Author: Thomas A. Wise

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2015-06-26

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 9781330224090

Excerpt from History of Paganism in Caledonia: With an Examination Into the Influence of Asiatic Philosophy, and the Gradual Development of Christianity in Pictavia The identity of idea and design which reveals itself in the ancient paganism of Asiatic nations, as well as the similarity of the symbols of the stone monuments of Asia with several of those on the sculptured stones of ancient Pictavia, indicate a line of enquiry by which it is believed that the obscurity resting over the earliest monuments and history of Western Europe may, in a certain degree, be removed. With the assistance of our present knowledge of Eastern customs and usages, which has been much extended in modern times, the interest of these peculiar symbols is increased, as they appear in the North-east of Scotland, carefully delineated on the circles of Celtic boulders, usually called Druidical. Researches into the history of primitive races prove that they sometimes have an imperfect idea of a Supreme Divinity; as in the cases of some of the Hill tribes of Hindustan, the Esquimaux, and the aborigines of New South Wales, who have neither idols nor temples, while other races believe in beings wiser and more powerful than themselves as the immediate source of what they either love or fear. These are supposed to send the devastating tempests, the thunderstorms, and destructive diseases, as small-pox, cholera, and fever, which they in consequence dread and worship together with the sun and other sources of permanent good to mankind. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.