the Gentoo pretenfions to a fimilar antiquity of their facred books. Every one, who is acquainted with the history of the human mind, knows what an alteration in the manners of that moft bigotted people the Jews, was introduced by the Babylonian captivity. Before that period amazingly dull and stupid, after their return from Affyria they began to philofophize. The fuperftition and idolatry of the modern Brahmins have certainly, in the fame manner, received great improvement of features from the converfation of Europeans, whofe example, however otherwife vicious, could not fail to convince them of the abfurdity of fuch mental weakness. Nor can we pass unobserved the rejection of the fourth Beda. By its fubject, the knowledge of the Good Being, it seems to be the most valuable of the whole, except the fecond, which treats of the religious and moral duties. Yet the Brahmins, fays Mr. Dow, have long rejected it, becaufe the Mohammedan religion, they fay, is borrowed from it. On the supposition, which they pretend, that their facred books were dictated by divine authority, the rejection of any part is as unwarrantable as the reason for rejecting the fourth Beda is fubmiffive and ridiculous. The rejection of a part of their facred fcriptures thus openly confeffed, and yet the whole most carefully concealed from the eyes of every enquirer; the alterations of their tenets and character; the propenfity the human mind has to improve when under long and favourable opportunities, all concur in demonftrating that not only the systems of Meff. H. and D. are widely different from thofe of the ancient Gentoos; but that whatever in future may be given by the most learned Brahmins, as their genuine ancient tenets, OUGHT by no means to be DEPENDED UPON AS SUCH. R 4 While the Brahmins Brahmins continue a fect, those leading principles of human nature, zeal for what is esteemed facred, and partiality to national honour, will ever influence them, when they lay their philosophy before the eyes of ftrangers, particularly where the boafted fecrecy of near 4000 years promises the impoffibility of detection. Shall we believe that the gloffes and refinements of the modern learned Brahmins contain the genuine ideas and principles of the ancient Hindoos? We may as well believe that the Popish priests on the Indian miffion will give the Brahmins a faithful history of the detestable tyranny and abominable wickedness of the Popes and their Holy Church during the monkish ages. Who that confiders these striking facts, and their certain confequences, can withhold his contempt when he is told of the religious care with which the Brahmins have these four thousand years preferved their facred rites: An abfurdity only equal to that of those who tell us, that God instructed Adam in the mysteries of free masonry, and that Noah every new moon held a mafon's lodge in the ark. And yet all this is nothing to the ridicule of what follows: Where does the pure Shaftah of Brahma exist? Mr. D.'s learned pundit seems never to have heard a word about it. Why truly, the original text of Brahma is preserved, says Mr. H. ch. iv. p. 13. in the Chatah Bhade, or fix fcriptures of the mighty spirit. This work, he says, is a paraphrase on the pure Shaftah, which confifted only of four fcriptures; therefore the original text must be only interfperfed. And this paraphrase Mr. H. reprobates as the infamous work of prieftcraft, and the original caufe of the polytheism of the Gentoos. And this pure text is not only only to be picked *, at difcretion and pleasure, out of this mother of idolatry, but the ability fo to do is confined to a very few families. "The original, plain, pure, and fimple tenets, (fays Mr. H. p. 15.) of the Chatah Bhade of Brahma (1500 years after its first promulgation) became by degrees utterly "loft; except to three or four Gofeyn families, who at this day "are only capable of reading and expounding it, from the Sanferit "character; to these may be added a few others of the tribe "of Batteezaaz Brahmins, who can read, and expound from the "Chatah Bhade which fill preferved the text of the original, as "before remarked." Can pretenfions to the most remote antiquity be more completely ridiculous! By these three or four families who only can discover, read and expound the pure Shaftah of Brahma, we must understand thofe Brahmins with whom Mr. H. converfed, and whom, in the utmost probability, he taught to say as he said; and then (like those who have been to the Cunning Man on enquiry after ftolen goods or a fweetheart) came home highly fatisfied with having his own hints repeated to him in other words. And thus, from the concurrent teftimony of all former travellers, most virtually confirmed by Meff. H. and D. we have difplayed the wild, capricious, and gross spirit of the Gentoo theology; the endless confufion of their legends; the impiety and puerility of their metaphyfics; their ignorance of natural philofophy; The abfurdity of this arbitrary felection of the pure Shaftah is demonftrated, undefignedly, by Mr. H. himself. He fays the pure Shaftah of Brahma contained no mythology; and yet what he has selected as the pure Shaftah, as the quotations already given, evince, is mythological. philofophy; the immorality of their penances and idolatry; the general turpitude and baseness of the Hindoo character; the alteration of their principles and manners in various ages; the utter uncertainty of the various dates of their writings held facred; and, above all, the abfurdity of those who have maintained that these writings have remained unaltered almost these 4000 years, and are of fuperior antiquity to the records of any other nation. It is an obfervation founded on experience, that the zealot of any fect, in giving an account of his religion to one who knows nothing about it, will give every circumftance the best glofs, and ftrain every feature, as much as poffible, to a conformity to the ideas of his intelligent friend *. And from the contradictory accounts of Mr. H. and Mr. D. let future travellers beware how they obtrude upon Europe the opinions of two or three Brahmins, as the only genuine doctrines of the Gentoos. The irreconcileable contradictions of these philofo phers * In this manner Jofephus, a man of great abilities, wrote his history of the Jews. He has altered, fuppreffed, gloffed, and falfified, on purpose to adopt the manners and opinions of his countrymen, as much as poffible, to the taste of the Greek and Roman philofophers. In the fame manner, we believe, it may be afferted that every jefuit behaves, when he defends popery in converfation with an intelligent diffenter from the church of Rome, who has the art to appear ignorant of the doctrines of the papacy, and of the writers of that communion. One may often meet with a sensible papist, who either from ignorance of the history of his own religion, or from prejudice in its favour, will very confidently deny the horrid cruelties, fuperftitions, and villainous arts of Holy Church; thofe intrigues and transactions which form the principal part of the hiftory of Europe during fix or feven monkish centuries. Yet what wife man will upon such evidence reject the teftimony of ages? The allufion is apt, and the inference is the fame. phers have been demonftrated. And these contradictions evidently appear to have thus arifen: The philofophy and mytho logy of the Gentoos form such a boundless chaos of confufion and contradictions, that no two of thefe philofophers, unacquainted with each other, can poffibly give the fame or a confiftent account of their tenets: And whenever one of fuperior ingenuity vamps up a fine philosophical theory out of the original mass, another, perhaps equally ingenious, comes and puts one in mind of the fable of the bee and the spider in Swift's battle of the books. The fpider had with great pains juft finished his web to catch flies, when the bee blundered that way, and demolished it. "A plague split you, (quoth the spider,) for a giddy whorefon, iş it you, with a vengeance, have made all this litter...... and do you think I have nothing else to do, in the devil's name, but to mend and repair after your And verily, verily, in this ftrain may the most learned of the modern Brahmins exclaim to each other. |