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ritual
1
I'll
hi
1
44
18.4.1
IS
A
1773
.:
Narious ORIENTAL SYMBOLS allusive to the SOLAR ORB,the BULL, the LION, the EAGLE, and the
SERPENT, 10 conspicuous in the MYTHOLOGY of the Ancients.
IMPERIAL STANDARD
OF
THE
GREAT
MOGUL
.
21
wir
wel
DEMY
www.
Wind.
WE
SOL oriens i Dorso TAURL,ex mummis Mogulonsibus. from Hyde
SOL oruins in dorso LEONIS.
The two PRINCIPLES
of PERSIA npmbolized
by two SERPENTS
contending for the
MUNDANE EGG.
from Mountfaucon
18
hoogoosesso
tore
XIIXIXIXXII
The APIS or SACRED BULL of E GYPT,
EVIL
with priests offering sacrifice, from theMensa Istaca.
Goop
Prallentsadp?
SOLIS AQUILA. GESTANS SOLEM promlhyds
12-727
INDIAN ANTIQUITIES:
OR,
DISSERTATIONS,
RELATIVE
TO
THE ANCIENT GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS,
THE PURE SYSTEM OF PRIMEVAL THEOLOGY,
THE GRAND CODE OF CIVIL LAWS,
THE ORIGINAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT, AND
TH VARIOUS AND PROFOUND LITERATURE,
OF HINDOSTAN.
COMPARED, THROUGHOUT, WITH THE
· RELIGION, LAWS, GOVERNMENT, and LITERATURE,
OF
PERSIA, EGYPT, AND GREECE.
THE
WHO L E
Intended as Introductory to, and Illustrative of,
THE HISTORY OF HINDOSTAN,
UPON A COMPREHENSIVE SCALE.
VOL. IV.
In which the ORIENTAL TRIADS OF DEITY are exter fively
inveſtigated.
L O N D ON:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, AND SOLD BY W. RICHALDSON,
UNDER THE ROYAL-EXCHANCE.
M.DCC.XCIV.
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4
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f
PRE-
P R E F A C E.
IN
Ń the portions of the Indian Antiquities
already publiſhed, the religious rites an-
ciently celebrated in conſecrated groves and
caverns, and in temples formed after the mo-
del of thoſe groves and caverns, have been
ſucceſſively inveſtigated. The phyſical theo-
logy of India, and not of India only, but of
Egypt, Perſia, and Greece, has been alſo in a
great meaſure developed. To unfold the purer
and more árcane principles of devotion pre-
vailing in thoſe reſpective nations ; principles,
for the moſt part, locked up in the boſom of the
prieſt
PREFACE.
prieſt and the philoſopher, is the object of this
particular volume, in which the ORIENTAL
TRIADS OF Deity are extenſively difcuffed, and
referred to what I cannot but conceive to have
been the true ſource of them all, to certain
mutilated traditions of a nobler doctrine, re-
vealed to man in a ſtate of innocence. As
we advance ſtill farther in theſe Indian Re
ſearches we ſhall find many other important
points of religious belief ſurpriſingly elucida-
ted, and thus the Moſaic records and Chriſ-
tianity, ſo far from being ſubverted by the
pretended antiquity of the Brahmins, will de-
rive a proud trophy from the corroborative
teſtimony of their genuine annals and the con-
genial ſentiments of their primeval creed.
On the vaunting claims to unfathomable
antiquity of that race, whoſe aſtronomical
calculations, and the mythology interwoven
with it, have been miſtaken for true hiſtories,
Voltaire firſt, and afterwards Bailly and Vol-
ney, have principally founded thoſe falſe and
impious ſyſtems, which have plunged a great
nation
PRE FACE.
nation in the abyſs of atheiſm, and all its
conſequent exceſſes and miſeries.
The ſubject coming immediately before me
at the very commencement of this underta-
king, and the circumſtances of the times de-
manding it, I have entered more extenſively
into the vaſt field of Eaſtern theology than I
originally intended, perhaps to the total ruin
of thoſe juſt hopes of profit which I was
taught to expect from ſo laborious an under-
taking. When, however, the reader is in-
formed, that the creation of the world, ac-
cording to the Hindoo coſmogony, was ef-
fected by an incumbent ſpirit, the emanation of
Deity, impregnating with life the primordial wa-
ters of chaos; that the fall of man from a ſtate of
primeval purity and innocence in the Satya Yug, or
perfe&t age, forms the baſis of the Indian mea
tempſychoſis; that the Indians believe in a fun
ture ſtate of rewards and puniſhments; that the
firſt hiſtory of which they can boaſt has, for its
ſubject, the deſtruction of the human race, for
their multiplied enormities, in o certain great
deluge,
PRE FACE.
deluge, from which only eight perſons were ſaved
in an ark fabricated by the immediate command of
Veefhnu ; that, in their principal deity, a plain
trinity of divine perſons is diſcovered, ſince that
Deity is fymbolically deſignated by an image
with three heads affixed to one body, and that
the ſecond perſon in that trinity is, in their my-
thology, inveſted with the office of a preſerver
and mediator, and in both thoſe characters in-
carnate; finally, to omit other intereſting par-
ticulars, that the duration of the CALI YUG,
or age immediately ſucceeding the great de-
luge, according to their own calculation,
does not, but by a few centuries, exceed the
period aſſerted by Chriſtian chronologers to
have elapſed ſince the deluge of Noah, and that
the 'exiſting world is to be conſumed by a
general conflagration : when all theſe circum-
ſtances, to be accounted for by no immediate
connection or intercourſe whatever with the
Hebrew nation, in any period of their empire,
are calmly conſidered by an impartial and
unprejudiced mind, the reſult, I am perſua-
ded, muſt be an increaſed confidence in the
great
1
1
PRE FACE.
great truths of revelation; and thus the
Indian Antiquities cannot fail of being con-
ſidered of national benefit, at an ara when it
is more than ever apparent that a liberal fyf-
tem of government and a ſound code of theo-
lygy naturally and mutually ſupport each
other.
With reſpect to the particular ſubject which
engroſſes ſo ample a portion of this volume,
in vindication of myſelf, for having entered
into it at ſuch length, I have this ſubſtantial,
and I hope ſatisfactory, argument to urge.
It was in vain to inſiſt that this doctrine of a
Trinity was not brought from the ſchool or
Plato by Juſtin Martyr, in the ſecond century,
into the Chriſtian church, if room were left to
conjecture that it might poſſibly have derived
its firſt origin from the ſchool of the Brali-
mins; for, this and many other poſitions in-
jurious to Chriſtianity have been urged by
thoſe whoſe creed leads them to repreſent In-
dia, and not Chaldæa, as the cradle of the
"human race, and its venerable fages as the
parents
PRE FACE.
1
1
parents of all religion, in direct oppoſition to
that authentic book, which fixes the firſt reſi-
dence of the patriarchs in Chaldæa, and traces
religion itſelf to a higher and nobler ſource.
It became abſolutely neceſſary to examine the
Hebrew Scriptures as well as the Jewiſh cab-
bala; and to prove, not only that this diſtinc-
tion in the divine nature formed a part of the
rabbinical creed, but was promulged to the
Jewiſh nation at large AS FAR AS A PEOPLE
INTO POLYTHEISM
COULD BEAR THE REVELATION OF SO IM-
PORTANT AND MYSTERIOUS A TRUTH.
That
is the particular point for which I would be
underſtood principally to contend, and I truſt
that, to unbiaſſed minds, that point is proved.
FOR
EVER
RELAPSING
1
In diſcourſing upon the PAGAN TRIADS OF
Deity it was ſcarcely poſſible to avoid again
treading over much of the ground of their
phyſical theology, in part diſcuſſed before; fo
much did phyſics infect every portion of the
religion of the ancient world! Some points of
doctrine in that curious devotion, however, are
here
1
PRE FACE.
here placed in a new light, and none, I hope,
are recapitulated to diſguſt.
It may, perhaps, ſtartle the timid Chriſtian
to find a few of the ſymbols of his religion
immemorially uſed amidſt the idolatries of
Aſia; and M. Volney, therefore, has not
failed, in his “Ruins," to take advantage of
this circumſtance, to derive all the ſymbols of
both Pagan and Chriſtian devotion from one
common origin, the MITHRIAC MYSTERIES.
Previouſly to the appearance of his volume, I
had myſelf aſſerted, that a ſpecies of BAPTISM
was performed in thoſe myſteries, and had
quoted even Tertullian in proof, that “per
Lavacrum Mithra SIGNAT in frontibus mi-
lites fuos."* He is right, indeed, in fay-
ing that the Mithriac baptiſm had entire-
ly an aſtronomical alluſion, and reſpects
the paſſage of the foul, in the ſidereal me-
tempſychoſis, through the gate of Capricorn,
or celeſtial flood-gate, that is, the winter ſol-
ftice; the meaning of which has been partly
unfolded
• Vide Tertullian de Baptiſmo, lib. i. cap. 5. opera,
PRE FACE.
unfolded in an extract from Porphyry, de Antro
Nympharum, who expreſſly ſays,
" that the
foul, in its peregrination through the purify-
ing ſpheres, reviving in that ſign, which is
the gate of immortals, according to the words
cited from Homer, is there diveſted of its
material garment, and returns through it to
The fountain of life, from which it ema-
ned.”* But what religion has not uſed water
as a ſymbol of purity ? and what ſolid argu-
ment can be brought againſt the adoption of
water as a ſymbol, or indeed of fire either,
when not honoured with the ſuperſtitious
veneration which the ancients paid to it,
who erred only in exalting a ſecondary to the
dignity of a firſt effective cauſe. The Jews
we know, by the divine permiſſion, uſed both
in their ſacred ceremonial rites. By this cir-
cumſtance, therefore; by that of a demiurgic
ſpirit, hovering over primordial waters ; of a
ſacred triad; of a mediator; of a divine incar-
nation;
1
t
* Vide preceding Indian Theology, chap. i. p. 324, and
Porphyry De Ant. Nymph, p. 265.
PREFACE.
nation; and many ſimilar doctrines and rites,
exiſting in both ſyſtems of devotion ; though
the timid Chriſtian may at firſt be ſomewhat
ſurpriſed, yet a little reflection will ſoon con-
vince him of the truth of what I have all
along aſſerted to be the genuine fact, and
what properly forms, the baſis of my third
chapter, that, in the pure and primitive
thcology, derived from the venerable patri-
archs, there were certain grand and myſte-
rious truths, the object of their fixed belief,
which all the depravations brought into it by
ſucceeding ſuperſtition were never able entire-
ly to efface from the human mind. Theſe
truths, together with many of the ſymbols of
that
pure theology, were propagated and dif-
fuſed by them in their various peregrinations
through the higher Aſia, where they have
immemorially flouriſhed; affording a moſt
ſublime and honourable teſtimony of ſuch
a refined and patriarchal religion having
actually exiſted in the earlieſt ages of the
world.
Before
PRE FAC E.
Before the cloſe. of another year I hope to
preſent the public with a ſixth, and final, vo-
lume of the Indian Antiquities. That vo-
lume will contain diſtinct and extenſive Differ-
tations on the celebrated Code of Laws, the
moſt ancient Form of Government, and the
Literature, of Hindoſtan. It will be deco
rated with a few very valuable engravings on
quarto plates, and cannot be delivered to any
ſubſcriber who does not complete his ſubſcrip-
tion to the ſtated ſum of two GUINEAs for
the fix volumes of INDIAN ANTIQUITIES,
which, as they will, when finiſhed, con-
tain above thirty quarto engravings, he
truſts will not be thought unreaſonable.
vy!
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ge
THE HEBREW SHECHINAH with the CHERUBIM overshadowing the
MERCY SEAT Áhe latter aperted by Pullo to be symbols of the "Two Powers of God.
fren Calmol
PILLON
The Wing the GLOBE, Kthe SERPENT, instituting the EGYPTIAN
Thxity. Copied by NOWDEN from the front of the wins of the supert
Temple. Ltxore in UPPER EGYPT
WIMMWWW.RO
8
Anities மச்சக்திக்கிரத்தில் திரிந்துத்தitisisisis AIAWIKEartificaikiNites
Zere OMBPiO2, seu JUPITER PLUVIUS; affirmed by STRABO,to be one
the Deiten
adored by the Indians:he ashich he must hawarł EENDŁA, the HinDOO GOL)
PILMAMENT', dakenderaj
in torrents during the
From Mount faucon
Ravensteiner som en persoonsbedingungen dieser erste wensen primer to generoaspeteren van ruime ervaren
the
innual
*
[ 403 )
THE ORIENTAL TRIADS OF DEITY
INVESTIGATED.
CHAPTER III.
In this Chapter, the Hebrew Doctrine of the Se-
PHIROTH, or THREE GREAT SPLENDORS, is
extenſively conſidered, and thoſe SEPHIROTH
are proved to be ſynonymous with the three Hy-
poſtaſes of the CHRISTIAN TRINITY. - The
Indian and other Pagan TRIADS of DEITY
are then diſcuſſed; and, in the Courſe of the
Inquiry, the great Outlines of all the ASIATIC
Systems or THEOLOGY are faithfully pour-
trayed and contraſied.
A world
MONG the philoſophers of the Pagan
world, not infected with atheiſtical
principles, there were ſome who entertained
ſuch degrading conceptions concerning the
Deity, as to imagine him to be a ſevere, un
ſocial, inacceſſible, being, exiſting, through
Еe
eternal
[ 404 )
eternal ages, in the centre of barren and
boundleſs ſolitude. This unworthy concep-
tion of the divine nature in a more particular
manner influenced, as we ſhall hereafter have
repeated opportunities of demonſtrating, the
theology of the ancient Egyptians, wlio re-
preſented the throne of God as ſeated in an
abyſs of darkneſs, and himſelf as apavns xao
Xexguu pesvos, inviſible and occult.* The more
enlightened, however, of the Gentile philoſo-
phers conſidered the Deity as a prolific and
inexhauſtible FOUNTAIN, whence the brighteſt
and pureſt emanations liave ſucceſſively Row-
ed; and this juſter notion of his nature
doubtleſs originated from traditions delivered
down, during a long revolution of ages, from
the ancient patriarchs, diſperſed in the carlieſt
periods through the various empires of Aſia.
That thoſe venerable patriarchs were admitted,
by the divine favour, to a nearer contemplation
of the myſterious arcana of the celeſtial world
than their fellow-mortals, we have the evidence
of Scripture to ſupport our aſſerting; and that
the great progenitor of mankind himſelf might,
in his itate of innocence, be indulged in ſtill
higher privileges, even ſo far as to have been
allowed
+ Plutarch de Ifide et Ofiride, p. 354.
[ 405 ]
1
1
allowed an intimate knowledge of the nature
of that awful Being, in whoſe auguſt image
he is ſaid to have been formed, is a ſuppo-
ſition at which neither piety nor reaſon will
revolt. The ſuppoſition will poſſibly be ſtill
more readily acquieſced in when what I have
elſewhere remarked ſhall have been fully con-
ſidered, that, in that pure primeval condition
of man, his faculties were better calculated
than thofe of his fallen poſterity to bear th:
influx of great celeſtial truths, and that pro-
found meditation on the divine perfections at
once formed his conſtant employment and
conſtituted his ſublimeſt delight.
It is an hypotheſis in the higheſt degree pro-
bable, an hypotheſis which has ever ſtaggered
the ſceptic, that, from certain traditional pre-
cepts, deſcending down, however in their de-
ſcent corrupted and mutilated, from that
primne progenitor, relative to a certain Plu-
RALITY ſubfiſting, after a method incompre-
henſible to human beings, in the UNITY of
the divine effence, the greateſt part of the
multifarious polytheiſm of the Pagan world
originated. Hence we may not unreaſonably
ſuppoſe the Sabian ſuperſtition, or worſhip of
the ſtars and planets, concerning which ſo
much has been ſaid in the early part of the
Ee 2
Indian
.
( 406 )
Indian theology, took its riſe; hence angels and
bther ætherial beings firſt began to receive
adoration; hence the attributes of God, and
even the virtues of men, perſonified, came to
be exalted into divinities; and heaven and
earth became gradually filled with deities of
various ſuppoſed rank, functions, and autho-
rity.
The preceding reflections muſt ſerve as a baſis
for the ample diſquiſition which is to follow up-
on the PAGAN TRIADS OF Deity, previouſly
to the examination of which, certain points
of very high moment, deeply connected with
our ſubject, and of the utmoſt importance in
our own exalted code of religious inftitutions,
muſt be diſcuſſed with as much conciſeneſs as
the magnitude of the ſubject will allow of.
It is through the imagined ANTIQUITY OF IN-
DIA that the Moſaic and Chriſtian ſyſtems of
theology have been principally attacked ; and,
therefore, it ſhall be one object of our INDIAN
ANTIQUITIES to defend and illuſtrate thoſe
ſyſtems.
After having, with daring, but no fa-
crilegious, ſtep, penetrated into the ſacred
depths of the caverns and groves of India,
and taken a glance at ſome of the moſt an-
çient religious rites practifed in them by the
brahmins ;
1
( 407 )
0
brahmins; in particular, the Sabian ſuperſti-
tion, the worſhip of fire, and initiation into
certain deep thcological myſteries, nearly
reſembling thoſe celebrated in Egypt and
Greece ; after having, likewiſe, fo exten-
ſively ſurveyed thoſe grand external fabrics
of national devotion, erected when cavern-
worſhip began to be neglected, the pagodas,
abounding in every quarter of this extenſive
region of the Greater Aſia; let us, through
yonder folitary door, enter the illumined
ſhrine, and, with that profound reverence
which is due to all ſyſtems of religion, that
profeſs, by whatever mode and under whate-
ver nane, to worſhip one grand preſiding
Deity, let us approach the awful high-raiſed
ſanctuary itſelf, glittering with jewels and
loaded with oblations. Though, in theſe nu-
merous ſurrounding fymbols, degraded by hu-
man and even by beſtial repreſentation, ſtill
the acknowledged object of their worſhip is
the Great FATHER OF ALL, adored with an
endleſs variety of rites, in every age and re-
gion of the world, by " the faint, the fa-
vage, and the ſage." Let us, from that fanc-
tuary, ſurvey the various Tribes of Hindoos
perform their reſpective devotions, and, while
the fervent flame of piety kindles and ſpreads
3
around
Еe 3
[ 408 ]
0
By the
around us, in this and the following chapter
let us examine in order thoſe other grand
points of the comprehenſive ſyſtem of the
Brahmin religion, which ſtill remain to be
inveſtigated.
Having uſed the word TRIBES, it becomes
neceſſary for me, in this place, to ſtate, in a
curſory manner, -what will be more particu-
larly unfolded in the enſuing hiſtory, that
the Hindoos have, from the remoteſt periods
of antiquity, been divided into four great
TRIBES, each of which comprehends a vari-
ety of inferior claſſes, or CASTS.
inviolable laws of Brahma theſe tribes never
intermingle in marriage, at entertainments,
or, in any intimate manner, aſſociatę one
with another, except, ſay more modern ac-
counts, when they worſhip at the great tem-
ple of JAGGERNAUT, in Oriſſa, where it is
eſteemed a crime to make any diſtinction,
JAGGERNAUT ſignifies Lord of the Creation;
and this injunction ſeems to imply, that, how-
ever the policy of their great law-giver might
think it neceſſary to keep them at other times
ſeparated, all ideas of ſuperiority ſhould be
annihilated in the preſence of that Being who
is the common parent of all ranks and claſſes
of mankind. The BRAHMINS, noble by their
deſcent
[ 409 )
deſcent and venerable by their facerdotal of-
fice, form the firſt Tribe. The ſecond Tribe is
that of the KEHTRI, or RAJAS; celebrated for
their valour as the former for their ſanctity.
The Banians, or Merchants, compoſe the Tribe
of Bice. The fourth and moſt numerous Tribe
is that of Sooder. To theſe four reſpective
tribes are appointed different degrees of ſpiri-
tual labour, different modes of performing the
POOJA, or worſhip, and different elevations of
attainable excellence and holineſs. The tribe
of Brahmins, however, is alone allowed to read
the VEDAS; and they explain them as they pleaſe
to the other three tribes, who receive implicitly
the interpretation of their prieſts. What an
unbounded latitude this inuſt open to impofi-
tion, in religious concerns, muſt be evident to
every reader of reflection. It has ariſen from
this circumſtance chiefly, that the pure and
ſublime theology of Brahma has been ſo de-
baſed and mutilated, eſpecially on the coaſt of
the peninſula, by the policy of a venal prieſt-
hood, that few of its original features are to
be traced in the devotion of the common
people, who are ſtrangers to its genuine doc-
trines, and are enſlaved by an everlaſting
round of ceremonies, not leſs painful than per-
plexing. The indefatigable exertions, indeed,
of
Еe 4
[ 410 ]
of our own countrymen, have, of late years,
burſt aſunder the veil that formerly obſcured
their religion, and the ſacred language in the
infcrutable receſſes of which it was ſo long
buried. How difficult it was, even in the
time of the emperor AKBER, to penetrate be-
hind that veil, will be evinced by the following
intereſting narrative, of which the ſubſtance
may be found in Dow.*
That prince, though bred in all the ſtrict-
neſs of the Mohammedan faith, poſſeſſed a
mind too liberal and enlarged to be holden in
chains by any ſuperſtition whatſoever. With
a deſign to chooſe his own religion, or per-
haps from mere curioſity, he made minute in :
quiries concerning the ſeveral ſyſtems of divi.
nity that prevailed among mankind. The let-
ter, of which Mr. Fraſer has given to the world
a tranſlated copy, in which he ſolicits the
king of Portugalef that miſſionaries might be
ſent to inſtruct him and his people in the doc-
trines of Chriſtianity, is a ſingular inſtance of
deviation, from the ſtrong original bias to
his own religion, in the mind of a Mohamme-
dan. Akber was ſucceſsful in his reſearches
among all claſſes of religious votaries, except
the
* Dow's preface to his tranſlation of Feriſhtah, vol i. p. 26.
+ See Fraſer's Nadir Shah, p. 12, where that letter is given
at length.
[411]
1
the Hindoos : from a knowledge of their fa-
cred myſteries he found himſelf excluded by a
line which it was impoſſible to paſs. Diame-
trically oppoſite to the Mohammedan and on
ther ſyſtems of faith, which eagerly embrace
proſelytes of every deſcription, the Brah-
min ſuperſtition rejected all conyerts, and
confequently defied all inveſtigation. Not all
his authority nor promiſes could induce the
prieſts of that order to reveal the principles of
their faith: at length, artifice ſucceeded where
power failed, and in Feizi, the brother of his
miniſter and confident, Abul Fazil, a proper
inſtrument ſeemed to be found to accompliſh
the deſired object.
Feizi was, at that time, but of tender
years, but ſufficiently advanced to receive in-
ſtruction for the part he was to act.
was to act. Under
the character of a poor orphan of the facer-
dotal tribe he was received into the houſe, and
under the protection of a learned brahmin at
Benares : and in the courſe of ten years, not
only became maſter of the Sanſcreet language,
but of all the various branches of ſcience
taught at that celebrated univerſity. The
time approached for his return to the court of
Akber, and meaſures for the ſafe and unſuf-
pected departure from his patron and the city
where
1
I 412 ]
*
where he had ſo long reſided were accordingly
taken by the anxious monarch. An ardent
paſſion, conceived by the youth for the beau-
tiful daughter of the brahmin, and the in-
pulſe of gratitude ſtrongly acting upon a ge-
ncrous mind, induced him, in a moment when
virtuous principles predominated over the ſug-
geſtions of vanity and ambition, to proſtate
himſelf at the feet of his injured preceptor, to
confeſs the intended fraud, and, amidſt a flood
of tears, to ſolicit his forgiveneſs.
The venerable prieſt, petrified with horror
at the tidings, remained for ſome minutes in
agonizing ſuſpenſe and profound filence. At
length, ſtarting from his reverie, without de-
fcending to the bitterneſs of invective, he
feized a poniard which hung at his girdle, and
was juſt going to bury its point in his own bo-
fom. The unhappy youth, arreſting his uplifted
arm, conjured him to attempt nothing againſt
fo facred a life, and promiſed chearfully to ſub-
mit to any ſeverities that might expiate his
offence, The brahmin, who revered the un-
common genius and erudition of his pupil,
now burſt into tears, and declared his readi-
neſs to forgive him, as well as to continue in
life, if he would grant him two requeſts.
Feizi with tranſport conſented, and folemnly
ſwore
5
( 413 )
fwore to hold his injunctions inviolably ſacred.
Thoſe injunctions were, That he ſhould never
tranſlate the Vedas, nor reveal, to any perſon
whatever, the myſterious ſymbol of the Brah-
min creed.
This may ſeem to be the propereſt place for
introducing an account of the Sanscreet lan-
guage, and entering into a more particular
examination of the principles. contained in
the four Vedas. Materials, however, for a
full inveſtigation of that abſtruſe ſubject, have
not yet come to my hands; although I am not
without expectation of poſſeſſing thoſe mate-
rials in a very ample degree before my diſſer-
tation on the Hindoo literature, and compa-
riſon of the principles of the Brahmin and
Grecian ſchools, ſhall make their appearance.
The reader will be pleaſed, for the preſent, to
reſt.content with the following conciſe and
curſory remarks upon that ſacred and ancient
language, which, for his not leſs than my
own information, I have collected from the
Şanſcreet Grammar of Mr. Halhed and the
Differtations of Sir William Jones. By the
former of theſe gentlemen we are acquainted
that the Sanſcreet alphabet conſiſts of FIFTY
letters, thirty-four of which are conſonants ;
and that nearly half of them carry combined
ſounds;
1
[ 414 )
ſounds; that the mode of writing Sanſcreet is
not as the Hebrew, the Perſian, and the Arabic,
are written, from the right hand to the left, but,
in the European manner, from left to right;
and that it has this remarkable ſingularity, that
the conſonants in its alphabet are compofed with
a kind of regularity approaching to metrical ex-
actneſs, which renders them peculiarly eaſy to
be retained in the memory.* He aſſerts it to be a
language of the moſt valuable and unfathoma-
ble antiquity; the grand fource as well as ſacred
repoſitory of Indian literature, and the parent
of almoſt every dialect, from the Perſian Gulph
to the China Sea. He is even of opinion, that the
Sanſcreet was, in ancient periods, current not
only over ALL INDIA, conſidered in its largeſt
extent, but over ALL THE ORIENTAL WORLD,
and that traces of its original and general diffu-
fion may ſtill be diſcovered in almoſt every re-
gion of Aſia. In the courſe of Mr. Halhed's va-
rious reading, (and few men have peruſed more
oriental volumes,) he was aſtonished to find the
fimilitude which it in many inſtances bore to
the Perfian and Arabic. He diſcovered the vifible
traces of its character, that character which
he deſcribes to be ſo curious in its ſtructure
and ſo wonderful in its combination, on the
moſt
* See Mr. Halhed's Grammar of the Bengal Language, p. 8.
[ 415 )
moſt ancient medals and imperial ſignets of
Eaſtern kingdoms ;* and he ſeems to hint that
it was the original language of the earth.
Here then a ſtupendous ſubject unfolds itſelf
for future and profound inveſtigation, invoi-
ving points of the utmoſt importance both to
religion and literature.
To Mr. Halhed's obſervations on the San-
ſcreet language might here be added many judi-
cious reflections made by Sir William Jones on
Sanfcreet compoſitions; but as thoſe reflections
will be my moſt certain guide hereafter, it is not
my intention to anticipate, in this place, re-
marks which will more forcibly arreſt attention
in the Differtation on the Literature of India. It
will be ſufficient for the reader to be informed,
in general, that Sir William ftrenuouſly al-
ſerts the remote, but not unfatbomable, antiqui-
ty of the Sanſcreet language. The Sanſcreet
proſe he deſcribes as eaſy and beautiful, and its
poetry as fublime and energetic. He obſerves,
that the learned will find in it almoſt all the
meaſures of the Greeks; and that the particular
language of the Brahmans or the Devanagari, a
word explained before, runs very naturally into
Sapphics, Alcaics, and Iambics. Sir William
repreſents it as even more perfect than the
Greeks,
* See the very elegant and learned preface to that Grammar,
P. 5.
[ 416 )
Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more
exquiſitely refined than either, yet bearing to
both ſo ſtrong an affinity as to induce a con-
viction in the mind of a philologer, that they
all muſt have ſprung from ſome common fource;
a ſource, which, perhaps, no longer exiſts. It
is in the Devanagari language, a language be-
lieved to have been taught by the Divinity, who
preſcribed the artificial order of the characters
that conſtitute it in a voice from heaven, that
the ſacred VEDAS are written in a kind of mea-
ſured proſe. Let me not mutilate, by abrid-
ging the paſſage, the following moſt im-
portant information given us by this indefati-
gable oriental ſcholar, with which, for the pre-
ſent, I ſhall conclude the ſubject.
letters, with no greater variation in their form,
by the change of ſtrait lines to curves, or
converſely, than the Cusic alphabet has re-
ceived in its way to India, are ſtill adopted
in more than twenty kingdoms and ſtates,
from the borders of CASHGUR and KHOTEN to
RAMA's Bridge, and from the Seendhu to the
river of SIAM. Nor, can I help believing, al-
though the poliſhed and elegant Devanagari may
not be fo ancient as the monumental charac-
ters in the caverns of JARASANDHA, that the
ſquare CHALDAIC letters, in which moſt He-
brew
" Theſe
[ 417 ]
brew books are copied, were originally the
fame, or derived from the ſame prototype,
both with the Indian and Arabian characters :
that the PHNICIAN, from which the Greek
and Roman alphabets were formed, by various
changes and inverſions, had a ſimilar origin,
there can be little doubt, while the infcriptions
of Canarah ſeem to be compounded of Na-
GARI and Æthiopic letters, which bear a
cloſe relation to each other, both in the mode
of writing from the left hand, and in the fin-
gular manner of connecting the vowels with
the conſonants. Theſe remarks may favour an
opinion entertained by many, that all the ſym-
bols of ſound, which, at firſt, probably, were
only rude outlines of the different organs of
ſpeech, had a common origin : the ſymbols of
ideas, now uſed in China and Japan, and
formerly, perhaps, in Egypt and Mexico, are
quite of, a diſtinct nature ; but, it is very
remarkable, that the order of ſounds in the
Chineſe Grammar correſponds nearly with
that obſerved in Tibet, and hardly differs from
that which the Hindoos conſider AS THE IN-
VENTION OF THEIR GODS.”*
It has been remarked that whereroever we di
rect our attention to Hindoo literature, the no.
tion of infinity preſents itſelf. I am of opinion
that
* Afiatic Reſearches, vol. i. p. 424, ubi ſupra.
*
[ 418 ]
that the ſame remark may, with ſtill greater pra-
priety, be applied to a more important ſubject,
their THEOLOGY. That theology comprehends
ſo many momentous and intereſting points,
and, in the examination of it, ſuch an exten-
five field is opened for ſpeculation, that no au,
thor, determined fully to inveſtigate it, can
obſerve order entirely inviolated. I ſhall pro-
ceed in that inveſtigation with as much regu-
larity of arrangement as the ſubject will al-
low, and leave the reſt to the candour of my
readers.
One of the moſt prominent features in the
Indian theology is the doctrine of a Trini-
TY, which it plainly inculcates; a ſubject by
no means to be paſſed over in ſilence, but at
the ſame time connected with the abſtruſeſt
fpeculations of ancient philoſophy. It has
been repeatedly obſerved, that the mythologic
perſonages, BRAHMA, Veeshnu, and Seeva,
conſtitute the grand Hindoo TRIAD of deity.
By Brahma, it is univerſally acknowledged, the
Indians mean God, the Creator ; and poſſibly
the Sanſcreet root may have ſome affinity to the
Hebrew 72, BRA, O BARA, created. I am not
able preciſely to ſtate the radical primitives of
the names of the two other deities; but, ac-
cording to Mr. Holwell,* who tells us, that,
while
• See Holwell's Tracts, part ii. p. 7.
[ 419 )
1
:
while governor-general of Bengal he neglected
no poſſible means of obtaining authentic in-
formation, Veeshnu, in Sanfcreet, literally
ſignifies a cheriſher, a preſerver, a comforter ;
and Sreb, or SEEVA, a deſtroyer and avenger. .
To theſe three perſonages different functions
are aſſigned in the Hindoo ſyſtem of mytholo-
gic ſuperſtition, correſpondent to the different
ſignification of their names; they are diſtin-
guiſhed likewiſe, beſides theſe general titles,
in the various faftras and puranas, by an in-
finite variety of appellations deſcriptive of
their office, which has been the occaſion of
as infinite errors in the works of European
travellers.
That nearly all the Pagan nations of anti-
quity, in their various theological ſyſtems, ac-
knowledged a kind of Trinity in the divine
nature has been the occaſion of much needleſs
alarm and unfounded apprehenſion, eſpecially
to thoſe profeſſors of Chriſtianity, whoſe
religious principles reſt upon ſo ſlender a
baſis that they waver with every wind of
doctrine. The very circumítance which has
given riſe to theſe apprehenſions, the uni-
verſal prevalence of this doctrine in the
Gentile kingdoms, is, in my opinion, ſo far
from invalidating the divine authenticity of it
Ff
that
[ 426 )
that it appears to be an irrefragable argument
in its favour; it ought to confirm the piety
cf the wavering Chriſtian, and build up
the tottering fabric of his faith. The doc-
trine itſelf bears ſuch ſtriking internal marks
of a divine original, and is ſo very unlikely
to have been the invention of mere human
reaſon, that there is no way of account .
ing for the general adoption of ſo ſingular
a belief by moſt ancient nations, than by
ſuppoſing what I have, in pretty ſtrong terms,
intimated at the commencement of this chap-
ter, and what I hope moſt of thoſe, who ho-
nour theſe pages with a peruſal, will finally
unite with me in concluding to be the genuine
fact, that this doctrine was neither the inven-
tion of Pythagoras, nor Plato, nor any other
philoſopher in the ancient world, but a sub-
LIME MYSTERIOUS TRUTH, one of thoſe ſtu-
pendous arcana of the inviſible world, which,
through the condeſcending goodneſs of divine
Providence, was revealed to the ancient patri-
archs of the faithful line of Shem'; by them
propagated to their Hebrew pofterity; and,
through that pofterity, during their various
migrations and diſperſion over the Eaſt, diffu-
ſed through the Gentile nations among which
they ſojourned.
1
[ 427 )
I muſt again take permiſſion to aſſert it as
my folemn belief, a belief founded upon long
and elaborate inveſtigation of this important
ſubject, that the Indian as well as all other
triads of Deity, ſo univerſally adored through-
out the whole Aſiatic world, and under every
denomination, whether they conſiſt of Per-
SONS, PRINCIPLES, or ATTRIBUTES DEIFIED,
are only corruptions of the Chriſtian doctrine
of the Trinity. Phyſics and falſe philoſo-
phy have, in every age, combined to darken
this great truth ; but they have not availed
wholly to extirpate it from the mind of man.
With reſpect, however, to drawing any im-
mediate parallel between the Chriſtian and
Hindoo Trinity, as the Hindoo Trinity is
now conceived of by the brahmins, it might
border on abfolute blaſphemy, principally on
account of the licentious rites and groſs phy-
fical character of Seeva; a character which I
cannot but conſider as greatly miſrepreſented
by them. In the Creator and Preſerver of In-
dia, however, this ſublime truth beams forth
with a luſtre, which no phyſics have been able
to obſcure. Poffibly hereafter, too, it may
appear, that, as their ſyſtem of philoſophy
allows not of the abſolute deſtruction of any
objeEt in nature, but aſſerts, that only a change
of
Ff2
( 428 )
of being takes place, the character of Seeva,
as a deſtroyer, may be found inconſiſtent with
their principles; and that, however miſcon-
ceived in their preſent corrupted ſyſtem of de-
votion, and however degraded by ſymbols e-
qually hoſtile to all religion and all morality,
their third hypoſtaſis was originally intended
only to ſymbolize the quickening and regenera-
tive power of God. This hypotheſis is ren-
dered exceedingly probable by the circumſtance
of Fire, the emblem of life, being the true
and ancient ſymbol of Seeva, whence the old-
eſt pagodas, erected in honour of him, are
invariably pyramidal. It is not, however,
alone the expreſſive emblem of fire which
marks the character of Seeva to have ori-
ginally ſhadowed out the quickening, rather
than the deſtrcying, power of God, or rather
the God himſelf of life and death; for,
in the Hindoo coſmogony, all the three per-
fons in this Indian triad are repreſented as
being preſent during that ſolemn act; and
thus are they depicted on Mr. Holwell's firſt
plate illuſtrative of that event. Now, as a
deſtroyer, what eniployment could there be
for Seeva during the creation of the world
although in the exertion of the vivific energy
there is obvious occaſion for the preſence of a
being,
ވެ
[ 429 )
1
being, whoſe peculiar function it is to low
the ſeeds of embryo life, and give form and
motion to inert and ſhapeleſs matter. In this
inveſtigation I am deeply ſenſible of the dan-
gerous ground upon which I have to tread;
and, though it may not be in my power, nor
do I pretend, to obviate every difficulty, yet,
in the courſe of it, I am confident that I ſhall
be able firmly to eſtabliſh the general poſition,
that the Indian, not leſs than the other, tri-
ads of Aſia, are but perverſions of one grand
primæval doctrine. My humble but earneſt ef-
forts ſhall be exerted to explore and trace back
to its remoteſt ſource this myſterious doctrine,
which is to be ſought for in a very different
country from Greece. In fact, that ſource muſt
be explored, and can alone be found in the
firſt known revelations of the Deity to the hu.
man race, and in the moſt ancient traditions
and hieroglyphics of his highly-favoured peo-
ple, The Jews.
The underſtanding of man can never be
more groſſly inſulted than when infidelity la-
bours to perſuade us, that a truth, fo awfully
fublime as that at preſent under conſideration,
could ever be the offspring of human inven-
tion
nor can hiſtory be more violated than
when it fixes the origin of this doctrine to
3
the
3
Ff3
[ 430 ]
the ſchools of Greece. Equally above the
boldeſt flight of human genius to invent, as
beyond the moſt extended limit of human in-
tellect fully to comprehend, is the profound
myſtery of the ever-bleſſed Trinity. Through
ſucceſſive ages it has remained impregnable to
all the ſhafts of impious ridicule, and unſhaken
by the bolder artillery of blaſphemous invec-
tive. It is ever in vain that man eſlays to pierce
the unfathomable arcana of the ſkies. By his
limited faculties and ſuperficial ken, the deep
things of eternity are not to be ſcanned.
Even among Chriſtians, the ſacred Trinity is
more properly a ſubject of belief than of in-
veſtigation, and every atten:pt to penetrate in.
to it, farther than God in his holy word has
expreſſly revealed, is at beſt an injudicious,
and aften a dangerous, effort of miſtaken pie-
ty. If we extend our eye through the remote
region of antiquity, we ſhall find this very
doctrine, which the primitire Chriſtians are
ſaid to have borrowed from the Platonic ſchool,
univerſally and immemorially flouriſhing in all
thoſe eaſtern countries where hiitory and tra-
dition have united to fix thoſe virtuous ancef-
tors of the human race, whą, for their dif-
tinguiſhed attainments in piety, were admitted
to a familiar intercourſe with JEHOVAH and
thg
[ 431 ]
the angels, the divine heralds of his com-
mands: ſome converſing with the Deity face
to face upon earth, and others, after behold-
ing the divine aſpect in the veil of mortality,
caught up into heaven without taſting of
death, its appointed doom, to contemplate
with nearer view, and with more intenſe fer-
vour, the beatific glory. To Adam, in the
ſtate of innocence, many parts of the myſte-
rious economy of the eternal regions were,
by the divine permiſſion, unfolded ; nor did
his mind, at the fall, loſe all impreſſion
of thoſe wonderful revelations which had been
gradually imparted to him ; for, the remem-
brance of his paſt enjoyment and forfeited
privileges, doubleſs, formed one afflicting part
of his puniſhment. It was in that happy
ſtate, when man's more refined and perfect na-
ture could better bear the influx of great celeſ-
tial truths, that the awful myſtery was revealed
to him, and it came immediately from the
lips of that divine Being, the mighty Autobeds,
or self-EXISTENT, who, by his Holy Word,
created all things, and animated all things
which he had created by that energic and per-
vading SPIRIT which emanated from himſelt:
, It was at that remote period, that this holy
doctrine was firſt propagated, and molt vigo-
4
roully
A
1
Ff4
[ 432 ]
1
rouſly flouriſhed; not in the ſchool of PLA
TO, not in the academic groves of GREECE,
but in the ſacred bowers of Eden, and in the
awful ſchool of univerſal nature, where Jeho-
VAH himſelf was the inſtructor, and Adam the
heaven-taught pupil. With the holy perſona-
ges that compoſe the Trinity he freely conver-
ſed during all the period that he remained in a
ſtate of innocence, while the refulgent glory of
the divine SHEÇHINAH, darting upon him its
direct, but tempered, rays, encircled with a
flood of light the enraptured protoplaſt,
formed in the image and ſimilitude of his Ma-
ker. But, as he ſaw the radiance of the di-
vine Triad in innocence with inexpreſſible joy,
fo, when fallen from that ſtate of primeval
rectitude, he beheld it with unutterable ter,
ror, eſpecially at that awful moinent, when
the ſame luminous appearance of Deity, but
arrayed in terrible majeſty, and darting forth
feverer beams, fought the flying apoſtate, who
heard with new and agonizing ſenſations the
majeſtic voice of Jehovah ELOHIM, literally
the Lord Gods, walking in the garden in the
çool of the day.
For the hiſtory of the Chriſtian Trinity ita
ſelf, the yarious doctrines propagated relative
to it in the carly ages after Chriſt, and the
conteſts
[ 433 ]
conteſts which ever ſince have not ceaſed to
agitate the church from the third century to
the preſent day, the reader will conſult Biſhop
Bull, Moſheim, and its moſt ſucceſsful mo.
dern defender, Biſhop Horſley. My obſer-
vations will be confined as much as poſſible to
the moſt early Jewish nations of this holy
myſtery, and the degradation and proſtitution
of it, either in doctrine or by ſymbols, among
the GENTILES.
It has been obſerved by Grotius, that Chriſ-
tianity is only the completion of the Jewiſh
law;* we may, therefore, with the greateſt
reaſon, expect to find ſo predominant a feature
in the Chriſtian, deciſively marked in the He-
brew, ſyſtem of theology. In reality, the di-
ligent inveſtigator of the Old Teſtament will
find it to be fo in a variety of paſſages, and
that in a manner the moſt pointed and une-
quivocal. It would probably have been yet
more frequently, and in ſtill more deciſive lan-
guage, inſiſted on in the writings of Moſes,
and in the venerable prophets who ſucceeded
him, but for a reaſon very forcible, although
not generally attended to. So unhappily
prone were the great body of the Hebrew na-
tion to run into the groſs and boundleſs
polytheiſm in which their pagan neighbours
were
* Vide Grotius de Veritate, lib. i. ſect. 14
[ 434 ]
1
rors.
were immerſed, that the greateſt caution and
delicacy were neceſſary to be obſerved in incul-
cating a doctrine which might poſſibly be per-
verted to perpetuate and to ſanction thoſe er-
Continually violating the two grand
injunctions which ſtand foremoſt in the Deca-
logue, the vulgar Jews were incapable of com-
prehending ſo exalted and myſterious a truth.
Even amidſt the awful and terrifying ſcenes
thatuwere tranſacting on the illumined ſummit
of Sinai, though they ſaw the glory and heard the
voice, yet could not all this ſtupendous diſplay
of Almighty power reſtrain the madneſs of
their idolatry. From age to age, however,
through all the periods of their empire, dif-
perſed as they were through every clime, and
languiſhing under every viciſſitude of fortune,
this threefold diſtinction in the Deity was
confeſſed by the rabbies in a variety of writings
and by a multitude of emblems.
In fact, this ſublime doctrine, ſo far from
being only obſcurely glanced at in the Old Tef-
tamert, repeatedly occurs and ſtrikingly forces
itſelf upon the attention of the reader. The
intelligent and learned Jew well knows this,
and would acknowledge it, were he not bount
down in the feiters of national bigotry, and
were he nor inſpired from his very infancy
with ſentiments of the bittereſt rancour againſt
thc
1
[ 435 ]
the deſpiſed Meſſiah of the Chriſtians. But
whence originated this rooted contempt and
averſion to the meek, the amiable, the benefi-
cent, Meſſiah? The perverted imaginations
of their ambitious forefathers had inveſted
the Meſſiah whom they expected with all the gor-
geous trappings of temporal grandeur. Inſtead
of the benevolent Jeſus, the Prince of peace,
they expected a daring and irreſiſtible
conque-
ror, who, armed with greater power than Cæ-
far, was to come upon earth to rend the fetterš
in which their hapleſs nation had ſo long
groaned, to avenge them upon their haughty
.
oppreſſors, and to re-eſtabliſh the kingdom of
Judah upon the ruin of all other kingdoms.
The Shiloh, for whole co ning the breaſt of
the impatient Ifraelite of old panted, would
not, they conceived, appear in leſs regal ſplen-
dour than the magnificent Solomon, nor with
leſs military array than the triumphant Joſhua.
They believed, that, immediately on his advent,
he was to elevate his immortal ſtandard upon
the ſacred hill, and that his victorious legions
were to march againti, and exterminate, all
oppoſers of his claim to univerſal ſovereignty.
Thus an empire, which Jehovah had declared
ſhould be founded in benevolence and equity,
was, by the infatuated Jews, conſidered as
about to be eſtabliſlied by a wanton profuſion
1
0*
1
[ 436 ]
of human blood, and ſupported by the moſt
flagrant deſpotiſm. Happily for mankind,
the Almighty Mind was inflamed with no ſuch
ſanguinary and vindictive ſentiments againſt
his rebel ſubjects. Inſtead of the crimſon
banner of deſerved wrath, the white flag of
conciliation and pardon was diſplayed on the
ſacred heights of Salem. The Gentiles, obey
ing the ſummons, joyfully enliſted beneath
that banner, and are gathered into the garner
of their heavenly Father; while the obſtinate
Jews, ſtill ſpurning the divine proffer, are
ſcattered over the earth, and view with mingled
rage and indignation the elevation and prof-
perity of the deſpiſed ſect of the Nazarene.
Animated by this ſpirit of rancour againſt
Chriſtianity, they have, with unparalleled
audacity, proceeded to mutilate their moſt ve-
nerated records, and involve whatever evidence
could be brought, in favour and ſupport of its
leading doctrines from their early opinions,
traditions, and writings, in a labyrinth of in-
extricable confuſion, or entirely to bury that
evidence in an abyſs of impenetrable darkneſs,
They have even dared to pronounce that the
true ſenſe of the ſacred volumes themſelves can
only be found in the degrading comments and
baſe forgeries of their interpreting rabbies,
who lived in the early ages after Chriſt.
With
43° )
With the elaborate productions of my lear'n-
ed predeceſſors on this diſputed ground, I
have not the preſumption to attempt an idle
competition; but, as this book will probably
go to a region of the earth, where thoſe ex-
cellent authors cannot be obtained, I ſhall en-
deavour to ſtate, in the cleareſt and moſt con-
ciſe manner poſſible, what are the genuine
and avowed ſentiments of the Chriſtian
church, and of all its ſincere adherents relative
to this doctrine, which, as I obſerved before,
is a myſtery to be believed rather than a ſpecuá
lative doctrine to be agitated in warm and en-
bittered controverſy.
The Chriſtian religion inculcates the belief
of one God, ETERNAL, INFINITE, OMNIPO-
TENT, without the leaſt madow of imperfec-
tion in his nature, and without the remoteſt
poſſibility of viciffitude. The ſacred Scriptures,
however expreſs upon the ſubject of the Unity
of the Godhead, as decidedly affert that there
are, in the divine nature, three diſtinct hypofta-
Jes, or perſons, whom they denominate the FA-
Ther, the Son, or WORD, OF GOD, and the
HOLY SPIRIT. To cach of theſe facred per-
fons, individually, all the eſſential attributes
and all the peculiar operations of Deity are
affcated to belong. The Father is the great
FUUNTAIN of the civinity. The Son and
the
1
[ 438 ]
11
--
*
the Holy Spirit are EMANATIONS from that
fountain: not diviſible from their ſource,
but eternally exiſting in it, and inſeparably
united to it. To maintain that the three per-
ſons in the facred Trinity are of a different
nature, that they can by any poſſible means be
ſeparated, or that there exiſts more than one
Fountain or Principle in the Divinity, is, as
Biſhop Bull has obſerved on this profound
ſubject, groſs TriTHEISM ;* a doctrine utter-
ly repugnant to that ſyſtem of religion, of
which the Unity of the Godhead forms the
predominant feature. The Chriſtian Trinity,
therefore, is not a Trinity of principles like
that of the Perſian philoſophers; it does not
conſiſt of mere logical notions and inadequate
conceptions of Deity like that of Plato ; but it
is a Trinity of ſubliſtences, or perſons, joined
by an indiſſoluble union. As it is againſt the
divinity of the ſecond and third perſon, in this
holy Triad that inveterate ſcepticiſm princi-
pally points its raſh invcítive ; let us take a
curſory review of the qualities and offices af-
cribed to them in the ſacred writings.
It is neceſſary ever to be remembered, that,
when thoſe writings denominate one perſon, in
the
* See Biſhop Bull's Defenſ. Nic. Fid. pallim, but particu-
larly his Diſcourſe on the Trinity, in his Sermons, vol. iii. p.
829, edit. oct. 1713.
+
[439]
the Trinity, the firſt, another the ſecond, and
another the third, they muſt not be underſtood
as if ſpeaking of a priority of time or of nature,
which would imply ſome ſort of dependence,
but only of a priority of emanation. The ſecond
perſon, indeed, is ſaid to have proceeded from
the firſt, and the third from the firſt and few
cond ; yet from this expreſſion it by no means
follows that they were created beings, for, in
that caſe, to pay them any adoration would
doubtleſs be to ſubſtantiate the charge which
our opponents bring againſt thoſe who worſhip
the Trinity, and involve us in all the guilt of
complicated idolatry. It cannot be ſaid of
them, as of created agents, erat quando non
erant, or that they once were not; ſince their
going forth is ſaid to have been from all eter-
nity. They were, conſequently, eternal and
ncceſſary emanations, co-eval and co-eſſential
with the ſublime Being, from whom they
emanated: not circumſcribed in their powers,
not limited in their duration, which is the
proper deſcription and characteriſtic of created
intelligences; but unlimited as the boundleſs
univerſe which they animate and direct, inde-
finable in the extent of their operations, and,
ſince they never were created, ſo it is inpoffi-
ble that they ſhould ever be annihilated.
To
+
[
To prove what is thus aflerted, texts need
not be multiplied. St. John, who ſeems to have
compoſed the particular Goſpel, which bears
his name, on purpoſe to obviate ſome riſing
hereſies in the church, relative to our Saviour's
incarnation, expreflly ſays, In the beginning was
the WORD, or Logos, and the Word was with
God, and the WORD was God. And, ſince it
is in the power of no created being to create
other beings, as the ſtrongeſt proof of his di-
vinity that could be given, he immediately
adds, All things were MADE by him, and without
bin was not any thing Made that was MADE.*
He ſums up the whole of this deciſive evidence,
in proof of "the declared divinity of the
Logos, by this folemn declaration : the Word
was MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us, AND WE
BEHELD HIS GLORY. This is the atteſtation
of one of that higlıly favoured number of holy
perſons, who having been on carth the con-
ſtant companions of Him, in whom dwelt all
the FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD bodily, I be-
held that glory break forth in unſpeakable
ſplendor, when, after his reſurrection, he a-
ſcended the ſkies whence he came, and reſu.
med his feat upon the eternal throne. Of his
unity with the Father, what terms can poſſi-
bly
John i. No 1, 2, 3:
+ John i. 14 I Coloff. ii. 9.
t
[ 441 ]
bly be more pointed and expreſs on the ſubject
than thoſe made uſe of by the incarnate Logos
himſelf, by him who came to be a pattern of
humility to men, and with whoſe aſſumed cha-
racter every ſpecies of improper boaſting was
totally incompatible. Yet, upon an occaſion
that ſeemed to demand the unqualified avowal
of his immortal rights and dignity, did the meek
Meſſiah, in this emphatic and unequivocal lan-
guage, aſſert his high rank in that univerſe
which he had made; I AND MY FATHER ARE
one. The Holy Spirit is called the ſpirit of truth,
WHO PROCEEDETH FROM THE FATHER.Ş The
divinity and rank of this important perſonage
of the Trinity are repeatedly declared in holy
writs and his character and attributes are ſancm
tioned in the moſt awful manner. To lie to the
Holy Ghost is expreſſly ſaid to lie unto God,
and all manner of blaſphemy but that againſt the
Holy Ghost ſhall be forgiven. He was like-
wife preſent and actively aſſiſting in the great
and godlike work of creation; for, the SPIRIT OF
God moved upon the face of the waters. As by
the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, fo
were all the bolt of them by the BREATH (in He-
brew, the SPIRIT) of bis mouth. I
Gg2
Equally
A&s, V. 3, 4
"U John X. 30.
Genefis i. 2.
$ John xv, 26.
I Pralms xxxii. 6.
[ 442 ]
Equally rapid and energetic in his opera-
tions, the HOLY SPIRIT is the more imme-
diate agent between the divine mind and that
portion of it which animates the human form.
He is the munificent diſpenſer to mortals of
all the more fplendid excellences and amiable
éndowments that adorn'and illuſtrate our na-
ture. He is repreſented as an excellent Spi-
rit, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of wif
dom, the Spirit of burning. It was this
bleſſed Spirit that iſſued from the opening
heavens in the form of the ſpotleſs dove, and,
a lighting in beams of glory upon the head of
our Saviour, corroborated the folemn and pub.
lic atteſtation of Jehovah, that He was his be-
loved ſon. It was this Spirit that diffuſed the ra-
diance of the SHECHINAH round the ſame dig-
nified Meſſiah when he was transfigured in the
high and remote mountain, and when the aſto-
niſhed diſciples, who accompanied him, beheld
his altered viſage ſhining like the ſun, and bis rai-
ment white as light. He was the ruſhing mighty
wind, that defcended from heaven, and filled all
the houſe in which the apoſtles were aſſembled.
He was the luminous Splendor that ſat upon
each of them, and, while it imparted a ray of
ætherial fire to their boſoms, cauſed their
looſened
1
.
[ 443 ]
looſened tongues to pour forth a ſpontaneous
flood of heaven-taught eloquence.
The ſceptic affirms, that this doctrine of a
Trinity in Unity is contrary to reaſon, and he
cannot give his aſſent to a manifeſt contradiction.
But, in anſwer to this, it has been repeatedly
and forcibly urged, that'a doctrine, which, as
I have juſt remarked, foars far above the limits
ed
powers of our weak reaſon to comprehend,
may yet by no means becontradi&tory to that rea..
ſon of which we ſo arrogantly boaſt. Mankind,
in this point, demand more rigid proofs than
on any ſpeculative points whatever, concerning
which the ingenuity of the human mind may
chooſe to debate, can poſſibly, be obtained.
The queſtion is, whether the ſubject ought to
be brought to this ſtandard, and; whether it
is poſſible to be fathomed by that reaſon. If
divines alſerted that there are three Gods, that
would indeed be a direct and palpable contra,
diction; but we may ſurely, without viola:
ting reaſon, maintain that there are, in the di:
vine eſſence, three diſtinct hypoſtaſes. The
doctrine of the ANTIPODES was denied, till
a better acquaintance with the true form of
the earth, and the principles of gravitation
and attraction, eyinced the certainty of it.
To a man, ignorant of the principles and,
ſules
G83
[ 444 )
rules of geometry, it muſt appear impoſſible to
meaſure the diameter of the earth, for he
would naturally inquire where was the vaſt
line that ſhould be drawn over the ſurface of ſo
bulky a ſphere. It muſt appear ſtill leſs prac-
ticable to extend, through the regions of ſpace,
the line of menſuration, accurately to compute
the diſtances, and correctly to deſcribe the mag-
nitudes, of the ſhining orbs that revolve through
them; yet has the former been done without
the immediate aid of the line and the rule, and
the latter by means of the ſame ſcience applied
to aſtronomy. The Laplander cannot conceive
that life can poſſibly be ſuſtained under the di-
rect fervours of an equinoctial ſun; nor can
the ſcorched inhabitant of the Tropic at all
comprehend how water ſhould be bound in icy
fetters. The latter would probably deem it
the height of madneſs to aſſert, that, clothed
in fur, the hardy progeny of Ruſſia and Lap-
land drive the rapid fledge, drawn by rein-deer,
over mountains of ſtagnant water, or that ſo
oppoſite an element as fire, for whole nights,
ſhould glow with unabated vigour upon the
ſurface of thoſe icy fields, the ſureſt defence
of the traveller againſt the fierce and predatory
beaſts of the defart. The circumſtances thus
enumerated may exhibit to fuperficial enquiry
an
[ 445 ]
1
an apparent contradiction; but, thence, the
abfolute impoſſibility of fome, and the utter
impracticability of others, are by no means to
be inferred. *
In the vaſt field of NATURE, and in the wide
circle of SCIENCE, a thouſand perplexing phæ-
nomena daily occur; of which, though our rea-
ſon cannot reſolve the myſtery, we do not deny
the exiſtence. Both nature and ſcience, how-
ver, exhibit objects which may aſſiſt weak hu-
man intellect in its endeavour to form fome
faint conception of this important truth.
From the latter, a ſtriking inſtance has been
repeatedly adduced in the geometrical figure,
the equilateral triangle, of which the three
fides are equal in quantity, and, when united,
exhibit one of the moſt perfect figures in the
power of art to form. Upon this very ac-
count, we are informed by Kircher, the Egyp-
tians actually made uſe of the triangle as a ſym-
bol to deſcribe the «
numen τριμορφον, THE
DEITY IN HIS THREE-FOLD CAPACITY. The
former holds out to us the ſolar orb, in which,
the three qualities of FLAME, LIGHT, and
HEAT, inſeparably blended, afford a noble
ſymbol
* See this matter ſet in a clear point of view in Dr. Bedford's
Sermons in the defence of the Trinity, preached at Lady Mau
yer's lectures, p. 27, et ſeq.
+ See Kircher in @dip, Ægypt. vol. ii. p. 24.
