English
Ih^ishdtt this rite, as we find it prafilised xihder 'cvei-y form of > ancient religion, cannot be reconciled with the idea of a spiritual God, uijess it had ^jeen sanftioned by hisexpress injun£tionr That this custom does not, at present, find a very prominent place in the religion of Hindoo- staHj'Was at first thought an anomaly iathehistory of Pagan mythology, difficult^ to be, explained, and which strongly opposed the supposition of its. divine and positive institution. But in the earlier periods- of the Indian; history, it is certain thati both bestial, and also human, sacrifices were praftisad. Although the predominant in- fluence of the dofilrines of Buddha in Hindoostan, has greatly contributed to repress these sangui- nary rites, and although the general mi|dqe$|,of the Hindoo,chara£ter: has: in.duced spme writers, to.deny th^t they ever existed ; yet thfir vestiges arei still visible, though they have never be^^, re-established in their pristine vigor with the reviving authority of, the Brahminicg,! system. The, Vedas the^nselves, on some occasions, enjoin the oljl^tjon of men, a,s vyell as ^ii|iaIS, and that the , sacrifices of the latter were. anciently praftis.ed, we have' the . authority of Strabo and Arrian."'; It is also vvell known that one ia(f the incarnations of Vishnu, , that of Buddh?i; himself,, is described by the Brahnjins, as having taken place for the purpose of abolishing the sacrifices enjoined in the Vedas ; and whatever difference i , .. ' ^ Straboj lib. r^. ArrUn ini^dlcisr 170 of opinion may be entertained concerning the time, or the genuineness of this descent, it is a decided proof, that the custom of sacrificial ofFer- ipg must haye been universally prevalent. The universal praftice of stacrificial oblations will at length condu£t us to that memorable event, which they were designed to prefigure ; THE OBLATION OF A DIVINE PERSONAGE FOR THE SINS OF MANKIND. And here, if the subject be of more than common importance, the tradition is more than ordinarily explicit. In other instances, tradition- ary evidence glimmers with a faint, a partial,: a doubtful light, but hfere it bursts forth in full and transcendant splendor. Whither can we turn our eyes on the religion and philosophy of the ancidnt world, without discovering an ardent expeftation of a future deliverer, who should, by his sufferings and example^ expiate sin and render virtue more lovely ? It is not the decla- matory language of national vanity ; it is not the hyperbolical rhapsody of 'poetic fervor j it is but the sober narrative of unornamented truth, when the Psalmist thus speaks of him in a prophetic spirit : " They that dwell in the wilderness shall kneel before him, his enemies shall lick the dust j in the kings of Tharsi's a&d of the' isles shall bring presents, the fcing* of Arabia and Saba shall bring gifts ; all kings shall fall down before him ; all nations shall do him homage.'^ If we turn our eyes to the Persian legislator, we shall find him prediSing the appearance of a personage, who should establish a religion pure and inor mutable ; that kings should be obedient to him ; that, under bis empire, peace should prevail and discord cease. If we turn to Confucius, we shall hear him attesting the same event, and proclaiming that " in the West the Holy one should arise." If at length we approach the followers of, Brahma, ■ the sages of the Vedanti school, we shall find them putting hito the moiith of their ^ne^rSjajlje -God, of that. divinity, whom they consider, as invested with the fullness of celestial glory, this remarkable declaration, *^ I am th'e sacrifice, I am the vi£l:im." If we advance in our researchesj to the Gothic mytho- logy, we there find their middle divinity repre- sented as obtaiinJHg a victory ov,er death jlnd sii} ^ but at the expence of his, own life. ■ Shall we pursue this notion fronj th^ East to the West, from ithie siagfs of Hindoostan to the sages of Greece ? We shall find Plato, imbued with all the learning of the East, and with aJI the learning of llgypt, describing,- his righteous itnan^ who m ■ should end a life of ; unrivaHed goodness, by a death of unexampled ignominy.. Shall we finally attempt to discover this idea in the religion"^ of Pagan Rome? There also it appears. While it. lurks in the magnificent but mysterious imagery of Virgil, it meets us openfy in the full and unreserved confession of Tacitus. Thus then, those grand truths on which the Christian scheme is founded, may, all of them, be traced up to the source of primeval tradition ; they form the substance of what is termed the ptinjitive religion of mankind. The important do£trine of the existence of an invisible and spiritual God, in opposition to the