mortality to the fouls of the just only; and believe that the fouls of the wicked perish with their bodies. The native Hindows are gentle and humane: the metempfychofis or tranfmigration of fouls, is an article in their creed; and hence the prohibition to destroy any living creature, because it might disturb the foul of an ancestor. In the fecond chapter of the Sadder, it is written, that a man whofe good works are more numerous than his fins, will go to paradife; otherwife that he will be thrust into hell, there to remain for ever. It adds, that a bridge erected over the great abyfs where hell is fituated, leads from this earth to paradife; that upon the bridge there ftands an angel, who weighs in a balance the merits of the passengers; that the paffenger whose good works are found light in the balance, is thrown over the bridge into hell; but that the paffenger whofe good works preponderate, proceeds in his journey to paradife, where there is a glorious city, gardens, rivers, and beautiful virgins, whofe looks are a perpetual feaft, but who must not be enjoy'd. In the fourth chapter of the Sadder, good works are zealously

I

zealously recommended in the following parable. Zeradufht, or Zoroafter, being in company with God, faw a man in hell who wanted his right foot."Oh my 66 Creator," faid Zoroafter, "who is that: man who wants the right foot? God anfwered, He was the king of thirty"three cities, reigned many years, but 66 never did any good, except once, when, feeing a fheep ty'd where it could not "reach its food, he with his right foot push"ed the food to it; upon which account " that foot was faved from hell." In Japan, those of the Sinto religion believe, that the fouls of good men are translated to a place of happiness, next to the habitation of their gods. But they admit no place of torment; nor have they any notion of a devil, but what animates the fox, a very mifchievous animal in that country. What then becomes of the fouls of ill men? Being denied entrance into heaven, they wander about to expiate their fins. Those of the Bubfdo religion believe, that in the other world, there is a place of mifery as well as of happiness. Of the latter there are different degrees, for different degrees of virtue; and yet, far from enVOL. IV. Y Y vying

k

vying the happier lot of athers, every inhabitant is perfectly fatisfied with his own. There are alfo different degrees of mifery; for justice requires, that every man be punished according to the nature and number of his fins. Jemma O is the fevere judge of the wicked: their vices appear to him in all their horror, by means of a mirror, named the mirror of knowledge. When fouls have expiated their fins, after fuffering long in the prifon of darkness, they are fent back into the world, to animate ferpents, toads, and fuch vile animals as refembled them in their former exiftence. From thefe they pafs into the bodies of more innocent animals; and at last are again fuffered to enter human bodies; after the diffolution of which, they run the fame courfe of happiness or misery as at firft. The people of Benin, in Africa, believe a man's fhadow to be a real being, that gives. teftimony after death for or against him; and that he accordingly is made happy or miferable in another world. The Negroes hold that their own country is delicious above all others; and it is the belief of feveral of their tribes, that where-ever they

die, they will return to their own country. This is a perpetual fource of comfort, and infpires them with humanity above the other tribes. A religious belief in ancient Greece, that the fouls of those who are left above ground without rites, have not accefs to Elyfium, tended to promote humanity; for thofe who are careful of the dead, will not be altogether indifferent about the living.

Immenfe are the bleffings that proceed from the union of pure religion with found morality: but however immense, I boldly affirm, that they scarce counterbalance the manifold evils that proceed from impure religion, indulging and even encouraging grofs immoralities. A few glaring inftances fhall be felected. The first 1 fhall mention is, the holding religion to confift in the belief of points purely fpeculative, fuch as have no relation to good works. The natural effect of that doctrine is, to divorce religion from morality, in manifeft contradiction to the will of God. What avails it, for example, to the glory of God or to the happiness of men, whet ther the conception of the Virgin Mary was maculate or immaculate? The fol

lowing few inftances, felected from a great number, are controverfies of that kind, which for ages miferably afflicted the Christian church, and engendered the bittereft enmity, productive of destruction and flaughter among brethren of the fame religion. In the fifth century, it was the employment of more than one general council, to determine, whether the mother of God, or the mother of Chrift, is the proper epithet of the Virgin Mary. In the fixth century, a bitter controversy arose, whether Chrift's body was corruptible. In the feventh century, Chriftians were divided about the volition of Chrift, whether he had one or two Wills, and how his Will operated. In the eighth and ninth centuries, the Greek and Latin churches. divided about the Holy Ghoft, whether he proceeded from the Father and Son, or only from the Father. In the eleventh century, there arofe a warm contest between the Greek and Latin churches about ufing unleavened bread in the eucharist. In the fourteenth century, it was controverted between Pope John XXII. and the divines of his time, whether fouls in their intermediate state fee God, or only the

&

human