Chap. VIII. AN TIENT METAPHYSICS. loi 



One of the greateft allurements of thefe Savages, and which made 

 multitudes of them follow the Miflionaries, was, as I have obferved, 

 mufjc, and mufic fuch as the Church mufic among the Roman Ca- 

 tholics is, tending to infpire devout and religious fentiraents. How 

 great the power of muiic is, and how congenial to the nature of 

 man, is well known to the philoibpher, and indeed is a matter of 

 common obfervation and experience. By mufic, the manners may 

 be formed of young men, even of children, who are incapable of 

 being inftruQed by teaching or reafoning ; and, accordingly, it was 

 v^ry much employed by antient wifdom in the education of youth. 

 And if it had not been employed in taming thefe Savage Indians, 

 and fubduing their violent paffions, inflamed, as I have faid, by their 

 moft unnatural diet and manner of life, I do not believe that they 

 ever could have made Chriftians or even Men of them. 



The laft method ufed by the Miflionaries for humanifing thofe 

 brutal Savages, was to eftabllfh a good government among them. 

 If it had been a popular government, it would have done them no 

 good ; but, on the contrary, would have been produdive of much 

 diforder. But it was a religious government ; for the Miflionaries 

 were their governors : And it was adminiftred by officers of their no- 

 mination ; and it may be obferved, that the firft governments in all 

 countries were more or lefs conneded with the religion of the coun- 

 try. The government of Egypt, the moft antient, and, I think, 

 the beft government v/e read of, was a government by Priefts ; 

 and the Jewifh government was much of the fame kind. The firft 

 government of the Greeks was by their Heroic Kings, that iSj 

 Kings who were fuppofed to be defcended of their Gods. 



And here I conclude what I have to fay of this remarkable event 

 in Paraguay, which may be faid to be a renewal of antient limes, 

 and to have verified, by recent fads, the truth of what we are told, 



under 



