{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_76838/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_76838","id":"gutenberg_76838","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76838","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Religious","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Idols and images -- Worship","Mythology","Religions"],"text":"[Illustration:\n\n W. B. Scott. Painter Illman Brothers Engravers & Printers]\n\n PROGRESS OF THOUGHT.\n\n ENGRAVED EXPRESSLY FOR ERROR\u2019S CHAINS.]\n\n\n\n\n ERROR\u2019S CHAINS:\n\n HOW FORGED AND BROKEN.\n\n A COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL, SOCIAL AND\n RELIGIOUS ERRORS THAT MANKIND HAS FALLEN\n INTO AND PRACTISED FROM THE CREATION\n DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME.\n\n\n BY FRANK S. DOBBINS,\n\n LATE RESIDENT OF YOKOHAMA, JAPAN,\n\n ASSISTED BY\n\n HON. S. WELLS WILLIAMS, LL.D., AND PROF. ISAAC HALL, LL.B., Ph.D.\n\n _The former forty years resident in China, late Prof. of Chinese\n Language and Literature in Yale College, Conn., Author of\n \u201cThe Middle Kingdom\u201d the Standard Lexico of China, etc.,\n etc., President of the American Bible Society, etc.; the\n latter an eminent Orientalist and late Professor of the\n College of Beirut, Syria, now Associate of the\n American Oriental Society and the London\n Society of Biblical Arch\u00e6ologyy Associate\n Editor of the \u201cSunday-School Times,\u201d etc._\n\n\n MAGNIFICENTLY ILLUSTRATED.\n\n\n THIRTY-NINTH EDITION.\n\n\n WILLEY BROTHERS & CO.,\n NEW YORK.\n 1886.\n\n\n\n\n Copyright, FRANK S. DOBBINS, 1883.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE.\n\n\nThe story of the world\u2019s worship is a story of absorbing interest. The\nodd and the curious, the enchanting and the revolting are each factors\nof heathen devotion. We well remember with what exhaustless interest\nwe looked in childhood at strange pictures of idols and temples, and\nlistened to the reading of tales about the heathen. When the celebrated\nDr. Alexander Duff was a little boy, his father was accustomed on\nSabbath afternoons to show him pictures of idols, and to explain their\nhistories. So vividly did the pictures and their stories impress the\nboy, that when he became a man he left Scotland and went to labor for\nthe heathen of India.\n\nThe subject is indeed intensely interesting. Every nation has its\nGod, or gods, and its corresponding forms of worship. Nothing lies\nso close to the heart of mankind as its religious faith. Religion in\nsome form is interwoven with the entire fabric of human history. It\nconcerns man\u2019s dearest pleasures, his fondest hopes, and his highest\naspirations. Man must worship. It is part of his nature to worship.\nHence, from the most civilized European to the half-civilized Chinaman,\nand even down to the degraded Hottentot; in all stages of man\u2019s\nexistence, among all races and classes, some form of worship is found.\nNothing surely can interest us more than the story of that faith in\nwhich our fellow-creatures have lived and died.\n\nIt is because the author believes that the subject of false gods and\nidol worship is so interesting, and because he hopes to furnish some\nmuch-needed information on this topic, that he has undertaken the\npresent work. There is no one book that covers this ground. There\nare many volumes covering various phases of the religious systems of\nheathendom, but there is not one that deals comprehensively with all\nreligions, extinct or existing, except indeed it be those suited only\nto students and to learned men.\n\nThe aim in this volume is to present the subject in a popular style,\nsuited to the average reader of our land. It is proposed to make a\nbook to be read in the family and by the fireside. The very best works\nof the most thorough students of the non-Christian religious systems\nhave been consulted, and the author has freely availed himself of the\nresults of their labors. If due acknowledgment is not always made of\nthe aid thus received, it is because he deemed it best not to multiply\nreferences and because he has so frequently found it necessary to\ntranslate scholastic and technical phrases used by these authors into\nlanguage familiar to the general reader.\n\nAmong those whose works the author has consulted are, Max M\u00fcller and\nHardwicke on Comparative Mythology; Wilkinson on the Ancient Egyptians;\nLenormant on Assyria and Babylon; Haug on the Parsees; Monier Williams\non Hinduism; Rhys-Davids, and Barthelemy St. Hilaire on Buddhism, and\nEdwin Arnold\u2019s paraphrase of Buddha\u2019s life in his \u201cLight of Asia;\u201d\nHumboldt on Central America; Schoolcraft on the American Indians; Wyatt\nGill and Lord Grey on the Pacific Islands; Legge, Edkins and S. Wells\nWilliams on the Chinese; Griffis and Sir Edward Reed on Japan; and\nStanley and Livingstone on Africa. Beside these he has derived great\nhelp from \u201cThe Tour of the World with General Grant,\u201d and Dr. H. M.\nField\u2019s \u201cFrom Egypt to Japan.\u201d In addition he has consulted quite a\nhost of other authors in works of travel, and in the translations of\nvarious sacred books.\n\nIn all parts of his work the author has sought to present definite\ninformation, carefully arranged, truthfully told, and clearly and\ninterestingly stated. He has aimed to show the origin, development\nand spread of each non-Christian religious system; and to give an\naccount of their gods and goddesses, temples, shrines, idols, sacred\nplaces, superstitious customs, legends, myths, domestic worship and the\ninnumerable peculiarities of their daily religious life.\n\nThe work is fully illustrated by accurate, and in many cases, expensive\nengravings. The book is not made merely to sell. Sensational statements\nand mere padding have been neither added nor borrowed. The author has\nnot drawn upon his imagination in the least. He has told a story which,\nthough sometimes stranger than fiction, is nevertheless solid fact and\nnot baseless fancy. Let it be remembered that this is a pioneer work.\nThe author has had to blaze his pathway through a trackless forest. He\nhas had no guide. He sincerely hopes that by its perusal his readers\nwill be led to an increased appreciation of the infinite superiority of\nChristianity to all other religions; and that they may find a deepened\ninterest in the welfare of the heathen world.\n\nIt has been the purpose of the author and the publishers to place\nthe subject-matter of this volume within the ready reach of all who\nconsult it. An exhaustive Table of Contents has been given therefore,\nin which the chapter titles and all the sub-headings of the chapters\nwill be found. A full index of the proper names and principal topics of\nthe book is also added, by means of which it is believed any desired\nsubject treated in the volume can readily be found. By such means as\nthese the book has been made as complete and as useful as patient labor\ncan make it.\n\nThanks are specially due to Professor Isaac H. Hall, who not only gave\ncareful consideration to the subjects specially under his care, but\nwho in addition read all the MS., and gave the benefit of his extended\nlearning and excellent judgment at every point. To Professor S. Wells\nWilliams also, the author desires to make public acknowledgment. Though\nburdened with many onerous duties, yet he gave his closest attention to\nthe chapters on those much misunderstood nations, China and Japan, and\nfrom the rich stores of his own extensive and well-digested knowledge,\nhe made such suggestions as proved of inestimable value.\n\nTo the Publishers, who were ever ready to meet the author\u2019s largest\ndesires, his thanks are especially due. Without such generous support\nthe volume must have fallen far below its present excellence. Indeed,\nall concerned in the production of the book have proved themselves true\nhelpers, to whom author and readers alike will be largely indebted.\n\n F. S. DOBBINS.\n\n\n\n\n STEEL-PLATE ENGRAVINGS.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n FRONTISPIECE, 2\n\n TEMPLE OF THE TEN THOUSAND IDOLS, 47\n\n HINDU FAKIRS PRACTICING THEIR SUPERSTITIOUS RITES, 217\n\n THE HINDU MOTHER, 234\n\n THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, 498\n\n A SCENE ON THE JUMNA RIVER, 760\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n PREFACE, 5\n\n LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 17\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n THE WORLD\u2019S FIRST WORSHIP.\n\n Testimony of an old record and of language--Another\n witness: comparative religion--The story of the master\n thief--The story of Rhampsinitos--The story of the poor\n mason--The story of the shifty lad--Exodus of the nations, 33\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS?\n\n Sources of information--The transition--The first hymns and\n prayers--Where did idol-worship come from, 47\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n SACRED AND HEATHEN TRADITIONS.\n\n Traditions of Creation--Traditions of the Deluge--The\n Chaldean story--The Hindu tradition--The Chinese\n tradition--The Mexican legend--The Fiji-Islander\u2019s\n tradition--American Indian traditions--The Greek\n story--Chaldean story of the Tower of Babel--What has the\n Bible to say about idolatry? 63\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE SUBJECT IN A NUTSHELL.\n\n Methods of grouping religions--Dead religions and\n living religions--Original religions and reformed\n religions--Dead religions--Living worships--The\n proposed treatment--A concise view--Parseeism--African\n religion--Western Europe--The Southern\n migration--Buddhism--China\u2019s religions--Shintoism in\n Japan--Mohammedanism--Christianity\u2019s conquests, 77\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n THE LAND OF THE SPHINX.\n\n Hidden history--The hieroglyphics--Some Egyptian\n gods--Animal worship--Mummies--The celebrated book of the\n dead--Egyptian worship, 93\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n THE CHALDEANS.\n\n The great Chaldean historian--Ruined monuments--A library\n of brick books--Manners and customs--The religion of\n Assyria--The supreme god, Ilu--The Assyrian triad--The gods\n of the planets--The great goddess Ishtar--The Genii of\n Assyria--Worship of the gods at Babylon, 119\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n THE JEWS.\n\n The plagues and Egyptian idolatry--The golden\n calf--Baal-worship, 138\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n GREECE.\n\n Origin of the world and of the gods--The generations of\n the gods--Gods of the Grecians--Specimen stories from\n Greek mythology--Hermes and Apollo--The Lotus-eaters\n and the Cyclops--Hercules\u2019 twelve tasks--The Phidian\n Jupiter--Grecian temples and worship of Paul\u2019s day--The\n city crowded with idols--Diana of the Ephesians, 150\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n ROME.\n\n The Etruscan religion--The Sabellian religion--The gods of\n the Romans--Father Jove--The Matron goddess--The goddess of\n schools--The goddess of the hearth--Ceres and Liber--The\n gods of beginnings--Rome\u2019s lesser gods--The Roman empire, 173\n\n\n CHAPTER X.\n\n OUR ANCESTORS.\n\n Ancient Britain--The Druids--Wonderful resemblance--Worship\n of the Druids--Temple of the Hanging Stones--Human\n sacrifices--The destruction of Druidism--Who first brought\n Christianity to Britain--Paganism of the Saxons--Saxon\n gods--Saxon sacrifices--Fairy-lore of Western Europe--An\n Elfin Story--The penitent Nis--Nixes--The Peasant and the\n Waterman--The wonderful little pouch--Christianizing the\n Saxons, 185\n\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n\n INDIA.\n\n Sketch of Brahminism--The gods of Hinduism--Story\n of the Sages\u2019 search--Can the gods die?--Sects of\n Hinduism--Principles of Hinduism--Human beings killed in\n sacrifice--How Hinduism regards woman, 210\n\n\n CHAPTER XII.\n\n HINDU TEMPLES, IDOLS AND WORSHIP.\n\n Idols and temples of Juggernaut--Kali, the Goddess of\n Blood--Temple Decorations--Benares--The sacred city of the\n Sikhs--Cave-temples of Elephanta and Gwalior--Ganesha, God\n of Wisdom--Pagodas--Hindu washings for sin--Hindu holy men,\n devotees and fakirs, 232\n\n\n CHAPTER XIII.\n\n HINDU SACRED BOOKS, FAIRY STORIES AND FIRESIDE TALES.\n\n The Vedic hymns--The law-book of Manu--Degradation of\n women according to Manu\u2019s laws--The burning of widows\n commanded by Manu--The god Vishnu made man--A Sanskrit\n story-book--The story of the terrible bell--The story of\n the lion and the old hare--The story of the Brahmin and the\n pans--The story of the recluse and the mouse, 288\n\n\n CHAPTER XIV.\n\n JAPAN.\n\n The sacred books of Japan--Japanese story of creation--The\n emperors descended from the gods--The sun-goddess enticed\n from the cave--Shinto worship, 305\n\n\n CHAPTER XV.\n\n POPULAR GODS AND SHRINES OF SHINTOISM.\n\n The seven household gods--The sacred mountain--Shinto\n temples and gate-ways--The sacred shrines of Ise, 321\n\n\n CHAPTER XVI.\n\n THE DARK CONTINENT.\n\n African belief in a god or gods--Praying for rain--The\n Hottentots\u2019 god, Gounja-Gounja--The Bushmen\u2019s\n god--Zulu tradition of the origin of men--Good and bad\n spirits--The spirit in the insect--Fetich worship--A\n horrible fetich--Stanley and the Africans\u2019 fear of\n fetich--Witchcraft, 341\n\n\n CHAPTER XVII.\n\n THE \u201cGREAT SPIRIT\u201d OF AMERICA.\n\n The Indians of North America--The Great Spirit--Worship of\n ancestors--Indian legends--The \u201cSong of Hiawatha\u201d--Indian\n allegory of winter and spring--Alaskans\u2019 worship of evil\n spirits--Indian sun-worship--Amazon sun-worship--The\n Araucanians--Patagonia--The Aztecs--Ancient Aztec idol--The\n Incas, 362\n\n\n CHAPTER XVIII.\n\n IDOLATRY IN OCEANICA.\n\n The depraved condition of the Papuans--The\n pagan Polynesians--Traditionary origin of human\n priesthood--Polynesian notion of the sun and moon--The\n fire-god\u2019s song, 387\n\n\n CHAPTER XIX.\n\n THE KARENS AND THEIR TRADITIONS.\n\n The Karens not idolaters--Worship of _Yuah_--A singular\n tradition--The dog who ate the book--Funeral services--Mrs.\n Vinton\u2019s letter, 401\n\n\n CHAPTER XX.\n\n THE FIRE-WORSHIPERS.\n\n Zoroaster, the Prophet of Ormazd--Zoroaster\u2019s worship\n of one God--Ormazd and Ahriman--Finding of the\n Zend-Avesta--The Parsee Bible--Parsee worship, 407\n\n\n CHAPTER XXI.\n\n THE CHINESE PHILOSOPHER, LAO-TSZE.\n\n Chinese contrarieties and language--The three Chinese\n religions--The old boy--The talisman of long life--The\n visit of Confucius to Lao-Tsze--The voyage in search of the\n talisman of long life, 416\n\n\n CHAPTER XXII.\n\n THE TAOIST SACRED BOOKS AND GODS.\n\n The book of rewards and punishments--Some selections\n from the book of rewards and punishments--The book of\n secret blessings--The gods of the Taoists--The god of\n letters--Charms--Kwan-te, God of War--Tsai-shin, the God of\n Riches--Taoist superstitions, 428\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIII.\n\n CONFUCIUS AND THE CLASSICS.\n\n The background of the picture--The story of the sage\u2019s\n life--Teachings and writings of the Chinese sage--The\n wisdom of the sage, 445\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIV.\n\n CONFUCIAN TEMPLES AND WORSHIP.\n\n The worship of Shang-te, at Peking--Temple of\n Confucius--Examinations in the sacred books--Anecdotes\n of students--How Mencius\u2019s mother incited her son to\n study--How a tired student was led back to his studies--The\n little sage who hid fire to light his lamp--An example of\n a studious ancestor--The student with a round stick for a\n pillow, 460\n\n\n CHAPTER XXV.\n\n HOME-LIFE UNDER CONFUCIANISM.\n\n Ceremony of turning the bridge-ladder--Worship of ancestors\n at a wedding--Mother, Goddess of Children--Teaching a child\n to worship idols--The story of Ma-chu, Goddess of the\n Sailors, 478\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVI.\n\n BUDDHA, THE \u201cLIGHT OF ASIA.\u201d\n\n The story of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism--Gautama\u2019s\n four visions--The great renunciation--Gautama becomes an\n ascetic--The \u201cLight of Asia\u201d and the \u201cLight of the World,\u201d 498\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVII.\n\n THE BUDDHIST BIBLE, THE \u201cTHREE BASKETS,\u201d AND ITS TEACHINGS.\n\n The Buddhist way of salvation--What is Nirvana?--Buddhist\n morals--Some of the \u201cfootsteps of the law\u201d--Buddhist\n beatitudes, 513\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVIII.\n\n THE GROWTH OF BUDDHISM--THE BUDDHIST ORDER OF MENDICANTS.\n\n The Sangha, or Buddhist Brotherhood--The initiation\n ceremony--Rules of the Order--Daily life of a monk--The\n three great Buddhist councils--Buddhaghosha, the famous\n monk and missionary--The story of King Kakavanna--Buddhist\n courtesies of the present day, 522\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIX.\n\n INDIA AND CEYLON.\n\n The famous Topes--The great Sanchi Tope--Ceylonese\n Buddhism--The sacred Bo-tree of Ceylon--Reducing the\n Tripitaka to writing--Buddhaghosha in Ceylon--A Buddhist\n temple in Ceylon--The sacred Ceylonese books, 532\n\n\n CHAPTER XXX.\n\n BURMAH.\n\n The Shway-da-gong pagoda--The story of Shway-da-gong--Other\n pagodas--Worship of nats--A nat story--Superstitions of the\n Burmese--The funeral of a pongyee or monk, 555\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXI.\n\n SIAM.\n\n The celebrated Wat Chang pagoda--Temple of the Emerald\n Idol--Worship of the white elephant--Ruins of the great\n temple of Nagkon Wat--Some other temples, 575\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXII.\n\n THIBET.\n\n Sketch of the history of Lamaism--Monks and\n monasteries--Temple at Teshu Lumbo monastery--Services at\n the H\u2019Lassa cathedral--Praying-wheels--The mystic sentence\n of Thibet--The incarnation of Buddha in the Grand Lama--The\n Lamaist Bible, 598\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIII.\n\n CHINA--_continued_.\n\n Pagodas--Chinese Buddhist temples--The worship of\n Kwan-yin--The worship of Kum-Fa--Idols--The Temple of\n Horrors--Monasteries--A Monk\u2019s Monument--Chinese Buddhist\n Bonzes--Buddhist devotees--Ceremony of the Water-lamps--The\n Do-nothing sect of Reformed Buddhists--Booldo, the Buddhism\n of the Corens, 611\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIV.\n\n JAPAN.\n\n Bodhidharma in Japan--The Sun-child and his miraculous\n deliverance--Further history of Japan--Buddhist sects in\n Japan--The Protestants of Buddhism--Kwanon\u2019s Temple at\n Asakusa, Tokio--Temple of Shiba, in Tokio--Temple of five\n hundred gods--The casting of a Temple Bell--The Colossal\n Idol, the Kamakura Dai Butsu--Some Japanese gods--Japanese\n Festivals--Mount Fuji-Yama--Customs concerning birth,\n marriage and death--Some Japanese superstitions--Religion\n of the Ainos, 656\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXV.\n\n MOHAMMEDANISM.\n\n Extent of Mohammedanism--The Arabian camel-driver who\n founded a great religion--The Prophet\u2019s youth and early\n manhood--Gabriel\u2019s message to Mohammed--The flight of\n Mohammed--Converts made at the sword\u2019s point--Mohammed\u2019s\n successors, the Caliphs--Caliph Omar--The Crusades--The\n writing of the Koran--The teaching of the Koran--Some\n selections from the Koran--Mohammed\u2019s Paradise--The Koran\n on the judgment, 719\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVI.\n\n MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUES AND WORSHIP.\n\n Worship in the Mosques--The dancing and howling\n Dervishes--The smart and smarting answer of a\n Dervish--Daily worship--The Mosque of St. Sophia--The\n Jummah Musjid at Delhi, India--The Taj Mahal, the \u201cjewel of\n India\u201d--Pilgrimages and festivals--Conclusion, 741\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVII.\n\n WINNING THE WORLD TO THE WORSHIP OF THE ONE GOD.\n\n Comparison of heathen religions and Christianity--Why\n shall we give Christianity to the world--A flight over the\n battle-field--Position of the Christian army, 767\n\n\n INDEX, 779\n\n\n\n\n LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n Colored Map of World _Full Page_ 32\n\n Ancient Serpent Idol 48\n\n Teraphim 57\n\n Dagon, the Fish-god 58\n\n Ancient Serpent Idol 59\n\n Group of Altars 60\n\n Idol from Hindustan _Full Page_ 61\n\n Coin Representing the Deluge 66\n\n Comparative Chart of all Religions _Full Page_ 91\n\n Ruined Temples 93\n\n Rock Temple of Ibsambul, Restored 95\n\n Song of the Threshers 96\n\n Egyptian Hieroglyphics 97\n\n Pasht, the Cat-headed God 98\n\n One of the forms of Isis 99\n\n Crocodile God 100\n\n Scarab\u00e6us 101\n\n Shrouding of the Dead 103\n\n Mummy Case 103\n\n Forms of Mummy Cases 104\n\n Egyptian Priestess 107\n\n Avenue of Sphinxes leading to a Temple 112\n\n Gate-way of the Ancient Egyptian Temple of Karnak 113\n\n The Singing Memnon 114\n\n Ruins of Thebes _Full Page_ 115\n\n The Sphinx and the Pyramids 117\n\n Star Worshipers 120\n\n Babylonish Coffin and Lid of Green Glazed Pottery 122\n\n Assyrian Cuneiform Letters 124\n\n Robed Statue 125\n\n Statue of Oannes, the King 129\n\n Adar Strangling the Lion 130\n\n Sargon\u2019s Palace, Restored _Full Page_ 133\n\n Human-headed Eagle-winged Assyrian Bull 135\n\n Sculptured Locust 139\n\n Goddess Ashtoreth, Ishtar 141\n\n Ph\u0153nician Goddess Astarte 142\n\n The Ammonite Fire God Moloch 143\n\n Jehovah\u2019s Triumph over Baal 147\n\n Image of Jupiter, by Phidias _Full Page_ 165\n\n Temple of Diana of Ephesus _Full Page_ 170\n\n Medal of Diana 171\n\n Jupiter Tonans 177\n\n Janus 180\n\n Ancient Druidic Worship at Stonehenge, England 191\n\n Gods of our Saxon Ancestors 198\n\n Sacrificial Rites of the Ancient British Druids 202\n\n Ancient Hindu Idol 211\n\n Devil Worshiped in Tennevelly 213\n\n Indra, God of the Atmosphere 214\n\n The Three Chief Hindu Gods 215\n\n Bird\u2019s-eye view of the Hindu Temple at Cawnpore 219\n\n Sculptured Idols on a Pillar 221\n\n Dying Brahmin holding the tail of the Sacred Cow, so as\n to enter Heaven 223\n\n A Caste-marked Brahmin at his devotions 224\n\n God of Hell, from a Hindu picture 225\n\n Amadeo, God of Love 226\n\n Teaching a child to worship Ganesha, the God of Wisdom 228\n\n A child bringing an offering to the Idol of a Bull 229\n\n Hindu Woman 231\n\n The most Sacred Temple of Juggernaut at Puri 233\n\n Worship in the Temple of Krishna, or Juggernaut 235\n\n Hindu Devotees dragging Juggernaut\u2019s Car and immolating\n themselves 236\n\n The Idol Juggernaut usually carried on the car 238\n\n Disrobing and disjointing Juggernaut 239\n\n The Goddess Kali 240\n\n Idol of Kali _Full Page_ 241\n\n A Night Feast of the Bloody Goddess, Kali 244\n\n Goddess Kali, from a Hindu Picture 245\n\n Hindu Notion of the Universe 246\n\n Golden Temple of the Hindus of Umritsur 247\n\n Entablature from a Hindu Temple 248\n\n Children Worshiping in Temple at Benares _Full Page_ 249\n\n Bas-relief from a Hindu Temple 251\n\n Causeway of the Golden Temple _Double Page_ 254\u20135\n\n Great Idol of the Cave of Mandar, India 258\n\n Scene from Cave of Elephanta _Full Page_ 259\n\n Cave of Elephanta _Double Page_ 262\u20133\n\n Image of Ganesha 265\n\n Annual Boat-festival of Ganesha on the Ganges 266\n\n Wayside Idol of Ganesha _Full Page_ 267\n\n Gate-way of Madura Temple 270\n\n Pagoda of Pondicherry, famed for its Sculpture 271\n\n Disused Idols and sacred articles from Ongole, India 272\n\n Bird\u2019s-eye view of Pagodas and Temple Grounds,\n Madras, India _Full Pages_ 274\u20135\n\n Hindus washing in the Sacred River Ganges at Benares 277\n\n Temple of the Sacred Fountain 278\n\n Fakir of the Immovable Foot 279\n\n The Holy Man with the Iron Collar 280\n\n Fakir of the Long Hair 281\n\n A Fakir, who never helps himself 282\n\n A Hindu Holy Man torturing himself by hanging from a hook 283\n\n Fakir hanging to a limb 284\n\n Devotee enduring fire 285\n\n Fakir of the long nails _Full Page_ 286\n\n Hindu Festival of the New Moon 289\n\n Guards of the Hindu Temple Ayenar 292\n\n Hindu women rescued from their degradation _Full Page_ 297\n\n The ten incarnations of Vishnu 300\n\n The God created from Izanagi\u2019s staff 310\n\n Jimmu Tenno, first emperor of Japan 313\n\n The Mikado\u2019s coat-of-arms 317\n\n Raiden, God of Thunder, with his string of drums 318\n\n Futen, God of Winds, with his huge sack 319\n\n Daikoku, the Rice-god, on his throne of rice-bags 322\n\n Fukoruku Jin, the god who can bestow long life _Full Page_ 323\n\n Domestic Altar of the gods of daily food and of rice 326\n\n Hotei, the God of Happiness 327\n\n The Sacred Mountain, Fuji-Yama 330\n\n Shinto Shrine, near Yokohama, Japan, with worshipers,\n vessel of holy water, etc. 331\n\n A Tento, or \u201cHeavenly Lantern\u201d 332\n\n Shrines of Ise, the most sacred place of Shintoism 333\n\n Interior of a Shinto Temple, showing the arrangements\n for worship 335\n\n Ceremonial dance of the Shinto Priests 338\n\n A lawyer of Zululand 343\n\n King Coffee\u2019s Protecting God 346\n\n The Priests\u2019 trick of raising an idol out of the earth 348\n\n A Cazembe Fetich Man 351\n\n Decorated Fetichist 352\n\n Juju House or Temple of Skulls _Full Page_ 353\n\n Idols with mirrors in their bodies 356\n\n A Witch Doctor 357\n\n Indian Medicine Man 363\n\n Indian Burial Place 366\n\n Indian Image 367\n\n Sun-worship on the Amazon _Double Page_ 374\u20135\n\n Ancient Aztec Idol 380\n\n Sun-worship among the Peruvians 383\n\n Ancient Peruvian Temple of the Sun 385\n\n A Papuan Fetich House 388\n\n Tattooed Girl of Oceanica 389\n\n Polynesian Idol and its devotees 390\n\n A Fijian bure temple 391\n\n Idol of South Sea Islands 392\n\n Great Idol of Oceanica, (six feet in height) 393\n\n Hawaiian Idol, known as the Poison God 394\n\n Idol from Polynesia 395\n\n New Zealand Moon-god 397\n\n Hawaiian War-god 399\n\n Christian Karen Girls 404\n\n A Parsee Merchant of Bombay 408\n\n Chinese ornaments with words of cheer 417\n\n A Chinese Book 418\n\n Censer, from a Taoist Temple 429\n\n Ceremonies in a Taoist Temple 433\n\n The Three Pure Ones 435\n\n God of the Kitchen 435\n\n God of Thunder 435\n\n Carrying the Dragon 436\n\n Dragon Boat-races, a Chinese Festival 437\n\n Charm to ward off Evil Spirits from a Bride 438\n\n God of Thieves 438\n\n Sword Charm 439\n\n Kwan-te, God of War 440\n\n Taoists consulting the oracles at the magicians 441\n\n Stone pillars erected by the Chinese to keep off\n evil spirits 442\n\n Tall White Devil 443\n\n Short Black Devil 444\n\n Traditional likeness of Confucius 446\n\n Monumental gate-way erected in honor of Confucius 448\n\n Temple of Confucius, in Peking _Full Page_ 453\n\n Chinese School-boys 460\n\n Chinese Joss-stick 461\n\n Sacred Altar of Heaven, at Peking _Full Page_ 465\n\n Temple of Agriculture, at Peking, China 468\n\n Bronze Temple in honor of Confucius _Full Page_ 470\n\n Chinese sitting-room 479\n\n Ancestral Tablet 481\n\n Chinaman burning prayers instead of saying them 482\n\n Bringing home one of the souls of a dead man in\n his clothes 483\n\n Ceremony of turning around the bridge-ladder 484\n\n Chinese marriage procession _Full Page_ 487\n\n Worship of ancestors at a wedding 489\n\n Chinese baby in its cradle 491\n\n Teaching a child to worship 493\n\n Offering sacrifice to the Kitchen-god 493\n\n God of Gambling 496\n\n Idol of Buddha 498, 509\n\n Religious meeting of the Jains _Full Page_ 533\n\n Tope of Sanchi _Full Page_ 537\n\n Capital of a pillar of gate-way of Sanchi Tope 539\n\n Gate-way of Sanchi Tope _Double Page_ 542\u20133\n\n Roadway to a Buddhist temple in Ceylon 545\n\n Devil-dancers\u2019 mask from Ceylon 549\n\n Buddhist Temple in the Island of Ceylon 551\n\n Worship of Buddha\u2019s Tooth _Full Page_ 553\n\n Shway-da-gong, the great Pagoda of Rangoon, Burmah 558\n\n Sacred Garden attached to Temple _Double Page_ 562\u20133\n\n Pagoda at Maulmain, Burmah 565\n\n Funeral procession of a Buddhist Priest 573\n\n Tower of Wat Chang Pagoda at Bangkok, Siam _Full Page_ 577\n\n Funeral Temple of wood, bamboo and paper 578\n\n The King of Siam going to worship at the Temple\n of the Emerald Idol 580\n\n Temple of the Emerald Idol _Full Page_ 581\n\n Ruined Temple of Ayudia, Altar of the, Siam _Full Page_ 585\n\n Siamese worshiping the White Elephant 589\n\n Tomb of a Buddhist Saint 590\n\n Ruins of the Great Temple of Nagkon Wat 593\n\n Statue of the Leper King 595\n\n A Thibetan Lad 599\n\n Monastery of Hemis in the Himalayas 600\n\n Tartar Woman 601\n\n Praying Machine 605\n\n Praying Wheel whirled in the hand 606\n\n Stone with the mystic sentence, \u201cOm Mani Padmi Hum\u201d 607\n\n Mani Padee, a Buddhist Tomb in Thibet 608\n\n A Thibetan Woman 609\n\n Chinese Image of Buddha 612\n\n Bronze Lions _Full Page_ 613\n\n A Chinese Mandarin 615\n\n Chinese sale of prayers conducted by the Priests 616\n\n Porcelain Tower at Nanking, China _Full Page_ 617\n\n Beating on a Temple Drum to attract the God 622\n\n Chinese Temple at San Francisco _Full Page_ 623\n\n The \u201cThree Precious Buddhas\u201d 625\n\n Worship in the Temple of the thousand Lamas _Full Page_ 627\n\n Temple of Kwan-Yin _Full Page_ 630\n\n Colossal Gilded Buddha 632\n\n Altar of Chinese Pagoda _Double Page_ 634\u20135\n\n The Goddess Ma-chu and her assistants 638\n\n Pagoda at Tung-Cho _Full Page_ 639\n\n Chinese Idols 641\n\n Chinese Buddhist\u2019s Idea of Hell 642\n\n Goddess of Mercy delivering a soul _Full Page_ 643\n\n Buddhist Monument at Peking _Full Page_ 647\n\n Priest at a Praying Wheel 649\n\n Chinese Bonze, or Priest 650\n\n Letting go the Water-lamps 653\n\n Miraculous delivery of a Bonze _Full Page_ 659\n\n Shrine of Kwanon 661\n\n Interior of Kwanon\u2019s Temple _Full Page_ 663\n\n The Hiogo Buddha 666\n\n Buddhist Shrine at Kobe 668\n\n Japanese Pilgrim in winter dress 669\n\n Dining-room of a Buddhist Monastery 670\n\n Religious festival in Temple Grounds _Full Page_ 671\n\n New Year\u2019s frolic in Japan _Full Page_ 675\n\n Buddhist \u201cNio,\u201d or Temple Guard 677\n\n Japanese Picture of Kwanon 680\n\n Musicians of the Temple at Shiba 682\n\n Torii, or Water Gate of the Temple of Miyajima _Full Page_ 683\n\n Interior of the Temple of Shiba 685\n\n Temple of the Five Hundred Gods, Canton, China _Full Page_ 689\n\n Belfry of the Temple at Osaka, Japan 691\n\n Street Mountebanks in a New Year\u2019s Festival\n in Japan _Double Page_ 696\u20137\n\n Japanese idea of the Judge of Hell 700\n\n Festival of Foxes _Full Page_ 703\n\n Driving the devils out of the house on New\n Year\u2019s Eve with beans 705\n\n A Japanese Matsuri, or Religious Festival 706\n\n Religious Procession in Japan _Full Page_ 707\n\n Fujisan, from a village on the Tokaido 708\n\n Worship at the Tomb of an Ancestor _Full Page_ 713\n\n The Flowing Invocation 715\n\n Temple of the Kaaba, at Mecca, Arabia 722\n\n Mohammedan Cemetery at Mecca 727\n\n Interior of a Turkoman tent, in Western Persia 729\n\n Mosque of Omar, on the site of the Jewish Temple,\n at Jerusalem 730\n\n Mohammedans praying before the Mosque of Omar 731\n\n Mohammedan Mosque on the Hooghly River, near\n Calcutta, India 742\n\n Exterior of Mosque in Persia _Double Page_ 744\u20135\n\n Interior of Mosque at Delhi, India 747\n\n Interior of Mosque of St. Sophia 748\n\n A Whirling Dervish 749\n\n Moslem Boy studying the Koran 752\n\n Mosque of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, Turkey 753\n\n Mosque at Delhi, containing a hair from Mohammed\u2019s beard 755\n\n Entrance to the Mosque at Delhi 756\n\n Tower of the Koutub, India _Full Page_ 757\n\n Taj Mahal, the tomb of the Empress Mumtaj Mahal,\n at Agra, India 759\n\n Interior-of the Taj, the tomb of Mahal 762\n\n Mohammedan Feast of Mohurrim 764\n\n Two New Zealanders: the Savage Te Wetere and the\n Christian Te Kote 768\n\n A Missionary home in Burmah 774\n\n [Illustration: WESTERN HEMISPHERE\n\n EASTERN HEMISPHERE\n\n BUDDHISTS.\n\n FETICHISTS.\n\n MOHAMMEDAN.\n\n CHRISTIANS.\n\n HINDOOS.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n THE WORLD\u2019S FIRST WORSHIP.\n\n I have laid it down as an invariable maxim constantly to follow\n historical tradition, and to hold fast by that clew, even when\n many things, in the testimony and declarations of tradition,\n appear strange and almost inexplicable, or at least enigmatical;\n for so soon in the investigation of ancient history as we let\n slip that Ariadne\u2019s thread we can find no outlet from the\n labyrinth of fanciful theories, and the chaos of clashing\n opinions.--F. VON SCHLEGEL.\n\n\nThere are many systems of worship in the world. Some of these are\nlimited to single nations, others extend themselves over different\nnations, and in history we read of certain religions which no longer\nexist. For instance--of those systems limited to a nation, there is the\nworship of ancestors, as taught by Confucius, in China; the worship of\nthe idol gods Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and a multitude of other gods,\nmore numerous than their worshipers, in India; and Shintoism, the\nnature-worship of Japan. Of those which have extended to other lands,\nthere is the worship of the hero-saint, Gautama Buddha, in all southern\nand eastern Asia; and Mohammedanism, the fierce opponent of idolatry,\nand the system of the prophet Mohammed, in India, Turkey, Egypt and in\nChina. Of the dead religions, there are those of Egypt, Assyria, Greece\nand Rome. These are but a few of the many forms of worship that we find\nin glancing over the world\u2019s history, or in looking at its present\ncondition. There are wide differences between these systems of worship\nand also many resemblances among them.\n\nWhere did these systems all come from? Where and how did they start?\nThey differ very materially one from another. Some worship one God and\nhave no idols, others worship millions of gods and have multitudes of\nidols. Their temples are of different styles. Their sacred books and\nceremonies are extremely varied. Can they have started from one source,\nor did each start independently of the rest?\n\n\n TESTIMONY OF AN OLD RECORD AND OF LANGUAGE.\n\nHow shall we find out about this? We have one record that will help us\nand upon which we can depend. This is the oldest history of mankind.\nThere were a great many of these histories written later, but for no\none of them is there a tenth part of the evidence as to its being\ngenuine, which there is for this one old record. It has been tested in\nevery possible way and no flaw has yet been found. Ancient monuments\nand their inscriptions, the oldest traditions of the most ancient\npeoples, all confirm its statements. But these monuments and the\nwritten histories of nations go back but a few thousand years, and\nthis one record is older than they all. So traditions only remain to\nbe compared with it. No, there is one thing left that is related to\ntradition. It is language.\n\nThose who have studied the languages of the world and compared them\nwith each other have something to say, and it is this: All languages\ncan be grouped into families or classes of speech, and all these\nfamilies are seen to have started from one common source. This, too,\nagrees with the story of that older record. That tells how God made\nfirst a man and then a woman, how that they were very good at the\noutset, but soon became bad. It goes on to tell how their children were\nvery wicked, and how God punished them by sending a great flood of\nwaters which destroyed all but one family. Then this family increased,\nand they too became wicked. They finally planned to build an immense\ntower, so, perhaps, that they should not be drowned again in a flood;\nat any rate, if this was not the reason, it was for some other wicked\npurpose that they builded. God was angry with their wickedness, and\nto stop their building confused their language. They had all spoken\nthe same language before, but now some spoke one and some another.\nJust here other histories begin, and the stories in these and in the\nrecord we have referred to, go on very much alike. But the traditions,\nwhich are older than the histories, agree with the record, as we shall\nsee in a future chapter. This record is the Bible, especially the\nfirst part of the Book of Genesis. So here is found one answer to our\nquestion,--_all_ religions grew out of one original system of\nworship.\n\n\n ANOTHER WITNESS: COMPARATIVE RELIGION.\n\nThere is still another way to get an answer. Place the religions side\nby side, study their principles, examine their legends, and see if,\nafter all, there are not resemblances beneath the surface. Let us strip\nthem of those things which are the additions of a later day, and of\nthose things which the peculiar conditions of their countries, climates\nand languages have added. Take for instance their legends or household\nstories. Some of these traditions are written in the inscriptions on\nthe ancient monuments of Egypt, or especially of Babylonia, or in the\nsacred books and histories of the older nations; others have been\nhanded down by word of mouth. It was long after these legends were\nold, that even neighboring nations held any communications with each\nother. It had been just as if a great high wall was built around each\nnation--a wall without gates. So they could not have told these stories\nto each other. Then, too, some of these stories are told by nations\nthousands of miles apart.\n\nThe truth certainly is that before the several branches of the race\nseparated from their common home, perhaps on the table-lands of\nBactria, they had many legends, nursery tales and peculiar stories in\ncommon. As they moved to the colder North, or to the warmer South,\nthey carried these tales with them. In course of time these came to be\nsomewhat altered. This change was in the dressing rather than in the\ntales themselves. Hence we find among the Egyptians, Hindoos, Greeks,\nGermans, Spaniards, Norsemen, stories which are so much alike that it\nis certain that they had a common origin. Take, for instance, the story\nof the Master Thief of the Norsemen, and compare it with the same story\nas told by other nations, and we are led to the conclusion that it is\npart of a stock of nursery tales which were told before the dispersion.\nLet us remember that many collections of stories were not originated\nby the men whose names they bear, but that these men simply gathered\ntogether legends and tales which they found already existing among the\npeople. Thus \u201cGrimm\u2019s Household Tales\u201d is a collection of old German\nfireside stories. \u201cThe Arabian Night\u2019s Entertainment,\u201d the \u201cHindoo\nHitopadesa,\u201d \u201cDasent\u2019s Popular Tales of the Norse,\u201d and \u201cOld Deccan\nDays,\u201d are collections of the same sort. It will repay us to attend at\nsome length to the various versions of one of these stories, which will\nserve to illustrate many others of more momentous character.\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE MASTER THIEF.\n\nIn the Norse tale, the Master Thief is a farmer\u2019s apprentice. In his\ncountry there is an order or society of thieves, and the apprentice\nwishes to join them. The thieves promise to admit him to their society\nprovided he can succeed in stealing an ox from his master as the master\nis driving three oxen, one by one, to market. It must be done, the\nthieves say, without the master\u2019s knowledge, and without hurting him.\nThe youth put a silver-buckled shoe in his master\u2019s way as he traveled\nalong the road. The farmer admired the shoe but passed on without\ntouching it, as an odd shoe would be of no service to him. The thief\ncunningly picked up the shoe and ran around by another path so as to\ncome out ahead of his master, and place the shoe in the farmer\u2019s way\nagain. This time he stopped, tied his ox to the fence, and picking up\nthe shoe before him, went back to find its mate. The lad then stole\nthe ox and took it away to the thieves\u2019 council. But they want to\ntry him still further, and direct him to steal a second ox from his\nmaster, who is again driving to market. Disguising himself the lad put\na rope around his body under his arms and hung himself to a tree at the\nroadside. The farmer passed on, barely noticing the lad. He was so much\ntroubled about the loss of his ox that he did not think of rendering\nassistance. The lad then untied himself, and running by a roundabout\nway came out on the road ahead of the farmer and hung himself as\nbefore. Again the farmer passed by unconcernedly. Again the thief hung\nhimself. This time the farmer thought himself bewitched, and returned\nto see if the other two lads were still hanging. His second ox was now\nleft tied up and the lad then led it also away. The thieves then said\nthat if he would steal the third ox from the farmer, now on his guard\nagainst tricks, he should be their master. Going into a piece of woods\nalong the road, as his master was passing by with the third ox, he\nimitated the bellowing of oxen. The farmer now hurried away to catch\nhis lost cattle, leaving the third one to fall into the thief\u2019s hands.\nThe thieves thereupon took him into their council, but determined (as\nhe shrewdly provoked them to do) to outdo the young thief, they went\naway to carry out their plans. The lad then returned his master\u2019s oxen,\nand carried off all the valuables and goods which the thieves had\nstored away. Soon after he married his master\u2019s daughter.\n\nThis story was told in Western Europe, probably long before Herodotus\nheard the story of the Egyptian thief and wrote it out, or before the\nHindoo tale of Karpara and Gata was made known outside of India. The\ntale of the Forty Thieves in the Arabian Nights also bears a close\nresemblance to these. The Spanish legend of the Poor Mason may have\nbeen borrowed from any one of these. Compare the main points of these\nstories with those of the tale of the Master Thief.\n\n\n THE STORY OF RHAMPSINITOS.\n\nRhampsinitos, an architect, built for the King of Egypt a\ntreasure-house with a secret entrance. This secret, at his death, the\narchitect told to his two sons. They thereupon helped themselves to the\nking\u2019s treasures. As the king noticed how his treasures were gradually\ndecreasing, he placed a trap in the entrance to the treasure-house.\nThe younger brother was caught in the trap, and seeing that he could\nnot escape, he begged his brother to cut off his head so that the king\nmight not know that the architect had told the secret, and that the\nbrother might not get into trouble. So the king found the headless\nbody, and of course could not recognize the thief. But to find out who\nhe was, he had the body exposed in a public place, and ordered the\nguards to arrest any person who should mourn for the dead man. The\nmother saw and recognized the body, and threatened to tell the king,\nunless the elder son should bring the body home. The son then filled\nsome skin bottles with wine, and loaded them upon asses. As he rode\nby the guards, he slightly loosened the mouth-string of the sacks,\nand the wine began to run out. The guards, pretending to help him,\nhelped themselves to the wine. After tying up the skins, the youth asks\nthem to sit down and drink wine with him. They do so, and are soon\noverpowered by it, and fall asleep. He then carried away the body. Soon\nafter he was married to the princess, for the king sought to honor this\nMaster Thief, and he was held to be the cleverest man of the cleverest\npeople.\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE POOR MASON.\n\nIn the Spanish story of the Poor Mason a priest wished him to build a\nsecret hiding-place for his treasure. In order that the mason might not\nknow how to get at the treasure, should he be so inclined, the priest\nblindfolded him from the time of leaving his own home till he arrived\nat the treasure-house, and again blindfolded him on his return. So the\nmason knew the secret of the priest\u2019s hidden treasure, but did not\nknow where the house was in which it was secreted. The priest finally\ndied. The house was then said to be haunted. The landlord could not\nfind a tenant. At last he happened on the poor mason, and offered him\nthe house rent free. As soon as the mason entered it, he saw that it\nwas the house where the wealth was stored, and where he had worked. He\nkept the secret to himself, until like the Egyptian architect, he told\nit on his death-bed to his son.\n\nIn the story of Trophonius and Agamedes, which Pausanius tells, the two\nmasons built the treasury of the king, so that one stone in the wall\ncould be removed from the outside. The king found his wealth growing\nless, and set a trap for the thief. Agamedes was caught and Trophonius\ncut off his head. In the Hindoo story of two brothers, Gata and\nKarpara, not only treasure is stolen by means of a secret entrance to\nthe king\u2019s palace, but also the princess, the king\u2019s daughter. Karpara\nwas finally found out, was put to death, and as it was desired to catch\nthe other thief, his body was exposed. The guards were ordered to seize\nany one who might mourn the death of Karpara. The word \u201cKarpara\u201d means\na gourd or melon. Gata, Karpara\u2019s brother, in order that he might mourn\nas Hindoos feel bound to do and yet not be caught, loaded some asses\nwith melons, and as he passed the body of Karpara, contrives to have\nhis load slip off, crying, as the gourds fell to the ground and burst,\n\u201cAlas! for my precious Karpara!\u201d The guards supposed, of course, that\nhe referred to his gourds, and so did not arrest him. Afterwards they\nperceived the trick that had been played upon them, and told it to the\nking. He then, by royal proclamation, offered the princess in marriage\nto the clever thief if he would but come and claim her.\n\n\n STORY OF THE SHIFTY LAD.\n\nThe historian of ancient Scottish legends records a tale which\nresembles in many points the tales mentioned above. In the Scottish\nstory, the Shifty Lad goes through his apprenticeship, not among a\ncompany of thieves, but under the sole charge of the Black Rogue,\nof whom he at last rid himself by getting him to try the pleasant\nsensation of being hung by the neck. The trick answers to that of\nthe Norse thief, but the mode of effecting it differs widely. Having\ndisposed of his master, he engages himself to a carpenter, whom he\npersuades to break into the king\u2019s storehouse. The advice of the\nSeanagal, whom the king consults, is that a hogshead of soft pitch be\nplaced near the entrance. The wright, again making the venture, sinks\ninto the pitch, and the Shifty Lad, stepping in on his shoulders, takes\nas much as he can carry, and then sweeping off his master\u2019s head,\nleaves the body in the hogshead. Again the Seanagal is consulted, and\nhis answer is \u201cthat they should set the trunk aloft on the points of\nthe spears of the soldiers to be carried from town to town, to see\nif they could find any one at all that would show sorrow for it.\u201d As\nthey pass by the wright\u2019s house, his wife screams, but the Shifty Lad\ncutting himself with an adze, leads the captain of the guard to think\nthat the cry was caused by sorrow at his own hurt. The body is then\nby the king\u2019s order hung on a tree, the guard being ordered to seize\nany one who should venture to take it down. The lad driving before\nhim a horse loaded with two kegs of whisky, approaches the soldiers,\nas though he wished to pass them stealthily, and when they catch the\nhorse\u2019s bridle, he runs off leaving the men to drink themselves to\nsleep, and then returning takes away the wright\u2019s body. This exploit\nis followed by others which occur in no other version; but the final\nscene is a feast, at which, according to the Seanagal\u2019s prediction, the\nShifty Lad asks the king\u2019s daughter to dance. The Seanagal upon this\nputs a black mark upon him, but the lad, like Morgiana in the story of\n\u201cAli Baba and the Forty Thieves,\u201d discovering the mark, puts another\non the Seanagal and on twenty other men besides him. The king is then\nadvised to say that the man who had done all these tricks, that had\nbeen so well done, must be exceedingly clever, and that if he would\ncome forward and give himself up he should have the princess for his\nwife. All the marked men accordingly claim the prize; and the craft of\nthe Shifty Lad is once more called into practice, to secure the maiden\nfor himself.\n\nFrom the comparison of these popular tales with each other we\ncan see their common origin. Nations so widely separated as the\nNorsemen, Hindoos, Spaniards, Egyptians and the early inhabitants\nof Scotland, could not have borrowed these stories from each other.\nTheir resemblances--a thief of wonderful cunning, his successes and\nescapes, and final honor--all point to the fact that they are but\ndifferent versions of the same story. This one story could not have\nbeen communicated by one nation to the others, and as the only way to\naccount for the resemblances we are shut up to believe that the nations\nlong ago all lived in one home, from which they afterward separated to\ngo to the different lands of their final settlements.\n\nWhen we add to this evidence, that from the sameness in the ideas of\nGod held by the different nations in their descriptions of His power,\nand even in the very names by which they designated God, we are carried\nback to the early worship of the race, and we see from all these\nevidences that, originally, man worshiped one God. The human race did\nnot begin life on the earth as a savage, or as a child, and was not\ndeveloped from this condition to a higher state of intelligence; but\nman began life as a full-formed, mature, intelligent creature. From\nthis high vantage ground he has descended, first, to the worship of\nmany gods, and later on, of idols.\n\nSuch degeneration has often happened in the history of the world. The\ndescendants of powerful nations have, in the lapse of years, become far\ninferior to their ancestors. For example, the ancient Egyptians have\nleft monuments whose construction baffles us. We cannot imagine how\nthey have raised and posed the immense stones, nor can we ascertain\nthe purpose of many of their buildings. We talk of \u201clost arts\u201d and\n\u201clost civilizations.\u201d We know that it has often happened that educated\ncolored people from the southern United States, have sunk to the low\nlevel of the people of Africa when they have returned to the land of\ntheir fathers. From the Bible narrative, as well as from the most\nancient traditions of heathen nations, we learn that at the first, man\nheld close intercourse with God and that he held this pure worship\nduring many centuries. The traditions of ancient nations confirm the\nBible account of the high position of man at the outset.\n\nIn the Avesta, the sacred book of the Parsees, who are known also as\nfire-worshipers, we are told that the first king, Jemshid, and his\nsubjects, after living for a time in the original home of the race\nof mankind, removed to a secluded spot not far distant. Here, there\n\u201cwas neither overbearing nor mean-spiritedness, neither stupidity nor\nviolence, neither poverty nor deceit, neither puniness nor deformity,\nneither huge teeth nor bodies beyond the usual measure. The inhabitants\nsuffered no defilement from the evil spirit. They dwelt among\nodoriferous trees and golden pillars; these were the largest, best and\nmost beautiful on earth; they were themselves a tall and beautiful\nrace.\u201d The Mexicans tell of the \u201cgolden age of Tezenco.\u201d The Peruvian\ntradition begins with the story of the two children of the Sun, who\nestablished a civilized country on the banks of Lake Titicaca. Hesiod\nrecords the Greek tradition thus:\n\n \u201cThe immortal gods, that tread the courts of heaven,\n First made a golden race of men.\n Like gods they lived, with happy, careless souls,\n From toil and pain exempt; nor on them crept\n Wretched old age, but all their life was passed\n In feasting, and their limbs no changes knew.\n Nought evil came them nigh; and when they died,\n \u2019Twas but as if they were overcome by sleep.\n All good things were their portion: the fat soil\n Bare them its fruits spontaneous, fruit ungrudged\n And plentiful; they, at their own sweet will,\n Pursued in peace the tasks that seemed them good.\n Laden with blessings, rich in flocks, and dear\n To the great gods.\u201d\n\nThe Chinese and Hindoo traditions also point back to the beginning of\nthe history of the human race as a time of happiness and perfection. In\nthose early ages man lived a long life, and so the early worship of the\none God could be handed down from age to age with scarce a chance of\nchange. Thus we are brought down to the time of the Deluge. While there\nwas a general tendency to evil on the part of all the descendants of\nAdam, God preserved some pure characters, such as Enoch and Noah, who\nkept the truth from utterly perishing from off the earth. On account\nof the increasing wickedness of mankind, God sent the Deluge, which\ndestroyed all the race, Noah and his family alone excepted. This we\nlearn not only from the Bible, but from Chinese, Hindoo, Egyptian,\nGreek and Mexican traditions. Soon after this deluge, the descendants\nof Noah multiplied greatly, and on account of their wicked attempt\nto build the tower of Babel, God confused their language. Thus the\ngreat dispersion of nations was brought about, through their inability\nto communicate with each other by means of speech. They separated\ninevitably from each other.\n\n\n THE DISPERSION OF NATIONS.\n\nSomewhere to the north of Persia, in the land of Khiva, was probably\nthe second cradle of the race. This land is now the central meeting\nplace of empires; here, Russia from the north, England, through India,\nfrom the south, and the European powers from the west are coming\ntogether. This was the point of departure whence the nations started\nfor their future homes. From the three sons of Noah came the nations by\nwhom the whole earth was overspread. Let us keep in mind that Noah\u2019s\nworship of God was pure, that he preserved the true faith in Jehovah,\nthat he handed this to his sons, and that the degeneration into the\nworship of many gods and idols took place later in history. The\nreligion of the world was still _one_. Not that all men accepted\nit, for many wickedly rebelled against it, but the knowledge of the\ntrue God was too fresh in their minds for them to set up other gods\nfor themselves. Not only this, but while they were all together, each\nnew generation received instruction from those who did worship God in\nthe right way. _It was only when they were scattered and left solely\nto their recollections of these teachings; that their religions began\ngradually to differ from that which they had known when together._\nThen, also, the peoples began to differ from each other; then those who\nwent to the cold north or warmer south, to the isles of the sea or to\ninland hills and valleys, gradually changed their habits of life and\nworship according to their surroundings. From the mountains of Armenia,\nwhere Noah landed from the ark, the streams of population poured forth\nto all parts of the world; north-west to Europe, west to Asia Minor,\nsouth-west to Egypt and Africa, south to Arabia, south-east to Persia\nand India, and east to China. Of course, this was not the work of a\nday. It took ages for the nations to reach the more distant lands;\nages for them to become settled in their new homes; ages for them to\npeople these lands densely. Hundreds of years after the deluge, some\nof the peoples who reached the western shores of the Pacific Ocean,\nand who ventured on its waters, were carried away on the stream whose\ncurrents sweep to the north, then to the east, and thence down again\nto the south. It has happened in the last few centuries that Malays\nand Japanese sailors have thus been swept away by the Kuro Shiwo\n(Black Stream). Thus, in all probability, the continent of America was\npeopled. Thus the present Japanese nation originated from the mixing of\nthese Malays from south-eastern Asia and the Ainos, the nation which\nhad made its way overland to Japan.\n\nIn the languages and traditions of these nations, even after they\nwere well settled, are to be found traces of Monotheism. Not distinct\nand clear, it is true, for the Polytheistic worship of after ages has\ndestroyed to a great extent these indications of the early worship of\none God, and yet in almost all systems of religion a supreme place\nis given to some one Deity, who is above all the others, and who is\nrecognized as the ruler of all.\n\n [Illustration: Illman Brothers, Engravers & Printers.\n\n THE TEMPLE OF TEN THOUSAND IDOLS IN JAPAN.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS?\n\n The fair humanities of old religion,\n The power, the beauty and the majesty.\n They had their haunts in dales or piny mountain,\n Or forest by slow stream, or pebbly spring,\n Or chasms and watery depths.\n SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE.\n\n\nWe have seen that the first worship of the world was of one God. We\nhave watched the world in its processes of changing as the nations\nwere separated from each other. We have found that not long after\nthe settlement of the nations in their new lands the worship of many\ngods appeared, and with this worship, or soon after it began, the\nworship of idols appeared also. The number of gods and their idols\nmultiplied rapidly, until they numbered hundreds of millions. There\nwere gods of every name and shape; gods of heaven, earth, and hell;\ngods of occupations and employments; gods of every living creature,\nand of many inanimate things. Where did they come from? Where and\nwhen did that great change occur, when man ceased to worship one God\nand began to multiply his gods and idols? How did it come about? What\ninfluences produced the change? Why was the world permitted to wander\nso far from the truth? All these, and a hundred kindred questions\ncome to us at this time. Can we answer any of them? The sources of\ninformation are not very numerous. The course of ages has destroyed,\nor at least altered, many of the early records. It is like those old\nmanuscripts from which some economical scribe has rubbed out all the\nwriting originally there, to make way for his own work. Can these faded\npalimpsests be restored? We must look down beneath these uppermost\nrecords, beneath the traditions, legends and sacred writings of later\nages, and we can then discover, but faintly traceable it is true,\nbut still worthy of trust, some dim outlines of the introductions of\nPolytheism. In the last fifty years, wonderful treasures of information\nhave been brought to light, and scholars skilled in Eastern learning\nhave been raised up to aid in bringing this information more fully to\nthe Western world. English, German and American students have given us\nthe sacred books of Hindus, Parsees and other peoples, and the story of\ntheir work is intensely interesting.\n\n [Illustration: ANCIENT SERPENT IDOL.]\n\n\n SOURCES OF INFORMATION.\n\nThe Vedas, the sacred books of the Hindus, are the oldest existing\nsacred writings, excepting those from which Moses compiled the earlier\nchapters of Genesis. In these Vedas there is little of the confused\nmass of mythological statements, gross superstitions and the hosts of\ngods of later Brahminism. Here is presented a picture of the simple\nnature-worship of the people of India in their earliest history. Having\nbeen composed so soon after the dispersion of the nations, or rather\nthe hymns contained in it having been handed down by word of mouth from\ngeneration to generation, it is a very valuable source of information\njust here. Before the beginning of this century the Vedas were almost\nunknown to European scholars. Since that time great attention has been\ndevoted to the subject, especially since Max M\u00fcller went to England to\nseek the aid of Englishmen, and more particularly of the East India\nCompany, in publishing his translation of the Vedas. At present we can\nread them for ourselves in tolerably accurate translations.\n\nUntil within a hundred years, there was no direct way of learning\nof the faith, and manners, and customs of ancient Persia. It was\nknown that there was an authoritative record of the earliest Persian\nreligion, a Bible of the Parsees, but no European had ever read it. In\n1754, a young French student of Paris, chanced to see a few lines of\nan ancient manuscript in an unknown language. He at once determined to\ngo to Persia, or India, whence the manuscript had come, and to learn\nmore about it. As he could not secure the means for the journey, in any\nother why, he enlisted as a private soldier to go to India. Just before\nsailing, however, he received the means to go, and his discharge from\nthe army. He traveled through India until he came to the borders of\nPersia. From some Parsee priests he learned the language, and gained\nsome slight knowledge of the Zend-Avesta, the Parsees\u2019 Bible. He\npursued his investigations for four years more, and then published his\ntranslation of the Avesta. But his work was incomplete, and while he\nrendered a great service to the world in showing the way to a knowledge\nof the Avesta, it was left for later scholars more fully and accurately\nto prepare the translation of the book. The ancient Egyptian sacred\nbooks have been almost wholly lost, it is believed. Just enough remains\nto give us the outlines of their early worship.\n\nAnother source of information is the ancient monuments. It was the\ncustom of Oriental people to preserve important parts of their history\nby engraving and carving descriptions of them on their memorial\nstones. When it is remembered that all knowledge of the characters\nor letters in which these inscriptions are made had faded away, we\ncan see how difficult the task of explaining them must have been. By\ncareful comparisons and patient investigations methods of interpreting\nthem were devised. These were severally tried; if found not to be\ncapable of successful application they were rejected; and thus one\nplan after another was tried until the right one was found. Some of\nthe inscriptions were in the form of pictures with combinations of\nsyllables added, or _hieroglyphics_, as they are called. From these\nmonuments a great deal has been learned about the early history and\nworship of the nations.\n\nFrom these sacred books, the traditions of the nations, and from\ntracing back the development of religions with the aid of monumental\ninscriptions, we get a tolerably clear picture of the passing from\nthe worship of the one God into the worship of many gods and idols.\nThis change took place gradually, not abruptly. It was a result of\nthe natural degeneration of the race. There were certain depraved\ntendencies of the human heart which brought it about. It was a work of\ntime to develop these and give them full play. We must keep in mind\nthese facts and the condition of the human race just at this time, if\nwe would correctly apprehend this change and its slowly-moving but\nefficient causes.\n\n\n THE TRANSITION.\n\nThe worship of one God passed into the worship of the powers and\nobjects of nature. This grew out of a natural awe at the sight of the\nmighty forces evidently at work and yet inexplicable to the nations in\ntheir uncultured state. Their habits of life were simple. While they\njourneyed, as they tilled their fields, or fed their flocks, their\nattention was drawn to the sky, now clear, now cloudy; to the sun,\nnow shining in beauty, now obscured in the darkness of night; to the\nday-dawn and the sunset, to the resurrection of vegetable life in the\nspring, the growth of crops through the heat of summer, the ripening\nharvests of autumn, and the cold of winter and the barrenness of earth.\nThey gazed in awe upon the storms; upon the lightning as it glared\nin the midst of the dark, black clouds; upon the tall trees bending\nbeneath the strong winds; upon the mountains shaking in the earthquake\nor vomiting their contents with rumblings, and flame, and smoke. They\nlistened in astonishment to the noise of thunder, to the whistling, and\nsighing, and roaring of the wind. With wonder they saw the earth into\nwhich they cast their seed return it to them in the manifold harvest;\nthey watched the fruits and grains mature and ripen. All about them\nmysterious processes were going on, which they could not comprehend.\nWere these processes moved by a Strong Arm? were they under the\ncontrol of a Mighty Power? or were they self-moved and guided by their\nown inner, hidden forces?\n\nContact with nature kindles the imagination. In early days almost all\nof the nations were herdsmen and agriculturists. Their dwellings were\nsimple and such as each could erect for himself; their food was such as\neach could provide for himself by the chase, or from his own flocks or\nfrom his own fields. A few were selected to be the rulers of the rest,\nor to pursue some simple mechanical pursuits. But the majority were\nbrought into the closest contact with nature. Their poetic imaginations\nbegan to see life in nature\u2019s powers and objects, they began to\npersonify these and then to people them with creatures of their own\nminds\u2019 making. They saw reflected their own passions and conditions in\nthe events of nature. They credited the beings dwelling in the skies,\nor storms, or stars, with feelings, passions, quarrels like their own.\nWhen the sky was clear, when the winds were gentle, when the seas\nand lakes were unruffled in their calm repose, when the destructive\npowers of nature were at rest, they imagined that these beings were\nat peace among themselves. But when the skies were overcast, when the\nwinds arose in fury, when earth and sea were convulsed, these beings\nwere angry and at war with each other. Finding themselves unable to\ncontend with these strong powers, unable to resist their overwhelming\ninfluences, they gradually recognized the beings dwelling in them as\nsuperior to themselves, and their awe and mystery led them to give\nthese superior beings the place of gods. They could not prevent the sun\nfrom taking his departure at the close of day. They could not resist\nthe strong force of wind or wave. They were mere driven chaff; as\npygmies whom these giants could easily overthrow; as creatures of a\nday in the presence of these, seemingly, ever-enduring beings. So man\npassed from the worship of God to the worship of the works and forces\nwhich God had made; from reverence for the Creator to reverence for the\ncreated.\n\n\n THE FIRST HYMNS AND PRAYERS.\n\nReverence for the gods was not merely a silent observance and\nawe-stricken contemplation of the great powers at work in nature. The\nobservers felt that these beings held some relation to themselves, and\nthat praises, prayers and offerings would not only be acceptable to the\ngods, but that they were really demanded in order to avert the anger\nof the gods or secure their favor. Hence the earliest literature of\nthe race is devoted to singing the praises or invoking the aid of the\ngods. Priests were soon selected to represent the people at the seasons\nof sacrifice and to give themselves more continually to prayer than\nwould be possible to men generally. The worship of these early days\nwas exceedingly simple and the priests possessed no unusual powers. As\nWhittier has expressed it:\n\n \u201cThe morning twilight of the race\n Sends down these matin psalms;\n And still with wondering eyes we trace\n The simple prayers to Luna\u2019s grace,\n That Vedic verse embalms.\u201d\n\nThe American Indians, the Aztecs of western South America, the early\nHindoos, the Chinese and the Parsees all exhibit in their sacred\nwritings this nature-worship. Traces of it are still to be seen in the\nParsees\u2019 worship of the sun, in the worship of heaven and earth among\nthe Chinese, in the Indians\u2019 reverence for the Great Spirit, in the\nPeruvian sun-worship and in many other features of worship among the\nheathen nations of to-day.\n\nLet us look at some specimens of early religious poetry. The first is\nfrom Monier Williams\u2019 translations of the Vedas. Varuna is the god of\nthe \u201cmoisting sky,\u201d Agni is the god of fire, S\u016brya, the sun-god, Indra\nthe atmosphere-god.\n\n \u201cThe mighty Varuna, who rules above, looks down\n Upon these worlds, his kingdom, as if close at hand.\n When men imagine they do aught by stealth, he knows it.\n No one can stand, or walk, or softly glide along,\n Or hide in dark recess, or lurk in secret cell,\n But Varuna detects him, and his movements spies.\n Two persons may devise some plot, together sitting,\n And think themselves alone; but he, the king, is there--\n A third--and sees it all. His messengers descend\n Countless from his abode, forever traversing\n This world, and scanning with a thousand eyes its inmates.\n Whate\u2019er exists within this earth, and all within the sky,\n Yea, all that is beyond, King Varuna perceives.\n The winkings of men\u2019s eyes are numbered all by him:\n He wields the universe as gamesters handle dice.\n\n \u201cIndra, twin-brother of the god of fire,\n When thou wast born, thy mother Aditi,\n Gave thee, her lusty child, the thrilling draught\n Of mountain-growing Soma--source of life\n And never-dying vigor to thy frame.\n Thou art our guardian, advocate and friend,\n A brother, father, mother--all combined.\n\n \u201cMost fatherly of fathers, we are thine,\n And thou art ours. Oh! let thy pitying soul\n Turn to us in compassion when we praise thee,\n And slay us not for one sin or for many.\n Deliver us to-day, to-morrow, every day.\n Vainly the demon dares thy might; in vain\n Strives to deprive us of thy watery treasures.\n Earth quakes beneath the crashing of thy bolts.\n Pierced, shattered lies the foe--his cities crushed,\n His armies overthrown, his fortresses\n Shivered to fragments; then the pent-up waters,\n Released from long imprisonment, descend\n In torrents to the earth, and swollen rivers,\n Foaming and rolling to their ocean-home,\n Proclaim the triumph of the Thunderer.\n\n \u201cAgni, thou art a sage, a priest, a king,\n Protector, father of the sacrifice.\n Commissioned by us men, thou dost ascend\n A messenger, conveying to the sky\n Our hymns and offerings. Though thy origin\n Be threefold, now from air, and now from water,\n Now from the mystic double Arani,\n Thou art thyself a mighty god, a lord,\n Giver of life and immortality,\n One in thy essence, but to mortals three;\n Displaying thine eternal triple form,\n As fire on earth, as lightning in the air,\n As sun in heaven. Thou art the cherished guest\n In every household--father, brother, son,\n Friend, benefactor, guardian--all in one.\n Deliver, mighty lord, thy worshipers,\n Purge us from taint of sin, and when we die,\n Deal mercifully with us on the pyre,\n Burning our bodies with their load of guilt,\n But bearing our eternal part on high\n To luminous abodes and realms of bliss,\n Forever there to dwell with righteous men.\n\n \u201cBehold the rays of Dawn, like heralds, lead on high\n The Sun, that men may see the great all-knowing god.\n The stars slink off like thieves, in company with night,\n Before the all-seeing eye, whose beams reveal his presence,\n Gleaming like brilliant flames, to nation after nation.\n S\u016brya, with flaming locks, clear-sighted god of day,\n Thy seven ruddy mares bear on thy rushing car.\n With these thy self-yoked steeds, seven daughters of thy chariot,\n Onward thou dost advance. To thy refulgent orb,\n Beyond this lower gloom, and upward to the light\n Would we ascend, O Sun, thou god among the gods.\u201d\n\nThe Samoyedes thus addressed Jumala, the god of the air:\n\n \u201cHarness now thyself, Jumala,\n Ruler of the air, thy horses!\n Bring them forth, thy rapid racers,\n Drive the sledge with glittering colors,\n Passing through our bones, our ankles,\n Through our flesh that shakes and trembles,\n Through our veins which seem all broken,\n Knit the flesh and bones together,\n Fasten vein to vein more firmly,\n Let our joints be filled with silver,\n Let our veins with gold be running!\u201d\n\nThe principal Chinese deities are called Tien-Chi, or Heaven and\nEarth. Confucius preserved in his writings the ancient worship of\nthese gods. The Mongolians also worshiped the Teng-Ri, or god of the\nsky. The Chinese have for centuries believed in \u201ccelestial spirits,\u201d\nas they call them, spirits of the sun, and moon, and stars; spirits\nof clouds, winds, rain and thunder; spirits of mountains, fields,\nrivers, grains and trees. All these were reverenced as gods. So the\nEgyptians worshiped natural objects and powers. Indeed, every one\nof the religions which existed in antiquity, and of which anything\nis known, possessed nature-worship as their primary element. The\nancient religions which continue unto this day, also possess this\ncharacteristic, and though covered with the _d\u00e9bris_ and\novergrowth of centuries of superstitious teachings, still it is to be\ndistinctly traced.\n\n\n WHERE DID IDOL-WORSHIP COME FROM?\n\nThus far we have no trace of any other than the direct worship either\nof God; or of the invisible spirits, or _gods_, that were supposed to\ndwell in the objects of nature; or of those objects themselves. As\nyet no attempt had been made to represent them by images or idols.\nWhen, where and how did the worship of idols take its rise? These\nare questions difficult to answer. In the Bible the first distinct\ntraces of idolatry are found in Genesis xxxi, 19, where we read\nthat \u201cRachel had stolen the _images_ that were her father\u2019s.\u201d These\nimages, or _idols_, or _gods_, as both Jacob and Laban term them, were\nthe teraphim or luck-givers. They had a human head and were used in\ndivination or fortune-telling. They were consulted as oracles. But\nthese could hardly have been the first idols, for their idea was too\nwell developed. There must have been a gradual introduction of idols\nand of the idea of making representations of the gods. The account in\nGenesis, just referred to, speaks as though it were no unusual thing\nto have gods; there is no expression of strangeness at the occurrence,\nnor anything that would indicate that these were the first known\nidols. What follows is suggested as the probable line of development\nin the idea of idols, but so far as is now known, there is no way of\ndefinitely determining the question.\n\n [Illustration: TERAPHIM.]\n\nFinding it difficult to fasten their thoughts on invisible, intangible\nbeings, men, at the beginning, probably sought to aid their worship by\nselecting some object to represent the being worshiped. This object\nwas not to be worshiped in and for itself, but, simply, as an aid to\ndevotion, _representing_ the being worshiped. Then, gradually,\nthe worship was transferred to the object and withdrawn from the being\nrepresented. Or, it may be that the being worshiped was supposed in\nsome manner to dwell in the idol, and was worshiped thus. Or, it may\nbe that meteoric stones were regarded as images of the gods sent down\nfrom the heavens. Or, it may have been in several of these ways, or in\nall combined. The \u00e6sthetic tastes of men would soon lead them to give a\nmore shapely appearance to the meteoric masses of stone, and then, as\nthese must of necessity be scarce, copies of them were sculptured. As\nmen became more and more accustomed to these idols and less and less\nspiritual in their worship they would venture to give expression to\ntheir ideas of the unseen gods. Other materials were used and, as might\nbe required by the materials, other shapes were of necessity given.\nAt first, it would seem, that only representations of animals were\nattempted, then, as in the teraphim, the head of man was attached to\nvarious animal forms, as also in Dagon, the fish-god, which was a human\nfigure, terminating in a fish.\n\n [Illustration: DAGON, THE FISH-GOD.]\n\nWhen this introduction of idols occurred, we cannot tell; probably,\nnot long after the worship of nature had become established, and the\nworship of one God had been generally forgotten. Not very much more\nthan one hundred and fifty years elapsed between the death of Noah and\nthe birth of Jacob, so that in all probability idols had not long been\nin use when this incident of Jacob and Laban took place. Not long after\nthis time the full human figure was used in idol representations, and\nin a short period a collection of idols would have represented almost\nevery conceivable object, and being, and creature of the wild fancy\nof man. These were made of all manner of materials, of all shapes and\nsizes. The highest conceptions of art were lavished on some of these\nidols, and at the same time the rudest notions of the most barbarous\nnations were also expressed in them. The word _idol_ originally\nmeant simply an _image_, and only in after ages was an idol\nregarded as itself a divine thing or being, rather than merely an image\nof it.\n\n [Illustration: ANCIENT SERPENT IDOL.]\n\nThus we have traced the worship of the world down through the ages of\nantiquity. We have had to rely upon other than merely historic sources\nof information. We have seen the gradual introduction of Polytheism\n(many gods\u2019 worship), and of idolatry (the worship of visible forms).\nFor the rest of our way the light shines more and more clearly.\nHistoric times are now reached, and we shall find much less difficulty\nin tracing the stories of religions: and we shall also find data from\nwhich we may reason back, and so find confirmation of what has thus far\nbeen of necessity somewhat shadowy.\n\n [Illustration: GROUP OF ALTARS.\n\n ROMAN. ASSYRIAN. EGYPTIAN. EGYPTIAN. ASSYRIAN.\n BABYLONIAN. GRECIAN. GRECIAN. PERSIAN.]\n\nBefore passing to these, however, we shall turn aside for a little to\nconsider the testimony which ancient heathen records and traditions\nfurnish on the genuineness of the Bible history, and also to notice the\nsingular system of Hebrew worship, standing alone like a green oasis in\nthe weary wastes of heathenism.\n\n [Illustration: IDOL FROM HINDUSTAN.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n SACRED AND HEATHEN TRADITIONS.\n\n What appears to be of most importance is, the fact, attested\n by the hieroglyphic paintings of the Mexican, as well as by\n the tales now current in all quarters from the Arctic Ocean to\n Cape Horn, that one of these great periods, called \u201cthe Age of\n Waters,\u201d closed with a convulsion, the account of which, in all\n its broader outlines, is remarkably akin to the Mosaic record of\n the Deluge.--ARCHDEACON CHARLES HARDWICK.\n\n\nFrom time to time during the past half century travelers have unearthed\ntraditions from among heathen nations concerning the early history of\nthe world. They have deciphered inscriptions, found the key to the\nhieroglyphics, or writings whose letters were yet pictures in form,\nand, by questioning, learned from the heathen peoples themselves of\ntraditions and legends which bear upon the prominent events of early\nhistory. These narratives are from a variety of sources and from\npeoples differing widely in locality, language and civilization.\nThey are matters of curious interest, and they serve to confirm the\nBiblical stories of the creation, deluge, dispersion of the races and\nother events. They agree to a great extent among themselves, just as\nfar as is really possible considering the changing circumstances of\nthe peoples who hold them. But they serve another and more important\npurpose to us just here. They throw much light on the early history of\nthe religions of which they form a part. They confirm the idea of the\noriginal unity of the race and of the early existence of one religion\nfor the world.\n\nThe oldest civilizations of the world are, respectively, those of\nEgypt, Babylon, Phenicia, the Hindu and the Greek. Among each of these\nthe traditions of the early events referred to above are found. Almost,\nthough not quite, all the nations of the world try to give some account\nof the origin of the world and of nations. Many of the uncivilized\npeoples, as the Indians of America, the Mexicans and the Pacific\nIslanders, have some popular stories of the deluge. We propose to place\nside by side some of these, that they may be compared with each other.\nThe traditions of the creation are often mixed up with those of the\ndeluge or the re-creation, and we give of them the versions accepted by\nthe best scholars.\n\n\n TRADITIONS OF CREATION.\n\nAmong many peoples is found the teaching that man was made of the dust\nof the earth. The Greeks represent Prometheus as moulding from clay\nthe first human beings, and giving them life by means of fire which he\nstole from heaven. The Peruvians called the first man Alpa Camasca, or\n\u201canimated earth.\u201d The Mandans, a tribe of Indians of North America,\nbelieved that the Great Spirit formed two figures of clay, which he\ndried and animated by the breath of his mouth. To the one was given\nthe name of the \u201cfirst man,\u201d to the other, \u201ccompanion.\u201d The Otaheitans\nsaid that God made man of red earth, and the Dyacks of Borneo, that\nhe had been made of common dust. The Zoroastrians (or Parsees) in\nthe Bundehesh, a book containing none but ancient traditions, have\nmany traditions regarding the creation and fall of man. The garden\nof Eden was undoubtedly in southern Persia, or near by, hence these\nare traditions which have lingered around the spot where the events\nhappened. According to the Parsees, there was a garden where the first\nhuman beings lived, and in it two trees, the one bearing \u201cHaoma,\u201d\nsupposed to give immortality to those who drank its juice. (Haoma and\nthe Hindu word \u201cSoma\u201d are probably different forms of one word. The\nHindu Soma was possessed of the same properties as the Parsee Haoma).\nThen follows a story of the first temptation of man, bearing the\nclosest resemblance to the Bible story, even in the incident of the\ntempter having taken the form of a serpent.\n\nThe inhabitants of the Caroline Islands, a group in Micronesia, said:\n\u201cIn the beginning there was no death, but a certain Erigiregers, who\nwas one of the evil spirits, and who was sorry to see the happiness of\nthe human race, contrived to get for them a sort of death from which\nthey should never wake.\u201d The Hottentots said that \u201ctheir first parents\nhad committed so great a fault, and so grievously offended the Supreme\nGod, that he had cursed both them and their children.\u201d\n\nBerosus, the Chaldean, read from the inscriptions on the Assyrian\nmonuments, the tradition that there had been ten kings before the\ndeluge. Ten antediluvian heroes are mentioned in Genesis. The legends\nof the Parsees say the same thing. In India the traditions tell of nine\nBrahmadikas, who, with Brahma, the first of all, make ten, whom they\ncalled the Ten Fathers. The Chinese count ten emperors, who reigned\nbefore historical times began. There is a multitude of correspondences\nsimilar to these. These are selected simply as specimens. There is\nanother tradition, well-nigh universal, and agreeing in all important\nparticulars as told by different nations. This is that concerning\nthe flood. In addition to traditions there are coins, medals and\nmonumental inscriptions which perpetuate the story, as is illustrated\nin the specimen coin given below.\n\n\n TRADITIONS OF THE DELUGE.\n\nLet us keep in mind the differences between the nations holding the\ntradition. It was impossible for them to have conferred with one\nanother, or to have copied from each other. The confusion of languages,\ntheir wide separation in point of space and time, prevented this. The\noldest historic nation, Egypt, having lost most of its sacred books\nbefore they were made known to other nations or even to the later\ngenerations among themselves, possess few traces of the tradition. One\npassage in the writings of Manetho, the historian, distinctly refers to\nthe deluge. \u201cThe Book of the Dead\u201d constantly refers to the sun-god,\nRa, as voyaging in a boat on the celestial ocean, and Ra is said to\nhave been so disgusted with the insolence of men that he determined to\nexterminate the race.\n\n [Illustration: COIN REPRESENTING THE DELUGE.]\n\nClear and complete is the account which Berosus has preserved. He\nwas a learned Chaldean priest, living in the time of Alexander the\nGreat, about 325 B.C. This narrative is a translation made from the\ninscriptions of the Assyrian monuments, and compared with traditions of\nhis own time.\n\n\n THE CHALDEAN STORY.\n\nAfter the death of Ardates, his son, Xisuthrus, reigned eighteen\n_sori_ (an uncertain period). In his time happened a great deluge,\nthe history of which is thus described: The deity Kronos appeared to\nhim in a vision and warned him that on the 15th day of the month\nD\u00e6sius there would be a flood by which mankind would be destroyed. He\ntherefore enjoined him to write a history of the beginning, course\nand end of all things; and to bury it in the City of the Sun, at\nSippara.[1] He was also to build a vessel, and to take with him into\nit his friends and relatives, he was to put on board of it food and\ndrink, with different reptiles, birds and quadrupeds. As soon as he\nhad made all arrangements he was to commit himself to the deep. Having\nasked the Deity whither he was to sail, he was answered: \u201cTo the gods,\nafter having offered a prayer for the good of mankind.\u201d Whereupon,\nnot being disobedient to this heavenly vision, he built a vessel five\nstadia in length and two in breadth. Into this he put everything which\nhe had prepared, and embarked in it with his wife, his children and his\npersonal friends. After the flood had been upon the earth and had in\ndue time abated, Xisuthrus sent out some birds from the vessel, which\nnot finding any food, nor any place where they could rest, returned\nto the vessel. After an interval of some days, Xisuthrus sent out\nthe birds a second time, and now they returned to the ship with mud\non their feet. A third time he repeated the experiment and then they\nreturned no more. Xisuthrus hence judged that the earth was visible\nabove the waters, and accordingly he made an opening in the vessel,\nand seeing that it was stranded upon the summit of a certain mountain,\nhe quitted it with his wife and daughter and the pilot. Having then\npaid his adoration to the earth, and having built an altar and offered\nsacrifice to the gods, he, together with those who had left the vessel\nwith him, disappeared. Those who had remained in the vessel, when they\nfound that Xisuthrus and his companions did not return, in their turn\nleft the vessel and began to look for him, calling him by his name. Him\nthey saw no more, but a voice came to them from heaven, bidding them\nlead pious lives, and so join him who was gone to live with the gods,\nand further informing them that his wife, his daughter and the pilot\nhad shared the same honor. It told them, moreover, that they should\nreturn to Babylon, and how it was ordained that they should take up the\nwritings that had been buried in Sippara, and impart them to mankind,\nand that the country where they then were was the land of Armenia.\nHaving heard these words this company offered sacrifices to the gods,\nand taking a circuit journeyed to Babylon. The vessel having been thus\nstranded in Armenia, and parts of it still remaining in the mountains\nof the Corcyr\u00e6ans (or Cordy\u00e6ans, _i. e._, the Kurds of Kurdistan),\nin Armenia, the people scrape off the bitumen from the vessel and make\nuse of it by way of charms. Now, when those who were so commanded\nreturned to Babylon, they dug up the writings which had been buried at\nSippara; they also founded many cities and built temples, and thus the\ncountry of Babylon became inhabited again.\n\nThe Hindoo narrative has been colored by the character of that people,\nbut yet it is preserved with great accuracy, and possesses many points\nof likeness to the Biblical story.\n\n\n THE HINDOO TRADITION.\n\nThe traditions of India appear in many forms. The one which most\nremarkably agrees with the Biblical account is that contained in the\nMah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata. We are there told that Brahma, having taken the form of a\nfish, appeared to the pious Manu (Satya, _i. e._, the righteous,\nas Noah also is called), on the banks of the river Wirini. Thence,\nat his request, Manu transferred him to the Ganges when he had grown\nbigger, and finally, when he was too large for even the Ganges, to\nthe ocean. Brahma now announces to Manu the approach of the Deluge,\nand bids him build a ship, and put in it all kinds of seeds, together\nwith the seven Rishic, or holy beings. The flood begins and covers the\nwhole earth. Brahma himself appears in the form of a horned fish and\nthe vessel being made fast to him, he draws it for many years, and\nfinally lands on the highest summit of Mount Himarat (_i. e._, the\nHimalaya). Afterwards, by the command of God, the ship is made fast,\nand in memory of the event, the mountain is called Naubandhana (_i.\ne._, ship binding). By the favor of Brahma, Manu, after the Flood,\ncreates the new race of mankind, which is thenceforth termed Manudsha,\nor born of Manu.\n\nThe Chinese story is sometimes called in question as possibly not\nreferring to the general deluge, but to some local flood. The truth\nis, we know as yet comparatively little about the story, which is as\nfollows:\n\n\n THE CHINESE TRADITION.\n\nFuh-he is the reputed founder of the Chinese civilization and the\nauthor of the Yhi-king, the oldest of the sacred books. According to\nthe legend, he is represented as escaping from the waters of a deluge,\nand re-appearing as the first man at the production of a renovated\nworld. He is attended by seven companions, his wife, three sons and\nthree daughters.\n\nDr. Gutzlaff, long a resident in China, says that he saw in one of the\nBuddhist temples a representation of the deluge in plaster work. Let it\nbe kept in mind, that Buddhism incorporated in every land to which it\nwent all the traditions, myths and legends which it found current among\nthe people. \u201cIn beautiful stucco,\u201d Dr. Gutzlaff says, \u201cwas depicted the\nscene where Kwan-Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, looks down from heaven upon\nthe lonely Fuh-he (or Noah) in his ark, amidst the raging waves of a\ndeluge, with the dove with an olive branch in its beak, flying toward\nthe vessel.\u201d\n\nPassing to the other side of the Pacific Ocean, we find among the\nMexicans and the Americans traditions of the same character as the\nabove. These agree so precisely that they cannot be a myth, a mere\ninvention, but must of necessity, be the recollection of a real,\nterrible event, indelibly impressed on the memories of their ancestors,\nand faithfully handed down. That it has never been forgotten, nor its\nimportant points altered, even though the dress of the story has been\nchanged, is an evidence of the awful impression which this judgment of\nGod left upon the nations descending from the survivors.