THE PROGRESS OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

(Continued from our last.)

Br Y the success of their malicious contrivances, they at once gratified their own vanity and revenge, and obtained the only comfort of which they were yet susceptible, the hope of involving the human species in the paticipation of their guilt and misery. It was confessed, or at least it was imagined, that they had distributed among themselves the most important characters of polytheism, one dæmon assuming the name and attributes of Jupiter, another of ÆsCulapius, a third of Venus, and a fourth perhaps of Apollo; and that by the advantage of their long experience and aerial nature, they were enabled to execute with sufficient skill and dignity, the parts which they had undertaken. They lurked in the temples, instituted festivals and sacrifices, invented fables, pronounced oracles, and were frequently allowed to perform miracles. The christians, who by the interposition of evil spirits, could so readily explain every præternatural appearance, were disposed and even desirous to admit the most extravagant fictions of the pagan mythology.But the belief of the christian was accompanied with horror. The most trifling mark of respect to the national worship he considered as a direct homage yielded to the dæmon, and as an act of rebellion against the majesty of God.

In consequence of this opinion, it was the first but arduous duty of a christian to preserve himself pure and undefiled by the practice of idolatry. The religion of the nations was not merely a speculative doctrine professed in the schools or preached in the temples. The innumerable deities and rites of polytheism were closely interwoven with every circumstance of business or pleasure, of public or of private life; and it seemed impossible to escape the observance of them, without at the same time renouncing the commerce of mankind and all the offices and amusements of society. The important transactions of peace and war were prepared or concluded by solemn sacrifices, in which the magistrate, the senator, and the soldier, were obliged to preside or to participate. The public spectacles were an essential part of the cheerful devotions of the Pagans, and the Gods were supposed to accept, as the most grateful offering, the games that the prince and people celebrated in honor of their peculiar festivals. The christian who with

pious horror avoided the abomination of the circus or the theatre, found himself encompassed with infernal snares in every convivial entertainment, as often as his friends invoking the hospitable deities, poured out libations to each other's happiness. When the bride, struggling with well-affected reluctance, was forced in hymenial pomp over the threshold of her new habitation-or when the sad procession of the dead slowly moved towards the funeral pile, the christian, on these interesting occasions, was compelled to desert the persons who were the dearest to him, rather than contract the guilt inherent to those impious ceremonies. Every art and every trade that was in the least concerned in the framing or adorning of idols was polluted by the stain of idolatry, a severe sentence, since it devoted to eternal misery the far grea ter part of the community, which is employed in the exercise of liberal or mechanic professions. If we cast our eyes over the numerous remains of antiquity, we shall perceive, that besides the immediate representations of the gods and the holy instruments of their worship, the elegant forms and agreeable fictions consecrated by the imagination of the Greeks, were introduced as the richest ornaments of the houses, the dress and the furniture of the Pagans. Even the arts and music and painting, of eloquence and poetry, flowed from the same impure origin. In the style of the fathers, Apollo and the muses were the organs of the infernal spirit, Homer and Virgil were the most eminent of his servants, and the beautiful mythology which pervades and animates the compositions of their genius, is destined to celebrate the glory of the dæmons. Even the common language of Greece and Rome abounded with familiar but impious expressions, which the imprudent christian might too carelessly utter, or too patiently hear.

The dangerous temptations, which on every side lurked in ambush to surprise the unguarded believer, assailed him with reboubled violence on the days of solemn festivals. So artfully were they framed and disposed throughout the year, that superstition always wore the appearance of pleasure, and often of virtue. Some of the most sacred festivals in the Roman ritual were destined to salute the new calends of January with vows of public and private felicity, to indulge the pious remembrance of the dead and living, to ascertain the inviolable bounds of property, to hail, on the return of spring, the genial powers of fecundity, to perpetuate the two memorable æras of Rome, the foundation of the city, and that of the republic, and to restore, during the human license of the

Saturnalia, the primitive equality of mankind. Some idea may be conceived of the abhorrence of the christians for such impious ceremonies, by the scrupulous delicacy which they displayed on a much less alarming occasion. On days of general festivity, it was the custom of the ancients to adorn their doors with lamps and with branches of laurel, and to crown their heads with a garland of flowers. This innocent and elegant practice might perhaps have been tolerated as a mere civil institution. But it most unluckily happened that the doors were under the protection of the houshold god, that the laurel was sacred to the lover of Daphne, and that garlands of flowers, though frequently worn as a symbol either of joy or mourning, had been dedicated in their first origin to the service of superstition. The trembling christians, who were persuaded in this instance to comply with the fashion of their country, and the commands of the magistrate, laboured under the most gloomy apprehensions, from the reproaches of their own conscience, the censures of the church, and the denunciations of divine venge

ance.

