130 General Observations on Brahmans and Buddhists. [Feb. 



The Egyptians had not only two kinds of written character, — one 

 popular — the other Sacerdotal, but two sorts of sacred sculpture — one 

 simple, like the figures of Buddha and the three llamas, the other alle- 

 gorical, like the figures of Ganesa, Isani, &c* Here we have the exter- 

 nals at least of Buddhism and Brahmanism when contemporaneous. 



Druidism was, according to Davies, simply the worship of men — deified 

 after death. Like Brahmanism, it took a long time before it became 

 sanguinary — and only became so after the Phenecians, as Faber informs 

 us, led Colonies to Britain. Druidic man or hero-worship was corrupted, 

 says Davies, into the worship of the sun, moon, and stars. Hence issued 

 the deities of Chaldea, first, then Egypt and thence to the east or India, 

 or Tibet, Britain, Tartary, Asia and Siam, Ceylon, Japanese Isles, 

 China, Siberia, Russia, Scandinavia and the N. of Europe. Thirdly, to 

 India, Scythia and China. Fourthly, to Rome, Europe, Germany, Gaul 

 and Britain. Fifthly, to Greece. The Druidical religion is a ramifica- 

 tion of Hinduism. Should he not have said of Buddhism ? The first part 

 of the above paragraph closely accords with some parts of the ancient 

 Persian system of religion. Francklin assigns Tartary as the birthplace 

 of the Druids, basing his supposition upon physiognomy, or rather on 

 their facial and craniological conformation, and that Buddhism reached 

 the Persians and (from the neighbourhood of Afghanistan perhaps) 

 before A. D. 700. 



The pyramids of Egypt have been shewn by explorers to have been 

 erected as mausoleums for the mighty dead. The Tower of Belus might 

 have been built for a similar purpose. The Israelites in their wander- 

 ings betrayed a tendency, to imitate that pyramidal type.f One author 

 has informed us that the Meru of the Buddhists is the tomb of the Spirit 

 of heaven, his bones having been scattered all over the world and being 

 afterwards collected like (those of Osiris), were enshrined. J 



The Cuthite Ethiopians expelled the Mizraim from Egypt [or abori- 

 gines] and they raised the pyramids. This nation became afterwards 

 Scythse or Scythians, and were esteemed the oldest nation on the 

 earth. § 



* As. Res. Vol. II. p. 273. 



f Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, pp. 29, 30. 



% Tr. A. S. of B. Vol. X. p. 12 8, et seq. 



§ Franklin's quotation (p. 154) of Bryant's Analysis. 



