In the mean time, Cyrus opened the sluices of his canals; which drawing off the water of the river at two different parts, his army marched into the city without opposition. Belshazzar, roused from the stupidity into which his wine had thrown him, came out to meet his enemies, but was soon killed with all those who attended him, and all who were found in the streets. Such was the end of the city of Babylon, after it had flourished many years; and Cyrus having removed the seat of empire to Shushan in Persia, it soon became a desert, and the place where it stood is not now exactly known. Alexander the Great attempted to rebuild Babylon; but that the purpose of God might stand, and that the prophecies might be fulfilled, the ambitious tyrant was taken off by death before he could complete his design. It was prophesied that Babylon should become the habitation of wild beasts, and that at last it should be turned into pools of water. Let us now see how this was literally fulfilled.

When it was first deserted of its inhabitants, the Persian kings turned it into a park for hunting, and there they kept their wild beasts. When the Persian empire declined, the beasts broke loose; so that when Alexander the Great marched eastward, he found Babylon a perfect desert. He intended to have restored the Euphrates to its ancient channel, but that only served to complete the ruin of the place; for the design not being completed, the river overflowed its banks, and the greatest part of that once celebrated city became a lake or pool of water. Theodorus, who lived about four hundred years after Christ, tells us, that Babylon was the receptacle of snakes, serpents, and all sorts of noxious animals, so that it was dangerous to visit it. Benjamin of Taledo, a Jew, who visited it in 1112, tells us, that few remains of it were left, nor were there any inhabitants within many miles of it. Rawolffe, a German, who travelled into the East in 1572, found it very difficult to discover the place upon which it stood, nor could the neighbouring inhabitants give him proper directions. Many later travellers have sought for her situation in vain, particularly Mr. Hanway, who visited that part of the world about a century ago.

That great and good man tells us, that he spent several days to find out the situation of Babylon, but could not, although he had every assistance a modern traveller could procure. Nay, so uncertain was he of its ancient situation, that the more he inquired, the more he was left in the dark. It was once a nest of vile idolaters, and afterwards became a cage for unclean beasts; but now we have nothing left but the name. Let this consideration strike deep into the heart of every British subject, and let us learn wisdom and piety from the vices of those who have lived in ages before

us.

Let us learn to carry a holy jealousy with us in every part of our conduct, and never forget, that sin, as an offence against God, will, at all times, bring down upon us the Divine vengeance. If we, as Britons, should follow the Babylonians in their sins, we may expect to share in their punishment. That Almighty power which turned Babylon into a desert, is able to deprive us of all the invaluable blessings we so much boast of, and too much abuse. We can never form right notions of Divine Providence, without attending to such historical events as are here recorded; but if properly improved, they may be of great advantage to us in

time, and infinitely so in eternity. As inhabitants of the same kingdom, and as fellow-subjects, let us never forget, that national calamities are procured by national sins.

SEC. V.-RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS.

THE ancient kingdoms of Persia and Media were so nearly connected by a variety of concurring circumstances, that they cannot be separated in this article. Nay, it is much better that they should be kept joined, especially as they were many ages under one sovereignty.

During the continuance of the Assyrian empire, the Medes had no regular form of government, but lived in clans or tribes, much in the same manner as the ancient Britons. At last Deyoces, the son of Phaortes, a Mede by birth, projected the scheme of bringing them all under one monarchy. He was a man of great prudence, and much esteemed by his countrymen; he had beheld with concern the many disorders which had taken place from the jarring contentions among petty tyrants, and he resolved to avail himself of such favourable circumstances. His reputa

tion was so great, that the people of his own district made him their judge; and his decrees were so much approved of, that his popularity increased every day. The next part of his plan was, to pretend that he could not neglect his own domestic affairs to serve the public, and therefore desired to retire from business. Then it was that the good effects which had flowed from his wise administration began to be sensibly felt; for no sooner was it known that Deyoces had resigned, than all sorts of licentiousness took place among the lower orders of the people.

These disorders, which threatened destruction to the state, occasioned a meeting of the chiefs to be held, and Deyoces having sent his emissaries thither, a motion was made that a king should be chosen, and the election fell unanimously on him. Deyoces obtaining the end of his ambition, set himself about reforming abuses, and polishing the minds of of his subjects. For this purpose he set about building a city and palace; for before that period the people lived in huts in the woods. This city was called Ecbatana, and it was most magnificent and beautiful. It was built in a circular form, on an eminence, from whence there was a most delightful prospect over a plain diversified with woods and rivers. His next business was that of composing a body of laws for his people; and from what we read in ancient history, they were well calculated towards promoting order among men who had not till then been under a regular form of government.