GIBBON.

A POLITICAL LECTURE

Will be delivered by the Editor of this paper, on Tuesday evening next, at 7 o'clock, at Shepherd's Long-Room, Druid's grove Tavern, No. 11, George-street.

PUBLIC DISCOURSES,

UPON MORAL and PHILOSOPHICAL SUBJECTS, will be delivered by the Editor every Sunday evening, at 6 o'clock at Snow's long room, No. 89 Broad-Way.

NEW YORK:

PRINTED and published by the editor, at No. 26 Chathamstreet, price 2 dollars per annum, one half paid in advance every six months.

PROSPECT,

OR

View of the Moral World,

BY ELIHU PALMER.

VOL. I.

SATURDAY, February 4th, 1804.

No. 9.

Comments upon the sacred writings of the Jews and Christians: Genesis, Chapter the third.

CREATION OF MAN.

(Continued from our last.)

THE mythological matters contained in this chapter form

the basis of a system of religion, which has extended itself over a considerable portion of the globe, and involved within its baneful vortextwo hundred and fifty millions of the human species. When reason, however, takes a view of the prominent ideas and features herein exhibited, it will easily perceive that fiction, extravagance, and absurdity, are visible upon the very face of the record. It is pretended that the matter of the primitive apostacy, or what is commonly called the fall of man, is here unfolded with moral and theological correctness-but we shall prove in this comment that it is destitute of both of these properties, and presents such singular departures from the laws of propriety and the prin ciples of truth, as must necessarily annihilate all divinity of character. This system of religion proceeds upon the supposition, that the creator had given to the first parents of the human race, a restrictive command, relative to a certain fruit in the garden of Eden, annexing at the same time to the breach of this command the positive penalty of immediate death. In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely diebut they did eat and did not die upon the same day, nor for many days and years afterwards. Subsequent to the command which God gave, it seems that there appeared to the woman a loquacious serpent, denouncing the character and impeaching the integrity of the most high. This speaking

serpent ventures to affirm in opposition to the celestial mandate that death should not be the consequence of their disobedience-for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.

By what means had this serpent the powers of speech? It was not an inherent and essential property. of his nature; but it was the devil, say the theologicians that entered the serpent, and produced this marvellous event! it is evidently an event of a miraculous kind, and therefore should be examined in its relation to the several characters herein mentioned. In the first place we know that the serpent could not speak without some extraneous assistance of an extraordinary nature. Now the laws of the physical universe, are as immutable as God their author-to presume therefore that the devil has the power of arresting or violating these laws, is to place him upon an equal footing with the creator, cause him to usurp the authority of Jehovah himself. All the devils in the infernal regions, if any there be, have not the power to make a serpent or any other beast of the field, articulate a single word in manner and form similar to the human voice. But this serpent it is said was more subtle than any other beast of the field--what then? Does it follow from this that he could talk? No, nothing short of the supernatural power of God could give him the power of utterance, nor even this without involving the divine attributes in absurdity of operation and inconsistency of character.But suppose for a moment that God had lent hi aid in this case, which is the only means by which the se pent could speak, what consequences would follow? It will be recollected that the creator had before threatened the violaters of his command with death-if therefore he told them in one place that they should die, and impowered the serpent in another place to tell them that they should not die-this amounts to a contradiction. It is God, versus the miraculous power of God, and what is worse than all the rest, in the character of a deceiver too! But this strange account goes on involving the honest and discerning enquirer, in still farther difficulties for it is stated that the woman took a view of this delicious but forbidden fruit, and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. The account then states, that the eyes of both of them were opened, and