friend of his, being by him requeued to inquire con- cerning the worfhip of Mithra (fo the Per*- fians call the fun) he accordingly ajfked fome of the priefts of the Perfians fettled in Indis, at what feafons, and with what ceremonies they adored the fun ? They anfwered, that they never adored the fun, or paid any fort of divine honours to that luminary, to the moon, or to the planets ; but only turned themfelves towards the fun when prayings becaufe they looked upon it to come neareft
to
* Religious Hiftorj'. of the ancient Perfians, p. 5. — Leviticus, chan. xxvi. ver. x.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELI&ION. 95
to the nature of fire. The fame excellent ^l'^\'^l^, author obferves, that among the precepts of ^^^°'*^ ^'^"^^ Zoroafter, his difciples are diredled to pay daily to the fun, certain falutations, confin- ing only in words, (and thofe too addreiied to God) without any mention of worfhip by bowing of the body.
Yet if any cuftom of this fort prevails, it ou2:ht not to be interoreted as a mark of ido- latrous adoration : for the Perfian Moham- medans, who are zealous detefters of that impiety, and the Arminians, who dwell in Perfia, are wont to pray in like manner, the latter making the fign of the crofs, and bow- ing profoundly low at the fight of the rifi ng fun. To fay the truth, adoration, that is profirating, or bowing the body, was, even among the Hebrews, a civil, as well as re- ligious rite, when applied to God or man. An eminent Rabbi fays, that this, as an ad: of devotion, was not to be performed out of the fanduary, that is, out of the temple : it is forbid by the fecond commandment, to be paid to idols ; but, as a civil rite, the Jews were at liberty thus to tefi:ify their re-
fpecl
^6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the fped to angcls, and to perfons of very high before chiift dignity. On the whole therefore, there can
599*
t , t be no more reafon to fufped thefe Perfians of Idolatry on this account, than any other of the Oriental nations, fince the fun is no more than the point of adoration of the Per- fians, as the temple of Jerufalem was to the Jews ; and that of Mecca is to the Moham- medans, who in this refped:, are fo fcrupu- lous, that they have tables to determine the bearing of Mecca, * from whatever place they are in. As to the notions which the Periians have of, the fun, they are not per - fedlly agreed in them ; fome believing the
. . throneof God placed therein, and that it is
the feat of paradife; others entertaining a different opinion as to paradife, but praying, neverthdefs, towards the fun, as a fymbol of the deity, on account of its purity. It is farther certain, that the Perfians never called Mithra a God, or afcribed to it any name of the Divinity ; and fb far from dired:ing any petitions thereto, they conftantiy began and ended the ejaculations pronounced before the
fun,
* Keiigldtts Hill, of the ancient PerfiaBS, page 95.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION^ 9?
fun with the pralfes of the moft high God, l^fco^" to whom alone their prayers are addreiled** ^'^"''^ *^^"^
74-7-
As to the fire, before which the Perfians, taking that word in an extended fenfe, they acknowledge nothing of divinity therein : but efteeming it a fymbol of the Deity, they iirlt proftrate themfelves before it, then {landing up, they pray to God. Thus, among the ruins of the ancient palace, at Perfepolis, there are feen many marble fta- tues of kings ftanding praying to God before the figures of the fun and fire, which are alfo placed on the wall before them ; only one figure is feen kneeling, with the fame fym- bols before it as the reft. As the fire in the temple was reputed facred among the Jews, fo the Perfians might, from them, take this cuftom of praying before facred fires, which is the more likely, fince it was the manner of God's chofen people to proflrate them- felves before the altar, and then to offer up their petitions. It was alfo. a cuflom among the Perfians, to tender oaths before the fire upon the altar, in which alfo they agreed
H with
* Religious Hift. of the Ancient Perfians, chap. 5,
747.
98 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Sf6o^i^ with the Jews, as they did farther, in offer- ^'^^"'^L?"^ ing their vi(flims and other offerings ; and in preferving it from being poUuted by impure fuel, in which laft cafe the Perlians went fo far as to puniQi offenders with death. Their kings alfo, and principal perfons, were wont fometimes to feed the facred fires, with pre- cious oils and rich aromatics : but ftill, all things done to or by fire, were performed to the honour of God, and terminated folely in him ; at leafl, if we may credit the Perlian writers yet remaining, or the teftimony of thofe who flill profefs this religion.
There is yet another point in which the Perfians are to be vindicated, before we can leave the learned reader fatisfied that they never were idolaters. It is this : they had amongfl them, after the time of Zoroafler's reformation of their religion, certain caves, adorned not only with figures of the fun, but of the planets, and other heavenly bodies, which fymbolical reprefentations were called Mithriac figures, and were afterwards intro- duced into other nations, where they became objecfls of idolatrous worfhip ; but they were 3 far
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 99
far frombelnp; fo amono: thePerfians.who were J^^^, "^^ ^^^
, . r.ood 1749,
a wife and well inllrudied people, for with them^cibre chriit
. 599-
they ferved only as mathematical fymbols for prefcrving the true fyftem of the univerfe, to which end, and to no other, they Vv^ere ufed, and perhaps invented by Zoroailer himfelf.*
Having thus (hewn in general, the nature of the Perfian religion, and that it was far preferable to any of the fyftems received in other nations, either in the Eail, or in the Weft, the Jews excepted, we fhall proceed to {hew what the Perfians themfelves have taught concerning the eftabliihment of their religion, as well as what are the dod:rines as to efTential points univerfally received among them.
The great fame of Abraham, which from a concurrence of various caufes, had diffufed itfelf through the whole eaft, induced the Periians, as well as the Zabians, to afcribe the fyftem of dodlrines received by them to that venerable patriarch, ftiling their faith H 2 at
* Doftor Hyde's fentlraents cf tlic Ancleot Periians, chap. ^. p. j i i.
100 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
JZtZ ^^ ^^1 times Kifli- Abraham. They likewife before^chnit afcribc the books which they hold lacred, to this father of the faithful ; and as much be- lieve him to be the author of their Sofh or bible, as we believe the gofpel to have come to us fromChrift, or the Mohammedans, that God revealed to Mohammed his Koran.* In attributing books to Abraham, they agree with the Jews, and with the Mohammedans, the latter afcribing to him no lefs than ten treatifes, perhaps all with the like reafon. The Perfians fay farther, that Abraham, while he refided among them, dwelt in the city of Balch, which they, from thence, ftile the city of Abraham. But though it mull: be allowed that the old Perfian religion agreed in many great points with the religion of Abraham ; and though it fhould be ad- mitted, that his fame might even in his life time, be, with very advantageous circum- flances, pubUflied throughout all Perfia -, yet it is fo far from being evident, that it is fcarce probable^ he went himfelf into that country, much lefs that he executed the of- fice of a prophet there, and refided at Balch.
On
* Dr. Hyde, chap. z. pageaS.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. lOI
On the contrary, it is far more credible that p^'" °^ ^^^
flood 1749
this notion took rife from the fuggeftion of before chrift
599'
Zoroafter, who had his learning, and his di- vinity, out of the book of Mofes, and other facred books among the Jews : and that the city of Balch received the appellation of the city of Abraham from Zoroafler, on account of his making it the refidence of the Archi- magus or high prieft, of the religion of Abra- ham, and not from that patriarch's being fuppofed to live there at all, in ancient times. -f*
' Though fire was held the fymbol of the divinity among the Perfians, yet the other elements were alfo highly honoured by them, infomuch that the Greeks, and other foreign- ers, who knew not their religious principles, called them worfhippers of the elements, which was a flagrant calumny, fince all the refpe(3: they paid them arofe from their con- ceiving them to be the firft feeds of all things; wherefore they fludied, by every method pof- fible, to preferve each of them in its primi-? H 3 tive
f Connefl. of the Old and New Tcft. pait i. book iv. p. 225.
599-
102 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the j-j^g puritv. On this account they prevented,
flood i749> r J J r ^
before chrift ^s much as they could, the air from being infe<fted bv ill fmells ; and for their officiouf- nefs on this head, Herodotus, * according to his ufual cufbom, reprefents them as believing the air a deity,
Tbey boldi -f- fays he, the whole expanfe to be Jupiter. That they might in like manner preferve the earth from impurities, they would not bury their dead therein, but fuffer them to be devoured bv birds and wild beafls, that, finding a tomb in their bowels, they might not infed: the air. J In fine, the pre-^ ferving all the elements pure, was by them efteemed an ad of high piety, and as fuch, merited the divine favour in this world, and in the world to come ; for in all things they were great affedors of cleanlinefs, and ftu- (3ious in an efpecial manner, of avoiding whatever might pollute them. Fire and water, however, were, in a peculiar man- ner, the objeds of their care, becaufe they were mofl: liable to be contaminated j and
hence
* Herodotus, book i. chap. 131. f Ibid, \ Dr. Hyde, chap, iii,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. IO3
hence the Greeks, miftakino: the deo^ree of p^r of the
' _ ^ ^ flood 174.9,
reverence they paid them, declared them, '^^f'^'e cimft
599. without fcruple, wor/hippers of thofe ele- ments, and tell us formal ftories of the fa- criiices offered to both. It is very true, that kings often do extravagant things, and fuch as are contrary to the civil and religious laws of the countries they govern ; fo that it is not impoffible that fome of the Perlian princes might be guilty of what is laid to their charge : but it is not likely, becaufe the Perfians univerfally held, that whoever wil- fully polluted, either fire or water, deferved death in this world, and everlafling punifh- ment in that to come ; and that, whoever threw the bones of dead creatures into waters, were certainly damned. For thefe reafons, the Magi, whereever they were, took care to have all the waters in their neighbourhood watched, afligning them keepers, whofe fole ofhce it was to look carefully to this matter, and to fee that no filthy thing was throv/n into them ; and for this they had flated fa- laries : for abhorring, as they did, to repre- fent the Almighty Lord of Heaven and Earth, by artificial images of flone or metal ; they H 4 chofe
104 -^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
flo?df ^"^ chofe to preferve fire and water in their ut- '''^'''599!'"'^ mofl purity, that they might ferve as fym- bols of the divine nature, and put them in mind of the infinite purity of God. As they held the miniftration of angels, fo they be- lieved that one of thefe celeftial guards was appointed to watch over the waters in ge- neral. This angel they called Ardifur or Arduifur, for whom a particular falutation was prefcribed ; the title of which, in their ancient books, runs thus : Hymn to Ardifur,
for the benefits received from the fea, rivers, wells, and fountains. In this hymn they praifed- him for taking care of all thefe places, and prayed that he might continue fo to do, returning; God thanks for the various ufes made of water, and the mighty advantages refulting to mankind, from his wife difpo- lition thereof throughout the earth. They were of opinion, that in Paradife fuch people
-were peculiarly bleffed, as had been cautious of defiling water, and had, in this fenfe, pre- ferved a refpecft for that element, during their lives ; for which caufe they recommended the care of this element, as well as fire, to their women, that is, their private fires, and 5 the
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. IOC
the waters ufed in their houfes : for it docs Year of the not appear that they ever admitted women to before cimit minifter in religious matters, except in the myfteries of Venus -, which, as we obferved before, was an herefy, and as fuch, detefled by the orthodox magians. This love to pu- rity, and efpecial regard to water, may fland fufficiently juftified by the pra(5tice of the Jews, and the precepts in their law, for cor- poral purification, as well as by the great advantage of preferving cleanlinefs in thofe exceffive hot cHmates ; efpecially if we con* fider, that in wafhing the hands, &c. and putting on the garments, they were bound to ufe folemn forms of prayer, as indeed, there were fet ejaculations to be ufed in the moil ordinary actions of human life.*
With refpedl to the ufe they made of fire, in their national religion, the priefls, who at- tended it, by no means deferved the appella- tion of ig7tar a facer dotes, or fire priefls, for they v/ere truly facerdotes Dei, priefls of the Almighty, who, though like the Jewifli priefts, they waited on, and took care to
preferve
*Dr. Hyde, chap. vl. page 137.
I06 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year (jtf the preferve the facred fire from being: extln-
nood T74-9,
befoje Cariii o-ui£hed. Were far from making this their only
599. "^ O J
duty ; for thefe, as well as thofe, read every day public prayers, and did other facerdotal offices j yet fuch has been the hard fate of thefe people, that becaufe their principles were not known, and their ceremonies ill underflood, they have been branded with the name of fire worfliippers ; fo dangerous a thing it is to carry to any excefs, even inno- cent ceremonies. They never confeiTed their fins to any, but to God, nor befought a re- miffion of them from any, but from him ; yet they inclined to perform thefe public adls of devotion, before the fymbol of the Deity, that is, before fire, or before the fun, as the witnefs of their actions. In like man- ner the Jews confefTed their fins to God in the temple, the fire flaming on the altar near them, fo that there was nothing of idolatry in this, though it might not be altogether' free from fuperfiition.
In the mofi: ancient times the Perfians had no temples at all, but reared altars, whereon they prefer ved their facred fires on the tops
of
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
107
of mouiitains, and Other folitary places.* It ye^'ofthe
flood 1749,
was Zoroafter who perfuaded them, for the before chria
egg,
fake of preferving thefe fires mere conveni- ently, to erecft over each of them a pyreum, or fire temple j but this had no relation to Mithra, or the fun, towards whom they could better teflify their refped: in the open air : neither did it fubvert their ancient prin- ciple, that the lord of the univerfe ought not to be inclofed within walls ; for their pyrea did not circamfcribe what they efteemed an image or femblance of the divinity, but only the fymbol of his purity, and as it were, a fhadow of his nature. The overturning therefore of the Greek temples, by Xerxes, and other ad:s of a like nature, were perfedlly confiftent with their reverence for fire, and their refpedt for the fun. Of this, though many Greek and Oriental writers were en- tirely ignorant, and were confequently prone to mifreprefent them, yet authors of great candour, and more extenfive knowledge, have readily aiTented to it, and telHfied, to the honour of the Perfians, that they wor-
fhipped
* Herodotus, book i, chap. 131,
I08 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THS
J^cS °^ ^^^ fliipped only one God, without reprefentlng before Chriit J^jni bj any image or picture whatfoever.
599-
The Perfians in early times, acknowledged one eternal and omnipotent being, the cre- ator and preferver of all things j him they called Yezad, Izad, or Izud; alfo Ormuzd, Hormuz or Hormizda : joining this with the modern name, they fay Hormizda Choda, O fupreme God. They acknowledged alfo, an evil created being, whom they ftiled Ahariman, Abreman, or Abriman, which iignifies amongft them the devil. To fhew their deteftation of this wicked being, he was detefted as the implacable and perpetual ene- my of mankind, they maintained an ever- lafting enmity againft him and all his works. The modern Perfians call the devil div.*
Some have alTerted that the ancient Per- sians held a co-eternity of thefe two princi- ples ; but writers better acquainted with the true tenets of this nation, agree, that Ahari- man was created out of darknefs, and that Oromafdes firil fubfiiled alone -, that by him
the
♦ Hyde, cha<^. xl. 13.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. IO9
the lieht and darknefs were created ; and that J^^'^ "f the
" ^ flood 1749,
in the compofition of this world, good and before chrift
599*
evil are mixed together, and fo fhall con- tinue till the end of all things, when each fhall be feparated, and reduced to its own fphere.* A very ingenious and inquifitive author has given us a long account of the doctrines of Zoroafler very conformable to what has already been faid, and agreeing per- fectly well with the religion of the ancient Patriarchs, except in a few ftrokes of fable, which were either inferted by the miftake of the reporter of that abflracfl, or were invented by Zerduflit, to account for thofe things which furpafs human underflanding.'f'
Some have endeavoured to account for the origin of the prince of darknefs thus : Orof- mafdes, fay they, faid once within his mind, how fhall my power appear, if there be no- thing to oppofe me ? This refleftion called Abriman into being, who thenceforward op- pofed all the defigns of God, and thei-eby, in fpite of himfelf, contributes to his glory. The fouls of men, according to them, were
at
• Plutarch. f IbiJ.
110 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
flcS^i^" at firft unbodied fpirits ; but the Almighty before chrift rcfolving to make ufe of them in warring againffc Abriman, cloathed them with flefh, promiiing t?iem that the light fhould never forfake them till Abriman and all his fer- vants were fubdued ; after which the refur- redtion of the dead is to follow, with the reparation of the light from the darknefs, and the coming of the kingdom of peace. To fay the truth, the notions they have of the beginning of all things, the ftate of our firil parents, the attempts made on them by the prince of darknefs, the lafl judgment, the falvation of the good, and the punifhments of the bad, differ very little from what is de- livered to us in the Scripture, on thefe heads, only they have a long account of the war be- tv/een God and the author of evil, which they fay ended in a complete victory gained over the latter, and his adherents, who were con- ftrained to furrender at difcretion : that the Almighty did not annihilate his enemies, be- caufe, without oppofition, his attributes could not have appeared v/ith fuch luftre as they now do : that the world had exiiled three thoufand years before this decifive battle, the
whole
599-
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. Ill
whole of its duration being fixed to twelve Vear of the thoufand : that after this defeat, God, by before chn'ft holding up three fingers, gave the evil one leave to chufe which three thoufand years, of the nine thoufand yet to come, he would pleafe to take, wherein to trouble and vex mankind ; whereupon he chofe the middle- moft. Before, fay they, this power was given to Abriman, man lived in a flate of in- nocence ; but that fince his fall, war, and all other evils have been introduced ; that thefe, however, fhall, in time, pafs away, and man live again, for a certain fpace, in peace and glory. They place the day of judgment at the end of twelve thoufand years : and as to the damned, they aflert, that they fhall be punifhed according to the heinoufnefs of their crimes, two angels being appointed to be the infpedlors of their fufferings. At laft, how- ever, even thefe are to be pardoned -, but never to be admitted to the joys of the blefs- ed, but to remain in a certain place by them- felves, and to wear in their foreheads a black mark, as a badge of that ftate, from whence, through the mercy of God, they were freed.*
The
* Hyde, c. 9.
112 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the The ooint in which the Perfians differ
Hood 174.9, ^
before Lhrift moft from US is, as to the manner of God's 599.
creating the world, which they fay, happened
not in fix days, but in fix feafons, each fea- lon containing many days ; the firfl of thefe they flile Mid-yuzeram, containing forty- two days ', in this, fay they, the heavens were created, with things belonging to them; the fecond day they flile Mid-yufliam, con- taining fixty days, wherein the waters were created ^ the third is by them named Piti- fhahim, including feventy-five days, in which the earth was made ; the fourth they called lyaferam, including thirty days, wherein were made the trees -, the fifth goes under the name of Midiyarim, containing eighty days, in which all living creatures received being. The laft they ftile Hamespitamidim, com- prehending feventy-five days, wherein was made man.-f*
It is now time to fpeak of the rites and ceremonies of the Perfians, ancient and mo- dern, in the exercife of their religion, and every thing relating thereto. They have a
regular clergy, and are very zealous in
afiert-
f Lord's Religion of the Perfees> chap. vHi. p. 41.
DIFFERENT SECTS 11^ RELIGIOfT. II3
afTerting an uninterrupted fucceffion of per- floTcri749. fons» inllrucfted in their facred myfteries, ^'^"H^^^''^ from the time of Zerduflit to this day. Their ordinary prieils are obliged to live according to certain rules, much more fevere than thofe given to the laity, their high priefts were under flill flrider obligations, and all of them bound to difcharge their facerdotal offices, v^ith mighty exacflnefs and devotion.* As to their public worfhip, it was, and is ilill thus performed : In every Pyreum or fire temple, there flood an altar, on which burnt the facred fire, which was always kept alive by the priefi: : when the people afiem- bled, in order to their devotions, the priefl put on a white habit and a mitre, with a gauze or cloth, palling before his mouth, that he might not breathe on the holy ele- ment : thus he read certain prayers out of ♦he Liturgy which he held in one hand, fpeaking veryfoftly, and in a whifpering fort of tone; holding in his left hand certain fmall twigs of a facred tree, which, as foon as the fervice was over, he threw into the fire* At thefe times all who were prefent put up I their
* Lord's Accouat of the Pernan Religion,
114 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
^flood''i749, ^^^^^ prayers to God, for fuch things as they *'^^°'59^!^''^ ftood in need of ^ and, when prayers were finiflied, the prieft and people withdrew filently, and with all other tokens of awful refpedl. All thefe rites are flill obferved ; but to prevent as far as pofTible, the people from falling into idolatry, the prieft now in- forms them, when they are going from their devotions, of the reafons why they worihip before the fire, and all the obligations they are under to treat it with reverence.
This exhortation runs ufually in thefe words :
* Forafmuch as fire was delivered to Zer-
* duflit by the Almighty, as the fymbol of ' his majefty ; wherefore it was required
* that we fhould efleem it holy, and refped: ' it as an emanation from the fountain of
* light ; and that we fliould love all things
* which refemble it, efpecially the fun and
* moon, the two great witnefi'es of God,
* the fight of which fliould put us in mind
* of his omnifcience 3 therefore let us, with-
* out fuperftition, keep the command given
* us, evermore praifing God, for the great
ufcful-
599-
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 11^
4^ ufefulnefs of this element: and befeech- par of the
' Hood 174-9,
* ing him to make us always bear in mind ^^^°'^ ^'"'^t
* the obligations we are under, to do our v
* duty towards him ; which is as neceflary
* to the health and happinefs of the foul, as
* light and fire are to the eafe and welfare of
* the body.'*
'.<-
They keep yearly fix feflivals, each of five days continuance, in memory of the fix feafons, wherein all things were created after each of thefe feafls, they keep a fafl of five days, in memory of God's refting five days, as they believe at each of thofe feafons* As often as they eat, either fieih, fowl, or fifh, they carry a fmall part of it to the temple, as an offering to God, befeeching him that he would pardon them for taking away the lives of his creatures, in order to their own fubfiflence. They have none of thofe out of the way notions, relating to cleannefs and uncleannefs in meats, which ex- pofe fome religions to ridicule ; but as they are a very complaifant, as well as inoffenfive people, they abflaii>^'from fwines flefh, and
1 2 from
* Beauchamp's Eflays on Important SubjeiSls. Seft. 3.
Il6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
flood f *^* ^^^^ *^^ ^^^ of kine, that they may neither- befcre Chrift offend the Mohammedans nor the Banians,
599'
among whom they are obliged to live : they eat alone for the fake of purity and cleanli- nefs ', they likewife drink every man out of his own cup.*
When their children are initiated into their religion, they fend for a priefl ; and this is ufually done as foon as the child is born. The prieft calculates its nativity ; afterwards he alks what name is to be given it. This being agreed on by the father and its rela- tions, the priefl: tells it to its mother, who then fays ; my child is called fo or fo -, with which the ceremony ends at that time. The child is afterwards carried to the Pyreum, where the priefl firft pours fome water into the rind of a holy tree, thence into the mouth of the child, befeeching God to cleanfe the tender infant, from whatever feeds of cor- ruption it may have received from its father, and from the impurities derived from its mother. At fcvGii years of age the child is
led
* Lord's Religion of the Perfians, page 40. Hyde's Religion of the Ancient Perfians, chap. 29.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. llj
led to church, to be confirmed there ; the J'^^^^^ °^ ^^<^ prieil teaches him fome prayers, and in- before chrift ftrudis him in the firft principles of religion. ^ \ ■>» Thefe are repeated daily, till he is well ac- quainted with the articles of his faith : then he is permitted to pray, for the firfl time, be- fore" the holy fire i after which the prieffc gives him water to drink, and a pomegra- nate leaf to chew : then he caufes the lad to wafli his body with clean water ; after which he puts on a linen cafibck next his ikin, which defcends below his waift, and is girt with a girdle of camels hair, woven by the priefl's own hands. Thefe ceremonies over, the prieft bleifes him, bids him to be a true Perfee all the days of his life, to beware of falling into idolatry, or breaking any of the precepts given by Zerdufht.*
Of their marriages we are told, by a very intelligent author, that they have five forts : Firft, That of children in their minority : Secondly, That of widowers with a fecond wife : Thirdly, Of fuch perfons as marry
1 3 by
* Lord's Religion of the Perfces, page 45. Hyde's Religion of the Ancient Perfians, chap. 34.
Il8 , A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
lood°^^^^ by their own choice : Fourthly, The mar- before Chrift naae of the dead, which is occafioned by an
599- . . . .
opinion they have entertained, that married people are peculiarly happy in the other world : wherefore v/hen a young perfon dies in celibacy, they hire one to be married to him or her, which ceremony is performed a little after the burial. The lafh kind of marriage is, where a perfon adopts either a fon or a daughter, and then gives him or her in marriage -, which is alfo founded on a re- ligious opinion, that, all men ought to leave heirs behind them, either natural or adopted. As to the ceremonies made ufe of on this occafion, they are very fingular, but at the fame time, have nothing in them wild or irrational : the parties defigning to contrad: matrimony, are feated together on a bed, about midnight : oppofite to them ftand two priefts, the one for the man, the other for the woman, holding rice in their hands, to intimate the fruitfulriefs which they wi/h the new married couple ; on each hand of the priefls fland the relations of the bride and bridegroom. Things being in this fituation, the bridegroom's priefl: lays his fore finger on
th^
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. II9
the woman's forehead, and fays, Wilt thou year of the
•' flood 1749,
have this man to be thy wedded hulband ? before chrift
' . . . 599'
The woman alTenting, her priefl lays his fore finger on the man's forehead and afks the Hke queflion : which being anfwered in the affirmative, the parties then join hands ; the man promifes that he will provide her a fuitable maintenance, the woman acknow- ledges that all fhe has is his j the priefls then fcatter rice over them, wifliing that they may be fruitful, and befeeching God that they may have many fons and daughters, tha't they may live in unity of mind, and arrive at a good old age, in polleffion of all the joys of wedlock. The ceremony'over, the wo- man's parents pay the dowry, and a feafl of eight days is kept for joy of the marriage.*
As to their burials, two things are re- markable : iirll, the place 5 fecondly, the manner. Firft, as to the place, they have a round tower eredled, on the top of which the bodies of the dead are laid, to be devoured by the fowls of the air: fome affirm that they have feparate towers for the good and 1 4 for
* Lord's Religion of the Pcrfees, p. 4.?,
I20 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the fQj- ^he bad j Others, that men, women, and
flood i74-9>
before chiift children, are placed on feveral towers. The 599. ^
reafon of thus expofmg them, is, the pre-
ferving the elements pure -, for they conceive, that by not interring the dead, they avoid polluting the earth, and by leaving the corpfe unprotedled from birds of prey, they provide in fome meafure again ft the infection of the air. However this cuftom was anciently efleemed fo barbarous by other nations, that one of the apologifts * for the Chridian faith, fpeaking of the good effedls it had on jnens' minds, in reforming them from brutal and wicked habits, mentions this exprefsly ; that the Perfians, fmce they had received the Chriftian dodrines, no more expofed the bodies of their dead, but afforded them a de- cent burial. Before I take my leave of the rehgion of the Perfians, of which I hope my readers will not think I have dwelt with too much prolixity, it may not be amifs to ob- ferve what is pradifed among them, when a man is on his death bed : A prieft is in fuch a cafe always fent for, and he, drawing near
the
♦ Thegdor de cwand Graec. affe6lib. ferm. g. dc leg. page 128,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 121
the bed, prayeth thus, in the ear of the fick '^^^J^^ ^^"^
man. before Chrht
599-
* O Almighty Lord, thou haft command-
* ed we Ihould not offend thee ; this man
* hath offended : thou haft ordained that we
* (hould do good ; yet this man hath done
* evil : thou haft required that we ftiould
* duly and exacStly worfhip thee ; which,
* however, this man hath negledled. Now
* O merciful God, at the hour of death,
* forgive him his offences, his mifdeeds, and
* his negle6ls, and receive him to thy felf.*
When he Is dead, the prieft comes not near him ; but the corpfe is put on an iron bier, and carried to the place of interment, the bearers being forbid to fpeak, as they go along, out of decency, and alfo, becaufe in the grave, there is an unbroken filence : the dead body being placed on the tower, the prieft, ftanding at a diftance, performeth the funeral fervice, which he concludes thus :
* This our brother, while he lived, confifted ' of the four elements ; now he is dead, let
* each
122 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the c each take his own ; earth to earth, air to
pood 1749;
bctore chiut < ^jr, watcf to watcr, lire to fire.*
599-
They fuppofe that the fplrit wanders for three days after its departure from the body, and is in that fpace purfued and tormented by the devil, till it is able to reach their fa- cred fire, to which he cannot come. They therefore pray morning, noon, and night, during thefe three days, for the foul of their deceafed brother, befeeching God to blot out his fins, and to cancel all his offences : on the fourth day, fuppofing his fate to be de- cided, they make a great feafl, which clofes the ceremonies ufed on this occafion.*
Thus much I have thought necefTary to fay on this copious and co^ntroverted fubjed:, chiefly to juflify the much mifreprefented Perfees from the charge of fo fenfelefs an idolatry, as the worshipping either the lumi- naries, planets, or elements. To have en- larged more upon it, would have led me too far ; the curious reader, may however from
the
* Lord's Religion of the Perfees^ p. 49*
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I23
the authors quoted (at the bottom of each J^^ °J *^^^ page), colled: himfelf fuch a fyftem of the be.ore^chrift Perfee religion, both with relation to their dodrine and pradices^ as will amply reward ^11 his pains and fludy.
No,
124 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XX.
The Religion of the Aiicient Ce!tes»
Though the Celtes exceed all other na- tions in antiquity, their defcent being from the eldeil fon of Japhet, who was the eldeft fon of Noah, in which refpedt they outgo the Egyptians and Phrygians (before treated of) and even the Scythians (which I fhall fpeak of in my next chapter) yet it muft be owned that our knowledge of their govern- ment, laws, religion, &c. come vaftly fhort of the two firfl ; whether it be owing to the want of records, or rather to their migration into Europe, we are left a good deal in the dark, as to thofe particulars.
Their
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGIOM. X2^
Their religion was very like that of the Scythians, that is, they neither built temples, nor reared ftatues to the deity, which they efleemed fo derogatory to it, that they even demolillied them wherever they could, plant- ing large fpacious groves inflead of them, which being open on the top and fides, were, in their opinion, more acceptable to the di* vine and unconfined Being which they adored. In this, their religion feems to have been y/^ at firft, and not unlike that of the Perfees, and difciples of Zoroafler. They only differed from them in making the oak^ inftead oijirey the emblem of the deity, in chufing of that tree above all others, to plant their groves with ; and attributing feveral fu- pernatural virtues, both to its wood, fruit, leaves, and mifletoe, all which v/ere made ufe of in their facrifices, and other parts of their worfliip. At leaft, this is what ap- pears to have been the notion and practice of their immediate defcendants, the ancient Gauls and Germans, on each fide of the Rhine »
But
26 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
But after they had adopted the idolatrous fuperftition of the Romans and other nations, and the apotheofis of their heroes and prin- ces, they came to worfhip them much after the fame manner : As Jupiter, under the name of Taran, which in the Celtic language figniiies thunder : Mercury, whom fome au- thors call Heus, or Hefus, probably from the Celtic Huadh, which lignifies a dog, and might be the Anubis latrans of the Egyp- tians. But Mars was held in the greateft veneration by the warlike, and Mercury by the trading part. It will not however be eafy to reconcile the greateft part of thefe Celtic deities, with what a late antiquary * fays of them, with great probability, that they were originally kings of that nation.
In like manner we find the Cretans at once worfhipping Jupiter, and fhewing his fepulchre at the city of GnolTus ; for which reafon, while Calimachus calls them liars, for forging a tomb for that God, others, efpecially the Chriftian fathers, juftly blamed
their
* Pezron of the Antiquities of the Celtics, chap. 15.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I27
their folly, for adoring him as a deity, whom they acknowledged to be interred among them. How thefe gods, or at leafl their names, came to be adopted by other nations, ^ may be feen in the hiftory at large of thofe fabulous and heroic times, wherein the Celtes deified their kings, where we may fee, like- wife, how much they were addidted to all kinds of fuperilition, divination, aflrology, magic, and other kind of witcheries.
The care of religion was immediately under the Curetes, fince known by the name of Druids and Bards. Thefe were, as C^efar * tells us, the performers of facrifices, and all religious rites, and expounders of religion to the people. They alfo hiftrufted youth in all kind of learning, fuch as philofophy, aftro- nomy, aflrology, the immortality, and tranf- migration of the foul from one body to another, v/hich was both an incitement to virtue, and an antidote againft the fears of death. Thefe they taught their difciples by word of mouth, elleeming them too facred to be committed to writing.
Other
• Dc Bello Gal. lib. vi. chap. 12.
128 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
Other more common fubjeds, fuch as their hymns to their gods, the exploits of their princes and generals, and their exhor- tations to the people in time of war, efpeci- ally before a battle, all thefe were couched in elegant verfe, and fung by them upon all pro- per occafions. Though even thefe were alfo kept from vulgar eyes, and either com- mitted to memory, or if to writing, the whole was a fecret to all the laity : the latter feems indeed the mofl probable, if what Csfar hints be true, that thofe poetic records were increafed in his time to fuch a bulk, that it took up a young bard near twenty years to learn them by heart. Diodorus, fpeaking of the Celtes, tells us farther, that thefe poets ufed to accompany their fongs with inilrumcntal mufic, fuch as that of or- gans, harps, and the like -, and that they were had in fuch veneration, that if any army was engaged in battle, if one of thefe poets or bards appeared, both fides imme- diately ceafed fighting, fo that their fury gave way to wifdom, and Mars to the mufes. But the true reafon was, that they were uni- verfally believed to be prophets, as well as o poets.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 129
poets, fo that it was thought dangerous, a§ well as injurious, to dilobey what they fup- j5ofed came from their gods.
Their prophetic philofophers kept acade-* mies, which were reforted unto by a great number, not only of their own youth, but even of other countries, infomuch, that Ariftotle fays, that their philofophy palTed from thence into Greece, and not from Greece thither. Diodorus quotes likewife a pafTage out of Hecateus, which is not lefs curious, and in their praife, viz. that their Druids or learned had fome kind of inftru- ments by v/hich they could draw diftant ob- jedls nearer* make them appear larger and plainer, and by which they could difcover even feas, mountains, valiies, &c. in the moon, which fhews that they muft have made fome great progrefs in that fort of learning above other nations. Other authors add many things in praife of their virtue and morality, but the Roman hiflorians make no fcruplc to call their religion an impious one, and as fach to be forbidden by Auguflus, and aboliubcd by Claudius. Liican is no K lefs
l^O- A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
lefs fevere again ft them ; and, though this might indeed, be partly attributed to the ha- tred which the Romans bore to them ; yet it muft be owned that they adopted, in procefs of time, feveral barbarous cuftoms, fuch as facrificing human victims to their gods, as more acceptable to them, than thofe of any other animals. And Diodorus tells us of another inhuman cuftom they ufed in their divinations, efpecially in great matters, which was done by killing fome of their flaves, or fome prifoner of war, if they had any, with a Icimetar, to draw their augury from the running of his blood from his mangled limbs. They were upbraided likewife by the Ro- mans, with following the old eft law in the world, which ever gives to the ftrongeft, what the weaker cannot defend.*
I ftiall conclude this with a general iketch of their charadier, though foreign to the fcope of this work, yet will not lead my reader far out of his- way. The chara6ler given to them by many ancient authors, with relation to their virtues and vices j fuch, as
among
*PIutarch, in the Life of Camillus.
bil^FERENT SECTS IN RELIGIOl^.
^fnong the former, their extreme love of liberty, which made them prefer the worfl of deaths to an ignominious llaverj, which was no lefs common with the women than the men ; their faithfulnefs and love of juf- tice, for which feveral Roman emperors chofe them for their life guards, and moft nations courted them for their allies, or aux- illiaries : their very extraordinary hofpitality, which obliged them to have their houfes and tables free to all forts of Grangers ; their con- jugal fidelity, refpedl to their parents, to their princes and chiefs : their unanimity, courage, and hardinefs under all difficulties and diin- gers : and other fuch like focial virtues, were peculiar to this people. But to balance thefe, they had their vices, among which were cru- elty, fuperilition, fondnefs for, and extrava- gance in their feafting ; contempt of learn- ing, and looking upon all thofe with con- tempt, that could either write or read, their degenerating into downright drurikennefs, gluttony, and ferocity, and fuch like, with which we find them charged by Greek and Roman authors. But to do them fome juf- K 2 tiee,
ijl
l^Z A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
tice, thofe oppofite charaders rather relate to the Gauls, than to the old Celtes, their anceftors.
f
No. XXI.
