TOL. XXII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 535 



and they accordingly affirm, that as these souls behaved themselves in their 

 pre-existent state, so are their actions in this world either good or bad, by a 

 sort of fatal necessity, which is very hard to conquer or overcome. Hence it 

 is, say they, that there are so many different humours and dispositions of men ; 

 for their souls before their entrance into their bodies being tainted with different 

 affections, causes the like difference in the parties whose bodies are their vehi- 

 cles. So that if a man happen to have a sudden or unfortunate death, they 

 immediately ascribe the same to the party's own wickedness, or the bad life that 

 his soul led before it entered into his body. For, say they, the fore-acted evil 

 that his soul did in its other life brought these accidents upon him, by getting 

 the upper hand of him, and by being too powerful and strong. And they be- 

 lieve that the souls of those who die thus, turn immediately into devils. They 

 maintain Pythagoras's transmigration, or metempsychosis, but in a grosser sense 

 than he did ; for they believe that the souls of men who have not lived well, 

 go as soon as the body dies, not only into birds and beasts, but even into the 

 basest reptiles, insects, and plants, where they suffer a strong sort of purgation, 

 to expiate their former crimes; but as for the souls of thejogees, or fuches, 

 that is, of religious men and saints, they inhabit with the good dewtas, or 

 angels, among the stars. 



As for the spirits, or inferior angels, they believe that they are very bad, and 

 have a hand in all wickedness, murders, wars, storms, and tempests ; so that 

 when they solemnize the funerals of the dead, they always present dishes of 

 meat, as offerings to those spirits, and sometimes they sacrifice to them, that 

 they may not hurt the souls of the dead. 



As they acknowledge the being of a mighty God, so they hold that he 

 created the world, and every thing in it. They believe that there is almost an 

 infinite number of worlds, and that God has oftentimes annihilated and re- 

 created the same. But how he came first to create the world and mankind, 

 they relate to have been thus — Once on a time, say they, as he was set in 

 eternity, it came into his mind to make something, and no sooner had he 

 thought the same, but the same minute a beautiful woman was present before 

 him, and he called her Adea Suktee, that is, the first woman ; then this figure 

 brought into his mind that of a man ; and immediately a man also started up 

 before him ; this he called Manapuise, that is, the first man ; then on reflection 

 he resolved to create several places for them to abide in, and accordingly 

 assuming a subtile body, he breathed in a minute the whole universe, and every 

 thing in it, from the least to the greatest. 



They constantly believe that the universe cannot possibly last longer than 71 