Persia had been long under the government of its own kings, and continued so till the reign of Cyrus the Great, who united them, not by conquest, but by right of succession. Shushan, the royal city, seems to have been built long before the times of Cyrus; for we find it mentioned as a flourishing place about the time that great prince issued his order for the Jews to return to their own country. The religion of the Medes and Persians was of great antiquity, and probably taught by one of the grandsons of Noah, who planted colonies in those parts, soon after the confusion of languages. Noah had taught his children the knowledge of

the true God; and that they were to trust in his mercy, through the mediation of a Redeemer, who was to be revealed to them at a future period of time; for the necessity of a mediator between God and men. This was the origin of all the idolatry in the heathen world; and at first they worshipped those orbs themselves; but as they found that they were as often under the horizon as above it, they were at a loss how to address them in their absence. To remedy this, they had recourse to making images, which, after their consecration, they believed endowed with divine. power and this was the origin of image-worship. This religion first began among the Chaldeans; and it was to avoid being guilty of idolatry that Abraham left that country. In Persia the first idolaters were called Sabians, who adored the rising sun with the profoundest veneration. To that planet they consecrated a most magnificent chariot, to be drawn by horses of the greatest beauty and magnitude, on every solemn festival. The same ceremony was practised by many other heathens, who undoubtedly learned it from the Persians, and other Eastern nations.

In consequence of the veneration they paid to the sun, they worshipped the fire, and invoked it in all their sacrifices; in their marches they carried it before their kings, and none but the priests were permitted to touch it, because they made the people believe that it came down from heaven. But their adoration was not confined to the sun; they worshipped the water, the earth, and the winds, as so many deities. Human sacrifices were offered by them, and they burnt their children in fiery furnaces, appropriated to their idols. These Medes and Persians at first worshipped two gods, namely, Arimanius, the god of evil, and Oromasdes, the giver of all good. By some it was believed that the good god was from eternity, and the evil one created; but they all agreed that they would continue to the end of time, and that the good god would overcome the evil one. They considered darkness as the symbol of the evil god, and light as the image of the good one. They held Arimanius, the evil god, in such detestation, that they always wrote his name backward. Some ancient writers have given us a very odd account of the origin of this god Arimanius, which may serve to point out their ignorance of divine things. Oromasdes, say they, considering that he was alone, said to himself, "If I have no one to oppose me, where, then, is all my glory?" This single reflection of his created Arimanius, who, by his everlasting opposition to the divine will, contributed against inclination to the glory of Oromasdes.

We are told by Plutarch that Oromasdes created several inferior gods, or genii: such as wisdom, goodness, justice, truth, the comforts of life, and all lawful enjoyments. On the other hand, Arimanius created as many devils, such as lies, wickedness, and all sorts of abominations. The former likewise created twenty-four devils, and inclosed them in an egg; the latter broke the egg, and by that means created a mixture of good and evil. This doctrine of the origin of good and evil bears such a striking resemblance to that of God and the devil, that it must have been borrowed from the tradition concerning the fall of angels, which was undoubtedly known to the ancient Persians; or it might be taken from the account which Moses has transmitted to us, concerning the creation of light and darkness.

The religion of the Persians underwent a variety of very remarkable

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revolutions; for the Sabians, having fallen into disgrace, they were succeeded by another sect, called the Magi; who, on account of their pretensions to superior knowledge and sanctity, became extremely popular among the vulgar. Nay, such was the respect paid to them, that no king could take possession of the throne till he had been first instructed in their principles; nor could they determine any affair of importance till it had received their approbation. They were at the head both of religion and philosophy; and the education of all the youth in the kingdom was committed to their care.

It is the general opinion, that the founder of the Magian religion was one Zoroaster, who lived about the year of the world 2900, and it continued to be the established religion of the country for many years after. They kept up continual fires in their temples, and standing before these fires with mitres on their heads, they daily repeated a great number of prayers. The name of their chief temple was Amanus, or Namanus, which signifies the sun; and is the same with what we find under the name of Baal in Scripture. Their great reputation induced people to visit them from all parts of the known world, to be instructed by them in the principles of philosophy and mythology; and we are assured, that the great Pythagoras studied many years under them. They believed, with the Egyptians, and many other heathen nations, that the soul passed from one body to another; and this sentiment daily gaining ground, gave way for the propagation of others of a more pernicious nature.