T/je Religion of the Ancient Scythians,
There is little or nothing can be met with concerning the antiquity and origin of this nation. How focn they began to fettle themfelves into a regular government, is as impoffible to guefs, as of what kind it was. It appears, however, from Herodotus, that one or two tribes at ieaft, that is, the royal and free Scythians, were under a monarchial ene. In refped: of their religion, we are
likev/if$
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I33
likewlfe in the dark ; we know they wor- fhipped a plurality of gods and goddeffes, but that, which they reckoned their principal deity, was Vefla, whom they called Tahiti. The two next were Jupiter, whom they colled Papeus, and Apia, or the earth, which they efteemed his wife. Jupiter, it feems, they challenged for their progenitor, and Vefta for their queen, as appears by the an- fwer which one of their kings fent to Da- rius, when he came to fubdue them to his empire. *-
Befides thefe, they worfliipped Apollo, the celellial Venus and Neptune. But their favourite God feems to be that of war, to whom alone they dedicated temples> altars, and images. How his temples were built, which Herodotus fpeaks of, he doth not tell us : neither is it eafy for us to guefs. It doth not even appear from any other ancient authors, or from any other monuments, that ever they built any properly fo called. Groves indeed, and very fumptuous ones too, they were famous for erecting to the deity : la K 3 thefe
' * HeroJotus, chap. 59.
134 ^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
thefe they afFeded to have one or more oaks, of a monflrous lize, which were accounted {o facred, that it was facrilege, and was pur nifhed with the feverefl death, to lop fp {nuch as a branch or fprig, or even to wound the bark, Thefe they never failed to fprinkle plentifully with the blood of their vidtims, infomuch that the rind of lonie of the oldeft pf them v/as covered, or even encrufled with it ; ■* we are therefore inclined to be- Jieve, that Herodotus, whp learned thefe things by word of mouth, and had never {Qen them himfelf, might, for want of a good interpreter, miftake them for temples, and fuppofe them to be buUt like thofe qf other nations.
They ufed to fwear by the wind and the fvvord, the one as the author of /i/e, and the other of Jeat^. Their altars were made of fmall wood tied up in bundles, and to cover three ftades of land in length and breadth, though it was not proportionable in its height. The top of it, which was quadran- gular, had three fides perpendicular, and thg^
fourth
* Keyfler's AntiquitieS| DiiTertatlon ^.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I35
fourth had a gradual declivity, to render the top of it eafy of accefs. One hundred and fifty loads of faggots were to be brought yearly to each altar, to fupply thofe which had been putriiied by the inclemency of the winter. On the tops of each of thefe heaps was eredied an old iron fcimitar, which flood there as the image, or rather emblem of the deity. To him, befides all other cat- tle, in common with their other Gods, and in much greater number, they facrificed horfes, which were a martial creature ; and what was more fhocking, every hundredth man they took prifoner from their enemies. This laft bloody offering was made by pour- ing a libation of wine upon the captive's head, after which they cut his throat, and received his blood into a bowl, with v/hich afcending to the top of the altar; they went and wallied the deity's fword. As to the victims, they cut off his right arm clofe to the riioulder, and throwing it up into the air, they left it expofed in the place v/here it fell, and the reft of the body in that where it was killed.*
K4 With
* Herodotus, chap. 62^
136 ^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
With refpecfl to their other viftims, which they facrificed either to Mars, or to any other deity, they obferved the fame rites, they brought the beaft, hiving its fore-feet tied vAth a cord, and he who officiated as prieft, coming behind, and taking hold of the cord, threw the vidim down. Whilft it was fall- ing: he called upon the deity, to whom it was offered, and then ftrangled it with a cord, which he twifled with a ftick ; and as foon as it was dead, he fet about fkinning it, and dreffing it, without any ceremony. The fleili was put into pots, and whenever thefe were not ready at hand, into the paunch of the creature, mixing it with a propor- tionable quantity of water ; and if wood pould not be had, they burnt the bones in- flead of it. When the flefh was fufficiently boiled, the prieft made an offering of part of the meat and inteftines to the deity, by throwing it before the altar, and the reft was, we may fuppofe, beftowed to feaft the prieft and votaries. Of all beafts the horfe was efteemed the nobleft, and confequently the moft acceptable vidlim. As for fwine, they detefted it, not only as unfit to eat, but even
t9
^
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I37
to be fufFered to live among them.* They took care alfo to offer to their gods, the firffc fruits of their cattle, ground, and of the fpoils they took in war. Some confidcrable part of the latter, they were wont to fend to the delphic Apollo : it was ufually conveyed thither, by a number of their honourable virgins, under a fufficient efcort. But the length and difficulty of the way, and the dangers, and other obflacles of the Journey, obliged them to difcontinue it : This is all I can find remarkable concerning their religion*
• Herodotus, chap. 6oj 61. 63,
No.
138 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXII.
^he Religion of the Ancient Myjians.
As to the origin of the Myfians,* Fferodo- tns informs us that they were Lydians by defcent, (whom I fhall fpeak of in the next chapter) ; others derive them from the Phry- gians, and tell us that Myfus was not a Lydian, but a Phrygian. There are divers other opinions touching the origin of thefe people, which it would be of no ufe to relate, as they are moftly founded on diftorted and farfetched etymologies.
Their religion was much the fame with that of the neighbouring Phrygians (already treated of), whom they did not fall fhort of
in
* I>Ib. i. chap. 94, et chap. 45. lib. iv,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 1^9
in fuperftition. They worfhipped the fame deities, and ufed the fame religious ceremo- pies, which has made fome believe them to be originally Phrygians. Cybele had a ftately and rich temple at Cyzicus, and Apollo A^Sasus, near Parium. Nemefis alfo is num- bered among their deities, and was worlhip- ped in a magnificent temple built by king Adraflus, not far from the city of Parium, whence, both the country, and goddefs, were named Adraflia. Priapus was worfhip- ped by the more modern Myfians, but un- known to them even in Hefiod's time. The Myfian priefls abflained from flefh, and were not allowed .to marry. It was a ceremony pradlifed among them, to facrifice a horfe^ and eat his entrails, before they wer^ ad-* initted to the priefthood.
No,
1^0 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXIII.
^he 'Religion of the Ajicient Lydians,
As to the origin of the Lydians,* Jofephus, and after him, all the ecclefiaftical writers, derive them from Lud, Shem's fourth fon. As this opinion has no other foundation but the fimilitude of names, fome of the ancients will have the Lydians to be a mixt colony of Phrygians, Myfians, and Carians: Others finding fome conformity in religion, and re- ligious ceremonies between the Egyptians and Tufcans, who were a Lydian colony, conclude them without any further evidence, to be originally Egyptians. There are many flrong proofs, however, of the antiquity of
that
* Jofephus, vol, \, page 368, 369,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 141
that kingdom, to be found among the an« cient hiftorical writers.
As to the religion of the Lydians, it feems to have been much the fame with that of the Phrygians (before treated of) they worship- ped Diana, Jupiter, and Cybele, at Mag- nelia, under the name of Sypilene j for in the alliance concluded between thofe of Smyrna and Magnefia, on the Msander, in favour of king Seleucus Callinicius, both parties fwore, as appears from the Arundelian marbles, by the goddefs Sypilene. She borrowed this name from Mount Sypilus, or perhaps from a town of the fame name, which, as Strabo* informs us, was ruined by an earthquake, in the reign of Tantalus. In the fame city of Magnefia, flood a temple of Diana Leuco- phryna, no ways inferior to the fo much ce- lebrated temple of Diana Ephefmna.
The cufloms of the Lydians were as He- rodotus -f- informs us, much the fame as thofe of the Greeks, except that they ufed
to
*Strabo. lib. I. chap. 3S. f Heiodotus, lib. U chap. 93, 94..
I4'2^ A StfCClNCf ACCOtJMT OF THE
to proftitute their daughters : for the young women among them had no other fortunes, but what they earned by proftitution; after they had, by this means, acquired a compe- tent dowry, they were allowed to marry whoever they pleafed. They puni(hed idle- nefs as a crime, and inured their children from their very infancy to hardfhips. Their arms were not bows and arrows, as fome have pretended to argue from Jeremiah ; $ but long fpears.
J Jeremiah, chap. xlvi. v« 9/
Md.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGIOff. I43
No. XXIV.
^he Religion of the Lacedatnonians,
LyCURGUS, in the time of the Laceds- loodfe'^'" monians, made feveral falutary laws, among ^^^"^^ cwA which was one refped:ing reHgion, which is all that can be traced from hiftory concern- ing their religious tenets.
We are told that in the Spartan'' law, re- garding religion, the flatues of all the gods and goddeffes, worshipped by this people, were reprefented armed, even to Venus her- felf ; the reafon of which was, that the peo*!- pie might conceive a military life the moft noble and honourable, and not attribute, as other nations did, floth and luxury to the gods. As to facrifices, they confifted of
things
144 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THfi
fl^Ti*f ** things of very fmall value ; for which Ly^
before chrift cur2:Lis himfclf gavc this reafon, that want 705. '^ .
might never hinder them from worfliipping
the gods. They were forbidden to make long or rafli prayers to the heavenly powers, and were enjoined to ail^ no more, than that they might live honeflly, and difcharge their duty* Graves were permicted to be made within the bounds of the city, contrary to the cuA tomofmofl of the Greek nations ; nay^ they buried clofe by their temples, that all degrees of people might be made familiar \Yith death, and not conceive it fuch a dreadful thing, as it was generally efteemed elfewhere : on the fame account the touching of dead bodies, or affifting at funerals, made none unclean, but were held to be as innocent and honourable duties as any other. As to the mode of burying, it was alfo rendered limple and un- €xperJive by law : there was nothing thrown into the grave with the dead body : magni- ficent fepulchres were forbidden ; neither was there fo much as an infcription, however plain or modefl, permitted. Fears, fighs, outcries, were not permitted in public, bc- eaufe they were thought difhonourable in 6 Spartans^
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I45
Spartans, whom their lawgiver would have Yearc-fthe
^ ^ *-' flood 1 64.3 >
to bear all things with equanimitVi Mourn- before ciuift
705. ings were flinted to eleven days ; on the v« — ^r— — '
twelfth, the mourners facrificed to Ceres, and threw afide their fables. In favour of fuch as were flain in the wars, however, and of women who devoted themfelves to a religious life, there was an exception allowed as to the rules before mentioned ; for fuch had a fhort and decent infcription on their tombs^ When a number of Spartans fell in battle, at a diilance from their country, many of them were buried together under one com- mon tomb ; but if they fell on the frontiers of their own ftate, then their bodies were carefully carried back to Sparta, and interred in their family fepulchres. This is all we can trace from hiftory of their rehgious Guf-» toms and ceremonies.
.c
No.
146 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of tlie
flood 1786,
before Chrift
56a.
No. XXV.
The Religion of the lonians,
1 HE lonians in latter times degenerated from the valour of their anceilors, and be- came a moil fuperilitious effeminate people, infomuch, that they, in the time of Hero- dotus,* were looked upon as unfit for any military fervice.-f' The Religion of this, as well as all the other Greek colonies in Afia, was much the fame with thofe of Greece. Their principle deities were Ceres, Apollo, Dilna, and Neptune. The lonians, who came from Athens, celebrated every fifth
year,
* Herodotus, lib. i. clV. 143. f Vakr. Max. lib. ii. rerum raemorabil.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGIONi I^f
year, the myfleries of Ceres Eleufina. t Jeai-ofAe
J ' J -r flood 1786
The Milefians worfhipped Apollo Didymxus ^^^'"'"^ thrift as their tutelary God ; whence he v/as like- < u - '» wife called Apollo Milefius. Near the city of Miletus, was a famous oracle of Apollo, called the oracle of Apollo DidymjEus ; and alfo the oracle of the Branchids; the former denomination it had from Apollo, or the fun, who was furnamed Didymasus, as we are told by an ancient hiflorian, from the double light imparted to him by mankind, the one diredly from his own body, and the other by refledtion from the moon : the lat- ter appellation was given both to the oracle, and to Apollo himfelf, who was called Bran- chides, from one Branchus, the reputed fon of Macareus, but begotten, as was believed, by Apollo, this oracle was, as we are aifured by an author of firidi veracity,* very an- cient, and the bell of all the Grecian oracles,
except that of Delphi.
.' ■ + ; .
In the time of the Periian war, the tem- ple-was burnt down to the ground, being L 2 • betrayed
X Hill, of Athens. * Herodotus, book i. chap. 97. 157. and
book V. chap. 36,
148 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
^flood ^1*8^6 betrayed to the Barbarians by the priefts.
before chiift There are many fabulous flories related of thefe people, but totally uninterefling, and, would prove tirefome to the readers, as well as foreign to my fubjedt. As to any thing more concerning their religious principles, we are left in the dark.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 149
No. XXVI.
'the "Religion of the ArmeJiians,
As to their religion, Strabo tells us, that J^'^^f/''^
the Armenians, Mede«, and Perfians, wor- before chriit
'95.
Ihipped the fame deities, and of the religion of the ancient Perfians, I have already given a very copious, diflindt, and minute account. However, the chief deity of the Armenians, feems to have been the goddefs Tanais, or as fome jftile her Anaitis. To her, feveral temples were ered:ed all over Armenia, but more efpecially in the province of Acilelina, where fhe was worshipped in a particular manner. Here fhe had a moft rich and mag- nificent temple, with a flatue of folid gold and oflneflimable workmanfhip. In honour of this goddefs, and in her temple the Ar-
L 3 menians
150 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
loojal'^'^'^ menlans ufed to proftitute their daughters, it before Carift being a cuftom among the young women to confecrate their virginity to Tanais, that is, to her priefls. Baris was another deity, pe- culiar to the Armenians, and had a flately temple erected to him as Strabo informs us ; but after what manner he was worfliipped, we find no where mentioned.
Juvenal ^ charges them with foretelling future events by examining the entrails of pigeons, of dogs, and fometimes of children. Others tell us that they ufed human facri- fices. There are many other extravagant notions related of them, not worth our notice,
* Juvenal, fatire 6,
No.
W,''
PIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 15!
No. XXVII.
Ye?d- of the
il
159.
T^e Religion of the Ancient Cappadocicms,
The religion of the ancient Cappadocians was likewife much the fame as the Perfians before *chni before treated of in a mofl accurate manner. At Comana there was a {lately and rich tem- ple confecrated to Bellona, whofc battles the priefts and their attendants ufed to reprefent on ftated days, cutting and wounding each other,"* as if feized with an enthufiaftic fury. No lefs famous and magnificent were the temples of Apollo Catanius or Cataonius at Daflacum, and of Jupiter, in the province of Moriniena, which laft had three thoufand facred fcrvants, or religious votaries. The chief prieft was next in rank to that of Co- L 4. mana.
>52 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
mana, and had, as Strabo * informs us, i yearly revenue of fifteen talents.
Year of the
flood 2189,
before Chrift
J59.
Diana Perfica was worfhipped in the city of Caftaballa, where women devoted to the worfliip of that goddefs, were reported to tread bare-foot on burning coals, without receiving any harm.-f' The temples of Diana, at Diofpolis, and of Anias at Zela, were likewife had in great veneration, both by the Cappadocians and Armenians, who flocked to them from all parts. In the latter were tendered all oaths in m.atters of confequence ; and the chief among the priefts, was no way inferior in dignity, power, or wealth, to any in the kingdom, having a royal attendance, and an uncontrouled power over ajl the infe- rior officers and fervants of the temple,
The Cappadocians, In the time of the Romans, bore fo bad a charadter, were re- puted fo vicious and lewd, fo monftroufly ad- di(!l:ed to all manner of vice, that, belides the fhare they had in the old Greek proverb, they had fome peculiar tp themfelves, re-
fleding
* Strabo, bookxii. page 575. ■[• Ibid,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I53
fle<fling on their enormous wickednefs ; which '^'^^^if **
made them be fo traduced by other nations, before chrift
J29.
that a wicked and impious man, was em- phatically called a Cappadocian. However, this their lewd difpofition was, in after ages, fo corredled and reftrained by the pure morals of Chriftianity, that no country whatfoever, has produced greater champions of the Chrif- tian religion, or given to the church more prelates of unblemifhed characters,*
* Unjverfal HUl. vol.jc. page 7.
No,
354 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
No. XXVIII.
l!he Religion of the Ancient Thracians, Year of the 1 HE aiicient Thracians were deemed a
■Mood 2219,
before chrift brave and warlike nation -, but of a cruel and
129. < II y it lavage temper ; being generally fpeaking,
quite ftrangers to all humanity and good na- ture. In point of religion, they fcarce dif- fered from the Macedonians, their neigh- bours, adoring Jupiter, Hercules, Diana, Bacchus, and more efpecially Mars and ' Hermes, or Mercury, by whofe name alone their kings ufed to fwear, pretending to be defcended from him.* Herodotus gives us the following account of their cufloms and manners. When a child is born, his re- lations
'Herodotus, lib. v. chap. 3, 4.. et feq.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. Ij;r
lations ritting round him in a circle, deplore J^aj-of the
O ' r tl00Cl22I9
his condition, on account of the evils he mufl ^'^^^'^ ^^^
119-
fuffer in the courfe of his life, enumerating the various calamities incident to mankind ; but when any one dies, they inter him with great rejoicing, repeating the miferies he has exchanged for a complete happinefs. Among the Creftonians who inhabit the mountainous part of Thrace, each man has many wives -, who, at his death, contend warmly, being fupported by their feveral friends, who {hall be accounted to have been the mofl dear to the hufband. In the end, fhe who is ad- judged to have merited that honour, after havi^ received great commendations, both from the men and women, i^ killed upon the grave, by the neareft of her relations, and buried in the fame tomb with her hufband ; which is a great mortification to the reft, tjiey being ever after looked upon by all with the utmoft contempt.* The Thracians in general, (as the hiftorian tells us) fell their fohs, and take no care of their daughters, fuffering them to live with whom, and in what manner they pleafe ; neverthelefs they . * . / keep
♦Tlerodous, lib. v, c'nap. 3, 4. et f.q.
156 ' A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
flfS°*^*^^ keep a ftridt guard over their wives, and before Chriit pufchafe them of their relations at a very- great rate. To be marked on the forehead is honourable j , and a man without fuch marks, is accounted ignoble. Idlenefs is cfteemed an appendage of greatnefs : Huf- bandry is looked upon as unbecoming ; and to fublift by war and rapine, highly glorious. The funerals of eminent perfons among them, are celebrated in the following manner : they expofe the dead body to public view for three days, during which time they perform their lamentations, and facrifice to the infer- nal gods, various forts of animals. When the facrifices are over, they either burn the body, or bury it in the ground ; and having thrown up a mound of earth on the grave, they ap- ply themfelves to feafting, and celebrate all manner of combats and fports round the
place.
*
• Herodotus, lib, v. chap. 3, 4. et feq.
No,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
^57
No. XXIX.
Ti^e Religion of the Ancient Parthians, 1 HE Parthians are faid to have been very J*^i' ^^ ^*
' nood 2048,
ipare in their diet,* their country not aiFord- ^^^^^^ cimii ing any fuperfluities ; but at the fame time, to have been great lovers of wine, and much addicted to all manner of lewdnefs, not re- fped:ing even their lifters or mothers, w^hom they were allowed to marry, and as many wives befides, as they pleafed, nothing being deemed more honourable among them, than to have a numerous iirue.-f* They entirely negled:ed agriculture, navigation, trade, and all other callings, being wholly taken up in learning the arts of war, which alone were of any repute among them.
Their
• Juftin, lib. xil. chap. 3, 9. f Idem Ub. xvi.
158 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF TH^
Yeai- ofthe Their relio-ion was much the fame with
flood 2048, o
before chriii t^^t of the Perfians (before defcribed). They believed that thofe who fell in battle, enjoyed a perpetual and uninterrupted happinefs : a tenet well fuited to the genius of a warlike nation : and in moll: other points of religion, entirely agreed with the Perfians. They were mofl religious obfervers of their word, thinking it highly diihonourable, not to per- form their engagements, or to deceive thofe who had trufted them on their parole,*
* Jofephus Antiq. lib, xviii. ch. ult.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I^^
No. XXX.
^he Religio?! of the Etrtifcans,
That the Etrufcans were a powerful and Year of Rome polite nation, when Romulus founded or rather reftored Rome, appears from the tef- timony of fome good authors.* ■ ^ The religion of the Etrufcans was a grofs and multifirious idolatry. They worfhipped in common with the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians, the Cabiri or Dii fnagm major em gentium. They were alfo initiated in the Samothracian or Cabirian myfleries, as appears not only from various authors, but likewife from a curious Etrufcan fragment of Anti- quity,
"* The fathers Cati'ou and Rouille, In the beginning of their Roman
Hiftory,
l6o A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of Rome quity. . Befides the Greek and Roman deities, they had feveral peculiar to themfelves, fome of which were confined to particular towns and diftridis. Thus Nortia was a goddefs held in the higheft eftecm and veneration at Vuljinity and VolaterrcB -, Viridianus at Narnia ; Vale?itia at Ocriculum, &c. ; Fertumnus, Vo^ lumnusy Noltumna, Pilumnusy or Picum?iiis, Ancharia, VolturnuSy "Juturna, Portumnusy Vitumnusy Manturna Vacuna, &c. were fome of the principal Etrufcan deities. The an- cient Tufcans had likewife their D/V Prcejii' tesy and Indigetes, as well as the Latins and other Italian nations.
Under this head may be confidered the di- vine fervice, facred myfteries, holy- days, fo- lemn proceffions, fupplications in honour of the gods, &c. as alfo the facred rites and ce- remonies, the minijlri facrorum pontifices fa- cer dotes, f alii, augures, bar uf pices, vates, hym- nologi, &c, of the Etrufcans. To which may be added the tibicines jidicines, and other per- fons who aiTifted in the divine mufic on all folemn occafions -, as alfo peculiar facrifices, the various kinds of lujl rations, donaria tem^ 5 //?j.
^
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELlGIONo l6l
pies, altars, aufpices, auguries, expiations of '^^^^^^°'"* thunder, and oftenta. But a minute and particular defcription of every one of thefe would fwell me beyond the limits I have pre^- fcribed myfelf. However, for the better il- luflration of feveral pailkges in the Greek and Roman writers, relating to the ancient Tuf- cans, the reader will expedl me to touch upon, which I fliall do in the lightefl manner pollible : Firft, The divine fervice and fa- cred myfteries of the old Etrufcans, agreed in feveral points with thofe of the Greeks , but in others, differed from them. Thefe they communicated to the Romans, long before that nation had any intercourfe with the Greeksi Notwithftanding which, fe- veral Etrufcan myfteries were celebrated with fo much fecrecy, that they feem to have been but little known, even to the ge- nerality of the Romans. The principal of thefe were the Sacra Samothracia or Cabiria, the Sacra Mithriaca, and the Sacra Ac her on - tica. By an initiation in 'the Sacra Ca- rina, the ancients believed men to become more holy, juft, and pure, to be placed un- der the more immediate proted:ion of the M gods.
^
162 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP TttE
^^^'■°g^^^°"'^ godsj efpecially the D/V Cabiri -, and to be delivered from all impending dangers. The Sacra Mithriaca, inftituted in honour of the fun, a moft celebrated deity among the Etrufcans, required the perfons initiated in them not only to be baptized or purified by water, but likewife to be purged or refined by fire. The Sacra Acherontica were intro- duced firft into Entruria by Tages, in order to appeafe the D/V Inferiy or infernal deities, to render departed fouls more divine, and confequently to tranflate them from the in- fernal regions, to the manfions of blifs. In order to which, it was thought requifite to fprinkle the altars and fepulchres of the Dii Manes with human blood. But for a more particular and diilindt account of all thefe religious matters, myileries, and the fervice, ceremonies, &c. &c. judged neceilary, in order to a participation of the benefits fup- pofed to flow from them, the reader mufl have recourfe to the authors cited at the bottom.*
Secondly, As the Romans, before they became acquainted with the Greeks, received
every
* Dion. Halicar, Livy, Virgil, Strabo, and others.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 163
every thing relating to religion, and even, as YearofRome, may be naturally fuppofed, their calendar it- felf from the Etrufcans : the fcltivals, holy- days, and ftated times of public worfhip, of the two nations, mufl have agreed in mofl particulars.
Thirdly, The Etrufcans borrowed of the Egyptians, or rather the Phoenician fhep- herds expelled Egypt, their public fuppli- cations, pomps, folemn procelllons, &c. which happened on fome of their principal feftivals. They fuppofed the gods more par- ticularly honoured, to be alwaya prclent at fuch folemnities. Which notion they like- wife received from the Egyptians, or at leafi: the Phoenician fhepherds above mentioned : This we learn from the Meiifa IJiacai and from what has been advanced by the famous Gor'h in a noble piece publifhed fome years fmce, for which, (thofe who have read him) fay he juftly mei-its the thanks and applaufe of the learned world.*
Fourthly, The rites and ceremonies ufed by the Harufpices, Augures, Pontifices, &c»
M 2 at
* Antcn. Franc. Gor. muf. Etrufc. p. 22. 316. 321.
164 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of Rome, ^t Rome, wcrc derived from the Etrufcans.
182.
Nay the Etrufcans feem to have been the moft celebrated nation in the Pagan v^^orld, for ikill in augury and divination, as w^ell as of knowledge of the nature of facrifices, to all which rites and ceremonies neceffarily relate. At leaft they had this charadler among the Romans, as appears from Cicero and Livy.* It is no wonder, therefore, that the branch of literature, including every thing belong- ing to the provinces of the Augures, Haruf- pices, Pontifices, Salii, Sacerdotes, Vates, Hymnologi, &c. fhould have been empha- tically ftiled at Rome, Ars Btrufia et Difci^ plina Etrufca.
Fifthly, As for all the aforefaid facred of- ficers, their habits, inftruments, &c. the Tibicines, Fidicines, and other perfons who affifted in the divine mufic, on all folemn occafions, the above-mentioned work of father Gorl, -f- gives us a clear idea of them. Thofe therefore who have an inclination to be farther inflruded in this part of the Etruf-
can
* Cicero Eplft. Familiar, book vi. chap. 6. Livy, book iv. f Anton. Franc. Gor» mul^ etrufc. Florentine, I737«
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 165
can antiquities, will perufe it with great Year of Rome, pleafure.
Sixthly, The fame thing may be faid of the Etrufcan temples, donaria, peculiar fa- crifices, various kinds of luftrations, prodi- gies, altars, expiations, &c. which are there treated of with great accuracy.
That the Phoenicians and neighbouring nations were much addid:ed to augury and divination, may be colle^fled from Scripture.* It is no wonder therefore, that their def- cendants, the Etrufcans, {hould have dif- covered the fame difpofition. Their writers pretend that Tages, whom fome have taken for a god, others for a man ; but Tully fcarce knows in what light to confider him, was the inventor of every thing relating to augury and divination. To him likewife the Etrufcans owed their Acherontian books, which were kept with as much care, and held in as great repute by them, as thofe of the Sibyls were at Rome. Th^fe they con- fulted on all [dubious occafions, and looked
M 3 upon
• Deut. ch. xvlii. V, i^,— — Ifahh, thap. ii. v. 6.
l66 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
^^^ °L^°™^' Upon the refpoqfes they received from them as infalUble. In fine, Tages taught the Etrufcans many ufeful arts and difciplines, as v/ell as the knowledge of future events.
Neither the Etrufcans, nor the Romans had any magnificent temples in the earliefl ages. The Etrufcans had fome peculiarities in their reHglon, which diftinguiihed it from that of every other nation j of which the va- rious deities, peculiar to them, are fufficient proofs. But the ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians mode of worfliip, were the fame with thofe, for many of the earlieft ages, ufed in Etrurfia. Nor can any material dif- ference be found between the oldeft Oriental and Etrufcan divinities. Thus much fop the religious rites and ceremonies of the Etrufcans. 5
No,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 167
No. xxxr.
the Religion of the Carthaginians,
The Carthaginians being defcended from the Tyrians, their religious worfhip muft of courfe have agreed in all points at firft, with that of the Phoenicians, which has been al- ready, infome meafare, defcribed. In pro- cefs of time, by their intercourfe with the Greeks, efpecially thofe of Sicily, they came to take a liking to the fuperftition of that na- tion, adopted feveral new deities before tq them unknown, and intermixed fome of the Greek religious ceremonies with theTyrian.* But in this they copied after their anceftors the Phoenicians, who gradually imbibed M 4 many
• DioJoiMi SlcvluS, lib. 24., 20, &c.
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
piany faperflitious notions prevailing amongft the greater ftates,*!- by reafon of their vi- cinity to, and correfpondence with, them ; and afterwards, upon their fubjedion to thofe ftates, had great alterations made in the whole fyftem of their religion. The Carthaginians likewife, by reafon of their extended commerce, mull have been in fome fort acquainted with the different kinds of fuperftition eftablifhed in mofl nations, with which doubtlefs they tindtured their own. From whence, as well as froni other con- fiderations, it may appear, that the religion of Carthage was very grofs and multifarious idolatry. The knowledge we have of the Carthaginian manner of worfhip, as well as the objedis of that worfhip, is derived from the Greek and Roman writers, who have affixed the names of their own gods * to thofe of the Carthaginians. This has ren- dered their accounts and obfervations on this head more imperfed:, and lefs valuable. For though WQ are well affured that the Egyp- tian, Phoenician, Greek, Roman, and Car- thaginian deities, did in the main agree, yet
we
f Diodorus Siculus, lib. 24, ao, ^c.— — ' Herodotus.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 169
we are as well aflured, that each of thofe nations had not only fome particular modes of worfhip, but like wife fome particular deities peculiar to itfelf. It is impoffible therefore, to come to an exad: knowledge of Carthaginian gods, from what is delivered of them by the Greek and Roman authors. All that we can do is, to confider their different attributes, and the circumftances attending that adoration their votaries paid them, as given us by feveral authors aforementioned. By comparing thefe with what we find re- lated in holy writ of the idols of the Cana- anites, and neighbouring nations, as well as the religious cuftoms and manners of thofe nations, we may, perhaps, give the reader a tolerable account of the religion of the Car- thaginians.
Diodorus Siculus tells us, that the Cartha- ginians in a particular manner adored Chro- nus * who, according to Quintus Curtius, -f" and an infinity of other authors, was the Sa- turn of the Latins. The facrifices offered up to him were children of the mofl diftin-
guifhed
• Diodorus Siculus, lib. 20, et alibi pafs : t Quintus Curtius, lib. iv. chap. 3.
170 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
guifhed families. Upon the fignal defeat of the Carthaginian army by Agathocles, three hundred citizens voluntarily facrificed them- felves, in order to render him more pro- pitious to their country. Diodorus further fays, that they had a brazen ftatue or Colof- fus of him, the hands of which were extend- ed in ad: to receive, and bent downwards in fuch a manner, as that the child laid thereon immediately dropt into an hollow, where was a fiery furnace.* The fame author adds, that this inhuman practice -f- feemed to con- firm a tradition, banded down to the Greeks, from very early antiquity, to wit, that Chro- nus devoured his own children. But in this we cannot altogether agree with him. For it can fcarce be doubted but the fable itfelf owes its origin to this mofl execrable fuper- fi:ition, fince the knowledge of it could not be hid from the ancient Greeks, who re- ceived both their religion and theology from the Egyptians and Phoenicians.
But though the Carthaginian god, to whom human vidims were fo agreeable, •had
the
* Diodorus Skulus, ubifup.— t Idem, ibid.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I7I
the name of Chronus given him by Diodorus, yet we cannot certainly infer from thence, that he was the fame deity, becaufe his Pu- nic name is unknown, and therefore it is im- poffible to determine whether it was of the fame import with Chronus or no. However, we {hall endeavour to fupply this defedt, by offering fome reafons, which, if they will jiot abfolutely evince the point in view, will yet render it highly probable.
In the firft place the Carthaginian cuftom of giving up their offspring, as an expiatory ficrifice to this god, bears a great analogy to the Greek tradition, concerning Chronus, to wit, that he devoured his own children. This feems to have been a great inducement to Diodorus himfelf, to conclude that he and Chronus were the fame.*
Both the oblations offered to this Cartha- ginian deity, and the manner of offering them, as likewife the brazen ftatue men- tioned by Diodorus, plainly enough ftiew, that he was Moloch, -j- or Milchom, the
famous
* Diodorus Siculus, ubi fup, ■]■ Levit. chap, xvili. v. 21. chap.
XX. V. 2, 3, 4. — ; Kings, chap, xxviii. v. i».— Pfahn cvi. v. 37.
172 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
famous idol of the Ammonites, Canaanite^, and neighbouring nations. Now, that Mo- loch, or Milchom, was the Chronus of Dio- dorus, feems clear from the following con- fideration : Chronus had for a confiderable period, even amongft the old inhabitants of Latium, human victims offered up to him, as Moloch had in Paleiline.
The Cretans, in ancient times, facrificed children to Chronus, as the Canaanites and PhcEnicians did to Moloch*
Moloch * was the principal god of the country in which the worihip of him pre- vailed, as appears from his name, which im- plies fovereignty in it, from his having fuch particular notice taken of him in Scripture, and from the intimation given in Holy Writ, that he was the great god of the Ammonites. Now Chronus was the chief objed: of ado- ration in Italy, Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes, ^nd all other countries where divine honours were paid him.
Laftly,
* Univerfal Hiftory, vol. ii. p. I40«
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. . I73
Laftly, To omit many other arguments that might be produced, both Moloch and Chronus were indifputably the great Baal, Bel,* or Belus, of the Sidonians, Babylo- nians, and Ailyrians, and confequently the fame individual deity.
Baal, Belus, Bal or Bel,) for he was known by all thefe names) was the great god of the Carthaginians. As it is therefore apparent from Scripture-f- that he was delighted with human facrifices, and as he was the Chronus of the Greeks, it is evident from hence, that the Carthaginian divinity Diodorus had in view, mufl have been really Chronus.
The goddefs Celeftis or Urania was held in the higheft veneration by the Cartha- ginians. The prophet Jeremiah J calls her Baalith Shemain, the Queen of Heaven, and divers other names by fome ancient writers, § and another by the name of Juno and Ve- nus : and indeed, in the Phoenician theology, we fcarce find any diftindtion between thefe
two
• Jeremiah, chap. xvii. v. 5. f Jeremiah, chap. xix. v. 5. et alibL J Jeremiah, chap. vii. v. 18. — chap. xliv. v. 17. et alibi.
§ Univerfal Hiftory, vol. xvii. p. 271.
174
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
two deities. St. Auguftin fays, that Car- thage was the place where Venus had eftab- lifhed her * reign : and Virgil informs us, that Juno preferred that fpot to all others, even to Samos itfelf.-f- As therefore both the Greeks and Romans, had, generally fpeaking, one fingle chief divinity to prelide over every particular city, country, and dif- trid: ; this double one mufl have been owing to the Phcenician or Punic word, which in- cluded both of the aforefaid goddeffes. Afh- teroth, and Aflarte were fynonymous to Ura- nia and Baaltis, and denoted the moon, as well as Venus and Juno, who was invoked in great calamities, particularly in droughts to obtain rain. The ancient Greeks fre- quently confound Juno, Venus, and Diana, or the moon ; which is to be attributed to the Egyptians and Phoenicians, from whom they received their fyftem of religion, who feem, in the moft ancient times, to have had but one name for them all. In fuch a per- plexed point as this, I Ihall expatiate no fur- ther, lince it would be both fruitlefs and un- necellary, befide carrying me from my fub -
jed.
* D'Auguftin, in Pfalm xcvili. f Virgil -■^neid. i.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION'. I75
jed. The reader will find as dicftind and particular account of the goddefs or goddefTes here mentioned, as they can with reaion ex- ped:, by an ingenious hiftorian,* to whom I refer the curious reader.
The Carthaginians had feveral other deities which may be feen related at large, -|- by a well received author, to whom I fliall like^ wife refer the inquiiitive reader.
