Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal SocietyRoyal Society (Great Britain)
History
Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal Society
Royal Society (Great Britain)
Natural history; Science -- Early works to 1800; Voyages and travels -- Early works to 1800
Upon what account or grounds it is that some Travellers have stiled
these People Polytheists, or Atheists, I cannot tell; or whether there
be any such People at all in the World, except some of the base common
sort in all Nations, I much question? It is very observable here, that
their Priests, or _Bramines_, and Holy Men, whom they call _Jagees_,
when they have occasion to Write any thing they always put a figure of
one in the first place, to shew, as they say, that they acknowledge
but one God, whom they say is _Burme_, that is, Immaterial. When they
preach to the People, and Instruct them, which is commonly every
Feast-day, full Moon, or the time of an Eclipse of either Luminary,
they tell the common People much of God, Heaven and Hell, but very
Imperfectly, Obscurely and Mystically. They say that when God thought
of making the World, he made it in a minute.
They account this World the Body of God, for all that they say he's
Immaterial; and say that the Highest Heavens are his Head, the Fire
his Mouth, the Air his Breath and Breast, the Water his Seed, and the
Earth and the foundations thereof his Legs and Feet. But assert in
general that God is the Life of every thing, yet is the thing neither
greater nor less for him.
They hold that God dwelt in a Vacuity before that he created the World,
and that as he dwelt in that Vacuity he created several Beings out of
himself, the first were Angels, the second Souls, the third Spirits,
all differing in degrees of Purity, the first being more pure than the
second, and the second than the third. The Angels, they say, neither
act Good nor Evil, the Souls either Good or Evil, but the Spirits, or
_Dewta's_, as they call them, act scarce any thing but Evil.
They have a good Opinion of the Angels, and think their State mighty
happy, hoping that when they dye they shall be made partakers of the
same Bliss and Pleasure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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