I. gods, moreover, were esteemed superior to menĆ EN T. in power and immortality; but, in every thing PART I. else, they were considered as their equals. The priests were little solicitous to animate the people to a virtuous conduct, either by their precepts or their example; nay, they plainly enough declared, that all that was essential to the true worship of the gods, was contained only in the rites and institutions which the people had received by tradition from their ancestors [w]. And as to what regarded the rewards of virtue and the punishment. of vice after this present life, the general notions were partly uncertain, partly licentious, and often more proper to administer indulgence to vice, than encouragement to virtue. Hence, the wiser part of mankind, about the time of CHRIST's birth, looked upon this whole system of religion as a just object of ridicule and contempt. XIV. The consequences of this wretched theo- On the conlogy were a universal corruption of manners, moted cortrary, it prowhich discovered itself in the impunity of the ruption of most flagitious crimes [x]. JUVENAL and PER-manners. SIUS among the Latins, and LUCIAN among the Greeks, bear testimony to the justice of this heavy accusation. It is also well known, that no public law prohibited the sports of the gladiators, the exercise of unnatural lusts, the licentiousness "Proxima adoranti Junonia templa subibit, of [w] See BARBEYRAC's Preface to his French translation of PUFFENDORF's System of the Law of Nature and Nations, sect. vi. p. 21. of the last edition. [x] The corrupt manners of those who lay in the darkness of idolatry are described, in an ample and affecting manner, in the first of CYPRIAN's epistles. See also on this subject, CORNEL ADAMI Exercitatio de malis Romanorum ante prædication em Evangelii moribus. This is the fifth discourse of a collection published by that learned writer at Groningen, 1712, in quarto. CEN T. of divorce, the custom of exposing infants, and PART 1. of procuring abortions, nor the frontless atrocity of consecrating publicly stews and brothels to certain divinities [y]. The argu XV. Such as were not sunk in an unaccount priefs in de-able and brutish stupidity, perceived the deforfence of Pa-mity of these religious systems. To these the ganifm. crafty priests addressed two considerations, to prevent their incredulity, and to dispel their doubts. The first was drawn from the miracles and prodigies which they pretended were daily wrought in the temples, before the statues of the gods and heroes that were placed there; and the second was deduced from oracles and divination, by which they maintained that the secrets of futurity were unfolded through the interposition of the gods. In both these points the cunning of the priests imposed miserably upon the ignorance of the people; and if the discerning few saw the cheat, they were obliged, from a regard to their own safety, to laugh with caution, since the priests were even ready to accuse, before a raging and superstitious multitude, those who discovered their religious frauds, as rebels against the ma jesty of the immortal gods. The reli XVI. At the time of CHRIST's appearance upgion of the on earth, the religion of the Romans, as well as Greeks and their arms, had extended itself through a great Romans. part of the world. This religion must be known to those who are acquainted with the Grecian superstitions [z]. In some things, indeed, it differs from them; for the Romans, besides the institutions which NUMA and others had invented with political [y] See Dr JOHN LELAND'S excellent account of the religious sentiments, moral conduct, and future prospects of the Pagans, in his large work entitled, The Advantage and Necessity of the Christian Revelation. [2] See DIONYSIUS HALICARN. Antiq. Rom. lib. vii. cap. Ixxii. p. 460. tom. i. Edit. Hudson. I. mong those tions. political views, added several Italic and Hetrurian C EN T. fictions to the Grecian fables, and gave also to the PART I Egyptian deities a place among their own [a]. The RoXVII. In the provinces subjected to the Ro-mans introman government, there arose a new kind of reli-duced their gion, formed by a mixture of the ancient rites of own rites athe conquered nations with those of the Romans. of the conThese nations, who, before their subjection, had quered natheir own gods, and their own particular religious institutions, were persuaded, by degrees, to admit into their worship a great number of the sacred rites and customs of their conquerors. The view of the Romans, in this change, was not only to confirm their authority by the powerful aid of religion, but also to abolish the inhuman rites which were performed by many of the barbarous nations who had received their yoke; and this change was effected partly by the prudence of the victors, partly by the levity of the vanquished, and by their ambition to please their new masters. religion