The barbarous cuflom of offering up hu- man facrifices did not expire with the city of Carthage, but continued amongft the Afri- cans till the preconfulate of Tiberius. This w^e learn from Tertullian, who affures us that the pre-conful was fo fliocked at the unna- tural prad:ice of offering up children to Sa- turn, that he ordered the priefls concerned in that horrid impiety to be hanged, and committed the care of the execution to the African militia. This pra6lice had been re- tained with little or no intermiflion, from the foundation of the city. For, notwith-
ftandin?^
* Umverfal Hlftory, vol. ii. p. 332. 346. ■\- Unlveifal Hiftory, vol. xvii. p. 273 to 292.
ty6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THEl
flanding the Carthaginians, to avoid drawing upon themfelves the indignation of Darius Hyftafpis, might for a few years fufpend it, or at leaft pretend fo to do, yet it is certain, that, in his fuccelTor Xerxes's time they had refumed it. This appears from hiftory. For Gelon, after he had vanquifhed them, in the reign of that prince, concluded a treaty of peace with them, of which this was one article. That no more human facrifices fhould be offered to Saturn.* Nay, at fuch a pitch of frenzy, or rather favage barbarity, were they arrived, that mothers, who are naturally the moil fufceptible of tender imprefTions, made it a merit to view their own offspring thrown into the devouring flames without fo much as a groan. "f* They, even by kiffes and em- braces, hufhed the cries of their children be- fore they were caft into the flaming flatue of Saturn (before-mentioned) imagining the ef- ficacy of the facrifice would have been intirely lofl, if any thing that might have been in- terpreted as a mark of the leaft reluctance or regret had been fhewn. J They ufed a drum or a tabret, among other inftruments, to
drown
* Diodorus Sicul, lib. xi. f Plutarch, J Idem ibid.
DIF*FERENT SECTS IN RELIGIok. I'J'J
drown the fhrieks and outcries of the unhap- py victims.* Some authors believe that the Phoenicians, from whom the Carthaginians derived this deteflable cuftom, contented themfelves with making their children pafs through the fire, without burning them ; but Selden and others evince this to be a mif- take. In times of peftilence, or other pub- lic <:alamities, the Carthaginians endeavoured to appeafe their offended gods, by vail num- bers of fuch oblations*
From feveral authors it appears that the Carthaginians were extremely addid:ed to fuperftition : they had in general however, fome good notions. They addreffed them- felves to the gods, before they attempted to put in execution any enterprize by them formed \ and, after any advantage gained, they were not llack in making proper returns t® the powers above for it. They had very magnificent temples at Carthage, and took care to have no deficiency of them, in any part of the Carthaginian dominions.
N I have
* Plutarch, ub. fupra.
178 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
I have before defcribed the manner In which the Babylonian women proftituted themfelves to ftrangers at the temple of My- litta ', as likewife the fame cuftom prevail- ing among the Phoenicians, whofe women^ for this end, repaired to the great temple of Aftarte, at By bins. I have now to add, that the fame things, in all refpeds, was pradtifed at Carthage; excepting that the money got by this infamous commerce among the Baby- lonians and Pheenicians, was prefented to Mylitta or Aflarte, id eft Venus ; whereas the Carthaginian women applied the w^ages of proilitution to their own ufe. This indeed favoured fomething more of the common harlot than the other ; but all thefe nations were arrived at fuch an height of infatu- ation and irnpiety, on account of their grofs idolatry, and variety of pollutions attending it, that it is hard to fay which of them was the word. Canaan's pofterity were a moil profligate and abandoned race of men, ad- dided to all, even the mofl: unnatural kinds of lull:, as the Scripture tells us. Now it is worthy admiration, that Noah curfed Cana- an
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I79
an only of Ham's fons,* on account of Ham's breach of modefly, in expofing his father's nakednefs, which was both unchafle and unnatural. This is a flrong intimation, that Canaan only was an accomplice of his father Ham in this wickednefs : which was an evident token of a moft difTolute and vi- cious turn of mind. This vile difpolition exerted itfelf in Canaans pofterity, and vaflly contributed towards drawing down thofe heavy divine judgments, which in procefs of time fell upon them. Hence it appears, that in conformity to the patriarch's predidion, Canaan's defcendants were fubje(fl to the pof- terity of Shcm (id eft) the Hebrews ; and that this was, in a great meafure, occaftoned by the effedis of that vile difpolition, inhe- rent in them, which fo eminently difplayed itfelf in Ham, and, as is probable, in Cana- an alfo. So true is that obfervation of the royal Pfalmift— Righteous art thou, O Lord, and juft are thy judgments.-f*
* Genelis, chap. xi. ven, 22. 25, 26, 27. f Pfalm cxix, ver. 137,
N2 No.
l8o A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXXII.
The Religion of the Nutnidians,
As the firft Numidians, in common with all the other Indigence, of that vaft tradt be- tween the borders of Egypt and the Atlantic ocean, were called Libyans we may infer from Herodotus, that the principal gods they fa- crificed to were the fun and moon. This is a convincing proof of their high antiquity, as clearly evincing, that the migration of the firft colony, which peopled this country, preceded the introduction of image worlhip into the Pagan world. It is likewife an ar- gument, that this colony did not confifl of Perlians, fince the fun only was their prin- cipal deity. Some of the Numidians alfo, might probably worfhip Triton, Minerva,
and
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
and Neptune, efpecially thofe near the con- fines of Africa Propria, as the fame author feems to fugged. That part of this nation, fubjedl to Carthage, it is reafonable to pre- fume paid divine honours to the Phcenician and Greek deities, that were the objedts of the Carthaginian worihip (of which I have already given fo full and ample ari account). It appears from Herodotus, that Hepheftus, or Vulcan, was an Egyptian deity, worfliip- ped at Memphis ; but whether or no, the Numidians held him in any veneration, or indeed liad any knowledge of him, I muft leave the learned to decide.*
•He;-oJotu=;. lib. 4..
K^ -, No,
-J)
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF TH:
No. XXXIIL
T! he 'Religion of the Mauritanians.
Mauritania and Maumfia are 'names of this region, derived from the Mauri, an ancient people inhabiting it, frequently men- tioned by the old hiftorians and geographers. With refped: to their religion, Neptune feems to have been one of the principal ob- jedls of adoration in this country ; which is a fufficient proof that the Naphthuhim or Nephthuhim of Mofes, extended themfelves into it; though the firft feat of that people might probably, as Bochart and Arius Mon- tanus imagine, have been in Marmarica and Cyrenaiaca. This deity and his v^ife Neptys might receive their names from hence, Nep- S tune.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 183
tune, Ncptys, and Naphthuhim, fignifying the king, queen, and people of the fea coafts. It is certain, that the Egyptians called the exterior parts of the earth promontories, and whatever bordered upon the fea, and was wafhed by it, Neptys. The fun and moon likewife, in common with the other Libyan nations, they paid religious honours to. That they offered human facrifices to their gods, in imitation perhaps of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, or fome other ancient nation, from whom their anceftors came, is afferted by Seneca^ From what Nonus and others have advanced, it feems probable that Bac- chus was worfliipped by the Mauritanians, efpecially as the Indians and Arabs adored him in a moft particular manner. In fhort, we are to form a notion of the Mauritanian religion from that of the Egyptians, Phoe- nicians, Perfians, and Carthaginians, already defcribed. What peculiarities in this parti- cular the Mauritanians had, as doubtlefs they had fome, have many ages fmce been buried in oblivion.
N 4 No.
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF TRS
No. XXXIV,
T^e Religion of the 'Ethiopians.
J UPITER Ammon, according to the Greek and Latin authors, feems to have been the principal objed; of rehgious worfhip in Ethi- opia, though the natives paid Hkewife divine honours to Ifis, Pan, Hercules, ^fculapius, and others, whom they confidered as the greatell benefactors to mankind. In fliort, if thefe authors may be credited, their re- ligion differed not much from that of the Egyptians ; which is not to be wondered at, confidering their vicinity to, and intercourf? with that people.
However,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 185
However, Diodorus afTures us, that fome of them were Atheifts, who looked upon the fun, by reafon of his fcorching rays, as their implacable enemy. Could we depend upon a tradition of the modern Abaffines, the Ethiopians, or at leaft a confiderable part of them, adhered zealouily to the law of Mofes, from the time of Solomon, to their conver- iion to Chriftianity.
According to this tradition, the queen of Sheba, whom Our Saviour calls the queen of the fouth, and who ruled over at leaft, a powerful nation of Ethiopia, had a fon by Solomon,, named Menilehec, who was edu- cated at that prince's court, and inftrudled there in the law of God, through the great care of his father. Being afterwards anointed king of Ethiopia, and fent home to take pof- feffion of his kingdom, at the defire of feveral eminent Ifraelites, and dod:ors of the law, that attended him, he introduced there his father's religion, which continued among his fubjedfs, and their pofterity, till the time of St. Athanafius. What regard is to be paid to this tradition, we fhall not take upon
us
l86 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
US to determine ; fince the learned are not a little divided in their fentiments concerning the litLiation of the kingdom of Sheba, whofe queen had an interview with Solomon at his own court. St. Cyprian, Epiphanius, St. Cyril, of Alexandria, Cardinal Baronius, Suarez, Lorinus, Pineda, Bochart, and the Arabs in general, fix her relidence in Arabia Felix. The laft call her Belkis, and affirm her to have been the daughter of Hod-had, king of the Homerites. On the other hand the Abaffine nation, Jofephus, Origen, St. Auftin, the learned Hugo Grotius, the pa- triarch Alphonfo Mendez, ths fathers Bal- thafar Telles, and Joan Dos- Santos, have placed this celebrated princefs in Ethiopia. We have not room here to infert the argu- ment offered en both fides, in defence of their refped:ive opinions 3 but fhall however obferve, that the kingdom of Abaffia, feems to anfwer better the queen of Sheba's coun- try, according to our Saviour's defcription of it, as being more to the South of it, and more remote from Judea than Arabia. To which may be added, that it appears from Scripture, that fome perfons of diftind:ion
amongft
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 1 87
amongft the proper Ethiopians, were of the fame rehgion with the Jews, or nearly fo, in the Apoftolical age. For queen Candace's treafurer, baptized by Phihp, went with an offering to Jerufalem to worfhip God there, and was not unacquainted with the writers of the Old Teftament, which cannot, we apprehend, be faid with fo much propriety of the Arabians. This feems a fort of proof that the Mofaic law, was held to be of divine inftitution in Meroe, and the other parts of Ethiopia dependent on it, even before the birth of Our Saviour, if not as early as the age of Solomon ; and confequently adds fome weight to the arguments of thofe writers who have alTerted that the Queen of Sheba came out of Ethiopia.
It likewife renders the authority of Jofe- phus preferable to that of Diodorus Siculus, and Stephanus, notwithflanding what M. Bochart has advanced. For if any regard was paid to the law of Moles in Meroe, be- fore Chriftianity made its appearance in the world, we cannot account for this better, than by allowing, with the AbalTines and
other
l88 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
Other authors, that this peninfula was the queen of Sheba's country. From whence it will appear probable, that her fon introduced fome knowledge of the public worfhip of the Hebrews there, and confequently that its metropolis was called Sheba or Seba, before Cambyfes's reign, as Jofephus aflerts, and not built by that prince as Diodorus Siculus, and Stephanus will have it. Be that as it will, this appears to have been a prevailing notion amongfl: fome of the Jews and Greeks in Jofephus's time, and Herodotus was then cited to fupport it, however his text, or that of Jofephus, may be now corrupted. For the latter hiflorian, cannot fairly be fuppofed fo profligate and abandoned a writer, as to impofe a known falfehood and forgery upon the world: notwithflanding Bochart's in- linuation. However, it mufl be owned, that Strabo fuggelis the people of Meroe, in his time, to have adored Hercules, Pan, and Ills, with another foreign God. But Stra- bo's authority in this point, cannot overturn what is infinuated by Scripture : nay, he feems to be a little inconfillent with himfelf, fmce in the fame breath he aflures us that
the
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 189
the Ethiopians in general acknowledged an immortal God, whom they conlidered as the iirll principle of all things, and a mortal God who had no name. Such a notion might eafily be formed by remote nations, who knew very little of the Ethiopians, upon fuppolition that fome of them, for a certain period worflilpped the true God, and held the memory of Mofes in the highefl vene- ration. Far more abfurd things than thefe, the Greek and Latin writers related of the Jews, with whom they had a more imme- diate communication. And therefore we ought not to be furprifed at their tranfmitting to us fo imperfe(5l an account of the religious tenets of the Ethiopians ; though it fhould be acknowledged, that, during a certain in- terval, they agreed in the main with thofe of the Jews. The author laft cited, likewife informs us, that the Ethiopians ranked in the number of their deities, all their moft emi- nent benefad:ors, and thofe who were diftin- guifhed by their birth. The Sun, accord- ing to him, the people under coniideration in the moft early times fo highly adored, that they reputed thofe to be Atheifls, who curfed
him
190 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
him at his rifing ; as fome fuch there werd inhabiting the torrid zone, becaufe he forced them to fhelter themfelves from his intenfe heat in moift and marfhy places. For this reafon the Greeks and Romans gave the fun the name of the Ethiopian Jupiter. The Ethiopians themfelves called him Affabin, or Aflabinus, as we learn from Pliny. They confecrated likewife to him the cinnamon tree, an odoriferous flirub, which grew in their country. The priefts only were al- lowed to gather that harveft, which they al- ways ufhered in with facrifices of forty-four oxen, goats, and fheep, beginning the work that followed before fun-rifmg, and finiOi- ing it before his fetting. The crop be- ing gathered, they divided it into three parts with a fpear, which was never ufed but on that occafion. They carried away two portions of it, and left on the fame place that which fell to the fun ; and forthwith, fay Pliny, Solinus, and Theophraftus, if the diviiion had been performed with equity, the fun's portion took fire of itfelf, and was con- fumed. This ceremony feems to have been common to the Ethiopians above Egypt, and the Sabasans feated in Arabia Felix. Banier
believes
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
believes the Ethiopians to have had gods natural, and gods animated, as well as the Egyptians ; that they worfliipped the moon under the name of liis, and univerfal nature under that of Pan. We doubt not but this may be true : efpecially lince they in all likelihood, at firil worfhipped the planets, or fome of them in common with the Egyp- tians and Arabians, and likewife paid divine honours to their dcceafed kings, as did thofe nations, together with the Mauritanians. Among the princes deiiied by this lafl: people, were the famous Juba and Verfotina, who was probably either one of their queens, or fome other woman of the firfl distinction, rendered illuftrious by her glorious adtions. The Ethiopians of Meroe, according to He- rodotus, in his time, worfliipped Jupiter and Bacchus, and had an oracle of Jupiter. Some Ethiopian nations offered, facrifices to the day, which they efteemed as a god, accord- ing to Lucian. An ancient tradition pre- vails among the Abaffines that the firil Ethi- opians adored a monflrous ferpent called m their language Arwe-midre ; but this favours fo much of fable, that the reader will pro- bably think it deferves little regard.
No.
191
192 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXXV*
l^he Religion of the Ancient Arabs »
1 HE Religion of the Arabs (before Mo- hammed) which they call the jlate of igno^ ranccy was chiefly grofs idolatry j the Sabian religion having almofi over-run the whole nation, though there were alf9 great num- bers of Chriflians, Jews, andMagians among them. The idolatry of the Arabs, as Sa- bians, chiefly coniifl:ed in worfhipping the fixed flars and planets, and the angels, and their images, which they honoured as infe^ rior deities, and whofe interceffion they beg- ged as their mediators with God. For they acknowledged one fupreme God, the cre- ator and Lord of the univerfe, whom they called Allah Taala, the mojl high God ^ and
their
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I93
their other deities, who were fubordinate to him, they called fimply Al llahat, id eft, the goddelTes.
That the Arabs fhould eafily be led intci the worfhip of the ftars, is not at all fur- prifing, iince, by obferving the changes of the weather to happen at the riiing or fetting of certain of them for a confiderable period, they might eafily be induced to afcrlbe a divine power to thofe ftars, and think themfelves indebted to them for their rains, a very great benefit and refreftiment to their parched country. Hence, poffibly it cams to pafs, that they had {even celebrated tem- ples, dedicated to the {even planets ; one of thefe in particular, called Beit Ghomdan, was built in Sanaa, the metropolis of Yaman, by Dahac, to the honour of Al-Zobarah, or the planet Venus, and was demoliihed by the Khalif Oathman. By the murder of this Khalif was fulfilled, the Mohammedans pretend, the prophetical infcription, fet, as is reported, over this temple, to wit, Ghom^ dan, he who dejlroyeth theeflmll bejlain. The temple of Mecca is alfo faid to have been
O confe-
194 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
confecrated to Saturn. That planetary wor- Ihip was the firfl fpecies of idolatry, and therefore it is no wonder the ancient Arabs, at prefent the moft ancient nation in the world, fliould have been infeded with it. But befides thofe ftars which were the ge- neral objedls of worfhip throughout Arabia, there were fome more particularly reverenced in particular provinces. However, the Arabs, together with the Indians in general, paid a greater regard to the fixed ftars than to the planets ; which diflinguifhed the Sa - bians amongft them, from thofe among the Greeks, who dired:ed their worfhip to the plannets. The Arabs did not only attribute their rains to the influence of the fixed ftars, but likewife their winds, ftorms, tempefts, heat, cold,, and all kinds of alteration in their atmofphere. They differed, however, a- mongil themfelves in this, that fome afcribed the influence producing all the meteorological phenomena to the rifing, and others to the fetting, of the conftellations known amongfl them.
Of the angels or intelligences which they worfhipped, we find only three mentioned
in
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION I95
"in the Koran, to wit, Allat, Al-uzza, and Manah ; thefe they called goddelTes, and the daughters of God ; an appellation they gave not only to angels, but alfo to their images, which they believed either to be infpired with life by God, or elfe to become the taber- nacles of the angels, and to be animated by them ', and they paid them divine honours, becaufe they believed them to intercede for their votaries with God. The Arab Sabians likewife, in common with thofe of other na- tions, imagined that the futi, moon, and fixed ftars, were inhabited by intelligences of a middle nature, betwixt men and the fupreme Being, who actuated their orbs in the fame manner as the human body does the foul ; and that this was the true caufe of all their motions. Thefe beings, they had a notion, became mediators between God and them ; for the neceffity of a mediator they clearly difcovered from the beginning, and therefore, as God's mediators, directed divine worihip to them : They iirft worfhipped them by their tabernacles, id eft, their orbs them- felves ; but thefe, by their rifing and fetting, being as much under the horizon as above, O 2 they
196 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
they were at a lofs how to addrefs them- felves in their abfence. To remedy this, they had recourfe to the invention of images^ in which, after their confecration, they thought thefe inferior deities to be as much prefent by their influence, as in the ftars themfelves : and therefore, that all addreffes were made as effediually before the one, as before the other. And this may be con- fidered as the origin of image worfhip. They had many tribes, and every tribe worfhipp^d their own idols, images. &c.
As image worfhip in fome meafure pro- ceeded from the deification of dead men, who had been the authors of fome fignal ad- vantages and benefits to the people they go- verned, or elfe greatly famed for their con- quefts, it is no wonder the Arabs, as well as other nations, fhould fall into it. Sir Ifaac Newton takes hero worfhip, or the worfhip of deified dead men, to have been no older than the age of Sefac, the great Egyptian conqueror, who ordered all the nations he conquered, and among the reft, fome of the Arabians, at leaft, to pay divine honours to 5 his
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
his father Ammon, under the title of Jupiter, or Jupiter Ammon. This therefore was the great hero god of the Arabs, as well as of the Egyptians, Garamantes, Ethiopians, Indians, &c. and his fon and fuccefTor, Se- fac, who enjoined this worihip, the Bacchus, according to Sir Ifaac Newton, of the an- cients, little inferior to him.
Befides the idols already mentioned, the Arabs worshipped many others, among them they worfhipped large rude ftones, and others, nothing more than a lump of doughy which they never prefumed to eat, till they were compelled to it by famine.
The Perlians, by their vicinity to, and frequent intercourfe with the Arabians, in- troduced the Magian religion among fome of their tribes, particularly that of Tamim, a long time before Mohammed, who was fo far from being unacquainted with it, that from it he borrowed many of his own infti- tutions. The profeffors of this religion, ac- knowledged the world, to have been created by God, as their fuccelTors do at this day ; O I but
197
198 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
but, being at a lofs otherwife to account for the origin of evil, they held two principles, a good one and an evil one : The firft they ' fuppofed the author of all good, and the other of all evil, believing them to be repre- fented by light and darknefs, as their trueft iymbols, and that, of the compofition of thefe tV7o, all things in the vv'orld are made. Though one fed: of the Magi afferted, as the Manichicans, and other heretics did, both thofe principles, to have exifted from all eternity, yet they were reputed heterodox -, the original dodtrine being, that the good principle or God only was eternul, and the other created, as rioocars from Zoroafter's defcription of the fupreme Being. Amongft other tenets they maintained, that there were I good and bad angels ; the former guarding
and proteding men from evil j and the lat- ter inftigating them to all kinds of wicked- nefs. They alio believed, that the wicked angels, after they had drawn men out of the paths of virtue, became the inftruments of their punifhment ; and that thefe angels were continually meditating the ruin and de- ftrudion of mankind.
However,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. I99
However, fome of the Pagan Arabs be- lieved neither a creation pad, nor a refur- rediion to come, attributing the origin of things to nature, and their difTolution to age. Others allowed both ^ among whom were thofc, who when they died, had their camel tied by their fepulchre, and fo left without meat or drink to perifh, and accompany them to the other world, left they fhould be obliged at the refurredlion to go on foot, which was reckoned fcandalous. Some be- lieved a Mctempf/choiis, and that cf the blood near the dead perfon's brain, was form- ed a bird, named Hamah, which once in a hundred years vifited the fepulchre ; though others fay, this bird is animated by the foul of him that is unjuftly flain ; and continually cries, Ofcuni, Ofcuni, id eft. Give me to drink, meaning of the murderer's blood, till his death be revenged, ^nd then it flies away. Some of the ancient Arabs feemed to have been addi6ted to augury, fince they held an owl in great abhorrence, as imagining that it always brought ill news, and portended fomething bad. The camel above-men- tioned furnifhed the Arabs with a proverb O 4 v/hich
:00 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THU
which they appHed to all people doomed to a miferable end. Thofe who expedled a fu^ ture judgment, adored idols, as they pre- tended, that the heroes or deities they repre- fented, might be hereby induced to intercede for them with God hereafter. It appears probable from fome paiTages of the Koran, and the commentators on thofe pallages, that the ancient Arabs, under the word Genii, comprehended angels, good as well as bad, and that intermediate fpccies of rational in^ vifible beings going among the prefent ori- entals by the fame name.
From the fame paflages and commenta-? tors, we may likewife infer that moil of tl^e Arabians before Mohammed's time, in con- formity to the Sabian fcheme, paid religious honours to thefe Genii.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RE>L.IGIpI^, ^ apij
No. XXXVL
^he Religion of the Ancient State of Spain y t)
the Expul/ion of the Carthaginians by the
Romans,
There is no doubt to be made, tha*: Year cf ti» wherever Spain was inhabited by the defcen before chrili: dents of the Celtes (treated of before in thi- \^^^^ work) thither they brought their old religion &c. I fhall fpeak more largely of the re- ligion of the ancient Spaniards in my next^ chapter of the ancient Gauls, the undoubted and immediate defcendents of the ancient Celtic ftock : for we muft neceflarily fup- pofe, and fo indeed we find, a great affinity between them, as they all fprang from the, fame origin.
Both
202 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the ]gQj.}^ jj^g Celtcs and Gauls are fuppofed to
', flood 2119, ^^
before chriH Jjavc brou^ht the fame relieion, laws, govern-
Z29. "^ O ' ' o
V -M— ^ ment, 6cc. ncimely, that which they received from their grandfather Noah, v/hich they flridly adhered to for a long feries of years, ^v and v/as in all thefe countries, the f^me as
that of the old patriarchs. They worfliipped ore fupreme being, not in temples, as the Greeks and Romans, but in groves confe- crated to him. They believed a future flate of rewards and puniHiments fuit.ible to their behaviour in this. They offered victims tohim, and celebrated fome feftivals in honour of him; and in moil things obferved a great iimplicity in all their religious rites, during a loiig feries of ages, till by intermingling with r^ '/' Cither nations, they degenerated into feveral (^f their fuperflitions, efpecially into their various ways of divination, of which I fhall give fome account in the next chapter. One bloody and inhuman cuftom they gave indeed into, very early, in common with moft an- cient nations ; to wit, that of human facri- fices.
But
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 20?
But as this country was afterwards invaded ^^^^ of the
flood 2 1 T 9
by fuch variety of othernat ions. The Egyp- before chrift
. . 220.
tians, Tyrians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and a multitude of others who fettled amongft them, it is natural to think that every one brought their own religion and cufloms with them 'j what they were may be feen in the hiftory of the religion I have given of each of thefe nations in the courfe of this work. It is plain, fuch a mixture of different nations muft bring not only a vaft variety of re- ligions, laws, and cufloms, but produce fuch alterations in each of them, as they mutually borrowed fome dod:rines and notions, rites and fafliions from one another, a's fuited their caprice or humours. Superftition has no bounds, and perfons, either out of wanton- nefs or impatience, will be eafily induced to hunt after a variety of deities and fuperftitious ceremonies. This we find was the cafe of the Ifraelites, though reftrained from it, un- der fuch fevere penalties : how much more will it be fo, v/ere every one left to his own Jiberty ? However, after the coming of the lordly Romans, whofe conftant policy it was, to introduce every where their gods,
religion.
a»9'
204 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the religion, laws, &c. either by fair or foul betoreChrift means, we need not doubt, but thofe that fell under their dominion, were obliged to fubmit to this change.
The inundation likewife of the northern nations, fuch as the Suevi, Goths, and Vandals, muil likewife have introduced fuch changes, as may be better imagined than de- fcribed, who, though they had embraced chriflianity, yet they were all of them infed:- ed with the Arian herefy. This did not however flacken their zeal againft the hea- thenifh idolatry and fuperllition, which had been introduced there by the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Romans, and other nations, whofe temples, altars, ilatues, &c. they de- flroyed wherever they came, obliging ^11 that fell under their power, to embrace their leligion : but both Sueves and Goths, at length exchanged their Arianifm for the Or- thodox faith, the former, under the reign of their king Ariamiris, alias Theodemirus, and the latter under Reccaredus who made open profeiBon of it, upon his acceffion to the crown. Their example was followed by the
nobles.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 2aj
nobles, bifhops, and clergy; and their con- parofAe fellion of faith, was prefented to the famed before ciuiii council of Toledo, where fome further regu- lations were made for the prefervation of or- thodoxy, and for introducing a general con- formity of worfhip. This great change, was fo much the more remarkable, coniidering the tenacioufnefs of thofe notions for their old religion, as it was brought about without perfecution, or any other violent means. Upon the whole, it muft be owned, that the Goths made many excellent laws and regu- lations for the better government in church and ilate,
I cannot forbear mentioning here a famed liturgy peculiar to them, known by feveral names fuch as Officium Gothicum, Toleta- num, and Mozarabicum, and fuppofed by moft authors to have been compiled by Iffi- dore, then bifliop of Seville. This liturgy was confirmed by the Toletan council above- mentioned, though the Pope did not fuffer them to enjoy it long, before he obliged them to exchange it for the Roman, not without a long and llrenuous oppofition from the
Goths,
2o6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THfi
year of the Goths, efpeciallv thofe of Catalonia, who
flood 2119, .
before chrift fgnt a iiumber of deputies to the council of 229.
Mantua, to expoftulate againll fuch a forced innovation.
It is probable that though the firfl inha- bitants of Spain were under one monarchical government, upon their firfl: fettling in it, as vi^ell as thofe of Gaul, Germany, and other European nations, yet, as they came to increafe in number, and enlarge their terri- tories, they fplit themfelves into a multipli- city of petty kingdoms and common wealths. But as I am not writing a hiftory of their go- vernment and laws, let what I have faid fuf- fice for their religious tenets.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 207
No. XXXVII.
Hhe Religion of the Ancient State of the Gauls, to the Time of their Conquefi by Julius C<^- far, and from thence to the Interruption of the Franks.
1 HAVE already given fome account of the Year of the religion of the ancient Celtes in a former before amit part of this work, and as the Gauls were ,_ /^J^ j, defcended from them, as I have mentioned in the laft chapter, it is not to be doubted but it was continued and propagated amongft them, in the fame manner and form as they received it from them, till their intercourfe with other nations, or perhaps rather, their fubjedion to them gave birth to thofe
changes
2o8 A Succinct account of the
Year of the changfcs and intermixtures which it after^
flood 1456, °
before chrift wards Underwent. To come therefore at a 622. ,
tolerable notion of true Gaulifh religion, we
ihould feek it among thofe Gauls who were
leaft converfant with other people, and had
leaft occafion or neceffity of receiving or
adopting any thing from them ; inftead of
having recourfe to that of the Greeks and
Romans, from whom whatever they might
in procefs of time borrow, that might caufe
a kind of refemblance between them, yet
originally they differed as much, not only in
this, but in almoft all other refpedls, as black
from white. Much worfe have they fuc-
ceeded in this point, who have transformed
the Gauli(h deities into Greek and Roman
ones, and fpent a deal of time and pains to
tio purpofe, to prove them to have been
fuch.
It is plain the Gauls, (or ancient Celtes) adored a fupreme Being, under the name of Efus. This notion was religioully preferved by their Druids j and if they, for worldly ends, or perhaps to pleafe the people, whofe impetuous defire, after this novelty, they
could
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ,209
could not refift, fuffered the woriliip and JZlzTe, images of thefe gods to be introduced amongil ^"^"'^^f ''"^' them, yet they never looked upon them as any other than inferior deities, whatever the laity might be indulged to do in procefs of time ; but the worihip of the true God was ftill carefully kept up, and the oak efteemed a fymbol of the deity, as fire was among the Perfians, of whom I have fpoken largely. To frame therefore a right notion of the re- ligion of this, or any other nation, we mull: not judge of it by the corruptions introduced into it by a mad populace, and winked at by the priefts and philofophers, but as it was believed and profelfcd by thofe who had the care of it. And m this cafe we fliall perhaps find the moil material difference between that of the Gauls, and that of the Greeks and Romans, even in thofe points, in which they feem mofl to agree, I mean the wor- ship of the fame Gods, with refpeifl to the different characters which they gave, and ideas they entertained of them, the latter feeming calculated to footh the mofl inordi- nate paffions, and authorize the worfl of crimes, and the former rather quite oppofite P to
210 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the to it: The rcliffion of the Gauls is the fourcc
flood 1256, <-5
teforeChrift and foundation, not only of the ancient Ger- 62a. ^
mans, and other more northern nations, but like wife of that of the ancient Britons, who were defcended, and had received their re- ligion, laws, and cufloms, originally from them. I have already hinted that they an- ciently worfhipped the fupreme deity, under the name of Efus, and the fymbol of the Oak. 3 and it will not be thought ftrange, that this notion of a fupreme Being lliould have been preferved among the defcendants of Japheth, v/hen we find fuch lively traces of it even among the idolatrous Syrians, Mi- dianites, and even the Canaanites, as in the family of Laban,* of Jethro, -f- and of the two Abimelechs, kings of Gerar, in the times of Abraham and Ifaac, % and fome others, particularly the Gibeonites in Jofhua's time, § Adonibezek, in the time of the Judges, ^ and Hyram, king of Tyre, in the reigns of David and Solomon, || who all, not
only
* Genefis'xxxi, ver. 4-8, et feq. f Exodus, chap. ii. ver. 21, et
feq. etchap. xvlli. ver. 9. et Icq.
\ Genefis, chap. xx. ver. 3. et leq. and chap. xxvi. ver. 8. et feq.
§ Jcfliua, chap. ix. ver. 9. et (eq. ^ Judges, chap, i, ver. 7.
II I Kin?;''} cliap. v. vci-. 7. et /l-q.
DlFi^ERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 211
only retained the notion of the deity, not- Year of the withflanding their idolatry, but had likewife before ciuift a peculiar name for it> diftindt from thofe of their other gods. To this we muft add, that in the midft of thofe heathenifh fuperftitionsj which crept by degrees into their religion, the Gauls never ered:ed any, either temples or idolsj unto this Efus or fupreme deity ^ fo that he feems to have been acknowledged by them, much in the fame manner that the Athenians did the unknown God mentioned by St. Paul, * which notion was far enough from being peculiar to them. Others had their unknov/n god as well as they, and owned themfelves his offspring, though their notion and worfliip of him were very imper- fect, and in many cafes too unworthy of him> as even the Gauls did, when they came to intermingle the Roman theology with their own; However, anciently they feem to have entertained fome fubhme notions of him; to confirm which, we need but add what Tacitus fays of the Senones, who were a branch of the Celtes, and had the fame religion; they, fays that author, have no P 2 other
* A6ls, chap. xvil. ver. a3.
212 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
ficSi^Vs^ Other temples but a wood or grove, where before chrhi t^gy perform all their religious rites. None is admitted to enter it, unlefs he carries a chain in token of his dependance on, and owning the fupreme dominion which God has over him, and if he chance to fall down, none muft dare to help him up ; but he muft either roll himfelf, or crawl upon his belly, out of the place. He adds, that their whole religion confided in an acknowledgment, that the deity, which makes its abode there, governs all things ; that all things depend on him, and ought to obey him. Strabo fays much the fame of the Celtiberians, another branch of the Celtes ; and adds, that they worfhipped the God without name, and danced every full moon, before their houfes all the night, in honour of him : and might it not be on this account, as an ingenious author obferves, that Lucan rallies the Maf- filian druids, when he tells them that they v/ere the only ones of all men, to whom it was given to know, or not to know, the gods they adored : And then fpeaking of their groves, fays, that their ignorance of the deities they worfliipped under them, was
the
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 213
the caufe of that veneration they paid to J^oj^^^s
thofe flurdy and fliapelefs trees. Another ^^^°'^\f_^"'^
remarkable thing in their rehgion was, their
great veneration for the oak. This feems
'likevi^ife to have been common to them, and
the old patriarchs and Jews, among whom
that tree was in high efteem, though not in
the fame fuperftitious degree. Abraham is
recorded to have pitched his tents under fome
famed oaks, Tuch as thofe of Mamre or Mo-
reh,* which, though our verfion, and fome
others, have transformed into plains, yet,
in the original, plainly fignify an oak, or
oaky grove. -f^ He is faid, moreover, to have
planted groves of them ; and wherever he
pitched his tent, he is recorded to have built
an altar unto the Lord, and to have o^iven
fome fignliicant name to the place, fuch as
that of Beerfheba, Bethel, and the like. J
The Gauls in particular improved upon this
patriarchal cuftom, the origin of which feems
not owing to any fandity or extraordinary
virtue, which either Abraham, or any of
P3 his
* Genefis, chap. xii. ver. 6.
f Genefis, chap, xxl, vcr. 33. See alfo the margin of our bibles,
and the generality of commentators.
X Genefis, chap. xxi. 31. and Genefis, xxviii. vcr. 19. et alib.
214 -A- SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
flIoTifst' ^^^ anceftors, or fucccfTors could imagine to before chrift ^g ^^ thofe trccs I whercas, among: both
622, ' o
Celtes and Gauls, the oak was looked upon and reverenced as an emblem, or as the pe- culiar refidence of the deity. The fruit of it, efpecially th^ mifToldine (or miileto) was thought to have a kind of divine virtue, was ufed as a panacea for man and beaft, and ap- plied to both, as well inwardly as outwardly, in wounds, contufions, and cuticular ail- ments, and alfo for inward difeafes, and even jbarrer^nefs and abortion in men, women, ^nd cattle. The leaves or fome fmall boughs of it were worn by the Druids and laity in all their religious ceremonies, which were con- flantly performed under thofe trees, or in oaky groves. Thefe, if we may guefs from the few fragments we have left of them in hiftory, and from fome heaps of flones, ftill flanding in fome of our illes, efpecially that of Anglefey, and which may be fuppofed to have been cindlures, or fences round the grove to prevent their entrance between the trees, except where it was left open to the comers, and not unlikely, guarded by fome inferior druids, to ilop all llrangers from in- truding
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 21^
trading into their myfteries. They made a ^JJ^^ °^J^^« large circle, where feveral fmaller ones fur- '^^f"^^ cin-iit rounded, as is fuppofed, with large flones, which ferved for the facrifices, and other moft folemn parts of their worfhip. In the centre, or near it, of thefe fmall circles, were placed folid flones of a large fize, and con- venient height, on which the vidtims were killed, dilTeded, and offered up. There is a great affinity between the Celtie religion, and that of the Patriarchs and Jews, as may be found moft accurately defcribed by a very ingenious writer,* to whom I refer the cu- rious and inquifitive reader.