\n\nThe Mexican traditions were first taken down as they were told to the\nDominican missionaries. Travelers have compared their accounts with the\nhieroglyphics on ancient Mexican monuments and found them to agree.\n\n\n THE MEXICAN LEGEND.\n\n\u201cOf the different nations that inhabit Mexico,\u201d says A. von Humboldt,\n\u201cthe following had paintings resembling the deluge of Coxcox, namely,\nthe Aztecs, the Mixtecs, the Zapotecs, the Tlascaltecs and the\nMechoacans. The Noah, Xisuthras, or Manu of these nations, is termed\nCoxcox, Teo Cipactli, or Tezpi. He saved himself with his wife,\nXochiquetzatl, in a bark, or, according to other traditions, on a raft.\nThe painting represents Coxcox in the midst of the water waiting for\na bark. The mountain, the summit of which arises above the waters,\nis the peak of Colhuacan, the Ararat of the Mexicans. At the foot of\nthe mountain are the heads of Coxcox and his wife. The latter is known\nby two tresses in the form of horns, denoting the female sex. The\nmen born after the deluge were dumb: the dove from the top of a tree\ndistributed among them tongues, represented under the form of small\ncommas.\u201d Of the Mechoacan tradition he writes, \u201cthat Coxcox, whom they\ncalled Tezpi, embarked in a spacious _acalli_ with his wife, his\nchildren, several animals and some grain. When the Great Spirit ordered\nthe waters to withdraw, Tezpi sent out from his bark a vulture, the\nzopilote, or _vultur aura_. This bird did not return on account\nof the carcasses with which the earth was strewn. Tezpi sent out other\nbirds, one of which, the humming-bird, alone returned, holding in\nits beak a branch clad with leaves. Tezpi, seeing that fresh verdure\ncovered the soil, quitted his bark near the mountain of Colhuacan.\u201d\n\nThe Peruvians also have legends of the deluge as have many of the\nPolynesian islanders.\n\n\n THE FIJI ISLANDERS\u2019 TRADITION.\n\nThe Fiji Islanders say that \u201cafter the islands had been peopled by\nthe first man and woman, a great rain took place, by which they were\nfinally submerged; but before the highest places were covered by the\nwaters, two large double canoes made their appearance. In one of\nthese was Rokora, the god of carpenters, in the other Rokola, his\nhead workman, who picked up some of the people and kept them on board\nuntil the waters had subsided; after which they were again landed on\nthe island. It is reported, that in former times, canoes were always\nkept in readiness against another inundation. The persons thus saved,\neight in number, were landed at Mbenga, where the highest of their\ngods is said to have made his first appearance. By virtue of this\ntradition, the chiefs of Mbenga take rank before all others, and have\nalways acted a conspicuous part among the Fijis. They style themselves\n_Ngalidura-ki-langi_--subject to heaven alone.\u201d\n\n\n AMERICAN INDIAN TRADITIONS.\n\nMany of the tribes of North America related in their rude legends that\nthe human race had been destroyed by a deluge, and that their god, to\nre-people the earth, had changed animals into men. The traveler, Henry,\nrepeats a tradition which he had heard from the Indians of the Lakes.\nFormerly the Father of the Indian tribes lived toward the rising sun.\nHaving been warned by a dream that a deluge was coming to destroy the\nearth, he constructed a raft, on which he saved himself with his family\nand all animals. He floated thus many months on the water. The animals,\nwhich then had the power of speech, complained aloud and murmured\nagainst him. At last a new earth appeared, and he stepped down on it\nwith all these creatures, who thenceforward lost the power of speech as\na punishment for their murmurs against their preserver.\n\n\n THE GREEK STORY.\n\nHellas has two versions of a flood, one associated with Ogyges, and the\nother, in a far more elaborate form, with Deucalion. Both, however,\nare of late origin. They were unknown to Homer and Hesiod. Herodotus,\nthough he mentions Deucalion as one of the first kings of the Hellenes,\nsays not a word about this flood. Pindar is the first writer who\nmentions it. In Apollodorus and Ovid the story appears in a much more\ndefinite shape, though, of course, this is but a re-writing of the\nearly tradition. Finally, Lucian gives a narrative not very different\nfrom that of Ovid, except that he makes provision for the safety of\nthe animals, which Ovid does not. He attributes the necessity for the\nDeluge to the exceeding wickedness of the existing race of men, and\ndeclares that the earth opened and sent forth waters to swallow them\nup, as well as that heavy rain fell upon them. Deucalion, as the one\nrighteous man, escaped with his wife and children and the animals he\nhad put into the chest and landed on the top of Parnassus, after nine\ndays and nine nights, during which the chief part of Hellas was under\nwater, and all men perished except a few who reached the tops of the\nhighest mountains. Plutarch mentions the dove which Deucalion made\nuse of to ascertain whether the flood was abated, though he may have\nborrowed this from the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, access\nto which he had probably enjoyed, and with which he was most likely\nfamiliar.\n\nThe many points of agreement will be readily noted. The fact of a\ndeluge of waters sent by the Supreme Being, as a punishment for\nman\u2019s wickedness; the saving of a chosen few by means of a boat; the\nre-peopling of the earth by these, all present points of likeness to\nthe Biblical account. This is inexplicable unless the record is true\nand all the nations of the earth were made of one blood.\n\nBut these are not all of the remarkable agreements. Of the same\ncharacter as the above stories, are the traditions of the history of\nthe race after the flood, of the building of the tower of Babel, and\nthe confusion of tongues. We can call attention to but one of these,\nthe Chaldean account concerning the tower of Babel, which may be\nregarded as a fair specimen of the many.\n\n\n CHALDEAN STORY OF THE TOWER OF BABEL.\n\nThe story of the \u201cTower of the Tongues\u201d was among the most ancient\nrecollections of the Chaldeans, and was one of the national traditions\nof the Armenians, who had received it from the civilized nations\ninhabiting the Tigro-Euphrates basin. Berosus records this event in\ncomplete agreement with the Bible, as follows:\n\n\u201cThey say that the first inhabitants of the earth, glorying in their\nown strength and size and despising the gods, undertook to raise a\ntower whose top should reach the sky, in the place in which Babylon now\nstands; but when it approached the heaven, the wind assisted the gods\nand overthrew the work upon its contrivers, and its ruins are said to\nbe still at Babylon; and the gods introduced a diversity of tongues\namong men, who till that time had all spoken the same language; and a\nwar arose between Chronus and Titan. The place in which they built the\ntower is now called Babylon, on account of the confusion of tongues,\nfor confusion is by the Hebrews called Babel.\u201d\n\n\n WHAT HAS THE BIBLE TO SAY ABOUT IDOLATRY?\n\nThere is another aspect of the relation of the Bible to the heathen\nreligions, to which we should call attention. In what terms does the\nBible speak of the worship of false gods and idols? The Israelites\nwere brought into contact with idolatry very early in their history.\nThe patriarchs were familiar with it, both as they journeyed abroad\nand among their neighbors at home. Abraham\u2019s parents were at least\npartially idolatrous. Jacob, while living with Laban, was accustomed to\nthe sight of the teraphim and other gods. Joseph had for his wife the\ndaughter of a heathen Egyptian priest. Jacob and his children, during\ntheir life in Egypt, were surrounded by temples, idol groves, sacred\nbeasts and all the paraphernalia of heathen worship. Moses was brought\nup in all the learning of the Egyptians. Undoubtedly, as was customary\nin Egypt, he had for his teachers Egyptian priests. When Israel made\nits exodus from Egypt, the miraculous power which God gave to Moses\nwas brought into contact with the power of the sorcerers and magicians\nof Pharaoh\u2019s court. After they had left Egypt they remembered the\nidol-worship they had been accustomed to see. The first idol ever made\nand worshiped by the Hebrews, was the golden calf. Side by side with\nthis incident, is the first plain command against idolatry: \u201cThou shalt\nhave no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven\nimage, or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or that\nis in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth: thou\nshalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.\u201d\n\nWhile God was giving this stern, strong, plain command to Moses, for\nhim to repeat to the chosen people of Israel, they were engaged in\ntheir idolatrous worship. In the command to Israel, we see how God\nregards the worship of idols. For awhile Israel regarded God\u2019s command.\nOn their way to Canaan they yielded to the charms of the daughters of\nMoab, and with most terribly wicked worship they bowed to the heathen\ngod Baal-Peor. For this they were severely punished. During the life\nof Joshua they did not again yield to the temptations of idolatry.\nGideon\u2019s father, Joash, worshiped Baal. After Gideon\u2019s death, idolatry\nbecame the national sin of Israel. From Samuel\u2019s time until the reign\nof Solomon, the people were loyal to Jehovah\u2019s worship. Solomon\u2019s\nforeign wives brought with them the gods which they were accustomed to\nworship, and soon all Israel was turned to worship them. From this\ntime until after the captivity at Babylon, idolatry was the constant\nsin of Israel. Often God sent his messengers, the prophets, to warn\nthem of the danger of their sin. Often His judgments were shown in the\nterrible calamities which came upon Israel. But it took the most awful\nof all calamities, the temporary ruin of the nation, to work a complete\ncure. God chose Israel as the people to preserve for the world the\npure worship of Himself, the one and the only God. How they failed to\nfulfill their high calling we have seen.\n\nGod was preparing in Israel the true religion which was designed to be\nuniversal. In Abraham\u2019s seed all the families of the earth were to be\nblessed. The Jews were made the keepers of the treasure of the promises\nof the Saviour. God selected them from all the nations for this express\npurpose; He gave them a territory shut off from that of other nations;\nin their language, habits, ways of thinking and religion, they were\ndistinct from all others. They were to be kept separate until the time\nwhen God should give the true religion to the whole world.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE SUBJECT IN A NUTSHELL.\n\n Not in vain the nation-strivings, nor by chance the currents\n flow;\n Error-mazed, yet truth-directed, to their certain goal\n they go.\n EBN-EL-FARID.\n\n Oh, yet we trust that somehow good\n Will be the final goal of ill,\n To pangs of nature, sins of will,\n Defects of doubt, and taints of blood;\n\n That nothing walks with aimless feet;\n That not one life shall be destroyed,\n Or cast as rubbish to the void,\n When God hath made the pile complete.\n ALFRED TENNYSON.\n\n\nIn this chapter it is proposed to survey rapidly the progress of the\nwhole heathen world in idolatrous worship from its first introduction.\nWe have already seen how the world began with the worship of one God,\nbut passed into the worship of the objects, powers and forces of\nnature; and how to these were given tangible forms in the shape of\nidols. Further we have noticed the gradual introduction of the worship\nof animals, and men, and their idols.\n\n\n METHODS OF GROUPING RELIGIONS.\n\nThe various religions might be classified by dividing them into two\ngroups; first, those having sacred books, and secondly, those having no\nsacred books. According to this method, for example, the Hindu, Parsee,\nEgyptian, Chinese, Buddhist and Mohammedan religions would be placed\nin one group, and the religions of the Japanese Shintoists, of the\nIndians of America, of the Pacific Islanders, of the African Fetichists\nand of our heathen ancestors, in another group. This is rather an\narbitrary division.\n\nAnother mode of arranging them is as missionary or proselyte-making\nreligions and non-missionary religions. Thus, Brahminism, as it never\nwent beyond India, and Confucianism, as it never sent its teachers out\nof China, would be in one class, while Buddhism which was spread all\nover Eastern Asia by its missionary priests, and Mohammedanism whose\npriests went over Western Asia and Northern Africa making proselytes,\nwould be in another class.\n\nWe must have some system of classifying and arranging the different\nreligions, and the following has seemed to be the most simple and\nnatural classification. To look at them first, as _original_\nreligions and as _reformed_ religions, and secondly, as\n_dead_ and as _living_ religions. It happens that most of the\n_dead_ religions were original religions, and so we take these\nup first. Then we notice the living original religions, and afterward\nthe reformed religions, which are nearly all living. The religions\nwhich will be described in the following pages, from Chapters V. to X.,\nare dead original religions; those in Chapters XI. to XIX. are living\noriginal religions; and those in Chapters XX. to XXXVI., are living\nreformed religions. It is proper that these terms, as they are intended\nto be used here should be quite clearly defined.\n\n\n DEAD RELIGIONS AND LIVING RELIGIONS.\n\nMany religions still exist, but some are extinct. We speak of\nlanguages as dead or living; the ancient Greek and the Latin, which\nare no longer spoken, are called dead. The French, German or English,\nwhich are in common use to-day, are called living. Though these dead\nlanguages are no longer spoken, words and phrases which are derived\nfrom them still survive in the living languages. Indeed some of the\nliving languages are built up out of these dead languages. Just so in\nreligions, there are worships which have no followers to-day; there\nare ruins of their temples and idols, and portions of their sacred\nbooks remaining to us. The accounts which ancient historians have\npreserved for us of their worships, the ruins of their temples, their\nmajestic monuments and inscriptions, and their sacred books which have\nof late years been translated into our language, enable us to learn\nvery minutely of many of these worships. Of the living religions, we\nhave but to study the narratives of travelers and of those scholars who\nhave taken special pains to study and explain the sacred books, rites,\nlegends and customs of the people following these faiths.\n\n\n ORIGINAL RELIGIONS AND REFORMED RELIGIONS.\n\nBy original religions we mean to denote those which are, or were,\nthe religions of the earliest inhabitants of the various countries,\nand which are but little changed in the course of time. By reformed\nreligions we mean such as at some later day have branched off from the\nearlier religions. These reforms are always begun by some great man,\nwho, seeing or imagining error in the old system, undertakes to correct\nit, and before he is hardly aware of it, establishes a new faith.\nThus Zoroaster rebelled against the impure worship of the corrupt\nreligion of his country and founded Parseeism; thus Confucius gathered\ntogether some of the traditions and sayings of the ancient Chinese\nwriters, added to them a great many teachings of his own and founded\nConfucianism; thus Gautama, the Buddha, convinced of the inability\nof the ancient Hindu faith to help the world\u2019s sorrow or to heal its\nwounds, founded Buddhism; and thus Mohammed felt himself called of God\nto wage a war against idolatry, and so he founded the Moslem faith.\n\nFurther, we shall take up these religions in each class as far as\npossible, in the order of time, taking the oldest first and the\nyoungest last.\n\n\n DEAD RELIGIONS.\n\nThe gods of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Jews, Greeks, Romans and Britons\n(including all other peoples of Western Europe), are no longer\nworshiped. They sank into neglect from various causes. Some fell by a\nnatural decay; there was not enough in them to enable them to retain\ntheir hold upon their worshipers as foreign religions were introduced.\nSome of the peoples holding these faiths lost their distinctively\nnational existence and their faith faded out along with their national\nlife. Stronger races of strange peoples swept over their lands, driving\nthem out or subduing them. The conqueror\u2019s customs and religious\nworship then took the place of those of the conquered people.\n\nAnother cause of the death of certain religions, and a more frequent\ncause, has been the coming in of a better system. In this way the\nEgyptian religion gave place to the Christian, and that in turn (in\nEgypt) to the Mohammedan. The false gods of the Greeks, Romans, Britons\nand other nations were forgotten in the coming of the religion of Jesus\nChrist. Mrs. Browning\u2019s beautiful poem, \u201cThe Dead Pan,\u201d is based on a\ntradition mentioned by Plutarch, according to which, at the hour of the\nSaviour\u2019s agony a cry of \u201cGreat Pan is dead!\u201d swept across the waves\nin the hearing of some sailors, and immediately the oracles ceased. She\nwrites:\n\n \u201cGods of Hellas, Gods of Hellas,\n Can ye listen in your silence?\n Can your mystic voices tell us\n Where ye hide? In floating islands,\n With a wind that evermore\n Keeps you out of sight of shore?\n Pan, Pan is dead.\n\n \u201cAnd that dismal cry rose slowly\n And sank slowly through the air,\n Full of spirit\u2019s melancholy\n And eternity\u2019s despair!\n And they heard the words it said--\n PAN IS DEAD--GREAT PAN IS DEAD--\n PAN, PAN IS DEAD.\n\n \u201c\u2019Twas the hour when One in Sion\n Hung for love\u2019s sake on a cross;\n When His brow was chill with dying,\n And His soul was faint with loss;\n When His priestly blood dropped downward,\n And His kingly eyes looked throneward--\n Then, Pan was dead.\n\n \u201cBy the love He stood alone in,\n His sole Godhead rose complete,\n And the false gods fell down moaning,\n Each from off his golden seat;\n All the false gods with a cry\n Rendered up their deity--\n Pan, Pan was dead.\u201d\n\nThe Greek and Roman faith and the worships of Western Europe have all\nyielded to the advancing Christian army. The process of tearing down\nand building up is still going on. Parseeism and the American Indians\u2019\nreligion are dying, because the people who belong to these nations are\ndying out. Mohammedanism is making great inroads on the Fetich-worship\nof Africa. Buddhism is lessening the respect for Confucius and Lao-Tsze\nin China, and is gaining ground on Shintoism in Japan. Christianity\nis, in almost every land, lessening the hold of heathen religions upon\ntheir followers and is slowly leavening the whole world, as the facts\nand figures prove. Before the bright light of the Sun of Righteousness\nthe dark night of error and superstition is fleeing away.\n\n\n LIVING WORSHIPS.\n\nThe first group, that of original faiths, will include the religions of\nHinduism, Shintoism, of Africa, America, Oceanica, and of the Karens\nof Burmah. The next group, that of the living reformed religions, will\ninclude Parseeism, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Mohammedanism.\nThis last is not, strictly speaking, a system of idolatry, and\ntherefore we do not give it an extended notice; yet, as it exists as\na fierce opponent of idolatry, and properly has a part in the history\nof idolatry, we cannot pass it by altogether, but shall give it such\nattention as is consistent.\n\nThe signs of these times, as well as the signs of the gone-by ages,\nshows that the world is moving back to its first worship of one God. As\nan opponent of idolatry and as a great missionary system, Christianity\nis likely to do this great work of bringing the world back to its first\nfaith. So we propose, briefly, after showing the contrasts between\nthe Christian religion and the idolatrous worships, to refer to the\npresent attitude of the Christian system in its work among existing\nheathen nations. This will involve a view of the great battle-field of\nthe world, and of the forces fighting for and against the true worship\nof the one God. To this true worship the world is slowly but surely\ntending.\n\n\n THE PROPOSED TREATMENT.\n\nHeathen religions have often been described as they are found in their\nsacred books or in the teachings of their founders. This is not as it\nshould be. They should be studied from these sources, but not from\nthese only. These show the religions, not as they are, but as they were\nintended to be. The test of time which has been applied to them, their\nafter-growth and their effect upon their followers should be carefully\nstudied. It not seldom happens that the religion as its founder taught\nit, and the religion of later days which was built up on his teachings\nare very different. Take Buddhism for an example. How widely different\nis the Buddhism of Burmah from that established by Gautama! What vast\nchanges has the system undergone during the centuries that have passed\nsince Gautama\u2019s death! Or take Mohammedanism, which was, as Mohammed\ntaught, a crusade against the idolatrous reverence for relics, images,\nsacred places and sacred things generally. To-day, in one of the most\nfamous of Mohammedan mosques--that at Delhi, India--_a hair from\nMohammed\u2019s beard, a part of his garments and his sandals_, are\nexhibited to the devout worshipers in the mosque. The Brahminism of the\nVedas, the sacred Hindu books, differs greatly from the Hindu worship\nof to-day with its myriads of idols and its great system of caste. The\nsame religion often differs in different lands. The Buddhism of Ceylon\nand the Buddhism of Burmah and Siam are different, and they together\n(often called by way of distinction, Southern Buddhism), differ\nvery greatly from the Buddhism of China and Japan (called Northern\nBuddhism). The same religion has a still different form in Thibet.\n\nIt is a part of our plan to look into these religions as they existed\nin their beginnings and in their growths, and so to present a complete\npicture. The life of a religion is not to be found in its sacred books\nonly, but in the life, worship and habits of thought of its followers.\nFrom the idols, temples, worship, festivals and religious customs of\nthe every-day life of the household or business circles, we can gain\na yet more perfect picture. The traditions, legends and superstitious\npractices of the people generally contain those facts which are most\nwidely accepted. The folk-lore, fireside stories, children\u2019s tales,\nthe myths and songs of any people contain the principal ideas of their\nreligion. Thus we propose to try to present as perfect a picture as\npossible of the various heathen religions of the past and present, and\nwe trust the effort may succeed.\n\n\n A CONCISE VIEW.\n\nLet us take a glimpse of the roads over which we shall now travel.\nHeretofore we have followed but _one_ wide road. From this other\nroads begin to branch off, and by-roads in turn occasionally. It will\nnot be difficult to follow these paths, however, if at the outset we\nplace ourselves where we can take a bird\u2019s-eye view of the whole and\npursue our way steadily to the end.\n\n\n PARSEEISM.\n\nFor some time after the confusion of tongues the nations remained in\nthe vicinity of the tower of Babel. Then they began to disperse, all\nbut one nation. This one journeyed only a short distance to the south\nand founded the empires of Assyria and Babylon, the Persia of later\ndays. Here we find traces of that idolatrous worship which soon passed\ninto Parseeism. Zoroaster was the man who was instrumental in reforming\nthe ancient Assyrian religion. Zoroaster retained the worship of the\nsun and of fire, and taught that there were two gods, a good god and an\nevil god, Ormuzd and Ahriman. There are only a few Parsees left to-day\nand the old Assyrian religion is entirely extinguished.\n\n\n AFRICAN RELIGION.\n\nThe nations who passed south-west across Northern Arabia and Sinai,\nfinally came to Africa. In Egypt we find relics of a very high\ncivilization, and they seem to indicate that one of the greatest of\nthe nations of the earth settled there. Their worship was of the sun,\nmoon and stars and of animals. The River Nile, upon which their very\nlife depended, was soon received as an object of worship. Some part of\nthose who came to Egypt wandered up the Nile and passed south and west\nto Central Africa. Here they were brought in contact with nature in its\nwildest forms. There was little need of tilling the soil for crops, as\nnature produced of herself so abundantly in this tropical climate. The\nheated atmosphere did away with the necessity either of substantial\ndwellings or of more than a little clothing. Hence the nations had\nlittle to do, and as the old proverb says, \u201cSatan finds mischief for\nidle hands to do,\u201d he soon, evidently, set these nations to occupy\ntheir time in quarreling among themselves. Thus the most brutal habits\nwere brought about and the traces of their original nobility and\ncivilization were rapidly destroyed. Theirs was a quick degeneration.\nTogether with their civilization their religion decayed, until they\nwere left with a religion hardly worth the name, and were little above\nthe apes and gorillas inhabiting the wild woods about them. But they\ncould never become wholly animalized, they always retain some traces of\ntheir religious faith.\n\n\n WESTERN EUROPE.\n\nThe nations who passed north-west entered Germany and soon scattered\nover Norway and Sweden and France, and finally across the channel\nto the British Isles. Among these peoples, the Teutons, Celts,\nScandinavians and Gauls, the early nature-worship was long preserved.\nIndeed traces of it are found even at the time of the birth of Christ.\nThe coldness of their climate, the severity of the storms gradually\ndeveloped them into a hardy race and finally led them to introduce\nchanges into their religious faith corresponding to their surroundings.\nTheir myths, legends and songs, as well as their more directly\nreligious worship, partook largely of the heroic element. Christianity\nearly overspread these lands and the early religions died out as\nChristianity grew.\n\n\n THE SOUTHERN MIGRATION.\n\nOne of the strongest of existing religions is found in the Brahminism\nof India. This is the religion of the people who moved south-east\ntill they came to the Indus River. They settled along its banks until\nthey were well-established in their habits of life and religious\nfaith, and then some of them wandered away to the East, till they\ncame to the River Ganges, and settled in its valley. Others wandered\nsouth, and soon the whole of India was occupied. These people kept up\ncommunications with one another and preserved one language, though this\nwas modified in different parts of the country. Their religion retained\nmost of its features in common among them all. Early in their history\nother Vedas, or sacred books, were written in addition to the Rig-Veda\nor book of hymns to the gods. Other sacred books were added to these,\ncalled Brahmanas and the laws of Manu. Their gods were multiplied,\ntemples and shrines were built. The larger rivers were believed to\nbe holy, and were, together with the crocodiles dwelling in them,\nworshiped.\n\nFrom India people wandered overland or across the Indian Ocean to\nBurmah and Siam, and thence to the Malay Archipelago, and from there\nto the Pacific Isles and America. These migrations (or wanderings)\noccurred before the Hindu religion was developed. The peoples who thus\nstrayed away, carried with them the early worship of nature. We find\nthis still among many of the savage tribes of North and South America\nand of the Pacific Isles. These tribes gradually became savage in the\nsame way as the African tribes. They possess traditions of an early\ncivilization.\n\n\n BUDDHISM.\n\nIn India in the fifth century before Christ, the Hindu religion had\nbecome a very poor religion indeed. It was at that time a mere system\nof priestcraft. The nation groaned under the burdens which the priests\nplaced upon them. Then a man was raised up to reform this religion.\nSakya-Muni was born in the middle of the century; after attempting to\nfind in the Hindu religion that help which the people needed, he cast\nit all aside and struck out for himself a new line of reasoning. He\ncalled himself the Buddha, that is, the \u201cEnlightened One.\u201d Soon his\nteachings were accepted in all India, going as far as Ceylon even. But\nin India the priests soon triumphed over the new faith and Buddhism\nwas expelled and Brahminism re-established. Excepting the Jains, a\nBuddhist sect in Western India, there are now no Buddhists in India\nproper. In Ceylon it still remains. Buddha taught his disciples to\npreach his teachings everywhere. So they went to Burmah (from Ceylon)\nnot long after Buddha\u2019s death. From there it spread East to Siam,\nand North-east up the Irrawady River along the route that the Chinese\ntraders were accustomed to pass over. From China it entered Japan. The\nTripitakas, or \u201cThree Baskets,\u201d as they are designated, are the sacred\nbooks of the Buddhists.\n\n\n CHINA\u2019S RELIGIONS.\n\nThe Chinese legends say that Noah was their first emperor. Whether this\nbe true or not, we know that China, like Egypt, was early settled and\npossessed a high civilization. The nations moved from Persia in the\nWest until they came to the great Hoang Ho River; along its banks, and\nto the north and south of it, they settled. Of their early religion we\nknow but little. The great sage Confucius (or Kong the teacher), was\nborn somewhere about 551 before Christ. He was a statesman reformer. He\nwas not a priest, nor even noted for piety. But he gathered together\nthe sayings of the ancients, and weaving in with them his own wisdom,\nhe produced the system now known as Confucianism. The books containing\nhis teachings, and those of his immediate disciples, are called the\nKing.\n\nA little before Confucius, lived Lao-Tsze, a philosopher and\nastrologer, who did something toward re-establishing the old religion,\nand who also added new teachings. His weird system is called Taoism,\nand its sacred books are the Tao-Te-King. Buddhism in China has taken\nin with Buddha\u2019s teachings the doctrines and gods of Confucius and\nLao-Tsze.\n\n\n SHINTOISM IN JAPAN.\n\nThe early inhabitants of Japan are supposed to be the Ainos, a race\nnow almost extinguished. The few that are left live in Yezo, the\nnorthernmost island of Japan. Many sailors from the islands of the\nMalayan Archipelago were washed upon the shores of Japan and soon mixed\nin with the Ainos. They gradually became stronger and stronger and,\nfinally, the children of the mixed races conquered the entire land. The\nJapanese retained their early nature-worship, which is called Shinto,\nor Kami-no-michi, the \u201cway of the gods,\u201d until Buddhism came in to\ndisturb its hold upon the people\u2019s hearts. Buddhism entered Japan in\n552 after Christ.\n\n\n MOHAMMEDANISM.\n\nAbout five hundred years after Christianity was established, it had\ndegenerated in most parts of Arabia and Syria into a system for the\nworship of saints and relics. The people of Arabia were given from the\nearliest times to idolatry. Mohammed was born 570 A.D. He built upon\nthe ruins of Judaism, Christianity and the Arabian idolatrous worship,\nthe system called Mohammedanism. His motto was (and it contains the\nsum and substance of his teachings) \u201cThere is no God but God, and\nMohammed is his prophet.\u201d He began a vigorous crusade against idols\nand relic-worship. At first he sought to extend his system by teaching\nonly, afterwards he used the sword. From Arabia his religion spread to\nTurkey, to India, to Egypt and Africa, and even to China.\n\n\n CHRISTIANITY\u2019S CONQUESTS.\n\nChristianity is _the_ religion for the world. It is infinitely\nsuperior to all religions of either past or present. It was intended\nto be the world-religion. Its founder, Jesus Christ, designed that it\nshould be spread over the whole world, and gave His disciples their\nmarching-orders before He left them at His ascension. They were bidden\nto go into all the world and preach His gospel to every creature. They\nwere assured of His assistance and of final success. Without any of\nthe power of pomp or wealth, or wisdom, or numbers, the little band\nundertook to obey their orders. They have spread from land to land,\nuntil their camp-fires have been kindled almost all around the globe.\nTheir triumphs have been gained by the powers of persuasion. Their past\nhistory is grand, their present outlook glorious, and their future\nprospects full of assurance.\n\nNow let us take up more in detail these various systems. Retracing\nthe roads we have hurried over let us start afresh and proceed more\nleisurely to study the religious life of mankind, and especially as it\nis associated with false gods and idols.\n\n [Illustration:\n\n =========================================================================\n | | |\n | | CHRISTIANS. |\n | BUDDHISTS. | |\n | | 327,000,000. |\n | | |\n | | |\n | 500,000,000. | Of which |\n | | |\n | ---- | Roman Catholics have |\n | | 152,000,000; |\n | | |\n | Including the Chinese, | Greek Church, |\n | who are also Confucianists | 75,000,000; |\n | and Taoists, as well as | |\n | Buddhists. | Other Christians, |\n | | 100,000,000. |\n | | ----------------- |\n | | Found all over the world. |\n | | |\n | ---------- |--------------------------------------|\n | | HINDOOS. |\n | Found in India, Ceylon, | |\n | Burmah, Siam, Thibet, China, | 160,000,000. |\n | and Japan. | |\n | | ------ |\n | | |\n | | Found only in India. |\n | | |\n |--------------------------------+--------------------------------------|\n | | JEWS, 7,000,000. |\n | MOHAMMEDANS. |--------------------------------------|\n | |Shintoists, Parsees, etc., 3,000,000. |\n | 155,000,000. |--------------------------------------|\n | |Fetichists, or Devil Worshipers. |\n | Found in Arabia, Turkey, | 100,000,000. |\n | Egypt, India, China, | These include the American |\n | and Persia. | Indians, African races, |\n | | and Pacific Islanders. |\n | | |\n =========================================================================\n\nComparative Exhibit of the Number of Followers of the Leading Systems\nof Religious Faith.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n THE LAND OF THE SPHINX.\n\n I have come to Egypt to learn something of the wisdom of the\n Egyptians. Tell me, then, ye tombs, and temples, and pyramids,\n about God; tell me about the life to come! But the pyramids\n speak not; and the Sphinx still looks toward the East, to watch\n for the rising sun, but is voiceless and mute. This valley\n of the Nile speaks of nothing but death. From end to end its\n rock-ribbed hills are filled with tombs. Yet what do they all\n teach the anxious and troubled heart of man? Nothing! All these\n hills are silent.--H. M. FIELD.\n\n\n [Illustration: RUINED TEMPLES.]\n\nHerodotus, the Greek historian, who visited Egypt about 450 B.C., was\nstruck with the extreme attention which the Egyptians paid to religion.\nHe says that they were the most religious of all mankind. The passing\nstranger was impressed with the pompous ceremonies, the magnificent\nfestivals, the imposing processions and the many gorgeously-robed\npriests. He found large temples, where the walls were covered with\nsculptures, paintings and hieroglyphic writings. All Egypt was stamped\nwith the impress of religion. Every art and science, and all literature\nwere distinctly connected with religion, and were used in the service\nof their deities. They surpassed all nations in the reverence they paid\nto the gods. Their religion was by no means an open one. Like most of\nthe false religions of antiquity, there was a great deal of mystery\nabout it. Even to-day we find among the monuments traces of the great\nattention which the ancient Egyptians paid to the service and adoration\nof their gods.\n\n\n HIDDEN HISTORY.\n\nFormerly the world was accustomed to speak of Egypt as the \u201cland of\nruins;\u201d a better title is now given, the \u201cland of monuments.\u201d The\nreason of the change in the title is that it has been found that its\nruins contain the account of the past history of Egypt. Hundreds\nof years ago travelers came across these great ruins covered over\nwith sculptures and paintings, they found traces of the existence\nof gigantic structures, they found, in almost perfect preservation,\ngreat structures like the pyramids and the sphinx. Here evidently was\na treasure-house of information, but where was the key to unlock it?\nIt was like a great pawnbroker\u2019s shop, full of rubbish, but also with\nmany articles of value locked up within its walls, but with no key\nto unlock its doors. It was a land of enigmas, of puzzling problems,\nof riddles. The traveler turned from object to object with the tone\nof interrogation. Why was this, and this? What was its purpose? How\ncame it here? What does it all mean? Evidently these great buildings\nwere not erected, these mysterious sculptures carved, these puzzling\npaintings drawn, merely to amuse a passing fancy. There must be some\nmeaning in them. Scholar after scholar pored over it, beat their brains\nabout it, and gave it up. Century after century passed away and still\nthe mystery remained. There was one key which was found, but to use\nthis key another key was needed. The writing of the Egyptians yet\nremained. Undoubtedly, in their sacred books, and in the inscriptions\non the monuments or walls of the temples were descriptions of the\npurpose of the great buildings, full accounts of the past and their\nlost history of Egypt, and perhaps accounts of arts and science now\nlost to the world. A rich reward this, to the scholar who should\nsucceed in unraveling the mystery.\n\n [Illustration: ROCK TEMPLE OF IBSAMBUL, RESTORED.]\n\n\n THE HIEROGLYPHICS.\n\nBut what was the character of this writing that it should be so\ndifficult to interpret? The writing was a picture-writing, with\ncharacters or syllables added, more puzzling than the most puzzling\nrebus that ever appeared. The Greeks, who often visited Egypt, gave\nthe name _Hieroglyphics_ to this Egyptian writing. The word means\nin the Greek language \u201csacred sculpture.\u201d Neither the Greeks nor the\nRomans, even while they ruled Egypt, ever undertook to learn to read\nthis writing. It seemed to them an unknowable secret. Thus gradually\nthe ancient Egyptian language perished. So the knowledge of the reading\nof the hieroglyphics passed away entirely. For many centuries every\nattempt to read it failed, and it remained a hopeless mystery. Finally,\nabout fifty years ago, a Frenchman succeeded in lifting the veil. Jean\nFran\u00e7ois Champollion (born 1790, died 1832), made this discovery, one\nof the greatest of the nineteenth century. He showed how the writing\nwas to be read. Now the whole can be read perhaps almost as easily\nas Greek or Latin, or the Chinese or Burmese languages. Thus was the\nhidden history brought to light.\n\n [Illustration: SONG OF THE THRESHERS.]\n\nAs specimens of the hieroglyphics, Wilkinson gives the opposite Song of\nthe Threshers to the Oxen. His translation of the lines respectively is\nas follows: 1. \u201cThresh for yourselves\u201d (twice repeated). 2. \u201cO oxen.\u201d\n3. \u201cThresh for yourselves\u201d (twice). 4. \u201cMeasures for yourselves.\u201d 5.\n\u201cMeasures for your masters.\u201d\n\nAnother specimen of hieroglyphics is added below.\n\n [Illustration: HIEROGLYPHICS.]\n\n\n SOME EGYPTIAN GODS.\n\nThe Egyptian gods are numbered by the hundreds. It is possible for us\nto refer to but a few here. The ideas of the gods which prevailed here\nwere grafted on the simple nature-worship which the people brought to\nEgypt from their earlier home.\n\n [Illustration: PASHT, THE CAT-HEADED GOD.]\n\nIn every part of Egypt two great gods, Isis and Osiris, were worshiped.\nIsis is the wife of Osiris. Ra the sun-god was the greatest of the\ngods, he was supposed to be the representative of the Supreme Being.\nAnd yet Osiris was the most popular god. Ra was generally represented\nas a hawk-headed man, and usually with a solar disk upon his head. Ra\nwas generally worshiped in association with some other god, as Amen-Ra,\nNum-Ra, etc. In many sculptures he is represented as carrying on a\nconstant conflict with the evil. Evil is represented in these conflicts\nas the great serpent Apap. At Heliopolis were kept two animals sacred\nto Ra, the black bull and the ph\u0153nix. The ph\u0153nix was a bird which the\nEgyptians regarded as the emblem of immortality; a bird which never\ndied, but when it was burned, sprang up again, full-grown, from its\nashes, ready to renew its activities.\n\n [Illustration: ONE OF THE FORMS OF ISIS.]\n\nOsiris was generally represented as a mummy, wearing a royal cap,\ncontaining ostrich feathers. Osiris was regarded as a good being and\nwas in perpetual warfare with Set, the evil being. They stand to each\nother, said the Egyptians, as light and darkness, as day and night,\nas the Nile and the deserts, as Egypt and foreign lands. Osiris is\nrepresented in the myths as being vanquished by Set. He is cut in\npieces and thrown into the water. By and by he revives but does not\nutterly destroy Set, though he defeats him. This story probably is a\npicture of the daily life of the sun, contending with the darkness, yet\nat last yielding to it, and then again after an interval re-appearing\nat the dawn in renewed splendor. Osiris was also a type of struggling\nhumanity, suffering now, defeated for a time it may be, yet finally\ntriumphant. This was the reason of his worship being so popular. Osiris\nwas the protector of the dead, and he determined their final condition.\nIt was to Osiris that prayers and offerings for the dead were made, and\nwritings on the tombs were addressed to him.\n\nBeside these gods, there were Set the evil god, who was represented\nwith the head of a fabulous animal, having a pointed nose and high\nsquare ears. Isis, the wife of Osiris, was represented as a woman,\nbearing on her head her emblem the throne, or the solar disk and cow\u2019s\nhorns.\n\n [Illustration: CROCODILE GOD.]\n\nAmon (or Amen) the \u201chidden,\u201d was worshiped at Thebes. Sebek was the\ncrocodile-headed god. His sacred animal was the crocodile of the\nNile River. Thoth was the chief moon-god. He was the god of letters\nand learning. Anubis, the jackel-headed was the god worshiped by the\nmummy-makers. Thus gods were multiplied.\n\n\n ANIMAL WORSHIP.\n\n\u201cIf you enter a temple,\u201d says Clement of Alexandria, \u201ca priest advances\nwith a solemn air, singing a hymn in the Egyptian language; he raises\nthe veil a little to let you see the god; and what then do you see? A\ncat, a crocodile, a snake, or some other noxious animal. The god of\nthe Egyptian appears. It is but a wild beast, wallowing on a purple\ncarpet!\u201d This language describes the worship of ancient Egypt as we\nlearn from the sculptures on the monuments, as well as it characterizes\nthe worship at the beginning of the Christian era. To exhibit in some\nsymbol their ideas of their gods was the very essence of Egyptian\nreligion. This brought about the grossest of superstitious worship.\nTo set forth in symbol the attributes, qualities and nature of their\ngods, the priests chose to use animals. The bull, cow, ram, cat, ape,\ncrocodile, hippopotamus, hawk, ibis, scarab\u00e6us, were all emblems of the\ngods. Often the head of one of these animals was joined to the body of\na man in the sculpture. But let it be remembered, that _the Egyptians\nnever worshiped images or idols. They worshiped living representations\nof the gods and not lifeless images of stone or metal._ Their\nsculptures were never made for worship. They chose animals which\ncorresponded as nearly as possible to their ideas of the gods. Each\nof these sacred creatures was carefully tended, fed, washed, dressed,\nnursed when sick, and petted during its whole life. After death its\nbody was embalmed. Certain cities were set apart for certain animals,\nand apartments of the temples were consecrated to their use. Priests\nwere appointed to attend them. Not every animal of every kind was\nworshiped, only a few of each sacred kind were considered as sacred. A\nfew of the whole number were supported at the expense of the state, and\nwere attended by great personages. Certain animals were worshiped in\nparts of Egypt and detested in other parts. Thus the hippopotamus was\nworshiped in Pap\u00e6mis alone; while the Thebans worshiped the crocodile;\nin other places they were hunted to death.\n\n [Illustration: SCARAB\u00c6US.]\n\nPopularly these animals were regarded as gods, and were really\nworshiped. By the priests they were regarded simply as the\nrepresentatives of the gods. If a man killed certain of the sacred\nanimals, by the laws of Egypt he must die; if, however, in regard to\nsome of them, the killing was accidental, then he might escape by\npaying a heavy fine.\n\nA Roman soldier once killed a sacred cat, accidentally. In spite of the\nfear of Rome and the interference of the King of Egypt, the enraged mob\ninstantly killed the soldier. The story is told, that King Cambyses,\nwhen he invaded Egypt, caught a number of sacred animals, and placed\nthem before his army. The Egyptians offered them no resistance, but\nfled away, afraid to fight lest they should injure the sacred animals.\n\nThree animals were regarded as not representations merely, but\nincarnations of gods; these were the bull Mnevis, the goat of Mendes\nand the bull Apis. Apis was said to be born of a cow, yet also born of\nheaven. He was to be black, with a white triangle on his forehead, a\nmark like a half-moon on his back, and a mark like a scarab\u00e6us under\nhis tongue. When Apis died, all Egypt mourned. As soon as a new Apis\nwas found, the Egyptians donned their best clothing and made great\nrejoicings. The dead Apis was embalmed and received further worship.\nApis was wrongly supposed to be the god whom the Israelites imitated in\ntheir worship of the golden calf.\n\n\n MUMMIES.\n\nThe Egyptians held it as a central feature of their faith, that \u201cman\nwas not made to die,\u201d that we were to live a future life, that death\ndoes not end all. Many heathen nations believed that the body, the\nflesh, was an evil thing, the seat of all base passions; not so the\nEgyptians. The greatest event in a man\u2019s life happened after his death\n(to speak in apparent paradoxes). His funeral, and the arrangements for\nit, surpassed all other occasions of his life in their elaborateness.\nThe period of mourning lasted seventy-two days. Perhaps during all\nthis time, the process of embalming was going on by the use of\npeculiar preparations which were forced through his veins as the blood\nwas withdrawn, and by wrapping the body in linen bands containing\nsubstances which prevented the flesh from decaying. The outermost\nbandage was covered with a kind of pasteboard, which represented the\ndeceased as a workman in the Happy Fields, carrying the tools of\nhusbandry. This is commonly called the mummy. Before the wrapping in\nthe linen bandages began, the body had been steeped in a liquid called\n_natron_ (carbonate of soda). Herodotus presents a very full\ndescription of the process of embalming. There is no doubt but that all\nthis was done as a preparation for the return of the soul to the body\nin a future world. The mummy was inclosed in a coffin of wood, and this\nagain, if the person\u2019s friends were rich, in a stone sarcophagus or\ncoffin. The coffin was placed on a sledge drawn by oxen or men, taken\nto the river or lake-side and ferried over to the burial-place on the\nsacred boats. The coffin was deposited in the tomb, and prayers were\nsaid, and offerings given in the chapel above the tomb. Offerings to\nOsiris were made during an entire year by the family.\n\n [Illustration: SHROUDING OF THE DEAD.]\n\n [Illustration: MUMMY CASE.]\n\n [Illustration: FORMS OF MUMMY CASES.\n\n 1, 2, 3, 4. Of wood. 5, 6, 7, 8. Of stone. 9. Of wood\n and of early time--before the 18th dynasty. 10. Of burnt\n earthenware.]\n\n\n THE CELEBRATED BOOK OF THE DEAD.\n\nAmong many books which the Egyptians once possessed, one still remains\nin its entirety. It is somewhat confusing in its style, and yet it is\nin the main to be understood. A copy of this Funeral Liturgy or Book\nof the Dead was placed in every mummy\u2019s coffin. We give a very full\nabstract of it, because of its unusual importance in the religious\nhistory of the world.\n\nThe Funeral Ritual is opened with a dialogue taking place at the very\nmoment of death, when the soul separates from the body. The deceased,\naddressing the deity of Hades, enumerates all his titles to his favor,\nand asks for admittance into his dominions. The chorus of glorified\nsouls interposes, as in the Greek tragedy, and supports the prayer of\nthe deceased. The priest on earth in his turn speaks, and implores also\nthe divine clemency. Finally Osiris, the god of the lower regions,\nanswers the deceased, \u201cFear nothing in making thy prayer to me for\nthe immortality of thy soul, and that I may give permission for thee\nto pass the threshold.\u201d Reassured by the divine word, the soul of the\ndeceased enters Kar-Neter, the land of the dead, and recommences his\ninvocations.\n\nAfter this grand commencement, which we have epitomized, come many\nshort chapters, much less important, relative also to the dead and\nto the preliminary ceremonies of his funeral. When at last the soul\nof the deceased has passed the gates of Kar-Neter, he penetrates\ninto that subterranean region, and at his entry is dazzled by the\nglory of the sun, which he now for the first time sees in this lower\nhemisphere. He sings a hymn to the sun under the form of mixed litanies\nand invocations. After this hymn, a great vignette, representing the\nadoration and glorification of the sun in the heavens, on earth and in\nHades, marks the end of the first part of the Ritual, serving as a sort\nof introduction. The second part traces the journeys and migrations of\nthe soul in the lower region.\n\nNext come a series of prayers to be pronounced during the process\nof embalming, while the body is being rolled in its wrappers. These\ninvocations are addressed to Thoth, the Egyptian Hermes, who, as among\nthe Greeks, played the part of Psychopompe, or conductor of souls.\nThey are of the highest interest, for in each allusion is made to the\ngrand myth of Osiris and his contest with Typhon, of which Plutarch\nand Synesius have given us the most recent versions. The deceased,\naddressing the god, asks him to render to him again the service he once\nrendered on that solemn occasion to Osiris and his son Horus, \u201cavenger\nof his father.\u201d\n\nThe body once wrapped in its coverings, and the soul well provided with\na store of necessary knowledge, the deceased commences his journey.\nBut he is still unable to move, he has not yet the use of his limbs;\nit is necessary to address the gods, who successively restore all the\nfaculties he had during his life, so that he can stand upright, walk,\nspeak, eat and fight. Thus prepared, he starts; he holds his scarab\u00e6us\nover his heart as a passport, and thus passes the portal of Hades.\n\nFrom the first step, terrible obstacles present themselves in his way.\nFrightful monsters, servants of Typhon, crocodiles on land and in the\nwater, serpents of all kinds, tortoises and other reptiles, assail the\ndeceased and attempt to devour him. Then commences a series of combats.\nThe deceased and the animals against which he contends mutually address\ninsulting speeches to each other, after the fashion of Homer\u2019s heroes.\nFinally, the \u201cOsiris\u201d (the name applied to all the deceased) has\nconquered all his enemies; he has subdued the Typhonic monsters, and\nforced a passage, and, elated by his victory, sings on the spot a song\nof triumph, likening himself to all the gods, whose members are made\nthose of his own body. \u201cMy hair is like that of Nu (the firmament); my\nface is like that of Ra (the sun); my eyes like those of Athor (the\nEgyptian Venus);\u201d and so on for every part of his body. He has even the\nstrength of Set, that is, of Typhon, for the strife between the good\nand evil principle is but in appearance; in reality they are one and\nthe same, and equally receive the adorations of the initiated.\n\nAfter such labors the deceased needs rest; he stays for a time to\nrecruit his strength and to satisfy his hunger. He has escaped great\ndangers, and has not gone astray in the desert where he would have died\nof hunger and thirst. From the tree of life the goddess Nu gives him\nrefreshing waters, which invigorate him and enable him to recommence\nhis journey in order to reach the first gate of heaven.\n\nThen commences a dialogue between the deceased and the personification\nof the divine Light, who instructs him. This dialogue presents some\nmost remarkable resemblances to the dialogue prefixed to the books\ngiven by the Alexandrian Greeks as translations of the ancient\nreligious writings of Egypt, between Thoth and the Light, in which the\nlatter explains to Thoth the most sublime mysteries of nature. This\nportion is certainly one of the best and grandest of the Ritual, and\nmay almost be classed with the invocations to the sun at the close of\nthe first part.\n\n [Illustration: EGYPTIAN PRIESTESS.]\n\nThe deceased, having passed the gate, continues to advance, guided by\nthis new Light, to whom he addresses his invocations. He then enters\nupon a series of transformations, more and more elevated, assuming\nthe form of and identifying himself with the noblest divine symbols.\nHe is changed successively into a hawk, an angel or divine messenger;\ninto a lotus; into the god Ptah; into a heron; into a crane; into a\nhuman-headed bird, the usual emblem of a soul; into a swallow; into a\nserpent, and into a crocodile.\n\nUp to this time the soul of the deceased has been making its journeys\nalone; it has been merely a sort of image; a mere shade, with the\nappearance of that body now stretched on the bier. After these\ntransformations the soul becomes reunited to its body, which is needed\nfor the rest of the journey. It was on this account that careful\nembalming was so important; it was necessary that the soul should find\nthe body perfect and well-preserved. \u201cOh,\u201d cries the body, \u201cthat in the\ndwelling of the master of life I may be reunited to my glorified soul,\ndo not order the guardians of heaven to destroy me, so as to send away\nmy soul from my corpse, and hinder the eye of Horus, who is with thee,\nfrom preparing my way.\u201d\n\nThe deceased traverses the dwelling of Thoth, who gives him a book\ncontaining instructions for the rest of his way, and fresh lessons of\nthe knowledge he is soon to require. He arrives on the banks of the\nsubterranean river separating him from the Elysian Fields, but there\na new danger awaits him. A false boatman, the envoy of the Typhonic\npowers, lays wait for him on his way, and endeavors by deceitful words\nto get him into his boat, so as to mislead him and take him to the\neast instead of to the west, his true destination, and where he ought\nto land, and rejoin the sun of the lower world. The deceased again\nescapes this new danger; he unmasks the perfidy of the false boatman,\nand drives him away, overwhelming him with reproaches. He at last meets\nthe right boat to conduct him to his destination. But before getting\ninto it, it is necessary to ascertain if he is really capable of making\nthe voyage, if he possesses a sufficient amount of the knowledge\nnecessary to his safety. The divine boatman therefore makes him undergo\nan examination, a preliminary initiation, seemingly corresponding to\nthe lesser Eleusinian mysteries. The deceased passes the examination;\neach part of the boat then seems successively to become animated, and\nto demand of him its name, and the mystical meaning of the name. _The\nstake for anchoring the boat._ Tell me my name! \u201cThe Lord of the earth\nin thy case,\u201d is thy name. _The rudder._ Tell me my name! \u201cThe enemy of\nApis,\u201d is thy name. _The rope._ Tell me my name! \u201cThe hair with which\nAnubis binds up the folds of the wrappers,\u201d is thy name; and so on for\ntwenty-three questions and answers.\n\nAfter having thus victoriously passed through this trial, the deceased\nembarks, traverses the subterranean river, and lands on the other bank,\nwhen he soon arrives at the Elysian Fields in the valley of Avura, or\nBalot, the position of which the ritual gives in these terms, \u201cThe\nvalley of Balot (abundance), at the east of heaven, is 370 cubits\nlong, and 140 cubits broad. There is a crocodile lord of Balot in\nthe east of that valley in his divine dwelling above the inclosure.\nThere is a serpent at the head of that valley, thirty cubits long, his\nbody six cubits round. In the south is the lake of sacred principles\n(Sharu); the north is formed by the lake of Primordial Matter (Rubu).\u201d\nA large picture here shows us this valley, a real subterranean Egypt,\nintersected by canals, where we see the \u201cOsiris\u201d occupied in all the\noperations of agriculture; preparing the ground, sowing and reaping in\nthe divine fields an ample provision of that bread of knowledge he is\nnow to find more necessary than ever. He has, in fact, arrived at the\nend of his journey; he has before him only the last, but also the most\nterrible of all his trials.\n\nConducted by Anubis he traverses the labyrinth, and by the aid of the\nclew, guiding them through its windings, at last penetrates to the\njudgment-hall, where Osiris awaits him, seated on his throne, and\nassisted by forty-two terrible assessors. There the decisive sentence\nis to be pronounced, either admitting the deceased to happiness or\nexcluding him forever. Then commences a new interrogatory, much more\nsolemn than the former. The deceased is obliged to give proof of his\nknowledge; he must show that it is great enough to give him the right\nto be admitted to share the lot of glorified spirits. Each of the\nforty-two judges, bearing a mystical name, questions him in turn; he is\nobliged to tell each one his name, and what it means. Nor is this all;\nhe is obliged to give an account of his whole life.\n\n\u201cI have not blasphemed,\u201d says the deceased; \u201cI have not stolen; I have\nnot smitten men privily; I have not treated any person with cruelty;\nI have not stirred up trouble; I have not been idle; I have not been\nintoxicated; I have not made unjust commandments; I have shown no\nimproper curiosity; I have not allowed my mouth to tell secrets; I have\nnot wounded any one; I have not let envy gnaw my heart; I have spoken\nevil neither of the king, nor my father; I have not falsely accused any\none; I have not withheld milk from the mouths of sucklings; I have not\npracticed any shameful crime; I have not calumniated a slave to his\nmaster.\u201d\n\nThe deceased does not confine himself to denying any ill conduct;\nhe speaks of the good he has done in his lifetime. \u201cI have made to\nthe gods the offerings that were their due. I have given food to the\nhungry, drink to the thirsty, and clothes to the naked.\u201d We may well\non reading these passages be astounded at this high morality, superior\nto that of all other ancient people, that the Egyptians had been able\nto build up on such a foundation as their religion. Without doubt it\nwas this clear insight into truth, this tenderness of conscience, which\nobtained for the Egyptians the reputation for wisdom, echoed even by\nHoly Scripture.\n\nBesides these general precepts, the apology acquaints us with some\npolice regulations for public order, raised by common interest in\nEgypt to the rank of conscientious duties. Thus the deceased denies\never having intercepted the irrigating canals, or having prevented the\ndistribution of the waters of the river over the country; he declares\nthat he has never damaged the stones for mooring vessels on the river.\nCrimes against religion are also mentioned; some seem very strange to\nus, especially when we find them classed with really moral faults. The\ndeceased has never altered the prayers or interpolated them. He has\nnever touched any of the sacred property, such as flocks and herds,\nor fished for the sacred fish in the lakes of the temples; he has not\nstolen offerings from the altar, nor defiled the sacred waters of the\nNile.\n\nThe Osiris is now fully satisfied; his heart has been weighed in the\nbalance with truth, and not been found wanting; the forty-two assessors\nhave pronounced that he possesses the necessary knowledge. The great\nOsiris pronounces his sentence, and Thoth, as recorder to the tribunal,\nhaving inscribed it in his book, the deceased at last enters into bliss.\n\nHere commences the third part of the Ritual, more mystical and obscure\nthan the others. We see the Osiris, henceforth identified with the sun,\ntraversing with him, and as him, the various houses of heaven, and the\nlake of fire, the source of all light. Afterwards the Ritual rises to\na higher poetical flight, even contemplating the identification of the\ndeceased with a symbolical figure comprising all the attributes of the\ndeities of the Egyptian Pantheon. This representation ends the work.\n\n\n EGYPTIAN WORSHIP.\n\nThe gods of Egypt were worshiped in temples and tombs. Every town had\nat least one temple. The services were conducted by the priests, and\non special occasions the king and scribes joined. The common people\nhad but little to do with the worship. The most important worship took\nplace in the innermost chambers, where only the priests were at all\npermitted to go.\n\n [Illustration: AVENUE OF SPHINXES LEADING TO A TEMPLE.]\n\n [Illustration: GATEWAY OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TEMPLE OF\n KARNAK.]\n\nThe sacrifices were of animals and vegetables with the pouring out of\nwine and the burning of incense. The temples were gigantic structures\ngrouped together. They were generally approached by avenues of\nsphinxes. The great temples are almost all found in Upper Egypt, while\nthe pyramids are in Lower Egypt. The inhabitants of Egypt were once the\ngreatest nation of earth, and they built temples corresponding to their\ngreatness.\n\nThebes, in Upper Egypt, was once a greater city than Babylon, or\nRome, or London. It was built on both sides of the River Nile. To it\nall the surrounding nations flocked. The temples of Thebes have, in\nmagnificent grandeur and majestic beauty, probably never been surpassed\nin any later age. Of these temples, Luxor and Karnak were the greatest.\nBetween these two stretched in avenue of 140 gigantic columns, each\ntwelve feet in diameter, their massive sides covered with sculptures.\nThe columns were so great that we cannot understand how they could\nbe cut out of the quarries and brought the 140 miles that they must\npass over to get to Thebes. Karnak was the work of generations. It\nwas 2,500 years in building. Abraham must have seen Karnak when he\njourneyed to Egypt. Moses must have been familiar with its courts. The\nmessengers of Israel, who in after ages sought alliance with powerful\nEgypt, must have looked upon its columns and walls. Karnak was a\ncluster of temples. The central one was 1,108 feet long and 300 feet\nbroad. The circuit of its walls, says a Roman historian who saw it in\nall its glory, was a mile and a half. Near Thebes are the statues of\nMemnon, which were said to sing when the rays of the rising sun touched\ntheir lips. Possibly the breeze of the early morning struck upon some\nconcealed musical contrivance in the statue and produced the sound.\n\n [Illustration: THE SINGING MEMNON.]\n\n [Illustration: RUINS OF THE SPLENDID TEMPLES OF THEBES.]\n\n [Illustration: THE SPHINX AND THE PYRAMIDS.]\n\nThe most imposing monuments of Egypt are the pyramids of El Gizeh. The\nlargest of these is the pyramid of Cheops. This is 480 feet high, and\ncontains more than ten millions of cubic yards of stone. The pyramid\nis so placed that its four sides exactly face the four points of the\ncompass. The pyramids were probably great tombs. At the foot of the\npyramids is the great Sphinx. This is a monument of a man-headed\nlion, nearly ninety feet long and seventy-four feet high. Its face\nis twenty-six feet long. It is carved out of solid rock. This great\nSphinx is said to be the image of the god Har-ma-chu, the setting sun.\nBetween the two front paws of the Sphinx was placed a small chapel,\nconsecrated to the god. As Amp\u00e9re says: \u201cThis huge, mutilated figure\nhas an astonishing effect; it seems like an eternal spectre. The stone\nphantom seems attentive; one would say that it hears and sees. Its\ngreat ear appears to collect the sounds of the past; its eye, directed\nto the east, gazes as it were into the future; its aspect has a depth,\na truth of expression, irresistibly fascinating to the spectator. In\nthis figure, half statue, half mountain, we see a wonderful majesty, a\ngrand serenity, and even a sort of sweetness of expression.\u201d\n\nThere was much of majestic beauty about the Egyptian religion and\nworship, but there was mixed with it a mass of debasing superstition.\nWhen King Cambyses of Persia conquered Egypt, and the supremacy of\nthe world passed out of Egypt\u2019s hands, the downfall of its religion\ncommenced. The religion of the conquerors was mingled with their\nown. After some hundreds of years, Christianity was spread over all\nnorth Africa and up the Nile. Then in the year 639, after Christ,\nMohammedanism conquered Egypt. This religion continues to predominate\nin Egypt.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n THE CHALDEANS.[2]\n\n At that time the heaven above was unnamed,\n In the earth beneath a name was unrecorded;\n Chaos, too, was unopened around them.\n By name the mother Tihamtu, [the Deep] was the begetter of them\n all.\n Their waters in one place were not embosomed, and\n The fruitful herb was uncollected, the marsh-plant ungrown.\n At that time the gods [stars] were not made to go; none of them\n by name were recorded; order was not among them.\n Then were made the great gods; and these Lakhmu and Lakhamu\n caused to go; until they were grown they nurtured them.\n The gods Assur and Kissar were made by their hands,\n A length of days, a long time passed, and the gods Anu, Bel and\n Hea were created; the gods Assur and Kissar begat them.\n FROM THE CHALDEAN (CUNEIFORM) CREATION TABLETS.\n\n\nIn the Tigro-Euphrates Valley, or basin, as it is called, the\ncommencement of the history of man is placed.\n\n\u201cAnd it came to pass that as they journeyed from the east, they found\na plain in the land of Shinar: and they dwelt there.\u201d Here was great\nBabel built, and here occurred the confusion of tongues, and from here\nthe nations were scattered over all the world. After this scattering\nto east, west and south, there was left a large body of people of\ndifferent nations, in Chaldea. The great monuments and inscriptions,\nwhich are the only remaining books of early history, tell us of two\ngreat nations called the Sumir and Accad. Of the descent of these\npeoples, it can be said with certainty only that there were Hamites\namong them. The Shemites are the founders of the Assyrian kingdom, the\nHamites of the Babylonian. These and some other scattered tribes of\nother nations, were worshipers of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon\nand stars. Hence came the extraordinary development of astronomy in\nthese lands. Their strange and imperfect civilization had an immense\ninfluence over a great part of Asia, for over 1500 years.\n\n [Illustration: STAR WORSHIPERS.]\n\nThe peoples of Chaldea did not at first intermingle with each other,\nbut maintained a separate existence as tribes. Here was, however, the\nfirst organized government of the world. \u201cCush begat Nimrod: he began\nto be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the\nLord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before\nthe Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and\nAccad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth\nAsshur, and builded Nineveh, and the streets of the city, and Calah and\nResen, between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.\u201d Asshur\nwas of the Semitic race, while Nimrod was a Cushite. These two people\nlived long together, and this explains how they came to have the same\nlanguage and civilization in spite of their being of different origin.\nThe four great cities mentioned above gave to their king, the title\n\u201cking of the four regions.\u201d The founding of this great empire occurred\nonly a little later than the beginning of the great Egyptian kingdom.\nWe know almost nothing of the history of the Chaldean kings who\nsucceeded Nimrod, except that which a few traditions tell us.\n\n\n THE GREAT CHALDEAN HISTORIAN.\n\nBerosus was a Chaldean priest who lived in the days of Alexander\nthe Great. He was a very learned man. He translated the history\nof Babylonia into the Greek language. His history commences with\nthe creation and is carried down to his own time. He drew from the\nancient records of Babylonia, from traditions of the people, and\nfrom inscriptions on the monuments. We have already referred to the\ntraditions of the creation and deluge which he preserved. About 2400\nB.C., according to Berosus, the Medes conquered Babylonia. Here for\nthe first time we meet with the name of Zoroaster, the founder of\nParseeism. The record of Berosus is very much valued because of the\nground which it covers. It is wonderfully in agreement with the Bible\nrecord. At first his statements were questioned and disputed, but the\nresearches of modern scholars in many respects confirmed their complete\naccuracy.\n\n\n RUINED MONUMENTS.\n\nThe ruins of Chaldea have been as yet but imperfectly explored. The\ngreat buildings and monuments have been buried beneath the ground for\nhundreds of years, and the work of digging them out is a slow one. When\nwe remember that these cities and their buildings were among the first\never erected, and that Nebuchadnezzar (or Nabukudur-ussur, as Berosus\ncalls him,) and his successors only repaired and added to these, we\ncan see the value of exhuming them. Stone is very rare in Chaldea,\nand could be brought only at great expense from a distance. Hence all\nthe buildings of earlier ages were built of bricks. So we read of\nthe Tower of Babel, that \u201cthey had bricks for stone.\u201d On each one of\nthese bricks was generally stamped the name of the king who erected the\nbuilding. The greater part of the early Chaldean inscriptions are found\non these bricks. Herodotus tells us that the Babylonians built with\nthese sun-dried bricks, and with here and there a layer of reed-matting\ncemented with bitumen. The outsides of the buildings were covered\nwith burnt or kiln-dried bricks to keep out the rain. More elaborate\nspecimens of their pottery appear in articles for domestic uses, and\nespecially in their coffins.\n\n [Illustration: BABYLONISH COFFIN AND LID OF GREEN GLAZED\n POTTERY.]\n\nThe sacred buildings appear to have been often built in the form of\na pyramid, with steps or stages, forming a series of terraces, each\nsmaller than the one beneath it. This is the traditional style of\nbuildings of the Tower of Babel. The same tendency to build high sacred\nbuildings is seen in the pagodas of India, Burmah and China, in the\nMohammedan towers, like the Koutub Minar, and the spires of Christian\nchurches. The object at the first seems to have been the getting nearer\nto the heavenly bodies, the object of their worship. On the upper\nterrace, or platform, appears to have been built in most cases, a small\nchapel, or square room, richly ornamented, containing an image of the\ngod of the temple.\n\nOf ancient Babylonian sculptures but few are known to remain. Of these,\none is a small bronze figure of a goddess named Keodormabug, and a\nbroken statuette in alabaster of the god Nebo. But a number of small\ncylinders of stone that were used as seals, and which are covered\nwith engravings or inscriptions, give us much information of early\nChaldean history. The Chaldeans were far advanced in astronomy and in\narithmetic, which is indispensable to a knowledge of astronomy.\n\n\n A LIBRARY OF BRICK BOOKS.\n\nThe Chaldeans had eight sacred books, said to have been written by the\ngod Oannes. No copies of these original books remain. But some of their\nsayings were copied into the books of later kings. All that remains\nof the books of ancient Chaldea is that which had been transported to\nAssyria, where it was found by Layard and later by Smith, in making\ntheir excavations at Nineveh. He found in the ruins of the palace built\nby King Asshurbanipal, in one of the halls, a library. \u201cThis curious\nlibrary consists entirely of flat, square tablets of baked clay, having\non each side a page of very small and closely written cuneiform cursive\nletters, impressed on the clay while it was still moist. Each tablet\nwas numbered and formed a page of a book composed of a number of such\ntablets, probably piled one on another in the library.\u201d The greater\npart of these tablets are now in England. This collection was intended\nfor a public library as we see from the following translation of some\nof the tablets:\n\n\u201cPalace of Asshurbanipal, king of the world, king of Assyria, to whom\nthe god Nebo and the goddess Tashmit (goddess of wisdom), have given\nears to hear and eyes to see what is the foundation of government.\nThey have revealed to the kings, my predecessors, this cuneiform\nwriting, the manifestation of the god Nebo, the god of supreme\nintelligence. I have written it upon tablets, I have signed it, I have\nplaced it in my palace for the instruction of my subjects.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: CUNEIFORM LETTERS.]\n\nThe cuneiform characters, as they are called, are made up of marks\nshaped like arrow-heads or wedges. There were enormous difficulties in\nthe way of their interpretation. In Egypt the similar task of making\nknown the meaning of the hieroglyphics was performed in great part\nby one man, Champollion, but in Assyria the work was done by many\nscholars. Now the famous library is nearly all translated, as are the\ninscriptions on the seals as well. Asshurbanipal lived about B.C. 650.\n\n\n MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.\n\nThe habits of life of any people both affect and are affected by\ntheir religious belief. In heathen lands, both of the present and the\npast, the daily home-life is interwoven with religious observances.\nThe Assyrians have been called \u201cthe Romans of the East.\u201d They were\na fierce and warlike race. They were naturally a religious people,\nand the worship of the gods held a very prominent place at least in\ntheir public life. But, sad to say, their devotion to religion was\nassociated with such a degrading worship of many false gods, that\nthey were dragged down by it, instead of being exalted. They were\nvery intelligent. They were mainly agriculturists, though the arts\nflourished. It seldom rained there except in winter, so they turned\nthe waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers into channels, and\nconveyed them through their fields.\n\n [Illustration: ROBED STATUE.]\n\nThe priests and kings dressed in garments of woven stuffs dyed in\nbrilliant colors, and beautifully embroidered with symbolical figures,\nanimals, men, flowers and divine symbols. The costume of the Assyrians\nconsisted of a robe open at the side, often with a border of fringe,\nand decorated with rich embroidery, hanging down to the feet, and\nconfined in the middle by a broad girdle. It precisely resembled the\ndjubeh of the Eastern people in the present day. The common people and\nsoldiers used a shorter tunic, reaching only to the knees, so as to\nallow them to walk freely. The king, in his robes of ceremony, wore\nover all a sort of long mantle or chasuble, thrown obliquely over one\nshoulder and splendidly ornamented. This is also seen on the monuments\non the figures of the gods. A high conical tiara surmounted his head,\nand in his hand he held a long sceptre or staff, nearly the height\nof a man. The insignia of his rank were the same as those of Asiatic\nmonarchs in the present day, the parasol and large feathered fly-flaps\ncarried behind him by slaves.\n\nThe Assyrians wore their hair long and curled at the end, the beard\nsquare and with rows of curls. They were fond of wearing great\nquantities of jewelry, large ear-rings, finger-rings and bracelets.\nSome of the soldiers wore a cuirass of small pieces of metal protecting\nthe body, and allowing the tunic to appear beneath it. These were\nprobably light infantry. Others wore long coats of mail reaching to the\nfeet, with a conical helmet to which was attached a sort of veil of\nchain mail, falling down on the neck, and brought round to protect the\nchin, such as are now worn by the Circassians.\n\n\n THE RELIGION OF ASSYRIA.\n\nThe religion of Assyria and Babylonia was, in its essential principles\nand in the general spirit of its conceptions, of the same character\nof the religion of Egypt, and in general as all pagan religions.\nWhen we penetrate beneath the surface which gross Polytheism has\nacquired from popular superstition, and revert to its original and\nhigher conceptions, we shall find the whole based on the idea of\nthe unity of the Deity, the last relic of the primitive revelation,\ndisfigured indeed and all but lost in the monstrous ideas of Pantheism;\nconfounding the creature with the Creator; and transforming the Deity\ninto a god-world, whose manifestations are to be found in all the\nphenomena of nature. Beneath this supreme and sole God, this great\nAll, in whom all things are lost and absorbed, are ranked in an\norder of emanation corresponding to their importance, a whole race\nof secondary deities who are emanations from His very substance, who\nare mere personifications of His attributes and manifestations. The\ndifferences between the various pagan religions is chiefly marked by\nthe differences between these secondary divine beings.\n\nThus, as we have already seen, the imagination of the Egyptians had\nbeen especially struck by the various stages of the daily and yearly\ncourse of the sun. In this they saw the most imposing manifestations\nof the Deity, that which best revealed the laws of the government\nof the world. In this they sought their divine personification. The\nChald\u00e6o-Assyrians, especially devoted to astronomy, saw in the Astral,\nand especially in the planetary system, a manifestation of the divine\nbeing. They considered the stars as His true external manifestation,\nand in their religious system made them the visible evidence of the\nsubordinate divine emanations from the substance of the infinite being,\nwhom they identified with the world, his work.\n\n\n THE SUPREME GOD, ILU.\n\nThe supreme god, the first and sole principle from whom all other\ndeities were derived, was Ilu, whose name signifies God _par\nexcellence_. Their idea of him was too comprehensive, too vast,\nto have any determined external form, or consequently to receive in\ngeneral the adoration of the people; and from this point of view there\nis a certain analogy between Ilu and the Chronos of the Greeks, with\nwhom he was compared by the latter. In Chald\u00e6a it does not seem that\nany temple was ever specially dedicated to him; but at Nineveh and\ngenerally throughout Assyria, he seems to have received the peculiarly\nnational name of Asshur (whence was derived the name of the country,\n_Mat Asshur_), and this itself seems related to the Arian name of\nthe deity _Asura_. With this title he was great god of the land,\nthe especial protector of the Assyrians, he who gave victory to their\narms. The inscriptions designate him as \u201cMaster or Chief of the Gods.\u201d\nHe it is, perhaps, who is to be recognized in the figure occasionally\nfound on the Assyrian monuments (but probably adopted in later times\nby the Persians to represent their Ormuzd), representing a human bust,\nwearing the royal tiara in the middle of a circle borne by two large\neagle wings, and with an eagle\u2019s tail.\n\n\n THE ASSYRIAN TRIAD.\n\nBelow Ilu, the universal and mysterious source of all, was placed a\ntriad, composed of his three first external and visible manifestations,\nand occupying the summit of the hierarchy of gods in popular worship.\nAnu, the Oannes of the Greek writers, was the lord of darkness; Bel,\nthe demiurgus, the organizer of the world; Ao, called also Bin, that\nis, the divine \u201cSon\u201d _par excellence_, the divine light, the\nintelligence penetrating, directing and vivifying the universe. These\nthree divine persons esteemed as equal in power and con-substantial,\nwere not held as of the same degree of emanation, but were regarded as\nhaving, on the contrary, issued the one from the other--Ao from Oannes,\nand Bel from Ao. Oannes, the \u201cLord of the Lower World, the Lord of\nDarkness,\u201d was represented on the monuments under the strange figure\nof a man with an eagle\u2019s tail, and for his head-dress an enormous\nfish, whose open mouth rises over his head, while the body covers his\nshoulders. It is under this form that, Berosus tells us, according\nto Babylonian tradition, he floated on the surface of the waters of\nChaos. Bel, the \u201cFather of the Gods,\u201d was usually represented under an\nentirely human form, attired as a king, wearing a tiara with bull\u2019s\nhorns, the symbol of power. But this god took many other secondary\nforms, the most important being Bel Dagon, a human bust springing from\nthe body of a fish. We do not know exactly the typical figure of Ao\nor Bin, \u201cthe intelligent guide, the Lord of the visible world, the\nLord of knowledge, of glory and light.\u201d The serpent seems to have been\nhis principal symbol; though some other sculptured figures seem to be\nintended to represent Bin.\n\n [Illustration: STATUE OF OANNES, THE KING.]\n\nA second triad is produced with personages no longer vague and\nindeterminate in character, like those of the first, but with a\nclearly-defined sidereal aspect, each representing a known celestial\nbody, and especially those in which the Chald\u00e6o-Assyrians saw the most\nstriking external manifestations of the deity; these were Shamash, the\nsun; Sin, the moon god; and a new form of Ao or Bin, inferior to the\nfirst, and representing him as god of the atmosphere or firmament. Thus\ndid they industriously multiply deities and representations of them.\n\n\n THE GODS OF THE PLANETS.\n\nThen come the gods of the five planets: Adar (Saturn), Merodach\n(Jupiter), Nergal (Mars), Ishtar (Venus), and Nebo (Mercury). The\nworship of Merodach, though not much cultivated at Nineveh, was of\nprimary importance at Babylon, where he was regarded as one of the\nprincipal gods. He was a secondary form, another manifestation of Bel\nin an inferior rank in the hierarchy; he was called \u201cthe ancient one\nof the gods, the supreme judge, the master of the horoscope;\u201d he was\nrepresented as a man, erect and walking, and with a naked sword in his\nhand. Adar, \u201cthe fire,\u201d called also Samdan, \u201cthe powerful,\u201d although\nhis planet had been called Saturn by the Greeks, was apparently the\nAssyrian Hercules. His appellations are, \u201cthe terrible, the lord of\nwarriors, the strong one, the destroyer of his enemies, he who reduces\nthe disobedient, the exterminator of rebels,\u201d and in other cases, \u201cthe\nSon of the Zodiac.\u201d On some monuments he is represented in company with\nMerodach. In the same manner, he is represented in the magnificent\ncolossal figures in the Museum of the Louvre, and of the British\nMuseum, where he is seen as a god of terrible aspect, strangling in\nhis arms a lion that appears quite small in comparison with him. With\nthe surname of Malik (king), Adar Malik is mentioned in the Bible with\n\u201cOannes the king\u201d (Anu Malik) (2 Kings, xvii., 31,) as the principal\ngod of Sippara, where the inhabitants \u201cburnt their children in the\nfire\u201d in honor of these exalted ones. In general these planetary gods\nare only fire, secondary manifestations of the higher order. Such is\nthe connection between Nebo and Ao. Nebo also is distinguished as the\n\u201csupreme intelligence;\u201d he is the god of prophetic inspiration and of\neloquence, and also the special guardian of royal prerogative, the\nprotector of kings and the prototype whom they reproduce on earth. Like\nBel, he has on the monuments an entirely human form with the tiara, and\nthe dress of a king; three pairs of horns, ranged one above the other,\ndecorate his tiara, and four large wings are often attached to his\nshoulders; the sceptre also is one of his common attributes.\n\n [Illustration: ADAR STRANGLING THE LION.]\n\n\n THE GREAT GODDESS ISHTAR.\n\nIshtar reproduces among the planetary gods Anat and Bilit, the great\ngoddess of nature, the mother of all the gods and of all beings; she\nis their active and martial form, for she is called \u201cthe Goddess of\nBattles, the Queen of Victories, she who leads armies to the fight and\nis the judge of warlike exploits;\u201d but she has a double form uniting\ntwo characters, one fierce and sanguinary, the other voluptuous, for\nunder the names of Zarpanit and Nana she presides over the reproduction\nof beings, and over sensual pleasures; she is in this last character\nalways represented naked, always full face and with the two hands on\nthe chest. Moreover two Ishtars were always distinguished, that of\nArbela (called also Arbail), and that of Nineveh, who presided over the\ntwo fortnights of the month. The plural name of this double Ishtar,\nIshtaroth, was the origin of the Ph\u0153nician Ashtaroth. Nergal, whose\nimage is very uncommon, stands on the legs of a cock, and carries a\nsword in his hand. The application of the name of Mars to his star was\nquite natural, for his titles in the inscriptions are \u201cthe great hero,\nthe king of fight, the master of battles, champion of the gods,\u201d and\nalso \u201cgod of the chase.\u201d\n\n\n THE GENII OF ASSYRIA.\n\nSuch were the great gods of Nineveh and Babylon. Below them popular\nsuperstition believed in an immense number of personifications of\ninferior order, of lesser gods, or rather _genii_, whom it\nwould be waste of time to enumerate. We must, however, mention some\npersonages who are found on the monuments occupying an important\nposition in the Chald\u00e6o-Assyrian pantheon, and who were evidently\nother forms of the gods already named, but whose position has not as\nyet been precisely determined. Such is Nisroch, called also Shalman,\nwho \u201cpresides over the course of human destiny,\u201d and who is also the\nprotector of marriages; this is the god with an eagle\u2019s head and large\nwings, whose image is so common on the sculptures of the Assyrian\npalaces. It was in the temple of this god at Nineveh, that Sennacherib\nwas assassinated by his sons. Possibly we ought to consider this god as\nanother form of Oannes.\n\n [Illustration: ELEVATION OF PALACE OF SARGON AT KHORSABAD\n\n AS RESTORED BY MR. FERGUSON.\n\n Sargon\u2019s greatest work as a builder consisted in building\n Dur-Sargina, which is now represented by the Mound of\n Khorsabad. It was a mile square, and on the north-west face\n stood the palace platform, in shape like a T. On the outer\n and northern portion of this platform he built his palace,\n the halls and chambers of which were paneled with slabs of\n alabaster, richly adorned with sculptures, and inscribed with\n the titles, exploits and annals of his reign.]\n\nThe great gods are often all invoked one after the other at the\nbeginning of the solemn inscriptions of the kings of Assyria. Sargon\nhas given the names of eight of them on the gates of the city he\nfounded. \u201cShamash has conferred on me all I possess,\u201d says he in an\ninscription. \u201cBin gave me good fortune; I have named the great eastern\ngates after Shamash and Bin. Bel Dagon laid the foundation of my city,\nBilit Taauth grinds like paint the elements of the world; I have named\nthe great southern grates after Bel Dagon and Bilit Taauth. Oannes\nprospers the work of my hand, Ishtar leads armies to battle; I have\ncalled the great western gates after Oannes and Ishtar. Nisroch Shalman\npresides over marriages, the mistress of the gods presides over births;\nI have dedicated the great northern gates to Nisroch and Bilit.\u201d\nInscriptions of such and like general purport were sculptured on the\npalace walls of many of the kings and also upon the bodies of the\nwinged bulls.\n\n [Illustration: THE GREAT HUMAN-HEADED EAGLE-WINGED ASSYRIAN\n BULL.]\n\n\n WORSHIP OF THE GODS AT BABYLON.\n\nThe deity who was the principal object of worship at Babylon and at\nBorsippa was Bel Merodach, with his wife, Bilit or Myletta, the great\nnature-goddess, who assumed the-two opposite forms of Taauth and\nZarpanit, the one austere, the other voluptuous, like the two forms of\nthe Venus of classical mythology. Bilit had a magnificent temple in the\ncentre of Babylon, where most infamous customs were practiced. At Ur,\nthe god of the city, from the remote times of Ur-Hammu, was Sin, the\nmoon-god; at Sippara and Larsam, Shamash, the sun; at Erech and Nipur,\nBilit-Taauth, \u201cGoddess of the Firmament.\u201d The most shameful rites were\nconnected with the worship of Nana or Zarpanit, at Cutha.\n\nThe materialistic and profoundly immoral worship at Babylon, naturally\nexcited extreme horror in the worshipers of Jehovah, and provoked their\nvehement invectives against the idols of Chald\u00e6a. We quote the eloquent\nwords of Baruch, that portray so vividly an always materialistic,\nand often obscene worship that was, in fact, no more than a constant\nemployment of popular superstition for the profit of the priests.