Gg4
[ 446 ]
fymbol of a higher union. Of created objects,
ſince there is none more noble in the uni-
verſe than the sun, I ſhall poſſibly be excuſed
for referring alſo to that object for an eluci-
dation of another magnified difficulty, ſtarted
by Arianiſm againſt this myſtery: that God the
Son cannot be co-eval with God the Father,
becauſe the exiſtence of any being, who pro-
ceeds from another, muſt neceſſarily com-
mence later than that of the ſource whence he
proceeds, and that ſuch very proceſſion evi-
dently implies inferiority. Let the ſceptic then
ereet his eye towards that heaven, againſt
which he aims the artillery of his weak wit
or his futile logic, and ſurvey the sun diffuſing
through our ſyſtem his genial beam. Let
his imagination, warmed by the ſurvey, tra-
vel back to that remote period, probably long
antecedent to the formation of this globe, in
which that orb; launched from the arm of the
Creator, began to fill his lofty ſtation in the
ſkies. Whenſoever that period commenced,
co-eval with its exiſtence, at the very inſtant
of its formation, emanated the VIVIFYING
RAY that pervades and invigorates our
whole ſyſtem. Indeed, were it poſſible for us
to forget our own noble code of religion, ſo
far as to join with the enthuſiaſtic adorers of
that
[447]
;
that orb in ancient times, and believe it to
be ETERNAL, we muſt own its RAY to have
been ETERNAL alſo.
I have aſſerted that the learned of the Jewiſh
nation in every period of their empire knew
and acknowledged the great Truth which we
are conſidering ; that they applied, to the
Meſſiah whom they expected, moſt of the texts
and prophecies in the Old Teſtament, which
we conſider as pointedly alluſive to Jeſus
Chrift; but that, to elude the force of the
ap-
plication of thoſe texts to Him and their com-
pletion of thoſe prophecies in his Perſon, they
have mutilated their moſt venerated records
that they have even declared that the true ſenſe.
of their Scriptures is only to be found in the
commentaries of their celebrated doctors, and
that in fact they hold the Talmuds compoſed
by them in higher veneration than the original.
Having ventured thus far in aſſertion; I ſhall
now advance even beyond this point, and add,
that if a doctrine ſo important as this in the
Chriſtian ſyſtem, a ſyſtem which in a great
meaſure is founded upon that of the Hebrews,
cannot be diſcovered in thoſe Scriptures in as
great a degree as a nation for ever relapſing
into polytheiſm would bear the revelation of
it, that its being a genuine doctrine of Chrif-
tianity
1
[ 4481
tianity may juftly be ſuſpected, and onc grcat
evidence at leaſt for the ſupport of it will be
overturned. However raſh and precipitate the
laſt aſſertion may appear, I truſt that I ſhall be
able fully to prove the truth of the poſition.
It will previouſly be neceſſary to acquaint
the reader, that, from that remote and me-
morable period in which the divine Legiſla-
for appeared to Moſes on Sinai, the Jews have
regarded in the moſt facred light a code of tra-
ditional laws, which they denominate oral, in
order to diſtinguiſh them from thoſe which
are called written lows. They believe, that,
when Mofes received the law from the Al-
mighty, he alſo received certain CABALA, or
niyſterious explanations of that law, which he
did not think proper to commit to writing,
but delivered orally to Aaron, to the prieſts
the ſons of Aaron, and the aſſembled Sanhe-
drim. While the former was faithfully de-
livered to poſterity in the books of Exodus,
Leviticus, and Numbers, the latter, imprint-
ed by frequent repetition on the memory of
thoſe to whom they were thus orally intruſted,
were as faithfully delivered down by tradition,
from fathertofon, and from age to age, till about
the .year after Chriſt 180, when a celebrated
rabbi, named Judah the Holy, collected toge-
ther
[ 449 ]
r
ther theſe various traditions, and, committing
them to writing, formed out of them the vo-
luminous compilation, holden in ſuch pro.
found veneration among the Jews, called the
Misna, a Hebrew word ſignifying repetition.
This holy doctor was the chief of the miſera-
ble remnant of that nation, who remained af-
ter their final diſperſion, and after the total
deſtruction of Jeruſalem and the temple. Ju-
dah was induced to this act by the juſt appre-
benſion, that, in their various diſperſion and
migrations through ſo many provinces, and
during the interruption of the public ſchools,
the traditions of their fathers and the rites of
their religion ſhould be obliterated from their
memory. "It was againſt the rigid adherence
of the Jews to the inſtitutions preſcribed by
theſe traditions, preſerved with ſuch anxious
care and honoured with ſuch profound vene-
ration, to the great neglect of the precepts of
the written law that our Saviour repeatedly di-
rected his animated cenſures, Full well
jeɛt the commandment of God that ye may keep
your own traditions. He ridicules their blind
ſuperſtition in that reſpect; and, while he
does not diſcourage a decent attention to the
wiſe maxims of their forefathers, he, in very
deciſive language, ſtigmatiſes the infatuated
zeal
ye re-i
1
[ 450 ]
zeal that wearied itſelf in a round of ceremo-
nious obſervances of human inſtitution, yet
neglected the weightier matters of the law of
God. From this cauſe principally aroſe the
implacable malice with which the ſcribes and
phariſees purſued even to the croſs the daunt-
leſs upbraider of their hypocriſy, who, to the
crime of being humbly born, added the aggra-
vating offence of manly truth and inflexible
integrity.
About a hundred years after Rabbi Judah
had thus conſolidated into one body all the
traditions in his power to collect, under the
title of Misna, which the Jews to this day
honourwith the appellation of the Second Law,
and which in fact they hold in higher venera-
tion than the Firſt, another celebrated rabbi, of
the name of Jonathan, compiled a treatiſe
called the GEMARA. Gemara is a Hebrew
term ſignifying perficere, confummare; that is
to ſay, this learned doctor, by collecting all
the remaining traditions of the Jews, as well
as all the legal deciſions of the Jewiſh doctors
on certain great points of controverſy relative
cither to their eccleſiaſtical or civil policy, and
by adding an ample comment of his own upon
the Miſna, completed the grand undertaking
which Judah had begun.
They therefore
(ſays
+
[ 451
]
A
.
(ſays Calmet) call this work Completion, Per-
fection, becauſe they confiler it as an explana-
tion of the whole law, to which there can be
no farther additions made, and after which
nothing more can be deſired."* The Miſna
and the Gemara, joined together, compoſe
the TALMUD, (that is, doctrinale,) the grand
code of Jewiſh traditional divinity. Of theſe
Talmuds there are two; that of Jeruſalem, ſo
called from being compiled in that city, and
the other, that of Babylon, becauſe the pro-
daction of the Babylonian ſchool. The for-
mer conſiſts of the Miſna of the Rabbi Judal,
and the Gemara of Johanan ; the latter of the
ſame Miſna, but united with the Gemara, or
completion of Rabbi Asa, who flouriſhed at
Babylon about a century after Rabbi Johanan.
The fornier Talmud is more conciſe and ob-
ſcure in its ſtyle than the latter, which is,
therefore, more in requeſt among the Jews,
whoſe partiality to it may poſſibly be increaſed
by
* Sec Calmet's great Hiſtorical, Critical, and Etymological,
Dictionary, under the article Gemara, vol.i. p. 598. Great
part of what is offered in the text is taken from this, au-
thentic book, which, together with Gale's Court of the Gene
tiles, Dr. Allix's Judgement of the Jewiſh church, the Phenix,
Bull, Waterland, Cudworth, Sherlock, Bedford, and the lacer
authors, form a library upon this ſubject which the Engliſh in-
veſtigator will hardly chooſe to be without. The edition of
Calmet cited by me is that of London, 1732.
1
[ 452 ]
by the numerous legends and romantic tales
with which it abounds. Now, in what ſuper
rior eſteem, even to the facred volumes them
ſelves, theſe Talmuds are holden by the Jews
is evident from the following adage recorded
by Calmet, who ſays, they compare “ the
Bible to water, the Miſna to wine, and the
Gemara to hypocras.” Hypocras (or Hippo-
cras, as it ſhould rather be written, ſince the
word is derived from its ſuppoſed inventor.
Hippocrates) is a kind of medicated wine;
uſed in foreign countries, and enriched with
the moſt fragant aromatics and the ſtrongeſt
ſpices. This proverbial ſaying is amply illufa
trative of their real opinions on the ſcore of
theſe traditions, and deciſively corroborative
of the propriety of my former remarks. How-
ever high in the opinion of the Jews the two
Talmuds of Jeruſalem and Babylon may rank,
and however ſtrong may be the proof thus ex-
hibited that they have transferred to the oral
law a great part of that veneration which their
anceſtors entertained for the written law,
yet
there are other productions of Hebrew piety
and erudition deſerving ſtill more diſtinguiſhed
notice, and far more venerable in point of
antiquity than theſe. From the Talmuds, in-
volved as they are in a veil of fable and ſuper-
ftition,
+
[453]
ftition, though doubtleſs with ſome fublime
theological and moral truths intermixed, no
fubftantial evidence can poſſibly be adduced of
their early opinions on the grand point of
theology under diſcuſſion; or, if any ſhould
appear, it muſt be principally in the Miſna of
Judah. The real ſentiments of the more an-
tient Jews are only to be found in thoſe two
celebrated paraphraſes on the Hebrew text,
called the Targums, the more ancient one
bearing the name of JONATHAN, and that leſs
ancient, but not materially ſo, the name of
Onkelos. The Targum compoſed by Jona-
than is a diffuſe commentary on the greater
and leſs prophets; and was written, according
to Calmet, about thirty years before the time
of our Saviour. The Targum of Onkelos is
entirely upon the Pentateuch, or five books
of Moſes, and, both in its ſtyle and mode of
explication, is more conciſe than the former,
They are both written in tolerably pure Chal-
dee, although that of Onkelos is reckoned
more pure and is in moſt eſteem among the
learned. That of Jonathan, however, is moſt in
requeſt among the Jewsingeneral; and is ſtrongly
ſuſpected to have had additions made to it by
the Jewiſh doctors, who lived many centuries
after Chriſt. Theſe Targumim therefore, but
more
( 454 )
more particularly the former, muſt be our on-
ly ſure guide in inveſtigating the unadulterated
ſenſe of the Old Teſtament and in exploring
the genuine ſentinents of the ancient Jews.
The learned critic and Hebraiſt, Dr. Wot-
ton, has remarked that it is but fair to let
the Jewiſh doctors explain their own Scrip-
tures, and to receive their comments as the
trueſt expoſitions of them, when there is no
reaſon to ſuſpect any latent ill intention or im-
proper bias ſwaying the judgement of the
commentator.* Undoubtedly a diligent at-
tention to the vaſt treaſure of Hebrew tradi-
tional knowledge, which the Miſna of Judah
contains, has been of infinite ſervice to Chrif-
tian divines in explaining many difficult paſſa-
ges of the New Teſtament, and, in particu-
lar, thoſe parts of our Lord's diſcourſes and
St. Paul's Epiſtles which are ſo directly allu-
five to their ancient cuſtoms and traditions.
Whatever objections therefore may be brought
againſt more recent expoſitors, nothing of this
kind can be urged againſt the paraphraſes ei-
ther of Jonathan or Onkelos; and if, as was
before hinted, the text of Jonathan has been
corrupted, we may depend upon it that no.
thing
• See the preface to Dr. Wotton's Diſcourſes on the Tradi-
tions of the Jews, vol. i. p. 8, cdit. oct. London, 1728.
(
455 ]
ting favourable to the doctrine of the Tri-
nity has been added to it, and, if any argu-
ments can be found there to ſupport that doc-
trine, they ought, on that very account, to
carry with them a double weight of evi-
dence.
For my own part, I own that I have ever
conſidered the two firſt verſes of the Old Ter-
tament as containing very ſtrong if not deci-
ſive evidence in ſupport of the truth of this
doctrine. ELOHIM, a noun ſubſtantive of the
plural number, by which the Creator is expreſſ-
ed, appears as evidently to point towards a
plurality of perſons in the divine nature as
the verb in the ſingular, with which it is joined,
does to the unity of that nature. In principio
creavit Deus. With ſtrict attention to gramma-
tical propriety, the paſſage ſhould be rendered,
In principio creavit Dii; but our belief in the
unity of God forbids us thus to tranſlate the
word ELOHIM. Since, therefore, Elohim is
plural, and no plural can conſiſt of leſs than
two in number, and ſince Creation can alone
be the work of Deity, we are to underſtand
by this term, ſo particularly uſed in this place,
God the Father and the eternal Logos, or;
Word of God, that Logos, whom St. John,
ſupplying us with an excellent comment upon
VOL. I.
Hh
tnis
( 456 )
this paiſage, ſays, was in the beginning with
God, and who alſo was God.
As the Father and the Son are ſo expreflly
pointed out in the firſt verſe of this chapter,
ſo is the third perſon in the bleſſed Trinity not
leſs deciſively revealed to us in the ſecond. And
the SPIRIT OF GOD moved upon the face of the
Calafio renders this paſſage, Spi-
ritus Dei motabat, &c. but, as Dr. Pa-
trick has rightly obſerved, this is not the
exact meaning of the text, for the original
verb, tranſlated moved, ſhould be rendered,
brooded, upon the water: incubavit, as a hen
broods over her eggs.* Thus, we ſee, the Spirit
exerted
waters.
* It is tranſlated by this very word in the Syriac verſion of
the Hebrew text, as I find it in Walton's Polyglott. In the inter-
lineary verſion of Pagninus, however, the verb c motabat” is uſed.
It is remarkable how variouſly both the verb itſelf and the pre-
ceding noun are rendered in the ſeveral Eaſtern tranſlations
given in that elaborate work; and this variety has probably given
riſe to all the miſtaken ideas of the Gentiles on the ſubject.
Thus, in the Samaritan verfion, it is rendered Spiritus Dei fe.
rebatur fuper aquas,” in which it agrees with the Septuagint
and the vulgatc Latin. From fome perverted notion of this kind,
delivered traditionally down to the Indians, it has moſt likely 2-
riſen, that, in all the engravings deſcriptive of the Indian cof-
mogony, Brahma is sepreſented Roating on the abyſs upon the
leaf of the facred Lotos. Thus, in that ſpirired and beautiful
odc of Sir William Jones to NarayeNA, which, literally
tranſlated, he obſerves, mcans the Spirit moving on the water,
We find the following remarkable itanza, in which is combined
the
[ 457 )
exerted upon this occaſion an active effectual.
energy; by that energy, agitating the vaſt abyſs,
and
Hh 2
the idea both of the mundane egg and the ſpiritus incubans. It
will be remembered that Sir William, in this paſſage, profeſſes
to give the principles of the Indian coſmogony, as he found them
diſplayed in the two moſt venerable Sanſcreet productions of
India, ſo often mentioned hereafter, the MENUMSRITI, or In-
ſtitutes of Menu, and the SREB BHAGAVAT.
Firſt, an all-potent all-pervading found
Bade flow the waters, and the waters Aow'd,
Exulting in their meaſureleſs abode,
Diffuſive, multitudinous, profound.
Then, o'er the vaſt expanſe, primordial wind
Breath'd gently till a lucid bubble roſe,
Which grew in perfect ſhape an Eco refin'd,
Created ſubſtance no ſuch beauty ſhows.
Above the warring waves it danc'd clate,
Till from its burſting ſhell, with lovely ſtate,
A form cærulean flutter'd o'er the deep,
Brighteſt of beings, greateſt of the great;
Who, not as mortals ſteep
Their eyes in dewy ſleep,
But, heavenly penſive, on the Lotos lay,
That bloſſom'd at bis touch and fed a golden ray.
See the whole of this Hymn in the Afiatic
Miſcellany, p. 24. Calcutta printed.
MENU, I have frequently obſerved, is the Indian NOAH,
and therefore the inſtitutes, remembered from Menu, may
be of
an antiquity little inferior to the great patriarch himſelf. I have
gone deeply, at the commencement of my hiſtory, into all the
oriental coſmogonies, but particularly into that of India. The
refult, I truſt, will be a proud addition of ſtrength and glory to
the Moſaic ſykem. Whether I ſhall obtain readers for that portion
of
[ 458 ]
t
and infuſing into it a powerful vital principle.
I ſhall, hereafter, ſhew at large how generally
throughout all the oriental nations, but eſpeci-
ally in Hindoftan, this notion of the Spiritus
incubans was adopted; and whence, except from
this primitive ſource, can we deduce the doc-
trine of the wov Tepw Toyovov, ſo particularly no-
ticed in the hymns attributed to the Grecian
Orpheus
I have aſſerted that to each of the facred
perſons in the Trinity ſuch names are applied
and
of my work, or indeed any part of it, is yet doubtful with me; but,
to prevent its being dull or tedious, I have endeavoured to in-
fpirit that particular part with all the cnergy and animation
that language can afford to dignify the loftieft ſubject poſſible to
be diſcuſſed, THE BIRTH OF NATURE AND OÉ MAN. I have
traced the Orphean egg to its genuinc fource, and I have ſhewn
that the primitive cærulean form of India (for, fo NARAYEN is
painted) is no other than the great Egyptian Deity, CNEPH,
who was repreſented, in their fymbols, as a being of a dark blue
complexion, and thruſting from its mouth the primeval egg, whence
the world was generated. But, to proceed in reviewing the re-
maining variations in the oriental verſions of the ſecond verſe of
the firſt chapter of Geneſis. The targum of Onkelos renders
the words,“ fpiritus inſufflabat," and the Arabic has, “ venti
Dei flabant," all which very much reſembles what we read in
Sanchoniatho's Phænician coſmogony, of the dark and turbid
air agitating the gloomy chaos, and the impregnating wind Col.
pia, a word which Bochart very juftly ſuppoſes to be only a cor-
ruption of the Hebrew word Col-pi-jah, or the voice of God.
Compare Walton's Polyglottá, tóm. i. p. 2, edit. Lond. 1060,
Cumberland's Sanchoniatho, p. 14, and Bochart's Sacra Geog,
lib. ii. c. 2, quarto edit. 1681.
[459]
and ſuch offices allotted as are alone applicable
to Deity. Of divine inherent power, creation
itſelf is certainly one grand proof, and the
coufounding of languages, which as certainly can
only be the work of a Deity, is another. To
theſe proofs it may be added, that prayer is ex-
preſſly commanded in various parts of Scrip-
ture to be offered to each, and to each is fepa-
rately aſſigned the ſtupendous attribute of for-
giveneſs of fins. Elohim, it has been remarked,
ſeems to be the general appellation by which
the triune Godhead is collectively diſtinguiſh-
ed in Scripture, and though the auguſt name
of Jehovah in a more peculiar manner be-
longs to God the Father, yet is that name, in va-
rious
parts of Scripture, applied to each perſon
in the holy Trinity. The Hebrews conſidered
this name in ſuch a ſacred light that they
never pronounced it, and uſed the word ADO-
NAI inſtead of it.* It was indeed a name that
ranked firſt among their profoundeſt cabala
a myſtery ſublime, ineffable, incommunicable !
It was called TETRAGRAMMATON, or the name
of four letters, and thoſe letters are Jod, He,
;
H h 3
Vau,
• Their making uſe of this particular word ADONAI, which
is the plural of ADONI, and fignifies my Lords, is a circum-
ſtance not to be paſſed over unnoticed, as it ſeems manifeſtly
alluſive to a plurality in Deity,
1
T 460)
Vau, He, the proper pronunciation of which,
from long diſuſe, is ſaid to be no longer
known to the Jews themſelves. This awful
name was firſt revealed by God to Moſes from
the centre of the burning buſh; and Joſephus,
who, as well as Scripture, relates this circum-
Stance, evinces his veneration for it by calling
it the "name which his religion did not permit
him to mention."* From this word the pagan
title of Jao and Jove is, with the greateſt pro-
bability, ſuppoſed to have been originally form-
ed, and, in the golden verſes of Pythagoras,
there is an oath ſtill extant to this purpoſe, “By
him who has the FouR LETTERS." of The
Jews, unable to overthrow the evidence of our
Saviour's miracles, with unparalleled audacity
aſſert, that when he was in the temple he
found out and ſtole this ineffable Tetragram-
maton, depoſited in its ſacred receſſes, which
he inſerted into his thigh between the ſkin and
the fleſh, and, by virtue of this taliſman, per-
formed all the miracles which he wrought.
As the name JeHOVAH, however in ſome in-
ſtances applied to the Son and Holy Spirit,
was the proper name of God the Father, fo is
Logos in as peculiar a manner the appropria-
ted
• Antiq. Judaic. lib. ii. cap. 5, p. 61.
+ TSTRAXTUS. Vide Selden de Diis Syriis. Syntag. ii. c. 1.
[ 461 ]
ted name of God the Son. The Chaldee paraa
phrafts tranſlate the original Hebrew text by
MIMRA DA JEHOVAH, literally the WORD OF
JEHOVAH, a term totally different, as Biſhop
Kidder has inconteſtibly proved, in its ſigni-
fication and in its general application among
the Jews, from the Hebrew dabar, which ſimply
means a diſcourſe or decree, and is properly ren-
dered by pitbgam. * In the ſeptuagint trandation
of the Bible, a work ſuppoſed by the Jews to be
undertaken by men immediately inſpired from
above, the former term is univerſally rendered
hogos, and it will preſently be evinced, that it
is ſo rendered and ſo underſtood by Philo and
all the more ancient Rabbins. The name of
the Third Perſon in the ever-bleſſed Trinity
has deſcended unaltered from the days of Mo-
ſes to our own time, for, as well in the facred
writings as by the Targumiſts, and by the mo-
dern doctors of the Jewiſh church, he is
ſtyled RUACH HAKKODESH, the Holy Spirit.
He is ſometimes, however, in the rabbinical
books, denominated the SHECHINAH, or Glory
of Jehovah. In ſome places he is called $e-
PHIRA, or Wiſdom; and, in others, the Bi.
NAH, or Underſtanding. +
From
1
Hh 4
• Demonſtration of the Meffiah, part iii. pages 108, 109
+ Dr. Allix's Judgement, p. 368, abi fupra.
[462]
From the enumeration of theſe circumſtances
it muſt be ſufficiently evident to the mind which
unites piety and reflection, that, fo far from be-
ing ſilent upon the ſubject, the ancient Scrip-
tures commence with an avowal of this doctrine,
and that in fact the Creation was the reſult of
the joint operations of the Trinity. I muít a-
gain remark that any direct parallel between the
Hindoo and Hebraic triad of Deity cannot be
made without profaneneſs; yet it is worthy of
notice that Brahma, Veeſhnu, and Seeva, in
Mr. Holwell's plate, illuſtrative of the creation,
are all three repreſented, if not as co-adjutors,
at leaſt as preſent in that ſtupendous work,
and the reader will poſſibly agree with me in
opinion that the whole relation, which it will
be my province to give at large hereafter, is,
I do not ſay a mutilation of the ſcripture of
Moſes, which poſibly the Brahmins never have
ſeen, but certainly a corruption of ſome pri-
mneval tradition of the creation of man, pro-
pagated by that deſcendant of Seth, who firſt
ſettled in a country, emphatically called by
Perſian writers “ the paradiſaical regions of
Hindoftan." But of this as well as many o-
ther ſtriking circumſtances of ſimilitude be-
tween the Hebrew, the Hindoo, and other ori-
ental ſyſtems of the coſmogony, I ſhall have
occaſion
[ 463 ]
occaſion to treat amply in the firſt volume of
my hiſtory.
If the argument above-offered ſhould ſtill
appear to be inconcluſive, the twenty-ſixth verſe
of this chapter contains ſo pointed an atteſta-
tion to the truth of it, that, in my opinion,
when duly conſidered, it muſt ſtagger the moſt
hardened ſceptic: for, in that text, not only
the plurality is unequivocally expreſſed, but
the act which, I have before obſerved, is the
peculiar prerogative of Deity, is mentioned to-
gether with that plurality, the one circum-
ſtance illuſtrating the other, and both being
highly elucidatory of this doctrine. And, GOD
(ELOHIM) ſaid, LET US MAKE maninourimage,
after our likeneſs. Why the Deity ſhould
ſpeak of himſelf in the plural number, unleſs
that Deity conſiſted of more than one perſon, it
is difficult to conceive; for, the anſwer given by
the Jews that this is only a figurative mode of
expreſſion, implying the high dignity of the
ſpeaker, and that it is uſual for earthly love-
reigns to uſe this language, by way of diſtinc-
tion, is futile, for two reaſons. In the firſt
place it is highly degrading to the Supreme Ma-
jeſty to ſuppoſe he would take his model of
ſpeaking and thinking from man, though it is
highly conſiſtent with the vanity of man to arro-
gate
[ 464 ]
gate to himſelf (as doubtleſs was the caſe in the
licentiouſneſs of ſucceeding ages) the ſtyle and
imagined conceptions of Deity, and it will be
remembered that theſe folemn words were ſpo-
ken before the creation of that being, whoſe
falſe notions of greatneſs and ſublimity the
Almighty is thus inipiouſly ſuppoſed to adopt.
In truth, there does not ſeem to be any real
dignity in an expreſſion, which, when uſed
by a human ſovereign in relation to himſelf, ap-
proaches very near to abſurdity. The genuine
fact, however, appears to be this. When the
tyrants of the Eaſt firſt began to aſſume divine
honours, they likewiſe aſſunied the majeſtic lan-
guage appropriated to and highly becoming the
Deity, but totally inapplicable to man. The
error was propagated from age to age through a
long ſucceſſion of deſpots, and at length Judaic
Apoſtacy arrived to ſuch a pitch of prophane
abſurdity as to affirm that very phraſeology to
be borrowed from man, which was the original
and peculiar language of the Divinity. It was,
indeed, remarkably pertinent when applied to
Deity; for, in a ſucceeding chapter, we have
niore deciſive authority for what is thus aſſert-
ed, where the Lord God himſelf ſays, behold tbe
man is become as ONE OF US: a very ſingular ex-
preſſion, which ſome Jewiſh commentators,
with
[ 465' ]
2
with equal affrontery, contend was ſpoken by
the Deity to the council of angels, that, accor-
ding to their affertions, attended him at the
creation. From the name of the LORD GOD
being uſed in fo emphatical a manner, it evi-
dently appears to be addreſſed to thoſe ſacred
perſons to whom it was before ſaid let us make
man; for, would indeed the omnipotent Jeho-
vah, preſiding in a leſs dignified council, uſe
words that have ſuch an evident tendency to
place the Deity on a level with created beings?
Beſides, if the authorities adduced by Allix,
in ſupport of the aſſertion which he makes in
page 78 of his Judgement, and thoſe brought
by Calmet under the article Angels, be at all
valid, angels, in the opinion of the Talmudical
Jews, were not created till the fifth day, im-
mediately preceding the formation of man, and
thus a non-entity will be found to have been
conſulted. A ftill more complete anſwer, how-
ever, to this objection may, in my opinion, be
found in the words of the great apoſtle to the
Hebrews, quoting the inſpired pſalmiſt: To
which of the angels ſaid be at any time, SIT,
THOU, ON MY RIGHT HAND: and there is, in
the ſame chapter, a wonderful atteſtation of
the divinity of the Logos, which, in this place,
ought by no means to be omitted. Though
JEHOVAH
[ 466 ]
JEHOVAH conferred not that honour on an-
gels, yet to the Son he ſaid, THY THRONE,
O GOD, IS FOR EVER AND Ever.*
It is now neceſſary to deſcend to ſome
par-
ticulars, for pointing out which I am princi-
pally obliged to the indefatigable exertion and
laboured fcrutiny of the author cited above.
Theſe will incontrovertibly prove that the word
Elohim was exactly thus underſtood by Moſes
himſelf and the ancient Hebrews, however
their modern deſcendants may deny the allu-
ſion: that their own paraphrafts apply the
term Logos, in the very ſame manner as we
do, to the ſecond, as well as that of HOLY
Spirit to the third, perſon in the bleſſed Tri-
nity; and that, in fact, they had the fulleſt
belief in that Trinity, expreſſed in the moſt
emphatical language, and explained by the
moſt ſignificant ſymbols.
Dr. Allix has, with great energy both of lan-
guage and ſentiment, remarked, that, al-
though the principal aim of Moſes, in his wri-
tings, was evidently to root out of the minds
of men the prevailing notion of polytheiſm ;
yet, that he conſtantly deſcribes the creation
of the world in words that directly intimate
a plurality in the Godhead. Inſtead of diſtin-
guiſhing
Hebrews xi. 7.
t
+
[ 467 ]
guiſhing the Creator by the appellative Jeho.
vah, that awful appellative by which the Deity
firſt made himſelf known to Moſes in the
burning buſh, and by him to his people, and
writing JehovAH BARA, Jehovah created, he
uſes theſe remarkable expreſſions, BARA ELO-
HIM, the Gods created, and, in the conciſe
hiſtory of the creation only, uſes it above thirty
times. The combining this plural noun with
a verb in the fingular, as has been before-
noticed he has done, would not appear fo re-
markable if he had uniformly adhered to that
mode of expreſſion; for, then it would be
evident he adopted the mode uſed by the Gen-
tiles in ſpeaking of their falſe gods in the plu-
ral number ; but, by joining with it a fingu-
lar verb or adjective, rectified a phraſe that
might appear to give a direct ſanction to the
error of polytheiſm. But, in reality, the rea
verſe is the fact; for, in Deuteronomy xxxii.
15, 17, and other places, he uſes the ſingular
number of this very noun to expreſs the Deity,
though not employed in the auguſt work of
creation : dereliquit Eloab; ſacrificaverunt de-
moniis, non Eloab.* He likewiſe diſtinguiſhes
the Deity in various other paſſages by other
names,
* The reader will pleaſe to take notice, that I continue to cite,
throughout, the Latin tranſlation of Mario de Calafio.
[ 468 ]
1
names, in the fingular number, and confe-
quently, adds our author, “any of theſe names
would have been with more propriety and ef-
fect applied to root out polytheiſm.” But, far-
ther, Moſes himſelf uſes this very word Elo-
him with verbs and adjectives in the plural.
Of this uſage Dr. Allix enumerates two among
many other glaring inſtances that might be
brought from the Pentateuch; the former in
Geneſis xx. 13. Quando errare fecerunt me
Deus; the latter in Geneſis xxxv. 7. Quia ibi
revelati ſunt ad eum Deus ; and by other inſpi-
red writers in various parts of the Old Teſta-
ment, but particularly he brings in evidence the
following texts, which the reader will excuſe
my
citing at length, viz. Job xxxv. 10. Jof. xxiv.
19. Pfalm cxix. 1. Ecclef. xii. 3. 1 Sam. vii.
23. all which, he obſerves, “ Thews the im-
pudence of Abarbanel on the Pentateuch, (fol.
6, col. 3,) who, to elude the force of this ar-
gument, maintains that the word Elohim is
ſingular.” In this audacious aſſertion, how-
ever, impudent as it is, Abarbanel has been
fincefupported by the ſynagogue and moſt of the
módern Hebrew commentators upon the ſub-
ject; but how abſurdly, and with what bare-
faced contradiction to the direct and avowed
opinions of their anceſtors, will, as we ad-
vance
1
[ 469 ]
1
vance farther in the ſubject, be made de-
ciſively evident. For the preſent it may be
ſufficient to obſerve, that the repeated ad-
dreſs of the divine Being to certain perſons his
co-adjutors in the work of creation before men,
or even angels, according to the Jewiſh belief,
began to exiſt, as well as the expreſs words
noticed in a preceding page; Let us make
man, and in our image; and afterwards, Let
Us go down, an
down, and Let us there confound their lan-
guage ; are pointedly alluſive to a plurality,
and, as our author obſerves, “very lively cha-
racters of this doctrine."
If it ſhould be denied that Mofes compoſed
his hiſtory under the immediate influence of
divine inſpiration, it ſurely will be allowed,
that he underſtood the language in which he
wrote, and that he could not poſſibly be igno-
rant of the purport of thoſe laws which he pro-
mulgated. It muſt, therefore, to every rea-
der of reflection, appear exceedingly fingular,
that, when he was endeavouring to eſtabliſh a
theological ſyſtem of which the Unity of the
Godhead was the leading principle, and in
which it differed from all other ſyſtems, he
ſhould make uſe of terms directly implica-
tive of a plurality in it. Yet ſo deeply was
the awful truth under conſideration impreſſed
upon
[ 470 )
tipon the mind of the Hebrew legiſlator, that
this is conſtantly done by him; and indeed, as
Allix has obſerved, there is ſcarcely any method
of ſpeaking, from which a plurality in Deity
may be inferred, that is not uſed either by him-
felf in the Pentateuch, or by the other inſpired
writers in various parts of the Old Teſtament.
A plural is joined with a verb fingular, as in
that paſſage cited before from Gen. i. 1. a plu.
ral is joined with a verb plural, as in Gen. XXXV.
7. And Jacob called the name of the place Beth-
el, becauſe the Gods there APPEARED to him. A
plural is joined with an adjective plural; Joſh.
XXXV. 19. You cannot ſerve the Lord; for, he is
the Holy Gods. To theſe paſſages if we add
that remarkable one adduced before from Ec-
cleſiaſtes, Remember thy creators in the days
of thy youth; and the predominant uſe of the
words Jehovah Elohim, or the Lord thy Gods,
which occur a hundred times in the law, (the
word Jehovah implying the unity of the eſſence,
and Elohim a plurality in that unity,) we muſt
allow that nothing can be more plainly marked
than this doctrine in the ancient Scriptures.
If Philo may be permitted to explain the .
national ſcriptures, we ſhall find him ex-.
preſſly ſaying what is here affirmed;
the chief purpoſe of Moſes was to over-
throw
។
" that
(
491 ]
tlirow the reigning polytheiſm; however, tliat
although God is one, this muſt be underſtood
with reſpect to nature rather than number; that
his nature is incomprehenſible to man, becauſe
he has nothing in common with mortals, nor
is there any thing in the circle of exiſtence to
which we may poſſibly liken, or by which 'we
can properly compare or judge of, that na-
ture."* Indeed Philo's mind was ſo engroſſed
with this idea of a plurality, and throughout
his work. he is ſo expreſs upon the ſubject of
the LOGOS, not conſidered as an attribute in
the Platonic but as a perſon in the Jewiſh fenfe
of the word, that to cite all the paſſages rela-
tive to it would be to tranſcribe the whole
work.it Of this Dr. Allix and Mr. Whitaker
will furniſh the inquiſitive reader with innu.
merable proofs, of which a want of room for-
bids an inſertion in theſe pages.
I ſhall now proceed to conſider certain ob-
jections which have been urged againſt the
word Elohim being conſidered as alluſive to
the doctrine of a plurality in the Godhead. To
VOL. I.
fi
the
* Philonis Judæi de Sacræ Legis Allegoria, lib. iii. p.841, et
feq. edit. 1613.
+ There is ſcarcely a page in the book of Philo, de Mundi
Opificio, which does not expreſsly mention the Locos as a per-
ſon. But conſult, in particular, pages 3. G. and 4. C. D. of that
book, and of the above-cited cdition,
t 472 ]
the
argument that this word is ſometimes in
Scripture applied to angels, princes, judges,
and even to falſe gods, it may be replied that
Elohim, being the word more particularly ap-
propriated to denote ſupreme majeſty and emi-
nent dignity, and likewiſe the ſtrongeſt word
in the Hebrew language that could be found to
expreſs them, was one reaſon which induced
Moſes to make uſe of it'; the other was, its
having a plural ſenſe: and his uſing this word
in preference to Eloah, or Jehovah, near thirty
times in the ſhort account of the creation,
ſeems to demonſtrate that he meant it ſhould
impreſs the mind of the reader with the perſua-
fion, that the creation was the work of more
But it may be urged, there is rea-
ſon to think, that the Hebrew and Canaani-
tiſh languages were, originally, the ſame; it is
therefore the language of polytheiſts; and a
plural title of Deity was naturally to be expect-
ed from polytheiſts. That the Canaanites were
polytheiſts there is no doubt, but it is certain
that the patriarchs, their anceſtors and the ori-
ginal poſſeſſors of the country, were not infect-
ed with polytheiſm, and it is therefore more
than probable that Elohim, however afterwards
degraded, by being applied to falſe deities,
was, in the firſt ages, the ſublime, appropri.
ate,
tban one.
[ 473]
1
ate, excluſive, appellative of the triune God.
Dr. Allix informs us that the Jewiſh caba-
liſts conſtantly added to the word Elohim the
letter Jod, being the firſt letter of the name
Jehovah, for the ſake of a myſtery, as well as
according to one of their moſt reſpectable com-
mentators on the Pentateuch, the rabbi Be-
chai,* to ſhew that there is a divinity in each
perfon included in the word.
The author of the book of Zohar, as quo-
ted by Allix on this ſubject, thus exclaims :
" Come and ſee the myſtery in the word Elo-
HIM! There are THREE DEGREES, and every
degree is diſtinct by HIMSELF; yet, notwith-
ſtanding, they are all one, and bound toge-
ther in ONE; nor can they be ſeparated each
from the other!”+ Theſe Madragoth, or DE-
Grces, are the ſame with what in the Sephir
Jetzirali, there cited, are called by the caba-
liſtic doctors the Panim, or faces, the Ha-
vioth, or SUBSISTENCES, and the Profopin, or
Persons, in the divine eſſence. -- But, not to
wander from the ſubject more immediately un-
der diſcuſſion, it is evident that the term Elo-
HIM, with the Jod, for Jehovah, added to it,
contains ſome latent myſtery, which, ſince the
appearance
• R. Bechai, in Gen.i. 10, cited by Allix,
+ Allix's Judgement, p. 170, et Synopſis Poli, p. 2.
I i 2
( 474 ]
appearance of Chriſt, the Hebrew doctors feem
by no means willing to divulge. Indeed the
rabbi IBBA expreſſly ſays that it does; and
adds, “ This myſtery is not to be revealed till
the coming of the Meſſiah.” A remarkable at-
teſtation of this is given in a note to the Uni-
verſal Hiſtory,* from which I have extracted
IBBA's ſtrong teftimony, and in which the
learned authors inform us, that a certain rabbi,
who, from the contracted ſtate of his circum-
ſtances, was obliged to get his livelihood by
teaching Hebrew at Rome, when ſeverely
charged with having betrayed the myſteries of
his religion, in vindicating himſelf, among
other things, proteſted that he had never ſo
much as explained the firſt verſe of Geneſis.
Thoſe gentlemen have given their authority at
the bottom of the page for this piece of intelli-
gence, which the reader may, if he pleaſes,
conſult. In the ſame page there is very clear
and convincing evidence adduced in proof both
of a plurality and of a Trinity, having been
doctrines, though not openly taught, yet ac-
knowledged in the ancient fynagogue. It is
taken from the celebrated book of Zohar a-
bove-mentioned, and it is of ſuch importance
that I ſhall preſently cite it at length.
A
. See Univerſal Hiſtory, vol. iii. p. 12, firſt oct. edit. 1760.
[ 475 )
3
A formidable objection may be thought
to ariſe from the Seventy (who ought to have
known the true meaning of their own ſcrip-
tures) 'having tranſlated Elohim by the word
Deos in the ſingular. Formidable, however,
as it may appear, it has been anſwered by
their own Talmudiſts in the Rabboth, who
report that they thus tranſlated it left Pto-
lemy Philadelphus (at whoſe command the
verſion was made) ſhould imagine the Jews to
be polytheiſts like the idolatrous nation over
which he ruled. St. Jerome, likewiſe, doubt-
leſs from good authority, in the moſt early pe-
riods of the Chriſtian church averred, that the
Seventy concealed the doctrine of the Trinity,
for fear of offending Ptolemy who was a wor-
: ſhipper of one God, and that they had
an additional incentive to do ſo from the gene-
ral prevalence, in that age, of the principles
of the Platonic philoſophy. We have ſeen
that Abarbanel, to get rid of the difficulty al-
together, denies ELOHIM to be plural, but the
inſtance we have given, of its being united with
verbs in the plural, affords a moſt ample refuta-
tion of ſo unfounded an affertion. It this were
in reality the cale, why ſhould the vulgar Jews
be forbidden, as Maimonides ſays they are,
Ii
to
*
• Maimonides, cited by Allix, p. 132.
[ 476 ]
to read the hiſtory of the creation, left, under-
ſtanding it literally, it ſhould lead them into
herefy. I muſt, in this place, intreat permiflion
to remind the reader of the remarkable circumą
ſtance of the Hebrew nation's conſtantly uſing
the plural noun ADONAI, fignifying, My LÖRDS,
inſtead of the ineffable name of Jehovah; and,
to conclude this account of the word Elohiin,
I ſhall ſubjoin, that nothing can afford ſtronger
evidence of the general doctrine here laid down
than a remark which our author ſays is com-
mon among the Jews, viz. that Elohim is as if
one ſhould read EL HEM, that is, THEY ARE
GOD.
Independently, however, of the word Elo-
him, there wants not the moſt poſitive evidence
in various parts of Scripture to prove that plu-
rality for which we contend.. Of theſe many
have been already given, and a few ſtill more
ſtriking ſhall be now enumerated. It is ſurely
impoſſible to read the following paſſage in the
apocryphal book of wiſdom without acknow-
ledging the perſonality of the Logos. Thine
ALMIGHTY WORD leapt down from heaven out of
thy royal throne as a fierce MAN OF WAR into the
midſt of a land of deſtruction.* An illuſtrious
comment upon the laſt cited paſſage may be
found in another part of ſacred writ, where
it
Wiſdom, xvii. 1, 16, 17.
+
[ 477 )
it is ſaid, the Lord is a MAN OF WAR, the Lord
of hoſts is his name. It is forcibly obſerved by
Allix on the foregoing paſſage how evident it
is from hence, “that the LOGOs muſt be a per-
fon, and a perſon equal to the Father, ſince
he is ſaid to fit upon the ſame royal throne.” *
Jehovah, we have ſeen, is the peculiar name
of God, incommunicable to any other. Yet,
upon the devoted cities, contaminated by the
horrible enormities of unnatural luſt, it is
ſaid, that Jehovah RAINED FROM JEHOVAH
brimſtone and fire out of heaven.f The Jews in-
terpret the former by the angel of the Lord;
but, the applying to that perſonage the in-
communicable name forbids ſuch an interpre-
tation; and Dr. Bedford properly remarks upon
the paſſage, that, if a plurality were not intend-
ed, theſe words, from the Lord, would have
been omitted, or it might have been ſaid, from
bimſelf. I To the remarkable expreſſion cited
above, remember thy Creators, may be added that
in Iſaiah ; Tbus faith the Lord THY REDEEM-
ERS. And, in the ſame book, THY MAKERS
are thy huſbands, the Lord of hoſts is his name.S
A
li 4
• Allix's Judgement, p. 107.
+ Geneſis, xix. 24.
| Dr. Bedford's Sermons at Lady Moyer's lectures, p. 45.
|| Iſaiah, xiiv, 24.
$ Ibid. liv. s.
[ 478 ]
A ſimilar inſtance occurs in Pſalm cxlix. 2,
where the words tranſlated, Let Iſrael rejoice in
bim that made him, ſtand in the Hebrew text,
Rejoice in his MAKERS. And theſe collective
inſtances give a noble and decided ſupport to
the preceding aſſertions relative to the great
creative Triad in the firſt chapter of Geneſis.
In Pſalm cx. 1. we read, The Lord ſaid unto
MY LORD, fit thou on my right hand until I
make thine enemies thy footſtool; which has al-
ways been conſidered as pointing to the Mel-
fiah, and indicative of the plurality contended
for. As if the great apoſtle of the Gentiles
foreſaw that the degenerate progeny of the
Hebrews, to whom he wrote, would, in fuc-
ceeding ages, endeavour to degrade our Saviour
to a created angel, and wiſhed to annihilate at
once the baſe hypotheſis : he exclaims, To
which of the ANGELS ſaid he at any time, THOU
art 112y Son, this day have I begotten THEE ?
Dr. Wallis, one of the moſt able defenders of
the Trinity in the laſt century, well obferves,
on this paſſage, that there is a wide difference
between a created and an only-begotten being,
ſince the begotten muſt be of the ſame nature
with the parent, and, confequently, GOD.*
It
* See particularly a Sermon on this ſubject of profeffor Wal-
lis, preached before the univerſity of Oxford, and inſerted in his
Theological Tracts, quarto, 1690.
1
[479]
It was therefore no blaſphemy, whatever the
Jews might think, when Jeſus, appriſed of
his high dignity, made himſelf EQUAL WITH
God. In the note, alluded to above, the au-
thors of the Univerſal Hiſtory contend that
the writers of the Talmud believed in a plu-
rality, on account of the following anſwer
given in that book to the queſtion, why the
throne of God, in Daniel's viſion, is in the
plural number. I beheld the Thrones exalted
012 which the ancient of days did fit, whoſe gar-
ment was white as ſnow.-- After leveral trifling
anſwers, which are there given as the ſolution
of various learned rabbies, one of whom con-
tends that the plural implies the throne of
God and David, the laſt and concluding an-
fwer is to the following purpoſe :
" That it is
blaſphemy to ſet the creature on the throne of
the Creator, bleſſed for ever!” and the extract
concludes with theſe notable words: " If any
one can ſolve this difficulty, let him do it ; if not, let
him go his
way,
and not attempt it.” The mean-
ing, ſay theſe authors, is too obvious to need
explaining. I ſhall conclude theſe more general
obſervations, on the plurality aſſerted, in the
folemn, the dignified, and decided, language of
the Logos in Iſaialı, xliv. 6. Thus faith JEHOVAH,
THE
[ 480 ]
The Redeemer, THE LORD OF Hosts, I AM
THE FIRST, AND I AM THE LAST ; AND, BE-
SIDE ME, THERE IS NO GOD!
The numerous inſtances cited above are
ſufficient to demonſtrate to the mind, not
blinded by vanity nor darkened by prejudice,
that a plurality in the Deity is expreſſly aſſerted
in the text of the Old Teſtament; it remains
to be proved, that the authors of the Targu-
mim, from which books alone the ſenſe of the
ancient fynagogue can be collected, underſtood
the ancient Scriptures in the ſame light.
In the firſt place, it is remarkable, that the
Hebrew text, In the beginning God created, is
rendered, in the Jeruſalem Targum, by theſe
words, By his wISDOM God created; an early
evidence of the author's real opinion, and a
deciſive atteſtation in favour of this doctrine.
Onkelos is not leſs deciſive upon the perfona-
lity of the Logos.* He does not, indeed, in
the
* I poſſeſs the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and all
the Faſtern verſions of the Bible, inſerted in Walton's Polyglott,
which I purchaſed at its uſual high price, (nine guineas,) for
the purpoſe of acurate compariſon and reference. The reader,
however, will be candid enough to reflect that this ſtupendous
ſubject of the Trinity comes before ine collaterally, among many
other intricate ſubjects, and that I have not entered upon it by
choice ſo much as from neceßlity. I therefore occaſionally citc
Dr. Allix, whoſe depth of argument and extenſive Hebrew
learning
[ 481 ]
j
the beginning of his paraphraſe, which I ob.
ſerved is more cloſe and literal than the others,
uſe the term Mimra, which in Chaldee an-
ſwers to the word Aogos, but he all along lite.
rally tranſlates the text by the verb amar,
whence comes the noun mimra, and the diffe-
rence, ſubfiſting between that word and dabar,
has been before noticed : “ the former (to uſe
the language of Allix) having a natural and
neceſſary relation to the perſonified Logos; the
latter fignifying no more than the ſpeech of
God, or of any human being."
If the reader ſhould be curious to know why
Onkelos has not tranſlated the word bereſcbit
by kadmita, which fignifies the beginning of
time, but by bekadmin, which fignifies THE
ANCIENT OF THE FIRST,* Dr. Allix will in-
form him, from the book Zohar, the Rabboth,
and other commentators, that, by this term,
the Jewiſh doctors underſtand the WISDOM,
whom they called cochon, or the SECOND
NUMBER, in the divine eflence, which emana-
ted
learning are indifpotable. On this point, of the beginning
being tranſlated the wiſdom, (combining evidence at once fo
wonderful and forcible,) I beg leave to refer for fuller informa-
tion to his book, pages 161, 172.
* To this may be added the corroborative evidence of Philo,
who, in one place, diſtinguiſhes the Logos by the appellative
of
aexn. Conſult Philo. de Confuſ. Ling. p. 267. B.
| 482482
UNDERSTANDING,
]
ted from the firſt as from its ſpring, and by
whoſe more immediate agency all that has
being was formed. * To the third number,
that is, the Holy Spirit, they give the deno-
mination of BINAH, or
All this immediately accords with thoſe remar-
kable words of Solomon, than which it is
impoſſible for any thing to be more clear
or more pertinent: Jehovah, ły WISDOM, (that
is, the COCHMA,) bath founded the earth;
by UNDERSTANDING (that is, the BINAH) hath
be eſtabliſsed the heavens. There are two other
paſſages in the book of Wiſdom equally remar-
kable and equally conſonant with this idea of
the Jewiſh paraphraſt, where the inſpired writer
exclaims, Give me WISDON that fitteth by thy
throne ; and again, in the 17th verſe of the ſame
chapter, thy council who bath known, except thou
give WISDOM and ſend thy HOLY SPIRIT from
above? Their rabbins explain the ſenſe they en-
tertained both of the union and operations of
Deity, by affirming that God acts by theſe holy
perſonages as the foul acts by her body; and
they emphatically denominate them the TWO
HANDS OF GOD.ll To one or other of theſe
holy
• Allix's Judgement, p. 161. ubi fupra.
+ Proverbs, iii. 19.
I wiſdom, c. ix. v. 4.
! Rabbi Bechai, on the Pentateuch, apud Allix, p. 162.
[ 493 ]
r
holy perſonages, under the name of Mimra or
Shechinah, the word or the Glory, but more
particularly to the former, they aſcribe all the
mighty wonders performed for the deliverance
of their nation, and all the ſplendid celeſtial ap-
pearances which were alternately to them the
objects of exulting tranſport or of agonizing
terror, as they obeyed or violated the precepts
of Jehovah. Whereſoever, ſays Allix, Jeho-
vah and Elohim are read in the Hebrew, there
Onkelos commonly renders it, in his Chaldee
paraphraſe, the WORD OF THE LORD: the other
Targums more commonly deſcribe the ſame
perſon under the title of SHECHINAH, which
ſignifies the divine habitation. The Holy Spi.
rit, he adds, if a few places be excepted, is :
generally diſtinguiſhed by his proper Hebrew
appellative, RUAH HAKKODESH. A few of
the moſt illuſtrious of thoſe divine appearances
mentioned above demand attentive conſidera-
tion, ſince an opportunity will, by that means,
be afforded of not only diſplaying more com-
plete evidence of this doctrine abſolutely ex-
ifting in the ancient Scripture, but additional
teſtimony of the entire belief in it of the anci-
ent Hebrew commentators.
The diſtinction between the words mimra
and dabar has been already noticed, to which
it
1 484 ]
it
may
be added that there are ſo many AC-
TIVE PERSONAL properties, ſuch as thoſe of
commanding, anſwering, giving laws, iſſuing
forth of decrees, receiving of prayers, &c: al-
ſigned to the Mimra, thar, to conceive of the
WORD alluded to in any other light than as a
perſon would be the height of abſurdity. The
queſtion is, whether the WORD, that thus ap-
pears, is the divine Being whom we aſſert hiin
to be. One of the moſt early and remarkable
of theſe divine appearances is that of the AN-
GEL OF THE LORD, as it is there called, in a
flame of fire out of the midſt of a buſh to Moſes,
as he was tending the flocks of Jethro, his fa-
ther-in-law. An unknown voice thus addreſl-
ed the aſtoniſhed thepherd : I am the God of
thy fathers, the God of Abrabam, the God of
Ifaac, and the God of Jacob; and Moſes, we are
told, hid his face; for, HE WAS AFRAID TO LOOK
UPON GOD.* This paffage, thus far cited,
is ſurely as deciſive on the ſubject as language
can make it; but what follows ſeems to be un.
anſwerable. In conſequence of the ground bea
ing made holy by the awful preſence of Jeho-
vali, Moſes is deſired to put off his ſhoes
from off his feet, and not to approach too
near the conſuming SuechINAL of flame in
which
1
* Exod. iii, 6, et ſeq
11
1
( 485 )
of any
which fat enthroned the majeſty of God.
Through all the Eaſt this cuſtom has inime-
morially prevailed, of entering the temple of
God diveſted of their ſandals, leſt any pollu .
tion adhering Thould defile the pure abode of
Deity; and it is practiſed by the Mohamme-
dans at this very day. The ſpot, therefore,
was to Moſes as the leniple of God, and
thence derived a peculiar fanctity, which it
could not have in conſequence of the prelence
created being whomſoever. The Deity
now proceeds to reveal himſelf by the auguſt
appellative of EH JEH, or I AM, which is of the
lame import with the incommunicable name
of Jehovah. As we have before noticed the de-
rivation of Jove from Jehovah, ſo we may here
remark that the word en, inſcribed, according
to Plutarch, on the front of the Delphic tem-
ple, and ſignifing tbou art, or pollibly only the
contraction of EI MI, I AM, was moſt probably
derived from this Hebrew title of God. By this
appellative, Moſes was commanded to announce,
to the defponding Hebrew race, their eternal De-
liverer from the bondage of Egypt;, and when
he himſelf ſecmed doubtful as to the real dig-
nity of the perſon with whom he converſed, the
Supreme Being manifeſted his power by two
awful miracles, the turning of his paſtoral ſtaff
into
[ 486
1
1
into a ſerpent, and the ſmiting of his withered
hand with leproſy. That the divine appearance
in this place is called the Angel of the Lord,
is an objection of no validity, ſince the Logos
was frequently thus denominated by the Jews,
eſpecially upon the folemn occaſion of their
exodus from Egypt, when the Angel of the
Lord went before their camp, attended du-
ring the day by a column of obſcuring clouds,
and, during the night, by a pillar of illumina-
ting fire. The ancient Jews applied that term
not to the perſon but to the office, which, accord-
ing to the economy of the three perſons of the
bleſſed Trinity, he condeſcended to aſſume ;
and that they thought he did condeſcend, oc-
caſionally, to aſſume the form of an angel,
is evident from a paſiage in Philo de Somniis,
where he expreſſly aſſerts, that the ſupreme
Ens, ó wv, whom he had juſt before termed
Logos, ſometimes put on the appearance of an
angel to mankind, but that his divine nature
remained ever unchangeable.* Philo, in va-
rious other places, expreſſly calls the royos,
God, O80s; and, it may be obſerved, in one
inſtance, uſes that remarkable expreſſion which
he could never have written under other im-
reſſions than thoſe of the plurality contended
1
for,
& Rev, xxii. 8, S.
[ 487 ]
for, deutegos Deos, the second God.* The Tar-
gum of Jonathan is expreſs, in affirming that
it was the Logos who ſpake to Moſes; and he
adds, the very fame Logos WHO SPAKE AND
THE WORLD WAS MADE. But there is leſs
occaſion, on this ſubject, to go for evidence to
Hebrew theologiſts and paraphraſts, ſince it
is notorious that the whole Jewiſh nation una-
nimouſly affirm that God revealed himſelf to
Moſes face to face, which could not be true
of a mere angel ; and ſince the Deity, when he
promulged the decalogue, with his own voice
declared, I AM THE LORD THY God, who
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out
of the houſe of bondage.
Vol. I,
Kk
The
1
* Philonis Judæi, apud Euſeb. p. 190. I forbear to croud
theſe pages by citing the original text at length, as I am
already, I fear, tranfgreſling all bounds on this ſubject, and
my object is not to diſplay erudition but to enforce truth.
+ It is evident, from this paſſage in Jonathan, that the Tar-
gumiſts conſidered the Aogos and the WISDOM as 'the fame ſa-
cred perſonage. The Jeruſalem Targum had ſaid, In Sapien-
TIA creavit Deus; or, God by his WISDOM created all things :
Jonathan refers this act to the MEMRA DA JE HOVAH: but
both mean the MESSIAH There is in the paſſage cited in the
text, between the Targums of Jeruſalem and Jonathan, ſo great
a coincidence of ſentiment and expreſion as muſt excite ſtrong
ſuſpicions in the mind of the reader that either the one has co-
pied from the other, or, what is more probable, that both are,
in a great meaſure, copies from ſome ftill more ancient para-
phiale.
[ 488 )
The next divine appearance univerſally af-
cribed to the Logos, or, as he is ſometimes cal-
led, the Shechinah, both by the paraphrafts
and by Philo, is that moſt awful one when the
law was delivered to Moſes on Mount Sinai,
that is to ſay, on the ſame conſecrated moun-
tain firſt called HOREB, froin its dryneſs and
barrenneſs, and afterwards Sinai, from the
miracle of the burning buſ.* Stupendous as
was the divine code of legal inſtitutions there
delivered to Moſes, not leſs ſtupendous and af-
toniſhing were the circumſtances under which
it was unfolded. Allüſive to this folemn occa-
fion, that remarkable expreſſion is uſed by Mo-
fes, that Jehovah there taiked with Ifrael face to
face, npoo WTI OV KATA TIPOOWTOV, that is, perſon to
perſon, as it is tranſlated by the Septuagint, f
and
DIXIT
phraſe. Jonathan ſays, Et dixit Dominus Mofi, Is QUI DIXIT
ET FUIT MUNDUS ;
ET EXTITERUNT OMNIA ; fic
dices filiis Iſrael. In the Jeruſalem Targum we find : Et dixit
Sermo Domini Mofi; Is QUI DIXIT MUNDO, ESTO, ET FUIT,
ET QUI DICTURUS EST ILLI, ESTO ET ERIT
ET ERIT; fic dices filiis
Iſrael. Here we fee plainly that the MIMRA O SERMO ſpeaks,
and therefore the Word muſt mean a perſon, even Is Qui
Vide Targ. Jonathan et Hierofol. apud
Waltoni Polyglotta, tom. iv. p. 107.
* From the Arabic sine, a buh or thorn. See Patrick on
the paſſage.
+ Conſult the text of Grabe's Septuagint, Deut. v. 40
Tom. I. edit, fol. Oxonii, 1707.
DIXIT
ET
FUIT.
