234 



A NATURAL HISTORY 



all good, the other, of all evil Things. So the Marcionites held 

 two contrary Gods 5 and in the third Century, the Manichees 

 did the fame. 



Perhaps, this might be one reafon why God paft Sentence 

 upon the Devil in the Serpent, in the prefence and hearing of our 

 firft Parents, viz. to prevent the Error of imagining that there 

 was any Principle of Evil, which was independent upon the Al- 

 mighty. The Sentence part: upon Satan in the Curfe upon the 

 Serpent, was a Convidtion to Adam and Eve of his Dependency 

 upon the Almighty Creator, before whofe Tribunal he now was 

 conftrained to appear, to receive the Sentence merited by thofe,. 

 who make a Lye, and tempt their Fellow-creatures to rebel. 



R EA S NS about the Adoration of different kind of Animals 



by the Egyptians. 



I F you afk, that if they worfhipped a Serpent, why did they 

 pay religious Honours to fo many other Beafts ? I anfwer. This 

 monftrous Idolatry begun in Egypt, and the firft occafion for it 

 feems to be this, viz. 



OSIRIS, a certain King of Egypt, who reign'd with great 

 Equity and Mildnefs, having divided his Kingdom into feveral 

 diftind: Provinces, appointed Prefidents over them, and in their 

 Banners he placed the Figures, or Pidl:uresof certain Animals, that 

 bore fome Similitude to the Peculiarities of thofe Countries, over 

 which they were to prefide : Thus to the Governor, whofe Land 

 was proper for Tillage, he defign'd an Ox in his Standard, to 

 which the Inhabitants of that Place paid a particular Veneration, 

 which in procefs of time was worfliipped by the whole Nation^ 

 for its Ufefulnefs, and as the Symbol of Agriculture : Hence the 

 Image of Oftris is fet off with Horns. 



The golden Calf which Aaron made in the Wildernefs, and 

 the Calves fet up by "Jeroboam to be worfliipped in his Kingdom, 

 were an Imitation of the idolatrous Adoration, which the Egyp- 

 tians paid to their Bull Apis. 



That part of the Country, in which was abundance of Wa- 

 ter, the King fet a Crocodile (an amphibious Animal) in his Ban- 

 ner, that was to govern there, which was had in high Venera- 

 tion, efpecially in the City of Mir a j and at laft the Crocodile was 

 v/orrtiipped all over Egypt, 



Whe re 