\n\n\u201cNow ye shall see in Babylon gods of silver, and of gold, and of wood,\nborne upon shoulders, which cause the nations to fear.... And taking\ngold, as it were, for a virgin that loveth to go gay, they make crowns\nfor the heads of their gods. Sometimes also the priests convey from\ntheir gods gold and silver, and bestow it upon themselves. Yea, they\nwill give thereof to the common harlots, and deck them as men with\ngarments, being gods of silver, and gods of gold and wood.... And he\nthat cannot put to death one that offendeth him holdeth a sceptre\n(Nebo), as though he were a judge of the country. He (Bel Merodach)\nhath also in his right hand a dagger and an axe, but cannot deliver\nhimself from war and thieves.... They light them candles, yea, more\nthan for themselves, whereof they cannot see one. They are as one of\nthe beams of the temple, yet they say their hearts are gnawed upon by\nthings creeping out of the earth; and when they eat them and their\nclothes they feel it not.... As for the things that are sacrificed unto\nthem, their priests sell and abuse; in like manner their wives lay up\npart thereof in salt; but unto the poor and impotent they give nothing\nof it. ... The priests also take off their garments and clothe their\nwives and children.... The women also with cords about them sitting in\nthe way burn bran for perfume.\u201d\n\nThe most remarkable building in Babylon was the temple of Bel. It was\npyramidal in shape, having eight stages. The lowest stage was 200 yards\nsquare. On the summit a golden statue of Bel, 40 feet high, stood in a\nshrine. There were also two other golden statues and a golden table in\nthis shrine. At the bottom of the pyramid-temple stood a chapel with\na table and two images of gold within it. Two altars stood outside of\nthis chapel. A similar temple was at Borsippa near Babylon. It had\nseven stages, each decorated in one of the seven primary colors. Like\nall Chaldean temples, and like the Great Pyramid of Egypt, the four\ncorners of this exactly corresponded with the four cardinal points of\nthe compass.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n THE JEWS.\n\n For those the race of Israel oft forsook\n Their living strength, and unfrequented left\n His righteous altar, bowing lowly down\n To bestial gods; for which their heads as low\n Bowed down in battle, sunk before the spear\n Of despicable foes, with these in troop\n Came Astoreth, whom the Ph\u0153nicians call\u2019d\n Astrate, queen of Heav\u2019n, with crescent horns;\n To whose bright image nightly by the moon\n Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs;\n In Sion also not unsung.--MILTON.\n\n\nThe Bible utterly condemns all idol-worship. The people of Israel from\ntheir neighbors were constantly learning of idols and were frequently\nled away from the worship of Jehovah to that of false gods. It will\nbe profitable for us just here to turn aside and consider these gods.\nThe people of Israel were descended from an idolatrous race. Joshua\nwrote (Chap. xxiv., 2), \u201cYour fathers dwelt on the other side of the\nflood\u201d (that is, the River Euphrates,) \u201cand they served other gods.\u201d\nRachel, when she left her father\u2019s home with Jacob, stole her father\u2019s\n\u201cteraphim.\u201d These were images connected with magical rites and they\nwere consulted as oracles in later days. Laban says: \u201cI have augured,\nor foretold by observing signs.\u201d The teraphim were used in Israel even\nin Ezekiel\u2019s time. Laban calls his teraphim his _gods_. They were\ngenerally images with a man\u2019s head and with bodies of various shapes,\nthough they were quite small, being often only about two or three\ninches high.\n\n\n THE PLAGUES AND EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY.\n\nThe people of Israel strangely sought to blend the worship of the true\nGod and of idols, they \u201cfeared Jehovah and served strange gods.\u201d They\nworshiped in turn very nearly all the gods of the Canaanites, Syrians,\nAssyrians and many of those of the Egyptians. They were accustomed\nto wear amulets and charms, which were supposed to place them under\nthe protection of the idol gods. (See Genesis xxxv., 4.) In Egypt the\npeople of Israel were more thoroughly tainted with false gods, and it\nwas a long while before they were cleansed of the taint. To the gods of\nEgypt Moses flung down the gauntlet of defiance. He dared their wrath\nand defied their anger. In the punishments which God sent upon Pharaoh\nand his people for their refusal to let the children of Israel go, the\nplagues of Egypt, as we call them, smote their most sacred symbols.\nAt the command of Moses, Aaron waved his rod over the Nile and its\nwaters were turned to blood and its fishes died. The Nile was an object\nof worship to the Egyptians, as were the crocodiles and some of the\nfish living in its waters. The frogs, in the next plague, were among\nthe sacred animals. It was a part of the Egyptian religion that the\npeople and especially the priests, should keep themselves scrupulously\nclean, and the plague of the lice was a terrible punishment. The great\nEgyptian beetle, the scarab\u00e6us, was sculptured on all their monuments\nand was an object of worship. The plague of flies or beetles was\nanother attack upon their religion. Selected animals among the cattle\nwere worshiped. The murrain of beasts fell upon them, their being gods\nas the Egyptians believed them to be, could not avert the plague. The\nplague of boils and blains was another assault upon the purity of their\npersons required by their religion. The other plagues showed most\neffectually the utter inability of the Egyptian gods to help their\nworshipers, and that Jehovah, the God of Israel, was the one Supreme\nBeing.\n\n [Illustration: SCULPTURED LOCUST.]\n\n\n THE GOLDEN CALF.\n\nWith the remembrance of God\u2019s victory over the idol-worship of Egypt\nstill fresh in their minds, the Israelites soon fell into idolatrous\nways. Their leader, Moses, was absent in the mountain with God. He had\ngone thither to receive the commands of God, the first of which was an\nunqualified condemnation of all idolatry. As if to show the necessity\nof this command, even while Moses was so engaged, the people were\ndemanding of Aaron that he should make them an idol. The commandments\nwere given to warn Israel against sin. They were as a fence to keep\nthem from falling into the mouth of hell. The Israelites recalled the\nvisible objects of worship to which they had been accustomed in Egypt,\nand besought Aaron to make them gods. Weakly yielding to their urgent\nrequest, Aaron asks for their golden ear-rings, hoping, it may be, that\nthey would not be willing to make this sacrifice. With the gold thus\nfurnished he cast a \u201cmolten calf,\u201d the image of the Babylonish winged\nbull Cherub. This he placed before the Israelites as the image of the\nGod who had led them out of Egypt. He then built an altar before the\nidol. In the name of Jehovah, he proclaimed a festival. God is for this\ncause exceedingly angry, but in answer to Moses\u2019 prayer He finally\nspares the people.\n\nAs Moses comes nearer to the camp of Israel, he hears the sound\nof their revelry, and when his eyes behold the disgraceful scenes\nattending the worship of the golden calf, in his anger he throws the\nstone tablets containing the commandments to the ground. He then causes\nthe image to be ground into powder and strewn upon the water which the\npeople must needs drink. Then came the awful slaughter of those who\nwere not loyal to Jehovah. Just how far Israel had looked upon the\ngolden calf as a mere symbol of Jehovah, it is impossible to say, but\nGod condemns even the use of a symbol, though it may be truly said that\nthe symbol is not itself worshiped.\n\n [Illustration: GODDESS ASHTORETH, ISHTAR.]\n\nDuring the rest of their wandering in the desert, the people did not\nagain commit the sin of idolatry. The terrible punishments which had\nfallen upon them were quite sufficient to deter them from it.\n\nInto the fearfully wicked worship of Baal-Peor, the Israelites were led\nby the daughters of Moab. God sent upon them an awful punishment for\nthis sin also. During the lives of Joshua and the elders they remained\ntrue to their allegiance to Jehovah, but the following generation\nremembered not the awful penalties God visited on idolatry, and they\nwere caught in the snare again.\n\n\n BAAL-WORSHIP.\n\nBaal was the supreme male divinity of the Ph\u0153nician and Canaanitish\nnations. Ashtoreth was their female divinity. The name Baal means lord.\nHe was the sun-god. The name is generally used in connection with other\nnames, as Baal-Gad, that is Baal the Fortune-bringer; Baal-Berith or\nCovenant-making Baal; Baal-Zebub, the Fly-god. The people of Israel\nworshiped Baal up to the time of Samuel, at whose rebuke they forsook\nthis iniquity for nearly a hundred years. The practice was introduced\nagain in the time of Solomon, and it continued to the days of the\ncaptivity.\n\n [Illustration: PH\u0152NICIAN GODDESS ASTARTE.]\n\nDuring the life of all the judges, Israel worshiped Baal. As soon as\nGideon was dead, the Israelites, who had during his lifetime been less\ndevout in this direction, returned to it again with energy. As if\nin mockery of the covenant made with Jehovah, they chose to worship\nBaal-Berith, \u201cBaal of the Covenant.\u201d We are told that this Baal\u2019s\ntemple was a fortress, and that his treasury was filled with the silver\nbrought in great abundance by his worshipers. Before the story of\nSamson is told the striking words are used, \u201cthe children of Israel did\nevil again in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah gave them again into\nthe hands of the Philistines.\u201d _Idolatry was their national sin._\nFrom Judges xvii. and xviii., we see that often the Israelites tried to\ncarry on both the worship of Jehovah and of idols, like the Saxon king\nwho is said to have had both an altar to Christ and an altar to the\ndevils in his chapel-cave. Strange to say, Moses\u2019 own son, Jonathan,\nwas the priest in the idol-temple of the gods of the tribe of Dan.\nThese idols were destroyed by the Philistines. It was the custom of\nheathen nations to carry their idols before them into battle. Idolatry\nwas not due to popularity alone, it was not followed merely as a\nfashion, for it was often carried on secretly. (Isaiah lvii., 8, and\nHosea ix., 1, 2.)\n\n [Illustration: THE AMMONITE FIRE-GOD MOLOCH.]\n\nUnder Samuel idolatry was formally renounced by the Israelites. But\nSolomon\u2019s foreign wives brought with them the gods of their own\nnations. So the gods of Ammon, Moab and Sidon were openly worshiped;\nthree of the summits of Olivet were covered with the altars of\nAshtoreth, Chemosh and Moloch, the fire-god. The offering of human\nsacrifice was a part of the worship of Moloch. The ceremony is supposed\nto have been as follows: The priest stood on a platform in front of\nthe idol, and while the people bowed down and murmured their prayers,\nhe placed in the hands of the idol the sacrifice, frequently a little\nbabe. By some cruel machinery the idol\u2019s hands came together crushing\nthe child, while the musicians beat their drums to drown its cries.\n\nRehoboam and Jeroboam both led Israel more deeply into idolatry.\nJeroboam erected golden calves, the statues of the Egyptian god\nApis, at Bethel and at Dan. To their use temples were devoted and\nservices, copied probably from the Mosaic ritual, were held. Incense\nand sacrifice was offered before them. Asa, and Jehosophat after him,\nremoved all the relics of idolatry.\n\nWith Ahab\u2019s coming to the throne, Baal\u2019s worship was re-established.\nThis was done at the request of Jezebel, the Sidonian princess. Ahab\ndid \u201cmore to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel, to anger than all the\nkings of Israel before him.\u201d From this time Baal-worship is interwoven\nwith all the life of Israel. The idolatrous priests became more and\nmore numerous and important, being patronized by the court and fed at\nthe royal table. Finally came the grand trial scene. As in Egypt long\nbefore, God was once more about to vindicate His supremacy. On Mount\nCarmel the trial took place.\n\n \u201cBy scores, by hundreds, chanting to their god,\n Clad in white stoles with frontlets of red gold,\n Baal\u2019s prophets marched.\n The crowd through all its myriad ranks was still,\n With wide, expectant eyes the king in front.\n Forth stepped Elijah; melancholy fire\n Burned in his swarthy-glowing eye; he looked\n In angry love, impatient, scornful grief,\n Wonder and pity, on the multitude.\n \u2018How long,\u2019 he cried, with voice like autumn blast,\n \u2018How long, O Israel, halt ye between two?\n If Jah be God, then serve ye Him: if Baal,\n Then Baal.\u2019 The great crowd stretched to him, and rocked\n In mighty agitation to and fro.\n The gray crags caught his words, and echoed them\n To Carmel\u2019s crest; it threw them to the peak,\n Snow-crowned, of Lebanon, which tossed them far\n Along the surges of the boundless sea.\n He spake again: \u2018The God that answereth\n By fire, let Him be God.\u2019 As when a wave,\n That rears itself, a wall of polished glass,\n For leagues along the shore, and hangs in air,\n Falls with one deafening crash, so rose the shout\n Of answering acclamation from the crowd.\n White-faced, with restless lips and anxious eyes,\n Baal\u2019s prophets heard, their hundreds cowed and mute\n Before one man. They dared not, in mere shame,\n Decline the challenge. While the dusky gray\n Of earliest dawn was fluttering into blue\n They built their altar; and when first the sun\n Showed his clear forehead on the mountain-tops\n Their chanted prayer to the appearing Baal\n Rose loud and shrill, that he would stretch his hand\n With burning torch to light the sacrifice\n And prove himself a god. The sun rose calm,\n Springing as if in joy from earth\u2019s low hills,\n Upon the vaulted radiance of the sky,\n All unregarding these his worshipers.\n The hymns\u2019 last echoes died away; the sun\n Burned with fierce heat, swift striding up the blue.\n Standing on that scorched hill, we felt his rays\n Prick like sharp spear-points. Then I heard again\n Elijah\u2019s voice. I had been watching close\n Baal\u2019s prophets, but I now looked straight at him.\n A fearful gleam was in his eye, a mirth\n Too stern, methought, for man of woman born;\n His glance was vexing those robed prophets more\n Than the sun\u2019s fire; and then be gave it words.\n \u2018Might he not spare one little spark, but one,\n Your fine god riding there,\u2019 he cried, \u2018to light\n Your sacrifice? He surely has enough;\n He\u2019s burning you, if not your offering.\n Poor souls, I pity you!\u2019 They screamed for rage.\n \u2018A little louder,\u2019 smiled he, \u2018for perhaps\n In his warm chariot he has fallen asleep.\u2019\n They leaped, they danced, they cut themselves with knives,\n Till the blood soaked their robes and poured in streams\n From their lanced foreheads. Then he laughed aloud\n Great shouts of laughter, till the echoes rang\n From crag to crag on Carmel. \u2018Keep it up,\n Another dance!\u2019 he shrieked; \u2018another song!\n Leap rather higher; never grudge some drops\n Of your dear blood, so precious in his sight.\n Ye know he is a god, my reverend friends;\n How often have ye told the people so?\n Your pretty speeches and the miracles\n Which ye have shown them, these were not, of course,\n Mere lies accursed. He is a god, you know.\n Louder, I say; he\u2019s old, perhaps, and deaf;\n Out with your beards--that\u2019s hopeful--crack your throats\n In yelling chorus. Good, good--ha, ha, ha!\u2019\n He rubbed his hands, waved wildly in the air\n His sheep-skin mantle, laughed until the tears\n Streamed down his face, and all his body shook\n With paroxysms of mirth and scorn. Ah me!\n That laughter sounded fearfully, and seemed\n Not human in its fiery ruthlessness.\n But as he stood on Carmel, charred and gray,\n A dead land lay below, his native land;\n And the white corpse-eyes made appeal to him\n Against its murderers, murderers of the truth,\n Baal\u2019s lying prophets. Furthermore, I think\n That this Elijah is not to be judged\n Like common men. The little rippling lake,\n Safe hid among the hills, can never know\n The ocean\u2019s tempests.--So they writhed and tore,\n In ecstasies of grief and rage. At last\n They hung their heads in mute despair, and looked\n Upon the ground.\n Elijah stood erect,\n Terrible earnestness and majesty\n Now sitting on his brow. Twelve stones he took--\n Mark, twelve; this challenge in the full name\n Of Israel as it stooped to David\u2019s hand,\n And with one mighty throb the multitude\n Approved Elijah\u2019s purpose;--twelve smooth stones\n From Carmel\u2019s side, and with them he repaired\n Jehovah\u2019s altar. Then, at his command,\n We filled the trench with water, till it ran\n Around the altar like a surging stream,\n And washed the stones, and soaked the wood beneath\n The sacrifice. He knelt upon the ridge,\n Against the golden, placid sky of eve;\n Brief, simple, clear, his words arose to heaven;\n \u2018That God would testify unto Himself\n And to His prophet, and would turn the hearts\n Of His own people back to Him again.\u2019\n Scarce had he spoken, when a broad white glare,\n Scattering earth\u2019s light like darkness in its path,\n Keener than lightning, calmer than the dawn,\n The sword of God that proveth Him by fire,\n That proveth Him by fire in every age,\n Stooped from above and touched the sacrifice.\n In the white blaze the sun grew wan, and hung\n Like a pale moon upon the glimmering sky.\n The fierce flame licked the water up, the wood\n Crackled aloft, the very altar stones\n Glowed fiery red. The pillared smoke arose\n Through the hushed air in towering flawlessness,\n Then spread out calm and broad, like God\u2019s own face\n Breathing acceptance. But Baal\u2019s prophets shook\n In utter fear, and smote upon their breasts,\n And groveled, moaning, down into the dust.\n Clear broke the shout from that great multitude,\n \u2018Jah is the God! Jehovah He is God!\n \u2018Take them,\u2019 Elijah said; \u2018let none escape.\u2019\n We closed around Baal\u2019s prophets, thrust them down\n To where the thirsty Kishon slowly crawled.\n There made Elijah bare his arm, and score\n By score he slew them. From the heap of dead\n Oozed a broad rill of blood, that swelled the wave\n Of slumbrous Kishon.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: JEHOVAH\u2019S TRIUMPH OVER BAAL.]\n\nThis was a severe blow to this form of idolatry in Israel for the time\nbeing. But in Judah, Baal continued to be worshiped. Baal and other\ngods were worshiped at their own shrines. Ahaz built altars to them\nat every corner of Jerusalem, and high-places in every city of Judah,\nreplacing the brazen altar of burnt-offering by one made after the idol\naltar at Damascus.\n\nThe time for the final act in the drama of abominations is at hand.\nThe last scene opens with the captivity at Babylon. One would expect\nthat this terrible punishment would immediately cause Israel to turn\nto the true God, but it did not. In the land of their captivity they\ntook to them foreign wives and with them their idols. But there were,\nthrough all the history of the Jews, a faithful few who adhered to the\npure worship of one God. Even at the time when Baal-worship was most\nprevalent there were 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed the knee to\nBaal (1st Kings, xxix., 18). Excepting these few, the chosen people\nwere almost as much given to idolatry as any nation around them.\n\u201cIsrael for many days had no true God, and no teaching priest, and no\nlaw\u201d (2d Chronicles, xv., 3).\n\nForeign wives, foreign allies, and the unnatural tendency to desire\nvisible objects of worship caused this prevalence of idolatry in the\nvery nation to which God made especial revelations of His character\nand purposes. In spite of God\u2019s promises and threats, commands and\nentreaties, punishments and pardon, Israel still sinned.\n\nThe false gods mentioned in the New Testament and some of those\nreferred to in the Old Testament, will be spoken of further on in\ndescribing the religions to which they severally belonged.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n GREECE.\n\n There, where now, as we\u2019re by sages told,\n Whirls on high a soulless fiery ball,\n Helios guided then his car of gold,\n In his silent majesty o\u2019er all.\n Oreads then these heights around us filled,\n Then a dryad dwelt in yonder tree,\n From the urn of loving naiads rilled\n Silver streamlets foamingly.\n FRIEDRICH VON SCHILLER.\n\n\nThe religious system of the Greeks is the embodiment of beauty. No\nother worship that has ever existed so encouraged the taste for art\nas this. Its literature, its mythological stories, its idols and its\ntemples still control and, to a great extent, shape the art ideas\nof the world. Its devotees have above all other people possessed a\nperception of beauty of form and a fondness for representing it.\n\nThe people of Greece appear to have originally come from the\nnorth-western part of Asia Minor. They were called the Hellenes.\nThe worship which they brought from Asia was the worship of the\n\u201cHeaven-Father,\u201d the unseen one who dwells in ether, whose temple is\nthe sky, and whose altar is properly placed upon the mountain-top. The\nHindus called the same being Dyaus-pitar; the Romans, Diovis-pater or\nJupiter; the Greeks, Zeus-pater. One can readily see the resemblance\nbetween these names, and the evidence they bear to the fact that\nthese nations all came originally from one common stock. As the primal\nGreek race separated into various parts of Greece different forms\nbegan to arise. As sailors from other lands arrived on their shores,\nthey brought their own gods with them, and thus many new gods were\nintroduced into Greece.\n\nThe lively imagination of the Greeks and the out-door life of their\nprimitive state produced a number of tales and legends about the gods.\nSome of these were based on the tales with which their forefathers were\nfamiliar in their early home in Asia. The people lived in separate\nvillages. Wandering minstrels and merchants carried these tales of\ngods and heroes from village to village. Poets then caught them up and\nadorned them with the touches of a livelier fancy. Thus soon a rich\nand luxuriant system of legendary lore was in possession of the whole\npeople.\n\nJust as is the case with other nations, the beings called gods by\nthe Greeks are but the personifications of the powers and objects of\nnature, and the legends but represent the courses of nature and its\noperations. To these primitive notions imagination afterwards added,\nand poetry clothed the whole with a warm glow. Thus was formed the\npopular Greek faith.\n\n\n ORIGIN OF THE WORLD AND OF THE GODS.\n\nAccording to the ideas of the Homeric and Hesiodic ages, it would seem\nthat the world was a hollow globe, divided into two equal portions by\nthe flat disk of the earth. The external shell of this globe is called\nby the poets brazen and iron, probably only to express its solidity.\nThe superior hemisphere was named Heaven, the inferior one Tartarus.\nThe length of the diameter of the hollow sphere is given thus by\nHesiod. It would take, he says, nine days for an anvil to fall from\nheaven to earth; and an equal space of time would be occupied by its\nfall from earth to Tartarus. The luminaries which gave light to gods\nand men shed their radiance through all the interior of the upper\nhemisphere; while that of the inferior one was filled with eternal\ngloom and darkness, and its still air was unmoved by any wind.\n\nThe earth filled the centre of the universe in the form of a round flat\ndisk, or rather cylinder, around which the river (the ocean) flowed.\nHellas was probably regarded as the centre of the earth; but the poets\nare silent on this point. They are equally so as to the exact central\npoint, but probably viewed as such Olympus, the abode of the gods. In\nafter times Delphi became practically the _navel of the earth_.\nThe sea divided the terrestial disk into two portions, which we may\nsuppose were regarded as equal. These divisions do not seem to have\nhad any distinctive names in the time of Homer. The northern one was\nafterwards named Europe; the southern, at first called Asia, alone, was\nin process of time divided into Asia and Libya, the former comprising\nall the country between the Phasis and the Nile, the latter all between\nthis river and the western ocean.\n\nIn the sea, the Greeks appear to have known, to the west of their\nown country, southern Italy, Sicily and Spain, though their ideas\nrespecting these countries were probably vague and uncertain. The\nimagination of the poets, or the tales of voyagers, had placed in the\nmore remote parts of it several islands, such as the Ogygian, the isle\nof Calyps\u00f3; the \u00c6an, that of Kirk\u00e9; the \u00c6olion, that of \u00c6olos; Scheria,\nthe abode of the Ph\u00e6akians--islands in all probability as ideal and as\nfabulous as the isles of Panchaia, Lilliput, or Brobdignag, though both\nancients and moderns have endeavored to assign their exact positions.\nAlong its southern coast lay, it would appear, the countries of the\nLotus-eaters, the Cyclops, the Giants and the L\u00e6strigonians. These\nisles and coasts of the western part of the sea were the scenes of most\nof the wonders of early Grecian fable. There, and on the isles of the\nocean, the passage to which was supposed to be closed to the island of\nKirk\u00e9, dwelt the Sirens, the Hesperides, the Gr\u00e6c\u00e6, the Gorgons and the\nother beings of fable, whose varied deeds make up the ever interesting\nnarratives of the ancient mythology.\n\nThe Greeks of the early ages knew little of any people except those\nto the east and south of their own country, or near the coast of the\nMediterranean. Their imagination, meantime, had peopled the western\nportion of this sea with giants, monsters and enchantresses; while they\nplaced around the edge of the disk of the earth, which they probably\nregarded as of no great width, nations enjoying the peculiar favor of\nthe gods, and blessed with happiness and longevity--a notion which\ncontinued to prevail even in the historic times.\n\nThe entrance to the city or palace of the gods on Olympus was closed\nby a gate of clouds kept by the goddesses named the \u201cSeasons;\u201d but the\ncloudy valves opened spontaneously to permit the greater gods to pass\nto and fro on their visits to the earth, thus linking with earth\u2019s\nphases the approaches or departures of the gods.\n\nTartarus was unvisited by the light of day. It was regarded as the\nprison of the gods, and not as the place of torment for wicked men,\nbeing to the gods what Erebus was to men--the abode of those who were\ndriven from the supernal world. The Titans, when conquered, were shut\nup in it; and in the Ilias, Zeus menaces the subordinate and refractory\ngods with banishment to its murky regions.\n\n\n THE GENERATIONS OF THE GODS.\n\nChaos (void space) was first: then came into being \u201cbroad-breasted\u201d\nEarth, the gloomy Tartarus and Love. Chaos produced Erebus and Night,\nand this last bore to Erebus Day and Ether.\n\nEarth now produced Uranos (Heaven), of equal extent with herself, to\nenvelop her, and the mountains and Pontos (Sea). She then bore to\nUranus a mighty progeny--the Titans; six males and six females. She\nalso bore the three Cyclops and the three-hundred handed ones, Hottos,\nBriareus and Gyges. These children were hated by their father, who, as\nsoon as they were born, thrust them out of sight in a cavern of mother\nEarth, who, grieved at his conduct, produced the substance of hoary\nsteel, and, forming from it a sickle, roused her children, the Titans,\nto rebellion against him; but fear seized on them all except Kronos,\nwho, lying in wait with the sickle with which his mother had armed him,\nmutilated his unsuspecting sire. The drops which fell to the earth from\nthe wounds gave birth to the Erinnyes, the Giants and the Mehan nymphs;\nand from what fell into the sea sprang Aphrodit\u00e9, the goddess of love\nand beauty.\n\nEarth finally, after the overthrow of the Titans, bore by Tartaros her\nlast offspring, the hundred-headed Typh\u0153us, the father of storms and\nwhirlwinds, whom Zeus precipitated into Tartarus.\n\nRhea was united to Kronos. Kronos, having learned from his parents,\nHeaven and Earth, that he was fated to be deprived by one of his\nsons of the kingdom which he had taken from his father, devoured his\nchildren as fast as they were born. Rhea, when about to be delivered\nof Zeus, besought her parents to teach her how she might save him.\nInstructed by Earth, she concealed him in a cavern of Crete, and gave\na stone in his stead to Kronos. This stone he afterward threw up, and\nwith it the children whom he had devoured. When Zeus was grown up,\nhe and the other children of Kronos made war on their father and the\nTitans. The scene of the conflict was Thessaly; the former fought from\nOlympus, the latter from Othrys. During ten entire years the conflict\nwas undecided; at length, by the counsel of Earth, the Kronids released\nthe Hundred-handed and called them to their aid. The war was then\nresumed with renewed vigor, and the Titans were finally vanquished and\nimprisoned in Tartarus, under the guard of the Hundred-handed. The\nKronids then, by the advice of Earth, gave the supreme power to Zeus,\nwho, in return, distributed honors and dominion among the associates of\nhis victory.\n\n\n GODS OF THE GRECIANS.\n\nThe Greeks of the early ages regarded the lofty Thessalian mountain\nnamed Olympus as the dwelling of their gods. In the Odyssey, where the\ndeities are of a character far more dignified and elevated than in the\nIlias, the place of their abode shares in their exaltation; and it may\nalmost be doubted if the poet who drew the following picture of Olympus\ncould have conceived it to be no more than the summit of a terrestrial\nmountain:\n\n \u201cOlympus, where they say the ever firm\n Seat of the gods is, by the winds unshaken,\n Nor ever wet with rain, nor ever showered\n With snow, but cloudless ether o\u2019er it spreads,\n And glittering light encircles it around,\n On which the happy gods aye dwell in bliss.\u201d\n\nMan loves to bestow his own form upon his gods, as being the noblest\nthat he can conceive. Those of Homer are all of the human form, but\nof far larger dimensions than men; great size being an object of\nadmiration both in men and women in those early and martial ages. Thus,\nwhen the goddess Athena ascends as driver the chariot of Diomedes,\n\n Loud groaned the beechen axle with the weight,\n For a great god and valiant chief it bore;\n\nwhen in the battle of the gods Ar\u00e9s is struck to the earth by this\ngoddess, he is described as covering seven plethra of ground; the\nhelmet of the goddess herself would, we are told, cover the footmen of\na hundred towns; when Hera is about to make an oath she lays one hand\non the earth, the other on the sea; the voice of Poseid\u00f3n and Ar\u00e9s are\nas loud as the shout of nine or ten thousand men.\n\nThe gods can, however, increase or diminish their size, assume the\nform of particular men, or of any animals, and make themselves visible\nand invisible at their pleasure. Their bodies are also of a finer\nnature than those of men. It is not blood, but a blood-like fluid\nnamed _ich\u00f3r_, which flows in their veins. They are susceptible\nof injury by mortal weapons; the arrows of Herakles violate the divine\nbodies of Hera and Hades. Diomedes wounds both Aphrodite and Ar\u00e9s. They\nrequire nourishment as men do; their food is called Ambrosia, their\ndrink Nectar. Their mode of life exactly resembles that of the princes\nand nobles of the heroic ages. In the palace of Zeus, on Olympus,\nthey feast at the approach of evening, and converse of the affairs of\nheaven and earth; the nectar is handed round by Hebe (_youth_);\nApollo delights them with the tones of his lyre; and the Muses, in\nresponsive strains, pour forth their melodious voices in song. When\nthe sun descends each god retires to repose in his own dwelling. They\nfrequently partake of the hospitality of men, travel with them, and\nshare in their wars and battles.\n\nWith the form of men the Homeric gods also partake of their passions.\nThey are capricious, jealous, revengeful, will support their favorites\nthrough right and wrong, and are implacable toward their enemies or\neven those who have slighted them. Their power was held to extend very\nfar; men regarded them the authors of both good and evil; all human\nability and success was ascribed to them. They were believed to have\npower over the thoughts of men, and could imperceptibly suggest such\nas they pleased. They required of men to honor them with prayer, and\nthe sacrifice of oxen, goats, sheep, lambs and kids, and oblations of\nwine and corn, and fragrant herbs. When offended, they usually remitted\ntheir wrath when thus appeased.\n\nThe Homeric gods have all different ranks and offices; Olympus being,\nin fact, regulated on the model of a Grecian city of the heroic ages.\nZeus was king of the region of the air and clouds, which had fallen to\nhim by lot on the dethronement of his father Kronos; the sea was the\nrealm of his brother Poseid\u00f3n; the under-world fell to Hades in the\ndivision of their conquests; earth and Olympus were common property.\nZeus, however, as eldest brother, exercised a supremacy, and his power\nwas the greatest. The other inhabitants of Olympus were Hera, sister\nand spouse of Zeus; Apollo, the god of music and archery; his sister\nArtemis, the goddess of the chase, and their mother Leto; Aphrodite,\ngoddess of love, and her mother Dione; Ar\u00e9s, god of war; Pallas-Athene,\ngoddess of prudence and skill; Themis, goddess of justice; Hermoias,\ngod of grain; Hebe, the attendant of the Olympian king and queen and\nIsis, their messenger; Heph\u00e6stos, the celestial artist, and P\u00e6eon,\nthe physician; and the Muses, the Graces and the Seasons. Poseid\u00f3n\nwas frequently there; but Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and\nDionysius, the god of wine, do not appear among the residents of\nOlympus. The Nymphs and the River-gods occasionally visited or were\nsummoned to it. Eos, Helios and Selene, rose every day out of the\nocean-stream, and drove in their chariots through the air, shedding\ntheir cheering beams abroad.\n\nAll the dwellings of the gods upon Olympus were of brass or copper,\nthe metal which was in the greatest abundance in Greece. Heph\u00e6stos\nwas architect and smith; he formed all the arms, household furniture,\nchariots and other articles in use among the Celestials; but their\ndress, especially that of the goddesses, appears to have been the\nworkmanship of Pallas-Athene or of the Graces. The gold which proceeded\nfrom the work-shop of Heph\u00e6stos was filled with automatic power; his\nstatues were endowed with intelligence; his tripods could move of\nthemselves; he made the golden shoes, or rather soles, with which the\ngods trod the air and the waters, or strode with the speed of winds,\nor even of thought, from mountain to mountain upon the earth which\ntrembled beneath their weight. The chariots of the gods and their\nappurtenances were formed of various metals. That of Hera, for example,\nis thus described:\n\n \u201cThen Hebe quickly to the chariot put\n The round wheels, eight-spoked, brazen, strong\n Axle of iron. Gold their fellies were,\n And undecaying, but thereon of brass\n The tires, well-fitting, wondrous to behold.\n Of silver was the rounded nave of each;\n The body was hung by gold and silver cords,\n And two curved sides encompassed it about.\n The pole was silver, and upon its end\n She tied the beauteous golden yoke, and bound\n On it the golden braces fair; the steeds,\n Swift-footed then beneath the yoke were led\n By Hera, eager for the war and strife.\u201d\n\nThese chariots were drawn by horses of celestial breed, which could\nwhirl them to and fro between heaven and earth, through the yielding\nair, or skim with them along the surface of the sea, without wetting\nthe axle. They were only used on occasions of taking a long journey, as\nwhen Hera professes that she is going to the end of the earth to make\nup the quarrel between Okeanos and Tethys; or on occasions in which\nthe gods wished to appear with state and magnificence. On ordinary\noccasions the gods moved by the aid of their golden shoes; when at home\nin their houses, they, like the men of those ages, went bare-foot.\n\nThe Greeks tell almost innumerable stories of their gods, and their\nadventures, love-escapades and wars. Some are wonderfully beautiful,\nothers humble or grotesque. Their heroes come in for a share of the\nhonors paid the gods. We can compare these stories with the legends of\nother nations, and see the wondrous resemblance between them.\n\n\n SPECIMEN STORIES FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY.\n\nIt will be possible to introduce but a few of the very many Greek\nlegends and myths. We choose to give a few fully, rather than to give\nmany imperfectly.\n\n\n HERMES AND APOLLO.\n\nHermes was born of the mountain-nymph, Maia, in a cavern of Mount\nKyll\u00e9n\u00e9, in Arcadia. He had scarcely been laid in his cradle, when he\ngot up and set off for Pieria, to steal cows from Apollo. As he was\ngoing out he met a tortoise, which he caught up and carried back to the\ncave; when, quick as thought, he killed the animal, took out the flesh,\nadapted reeds and strings to the shell, and formed from it the Phormin\nor Lyre, on which he immediately played with perfect skill. He then\nlaid it up in his cradle, and resumed his journey.\n\nHe arrived by sunset in Pieria, where the oxen of the gods fed under\nthe care of Apollo. He forthwith separated fifty cows from the herd and\ndrove them away, contriving to make them go backwards; and throwing\naway his sandals, bound branches of myrtle and tamarisk under his\nfeet, that the herdsman-god might have no clew by which to trace his\ncattle. As he passed by Onch\u00e9stos in B\u00e6otia, he saw an old man engaged\nin planting his vineyard, whom he strictly charged not to tell what he\nhad seen. He then pursued his way by shady hills, resounding vales and\nflowery plains, and as the moon was rising arrived with his booty on\nthe banks of the Alpheios in the Peloponn\u00e9se. He there fed and stalled\nhis kine, made a fire, killed, cut up, and dressed two of them, and\neven made black puddings of their blood, and then thriftily spread\ntheir skins to dry on a rock. He burned the heads and feet, and put out\nthe fire, effacing all signs of it, and flung his twig-sandals into\nthe river. With daybreak he slank home and stole into his cradle, not\nunobserved by his mother, who reproached him with his deeds; but he\nreplied that he was resolved by his actions to procure admission for\nher and himself to the assembly of the gods.\n\nIn the morning Apollo missed his kine; he set out in search of them,\nand met the old man, who informed him of his having seen a child\ndriving cows along. He comes to Pylos, where he sees the traces of his\ncattle, but is amazed at the strange foot-prints of their driver. He\nproceeds to the fragrant cave of the nymphs, and Hermes on seeing him\ngathers himself up under the clothes, afraid of the god. Apollo takes\nthe key, opens and searches the three closets where the nymph kept her\nclothes, ornaments and food, but to no purpose. He then threatens the\nchild that he will fling him into Tartarus unless he tells him where\nthe cows are; but Hermes stoutly denies all knowledge of them, and\neven very innocently asks what cows are. Apollo pulls him out of the\ncradle and they agree to go and argue the matter before Zeus. Arrived\nin Olympus, Apollo relates the theft, and tells what reasons he had\nfor suspecting the baby of being the thief. All this is, to the great\namusement of the Celestials, stoutly denied and its absurdity shown by\nthe little fellow, who still has his cradle clothes about him. Zeus,\nhowever, gives judgment against Hermes, and the two brothers are sent\nin search of the missing kine. They come to Pylos, and Hermes drives\nthe cattle out of the cave. Apollo misses two of them; to his amazement\nhe sees their skins on a rock, and is still more surprised, when, on\ngoing to drive the others on, he finds the art of Hermes had rooted\ntheir feet to the ground. Hermes then begins to play on his lyre, the\ntones of which so ravish Apollo that he offers him the cows for it.\nThe young god gives him the lyre, and receives the cattle. The divine\nherdsman also gives him his whip, and instructs him in the management\nof the herds.\n\n\n THE LOTUS-EATERS AND THE CYCLOPS.\n\nOdysseus when on his return from Troy, encountered a violent north-east\nwind, which drove him for nine days, until he reached the country of\nthe Lotus-eaters. He sent three of his men to see who the inhabitants\nwere. These men on coming among the Lotus-eaters were kindly\nentertained by them, and given some of their own food, the Lotus plant,\nto eat. The effect of this plant was such, that those who tasted it\nlost all thoughts of home and wished to remain in that country. It was\nby main force that Odysseus dragged these men away, and he was even\nobliged to tie them under the benches of his ship.\n\nThen he sailed to the westward and came to the land of the Cyclops.\nThese were a rude, lawless people, who neither planted nor sowed, but\nwhose land was so fertile as spontaneously to produce for them wheat,\nbarley and grapes. They dwelt in caves, and each without regard to\nothers governed his wife and children.\n\nIn front of one of their harbors lay a beautiful island, well-stocked\nwith goats. Leaving his fleet at this island, Odysseus went with one\nship to the mainland. Here he entered the cave of a Cyclops, Polyphemus\nby name. When Polyphemus returned in the evening with his flocks and\nfound strangers there, he asked who they were. Odysseus said that they\nhad been shipwrecked, and appealed to his mercy and reverence for\nthe gods. Polyphemus cared for neither and he seized and killed and\ndevoured two young Greeks. The door of the cave was closed with an\nimmense rock, so that, if they killed Polyphemus, they could not have\nescaped, for they could not move the rock. The next night, though, when\nPolyphemus was in a drunken sleep, they took his staff, which was as\nlarge as a mast, heated it in the fire, and put out his one eye. When\nthe giant roared out with pain, the other Cyclops came to see what was\nthe matter. Odysseus had told him that his name was _Nobody_.\nSo when he called out that Nobody was killing him, they thought him\ndreaming. Next morning when Polyphemus turned out his sheep and goats,\nwhich were of great size, the Greeks fastened themselves beneath their\nbellies and so escaped. After they had put out to sea a little way,\nOdysseus called out his true name, and the angry Cyclops hurled great\nstones at him, and nearly destroyed his ship.\n\n\n HERCULES\u2019 TWELVE TASKS.\n\nIn obedience to the god Zeus, Hercules was made to serve Eurystheus,\nwho gave him twelve tasks to perform. The first task was to bring the\nskin of an unconquerable lion, the Nemean. Hercules choked the lion.\nThe second task was to destroy the nine-headed hydra, or water-snake.\nHe cut off the heads, but two sprang up where one was cut off. Then his\ncompanion with a torch burned the necks where the heads were cut off by\nHercules the second time. The third task was to bring the golden-horned\nhind alive. He wounded and then caught her. The fourth task was to\nbring an immense wild boar alive. The fifth task was to cleanse the\nimmense stables of King Augeas in one day. This he did by mining the\nrivers Penios and Alpheios. The sixth task was to drive away the\nstymphalid water-fowl. A goddess gave him brazen clappers, the beating\nof which made the birds rise from their hiding-places, when Hercules\ndestroyed them with his arrows. The seventh task was to fetch the wild\nand furious Cretan bull. The eighth task was to bring the Centaurs\nof Thrace. The Centaurs were horses with the heads and upper half of\nthe human body. The ninth was to bring the girdle of the mighty queen\nof the Amazons. The tenth was to bring the purple-headed oxen of the\nRuddy-isle. The eleventh was to bring the apples of the Hesperides.\nAfter meeting with various adventures he reached the place where they\nwere, and while he upheld the heavens Atlas plucked the apples, which\nHercules, by a cute device, secured from him. The twelfth task was to\nbring Cerberus from the under-world. All his tasks were accomplished.\nThe whole story of the hero Hercules is intensely interesting.\n\n\n THE PHIDIAN JUPITER.\n\nZeus--the Jupiter of the Romans--the chief, was the earliest of the\nnational gods. The great place of his worship was at Olympia. Here was\nthe magnificent statue of Jupiter, made by the famous Phidias. This\nstatue was sixty-five feet high. The frame-work, of cedar and olive\nwood, was covered with ivory and gold. His throne was of cedar wood,\ninlaid with ivory and precious-stones. In his right hand he held a\nstatue of victory, and in his left a sceptre surmounted by the eagle.\nThe footstool was supported by sphinxes, and the throne was of cedar\nwood, inlaid with ivory, the ebony pedestal was covered with sculptured\nscenes of his life and adventures. Probably no idol of ancient or\nmodern times exceeds this in its majestic, massive beauty. Neither\nivory nor gold were plentiful in Greece, yet so devoted were the people\nthat they provided the immense quantity for this idol readily. The\ngold plates were one-eighth of an inch thick, and were worth then over\n$600,000, equal to an immense sum in our days. At Olympia, as at the\nIsthmus of Corinth, games were held at the yearly religious festivals.\nFrom these games the apostle Paul derived many of the metaphors so\nfrequent in his writings.\n\n [Illustration: IMAGE OF JUPITER, MADE BY THE CELEBRATED\n SCULPTOR, PHIDIAS.]\n\n\n GRECIAN TEMPLES AND WORSHIP OF PAUL\u2019S DAY.\n\nPaul, the Christian Missionary, came into contact with the heathenism\nof both Greece and Rome. In Athens, Corinth and Ephesus especially he\nwas brought face to face with idols and temples. The story of his visit\nto these places as told by Luke (Acts xvii., xviii. and xix.), and\nby Paul (in his letters to the Corinthians and Ephesians) presents a\nvivid picture of the condition of the Greek religion in its latest\ndevelopment. Soon the whole system was to lie in ruins, its temples\nwere to be forsaken, its idols destroyed, its worship forgotten.\nThis mighty change was to be produced by the power of God working\nthrough one weak man, belonging to what was everywhere regarded as\na narrow-minded race, and without any backing of pomp, or power, or\nwealth.\n\n\n THE CITY CROWDED WITH IDOLS.\n\nAs Paul entered the gate-way of the Pir\u00e6us at Athens, he was met\nimmediately with the proofs of the intense devotion of the Athenians\nto their worship. Before him stood Minerva\u2019s temple and the image of\nNeptune, her rival, seated on horseback, holding his trident. Passing\non he came, after a little, to the temple of Ceres with the images\nsculptured by the far-famed Praxiteles. A little further on his eyes\nmust have fell upon Bacchus\u2019s temple and the images of Zeus, Minerva,\nApollo, Mercury and the Muses. All around him are temples, statues,\naltars and shrines, and the news-seeking Athenians gather about him.\nEvery public place and building was accounted sacred. The market-place\n(the Agora) and the Acropolis were crowded with temples and altars to\nthe gods, and even to deified virtues. There were altars to Fame, to\nModesty, to Persuasion and to Pity. And, lest they should by any chance\nleave out any god or being who might help or injure them, they built\nan altar to _An Unknown God_. With all their worship they had not\nfound the true God.\n\nThe magnificent Parthenon--the Virgin\u2019s House--was the glorious temple\nerected to Minerva\u2019s honor. Within it was the colossal statue of\nivory and gold, made by the famous Phidias, rivaled only by the same\nartist\u2019s statue of Jupiter. In the midst of all this idolatry, what\nthought was in the mind of Paul? \u201cHis spirit was stirred within him\nwhen he saw the city crowded with idols.\u201d It was said in those days\nthat it was easier to find an idol in Athens than a man.\n\nThe Athenians led Paul away to the Areopagus. Here the judges sat in\nthe open air, upon seats hewn out of the rock. A temple of Mars crowned\nthe height. Before Paul\u2019s view the whole city with its maze of temples,\nshrines and statues, was spread out. The intensely earnest Christian\nApostle stood before the frivolous heathen crowd. He is alone, yet not\nalone. His Master is with him. He quails not, he minces no matters, he\nspeaks boldly, fearlessly. He recognizes their intense religiousness\n(if we may so call it). He declares the truth that the Deity does not\ndwell in temples made with hands, even with the hundreds of temples\nbefore him. With the recollection of Phidias\u2019s famous statues fresh\nin mind and the countless idols before his view he declares that the\nDeity is not to be likened to forms in gold, silver or stone, graven by\nart and man\u2019s device. The city is, apparently, scarcely moved, but the\nleaven has been put in, and soon the whole lump will be leavened. A few\nyears pass by and the worship of Athens is only a remembrance. Close\nby Athens was one city which Paul visited and where he founded one of\nthe strongest Christian churches. This city was held in bad repute in\nall the world on account of its licentiousness. It was not only the\nseat of wealth and splendor, but also a den of vice. \u201cTo Corinthianize\u201d\nmeant to play the wanton. The worship in the temple of Venus was of the\nmost shameful character. To the north-east of Corinth was the temple of\nNeptune, where the celebrated Isthmian games were celebrated.\n\n [Illustration: BIRD\u2019S-EYE VIEW OF THE TEMPLE OF DIANA AT\n EPHESUS.]\n\n\n DIANA OF THE EPHESIANS.\n\nEphesus was the central city of Asia Minor. One of its buildings ranked\nin importance above all others--the Temple of Diana. This was reckoned\nas one of the wonders of the world, and the Ephesians were wont to\nspeak of Diana as the goddess whom all the world worshiped. The temple\nhad been once destroyed, and then rebuilt with great magnificence.\nThe ladies of Ephesus, at its rebuilding, had given their jewelry.\nAlexander offered immense riches to the Ephesians, if they would but\npermit him to have his name inscribed on its walls; but they would not\nconsent. This was the rallying-point of heathenism in Paul\u2019s day. The\ntemple was 425 feet long, 220 broad, and its columns were 60 feet high.\nThere were 127 columns, each the gift of a king. Only a part of it was\nroofed over, and this was with cedar. The remaining parts were rich\nwith statuary and columns. \u201cIt is probable that there was no building\nin the world in which was concentrated a greater amount of admiration,\nenthusiasm and superstition.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: MEDAL OF DIANA.]\n\nThe first statue of Diana of Ephesus was a shapeless black stone--an\naerolite--which had fallen from the sky. Afterwards her images were\nmade of wood. She is covered with breasts and with the heads of\nanimals. She is supposed to represent the natural fertility of the\nearth.\n\nDiana was not worshiped in the temple only. Numberless little shrines,\ncontaining models of Diana in silver or gold, or even wood, were made\nto be carried about one\u2019s person, to be set up on household altars or\ncarried in processions. There was carried on at Ephesus an extensive\ntrade in these. The worship of Diana, in all its parts and in all\nplaces, was conducted with great magnificence.\n\nThe Greek language and literature and their temples and statues, have\nbeen for centuries the models of the world; but their conceptions of\nthe gods and their myths are no more thought of, and no longer regarded\nas of authority in religious affairs. They are emphatically dead as\npowers over the morals of men.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n ROME.\n\n \u201cWithin this grove, upon this wooded hill,\u201d\n He said, \u201csome deity his dwelling made;\n But who or what, none knows. The Arcadians\n Think they have seen great Jove himself, when oft\n With his right hand he shook his darkening shield,\n And called his clouds around him.\n VIRGIL.\n\n\n When fierce gales bowed the high pines, when blazed\n The lightning, and the savage in the storm\n Some unknown godhead heard, and, awe-struck, gazed\n On Jove\u2019s imagined form.\n SOTHEBY.\n\n\nLong before Rome was founded Italy was peopled with an industrious\nclass of farmers. But we have scarce any records of those early\ntimes. Some of their gigantic buildings, lakes and canals remain,\nbut these are almost all that is left. The religious ideas of these\nearly settlers entered into and, to a great extent, moulded the\nreligion of the Romans. The people of Italy did not have the same\nvivid imaginations and lively fancies as the people of Greece. Their\nearly worship seems to have been of a more serious character than that\nof the Greeks. Their gods were freer from moral taint, and virtue\nrather than vice was required in followers of the Roman religions. The\npoetic art was little cultivated among them, or for that matter, in\nRome of a later day. But Rome soon began to borrow from Greece, and\nto appropriate her gods, heroes and myths. There are no Italian myths\ncorresponding to those of Greece. In Virgil and Ovid a few adventures\nof the Italian gods are related, but these are plainly imitations or\nslight modifications of the Greek stories.\n\n\n THE ETRUSCAN RELIGION.\n\nBefore they became acquainted with Greece, the Romans looked to the\nEtruscans as their instructors in religious things. The disposition\nof the Etruscans was melancholy and serious; their form of government\na rigid aristocracy, administered by an hereditary race or caste of\npriestly nobility. Their system was founded on some peculiar views\nof the world and its periods, and on the art of learning the will of\nthe supernal powers by the thunder, the lightning, and other aerial\nphenomena. The rules and principles of this science were contained in\nbooks ascribed to a subterranean d\u00e6mon named Tages, who, the Tuscan\nlegend said, had risen up, a babe in form, an aged man in wisdom, from\nunder the soil before the plow of a peasant of Tarquinii as he was at\nhis work, and who instructed the people in divination.\n\nAccording to the doctrine of the Etruscans there were two orders of\ngods, the one superior, _veiled_ and nameless, with whom the supreme\ngod took counsel when about to announce by lightning any change in the\npresent order of things. The other consisted of twelve gods, six male\nand as many females, his ordinary council. These were called by the\ncommon name of _Consentes_ or _Complices_ (the Latin of the Etruscan\nword), according to Varro, because they are born and die together. The\ngeneral Etruscan word for a god was \u00c6sar.\n\nThe supreme god of the Tuscans, answering to the Zeus of the Greeks,\nthe Jupiter of the Romans, was named Tina. A goddess named Kupra was\ncalled by the Romans Juno; and another, named Menerfa or Menrfa, was\nthe original of the Minerva of Rome. These three deities had always\ncontiguous temples on the citadel of every Etruscan city. Hence the\nunited temples of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, which crowned the capitol\nat Rome.\n\nA goddess named Nortia, answering to the Roman Fortuna, was worshiped\nat the Tuscan cities of Sutri and Volsinii. Vertumnus also was one of\nthe principal deities of Etruria. The Tuscan god of the under-world, or\nrather the ruler of the dead, it is said, was named Mantus, and there\nwas a goddess called Mama of a similar nature. The Lares, or household\ngods, which form so conspicuous a feature of the Roman religion, it is\nprobable, belonged originally to the Etruscan system of worship.\n\n\n THE SABELLIAN RELIGION.\n\nThe rigid virtues of a portion of the Sabellian race, particularly\nthe Sabines, were always the theme of praise at Rome. Grazing and\nagriculture were the chief employments of these hardy tribes, and their\nreligion was intimately connected with these arts; and consequently, we\nmay suppose, bore much resemblance to that of the Latins. It has always\nbeen asserted that a great portion of the Roman religion was of Sabine\norigin.\n\nThe Sabines adored Sancus and Sabus or Sabinus, as the founders of\ntheir nation. Mamers or Mars was also one of their deities; an erect\nlance was the symbol before which he was worshiped. The Marsian portion\nof this race were as celebrated for their skill in detecting the will\nof the gods by the flight and voice of the birds, as the Etruscans for\ndiscerning it in the electric phenomena of the sky.\n\n\n THE GODS OF THE ROMANS.\n\nThere are very many gods in the Roman mythology, of these some twenty\nhave been called the select gods. These are Janus, the two-faced\nsun-god; Jupiter (Diovis-pater or Father-Jove); Saturnus, the god of\nagriculture; Genius, or the god of production; Mercurius, the god who\npresided over the business of the market and over trade in general.\nApollo was a god introduced from the Greek mythology. Mars was the god\nof war. Vulcan was the god of fire. Neptune was the god of the sea.\nSol and Luna were the sun and moon god and goddess. Orcas was the god\nof death, like the Hades of the Greeks, or Yama of the Hindus. Father\nLiber was the god of the harvest. Tellus was the god of the earth.\nCeres was the goddess of grain. Juno was the wife of Jupiter. Diana\nwas the moon-goddess. Minerva was the goddess of arts. Vesta was the\ngoddess of the household. Venus was the goddess of birth.\n\n\n FATHER JOVE.\n\nThe word Jove appears to have meant, originally, God. It corresponds\nto Zeus of the Greeks and Dyaus of the Hindus. Jove or Jupiter was the\nespecial protector of the city of Rome. The chief Jupiter was called\nthe Capitoline Jupiter. In his temple adorning the Capitol in Rome were\nalso statues of Juno and Minerva. Jupiter Elicius was so named, we\nare told, from the following circumstance. In the time of Numa there\noccurred great thunderstorms and rains. The people and their king were\nterrified, and the latter had recourse to the counsel of the nymph\nEgeria. She informed him that Faunus and Picus could instruct him in\nthe mode of appeasing Jupiter, but that he must employ both art and\nviolence to extract the knowledge from them. Accordingly by her advice\nhe placed bowls of wine at a fountain on Mount Aventine, whither they\nwere wont to come to drink, and concealed himself in a neighboring\ncavern. The rural gods came to the fount, and finding the wine drank\ncopiously of it, thus illustrating in a striking manner the sensuous,\ncharacter always supposed to dwell in these deities. They immediately\nfell asleep, and Numa, quitting his retreat, came and bound them.\nOn awaking, they struggled, but in vain, to get free; and the pious\nprince, apologizing for what necessity had obliged him to do, entreated\nthat they would inform him how Jupiter was to be appeased. They yielded\nto his prayer, and on loosing them drew down the thundering Jupiter\nby their charms. He descended on the Aventine hill, which trembled\nbeneath the weight of the deity. Numa was terrified, but recovering\nhe implored the god to give a remedy against the lightning. The ruler\nof the thunder assented, and in ambiguous terms conveyed the relief:\n\u201cCut a head,\u201d--\u201cof an onion from my garden\u201d subjoined the king,--\u201cof\na man,\u201d--\u201cthe topmost hairs\u201d quickly replied Numa.--\u201cI demand a\nlife,\u201d--\u201cof a fish.\u201d The deity smiled, and said that his weapons might\nthus be averted, and promised a sign at sunrise the following morning.\n\n [Illustration: JUPITER TONANS.]\n\nAt dawn the people assembled before the doors of the king. Numa came\nforth, and, seated on his maple throne, looked for the rising of the\nsun. The orb of day was just wholly emerged above the horizon, when a\nloud crash was heard in the sky; thrice the god thundered without a\ncloud; thrice he sent forth his lightnings. The heavens opened, and a\nlight buckler came gently wafted on the air, and fell to the ground.\nNuma, having first slain a heifer, took it up and named it _Ancile_.\nHe regarded it as the pledge of empire; and having had eleven others\nmade exactly like it by the artist Mamurius, to deceive those who might\nattempt to steal it, committed them to the care of the priests named\nSalii.\n\nJupiter was named Feretrius or _Bearer_, as the spoils of the enemy\u2019s\ngeneral, if slain by a Roman commander, were _borne_ to him. He was\nalso called Victor and Stator, as the giver of victory and stayer\nof flight. We also meet with Jupiter Pistor, whose altar was on the\ncapitol, and Jupiter Tonans, the author of thunder. In the usual Roman\nmanner, an historical origin was given to all these names. Jupiter was\ncalled Lucetius, as the author of light (_lucis_), and Diespiter,\n_i.e._, Dies Pater, or Father of Day or of Light.\n\n\n THE MATRON GODDESS.\n\nJuno was the feminine of Jove--from Jovino we have the word Juno. Juno\nwas one of the great deities of Rome and had a share in the worship\nof the magnificent temple on the capitol. One Juno was called Juno\nMoneta, and her temple was finally made the mint, or coining place\nfor money. Female slaves swore by the Juno of their mistress. As the\npatroness of married women, Juno was named Matrona. She presided over\nmarriage. Whenever a child was born a piece of money was deposited\nin her temple\u2019s treasury. In July of each year Juno was honored by a\nsacrifice. Juno Sospita, the _Protectress_, was represented with\na goat-skin about her, a spear in her hand, and a small shield on her\narm. Juno was generally represented armed, and the Romans usually\ndivided the hair of a virgin-bride with a small spear-point, thus\ninvoking the protection of this goddess.\n\n\n THE GODDESS OF SCHOOLS.\n\nAll mental work was done under the direction of Minerva. Her statues\nwere placed in the schools, and in March of each year the school-boys\nhad five days as holidays in her honor. At the end of this vacation and\nfestival the boys gave their school-master a present called a Minerval.\nMinerva\u2019s chapel was under the same roof as Jupiter\u2019s and Juno\u2019s on the\nCapitoline hill at Rome.\n\n\n THE GODDESS OF THE HEARTH.\n\nVesta presided over the public and private hearth. In Vesta\u2019s temple at\nRome a sacred fire was kept burning by six virgin-priestesses called\nVestals. The Romans believed that if they let this fire go out, the\ncity\u2019s safety would be destroyed. When, through the neglect of the\nVestals, it did go out, they were severely punished and the fire was\nrelighted by the rays of the sun. In Vesta\u2019s temple there was no statue\nof the goddess. At her festival in June, plates of meat were sent to\nthe Vestals to be offered up, the mill-stones were decked with flowers\nand the animals working the mills went about crowned with violets and\nwith cakes strung about their necks.\n\n\n CERES AND LIBER.\n\nCeres presided over seeds and harvests. She was the goddess of the\nfarmers. The country-folks before beginning harvest kept feasts to\nCeres, when they brought offerings of honey-combs covered with wine\nand milk, and an animal to be slain in sacrifice. The offerings were\ntaken three times around the corn-field, the country people following,\ncrowned with oak leaves and dancing and singing. These festivals were\nof the most joyous character.\n\nLiber means Deliverer. The god who had this name was united with Ceres\nin worship at Rome. The Romans worshiped their gods and goddesses\ngenerally in groups of three; thus, Jupiter, Juno and Minerva in the\nCapitoline temple; and Ceres, Liber and (the female) Libera in the\ntemple at the foot of the Aventine. In the Capitoline temple the\npatricians or higher classes worshiped. In the Aventine temple the\nplebians or common people worshipped. There was much gross vileness\nconnected with all the festivals of Liber.\n\n\n THE GOD OF BEGINNINGS.\n\nJanus gives his name to January, the first month of the year. He was\nthe sun-god, and was usually worshiped at the beginning of any action.\nHe was regarded as the \u201copener of the day.\u201d Gates and doors were placed\nunder the care of Janus, and their keeper is even to-day called a\njanitor. Janus was represented with a key and a staff, and was named\nthe Opener and the Shutter. Janus has two faces. An ancient statue of\nJanus stood in the Forum at Rome of which the fingers were so formed\nthat one hand represented three hundred in Latin characters (CCC.), and\nthose of the other, fifty-five (LV.), making together the number of\ndays in the ancient lunar year.\n\n [Illustration: JANUS]\n\nUnder the Capitol, near to the Forum, in Rome, stood a short arch-way\nwith a gate at each end. In times of peace these gates were kept shut,\nin times of war they were left open. In this arch-way a statue of Janus\nstood. There was a tradition at Rome that once, when the enemies of\nRome had attempted to enter the city by this gate, the god Janus had\ncaused a stream of boiling water to gush forth from the earth, and so\ndrove them away.\n\n\n ROME\u2019S LESSER GODS.\n\nBesides the gods above referred to, there were gods and goddesses of\ncouncils of war, of funerals, of thieves of the dawn, of fortune,\nof fields and cattle, of fruits and flowers, and of a host of other\nthings. But of all minor gods, the Penates and Lares received most\nhonor. These were the domestic gods. The Penates were so named from\nthe place in which they were worshiped, the household pantry. They\nwere supposed to look after the welfare of the family. There were four\nclasses of beings from which men selected their Penates, those of\nheaven, the sea, the under-world, and lastly, from the deified souls\nof deceased ancestors. The deified spirits of departed ancestors were\ncalled the Lares, and they were supposed to watch over the fortunes of\ntheir descendants. The Chinese also, from the earliest times, have in a\nsimilar manner worshiped their departed ancestors.\n\n\n THE ROMAN EMPIRE.\n\nAs Rome conquered the world the gods of the conquered nations were\ngradually incorporated with their own. Thus an immense and involved\nsystem was brought together. Soon, however, the gigantic structure was\nto topple over before the coming of Christianity, as Dagon had fallen\nbefore the coming of the ark of Jehovah in ancient times. Just at this\ntime, the Roman Empire was in the most favorable condition for the\nintroduction of Christianity. Within its limits there was a general\npeace, great military roads were built, piracy was suppressed, commerce\nand traffic generally increased, and travel was made safe and easy.\nBoth the Latin and Greek languages were spread over east and west. But\none other point of preparation was of greater importance. The deep\nand wide-spread corruption, brought about by the heathen religions,\nseemed to be beyond human remedy. Corruption, cruelty, sensuality and\nthe most, unnatural wickedness prevailed. The description Paul gives\nin his letter to the Romans of the general life of the people has been\nconfirmed again and again. He says:\n\n\u201cBecause that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,\nneither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and\ntheir foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise,\nthey became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God\ninto an image, made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and\nfour-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave\nthem up to uncleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts, to\ndishonor their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth\nof God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than\nthe Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave\nthem up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the\nnatural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the\nmen, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one\ntoward another: men with men working that which is unseemly, and\nreceiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.\nAnd even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God\ngave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are\nnot convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,\nwickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate,\ndeceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful,\nproud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,\nwithout understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection,\nimplacable, unmerciful: who, knowing the judgment of God, that they\nwhich commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but\nhave pleasure in them that do them.\u201d\n\nThe investigations of the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the long\nburied cities, and the common accounts of historians of Paul\u2019s day,\nall show that this picture was not at all overdrawn. There was a most\nterrible need of Christianity just then to save the empire from falling\nto pieces by reason of its rottenness. Milman most graphically pictures\nthe change that Christianity gradually wrought in the religious\ncondition of Rome. He says: \u201cChristianity was gradually withdrawing\nsome of all orders, even slaves, out of the vices, the ignorance, the\nmisery of that corrupted social system. It was even instilling feelings\nof humanity, yet unknown or coldly commended by an impotent philosophy,\namong men and women whose infant ears had been habituated to the\nshrieks of dying gladiators; it was giving dignity to minds prostrated\nby years, almost centuries, of degrading despotism; it was nurturing\npurity and modesty of manner in an unspeakable state of depravation;\nit was enshrining the marriage-bed in a sanctity long almost entirely\nlost, and rekindling to a steady warmth the domestic affections; it\nwas substituting a simple, calm and rational faith for the worn-out\nsuperstitions of heathenism; gently establishing in the soul of man\nthe sense of immortality, till it became a natural and inextinguishable\npart of his moral being.\u201d\n\nWith this striking description of the historian, compare the poetic\nlines of Matthew Arnold:\n\n \u201cOn that hard pagan world disgust\n And sated loathing fell;\n Deep weariness and sated lust\n Make human life a hell.\n In his cool hall with haggard eyes\n The Roman noble lay,\n He drove abroad in furious guise\n Along the Appian way.\n He made a feast, drank fierce and fast,\n And crowned his hair with flowers;\n No easier, nor no quicker passed\n The impracticable hours.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER X.\n\n OUR ANCESTORS.\n\n To the Aryan of the West not merely the heavenly bodies, the\n sun, moon and stars, or the earth with its trees and springs,\n its fountains, or the sea with its storms and calms, but all\n things visible, as organs and instruments of Deity, were\n deserving of reverent adoration. Nothing was too trifling. The\n quivering leaf, the crackling flame, the falling thunderbolt,\n the flight or song of birds, the neighing of horses, man\u2019s\n dreams and visions, even the movements of his pulse, all claimed\n attention, all might give some sign from the other world. All\n nature had a voice for the imaginative Teuton. The skies, the\n woods, the springs, the well, the lake, the hill, were his\n books, his oracles, his divinities.--G. F. MACLEAR.\n\n\nIt sounds strange to us, who have been so long a Christian people, to\nspeak of a pagan ancestry. We can hardly realize that the condition in\nwhich we find the Japanese, or Chinaman, or Hindu of to-day, is the\ncondition in which our forefathers were to be found not many centuries\nago. Yet all traces of their heathenish belief and practices are not\nyet extinct. In our language, especially in many of our names, do we\npreserve the relics of the heathenish life of our forefathers.\n\nIt is not easy to learn of the earliest religion of Britain, as the\nrecords are still greatly beclouded. But recent investigations of the\nmounds and relics of old England and of the origin of English names,\ntogether with the bringing to light of some valuable old records, have\nhelped greatly to clear up the subject. Before passing to consider more\nparticularly the ancient religious life of Great Britain, let us fasten\nin our minds a few prominent facts in the early history of that land.\n\n\n ANCIENT BRITAIN.\n\nLet us note several prominent parts in the early history of Britain.\nFirst, the earliest inhabitants and their religion, known as Druidism.\nSecondly, the invasion of Britain by the Romans and the introduction\nof the invaders\u2019 religion. Thirdly, the introduction of Christianity.\nFourthly, the coming of the Saxons and the extinguishing of\nChristianity by the Saxon religion. Fifthly, the coming again and final\nvictory of Christianity. By fixing these points in mind, we can without\ndifficulty trace the religious history of our ancestors.\n\nIn early times we find that the Greeks had intercourse with Britain.\nThe time when this trade was carried on is fixed by different authors\nat periods varying from 500 B.C. to 200 B.C. Before even the first of\nthese times, by some hundreds of years, the Ph\u0153nicians of Tyre visited\nBritain to purchase tin. These allusions to visits of Greeks and\nPh\u0153nicians are found in ancient Welsh traditions handed down by the\nDruids. Indeed, some of these traditions go back to a period shortly\nafter the dispersion of the nations, even beyond Abraham\u2019s day. Other\ntraditions are found which relate even to the deluge itself, as follows:\n\n\u201cThere were three awful events in the Isle of Britain. The first was\nthe bursting of the Lake of Floods, and the rushing of an inundation\nover all the lands, until all persons were destroyed, except Dwyvan\nand Dwyvack, who escaped in an open vessel and from them the Isle of\nBritain was re-peopled.\n\n\u201cThe three primary and extraordinary works of the Isle of Britain: The\nship of Nwydd nav Neivion, which brought in it a male and female of all\nliving things, when the Lake of Floods burst forth; the large horned\noxen of Au the Mighty, that drew the crocodile from the lake of the\nland, so that the lake did not burst forth any more; and the stone of\nGwyddon Ganhedon, upon which all the arts and sciences of the world are\nengraven.\u201d\n\nAll this bears such striking similarity to the traditions preserved\namong the most ancient nations in the eastern part of the world, that\nwe cannot conceive the possibility of its having been invented in any\nperiod of the dark ages; it therefore strengthens our confidence in\nthe general teaching of the Triads. In early Britain there were only\ntwo classes of British citizens, \u201cthe nobles and the villains,\u201d (_i.\ne._, villagers). All below these were slaves. The people possessed\na considerable knowledge of astronomy, of geometry and of mechanics.\nThey were an eloquent people; an ancient historian says that their\norators \u201csometimes step between two hostile armies, who are standing\nwith swords drawn, and spears extended, ready to fight; and, by their\neloquence, as by an irresistible enchantment, they prevent a shedding\nof blood.\u201d\n\nThe Britons were also acquainted with the useful arts. The houses in\nwhich they dwelt, their chariots of war, as well as a great variety\nof other works, prove this beyond the possibility of doubt. We notice\nthe chariots: \u201cTheir cars were admired by the Romans, adopted by\nindividuals for their journeys, and introduced by the public into\ntheir races. And we have a picture of one of them, sketched by a\nBritish hand, and engraven on a coin. There we see the charioteer\nmounted on his carriage before us, a quiver of arrows peeping over\nhis left shoulder, and a spear protended from his left hand, his feet\nresting upon the pole or foot-board annexed to it, and his body\nleaning over the horses, in the act of accelerating their motion. And\nwe have the description of another in Ossian, very similar in one or\ntwo particulars, and more circumstantial. It is the car of a British\nmonarch, bending behind, drawn by a pair of horses, and embossed\nwith sparkling stones. Its beam is of polished yew, its seat of the\nsmoothest bone, and the sides of it are replenished with spears.\nPersons who could construct such vehicles, build houses and make\nfurniture, as well as all the various offensive and defensive weapons\nof war, must have had no inconsiderable mechanical knowledge and skill.\u201d\n\n\n THE DRUIDS. WONDERFUL RESEMBLANCE.\n\nWe have reason to believe that the Britons inhabited England not long\nafter the days of Noah. We might therefore expect to find resemblances\nbetween their religion and the religions of other ancient peoples; and\nwe are not disappointed. There is a striking correspondence between the\nsystem of the ancient Britons and those of the Hebrew patriarchs, the\nBrahmins of India, the Magi of Persia and the Greek priests. It was\none system that was finally conveyed to these different parts of the\nglobe. Take, as a single instance of the many points of comparison,\ntheir idea of God. Among their names for the supreme God which they\nhad in use before the introduction of Christianity were terms which\nhave been literally translated, \u201cGod,\u201d \u201cDistributor,\u201d \u201cGovernor,\u201d\n\u201cthe Mysterious One,\u201d \u201cthe Eternal,\u201d \u201cHe that pervadeth all things,\u201d\n\u201cthe Author of Existence,\u201d \u201cthe Ancient of Days.\u201d These expressive\nappellations sufficiently indicate their views of the moral character\nand attributes of God. The opinion of the Druids as to the nature of\nGod is comprehensively explained by the following bold and remarkable\naphorism: \u201cNid Dim Ond Duw, Nid Duw Ond Dim.\u201d It defies translation so\nas to convey its force and beauty; but William Owen has furnished a\nversion sufficiently plain to convey the idea: \u201cGod cannot be matter;\nwhat is not matter must be God.\u201d These were the attributes of the God\nof the early Druids. They believed that the Deity was the source of\nlife, and the giver of good. They defined His duration as eternal,\nand ascribed to Him omnipotence as the measure of His power. And as\nthey found nothing in the animal creation or in man which had any\nproportion or resemblance to God, they had neither statues nor pictures\nto represent Him; from which we infer that they regarded God as a pure\nspirit, as disengaged from matter as He was exalted above all created\nthings and above all resemblance to them.\n\n\n WORSHIP OF THE DRUIDS.\n\nThe Druids offered sacrifices and observed particular days for\nreligious worship. Their sacrifices were carefully selected, and they\nappear to have had clear views of their propitiatory character. Pliny,\ndescribing the gathering of the mistletoe, observes: \u201cAfter they have\nwell and duly prepared their festival cheer under the tree, they bring\nthither two young bullocks, milk-white, such as never drew in yoke at\nplow or wain, and whose heads were then and not before bound by the\nhorns; which done, the priest, arrayed in a white vesture, climbeth up\ninto the tree, and, with a golden hook or bill, cutteth it off, and\nthey beneath receive it in a white cassock or coat of arms. Then they\nfall to and kill the beasts aforesaid for sacrifice, praying devoutly\nthat it would please God to bless this gift of His to the good and\nbenefit of all those to whom He had vouchsafed to give it.\u201d These\nsacrifices were offered with very solemn rites, the common people\nremaining at a distance, while the priests approached with trembling\nawe the bloody victims, which were carried around the omen-fire.\n\nThere is no branch of this subject which presents itself in a more\ninteresting aspect than that which relates to the sacred places of this\npeople, and the peculiar manner of their worship. They worshiped in the\nopen air; it being a maxim with them, that it was unlawful to build\ntemples to the gods, or to worship them within walls and under roofs.\nTheir favorite place was a grove of oaks, or the shelter of a majestic\ntree of this kind. Here they would erect stone pillars in one or two\ncircular rows; and in some of their principal temples, as particularly\nthat of Stonehenge, they laid stones of prodigious weight on the tops\nof these perpendicular pillars, which formed a kind of circle aloft in\nthe air. Near to these temples they constructed their sacred mounts,\ntheir cromlechs or stone tables for their sacrifices, and every other\nnecessary provision for their worship. These sacred places were\ngenerally situated in the centre of some thick grove or wood, watered\nby a consecrated river or fountain, and surrounded by a ditch or mound,\nto prevent intrusion.\n\n\n TEMPLE OF THE HANGING STONES.\n\nOne of the most extraordinary monuments of ancient England, is that\ncalled Stonehenge. This is an Anglo-Saxon term, meaning the hanging\nstones. This monument is situated on a small hill in the midst of a\nbarren plain. All around it funeral mounds are grouped. These mounds\nare called \u201cbarrows,\u201d and within three miles of Stonehenge there\nare over three hundred and fifty of these that have been recently\ndiscovered. The stones that constituted this Druid temple are many\nof them lying prostrate on the ground, a few only remaining upright\nwith the gigantic stone slabs across their tops. Yet enough remains to\nindicate the general design of the structure as it originally stood.\nIt consisted of an outer circle, about three hundred feet in diameter,\nof thirty upright stones sustaining as many others laid horizontally\non their tops. Within this was another circle of upright ones, smaller\nthan those in the outer circle, and without any stones on their tops.\nThese stones are so large that it cannot be imagined how they were\nraised to their lofty position. It is very evident that Stonehenge\nwas a place of worship, and from the number of grave-mounds, each\ncontaining the remains of a number of bodies, it is evident that it was\na place of great sanctity. It has been supposed that serpent-worship\nfound a place here.\n\n [Illustration: ANCIENT DRUIDIC WORSHIP AT STONEHENGE,\n ENGLAND.]\n\n\n HUMAN SACRIFICES.\n\nC\u00e6sar gives a very careful account of the Druids. In the century just\npreceding the coming of Christ, C\u00e6sar conquered the Britons. His\naccount of their condition is the more reliable because this conquest\nput him in possession of the means of knowing the people who were in\nthe future to form a part of his empire. His testimony can best be\ngiven in a translation of his own words. He says:\n\n\u201cAll the Gallic nations are much given to superstition; for which\nreason, when they are seriously ill, or are in danger from their wars\nor other causes, they either offer up men as victims to the gods, or\nmake a vow to sacrifice themselves. The ministers in these offerings\nare the Druids, and they hold that the wrath of the immortal gods can\nonly be appeased, and man\u2019s life be redeemed, by offering up human\nsacrifice, and it is a part of their national institutions to hold\nfixed solemnities for this purpose. Some of them make immense images\nof wicker-work, which they fill with men, who are thus burned alive\nin offering to their deities. These victims are generally selected\nfrom those who have been convicted of theft, robbery, or other crimes,\nin whose punishment they think the immortal gods take the greatest\npleasure; but if there be any scarcity of such victims they do not\nhesitate to sacrifice innocent men in their place. If there be a\nsuper-abundance of cattle taken in war the surplus is offered up in\nsacrifice; the rest of the spoil is collected into one mass. In many\nof their tribes large heaps of these things may be seen in their\nconsecrated places, and it is a rare occurrence for any individual\nsacreligiously to conceal part of the booty, or to turn it to his\nown use; the severest punishment, together with bodily torture, is\ninflicted on those who are guilty of such an offense.\u201d\n\nHe further speaks of the Druids in another place: \u201cThe Druids act in\nall sacred matters; they attend to the sacrifices, which are either\noffered by the tribe in general or by individuals, and answer all\nquestions concerning their religion. They always have a large number of\nyoung men as pupils, who treat them with the greatest respect; for it\nis they who decide in all controversies, whether public or private, and\nthey judge all causes, whether of murder, of a disputed inheritance, or\nof the boundaries of estates. They assign both rewards and punishments;\nand whoever refuses to abide by their sentence, whether he be in a\npublic or private station, is forbidden to be present at the sacrifices\nof the gods. This is, in fact, the most severe mode of punishment,\nand those who have been thus excommunicated are held as impious and\nprofane; all avoid them; no one will either meet them or speak to them,\nlest they should be injured by their contagion; every species of honor\nis withheld from them, and if they are plaintiffs in a lawsuit justice\nis denied. All the Druids are subject to one chief, who enjoys the\ngreatest authority among them. Upon the death of the chief Druid, the\nnext in dignity is appointed to succeed him; and if there are two whose\nmerits are equal, the election is made by the votes of the whole body,\nthough sometimes they dispute for pre-eminence by the sword.\n\n\u201cThe Druidic system is thought to have had its origin in Britain,\nfrom whence it was introduced into Gaul.... Among the most important\ndoctrines of the Druids is that of the immortality of the soul, which\nthey believe passes after death into other bodies; they hold this to\nbe a great inducement to the practice of virtue, as the mind thus\nbecomes relieved from the fear of death. Their other doctrines concern\nthe motions of the heavenly bodies, the magnitude of the earth and the\nuniverse, the nature of things, and the power and attributes of the\nimmortal gods.\u201d Certainly C\u00e6sar\u2019s testimony is clear, and he writes as\none who had actually gazed upon the strange and striking scenes which\nhe describes.\n\n\n THE DESTRUCTION OF DRUIDISM.\n\nThe religion of the Druids was handed down by tradition from father\nto son, and consisted in the proper performance of certain rites and\nceremonies. It has been stated that the Druids worshiped Bel or Baal,\nthough this is sometimes questioned. On the eve of May-day fires were\nlighted on their altars in honor of their Supreme God. They had a set\nof doctrines which were publicly taught, and another set which were\nmade known only to the initiated. The Druids were not gross idolaters,\nthough they regarded the oak, the symbol of God, with superstitious\nawe. But the time for the death of Druidism had come. Fifty-five years\nbefore Christ, the great conqueror, Julius C\u00e6sar, landed in Britain.\nThe skillful and courageous Britons gave him a great deal of trouble,\nand prevented his penetrating far from the shore. Emperor after emperor\nsought to subjugate the Island during the years that followed, but\nit was not until 130 years had passed away that Briton was really\nconquered by the Romans. Agricola was sent in A.D. 78 to be governor of\nBritain. By his wise policy the whole life of the Britons was changed\nwherever it came under Roman influence.\n\nThe dwellings of the Britons were very rude and simple in the early\nages, being mostly constructed of hurdle or wicker-work, and afterward\nof large stones without mortar. Their houses were generally round,\nhaving the roof thatched, with a hole left in the centre for the escape\nof smoke. The Romans, on the contrary, had long been accustomed to\ncommodious and elegant dwellings, well built of masonry, and adorned in\nthe richest manner with statues, pictures, elegant drapery and handsome\nfurniture.\n\nIt was not while the Romans were engaged in conquering Britain that\ntheir religion gained a foothold there, but after they had come to\npower and peace. The Druid priests were destroyed, and the people, left\nthus without religious teachers, gradually accepted to some extent the\nthen-existing forms of Roman faith.\n\n\n WHO FIRST BROUGHT CHRISTIANITY TO BRITAIN?\n\nWhile the Romans were busily seeking to conquer Britain, an event\nof unparalleled importance took place. It was the birth of Jesus,\nthe Christ. Very nearly every one of the early preachers who by any\npossibility could have gone to Britain with the Gospel message,\nhas been declared to be the founder of Christianity there. The\nApostle Peter is declared, so says an old chronicle, \u201cto have stayed\nsome time in Britain; where having preached the word, established\nchurches, ordained bishops, priests and deacons, in the twelfth year\nof Nero he returned to Rome.\u201d But this, for many reasons, is not to\nbe believed. Joseph of Arimathea is also said to have first taken\nthe Gospel to Britain. But the whole narrative of his mission is\nfabulous. A King Lucius is said to have sent about 164 A.D. to Rome\nfor missionaries, but this too is questionable. One more question\nremains to be considered. Did the Apostle Paul plant Christianity in\nBritain? Tertullian, about the year 200 A.D., wrote that the Gospel had\nspread \u201calso to the boundaries of the Spaniards, to all the different\nnations of Gaul, and to those parts of Britain inaccessible even to the\nRomans.\u201d But more ancient than this is the testimony of Clement, Bishop\nof Rome, 102 A.D. \u201cSt. Paul preached righteousness through the whole\nworld; and, in doing this, went to the utmost bounds of the West.\u201d\n\nA learned writer thus sums up all the evidence of Paul\u2019s being the\nfirst to give the Gospel to Britain: \u201cThat St. Paul did go to Britain\nwe may collect from the testimony of Clemens Romanus, Theodoret and\nJerome, who relate that, after his imprisonment, he preached the Gospel\nin the western parts; that he brought salvation to the islands that\nlie in the ocean, and that, in preaching the Gospel, he went to the\nutmost bounds of the West. What was meant by _the West_ and the\nislands that lie in the ocean, we may judge from Plutarch, Eusebius\nand Nicephorus, who call the British Ocean the western; and again from\nNicephorus, who says that one of the apostles \u2018went to the extreme\ncountries of the ocean and the British Isles;\u2019 but especially from the\nwords of Catullus, who calls Britain the utmost island of the West;\nand from Theodoret, who describes the Britons as inhabiting the utmost\nparts of the West. When Clement, therefore, says that Paul went to the\nutmost bounds of the _West_, we do not conjecture, but are sure,\nthat he meant Britain, not only because Britain was so designated,\nbut because Paul could not have gone to the utmost bounds of the\nWest without going to Britain. It is almost unnecessary, therefore,\nto appeal to the express testimony of Venantius, Fortunatus and\nSophronius, for the apostle\u2019s journey to Britain.