Abury, A Temple of the British Druids, With Some Others, Described

by William Stukeley

PREFACE.

HISTORY is political wisdom, philosophy is religious. The one consists in the knowledge of memorable things, and application of that knowledge to the good conduct of life: in embracing the good, and avoiding the ill consequences and examples of actions. So the other teaches us to entertain worthy notions of the supreme being, and the studying to obtain his favour: which is the end of all human and divine wisdom. Religion is the means to arrive at this purpose. In order to be satisfied what is true religion, we must go up to the fountain-head as much as possible. The first religion undoubtedly is true, as coming immediately from God.

When I first began these studies about the Druid antiquities, I plainly discern’d, the religion profess’d in these places was the first, simple, patriarchal religion. Which made me judge it worth while to prosecute my enquiries about them, as a matter the most interesting and important. Knowledge is the glory of a man, divine knowledge of a christian. What I have done in this volume, is a further prosecution of the scheme I have laid down to this purpose. The noble person to whom it is dedicated, induc’d me to hasten the publication, suggesting the shortness of human life, and having a good opinion of the work.

I was willing to lay hold on the first opportunity of communicating to the world, the pleasure of contemplating so very noble antiquities, which we enjoy in our own island, before it be too late to see them. My endeavour in it is to open the times of first planting the world, after the flood; the propagation of true religion together with mankind; the deviation into idolatry; the persons that built the several kinds of patriarchal temples, such as we see here, in the more eastern parts of the world; the planters of Great Britain in particular; and the connexion there is between the east and west in matters of religion. All this shews there was but one religion at first, pure and simple.

Pausanias in Corinthiac. writes, “the Phliasians, one of the most ancient colonies in Greece, had a very holy temple, in which there was no image, either openly to be seen, or kept in secret.” He mentions the like of a grove or temple of Hebe, belonging to that people; and adds, “they give a mystical reason for it.” I guess the mystery to be, that it was after the first and patriarchal manner. The same author says in argol. “that at Prona is a temple of Vesta, no image, but an altar, on which they sacrifice.” The ancient Hetruscans ordain’d by a law, that there should be no statue in their temples. Lucian de dea Syr. writes, “the ancient temples in Egypt had no statues.” Plutarch, in Numa, and Clemens Alexan. strom. I. remark, “that Numa the second king of Rome, made express orders against the use of images, in the worship of the deity.” Plutarch adds, “that for the first 170 years after building the city, the Romans used no images, but thought the deity to be invisible.” So to the days of Silius Italicus and Philostratus, at the temple of Hercules our planter of Britain, at Gades, the old patriarchal method of religion was observ’d, as bishop Cumberland takes notice, Sanchoniathon, p. 266.

Sed nulla effigies, simulachrave nota deorum. Silius III.

And our british Druids had no images. And whatever we find in history, that looks like idolatry in them, is not to be referr’d to the aboriginal Druids, but to the later colonies from the continent.

Likewise I have open’d a large communication between the patriarchal family, of Abraham particularly, and of the first planters of the coasts on the ocean of Spain, Gaul, Germany and Britain. ’Tis plain, what religion was here first planted, as being an almost inaccessible island, flourished exceedingly, and kept up to its original system, even to the days of Cæsar, I mean among the aboriginal inhabitants. The new planters from the continent, on the southern and eastern shore of the island, were tinctured at least with idolatry, in the later times. Whilst on the continent, where more frequent changes of inhabitants happen, idolatry every where polluted it. But in all accounts of the first beginnings of nations, they had the first religion: ’till as every where, time, riches, politeness and prosperity bring on corruption in church and state.

We find, on the continent, idolatry crept on by degrees universally, which was the occasion of providence exerting its self in the Mosaick dispensation: and thereby changing the manner of these temples, altogether polluted. Nevertheless we have no reason to think but that the Druids, in this island of ours, generally kept up to the purity of their first and patriarchal institution. And that is the reason that all our classical writers, tho’ much later than the times we are treating of, represent them as a people of a religion diametrically opposite to that of the rest of the world, even as the Jews then, or christians afterwards.

Therefore I thought it fully worth while, to bestow some pains on these temples of theirs, as the only monuments we have left, of the patriarchal religion; and especially in regard to their extraordinary grandeur and magnificence, equal to any of the most noted wonders of the world, as commonly termed.