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no acknowledgment on our part, as fellow Christians? Are they for ever to be ranked by us with Jews, Mahomedans and Hindoos?* Would it not become us to approach nearer to these our subjects, endeavor to gain their confidence, and conciliate their esteem? Let us, at least, do that which is easily practicable. We are in possession of the means of printing, which they have not. Let us print the Armenian Bible, and employ proper persons from among themselves, to superintend the work, and encourage them to disperse their own faithful copy throughout the East. Let us shew them, that the diffusion of the Scriptures is an undertaking to which we are not indifferent; and by our example, let us stimulate their zeal, which is very languid. But, however languid their zeal may be, it is certain that they consider the English as being yet more dead to the interests of religion, than themselves. Such a subject as this, indeed every subject which is of great importance to Christianity, is worthy of the notice of our Government, as well as of individuals and societies. The printing press, which shall be employed in multiplying copies of the pure Armenian Bible, will prove a rich and precious fountain for the evangelization of the East; and the Oriental Bible Repository at Calcutta, will be a central and convenient place for its dispersion.

VESTIGES OF THE DOCTRINES OF
REVELATION.

In passing through the regions of the East, and surveying the various religious systems which prevail, the mind of the Christian traveller cannot fail to be impresed with the strong resemblance which some of them bear to doctrines which are familiar to him. However varied or disguised they may be, there are yet some strong lines, which constantly recall his thoughts to the doctrines of revelation, and seem to point to a common origin.

of

* Sarkies Joannes, an Armenian merchant of Calcutta, when he heard of the King's recovery from illness in 1789, liberated all the prisoners for debt in the gaol of Calcutta. His Majesty, hearing this instance of loyalty in an Armenian subject, sent him his picture in miniature. Sarkies wore the Royal present suspended at his breast, during his life; and it is now worn by his son, when he appears at the levee of the Governor-general.

The chief and distinguishing doctrines of Scripture may be considered the four following, viz. The Trinity in Unity; the Incarnation of the Deity; a Vicarious atonement for Sin; and the influence of the Divine Spirit on the mind of man. Now if we should be able to prove, that all these are represented in the systems of the East, will any man venture to affirm that it happens by chance ?

1. The doctrine of the TRINITY. The Hindoos believe in one god, Brahma; and yet they represent him as subsisting in three persons: and they worship one or other of these persons in every part of India.* And what proves distinctly that they hold this doctrine is, that their most ancient representations of the Deity is formed of one body and three faces. The most remarkable of these is, that at the caves of Elephanta, in an island near Bombay. The author visited it in the year 1808; nor has he seen any work of art in the East, which he contemplated with greater wonder. Whether considered with respect to its colossal size, its great antiquity, the beauty of the sculpture, or the excellence of the preservation. From causes which cannot be known, the Hindoos have long ceased to worship at this temple. Each of the faces of the Triad is about five feet in length. The whole of the statue, and the spacious Temple which contains it, is cut out of the solid rock of the mountain. The Hindoos assign to these works an immense antiquity, and attribute the workmanship to the gods. The Temple of Elephanta is certainly one of the wonders of the world, and is, perhaps, a grander effort of the ingenuity of man, than the pyramids of Egypt.†

* Le commun des Indiens n'adore qu'une seule de ces trois divinites mais quelques Savans addressent encore leurs prieres aux trois reunis. Hy a meme des Temples entirement consacres a cette espece de Trinite, (such as Perpenad in Travancore.) Sonnerat, vol. i. 151.

Extract of a letter from the author to W. T. Money, Esq. Bombay.

DEAR SIR,

Honorable Company's Ship Charleton, off Goa, Feb. 26, 1808: "When I visited the Elephanta last week, and compared it with the accounts of former travellers, I perceived that the excavated temple and figures were in a state of progressive dilapidation; and it seems

Whence then have the Hindoos derived the idea of a TRIUNE God? It should seem as if they had heard of the ELOHIM of revelation in the first chapter of Genesis, 'Let us make man. .'* Gen. i. 26.

to me probable, that when a few more pillars shall have fallen in, the whole excavation will be over-whelmed in the ruin of the superincumbent mountain. If I may offer an opinion on the means of preservation which are practicable, I would suggest,

"That the dilapidated pillars be rebuilt entire of hewn stones in three blocks, of granite of the mountain, after the original model; the decayed bases of the columns, still standing, to be strongly cased with the same stone; and the broken limbs of the figures to be restored, after the authority of the drawings and descriptions of the first travellers. The floor to be cleared of rubbish, which, in some places, is two feet deep, that the continuity of the rock with the bases of the columns, may appear.

"The Modern wall, inclosing the front, to be taken down, to throw more light on the body of the place, and a slight railing substituted at a greater distance.

'Steps to be cut in the rock for easy descent to the cold well of sweet water. The jungle in front of the cave, and about its edges, to be cleared, and the aperture of the mountain on each side, enlarged, to give more air and light.

The old ELEPHANT himself, on the side of the hill, to be renewed, and a young elephant placed on his back, agreeably to the first drawings. These drawings I can send you from Europe, if you cannot procure them in India.

And, lastly, an appropriate building to be erected on the sea side, for the accommodation of visitors. Here may be deposited, for the immediate reference of tavellers, those volumes which contains the notices and opinion of the learned, concerning Elephanta. This building might be occupied by the military guard, which the Bombay government has recently stationed on the isl land to preserve the cavern from further injury.