\u201d\n\n\n PAGANISM OF THE SAXONS.\n\nThe religion of our Saxon ancestors was the same as that of the whole\nGerman family. Christianity, which had by this time brought about the\nconversion of the Roman Empire, had not penetrated as yet among the\nforests of the North. The common god of the English people, as of\nthe whole German race, was Woden, the war-god, the guardian of ways\nand boundaries, to whom his worshipers attributed the invention of\nletters, and whom every tribe held to be the first ancestor of its\nkings. Our own names for the days of the week still recall to us the\ngods whom our English fathers worshiped in their Sleswick homeland.\nWednesday is Woden\u2019s day, as Thursday is the day of Thunder, or, as\nthe Northmen called him, Thor, the god of air, and storm, and rain.\nFriday is Freya\u2019s day, the goddess of peace, and joy, and fruitfulness,\nwhose emblems, borne aloft by dancing maidens, brought increase to\nevery field and stall they visited. Saturday commemorates an obscure\ngod, Soetere; Tuesday, the Dark god, Tiw, to meet whom was death;\nEostre, the goddess of the dawn, or the spring, lends her name to the\nChristian festival of the Resurrection. Behind these floated the dim\nshapes of an older mythology--\u201cWyrd,\u201d the death-goddess, whose memory\nlingered long in the \u201cweird\u201d of northern superstition, or the Shield\nMaidens, the \u201cmighty women,\u201d who, an old rhyme tells us, \u201cwrought on\nthe battle-field their toil, and hurled the thrilling javelins.\u201d\nNearer to the popular fancy lay the deities of wood and fell, or the\nhero-gods of legend and song, \u201cNicor,\u201d the water-sprite, who gave us\nour water Nixes, and \u201cOld Nick,\u201d \u201cWeland,\u201d the forger of mighty shields\nand sharp-biting swords, at a later time, in his Berkshire, \u201cWeyland\u2019s\nSmithy,\u201d or \u00c6gil, the hero archer, whose legend is that of Cloudesly or\nTell. A nature-worship of this sort lent itself ill to the purposes of\na priesthood, and, though a priestly class existed, it seems at no time\nto have had much weight in the English society. As every freeman was\nhis own judge and his own legislator, so he was his own house priest;\nand the common English worship lay in the sacrifice which he offered to\nthe god of his hearth. The religion of Woden and Thor supplanted, for\nthe time being, the religion of Christ. The new England was once more a\nheathen land under the gods of its conquerors.\n\n [Illustration: GODS OF OUR SAXON ANCESTORS.\n\n 1. Sun-god; 2. Moon-god; 3. God Tiw; 4. Woden; 5. Thor; 6.\n Goddess Freya; 7. Soetere.]\n\n\n SAXON GODS.\n\nThe first of all the gods was _Woden_ or Odin. He is the\nAll-father, like Dyans of the early Hindus, Zeus of the Greeks and Jove\nof the Romans. In the Volsung Saga, Woden is revealed as follows: King\nVolsung had made preparation for an entertainment. Blazing fires burned\nalong the hall, and in the middle of the hall stood a large tree, whose\ngreen and fair foliage covered the roof. It was called Woden\u2019s tree.\nNow, as the guests sat around the fire in the evening, a man entered\nthe hall whose countenance they did not know. He wore a variegated\ncloak, was barefooted, his breeches were of linen, and a wide-brimmed\nhat hung down over his face. He was very tall, looked old, and was\none-eyed. He held in his hand a sword. He went to the tree, stuck his\nsword into it with such a powerful blow that it sunk into it even up to\nthe hilt. No one dared greet him. It was Woden. Woden\u2019s dwelling was\ncalled Walhal. The Edda, the poem of the gods, thus describes Walhalla:\n\n \u201cEasily to be known is,\n By those who to Odin come,\n The mansion by its aspect.\n Its roof with spears is held,\n Its hall with shields is decked,\n With corselets are its benches strewed.\n\n \u201cFive hundred doors\n And forty more\n Methinks are in Walhal,\n Eight hundred heroes through each door\n Shall issue forth!\n Against the wolf to combat.\u201d\n\nThe heroes are invited after death to Woden\u2019s hall. That the brave were\nto be taken to Walhalla after death was one of the fundamental points,\nif not the very heart of the religion of the Northmen. They felt in\ntheir hearts that it was absolutely necessary to be brave. Woden would\nnot care for them, but would despise and thrust them away from him, if\nthey were not brave. This made the Northmen think it a shame and misery\nnot to die in battle. Old kings, about to die, had their bodies placed\nin a ship; the ship was sent forth with sails set, and a slow fire\nburning in it, so that once out at sea it might blaze up in flame, and\nin such a way worthily bury the hero both in the sky and in the ocean.\nHe lay in the prow of his ship, silent, with closed lips, defying the\nwild ocean. As Boyesen has sung:\n\n \u201cIn the prow with head uplifted\n Stood the chief like wrathful Thor;\n Through his locks, the snow-flakes drifted,\n Bleached their hue from gold to hoar,\n \u2019Mid the crash of mast and rafter\n Norsemen leaped through death with laughter\n Up through Walhal\u2019s wide-flung door.\u201d\n\nThor comes next to Woden. His name means thunder. He is the spring-god,\nsubduing the frost-giants. Longfellow has described the Norseman\u2019s idea\nof Thor, thus:\n\n \u201cI am the god Thor, I am the war-god.\n I am the Thunderer! here in my Northland,\n My fastness and fortress, reign I forever!\n\n \u201cHere amid icebergs rule I the nations;\n This is my hammer, Mjolner, the mighty,\n Giants and sorcerers cannot withstand it!\n\n \u201cThese are the gauntlets wherewith I wield it,\n And hurl it afar off; this is my girdle,\n Whenever I brace it strength is redoubled!\n\n \u201cThe light thou beholdest stream through the heavens,\n In flashes of crimson, is but my red beard,\n Blown by the night-wind, affrighting the nations.\n\n \u201cJove is my brother; mine eyes are the lightning;\n The wheels of my chariot roll in the thunder,\n The blows of my hammer ring in the earthquake!\n\n \u201cForce rules the world still, has ruled it, shall rule it;\n Meekness is weakness, strength is triumphant;\n Over the whole earth still is Thor\u2019s-day!\u201d\n\n\n SAXON SACRIFICES.\n\nThe sacrifices which were presented to the gods in the early ages were\nvery simple, and such as a people in the first stages of civilization\nwould offer--the first fruits of their crops, and the choicest products\nof the earth. They also sacrificed animals. They offered to Thor,\nduring the feast of Jaul, fat oxen and horses; to Frigga, the largest\nhog which they could procure; to Odin, horses, dogs and falcons,\nsometimes cocks, and a fat bull. They even proceeded at times to shed\nhuman blood. The victims were usually chosen from captives in time of\nwar, and slaves during peace. After being selected, they were treated\nwith excessive kindness, until the time of their execution, when they\nwere congratulated on their happy destiny in a future life. On great\nemergencies, however, nobles and kings were immolated on the altars of\nthe gods. On all these occasions the priests took care, in consecrating\nthe victim, to pronounce certain words; such as, \u201cI devote thee to\nOdin;\u201d \u201cI send thee to Odin;\u201d or, \u201cI devote thee for a good harvest,\nfor the return of a fruitful season.\u201d The ceremony concluded with\nfeasting, during which they drank immoderately. First, the kings and\nchief lords drank healths in honor of the gods; afterward, every one\ndrank, making song or prayer to the gods who had been named. After the\nvictim was slain, the body was burnt, or suspended in a sacred grove\nnear the temple; part of the blood was sprinkled upon the people, part\nupon the sacred grove. With the same they also bedewed the images of\nthe gods, the altars, the benches and walls of the temple, both within\nand without, thus completing their work.\n\n [Illustration: SACRIFICIAL RITES OF THE ANCIENT BRITISH\n DRUIDS.]\n\n\n FAIRY-LORE OF WESTERN EUROPE.\n\nThe Saxons and their kindred, the Teutons and the Celts, have a great\nmass of fairy tales, legends, hobgoblin stories and the like. These\ntales enter more into the life of the people than we are accustomed to\nbelieve. While the stronger men, the soldiers of the race, told their\nold Viking tales or recited their Eddas\u2019 poems, the common people told\nover and over again the tales of the little beings who haunted hill and\nmeadow, field and forest, lake and river.\n\nThe tales and superstitions of the early Britons were intimately\nrelated to their religious ideas, and exerted as powerful an influence\non their lives as their belief in the gods. So it is in keeping with\nour subject that we proceed to present some of these fairy tales and\nlegends. Shakespeare has preserved ancient and quaint traditions of the\nFairies and Puck, and of Mab, Queen of the Fairies, from which we quote.\n\n \u201c_Fairy._--Either I mistake your shape and making quite,\n Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite\n Call\u2019d Robin Good-fellow. Are you not he\n That frights the maidens of the villagery,\n Skims milk, and sometimes labors in the quern,\n And bootless makes the breathless housewife churn;\n And sometimes makes the drink to bear no harm;\n Misleads night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?\n Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck,\n You do their work, and they shall have good luck,\n Are not you he?\n\n _Puck._--Thou speakest aright,\n I am that merry wanderer of the night.\n I jest to Oberon, and make him smile,\n When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,\n Neighing in likeness of a filly-foal;\n And sometimes lurk I in a gossip\u2019s bowl,\n In very likeness of a roasted crab,\n And when she drinks, against her lips I bob,\n And on her withered durlap pour the ale.\n The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,\n Sometimes for three-foot stool mistaketh me;\n Then slip I from her bum--down topples she,\n And tailor cries, and falls into a cough;\n And then the whole quire hold their hips and laffe,\n And waxen in their mirth, and neeze and swear,\n A merrier hour was never wasted there.\n\n O then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.\n She is the fairies\u2019 midwife; and she comes,\n In shape no bigger than an agate stone\n On the forefinger of an alderman,\n Drawn with a team of little atomies,\n Over men\u2019s noses as they lie asleep:\n Her wagon-spokes, made of long spinner\u2019s legs;\n The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers;\n The traces, of the smallest spider\u2019s web;\n The collars of the moonshines\u2019 watery beams;\n Her whip of cricket\u2019s bone; the lash of film;\n Her wagoner, a small gray-coated gnat,\n Not half so big as a round little worm\n Pricked from the lazy finger of a maid:\n Her chariot is an empty hazel nut,\n Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,\n Time out of mind the fairies\u2019 coachmakers.\n\n This is that very Mab\n That plats the manes of horses in the night;\n And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,\n Which once untangled much misfortune bode.\n This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,\n That presses them.\u201d\n\nA few of the very many fairy tales once current in Old England and in\nWestern Europe generally, may well be given here in illustration of\ntheir general character.\n\n\n AN ELFIN STORY.\n\nThere was one time, it is said, a servant girl, who was for her\ncleanly, tidy habits, greatly beloved by the Elves, particularly as\nshe was careful to carry away all dirt and foul water to a distance\nfrom the house, and they once invited her to a wedding. Everything was\nconducted in the greatest order, and they made her a present of some\nchips, which she took good-humoredly, and put into her pocket. But when\nthe bride-pair were coming, there was a straw unluckily lying in the\nway; the bridegroom got cleverly over it, but the poor bride fell on\nher face. At the sight of this, the girl could not restrain herself,\nbut burst out a-laughing, and that instant the whole vanished from her\nsight. Next day, to her utter amazement, she found that what she had\ntaken to be nothing but chips were so many pieces of pure gold.\n\n\n THE PENITENT NIS.\n\nIt is related of a Nis, who had established himself in a house in\nJutland, that he used every evening, after the maid was gone to bed, to\ngo into the kitchen to take his groute, which they used to leave there\nfor him in a large wooden bowl.\n\nOne evening, he sat down as usual to eat his supper with a good\nappetite, drew over the bowl to him, and was just beginning, as he\nthought, to make a comfortable meal, when he found that the maid had\nforgotten to put any butter in it for him. At this, he fell into a\nfurious rage, got up in the height of his passion, and went out into\nthe cow-house and twisted the neck of the best cow that was in it;\nbut as he felt himself still very hungry, he stole back again to the\nkitchen to take some of the groute, such as it was, and when he had\neaten a little of it he perceived that there was butter in it, but that\nit had sunk to the bottom under the groute. He was now so vexed at his\ninjustice toward the maid that, to make good the damage he had done, he\nwent back to the cow-house and set a chest full of money by the side of\nthe dead cow, where the family found it next morning, and by means of\nit got into flourishing circumstances.\n\n\n NIXES.\n\nThe Nixes, or Water-people, inhabit lakes and rivers. The man is like\nany other man, only he has green teeth. He also wears a green hat. The\nfemale Nixes appear like beautiful maidens. On fine sunny days they may\nbe seen sitting on the banks, or on the branches of the trees, combing\ntheir long golden locks. When any person is shortly to be drowned the\nNixes may be previously seen dancing on the surface of the water. They\ninhabit a beautiful region below the water, whither they sometimes\nconvey mortals. A girl from a village near Leipsic, as the story goes,\nwas at one time at service in the house of a Nix. She reported that\neverything there was very good; all she had to complain of was that she\nwas obliged to eat her food without salt. The female Nixes frequently\ngo to the market to buy meat; they are always dressed with extreme\nneatness, only a corner of the apron or some other part of their\nclothes is wet. The man also occasionally goes to market. They are fond\nof carrying off women, of whom they make wives. From the many tales\nof the Nixes we select the following, which are fair specimens of the\nwhole.\n\n\n THE PEASANT AND THE WATERMAN.\n\nA Waterman, or Nix, once lived on good terms with a peasant who dwelt\nnear his lake. He often visited him, and at last begged that the\npeasant would make a visit to his house under the water. The peasant\nconsented, and went down with him. There was everything down under the\nwater as in a stately palace on the land--halls, chambers and cabinets,\nwith costly furniture of every description. The Waterman led his guest\nover the whole, and showed him everything that was in it. They came at\nlength to a little chamber, where were standing several new pots turned\nupside down. The peasant asked what was in them. \u201cThey contain,\u201d was\nthe reply, \u201cthe souls of drowned people, which I put under the pots\nand keep them close, so that they cannot get away.\u201d The peasant made\nno remark, and he came up again on the land. But for a long time the\naffair of the souls continued to give him great trouble, and he watched\nto find when the Waterman should be from home. When this occurred, as\nhe had marked the right way down, he descended into the water-house,\nand, having made out the little chamber, he turned up all the pots one\nafter another, and immediately the souls of the drowned people ascended\nout of the water and recovered their liberty.\n\n\n THE WONDERFUL LITTLE POUCH.\n\nAt noon, one day, a young peasant sat by the side of a wood, and,\nsighing, prayed the gods to give him a morsel of food. A dwarf\nsuddenly emerged from the wood, and told him that his prayer should be\nfulfilled. He then gave him the pouch that he had on his side, with\nthe assurance that he would always find in it wherewithal to satisfy\nhis thirst and hunger, charging him, at the same time, not to consume\nit all, and to share with any one who asked him for food. The dwarf\nvanished, and the peasant put his hand into the pouch to make a trial\nof it, and there he found a cake of new bread, a cheese, and a bottle\nof wine, on which he made a hearty meal. He then saw that the pouch\nswelled up as before, and, looking in, he found that it was again full\nof bread, cheese and wine. He now felt sure of his food, and he lived\non in an idle, luxurious way, without doing any work. One day, as he\nwas gorging himself, there came up to him a feeble old man, who prayed\nhim to give him a morsel to eat. He refused in a brutal, churlish tone,\nwhen instantly the bread and cheese broke, and scattered out of his\nhands, and pouch and all vanished.\n\n\n CHRISTIANIZING THE SAXONS.\n\nAccording to widely-accepted tradition, when but a young deacon,\nGregory the Great had noted the white bodies, the fair faces and the\ngolden hair of some youths who stood bound in the market-place at\nRome. \u201cFrom what country do these slaves come?\u201d he asked the traders\nwho held them. \u201cThey are English, Angles!\u201d the slave-dealers answered.\nThe deacon\u2019s pity veiled itself in poetic humor. \u201cNot Angles, but\nangels,\u201d he said, \u201cwith faces so angel-like! From what country come\nthey?\u201d \u201cThey come,\u201d said the merchants, \u201cfrom Deira.\u201d \u201cDe ir\u00e2!\u201d was\nthe untranslatable reply; \u201caye, plucked from God\u2019s ire, and called to\nChrist\u2019s mercy! And what is the name of their king?\u201d \u201c\u00c6lla,\u201d they told\nhim; and Gregory seized on the words as a good omen. \u201cAlleluia shall\nbe sung there,\u201d he cried, and passed on, musing how the angel-faces\nshould be brought to sing it.\n\nYears went by, and the deacon become Bishop of Rome, when the Christian\nprincess, Berctas\u2019 marriage to the King of England gave him the\nopening he sought. He at once sent a Roman Abbot, Augustine, at the\nhead of a band of monks, to preach the Gospel to the English people.\nThe missionaries landed A.D. 597, on the very spot where Hengest had\nlanded more than a century before, in the Isle of Thanet; and the\nking received them sitting in the open air, on the chalk-down above\nMinster, where the eye nowadays catches, miles away over the marshes,\nthe dim tower of Canterbury. He listened to the long sermon as the\ninterpreters whom Augustine had brought with him from Gaul translated\nit. \u201cYour words are fair,\u201d \u00c6thelberdt replied at last, with English\ngood sense, \u201cbut they are new and of doubtful meaning.\u201d For himself, he\nsaid, he refused to forsake the gods of his fathers, but he promised\nshelter and protection to the strangers. The band of monks entered\nCanterbury bearing before them a silver cross with a picture of Christ,\nand singing in concert the strains of the litany of their church.\n\u201cTurn from this city, O Lord,\u201d they sang, \u201cThine anger and wrath, and\nturn it from Thy holy house; for we have sinned.\u201d And then, in strange\ncontrast, came the jubilant cry of the older Hebrew worship, the cry\nwhich Gregory had wrested in prophetic earnestness from the name of the\nYorkshire king in the Roman market-place--\u201cAlleluia!\u201d\n\nThus was begun the overturning of the heathen faith of our ancestors,\nand the establishment of Christianity among them.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n\n INDIA.\n\n The Hindu mind still superstition sways\n Still to his Triune God the Brahmin prays;\n The laws of \u201ccaste\u201d each generous hope restrain,\n And bind all mental powers with palsying chain.\n Still lives that old belief the Samian taught,\n Insects and brutes with human souls are fraught,\n Souls doomed to wander for uncounted years,\n Till, pure from earthly dross, they seek the spheres.\n NICHOLAS MICHELL.\n\n\nIndia is almost a continent like Europe. It is shaped like a great\ntriangle. Its population amounts to 240,000,000. There are different\nraces in India. First came to the fertile valleys of the Indus and\nGanges the sturdy immigrants from Central Asia, from Tartary and\nThibet. These were Scythians, some of them Mongolians. Then came\n_the_ Hindu people, the great family of the Aryans, who separated\nthemselves from their Persian brethren sometime near 2,000 B.C., and\ngradually overspread all India. About 500 B.C., Darius Hystaspes\nconquered the Indian Empire. Alexander the Great invaded it as far as\nthe Indus in 327 B.C. The Mohammedans drove the Parsees from their\nPersian home about 1,100 years ago, and a small body of them settled\nin India. Then came the Mohammedans (Arabs, Turks, Afghans and Moguls)\nand conquered India for a time. There are now 41,000,000 of Mohammedans\nin that land. Still later came Europeans, led thither by the prospects\nof great commercial gains, the Portuguese, the Danes, the Dutch, the\nFrench and, finally, came the English.\n\nOver one hundred dialects are spoken in India, but there is only one\nsacred language and one sacred literature. This is the Sanscrit. All\nthe Hindu sacred books, all the sacred knowledge of Hindu theology,\nphilosophy or law, all the Hindu creeds, opinions, customs, etc., are\nrecorded in this language. This language of their literature does not\nchange with the course of time, it remains the same now as ever.\n\n\n SKETCH OF BRAHMINISM.\n\nBrahminism grew out of what is called the Vedic religion. Before\nAbraham\u2019s day the people living in Central Asia, being a simple race,\naddressed their prayers to the powers of nature, as, for example,\nto the storms, the clouds and the sun, seeing the Deity in each of\nthese. Hymns were written to these gods and this forms the earliest\nof all sacred books, only excepting those from which Moses wrote his\naccount of the early history of the world in Genesis. This people\nmoved south into India. The priesthood arose and the other Vedic books\nof ceremonies, sacrifices and liturgical forms were prepared. Great\ncommentaries were written on these books, and all were declared to be\ninspired.\n\nThe priests quarreled with the civil chiefs, but their sacred character\nwas increased by the conflict, and caste is the result. The priests\nare the highest caste (or class), next come the warriors, then the\nmerchant, the farmer, etc., last of all the tanners, buriers of the\ndead, etc. These classes never intermarry or intermingle in any way;\nit is contaminating to sit together even. About this time idols\nappear, and gods multiply until they reach the number of 330,000,000.\nMen groaned under this stupendous system of oppressive idolatry.\nBuddha tried in the seventh century before Christ, to reform it, but\nhe failed, though he succeeded in establishing a new faith which has\nnumbered its converts by the hundreds of millions. But Brahminism\ncontinues to be the religion of India, even until to-day. The task of\nChristianity to supplant it is gigantic, and rendered doubly difficult\nby the failure of Buddhism. In later days a new reformer appeared,\nRammohun Roy. He started the Brahmosomaj, or reformed Brahminism,\nbut under his successor, Keshub Chunder Sen, it is drifting toward\nChristianity.\n\nStarting from the Veda, Hinduism has ended in embracing something\nfrom all religions, and in presenting phases suited to all minds. It\nis all-tolerant, all-compliant, all-comprehensive, all-absorbing. It\nhas its spiritual and its material aspect, its esoteric and exoteric,\nits subjective and objective, its rational and irrational, its pure\nand its impure. It has one side for the practical, another for the\nseverely moral, another for the devotional and imaginative, another\nfor the sensuous and sensual, and another for the philosophical\nand speculative. Those who rest in ceremonial observances find it\nall-sufficient; those who deny the efficacy of works and make faith\nthe one requisite, need not wander from its pale; those who are\naddicted to sensuality may have their tastes fully gratified; those\nwhose delight is in meditating upon the nature of God and of man,\nor the relations of matter and of spirit, the mystery of separate\nexistence, or upon the origin of evil, may here indulge their love of\nspeculation. And this capacity for almost limitless expansion causes\nalmost numberless sectarian divisions even among the followers of any\ngiven particular line of doctrine. Yet there remains much of the old\nnature-worship, or more correctly speaking, of the old devil-worship\namong the Hindus even at this late day. As in Tinnevelly the people\nworship a stone devil, who holds a trident in one hand, and a child\nwhich he was about to devour in the other. The idol generally has a\ngarland of red and white oleander flowers on its head and shoulders.\n\n [Illustration: DEVIL WORSHIPED IN TINNEVELLY.]\n\n\n THE GODS OF HINDUISM.\n\nThe three idols sculptured on the walls of Elephanta Cave are found all\nover India, and constitute the chief gods which are worshiped by the\nHindus.\n\n [Illustration: INDRA, GOD OF THE ATMOSPHERE.]\n\n [Illustration:\n\n BRAHMA. VISHNU. SIVA.\n\n THE THREE CHIEF HINDU GODS.]\n\nAll the human race is said to have come from the highlands of Central\nAsia, and the worship of these, our Aryan forefathers, was at first\nexceedingly simple. Their manner of life brought them into close\ncontact with nature, and we learn from the hymns then written, many of\nwhich are still preserved in the Vedas (the sacred book of the Hindus),\nthat they regarded the powers of nature as manifestations of gods. In\nthe storms, they supposed these rival gods were quarreling. In the\nVedic hymns, frequent mention is made of the chief god, called Dyaus,\nthe \u201cHeavenly Father.\u201d Also Aditi, the \u201cInfinite Expanse,\u201d is called\nthe mother of all gods. Next comes Varuna, the \u201cSky in its Brightness,\u201d\nthen Indra, the god of the \u201cAtmosphere;\u201d so running through the whole\nlist. After a time, the names of the gods are somewhat altered, and a\nsort of trinity is formed. Agni, god of fire, becomes Brahma; Surya,\nthe sun-god, becomes Vishnu, and Indra, the atmosphere-god, becomes\nSiva. These constitute what is called the Tri-murti, and are generally\nsaid to represent one god as Creator, Preserver or Destroyer. Hindus\noften write in their honor verses like the following:\n\n \u201cIn those three persons the one God was shown--\n Each first in place, each last--not one alone;\n Of Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, each may be\n First, second, third, among the Blessed Three.\u201d\n\nAs to which of the three gods is to be called the Supreme Being,\nopinions differ. The following story is told in one of the sacred books\ntouching upon this point:\n\n\n STORY OF THE SAGES\u2019 SEARCH.\n\nA dispute arose among the sages as to which of the three gods was\ngreatest; so they applied to the great Bhrigu, one of the ten\nMaharshis, or primeval patriarchs created by the first Manu, to\ndetermine the point. He undertook to put all three gods to a severe\ntest, and went first to Brahma; on approaching whom he purposely\nomitted an obeisance. Upon this the god\u2019s anger blazed terribly forth;\nbut, restraining it, he was at length pacified. Next he repaired to the\nabode of Siva, in Kail\u0101sa, and omitted to return the god\u2019s salutation.\nThe vindictive deity was enraged, his eyes flashed fire, and he raised\nhis trident to destroy the sage; but the god\u2019s wife, P\u0101rvati, fell at\nhis feet and by her intercession appeased him. Lastly, he repaired to\nVaikuntha, the heaven of Vishnu, whom he found asleep with his\nhead on his consort Lakshm\u012b\u2019s lap. To make a trial of his forbearance,\nhe boldly gave the god a kick on his breast, which awoke him. Instead\nof showing anger, however, Vishnu arose, and on seeing Bhrigu, asked\nhis pardon for not having greeted him on his first arrival. Next, he\nexpressed himself highly honored by the sage\u2019s blow (which he declared\nhad imprinted an indelible mark of good fortune on his breast), and\nthen inquired tenderly whether his foot was hurt, and proceeded to rub\nit gently. \u201cThis,\u201d said Bhrigu, \u201cis the mightiest god; he overpowers\nby the most potent of all weapons--gentleness and generosity.\u201d This\nidea was not far removed from the genius of Christianity, which\nconspicuously encourages the overcoming of evil with good.\n\n [Illustration:\n\n Picart, Painter. Illman Brothers, Engravers & Printers.\n\n HINDU FAKIRS PRACTISING THEIR SUPERSTITIOUS RITES.\n\n ENGRAVED EXPRESSLY FOR ERROR\u2019S CHAINS]\n\n\n CAN THE GODS DIE?\n\nOne of the most remarkable ideas to be found in the Br\u0101hmanas is that\nthe gods were merely mortals till they extorted immortality from the\nSupreme Being by sacrifices and austerities. A natural or inherent\nimmortality in these deities was never dreamed of, it is said:\n\n \u201cThe gods lived constantly in dread of Death--\n The mighty Ender--so with toilsome rites\n They worshiped and repeated sacrifices\n Till they became immortal. Then the Ender\n Said to the gods, \u2018As ye have made yourselves\n Imperishable; so will men endeavor\n To free themselves from me; what portion then\n Shall I possess in man?\u2019 The gods replied,\n \u2018Henceforth no being shall become immortal\n In his own body; this his mortal frame\n Shalt thou still seize; this shall remain thy own,\n He who through knowledge or religious acts\n Henceforth attains to immortality\n Shall first present his body, Death, to thee.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n SECTS OF HINDUISM.\n\nIt must not be supposed that the heathen religions present one unbroken\nfront against the oncoming ranks of Christianity. Christianity is\ndivided into sects, it is true; but these sects are but as the\ndifferent regiments and divisions of an army. The banner of the Cross\nis at the head of the whole of this grand army, and it floats proudly\nover each regiment; the regimental banner is always placed beneath, and\nnot above, the banner of the Cross. Hence the various denominations\nof Christians are not so many distinct bodies, fighting each other\nas well as fighting the common foe; but they are so many bands of\nsoldiers, fighting, perhaps, each in its own way, yet all aiming to\ndestroy the one common enemy, Satan and his works. But the divisions\nof heathen religious systems differ greatly from this. Many of them\nare so different from each other that there is hardly a trace of\nresemblance remaining. Each heathen religious system wages war against\nevery other one. Buddhism is, perhaps, an exception to this, at least\nin its mode of warfare, for it seeks to swallow up every other system,\nto incorporate all other religions in its own and to destroy them by\nthe change. In each of these systems, as well as in Hinduism, which we\nhave now before us for consideration, there are many different sects.\nThese vary very much more than the denominations of Christendom, and\nare constantly turning their guns upon each other. Thus God is making\nSatan to defeat himself, and will bring good to the world even out of\nthe wicked one\u2019s work.\n\nThe sects of Hinduism overlap each other. Many Hindus are attached at\nthe same time to several sects, and some of the gods are worshiped\nby all the sects in common. Following the national tendency of all\nheathen religious systems, Hinduism developed downwards. Sect after\nsect arose, each calling attention to some one prominent point in\ntheir faith, and setting all the other points far in the background.\n\n [Illustration: BIRD\u2019S-EYE VIEW OF THE HINDU TEMPLE AT\n CAWNPORE.]\n\nDuring all the period from 800 to 500 before Christ, the need of\nmaking peace offerings to the gods was insisted upon by certain sects.\nAccording to the creed of one popular sect, for example, if one should\nslay a hundred horses in sacrifice, he would be worthy of being exalted\nto the rank of a powerful god. Thousands of animals, principally\nhorses, cows, pigs, and the like, were slain every day at this time.\nThe whole land was filled with blood. Then came the reaction, a new\nsect arose, who, disgusted and wearied of sacrifices and sacrificing\npriests, declared all sacrifices as unnecessary and displeasing to\nthe gods. The followers of Kali, the goddess of blood, and especially\nthe Thugs, who came into prominence later on and who are described in\nconnection with the worship of Kali, of course opposed this idea. Yet\nthey were unsuccessful, their rival sect rapidly gained the popular\nfavor, and, except at Kali\u2019s altars, sacrifices almost disappeared. The\ngreat reformer, Buddha, the \u201cLight of Asia,\u201d gave great assistance to\nthis doctrine. He taught, about the seventh century before Christ, that\nit was the duty of man to preserve life, and not to destroy it. The\nteaching that the souls of men after death passed into the bodies of\nanimals also aided in this. Buddha\u2019s teachings gained almost universal\nacceptance in India for a time; it looked as though it would root out\nHinduism. But gradually the Hindu priests brought Buddhism back unto\nitself again. The priests declared that Gautama, the Buddha, was an\nincarnation of the god Vishnu, and by this concession won their way to\nthe hearts of the people. Each of the gods had their own followers,\nand, as may be imagined, the sect that worshiped Vishnu received many\nnew adherents.\n\nAfter this, Hinduism rapidly descended to its darkest, deepest\ndegradation. Priestcraft was extended, rites were multiplied, and\nsuperstitious customs increased. For long years the people groaned\nunder their heavy burdens, then sought--as, alas! how often they\nsought, but only to fail--to get back to the high ground of a purer\nreligion. Reformers appeared, and the people gladly and quickly\ngathered around these reformers, thus forming new sects. To set forth\nthe whole history of these sects would require volume after volume.\nIn a general way, we may say that there are five large sects: the\nfollowers of Siva, of Vishnu, of Sakta, the sun worshipers, and the\nadherents of Ganesha. We might well add to these, and to the multitude\nof minor sects into which they are divided, the greatest of modern\nsects, which is called the Brahmo-Somaj.\n\n [Illustration: SCULPTURED IDOLS ON A PILLAR.]\n\nIn the year 1774 was born a man of marked ability, named Rammohun Roy.\nHe sought to suppress the Suttee, the burning of Hindu widows with\nthe bodies of their dead husbands. He encouraged native education and\nthe general enlightenment of the whole people. He went back beyond\nthe teachings of priests and of the modern sacred Hindu books, back\nto the Vedas, and sought to prove that they taught that idolatry was\nwrong, and that one god should be worshiped. To this Supreme Being he\ngave the name of Brahma, and hence his sect of reformed Hinduism was\ncalled the Brahma or Brahmo-Somaj, or Society of God. After his death,\nseveral other leaders arose, the last of whom, the third from Rammohun\nRoy, named Keshub Chunder Sen, was, perhaps, most in accord with the\nfounder\u2019s spirit. He visited England lately. Under his leading the\nsociety is offering an uncompromising opposition to caste, idolatry and\nsuperstition, and is accomplishing the best results.\n\n\n PRINCIPLES OF HINDUISM.\n\nHinduism as a system has nothing to say about making men better, it\nonly tells of means to make peace with angry gods. It speaks only\nthreatening and fear. But worse than this--and it would corrupt our\npages to do more than mention it--much of its worship is vile; vulgar\nimages are common objects of worship in India.\n\nIts teachings as to the next world and the way to reach it are\nremarkable. There is supposed to be a wide stream between this world\nand the next, and the only way to cross is by holding on to the tail of\nthe sacred cow when dying.\n\n [Illustration: DYING BRAHMIN HOLDING THE TAIL OF THE SACRED\n COW, SO AS TO ENTER HEAVEN.]\n\nOne terrible feature of Hinduism is _Caste_. Every Hindu child\nis born within a certain caste, and above or below that it can never\ngo. It is a most rigid system requiring the members of one caste to\nhave as little as possible to do with the members of another. The\nfour principal castes are--the Priest or Brahmin caste; the Warrior\ncaste; the Merchant caste; the Sudras, or Servile caste; besides\nthese are the Pariahs, who are below all caste. Some of the castes\ndistinguish themselves by the cut and color of their dress, some by\nthe way in which their garments are put on, some by a peculiar mark on\nthe forehead, some by the jewels or ornaments they wear. The bounds\nof these castes are fixed and immovable. No one, however, rich, or\nlearned, or skillful, can rise above his caste, no one, however poor,\nor degraded, or vicious, sinks below his caste. Each caste looks up to\nthose above it, and concedes its superiority.\n\n [Illustration: A CASTE-MARKED BRAHMIN AT HIS DEVOTIONS.]\n\nA Brahmin who had become a Christian, once told a celebrated traveler,\nthat the people of lower castes than his own had often asked him\nto stop and wash his feet in the water of the street, so that they\nmight drink it! The whole system, this traveler goes on to say, is\na cold and cruel thing, which hardens the heart against natural\ncompassion. Against its oppression there is no power of resistance; it\nextinguishes every element of human brotherhood. Hinduism is, take it\nall and all, one of the vilest, most despotic, most degrading systems\nof religion. In almost every other faith there is some redeeming\nfeature; in Hinduism we seek in vain to find any element of truth.\nThere is nothing in it worthy of being placed in comparison with\nChristianity. Yet the task of persuading the Hindu people of this is\na very difficult one. The missionary seems as but a youthful David\nwith his sling and stones in the presence of this very Goliath of\nHeathenism. But he has God standing with him, and by His aid the work\nwill finally be successful.\n\n [Illustration: GOD OF HELL, FROM A HINDU PICTURE.]\n\n\n HUMAN BEINGS KILLED IN SACRIFICE.\n\nVery early in the history of the Hindu religion, human beings were\nsacrificed to the gods. Both children and adults were slain before\nKali\u2019s altars, especially. Sacrifice of human beings is referred to in\nthe sacred books; for instance, it appears in the following Brahmana:\n\nKing Hariscandra had no son; he then prayed to Varuna, promising, that\nif a son were born to him, he would sacrifice the child to the god.\nThen a son was born to him called Rohita. When Rohita was grown up, his\nfather one day told him of the vow he had made to Varuna and bade him\nprepare to be sacrificed. The son declined to be killed, and ran away\nfrom his father\u2019s house. For six years he wandered in the forest and at\nlast met a starving Brahmin. Him he persuaded to sell one of his sons\nnamed Sunahsepha, for a hundred cows. This boy was bought by Rohita\nand taken to Hariscandra and was about to be sacrificed to Varuna as\na substitute for Rohita. At this moment, on praying to the gods with\nverses from the Veda, the boy was released. Some of the Hindu gods are,\nin accord with this idea, horrible imaginations, as the god of Hell. In\ncontrast with such, is Amadeo, god of Love, the cupid god of the Hindus.\n\n [Illustration: AMADEO, GOD OF LOVE.]\n\nBut the Hindus were averse to human sacrifice, and so they found a way\nto get around it. They introduced this passage into their sacred books:\n\nThe gods killed a man for their victim. But from him thus killed, the\npart which was fit for a sacrifice went out and entered a horse.\nThence the horse became an animal fit for being sacrificed. The gods\nthen killed the horse, but the part of it fit for being sacrified\nwent out of it and entered an ox. The gods then killed the ox, but\nthe part of it fit for being sacrificed went out of it and entered a\nsheep. Thence it entered a goat. The sacrificial part remained for the\nlongest time in the goat; thence, it became pre-eminently fit for being\nsacrificed!\n\n\n WOMAN\u2019S LIFE IN INDIA.\n\nEvery one of the heathen religions more or less degrades woman.\nOften she is made the slave of man, or, worse still, the creature to\nminister to his appetites. Only Christianity seeks to lift woman to\nthe level of man. Women in Christian lands rarely ever appreciate the\nlow condition of their Oriental sisters. In India, woman\u2019s condition\nis worse than in China, and in China worse than in Japan. In the early\nreligious writings of the Hindus, woman is spoken of with respect; but\nin later days those teachings have been all but forgotten. Indeed, the\ndegradation of woman in India--not merely sanctioned, but commanded,\nby the Hindu religion--is without a parallel in any age and among any\nother race. According to the Code of Manu, the law-book of the Hindu\nreligion, woman is forbidden to read the sacred books or to offer up\nprayers or sacrifices in her own name and person. She may pray and\nworship, but only as her father or husband directs. Woman is regarded\nas _having no soul_, differing from the beasts only in being more\nintelligent than they. Moreover, she is commanded _to revere her\nhusband as a god_.\n\n [Illustration: TEACHING A CHILD TO WORSHIP GANESHA, THE GOD\n OF WISDOM.]\n\n [Illustration: A CHILD BRINGING AN OFFERING TO THE IDOL OF A\n BULL.]\n\nIf a Brahmin, or priest, happens to be reading the Vedas (the sacred\nHindu books), and a woman happens to come near, he must suspend his\nreading until she pass by.\n\n_Her_ ear is not pure enough to hear the sacred word, they say.\nThey were kept secluded from sight in ill-furnished apartments;\nreally, they were kept prisoners in the zenanas, as their apartments\nwere called. Only recently has the condition of the women of India\nbeen exposed. Missionary ladies, by taking the occasion of teaching\nwomen how to knit and embroider, managed to secure an entrance to\nthe zenanas. Tale after tale was told of the pitiful condition of\nthe Hindu women. These were doubted, questioned and examined; but\ninvestigation confirmed their truth. What is the picture that is drawn\nby these faithful pens of the Hindu woman\u2019s life from the cradle to\nthe grave? Girls are never welcomed in India. Formerly a large number\nwere destroyed at birth, but now the British government prevents\nthat. But they are as badly off, in many cases worse, than if dead.\nTheir very existence is almost unnoticed by their father. Ask a Hindu\nhow many children he has--supposing that he have three sons and four\ndaughters--he will reply, \u201cI have three children,\u201d not thinking it\nworth while to count his daughters. Formerly at least seventy-five out\nof every hundred female infants were destroyed. These infants were\ngenerally cast to the crocodiles in the Ganges, and, strange to say,\nthe mother thought she was serving Heaven in doing this unnatural\ndeed. The great linguist, Dr. John Leyden, has written:\n\n \u201cTo glut the shark and crocodile\n A mother brought her infant here;\n She saw its tender, playful smile,\n She shed not one maternal tear.\n She threw it on a watery bier;\n With grinding teeth sea-monsters tore\n The smiling infant that she bore.\n She shrunk not once its cries to hear!\u201d\n\nFrom childhood they are taught to worship the idols, especially\nGanesha, the god of wisdom, and so the stone bulls.\n\nAfter a little girl has reached her fifth birthday, her parents begin\nto look for a husband for her. She can be married when seven years old,\nbut may wait until she is ten. The idea of marrying for love is never\ndreamed of. The little one never makes her own choice of a husband.\nHer married life bears not the slightest resemblance to the life of a\nwife in a Christian land. The Shasters declare that a wife, \u201cWhen in\nthe presence of her husband, must keep her eyes upon her master, and\nbe ready to receive his commands. When he speaks, she must be quiet,\nand listen to nothing else besides; when he calls, she must leave\neverything else, and attend upon him alone. A woman has no other god on\nearth but her husband. The most excellent of all good works that she\ncan perform is to gratify him with the strictest obedience. This should\nbe her only devotion. Though he be aged, infirm, dissipated, a drunkard\nor a debauchee, she must still regard him as her god. She must serve\nhim with all her might, obeying him in all things, spying no defects in\nhis character, and giving him no cause for disquiet. If he laughs, she\nmust laugh; if he weeps, she must weep; if he sings, she must be in an\necstasy.\u201d The wife may never walk with her husband. No other man than\nhe or her father or brothers must ever look on her face. A Hindu woman\nwould rather die than to be thus defiled, as they are taught to regard\nit.\n\n [Illustration: HINDU WOMAN.]\n\nWoman in India is in the power of her husband completely; she is his\nslave, and must wait on his every motion. Worse than this, she is not\nthe only wife, for Hinduism permits a man to have many wives. When her\nhusband dies, the wife is more unhappy than ever. All her ornaments and\nbeautiful clothing are taken from her, and only a poor, coarse, brown\nrobe is left; her black hair is shorn off, and the tali--answering to\nour marriage-ring--is taken from her. Henceforth, if she live, she must\npractice the severest penance. Often, before the British government\nput a stop to it, the widow was burned alive with the dead body of her\nhusband. For all this degradation and misery and shameless treatment of\nwomen Hinduism is responsible.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XII.\n\n HINDU TEMPLES, IDOLS AND WORSHIP.\n\n A thousand pilgrims strain\n Arm, shoulder, breast and thigh, with might and main,\n To drag that sacred wain,\n And scarce can draw the enormous load,\n Prone fall the frantic votaries in its road,\n And calling on the god,\n Their self-devoted bodies there they lay\n To pave his chariot-way.\n On Jaga-Naut they call,\n The ponderous car rolls on, and crushes all.\n ROBERT SOUTHEY.\n\n\nEvery city of India has its temples by the hundreds, in some cases by\nthe thousands. On all the hills, in all the valleys, scattered over\nall the fields, in the densest jungles or open plains are temples,\nshrines and idols. The rivers are sacred, trees are worshiped and\nvery many animals receive religious reverence. The temple-courts are\nfilled with chattering monkeys, and here and there we see the sacred\nbulls, garlanded with flowers and fed by the devotees. There is no end,\nseemingly, to their temples and idols. Probably no country in the world\nhas more of these than India. It is one of the marks of heathenism\nto multiply the objects and places of worship. Of course, we cannot\nhere make mention of all these, we can but describe a few of the more\nimportant, which may serve as specimens of the rest.\n\n\nIDOLS AND TEMPLES OF JUGGERNAUT.\n\nJuggernaut is a celebrated god. He is called the \u201cLord of the world.\u201d\nHis images are as ugly as can be conceived. Generally they are made of\nwood; in some temples placed three together, one of blue, one of white\nand one of yellow. Juggernaut has many temples; the one at Puri, on the\nwestern shore of the Bay of Bengal, being the largest, and esteemed the\nmost holy. This pagoda stands at the end of the principal street of the\ncity, which is very wide, and lined with dwellings for the priests,\nsmall shrines and other sacred buildings. The wall which surrounds\nthe temple is 21 feet high, and forms an inclosure 650 feet on each\nside. The principal edifice rises to the height of 184 feet. The main\ngate-way is crowded with Fakirs. On each side of the entrance is a\nmammoth lion. Just before the visitor, as he enters, is an image of the\nmonkey-god, Hanuman.\n\n [Illustration: THE MOST SACRED TEMPLE OF JUGGERNAUT AT PURI.]\n\nThe temple is dedicated to Krishna, or Juggernaut, (sometimes written\nJagan-nath,) and his companions--Siva and Sathadra. The idols of each\nare rude, hideous-looking sculptured blocks of wood, each about six\nfeet high. The representations of the human face in these idols are\nhideous. Krishna is painted dark blue, Siva white and Sathadra yellow.\nBefore the altar an image of the hawk-god, Garounda, is placed. Every\nday, we are told, the idols are feasted. Their food consists of 410\npounds of rice, 225 pounds of flour, 350 pounds of butter, 167 pounds\nof treacle, 65 pounds of vegetables, 186 pounds of milk, 24 pounds\nof spices, 34 pounds of salt and 41 pounds of oil. While the food is\nbeing placed before the gods, all but a favored few are excluded from\nthe temple, and the doors are shut. There are over 20,000 holy men\nconnected with this temple, and we can easily guess that _they_\nhelp the idols to get rid of this great mass of food, at any rate it\nall speedily disappears. The idols, strange as it may seem, are washed\nand dressed daily with great seriousness.\n\n [Illustration:\n\n H. Melville, Painter. Illman Brothers, Engravers & Printers.\n\n THE HINDU MOTHER.\n\n ENGRAVED EXPRESSLY FOR ERROR\u2019S CHAINS]\n\n [Illustration:\n\n SIVA. SATHADRA. KRISHNA.\n\n WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLE OF KRISHNA, OR JUGGERNAUT.\n\n The Hawk God, Garounda, is seen in the foreground.]\n\n [Illustration: HINDU DEVOTEES DRAGGING JUGGERNAUT\u2019S CAR AND\n IMMOLATING THEMSELVES.]\n\nOn the 18th of June Juggernaut\u2019s great festival occurs. Formerly great\nmultitudes assembled at this time from every part of the land. Men,\nwomen and children in crowds thronged to the city days in advance,\nand waited with impatience for the festival day to come. The Car-??\nFestival celebrated at Puri is usually attended by more than 500,000\npilgrims, nearly half of whom are females. There is great suffering\namong these pilgrims, and many of them die in consequence of excessive\nfatigue, exposure to the annual rains, and the want of suitable and\nsufficient food. The plains, in many places, are literally whitened\nwith their bones, while dogs and vultures are continually devouring\nthe bodies of the dead. At the appointed time each idol was washed,\ndressed in silk and gold, and placed upon his triumphal car. The car of\nJuggernaut consists of an elevated platform, thirty-four feet square,\nsupported by sixteen wheels, each six and a half feet in diameter. It\nis covered with cloth of gold and costly stuffs, and a Juggernaut is\nplaced under a canopy. Six ropes, or cables, 300 feet in length, are\nattached to the car, by means of which the people draw it from place to\nplace. The whole car is covered with sculptures in the Hindu style.\n\nThousands seize these ropes, as many as could get hold. In their\nfanatical frenzy they crowded and shouldered and shoved one another,\ncounting themselves happy if they could only lay a hand on the ropes.\nThe Car-Festival was the great event of the religious year of the\nworshipers of Juggernaut. Its object was to convey Juggernaut from the\ntemple to his country house, a mile distant. When the image was placed\nin the car the multitude fell on their knees and bowed their foreheads\nin the dust.\n\nAs the car began to advance the drums beat and cymbals clashed, while\nfrom its platform the priests shouted, harangued and sang songs, which\nwere received with applause by the multitude. And so the dense mass,\ntugging, sweating, singing, praying, dragged the car slowly along.\nSome were knocked down and trampled upon, and some were accidentally\ncrushed by the ponderous wheels, while a few, mostly those who were\nsick or in much trouble, sought death by throwing themselves in the\nway of the wheels, this latter being encouraged by some of the priests.\nThe priests and priestesses chanted songs in praise of the gods, the\nmultitudes flung flowers and other gifts about the car.\n\n [Illustration: THE IDOL JUGGERNAUT USUALLY CARRIED ON THE\n CAR.]\n\nSuch was the Great Car-Festival of Juggernaut in ancient days. Of late\nyears it has lost much of its popularity, and though thousands still\nattend annually, it is now looked upon more as an annual fair than a\nreligious festival. The devotees are not half so zealous as formerly,\nand the priests find almost no one to drag the car. No longer do any\nself-made victims fall beneath its wheels, unless it be some poor, weak\nwretch, tired of life and desiring thus to commit suicide. The British\ngovernment has caused much of this change, but more has been done\nby the influence which Christian missionaries have exerted upon the\npeople. The \u201cLord of the World,\u201d as they call this idol, shall yet bow\nbefore the Lord of Lords.\n\nFrom this account of Juggernaut and his worship one cannot fail to\nsee the terrible degradation which Hinduism imposes on its devotees.\nThat God should be deemed to be fitly represented by such ugly\nconceptions as are seen in these idols is evidence of a most degraded\nsystem of religion. Still more so is the teaching of the priests, that\nGod actually lives in some substance in the idol\u2019s heart. Contrast\nthis with the teachings of the Bible concerning Him whom the heaven\nof heavens cannot contain! Juggernaut\u2019s worshipers regard him as a\n_thing_ whom they are to keep from getting angry by petting him\nand caring for and feeding as for a little child; that He is a being\nwho needs such things as clothing to protect and food to sustain Him,\nand who needs to be washed, and to retire to a summer resort to escape\nthe summer\u2019s heat.\n\n [Illustration: DISROBING AND DISJOINTING JUGGERNAUT.]\n\nA striking illustration of the inferiority of idols is given in the\nincident pictured below. Several converts from Hinduism concluded\nto undress and disjoint their idol, and finally they chopped up the\nseveral parts and used them for firewood, thus more than fulfilling the\nwords of Isaiah (chap. xliv., 9\u201320), who tells of idolaters making an\nidol of parts of their wood and burning the residue to warm themselves\nand to roast their meat.\n\n\n KALI, THE GODDESS OF BLOOD.\n\nKali is a very popular goddess, and yet her images are the pictures of\nterror. She wears a head-dress of snakes, and a necklace consisting of\na chain of skulls. In her hand she holds a murderous-looking knife.\nKali is the wife of Siva, the destroyer. In September a festival is\nheld in her honor, called the Doorga-pooja. In all of Kali\u2019s temples\nher idols are gayly adorned with flowers, and prayers are offered to\nher during days of dancing and singing.\n\n [Illustration: THE GODDESS KALI.]\n\n [Illustration: IDOL OF THE BLOODY GODDESS KALI. AT CALCUTTA,\n INDIA.]\n\nThere used to be a sect of murderous stranglers, known as Thugs, who\nwere especially devoted to the worship of Kali, and who performed\ntheir murderous work as a religious service to that goddess. The story\nof this people opens up a chapter of the greatest cruelty, going far\nbeyond all the ordinary records of crime. Yet it was all done from a\nreligious motive, as well as for love of plunder. Strange that it could\nbe so! The legend that accounts for their origin is as follows: A long\nwhile ago a giant demon infested this world destroying mankind. The\ngoddess Kali, to save mankind from utter destruction, attacked this\ndemon and cut him down; but from the drops of blood that fell to the\nground immediately there sprang up other demons--a host of them. Then\nKali created two men, to whom she gave handkerchiefs, and whom she\ntaught to strangle the demons without shedding blood. This was done,\nlest if their blood be shed more demons should spring up. Kali intended\nin this way to destroy the whole brood. When these men had strangled\nall the demons, she bade them strangle men in the same way, to repay\nher for her service to mankind. From these two men the Thugs came.\n\n [Illustration: NIGHT FEAST OF THE BLOODY GODDESS, KALI.]\n\nThe Thugs were born such; at each one\u2019s hearthstone his children were\ntrained to the work of becoming murderers. The handkerchief with\nwhich the victim was strangled, and the pick-axe with which his grave\nwas dug, were obtained from the priest, and were regarded as very\nsacred. Their method of procedure was like this: They waited about the\ninns or loitered along the roads waiting for travelers to overtake\nthem. The Thug and his intended victim would journey together, and,\nlittle by little, he would worm out of him all his plans and intended\nmovements. Thus the Thug could decide on the most suitable place and\ntime. When they came to this, he would throw his strip of cloth about\nthe unsuspecting stranger\u2019s neck and draw it tighter and tighter until\nhe was suffocated. If the Thugs traveled together with a party of\nmerchants, each selected his victim, and all were strangled together.\nAfter death a hole, about three feet deep, was dug, and the corpse was\nburied face downwards. The greatest care was taken to shed no blood,\nand the whole was generally done under cover of the darkness of night.\nThe whole sect was so banded together, having their scouts and spies,\nand systems of signaling one another, when they performed their work,\nthat they were rarely detected. Every year several thousands of persons\nlost their lives at the hands of the Thugs. In the year 1826 the\nBritish government first discovered their existence. During the period\nof some nine years over fifteen hundred of the Thugs were arrested\nand executed. The sect is very nearly destroyed now. How astonishing\nthat such a sect should not merely exist, but that they should perform\ntheir dastardly deeds as a religious service. The cannibalism of the\nbarbarous South Sea Islanders is regarded with the greatest abhorrence;\nbut their ignorance and degraded condition lessens our condemnation of\ntheir abominable deeds. For the Thugs, an intelligent people, living in\na semi-civilized land, with opportunities of getting knowledge far in\nadvance of the Islanders of the Pacific, we can see almost no reason\nfor hesitating to condemn most strongly their awful practices. What\na contrast is here furnished between the religion of Jesus Christ,\nwith its teachings of mercy and love, and the religion that not only\ntolerated, but even taught, that to murder was to render a service to\nthe gods.\n\n [Illustration: GODDESS KALI, FROM A HINDU PICTURE.]\n\nKali\u2019s feasts were generally held at night. Great crowds of religious\nfanatics gathered around her most fearful images. These were generally\nplaced in a grove for this occasion. In two of her four hands the idol\nheld skulls; formerly these were human skulls, now they are made of\nwood. The devotees walk round and round the idol, bearing torches,\nbeating drums, and dancing in odd ways.\n\nKali is one of the most celebrated goddesses of all the Hindu worship,\nand is the especial favorite divinity of the people of Calcutta. Her\nimages are very different, but she has always one character ascribed to\nher; she is cruel and revengeful. We meet her temples everywhere--by\nthe roadside, in palm groves, under the wide-spreading banyan tree.\nThis goddess of destruction being more feared than all others, is\nworshiped more than all. She is represented sometimes as standing on a\nlion or a prostrate man, always with four hands. These hold knives or\nskulls, or, perhaps, human heads, as already noticed. Often she wears\na necklace of skulls. The Hindus bring to her idols the first fruits\nof the garden, vineyard or orchard. Some of Kali\u2019s temples, like that\nat Calcutta, are beautifully sculptured, and her idols decorated with\nprecious-stones.\n\n\n TEMPLE DECORATIONS.\n\nThere is one thing which characterizes almost all of the better Hindu\ntemples, this is the exquisite richness of the sculptures which\ndecorate their walls. They seem to trust more to the impression which\nappeals to the sight make upon the minds of the people than to any oral\nteaching or readings from books. The Hindus are accustomed to depict\nin these decorations the whole of their mythology, the legends of the\ngods, the stories of the lives of their deities, their ideas of the\nfuture life, of the present world and the like. The preceding picture\ngives a sculpture representing the Hindu notion of the universe, and\nof the relative position of the world. To the untutored Hindu mind it\nanswers fully the question, How is the world upheld? Of course those\nHindus who have received the light of a truly scientific education\nlaugh at such notions as are here indicated. They know far better, as\ndo we.\n\n [Illustration: HINDU NOTION OF THE UNIVERSE.]\n\n [Illustration: GOLDEN TEMPLE OF THE HINDUS OF UMRITSUR.]\n\n [Illustration: ENTABLATURE FROM A HINDU TEMPLE.]\n\nIn the accompanying engraving the transmigration of the soul is\nillustrated. This is drawn from a photograph of the entablature of\na temple near the foot of the lofty Himalayas. The sculpture which\nfollows tells of the romantic adventures narrated in the Ramayama.\nThese sculptures are the common people\u2019s teachers; indeed, the world\nover, the language of pictures is far more loved and better understood\nthan any other. Pictures and sculptures constitute the one language\nintelligible to people speaking widely different dialects.\n\n [Illustration: CHILDREN AT WORSHIP IN A TEMPLE IN BENARES.]\n\nHerein, too, is one of the great powers of heathenism over the\nchildren. Before they can read for themselves or remember the doctrines\ntaught them, they see the pictures and enjoy the stories they\ncommunicate. These become part of the children\u2019s mental store. They\nare realities to them. They are never forgotten. They never lose\ntheir power. This is abundantly demonstrated in the experience of every\nteacher. When verbal description has failed a picture has made all\nclear.\n\n [Illustration: BAS-RELIEF FROM A HINDU TEMPLE.]\n\n\n BENARES.\n\nTrue Hindus consider the city of Benares to be situated in the very\ncentre of the earth, and to be the most sacred city in the world. There\nare not less than 80,000 Brahmins, or \u201choly caste\u201d Hindus, residing\nhere, and the city also is stocked with the so-called \u201csacred bulls and\nsacred monkeys.\u201d There are more than 1,000 temples and over 500,000\nenshrined deities. More than 100,000 pilgrims visit Benares annually,\n20,000 of whom may be seen rushing at one time into the River Ganges,\nat a given signal, that they may bathe at the proper moment. The river\nis reached by flights of broad steps, and on these the Hindus pass the\nbusiest hours of the day, bathing, dressing, saying their prayers,\nlounging and gossiping. Benares is believed by some to be 80,000 steps\nnearer to heaven than any other part of the world. Ten miles around\nBenares is said to be such holy ground, that whoever dies within this\narea is sure of going to heaven, however great a sinner he may have\nbeen.\n\n\n THE SACRED CITY OF THE SIKHS.\n\nUmritsur, in North-western India, is the holy city of the Sikhs. This\nis a sect of reformed Hindus, who at first rejected idolatry, but who\nafterwards found its fascination too strong for them. In the centre of\na large tank--called the Lake of Immortality, because whoever bathes\nin it is shielded from everlasting death--is a temple of pure white\nmarble, with a roof made of plates of copper, richly gilded; this is\ncalled the Golden Temple. Before crossing the bridge or causeway to the\ntemple, one must put off the shoes from his feet, so holy is the place.\n\nThe Sikhs are very fanatical, and they do not receive visitors with\nany expressions of friendliness. The city of Umritsur has no celebrity\napart from this temple. The sect of the Sikhs originated about the\nmiddle of the fifteenth century, and now numbers about 5,000,000.\n\n [Illustration: APPROACH TO THE TEMPLE OF UMRITSUR.]\n\n\n CAVE-TEMPLES OF ELEPHANTA AND GWALIOR.\n\nIn the harbor of Bombay is an island containing a celebrated\ncave-temple. Hundreds of years ago the Hindus excavated this temple\nfrom the solid rock; pillars, idols and chapels are all cut from\nthe one great mass of stone. For three hundred years past there has\nbeen little worship here. The temple was devoted to the worship of\nSiva. After ascending a flight of several hundred steps we stand\nbefore the great square gate-ways. Immense columns ranging away in the\ndarkness support the roof of solid rock. On the walls are sculptured\nthe fantastic forms of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. The metamorphoses of\nthese are also shown in sculpture. The cave is shaped like a cross. At\nthe end of the main passage-way, opposite the principal gate-way, is\nan altar supporting a gigantic, three-headed idol. The central face\nis calm and benevolent, the forehead is covered with a lofty diadem,\nlike a mitre, covered with delicate carvings representing necklaces.\nThe face on the right expresses terrible rage; its mitre is covered\nwith sculptured skulls and serpents, and its outstretched hand holds\na cobra. The other face is smiling and the hand holds a flower. The\ntriple idol represents Siva as the passive god, the destroying god and\nthe saving god. The sculptures are much worn away, but enough remains\nto indicate the wondrous majesty and beauty of the Elephanta Cave.\n\n [Illustration: GREAT IDOL OF THE CAVE OF MANDAR. INDIA.]\n\n [Illustration: CAVE OF ELEPHANTA.]\n\n [Illustration: THE WONDERFULLY EXCAVATED TEMPLE-CAVE OF\n ELEPHANTA, BOMBAY, INDIA.]\n\nAt Gwalior are a number of Hindu temple-caves. The precipitous sides\nof the great mountain are cut and carved into hundreds of statues,\nfrom one foot to forty feet high, and deep recesses in which they seem\nhidden away. One of these caves was probably made about 300 years\nafter Christ. After passing through several archways we stand before\nthree idols, each twenty feet high. The worship of these has long\nsince ceased, and they only remain to show us what the people of India\nworshiped hundreds of years ago. More than a thousand years before this\ncave was excavated, and over twenty-five hundred years ago, another\ngreat cave was prepared at Gwalior, that of Ourwhai. This is an old\nJain temple. For about 800 feet, the hard surface of the rock\nhas been dressed so as to form a smooth wall, and the lower part of\nthis wall has been excavated, and there the statues were sculptured.\nFirst there are nine gigantic statues, each thirty feet high, placed\nin niches. Behind these is a small chamber containing another great\nstatue in a lying position. From this chamber a door leads into a\ntank. Following the paved foot-path which surrounds this tank, you\ncome to another and larger chamber, which is specially dedicated to\nthe statue of Adinath, thirty-five feet high. Around the idol are rich\nsculptures, and on the cushion on which it sits is a long inscription.\nThis mountain contains twelve rooms, in each of which are from one to\nnine statues; most of these are from twenty to thirty feet high. For\nnearly ten miles around this mountain are bas-reliefs, statues and\nexcavations. There is a natural tendency among the superstitious people\nto seek places of darkness for the observances of their religious\nrites. Oftentimes the priests are enabled to impose on the credulity of\nthe people much more easily when they add some element of weirdness or\nmystery to their strange religious performances.\n\n [Illustration: IMAGE OF GANESHA.]\n\n [Illustration: ANNUAL BOAT-FESTIVAL OF GANESHA, ON THE\n GANGES.]\n\n [Illustration: A WAYSIDE IDOL OF GANESHA, GOD OF WISDOM.]\n\n\n GANESHA, GOD OF WISDOM.\n\nAnother exceedingly popular idol of the Hindus is that of Ganesha, the\nGod of Wisdom. It is partly in the shape of a man and partly in the\nshape of an elephant. The children in the schools are taught to worship\nit, and it is adored by all who wish to become acquainted with Hindu\nlearning and so-called wisdom. The images of this god are not only\nfound in the temples and schools, and at the corners of the streets in\nthe cities, but also under the trees on country roadsides.\n\nThe sagacity of the elephant is well known, and it is presumed that\nthe elephant-idol is worshiped for this reason, just as the serpent is\nworshiped as the symbol of cunning, or the sun as the symbol of power.\nAs of almost all the other gods, Ganesha has his festivals, when the\npeople come together in great crowds to do him honor. At one of these\nannual festivals they bring forth the god Ganesha, place him in a boat,\nand accompanied with other boats containing priests and musicians, they\nrow up and down the Ganges. The great crowds of people lining the shore\nfill the air with their shouts and songs, and the occasion is one of\nexuberant joy.\n\n\n PAGODAS.\n\nScattered about the large temple inclosures are great pagodas or\ntowers. These contained the rooms of the priests and servants of the\ntemple. Sometimes they served simply as gate-ways, at other times they\nwere used as houses for the idols. Rising high above the surrounding\ncountry, everywhere they could be seen by the people, and thus their\ndevotion to their idolatrous worship was increased. The priests sought\nby the use of every possible means to fix the people\u2019s faith in their\nidols; like Demetrius, whose business of making shrines in Ephesus was\nspoiled by Paul\u2019s preaching, these priests do not wish to lose their\nhold upon the people, because thus their means of support would be\ndestroyed. But, notwithstanding all their efforts, they cannot hold the\npeople in their bondage, and each year witnesses more and more refusing\nto listen to them. None of these great pagodas are new. For very many\nyears they have towered above the dwellings of the people in their\nmajestic grandeur; when they fall into decay they are not replaced.\nMany of these pagodas are several hundreds of feet high, and are\ncovered with sculptures representing scenes in the lives of the gods of\nthe temple, or of eminent saints.\n\n [Illustration: GATEWAY OF MADURA TEMPLE.]\n\nAnother famous pagoda is at Pondicherry, in Southern India. The\ngate-way to this temple is most intricately carved. The heathen aim to\nset forth in a durable way, as by these sculptures, the parts of their\nworship. They depend largely upon the sight for instructing the people\nin their faith, rather than upon their hearing, preaching, or reading\nsacred books.\n\n [Illustration: PAGODA OF PONDICHERRY, FAMED FOR ITS\n SCULPTURE.]\n\nThe interiors as well as the exteriors of these temples are covered\nwith sculptures. The service is in nowise like that in Christian\nchurches. The people come and go as they please. They beat the drums to\ncall the attention of the gods to the prayers they are about to offer,\nrub their hands together as they mumble over some prayers, leave their\nofferings before the idol of stone or wood, and go away believing that\ndangers will be averted, or that good fortune will come to them.\n\nIn Ongole, near the great pagodas, the people used to be very\nidolatrous, having many idols in their houses as well as in their\ntemples. But even here they are rapidly losing their faith in their\nidols. Recently, in a single year, 20,000 people in this district\nbecame Christians, and in one week they brought to the missionaries a\nthousand idols which they had ceased to worship.\n\n [Illustration: DISUSED IDOLS AND SACRED ARTICLES FROM ONGOLE,\n INDIA.]\n\n [Illustration: BIRD\u2019S-EYE VIEW OF PAGODAS AND TEMPLE GROUNDS.\n\n This view is taken from Eagle Hill, in the Madras Presidency,\n India. It looks toward the east, and when combined with its\n counterpart, looking toward the west, it shows the extent and\n grandeur of these sacred grounds and buildings.]\n\n [Illustration: BIRD\u2019S-EYE VIEW OF PAGODAS AND TEMPLE GROUNDS.\n\n This view is taken from Eagle Hill, in the Madras Presidency,\n India. It looks toward the west, and when combined with its\n counterpart, looking toward the east, it shows the extent and\n grandeur of these sacred grounds and buildings.]\n\n\n HINDU WASHINGS FOR SIN.\n\nA writer for young people thus describes the custom of the Hindus\nresorting to the Ganges, and the reasons for it:\n\n\u201cThe heathen know well that sin needs to be washed away, but as to how\nthis can be done they have very strange ideas. Some will walk through\nfire, as if that would burn away all impurities; some will cover their\nbodies with filth, as if that would cleanse the soul; others still\nfancy that the water of certain streams has power to remove all taint\nof sin. The Hindus believe that there is wonderful cleansing power in\nthe water of the Ganges, so that whoever can bathe in that river is\nfreed from guilt. From all parts of India pilgrims go to the Ganges,\nand they believe that whoever dies in that stream is sure of future\nbliss. But India is a vast country, and comparatively few of the poor\npeople who live in the southern portion can travel the thousand miles\nor more to reach the Ganges. Hence they have their own sacred streams\nand fountains, which, though not regarded as so sacred as the Ganges,\nare yet supposed to have power to cleanse from sin.\n\n [Illustration: HINDUS WASHING IN THE SACRED RIVER GANGES AT\n BENARES.]\n\n\u201cSeveral years ago, in a village near Madura, a Brahmin named Sokappen\nread in one of the sacred Hindu books, that near the temple of his\nvillage there was a spring far under ground, and that if one would\nonly dig deep enough water would flow at that spring from the Ganges,\nwhile the river itself was more than eleven hundred miles away. The\nBrahmin thought that would be a glorious work to do, and so worked for\nyears, spending all his own money and begging from others, until he had\nfinished a great, tank and walled it with hewn stone, with stone steps\nleading down to the sacred water. He finally heard of Christ, and of\nthe forgiveness he offered, and since then he has often preached that\nonly the blood of Christ can take away sin.\n\n [Illustration: TEMPLE OF THE SACRED FOUNTAIN.]\n\n\u201cThough many people of India have now heard the Gospel, there are yet\nmillions who have faith in their sacred bathing places. Those who live\ntoo far from the Ganges find some river, if they can, as at Mowli,\nwhere two rivers, the Yenna and the Krishna, meet, and where multitudes\nbathe. The dead, also, are taken there, some to be buried, as was\nthe \u2018saint\u2019 whom Mr. Bruce describes, and others to be burned, that\ntheir ashes may be mingled with the sacred waters. In the district of\nTinnevelly, South India, is a famous artificial tank. It is sometimes\ncalled the \u2018Sea of Sacred Milk.\u2019 Granite steps lead down to the water\u2019s\nedge, and in the early morning hundreds of men and women gather to\nbathe and to worship the sun. The water is stagnant and dirty, though\nit is esteemed as specially holy. Here the people wash not only\nthemselves, but also their clothes. The cost of building these bathing\nplaces is immense, yet the people build them in many parts of India\nbecause they think that, at any cost, provision should be made for the\nremoval of sin. They know of no better way than by bathing in these\nfilthy places.\u201d\n\n\n HINDU HOLY MEN, DEVOTEES AND FAKIRS.\n\n [Illustration: THE FAKIR OF THE IMMOVABLE FOOT.]\n\n [Illustration: THE HOLY MAN WITH THE IRON COLLAR.]\n\nOne singular feature of the Brahmin worship is the ways the worshipers\ndevised to show their zeal. They built great temples, carved immense\nidols, and brought great riches into the temple treasuries. They would\nperform the strangest penances, the like of which was never seen\nelsewhere in all the world. The superior priests never show themselves\nbut with great pomp. With guards of cavalry preceding them they will\nride on richly caparisoned elephants through the triumphal arches\nprepared for them, while the people bow as they pass. The lower priests\nrenounced every display, indeed they sought its opposite; with them the\nvilest uncleanness was most allied to godliness. There was, and is, one\norder of priests known as Fakirs, who excelled in self-tortures. They\noften give up all clothing, sometimes sitting in a bed of ashes. Often\nthey forge great iron collars about their necks, or heavy iron bands\nupon arms and ankles. Some let their hair grow long and never comb it.\nTheir bodies are covered with vermin; sometimes they will hold an arm\nor leg in a fixed position, never moving it. Until recently they would\noften fasten hooks in their flesh on their backs, then be elevated\ninto the air, and be dragged through the streets by the people. By many\nsuch horrible acts they hoped to earn an entrance into a happier life.\nThe people regarded these men as unusually holy; they sought them for\ncures, and for relief from sorrows. At the great idol festivals these\nFakirs were present in crowds.\n\n[Illustration: THE FAKIR OF THE LONG HAIR.]\n\n[Illustration: A FAKIR WHO NEVER HELPS HIMSELF.]\n\nIn India, China and Japan, there are a great many men called\n\u201cdevotees,\u201d who give themselves up to miserable lives; many of them\nhoping by this means to obtain the favor of the gods in whom they\nbelieve and great happiness after death. Some of them, however, are\nmoved more by a desire to obtain money and honor from their fellow-men,\nand they think it a respectable and honorable way of getting a living.\nMost of the people fear rather than respect these devotees, thinking\nsome evil will follow if they displease them, or fail to give them\nwhat they want. Many of these devotees, in all three of the countries\nnamed, spend their time wandering from place to place, and making\nlong pilgrimages to famous temples. Others torture themselves in all\nimaginable ways. Some repeat the name of their favorite idol during\nall their hours of wakefulness. Some bathe very frequently, while\nothers do not wash themselves at all, but permit their hair, beard and\nnails to grow to great length; they wear little if any clothing, their\nbodies are covered with ashes, and their whole appearance is dirty and\ndisagreeable. Some of these devotees are really sincere in denying\nthemselves for their religion; they feel the burden and weight of their\nsins, and, knowing not the true way of obtaining pardon and peace, they\ntake these false ways.\n\n [Illustration: A HINDU HOLY MAN TORTURING HIMSELF BY HANGING\n FROM A HOOK.]\n\nSome of these Fakirs are but little better than wild beasts, their\nhabits all tend to make them so. They generally live in holes or caves\nor under banyan trees, and they think that they, by their penances,\nmake atonement for their own sins and for those of the people who care\nfor them. Besides the penances already mentioned, we may add that some\ndrag heavy chains or cannon-balls; some crawl on their hands and knees\nfor years; some roll their naked bodies over and over from the banks\nof the Indus to the banks of the Ganges; some stand for life before a\nslow fire; some impose upon themselves a silence of years, and others\nhang for hours head downwards. All this is done to merit salvation. In\nno other country in the world, probably, have so many different ways\nbeen devised by which men hoped salvation would be earned. Here again\nis seen the contrast between the offered salvation of Jesus Christ\nand the sought salvation by penances taught by this heathen faith,\nmost striking. The British government has now forbidden altogether\nmany of these cruel performances, and has limited others. But earnest\nmissionary work has done more than anything else to destroy the\npeople\u2019s faith in the sanctity and wisdom of these so-called holy men.\n\n [Illustration: FAKIR HANGING TO A LIMB.]\n\nMr. Bruce, an American missionary at Satara, records an event which in\nits day caused great excitement. This is his story:\n\nThree or four years ago when we went into Satara, we used to see,\nsitting in the veranda of his house, an old man covered with rags and\nsurrounded with filth. Sometimes we would see him on the street, with\nrags innumerable upon his person. In America we should have called\nhim a crazy man, but ideas differ in different lands. Here he was a\n\u201c_saint_,\u201d in whom one of the gods dwelt. When his saintship came\nto be known by the populace, he was honored and worshiped everywhere.\nMen who ought to have known better would, on seeing him approach, leave\ntheir work, and run and prostrate themselves at his feet. His rags were\nremoved, and he was clothed with a rich robe of purple. No expense was\nspared to supply all his wants, and he was attended to by two servants,\nfurnished by the Prince of Ouah. At last this rag-man, crazy-man,\nsaint, died. He had said previously, \u201cWherever I die, there let my tomb\nbe built.\u201d He died in the city, and there the people wished to bury him\nand erect a tomb which should ever after be an object of worship. But\nthe municipal officers interfered and ordered the body to be removed\nfrom the city. Then they buried him in the temple grounds, and another\ngod was added to the millions of Hindu deities.\n\n [Illustration: DEVOTEE ENDURING FIRE.]\n\n [Illustration: FAKIR OF THE LONG NAILS.\n\n The growth of the nails shows how long the hand has been held\n in this one position.]\n\nThis story will serve to illustrate the delusion under which the Hindus\nare resting, and the readiness with which they yield their faith to\nany pretender that comes along. The climate of India awakens a dull,\nlethargic condition. The activity of Western nations is unknown. The\npeople are accustomed to move slowly and to avail themselves, as far\nas possible, of all the helps obtainable to lessen the toils of daily\nlife. This also leads them to fall in readily with the declarations of\nany foolish fanatic who may arise, rather than to go to the trouble of\nsifting them and rejecting them as they deserve. The whole system of\nHinduism lends its aid to this. It is, itself, a gigantic system of\nfraud. The Hindu priests laugh in their sleeves at the folly of the\nmultitudes in listening so readily to their instructions. But few of\nthem have any faith in the millions of gods, whose representatives they\nare. This is their profession, by their priesthood they obtain their\nliving, and, consequently, they do all they can to make their religion\npredominant in all the affairs of their neighborhoods. Hence it comes\nabout, that instead of at once exposing the pretensions of Fakirs,\nholy men and devotees, they lend their aid to gain acceptance for them\nwith the multitude. So India groans beneath this oppressive load of\npriestcraft; each day the priests add link after link to the chains\nthat bind her; some day, though, she will arise in her might and cast\noff her burdens, walking in freedom. Christian mission work will speed\nthe coming of that day.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIII.\n\n HINDU SACRED BOOKS, FAIRY STORIES AND FIRESIDE TALES.\n\n Not only in the writings of the later Stoicism, when already\n through the despairing twilight a luminous haze had been\n diffused, not only in the open plagiarisms of the Koran, spoiled\n so often in the plagiarizing, but, even centuries before Christ,\n in the Dialogues of Socrates, in the Republic of Plato, in the\n Analects of Confucius, in the Laws of Manou, in the Sutras of\n the Buddhists, in the Vedas of the Brahmins, in the Zend Avesta\n of the Parsees, in the Pirke Avoth of the Rabbis, there are\n unquestionably precepts which might be combined into a very pure\n and noble code.--FREDERICK W. FARRAR.\n\n\nThe sacred books of the Hindus are written in the Sanskrit language.\nThey all fall under two grand divisions, S\u2019ruti and S\u2019mriti. S\u2019ruti\nmeans \u201cthat which is heard or revealed,\u201d and S\u2019mriti means \u201cthat which\nis remembered and handed down by tradition.\u201d In the first division\nare included the Vedas, in the second the later Sanskrit literature.\nThere are four Vedas (pronounced by the Hindus, V\u0101ds). The Rig-Veda,\ncontaining 1,017 hymns of praise of the personified powers of nature.\nThe Atharva-Veda is composed of verses used as magical spells or\nincantations for calling down or turning off evils. It had its origin\nin a superstitious belief in the power of evil spirits. The Yajur\n(or Yazur) Veda contains hymns and texts arranged for sacrificial\nceremonies. The Sama-Veda reproduces many of the hymns of the Rig-Veda\nre-arranged for worship.\n\nEach of these Vedas consists of three parts, the Mantras or original\nhymns; then the Brahmanas or pure commentaries on these hymns, and to\nthese, philosophical treatises called Upanishads were attached.\n\n [Illustration: HINDU FESTIVAL OF THE NEW MOON.]\n\nAll these are believed to have been given by the gods, having no human\nauthor. As we should say they are believed to be divinely inspired.\n\nOf the second sort of sacred books, the S\u2019mriti, there are four\nclasses. The six Vedangas, first, the rules for sacrifices; second,\nthe book of the science of pronunciation; third, of metre; fourth, of\nexposition of the Vedas; fifth, of grammar; sixth, of astronomy. Next\ncome the S\u2019marta-sutras or books relating to domestic rites and to\nconventional usages. Then follow the Dharma-shastras or \u201cLaw-books,\u201d\nthe code of Manu and other inspired law-givers. Lastly, we have the\nItihasas or legendary poems, the Mahabarata, or cyclop\u00e6dia of Hindu\ntraditions, legends, morals and philosophy, and the Ramayana. This last\ncontains the story of the wanderings of Rama, told in 24,000 stanzas.\n\n\n THE VEDIC HYMNS.\n\nThe word Veda means \u201cknowledge.\u201d The hymns of the Rig-Veda were written\nbetween 1,500 and 1,000 years before Christ, about the time of Moses.\nThey contain many tedious repetitions, but yet are highly interesting\nas showing what the ancient Hindus, and more especially what the\nforefathers of this part of the race, believed. Many of these hymns\nwere sung by our Aryan forefathers before they scattered to settle\nin India or in the wilds of Western Europe. We have before given a\nspecimen of these early hymns. We give here another that seems to show\nthat in the beginning the ancient Hindus worshiped but one God.\n\n \u201cWhat god shall we adore with sacrifice?\n Him let us praise, the golden child that rose\n In the beginning, who was born the lord--\n The one sole lord of all that is--who made\n The earth, and formed the sky, who giveth life,\n Who giveth strength, whose bidding gods revere,\n Whose hiding-place is immortality.\n Whose shadow, death; who by his might is king\n Of all the breathing, sleeping, waking world.\n Where\u2019er let loose in space, the mighty waters\n Have gone, depositing a fruitful seed,\n And generating fire, there _he_ arose\n Who is the breath and life of all the gods,\n Whose mighty glance looks round the vast expanse\n Of watery vapor--source of energy,\n Cause of the sacrifice--the only God,\n Above the gods.\u201d\n\nThe next selection shows how the worship of one God passed into the\nworship of many gods, and explains the origin of caste. The previous\nselection was written long before this one:\n\n \u201cThe embodied spirit has a thousand heads,\n A thousand eyes, a thousand feet, around\n On every side enveloping the earth,\n Yet filling space no larger than a span.\n He is himself this very universe;\n He is whatever is, has been, and shall be;\n He is the lord of immortality.\n All creatures are one-fourth of him, three-fourths\n Are that which is immortal in the sky.\n From him, called Purusha, was born Viraj,\n And from Viraj was Purusha produced,\n Whom gods and holy men made their oblation,\n With Purusha as victim, they performed\n A sacrifice. Why did they divide him?\n How did they cut him up? What was his mouth?\n What were his arms? and what his thighs and feet?\n The Brahmin was his mouth, the kingly soldier\n Was made his arms, the husbandman his thighs,\n The servile Sudra issued from his feet.\u201d\n\nThe common creed of the Hindus, as gathered from the Brahmanas and\nUpanishads, is as follows:\n\n1. The immortality of the soul. Meaning by this, however, not only that\nit will always live in the future, but that it has always lived in the\npast, hence we may say, the _eternity_ of the soul.\n\n2. Nothing can come from nothing, and hence, all of the substance of\nthe universe is eternal.\n\n [Illustration: IDOLS GUARDING THE HINDU TEMPLE AYENAR.]\n\n3. The soul cannot exercise thought, or any activity apart from the\nbody.\n\n4. Yet the union of body and soul is a source of misery to human beings.\n\n5. Hence we have the belief in the _transmigration of the soul_.\nThat the soul passes from body to body through innumerable changes.\nThese bodies include the widest range and are those of animals or of\nmen.\n\n\n THE LAW-BOOK OF MANU.\n\nThis was written about the fifth century before Christ. Its rules\nconsist of \u201cimmemorial or approved practices,\u201d \u201cpractices of law and\ngovernment,\u201d \u201cpenitential exercises,\u201d and \u201cconsequences of acts.\u201d The\nwhole is divided into twelve books, of which we give an epitome:\n\nAfter an account of the creation of the world, in the first book, the\nfour stages of a Brahmin\u2019s life are the only subjects treated of in\nregular order in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth books, four\nbooks being devoted to the duties of the religious student and married\nhouseholder, and the sixth book treating of the two last stages of\nanchorite and religious mendicant.\n\nThe seventh and eighth books propound the rules of government,\nprincipally, of course, for the guidance of the second great class of\nKshatriyas, from which the king was chosen. The ninth book contains\nprecepts on the subject of women, husband and wife; their offspring\nand the law of inheritance and division of property, with additional\nrules for kings, and a few precepts relative to the two remaining\ncastes. It also describes the employments to which the several castes\nare restricted, and states the occupations permitted to Brahmins,\nKshatriyas, Vais\u2019yas and S\u2019udras, in times of exigency and distress.\nThe eleventh book gives rules of expiation, both for the sins of the\npresent life--especially sins against caste--and for the effects\nof offenses committed in previous bodies, as shown in congenital\ndiseases, etc. The twelfth continues the subject of the recompenses or\nconsequences of acts, good or bad, as leading to reward in Heaven or\npunishment in various hells, and to triple degrees of transmigration.\nIt closes with directions as to the best means of obtaining final\nbeatitude and absorption into the universal essence.