G E K T O O S. 



was mucli ufed in the Egyptian worfliip, and from Kgypt it 

 was carried into Greece, where it was ufed in the myllerics 

 of Bacchus. Befides, the lafcivious poftures of the Egyp- 

 tian women before their god Apis, were the fame with thofc 

 of the Hindoo women, before their idols, (fee Brach- 

 MANs): and, moreover, the Hindoos chufe their facred bidls 

 by the fame marks that were ufed by the Egyptians. The 

 E'-yptians worihipped the Nile, as the Hindoos do the 

 Gano-es : the pyramidal or conical form of the Egyptian 

 temples refembled that of the pagodas : and the onion, 

 which was held in veneration by the Egyptians, is not eaten 

 by the Hindoos. Belides this refemblance of general prin- 

 ciples, and religious cuftoms, it is obfervable, th.it the Hin- 

 doo?, Egyptians, and Greeks adopted the fame gods, and 

 paid homage to them under limilar reprefentationsor in-:a";es. 

 "the Egyptians held cows in much greater veneration than 

 any other animal : they were facred to Ifis, and never facri- 

 ficed. That the cow was refpefted by th.e Ilindoos is well 

 known. Upon the whole, it is undeniable that a iyftem, very 

 fimilar to that of tiie prefent Hindoos, muft have been ot very 

 (Treat antiquity, and prior to the general dilperhon of man- 

 kind. For though fimilar fituations may lead to fimilar len- 

 tiraents, and correfponding praftices, the above-mentioned 

 iimilarity, v.'hich might be traced in a much greater number 

 of inftances, extends to too many particulars, to admit our 

 accounting for it in this way : nevertlielefs, it is impoflible 

 that a fyftem, fo extenfive and complex, and implying fuch 

 abltrufe metaphyfics, as that of the Hindoos, Ihould have 

 been completed at a very early period. This mull have been 

 fubfequent to the rudell age of mankind ; and, therefore, we 

 may well imagine, that it could not have had its origin long 

 before the time of Mofes. Whether the Jewifli law-giver 

 was acquainted with it or not, it will appear to any candid 

 as well as accurate examiner of the one or the other, that he 

 was far from deriving any advantage from it ; nor is there in 

 hi&.writings any allufions to tools pretended to be facred, fuch 

 as the Vedas, but only to fuch pradices as were common to 

 the Hindoos and other heathen nations. 



The Hindoos feem to have preferved the knowledge of 

 the Supreme Being, when the Greeks, and other more po- 

 lifhed nations in the weftern parts of the world, had loft fight 

 of him ; their attention being ingrofiedby iriierior objcfts of 

 worfhip. Some of their defcriptions of the deity are jutt, 

 and truly fublime. In the " Inilitutes of Menu" he is faid to 

 be "one whom the mind alone can comprehend, whofe 

 eflence eludes the external organs, who has no vifible parts, 

 who exiils from eternity, the foul of all beings, whom r.o 

 being can comprehend." They alfo fay, that " goodnefs is 

 the very efTence of God." (See Brachmans. ) Nevcr- 

 thelefs, the moft fubhme conceptions of Deity entertained by 

 the Hindoos fall far below thofe that were formed of him by 

 the Hebrews, and which are recorded in t!ie facred writings. 

 In the Hindoo fyftem the firft production of the .Supreme 

 Being was fomething fimilar to the chaos of Mofes,. an earth 

 covered with water; and they fpeakof the " fpirit of Gcd'' 

 as moving upon it. One of the Hindoo fables, related by 

 father Boucliet (Ceremonies of Religion, p. 38.) bears 

 fome refemblance to the mofaic hiftory of Paradife. The 

 Hindoos fay that the firft man was called " Adam," and the 

 firft woman " Manan-iva." The Hir.doos have alfo a pecu- 

 liar day of llie week, which they appropriate to cdls of re- 

 ligion, as prayer and fafting : and in agreement, at leaft in 

 part, with tiie account of Mofes, the Hindoos fay that in 

 the firft ages of the world men were greatly fupcrior to the 

 prefent race both in the length of their lives, and in the 

 powers botli of body and mind ; but that, in confequence of 

 vice, they gradually declined. The Hindoos have alfo pre- 



ferved an untquivocal traditipn of an univcrfal deluge ; and 

 according to the " Puraiiams," books which are faid to con- 

 lain a faithful account of their doftrines, eight perfons ef- 

 caped the general deluge. A curious account of the in- 

 toxication of Noah, and of the behaviour of his tliree fons 

 on the occafion, is given us from the Hindoo writings in t!ic 

 third volume of " Afiatic Refearches." The 4th and 5th 

 "avatar" of the Hindoos, as fir W. .Jones fays (Diff. &c. 

