LITERATURE OF THE BURMAS. 275 



nature, but a wicked perfon now undergoing the pu- 

 nifliment of his crimes ; and who has involved man- 

 kind in fin and misfortune by teaching a doctrine con- 

 trary to that of GoDAMA. Indeed the little mention 

 made of him in the cofmography, in the book Kam- 

 inua^ and by the Zarado, (how that he is not fo ef- 

 fential a being in the doclrine of Rahans^ as Arima- 

 Nius was in that of the Magi. Befides the Rahans 

 worfliip images ; and are fo far from adoring fire, they 

 never kindle one,leafh they fhould deftroy the life of fome 

 animal. Magic and aftrology they alfo abhor, and 

 deteft bloody facrifices. The Magi, on the contrary, 

 facrificed animals. There is even reafon to believe,^ 

 that human facrifices were common among the fol- 

 lowers of Zoroaster, and by them introduced into 

 the horrible rites of a great part of the ancient world. 

 1 therefore conclude that the Magi were a different 

 feet from the Samanians ; and I doubt not, that they 

 were a feci of much greater antiquity. 



Paulinus alfo fuppofes the religion of the Magi 

 to be the fame with that of the Brahnens, or of an- 

 tient Egypt,\ but in this too I think he is miftaken. 

 The good and bad principles of the Magi, and their 

 want af images, of the perfonification of the deities, 

 and above all, ofcaft, are great differences. Befides, 

 the two fyftems are confidered as diilincl by the an- 

 tients, who fur^ly were the beft judges. The religion 

 of \.\\g: Magi, Paulinus, with great probability, con- 

 tends J came from India to Perfia in the reign of 

 Cyrus, about 560 years before the birth of Christ, 

 and from Perjia was afterwards difperfed over the 

 weftern nations. || How then could the father fup- 

 pofe the doctrine of the Magi to be the parent of the 

 religion o^ Egypt? a religion which had fubfifted there, 

 and had been transferred to Greece, certainly many 

 ages before the invafion of Camhyjes. 



T 2 These 



* Plinii Natur.Hlftor. lib. 30, cap. 1. + Mus. Borg. pag. 188. 

 X Mus. Borg. page 141. 



II This is confirmed by the opinion of Pliny (Hb. 30, cap. 1.), who 

 thought, that magic was tirft introducedinto£Mri?/'iby the army of Xerxes, 