\n\nA few specimens of Manu\u2019s moral precepts are here subjoined:\n\n \u201cDaily perform thine own appointed work\n Unweariedly; and to obtain a friend--\n A sure companion to the future world--\n Collect a store of virtue like the ants,\n Who garner up their treasures into heaps;\n For neither father, mother, wife, nor son,\n Nor kinsman, will remain beside thee then,\n When thou art passing to that other home--\n Thy virtue will thy only comrade be.\n\n \u201cSingle is every living creature born,\n Single he passes to another world,\n Single he eats the fruits of evil deeds,\n Single the fruit of good; and when he leaves\n His body like a log or heap of clay\n Upon the ground, his kinsmen walk away:\n Virtue alone stays by him at the tomb,\n And bears him through the dreary, trackless gloom.\n\n \u201cDepend not on another, rather lean\n Upon thyself; trust to thine own exertions\n Subjection to another\u2019s will gives pain;\n True happiness consists in self-reliance.\n\n \u201cStrive to complete the task thou hast commenced;\n Wearied, renew thy efforts once again;\n Again fatigued, once more the work begin;\n So shalt thou earn success and fortune win.\u201d\n\nThere are, in addition to the Code of Manu, at least nineteen other\ncodes of various degrees of authority.\n\n\n DEGRADATION OF WOMEN ACCORDING TO MANU\u2019s LAWS.\n\nA certain Shaster commands: \u201cIf a man goes on a journey, his wife shall\nnot divert herself by play, nor shall see any public show, nor shall\nlaugh, nor shall dress herself in jewels or fine clothes, nor hear\nmusic, nor shall sit at the window, nor shall behold anything choice\nand rare, but shall fasten well the house door and remain private, and\nshall not eat any dainty food, and shall not blacken her eyes with\npowder, and shall not view her face in a mirror. She shall never amuse\nherself in any such agreeable employment during the absence of her\nhusband.\u201d\n\nThe following incidents will show how the laws of Manu, in the case of\nwomen, are carried out.\n\nMiss Brittan, for many years a missionary, in India, says: \u201cWhen I\nteach in one house, I sit up-stairs in a little veranda, which is\nwalled all around. Into the veranda a strongly-barred window opens,\nbehind which sit the women who are being taught, passing their books\nand work through the bars. I always think of our Saviour\u2019s words when\nvisiting them--\u2018I was in prison, and ye came unto me.\u2019 A woman, whose\neyes filled with tears when she saw a flower which was brought her\nto copy in wool, said: \u2018Ah, this reminds me of the time when I was a\nchild, for there were others like this in my father\u2019s garden, and I\nhave not seen it for so long.\u2019 Then, pointing a few yards before her\nto a high wall covered with dirt and moss, she added: \u2018That is the\nonly prospect I have had for years.\u2019... Yesterday, I entered a house\nwhich was exactly like those I had read of before I came to India.\nThe Baboo, or gentleman of the house, had a suite of rooms furnished\nelegantly--rich carpets, sofas, chairs, beautiful paintings and\nstatuary, with a centretable covered with vases and curiosities. It\nreally was refreshing to see such beauty and elegance. But, alas! I was\nshown to the women\u2019s apartments, and the tears would come to my eyes,\nnotwithstanding my efforts to restrain them. Ah, how sad! The Baboo\nspoke English to me, and was a gentleman. His wife sat on a dirty mat,\nwhich was thrown on a damp stone floor, her hair uncombed, her one\narticle of clothing--a sarree--wretchedly dirty, and the appearance of\neverything in the bare, miserable little room she lived in was that of\nlowest heathenism. As I saw no chair, I sat down on the mat beside the\nwoman until a servant brought me one, which he said the Baboo had sent\nme.\u201d\n\nA well-known missionary relates the following illustrative incident:\n\n\u201cOne day, when I was walking in a retired village, my attention was\narrested by seeing two objects, at some distance before me, rolling in\nthe mud. As I approached the spot, I found two females almost exhausted\nby fatigue. I learned that they had vowed to their goddess to roll in\nthis manner from one temple to another. They had spent nearly a week,\nand had not accomplished one-half their journey. But no arguments,\nno remonstrances on my part could induce them to relinquish their\nundertaking. On leaving them, I indignantly expostulated with a learned\nBrahmin, who stood near by, and pointed to the miserable objects I\nhad just left. \u2018Oh,\u2019 said he, \u2018this is worship exactly suited to the\ncapacity of females. Let them alone; they are sincere. Of course, their\nworship will be accepted.\u2019\u201d\n\n [Illustration: HINDU WOMEN RESCUED FROM THEIR DEGRADATION.]\n\n\n THE BURNING OF WIDOWS COMMANDED BY MANU.\n\nUntil a comparatively recent date, the fearful rite of Suttee has\nbeen practiced openly in India by all highcaste people. The ancient\nVedas and the Institutes of Manu, which are second in authority, do\nnot enjoin this rite; but the Shasters and Puranas, which hold about\nthe same relation to the Vedas that the Jewish Talmud does to the Old\nTestament Scriptures, recommend the flames of the funeral pile as the\nwidow\u2019s sure road to eternal joy and peace. The following passages,\nselected from many similar ones, translated by our missionaries from\nthe Puranas and Shasters, will be sufficient for our purpose:\n\n\u201cIf a woman who had despised her lord, or done what was contrary to\nhis mind, should (even) from mercenary motives or fear, or from a\nsuspension of the reasoning power, die with her husband, she shall be\npurged from all crimes.\n\n\u201cAs the snake-catcher draws the serpent from its hole, so she (no\nmatter how great his sins), by burning, rescues her husband from hell,\nand rejoices with him.\n\n\u201cThe woman who expires on the funeral pile with her husband purifies\nthe family of her father, her mother and her husband. If the husband be\na Brahmincide, the greatest of all criminals, an ungrateful person, or\na murderer of his friends, the wife, by burning with him, purges away\nhis sins.\n\n\u201cThere is no virtue greater than a virtuous woman burning herself with\nher husband.\n\n\u201cAs long as a woman, in her successive transmigrations, should decline\nburning herself like a faithful wife on the same fire with her deceased\nlord, so long shall she not be exempted from springing to life again in\nthe body of some female animal.\n\n\u201cThough he, her husband, have sunk to the region of torment, be\nrestrained in dreadful bonds, have reached the place of anguish, be\nseized by the imp of Luma (the Hindu Pluto, the god of the infernal\nregions), be exhausted of strength, and afflicted and tortured for his\ncrimes, still, as a serpent-catcher unerringly drags a serpent from his\nhole, so does she draw her husband from hell, and ascends with him to\nHeaven by the power of devotion.\n\n\u201cIf the wife be within one day\u2019s journey of the place where her husband\ndied, and she signify her wish to be burned with him, the burning of\nthe corpse shall be delayed till her arrival.\n\n\u201cIf the husband be out of the country when he dies, let the virtuous\nwife take his slippers, or anything which belongs to his dress, and\nbinding them, or it, on her breast, after purification, enter a\nseparate fire. A Brunh\u016dn\u016d cannot burn herself on a separate pile; but\nthis is an eminent virtue in another woman.\n\n\u201cThere are thirty-five million hairs on the human body. The woman who\nascends the pile will remain so many years with her husband in Heaven.\n\n\u201cDying with her husband, she purifies three generations--her father and\nmother\u2019s side and her husband\u2019s side. Such a wife, adoring her husband,\nenters into celestial felicity with him--greatest and most admired;\nlauded by the choirs of Heaven, with him she shall enjoy the delights\nof Heaven while fourteen Indras reign.\u201d\n\n\n THE GOD VISHNU MADE MAN.\n\n [Illustration: THE TEN INCARNATIONS OF VISHNU.]\n\nAccording to the great poems, the Mahabarata and the Ramayana, Vishnu\npassed through ten incarnations. These are frequently represented in\nsculptures (see illustration). They are I. Mataya, the fish. According\nto the story, Vishnu became a fish to save Manu (the Noah of the\nHindus) from the universal deluge. II. Kurma, the tortoise. Here Vishnu\nbecame a tortoise at the bottom of the sea of milk, that his back might\nserve as a pivot for the mountain Mandara, around which the gods and\ndemons twisted the great serpent Vas\u016dki. They then stood opposite to\neach other, and using the snake as a rope, churned the ocean of milk\nfor the production of fourteen precious things. III. Varah, the boar.\nVishnu in this form delivered the world, after a struggle of a thousand\nyears, from the demon who had seized the earth and carried it to the\nlowest depths of the sea. IV. Nara-sinha, the lion. He thus destroyed\nanother demon. V. Vamana, the dwarf. He deprived the demon Bali of\nthe dominion of three worlds. He received from Bali the promise of as\nmuch land as he could step over in three paces, and then stepped over\nheaven and earth. VI. Parasu-rama or Rama with the axe. VII. Rama, the\nhero, destroying the demon Ravana. VIII. Krishna, the dark destroyer.\nIX. Buddha, the enlightened one. This form was devised to win back the\nHindu Buddhists to Vishnu\u2019s worship. X. Kalki who is yet to appear. He\nwill be revealed in the sky, seated upon a white-winged horse, with a\ndrawn sword like a blazing comet. He is to finally destroy the wicked\nand to permanently establish righteousness and truth upon the earth.\n\n\n A SANSKRIT STORY-BOOK.\n\nAlmost all the Hindus\u2019 books are story-books, for they are filled with\naccounts of the adventures of the gods and legends and myths. But there\nis one book called the Hitopadesa, which has been called the \u201cFather\nof all Fables.\u201d Its stories have been translated into Persian, Arabic,\nHebrew, Greek and later into German, French and English. This book is\nvery old and is exceedingly popular in India. We have selected four of\nits stories, and the reader will probably wonder that such narratives\nshould ever gain a national popularity.\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE TERRIBLE BELL.\n\n\u201cA thief had stolen a bell from the city of Brahmapoora, and was making\noff with that plunder, and more, into the Sei-parrata hills, when he\nwas killed by a tiger. The bell lay in the jungle until some monkeys\npicked it up, and amused themselves by constantly ringing it. The\ntowns-people found the bones of the man, and heard the noise of the\nbell all about the hills; so they gave out that there was a terrible\ndevil there, whose ears rang like bells as he swung them about, and\nwhose delight was to devour men. Every one, accordingly, was leaving\nthe town, when a peasant woman named Kar\u00e1la, who, liked belief the\nbetter for a little proof, came to the Rajah.\n\n\u201c\u2018Highness!\u2019 she observed, \u2018for a consideration I could settle this\nSwing-ear.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018You could!\u2019 exclaimed the Rajah.\n\n\u201c\u2018I think so!\u2019 repeated the woman.\n\n\u201c\u2018Give her a consideration forthwith,\u2019 said the Rajah.\n\n\u201cKar\u00e1la, who had her own ideas about the matter, took the present and\nset out. Being come to the hills, she made a circle, and did homage to\nGanesha, without whom nothing prospers. Then, taking some fruit she had\nbrought, such as monkeys love extremely, she scattered it up and down\nin the wood, and withdrew to watch. Very soon the monkeys finding the\nfruit, put down the bell, to do justice to it, and the woman picking it\nup, bore it back to the town, where she became an object of uncommon\nveneration.\u201d\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE LION AND THE OLD HARE.\n\n\u201cOn the Mandara Mountain there lived a Lion named Fierce-of-heart,\nand he was perpetually making massacre of all the wild animals. The\nthing grew so bad that the beasts held a public meeting, and drew\nup a respectful remonstrance to the Lion in these words: \u2018Wherefore\nshould your Majesty make carnage of us all? If it may please you, we\nourselves will daily furnish a beast for your Majesty\u2019s meal.\u2019 The\nLion responded, \u2018If that arrangement is more agreeable to you, be it\nso;\u2019 and from that time a beast was allotted to him daily, and daily\ndevoured. One day it came to the turn of an old hare to supply the\nroyal table, who reflected to himself as he walked along, \u2018I can but\ndie, and I will go to my death leisurely.\u2019\n\n\u201cNow Fierce-of-heart, the lion, was pinched with hunger, and seeing\nthe Hare so approaching he roared out, \u2018How darest thou thus delay in\ncoming?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Sire,\u2019 replied the Hare, \u2018I am not to blame. I was detained on the\nroad by another lion, who exacted an oath from me to return when I\nshould have informed your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Go,\u2019 exclaimed King Fierce-of-heart in a rage; \u2018show me, instantly,\nwhere this insolent villain of a lion lives.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Hare led the way accordingly till he came to a deep well, whereat\nhe stopped, and said: \u2018Let my lord, the King, come hither, and behold\nhim.\u2019 The Lion approached, and beheld his own reflection in the water\nof the well; upon which, in his passion, he directly flung himself, and\nso perished.\u201d\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE BRAHMIN AND THE PANS.\n\n\u201cThere was a Brahmin in the city of Vana, whose name was Deva\nSarman. At the equinoctial feast of the Dussera, he obtained for his\nduxina-gift a dish of flour, which he took into a potter\u2019s shed, and\nthere lay down in the shade among the pots, staff in hand. As he\nthus reclined he began to meditate. \u2018I can sell this meal for ten\ncowry-shells, and with them I can purchase some of these pots, and sell\nthem at an advance. With all that money I shall invest in betel-nuts\nand body-cloths, and make a new profit by their sale; and so go on\ntrafficking till I get a lakh of rupees. What\u2019s to prevent me? Then I\nshall marry four wives, and one at least will be beautiful and young,\nand she shall be my favorite. Of course, the others will be jealous;\nbut if they quarrel, and talk, and trouble me, I will belabor them\nlike this--and this--\u2018and therewith he flourished his staff, to such\na purpose as to smash his meal-dish and break several of the potter\u2019s\njars. The potter, rushing out, took him by the throat, turned him off,\nand ended his speculations.\u201d\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE RECLUSE AND THE MOUSE.\n\n\u201cIn the forest of the Sage Gautama there dwelt a recluse named\nMighty-at-Prayer. Once, as he sat at his frugal meal, a young mouse\ndropped beside him from the beak of a crow, and he took it up and fed\nit tenderly with rice grains. Some time after the Saint observed a cat\npursuing his dependant to devour it, whereupon he changed the mouse\ninto a stout cat. The cat was a great deal harassed by dogs, upon which\nthe Saint again transformed it into a dog. The dog was always in danger\nof the tigers, and his protector at last gave him the form of a tiger;\nconsidering him all this while, and treating him withal, like nothing\nbut a mouse. The country-folks passing by would say, \u2018That a tiger! not\nhe: it is a mouse the Saint has transformed.\u2019 And the mouse being vexed\nat this, reflected, \u2018So long as the Master lives this shameful story\nof my origin will survive.\u2019 With this thought he was about to take the\nSaint\u2019s life, when he, who knew his purpose, turned the ungrateful\nbeast by a word to his original shape.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIV.\n\n JAPAN.\n\n As regards the beliefs of the ancient religion, Shintoism, it\n taught primarily the existence of gods, and in the division\n which it made of them into good and bad, recognized that\n fundamental and eternal distinction between right and wrong,\n the deep rooting of which in the human soul has been man\u2019s\n safeguard against what is bad in religions and in everything\n else.--SIR EDWARD J. REED.\n\n\nJapan is one of the most interesting of countries to the American\npeople. It is our nearest neighbor on the west; and America was mainly\ninstrumental in introducing Japan into the ranks of the nations of\nmodern times. The present line of Mikados among the Japanese is the\nlongest continued among existing nations. China has changed its\ndynasties many times, and has been twice subdued by foreigners, the\nMongols and the Manchis; but the line of Japanese monarchs is an\nunbroken series from B.C. 660 to the present day. The Mongols sought to\nconquer the Island Empire in 1281 A.D.; but they were utterly defeated\nand driven away. The present emperor, Mutsuhito, is the one hundred and\ntwenty-third Mikado of Japan.\n\nThe religions of this people are two, Shintoism and Buddhism. The\ntenets of Confucius have been introduced together with Buddhism, and\nBuddhist preachers of to-day take their texts from the classic Chinese\nbooks. Shintoism has been much mixed up with Buddhism. Many features\nof its worship have been changed in imitation of Buddhism, and some\nof its essential doctrines have been greatly modified. There has\nbeen some discussion as to whether Shintoism is really a religion or\nonly a system of state-craft; but it is very generally believed to\nbe a religion which has degenerated into a mere system of political\nmachinery. Certainly it has gods and goddesses, and sacred symbols,\nlegends, myths and religious notions which existed in Japan long\nbefore Buddhism came there. There are also sacred books which have no\nconnection with the Buddhist writings. The temples and priests are an\ninnovation of later days. Shintoism is and was the State religion;\nit is supported by the State; its head is the emperor, the Mikado;\nits sacred books are but the chronicles of its history, and the whole\nsystem is interwoven with the national life of Japan.\n\n\n THE SACRED BOOKS OF JAPAN.\n\nThe _Kojiki_ and the _Nihonki_ are the two most sacred Shinto books.\nThe one was written 711 A.D., the other 720 A.D. They were composed\nlong before this. It always has been an Oriental practice to commit\nbooks to memory. Thus the Hindu and Parsee sacred books were preserved,\nand thus, too, the ancient Japanese books have been kept. Without\nbeing written out, these books were handed down from mouth to mouth.\nSoon after the invention of the Japanese written characters, these\nrecords were reduced to writing. The story of this is thus told:\n\u201cAs to the historical records of Japan, it is first mentioned that,\nunder the twentieth emperor, in 415 A.D., officials were sent into\nthe country to verify and describe the names of all the families.\nLater, a transcription of these records (originally written, in all\nprobability, in the old Japanese letters, \u2018the gods\u2019 letters,\u2019) in\nChinese characters took place, and in 644 A.D. an historical account\nof the emperors, the country, the officials and the people is said\nto have existed, which was destroyed when Iruka was murdered, and his\nfather\u2019s palace, in which these records were kept, was burned. Only the\nhistory of the country was saved. From this work, as well as from what\nthe old men of the whole empire remembered, a new compilation was made\nunder the Emperor Temmu (672\u2013686 A.D.), and in order that it might not\nbe lost again, it was read to a peasant girl, named Ar\u00e9, who was said\nnever to forget anything she had once heard. From this record, and from\nwhat Ar\u00e9 still remembered, the first historical record of Japan known\nto us, the Kojiki, was compiled about thirty years later.\u201d\n\nThese works, though histories, strictly speaking, are full of stories\nof mythology, describing the origin of gods and men. The mythology of\nJapan is superior to that of Greece. It contains but few or none of\nthe horrible stories of the gods, or the voluptuous amours of gods and\ngoddesses which so abound in Grecian mythology. Some of their myths are\nreally beautiful, others are very extravagant. The origin of gods, of\nmen, of the earth, are here all described. It begins with the time when\n\n \u201cFar in the deep infinitudes of space,\n Upon a throne of silence,\n Sat Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-ro-kami.\u201d\n\nThis strange name signifies The Lord of the Centre of Heaven. The\nheavens and earth were then joined together. There was nothing but\nchaos. Pairs of beings were then created, male and female. Last of all\nIzanagi and Izanami were created.\n\n\n JAPANESE STORY OF THE CREATION.\n\nIt is said that the other pairs of beings before Izanagi and Izanami\nwere only their imperfect forms or the processes through which they\npassed before arriving at perfection. These two beings lived in the\nheavens. The world was not yet well formed, and the soil floated about\nlike a fish in the water, but near the surface, and was called \u201cThe\nFloating Region.\u201d The sun, earth and moon were still attached to each\nother like a head to the neck, or arms to the body. They were little by\nlittle separating, the parts joining them growing thinner and thinner.\nThis part, like an isthmus, was called \u201cHeaven\u2019s Floating Bridge.\u201d It\nwas on this bridge that Izanagi and Izanami were standing when they saw\na pair of wagtails cooing and billing sweetly together. The heavenly\ncouple were so delighted with the sight that they began to imitate the\nbirds. Thus began the art of love, which mortals have practiced to this\nday.\n\nWhile talking together on this Bridge of Heaven, they began to wonder\nif there was a world beneath them. They looked far down upon the green\nseas, but could see nothing! Then Izanagi took his long jeweled spear\nand plunged it into the turbid mass, turning it round and round. As\nhe lifted it up, the drops which trickled from it hardened into earth\nof their own accord, and thus dry land was formed. As Izanagi was\ncleansing his spear the lumps of muck and mud which had adhered to it\nflew off into space, and were changed into stars and comets. It is also\nsaid that by turning his spear round and round, Izanagi set the earth\nrevolving in its daily revolutions.\n\nTo the land thus formed, they gave the name \u201cThe Island of the\nCongealed Drop,\u201d because they intended to create a large archipelago\nand wished to distinguish this as the first island. They descended from\nHeaven on the floating bridge and landed on the island. Izanagi struck\nhis tall spear in the ground making it the axis of the world. He then\nproceeded to build a palace around the spear which formed the central\npillar. The spot was formerly at the North Pole, but is now at Eshima,\noff the central eastern coast of Japan. They next resolved to walk\naround the island and examine it. This done, they met together. Izanami\ncried out, \u201cWhat a lovely man!\u201d But Izanagi rebuked her for speaking\nfirst, and said they must try it again. Then they walked around the\nisland once more. When they met, Izanami held her tongue while Izanagi\nsaid, \u201cWhat a lovely woman!\u201d\n\nBeing now both in good humor, they began the work of creating Japan.\nThe first island brought up out of the water was Anaji; and then the\nmain island. After that, eight large islands were created, whence comes\none of the names of Japan, \u201cThe Empire of the Eight Great Islands.\u201d Six\nsmaller islands were also produced. The several thousand islets which\nmake up the archipelago of \u201cEverlasting Great Japan\u201d were formed by the\nspontaneous consolidation of the foam of the sea.\n\nAfter the country was thus formed the divine pair created eight\nmillions of earthly gods or Kami, and the ten thousand different things\non the earth. Vegetation sprung up over all the land, which was,\nhowever, still covered with mist. So Izanagi created with his breath\nthe two gods, male and female, of the wind. All these islands are the\nchildren of Izanagi and Izanami, and when first born were small and\nfeeble, but gradually grew larger and larger, attaining their present\nsize like human beings, which are at first tiny infants.\n\nAs the gradual separation of the land and sea went on, foreign\ncountries were formed by the congealing of the foam of the sea. The god\nof fire was then born of Izanami, his mother. This god often became\nvery angry at any one who used unclean fire. Izanami then created by\nherself the gods of metals, of clay, and of fresh water. This latter\ngod was commanded always to keep the god of fire quiet, and put him out\nwhen he began to do mischief.\n\nIzanagi and Izanami though married but a short time, began to quarrel.\nIzanami being very angry went down to the lower world of darkness\nand disappeared. In the dark world under the earth Izanami stayed a\nlong time, and after wearisome waiting, Izanagi went after her. In\nthe darkness of the under-world he was horrified at what he saw, and\nleaving his consort below he tried to save himself and make his escape\nto the earth again.\n\n [Illustration: THE GOD CREATED FROM IZANAGI\u2019S STAFF.]\n\nIn his struggles several gods were created, one of them coming out\nof his staff. When he got up to daylight, he secured a large rock\nto close up the hole in the earth. Turning this rock into a god, he\ncommanded him to watch the place. He then rushed into the sea, and\ncontinued washing for a long time to purify himself. In blowing out\nfrom his lungs the polluted air inhaled in the under-world, the two\nevil gods sprang forth from his breath. As these would commit great\nharm and wickedness, Izanagi created two other gods to correct their\nevil. But when he had washed his eyes and could see clearly again,\nthere sprang out two precious and lovely beings; one from his left eye\nbeing a rare and glistening maiden, whom he afterward named Amaterasu,\nor \u201cThe Heaven Illuminating Spirit.\u201d From his right eye appeared\nSusa-no O, the \u201cRuler of the Moon.\u201d Being now pure again, and having\nthese lovely children, Izanagi rejoiced and said, \u201cI have begotten\nchild upon child, and at the end of my begetting, I have begotten me\ntwo jewel-children.\u201d Now the brightness of the person of the maiden\nAmaterasu was beautiful, and shone through Heaven and earth. Izanagi,\nwell pleased, said: \u201cThough my children are many, none of them is like\nthis wonder-child. She must not be kept in this region.\u201d So taking off\nthe necklace of precious stones from his neck and rattling it, he gave\nit to her, saying, \u201cRule thou over the High Plain of Heaven.\u201d At that\ntime the distance between Heaven and earth was not very great, and he\nsent her up to the blue sky by the Heaven-uniting pillar, on which the\nheavens rested as on a prop. She easily mounted it, and lived in the\nsun, illuminating the whole heavens and earth. The sun now gradually\nseparated from the earth, and both moved farther and farther apart,\nuntil they rested where they now are. Izanagi next spoke to Susa-no O,\nthe Ruler of the Moon, and said, \u201cRule thou over the new-born earth\nand the blue waste of the sea with its multitudinous salt waters.\u201d\nThus the heavens, and the earth, and moon were created and inhabited.\nAnd as Japan lay directly opposite the sun when it separated from the\nearth, it is plain that Japan lies on the summit of the globe. It is\neasily seen that all other countries were formed by the spontaneous\nconsolidation of the ocean foam and the collection of mud in the\nvarious seas. The stars were made to guide warriors from foreign\ncountries to the court of the Mikado, who is the one and only true son\nof heaven, before whom all should bow.\n\n\n THE EMPERORS DESCENDED FROM THE GODS.\n\nAmaterasu, on account of her bright beauty, was by her father made\nqueen of the sun, and shared with the two creator-gods the government\nof the world. In sending her to her dominion, Izanagi gave her the\nnecklace of precious stones from his neck, and told her to go up by\nway of the floating bridge. As the sun was then near, she ascended\nwithout difficulty. Desiring afterward to give the government of the\nearth to her grandson, Ninigi-no-mikoto, after considerable difficulty\nin getting the god in possession to make way for him, she was able to\ncarry out her purpose and dispatch him to his post. She proclaimed him\nsovereign of Japan for ever and ever, and appointed his descendants to\nrule it as long as the heavens and the earth endure. Before starting\nhe received from his grandmother, the sun-goddess, the Three Divine\nInsignia of the Imperial Power of Japan, namely, the Sacred Mirror,\nwhich is still worshiped at the Naiku Shrine in Is\u00e9 as representative\nof the goddess; the Sacred Sword, which is still enshrined at the\ntemple of Atsuta, near Nagoya, at the head of the bay of Owari; and\nthe Sacred Stone, or \u201cMagatama,\u201d which is always in possession of the\nEmperor of Japan.\n\nPossessed of these divine symbols, and accompanied by a number of\ninferior gods, Ninigi-no-mikoto descended upon the Floating Bridge of\nHeaven, or the \u201cAma-nouki-hashi.\u201d Grains of rice were thrown broadcast\nin the air to dispel the darkness of the sky. Ninigi-no-mikoto was\nthe god who was sent down from the Sun-goddess, whose grandchild he\nwas, to take possession of the land, and it was his offspring, and the\noffspring of his suite, who peopled Japan. Ninigi-no-mikoto lived to\nthe age of 310,000 years; his son Hohodemi lived to the still riper\nage of 637,892 years, and a grandchild of his, Ugaya, died at the\nremarkable age of 836,042 years. He was the father of Jimmu Tenno,\nfirst Emperor of Japan, who is, at the present time, very widely\nworshiped as a god.\n\n [Illustration: JIMMU TENNO, FIRST EMPEROR OF JAPAN.]\n\n\n THE SUN-GODDESS ENTICED FROM THE CAVE.\n\nThe young brother of the Sun-goddess so seriously offended his bright\nand beautiful sister that she went away and concealed herself in the\ncave of Ameno Tuaya, closing the entrance with a large piece of rock.\nFrom this time the entire country was dark, and was given up to the\nnoise and disturbance of all sorts of inferior gods. This state of\nthings was so distressing that all the gods assembled at the cave\u2019s\nmouth, on the bank of the Yasukawa River, and deliberated upon the\nmeans to be adopted for inducing the petulant goddess to re-appear,\nfor be it understood that after the birth of the Sun-goddess no light\ncould be obtained except from her brightness, as she had been appointed\nto illuminate the space between earth and Heaven, and it was the\nbrightness of her body that shone through the sun. At the council of\nthe gods it was decided to entice the goddess forth by means of an\nimage of herself, and one of the gods and a blacksmith made mirrors, in\nthe shape of the sun, with iron brought from Heaven.\n\nJapanese mirrors are always made of fine metal, not of glass coated\nwith quicksilver. Those in common use are generally five or six\ninches in diameter, having the surface polished with great care and\nsome figures or flowers stamped upon the back. The mirror is a Shinto\nsymbol. In the centre of the Shinto shrine of Is\u00e9, in the \u201cHoly of\nHolies\u201d of that temple are found four boxes of unpainted wood, resting\non low stands. These are the only objects to be found here. In each\nbox, wrapped in a brocade bag, is a mirror. On festival days, these\nboxes--but not the mirrors--are exposed to view.\n\n [Illustration: SHINTOISTS WORSHIPING THE RISING SUN.]\n\nThe first two mirrors produced by the blacksmith, as stated above,\nwere unsatisfactory, but the third was large and beautiful, and is now\nthe deity of the inner shrine of Is\u00e9. The gods also planted hemp and\npaper mulberry, and with their fibre and bark wove clothing for the\ngoddess. They also cut down trees and built a palace. Magatama jewels\n(carved and polished pieces of stone, such as were worn in those days\nas ornaments) were also produced, and wands were made from sakaki\nbranches and bamboo. One of the gods then pulled up a sakaki-tree by\nthe roots, and on its upper branches hung the necklace of jewels; at\nthe middle he hung the sacred mirror, and to the lower branches he\nattached both coarse and fine cloth. This formed a large _gohei_,\nwhich was held by Ama-no-futo-dama-no-mikoto, while he pronounced an\naddress in honor of the goddess. And _goheis_ like this, with\njewels, mirrors and strips of cloth cut zigzag, we still see in the\nhands of the young priestesses at the shrine of the goddess herself,\nand the simpler _gohei_ or wands, with strips of cloth or paper\nattached, are now to be seen, as they have for ages been, all over\nJapan, at every Shinto temple or shrine and in thousands of other\nplaces.\n\nA number of young cocks were next collected, and set to crow in\nconcert; a strong god was concealed by the door of the cavern, to\nwrest it open at the favorable moment; and a very renowned goddess,\nUzum\u00e9, was set to dance, blowing music out of a bamboo tube pierced\nwith holes, while the gods kept time to her performance by striking\ntwo pieces of wood together. A sort of harp was made, by placing six\nbows together, with the strings upward. This was played by the drawing\nof grass and rushes across it. Uzum\u00e9, who appears to have entered upon\nher task with great spirit, bound her sleeves close up to the arm-pits,\nand grasped in her hand a bundle of twigs and a spear wound round with\ngrass and having small bells attached to it. Bon-fires were lighted\nand a circular box or drum was placed for her to dance upon. Then this\nyoung goddess commenced to tread with measure upon the hollow box and\ncause it to resound. She sang a six-syllable song or charm of numbers,\nand, gradually quickening her dance wrought herself up to such a pitch\nof excitement, or rather \u201csuch a spirit descended on the goddess,\u201d that\nshe loosened her dress, revealing more and more of her loveliness, and\nat last, to the intense amazement and delight of the gods, appears to\nhave discarded her dress altogether. With the laughter of the gods\nthe heavens shook. The address in her honor, the stirring sounds of\nthe music and dancing, and the loud and joyous laughter of the gods\nwas too much for Amaterasu, and slightly opening the door, she softly\nsaid from inside, \u201cI fancied that because of my retirement both Heaven\nand Japan were in darkness! Why has Uzum\u00e9 danced and why do the gods\nlaugh?\u201d Uzum\u00e9 replied, \u201cI dance and they laugh, because there is an\nhonorable deity here\u201d (pointing to the mirror) \u201cwho surpasses you in\nglory;\u201d and as she said this, the mirror was pushed forward and shown\nto the Sun-goddess, reflecting her own radiant loveliness, of course,\nand her astonishment was even greater than before. As she peeped out\nof the cave to look around, the strong god pulled the rock-door open\nand drew the bright goddess forth. Then a rice-straw rope was passed\nbehind her, and one of the gods said, \u201cGo not back behind this.\u201d As\nthey were putting the mirror into the cave it was struck against the\ndoor, and received a flaw which remains to this day. They then removed\nthe goddess to her new palace, and, as an expression of their kindly\ninterest, they put a straw rope round it to keep off evil gods.\n\n\n SHINTO WORSHIP.\n\nBuddhism was introduced into Japan in 532 A.D. Up to this time\nShintoism had continued to be the sole religion of Japan, during\nsome twelve hundred years at least. It is called by the Japanese\nthemselves, Kami-no-michi, or \u201cThe Way of the Gods.\u201d The religion\nconsists essentially, so they say, _in an implicit obedience to\nthe Mikado_. He is the descendant of the gods, and his common\ndesignation is Ten-Shi, or \u201cSon of Heaven.\u201d The Mikado has two crests,\none, representing the chrysanthemum, is used for government purposes.\nThe other, representing the leaf and blossoms of the _Paulownia\nImperialis_ (_Kiri_ in Japanese), is used in the business\npersonal to the Mikado and his family.\n\n [Illustration: THE MIKADO\u2019S COAT-OF-ARMS.]\n\nThere were no creeds, nor elaborate systems of doctrines in their\nreligion. The good gods were to be worshiped so that there might be\nan increase of good gifts; and the evil gods, so that they might be\nappeased. The people prayed for a sufficiency of food, clothing and\nshelter, and twice each year held festivals of General Purification,\nwhen the whole nation was purified of its sins and pollutions. The\nfollowing prayer was to be used by the Mikado: \u201cO God, that dwellest in\nthe high plain of Heaven, who art divine in substance and in intellect,\nand able to give protection from guilt and its penalties, to banish\nimpurity, and to cleanse us from uncleanness--Hosts of Gods hear us and\nlisten to these petitions!\u201d\n\n [Illustration: RAIDEN, GOD OF THUNDER, WITH HIS STRING OF\n DRUMS.]\n\n [Illustration: FUTEN, GOD OF WINDS, WITH HIS HUGE SACK.]\n\nThe emperor was the god dwelling in the flesh, and his ancestors\nwere, of course, to be worshiped. The first emperor, Jimmu Tenno,\nreceives especial worship and honor. Besides these gods--the deified\nemperors and heroes--there were hosts of gods who were the deified\npowers of nature. We have already spoken of the sun-goddess and\nmoon-goddess. Besides these there were gods of storms, winds, rain,\nthunder, fertility, of mountains, fields, seas and rivers. Raiden, the\ngod of thunder, is supposed to have a string of drums, which he beats\nwhen it thunders. The Japanese say that when he is angry, he throws\nfrom the clouds a terrible creature like a cat, with iron claws and a\nhairy body. Futen, the god of winds, carries a huge sack slung over\nhis shoulders, the mouth of which is closed by his hand. It blows a\ntyphoon, a gale, or a breeze, as he clinches his fingers little or\nmuch. Besides these gods are a number of gods of occupations, of the\nhousehold, of the work-shop, the field and the store.\n\nThe sun is one of the most common objects of worship among the\nShintoists. The country of Japan is often called \u201cThe Land of the\nRising Sun.\u201d Their national flag is of white with a large red sun in\nthe centre. On the top of Fuji-yama, the famous sacred mountain, and on\nthe sea-shore, pilgrims and priests often gather to offer their worship\nto the rising sun.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XV.\n\n POPULAR GODS AND SHRINES OF SHINTOISM.\n\n The characteristics of \u201cPure Shint\u00f4\u201d are an absence of an\n ethical and doctrinal code, of idol-worship, of priestcraft, and\n of any teachings concerning a future state, and the deification\n of heroes, emperors and great men, together with the worship\n of certain forces and objects in nature. It is said that the\n _Kami_, or gods, number 14,000, of whom 3,700 are known to\n have shrines; but, practically, the number is infinite. Each\n hamlet has its special god, as well as its _Mirja_, or\n shrine; and each child is taken to the shrine of the district\n in which it is born, a month after birth, and the god of that\n shrine becomes his patron. Each god has its annual festival,\n while many have particular days in each month on which people\n visit their shrines.--MISS ISABELLA BIRD.\n\n\n THE SEVEN HOUSEHOLD GODS.\n\nMr. Griffis says: Every Japanese child knows the _Shichifuku\nJin_, or the seven Patrons of Happiness. They have charge of long\nlife, riches, daily food, contentment, talents, glory and love. Their\nimages, carved in ivory, wood, stone, or cast in bronze, are found in\nevery house, sold in the stores, painted on shop-signs, and found in\npicture-books. They are a jolly company, and make a happy family. On\nNew Year\u2019s Eve, a picture of the Treasure-ship (Yakar\u00e9bun\u00e9), laden with\nShipp\u00ed (the seven jewels) and with all the good things of life which\nmen most desire, is hung up in houses. The ship is coming into port,\nand the passengers are the seven happy fairies who will make gifts to\nthe people. These seven jewels are the same as those which Momotaro\nbrought back from the Onis island.\n\n [Illustration: DAIKOKU, THE RICE-GOD, ON HIS THRONE OF\n RICE-BAGS.]\n\nFirst there is Fukoruku Jin, the patron of long life or length of days.\nHe has an enormously high forehead, rounded at the top, which makes his\nhead look like a sugar loaf. It is bald and shiny. A few stray white\nhairs sometimes sprout up, and the barber, to reach them, has to prop\na ladder against his head to climb up and apply his razor. This big\nhead comes from thinking so much. His eyebrows are white like cotton,\nand a long, snowy beard falls down over his breast. When in a specially\ngood humor, he ties a handkerchief over his high, slippery crown, and\nallows little boys to climb up on top--that is, if they are good boys,\nand can write well. When he wants to show how strong and lively he is,\neven though so old, he lets Daikoku, the fat fellow, ride on top of his\nhead while he smokes his pipe and wades across a river. Daikoku has\nto hold on tightly, or he will slip down and get a ducking. Usually,\nthe old shiny-head is a very solemn gentleman, and walks slowly along\nwith his staff in one hand, while with the other he strokes his long\neyebrows. The tortoise and the crane are always with him, for these\nare his pets. Sometimes a stag, with hair white with age, walks behind\nhim. Everybody likes Fukoruku Jin, because every one wants to get his\nfavor and live until, like a lobster, his back is bent with age. At a\nwedding, you will always see a picture of white-bearded and shiny-pated\nFukoruku Jin.\n\n [Illustration: FUKORUKU JIN, THE GOD WHO CAN BESTOW LONG LIFE.\n\n From a Japanese Picture showing their conception of the way\n in which the gods can supervise affairs in various places.]\n\nDaikoku is a short chubby fellow, with eyes half sunk in fat, but\ntwinkling with fun. He has a flat cap set on his head, a loose sack\nover his shoulders, and big boots on his feet. His throne is two straw\nbags of rice, and his badge of office is a mallet or hammer, which\nmakes people rich when he shakes it. The hammer is the symbol of labor,\nshowing that people may expect to get rich only by hard work. One end\nof it is carved to represent the jewel of the ebbing and the flowing\ntides, because merchants get rich by commerce on the sea, and must\nwatch the tides. He is often seen holding the counting-board, on which\nyou can reckon, do sums, subtract, multiply or divide, by sliding balls\nup and down a row of sticks set in a frame, instead of writing the\nfigures. Beside him is a ledger and day-book. His favorite animal is\nthe rat, which, like some rich men\u2019s pets, eats or runs away with his\nwealth.\n\nThe great silver-white radish called _daikon_, two feet long and\nas big as a man\u2019s calf, is always seen near him, because it signifies\nflourishing prosperity. He keeps his bag tightly shut, for money easily\nruns away when the purse is once opened. He never lets go his hammer,\nfor it is only by constant care that any one can keep money after he\ngets it. Even when he frolics with Fukoruku Jin, and rides on his\nhead, he keeps his hammer swinging at his belt. He has huge lop ears.\nOnce in a while, when he wishes to take exercise, and Fukoruku Jin\nwants to show how frisky he can be, even if he is old, they have a\nwrestling-match together. Daikoku nearly always beats, because Fukoruku\nJin is so tall that he has to bend down to grip Daikoku, who is fat and\nshort, and thus he becomes top-heavy. Then Daikoku gets his rival\u2019s\nlong head under his left arm, seizes him over his back by the belt, and\nthrows him over his shoulder flat on the ground. But if Fukoruku Jin\ncan only get hold of Daikoku\u2019s lop ears both fall together. Then they\nlaugh heartily and try it again.\n\n [Illustration: DOMESTIC ALTAR OF THE GODS OF DAILY FOOD AND\n OF RICE.]\n\nEbisu is the patron of daily food, which is usually rice and fish, and\nin old times was chiefly the latter. He is nearly as fat as Daikoku. He\nwears a court noble\u2019s high cap. He is always fishing or enjoying his\ngame. When very happy, he sits on a rock by the sea, with his right\nleg bent under him, and a big red fish, called the tai, a fish like a\nperch, under his left arm. He carries a straw wallet on his back to\nhold his fish and keep it fresh. Often he is seen standing knee deep in\nthe water, pole in hand, watching for a nibble. Some say that Ebisu is\nthe same scamp that goes by the other name of Sosano\u014d.\n\n [Illustration: HOTEI, THE GOD OF HAPPINESS.]\n\nHotei is the patron of contentment, and, of course, is the father of\nhappiness. He does not wear much clothing, for the truth is that all\nhis property consists of an old, ragged wrapper, a fan and a wallet.\nHe is as round as a pudding, and as fat as if rolled out of dough. His\nbody is like a lump of rice pastry, and his limbs like _dango_\ndumplings. He has lop ears that hang down over his shoulders, a\ntremendous double chin, and a round belly. Though he will not let his\nbeard grow long, the slovenly old fellow never has it shaven when he\nought to. He is a jolly vagabond and never fit for company; but he is\na great friend of the children, who romp over his knees and shoulders,\npull his ears and climb up over his shaven head. He always keeps\nsomething good for them in his wallet. Sometimes he opens it wide and\nthen makes them guess what is inside. They try to peep in, but they are\nnot tall enough to look over the edge. He makes tops, paints pictures\nor kites for the boys, and is the children\u2019s greatest friend. When\nthe seven patrons meet together, Hotei is apt to drink more wine than\nis good for him. Toshi-toku is almost the only one of the seven who\nnever lays aside his dignity. He has a very grave countenance. He is\nthe patron of talents. His pet animal is a spotted fawn. He travels\nabout a good deal to find and reward good boys who are diligent in\ntheir studies, and men who are fitted to rule. In one hand he carries\na crooked staff of bamboo, at the top of which is hung a book or roll\nof manuscript. His dress is like that of a learned doctor, with square\ncap, stole and high-toed slippers.\n\nBishamon is the patron of glory and fame. He is a mighty soldier. He\nwears a golden helmet, breast-plate and complete armor. He is the\nprotector of priests and warriors. He gives them skill in fencing,\nhorsemanship and archery. He holds a pagoda in one hand and a dragon\nsword in the other. His pet animal is the tiger.\n\nSix out of the jolly worthies are men. Benten is the only lady. She is\nthe patron of the family and of the sea. She plays the flute and the\nguitar for the others, and amuses them at their feasts, sometimes even\ndancing for them. Her real home is in Rin Gu, and she is the queen\nof the world under the sea. She often dwells in the caves of the sea\nor ocean. Her favorite animal is the snake and her servants are the\ndragons.\n\nOnce a year the jolly seven meet together to talk over old times,\nrelate their adventures, and have a luxuriant supper. Then they proceed\nto business, which is to arrange all the marriages for the coming year.\nThey have a great many skeins of red and white silk, which are the\nthreads of fate of those to be married. The white threads are the men,\nthe red are the women. At first they select the threads very carefully,\nand tie a great many pairs or couples neatly and strongly together, so\nthat the matches are perfect. All such marriages of threads make happy\nmarriages among human beings. But by and by they get tired and lazy,\nand instead of tying the knots carefully, they hurry up the work and\nthen jumble them carelessly, and finally toss and tangle up all the\nrest. This is the reason why so many marriages are unhappy. This work\ndone they begin to frolic like big boys. Benten plays the guitar, and\nBishamon lies down on the floor resting upon his elbows to hear it.\nHotei drinks wine out of a shallow red cup which is as wide as a dinner\nplate. Daikoku and Fukoruku Jin begin to wrestle, and when Daikoku\ngets his man down he pounds his big head with an empty gourd, while\nToshi-toku and Ebisu begin to eat tai fish. When this fun is over,\nBenten and Fukoruku Jin play a game of checkers, while the others look\non and bet; except Hotei, the fat fellow, who is asleep. Finally they\nget ashamed of themselves for gambling, and after a few days, the party\nbreaks up and each one goes to his regular business again.\n\n\n THE SACRED MOUNTAIN.\n\nAlmost the first object which meets the gaze of the traveler after\ncrossing the Pacific Ocean and as he nears the land, is the matchless\nmountain, Fuji-yama. Its snow-covered heights rise some 13,000 feet\nabove the sea. To the people of Japan this is the sacred mountain.\nIt is depicted on all their lacquer-ware, their china-ware and their\ndrawings. It is described in all their poems and sacred books. It\nhas a strong hold on the people. It is a sleeping volcano. Nearly\n2,000 feet of its sides are cultivated. Then comes a wide belt of\nforest. The ascent of the mountain is a sacred pilgrimage, and there\nare accordingly a number of roads to the top, with nine huts on each\nroad. The pilgrims are dressed in white robes, and pray to the rising\nsun while climbing the mountain sides. Sometimes one may see several\nhundreds of Shinto pilgrims in their white robes turning out from their\nshelters, and joining their chants to the rising sun. The view of the\nlong sweeping sides of this mountain, rising from an almost level\nplain and climbing away to the clouds, through which it thrusts its\nsnow-crowned top, is one of the grandest in the world.\n\n [Illustration: THE SACRED MOUNTAIN, FUJI-YAMA.]\n\n\n SHINTO TEMPLES AND GATE-WAYS.\n\nThe temples are usually of very simple style, being constructed of\nwood and thatched. They contain no idols; but in the courtyards or\napproaches figures of real and imaginary animals are not at all\nuncommon, especially in the case of large temples. The approach is\nspanned by one or more _torii_. The _torii_, it is now generally\nadmitted, was originally a perch for the fowls offered to the gods, not\nas food, but to give warning of daybreak. Its present use is not for\nthis purpose, but is simply as a decoration. At the outer shrine of\nIs\u00e9, which is called the _g\u00e9k\u00fb_, there is an immense number of votive\n_torii_ standing close to each other in long rows. But the more common\nform of votive offering is a large lantern, several feet in height, and\nformed either of wrought stone or of bronze. These are sometimes of\nvery large size, even ten or twelve feet high, and are often crowded\nthickly near the approaches alike of Shinto and Buddhist temples. The\nworshiper does not enter the temple to worship at a Shinto shrine. He\nstands in front of it, striking his hands together, and offers, bowed,\nand usually in silence, the short and simple prayer which his own\nnecessities dictate.\n\n [Illustration: SHINTO SHRINE, NEAR YOKOHAMA, JAPAN, WITH\n WORSHIPERS, VESSEL OF HOLY WATER, ETC.]\n\n [Illustration: A TENTO, OR \u201cHEAVENLY LANTERN.\u201d]\n\n\n THE SACRED SHRINES OF IS\u00c9.\n\nFirst for sacredness among the Japanese Shinto temples are the Shrines\nof Is\u00e9. These are to Japan what Mecca is to Mohammedan lands and what\nJerusalem was to the Holy Land. Thousands of pilgrims visit these\nshrines every year. Sir E. J. Reed, thus describes his visit:\n\n\u201cAt the entrance we were met by two Shinto priests, who had been\ndeputed to show us the sacred place. Passing under the _torii_,\nwe were at once amid trees of an age and magnitude not often equaled.\nWithin the temple-limits we came first to a small edifice, in which\nwas the white horse of the deity of the place, which happened to be\nan artificial horse, the real one having recently died, and another\nnot being forthcoming at present, for reasons which I did not learn.\nSoon afterward we came to two living black horses, consecrated to\nthe service of the temple, and more particularly for the god of the\nplace--\u2018the god of food, clothes and house living,\u2019 according to one\nauthority; or, \u2018the god of the earth\u2019s produce,\u2019 as another has it, to\nride upon in the processions of the great temple ceremonials.\n\n [Illustration: SHRINES OF IS\u00c9, THE MOST SACRED PLACE OF\n SHINTOISM.]\n\n\u201cThere are secondary deities worshiped there, the chief of whom is the\nadopted grandson of the sun-goddess and the great-grandfather of the\nfirst Mikado, Jimmu Tenno, who commenced his reign in the Japanese year\n1. According to the legend, the goddess wished to send her adopted\nson, Oshi-ho-mimi-no-mikoto, down upon earth to subdue it, but he put\nforth his own son instead as leader of the expedition. The goddess then\npresented Ninigi-no-mikoto with various treasures, the most important\namong which--and here we touch upon the central sacredness alike of\nthe race of Mikados and of the symbols of the Shinto faith--were\nthe mirror, sword and stone, or ball (afterwards the regalia of the\nJapanese sovereigns). She also attached to his person the other two\ninferior gods of Geku. With reference to the mirror, she said, \u2018Look\nupon this mirror as my spirit; keep it in the same house and on the\nsame floor with yourself, and worship it as if you were worshiping my\nactual presence.\u2019\n\n\u201cPassing under another _torii_ of plain, unpainted timber, like\nall the _torii_ of the Is\u00e9 shrines, we came to the outer gate of\nthe temple proper, to which alone of three successive gates we and the\nother pilgrims were allowed to approach. With certain extremely rare\nexceptions, extending only to the Mikado and commissioners of his,\nnone but priests are allowed to pass this first gate. It was an open\ngate, however, with a simple white curtain or cloth thrown across it,\nblowing about as the wind listed. Through this open gate, or past the\nsides of it, if you preferred to stand there, you could see the next\ngate, and beyond that again was a third, and then came the temple\nproper, which could not be seen. This was all! The buildings, as far as\nseen, were all of the plainest possible kind, not unlike substantial,\nwell-thatched farm-buildings at home. The mirror at this outer temple\nwas not the original mirror, and the priest did not for a moment lead\nus to suppose that it was. There was, in fact, no pretence of any kind\nabout the place. The ancient buildings and the plain white curtain were\nleft to produce that which is perhaps the deepest and most lasting of\nall impressions made by religious externals, namely, that of combined\nsimplicity and antiquity. Of this outer temple I need only add, that\nit is in every respect a sequel and appendage to the inner and more\nancient temple, having been built by the desire of the goddess of the\nolder Is\u00e9 temple, who wished to have the deity Toyouk\u00e9 near her. This,\nthe outer and later temple, dates from the reign of the twenty-second\nMikado of the present reigning dynasty, Yuriaku, in the year 479 A.D.\n\n [Illustration: INTERIOR OF A SHINTO TEMPLE, SHOWING THE\n ARRANGEMENTS FOR WORSHIP.]\n\n\u201cSoon afterwards we started for the inner temple, Naiku. Here is kept\nthe original sacred mirror, which is the most precious emblem of the\nShinto faith, and which, with the sacred sword and ball, is also the\nauthenticating memorial of the imperial dynasty. So all Japan has\nregarded it for 2,500 years, even down to 1868, and so most of the\npeople regard it still. This temple came to be built in the following\nmanner: The sacred emblems of the national religion had, up to the\ntime of the great Mikado Sujin, been kept in the imperial palace or\ntemple; but he, as some say to increase their safety, and as others\nallege because he viewed a rebellion which broke out as a mark of\ndivine disapprobation of their remaining in his custody, gave them into\nthe charge of his daughter, in a temple dedicated to them. They were\nsubsequently removed and carried from place to place, but at length,\nin the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Suinin Tenno, and therefore\nin the year 3 B.C., it was resolved to fix the mirror at the village\nof Uji on the River Suzugawa, and there and then the present temple\nwas built. The old building does not exist. On the contrary, a new\ntemple is erected every twenty years, but each new temple is an exact\nrepetition of the original, and therefore the present one is a perfect\nrepresentation of the architecture of Japan at the time of Christ. The\nprincipal deity here worshiped is Amaterasu, the sun-goddess herself.\n\n\u201cThe gate-way was open, and hung, like that of the other temple,\nwith a long white curtain, and beyond were seen another _torii_\nand other gate-ways, but nothing could be seen of the temple itself,\nand as little, of course, of the heaven-wrought mirror within. As we\nstood, however, the pilgrims continued to come, of both sexes and all\nages, and casting upon the ground a few coins, some wrapped in paper,\nstooping, clapping their hands, and uttering a few words of prayer,\nthus attained and completed the object for which their journeyings had\nbeen undertaken. I asked if this was all they saw and did, and was told\nthat it was. I inquired if they attended no religious service, saw no\ndances, heard no music, received no advice; and found that as a rule\nthey did not. Was no blessing pronounced, no simple memorial of some\nkind presented to them? Nothing; but they all bought little mementos of\nthe place at the stall in the grounds or at the shops in the village.\nWhat was it they said during the minute or two that they stooped before\nthe shrine? They no doubt asked for whatever they wanted in particular,\nand generally for long life, and the means of life and happiness in the\nyears to come.\n\n\u201cOur companions, the priests, suggested that we ought to see one of\nthe ceremonial dances of the temple, and to this we gladly assented\non learning that it would not be a repetition of what we had seen at\nOsaka and Nara, but that it was one of the most ancient description,\nhanded down from generation to generation at these Is\u00e9 shrines.\nThe room had an altar at the end opposite the entrance, over which\nwas a large mirror. Round the altar and walks were an abundance of\n_goheis_, and of bands and tassels. At the altar-end of the room\na priest sat on one side, and along each of the side walls were the\nmusicians and dancers, all sitting on their heels. The musicians,\nwho were also singers, were all men; the dancers were quite young\ngirls attired in white and red, with frontlets of brass, from each\nend of which depended a cord and tassel. On the tops of their heads\nwere large bunches of flowers; their back hair was in a queue, with\ntassels attached, surmounted with gilt bows and ribbons. There were\ntwo equally young girls in red and blue with plainer head-dresses,\nwho in a certain way attended on the others. The dance began by a\nsubordinate priest coming in by a side entrance with a wet branch of\nthe sacred _sakaki_ tree in his hand. After bowing to the shrine,\nhe turned to the visitors, and waved it a few times swiftly before\nthem, and then disappeared. Returning again to the same entrance, he\nhanded in to the two blue-and-red attendants, trays of herbs, rice and\nfruits in succession. These were borne ceremoniously elevated to the\nsix priestesses, who conveyed them in a similar manner to the altar,\nplacing the contents of the first two trays upon an inner altar, and\nthose of the remaining four upon an outer altar, then returning the\ntrays to their two attendants, who passed them out of the building.\n\n [Illustration: CEREMONIAL DANCE OF THE SHINTO PRIESTS.]\n\n\u201cWhile this was proceeding, the band sent forth what sounded to me as\nwailing, imploring, importunate sounds, with an occasional rap upon the\ndrum for emphasis. The priest, who wore the ancient head-dress like\nthat of the Mikado, now rose, and after a few obeisances before the\nmirror sat down upon his heels, facing the altar, and intoned a prayer,\nor novito, from a large sheet of paper held outspread before him, the\nmusicians, and dancers, and attendants all sitting with bowed heads\nto its end. Small branches of _sakaki_ were now brought to the\npriestesses, and the dance took place to an accompaniment of livelier\nmusic. The dance comprised no very active movements, but consisted\nmainly of short, slow and grave promenading, with occasional stately\nbowings and much slow waving of the branches. This over, a boy entered,\ndressed in the military undress robes of a _kug\u00e9_ (court noble)\nof the olden time, and holding in his hands a branch of _sakaki_,\nwith a pendant hoop, doubtless in lieu of a mirror. He danced, as it\nis called, to much louder music, but the dancing was little more than\nfurther promenading and making certain sweeping movements with the\nbranch of sakaki, with an occasional high step. Of course, it is a\ngreat pity for the significance of all this to be lost; but nothing\nexplanatory could be elicited from any of the Japanese present, and\nfrom the answers of the priests I infer that if the various movements\nof these dances ever had any great and special significance, the\nremembrance of it is pretty nearly or quite lost. The priest next came\nforward again, and, after elevating the written prayer a few times\nbefore the shrine, left the building by the side door. The process of\nplacing the fruits and other offerings upon the altar was now reversed,\nand everything was removed from the altars and taken away, the music\nmeanwhile playing loud and joyous strains. With this ended the most\nancient of the dances in the most sacred national shrine of Japan.\u201d\n\nVery great changes have occurred in Japan since the year 1868, when\nthe Mikado became the temporal as well as the spiritual head of the\nEmpire. The interests of Shintoism have suffered in the change. Prof.\nMax M\u00fcller estimates that there are now only 200,000 Shintoists in all\nJapan.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVI.\n\n THE DARK CONTINENT.\n\n Yes, the great Buffalo[3] sleeps; his mightiest victory was his\n last.\n His warriors howl in vain, his necromancers gaze aghast.\n Fetich, nor magic wand, nor amulet of darnel,\n Can charm back life to the clay-cold heart and limb.\n FERDINAND FREILIGRATH.\n\n\nIt is only of late years that much has been known of the people of the\nheart of Africa. Explorers have passed through its borders; along its\ncoasts travelers have wandered, but few have, until recently, pushed\non into the interior. Even to-day there are vast regions unexplored.\nOf the millions of peoples inhabiting these parts we know only that\nwhich the Arab slave-dealers, and some native African traders have told\nus. The extreme points, North, South, East and West Africa have been\nknown for many years. The interior, stretching back from Upper Egypt,\nand extending clear across to the River Niger, has been but little\ntraveled by foreigners. From Zanzibar on the south-east, radiating like\na fan, explorers have passed to the great lakes to the north-west, the\nVictoria Nyanza and Albert Nyanza, to the west to Tanganyika Lake, and\nto the south-west, the Nyassa and Bangweolo Lakes. To the west of these\nlakes, saving only the countries lying along the banks of the Lualaba,\nLivingstone, or Congo River, along which Stanley traveled, the land is\nalmost unknown.\n\nEven of the African peoples among whom Europeans have lived, it is\ndifficult to learn much of their religions. First, because they\nhave no sacred books, no records, in fact no writing at all. Their\ntraditions and teachings have all been handed down by word of mouth.\nAgain, the Africans are unwilling to tell foreigners about their\nreligious beliefs, customs and worships. It is difficult to gain their\nconfidence. When one asks them about it, they give evasive answers,\nor pretend to know nothing about the matter. This fact has led to\nthe supposition that some of these peoples had no religious nature\nwhatever, but that they formed an exception to the general evidence in\nfavor of man\u2019s religious nature.\n\nYet travelers have by patient investigation, observation and inquiry\nlearned considerable. They have compared their conclusions, and have so\nbeen able to give us some idea of the gods and religions of Africa.\n\nThe Africans have no buildings of brick or stone, and have no\nknowledge, seemingly, of writing. These two facts have been brought\nto show that the Africans must have left the rest of the family\nof mankind very soon after the Deluge. The Africans are, with the\nexception of some of the South Sea Islanders, and the Aborigines of\nAustralia, the most degraded people on the face of the earth. But\nhere and there among them are small nations who are intelligent, and\nshrewd, and possessed of capabilities which place them above their\nfellow-Africans. The African peoples are of all shades of color, from\nblackest black to purest white, and just so do they vary very greatly\nin point of intelligence. Yet the best are very degraded, and the worst\nare but little above the beasts of field or forest. If the Gospel of\nJesus Christ is needed anywhere, it is among the peoples of the Dark\nContinent.\n\n [Illustration: A LAWYER OF ZULULAND.]\n\n\n AFRICAN BELIEF IN A GOD OR GODS.\n\nThere are to be found even yet traces of the high position from which\nthe Africans have fallen in their degradation. One of these traces is\nthe universal belief in a God or gods. This, of course, is no such\nexalted idea of a Supreme Being as is to be found among Christian\nnations or even among the better nations of heathens, but still it is\na Great One in whom they believe. This belief is not the result of\nreasoning, of observation of the powers of nature or of study of their\nown human nature, but is an inborn conception. Apart from revelation,\napart from argument, from cause and effect, from design, from\ngovernment or from anything else, men must believe in a God or gods.\nHence we are not astonished at finding that among all the Africans\nthere is this belief. Many of their ideas of God are horrible, shocking\nand revolting, others again attach no evil ideas to their gods, but\nexalt them in a very high degree.\n\n\n PRAYING FOR RAIN.\n\nIn South-eastern Africa, along the Zambesi River, the people pray to a\ngod, with whom they connect no impure traditions or degraded worship.\nWhen in danger of war or famine, they appeal to this god. They call him\nMpambi. The worship is of this kind: When famine is threatened because\nrain is withheld, the people of a village resort to a cleared space of\nground, inclosed by a fence. Here a _prayer-hut_ is erected. Women\nand men worship together. Generally a princess having in one hand a\nbasket containing Indian corn-meal, and in the other a pot of native\nbeer, or Pombi, goes into the hut, where she can be seen and heard. She\nputs the basket and jar on either side of her and sprinkling a handful\nof meal on the floor, cries, \u201cImva Mpambi, Adza moula!\u201d (Hear, O God,\nand send rain!) The people respond by gently clapping their hands and\nchanting, Hear, O God! This is repeated until all the meal is used up.\nThen the jar of Pombi is emptied on the floor. The woman then comes out\nof the hut, closing the door. Throwing themselves upon their backs,\nshe and the people unite in praying \u201cHear, O God, send rain!\u201d Then she\narises, washes herself in a jar of water which stands before the chief.\nThen all the women take their calabash cups and throw the water into\nthe air, with frantic gesticulations.\n\nAmong the Zulus the lightning and thunder were represented as coming\nfrom \u201cThe Lord in Heaven.\u201d If lightning struck and killed the cattle\nthe people were not distressed. It was said \u201cThe Lord has slaughtered\nfor Himself among His own flock. Is it yours? Is it not the Lord\u2019s? He\nis hungry; He kills for Himself.\u201d If a village is struck with lightning\nand a cow is killed, they say \u201cThis village will be prosperous.\u201d If a\nman is killed, thus they said, \u201cThe Lord has found fault with him.\u201d\nWhen they pray for rain, the heads of the village select some black\noxen (like the black clouds which bring rain) and one is killed in\nsacrifice. Its flesh is eaten in the house in silence. The bones are\nburnt outside of the village. After this a song is sung, or hummed, for\nno words are used.\n\n\n THE HOTTENTOTS\u2019 GOD, GOUNJA GOUNJA.\n\nThe Hottentots call God \u201cGounja Gounja\u201d or \u201cGounja Ticquoa.\u201d They are\nsaid to have no divine worship, and few, if any, religious ceremonies,\nand, in their savage state, appear a very stupid race, almost void of\nthe power of reason, without any knowledge of divine subjects, and but\na vague notion that there is one great Lord of all, and likewise an\nevil spirit, a devil. They observe a yearly festival when the seven\nstars appear together, at the beginning of summer. The parents wake\ntheir children when these stars appear, and go with them into the\nfields, where they dance and sing. Their song is, \u201cO Ticquoa, thou\nFather over our heads, give us rain, that all our fruits may ripen and\nwe may have food in plenty.\u201d\n\n\n THE BUSHMEN\u2019S GOD.\n\nThe Bushmen believe that there is a god in the sky, whom they call\nKaang, or chief. One of the Bushmen says of his countrymen: \u201cThey\nperform a kind of religious worship to two rocks, the one representing\na male, and the other a female. When going out to hunt, they implore\nthe aid of these deities to provide them with food. First they go to\nthe male rock, and strike it with a stick. If it sounds, they believe\nthe report is heard in _Heaven_, and they will have success; but\nif they get nothing, they repair to the female rock, which they think\nis inhabited by a malicious spirit, and beat it well, upbraiding it,\nsaying: \u2018Why do you by your hidden arms cause all the game to be shot\ndead so that we can find none.\u2019\u201d\n\n [Illustration: KING COFFEE\u2019S PROTECTING GOD.]\n\nAll the tribes of Western Africa show some belief in gods. The\nMohammedans and the Portuguese and English traders have of late years\naffected the peoples\u2019 notions to some extent; but from the descriptions\nof earlier travelers we can see what their belief was. In Sierra Leone\nthey called God \u201cCanou;\u201d on the Gambia River, they called their god\n\u201cChina.\u201d The Niam-Niams call their god \u201cNoro.\u201d\n\nAmong the Africans are found many traditions of the origin of the world\nand of men. Among the Zulus, the following tradition is held, which\nwill serve as a specimen:\n\n\n ZULU TRADITION OF THE ORIGIN OF MEN.\n\nUmkululu, the first man, had his origin in a valley of this world,\nwhere there was a bed of reeds. He sprung from the bed of reeds, and a\nwoman (a wife) sprung from the same bed of reeds after him. They had\nbut one name, that of Umkulunkulu; and men sprung from Umkulunkulu by\ngeneration. All things, as well as Umkulunkulu, sprung from a bed of\nreeds; everything, both animals and corn coming into being with him. He\nlooked upon the sun when it was finished, and said: \u201cThere is a torch\nwhich shall give you light, that you may see.\u201d He looked on the cattle,\nand said: \u201cThere are cattle; be ye broken off, and let the cattle be\nyour food; eat their flesh and drink their milk.\u201d He looked on wild\nanimals, and said: \u201cThat is such an animal; that is an elephant;\nthat is a buffalo.\u201d He looked on the fire, and said: \u201cKindle it, and\ncook, and warm yourself, and eat meat when in has been dressed by the\nfire.\u201d He looked on all things, and said: \u201cSo-and-so is the name of\neverything.\u201d\n\nAmong the Basutos there is a legend that men and animals came from the\ninterior of the earth, out of an immense hole.\n\n\n GOOD AND BAD SPIRITS.\n\nBetween the Supreme Being and man, the Africans believe that there are\na vast number of spirits. They are not afraid of God, but they have an\nintense dread of these spirits. They believe that God is too far off to\nhurt them much, but they believe that the world of spirits is around\nthem. Even when God does send lightning or thunder, for instance, it\nis because the spirits bring them down. To their imaginations these\nspirits people the darkness with hideous shapes, poison the light with\ntheir presence, sweep over the plains in the forms of wild beasts, fill\nthe forests, inhabit trees, live on the tops of the mountains, and in\nthe secluded recesses of caves and valleys; make their homes in the\nsea, the lakes and the rivers; the air is full of them, the earth teems\nwith them; fire is not free from their presence, and human beings are\npossessed by them. To them, also, they attribute the sorrows and the\nsufferings, the misfortunes, and, in most cases, the deaths of mankind.\n\n [Illustration: THE PRIESTS\u2019 TRICK OF RAISING AN IDOL OUT OF\n THE EARTH.]\n\nAs elsewhere, there are men who take advantage of the superstitious\ncondition of their fellow countrymen, and make gain of it. Three\npriests once assured their followers that they could raise an idol out\nof the ground, and would do it the next day. During the night they dug\na hole, in which they placed a lot of dried peas and an idol\u2019s head\nand shoulders. They covered all up carefully. Just before daylight\nthey took some water and poured it upon the peas. The people gathered\nearly in the morning to see the priests keep their promise. They came\nforth, and, as the peas gradually swelled, began their incantations\nand murmurings, and, of course, very soon the idol appeared, and the\ndeluded people were abundantly satisfied.\n\n\n THE SPIRIT IN THE INSECT.\n\nThe Hottentots believed that the good spirits sometimes came in the\nform of a winged insect, having a green back, a belly speckled with\nwhite and red, and with two horns. They worshiped this insect wherever\nthey found it.\n\nIf this insect alighted on a Hottentot he was looked upon as a man\nwithout fault, and distinguished and reverenced as a sacred person\never after. His neighbors gloried that they had such a favored mortal\namongst them, and published the fact far and near. The fattest ox\nbelonging to the kraal was killed as a thank-offering, and all the\npeople kept festival for days. The case was in every respect the same\nif the insect alighted upon a woman; she was regarded as a sanctified\nperson and the delight of the spirit.\n\nThe son of a German, who had given leave to some Hottentots to turn\ntheir cattle upon his land, was amusing himself one day in the kraal,\nwhen this insect appeared. The Hottentots immediately ran tumultuously\nto adore it, while the young German ran to catch it, in order to see\nwhat the effect would be amongst them. He seized it in the midst of\nthem. The cry of agony was general when they saw it in his hands. They\nstared with distraction in their eyes at him and at one another. \u201cSee,\nsee, see!\u201d said they. \u201cWhat is he going to do? Will he kill it?\u201d They\nwere wild through apprehension of its fate. \u201cWhy,\u201d said he, \u201cdo you\nmake such a hideous noise; and why are you in such agony about this\npaltry creature?\u201d \u201cAh!\u201d they replied, with utmost concern, \u201cit is a\ndivinity. It is come from Heaven. It is come on a good design. Do not\nhurt it; do not offend it. We are the most miserable wretches on earth\nif you do. This ground will lie under a curse, and the crime will never\nbe forgiven.\u201d This was not enough for the young German, who determined\nto carry the experiment a little further, and made as though he\ncertainly intended to maim or destroy it. On this the people ran about,\nand screamed as though they were frantic; they fell prostrate on the\nground before him, and with streaming eyes and loudest cries besought\nhim to spare the creature and give it its liberty. Having sufficiently\ntested the reality of their belief in this insect-god, he let it fly,\nand they shouted in all the transports of joy.\n\n\n FETICH WORSHIP.\n\nA fetich is some material object in which a god or a supernatural power\nis supposed to dwell. An idol is a representation of a god. Fetichism\nis the lowest form of idolatry. Fetichism and witchcraft go together.\nThe fetiches guard against the power of witches, and this is their\nprimary object. They act as charms or amulets, and are worn on all\nparts of the body to keep off disease; are placed around the houses,\nvillages or fields to keep off hurtful influences. The fetiches are\nof various sorts; the reeds of certain plants, the roots of certain\ntrees, the horns of a diminutive deer, the claws and teeth of lions and\nleopards and other sorts of animals, slips of wood fantastically\nnotched, knuckle-bones, beads and a kind of white stone being most\ncommonly used. Amongst the Kaffirs, whose belief in witchcraft is\nintense, faith in the virtues of fetiches is, as a natural consequence,\nequally great. You rarely meet with a Kaffir who does not carry with\nhim a whole series of charms. These, of course, are furnished by the\nwitch-doctors and prophets, and as they are not of the least intrinsic\nvalue, and are highly paid for, the business of making fetich is\na profitable one. To a European a superstitious Kaffir has a very\nludicrous appearance, as the following description of a man who seems\nto have been peculiarly impressible to the value of fetich will show.\nHis head was richly bedecked with pig\u2019s bristles, set straight, so as\nto stand out on all sides like the quills of a hedgehog, with many\nfeathers on his head, while around his neck there was strung a great\nnumber of charms, the principal of which were fragments of bone, the\nhead of a snake, the tooth of a young hippopotamus, and an old brass\ndoor-handle.\n\n [Illustration: A YOUNG FETICHIST.\n\n Showing some of the various trinkets and amulets upon which\n dependence for an increase of sanctity and safety is placed\n by the devout.]\n\n [Illustration: A CAZEMBE FETICH MAN.]\n\nThe Africans believe that there are lucky fetiches which guarantee\nthem success in all their undertakings. They respect one another\u2019s\nfetiches, and will not attack an enemy when they think that he has a\nfetich superior to their own. They are therefore very ready and eager\nto discover wherein special excellence may lie. A fetich of supposed\nsuperiority will command a high price.\n\n [Illustration: DECORATED FETICHIST.]\n\n [Illustration: THE JU-JU HOUSE, OR TEMPLE OF SKULLS, AT\n BONNY, WEST AFRICA.\n\n After devouring the bodies of their victims, the priests of\n the people of Bonny were wont to take the skulls and place\n them in the walls of their temples.]\n\n\n A HORRIBLE FETICH.\n\nWhen hard pressed in war, and in danger of being utterly overthrown,\nin some parts of Africa, the people--like the king of Moab, who\nsacrificed his own son when the battle went against him, in order to\nmove the compassion of his adversaries, or to inspire them with terror,\nor as a sacrifice to offended gods--will make horrible fetiches of\nhuman beings. Perhaps the most astounding instance of such a practice\noccurred in West Africa. The king of Bonny having been defeated in\nbattle, retreated to his principal town, and finding that it was in\nimminent danger of being attacked, called together his magicians in\norder that they might aid him in repelling his enemies. They were equal\nto the emergency. The people were assembled in front of the principal\ngate of the town. Two holes were dug in the ground close to each other.\nThe wizards then begun their operations, and when the people had been\nwrought up by their proceedings to a pitch of unreasoning excitement,\nso that they were ready to perpetrate any act no matter how horrible,\nthe chief of the wizards pointed to a girl who was standing amongst\nthe spectators. She was instantly seized, and, under his direction,\nher legs were thrust into the holes that had been prepared for this\npurpose, which were then filled up with earth so that she could not\nextricate herself from them. Then a number of men brought lumps of\nwet clay, which they built around her body in the form of a pillar,\nkneading them closely as they proceeded, until she was entirely covered\nover. This device produced the desired effect, for so terrified were\nthe hostile tribes at what they regarded as an invincible fetich--or\ngreegree, as the fetich is called in West Africa--that they dared not\nattack the town, and, like the kings of Israel and Judah, after the\nsacrifice of the king of Moab\u2019s son, they withdrew from the further\nprosecution of the war, and returned to their homes.\n\nThe clay pillar, with the body of the girl within it, stood for several\nyears where it had been erected, and served effectually to preserve the\ntown from being again attacked or in any way troubled by its enemies.\n\n\n STANLEY AND THE AFRICANS\u2019 FEAR OF FETICH.\n\nThe Africans have a superstitious dread of writing and regard it as a\nbad fetich. When the African traveler, Stanley, had almost finished his\njourney through the Dark Continent, he was one day making some entries\nin his note-book. This book contained all the important results of\nhis great journey. Seeing him writing the savages surrounded him and\ndemanded that he destroy the \u201ctara-tara,\u201d as they called it, lest it\nshould injure them. They said that those black lines on the paper would\nbring sickness and death to them and their animals unless the book was\nburned. The savages were determined to get the book. Only by a trick\ncould he save either the book or his own life. He went to his tent and\nmanaged to exchange his note-book for a copy of Shakespeare\u2019s works.\nThis he burned \u201cto please his friends,\u201d as he told them.\n\n [Illustration: IDOLS WITH MIRRORS IN THEIR BODIES.]\n\nThe Africans have idols of all shapes and sizes and made of all sorts\nof materials. Some of these are provided with looking-glasses in\ntheir stomachs, but for what purpose we do not know. They have a few\ngod-houses or huts. Their continent is dark not only because peopled\nin the main by peoples whose skins are dark, but because the light of\nreligion seems almost to have died out and darkness to have covered the\nland and all of the people.\n\n\n WITCHCRAFT.\n\n [Illustration: A WITCH DOCTOR.]\n\nTo polygamy and slavery add witchcraft superstitions, and the\ndegradation of Africa is properly called \u201cdesperate\u201d degradation. It\nmay be doubted whether polygamy and slavery are as great obstacles to\ncivilization as are these superstitions. These are interlaced with the\nwhole structure of African society. No one is supposed to die from\nnatural causes; disease is charged to witchcraft. No one is killed\nin war, in hunting, by drowning or mischance, but it is charged to\nwitchcraft. The witches must be found out and tortured to confession\nand death.\n\n\u201cI was asked,\u201d says Du Chaillu, whose representations of witchcraft\nsuperstitions are abundantly confirmed by other travelers and\nmissionaries, \u201cto go and see an old friend of mine, Mpomo, who was\nsick. They had spent the night before drumming about his bed to drive\nout the devil. But I soon saw that neither drumming nor medicine would\nhelp the poor fellow. The film of death was in his eyes. He held out\nhis hand to me and feebly said: \u2018Chally, save me, for I am dying.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe was surrounded by hundreds of people, most of them moved to tears\nby their friend\u2019s pitiable condition. I explained to him, that I had\nno power to save him; but he and all around had the conviction that if\nI only wished I could cure him. They followed me to my house, asking\nfor medicine. Not to seem heartless, I sent him something to make his\nremaining moments easy. At the same time I warned them that he would\ndie and they must not blame me. When I awoke the next morning I heard\nthe mournful wail which proclaimed that poor Mpomo had gone to his long\nrest. The cry of the African mourners is the saddest I ever heard. They\nmourn literally as those who have no hope.\n\n\u201cIn the afternoon I heard talk of witchcraft. On the day Mpomo was\nburied proceedings were begun to discover who had bewitched him. A\ngreat doctor was brought from up the river, and for two nights and\ndays incantations were repeated. On the third morning, when old and\nyoung, male and female, were frantic with the desire of revenge, the\ndoctor began his final incantations. Every man and boy was armed with\nspears, or guns, or axes. The whole town was possessed by a thirst for\nhuman blood. For the first time I found my voice without authority.\nI could not even get a hearing.... At a motion from the doctor, the\npeople became still. This silence lasted about a minute when the loud\nvoice of the doctor was heard: \u2018There is a very black woman who lives\nin a house,\u2019 describing it, \u2018she bewitched Mpomo.\u2019 The crowd, roaring\nand screaming, rushed frantically for the place indicated. They seized\nupon a poor girl named Okondaga, the sister of my good friend and guide\nAdouma. Waving their weapons over her head, they tore her away to the\nwater-side, bound her with cords, and then rushed back to the doctor\nagain.\n\n\u201cAs poor Okondaga passed by in the hands of her murderers, she saw me,\nthough I had turned away not to be seen, for I could not help her. I\nheard her cry out, \u2018Chally, Chally, do not let me die!\u2019 It was a moment\nof agony; I was minded to rush into the crowd and rescue the poor\nvictim. But I should only have sacrificed my life, without helping her.\nSo I hid myself behind a tree, and, I confess it, shed bitter tears.\n\n\u201cPresently silence fell once more upon the crowd. Then the voice of the\ndevilish doctor again rang over the town, like the croak of a raven,\n\u2018There is an old woman in a house,\u2019 describing it, \u2018she bewitched\nMpomo.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe crowd rushed off and seized a niece of King Quenguesa, a\nnoble-hearted and majestic old woman. As they crowded about with\nflaming eyes, she rose proudly from the ground, looked them in the face\nunflinchingly, and motioning them to keep their hands off, said, \u2018I\nwill drink the mboundou, but woe to my accusers if I do not die.\u2019 She\nwas escorted to the river without being bound. She submitted without a\ntear or a murmur.\n\n\u201cA third time the dreadful silence fell upon the town, and the doctor\u2019s\nvoice was heard: \u2018There is a woman with six children. She lives on a\nplantation toward the rising sun. She, too, bewitched Mpomo.\u2019 Another\nfurious shout, and in a few moments they brought to the river one of\nQuenguesa\u2019s slaves, a good woman, whom I knew. The doctor now, in\na loud voice, recited the crime of which these women were accused.\nOkondaga, he said, some weeks before, asked Mpomo for some salt, and he\nrefused her. She had said unpleasant things to him, and had by sorcery\ntaken his life.\n\n\u201cThen Quenguesa\u2019s niece was accused. She had no children, and Mpomo had\nchildren. She envied him, and had bewitched him.\n\n\u201cQuenguesa\u2019s slave had asked Mpomo for a looking-glass. He had refused\nher. Therefore she had killed him with sorcery. As each accusation\nwas repeated, the people broke out into curses. Even the relatives of\nthe poor victims were obliged to join in this. Every one rivaled his\nneighbor in cursing, each fearful lest luke-warmness should expose him\nto a like fate....\n\n\u201cThe victims were put into a large canoe with the executioners, the\ndoctor, and a number of the people, all armed. Then the tam-tams were\nbeaten, and the mboundou quabi was prepared. Mpomo\u2019s eldest brother\nheld the poisoned cup to his sister\u2019s lips. At sight of it poor\nOkondaga began to cry, and even Quenguesa\u2019s niece turned pale, for the\nnegro face has at such times a pallor quite perceptible. The mug of\nmboundou was handed to the old slave woman, then to the royal niece,\nand last to Okondaga. As they drank the multitude shouted: \u2018If they\nare witches let the mboundou kill them, if they are innocent let the\nmboundou go out.\u2019\n\n\u201cSuddenly the slave woman fell down. She had not touched the bottom of\nthe boat before her head was hacked off by a dozen swords. Next came\nQuenguesa\u2019s niece. In an instant her head was cut off, and her blood\nwas dyeing the waters. Meantime poor Okondaga staggered, and struggled,\nand cried, vainly resisting the working of the poison in her system.\nLast of all, she fell. Then all became confused. A random hacking\nensued, and in an incredibly short time the bodies were cut in small\npieces which were cast into the river.\n\n\u201cAfter this the crowd dispersed to their houses, and for the rest of\nthe day the town was silent. Some of these rude people felt that the\nnumber in their almost extinguished tribe was becoming less, and the\ndread of death filled their hearts. In the evening poor Adouma came\nsecretly to my house, to unburden his sorrowing heart. He, too, had\nbeen compelled to take part in the dreadful scene. He dared not refrain\nfrom joining in the curses heaped upon his poor sister. He dared not\nmourn publicly for her. I comforted him as well as I could, and I spoke\nto him of the true God, and of the wickedness of the conduct we had\nwitnessed. He said at last, \u2018O Chally, when you go back to your far\ncountry, America, let them send men to us poor people to teach us from\nthat which you call God\u2019s mouth,\u2019 meaning the Bible. I promised Adouma\nto give the message, and I now do so.\u201d\n\nGod pity poor Africa! May the Light of the Sun of Righteousness soon\nshine on her dark land!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVII.\n\n THE ABORIGINES OF AMERICA.\n\n Darin besteht eben die Bedeutung der Amerikanishen Religionen,\n dass sie mehr als andere, wenigstens mehrals andere Religionen\n von Kulturv\u00f6lkern, das primitive und unabgeschw\u00e4chte Heidenthum\n darstellen.--DR. J. G. M\u00dcLLER.\n\n\nThe religion of the American Indians and Alaskans partakes of the\ncharacter of their national life; yet there are traces of the original\nideas of God, the creation and early history of man and the world,\nwhich we find in the religions of the far Eastern nations. As we have\nbefore said, we believe the early inhabitants of America to have come\nfrom the eastern shores of Asia, having been washed along in their\nfishing vessels by the current of the Kuro Shiwo (or black stream),\nflowing by the western coasts of America, or perhaps crossing on the\nislands of the North Pacific, where Asia and America almost come\ntogether. They differ from the peoples of Eastern Asia, but, perhaps,\nonly in such points as a different climate and different habits of life\nwould produce.