 V. i. p. no.) relate to the puuiftmcnt of impiety, and the 

 humiliation of the proud ; and refer, as he thinks, to the 

 difpcrilon from Bubel. In tl;e " Bagavadam" there are, 

 befides the inofaic account of the deluge, the principal cir^ 

 cumfta'nces of the hiilory of Iflunael, and the facrifice of 

 Ifaac. Several things occur in the Hindoo traditions. 

 v,'hich greatly refemble fome in the hiftory of Abraham ; 

 and Brahma, the Hindoo linv-giver, very mudi refembles 

 this ancient patriarch. 



The feveral inditutos contained in the colleftion of the 

 Gentoo laws, wliich we ftiail prelcntly notice, are inter- 

 wovv'n with the religion of the Gentoos, and revered as 

 of the tilgheft authority. The curious reader -will difcover 

 an afloniftilug fimilarlty between the inftitutcs of this code 

 and many of the ordinances of the .Tewifii law, between the 

 character of the Bramins or priefts, and the Levites ; ;and 

 between the ceremonv of the fcape-goat, inider tlie 

 Mofaic difpenfation, and a Gentoo ceremony, called 

 the nihummeeti jug, in wliich a horfe anfwers the purpofe 

 of a goat. In this code we find fome of the more ex- 

 traordiiiary laws and cufloms of the Hebrew nation, fuel) 

 as were never received in the weftern part of the world ; as ■ 

 that of a man taking the widow of his brother, in order 

 to keep up his fanTily. Polygamy appears alfo tc have 

 been allowed to the Hindoos, as it was to the Hebrews. 

 Many obfolete cuftoms and ufages, allucied to in many parts 

 of the Old Teilament, may alfo receive illnftration from the 

 inftitutcs of this code. It appears from the code, that t'le 

 Bramins, who are the priefts and legifiators cf the country, 

 have refigncd all the fecular and executive pow.-r into the 

 hands of another caft or tribe ; and no Bramin has been pro- 

 perly capable of the magiftracy fince the tine of the futtec 

 jogue ; the only privilege of importance which they have 

 appropriated to themfelves is an exemption from all capital' 

 punilhmcnt ; they may be degraded, branded, impriloncd 

 for life, or fent into perpetual exile ; but it is every where 

 exprefsly ordained, that a Bramin fnould not be put to death 

 on any account whatfoever. 



Among the Hindoos there is a confiderahle difTcronce of 

 opinion on the fubjetl of creation ; but in tlie following 

 general outline they feem to be all agreed. They fay, thai 

 after the Supreme Being had exilled alone from all eternity, 

 he refolved to produce other beings. But this produftion 

 was wholly " irom his own fubftance ;'.' and after a certain 

 period, they believe that every thing will be abforbcd into 

 him again, wheivlie will exift alone as before. There will,, 

 however, be a fuccefiion of tiiefe creations and abforptions 

 v.'ithouc end. At what time the firit creation took place 

 they do not fay ; but according to them, every thing tjjat 

 now exifts has exified before, and will hereafter cxlit: again.. 

 Tiie great fupcriority of the fplritual to the corporeal part 

 of man is the fundamental doftrine of the Hindoo fyftem ; 

 andhence fprings the fatisfaftion which the Hiiidjos always 

 exprefs on the ieparation cf tlicm. From the Indian pliilo- 

 fophy it is probable that the Manicheans had their idea of 

 an original difference in fouls, fome being neccfiarlly good, 

 and others bad.. 1'hat all nature is animated, and tlrat the 

 fouls which animate the loweft forms of things are capable 

 of fifing to the higheft ftate, is allertcd in th.e " Inftitutcs of 

 I, Menu." 



