| FL661578[word crossed out] 4
From the observations I have just made
it will be clear that the Aborigines though
they are generally thought to be utterly
devoid of any religious belief, have yet
some notion of a superior being. Their
Wandang is a Spirit not altogether evil a
sort of demon such as the ancient Greeks
& other nations believed in. For it is well
known that by demons [word crossed out] their ancient
notions meant some higher spirit, a
sort of deitie who could & would work
both good & evil. Only in after ages
when some purer ideas were spread
by the more enlightened pagans & when the
light of revelation had infused here
& then some ray of light amonst them [word crossed out]
was the term demon excusively applied
to evil spirits. And what after all
are the notions of pagans of their various deities
but such as attributed both good & evil
properties to their supposed deities.
Were this all the belief of the Aborigenes,
I would tend to maintain the argument
[words crossed out] sometimes used in natural theology as a
| FL661578[word crossed out] 4
From the observations I have just made
it will be clear that the Aborigines though
they are generally thought to be utterly
devoid of any religious belief, have yet
some notion of a superior being. Their
Wandang is a Spirit not altogether evil a
sort of demon such as the ancient Greeks
& other nations believed in. For it is well
known that by demons [word crossed out] their ancient
notions meant some higher spirit, a
sort of deitie who could & would work
both good & evil. Only in after ages
when some purer ideas were spread
by the more enlightened pagans & when the
light of revelation had infused here
& then some ray of light amonst them [word crossed out]
was the term demon excusively applied
to evil spirits. And what after all
are the notions of pagans of their various deities
but such as attributed both good & evil
properties to their supposed deities.
Were this all the belief of the Aborigenes,
I would tend to maintain the argument
[words crossed out] sometimes used in natural theology as a
|
EN
