be connected with fome invifible power; and the worship paid to the former, is as representing the latter, or as in fome manner connected with it. Every family among the ancient Lithuanians, entertained a real ferpent as a household god; and the fame practice is at prefent univerfal among the negroes in the kingdom of Whidah: it is not the ferpent that is worshipped, but fome deity imagined to refide in it. The ancient Egyptians were not idiots, to pay divine honours to a bull or a cat, as fuch the divine honours were paid to a deity, as refiding in thefe animals. The fun is to man a familiar object: being frequently obfcured by clouds, and totally eclipfed during night, a favage naturally conceives it to be a great fire, fometimes flaming bright, fometimes obfcured, and fometimes extinguished. Whence then fun-worfhip, once univerfal among favages? Plainly from the fame caufe: it is not only properly the fun that is worshipped, but a deity who is fuppofed to dwell in that luminary. Taking it then for granted, that our conviction of fuperior powers has been long univerfal, the important queftion is, From what caufe it proceeds. A conviction fo univerfal and fo permanent, cannot proceed from chance; but must have a caufe operating conftantly and invariably upon all men in all ages. Philofophers, who believe the world to be eternal and felf-exiftent, and imagine it to be the only deity though without intelligence, endeavour to account for our conviction of fuperior power, from the terror that thunder and other elementary convulfions raise in favages; and thence conclude that fuch belief is no evidence of a deity. Thus Lucretius, Præterea, cui non animus formidine divam Fulminis Fulminis horribili cum plaga torrida tellus Contremit, et magnum percurrunt murmura cœlum* (a)? And Petronius Arbiter, Primus in orbe deos fecit timor: ardua cœlo Fulmina quum caderent difcuffaque moenia flammis, Atque ictus flagraret Athos f. It will readily be yielded to these gentlemen, that favages, grofsly ignorant of caufes and effects, are apt to take fright at every unusual appearance, and to think that fome malignant being is the cause. And if they mean only, that the first perception of deity among favages is occafioned by fear, I heartily fubfcribe to their opinion. But if they mean, that fuch perceptions proceed from fear folely, without having any other caufe, I wish to be informed from what fource is derived the belief we have of benevolent deities. Fear cannot be the fource: and it will be feen anon, that tho' malevolent deities were first recognized among favages, yet that in the progrefs of fociety, the existence of benevolent deities was univerfally believed. The fact is certain; and therefore fear is not the fole cause of our believing the existence of fuperior beings. It is befide to me evident, that the belief even of malevolent deities, once univerfal among all What man can boaft a firm undaunted foul, all the tribes of men cannot be accounted for from fear folely, I obferve firft, That there are many men to whom an eclipfe, an earthquake, and even thunder, are unknown: Egypt in particular, tho' the country of fuperftition, is little or not at all acquainted with the two latter; and in Peru, tho' its government was a theocracy, thunder is not known. Nor do fuch appearances ftrike terror into every one who is acquainted with them. The univerfality of the belief, muft then have fome caufe more univerfal than fear. I obferve next, That if the belief were founded folely on fear, it would die away gradually as men improve in the knowledge of caufes and effects: inftruct a favage, that thunder, an eclipfe, an earthquake, proceed from natural caufes, and are not threatenings of an incenfed deity; his fear of malevolent beings will vanifh; and with it his belief in them, if founded folely on fear. Yet the direct contrary is true: in proportion as the human understanding ripens, our conviction of fuperior powers, or of a Deity, turns more and more firm and authoritative; which will be made evident in the chapter immediately fol lowing. Philofophers of more enlarged views and of deeper penetration, may be inclined to think that the operations of nature and the government of this world, which loudly proclaim a Deity, may. be fufficient to account for the univerfal belief of fuperior powers, And to give due weight to the argument, I fhall relate a converfation between a Greenlander and a Danish miffionary, mentioned by Crantz in his hiftory of Greenland. "It is true," fays the Greenlander, "we "were ignorant Heathens, and knew little of a "God, till you came. But you must not imagine, that no Greenlander thinks about these .. "things. "things. A kajak (a), with all its tackle and "implements, cannot exist but by the labour of 66 man; and one who does not understand it, "would fpoil it. But the meanest bird requires "more skill than the best kajak; and no man 66 can make a bird. There is ftill more skill re"quired to make a man: by whom then was he "made? He proceeded from his parents, and they "from their parents. But fome must have been "the first parents: whence did they proceed? "Common report fays, that they grew out of the "earth: if fo, why do not men till grow out " of the earth? And from whence came the "earth itself, the fun, the moon, the stars? Cer"tainly there must be fome being who made all "these things, a being more wife than the wifeft << man." The reafoning here from effects to their causes, is ftated with great precifion; and were all men equally penetrating with the Greenlander, fuch reafoning might perhaps be fufficient to account for the conviction of a Deity, univerfally spread among favages. But fuch penetration is a rare quality among favages; and yet the conviction of fuperior powers is univerfal, not excepting even the groffeft favages, who are altogether incapable of reafoning like our Greenland philofopher. Natural history has made fo rapid a progrefs of late years, and the finger of God is fo vifible to us in the various operations of nature, that we do not readily conceive how even favages can be ignorant: but it is a common fallacy in reasoning, to judge of others by what we feel in ourselves. And to give jufter notions of the condition of favages, I take liberty to introduce the Wogultzoi, a people in Siberia, exhibiting a ftriking picture of favages in their natural state. That people were baptized at the (a) A Greenland boat, command command of Prince Gagarin, governor of the province; and Laurent Lange, in his relation of a journey from Petersburg to Pekin anno 1715, gives the following account of their converfion. "I had curiofity," fays he, "to question them "about their worship before they embraced Chrif"tianity. They said, that they had an idol hung upon a tree, before which they proftrated them"felves, raifing their eyes to heaven, and howling "with a loud voice. They could not explain " what they meant by howling; but only, that every man howled in his own fashion. Being "interrogated, Whether, in raifing their eyes to "heaven, they knew that a god is, there, who "fees all the actions, and even the thoughts of "men; they anfwered fimply, That heaven is "too far above them to know whether a god be "there or not; and that they had no care but "to provide meat and drink. Another question "being put, Whether they had not more fatif"faction in worshipping the living God, than they "formerly had in the darknefs of idolatry; they "answered, We fee no great difference, and we "do not break our heads about fuch matters." Judge how little capable fuch ignorant favages are, to reason from effects to their caufes, and to trace a Deity from the operations of nature. It may be added with great certainty, that could they be made in any degree to conceive fuch reafoning, yet fo weak and obfcure would their conviction be, as to reft there without moving them to any fort of worship; which however among favages goes hand in hand with the conviction of fuperior powers. If fear be a cause altogether infufficient for our conviction of a Deity, univerfal among all tribes; and if reasoning from effects to their caufes can have no influence upon ignorant favages; what other |