"found a way to defcend into her bowels, "ftung with an infatiable defire of hidden "treafures; then began injustice, oppres "fion, and cruelty to take place. Men "made inclofures for themselves, and en"compaffed a certain portion of land, with "hedges, ditches, and pales, to fence them "from the invafions of others; for the "guilt of their own vicious inclinations. "filled them with fears, and made them jealous of one another. They built them"felves ftrong holds, fortreffes, caftles, " and cities; and their terrors increafing "with their criminal poffeffions, they per"fuaded themselves that the very elements "would prove their enemies, if not pacified

by bribes and prefents. Hence fprang "the first invention of altars and facrifices, "and from the fe pannic fears of mortals, "the gods derived their pedigree; for one "built a temple to the Sun, another to the "Moon, a third to Jupiter, Mars, or the "reft of the planets. Some adored the

Fire, others the Water or Wind. Every "one fet up to himself fuch a god as he "fancied would be propitious to him. "Thus error, being equally propagated "with human nature, they created an infi"nite rabble of imaginary deities, paying "to thofe idols the fupreme incommuni

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"cable honors due only to the Eternal Effence, Father, and Source of all things."

FOURTH GENERAL HEAD.

131. With our readers permiffion, we Fourth Gewill open this head with the following texts neral Head. of Bramah's Chartah Bhade *,--" THE "ETERNAL ONE spoke again and faid— "I have not with-held my mercy from

Moifafoor, Rhaboon, and the rest of the "rebellious debtab;-but as they thirfted "for power, I will enlarge their powers of "evil;-they fhall have liberty to pervade "the eight boboons of purgation and proba“tion, and the delinquent debtah shall be

exposed and open to the fame temptations "that first inftigated their revolt: but the "exertion of thofe enlarged powers which "I will give to the rebellious leaders fhall "be to them the fource of aggravated guilt "and punishment; and the refiftance made "to their temptations by the perverted "debtab, fhall be To ME the great proof of "the fincerity of their forrow and repent"ance.". "THE ETERNAL ONE ceaf"ed-And the faithful hoft fhouted forth "fongs of praise and adoration, mixed with grief and lamentation for the fate of their * Vide Part II. p. 57.

lapfed

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"lapfed brethren. They, communed "amongst themselves, and with one voice, by the mouth of Bifinoo, befought THE "ETERNAL ONE, that they might have "permiffion to defcend occafionally to the

eight boboons of punishment, purgation, " and probation, to affume the form of "Mhurd, and by their prefence, council

and example, guard the unhappy and "perverted debtah, against the further "temptations of Moifafoor and the rebel"lious leaders.-THE ETERNAL ONE af"fented, and the faithful heavenly bands "fhouted their fongs of gladnefs and thankf giving,"

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132. Before we proceed, it may to fome appear neceffary that we clear up a feeming' contradiction in this part of Braman's fcriptures. It may be objected, that GoD, first by his fentence expofes the delinquent angels to the fame temptations that influenced their revolt; and then, immediately after, permits the faithful hoft occafionally to defcend, and guard them from the artful wiles of the tempters, or in other words, to counteract his own decrees.To reconcile this feeming abfurdity, we have only to conceive that the faithful hoft forefaw, that the delinquents might not of themfelves be able to withstand the fuperior

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faculties of the revolted leaders; who, it may rationally be fuppofed, were endued with higher powers in proportion to their original rank :—this circumstance premised, we fay, it is eafy to imagine why GoD should relent at the warm and pious interceffion of his faithful angels, and affent to the auxiliary force petitioned for by the fame interceffion HE had before been prevailed upon to reverse their firft doom, and emerge them from their place of utter darknefs and anguish, into a pleafing State of probation, comparatively confidered; for, although they were fentenced to a state of degradation in their paffage through the brute forms, yet being conscious, from the fentence pronounced to them by Birmah, that through these they should arrive at a form, wherein they should have powers to work out their restoration, their present state must have appeared delectable to them, put in comparison with the former, a ftate of eternal defpair and bitterness. Now, as the faithful hoft had fucceeded in the first inftance, why should they not in the fecond? They did. Thus the feeming contradiction in the text vanishes, and at the fame time conveys to us a useful and comfortable moral, to wit, that the prayers and ardent folicitations of good beings are not without their effect with a merciful deity.

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deity. The apprehenfions too of the faithful hoft were well grounded; for even with their affiftance, Satan proved an overmatch for them both, and fo continues to this day.

133. The vifible or invifible miniftration, or interpofition of angelic beings in the concerns of mortals, is a doctrine which carries with it the fanction of the three great divine revelations, the Shaftah, the Old and New Teftament, as well as the concurring opinion of all mankind; and therefore we may juftly rank it as one of the primitive truths, which had the most undoubted evidence for its birth and propagation in the first times.-From this doctrine (a relative of the Metempfychofis) flowed the first principle of the Manichean fyftem originally broached by the Perfan Magi, amongst other mutilated tenets of the Chartah Bhade;-the first principles of this primitive truth were fimple and intelligible, but (in common with the rest of the primitive truths) mankind in procefs of time loft fight of it; and being unable to account for the mixture of good and evil which appeared in their exiftence, they rafhly propagated the horrible doctrine of two abfolute and independent divinities that governed the univerfe, each of diametrically oppofite

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natures;