[ 489 )
and as the Hebrew term, ſignifying face, is al-
ways tranſlated by them. This is a very ſuffi-
cient anſwer to thoſe, who, for themſelves and
for the Jews, deny that the Logos is mentioned
as a perſon, notwithſtanding he is repreſented
in our own Scriptures to be the expreſs image of
his Father's Perfon, and that St. Paul to the
Corinthians ſays, God forgave offences in the
Perſon of Chriſt. The majeſty and grandeur of
the Logos in this appearance are beyond deſcrip-
tion ; and evidently announce the deſcent of
Deity itſelf. Indeed it is equally expreſſly and
ſublimely ſaid, that JeHOVAH defcended in
fire upon Sinai ; and, while the voice of the
trumpet founded long, and waxed louder and
louder, that he anſwered Mofes by an audible.
voice which ſtruck terror through all the camp
of the aſtounded Ifraelites. It was on Sinai,
that the future Messiah manifeſted himſelf
in all the radiance of his proper unapproach-
able glory. The mountain tottering on its baſe,
and convulſed to the very centre; the tremen-
dous and inceffant thunders that rent the air in
peals louder than ever before or ſince that day
have vibrated on the human ear; and the glare
of thoſe impetuous lightnings, at once magnifi-
cent and terrible, that darted every way from
the recumbent Shechinah; all evinced the pre-
Kk 2
fence
[ 490 )
"
fence of the ſecond perſon of the glorious Tria
nity. The Jews felt, and through all their
generations have, with one voice, acknow-
ledged, the awful truth. The commentators
are decided that this was the Logos. Onkelos,
on Exod. xix, 3, expreſſly ſays, that Moſes
" went up to meet the WORD OF THE LORD;
and again, on Exod. xix, 17,
- Moſes brought
the people out of the camp to meet the
WORD OF THE LORD.”+ Jonathan is equally ex-
preſs; for, on Deut. v. 5, he ſays
"
Moſes
ſtood between them and the WORD OF THE
LORD;"I but, on the 23d verſe of this chapter,
he is gloriouſly elucidatory of the national opi-
nion as to this point, “ After ye had heard the
VOICE OF THE WORDS out of the midſt of the
darkneſs on the mount burning with fire, all
the chiefs of you came to me and ſaid, behold
the WORD OF THE LORD our God has ſhewed
us the DIVINE MAJESTY OF HIS GLORY, AND
HIS MAGNIFICENCE ;
THE EXCELLENCE OF
AND
See the Targum of Onkelos in Walton's Polyglotta, tom.i.
P. 307.
+ Ibid. p. 309, IN OCCURSUN VERBI Der.
I Ego ftabam inter verBUM Domini et vos. Targum of
Jonathan, ibid. tom iv. p. 327.
§ Vocem SERMONIS Dei. This plainly evinces that the
WORD muſt here alſo be underſtood in a perſonal ſenſe.
1
[ 491 1
"*
AND WE HAVE
HAVE HEARD THE VOICE OF HIS
WORD OUT OF THE MIDST OF THE FIRE.
What other evidence is neceſſary to eſtabliſh
this as an appearance of the Lagos? Yet very
ample additional atteſtation of it may be
found in almoſt every page of Philo; but par-
ticularly in his treatiſe de Vita Mofis.
The Jews invariably conſidered the Logos as
the peculiar Guardian of their nation, as the ce-
leftial Sovereign of their theocracy, and the al-
mighty Captain of the armies of Iſrael. There
is a very remarkable paſſage in the book of
Joſhua, in which he manifeſts himſelf under
this latter military character. And it canie to
paſs, when Joſhua was by Jericho, that he lift
up his eyes, and looked ; and, behold! there ſtood
a Man over againſt him with HIS SWORD DRAWN
IN HIS HAND: and Joſhua went unto him, and
ſaid unto him, Art thou for us or for our adver-
ſaries? And he ſaid, Nay, but as CAPTAIN
OF THE HOST OF THE LORD am I now come,
&c.f The words, Captain of the Lord's hoft,
are, by Uſher in his Annals, with leſs
pron
priety,
Kk 3
น
* Ecce oftendit vobis Sermo Domini Dei noſtri divinam ma.
jeftatem gloriæ fuæ, et excellentiam magnificentiæ fuæ, et vo-
cem SERMONIS ejus audivimus e medio ignis. Targum Joną.
than apud Walton. tom. 4, p. 329.
+ Joth. v. 13, 14.
( 492 )
ANGELIC BANDS.
priety, affirmed to mean, PRINCE OF THE
The divine Appearance,
on this occaſion, is recorded to have an-
nounced what a God only could foreſee, and
what a God alone could accompliſh ; the mi-
raculous overthrow of the walls of Jericho
before a very indifferent army, and without
any proviſion for a ſiege. The period was now
arrived when that highly-favoured nation,
which the Lord himſelf, attended by the pillar
of alternate darkneſs and flame, with a mighty
hand and a ſtretched-out arm, had ſo wonder-
fully brought out of Egypt, and led through
the deſerts, was to take poffeffion of the
pro-
miſed land of Canaan. His appearing, there-
fore, in military array, to the commander of
an army, engaged in actual war, was peculiar-
ly proper, and his being afterwards called the
" Angel of the LORD," as he was in the
former appearance to Moſes from the buſh,
when the promiſe of Canaan was firſt holden
out, is alſo a remarkable circumſtance. But
the circumſtance, moſt of all deſerving non
tice, is, that the very ſame expreſſion is uſed
by this celeſtial meſſenger as in that appea-
rance; for, he ſaid unto Joſhua, looſe thy foe
from of thy foot, for the place whereon thou ſtand-
1
eft
[ 493 )
eſt is holy; and Joſhua fell upon his face to the
earth, and DID WORSHIP HIM.
Now it is a ſolemn truth in theology, a truth
acknowledged by the whole nation of the Jews,
and a leading principle of Chriſtianity, that the
Supreme Being can alone be the object of hu-
man adoration. However, therefore, the an-
cient Jewiſh rabbins may have ſometimes de-
nominated the Logos the Angel of the Lord,
of which circumſtance an advantage has been
taken by their modern deſcendants to degrade
the Son of God to the rank of a created angel,
it is evident that this appearance muſt be that
of the ſecond perſon in the Trinity, becauſe he
received the adoration of Joſhua. He did not
ſay, with the real, the created, angel that ap-
peared to St. John in the Revelation, See thou
do it not ; for, I am thy fellow-fervant : WORSHIP
God !* No: he did receive the adoration of
Joſhua, and thus gave infallible proof of his
being not a created being, but a Divinity; that
very Divinity of whom it is ſaid, Let all the
angels of God worſhip him. Had this celeſtial
Form been of inferior rank, the worſhip thus
offered to be paid by Joſhua was ſo directly in
contradiction to the firſt law afterwards given
Kk 4
to
• Rev. xix. 10.
( 494 )
tó Moſes, Thou Malt have no other gods but mne,
that it never could have been permitted.
There is another moſt ſtupendous manifeſta-
tion of the glory both of the Father and of the
Logos in the Old Teſtament which remarkably
claims our attention. It is that vouchſafed to
Daniel, in a viſion, in which are diſplayed the
awful myſteries of that day, when the great
Judge of quick and dead ſhall decide the eter-
nal doom of mankind. In the whole cxtent
of human language there is no deſcription fo
ſublimę and magnificent. I beheld till the
thrones were fixed, and the ANCIENT OF DAYS
did ht, whoſe garment was white as ſnow, and
the hair of his head like the pure wool: bis throne
was like the fiery flame, and bis wheels like burn-
ing fire. A fiery ſtream iſſued and came forth
from before him: thouſand thouſands miniſtered
unto him, and ten thouſand times ten thouſand ſtood
before him : the judgement was ſet, and the books
were opened. As in the preceding paſſage the
FIRST perſon in the holy Trinity is ſo expreſſly
pointed out, ſo is the second not leſs plainly
.
deſcribed in that which follows. Indeed it is
deſerving of notice that he is particulariſed by
that
very name, the Son of Man, which our
Saviour fo often aſſumed during his incarna-
tion, and which the Jews ſo univerſally ap-
plied
( 495 )
fiah among
plied to the Meſſiah. And, bebold, one like the
SON OF MAN came with the CLOUDS OF HEA-
ven, and came to the ANCIENT OF DAYS :
and there was given him dominion, and glory, and
a kingdom ; that all people, nations, and langua-
ges, ſhould ſerve him. His dominion is an ever-
laſing dominion, which mall not paſs away, and
bis kingdom that which mall not be deſtroyed!
Dan. viii. 9, 13, 14. Upon this paſſage it
is obſerved, by Dr. Lowth, that ANANI, or
the CLOUDS, was a known name of the Melo
the Jewiſh writers; and there can-
not be brought a more decided atteſtation that
the Son of MAN, thus deſcribed as coming
in the clouds of heaven, was intended as a de-
ſcription of the Logos, than that which his
own lips afterwards gave, when, in anſwer to
the Jewiſh high prieſt, who had interrogated
him, Art thou the Christ, THE SON OF GOD?
he not only directly applied this paſſage to
himſelf, but adopted the very language of the
prophet, Hereafter ſhall ye ſee the Son of Man
fitting on the right hand of power, and coming in
THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN. The high prieſt
was perfectly acquainted with theſe ancient no-
tions of his ſynagogue concerning the ANANI
and the SON OF MAN; for, we are told, he im-
mediately rent bis clothes, Saying, be bath Spoken
blaſphemy ;
1
[ 496 ]
blafphemy; and the aſſembled elders, being
aſked their opinion, immediately declared, He
is guilty of death. Matth. xxvi. 66, and pre-
ceding verſes.
*
And now, Reader, having, from various
paliages of the Old Teſtament, proved the
PERSONAL AGENCY of both the Logos and the
HOLY SPIRIT, and having endeavoured to de-
monſtrate, by correct quotations from the
two TARGUMS, the one that of JONATHAN,
written thirty years before the birth of Chriſt,
and believed by many commentators to have
been cited by our Saviour himſelf,* the other
that of Onkelos, written in the firſt century,
before thoſe violent conteſts, which afterwards
agitated the church on this ſubject, broke out,
that the ancient rabbies really, though ſecretly,
acknowledged the truth of the doctrine, which
maintains that there are three diſtinct hypof-
taſes in the divine eſſence, to whom the
auguſt
* The particular paſſage in which the Chaldee paraphraſe of
Jonathan is ſuppoſed to be cited by our Saviour, for this rea-
fon, becauſe the Jerus were better acquainted with it than with
tbeir original Scriptures, is that in Luke iv. 18, where he quotes
Iſaiah 1xi. I, relative to himſelf. Whoever will take the trou.
ble of comparing the text of Iſaiah with Jonathan's paraphraſe,
in Walton, will find that what is cited in Luke agrees much
better with the latter than the former.
[ 497 ]
auguſt and incommunicable name of Jehovah
is expreſſly appiied, I might leave the whole
of what has been thus offered to thy can-
did conſideration, and, in this place, cloſe a
digreſſion which may have long ſince appeared
impertinent and tedious. Having, however,
thus extenſively entered into the ſubject,
and ſome additional circumſtances of
great
weight, never before publicly noticed, in the
courſe of inveſtigating the pagan Trinities,
particularly that of India, having forced
themſelves upon my notice, I cannot refrain
from launching out ſtill farther into the
ocean of Hebrew theology, and ſtating
thoſe circumſtances. In doing this I may
poſſibly ſubject myſelf to much cenſure, as I
certainly ſhall incur great additional expence,
which might otherwiſe have been avoided, in
regard to the bulk of this volume and the
ſymbols illuſtrative of my aſſertions. Theſe,
however, are to me conſiderations of very in-
ferior moment, if I ſhall be thought to have
contributed any thing towards the elucida-
tion of an important doctrine in Chriſtianity.
I muſt again repeat that I did not ſeek out
the ſubject, but, from a conſciouſneſs of abi-
lities inadequate to the diſcuſſion of it, would
gladly have altogether avoided it, but the
ope-
rations
7
[ 498 )
rations of Brahma, Veelhnu, and Seeva, the
great Indian Triad of Deity, occurring in al-
moſt every page of the ancient Indian Hiſtory,
rendered it indiſpenſable; for, to bring the
matter to one ſhort point, this doctrine came
either from the Hebrews to the GenTILES, or
from the GENTILES to the Hebrews, and
both conviction and profeſſion induce me to
adopt and to defend the former hypotheſis.
*
The light of revelation beamed not upon
mankind with an inſtantaneous effulgence. The
ſacred truth which dawned in thoſe words, pro-
nounced by a benignant God, after the fall; the
feed of the woman Mall bruiſe the head of the fer-
pent; which was, afterwards, more clearly rea'
vealed in the promiſe to Abraham, that in his
SEED all the nations of the earth ſhould be bleſſed;
which ſhone with highly-increaſed luſtre in the
pictureſque and fervid eloquence of Ifaiah,
and which broke forth with meridian ſplen-
dour in the rapturous ſtrains of the later
prophets, who immediately preceded the ap-
pearance of the Meſſiah, was of too awful
and too ſublime a nature to be at once un-
folded; and too myſterious to be immediately
or fully comprehended. The characters, how-
ever, of the Meſſiah ; of him, whoſe name
was
[ 499 ]
was to be called, WonderfuL, COUNSELLOR,
THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING KING;
were ſtrongly marked, and the important func-
tions he was to diſcharge were too accurately
defined to be either miſtaken or miſapplied.
Thoſe characters were confirmed by the ſtamp
of traditional authority; they were illuſtra-
ted in the allegorical way common among
the Jewiſh doctors, by a variety of ex-
preſſive ſymbols and figures, which, however
afterwards borrowed by the Pagans, to eluci-
date and to adorn leſs pure ſyſtems of theolo-
gy, could not originally have entered into the
conception of any one but an Hebrew, becauſe
they aroſe from particular modes of interpre-
ting their own writings. Some inſtances of
this kind have been already adduced, and
more will be exhibited hereafter. As our Sa.
viour himſelf and his apoſtles were Hebrews,
and conſequently muſt have been acquainted
with the gradual manner in which that re-
velation was made, as well as all the figura-
tive alluſions by which the future Meſſiah was
ſhadowed out either in the ſacred writings or
in their traditional code, it might be expected
that they would adopt both the ſame progreſ-
ſive method of unfolding celeſtial truths, as well
as endeavour to render themſelves more intel-
ligible
[ 500 ]
.
ligible to their audience, by occaſionally ad-
dreſling them in the ſame allegorical manner
in which the facred precepts of religion had
been conſtantly enforced. In fact, they did
fo; and that in a far-more extenſive degree
than is generally underſtood. I have be-
fore noticed the very judicious obſervation
of Dr. Wotton, how much a diligent peruſal
of the Missna, and other rabbinical compi-
lations, may aſſiſt in diſcovering the tru
ſenſe of our Lord's diſcourſes and St. Paul's
epiſtles, in which thoſe compoſitions are fo con-
ſtantly referred to. Indeed there are many par-
ſages in both that are utterly unintelligible with-
out that kind of knowledge; and all, without
the light reflected from it, loſe a great portion
of their force and beauty. I ſhall preſently ex-
emplify what is thus affirmed by a few out of
a very great number of ſtriking facts, which
I have neither room nor leiſure to recite.
One of the grand objections, urged againſt the
eternal Divinity of the Logos, is that, if this
doctrine formed a neceſſary part of a Chriſ-
tian's creed, ſo important a truth would have
been deciſively revealed, and in expreſs terms,
by our Saviour himſelf. In reality, both this
ſolemn truth and that of a Trinity are through-
out his diſcourſes ſufficiently evident for the
conviction
+
M
+
[ 501 ]
2.
E
conviction of any, but the voluntary ſceptic.
Any more luminous or extenſive diſplay, than
what we find in the New Teſtament, of the
myſterious arcana, to be completely unfolded
in the vaſt periods of eternity, and, in the
gradual unfolding of which, a great portion
of the happineſs promiſed us in another life
will probably conſiſt, would have been con-
trary to the whole ſcheme of Almighty Wif-
dom, which adapts its operations to the ex-
panding capacity of his creatures; that Wila
dom which diſtributes benefits in proportion
to our merits, and has deſtined ſuperior at-
tainments to be the ſole reward of ſuperior
virtue. Jeſus Chriſt and his apoſtles regula-
ted their conduct by the rule eſtabliſhed in
the eternal economy. The firſt promulga-
tion of the Goſpel, let it be remember-
ed, was to Jews, in Paleſtine, not to Gen-
TILES, at Rome. They trod in the ſteps of
the prophets that preceded them, and diſcour-
fed, with as much conformity as poſſible, to
the dogmas of the Sanhedrim, and the notions
of the ancient fynagogue. I proceed to re-
capitulate the proofs of theſe reſpective aſſer-
tions.
An extended period had elapſed ſince Ma-
lachi had founded in Judah the prophetic
trumpet
[ 502 )
trumpet. Impatient piety glowed with in:
tenſe fervour, and expectation was on the
wing to meet the promiſed Meſſiah. At
length the long wiſhed-for period of his ad-
vent arrived; nor was the awful event,
in which were involved the eternal intereſts
of the human race, uſhered in amidſt
darkneſs and filence. An angel, purpoſely
deſcending from heaven, announced the incar-
nation, not of another angel, for that ſurely
were unneceſſary, but of the Son of the High-
eft, of wboſe kingdom there ſhould be no end; and
pointed out the manner of his conception by
the overſhadowing of that SheCHINAII, who,
according to the Talmudic Jews, had equally
the key of the womb and of the grave.
At the
period of his birth, a bright chorus of angels
welcomed that birth in expreſſive hallelujahs ;
and, guided by the refulgent conſtellation
that now firſt illumined the Eaſtern hemif-
phere, the Chaldean magi with reverence
haſtened to pay homage to that Meſſias to
whom it is ſaid the kings of Tarſhiſh and of
the iſles mall bring preſents, and the king of Sheba
and Seba Jould offer gifts. Pſalm lxxii. 10.
Arrayed in the venerable garb of the ancient
prophets, and adhering to the ſame auſtere
diet, which ſhould have rouzed the atten,
tion
[ 503 )
tion of the Jews, the meſſenger, John, ap-
peared, his auguſt HERALD, and a folemn voice
was heard amidſt the receſſes of the deſert,
Prepare; ye,
the
way of the Lord, make ſtrait
in the deſert an high way for our God. He
was initiated by the baptizing hand of that
celeſtial meſſenger into the ſacred office which
he condeſcended to aſſume, and received the
moſt folemn and public atteſtation poſſible
of his divine emanation from the eternal foun-
tain, as well in the audible voice of Jehovah
giving the everlaſting benediction to his beloved
Son as in the Holy Spirit viſibly deſcending in
the form of that auſpicious bird which brought
to Noah the firſt tidings of Almighty wrath
appeaſed. The Jews, had not their eyes been
totally blinded during the cereinony of this di-
vine unction, might there have ſeen two no-
table texts relative to the Logos in their na-
tional Scriptures ſtrikingly fulfilled : O GOD,
Thy God bath annointed thee with the oil of glada
neſs above thy fellows. Pſalm xlv. And that
in Iſaiah, xi. 2, And the SPIRIT OF THE LORD
Mall reſt upon him. It was then that the Bap-
tiſt not only ſaw but bore public record that
He was the Son of God, and on this occaſion
I cannot refrain from citing the words of Dr.
Allix. “ The three perſons in the Godhead did,
VOL. I.
L 1
there,
7.
A
[ 504 ]
there, ſo conſpicuouſly manifeſt themſelves, that
the ancients took thence occaſion to tell the A-
rians; Go to the river Jordan, and there you mall
fee The Trinity."* Among the acknowledged
appearances of the divine Logos, in the ancient
Scripture, a very early and important one ought
to have been particularly ſpecified in a preceding
page; becauſe, at his very entrance upon his
mediatorial office, the Meſſiah himſelf refers
to that appearance as a proof of his divi-
nity. It is that to the patriarch Jacob, on
his journey towards Haran, when, in a
prophetic dream, be bebeld a ladder ſet upon
the earth, the top of which reached to heaven,
and the ANGELS OF GOD ASCENDING and
DESCENDING ON IT: and behold, the LORD
food above it, and ſaid, I am JEHOVAH, the God
of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Jaac.
Gen. xxviii. 12, 13. As the Angels of God are
in this place thus particularly mentioned, even
the effrontery of modern Judaiſm has not
dared to degrade the Jehovah, who thus ap-
peared, to the rank of thoſe beings, and it is
probable that Jacob ſaw the divine Being, as
the Targum of Onkelos explains it, in all the
GLORYF of the SKECHINAH; for, when he a-
woke,
* Judgement of the Jewiſh Church, p. 297.
+ « Et ecce GLORIA DOMINI STABAT fuper câ, et Art."
Targ. Onk, apud Walton, tom. i. p. 121.
[ 505 ]
woke, we are told, he was afraid, and ſaid,
bow dreadful is this place! this is none other but
the HOUSE OF GOD, and this is the GATE OF
IIEAVEN. Ibid. 27. The paſſage, in which the
incarnate Logos ſo evidently alludes to this pre-
vious manifeſtation of his glory under the an-
cient Moſaic diſpenſation, is that recorded in
John i. 51; in which, Jeſus, after bringing to
the remembrance of Nathaniel a notable cir-
cumſtance in his life, which, he was convinced,
could only be known to his Maker and himſelf,
compelled the guileleſs Ifraelite to exclaim,
RABBI, THOU ART THE SON OF GOD, THOU
ART THE KING OF ISRAEL; appellations appro-
priated by the Sanhedrim to the Meffah. To this
Jeſus returns the following anſwer, Becauſe I
ſaid unto thee, I SAW THEE UNDER THE FIG-
TREE, believeſt thou? Thou malt ſee greater.
things than theſe! and he immediately and em-
phatically adds ; VERILY, VERILY, I ſay unto
you, bereafter you mall ſee HEAVEN OPEN, AND
The ANGELS OF GOD ASCENDING AND DE-
SCENDING UPON THE SON OF MAN.
When Chriſt aſſumed to himſelf the title of
bridegroom of his church, according to that ex-
preſſion in Hoſea ii. 19, where God, addreſ-
ſing Iſrael, ſays, I will BETROTH THEE unto ine
in righteouſneſs for ever, he well knew that the
Meffiah
LI 2
[ 506 ]
Meſſiah was, in the writings of the Syna-
gogue, conſidered in that capacity, and ſeeks
Ifracl as bis BRIDE. Expreſſions conſonant to
this occur in various parts of the Canticles, as
where it is ſaid, Let him kifs one with the killes of
bis mouth; for, thy love is ſweeter than wine; and
St. John, doubtleſs, alludes to this notion,
where, ſpeaking of Chriſt, he ſays; He, that
bath the BRIDE, is the BRIDE-GROOM. When,
again, Jeſus affirms, upon entering the temple,
My houſe shall be called a houſe of prayer, he
was well acquainted with the opinion which ſo
univerfally prevailed among them, that the
temple was dedicated to God, and that Shechi-
NAH perſonified by himfelf. The circumſtance
which I ſhall next proceed to point out is, in
my humble opinion, ſo manifeſt a declara-
tion of the eternity of the Logos, that, if
properly conſidered, it ought to remove every
objection, and annihilate every doubt. When
our Saviour affirmed that Abraham had ſeen
HIS DAY, and was glad, the Jews objected to
him, that he made himſelf greater than that
venerable father of their nation, and that it
was impoſſible for Abraham, who had been
dead ſo many hundred years, to have ſeen the
day of a perſon who was not yet fifty years
old. Jeſus then, for the firſt time, aſſumed
the
[507]
the name that belonged to his more elevated
nature, that ineffable name of EH JEH, by which
he had firſt made himſelf known to their na-
tion, and, as was cuſtomary with him upon
any more important occafion, again replied
with this nervous and reiterated aſſeveration,
VERILY, VERILY, I ſay unto you, before Abra-
ham was, I AM. John viii. 58. The Jews,
however reluctant to admit the fact, were
perfectly acquainted with his meaning; for
they immediately took up fones to caſt at him, as
at a bold and impious blaſphemer who arroga-
ted to himſelf the immediate title of Jeho-
vah. Equally pertinent and forcible, on the
point of his divinity, is the following paſſage
in Luke v. 20, where, to a man ſick of the
palſy, that Logos, who, in Jeremiah xxxi. 34.
is repreſented as declaring, I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their fin no
more, authoritatively ſpeaks, MAN, THY SINS
ARE FORGIVEN THEE. When the Phariſees
again accuſed him of downright blafphemy in
arrogating to himſelf that ſublime property of
forgiving fins, which they ſo truly deemed to
belong to God alone, the great phyſician,
whom Malachi declared to be the fun of
righteouſneſs about to riſe with healing in his wings,
to prove that he was God, in a ſimilar tone of
authority
1
1
L13
( 508 ]
authority ſaid to the ſick of the palſy; Arife,
take up thy couch, and go to thine houſe. Theſe
repeated proofs of his divinity had their due ef-
fect; for, at the fight of the fick object ſud-
denly riſing in the full vigour of health, they
were all amazed, and glorified God, and were
filled with fear, ſaying, we have feen ſtrange
things to day! In another place he thus pathe-
tically exclaims; O Jeruſalem, Jeruſalem, how
often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
WINGS, and
Math. xxiii. 37.
would not.
ye
Taken in any ſenſe, this addreſs is animated
and beautiful; but it derives great additional
animation and beauty from the conſideration
that the whole nation of the Jews is repre-
ſented in the rabbinical writings as under the
expanded WINGS of the guardian Shechi-
NAH. Again Jeſus calls himſelf THE BREAD
OF LIFE, and the MANNA that came down
from heaven, but both Philo and the rabbi Me-
nachem, cited by Allix, expreſſly aſſert that
the SHECHINAH's being the CELESTIAL MAN-
NA, and that he ſhould come down from hea-
ven as the MANNA did, was an eſtabliſhed doc-
trine among the ancient Jews.
The ſtate of the Jews, at this particular
period, and the ſtrange perverſion that had
previouſly
[509 ]
7
previouſly taken place in their theological prin-
ciples, deſerve conſideration.
Corrupted by their increaſing intercourſe
with that world, amidſt whoſe crowded ſcenes
the ſelect people of God were, by a fundamen-
tal article of their religiosi, forbidden to min-
gle; dazzled by the fplendour diſplayed in the
luxurious courts and military eſtabliſhments of
the Roman viceroys, reſident among them;
the higher orders of the Jews were gradually
feduced from their juſt ad primitive concep-
tions of the Meſſiah, and, in time, expected
not ſo much a ſpiritual and eternal, as a tempo-
ral and earth-born, ſovereign and deliverer.
Theſe perverted ſentiments, however, had by no
means engroſſed, in ſo extenſive a degree, either
the great body of the people, or that diſtinguiſh-
ed claſs of Hebrews among whom flouriſhed the
ſender remains of their ancient learning, and
the uncorrupted principles of the patriarchal
devotion. It was neceſſary that theſe miſtaken
ſentiments ſhould be early, vigorouſly, and ef-
fectually, combated. It was, therefore, the in-
variable aim both of our Saviour himſelf during
his life, and, afterwards, of his apoſtles in all
their diſcourſes to the Jews, to rectify thoſe
notions, which the chief men among them in-
dulged and propagated, relative to the Meſſiah's
appearance
L14,
[ 510 ]
appearance upon carth as a great temporal
prince. There cannot indeed be adduced a
more unequivocal proof that the great body
of the Jewiſh nation at that period underſtood
theſe paſſages in the Old Teſtament exactly as
by Chriſtian interpreters they are explained
above, than that they were thus publicly and
patiently permitted to apply them to the Mef-
ſiah. For, as Dr. Allix in his preface has ob-
ſerved, although they knew that in their fa-
cred books only one God was acknowledged
under the name of JEHOVAH, which denotes
his eſſence, and therefore is incommunicable
to any other, yet they alſo knew that not only
this
very name is given to the Meſſiah, but alſo
that all the works, attributes, and characters,
peculiar to Jehovah, the God of Iſrael, and
the only true God, are, in various places, ap-
plied to him,* Or, as he has in another place
of the ſame preface remarked, they knew that
Gud had taught them the unity of his elence,
but in ſuch a manner as to eſtabliſh, at the
ſame time, a diſtinction in his nature, which,
guided by the notion he himſelf gives of it, we
call Trinity of perſons; and that, when he pro-
miſed that the Meffias to come was to be man,
at the very ſame time he expreſſly told the
Jews,
• Allix's preface to his Judgement, &c. p. 2 and 6.
( 511 )
FOR EVER.
Jews, that he was withal to be GOD BLESSED
It was not, it will be recollected,
againſt that mode of application to the Meſſiah,
that the ſenſe of the andience revolted, but
ſolely againſt the aſſerted completion of thoſe
prophecies in the lowly Nazarene. Yet the
deſpiſed Nazarene, even when the enraged
multitude were going to ſtone him for thoſe
expreſſions of ſuppoſed blafphemy which made
bimſelf equal with God, undauntedly perſiſted to
appropriate to himſelf the prophecies uſually
applied to the Meſſiah, and, with an autho-
ritative voice, in the face of impending death,
commanded them to ſearch the Scriptures for
they teſtified of bim.* He applied to himſelf all
the texts invariably conſidered as pointing to
that ſacred perſonage. He told them that he
had that power, which can alone belong to
Deity, to LAY DOWN and then to RESUME
LIFE, and that he was the Son of God, in
that peculiar ſenſe in which they themſelves
underſtood the word. Not to multiply texts,
however, on a point that muſt now appear ſo
clearly
John v. 39. There are in this chapter ſuch ſolemn atteſta-
tions of our Saviour's divinity from his own lips as I think muſt
ſtagger the Socinian. What can be more deciſive on the ſubject
than che 21ſt verſe: For, as the FATHER raiſeth up the dead
(that peculiar privilege of Deity) and quickenetb then, even fo
be Son quickeneh whom he will?
A
[512]
1
clearly denionſtrated, let us cloſe this review
of the evidence in bot? the Old and New Tel-
tament for the divine rank and attributes of
the Logos with obſerving in how remarkable
a manner that moſt ample and moſt expreſs
teſtimony of Jeremiah, in which, ſpeaking of
the future Mefliah, he declares, This is the
nanie whereby be shall be called; JEHOVAH, OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS, Jer. xxiii. 6. that is to ſay,
he ſhall be called by the incommunicable name
of GOD, was afterwards fulfilled. Could it
be more ſo, than when the unbelieving Tho.
mas, after our Lord had indulged him in the
unreaſonable proofs he had demanded of his
being in reality riſen again, pathetically ex-
claimed, MY I ORD AND MY GOD! John xx.
28. Is it poſſible. for any attcſtation to be
more decided than what St. Paul to the Ro-
mans offers, when he ſays, Of whom as concern-
ing the fiej CHRIST came, who is over ail, God
BLESSED FOR EVER? Rom. ix. 5. Or that of
St. Peter, Through the righteouſneſs of our God
and Saviour Jesus Christ? Or finally that of
the beloved diſciple St. John; We are in him that
is true, even in his Son Jeſus Chriſt: this is the TRUE
GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE? i John v. 20.
Very pointed and expreſs evidence has been
adduced, in the former part of this digreſſion
011
[ 513 ]
on the Chriſtian Trinity, that there is alſo a-
nother ſacred hypoftaſis in the divine effence,
whom the Jews call ROUACH, or, as it is
more generally written, Ruah HAKKODESH.
More numerous and more apparently folid ob-
jections are raiſed againſt the divinity and
per-
ſonality of this third hypoſtaſis than the pre-
ceding; and even thoſe, who are willing to
admit the eternity and co-equality of the Son,
very reluctantly allow the ſame honour to the
Spirit. O: examination, however, we ſhall
find that his divine character and attributes are
deciſively marked both under the old and the
new diſpenſation, and that to the Ruah all
the properties and offices of Deity are as
expreſſly and diſtinctly aſſigned as to the
MIMRA himſelf. In addition to the teſti-
monies of his immediate perſonal agency and
divinity, advanced from holy writ, in pages
441 and 442, preceding; and to the ſtill
ſtronger atteſtations, in page 459, relative to
his poſſeſſing equally with the AưTOTHEOS
and the Logos, the ſtupendous and godlike
attribute to create, to confound languages, to re-
ceive prayer, and to forgive fins, I ſhall, in this
place, produce a few corroborative texts, which,
I am of opinion, cannot fail of making a very
deep
.
1
[ 514 ]
deep impreſſion upon the mind of the reader
who ſhall attentively weigh them.
The RUAH JEHOVAH, for the latter name is
in ſacred writ repeatedly applied to the Holy
Spirit, is expreſſly manifeſted, as indeed is each
perſon in the bleſſed Trinity, in the following
folemn declaration of the Logos in Iſaiah, and
now the LORD God and his Spirit bath ſent
ME; upon which words the converted Jew,
Xeres, cited before, who well knew what
idioms exiſted in the Hebrew language, ob-
ſerves; “ The divine action in this place is
ſending, and is attributed to Jenovay, and to
his Spirit. Now it cannot be ſuppoſed, as ſome
among you (Jews) do, that, by the Spirit, here
is only meant a virtue; as juſtice, mercy, good-
neſs, and the like, are ſaid to be in God. For,
wherever is any thing like this, of ſending a pro-
pbet, recorded of mercy, or juſtice, or any other
divine attribute? Beſides, could ſome Divine
Virtue be ſuppoſed to be implied by the SPI-
RIT, then that ſpeech would be an empty tau-
tology; for who, at any time, ever ſaid, He
and his Underſtanding perceives ſuch a thing,
God and his Omnipotence, or his Mercy, did
ſuch and ſuch a thing."* I have literally tran-
fcribed this comment of a Hebrew upon his
native
* Sec the Addreſs to the Jews by Joan XERES, p. 75.
[ 515 ]
។
native Scriptures, becauſe, from his being fo
well acquainted, as in the preface to the book
he is certified, by the merchants atteſting his
character, to have been “ with the Hebrew,
Arabic, and Chaldee, tongues,” this learned
Jew's critical ſagacity would have enabled him
to diſtinguiſh between a mere idiomatic phraſe
(as expreſſions of this nature, occurring in
the Old Teſtament, are called, by our anta-
goniſts) and an aſſertion ſo folemnly corrobora-
tive as this is of the immediate perſonal
agency of the Holy Spirit.
When Balaam, contrary to the original ſug-
geſtions of his baſe and venal mind, was com-
pelled to predict the future glory of Iſrael, the
Spirit of God is ſaid to have come upon him.
Numb. xxiv. 2. Where the vulgate Latin
reads “ irruit in fe," that is, ruſhed upon him
in all the reſiſtleſs energy of the Divinity.
Concerning the fame powerful demiurgic Spi-
rit that brooded over the abyſs, the devout Job
gratefully acknowledges : The SPIRIT OF GOD
bath MADE ME, and the breath of the Almighty
bath given me life. Job xxxiii. 4. It is ex-
tremely remarkable that the author of the
Chaldee Targum on this paſſage has, without
the leaſt authority from the original, brought.
into his text the ſecond as well as the third hy-
poſtaſis.
[ 516 ]
me.*
1
poſtaſis. His words are; SPIRITUS Dei fecit
me, et VERBUM OMNIPOTENTIS ſuſtentavit
.
From the Apocryphal books, in the courſe
of this ſurvey of the Trinity, I have not brought
ſo many proofs as I might have inſiſted upon,
becauſe I thought more folid evidence would
ariſe from citing the ſacred pages that are not
Apocryphal. In thoſe books, however, the
genuine ſentiments of the ancient Jewiſh
church may be conſidered as delineated with
fidelity; and the traditions, delivered down
from their fathers, as accurately exhibited.
Judith, in her Song of Thankſgiving to God,
gives her additional teſtimony to that of Job,
and plainly reveals to us the Holy SPIRIT: 0
God, let all creatures ſerve thee; for, thou ſpakejt,
and they were made ; thou didſt ſend forth the
SPIRIT, AND IT CREATED THEM. Judith xvi.
14. In this text, ſurely, the third creative hy-
poſtaſis is as expreſlly manifeſted as the two for-
mer are in the following paſſage of another of
theſe Apocryphal writers: I called upon The
· LORD, THE FATHER OF MY LORD, that he would
not leave me in the days of my trouble. Ecclef. li.
10. There is a remarkable ſimilarity between
this text, and that cited before from Geneſis,
of
1
* Targum apud Waltoni Polyglot. tom. ii. p. 66.
[517]
of the LORD raining FROM THE LORD out of
Heaven, as well as that other from the Pſalmiſt;
THE LORD ſaid unto MY LORD, fit thou on my
right hand. But who, ſublimely exclaims the
wiſeſt of men and greateſt of kings that ever fat
on the throne of Judah, Who hath'aſcended up
into Heaven, or deſcended? Who hath gathered the
winds into his graſp? Who hath bound the waters
in a garment? Who hath eſtabliſhed all the evids of
the earth? WHAT IS HIS NAME, OR
WHAT IS HIS SON's NAMES Prov. XXX.
4. To this folemn interrogative of Solomon,
we may, with humble confidence, in the lan-
guage of Paleſtine, reply, that the former is
the ſupreme EN SAPH, or Infinite; the latter
the eternal MIMRA: the ſame who ſpake,
and the world was made. From various
parts of Scripture, which demonſtrate his
equal authority, we apply to this Son, alike
with THAT FATHER, the incommunicable
name of Jehovah. Indeed, the Father himſelf
directly announced the eternal divinity of his
Son, when, in Exod. xxiii. 21, he declared of
that mighty Angel of the Covenant, * who led
the
* In this place, alſo, the particular term, angci, (ayyeros,)
muſt be underſtood rather of the office, than of the person
who condeſcended to accept that office. Rabbi Menahem,
.cited by Poole on this paſſage, aſſerts, out of the old rabbinie
cal
ſ 518 ]
1
the children of Iſrael out of Egypt, BEHOLD
MY NAME IS IN HIM) an ancient Hebrew ſy-
nonim
cal writers, « hunc angelum efle ANGELUM REDEMPTOREM.
See Poole's Synopſis, tom i. p. 438. Indeed it is ſufficiently
evident by the following Hebraiſm; my name, that is, my
ISSENCE, is in him. The Syriac verſion renders the paſſage,
“ nomen meum eft SUPER IPSUM;" the Samaritan,
nomen
neum eft in MEDIO EJUS." See Walton's Polyglot. tom i.
p. 327. I have had frequent occaſion, during this digreſſion,
to remark, how greatly a knowledge of ancient Jewiſh manners
and opinions tends to elucidate the ſacred volumes. Nothing
can more conduce to that end than the confideration of the
profound reverence which the ancient Jews poſſeſſed for the
TETRAGRAMMATON. By that awful name, according to
their Rabbies, the moſt ſtupendous prodigies could be perfor-
med : and it was affirmed to be guarded by lions in the inmoſt
rcceffes of the temple. See Bafnage's Hift. of the Jews, p. 194.
" THE NAME OF GOD (ſays Calmet) includes all things : hc
who pronounces it ſhakes Heaven and earth, and inſpires the
very angels with aſtoniſhment and terror. There is a ſovereiga
authority in this name: it governs the world by its power.
The other names and ſurnames of the Deity are ranged
about it, like officers and ſoldiers about their ſovereigns and ge-
nerals ;' from this KING-NAME they reccive their orders and
obey.” So far Calmet, citing thoſe rabbies, Hiſtoric. Dict.
vol. i. p. 750. Concerning the myſterious manner in which
the cabbaliſtic doctors combined the letters that compoſe this
ineffable name, and the myſteries which they diſcovered in it,
ſomething will hereafter occur in the text. For the preſent it
will be uſeful to conſider what that moſt famous and venerable rabo
bi, Judah the Holy, who compiled the celebrated book, called
the Missna, has faid relative to a paſſage in Pſalm xci. which
the whole race of Hebrew, as well as Chriſtian, commentators
have united to conſider as alluſive to the Mcfliah. In the
14th verſe of that pſalm it is ſaid, I will get him on high be-
caufi
1
[ 519 ]
-
nonim for God. Wherefore it is ſaid, Beware
of him and obey his voice, provoke him not, for
he wiil NOT PARDON your tranſgreſſions ; for,
MY NAME is in him: that is, he is Jehovah ;
and a moſt indiſputable proof of his being Je-
HOVAH, was the circumſtance here attributed to
Vol. I.
Mm
him,
cauſe he hath known MY NAME. Upon which Rabbi Judah
makes the following comment. The original Hebrew is in Kir-
cher, and I give it in that father's Latinity, and with his
ſubſequent remark. Quare Iſrael in hoc mundo orat et non
exauditur? Propterea nimirum, quoniam neſciunt nomen
HEMMIMPHORAS. Futurum autem eſt, ut Deus fanctus et
benedi&us doceat cos, juxta illud ; tum fcier populus meus
NOMEN MEUM, tunc vere orabunt, et exaudiencur.” Kircher
ſubjoins ; Scilicet tempore MESSI, veri et unigeniti
Filii Dei, qui diſcipulos ſuos, in iiſque eccleſiam hoc facro-
fanctum TRJADIS myſterium perfccte docuit, juxta illud :
Patir, manifeftavi NOMEN TUUM bominibus, quos dediſti mihi."
Cdipus Egyptiacus, tom i. p. 246. in Cabala Hebræorum.
He who under the ancient diſpenſation blaſphemed the NAMB
07
God was ſtoned to death; and he, who ſwore falſely, por-
tabat iniquitatem ſuam, which is generally ſuppored to mean
puniſhment not to be remitted. That folemn ſpot in the
temple which the Lord choſe to place his name there, or, as
is more ſtrongly expreſſed in Ezra vi. 12. in which JeHOVAH
CAUSED HIS NAME TO DWELL, was conſidered as a ſpot pe-
culiarly auguſt and inviolably facred. Our Lord himſelf, in-
deed, in various parts of the New Teſtament, ſeems to allude
to the miraculous TETRAGRAMMATON: but in a more parti.
cular manner, with a TRIPLE repetition of the word, he af.
firms, that, in the day of Judgement, many ſhall come and
ſay, Lord, Lord, have we not propheſied in THY NAME, and
IN THY NAMB caſt out devils, and in THY KAME done many
wonderful things. Math. vii. 22.
[ 520 )
The an-
him, that he had the power to pardon the
tranſgreſſions of mankind. But, to proceed
in our examination of the texts in a more par-
ticular manner alluſive to, and illuſtrative of,
the functions of the Holy Spirit.
Had not the name and operations of the
Holy Ghoſt been well known among the Jews
at the time of the Meſſiah's appearance, the
herald John would have been utterly unintel-
ligible, when he informed the Jews that the
fame Meſſiah ſhould baptize them with the Holy
Ghost and with fire. Matth. iii. 2.
gel who appeared to Mary, and predicted that
the Holy Ghost ſhould come upon her, and the
Power of the Higheſt (the Auvagtens of Philo)
ſhould overſhadow ber, would have only filled
the agitated mind of the holy virgin with aſto-
niſhment and terror. The inſpired Peter in
theſe words addreſſes the falſe Ananias; Why
hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy
Ghost? — Thou haſt not lied unto MEN, but unto
GOD; (Acts v. 4;) which affords too deci-
five ſupport to this argument to need any
comment. That the Holy Spirit is not in the
New, any more than in the Old, Teſtament
repreſented in the light of a mere QUALITY OF
PRINCIPLE, as our antagoniſts inſiſt, is clearly
demonſtrated by a variety of texts, of which a
few
[ 521 ]
few only are enumerated below. The Holy
Ghost SAID, ſeparate me Barnabas and Saul,
for the work whereunto I HAVE CALLED THEM.
Acts xiii. 2. So they being seNT FORTH by the
Holy Ghost. Ibid. 4. Not in the words
which man's wiſdom teacheth, but which the Holy
GHOST TEACHETH. I Cor. ii. 13. Now the
SPIRIT SPEAKETH EXPRESSLY, that, in the
latter times, fome Mall depart from the faith.
I Tim. iv. I. It will be allowed that a naked
quality or principle cannot be ſaid to ſpeak, to call
for, to ſend forth, or to teacb; and, therefore,
THAT Spirit muſt in all theſe places be under-
ſtood perſonally. Again, we read of " divers
miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghoft.” A naked
quality or principle cannot work miracles, for
that alone belongs to God; and here we find
an additional proof of his divinity. Neither
can it impart gifts; yet, in this place, the Holy
Spirit is diſtinguiſhed as the beſtower of gifts,
which evidently implies perſonality. But if,
as the Socinians ſtate the matter, he were on,
ly the Gift and not the Donor, in what ſenſe
could he be ſaid to impart gifts ? It would be
the groſſeſt of all human abſurdities to ſay
that a gift could beſtow itſelf.
As it was by the immediate and peculiar in-
fluence of the Holy Spirit that the prophets
were:
M m 2
[ 522 )
.
PROPHECY
were inſpired, he is in general, by the authors
of the Targums, denominated the SPIRIT OF
The moſt reſpectable of thoſe
paraphrafts (Onkelos) tranſlates the ſecond
verſe of Geneſis, in his uſual way,
when
ſpeaking of his operations, Spiritus a con-
fpectu Dei,”* but the seventy have ſcrupu-
louſly adhered to the original term, and have
rendered it Ilveupea ©£8, to the Spirit of God.
The circumſtance of his being thus expref-
ſly mentioned by Moſes, at the very com-
mencement of his hiſtory, is an evident proof
how very early the Hebrews were acquainted
with the diſtinction of perſons in the divine
nature; for, as Mr. Whitaker has judiciouſly
remarked, “ this third ſharer of that nature
muſt have been as familiarly known to the
Jews of Moſes's days as the Godhead itſelf,
or that legiſlator would have conveyed no ideas
to them when he wrote the ſecond verſe of Ge-
neſis. I How early, likewiſe, the Jews knew
the Spirit as a perſonal co-operative agent in
the government of the world, and in the diſ-
penſations
* See the Targum of Onkelos in Walton's Polyglot, tom. i.
P. 2.
+ Vide Grabe's Septuagint, tom. i. p. 1.
I Sce Mr. Whitaker's Origin of Arianiſm, p. 241.
1
[ 523 ]
penſations of a ſupreme all-ruling Providence,
is evident from Geneſis vi. 3, where it is ſaid,
My Spirit mall not always ſtrive with man :
and it was the fame Spirit who inſpired the
ſeventy elders; for, it came to paſs, that when
The Spirit reſted upon them, they propheſied,
and did not ceaſe. Numb. xi. 25. And the
SPIRIT OF THE LORD (in the original, Ruah
Jehovah) fell upon me, ſays Ezekiel, and said
unto me; Speak, thus faith the Lord. Ezek. xi.
5.
Indeed, ſo well acquainted were the Chaldee
paraphraſts with this Holy Spirit and his ope-
rations, that they have placed him where he
ought not to be; for, whereas it is ſaid, Gen.
xlv. 27, The Spirit of Jacob, their father, revi-
ved; which ſimply means, as Bochart has
well tranſlated the paſſage, priſtino vigori ref-
titutus eſt; the Targum of Onkelos reads, et
requievit SPIRITUS SANCTUS ſuper Jacob, pa-
trum fuum. That of Jonathan renders it, re-
quievit SPIRITUS PROPHETIcus, a mode of ex-
preſſion which is explained by the preceding
remark. In the inſtance alſo of Balaam, cited
before, Onkelos has it, quievit ſuper eum
SRIRITUS PROPHETICUS a facie Domini. It
is equally ſingular, that in Pſalm civ. 13,
where, in the original Hebrew, the word
Spirit is alone expreſſed, the Chaldee Targum
M m 3
on
1
[ 524 )
on the paſſage reads, SANCTUS SPIRITUS
Tuus."
The ſame addition of “Holy" occurs
again in Iſaiah xlii. I, where the words, I
will put my Spirit upon him, are tranſlated in
the Targum of Jonathan, I will put my HOLY
Ghost upon him. Indeed, the verſe of Iſaiah,
laſt cited, is highly remarkable upon another
account; for, though Chriſtians univerſally
regard the paſſage as a direct prophecy of
Chriſt, yet the Jews ought to be abaihed when
they deny the alluſion to that facred perſonage,
and yet can read in their own Targum the
word Messiah, which does not occur in the
original text, ſpontaneouſly inſerted by Jona-
than, their favourite paraphraſt.*
Theſe alterations were undoubtedly intended
more diſtinctly to mark out that ſacred perſon,
who, we have obſerved from high authority,
is commonly known among the Jews by the
title of Ruah Hakkodeſh. It cannot be de-
nied, however, that the Jews have, in a vari-
ety of inſtances, which are pointed out by
Rittangel, who publiſhed the famous Sephir
Jetziralı, or Apocryphal book of Abraham, as
well as by biſhop Kidder who cites Elias Levita
to prove it, applied the title of SheCHINAH
likewiſe to the Holy Spirit, whence fome con-
fuſion
* Conſult Walton's Polyglot. tom. iii. p. 110.
h
[ 525 )
fuſion has ariſen in authors who have diſcuſſed
this ſubject. His more general deſignation a-
mong them, however, was by the title ſpecia
fied above, and by that title it has been ſuffi-
ciently proved that he was known to the anci.
ent Jews.*
If we now turn to the page of Philo Judæ.
us, we ſhall find that writer not leſs expreſs
in aſſerting his perſonality and deſcribing his
operations. He calls him, in one place, Decor
lſveüzece, † the divine Spirit; and, in another, uſes
the very words of the feptuagint Πνεύμα Θεέ, , I
the Spirit of God; now he is the Evdeov Ilveõpex, S
the Spirit full of Deity; now, in the phraſeo.
logy of the Targumiſts, he is the Osios me popýtings
or the Spirit of prophecy.ll And, in one of
the paſſages juſt cited, he remarkably corrobo.
rates the teſtimony exhibited before, of his
being the demiurgic Spirit, by afferting, “that
man was made by the Spirit after the image
of God,” ο μεν γαρ κατα την εικόνα Θεέ χαραχθείς
Πνεύματι. 4
But
* See Kidder's Demonſtration of the Melliah, part iii. p.
243. edit oct. Lond. 1700.
+ Vide Philonis Judæi Opera. p. 169, G. de Plantatione
Noæ.
| Ibid. De Plantatione Noz, p. 172, A.
$ Ibid. De Specialibus Legibus, p. 592, F.
|| Ibid. De Vita Mofis, p. 527, B.
Ibid. De Plantatione Noz, p. 172, A.
Mm4
1
[ 526 ]
+
But it may ſtill be objected, that, however
ſtrong this evidence may be for a plurality of
perſons, it is ſcarcely ſufficient of itſelf to
eſtabliſh a direct Trinity in the divine nature;
that a plurality implies an indefinite number;
and, when that doctrine is allowed of, it
may
be extended to whatever number of perſons
the wild inventive fancy of different commen-
tators may conjecture to ſubliſt in that ef-
fence.
It will undoubtedly be granted, that, where
Jehovah ſpeaks of Jehovah, there more than
one perſon is of neceſſity to be underſtood.
From ſuch paſſages an indiſputable plurality
is proved. Now, if a third perſon, clearly
diſtinguiſhed from the two preceding, be called
by the ſame majeſtic name, it follows that
there are THREE diſtinct perſons in the God-
head. But we have ſeen that the term
Jehovah is, in various texts, applied to
the Holy Spirit: therefore he likewiſe is very
God, and thus a TRINITY OF HYPOSTA-
SES, or ſubſiſtences, or by whatever other fof-
tened name human piety, fearful to offend,
may chooſe to expreſs theſe three ſeparate di-
vine agents, is demonſtrated to fubfift in the
UNITY of the Divine Eſſence. To denote the
plurality, thus ſubfiſting, no better term than
Elohim,
[ 527 ]
3
Elohim, a plural noun, could be ſelected
nor, as the literal meaning of Jehovah is the
being who neceſſarily exiſts, could any more pro-
per
title be made uſe of than that to point
out the eſſential unity. The compound ap-
pellative, Jehovah-Elohim, implies both; and
it is for that reaſon ſo univerſally adopted in
the Old Teſtament.
But is there, in the ancient Scriptures, any
more direct and particular ſanction of the doc-
trine of a Trinity ? Can any paiſages be ad-
duced from them that expreſſly limit the num-
ber to three perſons; for, after all, the Jews
themſelves, in their conteſts with Chriſtians
on theological points, are equally as decided
againſt the doctrine of a Trinity, as they
are unanimous in aſſerting the Unity, of the
divine eſſence. I muſt again repeat, that,
for the reaſons above-aſſigned, this myſte-
rious truth is not ſo clearly diſplayed in
the Old Teſtament as preſumptuous man
imagines he has a right to demand. When
God propoſes to his creatures any doctrine
as an object of faith, it is not cuſtomary
with him to deſtroy the poſſibility of the ex-
ertions of that faith by a full and imme-
diate manifeſtation of it, which would con-
vert Belief into abſolute conviction; and, with
reſpect
[ 528 ]
4
reſpect to the obſtinate oppoſition of the Jews
on this point, I requeſt permiſſion to ob-
ſerve, that the grand error of that infatua-
ted people inexcuſable in them becauſe it
is a voluntary error) is the following. Their
rancour againſt Chriſtianity will not allow
them to examine, with coolneſs and impar-
tiality, its genuine doctrines; and, though no-
thing can be more clear and expreſs than our
beſt and moſt eſteemed writers are on the Unity
of the Godhead, they pertinaciouſly inſiſt upon
it, that Chriſtians would deſtroy that Unity,
and are the direct ſupporters of Tritheiſm.
In fact, this doctrine, being originally a
myſtery, and the obſcurity which ever muſt in-
volve the great myſterious truths of religion,
and ever conceal them from the improper and
impertinent inveſtigation of finite beings, being
made deeper by the additional ſhade thrown a-
round it by the cabbaliſts, was never among
the Jews the ſubject of univerſal belief. It
was wiſely veiled by Providence from their
view; for, that nation were ſo extremely
groſs in their conceptions, and, in general,
ſo little acquainted with abſtract ſpecula-
tions, that their progreſs, from the belief of
a Trinity in the divine eſſence to that of a
plurality of gods, would have been equally
rapid
[529]
rapid and irreſiſtible. Thoſe, therefore, who
thus artfully concealed it from vulgar in-
ſpection, when they found it applied by Chriſ-
tians to prove the divinity and attributes
of the true Meſſiah, had it in their power,
either by ſuppreſſion or miſrepreſentation, in
a great meaſure to prevent the full effect of in-
quiry. Much evidence of this kind has doubt-
leſs been ſuppreſſed, and much more would
have been kept back, but for the indefatigable
exertions of many celebrated Chriſtian divines
in minutely inveſtigating the Hebrew rites,
language, hiſtory, and traditions.
It remains, however, finally to be proved,
that the Jewiſh rabbies themſelves had as clear
and diſtinct notions of a true Trinity as, it
has been demonſtrated, they have of a plu-
rality of perſons in the Unity of the divine
eſſence; that the evidence for a Trinity in
the divine eſſence, in the ancient Jewilh ſcrip-
tures, is as deciſive as a nation, eternally re-
lapſing into polytheiſm, could bear the revela-
tion of it; and that this doctrine was clearly
diſplayed by various lively and ſignificant ſym-
bols peculiar to the Hebrews. They expreſs-
ly affix the number of Three to that eſſence;
denominating the three perſons, the three SE-
PHIROTH
[ 530 ]
PHIROTH,* a word fignifying SPLENDORS, and
diſtinguiſh, as Chriſtians do, their perſonal
characters and actions. I have obſerved, that,
in the feptuagint, the Greek word
πρόσωποι
is occaſionally uſed to ſignify the perſons
in the Godhead in as direct a ſenſe as they
apply that term to the perſons of Adam
and Events With Jehovah, the peculiar and
appropriate name of God, they join that
of COCHMA, or wiſdom, and that of BINAH,
or the underſtanding, according to thoſe pal-
ſages cited before from the book of Wiſdom,
ch. ix. 4. Give me WISDOM that ſitteth by thy
throne ; and from Proverbs iii. 19. By Wis-
DOM hath he founded the earth; by UNDER-
STANDING hath be eſtabliſhed the beavens. We
have ſeen that the Jews thought thoſe two fa-
cred perſonages ſo effentially neceſſary and ra-
dically conſtituent parts of the divine eſſence,
that they figuratively denominated them the
TWO HANDS OF God. This ſingular expreſ-
ſion is particularly uſed both in Jonathan and
the
• I ſhall hereafter treat more at large of the SEPHIROTH,
and the ſymbol by which they were repreſented.
1
+ Thus alſo, according to our author, ſpeaks of them the
rabbi Bechai, a famous commentator on thc Pentateuch, in fol,
13, col. 2.
[. 531 ]
1
*
the Jeruſalem Targum on Exodus xv. 17.
They ſay that God hath created the world by
the ſecond SEPHIRAH, or Wiſdom, in the
ſame manner as the soul axts by her BODY. Of
the third Sephirah, or Binah, there was a moſt
ancient and memorable notion entertained by
the Hebrew doctors; for, as they called the
Logos the Creator, or Father, ſo they called
the Binah the Mother of the world by the ap-
pellative IMMA. This fact is evinced by Allix
in ſeveral quotations from ancient Jewiſh para-
phaſts; but, in particular, from the book Zo-
har and the Rabbi Menachem. It is poflible,
that, from this ancient Hebrew ſimilitude, the
pagans might derive their firſt idea of the Dea
MULTIMAMMIA, the many-breaſted parent of
all things, who ſupports, with her nutritious
and
The deviation of theſe commentators from the text, to ex-
preſs this favourite rabbinical notion, is very remarkable. In
the original, according to the accurate tranſlation of Pagninus,
the paſſage ſtands : Sanctuarium tuum, Domine, quod firma.
verunt MANUS TUÆ, or, as in the Engliſh Bibles, The farets-
ary, O Lord, which THY HANDS have eſtabliſhed. But JONA-
THAN writes: Domum ſanctuarii tui, Domine, AMBA MANUS
TUÆ fundaverunt; and, in the JERUSALEM TARGUM, it is
expreſſed : Domo fanctuarii, Domine, quam AMDÆ MANUS
TUÆ fundaverunt. Conſult theſe Targums in Walton's Poly-
glot, tom iv. p. 131.
+ Zohar apud Allix, p. 162.
Rabbi Menachem in Pentateuchum, fol. 114, col. 2.
[ 532 ]
and abundant milk, the whole creation. It is
likewiſe poſſible that all thoſe ideas, fo common
in the myſtic writers of the pagan world, of a
certain GENERATIVE FECUNDITY appertaining
to the divine nature, or, in other words, that
the Deity was both MALE and FEMALE, (ideas
repreſented in the temples of India by a very
uſual, but a very degrading, ſymbol, too
groſs to be here particularized,) originated
in a miſconception of this Hebrew notion.
