of Euripides", and of Plautus, those who are spoken of as poffeffed, are all either madmen, or perfonate fuch. :

But though the ancients did not confider any perfons as poffeffed, who were not difordered in their understandings; yet they did not confider all who were difordered in their understandings as poffeffed. The Greeks did not impute to demons, the delirium of a fever, and the phrenzy caused by drinking to excess. We read in Herodotus', that it was faid of Cleomenes, that his infanity did not proceed from any demon, but from hard drinking. Nevertheless, the turn of expreffion here used, ferves to fhew, that for the most part, madness was ascribed

"Vide Eurip. Oreftes, v. 35, &c. Iphigen. in Tauris, v. 285. Hercules furens, v. 833. Troades, v. 307, 341, 366, 408, 500.. Bacchæ, 1092..

v. 663, 1091,

X

* Menæch.

fc. 2. V. 71.

Act. v. fc. 4. Amphtr, Act. ii.
Captiv. Act. iii. fc. 4.

A&t. iv. fc. 4. Captiv. Act, iii, fc. 4.

* Lib, vi. ch. 84.

Aulular.

to

to poffeffion. To this fome have thought they imputed every fpecies of madness, for which they could not account by the fole operation of natural causes. The fact feems to be, that they imputed to poffeffion, only those cafes of madness in which the symptoms appeared to them beft to agree, with the fuppofition of the patient's having his faculties controuled by eyil demons, and with his speaking and acting under their malignant influence.

Befides madness, the ancients afcribed the epilepsy to poffeffion; efteeming this this diforder facred on account of the entrance of demons into the bodies of

* Διὰ τῆς δόξης δαίμονΘ ̓ ἐς τὸν ἄνθρωπον εἰσόδε. Aretæus de Caufis Morbi diuturn, lib. i. cap. 4. Hence it is, that Hippocrates (p. 303.) de morbo facro, when reasoning against those who attempted to cure this disorder by expiations, and the rites of purification, obferves, that he could not think that "the body of a man could be defiled by a god, that which is most polluted by what is most pure. I take notice of this paffage, as it explains the

diftinc

those

1

thofe who fuffered under it. These two, the epilepfy and madness are kindred diforders 2. The former is often the confequence of the latter, and the fits of it are always attended with a deprivation of the understanding, and with convulfive agitations, or a frantic and mad behaviour. Befides madnefs, and (what are fo nearly allied to it) epileptic fits, I know of no diftemper that the ancients afcribed to poffeffion; unless, perhaps,

tion between difeafes barely inflicted by the gods, and those which were owing to their entrance into the body. As to the epilepfy's being efteemed facred, fee Hippocrat. de Aere, Aquis & Locis, $ 4. The Romans diffolved their affemblies, whenever any one was feized with it.

hence it was called comitialis morbus.

2

From

Sæpe enim evenit, ut per longum tempus dementiæ fuperveniat epilepfia. Sunt enim affines hi morbi. Mead's Medica facra, p. 69. ed. 1749. Dr. Sykes, in his Inquiry, P. 41, 42, hath fhewn that the ancient phyficians were of the fame opinion.

fits

fits of apoplexy', which alfo affect the brain, the supposed refidence of those demons who entered the bodies of men. Whatever may have occurred to others, who have a more enlarged view of the subject; yet, with respect to myself, I must own, that after having taken fome pains in making inquiry into the fense of the ancients upon it, I have not been able to find any cafe of (what was called) demoniacal poffeffion, that was not attended with fome diforder of the underftanding. Indeed, it feems to me very unlikely, that any inftance from amongst the ancients fhould ever be produced of a perfon faid to be poffeffed, who was in his right mind; inafmuch as all the ancients. in their feveral languages, employed the

I have feen Galen appealed to, in proof of the ancients afcribing apoplexies to the poffeffion of demons. But a learned phyfician whom I confulted, though he made very diligent search, could not find any paffage to this purpose in the works of that voluminous writer,

word

word which fignified poffeffion, to exprefs madness. How far the language of scripture corresponds with these fentiments of Pagan and Jewish antiquity, will appear in the following fection.

SECT. VI.

Prop. VI. The demoniacs Spoken of in the New Teftament, were all either madmen or epileptics.

[ T

DEMONIACS are often either exprefly mentioned or referred to in the New Teftament, by the unbelieving Jews, as well as by Christ and his apoftles. With refpect to the Jews, it hath been already fhewn, from their own writings, that they confidered demoniacs as infane in their understanding. And agreeable hereto is the reprefentation made of their sentiments on this point in the Gospel.

Some