Chap. XIII. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. i8i 



nefs of God would give fome fupernatural afliftance to the moft 

 antient nation in the world, and to which we owe fo many arts and 

 fciences, and indeed I may fay all the arts and fciences which we 

 poffefs, and by which we have been enabled to make fome progrefs 

 towards regaining the ftate from which we are fallen. 



Befides thefe religious dodtrines which were contained in their lef- 

 fer and greater mylleries, they knew even the myftery of the Trinity; 

 for in L'.gypt Plato learned it*, and with it his dodrine of ideas, which 

 I think 1 have Ihown tobe neceflarily conneded with the dodrine of 

 the Trinity, fo that both together make a compleat fyftem of the 

 philofophy of Nature and of Theology, All this learning we can- 

 not get from the books of the B".gyptians, which are not now ex- 

 tant, or if they were, we could not underftand them. But we have 

 it from Greek author-, fuch as Herodotus and Plato, who were in 

 the country, and learned their philofophy from the Egyptians them- 

 felves, with whoni they convcrfed ; which was better than learning 

 it from books : And a man, now-a-days, that has employed his 

 time in the ftudy of the Greek authors, who, befides what they 

 learned of philofophy from the Egyptians, cultivated it much 

 themfelves, and have preferved to us a great deal of the philofophy 

 of Pythagoras, who was in Egypt above 20 years, and, I am per- 

 fuaded, learned more of the Egyptian philofophy than all the other 

 Greeks; — fuch a man will certainly very much improve his intel- 

 ledual mind, which is the nobleft part of his compofition, and dif- 

 tinguiflies him from all the other animals on this earth, and in this 

 way will prepare himfelf for further improvements of his intelled 

 and confenuently for the enjoyment of greater happinefs in a future 

 ftate. 



GHAP, 



• Vol. IV. p. 165^ 



