PROOFS FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 



the Kaimuc Tartars, the doctrine of a future 

 slate holds a conspicuous place. They believe 

 t. iat hell is situated in the middle region, be 

 tween heaven and earth, and their devils are re 

 presented with all sorts of frightful forms, of a 

 black and hideous aspect, with the heads of goats, 

 lions, and unicorns. Their holy lamas, who 

 have obtained a victory over all their passions, 

 are supposed to pass immediately into heaven, 

 where they enjoy perfect rest, and exercise 

 themselves in divine service. The Samoiedians 

 of Northern Tartary believe, that there is one 

 Supreme Being, that he is our all-merciful and 

 common Parent, and that he will reward with a 

 happy state hereafter, those who live virtuously 

 in this world. The JBirmans believe in the 

 transmigration of souls, after which, they main 

 tain, that the radically bad will be sentenced to 

 lasting punishment, while the good will enjoy 

 eternal happiness on a mountain called Meru. 



The various tribes which inhabit the continent 

 of Africa, in so far as we arc acquainted with 

 their religious opinions, appear to recognise the 

 doctrine of a future state. &quot; I was lately dis 

 coursing on this subject,&quot; says Mr. Addison, in 

 one of his Spectators, &quot; with a learned person, 

 who has been very much conversant among the 

 inhabitants of the most western parts of Africa. 

 Upon his conversing with several in that coun 

 try, he tells me, that their notions of heaven or 

 of a future state of happiness, is this that every 

 thing we there wish for will immediately present 

 itself to us. We find, say they, that our souls 

 are of such a naiure that they require variety, 

 and are not capable of being always delighted 

 with the same objects. The Supreme Being, 

 therefore, in compliance with this state of hap 

 piness which he has implanted in the soul of 

 man, will raise up, from time to time, say they, 

 every gratification which it is in the human na 

 ture to be pleased with. If we wish to be in 

 groves or bowers, among running streams or falls 

 of v/ater, we shall immediately find ourselves in 

 the midst of such a scene as we desire. If we 

 would be entertained with music, and the melody 

 of sounds, the concert arises upon our wish, and 

 the whole region about us is filled with harmony. 

 In short, every desire will be followed by frui 

 tion; and whatever a man s inclination directs 

 him to, will be present with him.&quot; The Ne 

 groes, and other inhabitants of the interior of 

 Africa, according to the account of Mr. Park, 

 believe in one Supreme Ruler, and expect here 

 after to enter into a state of misery or felicity. 

 The Gallas of Abyssinia, though they reject 

 the doctrine of future punishment, admit the 

 reality of a future state. The Mandingoes, the 

 Jaloffs, the Feloops, the Foulahs, the Moors, and 

 all the other tribes who have embraced the Ma 

 hometan faith, recognise the doctrine of the 

 immortality of the soul, and of future rewards in 

 , celestial paradise. The natives of Dahomv 

 14 



entertain the same belief; and hence, it is a 

 common practice with the sovereign of that 

 country, to send an account to his forefathers of 

 any remarkable event, by delivering a message 

 to whoever may happen to be near him at tho 

 time, and then ordering his head to be chopped 

 off immediately, that he may serve as a courier, 

 to convey intelligence to the world of spirits.* 



The Persians are said to leave one part of theii 

 graves open, from a belief that the dead will be 

 reanimated, and visited by angels, who will ap 

 point them to their appropriate abodes in a future 

 state. From a similar belief, thousands of Hin 

 doo widows annually sacrifice themselves on the 

 funeral piles of their deceased husbands, in the 

 hope of enjoying with them the felicities of eter 

 nal life. The Japanese believe, that the souls 

 of men and beasts are alike immortal ; that a 

 just distribution of rewards and punishments 

 takes place after death ; that there are different 

 degrees of happiness, as well as of punishment, 

 and that the souls of the wicked transmigrate, 

 after death, into the bodies of animals, and at 

 last, in case of amendment, are translated back 

 again into the human form.&quot;}&quot; From a conviction 

 of the reJity of a future world, the Wahabee 

 Arabs regard it as impious to mourn for the 

 dead, who, they say, are enjoying felicity with 

 Mahomet in paradise ; and the Javanese make 

 several feasts, on the decease of their friends and 

 relations, to commemorate their entrance into a 

 world ot bliss. The North American Indians 

 believe that, beyond the most distant mountains 

 of their country, there is a wide river; beyond 

 that river a great country ; on the other side of 

 that country, a world of water ; in that water 

 are a thousand islands, full of irees and streams 

 of water, and that a thousand buffaloes, and ten 

 thousand deer, graze on the hills, or ruminate in 

 ths valleys. When they die, they are persuaded 

 that the Great Spirit will conduct them to this 

 land of souls. 



Thus it appears, that not only the philosophers 

 of antiquity, and the most civilized nations pre 

 sently existing on the globe, have recognised 

 the doctrine of the immortality of man, but that 

 even the most savage and untutored tribes fortify 

 their minds in the prospect of death, with the 

 hope of a happiness commensurate to their de 

 sires, in the regions beyond the grave. 



&quot; E en the poor Indian whose untutor d mind 

 Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind, 

 Whose soul proud science never taught to stray 

 Far as the solar walk or milky way 

 Yet simple nature to his hope has given 

 Behind the cloud-topt hill an humbler heaven , 

 Some safer world in depth of woods embraced, 

 Some happier island in the watery waste, 

 &quot;Where slaves once more their native land behold, 

 No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold, 

 And thinks, admitted to yon equal sky, 

 His faithful dog shall bear him company. &quot;Pop*. 



M Leod s Voyage to Africa, 1830, p. M, 

 t Thunberg s Travels. 



