Page:An analysis of religious belief (1877).djvu/134

 great was the reputation which this maræ obtained, that the power of Jehovah and Jesus Christ became great in the estimation of the people" (N. M. E., p. 28). Here an altar, erected of course by a man not yet converted to Christianity, received a blessing no less conspicuous than that granted in ancient times to Solomon's temple.

The Mexicans and Peruvians entertained a precisely similar belief to that which we have observed among the Fijians and the Hebrews. Father Acosta describes the ruins of a very large building in Peru which had been a place of worship, where immense plunder had been carried off by the Christians. In this temple there was a sure tradition that "the devil" had spoken, and given responses in his oracle. The fact of the devil speaking and answering in these false sanctuaries is, according to the learned father, a very common thing in America; but the father of lies has become silent since the sign of the cross has been raised in those regions of his previous power (H. I., b. v. ch. 12). Not only were the temples holy in Peru, but the whole of the imperial city of Cozco, the residence of the Incas, enjoyed an exceptional holiness. So much was this the case, that if two natives of equal rank met one another on the road, the one coming from Cozco, and the other going to it, the one coming from it received respect and reverence from the one going to it, which was enhanced to a higher degree if he were a native of Cozco (C. R., b. iii. ch. 20). In approaching the great temple at Cozco, there were certain limits where all who passed were obliged to take off their shoes: the very same sign of regard for holy places which Moses was commanded to observe at the burning bush; which is practiced by Parsee priests when ministering in their temples, and by Mussulmans in reference to their mosques (Ibid., b. iii. ch. 23).

Prohibition to all but holy persons to enter holy places is not uncommon. The holy of holies in the Jewish temple might be entered by no one but the high priest, and the utmost horror was felt by the Jews at the violation of their sanctuary by Pompey. A European traveler in Africa, finding a grove with a mat hung before it, wished to enter; but was entreated not to do so by the negroes, who informed him that a great spirit, who might kill him if displeased, dwelt within. He, however,