As to the bloody cuflom of facrificing hu- man vidims, which began fo early with the Gauls, and which, if we may believe Pro^ copius, did not end till fome centuries after their embracing Chriftianity -, we can only fpeak of it, as it was tranfaded out of their groves or places of worfliip ; for as to what was done within them, no ftranger being made acquainted with, much lefs admitted to fee it, we mufl be wholly in the dark P 4 about
* Ar.cientUniverfal Hiftory, vol. xviii. page 550, top. 588.
2l6 ^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
fbod°[a'6 ^^^"^ i^ ^s ^^^i^ druids committed nothing before ciuui of it to wHting. CoHceming thole unhappy u '^- ■-> ones that were offered abroad, two* great writers give us the following account.
* When a man's life is in danger, either through licknefs or other accident, they immediately facrifice, or at leaft make a vow fo to do, fome human victims ; for, befides that they think them the moft per- fect and plealing to the Gods, they believe that one man's life cannot be redeemed but by that of another, Vv'ithout which no fatisfadion could be made to them for their goodnefs to men. And thefe are the cere- monies eflablifhed among them, upon all fuch occafions : They ered; an huge hol- low pile of ofier, which they fill with thefe unhappy wretches, who are quickly fuffo- cated with the fmoke, and reduced to afhes foon after. They imagine, however, that criminals of any kind, are much more ac- ceptable vidims ; but when they are not to be had, the innocent muft go in their flead. In their funerals, which are very
* mag^
* Caefar and PJutarch,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 217
' magnificent, they throw into the burning P^^^''^*^
* pile every thing that the deceafed deUghted ^^^°^'^ <^hrift
* in even to living creatures ; and it is not ' long fince they threw likewife into it all ' his favourite fervants and flaves. Some of
* his near relations (continues Caefar) like-
* wife flung themfelves into the flames, in
* hopes of living happy with him in the next
* world.'
In their auguries and other fuperfl:itions, they imitated in fome meafure the Jewifli fcape-goat, by devoting fome vicarious vic- tims to death, and praying, that all the cur- fes due to them might fall upon it. The Maf- filians, among the refl:, are reported to have in times of pefl:ilence, made choice of fome indigent perfon that offered himfelf volun- tarily, whom they took care to fatten with the daintiefl: fare during a whole year, after which, they drefl^ed him with garlands, and other rich ornaments, and led him through the fl:reets loaded with the bitterefl impreca- tions to his death.
The
2l8 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
floo?°2^?' The common notion among them was, ^^^'^'-^chviOi that fuch a fpontaneous death, for the good of the common- weahh, intitled them to a rank among the gods. In other cafes they either tied or nailed them to fome tree or poft, and fhot them to death with arrows : others they burnt with a number of beafts on a pile of hay. * The fame author adds, that they threw into the fire an incredible quantity of gold, and other rich things, which was death for any one to meddle with afterwards.
To conclude ; the three grand fundamen- tals of their religion confifled, Firfl, In their worfhip of the gods. Secondly, In abftain- ing from all evil. And Laflly, In behaving with intrepidity upon all occafions. In or- der to enforce this lafl, on which they valued themfelves moH:, they taught the immor- tality of the foul, and a life after this of blifs or mifery, according as they had lived : and this infpired them with incredible courage and contempt of death.
I fliall clofe this account of the ancient Gauls, with a few words of their exceffive
love
* Strabo, lib, iv.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. IIO
^ove of liberty (though foreign to my fub- year of the jedt). They had fuch a fingular contempt ^^^o'e <^'iir;fl: of hfe, when not accompanied with liberty and martial deeds, that either upon the ap- pearance offervitude, or incapacity ofadtion, through old age, wounds, or any chronic dif- eafes, they either put an end to their days, or elfe prevailed upon their friends to do it, efleeming this lafl ftate as rnuch a kind of jQavery, as falling into the hands of their enemies,
No.
220 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXXVIII..
T^he "Religion of the Ancient Germans,
This fubjedl hath been already fo copioufly handled in the laft chapter -, as. it is fo natu- rally interwoven with it, to fay much, would be only a needlefs repetition. The Gauls and Germans, as nearly allied to each other, originally received not only their religion, but likewife their laws and cuftoms from the fame hand, and both retained them, fome few particulars excepted, during a long fe- ries of ages, with an invincible tenaciouf- nefs : it has been obferved that the latter continued much longer inflexible, againft in- troducing the Roman fuperflition, than the 5 former :
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 22l
former : fo that, with regard to their ancient religion, they exadily agreed in worfhipping the fupreme Deity, under the name of Efus, or Hefus, falfeiy faid by Roman Authors to have been Mars or Mercury. They wor- (h pped h m under the emblem of an oak, confec rated hat tree more peculiarly to him and had a great veneration not only for the tree itfelf, but for its leaves and fruit, efpe- cially the milleto, and afcr be extraordinary virtues to it, efpecially in epileptic difeafes.* They held like them all other trees, likewife as facred, though not in the fame degree with the oak ; all woods, forefts, and de- ferts, as well as groves, lakes, rivers, foun- tains, &c. in high veneration. The Druids had the fole care and diredion in all religious, and the greatefl fway and authority in civil matters -, only it may be here obferved, that though both nations held feme fort of women, whom they looked upon as prophetefles in great efteem : yet the Germans feem to have exceeded the Gauls in this kind of fuperfli- tion, and to have retained and fliewn a much
greater
* Pliny's Natural Hiflory, lib. xvl. chnp. ^^4. A!fo Colebatch and Douglas ou the Mifleto.
222 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
greater fondnefs and veneration for their pre- tended oracles.
The Germans, we are told, never under- took any thing of importance, without con- fulting themj and would even forbear fight- ing an enemy, let the advantage appear ever fo great on their fide, if thofe women difap- proved of it. In other things they were, as far as can be gathered from writers.* fubjedt to, and obliged to receive their directions, like the Gauls, from their grand Druid. If there was any difference between the Gauls and Germans in point of religion, it con- iifled only in this, that the latter being more £erce and untraceable, were not only more full and tenacious of their fuperflitious rites, but likewife more crueland inhuman in them. They not only offered the fame expiatory human vidlims, and ufed them in their au- guries, and other parts of their religion, but treated them much more cruelly than they, and made them undergo many grievous indignities and torments, before they dif- patched them, fome inflances I have given in the Gaulifh religion, that will hardly bear
repeating.
* Ca?/ar and Ta citus.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RJELIGION. 223
repeating. Other vidims they likewife of- fered of domeftic animals, and of thefe the horfe was reckoned the mofl acceptable. The flefli of them was, it feems, to be boiled, ftewed, or drcifed in fome other way, in the heart of their groves -, the fat and the flefli were ferved to the votaries, by way of feafls, and the blood was fprinkled upon the altar, trees, and by-flanders, by way of ablution, but though they did the fame by that of hu- man vi(flims, it doth not appear that they eat the flefh of them. It appears from divers ancient writers,* that the Germans had no temples, but performed their religious rites in groves ered:ed for that purpofe, or in woods, forefls, and defert places ; though this latter feems to have been praftifed after their cOnquefb, and to avoid the penalties of thofe fevere edids, which the Roman empe- rors had iiTued out againfl the Druids, and their inhuman facrifices ; however that be, temples were not introduced in Germany, till long after the Gauls had fhewed them the way ; and it is plain, that after the former had introduced the woriliip of Jupiter,
Mars,
• Cae^, Tacitus, Digdorus, SIcu'us, Strabc, Atherxus.
224
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Mars, &c. they ftill dedicated oaks, groves, woods, and whole forefts to them, and per- formed their fuperftitious rites in them a con- fiderable time before they could be brought to eredl temples to them.
Both the Gauls and Germans had many deities, and fome inferior ones. Mars was called by them Odin, or Woden : as the Germans, as well as the Gauls, made it a conftant maxim, not to communicate any thing to flrangers; and hence may be afligned the reafon why fome of them have abfurdly imagined this Odin to have been the fame with Hefus or Efus, the Supreme Deity.
The great veneration they obferved to be paid to this fame Odin, their calling upon him at the beginning of a fight, and vowing to him all the plunder, and even lives of their enemies. Mars, when the worfhip of him came to be adopted, was always, as far as can be gathered from ancient monuments, reprefented in armour, though anciently un- der the type of a naked fword ; whereas Hefus was only worshipped under the type
of
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION^ 225
of an oak, or even ths bare flump of one^ Mars was not only looked upon as the god of war : but as the patron and guardian of thofe who were flain, whofc fouls the furvi- vors bequeathed to him, in words to this effed: : Odin receive thee : may eft thou- he with Odin ! If you afk what they fuppofed was to be their employment in that place of blifSj which was called by them Valhalla, and of which Odinus was the chief difpofer ; fome of their ancient poets will tell you, that one of them was to caroufc with exquiiite beer in human fkulls, whilft Odinus alone, is allow- ed to drink wine. They were, rnoreover, to be ferved by elegant virgins, whofe bufi- nefs it was to furnifh them with a conilant fupply of whatever could make them happy and merry ; and this notion of a Moham- med's paradife, was no fmall fpur to war- like actions, fmce every man's felicity there, was to rife in proportion to the number of enemies he had conquered or killed. Ac- cording to this notion, v/e need not wonder at their confecrating fo great a fhare, and fometimes all the plunder of their enemies, making him heir of all their wealth, keeper
Q^ of
226 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP TH«
of all their treafure, and often vowing their own lives to him, fince they expected to be fo amply rewarded by him in the next life, ' and with fuch a kind of happinefs as beft fuited with their genius.
How much of this kind of idolatry they may have had before their becoming ac- quainted with the Romans is not eafy to fay, there is no doubt but they adopted many of the deities of the Gauls, as well as a great number of their ceremonies and fuperftitions. Hov/ever, it plainly appears, that their an- cient theology differed much from the my- thology of the Romans and Greeks. The Germans, even according to the teflimony of Roman writers, neither prefumed to confine their deities within temples, nor to repre- fent them under any forms, nor admitted into that number, any but fuch as they faw, and received affiftance and benefit from ; fuch as the fun, moon, and Vulcan * or the god of fire. Their veneration for their dei- fied heroes and heroines, and the encomiums they gave them in their poetical perform- ances, extended no farther than to their vir- tues
* Caeliir's Coinnient. lib. vl. c. ii.
JblFFfeRENT SECtS IN RELIGION. 227
tues and heroic exploits, their ftren^h and courage, victories and conqiiefls, whereas the Greeks and Romans not only attributed to their deities, all their own imperfections, but even fandilied their mofl monftrous and unnatural vices* , -
The Germans, as well as Gauls, were early taught by their Druids, two momen- tous truths, to wit, an over-ruling provi- dence, and the immortality of the foul. Thel misfortune was, that thefe tv/o noble fprings of virtue and religion, did not run long un- corrupted ; for as on the one hand, a too eager defire in the people of prying into fu- turity, and a fatal ambition in their druids and diviners, of being thought more inti- mately acquainted with the ways of provi- dence, introduced an infinite variety of au- guries and fuperflitions, and fome of them, as I have elfewhere hinted, were of the mofl inhuman and diabolical kind ; fo, on the other, the belief of a future life and immor- tality, proved but too fatal a fpur to raflmefs, ambition, and cruelty, efpecially after they came to imbibe that poifonous notion, that Qj8 the
22S A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THI
the fureft way to that happinefs was, to die in the field of battle ; and that their felicity in the next world, was to rife according to the number of enemies they had deftroyed in this. For this not only infpired them with a barbarous courage and cruelty in their v/ars, but made them lefs felicitous to in- quire whether the motives of it werejuil or unjuft.
The furefl road to Paradife was, to excel in martial deeds, and die intrepidly in the field of battle, and fmce none were excluded from it but bafe cowards and betrayers of their country, it is natural to think, that the fignal and exceffive bravery of the Germans flowed from this ancient belief of theirs : and if their females were fo brave and faith- ful, as not only to fhare with their hu{bands all the dangers and fatigues of war, but at length, to follow them by a voluntary death into the other world j it can hardly be attri- buted to any thing elfe but a ftrong perfua- iion of their being admitted to live with them in that place of blifs. This belief, therefore, whether received originally from
the
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 229
the old Celtes, or afterwards taught them by the fince deified Odin, feems, from their general prad:ice, to have been univerfally re- ceived by all the Germans, though they might differ one from another in their no- tions of that future life.
I fhall clofe this chapter with obferving, that the notion of a future happinefs, ob- tained by martial exploits, efpecially by dy- ing fword in hand, made them bewail the fate of thofe who lived to an old age, as dif- honourable here, and hopelefs hereafter ; upon which account, they had a barbarous way of fending them into the other world, willing, or not willing : and this cufcom laft- ed leveral ages after their receiving Chrifti- anity, efpecially among the Pruffians and Venedi ; the former of whom, it feems, difpatched, by a quick death, not only their children, the fick fervants, &c. but even their parents, and fometimes themfelves.* And among the latter we have inflances of this horrid parricide being pracftifed even in the beginning of the fourteenth century. All Q 3 that
• Cferiilophsf Hsirtkjioch Diffutauon on Prufijan Antiquities, 13.
230 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
that need be added is, that if thofe perfons, thus fuppofed to have lived long enough, either defired to be put to death, or, at leaft, feemed cheerfully to fubmit to v^'hat they could not avoid, their exit was commonly preceded with a fafl, and their funeral with a feaft : but if they endeavoured to fhun it, as it fometimes happened, both ceremonies were performed with the deepeft mourning. In the former, they rejoiced at their deliver- ance, and being admitted into blifs -, in the latter, they bev/ailed their cowardly excluding themfelves from it. Much the fame thing was done towards thofe wives who betrayed a backwardnefs to follow their dead hufbands.
it
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. Z^l
No. XXXIX.
T/jc Religion of the Ancient State of Britain, to its Defertio7i by the Romans, and the Invajion of the Angles and Saxons.
The iiland, which is now called Great- Year of the
flood 129+.
Britain, and comprehends the two kingdoms before chriit of England and Scotland, with the princi- of Rome, pality of Wales, was in more ancient times, *
by way of diftindlion, ftiled Albion, the name of Britain, being then common to all the iflands that lie round it. Hence Aga- themerus, fpeaking of the Britifh iflands. They are many in number, fays he; but the moft conliderable among them are Hibernia and Albion,
(ij. The
2-2 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the 'pjjg Soutliem oarts of Britain were peo-
flood 2294., ^
before Chna pie j^ , according to Caefar, by the Gauls. of Rome Tacitus IS of the fame opinion, ir we con- fider all circumftances (fays he), it is pro- bable that Gaul firft peopled Britain v/hich lies fo near it.
The religion of the ancient Britons was, as Caefar informs us * much the fame with that of their neighbours the Gauls. They wor- fhipped Jupiter under the name of Taramis or Taran, fignifying in the ancient BritiQi language, as it does iuiil in the Welch, Thunder. Maximus Tyrius writes, that they paid divine worfliip to the highell oak they could find, as the figure or reprefen- tation of this God. Their other deities were Tutates, called by the Britons Duw Taith, the God of journeys, and fuppofed to be the fame with Mercury: Hefus, called alfo Ca^ mulus, according to Cambden, the God pf War, or the Mars of the Britons ; Beleus, or Belinus, that is, as appears from a pafiage of Julius Capitoiinus : As for their goddelTes
they
♦ Cxfar's Comment, book iv.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 233
they worfhipped Diana under the name of J^^^ ^^^ ^'^« Camma, and paid a very particular vener- ^^^^^"^ thrift ation to Andate, their goddefs of vidory, ofkome,
<'94-
who had a temple at Carnalodunum, now Maldon in Eflex. The care and direction of all religious matters, was by the Britons, as well as the Gauls, committed to the Druids, whofe authority was great, not only in religious, but civil affairs. Their name feems to come from the Britifh word Deru, Signifying an oak, not only .becaufe they efteemed nothing more facred than the Mif- leto that grows on the oak, but likewife be- caufe their ufual refidence was in groves, among oaks ; nor did they perform any of their ceremonies, without fome branches or leaves of that tree. They v/ere held both by the Britons and Gauls, in fuch veneration, that their authority was almofl abfolute. To them belonged the cares of public and private facrifices, the interpretation of religion, the beflowing rewards, or inflidting punifhments, the deciding controverfies, let the difference be of what nature foever : and whoever re- fufed to obey their decree, whether Lord or
Vaffal,
234 ^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Year of the VafTal, was excludcd from the facrifices,
flood a a 94-, '
before chnii whlcli was accounted the greateft puniih-
of Rome ment that could be infli6led j for fuch as were
694..
thus, we may fay excommunicated, were reckoned in the number of the wicked, and as fuch avoided by all, not allowed to com- mence a fuit, to difcharge any public office, or to have the leail regard paid them. One of the chief tenets they taught, was the im- mortality of the foul, and its tranfmigration from one body to another ; which dodlrine they looked upon as proper to infpire them with courage and contempt of death. They in(lru(5Led their youth in feveral other tra- ditions concerning the flars and their mo- tions, the extent of the world, the nature of things, and the power of the immortal gods. There were women as well as men Druids ; for a female Druid of Tungria,, now the bifhoprick of liege, foretold to Dioclefian, when yet a private foldier, that he fhould one day be emperor.
The fedl and religion of the Druids fpread
as far as Italy j for Auguftus publiihed an
f edid:.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION 235
cdidt, forbiddino: the Romans to celebrate p^y °^ ^^^
' *-> flood 3294,
their myfteries. Befides the Druids, there '^^^"'■e ciuift
were, among the Britons and Gauls, priefts of Rome
694.. of an inferior rank, called Bards, whofe pro- vince it was to celebrate the exploits of their heroes in verfes, which they fung to the harp. The Bards were ftiil in Britain, after the Romans had entirely abandoned it.
N6.
236 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XL.
of Rome
1035-
The 'Religion of the Ancient Heruli.
fl^oodrlst' The Heruli were originally a Gothic na-
beforechnft ^^ ^^^ £j.^ dwelt in Scandinavia, and that 257. '
being driven from thence by the Dani, they wandered eaftward.
Procopius fpeaks of them, as inhabiting in ancient times, the countries lying beyond the Danube. There they continued making fre- quent irruptions into the empire, till the reign of the emperor Anaftafius, when great numbers of them were cut off by the Lom- bards, and the reft driven from their ancient habitations.
The
1035-
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 2J7
The Heruli had fome laws peculiar to J^^"; «*" ^he
■I flood 2635,
themfelves, and differing from thofe of all i^efore chiift other nations ; for among them, when men of Rome were grown old and infirm, they were not to live, but intreat their relations to difpatch them ; which they did accordingly, by placing them on a pile of wood, where they were put to death by one, who was a ftranger to them in blood, and their bodies reduced to afhes, it being the duty of the nearefl re- lation to fet fire to the pile. When the hufband died, the wife was to ftrangle herfelf on her hufband's tomb, on pain of being deemed infamous, and looked upon as one who had no value for her hufband. They were given to all manner of lewdnefs and de- bauchery; and not afliamed of the mofl un- natural practices. They adored the fame gods as the other Gothic nations,* and ufed, on fome extraordinary occafions, to appeafe them with human facrifices.-f- They were a warlike people, and are chiefly commended by the ancients for their fwiftnefs and agility; on the whole their religion was as barbarous as their manners.
No.
* Procopius, c. 14.. f Univerfal Kift, vol. xix. page 466.
278 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THS
No. XLI.
ne "Religion of the Ancient T^urks, Tartars^ and Moguls.
There is no doubt but the anceftors of the Tartars were immerfed in idolatry, and that they worfhipped fome of the principal Greek and Roman deities. To Hercules likewife, in common with the Greeks, Ro- mans, Phoenicians, and Egyptians, already defcribed, they paid divine honours. As they were nearly related to the Germans, (whofe religion I have before mentioned) they feem to have carried about with them, in their covered waggons, thofe fmall images reprefenting certain gods held in great ve- neration by that people. For that the/
roamed
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 239
roamed where they found the beft pallure for their flocks, as many of the mofl ancient Germans did, appears from feveral authors. The celebrated deity Zamolxis was probably worlhipped by the Scythians, or ancient Tar- tars, as well as the Thracians, on account of the falutary laws he gave them. For that, he was a famous legiflator, and lived long be- fore Pythagoras may be inferred from Hero- <jOtus ;* that a coniiderable part of the Scy- thians, at leaft, had -a body of religion and laws, to regulate their condud: by, is at- tefted by Ephorus. Nor can it v/ell be doubted, that thefe laws were framed by Za- molxis, when it is confidered that he annex^ cd a mofl: powerful fandion to his infl:i- tution -y to wit, eternal felicity in a future fl-ate. And that many of the Scythians were greatly influenced by the fan(5tion annexed to their laws, is exceeding probable : iince they have been highly extolled for their temper- ance, juftice, wifdom, integrity, and mofl: fublime friendfliip, both by Ephorus and Strabo. It fliould feem therefore, that this people had not only an excellent fyfl:em of
civil
• Herodotus, lib. ir.
240
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
civil and religious inftitutions, but llkewife a | moft powerful motive to an obfervance of them. The hideous idols that ferve at pre- fent for objects of adoration to fome of the Pagan Tartars, and Chinefe, feem to have been deduced from the monftrous hiero- glyphic figures, by which the ancient Egyp- J tians reprefented their falfe deities. Nor are ! thofe of the Indians, Japanefe, &c. to be de- rived from a different fource. Some au- thors have not fcrupled to charge the Tartars, as well as Scythians with atheifm : but no one will beUeve that, who maturely weighs or pays the leafl regard to the teftimony of Herodotus.*
* Herodotus— -^fchylus, apud Strabon, lib. vil.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 241
No. XLII.
T^he Religion of the Indians y from the earliefi Account of Time, to the Invafon of their Country, by Mahmud Gazni,
Though it may be allowed that fome of the Indians were defcended from Magog, the fon of Japhet, in conjundlion with the Tar- tars and Chinefe, yet it is like wife probable, that many of them fprung from the other fons of Noah. The Indians, like many other nations, boafted of too high an anti- quity, as we learn from an old writer ; * they pretended, according to that author, to have had. a feries of 153 kings between Bac-
R chus
• Fiiny, lib. vi.
2^Z A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
chus and- Alexander the Great, who reigned above 5400 years. Such a notion as this muft be allowed to be ijot only repugnant to j facred writ, but to the whole ftream of ge- ' puine profane antiquity, and particularly to Herodotus, the father of hiilory,
The principal objed:s of religious worfhip among the Indians, in the earliefl ages, wete Jupiter, or Jupiter Ammon, and Bacchus | in which they agreed with the Egyptians, Arabs, and other nations. Hercules and Pluto had likewife divine honours paid them, The Indians alfo worfhipped a deity, repre- fenting Jupiter PluvioHs, Pan, the river Qanges, and a fort of gods anfwering to the Dii Indigetes of the Romans. Thefe were a kind of genii, or inferior deities, that were- in high repute all over India ; their power was fuppofed to extend oyer this lower worldj, and in particular over man. A belief of the exigence of thefe fpirits is of great antiquity, and feems to have had its fource from a dif- guifed and corrupted tradition of the rebel- lion of the fallen angels, fince many of the genii were reprefented as ludicrous, imprui*
dent>
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 24J
dent, and wicked beings. Some of the lat- ter Platonifts have allotted two genii, a good and a 'bad one, to every perfon, whofe con- dud: they thought was influenced by them. The good genius had . the denomination of Lar, among the Romans, and the evil one, that of Larva, according to Servius. They were fuppofed to have their refidence in the atmofphere that furrounds this terraqueous globe, and even fome of them upon the earth itfelf. Be that as it will, the notion of good and evil genii, is of fo great anti- quity, that it will be extremely difficult to trace out its original.* Whatever fpecies of idolatry might at iirft have prevailed among the Indians, it is probable, that after Cam- byfes conquered Egypt, the priefls being obliged to abandon that country, found their way into India, where they planted and pro- pagated the Egyptian fuperftition. The hieroglyphic reprefentations of the Egyp- tian deities, which the aforefaid priefts intro- duced into this vaft region, undoubtedly gave birth to thofe monftrous iigures or images of their falfe gods, that ftill in India
R Z are
• DIodoius Siculus, et Strabo.
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
are the objeds or adoration. As a further demonflration of what is here advanced, it may be obferved, that the Indians flill pre^ ferve fome traces of the worfhip of Ifis and Ofiris, that anciently prevailed among the Egyptians.
The Brahmans, or Brachmans, or philo* fophers, were not only the priei^s of the In- dians, but likewife the principal counfellors and dire(5tors of their kings, as we learn from Diodorus and Strabo. They therefore ferved their country both in a civil and religious ca- pacity, as did the Magi among the Perfians, Diodorus fays that the Indians looked upon thefe Brahmans as the greatef]: favourites of heaven, and as men who were perfectly ac- quainted with every thing that pafTed in the infernal regions, or related to the kingdom of Pluto,
Arrian, Apuleius, Clemens Alexapdrinus, and Plutarch, differ in feyeral particulars relating to thefe Indian fages : though they all fecm to agree in celebrating their love of divine wifdom, their knowledge, their ab-
flemious
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 2/^.§
flemious way of life, and fingular tempe- rance ; in fine, their contempt of all the good, as well as bad things of this world, fo much defired or dreaded by the bulk of man^ kind.*
I have neither time nor inclination to tran- fcribe every thing that has been related of the Brahmans by' the ancients ; nor would this, if tranfcribed, be of any real advantage to the reader ; what therefore I fhall fay fur- ther of them, (hall be comprifed in a few words. They were not fo much a diftindt nation, or particular clafs of philofophers, as a tribe or fet of men, or rather a numer- ous family, defcended from one common an- ceftor, different from the progenitors of the people among whom they lived. They were a body of men, that we may confider as fimilar to the Fabian, Cornelian, Claudian, &c. families in ancient Rome, deducing their origin from Brahma, the firil of the three beings whom God created, and by whofe means he afterwards formed the world, according to the modern Brahmans, but in R 3 reality
* Strabo, lib. xv. etlib, xvi.
>.^S A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
reality the Patriarch Abraham* For that Brahma fhould be the fiipreme being, as M. Bayer a Herts, is too abfurd to be fuppofed ; and that he was Abraham, has been allowed by fome of the heft Jewi(h writers, as well as Shahreftani, an Arab author of good re- pute. Dr. Hyde likewife offers fuch reafons in defence of this notion, as cannot be cafily overturned.* Poftellus takes thefe Brah- mans to have been defcended from Abraham, by his wife Keturah, and believes that the true religion prevailed long among them : and indeed from the accounts given us of them by the ancients, it feems to appear that ' they acknowleged one Supreme Being, and a future flate of rewards and punifhments. Nay, it further appears from thofe accounts, that fome of them worshipped this Supreme Being, with great fervency and devotion, prayed conftantly to him, and defpifed every thing in this world for his fake. Be that as it will, they were celebrated all over the ancient world for their wifdom and aufterity of life, and propofed as a pattern for imita- tion to nations of greater politenefs than the
Indians.
• Thora. Hyde Hift. Relig. veter. Perfar. page 31. 32.
DIFFERENT ^ECTS 4N RELIGION. S47
Indians. Pythagoras ftudied their dodrine and manners, and received his notion of the tranfmigration of fouls from them. If what is here advanced, be admitted, it will be arx additional argument in favour of the migra- tion of fome of Shem's defcendants into In- dia : and likewife prove, that the Abraha- mic religion prevailed at leaft for many ages, in that remote country. Some of the an- cients intimate, that they thought it highly criminal to deprive any, even the moft in- confiderable minimal of life, in which they are followed by the modern Brahmans*
R 4 No.
*4S A SUCCINCa? ACCOUNT OF THS
No. XLIII.
'the Religion of the Ancient Chine fe.
The Chinefe, like other nations, aiTume to themfelves too high an antiquity, as fixing the reign of the firft emperor Fo-hi, near three thoufand years before the birth of Chrift. Their original, as well as that of the Tartars, favours ftrongly of fable, as does alfo the hiftory of feveral of their firft em- perors. Several great and diftinguifhed au- thors, with great reafon believe the chrono- logy of ancient times among the Chinefe to be very uncertain and precarious.
The firfl planters of China, inftrudted by
tradition, infpired their children, ^nd through
them their numerous pofterity, at leaft for
* , feveral
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 249
feveral ages, with proper and becoming fen^ timents of the Supreme Being. They taught them to fear and honour the Sovereign Lord of the univerfe, to obferve the fundamental principles of the firfl defcendants of Noah; and to live according to the principles of the law of nature, engraven in their hearts. Of this we find traces in thofe ancient and valu- able books, which the Chinefe call, by way of eminence. The Five Volumes, being the canonical or claffical books of the higheft rank, which they look upon as the fource of all their fcience and morality.
The chief objedl of their wor/hip then, at firft was the Supreme Being, the Lord and Sovereign Principle of all things, whom they adored under the name either Shang-ti, that is Supreme Emperor, or Tyen, which, with the Chinefe, fignifies the fame thing.
Tyen, fay the interpreters of the Five Volumes, is the spirit that prefides in heaven, becaufe heaven is the moji excellent work pro^ duced by thisjirft caufe.
Sometimes
250 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
Sometimes the word is alfo taken for the material heaven, the fenfe being to be determined by the fubjedt to which it is ap- plied. The father the Ghinefe called the Tyen of the family, the Viceroy the Tyen of the province, and the emperor the Tyen of the kingdom. They alfo honoured, but with a fubordinate worfhip, inferior Spirits, depending on the Supreme Being, which ac- cording to them, prelided over cities, rivers, mountains, kingdoms, provinces, particular perfons, &c. and nearly anfwered to the de- mons and genii of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
But though Shang-ti or Tyen, was at firft the primary, if not fole objed; of their wor- fhip, yet in after ages, they feem to have • addreffed their vows and homage to the vili-
ble material heaven, or at leaft to a celeftial virtue, void of underftanding, and infepara- ble from heaven itfelf. Nor ought we to be furprifed at fuch a tranfition from the worfhip of the Creator, to that of the moft beautiful part of the material world in China, fince the firil fpecies of idolatry that prevailed among 6 the
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 2^1
the Egyptians, Airyrians, Babylonians, PhcE- nicians, Arabs, &c. refembled this of the Chinefe, as might be clearly evinced from a great variety of authors, which when quo- ted, would carry me beyond my limits.
That the Chinefe had at firil a very ra- tional notion of Tyen, or the Deity, appears from one of their canonical books, going under the appellation of Shu-king. He is therein ftiled the father of the people, folely independent. Almighty, a Being who knows the moft hidden things, even the fecrets of the heart. He is alfo there reprefented as watching over the government of the uni- verfe, fo that no event can happen but by his orders ; as holy without partiality, pleafed with the virtue of mankind, fuperlatively juft, punifhing wickednefs in the moft fignal •
manner, even in kings, whom he depofeth, fetting up others in their room, according to his will and plealure.
It is likewife there faid, that public cala- mities are the warnings which he gives for the reformation of manners ; and that thefe
calami-
252 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
calamities are followed by a6ts of mercy and goodnefs* The firfl fages of the Chinefe nation, did not only acknowlege a future day of punifliment, but had alfo their minds influ- enced by the perfuafion, that Tyen, by pro-* digies and extraordinary appearances, gives notice of approaching miferies, wherewith the flate is threatened. His intention here- in, according to them, is to excite men to a reformation of manners, as the fureft way to appeafe the impending wrath of heaven.
The Slini^-king continually inculcates a jufl: dread of the Supreme Being, as the mcft pro- per curb for the paffions> and the moft eifec-- tual remedy againft vice. It likewife repre- fents all pious fuggeftions and holy thoughts, as infpired by Tyen, the fource of goodnefs, order, and perfedion. According to the fame book, Tyen had an abfolute dominion over the v/ills of mankind, in order to con- duct them to his own wife and juft ends, though he rewards and puniihes men by means of one another, without any detriment to their liberty. As the ancient Chinefe af- cribed to Tyen, pov/er, providence, know- ledge
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 25-5
ledge, juftice goodnefs, and clemency ; and acknowledged, that the moil wicked man, by making ufe of the afliflance Tyen offers him, may attain to the moft exalted pitch of virtue, they honoured him with worfhip and facrifices, and by the practice of every vir- tue. They likewife affirmed, that all exter- nal adoration is vain and infignificant, if it does not proceed from the heart, and is not animated by the inward fentiments.
The emperor was the only perfon to whom the fundion of offering facrifices to Tyen belonged ; but as Tyen, according to the early Chinefe, views from heaven every thing done on earth, has given us a foul capable of refledlion, and loves virtue ; it was not thought fufficient for the priefthood to be joined to the royal dignity in the perfon of the emperor. But it was moreover judged neceflary, that he fliould be cither upright or penitent, and that preparatory to the exer- cife of his pontifical funcflion, he fhould ex- piate his fauhs with failing and tears. The ancient fages believed, that mankind could not fathom Tyen's councils and defigns ; but
that
254 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
that even the minuteft and mofl fecret of their adions, lay open to his all feeing eye. They were alfo convinced that he examines all our adions, and has eredied a tribunal in our own confciences, whereby we are judged. /
The emperor was looked upon as the only proper perfon to obferve the primitive rights, and render publicly folemn homage to Shang- ti, as being his adopted fon, and the princi- pal heir of his grandeur on earth. To facri- fice to the firft Being of the univerfe, re- quired, in the opinion of the ancient Chi- nefe, no lefs than the moft exalted perfon in the empire -, to the end that the emperor thus humbling himfelf, in the prefence of his court, by the facrifices offered, in the name of the empire, to the mafler of the world, the fovereign authority of the fupreme Being, might flill fhine more refplendent, and ap- pear exalted above any equal. Other ancient kings prefiding over countries nearer our part of the world, had the priefthood annexed to the royal dignity in them, as has been ob- ferved by feveral very eminent authors.
T^e
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION 255
The Chinefe feem to have remained in the primitive religion, or the religion of Fo- hi, till the reign of Shau- hau, when nine Chu-hew or feudatory princes endeavoured to force their fubjedts to offer facrifices to evil fpirits. They difturbed houfes, accord- ing to fome Chinefe writers, with thefe fpirits, and greatly terrified the people with their delufions. But Chwen-hyo, nephew of Whangti, who fucceeded Shau-hau, extir- pated the race of thefe nine enchanters, ap- peafed the minds of the people, and reftored order to the facrifices.*
But tho'the canonical book above-mention- ed, efpecjally the Shu-king, plac'e the fouls of virtuous men near Shangti, yet it does not appear that they have fpoken clearly of the punifhments in the life to come. The Chi- nefs, in the earlier ages, as well as at prefent, had a very confufed and indiflind: notion of the creation of the world. Nor had they any clear idea of the foul, and its operations, either in a conjundl or feparate ftate : But that they believed it to exill after its fepa-
ration
* Umverfal Hiftory, vol. xx. p. 129.
2^6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
ration from the body, and were convinced o^ the certainty of apparitions, has been put by Confucius himfelf, beyond all manner of doubt.'*
It is probable, that before the time of Confucius, idolatry had found its way into China ; nay, Confucius's revival of the an- cient dc(flrine fuppofes this. Several ages after his death, the idolatry of Fo, which had before fprung up in India, was introduced into China. After the conqueft of Egypt by Cambyfes, the Egyptian priefts difperfed themfelves over India, Tartary, and even China itfelf. To their hieroglyphical repre- fentations of the Egyptian deities, are owing thofe monflrous idols, which from that time to this have been adored in India, Tar^ " tary, China, and other reniote eaflern na- tions.
