1796. ] 
ple of Jupiter, the homage was not paid 
to the ftatue, but tothe god. In Greece, 
in Egypt, and in every other country, the 
cafe muft have been the fame. ‘T’he wor- 
fhip of idols, as fuch, is not to be found, 
in modern times, even among the moft 
iznorant and fuperftitious people. Bernier, 
a judicious traveller, relates. that he con- 
verted with one of the pundits at Benares, 
on the worthip of idols among the Hin- 
doos, who told him, that though they 
had in their temples many ftatues, both of 
fuperior and inferior divinities, before 
which they proftrated themfelves, prefent- 
ing them flowers, rice, oil, and other ar- 
ticles, with much ceremony, neverthelefs, 
they did not believe that the fatues were 
the divinities themfelves, but only their 
image, or reprefentaticn ; and that they 
honoured them only onaccount ofthe beings 
which they reprefented ; that they were 
placed in the temples only to furnifh the 
people with fome vifible obje& to fix 
their attention, and that, when they prayed, 
it was not to the ftatue, but to him whom 
it reprefented (a).” ‘There has never 
been atime, or place, in which men have 
“believed, that by the incantation of a few 
‘holy words, a piece of wood, or ftone, 
‘could be converted into a divinity. Idols 
have been, in all ages, the images, or re- 
prefentatives, of beings whofe exiftence 
has been the objeét of popular belief. 
* Concerning the origin of the ufe of 
thefe fymbols, and the manner in which 
they were firft introduced, a due attention 
to a few leading facts in the ancient 
hiftory of religion, may, perhaps, lead us 
to a fatisfaétory conclufion. The Hebrew 
writings, though they enable us to look 
back to a very remote period, caft litrle 
Tight upon this fubjeét. The account 
given, in the book of Genefis, of Rachel’s 
theft of her father Laban’s terapbim, or 
gods*, proves, that domettic idols were in 
ufe at this early period; but in what man- 
ner, or for what purpofe they were em- 
ployed, does not appear. The idolatry 
of Egypr, and other neighbouring na- 
tions, is fometimes mentioned in the Mo- 
faic hiftory, but without conveying to 
thefe diftant times much diftinét infor- 
mation concerning its nature and origin. 
From various other records, we learn, 
‘that in.ancient nations the moft prevalent 
fuperflition was the worthip of the hea- 
venly bodies. In Chaldea, which formed 
a part of the kingdom of Babylon, ante- 
rior to the eftablifhment of the Egyptian 

(2) Crawfurd’s Sketches of the Hindoos, 
® Gen. <xxi. 30, : 
The Enquirer. No. V. 
371 
monarchy, we find early traces of this 
worfhip: Believing the fun, the planets, 
and the ftars to be gods, who directed the 
deftiny of mortals, the Chaldeans praétifed 
the art of aftrological divination, and per- 
formed religious rites in honour of thefe 
divinities (a2). We have the authority of 
the learned Jew, Maimonides (4), for the 
early exiftence of this worfhip in Arabia, 
under the name of Sabifm: and it Is pro- 
bable, and is, indeed, afferted by their 
hiftorian, Abulfaragius (c), that this wor- 
fhip was borrowed, in very remote times; 
from the Chaldeans. In Egypt, accord- 
ing to Diodorus Siculus (4), the moft an- 
cient inhabitants acknowledged two great 
divinities, the fun and moon, under the 
names of Ofiris and Ifis, by whom they 
believed the world to be governed, and on 
whom they fuppofed the birth, growth, 
and perfeétion of all the productions of 
nature to depend. The fabulous hiftory 
of thefe two divinities, preferved by Dio- 
dorus Siculus and Plutarch, may be in- 
terpreted as allegorical defcriptions of 
their motions in the heavens, and of their 
influence, real or fuppofed, on the pro- 
duétions of the earth. The fame remark 
is applicable to the Grecian fables of Her- 
cules, whofe twelve labours were probably 
allegorical reprefentations of the fun’s 
courfe through the figns of the zodiac. 
Among the Perfians, we learn from He- 
rodotus (¢), Strabo (f), and many other 
writers, that the fun was worfhipped, un- 
der the name of Mithras: and to this day 
a Perfian: feét exifts, called Guebres, de- 
{cendants of the ancient difciples of Zo- 
roafter, who worfhip the element of fire. 
The fame worfhip is found among the 
Indians. Alexander offered facrifice to 
the fun upon the borders of the Ganges, 
on his viétory over Porus (g). The 
practice of the Indians, mentioned by 
Lucian (5), of worfhipping the rifing fun, 
is continued to this day by the Bramins of 
Hindoftan. In various parts of the eaft 
are ftill found remains of ancient edifices 
confecrated to the fun. If farther proof 
were neceflary, of the general prevalence 
of this worfhip in ancient times, autho- 
rities might eafily be accumulated to at- 
te{t, that the firft gods of the Greeks were 
the heavenly bodies; that in the moft en- 
lightened periods of Greece and Rome, 
the fun, and other heavenly bodies, were 
(a) Job. xxxvil. 27. Diod. Sic. J. 1. c. 6° 
Herod. |. i, c. 182. (8) Mor. Nev. p. 3. c, 26. 
(c) Hit. Dynaft. p. 2. (d) Lil, c. 10, 1T- 
(e) Clio. c, 131- (f) Lib. xv. (g) Q Curt. 
Lix.c. 1. (#/ de Salt. 
3 Be worfhippes, 