The ſubject belongs rather to philoſophy than
theology, and will be conſidered, with
many
others equally curious, under the article of
Hindoo Literature: for the preſent I ſhall con-
tent myſelf with obſerving to the reader that
there is a paſſage in Iſaiah lxvi. 9. which for-
cibly illuſtrates and corroborates the preceding
conjecture. I give it in the Vulgate Latin, as
I find it in Walton's Polyglot. Numquid ego,
qui alias PARERE facio, ipfe non PARIAM?
dicit Dominus. Si ego, qui GENERATIONEM
ceteris tribuo, STERILIS ero? ait Dominus
Deus tuus. In the more correct interlineary
verſion of Pagninus, the Hebrew verb, tran-
ſlated pariam, is rendered “ frangam matri-
cem,"* which ſeems to allude to what John
Xeres, a learned and upright Jew, converted
1
to
• See Walton's Polyglot on Ifaiah, tom.üi. p. 174.
[
533 )
to Chriſtianity in the laſt century by the force
of the arguments adduced in its favour by Dr.
Allix, obſerves, in obviating the objections
raiſed againſt the miraculous conception, that
the Talmudiſts aſſert that the Almighty alone
has poffeffion of the three keys ; by which they
mean, the key of the WOMB, the key of the RAIN,
and the key of the GRAVE.* Although the ap-
pellative of Jehovah be more particularly applied
to the firſt Sephirah, or moſt ancient SPLENDOR,
yet it is, in many parts of their writings, equally
applied to the ſecond and third Sephirah. They
particularly ſpecify the Chriſtian doctrine of
the emanation of the ſecond and third perſon in
the Trinity, and they even go ſo far in the
book Zohar, as to propoſe the manner in
which Eve was TAKEN from ADAM as an
image of the manner of the emanation of the
Wiſdom from the EN SAPH, or infinite ſource of
As, in Egypt, the triangle was, in ſucceeding
ages, conſidered as a juſt ſymbol of the “ nu-
men
* See An Addreſs to the Jews, referred to before, by John
Xeres, p. 83 and 84. As this profelyte's character is atteſted
by a number of merchants, who knew him in his native coun.
try of Saphia, on the coaſt of Barbary, and as the book is un-
doubtedly authentic, it cannot be too warmly recommended to
the inembers both of the Chriſtian and Jewiſh community.
+ Rabbi Menachem in Zohar, fol. 105, col. 3; and Allix,
p. 169.
[ 534 )
LUL
men triplex," ſo it is remarkable, that, in the
ſame venerable book Zohar, the three bran-
ches of the Hebrew letter SCHIN are affert-
ed to be a proper emblem of the three per-
ſons that compoſe the divine eſſence. * They
ſometimes call theſe three Sephiroth, SPIRITS;
at other times, the three Auvouers, or POWERS;
and, at other times, the three Lights. Thus
we ſee that language was ranſacked for words,
and nature explored for objects, to diſplay
and to illuſtrate thoſe conceptions which they
are by modern Jews and modern ſceptics au-
daciouſly denied ever to have entertained
upon
the ſubject.
If the myſtery of the Trinity cannot be
found in the two firſt verſes of the firſt chap-
ter of Geneſis, it is in vain to look for
any
clearer diſplay of it in any other page of the
Old Teſtament. The ANCIENT OF DAYS of
Daniel,
* Allix, p. 170, citing the Zohar, fol. 54, col. 2.
+ " Rabbi H. Hagaon, who lived ſeven hundred years ago,
ſaid there are THREE LIGHTS in God; the ANCIENT LIGHT,
or Kadmon; the PURE LIGHT; and the PURIFIED LIGHT;
and that theſe three make but one God.” Allix's Judgement,
p. 170. The ſame Rabbi Hagaon affirmed, “ Hi tres, qui
ſunt unum, inter ſe proportionem habent, ut UNUM, UNIENS,
He had, in a preceding page, obſerved, Sunt
PRINCIPIUM, et medIUM, et FINIS; et hæc funt UNUS
PUNCTUS, et eſt Dominus univerſi. Ibid.
et UNITUM.
+
[ 535 ]
Daniel, the CREATIVE Logos of St. John,
and the INCUMBENT Spirit of the paraphraſts, ,
Shine forth in that page with diſtinguiſhed luſ-
tre; with rays intimately blended but not con-
founded. If the reluctant Chriſtian will not dif-
cover it there, the ancient Hebrew, when, as yet,
there exiſted no cauſe for diffembling, could;
ſince not only the author of the Jeruſalem Tar-
gum tranſlates the word bereſcuit by hacacama,
SAPIENTIA, but the rabbinical doctors, to ex-
preſs their notion of the THREE-FOLD POWER
that made the world, in their cabbaliſtic way, in
addition to that tranſmutation of words, aſſert-
ed, that Bara denotc3 GOODNESS and Helohim
Thus the world was created by the
union of Almighty WISDOM, GOODNESS, and
POWER. Others found a Trinity in the three
,
created, for X, or Aleph, being the initial let-
ter of the Hebrew alphabet, is a known ſym-
bol of the Father; a, or Beth, imports the Son;
and a ſignifies Ruah, the Spirit. The reader,
who has the curioſity to ſee very conſiderable
and expreſs teſtimony of this nature, demon-
ſtrating that the ancient rabbies, in their inter-
pretation of Scripture, were not in reality un-
influenced by fimilar ideas to thoſe which Chrif-
tians entertain concerning theſe verſes, may
find,
POWER.
,ברא Hebrew letters whicli form the word
N 1
( 536 )
find, in Kircher,* abundance of proofs, and
particularly in that father's extracts from the
author Rabbi Hakadoſch, from whom the a-
bove quotation is taken, a rabbi fo highly ce-
lebrated for his piety as to have the title of holy
conferred on him by his nation. When I men-
tion the word Trinity, a word generally de-
nied to be known to the Jews, I do it not
only on the authority of Calmet, who aſſerts,
from Raymond Martin and Galatine, that the
Chaldee paraphrafts and ancient rabbies make
expreſs mention of the Trinity in the term
ni'w9W, Shaliſhith, or Trinitas; and of the
THREE HYPOSTAses that compoſe it in the
words 782 nuhu, Tres in Uno; and in
nuhusa 1778, Unus in Tribus:ef but I ſhall
add out of Kircher an entire ſentence of the
fame Hakadoſch, in which all the perſons in
the Trinity are expreſſly mentioned. It is
exceedingly remarkable, that, in this very
Hebrew ſentence, are compriſed the myſterious
forty-two letters, which, according to the
cabbaliſts, form another of the names of God.
אב אלהים בן אלהים רות הקדש אלהים שלשה
באחד אחד בשלשה :+
:1
Pater
• See adipus Ægyptiacus, tom. i. p. 542.
+ Conſult Calmet's Dictionary on the word 'Trinity.
I R. Hakadoſch apud Kircher @dipus Ægypt. tom. ii. p. 246.
[ 537 ]
1
Pater Deus, Filius Deus, Spiritus Sanctus
Deus, Trinus in Unitate et Unus in Trinitate.
The following paſſage, which I ſhall give
from ſacred writ, unabridged, has, with great
propriety, been conſidered by moſt commen-
tators as directly alluſive to the three perſons
in the holy Trinity: And the Lord appeared
unto himn, (Abraham,) in the plains of Mamre,
as he ſat in the tent-dior in the heat of the day.
And be lift up his eyes and losked, and, lo! THREE
Men ſtood by him; and when he ſaw them, he
ran to incet them from the tent-door, and bowed
bimſelf toward the ground, and ſaid, my Lord.*
Dr. Bedford has remarked on this paſſage, that
the vowels are added to make it in the plural
number, but that Abraham ſpcaks afterwards
to them in the fingular: If I have found fa-
vour in the fight; and that he prays to them
as the ONE JEHOVAH.There is alſo an obſer-
vation of Philo on this text, which very much
corroborates the ſenſe affixed to it by Chriſtian
divines. He ſays the whole paſſage contains
a latent myſtical meaning, not to be communi.
cated to every one; and that, according to this
myſtical ſenſe, here was denoted o w, the great
Jehovah,
Nn 2
• Gen. xviii. 1, 2, 3.
+ Sermons at Lady Moyer's Lectures, P. 49.
1
[ 538 )
Jehovah, with his two Auropeis, of which one
is called Θεος and the other Κυριος.*
It would be facrificing the cauſe for
which I contend were I not, among theſe
evidences of a Trinity, in the Old Teſtament,
to enumerate that text which the Jews every
morning and evening conſtantly recite, and
call The SHEMA: Hear, O Iſrael, the LORD,
our God, is one LORD. Deut. vi. 4. They, in-
deed, urge this as an unanſwerable argument
againſt the Trinity, but with what juſtice will
be fully conſidered hereafter.
The following form, in which the high
prieſt was commanded ſolemnly to bleſs the
aſſembled people, has likewiſe heen juſtly con-
ſidered as indicative of the three perſons in the
Godhead, as well as in ſome degree deſcriptive
of the ſeveral characters of the great FATHER
and PRESERVER of all things, of the radiant
and benevolent Logos, and of that Spirit who
is emphatically called the Comforter and Giver
of peace. The Lord bleſs thee and keep thcc. The
Lord make his face to ſhine upon thee, and be
gra-
cious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee, and give thee peace.f This triple re-
petition of the awful name of Jehovah, in-
communicable
* Philo Jud. de Sacrificiis Abelis et Caini, p. 103, D,
+ Numb, vi. 24, 25, 26.
[ 539 ]
communicable to any being under the rank of
Deity, and the triple benediction accompany-
ing it, pronounced, according to rabbi Mena-
chem, cited both by Poole and Patrick on this
paſſage, each time in a different accent, is the
more remarkable, becauſe, at the period of
pronouncing it, the high prieſt, in the eleva-
tion of his hands, conſtantly
“ fic digitos
compoſuit ut TriadA exprimerent ;” diſpo-
fed his fingers in 'fuch a manner as to ex-
preſs a Trinity.* But of this mode of fym-
bolizing the triune Deity, I ſhall hereafter
have ſomething additional, and not leſs cu-
rious, to report from Kircher. To the peculi-
arly-ſtrong collateral evidence thus adduced, I
Shall add a few other paſſages from ſacred
writ, which to me appear conclufive on the
point under conſideration.
In the following moſt ſublime language
the great inſpired prophet Iſaiah deſcribes a
viſion which he was permitted to have of the
eternal glory. I ſaw the LORD fitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the
temple. Above it ſtood the Seraphim, each with
fix wings; and one cried to another, and ſaid,
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, is the LORD OF HOSTS,
the whole earth is full of his glory. That this re-
petition
* Vide RAMBANJ, et Salomon BEN JARRHI, apud Kircher
Nn 3
T
[ 540 ]
US. *
petition was not merely the effect of profound
veneration in the Seraphim; but that, by it, a
Trinity was really adored, appears equally e-
vident from what almoſt immediately follows,
which, if I am not miſtaken proves ſtill more-
ſomething greatly reſembling that very Tri-
NITY IN L'NITY, for which we have all along
contended. Alſo I heard the voice of the LORD,
Saying, Whom fixall I ſend, and who will go for
In the Revelations, it is ſaid, that the
.four ſacred animals, which compoſe the Che-
rubim that ſupport the everlaſting throne, reſt
not day and night, Jaying, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY,
LORD God ALMIGHTY, which was, and is, and
is to come.fo
It is not, however, alone in folemn acts of
BENEDICTION and THANKSGIVING that the
number THREE is repeated; a ſacred Triad is,
in the following paſſage, the immediate object
of PRAYER, the prayer of the pious Daniel;
and we may reſt aſſured that, in making it,
the prophet uſed no vain repetition. O LORD,
bear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, bearken,
and do; defer not for thine own ſake, O MY GOD!
Dan. ix. 19. In this paſſage the TRINITY
appears to be as plainly intimated, by the in-
vocation of the three perſons who compoſe it
in
* Iſaiah, vi. 5, 8.
+ Rev. iv. 8.
[ 541 ]
1
in the former part of the ſentence, as the
UNITY is by the addreſs to the collective God-
head in the latter portion of the ſentence.
A ſimilar paſſage and a kindred mode of
phraſeology occur in Iſaiah : The Lord is
our judge, THE LORD is our law-giver, The
LORD is our king : he will ſave us. Iſaiah
xxxiii. 22.
In the very fame evangelical
prophet, the Immortal Being, who, at verſe
12 of chap. xlviii. had denominated him-
ſelf PRIMUS et NOVISSIMUS, THE FIRST and
THE LAST, and who conſequently was the
Redeemer of Iſrael, in the 16th verſe of
that chapter, declares, And now the LORD God
and his Spirit bath ſent ME. In this verfe,
either cach perſon in the Trinity is expreſſly
particulariſed, or we muſt allow the idiom to
be very ſingular indeed; for, it is an idiom
unprecedented before in any known language
of the earth. The paſſages cited above are
ſufficient to prove that this doctrine, if not
revealed, for a reaſon given before, in ſo many
expreſs terms, is at leaſt very forcibly inti-
mated in the Old Teſtament; and, on an im-
partial examination, we ſhall find it plainly
inculcated, where no ſuch reaſon for ſhading
it under a myſterious veil ſubſiſted, viz. in
, the New Teſtament.
The
Nn4
---
[ 542 ]
The three perſons in the holy Trinity are
there clearly brought before our view in the fol-
lowing promiſe of the Meſſiah to his inquiring
diſciples : The COMFORTER, which is the Holy
GHOST, whom The Father will ſend in my
NAME, he ſhall teach you all things. John xiv.
26. It was here neceſſary to explain to them
who was the promiſed Comforter, but not
who was the Holy Ghoſt ; nor yet that the
Holy Ghoſt was a perſon and not a quality or
attribute; for, it was He who was to TEACH
them all things. The ſame auguſt perſonage
in another place declares, When The COMFOR-
Ter is come, whom I will ſend unto you from
THE FATHER, even the SPIRIT OF TRUTH,
who procedeth from the FATHER, HE fall teſtify
of Me. John xv. 26.
Since ſo profound a ſcholar in Greek litera.
ture as Mr. Porfon, actuated as he himſelf
profeſſes, and as I am convinced he was actu-
ated, by the fole love of truth, has offered
ſuch ſolid arguments to evince the poſſible ſpu-
riouſneſs of the text alluſive to the three bean
venly Witneſſes, I ſhall not here cite it, becauſe
the laying any ſtreſs upon evidence in the
leaſt degree diſputable would be injudicious.
In fact, this doctrine needs not the ſupport
of any dubious text whatſoever when there
arc
[ 543 ]
are ſo many others corroborative of it in the
New Teſtament, full as pointed as that omit-
ted, and of authority that cannot be diſputed.
The beſt evidence, it will be ſtill allowed,
that can poſſibly be brcught upon this ſubject
is that of our bleſſed Saviour himſelf, and his
expreſs teſtimony has been already produced;
but his language is even ſtill more decided in
the following paſſage, where he ſolemnly com-
mands his diſciples to go and teach all nations;
baptizing them in the name of the FATHER,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Mat. xxviii. 19. There is a very remark-
able paſſage not I think ſufficiently attended
to in St. Paul to the Corinthians, in which
not only the perſons, but the operations more
peculiarly appropriate to each of thoſe per-
fons, ſeem to be diſtinctly ſpecified. Now
there are diverhties of gifts, but the same SPI-
RIT; and there are diverſities of ADMINISTRA-
TIONS, but the SAME LORD, and there are di.
verſities of OPERATIONS ; but it is the SAME
GOD, who worketh all in all. I Cor. xii. It is
unneceſſary to ſwell this increaſing volume with
an enumeration of all the various texts upon
a point ſo obviouſly manifeſt in the New Tel-
tament; and, therefore, I ſhall cloſe this
part
of the evidence by an inſertion of another par-
fage
ܪ
1
[ 544 ]
fage of the ſame inſpired apoſtle in this epiſtle,
which indeed may well forve in the place of a
hoſt of them. The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the comm2-
nion of the Holy Ghost, be with
J'oll
all.
2 Corinth, xiii. 14.
After bringing before the view of the rea-
der the preceding ſolid body of evidence, which
ſummed up together amounts to little leſs than
demonſtration, eſpecially when it ſhall be con-
ſidered from what high authority no inconſi-
derable portion of that evidence is derived, I
might ſtand excuſed from citing the teſtimony
of Philo, were not that teſtimony too perti-
nent and too important to be entirely omitted.
To the objection, that Philo's mind was deeply
infected with the prevailing philoſophy of the
times, or, in other words, that he platonized,
it will be ſufficient for the preſent to reply,
that, if Philo platonized, Plato, long before
the age of Philo, judaiſed, as will be amply
evinced in a future page. His opinion of a
certain plurality exiſting in the Deity has been
noticed before; as well in that remarkable
paſſage preſerved to us by Eufebius, (for the
original does not appear in any edition of
Philo's works now extant,) relative to the
deutepov zeov, or ſubordinate God, as in the
quotations
[ 545 ]
1
quotations recently adduced to eſtabliſh the
divinity of the third Sephirah.
I ſhall now
likewiſe add, that Philo is as expreſs as words
can enable him to be on the limitation of the
number of thoſe perſons to THREE, as is e-
vident in the following paſſages, well known,
and frequently referred to, for the illuſtration
of this ſubject. I have not room to inſert
them at length, (though the purport of them
all is much elucidated by the ſentences which
immediately precede and follow) but ſhall
faithfully give the ſubſtance. In the firſt of
the remarkable paſſages alluded to, which oc- .
curs in the tract on the Cherubim, ſpeaking
of the eternal Ens, or o úv, he aſſerts, that,
« in the One TRUL God there are two fu.
preme and primary Auvąuers, or powers, whom
he denominates Αγαθοτητα και Εξεσιαν, that
is, GOODNESS and AUTHORITY; and that there
is a THIRD AND MEDIATORIAL Power between
the two former, who is the 19795."* In the
ſecond, which is that in his diflertation con-
cerning the ſacrifices of Abel and Cain, f Philo
is ſtill more explanatory; for, ſpeaking of the
fame ó ñv appearing to Abraham, he acquaints
us that “ He came attended by his two moſt
high
• Vide Philonis Judæi Differt. de Cherubim, p. 86,. F.G.
+ Diſſert. de Sacrificiis Abelis et Caini. p. 108. B.
1
[ 546 ]
high and puiſſant powers, PRINCIPALITY and
GOODNESS ; εις ων ο μεσος τριτας φαντασιας ενειρ-
γαζετο τη ορατικη ψυκη; “ HIMSELF in the middle
of thoſe POWERS; and, though one, exhibi-
ting to the diſcerning ſoul the appearance of
THREE.” In a third paſſage he is ſtill more de-
ciſive; for, he ſays, Tiurne Lev two w o PECOS,
" the FATHER OF ALL is in the middle and,
as if to prevent any poſſibility of thole powers
being miſtaken for mere attributes, he aſſigns
to each of them active perſonal properties,
and denominates one the Power CREATOR and
the other the POWER REGAL. He then adds,
the POWER CREATOR is 80s, God; the REGAL
Power is called, Kupoos, Lord.*
I am now to demonſtrate that the ancient
Jewiſh rabbies ablolutely, although not pub-
licly, profeſſed the doctrine of a 'Trinity, by
a more particular examination of their vari-
ous allegorical alluſions on the ſubject, and the
fymbols by which they typified it. Thoſe
ſymbols, ſo far as objects in the animated
world were concerned, muſt neceſſarily be very
few in number; ſince, to form the image or
fimilitude of a living creature, divine or hu-
man, they conſidered in ſome degree as an
infraction of the ſecond commandment. Their
figures
* Difert, de Abrahamo, f, 227, F.
[ 547)
figures of the CHERUBIM, therefore, made by
the command of the Deity himſelf, are the only
emblems of that kind alluſive to the plurality
which it will preſently appear they did be-
lieve to exiſt in the Godhead. But, in the
moral and intellectual world, to what an
extent the Jews, as well as all the other o-
rientals, carried their ſymbolical alluſions,
when the ſymbol did not tend to promote ido-
latry, is evident from a multitude of allegories
and compariſons to be found in the rabbinical
and talmudical books. The reader may form
fome judgement both of their proneneſs to ſym-
bolize, and their mode of ſymbolizing, from
the following very curious paſſage in the
MISCHNA.* R. Akiba afks, “Why do they
tie a ſcarlet ſtring upon the head of the ſcape-
goat?” The anſwer returned is, “Becauſe it
is ſaid, though your fins be as ſcarlet, they shall
be as white es ſnow.” Iſaiah i. 18. Indeed we
need not deſcend fo low down as to the period
when the MISCIINA was written, ſince we find
this ityle of writing prevailing ſo early as the
days of Solomon, whoſe book of PROVERBS is a
remarkable proof of the predominancy of this
ſymbolical mode of enforcing truth. The fa-
mous
* Vide MISCHNA, lib. Shabbath, tom. ii. cap.9. p.sh.
ore Surenhufio. Amſterdam, 1699.
1
[ 548 ]
1
mous book Zohar, and the Sephir Jetzira, are
crouded with ſimilies and hyperboles in the ori-
ental way, and the pages of Philo are fo gaudily
arrayed in this kind of decoration as very often
to obſcure, rather than to elucidate, his fub.
ject. Of the two former books, ſince, through
the medium of Dr. Allix, I have had ſuch
frequent occaſion to refer to them, and muſt
ſo often cite them in the ſucceeding pages, the
reader may poſſibly not be diſpleaſed with a
ſhort account of each from Mr. Bainage, the
faithful hiſtorian of the latter Jews.
The myſteries of the CABBALA were, accor-
ding to the Jews, originally taught by the Al-
mighty himſelf to Adam in the garden of
Paradiſe. In them, they affert, are wrapt up
the profoundeſt truths of religion, which, to
be fully comprehended by finite beings, are
obliged to be revealed through the medium of
allegory and ſimilitude ; in the ſame manner as
angels can only render themſelves viſible upon
earth, and palpable to the ſentes of men, by aſ-
ſuming a ſubtle body of refined matter. All
the patriarchs of the ancient world had their
ſeparate angels to inſtruct them in theſe myſteri-
ous arcana; and Moles himſelf was initiated
into them by the illuſtrious ſpirit, METATRON.
This cabbaliſtic knowledge, or knowledge tradi-
tionally
1
[ 549 )
tionally received, (for that is the import of the
original word KABBA.L,) was, during a long
revolution of ages, tranſmitted verbally down
to all the great characters celebrated in Jewiſh
antiquity; among whom, both David and So-
lomon were deeply converſant in its moſt
hidden myſteries. Nobody, however, had ven-
tured to commit any thing of this kind to pa-
per, before Simeon Jochaides, a famous rabbi
and martyr, of the ſecond century, by di-
vine aſſiſtance, as the Jews affirm, compoſed
the ZOHAR. I have not room to inſert, from
M. Baſnage, any more particular account of
the contents of this famous book, than that it
abounds with myſtical emblems, and a ſpecies
‘of profound ſpeculative divinity, unfathoma-
ble, for the moſt part, by thoſe who are un-
acquainted with the peculiar cuſtoms, man-
ners, and cabbaliſtical theology, of the He-
brews.* Amidſt, however, a vaſt maſs of
matter, and a confuſed jargon of ideas, to
be expected from a compoſition which com-
bines the notions of ſo many
various people
and of ſuch different periods, much ſolid in-
formation is to be gleaned ; and, though both
the
age
and credit of the book have been ato
tempted to be ſhaken by ſome Chriſtians of 11-
nitarian
• See Baſnage's Hiſtory of the Jews, p. 185.
1
[ $50.]
1
ز
nitarian principles, yet, as Dr. Allix obſerves,
its authenticity was never doubted by the Jews
themſelves. It is a treaſure of the moſt anci.
ent rabbinical opinions in theology; and, of
its fidelity in detailing thoſe opinions, the ſame
author has advanced this remarkable proof, that
the very
fame notions which prevail in the Zo-
har are to be found in the beginning of the
RABBOTH, which books the Jews affort to be
more ancient than even the Talmud.* Thus,
were the Zohar annihilated, fufficient evidence
would not be wanting to eſtabliſh the facts
for which we contend.
The Sephir JETZIRAH, or book of the
Creation, is the compoſition next in cab-
baliſtic fame to the Zohar; and though,
without any foundation, aſcribed to the patri-
arch Abraham, yet it undoubtedly contains
ſtrong internal evidence of very remote anti-
quity. Rabbi AKIBA, one of the moſt renown-
ed for learning among all the Jewiſh doctors,
who flouriſhed in the beginning of the ſecond
century, is ſuppoſed to have been the real aa-
thor. Abraham Poftellus, cited in page 322
preceding, firſt preſented this famous book to
the Chriſtian world, with a Latin tranſlation
and a commentary printed at Paris in 1552;
Rittangelius,
*.***.'s Judgement of the ancient Jewish Church, p. 177
!
[ 551 )
Rittangelius, a converted Jew, publiſhed ano.
ther Latin verſion of it, at Amſterdam, 1642,
with large explanatory notes, both by him-
ſelf and other learned men of that period.
The rage and hatred of AKIBA againſt the
Chriſtians were ſo intenſe, that he is af-
ſerted by father Pezron* to have altered the
Hebrew text to anſwer a particular objec-
tion urged by them againſt the Jews. If,
therefore, any arguments, in favour of the
Trinity, ſhould be diſcovered in the Sephir
Jetzirah, they cannot fail of having additional
effect upon the mind of the reader, when co-
ming from ſo hoſtile a quarter. But there
ere ſuch arguments in that book, and Rittan-
gel has principally founded upon them a moſt
elaborate defence of the Trinity. The reader
will not be ſurprized at this apparent inconfil-
tency in Akiba, when I inform him, that though
this furious zealot could act thus treacherouſly
and malignantly againſt the adherents of Jeſus
Chriſt, yet there was a Meliah who appeared
in his own time, i.e. about the year 136 after
Chriſt, in whom he believed the ancient
pro-
VOL. I.
Oo
phecies
* See the paſſage extracted from this father in the article
Akiba in the General Dictionary, which article confirms the
particulars here mentioned relative to that famous rabbi. It
was written by SALE, who publiſhed THE CORAUN.
[ 552 ]
I
!
upon his
phecies to be fulfilled. This was that famous
impoſtor, named BAR-COCHEBAs, whoſe ra-
pid ſucceſs and fanguinary devaſtations through
all Paleſtine and Syria filled Rome itſelf with
alarm and aſtoniſhment. In this barbarian, ſo
well calculated by his cruelty to be the Meſ-
fiah, according to the perverted conceptions
of the Jews, Akiba declared that prophecy of
Balaam, a ſtar fall riſe out of Jacob, was accom-
pliſhed. Hence the impoſtor took his title of
BAR-Cochebas, or fon of the ſtar; and Akiba
not only publicly anointed him KING OF THE
Jews, and placed an imperial diadem
head, but followed him to the field at the head
of four-and-twenty thouſand of his diſciples,
and acted in the capacity of maſter of his
horſe. To cruſh this dangerous inſurrection,
which happened in the reign of the emperor
Adrian, Julius Severus, prefect of Britain,
one of the greateſt commanders of the age,
was recalled and diſpatched from Rome, who
retook Jeruſalem, burnt that métropolis to
the ground, and lowed the ruins with ſalt.
A deſtiny more terrible, than even that to
which the mad enthuſiaſm of Akiba had
been the occaſion of dooming ſo
fand Chriſtians, now awaited the patron of the
pretended Meſſiah; fur, Adrian ordered his fleſh
to
many thou-
[ 553 ]
to be torn off with iron combs, and the re-
mains of his lacerated body to be afterwards
conſumed by a ſlow fire. Bar-Cochebas him-
ſelf periſhed in the attack upon Bether, a
ſtrong city not far from Jeruſalem, whither
he had retired with an innumerable multitude
of his followers, and the Jewiſh Hiſtory,
ſufficiently bloody as it is in every page, re-
cords no fact more horrible than the promiſ-
·cuous and undiſtinguished Slaughter of thoſe
Jews.*
Before I can proceed to the conſideration
of certain ſymbols, peculiar to the Hebrews,
from which it is evident their forefathers
had, if not the moſt perfect, yet very
ſtrong, conceptions of ſuch a plurality of per-
fons exiſting in the divine eſſence, as Chriſ-
tians denominate a Trinity, it is necellary that
the laſt and moſt formidable arguments which
has been urged by modern Judaiſm to over-
throw this grand tenet of the Chriſtian church,
ſhould be attentively examined. In the firſt
book, which is entitled BERACOTH, or bleffings,
of that famous code of Hebraic traditional laws,
Oo2
the
* Conſult, for what relates to the rabbinical accounts,
Baſnage's Hift. of the Jews, p. 518, and the various authors
cited by that hiſtorian: and, for what concerns the Romans,
Taciti Annal. Lib. iv. p. 126. Edit Variorum, 1673.
1
[ 554 )
1
1
1
the Mischna,* it is enjoined, as an indif-
penſable d:ity, to every Jew, that twice at leaſt
in each day, that is, at the time of riſing in the
morning, or rather at the riſing of the ſun, and
at the period of retiring to reſt, or fun-ſet, he
ſhould folemnly recite what is there called the
Shema, which conſiſts of theſe words : Hear,
O Ifrael, the Lord, our God, is one Lord. This
cuſtom, which is as ancient as the days of our
Saviour, if not as that remote period when the
law was given from Sinai, they have founded
upon the foliowing paſſage in Deuteronomy :
And tbele words, which I command thee this day,
ſhall be in thine heart, and thou Malt teach them
diligentiy unto thy children, and ſalt talk of them
when thou ſitteſt in thine bouſe, and when thoue
walkeſt by the way, and when thou LIEST DOWN,
and when thou RISFST UP. Deut. vi. 7.
Their daily and undeviating cuſtom of re-
citing the text preceding, in conſequence of
theſe words, is, as Biſhop Patrick on the
paſſage obferves, " to take the precept in a
very dilute ſenſe.” The anſwer, however, of
our Lord to the inquiſitive lawyer, as it plain-
ly alludes to this precept, ſo it apparently juf-
tifies the conſequent uſage. His queſtion
1
1
was,
1
* See MISCHNA, Title Beracoth, tom. i. p. d, editore Su-
tenhufio, 1698.
[ 555 ]
1
was, which was the firſt and great commandment
of the law ? to which Jeſus anſwers in the words
of the SHIMA, HEAR, O Israel, The
LORD, OUR GOD, is one LORD. Mark xii. 29.
From this anſwer of our Saviour, it has been
ſuppoſed, by ſome learned commentators, that
he not only adopted the cuſtom himſelf, but
farther complied with the attendant precept
in the following verſe, and alſo wore the phy-
lactery. This prayer is called the SHEMA,
becauſe SHEMA is the initial word of the
Hebrew ſentence fo repeated, and ſignifies
Hear.
The Jews, I have obſerved, urge the daily
recitation of this text, ſo expreſs upon the
Unity of God, as an unanſwerable argument a-
gaint the doctrine of the Chriſtian Trinity.
But, while they do this, they haveacknowledged,
that it is ſomewhat extraordinary and perplex-
ing that the name of God ſhould be thrice re-
peated ; * and, as to the CHRISTIANS them-
ſelves, againſt whom it is urged as an argument
ſo irrefragable, they are alnioſt unanimous, that,
in
003
* See Biſhop Patrick on the paſſage, who makes this remark,
and immediately adds, " The Jews confeſs that here are meant
three Midoth, or properties; which they ſometimes call
three FACFS, or EMANATIONS, or SANCTIFICATIONS, or
NYMERATIONS, though they will not call them thrce PERSONS."
Tom, v. p. 100, quarto, 1700.
[ 556 ]
1
in this very ſentence, there is a plain indication
of a Trinity. If the reader will turn to the
original in the Hebrew Bible, he will there
find, in the firſt and laſt words of this text,
two letters of an uncommon magnitude, viz.
the y, ain, and the 7, daleth, of which a fi-
milar inſtance does not occur in the whole VQ-
lume of the ancient ſcriptures. The remarka-
ble diſtinction of theſe letters, the Jews them,
felves allow, was intended to denote a deep
and latent myſtery in the words.
But ſince,
in enforcing the Unity of God, a doctrine ſo
plainly and expreſſly inculcated in this and va-
rious other paſſages, no myſtery could be in-
tended, their opponents, with great juſtice,
apply it to mean the myſtery of the Trinity
in Unity They inſiſt that it alludes to the
manner in which God is ONE ; that the Unity
of the divine Eſſence is an Unity that has no-
thing in common with that of other beings
which fall under number, and that, as the
Jews in their book of prayers expreſs it, God
is unus non unicus."* The Hebrew text, lite-
rally tranſlated, runs thus : Hear, O Iſrael,
JEHOVAH, OUR GOD, JEHOVAH, ONE ; and Dr.
Bedford, a very excellent Hebrew ſcholar, ob-
ſerves
* Allix's Judgement, p.121, 268, in the latter of which
pages the original Hebrew is quoted.
r
[ 557 ]
ſerves that this mode of rendering the paſſage
perfectly agrees not only with the Hebrew
text, but with the mode of accenting uſed by
the ancient Jews, « for, the accent peſick, be-
tween the two laſt words, being a diſtinguiſh-
ing accent, requires fome pauſe or ſtop.”*
As a farther illuſtration of this text, I
ſhall now, according to my promiſe in page 474,
preſent the reader with a paſſage which the au-
thors of the Univerſal Hiſtory have extracted
from a production which I have not been fo
fortunate as to procure.“ Rabbi Simeon Ben
Jochar, in his Zohar, a book by the Jews
acknowledged to have been written before the
Talmud, if not before Chriſt, quotes the ex-
poſition of this text by Rabbi Ibba to this
purport: that the firſt of theſe ſacred appella-
tives of Jehovah, which is the incommunica-
ble name of God, means the Father; by
Elohim is meant The Son, who is the foun-
tain of all knowledge; and by the ſecond Je-
hovah is meant TIE HOLY GHOST, procee-
ding from them, and he is called ACHAD, ONE;
becauſe GOD IS ONE. Ibba adds, that this
myſtery was not to be revealed till the coming
of the Meſſiah. The author of the Zohar
goes on and applies the word HOLY, which is
thrice
i
)
)
004
***
• Sermons at Lady Moyer's Lectures, p. 53, oct. 1741.
[ 558 ]
BEGINNING
AND
thrice repeated in the viſion of Iſaiah, to the
THREE Persons in the Deity, whom he elſe-
where calls THREE SUNS, or LIGHTS; THREE
SOVEREIGNS,
WITHOUT
WITHOUT END !”* Although it by no means
appears that this daily and punctual recitation
of the SHEMA is abſolutely commanded the
Jews in holy writ, yet it will readily be ac-
knowledged that the worſhip of one God was
not only enforced by the firſt precept of the
decalogue, but by the whole weight of the le-
giſlative authority of Moſes, and by all the ad-
dreſſes to the Deity of the prophets who ſuc-
ceeded him. The reaſon of the Unity being
ſo expreſſly infifted upon is evident,
Early and univerſally as the ancient pa-
gan world was immerſed in the groſs dark-
geſs of polytheiſm, the UNITY OF GOD was
thus inceſſantly inculcated upon the choſen
people of Jehovah, to preſerve them un-
ſpotted from the idolatrous pollutions of
their Aſiatic neighbours. Jehovah, there-
fore, is called the one God in oppoſition to
the multifarious deities, the innumerable
idols, of Affyria and Egypt, not in oppoſition
to, or in degradation of, thoſe two facred per-
ſonages,
* See the Ancient Univerſal Hiſtory, vol. iii. p. 12, firſt ocz
javo cdition.
1
1
559 ]
i
1
1
ſonages, who, in various places of holy writ,
are peculiarly diſtinguiſhed by the ſame auguſt
title of Deity, and whoſe claims to divinity
are therefore eſtabliſhed upon that laſting ba-
fis. Jehovah is denominated the true God in
contradiſtinction to the falſe BAALIM and the
baſe CABIRI, and not in diſparagement of his
co-equal and co-eſſential participators of the
eternal throne. He is called the LIVING God
in deriſion of the inanimate deities which
were fabricated of wood and marble, of gold,
ſilver, and meaner metals ; deities who had
eyes, yet ſaw not ; ears, and beard not; mouths,
and taſted not.
JEHOVAH then indicates the unity of the ef-
ſence; ELOHIM, as has been repeatedly obſer-
ved, points out that, in this unity, there is
a plurality exiſting, in a manner of which we
çan at preſent have no clear conception, no
more than we have of other parts of the myſ-
terious economy of the inviſible world. In
regard to the obſtinate infidelity of the Jews,
who perſiſt in conſidering the latter word as
ſingular, there ſtill remains one unanſwerable
argument againſt them mentioned by M. Bal.
nage; for, when hard preſſed on this point,
their anceſtors conſtantly anſwered, that the
plurality implied in it relates to the attributes
of
1
[ 560 ]
/
of God, his goodneſs, his wiſdom, and his
power. Thus, alſo, when they are preſſed in
reſpect to the phraſe, LET US MAKE, they ob-
viate every idea of its being only a term ex-
preſlive merely of the eminent dignity of the
ſpeaker, when they refer us for an explanation
of it to his BetH DIN SHEL MAALA, or houſe
of counſel. They likewiſe affirm that Mofes, to
whom they are unanimous the Spirit of God
dictated, even to the very words which he
wrote, on a ſudden withdrew his hand when
he was about to write the words, Let us make
man after our own image ; repreſenting to the
Deity that his Unity would be injured by ſo
polytheiſtical an expreſſion, and that it would
be the means of eſtabliſhing upon his authori-
ty the pernicious doctrine of two Princi-
PLES: but the Deity again and again aſſured
him that he muſt write as he had dictated,
without perplexing himſelf with the conſe-
quences that might ariſe to thoſe who were
reſolved to err.
The compound figures of the CHERUBIM,
which are deſcribed in Ezekiel as attendant
upon
the eternal SHECHINAH, have been con-
fidered, by authors of high repute, not only
as indicative of a plurality in the Godhead
but
Baſnage’s Hiſtory of the Jews, p. 287.
"
[ 561 ]
but as ſtrikingly emblematical of the peculiar
attributes of the three auguſt perſonages who
compoſe it. As an extended conſideration of
this ſtupendous fymbol will lead to an eluci-
dation of many obſcure points in the general
theology of Aſia, and will gradually lead us
back to the ſubject more immediately before
us, the theological rites of Hindoſtan, I ſhall
eaſily obtain the pardon of my readers for
going hereafter pretty much at large into a
ſubje&t at once ſo curious and fo profound.
For the preſent let us attend to that very cele-
brated ſymbol of Deity, its emanations and
attributes, called by the cabbaliſts The Se-
PHIROTH.
To enter with any minuteneſs into the myſ-
teries of the Sephiroth, in which are contains
ed the profoundeſt arcana of their art,
would be a taſk equally tedious and unprofita-
ble. I ſhall principally confine myſelf to the
conſideration of what the moſt reſpectable of
their rabbies have written concerning thoſe
three ſuperior Sephiroth which have been gene-
rally eſteemed by Chriſtian divines, who have
made the Jewiſh antiquities their ſtudy, as al-
luſive to the Trinity. The plural term SE-
PHIROTH may be underſtood in a two-fold ac-
çeptation : in its
i in its proper and primary ſenſe it
ſignifies
are those
[ 562 )
}
ſignifies . ENUMERATIONS, but, by the cabha-
liſts, it is more generally uſed in the ſenſe of
SPLENDORS, from a Hebrew root ſignifying to
ſhine with the purity and brightneſs of the
SAPPHIRE STONE, as the word is rendered in
Exodus xxiv. 10. Underſtood in this latter
fenfe, the expreſſion is eminently illuſtrative
of the meaning of the cabbaliſts, ſince the
Sephiroth are repreſented as iſſuing from the
ſupreme En Saph, or infinite ſource, in the
ſame manner as LIGHT iſſues from the sun.
The whole number of the Sephiroth is ten,
and they are repreſented in the writings of the
cabbaliſtic doctors by various ſymbols; ſome-
times by the figure of a tree with extended
branches, and, at other times, by ten diffe-
rent circles included one within the other,
and gradually leſſening to the centre. The
former fymbol required too large a plate
for the ſize of an octavo volume, but there is
annexed an engraving of the latter from M.
Baſnage. The tree of the Sephiroth is a very
curious ſymbol and very much reſembles, ſays
Calmet, what, in the ſchools, they call POR-
PHYRY'S TREE, to ſhew the different catego-
ries of ens, or Being. Of this tree the rabbi
SCHABTE in the book Jetzirah writes as fol-
lows : Arbori ſunt radices, et de radice con-
ſurgit
.
1
[563]
1
ſurgit germen, et de germine prodeunt rami, et
funt TRES GRADUS, RADIX, GERMEN, RAMI;
et totum hoc eſt ARBOR UNA: tantum hæc eft
differentia inter illas, abſconditum et manifeſ-
tum ; quia radix, quæ eſt abſcondita, patefa-
cit influentiam ſuam in germine, et unit ſe
germini; germen vero manifeſtat influentiam
ſuam in ramis, et unit ſe ipſis ramis qui pul-
lulant ex ipfo, et in fumma omnes adherent,
et uniunt fe ipfi radici, quòd niſi influentia ra-
dicis effet germen, rami omnes exſiccarentur,
ita ut eam ob caufam hæc arbor vocetur UNA.*
The ſubſtance of which paſſage is, that, as the
tree is compoſed of the root, the trunk, and
the branches, and theſe are inſeparable, ſo is
the ſupreme Being, who may be denominated
the root, inſeparable from the other Sephi-
roth, who may be conſidered as the branches,
and as receiving all their virtue and nouriſh-
ment from that root.
M. Baſnage, indeed, who has entered very
extenſively into the ſubject of the Sephiroth,
has adopted on this ſubject the ſentiments of
the modern Jews whoſe hiſtory he writes, and
is of opinion that all the ten Sephiroths are
alike to be conſidered as the attributes of God,
and blames Chriſtians for taking advantage of
the
• Sephir Jetzirah apud Edipus Ægypt, tom. ii. p. 297.
1
[ 564 ]
$
the rapturous expreſſions which the Jews
make uſe of on that ſubject to make them
ſpeak of the doctrine of a Trinity. To obviate
the ill effects which may ariſe from the autho-
rity of that hiſtorian, it is neceſſary to demon-
Itrate to the reader, that, whatever may be the
ſentiments of the modern Jews, their anceſtors
made a very conſiderable diſtinction in regard
to the three ſuperior Sephiroths whom they in-
variably regarded as PERSONALITIES, whereas
the ſeven inferior were alone conſidered as attri-
butes. The writer, laſt cited from the Sephir
Jetzirah, is deciſive upon this point; for, al-
moſt immediately after, he adds, CORONA
SUMMA, quæ eſt myſterium centri, ipſa eſt
radix abfcondita, et TRES MENTES SUPERIORES
ſunt
germen, quæ uniunt ſeſe in centro, quod
eſt radix earum ; SEPTEM vero NUMERATIONES
quae
ſunt rami, uniunt fe germini quod refert
mentes, et omnes ſe uniunt in centro, quod
eſt radix in myſterio nominis radicalis et eſſen-
tialis, quæ
quæ radix influit in omnes, et unit
omnes influentiâ fuâ. Hence they call the
ſeven laſt MIDDOTH,* or Meaſures, that is to
ſay, the attributes and characters which are
viſible in the works of God, and this is con-
feſſed in plain words by the great cabbaliſt,
rabbi
+
Sephir Jarzirah apud adip. AEgypt. tom. ii. p. 297.
1
t 565 ]
4,
*
1
rabbi Menachem de Rekanati, Tres primaria
numerationes quæ ſunt INTELLECTUALES, non
vocantur MENSURÆ.
The firit Sephirah, who is denominated
Kether, the crown; KADMON, the pure
light; and EN SAPH, the infinite; is the om-
nipotent FATHER of the univerſe ; accord-
ing to that fpirited exclamation in Iſaiah
xxviii. 5. In that day all the Jehovah of boſts
be for a CROWN OF GLORYand for a DIADEM OF
BEAUTY unto the reſidue of his people. The ſe-
cond is the COCHMA, whom we have ſufficient-
ly proved, both from facred and rabbinical
writings, to be the creative WISDOM. The third
is the Binay, or heavenly INTELLIGENCE,
whence the Egyptians had their CNEPH, and
Plato his Nes Sopelegyos. He is the Holy Spi-
RIT who inſpired the prophets, and who, al-
though in a very different manner from that
CNEPH and that N85, pervades, animates, and
governs, the boundleſs univerſe. I have ob-
ſerved, in a note in a former page, that rabbi
Hagahon affirmed that there were three lights
in God, THE ANCIENT LIGHT, the PURE
LIGHT, and the PURIFIED LIGHT. By this
expreſſion the rabbi undoubtedly meant the
three firſt Sephiroth, and the idea of Hagahon
may
* Rabbi Menachem cited by Rittangel in the notes to his c-
dition of the Sephir Jetzirah, p. 193.
t
[ 566 ]
may
be very plainly traced both in the apocry-
phal and genuine books of Scripture. This
rabbinical notion of the THREE LIGHTS diſco-
vers itſelf in the book of Wiſdom vii. 26. Wis-
DOM (Chochma, the ſecond Sephirah) is the
BRIGHTNESS of the EVERLASTING LIGHT, the
UNSPOTTED MIRROR of the power of God, and the
IMAGE of his goodneſs. An expreſſion alſo re-
markably ſimilar occurs in St. Paul himſelf,
who, having been brought up at the feet of
Gamaliel, was, we may well ſuppoſe, fully
acquainted with all the doctrines of the anci-
ent ſynagogue; for, ſpeaking of Chriſt, he calls
him the BRIGHTNESS of his Father's GLORY,
and the EXPRESS IMAGE of his perſon. Heb. i.
It is not improbable that, in alluſion to
this very ancient ſymbol of the Tree of the
Sephiroth, in various parts of the Old Teſta-
ment, the Logos himſelf is figuratively deno-
minated THE BRANCH.
We find in Zechariah
ii. 8, Jehovah, ſpeaking of the Meſſiah, de-
clares, Behold I will bring forth my ſervant, the
BRANCH; and again, in the ſame prophet vi.
12, the Meſſiah is called, the man whoſe name
mall be THE BRANCH, and he mall GROW UP
out of his place, that is, obſerves Lowth on
the paſſage, from the stock or family of Da-
vid, and he mall build the temple of the Lord.
3.
}
It
1
1
THE CROWN
UNDERSTANDING,
Mercy or Magnificence
Hebren
allusive to
WISDOM
Beauty
1
Symbols
www.lmi.
Table of the SEPHIROTHS in (iroles.
Severity
Strength
or
ternity
Victory
Glory
cun
altera
Kingder
២១ក្នុង
អត-..ដែងនៅក្នុងខ្លួន។
Barlow found
ANCIENT SCULPTURE. on a ROCK representing TRIPLASIOS MITHRAS: Of these SEPHIROTHS, OF CELESTIAL SPLENDORS,
the deity of the ancient PERSIANS, whence STATIUS probably The three SUPERIOUR denote the THREE HYPOSTASES
drew the following description ;
in the DIVINE ESSENCE; and afford indubitable evidena
seu PERSEI sul rupibus ANTRI,
that the ancient Hebrews had those notions ofa TRINITY,
Iniunta qui torquentem cornua MITHRAM which are denied, or forgotten, by thar descendanto .
From Hyde
from Barnage.
[ 567 ]
1
It is of theſe three ſuperior Sephiroth, of
theſe ſublime and living Spirits, who from all
eternity have dwelt together " in the ſecret and
profound abyſs of the Divinity, in the centre
of inacceſſible light,” that rabbi Iſaac, ano-
ther famous commentator on the Jetzirah,
ſpeaks, when he rapturoully calls them, Nu-
merationes altiſſimas, quæ poffident thro-
num unum, in quo fedet SANCTUS, SANC-
TUS, SANCTUS, DOMINUS Deus SABAOTH.*
It is of theſe that rabbi Akiba himſelf, as
cited in the ſame Sephir Jetzirah, fixteen
liundred years ago faid, Unus eſt Spiritus
Deorum viventiun, Vox, et SPIRITUS, et
VERBUM ; et hic eſt Spiritus Sanctitatis.f It
is of theſe that the often-cited rabbi S.
Hagahon uſes terms nearly ſimilar, Unus eſt
Spiritus Deorum viventium, Vox, SPIRITUS,
et VERBUM, quæ UNUM ſunt. And, finally, it
is of theſe that the great Rambam, (that is,
Mainionidęs,) the moſt illuſtrious of all their
rabbies, bears this ſolemn teſtimony, Corona
SUMMA primordialis eſt Spiritus Deorum viven-
tium, et sapientia ejus eſt Spiritus de Spi-
ritu, et INTELLIGENTIÆ aquæ ex Spiritu.
Et tametſi res horum myſteriorum diſtinguan-
VOL. I.
PP
tur
* Jetzirah apud Kircher, tom ii. p. 292.
+ Jetzirah cum notis Ritsangel, cap, i. fec. 9,
[ 568]
tur in SAPIENTIA, INTELLIGENTIA, et sci-
ENTIA, nulla tamen inter eas diſtinctio quoad
eſſentiam eſt, quia finis ejus annexus eſt
PRINCIPIO ejus, et PRINCIPIUM FINI ejus, et
MEDIUM comprehenditur ab eis.*
More
pointed atteſtation than the above, and under
their own hand, cannot well be brought in
proof, that the ancient Jewiſh rabbi did, in
reality, conceive the three firſt SEPHIROTH, or
SPLENDORS, to ſhine with a degree of luſtre
peculiar and intrinſic; that they were 'Be-
INGS eternal and intellectual, while the re-
maining Sephiroth were nothing more than
the perfections and attributes of Deity.
The names of thoſe Sephiroth are Gedu.
LAH, Strength or Severity; Geeuta, Mercy
or Magnificence; TIPHEROTH, Beauty; Ner-
SAH, Victory or Eternity: Hod, Glory; Jesos,
the Foundation; MALCUTH, or the King-
dom. This is the order in which they are
arranged in the circular table engraved in the
work of M. Baſnage, of which I have preſent-
ed the reader with a copy. The circle, being
the moſt perfect of figures, denotes the per-
fection of Deity and its attributes. That
Deity, infinite in his nature, and otherwiſe in-
comprehenſible to man, has choſen to mani.
feſt
។
• Rambam, apud Kircher, tom. ii. p. 293.
[ 569 )
felt himſelf by his attributes, as the ſoul ma-
nifeſts herſelf by acts of wiſdom and virtue.
As the virtue, latent in the coal, is diſplayed
by the flame which it diffuſes, ſo is the glory
of the Deity revealed by the emanations which
proceed from him. To illuſtrate their fenti-
ments, the Jews have imagined certain con-
DUITS, or CANALS, through which the influ-
ences of the Splendors are communicated, and
glide into one another. The Perfections of
God are the pillars which ſupport the univerſe.
Mercy illumines JUSTICE, and BEAUTY deco-
rates STRENGTH. The ſephirotic canals, which
are twenty-two in number, correſponding to that
of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, convey
their influences throughout the whole circumfe-
rence of creation, harmonizing all the orders of
being, , and regulating all the operations of
nature. Theſe canals never aſcend; for, as the
ſource of the terreſtrial rivers is in the lofty and
inacceſſible mountains, ſo does the celeſtial
ſtream of the Sephiroth ſpring up out of the
remote and inexhauſtible fountain of the God-
head. The romantic imaginations of the
rabbi have conceived no leſs than fifty GATES,
which are ſo many degrees of wiſdom, and
ſo many avenues to the attainment of ſub-
lime and myſterious truths. It is incumbent
Pp 3
on
[ 570 ]
t
on men that they ſtudy the MYSTERIES before
they can receive the influx of DIVINE LIGHT.
But the progreſs through theſe gates of the
candidate for celeſtial wiſdom is exceedingly
ſlow, and obſtructed by numerous difficulties.
Moſes is recorded to have paſſed through the
forty-ninth, and Joſhua, his ſucceſſor, to have
reached the forty-eighth; but neither Moſes
himſelf, nor even Solomon, who in wiſdom
ſurpaſſed all mankind, could ever open the fif-
tieth gate, which leads immediately into the
preſence of the En Saph, the infinite and om-
nipotent God, whom no mortal ever yet beheld
nor could fully comprehend. *
I ſhould not have dwelt fo long on theſe
particulars, but for the very ſtriking reſem-
blance which ſubſiſts between this relation and
what has previouſly occurred concerning the
rites of initiation into the Mithratic and Eleu-
ſinian myſteries; the bence (wte, or Divine
LIGHts, diſplayed in them, during that ſplendid
exhibition, to the view of the INITIATED; and
the INTELLECTUAL LADDER and SIDERPAL
GATES, mentioned in Celſus.
That paffage cited from Celſus, in page 279
of this volume, in which the ſidereal metem,
pſychoſis, or migration of the ſoul through
the
* Baſnage and the rabbies there cited, p. 189. ,
[ 571 )
11
the seven PLANETARY GATES is ſymbolically
l'epreſented, is a very curious fragment of an-
tiquity, for which we are obliged to Origen,
who was engaged in a theological controverſy
with that philoſopher : it is likewiſe a very
valuable one, becauſe we find no ſuch particular
information relative to the Mithratic rites, once
ſo predominant throughout Aſia, in any other
of the ancient writers on that ſubject. Celſus
poſſibly might have converſed with ſome Per-
ſian who had been initiated into thoſe pro-
found myſteries in which the metempſychoſis
was ſo early propagated, and the ſymbols of
the doctrine itſelf fo conſpicuouſly diſplayed.
The general prevalence of that doctrine in the
remoteſt periods in Perſia, India, and Egypt,
exhibits another proof that they muſt all have
originally derived it from ſome common
ſource, the corrupted branch of one great fa-
mily; and it came to the Perſians through the
medium of that Zoroaſter, or Belus, whoſe
name indicates him to have been the earlieſt af-
tronomer ; who built the firſt obſervatory; and
who firſt taught mankind the worſhip of the
planets. How far the ancient Jews ſanctioned
with their aſſent the doctrine of the metempſy-
choſis will be diſcuſſed hereafter when we conſi-
der the Zoroaſtrian Oracles; but that they were
PP 3
no
1
[ 572 )
no ſtrangers to the ſymbol is evident ſo early as
the
age of the patriarch Jacob, who not only
beheld that MIGHTY LADDER ſet upon the
earth, the top of which reached up to heaven,
and on which the angelic beings afcended and de-
fcended, but at the ſight exclaimed, Surely this is
none other than the house of God, and this is the
GATE OF HEAVEN! Here then is a moſt ancient
patriarchal notion plainly taken up and propa-
gated afterwards in the Gentile world, but flou-
riſhing among the Jews BEFORE THEIR SOJOURN-
ING IN EGYPT. Indeed I cannot help remarking,
that the farther we advance in our compariſon
of the ſciences prevailing among the moſt anci-
ent Hebrews and thoſe flouriſhing during the
earlieſt periods among the other nations of the
eaſt, we ſhall diſcover additional and more pow-
erful arguments in ſupport of the hypotheſis, of
which ſome faint outlines are drawn in the
preface of this volume; that all the ſciences
and theology of the ancient world originally
came, not from Egypt, but from Chaldæa, and,
in particular, that aſtronomy, the nobleſt of
them, was carried in that part of Aſia to a high
point of improvement before it began to be
cultivated in Egypt. In the book of Job
many paſſages have been pointed out by Mr.
Coſtard in proof of this aſſertion, and ſtrong
additional
1
[ 573 )
J
additional evidence will hereafter be adduced
by myſelf. As we penetrate deeper into the
myſtery of the Hebrew Sephiroth, we find cir-
cumſtances open which evince it to have been
at once a phyſical and a theological ſymbol,
and, to me it appears indubitable, that the pri-
mitive idea altogether originated in aſtronomical
ſpeculations. It is neceſſary then to acquaint the
reader that theſe FIFTY GATES of wiſdom are
diſtinguiſhed by the Hebrew myſtagogues into
FIVE chief ones, each of which comprehends,
ten. The three former of theſe greater gates in-
clude the knowledge of the firſt principles of
things, and, in paſſing through then, the
ſoul is buſied in diſcuſſing the nature of the
firſt matter, of the gloomy chaos, of the immenſe
void, and of the elements; the mineral and vege-
table creation; inſects, reptiles, fiſhes, birds,
and quadrupeds; and, finally, of the creation
of man, of his faculties, ſenſes, and various
other particulars of a deep metaphyſical kind.
But it is the FOURTH GATE which in a fingular
manner claims our attention; for, through
that gate, we are immediately introduced into
the planetary world, and all the wonders of
aſtronomy, as far as then known, are exhi-
bited to our view. There we find one of the
names of the ſeven planets, and one of the ſe-
PP 4
uan
[ 574 ]
1
ven angels who direct their courſe, allotted to
each of the inferior Sephiroth, and upon this
I found my conjecture that the whole might
originally be an aſtronomical ſymbol; the old-
eſt, doubtleſs, in the poſt-diluvian world, and
poſſibly tinctured with the wiſdom of the ante-
diluvians. Hence, probably, the SEVEN GATES
erected in the caverns of Mithra: hence the
brahmin CHAR ASHERUM,* or FOUR DEGREES
of Hindoo probation, if not the whole body
of ſcience and theology inculcated in the four
Vedas, or books of knowledge: hence the
excruciating trials, ſtill more ſevere than thoſe
in India, through which the aſpirant in the
Perſian myſteries was compelled to toil while
he paſſed the TWENTY-FOUR degrees of proba-
tion and ſuffered the dreadful faſt of FIFTY
DAYS:-fhence were derived the Zoroaſtrian Wif-
dom and the Chaldaic Theurgy as well as their
magic and other dark arts of divination, which
ſpread thence to Egypt, to Greece, and from
thoſe countries throughout the whole world.
The conjecture of the Sephiroth being of af-
tronomical original is not a little ſtrengthened
by
When I comc to the confideration of the Char Ashe-
RUM, I ſhall compare the ſufferings of the Brahmin and Perſian
candidates for initiation, which were of a nature appalling and
tremendous, being plunged in alternate baths of fame and water.
4 See Porphyry de Abſtinentia, cap. 6, feet. 18.
!
[ 575 )
by their very name of celesTIAL BRIGHTNES "
ses, as if we ſhould ſay the SAPPHIRES of the Sky,
and by the Hebrew title prefixed to the fourth
gate of wiſdom, in the cabala Hebræorum, of
which the tranſlation is, MUNDUS SPHÆRARUM.