The chief priest of the Magi was called Archimagus, or worshipper of fire; but, in latter times, the kings of Persia assumed that dignity to themselves: but there was an inferior order of priests called Narbards, who were obliged to have very long beards; their caps were round, falling over their ears; and they had a girdle with four tassels, to remind them of four established maxims. First, that there is but one God; secondly, that they were to believe all the articles of the Magian religion; thirdly, that Zoroaster was God's true and faithful apostle; and, lastly, that they must never be weary of well-doing, as the only thing that could promote their honour in time, and their happiness in eternity.

While they washed themselves, or sat at meals, they observed the most strict silence, no person being permitted to speak a word; and this probably gave rise to some of the sentiments taught by Pythagoras to his scholars, that they were to be silent in school, and always to adore fire.

The religion of the ancient Magi fell into contempt, both in Media and Persia, in consequence of the priests of that order having usurped the supreme authority upon the death of Cambyses; and the slaughter which was made of the chief men among them, sunk them so low, that they never rose to their original greatness; but still the affection which the people had to a religion which had prevailed among them upwards of six hundred years, was not to be easily rooted out, and therefore an impostor, under the name of Zoroaster, undertook to revive and reform it.

Having seen the mischievous effects of adoring two gods, this artful impostor introduced one superior to both; and the learned Dr. Prideaux is of opinion, that he took this hint from what we read in Isaiah, chap. xlv. 7. "I am the Lord, and there is none else; I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil.” In a word, Zoroaster held that

there was but one supreme God, who had under him two principles, one good and the other bad; that there is a perpetual struggle between them which shall last to the end of the world; and then the angel of darkness and his disciples shall go into a world of their own, where they shall be punished in everlasting darkness; and the angel of light and his disciples shall also go into a world of their own, where they shall be rewarded with everlasting happiness.

This Zoroaster was the first who built temples for the worship of the fire; for before his time, the Magi performed their devotions on the tops or summits of hills, in the open air, by which they were exposed to all the inclemency of the weather, which often extinguished their sacred fires. This second Zoroaster pretended to have received fire from heaven, which he placed on the altar of the temple of Xis in Media, from whence the priests gave out, it was sent to all the other cities and temples in the Median and Persian empire. The Magian priests kept their sacred fire with the greatest diligence, watching it continually without ever suffering it to go out. They fed it with wood stripped of the bark, and they were prohibited from blowing it with their breath, or with bellows, lest it should be thereby polluted; to have done either was death by their law. The Magian religion, as reformed by Zoroaster, seems to have been, in many points, copied from that of the Jews; and this is not much to be wondered at, when we consider that Zoroaster lived at the time when the Jews were captives in Babylon, and where he had an opportunity of conversing with them. The Jews had the real fire from heaven, and the Magi pretended to have the same; from all which it is evident, that during the time the Jews were in captivity, much of their religion was known to the Persians, and some of their latter systems founded upon it.

The Magian priests were all of one tribe, like those among the Jews; and none but the sons of the priests could be ordained of their order : nay, so strict were they in keeping the priesthood among their families, that rather than mix with the rest of the people, they trampled on one of the most sacred laws of nature, by committing incest with their sisters, and, horrid to mention, with their mothers.

The Magian priests were divided into three orders; the arch-priests, their deputies, and the inferior ones, who, for the most part, resided in the country. The second Zoroaster had the address to get his religion established in the Persian empire; and there it continued to flourish till the Mahometans, by force of arms, established their own on its ruins.

He compiled a book for the use of the priests, who were to explain it to the public at large, who attended the sacrifices. This book was called the Zend, a word which signifies a kindler of fire, because it was for the use of those who worshipped the fire; but the allegorical meaning was, to kindle the fire of religion in their hearts. The first part of this book contains the liturgy of the Magians; and although Mahometanism is now established in Persia, yet there are still some worshippers of fire among them, for the truth of which we have the testimony of Mr. Hanway, who was an eye-witness to the nature of their service. When Zoroaster had finished this book, he presented it to Darius Hystaspis, bound up in several volumes, making, in the whole, twelve hundred skins of parchment. In this book there are so many passages taken out of the