GOD
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GOD
tJniverfe could not produce itfelf. i° That a neceffariiy ex- igent Being mull: be eternal, and omniprefent, that is co- extended with infinite Duration, and infinite Space, becaufe whatever exifts by an abfolute Neceffity of Nature, has no Relation to Difference of Time, Place, £S"c. and confequently mult exift always and every where. 3 This Being mutt be perfectly fimilar, fimple, and uncompounded, without the leaft Variety, or Difference imaginable, or poflible, becaufe abfolute Neceffity is every where and always the fame. From which Proposition it aifo follows, as a Corollary, that this Being is immutable.
It is apparent therefore, a priori, that there is a felf-ex- iftect Being, which is not Matter ; and that this Being is eternal, omniprefent, fimilar, and unchangeable, by necef- fary Connexion between felf-Exiftence, and thefe Attributes: but it is impoffible to fhew any neceffary Connexion between felf-Exiftence and Underftanding ; and iffo, it isimpofftble to prove that the felf-exiftent Being is intelligent a priori, or any otherwife than by arguing from the Effect to the Caufe ; that is, from the Confederation of the Frame of the Univerfc, the Laws of Nature, and final Caufes. Max- iveli's Difc. concern. GOD. — ■
The Hebrew call the Name of God ITI'ITIM JD"IN*0. and the Greeks, after this Example, ~\i\ey.y(}Muimi ; as con- fiding of four Letters, which it is obferv'd to do in moft Languages : Thus, in the Hebrew, Godh called HW, Je- hovah; in Greek, 0si« ; in Latin, Deus ; in Spanifh, Dios ; in Italian, Idio ; in French, Dieu; in the antient Gaulifh, SDieXj in antient German, Diet; in the Sclavonic, Suebj in Arabic, Alia ; in the Polifh, Sung ; in the Pannonian, Ifttt ; in the Egyptian, 'term ; in the Perfian, Sire ; in the Language of the Magi, Orfi. —
The Rabbins, and Hebraifts, particularly St. Jerom, and the Interpreters, reckon up ten different Names of God in Scripture ; which are, "?"*> El, a'"T»t, Elobim, ',T~K, E. lobe, or in the Singular, n?N, Eloah, ITN3y, 1"fihaotb t iVIy, Elion, TVr\N,&jeh, >JT1ii,Aw, n>, Jab, n\if, Shaddai, Dfl'i Jehovah ; but 'tis wrong to divide >!TJN from miO!" ; they fhould be but one Name mNDS'D^N. Eliobc tfebaoth, i. e. God of Ho ft s. — Of thefe Names there are three which exprefs the Effence of God, and are proper Names, viz. ITiTO, Ehjeh, PI", JaJj, and mn>, Jehovah: The others are only Names of Attributes; St. Jerom gives a particular Explanation of the ten Names, in his Epiiile to Marcella : And Bllxtorf the younger has an exprels Dilfer- tation on the fame ; DiJ/ertatio de nominibus Dei. The Jefuit Souciet has three feveral ones on the three Names El, Shaddai, and Jehovah, printed at 'Paris in 171 5.
Cicero in his Treatife de Nat. Deorum puts this ridiculous Argument againft the Exiftence of a God in the Mouth of Cotta : * How fhall we conceive any thing of a God, when we ' cannot pofflbly attribute any Virtue to him ? Shall we fay
- he has Prudence ? No, for Prudence confifting in making a
- Choice between good and evil, what need has God of
' fuch Choice, when he is by his own Nature incapable of ' any evil ? Shall we fay he has Underftanding and Rea- 1 fon ? No, for Underftanding and Reafon only ferve to ' difcover Things unknown to us, by Things that are known ;
■ but there can' be nothing unknown to God. Nor can we ' attribute Juftice to God; that being a Thing which only ' relates to human Society: Nor Temperance; fince he
• has no Pleafure to reftrain : Nor Courage, in regard he is ' not fuCceptible of any Pain, Labour, or Fatigue ; nor ex-
• poled to any Danger. How then can a Thing be God,
■ which has neither Virtue, nor Underftanding i ' See At- tribute, Divinity, &c.
God is alfo ufed in fpeaking of the falfe Deities of the Heathens ; many of which were only Creatures, to which divine Honours and Worfhip were paid. See Idol.
The Greeks and Latins, it is obfervable, did not mean by the Name God an all- perfect Being, whereof Eternity, Infi- nity, Omniprefencc, iSp were effential Attributes : With them the Word only implied an excellent and fuperior Nature ; and accordingly they give the Appellation Gods to all Beings of a Rank, or Uafs higher and more perfect than Men. .
Nay, Men themfelves, according to their Syftem, might become Gods, after Death; inafmuch as their Souls might attain to a Degree of Excellence fuperior to what they were capable of in Life. See Deification.
The firft Divines, Father Bqffu obrerves, were the Poets : The two Functions, tho' now feparated, were originally com- bined or rather one and the fame. Thing. See Poetry.
Now the great Variety of Attributes in God, that is the Number of Relations, Capacities, and Circumftances where- in they had occafion to confider him ; put thefe Poets, £"c, under a Neceffity of making a Partition, and to feparate the divine Attributes into feveral Perfons ; by reafon the Weaknefs of the human Mind could not conceive fo much Power and Action in the Simplicity of one fingle divine Na- ture.