pra£tice of polytheism and idolatry ; the fall of man j the custom of sacrificial oblations as an atonement for siti ; and these intended to prefigure the great sacrifice of the divinity by his own will and pleasure, for the offences of the world : all these may be clearly discerned among the generdl corruptions of Paganism, and particularly in the religious system of Hindoostan. And these are sufficient. Other instances of correspondence' might be adduced which decidedly point' to some original and universal communication, and which might be satisfaftorily provedj without infringing on any of those, important canons, by 173 which the, coincidence of traditional evidence ought to be determined j but these are seLefted, as being the most unequivocal, and as compre- hending subjefts of infinite importance. These observations will close the view of the Brahminical religion, with Tespeft to the. con- firmation which it has afforded, to the truth of the Mosaical history ; and this confirmation cannQ): but be deemed highly important, when we recapitulate the different arguments in their connexion and dependency. We here behold a system of religion', subsisting at the present time, in the same form, by which it has been known since the earliest period of authentic history. We have taken a review of its do£trines frond a comparison of foreign tes- timony with its own sacred records; and these have afforded mutual illustriation ; and the one proves the veracity of the other. We have seen the regal government, which was established under thisi religion, long since overthrown ; we have seen its hierarchy partaking in the same destru£tion ; but even in this disjointed state, . retaining those inherent seeds of vitality, .which have preserved its dominion over a vast and : refined population. We have, in the first place^ 174 shewn on what a baseless faiindatioti thtfse claims to unfathottiable antiquity, which its pro- fessors assume, must at length rest ; that there is the strongest reason to suppose that theif chronological scheme, in its pure state, was not widely different from the moderate coinputation, which the Mosaic writings give, concerning the age of the world ; that before this limited period we see nothing but cycles of artificial construc- tion, and an immense space o(. unocQupied vacuity. We have seen ^that the first eventi which its records clearly and unequivocally attest, is the renovation of the present world from de- struftion by a flood, and that the modern Hindoos, however solicitous, to conceal or (deny the fa£t, can never rationally ex^laia many of their fables, but by an allusion to this catastrophe. In the sequel of our researches a striking coinci^ dence has been discovered, between' the geogra- phy of the Puranas, and the MoSaisal account of the or4gin and settlement of nations, branching from three, different stocks ■: and the geography of the Puranas, however disfigured by wild allegory, is in many instances, strikingly CDnfirni- ed by the Grecian hjstorian.s an^ geographers. In the last place we have -attempted to shew, that man "was never left by his Creatca*, ivithoiit some revelation to dire£t his steps j and what 175 that revelatiou was, What, promises. at unfoldKl,. and what doftrihes itiwaa.cjQsigned to inculcate^ may, be colle£ted from itbsi Concise Unfopnatidni contained in the tjjjstory of Moses, compared with thpsis .traditions, which are yet to, be: di's- coyer0^,j ifi all thie, mythologies of the .ancient w;orld. f'l-,7 ,■ ;L- ,.t .:/!!qoaoiinx; ix:' . ... ' 'lo i.:ji}ub V,! K^-^-j" 3fiJ rHiw :tii)£qmoon' vll", _. /jr^e: jrf!5n'ajpit)g part ©f; the; proposed, design w,ill beidi,reQ:e4 to a djflfexent, obje£l. We have itherto regarded this system; of ancient super- stition, venerable in its ruins, with resp'eft to its origin ; it is now to be viewed in its effetls on the character. We are now to examine that theory of .morals, which has been celebrated as bearing evident marks of divine inspiration ; which has been ?aid to contain every precept, which can preserve the virtue and advance the happiness of man : which some have praised from a transient and superficial view, and which others have admired from the fastidious taste of a depraved appetite. Nor can this latter circum- stance excite surprize. For as to an understand- . ing relaxed by indolence, or vitiated by improper studies, the false ornaments of style will dazzle, where genuine eloquence will be disregarded j a splendid and specious paradox will confound, where the. native force of truth willfail to con- 176 vlnce ; so there is a sickly morality,' the hectic of^ an inflamed imagination, which consumes, not the genial warmth of i true benevolence wliich- invigorates .