In this table the three ſuperior Sephiroth are
denominated, the firſt, Cælum Empyreum; the
fecond, Primum Mobile; the third, Firma.
mentum; that is, the THREE HEAVENS: while
to the ſeven inferior, according to the order
of their numeration, are aſſigned the names of
the SEVEN PLANETS, or the Sun, Venus,
Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and
Mars. Conſonant to the ancient idea men-
tioned before of the ſtars being animated in-
telligences, the Hebrews appointed to theſe
ſeven planets, as they did to all the ſtars,
preſiding angels, whoſe names are Ra-
phael, Haniel, Michael, Gabriel, Zaphkiel,
Zadkiel, Gamalel ; and theſe probably are the
fame with theseYEN MINISTRING ANGELS, that,
in the Revelations, are ſaid to ſtand before the
throne of God. This circumſtance, alone, if
duly conſidered, exhibits the moſt direct corro-
borative teſtimony of the inferior point of view
in which the Jews regarded the SEVEN LAST
SEPHIROTH. *
One
* See adip. Ægypt. tom.ii. p. 520, and Baſnage, p. ll.
1
i
[ 576 ]
1
One of the moſt ancient ſymbolical repre-
ſentations of a triune power exiſting in the
Godhead, and one the moſt of all illuſtrative
of the ideas entertained by the Jews on this
ſubject, is that which I am now about to ex-
hibit to the reader. It is the ancient mode by
which they deſignated the name Jehovah, and,
if Kircher may be credited, it is at this day
to be ſeen in the old Hebrew manuſcripts of
the Vatican. The reader has already received
ſome intimation of the profound veneration
in which the Jews have ever liolden this inef-
fable name. But the cabbaliſts have exceeded
all bounds in their romantic panegyrics upon
its awful properties and wonderful perfections.
At the pronunciation of this auguſt name,
thoſe rhapſodifts affirm, all nature trembles.
The angels feel the motion of the univerſe,
and aſk one another with aſtoniſhment whence
comes this concuſſion of the world. Scrip-
ture itſelf ſeems to authoriſe the moſt profound
veneration for it, ſince it was of this name that
the royal pſalmiſt exclaimed, O Lord God, how
excellent is THY NAME in all the earth. Every let-
ter that contributes to the formation of it is of
the moſt deep and myſterious import. The ',
or jod, which is the firſt, denotes the thought,
the idea, of God. It is a RAY of Light! ſay the
enraptured
1
1
( 577 )
enraptured cabbaliſts, which darts a luſtre too
tranſcendant to be contemplated by mortal
eye ;* it is a POINT, at which thought pauſes,
and imagination itſelf grows giddy and con-
founded. “Man,” ſays M. Baſnage, citing the
rabbies, “Man may lawfully roll his thoughts
from one end of heaven to the other, but
they cannot approach that inacceſſible LIGHT,
that primitive exiſtence, contained in the
letter jod.” To the other letters in this
ineffable name ſcarcely leſs wonders are attri-
buted ; but what muſt be conſidered as very
remarkable, is, that, according to Kircher,
the ancient Jews abſolutely applied the three firſt
letters of this name to denote the three ſuperior
Sephiroth; and he remarks, that, in fact, there
are but three diſtinct letters in the word, whicle
are, jod, he, and vau, the laſt letter being
only a repetition of the ſecond. The initi-
al', jod, therefore, denotes the fons et princi-
pium, or firſt hypoſtaſis; the n, he, being one
of their double or compounded letters, is pro-
perly applied to expreſs the second hypoſtaſis,
who unites, in his own perſon, two natures,
the
3
* Sce, in page 581, the CORONAL RADII, by which were de-
fignated the THREE JODS by which they anciently ſymbolized
the name Jehovah.
+ M. Baſnage's Hift. of the Jews, p. 193.
[ 578 ]
.
the divine and the human ; while the medial
1, vau, which is copulative, combining the
letters preceding and ſubſequent, is as juſt an
emblem of the Holy Spirit; of that Spirit,
qui, cum ſit amor Patris et Filii, quo ſe
invicem amant, recte nexus et copula utriuf-
que nuncupatur. Quarta vero litera 17, he,
fecundæ juncta in 1717", Jehovah, duplicem
in filio naturam deſignat: o equidem poft
', divinam; 1 vero poſt 1, humanam.* This
curious information is tranſcribed by Kircher
from Galatinus who quotes rabbiņnical autho-
rities in proof of his aſſertions. Leſt, how-
ever, theſe writers. ſhould be thought fanciful
and the evidence ſuſpicious, I ſhall inimediate-
ly proceed to produce evidence more directly in
point, and from as high authority as can be
brought.
One of the profoundeſt ſcholars that ever
flouriſhed in the annals of Hebrew literature,
ſince the æra of Chriſtianity, was Buxtorf,
the younger ; and his treatiſe on the ten names
of God is deſervedly holden, even by the Jews
themſelves, in a degree of reſpect with which
they honour few Chriſtian writers beſide.
His remarks on the moſt venerated title, 717,
Jehovah, particularly merit our attention,
ſince
1
* adip. Egypt. tom. ii. p. 234.
1
1
í 579 )
ſince they open new ſources of information,
and unfold the moſt ſecret myſteries of the
cabbaliſts. This name, ſays Buxtorf, figni-
fies ENS, EXISTENS A SEIPso, ab æterno et in
æternum, omnibuſque aliis extra ſe effentiam
et exiſtentiam communicans; the Being exiſt-
ing of neceſſity from all eternity and to eter-
nity, and communicating to all things being
and ſubſtance. In another place, conſonant to a
phraſe of St. John in the apocalypſe, he aſſerts
that Jehovah ſignifies the Being WHO IS, and
WHO WAS, and WHO IS TO COME; and remarks
that the letters, which compoſe the word, in
a ſingular manner illuſtrate the meaning of it;
nam, litera jod ab initio, characterica eſt futuri:
Vau in medio, participii, temporis preſentis:
He, in fine, cum Kametz ſubſcripto, præteriti.
Accordingly, adds Buxtorf, God was pleaſed
myſtically to reveal and typify himſelf under
that name to Moſes, Exodus 14 and 15, FUI,
SUM, ERO.*
According to this author, In antiquis pa-
raphraſibus Chaldaicis manuſcriptis Judæo-
rum, nomen hoc TETRAGRAMMATON ſcribi.
tur per TRIA JOD cum ſubſcripto Kamets;
et,
+
* Vide Buxtorfi Diſſert. de nominibus Dei Hebraicis apud a-
ljas Diſſert. p. 241, 242, edit. Baſil, quarto, 1662.
[ 580 ]
+
et, nonunquam, circulo incluſa. Tria jod
putant denotare tres hypoſtaſes; tria jod,
tres æquales hypoſtaſes; unicum Kametz,
tribus illis fubſcriptum, eſſentiain unicam
tribus perſonis communem.* “ It is affirm,
ed, that, in the ancient Chaldee paraphraſes,
preſerved in manuſcript among the Jews, the
ſacred Tetragrammaton is written after the
following manner. They drew three jods
with the point Kametz placed underneath,
and ſometimes incloſed the whole in a circle.
The THREE JODS were ſo drawn to mark the
THREE HYPOSTAsesin the divine nature.EQUAL
in ſize, and ſimilar in form, they denoted the
CO-EQUALITY of thoſe perſons. By the fin-
gle KAMETZ, placed underneath, they meant
to ſymbolize the unity of the eſſence, com-
mon to each perſon. The author of a rabbi-
nical book, cited by Kircher and entitled PAR-
DES, confirms the fact thus related by Bux-
torf in the following expreſs words, Quod ab
myſterium hoc nomen fcribunt TRIBUS JOD ; and
Lilius Gyraldus-f aſſerts the ſame thing, Apud
antiquos quoſdam Hebræos legimus hac ſigni-
ficatione notatum, tribus videlicet jod literis,
quæ circulo concludebantur, ſuppoſito puncto
Chametz
• Ibid. p. 260.
+ Lilii Gyraldi Hift. Deorum, Syntagma i. p. 2.
[ 581. ]
Chametz hoc modo:
There is no occaſion to collect additional e-
vidence on this ſubject from Hebrew authori-
ties, ſince, as I have already remarked, Kir-
cher affirms, that to his own knowledge all
the moſt ancient Hebrew manuſcrips of the
Bible in the Vatican exhibit the Tetragram-
maton thus written. Nor was this the only
emblematical deſign by which the ancient
rabbies have diſcovered to poſterity their
true ſentiments on this ſubject, fo obſtinately
denied by their deſcendants ; for, Galatine has
proved that they ſometimes deſignated the myſ-
terious name of God by three radii, or points,
diſpoſed in the form of a crown,* after the
following manner:
000
and Johannes Hortenfius, in a book written
expreſſly on the myſtical ſignification of the He
brew letters, and cited in the original by
Kircher, thus corroborates his aſſertions :
Veteres, aliâ ratione, fcribebant Jehovah;
aliâ,
• Galatinus, lib. ii. cap. X. fol. 49 and 50.
[ 582 ]
aliâ, legebant. Quidam id, TRIBUS JOD,
quidam TRIBUS APICIBUS, ad trium divina-
rum proprietatum judicandum, fcribebant.
The Jews apply the letters of the Hebrew
alphabet to numerical purpoſes, and Calmet
informs us, that they believe allthe letters of that
alphabet depend upon the name Jehovah. They
caſt up, therefore, the fum and value of thoſe
which compoſe that name, and frame, thence,
one of twelve, mentioned but not explained
in a preceding note; i. e. the HEMMIMPHO-
RAS: another of forty-two, of which a ſpe-
cimen occurred in a former page; and a third
of ſeventy-two letters, which is endued with
a more wonderful potency than all.
If the reader ſhould be deſirous of know-
ing more about the power aſcribed to facred
names and myſtic numbers by the ancient He-
brews, from whom it cannot be doubted but
that Pythagoras, when at Babylon, ſtole his
ſacred TETRACTys, or quaternion of letters,
and other numerical ſymbols, he may conſult
M. Baſnage, lib. ii. cap. 13 and
149
who has
entered extenſively into that curious ſubject.
Various tables of theſe ſacred numerical calcu-
lations are alſo exhibited among the Cabbala
Hebræorum in the ſecond volume of the OE-
dipus Ægyptiacus ; and, though they may ap-
pear
:
[ 583 ]
pear trifling, yet they riſe to infinite magnitude
and importance, when any doctrine, ſo momen-
tous as that under diſcuſſion, can be proved
thence not only to have been admitted into
their creed, but to have been the ſubject of
extenſive ſpeculation and of profound re-
ſearch. This is apparent from the following
remark of the ſame celebrated and holy rabbi,
from whom the Hebrew paſſage was cited in
page 536 preceding. Ex nomine duodecim li-
terarum, emanat nomen 42 literarum, quod eſt,
PATER Deus, Filius Deus, SPIRITUS SANC-
TUS DEUS, TRINUS IN UNO ET UNUS IN TRINO,
quæ in Hebraico 42 literæ. The cautious
rabbi immediately ſubjoins, Notare autem de-
bes, hæc nomina eſſe ex divinis arcanis, quæ a
quocunque occultari debent, quouſque veniat
MESSIAS JUSTUS NOSTER.
Illa tibi patefeci;
tu vero ea occulta, fortiter.
229
I have obſerved, in a preceding page, that
the author of the Zohar muſt have been con-
vinced of this diſtinction in the divine nature,
ſince he brings the Hebrew letter Schin as a
ſymbol of that diſtinction. He aſſerts, that
Vol. I.
thc
29
1
[ 584 ]
the three Branches, ariſing out of the Root
of this letter, are an emblem of the heaven-
ly Fathers, whom he denominates, Jeho-
VAH, our LORD, Jehovah.* This compari-
fon, indeed, was natural enough to an author,
who, according to a paſſage cited before, had
exclaimed, Veni, et vide myſterium verbi E-
LOHIM! Sunt tres GRADUS, et quilibet gra-
dus per fe diſtinctus; veruntamen ſunt unus, et
in unum conjuguntur, nec unus ab altero di.
viditur.+ I am inclined to think, that in this
very compariſon there is ſtill a latent alluſion to
the Tree of the SEPHIROTH; for, we ſee the
pa-
rellel extended both to the root and the BRAN-
CHES of this letter. Whether or not there be
any truth in the obſervation, it is ſtill very re-
markable, that this Hebrew letter, w, is the firſt
of the word, 'W, SHADDAI, or Almighty, one
of the appropriate and incommunicable names
of God. Schindler and other Hebrew lexico-
graphers repreſent it as exhibiting the figure
of a TRIDENT, and as a letter of a high myſti-
cal import among the cabbaliſts. In the more
ancient Samaritan character the ſtrokes of
this letter are ſtill more equal, and the
idea
* Zohar, fol. 54, col. 2; and Dr. Allix, p. 170.
+ R. Simeon Ben. Jochai, in Zohar, ad 6 Levitici fectio-
iem.
[ 585 ]
idea of co-equality, therefore, more 'exactly
expreſſed: but diſtinct traces of both thoſe
letters are evidently diſcernible in the Perſian
and Arabian Schin, of which latter language Sir
William Jones, in the preface to his Perſian
grammar, afferts, that the Hebrew, the Chal-
daic, the Syriac, and the Ethiopian, tongues,
are only dialects.
The HEAD-PHYLACTERY OF THE Jews
COPIED FROM SURENHUSIUS,
2
AY
3.
Surenhuſius, in his notes upon the Miſch-
na,* giving an account, from rabbi Maimo-
nides, of the TEPHILIM, or phylacteries,
which the Jews were accuſtomed to wear, aſ-
ſerts, that, on the outſide of the phylactery for
the head, both before and behind, this letter
was
* Vide The MISCHNA, tom. i. p. 9. edit. fol. Amſterdam,
1698; where the reader will find all the ſpecies of phylacterios
accurately engraved,
aq
2
[ 586 ]
1
1
1
was cut ſo high and deep as to be diſtinctly
viſible, and ſtrikingly to attract the eye. In
the phylacteries, or MezuzoTH, which they
faſtened round the left arm, the ſame word
99), SHADDAI, was inſcribed at length; and
the reader will be pleaſed to remark, that this
very word contains both the schin, the ac-
knowledged ſymbol of the three hypoſtaſes,
and the JOD, the initial letter of the word
Jehovah. Calmrt adds ſomewhat ſtill farther
remarkable; for, according to him, the old
Jews not only wore this myſtical letter on the
phyla&tery, but took eſpecial care to tie the
thong that bound it round the arm in a knot
reſembling the form of the letter Jod.* This
was, doubtleſs, done to expreſs that UNITY, by
which, though we know not the manner, the
three hypoſtaſes are inſeparably connected.
And here juſtice compells me to add, to the ho-
nour of that nation of whoſe ſublime theology
this tenet forms the predominant feature, and ·
that which diſtinguiſhed them in ſo remarkable
a manner from the ſurrounding nations, involved
as thoſe nations were in a barbarous and bound-
leſs polytheiſm, that, by whatever ſymbolical al-
luſions they anciently figuredout thePluRALITY
of the perſons, they, at the ſame time, conſtantly
and
+
• Sce Calmet's Dict. on the word phylactery.
[ 587 ]
and deciſively marked the UNITY of the eſſence.
Beſides the evidence juſt adduced, I have ex-
hibited inſtances of their rigid adherence to
this maxim in the CIRCLE that included the
three jods, as well as in the root of the
branching tree of the-Sephiroth and of the
letter fchin. I ſhall now produce an additional
proof of this aſſertion in the figurative way by
which they anciently deſignated the god, that
important and myſtical letter, concerning
which ſo much has been already ſaid.
The reader has been informed from Sir
William Jones that the Hindoos have a ſacred
alphabet, the characters compoſing which are
believed to have been taught to the brahmins by
a voice from heaven, as well as that the Egyp-.
tians alſo had a ſacred facerdotal language, in
which were wrapped up the moſt awful myſte-
ries of their theology, and to which they e-
qually aſſigned a celeſtial origin. The Jews,
in their aſſertions, are by no means behind
their Aſiatic and African competitors for lite-
rary renown, ſince they boaſt of a celeſtial and
myſtical alphabet communicated by angels to
the patriarchs, their anceſtors.* This alpha-
bet may with more truth than either of the
others be called CELESTIAL, ſince the charac-
RI 3
ters
* See this alphabet in edip. Egypt. tom. ii. p. 105.
1
[ 588 ]
A
ters that compoſe it were, in the earlieſt ages,
applied in the very fame manner as Bayer, in
modern times, made uſe of the letters of the
Greck alphabet more diſtinctly to mark the po-
ſition of the itars in the various conſtellations.
The plate, which diſplays thoſe letters thus
applied, is a moſt curious remnant of Jewiſh
antiquities, to be ſeen in the Pantheon Hebra-
icum, and I may poſſibly, hereafter, borrow
it from Kircher to illuſtrate my ſentiments on
the early proficiency of the Hebrew patriarchs
in aſtronomical ſcience. For the preſent I
mention it only to remark the proof which it
affords how early the Jews entertained the no-
tions of a heavenly Triad, and yet how
anxious they were at the ſame time to expreſs
the UNITY.
The Hebrew JOD, then in that
alphabet, is deſignated by an EQUILATERAL
TRIANGLE to denote the former, and a sin-
GLE JOD to ſhadow out the latter, in the fol-
lowing manner :
I
If any body ſhould, in anſwer to this, con-
tend, that the Jews might have borrowed the
notion of thus repreſenting the three di-
vine hypoſtaſes from the Egyptians, among
whom I have, myſelf, repeatedly obſerved this
geometrical
[ 589 ]
geometrical figure was a known emblem of
Deity; I ſhall not violently difpute that point
in favour of the Jews, in oppoſition to the
people who, probably, of all other nations,
firſt cultivated the ſcience of geometry, but
ſhall only remark, that though a ceded, it
would by no means be a proved, point. I
fhall leave it to the reader's reflection, and to
what may be the reſult, in his mind, of a
compariſon of this with other kindred fym-
bols, previouſly produced.
Another evident and memorable token of the
belief in this myſtery of the ancient Hebrews is
the manner in which, it has been already re-
marked, the high prieſt was annually accuſtom-
ed to bleſs the aſſembled people. During this
ceremony, he not only three times* pro-
nounced the eternal benediction quoted before
from Numbers vi. 24, and each different time in
a different accent; but, in the elevation of his
hands, extended the three middle fingers of his
* right hand in ſo conſpicuous manner as to ex-
hibit a manifeſt emblem of thoſe THREE HYPOS-
TASES, to whom the triple benediction and re-
petition of the word Jehovah, in a varied tone
Q4.4
of
• Kircher, to prove this cuſtom, gives the higheſt authority
poffible, that is Maimonides, “ TERTIO, NON SINB AL-
TISSIMO LYTERIO, TESTE RAMBAM."
2)
1
$
[ 590 )
1
of voice, evidently pointed. I am credibly in-
formed, that at this day, on certain high feſti-
vals and ſolemnities, this form of bleſſing the
people is ſtill adhered to by the Jewiſh prieſts,
but is attempted to be explained by them, as if
allufive to the three patriarchs, Abraham, Iſaac,
and Jacob; an explanation, of which it may
be doubted, whether it favours more of im-
piety or abſurdity. Captain Innys, of Madras,
will, I hope, excuſe my producing him as a
voucher on ſo important a fact, as that the
Mohammedan prieſts alſo, at preſent, uſe the
fame form ; for, if I miſtake not, that gen-
tleman informed me he had been an ocular
witneſs of it in India. This is a very ſtrong
collateral circumſtance; for, ſince it is noto-
rious, that Mohammed was indebted for a con-
ſiderable part of his theological knowledge to
the ſecret inſtructions of a Jew, * he probably
learned from that Jew the ſymbol, and it was
conſequently practiſed in the Arabian moſques
ſo early as the ſeventh century. Nor ought the
circumſtance of the Mohammedan faith, incul-
cating in ſuch direct terms the unity of God,
to be urged as any objection, ſince neither the
Jew nor the impoſtor might have known the
original
1
* See Mr. Sale's profound preliminary diſcourſe to the Ko-
aun, and the article MOHAMMED in the General Dictionary.
( 591 )
original cauſe or meaning of the uſage. The
ſymbol itſelf is preſerved by Kircher, from
whom the repreſentation annexed is copied.
r
#
The ſame author acquaints us, Reperio
quoque, unico digito erecto, qui index dicitur,
in quo tria internodia TRIA JOD cxprimebant,
veteres juramentum hoc modo præftitiſſe;
h
+
3
which information I inſert, not that I lay any
ſtreſs upon it, although the fact is curious
enough, but on account of the intelligence con-
tained in the latter part of the ſentence, where
our author ſubjoins ; quam conſuetudinem et
Pythagoram, digito elato per TETRACTYN jura-
re folitam, in ſcholam ſuam tranſtuliffe verifi-
mile eſt. * Indeed it is highly improbable, that
Pythagoras, while he ſtole the ſacred name of
the Hebrew Deity, ſhould neglect to imitate
alſo
. @dip. Ægypt. tom. ii. p. 241, ubi ſupra,
[ 592 ]
alſo the myſtic mode of deſignating that name,
or ſymbolizing that Deity. This form of be-
ſtowing the benediction, as mentioned above,
he remarks in another place, is ſtill obſerved in
many provinces under the juriſdiction of the
Greek, and even the Roman, church; In hunc
diem, non in Greca tantùm eccleſia, fed et La-
tina, multis in locis adhuc moris effe intelligo;
etſi moderni Hebræi, in odium fanétæ fidei
noftræ, uno omiſſo jod, plerumque duobus tan-
tùm id effigient ut ſequitur : **.**
The laſt ſymbol, which I ſhall ſelect, in proof
of theſe affertions, from that valuable r poſitory
of Afiaticantiquities, the OEdipus Ægyptiacus,
is as remarkable a one as any of thoſe prece-
ding, and proves that the Jews could not
only delineate Spheres, but that they thought
the GLOBE, thus artificially repreſented, was, in
reality, ſupported by three ſovereign, but co-
equal, hypoſtaſes, ſymbolized in a manner ex-
actly conformable to the old Jewiſh notion,
which I have ſhewn, in page 531 preceding,
ſo remarkably displays itſelf in the paraphraſe
of Jonathan, and that called the Jeruſalem
Targum. It is a ſpecies of armillary ſphere, ſuf-
tained by TIIREE HANDS, and inſcribed with
three Hebrew letters, the initials of three Hebrew
words,
you Edip Agypt. tom. ii. p. 119:
[ 593 ]
words, ſignifying, Truth, JUDGEMENT, and
Peace.
אדש
he
*
201TILIMIINITIHL
MURANININDA
8
q
From the rabbinical notion of the two
HANDS of God, a notion at leaſt eighteen hun-
dred years old, we ſhould be naturally led to
conclude, that this was a very ancient ſymbol
of the Triune Power that governed the world,
and it was copied by our author from the be-
ginning of a manuſcript commentary on the fa-
mous rabbinnical book, called Pircke Avoth.
Rabbi Gamalides, who compoſed that com-
mentary, thus explains the ſymbol which formed
poſſibly the frontiſpiece of his volume, “ Super
Tria mundus fubfiftit, fupra Veritatem, fupra
Judicium et Pacem; juxta quod dicitur: Veri-
tas, et Judicium, et Pax, judicant in portis veſ-
tris. Theſe words were doubtleſs intended by
this rabbi as alluſive to the omnipotent Judge
of all the earth, to THAT ANCIENT OF Days
before
[ 594 )
*
1
before whom the JUDGEMENT was ſet and the
Looks were opened; to that MESSIAH, who de.
clared that he was, at once, THE WAY, THE
TRUTH, and THE LIFE; and to that holy RUAH,
who is the author and giver of ALL PEACE.
The ſtupendous ſymbol of the Hebrew
CHERUBIM muſt now become the ſubject of
our extenſive diſquiſition: a ſymbol, which, I
have obſerved, in the minute inveſtigation of
the objects which compoſe it, will compel us
to take a wide range in the walks of Aſiatic
theology and philoſophy, and will gradually
lead us back to that point from which we have
so long diverged, but which we have not en-
tirely neglected, during this digreſſion, the the-
ological rites of Hindoftan, in which the grand
TRIAD, Brahma, Veelinu, and Seeva, bear ſo
prominent and conſpicuous a part.
In the works of Philo Judæus there is an
expreſs differtation upon the Cherubini, in
which that writer repeatedly aſſerts, that thoſe
TWO Powers in God, which we have ſeen the
paraphraſts denominate the two HANDS of
God, are ſymbolized by the cherubic figures
of the ark, in alluſion to which, it is ſaid,
God dwelleth between the Cherubim. The learned
Bochart, in his treatiſe De Animalibus Sacræ
Scripturæ, and Spencer, De Origine Arcæ et.
Cherubinorum,
[ 595 ]
Cherubinorum, have likewiſe entered very
deeply into the inveſtigation of this Hebrew
hieroglyphic. There is one point, however,
in which I feel myſelf compelled to differ
from Spencer and other writers who have pro-
pagated opinions ſimilar to thoſe which he has
laboured to ſupport, viz. that this ſymbol
owed its origin to the connection of the Jews
with the Egyptians, becauſe Cherubim is the
plural of CHERUB,* a Hebrew word fignify-
ing to plow, and the god Apis was worſhipped
in Egypt under the figure of an ox, the face
of which animal one of the four aſpects of
the Cherubim is repreſented to poſſeſs. I can-
not but conſider this hypotheſis as an inſult
to the majeſty of that ſupreme Being whoſe
awful denunciations were conſtantly directed
againſt the baſe idolatry of Egypt, as well as
degrading to the character of his prophet. Let
us, in the firſt place, attentively.conſider what
is related concerning the Cherubim in the
prophetic viſion of Ezekiel; and then advert
to what Philo and Joſephus, who muſt be fup-
poſed fully to know, and accurately to report,
the ſentiments of their nation, have obſerved
upon this head. It may be truly ſaid of the de-
ſcription
Spencer, de Legibus Hebræorum, p.763, edit fol. Cantab.
1685.
1
596 ]
!
1
fcription in Ezekiel, of which, however, ſince
it extends through nearly the whole of the firſt
chapter of that prophet, I can only inſert the
outlines in theſe pages, that, in grandeur of
idea and energy of expreſſion, it as far ſurpaſſes
the loftieft ſtrains of Homer and the moſt cele-
brated Gentile authors, as, in the opinion of
the great critic Longinus, the account which
Moſes gives of the creation does all their rela-
tions of the coſmogony.
At the commencement of this ſublime book,
which is properly aſſerted by Lowth to abound
with that ſpecies of eloquence to which the
Greek rhetoricians give the denomination of
dewwois, and which Rapin calls le terrible, the
prophet repreſents himſelf as ſojourning, a-
miuft the forrowful captives of Judah, on the
banks of the Chebar, when, to his aſtoniſh-
ed view, the heavens were opened, and he ſaw
viſions of God.
This ſtupendous appearance
of the GLORY OF JEHOVAH, which immediate-
ly took place; is repreſented by him as prece-
ded by a whirlwind from the north, attended
with a great cloud, and a fire infolding itſelf,
that is, ſpiral, while a brightneſs iſſued from
the centre of it, vivid and tranſparent as the
coluur of amber. The four ſacred animals that
ſupported the everlaſting throne which reſem-
bled
[ 597 ]
bled the fapphire, and on which fate the LIKE-
NFSS OF A MAN, whoſe appearance from bis
loins upwards, and from his loins downwards, was
like that of an ardent flame encircled with va-
riegated ſplendors, ſuch as are viſible in the
bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, exhi-
bited to Ezekiel a four-fold aſpect. They had
each the face of a man, they had likewiſe the
face of a lion, and the face of an ox; they fouso
alſo had the face of an eagle. They had each
four wings which were joined one to another,
and the noiſe of thoſe wings; when they moved,
was loud as the noiſe of great waters, awful as
the voice of the Almighty: and the likeneſs of
the firmament upon the beads of the living crea.
tures was as the colour of the terrible chrylal
ſtretched forth over their beads abuve. This
magnificent chariot of the Deity is likewile
ſaid to have wheels of the colour of a bergi, that
is, azure, the colour of the ſky, wheel within
wheel, or, as Jonathan's paraphraſe tranſlates
the word ophannim, sphere within sphere; and
thoſe wheels had rings or ſtrakes full of eyes,
Jo high that they were dreadful; that is, obferves
Lowth, their circumference was lo vaſt as to
raiſe terror in the prophet who beheld them.*
Such
* Lowth, cn Erekiel, cap. i. 18. Scc alſo the whole chap
ter.
[ 598 ]
1
1
1
Such is the lofty deſcription of the chariot
that conveyed the perſonified SHECHINAH, the
God Man, who, in the likeneſs of the rain-
bow, ſat upon the ſapphire throne, and who,
half human, half divine, in that appearance
exhibited to the favoured prophet the myſtery
of the future incarnation of the Royosa
Thus are the three perſons in the Holy Tri-
nity ſhadowed out under the fimilitude of the
three nobleſt animals in nature, the BULL, the
lord of the plain; the Lion, the king of the
föreſt; and the EAGLE, the fovereign of birds.
But, though each of the ſacred Cherubic fi-
gures had the aſpect of thoſe auguſt animals,
they had likewiſe the face of A MAN, to denote
that the human nature was blended with the di-
vine in him who condeſcended to take our na-
ture upon himſelf, in that particular perſon
of the divine triad who is emphatically called,
the Lion of the tribe of Judah. In another
chapter of this prophet it is ſaid, that their
wbole body, and their backs, and their hands, and
their wings, as well as the wheels, were full of
eyes round about.
Ezekiel x. 12.
This muſt
be conſidered as a ſtriking and expreſſive em-
blem of the guardian vigilance of Providence
all-ſeeing and omniicient; while the multitude
of wings, with which they are adorned, exhibits
1
to
[ 599 )
1
to us as direct ſymbols of that powerful, that
all-pervading, Spirit, which, while it darts
through nature with a glance, is every where
preſent to protect and defend us. So attached
to this heavenly ſymbol were the Jews, that,
when Solomon erected that ſtupendous temple
which continued for ſo many ages the delight
and boaſt of the Hebrew nation, we are told,
i Kings vi. 29, be carved all the walls of the
houſe round about with ſculptured figures of Che-
rubin. In the ſplendid viſion alſo, above-de-
ſcribed, which Ezekiel was permitted to have of
the new temple, to be formed upon the model
of the old, it is ſaid, that the walls were a-
dorned with carved-work of CHERUBIM and
palm-tree; ſo that a palm-tree was between a
cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two
ſaces ; ſo that the face of A MAN was toward the
palm-tree on the one fide, and the face of a
YOUNG LION toward the palm-tree on the other
fide; it was made through all the houſe round a-
bout. Ezekiel xli. 18, 19.
That the ſymbol of the Cherubim, as de-
ſcribed in Ezekiel, and as accurately repreſent-
ed in an engraving of Calmet, did not owe its
fabricaion to ideas engendered during the con-
nection of the Jews with the Egyptians, I re-
queſt permiſſion to propoſe this additional ar-
VOL. I.
Rr
gument.
- [ 600 )
។
gument. The ſymbol itſelf is apparently of
aſtronomical origin, and, in that light, I hope,
without the imputation of aiming to engraft
romantic and unfounded notions upon the
exalted ſyſtem of the Hebrew theology, I
may be perınitted to conſider it. In fact, if
underſtood in this point of view, it imparts
great additional luftre and ſublimity to that
ſyſtem, ſince it repreſents the eternal throno
of God to be eſtabliſhed upon ſo ſolid a ba-
fis as the adamantine pillars of the uni-
verſe, as exalted on high above the canopy of
heaven, and ſupported by the rolling ſpheres.
In fact, as I ſhall ſhew more at large hereafter,
the lion, the bull, and the eagle, were among
the moſt ancient and the moſt diſtinguiſhed
of the forty-eight great conſtellations, into
which the Aſiatic aſtronomers, according to
Ulug Beg, not the leaſt celebrated among
thoſe of more recent date, in the moſt early
ages, divided the viſible heavens. Ut au-
tem hæ ftellæ â fe invicem dignoſcantur, ,
excogitatæ ſunt 48 figuræ, quarum 21 ad
Boream zodiaci, 12 in ipſo zodiaco, et 15
ad
auſtrum:* or, that theſe ſtars might be diſ-
tinguiſhed each from the other, forty-eight
figures
* See Ulug Beg, Tabulæ fixarum Stellarum, edit. Hyde,
quarto, Oxon. 1665.
[ 601 ]
figures of animals were fixed upon, by which
they were deſignated; of theſe, 21 are fitua.
ted to the roth of the zodiac, 12 in the zodiac
itſelf, and 15 to the ſouth of it. This divi-
fion was firſt made, as I ſhall likewiſe endea-
vour to demonſtrate hereafter, not by the
philoſophers of Egypt, but by the progenitors
of the human race, on the beautiful and ſpa-
cious plains of Syria, where tradition placeş
the ſeat of paradiſe. Although I am not ſo
ſanguine as to affirm, with Gale and others,
that all the learning, for which Egypt was ſo
celebrated, eſpecially in point of aſtronomical
reſearch, was imported into it by the Patri-
archs Joſeph and Abraham, yet that the arts
and ſciences could not have had their birth in
Egypt there is this very ſtrong preſumptive evi-
dence. It was impoſſible for Egypt, and eſpe-
cially the Delta of Egypt, to have originally
been inhabited but by a race already conſidera-
bly advanced in the principles of geometry;
a people indued with previous ſkill to drain
thoſe vaſt marſhes that probably overſpread
the face of the country, and to erect the ſtu-
pendous dams neceſſary to fence off the inun-
dating Nile.
That the learned among the Jews had
made, at ſome diſtant period, from whatever
quarter
Rr 2
[ 602 ]
-
quarter derived, very conſiderable progreſs in
aſtronomical and phyſical ſtudies, is indiſpu-
tably evident from what Joſephus obſerves
in deſcribing the Tabernacle, its ornaments,
and utenſils. According to that author, ** the
Tabernacle itſelf was fabricated to reſemble
THE UNIVERSE. He affirms, that the twelve
loaves, ordered by Moſes to be placed on
the table, were emblematical of the TWELVE
MONTHS which form the year ; that, by
branching out the candleſticks into seveNTY
parts, he ſecretly intimated the decANI, or
feventy diviſions of the planets; and that the
ſeven lamps upon the candleſticks alluded to
the courſes of the SEVEN PLANETS. He adds,
that the two veils of the temple compoſed of
four different materials were emblematical of
the four elements; for, the fine linen which
was made of flax, the produce of the earth,
typified THE EARTH; the purple tinge ſhadowed
out THE SEA, becauſe ſtained of that colour
by the blood of a marine ſhell-fiſh ; the DEEP
BLUE was ſymbolical of the cærulean ſky, or
THE AIR; and the ſcarlet is a natural emblem
of fire. He extends the philoſophical allegory
even to the blue and linen, that compoſed the
veſtment of the high prieſt, to the ephod and
the
• Antiq. Judaic, lib. iii, cap.7, and the whole of Section 7:
r
[603 ]
the interwoven gold. He aſſerts, that the
breaſt-plate, placed in the middle of that e-
phod, was typical of the earth placed in the
CENTRE, and the zone, or girdle, which en-
compaſſed the high prieſt, of the ocean that
ſurrounded the earth. The two fardonyxes on
the . high prieſt's ſhoulders, he contends,
pointed out the sun and moon, and the Twelve
STONES imaged out the TWELVE SIGNs of the
zodiac; the Blue MITRE, decorated with a
golden crown, and inſcribed with the awful
name of God, was emblematical of heaven
itſelf and the Deity who reſided there.* This
account, by a Jewiſh hiſtorian, for which,
however in ſome reſpects axaggerated, he had
no doubt good TRADITIONAL ground to found
his aſſertions upon, will not only prove how
near even to the altar of their God the He-
brew philoſophers carried their alluſions of this
ſpeculative nature, but will, in ſome meaſure,
juſtify my calling the Cherubim a SUBLIME
ASTRONOMICAL SYMBOL.
I have had repeated occaſion to obſerve, that
before the invention of alphabetical charac-
ters, knowledge could only be communicated
among
* I have not the honour of being a MASON, but am informed,.
that, in the LODGES of that ORDER, many of theſe Jewiſh hi-
eroglyphics, that ornamented the temple, erected by Solomon,
are at this day ſcrupulouſly preſerved.
i
RI 3
+
.
[ 604 ]
1
Their
among mankind through the medium of hie-
roglyphics; and this was the ſolemn, the ma-
jeſtic, hieroglyphic by which the Almighty was
pleaſed to manifeſt to man his attributes and
properties. The myſtic ſymbol was firſt erec-
ted, and the holy characters firſt engraved, on
the eaſt gate of the garden of Eden, to be
viewed with reverence and ſtudied with devout
attention by the fallen poſterity of Adam.
Joſephus, the more effectually to excite re-
ſpect and veneration for this Hebrew ſymbol
in the minds of his readers, purpoſely throws
over it the veil of obſcurity. He ſays, “ The
Cherubim are winged creatures, but the form
of them does not reſemble that of any living
creatures ſeen by men, although Moſes ſaid
.
delineated both in Ezekiel and in the Apoca-
lypſe; and the meaning of the ſymbol itſelf is
too clear and too pointed to be miſtaken.
This grand ſimilitude of the triune Deity, fa-
milar to all the patriarchs from Adam, who
gazed upon it with admiration in Paradiſe, to
Mofes who trembled before it on mount Sinai,
may be conſidered as the grand prototype of
every ſacred hieroglyphic, by which, in fuc-
ceeding
* Jofephi Antiq. lib. jii. cap. 6, ſeo.
5.
[ 605 ]
ceeding ages, mankind typified the ſupreme
Being, or thoſe baſe deities whom they miſ-
took for that Being. It behoves me to bring as
deciſive a proof of this aſſertion as the ſubject
will allow to be brought. Having ſeen, there-
fore, among the Hebrews, the awful fimilitude
of God, let us examine how the Heathens
ſhadowed him out. Having noticed the
bull, the lion, and the eagle, of the Moſaic
diſpenſation, let us inquire to what particular
objects thoſe three archetypal ſymbols were
applied among their Pagan neighbours of
Afia.
The reader has been already informed, that
the firſt object of the idolatry of the ancient
world was THE SUN. The beauty, the luſtre,
and vivifying warmth, of that planet early
enticed the human heart from the adoration
of that Being who formed its glowing ſphere
and all the hoſt of hcaven. The fun, how-
ever, was not ſolely adored for its own intrinſic
luſtre and beauty; it was probably venerated
by the devout ancients as the moſt magnificent
emblem of the SheCHINAH which the univerſe
afforded. Hence the Perſians, among whom
the true religion for a long time flouriſhed
uncorrupted, according to Dr. Hyde, in a
paſſage before referred to, aſſerted, that the
Rľ4
THRONE
[ 606 ]
THRONE OF GOD was ſeated in the ſun. In
Egypt, however, under the appellation of O-
ſiris, the ſun was not leſs venerated, than un-
der the denomination of Mithra, in Perſia.
But all the deities of the ancient world were
conſtantly delignated in their temples by ſome
expreſſive ſymbol; and it is remarkable, that
the ſymbols figurative of the moſt illuſtrious
of thoſe deities, were the ſacred animals
which are repreſented as wafting, through the
expanſe, the effulgence of the divine Shechi-
nah. Their admiration of this wonderful
and myſterious hieroglyphic had finally the ef-
fect to render the Jews themſelves guilty of the
groſſeſt idolatry; and their progreſive deſcent
through the ſtages of that nefarious offence
merits an attentive retroſpect.
Impreſſed with the deepeſt awe and venera-
tion by contemplating the GLORY of je-
hovah, while that illuſtrious appearance re-
mained preſent to his view, the pious zeal of
the Hebrew induced him, when the ſimilitude
of Deity was removed, to endeavour to ani-
mate his devotion by an emblematical repre-
ſentation both of the GLORY and the CHERU-
The original intention, however after-
wards perverted, was innocent, and the deſig-
nation of Deity and its revered attributes,
however
+
BIM.
1 607 )
1.
however afterwards degraded, were, in the
firſt inſtance, if not laudable, far from crimi-
nal. But in what adequate manner ſhall the
enraptured fervor of patriarchal devotion re-
preſent, when abſent, the ineffable, the eter-
nal, Shechinah? A radiated circle of light,
darting every way a dazzling ſplendor, ſeem-
ed the propereſt emblem, and was therefore
adopted. The deſcendant of Ham faw, and
admired, the radiant fymbol. Ignorant of
the real purpoſe of the pious deſigner, who
meant to ſhadow out a ſpirit, not a ſubſtance,
he conceived it to be the image of the SOLAR
ORB, which he had long beheld with wonder.
He fell proftrate and adored it; and his imi-
tative pencil drew the firſt outline of that
wonderful and multiform ſyſtem of hierogly-
phics, under which were repreſented the ob-
jects of Egyptian idolatry. We might be
juſtified indeed in tracing even higher than
to this remote period, the origin of ſolar ſu-
perſtition, and by the very ſame channel.
CAIN, doubtleſs, remembered with anguiſh
the glory of that PRESENCE, from which, after
the murther of his brother, he was driven
with the fierceſt denunciations of divine
wrath. He might poſſibly, therefore, inſtruct
his antediluvian poſterity in this ſpecies of
hieroglyphic
1
[ 608 i
hieroglyphic idolatry; for it is not a little re-
markable, that the Egyptian Trinity conſiſts
of an orb, or GLOBE, ſometimes radiated,
with a WING, and a serpent iſſuing from it.
An engraving of it, as taken from the front
of a moſt ancient Egyptian temple, accom-
panies this volume, and the explanation of
that curious ſymbol will be given in a future
page.
To this repreſentation of the Shechinah it-
felf, to complete the ſymbol, the Hebrew patri-
arch added the illumined heads of the ſacred ani-
mals above-deſcribed. While ſome adorned the
Cherubim with innumerable EYES, others co-
vered them all over with WINGS, according to
one or the other deſcription of them in the an-
cient prophets. Theſe figurative emblems they
ſet up in thoſe
in thoſe parts of their houſes which were
peculiarly appropriated to the rites of devotion,
and in whatever places, when abſent from the
domeſtic roof, in groves of oaks, or in the fa.
cred receſſes of caverns, where they thought
the Deity might be more ſucceſsfully addreſſed.
They called them TERAPHIM, a word tranſla.
ted by the SEVENTY, Ειδωλα, reprefentative
images, like the ſilver ſhrines of Diana; they
conſidered them as the peculiar and hallowed
reſidence of the TRIUNE DEITY ; and, when
the
[ 609 ]
the Hebrew religion began to decline from its
original purity, they adopted the Pagan man-
ners and conſulted them as thoſe Gentiles did
their oracular images and inſtruments of divi-
nation. In this facred and compound hierogly-
phic we diſcover of what nature, probably,* were
the domeſtic gods which Rachael ſtole from
her father Laban, the loſs of which he lo
bitterly lamented.+ Without going to Egypt
for a ſpecies of idolatry which the Egyptians,
perverting the primitive ſymbol, probably ob-
tained from the Hebrew patriarchs, to this
origin we may trace that fatal error of the
Ifraelites, in ſetting up and worſhipping the
golden calf; the ſimilar offence of Jeroboam,
and the firſt veſtige of the Grecian, Roman,
and, I may alſo add, the Indian, DII PENA-
TES.
Although the Deity was more generally re-
preſented under the form of an OX, in Egypt,
than in many other eaſtern nations, fo much
more ſo, that, by degrees, from ſymbolizing
God under that ſimilitude, they proceeded to
the impiety of adoring the animal itſelf, and
he,
* I ſay probably, becauſe I am aware that the TERAPHIN
are, by reſpectable authors, and particularly by Calmet, very
differently deſcribed and delineated.
+ Geneſis, xxxi.
1 2 Kings, xii. 28, 29.
1 610
he, in time, became the public idol of their
temples: yet was the ſacred bull an object
nearly of as high and as peculiar veneration
both in Perſia and India. One incentive to that
devotion undoubtedly aroſe from the affectio-
nate gratitude of the ſhepherds of Chaldea, not
only for the benefit of the nutritious milla
which the herd abundantly beſtowed, but
for their great uſe in agriculture. The two-
fold bleſſing which that claſs of animals thus
liberally imparted, in their opinion, rendered
them proper ſymbols of the great Parent
of men, who created all things by his nod,
and ſupports them by his bounty. Thus, ,
in Perſia, according to a moſt curious account
taken from the genuine books of the PAR-
sees, by M. Anquetil du Perron, and inſerted
in the third volume of his ZEND Avesta, the
ſupreme Being was originally ſymbolized, ado-
red, and addreſſed, under the form of a bull ;
and the reader may there peruſe a tranſlated
prayer to the GOD-BULL. It was upon this ac-
count, according to the ſame learned and inge-
nious author, that, when men began to worſhip
their deceaſed anceſtors,and Noah, the great pro-
genitor of the renovated world, came to be num-
bered firſt among thoſe deified mortals, he was
repreſented and venerated under a figure com-
pounded
[
611 ]
pounded of half aan, half BULL, and denomina-
ted, in their ſacred writings, l'Homme Taureau.
The Apis, of Egypt, had doubtleſs a ſimilar ori-
gin. The brahmins, of India, who repreſented
all the operations of nature, as well as thoſe of
the mind, under ſignificant ſymbols, found
out an additional cauſe for reverencing the
bull; and numbering that uſeful creature
among their ſacred hieroglyphics. That phy-
lofophic race, as deeply engaged in phyſical
as metaphyſical diſquiſitions, thought that no
more proper emblem could be found of the
great generative and prolific power of nature
than the lordly bull, who, in the pride and
vigour of his youth, ranges uncontrouled a-
midſt the numerous and willing females of the
paſture. It is, therefore, as we have before
had occaſion to remark, that the bull is the a-
nimal which conſtantly accompanies Seeva,
the god of generation and fecundity, who only
deſtroys to re-produce. In the paintings of ſome
of the pagodas, this animal is portrayed ſtand-
ing near him; in others he appears mounted
upon his back.
The horns on the HEAD of the BULL, as is
evident from the Egyptian Isis and the Grecian
Io, repreſent the rays which Light and FIRE
emit, the irradiations of celeſtial glory; and, in
conſequence,
1
[612]
+
conſequence, ſupreme eminence and ſtrength.
Hence the high altar at Jeruſalem was deco-
rated with four HORNS ; hence Moſes himſelf,
and all the diſtinguiſhed perſonages of anti-
quity, whether real or mythologic, as well in
Egypt as in India, are, in the moſt ancient
fculptures and paintings, inveſted with this
fymbol.
The Head of the Lion, both in Perſia
and Tartary, was, in a peculiar manner, fa-
cred to the ſolar light; the ſuperior ſtrength,
nobility, and grandeur, of that animal, in
addition to what has been remarked before
concerning his being a diſtinguiſhed conſtel-
lation of the zodiac, and the ſun ſhining forth
in his greateſt ſplendor from that fign, ren-
dered him a proper type of the ſun, the being
they adored, blazing in meridian fervor. The
majeſtic orb of his countenance, his glowing
eye-balls, and ſhaggy main, ſpreading in glo-
ry around, like rays or cluſtering ſparks of fire,
upon the neck, which, like that of the horſe
in Job, may be ſaid to be clothed with thun-
der, contributed perhaps in their allegorical
fancy to give no leſs energy than luſtre to the
conception. In confirmation of what has been
juſt ſaid, it may be obſerved, that, to this
day, on the imperial ſtandard of the Great
Mogul,
[613]
Mogul, of which the reader may ſee an engra-
ving in Tavernier and Terry's Voyage to India,
is portrayed the SUN RISING IN GLORY BE-
HIND THE BODY OF A RECUMBENT LION; and
an Arabian voyager, ſpeaking of the dreſs of
the Banians, ſays, “ Their turbans in particu-
lar are highly curious, being formed of white
muſlin, and rolled together in ſuch a manner
as to imitate the horns and head of a cow or
heifer, an animal revered among them even
to adoration.
The EAGLE, that, with its ardent
,
look ſtedfaſtly upon the ſolar blaze, and that,
with its ſoaring wing, was imagined able to
reach it, was a ſymbol of the divine nature,
holden ſacred in moſt nations of the Pagan
world; and, indeed, was in ſo peculiar a man-
ner ſacred to the ſun, that one fpecies of that
bird is at this day denominated the EAGLE OF
Strabo informs us, that, in Egypt,
the Thebans worſhipped the eagle;* and au-
thors need not be cited to prove a fact ſo well
known as that, in Greece, the eagle was en-
phatically called THE BIRD OF Jove, which bore
his thunder and repoſed on the ſceptered hand
of the celeſtial king. Wings, however, (I do
not ſpeak merely of thoſe of the eagle,) were,
in
THE SUN.
* Strabonis Geograph. lib. xvii. p. 2.
[ 614 ]
.
1
in ancient Egypt, the univerſal hieroglyphic
of the winds. Wings of various kinds are
conſpicuouſly engraved near or upon moſt of
the ſacred animal figures that decorate the
Menſa Iſiaca ; but are ſeen in a more particular
manner expanded over the two heifers of Ofi-
ris and Iſis.* No apter emblem indeed could be
found to repreſent, in a general way, wind,
or air, a rapid and reſtleſs element, than birds,
or the wings of birds, gliding impetuouſly
through the expanſe of heaven. Scripture
itfelf ſeems to juſtify the ſimilitude, ſince the
Almighty is ſublimely repreſented as WALK-
ING upon the WINGS of the wind. But, as the
courſe of birds is various, and as the regions
in which they delight to reſide are different,
one ſpecies of winged fowl denoted the quarter
from which one wind blew, another from
which a ſecond, another from which a third,
and theſe various hieroglyphic birds are engra-
ved on the ancient monuments of Egypt,
as may be ſeen on thoſe copied thence in the
OEdipus Ægyptiacus of Kircher, in Mount.
faucon, and in Pococke.
To give one remarkable inſtance of what
is here aſſerted in regard to that country,
which holy writ itſelf, moſt decidedly in ſup-
port
* See Menſa Ifiaca, oppoſite p. 32..
1
( 615 )
port of my argument, has denominated THE
LAND SHADOWING WITH WINGS.
Iſaiah xviii. Í. 'The two particular winds
that moſt affected Egypt were the nor-
therly Eteſian wind, and the ſouthern. The
latter, ſpringing up about the ſummer fol-
ſtice, drove before it that vaſt body of aggre-
gated vapours, which, diſcharging themſelves
in torrents of rain upon the high mountains
of Ethiopia, cauſed the waters of the Nile
to riſe. The HAWK, therefore, obſerving
at a particular ſeafon the ſame courſe, was
conſidered as the moſt natural type of the
Eteſian wind. That propitious wind, on the
contrary, which, riſing after the inundation,
blew from the South, and contributed its pow-
erful aid towards the draining off of thoſe
waters, was as naturally repreſented by the
WHOOP; a bird, which, watching the ſubſi-
ding of the inundation, iſſues from his retreat
in Ethiopia, and, deſcending progreſſively with
the decreaſing Itream, in its paſſage from
Memphis to the ocean, feeds upon the luxu .
rious repaſt which Providence has ſo kindly
provided for it, in the numerous race of gnats,
flies, and other inſects, which are generated
in abundance amidſt the fat and prolific ſlime
left by the retiring river.
VOL. I.
$s
OF
[ 616 ]
C
Of the preceding reflections upon this fa-
vorite ſymbol of the Jews, reflections which
are neceſſarily of a nature ſomewhat deſultory
and unconnected, the following is the ſum
and reſult. Without laying any improper
ſtreſs upon this Hebrew hieroglyphic as an in-
diſputable proof, though it is certainly a very
ſtrong collateral evidence, of their belief in a
Trinity, we may ſafely allow that the illu-
minated heads, the innumerable eyes, and
the extended wings, of the cherubic Beings,
which, in the Jewiſlı hieroglyphics ever
accompanied that refulgent ſymbol, were
doubtleſs intended to repreſent the guardian
vigilance of the ſupreme Providence, as well
as the celerity of the motions of that celeſtial
light and ſpirit which pervades and animates
all nature. The innocent and expreſſive em-
blem, which devotion had originally formed,
was caught up and debaſed in the Pagan
world, The FIRE, LIGHT, and SPIRIT,
which, among the former, were only typical
of the ſupreme Being and his attributes, were
by them miſtaken for the ſupreme Being him-
ſelf, and were accordingly venerated in the
place of that Being. Theſe three principles
became inextricably involved in their theology,
and inſeparably incorporated in all their ſyſ-
toms
܀
1
/
[ 617 ]
tems of philoſophy. They called the elemen-
tary fire, Pitha, Vulcan, Agnee; the ſolar
light they denominated Oſiris, Mithra, Surya,
Apollo; and the pervading air, or ſpirit,
Cneph, Narayen, Zeus, or Jupiter. Under
thoſe and other names they paid them divine
homage; and thus, having, by degrees, from
fome dark ill-underſtood notions of a real Tri-
nity in the divine nature, united to that nyf-
terious doctrine their own romantic ſpecula-
tions in the vaſt field of phyſics, they produced
a degraded Trinity, the ſole fabrication of their
fancy; and, inſtead of the GOD OF NATURE,
nature itſelf, and the various elements of na-
ture, became the objects of their blind and in,
fatuated devotion.
From this combination of religious ſenti-
ment and ſacred ſymbol it probably aroſe, that
the images of their moſt venerated deities were
repreſented either in ſculpture or in poetry with
THREE heads, or three faces, alluſive, as we
have exemplified above in the Grecian Zeus, to
their office and attributes. Hence Mercury was
called triceps; Bacchus, triambus; Diana, tri-
formis; and Hecate, tergemina. Theie two
laſt epithets occur together in the following
line of the Æneid :
Tergeminamque Hecatem, tria virginis ora Dianæ.*
Hence
• Æneid, B. iv. L. 511,
.
SS 2
[ 618 ]
Hence the ſymbols of all their principal divini-
ties were of a three-fold nature. Jupiter has his
three.forked thunder, Neptune his trident, and
Pluto his three-headed Cerberus. In ſhort, it
probably aroſe from this ſource that the num-
ber three was holden by all antiquity in the
moſt ſacred light; and that the triangle and
the pyramid came to be numbered among their
moſt frequent and eſteemed fymbols of Deity.
For this prolonged account of the grand hie-
roglyphic of the Jews, I muſt repeat the apolo-
gy. I urged before, that either they borrowed
the ſymbol from their neighbours in Aſia or had
it from the Hebrew patriarchs; and I think it
diſgraceful to the Jewiſh church and derogatory
to the God they adored, that any of the inſpired
prophets ſhould take their ideas of Deity and di-
vine concerns from the Pagan rites of worſhip.
This is my ſole reaſon for having dwelt ſo long
upon the ſubject of the Cherubim, as portrayed
in the viſion of Ezekiel, and as ſculptured in the
temple of Solomon, and I truſt, that, with
the candid, it will be eſteemed a ſufficient
reaſon. This mode, however, of repreſent-
ing the Cherubim, in ſculpture, was not uni-
verſally adhered to. Thoſe which were imme-
diately over the ark were naked figures in a hu-
man form, whoſe expanded wings, meeting
together,
1
[ 619 ]
together, at once over-ſhadowed the mercy-
ſeat, and formed a ſacred pavillion for the reſi-
dence of that GLORY, which is affirmed to have
viſibly dwelt between them. In this manner
they are delineated in the authentic volume of
Calmet and Prideaux, and from them is copied
the engraving in the annexed plate. It is of
theſe figures in which the human and angelic
nature is ſo ſtrikingly blended, that Philo
Γpeaks when he declares, Αρχης μεν εν και Αγα-
θοτητος των ΔΥΕΙΝ ΔΥΝΑΜΕΩΝ τα Χερεβιμ ειναι
cupbona, * " that of the TWO POWERS in God,
principality and goodneſs, thoſe Cherubim
were the ſymbols ;” and rabbi Menachem, on
the Pentateuch, is, in the following extract
from Allix, aſſerted to extend the idea fome .
what farther, even to the ark itſelf, to which
they were unſeparably united by the expreſs
command of God to Moſes; to that ark which
was a known and acknowledged ſymbol of
Jehovah. " They propoſe,” ſays this learn-
ed perſon, " the image of the Țwo Cherubim
which were drawn from the ark to give the i.
dea of the two laſt perſons; for, the diſtinction
of the Cherubim was evident, although there
was an unity of them with the ark. In this man-
per ſpeaks rabbi Menachem, fol. lxxiv, col.
3."
De Cherubim, lib. p. 86. G,
Ss 3
[ 620 ]
1
3 3. "* Conſidering, therefore, the former merely
in the light of a noble aſtronomical ſymbol,
we have from this rabbi and Philo ſufficient
evidence that the Jews once entertained fimi-
lar conceptions with Chriſtians, not only of a
plurality in the divine nature, but of a Trini-;
ty in Unity, of which the Cherubim of
the ark and the ark itſelf were conſidered, by
ſome of their writers, as immediate ſymbols,
Let us now extend our view over the countries
adjacent to Judæa, and inquire what traces
of this doctrine exiſt either in the hierogly-
phics or the writings of the other Pagan na,
tions of the eaſtern world. The ſubject is in,
deed ſtupendous ; but will not be unattended
with utility, and it is by no means uncon-
nected with INDIAN ANTIQUITIES,
I think it neceſſary to commence the fol-
lowing conciſe inveſtigation of the Pagan Tri-
nities, by again offering it as my humble, but de-
cided, opinion, that this original and ſublime
dogma, inculcated in the true religion, of a
Trinity of hypoſtaſes in the divine nature, de-
livered traditionally down from the anceſtors
of the human race and the Hebrew patriarchs,
being in time miſapprehended, or gradually
forgotten, is the fountain of all the ſimilar
..conceptions
Allix's Judgement, p. 169.
[ 621 ]
conceptions in the debaſed ſyſtems of theology
prevailing in every other region of the earth.
