4 



herds into extasy, by his account of the origin of all things, 

 V. 31, namque catiebat, uti, ^-c. and the grand entertainment 

 given by the Tyrian Queen to iEneas and her court, con- 

 cluded, the poet tells us, with the song of Jopas, accom- 

 panied on his lyre, on the origin of men and animals, iEneid 

 I. 740 : the Persians also sung tlieir Theogonies.* 



Whether the first and most ancient inhabitants of our globe 

 ascribed its origin and superintcndance to one or more beings, 

 has lately been questioned. Mr. Hume, in an elaborate 

 essay on the natural history of religion, labours to prove, 

 " that polytheism or idolatry necessarily must have been the 

 " first and most ancient religion of mankind. It is (he says) 

 " a matter of fact incontestable, that about 1700 years ago, 

 " all mankind were idolaters. The doubtful and sceptical 

 " principles of a few philosophers, and the theism, and that 

 " too not entirely pure, of one or two nations, form no 

 " objection worth regarding." The almost univeral spread 

 of idolatry about ISOO years ago is incontestable ; but this 

 date is later by four or 5000 years than that of the primeval 

 inhabitants of our globe, whose rehgion is the sole object of 

 the present question. He adds, " the certainty of this fact 

 " rests on two grounds, first, on the clear testimony of history ; 

 " for that the most ancient records of the human race present 



us Avith polytheism, as the popular and established system. 



What can be opposed to so full an evidence ?" Certainly 

 nothing, if it were true that such evidence exists ; but it so 



happens 



* Herod. I.il). T. § 132. 



