This practice may have
come from the circumstance, that Noah offered to God a great sacrifice
of thanks on one of the highest mountains of Armenia. Probably Mount
Ararat continued long to be remembered, by him and his descendants, as
the scene of their deliverance.
Besides the temples of the idols, there are various objects of worship,
made of earth and stone. Some of the idols are carved. Some consist
merely of the rough stone. These are to be seen on the high-roads, at
the entrance into villages, and, above all, under lofty trees. Some of
these are covered; but generally they are exposed in the open air.
You will read in Genesis, 28th chap, and 18th verse, that Jacob, after
his dream, rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had
put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the
top of it. Whether it has happened from this circumstance or not, that
the heathen universally pour oil over their idols, I cannot tell. All I
know is, that they do it. No idol can become an object of worship until
a Brahmin has said his muntrums, or prayers, for the purpose of bringing
down the god to live, as it is said be does, in the image, and until he
has drenched it with oil and liquid butter.
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