A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
On going to visit this temple, I found the priests sitting under the outer
portal; and those whom I saw, appeared, by their shaven beards, like French
friars. They wore conical caps of paper on their heads; and all the priests
of the Jugurs wear this cap continually, and yellow strait tunics fastened
down the middle like those in France; besides which, they wear a cloak on
their left shoulder, flowing loosely before and behind, but leaving the
right arm free, somewhat like a deacon carrying the pix in Lent. Their mode
of writing is adopted by the Tartars. They begin to write at the top of the
page, and extend their lines downwards, reading and writing from left to
right. They make great use of written papers in their magical incantations,
and their temples are hung round with short written sentences. The letters
sent by Mangu-khan to your majesty, are written in these characters, and in
the language of the Moal. These people burn their dead in the manner of the
ancients, and deposit the ashes on the top of certain pyramids. After
sitting for some time beside these priests, and having entered their temple
to look at their many images, some large and others small, I asked what was
their belief concerning God? To which they answered, that they believed in
one God only. On asking them whether he was a spirit or of a corporeal
nature, they said he was a spirit. Being asked if God had ever assumed the
human mature, they answered never. Since, then, said I, you believe God to
be a spirit, wherefore do yow make so many images of him; and as you
believe that he never took upon him the human form, wherefore do you
represent him under the image of a man, rather than of any other creature?
To this they answered, we do not make images of God; but when any of our
rich men die, or their wives or children, or dear friends, they cause
images to be made of the deceased, which are placed in the temple, which we
venerate in respect to their memory. Then, said I, you do these things in
flattery of men: but they insisted it was only in remembrance. They then
asked me, as if in derision, where is God? To this I answered by another
question, where is your soul? and they said, in our bodies. Then, said I,
is it not in every part of your body, ruling over the whole, yet cannot be
seen. Even in the same manner God is everywhere, ruling all things, yet
is invisible, being intelligence and wisdom. I would willingly have
proceeded in this conference, but my interpreter became weary and unable
to express my meaning, so that I was obliged to desist.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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