this religious care to honour the deity; but it evidently was
the genius and disposition of the whole nation.

Polybius has transmitted to us a treaty of peace concluded between Philip,
son of Demetrius, king of Macedon, and the Carthaginians, in which the
great respect and veneration of the latter for the deity, and their
inherent persuasion that the gods engage in, and preside over, human
affairs, and particularly over the solemn treaties made in their name and
presence, are strongly displayed.(510) Mention is therein made of five or
six different orders of deities; and this enumeration appears very
extraordinary in a public instrument, such as a treaty of peace concluded
between two nations. I will here present my reader with the very words of
the historian, as it will give some idea of the Carthaginian theology.
"This treaty was concluded in the presence of Jupiter, Juno, and Apollo;
in the presence of the daemon or genius ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}) of the Carthaginians, of
Hercules and Iolaus; in the presence of Mars, Triton, and Neptune; in the
presence of all the confederate gods of the Carthaginians; and of the sun,
the moon, and the earth; in the presence of the rivers, meads, and waters;
in the presence of all those gods who possess Carthage:" what should we
now say to an instrument of this kind, in which the tutelar angels and
saints of a kingdom should be introduced?

The Carthaginians had two deities to whom they paid a more particular
worship, and who deserve to have some mention made of them in this place.

The first was the goddess Coelestis, called likewise Urania, the same with
the moon, who was invoked in great calamities, and particularly in
droughts, in order to obtain rain: that very virgin Coelestis, says
Tertullian,(511) the promiser of rain, _Ista ipsa Virgo Coelestis pluviarum
pollicitatrix_. Tertullian, speaking of this goddess and of AEsculapius,
makes the heathens of that age a challenge, which is bold indeed, but at
the same time very glorious to the cause of Christianity; declaring, that
any Christian who may first come, shall oblige these false gods to confess
publicly, that they are but devils; and consenting that this Christian
shall be immediately killed, if he does not extort s