\n\nAll the people of the continent of America appear to have come from\none stock. The squalid Esquimaux at one extremity of the chain, the\npolished Aztec or Inca at the other; agriculturists, and hunters, and\ncanoe-men; tribes frequenting the shores of the great northern lakes,\nor scattered in the dense savannahs of the South; all their languages\ngrow out of a few flexible tongues. They bear a resemblance to the\nTuranian languages--the Malaysian, the Japanese and others. We can\ndivide the American peoples into two classes--the civilized and the\nsavage. To the first class belong the Mexicans and Peruvians; to the\nlatter, the savages of North America, including the Red Indians, the\nAlaskans and the inhabitants of the West Indies, and wild tribes of\nSouth America--the Patagonians, Guianians, etc.\n\n\n THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA.\n\n [Illustration: INDIAN MEDICINE MAN.]\n\nThese nations have the virtues of savage life--a sense of honor,\naccording to their perceptions of duty, mutual fidelity among\nindividuals, a fortitude which mocks at the most cruel torments, and\na devotedness to their own tribe which makes self-immolation in its\ndefense easy. On the other hand, they treat their wives brutally, and\ntheir children with indifference. The apathy under the good and ill\nof life which the Stoic affected is the grand element of the Indian\u2019s\ncharacter. Gloomy, stern and severe, he is, it would seem, a stranger\nto mirth and laughter; yet, in their legends, frequent reference is\nmade to laughter. All outward expressions of pain or pleasure he\nregards as a weakness; and the only feeling to which he ever yields\nis the boisterous joy which he manifests in the moment of victory, or\nunder the excitement of intoxication. He is capable of great exertions\nin war or the chase, but has an unconquerable aversion to regular\nlabor. He is extremely improvident; eats enormously while he has an\nabundance of food, without thinking of the famine which may follow;\nand, when liquors are supplied to him, will continue drunk for days.\nCorresponding to the priests among other peoples, the Indians have\n\u201cMedicine Men;\u201d they believe that these possess great power, and they\ntrust implicitly in all their directions.\n\n\n THE GREAT SPIRIT.\n\nMost of the Indians of North America believe in the existence of a\nsupreme being, whom they call the Great Spirit; and of a subordinate\none, whose nature is evil and hostile to man. To the latter their\nworship is principally addressed; the Good Spirit, in their opinion,\nneeding no prayers to induce him to aid and protect His creatures.\nThey generally believe in a future state, in which the souls of brave\nwarriors and chaste wives enjoy a tranquil and happy existence with\ntheir ancestors and friends, spending their time in those exercises in\nwhich they delighted when on earth. The Dakotas believe that the road\nto these \u201cvillages of the dead\u201d leads over a rock with an edge as sharp\nas a knife, on which only the good are able to keep their footing. The\nwicked fall off and descend to the region of the Evil Spirit, where\nthey are hard-worked, and often flogged by their relentless master.\n\n [Illustration: INDIAN MEDICINE MEN.]\n\nShowing the hideous costumes and decorations they sometimes assume in\ntheir incantations.]\n\n\n WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS.\n\nAs we shall find among the Chinese, the Indians worshiped the spirits\nof their dead ancestors. As among the Chinese, the periodical\noffering of cakes, libations, flesh or viands at the grave to\nancestors, is seen to be an idea incorporated into the practice of\nthe American, at least the Algonic Indians. These Indians, believing\nin the twofold nature of the soul, and that the soul sensorial abides\nfor a time with the body in the grave, requiring food for its ghostly\nexistence and journeyings, deposit meat and other food at and after\nthe time of interment. _This custom is universal_, and was one of\ntheir earliest traits.\n\nFew things in savage life are of more singular interest than the\nceremonies of a burial. Some of the tribes, for instance, take the body\nof their dead, and having clothed it in the best robes and ornaments,\nfurnish it with many articles which are supposed most desirable, and,\nwrapping the whole carefully in soft, wet hides, place the precious\nburden on a scaffold several feet high. In the course of time, the\nscaffold falls; then the relatives assemble and bury the remains,\nexcept the skull; this they place on the ground, where there are\nperhaps a hundred skulls in a circle, all looking inward. About this\nplace of skulls the women are often seen, sitting with their work for\nhours at a time, holding in their laps the skull of a dead child; and\nnot unfrequently they are seen to clasp these skulls in their arms and\nlie down, talking as if to a living child, until they fall asleep.\n\nThe Sioux Indians wrap their dead in skins, and lodge them in the\nbranches of trees, never forgetting to place a wooden dish near the\nhead, that the friend may quench his thirst in the long journey he is\nsupposed to have begun.\n\nAmong the Patagonians the dead are frequently reduced to skeleton\nbefore burial, and are washed and arrayed in new clothing once a year.\nThe bodies, while being prepared, are laid on platforms and guarded\nby the relatives, who, dressed in long robes, strike the ground\ncontinually with spears or staves, and keep up a mournful song to drive\naway the spirits, who they fear are unfriendly to the dead.\n\n [Illustration: INDIAN BURIAL PLACE.]\n\nThe Indians, like the Africans, worship fetiches or material objects in\nwhich either the gods personally or some supernatural power is supposed\nto dwell. It not infrequently happens that if an Indian dreams of an\nidol or fetich of a certain form, when he wakes he proceeds to make it\naccording to the pattern of his vision, and this is the secret history\nof many of the grotesque forms which are favorite symbols with them in\ntheir sacred rites. These they designate Manitos.\n\n [Illustration: INDIAN IMAGE.\n\n Seen in a dream and made by a Medicine Man.]\n\n\n INDIAN LEGENDS.\n\nThe Indians\u2019 hopes, fears, worships, and whole faith and life are found\nin their legends and myths. These are preserved by oral tradition, by\nbeing handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. In\nthe leisure from hunting or war, they gather in the lodge or about the\ncamp-fire and rehearse these stories. As Longfellow has sung:\n\n \u201cShould you ask me, whence these stories?\n Whence these legends and traditions,\n With the odors of the forest,\n With the dew and damp of meadows,\n With the curling smoke of wigwams,\n With the rushing of great rivers,\n With their frequent repetitions,\n And their wild reverberations,\n As of thunder in the mountains?\n I should answer, I should tell you,\n I repeat them as I heard them\n From the lips of Nawadaha.\n\n \u201cYe whose hearts are fresh and simple,\n Who have faith in God and Nature,\n Who believe, that in all ages\n Every human heart is human,\n That in even savage bosoms\n There are longings, yearnings, strivings\n For the good they comprehend not,\n That the feeble hands and helpless,\n Groping blindly in the darkness,\n Touch God\u2019s right hand in that darkness\n And are lifted up and strengthened.\u201d\n\n\n THE \u201cSONG OF HIAWATHA.\u201d\n\nHiawatha is a personage of miraculous birth, whom the Indians believed\nto have been sent among them to clear their rivers, forests and\nfishing-grounds, and to teach them the arts of peace. To the patient,\ntoilsome investigations of Dr. H. R. Schoolcraft, our knowledge of\nIndian legends is due. The poet, Longfellow, has gracefully woven many\nof these legends together in his \u201cSong of Hiawatha.\u201d\n\nHiawatha is regarded as the messenger of the Great Spirit, sent down\nto them in the character of a wise man, and a prophet. But he comes\nclothed with all the attributes of humanity, as well as the power of\nperforming miraculous deeds. He adapts himself perfectly to their\nmanners, customs and ideas. He is brought up from a child among them.\nHe is made to learn their mode of life. He takes a wife, builds a\nlodge, hunts and fishes like the rest of them, sings his war songs\nand medicine songs, goes to war, has his triumphs, has his friends\nand foes, suffers, wants, hungers, is in dread or joy; and, in fine,\nundergoes all the vicissitudes of his fellows. His miraculous gifts and\npowers are always adapted to his situation. When he is swallowed by a\ngreat fish, with his canoe, he escapes by the exertion of these powers,\nbut always, as much as possible, in accordance with Indian maxims and\nmeans. He is provided with a magic canoe, which goes where it is bid;\nyet, in his fight with the great Wampura prince, he is counseled by a\nwoodpecker to know where the vulnerable point of his antagonist lies.\nHe rids the earth of monsters and giants, and clears away windfalls and\nobstructions to the navigation of streams. But he does not do these\nfeats by miracles; he employs strong men to help him. When he means\nto destroy the great serpents, he changes himself into an old tree,\nand stands on the beach till they come out of the water to bask in the\nsun. Whatever man could do in strength or wisdom he could do. But he\nnever does things above the comprehension or belief of his people; and\nwhatever else he is, he is always true to the character of an Indian.\n\nHe leaps over extensive regions of country, like an _ignis-fatuus_,\nthe false light caused by the vapors of the swamp which misleads the\ntraveler. He appears suddenly like an incarnation of a god, or saunters\nover weary wastes a poor and starving hunter. His voice is at one\nmoment deep and sonorous as a thunder-clap, and at another clothed with\nthe softness of feminine supplication. Such is the character of whom\nLongfellow has sung.\n\n\n INDIAN ALLEGORY OF WINTER AND SPRING.\n\nAn old man was sitting in his lodge, by the side of a frozen stream.\nIt was the close of winter, and his fire was almost out. He appeared\nvery old and very desolate. His locks were white with age, and he\ntrembled in every joint. Day after day he passed in solitude, and he\nheard nothing but the sounds of the tempest, sweeping before it the\nnew-fallen snow.\n\nOne day, as his fire was just dying, a handsome young man approached\nand entered his dwelling. His cheeks were red with the blood of youth,\nhis eyes sparkled with animation, and a smile played upon his lips.\nHe walked with a light and quick step. His forehead was bound with a\nwreath of sweet grass, in place of a warrior\u2019s frontlet, and he carried\na bunch of flowers in his hand.\n\n\u201cI blow my breath,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand the streams stand still. The\nwater becomes stiff and hard as clear stone.\u201d\n\n\u201cI breathe,\u201d said the young man, \u201cand flowers spring up all over the\nplains.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shake my locks,\u201d retorted the old man, \u201cand snow covers the land.\nThe leaves fall from the trees at my command, and my breath blows them\naway. The birds get up from the water and fly to a distant land. The\nanimals hide themselves from my breath, and the very ground becomes as\nhard as flint.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shake my ringlets,\u201d rejoined the young man, \u201cand warm showers of\nsoft rain fall upon the earth. The plants lift up their heads out of\nthe earth, like the eyes of children glistening with delight. My voice\nrecalls the birds. The warmth of my breath unlocks the streams. Music\nfills the groves wherever I walk, and all nature rejoices.\u201d\n\nAt length the sun began to rise. A gentle warmth came over the place.\nThe tongue of the old man became silent. The robin and bluebird began\nto sing on the top of the lodge. The stream began to murmur by the\ndoor, and the fragrance of growing herbs and flowers came softly on the\nvernal breeze.\n\nDaylight fully revealed to the young man the character of his\nentertainer. When he looked upon him, he had the icy visage of Peboan.\nStreams began to flow from his eyes. As the sun increased, he grew less\nand less in stature, and anon had melted completely away. Nothing\nremained on the place of his lodge-fire but the miskodeed, a small\nwhite flower, with a pink border, which is one of the earliest species\nof northern plants.\n\n\n ALASKA.\n\nThe Thlinkets, an Alaskan tribe, will illustrate the worship of the\nAlaskans generally. Their religion is a feeble Polytheism. Yehl is\nthe maker of wood and waters. He put the sun, moon and stars in their\nplaces. He lives in the east, near the head-waters of the Naass River.\nHe makes himself known in the east wind \u201cSsankheth,\u201d and his abode is\n\u201cNass-shak-yehl.\u201d\n\nAt that time the sun, moon and stars were kept by a rich chief in\nseparate boxes, which he allowed no one to touch. Yehl, by strategy,\nsecured and opened these boxes, so that the moon and stars shone in\nthe sky. When the sun-box was opened, the people, astonished at the\nunwonted glare, ran off into the mountains, woods, and even into the\nwater, becoming animals or fish. He also provided fire and water.\nHaving arranged everything for the comfort of the Thlinkets, he\ndisappeared where neither man nor spirit can penetrate.\n\nAs the good spirits, from the very nature of the case, will not harm\nthem, the Alaskans pay but little attention to them. They give their\nchief attention to propitiating the evil spirits, so that their\nreligion practically resolves itself into devil-worship or demonolatry.\nThis is called Shamanism, or the giving of offerings to evil spirits\nto prevent them from doing mischief to the offerer. It is said to have\nbeen the old religion of the Tartar race before the introduction of\nBuddhism, and is still that of the Siberians. Indeed, Paul long ago\ndeclared, \u201cthe things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to\n_devils_ and not to God.\u201d The one whose office it is to perform\nthese rites is called a shaman, and is the sorcerer or medicine-man\nof the tribes. The shaman has control, not only of the spirits, but,\nthrough the spirits, of disease, of the elements, and of nature; he\nholds in his power success or misfortune, blessing or cursing. \u201cThe\nhonor,\u201d says Dali, \u201cwith which a shaman is regarded depends on the\nnumber of spirits under his control, who, properly employed contribute\nlargely to his wealth.\u201d\n\n\n INDIAN SUN-WORSHIP.\n\nWe are informed that the worship of the sun lies at the foundation\nof all the ancient mythologies, deeply enveloped as they are, when\nfollowed over Asia Minor and Europe, in symbolic and linguistic\nsubtleties and refinements. The symbolic fires erected on temples and\naltars to Baal, Chemash and Moloch, burned brightly in the valley\nof the Euphrates long before the pyramids of Egypt were erected,\nor its priestly-hoarded hieroglyphic wisdom resulted in a phonetic\nalphabet. In Persia these altars were guarded and religiously fed by a\nconsecrated body of magical priesthood, who recognized a Deity in the\nessence of an eternal fire and a world-pervading light.\n\n [Illustration: AMAZONIAN INDIANS WORSHIPING THE SUN.]\n\nThe same dogma, derived apparently from the east and not from the west,\nthrough Europe, was fully installed at Atacama and Cuzco, in Peru, at\nCholulu, on the magnificent and volcano-lighted peaks of Mexico, and\nalong the fertile deltas of the Mississippi valley. Altar-beds for\na sacred fire, lit to the Great Spirit, under the name and symbolic\nform of Cuzis, or the sun, where the frankincense of the nicotiana\nwas offered, with hymns and genuflections, have been discovered, in\nmany instances, under the earth-heaps and artificial mounds and places\nof sepulture of the ancient inhabitants. Intelligent Indians yet\nliving among the North American tribes, point out the symbol of the\nsun, in their ancient muzzinabikons or rock-inscriptions, and also amid\nthe ideographic tracery and bark-scrolls of the hieratic, or priestly\ninscriptions, and of the magical medicine-songs.\n\n\n AMAZON SUN-WORSHIP.\n\nWe turn away to the savage tribes of South America and find many of\nthe forms of faith and worship which we have seen among the Northern\nIndians and among the nations of the Eastern world at about the time\nof the dispersion of the nations. Thus among the Amazon Indians of\nWestern Brazil, we find the same worship of the sun that we have seen\nin Egypt, in Assyria, in Japan, and among the Indians of North America.\nA traveler among them says: \u201cA sound fell upon our ears that seemed to\nissue from the depths of a distant cavern. We could tell it to be a\nchorus of voices, chanting some sad or solemn refrain. As we listened\nit grew louder, as if the chanters were drawing nearer; and in the same\ndegree, it was becoming more joyful. All at once a procession appeared\napproaching the spot, men marching two and two, with files of women\nintermingled.\n\n\u201cAs its head emerged from among the thick-standing tree-trunks, we\nrecognized our old Zummate friends, dressed in all the gala of a grand\nholiday, with plumed circlets upon their heads, feather armlets, and\ngarters of the same, girt just below the knee.\n\n\u201cOn reaching the malocca, they broke ranks, at the same time bursting\ninto peals of joyous laughter. Then surrounding they embraced us, the\nchief in a speech again making us welcome to their village.\n\n\u201cWe soon discovered the cause of their absence from home with all these\nmysterious proceedings. The day was a grand festival--a religious\nceremony annually observed by the tribe, when every man, woman and\nchild go forth into the woods, to worship the sun.\n\n\u201cThere, near the mouth of the Amazon, and amid the mountains of Guiana,\nis found the same _culte_, observed by the ancient Peruvians in the\ndays of Pizarro and the Mexicans before Cortez Christianized them.\u201d\n\n\n THE ARAUCANIANS.\n\nThe Araucanians, in the north-western part of South America, believe\nin a supreme being, and in many subordinate spirits, good and bad.\nThey believe also in omens and divinations, but they have neither\ntemples nor idols, nor religious rites; and discover upon the whole so\nlittle aptitude for the reception of religious ideas that the Catholic\nmissionaries that have settled among them have had very little success\nin imbuing their minds with a knowledge of Christianity. They believe\nin a future state, and have a confused tradition respecting a deluge\nfrom which some persons were saved on a high mountain; but in other\nrespects religious knowledge is lacking.\n\n\n PATAGONIA.\n\nThe religion of the Patagonian is a Polytheism, the natives believing\nthat there are great numbers of deities, some good and some evil. Each\nfamily is under the guardianship of one of the good deities, and all\nthe members of that family join him when they die. Beside these gods\nthere are subordinate demons, good to their own friends, but bad toward\nall others; so that, on the whole, the bad predominates in them. They\nare called by the name of Valichu.\n\nYet, among some of the Patagonian tribes, there is a considerable\napproach to personal religion. It has been thought with some reason\nthat they are totally destitute of religion. This, however, is\ncertainly not the case, as even our limited knowledge of these people,\ntheir language and their habits show that, even though they may not\npossess any definite system of worship, they are still impressed with\nthe idea of some Being infinitely greater than themselves, who knows\neverything that they do. Thus they believe in an omniscient Being; and\nsuch a belief as this, limited and imperfect though it may be, is yet a\nstep in the right direction.\n\nTo this unknown Being they return thanks for a supply of food after a\nlong famine; so that we find them acknowledging that the great Being,\nwho knows all their deeds, watches over them and is the giver of all\ngood things. When, for example, they have procured a seal, after having\nbeen half starved for months, they assemble round a fire, and the\noldest man present cuts for each person a piece of the seal, uttering\nover each portion a sort of prayer, and looking upward in devotion to\nthe unseen God who had sent them meat in their need. Undisciplined as\nare the Patagonians, totally unaccustomed to self-denial and mad with\nhunger, not one of them will touch the food until this invocation has\nbeen repeated. Thus they show a devout spirit.\n\n\n THE AZTECS.\n\nThe religion of the Mexicans breathed a savage spirit, which degraded\nthem, in a moral point of view, far below the hordes of wandering\nIndians. Their deities, represented by misshapen images of serpents and\nother hideous animals, were the creation of the darkest passions of the\nhuman breast--of terror, hatred, cruelty and revenge. They delighted in\nblood, and thousands of human sacrifices were annually offered at their\nshrines.\n\nThe places of worship, called Teocallis, were pyramids composed of\nterraces placed one above another, like the temple of Belus at Babylon.\nThese were built of clay, or of alternate layers of clay and unburnt\nbricks, but, in some cases, faced with slabs of polished stone, on\nwhich figures of animals were sculptured in relief. One or two small\nchapels stood upon the summit, inclosing images of the deity. The\nlargest known Teocalli contains four stories or terraces, and has\na breadth of 480 yards at the base and a height of 55 yards. These\nstructures served as temples, tombs and observatories.\n\n [Illustration: ANCIENT AZTEC IDOL.]\n\nThe Aztecs believed in one supreme, invisible creator of all things,\nthe ruler of the universe, named Taotl--a belief, it is conjectured,\nnot native to them, but derived from their predecessors, the Taoltecs.\nUnder this supreme being stood thirteen chief and two hundred inferior\ndeities, each of whom had his sacred day and festival. At their head\nwas the patron god of the Aztecs, the frightful Huitzilopochtli, the\nMexican _Mars_. His temples were the most splendid and imposing.\nIn every city of the empire his altars were drenched with the blood of\nhuman sacrifice. Cortez and his companions were permitted by Montezuma\nto enter his temple in the city of Mexico, and to behold the god\nhimself. He had a broad face, wide mouth and terrible eyes. He was\ncovered with gold, pearls and precious stones, and was girt about with\ngolden serpents. On his neck, a fitting ornament, were the faces of men\nwrought in silver, and their hearts in gold. Close by were braziers\nwith incense, and on the braziers three real hearts of men who had that\nday been sacrificed. The smell of the place, we are told, was like that\nof a slaughter-house.\n\nTo supply victims for the sacrifices, the emperors made war on all\nthe neighboring and subsidiary States, or in case of revolt, in any\ncity of their dominions, and levied a certain number of men, women\nand children by way of indemnity. The victims were borne in triumphal\nprocessions and to the sound of music, to the summit of the great\ntemples, where the priests, in sight of assembled crowds, bound them to\nthe sacrificial stone, and opening the breast tore from it the bleeding\nheart which was either laid before the image of the gods, or eaten\nby the worshipers, after having been carefully cut up and mixed with\nmaize. In the years immediately preceding the Spanish conquest, not\nless than 20,000 victims were annually immolated.\n\nThese atrocities were sometimes, though incongruously, blended with\nmilder forms of worship, in which fruits, flowers and perfumes were\noffered up amid joyous outbursts of song and dance. According to their\nmythology, Taotl, who delighted in these purer sacrifices, had once\nreigned in Anahuac (a name which at first probably applied only to the\ncountry in the immediate vicinity of the capital, though afterward it\nwas applied to the whole Aztec empire) in the golden age of the world\nbut being obliged, from some unexplained cause, to retire from earth,\nhe departed by way of the Mexican Gulf, promising to return.\n\nThis wide-spread tradition accelerated the success of the Spaniards,\nwhose light skins and long dark hair and beards were regarded as\nevidences of their affinity with the long-looked-for divinity. The\nMexican priesthood formed a rich and powerful order of the State and\nwere so numerous that Cortez found as many as 5,000 attached to the\ntemple of Mexico. The education of the young of both sexes remained,\ntill the age of puberty, in the hands of the priests and priestesses,\nand the sacerdotal class were thus able to exercise a widely-diffused\ninfluence, which, under the later rulers, was almost equal to that\nof the emperor himself. The women shared in all the occupations of\nthe men, and were taught, like them, the arts of reading, writing,\nciphering, singing in chorus, dancing, etc., and they were even\ninitiated into the secrets of astronomy and astrology. These facts\nindicate a civilization far above that of many other nations and\ntribes.\n\n [Illustration: SUN-WORSHIP AMONG THE PERUVIANS.]\n\n\n THE INCAS.\n\nThe government of Peru was a theocracy. The Inca was at once the\ntemporal sovereign and the supreme pontiff. He was regarded as the\ndescendant and representative of the great deity, the sun, who was\nsupposed to inspire his counsels, and speak through his orders and\ndecrees. Hence even slight offenses were punished with death, because\nthey were regarded as insults offered to the divinity. The race of\nthe Incas was held sacred. To support its pretensions, it was very\ndesirable that it should be kept pure and distinct from the people;\nbut human passions are often too strong for the dictates of policy;\nand though the marriages of the family were confined to their own\nrace, the emperor, as well as the other males of the blood royal, kept\nlarge harems stocked with beauties drawn from all parts of the empire,\nand multiplied a spurious progeny, in whom the blood of the \u201cchildren\nof the sun\u201d was blended with that of the \u201cchildren of the earth.\u201d\nAmong a simple-minded and credulous people the claims of the Incas to\na celestial origin seem to have been implicitly believed. They were\nblindly obeyed, and treated with a respect bordering on adoration, by\nthe nobles and the common people.\n\nThe Peruvians worshiped the sun, moon, the evening star, the spirit\nof thunder and the rainbow, and had erected temples in Cuzco to all\nthese deities. That of the sun, which was the most magnificent, had its\nwalls covered with plates of pure gold. The sacrifices consisted of the\nobjects most prized by the people--of grain, and of fruits, of a few\nanimals, and of the productions of their own industry. Sun-worship, as\nit is the most rational of all forms of idolatry, is also generally the\nmost mild; and doubtless this results from the tendency which it has\nto fix the thoughts on the marks of beneficence and wisdom which are\ndisplayed in the works of nature. The Peruvian temples were accordingly\nnever polluted, like those of Mexico, with the blood of human victims;\nand the Incas even went farther, and signalized their zeal against such\nhorrid rites, by suppressing them in all the countries they conquered.\n\n [Illustration: ANCIENT PERUVIAN TEMPLE OF THE SUN.]\n\nThe temple of the Sun at Cuzco, called _Coricancha_ or \u201cPlace of\nGold,\u201d was the most magnificent edifice in the empire. On the western\nwall, and opposite the eastern portal, was a splendid representation of\nthe sun, the god of the nation. It consisted of a human face in gold,\nwith innumerable golden rays emanating from it in every direction; and\nwhen the early beams of the morning sun fell upon this brilliant golden\ndisc, they were reflected from it as from a mirror, and again reflected\nthroughout the whole temple by the numberless plates, cornices, bands\nand images of gold, until the temple seemed to glow with a sunshine\nmore intense and glorious than that of nature.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVIII.\n\n THE ISLANDS OF THE SEAS.\n\n I believe that the ignorance which has prevailed regarding the\n mythological systems of barbarous or semi-barbarous races has\n too generally led to their being considered far grander and more\n reasonable than they really were.--W. VON HUMBOLDT.\n\n\nOceanica is one of the five great divisions of the globe. It embraces\nall the islands lying in the Pacific Ocean between the south-eastern\nshores of Asia and the western shores of America.\n\nThe people may be divided into two classes; the one called the Papuans,\nthe other the Malayo-Polynesians. The first resemble the African\nNegroes, having a black skin, and crisp (Papua means \u201ccrisp\u201d) and\nwoolly hair, broad noses, receding chins and foreheads and thick,\nprotruding lips. These Oceanica Negroes live mainly in New Guinea.\nThey are also found in the woods and mountain fastnesses of some other\nislands. They seemed destined to be utterly destroyed in the struggle\nwith new-coming races. The second, the Malayo-Polynesians, are the\nbrown or copper-colored race of Oceanica. They greatly resemble the\nArabs in character, customs and appearance. They are half-civilized,\nwhile the Papuans are barbarous. They overspread almost the whole of\nthe southern Pacific Islands. They readily responded to the religious\nteachings and civilizing influences of Asia. In Java especially they\nbecame almost a reproduction of the people of India, in their religion,\nlanguage and habits.\n\n\n THE DEPRAVED CONDITION OF THE PAPUANS.\n\n [Illustration: A PAPUAN FETICH HOUSE.\n\nVarious charms and fetiches are here brought together, and persons\nafflicted in all imaginable ways assemble to secure the benefits\nsupposed to emanate from such a collection. Fetiches may also be\npurchased here in sizes and styles to suit the necessities and the\nmeans of purchasers.]\n\nThe religious condition of the Papuans is very low. They resemble\nsomewhat the American Indians and the lower African peoples in\ntheir faith and worship. The idea of God has almost vanished from\ntheir minds. They recognize, indeed, not a moral Ruler, but a great\nawe-inspiring and mysterious power. Their whole worship is a mere\nattempt at propitiating the angry and malignant gods and evil spirits.\nThere are no shrines or temples, no priests, no sacred books. They\nmake _fetiches_ of pieces of sculpture, a snake, a lizard, a\nbit of bone or sometimes an image of a man. This last is called a\n_karwar_ and is found in almost every hut, and answers the purpose\nof an oracle and idol. In consulting it, they squat before it, clasp\ntheir hands over the forehead, bow repeatedly, at the same time stating\ntheir intentions. If they are seized with any nervous feeling, it is\nconsidered a bad sign. If they feel hopeful, the idol is supposed to\napprove. It is deemed necessary that a _karwar_ should be present\non all important occasions.\n\n [Illustration: TATTOOED GIRL OF OCEANICA.]\n\n\n THE PAGAN POLYNESIANS.\n\nWe see in the Malayo-Polynesians a reproduction of the worship of\nthe Aztecs of Mexico. Together with some knowledge of arts and\ncivilization, the most savage atrocities exist--infanticide, human\nsacrifices, the choking to death of whole families in honor of some\nfallen chief, brutish feasts upon the bodies of their foes and even of\ntheir fellow-subjects.\n\nThe chief god is called _Ndengei_. Besides him there is a host\nof good and evil gods, who are always warring in the attempt to help\nor to hurt mankind. One of these gods of the infernal regions is said\nto sit upon the brink of a huge fiery cave, into which he casts the\nspirits of the dead. Another, the one-toothed Lord, is described as\nliving in the figure of a man, with wings instead of arms, and claws\ninstead of fingers, to snatch his victims. His tooth is so large that\nit reaches above his head, and he throws out sparks of fire as he flies\nthrough the air.\n\n [Illustration: POLYNESIAN IDOL AND ITS DEVOTEES.]\n\nAmong this people there is a priesthood, and their temples, or\n\u201cspirit-houses,\u201d are called _Mbure_. They are exceedingly devout\nin their way and superstitious. Their religious ideas enter into their\nevery-day life. They have some interesting traditions, from which a few\nselections may be used as illustrative of the whole.\n\n\n TRADITIONARY ORIGIN OF HUMAN PRIESTHOOD.\n\nThe gods first spake to man through the small land-birds; but their\nutterances were too indistinct to guide the actions of mankind. To meet\nthis emergency, an order of priests was set apart, the gods actually\ntaking up their abode, for the time being, in their sacred persons.\nPriests were significantly named \u201cgod-boxes\u201d (pia-atna), generally\nabbreviated to \u201cgods,\u201d _i. e._, living embodiments of these\ndivinities. Temples were naturally conjoined with priesthood, but they\nwere usually of the rudest and simplest sort.\n\n [Illustration: A FIJIAN BURE TEMPLE.]\n\nWhenever consulted, a present of the best food, accompanied with a bowl\nof intoxicating \u201cpiper mythisticum,\u201d was indispensible. The priest,\nthrowing himself into a frenzy, delivered a response in language\nintelligible only to the initiated. A favorite subject of inquiry was\n\u201cthe sin why so-and-so was ill;\u201d no one being supposed to die a natural\ndeath unless decrepit with extreme old age. If a priest cherished a\nspite against anybody, he had only to declare it to be the will of the\ndivinity that the victim should be put to death, or be laid on the\naltar for some offense against the gods. The best kinds of food were\nsacred to the priests and chiefs and they were never slow to make use\nof it.\n\nAlthough unsuited for the delivery of oracles, birds were ever regarded\nas the special messengers of the gods to warn individuals of impending\ndanger, each tribe having its own feathered guardians.\n\n\n POLYNESIAN NOTION OF THE SUN AND MOON.\n\nA curious myth obtained in the now almost extinct Tongan tribe relative\nto the origin of the sun and moon. V\u00e1tea and Tonga-ita quarreled\nrespecting the parentage of the first born of Papa, each claiming the\nchild as his own. At last the child was cut in two. V\u00e1tea, the husband\nof Papa, took the upper part as his share, and forthwith squeezed it\ninto a ball and tossed it into the heavens, where it became the sun.\n\n [Illustration: IDOL OF SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.]\n\nTonga-ita sullenly allowed his share, the lower half, to remain a\nday or two on the ground. Seeing the brightness of V\u00e1tea\u2019s half, he\nresolved to imitate his example by compressing his share into a ball,\nand tossing it into the dark sky during the absence of the sun in\nAvaiki, or nether-world. Thus originated the moon, whose paleness is\nattributed to the blood having all drained out of the body as it lay so\nlong on the ground and to decomposition having commenced.\n\nThey believed that men could become gods. M\u0101ni, by his mighty prowess,\nentered the rank of the gods, and his example could be followed by\nothers.\n\n\n TRADITION OF M\u0100NI\u2019S SECURING THE FIRE-GOD\u2019s SECRET.\n\nOne of the most peculiar traditions of Oceanica is this: To Ru and\nBuataranga was born a famous son, M\u0101ni. At an early age, M\u0101ni was\nappointed one of the guardians of this upper world where mortals live.\nLike the rest of the inhabitants of the world, he subsisted on uncooked\nfood. The mother, Buataranga, occasionally visited her son, but always\nate her food apart, out of a basket brought with her from nether-land.\nOne day, when she was asleep, M\u0101ni peeped into her basket, and\ndiscovered cooked food. Upon tasting it, he was decidedly of opinion\nthat it was a great improvement upon the raw diet to which he was\naccustomed. This food came from nether-world; it was evident that the\nsecret of fire was there. To nether-world, the home of his parents, he\nwould descend to gain this knowledge, so that ever after he might enjoy\nthe luxury of cooked food.\n\n [Illustration: GREAT IDOL OF OCEANICA,\n\n Six feet in Height.]\n\nOn the following day Buataranga was about to descend to Avaiki\n(nether-world), when M\u0101ni followed her through the bush without her\nknowing it. This was no difficult task, as she always came and returned\nby the same road. Peering through the tall reeds, he saw his mother\nstanding within easy hearing distance of him and directly opposite a\nblack rock, which she addressed as follows:\n\n \u201cBuataranga, descend thou boldly through this chasm,\n The rainbow-like must be obeyed;\n As two dark clouds parting at dawn,\n Open, open up my road to nether-world, ye fierce ones.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: HAWAIIAN IDOL, KNOWN AS THE POISON GOD.]\n\nAt these words, the rock divided, and Buataranga descended. M\u0101ni\ncarefully treasured up these magic words, and without delay started off\nto see the god Tane, the owner of some wonderful pigeons. He earnestly\nbegged Tane to lend him one; but the proffered pigeon not pleasing\nM\u0101ni, was at once returned to its owner. A better pigeon was offered\nto the fastidious borrower, but was rejected. Nothing would content\nM\u0101ni but the possession of Akaotu, or _Fearless_, a red pigeon,\nspecially prized by Tane. It was so tame that it knew its name; and,\nwander wherever it might, it was sure to return to its master. Tane,\nwho was loth to part with his pet, extracted a promise from M\u0101ni that\nthe pigeon should be restored to him uninjured. M\u0101ni now set off in\nhigh spirits, carrying with him his red pigeon, to the place where his\nmother had descended. Upon pronouncing the magic words which he had\noverheard, to his great delight, the rock opened, and M\u0101ni, entering\nthe pigeon, descended. Some assert that M\u0101ni transformed himself into\na small dragon-fly, and, perched upon the back of the pigeon, made\nhis descent. The two fierce guardian demons of the chasm, enraged\nat finding themselves imposed upon by a stranger, made a grab at\nthe pigeon, intending to devour it. Fortunately, however, for the\nborrower, they only succeeded in getting possession of the _tail_,\nwhilst the pigeon, minus its beautiful tail, pursued its flight to the\nshades. M\u0101ni was grieved at the mishap which had overtaken the pet bird\nof his friend Tane.\n\nArrived at nether-land, M\u0101ni sought for the home of his mother. It\nwas the first house he saw; he was guided to it by the sound of her\nclothflail. The red pigeon alighted on an ovenhouse opposite to the\nshed where Buataranga was beating out cloth. She stopped her work to\ngaze at the red pigeon, which she guessed to be a visitor from the\nupper world, as none of the pigeons in the shades were red. Buataranga\nsaid to the bird, \u201cAre you not come from daylight?\u201d The pigeon nodded\nassent. \u201cAre you not my son, M\u0101ni?\u201d inquired the old woman. Again\nthe pigeon nodded. At this Buataranga entered her dwelling and the\nbird flew to a bread-fruit tree. M\u0101ni resumed his proper human form,\nand went to embrace his mother, who inquired how he had descended to\nnether-world, and the object of his visit. M\u0101ni avowed that he had\ncome to learn the secret of fire. Buataranga said, \u201cThis secret rests\nwith the fire-god, Manike. When I wish to cook an oven, I ask your\nfather Ru to beg a lighted stick from Manike.\u201d M\u0101ni inquired where the\nfire-god lived. His mother pointed out the direction, and said it was\ncalled Are-aoa--_house-of-banyan-sticks_. She entreated M\u0101ni to be\ncareful, \u201cfor the fire-god is a terrible fellow, of a very irritable\ntemper.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: IDOL FROM POLYNESIA.]\n\nM\u0101ni now walked up boldly toward the house of the fire-god, guided by\nthe curling column of smoke. Manike, who happened at the moment to\nbe cooking an oven of food, stopped his work and demanded what the\nstranger wanted. M\u0101ni replied, \u201cA fire-brand.\u201d The fire-brand was\ngiven. M\u0101ni carried it to a stream running past the bread-fruit tree\nand there extinguished it. He now returned to Manike and obtained a\nsecond fire-brand, which he also extinguished in the stream. A third\ntime a lighted stick was demanded of the fire-god. He was beside\nhimself with rage. Raking the ashes of his oven, he gave the daring\nM\u0101ni some of them on a piece of dry wood. These live coals were thrown\ninto the stream as the former lighted sticks had been.\n\nM\u0101ni correctly thought that a fire-brand would be of little use, unless\nhe could obtain the secret of fire. The brand would eventually go out;\nbut _how to reproduce the fire_? His object, therefore, was to\npick a quarrel with the fire-god, and compel him, by sheer violence, to\nyield up the invaluable secret, as yet known to none but himself. On\nthe other hand, the fire-god, confident in his own prodigious strength,\nresolved to destroy this insolent intruder into his secret. M\u0101ni, for\nthe fourth time, demanded fire of the enraged god. Manike ordered him\naway, under pain of being tossed into the air; for M\u0101ni was small of\nstature. But the visitor said he should enjoy nothing better than a\ntrial of strength with the fire-god. Manike entered his dwelling to\nput on his war-girdle (ume-i-tono maro); but on returning, found that\nM\u0101ni had swelled himself to an enormous size. Nothing daunted at this,\nManike boldly seized him with both hands and hurled him to the height\nof a cocoanut tree. M\u0101ni contrived, in falling, to make himself so\nlight that he was in no degree hurt by his adventure. Manike, maddened\nthat his adversary should yet breathe, exerted his full strength, and\nnext time hurled him far higher than the highest cocoanut tree that\never grew. Yet M\u0101ni was unhurt by his fall, whilst the fire-god lay\npanting for breathe.\n\nIt was now M\u0101ni\u2019s turn. Seizing the fire-god, he threw him up to a\ndizzy height, and caught him again like a ball with his hands. Without\nallowing Manike to touch the ground, he threw him a second time into\nthe air, and caught him in his hands. Assured that this was but a\npreparation for a final toss, which should seal his fate, the panting\nand thoroughly exhausted Manike entreated M\u0101ni to stop and spare his\nlife. Whatever M\u0101ni desired Manike promised should be his.\n\n [Illustration: NEW ZEALAND MOON-GOD.]\n\nThe fire-god, now in a miserable plight, was allowed to breathe awhile.\nM\u0101ni said: \u201cOnly on one condition will I spare you--tell me the secret\nof fire. Where is it hidden? How is it produced?\u201d Manike gladly\npromised to tell him all he knew, and led him inside his wonderful\ndwelling. In one corner there was a quantity of fine cocoanut-fibre; in\nanother, bundles of fire-yielding sticks--the \u201c_au_,\u201d the \u201coronga,\u201d the\n\u201c_tauinu_,\u201d and particularly the \u201c_aoa_,\u201d or banyan tree. These sticks\nwere all dry and ready for use. In the middle of the room were two\nsmaller sticks by themselves. One of these the fire-god gave to M\u0101ni,\ndesiring him to hold it firmly, while he himself plied the other most\nvigorously, uttering as he did it the following song:\n\n\n THE FIRE-GOD\u2019S SONG.\n\n Grant, oh, grant me thy hidden fire,\n Thou banyan tree!\n Perform an incantation;\n Utter a prayer to (the spirit of)\n The banyan tree!\n\n Kindle a fire for Manike\n Of the dust of the banyan tree!\n\nBy the time this song was completed M\u0101ni, to his great joy, perceived\na faint smoke arising out of the fine dust produced by the friction\nof one stick upon another. As they persevered in their work the smoke\nincreased, and, favored with the fire-god\u2019s breath, a slight flame\narose, when the fine cocoanut fibre was called into requisition,\nto catch and increase the flame. Manike now called to his aid the\ndifferent bundles of sticks, and speedily got up a blazing fire, to the\nastonishment and great delight of M\u0101ni.\n\nThe grand secret of fire was thus secured. But the victor resolved to\nbe revenged for his trouble and his tossing in the air, by setting fire\nto his fallen adversary\u2019s abode. In a short time all nether-world was\nin flames, which consumed the fire-god and all he possessed. Even the\nrocks cracked and split with the heat; hence the ancient saying in that\nland, \u201cThe rocks of Orovaru (in the shades) are burning.\u201d\n\nEre leaving the land of ghosts, M\u0101ni carefully picked up the two\nfire-sticks, once the property of Manike, and hastened to the\nbread-fruit tree, where the red pigeon, \u201cFearless,\u201d quietly awaited\nhis return. His first care was to restore the tail of the bird, so\nas to avoid the anger of Tane. There was no time to be lost, for the\nflames were rapidly spreading. He re-entered the pigeon, which carried\nhis fire-sticks one in each claw, and flew to the lower entrance of\nthe chasm. Once more pronouncing the words he learnt from Buataranga,\nthe rocks parted, and he safely got back to this upper world. Through\nthe good offices of his mother, the pigeon met with no opposition from\nthe fierce guardians of the road to the shades. On again entering into\nlight the red pigeon took a long sweep, alighting, eventually, in a\nlovely, secluded valley, which was thenceforth named Rupe-tau, or\n_the pigeon\u2019s resting-place_. M\u0101ni now resumed his original human\nform, and hastened to carry back the pet bird to his friend, Tane.\n\nPassing through the main valley of Keia, he found that the flames had\npreceded him, and had found an aperture at Teava, since closed up. The\nkings Rangi and Mokoiro trembled for their land; for it seemed as if\neverything would be destroyed by the devouring flames. To save Mangaia\nfrom utter destruction, they exerted themselves to the utmost, and\nfinally succeeded in putting out the fire. Rangi thenceforth adopted\nthe new name of Matamea, or _Watery-eyes_, to commemorate his\nsufferings; and Mokoiro was ever after called Anai, or _Smoke_.\n\n [Illustration: HAWAIIAN WAR-GOD, Covered with red feathers,\n having seal\u2019s teeth and eyes of pearl.]\n\nThe inhabitants of Mangaia availed themselves of the conflagration to\nget fire and to cook food. But after a little time their fire went\nout, and as they were not in possession of the secret, they could\nnot get new fire. But M\u0101ni was never without fire in his dwelling; a\ncircumstance that excited the surprise and the envy of all. Many were\nthe inquiries as to the cause. At length he took compassion on the\ninhabitants of the world, and told them the wonderful secret--that fire\nlies hidden in the hibiscus, the urtica argentra, the \u201ctauniu,\u201d and the\n\u201cbanyan.\u201d This hidden fire might be elicited by the use of fire-sticks,\nwhich he produced. Finally, he desired them to chant the fire-god\u2019s\nsong, to give efficacy to the use of the sticks, and from that\nmemorable day all the dwellers in this upper world used fire-sticks\nwith success, and enjoyed the luxuries of light and cooked food. By\nsuch wonderful deeds M\u0101ni succeeded in introducing himself among the\ngods. He is to-day much reverenced throughout the Pacific Isles.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIX.[4]\n\n THE KARENS AND THEIR TRADITIONS.\n\n The Karens are a meek, peaceful race, simple and credulous,\n with many of the softer virtues and few flagrant vices. Though\n greatly addicted to drunkenness, extremely filthy and indolent\n in their habits, their morals, in other respects, are superior\n to many more civilized races. Their traditions, like those of\n several tribes of American Indians, are a curious medley of\n myth and absurdity; but they have some tolerably definite ideas\n of a Great Being, who governs the universe; and many of their\n traditionary precepts bears a striking resemblance to those of\n the Gospel.--MRS. EMILY C. JUDSON.\n\n\nAlthough the Karens, as we now know them, are divided into two main\nclans and numerous smaller divisions, having different tribal customs\nand speaking different dialects, yet their religious customs are marked\nby the same distinctive features in all the tribes.\n\nThe Karens are not now, and never have been, so far as can be\nascertained, idol worshipers. They look with cool contempt upon the\nreligious forms of the idolaters by whom they are surrounded. The few\nKarens who have so far forgotten their ancient customs as to give a\nformal adherence to Buddhist ceremonies, are looked upon as renegades\nby their fellow-countrymen.\n\nThis feature marks them as entirely foreign in origin to the country in\nwhich they are now found. This is confirmed by their own traditions,\nwhich declare that they came from the north-west, following the\nmountain ranges until they found themselves in Burmah, where their home\nnow is.\n\nThese same traditions also declare unmistakably that they once\nworshiped the true God, whom they call in their own language\n_Yuah_ or _K\u2019tsah Yuah_, the latter term meaning \u201cthe Lord\nYuah.\u201d Karens, however, will seldom repeat this name; the heathen\ndeclining positively, and many of the less informed Christians showing\na strange reluctance to repeating it. The reason they give is that the\nword Yuah, in common speech, means _to flow down or away_, and the\nKarens say that to use this name carelessly will cause the favor of God\nto flow away from them.\n\nAlthough the Karens, however, show this strange reverence for the name\nof God, a reverence which reminds us of the similar feeling among\nthe Jews for the sacred name Jah or Yah which the Karen so closely\nresembles, yet they do not worship this Lord Yuah, as a rule. Indeed in\nmost cases the only sign of worship given to him is the exclamation,\n\u201cBa Pa K\u2019tsah!\u201d used when one is startled or suddenly alarmed. This\nphrase means literally \u201cworship Father God,\u201d or, colloquially, \u201cwe\nworship God.\u201d Further than this a Karen scarcely ever offers any form\nof worship to this Being whom they acknowledge to be in very truth the\none living supreme God.\n\nThe reason for this failure to worship Yuah is accounted for by the\nfollowing strange tradition, which we give as it is commonly repeated\naround the camp-fires, or in the huts of the Karens, as they while away\nthe cool, quiet nights which succeed the burning days of Burmah:\n\n\u201cWe once, oh! children and grandchildren, had the Law of Yuah, and\nworshiped him as the only living and true God. This law was a written\nbook, and was made of skin, the skin of an animal. Yuah gave us his\nlaw because we were his favored children. Yuah had seven sons, and his\noldest son, the first-born of his creation, was our ancestor, the first\nof our nation and the first of men.\n\n\u201cYuah told us to be very careful of his law, and for a time our\nancestors read his book and kept his commandments, for they feared that\nif they did not, Pa K\u2019tsah (Father God, for that is the real name of\nYuah) would flow (Yuah) away from them.\n\n\u201cBy and by, however, our ancestors became careless. They had many\ngardens to make, and they grew forgetful of the book of the law, and\none day they left it upon a low tree, and the fowls flew up to roost in\nthe evening, and threw the book down to the ground; and then a dog came\nand carried it away, and gnawed it. Pa K\u2019tsah was so displeased that\nhe took away his law from us and gave it to our younger brother, the\nwhite man. Then Yuah left us. He said: \u2018Oh, my children, you are now\nin the power of the evil spirits, who hate men. You can only appease\ntheir anger by sacrifices. I am going far away; but do not despair. One\nday your younger brother, the white man, will come to you in ships from\nthe west, and will bring you back again the long-lost law of Yuah. Then\nyou will be happy, for the evil ones will leave you, and I will return.\nTill then you must wait and watch. You shall be afflicted with sickness\nwhen the evil ones eat your spirits. You shall be slaves to your\nbrethren; but one day all will be right, when your younger brother, the\nwhite stranger, brings you again my law.\u201d\n\nThen, say the Karens, began our troubles and sorrows. Since then the\nKarens have regarded themselves as living in a world of evil spirits,\nand their religious ceremonies are simply propitiatory sacrifices and\nprayers to these evil beings, intended to conciliate and flatter them.\n\n [Illustration: CHRISTIAN KAREN GIRLS.]\n\nWhen sickness afflicts a Karen, it is supposed to be the result of an\nattack upon him by one of these evil beings. The Karens say that a man\nhas seven spirits; that when we sleep all these spirits leave us and\nwander about the earth; what they see in their wanderings, we will see\nin our dreams. Now, the evil spirits, according to the belief of the\nKarens, are on the watch to catch the spirits of men and devour them.\nIf one is caught, the man falls sick; if another, he grows worse; if\nall, he dies. The evil spirits may be appeased by a sacrificial feast,\nand may release the captive soul. So a feast is proclaimed, and all the\nfamily of the sick man--sometimes all his immediate relations--gather\ntogether and partake of it with great ceremony, offering portions of\nthe food to the spirits, by exposing them outside the house or village,\nwhere they are quickly seized by birds. These feasts are accompanied\nby intercessory prayer to the evil spirits to release the captive soul\nfrom their toils.\n\nThe streams, the forest, even particular trees, are supposed to be the\nhaunts of these evil ones. So a Karen, when fishing, mutters a prayer\nto the tutelary spirit, or if he fells a tree, first mutters a prayer\nor makes a propitiatory offering.\n\nIn sowing and reaping the grain, or planting fruit-trees, and gathering\nfruit, similar ceremonies are observed.\n\nAfter death solemn funeral services are held. The soul is supposed to\nbe immortal and to exist in Hades. From this Hades we are separated\nby a stream, impassable, save as the soul is carried over upon the\nwings of a bird, to which they give various names. The soul is\nsupposed to linger near the grave or place of sepulture until a solemn\ncommemorative service is held, a month, or more commonly, a year, after\nthe decease of the body. At this time a feast is proclaimed. All the\nvillagers and relatives are gathered together. A bone of the deceased\nis then taken from the grave, usually the back-bone, and shrined in a\ncarved wooden shrine, which is surmounted by the figure of the sacred\nbird. Dirges, exceedingly poetic and beautiful, are sung to minor\nstrains. A procession of young men and maidens moves round the shrine,\nbewailing the deceased and speaking of the hopes of his safe entrance\ninto a beautiful land, or, as the northern tribes call it, the \u201csilver\ncity.\u201d The feast lasts for a number of days, usually seven, but if the\nfamily of the deceased is rich, it is sometimes prolonged to a month.\nThe bone is then buried with great ceremony, and the soul is supposed\nto enter its state of rest; yet not a state of perfect happiness, for\nsay the Karens, \u201cNo one can obtain blessedness until Yuah returns and\nbrings with him happiness for this life and for that which is to come.\u201d\n\nMrs. Vinton, a missionary to Burmah, wrote: \u201cThe Karens in general\nlisten with great interest when we tell them of God, and frequently\nexclaim, \u2018That is what our forefathers told us! That is right! That is\ngood!\u2019 I have endeavored to discover how their forefathers came by a\nknowledge of God; but they always answer, \u2018Our ancestors knew Him from\nthe beginning, but when they sinned against Him He hid Himself from\nthem; and their descendants after them knew not how to worship Him;\nand, as He did not protect them from evil spirits, they were obliged to\noffer sacrifices to them to appease their wrath.\u2019\n\n\u201cThey tell us of many attempts \u2018to return to the worship of the God who\nmade the earth, and the heavens, and all things.\u2019\n\n\u201cThese efforts have sometimes been continued for months, and even\nyears; but the poor Karens have invariably fallen a sacrifice to the\nbrutal persecutions of the Burmans.\n\n\u201cOne village of nearly a thousand inhabitants worshiped God in this\nway for some time, unknown to the Burmans; but when the latter learned\nthe fact they sent an armed force to destroy the village. Some of the\nKarens inquired of their leader if they should fight. \u2018No,\u2019 replied the\nchief, \u2018it is inconsistent with the worship of our God to fight. We\nwill cast ourselves upon His protection.\u2019 They then opened their gates,\nbrought forth their weapons of defense, and laid them at the feet of\ntheir enemies. Thus defenseless, they were immediately slain by their\ncruel oppressors, the Burmans.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XX.\n\n THE FIRE-WORSHIPERS.\n\n A Parsee believes in one God, to whom he addresses his prayers.\n His morality is comprised in these words--pure thoughts, pure\n words, pure deeds.--F. MAX M\u00dcLLER.\n\n\nModern Parsees decidedly object to being called fire-worshipers, and\ndeclare the designation untrue. They are undoubtedly taught from their\nyouth up to turn their face to some light-giving object while engaged\nin worshiping God, and they certainly regard the fire as an emblem\nof the power of God. Yet they declare that they never worship these,\nneither they nor their fathers. The name has been given them from most\nancient times; and they confess that if there is not a national worship\nof the sun and fire, there is yet an indescribable awe which every\nParsee feels toward these objects. The Parsees are the only Eastern\npeople who totally abstain from smoking tobacco. They do not even\nlike to blow out a candle. In many other respects, this is a singular\npeople, whose religious faith we are about to describe. But, first, let\nus turn to its history.\n\n [Illustration: A PARSEE MERCHANT OF BOMBAY.]\n\nTo-day only about one one-hundredth part of the whole human race are\nParsees; but there have been times when this system bade fair to\nbecome the prevalent religion of the world. It is one of the oldest\nof reformed religions. It grew up upon the idolatrous worship of the\nancient Assyrian empire. In the days of Cyrus the Great this was\nthe State religion of Persia. Had Greece fallen before him, and been\nabsorbed into his vast empire, as had Assyria, Babylon and Egypt, the\nGrecian religion would have yielded a place to the Parsee\u2019s faith.\nParseeism was possessed of great strength, and resisted all attacks\nupon its life until a thousand years since, when the Arabians brought\nMohammedanism into the land of Persia. From that time it has been a\ncuriosity to historians, and its followers are rapidly dwindling away;\nand ere long the fires of its faith will die out, and it will become\none of the religions of the past.\n\n\n ZOROASTER, THE PROPHET OF ORMAZD.\n\nThis system is called generally by either one of three\nnames--Parseeism, Fire-worship or Zoroasteranism. It is sometimes\ncalled the doctrine of the Magi. Its usual name is derived from him who\nwas the most celebrated man in the history of this faith. Zoroaster is\nsometimes called the son of Ormazd. He probably lived about 1,200 years\nbefore Christ. The exact date cannot be ascertained. It is certain that\nit was in very early times, because he and his religious reform are\nreferred to in the Vedas, whose great antiquity has been proven. His\nwritings stand at the head of the sacred Parsee books, just as Moses\u2019\nwritings stand at the beginning of our Bible. It took hundreds of years\nfor the sacred Parsee books to grow, and they were completed in 400\nB.C. Pliny compares Moses and Zoroaster as founders of great religions.\nHe certainly was one of the earliest and greatest of religious\nreformers.\n\nHis teachings can be learned only from the older Parsee books, the\nGathas. His principal tenet was that there is one God and not many\ngods. In his speculations he taught that there were two forces opposed\nto each other, a good being and an evil being; his followers afterwards\ndeclared these to be a good god and an evil god--Ormazd and Ahriman. In\nhis moral teachings he declared that three things were to be kept pure;\nnamely, thoughts, words and deeds.\n\n\n ZOROASTER\u2019S WORSHIP OF ONE GOD.\n\nIn one of the Gathas (a division of the Zend-Avesta or sacred Parsee\nbooks), Zoroaster is represented as standing before the sacred fire,\nin a speech seeking to induce his countrymen to forsake the worship of\nthe devas or gods, and to bow only to Ormazd. In his speech he declares\nthat from the worship of one God flow all prosperities, while from\nthe worship of many gods comes ruin to the race. The following is a\ntranslation of his speech, made by Haug the famous Parsee scholar:\n\n\u201c1. I will now tell you who are assembled here the wise sayings of\nMazda (_i.e._, Ormazd) the hymns of the good spirit, the sublime\ntruth which I see arising out of these sacred flames.\u201d\n\n\u201c2. You shall, therefore, hearken to the soul of nature, (_i.e._,\nto plow and cultivate the soil); contemplate the beams of fire with a\nmost pious mind! Every one, both men and women, ought to-day to choose\nhis creed (between deva-worship and the Ormazd religion). Ye offspring\nof renowned ancestors, awake to agree with us.\u201d\n\nAgain and again Zoroaster reverts to this theme. It does seem as if his\nideas of Ormazd greatly resembled those of Moses of Elohim or Jehovah.\nThough the ancient Zoroastrians believed in an evil spirit of almost\nequal power with Ormazd, yet Zoroaster himself taught nothing of this.\nWith all the ardor of Mohammed he waged war against the worship of\nmany gods and idols, but with none of Mohammed\u2019s iconoclastic zeal.\nZoroaster pursued his course peacefully, seeking to win his countrymen\nby his words; Mohammed sought to carry his faith at the point of the\nsword. Both sought the same end, to establish the worship of one God.\n\n\n ORMAZD AND AHRIMAN.\n\nZoroaster taught that there were two spirits always at war with one\nanother. His followers changed his teaching into belief in a good God,\nOrmazd, and an evil god, Ahriman. Ormazd brings blessings, Ahriman\ncursings. Ormazd is the father of truth, Ahriman is father of lies.\nOrmazd favors the good, Ahriman causes the evil to triumph. With the\ntwo gods is associated the idea of two lives, a good and a bad; of\ntwo future homes for man, a Heaven and a Hell. Heaven is literally a\n\u201chouse of hymns,\u201d and Hell a \u201chouse of destruction.\u201d The first is the\ndwelling-place of Ormazd, the latter of Ahriman. Between Heaven and\nHell is the \u201cbridge of the gatherer,\u201d over which the souls of the pious\ncan pass, while those of the wicked fall into Hell. Throughout the\nZend-Avesta we find many teachings bearing a wondrous resemblance to\nthose of the Christian and Jewish Scriptures. Beyond a question, these\nare not derived from one another, but are founded on those convictions\nof truth which are a part of our human nature.\n\n\n FINDING OF THE ZEND-AVESTA.\n\nIt is only recently that Europeans have been able to learn the contents\nof the Bible of the Fire-Worshipers, the Zend-Avesta. In the middle of\nthe last century a Frenchman, Anquetil Duperron, happened to see some\npages written in the Avesta characters. Hoping to earn the honor of\nopening the sacred scriptures of the Parsees to the western world, he\ndetermined to go and get in Western India full copies of these writings\nand there to learn the language. Being very poor, he joined one of\nthe French Indian Company\u2019s ships as a common sailor, for the French\nGovernment had refused to encourage his enterprise. But when he arrived\nin India he found that the government had determined differently and\nwould aid him. But the Parsee priests would neither give nor loan him\nmanuscripts nor teach him the language of the Zend-Avesta. Finally he\nmanaged to bribe a learned priest. His translation appeared in the\nyear 1771, after seventeen years of toil and study. His work created\nan immense sensation in Europe. For fifty years but little was done in\nEurope in addition to Duperron\u2019s work. In 1830, Eugene Burnouf, a most\ngifted scholar, gave his attention to the work. Others followed in his\ntrack, until now we have complete and accurate translations of all the\nParsee sacred books in existence.\n\n\n THE PARSEE BIBLE.\n\nThis consists of the writings and sayings of Zoroaster and the\ncommentaries on these prepared by his disciples. Much of the\nZend-Avesta is lost beyond recovery. When Alexander the Great conquered\nthe Persian empire, he and his soldiers destroyed many of these books.\n\nIn the royal library at Persepolis was a complete copy of the\nZend-Avesta, which, by Alexander\u2019s orders, was burned with the\nbuilding containing them. The names of these books, of which there\nwere twenty-one, remain, together with a description of them. In these\nbooks was gathered the whole religious and scientific literature of\nthe ancient Persian empire. They treated not only of religious topics,\nbut of medicine, astronomy, agriculture, botany, philosophy, etc. The\nfoundation underlying all these books was given by Zoroaster. God\nrevealed all this to him, as the Parsees have always believed, and\nhence all these books are inspired. The prophet was supposed to have\ntalked with God, asking Him questions and receiving answers. These\nanswers Zoroaster communicated to his disciples. Thus we read in the\nZend-Avesta:\n\n\u201cThat I shall ask Thee, tell it me right, O Ormazd! Who was in the\nbeginning the father and creator of righteousness? Who created the path\nof the sun and stars? Who caused the moon to increase and wane but\nThou? This I wish to know, O Mazda! besides what I know already.\n\n\u201cThat I shall ask Thee, tell it me right, O Ormazd! Who is holding the\nearth and the skies above it? Who made the waters and the trees of the\nfield? Who is in the winds and storms that they so quickly run? Who is\nthe creator of the good-minded beings, O Ormazd?\n\n\u201cThat I shall ask Thee, tell it me right, O Ormazd! Who created the\nlights of good effect and the darkness? Who created the sleep of good\neffect and the activity? Who created morning, noon and night, reminding\nthe priest always of his duties?\n\n\u201cThat I shall ask Thee, tell it me right, O Ormazd! What guardian angel\nmay tell me good things to perform five times a day, the duties which\nare enjoined by Thyself, O Mazda? and to recite those prayers which are\ncommunicated for the welfare of all beings by the good mind? Whatever\ngood, intended for the increase of life, is to be had, may it come to\nme!\u201d\n\nThe Dashers or high-priests are the only ones who are now expected to\nbe able to understand the meaning of the Zend-Avesta; they are expected\nto thoroughly study it. All that remains of the Parsee Bible to-day\nare the following books: the Yasna, Visparad, Vendidad and twenty-four\nYashts. The Yasnas are hymns used for sacrifice. They are solemnly\nrecited before the fire. The priest takes some consecrated water,\nbread, butter, fresh milk, meat, the branches of the Homa plant with a\npomegranate branch, the hair of an ox and a bundle of twigs. These are\nall placed on a marble table opposite to the fire on the hearth of the\ntemple. Then the priest repeats the Yasnas, sometimes half-chanting,\nhalf-reciting them. Thus, \u201cBlessed is he, blessed is every one, to\nwhom Ormazd, ruling by his own will, shall grant the two everlasting\npowers, health and immortality. For this very good, I beseech Thee.\nMayest Thou through Thine angel of piety, Armaiti, give me happiness,\nthe good true things, and the possession of the good mind.\n\n\u201cI believe Thee to be the best Being of all, the source of light for\nall the world. Every one shall choose Thee as the source of light,\nThee, O Mazda, most beneficent spirit! Thou createst all good true\nthings by means of the power of Thy good mind at any time, and promised\nus, who believe in Thee, a long life.\n\n\u201cStanding at Thy fire, amongst Thy worshipers who pray to Thee, I will\nbe mindful of righteousness as long as I shall be able.\u201d\n\nThe Visparad is a collection of prayers in twenty-three chapters. They\nare used much in the same way as the Yasnas. They resemble many of the\nVedic prayers of the Hindu religion. The Yashts contain directions for\nthe sacrifices and hymns of prayer and praise. The Vendidad is the code\nof the religious, civil and criminal laws of the Parsees. It consists\nof twenty-two chapters.\n\n\n PARSEE WORSHIP.\n\nThe Parsee religion enters into the home-life of all its adherents.\nThe holy fire is kept always burning in the high-priest\u2019s house, and\nthe people go there to re-light their household altar-fires. A Parsee\nmerchant, Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji, has described the daily life of the\nfire-worshiper. Some of their practices are decidedly disgusting. A\npious Parsee must say his prayers at least sixteen times every day--on\ngetting out of bed, in washing with _nirang_ (a vile fluid,\nsupposed to be sacred), in taking his bath, cleansing his teeth. Every\ntime that he washes his hands he repeats his prayers, and every\nmeal begins and ends with prayers. The priests of to-day do not even\nunderstand the old Zend language, in which these prayers are said. Mr.\nNaoroji says: \u201cAll prayers, on every occasion, are said, or rather\nrecited, in the old original Zend language; neither the reciter nor the\npeople around intend to be edified, no one understanding a word of it.\nThere is no pulpit among the Parsees. On some special occasions there\nare assemblages in the temples, and prayers are repeated. Ordinarily,\nevery one goes to the fire-temple whenever he likes, or, if it is\nconvenient to him, recites his prayers himself, and as long as he\nlikes, and gives, if so inclined, something to the priests to pray for\nhim.\u201d\n\nThe Parsees have only one wife. They never eat food cooked by a person\nof another religion than their own; they object to eating beef, pork or\nham. The priesthood is a family office; none but the son of a priest\ncan become a priest. Fire is used in connection with all their worship\nas the symbol and (so some say) the representative of God. Often one\nmay see in Bombay, India, as the sun lowers in the west, a group of\nParsees with heads reverently bowed, and hands clasped, repeating their\nprayers. Light and fire of any sort are regarded with great reverence,\nand the Parsee always turns his face to a light-giving object when\npraying. The greatest respect is shown to the source of light and heat,\nthe sun, and to the sacred fire in the temple or the high-priest\u2019s\nhouse.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXI.\n\n CHINA AND HER PHILOSOPHERS.\n\n The teachings of Lao-Tsze are not unlike those of Zeno;\n both recommend retirement and contemplation as the most\n effectual means of purifying the spiritual part of our nature,\n annihilating the material passions and finally returning to the\n bosom of the supreme Reason.\n HON. S. WELLS WILLIAMS, LL. D.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE ORNAMENTS WITH WORDS OF CHEER.]\n\nWe now proceed to notice two of the three religions of China, Taoism\nand Confucianism, leaving Buddhism until the chapter on Buddhism.\nOne-third of all the people of the world are gathered in China.\nConsidered in every way it is a gigantic empire. Its territory\nstretches over about one-third of the continent of Asia and, next\nto Russia, is the largest connected empire on the earth. Within its\nborders occur some of the highest mountains and largest rivers in the\nworld. The pass over the Mei-ling in the north of Kwang-tung province,\nis 8,000 feet above the sea. The Yellow River is over 2,000 miles long\nand the Yangtse Kiang is nearly 4,000. China\u2019s various climates allow\nalmost every kind of vegetable and plant to be cultivated. Minerals and\nmetals of all sorts abound, so that no country in the world contains\ngreater wealth. The Great Chinese Wall extends from twenty-two degrees\nof longitude a little north of Peking, and is from fifteen to thirty\nfeet high, fifteen feet broad and over 1,500 miles long. This was\nbuilt more than 2,000 years ago. The history of China goes back to\n2,000 years before Christ; it has had from those early days a sort\nof civilization. Two thousand years ago it had canals and other works\nof inland navigation. The Chinese have from very early times worn\nsilk. The art of engraving on wooden blocks for printing with movable\ntypes was known 500 years before the days of Gutenberg. They have used\nthe compass, and gunpowder, and paper for many years. They have had\nlibraries of thousands of volumes from ancient times. Every village\nhas its school. The conceit of the Chinese of their position has\nbeen fostered very greatly by their isolation and ignorance of other\nnations. Their ruler is called the Son of Heaven and his dynasty the\nheavenly dynasty, whence foreigners sometimes wrongly call the people\nCelestials. China is called the Middle Kingdom and the Flowery Land.\nThey call foreigners I-Jin or barbarians, also Fank-wei or foreign\ndevils.\n\n\n CHINESE CONTRARIETIES AND LANGUAGE.\n\nThey do many things almost in a way directly the contrary of that in\nwhich we do it. Their customs and ideas are diametrically opposite to\nours. \u201cWe read horizontally, they perpendicularly; and the columns\nrun from right to left. We uncover the head as a mark of respect,\nthey put on their caps. We black our boots, they whiten them. We give\nthe place of honor on the right, they on the left. We say the needle\npoints to the north, they to the south. We shake the hand of a friend\nin salutation, they shake their own. We locate the understanding in\nthe brain, they in the belly. We place our foot-notes at the bottom of\na page, they at the top. In our libraries we set our books up, they\nlay theirs down. We now turn thousands of spindles and ply hundreds of\nshuttles without a single hand to propel, they employ a hand for each.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: A CHINESE BOOK.]\n\nBut the most singular thing of all, perhaps, is the language. The\nfundamental conception of the language is ideographic. It is entirely\nmonosyllabic, and has only characters, no alphabet or letters. In\none respect it is as colossal as the nation in the number of its\ncharacters. Every character is the name of a thing. An immense number\nof seemingly arbitrary signs is therefore to be mastered. The labor is\nalleviated, however, by the fact that there are certain root forms,\nvariously estimated at from 315 to 4,000. Out of the characters 214\nhave been selected as keys or radicals, one or other of which is found\nin every character of the language. The number of words contained in\nthe official dictionary is 43,500, and other authorities reckon as many\nmore. But the missionary Doolittle, affirms that a knowledge of 3,000\nor 4,000 characters is sufficient for the reading of most books. The\nmost complicated characters in the language contain fifty-two strokes,\nbut such are very rare. The language is still further complicated in\nits pronunciation by a system of tones, which vary according to the\nmeaning of the word. The language, like the people, is of the earth\nearthy, for among its thousands of words rankly luxuriant there, there\nwas found to be no expression suitable to express one of the graces of\nthe spirit, and it was for half a century a matter of grave discussion\nwhat should be the proper rendering of the word God.\n\n\n THE THREE CHINESE RELIGIONS.\n\nA Chinaman may at the same time be an adherent of all three of the\nnational religions. The mass of the Chinese people accept the three,\nand see no inconsistency in so doing. It is somewhat as if we Americans\nwere at the same time Protestant, Romanist and skeptic. The Chinese\nsupport the priests of all religions, worship in all their temples, and\nbelieve in the gods of each and all. These three religions differ from\neach other, however. Dr. Edkins has so well defined this difference\nthat we give his words:\n\n\u201cConfucianism speaks to the _moral_ nature. It discourses on\nvirtue and vice, and the duty of compliance with law and the dictates\nof conscience. Its worship rests on this basis. The religious\nveneration paid to ancestors--for that is the worship of this\nsystem--is founded on the duty of filial piety. The moral sense of the\nChinese is offended if they are called on to resign this custom.\n\n\u201cTaoism is _materialistic_. Its notion of the soul is of something\nphysical, a purer form of matter. The soul it supposes to gain\nimmortality by a physical discipline, a sort of chemical process, which\ntransmutes it into a more ethereal essence, and prepares it for being\ntransferred to the regions of immortality. The gods of Taoism are also\nvery much what might be expected in a system which has such notions\nas these of the soul. It looks upon the stars as divine. It deifies\nhermits and physicians, magicians and seekers after the philosopher\u2019s\nstone and the plant of immortality.\n\n\u201cBuddhism is different from both. It is _metaphysical_. It appeals\nto the imagination, and deals in subtle argument. It says that the\nworld of the senses is altogether unreal, and upholds this proposition\nby the most elaborate proofs. Its gods are personified ideas. It\ndenies matter entirely, and concerns itself only with ideas. Most of\nthe personages adored by the Buddhists are known to be nothing but\nfictitious impersonations of some of these ideas. The Buddhist worship\nis not reverence paid to beings believed to be actually existing; it\nis a homage rendered to ideas, and it is only supposed to be reflex in\nits effects. Their worship is useful as a discipline, but not effectual\nas prayer. The Buddhist, if he can obtain abstraction of mind from the\nworld in any other mode, need not pray or worship at all.\n\n\u201cThese three systems, occupying the three corners of a triangle--the\nmoral, the metaphysical and the material--are supplemental to each\nother, and are able to co-exist without being mutually destructive.\nThey rest each on a basis of its own, and address themselves each to\ndifferent parts of man\u2019s nature. It was because Confucianism \u2018knew\nGod, but did not honor Him as God,\u2019 that the way was left open for a\npolytheism like that of the Buddhists. In the old books of China, God\nis spoken of as the Supreme Ruler. He is represented as exercising over\nmankind an infinitely just and beneficent providence. But the duty of\nprayer is not enjoined. No worship of God by the people is permitted.\nIt was only by the emperor acting vicariously for the people that the\nDeity was adored in that country. The system of Confucius, wanting\nthis, was more a morality than a religion.\n\n\u201cBuddhism came to fill this vacancy. Individual faith in God, with a\nrational mode of worship to accompany it, could not be a result of\nthe religious teaching which preceded it in China, nor were they\ninculcated by it. In Buddhism, the Chinese found objects to adore of\nmysterious grandeur, and richly endowed with the attributes of wisdom\nand benevolence. The appeal thus made to their religious faith was\nstrengthened by a pompous form of worship. Processions and the ringing\nof bells, fumes of sweet-smelling incense, prayers, chanting and\nmusical instruments were their aids to devotion. No wonder that these\nadditions should prove welcome to the religious susceptibilities of a\nnation which had hitherto been restricted within the bounds of a system\nalmost exclusively moral, and which discouraged the worship of God by\nthe mass of the people.\n\n\u201cHow Taoism meets certain other wants which the other two systems\nfail to gratify, we will now show by an illustration: It was a cold\nmorning in January, when a missionary walked, on one occasion, to a\ntemple near the west gate of Shanghai. There is a medical divinity much\nhonored, who resides in this temple, to heal, as his worshipers think,\nthe ailments of those who pray to him. The Taoist priest in charge\naddressed the foreign visitor with a somewhat unexpected exhortation:\n\u2018You come to our country giving us good advice; now let me address a\nlittle to you. Your religion does not meet the requirements of the\npeople. When they worship, they wish to know whether they can grow\nrich, and recover from disease; but in the case of believing in Jesus,\nthere are no benefits of this kind to be looked for.\u2019 He pointed to\nthe little image, representing some physician of a former dynasty,\nsitting in its shrine in a dim light, just visible through the opening\nof the curtains. \u2018See,\u2019 said he, \u2018here is the god, ready to tell\nthe believing devotee what medicine he needs, and to guarantee its\nhealing effect. Look at the inscriptions fixed on the roof above and\non each side of the shrine. They describe his marvel-working power.\u2019\nHe was asked who placed those tablets there. \u2018They are,\u2019 he replied,\n\u2018the offerings of persons cured by this divinity.\u2019 In the Central\nKingdom, the setting of the tablets in the temples by individuals is\ncustomary, and they are intended to commemorate benefits received from\nthe divinities to whom they are dedicated. A visitor from a village\nin the country, at a distance of some miles, now appeared, and went\nthrough the usual ceremonies. He was asked, \u2018Why do you not consult a\nphysician? This idol is dead wood. It cannot see or hear. Why apply\nto it?\u2019 The devotee answered with great simplicity, \u2018I do not know\nwhat my disease is; how, then, can I apply to a physician? It is on\nthis account that I ask the god. He will heal me. I have come a long\nway on purpose. His fame is very widely spread.\u2019 He was again asked,\n\u2018Will you not go to the foreign free hospital?\u2019 He answered, \u2018It is\nnot the right time of day, and, besides, I like to come here; and why\nshould I not?\u2019 He was asked again, \u2018Do you know that this burning of\nincense and seeking for oracular information at an idol\u2019s shrine is\ndispleasing to God? It is as unwise, therefore, as it is unreasonable,\nto apply to this god to tell you what medicine you should use.\u2019 At\nthis point, the Taoist priest came to the defense of his system.\n\u2018You believe in Jesus. We believe in our gods. Religions differ\naccording to place, and every country has its own divinities. We have\nKwan-kung, for example, the god of war, and other divinities, holding\nthe same place among us that Jesus does among you.\u2019 He was asked,\n\u2018How can these supposed gods benefit you? They are but the imaginary\nrepresentatives of men belonging to your nation, who long ago died.\u2019\nThe Taoist asked in reply, \u2018Is it not the same with Jesus? He also is\nlong since dead. What benefit do you expect from him?\u2019 He was then\ntold, \u2018We do not make an image of Him, place it in a shrine, and cast\nlots before it, expecting to learn, by so doing, how a disease is to\nbe cured. The parallel is not accurate. The benefit we expect from\nHim is that He will help us in becoming virtuous, and in attaining a\nhappy future life. The object of our religious books is to free us\nfrom sin, and Jesus, who still lives in Heaven, is able to secure us\nthis.\u2019 The reference to books led him to remark, \u2018We have our books,\ntoo, to exhort men to virtue.\u2019 He took up a copy of a well-known work,\noften distributed gratuitously in China. \u2018This,\u2019 he said, \u2018is the\nKan-ying-peen (Book of Retribution); all that it contains is intended\nto make men better. It promises long life to the good, and all kinds\nof calamities to the wicked. Our object is the same as yours--to make\nmen good.\u2019 He was reminded that, according to the doctrine of this\nbook, happiness and misery were the rewards of virtue and vice, and\nthat this did not agree with the system of divination on which his\ntemple depended for its support, and was asked why he encouraged those\nwho frequented it to expect good from the throwing of sticks on the\nfloor, and the shaking of lots together in a wooden cup, if good and\nill fortune were awarded to men by Heaven only according to character.\nTo this the priest of Tao replied, as he sat surrounded by his boxes of\nmedicines, arranged in pigeon-holes, with his recipe-book on the table\nbefore him, from which he selected the appropriate nostrum under the\nguidance of the oracle, \u2018If the person who comes to worship is wicked\nat heart, he will not be heard; the oracle will fail.\u2019 \u2018But,\u2019 it was\nremarked, \u2018if he be only virtuous, he need not come here at all. The\ngreat thing is to be good.\u2019\u201d Such are the tenets of Taoism.\n\n\n THE OLD BOY.\n\nConfucius became the prophet of the practical. About fifty years before\nConfucius, was born one who became a deep thinker who looked with scorn\nupon the work of Confucius. This was Lao-tsze, who was born 604 B.C.\nAccording to the legends of the Taoists he had the appearance, when\nborn, of an old man with gray hair, and so they called him Lao-tsze,\nwhich means _the old boy_. When he was born, so they say, he was\nwise as men are when they become old. Other legends say that as soon as\nhe was born, he mounted into the air and pointing with his left hand to\nheaven, and with his right to the earth, he said: \u201cIn heaven above and\non earth beneath, _Tao_ alone is worthy of honor.\u201d His complexion\nwas white and yellow; his ears were of extraordinary size, and were\neach pierced with three passages. He had handsome eyebrows, large eyes,\nragged teeth, a double-ridged nose and a square mouth; on each foot\nhe had ten toes. All of this was to distinguish him from common men.\nHe became a hermit-student. His chief disciple was named Yin-He. The\nfollowing story will serve to illustrate the miraculous powers ascribed\nto Lao-tsze.\n\n\n THE TALISMAN OF LONG LIFE.\n\nThe philosopher\u2019s servant, Senke\u0103, who had served him for 200 years\nwithout receiving any wages, finding that his master was going to take\na journey whither he knew not, suddenly demanded his arrears of pay,\nwhich upon calculation were found to amount to 72,000 ounces of silver.\nFearing to face his master, he induced an acquaintance to ask Yin-He\nto broach the subject to Lao-tsze. The acquaintance being ignorant\nof the relation existing between the master and servant, and already\ndeeming in anticipation Senke\u0103 to be a rich man, promised him his\ndaughter in marriage. The beauty of the girl added to the persistency\nof the serving-man, whom Lao-tsze summoned to his presence. \u201cI hired\nyou originally,\u201d he said, \u201cto perform the most humble duties; your\ncircumstances were poor and no one else would employ you. I have given\nyou the talisman of long life, and it is due to this alone that you\nare now in existence. How have you so far forgotten the benefits I\nhave heaped upon you as to cover me with reproaches? I am now about\nto set out for the Western Sea (the Caspian); I intend to visit\nthe kingdoms of Ya T\u2019sin (the Roman Empire), of Ke-pin (Cabal), of\nTien-chuh (India), and of Gan-se (Parthia); and I order you to act as\nmy charioteer thitherwards. On my return, I will pay you that which I\nowe you.\u201d\n\nBut Senke\u0103 still refused to obey. Whereupon Lao-tsze ordered him to\nlean forward and open his mouth, and instantly there escaped from his\nlips the talisman, and at the same moment his body became a heap of\ndry bones. At the earnest prayer of Yin-He the servant was restored\nto life, and was dismissed with a present of 20,000 ounces of silver.\nHaving nothing further to detain him, Lao-tsze bade farewell to the\nkeeper of the pass, and mounting upon a cloud, disappeared into space.\n\nSome Taoist writers claim Lao-tsze as the author of 930 of the current\nworks on the superstitious varieties of modern Taoism, and add\ncomplacently that all other books are unworthy of the same regard,\nhaving been secretly added by the followers of Tao in later ages.\n\n\n THE VISIT OF CONFUCIUS TO LAO-TSZE.\n\nConfucius once held an interview with Lao-tsze. From this he returned\nto his disciples, and for three days he did not utter a word.\nAccording to his own account, Lao-tsze exercised a complete fascination\nover him. He felt, when conversing with the older philosopher, that\nhe was in the presence of a master mind, and the merciless criticism\nof which his doctrines were the object, shook his faith somewhat in\ntheir truth. \u201cAt his voice,\u201d said he, \u201cmy mouth gaped wide, my tongue\nprotruded, and my soul was plunged in trouble.\u201d\n\nTo Yang-tsze, a disciple of Confucius, Lao-tsze spoke in the same\nstrain. \u201cThe spots of the tiger, and of the leopard, and the agility of\nthe monkey, are that which exposes them to the arrows of the hunter.\u201d\nAnd in reply to a question concerning the administration of the\nillustrious kings of antiquity, he said, \u201cSuch was the administration\nof the illustrious kings, that their merits overspread the empire\nunknown to themselves; the influence of their example extended to all\nbeings; they effected the happiness of the people without letting them\nfeel their presence. Their virtue was so sublime that human speech is\nunable to express it; they lived in an impenetrable retreat, and were\nabsorbed in Tao.\u201d\n\n\n THE VOYAGE IN SEARCH OF THE TALISMAN OF LONG LIFE.\n\nThe talisman of long life was said to have been lost after Lao-tsze\u2019s\ndeath. But Che Hwang-te determined to find it. He was persuaded into\nbelieving that in the ocean to the east of China there were \u201cGolden\nIslands of the Blest,\u201d where genii dwelt, whose business and delight\nit was to dispense to all visitors to their shores a draught of\nimmortality, compounded of the fragrant herbs which grew in abundance\nround them; that here also was the talisman of long life kept. So\nsincere was Che Hwang-te\u2019s faith that he fitted out a naval expedition\nto discover these much-to-be-desired regions, and placed a Taoist\nmagician at the head of the undertaking. On the plea that it had been\nrevealed to him that the expedition was likely to meet with a more\nfavorable reception at the Golden Isles if a company of youths and\nmaidens accompanied it, Sen She, the leader, persuaded the Emperor to\nsend several thousands of girls and young men with him. On the return\nof the voyagers they reported that they had sailed within sight of\nthe islands, but had been driven back by contrary winds. The Emperor\ndetermined to try again. This second expedition failed. But private\nindividuals declared that they had succeeded in reaching the islands,\nin seeing the genii, in securing the draughts of the elixir of life,\nand that they had seen the Talisman. Che Hwang-te\u2019s failures would not\nlet him see the imposture that was being played upon him. Again and\nagain he sent, and great sums were expended, and finally an emptied\ntreasury forced him to relinquish his project.