vernment, as well as of individuals and societies. The printing press, which shall be employed in multiplying copies of the pure Armenian Bible, will prove a rich and precious fountain for the evangelization of the East; and the Oriental Bible Repository, at Calcutta, will be a central and convenient place for its dispersion.

VESTIGES

OF THE

DOCTRINES OF REVELATION

IN THE EAST.

In passing through the regions of the East, and surveying the various religious systems which prevail, the mind of the Christian traveller cannot fail to be impressed with the strong resemblance which some of them bear to doctrines which are familiar to him. However varied or disguised they may be, there are yet some strong lines, which constantly recall his thoughts to the doctrines of revelation, and seem to point to a common origin.

The chief and distinguishing doctrines of Scripture may be considered the four following: viz. The Trinity in Unity; the Incarnation of the Deity; a Vicarious Atonement for Sin; and the influence of the Divine Spirit on the mind of man. Now if we should be able to prove, that all these are represented in

the systems of the East, will any man venture to affirm that it happens by chance?

The Hin

1. The doctrine of the TRINITY. doos believe in one God, Brahma; and yet they represent him as subsisting in three persons and they worship one or other of these persons in every part of India. * And what proves distinctly that they hold this doctrine is, that their most ancient representations of the Deity is formed of one body, and three faces. The most remarkable of these is that at the caves of Elephanta, in an island near Bombay. The author visited it in the year 1808; nor has he seen any work of art in the East, which he contemplated with greater wonder, whether considered with respect to its colosal size, its great antiquity, the beauty of the sculpture, or the excellence of the preservation. From causes which cannot now be known, the Hindoos have long ceased to worship at this Temple. Each of the faces of the Triad is about five feet in length. The whole of the statue, and the spacious Temple which contains it, is cut out of the solid rock of the mountain.

* Le commun des Indiens n'adore qu'une seule de ces trois divinitès mais quelques Savans addressent encore leurs prieres" aux trois réunis.-Il y a même des Temples entiere"ment consacrés à celte espéce de Trinitè;" (such as Perpenad in Travancore.) Sonnerat, Vol. 1, 151.

The Hindoos assign to these works an immense antiquity, and attribute the workmanship to the Gods. The Temple of Elephanta is certainly one of the wonders of the world, and is, perhaps, a grander effort of the ingenuity of man, than the Pyramids of Egypt. *

*Extract of a letter from the author to W. T. Money, Esq. Bombay.

"DEAR SIR,

"Honourable Company's Ship Charlton, off Goa, Feb. 26, 1808.

"When I visited the Elephanta last week, and compared it with the accounts of former travellers, I perceived that the excavated temple and figures were in a state of progressive dilapidation; and it seems to me probable, that when a few more pillars shall have fallen in, the whole excavation will be overwhelmed in the ruin of the super-incumbent mountain. If I may offer an opinion on the means of preservation which are practicable, I would suggest,

"That the dilapidated pillars be rebuilt entire of hewn stones in three blocks, of granite of the mountain, after the original model; the decayed bases of the columns, still standing, to be strongly cased with the same stone; and the broken limbs of the figures to be restored, after the authority of the drawings and descriptions of the first travellers. The floor to be cleared of rubbish, which, in some places, is two foot deep, that the continuity of the rock with the bases of the columus, may appear.

"The modern wall, inclosing the front, to be taken down, to throw more light on the body of the place, and a slight railing substituted at a greater distance.

Steps to be cut in the rock for easy descent to the cold well of sweet water. The jungle in front of the cave, and

Whence then have the Hindoos derived the idea of a TRIUNE God? It should seem as if they had heard of the ELOHIM of revelation in the first chapter of Genesis," Let us make "man.'

about its edges, to be cleared, and the aperture of the mountain, on each side, enlarged, to give more air and light.

"The old ELEPHANT himself on the side of the hill, to be renewed, and a young elephant placed on his back, agreeably to the first drawings. These drawings I can send you from Europe, if you cannot procure them in India.

"And, lastly, an appropriate building to be erected on the sea side, for the accommodation of visitors. Here may be deposited, for the immediate reference of travellers, those volumes which contain the notices and opinions of the learned, concerning Elephanta. This building might be occupied by the military guard, which the Bombay government has recently stationed on the island to preserve the cavern from further injury.

"Other improvements will suggest themselves to you on the spot. To preserve to future ages this grand monument of ancient sculpture, (the worship of which has been long relinquished) is, I think, a commendable undertaking. Every Christian traveller can assign a reason for wishing that an emblem of a Trinity in Unity existing in an ancient heathen nation, should remain entire during the ages of the world."

*It certainly cannot be proved that the Triad at Elephanta, is older than the Christian era. And if it be older, we are yet to consider that the Mosiac records brought down the notion of a Trinity from the earliest ages. The modern Jews contend against this fact, that they may not seem to countenance an argument for the truth of Christianity; but if they will read their own Targums, they will see that their