I fhall conclude my account of the re- ligion of the ancient Chinefe, with a v/ord or two on the difpofition of thefe people, (without going far out of my road). They
feem
* Confucium apud du Halde, pnge 64.6, 64-7.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 257
feem to have been anciently, as well as' at prefent, of a mild, humane, and modeft dif- ■polition, and greatly addidted to commerce; for that this was the charadier of the Seres, we learn from Pliny. Nor, indeed can we fuppofe that the Chinefe have much varied in their genius and difpofition, iince they have always induftrioufly avoided intermix- ing themfelves with foreigners, and have ne- ver fuffered any conliderable colonies from other nations to fettle among them. That this has been one of their political maxims ever fmce their acquaintance with the Euro- peans commenced, may be inferred from the accounts given us by the Miffionaries, and many relations of modern travellers. The fame dillike to foreigners difcovered it- felf in the Seres, according to Pliny,* who mentions it as an inftance of their great in- urbanity : nor indeed can it be confidered in a different light by the members of any polite or civilized nation.
• Plin. Nat. Hift. lib. vi. c. 17.
S No
25^ ^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT
OF THE DIFFERENT
SECTS IN RELIGION.
SECTION II.
No. I.
ADAMITES.
XhEY were called Adamites, from their pretending to be re-eftablifhed in the ftate of innocence, and to be fuch as Adam was, at the moment of his creation, whence they ought to imitate him in his nakednefs. They detellied marriage, maintaining, that the con- jugal
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION
jugal union would never have taken place upon earth, had fin been unknown : and that the privilege of enjoying women in com- mon, was one of the rights which flowed from their eflabliihment in original purity.
This obfcure and deteftable fedt of heretics did not at firil lafi: long ; bi.it it was revived in the twelfth century by one Tandamus^ who propagated his errors at Antwerp, in the reign of the emperor Henry the fifth* He maintained that there ought to be no dif- tindlion between priefts and laymen> and that fornication and adultery were meritorious adions. He had a great number of follow- ers, and was conflantly attended by 3000 of thefe profligates in arms. His fed: did not however continue long after his death, but another appeared under the name of Turlu- pins,* in Savoy and Dauphiny, where they committed the mofl brutal actions in open day.
About the beginning of the fifteenth cen- tury, one Picard, a native of Flanders, fpread
S 2 thefc
* Vide Turlupins, feft. 3, No. 30,
26o A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
thele errors in Germany and Bohemia, par- ticularly in the army of the famous Zifca; notwithftanding the feveredifcipline he main- tained. Picard pretended that he v/as fent into the world as a new Adam, to re-eflablifh the law of nature ; and which, according to him, confifted in expoling every part of the body, and having all the women in com- mon. This feft found alfo fome partizans in Poland, Holland, and England, and af- fembled in the night. Some learned men are of opinion that the origin of the Adamites was much earlier than the eflablifliment of Chriftianity, being perfuaded that Maacha, mother of Afa, king of Judah, was high prieftefs of Priapus ; and that in the no6tur- nal facrifices which the women performed to that obfcene idol, they appeared ftark naked. But however that be, the motives of the Adamites were very different from thofe of the votaries of Priapus ; for they borrowed from Paganifmonly the fpirit of debauchery, and not the worflaip of that heathen God.
No'
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
No. II.
CADARI.
iHEYare a fed: of Mahommedans, who attribute the actions of men to man alone, and not to the divine decree determining his will ; and deny all abfolute decrees and pre- deftination.
S 3 No.
26| A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF Tlf^
No. IIL
DOSITHEANS.
XHEY are a fed among the Hebrews, be^ ing one of the branches of the Samaritans. They abftained from eating any creature that had life, and were fj fuperilitiou^ in keeping the fabbath, that they remained in the fame place and poflure wherein tl^at day furprifed them, without flirring, till the next day. They married but once, and a great number never married. Dofitheus, their founder, being diflatisiied among the Jews, retired to the Samaritans, who were reputed Heretics, and invented another fed: ; and to make it more authentic, he went into a cave, where f)y too long abftinence he killed himfelf.
No,
I
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 263
No. IV.
DAFIDISrs,
XHEY were a fed: of Chriftian Heretics, in the fixteenth century, fo calleu from Da- vid George, their leader, who began by giving out that he was the Meffiah, and was fent into the world in order to people the kingdom of heaven, which was quite empty of inhabitants, for want of virtuous and good men ; he rejeded marriage, and denied the refurredion.
S4 No.
264 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. V.
^UIEriSTS.
1 HEY are a religious fed:, which made a great noife towards the clofe of the lafl cen- tury. MoUnos, a Spanifh prieft, who died at Rome, in the prifon of the inquilition, pafles for the author of Quietifm ; and yet the iliuminati in Spain had taught fomething like it before. T he name is taken from a fort of abfolute reft and inadion, which the foul is fuppofed to be in, when arrived at the flate of perfedlion, which in their language is called the Unitive Lief. To arrive at this, a man is firft to pafs through the purgative way; that is, through a courfe of obedience, infpired by the fear of hell : hence he is to proceed into the illuminative way, before he
arrive
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 26^
arrive at perfe(flion : to go through cruel com- bats, and violent pains ; not only the ufual drynefles of the foul, and the common priva- tions of grace, but infernal pains : he believes himfelf damned ; and the perfufion that he is fo, continues upon him ilrongly for fe- veral years : St. Francis des Sales, fay the Quietifts, was fo fully convinced thereof^ that he would not allow any body to contra- did: him therein. But the man is at length fufficiently paid for all this, by the embraces of God, and his own deification.
Thefe fentiments of the Quietiils, with regard to God, are wonderfully pure and dif- interefted. They love him for himfelf, on account of his own perfedlions, independent- ly of any rewards or punifhments : the foul acquiefces in the will of God, even at the time when he precipitates it into hell, info- much, that inftead of flopping him on this occafion, B. Angelo de Foligny cried out,
* Hajie Lord, to cajl me into Hell : do not der
* lay if thou hajl abandoned jne, but jinijh my
* deJlruoiioUy and plunge me into the AbyfsJ
At
X66 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
At length the foul, after long travail, en- ters into reft, into a perfed: quietude. Here It is wholly employed in contemplating its God ; it a(fts no more, thinks no more, defires no more ; but lies perfed:ly open, and at large, to receive the grace of God, v^^ho by means thereof drives it where it will, and as he will.
In this ftate it no longer needs prayers or hymns, or vows ; prayers, where the fpirit labours, and the mouth opens, are the lot of the weak and imperfed ; the foul of the faint is, as it were, laid in the bofom, and between the arms of its God, where, with- out making any motion, or exerting any ac- tion, it waits, and receives the divine graces. It then becomes happy, quitting the ex- iftence it before had : it is now changed, it is transformed, and as it were, funk and fwallowed up in the Divine Being, infomuch, as not to know or perceive its being diftin- guifhed from God himfelf. Vide tranflation \ from Fenel. Max. des Saints.
No.
P][FFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION, 267
No. VL
RECff^BIl'ES.
They were a kind of religious order among the Jews, injflituted by Jonadab, the fon of Rechab, comprehending only his own family and pofterity. Their founder prefcribed them three things : Firft, not to drink any wine : Secondly, not to build any houfes, but to dwell in tents : And Thirdly, not to fow any corn, or plant vines.
Thefe rules the Rechabites obferved with great ilridtnefs.
No.
68 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THS
No. VII.
ABELIANS,
They are a fe<ft of Heretics that fprung up during the reign of Arcadius, near Hippo, in Africa. Their diftinguifhing tenet was to marry, yet to live with their wives without having any carnal commerce with them.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 269
No. VIIL
ADESSENARIANS.
They were a fed: of Chriftians, who maintained the real prefence in the Eucha- rift ; but in a fenfe different from what the Roman church calls Tranfubftantiation, nor were the AdefTenarians agreed among them- felves with regard to the mode in which the real prefence exifled -, feme being perfuaded that the body of Chrifl is in the bread -, others that it is about the bread ; fome that it is with the bread ; and others that it is under the bread.
No.
270 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. IX.
AERIANS.
These are a fed: of Heretics who fe- parated themfelves from the Church party^ in the reign of Conftantine the Great, and during the Pontificate of JuUus I. about the year 342. They had their name from one Aerius, a Prefbyter, who thinking himfelf negled:ed by not being advanced to the dig- nity of a bilhop, went over to the Arian par- ty, but held fome opinions pecuhar to him- felf, as, that there was no diftindiion found-' ed in Scripture, between Prefbyter and bifhop. He alfo afferted, that we are not obliged to obferve the ftated feafts of the Church, ad- mitted thofe only into his fedt, who lived in continence, and condemned marriage as un- lawful.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 2/1
No. X*
CAINIANS.
A SedlofChrlftian Heretics that fprung up about the year 130, and took their name from Cain, whom they looked upon as their Head and Father , they faid that he was formed by a celeftial and Almighty power, and that Abel was made but by a weak one. This fe(fb adopted all that was impure in the Herefy of the Gnoftics, and other Heretics of thofe times : they acknowledged a power fu«' perior to that of the Creator ; the former they called Wifdom j the latter. Inferior Vir- tue : they had a particular veneration for Korah, Abiram, Efau, Lot, the Sodomites,
and
a72 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
and efpecially Judas, becaufe his treachery occafioned the death of Jefus Chrift : they even made ufe of a Gofpel which bore that falf6 Apoflle's name.
No. XL
BANIANS,
A Rehgious fe6l, in the empire of the Mo- gul, Vv'ho beheve a Metempfychofis, and will therefore eat no livinp- creature, nor even kill noxious animals ; but endeavour to releafe them when in the hands of others.
The Banians are faid to be fo fearful of hav- ing communications with other nations, that
they
DIFFBRENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 273
they break their cups, if one of a different religion has drank out of them, or even touched them. It is faid, that if they hap- pen to touch one another, they purify and wafh themfelves before they eat, or enter their own houfes. They carry, hanging to their necks, a ftone called tamberane, as big as an egg, and perforated in the middle, through which run three firings : this ftone they fay, reprefents their great God, and upon that account, they have great refped: fhewn them by all the Indians,
No.
274
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XIL
OPHITES.
'"'A Sea of Chriftian Heretics, fo called, both from the veneration they had for the fer- pent that tempted Eve, and the worfhip they paid to a real ferpent : they pretended that the ferpent was Jefus Chrift, and that he taught men the knowledge of good and evil : they diftinguifhed between Jefus and Chrifl : Jefus, they faid, was born of the Virgin, but Chrift came down from heaven, to be united with him : Jefus was crucified, but Chrifl jiad left him to return to heaven. -f* They diftinguifhed the God of the Jews, whom they termed Jaldabaoth, from the fupreme God : to the former they afcribed the body,
to
'■* Tertulilan, chap. 7. f KowersHift. oftke World, vol. I.
I
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION' 275
to the latter, the foul of men. They had a live ferpent, which they kept in a kind of cage ; at certain times they opened the cage doors, and called the ferpent : the animal came out, and mounting upon the table, twined itfelf about fome loaves of bread : this bread they broke, and diflributed it to the company, who all kifTed the ferpent : and this they call their Eucharift,
T 2 No.
.#^
276 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
No. XIIL
ANGELirES.
A Sed: of Chrifllan Heretics, in the reign of the emperor Anaftatius, and the Pontifi- cate of Symmachus, about the year 494, fo called from Angelium, a place in the city of Alexandria, where they held their firft meet- ings. They were called likewife Severites, from one Severus, who was the head of their fedt J as alfo Theodofians, from one amongft them called Theodofius, whom they made Pope, at Alexandria. They held that the perfons of the Trinity are not the fame -, that none of them exifts of himfelf, and of his own nature, but that there is a common God or Deity exifting in them all ; and that each is God, by a participation of this Deity.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION* l^J
No. XIV.
TIE "TISTS,
A Religious fed fprung up among the Pro- teflants of Germany, feeming to be a kind of men between the Quakers of England, and the Quietifts of the Romifh Church. They defpife all forts of Eccleliaftical polity -, all fchool theology, and all forms and ceremo- nies, and "give themfelves up to contem- plation, and the myftic theology.
T 3 No.
S7^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XV,
GATJRS.
An ancient fed of the Magicians, in Perija, They have a fuburb at Ifpahan, which is called Gaurabad, or the Town of the Gaurs, where they are employed only in the pieanell and vileft drudgery -, but they chiefly abound in Kerman, the barreneft province in all Per- fia, where the Mahometans fuffer them to live with feme freedom, and in the full exer- cife of their religion. Some years ago many of them fled into India, where their pofterity remain to this day, They are a poor harm- Icfs fort of people, jealous jn their fuperftj- tion, rigorous in their morals, and exad: in their dealings ; they profefs the worfhip of
6 m^
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 279
one God alone, and belief of a refurredtion, and a future judgment, and utterly deteft all idolatry, though the Mahometans believe them to be the moft guilty of it. It is true they perform their worfhip before fire, for which they have an extraordinary veneration, as believing it to be the moil perfe(5t emblem of the deity. They have the fame vene- ration for Zoroafter that the ]ews have for Mofes, efleeming him a prophet fent from God.
T4 No.
aSo A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XVI.
AGTNJNl
The Agynani were a fed: of Heretics, that appeared in the feventh century. They condemed all carnal commerce with wo- men, and pretended that Qod was not the author of marriage,
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION^ sSi
No. XVII,
ALBANENSES.
XHEY were a fed of Chriflian Heretics, in the reign of the emperor Conflantine the Sixth, and the Pontificate of Leo III, about the year 796 : Their principal errors were as follows : They held with the Gnoitics and Manichaeans two principles, the one of good, the other of evil; and they afcribed the Old Teftament to the Evil God, and the New Teftament to the Good God. They held with Pythagoras a tranfmigration of fouls. They denied the divinity, and even huma^ nity of Jefus Ghriftj afierting that he was not truly man, that he did not really eat, nor fufFer on the crofs, nor die, nor rife again, nor afcend into heaven. They denied a re-
furredlion
2S2 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
furredlion of the body, and affirmed, that the general judgment was pail. They held that there had never been a good man in the world before Jefus Chrift, and therefore that neither Adam nor Mofes were from God. They denied that there was any virtue or efficacy in Baptifm. They faid likewife, that the bad life of prelates hurt the facra- ments ; and that no bad man could be a bi- £hop i that the church ought to have every thing in common and could not excommuni- cate any perfon, or make any conflitutions. They believed that hell torments were no other than the evils we feel and fuffer in this life. They reje(5ted the facrament of the al- tar, and extreme und;ion ; they did not ad- mit original fin ; for which reafon they never adminiftered baptifm to infants. They de- nied free will. They held the eternity of the world. They difallowed marriage. They faid that ufury was not prohibited, and that no one was obliged to reftitution ; they held that a man gives the Holy Spirit of himfelf, and that it is unlawful for a Chriilian to take an oath.
No.
PIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION, 283
No. XVIII.
ORIGENISTS.
A Chriflian fed: in the fourth century, fo called from their drawing their opinions from the writings of Origen. The Origenifts maintained, that the fouls of men had a pre- exiftent ftatc, that they were holy intelli- gences, and had linned in heaven before the body was created ; that Chrifl is only the Son of God by adoption ; that he has been fucceilively united with all the angelical na- tures, and has been a cherub, a feraph, and all the celeilial virtues one after another ; that in future ages he will be crucified for the falvation of the devils, as he has already been for th^t of men ; and that their puniili- ment, and that of the damned, will continue only for a certain limited time.
No,
2^4 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XIX.
MA G L
An ancient religious Sedl in Perfia, and pther Eaftern countries, who maintained that there were two principles, the one the caufe of all good, the other the caufe of all evil; and abominating the adoration of images, worshipped God only by fire, which they looked upon as the brightefl and moft glorious fymbol of Orornafdes, or the good God ; as darknefs is the truefl fymbol of Arimanius, or the evil God. This re- ligion was founded by Zoroafter, who main- tained that there was one fupreme indepen- dent Being ; and under him two principles or angels, one, the angel of goodnefs and
light.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 285
light, and the other, of evil and darknefs : that there is a perpetual flruggle between them, which fhall laft to the end of the world ; that then the angel of darknefs, and his difciples, fhall go into a world of their own, where they fliall be punifhed in ever- lafling darknefs ; and the angel of light, and his difciples, ihall alfo go into a world of their own, where they fhall be rewarded in ever- lafling light.
The priefls of the Magi were the moil ikilful mathematicians and philo^ phers of the ages in which they lived, infomuch, that a learned man, and a Magian, became equi- valent terms. The vulgar looked on their knowledge as more than natural, and ima- gined them infpired by fome fupernatural power; and hence thofe who pradtifed wicked and mifchievous arts, taking upon them- ielves the name of Magians, drew on it that ill fignification v/hich the word Magician now bears among us.
This fed flill fubfifls in Perfia, under the denomination of Gaurs (who have been
treated
286 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
treated of in the foregoing part of this work) where they watch the facred fire with the greateft care, and never fuffer it to be ex- tinguifhedo
No. XX.
AEriANS,
A Se6l of Heretics that appeared during the reign of Conftantius, and in the Pontificate of Liberius, about the year 336.* They had their name from one Aetius, a Syrian^ who being reduced to poverty by the confifcation
of
• Eufebius Ecclefiaft* Hift. chap. vi«
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELlGlOIf. 287
of his paternal eftate, fet up the trade of a goldfmith ; but foon after quitting that em- ployment, applied himfelf to ftudy, and be- came a very fubtle difputant. He iirft fet- tled at Antioch, but being driven from that city, he hired himfelf as a menial fervant to a certain fophift at Anabarzus, a city of Ci- licia, of whom he learned grammar and lo- gic : but quarrelling with his mafler about his opinions, he went to Tarfus, and ap- plied himfelf to the iludy of divinity. From thence he returned to Antioch, but being again expelled for the impiety of his opinions, he undertook the pradiice of phyfic, which he continued, till Leontius was promoted to the See of Antioch, when that prelate ap- pointed him deacon of his own church ; where he continued for fome time, but after- wards repaired to Alexandria, and oppofed Athanafms, openly embracing the party of the Arans.
But befides the opinions which the Aetians held in common with the Arians, they main- tained (like the fed of Methodifts in thefe
our
288 ^ SUCCINCT AcdoUNT OF THE
our days) that faith without works, was fuf- ficient to falvation ; and that no fin, how- ever grievous, would be imputed to the faithful.
Aetius likewife affirmed, that what God had concealed from the Apoflles, he had revealed to him.
No.
Different sects in religion, 289
No. XXL
MAHOMETANS^
The fundamental pofition on which IVta** hornet ered:ed the fuperflru6lure of his re- ligion^ was, that there has been from the beginning of the world, but one true ortho- dox belief^ which confifts in acknowledging one only true God, and obeying fuch of his melTengers and prophets as he has from time to time fent into the world to reveal his will to mankind. Upon this foundation he fet up for a prophet to extirpate idolatry, which was the religion of the Arabs, his country- men, and to reform the other abufes crept into religion. The whole fubftance of his dodlrine he therefore comprehended in thefe two principal articles of faith : * There is U but
^9° ^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
but one God, and Mahomet is his prophet.* In confequence of which laft article, all fuch ' ordinances and inflitutions as he thought fit to ellablifh, were to be received as obliga- tory, and of divine authority.
The Mahometans divide their religion into two general parts : Faith and Pradtice, of which the firft is divided into fix diftinCt branches ; belief in God, in his angels, in his fcriptures, in his prophets, in the refur- red:ion and final judgment, and in God's ab- folute decrees. The points relating to prac- tice are prayer, with wafhings, &c. Alms, fafling, pilgrimage to Mecca, and circum- cifion. In regard to thefe pradical points, ^ Mahomet, it is faid, declared that the prac- \ tice of religion is founded upon cleanlinefs, which is one half of Faith, and the key of prayer. Alms-giving is thought to be fo pleafing in the light of God, that the caliph Omar Ebn Abdalaziz ufed to fay, prayer carries us half way to God ; failing brings us to the door of his palace; and alms pro- cure us admiffion : and Mahomet himfelf uied to iiiy of flifting, that it was the gate or
religion;
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 29I
religion -, and the odour of the mouth of him who fafteth is more grateful to God than that of Mulk. Befides thefe, they have fome negative precepts, and inftitutions of the Koran, in which feveral things are pro- hibited : as ufury, the drinking of wine, all games that depend upon chance, the eating of blood and fwines flefh, and whatever dies of itfelf, is ftrangled or is killed by a blow, or by another beaft. Thefe doctrines and pracftices Mahomet eftablifhed by the fword, by preaching, and by the Alkoran.
The Alcoran, or Alkoran, is univerfally allowed to be written in the purefl and mofl elegant language, and to be the ilandard of the Arabic tongue. The ftile is in general beautiful and fluent, efpecially where it imi- tates the prophetic manner, and fcripture phrafcs. It is concife and often obfcure, adorned with bold figures, after the Eaftern manner, enlivened with florid and fenten- tious expreflions, and in many places, efpe- cially where the Majefty and Attributes of God are defcribed, fublime and magnificent^ The general defign of the Alcoran was, to U 2 unite
292 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
unite the profellbrs of the three different re- ligions then followed in the populous country of Arabia, who for the mofl part lived pro<* mifcuoufly, and wandered without guides, the far greater number being Pagans, and the reft Jews and Chriftians. In order to per- form this, Mahomet pretended to be the am- ballador of God, who, after the repeated ad-* monitions, promifes, and threatenings, had fent him to eftablifli the true religion upon earth, by force of arms, and appointed him chief Pontiff in fpiritual, and fupreme prince in temporal, affairs. The great docftrine of ' the Alcoran is the Unity of God ; and to re- ftore that fundamental principle of true re- ligion, Mahomet pretended was the chief end ofhismiffion. But there are many occa- jVonal paffages in it, relating to particular emergencies ; for whenever any thing hap- pened to perplex the falfe prophet, he always had recourfe to a new revelation : and hence there are feveral paffages in the Alcoran, contradid:ory to one another. The Mar hometan doctors, however, obviate any objedion that might be raifed on this fubjed:, by laying, that God commanded feveral
things
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 293
things in the Alcoran, which for good reafons were afterwards revoked and abrogated. The original copy of the Alcoran was bound in filk, and adorned with gold and precious ftones of Paradife. This book is held in the higheft efleem and reverence among the Ma- hometans. They dare not fo much as touch it without being legally purified -, they read it with great attention and refpecft, ; never holding it below their girdles. They fwear by it, confult it on the moft weighty occafions, carry it with them to war ; write fentcnces of it in their banners, adorn it with gold and precious ftones, and do not fufFer it to be in the polTeffion of any of a different perfuafion. The interpreters of the Alcoran unanimoufly agree, that the moft eloquent paifage of this whole book, is that which is contained in the chapter Houd, where God is introduced, bidding the waters of the de- luge ceafe. The words are thefe : * Earth
* fwallow up the waters. Heaven draw
* up thofe thou haft poured out : im-
* mediately the waters retreated, the com-
* mand of God was obeyed, the ark refted
* on the mountains, and thefe words were
* heard. Woe to the wicked !'
U3 ' The
294 -^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
The fame interpreters remark likewlfe, that the moil excellent moral of the whole Alcoran, is comprized in this verfe of the chapter Aaraf: * Pardon eafily, do good to
* all, and contend not with the ignorant.'
They add, that Mahomet demanded of the angel Gabriel, a more ample explication of this verfe, which was given him in thefe words : * Seek after him who drives you ' away : give to him who takes from you :
* pardon him who offends you ; for God
* would have you plant in your fouls the feeds ' of the greateft perfections.' This morality is plainly borrowed from the Evangelical precept, of rendering good for evil.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 295
No. XXII.
CONDORMIENTES,
1 HEY are religious Sed:uaries, who hold their name from lying all together, men and women, young and old. They arofe in the thirteenth century, near Cologne, where they are faid to have wordiipped an image of Lu- cifer, and to have received anfwers and oracles from him. Another fpecies of Con- dormientes, were a branch of Anabaptifts, in the fixteenth century : fo called becaufe they lay feveral of both fexes in the fame chamber, on pretence of Evangelical charity.
No. XXIII.
VALENTINIANS.
'" A Se<5l of Chriftian Heretics, who fprung
up in the fecond century, and were fo called
U 4 from
* Herodianus, chap. vi. '
296 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
from their leader Valentinus. This fedl was one of the moil famous and moft numerous ^mong the ancients, Valentinus, who was the author of it, was an Egyptian, and began there to teach the dod:rine of the Gnoftics, (whom I ihall defcribe in the following fedion.) His merit made him afpire to the Epifcopacy ; but another having been pre- ferred before him, Valentinus enraged at his denial, and refolved to revenge himfelf of the affront given him, departed from the dod:rine of the church, and revived old er- rors. He began to preach his dodlrine in Egypt, and from thence coming to Rome, under the Pontificate of the Pope Hyginus, he there fpread his errors, and continued to dogmatize, till the Pontificate of Anicetus, that is, from the year 140, to 160.
Of all the Gnoftics none formed a more regular fyflem than Valentinus. His notions were drawn from the principles of the Pla- tonifts. The ^ons were attributes of the Deity, or Platonic ideas, which he realized, or made perfons of them to compofe thereof a complete Deity, which he called Pleroma,
or
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 29/
or Plenitude -, under which was the creator of the world, and the angels, to whom he committed the government of it. The mofl: ancient Heretics had already eftablifhed thofe principles, and invented genealogies of the i^ons j but Valentinus, refining upon what they had faid, placed them in a new order, and thereto added many fidions. Their fyf- tem was this -, the firft principle is Bythos, that is Depth ; it remained for many ages unknown, having with it Ennoe, that is. Thought, and Sige, i. e. Silence, Frorri thefe fprung the Nous or intelligence, which is the only fon, equal to it alone, and capa« ble of comprehending it ; whofe fifter is Aletheia, that is Truth. This is the firfl: quaternity of iEons, which is the fource and original of all the reft. For Nous and Ale- theia, produced the Word and the Life, and from thefe two proceeded Man and the Church. This is the fecond quaternity of the right principal ^ons. The Word, and the Life, to glorify the Father, produced five couple of iEons : Man and the Church form- ed fix. Thefe thirty ^ons bare the name of Attributes, and compofe the Pleroma, or § pleni-
298 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
plenitude of the Deity. Sophia, orWifdom, the laft of thefe JEons, being defirous to ar- rive at the knowledge of Bythos, gave her- felf a great deal of unealinefs, which created in her Anger and Fear, of which was born Matter, But the Horos, or Bounder, {top- ped her, preferved her in the Pjeroma, and reftored her to perfection. Then fhe pro- duced the Chrift, and the Holy Spirit, which brought the iEons to their laft perfection, and made every one of them contribute their ut- moft to form the Saviour. Her Enthvmefe, or Thought, dwelling near the Pleroma, perfected by the Chrifl, produced every thing that is in the world, by its divers paffions. The Chrift fent into it the Saviour, accom- panied with angels, who delivered it from its paffions without annihilating it ; and from thence was formed corporeal matter, which was of two forts, the one bad, ariiing from the paffions ; the other good, proceeding from converlion, but fubjecft to the paffions.
Thedifciples of Valentinus did not ftri6l1y confine themfelves to his fyftem : They took a great deal of liberty in ranging the iEons,
accord-
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 299
according to their difFcrent ideas, without condemning one another upon that account. But what is moft abominable is, that from thefe chimerical principles, (he drew detefta- ble conclulions, as to morality; for, becaufe fpiritual beings could not perifh, being good by nature, hence they concluded, that they might freely, and without fcruple, commit all manner of actions ; and that it was not at all neceflary for them to do good ; but above all, they believed continence to be^ ufelefs. We have in Clemens Alexandrinus, an extract of a letter of Valentinus, in which he main- tains, that God does not require the martyr- dom of his children, and that, v/hether they deny or confefs Chrift before tyrants, they fliall be faved. If they believed that good works were neceffary, it was only for animal men. Some believed that baptifm by water was fuperfluous : others baptifed in the name of the unknown father, of the truth the mo- ther of all, of him who defcended in Jefus, of the light redemption and community of powers. Many reje(5led all outward cere- monies. In fine, the errors of the Valen- tinians, were wholly incompatible with the
Chriftian
:^Q0 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
Chrlftian doArine. If they did not deflroy the unity of God, they made him a mon- ftrous compolition of different beings. They attributed the creation to another principle ; they fet up good and bad fubjflances by nature. Jefus Chrift, according to them, was but a man, in whom the celeftial Chrift defcended. The Holy Ghoft was but a fimple divine virtue. There is no refurrediion of the body. Spiritual men do not merit eternal life ; it is due to them by their nature ; and do what they will, they can never mifs of itj as ma- terial men cannot efcape annihilation, aU though they live an unblameable life.
No.
DI^FEREIsIT SiSCTS IN RELIGION. 3OI
No. XXIV.
GNOSTICS.
XhEY were called Chriftian Heretics, a name which almoft all the ancient Heretics afFedled to take, to exprefs that new know- ledge, and extraordinary light to which they made pretenfions.* The word GnolHc fig- nifies a learned or enlightened perfon. St. Epiphanius afcribes the origin of the Gnof- tics to Simon Magus, and fays, that they ac- knowledged two principles, a good and a bad. They fuppofed there were eight different heavens, each of which governed by its par- ticular prince : the prince of the feventh heaven, whom they named Sabbaoth, created the heavens and the earth, the fix heavens
below
• Herodianus, chap, xvu
302 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
below him, and a great number of angels. In the eighth heaven they placed their Bar- belo, or Barbero, whom they fometimes called the father, and fometimes the mother of the univerfe. All the Gnoftics diftinguiflied the creator of the univerfe from God, who made himfelf known to men by his fon, whom they acknowledged to be the Chrift. They de- nied that the word was made flefli, and af- ferted that Jefus Chrift was not born of the Virgin Mary, that he had a body only in ap- pearance, and that he did not fuffer in re- ality. They neither believed a refurredlion, nor a judgment to come j but imagined, that thofe who had not been inftrudled in their maxims, would return into the world, and pafs into the bodies of hogs, and the other like animals. They had feveral apocryphal books, as the Gofpel of St. Philip, the Re- velations of Adam, the Gofpel of perfedion, 6cc.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 303
No. XXV.
EBIONITE'S,
^'* XhEY held the fame errors with the Nazarenes, (who are defcribed In the next fed:ion), united the ceremonies of the Mo- faic inftitution, with the precepts of the Gof- pel, obferved both the Jewifh Sabbath, and Chriftian Sunday, and in celebrating the Eu- charift, made ufe of unleavened bread. -I* They abftained from the flefli of Animals and even from milk. In relation to Chrift fome of them held that he was born, like other men, of Jofeph and Mary, and acquired fan- tincation only by his good works. Others of them allowed, that he was born of a virgin, but denied he was the word of God, or had
any
» Eufcb. Ecclef. Hlft. civ x. f Ilowcrs Hi.l. of the World, vol. i.
304 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THfe
any exigence before his human generation. They faid he was indeed the only true pro- phet, but yet a mere man, who by his vir- tue had arrived at being called Chrift, and the Son of God. They alfo fuppofed that Chrift, and the Devil, were two principles, which God had oppofed to each other. Of the New Teftament they only received the Gofpel of St. Matthew, which they called the Gofpel according to the Hebrews.
No. XXVL
NAZARENES,
Is a name originally givert to all Chriflians in general, on account that Jefus Chrift was of the city of Nazareth ; but afterwards re- ftrained to a fet of Heretics, whofe religion confiftedof a ftrange jumble of Judaifm and Chriftianity ; obferving at the fame time the
Mofaic
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 30^
Mofaic law, and the feveral rites of the Chriftian religion. There were a fed; of Na- zarites among the Jews, who either of them- felves, or by their parents^ were dedicated to the obfervation of Nazaritertiip. They were of two forts> namely, fuch as were bound to this obfervance for only a fhort time, as a week, or month ; or thofe who were bound to it all their lives. All that we find pecu- liar to the latter way of life is, that they were to abflain from wine, and all-intoxi- cating liquors : and never to fhave or cut off the hair of their heads. The firfl fort of Nazarites were moreover to avoid all defile- ment, and if they chance to contrad: any pol- lution before the term was expired, they were obliged to begin afrefii. Women, as
well as men, might bind themfelves to this vow.
X ' No.
306 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXVII.
ALBAri.
A Sort of Chriflian Heretics, in the year 1399, in the time of Pope Boniface the Ninth. They were fo called from the white linen which they wore. They come down from the Alps, into feveral provinces of Italy, under the condudl of a prieft cloathed in white, and holding a crucifix in his hand. The followers of this prieil, whofe great zeal made him looked upon as a faint, multiplied fo faft, that it alarmed the Pope, who fending foldiers, apprehended and put him to death : upon which his followers immediately dif- perfed. Thefe monks profelTed forrow, and weeping for the iins and calamities of the times ; they eat together in the highways, and llept promifcuouily.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELICilON* ^dj
No. XXVIIL
They are a fed of Proteftarits, that fprung , up in Germany about the year 1521, imme- diately after the reformation of Luther. They at firft preached up an entire freedom from all fubjedion to the civil power 3 but their principal tenet, and that from whence they take their name, confiils in re-bap- tizing all converts to their fe(ft, and condemn- ing infant baptifm.
The fanaticifm of this fe(fl rofe to an amaz^ ing height, and many places fuffered feverely, particularly the town of Munfter^ which they feized, and one John of Leyden, the king of this new Jerufalem, defended him- felf in it, as long as pofTible ; but the place X 2 was
308 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
was at length taken, and that ringleader of the Anabaptifts put to death in the year 1536. The Anabaptifts of Frielland and Holland, condemned the feditious behaviour of their brethren at Munfler, though they themfelves raifed feveral commotions, under the condud: of one Mennon. They were however, fome time after, pretty well cured of their princi- pal errors ; fo that they no longer pretended to infpiration : no longer oppofed magiftrates; nor preached up a freedom with all fubjec- tions, a community of goods, and the like.
They fupported their principal tenet, from the following words of Our Saviour, * He
* that believeth, and is baptized, ihall be
* faved,' Now as adults alone are capable of believing, they argued that adults only were iit to be baptized. Calvin, and other writers
' ' * againfl them, had recourfe to the pradlice of
the primitive church, which is clearly on the Ude of infant baptifm. But fome drew an argument againft them from the Scripture, which tells us that children are capable of the kingdom of heaven, and at the fame time affures us, that except a man be baptized, he
cannot
JDIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. jjcp
cannot enter into the kingdom of God : Since, therefore, fay they, children are capable of entering into the kingdom of God, they are alfo qualified for being baptized.
It will be neceffary to add, that the Ana- baptifts of England are not included in the above defcription : for excepting their reject- ing infant baptifm, they differ very little from the other Proteftant DiiTenters.
No. XXIX.
LUTHERANS. They followed the religious opinions of Luther, a German divine, who, about the year 15 17, began to oppofe the Church of Rome, by preaching againfl: the licentious ufe or abufe of indulgencies, which irritated greatly the Court of Rome ; he proceeded from one point of doctrine to another, till
X 3 great
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
great numbers of the nobility, clergy, and laity, joining with him, the reformation of many whole eledorates anci kingdoms was effeded. They in general agree with almoft ^11 the proteftant churches, faving in fom« few particulars t
No. XXX.
ABIGENSES,
They were a fed: or party of Reformers about Touloufe, or Albigeois, in Languedoc, who fprung up in the twelfth century, and diftinguifhed themfelves by their oppofition to the difcipline and ceremonies of the church of Rome. They were likewifc called Wal- denfes.
Their rife was occafioned by accident. It happened at Lyons, in a great concourfe of
people.
y
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 31I
people, that one of them fell down on a fud- den dead, at which all that were prefent, were extremely terrified -, in particular, one PeterWaldius,who immediately fold his goods and divided them among the poor. Great multitudes prefently flocked about him, and he, being fomething of a fcholar, read and explained to them the New Teflament in their own tongue, and inftrudled them in the true principles of the Chrillian religion. The number of his difciples increaiing great- ly, this fed: fpread and prevailed every where.