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXII.\n\n THE TAOIST SACRED BOOKS AND GODS.\n\n The Tao-te-king still remains the monument of Lao-tsze\u2019s\n extraordinary power and penetration; and it gives ample reason\n for assigning him a place indefinitely higher than the mass of\n his contemporaries.--ARCHDEACON CHARLES HARDWICK.\n\n\nLao-Tsze gave to Yin-He, when he left China on his last journey, the\nresults of his long life of meditation in a little book of 5,000\ncharacters. On this little book the immense volumes of the Taoist\nreligion are built up. This is called the Tao-Te-King, or Book of the\nWay and of Virtue. This is a metaphysical treatise, and its meaning is\nvery obscure. There is much of materialistic speculation, magic and\ndivination in this book. The first chapter tells us that \u201cthat which is\nnameless is the beginning of Heaven and earth.\u201d \u201c_Taou_ produced\none, the first great cause; one produced two, the male and female\nprinciples of nature; from the two came three, and the three produced\nall things that are in Heaven and earth.\u201d\n\nAll things endure for a set time, and then perish. Together they came\ninto being, and to each is allotted a certain period of growth and\nmaturity; but when the highest point of vigor has been reached, it\nstraightway becomes old and returns home to its root. \u201cThis is said to\nbe a reversion to destiny.\u201d Emptiness is the only thing which endures,\nand this is at the same time of the highest use. The space between\nHeaven and earth, for example, may be likened to a pair of bellows,\nwhich, though it is empty, never collapses, and which, the more it\nis exercised, the more it brings forth. So also with the wheel of a\ncarriage, or an earthen vessel, or the windows and doors of a house.\nIn each case it is the non-existing or empty part which is useful. The\nspokes and nave of the wheel, the walls of the earthen vessel, and the\nframes of the doors and windows are advantageous, but the use of each\ndepends on the part which is empty. \u201cSo, then, existence may be said to\ncorrespond to gain, but non-existence to use.\u201d When a thing is to be\nweakened, it must first be strengthened; when it is about to be brought\nlow, it must first be raised up; and that which is to be taken away\nfrom it must first be given to it.\n\n [Illustration: A CENSER, FROM A TAOIST TEMPLE.]\n\nIn the superiority of non-existence over existence lies the lesson\nwhich, above all others, Lao-tsze desired to impress on man. The great\nconcern of all men in all ages has been to take care of the things of\nthe body, and to neglect the cultivation of the inner man; to seek\nafter the gratification of sense, and to forget the importance of the\nsoul. And what is the result? The five colors, which so delight the\neyes, not unfrequently produce blindness. The five sounds which so\nenchant the ear are often the cause of deafness. A man\u2019s palate, which\nat first revels in the five tastes, soon loses all sense of flavor. The\npursuit of pleasure or of ambition is equally deceptive. Riding and\nhunting will drive a man mad, and things hard to procure bring evil\nupon their possessors. \u201cTherefore, the sage makes provision for the\ninner man, and not for his eyes. He puts aside the one, that he may\ntake the other in hand.\u201d He remembers that rest is the lord of motion,\nand never allows himself to depart from a state of quietude and gravity.\n\n\n THE BOOK OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS.\n\nThe Taoists have long been in the habit of printing by subscription,\nand circulating as a matter of religious duty, the collection of\nmaxims known as the _Book of Rewards and Punishments_. Each\nmaxim is followed by a gloss or commentary, and in almost every case\nelucidated by appropriate tales and anecdotes. The high repute in which\nthis volume stands is further indicated by the circumstance that the\nauthorship has in modern times been attributed to Lao-tsze himself,\nin his capacity of deified and venerable Prince or incarnation of\nTao. \u201cEvery wise man,\u201d writes a commentator, \u201cought to be full of\nrespect for this book: he ought to believe sincerely all the maxims\nit delivers, and ought to practice them faithfully, regardless of\nall obstacles, and without suffering the zeal he had evinced at the\ncommencement to diminish at the close of his career. He ought every\nmorning to read it aloud, and to meditate on every phrase with serious\nattention. Let him redouble his efforts to perform good works, and\nhis anxiety and ardor to correct past failings. Then will happiness\nspring up within himself to recompense his merits; and his end will be\nadvancement to the rank of the immortals.\u201d While the general tone of\nthis production harmonizes with the older treatise, it bears frequent\nwitness also to the presence of a more eclectic and accommodating\nspirit. So highly is this book esteemed as a guide and instructor that\nits distribution is considered to be a religious duty. Edition after\nedition appears from the local presses at the demand of the charitable\nsubscribers, who give them to the poor.\n\n\n SOME SELECTIONS FROM THE BOOK OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS.\n\n\u201cAdvance along the right way, and retreat from the evil way.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not betray the secret of the household.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe humane to animals.\u201d\n\n\u201cRectify yourself and convert men.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave pity for orphans, and show compassion to widows.\u201d\n\n\u201cRejoice at the success of others, and sympathize with their reverses,\neven as though you were in their place.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not expose the faults of others.\u201d\n\n\u201cBestow favors without expecting recompense.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive willingly.\u201d\n\n\u201cA man who does these things is called virtuous. All men respect him.\nProvidence protects him. Good fortune and office attend him. The demons\nflee from him. The godlike spirits guard him. He succeeds in all that\nhe lays his hand to, and to him is given the hope of immortality.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe who wishes to become an immortal of Heaven must do a thousand and\nthree hundred good works. He who wishes to become an immortal of earth\nmust do three hundred good works.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe who inflicts an injury in broad daylight, will be punished by men;\nbut he who inflicts an injury in secret will be punished by demons.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t take advantage of the ignorance of men to deceive them with\nlying words.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever divulge the faults of your parents.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t rank faults as crimes.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t shoot at birds, nor hunt animals.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t drive insects from their holes, nor frighten roosting birds.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t buy groundless praise.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t kill and cook domestic animals except in accordance with the\nrites.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t destroy or throw away the five kinds of grain.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen you see others covered with glory and honor, don\u2019t desire to see\nthem exiled from the country.\u201d\n\n\u201cA handsome figure excites the admiration of the world, but it does not\ndeceive Heaven.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t laugh at the deformities of others.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t bury the effigy of a man to inflict an incubus upon him.\u201d\n\n[This refers to the practice of burying a wooden figure of a man to\ncharm away his life, much in the same way that lately, in Shanghai and\nelsewhere, men were accused of making paper men which suffocated people\nin their sleep.]\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t deceive the innocent and set snares for them.\u201d\n\n\u201cLive in harmony with your wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cWives, respect your husbands.\u201d\n\n\u201cWives, be not wanting in your duties toward your father and\nmother-in-law.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t treat with contempt the souls of your ancestors.\u201d\n\n\u201cWells and hearths are presided over by certain spirits, and if you\nleap over them, not only do you insult the gods, but you show that you\nhave forgotten the two things which are the foundation of the life of\nmen.\u201d\n\n\u201cA good man is virtuous in his words, looks and actions. If each day he\npractices these three virtues, at the end of three years Heaven will\npour down blessings upon him. The wicked man is vicious in his words,\nlooks and actions. If each day he practices these three vices, at the\nend of three years Heaven will send misfortune upon him.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: CEREMONIES IN A TAOIST TEMPLE.]\n\n\n THE BOOK OF SECRET BLESSINGS.\n\nThis book contains a number of moral injunctions, and while it is\na Taoist book there is no reference to Taoist doctrines in it. It\nconsists of 540 words. Some of its leading maxims are given below.\n\n\u201cRedeem the lives of animals, and abstain from shedding blood. Be\ncareful not to tread upon insects on the road, and set not fire to the\nforests, lest you should destroy life. Burn a candle in your window to\ngive light to the traveler, and keep a boat to help voyagers across\nrivers. Do not spread your net on the mountains to catch birds, nor\npoison the fish and reptiles in the waters. Never destroy paper which\nis written upon, and enter into no league against your neighbor. Avoid\ncontentions, and beware not to stir up ill blood. Use not your power\nto discredit the good, nor your riches to persecute the poor. Love the\ngood, and flee from the face of a wicked man, lest you fall into evil.\nHide your neighbor\u2019s faults, and speak only of their good deeds, and\nlet your mouth utter the true sentiments of your heart. Remove stones\nand d\u00e9bris from the roadway, repair the footpaths and build bridges.\nPublish abroad lessons for the improvement of mankind, and devote your\nwealth to the good of your fellow-men. In all your actions follow the\nprinciples of Heaven, and in all your words follow the purified heart\nof man. Have all the sages of antiquity before your eyes, and examine\ncarefully your conscience. What good thing will be withheld from him\nwho practices secret benefits?\u201d\n\n\n THE GODS OF THE TAOISTS.\n\nLao-tsze had nothing to say of gods and goddesses. When Buddhism came\nto China it taught Lao-tsze\u2019s disciples to have gods. As the Buddhists\nhad deified Lakya-muni, so the Taoists now deified Lao-tsze. As the\nBuddhists worshiped under the form of the \u201cThree Precious Ones,\u201d so\nthe Taoists worshiped Lao-tsze as _San-Tsing_, or the \u201cThree Pure\nOnes.\u201d They had an image for each one of the three, and seated them\nside by side. The priests generally, and but rarely the common people,\nworship the San-Tsing. For the common people a god was introduced,\ncalled the \u201cPearly Emperor Supreme Ruler.\u201d He is the chief Taoist god.\nHe is called the producer of all things and governor of all. To him all\nthe gods make their reports. In times of drought, the governors, the\nmandarins, go to his temple to burn incense and pray for rain. They\ncarry idols with them and make thanksgiving offerings after the rain\nhas come. The Taoist worships the mountains, valleys, streams, rivers\nand stars. The Great Bear is supposed to be the palace of the goddess\nTow-Mu and the god Kwei-Sing. The God of Thunder is a common object\nof worship, and is represented as passing through many metamorphoses\nand filling all regions with his assumed forms. While he discourses on\ndoctrine his foot rests on nine beautiful birds. Thirty-six generals\nwait on him for orders. A certain celebrated book of instruction is\nsaid to have emanated from him. His commands are swift as winds and\nfire. He overcomes demons by the power of his wisdom, and he is the\nfather and teacher of all living beings. Among other like deities are\n\u201cthe Mother of Lightning,\u201d \u201cthe Spirit of the Sea,\u201d \u201cthe King of the\nSea,\u201d and \u201cthe Lord of the Tide.\u201d The temples of the Dragon King are\nalso favorite resorts of worshipers, who in all convulsions of nature\nrecognize the agency of this potent and amphibious monster. Serpents\nare looked upon as manifestations of this deity, and in times of flood\noften receive worship at the hands of the educated and the uneducated\nalike. During the flood which overspread the country round Tient-sin,\nin the year 1874, a serpent sought shelter in a temple near the city,\nand ensconced himself beneath one of the altars. Far from desiring to\nget rid of the intruder, the priests welcomed it as a sacred guest of\ngood omen, and Li-Hung-chang, the viceroy of the province, came in\nperson to pay reverence to it as the personification _of the Dragon\nKing_.\n\n [Illustration: THE THREE PURE ONES.]\n\n [Illustration: GOD OF THE KITCHEN.]\n\n [Illustration: GOD OF THUNDER.]\n\n [Illustration: CARRYING THE DRAGON.]\n\n [Illustration: DRAGON BOAT-RACES, A CHINESE FESTIVAL.]\n\n\n THE GOD OF LETTERS.\n\nApart from these more general deities are gods who preside over the\ndifferent pursuits and callings of men. As the number of deities is\nunlimited, and as it is obviously to the interest of the priests\nto encourage worship of whatever kind at their temples, there has\nnever been any difficulty in adding a god or two to the Pantheon.\nThus students have chosen to appropriate to themselves a god, who\nis supposed to watch over the literary efforts of his votaries.\n_Wan-chang te-keun_, or the god of literature, is, according to\nlegend, the disembodied spirit of Chang Chung, an official of the\nChow Dynasty. Under subsequent dynasties, he appeared on earth in the\npersons of men renowned for their scholarship and virtue, and finally,\nunder the Yuen Dynasty, he was deified under the title of \u201cSupporter\nof the Yuen Dynasty, diffuser of renovating influences, Sze-luh of\nWan-chang, God and Lord.\u201d Such is the Chinese conception.\n\n [Illustration: CHARM TO WARD OFF EVIL SPIRITS FROM A BRIDE.]\n\n [Illustration: GOD OF THIEVES.]\n\n\n CHARMS.\n\nDr. Williams says, \u201cthe Chinese have an almost infinite variety of\nsuperstitious practices, the most of which are of a deprecatory rather\nthan an intercessory character, growing out of their belief in demons\nand genii who trouble or help the people. It may be said that most\nof the religious acts of the Chinese, especially those performed in\ntemples, are intended to avert misfortune rather than supplicate\nblessings. In order to ward off malignant influences, amulets are\nworn and charms hung up by persons of all rank. Among the latter are\nmoney-swords, made of coins of different monarchs strung together in\nthe form of a dagger; and leaves of the sweet flag and Artemisia tied\nin a bundle, or a sprig of peach-blossoms; the first is placed near\nbeds, the latter over the lintel, to drive away demons. Brass mirrors\nto cure mad people, are hung up by the rich in their halls, and figures\nor representations of the unicorn, of gourds, of tiger claws, etc.,\nabound.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: SWORD CHARM.]\n\n\n KWAN-TE, GOD OF WAR.\n\nSoldiers worship Kwan-te, the God of War, who when on earth bore the\nname of Kwan-yu. In early life he carried on the trade of selling\nbean-curd, but having a soul above so mean a calling, and the times in\nwhich he lived being favorable to ambitious enterprise, he embarked on\nthe career of a soldier of fortune, and won for himself both honor and\nrenown. He lived to receive the title of Baron, but being entrapped\nthrough a crafty enemy, he was taken and beheaded. For many centuries\nhis name remained embalmed only in history, but during the twelfth\ncentury he was made a god under the title of Chung-hun Kung, \u201cthe\nPatriotic and Clever Duke,\u201d and a little later he was promoted to the\nrank of Prince. Thus gods are manufactured by pagan nations.\n\n [Illustration: KWAN-TE, GOD OF WAR.]\n\n\n TSAI-SHIN, THE GOD OF RICHES.\n\nBut probably no god is worshiped with greater fervor than is Tsai-shin,\nthe God of Riches. Though the pursuit of riches and honor is\ndiscountenanced by all the leading Taoist writers, the natural desire\nfor wealth has overcome all religious warnings and denunciations, and\nis as strong among the Taoists of China as among the most money-loving\nnation in the world. No god can boast more temples raised to his honor\nthan Tsai-shin. Every trader who at the end of the year finds the\nbalance of his accounts in his favor acknowledges the mercy shown him\nby making a votive offering to the dispenser of wealth, and he who\nfears a loss attempts to propitiate the god whom he believes able to\nhelp by sacrifices and gifts.\n\n\n TAOIST SUPERSTITIONS.\n\n [Illustration: TAOISTS CONSULTING THE ORACLES AT THE\n MAGICIANS.]\n\nThere is nothing distinctively Taoist in the worship of these gods\nexcept the gross superstition which accompanies it, and it is evidence\nof the present very degraded condition of Taoism that, whenever a\npopular deity has to be enthroned, Taoist priests are the servitors\nchosen to wait upon his shrine. Combined with the office of guardian,\nthese back-sliding charlatans ply the trades of fortune-tellers,\nprophets and doctors. If a merchant wishes to know whether a venture\nwill turn out profitably or the reverse, or if a mother wants to be\nassured whether her infant\u2019s future is to lie among the blessings\nof office, wealth and long life, or to be accompanied by poverty\nand misfortune, they betake themselves to a Taoist priest, who,\nwell versed in the tricks which ape superhuman knowledge, returns\noracular responses, which satisfy, for the time being at least, the\nsuperstitious wants of the applicants. Nor is their medical advice\nbased on any surer basis. Dr. Gray, in his recent work on China, gives\nthe following description of an incident he witnessed at a temple in\nCanton: \u201cWhilst I was visiting one of these temples, a father brought\nhis son to the priests ... saying that the child was possessed of a\ndevil. Having consulted the idol, the priests informed him that there\nwere no fewer than five devils in the body of his son, but that they\nwere prepared to expel them all on the payment of a certain sum. The\nfather agreed. The child was then placed in front of the altar, and\non the ground near his feet were placed five eggs, into which the\npriests adjured the devils to go. As soon as they were supposed to\nhave entered the eggs, the chief of the priests covered them over with\nan earthenware vase, and at the same time sounded a loud blast upon a\nhorn. When the vase was removed, the eggs, by a trick of legerdemain,\nwere found no longer on the ground but in the vase. The priest then\nproceeded to uncover his arm, and made an incision with a lancet on\nthe fleshy part. The blood which flowed from the wound was allowed to\nmingle with a small quantity of water in a cup. The seal of the temple,\nthe impression of which was the name of the idol, was then dipped into\nthe blood and stamped upon the wrists, neck, back and forehead of the\npoor heathen child, who was suffering from an attack of fever and ague.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: STONE PILLARS ERECTED BY THE CHINESE TO KEEP\n OFF EVIL SPIRITS.]\n\n [Illustration: TALL WHITE DEVIL.]\n\n [Illustration: SHORT BLACK DEVIL.]\n\nThe Chinese believe that when disease does not yield to medical\ntreatment, the vitals of the sick and suffering one are being preyed\nupon by an evil spirit; the physician is cast aside, and the Taoist\npriests are called in, to exercise their exorcising powers. One can\nscarcely pass along the streets of a Chinese city, at night, without\nfinding these priests at work. Just as in Japan, one may hear, every\nnight, the beating of the tom-tom as some priest is _drumming_ the\ndevil out of some poor wretch\u2019s body.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIII.\n\n CONFUCIUS AND THE CLASSICS.\n\n Confucius! Confucius! How great was Confucius!\n Before him there was no Confucius!\n Since him there has been no other.\n Confucius! Confucius! How great was Confucius!\n\n\nOne-third of the human race would probably join in honoring Confucius.\nThe 340,000,000 of Chinese would, without doubt, accept the sentiment\nof the verse at the head of this chapter--taken from a popular history\nof Confucius. No man in any country has left so decided an impression\non his countrymen for so long a time as Confucius has left upon the\nChinese. He was, without question, a great man, and was wise far\nbeyond the men of his age. His sayings, writings and deeds stand out\nabove those of his countrymen. He found the moral sense and religious\nobservances of his countrymen very much debased during his time,\nand set himself to reform them by reviving the ancient observances\nand teaching the highest principles of pure morals and beneficent\ngovernment.\n\n\n THE BACKGROUND OF THE PICTURE.\n\nBefore looking at the story of Confucius\u2019s life let us pause to look\nat the times in which he lived and his surroundings. He was born in\nthe year 550 B.C. He was \u201ca transmitter and not a maker,\u201d as he said;\nso it is important that we should see what there was for him to\ntransmit. We must look into the past history of the Chinese people,\ninto their traditions and habits, and, above all, their early religion.\nIn dim antiquity the Chinese people came into the valley of the Yellow\nRiver, through Central Asia, from the west, which was, perhaps, the\ncradle of the race. They journeyed across the weary wastes of the\nMongolian Desert until they came to the fertile plains along the great\nHwang Ho. The mountains were clad with forests. By the regular rains\nand fruitful soil the labors of the people were rewarded by abundant\nharvest, and they gradually took possession of the land. The aboriginal\ntribes gradually yielded to their superior prowess, discipline and\ncivilization. Colonies were planted all over the land under the control\nof chieftains, or, as Mencius calls them, \u201cPastors of Men.\u201d The history\nof China, down to about 2356 B.C., is made of legendary stories. With\nthis period the \u201cBook of History,\u201d which Confucius edited, begins. Dr.\nR. K. Douglass, of the British Museum, thus describes the reign of the\ntwo first emperors and the religion of their times:\n\n [Illustration: TRADITIONAL LIKENESS OF CONFUCIUS.]\n\nAnciently there was an Emperor Yaou, all-informed, intelligent,\naccomplished and thoughtful; and if we are to accept the received\naccount of his reign, this description does not do more than justice to\nhis character. His first care, we are told, was to advance the able and\nvirtuous to offices in the State, and finally he united and harmonized\nthe myriad States of the Empire; and, lo! the black-haired people\nwere transformed. He appointed astronomers to calculate and delineate\nthe movements and appearances of the sun, the moon, the stars and\nthe zodiacal spaces; and he then determined the four seasons and the\nlength of the year. He adopted intercalary months, and the calendar he\narranged is that which is still in use in China.\n\nOn the death of Yaou, Shun who had shared his throne for some years,\nsucceeded as sole emperor. Like his predecessor, he was profound,\nwise, accomplished and intelligent. He was mild, respectful and quite\nsincere. The report of his mysterious virtue was heard on high, and\nhe was appointed to take the throne. One of his first public acts,\nafter having still further perfected the astronomical calculations\nof Yaou, was to sacrifice to Shang-te, the Supreme Ruler or God.\n\u201cThereafter,\u201d we are told, \u201che sacrificed specially, but with the\nordinary forms, to Shang-te; sacrificed with purity and reverence to\nthe six Honored Ones; offered appropriate sacrifice to the hills and\nrivers; and extended his worship to the hosts of spirits.\u201d This is the\nfirst mention we have in Chinese history of religious worship, though\nthe expressions used plainly imply that the worship of Shang-te at\nleast, had previously existed. It is to this Supreme Being that all\nthe highest forms of adoration have been offered in all ages. By His\ndecree kings were made and rulers executed judgment. In His hands were\nthe issues of life and death, and he whom He blessed was blessed, and\nhe whom He cursed, was cursed. In all probability there was a time when\nthe worship of Shang-te was the expression of the pure monotheistic\nfaith of the Chinese. By degrees, however, corruptions crept in, and\nthough Shang-te always remained the supreme object of veneration, they\nsaw no disloyalty to Him in rendering homage to the powers of nature\nwhich they learnt to personify, and to the spirits of their departed\nancestors, who were supposed to guard and watch over, in a subordinate\nmanner, the welfare of their descendants.\n\n [Illustration: MONUMENTAL GATEWAY ERECTED IN HONOR OF\n CONFUCIUS.]\n\nDuring this reign the empire was divided into twelve provinces, and\nministers of agriculture, crime, works, forests, religious worship\nand of music were appointed. That the standard of morality was high,\neven at this early period, appears from the conversations which are\nreported between Shun\u2019s vice-regent Yu and one of his advisers. In\nanswer to the question put by Yu: \u201cWhat are the nine virtues?\u201d the\nminister replied: \u201cAffability combined with dignity; mildness combined\nwith firmness; bluntness combined with respectfulness; aptness for\ngovernment combined with reverence; docility combined with boldness;\nstraightforwardness combined with gentleness; easiness combined with\ndiscrimination; vigor combined with sincerity; and valor combined with\nrighteousness.\u201d\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE SAGE\u2019S LIFE.\n\nHeih, the father of Confucius, was a military officer of great bravery\nand immense strength. He was married to Yen Ching Tsai, Confucius\u2019s\nmother, when he was seventy years old. Confucius, the child of this\naged couple, was born, so the legends say, in a cave in Mount Ne.\nThe legends tell how his birth was heralded by strange signs and\nappearances, how fairies attended the birth of him of whose coming Yen\nChing Tsai had been warned by genii. While he was yet a boy, he loved\nto play in arranging the vessels of the temple-worship, and listened\nearnestly to the stories of the reigns of Yaou and Shun. When fifteen\nyears old, he gave himself to more earnest study, and when nineteen\nhe was married. His married life was unhappy, and after a year or\nso he was divorced from his wife. Soon after this, being very poor,\nhe accepted the office of keeper of the stores of grain, and in the\nnext year he became the guardian of the public fields and lands. When\ntwenty-two years old, Confucius gave up his offices and became the\nteacher of an earnest band of students. He refused to teach dull or\nidle scholars. He said: \u201cI do not open the truth to one who is not\neager after knowledge, nor do I help any one who is not himself anxious\nto explain. When I have presented one corner of a subject, and the\nlistener cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my\nlesson.\u201d When twenty-eight years of age, Confucius studied archery, and\nin the next few years studied music under the celebrated music-master,\nSiang. The master directed his pupil to learn the air composed by the\nsage Wan Wang of ancient days. Confucius at once took the lute, and\nin obedience to Siang\u2019s instructions, commenced to play the air. He\ncontinued it day by day.\n\n \u201cFive days went by, and still Confucius\n Played all day long the ancient simple air;\n And when Siang would teach him more he said:\n \u2018Not yet, my master, I would seize the thought,\n The subtle thought which hides within the tune.\u2019\n To which the master answered: \u2018It is well.\n Take five days more!\u2019 And when the time was passed\n Unto Siang thus spoke Confucius:\n \u2018I do begin to see, and yet what I see\n Is very dim. I am as one who looks,\n And nothing sees except a luminous cloud;\n Give me but five more days, and at the end,\n If I have not attained the great idea\n Hidden of old within the melody,\n I will leave music as beyond my power.\u2019\n \u2018Do as thou wilt, O pupil!\u2019 cried Siang\n In deepest admiration; \u2018never yet\n Had I a scholar who was like to thee.\n And on the fifteenth day Confucius rose\n And stood before Siang, and cried aloud:\n \u2018The mist which shadowed me is blown away;\n I am as one who stands upon a cliff,\n And gazes far and wide upon the world,\n For I have mastered every secret thought,\n Yea, every shadow of a feeling dim\n Which flitted through the spirit of Wan Wang\n When he composed that air. I speak to him,\n I hear him clearly answer me again;\n And more than that, I see his very form:\n A man of middle stature, with a hue\n Half blended with the dark and with the fair;\n His features long, and large sweet eyes which beam\n With great benevolence--a noble face!\n His voice is deep and full, and all his air\n Inspires a sense of virtue and of love.\n I know that I behold the very man,\n The sage of ancient days, Wan Wang the just.\u2019\n\n \u201cThen good Siang lay down upon the dust,\n And said: \u2018Thou art my master. Even thus\n The ancient legend, known to none but me,\n Describes our first great sire. And thou hast seen\n That which I never yet myself beheld,\n Though I have played the sacred song for years,\n Striving with all my soul to penetrate\n Its mystery unto the master\u2019s form,\n Whilst thou hast reached it at a single bound;\n Henceforth the gods alone can teach thee tune.\u2019\u201d\n\nNow, at the age of thirty, he became famous. Many youths, sons of\nnobles, became his willing scholars. At this time he visited Lao-tsze,\nthe founder of Taoism. While in the capital, where Lao-tsze lived,\nhe entered an old temple where he found a metal statue of a man\nwith a triple clasp upon his mouth. On the back of the statue were\nengraved the words: \u201cThe ancients were guarded in their speech, and\nlike them we should avoid loquacity. Many words invite many defeats.\nAvoid also engaging in many businesses, for many businesses create\nmany difficulties.\u201d \u201cObserve this, my children,\u201d said the sage to his\ndisciples. \u201cThese words are true, and commend themselves to our reason.\u201d\n\nHe visited various great cities and courts of emperors, and everywhere\nwas received with honor. Confucius was saddened by the sight of so\nmuch disorder. Soon after writing the \u201cBook of Odes\u201d and the \u201cBook of\nHistory,\u201d he became magistrate of the town of Chung-Too. He now had an\nopportunity of putting his principles of government to the test, and\nthe result partly justified his expectations. He framed rules for the\nsupport of the living, and for the observance of rites for the dead; he\narranged appropriate food for the old and the young; and he provided\nfor the proper separation of men and women. And the results were, we\nare told, that anything dropped on the road was not picked up; there\nwas no fraudulent carving of vessels; coffins were made of the ordained\nthickness; graves were unmarked by mounds raised over them; and no two\nprices were charged in the markets. The duke, surprised at what he saw,\nasked the sage whether his rule of government could be applied to the\nwhole State. \u201cCertainly,\u201d replied Confucius, \u201cand not only to the State\nof Loo, but to the whole empire.\u201d Forthwith, therefore, the duke made\nhim Assistant Superintendent of Works, and shortly afterwards appointed\nhim Minister of Crime. Here, again, his success was complete. As soon\nas he was appointed he began to carry the laws into effect by punishing\nhigh-handed criminals and ere long good government resumed its sway.\n\n [Illustration: TEMPLE OF CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE SAGE, IN\n PEKING.]\n\nThough eminently successful, the results obtained under his system\nwere not quite such as his followers have represented them to have\nbeen. No doubt crime diminished under his rule, but it was by no means\nabolished. In fact, his biographers mention a case which must have been\npeculiarly shocking to him. A father brought an accusation against his\nson, in the expectation, probably, of gaining his suit with ease before\na judge who laid such stress on the virtues of filial piety. But to his\nsurprise, and that of the on-lookers, Confucius cast both father and\nson into prison, and to the remonstrance of the head of the Ke-clan\nanswered: \u201cAm I to punish for a breach of filial piety one who has\nnever been taught to be filially minded? Is not he who neglects to\nteach his son filial duties, equally guilty with his son who fails in\nthem? Crime is not inherent in human nature, and therefore the father\nin the family, and the government in the State are responsible for\nthe crimes committed against filial piety and the public laws. If a\nking is careless about publishing laws, and then peremptorily punishes\nin accordance with the strict letter of them, he acts the part of a\nswindler; if he collect the taxes arbitrarily without giving warning,\nhe is guilty of oppression; and if he puts the people to death without\nhaving instructed them, he commits a cruelty.\u201d\n\nConfucius had great faith in the power of example. He could not carry\nout all his schemes nor always adhere to his rules. Yet the people\nrejoiced in his rule, and at their work sang songs, describing him as\ntheir saviour from oppression and injustice. The tendencies of the\ntimes were against the enthusiastic reformer, yet he struggled on.\nAfter he was dismissed from office in Loo he became the counselor of\nprinces. He went from State to State, and ruler to ruler, until he was\nsixty-nine years old. He never lost confidence in himself or in his\nmission. One morning, in the spring of the year 478 B.C., he walked in\nfront of his door, saying:\n\n \u201cThe great mountain must crumble;\n The strong beam must break,\n And the wise man withers away like a plant.\u201d\n\nHe was now without honor among the princes. As he said, \u201cNo intelligent\nmonarch arises; there is not one in the empire who will make me his\nmaster. My time is come to die.\u201d That same day he took to his bed, and\nafter a week\u2019s sickness he died. He was buried with great tokens of\nrespect by his disciples.\n\n\n TEACHINGS AND WRITINGS OF THE CHINESE SAGE.\n\nNo man, probably, has been treated with so much contempt during his\nlifetime, and with so much veneration after his death, as Confucius.\nHis life was a standing protest against the iniquities of his time. The\nteachings of Confucius are contained in three thin volumes, called the\nLun Yu, or \u201cConfucian Analects;\u201d the Ta Hioh, or \u201cGreat Learning;\u201d and\nthe Chung Yung, or \u201cDoctrine of the Mean.\u201d Confucius also edited the\nYeh King, or \u201cBook of Changes;\u201d the She King, or \u201cBook of Odes;\u201d and\nthe Shoo King, or \u201cBook of History.\u201d He derided spiritual teaching,\ndid not refer to the future life, and had little to say about the\ngods. As to where man came from, or where he was going, Confucius was\nnever troubled. He taught, man is master of his own happiness and\ndestiny. He might, by his own efforts, become the equal of heaven. As\nto morals and good government Confucius\u2019s teachings rank high. He was\nreally a Statesman and Reformer, rather than a Religious Teacher. Some\nselections from his three books will be of use as illustrating the\nstyle and substance of his teachings:\n\n\n THE WISDOM OF THE SAGE.\n\n\u201cIs he not a man of complete virtue who feels no discomposure, though\nmen may take no note of him?\u201d\n\nTs\u0103ng, the philosopher, said, \u201cI daily examine myself on three\npoints--whether, in transacting business for others, I may have been\nnot faithful; whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been not\nsincere; whether I may have not mastered and practiced the instructions\nof my teacher.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cHe who aims to be a man of complete virtue, in his\nfood does not seek to gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling-place\ndoes he seek the appliances of ease; he is earnest in what he is\ndoing, and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of\nprinciple, that he may be rectified. Such a person may be said, indeed,\nto love to learn.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cI will not be afflicted at men\u2019s not knowing me; I\nwill be afflicted that I do not know men.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cAt fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning.\n\n\u201cAt thirty, I stood firm.\n\n\u201cAt forty, I had no doubts.\n\n\u201cAt fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven.\n\n\u201cAt sixty, my ear was an obedient organ _for the reception of\ntruth_.\n\n\u201cAt seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without\ntransgressing what was right.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cThe superior man is catholic and no partisan; the\nmean man is a partisan and no catholic.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cLearning without thought is labor lost; thought\nwithout learning is perilous.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cFor a man to sacrifice to a spirit which does not\nbelong to him is flattery.\n\n\u201cTo see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cA man should say, \u2018I am not concerned that I have no\nplace; I am concerned how I may fit myself for one. I am not concerned\nthat I am not known; I seek to be worthy to be known.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cThe reason why the ancients did not readily give\nutterance to their words was that they feared lest their actions should\nnot come up to them.\u201d\n\nTsae Yu, being asleep during the daytime, the Master said, \u201cRotten wood\ncannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth will not receive the trowel.\nThis Yu!--what is the use of my reproving him?\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cI have not seen a firm and unbending man.\u201d Some one\nreplied, \u201cThere is Shin Ch\u2019ang.\u201d \u201cCh\u2019ang,\u201d said the Master, \u201cis under\nthe influence of his lusts; how can he be firm and unbending?\u201d\n\nTsze-kung said, \u201cWhat I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not to\ndo to men.\u201d The Master said, \u201cTsze, you have not attained to that.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cNot to do to others as you would not wish done to\nyourself.\u201d\n\nTsze-kung asked, saying, \u201cIs there one word which may serve as a rule\nof practice for all one\u2019s life?\u201d The Master said, \u201cIs not RECIPROCITY\nsuch a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to\nothers.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature, and\nexercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the\npath. What you do not like, when done to yourself, do not do to others.\u201d\n\nTsze-loo said, \u201cI should like, sir, to hear your wishes.\u201d The Master\nsaid, \u201cThey are, in regard to the aged, to give them rest; in regard to\nfriends, to show them sincerity; in regard to the young, to treat them\ntenderly.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cAdmirable, indeed, was the virtue of Hwuy! With a\nsingle bamboo dish of rice, a single gourd dish of drink, and living\nin his mean, narrow lane, while others could not have endured the\ndistress, he did not allow his joy to be affected by it. Admirable,\nindeed, was the virtue of Hwuy!\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cThey who know _the truth_ are not equal to those\nwho love it; and they who love it are not equal to those who find\ndelight in it.\u201d\n\nThe Master was mild, and yet dignified; majestic, and yet not fierce;\nrespectful, and yet easy.\n\nTs\u0103ng said, \u201cWhen a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful;\nwhen a man is about to die, his words are good.\u201d\n\nConfucius, in his village, looked simple and sincere, and as if he were\none who was not able to speak.\n\nTsze-loo asked about government. The Master said, \u201cGo before the people\n_with your example_, and be laborious in their affairs.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cThe progress of the superior man is upwards; the\nprogress of the mean man is downwards.\u201d\n\nThe Master said, \u201cIn ancient times, men learned with a view to their\nown improvement. Nowadays, men learn with a view to the approbation of\nothers.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIV.\n\n CONFUCIAN TEMPLES AND WORSHIP.\n\n The Emperor plowing in the Sacred Field,\n What time the New Year comes in solemn state.\n RICHARD HENRY STODDARD.\n\n\nAmong the prominent objects of worship in China may be specified\nShang-te, who is alone worshiped by the Emperor; the worship of\nConfucius; and that of the spirits of deceased ancestors among the\ncommon people. Besides these, there is a host of deities who receive\nworship with the host of spirits who are dreaded and who may be\npropitiated by worship.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE SCHOOL-BOYS.]\n\nThe tenets of Confucius have been generally regarded as a system of\nreligion and have received the name of \u201cConfucianism\u201d among the Western\nauthors. His precepts form the basis of morals, but in the worship of\nShang-te by the Emperor, who is at the head of the system, he in person\ncan alone officiate at the most important ceremonies. At the same time\nthat he worships Shang-te he unites the worship of Confucius with it\non the great altar of heaven in Peking. The homage of Confucius enters\ninto the daily life of all students. In every school-room there is a\ntablet, containing the name of the sage, before which every scholar\nmakes his bow when he enters the room. A missionary thus describes the\nworship paid to him:\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE JOSS-STICK.]\n\nAs there is no image of Confucius for use on such occasions, a slip of\nred paper, of only a few inches in length, on which has been written in\nblack ink an expression meaning \u201c_The Teacher and Pattern for 10,000\nages_,\u201d is put upon the wall of the school-room. In front of this\nis placed a table, having upon it a censer and a pair of candlesticks.\nWhen everything is ready the teacher, having first lighted and put in\nthe censer three sticks of incense, and in the candlesticks a couple\nof candles, kneels down before the table, and placing his hands on\nthe floor, bows his head toward the earth slowly and reverently three\ntimes. He then arises, and one of his pupils takes his place before\nthe table, and kneels down, making the same number of bowings in the\nsame manner. Another pupil now takes the place, and performs the same\nceremony; and so on till all have engaged in the worship of the sage.\nAfter this, the food which is to be consumed in the feast is placed on\nthe table before the inscription to Confucius, where it remains a short\ntime. It is then removed to another table, or tables, around which\nthe teacher and his pupils gather and partake of it. Before the feast\nthe teacher usually presents to each one of his pupils a white paper\nfan, on which he sometimes writes a quotation from the classics, or a\nfavorite stanza of poetry. Besides this, he provides a number of toys,\nequal to the number of his pupils, each representing a graduate of the\nfirst, second or third literary degrees, which are distinguishable by\nthe shape and color of their dresses. It is decided by the throwing\nof dice in what order the pupils shall choose these toys. These toys\nare valued as an omen for good, or rather as an index of the success\nin study which each may hope to attain. It is often an interesting and\nexciting time among the members of a school.\n\nOn a Chinese youth entering a school as pupil for the first time in any\nyear, he is expected to bring with him two small candles, a few sticks\nof incense, and a small quantity of mock-money, which are to be lighted\nand consumed before a slip of paper, having some title of Confucius\nwritten upon it, the pupil making the usual prostration before it after\nthese things have been lighted and while they are being consumed. This\nis called \u201centering school,\u201d or \u201cworshiping the sage.\u201d One morning,\nsome six years ago, a lad, dressed in his best clothes, marched into\na free-school under the charge of a missionary, carrying, beside his\nbooks, three sticks of incense, two small candles, and a few sheets\nof mock-money, designed, in accordance with established usage, as an\noffering to the Chinese sage. It seemed that the teacher had neglected\nto inform his parents that in the mission school the sage was not\nworshiped. The lad was quietly told that the articles he had brought\nwould not be used, inasmuch as those who studied the books of Jesus did\nnot burn incense in honor of Confucius. Thus from earliest childhood\nthe youth of China are taught to reverence their great countryman,\nConfucius.\n\n\n THE WORSHIP OF SHANG-TE, AT PEKING.\n\nNotwithstanding the silence of Confucius on the subject of Shang-te,\nhis worship has been maintained, not, perhaps, in its original purity,\nbut with marks of reverence which place its object on the highest\npinnacle of the Chinese Pantheon. At the present day, the imperial\nworship of Shang-te, on the round hillock to the south of the city of\nPeking, is surrounded with all the solemnity of which such an occasion\nis capable. The altar is a beautiful marble structure, ascended by\ntwenty-seven steps: a balustrade surrounds each terrace. On the upper\nof these three terraces are five tables or altars, on which the\nofferings to Shang-te are laid. This is the central point of attraction\nin this whole inclosure of a square mile, which contains thousands of\nbeautiful trees and many subordinate buildings. On another terrace\nstands a magnificent triple-roofed circular structure, ninety-nine feet\nin height, which constitutes the most conspicuous object of the whole.\nOn the day before the annual sacrifices at the Winter Solstice, the\nEmperor proceeds to the Hall of Fasting, on the west side of the south\naltar. Here he spends the night in watching and meditation, after first\ninspecting the offerings. The tablets to the Supreme Ruler of Heaven\n(_i.e._, Shang-te,) and to the Emperor\u2019s ancestors are preserved\nin the chapel at the back of each altar. There are no images. Both\nthese chapels are circular, and covered with blue glazed tiles. The\nsouth altar, the most important of all Chinese religious structures,\nhas the following dimensions. It consists of a triple circular terrace,\n210 feet wide at the base, 150 in the middle, and 90 at the top. The\nheights of the three terraces, upper, middle and lower, are 5\u00bd feet,\n6\u00bc feet, and 5 feet respectively. At the time of sacrificing, the\ntablets to Heaven and to the Emperor\u2019s ancestors are placed on the top;\nthey are two feet five inches long and five inches wide. The title\nis in gilt letters; that of Heaven faces the south, and those of the\nancestors east and west. The Emperor, with his immediate suite, kneels\nin front of the tablet to Shang-te, and faces the north. The platform\nis laid with marble stones, forming nine concentric circles. The inner\ncircle consists of nine stones, cut so as to fit with close edges\nround the central stone, which is a perfect circle. Here the Emperor\nkneels, and is surrounded first by the circles of the terraces and\ntheir inclosing walls, and then by the circle of the horizon. He thus\nseems to himself and his court to be in the centre of the universe;\nand, turning to the north, assuming the attitude of a subject, he\nacknowledges in prayer and by his position that he is inferior to\nHeaven, and to Heaven alone. Round him, on the pavement, are the nine\ncircles of as many heavens, consisting of nine stones, then eighteen,\nthen twenty-seven, and so on in successive multiples of nine till the\nsquare of nine, the favorite number of Chinese philosophy, is reached\nin the outermost circle of eighty-one stones. As might be expected,\ncareful distinctions are made in the sacrifices. The animals ordinarily\nused for food by the ancient Chinese, and the fruits of the earth known\nto them, are almost all included. But productions recently introduced\ninto the country are not offered. To Heaven alone is offered a piece\nof blue jade, cylindrical in shape and a foot long, formerly used as a\nsymbol of sovereignty. But the great distinguishing sign of superiority\nis the offering of a whole burnt sacrifice to Heaven.\n\n [Illustration: THE SACRED ALTAR OF HEAVEN, AT PEKING.]\n\nAfter the same style of building, and used as a part of the worship of\nHeaven and earth, is the Temple of the Sun, at Peking. This temple\nhas been dedicated by the Chinese to the sun as the great source of\nlight and heat, and it has been put under the protection of the god of\nfire. Farmers frequent this temple in dull, cold weather, to pray for\nthe sunshine to ripen their grain and fruit, and the people generally\npray to this god for protection against fire. The fourth day of every\nmonth is a high day at this temple, and it is then crowded with\nworshipers. On this day, a band of music is provided, and, in addition\nto the ordinary priests of the temple, extra priests go about swinging\nincense, and conducting many other imposing services.\n\nIn the spring of every year, the Chinese pay great honors to\nagriculture. The Emperor proceeds to the park surrounding the Temple\nof Agriculture, at Peking, and in a plot of ground reserved for the\npurpose, and in the presence of the grandees of the empire, he guides\nthe imperial plow, and uses the seed-planter, rake, etc.\n\nAfter this, the Emperor and the attendant princes and officials proceed\nto the Temple of Agriculture, which is dedicated to _Shin-nung_,\nor the \u201cDivine Husbandman,\u201d the fabulous originator of the art. Here\nbullocks, swine and sheep are offered in sacrifice, and prayers made\nto _Shin-nung_, and also to the god of the land, the grain, the\nocean, the wind, the thunder and the rain.\n\nSimilar plowing and worshiping are performed by the leading mandarins\nnear the south gates of all the principal cities of the empire, after\nwhich the mandarins mount a platform, and calling around them the\nprincipal farmers of the vicinity, exhort them to the proper discharge\nof their duties as husbandmen. At the close of the addresses, they\npresent to each of the farmers, who have been selected to receive them,\ncertain presents or medals in the name of the Emperor, in order to\nencourage them.\n\n [Illustration: TEMPLE OF AGRICULTURE, AT PEKING, CHINA.]\n\nApart from the idolatrous worship, this conduct of the Emperor and\nhis officials is very praiseworthy; but it is sad to know that while\n\u201cGod has not left Himself without witness among them in that He does\ngood, and sends them rain and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts\nwith food and gladness,\u201d they yet do not recognize His existence and\nbeneficence, but give His glory to others, and His praise to graven\nimages.\n\n [Illustration: A TEMPLE BUILT OF BRONZE IN HONOR OF\n CONFUCIUS.]\n\n\n TEMPLE TO CONFUCIUS.\n\nThe most important and sacred temple is that adjoining the tomb of\nConfucius in Shantung, on which all the art of the Chinese architecture\nhas been lavished. The main building consists of two stories, the upper\nveranda surrounding which \u201crests on gorgeous marble pillars, twenty-two\nfeet high, and about two feet in diameter, which at a distance\nappear as if huge dragons were coiled around them and hanging from\nthe top. The tiles of the roof are of yellow, as in Peking, and the\nornamentation under the eaves is covered with wire-work to keep it from\nthe birds. Inside the building is the image or statue of Confucius, in\na gorgeously-curtained shrine, holding in his hand a slip of bamboo,\nsuch as was used for writing upon in his days. The statue is about\neighteen feet by six feet, and is life-like. Confucius was strong,\ntall and well-built, with a full red face, and large and heavy head.\nOn the tablet is the simple inscription, \u2018The most Holy prescient Sage\nConfucius. His Spirit\u2019s resting-place.\u2019 On the east side are images of\nhis favorite disciples, arranged according to the estimation in which\nhe is said to have held them. The ceiling of the building is crowded\nwith tablets, hung up in honor of the sage, each vying with another\nin extravagant praise. Before him and also before his disciples, were\nthe usual frames for sacrifices, and in front of these, beautiful\nincense-pots, beside them were several most interesting relics, such as\nvases, said to be of the Shang Dynasty, B.C. 1610, the work of which\nwas superb. There were also two bronze elephants, reported to be of the\nChow Dynasty, and a table of that same era of dark red-wood.\n\n\u201cOn the west side are two temples; one in front, in honor of the father\nof Confucius, ... and one behind, in honor of his mother.... On the\neast side are temples to his five ancestors, and a large block of\nmarble, whereon is a genealogical tree, giving all the branches of his\nfamily.... The building behind the grand temple is the temple in honor\nof his wife, in which was only a tablet and no image. The second temple\nbehind that contained four tablets, erected by K\u2019ang-he in his honor,\none character on each, and the interpretation was: \u2018The perspicuous\nteacher of 10,000 kingdoms.\u2019 Here also are three pictures of the sage\non marble; one an old man, full-length, rather dim, having no date; the\nsecond smaller, with seal characters on the side; the third and best,\ngiving only his head and shoulders. These varied somewhat but were\nsubstantially alike. All of them have the mouth or lips open and front\nteeth exposed, and the full contemplative eyes. Immediately behind\nthese are engravings on marble, illustrating all the chief incidents\nof his life, with appropriate explanations at the side. Of these there\nwere altogether 120 slabs, which are built into the wall.\n\n\u201cThe image of Confucius does not stand alone, but is surrounded by\nimages of his principal disciples, while in a hall at the back of\nthat dedicated to him are ranged those of his ancestors. Occasionally\ndifferent emperors have visited his tomb in Shantung, at which times\nthe imperial pilgrims have worshiped with extraordinary solemnity at\nhis shrine in the adjoining temple. K\u2019ang-he, the most celebrated both\nas a ruler and a scholar of the emperors of the present dynasty, went\non such a pilgrimage, and \u2018set the example of kneeling thrice and each\ntime lying his forehead thrice in the dust before the image of the\nsage.\u2019\n\n\u201cIn the eighteen provinces there are 1,500 temples dedicated to\nhis worship, where on the first and fifteenth days of each moon,\nsacrificial services are performed before him, and once in the spring\nand autumn the local officials go in state to take part in acts of\nspecially solemn worship. According to the _Shing meaou che_, or\n\u2018History of the Temples of the Sage,\u2019 as many as six bullocks, 27,000\npigs, 5,800 sheep, 2,800 deer and 2,700 hares are sacrificed on these\noccasions, and at the same time 27,600 pieces of silk are offered on\nhis shrine.\u201d\n\nWe have before mentioned the examination of candidates for civil\nservice in the classics. It will be of interest now to give more in\ndetail on these examinations.\n\n\n EXAMINATIONS IN THE SACRED BOOKS.\n\nDr. H. M. Field tells us of the Examination Hall that, in the eastern\nquarter of Canton, is an inclosure of many acres, laid off in a\nmanner which betokens some unusual purpose. The ground is divided by\na succession of long, low buildings not much better than horse-sheds\naround a New England meeting-house in the olden time. They run in\nparallel lines, like barracks for a camp, and are divided into narrow\ncompartments. Once in three years this vast camping-ground presents\nan extraordinary spectacle, for then are gathered in these courts,\nfrom all parts of the province, some 10,000 candidates, all of whom\nhave previously passed a first examination, and received a degree and\nnow appear to compete for the second. Some are young, and some are\nold, for there is no limit put upon age. As the candidates present\nthemselves, each man is searched, to see that he has no books, or helps\nof any kind, concealed upon his person. He is then put in a stall\nabout three feet wide, just large enough to turn round in and as bare\nas a prisoner\u2019s cell. There is a niche in the wall, in which a board\ncan be placed for him to sit upon, and another niche to support a\nboard that has to serve as breakfast-table and writing-table. This is\nthe furniture of his room. Here he is shut in from all communication\nwith the world, his food being passed to him through a door, as to\na prisoner. Certain themes are then submitted to him in writing on\nwhich he is to furnish written essays, intended generally, and perhaps\nalways, to determine his knowledge of the classics. It is sometimes\nsaid that these are frivolous questions, the answers to which afford\nno proof whatever of one\u2019s capacity for office, but it should be\nremembered that these classics are the writings of Confucius, which\nare the political ethics of the country, the very foundation of the\ngovernment, without knowing which, one is not qualified to take part in\nits administration.\n\nThe candidate goes into his cell in the afternoon, and spends the night\nthere, which gives him time for reflection, and all the next day and\nnext night, when he comes out, and after a few days is put in again for\nanother trial of the same character, and this is repeated a third time;\nat the end of which he is released, and his essays are submitted for\nexamination. Of the 10,000, only 75 can obtain a degree--not one in a\nhundred! The 9,925 must go back disappointed, their only consolation\nbeing, that after three years they can try again. Even the successful\nones do not thereby get an office, but only the right to enter for a\nthird competition, which takes place at Peking, by which of course\ntheir ranks are thinned still more. The few who get through this\nthreefold ordeal take a high place in the literary class, from which\nall appointments to the public service are made. Here is the system\nof examination complete. No trial can be imagined more severe, and it\nought to give the Chinese the best civil service in the world.\n\n\n ANECDOTES OF STUDENTS.\n\n HOW MENCIUS\u2019S MOTHER INCITED HER SON TO STUDY.\n\nDuring the Chow dynasty (B.C. 1122\u2013225), Mencius, at the age of three\nyears, lost his father. His mother, whose name was Sin, was a woman of\ndistinguished worth and virture. Mencius went to school, but soon threw\naside his books and returned home. His mother was very much incensed at\nthis course, and taking a knife, cut the web of cloth she was weaving,\nsaying: \u201cMy son, your desisting from your studies is like my cutting\nthis web.\u201d Mencius, trembling with apprehension, returned to school and\nstudied with diligence, nor did he intermit his literary pursuits until\nhe became a _worthy_, next in rank to the sage Confucius.\n\n\n HOW A TIRED STUDENT WAS LED BACK TO HIS STUDIES.\n\nIn the time of the Tang dynasty (620\u2013906 A.D.) Lei Peh, while yet\nyoung, and before he had completed his studies left school and started\nfor home. On the road he saw an old woman engaged in grinding away on\nan iron pestle. Peh inquired why she was thus grinding the pestle? She\nanswered: \u201c_I want to make a needle_.\u201d He was surprised at her\nwords, and influenced by them, returned to school, and studied with\nmost assiduous application. He finally became a member of the Imperial\ncollege at the capital.\n\n\n THE LITTLE SAGE WHO HID FIRE TO LIGHT HIS LAMP.\n\nProbably between 479\u2013501 A.D., lived Y\u2019su Yung, who when he was only\neight years old, was so fond of study, that his parents were afraid\nhe would impair his eyes by his diligence. They therefore forbade him\nthe use of books, but he would not obey them. Constantly he hid fire\nuntil his parents had retired to rest, when he would light his lamp\nand study. He took his clothes, and the coverlet of his bed and hung\nthem up over the window of his room, lest the light escaping through\nit, should be seen by some one of the family. In this way his name\nbecame very widely celebrated as a scholar. At home and abroad the\npeople called him \u201c_the little sage_.\u201d At the age of twelve he\nbecame a high officer of government, and was afterward promoted to the\nSuperintendency of the Offering of Wine.\n\n\n AN EXAMPLE OF A STUDIOUS ANCESTOR.\n\nFan Shun Jin, in the Sung dynasty, day and night was diligent in study.\nHe was in the habit of placing his lamp within the curtains of his\nbed, and thus studying till past midnight. Afterward, he became a very\ndistinguished officer. His wife preserved the curtain, which, at the\ntop, had become black by the soot. Occasionally she would bring it\nforth, and show it to her children and grandchildren, saying, \u201c_Your\nfather and grandfather, when he was a boy, was very studious. Here are\nthe marks of the smoke of his lamp._\u201d\n\n\n THE STUDENT WITH A ROUND STICK FOR A PILLOW.\n\nDuring the Sung dynasty, Sie Ma Wan, when a boy, whether he was moving\nabout or at rest, in all his conduct was dignified and decorous, like\na perfect old gentleman. At seven years of age he heard an explanation\nof the classic called \u201cSpring and Autumn.\u201d He was very much pleased,\nand, having returned home, conversed with the members of his family\nin such a manner as to show that he understood its principles. He was\naccustomed to use a round block of wood for a pillow. When he became\nsleepy, and fell into a doze, this pillow would roll a little and\nawaken him. Once awakened, he would apply himself to his studies again\nwith vigor. He finally became an object of worship, his tablet being\nplaced in the temple of Confucius.\n\n\n THE STUDENT WITH A HOLE IN THE WALL.\n\nIn the Han dynasty, which began about 205 B.C., and ended about 25\nA.D., lived Kwang Hung, who was very indigent. Though very fond of\nbooks, he was destitute of the means of purchasing oil. His neighbor,\nin the adjoining house, had candles; but the light could not penetrate\nthrough the wall. Hung therefore made a hole in it, in order to procure\nrays of light by which he could prosecute his studies. In the city, a\nwealthy man, whose surname was Great, had a large number of books. Hung\nwas anxious to work for him, though not for the purpose of receiving\nwages. He only desired the privilege of reading the rich man\u2019s books as\nhis pay. Mr. Great was so much interested in the proposal and in the\nman that he gave him some of his books as his wages. Hung became a very\nlearned man, and finally obtained the office of prime minister.\n\nWith stories like these the Chinese encourage the people to study the\nsacred books. Besides the gods above mentioned there are hundreds\nof others, gods of occupations, professions and callings; gods of\nliterature, of art, of play-acting, of gambling, and a host of others\nare found everywhere.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXV.\n\n HOME-LIFE UNDER CONFUCIANISM.\n\n A man do good, he go to Joss; he no do good, very much bamboo\n catchee he.--THE FAMOUS HOWQUA\u2019S REPLY TO AN AMERICAN\n SEA-CAPTAIN.\n\n\nOne of the most prominent features of the Chinese religion is\nthe excessive reverence that is paid to parents. We remember the\ncommandment of old, \u201cHonor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may\nbe long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.\u201d The Chinese\nhave long lived in their land; they have outlived the kingdoms of\nPersia, Egypt, Judea, Babylon, Greece and Rome. It certainly seems as\nif this were a fulfillment of the promise of God, that, as they honor\ntheir parents, so are they permitted to live long in their land. This\nreverence for parents, while living and after death, is found among\nother nations; but nowhere is so great stress laid upon this part of\nduty as in China.\n\nThe ancient ritual on filial duty directs that, during the lifetime\nof his parents, a son should not go abroad, or, if he do so, then to\na fixed place. When at home, he should rise with the first cock-crow,\nand having washed and dressed himself carefully, should inquire what\nthe wishes of his parents are as to the food they would eat and drink.\nHe should not enter a room unless invited by his father, nor retire\nwithout permission; neither should he speak unless spoken to. When\nleaving the house, he should report himself, and on returning should\nmake his presence known. He should be regular in his amusements,\nattentive to his calling, constant in speech, and avoiding all\nreference to old age. This last is a point strongly insisted upon, and\nevery boy has held up to him as an example to be followed the conduct\nof Laoa Lai tsze, who, fearing that the recognition by his parents of\nthe fact that he was seventy years old would remind them of their own\ngreat age, used to dress himself in a child\u2019s frock, and play about the\nroom like an infant!\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE SITTING-ROOM.]\n\n\u201cOf all things,\u201d said Confucius, \u201cwhich derive their natures from\nHeaven and earth, man is the most noble; and of all the duties which\nare incumbent on him, there is none greater than filial obedience; nor,\nin performing this is there anything so essential as to reverence one\u2019s\nfather; and, as a mark of reverence, there is nothing more important\nthan to place him on an equality with Heaven. Thus did the noble Duke\nChow. Formerly, he sacrificed on the round altar to the spirits of\nhis remote ancestors, as equal with Heaven; and in the open hall he\nsacrificed to Wan Wang (his father), as equal with Shang-te.\u201d\n\nRepeatedly, throughout the teachings of the sage and of Mencius,\nreference is made to ancestral worship. Yet, it did not originate with\nConfucius, for he but handed down a more ancient form of worship.\nConfucius merely revived that. Really, Confucius cared very little\nabout worship of any sort; his system was of the earth, earthy. All\nthe worship of modern Confucianism is the addition of later days.\nWhatever of worship or of strictly religious teaching is to be found\nin Confucius\u2019s writings is there because of some connection with\ngovernment or moral teachings. The idea of filial piety is carried up\nto the government. The common people must respect and obey the officers\nas fathers; lower officers must look upon the higher officers as\nfathers; and all must look to the Emperor as father. He, in turn, must\nlook upon his people as his children. Thus the paternal idea prevails.\n\n\n WORSHIPING THE TABLET.\n\nAlmost every Chinese house has either a \u201chall of ancestors\u201d or at least\na closet, where the ancestral tablet is kept. The tablet is called Shin\nChu, meaning _house of_ the spirit. It is made of wood, and is\ngenerally about twelve inches high and three inches wide. The wood is\ngenerally fragrant, and parts are elaborately carved. It consists of\nthree pieces, a pedestal and two upright pieces. Often a place is cut\nin the back, in which pieces of paper containing the names of ancestors\nare inserted. Every day before this tablet incense and paper prayers\nare burned. The prayers are written upon the paper, and the Chinese\nbelieve that when the papers are burned they go to their dead fathers\nand mothers. These are not prayers _for_ these dead parents, but\nprayers _to_ them. They believe that each man has three souls, one\nof which at his death goes to Heaven, one remains with the body in the\ngrave and one returns home and lives in the ancestral tablet. In April\nof each year a day is selected, when especial worship is paid at the\ngraves. Every man, woman and child hastens away to the family tombs,\ntaking offerings and candles to worship at the graves. To neglect this\nceremony is counted a slight to one\u2019s dead parents.\n\n [Illustration: ANCESTRAL TABLET.]\n\n [Illustration: A CHINAMAN BURNING PRAYERS INSTEAD OF SAYING\n THEM.]\n\nThe following translation of a prayer offered at the tomb shows that it\nis a real worship which is given:\n\n \u201cTANKWANG, _12th Year, 3d Moon, 1st Day_.\n\n\u201cI, Lin Kwang, the second son of the third generation, presume to\ncome before the grave of my ancestor, Lin Kung. Revolving years\nhave brought again the season of spring. Cherishing sentiments of\nveneration, I look up and sweep your tomb. Prostrate, I pray that you\nwill come and be present, and that you will grant to your posterity\nthat they may be prosperous and illustrious. At this season of\ngenial showers and gentle breezes, I desire, to recompense the root\nof my existence, and exert myself sincerely. Always grant your safe\nprotection. Most reverently, I present the five-fold sacrifice of a\npig, a fowl, a duck, a goose, and a fish; also, an offering of five\nplates of fruit, with libations of spirituous liquors, earnestly\nentreating that you will come and view them. With the most attentive\nrespect, this announcement is presented on high.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: BRINGING HOME ONE OF THE SOULS OF A DEAD MAN\n IN HIS CLOTHES.]\n\nTo a Chinaman there is no greater sin than to neglect the worship of an\nancestor; no greater calamity can happen than that he should die and be\nburied away from his native land. Almost every steamer that crosses the\nPacific from America carries one or more preserved bodies of Chinamen,\ntaking them home to be buried.\n\n\n CEREMONY OF TURNING THE BRIDGE-LADDER.\n\nAfter the dead body has been laid out, this singular custom is observed\nin many families. Sometimes those families which have no married or\nbetrothed daughters do not practice it on the death of its head. The\nmarried daughters are expected then to return home.\n\n [Illustration: CEREMONY OF TURNING AROUND THE BRIDGE LADDER.]\n\nSeveral Taoist priests are employed to prepare the \u201cbridge-ladder\u201d and\naid in the celebration of the ceremony at the expense of the son-in-law\nor sons-in-law of the deceased. A post seven or eight feet high is\nplaced in a socket or frame standing on the ground. Into holes made\nin the sides of this post are fastened several bamboos two or three\nfeet long. These sticks project outward and upward a little from the\npost. Sometimes these sticks amount to several tens. The longer ones\nare placed toward the bottom and the shorter ones toward the top, the\nlowest tier being three or four feet from the ground. At the extreme\nouter end of each is suspended by a wire a kind of glass cup containing\noil and wicking, the whole constituting a lamp. On the top of the post\nis placed a candle. Into a hole, about three feet from the ground, made\nin the upright post, is inserted a pole projecting at a right-angle,\nsome two or three feet longer than the longest of the sticks having\nlamps at their ends. This \u201cbridge ladder,\u201d is placed in the middle of\nthe room. On one side of the room is placed a table having candles and\nincense on it. On the wall or partition of the room by this table are\nsuspended one or two large paper hangings, relating to the infernal\nregions. The body of the deceased is lying on one side of the room, or,\nif there is an adjoining room which can be used it is placed in that.\n\nWhen everything is ready, the ceremony is commenced by lighting the\nlamps and candle on the \u201cbridge-ladder,\u201d as well as the candles\nand incense on the table. The priests chant their liturgy amid the\nnoise of cymbals. The married daughter comes forward, having a white\ncotton cloth bound about her head, partially concealing her eyes,\nor she holds to her eyes a white cotton cloth much as one would a\nhandkerchief while crying. The eldest son of the deceased, if there be\na living son, now advances and taking hold of the end of the long pole\npushes gently against it. The post turning on its socket, the entire\n\u201cbridge-ladder\u201d moves. The wife of the eldest son, his younger brothers\nand their wives, the married daughter of the deceased and her children,\netc., now follow, slowly, the elder brother as he turned around the\n\u201cbridge-ladder\u201d for a few times.\n\nIn case there is no son a married or affianced daughter leads the\ncompany. During the period that this \u201cbridge-ladder\u201d is thus made to\nrevolve, all of the party join in loud lamentation and wailing. Their\noutcry, taken in connection with the chanting of the priests and the\nnoise of the cymbals, make a very confused hubbub and tumult of voices\nand sounds. These, together with the sight of so many lamps and candles\nburning brightly in broad daylight, produce a very singular spectacle\nfor the foreign beholder, which, once seen, will not be quickly\nforgotten.\n\nThe object of this performance with the bridge-ladder is to lighten and\nassist the deceased on his way. It is called \u201c_bridge-ladder_\u201d\nbecause it is fancied to resemble a bridge and a ladder. The bridge\nwould aid the dead to pass rivers, and the ladder would help him to\nclimb steep places, should he meet such impediments in his journey.\n\nWith this extreme reverence for the dead, of course, there can be no\nquestion but that the Chinese hold most determinedly to the belief in\na future life. In reality, the whole character of Buddhism in China\nis shaped by this. Buddhism has no distinct teaching of an immortal\nlife; and when it was brought to China, it gained no acceptance until\nthe blank, despairing tenets of the Nirvana was changed into a bright,\ncheerful Paradise of the Blessed Dead. Examination will show that the\nBuddhism of China and the Buddhism of India very little resemble one\nanother, and, if we mistake not, the difference grew out of the belief\nin a future life, which is a prime teaching in the Chinese faith.\n\nThe worship of ancestors enters into all the home life, manners and\ncustoms of the entire Chinese people.\n\n\n WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS AT A WEDDING.\n\nThe tablets of the family are arranged on a table standing in the\nback part of the reception-room, or in a shrine placed on the table.\nIncense and candles, arranged, according to custom, near the tablets,\nhaving been lighted, the bridegroom and his bride kneel down three\nor four times before the tablets, the wife being on the right-hand\nside of her husband. While on their knees, at each kneeling, they bow\ntheir heads down toward the ground once. On rising to their feet they\nchange places, and then kneel down three or four times again, and\nbow their heads as before in front of and toward the tablets. They\nnow arise, and two chairs are placed before the table which contains\nthe incense, candles and tablets. If the paternal grandparents of the\ngroom are living and present, they take their seats in the chairs, the\ngrandmother being on the right hand of the grandfather, with their\nfaces turned away from the table or toward the front part of the room.\nIn case either has deceased, the tablet which represents that person\nis placed in the chair which he or she would have occupied if living.\nThe bridegroom and bride advance, and kneel down three or four times\nbefore them, bowing their heads toward the ground as in worshiping\nthe tablets. They then arise, and, having changed positions, kneel\ndown and bow again three or four times. The parents of the groom then\ntake their seats in the chairs, and the ceremony of kneeling and\nbowing is repeated, in like manner, the customary number of times.\nWhile the bride is on her knees, her new mother usually arranges some\ncostly ornaments in her hair, as gold or pearls, or gives her some\nvaluable finger-rings, if able to afford the expense of such; or, if\npoor, she presents her with such head ornaments as she can afford. The\nwomen who assist the bride in performing these ceremonies improve\nthe opportunity to offer tea to her parents at this period, and are\nrewarded for their attentions with a present of money on the spot. In\ncase either parent is dead, the ancestral tablet for that person is\nplaced in the chair, as in the supposed case of one of the grandparents\nhaving deceased. The paternal and maternal uncles and aunts of the\ngroom, if present, in the order of their seniority, now take their\nturns of being worshiped by the couple. Oftentimes, these relatives\nwill not sit, but content themselves to stand during the worship\nrendered them. Standing, on these occasions and during the reception of\nthese honors, is regarded as a mark of humility.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE MARRIAGE PROCESSION.]\n\n [Illustration: WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS AT A WEDDING.]\n\n\n MOTHER, GODDESS OF CHILDREN.\n\nMarried but childless women twice a year go to the temple of Mother,\ntaking incense and candles to burn before her image. They come to the\ntemple to get a shoe which is to represent the goddess in their homes.\nThey declare that if the goddess will give them a male child, they will\nrender thanksgiving to her. They do not cherish the slightest desire to\nhave a female child.\n\nThe Chinese classics say:\n\n \u201cWhen a son is born,\n He sleeps on a bed;\n He is clothed in robes;\n He plays with gems;\n His cry is princely loud!\n But when a daughter is born,\n She sleeps on the ground;\n She is clothed with a wrapper;\n She plays with a tile;\n She is incapable either of evil or good;\n It is hers only to think of preparing wine and food,\n And not giving any occasion of grief to her parents!\u201d\n\nThis is an accurate expression of the Chinese preference for a male\nchild. Indeed, a very great many of the Chinese mothers and fathers\ndrown their girl babies when they are but a few hours old, rather than\nkeep them.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE BABY IN ITS CRADLE.]\n\nWhenever a child is born, the mother takes to some temple two shoes,\njust like the one she has been worshiping as the representative of\n\u201cMother\u201d at home. Just before a child is born the husband and wife\noffer gifts as a propitiation to two female demons which are supposed\nto seek to destroy the mother at the birth of her child. A priest is\ncalled in to recite classics appropriate to the occasion. Sometimes\nseveral live crabs are turned out into the streets to take the evil\nspirits with them, and other curious devices are employed.\n\n\n TEACHING A CHILD TO WORSHIP IDOLS.\n\nFrom childhood, the Chinese are accustomed to worship idols and\nancestors. Family parties may often be seen in the temples;\ngrandmothers and mothers teaching the little ones to bow down to idols.\nHere is a description given by an eye-witness. He was introduced into\nan idol temple, and stood in the back part of the great hall, where\nthe chief idols are placed, and from thence he could watch what went\nforward. Soon a well-dressed lady came in with her three children,\nof about seven, five and three years of age. The two elder boys ran\nforward, and bowed down before the idol in the usual way, and then\ncalled their little brother to come forward also and do as they had\ndone. But this was evidently his first visit to the temple; for the\nlittle fellow was very much frightened at the sight of the idol. The\nmother then dragged the child into position, and standing behind and\nholding him fast by both arms, forced him to bow slightly three times,\nand then adroitly slipped out of her sleeve some toys and sweets, which\nshe gave the child, saying that the god had given him these nice things\nbecause he was a good boy; and she told him to thank the idol, which he\ndid with great heartiness.\n\n [Illustration: TEACHING A CHILD TO WORSHIP.]\n\nWhen the child grows up, and is able to see through such tricks, the\npriest has taken the mother\u2019s place, and, by carefully-concealed\ndeceits, manages to delude him into believing just what it may be\nthought best to teach him.\n\n\n THE GOD OF THE KITCHEN.\n\n [Illustration: OFFERING SACRIFICE TO THE KITCHEN-GOD.]\n\nThere is another important object of Chinese worship, whose place of\nabode is in the kitchen. His name is Tszmin; foreigners call him \u201cgod\nof the kitchen.\u201d Incense and candles are burned before the kitchen-god\non the first and fifteenth days of each month. To represent this god,\nthe poorer people use simply a piece of red paper, with the god\u2019s name\nwritten on it. Generally, a sheet of white paper is used, on which\nthe likeness of an old man and woman has been stamped, together with\npictures of fowls, dogs, buffaloes, etc., and tables. This paper is\npasted to a board and suspended in the kitchen. The Chinese say that\nthere are two objects of worship in every house, and these are the\nancestral tablet and the kitchen-god. This god is supposed to have\ncharge of the family; and his duty is to keep a strict watch over\nall the members of it. This he must do, because, at the end of each\nyear, he has to make a report of the year\u2019s conduct to the great god\nYuh-Hwang, the \u201cPearly Emperor, Supreme Ruler,\u201d who rules in Heaven\nover all the lesser gods. Five days before the Chinese New Year, this\nkitchen-god is supposed to leave every house and ascend to Heaven, to\nmake his yearly report.\n\nOn the day before his supposed departure, feasts are offered to him,\nand more than usual honors paid him, in the hope that he may be\nbribed to give a good account. At the exact time of his departure,\nfire-crackers are let off, incense burned, and worship offered, in\norder that he may start on his long journey in a good temper, and with\nas much dignity as possible. His return is expected, and he is received\nwith the same marks of respect which attend his going away.\n\nEvery shop-keeper, banker and merchant has a piece of red paper, on\nwhich the words \u201cgod of wealth\u201d are written, pasted on his wall. Seldom\ndo they make an image of this god. Incense and candles are burned, and\nprayers are offered daily. Often, after the festivals of this god,\nmock-money and mock-clothing are burned for the benefit of the spirits\nof beggars in purgatory.\n\n\n THE STORY OF MA-CHU, GODDESS OF THE SAILORS.\n\nShe was the daughter of a man who, with his sons, was engaged on the\nocean in the pursuit of a living. He was born during the Sung dynasty,\nand lived in the Hing Hua prefecture of the province of Fuh-kien. One\nday, while she was engaged in the employment of weaving in her mother\u2019s\nhouse she fell asleep through excessive weariness, her head resting\nupon her loom. She dreamed that she saw her father and two brothers\non their separate junks in a terrific storm. She exerted herself to\nrescue them from danger. She immediately seized upon the junk which\ncontained her father, with her mouth, while with her hands she caught a\nfirm hold upon the two junks which contained her two brothers. She was\ndragging them all toward the shore when, alas! she heard the voice of\nher mother calling to her, and, as she was an obedient girl, forgetting\nthat she held her father\u2019s junk in her mouth, she hastily opened it\nto answer her mother. She awoke in great distress and, lo! it was a\ndream, but not all a dream, for in a few days the news arrived that the\nfleet of junks had encountered a dreadful storm, and that the one in\nwhich her father was had been wrecked, and he had perished, while those\nin which her brothers were had been signally rescued. The girl knew\nthat she had been the means of the salvation of her brothers, and that\nopening her mouth to answer her mother\u2019s call was the occasion of her\nfailure to rescue her father\u2019s vessel. This girl became, as the result\nof her dream, one of the most popular objects of worship in the empire.\n\nThe emperors of China have, at different times since her death,\nconferred various high-sounding titles upon her, some of which seem\nblasphemous. She is called \u201c_Queen of Heaven_\u201d and \u201c_The Holy\nMother in the heavens above_.\u201d One is often reminded by the titles\ngiven her and the worship and honors paid her, of the titles which are\ngiven to the mother of Jesus by the authority of the Pope of Rome.\nSailors often take with them some embers or ashes which they obtain\nfrom the censer before some popular image of the goddess. These ashes\nthey carry about their person in a small red bag, or they suspend them\nabout the junk in convenient places, or they put them in the censer\nbefore the image of that which they worship. When there is a violent\nstorm, and there seems but little hope that the junk will outride it,\nthe sailors all kneel down near the bow with incense in their hands,\nand call out in doleful and bitter tones upon _Ma-Chu_ to send\ndeliverance. In case they reach the port without shipwreck, they are\nbound to offer her an especial thanksgiving of food, with or without\ntheatrical plays in her honor, according to their vow.\n\nThus we have seen that the Chinese, though standing high above other\nAsiatic nations in point of civilization, are yet as idolatrous as any.\nBuddhism and Taoism have somewhat lessened the hold of Confucius upon\nthe great Chinese nation; and Christianity and western civilization\nhave done much toward introducing a new order of things in China.\n\n\n THE GOD OF GAMBLING OUTWITTED.\n\n [Illustration: GOD OF GAMBLING.]\n\nA lady living in China narrates the following Chinese myth:\n\nA gambler once went to a temple, to secure the help of a certain\ngod therein. His luck had been bad, and he was unable to bring any\noblation besides incense and paper money; but he promised that, if\nthe god would help him to win a certain sum, he would then bring a\nthank-offering having ten feet. The god reckoned the sorts of tribute\nusually paid to him; and, as the feet of a pig, a kid and a duck would\ntogether make ten, he supposed that these were the animals that would\nbe laid upon his altar, should the gambler succeed. So he favored the\ngambler, and caused him to gain even more than the stipulated sum.\nThe gambler fulfilled the letter of his promise by laying a single\ncrab on the altar. The god was very angry at being thus duped, and\nthenceforth exerted so unpropitious an influence in the gambler\u2019s\naffairs that he went and ascertained through a spirit medium the cause\nof his misfortunes. Again he came with fair words, promising that, if\nthe god would once more grant his aid, he should have a whole pig as\ncompensation. The god was mollified, and again favored the gambler, so\nthat his winnings were large. He brought the pig as a thank-offering.\nIt was a fine, strong one; but it was alive, and not in a condition in\nwhich it would be edible for either gods or men. While the god looked\nin astonishment at this departure from the established customs in the\npayment of a vow, the gambler fastened the pig by a strong rope to\nthe leg of the throne on which the god sat, and began to light the\nfire-crackers, by which an offering is announced. The explosion of the\nfire-crackers frightened the pig, so that it ran away dragging both god\nand throne after it, till both were upset and broken. Thus the astute\ngambler outwitted the honest god.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVI.\n\n BUDDHA, THE \u201cLIGHT OF ASIA.\u201d\n\n The Saviour of the World,\n Lord Buddha--Prince Siddartha styled on earth--\n In Earth and Heavens and Hells Incomparable,\n All-honored, Wisest, Best, most Pitiful;\n The Teacher of Nirvana and the Law.\n EDWIN ARNOLD.\n\n Je n\u2019h\u00e9site pas \u00e0 ajouter que, sauf le Christ tout seul, il\n n\u2019est point, parmi les fondateurs de religion, de figure plus\n pure ni plus touchante que celle du Bouddha.--BARTH\u00c9LEMY\n SAINT-HILAIRE.\n\n\nWe now come to the study of the last of the systems of idol worship,\nBuddhism. This is one of the most interesting of all. It stands at\nonce nearest to and farthest from Christianity. In its extent, it is\nthe greatest religion of the world. It includes four-tenths (nearly\none-half) of all the world\u2019s population. The following figures indicate\nthe comparative strength of the different existing religions:\n\n Parsees, 150,000.\n Jews, 7,000,000 (being about \u00bd per ct. of total).\n Greek Church, 75,000,000 \u201e \u201e 6 \u201e \u201e\n Roman Catholics, 152,000,000 \u201e \u201e 12 \u201e \u201e\n Other Christians, 100,000,000 \u201e \u201e 8 \u201e \u201e\n Hindus, 161,200,000 \u201e \u201e 13 \u201e \u201e\n Mohammedans, 155,000,000 \u201e \u201e 12\u00bd \u201e \u201e\n Buddhists, 500,000,000 \u201e \u201e 40 \u201e \u201e\n Not included in\n the above, Fetichists,\n etc., 100,000,000 \u201e \u201e 8 \u201e \u201e\n ------------- ---\n Total, 1,250,350,000 100 \u201e\n\n [Illustration:\n\n Briton Riviere ARA, Painter.\n\n Illman Brothers, Engravers & Printers.\n\n THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY.]\n\n [Illustration: THE BRONZE IDOL OF BUDDHA, AT KAMAKURA, JAPAN.\n\n Sixty-five feet high, thirty feet across the shoulders, six\n hundred years old; covered with bronze plates, its interior\n forming a temple. From an original photograph.]\n\nIt must be remembered, however, that very few of the 500,000,000\nof Buddhists are Buddhists only. Many of the Chinese Buddhists are\nConfucianists and Taoists as well. Many of the Ceylonese (or rather\nSinghalese) Buddhists are devil-worshipers and star-worshipers as well.\nSo, also, one often sees in the Buddhist temples of Japan the Shinto\nsymbols. Indeed, the rapid and wide growth of Buddhism is due to the\nreadiness with which it tolerates other religions. To write the history\nof Buddhism is to write the history of the hopes, and aspirations, and\nmost sacred feelings of nearly one-half the human race of modern times.