Of a doctrine thus extenſively diffuſed through
all nations; a doctrine eſtabliſhed at once in ;
regions ſo diſtant as Japan and Peru ; imme-
morially acknowledged throughout the whole,
extent of Egypt and India; and flouriſhing with
equal vigour amidſt the ſnowy mountains of
Thibet, and the vaſt deſerts of Siberia; there is:
no other rational mode of explaining the allu-
fion or accounting for the origin. Of the hypo-,
theſis indeed that afferts TWO PRINCIPLES, the
cauſe can be divined in the blended mixture of:
GOOD and of Evil, that unhappily prevails in
the dark and chequered ſcenes of human ex-
iſtence; but, independently of what we know
from Revelation, there appears to be no more
moral neceſſity that there ſhould be three, than
that there ſhould be ten, agents in the diſpenſa-
tions of the divine economy: for, with reſpect to
the preſerving Veeſhnu of India, and of the medi-
atorial Mithra, thoſe ſecondary characters are
not neceſſarily diſtinct from the principals of
their reſpective triads, Oromaſdes, or Brahma;
ſince it is ſørely conſiſtent with the character of
a good being to preſerve, and nobody will be ſo
hardy as to deny that he has power to preſerve;
if he pleaſes, without the interference of
any
mediator,
1
SS4
1
[622]
mediator. That there is a Mediator in the grand
ſcheme of the Chriſtian theology is alone the
effect of a predetermined plan, aſſerted in Scrip-
ture to have been benevolently formed in the
almighty mind, of which the councils are in-
ſcrutable to mortals, but which, although
they are at preſent inſcrutable, may poſlibly
be unfolded to his adoring creatures in the
ſtate of glory promiſed to obedient piety here.
after.
I have not hitherto attempted to draw any
immediate parallel between the religion and cuſ-
toms of the Hindoos and the Chaldæans. The
monuments of Chaldaic worſhip and manners,
as repreſented in profane writers, are too dira
putable and too ſcanty to allow in any extent
of ſuch a parallel; and thoſe, preſerved in the
Scriptures, are, for the moſt part, to be found
in the occaſional digreſſions that relate to thọ
Hebrews. As the colony, eſtabliſhed in ELAM,
or Perſia, was, doubtleſs, one of the earlieſt
that emigrated thence, in that region we may
expect to find, and we have found, decided
remains of Chaldaic ſuperſtition, particularly
in that general veneration of Fire, ſo univer-
ſally practiſed at Ur, in Chaldæa. This city,
according to Bochart, * not only derived its
name
* Vide Bocharti Geograph. Sacr. p. 83, edit. quarto Franca
fort, 1681.
[ 623 ]
name from a word ſignifying lux, feu ignis; but,
becauſe the pious Abraham refuſed to con-
cur in that worſhip, it is recorded by the Jew-
iſh rabbi,* that he was thrown, at the command
of Nimrod, into a fiery furnace, from which,
by the miraculous power of Jehovah, that ren-
dered the ſurrounding flames innoxious, he came
out unconſumed. The fire-temples of Chal-
dæa, were called CHAMANIM, which, the ſame
Bochart derives from Chaman, a word figni-
fying toglow with the ſolar warmth, which plainly
indicates the origin of this devotion. The
Perſians, deeply infected with the Chaldaic ido-
latry, afterwards converted the CHAMANIM,
or portable ſhrines, in which they che-
riſhed the fire lighted by the ſacred rays of
the fun, into magnificent PYRÆIA, or pu-
RATHEIA, many of which remain to this day
both in Perſia and India, A gentleman, who
filled with honour a high ſtation in India,
informed me, that, in a famous temple of this
kind, reſorted to by the Perſees in Guzzurat,
the prieſts boaſt to have cheriſhed the ſacred
flame, unextinguiſhed, for eight hundred years,
that is, ever ſince their expulſion from Iran by
the Mohammedan arms,
!
1
"The
See Jerom on Gen. xi. 31, citing the Jewilh traditions.
[ - 624)
The Jews themſelves were by no means un-
infected by the reigning ſuperſtition. wx,
æfh; is the Hebrew word for Fire, that moſt
ancient and venerated ſymbol of God through-.
out the Eaſt; and they juſtify their applying
that title to the Deity, becauſe, in their own
Scriptures, they read that God is A CONSUMING
FIRE. Æſh, among the cabbaliſts, anſwered
to Gebutah, or MIGHT, the fourth of the Se-
phiroth, and the literal meaning of Ælohim,
as the word ſhould more properly be written,
is the frong gods. Hence El, when the Jews
relapſed into idolatry, became the common
name of the sun; and hence, doubtleſs,
through the medium of the Phænician lan-
guage, whence the Greek was formed, thoſe
known appellatives of that planet, Ae11005,
and the Latin Helius.
There is a very curious ſtory, related at
length in Suidas, * of a conteſt for ſuperio.
rity that took place between this deity of
the. Chaldæans and the Egyptian god Ca-
inopus: for, according to the Greek author,
the ancient Chaldæan prieſts uſed to carry
about, through different regions, their vaunted
god, to contend with others, worſhipped in the
neighbouring kingdoms. The gods of gold,
ſilver,
1
. See Suidas in voce Canopus
( 625 )
ſilver, and baſer materials, were foon reduced
to aſhes by the all-conquering FIRE.
But
the prieſts of Canopus, in Egypt, reſolved to
check the infolence of thoſe fire-worſhipping
prieſts by a diſplay of the ſuperior power of
the deity they adored. Canopus was no other
than the god of water, or, rather, WATER it-
ſelf perſonified, (an evident proof how early
and in what place men began to worſhip the
various elements of nature,) on which account,
in the hieroglyphic ſculptures of Egypt, he
was delineated with a human head and arms
affixed to an immenſe vaſe, or urn, richly
ſculptured, and of which the reader will find
in Kircher's third volume, oppoſite to page
434, a plate containing no leſs than 16 dif-
ferent engraved repreſentations. The GOD-ELE-
Ments, therefore, were now to engage in con-
teſt for dominion over the vaſſal minds of an
idolatrous world. The Egyptian pontifex con-
trived to incloſe the element, the object of his
devoirs, in one of thoſe earthern veſſeis per-
forated with numerous holes, which are at this
day uſed in Egypt to filtrate the muddy waters
of the Nile. He carefully ſtopped thoſe holes
with wax; then, painting over the whole
with hieroglyphics, and adding to the vaſe
the uſual head and ſymbols of the deity, ſet
up
[ 626 )
1
up his idol, and defied its rivals. Not at all
daunted by the defiance of the prieſt of Egypt,
nor the formidable appearance of the aqua-
tic deity, the prieſts of Chaldæa immediately
placed their omnipotent fire beneath the am-
ple vaſe, which in a ſhort time diſſolving
the wax, the incloſed element ruſhed out in
torrents, extinguiſhed the fame, and thus, to
expreſs myſelf in their own mythological man-
ner of writing, gained a complete victory over
the radiant progeny of the sun. The reader
will eaſily be induced to pardon this digreſſion,
which is not totally foreign to the ſubject under
confideration, ſince it points out the origin and
gradual progreſs of that two-fold idolatry
which formerly overſpread the Eaſt, and both
of which, or ſomething very much like them,
have been ſo long predominant in Hindoſtan
for that the Indians worſhip the ſun and fire
has been demonſtrated; and they pay a ho-
mage ſcarcely inferior to their conſecrated ri-
vers.
Indeed, I have a print of the Ganges
perſonified, which, though a female, in thọ
features of its face is not unlike the moſt
comely of the figures of Canopus, exhibited by
Kircher. But let us return to the ſubject of
the firſt appearance of the Hebrew doctrine
of the Trinity. įn the Gentile world.
The
.
[ 627 ]
The earlieſt dawn of it IN Asia is to be
found in the ORACLES of the Perſian Zoroaſter,
I mean the original Zoroafter, that obſcure
character in remote antiquity to whom tlioſe
oracles are generally referred, and not that
Zoroaſter, or Zerduſht, who was only the re-
former of the Magian ſuperſtition, and flou-
riſhed at a much later period.
I have obſerved in a former page of this
diſſertation, that, among many diſcordant opi-
nions, there were two more generally prevalent
in antiquity concerning that venerable, but
myſterious, perſonage. The firſt mentioned was
that he was king of Bactria, and flain by Ni-
nus; the ſecond, that he was a native of Per-
ſia, and flouriſhed in the days of Darius Hyfa
tafpes. There is no point, however, concern-
ing which the moſt celebrated writers are
more divided. The whole is veiled in impene-
trable obſcurity. The difficulty has been at-
tempted to be ſolved, by ſuppoſing that there
exiſted, at various periods, ſeveral perſons emia
nent for wiſdom, who aſſumed that name, or
to whom, as was an uſual cuſtom in the ancient
world, his zealous and affectionate diſciples
applied that illuſtrious appellative. I have
alſo pointed out, in the courſe of this diſ-
ſertation, ſome very ſtriking circumſtances of
ſimilarity
[ 628 ]
1
fimilarity in the reſpective doctrines which the
Indian and Perſian legiſlator inculcated, and
have even ventured to hazard a conjecture that
the more ancient Zproaſter and BRAHMA (I
wiſh I had dared to have written Rama) were
the ſame legiſlator under two different appella-
tions. It is a fact however which cannot be
ſhaken, that, in thoſe primitive ages, mankind
acknowledged and venerated in one perſon,
the facerdotal, the regal, and the paternal,
character. An inſtance of this ſort remains
at this day in the grand Lama of Thibet, who
not only unites in his own perſon the regal
and facerdotal character but one ſomewhat
more exalted, ſince he is regarded by his ſubjects
in a light in which the grateful and affectionate
race, who were the immediate deſcendants
of Noah, regarded that patriarch, and by that
means ſowed in the renovated world the firſt
ſeeds of idolatry; he is venerated as a DE-
ity. Stanley, ** citing Bochart, derives the
term ZOROASTER from the Hebrew Schur,
whence the Chaldee Zor was formed, fig-
nifying to contemplate, and Isther, a Per-
ſian word, ſignifying a ſtar, whence probably
the Greek αστρον. Allowing this derivation
to:
។
* Vide Stanley's. Chaldaic Philoſophy, p. 2, and Bochart's
Geograph. Sacr. lib. i. cap. I.
[ 629 )
to be juſt, we find in Zoroafter the great-Baal
or Belus, who, Pliny* informs us, was the in-
ventor of aſtronomy in Chaldæa, and poſſibly,
as I ſhall hereafter endeavour to prove the
ſame perſonage venerated in India -under the
renowned Hindoo appellative of Bali, The
old Scripture name of the Chaldæans, which is
Chuſdim, leads us directly to the perſon of the
real Zoroaſter, and much corroborates this
opinion either that Chus himſelf, or his.fon
Belus, was in reality the perſonage on-whom
antiquity has beſtowed that celebrated name.
Belus, being the grandſon of the arch-apoftato
Ham, was moſt likely to be the firſt corrupter
of this pure doctrine. We accordingly find
the earlieſt attempt to philoſophize: (that is,
to deprave by human wiſdom) this doctrine, ſo
much ſublimer than the ſublimeſt metaphyſics,
in the ORACLES aſcribed to that legiſlator,
which are juſtly ſuppoſed to be the genuine
ſource of both the Perſian and Egyptiani, and
conſequently of the Greek, theology. Who-
ſoever of the ancient poſt-deluvian ſages he
might have been, the name, as thus derived, is
exceedingly applicable, ſince both the nations,
over whom Brahma, or Rama, and. Zoroafter
were
* Belus inventor fuit fidoralis fcientiz. Plinü Nat. Hift.
lib. i. cap. 26.
[ 630 ]
;
were legiſlators, have, next to the Chaldæans,
ever been conſidered as the moſt early cultiva-
ters of aſtronomy in Aſia, and eſpecially the
latter, who will be proved hereafter to have car-
ried that ſcience to a point of aſtoniſhing im-
provement, and far beyond that to which it ever
attained in Egypt. I am not ignorant that the
whole of theſe oracles have been aſſerted to be a
groſs forgery of ſome Pſeudo-Chriſtian Greek
but, as they are found interſperſed in detached
ſentences throughout the writings of various
Greek philoſophers, that objection at leaſt, in
regard to the whole of them, muſt fall to the
ground, and they probably are, what Stanley
ſeems to be perſuaded they are, and what
their dark myſterious doctrines ſeem to evince,
the genuine remains of the Chaldaic theology
that theology, which, according to Proclus, as
cited by the ſame writer, was revealed to man
by the awful voice of the Deity himſelf.
It would, indeed, be abſurd to deny that there
are, intermixed with the genuine ORACLES of
Zoroaſter ſome ſpurious paſſages, and many
dogmas of the more recent Greek philoſophers;
but, in many of the precepts contained in
them, there appear, as I have juſt aſſerted, ſuch
evident marks of a certain obſcure and myſteri-
ous kind of hieroglyphic theology as prove
them
to
[ 631 )
1
!
+
to be the production of the ancient ſchool of
Chaldæa ; of that grand theological ſchool in
which the Metempſychoſis was firſt divulged ;
in which the ſidereal LADDER and GATES were
firſt erected ; and in which that ſubtle, lumi-
nous, æthereal, all-penetrating, all-cnliven-
ing, FLAME, which gives elaſticity and vigour to
the various parts of the animated univerſe, from
its profoundeſt centre to the moſt extended
line of its circumference, was firſt, from intenſe
admiration of its aſtoniſhing properties, ado-
red as a divinity. According to the authors
cited both by Kircher and Stanley they were
originally written in the old Chaldaic lan-
guage, and tranſlated into Greek either by
Beroſus, Julian the philoſopher, or Hermip-
pus; and they have deſcended to poſterity
only in detached pieces, which, I have obſerw
ved before, is a cogent argument in favour
of their originality. What remains to us of
the writings of Hermes is ſtrongly tinctured
with the Zoroaſtrian philoſophy. Plato and
Pythagoras, in their viſits to the Perſians at
Babylon, drank deep at this primeval foun-
tain ; and their writings, alſo, thus infected
with the philoſophy of Zoroaſter, contributed
to ſpread the phyſical and theological doctrines
of Chaldæa widely through Greece. The
Vol. I.
Tt
whole
-H.
[ 632 )
1
whole of theſe oracles are given by Stanley,
according to the more-eſteemed edition of Pa-
tricius, with the notes of Pletho and Pſellus,
and to his page I muſt refer the reader for the
extracts that follow.
Whiat the writer of theſe oracles, whoſoever
he was, could poſſibly mean by the ſingular
expreſſions that occur throughout the whole
of the firſt ſection, except to ſhadow out the
myſtery of the Trinity in Unity, a myſtery,
after all, but partially underſtood by him, it is
difficult to conceive, fince, excluſive of the error
of placing•PRINCIPLES for HYPOSTASES, which
was natural enough to an unenlightened Pagan,
it is impoſſible for language to be more expli-
cit upon the ſubject of a divine Triad, or more
conformable to the language of Chriſtian them
ologers.
Οπε πατριχη μονας έστι, ,
Ταναη εστι μονας η
duo
YEVVOC.
1
" Where the PATERNAL MONAD is; that pa-
ternal monad amplifies itſelf, and generates a
duality.” The word 7279%), or paternal, here
at once diſcovers to us the two firſt hypoftafes,
ſince it is a relative term, and plainly indicates
The paternal monad produces a dua-
lity, not by an act of creation, but by gene-
ration,
a SON.
[633 ]
ration, which is exactly conſonant to the lan-
guage of Chriſtianity. After declaring that
the Duad, thus generated, xa@ntai, fits by the
monad, and, ſhining forth with intellectual
beams, governs all things, that remarkable and
often-cited paſſage occurs :
Παντι γαρ εν κοσμω λαμπει τριας,
Ης μονας αρχει.
" FOR, A TRIAD OF Deity SHINES FORTH
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD, OF WHICH
A MONAD IS THE HEAD;" that is, all created
things bear impreſſed the ſeal of the
great
tri-
une God. In a ſucceeding verſe of this fec-
tion we are informed,
'Εις τρια γαρ νες ειπε Πατρος τεμνεσθαι απαντα,
“Ου το θελειν κατενευσε, και ήδη παντα ετετμητο.
" For, the mind of the Father ſaid, that all
things ſhould be divided into three, whoſe
will aſſented, and all things were divided.”
The ſentence is obſcure, but the meaning of
the former part of it ſeems to be that all
things are under the government of a divine
Triad, and the latter part exhibits a ſtri-
king parallel to the words of that divine
Hoyos, who ſaid ; Let there be light, and
there was light; of him who ſpake, and it was
done;
T t 2
5
[ 634 ]
done ; who commanded, and it ſtood faſt. Imme-
diately after follows a paffage, in which the
three Perſons in the divine eſſence are expreſſly
pointed out by appellations, under which we
inftantly recognize the three fuperior Sephi-
roth of the Hebrews.
Και έφανησαν εν αυτη η τ’ αρετη,
Και η σωφια, και πολυφρων άτρεχεια.
" And there appeared in this Triad, Virtue,
and WISDOM, and TRUTH, that know all
things.” Though theſe three hypoſtaſes are
afterwards ftyled principles; and though, in
this refpect, the Chaldaic philoſophy ap-
pears to blend itſelf with the Chaldaic the-
ology; the firſt Sephirah; or Kether, the
Crown, is doubtleſs alluded to by 'Apsty',
or Virtue: the ſecond appellation is ſtill more.
remarkable ; for, of the CHOCHMA of the
Hebrews; Ewqic, or Wiſdom, may be termed
an exact and literal tranſlation. Nor is the
fimilitude at all leſs impreſſive in the appella-
tion of the third of theſe principles, (as Zow
roaſter miſtakenly denominates them,) for,
of the heavenly BINAH, or Intelligence, can
language convey any more accurate concep-
tion than is to be met with in the word
πολυφρων Ατρεχεια, multifcia veritas, the Spirit
of
t 635 ]
of truth, full of celeſtial wiſdom, that om-
niſcient Spirit who trieth the reins and ſearch-
eeth the hearts of the children of men. That
theſe three hypoſtaſes, or perſons, are in the
latter part of this ſection denominated PRINCI-
Ples is not a little Angular, and, at all events,
it is a mode of expreſſion very inconſiſtent
with what previouſly occurred concerning the
relation which the name of you bears to fa-
ther, and with the term of generation by
which the Duad were ſaid to have been pro-
duced.
Singular, however, as this conduct may ap-
pear, it is not inconſiſtent with other groſs
errors of the idolatrous fons of Chaldæa.
Though that infatuated race had traditionally
received from their pious anceſtors that firſt
ſublime principle of religion, that there pre-
ſided over the univerſe an infinite omnipotent
God, who was a SPIRIT, and to be worſhip-
ped in ſpirit and in truth, they had forgotten
the Deity himſelf in the darling object of their
veneration, the adorable flame, before which
they inceſſantly bowed the ſervile knee. If
they could thus early and fatally forget the
great Creator of all things, and worſhip, in the
place of him, one of the elements, formed by
his power, is it a ſubject of wonder that there
ſhould
1
It 3
[ 636 ]
1
ſhould have been alike obliterated from their
minds all remembrance of that awful myſtery
at the ſame time revealed, that diſtinction in
his nature which we denominate Trinity of
perſons, or that, only faintly remembering
the awful truth, they ſhould finally inſult
the holy hypoſtaſes by the degrading appella-
tion of principles? The very inſtitution of
divine rites in honour of their baſe idol, the
ſubſtitute of Deity, proved the prior exiſtence
of a purer worſhip in their country; and the
very
number and name of their imagined PRIN-
CIPLES demonſtrated that, in remote periods,
incenſe to à nobler TRIAD had burned on
their adulterated altars.
It is unneceſſary to ſwell theſe pages with
many additional extracts, corroborative of
my aſſertions from theſe ‘IEPA AOTIA, or holy
oracles, as in his treatiſe De Inſomniis they
are termed by Syneſius, a writer who flou ,
riſhed about the year 400, and which circum-
ſtance is a convincing proof in how venerable
a light theſe ancient fragments were holden
even in that early period of Chriſtianity; but
there remain a few others too remarkable and
too deciſive to be wholly omitted. In the
very next fcction of theſe oracles, remarkable
for its fingular title of ΠΑΤΗΡ και ΝΟΥΣ, ΟΙ
THE
[ 637 ]
THE FATHER and THE MIND, that Father is
expreſſly ſaid “to perfect all things, and de-
liver then over να δευτερω,
deuteqw," to the SECOND
MIND; which, as I have obſerved in the early
pages of this diſſertation, has been conſidered
as alluſive to the character of the mediatorial
and all-preſerving Mithra ; but could only
originate in theological conceptions of a purer
nature, and be deſcriptive of the office and
character of a higher MEDIATOR, even the
eternal ΛΟΓΟΣ.
. The whole of the paſſage
runs thus:
Παντα
yag
εξετελησε ΠΑΤΗΡ και ΝΩ παρεδωκε
ΔΕΥΤΕΡΩ, ον πρώτον κληιζεται εθνεα ανδρών παν-
γενος" *
" that SECOND MIND," it is added, “ whom
the nations of men commonly take for the
FIRST." This is doubtleſs very ſtrongly in
favour of the two ſuperior Perſons in the
Trinity. Chriſtians, indeed, are taught to
conſider the ſecond hypoſtaſis as the more
immediate Amplepyos, or celeſtial architect of
the world ; yet it muſt ſtill be owned that, in
the three firſt verſes of Geneſis, creation is
repreſented as the work of the collective Tri-
nity. Overlooking and correcting the mif-
take of aſſigning to the firſt hypoſtaſis the
operations
T t 4
[ 638 ]
1
operations that more peculiarly belong to the
ſecond, we ſhall find this paſſage of the Zo-
roaſtrian oracles exceedingly conformable to
the language of holy writ itſelf; for, it is
there faid ; by the WORD OF THE LORD the bea-
vens were MADE, and all the boſt of them by the
Spirit of his mouth. Pſalms xxxiii. 6. And
the Logos himſelf authorotitavely declares, all
power IS GIVEN UNTO ME both in heaven and in
earth. Math. xxviii. 18.
In the third ſection of the Chaldaic oracles,
as arranged by Patricius, in which, and that
immediately following, a ſtill wider range is
taken in the phyſical and intellectual world,
and where we find the primordial ſource of
thoſe ſpeculative notions, which, probably,
formed the baſis of the Pythagorean and Pla-
tonic philoſophy, it is obſerved with ſingular
conformity to this Hebrew doctrine of a cer-
tain plurality exiſting in the divine eſſence:
Υπο δυο νοων η ζωογονος πηγη περιεχεται ψυχων,
Και ο ποιητης ος, αυτεργων, τεκτονατο τον κοσμον,
"Ος εκ νον εκθωρε πρωτος.
" Under TWO MINDS is contained the life-
generating Fountain of ſouls; and the ARTI-
FICER, who, ſelf-operating, formed the
world: he who ſprang firſt out of that
mind,
[ 639 ]
mind.” In this paſſage, by the former of the
minds is decidedly pointed out the great Auto-
Beos, the eternal ſpring and fountain of the
Godhead; by the ſecond, the creative Logos,
who is an emanation from that fountain; the
ſame Logos whom St. John fays, was in the
beginning with God; that Word, by whom all
things were MADE ; and, without whom, was not
any thing MADE that was MADE. John i. 1.
The following paſſage, cited by Proclus
from theſe oracles, is not leſs indubitably de-
ciſive, in regard to the third ſacred hypoſtaſis,
than the preceding paſſages are in regard to
the two fecond;
Μετα δε πατρικας Διανοιας Ψυχη έγω ναιω,
,
Θερμη, ψυχισα τα παντα
tliat is ; “ in order next to the paternal mind,
I, PSYCHE, dwell ; warm, animating all
things.” — Thus, after obſerving, in the firſt
ſection, the Triad, or to Delov, the whole
Godhead collectively diſplayed, we here have
each diſtinct hypoftafis ſeparately
and clearly
brought before our view. That the perſons
themſelves are ſometimes confounded and their
reſpective functions miſtaken by unenlighten-
ed Pagans, Chriſtians, who are in poſſeſſion
of this doctrine by a renewal of divine revela-
tion,
1
[640]
tion, ought not to be ſtruck with wonder,
but penetrated by benevolent pity.
Since the philoſophy of the Chaldæans was
ſo intimately blended, or rather incorporated,
together with their theology, this will be a
proper place to conſider the great outlines of
that philoſophy, and I muſt again urge as my
apology, for entering thus largely into the
inveſtigation of it, the ſtriking fimilitude
which its ruling features bear to that ſpecies
of phyſical theology promulged in the facred
Sanſcreet writings of India. The moſt pro-
minent of thoſe features diſplays itſelf in the
following paſſage:
Ταυτα ΠΥΡΟΣ ΕΝΟΣ εκγεγιώτα
ALL THINGS ARE THE OFFSPRING OF ONE FIRE.
Let us inveſtigate the origin, the progreſs,
and the diffuſion of the firſt grand ſuperſti-
tion, which led to that ſo largely deſcanted
upon in a former part of this work, and
therefore not here neceſſary to be reſumed, the
worſhip of the orbs of heaven, which they
imagined to have been themſelves compoſed of
ÆTHERÍAL FIRE.
The patriarchs, who dwelt in Chaldæa,
held FIRE in profound, though not in ido-
latrous, veneration ; becauſe, like their an-
cient
[ 641 .]
cient neighbours of Perſia and India, they
thought it the nobleſt image and ſymbol
of God in nature. Their extenſive ſpecula-
tions in phyſics, alſo, increaſed that venera-
tion : they conſidered it as an immediate ema-
nation from God; they knew that it was the
grand agent, under the Deity, in all the ope-
rations of nature. When ſenſible objects and
fecondary cauſes became, in the philoſophy
of ſucceeding ages, the more immediate ob-
ject of minute inveſtigation, the GREAT
FIRST CAUSE OF ALL, being an object more
diſtantly remote from thought, was by de
grees neglected, and the worſhip of himſelf,
as was too uſual in the ancient world, was
transferred to the ſymbol that repreſented him.
After this all-pervading fire, their philoſophy
led the Chaldæans to place next in order that
finer, ſubtle, and luminous, fluid, which,
they denominated the SUPRAMUNDANE LIGHT,
in which the heavenly bodies floated. This
fuid they eſteemed far leſs groſs than the
air which ſurrounds the globe, and this, in
India, is called the Akass. By the AKASS,
as my account of the Coſmogony of Hin-
doſtan will hereafter acquaint the reader the
Indians inean “a kind of celeſtial element,
pure, inspalpable, unreſiſting, and reſem-
.
bling
ſ 642 )
bling the air rarified into æther of the ſtoic phi-
loſophers.” Next to the ſupramundane light,
ranks the EMPYREUM; and, neareſt the earth,
the groſſer æther, which is ſtill denominated
a kind of rire, que [wnyorlov, a life-generating
fire, of which are formed the orbs of the
fun and planets. Of the firſt ætherial light,
or fire, which enanates from God himſelf, are
compoſed the eternal monad, and all the va-
rious orders of ſubordinate deities, (wvalos xus
aluvees, that is, thoſe who exert their influence
and operations about the zones of heaven; cre-
ated intelligent angels; good dæmons; and the
ſouls of men. All theſe orders, the orders of
light and immateriality, are under the govern-
ment and direction of MITHRA, the god of light
and benevolence. But as there are orders of lu-
minous and immaterial beings, ſo there are thoſe
alſo of darkneſs and materiality: theſe conſiſt of
evil dæmons, and they are ſix in number. The
firſt of them inhabit the regions more imme-
diately ſublunary: the ſecond, the regions
nearer the earth; dark, ſtormy, and full of va-
pours: the third are thoſe malignant and un-
clean ſpirits that range the earth : the fourth
inhabit the depths of waters, and agitate with
itornis and whirlwinds the gloomy abyſs of the
ocean: the fifth are fubterraneous, and de-
light
A
[ 643 )
light to dwell in caverns and charnel vaults
theſe excite carthquakes, and other internal
convulſions in the bowels of the harraffed
globe: the ſixth, lucifugous, and hardly fen-
ſible of animation, or capable of motion, roam
through the profundities of darkneſs, and hold
their reign, as it were, in the very centre and
boſom of chaos : all theſe obey ABRIMAM as
their ſupreme lord and captain. The whole
of this hypothefis may be found in India, and
a part of it has been already unfolded. There,
on the one hand, we ſee the benevolent fpi-
rits the offspring of light, the Soors, poffi-
bly ſo called from Surya, the Sun, headed by
Brahma or Veeſhnu, iſſuing from the empy-
ræum, or inferior heaven of Eendra, and ani-
mated by affection, or melted with pity, watch-
ing over, preſerving, and protecting, the human
race.
On the other hand, we obſerve the
dreadful army of the Afoors, thoſe dark and
perturbed ſpirits who tenant the dreary re-
gions of the North pole, drawn up in terri-
ble array under the Mahee Afoor, or Luci-
fer of India, meditating the moleſtation and
deſtruction of the human race, and ſhower-
ing down upon them deſolation and plagues, .
Other grand points of ſimilitude or ſenti-
ment, exiſting between the two nations in
phyſics
ľ 644 1
phyſics and philofophy, will be conſidered at
large in my chapter relative to the literature
of Hindoftan: for the preſent I ſhall only
notice a few of them that are the moſt re-
markable.
“Επτα έξωγκωσε πατηρ στερέωματα κοσμων
that is, " the FATHER hath congregated ſeven
firmaments of worlds,” by which worlds are
doubtleſs to be underſtood the ſeven planets,
or BOOBUNS, as they are called in India. Afm
terwards, exactly in the ſtyle of thoſe who
thought the ſtars were animated beings, who
called them by the name of different animals,
and who thus deſignated them in their hiero-
glyphic ſculptures, he is ſaid to have « con-
ſtituted a ſeptenary of ERRATIC ANIMALS :")
Ζωων δε πλανωμενων υφεστηκεν επταδα
Both theſe extracts are cited only as intro-
ductory to a paſſage in a following ſection,
where we find at laſt the original idea of the
ladder with the ſeven gates; whence poſſibly
Celſus had his ſingular notions concerning
that curious fymbol, erected in the Mithra-
tic cavern :
Μη κατω νευσης κρημνος κατα γης υποκειται .
πορε συρων κατα βαθμιδος" ην υπω
Δεινης αναγκης θρονος εστι, ,
Stoop
Επτα
[ 645 ]
Stoop not down; for, a PRECIPIce lies
below on the earth, drawing through the
LADDER WITH SEVEN STEPS; beneath which
is the THRONE of dreadful necESSITY."
It may fairly be preſumed, that, arguing
from analogy and from what we now know
concerning the ſidercal ladder, two additional
fymbols, probably uſed in the cave of Mithra,
diſcover themſelves in this paſſage. The deep
GULPH, or precipiCE, (that is, the inferior
hemiſphere, or TARTARUS, of the ancients,)
which yawned at the foot, and down whichi
the ſoul that could not riſe to the more eleva-
ted ſpheres of virtue on the erected ladder, or
that relinquiſhed its vigorous efforts to aſcend
up to them, rapidly plunged; and the THRONE
OF NECESSITY, (that NECESSITY which, we
know, was the baſis of all Pagan theology,)
demonſtrating that the progreſſive ſtages of the
Metėmpſychoſis muſt abſolutely be toiled
through before the higheſt ſphere of happineſs,
the SUPREME ABODE of the Indian brahmins,
could be reached,
However diſputable may be the point, who
was the real author of the venerable maxims laid
down in theſe Chaldaic oracles, I muſt again rea
peat that they appear to me indiſputably to con-
tain many fundamental principles both of the
Perſian
[ 646 )
Perſian and Indian ſyſtems of theology and
philoſophy. Subſtantial proof of this affertion
may poſſibly be admitted as deciſive evidence
in favour of the genuineneſs of, at leaſt, that
portion of them in which thoſe principles diſ-
play themſelves. Before, therefore, I ſhall
proceed to exhibit the ſtrong traits of a Tri-
NITY which ſo diſtinctly appear in thoſe ve-
nerable fragments of antiquity, preſerved to
us in the page of the Egyptian Hermes, and
in the hymns attributed to the Grecian Or-
pheus, perſonages ſcarcely leſs obſcure than
Zoroaſter himſelf, it is my intention to point
out a few additional inſtances in which the
features of that fimilarity appear ſtill more
prominent and unequivocal.
The moſt remarkable one, next to the ADO-
RATION OF FIRE, and the HEAVENLY ORBS,
and the belief in GOOD AND MALIGNANT
DÆMONS, already amply unfolded, is the doc-
trine of the MeTemPSYCHOSIS, which ſpread
from Chaldæa to Perſia and India; for, that
the Perſians as well as the Indians actually
believed in the tranſmigration of the human
foul, is proved by the evidence brought from
Porphyry in page 305 preceding, and by the
following ſhort paſſage in Dr. Hyde: Deo
cretum enim apud primos habetur de anima-
rum
[ 647
]
1
rum in diverſa corpora tranſmigratione, id
quod etiam in MITHRA myſteriis videtur fig-
nificari.* The Metempſychoſis is there un-
folded in theſe terms, which, however obſcure
themſelves, are by the context evidently de-
monſtrated to allude to it.
Διζεω συ ψυχης οχετον, όθεν, ή τινι ταξει. .
Σωματι τιθυσας, επι ταξιν αφ' ης ερρύης
Άυθις αναςησεις ιερω λογω έργον ένωσας.
.Sc Explore thou the TRACT OF THE SOUL;t
whence and by what order it came. Having
performed thy ſervice to the body, to the fame
order from which thou didſt flow thou muſt
return again, joining action to ſacred ſpeech.”
In an epiſode of the MAHABBARAT, Creeſh-
na, an incarnation of the Deity, is repreſented
as thus addreſſing Arjun. " Both I and thou
have paſſed MANY BIRTHS: mine are known to
me, but thou knoweſt not of thine,” Bhagvat
Geeta, p. 51.
" At the end of time, he, who
having abandoned his MORTAL FRAME, de-
parteth, thinking only of me, without doubt
GOETH UNTO Me; or elſe, whatever other
NATURE he ſhall call upon, at the end of life,
Vol. I.
U u
when
• De Hiſt. Religionis yet. Perſ. p. 254.
. •
+ Yuxeñas xeter, the canal, or vehicle, through which the
migrating foul glides.
+
B
[ 648 )
---
when he ſhall quit his mortal ſhape, he ſhall
ever go unto it. Wherefore, at all times,
think of me alone.” . 74. Pletho, in ex-
plaining the paſſage in the oracles above-
cited, obſerves, that, by Sacred Speech, is
nieant invocation of the Deity by divine wor-
ſhip, and that, by action, divine rites are fig-
nified. In the ſame Geeta we read that the
Deity caſts thoſe who deſpiſe him “into the
wombs of evil ſpirits and UNCLEAN BEASTS.'
Geeta, 117. In the Zoroaſtrian oracles we
find ideas exactly fimilar :
Σον γαρ αργέιον θηρες χθονος δικησεσι. .
" For THY Vessel the BEASTS OF THE
IARTH ſhall inhabit.”
Concerning this doctrine of the Metempſy-
choſis, however ample has been the preceding
account, there ſtill remains a vaſt and wonder-
ful field for inquiry and ſpeculation. It is un-
doubtedly of moſt ancient date in Aſia, and
we have ſeen it plainly revealed in the Geeta,
an Indian compoſition ſuppoſed to be four
thouſand years old. The anceſtors of the
Hebrews, however, were not without ſome con-
ceptions of this kind, as is evident from what
M. Baſmage relates of ſome rabbies explain-
ing, by the doctrine of the tranſinigration of
fouls,
4
>
1
$
1
By
[649]
ſouls, thạt menace to Adam in Geneſis : Duft
thou art, and unto duſt ſhalt thou return! that is,
ſay they, thou ſhalt return to animate another
body formed of kindred du;?. It is very re-
markable too that their great and ancient pa-
raphraſt Jonathan, in his commentary on the
following paſſage in Iſaiah xxii, 14, Surely this
iniquity ſhall not be PURGED from you till ye DIE,
faith the Lord God of hoſts, explains this purga-
tion or purification of the ſoul in nearly the
fame manner as it is explained in the Geeta,
by “ morte ſecundâ,” a ſecond death.*
this ſecond death (ſays M. Bafnage) is not
meant hell, but that which happens when
a ſoul has a ſecond time animated a body and
then departs from it.”+$The ſame ſentiments,
he adds, are, found in the book Zohar and in
Philo.
It may gratify curioſity to purſue ſome-
what farther the parallel opinions of the He-
brews and Hindoos on this curious ſubject.
The CANAL, or vĘHICLE, mentioned above,
through which the ſoul glides from one order
of being into another, will probably bring to
the recollection of the reader the imagined ca-
nals
U 1 2
* Vide Jonathan's Targum in Walton's Polyglot. tom. iii.
p. 193
+ See Barnage's Hiſtory of the jows, p. 386.
!
t
( 650 )
}
nals by which the influences of the ſplendor's
of the Sephiroth are united and througli
which they flow into one another. The
Hindoos have invented, as we have often
related before, ſeven inferior ſpheres of pur
gation and purification, through which the
ſoul, polluted by guilt, is doomed to paſs after
its exit from this earthly tabernacle: and fe-
ven ſuperior ſpheres for pure and beatified ſpi-
rits, all containing various degrees of increaſing
happineſs. The rabbies alſo, according to
M. Baſnage, believe in a gradation of pụnilha
ments and enjoyments in the other world.
They ſay there are seven #ELLS, becauſe
they find, in Scripture, liell mentioned under
ſeven different appellations. Their hell too,
like that of the poets, conſiſts in the ſufferers
alternately enduring the extremes of heat and
cold, exactly as Virgil deſcribes it:
r
Aliis, ſub gurgite vaſto,
Infectum eluitur ſcelus, aut exuritur igni,
Or, as our greater Milton;
3
From beds of raging fire, in ice to ſtarve
Their ſoft ætherial warmth,
We
• Bafnage, p. 389.
ſ 651 ]
1
+
1
We have before remarked that the Hindoo
hell, or Naraka, conſiſts of ſerpents, probably
alluſive to the corroſive gnawings of that worm
which never dieth. But as the Hebrews had
ſeven hells, ſo had they likewiſe ſeven hea-
vens, or rather they divided the celeſtial Eden
into ſeven apartments, the raptures enjoyed in
which were proportioned to the merits and ca..
pacity of the liberated ſoul. Here they aſſert,
as in the paradiſe of Eendra, that the foul ſhall
diſſolve in an influx of celeſtial pleaſures ; and
it is very remarkable that in the imagined Ely-
fium of the rabbies, as in that of Eendra
and Mohammed, ſenſual pleaſures are by no
means to be excluded. Maimonides, cited by
M. Baſnage, gives a moſt luxuriant deſcription
of this beautiful and magnificent abode. The
houſes he repreſents as entirely conſtructed
of precious ſtoncs, after the fame manner as the
heavenly city is deſcribed by St. John in the Re-
velations: a proof that either Maimonides had
feen the apocalypſe, or that the deſcriptions of
both were regulated by ſome very ancient tradi-
tions. The rivers of that celeſtial Jeruſalem flow
with wine, the air is fragrant with perfumes,
and all care and ſorrow are annihilated. As the
ſoul is to enjoy all kinds of moſt refined ſpiri-
tual delights, ſo is the body, according both
Uu 3
to
[652 ]
to rabbies Menaſſe and A barbanel, to enjoy
pleaſures ſuited to its nature : for why, fay
thoſe rabbies, ſhould bodies riſe again if they
were not to act over again the ſame things,
and be engaged in ſimilar employments to
thoſe in which they were occupied when ex-
iſting in this terreſtrial ſcene. Every ſenſe,
therefore, 'is to be amply and completely gra-
tified; but the gratification is to be more refi-
ned, like that of Adam in innocence, for whom
God made a body before the fall, and God
makes nothing in vain, nor beſtows the means,
without the power, of fruition. Therefore the
moſt delicious banquets are to be prepared for
the bleſſed; the pleaſures of the nuptial ſtate are
to be realized in heaven, and celeſtial children
to ſpring from the chaſte embrace. *
It is plain that the Jews, in our Saviour's:
time, indulged ſome notions of this kind, when,
ſpeaking of the woman who had been mar-
ried to ſeven brothers, they aſked him whoſe
wife ſhall ſhe be in the reſurrection ? and the
reply of Chriſt, that in the reſurrection they
neither marry nor are given in marriage,
ought to have taught them, as well as the mo-
dern fect of Swedenburg, the falſehood and
abſurdity of the degrading codiceptions enter-
tained
:
• Barnage, p. 391.
1
3
1
[653]
tained by them, concerning the nature of the
joys of another life.
We read in Scripture
of the tranſlation of Enoch, and Elijah, and of
the boſom of Abraham ; while the anſwer of
our Saviour to the thief on the croſs; his al-
ſertion that in his Father's houſe there are
many manfions, and that in St. Paul of a third
heaven, of the heaven of heavens, and of one
ftar differing from another ſtar in glory, afford
ſubſtantial proof that ſome diſtinction in thoſe
regions, and in the ſtate of thoſe who inhabit
them, will doubtleſs be made, but what thoſe
diſtinctions
may
be it is as uſeleſs to ſpeculate
as it is impoſſible to decide.
Whoſoever will read with attention that
par-
ticular ſection of theſe oracles, which treats
concerning the nature of the soul, the BODY,
and MAN, the compound of both, and compare
the whole with what has been intimated before
in regard to the Mythratic myſteries and the
fidereal aſcent of the tranſmigrating foul, will
find the whole ſtrikingly alluſive to that ſyſtem
of philoſophy once ſo predominant in the ori,
ental world as well as highly illuſtrative of it.
In one of thoſe effata we find, mentioned in
exprefs terms, the φυσεως αυτοπτον άγαλμα,
THE GREAT SELF-CONSPICUOUS IMAGE OF
NATURE, of which ſo much has been faid be,
fore
1
J 9 4
1
nah.
( 654 )
fore as a principal ſymbol in the myſteries:
In the myſterious rites of Iſis in Egypt, amidſt
other ſtrange and dreadful noiſes, the How-
LINGS OF DOGS, referring, I preſume, to the
character of ANUBIS, the celeſtial Sirius or
Barker, were diſtinctly heard. Vifæque canes
ululare per umbram. Allufive to the ſame
myſtic ſubterraneous exhibition, we read in
theſe oracles :
Εκ δ' άρα κολπων γαιης θρησκεσι χθονιοι κυνές,
Ου ποτ' αληθες σωμα βρoτω ανδρι δεικνυντες. .
Out of the cavities of the earth ſpring
TERRESTRIAL DOGS, glancing, in deluſive vi-
fion, before the view of the initiated." Theſe
terreſtrial dogs, though in Egypt doubtleſs re-
ferring to Anubis, might poſſibly alſo in In-
dia have a ſidereal alluſion; for, Sirius is one
of the brighteſt of the conſtellations, and the
Indians were immemorially aſtronomers: if
not, they had reference to the grovelling vices
and guilty paſſions, thoſe evil dæmons that
haunt the human race in an unpurifiéd ſtate,
and gnaw like dogs and ravening vultures
the mind that harbours them. We read again,
in theſe oracles, of the myſterious potency of
certain names recited in thoſe rites by the
hierophant :
Ονοματα
1
morena
[ 655 ]
Ονοματα βαρβαρα μηποτ' άλλαξης,
"Εισι γαρ ονοματα παρ' έκαστοις ΘΕΟΣΔΟΤΑ,
Δυναμιν εν τελεταις άρρητον έχοντα
that is, “ Do not alter the names that come to
you from the barbarians;* for, there are
names in every nation immediately given from
the Deity, which have an unſpeakable power
in facred myſteries.” There can hardly be a
doubt that the author, by the term barbarous,
alluded to the nation of the Hebrews and the
myſtic powers attributed by them to the INEF-
FABLE TETRACTYS, that Tetractys by which,
I have obſerved, Pythagoras ſwore, and which
was very early corrupted, in the pagan world,
by the title of Jao, Jave, and JovA. There
is a paſſage in Warburton on this ſubject,
which will be of great uſe in explaining this
apothegm. " When the whole ceremony of
initiation was over, then came the 'Arroganta,
and delivered the hymn called the theology of
idols. After this, the aſſembly was diſmiſſed
with theſe two barbarous words, Korz,
OMIAE, which evince that the myſteries were
not
. This infolent appellation the Orientals and the Greeks
promiſcuouſly conferred upon all foreign nations. The cuſtom
semains among the Indians to this day, who denominate all
foreigners MILEECHIHAS, or infidels, as the reader may fee
by conſulting the Afiatic Reſearches, vol. ii. p. 201.
[ 656 ]
not originally GREEK. The learned M. Le
Clerc well obſerves, that this ſeems to be only
an ill pronunciation of Kots and OMPHETS,
which, he tells us, ſignifies in the Phænician
tongue, WATCH AND ABSTAIN FROM EVIL.
As we have ſeen the ladder and the «UTOTITOV
αιγαλμα, 1o we may in thefe oracles difcover
THE SACRED FIRE, the emblem of the Di-
vinity, that illumined the Mithratic cavern,
in the following paſſage, which occurs laſt
in order, (for they are variouſly arranged
by different editors,) as they ſtand in the
edition of Fabricius, and from him copied by
Stanley :
'Ηνικα βλεψης μορφης άτερ ιερον πυρ,
Λαμπoμενον σκυρτηδον ολα κατα βενθεα μοσμέ,
Κλυθ,
πυρος φωνην.
" When thou beholdeſt the ſacred fire, bright
and formleſs, flaſhing through the depths of
the WORLD, hear the voice of that fire." Of
this obſcure paſſage no ſenſe can poſſibly be
made, except we apply it to that Mithratic
cave, which repreſented the woRLD MADE BY
MITHRA; and, therefore, the meaning of the
writer ſeems to be included in the following
paraphraſe. When thou ſeeſt the ſacred fire,
during
• Divine Legation, vol. i. p. 157. Edit. oct. 1738.
1
[ 657 ]
during the celebration of the "myſteries, bla-
zing through the profound receſſes of the CA-
vern, conſider it as an emblem of the Deity;
who thus diffuſes his genial influence through
the moſt dark and chearleſs receſſes of the uni.
verſe. Revere, therefore, the awful iniage of
God, ſhining forth in that nature, of which
he is the munificent author, and learn grati-
tude, affection, and duty, from the inſtructive
ſymbol.
Of the continual interference of the evil
Dewtah in the. affairs of men, repeated ac-
counts have been already preſented to the rea-
der from various Sanſcreet authorities, and
that the brahmins were anciently attached to
thoſe magical myſteries, which were firſt fo
denominated from the magi of Perſia, very
probable conjectures have been offered. A re-
markable paſſage in the Sacontala, compared
with a verſe of theſe oracles, will evince how
little the Zoroaſtrian and Brahmanian doc-
trine in this reſpect differed. The writer of
the oracles aſſerts,
' Αι, ποιναι μεροπων αγκτειραι"
which paſſage Stanley thus tranſlates, “ the
Furies are the STRANGLERS of men," and
Pſellus commenting upon it, ſays that the
demons
.
[ 658 ]
dæmons who torment mankind, being the
vices and paſſions of men perſonified, torture
them for their crimes, and, in a manner,
STRANGLE them. The exhibition of the con-
teſts of theſe good and evil genii ſeems for-
merly to have conſtituted as favourite a por-
tion of the dramatic productions of India as
our Vice, and other mythologic characters,
uſed to be in the ancient dramas of Britain.
In the Sacontala, dæmons of either fort are
frequently introduced, and greatly promote
the denouement of the piece. " What !” ſays
the emperor Duſhmanta, “are even my ſecret
apartments infeſted by SUPERNATURAL A-
GENTS ?" To whom Madhavya, from behind
the ſcenes, exclaims: “Oh! help: oh! re-
leaſe me: for, a monster has caught me by
the NAPE OF MY NECK, and means to ſnap
my back-bone as he would ſnap a ſugar-cane !"
The ancient kings of India ſeem likewiſe to
have poſſeſſed a ſimilar power, with the re-
nowned Amadis's of Europe, to reſcue man-
kind from the graſp of theſe enraged dæmons ;
for, the Son of the Sun inſtantly calls for the
immortal bow given him by Eendra, the God
of the firmament, and haſtens to the relief of
his ſuffering friend. But, in the interim, the
dæmon, more firmly graſping his trembling
captive,
:
[ 659 )
captive, exclaims: “ Here will 'I ſtand, o
Madhavya ; and, thirſting for thy freſh blood,
will flay thee ſtruggling, as a tiger ſlays its
victim." Sacontala, p. 82.
In regard to the magical rites and incanta-
tions of either country, fince, whereſoever in
the ancient world aſtronomy flouriſhed and
the orbs of heaven were adored, that myſte-
rious ſcience, above all others, prevailed in
its vigour, and indeed the Chaldæans are ever
blended with the ſoothſayers in Scripture ;
and, ſince a compariſon and inveſtigation of
their practices in theſe dark arts will form a
very intereſting part of a future diſſertation,
I ſhall therefore only here mention a parallel
paſſage or two, and conclude, for the preſent,
this retroſpect towards the theology and ſcien-
çes of the parent-country of the world.
.
'Ηνικα δ' έρχομενον δαιμονα προσγειον άθρησης
Θυε λιθον Μνιζεριν, έπαυδων.
( When thou ſeeſt the terreſtrial dæmon
approach, facrifice the ſtone MNIZURIS, uſing
evocation." What extenſive and aſtoniſhing
virtues the ancients imputed to certain ſtones,
conſecrated with great ceremony under the
particular influence of ſome benignant planet,
muſt have been apparent to the reader in the
account
1
660 ]
I
account we gave of the ſacred ſtones, called
BÆTYLI. The Mnizuris was a ſtone holden
by the Chaldæans* in this facred point of view,
and, according to Pſellus, it was ſuppoſed to
poſſeſs the power of evocating the ſuperior and
immaterial dæmon, whoſe more potent ener-
gy, called forth by ſolemn facrifice, obviated
the malevolent purpoſes of the ſiniſter or ter-
ſeſtřiąl dæmon. Of the ſimilar predilection
of the brahmins for ſtones, gems, and ſhells,
to which a certain fanctity is affixed, and a
myſterious or fanative power attributed, Į
ſhall treat largely hereafter. In this place, I
ſhall mention only one, the famous Pedra-
DEL-COBRA, or ſerpent-ſtone of India, which
is ſaid to be a ſovereign antidote againſt the
þite of the moſt venemous ſerpents, and of
which moſt of thoſe, who have viſited Eaſtern
countries, muſt have heard. They are to be
purchaſed of the brahmins alone, and are ſaid,
in reality, not to be the production of any a-
nimal of the ſerpentine kind, but to be fabri-
cated by them of certain drugs, and com-
pounded with many myſtic prayers and ſuper-
ítitious ceremonies. The reader will find, in
the ſecond part of Tavernier's Indian Tra-
vels,
cament
* See Pſellus apud Stanley's Chaldaic Philoſophy, p. 61.
Edit. fol. London, 1701.
[ 661 )
1
!
vels, * a long account of this curious ſtone,
together with an engraving of the large hooded
ſerpent, from whoſe head it is abſurdly ſaid to
be taken. How well indeed the Indians un
derſtood, and how frequently they employed
themſelves in the compoſition of CHARMS that
were ſuppoſed to have an influence upon thę
fortunes of mankind, is evident from the fol-
lowing paſſage in the drama juſt cited, which
is ſpoken by the attendant of Sacontalą, initi.
ated, we muſt ſuppoſe; for, we are ſtill in the
retreat of the brahmins. " Let us dreſs her
in bridal array. I have already, for that pur-
poſe, filled the ſhell of a cocoa-nuț, which
you fee fixed on an AMRA-tree, with the fra-
grant duſt of NAGACESARAS: take it down,
and keep it in a freſh lotos-leaf, whilſt I col.
lect ſome GORACHANA from the forehead of a
ſacred cow, ſome duſt from conſecrated
ground, and ſome freſh cuſa-graſs, of which
I will make A PASTE TO INSURE GOOD-FOR-
TUNE.” P. 44: The good dæmon of Chaldæa
was to be evocated by the ſacrifice of the
Mnizuris in the conſecrated flame. The evil
dæmon of India is repulſed by the ſecret and
powerful virtues of the hallowed graſs, called
Cusa.
Duſhmanta,
• See Voyage de Tavernier, lib. ii. p. 391. Edit. Rouen,
4
1 662)
!
P. 38.
Duſhmanta, having entered the foreſt of
Gandharvas, where the moſt hallowed
groves
of the brahmins extended, is informed that,
during the abſence of Canna, the arch-brah-
min, “ fome EVIL DÆMONs had diſturbed their
holy retreat ;" and afterwards, that, while
they were beginning the evening facrifice,
" the figures of BLOOD-THIRSTY DÆMONS,
cmbrowned by clouds, collected at the depar-
ture of day, had glided over the ſacred hearth,
and ſpread confternation around."
They lay claim particularly to the exertions of
that virtuous monarch, becauſe " the gods of
SWERCA, one of the fuperior boobuns, thoſe
gods who fiercely contend in battle with EVIL
POWERS, proclaim victory' obtained by his
braced bow.” The pupil of Canna preſently,
enters upon his office of driving away the evil
dæmon, which is done by ſcattering " bundles
of freſh CUSA-GRASS round the place of facri,
fice." His attention is preſently called off
from the holy rite by PRIAMVADA, whom he
addreſſes in a manner that highly illuſtrates
the ſubject before us.
- For whom are you
carrying that ointment of USIRA root and
thoſe leaves of water-lilies? I will adminiſ.
ter, by the hand of Gautami, ſome healing
water,
1
to
[ 663 )
1
water, confecrated in the ceremony called Val-
TAMA.” Sacontala, p. 26. Theſe reverend her.
mits, however, in their fylvan retreats were not
always animated by the ſpirit of charity and
meekneſs; they were ſometimes dreadful in
wrath as the evil Genii themſelves, and could
thunder forth anathemas againſt the human race
with as loud vociferation. “Let them beware,"
ſays Duſhmanta, “ of irritating the pious: holy
men are eminent for patient virtues, yet conceal
within their boſoms a ſcorching flame.” Sacont.
p. 29. The meaning of the laſt words
may
be
gathered from the following paffage, cited, I
believe, in a former page; s Who, like the
choleric DURVASAS, has power to conſume,
like RAGING FIRE, whatever offends himn.'
Sacont. p. 40. Sir William Jones, in the Afi-
atic Reſearches, acquaints us, that there is in
the ATHARVA, or fourth Veda, a moſt tre-
mendous incantation with conſecrated graſs,
called DARBBHA; and indeed the whole
drama of the Sacontala, that is, the FATAL
RING, rendered ſo by the awful imprecation
of the offended Canna, is founded on the ſup-
poſition of magical power, pofleſſed by the
Brahmin who utters that imprecation. Even
the curious art of PALMESTRY was not beneath
the notice of the ſequeſtered ſages of Heemakote,
VOL.I.
X X
ar
[ 664 ]
1
or Imaus, as is evident from the following paſ-
fage which is the laſt I ſhall trouble the reader
with, from this celebrated and beautiful
pro-
duction of Calidas. 66 What! the very palın
of his hand bears the marks of empire; and,
whilſt he thus eagerly extends it, ſhows its lines
of exquiſite network, and glows like a lotos
expanded at early dawn, when the ruddy fplen-
dor of its petals hides all other tints in obſcu-
rity". Sacont. p. 89.
Before I finally quit the Chaldaic Oracles I
requeſt on that ſubject, to be rightly under-
ſtood, for I am by no means an advocate for
the genuineneſs of the whole, but of thoſe only
which have either the one or the other of the
following marks of authenticity. Thoſe may
fairly be reputed authentic that are to be found
in Porphyry, Damaſcius, Proclus, and other
Greek writers of the firſt ages, not favourable to
the cauſe of Chriſtianity; and thoſe in the doc-
trines of which I have been able to point out a
marked fimilitude to the tenets propogated du-
ring the moſt ancient periods in India, Perſia,
and Egypt.
Previouſly to the examination of the more
myſterious parts of the Egyptian theology,
I muſt be permitted to repeat a former re-
remark, that it is a circumſtance which at leaſt
muſt
1
+
[ 665 ]
A
muſt ſtrike with aſtoniſhment, if not with con-
fuſion, the determined oppoſer of the doctrine
for which I contend, that in almoſt every re-
gion of Aſia to which he may direct a more
minute attention, this notion of a certain triad
of perſons in the divine eſſence has conſtantly
prevailed. Even where the exact number of
THREE is not expreſsly mentioned, the notion
of a plurality in that effence, a notion groſsly
conceived and ill explained, ſtill formed a pro-
minent feature of the Pagan creed. In every age,
and almoſt in every region of the Aſiatic world,
there ſeems uniformly to have flouriſhed an im-
memorial tradition that one God had, from all
eternity, begotten another God, the Soperepros
and governor of the material world, whom
they ſometimes called the ſpirit, atveja; ſome-
times the mind, 18s; and ſometimes the rea-
ſon, or novos. Though they entertained ſtrange
notions concerning the perſons who compoſed
it, and often confounded the order of the by-
poftafes, yet their ſentiments upon this ſub-
ject, of a divine triad the ſupreme governor of
the world, ſeem to have been at once very an-
cient and very general. There were, indeed,
in the ſyſtem of the ancient oriental theology,
and eſpecially that of Egypt, certain truths
ſo awfully ſtupendous that the ſacred guardians
of
X X2
[ 666 ]
of that theology concealed them from public
inveſtigation under the veil of hieroglyphics,
and wrapt them in the ſhades of allegory.
One of thoſe truths was the ſuppoſed nature of
God himſelf, and this threefold diſtinction in
that nature, a matter which, however obſcurely
they themſelves underſtood, they ſeem to have
laboured by every poſſible means to veil in ad-
ditional obſcurity, and principally by a multi-
tude of ſymbols, of which only very doubtful
explications have deſcended to poſterity. There
was ONE SYMBOL, however, ſo prominent and
ſo univerſal, that its meaning can ſcarcely be
miſconceived or wrongly interpreted. It.was in-
vented in conformity to ideas, accurately to un-
fold which we muſt penetrate to the very
higheſt ſource of the Egyptian theology, and
inveſtigate what has come down to us relative
to the character and hiſtory of its ſuppoſed au-
thor, the renowned HERMES.
In this comprehenſive retroſpect towards the
earlieſt dawn of ſcience and ſuperſtition in Aſia,
it is not the leaſt perplexing circumſtance to me,
that the perſons of all the primitive hierophants
and legiſlators are involved in equal obſcurity
with the doĉtrines promulgated by them. If
this aſſertion be true in regard to Zoroafter, of
the leading principles of whoſe theology and
philoſophy
&
[667]
1
philoſophy we have juſt taken an extenſive re-
view, ſo is it in a degree no leſs remarkable than
generally acknowledged of the Hermes of Egypt
and the Thracian Orpheus. The taſk I have
undertaken becomes more arduous every ſtep
that I advance, and the indulgent reader, it
is humbly hoped, will extend to my labours a
proportionate degree of candour.
