Page:The Paraclete.djvu/25

Rh may be wiser to abstain from introducing them as evidences of doctrinal truth. It may be well, however, to dwell for a moment on the well known fact, that the doctrine of a Trinity in the Godhead has been held and taught by heathen people, and those too, who, as far as we know, were uninfluenced by the revelation which was made to the chosen people, the children of Israel. The instances are somewhat numerous. It is well known that the Hindoos believe in a Divine Trinity, whom they designate by the names of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, and to whom they ascribe attributes and qualities not unlike those by which the three Persons in the Holy Trinity, confessed by the Christian Church, are distinguished. The most ancient of the Grecian mythologies, the Orphic, spoke of the Supreme Being under the threefold character of Light, Counsel, and Life; and Plato also taught a doctrine of the Trinity. It is freely admitted that such facts cannot be regarded as a proof of the doctrine; nor are they adduced for