Purchase of this book includes free trial access to ... where you can read more than a million books for free. Excerpt from book: Section 3PAGANISM. A VIEW OF textit{THE IDOLATRY OF THE HINDOOS, textit{Their History, LMerature, Religion, Manners and Customs, and fc. BY WILLIAM WARD, D. D. OF SERAMPORE. ABRIDGED FROM THE ORIGINAL WORK IN TWO TOLS. 4tO, TO WHICH IS ADDED THE f mrltflCon anlr textit{(Hewmoults * OF OTHER PAGAN NATIONS. i L... ., _, PREFACE. TO form a just conception of the state of darkness in which so many ...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to ... where you can read more than a million books for free. Excerpt from book: Section 3PAGANISM. A VIEW OF textit{THE IDOLATRY OF THE HINDOOS, textit{Their History, LMerature, Religion, Manners and Customs, and fc. BY WILLIAM WARD, D. D. OF SERAMPORE. ABRIDGED FROM THE ORIGINAL WORK IN TWO TOLS. 4tO, TO WHICH IS ADDED THE f mrltflCon anlr textit{(Hewmoults * OF OTHER PAGAN NATIONS. i L... ., _, PREFACE. TO form a just conception of the state of darkness in which so many minds are involved as are comprised in the heathen population of India, a person had need become an inhabitant of the country, that he may read and see the productions of these minds, and witness the effects of the institutions they hare formed, as displayed in the manners, customs, and moral circumstances of the inhabitants. A correct knowledge of thu people appears to be necessary when we consider, that their philosophy and religion still prevails over the greater portion of the globe, and that it is Hindooism which regulates the forms of worship, and the modes of thinking, and feeling, and acting, throughout China, Japan, Tartary, Hindoost'han, the Burman empire, Slam, Ceylon, and c., that is, amongst more than 400,000,000 of the human race ! ' Here then we have the extraordinary fact, that the greater part of the human family are still Hindoos; or, in other words, that they are under the transforming influence of the philosophy and superstition which may be denominated Hindooism; regulated by systems invented by the Indian bramhun.9 The opinions embraced by the more philosophical part of the Hindoo nation, are quite distinct from the popular superstition. In this philosophical system the one God is considered as pure spirit, divested of all attributes textit{., and every thing besides God is declared to be inert matter. This Being is contemplated either as dwelling in his own ...
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