Chap. VI. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 3S1 



the fouls of men from a material, fenfual, and merely human life, 

 and joined them in communion with God. And not only did the 

 initiated enjoy intellecual pleafures, greater than other men, but 

 even the pleafures of body, which nature beftows on us, fuch as the 

 light of the fun*. 



And here it may not be improper to obferve, that the Egyptians not 

 only invented thofe arts, without which men could not have lived in 

 civil fociety, but alfo, that we owe to them fciences and philoibphy, in 

 which they appear to have excelled all the nations that everexifted;^ 

 Further, that they applied their philofophy to the mod ufeful purpofe 

 in human life, the framing a good form of polity, the belt that ever 

 cxifted. And, laftly, when to arts, fciences, and philofophy, they add- 

 ed fuch a religion, by which they provided for the happinefs of men 

 in the life to come, as much as they could do by the light of natural 

 reafon, muft we not allow that the wifdom of the Egyptians deferves 

 all the praife which our Scripture and the antient Greek writers 

 bellow on itf, and that they were truly a wonderful people, worthy 

 of being chofen by providence to be the inventors, the depofitaries, 

 and the propagators, of arts and fciences all over the world. 



This philofophical religion of Egypt was not only communicated 

 to certain philofophers of Greece, but it was, by fome of thofe phi- 

 lofophers, committed to writing, particularly by Plato, who has given 

 us the fame pure fyftem of Theifm, revealed to the initiated in the 

 myfteries, alfo the pre-exiilent and more perfefl ftate of man, and 

 a future ftate of rewards and punifliments. There was, however, 

 one of the do£lrines of the myfteries, that he has thought proper 

 not to publilli, for a reafon which may be eafily guefled j — That ail 

 the deities worfhipped by the people were mere men. 



There 



* Ibid. p. 175. t Page 135. 



