CHAP. Xir. IGNORANCE OF THE PEOPLE. l6.5 



of men's minds, wlicn untutored on religious sub- 

 jects, soon paved tlie way for idle superstition ; the 

 belief of genii, and spirits, pervading the universe, led 

 to the adoration of fancifid beings ; and perverted 

 notions respecting the Deity, obliterating every 

 trace of the simple original, effectually prevented 

 the uninitiated from suspecting the real nature 

 of their religion. And so gross at length became 

 their ideas, that the character of the Gods they 

 worshipped was degraded, their supposed actions 

 censured, or their non-interference avenged by an 

 insult to their statues or their names. 



It is not, then, surprising that foreigners should 

 be struck with the absurdities which, from outward 

 appearances, the religion of Egypt piesented; and 

 the animals chosen as emblems of the Gods, or as 

 substitutes for the divine rulers of the world, were 

 frequently calculated to give a very low o})inion of 

 the exalted personages of whom they were thought 

 to be proper representatives ; and however a})pro- 

 priately the hieroglyphics might indicate a cliild 

 by a goose*, the God of learning could scarcely 

 be flattered by being figured under the form of 

 an Ape, or the Creator of the world, who made all 

 things perfect, under the deformed character of the 

 pigmy Pthah. 



An Egyptian priest, it is true, might object to 

 his religion being judged by the standard of our 

 ideas ; he might insist upon the necessity of secrecy 

 in the mysteries, in order to prevent tlie dan- 



* In fact, merely in consequence of its phonetic or al[)liabetic value. 



M 3 