At length the Albigenfes grew fo formi- dable, that the Catholics agreed upon a holy league or crufade againfl: them. 7 hey were at firfl; fupported by Raimond, count of Tou- loufe. Pope Innocent III. defirous to put a ftop to their progrefs, fent a legate into their country ; but this failing, he ftirred up Philip Auguftus, king of France, and the other princes, and great men of the kingdom, to make war upon them : upon which the Count of Toulofe, who had fided with them, made his fubmiffion to the Pope, and went over to the Catholics : but foon after finding: X 4 himfelf
^IZ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
hlmfelf plundered by the Crufaders, he de- clared war againll them, and was joined by the king of Arragon. His army was defeated at the fiege of Muret, v/here he himfelf was killed, and the defeat followed by the fur- render of the city of Touloufe, and the con- queft of the greateft part of Languedoc and Provence. His fon Raimond fucceeded him, who agreed with the king and the pope, to fet up the inquifition in his eilates, and to extirpate the Albigenfes. In an affembly held at Milan, the archbifhop of Touloufe drew up articles, agreeable to which, the count made a mofl: ample declaration againft them, which he publifhed at Touloufe, in 1253. This laft blow completed the ruin of the Albigenfes.
The errors with which they were charged are thefe : Firft, that they acknowledged two principles, the one good, the other evil ; the firft Creator of things invifible and fpiritual ; the fecond Creator of bodies, and guardian of the Old Teftament. Secondly, That they admitted likewife two Chrifts ; the one wicked, who was he that had appeared
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ' ^Ij
on earth ; the other good, who was not yet come. Thirdly, That they denied the re- furred:ion of the body, and beheved that the fouls of rnen are demons fent into their bo- dies for the punifliment of their fins. — -— • Fourthly, That they condemned all the fa- craments of the church, and believed mar- |-iage to be unlawful. As to their manner of life, there were faid to be two forts of peo- ple among them, the perfed and the believ^ ers. The perfecSt boafted of their living in continence, of eating neither flefh, eggs, nor cheefe. The believers lived like other men, and were even loofe in their morals, but they fhould be faved by the faith of the perferS:, and that none were damned who received im- pofition of hands from them. But perhaps, this charge againft them, was only calumny : for ^neas Sylvius, giving an account of them, fays, that this fed: had a great appear- ance of piety 3 that they lived juflly before men, and believed all the articles of the creed ^ and that they only blafphemed the Church of Rome and the clergy. Hinc illcs lacrym^^. It was their oppofing the received (Jodrines of that church, and the corrupt
man-
3Ii^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
manners of the ecclefiaflics that drew upon them the ilorm which ended in their de- ilru<5tion.
No. X^XXL
BARDESANirES,
A Se(fl of Heretics in the fecond century, the followers of Bardefanes, a native of Me- fopotamia. They held the Devil to be a felf-exiflent independant Being ; and taught that Chrift was not born of a woman, but brought his body with him from heaven ; maintained that God himfelP was fubjedl to fate, and that virtue and vice depended on the influence of the ftars.
No.
SMFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ^t^
No. xxxir.
ZEALOTS,
They were a very ancient fed: of the Jews, fo named from their pretended zeal for the laws of God, and the honour of rehgion. The Zealots were a moft outrageous and un- governable people ; and on pretence of af- ferting God's laws, and a ftrid:nefs and purity of religion, affumed a liberty of queftioning notorious offenders, without flaying for the ordinary formalities of the law.
No. XXXIII.
SABMANS,
XHEY were a fed: of idolators, much an- cienter than the Jewifh law. In the early ages of the world, idolatry was divided be-
tween
il6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
tween two fecfls ; the worflilppers of images ' called Sabaeans, or Sabians, and the worfhip- ers of fire called Magi (before treated of ). The Sab32ans began with worfhipping the heavenly bodies, which they fancied • were animated by inferior deities. In the confe- cration of their images, they ufed many in- cantations, to draw down into them from the ftars thofe intelligences for whom they ered:- ed them, whofe power and influence they held afterwards, dwelt in them. This re- ligion it is faid, firfl began among the Chal- dasans, with their knowledge in aftronomy : and from this it was that Abraham feparated himfelf when he came out of Chaldsa.
From the Chaldasans it fpread all over the Eaft, and from thence to the Grecians, who propagated it to all the nations of the known world. The remainder of this fedt ftill fub- iifts in the Eaft, and pretend to derive their name from Sabius, a fon of Seth ; and among the books in which the docftrines of this fed: are contained; they have one which they call the book of Seth, and which they pretend was written by that patriarch.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 3I7
No. XXXIV.
SABELLIANS.
XhEY were a particular fed: of Chrilllans of the third century, that embraced the opinions of Sabellius, a philofopher of Egypt, who openly taught that there is but one per- fon in the Godhead.
The Sabellians maintained that the word and the Holy Spirit are only virtues, and held, that he who is in heaven, is the father of all things, defcended into the virgin, became a child, and was born of her as a fon ; and that having accomplifhed the myftery of our falvation, he diifufed himfelf on the apoflles in tongues of fire, and was then denominated the Holy Ghoil. This they explained, by
refembling
Jig A SUCCINCT* ACCOUNT OP TJtE
, refembling God to the fun, the illuminative virtue or quality of which was the Word, and its warming virtue the Holy Spirit. The Word, they taught, was darted like a divine ray, to accompliih the work of redemption 3 and that being re-afcended to heaven, the in- fluences of the Father were communicated after a like manner to the apoflles.
Ne. XXXV.
PArRIPASSIANS.
A. Chriftian fed:, who appeared about the latter end of' the fecond century ; fo called from their afcribing the paffion to the Father, for they aflerted the unity of God in fuch a manner as to deflroy all diftin(ftion of per-
fons.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION' ^|i^
fons, and to make the Father and Son pre* cifely the fame j in which they were followed by the Sabellians, (before treated of), and others. The author and head of the Patri- paffians, was Praxeas, a philofopher of Phry- gia, in Afia.
No. XXXVI.
MARCOSIANS.
They were a fed of Chriftian Heretics in the fecond century, fo called from their lead- er Marcus, who reprefented the fupreme God, as confifting not of a Trinity, but a Quaternity, viz. the Ineffable, Silence, the Father and Truth -, he held two principles, denied the reality of Chrift's fuiferings, and
# the
32G A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
the refurredion of the body, and had the fame fancies concernmg the ^ons as the Va- lentinians (before defcribed)^
The Marcofiansi it is faid> made pretences to greater perfedion than either St. Paul or St. Peter : and being perfuaded that nothing could hinder their falvation^ freely indulged themfelves in thepra<5ticeof vice.
No. XXXVII.
DAMIANISrS.
XhEY are a branch of the ancient Ace« phali-feverite. They agreed with the Ca- tholics in admitting the Hxth Council, but difowned any diftindions of perfons in the Godhead, and profelled one fingle nature, incapable of any difference; and yet they called God, the Father, Son, and HolyGhoft.
A sue-
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 32!
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT
OF THE DIFFERENT
SECTS IN RELIGION.
SECTION III.
No. I.
DONArisrs,
'^' They were a fed of Chriftlan Schifma- tics, in Africa, who took their name from their leader Donatus. A fecret hatred againft Ca:cilian, elected bifliop of Carthage, about the year 311, excited Donatus to form this fed.
Y He
*VideCluirch HJil, page io?«
322 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
He accufed Caecilian of having delivered up the facred books to the Pagans, and pre- tended that his eledlion was void, and all his adherents Heretics. He taught that baptifm adminiflered by Heretics was null and- void : that every Church but the African was be- come proftituted -, and that he was to be the reftorer of religion. Some accufe the Do- natiUs of Arianifm ; Conflantius and Ho- norius made laws for their baniihment, and Theodolius and Honorius condemned them to grievous mulcts.
No. II.
NICHO LAITANS,
Simon magus was the firflauthorofHe- refies.* He affirmed that he himfelf was Fa- ther, Son, and Holy Ghoft, and that he was worshipped of all people by divers names, that Chrifldidfuffer no hurt from the Jews ; for he
was
* Howel's foUoHiftory of the V/orkl, vol. i. pnge S79.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
was Chrifl. That any man might lie with any woman, for this was no fin. That the world was made by angels, and that an an- gel redeemed mankind. He denied the re- furredtion. He thought that the gifts of the Holy Ghoft might be bought with money, and therefore that fm of him is called Si- mony. Nicholas, the patron of the Nicho - laitans, was one of the feven Rrd deacons, he having a fair wife, and being accufed of jealoufy, permitted any to marry her, at which fad: others taking occafion, thought it lawful for any man to have the company of any woman, whom they themfelves could like.* Epiphanius writeth, that they taught venery to be fo necelTary, that thofe men who ufed it not, every week, on Friday, coul^ not be faved.
* £piphanlus> lib. il, et ut fupra.
323
Y2 No.
SH
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. III.
CERINrHIANS.
CeRINTHUS was a Jew by birth ; about the year 69 fprung up the herefy of the Ce- rinthians. He taught that the world was made by angels -, that Jefus our Saviour had for his parents indeed, Jofeph and Mary, and that at his baptifm Chrifl: defcended on him, who (faith he) is called the Holy Ghoft, by whom he did all his miracles : when Je- fus was to be crucified of the Jews, then Chrifl; left him, and returned into heaven. That Chrift's kingdom, after the refurrec- tion, fhould be an earthly kingdom, and men then fhould live in all fleflily lufts and plea- fures together for a thoufand years. He de- nied the divine nature of Chrifl, and faid,
that
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 325
that he had only an humane nature, and that he was not yet rifen from the dead, but (hould rife hereafter. He affirmed that the old law, and all the old commandments and precepts belonging to it were to be kept, together with the new law or gofpel, and that there- fore circumcilion was necell'ary for every one that would be faved.*
No. IV.
"The SECT of MENANDER,
About the beginning of Domitjan, arofe the herefy of Menander, a Samaritan, and the fcholar of Simon Magus. He taught firft, that the world was made by angels, and that thefe angels could be overcome by no Y 3 means,
* Ireneus Epiphaneus, Eufebius, lib. Ill, c. 28, lib, Iv. c. 14,
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
means, but by art magic. He denied Chrifl to be a true man. He affirmed himfelf a Saviour of the world, and that he came from heaven to fave manlcind, and that all who would be faved, muft be baptized in his name. Out of his dod:rine came that of Sa- turninus, of Antioch, who not long after, in like manner, taught that the world was made by fcvQn angels, without the knowledge of God the Father. That Chrift was but the fhadow of a man, for he had neither the true body nor foul of a man, and thus he fulfilled the myflery of our redemption. He faid moreover, that marriage and procreation was of the devil.*
• Euleblus } alfo Dr. Howel's Hiftory of the World, vol. i. p. 879.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
Z'2'1
No. V.
rhe S EC r of MARC ION,
'''In the reign of Antoninus Pius j Marcion, the Heretic, began to teach, living in the time of Juftin Martyr, who wrote againft him. He was a native of Pontus, firfl a Stoic, then a Chriftian ; he followed Ba- lilides, Cerdon, and Valentinus, in their He- refies. Meeting Polycarpus, he faid. Know- eth thou us ? Polycarpus anfwered, / k?iow thee for the firfl born of Satan. Epiphanius writes, that being a biHiop's fon, when he had deflowered a virgin, he was by his own tather excommunicated, and afterwards fly- ing to Rome, becaufe they there admitted him not into the church, he began to preach Y 4 deteitable
• Eufebius, lib. iv. c. ii. \\.
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
deteflable dodtrlne. He taught that there were three beginnings. Good, Juft, and Evil-, that the New Teftament was contrary to the Old. He denied the refurredtion. He bap- tized fuch as died without baptifm, faying, that Paul bade him do fo. He taught that jnarriage was unlawful, and that it was a great fin to marry. That Cain, the Sodo- mites, and all wicked men were faved, be- caufe they met Chrift, when he defcended into hell, but the patriarchs and prophets are ftill in hell, for not meeting Chrift ; for they thought, faid he, that Chrift came to tempt them.*
No. VI.
rhe SECT of SECUNDIANS,
± There were a fed: of Heretics, who \vere named the Secundians, called fo from
. SecimdiiSf
f Dr. Howel's Hift, of the World, vol. i. booklv. page 904. 1 Dr. Hcwc-ra Hilt, of the World, vol. i.p. 9:5, folio; printed 1680.
/
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 329
Secundus, in the reigns of Marcus and Corn- modus, Roman emperors. In life they were beaftly, all women among them were com- mon : they denied the refurredlion of the ile/Ii. They taught the Heretical opinions of the Gnoftics, and of Valentinus, adding thereto certain heathenifh dodtrines out of Homer. They facrificed with witchcraft to amaze their auditory, they pronounced He- brew words. Many women coming to church, under colour of receiving the power of prophecy from them, confeiTed they were abufed by them. Marcus ran away with another man's wife. They poured oil and water upon the head of the deceafed, hoping fo to redeem them. They faid that the life and generation of man confifted in feven ftars; that Chrift fuffered not indeed, and denied the refurredion. Alcibiades refraining the ufe of God's creatures, was reformed by At- talus the martyr. Archonitici, heretics in Paleftine, referred all things unto man's powers. They faid the Sabbath was the God of the Jews, and the Devil the fon of the Sabbath.* They abhorred marriage,
forbade
•Eiirebius, lib.v. c. 3.
330 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
forbade the ufe of living creatures, offered water inflead of wine in the facrament, and denied that Adam was faved. Severus, the head of the Severians, was of the opinions of Juftin Martyr, reviling Paul, rejeding his epiftles, and the Ad:s of the Apoftles. He faid that a woman was of the Devil, the man from the middle upwards, was of God, and beneath of the Devil.
No. VII.
ne SECT of PEPUZIANS.
IHEY were Heretics of Galatia, and Cap- padocia, called Pepuzians, as alfo Quintili- ani, and Prifcilliani,* becaufe they faid, that Chrifl, in form of a woman, being the bed- fellow of Quintilla or Prifcilla, revealed unto
her
*Epiphan. Auguft. de Heref. llkewife Dr.Howel, vol. i. p. 9' 5'
^
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 33I
her divine myfteries. Women were priefts among them, and their facrifices were aUke to the Montanifls, of which fed: they feem to have been, feeing alfo his prophetefTes were of the town Pepuza.
Their neighbours the Artotyrite were He- retics, which offered bread and cheefe in the facrament.*
Alogi denied Chrift to be the Word, con- demned St. John's gofpel, and faid, that Cerinthus, the Heretic, wrote the Reve- lations. Theodotus, a Montanift, through forcery, took his flight towards heaven, but fell down and died miferable.
♦Epiphan, Augwft. de Heref. likewlfe Dr. Howel, vol. i. p. 925.
No.
;
33^
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OP THE
No. VIII.
Certain SeBs of HERETICS wh prevailed about the Tear i lo. *•
ThEBULIS was the firft Heretic in the church of Jerufalem. It is faid, that he fell from the faith, becaufe they would not chufe him bifhop ; about the fame time there were certain Heretics called Ophite (treated of before in this hiftory) who worfhipped a fer- pent, and thought that the ferpent which deceived Adam and Eve, was Chrift : they kept a living ferpent, which with opening of the chefl, and charming of the prieft, came forth, licked the bread upon the altar, and wrapped itfelf about it. Their manner was to kifs the bread, and fo to cat, believing
verily
* Eiifcbius, lib. iv. c 22»
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 333
verily that the ferpent had confecrated it. They defended themfelves, faying, that the Nicolaitans and Gnoftic's (before mentioned) deHvered .them this fervice. About the fame time there were certain Jews, which beHev- ing in Chrift, called themfelves Nazara;i, of Nazareth. In confefTing Jefus Chrift to be the Son of God, they went contrary to the Jews. But they erred in Chriflian religion, in that they addided themfelves wholly to the whole law. There were other Heretics, which honoured Cain, and took him for their father, whence they were called Caini. They highly efteemed of Efau, Corah, Dathan, and Abira-m, with the Sodomites.* They called Judas the traitor, their coufin, ho- noured him for betraying Chrift, affirming that he forefaw how great a benefit it would bring to mankind. They read a certain gof- pel, written, as they faid, by Judas : they reviled the law, and denied the refurredtion. There were others colled Sethiani, vi^ho de- rived their pedigree from Seth, the fon of Adam, whom they honoured and called Chrift, and Jefus : they held, that in the
• Dr. Howel, vol. i. pr.^e 903.
beginning
334
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
beginning of the world, he was called Seth, but in the latter days, Chrift Jefus. Epipha- nius faith, that he difputed with fome of them in Egypt, and that the laft of them were in his time. Cerdon, the Heretic, came from Syria to Rome, when Hyginus was bifhop there. He taught that God, preached by the law and prophets, was not the father of our Lord Jefus Chrift. He faid that Chrift was known, the father of Chrifl un- known. He denied the refurredion, and the Old Teftament.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 335
No. IX.
ZINDIKITES.
The Y were a fed: of Mahometan Heretics, or rather Atheifts, becaufe they neither be- lieve Providence, nor a refurredlion from the dead ; they hold there is no other God but the Four Elements -, that a man is but a mirror of thefe, and after death refolves into them, and fo returns as elements to God that created them.
No. X.
UNITARIANS,
Is the name given to the Antitrinitarians,
called alfo Socinians ; their iirft fettlement
3 was
336 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
was in Poland, where they declared that they admitted of no other creed than that of the apoftles, rejeding that of Nice, and the other afcribed to Athanafius, and in a word, all thofe that were drawn up by general coun- cils, pretending that they were not agreeable to the word of God, meaning God the Fa- ther; they deny the fecond perfon in the Trinity to be the fupreme Being ; 'tis true they acknowledged him to be God, but hold him to be inferior to the father, as being cre- ated by him, and dependant on him.
No. XI.
TEMPLERS.
XhEY were Chriftian Heretics, who lived in Jerufalem, anno, 1030, after the death of Philip Auguilus, they being fo called, be- caufe they frequented the temple very much;
they
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 337
they had an image made by exqulfite art, covered with a man's fkin, and having tw^o fhining carbuncles in (lead of eyes ; they facri- ficed to this idol, the bodies of the dead re- duced to allies, and gave them to be drank by others, to render them more flrong and conftant ; thofe who were born to a Tem- pler, wedded to a maid, they roafted after death, and anointed the image with drop- pings, to evidence their greater zeal ; fome will have thefe to be the fame with the Knight's Templers, and others deny it.
No. XII.
SOCINIANS.
They were a fe6l cf Chriilians, (if they may be fo called) denominated from Socinus, the author of it, who died in 1604. He
Z held
338 ' A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
held that the Arians had given too much to Chrift, allerting that he was meer man, had no exiflence before Mary, denied openly the pre-exiftence of the world, denied that the Holy Ghofl was a diftin^l perfon, and main- tained that the Father alone was truly and properly God, exclufive of the Son and Holy Ghofh, alledging that the name of God, given to Chrift, in the Scriptures, lignified no more, than that God the Father had given him a fovereign power over all creatures, and that in confequence of this privilege, men and angels ought to adore him. To main- tain this delufion, and to avoid the force of that text: John iii. 13. That no man hath afcended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven , he feigned that Chrift took a journey to heaven after baptifm, and came down again : He denied the redemp- tion of Chrift, faying, ' That what he did
* for men, was only to give them a pattern
* of heroic virtue, and to feal his dod:rine by
* his death.' Original Sin, Grace, and Pre- deflination, pafTed for chimera with him. The facraments he efteemed in efficacious ceremonies. He denied the immenfity of
5 God,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 33^
God, afcribing to him a particular corner of heaven, and alledging, that he knew only neceflary eftedls. It is alfo charged upon the Socinians^ that they believe the" death and refurred:ion of the foul to be judged v^^ith the body, with this diiterence, that the righteous fliall be raifed to eternal happinefs, and the wicked condemned to fire, which fhall be eternal, but confumes the body and foul of the wicked, in a certain time pro- portioned to their merits. But moft of thefe they do not pretend abfolutely neceflary to be believed.
In the works of Socinus himfelf, and- other writers, thefe principles are to be found : * That man, before his fall, was na-
* turally mortal, and had no original righ-
* teoufnefs: that no man by the light of na-
* ture can have any knowledge of God ;
* that there is no original iin in us, as it im-
* ports concupifcence, of deformity of na-
* ture; that we have a free will to do good,
* and may here fulfill the law : That God
* hath no fore-knowledge of contingencies,
* but alternatively : That the caufes ofpre-
Z% defti-*
340
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
deftination are not in God, but in us ; that he predeflinates no particular perfon to fal- vation : That God could juftly pardon our fins, without fatisfadtion J that Chriil died for himfelf, that is, not for his fins, for he was without fin, but for that mortality and infirmities of our nature which he affumed; that Chrifl became not our high priefb, nor immortal, nor impaffible, before he af- cended into heaven: That death eternal is nothing but a perpetual continuance in death or annihilation ; that everlafting fire is fo called from its efFedl, which is the eternal extin6tipn or annihilation of the wicked, who fhall be found alive at the laft day ; that Chrifl's incarnation is againfl reafon, and cannot be proved by fcripture ; that Chrill: and the Holy Ghoft are not God. That there is no Trinity of perfons, and that the Old Teilament is needlefs for a Chriflian.'*
*Soeinas, Lubbertius', Crellius Volkellius, and Rncovian Catechifm.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 341
No. XIII.
SAD DUCES,
A Certain fe6t among the Je\vs, which took its rife from Zadoc, they denied the exiftence of fpirits, the immortaHty of the foul, and the refurrecftion of the body. And as for their otlier opinions, they agreed with the Samaritans, except only in this, that they were partakers of all the Jev/ilh facrifices, which the Samaritans abhorred : They ob- ferved the law, to enjoy the temporal blefl- ings it promifed, and to efcape the punifh- ment denounced againft its tranfgrefTors. They reje(5ted all manner of traditions, and abfolutely denying fatality, afTerted, that as it was impoiTible for God to do any evil, fo neither did he take notice of what evil men
com-
34^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
committed ; and thence concluded, that it was wholly in our will to do good or evil. Though this fed: was not very numerous, yet it was confiderable, as being compofed of perfons of eminent degree j and there was au irreconcileable hatred between thele and the Pharifees.
No. XIV.
REMONSTRANTS,
Or Arminians, a powerful party of Chrif- tians, firfl called fo in Holland, and whq took the name of Remonftrants, from a writing called a Remonftrance, that was pre- fented by them to the States of Holland, 1609, wherein they reduced their dodtrine to thefe five g.rticles,
' I. That
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 343
I. Txhat God, in eledlion and reprobation, had regard on the one fide to faith and per* feverance, and on the other fide to incredu- Hty and impenitence.
II. That Jefus Chrifl died for all men, without any exception.
III. That Grace was neceflary for the ap- plication of one's felf to good.
IV. That yet it did not adt in an irrefifti- ble manner.
V. That before affirming that the rege- nerate cannot totally fall off; this queflion ought more accurately to be examined.
- The name of Arminians was given them, becaufe that Arminius, ProfefTor of Divi- nity at Leyden, was the firfl that oppofed the then received fentiments in Holland, of an abfolute predeflination. The Synod of Dort, confifling of Dutch, French, Ger- man, Englifh, and Swifs divines, and held in 1618, condemned their opinions.
Z 4 No.
344 ^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XV.
PURITANS,
J. HE Puritans were a fed of ftrid: Calvinifts, who appeared in England anno 15O5, others fay 1568. The great Thuanus gives a very- favourable account of them, though (in Eng- land) Coleman, Burton, Hallingham, and others of the fame opinion, give a contrary one, pretending that they differed but little from the church of Rome ; but with all due deference to the above writers, though it mud be allowed that there might be enthu- fiafts amongft them, there was a great deal of piety and lincere religion among thofe peo- ple called Puritans, and could not be denied even by fome who were quite of a contrary opinion from them.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
No. XVI.
POLTGAMISrS.
JL HEY were Chriilian Heretics, who aver- red it was lawful for a man to have as many wives as he pleafed. Their patron was Ber^ nardine Ochimus, who lived in the i6th century. This do(ftrine has been counte- nanced by a modern writer, in fome of his ingenious works.
No. XVII.
PICARD S.
The name of a Chriflian fed:, who im- proved the miftakes of the Adamites (treated
345
in
^4^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
in a former part of this work) to the extra- vagance of going naked : They fprung up in the beginning of the fifteenth century, and were denominated from on PIcard, who fet it on foot 'j he ordered all his profelites to go naked, called himfelf tl^e Son of God^ and pretended he was fent into the world, as a new Adam, by his father, to refrefh the no- tion, and reftore the pradlice of the law of nature, which he faid, confifted principally in two things, the community of women, and going jflark naked : And one of the prin- cipal tenets of this people was, that their party were the only free people in nature, all other men being flaves, efpecially thofe who wore any cloaths upon the fcore of modefty.
No.
PIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 347
No. XVIII.
PHARISEES,
XhEY were a fedt that rofe in Judea, a long time before the birth of our Saviour -, and St. Jerom, who fpeaks of them in his relation of the Nazarenes, fays, that the au- thors of it were Sammai and Hillel. Thofe of this fed fafted the fecond and fifth day of the week : they put thorns at the bottom of their robes, that they might prick their legs as they went along ; they lay upon boards covered with flint itones, and tied thick cords about their waifts ; though thefe mortifica- tions were neither kept by all, hor always : They paid tythes as the law required, and gave the thirtieth and fiftieth part of their fruits adding voluntary facrifices to thofe that
were
34^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
were enjoined, and appearing very exadl in performance of their vows. But pride mar- red all their actions, becaufe they had no other care, no end, than to gain the affec- tions of the people, and the reputation of being faints. And in this manner they grew fo potent, tliat the kit kings of the Jews were afraid to fupprefs. them, and were frequently neceffitated to make ufe of them for their own fupport. They coveted the chief feats in feafts and affemblies, that they might pafs for infallible mailers, and the fmcereil doc- tors of the law, which they had abominably corrupted by their traditions. As to the. do(5trine they profeffed, they attributed the event of all things to deiliny, though they endeavoured to make the liberty of the ac- tions of man's will to accord therewith : They v/ere fo far Pythagoreans, as to believe the tranfmigration of the foul, efpecially thofe of people of virtue, eileeming the reil to be al- ways in torments. Injudicial ailrology, they follov/cd all the opinions of the Gentiles, and St. Epiphanius adds, that they had tranilated the Greek names of this art, which fignified the ilars, and figns of the zodiac into Hebrew
names.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION
349
No. XIX.
LIBERTINES.
They were a {tOi of Chriflian Heretics, whofe ringleaders were Quintin, a taylor of Picardy, and one Copin, who, about 1525, divulged their errors in Holland and Brabant. They maintained that whatfoever was done by men, was done by the fpirit of God, and from thence concluded there was no iin, but to thofe that thought it fo, becaufe all came from God. They added, that to live without any doubt or fcruple, was to return to the ftate of innocency, and gave way to their fol- lowers, to call themfelves either Catholics or Lutherans, according as the company they lighted amongft were.
No.
2SO A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THIS
No. XX.
FRATICELLL
Certain Heretics of Italy, who had their rife in the Marquifate of Ancona, about 1294. They were moil of them apoftate Monks, under a fuperior. They drew wo- men after them, on pretence of devotion, and were accufed of uncleannefs with them, in their nocturnal meetings. They were charged with maintaining a community of wives and goods, and denying magiftracy. Abundance of Libertines flocked after them, becaufe they countenanced their licentious way of living.
No. XXI.
DULCINISrS.
They were denominated Heretics from one Dulcin, the head of thofe wandering
fort;
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 3jj
fort of people, who lived in the beginning of the fourteenth century. He pretended to preach the reign of the Holy Ghoil ; and while he juftly enough re'je<fted the Pope's authority, he fooli(hly made himfelf to be the head of that third reign, faying that the father had reigned from the beginning of the world, to the coming of Chrift, and the fons reign began then, and continued till the year 1 300 ; he was followed by a great many peo* pie to the Alps, where he and his wife were taken and burnt by the order of Clement IV.
No. XXII.
CArAPHRTGES,
XhEY were a fecfl of Chriftian Heretics that began to appear in the fecond century, they had this name given, becaufe the chief promoters of this herefy came out of Phry-
gia:
3^2 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
gia : they followed Montanus, his errors ; laughed at the ancient prophets, to gain the greater credit for their own doctors; cor- rupted the form of baptifm ; chriftened the dead, and made up the communion bread of Eucharift with young children's blood : They pricked thefe poor innocent babes with need- les, and when the children died in the tor- ment, Vv^hich frequently happened, the Cata- phryges invoked them as martyrs, and lifted thofe that efcaped in the number of their priefts.
No. XXIIL
CARPOCRAriANS.
Heretics bom in Alexandria, in the fecond century, and were difciples of Simon Magus : They held that the Son of God was but a mere man, and the fon of Jofeph, and
that
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 353
that his foul had nothing above the reft, only that it received more virtues and energy from God, whilft it dwelt with him, before its union with the body, than other fouls did, and that God was thus liberal to it, to the end, it might be able to overcome the devils that had created the world. They rejed:ed the Old Teftament denied the refurrecflion of the dead, perfuaded themfelves that there was no fuch thing as evil in nature, but only in peoples' fancy : They added feveral other impieties ; and Carpocrates left a fon called Epiphanius, that inherited his father's crimes, and held his abfurd notions and fen- timents.
A a No.
254 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXIV.
CAMERONIANS.
XhEY were a party of Prefbyterlans in Scotland, fo called from Archibald Cameron, a field preacher, who was the firft that fe- parated from Communion with the other Preibterians that were not of his opinion, concerning the minifters that had accepted of an indulgence from King Charles Il.which he alledged to be a countenancing of the fu- premacy in eccleliaftical affairs ; and they faid, it was only a making ufe of the liberty, to exercife the paftoral function, from which they had been unduly reftrained. The de- bate and heat increafed on both fides, which the other Prefbyterians v/ould have them lay afide, till the controverfy could be deter- mined
biFFEREMT SECTS IN RELIGION. 2SS
hiined by a general afleiiibly : But the Ca- meronians, through a tranfport of zeal, fe- parated from them, and fome who aflbciated with them, ran into great excefs of frenzy, declaring that King Charles the fecond had forfeited his right to the crown and fociety of the church, by his breaking the folemn league arid covenant, which were the terms on which he received the former ; and his vicious life, which, dejure, they faid, excluded him from the latter : They pretended both to dethrone and excommunicate him, made an infurredion, but were foon fuppreft: -, lince the accellion of the late King WiiUam, of bleifed memory, to the crown of England^ they moft readily complied with, and zea- loufly ferved the government, and for their former difference in church matters, they were alfo laid afide, the preachers of their* party, having fubmitted to the general af- fembly of the church of Scotland in 1690, of which they flill continue members.
A a 2 No.
2^6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXVI.
^UINTILIANS.
1 HEY were a feci of ancient Heretics,
thus called from the prophetefs Quntilia. In this fe6t the women were admitted to perform the facerdotal and epifcopal func- tions.^ They attributed extraordinary gifts to Eve, for having firfl: eaten of the free of knowledge ; told great things of Mary, the iiller of Mofes, as having been a prophetefs : they added, that Philip, the deacon, had four daughters, who were all propheteiles.
No. XXVII. ROSrCRUCIANS.
Brothers of the Rofy Crofs, a name alTumed by a fed: or cabal ofhermetical phi-
lofophers,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
lofophers, who appeared, or at leaft were firft taken notice of in Germany, in the be- ginning of the fixteenth century. They pre- tended to be mafters of all fciences, and to have many important fecrets, particularly that of the philofopher's ftone.
357
No. XXVIII.
SAMARirANS.
An ancient fed: among the Jews, ftill fub- fifting in fome parts of the Levant, under the fame name.
Its origin was in" the time of Rehoboam,
under whofe reign the people of Ifrael were
divided into two diftind: kingdoms, that of
Judah, and that of Ifrael 3 the capital of the
A a ^ latter
3jS A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
latter being Samaria, the Ifraelites obtained the name of Samaritans.
They were anciently guilty of idolatry, and the Rabbins pretend that they worlhipped the :figure of a dove on mount Gerizim, but the prefent Samaritans, who are but few in num- ber, are far from being idolaters. They ce^ lebrate the pafTover every year, on the four- teenth day of the firft month, on Mount Gerizim, and begin that feafh, with the fa- crifics appointed for that purpofe in Exodus. They keep the fabbath with all the rigour with which it is enjoined in the book of Ex- odus, none among them ftirring out of doors, but to the fynagogue -, they facrifice no where but on mount Gerizim ; they obferve the feaft of expiation, tabernacles, harveft. Sec, and never defer circumcifion beyond the 8 th day , they never marry their nieces, as the Jews do ; have but one wife -, and in fine, do nothing but what is commanded in th^ aw,
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ^59
No. XXIX.
TATIANITES,
A Se<ft of Chriflian Heretics, in the fccond century, fo called from their leader Tatian> a difciple of St. Juftin, This Herefiarch took from Valentinus, the fable of the ^ons, and from Marcion, the dodirine of two prin- ciples. But what particularly diftinguifhed his followers, was, their condemning of mar- riage, and forbidding the eating of flefh, or drinking of wine.
No. XXX. TV RLUP INS.
An infamous fed: which made its appear- ance in France, in the fourteenth century, A a 4 and
26o A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
and in the reign of Charles V. Their prin- cipal fcene was in Savoy and Dauphiny. They taught, that when a man is arrived at a certain ftate of perfection, he is freed from all fubjedion to the divine law. They allow of no prayer to God, but mental. They often went naked, and faid, we ought not to be afhamed of any parts which nature had given us. Notwithilanding thefe impious extravagances, they affecfled great airs of fpirituality and devotion, the better to inli- nuate themfelves into the good opinion of the women. It is not eafy to find the true rea- fon of their name -, Monfieur Vignier thinks they were called Turlupins, becaufe they ulually abode in places expofed to wolves, lupis. They affeded to call themfelves * The Fraternity of the Poor.' The Turlu- pins were profecuted by order of the go- vernment. Their books and cloaths were burnt at Paris, and Joan Dabentonne, and another woman, who were the principal preachers of this fedt, were burnt alive.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 361
No. XXXI.
WICKLIFFITES.
A Religious fed:, who had their rife in England, and their name from their leader John Vv^ickliff, a profelTor of divinity in. the Univerfity of Oxford. To that immortal author it is we owe the firft hint of the great reformation, effedted 200 years after him. WicklifF maintained that the fubftance of the facramental bread and wine flill remained fuch' after confecration. He alfo oppofed the dodrine of purgatory, indulgences, the in- vocation of faints, and the worfliip of images.
He made an Englifh verfion of the bible : and compofed two large volumes called Ale- theia J that is. Truth, which was the fourcc
whence
262 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
whence John Hufs firfl learned moft of his dodtrines. The Archbifhop of Canterbury, called a council againft Wickliff, and he was condemned therein ; but the good re- former fet the condemnation at nought. After this king Richard bani(hed him out of England ^ but hjs was afterwards recalled, and died in his own country, in the year J384.
Forty years afterwards, his do(flrines, and the adherents thereto, were condemned by the council of Conflance -, in confequence of which, his bones were dug up; and the council condemned him for forty errors.
No,
PIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION, 363
No. XXXIL
SIMONIANS.
As this SeSi of ancient Heretics was founded by Simon Magus, the notorious impoilor and magician, I fhall endeavour to give an accurate and minute defcription of them,
Simon Magus was a Samaritan, born in the village of Gitton. St. Philip, the deacon, coming to preach at Samaria, converted fe- veral perfons there, and among the reft, this Simon, who believed and was baptized. When the apoftles St. Peter and St. John came to Samaria, and had conferred the Holy Ghoft on fuch as had been baptized by PhiHp. Simon full of amazement at feeing the wonderful eifeds of the apoflles impo-
fition
1^64 A SUCCIKCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Ution of hands, offered them money, on condition they would give him the fame power, for which he received a very (harp and fevere rebuke from St. Peter. The au- thor of the ad:s of the c-poftles adds„ that Si- mon had before addicftcd himfelf to the prac- tice of magic, and by his impoftures and enchantments, had feduced the people of Samaria, who all followed him as a perfon endowed with a divine and fupernatural power.
After St. Peter'^s reproof, and refufal to fell him the power of imparting the Holy Ghofl:, Simon fell into many great errors and abominations, applying himfelf to magic more than ever, and taking a pride in with- flanding the apoilles. For this purpofe he left Samaria, and travelled through feveral provinces, feeking out fuch places where the gofpel had not yet been preached, that he might prejudice the minds of men againfl it. At Tyre, in Phoenicia, he bought a public proflitute, named Selene, or Helene, whom he carried about with him wherever he went, pretending fhe was that Helen who had oc- cafioned the Trojan war.
