was round like a ball, but that his mother, with great care, drew out his limbs, and having at length moulded him into his present form, she called him Eothe, which signifies finished. That being prompted by the universal instinct to propagate his kind, and being able to find no female but his mother, he begot upon her a daughter, and upon the daughter other daughters for several generations, before there was a son; a son, however, being at length born, he, by the assistance of his sisters, peopled the world. Besides their daughter Tettowmatatayo, the first progenitors of nature had a son whom they called Tane. Taroataihetoomoo, the Supreme Deity, they emphatically style the causer of earthquakes; but their prayers are more generally addressed to Tane, whom they suppose to take a greater part in the affairs of mankind, Their subordinate deities or Eatuas, which are numerous, are of both sexes; The male are worshipped by the men, and the female by the women; and each have morais to which the other sex is not admitted, though they have also morais common to both. Men perform the office of priest to both sexes, but each sex has its priests, for those who officiate for one sex do not officiate for the other." They " In several respects the theological notions of these islanders resemble those of the oriental philosophers, spoken of in Mosheim's Historical Account of the Church in the First Century, to which the curious reader is referred. The Otaheitan Eatuas and the Gnostic diveç seem near a-kin; the generation scheme is common to both. What said the philosophers? The Supreme Being, after passing many ages in silence and inaction, did at length beget of himself, two beings of very excellent nature like his own; these, by some similar operation, produced others, who having the same desires and ability, soon generated more, till the range, or whole space inhabited by them, was completely occupied. A sort of inferior beings proceeded from these, and were considered by the worshippers as intermediate betwixt themselves and the upper gods. trash. Let certain infatuated admirers of ancient philosophy blush, if they But enough of this are capable of such an indication of modesty, to find that the rude and unlettered inhabitants of an island in the South-Sea, are not a whit behind their venerated sages in the manufacture of gods and godlings. Alas, poor Gibbon! must the popular religion of Otaheite, the licentious, the dissolute, the child-murdering, the unnatural Otaheite, be put on a level with the elegant mythology of Homer, and the mild, serviceable superstition of imperial Rome? Why not? Is it fitting that even Otaheite be excluded the benefit of this very impartial historian's humane maxim, which he puts into the mouths of the Lords of the earth; "in every country, the form of superstition, which has received the sanction of time and experience, is the best adapted to the climate and to its inhabitants?" By all They believe the immortality of the soul, at least its existence in a separate state, and that there are two situations of different degrees of happiness, somewhat analogous to our heaven and hell: The superior situation they call Tacirua l'erai, the other Tiahoboo. They do not, however, consider them as places of reward and punishment, but as receptacles for different classes; the first, for their chiefs and principal people, the other for those of inferior rank, for they do not suppose that their actions here in the least influence their future state, or indeed that they come under the cognizance of their deities at all. Their religion, therefore, if it has no influence upon their morals, is at least disinterested; and their expressions of adoration and reverence, whether by words or actions, arise only from a humble sense of their own inferiority, and the ineffable excellence of divine perfection. The character of the priest, or Tahowa, is hereditary : The class is numerous, and consists of all ranks of people; the Chief, however, is generally the younger brother of a good family, and is respected in a degree next to their kings. Of the little knowledge that is possessed in this country, the priests have the greatest share; but it consists principally in an acquaintance with the names and ranks of the different Eatuas or subordinate divinities, and the opinions concerning the origin of things, which have been traditionally preserved among the order in detached sentences, of which some will repeat an incredible number, though but very few of the words that are used in their common dialect occur in them. peoThe priests, however, are superior to the rest of the ple in the knowledge of navigation and astronomy, and indeed the name Tahowa signifies nothing more than a man of knowledge. As there are priests of every class, they officiate only among that class to which they belong: The priest of the inferior class is never called upon by those of superior rank, nor will the priest of the superior rank officiate for any of the inferior class. Marriage in this island, as appeared to us, is nothing more than an agreement between the man and woman, Where it is conwith which the priest has no concern. tracted all means, give Taroataihetoomoo, Tepapa, and Tettowmatatayo, the freedom of the city-only clip their names a little for the conveniency of the liberal-minded catholics who may desire their acquaintauce.-E. tracted it appears to be pretty well kept, though sometimes the parties separate by mutual consent, and in that case a divorce takes place with as little trouble as the marriage. But though the priesthood has laid the people under no tax for a nuptial benediction, there are two operations which it has appropriated, and from which it derives considerable advantages. One is tattowing, and the other circumcision, though neither of them have any connection with religion. The tattowing has been described already. Circumcision has been adopted merely from motives of cleanliness; it cannot indeed properly be called circumcision, because the prepuce is not mutilated by a circular wound, but only slit through the upper part to prevent its contracting over the glans. As neither of these can be performed by any but a priest, and as to be without either is the greatest disgrace, they may be considered as a claim to surplice fees like our marriages and christenings, which are cheerfully and liberally paid, not according to any settled stipend, but the rank and abilities of the parties or their friends. The morai, as has already been observed, is at once a burying-ground and a place of worship, and in this particu lar our churches too much resemble it. The Indian, however, approaches his morai with a reverence and humility that disgraces the christian, not because he holds any thing sacred that is there, but because he there worships an invisible divinity, for whom, though he neither hopes for reward, nor fears punishment, at his hand, he always expresses the profoundest homage and most humble adoration. I have already given a very particular description both of the morais and the altars that are placed near them. When an Indian is about to worship at the morai, or brings his offering to the altar, he always uncovers his body to the waist, and his looks and attitude are such as sufficiently express a corresponding disposition of mind." It did not appear to us that these people are, in any instance, guilty of idolatry; at least they do not worship any thing that is the work of their hands, nor any visible part of the creation. This island indeed, and the rest that lie near 10 Almost all the particulars now and afterwards stated in favour of the Otaheitans, are fully allowed by recent accounts, especially that of the Missionary Voyage already noticed.