As the name of Zoroaſter was uſurped by
more than one celebrated character in antiquity,
ſo was that of Taut; but ſtill our concern is
principally with the moſt ancient of the name, ,
and the united voice of antiquaries aſſigns to
him a Phænician origin. It was from the wri-
tings of this moſt ancient Taut, the firſt in-
ventor of letters, that Sanchoniatho drew the
materials for the Phænician hiſtory, the valuable
fragment of which is preſerved by Eufebius,
and has been commented upon at conſiderable
length by Biſhop Cumberland. The age in
which Ta'ut flouriſhed it were vain to attempt
to aſcertain, ſince even his copier Sanchoniatho
lived before the Trojan war. Phænicia having
been peopled by the race of Canaan, as Egypt
was by that of Mizraim, the two ſons of Ham,
the grand poſt-diluvian idolator, may well be
ſuppoſed to have its theology debaſed by a very
conſiderable alloy of groſs ſuperſtition. In fact,
their
X X 3
porter
.
1
[ 668 ]
their ſyſtems of the coſmogony were generally
conſidered by Chriſtian writers as completely
atheiſtical, till the genius and induſtry of Cud-
worth, diſplayed in his Intellectual Syſtem of
the Univerſe, were exerted to vindicate the re-
ſpective hypotheſes adopted by each nation from
the heinous charge. This he has effected in
regard to the coſmogony of Phænicia, by giving
a more favourable conſtruction to the words
of Sanchoniatho than they have been allowed
by preceding commentators: he conſiders it as
founded on the baſis of the doctrine which
maintains two predominant principles in nature,
Matter or Darkneſs, and Spirit or Intelligence.
By the former he would underſtand the chaos,
obſcure and turbid; by the latter the agitative
Tivɛujece, wind, or ſpirit, which put that chaos
in motion, and ranged in order the various
parts of the univerſe. Concerning his able
vindication of the Egyptian coſmogony from
the imputation of eſtabliſhing Atheiſm, much
will occur in the ſucceeding pages. On this
particular point, however, ſince the firſt vo-
lume of this Hiſtory treats largely of all the Afi-
atic coſmogonies, I ſhall at preſent add nothing
farther, but return to Taut, who, according to
Philo of Biblus, the interpreter of Sanchoniatho,
went from Phænicia in the earlieſt ages of the
world
I
1
[ 669 ]
1
world into Upper Egypt, where he eſtabliſhed
a vaft aud powerful empire, and, according
to the whole ſtream of genuine antiquity, taught
the Egyptians aſtronomy, muſic, and letters.
This Taut, or Thoth, was the true Anubis of
the Egyptians, and for the brilliance of his
ge-
niusand diſcoveries, their gratitude aſſigned him,
when dead, a ſtation in Sirius, the brighteſt of
the conſtellations. He was likewiſe one of their
eight greater gods; and the HARP which he
invented is the testudo of the celeſtial ſphere.
We ſhall, probably, hereafter diſcover that he
was the elder Bhood of India, who flouriſhed
at the beginning of the Callee Yug, and poſſi-
bly that the Tortoiſe in which Veeſhnu, of
whom Bhood was one appearance, became in-
carnate, was no other than the ſame Teſtudo.
Taut, however debaſed by the repreſentation
of Sanchoniatho, whoſe real wiſh ſeems to have
been to have eſtabliſhed a ſyſtem of coſmogony
on atheiſtical principles, was probably the author
of that nobler theology which, Euſebius informs
us, prevailed in the Thebais, and which, however
in ſome points obſcured, aſſerted the agency
of
a ſupreme Agathodaimon, or good ſpirit, whom
they called Cneph, in the government of the
world. By a minute inveſtigation of this more
ancient Egyptian theology, we ſhall at once
diſcover
X X4
.
[ 670 ]
diſcover very expreſſive traits of the true reli-
gion, and ſtrong connecting lines of its gradual
and increaſing corruption by Chaldaic phyſics
and Hammonian idolatry.
I have before obſerved, in the caſe of Zoro-
afrr, that if any perſonage, peculiarly eminent
for ſcience and genius, flouriſhed in the remoteſt
ages of the world, and happened to be followed
in ſucceeding ages by another diſtinguiſhed by
finilarendowments and rival genius, the ancients
frequently beſtowed upon the ſecond great cha-
racter the name of the firſt. This has occa-
ſioned infinite confuſion, and accounts for the
numerous catalogues of ſynonimous gods and
heroes that ſwell the hiſtoric page. The real
reaſon of this conduct is to be found in the
ge-
neral prevalence during thoſe periods of the
doctrine of the metempſychoſis, ſince they be-
lieved the latter to be animated by the ſoul of
the former during the courſe of its terrene mi-
gration. This was exactly the caſe with the
two perſonages who bore the name of Hermes
in Egypt, on the latter of whom, not leſs than
the former, the Egyptians conferred the high-
ſounding title of TRISMĘGISTUS, or TER
MAXIMUS.
This is not the exact place for a diſquiſition
on the origin of letters; but when the ancients
affert
1
#
[ 671
affert that the elder Hermes was the firſt in-
ventor of letters, they doubtleſs mean an hie-
roglyphic character which bore conſiderable
reſemblance to the object deſcribed. The
ſun, for inſtance, could not be more ſtrikingly
repreſented than by A CIRCLE; nor the waning
moon than by a hÅLF CIRCLE. Chemiſtry,
indeed ſtill perſeveres in uſing this ſpecies of
ſymbolical deſignation ; for by the former it
diſtinguiſhes gold; by the latter, ſilver. It was
probably from him that the Egyptians learned
to deſignate the perfection of the divine nature,
of which they thought the ſun the pureſt and
brighteſt emblem by A CIRCLE, and the diſtinc-
tion pleaded for in that nature by AN EQUI-
'LATERAL TRIANGLE; but it was the ſecond
Hermes who flouriſhed four centuries after, to
whom poſterity, as the fragment of Sanchoni-
atho in Euſebius informs us, are indebted for
decyphering that hieroglyphic ſpecies of wri-
ting, and forming it into a regular alphabet.
Taut was governor of Sais in the Upper
Egypt, and the ſame Euſebius, citing Por-
phyry, acquaints us, that while the people
who inhabited the lower region of that
country were plunged in the depth of the
groffeſt idolatry, the whole Thebais united in
acknow-
!
[ 672 ]
acknowledging a ſupreme preſiding ſpirit, whom
they called CNEPH, upon which account they
were excuſed from paying the public taxes,
levied to defray the expences of maintaining
the ſacred animals adored in the other cities of
Egypt. “ This ſupreme and uncreated god,
CNEPH,” ſays my printed, but not yet pub-
liſhed, account of the coſmogony, citing Eu-
ſebius, and guided by Cudworth, “ the na-
tions of the Thebais worſhipped with the pureſt
rites; and ſymbolically repreſented by the fi-
gure of a being of a dark-blue complexion, hol-
ding a girdle and a ſcepter, with a royal plume
upon his head, and thruſting forth from his
mouth an Egg. From this Egg there proceeded
another God, whom they denominated PTHA;
a term which Dr. Cudworth remarks is at pre-
ſent uſed among the Copts to fignify the divine
being. Now Biſhop Cumberland * deduces the
term Cneph from a word which in Arabic fig-
nifies to preſerve, or to cover any way,
but
eſpecially with wings; an idea, adds the Biſhop,
who wrote before the modern diſcoveries in
India, and had never heard of Veeſhnu, which
is very applicable to the Great Preſerver of men.
Plutarch, in his treatiſe De Ifide et Oſiride,
expreſsly
* Cumberland's Sanchoniatho, p. 14. Edit. 1720.
[ 673 ]
expreſsly aſſerts the god Cneph to be without
beginning and without end, and it is he who
informs us that the inhabitants of Thebais, by
whom the deity was worſhipped in ſuch purity,
were excuſed from paying the public taxes,
levied on account of animal worſhip. In fuc-
ceeding ages, however, this pure worſhip of
Cneph, the one god, the great cauſe and pre-
ſerver of all things, was changed into an idola-
trous adoration of the dragon, or winged ſer-
pent, CNUPHIS, whoſe ſuperb temple at Ele-
phantina in Upper Egypt is deſcribed by Stra-
bo*, and of which the extenſive ruins, even yet
awfully magnificent, were viſited by the modern
traveller M. Savary t. It was uſual with the
leſs ancient Egyptians, after they had thus. de-
generated from the ſimplicity of their original
theology, to repreſent the ſupreme being and
his attributes by various emblems and hierogly-
phics. They drew Cneph in the form of a
ſerpent, which was with them, as with the
Indians, the emblem of eternity, and they
added to the body of the ſerpent the head of
the ſharp-ſighted Hawk. Their ideas being
thus perverted, they, by degrees, loſt ſight of
the.
* Strabonis Geographia, p. 774. Edit. 1549.
+ Savary on Egypt, Vol. I. Let. 13.
[ 674 ]
1
the divine original, and at length, as I have
before had frequent occaſion to remark, was too
generally the caſe in the ancient world, adored
the ſymbol for the reality. In confirmation of
what has been ſaid above, a paſſage from Philo-
Biblius in Eufebius may be adduced, where
Epeis, their greateſt hierophant and ſcribe, is
ſaid to have aflerted that the earlieſt and moſt
venerated of the Egyptian gods was a ferpent,
having a hawk's head, beautiful to look
upon,
who, if he open his eyes, fills the univerſe
with light in his firſt-born region; if he wink,
it is darkneſs *.
The reader will, I truſt, excuſe my citing
on this occaſion an inedited part of my own hif-
tory; but as I could only have repeated the ſame
thing, I thought it beſt to uſe the ſame words;
and it is alone the nature of the ſubjects in
which I am engaged that has retarded its ap-
pearance, and compels me to be guilty of the
indelicacy.
From theſe quotations it is evident that,
whoſoever might have been the author of it,
a ſpecies of theology very much reſembling the
true,
1
1
1
* See the whole paſſage of Philo-Biblius, as given by
Eufebius, in Præp. Evangel. p. 41, at C.; Biſhop Cumber-
land's Sanchoniatho, p. 14; and my own Hiſtory of Hin-
doſtan, Vol. I. p. 74.
[ 675 )
true, was once prevalent in Upper Egypt;
where the firſt ſettlers probably took up their
reſidence, however darkened that theology by
the groſs ignorance and blind ſuperſtition of
ſucceeding ages. The winged CNEPH produced
the God Prus; but the great God Ofiris, the
ſupreme indiviſible Eixtov, has yet been unno-
ticed, and he was profeſſedly the moſt high of
the Egyptian gods; the primordial ſource from
which thoſe ſubordinate deities emaned. It is
Osiris, CNEPH, and PTHA, therefore, that form
the true Egyptian triad of deity. As Oſiris was
a title afterwards applied to the sun,,fo Ptha
was to the FIRE that iſſued from the ſolar orb,
while Cneph was the mighty ſpirit, the fuxin
хосив, that pervaded and animated the whole
world. Ofiris, the Gubernator mundi, is, there-
fore, on many Egyptian ſculptures, painted in
a boat with two attendants; himſelf feated in
fupreme majeſty in the middle and his attendants
ſtationed at each end of the veffel. In the
illuſtrative engraving annexed, copied from an
ancient gem, he is ſo deſignated ; and its allu-
ſion is too plain to need any more particular
explanation.
It has been obſerved that, in the more ancient
and refined theology of Egypt, the ſublime
Cneph, the being of a dark-blue complexion,
is
.
[676 ]
1
1
}
1
is repreſented as having produced from his own
infinite eſſence another god, whom they deno-
minated PTHA; now CNEPĦ, the ſky-coloured,
winged ſpirit of Egypt, is no other than the
Narayen of India, who is repreſented as a ſpirit
of a blue colour, and floating upon the chaotic
waters. Narayen and Brahma are ſynonymous
terms; and what is very remarkable, Brahma
produces VeeSHNU, a ſpirit likewiſe of a blue
colour, in the very fame manner in which
Ptha is produced : for in an ancient Shafter
that deſcribes the CREATION, thus is the birth
of Biſhen, or Veeſhnu, deſcribed.
“ Bramha forth with perceived the idea of
things, as if floating before his eyes. He ſaid,
LET THEM BE, and all that he ſaw became real
before him. Then fear ſtruck the frame of
Bramha, left thoſe things ſhould be annihilated.
O immortal Bramhe! he cried, who ſhall pre-
ſerve thoſe things which I behold? In the in-
ftant' A SPIRIT OF A BLUE COLOUR ISSUED
FROM BRAMHA'S MOUTH, and ſaid aloud, I
will. Then ſhall thy name be Biſhen, becauſe
thou haſt undertaken to preſerve all things*."
The Shaſter, from which this paffage is
quoted, is one of thoſe interpreted by Colonel
Dow's
* See Dow's Prefatory Diſſertation to his tranſlation of
Feriſhta, p. 47. cd it. 4to, 1760.
[ 677 ]
1
Dow's PUNDEET, which, I think, may be ſafely
cited as original, and as poſſeſſing ſtrong inter-
nal evidence of authenticity, ſince we may be
as certain that the Pundeet had no more con-
ſulted Porphyry, than the worthy Colonel had
read Euſebius. But let us inveſtigate the cha-
racter of plus, or PTHA: Suidas, on this word,
will let us into the ſecret of his real character.
He fays, Φθας Ηφαιστος περα Μεμφιταις; Ρtha is
the god Vulcan of the Memphites : and Euſe-
bius, citing Porphyry, confirms this; for he
aſſerts the Egyptians thought that Ptha, the
god Vulcan, was generated from Cneph, the
moſt high creator. In this inſtance we have a
remarkable and early proof not only of the cor-
ruption of the true faith, but the adoption of the
Chaldaic philoſophical theology by the Egyp-
tians. For Vulcan is FIRE, the ſon of the
Sun, Oſiris, and the firſt deity in Manetho's
dynaſties, who reigned thirty thouſand years,
the imagined period of the ſun's great revolu-
tion, which in reality, however, is but 25,920
years *. Ptha, then, was the ſame with the
great
* The ancient aſtronomers, I mean thoſe of the Platonic
ſchool, ſuppoſed the PRECESSION of THE EQuinoxes to
be after the rate of a degree in 100 years; but the more ac-
curate obſervations of the moderns have fixed that preces-
SION at the rate of a degree in 72 years.
[ 678 ]
great firſt principle in the Chaldaic philoſophy;
it was the central, the all-pervading Fire which,
emaning from the ſun, is diffuſed through the
boundleſs univerſe. By the ſame kind of fatal
deluſion it was that a ſyſtem, firſt of panthe-
iſm, then of naturaliſin, gradually infected the
whole Aſiatic world. The ſublime character
and attributes of the deity they impiouſly de-
graded by the humiliating appellation of NA-
TURE; while nature herſelf, and its plaſtic
powers, originating folely in the fovereign ener-
gies of the ſupreme creative ſource of all being,
they as abſurdly dignified by the majeſtic de-
nomination of God. This ſupreme creative
energy, this beneficent active principle, diffuſed
through nature, they diſtinguiſhed by various
names; ſometimes it was Ofiris, the fountain of
Light, the Sun, the prolific principle by which
that nature was invigorated; ſometimes it was
the
Ilup Csonyoviov, the life-generating FIRE, the
divine offspring of the ſolar deity; and it was
ſometimes called by an appellation conſonant to
Yuxn 2.00us, or the SOUL OF THE WORLD.
Often too the ancients combined theſe three to-
gether, and of celeſtial LIGHT, FIRE, and SPI-
RIT, thoſe mighty agents in the ſyſtem of
nature, formed one grand collective TRIAD OT
DEITY.
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NUMEN TRIPLEX JAPONICOM.
[ 679 ]
1
The whole of what has been juſt obſerved
reſpecting the FIRST
FIRST VIVIFIC PRINCIPLE,
the Πυρ ζωηγονιον and Ψυχη χοσμο, emaining
from the primæval ſource of being, is viſibly
of Chaldaic origin, and thence, through the
medium of the Egyptians, the Stoic philoſo-
phers doubtleſs had their doctrine of “ the
fiery ſoul of the world,” by which they ſup-
poſed all things to be created, animated, and
governed. This univerſal ſpirit, infinitely ex-
tended, like the matter which it animated, was
the only divinity acknowledged by that ſect,
and is ſublimely deſcribed by Virgil in terms
ſingularly congenial with the doctrine noticed
before of thoſe Indian philoſophers, who aſſert
that " GOD IS EVERY WHERE ALWAYS.'
Spiritus intus alit, totamque, infuſa per artus,
Mens agitat molem, et magno ſe corpore miſcet.
ÆNEID, Lib. 6. v. 126.
However incongruous, and even abſurd to
appearance may be the aſſertion, yet I have
the reſpectable authority of Plutarch for di-
viding the Egyptian theology into two claſſes,
the ſpiritual and the phyſical : the one was ar-
cane, and revealed to the initiated alone; the
ſecond was of a leſs abſtruſe nature, palpable to
the ſenſes, and therefore better adapted to the
VOL. I.
capacity
Y y
[ 680 ]
capacity of the vulgar. By this clue, if allowed
me, I ſhall be able to unravel the whole myſ-
tery, which, without, it appears to be, and in
fact is, impenetrable. I would call that more
ancient, or rather primæval, theology, deſcribed
above as peculiar to the Thebais, THE SPIRI-
TUAL AND PURE, for it certainly approaches
to the purity of the patriarchal religion ; to
the leſs refined ſyſtem, which prevailed in the
Lower Egypt in later times, and which I am
now going more particularly to unfold, I would
give the name of PHYSICAL.
It is, however, very remarkable, that whe-
ther we inveſtigate the former or the latter
ſyſtem, a kind of TRIAD ſtill forces itſelf
upon
our notice; for if we loſe ſight of Oſiris,
Cneph, and Ptha, our attention is ſtill attracted
by the joint operations of Oſiris, Iſis, and their
ſon Orus. It is theſe diſtinguiſhed perſonages
that ſuperintend the concerns of men, and
wage unceaſing combat with Typhor, the de-
termined enemy of the human race, the Lucifer
of India. I have already, in pages 263 and
264 of the firſt part of this Diſſertation, ex-
hibited thoſe great outlines of the Egyptian
theology, conſidered in a phyſical ſenſe, which
more immediately point to the worſhip of Ofi-
ris and Ifis, a worſhip ſo apparently indecent,
but
[ 681 ]
1
but attempted to be explained by Plutarch
upon the principle of the earth's being im-
pregnated by the generative warmth of the
ſolar beam. The whole ſyſtem of the vulgar
theology of Egypt ſeems to have been erected
on that baſis; and even in that perverted and
debaſed ſyſtem, the veſtiges of the grand
primæval theology, and the doctrine of the
three hypoſtaſes, governing the univerſe, are
not wholly obliterated. Let us impartially ex-
amine the hypotheſis, and attentively conſider
the
purport of the varied allegory. In this in-
veſtigation, however, it is ſcarcely poſſible to
avoid a repetition of many circumſtances al-
ready recapitulated; ſince he who would com-
pletely explore the Egyptian theology, is like
one who travels through a vaſt labyrinth,
where amidſt a thouſand devious and intricate
mazes, his path ſtill terminates in one central
point, while his view is for ever bounded by
one uniform object.
When the true knowledge of God as a SPI-
RIT eternal and inviſible was forgotten, and
when all immediate intercourſe of the devout
foul with that SPIRIT ceaſed in the line of
Ham, the corrupted mind of man fought out
for a deity palpable to the ſenſes, a deity more
fuited to the degraded condition of his nature,
Y
and
1
682
and more comprehenſible by the narrowed fa-
culties of his ſoul. Degraded however as that
nature was now become, and lefſened as were
thoſe faculties, no object inferior to that which
is THE MOST GLORIOUS IN THE UNIVERSE
could poſſibly ſucceed to the beautiful and ſub-
lime image of deity originally implanted and
cheriſhed in the human breaſt. It was Ofiris,
the Sun, the moſt ancient ſymbol of God, as
well among the Pagans themſelves as among
paganizing Jews, that alone was eſteemed in
the vulgar theogony of Egypt as the great cre-
ator of the world. Ofiris was not only the
huſband, but the brother of Ilis, and their love
was ſo ardent that they copulated in the
very womb of their parent, and from that
embrace Horus, their only ſon, the TUTO-
govos beos, or firſt begotten god of the Egyp-
tians, whoſe name may be traced to the He-
brew root Aor, lux, was produced. Ifis, at
once the confort and ſiſter of Oſiris, was the
fruitful mother of all things, and on the
front of her majeſtic temple at Sais, under the
ſynonym of Minerva, according to Plutarch,
was this ſolemn and comprehenſive deſcription
of her engraved: “ I am every thing that hath
been, that is, or that will be, and no mortal
hath ever yet removed the PEPLUM, or veil,
that
5
1
[ 683 ]
that ſhades my divinity from human eyes.” In
elucidation of this celebrated deſcription of Iſis,
there is, in the ſecond volume of Mountfaucon,
a moſt curious and pictureſque engraving of
the goddeſs herſelf, which, that antiquary ob-
ſerves, exhibits at one view the whole plan of
the religion of the Egyptians, conſidered in this
phyſical ſenſe, and may be called an abſtract of
it, equally forcible, though not fo ample as the
celebrated fragment of antiquity that bears the
naine of Mensa ISIACA.
It was copied by Mountfaucon from a paint-
ing on cloth, which, he tells us, forms the
covering of a mummy now in the library of the
bare-footed Auguſtine Friars at Rome, and re-
preſents Isis OMNIA, or Isis ALL THINGS,
which is a ſentiment exactly conſentaneous
with that inſerted in a former page from
Sir William Jones's literal tranſlation of the
Bhagavat, in which the deity of india fub-
limely, though ſomewhat obſcurely, declares,
EVEN I WAS EVEN AT THE FIRST, NOT ANY
OTHER THING;
THING; THAT WHICH EXISTS, UN-
PERCEIVED, (VEILED FROM MORTAL View)
SUPREME; AFTERWARDS I AM THAT WHICH
IS, AND HE WHO MUST REMAIN AM 1. This
is ſurely the ſame doctrine, expreſſed almoſt in
the ſame language, and proves that Ofiris and
Eſwara
Y y 3
[ 684 ]
Eſwara are the ſame deity, and that Iſis is not
different, except in ſex, from Iſa, the God of na-
ture perſonified, who, in the concluding ſtanza
of that quotation, is ſaid to be EVERY WHERE
ALWAYS. The figure of Iſis on this hierogly.
phic painting is in a ſitting poſture; upon her
head reſts a large globe, or circle, in which
are incloſed three others gradually diminiſhing
in fize: theſe circles Mountfaucon imagines
to be the ſymbols of the four elements. The
firſt and largeſt circle is white, repreſenting
the colourleſs air which ſurrounds the earth
;
the ſecond circle is of a blue colour, emble-
matical of the cærulean waters of the ocean ;
the third circle is of a dark aſh colour, the
true colour of the earth; the fourth circle is
of a bright red, typical of the fire, and is pla-
ced in the center, becauſe fire gives light and
heat to all things. It is remarkable that theſe
four colours, if we except a little yellow in-
termixed for ornament, are the only colours
made uſe of throughout the whole table, by
which the deſigner probably intimated that all
things were compoſed out of the four elements.
The head of the figure is covered with a large
blue veil which flows down upon her boſom.
By this circumſtance our ajitiquary is perplexed,
expreſſing his doubt whether it may be intended
for
[ 685 ]
for a myſtery ; but ſurely it is entirely conſo-
nant to the deſcription of her whoſe veil no
mortal hath ever removed, and the blue colour
of it evidently points to her deſcent from the
celeſtial regions. She ſupports with her ex-
tended arms two tables, the fringes of which
are blue and yellow, but the ground of the
painting is red: theſe tables contain a variety
of Egyptian facred ſymbols, a particular ac-
count of which I ſhall for the preſent omit, it
being my intention hereafter to preſent the
reader with an engraving of this curious relic of
antiquity, properly coloured, if an artiſt can
be procured accurately to execute it, with
which I ſhall preface my comparative paral-
lel of the Hindoo, Egyptian, and Grecian Li-
terature. The boſom of Iſis is expoſed, and
bears a croſs fimilar to that called St. An-
drew's Croſs; the alluſion to which on Egyp-
tian monuments has been before explained,
and the conjecture concerning that alluſion
not a little corroborated by its poſition in this
place; for below this croſs the body of lſis is
painted in little ſquares of blue, red, and aſh-
colour, curiouſly interinixed, down to the very .
feet, on which, in the oriental manner, the
ſits. Immediately under the arms of Iſis two
large wings are expanded, ſtretching on either
fida
7
Y y 4
[ 686 )
ſide to the very extremities of the table. In
theſe the ſame fignificant and myſterious mix-
ture of colours is perceived; but thoſe menti-
oned above as allufive to the four elements,
the red, the blue, the white, and the aſh-
colour, are principally predominant. Two
BLACK SPHYNXES, with white head-dreſſes, are
couchant under the wings of Iſis: the ſphynx
was the Egyptian ſymbol of profound theologi-
cal myſtery; it was, therefore, I have obſerved,
that they were placed in long avenues before
the temples of their Gods. They are painted
black in alluſion to the obſcure nature of the
deity and his attributes; and poſſibly the white
head dreſſes may allude to the linen tiaras
that wrapt round the head of the miniſters of
religion. Iſis is drawn fitting, to mark the
permanent nature and centered ſtability of the
univerſe, which the repreſents, and which her
wide-extended arms ſupport in a due equili-
brium; while her vaſt overſhadowring wings
fignify the continual motion of the parts of
nature, a motion which by no means diſturbs
its general order, but diffures freſh animation
and energy throughout the vaſt extent of creation.
I prefaced theſe particular obſervations with re-
marking, that the Egyptian prieſts aſſigned to
their myſterious ænigmas two different ſenſes ;
the
[ 687 ]-
i
1
the one phyſical, referring to the operations of
nature; the other moral and theological, al-
luding to the GOD OF NATURE. The phyſi-
cal ſignification of this allegory has been ex-
plained, and I cannot avoid believing but that
in a moral ſenſe, the figure of Iſis, thus adorned
with wings, has an immediate alluſion to that
primordial Cneph, or ſpirit, whoſe expandud
and genial wings, at the beginning of time,
brooded over and rendered productive the tur-
bid waters of chaos.
Such was the phyſical and popular ſyſtem of
belief inculcated on the minds of thoſe who
were not admitted within the pale of initiation,
into the more arcaise and recondite theology
which deſcended from the venerable patriarchs.
Of theſe Abraham is aſſerted by ſome learned
antiquaries, and by Gale and Kircher among
others, to have been cotemporary with the
ſecond Hermes, who obtained from him ſuch
ample information concerning .this and many
other myſteries of the Hebrew 'creed, as en-
abled him to explain with accuracy the hiero-
glyphic ſymbols of them with which the
elder Hermes had decorated the lofty walls of
the temples of the Thebais.
of the Thebais. Of the innume-
rable books, however, aſſerted to have been
written by this reviver of the ſciences and
genuine
[ 688 ]
genuine theology of Egypt, only forty-two
remained entire in the time of Clemens Alex-
andrinus, a Chriſtian father, who flouriſhed
near the cloſe of the ſecond century * Of
theſe ſome ſcattered remnants are ſuppoſed to
have reached poſterity; but the genuineneſs of
moſt of them may, with great juſtice, be ſuf-
pected ; and it is in Jamblichus alone, on the
Egyptian Myſteries, that the only undoubted
veſtiges of the Hermaic writings, or of the
ancient Egyptian theology, are to be found.
One of the moſt ancient maxims by which
they expreſſed the inſcrutable nature of God
was, that his throne was centered in the bo-
ſom of intenſe darkneſs; by which they doubt-
leſs intended to ſhadow out the ENSAPH, or
infinite unfathomable abyſs, in which, accord-
ing to the Hebrews, the awful arcana of the
Godhead lay concealed from mortal view.
Hence, under the ſymbol of Harpocrates, the
god of filence, with his finger ſeverely preſſed
upon his cloſed lips, as exhibited upon the
engraving annexed, a ſyinbol conſtantly occur-
ring on all the gems and ſculptures of Egypt,
alluſive to their ſacred rites, a profound and
inviolable ſecrecy in religious matters was for-
cibly
* Vide Stromata, cap. 4, p. 757, cdit. Potter.
A
[ 689 ]
cibly inculcated upon the worſhipper. Of this
ſentiment actually exiſting as a fundamental
axiom in the Egyptian theology, Damafcius,
cited by Dr. Cudworth *, affords the following
remarkable atteftation : μια των όλων 'Αρχη σκο-
τος άγνωστον υμνεμενη, και τετο τρις αναφωνεμενον
BTW5, there is one principle of all things,
praiſed under the name of the UNKNOWN
DARKNESS, and this THRICE repeated. There
is alſo to be found in the writings of Hermes
Triſmegiſt, a ſecond maxim, which is exceed-
ingly important to be noticed here, becauſe
highly illuſtrative of what will follow relative
to the globe, the ſerpent, and wings, by which
their notions of a Trinity in the divine nature
were ſymbolized. The following ſublime de-
finition of deity is to be found in thoſe books:
Deus circulus eſt, cujus centrum ubique, cir-
cumferentia nuſquam; or, GOD IS A CIRCLE
WHOSE CENTER EVERY WHERE, BUT
WHOSE CIRCUMFERENCE
This geometrical figure was
conſidered as the moſt perfect of all thoſe made
uſe of in that ſcience, and as comprehending
in itſelf all other imaginable figures whatever.
Hence it aroſe, that nearly all the Egyp-
tian
IS
IS
NO
WHERE
TO BE FOUND.
* See Intellectual Syſtem, Vol. I. p. 354, edit. Birch,
[ 690 ]
-
tian hieroglyphics illuſtrative of the diville
nature were adorned with circular emblems;
and that almoſt all the temples of Egypt were
ſculptured with the ſymbol under conſideration.
This, probably, is one reaſon why Ofiris is con-
ſtantly depicted ſitting on the flower Lotus, of
which both the fruit and the leaves are of a
circular form, at once emblematical of the per-
fection of the deity, as well as poſſibly alluſive
to the rapid circular motion by which every
thing in nature revolves. It is therefore im-
poſſible for any fymbol to be more expreſs
upon the unity of God than the hieroglyphic
CIRCLE, or ORB, above alluded to.
And
yet in the following paſſage, extracted
by Kircher * from the Trilinegiſtic books, and
which I give in that father's Latinity, the con-
ceptions of Hermes in regard to a Trinity, are
equally deciſive. Una fola Lux fuit intellec-
tualis ante lucem intellectualem, et fuit ſem-
per MENS mentis lucida; et nihil aliud fuit
hujus unio, quam SPIRITUS omnia connectens.
- There hath ever been one great intellectual
LIGHT, which has
which has always illuminated the
MIND; and their union is nothing elſe but the
SPIRIT, which is the bond of all things."
Herc
* Vide Edipus Ægypt. tom. 3, p. 576.
[691 ]
Here the LIGHT, which is the Kadmon of
the Hebrews, the MIND, which is the Nes of
the Platoniſts, and the connecting Spirit,
plainly, manifeſt to us the three hypoſtaſes of a
purer theology. But leſt this authority, from
the general ſuſpicion which ſhades the frag-
ments of Hermes, ſhould appear inſufficient,
let us hear another author, a Platonic philoſo-
pher, to whom Proclus gives the exalted title of
divine ; to whoſe keen exploring eye all the
profound myſteries of the Egyptian theology
were laid bare; and who wrote while the un-
doubted Triſmegiſtic books were in being.
Jamblichus, in his celebrated book De Myf-
teriis, profeſſing to give a genuine account of
the theological opinions propagated by Hermes,
writes as follows : προςαττει 'Ερμης θεον τον
Ημιφ, των επερανιων θεων ηγεμενον ; that is,
- Hermes places the God EMEPH (or CNEPH)
as the prince and ruler over all the celeſtial
Gods." Now EMEPH is no other than CNEPH,
who produced, in the manner before men-
tioned, the deity Ptha, whence the famous
word HEMP-THA, denoting their relation
and indiffoluble union : before which Emeph,
however, he tells us, the ſame Hermes placed
one primordial ſource of all being; ov xan ’Eix-
των επονομαζει εν ω το πρωθον εςι νουν και το πρωτόν
youlov,
[ 692 ]
1
νοήoν, ο δη και δια σιγης μονης θεραπευεται; « him
whom he calls EIC ron, in whom is the firſt
of intelligences, and the firſt intelligible, and
who is adored only in filence.” After theſe
two, Hermes places the Inpesxpy.xos Nes, the
DEMIURGIC MIND, which, in the Egyptian
language, he ſays, is called Auww, AMMON;
but is fometimes denominated Prha, the Vul-
can of the Greeks; and at other times OSIRIS,
according to its various operations and energies.
But, what is very remarkable, as being entirely
confonant with the Hebraic notions on this
ſubject, Jamblichus adds, as companions to the
Νες δημιεργιχος, και της Αληθειας προστατης, χαι
Eopias, or the guardian of TRUTH (that is,
the Ruah Hakkodeſh, the SPIRIT OF TRUTH)
and WISDOM, the Cochma of the Hebrews.
Surely it is impoſſible for language to be more
decided than this, or any thing more expreſsly
to the purpoſe than the whole of the chapter
whence theſe extracts are made *. It ſhould
not here be forgotten that Hermes is by Suidas
afferted to have obtained his very name of Tpio-
Peytotes from the plain alluſions to a divine
triad to be found in his writings.
From
* For theſe four reſpective quotations fee Jamblichus de
Myſteriis, fect. 8, cap. 3. p. 154. Edit. Gale, fol. Oxonix,
1678.
.
?''
[ 693 ]
From the whole of what has been obſerved
relative to the ſacred fymbolical ſculptures of
Egypt, as well in the pages immediately pre-
ceding, as in former parts of this Differtation,
three facts are indubitably eſtabliſhed. The
firſt is, that an orb or circle being the moſt
complete figure in the whole ſcience of
geo-
metry, was eſteemed by them the moſt expref-
five emblem of the omnipotent father of the
univerſe, the incomprehenſible Eicton, the
ſupreme Osiris, in his higheſt intellectual
character, undegraded by phyſics; that firſt
ineffable Numen, whoſe center is every where,
but whoſe circumference is no where to be
found. We are therefore authorized in apply-
ing this expreſſive ſymbol to the firſt hypoſtaſis
in the Chriſtian Trinity. The ſecond demon-
ſtrated point is, that the ſerpent, from its great
vigour and revirefcence, was conſidered as an
equally pictureſque ſymbol of ETERNITY ;
and, from its ſubtlety, of WISDOM. On this
account it was thought the propereſt hierogly-
phic to repreſent the demiurgic mind or Aga-
thodaimon of the Egyptians, alluſive to whoſe
operations there were, in the temples of Egypt
and Tyre, two remarkable ſculptures; the for-
mer, that deſcribed from Eufebius, “ as hav-
ing a hawk's head, beautiful to look upon,
who,
A
2
[ 694 )
who, if he open his eyes, fills the univerſe
with light;" the latter, deſignated in the atti-
tude of encircling in the genial folds of his
warm and prolific body the Mundane Egg,
that is, the univerſe, and making it pro-
ductive. This curious emblem the reader may
ſee engraved from Vaillant, in the ſecond vo-
lume of Mr. Bryant's Analyſis, and he will
hereafter find it in the firſt volume of this hir-
tory, on that plate which exhibits the bull of
Japan breaking, with his horn, the egg of
chaos. This emblem, therefore, of eternity and
wiſdom, this image of the energy of creative
power, we conſider as referring to the eternal
Logos in the Chriſtian triad; to that quickening
WORD by whom all things were made, and without
whom was not any thing made that was made.
Additional evidence, I am confident, need not
be added to the accumulated proofs previouſly
adduced, that by ſculptured wings, (the ſym-
bol of air and wind) ever extended to overſha-
dow and defend, the Egyptians deſignated their
famous Cneph, and though, in this reſpect,
from their obſcure notions about the Trinity,
as before obſerved, they manifeſtly confounded
the order of the hypoſtaſes, becauſe the demi-
urgic Ptha is made to proceed from Cneph,
yet, by the latter, they doubtleſs meant to ty-
pify
. [ 695 ]
pify the ſacred perſon to whom we apply it,
the incumbent SPIRIT that moved upon the face
of the waters. If, now, we conſult the Ifiac
or Bembine table, an account of which has
been given in a foriner page; or if we caſt our
eye upon the Pamphylian obeliſk engraved in
Kircher, or indeed on any of the portals of the
Egyptian temples, copied in the accurate vo-
lumes of Pocock and Norden, for the fronts
of all are invariably decorated with it, we
ſhall find their conceptions on this ſubject fully
expreſſed by the very pictureſque and beautiful
hieroglyphic fo often alluded to in theſe
pages,
exhibiting a central ORB, with a serpent,
and WINGS proceeding from it. It was princi-
pally to diſplay this hieroglyphic on the very
ſpot where it has flouriſhed for near 4000 years,
an irrefragable monument of the exiſtence in
the old Egyptian theology, derived from the
venerable patriarchs in the infancy of time, of
a dogma, falſely aſſerted to have been the in-
vention of the platonic philoſophers 1500 years
after, that I cauſed that ſuperb portal of the
grand temple of Luxore to be engraved from
Norden's deſigns, which forms the frontiſpiece
of this book. He will find it likewiſe delineated
on a ſepara:e plate, and upon a larger ſcale from
VOL. I.
the
2 z
ve
[ 696 ]
the ſame author's deſign of the celebrated tein-
ple of Iſis, in the iſle of Philae.
Kircher, treating of the Pamphylian obeliſk,
on which venerable monument of antiquity this
hieroglyphic ſtands firſt in order, cites a va-
riety of authorities, and in particular that of
Abenephius, an Arabian writer, and a frag-
ment imputed to Sanchoniatho, in teſtimony
that the Egyptians really did intend by this
fymbol to 1hadow out Θεον τριμορφον, a triform
deity. I ſhall not, however, trouble the reader
with a multitude of conjectures which he may
think viſionary, or of authoritics which he
may conſider as doubtful. The true meaning
of the ſymbol is only to be found in an impar-
tial inveſtigation and patient compariſon of their
theological ſentiments, as repreſented by wri-
ters of high reſpectability and undoubted au-
thenticity in the Pagan world, who can be
ſuſpected of no intereſt to warp, and no preju-
dice to miſlead them. That inveſtigation, and
that compariſon, have now been made by me;
and the reſult of the whole is, that if Proclus
and Jamblichus are deſerving of credit, the
moſt ancient Egyptians actually did entertain
notions, though confuſed and obſcure, of the
doctrine which is the object of this extenſive
diſquiſition.
Obſcurity
I
( 697 )
Obſcurity veils in her deepeſt ſhades every
circumſtance that relates to the origin, the age,
and the country, of ORPHEUS. The very
exiſtence of ſuch a perſon has, in conſequence,
been denied by ſome writers of antiquity;
while by others, no leſs than ſix different Or-
pheuſes have been enumerated. From the cir-
cumſtance of there being ſo inany of this name
enumerated, there ariſes evident proof that, in
the remoteſt æras, ſuch a perſon actually flou-
riſhed, and the multiplication of them may
be
accounted for by the ſame argument uſed be-
fore in regard to the multitude of ſucceſſive
Zoroaſters, and the two Hermes, viz. that of
the metempfychoſis, in which the foul of the
firſt eminent perſon was thought to inſpire
thoſe who were afterwards diſtinguiſhed in the
ſame line of genius and fcience. In regard to
Orpheus, without entering into uſeleſs diſcuſ-
fion, we may remark, that the moſt ancient
and genuine Orpheus, from whom the Greeks
derived all the grand myſteries of their theo-
logy, and all the profound arcana of philofo-
phical ſcience, is generally allowed to have
been of Thracian origin, to have lived before
the Trojan war, and to have travelled into
Chaldea and Egypt, where he drank deep at
the
2 22
1
[ 698 )
the fountain of the Magian and Hermetic
doctrines.
The whole ſyſtem, however, of the Orphic
theology, whoſoever he was, is to be found in
India. The facred ſtream of that theology
rolled firſt into Egypt in a direct and copious
flood; it flowed thence into Greece, but in its
progreſs the current was divided and its waters
defiled. That grand principle of both the
Triſmegiſtic and Orphic religion, recorded by
Proclus,
Ζευς κεφαλη, Ζευς μεσσα. Διος δ' εκ παντα τετυκται *.
1
Jove is the head and middle of all things;
all things were made out of Jove;" is perfectly
confentaneous with the often-cited extract from
the Bhagavat relative to the Indian deity, who
is affirmed to be “ all that is, and every where
always.” The Orphic maxim that the divine
efſence embraced, and was intimately diffuſed
throughout the eſſence of every created being,
is to be met with in every page of the Geeta.
Orpheus, however, does not appear fo ſcrupu-
louſly to preſerve the unity of the deity un-
violated. He has, as it were, infinitely par-
titioned out the το μεγαλον σωμα Ζηνος, the im-
menſe
* Proclus in Timun, p. 95.
1
į 699 ]
menſe body of Jupiter, and peopled the uni-
verſe with ſubordinate deities; but the Geeta,
in the following ſublime paſſage, preſerves that
unity, and exhibits not the divine effence divi-
ded, but all nature in its wonderful diverſity,
arranged in harmonious order within the in-
finite expanded effence of God. At the earneſt
requeſt of Arjoon, the deity diſcloſes to him
his ſupreme and heavenly form, adorned with
celeſtial robes and chaplets, anointed with
hcavenly odours, diffuſing a glory like the
ſun ſuddenly riſing in the heavens with a
thouſand times more than uſual brightneſs.--
« The ſon of Pandoo then beheld within the
body of God, ſtanding together, the whole uni-
verſe divided forth into its vaſt variety. He
was overwhelmed with wonder, and every
hair was raiſed an end. He bowed down his
head before the God, and thus addrefled him,
with joined hands,” &c. Geeta, p. 90.
The great difference between the Brah-
manian ſyſtem of theology and that of the
Grecian philoſophers conſiſts in this, that the
former were too much inclined to fpiritualize,
the latter to materialize, every thing: with the
former all is Atma, Spirit, and Maia, illuſion;
in the mind of the latter, for the moſt part,
fenfible
Z z 3
1
[ 700 )
1
+
{
ſenſible objects predominate, and the univerſal
phænomena were reſolved into motion and
matter : I ſay for the moſt part, ſince it would
be equally unjuſt and untrue to deny that
many of the Greek philoſophers, and in par-
ticular Pythagoras and Plato, had very ſublime
conceptions of a ſupreme deity, diſtinct from
all matter; the exhauſtleſs fountain of all be-
ing; the eternal ſource of all benevolencc.
Indeed Orpheus himſelf, the father of the
Greek theology, amidſt many corruptions in
the writings imputed to him, divulged this
ſublime truth, and, what is very remarkable,
while he is thus expreſs upon the exiſtence
and unity of a ſupreme God, he as decidedly
points out to us the triple diſtinction in his
nature contended for, and which ever ſeeins to
have accompanied that notion in the mind of
even the unenlightened Pagan.
The theologic doctrine of Orpheus was
abridged by Timotheus, the chronographer, in
his Coſmopæia, a book long ago extinct, but
his abridgement has been preſerved for pof-
terity by Suidas, by Cedrenus, and in the
Chronioa of Euſebius, a writer not forward to
acknowledge any traces of true religion in a
heathen writer. According to Timotheus in
Cedrenus,
*
[ 701 ]
1
+
Cedrenus *, Orpheus afferted the exiſtence of
an eternal, incomprehenſible being, dmpeispzov
απαντων, και αυτα τα αιθερος, και παντων των επ'
KUTOV TOV asbepa; the creator of all things, even
of the æther itſelf it, and of all things, below
that æther. This doctrine is ſurely very diffe-
rent from that of Atheiſm imputed to Orpheus,
and though coming to us through the page of
Timotheus, a Chriſtian writer, is more likely
than the other to have been the genuine the-
ology of Orpheus, on account of the known
veneration entertained for his writings by the
two moſt enlightened fects of philoſophers in
Greece, the Pythagoreans and Platoniſts, who
were the expreſs affertors. both of a fupreme.
being and the immortality of the ſoul. The
account proceeds to ſtate that this ſupreme
δημιεργος is called ΦΩΣ, ΒΟΥΛΗ, ΖΩΗ; LIGHT,
Counsel, and Life I. Suidas, wonderfully
corroborating the whole of this · hypotheſis,
adds, ταυτα τα τρια ονοματα μιας δυναμιν απεφηνατο;
theſe three names expreſs only one and the ſame
power :
Z Z 4
* Cedreni Chronograph. p. 46.
+ The word ÆTHER muſt here be underſtood in the ſenſe
of the Chaldaic philoſophers, the more refined matter in
which the celeſtial bodies float; the AKASH, or FIFTK
FLEMENT of the Brahmins.
# Ibid. p. 47.
0
1
[ 702 ]
A
power* : and Timotheus concludes his account
by affirming, that Orpheus in his book de-
clared, δια των αυτων ονομάτων μιας θεοτητος τα παν-
τα εγενετο, και αυτος εςι τα παντα; that all things
were made by one Godhead in THREE NAMES,
and that this God is ALL THINGS .
In this moſt ancient and recondite theology
of Orpheus, beſide the inore general feature of
affinity apparent in ſome parts of it to the
frue, it ought to be noticed as bearing, in reſpect
of its threefold diſtinction of the divine effence
into Light, Counſel, and Life, particular re-
ſemblance to the three Sephiroth of the He-
Brews: for in Light who does not perceive
an imitation of the famous KADMON, the pure
Light, the radiant crown of the three great
ſplendors. In counſel, is not the heavenly Wif-
dom, the ſecond Sephiroth, equally conſpi.
cuous ? And in Life is not the heavenly Bi-
NAH, the third of thoſe Sephiroth, recognized ?
that holy, that quickening Spirit, who is in
- ſcripture not only affirmed to give life, but to
be THE SPIRIT OF LIFE I. Since Orpheus is
acknowledged to have penetrated deeply into
the arcana of the Egyptian myſtic theology, and
ſince
* Suidas in voce Orpheus.
+ Timothei Coſmopæia, p.
61.
Romans, viii. 2.
1
[ 703 ]
t
ſince Abraham, Joſeph, and other Hebrev
patriarchs, during their long reſidence in that
country, doubtleſs impreſſed upon the minds
of the higher order of the Egyptians many
ſublime precepts of the true theology, this
ſimilarity between the Orphic and Hebrew
theology is by no means to be wondered at.
From the ſame quarter he aſſuredly borrowed
his idea of the gloomy and boundleſs Chaos
inveſting all things, and the primaval Light
and Love that broke through and diſſipated the
incumbent darkneſs.
Leſt the reader, however, ſhould be inclined
to doubt the authenticity of Pagan doctrinės
deſcending to us through a Chriſtian medium,
I ſhall now produce an extract or two from a
writer who can by no means be ſuſpected of
any partiality to tenets propagated in the Chrif-
tian world, and theſe will evince ſo cloſe an
union of ſentiment with what has been pre-
ſented to him from Timotheus and Suidas, as
cannot fail of vindicating thoſe authors from
the ſuſpicion of miſrepreſentation. Proclus,
upon the Timæus of Plato, preſents us, among
others, with the following verſes, as the
nuine production of Orpheus, which are as
expreſs upon the unity, as another paſſage
which I ſhall preſently cite from the ſame
author
ge
[ 704 ]
Ετα
author is upon a triad of hypoſtaſes in that
unity.
Ζευς βασιλευς: Ζευς αυτος απαντων αρχιγενεθλος:
Εν κρατος, εις δαιμων γενετο, μεγας αρχος απαντων:
Jupiter is the king, Jupiter himſelf is the ori-
ginal ſource of all things; there is one Power,
ONE God, and one great Ruler over all*. The
other paffage is from the fame author, who, in
the courſe of his commentary upon the Timæ:
us, having noticed the divine triad of Amelius,
a Platonic philoſopher, cotemporary with Plo-
tinus, as conſiſting of a threefold demiurgos, and
opifex of the world, or, to uſe his own words;
Νες τρεις, Βασιλεις τρεις, τον 'Οντα, τον Έχοντα,
τον 'Ορωντα" that is, three minds, three kings,
bim that is, him that hath, and him that be-
holds; moſt remarkable expreſſions ſurely to
fall from the pen of a heathen writer; im-
mediately after, in terms as remarkable, ſub-
joins, τείες αν τρεις νοας και δημοεργες υπόψιθέθαι,
και τας παρά τω Πλάωνι, τρεις βασιλεας, και τες
παρ 'Ορφει τρεις, ΦΑΝΗΤΑ, και ΟΥΡΑΝΟΝ, και
ΚΡΟΝΟΝ, και ο μαλιςα παρ' αύλων Δημιουργος ο
Darms éssy ofz' “ Ameļius therefore ſuppoſes theſe
three minds and theſe his three demiurgic
principles
* Proclus in Timco, p. 95.
+ Ibid. p. 96.
1
και
[ 705 ]
1
principles to be the ſame both with Plato's
three kings and Orpheus's trinity of PHANES,
URANUS, and CHRONUS ; but it is PHANES
who is by him ſuppoſed to be principally the
Demiurgus.” To this I muſt be permitted to
add, on the authority of my guide through
this vaſt labyrinth of antiquity, Dr. Cudworth,
that in an inedited treatiſe of Damafcius, tepe
apxwy, that philoſopher, giving an account of
the Orphic theology, among other things, ac-
quaints us that Orpheus introduced teicaocou
Deov, a triforın deity *, I have been thus
par-
ticular in regard to Orpheus becauſe, as I be-
fore obſerved, his numerous writings, or, at
leaſt, thoſe imputed to him, are ſuppoſed to be
the rich and abundant ſource whence all the
ſyſtems both of theology and philoſophy that
afterwards appeared in Greece were derived.
Whoever will read the GEETA with attention
will perceive in that ſmall tract the outlines of
nearly all the various ſyſtems of theology in
Aſia. That curious and ancient doctripe of the
Creator being both male and female, mentioned
in a preceding page to be deſignated in Indian
temples by a very indecent exhibition of the
maſculine and feminine organs of generation in
union,
* See Cudworth's Intell. Syſt. Vol. I. p. 304
[ 706 ]
t
.
1
1
union, occur in the following paſſages. “I
am the father and the mother of this world; I
plant myſelf upon my own nature, and create
again and again this affemblage of beings; I
am Generation and Diffolution, the place where
all things are repoſited, and the inexhauſtible
Seed of all nature; I am the beginning, the
middle, and the end of all things.” In another
part, he more directly fays, “ The
great
Brah-
me is the womb of all thoſe various forms
which are conceived in every natural womb,
and I am the Father that ſoveth the feed."
p. 107.
I do not at preſent intend to enter into the
inveſtigation of the phyſics of Orpheus and
the other Greeks, but there are two paſſages of
the Orphic writings, the former cited by Da-
mafcius, and the latter by Proclus, and there-
fore probably genuine, which are fo remark-
ably conſonant to the above-cited paſſages, that
I am certain the inquiſitive reader will excuſe
my inſerting them : they afford proof beyond
contradiction in what country the idea origi-
nated, and the ſentiments as well as the lan-
guage in which they are conveyed have ſuch
clofe affinity to each other, as would incline us
to think the Orphic extracts nothing more than
a lite.
2
I
[ 707 ]
!
6
a literal tranſlation of the more ancient, venc-
rable, and authentic production of India.
Damafcius, treating of the fecundity of the
divine nature, cites Orpheus as teaching that
the deity was at once both male and female,
αρσενoθηλυν αυτην υπεστησατο, προς ένδειξιν της παν-
TWv yervnlosens órias*, to Mew the generative power
by which all things were formed. Proclus, upon
the Timæus of Plato, among other Orphic
verſes, cites the following:
Zeus áponu yevélo, Zeus diu polos & Theo vupon t.
Jupiter is a man; Jupiter is alſo an immortal
maid. Nay, in the ſame commentary, and
in the ſame page, we read that all things
were contained ev yao lepe Zyvos, IN THE WOMB OF
JUPITER. As this ſubject, however, is deeply
connected tvith the phyſics of Greece, upon
the inveſtigation of which I have declared it is
not my intention at preſent to enter, I ſhall
not farther prolong this account of the Orphic
ſyſtem of theology ; a ſyſtem with which the
ſpeculations of philoſophy are ſo intimately,
ſo inſeparably blended.
In this ſurvey of the Eaſtern triads of deity,
the
+
* Damaſcius apud Cudworth, Vol. I. P. 302.
+ Proclus in Timão, p. 95.
[ 708 ]
the great Gods CABIRI, who, according to He-
rodotus, had a temple at Memphis, into which
it was unlawful for any except the prieſts to
enter, ought by no means to be omitted; but
fuch complicated difficulties attend the inveſti-
gation of their hiſtory and character, and ſo
little uſeful information would reſult from the
inquiry, 'that I ſhall add nothing more con-
cerning them than that the moſt ancient of
theſe Cabiri, or Diofcori, as they were ſome-
times called, are ſaid by Cicero to have been in
number THREE, and their names Tretopatræus,
Eubuleus, and Dionyſius. All that can be with
truth averred conceruing them is, that they
were eſteemed as the THREE MIGHTY GUAR-
DIAN GENII of the univerſe, or rather the vari-
ous parts of that univerſe phyſically conſidered,
and that they were worſhipped in Samothracia
with rites which were among the moſt myſte-
rious and profound in all antiquity. One curi-
ous circumſtance, however, concerning them
it is in my power to relate; for as Hecate, from
her threefold nature, or office, was honoured
in Greece with an anniverſary feſtival, celebrated
in a place where three ways met, ſo were the
Avaxes, or Gods Cabiri, honoured with another,
called
+
. Cicero de Natura Dcorum, lib. 3.
[ 709 ]
1
called from them 'Avorence. The facrifices offer-
ed at this folemnity, ſays Potter, in his ac-
count of the Grecian feſtivals, were called
Eevioues, becauſe thoſe deities were Xevoi, or
ſtrangers ; and they conſiſted of three offerings,
which were denominated τριτυαι *.
As the above account of theſe obſcure
per :
ſonages may appear, from its conciſeneſs, unſa-
tisfactory, I ſhall add to it what the moſt able
defender of this doctrine that ever wrote has
ſaid concerning the Cabiric worſhip in his tran-
ſient retroſpect upon the Pagan Trinities. This
extract will both ſerve as an apology for the
neceſſary brevity I have obſerved, and tend
farther to elucidate the obſcure ſubject. “ Who
theſe Cabiri might be, has been matter of un-
ſucceſsful inquiry to many learned men; the
utmoſt that is known with certainty is, that
they were originally THREE, and were called,
by way of eminence, THE GREAT or MIGHTY
ones; for that is the import of the Hebrew
word Cabirim. And of the like import is
their Latin appellation PENATEs. Dii per quos
penitus fpiramus, per quos habemus corpus,
per quos rationem animi poffidemus t. Dii qui
funt
!
* Potter's Archäologia Græcc, Vol. I. p. 366.
'+ Macrobii Saturnalia, lib. 3. cap. 4.
[
710 ]
funt intrinfecus, atque in intimis penetralibus
cæli *.
The worſhip of a triple power under the for-
mer name, Dr. Horſley is of opinion was
carried from Samothrace into Phrygia by
Dardanus ſo early as in the ninth century after
the flood. The Trojans imported it from Phry-
gia into Italy ; and he aſſerts that veſtiges of
this acknowledgment and adoration of a Trinity
are viſible in the joint worſhip of Jupiter, Juno,
and Minerva, the TRIAD of the Roman Capitol.
This worſhip, therefore, obſerves the Biſhop,
is plainly 66 traced back to that of the THREE
MIGHTY ONES in Samothrace, which was eſta-
bliſhed in that iſland, at what preciſe time it is
impoſſible to determine, but earlier, if Eufebius
may be credited, than the days of Abraham f.
In teſtimony of what the learned Biſhop has
aſſerted in regard to the introduction of the
Trojan Gods by Æneas, though it be ſcarcely
neceſſary to cite that well-known paſſage in
Virgil,
Sum pius Eneas, raptos qui ex hofte PENATES
Claſſe veho mecum ;
yet it will be highly corroborative of his ſuc-
ceeding
* Varro apud Arnob. lib. 3, p. 123.
† See Biſhop Horſley's Tracts, p. 44, cdit. Oct. 1789.
[711]
1
ceeding aſſertion, that the Cabiri and Dii
Penates, were of kindred origin, to bring before
the view of the reader another paſſage in the
Æneid where Auguſtus, under the joint pro-
tection of the Penates, and Dii Magni, is repre-
ſented as leading his troops to battle againſt
thoſe of Anthony and Cleopatra,
Hinc Auguſtus, agens Italos in prælia, Cæſar
Cum patribus, populoque, Penatibus et Magnis Dis,
Stans cella in puppi.
Æneid. lib. 8. 678.
But this was not the firſt period of the in-
troduction of this notion at Rome; the famous
triple figures of fylvan deities dug up in Italy,
and called by antiquaries HETRUSCAN, are
proofs of this aſſertion. In moſt of thoſe
countries where the Romans extended their arms
and propagated their theology the number three
was conſidered as ſacred, and a divine triad was
worſhipped. In the 54th plate of Mont-
faucon's Supplement, in his account of Gaulic
Antiquities, may be ſeen aſſemblages of deities
in triple groups. In one of theſe
In one of theſe groups it is
not a little remarkable that the center figure
hath ſhoes on his feet, as if of ſuperior dignity,
the other two figures, as if ſubordinate, are
barefooted. In Gruter too may be ſeen deities
VOL. I.
Ааа
in
[ 712 )
in triple groups, worſhipped by the ancient
Germans, which they called MAIRÆ, and one
is us inſcribed, " In honorem Domus divinæ
Diis Mairabus ;" in honour of the DIVINE
HOUSE, to the Goddeſſes Mairx. Theſe goddeſſes
were, indeed, rural deities, as were the triple
SULEVÆ and VACALLINEHE alluded to be-
fore of the Hetruſci; but this notion is eaſily
to be accounted for in the debaſed theology of
thoſe who made the earth the grand primæval
deity, and adored it under the female form of
Cybele, the mother of gods and men. From
theſe additional inſtances we ſee how remark.
ably, throughout all the periods of antiquity,
this humour of dividing everything into
THREE diſplayed itſelf, and whence, except
from the ſource from which I have derived it,
could this general, but mutilated, tradition of a
tri-une God have originated ? The Fates, thoſe
relentleſs fiſters who weave the web of human
life, and fix the inevitable doom of mortals,
were three; the FURIES, the dire diſpenſers of
the
vengeance of heaven for crimes committed
upon earth, were three; the GRACES, who
were honoured as divinities, and had a thou-
ſand altars and temples erected to them in
Greece, were three; and the celeſtial MUSES,
according
1
1
[ 713 )
I
according to Varro, were originally in number
only three.
