in religious worship. Josephus (a), talking of the tabernacle, has the following paffage. "Let any man confider the ftructure of "the tabernacle, the facerdotal vestments, the veffels dedicated to "the fervice of the altar; and he must of neceffity be convinced, that our lawgiver was a pious man, and that all the clamours against us and our profeffion, are mere calumny. For what are all of these but the image of the whole world? This will appear to any man who foberly and impartially examines the << matter. The tabernacle of thirty cubits is divided into three parts; two for the priests in general, and as free to them as the "earth and the fea; the third, where no mortal must be admit

ted, is as the heaven, referved for God himself. The twelve "loaves of fhew-bread fignify the twelve months of the year. "The candlestick, composed of seven branches, refers to the "twelve figns of the zodiac, through which the seven planets "fhape their courfe; and the feven lamps on the top of the seven "branches bear an analogy to the planets themselves. The cur"tains of four colours represent the four elements. The fine li

nen fignifies the earth, as flax is raised there. By the purple is "understood the fea, from the blood of the murex, which dies "that colour. The violet colour is a fymbol of the air; and the "fcarlet of the fire. By the linen garment of the high-priest, is defigned the whole body of the earth: by the violet colour the "heavens. The pomegranates fignify lightning: the bells toll"ing fignify thunder. The four-coloured ephod bears a refem"blance to the very nature of the universe, and the interweaving "it with gold has a regard to the rays of light. The girdle about "the body of the priest is as the sea about the globe of the earth. "The two fardonyx stones are a kind of figure of the fun and moon; and the twelve other ftones may be understood, either

(a) Jewish Antiquities, book 3.

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"of the twelve months, or of the twelve figns in the zodiac. The "violet-coloured tiara is a refemblance of heaven; and it would "be irreverent to have written the facred name of God upon any

other colour. The triple crown and plate of gold give us to "understand the glory and majesty of Almighty God. This is a plain illustration of these matters; and I would not lose any "opportunity of doing juftice to the honour and wifdom of our "incomparable lawgiver." How much wire-drawn, and how remote from any appearance of truth, are the foregoing allufions and imagined resemblances! But religious forms and ceremonies, however arbitrary, are never held to be fo. If an useful purpose do not appear, it is taken for granted, that there must be a hidden meaning; and any meaning, however childish, will ferve at a pinch. Such propensity there is in dark ages for allegorizing, that even our Saviour's miracles have not efcaped. Where-ever any feeming difficulty occurs in the plain sense, the fathers of the church, Origen, Augustine, and Hilary, are never at a loss for a myftic meaning.." Sacrifice to the celeftial gods with an odd "number, and to the terreftrial gods with an even number," is a precept of Pythagoras. Another is, "Turn round in adoring the gods, and fit down when thou haft worshipped.". The learned make a strange bustle about the hidden meaning of these precepts. But, after all, have they any hidden meaning? Forms and ceremonies are useful in external worship, for occupying the vulgar; and it is of no importance what they are, provided they prevent the mind from wandering. Why fuch partiality to ancient ceremonies, when no hidden meaning is fuppofed in those of Christians, fuch as bowing to the east, or the priest performing the liturgy, partly in a black upper garment, partly in a white. No ideas are more fimple than of numbers, nor less susceptible of any hidden meaning; and yet the profound Pythagoras has imagined many fuch meanings. The number one, fays he, having

no

no parts, represents the Deity: it represents also order, peace, and tranquillity, which refult from unity of fentiment. The number two reprefents diforder, confufion, and change. He difcovered in the number three the moft fublime mysteries: all things are compofed, fays he, of three substances. The number four is holy in its nature, and conftitutes the divine effence, which consists in unity, power, benevolence, and wisdom. Would one believe, that the great philofopher, who demonstrated the 47th proposition of the first book of Euclid, was the inventor of fuch childish conceits? Perhaps Pythagoras meant only to divert himself with them. Whether fo or not, it seems difficult to be explained, how such trifles were preserved in memory, and handed down to us through fo many generations. All that can be faid is, that during the infancy of knowledge, every novelty makes a figure, and that it requires a long course of time to separate the corn from the chaff*. A certain writer, fmitten with the conceit of hidden meanings, has applied his talent to the conftellations of the zodiac. The lion typifies the force or heat of the fun in the month of July, when he enters that conftellation. The conftellation where the fun is in the month of Auguft is termed the virgin, fignifying the time of harvest. He enters the balance in September, denoting the equality of day and night. The Scorpion, where he is found in October, is an emblem of the diseases that are frequent during that month, &c. The balance, I acknowledge, is well hit

