And lo! from her descend the tender sex

Of woman: a pernicious kind;

A bane to men;

Ill helpmates of intolerable toils.” *

We do not know what Hesiod's experience was with the fair sex; or whether he was an old bachelor; but, at all events, he was a heathen; for he goes on to say,

"The name Pandora to the maid was given;

For all the gods conferred a gifted grace

To crown this mischief of the mortal race."

Then comes the account of the introduction of evil into the world through woman; who, though forbidden to do it, through curiosity, open a casket containing all the ills of life. "The woman's hands an ample casket bear,

She lifts the lid, she scatters ills in air;

Hope sole remained within, nor took her flight,

Beneath the casket's verge concealed from sight."

A reference, doubtless, to the promised seed of the woman, the Messiah, the Hope of the world.

*Elton's translation.

G

OD'S history of creation, by the hand of Moses, and the philosophical speculations of Job and his friends, had been nearly a thousand years in the world; and during all that time God had been confirming his written word by miracles, and by preserving a chosen people, whose religious rites kept continually commemorating the facts spoken of in that word; when a succession of men appeared in Greece and other countries, who, to this day, are celebrated as philosophers. Some of these philosophers were evidently, as their name implies, "lovers of wisdom." To acquire knowledge, they traveled through all the great civilized nations then existing; examining their religions, their traditions, historical monuments, &c. They obtained thus some ideas of the true God. Their codes of morals, their speculations in regard to the in.mortality of the soul, and their religious views, were greatly in advance of even the refined idolatry of the Greeks. The surrounding darkness making their light appear the more brilliant.

When we consider, that traditions of the leading events of the first ages of the world existed among all nations, and that references to some of these were preserved in their religious rites; and also, that for so long a period before their day the clear Word of God had been written, and had been, during the lives of some of the later of these philosophers, translated into the leading language of the world; and that

this word had been continually read or expounded for a thousand years in the synagogues of a peculiar nation located in the centre of the then known world; a nation, whose kings, shortly before, were the most powerful on earth, and the most celebrated for wisdom; when we bear all this in mind, instead of being surprised at finding gleams of truth in the writings of these men, the wonder is, that they had not clearer views. We should be surprised at this, did we not now constantly see the "wise of this world" sitting a whole lifetime under the preaching of the gospel, without understanding even its first principles. Truly, "faith is the gift of God;" and He alone can "open the heart" to "understand the Scriptures !"",

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The eloquence, sincerity, and peculiar teachings of these philosophers drew many disciples to them. Their writings have ever since been in the hands of every scholar; and many of them are now daily used in our schools and colleges. And what is still more strange, their dim discoveries of truth, mixed as they are with great darkness, are what many of the learned men of the world at the present day are trying to build their hopes for eternity upon. Many are preferring the misty speculations, and the cold morality of heathen philosophers groping for the truth, to the clear teachings of the "light of the world," the Lord Jesus Christ.

Among the first of these philosophers appears Thales; who died about five hundred and forty-eight years before the Christian era, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. Four hundred years before this, the fame of the wisdom of Solomon was in all nations round about; and he had drawn people from the utmost parts of the earth to hear him.* Thirty years before the death of Thales, B. C. 580, Nebuchadnezzar issued his proclamation "unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in the earth," stating what

God had wrought towards him. He had previously decreed, that every people and nation which speak anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego should be cut to pieces.' Greece being enshrouded in the gross darkness of a refined and licentious paganism, Thales went abroad to obtain knowledge, and became the great mathematician, astronomer, and theologian of his day. His main doctrine was, that water was the basis of all things; and that God was the mind that formed all things out of it; that God himself was unmade. He also taught that the world was full of gods or good angels who were made by God. He drew his wisdom from Egypt, where he spent some years; and he advised his disciple, Pythagoras, to travel in search of wisdom among the ancient nations.

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Pythagoras spent forty years in gathering all the knowledge he could get from the Egyptians, Jews, Phoenicians, and Chaldeans. It was during this search for knowledge, that Cyrus, king of Persia, B. C. 536, issued a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, saying, "The Lord God of hea ven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem." It was also while he was on his travels that Darius "wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in the earth" with a decree," that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God." And also, another similar decree, confirming the decree of Cyrus, to aid the Jews in building the house of God at Jerusalem.*

It is remarkable, that about the same time these first philosophers were gaining wisdom from the East, the celebrated philosophers of Persia, India, and China, commenced to teach, and to give forth those writings, which, though twenty-four centuries have passed since their day, are still moulding the religion of more than half of the population of the earth. 'Danl, iii. 29; iv. 1. 2 Ezra i. 1. 3 Danl. vi. 25. * Ezra vi. 8.

In Persia, Zoroaster commenced changing the religion of that country. In India, Buddha began to new-model its religion; and in China appeared the celebrated Laou-tse and Confucius.

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Our Saviour told his disciples, "Ye are the light of the world." This has always been true of the Lord's people wherever they have been. Even when in captivity, or scattered by persecutions, the Word of God goes with them and prevails. It was about the time when the Jews were in captivity in Babylon; and when from that place, the capital of the great empire of the world, its kings, constrained by the wonderful works of the God of Jews, were issuing decrees calling upon all nations to acknowledge the true God; it was at that time that all these philosophers first appeared. Each of these great minds, thus partially enlightened, when they returned to their own countries, began to be preachers and teachers. Each of them drew disciples, founded religious sects, and laid the foundations of an influence which has existed to the present day.

Each of the first philosophers of Greece, Persia, and China, thus drawing their knowledge of the truth from nearer the fountain head, necessarily had clearer views than were held by their disciples. We must bear in mind, that these founders of great religious sects were only partially enlightened; and that they still remained heathen. Not fully comprehending the truth, they could not transmit even the little light which they had received to their followers. The successive teachers in those sects, by adding fables, and their own fancies, continued to make the stream more muddy, until, in some cases, the original truth was almost entirely lost.

Without examining in detail all the erroneous speculations of these philosophers, in their endeavors to find, or manufacture truth; let us take a glance at their religious views.