144 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
fessed friendship to extort, and in mere conversation to 
exaggerate and fabricate. The laws regard the testimony 
of witnesses as a part of circumstantial evidence, to be 
opposed by contrary testimony or evidence. Lying, has 
in some cases, been enforced on the natives, it having been 
required of every Hova, when speaking with foreigners on 
political matters, to state the exact opposite to truth, on 
pain of punishment. So far has this been carried, that 
it was once a serious and public complaint against Chris¬ 
tianity, that it taught the people to scruple at telling lies, 
even to deceive their country’s enemies. 
Many of the Malagasy seem to think expediency deter¬ 
mines the character of actions, and act as if they had no 
perception of what is vicious. The laws, publicly pro¬ 
claimed, define vice; and there are terms for depravity, 
guilt, error, &c. and it appears that from these, and pro¬ 
verbial admonitory sayings, the people derive their ideas 
of what is right or wrong. But whilst the baneful 
influence of degeneracy of heart, and long familiarity with 
sin, have been such as to lead them to regard theft, and 
other acts of darker moral turpitude, as almost harmless, 
innumerable ceremonial observances are enjoined as duty, 
and the neglect of them regarded as criminal. 
Idolatry, wherever it prevails, leads to this gross per¬ 
version of all correct moral sentiments and feelings, by 
ascribing all calamities to declared errors of conduct, such 
as eating certain herbs, sitting in a certain posture, &c.» 
and satisfying itself by endeavouring to remove all evil, and 
attain all good, by mere external observances, often absurd 
in themselves, and worse than useless to those who perform 
them. 
