Holwell terms it) of imperfection, both depending on their voluntary election. God has no prefcience of the actions of free agents, but he knows the thought of every, being the moment it is conceived. He firft created Birmah; then Bifinoo, Sieb, and Moifafoor, then all the ranks of angelic beings. He made Birmah his vicegerent and prince of all spirits, whom he put in subjection under him; Biftnoo and Sieb were his coadjutors-Over every angelic band he placed a chief. Moifafoor, chief of the first band, led the song of praise and adoration to the Creator, and the fong of obedience to Birmah, his first created. Joy compaffed the throne of God for millions of years. Envy and jealoufy at last took poffeffion of Moifafoor, and Rhaabon, the angel next to him in dignity. They withheld their obedience from God; denied fubmiffion to his vicegerent, and drew a great part of the angelic host into their rebellion. God fent Birmah, Biftnoo, and Sieb, to admonish and persuade them to return to their duty, but this mercy only hardened them. The Eternal ONE then commanded Sieb to go armed with his omnipotence, to drive them from heaven, and plunge them into intenfe darknefs for ever. Here they groaned 426,000,000 years. (See ch. iv. p. 47. and 119.) Birmah, Biflnoo, Sieb, and the faithful angels, never ceased imploring the Eternal One for their pardon and reftoration. By their interceffion he at length relented. He declared his gracious intentions, and having given his power to Birmah, he retired into himfelf and became invifible to all the angelic hoft for the space of 5000 years. At the end of this period he again appeared, and refuming his throne, proposed the creation of the material univerfe, which was to confist of fifteen regions or planets. In thefe the delinquent fpirits were to be

united to mortal bodies, in which they were to undergo a state of purgation, probation, and purification, and to fuffer natural evils, according to the degrees of their original guilt. Binoo by God's command created the material univerfe, and united the fallen fpirits to mortal bodies. Eighty-nine tranfmigrations form the term of purgation and trial. Eighty-feven of these are through various animals, according to the original degree of turpitude. The lefs criminal spirits animate bees, finging birds,. and other innocent creatures; while thofe of deeper guilt become wolves and tygers. "And it shall be (fays Mr. H.'s verfion of that part of the Shaflah) "that when the rebellious Debtah, "(Spirit) fhall have accomplished and paffed through the eighty"seven tranfmigrations, they fhall, from my abundant favour,

$6

(it is the Deity who speaks) animate a new form, and thou,

Bistnoo, fhalt call it Ghoij (i. e. the Cow). And it fhall be, "that when the mortal body of the Ghoij fhall by a natural decay become inanimate, the delinquent Debtah fhall, from my 66 more abundant favour, animate the form of MHURD, (i. e. Man) and in this form I will enlarge their intellectual pow

ers, even as when I first created them free; and in this form "shall be their chief state of their trial and probation." In the next sentence the cow is ordered to be deemed facred and holy*.

Of

*Mr. H. tells us that when a cow fuffers death by accident or violence, or through the neglect of the owner, it is efteemed a fign of God's wrath against the spirit of the proprietor, and as a warning that at the diffolution of his human form, he shall be obliged to undergo anew all the eightynine transmigrations. "Hence it is," fays Mr. H. "that not only mourn"ing and lamentation enfue on the violent death of either cow or calf"but the proprietor is frequently enjoined, and oftener voluntarily under"takes, a three years pilgrimage in expiation of his crime. Forfaking his “friends, family, and relations, he fubfifts during his pilgrimage on cha

N 4

"rity

Of the fifteen planets made for the reception of the rebel fpirits, seven are called lower, and seven higher than the earth, The lower ones are the regions of punishment and purgation; our earth, the principal feat of probation; and the higher ones. are the regions of purification, from whence the approved spirits are again received into the Divine Presence in the highest heaven. Mr. Holwell's Shaftah fays, that God," although he could not "foresee the effect of his mercy on the future conduct of the de❝linquents, yet unwilling to relinquish the hopes of their re"pentance, he declared his will.”—The principal terms of acceptance were that they should do all good offices to, and love one another. Unnatural luft and felf-murder are declared as crimes for which no more probation shall be allowed, but the spirit who offends in these is to be plunged into the Onderah, or intenfe darkness for ever. What pity is it that these crimes against which " Th' Eternal has fixt his canon" fhould be mentioned together with the abfurdities which follow! Whatever animal deftroys the mortal form of another, be it that of gnat, bee, cow, or man, its spirit fhall be plunged into the Onderah for a space*, and from thence fhall begin anew the eighty-nine transmigrations,

notwith

"rity and alms.-It is worthy remark, that the penitent thus circum"stanced ever meets with the deepest commiferation, as his state is deemed "truly pitiable. Two inftances have fallen within our own knowledge where "the penitents have devoted themfelves to the fervice of God, and a pil. "grimage during the term of their life."

