reduced to extremity by the Parthians, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and befought the gods, that if any of them were jealous of his former happinefs, they would pour their vengeance upon his head alone, and fuffer his army to escape. The ftory of Paris and the three goddeffes gives no favourable impreffion, either of the morals or religion of the Romans. Juno and her two fifter-deities fubmit their difpute about beauty to the fhepherd Paris, who confcientiously pronounces in favour of Venus. But,

1

-manet alta mente repoflum.

Judicium Paridis, fpretae que injuria formae.

Juno, not fatisfied with wreaking her malice against the honeft fhepherd, declares war against his whole nation. Not even Æneas, though a fugitive in foreign lands, efcapes her fury. Their great god Jupiter is introduced on the ftage by Plautus, to deceive Alcmena, and to lie with her in the fhape of her husband., Nay, it was the opinion of the Romans, that this play was made much for the honour of Jupiter; for in times of national troubles and calamities, it was commonly acted to appease his angera molt pregnant inftance of the grofs conceptions of that warlike people in morality, as well as in religion. A divifion of invifible beings into benevolent and malevolent, without any mixture of thefe qualities, makes the fourth ftage. The talents and feelings of men, refine gradually under good government: focial amufements begin to make a figure: benevolence is highly regarded; and fome men are found w chout gall. Having thus acquired a notion of pure benevolence, and finding it exemplified in fome perfons, it was an eafy ftep in the progrefs of theological opinions, to bestow the fame charactemupon fome fuperior beings. This led men to diftin

guifh their gods into two kinds, effentially different: one entirely benevolent, another entirely malevolent; and the difference between good and ill, which are diametrically oppofite, favoured that distinction. Fortunate

events out of the common course of nature, were accordingly afcribed to benevolent deities; and unfortunate ef

vents of that kind, to malevolent. In the time of Pliny the elder, malevolent deities were worshipped at Rome. He mentions a temple dedicated to Bad Fortune, another to the disease termed a Fever. The Lacedemonians worshiped Death and Fear; and the people of Cadiz Poverty and Old Age; in order to deprecate their wrath. Such gods were by the Romans termed Averrunci, as putting away evil.

Conviction of one fupreme benevolent Deity, and of inferior deities, fome benevolent, fome malevolent, is the fifth ftage. Such conviction, which gains ground in proportion as morality ripens, arifes from a remarkable difference between gratitude and fear. Willing to fhow my gratitude for fome kindness proceeding from an unknown hand, feveral perfons occur to my conjectures; but I always fix at last upon one perfon as the most likely. Fear is of an oppofite nature: it expands itself upon every fufpicious perfon, and blackens them all equally. Thus, upon providential good fortune above the power of man, we naturally reft upon one benevolent Deity as the cause ; and to him we confine our gratitude and veneration. When, on the other hand, we are ftruck with an uncommon calamity, every thing that poffibly may be the eaufe, raises terror in us. Hence the propenfity in favages to multiply objects of fear; but to confine their gratitude and veneration to a single object. Gratitude and veneration, at the same time, are of fuch a nature, as to raise a high opinion of the perfon who is their object;* and when a fingle invifible being is understood to pour out bleffings with a liberal hand, good men, inflamed with gratitude, put no bounds to the power and benevolence of that being. And thus one fupreme benevolent Deity comes to be recognized among the more enlightened favages. With refpect to malevolent deities, as they are supposed to be numerous, and as there is no natural impulfe for elevating one above another, they are all of them held to be of an inferrior rank, fubordinate to the fupreme Deity.

Unity in the fupreme Being hath, among philofphers, a more folid foundation, viz. unity of defign. and of or

der in the creation and government of this world. At the fame time, the paffion of gratitude, which leads even favages to the attribute of unity in the fupreme Being, prepares the mind for relifhing the proof of that unity, founded on the unity of his works.

The belief of one fupreme benevolent Deity, and of fubordinate deities benevolent and malevolent, is and has been more univerfal than any other religious creed. I confine myself to a few inftances; for a complete enumeration would be endless. The different favage tribes in Dutch Guiana, agree pretty much in their articles of faith. They hold their existence of one fupreme Deity, whofe chief attribute is benevolence; and to him they afcribe every good that happens. But as it is against his nature to do ill, they believe in fubordinate malevolent beings, like our devil, who occafion thunder, hurricanes, earthquakes, and who are the authors of death, diseases, and of every misfortune. To thefe devils 'termed in their language Towaboos, they direct every fupplication, in order to avert their malevolence; while the fupreme Deity is entirely neglected: fo much more powerful among favages is fear than gratitude. The North-American favages have all of them a notion of a fupreme Deity, creator and governor of the world, and of inferior deities, fome good, fome ill. These are supposed to have bodies, and to live much as men do, but without being fubjected to any diftrefs. The fame creed prevails among the Regroes of Benin and Congo, among the people of New Zealand, among the inhabitants of Java, of Madagafcar, of the Molucea iflands, and of the Caribbee iflands. The Chingulefe, a tribe in the island of Ceylon, acknowledge one God creator of the universe, with fubordinate deities who act as his deputies: agriculture is the peculiar province of one, and navigation of another.