dif Romans. XVIII. When, from the sacred rites of the an- Syftems of cient Romans, we pass to a review of the other ferent from religions that prevailed in the world, we shall find, that of the that the most remarkable may be properly divided into two classes, of which the one will comprehend the religious systems which owe their existence to political views; and the other, those which seem to have been formed for military purposes. In the former class may be ranked the religions of most of the eastern nations, especially of the Persians, Egyptians, and Indians, which appear to have been solely calculated for the preservation of the state, the supporting of the royal authority ánd grandeur, 'the maintenance of public peace, and the advancement of civil virtues. Under the military class may be comprehended the religious system of the northern nations; since all the traditions [a] See PETIT ad leges Atticas, lib. i. tit. i. p. 71. I. CEN T. ditions that we find among the Germans, the BrePART 1. tons, the Celts, and the Goths, concerning their divinities, have a manifest tendency to excite and nourish fortitude and ferosity, an insensibility of danger, and a contempt of life. An attentive enquiry into the religions of these respective nations, will abundantly verify what is here asserted. The wifer among the XIX. None of these nations, indeed, ever arrived at such an excess of universal barbarity and could not ignorance, as not to have some discerning men zemedy thefe evils. among them, who were sensible of the extravagance of all these religions. But of these sagacious observers, some were destitute of the weight and authority that were necessary to remedy these over-grown evils; and others wanted the will to exert themselves in such a glorious cause. And the truth is, none of them had wisdom equal to such a solemn and arduous enterprize. This appears manifestly from the laborious, but useless efforts of some of the Greek and Roman philoso, phers against the vulgar superstitions. These venerable sages delivered, in their writings, many sublime things concerning the nature of God, and the duties incumbent upon men; they disputed with sagacity against the popular religion; but to all this they added such chimerical notions, and such absurd subtilties of their own, as may serve to convince us that it belongs to God alone, and not to man, to reveal the truth without any mixture of impurity or error. Two kinds of philofo time of CHRIST'S birth. XX. About the time of CHRIST'S appearance phy prevail- upon earth, there were two kinds of philosophy ed at the which prevailed among the civilized nations. One was the philosophy of the Greeks, adopted also by the Romans; and the other, that of the Orientals, which had a great number of votaries in Persia, Syria, Chaldea, Egypt, and even among the Jews. The former was distinguished by the simple title of philosophy. The latter was ho noured I. noured with the more pompous appellation ofC EN T. science, or knowledge [b], since those who embraced PART I. this latter sect pretended to be the restorers of the knowledge of God, which was lost in the world [c]. The followers of both these systems, in consequence of vehement disputes and dissensions about several points, subdivided themselves into a variety of sects. It is, however, to be observed, that all the sects of the oriental philosophy deduced their various tenets from one fundamental principle, which they held in common; whereas the Greeks were much divided even about the first principles of science. As we shall have occasion hereafter to speak of the oriental philosophy, we shall confine ourselves here to the doctrines taught by the Grecian sages, and shall give some account of the various sects into which they were divided. Grecian sys tems sub XXI. Among the Grecian sects, there were Some of the some which declared openly against all religion; and others, who, though they acknowledged a versive of. deity, and admitted a religion, yet cast a cloud all piety.. over the truth, instead of exhibiting it in its genuine beauty and lustre. Of the former kind were the Epicureans and Academics: The Epicureans maintained," That "the world arose from chance; that the gods (whose existence they did not dare to deny) "neither did, nor could extend their providen"tial care to human affairs; that the soul was "mortal; that pleasure [d] was to be regarded as Vol. I. D "the [b][vois (gnosis) in the Greek signifies science, or knowledge, and from hence came the title of Gnostics, which this presumptuous sect claimed as due to their superior light and penetration in divine things. [c] St Paul mentions and condemns both these kinds of philosophy; the Greek, in the Epistle to the Colossians, ii. 8. and the Oriental, or Gnosis, in the First Epistle to Timothy, vi. 20. [d] The ambiguity of the word pleasure has produced many disputes in the explication of the Epicurean System. |