Having
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 365
Having run through feveral provinces, and gained the admiration of a vafl number of perfons, he came to Rome, in the time of the Emperor Claudius, about the year of Chrift 41. It is faid he was honoured as a God by the Romans, and that the fenate de- creed a ftatue to be eredied to him in the ifle of the Tiber, infcribed. To Simon the Holy. The fad, however, is difputed by the befl critics, who think that Juftin Martyr miilook an image of Semo Sandus, a Pagan deity, for one ereded to Simon Magus.
St. Peter coming to Rome fome timeafteV the arrival of Simon Magus, foon reverfed all that the impoflor had been doing there. However, Simon did not quit that city, but continued to fpread his erj:ors, and under the reign of Nero, again acquired a great reputa- tion by his enchantments. He pretended to be the Chrift, and that he could afcend into heaven. And we are told, he raifed himfelf up into the air, in a fiery chariot, by the af- fiftance of magic art. But St. Peter and St. Paul, at the fame time betaking themfelves to prayer, his charms fluled him, and falling to 5 the
366 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
the ground, he broke his legs. Being car-s ried to Brundufium, he there threw himfelf from the top of a houfe where he lodged, and died on the fpot*
The herefies of Simon Magus were prin- cipally his pretending to be the great power of God, and thinking that the gifts of the Holy GhofI: were venal, and to be purchafed with money. He is faid to have invented the jEons, which were fo many perfons, of whom the godhead was Compofed. His concubine Helen he called the firft intelligence, and mother of all things, arid fometimes he called herM inerVa, and himfelf J upiter.
Simon Magus had gained a great number of followers, who embraced all the principles of their mailer, and indulged themfelves in all forts of vices and irregularities. They paid divine worfhip to Simon and Helen, of- fering to them vidims and libations of wine. There is no doubt, that when St. John, St. Peter, and St. Paul, in their Epiflles, warn the Chriftians againft Heretics, falfe apoftles, and falfe teachers, the Simonians are princi- pally
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 367
pally intended. And indeed, as they were the earlieft Heretics, fo they were the fource of moll of the other Heretics, which foon after fprung up in the church. The fe6t of the Simonians continued down to the fourth century. Origen tells us, that they were re- duced to about thirty ptrfons, and elfewhere, that they were quite extind:.
No. XXXIII.
ANAXIMJl^NDRIANS.
1 HEY are faid to be the followers of Anax- imander, the firft philofophical Atheifts, who admitted of no other fubftance in nature, but body,
6 No.
268 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXXIV.
ANTHROPOMORPHirES,
A Sed: of Heretics fo denominated from the Greek lignification Man and Shape -, for they, through great fimpHcity, taking every thing fpoken in Icripture, of God, in a Hteral fenfe, particularly that paifage in the book of Ge- nefis, in which it is faid, that God made man after his own image, imagined him to be in the fhape of a man, having real hands, feet, &c.
No. XXXV.
ANTINOMIANS.
LiERTAIN Heretics who firft appeared m the year 1535. They were fo called, becaufe
they
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 369
they reje(5ted the law, as of no ufe under the Gofpel difpenfation. They held that good works do not further, nor evil hinder fal- vation ', that the child of God cannot fin ; that God never chaftifes any land for their fins i that murder, adultery, drunkennefs, and the like, are no fins in the children of God : that an Hypocrite may have all the graces that were in Adam before his fall ; and many of the like flrange and impious opinions*
No. XXXVL
CALIXriNS.
They are reputed to be a feet of Chriflians in Bohemia and Moravia : the principal point
B b in
370 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
in which they differed from the church, was the ufe of the Chalice, or communicating in both kinds.
Calixtins is alfo a name given to thofe among the Lutherans, who follow the fen- timents of George Calixtus, a celebrated di- vine, who oppofed the opinion of St. Auguf- tine, on predeftination, grace, and free will.
No. XXXVII.
JPREDESriNARIANSy or CALFINISrS,
The real Calvinlfts are thofe who follow the opinions of John Calvin, from whom they derive that name, one of the principal re- formers of the church in the lixteenth cen- tury, a perfon of great parts and induflry, and of confiderable learning ; whofe doctrine ftill fubfifls in its greateft purity at Geneva, where it was firfl broached, and from whence
it
J^IlTJffeRfeNT SECTS IN RJ^^LIGION 37I
It was propagated. This is ftill the px-evail- ing religion in the United Provinces ; in England it is confined among the DifTenters ; and in Scotland, it fubf).(ls in its utmoft rigour.
The Calvinifts are great advocates for the
abfolatenefs of God's decrees ; and hold, that
election and reprobation depend on the mere
will of God, without any regard to the merit
or demerit of mankind ; that he affords to the
eled: an irrefifbible grace, a faith that they
cannot lofe, which takes away the freedom
of will, and nsceflitates all their adlions to
virtue. The Calvinifts believe that God
foreknew a determinate number, whom he
pitched upon to be perfons, in whom he
would manifeft his glory : and that having
thus foreknown them, he predeftinated them
to be Holy, in order to which, he gives them'
an irrefiilible grace, Vv^hich makes it impofli-
ble for them to be otherwife.
Nothing has occafioncd more difputss,
than this thorny fubjedt of Predeflination,
B b 2 the
37^
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
the Lutherans fpeak of it with horror, while the Calvinifts contend for it with the warm- eft zeal : the Molinifts and Jefuits preach it down as a moft dangerous doctrine, whilil the Janfenifts alTert it as an article of faith : The Arminians, Renionftrants, and Pela- gians, are all avowed enemies to predefti- nation.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 373
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT
OF THE DIFFERENT
SECTS IN RELIGION.
SECTION IV.
No. I.
NOEriANS,
1 HEY were a (qOl of Chriftian Heretics, in the third century, followers of Noetius, a phllofopher of Ephefus, who pretended that he was another Mofes, fent by God, and that his brother was a new Aaron. His herefy confifted in affirming that there was but one B b 3 perfoii
374 ^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
perfon in the Godhead; and that the Word and the Holy Spirit, were but external deno- minations given to God, in confequence of different operations ; that as Creator, he is called Father -, as incarnate. Son ; and as def- pending on the apoftles. Holy Ghofl.
No. n.
BARSANIJNS.
In ecclefiaftical Hiflory, they are defcribed a fed: of Heretics in the fixth century, who followed the errors of the Cainites (before defcribed) and Theodofians ; and were fo called from one Barfinius, their leader. They made their facrifices confift in taking wheat flower on the top of their fingers, and car- rying it to their mouths. They had this Angu- larity,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 275
larity, that they never eat meat with other men, and maintained the Holy Ghoil to be a creature.
No. Ill,
AQUARIANS,
XhEY are a fe6l of Chriftians in the pri- mitive church, who confecrated water in the Eucharift inftead of v/ine, linder pretence of abftinence and temperance ; or becaufe they thought it univerfally unlawful to eat flefh, or drink wine. .
Epiphanius calls them Eucratites, from their abftinence ; St. Auguftine, Aquarians, from their ufe of water ; and Theodoret,
B b 4 who
^^6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
who fays they fprang fromTatian ; Hydropa- raftats, becaufe they offered water inftead of
wine.
Befides thefe, there was another fort of Aquarians, who did not reject the ufe of wine as unlawful ; for they adminiftered the Eu- charifl in wine at evening fervice : but in their morning alTemblies they ufed water, for fear the fmell of wine iliould difcover them to the heathens.
St. Cyprian, who gives a long account of thefe, in one of his epiflles, tells us, it was the cuflom of the church to ufe water mixed with v/ine, becaufe the water reprefents the people, as the wine does the blood of Chrift ; and when both are mixed together in the cup, then Chrift and his people are united. The council of Carthage confirmed this prac- tice 5 and Gennadius affigns two reafons for it ; firft, becaufe it is according to the ex- ample of Chrift ; and fecondly, becaufe, when Our Saviour's fide was pierced with the fpear, there came out water and blood,
The
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 377
The author of the Commentaries on St. Mark, under the name of St. Jerome, gives another reafon for mixing water with wine, namely, that by the one we may be purged from lin, and by the other redeemed from puni/hment. But there is no exprefs com- mand for this j nor is it at all effential to the facrament.
No. IV.
JESUITS.
1 HE Jefuits were anciently called the fo- ciety of Jefus ; they were a mofl famous re- ligious order in the Romifh church, founded by Ignatius Loyola, a native of Spain, who in the year 1538, alTembled ten of his com- panions
37^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
panions at Rome, principally chofen out of the Univerfity of Paris, and made a propofal to them to form a new order ; when, after many deliberations, it was agreed to add to the three ordinary vows of Chaftity, Poverty, and Obedience, a fourth, which w^ls, to go into all countries, whither the Pope fhould pleafe to fend them, in order to make con- verts to the Romifh church. Two years after. Pope Paul III. gave them a bull, by which he approved this new order, giving them a power to make fuch statutes as they fhould judge convenient ^ on which Ignatius was created General of the Order, which in a fhort time fpread over all the countries in the v^^orld, to which Ignatius fent his com- panions, while he ftaid at Rome, from whence he governed the whole fociety.
The entire fociety is compofed of four forts of members ; novices, fcholars, fpiri- tual and temporal coadjutors, and profelTed members. The novices continue fo two years, after which they are admitted to make the three fimple vows of Chaftity, Poverty> and Obedience, in the prefence of their fu- ^ periors :
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 379
periors : the fcholars add fome fpiritual exer- cifes to their ftudies. The principal coadju- tors affifl the profefled members, and alfo make the three fimple vows : The temporal coadjutors, or lay-brothers, take care of the temporal affairs of the fociety : and the pro- feffed members which compofe the body of the fociety, beiides the three fimple vows, add a fpecial vow of obedience to the head of the church, in every thing relating to Mif- fions among idolaters and heretics. They have profefled houfes for their profefTed members, and their coadjutors : Colleges in which the fciences are taught to ftrangers ; and feminaries in which the young Jefuits go through a courfe of theology and philofophy. They are governed by a General, who has four afliflants, and who appoints redtors, fu- perior of houfes, provincials, vilitors, and commifTaries. The difcipline of thefe houfes, and efpecially of the Colleges, was regulated by Ignatius himfelf.
No.
i8o A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. V.
ARIANS,
XhEY are defcribed In Ecclefiaftlcal Hlf- tory as a fed: of Heretics, who followed the opinions of Arius, a Prefbyter of Alexandria, in the time of the prtriarch Alexander. He broached his herefy in the beginning of the fourth century. The Arians denied the three perfons in the Holy Trinity, to be of the fame fubftance j afferted that there was a time when the fon was not ^ that he was created in time, mutable in nature, and like the angels, liable to fin 3 and that being united to human fielh, he fupplied the place of a human foul, and confequently was fub- je6l to fufferings and pain. In their doxolo- gies they afcribed * Glory to the Father, * through the Son, and in the Holy Ghofl.'
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 381
No. VI.
COLARBASIANS.
XHEY were a fed: of Chriftian Heretics In the fecond century, who maintained the whole plenitude and perfedlion of truth and religion to be contained in the Greek alphabet ; and that it was upon this account that Jefus Chrlfl: was called the Alpha and Omega : They rejected the Old Teftament, and re- ceived only a part of St. Luke's gofpel, and ten of St. Paul's epiftles In the New.
No. VII. The Religion of the Savages in Canada,
We are indebted for what we know of the Savages in Canada, to the Baron de Flon-
tan.
582 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
tan,* who refided among them ten years. He tells us, that in fome convcriation with them, which he relates on the fubjed: of re- ligion, he did not always get the better in the difpute ; it is, indeed, furprinng, a Hu- ron fhould ufe all the fubtilty of logic to com- bat the Chriftian religion, and be as perfedl in every trick of the fchools, as if he had fludied Scotus. It has been fufpefted the Baron had a mind to throw a ridicule on the religion he had been brought up in, and has put arguments in the mouth of a favage he dared not make ufe of himfelf. The Baron has given us a very accurate account of their philofophy, laws, manners, and cuftoms, with other anecdotes equally amufing and entertaining, but a recital would lead me fo much out of my way, as probably to lofe light of the fubjed: I am purfuing. I fhall therefore proceed to their philofophy and re- ligion : Firft, All the favages maintain there is a God; his exiftence they prove by the for- mation of the univerfe, which manifefts the Almighty power of its author ', from whence it follows, (fay they) that man is not the
work
* Baron Hontan's Travels*
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 383
work of chance, but of a principal fuperior in wifdom and knowledge, which they call the Great Mind. This Great Mind contains all, appears in all, ad:s in all, and gives mo- tion to all things. In fl:iort, all wc fee, aU we conceive, is this God, who fubiifls with- out bounds, and without body, ought not to be reprefented by any figure whatever, and therefore they adore him in all his works. This is fo true, that when they fee any thing remarkably fine, curious, or furprifing, cfpecially the fun 'and flars, they break out in this exclamation : Oh ! Great Mind, we fee thee every where !
Secondly, They fay the foul is immortal, becaufe, if it were not, all men would be equally happy in this life, for God, being infinitely perfedl and wife, could not have created fome for happinefs, and others for mifery : they maintain that God, for certain reafons, above our comprehenfion, wills, that a certain number of beings fliould fuff.r in this world, that he may recompence them in the next -, and therefore cannot bear to hear Chriflians fay, fuch a one was unhappy,
becaufe
384 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF T»E
becaufe he was killed or burnt ; afTerting that what we call unhappinefs, is only in our own ideas ; becaufe nothing is done, but by the will of this infinitely perfed: Being, whofe condudt can neither be uncertain or capricious.
Thirdly, The Supreme Mind has given men reafon, to enable them to difcern good from evil, and to follow the rules of juftice, equity, and reafon.
Fourthly, Tranquillity of the foul is highly pleafing to the Supreme Mind ; that on the contrary, he detefts the tumult of the paf- fions, which makes men wicked.
Fifthly, Life is a fleep, death an awaken- ing, which gives us intelligence of things vifible and invifible.
Sixthly, The reafon of man, not being ca- pable of lifting itfelf up to the knowledge of* things above the earth; it is needlefs and troublefome to dive into invifible things.
Seventhly, After death, our fouls go into a certain place, in which we cannot tell
whether
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 385
whether the good are happy, or evil un?iap* py : becaufe we know not whether our ideas of happinefs and mifery coincide with thofe of the fupreme Spirit or Mind.
No. VIIL
CERDONIANS, •
They were very ancient Heretics, who
maintained moft of the errors of Simon Ma- gus, Saturnel, and other Gnoflics.
They alTerted two principles, the one good, the other evil ; this laft, according to them, was creator of the world, and the God that appeared under the old law : The firft, whom they called Unknown, was the father of Jefus Chrift, who, they taught was only incarnate in appearance, and was not born of a virgin, nor fuffered death, but in appearance.
C c No.
^86 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. IX.
PRISCILLIANISTS.
XhEY were Chriftian Heretics, fo named from their leader Prifcillian, a Spaniard by birth, and bifhop of Avila. He is faid to have prad:ifed magic, and to have main- tained the principal errors of the Manichees (treated of in the next chapter) : but this pe- culiar tenet was, that it is lawful to take falfe oaths, in order to fupport one's caufe and intereft.
No. X.
MANICHEES.
A Sed of Chriftian Heretics in the third century, and followers of Manes, who
made
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. ^Sj
made his appearance in the reign of the em- peror Probus, pretending to be the com- forter, whom our Saviour promifed to fend into the world. He taught that there are two principles or Gods, co-eternal and inde- pendant on each other, the one the author of all evil, and the other of all good ; a doc- trine which he borrowed from the Perfiaa Magi.
He held that our fouls were made by the good Principle, and our bodies by the evil one, and that the fouls of his followers pafTed through the elements to the moon, and from thence to the fun, where being purified, they then went to God, and became united with his effence ; but as for the fouls of other men, they either went to hell, or were united to other bodies. He alledged that Chriil had his refidence in the Sun, the Holy Ghofl in the air, Wifdom in the Moon, and the Fa- ther in the abyfs of Light. He is alfo charged with denying the refurrediion, and condemning marriage ; with teaching that Chrift was the ferpent that tempted Eve : with forbidding the ufe of eggs, cheefe, milk, C c 2 and
388 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
and wine, as proceeding from the bad prin- ciple : with uling a different kind of baptifm from that of the church : with teaching that magiftrates were not to be obeyed, and with condemning the moil lawful wars.
No. XL
AGNO irES.
A SECT of Heretics that appeared about the year 370. They were the followers of Theophronius, the Cappadocian, and called in queflion the omnifcience of the fupreme Being : alledging, that he knew things paft only by memory, and things future only by a precarious uncertain prefcience. There was likewife another fed: of Heretics, called by the fame name, who maintained that Chrift, with refped: to his human nature, was ignorant of many things, and particularly of the day of Judgment.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 389
No. XII.
INDEPENDENTS.
A Se(fl of Proteftants in England and Hol- land, fo called from their independency on other churches, and their maintaining that each church or congregation has fufficient power to adl and perform every thing relating to re- ligious government within itfelf, and is no way fubjed: or accountable to other churches or their deputies. The prefent Independents differ from the Prefbyterians only, in their church government, in being generally more attached to the docftrines diflinguifhed by the term orthodoxv, &c. and in adminiftrino: the Lord's Supper at the clofe of the afternoon's fervice. The feveral fedts of Baptifts are all independents with refped to Church govern- ment.
C c 7 No.
390 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THB
No. XIII.
BARULES.
We find thefe people In Ecclefiaftical Hif- tory reprefented as a fet of Heretics, who held that the fon of God had only the phan- tom of a body ; that louls were created be- fore the world, and that they lived all at one time, with many other abfurdities equally grofs and impious.
No. XIV. BASILIDIANS.
They v/ere a tribe of diftinguiihed Here- tics, about the fecond century, they had a leader named Bafilides^, a difciple of Menan-
der.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 39!
der. He flourifhed in Egypt about the year 112, and there chiefly propogated his He- refy.
BaliHdes, in the creation of things, ad- mitted a certain fucceffive fcale, in which each Hnk of beings created the fucceeding ; and were themfelves created by the pre- ceding ; and confequently that one being only, owed its exiftence to God. He alfo taught that there were 365 heavens, between the earth and the Empyrean ; and that each of thefe heavens had a moving and creating angel affigned to it : which angel was itfelf created by the next angel above him.
With regard to the Chriftiari religion, Ba- filides taught that Chrifl did not really fuffer upon the crofs ; btit that Simon the Cy- renean, was fubftituted in his room : that the promifcous copulation of men and women was lawful : that a Chriilian may renounce the faith to avoid martyrdom ; and that the >
foul alone is to be faved, and the body never to rife from its ftate of corruption.
C c 4 No.
392 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XV,
PAULIONISrS.
The Paulionifts, in Church hiftory, were a fed; of Chriftian Heretics of the third cen- tury, difciples of Paul Samofatenfis, bifhop of Antioch, who denied ChrilVs divinity, maintaining that we call him the fon of God, we do not thereby mean that he is really and truly God ; but only that he was fo perfed: a man, and fo fuperior in virtue to all others, that he has this name given him by way of eminence. The Paulionifts continued to the fifth century, notwithflanding the prohibition of the emperor Conftantine the Great, who forbade them, and otherHeretics to hold pub-* lie ailemblies.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 393
No. XVI,
MASSALIANS,
J HE MaiTalians were a fet of Enthufiafts, who fprang up about the year 361, in the reign of the emperor Conftantius, who main- tained that rnen had two fouls, a celeftial, and a diabolical one, and that the latter is driven out by prayer. They pretended to prophecy, and affirmed that they could fee the Trinity with their corporeal eyes -, and believed that the holy Ghoft defcended viiibly upon them, efpecially at the time of their ordination, when they trod the devil under foot, and danced upon him.
No.
394 ^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XVJI,
yOACHIMITES.
1 HEY were the difciples of Joachim, a Ciftercian Monk, who was an abbot of Flora, in Calabria, and a great pretender to infpiration. The Joachimites were particu- larly fond of certain ternaries -, the father, they faid, operated from the beginning, till the coming of the fon ; the fon, from that time to theirs, which was the year 1260, and from that time, the Holy Spirit was to operate in his turn. They alfo divided every thing relating to men, to dodrine, and the manner of living, into three dalles, accord- ing to the three perfons in the Trinity : the firft ternary was that of men ; of whom the firft clafs was that of married men,, which
had
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 395
had lafted during the whole period of the Father; the fecond was that of Clerks, which had lafted during the time of the Son ; and the lafl; was that of the Monks, in which there was to be an uncommon effufion of grace by the Holy Spirit : the fecond ter- nary was that of dodlrine, viz. the Old Tef- tament, the New, and the everlafling Gof- pel ; the firfl they afcribed to the Father, the fecond to the Son, and the third to the Holy Spirit : a third ternary confiiled in the manner of living, viz. under the Father, men lived according to the flefh ; under the fon, they lived according to the flefli and the fpirit ; and under the Holy Ghofl, they were to live according to the fpirit only.
No.
396 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. xviir.
MARC 10 NITE S,
Christian Heretics, in the fecond cen- tury, thus denominated from their leader Marcion, who maintained, that there were two principles or Gods, a good and a bad one Origen affirms, that he held there was a God of the Jews, a God of the Chriftians, and a God of the Gentiles. It is faid, that he denied the refurredion of the body, con- demned marriage, and taught that Our Sa- viour, when he defcended into Hell, dif- charged Cain, the Sodomites, and other im- pious wretches out of that place of torment. He rejeded all the Old Teftament, and re- ceived only part of St. Luke's Gofpel, and ten of St. Paul's epiftles in the New.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 397
No. XIX.
PELAGIANS,
A Chriftlan Sed, who appeared about the latter end of the fourth century, or the be- ginning of the fifth.
Pelagius, the author of this fed, was born in Wales, and his name was Morgan, which in the Welch language lignifies fea- borriy from whence he had his Latin name Pelagius. Some of our ancient hiHorians pretend that he was abbot of Bangor ; but this is impofiible, becaufe the Britifh mo- nafteries were of a later date. St. Auftin gives him the character of a very pious man, and a Chriftian of no vulgar rank : according to the fame father, he travelled to Rome, where
he
398 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
he afTocIated himfelf with perfons of the greatefl learning and figure ; and wrote his Commentaries on St. Paul's epiftles, and his letters to Melania and Demetrias -, but be- ing charged with Herefy, he left Rome, and went to Africa, and from thence to Jerufa- lem, where he fettled. He died fomewhere in the Eail:, but where is uncertain. He was charged with maintaining the following dodlrines :
Firft, That Adam was by nature mortal, and whether he had linned or not, would certainly have died.
Seconaly, That the confequences ofAdam's fill were confined to his own perfon.
Thirdly, That new-born infants are in the fame condition with Adam before the fall.
Fourthly, That the law qualified men for the kingdom of heaven, and was founded upon equal promifes with the gofpel.
Fifthly, That the general refurreftion of the dead, does not follow in virtue of Our Saviour's refurrediion.
Sixthly,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 399
Sixthly, That the Grace of God is given according to our merits.
Seventhly, That this grace is not granted for the performance of every moral ad: -, the liberty of the will, and information in points of duty, being fufficient, &c.
I^elagius's fentiments were condemned by fevetsA councils in Africa, and by a fynod at Antioch.
No. XX.
«p
SEMI^PELAGIANS.
THEREwasafedlofthefe latter Chrifti- ans, who with the Orthodox, allowed of ori- ginal fin, but denied that the liberty of the will could be fo far impaired thereby, that men could not of themfelves do fomething 5 which
400
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
which might induce God to afford his grace to one more than another : and as to eledlion, they held, that it depended on our perfeve- rance : God chufing only fuch to eternal life, as continued fledfaft in the faith.
No. XXI.
ENERGUMENS.
1 HEY were perfons fuppofed to be pof- feiTed by the devil, concerning whom there were many regulations among the primitive Chriftians.
They were denied baptifm, and the Eu- Gharift ; at leafl this was the practice of fome churches : and though they were under the care of Exorcifts, yet it was thought a be- coming adl of Charity, to let them have the
public prayers of the church, at which they were permitted to be prefent.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION, 4©!
No. XXII.
MELCHIZEDECHIANS.
They are reported to be a fed which arofe about the beginning of the third cen- tury, and affirmed that Melchifedech was not a man, but a heavenly power, fuperior to Jefus Chrift 3 for Melchifedech they faid, was the interceflbr and mediator of the an- gels j but Jefus Chrift was i^o only for men, and his priefthood only a copy of that Melchifedtch. This herefy was revived in Egypt, by one Hierax, who pretended that Melchifedech was the Holy Ghoft.
D d No.
402 A St)CCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXIIL
BERENGARIANS.
A Religious fedl of the eleventh century, which adhered to the opinion of Berengarius, who, even in thofe days, ftrenuoufly aflerted, that the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper, is not really and effentially, but only figura- tively changed into the body and blood of Chrilt. ' ■
His followers were divided in opinion, as to the Eucharift : they all agreed, that the elements are not ellentially changed in effed:: others admitted a change in part, and others an entin; change, with this reftridion, that to thofe who communicated unworthily, the elements were changed back again.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN REtlGlON 4O3
No. XXIV.
ARMINIANS.
A Se(5l of Chriftians, that arofe in Holland, by a reparation from the Calvinifts. They are great afferters of free will, and fpeak very ambiguoufly of the prefcience of God. They look on the docflrine of the Trinity as a point not neceflary to falvation ; and many of them hold, that there is no precept in Scrip- ture, which enjoins us to adore the Holy Ghoft; and that the Son is not equal to the Father.
No. XXV*
ARrorrRirEs.
A Se(5l in the Primitive Church, who ufed
bread and cheefe in celebrating the Eucharift.
D d 2 They
404
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
They were a branch of the Montanifts, and appeared in the fecond century. They ad- mitted women into the priefthood and Epif- copacy j and Epiphanius tells us, that it was a common thing to fee a body of feven girls enter their church, drelTed in white, and each carrying a torch in her hand, where they wept, and bewailed the wretchednefs of human nature.
No. XXVI,
EUNUCHS. A Seel of Heretics in the third century, who were mad enough to caftrate not only thofe of their own perfualion, but even all others that they could lay hold of: they took
3 their
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION, 405
their rife from the example of Origen, who" (mifunderftanding the following words of Our Saviour ~" And Eunuchs, who made " themfelves Eunuchs for the kingdom of ** heaven,") caftrated himfelf.
No. XXVII.
MEN NO N ITES.
XhEY are a Sed of baptifts in Holland, from their leader Mennon Simonis of Friez- land, who lived in the lixteenth century. This fc(5t believe that the New Teftament is the only rule of faith ; that the terms Perfon and Trinity, are not to be ufed in fpeaking ©f the Father, Son, and Holy Ghofl ; that D d 3 the
AOS A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
the firft man was not created perfed: ; that it is unlawful to fwear, or to wage war upon any cccalion ; that infants are not the proper fubjeds of baptifm : and that minifters of the gofpel ought to receive no falary.
No. XXVIIL
ANrnAcrEs.
A. Name given to a branch of the Gnoftics (treated of before), who held that God was good and juft; but that a creature had cre- ated evil : that we are therefore to oppofe this author of evil, in order to avenge God of his enemy.
No,
DIFFERENT SECTS I.N RELIGION. 4O7
No. XXIX.
ARNOLD isrs,
A Se(fl of Separatifts, fo called from their leader Arnold of BrefTe, a great declaimer againft the wealth and vices of the clergy. He is alfo charged with preaching againfl baptifm and the Eucharift.
No. XXX.
PAULICIANS,
Christian Heretics of the feventh century, difciples of one Conflantine, a native Dd4 of
408 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
of Armenia, and a favourer of the errors of Manes -, who, as the name of Manichees was become odious to all nations, gave thofe of his fed: the title of Paulicians, on pretence that they followed only the dodtrine of St. Paul. One of their moft deteftable maxims was, not to give alms to the poor, that they might not contribute to the fupport of crea- tures, who were the works of the bad God.*
No. XXXI.
BETHLEHEMITES.
They are a religious order of men, and dillinguifhed by a red ftar with five rays, which they wore on their breaft, in memory of the flar that appeared to the wife men,
and
* See Manichees, befora treated of.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 409
and conduced them to Bethlehem. There is another order of Bethlehemites ftill fubfifl- ing in the Spanifh Weft Indies, who are ha- bited like Capuchins, with this difference, that they wear a leather girdle, inftead of a cord, and on their right fide an efcutcheon reprefenting the nativity of Our Saviour.
No. XXXII.
UBI^UITARIANS,
A Sed of Heretics, fo called, becaufe they maintained that the body of Jefus Chrift is nbique, every where, or in every place.
Brentius, one of the early reformers, is faid to have firft broached this error in Ger- many, about the year 1560.
Melanch-
^lO A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
Melanchton immediately declared againll it, as introducing a kind of confufion in the two natures of Jefus Chrift. On the other hand, it was efpoufed by Flacius, Illyricus, Ofiander, and others. The univerfities of Leipfic, and Wirtemberg in vain oppofed this herefy, which gained ground daily. Six of their leaders, namely, Smidelin, Sclnec- cer, Mufculus, Chemnitius, Chytraeus and Cornerus, havmg a meeting in 1577, in the monaflery of Berg, compofed a kind of creed, or formulary of faith, in which the ubiquity of Chrifl's body was the leading article^ However, the Ubiquitarians were not quite agreed among themfcives ; fome holding, that Jefus Chrill, even during his mortal life, was every where j and others, dating the ubiquity of his body from the time of his afcenlion only.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION, 4I I
No. XXXIII.
EUNO MIANS.
Christian Heretics in the fourth cen- tury ; they were a branch of Arians {men- tioned before-) and took their name from Eu- nomius bifhop of Cyzicus, who was inftruc- ted by iEtius, in the points which were then controverted in the church, after having at firft followed the profeffion of arms. Eu- nomius fo well anfwered the defigns of his mafter, and declaimed fo vehemently againft the divinity of the word, that the people had recourfe to the authority of the Prince, and had him baniHied : but the Arians obtained his recall, and ele(5led him bifhop of Cyzicus.
The manners and doctrines of the Euno- mians were the fame with thofe of the Arians.
No.
4ia A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XXXIV.
MO NO THELITES.
J. HEY were a fed: of Chriftians in the feventh century, fo called from their main- taining that, though there were two natures in Jefus Chrift, the Human and Divine, there was but one Will, which was the Di- vine.
No. XX ^^V.
BORRELLISTS.
iHEY are a Chriftian fed in Holland; they are a kind of Anabaptifts -, but they
have
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. .^l^
have fome very particular opinions. They rejed: the ufe of churches, of the facraments, pubHc prayer, and all other external ad:s of worfhip. They affert, that all the Chriftian churches of the world have degenerated from the pure apoflolical doctrines, becaufe they have fuifered the w^ord of God, which is in- fallible, to be expounded, or rather cor- rupted by dodlors, who are not infallible. They lead a very auftere life, and employ a great part of their goods in alms.
No. XXXVI.
MILLENARIANS,
1 HIS is a name given to thofe, who, in the primitive ages, believed that the faints will one day reign on earth with Chrift, a
thoufand
^I^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF TH£
thoufand years ; the Millenarians held> that after the coming of Antichrifl, and the de- ftrud:ion of all nations, which fhall follow, there fhall be a firft refurredtion of the juft alone : that all who fliall be found upon earth, both good and bad, fhall continue alive : the good to obey the juft, who are rifen as their princes : the bad to be con- quered by the jufl, and to be fubjecft to them: That Jefus Chrifl will then defcend from heaven in his glory : that the city of Jerufa- lem will be rebuilt, enlarged, embellifhed, and its gates fland open night and day.
They applied to this new Jerufalem, what is faid in the Apocalypfe, chapter xxi. and to the temple all that is written in Ezekiel xxxvi. Here they pretended that Jefus Chrifl will fix the feat of his empire, and reign a thoufand years with the faints, patriarchs, and prophets, who will enjoy perfed: and un- interrupted felicity.
This reign of Our Saviour on earth is ufu- ally fliled the Millenium, or reign of a thou- fand years.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 41^
No. XXXVIL
NOVATIONS.
The were a Chriftian Se<5l which fprang up in the third century, fo called from Novatian, a prieft of Rome, or Novatus, an African bifhop, who feparated from the communion of Pope Cornelius, whom Novatian charged with a criminal lenity towards thofe who had apoftatized during the perfecution of Decius. He denied the church's power of remitting mortal lins upon the offenders repentance : and at lafl went fo far as to deny, that the apoftles could ever hope for pardon, even from God himfelf. Novatus coming to Rome, joined with the followers of Nova- tian, and added to thefe rip-id dodlrines another, which was the unlawful nefs of fe-
cond.
4^6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
cond marriages, againft which, this became as fevere as againft Apoftates : denying com- munion to fuch as married a fecond time after baptifm, and treating widows, who married again as adulterefles. The two leaders were profcribed and declared Heretics, not for excluding penitents from communion, but for denying that the church had the power of remitting fins.
No. XXXVIII.
EUrrCHIANS.
In the Hiftory of the Primitive Churches, they are ftiled Heretics, v/ho prevailed in the fifth century, and who embraced the errors of the monk Eutyches, maintaining that there was only one nature in Chrift. The Divine Nature, according to them, had fo
entirely
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 417
entirely fwallo wed up the Human, that the latter could not be diflinguifhed; infomuch that Jefus was merely God, and had nothing of humanity but the appearance. This He- refy was condemned in a council held at Con- ftantinople in 448, which fentence was con- , firmed by the general council of Chalcedpn in 451.
No. XXXIX.
MUGGLETONIANS,
IHEY were a religious fe(5t which arofe in England about the year 1657, fo denomi- nated from their leader Lodowick Muggle- ton, a journeyman Taylor, who with his af- fociate Reeves, fet up for great prophets, pretending, as it is faid, of having an abfo- lute power of faving and damning whom they pleafed : and giving out, that they were the two laft witnefTes of God, that {hould appear before the end of the world,
E e No.
4l8 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XL.
PHOriNIANS,
A Sedt of Chriftians in the fourth century fo called from Photinus, their chief, who was biihop of Sirmich, and maintained that Jefus Chrifl: was true man, but not true God, not born before ail ages -, and that he only began to be Chrift, when the Holy Spirit defcended upon him in the river Jor- dan. Thefe doctrines w^ere condemned in feveral ailemblies and particularly by the Arians, in a fynod held at Sirmicfi, in the year 351.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION; 419
No. XLI.
SA MPSEAN S.
XHEY were a very ancient fe6t, who wefe properly neither Jews, Chfiftians, nor Gen- tiles, though they took their name from the Hebrew word Semes, Sun ; as though they worfhipped that planet. They acknow- ledged only one God ; wafhed themfclves often ; and in almoft every thing attached themfelves to the religion of the Jews* Many among them, abftained wholly from eating of flefh. Scaliger will have the Samp- feans to be the fame with the ElTeni, and indeed the Sampfeans, EfTeni, Aicefaites, and MafTalians, appear to be no more than fo many different names for the fame fe(5t.
No.
20 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XLII.
NESrORIANS.
XHEY were a Chriftian fed, the follow- ers of Neftorius, ths billiop and patriarch of Conftantinople, who about the year 429, taught that there were two perfons in Jefus Chrift, the Divine, and the Human, which are united not hypoilatically, or fubfbantially, but in a, myftical manner, whence he con- cluded, that Mary, was the mother of Chrifc, and not the mother of God. For this opi- nion Neftorius was condemned and depoled by the council of Ephefus ; and the decree of this council was confirmed by the em- peror Theodoiius, who banilhed the bifhop to a monaflery.
Thofe Chriflians, \yho at this' day are called Neftorians and Chaldeans, are very
numerous,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 421
numerous, and are fpread over Mefopotamia, and along the river Tigris and Euphrates : thev are even got into the Indies, and into Tartary and China. Thofe of India fettled there, under a Neflorian prieft called John, who, in the year 1145, got hinrifelf declared king of Indoflan, and grew very fmous, under the name of Preflon John. The Nef- torians, though they fpeak the language of the refpective countries, only officiate in the Chaldee or Syriac tongue. The Neftoriaii monks are habited in a black gown/ tied with a leathern girdle, and wear a blue turban. The nuns are dreffed much after the fame manner, excepting that they tie a kind of black veil about their heads, and about their chins. They mufc be forty years old before they take the monaflic habit.
E e t No.
422 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF TliE
No. XLIIL
BRACHMAN S.
