OF SERPENTS. 333 



CHAP. VI. 



Reafonsfor worfhipping hurtful as well as ufeful Creatures^ founded 

 on a Notion of two eternal contrary Principles : T'hey believe God 

 was goody and could not be the Author of moral Evily therefore 

 framed the Ditheijlical DoSirine-, an Error ^ efpoufed by fome 

 primitive Chriflians^ confuted by the Sentence pafl upon the Ser^ 

 pent. Reafons for worfldipping different Species of Animals by 

 the Egyptians. 



WHENCE arifes the Honour given by Heathens to diffe- 

 rent Species of Beings, to the noxious and hurtful, as 

 well as to the falutary and beneficent Tribe ? 



Probably, it might be from their obferving the Mixtures 

 of Good and Evil in the vifible Creation, when as yet in their 

 infantile State of Knowledge : The reafon of this they could no 

 otherwife account for, but by giving into the Notion oitwo dijiiiicl 

 indepe?ident governing Powers ; the one a good, the other an evil 

 Genius : accordingly they worfliipped Creatures that were ufeful, 

 as being the Minifters of the good Genius; and thofe that were 

 hurtful they paid Homage to, out of fervile Fear, and to ingra- 

 tiate themfelves into their Favour. In the Morning they wor- 

 iliipped the celeftial Gods \ in the Evening, the infernal: On the 

 Plain they worfhipped the terreftrial Gods, on Hills the fuperna- 

 tural y in Groto's and Caves, the infernal. 



Hence it is they afferted a Duplicity of Gods, viz. Two 

 perceptive felf-exiftent Beings, one the Principle of Good, and 

 the other of Evil. This Opinion originally fprung from aftrong, 

 firm Perfuafion, T^hat God was invariably Goody and therefore could 

 not po[fibly be the Author of the Evil upon Earth. Nor could they 

 otherwife folve the Difficulty about the Entrance of moral Evil 

 into our World, but by fuppofmg another eternal felf-exillent evil 

 Caufe. 



Yea, fome among the primitive Chriftians fell into the Error 

 of alTerting this Ditheijlical Dodrine^ that is, two felf-exiflent 

 Principles in the Univerfe, to wit, a good God, and an evil Detnon^ 

 Thus the CerdoniteSy an heretical Sed:, that fprung up in the fe- 

 cond Century, held there were two Gods 5 one, the Author of 



H h ail 