All things in the univerfe are evidently of a piece. Every thing is adjulled to every thing; one design prevails through the whole: and this uniformity leads the mind to acknowledge one author: because the conception of different authors without diftinc tion of attributes or operations ferves only to perplex the imagi nation, without beflowing any fatisfaction on the understanding. Naturel History of Religion by David Hume, Efq.

Book. III. The creed of the Tonquinefe is nearly the fame. The inhabitants of Otaheite, termed King George's ifland, be lieve in one fupreme Deity; and in inferior Deities without end, who prefide over particular parts of the crea tion. They pay no adoration to the fupreme Deity, thinking him too far elevated above his creatures to concern himself with what they do. They believe the stars to be children of the fun and moon, an eclipfe to be the time of copulation. According to Arnobius, certain Roman deities prefided over the various operations of men. Venus prefided over carnal copulation; Pa affifted at pruning trees; and Peta in requesting benefits; Nemeftrinus was god of the woods, Nodutus ripened corn, and Terenfis helped to thresh it; Vibilia affifted travellers; orphans were under the care of Orbona, and dying perfons, of Nania; Offilago hardened the bones of infants; and Mellonia protected bees, and beftowed fweetnefs on their honey. The inhabitants of the island of Formofa recognise two deities in company; the one a male, god of the men, the other a female, goddefs of the women. The bulk of their inferior deities are the fouls of upright men, who are conftantly doing good, and the fouls of wickedmen, who are conftantly doing ill. The inland negroes acknowledge one fupreme being, creator of all things; attributing to him infinite power, infinite knowledge, and ubiquity. They believe that the dead are converted into fpirits, termed by them Iananini, or protectors, being appointed to guard their parents and relations. The ancient Goths, aud feveral other northern nations, acknowledged one fupreme Being; and at the fame time worshipped three fubordinate deities; Thor, reputed the fame with Jupiter; Oden, or Woden, the fame with Mars; and Friga, the fame with Venust. Socrates, taking the cup of poifon from the executioner, held it up toward heaven, and pouring out fome of it as an oblation to the Supreme Deity, pronouncing the fol

Regnatur omnium Deus, cætera fubje&a atque parentia Tacitus de moribus Germanorum, cap. 39. [In English thus: "One Gad the ruler of all; the reft inferior and fubordinate.")

lowing prayer: "I implore the immortal God that my tranflation may be happy." Then turning to Crito, faid, "O Crito! I owe a cock to Efculapius, pay it." From this incident we find that Socrates, foaring above his countrymen, had attained to the belief of a fupreme benevolent Deity. But in that dark age of religion, such purity is not to be expected from Socrates himself, as to have rejected fubordinate deities, even of the mercenary

kind.

And

Different offices being affigned to the gods, as above mentioned, proper names followed of courfe. when a god was ascertained by a name, the bufy mind would naturally proceed to trace his genealogy.

As unity in the Deity was not an established doctrine in the countries where the Chriftian religion was first promulgated, Chriftianity could not fail to prevail over Paganifin; for improvements in the mental faculties lead by fure fteps, though flow, to one God.

The fixth ftage is, the belief of one fupreme benevo lent Deity, as in that immediately foregoing, with many inferior benevolent deities, and one only who is malevolent. As men improve in natural knowledge, and become skilful in tracing caufes from effects, they find much lefs malice and ill-defign than was imagined: humanity at laft prevails, which, in connection with improved knowledge, banishes the fufpicion of ill defign, in every cafe where an event can poffibly be explained without it. In a word, a fettled opinion of good prevailing in the world, produced conviction among fome nations, lefs ignorant than their neighbours, and lefs brutal, that there is but one malevolent fubordinate deity, and good fubordinate deities without number. The ancient Perfians acknowledged two principles; one all good and all powerful, named Hormus, and by the Greeks corruptly Oromazes; the other evil, named Aboriman, and by the Greeks Arimanes: Some authors affert, that the Perfiar's held these two principles to be coeternal; others, that Oramazes firft fubfifted alone, that he created both light and darkness, and that he created Arimanes out of darknefs. That the latter was the