1 HEY are a fe(5l of Indian philofophers, known to the ancient Greeks by the name of Gymnofophiils. The ancient Brachmans lived upon herbs and pulfe, and abftained from every thing that had \i{q in it. They lived in folitude, without matrimony, and without property j and they wiAed ardently for death, confidering life only as a burthen. The modern Brachmans make up one of the tribes of the Banians, (treated of in a former part of this work) They are the prieils of that people, and perform their office of pray- ing and reading the law, with feveral mimical geilures and quavering voice. They believe, that in the beginning, nothing but God and
the
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 4^3
the water exifted ; and that the Supreme B-Ing, delirous to create the world, caufed the leaf of a tree, in the (hape of a child p!aving with its t;reat toe in its mouth, to float in the water : from its navel there iiTued out a flower, whence Brama drew his original, who was entrufl:ed by <jod with the creation of the world, and prelides over it vith an ab- folute fway. They make no diftinition be- tween the fouls of men and brutes, but fay the dignity of the human foul conflfts in be- ing placed in a better body, and having more room to difplay its faculties. They allow of rewards and puniihments after this life : and have fo great a veneration for cows, that they look on themfelves as blefled, if they can but die v/ith the tail of one in their hand. They have preferved fome noble fragments of the knowledge of the ancient Brachmans, They are fliilful arithmeticians, and calcu- late with great exacftnefs, eclipfes of the fun and moon. They are remarkable for their religious aufterity. One of them has been known to make a vov/ to wear about his neck a heavy collar of iron, for a confiderable time: another, to chain himfelf by the foot to a E e 4 tree,
424 -^ SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
tree, with a firm refolution to die in that place ; and another to walk in wooden fhoes ftuck full of nails in the infide. Their di- vine worfhip confifls chiefly of proceffions, made in honour of their deities. They have a college at Banara, a city feated on the Ganges.
No. XLIV.
BOURIGNONISrs.
The name of a fed among the Low Coun* try Proteftants, being fuch as follow the doc- trine of Antoinette Bourignon, a native of Lifle, and apellate of the Roman Cathohc li^ion.
The
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
The principles of this fed bear a very near refemblance with thofe of the Quietifls, Quakers, or Fanatics.
They condud: themfelves by pretended re- velations.
425
No. XLV.
ETHNOPHRONES,
In Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, they are defcribed as Heretics of the feventh century, who pro- feffing Chriftianity, joined thereto all the ceremonies and abfurdities of Paganifm, fach as judicial aftrology, divinations of all kinds, &;c. And who obferved all the fealls, times, and feafons of the Gentiles, who in matters of religion, were Pagans, or worfhippers of falfe gods or idols, they were neither Jews or Chriftians, but followed the fuperftitions of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, &c.
Nq.
4^
26 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XLVI.
HERACLEONirES.
A Se<fi; of Chriftians, the followers of He- racleon, who refined upon the Gnoftic di- vinity, and maintained that the world was not the immediate production of the Son of God, but that he was only the occafional caufe of its being created by the Demiurgus. The Heracleonites denied the authority of the prophefies of the Old Teftament, main- tain ng thit they were mere random founds in the air ; and that St. John the Baptiil was the only true voice that dire(fted to the Mef- fiah.
No,
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION,
No. XLVir.
427
BROWNISrS.
We are told in Ecclefiaftlcal Kiilory, that they were a religious fe(5l that fprang up in Encjland towards the end of the fixteenth cen- tury. Their leader was one Robert Brown, a native of Northampton. They feparated from the eftablifhed church, on account of its difcipline and form of government. They equally difliked Epifcopacy and Prefbyteri- anifm. They condemned the folemn cele- bration of marriages in churches, maintain- ing that matrimony, being a political contra(ft, the confirmation of it ought to proceed from the civil magiftrate. They rejed:ed all forms of prayer, and held that the Lord's prayer was not to be recited as a prayer, being given only as a model, upon which to form our prayers.
No.
^28 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. XLVIII.
BULGARIANS,
These were a fed: of Heretics, who among other errors, held that men ought to believe no Scripture but the New Teftament -, that baptifm was not neceflary to infants ; that hufbands that converfed with their wives could not be faved : and that an oath was ab- folutely unlawful.
No. XLIX.
HIERACITES,
We read in Church Hiftory of a fed: of Chriftian Heretics in the third century, un- der that name, and fuppofed to be fo called
from
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 429
from their leader Hierax, a philofopher of Egypt : who taught that Melchifedech was the Holy Ghoft, denied the refurred:ion, and condemned marriage : he likewife held that no one could be faved, who died before he arrived at years of difcretion.
The difciples of Hierax taught that the Word, or Son of God, was contained in the Father, as a little vefTel is contained in a great one.
No. L.
HUGUENOTS.
It was originally, as appears, a name given by way of contempt to the Calvinifts of France.
The
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
The name had its rife in the year 1 560, but authors are not agreed, as to its origin. The moft plaulible opinion, however, is that of Pafquier, who obferves, that at Tours, the place where they were firft thus denominated, the people had a notion, that an apparition, or hobgoblin, called King Hu- gon, ftrolled about the ilreets in the night time ; from whence, as thofe of the reformed religion met chiefly in the night to pray, &c. they called them Huguenots, that is, the difciples of King Hugon.
HHHflWlnw
No. LI.
BARALorrs.
A Sedt of Heretics at Bologna, in Italy, among whom all things, even their wives aiid children, v/ere in common. They were alio called Obedientes, or Compilers, becaufe they readily complied with every thing that tended to promote debauchery.
6 No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 43I
No. LII.
BE G HAR D I,
They were a certain fed: of Heretics which arofe in Germany, and the Low Coun- tries, about the end of the thirteenth cen- tury, They made profeflion of monaftical life, without obferving cehbacy -, and main- tained (if they are not fcandahzed by the Monks) that man could become as perfed: in this life, as he fliall be in heaven : that every intellediual nature, is of itfelf happy, with- out the fuccour of grace ; and that he, who is in this ftate of perfection ought to perform no good works, nor worfhip the hoft.
THE
432 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
' THE FOLLOWING
ARE SOME OF THE MOST PREVAILING
SECTS IN RELIGION
In EUROPE among the MODERNS :
THE WHOLE CONCLUDING
With the Eflabliflied Religion of this Nation.
SECTION V.
No. I.
METRO D I Sr S.
XHEY, though of modern date, like the Fanatics of old, are compofed of wild en- thufiaflic vifionary perfons, who pretend to revelation and infpiration, and a divine im- palfe from heaven.
There
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION 433
There is a degree of alTent (fays Mr* Locke) which, with fome men, has the fame authority as either Faith or Reafon, and that is Enthuliafrn ; which by laying afide Rea- fon, would fet up Revelation without it ; whereby, in effed:, it takes away both Rea- fon and Revelation, and fubftitutes, in the room of it, the ungrounded fancies of a man's own brain, and afTumes them for a founda- tion, both of opinion and condudl:. They pretend to be enlightened, but it is generally, I fear, with that light, which (as an inge- nious author obferves) fhines through a crack in the fkull. They likewife pretend to more fandity and purity of life, than falls to the fhare of other men. Immediate revefation being a much ealier way for men to eftablifh their opinions, and regulate their conduct by, than the tedious labour of flrid reafoning -, it is no wonder that fome have been very apt to pretend to it, efpecially in fuch of their opinions and adions as they cannot account for, by the ordinary methods of knowledge, and principles of reafon. Hence we fee that in all ages, men, in whom melancholy has mixed with devotion, or whofe conceit of F f themfelves
434
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
themfelves has raifed them into an opinion of greater familiarity with God, than is al- lowed others ; have often flattertid themfelves with the perfuafion of an imn:iediate inter- Gourfe with the Deity, and frequent commu- nications from the divine fpirit.*
They go about preaching, fin^png hymns in tabernacles, in the fields, hig^hways, and private houfes, they increafe d.iily to an alarming degree in this country. They main- tain that impious and pernicious dod:rine, contrary to what is laid down by Our Sa- viour and his Holy Apoftles, that nothing more than Faith alone is neceffary to Sal- vation, which may prove a fatal rrdftake to their deluded and mifguided followers, and of the moft ferious confequence to their eter- nal happinefs, if we believe the Scriptures, particularly that part where St. Paul faySj-f- * What doeth it profit, though a man fay he hath Faith, and hath not Works, can Faith fave him ?' And again, * Even fo. Faith, if it hath not Works, is dead, being alone.' And again, * But wilt thou know,
O vain
* Locke on Human Underftandlng. f St. James, chap. it.
DlFPfeftENt SECTS t5j REIIGIOM. 43J;
0 vain man, that Faith, without Works, is dead : By Works a man is juflified, and not by Faith only.' And laftly, * For as the Body, without the Spirit, is deadj fo Faith, without Works, is dead alfoZ
This iingle refutation alone, from the Holy Scripture, is, one would -think, fuf- ficient to explode fuch pernicious dodlrine.
Though after all, the dod:rine laid down by the Methodifts, however abfurd or repug- nant to Scripture, is far from novel ; the fentiments and opinions of the Aetians, (treated of in Sedion II, No. XX. of this work) in the reign of Conftantius, in the year 336, exadly correfpond with this fe^ in the principal tenets*
P£i No.
^^6 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
No. II.
ROMAN CATHOLICS.
The Roman church diftinguilTies itfelf now by the name of CathoHc, in oppofition to all thofe who have feparated from her com- munion, and whom (he confiders as only Heretics and Schifmatics, and herfelf only as the true Chrillian Church. The cele- bration of mals in the church of Rome, con- lifts in the office or prayers ufed in the Eu- charift, or in other words, confecrating the bread and wine, into the body and blood of Chrift, and oifering them fo tranfubftanti- ated, as an expiatory facrifice for the quick and the dead.
As the mafs is in general believed to be a
reprefentahon of the paffion of our bleffed Sa-
c viour.
* DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 437
viour, fo every a6tion of the prieft, and ^vtry particular part of the fervice, is fuppofed to allude to the particular circumftances of his death and paffion. Among the many abfur- dities abounding in the Romifli church, In- dulgences is not one of the leaft j they confifh in a remiffion of the punifhment due to fins, granted by the church, and fuppofed to fave the finner from Purgatory. Clement VI. in his decretal, which is generally received by the church of R^ome, declares, that our Sa- viour has left an infinite treafure of merits, arifing from his own fufFerings, befides thofe of the bleffed virgin, and the faints : and that the paftors and guides of the church, and more efpecially the Popes, who are the fovereign difpofers of this treafure, have au- thority to apply it to the living, by virtue of the keys, and to the dead, by way of fuf- frage, to difcharge them from their refpec- tive proportions of punifhment, by taking juft fo much merit out of this general trea- fure, as they conceive the debt requires, and offering it to God. It was the great abufe of indulgences that contributed not a little to the firfl reformation of religion in Germany, F f 3 where
438 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE ^
where Martin Luther began firft to declaim againft the preachers of indulgences, and af- terwards againfl indulgences thcmfelves : for iince that time, the Popes have been more fparing in the exercife of this power : how- ever, they ftill carry on a great trade with them in the Indies^ where they are purchafed at two reals a piece, and fometimes more. The divines, both in the Romilh and Lu- theran Churches maintain, that after confe^ cratioriy the body and blood of Chrift Our Saviour, are fubftantialiy prefent, together with the fubflance of the bread and wine \ this is called tranfubftantiation, which is a main point in the Romifh religion, and is reje(5led by all Proteftants, the former main- taining the tranfubilantiation to be real, the latter only figurative 3 interpreting the text Hoc ell corpus meum j * This fignifies my * body,' but the council of Trent flood up ilrenuouily for the literal {^x\i^ of the verb efty and fay exprefsly, that in Tranfubftanti- ation, the body and blood of Our Lord Jefus Chrift, are truly, really, and fubftantialiy under the fpecies of bread and wine. The controverfies about this point have been al-? moft innumerable.
No.
* Vide Jefuits, page 377*
DIFFERJXNT SECTS IN RELIGION.
439
No. III.
DISSENTERS,
They are leparatifls from the fervice and worfliip of the Church of England. They are a fed: of Proteflants, and fliled Prefby- terians, from, their maintaining that the go- vernment of the church, appointed in the New Teftament, was by Prefbyteries, that is, by minirters and ruling elders, affociated for its government anddifcipline. The Pro- teftant DifTenters differ in a fmall degree from the Anabaptifts (in England) except in the article of Infant baptifm ; as may be feen in a confeflion of faith, publifhed in the year 1689, by the reprefentatives of their con- gregation.
Ff4 In
440
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
In refped: to their dodrine, they are ge- nerally reputed to be Orthodox^ in the faith; and m-eil foreign Proteflants,' except fome few of the Lutherans, agree with them.
No. IV.
* DEISTS,]
■ ^ I
In the modern fenfe of the word, are thofe perfons, in Chriftian Countries, who ac- knowledging all the obligations and duties of natural religion, difbelieve the Chriftian
fcheme, or revealed religion. They are
ililed
* Thefe are a fe£l too numerous I fear, and refleil difgracc and re- proach on human underftanding, in this refined and enlightened age, and filling only thole dark times of ignorance and fuperftition ; we Ihould therefore pray to God to deliver them from all falfe doftrine hereA, and fchilm, from hardnefs cf heart, and cont/;mpt of his word and commandment : and that it would gracioufly plejife him to britig into the way of truth, all fuch as thefe^ who have eyred and are de- ceived.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 4^1
ftiled Deifts, from their belief in God alone, in oppolition to Chriilians. The learned and ingenious Dr. Clarke has very ably explained the fentiments of thefe kind of people, and I cannot do better, than in giving them to my readers in his own words ; to take the deno- mination, fays the learned Dod:or, in the moft extenfive iignification, I iliall diftinguifh Deifts into four parts.
Firfl:, fuch as pretend to believe the ex- igence of an eternal, infinite, independent, intelligent being, and who teach that this fu- preme being made the world, though they fancy he does not at all concern himfelf in the management of it. Secondly, Thofe > who believe not only the Being, but alfo the providence of God, with refped: to the na- tural world, but who not allowing any dif- ference between moral good and evil, deny that God takes any notice of the morally good or evil actions of men ; thefe things depending, as they imagine, on the arbitrary conftitutions of human laws. ThirdJy, Thofe who having right apprehenlions concerning the natural attributes of God, and his All- governing
44« A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
governing Providence, and fome notion of his moral perfedlions alfo : yet being preju-- diced againft the notion of the immortahty of the human foul, believe that men perifh entirely at death, and that one generation Ihall perpetually fucceed another, without any future refloration or renovation of things. Fourthly, Such as believe the exiftence of a fupreme Being, together with his provi- dence, in the government of the world, as alfo the obligations of natural religion ; but fo far only as thefe things are difcoverable by the mere light of nature alone, without be- lieving any divine revelation. Thefe lafl are the only true Deifts, fays the Doctor ; but as the principles of thefe men would natural- ly lead them to embrace the chriftian revela- tion, the learned author concludes there is now no coaiiflent fcheme of Deifm in the world.
No.
PIFFERENT SECTS JN RELIGION.
443
No. V.
JEWS.
The Jews are one of the moft ancient bo- dies of people now exifting, who profefs obe- dience to the laws and religion of Mofes ; before whom every man wurfhipped God ac- cording to the inclination of his own heart. How far the religious ceremonies of thejews were copied from thofe of the Egyptians, among whom they had fo long fojourned; or how far they were typical of fomeching fu- ture, are queflions I leave to be difcufled by fome learned divines. But as to the religion of the modern Jews, it is a manifeft abfur- dity; fmce being without a temple, facri- fices, &c. it cannot be confidered as fubfiH- jng any longer.
The
444
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
The religion of the Jews is fuppofed to be full of myfteries. The whole nation, ac- cording to St. Auguflin, was a myftery, as it reprefented, or was a type of the people of Chrift, and the Chriftian religion. Whatever was commanded or forbidden them was figu- rative, and their facrifices, priefthood, &c. included myfteries. The prophecies con- cerning Jefus Chrift, in the Jewifh books, are likewife figurative and myfterious.
The modern, as well as the ancient Jews, are very fuperftitious in the obfervance of the fabbath , they carry neither arms, nor gold, nor filver about them ; and are per- mitted neither to touch thefe, nor a candle, nor any thing belonging to the fire j on which account they light up lamps on Friday, which burn till the end of the fabbath.
In refpe6t to facrifices, the ancient Jews had two forts, taking the word in its largefi; fignification : the firft were offerings of tythes, firft fruits, cakes, wine, oil, honey, and the like : and the laft offerings of flaugh- tered animals. When an Ifraelite offered a
loaf
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 44j;
loaf, era cake, the prieft broke it in two parts, and fetting afide that half which he referved for himfelf, broke the other into crumbs, poured oil, wine, incenfe, and fait upon it, and fpread the whole upon the fire of the altar. If thefe offerings were accom- panied with the facriiice of an animal, they were thrown upon the vid:im, to be con- fumed along with it. If the offerings were of the ears of new corn, they were parched at the fire, rubbed in the hand, and then offered to the priefl in a veflel, over which he poured oil, incenfe, wine, and fait, and then burnt it upon the altar, having iirfl taken as much of it as of right belonged to himfelf.
There is likewife a ceremony of the Jews obferved on the Sabbath, in the evening, when every one of the family is come home. At that time they light a taper, or lamp, with two wicks at leafl -, the mafler of the family then takes a cup, with fome wine, mixed with fragrant fpices ; and after having repeated a paifage or two of Scripture ; as for example, * I will take the cup of falva-
tion.
jaS a succinct ACCOUNt OF TttE
tlon, &c.' Pfaltn cxvi. and, * The Jews had light and gladnefs, &c.* Efther viii. He • • blelTes the wine and fpices : afterwards he
blefles the liiirht of the fire, and then calls his eyes on his hands and nails, as remem* bering that he is going to work. The whole is intended t^ figmfyy that the Sabbath is over, and is from that moment divided from the day of labour which follows*
The Jews were formerly ftiled Hebrews or Ifraelites ; they took this name at theif return from the captivity of Babylon, and have retained it ever fmce, it coming from Judah, which was the only tribe that made any conliderable figure at that time among them : their oeconomy, both civil and mili- tary, and alfo their religious cuftcms, is much of it related in the Old Teflament, (to which the reader may refer.) I fhall only here obferve, that among the modern Jews, when any perfon is hurried, his neareft relations, fuch as father, mother, child, wife, hulband,- brother, fifter, Sec. keep the houfe a week after the funeral, fitting on the ground all the while, excepting on the fabbath day,
when
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 44^
when they go to prayers : during this week, they are neither to work, nor difpatch any bufinefs : the hiifband and wife are to lodge ^
afunder, and there come people, morning and evening, to fay the cuftomary prayers, with thefe relations, which is concluded with a prayer for the foul of the deceafed : fome re- peat prayers for their friends fouls in the fy- nagogue, every morning for eleven months together, after this week is expired ; which arifes from an opinion they have, that the bleifed enjoy the beatific vifion in paradife, and the wicked are tormented in hell.
And that though fome will be damned to all eternity, yet others only for a time : others among them believe the tranfmigration, and that at death, the foul paffes out of one body into another : when they excommunicate any perfon, they curfe him publicly, and during the time this lafts, no Jew muft come within two yards of him, which continues till he has performed penance, and a rabbin bleffes him } their confeffions are general,
and
4^8 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
and only ufed in their devotions to God AU mighty, and not to any priefl.*
No. VI.
^U^ KERS.
XhEY made their firft appearance in Eng- land, during the interregnum : They were Co called in derifion, from certain unufual tremblings, with which they were feized at their firft meetings. Their founder was George Fox, a fhoemaker, born at Drayton, in Leiceflerfhire, who, as he worked at his
trade,
* The Hiftory of the Jews, from the earliefl times to the Babylo- nifh captivi y, Ilich as their religion, laws, manners, and cuftoms ; grand felVivals, Eafter paffover, the feaft of tabernacles, new moons, labbaths, expiation, vows, priefts, courts of judicature, punlfliments, trades, manufa6>ures, &c. &c. are treated of at large, in the third and fourth volumes of that elaborate work, entitled Univerlal Hif- tory, comprifed in twenty volumes.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 449
trade, ufed to meditate much on the Scrip- tures : at length he began to fee vifions, and fet up for a preacher. He propofed but few articles of faith, infifting chiefly on moral virtue, natural charity, the love of God, and a deep attention to the inward motions, and fecret operations of the fpirit. He required a plain limple worfhip, and a religion with- out ceremonies, making it a principal point to wait in profound filence, the diredions of the Holy Spirit.
Quakers were at firfl: guilty of fome extra- vagances, but thefe wore off, and they fet- tled into a regular body, profelling great aufterity of behaviour, a lingular probity and uprightnefs in their dealings, a great fruga- lity at their tables, and a remarkable plainnefs and flmplicity in their drefs.
The fyflem of this religious {qS: is laid down by Robert Barclay, in a fenlible well- wrote apology to King Charles II,
Their principal dodlrines are. That God
has given to all men, without exception, fu-
G g pernatural
459 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
pernatural light, which being obeyed, can fave them -, and that this light is Chrift, the true light, which lighteth every man that Cometh into the world : that the Scriptures were indeed given by inspiration, and are preferable to all the other writings in the world : but that they are no more than fe- condary rules of faith and practice, in fubor- dination to the Light or Spirit of God, which is the primary rule j that immediate reve- lation is not ceafed, a meafure of the fpirit being given to every one : That all fuper- flitions and ceremonies in religion, of mere human inftitution, ought to be laid afide : as alfo, in civil fociety, the faluting one another, by pulling off the hat, bowing, or the like ; and the faying you inflead of t^ou to a fingle perfon : that men and women ought to be plain and grave in their apparel, fober and juft in their whole converfation, and at a word in all their dealings ; and not to fwear, or go to war, to fight in private quarrels, or even to bear any carnal vi^eapons.
They alfo fet afide the two facraments, baptifm and the Lord's Supper i admit no
clergy
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 45I
clergy among them, but any one, without diftindion, who is of a fober Hfe, and be-' lieves him or herfelf to be moved thereto by the fpirit, is allowed to preach in their af- femblies : and they hold it unlawful to pay tythes or church rates.
In fhort they are a quiet, inoffenfive peo- ple, of exemplary morals, remarkably chari-*. table, and friendly to each other, and have never yet been guilty of perfecution, though they have had it in their power*
As to difcipline and polity, the affairs of the community are managed in their affem- blies, of which there are feveral kinds : as monthly, quarterly, yearly> fecond days meetings, and meetings of fufferings. The monthly and quarterly meetings are held in their refpe<5tive counties, to which deputies are fent from the feveral particular meetings, and enquiry is made into the ftate of each meeting : who violate the laws of the com- munity : who pay tythes or church rates, and who fuifer for the non-payment*
G g 2 From
452
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
From thefe meetings appeals lie to their yearly affemblies, which are always held in London. Hither are tranfmitted accounts of what has been tranfaded in all the monthly and quarterly meetings : Here meafures are concerted, and dirediions given for their be- haviour : Here they compofe differences, and make proviiions for the poor : Their public accounts are audited, and inftrudlions given to the deputies, and other matters relative to the peace and good order of the fociety at large.
No.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION.
45J
No. VII.
^he True Profejlant or Chrijiian Tleligion,
Which is that Inflituted by Jefus Chrifl, and which I fhall defcribe in the language of one of our mofl eminent divines of the church of England, no lefs diftinguiflied for his pi- ety than his learning. If (fays he) we ex- amine the nature and tendency of the re- ligion itfelf, which was taught by Chrifl:, and by the apoftles in his name, we fliall find it to be worthy of God. It retaineth all the excellencies of the Old Teftament revelation; Jor Our Saviour came not to deftroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfil thenty and carry the fcheme of religion, there laid down, to a flill higher degree of excellency. The idea given us of God, of his incomparable perfed:k)ns, 3 and
^?^ A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
and of his governing providence, as extend-^ ing to all his creatures, particularly towards mankind, is the noblefl that can be con* ceived, and the moft proper to produce wor-^ thy affedlions and difpofitions towards him^ Great care is efpecially taken to inftrudl us to form juft notions of God's illuflrious moral excellencies, of his wifdom, his faithfulnefs and truth, his impartial juflice and righteouf- nefs, and fpotlefs purity : but above all, of his goodnefs and love to mankind, of which the Gofpel contains and exhibits the moft glorious and attra(flive difcoveries and dif- plays that were ever made to the world. The exceeding riches of the Divine Grace and Mercy, are reprefented in the mofl: engaging manner. Pardon and falvation are freely of- fered upon the moft gracious terms ; the very chief of finners are invited, and the ftrongeft pofiible alTurances given of God's readinefs to receive them, upon their fincere repen- tance and reformation : and at the fame time, to prevent an abufe of this, the moft ftrik- ing reprefentations are made of God's juft wrath and difpleafure, againft thofe that ob- ftinately go on in prefumptuous fin and dif-
obedience.
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 455
obedience. It is efpecially the glory of the Gofpel, that the great reahties of an unfeen eternal world, are there fet in the moft clear and open light : there are clearer difcoveries made, and far ftronger aflurances given of that future life and immortality, than were ever given to mankind before.
As to the precepts of Chriflianity, they are unqueflionably holy and excellent. The purefl morality is taught in all its juft and noble extent, as taking in the whole of our duty towards God, our neighbour, and our- felves.
As to piety towards God, the idea there given of it, is venerable, amiable, and en- gaging ', vje are required to fear God, but it is not with a fervile horror, fuch as fuper- ftition infpires, but with a filial reverence. We are direcfted and encouraged to addrefs ourfelves to him as our heavenly father, through Jefus Chrift the fon of his love, and in his name to offer up our prayers and praifes, our confeffions and thankfgivings, with the profoundefl humility, becoming creatures
deeply
456
A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
deeply fenfible of their own unworthinefs ; and yet with an ingenious affiance, hope, and joy. We are to yield the mofi: unreferved fubmiffion to God, as our fovereign lord, our moft wife and gracious governor, and moft righteous benefacftor ; and to reiign ourfelves to his difpofal, and acquiefce in his providential difpenfations, as being perfuaded that he ordereth all things really for the beft, to walk continually as in his iight, and with regard to his approbation, fetting him before us, as our great all-feeing witnefs and judge, our chiefeft good and higheft end. Above all we are required to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, and mind, and flrength, and to fhew that we love him by keeping his commandments, which are not grievous, by afpiring after a conformity to him in his inimitable perfecftions, and by endeavouring, as far as we are able, to glorify him in the world.
As to the external worfhip of God, ac- cording to the idea given of it in the New Teftament, it is pure and fpiritual, and hath a noble iimplicity in it. The numerous
rites
DIFFERENT SECTS IM RELIGION. 4^
rites of the Mofalcal difpenfation, which though wifely fuited to that time and flate, were marks of the imperfedlion of that oeco* ndmyare nowaboHfhed. The ordinances of Chriftianity, as prefcribed in the Gofpel, are few in number, eafy of obfervation, and no- ble in their ufe and fignificancy.
Not only doth ChrilHanity give the mofl excellent diredions, as to the duty we more immediately owe to God, but great ftrefs is there laid on all focial duties, and focial vir- tues, which it hath a manifeft tendency to promote and improve. The conftant exer- cife of juftice, and righteoufnefs, and fide- lity, is moft exprefsly enjoined : the render- ing to all their dues, and a diligent difcharge of the duties of our feveral Nations and re- lations, is bound upon us, not merely as civil confiderations, but as a neceflary part of religion. But what ought efpecially to recommend Chriftianity, is, that a true and extenfive benevolence is there carried to the nobleil height; it ftrengthens the natural ties of humanity, and adds other facrcd
Hh and
I.r8 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE
and moft engaging ties, to bind us flill more ftrongly to one another. We are taught to love our neighbours as ourfelves, to rejoice in their happinefs, and endeavour to promote it ; to do good to all as far as we have oppor- tunity ; yea even to extend our benevolence to our enemies themfelves, and to thofe who have injured us j and to be ready to render good for evil, and overcome evil with good. It tends to difcountenance and fupprefs that malice and envy, hatred and revenge, thofe boifterous angry paffions, and malevolent af- fections and difpofitions which have done fo much mifchief in the world.
As to the exercife of felf-govcrnment, chriftianity is manifeftly defigned to improve and perfed: human nature. It teaches us not only to regulate the outward a(5lions, but the inward affedlions and difpofitions of the foul : to labour after real purity of heart, fimplicity, and godly fincerity, as that, without which, no outward appearances can be plealing in the light of God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. It ftrikes at the root of
all
DIFFERENT SECTS IN RELIGION. 459
all our diforders and corruptions, by obliging us to correal and regulate that inordinate felf- love, which caufcs us to center all our views in our own pleafure, or glory, or interefl, and by inftrudling us to mortify and fubdue our fenfual appetites and inclinations. It is defigned to affert the dominion of the ra- tional and moral powers, over the inferior part of our nature, of the fpirit over the flefh, which alone can lay a jufl foundation for that moral liberty, and that tranquillity of mind, which it is the defign of all true phi- lofophy to procure and eftablifh.
And whereas a too great love of the world, and its enjoyments, its riches, honours, or pleafures, is the fource of numberlefs dif- orders in human life, and turns us aftray in our whole courfe, it teaches us to red:ify Our falfe opinions of thefe things, and not to feek happinefs in them, but to fet our afFedtions principally on things of a far higher and nobler nature, things celeflial and eternal.
And with regard to the evils of this pre- fent life and world, it tendeth to infpire us
witk
460 A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT, &€..
with the nobleft fortitude, and to render us fuperior to thofe evils, as being fully and iirmly perfuaded that God will caufe them to work together for our good. It provideth the beft remedy, both againil our cares and fears, efpecially againil the fear of death itfelf.
FINIS.
INDEX.
|
A |
page] |
rAoc |
|
|
IvEligion of the Ammonites 13] |
Agnoites |
388 |
|
|
■ Amalekites |
24 |
Arminians |
403 |
|
4^ 46 |
Artotyrites Antitadles |
ibid. |
|
|
»■ Athenians |
406 |
||
|
■ AfTyrians |
58 |
Arnoldifts |
407 |
|
- Armenians |
149 |
« |
|
|
192 258 |
B |
||
|
Adamites |
Religion of the Babylonians 60 |
||
|
Abelians |
268 |
Ancient ftate of Britain 231 |
|
|
Adeffenariant |
269 |
Banians |
271 |
|
Aerians |
270 |
Bardefanites |
»3»4 |
|
Angelites |
276 |
Barfanians |
374 |
|
Agynani |
280 |
Barules |
390 |
|
Albanenfei |
281 |
Bafilidlans |
ibid. |
|
Aetians |
286 |
Berengarians |
402 |
|
Albati |
306 |
Bethlehemites |
408 |
|
Anabaptifts |
307 |
Borrelllfts |
412 |
|
Albigenfes |
310 |
Brachmans |
42. |
|
AnaximandrianS |
367 |
Bourignonifts |
424 |
|
Anthropomorphltes |
368 |
Brownifts |
427 |
|
Antinomians |
ibid. |
Bulgarians |
428 |
|
Aquarians |
375 |
Baralotts |
43Q |
|
Ariant |
380 |
Beghardi |
43 » |
|
li |
Religion |
INDEX.
Religion of the Canaanites
Ancient Celtes
Cappadocians
Carthaginians
Ancient Chinefe Cadari Canians Condormientcs Cerinthians Cataphryges Carpocratians Cameronians Calixtins Calvinifts Colarbaiians Canadians Cerdonians
Catholic, vide Rom.Catholic436 Chriftian Religion, vide Proteftant
D
PAGE
26 124
167 248 261 271
295 324
352
354
369
370 381
ibid. 385
1-
453
|
Dofitheans |
262 |
|
Davidifts |
263 |
|
Damianifts |
320 |
|
Donatifts |
321 |
|
Dulcinifts |
350 |
|
DifTentcrs |
439 |
|
Dcifts |
440 |
Religion of the Egyptians
Religion of theEdomites
Etruftans
Ethiopians
Ebionites
Energumens
Eunuchs
Eunomians "
Eutychians
Ethnophrones
Fraticelli
Free-thinker, vide Delfts
G
Religion of the Ancient State of the Gauls 207
Ancient Gernians220
Gaurs 378
Gnoftics 301
H
Religion of the Ancient He-
ruli - . . 236 Certain Se<5ls of Heretics
PAGB 21
184
303^ 4.00 404 411 416
425
350
449
|
A.M. |
no |
33a |
||
|
Heracleonites |
426 |
|||
|
Hieracites |
428 |
|||
|
Hugenots |
429 |
|||
|
land J |
||||
|
Religion of |
the |
Ancient |
||
|
lonians |
146 |
|||
|
Indians |
INDEX.
|
PAGE |
PACK |
||
|
Indians |
241 |
Millenarians |
413 |
|
Jefuits |
377 |
Muggletonians |
417 |
|
Indcpendants |
389 |
Methodifts |
433 |
|
Joachimites |
394 |
||
|
Infidel, vide Deift |
440 |
N - |
|
|
Jews |
443 |
Religion of the Numidians |
180 |
|
L |
Nazarenes |
304 |
|
|
Nicholaitans |
322 |
||
|
Religion of the Ancient |
Noetians |
373 |
|
|
Lydians |
140 |
Novatians |
415 |
|
■ ' Lacedemonians |
143 |
Neftorians |
420 |
|
Lutherans |
309 |
||
|
Libertines |
349 |
0 |
|
|
M |
Ophites |
274 |
|
|
Origenifts |
383 |
||
|
Religion of the Moabltes |
9 |
f^ |
|
|
■ Midianites |
17 |
P |
|
|
Medes |
86 |
||
|
"K /fwT^Zn-^n |
138 182 |
Rdigion of the Philiftines |
29 |
|
1 Mauritanians |
Pagans |
39 |
|
|
238 |
Phoenicians |
55 |
|
|
Magi |
214 |
Phrygians |
77 |
|
. |
289 |
87 |
|
|
Mahometans |
|||
|
319 |
T) ^ l^ ' |
||
|
Marcofians |
"^57 |
||
|
Menander |
325 |
Pietifts |
277 |
|
Marcian |
327 |
Patripaflians |
318 |
|
Moravians, vide Calixtins |
3^9 |
Papuzians |
33<3 |
|
Manichees |
386 |
Puritans |
344 |
|
Maffalians |
393 |
Polygamifts |
345 |
|
Marcionites |
396 |
Picards |
ibid. |
|
Mclchizedcchians |
401 |
Pharifees |
347 |
|
Mennonites |
405 |
Predeftinarians |
370 |
|
Monothclites |
412 |
Prifcillianias |
386 |
Pau-
INDEX.
|
1 |
•AGE |
FAet |
||
|
Paullonifts |
392 |
Simonians |
36s |
|
|
Pelagians |
397 |
Savages in Canada |
381 |
|
|
Paulicians |
407 |
Semi-pelagians |
399 |
|
|
Photinians |
418 |
Sampfeans |
4»9 |
|
|
Prefbyterian |
370 |
|||
|
Proteftant, or the true Chrlf- ! |
T |
|||
|
tian Religion |
453 |
Religion of the ancient Tro- |
||
|
Q |
jans |
84 |
||
|
X54 |
||||
|
Quictifts Quintillians |
264 356 |
Tnrlr" Tnrtnr? |
||
|
and Moguls |
238 |
|||
|
Quakers |
448 |
Templers Tatianites |
336 359 |
|
|
R |
Turlupins |
ibid. |
||
|
Hechabites |
267 |
U |
||
|
Remonftrants |
342 |
|||
|
Rofycrucians |
356 |
Unitarians |
335 |
|
|
Roman Catholics |
43 fi |
Ubiquitarianf |
409 |
|
|
s |
V |
|||
|
Religion of the ancient |
Sy. |
Valentinians |
295 |
|
|
rians |
47 132 |
W |
||
|
itfta |
te |
Wiclcliffites |
||
|
of Spain Sabseans Sabellians |
361 |
|||
|
201 315 317 |
Whitfieldites, vide Metho difts |
43* |
||
|
Secundianj |
328 |
7 |
||
|
Socinlans |
337 |
iu |
||
|
Sadduces |
341 |
Zealots |
315 |
|
|
Samaritan* |
357 |
Zindikitcs |
335 |
/
/
^■■'m^^m