¥

554 lord’s discovery of the banians and persees.

terials for the fame out of their manufcripts, and by renewed accefs, with the help ofinterpreters, made my collection out of a book of theirs called the Shader , which is tothem as their bible, containing the grounds of their religion in a written word.

If any therefore be afteCled to perufe or revife the religion, rites, and cufloms of thefaid Banians, leaving out for the mcft part fuch prodigious fi&ions as feem independenton fenfe and reafon, here they fhall meet with the bed effence and ground of this fe£i,digeffed into fuch a form as fhall bed clear the knowledge thereof, and fuch as I pre-fume never had a like difcovery by any yet in the press. So handfeding the readerswith as good hopes as may be expected from‘a fubject of this nature, I refer them to theproof of the. following .chapters.

'Chap. I. — Of God ; the Creation of the World; the Creation of the firfl Man andWoman, and the Progeny from them defcending , as it is by the Banians delivered.

THE great God (fay the Banians) being alone, bethought himfelf how he mightmake his excellency and power manifeft t > others; for his great virtue, had beenobfcured and hid, if it had not been communicated to his creatures. What meansmight then be better to give evidence of both thefe, than the creation of a wmrld andcreatures therein ?

For this caufe the Almighty confulted with himfelf about the making of this greatwork, which men call the world oruniverfe; and, as the ancients (fay they) havedelivered, the Lord made four elements as the ground work of this mighty frame, towit, earth, air, fire, and water; which four elements were at fird all mingled togetherin a confufion, but the Almighty feparated them in manner following.

Fird, it is delivered, that, by fome great cane or like indrument, he blew upon thewaters, which arofe into a bubble, of a round form like an egg, which, fpreading itfelffurther and further, made the firmament fo clear and tranfparent which now com-pafleth the world about.

After this there remaining the earth as the fediment of the waters, and fome liquidfubdance with the fame ; the Lord made of both thefe together a thing round like aball, which he called the lower world, the more folid part whereof became the earth,■the more liquid the feas; both which making one globe, he by a great noife or hummingfound, -placed them in the midfl; of the firmament, which became equi-didant from iton every fide.

Then he created a fun and moon in the firmament to didinguidi the times andfeafons ; and thus thefe four elements that were at fird mixed together, became feparateand afiigned to their feveral places ; the air to his place, the earth to his place, the waterto his place, and the fire to his place.

Thefe elements thus difpofed, each of them difcharged his feveral parts ; the airfilled up whatfoever was empty, the fire began to nourifii with his heat, the earthbrought forth his living creatures, and the fea his. And the Lord conveyed to thelca feminal virtue that they might be fruitful in their feveral operations; and thus thegreat world was created.

This world as it had. his beginning from four elements, fo it was meafured by f° urmain points of the compafs, ead, wed, north, and fouth ; and was to be continued forfour ages, and to be peopled by four cads or forts of men, which were married to fourwomen appointed for them, of which we fhall fpeak as order may give occafion.

God having thus made the world and the creatures thereto belonging, then God created man, as a creature more worthy than the red, and one that might be mod ca-