*The obvious construction of the mouth and digestive faculties of man,” fays Mr. H. "mark him destined to feed on fruits, herbage, and milk." Anatomists, however, affert the very contrary. And the various allotment of food in various countries implies the approbation of nature. In the warmer climates the most cooling 'oils and fruits, &c. are in the greatest abundance. Where colder regions require the nutritive strength of animal food, beeves and sheep, &c. are in the greatest plenty and perfection; and fea fish, of

all

notwithstanding whatever number it may have formerly com. pleted.

The time which the purgation and trial of the rebel spirits is to continue is alfo afcertained. It is divided into four Jogues, or ages, which in reality are new creations of the univerfe. Three of these are paft-The Suttee Jogue, or age of truth, lafted 3,200,000 years. In this period the life of man was 100,000 years. The Tirta Jogue continued 1,600,000 years, in which the life of man confifted of 10,000 years. The Devapaar Jogue was fhortened to 800,000, and the human life to 1000 years. The laft, the Kolee Jogue, or age of pollution, is to expire after a period of 400,000 years. In this, human life is reduced to 100 years, and the man is deemed to haften his exit who dies under that number. In the prefent A. D. 1777, 4877 years of this age have only elapfed, and therefore 359,123 are yet to come.

When Bitnoo propofed the terms of mercy to the fallen fpirits in the Onderah, all except Moifafoor, Rhaabon, and the other leaders of the rebellion, accepted, with the utmost joy, of the divine favour. Moifafoor and his party were permitted to range through the earth and the lower regions of punishment, and to continue their temptations *. Bitnoo, and the other

good

all aliments the fharpeft and hottest in their falts, are profufely thrown around the cold fhores of the North. The Gentoos, who live folely upon rice and vegetables, are of all mankind the feebleft, most short-lived, and pufillanimous.

"When we perufe fome portions of Milton's account of the rebellion and expulfion of the angels," fays Mr. H. "we are almost led to imagine,

" on

good angels, petitioned for permiffion to undergo the 89 tranfmigrations, and particularly to become men.

It is thefe benevolent

fpirits,

"on comparison, that Bramab and he were both inftru&ted by the fame "spirit; had not the foaring, ungovernable, inventive genius of the latter, inftigated him to illuftrate his poem with scenes too grofs and ludicrous, "as well as manifeftly repugnant to, and inconfiftent with, fentiments we ❝ought to entertain of an Omnipotent Being (as before remarked) in which cr we rather fear he was infpired by one of those malignant spirits (alluded "to in the Shaftah and elsewhere) who have from their original defection, "been the declared enemies of God and man. For however we are afto"nished and admire the fublimity of Milton's genius, we can hardly fome❝ times avoid concluding his conceits are truly diabolical." The former remark Mr. H. refers to, is, the fuppofition that angels oppofed God in battle; any other than an instant act of expulfion being unworthy of Omnipotence. Milton, however, needs no defence. In the true spirit of poetry he opposes angel to angel; but thefe ftrictures of our author lead us to fome obvious obfervations on his account of the Gentoo fyftem. God, he tells us, previous to the creation, fought 5000 years with Modoo and Kytoo ; but this is excused by allegory, and these are only difcord and tumult; and an instant act of Omnipotence, it seems, was not here neceffary. According to Mr. H's divine system of the Gentoos, God has no prescience of the actions of free agents. To ftrip the Supreme Being of prefcience gives a fevere shock to reafon; and most affuredly it is the highest presumption in a finite mind, to deny an attribute effential to omnipotence and omniscience, because its confined ideas cannot * conceive the manner of that attribute's ope ration.

God faid

To reconcile the Divine prefcience with the liberty of volition, has vainly em ployed many philofophers. Freedom of choice has been denied, and the grofs impiety of fatalifm has by many been adopted, to avoid the grofs abfurdity which would limit the powers of che eternal mind. Yet nothing, we prefume, is easier than to fatisfy found reafon on this fubject. Let us remember our intellectual powers are very limited let us remember we cannot form the faintest idea of the act of creation. let there be light, and there was light, is an expreffion most truly fublime; but it conveys not the leaft idea of the modus how his power either acted upon that which was not, or upon that which afterwards was. Yet, we know we exift, and that we did not create our felves. In this cafe we reft fatisfied that we cannot comprehend the manner bow the Deity acts. To deny prefcience to omnipotent omniscience is just as reasonable as to deny the creation. As we readily refolve the one, let us also refolve the other, into an attribute peculiar to the existence of the Deity. This folution is not only perfectly easy, but the power of Creation ftamps the highest authority of analogy upon it. Each of the other two folutions, fatalism and negation of divine prefcience, are founded upon, and end, in the most impious abfurdity.