But the christian religion, I fayed, hath comforts to compenfat for the lofs of every external good, and leads us to fuch blissful regions from this firft precarious scene, that we may with indifference give up the glorys of the earth, when the lofs of them enables us the better to prepare for an after-existence of life and immortality. We stand on the brink of death, refurrection, and judgment, and it is not to royalty and grandeur that the unutterable happynefs and glory of the heavenly world is promised, but, to those who turn their feet to God's teftimonys, and by patiently continuing in well-doing, feek for eternal life. It may be our everlasting intereft to be afflicted, that we may learn the ftatutes of the Moft High. His judgments are right. In faithfulness he afflicts. Our thoughts then, illuftrious Zulima, as we are christians, must turn from the pomps and vanitys of this world, to the obfervance of the law, which is holy, just, and good; and by deeds of justice, mercy and piety, we must labor to acquire that divine temper, and heavenly life, which conftitutes the blifs, and makes us fit for immortality. It is exalted piety, and a steady obedience to all the will of God, that can render us valuable in the eyes of the fupreme Being; and if it be obfcurity that brings us to this condition, it is the happyeft state.

As

the Tom

As to the christian religion, the noble Zulima replyed, the had not received thofe benefits from it which I had defcribed, nor did she think it could be fet on any thing like a parallel with the religion of her own country. The Tombutians believe there is one active principle, eternal and omnipotent, who The relicreated all things, and fupports them by his gion of power; that he created good Genii, whom butians. we call gods, among other beings, and to them committed the government of the world; the active principle they first adore, and then do invocate and worship his viceroys, the gods: they believe thofe guardian fpirits protect and felicitat the mortals, who act as reason and humanity require, if such protection, in this world, be within the first principle's defign, when he created all things; and that they bring to deftruction the oppreffor and unjuft, in this world, if fuch deftruction be agreeable to the original plan of the fupreme but that, whether virtue or vice be crowned with fuccefs, in this state, all will be right in the ftate to come: the brave and honest, in proportion to their virtues here, will be transferred by the gods to fuch spheres of blifs as they are fit for; thofe fpheres in which the ruling Genii reign; but the enemys of mankind will fink into an abyss of darkness, and after many years of

grief in the dismal prifon, perish eternally by annihilation. This is the religion of the Tombutians. There is more reason in it than in what the catholics profefs.

The catholic religion, that I have been baptized into (the illuftrious Zulima continued) teaches me, that God confifts of three fupreme fpirits, equal in wisdom and action, and one of them became a little child; then turned carpenter, and at last was crucified by the Jews; to give infinite fatisfaction to himself and the other two; fatisfaction for faults committed by the penitent part of their human creatures, through the imperfection of their nature: and, as if it was not enough, that one of these great gods was offered once upon the cross, to fatisfy the three, the priest has him again in his hand every day, to offer him for evermore; and which is more wonderful than all, makes him out of a cake, by uttering four words; and the cake is a cake after all. Amazing, impious nonfenfe is all this, to be fure. There is nothing fo ridiculous as fuch religion among the wildest and weakest nations of the Moors. And yet, this is not all. A woman, the mother of the fupreme God, who became a carpenter, and was hanged on a tree, hath had all power given her by the three, fince her death, and is now the governing divinity,

whom

whom we must principally adore, and pray to for what we want. To do her the more honor, we must even proftrate before the block they call her image, and fansy there is a portion of her divine virtue refiding in the post. Senfeless religion. The prime objects of its worship are a dead woman, a cake, and a poft. The people have not any tolerable notion of the most glorious active principle, whose wisdom and power are omnipotent, and whose immenfity fills the universe : but the block, the wafer, and Mary, and a countless number of dead men and women, whom the church calls faints, we are to worship and pray to; and believe as they tell us of a trinity, and a bleeding God. Then we profefs the christian faith. Profefs it we muft, whether we can or no, or the cruel inquifitors will confign us to the bloodyest doom in this world, and lodge us in the next in what they call everlasting fire. I have been told the church has flaughtered millions of the human race for refufing to affent to her impietys: And I know, an eternal torment of fire is what she has provided for all who oppose her. Deteftable is the whole religion. My foul abhors it. It is the great and good active Principle, the Creator of all things, and the Father of mankind that I adore in their church, and next to him, the

be

benevolent Genii he has appointed to be fubalterns in his providence, that is, the difpenfers of his gifts.

Zulima's account of the religion of her country furprized me very much, as it is a fine mixture of truth and error; and what I did not think the black people of Tombuto were able to fpeculat up to: but in what she fayed of chriftianity, the pierced my foul, as I faw the imagined the frightful inventions of popery were the inftitutes of our holy religion, and that the dreadful doctrines and practices of that apoftat church had the authority of Jefus on her fide. I asked her, if ever he had feen the bible? She answered,-No. And then I answered her, that the religion of the church of Rome was as far from being the religion of Jefus Christ as vice and falfhood are from truth and virtue. Suffer me then, illuftrious Zulima, (I requefted) to give you a true idea of the religion of the Son of God. You shall fee, it is not the Roman catholic religion. It is reasonable, peaceable and heavenly. Zulima with pleasure confented. She told me, she was already aftonished at the little beautiful account I had given of it, in only mentioning the thing; as the few words I had sayed were fo different from what she had heared on the chriftian fubject: that he had begun