Thus the Omnipotence of God came to be reprefented under the Perlon and Appellation of Jupiter ; the* Wildom ofGod, under that of LfivnerBa; the Juftice of God, under that of Juno. See Epick, Fable, gfe.
The 'firft Idols, or falfe Gods that are faid to have been adored, were the Stars, Sun, Moon, e°c. in regard. of the Light, Heat, and other Benefits we derive from them. See Astronomy, Star, Son, &c. - , ■
Afterwards, the Earth came to be deified for furnifhing Fruits neceffary for the Subfiftance of Men and Animals : Then Fire and Water became Objects of divine Worfhip, for their Ufefuliiefs to human Life. See FiRE.and Water.
When Things were thus got in the Tram, Goas, by de- grees, became multiplied to Infinity; and fcarce any thing but the Weaknefs, or Caprice of fome Devotee or other, e- levated into the Rank ; Things ufelel's, or even deftruftive not excepted.
To authorize their own Crimes, and juftify their Vices and Debaucheries, they conftituted criminal, vitious, and li- centious Gods, unjuft, rapacious, and tyrannical Gods, cove- tous and thievifh Gods, Drunken Gods, impudent Gods, cruel and bloody Gods.- —
The principal of the antient Gods, whom the Romans call'd Dii majorum Gentium, and which Cicero calls Cxle- ftial Gods ; Varro, Select Gods ; Ovid, Nobiles Decs, others, Confintes Deos ; were Jupiter, Juno, Vefta, Minerva, Ce± res, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Vulcan, Apollo. • ■-' t
Jupiter is confider'd as the God of Heaven ; Neptune a3 God of the Sea ; Mars as the God of War ; Apollo of Elo- quence, Poetry, and Phyfick ; Mercury of Thieves ; Bac- chus of Wine ; Cupid of Love, &c.
A fecond Sort of Gods, call'd 'Demi Gods, Semi-SDH, Dit miuorum Gentium, Indigites, or Gods adopted, were Men canonized, and deified. — As the greater Gods had Pof- feffion of Heaven by their own Right, fo thefe fecondary Deities had it by Right of Donation; being tranflated into Heaven for that they liv'd as Gods upon Earth. See Indi- gites, Hero, and Apotheosis. t
The Heathen Gods may be all teduced to the following Claffes. i° Created Spirits, Angels, or Demons; whence good and evil Gods ; Genii, Lares, Lemur es, Ty phones, Proteaing Gods, Infernal Gods, &c. See Daemon, Genius, Lares, etc. ^,
z° Heavenly Bodies, as the Sun, Moon, and other 'Pla- nets, fixed Stars, Conftellations, &c. See Sun, Moon, Star, Constellation, &c. ,
5 Elements, as Air, Earth, Occam Ops, Vefta ; the Rivers, Fountains, &c. See Naiads, Fountains, &c.
4 Meteors; thus the Pcrfians adored the Wind : Thun- der, and Lightning, were honour'd under the Name of Geryon. See' Thunderbolt. And feveral Nations of India and America have made themfelves Gods of the fame. Caflor, 'Pollux, Helena, and Iris have alfo been prefer'd. from Meteors to be Gods ; and the like has been pradie'd in regard to Comets : Witnefs that which appear'd at the Mur- ther of Ciefar. Socrates deified the Clouds, if we may give Credit to Ariftof banes ; and the primitive Chriftians, Ter- tullian aflures us, were rcproach'd with the fame Thing.
5° They erected Minerals, or Foflils into Deities ; fuch was Stylus ; the philanders ador'd Stones ; the Scythians Iron ; and many Nations Silver, and Gold.
6° Plants have been made Gods ; thus Leeks and Onions were Deities in Egypt : The Sclavi, Lithuanians, Celts, Vandals, and Peruvians ador'd Trees and Forefts : The an- tient Gauls, Britons, Druids, bore a particular Devotion to the Oak ; and it was no other than Wheat, Corns, Seeds, S^c. that the Antients adored under the Names of Ceres and 'Proferpina. See Panes, Sylvans, Druids, &c.
7° They took themfelves Gods from among thelfaters: The Syrians, and Egytians adored Fifties-, the Oxyrinchucs, Latopolitani, Sienites, and the Inhabitants of the Eliphan- tide had each a Fifh for their God ; and the Tritons, Ne- reids, Syrens, Sic. what were they but Fifties ? Several Na- tions have ador'd Serpents, particularly the Egyptians, 'Prnf- Jians, Lithuanians, Samogitians, &c. See Tritons, Ne- reid, Syren, i$c.
8° Infefls, as Flies and Ants have had that Sacrificersj thefe among the Theffalians, and thofe in Acar llama, where Bullocks were offer'd to them.
9° Among Birds, the Stork, Crew, Sparrowhawk, Ibys, Eagle, Griffon, and Lap-wing have had Divine HonoutSj the laftin Mexico, the Reft in Egypt, and -uTkebcs.
10° Four-footed Beafts have had their Altars, as the Bull, Dog, Cat, Wolf, Beboon, Lion, and Crocodile in Egypt and elfewhere ; the Hog in the Ifland of C-reta ; Rats and Mtct in the Troas, and at Tenedos; Weafels at Thebes, and the Porcupin throughout all Zoroajler's School.
1 1° Nothing was more common than to place Men among the Number of Deities; and from Belus, or Baal to the Roman Emperors before Coufiantine ; the Inftances of this kind are innumerable. Frequently they did not wait fo
long