-E. near it, have a particular bird, some a heron, and others a king's fisher, to which they pay a peculiar regard, and concerning which they have some superstitious notions with respect to good and bad fortune, as we have of the swallow and robin-red-breast, giving them the name of Eatua, and by no means killing or molesting them; yet they never address a petition to them, or approach them with any act of adoration." Though "The account now given of the religion of the Otaheitans is imperfect in point of information; and it must be held erroneous as to principle, by all who chuse to derive their knowledge on the subject of man's relation to his Maker, from the sacred Scriptures alone. The imperfections were the consequence of the very limited acquaintance with these islanders, which existed at the time, and may be readily filled up on the authority of subsequent observers. As to the erroneousness of principle, it may suffice for the enlightened reader to remind him, that as the Su preme Being himself is the only object of worship, so every other one that is worshipped in place of him, whether made by the hands of men, or found made by nature, or conceived to exist, is virtually and essentially an idol. It follows from this, that idolatry is much more prevalent than is usually imagined, and is by no means confined to nations in a barbarous or semi-barbarous state. The worshippers of reason, or virtue, or taste, or fashion, or nature, or one's own goodness and piety, or the spiritual entities of philosophers and religionists, are as truly idolaters as the worshippers of the grand lama in Thibet, or the economical sect in Lapland, who content themselves with the largest stone they can find. Mr Hume, who has been at such pains to enquire into the natural history of religion, is most unnecessarily cautious as to the qualifying of one of his most im portant assertions on the subject of the prevalence of idolaters. "The savage tribes of America, Africa, and Asia," says he," are all idolaters. Not a single exception to this rule. Insomuch, that, were a traveller to tran sport himself into any unknown region; if he found inhabitants cultivated with arts and sciences, though even upon that supposition there are odds against their being theists, yet could he not safely, till further enquiry, pronounce any thing on that head; but if he found them ignorant and barbarous, he might beforehand declare them idolaters; and there is scarcely a possibility of his being mistaken." He might have said with perfect confidence, that a traveller would scarcely find one person in a thousand amid all the tribes of the earth, who was entitled to be considered as a pure theist, or at least, who was single-minded in the exercise of his religious devotion. The generality of mankind, in short, are like a certain people of old,—they fear the Lord, and worship their own gods. Then again as to the disinterestedness of the Otaheitan devotees, Dr Hawkesworth egregiously blunders—as if it were conceivable, or any way natural, that they or any other people could possibly serve their divinities without entertaining the hope that they should be served by them in turn. This were to exceed even Homer in his exaggerating human nature at the expence of the gods. That poet puts a curious speech in the mouth of Dione, Though I dare not assert that these people, to whom the art of writing, and consequently the recording of laws, are utterly unknown, live under a regular form of government, yet Dione, the mother of Venus, when addressing her daughter, who had been wounded by Diomede : My child! how hard soe'er thy sufferings seem, But Dr H., it is probable, had embraced the fanatical and monstrous notion of some speculatists, that God and religion were to be loved for their own sakes, not because of the benefits they confer; and he wished to exalt the characters of these islanders by representing them as acting on it. This, however, is as irrational in itself, as it is impracticable by such a creature as man. Self-love, directed by wisdom, is perhaps the best principle that can actuate him. Considering scripture as an authority, there is a high degree of commendation implied in what is said of Moses by an apostle, when speaking of his faith and obedience, and accounting for it, "he had respect unto the recompence of reward;" and of one higher than Moses it is related, that, "for the joy set before him, (certainly not then possessed,) he endured the cross." Were man always to act from a sense of what he has received, and the hope of what he may receive, he would never do wrong. He, on the other hand, that attempts to serve God out of pure benevolence, and without expectation of advantage, will soon spurn archangels, and may set up for a God himself, on any day he shall think he has succeeded in accomplishing such super-eminent disinterestedness. On the whole, it may be remarked, that the Dr seems correct enough in his notions of religion, considered as founded on reason; but is far from being so in those concerning its foundation in the principles of human nature. This, however, seems the consequence of inattention to the subject as a speculation, rather than of studied disregard to those secret surmisings which every human heart will oftentimes experience to carry it beyond the brink of perishable things, and to give it a birth amid the realities of wonder, fear, and hope. Far be it from the writer to class him amongst those whom the poet Campbell so pathetically, and yet so indignantly describes in the beautiful lines, Oh! lives there, heaven! beneath thy dread expanse, Content to feed, with pleasures unrefined, The lukewarm passions of a lowly mind; Who, mouldering earthward, 'reft of every trust, In joyless union wedded to the dust, Could all his parting energy dismiss, And call this barren world sufficient bliss? He may not merit the "proud applause," the "pre-eminence in ill," of those "lights of the world," and "demi-gods of fame," who league reason and science against the hopes of mankind, and busy themselves in throwing the "heaviest stones of melancholy" at the poor wretch shivering over the dregs of life, and tottering towards the grave. And yet it is certain, that what was written on his own tombstone implied much less the hope |