We come now, in the progreſs of our exten-
five inveſtigation, to conſider the veſtiges of
this doctrine, which is all that is contended for,
ſince in its true character and undepraved purity
it exiſts only in the Chriſtian world, among the
ancient Perſians; and we find thoſe indubitable,
though corrupted, veſtiges remaining in their
THREE GREAT DEITIES, Oromaſdes, Mithra,
and Ahriman. Of theſe deities, indeed, two
are ſubordinate and finite, and their diſpoſitions
and attributes are repreſented as various, and
even oppoſite. But I have not undertaken fo
much to account for its perverſion, as to record
and aſcertain the fact of this notion of a TRIAD
OF DEITY being radically interwoven in the
theological codes adopted in almoſt every region
of Aſia; Afia, where the ſublime ſyſtem of the
true religion was firſt revealed, where the
pure
precepts it inculcates were firſt practiſed, and
where unhappily its leading principles were
earlieſt adulterated. The Almighty, however,
hath not left himſelf without a witneſs amidſt
the degrading ſuperſtitions and the falſe philo-
ſophy of the degenerate Aſiatics.
In examining the Perſian triad, the firſt dif-
tinguiſhing feature which preſents itſelf to our
Aaa 2
view,
1
[ 714 ]
1
5
view, and which muſt irreſiſtibly attract the na-
tice, and excite the wonder, of even the ſceptic
to the more exalted triad of Chriſtianity, is, the
character of Mithra, THE MIDDLE GOD, who is
called THE MEDIATOR. Now the idea of a
mediator could alone originate in a conſciouſneſs
of committed crimes, as well as a dread of me-
rited puniſhment, and the firſt dawn of a me-
diator among mankind darted into the mind of
Adam, after he had committed the
great tranf-
greſſion which exiled him from Paradiſe, and
after his beneficent judge had declared that the
feed of the woman Mould bruiſe the head of the
ferpent. It was this glorious, but remote, prof-
pect of the grand interceſſor of the human race,
to appear in the due time of omnipotent wiſdom,
that made exile tolerable to our firſt parents,
and diſarmed that death which they were doomed
foon to undergo of all its novel and ghaſtly hor-
rors. It was this hope of a ſpotleſs mediator
to emerge from the dark bofom of futurity that
animated the minds of the patriarchs during
their toilfome migrations throughout the eaſt,
and under all their perſecutions from age to age
ſuſtained, and ſtill ſuſtains, the ſpirit of the
virtuous among the Hebrews. Infatuated men !
your Mediator is arrived ! Hear, and obey the
ſummons of your God!!!
Far
1
+
[ 715 ]
1
1
Far beyond all the periods to which human
annals aſcend mankind have been uniformly
impreſſed with the notion that they are fallen
creatures. The convi&tion of their being ſpirits
degraded from their original rank in the creation
forms the baſis of the Meternpſychoſis of the
Indians, a people only ſecond in antiquity of all
the nations upon the earth! Whence could this
univerſal idea of corrupted nature and degraded
ſtation originate, but in ſome obſcure traditions
of the fall, handed down through a long revo-
lution of ages from the parent of the human
race? whence could this univerſal belief in ref-
toration to primitive purity to be obtained
through the means of a mediator, whether
Mithra or Veeſhuu, ariſe, except from the ſame
genuine though diſtant ſource ? Fatally for the
happineſs of mankind, amidſt the rapid growth
of crimes on the one hand, and the gradual in-
creaſe of ſuperſtition on the other, though the
conſciouſneſs of their degeneracy remained, the
knowledge of the true mediator was eraſed from
their minds.
While hardened Vice, however, openly bra-
ved the vengeance of the ſkies, humble and ti-
morous Piety ſtill lifted to heaven, in ſilence,
the imploring eye, and extended, with diffident
hope, the ſuppliant hand. The awful, the
immenſe
Ааа 3
+
[ 716 ]
immenſe diſtance of the ſupreme all-ruling in-
telligence whom they ſuppoſed to have his
throne on the extreme verge of exiſtence in the
central abyſs of light and glory, and though
inot totally regardleſs of terreſtrial concerns, in-
acceſſible except by beings of a more pure
and
elevated nature, induced them to explore the
ætherial regions for interceſſors among the
higher and nobler orders of created beings.
The devotion of the Chaldeans to aſtronomy,
and their conſequent veneration of the hoſt of
heaven, has been repeatedly noticed : it was
not, however, to the orb itſelf, but to the ſpi-
rit which was thought to reſide in that orb, to
be the ſoul of it, and to direct its courſe through
the expanſe of heaven, that they addreſſed their
prayers. They flattered themſelves with the
hope that thoſe benign ſpirits would act as their
mediators with the ſupreme power whoſe na-
ture they but obſcurely comprehended, at whoſe
majeſty they trembled, and from whoſe ven-
geance they ſhrunk: and that, if they proved
propitious, they would have influence enough to
ſuſpend his wrath and appeaſe his vengeance.
For the truth of what I have thus afferted,
I ſhall produce in evidence two very high
authorities; the firſt is the celebrated Rabbi
Maimonides, who, in the More Nevochim,
treating
[ 717 ]
1
treating concerning the origin of the Sabian
ſuperſtition, expreſsly informs
us,
66 that the
propagators of it acknowledged one fupreme
numen, the creator of heaven and earth; but
that the reſidence of his majeſtic preſence was
in region ſo remote from the earth as to be
inacceſſible to mortals : that therefore, in imi-
tation of the conduct adopted by the ſubjects
of terreſtrial monarchs, they engaged as medi-
ators with him, the planets and the guardian
ſpirits that direct their courſe, whom they de-
nominated princes and nobles, and whom they
imagined to reſide in thoſe orbs as in ſumptuous
palaces and ſplendid ſhrines *.” The ſecond
proof of the above affertion is to be found in the
very curious information relative to the Chal-
daic worſhip of the planets, tranſmitted down
to us in the authentic page of Diodorus, and
purpoſely omitted by me in the preceding ac-
count of the ſuperſtitious practices of that peo-
ple, becauſe I thought it better calculated to
illuſtrate the preſent ſubject of the Perſian triad
of deity.
The Chaldæans, according to this author,
were of opinion that the ſun, the moon, and
Aaa' 4
the
* See Maimonides, More Nevochim. part. 3, chap. 29.
1
1
:
1
[ 718 ]
the five planets, were the principal intelligences
miniſtring to the ſupreme deity; and that un-
der the direction of thoſe planets were thirty
ſtars, whom they called Brnales 0885, Counſel-
ling Gods, fifteen of which obſerved what was
tranſacted under the earth, and the other fifteen
what paſſed upon the earth and in the region
above it. Theſe thirty ſtars, they affirmed,
were ſtationed in the great circle of the zodiac,
but that twelve of them were of principal note,
among which the planets more immediately
revolved. Twelve of theſe ſtars towards the
north pole, and twelve towards the ſouth pole,
they honoured with the title of Judges of all
things, and aſſigned thoſe that we fee to the
living, and thoſe that we do not ſee, to the
dead. Two of theſe ſtars they conſidered as
meſſengers, and affirmed that once in every ten
days one of the higheſt order deſcended to them
that were of the loweſt order, and, again, that
after the ſame interval one from the loweſt
order aſcended to thoſe of the ſuperior order ;
and this in alternate ſucceſſion. By this means
the countelling Gods above the horizon were
fourteen in number, with an attendant ayyeros,
or meſſenger, which is the true meaning of the
word
[ 719 ]
amat
word wynos; and exactly the ſame number
remained below the horizon *.
It would, however, be allowing too much
even to the deſervedly eminent Maimonides,
and the accurate Diodorus, were we to affert
that the Sabian idolators had invariably for the
ultimate object of their addreſſes to the planetary
angels the ſupreme creator : no; they gradually
forgot the deity, inviſible and inacceſſible, in
the dazzling ſplendour of the orb itſelf, and
in the imagined influences diſpenſed by the
flaming heralds of the divinity. The sun him-
ſelf, in time, became the deity they adored,
and the moon and ſtars his miniſters, and at-
tributes. In Pauſanias there is recorded, an
account of a famous Grecian feſtival celebrated
among the Baotians in honour of Apollo, at
the end of every nine years, and called Aapuna
popia, which will ſerve as a pointed illuſtration
of the preceding aſſertion. Upon the top of an
olive branch, adorned with garlands of laurel,
(both, it is to be obſerved, conſecrated woods,)
and various kinds of flowers, they placed a large
globe of braſs, from which were fufpended le-
veral ſmaller globes ; about the middle of the
branch were fixed purple crowns, and a globe
a degree
* Vide Diod. Siculus, lib. 2, p. 117, cdit. Rhodomanni.
[ 720 ]
►
1
!
a degree leſs in diameter than that which orna-
mented the top : the bottom was covered with
a garment of a ſaffron colour. By the great
globe on the ſummit, ſays Pauſanias, they fym-
bolized the sun, that is to ſay, APOLLO: by
the ſmaller globe directly under it, they inten-
ded to repreſent the MOON : by the globes ſuf-
pended from that at the top were ſignified the
STARS, while the crowns, being in number 365,
repreſented that of the Days in which he
per-
formed his annual revolution. The bough, thus
adorned, was carried about in proceſſion by a
youth ſelected for the occaſion: he was obliged
to be in the full vigour of his
pa-
rents, and beautiful aſpect; his hair was diſhe-
velled, doubtleſs to repreſent the rays of the fun;
he was apparelled in a ſumptuous robe that
reached down to his ancles; a rich crown of
gold adorned his head, and coſtly ſandals of a
particular faſhion, called Iphicratidæ, from
Iphicratides, the inventor of them, covered his
feet. This noble youth for that day executed
the office of the prieſt of Apollo, and was ho-
noured with the title of Adounpopos, or the
Laurel-bearer. A rod (imitative of the ſolar
beam) richly decorated with garlands, was
borne before him, and a chorus of virgins,
(poſſibly typifying the hours) bearing branches
of
age, of noble
[ 721 ]
E
of laurel in their hands, followed him. In
this order they proceeded to the temple of
Apollo, furnamed Iſmenius, where hymns and
ſupplications to the god terminated the fef-
tival* By ſuch delightful allegories as theſe
did the genius of antiquity ſhadow out the
ope-
rations of nature, and impreſs upon the admi-
ring ſpectator the myſterious truths of theology.
From the preceding ſtatement it is evident
that the ancients acknowledged a mediator to
be neceffary ; and Mithra, we have ſeen in the
Perſian theology, was that mediatorial and
middle god. It was doubtleſs this notion of
the neceſſity of a mediator between God and
man, or rather this tradition of one, appointed
in the promiſe that the feed of the woman
ſhould finally cruſh the ſerpent, that firſt induced
the Perſians to look upon the ſun as that me-
diator, and to confer on him the title of medi-
atorial.
It ſhould be obſerved too, that this notion of
Mithra as a mediatorial God was not confined
to the boſom of the prieſt, or locked up in the
creed of the initiated; it was ſo univerſally
known, and ſo generally the ſubject of belief,
$6 that the Perſians are affirmed by Plutarch,
from
Pauſanias in Bacoticis.
[ 722 )
to the
from this very character of their God Mithras,
to have called any mediator, or middle perſon
between two, by the name of Mithras : dio
και Μιθρην Περσαι τον Μεσιτην ονομαζεσι *.
But there was another very remarkable epithet
that applied to the God Mithras by the ancients
which, in this review of the Pagan trinities,
deſerves our particular notice and inquiry.
This epithet was Tportaavios, or threefold; and
here I cannot avoid once more remarking it as a ,
circumſtance that muſt be peculiarly perplexing
oppugners of the ſacred doctrine contend-
ed for, that whatſoever perſonage the ancients
thought proper to exalt to the rank of a divinity,
they immediately found out for that divinity
either three properties, or three qualities, which
they made a diſtinguiſhing mark of the God-
head they thus preſumptuouſly conferred.
In the ſame manner if they treated concer-
ning the world, which indeed they ſometimes
elevated to divine honours, they made a THREE-
FOLD partition of it; or rather they conceived
three worlds, and diſtinguiſhed them by the ap-
pellation of the ſenſible, the aerial, and the æthe-
rial, by which latter term they muſt ever be
conſidered as meaning the AKASS of the Indians.
То
* Plutarch de Ilide et Ofiride, p. 43.
:
i
[ 723 1
σωμα, the
To theſe worlds again they aſſigned three prin-
cipal properties, Figure, Light, and Motion; Mat-
ter, Form, and Energy*. So in ſucceeding ages,
the Jewiſh Rabbies divided the human nature
into
πνευμα, , the ſpirit, puxn, the animal foul,
and the corporeal vehicle.
In regard to this epithet of Triplaſios, Di-
onyſius, the Pſeudo-Areopagite, in his ſeventh
epiſtle to Polycarp, (as cited by Dr. Cudworth)
fays, Xαι εισετι Μαγοι τα μυημοσυνα τα Τριπλασια
Mi&p8 TE801; or, The Perſian Magi to this very
day celebrate a feſtival folemnity in honour of
the Triplaſian, or triplicated Mithras. Dr. Cud.
worth remarks on this paſſage, that, as this
title has been but very ill accounted for by the
ancients, it cannot well be otherwiſe interpreted
than " as a manifeſt indication of a higher myſ-
tery, viz. a Trinity in the Perſian Theology ;
which Gerard Voſſius would willingly under-
ſtand, according to the Chriſtian hypotheſis, of
a divine Trinity, or three hypoſtaſes in one and
the ſame Deity, whoſe diſtinctive characters are
Goodneſs, Wiſdom, and Power*.” In addition
and corroboration of what Dr. Cudworth has
ſaid,
i
* See Kircher, tom. 1, p. 144 to p. 151. and tom. 2,
p. 192.
+ See Cudworth's Intellectual Syſtem, Vol. I. page 288,
«dit. Birch.
1
1
[ 724 ]
ſaid, I muſt remark that in all the ancient mo-
numents on which Mithra is ſculptured, three
perſons are invariably deſignated, himſelf in the
center and the two others, generally, on each ſide
of him ; as they appear on the illuſtrative en-
graving of that divinity which I have preſented
to the reader from Dr. Hyde's profound treaſure
of Perſian theological antiquities. But what is
ſtill more remarkable, the ſupreme God Or-
muzd, of, as the Greeks ſoftened down the
word, Oromaſdes, is by Plutarch faid to tri-
plicate himfelf in the fame manner, ο μεν Ωρο-
μαζης τρις εαυτον αυξησας, Oromafdes thrice aug-
mented himſelf*. Without, therefore, at all
introducing Ahriman into the Perſian Triad,
we have in theſe accounts of the ancients rela-
tive to the two ſuperior hypoftafes, ſufficient
evidence to evince that the Perſians were by
no means deſtitute of ideas on the ſudject, ſi-
milar to thoſe of their oriental neighbours.
The true character of Ahriman, however,
Dr. Cudworth ſeems to think has been geue-
rally miſtaken by mythologiſts, and indeed he
appears to me to reſemble the Seeva of India,
who, it has been obſerved, is only the deity in
his deſtroying and regenerative capacity, far
more
* Plutarch, de Iſide et Ofiride. tom. 2. p. 370. Opera.
[ 725 ]
+
1
more than the malignant Typhon of Egypt.
Dr. Cudworth conjectures that by Ahriman is
to be underſtood not ſo much an evil principle
co-eternal with the good principle, and ever
hoſtile to his benevolent purpoſes; as aſſerted
by Plutarch, and as afterwards repreſented by
the Manichæan Heretics; but that by this dif-
tinction, and by this perſonification, they meant
to point out to us a certain mixture of Evil and
Darkneſs, together with Good and Light, which
they imagined to exiſt in the compoſition of
this lower world, and that they repreſented
their conceptions by this allegorical perſoni-
fícation ; that Ahriman was in fact a deity,
but ſomewhat ſubordinate in rank and ſtation,
reſembling the Pluto of the Greeks; and this
opinion of Ahriman being both ſubordinate and
finite, is very coincident with the ſtatement of
Dr. Hyde on this ſubject.
An ample inveſtigation of the character of
Ahriman would be more proper for a diſſerta-
tion on the groſs phyfics than the
ology of Aſia; and, indeed, towards the cloſe
of the preceding chapter, his real character
and functions, under the name of his proto-
type, Seeva, have been already inveſtigated at
conſiderable length. The parallel between the
attributes and properties of Ahriman, and thoſe
of
1
purer the
2
[ 726 ]
may afford
of the Indian Deſtroyer, I had intended to
reſerve for the chapter on Hindoo literature,
but as I know not when that treatiſe may ap-
pear, and as the ſketch
my readers
a ſtill deeper inſight into the ſyſtem both of
oriental phyſics and morality, I ſhall, in this
place, briefly delineate the features of that
imaginary character, the deſtructive and re-
generative power of God perſonified, to which
the ancient Perſians and Indians gave the name
of Ahriman and Seeva. To delineate them
.
properly, in all their variety of light and ſhade,
would require a large volume; and it is a ſub-
jeet ſo curious, and ſo intereſting, that, por-
ſibly, a large volume on that topic would not
excite diſguſt: I ſhall, however, compreſs my
obſervations within the moſt contracted limits
poflible, that may be conſiſtent with perſpicuity.
Arguing from analogy, and guided by what
we have already obſerved relative to that deep
tinge which the phyſical and aſtronomical
ſpeculations of the ancieuts have given to all
Aſiatic theology, we may fairly conclude that
a great part of the properties and attributes of
both Ahriman and Seeva may be explained by
Natural Hiſtory and Aſtronomy. The whole
hypotheſis indeed appears to be nothing more
than an ingenious detail of the good and evil,
alternately
1
]
727
ן !
.
alternately predominating in this terreſtrial globe,
and the Light and Darkneſs that ſucceſſively
prevail in the two hemiſpheres. If the ſupe-
rior hemiſphere is illuminated by light perſo-
nified by Ormuzd, a Perſian title, which means
the primæval light, before the ſolar orb was
formed, and which the Greeks ſoftened down
to Oromaſdes; if nature is invigorated by the
ſun, Mithra, the parent of fertility, ſo is the
ſphere of the moral world irradiated by the beam
of religion, and cheriſhed hy the luſtre and
energic influence of Virtue. Goodneſs and
Light create and preſerve; and, in this reflec-
tion, we have direct indications of the ori-
gin of the reſpective characters of the Indian
deities, Brahma and Veeſhnu. On the other
hand, Evil and Darkneſs deſolate and deſtroy,
and, therefore, are perſonified by Ahriman and
Seeva ;. but from evil, or what is called, and
appears to be, evil, though in fact only a leſs
degree of attainable good, ariſing from change
of place or circumſtance, ſupreme and unfore-
ſecn felicity frequently reſults; while from the
apparent deſtruction of one being another new-
modified fprings up, as in the dying vegetable
the feeds of new life are contained, and ge-
neration vigorouſly germinates from the very
bed and boſom of putrefaction.
VOL. I.
Bbb
Such
1
[728
A
Such is the ſolution of the allegory, confi-
dered in a phyſical, a moral, and theological
light: underſtood in an aſtronomical point of
view, from which, however, it is impoſſible
wholly to ſeparate their theology, this eaſtern
fable preſents to our ſight Ormuzd, or Mithra,
the ſupreme deity of the upper hemiſphere, the
Agabodaszews of Perſia, for permanent vigour and
undecaying youtlı, ſymbolized by the ſerpent
that annually ſheds its ſkin, and flouriſhes, as
it were, in life's perpetual ſpring; it preſents
to our ſight, I ſay, on the one hand, Mithra,
attended by a train of bright, that is, benig,
nant angels, by which the Perſians mcant the
planets and ſtars perſonified, the radiant hoſt of
heaven, which, during the progreſs of the fun
through the ſummer ſigns, attend his car, and
ſparkle unſeen around the throne of their chief-
tain. On the other hand this aſtronomical view
of the ſubject exhibits to us Ahriman, or Dark-
neſs, perſonified and ſymbolized by the great
celeſtial Serpent, or dragon of the ſkies, the
Kazodaiwv, or evil Genius of Perſia, who is,
as we have ſeen, the everlaſting object of dread
and horror to the Indians, leading up to battle
againſt his mortal enemy the ſolar God, who
reigns in the ſuperior hemiſphere, his fable
train of malignant angels, or evil genii, that
is,
[ 729 ]
.
is, the ſtars of the inferior hemiſphere, mar-
ſhalled in dire array, and ſtill more awfully for-
midable from the darkneſs that envelopes them.
There is a remarkable paſſage in Plutarch which
will greatly elucidate the hypotheſis juſt men-
tioned, of the ſix ſummer ſigns headed by Oro-
i maſdes contending againſt the ſix winter ſigns
led on to battle by the great Draco, or dragon,
of the celeſtial ſphere, that Draco whoſe ſta-
tion in the heavens is fixed on high amidſt
the gloomy regions of the north pole, where
his vaſt body forms a moſt conſpicuous conſtel-
lation, and is therefore well calculated to be
the mighty chieftain of the Arctic Signs.
Oromaſdes, ſays Plutarch, created fix Gods,
the fix ſummer ſigns of the zodiac, good and
benevolent like himſelf; Ahriman created, and
oppoſed to them, fix other Gods, the wintry
ſigns, dark and malignant, reſembling his own
Oromaſdes created alſo twenty-four
other Gods, all which he incloſed in an egg,
that is, the Mundane Egg, that moſt ancient
ſymbol by which Indians, Perſians, and Egyp-
tians alike ſhadowed out the univerſe ; Ahri.
man, likewiſe, formed his twenty-four other
Gods, which were incloſed in the ſame
egg:
Now by the twenty four Gods created by Oro.
maſdes, added to the twenty-four made by Ah-
Bbb?
: riman,
2
nature.
[ 730 )
*
vers.
1
riman, are meant the forty-eight great conſtel-
lations into which the ancients, as before obfer-
ved from ULUG Beg, divided the viſible hea-
The turbulent deities made by Ahriman,
broke the egg in which they were depoſited,
and from that unhappy moment Good and Evil,
Darkneſs and Light, became promiſcuouſly
blended in that univerſe of which the egg was
the expreflive ſymbol *.
It was, undoubtedly, this mixture of phyſi-
cal and aſtronomical ſpeculation, the eternal
contentions of theſe two adverſe champions,
Light and Darkneſs, blended together, with
fome obſcure traditions of the revolt of the an-
gelic bands, of the fall of man, and the conteſts
of the great patriarchal families of Shem and
Ham for the empire of the infant world, that
gave
birth to the celebrated doctrine, ſo widely
diffuſed throughout the oriental world, of the
two principles of good and evil. We ſee this
doctrine perpetually diſplaying itſelf in all the
theological and metaphyſical writings of the
Pagan philoſophers, and, as has been before
obſerved, even in periods comparatively recent
it continued to flouriſh, in many parts of Aſia,
in the depraved ſuperſtition of the Manichæ-
ans.
* Vidc Plutarch, de Iſide et Ofiride, p. 63.
!
[ 731 ]
+
ans.
In Egypt we have ſeen that the whole
fyſtem of the national religion turned upon
this baſis : every thing that was wonderful and
ſtupendous in nature; whatever events in the
courſe of almighty providence either inſpired
the ſoul with affection and gratitude, or impreſ-
fed it with apprehenſion and horror, were re-
folved into the various operations of the bene-
volent Ofiris and the malignant Typhon *
Theſe two principles are repreſented as eternally
contending together for the empire of the ſub-
lunary ſphere, and there is a curious ſymbolical
print in Montfaucon t, by which the ever-alle-
gorizing ſons of Mizraim ſhadowed out theſe
conteſts, of which I have in this volume pre-
ſented the reader with an engraving. Theſe
principles, undoubtedly of Perſian origin, are
in that print repreſented by two ſerpents raiſed
erect upon their tails, oppoſite to each other,
and darting looks of mutual rage : the one,
who repreſents the good principle, and may be
conſidered as the ſerpent Couphis, who, I have
obſerved, had a temple in Upper Egypt, holds
in its inouth an egg, that ancient ſymbol of
the created world, very common in Egypt and
Greece,
Bbb 3
* See Hyde's Hift. Rel. Vet. Pers. p.
160.
+ See Montfaucon, l'Antiquité Explique, Vol. II. part 2
plate 56.
[ 732 ]
1
Greece, and, as my future hiſtory of the Indian
coſmography will demonſtrate, by no means
unknown in Hindoftan : the other, who muſt
be conſidered as the evil principle, appears with
its expanded jaws eager to ſeize upon, and tear
from its rival, the egg for which they fo
fiercely contend.
In India very plain traits of the ſame aſtro-
nomical ſyſtem are viſible in the conteſts of
the good and evil Dewtahs, that is, the ſtars
perſonified, waging againſt each other per-
petual war to obtain the empire of the agitated
globe. Hence it is that, in Mr. Halhed's fine
edition of the Mahabbarat, illuſtrated with
emblematical paintings, the Soors, or good
Genii, the offspring of SURYA, the Sun, are
painted of a white colour; while the Asoors,
or children of darkneſs, who tenant the gloorny
regions of the north pole, are conſtantly de-
picted black. In the perſons of Veeſhņu and
Seeva, not only phyſical good and evil are in-
ceffantly oppoſed, and their reſpective followers
inflamed with relentleſs fury againſt each other,
but from the creſcent which, according to
Mr. Wilkins, adorns, at Benares, the ſtarry
crown on the ſtatue of this God, his aſtrono-
miçal attributes, and his connection with the
nocturnal
[
733 ]
1
out *
1
nocturnal hemiſphere, are evidently pointed
Vecthnu rides upon his Garoudi, or
eagle, a bird ever ſacred to the fun; and poſſibly.
this eagle is the ſame with the AQUILA of the
celeſtial ſphere, one of the ancient.forty-eight
great conſtellations; while the bull of Seeva
may have as intimate relation to the tàurus of
that ſphere. It is by no means inaptly ſaid
that Seeva ſhould have command over the hoſt
of heaven, fiuce, if I may quote a very applica-
ble paſſage in a very excellent aſtronomer, upon
which I accidentally opened while writing this
part of the theological diſſertation, Mr. Keill,
ſpeaking of the riſe and extinction of the
fixed ſtars, informs us that “ The principle
of generation and corruption is widely diffuſed
through nature ; it reaches even the moſt dif-
tant fired ſtars, and all the bodies of the uni-
verſe are under its dominion t."
To the arguments which I have before pro-
duced towards eſtabliſhing the authenticity of
thoſe portions of the Chaldaic oracles which
were tranſmitted down to us by writers who
were ignorant of, or hoſtile to, the Chriſtan
religion, I ſhall now add the following very
particular
1
B bb 4
* See Mr. Wilkins' Notes upon the Geeta.
+ Kcill's Aſtronomy, P. 55, 8vo. edit. 1769.
[ 734 ]
particular and pertinent paſlage in Plutarch, a
Greek philoſopher, who could draw no part of
his theology from Chriſtianity, and was ſo far
from being friendly to a triad of deity, that he
is generally ſuppoſed to be a ſtrong advocate
for the doctrine of two principles, Plutarch,
however, gives this ſtrong ſupport to what I
have aſſerted relative to the opinions of Zoro-
after. 66 Zoroaſter is ſaid to have made a
threefold diſtribution of things: to have afligned
the firſt and higheſt rank to Oromaldes, who
in the oracles is called the Father ; the loweſt
to Ahrimanes; and the middle to Mithras,
who in the ſame oracles is called tov AEUTEPQU
Nõv, the ſecond mind %,"... The ſentiments
thus imputed to Zoroaſter muſt have come to
Plutarch, who was born in the firſt century of
the Chriſtian æra, at a remote city in Baotia,
from ſome other quarter than a gnoſtic heretic,
and his repreſentation is certainly entitled to
more reſpect than even Proclus, who was born
in the year 410 of that æra, or Damaſcius, who
did not flouriſh till 10 late a period as the ſixth
century. Plutarch cites this paſſage to mark
the ſtrong feature of reſemblance exiſting be-
tween the Zoroaſtrian and the Platonic triad of
deity.
+
1
* Vide Plutarch, de Ifido et Oſiride, p. 370.
[ 735 ]
1
deity, which would not have been the caſe had
the learned of Greece generally conceived that
the idea of ſuch a triad had folely originated in
the ſchool of Plato. I hope, however, finally
to prove that the Zoroaſtrian ſchool is the In-
dian ſchool. One grand ſyſtem of theology in
thoſe remote periods pervaded the Greater Aſia;
and if we ſhould hereafter, as we doubtleſs
ſhall, find the ſyſtem already formed, and the
doctrine flouriſhing in that country and Thibet
five hundred years before Plato was born, the
outcry of its being entirely the fabrication of
Plato, and of its being introduced into the
church by Juſtin Martyr, an admirer, of
Plato, in the ſecond century, muſt henceforth
ccafe. In fact, at that very period, and even
at the diſtance of twice that period, the fym-
bols of it were elevated and adored by the
Brahmins in the deep foreſts of Naugracut,
and ſculptured in the facred caverns of Ele.
phanta : they were ſtamped on a thouſand
çoins, and engraved on a thouſand gems; they
decorated the tiara of the prieſt; they were
interwoven in the purple robe of the judge ;
and ſparkled on the rubied ſceptre of the
prince. Let us now, then, turn our eye eaſt-
svard, to that country which is afferted by
fome enraptured admirers of the religion, po-
ļicy, and manners, of the Indians, to have
been
[ 736 ]
been the cradle of inankind, and the nurſe of
riſing ſcience.
Of exquiſite workmanſhip, and of ſtupen-
dous antiquity -- antiquity to which neither
the page of hiſtory nor human traditions cari
aſcend - that magnificent piece of ſculpture,
ſo often alluded to in the cavern of Elephanta,
decidedly eſtabliſhes the folemn fact, that,
from the remoteſt æras, the Indian nations
have adored a 'TRI-UNE DEITY. There the
.
traveller with awe and aſtoniſhment beholds,
carved out of the ſolid rock, in the moſt con-
ſpicuous part of the moſt ancient and venerable
temple of the world, a buſt, expanding in
breadth near twenty feet, and 110 leſs than
eighteen feet in altitude, by which amazing
proportions, as well as by its gorgeous decora-
tions, it is known to be the image of the grand
preſiding deity of that hallowed retreat : he
beholds, I ſay, a buſt compoſed of three heads
united to one body, 'adorned with the oldeſt
fymbols of the Indiani theology, and thus ex-
preſsly fabricated, according to the unanimous
confeſſion of the ſacred facerdotal tribe of In-
dia, to indicate the CREATOR, the PRESER-
VER, and the ReGENERATOR of mankind. I
conſider the ſuperior antiquity of the Elephanta
temple to that of Salſette, as eſtabliſhed by the
circumſtance of its flat roof, proving it to have
been
.
[ 737]
1
been excavated before mankind had diſcovered
the art of turning the majeſtic arch, and giving
the lofty roof that concave form which adds
ſo greatly to the grandeur of the Salſette temple.
The very ſame circumſtance, I may repeat,
is an irrefragable argument in favour of the
high antiquity of the ſtructures of the Thebais,
through the whole extent of which no arch,
por vaulted dome, meets the eye, perpetually
diſguſted with the unvaried uniformity of the
flat roof, and the incumbent maſs of ponderous
marble, never deviating from the horizontal to
a circular terinination. M. Somnerat thinks
the pyramids of Egypt very feeble monuments
of art and labour if compared with the excava-
tions of Salſette and Elora; the innumerable
ftatues, baſs-reliefs, and columns, he is of
opinion, indicate a thouſand years of continued
labour; and, he adds, that the depredations of
time mark at leaſt an exiſtence of three thou-
fand
years
*. To what æra then will he refer
the ſtill more ancient temple of Elephanta?
To aſcertain, indeed, preciſely that æra is im-
poſſible; but, from various circumſtances, re-
capitulated in many preceding pages, we are
juſtified in fixing it as near the deluge as tho
progreſs
# Sonnerat's Voyages, Vol. I. p. 109. Calcutta printed
[ 738 ]
+
progreſs of ſcience will allow us with propriety
to fix it; and the remarkable ſimilitude which
its ſculptures bear, both in their ſtyle of deſig-
nation and ornaments, to thoſe of the Sabiaus
of Chaldæa, has been demonſtrated in the for-
mer volume.
Although from the grofs alloy of phyſics,
by which the reſpective characters of Brahma,
Veelhou, and Seeva, are degraded, any imme-
diate parallel between thoſe three perſonages,
as at preſent conceived of in India, and the
Chriſtian triad, cannot, without 'impiety, be
made, yet the joint worſhip paid to that triple
divinity, in ancient times far more general
and fervent than in the preſent, when the great
body of the nation is ſplit into fects, adverfc
in principles and hoſtile in manners, inconteſt-
ably evinces that on this point of faith the ten,
timents of the Indians are congenial with thoſe
of their neighbours, the Chaldæans and Perſians.
But it is not only in their grand deity, repre-
ſented by a buft with three heads, that theſe fenti-
ments are clearly demonſtrated; their veneration
for that ſacred number ſtrikingly diſplays itſelf
in their ſacred books, the three original Vedas, as
if each had been delivered by one perſonage of
the auguſt triad, being confined to that myſtic
number; by the regular and preſcribed offering
up
[ 739 ]
1
1
up of their devotions three times a day; by the
immerſion of their bodies, during ablution,
three times in the purifying wave; and by
their conſtantly wearing next their ſkin the ſa-
cred ZENNAR, or cord of three threads, the
myſtic ſymbol of 'their belief in a divine all- ,
ruling TRIAD * The Indians, we may reſt
affured, are too wiſe and too conſiderate a na-
tion to have adhered ſo invariably to theſe rites
and ceremonies without ſome important in-
centive, and ſome myſterious alluſion !
The ſacred ZENNAR which, we have juſt
obſerved, the tribe of Brahmins conſtantly
wear, deſerves very attentive conſideration.
This facred cord can be woven by no profane
hand"; the Brahmin alone can twine the hal-
lowed threads that compoſe it, and it is done by
him with the utmoſt folemnity, and with the
addition of many myſtic rites. The manner
of performing the operation is thus minutely
deſcribed in the Ayeen Akbery :
66 three threads,
each meaſuring ninety-ſix hands, are firſt twiſt-
ed together ; then they are folded into three,
and twiſted again, making it to conſiſt of nine,
that is, three tinies three threads; this is folded
again
+
* Sce page 346 in the former chapter, and the Ayeen Ak-
bery, Vol. III, p.217.
[ 740 ]
1
again into three, but without any more twiſt.
ing, and each end is then faſtened with a knot
(the jod of the Hebrews.) Such is the zen-
NAR, which, being put upon the left ſhoulder,
paſſes to the right ſide, and hangs down as low
as the fingers can reach *."
What, I would now aſk, can be intended by
all this myſtic ceremonial, except they meant
by it to ſhadow out the cloſe aud myſterious
union exiſting between the ſacred perſons who
form the Indian triad ; and why is the ZENNAR
to be for ever worn next the ſkin, but as a fo-
lemn and everlaſting memorial of that triad.
It may here be remarked, as a very curious,
and ſomewhat parallel, circumſtance, that the
Jews wear under their external garments two
ſquare pieces of cloth, called ARBA-KANTOTH,
or four corners; the one covering the breaſt,
the other the back, to which the fringes, which
they are commanded to wear by the Levitical
law, " are faſtened," lays the Jew Gamaliel,
" after a peculiar manner for myſterious rea-
fons.” ". The fringes of the Arba-kanfoth
muſt be ſpun from white wool into worſted
thread by a few woman : the fringe on cach
corner is of eight worſted threads, double
twiſted, about a quarter of a yard in length,
and
1
1
:
* Aycen Akbery, Vol. III. p. 215.
1
[ 741 ]
1
and is faſteried to the Arba-kanfoth in the
manner following: four threads of the ſaid
worſted, of about half a yard long, are drawn
together through an ilet-hole of the Arba-
kan foth. A double knot is then made with
the worſted to faſten it to the Arba.kanfoth ;
after the double knot is made, each of the four
worſted fringes, of half a yard long, by being
knotted and hanging doubled, becomes eight
threads of a quarter of a yard in length ; and
one of thoſe threads, which is cut longer than
the reſt, is wound ſeven times round the other
ſeven threads, and a ſecond double knot is
made. Then the ſame long thread is again
wound nine times round the other ſeven threads,
and a third double knot is made. Afterwards
the ſame long thread is wound eleven times
round the other ſeven threads, and a fourth
double knot is made. Again the ſame long
thread is wound thirteen times round the other
ſeven threads, and the fifth double knot is
made. The eight threads are then made equal
in length, and all the ends of thoſe eight
threads, at each corner of the Arba-kanfoth,
are faſtened with one knot at the end. It ſhould
be noted chat the length of the fringe, from
the laſt double knot to the end of each thread,
muſt be three times the length of the part
3
from
1
1
+
.
[ 742 )
from the firſt double knot to the fifth and
the ſpace from the firſt double knot to the
fifth, muſt be equal to the ſpace commencing
from the ilet-hole down to the firſt double knot."
As the reader may be curious to know the
myſterious reaſons for twiſting in this manner
theſe ſacred threads, I inſert them from the
ſame book, and in its own language, which it
would be in vain to attempt to alter.
" Firſt, the eight threads of the fringe are
in remembrance of the commandment of cir-
cumciſion to take place on the eighth day.
Secondly, the five double knots are in rem
meinbrance of the five Books of Moſes.
Thirdly, the ten ſingle knots, which are
compoſed by the five double ones, are in re-
membrance of the ten commandments.
Fourthly, the ſeven windings round after
the firſt double knot, are in remembrance of
keeping the fabbath on the ſeventh day of the
week.
Fifthly, the nine windings round after the
ſecond double knot, are in remembrance of
the nine months of pregnancy.
Sixthly, the eleven windings round after the
third double knot, are in remembrance of the
eleven ſtars which reverenced Joſeph in his
dream.
Seventhly,
1
!
[ 743 ]
$
Seventhly, the thirteen windings round af-
ter the fourth double knot, are in remembrance
of the thirteen attributes of compaſſion in the
Almighty.
Eighthly, the ſeven, nine, eleven, and thir-
teen windings, making together forty wind-
ings round, are in remembrance of the forty
days that Moſes was with God to receive the
ten commandments.
Ninthly, and laſtly, the feparate knots at
the end of each thread, are to prevent the U!!.
twiſting of the threads, left thereby the whole
of the numerical types ſhould be unravelled."
This Arba-kanfoth is what all Jews are
commanded to be inveſted with, and the veil
which they wear in the Synagogue being
adorned with fringes after the fame manner,
was originally inſtituted to be worn during the
prayers, to ſupply the want of the Arba-kan-
foth in ſuch as had neglected to inveſt them-
felves with it. 6. Theſe fringes they are obliged
to kiſs three times, in the prayer of Wawyomer
Adunai El Mobeh, every time they expreſs the
word fringe, which is three times mentioned in
the aforeſaid cominandment *'
By fome ſuch
myfte-
Сcc
* See the Prayers and Ceremonies of the Jews, 2d. part,
P. 5.
Ibid. p. 6.
+
i
T 744 ]
1
myſterious reaſons as theſc, poff:bly, tie Bran-
mins are actuated in the multir: Id wi:dings of
the ſacred threads that compoſe the Zennar
but its three final diviſions are undoubtedly in
memory of the three-fold deity they adore.
Degraded infinitely, I muſt repeat it, be-
neath the Chriflian as are the characters of the
Hindoo Trinity, yet in cur whole reſearch
throughout Ala there has not hitherto occur-
red ſo direct and unequivocal a defignation of a
Trinity in Unity as that ſculptured in the Ele-
phanta cavern ; nor is there any more decided
avowal of the doctrine itſelf any where to be
met with than in the following paffiges of the
Blagvat-Geeta. In that moſt ancient and au-
thentic book the ſupreme Veeſhnu thus ſpeaks
concerning himſelf and his divine properties
“ I am the holy ONE worthy to be known ;
he immediately adds, “ I am the MYSTIC
[TRILITERAL] FIGURE OM; the Reig,
the YAJUSH, and the SAMAN Vedas.” Geeta,
p. 80. Here we ſee that Veeſhnu ſpeaks ex-
preſsly of his unity, and yet in the
ſentence declares he is the myſtic figure A. U.
M. which three letters, the reader has been in-
formed from Sir William Jones *, coaleſce and
form
1
very fame
See Vol. II. p. 201, of the former chapter.
}
[ 745 )
1
form the Sanſcreet word OM, a word fiınilar
to the Egyptian on, of which denomination
there were prieſts ; a circumſtance which proves
to a demonſtration that the myſterious import
of that word was kuown to the initiated of
both nations. But he is, moreover, the three
ancient and original Vedas, or facred books of
the Brahmins, the names of which, we have
obſerved from the fame author, likewiſe coaleſce
and form the word RIGYAJUISAMA. It may
here be remarked that there cannot be a greater
proof that the fourth or Atharva Veda is not
authentic, than that only the three former Ve-
das are mentioned in this moſt ancient produc-
tion of the Hindoo hierarch, and that to eluci-
date the nature of the deity. The figure which
the three Sanſcreet letters above mentioned,
when combined together, form, is thus de-
fignated; 3 and is the om of the adoring
Brahmins. With reſpect to the diſpoſition and
meaning of the letters which compoſe this
myſtic ſymbol of the deity, I ſhall now farther.
add, from Mr. Wilkins, that - the firſt letter
ſtands for the Creator, the ſecond for the Pre-
ferver, and the third for the Deſtroyer *;" that
is, the Regenerator. Here, then, is exhibited a
complete,
A
Сcc2
Notes on the Geeta, p. 142.
:
[ 746 ]
wy
1
complete, though debaſed, triad of deity, repre:
ſented by three Sanſcreet letters, nearly in the
ſame manner as the Hebrews repreſented the
Trinity by the three jods: but, what is ſtill
more admirable, the awful name formed by
theſe letters is, like the ſacred appellative iin.
ported by thoſe jods, forbidden to be pró,
nounced, but is meditated upon in ſacred and
profound ſilence. Let me, however, ſteer clear
of the rock on which ſo many preceding wri-
ters on Indian topics, and eſpecially the mil-
fionaries, in their laudable anxiety to do honour
to our holy religion, have ſtumbled. I do not
aſſert that they ſtole theſe notions any more than
they did their lofty ideas of the unity of God
from the books of Moſes in the firſt place,
or from the Kabbies afterwards ; but it can
ſcarcely be doubted in what primæval country
the idea originated, and from the virtuous an-
ceſtors of what race the expreſſive ſymbol was,
borrowed. The deity, however, is not only
denoted by three' facred letters, he is farther
fymbolized by three myſtic characters, of
which the inability to procure Sanſcreet types
forbids my exhibiting ſpecimens, but which
the reader may fee in page 122 of the Geeta. .
Of theſe characters, om is the firſt, Tat the
ſecond, and sat the third ; and their impor-
tance
1
[ 49 ]
ers.
tance and application in regard to the ſacred ſi-
tuals of India are enumerated in the ſame page. .
- The Hindoos,” ſays M. Sonnerat, “ adore
three principal deities, Brouma, Chiven, and
Vichenou, who are ſtill but ONĖ; which kind
of trinity is there called Trimourti, or Trit-
vamz, and ſignifies the re-union of three
pow.
The generality of Indians, at preſent,
adore only one of theſe three divinities; but
ſome learned men, beſide this worſhip, alſo ad-
dreſs their prayers to the THREE UNITED ; the
repreſentation of them is to be ſeen in many
pagodas, under that of human figures with
three heads, which, on the coaſt of Oriſſa,
they call SARIHAR ABRAMA; on the Coro-
mandel coaſt, TRIMOURTI; and TRETRA
TREYAM in the Sanſcreet dialect ;' in which
dialect, I beg permiſſion to add, that term
would not have been found, had not the wor-
ſhip of a trinity. exiſted in thoſe ancient times,
full two thouſand five hundred years ago, when
Sanſcreet was the current language of India. But
let M. Sonnerat proceed in his relation. “There
are even temples entirely conſecrated to this
kind of trinity ; ſuch as that of PARPENADE,
in the kingdom of Travancore, where the three
gods are worſhipped in the form of a ſerpent
with a thouſand heads. The feaſt of ANAN-
DAVOUR
f
CC.03
1
[ 748 1
5
1
7
DAVOURDON, which the Indians celebrate to
their honour, on the eve of the full moon, in
the month of Pretachi, or Oétober, always
draws a great number of people, which would
not be the caſc if thoſe that came were not
adorer's of the THREE POWERS *." Such is
the account of M. Sonnerat, collected from
facts to which he was a witneſs, or from au-
thentic information obtained in India, whither
he travelled at the expence of the king of France.
There is, however, in his firſt volume, a lite-
ral tranſlation from Sanſcreet of a POOR AUN,
which he denominates Candon, and in which
the following paffage, deciſively corroborative
of his former aſſertions, occurs. Though in
*this paſſage it is plain that three attributes of
the deity are perſonified, yet the exact number
of three only being ſelected, and their indiviſible
unity in the Indian Trimourti being ſo expreſſly
ſpecified, evidently prove from what doctrine
the ſentiment originally flowed; even from that
moſt ancient doctrine, the perverſion of which
gave to Chaldæa its three PRINCIPLES, to
Mithra his three PROPERTIES, and thence his
name of Tpiracios; which induced the Phoe
nician Taur to fabricate the celebrated mytho-
logical
;
• Sonnerat's Voyages, Vol. I. p. 4. Calcutta edit.
[ 749 ]
1
1
logical ſymbol of the Circle, Serpent, and
Wings; and which aſſigned to Oſiris his two
co-adjutors in the government of that world
round which he is, on Egyptian ſculptures, al-
legorically reprcſented as failing in the facred
Scyphus; himſelf in the middle, and Ifis and
Orus at the two extremities. The paffage al-
luded to is as follows: " It is God alone who
created the univerfe by his productive power,
who maintains it by his all-preſerving power,
and who will deſtroy (or regenerate) it by his
deſtructive (or regenerative) power; ſo that it
is this God who is repreſented under the name
of THREE GODS, who are called TRIMOURTI*"
On this paſſage I ſhall only make one reinark;
which is, that if the Indians had originally in-
tended to deify merely three attributes of God,
they would, ſurely, have fixed on the three
principal attributes of the Deity, which are
GOODNESS, WISDOM, and Power, rather
.than his creative, his preſerving, and his de
- ſtroying faculty. Of theſe there was ſurely
.but little occaſion to make three Gods, ſince he
whº poſſeſſes the power to CREATE, muſt of
: neceſſity alſo poſſeſs the power to. PRESERVE
and to DESTROY.
The
C c c 4
!
1
* Sonnerat's Voyages, Vol. I. p. 259, idem edit.
A
1
1
1
[ 750 ]
The Indians ſeem to have been, at ſome time
or other, fo abſorbed in this worſhip, that they
have both varied and multiplied the ſymbols
and the images by which they deſignated their
triad. Mr. Forſter, often cited by me, as an
authentic ſource of intelligence, becauſe the
dctual ſpectator as well as the faithful reporter
of their numerous ſuperſtitions, in his ſketches
of Hindoo Mythology writes as follows: “ One
circumſtance which forcibly ſtruck my atten-
tion was, the Hindoo belief of a Trinity: The
perſons are Sree Mun Narrin, the Maha
Letchimy, a beautiful woman, and a ſerpent.
Theſe perſons are, by the Hindoos, ſuppoſed to
be wholly indivifible'; the one is Three, and
the, THRťE are one *.” The facred perſons
who con.poſe this trinity are very remarkable,
for Sree Mun Narrain, as Mr. Forſter writes
the word, is NARAYEN, the ſupreme God:
the beautiful woman is the IMMA of the He-
brews; and the union of the ſexes in the divi-
nity is perfectly conſonant with that ancient
doctrine .maintained in the Geeta, and propa-
gated by Orpheus, that the deity is both MALE
and FEMALE t. The ſerpent is the ancient
and
1
* Vide Mr. Forſter's Sketches of Hindoo Mythology,
P. I2
† Sce Page 352 preceding.
[ 751
A
+
and uſual Egyptian ſymbol for the divine Lagos,
2 ſymbol of which the Saviour of the world
himſelf did not diſdain in ſome degree to admit
the propriety, when he compared himſelf to the
healing ſerpent elevated in the wilderneſs *.
M. Tavernier, on his entering the pagoda
firſt deſcribed in this volume, obſerved an idol
in the center of the building fitting croſs-leg’d,
after the Indian faſhion, upon whoſe head was
placed une triple couronne ut; and from this triple
crown four horns extended themſelves, the
ſymbol of the rays of glory, denoting the deity
to whom the four quarters of the world were
under ſubjection. According to the ſame au-
thor, in his account of the Benares pagoda,
the deity of India is faluted by proſtrating the
body 'three times; and to this account I ſhall
add, that he is not only adorned with a triple
crown, and worſhipped by a triple falutation,
but he bears in his hands a three-forked ſcep-
tre, exhibiting the exact model, or rather, to
ſpeak more truly, being the undoubted proto-
type of the trident of the Greek Neptune. On
-that ſymbol of the watery deity I beg permiſ-
Gion
+
4 다
​* Jolin, 3. 14.
+ See · Voyage des Indes, tom. III. p. 226, edit. Rouen.
1713
1
7
[ 752 )
+
fion to ſubmit to the reader a few curſory
obfervations.
The very unſatisfactory reaſons given by
mythologiſts for the aſiignment of the trident
to that deity, exhibit very clear evidence of its
being a ſymbol that was borrowed from ſome
more ancient mythology, and did not naturally,
or originally, belong to Neptune. Its three
points, or tines, ſome of them affirm to ſignify
the different qualities of the three forts of
waters that are upon the earth, as the waters of
the ocean, which are falt; the water of foun-
tains which is ſweet; and the water of lakes
and ponds which, in a degree, partakes of the
nature of both. Others again inſiſt that this
three-pronged fceptre alludes to Neptune's
threefold power over the ſea, viz. to agitate, to
aluage, and to preſerve *.
Theſe reaſons are
all mighty frivolous, and amount to a confef-
fion of their total ignorance of its real mean-
ing.
It was in the moſt ancient periods the ſcep-
tre of the Indian deity, and may be ſeen in the
hands of that deity in the fourth plate of M.
d'Hancarville's third volume, as well as among
the
* Sce Varro, lib. 2, cap. 2; and conſult Banier's Mytho-
logy on this Symbol, Vol. II, p. 30.
[ 753.]
.
·
the ſacred ſymbols ſculptured in the Elephanta
Cavern, and copied thence by M. Niebuhr into
the ſixth plate of his engravings of the Ele-
phanta antiquities *. It was, indeed, highly
proper
and ſtrictly characteriſtic that a threefold
deity ſhould wield a triple ſceptre; and I'have
now a very curious circumſtance to unfold to
the reader, which I am enabled to do' from the
information of Mr. Hodges, relative to this
myſterious emblem. The very ancient and ve-
nerable edifices of Deogur, which have before
been deſcribed as immenſe pyramids, do not
terminate at the ſummit in a pyramidal point,
for the Apex is cut off at about one ſeventh
of what would be the entire height of the py-
ramid were it completed, and from the center
of the top there riſes a circular cone, that anci-
ent emblem of the fun. What is exceedingly
ſingular in regard to theſe cones is, that they
are on their fummits decorated with this very
ſymbol, or uſurped ſceptre, of the Greek
Iloc erdwy. Thus was the outſide of the build-
ing decorated and crowned, as it were, with a
conſpicuous emblem of the worſhip celebrated
· within, which, from the antiquity of the ſtrúč-
ture, raiſed in the infancy of the empire, af-
ter
* Scc. Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie, tom. 2, oppoſite p. 27.
1
1
į 754
754 ]
ter caveřn-worſhip had ceaſed, was probably
that of Brahma, Veeſhnu, and Seeva; for wo
have ſeen that Elephanta is, in fact, A TEMPLE
TO THE INDIAN TRIAD, evidenced in the co-
loflal ſculpture that forms the principal figure
of it, and excavated probably dre Brahma had
fallen into neglect among thoſe who ſtill ac-
knowledge him as the creative energy, or dif-
ferent ſects had ſprung up under the reſpective
names of Veeſhnu and Seeva. Underſtood
with reference to the pure theology of India,
ſuch appears to me to be the meaning of this
miſtaken ſymbol ; but a ſyſtem of phyſical the-
ology quickly ſucceeded to the pure, and the
debaſed, but ingenious, progeny, who invented
it, knew too well how to adapt the ſymbols
and images of the true to the falſe devotion.
The three ſublime hypoſtaſes of the 'true tri-
nity were degraded into three attributes ; in
phyſical cauſes the facred myſteries of religion
were attempted to be explained away; its doc-
trines were corrupted, and its emblems per-
verted. They went the abſurd length of de-
grading a Creator, for ſuch Brahma, in the
Hindoo creed, confeſſedly is, to the rank of a
created Dewtah, which has been ſhewn to be
.a glaring ſoleciſm in theology.
The evident reſult then is, that, notwith-
ſtanding
1
[ 755 ]
.
1
--
ſtanding all the corruption of the purer the
ology of the Brahmins by the baſe alloy of hu,
man philoſophy, under the perverted votion of
three attributes, the Indians have immemori-
ally worſhiped a threefold Divinity, who,
conſidered apart from their phyſical notions, is
the Creator, the Preſerver, and the Regenerator,
I muſt again repeat, that it would be in the high-
eſt degree abſurd to continue to affix the name
of Deſtroyer to the third hypoſtaſis in their
triad, when it is notorious that the Brahmins
deny that any thing can be deſtroyed, and in-
fiſt that a change alone in the form of objects
and their mode of exiſtence takes place. One
feature, therefore, in that character, hoſtile to
our ſyſtem, upon ſtrict examination, vaniſhes;
and the other feature, which creates ſo much
diſguſt, and gives ſuch an air of licentiouſneſs
to his character, is annihilated by the conſide-
ration of their deep immerſion in philoſophical
fpeculations, of their inceffant endeavours to
account for the divine operations by natural
cauſes, and to explain them by palpable and
viſible fymbols.
Theſe three beings, in fact, are all ſculp-
tured with expreſſive emblems, or marks,
that prove them to be not of temporal nor
mortal, but of divine and ſpiritual origin.
The
[ 756 ]
The ſymbol of Brahma, which he conſtantly
bears in his hand, is the CIRCLE; the known
ſymbol of eternity in India, in the ſame man-
ner as ferpents in circles were in Egypt, the
ſymbol of revolving cycles and perpetual ge-
nerations. His four heads mark the creator of
the four elements of nature; and their poſition
in all ſculptures and paintings to front the four
quarters of the world, points him out as the
ſupreme inſpector and governor of that uni-
verſe which, I have frequently obſerved, the
effort of a god only could crcate. When, there,
fore, ſome fects of Indians degrade Bralımą
from his divine rank; or when they vainly phi-
loſophize, and make him to be matter, and
honour him with leſs ſolemn and reſpectful
rites in their temples than Veelhnu and Maha-
deo; it is evident they do not rightly undera
ſtand their own ſyſtem of theology ; that they
have forgotten the grand original tradition by
which they were led to worſhip three in one ;
and are, moreover, guilty of the enormous fo-
leciſm of making matter create itſelf. On every
retroſpect towards the benevolent character and
amiable functions of the ſecond perſon in the
· Indian triad, it is, I conceive, abundantly ma-
nifeft, that by Veeſhnu the original inventors,
of this ſyſtem of worſhip could only mean to
ſhadow
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[ 757 ]
fhadow out the great Preſerver of mankind
from the pains of eternal death. Veeſhnu inta-
riably carries in his hand the celeſtial CHACRA,
or Indian thunderbolt, which is likewiſe a
weapon
in the form of a circle, continually vo-
miting forth flames; and which, at the com-
mand of the God, itſelf inſtinct with life; tra-
verſes heaven and earth to deſtroy the ASOORS,
thoſe malignant dæmons who perpetually plot
the moleſtation and downfall of the human
race, the object of his guardiau care. · Veeſhnu
rides upon his garudi, or eagle, which is con-
ſtantly ſculptured near him in the Indian tem-
ples; a ſymbol which, while it puts us in
mind of the thunder-hearing eagle of the Gre-
cian Jupiter, cannot fail of bringing to our re-
membrance that hallowed bird of the Hebrew
cherubim, which I have obſerved, formed a
conſpicuous conſtellation on the primitive and
poflibly ante-diluvian ſphere. 'It ſhould alſo
be remembered that to Seeya belongs the BULL,
which is another animal in the grand Hebrew
hieroglyphic, and notwithſtanding the wild
mythology of the Brahmins, it is more than
probable that this aſtronomical fymbol, in an-
cient times, was at once both accounted for and
applied in a manner widely different from that
in which it is explained and applied by the
pre.
fent race of Indians. In reſpect to the remain-
ing
[ 758 ]
ing ſymbolical animal of the Cherubim, though
the LION be not the immediate ſymbol of
Brahma, yet it gives its uame to too many of the
diſtinguiſhed perſonages in the Indian hiſtory
and mythology to allow us one moinent to
doubt of their high and moſt ancient venera-
tion for that zodiacal aſteriſm, conſecrated by
the adoption of it among the few ſymbols ad-
mitted into the Mofaic theology. To cloſe this
extended diſquiſition on the Indian trinity, w
ſee that the Elephanta-cavern pagoda, excavated
in æras of unfathomable antiquity, WAS A
STUPENDOUS TEMPLE TO THAT TRINITY ;
that their moſt ancient and venerated production,
the Mahabbarat, is not leſs expreſs upon the
unity of deity than the threefold diſtinction con-
tended for; that, in remembrance of this triad,
at firſt pure and holy 'in every feature of its
character, but degraded afterwards by groſs
phyſics and falſe philoſophy, they wear a ſacred
ZENNAR, or cord of three threads, next their
bodies, and that thence the number THREE
has been holden by them in the moſt facred
veneration through every æra of their exiſtence
as a nation ; a nation diſtinguiſhed above all
others in Pagan antiquity for the profundity
of its various learning, and the purity of its
priinæval theology.
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