Other improvements will suggest themselves to you on the spot. To preserve to future ages this grand monument of ancient sculpture, (the worship of which has been long relinquished) is, I think, a commendable undertaking. Every Christian traveller can assign a reason for wishing that an emblem of a Trinity in Unity existing in an ancient heathen nation, should remain entire during the ages of the world.'

* It certainly cannot be proved that the Triad at Elephanta is older than the Christian era. And if it be, we are yet to consider that the Mosaic records brought down the notion of a Trinity from the earliest ages. The modern Jews contend against this fact, that they may not seem to countenance an argument for the truth of Christianity, but if they will read their own Targums, they will see that their forefathers confessed it; as in the following instance. Come and behold the mystery of the word ELOHIM. There are three decrees, and each decree is sole. Notwithstanding they are ONE; and are united into one; nor is one of them divided from another."

R. SIMEON BEN JOCHAI, In Zohar ad sext. Levit. sectionem.

2. The doctrine of the INCARNATION of the Deity. The Hindoos believe that one of the persons in their Trinity (and that too the second person) was " Manifested in the flesh." Hence their fables of the Avatars, or Incarnation of Vishnoo. And this doctrine is found over almost the whole of Asia. Whence then originated this idea "that God should become man and take our nature upon him?" The Hindoos do not consider that it was an Angel merely that became man (like some philosophers in Europe) but God himself. Can there be any doubt that the fabulous Incarnations of the eastern mythology are derived from the real Incarnation of the Son of God, or from the prophecies that went before it? Jesus the Messiah is the true AVATAR.

5. The doctrine of a vicarious ATONEMENT for sin, by the shedding of blood. To this day, in Hindostan, the people bring the goat or kid to the Temple, and the Priest sheds the blood of the innocent victim.*

The inhabitants of Calcutta have a frequent opportunity of seeing the headless and bloody kid carried on the shoulders of the offerer through the streets, after having been sacrificed at the Temple of Kalee, at Kalee Ghaut. KALEE is the goddess of destruction, black in vissage, and having a necklace composed of the sculls of men.

It was a custom for the chief magistrate of police, in Calcutta, (an English officer) to go out of the city in procession with the Hindoos, on a certain day every year, to Kalee Ghaut. The author will not assert, that he went out to make an offering to the Goddess or her Priests, in the name of the Englisa Government,' because he never witnessed it. Nor will he say more on the subject. He has not heard whether it is a custom. It is unjust that the character of the present government, should suffer from the latitude in religious notions of some of the first governors.

It was also the custom for many of the English in Calcutta, to accept of invitations from the Hindoos, to be present at the Nautch, or dance, at the Festival of Doorga Poojah, celebrated in honor of their god DOORGA. At these Nautches, the Idol, gorgeously arrayed, is placed on his throne, and every body is supposed to bow in passing the throne. Groups of dancing girls dance before the god, accompanied by various music, and sing songs and hymns to his honor and glory. The English are accommodated with seats, to look on. We would not insinuate that any of the English bow to the Idol; and we shall suppose that those who attend the ceremony, do it without thought, being merely swayed by the fashion of the place, and unconscious of any thing wrong. But we would suggest a doubt, whether the custom of accepting such invitations (which are generally on printed cards) should be continued at the seat of the supreme government. Such liberties might be very innocent if the Christian Religion were

Nor is this peculiar to Hindostan; throughout the whole East the doctrine of a sacrifice for sin seems to exist in one form or other. Ever since "Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain;" ever since Noah, the father of the new world, " Offered burnt offerings on the altar," sacrifices have been offered up in almost every nation, as if for a constant memorial to mankind that " without shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin," Heb. ix. 22.

4. The influence of the Divine SPIRIT on the minds of men. In the most ancient writings of the Hindoos, some of which have been published, it is asserted that 'the Divine Spirit or light of holy knowledge' influenced the minds of men. And the man who is the subject of such influence is called "the man twice born." Many chapters are devoted to the duties, character, and virtues, of" the man twice born."

Other doctrines might be illustrated by similar analogies. The characters of the Mosaic ceremonial law pervade the whole system of the Hindoo ritual and worship. Now, if these analogies were merely partial or accidental, they would be less important: but they are not accidental, as every man who is erudite in the holy Scriptures, and in oriental mythology, well knows. They are general and systematic. Has it ever been alledged that the Light of Nature could teach such doctrines as those which have been enumerated? Some of them are contrary to the Light of Nature. Every where in the East there appears to be a counterfeit of the true doctrine. The inhabitants have lost sight of the only true God, and they apply their traditional notions, to false gods. These doctrines are unquestionably relics of the first faith of the earth; they bear the strong characters of God's primary revelation to man, which neither the power of man, nor time itself hath been able to destroy: but which have endured from age to age, like the works of nature, the moon and stars, which God hath created, incorruptible.

not true. But it is the duty of a Christian people dwelling among Idolaters to beware lest their actions should be misinterpreted; for it is very possible that their polite acquiescence in being cere moniously seated in the presence of the god, and witnessing the honors paid to him, may be considered by some of the ignorant Hindoos, as a tacit approbation of their worship.

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