The following precepts of the fame philofopher, tho' now only fit for the Child's Guide, were originally cherished, and preferved in memory, as emanations of fuperior wifdom. "Do not enter a temple for worship, but with a decent air. "Render not life painful by undertaking too many affairs. Be always ready for "what may happen. Never bind yourself by a vow, nor by an oath. Irritate "not a man who is angry." The feven wife men of Greece made a figure in their time; but it would be unreasonable to expect, that what they taught during the infancy of knowledge, should make a figure in its maturity.

off;

off; but I fee not clearly the resemblance of the force of a lion to the heat of the fun; and still less that of harvest to a virgin: the fpring would be more happily represented by a virgin, and the harvest by a woman in the act of delivery.

The tendency in the mind of man to myfteries and allegories, displays itself with great vigour upon our forefathers, and upon the ancients in general, by means of the great veneration that is paid them. Before writing was known, ancient history is made up of traditional fables. A Trojan Brutus peopled England; and the Scots are defcended from Scota, daughter to an Egyptian king. What reafon have we to doubt but that hiftories of the heathen gods are equally involved in fable? We pretend not to draw any hidden meaning from the former: why fhould we fufpect any fuch meaning in the latter? Allegory is a fpecies of writing too refined for a favage or barbarian: it is the fruit of a cultivated imagination; and was a late invention even in Greece. The allegories of Efop are of the simplest kind, and yet they were compofed after learning began to flourish; and Cebes, whofe allegory about the life of man is justly celebrated, was a difciple of Socrates. Prepoffeffion however in favour of the ancients makes us conclude, that there must be some hidden meaning or allegoin their historical fables; for no better reafon than that they are destitute of common fenfe. In the Greek mythology, there are numberlefs fables related as hiftorical facts merely; witness the fable of gods mixing with women, and procreating giants, like what we find in the fabulous hiftories of many other nations; thefe giants attempting to dethrone Jupiter; Apollo keeping the sheep of Admetus; Minerva fpringing from the head of Jove *; Bacchus

ry

* However eafy it may be to draw an allegorical meaning out of that fable, I cannot admit any fuch meaning to have been intended. An allegory is a fable con

trived

Bacchus 'cut out of his thigh; Orpheus going to hell for his wife; Mars and Venus caught by Vulcan in a net; and a thoufand other fuch childifh ftories. But the Greeks, many centuries after the invention of fuch foolish fables, becoming illustrious for arts and sciences, nothing would fatisfy writers in later times, but to dub them profound philofophers even in their cradle, when mere favages; and hence endless attempts to detect mysteries and hidden meanings in their fables. Let other interpreters of that kind pafs; they give me no concern: but I cannot, without the deepest concern, behold our illuftrious philofopher Bacon employing his talents so abfurdly. What imbecility must there be in human nature, when fo great a genius is capable of fuch puerilities ! As a fubject fo humbling is far from being agreeable, I confine myself to a few inftances. In an ancient fable, Prometheus formed man out of clay; and kindling a bundle of birch rods at the chariot of the fun, brought down fire to the earth for the use of his creature man. And tho' ungrateful man complained to Jupiter of that theft, yet the god, pleased with the ingenuity of Prometheus, not only confirmed to man the ufe of fire, but conferred on him a gift much more confiderable: the gift was perpetual youth, which was laid upon an ass to be carried to the earth. The afs, wanting to drink at a brook, was opposed by a ferpent, who infifted to have the burden, without which, no drink for the poor afs. And thus, for a draught of plain water, was perpetual youth transferred from man to the ferpent. This fable has a striking resemblance to many in the Edda; and, in the

trived to illuftrate fome acknowledged truth, by making a deeper impreffion than the truth would make in plain words; of which we have feveral beautiful inftances in the Spectator (Elements of Criticifm, chap. 20. § 6.). But the fable here was understood to be a matter of fact, Minerva being worshipped by the Greeks as a real goddess, the daughter of Jupiter without a mother.

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