DAMON. 
the writings of the ancients, ie who had not ie men. 
Cicero contends, (Tufc. Quef. .Ce 12.) “that th 
whole heaven was almoft ane y filled with the human race; 
that even gods of the fuperior order, or gods of the shee! 
nations, were originally natives of this = world, 
(See alfo Cicero De Nat. Deor. 1. ic. Cicero’s ae 
timony is confirmed by St. Auftin (Civ. Dek \. vill. c. 26. 
c. 5.), who fays, “ You cannct find, or can hardly find, 
in all the writings of the He Felsetpe any gods but fuch as 
had been men; neverthelefs, to all of them they pay divine 
ase as if they had never belonged to the human race.” 
It was upon the principles of the ancient thealogy that the 
‘ nor was | cuftom 
o 
fuperttition, which pre ale to fucha 
degree, that even the Chrifian emperors permitted them- 
felves to be addreficd, ‘as gods adored by the nations, to 
whom the 1 rivate voy. 
nies of the ae nad from certain seco es. 
The heathea poets, whatever are the titles with which at 
diznify the objects of their eftablifhed worfhip, don 
thelefs record their birth, nee and kindred, wand 
afcribe to them thofe pallies, external forms, and various 
properties, which bclong to human nature, and which fub- 
ee man ki (See Cic cer, de Natur, Deor, 1. i. c., 
16. I. ii. The worthip 
e painters and 
fool ans convey to us a cme ideas of the h eathen ce 
. as the poets, for re reprefent them under human figures, 
both ae and fem 
appeal be made to the opinions of the Sear 
conga the gods, they will ae found to have been 
nitely various. Neverthelefs, we may edit e from ae 
objets of national es p, and 
iman fpirits. Indeed, a ilo. 
fophers eftablifh this fact. The en hitloran not only 
bear teltimony to the worfhip of ee {pi n particular 
countries, but furnifh general proofs of the peace: of this 
oS ong se pee ae (See Diod. Sic. Fragm. 
il, p. 633. ed. Weffel. Polyb. Hitt. |. vii. p. 572. 
ed.  Cafanb b.) “he tearued Bryant (fee Anal, Anc. Mythol. 
vol. i. p. 4.54, &c.), whilft he allows, that the Pagan gods 
were not only {uppofed by Chrittian writers to have been 
deified mortals, who were worfhipped in the countries 
where they died, but that this was the nau of the 
heathens themfelves, the very people by whom thefe gods 
were honoured ; contends that this was a  niftake ; and 
that moft of the defied perfonages, mentioned by the 
Greck writers, never exifted, but were mere titles of the 
This hypothelis be Eats upon two 
e of — being mological deduction, 
w is, in various 8, ‘eee and unfatisfaGory ; 
vad ca other, the writings eae the Greeks, whofe teitimony 
he eee = taken pains to difparage. 
mine the opinion of the 
Heathe en arenes we tha il l find that the writers of the 
Teftament, in part icular, thoug new that th 
Pagans believed in fdereal and elemental deities, yet properly 
defcribe their gods as dead pe 
S concerning the 
O 
that the public worfhip was more immediately dit rected. I 
defcribing the Heathen gods a d perfons, they con- 
them as what they “rea// Rat they wer 
conceived to be by their worlhippers, for thefe regarded them 
men ieee to divine power and dominion. (See 
Deut RX ar Pf. evi. 28, compared with Numb. xxv. 
‘Ie. 1g.) In seal peaa aa from thefe, the 
Gee prophets called Jehovah the only living God. (See 
Deut. v. 26. Jofh. iii. 10. 1 Sam xvii. 26. 2 Kings, 
RIX. 4. Dan. vi. 26, &c &e The Jews, 
who were the authors ‘of the Scptnagint verfion, ftyle the 
gods dzmons. (Deut. xxxii. 17. Pi. xev. 6, 
37.) The Chriftian fas are very generally 
agreed in eae that all the Heathen deities had been 
men and women; fo that it is needlefs to multiply citations 
from their writings tothis purpofe ‘This, as Mr. Bryant al- 
lows, was the opinion of Clemens, Eufebius, Cyril, anne 
thenagoras, Epiphanius, Lactantius, oe us, Julius 
Firmicus, and others; among whom ae reckoa 
Cyprian, 1 Minucius ielix, and St. Auftin. 
he opinion and pened of the fathers feem to he of 
reat weight in ermination of this queltion. 
e 
mination they confidently pronounced the objette of na- 
tional worthip to be human fpirits. ‘They fupported this 
opinon by arguments more than by the acthorty« or Res 
fions of the Fleathens. And fo clear and cogent were their 
reafonings, that eee deferted the worthip of ne falfe 
gods, and adored only the Creator of heaven ‘and earth, 
all the Heathen gods eda the deified parts and powers 
of nature) ha en men, are confirmed by indifputable 
facts, and particularly by the nature of the worthip paid to 
the heathen deities. If no argument can be drawn from 
the facrifices which were eas them; yet their images, 
columns, fhrines, reliques, alta grave-ftones; and tem- 
les (which were their peered afford {uflicient proofs, 
ne the objets of public worfhip were fuch dead men and 
omen as luperttition — sven funeral rites were per- 
ad in their honour. a juft idea of the heathen gods 
is a matter of no {mall pa nce in its reference to cone 
iflent views of religion, and a fatisfactory defence of the 
Scripture, we have extended this article beyond the vfwal 
can we forbear obfer , that, atatim 
univerfally a as nee and divine, and the elements 
and the heavenly bodies were tho ought to poflefs an Ea 
ower to exert themfelves in all their irable efleéts, Mofes 
difcovered, publifhed, and, by f ss miracles, contiimed 
the oppolite dotirine. his docirine, fo perfcChy agree. 
able to the principles of modern philofophy, and fo re- 
mote from the fentiments and pbilofophy of his age, affords 
a flrong SS of his having received it by immediate 
revelatio As to th 
they wcre fiat foes fouls zmon, or created 
{pirits of a ad order, as fome apprehend ; the {crips 
ture (we conceive) gives us fuch a view of them as is in- 
confiltent ant their iin id ga es or working mi- 
dias The facred writers feem confiant!y to reprefent 
gods ag utterly impotent and Saieaiean: either as 
ears no real exiltence, or no more power than if they did 
not exit. ‘they call them “* vanities,’? or things of no 
value or efficacy, and this degrading reprefentation is ex- 
tended to all of them without exception, (See Deut. 
3 . 
