,ACCOUNT

their minds imprelTed with an aw-
ful fenfe of an invilible and irrelilli-
ble power, it was natural for them
to erect altars wherever they fo-
journed during their peregrina-
stions, and to multiply them where
they took up their abode.

The huge broad flat liones railed
upon other {tones let up on end for
that purpofe, now called Crom-
lechs, the author fuppofes to be the
remains of thefe altars; and he
veonjeftures that Crom-lecl: is de-
rived from the Hebrew Caremluacb,
a devoted [lone or altar,

The heaps of fiones that are
called Carnrdde in this illand, are
fuppofed to have been originally
thrown together, on the fame, or a
like occafion, with the heap men-
tioned in the 46th verfe of the
31ft chapter of Genefis, to con-
firm and commemorate a cove.
nant. “ And jacob laid to his
'i‘ brethren, Gather flones; and
“ they brought Ptones; and made

-“ an heap, and they did cat upon

“ the heap.”

There are alfo in Anglefey, near
thefe heaps, pillar Hones, which
agree alfo with the patriarchal
practice defcribed by Moles in the
fame chapter. “ Moreover Laban
“ laid to jacob, Behold this heap,
',‘ and behold this pillar which I
“ have let between me and thee;
‘_‘ this heap {hall be a witnefs, and
“ this pillar {hall be a witnels,
“ that I will not come over this
“ heap to thee, and that thou (halt
“ not came over this heap and this
‘,‘ pillar t0 me, for evil.”

It is probable that thefe Hones,
when the remains of the true reli-
gion degenerated into idolatry,
were worlhipped, particularly ‘the
pillar llones: for the fame thing
happened among the Jews : _ they

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made them marzeoab, fays the
Sacred Hillary, i. e, [landing pi].-
lars; for though our tranllators
render marzebab by images, yet it
means a rough, unhewn, unefiigi-
ated pillar. The flones let up by
Jacob, Rachel, and Abfalom, are
expreiTed by the fame word mat-
ZLbd/J.

We learn from Scripture, that
the ftrfi temples, or local confe-
crations, were groves of oak, under
WIIlCh God appeared, angels were
entertained, covenants formed, and
oblations offered. Abraham, fay:
Moles, pafled through the land to
the oa/tr of Moreh, for fo the words
ad n/lon JlIore/a fhould be rendered,
where the Lord appeared to him,
Genelis xii. 6. We alfo read,
that the men of Shechem gathered.
together, and made Abimelech
king by the oak of the pillar,
Judges ix. 6. The fame regard
to the oak was paid ‘oy the Jews
during their idolatry; for we are
told in the 13th verfe of the 6th
chapter of Ezekiel, “that under
“ every thick oak did they offer
“ {weet facrifice to their idols.”

From the oak therefore, our firfl:
mailers of knowledge, and guides"
in religion, took their diflinftion;
and from demo, an oak, were called
Derrwid, Druids. A

This author (uppofes, that when
the Druids had acquired fuch re-l
putation and power as to pre.
{cribe law to others, they looked
about for a commodious place
where to eflablifh lheir model, and
at length fixed upon Mona, now
Anglefey, which he lhews to be
eminently fit for their purple,
efpecially as it was well ltored"
with fpacious groves of their fa-
vourite ma. ‘

That the Druids Cllablllltfd‘

then-delves‘