\nBuddhism has been received by both very savage and very civilized\npeoples--the wild Nomad hordes of the cold northern lands of Tartary,\nThibet and Nepal; the cultured Chinese and Japanese, and the quiet\nSiamese, Burmese and Ceylonese.\n\nA religion of such wide acceptance by nations and individuals of such\ndifferent characters and circumstances, and which has controlled the\ndestinies of thousands of millions of souls during nearly twenty-three\nhundred years, and which comes nearest to Christianity in the purity\nof its morals and the benefits it proposes to confer upon the human\nrace, is certainly worthy of very careful attention. In studying it we\nmust carefully avoid either a wholesale condemnation or an unqualified\napproval; we must recognize that there are both good and evil in it.\nIt is to be remembered, also, that we can only look upon Buddha\u2019s\nteachings after the lapse of ages, and from this long distance the\nview is likely to be anything else than clear. Without a doubt the\ndoctrines of Buddha have been so perverted, that he would scarcely\nrecognize the religion that bears his name to-day. Then, too, being an\nOriental religion, we Western people cannot study it under as favorable\ncircumstances as the Eastern people. Oriental religions can be seen\nbest by Oriental eyes.\n\nBuddhism is a reform upon Brahminism. It is of Hindu origin, and while\nit has but little sway in the land of its birth, it retains the Hindu\ncast in all its wanderings into other lands and its observances among\nother peoples.\n\n\n THE STORY OF GAUTAMA, THE FOUNDER OF BUDDHISM.\n\nIn giving these legends of the life of Gautama, it should be stated\nthat they are derived from the writings of Buddhists who lived long\nafter Gautama was dead. They are to be received, of course, with that\ndegree of credulity which would attend the legends of devoted disciples\nof any such teacher. Those who have studied Buddhism in its native\nland have collected these legends with great care, among whom one of\nthe most careful authors is Rev. Spence Hardy, who has collected and\ncommented on them with great candor.\n\nAt the end of the sixth century before Christ, a wise and good king\nreigned in the capital city of his country, Kapila-vastu, about one\nhundred miles north-east from the great city of Benares, in India.\nAround this city the snow-crowned, giant peaks of the Himalayas towered\nup in the clear blue of the Indian sky. The city was on the banks of\nan insignificant river, the Rohini. The people lived from the produce\nof their cattle and their rice-fields; they adhered to the Hindu\nreligion. The wife of King Suddhodana was named Maya, because of her\nwondrous beauty. She was childless until her forty-fifth year. Little\nPrince Siddartha was born under the shade of a satin-tree, in the year\n552 B.C. In later years he was called the \u201cBuddha.\u201d At this time, in\naddition to the name Siddartha, he received the name of Sakya-muni from\nhis family, and that of Gautama from his clan.\n\nJust as in the case of other famous men, many marvelous stories are\ntold concerning his miraculous birth, and the precocious wisdom and\npower of the infant prince. At his birth, the legends say, ten thousand\nworlds were filled with light, the blind received their sight, the deaf\nheard, the lame walked, the imprisoned were set free, the trees burst\nforth in blossom, the air was filled with sweet songs of birds, and\neven the fires of hell were for the time being extinguished. On the\nfifth day after his birth, at the \u201cname-choosing festival,\u201d 108 Brahmin\npriests met to select the most fitting name. One of them, the most\nlearned in divination, predicted that he will be a \u201cBuddha,\u201d who will\nremove the veils of sin and ignorance from the world. Gautama is the\nname by which he is most commonly known among the southern Buddhists.\nBuddha, or, more properly, the Buddha, means the Enlightened One,\nand is an official title, just as we say Jesus, the Christ, or the\nAnointed One. During his youth Gautama is noted for his prowess, and\nfor teaching even his masters in the arts and sciences. He has, so the\nlegends go on to say, most magnificent equipages and many servants.\nHe is early married to his cousin. He devotes himself to study and\nmeditation, and his relatives charge him with neglecting to train\nhimself in manly exercises. Gautama, being told of their murmurings,\nappoints a day by beat of drum to prove his skill against all comers.\nAt the trial he surpasses the cleverest bowmen, and exhibits wonderful\nstrength and skill in his feats of horsemanship. In his twenty-ninth\nyear, Gautama abandons his home to devote himself entirely to the study\nof religion and philosophy.\n\nHe had been accustomed to say, \u201cNothing is stable on earth, nothing\nis real. Life is like the spark produced by the friction of wood. It\nis lighted, and it is extinguished; we know not whence it came and\nwhither it goes. It is like the sound of a lyre, and the wise man asks\nin vain from whence it came and whither it goes. There must be some\nsupreme intelligence where we could find rest. If I attained to it, I\ncould bring light to man; if I were free myself, I could deliver the\nworld.\u201d With this hope, and being moved thereto by four incidents, he\ngave himself, as we have just said, to seeking the light of the world.\nThese were but ordinary events, and yet they had a great effect upon\nGautama.\n\n\n GAUTAMA\u2019S FOUR VISIONS.\n\nOne day when the prince, with a large retinue, was driving through the\neastern gate of the city on the way to one of his parks, he met on\nthe road an old man, broken and decrepit. One could see the veins and\nmuscles over the whole of his body; his teeth chattered, he was covered\nwith wrinkles, bald and hardly able to utter hollow and unmelodious\nsounds. He bent on his stick, and all his limbs and joints trembled.\n\u201cWho is that man?\u201d said the prince to his coachman. \u201cHe is small and\nweak, his flesh and his blood are dried up, his muscles stick to his\nskin, his head is white, his teeth chatter, his body is wasted away;\nleaning on his stick he is hardly able to walk, stumbling at every\nstep. Is there something peculiar in his family, or is this the common\nlot of all created beings?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d replied the coachman, \u201cthat man is sinking under old age; his\nsenses have become obtuse, suffering has destroyed his strength, and\nhe is despised by his relations. He is without support and useless,\nand people have abandoned him, like a dead tree in a forest. But this\nis not peculiar to his family. In every creature youth is defeated\nby old age. Your father, your mother, all your relations, all your\nfriends, will come to the same state; this is the appointed end of all\ncreatures.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d replied the prince, \u201care creatures so ignorant, so weak and\nfoolish, as to be proud of the youth by which they are intoxicated, not\nseeing the old age which awaits them! As for me, I go away. Coachman,\nturn my chariot quickly. What have I, the future prey of old age--what\nhave I to do with pleasure?\u201d And the young prince returned to the city\nwithout going to his park.\n\nAnother time the prince was driving through the southern gate to his\npleasure-garden, when he perceived on the road a man suffering from\nillness, parched with fever, his body wasted, covered with mud, without\na friend, without a home, hardly able to breathe, and frightened at\nthe sight of himself and the approach of death. Having questioned his\ncoachman, and received from him the answer which he expected, the\nyoung prince said: \u201cAlas! health is but the sport of a dream, and the\nfear of suffering must take this frightful form. Where is the wise man\nwho, after having seen what he is, could any longer think of joy and\npleasure?\u201d The prince turned his chariot and returned to the city.\n\nA third time he was driving to his pleasure-garden through the western\ngate, when he saw a dead body on the road, lying on a bier, and covered\nwith a cloth. The friends stood about, crying, sobbing, tearing\ntheir hair covering their heads with dust, striking their breasts\nand uttering wild cries. The prince, again calling his coachman to\nwitness this painful scene, exclaimed: \u201cO woe to youth, which must be\ndestroyed by old age! Woe to health, which must be destroyed by so many\ndiseases! Woe to this life, where a man remains so short a time! If\nthere were no old age, no disease, no death; if these could be made\ncaptive forever!\u201d Then betraying for the first time his intentions, the\nyoung prince said: \u201cLet us turn back, I must think how to accomplish\ndeliverance.\u201d\n\nA last meeting put an end to his hesitation. He was driving through\nthe northern gate, on the way to his pleasure-gardens, when he saw a\nmendicant, who appeared outwardly calm, subdued, looking downwards,\nwearing with an air of dignity his religious vestment, and carrying an\nalms-bowl.\n\n\u201cWho is this man?\u201d asked the prince.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d replied the coachman, \u201cthis man is one of those who are called\nbhikshus, or mendicants. He has renounced all pleasures, all desires,\nand leads a life of austerity. He tries to conquer himself. He has\nbecome a devotee. Without passion, without envy, he walks about asking\nfor alms.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is good and well said,\u201d replied the prince; \u201cthe life of a\ndevotee has always been praised by the wise. It will be my refuge,\nand the refuge of other creatures; it will lead us to a real life, to\nhappiness and immortality.\u201d\n\nWith these words, the young prince turned his chariot and abandoning\nhis proposed ride returned to the city.\n\n\n THE GREAT RENUNCIATION.\n\nWe now come to a most touching incident in Gautama\u2019s life. Moved by\nthe visions of which we have just spoken, Gautama determines to seek\nthe solitude of the hermit\u2019s hut. His life had been full of intense\nyearning which had never been satisfied. Not all the comfort and\nprosperity about him could drive away his desire to obtain peace. To\nhim, life was a great enigma, and he determined to solve it. He was not\ndissatisfied, but, rather, unsatisfied. His determination to retire\nfrom active life was, however, by no means easy. For his wife and\nhis only son, Rahula, he felt the warmest affection. It was to be a\ndifficult task to break these ties.\n\nAt midnight, he summoned his charioteer, Channa, to bring his horse to\nthe palace gate. While Channa was gone to the stable, Gautama turned\nback to take a last look at his wife and child. The princess lay asleep\nupon her couch, surrounded with flowers, and her hand was embracing her\nlittle one. Gautama saw that he could not take the child up in his arms\nwithout disturbing the mother, and he was afraid that she might succeed\nin shaking his resolution, did she plead with him.\n\n \u201cSo with his brow he touched her feet, and bent\n The farewell of fond eyes, unutterable\n Upon her sleeping face, still wet with tears;\n And thrice around the bed in reverence,\n As though it were an altar, softly stepped\n With clasped hands laid upon his beating heart,\n \u2018For never,\u2019 spake he, \u2018lie I there again!\u2019\n And thrice he made to go, but thrice came back,\n So strong her beauty was, so large his love:\n Then, o\u2019er his head drawing his cloth, he turned,\n And raised the purdah\u2019s edge:\n\n * * * * *\n\n \u201cThen, lightly treading where those sleepers lay,\n Into the night Siddartha passed: its eyes,\n The watchful stars, looked love on him; its breath,\n The wandering wind, kissed his robe\u2019s fluttered fringe;\n The garden-blossoms, folded for the dawn,\n Opened their velvet hearts to waft him scents,\n From pink and purple censers; o\u2019er the land,\n From Himalaya unto the Indian Sea,\n A tremor spread, as if earth\u2019s soul beneath\n Stirred with an unknown hope; and holy books--\n Which tell the story of our Lord--say, too,\n That rich celestial music thrilled the air\n From hosts on hosts of shining ones, who thronged\n Eastward and westward, making bright the night--\n Northward and southward, making glad the ground.\n Also those four dread Regents of the Earth,\n Descending at the doorway, two by two--\n With their bright legions of Invisibles\n In arms of sapphire, silver, gold and pearl--\n Watched with joined hands the Indian Prince, who stood,\n His tearful eyes raised to the stars, and lips\n Close-set with purpose of prodigious love.\n Then strode he forth into the gloom and cried,\n \u2018Channa, awake! and bring out Kantaka!\u2019\n\n \u201c\u2018What would my lord?\u2019 the charioteer replied--\n Slow-rising from his place beside the gate--\n \u2018To ride at night, when all the ways are dark?\u2019\n\n \u201c\u2018Speak low,\u2019 Siddartha said, \u2018and bring my horse,\n For now the hour is come when I should quit\n This golden prison, where my heart lives caged,\n To find the truth; which henceforth I will seek,\n For all men\u2019s sake, until the truth be found.\u2019\u201d\n\nShortly after he had passed through the ponderous gate of the\ncity--which, it was said, took a thousand men to open it--he was met by\nthe evil god Mara. Mara knew that if Gautama proceeded, his power would\nbe lessened and so he sought to turn him back. He said to Gautama: \u201cBe\nentreated to stay, that you may possess the honors that are within\nyour reach; go not! go not!\u201d To this Gautama replied: \u201cA thousand or\na hundred thousand honors such as those to which you refer would have\nno power to charm me to-day; I seek the Buddhaship; therefore, begone,\nhinder me not.\u201d Mara left him in great anger, determined to foil him.\n\n\n GAUTAMA BECOMES AN ASCETIC.\n\nGautama then exchanged his clothes with a poor passer-by, cut off\nhis hair, and sent Channa, the charioteer back and became a begging,\nhomeless hermit. Several hermits had taken up their abode in the\ncaves of the Vindhya mountains; here they were at once surrounded by\nthe solitudes of nature and sufficiently near to a large city to get\ntheir supplies. After coming to these caves he attaches himself to a\nBrahmin teacher, and under his guidance seeks, by undergoing severest\npenances, to gain superhuman power. After a little, he withdraws by\nhimself to the jungles, where he spends six years in fasting and\nself-mortification. His severity of self-control gains him great fame,\nand disciples gather about him. A fear that, lest after all his efforts\nshould be fruitless and that he should die, having gone wrong, made him\nfinally give up the attempt.\n\nNow came the crisis of his life. The second struggle of Gautama was\nmost intense. He wandered back to a village to get his morning meal.\nHe sat down to eat it under a tree, known from that day to this as the\n\u201cBo-tree,\u201d or tree of Wisdom. There he remained through the long hours\nof that day, debating with himself what next to do. The philosophy he\nhad trusted in seemed to be doubtful; the penance he had practiced so\nlong had brought no certainty, no peace; and all his old temptations\ncame back upon him with renewed force. For years he had looked at all\nearthly good as vanity, worthless and transitory. Nay, more, he had\nthought that it contained within itself the seeds of evil, and must\ninevitably, sooner or later, bring forth its bitter fruit. But now to\nhis wavering faith the sweet delights of home and love, the charms of\nwealth and power, began to show themselves in a different light and\nto glow again with attractive colors. They were yet within his reach;\nhe knew he would be welcomed back, and yet--would there even then be\nsatisfaction? Were all his labors to be lost? Was there _no_ sure\nground to stand on? Thus he agonized in his doubt from the early\nmorning until sunset. But as the day ended the religious side of his\nnature had won the victory; his doubt had cleared away; _he had\nbecome a Buddha_, that is _an Enlightened One_; he had grasped,\nas it seemed to him, the solution of the great mystery of sorrow, and\nhad learned at once its causes and its cure. He seemed to have gained\nthe haven of peace, and _in the power over the human heart of inward\nculture, and of love to others_, to rest at last on a certitude that\ncould never be shaken. He renounced his penances, and from that time\ndeclared that no good resulted from them. It was a grand theory of\n_self-salvation_ that he had wrought out for himself--salvation by\nself-control and love--without any rites, ceremonies, charming priestly\npowers, without even the aid of the gods, man could save himself.\n\nLike the later great reformer, Mohammed, Gautama the Buddha, had the\nmost perfect confidence in himself, his convictions and his mission;\nthis mission was \u201cto set rolling the royal chariot-wheel of a universal\nempire of truth and righteousness.\u201d He went to Benares, and there, by\nteaching, sought to spread the knowledge of his method of reaching a\nperfect inward peace. In about three months he had gathered together\nsixty disciples; these he sends forth to preach his faith. He himself\nwas accustomed to travel, preach and teach, except during the four\nrainy months, from June to October, when he remained in one place,\ninstructing his declared disciples. Once he visited his old home, and\nhis wife, Yasodhara, became one of his disciples; she was the first of\nthe Buddhist nuns. Gautama died at the age of eighty years. His body\nwas burned with much pomp, and his disciples contended for the unburned\nbones. They were divided in eight parts, and temple-mounds, called\n_topes_, were built over each.\n\n\n THE \u201cLIGHT OF ASIA\u201d AND THE \u201cLIGHT OF THE WORLD.\u201d\n\nOne cannot help comparing Gautama, the Buddha, and Jesus, the Christ.\nThere is, beyond question, a great deal of both good and evil in\nBuddha\u2019s life and teaching. It is wise for us to recognize both good\nand evil, and to \u201chold fast to that which is good.\u201d We do not think\nthat it is placing Buddha on too high a ground when we say that he\nstands nearest to Christ of all the founders of religions. We must not\nconfound the teachings of Buddha with the superstitious notions of his\nfollowers of to-day. The present Buddhism of Asia is but little like\nthe Buddhism of Gautama\u2019s teaching. Further, we must strip off the\nlegends, the additions of a later day, and seek to read the story of\nhis life that lies beneath them. In addition to this, we must try to\nplace ourselves in closest sympathy with our subject.\n\n [Illustration: IDOL OF BUDDHA. HIS IDOLS ARE USUALLY OF THIS\n SHAPE, PROPORTION AND POSITION, THOUGH INFINITELY VARIED IN\n SIZE AND QUALITY.]\n\nThus we see the beauties of this life. Looked at in this way, we\ndiscover a great deal in Buddha\u2019s character to admire. Saint-Hilaire\nsays (we give a free translation from the French): \u201cHis life has no\nstain. His constant heroism equals his conviction; and if the theory\nwhich he extols is faultless, the personal example which he presents is\nirreproachable. He is the finished model of all the virtues which he\npreached; his teaching of self-denial, of charity, of an unchangeable\nmildness, do not for a single instant receive the contradiction of a\ndifferent life. He abandons, at the age of twenty-nine years, the court\nof his royal father to become a devotee and a mendicant; he prepares\nsilently his doctrines during six years of meditation and retreat; he\nextends his faith only by the power of speech and persuasion, during\nhalf a century; and when he dies in the arms of his disciples, it is\nwith the serenity of a sage who has lived well, and who is assured\nthat he has found the truth.\u201d It is not our purpose to compare here\nthe teachings of Buddha and Christ, but simply the life. It is a\ncomparison that we would make, and not a contrast. Buddha\u2019s self-denial\nfor the world\u2019s good, his wondrously pure life, and the heavenliness\nof his manners and of some of his teachings greatly resemble those of\nJesus Christ. Yet, after all, he stands a long way off. He is a light,\nit is true, yet but feebly shining beside the light of the Sun of\nRighteousness. To Christ, Gautama is but\n\n \u201cAs moonlight is to sunlight, and as water is to wine.\u201d\n\nThe Buddha was the son of a king; Jesus, the Christ, was the son of\na carpenter. The Buddha grew up in the midst of the splendors of a\ncourt; Jesus, the Christ, was reared in a despised city, in an humble\nhome. Yet the aspect of the Buddha is that of a disciple, a learner,\nan inquirer; that of the Christ is that of a master, a teacher. The\nBuddha seems rather to be a subject, and the Christ the king. The\nBuddha approaches the solution of the great problems of sin, suffering\nand death from below. He walks as one in a maze, with uncertain\nsteps; he tries experiments; he goes from one teacher to another.\nFinally, of a sudden, comes the answer to the problems with which\nhe has been puzzled; he throws the spectre with which he has been\ngrappling. The Christ approaches the great and grave questions, that\nhave been puzzling the world, as one who _has_ the answers in his\npossession. He comes to teach, and not to learn; to settle, and not to\ndisturb. There is no hesitating uncertainty about His words or steps as\nthere is about the Buddha\u2019s. In meeting temptation, the Buddha shows\nweakness, where the Christ shows strength. The Buddha\u2019s life was long;\nthe Christ\u2019s was short. The Buddha gave, undoubtedly, many wholesome\nprecepts; but there is an element of kindly, self-forgetting love about\nthe Christ\u2019s teachings that is absent from the Buddha\u2019s. Indeed, this\nis the emphatic point of superiority, that the Buddha kept constantly\nbefore his disciples _their_ welfare; he taught how a man might\ndeliver _himself_ from suffering. The Christ makes self-salvation\nbut a part of His disciples\u2019 work. The Buddha has next to nothing to\nsay about God; the Christ has all to say about God. The Christ seeks\nto show how man\u2019s life is attached to God at every point; he exhibits\nthe true character of God, presenting a picture infinitely superior to\nthat drawn by the hand of any of the founders of religions, or by the\nhighest imaginations of the purest men. In brief, the Buddha\u2019s life and\nteachings were unquestionably good, but the Christ\u2019s unquestionably\nbetter. This will be more apparent as, in the following chapters, we\nstudy the working out of the Buddha\u2019s teachings. We shall see how much\nand how little they benefited the race. Let the test of time be applied\nto the answers he brought to the puzzling problems of sin, suffering\nand sorrow, and see if they have wrought out the good for which the\nBuddha looked, hoped and prayed. We shall see a partial success and\na partial failure, and see the undoubted necessity of giving the\nknowledge of the Gospel to the nations who have known nothing better\nthan that which Buddha had to tell.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVII.\n\n THE BUDDHIST BIBLE, THE \u201cTHREE BASKETS,\u201d AND ITS TEACHINGS.\n\n There is that in Buddhism, intelligible to the poor and the\n suffering, which has endeared Buddhism to the hearts of millions\n not the silly, metaphysical phantasmagorias of worlds of gods\n and worlds of Brahma, or final dissolution of the soul in\n Nirv\u0101na. No, the beautiful, the tender, the humanly true, which,\n like pure gold, lies buried in all religions, even in the sand\n of the Buddhist canon.--F. MAX M\u00dcLLER.\n\n\nGautama had himself thoroughly worked out his system of religion. With\nregard to his teachings, we have more reliable information than in\nregard to his life. During his fifty years of teaching he had ample\ntime to repeat over and over again to his disciples the principles of\nhis faith. In the interval between Buddha\u2019s death and the reign of the\nBuddhist king, Asoka (in 307 B.C.), legends and stories of miraculous\ndeeds multiplied about the narrative of Buddha\u2019s life. Gautama Buddha\u2019s\nteachings were committed to writing and commentaries were written upon\nthese. To determine what were the genuine Buddhist sacred books, and\nwhat were apocryphal, a council was called by King Asoka. This king was\nto the Buddhists what Constantine the Great was to the early Christian\nChurch. King Asoka said to the assembled priests, \u201cwhat has been said\nby Buddha, that alone is well said.\u201d The canon of sacred books, as\ndeclared by this council, include the collection called the Tripitaka,\nor \u201cThree Baskets.\u201d These are to Buddhism what the New Testament is to\nChristianity; in these we find the orthodox belief. The first of these\nbaskets is called the Vinaya, and contains all of Buddha\u2019s teachings\nthat refer to morality; the second is called the Sutras, containing the\nsermons of Buddha; the third is called the Abhidharma, containing all\nthat treats of philosophy and metaphysics. The general name, Dharma,\nor \u201claw,\u201d is applied to the second and third Pitakas, or baskets. The\nfirst and second baskets each contain five separate works, and the\nthird basket seven. In addition to these books the Buddhists look\nupon the commentaries and parables of the famous Buddhist missionary,\nBuddhaghosha, as of nearly equal value. These were written about\n430 A.D. Still further, we have the work called the Dharma Pada, or\n\u201cFootsteps of the Law.\u201d This is a book of Buddhist\u2019s morals, and Spence\nHardy, one of the best writers on Buddhism, says that a collection\nof precepts might be made from this work, which in purity of morals\ncould hardly be equaled by any heathen author. We now give a summary\nof Buddha\u2019s teachings on the more important topics as found in the\nTripitakas.\n\n\n THE BUDDHIST WAY OF SALVATION.\n\nThe method of salvation which was wrought out by Buddha has been\nadmirably summarized by Rhys-David as follows: \u201cSo long as man is\nbound up by bodily existence with the material world he is liable to\nsorrow, decay and death. So long as he allows unholy desires to reign\nwithin him, there will be unsatisfied longings, useless weariness and\ncare. To attempt to purify himself by oppressing his body would be only\nwasted effort; it is the moral evil of a man\u2019s heart which keeps him\nchained down in the degraded state of bodily life--of union with the\nmaterial world. It is of little avail to add virtue to his badness,\nfor so long as there is evil, his goodness will only insure him for a\ntime, and in another birth, a higher form of material life; only the\ncomplete _eradication of all evil_ will set him free from the\nchains of existence and carry him to the \u2018other side,\u2019 where he will\nbe no longer tossed about on the waves of the ocean of transmigration.\nBut Christian ideas must not be put into these Buddhist expressions.\nOf any immaterial existence, Buddhism knows nothing. The foundations\nof its creed have been summed up in the very ancient formula probably\ninvented by its founder, which is called _the Four Great Truths_.\nThese are: 1. That misery always accompanies existence. 2. That all\nmodes of existence (of men or animals, in earth and heaven) result from\npassion or desire (tantra). 3. That there is no escape from existence\nexcept by destruction of desire. 4. That this may be had by following\nthe fourfold way to Nirv\u0101na.\n\n\u201cOf these four prescribed stages called \u2018_the Paths_,\u2019 the first is an\nawakening of the heart. There are few that do not acknowledge that no\nman can be really called happy, and that men are born to trouble as\nthe sparks fly upward, but the majority glide through life filling up\ntheir time with business or with pleasure, buoyed up with ever-changing\nhopes in their mad pursuit of some fancied good. When the scales fall\nfrom their eyes, when they begin to realize the great mystery of\n_sorrow_, that pain is inseparable from existence, and that all earthly\ngood leads to vexation of spirit, when they turn for comfort and for\nguidance to the Enlightened One, then they may be said to be awake, and\nto have entered the _first stage_ of the Buddhist way of salvation.\nWhen the awakened believer has gone further, and got rid, first, of\nall _impure desires_, and then of all _revengeful feelings_, he has\nreached the second stage; in the third he successively becomes free\n(1) from _all evil desires_, (2) from _ignorance_, (3) from _doubt_,\n(4) from _heresy_, and (5) from _unkindliness and vexation_. \u2018As even\nat the risk of her own life a mother watches over her child, her only\nchild, so let him (the Buddhist saint) exert good-will without measure\ntoward all beings.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe order here observed is very remarkable. The way to be freed from\ndoubt and heresy lies through freedom from impurity and revenge, and\nevil longings of all kinds; or, in other words, if a man awakened to a\ndeep sense of the mystery of sorrow wishes to understand the real facts\nof existence, wishes to believe not the false or the partly false, but\nthe true altogether, Buddha tells him not to set to work and study, not\nto torture himself with asceticism or privation, but to purify his mind\nfrom all unholy desires and passions: right actions spring from a pure\nmind, and to the pure in heart all things are open. Again, the first\nenemy which the awakened believer has to fight against is sensuality,\nand the last is unkindliness. It is impossible to build anything on a\nfoundation of mire; and the topstone of all that one can build, the\nhighest point he can reach, the point above purity, above justice,\nabove even faith, is, according to Buddha, _universal charity_.\nTill he has gained that, the believer is still bound; he is not free;\nhis mind is still dark. True enlightenment, true freedom, are complete\nonly in love.\n\nThe believer who has gone thus far has reached the last stage; he has\ncut the meshes of ignorance, passion and sin, and has thus escaped from\nthe net of transmigration; Nirv\u0101na is already within his grasp; he has\nrisen above the laws of material existence; the secrets of the future\nand the past lie open before him; and when this one short life is over,\nhe will be free forever from birth with its inevitable consequences,\ndecay and death. No Buddhist now hopes to reach this stage on earth;\nbut he who has once entered the \u201cpaths\u201d cannot leave them; the final\nperseverance of the saints is sure; and sooner or later, under easier\nconditions in some less material world, he will win the great prize,\nand, entering Nirv\u0101na, be at rest forever with other triumphant victors.\n\n\n WHAT IS NIRV\u0100NA?\n\nThe central doctrine of Buddhism, the goal of all its hopes, the end of\nall its struggles, is Nirv\u0101na or Nigban. But what does this mean? Some\nlearned men say, absorption or swallowing up into the Deity; others,\nthat it means a perfect annihilation, a ceasing to be or exist; while\nstill others say that it simply means reaching a state of perfect\ninward rest. Nirv\u0101na means, literally, \u201ca blowing out,\u201d as of a candle.\nWe cannot conceive it possible that any one could teach the hopeless,\ndespairing doctrine of annihilation, and cannot help believing that\nthe last interpretation is the true one--that Nirv\u0101na means a perfect,\ninward peace. Certain it is that Buddha\u2019s followers of to-day believe\nin a definitely located Paradise, a place of perfect enjoyment. Nirv\u0101na\nis an extinction, but of what? Of the life of the soul? or of the\npassions, of selfishness, desire and sin? and of the unrest produced\nby these? Nirv\u0101na is called the highest happiness. As Max M\u00fcller says,\n\u201cIt represented the entrance of the soul into rest, a subduing of all\nwishes and desires, indifference to joy and pain, to good and evil, an\nabsorption of the soul in itself, and a freedom from the circles of\nexistences from birth to death, and from death to a new birth. This is\nstill the meaning which educated people attach to it, whilst to the\nminds of the larger masses, Nirv\u0101na suggests rather the idea of a\nMohammedan Paradise or of blissful Elysian fields.\u201d Buddha, himself,\nonce said: \u201cThose only who have arrived at Nirv\u0101na are at rest.\u201d\nClosely associated with Nirv\u0101na is the idea of the transmigration of\nthe soul; that the soul after death passes from one body to another;\nsometimes the body in which the soul is born again is that of an\nanimal, sometimes of a man. The Buddhists kill no animals, for fear of\nannoying the soul of a dead man, which may be living in the animal. For\nthis reason they also take great care of wounded and sick animals. In\nBombay is a hospital for animals, carried on very successfully by the\nJains, a Buddhist sect.\n\n\n BUDDHIST MORALS.\n\nThe wonderfully pure and exalted teachings of Buddha have been gathered\ntogether in the Dharma Pada, or \u201cFootsteps of the Law.\u201d Many of them\ngreatly resemble the teachings of our Holy Scriptures, others are\nabsurdly ridiculous, while still others are metaphysical abstractions,\nand are wholly meaningless. The great majority are, however, full of\nwondrous wisdom. The following selections are translations from the\nPali language:\n\n\n SOME OF THE \u201cFOOTSTEPS OF THE LAW.\u201d\n\nThere is no fire like passion; there is no shark like hatred; there is\nno snare like folly; there is no torrent like greed.\n\nA man is not learned because he talks much.\n\nA man is not an elder because his head is gray; his age may be ripe,\nbut he is called \u201cOld-in-vain.\u201d\n\nFor hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love.\nThis is an old rule.\n\nHe who lives looking for pleasure only, his senses uncontrolled,\nimmoderate in his enjoyments, idle and weak, M\u00e2ra (the tempter) will\ncertainly overcome him, as the wind throws down a weak tree.\n\nHe who lives without looking for pleasures, his senses well controlled,\nin his enjoyments moderate, faithful and strong, M\u00e2ra will certainly\nnot overcome him, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain.\n\nAs rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break\nthrough an unreflecting mind.\n\nThe evil-doer suffers in this world, and he suffers in the next; he\nsuffers in both. He suffers when he thinks of the evil he has done; he\nsuffers more when going on the evil path.\n\nThe virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next;\nhe is happy in both. He is happy when he thinks of the good he has\ndone; he is still more happy when going on the good path.\n\nThe scent of flowers does not travel against the wind, nor (that of)\nsandal-wood, or of a bottle of Tagara oil; but the odor of good people\ntravels even against the wind; a good man pervades every place.\n\nAs on a heap of rubbish cast upon the highway the lily will grow\nfull of sweet perfume and delightful, thus the disciple of the truly\nenlightened Buddha shines forth by his knowledge among those who are\nlike rubbish, among the people that walk in darkness.\n\nThe fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least so far. But a fool\nwho thinks himself wise, he is called a fool indeed.\n\nThe gods even envy him whose senses have been subdued, like horses well\nbroken in by the driver, who is free from pride, and free from frailty.\n\nEven though a speech be a thousand (of words) but made up of senseless\nwords, one word of sense is better, which if a man hears, he becomes\nquiet.\n\nIf one man conquer in battle a thousand times thousand men, and if\nanother conquer himself, he is the greatest of conquerors.\n\nLet no man think lightly of evil, saying in his heart, It will not come\nnear unto me. Even by the falling of water-drops a water-pot is filled.\nThe fool becomes full of evil, even if he gathers it little by little.\n\nLet no one forget his own duty for the sake of another\u2019s, however\ngreat. Let a man, after he has discerned his own duty, be always\nattentive to his duty.\n\nThe wise who control their body, who control their tongue, the wise who\ncontrol their mind, are indeed well controlled.\n\nAnd the man who gives himself to drinking intoxicating liquors, he,\neven in this world, digs up his own root.\n\nAkin to these are the following blessings of Buddha:\n\n\n BUDDHIST BEATITUDES.\n\nOne of the gods says to Gautama:\n\n 1. Many angels and men\n Have held various things blessings,\n When they were yearning for happiness.\n Do thou declare to us the chief good.\n\nGautama answers:\n\n 2. Not to serve the foolish,\n But to serve the wise;\n To honor those worthy of honor:\n This is the greatest blessing.\n\n 3. To dwell in a pleasant land,\n Good works done in a former birth,\n Right desires in the heart:\n This is the greatest blessing.\n\n 4. Much insight and education,\n Self control and pleasant speech,\n And whatever word be well-spoken:\n This is the greatest blessing.\n\n 5. To support father and mother,\n To cherish wife and child,\n To follow a peaceful calling:\n This is the greatest blessing.\n\n 6. To bestow alms and live righteously,\n To give help to kindred,\n Deeds which cannot be blamed:\n These are the greatest blessings.\n\n 7. To abhor and cease from sin,\n Abstinence from strong drink,\n Not to be weary in well-doing:\n These are the greatest blessings.\n\n 8. Reverence and lowliness,\n Contentment and gratitude,\n The hearing of the Law at due seasons:\n This is the greatest blessing.\n\n 9. To be long-suffering and meek,\n To associate with the tranquil (_i. e._, Buddhist monks),\n Religious talk at due seasons:\n This is the greatest blessing.\n\n 10. Self-restraint and purity,\n The knowledge of the Noble Truths,\n The realization of Nirv\u0101na:\n This is the greatest blessing.\n\n 11. Beneath the stroke of life\u2019s changes,\n The mind that shaketh not;\n Without grief or passion, and secure:\n This is the greatest blessing.\n\n 12. On every side are invincible\n They who do acts like these,\n On every side they walk in safety,\n And theirs is the greatest blessing.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVIII.\n\n THE GROWTH OF BUDDHISM--THE BUDDHIST ORDER OF\n MENDICANTS.\n\n What proud Emperors\n Carved his sweet words upon the rocks and caves;\n And how--in fullness of the times--it fell\n The Buddha died, the great Tathagato,\n Even as a man \u2019mongst men, fulfilling all:\n And how a thousand thousand crores[5] since then\n Have trod the Path which leads whither he went\n Unto NIRVANA where the Silence lives.\n EDWIN ARNOLD, IN THE \u201cLIGHT OF ASIA.\u201d\n\n\nBuddhism is a missionary system. It has spread far beyond the land\nof its birth, all over Asia. The methods of its spread were entirely\ndifferent from those of Mohammedanism, while they somewhat resembled\nthose of Christianity. To-day Buddhism numbers about two-fifths of the\nworld\u2019s population among its adherents. It is still in vigorous life.\nIt has been propagated mainly through the _Sangha_, or Buddhist\nOrder of Mendicants. The dates usually assigned for the entrance of\nBuddhism into other lands are as follows: Into Ceylon, 250 B.C.; into\nChina, 65 A.D.; into Corea, 372 A.D.; into Burmah, 450 A.D.; into\nJapan, 552 A.D.; into Thibet, about 625 A.D.; and into Siam, 638 A.D.\nWhile some of these have been questioned, no good reason has yet been\ngiven for accepting any others.\n\nWe shall at present discuss the character and constitution of the\nBuddhist brotherhood of the Sangha, leaving the stories of the\nintroduction of Buddhism into the various countries to be told in their\nrespective places.\n\n\n THE SANGHA, OR BUDDHIST BROTHERHOOD.\n\nAll of Buddha\u2019s disciples who had taken the vows of asceticism were\nknown by the name of _Sangha_, meaning \u201ccongregation\u201d or \u201cchurch.\u201d\nThe organization of this order had the most to do with the spread of\nBuddhism. Keep in mind that, in common with almost all reformers,\nGautama, the Buddha, did not intend to cut loose from his old faith.\nHe hoped to make the new wine of his teachings go into the old bottles\nof Brahminism. We believe that he did not intend or expect that his\nreligion should spread over Asia. Further, it was not so much due to\nhis doctrine of the Dharma, or \u201claw,\u201d that his religion gained so wide\nan acceptance, as it was due to his establishment of the order of the\nSangha. Here is one point of wide divergence from the missionary labors\nof Christianity. Its founder, Jesus Christ, did intend, and distinctly\nstated His intention of giving His religion to the world. The order of\nthe Sangha was a _growth_. Little by little, as occasion demanded,\nGautama laid down rules for those who would be his disciples, and\nunconsciously these disciples became more and more exclusive, shutting\nin themselves and shutting out all others. Finally, after Gautama\u2019s\ndeath, they became a distinct body.\n\n\n THE INITIATION CEREMONY.\n\nAny one who was free from contagious disease, who was neither a slave,\na debtor nor a soldier, and who had obtained the consent of his\nparents, might be admitted to the order. The following account of the\nceremony of admission has been compiled by T. W. Rhys-David, late of\nthe Ceylon civil service:\n\n\u201cThe layman who wishes for entrance to the Order must be at least\neight years old before obtaining the novitiate, and at least twenty\nbefore receiving full ordination. On the day appointed, a chapter is\nheld, of not less than ten monks, the president being of at least ten\nyears\u2019 standing. The monks forming the chapter sit on mats, in two\nrows, facing each other, the president being at the head of one row.\nThe candidate, in lay dress, but carrying the three yellow robes of\na mendicant, is introduced by his proposer (always a monk), makes a\nsalutation to the president, and offers him a small present as a token\nof respect. He then three times asks for admission as a novice. \u2018Have\npity on me, lord; take these robes, and let me be ordained, that I\nmay escape from sorrow and experience Nirv\u0101na.\u2019 The president then\ntakes the bundle of robes, and ties them around the candidate\u2019s neck,\nrepeating, meanwhile, a formula of meditation on the perishable nature\nof the human body. The candidate then retires, and changes his dress,\nrepeating the while a formula to the effect that, though he wears\nrobes, he does so only out of modesty, and as a protection from heat,\ncold, etc. When he reappears clad as a mendicant, he kneels before the\npresident, and repeats after him three times two well-known Buddhist\nformulas. The first of these is that called the \u2018Three Refuges.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I go for refuge to the Buddha.\n\n\u201c\u2018I go for refuge to the Law.\n\n\u201c\u2018I go for refuge to the Order.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe other is called the \u2018Ten Precepts,\u2019 which are as follows:\n\n\u201c\u20181. I take the vow not to destroy life.\n\n\u201c\u20182. I take the vow not to steal.\n\n\u201c\u20183. I take the vow to abstain from impurity.\n\n\u201c\u20184. I take the vow not to lie.\n\n\u201c\u20185. I take the vow to abstain from intoxicating drinks, which hinder\nprogress and virtue.\n\n\u201c\u20186. I take the vow not to eat at forbidden times.\n\n\u201c\u20187. I take the vow to abstain from dancing, singing, music and\nstage-plays.\n\n\u201c\u20188. I take the vow not to use garlands, scents, unguents or ornaments.\n\n\u201c\u20189. I take the vow not to use a high or broad bed.\n\n\u201c\u201810. I take the vow not to receive gold or silver.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe candidate then rises, pays respect to the president, and retires a\n_novice_. Here, for the novitiate, the ceremony ends.\u201d\n\n\n RULES OF THE ORDER.\n\nSolid food is forbidden, except between sunrise and noon, and total\nabstinence from intoxicating drinks is required. The monks, or brothers\nof the order, usually get their food by begging from door to door; each\nusually carries his brown earthenware begging-bowl. He says nothing,\nbut only stands, waiting, at the open door of the hut. If something is\ngiven him, he mutters a prayer for the giver, but if nothing, he passes\non in silence.\n\nThe monks generally live together in groves, gardens or monasteries. At\nfirst they led a lonely life, but afterwards they gathered together in\ncommunities. They were required to dress in simple garments of a dull\norange color, first torn in pieces and then sewn together again, so\nthat they had no salable value. They wear three robes; and, while the\npeople of the warmer countries wear only the loin-cloth, the members of\nthe order were required to keep their bodies covered. To \u201cput off the\nrobes\u201d was equivalent to leaving the society.\n\nPersonal indulgence, theft and murder would cause the monk who\ncommitted them to be expelled from the order. No monk was allowed\nto possess more than eight articles--the three robes, a girdle for\nthe loins, a begging-bowl, a razor, a needle and a water-strainer.\nThe communities of monks, however, were permitted to own property.\nUnquestioning obedience to superiors is never required of a monk among\nthe Buddhists.\n\n\n DAILY LIFE OF A MONK.\n\nAccording to the \u201cManual of Exercises,\u201d the daily life of a monk should\nbe as follows: He shall rise before daylight and wash; then sweep the\nwih\u0101ra or residence--as the clean little hut where the mendicant lives\nis called--then sweep round the Bo-tree, fetch the drinking-water for\nthe day, filter it, and place it ready for use. Retiring to a solitary\nplace, he shall then meditate on the regulations. Then he shall offer\nflowers before the sacred d\u0101gaba--the solid dome-shaped shrine in which\nrelics of the Buddha are buried--or before the Bo-tree, thinking of the\ngreat virtues of the Teacher and of his own faults. Soon after, taking\nthe begging-bowl, he is to follow his superior in his daily round for\nfood, and, on their return, is to bring water for his feet and place\nthe alms-bowl before him. After the meal is over, he is to wash the\nalms-bowl, then again to worship Buddha and meditate on kindness and\naffection. About an hour afterwards, he is to begin his studies from\nthe books, or copy one of them, asking his superior about passages he\ndoes not understand. At sunset, he is again to sweep the sacred places,\nand, lighting a lamp, to listen to the teaching of his superior, and\nrepeat such passages from the canon that he has learned. If he finds\nhe has committed any fault, he is to tell his superior; he is to be\ncontent with such things as he has, and, keeping under his senses, to\ngrow in grace without haughtiness of body, speech or mind.\n\n\n THE THREE GREAT BUDDHIST COUNCILS.\n\nSoon after Buddha\u2019s death a council of 500 members of the order was\nheld in a cave, near the city of Rajagriha. This council met to form\nBuddha\u2019s teachings into some sort of a system. A second council of 700\nwas held a hundred years later. This was to effect a settlement between\ncertain heretics and the orthodox party. The Rules of the Order and the\nDoctrines of the Faith were passed in review and again settled. Then\nthe heretics advanced still different opinions and called an opposition\ncouncil. This was the first great schism. From this time sects\nmultiplied among the Buddhists. The next council was the Great Council\nof King Asoka. Asoka was to the Buddhist Order what Constantine was to\nthe early Christian Church. There are more men to honor him to-day than\nthere are to honor Charlemagne or C\u00e6sar. Yet Asoka really caused the\ndownfall of Buddhism in India by the aid he gave it. As Dante had said:\n\n \u201cAh! Constantine, of how much ill was cause,\n Not thy conversion, but those rich domains\n That the first wealthy Pope received of thee.\u201d\n\nAsoka built many monasteries and provided for the support of many\nmonks. He became a very zealous supporter of Buddhism. Some of his\nedicts, based upon Gautama\u2019s teachings, have been discovered within\nthe last fifty years. In the eighteenth year of Asoka\u2019s reign, a\ngreat council of 1,000 monks was held in Patna. This council finally\ndetermined the canon of the sacred Buddhist books. This council, held,\nprobably, in the year 246 B.C., lasted nine months. Asoka was filled\nwith an aggressive, missionary spirit, and at the close of this council\nmissionaries were sent into various countries, or provinces of India,\nfrom Cashmere to Ceylon. The mission to Ceylon of Asoka\u2019s own son,\nMahinda, was the most important. In the year 62 A.D., the Chinese\nEmperor Ming-Ti sent to India and brought Buddhist books to China. From\nChina Buddhism spread into Corea and Japan and Thibet. From Ceylon it\nspread to Burmah and Siam.\n\nOf late years the sources of our information as to Buddhist teachings\nand history have greatly changed. Formerly only Ceylon was looked to\nfor this information, but of late years the work of Bigandet in Burmah,\nAlabaster in Siam, Schlagintweit in Thibet, and Beal in China, have\ngiven more thorough knowledge of the facts of Buddhist doctrine and\nhistory.\n\n\n BUDDHAGHOSHA, THE FAMOUS MONK AND MISSIONARY.\n\nBuddhaghosha lived in the middle of the fifth century after Christ.\nHe is, next to Asoka, the most celebrated man in Buddhist history. He\nvisited Ceylon, where he greatly revived the Buddhist faith. He then\nwent to Burmah, where he established Buddhism among the Burmese. From\nthese people it spread into Arracan, Pegu, and finally into Siam. He\nwrote a famous commentary on the Buddhist Bible; some scholars believe\nthat this is but a translation of older commentaries which Buddhaghosha\nmade, and that his parables are but the parables of Mahinda or even of\nGautama re-written. At any rate, they go by Buddhaghosha\u2019s name among\nthe Burmese Buddhists. His parables are very interesting, and are used\nby the monks and preachers in all their sermons. The accompanying\nstory of King K\u0101kavanna is quoted from Captain Rogers\u2019 translation\nof Buddhaghosha\u2019s Parables, and will serve as a fair specimen of the\nstories as a whole.\n\n\n THE STORY OF KING K\u0100KAVANNA.\n\nA Rahanda once preached the Law to K\u0101kavanna, his queen and concubines,\nin the island of Ceylon. King K\u0101kavanna, filled with love for the\nLaw, resolved to make an offering of the putzo which he was wearing.\nIn a spirit of niggardliness, however, he thought he would defer the\noffering until the next day. Two crows, a husband and wife, who were\nperched upon the tree at the foot of which the Law had been preached,\nknowing what was passing in the king\u2019s mind, said to each other: \u201cThe\nking, from his niggardly spirit, excellent as the Law is, cannot make\nup his mind to make an offering of the putzo.\u201d Neither the queen, nor\nthe concubines, nor the nobles understood what the two crows were\nsaying to each other; but the king, directly he heard the sound of\nthe crows, knew what they said. \u201cO you pair of crows,\u201d he exclaimed,\n\u201chow dare you speak so of a king like me?\u201d The crows replied, \u201cYour\nmajesty, do not take the putzo you have at home, but make an offering\nof the one you are wearing, worth a hundred thousand pieces of gold. In\nseven days hence you will receive the five rewards.\u201d The king smiled\nat the crows\u2019 speech. My lord, the Rahanda, who had been preaching the\nLaw, said to the king, \u201cWhy does your majesty smile at me?\u201d \u201cI was not\nsmiling at my lord Rahanda,\u201d replied the king; \u201cI was smiling at what\nthe two crows said.\u201d The Rahanda, who possessed the Nat\u2019s eye, which\ncould behold eight past and eight future existences, and who saw the\nprevious life of the king, said to him, \u201cGreat king, I will tell you\nsomething; will you be angry with me?\u201d \u201cMy lord,\u201d replied the king,\n\u201cI shall not be angry with you; deign to tell it to me.\u201d My lord, the\nRahanda, proceeded: \u201cWhen your majesty was a poor man in the Anur\u0101dha\ncountry, you used to collect firewood, and live by the sale of it.\nOne day, when you went out to your work, you took with you a small\ncupful of boiled rice. Coming across a heap of white sand which looked\nlike sheet-silver, you reflected that your poverty must have been\noccasioned by your not possessing the merit of having made offerings,\nand accordingly you raised a pagoda of the white sand, placed in front\nof it, as an offering, one-half of the rice you had with you, and gave\nthe remaining half to the crows to eat, as an offering to the Rahans.\nThese two crows, husband and wife, are the very same two crows who ate\nthe rice of which you made the offering when you were a poor man.\u201d When\nthe king heard this, he exclaimed, \u201cOh, how unstable is prosperity! I\nhave obtained the position of king only from making offerings at a sand\npagoda!\u201d So saying, he made an offering to the Law of the putzo he was\nwearing.\n\nSeven days afterwards, the five rewards came to the king. The five\nrewards were these:\n\nThe Nats, wrapping up in a thingan the relics of an excellent Rahanda\nwho had obtained Paranibb\u0101na while he was up in the sky, and which were\nlike a jasmine-bud, came and laid them down before the king. In front\nof his palace a mountain of gold arose. The Nats brought a virgin from\nthe island of Uttarakuru. This woman was ten cubits in stature. She\nbrought with her a kuns\u0101 of rice, which, though one were to cook it and\neat it during a whole lifetime, would never be exhausted. An elephant\nof priceless value, which could travel a hundred yoganas even before\nbreakfast. Seven vessels arrived at the port completely filled with\nvaluable putzos.\n\n\n BUDDHIST COUNTRIES OF THE PRESENT DAY.\n\nBuddhism in India has almost died out. In Ceylon, and among the sect\nof the Jains, in Western India, it still remains; but, excepting\nthese parts of the country, Brahminism has triumphed in putting down\nBuddhism. In Farther India, that is, in Burmah and Malacca, Buddhism\nis very strong. Among the Karens of Burmah, Buddhism never gained any\nacceptance. In Siam, Cambodia and Cochin China, Buddhism is prevalent.\nIn China proper and in Corea it is associated with Confucianism and\nTaoism. In Thibet it has taken the peculiar form called Lamaism, a\nregular hierarchy having developed. In Japan it is often associated\nwith Shintoism. The Loo Choo Islands are also Buddhist.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIX.\n\n BUDDHISM IN INDIA AND CEYLON.\n\n They sat in silent watchfulness\n The sacred cypress-tree about,\n And, from beneath old wrinkled brows,\n Their failing eyes looked out.\n\n They waited for that falling leaf\n Of which the wandering Jogees sing:\n Which lends once more to wintry age\n The greenness of its spring.\n JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\n\n [Illustration: RELIGIOUS MEETING OF THE JAINS, THE ONLY\n BUDDHISTS LEFT IN INDIA.]\n\nIn the time of Asoka, Buddhism had almost become the State religion of\nIndia. The conversion of the king, however, proved the beginning of\nits decline. It continued to exist until the eighth or ninth century\nafter Christ. To-day there is scarcely a trace of the religion among\nall the people of India proper. The only body of people in India that\nhas any connection with Buddhism is the singular sect of the Jains. The\nviews of this body are half Buddhist and half Brahmin. They are found\nespecially on the Western coast of India, in and around the city of\nBombay. They are divided into two classes, the Soetambaras, or \u201cclothed\nin white garments,\u201d and the Digambaras, or \u201csky-clad,\u201d that is naked.\nThe last class now wear colored garments, though formerly they went\nnaked. Like the Buddhists they reject the Vedas or sacred books of the\nBrahmins. The principal point of their practice is the reverence paid\nto holy men, who, by long discipline, have raised themselves to\ndivine perfection. These men are called Jinas or \u201cconquering saints,\u201d\nwhence comes the name of their followers, the Jains. They believe in\ntwo ever-returning cycles of time, of immense duration, which defy all\nhuman calculation. The first Jina of the second cycle, in which we now\nlive, attained the age of 8,400,000 years, and each Jina since has\nlived a shorter and shorter time. There are three ways, they say, by\nwhich the soul is delivered, viz.: right intuition, right knowledge and\nright conduct. This last consists in observing five duties, or vows of\nself-restraint. 1. Do not kill or injure. (Strict Jains carry this to\na ridiculous extent. They strain water before drinking it, sweep the\nground with a brush before treading it, never eat or drink in the dark,\nand sometimes wear a muslin strip over their mouths to prevent the risk\nof swallowing minute insects. They will never eat figs or any fruit\ncontaining seeds, nor even touch flesh-meat with their finger-tips).\n2. Do not tell lies. 3. Do not steal. 4. Be chaste and temperate in\nthought, word or deed. 5. Do not desire anything immoderately.\n\nIn Bombay there is a hospital temple of the Jains where sick animals\nare received and cared for. In this temple one may see oxen, some with\nbandages over their eyes, and some lame lying upon beds of clean straw;\nothers, blind and paralyzed, are having their food brought to them and\nare being rubbed down by pious devotees. Here are gathered sick or\nwounded dogs, cats, fowls of every sort, crows, buzzards, vultures,\nrats, mice, sparrows, peacocks, jackals, etc., and are tenderly cared\nfor.\n\n\n THE FAMOUS TOPES.\n\nA Tope is a structure built to contain some relic of Buddha. They were\ngenerally erected by a king, who used die following form of words in\nits dedication: \u201cThrice over do I dedicate my kingdom to the redeemer\nof the world, the divine teacher, the bearer of the triple canopy, the\ncanopy of the heavenly host, the canopy of mortals, and the canopy\nof eternal emancipation.\u201d The whole structure was dome-shaped, or,\nmore exactly, canopy-shaped. The relic of Buddha--a tooth, a piece of\nbone, or the like--was placed in a gold casket. This was placed in the\nrelic-chamber on a golden altar. Then the erection of the building\nproceeded amidst great rejoicings and with many ceremonies. At its\ncompletion the king guided a golden plow, drawn by two elephants, and\nmarked out thus with a furrow a line all around the Tope. All within\nthis line was considered sacred ground. The most famous Topes are\nthose at Sanchi. These are now in ruins. The Topes themselves are all\ngrass-grown and crumbling, and almost all of the magnificent gate-ways\nlie in ruins. As we have just said, the purpose of these Topes was--not\nfor use as a temple or as a place of living for the Buddhist monks--but\nsimply as a place in which to preserve relics of the dead Buddha. As\nByron, in Childe Harold, has sung:\n\n \u201cThere is a stern round tower of other days,\n Firm as a fortress with its fence of stone;\n Such as an army\u2019s baffled strength delays,\n Standing with half its battlements alone,\n And with two thousand years\u2019 of ivy grown,\n The garland of eternity--where wave\n The green leaves, over all by Time o\u2019erthrown.\n What was this tower of strength? Within its case\n What treasure lays so locked, so hid? _A hermit\u2019s grave._\u201d\n\n\n THE GREAT SANCHI TOPE.\n\nThis is a dome-like structure of solid brick and stone, one hundred\nand six feet in diameter at the base, and forty-two feet high from\nthe base; the base is fourteen feet high, giving a total height of\nfifty-six feet. The base is a terrace, extending all around the Tope.\nOn this the worshipers walked. A colonnade extended all around the\nTope. There is an extrance to the Tope at each of the four cardinal\npoints. These four gate-ways are very picturesque objects. They are\ncovered with sculptures representing various domestic scenes and\nreligious ceremonies. Each gate-way is formed of two square pillars,\ntwo feet three inches thick and thirteen feet eight inches high. The\ncapitals of these pillars vary. Those of the western gate contain\nfour human dwarfs; of the southern gate, four lions; and of the other\ngate-ways four elephants. The height of these capitals is four feet six\ninches. The carvings on these gate-ways represent sieges, triumphal\nprocessions, worshiping Topes, or the sacred Bo-tree, processions\nescorting relic-caskets, and certain domestic scenes. These carvings\nare not surpassed, in the beauty of their design and execution, by\nthose of any other temples in the world.\n\n [Illustration: THE FAMOUS SANCHI TOPE. BUILT TO CONTAIN A\n RELIC OF GAUTAMA THE BUDDHA.]\n\n [Illustration: CAPITAL OF A PILLAR OF GATEWAY OF SANCHI TOPE.]\n\nExactly in the centre of the second Sanchi Tope, there was a small\nchamber. This was opened by Major Alexander Cunningham, an Englishman,\nin 1851. He found in this chamber a relic-box, of white sandstone,\nnearly one foot square. On it was inscribed:\n\n \u201cTeacher of all branches of Vinaya, the Arhat[6] Kasyapa,\n Gotra, Upadiya;[7] and the Arhat[6]\n Vachhi Suvijayata, teacher of Vinaya.\u201d\n\nInside the stone box were found four small caskets of mottled steatite.\nEach one of these contained small pieces of burnt bone, and on each\ncasket was written the name of the holy man whose ashes were enshrined\ntherein. As these holy men, whose names are given, are known to\nhave lived in Asoka\u2019s time, it is almost certain that these Topes,\ncontaining their relics, were built not long after their death, or not\nlater than, say, 220 B.C. There are other Topes at Sonari and Sadthara,\nat Bhojpur and Andher. These were all used as relic structures, like\nthe pagodas of Burmah.\n\n\n CEYLONESE BUDDHISM.\n\nKing Asoka was not content with spreading Buddhism in his own\nterritory. He built hospitals for man and beast, dug wells and planted\ntrees by the roadsides, and performed many other good works in other\nlands. These lands are described in the old Buddhist chronicles of\nCeylon as being Southern India and Ceylon, and \u201cto the land of the\nGreek king, Antiochus.\u201d He is said to have sent embassies to four Greek\nkings, and to have \u201cwon from them a victory, not by the sword, but by\nreligion.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: SCULPTURED GATEWAY TO THE TOPE OF SANCHI,\n INDIA.]\n\nThe most important of all Asoka\u2019s missionary enterprises was that\nwhich he sent to Ceylon. \u201cTissa, the delight of the gods,\u201d was at this\ntime king of Ceylon. To him, Asoka\u2019s own son, Mahinda, was sent as a\nBuddhist missionary. Mahinda had been for twelve years a member of\nthe Sangha, or order of mendicants. One year after the great council\nof the thousand monks, he started for Ceylon. He took with him a band\nof monks and copies of the Tripitakas, the Buddhist Bible, which had\njust been adopted by the Patna council. He took also copies of the\ncommentaries upon these.\n\n [Illustration: ROADWAY TO A BUDDHIST TEMPLE IN CEYLON.]\n\nTissa received Mahinda with great favor, and soon became a zealous\nworker in the new religion. At Mahinda\u2019s suggestion, Tissa built the\nThuparama Dagaba in the city of Anur\u0101dha-pura. This relic-house was\nsaid to have contained the right collar-bone of Gautama Buddha. Near\nthe Dagaba the king built a beautiful monastery. On this hill the\nmissionary Mahinda spent most of his after life. He had his study cut\nout of the solid rock, and steps cut in the rock. Before his view\nspread out the great plains and beautiful forests of Ceylon. Within\nthe cave there still exists the stone couch on which he rested. In\nthis lonely, cool and quiet rock-chamber, the great teacher of Ceylon\nsat, thought, wrote, more than 2,000 years ago. Mahinda\u2019s sister came\nover shortly after her brother, to instruct some of the king\u2019s female\nrelations, who wished to become nuns. She brought with her a branch of\nthe sacred Bo-tree, the tree under which Gautama Buddha had fought and\nwon the battle of his life, and where he gained the Buddha-hood.\n\n\n THE SACRED BO-TREE OF CEYLON.\n\nThis branch was planted near the Dagaba, and, as it has always been\ntended with great care, it still grows there. This is the tree upon\nwhich Whittier has founded his poem, \u201cThe Cypress-tree of Ceylon;\u201d of\nwhich Ibn Batuta, the celebrated Mussulman traveler of the fourteenth\ncentury, has spoken. \u201cIt was,\u201d says Ibn Batuta, \u201cheld sacred by the\nnatives, and its leaves were said to have fallen only at certain\nintervals; he who had the happiness to find and eat one of them was\nrestored, at once, to youth and vigor.\u201d Sir Emerson Tennent, who wrote\nabout 1860, says of it:\n\n\u201cThe Bo-tree of Anur\u0101dha-pura is, in all probability, _the oldest\nhistorical tree in the world_. It was planted 288 years before\nChrist, and hence is now 2,147 years old. Ages varying from one to\nfour thousand years have been assigned to the _Baobabs_ of Senegal,\nthe _Eucalyptus_ of Tasmania, the _Dragon-tree_ of Orotava, the\n_Sequoia_ of California, and the chestnut of Mount Etna. But all\nthese estimates are matters of conjecture, and such calculations,\nhowever ingenious, must be purely inferential. Whereas the age of the\nBo-tree is _matter of record_, its conservancy has been an object of\nsolicitude to successive dynasties, and the story of its vicissitudes\nhas been preserved in a series of continuous chronicles, among the most\nauthentic that have been handed down to mankind. Compared with it, the\nOak of Ellerslie is but a sapling, and the Conqueror\u2019s Oak in Windsor\nForest barely numbers half its years. The yew trees of Fountain\u2019s Abbey\nare believed to have flourished there 1,200 years ago; the olives\nin the Garden of Gethsemane were full grown when the Saracens were\nexpelled from Jerusalem; and the Cypress of Senna, in Lombardy, is\nsaid to have been a tree in the time of Julius C\u00e6sar; yet the Bo-tree\nis older than the oldest of these by a century, and would almost seem\nto verify the prophecy pronounced when it was planted, that it would\nflourish and be green forever.\u201d\n\nTo which Rhys-David adds:\n\n\u201cThe tree could scarcely have lived so long had it not been for the\nconstant care of the monks. As it showed signs of decay terraces were\nbuilt up around it, so that it now grows more than twenty feet above\nthe surrounding soil; for the tree being of the fig species--its\nbotanical name is _ficus religiosa_--its living branches could\nthen throw out fresh roots. Where its long arms spread beyond the\ninclosure, rude pillars of iron or masonry have been used to prop them\nup; and it is carefully watered in seasons of drought. The whole aspect\nof the tree and its inclosure bear evident signs of extreme age; but\nwe could not be sure of its identity were it not for the complete chain\nof documentary evidence which has been so well brought together by Sir\nEmerson Tennent.\u201d\n\n\n REDUCING THE TRIPITAKA TO WRITING.\n\nIn the year 88 B.C. (Buddhism had long before this become the religion\nof the whole of this great island), the king built the largest Dagaba\nin Ceylon, 250 feet in height. It was at this time that the whole of\nthe Three Pitakas were reduced to writing. This was 330 years after\nGautama\u2019s death. The Ceylonese history says:\n\n \u201cThe wise monks of former days handed down by word of mouth\n The text of the Three Pitakas, and the Commentary upon them:\n Seeing the destruction of men, the monks of this time assembled,\n And, that the Faith might last long, they wrote them in books.\u201d\n\nThis has more significance than is at first apparent to a European\naccustomed to believe that books can only be preserved by writing. The\nHindus believe just the opposite. Even at the present time, if all\ncopies of the Vedas were destroyed, the Vedas would still be preserved\nin the memory of the priests, as they have been for certainly more than\n3,000 years; and those priests look upon the Veda, thus authenticated,\nas the test to which all printed or written copies must give way. If\nyou depend upon written copies, they would argue, you are sure to make\nand to perpetuate mistakes; but the text, as handed down by word of\nmouth, is preserved, not only by being itself constantly repeated,\nbut by the assistance of the commentaries, in which every word of the\ntext is carefully enshrined. So long as reliance can be placed on the\nsuccession of teachers and pupils, this argument may not be so far\nfrom wrong; but when a text has to be preserved in a small country,\nliable to be overrun by persecuting enemies, the condition of things\nis changed, and it becomes necessary to preserve it also in writing.\nMahinda could have written the texts, had he so chosen. We know that\nthe square alphabet which Asoka used was at least known in Ceylon, if\nit did not originate there. That he did not choose to do so, ought to\nthrow no doubt upon the identity of the existing version of the text\nwith that which he brought to Ceylon.\n\n [Illustration: DEVIL-DANCERS\u2019 MASK FROM CEYLON.\n\nDrawn from a Mask now in the Missionary House of the Church of England.\nThis mask represents one who being a king\u2019s son and falling into awful\nsin was doomed in his next transmigration to be a demon. In cases of\nserious illness the Ceylonese invoke this demon, the \u201cdevil-priest\u201d\nwearing the mask.]\n\n\n BUDDHAGHOSHA IN CEYLON.\n\nBuddhaghosha, the famous monk, was born near the Bo-tree. He came to\nCeylon in 430 A.D. He wrote a cyclop\u00e6dia of Buddhist doctrine, and was\nreadily accepted as a teacher by the Sangha of Ceylon. He wrote out the\nBuddhist commentaries in the Pali language, and those that had been\nmade in the Ceylonese language, about 600 years before were completely\nlost through disuse. From Ceylon he went to Burmah in 450 A.D. He left\nan indelible impression on the Buddhism of Ceylon, and through it on\nthe Buddhism of the whole of Southern Asia. Of the writings of this\ndistinguished teacher we have before spoken.\n\n\n A BUDDHIST TEMPLE IN CEYLON.\n\nThe Buddhist temples stand in the most beautiful situations. Waving\ncocoanut palms, broad-leaved bread-fruit trees, flowering shrubs, with\nsweet-scented blossoms, surround the temple court, and astonish the\nvisitor by their loveliness. But enter the court and what a contrast!\nWhat do we see? A long narrow room, with no light but what struggles in\nthrough the door, or sometimes arises from a few dim oil-lamps; a shelf\nrunning from end to end of it; a huge image of painted clay, more than\nforty feet long, lying stretched upon the shelf, with fixed staring\neyes, as if quite unconcerned with all things round about; and a heavy,\noppressive smell of smoking lamps and dead flowers, that have been\noffered to the image, reminding one strongly of the spiritual death and\ndarkness of the blind worshipers. Such are the places of worship of\nthe one and a half millions of Buddhists in Ceylon. Surrounded by the\nmost luxuriant beauties of the natural world, religiously they are in\ndarkness.\n\n\n WORSHIP OF BUDDHA\u2019S TOOTH.\n\n [Illustration: BUDDHIST TEMPLE IN THE ISLAND OF CEYLON.]\n\nThere is a festival which takes place every year in Kandy, the chief\ncity of the central province of Ceylon and the ancient residence of\nits native kings. In a Buddhist temple at Kandy there is a large tooth,\nwhich from its shape and appearance, seems to be the tooth of a baboon,\nbut which is called Buddha\u2019s tooth, and is believed to have been such\nby a large number of the people of Ceylon. This is exhibited with great\npomp and a gorgeous procession once a year before vast crowds, who come\nto worship it. Religious embassies come from Siam, and even from Thibet\nto be present at this great festival of Buddhism.\n\n\n THE SACRED CEYLONESE BOOKS.\n\nThere are three books regarded as sacred by the Buddhists of Ceylon.\nThe first, called the Mahavanso, is the most highly venerated. It has\nbeen very carefully handed down and the ancient and modern copies vary\nbut a very little. It contains \u201cThe Doctrine, Race and Lineage of\nBuddha,\u201d and the authentic annals of Ceylonese Buddhism. The second,\ncalled the Rajaratnacari, was written by a priest. It contains a\nhistory of Buddha, extracts from the most ancient books, records of the\nerection of temples, and the history of the kings from 540 B.C. down to\nmodern times. The third, called the Rajavali, is the work of different\nhands, and completes the other books. It narrates the history of Ceylon\nfrom the coming of the Dutch to Ceylon down to the time when they\nexpelled the Portuguese and gained possession of Colombo.\n\n [Illustration: WORSHIP OF BUDDHA\u2019S TOOTH AT KANDY, CEYLON.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXX.\n\n BURMAH.\n\n On the pagoda spire,\n The bells are swinging,\n Their little golden circlet in a flutter,\n With tales the wooing winds have dared to utter,\n Till all are ringing,\n As if a choir\n Of golden-nested birds in heaven were singing;\n And with a lulling sound,\n The music floats around,\n And drops like balm into the drowsy ear.\n MRS. EMILY C. JUDSON.\n\n\nThe early religion of the Burmese was Shamanism; the belief in evil\nspirits and the necessity of warding off their hurtful influence by\nthe use of charms and amulets. Buddhism has taken the place of this\ndegrading system among the Burmese. Besides the Burmese there are\nother peoples in Burmah; the Karens, of whose religion we have already\nspoken, the Shans, who are Buddhists, and the M\u014dns who adhere still\nto the old practice of Shamanism. The old evil-spirit worship of the\nBurmese and Shans still remains to some extent in the Nat worship. Just\nwhen Buddhism was introduced into Burmah is a little uncertain. Dr.\nFrancis Mason, an American missionary, in his work on Burmah speaks\nas follows, and as the whole extract is an excellent account of the\nintroduction of Buddhism and a summary of its doctrines, we present it\nentire:\n\n\u201cThree hundred years before Alexandria was founded; about the time\nthat Thales, the most ancient philosopher of Europe, was teaching\nin Greece that water is the origin of all things, the soul of the\nworld; and Zoroaster, in Media or Persia, was systematizing the\nfire-worship of the Magi; and Confucius in China was calling on the\nteeming multitudes around him to offer to guardian spirits and the\nManes of their ancestors; and Nebuchadnezzar set up his golden image\nin the plain of Dura, and Daniel was laboring in Babylon to establish\nthe worship of the true God; a reverend sage, with his staff and\nscrip, who had left a throne for philosophy, was traveling from Gaya\nto Benares, and from Benares to Kanouj, exhorting the people against\ntheft, falsehood, adultery, killing and intemperance. No temperance\nlecturer advocates teetotalism now more strongly than did this sage\nGautama twenty-three centuries ago. Nor did he confine his instructions\nto external vices. Pride, anger, lust, envy and covetousness were\ncondemned by him in as strong terms as are ever heard from the\nChristian pulpit. Love, mercy, patience, self-denial, alms-giving,\ntruth and the cultivation of wisdom he required of all. Good actions,\ngood words and good thoughts were the frequent subjects of his sermons,\nand he was unceasing in his cautions to keep the mind free from the\nturmoils of passion and the cares of life. Immediately after the death\nof this venerable peripatetic, his disciples scattered themselves\nabroad to propagate the doctrines of their master, and tradition says\none party entered the principal mouth of the Irrawaddy, where they\ntraced its banks to where the first rocks lift themselves abruptly\nabove the flats around. Here on the summit of this laterite ledge, 160\nfeet above the river, they erected the standard of Buddhism, which now\nlifts its spire to the heavens higher than the dome of St. Paul\u2019s.\u201d\n\nBut there is an entire absence of any historical confirmation of these\ntraditions, and we have no definite information of the coming of\nBuddhism to Burmah until Buddhaghosha brought it about 450 A.D.\n\nBurmese Buddhism bears a very close resemblance to that of Ceylon. As\nwe have already discussed the principles of Buddhism in general, we\nshall pass to notice more particularly the temples, idols, festivals\nand worship of Burmah. A good idea of Burmese Buddhism can be obtained\nfrom a visit to its Grand Shway-da-Gong Pagoda.\n\n\n THE SHWAY-DA-GONG PAGODA.\n\nThe Mecca of Southern Buddhism is the great pagoda, at Rangoon. This\nthe largest building of the kind in Burmah, and, perhaps, also in the\nworld. It is situated about a mile from the city, on a rocky ledge,\nperhaps 100 feet high, overlooking the valley of the Irrawaddy and the\ncity of Rangoon. The entrance is guarded by two huge griffins of brick\nand mortar. Passing on between rows of long, narrow sheds, beautifully\ncarved and gaudily painted, and after climbing a staircase, one stands\nupon an immense stone terrace, upon which the pagoda itself stands.\nThe terrace is nearly 1,000 feet square. The pagoda tapers upwards to\na height of 300 feet, and terminates in a h\u2019tee. The pagoda is round\nin shape, and solid throughout. It is built of bricks, and, unlike\nthe Pyramids of Egypt, there is no chamber in its interior, nothing\nbut the casket containing the staff of Kanthathon, the water-dipper\nof Gaunagon, a garment of Kathapa and the eight hairs of Gautama. The\nwhole of the exterior is covered with gold-leaf, presenting a dazzling\nappearance, as it reflects the rays of the sun. The h\u2019tee on the\ntop--the umbrella-shaped finial--is made of a series of gilded iron\nrings, from which hang a great many little silver and brass bells,\nwhich are swung and rung by the wind. Not long ago, the father of the\npresent King of Burmah placed a new h\u2019tee upon the pagoda. It cost him\nabout $300,000. The frame was made of seven gilded iron rings, the\nlargest of which was twelve feet in diameter, and the rest smaller and\nsmaller. Each ring was studded with gems. At the very top was a large\nemerald. This h\u2019tee was brought to a landing-place about two miles from\nthe pagodas. The road over which it was to come was covered with white\ncloth by a devout merchant. The pagoda was covered with a frame-work\nof bamboo, which made it easy to ascend to its top. Weeks of religious\nfestivities were held, during which the worshipers poured their gold,\nand silver, and precious stones into the pagoda\u2019s treasury. On the day\nappointed, the old h\u2019tee was removed, and the new one hoisted ring by\nring to its place.\n\n [Illustration: SHWAY-DA-GONG, THE GREAT PAGODA OF RANGOON,\n BURMAH. IT CONTAINS RELICS OF BUDDHA. THE EXTERIOR IS COVERED\n WITH GILT. THE ENTRANCES ARE GUARDED BY GRIFFINS.]\n\nWithin the pagoda inclosure there are many temples, most containing\nhuge images of Gautama, made of wood, brick and lime, or marble and\nmetal. On small tables, in front of many of the images, are placed\ncandles, flowers and little paper flags. Around the pagoda tall poles\nare placed at short intervals, each crowned with a h\u2019tee.\n\nNear the pagoda is a great bell, under which a man may stand upright.\nThe worshipers strike upon this bell, to attract the attention of the\nrecording angels, so that they may not omit to credit them with the\nworship about to be performed in honor of the gods.\n\n\n THE STORY OF SHWAY-DA-GONG.\n\nTwo brothers, said in the native books to have been M\u014dns or Talaings,\nhaving made an offering to Gautama, begged in return some relic of\nhimself, on which he stroked his head, and gave them eight hairs that\ncame out. These he desired them to deposit in a pagoda in a spot where\nhad already been buried certain relics of his three great predecessors.\nThey accordingly started with them for \u201cSuvarna-bhumi,\u201d the Sanskrit\nname of Pegu, but on the way lost six of the hairs. However, they\nwere recovered in a miraculous manner, and the holy site pointed\nout to them by the Nats. Here, on digging, the relics of the former\nBuddhas--viz., a water-scoop of Gaunagon, a robe of Kathapa, and a\nstaff of Kanthathon,--were found, and these, together with the eight\nhairs of Gautama, were deposited in a hole on the top of the hill\non which \u201cShway-da-Gong\u201d now stands, and a solid pagoda of stones,\nsixty-six feet high was erected. This pagoda is thus specially sacred\nto all Buddhists, as the only one known to them as now existing, which\nis supposed to contain the relics not only of Gautama, but also of all\nthe Buddhas of this present world. At the time of its erection, and\nfor centuries afterwards, no town existed on the site of Rangoon, and\nthe pagoda stood, like many others at the present day, in the midst\nof the wild forest. The history of the pagoda, which is rather a long\none, contains detailed particulars of the various improvements, repairs\nand enlargements made to it by various kings. The edifice has been\ncased several times (as was also the custom with the Ceylon dagabas)\nwith a fresh outer surrounding of bricks several feet thick, thus each\ntime increasing its height and size. Thus, in A.D. 1447, the King of\nPegu encased it afresh, and made its height 301\u00bd feet. In 1462, the\nKing of Pegu cast, it is said, a colossal bell, 168 feet high, 12 feet\nin diameter and 36 feet in circumference; also several other smaller\nbells, and paved the platform or terrace of the pagoda with 50,000 flat\nstones. This wonderful bell, it is perhaps unnecessary to say, is not\nin existence at the present time.\n\n\n OTHER PAGODAS.\n\nBesides the Shway-da-Gong Pagoda, there is a host of lesser ones. The\nerection of pagodas is generally a work of merit. It must be borne in\nmind that these are never temples, but simply relic-houses. There are\ntemples and monasteries grouped around them. At one place is the\n\u201cSeven Pagodas,\u201d built on the spot where Gautama--when, in the course\nof his transmigrations, his soul inhabited the body of a rooster--is\nsaid to have scratched for his breakfast. Again, there are others built\nwhere Gautama has left the imprint of his footsteps.\n\n [Illustration: SACRED GARDENS ATTACHED TO A BUDDHIST TEMPLE.]\n\n [Illustration: PAGODA AT MAULMAIN, BURMAH. LITTLE BELLS\n SUSPENDED FROM ITS SUMMIT SWING IN THE WIND.]\n\nThere are a great many traditions told in regard to the building of\nthese pagodas. One legend runs thus: A certain hermit, having received\none of the hairs of the Lord, wandered about searching for a suitable\nspot where to enshrine it. In the meanwhile he reverently carried the\nsacred relic on his head. After some time he arrived on the summit\nof this mountain, and deposited the holy hair in the cleft of the\nrock, and erected the pagoda on the great boulder. From this legend\nis derived the name \u201cKyeik-ethel-y\u016dh,\u201d meaning \u201cthe object of\nworship borne on the head of the hermit.\u201d This boulder is more than\nhalf hanging over the perpendicular face of a cliff. How it holds its\nposition it is indeed difficult to say, as it lies beyond the line of\nthe centre of gravity. The boulder is thirty feet high, and the pagoda\nfifteen feet. Another legend is as follows:\n\nTwo merchants joined together and built a small pagoda, two feet high.\nThe next morning, when they went to pay their homage at this shrine,\nthey found the pagoda had increased to double their work; so, taking\nthis as a sign that the Nats approved of their offering, they continued\nto enlarge this pile of brick; they working by day and the unseen power\nby night. It now measures more than three hundred feet high. They have\nalso a stone, which they call an impression of Gautama\u2019s foot. Some\nof these stones are six feet long, and covered with strange figures\nsupposed to express their religious ideas.\n\n\n WORSHIP OF NATS.\n\nThe adoration and dread of Nats enters into all the life and legends\nof the Burmese. These Nats are spirits, both good and evil. Offerings\nare presented and ceremonies performed to obtain favors and advantages\nfrom the good, and to propitiate the evil Nats. The worship of Nats is\nintimately related to the old worship of spirits before Buddhism came\nto Burmah. The Nats are supposed to live in the six lower heavens,\nbeyond the moon. They are able to transport themselves with the utmost\nrapidity to and about our world. They are believed to interfere in\nthe affairs of man, even more than the gods. They correspond to the\ngenii of the Arabian Nights\u2019 Entertainment, to the fairies and elfins\nof Britain in olden times, with perhaps the added ideas of angels and\ndevils. The story of King Tektha, which follows, will probably give a\nmore correct impression of the Burmese notions of the Nats than any\ndescription could impart. This is but a single specimen of a great many\nsuch stories which are still current among the Burmese:\n\n\n A NAT STORY.\n\nOnce upon a time, there lived, in Burmah, a king named Tektha.\n\nThe kings that were before him had been devout worshipers of Gautama,\nand had listened to what their teachers and priests taught them. But\nTektha did not believe in Gautama, but listened to strange teachers,\nwho taught him that everything was God. He would not hear the Buddhist\nbooks, nor worship the relics nor the images. More than this, instead\nof behaving reverently to the priests, he destroyed their temples, and\nthrew the idols into the water. He forbade his subjects also to worship\nGautama, and threatened that if they did they should be severely\npunished.\n\nThe people were in dismay. It was of no use for the priests to carry\nround their rice-pots; no one dared offer them food; the temples and\npagodas were falling into ruins, and the images of Gautama were lying\nin the water, spoilt and decaying.\n\nWhat would be the consequence of this terrible treatment of their god?\nThe people were afraid of the punishment with which the king threatened\nthem if they worshiped Gautama; they feared the evils which the great\nspirits, the Nats, might bring upon them if they did not.\n\nBut a few of the people would not give up the worship to which they\nhad been so long accustomed; and among those who still in secret held\nto the old faith was a girl, twelve years of age, and her mother. I do\nnot know the girl\u2019s name; but, said she, \u201cThe king has thrown the idols\ninto the water because he is afraid of them.\u201d This was considered a\nvery bold speech.\n\nAffairs continued in this state for four years. When the girl was\nsixteen, she happened one day to be bathing in a tank with a number of\nher companions, and, while amusing herself in the water, she saw an\nidol lying near. She ordered her attendants to lift it out and carry\nit to a zayat, or rest-house, that was at hand. They reminded her that\nshe would certainly be put to death for meddling with it; but she was\nvery determined, and declared that she would worship that image as long\nas she lived. It was accordingly lifted out of the water, washed and\ncarried into the zayat.\n\nA report of what had been done was immediately taken to the king, and\nyou can imagine how enraged he was. He ordered his servants to take a\nfierce elephant, and make the savage animal trample this bold young\nwoman to death, thus making a terrible example of her case.\n\nBut it was not so easy to do this. The seven principal Nats, who had\nbeen greatly displeased by the king\u2019s wickedness, came to the defense\nof the girl. These seven were, the Nat of the universe, the Nat of the\nearth, the Nat of the trees, the Nat of the air, the Nat of the cities,\nthe Nat of the villages and the Nat of the white umbrella.\n\nThe elephant was brought, but he did not touch the girl; he was beaten\nand goaded, but it was of no avail; he would not lift up a foot against\nher, and instead of being angry only grew frightened, and tried to run\naway from her without harming her in the least.\n\nWhen the king heard that she could not be put to death this way, he\nordered a quantity of dry straw to be collected, the girl placed in the\nmidst of it, and so be burnt to death. The straw was brought, she was\nput in the middle, but no number of torches, no quantity of fire would\nmake it burn. The Nats were there, and they would not allow her to be\nput to death.\n\nThen the king sent for her to his palace. He was surprised as well as\nangry now, and was wondering whether he might not possibly have been\nwrong in forsaking the gods of his forefathers. \u201cIf the image which you\nhave dared to take from the water,\u201d said he, \u201cwill come through the air\ninto my presence, and I see it, your life shall be spared; but if not,\nyou shall be cut into seven pieces.\u201d\n\nThe young woman asked permission to return for a short time to the\nzayat. Her request was granted, and there she went and prayed very\nearnestly that the image might be carried into the king\u2019s presence.\nAnd, lo! not only one, but eight images, and the young woman herself\nwith her attendants, were immediately taken up by the Nats, conveyed\nthrough the air, and put down before the king and his principal queen,\nhis commander-in-chief, his officers, and a multitude of people. How\nthey all shouted and wondered!\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the girl, turning to the king, \u201cnow that the image of my\ngod and teacher has flown to you, will you order the teachers from whom\nyou have learned this false religion to mount up also and fly through\nthe air?\u201d\n\nThe king ordered them to do so, but, of course, it was in vain; they\ncould not fly. He was now convinced that the religion of Gautama\nwas the true religion; he compelled the false teachers to leave the\ncountry; the temples, and images, and pagodas were restored; this\nwonderful young woman he married, and made one of his principal\nqueens; and King Tektha was for the remainder of his life a devoted\nBuddhist.\n\nThe fishermen make a small shed, termed a N\u00e1tsin, near their fishery,\nin which every morning offerings of fruit, leaves, rice, or some such\ntribute is placed; if this were not done, they say the Nat would\ndestroy the fish. A man going a journey through a forest, comes to\na large and conspicuous tree; he halts, plucks a few leaves near or\nperhaps takes a little boiled rice out of his bag, and places them\nas an offering to the Nat of the tree. In a boat-race a preliminary\nrow over the course is always taken, a man in the prow holding in\nhis extended arms a tray or basin containing a cocoanut, bunch of\nplantains, betel leaves, etc., as an oblation to the Nats of the stream\nto insure their causing no accident to the boat in the race.\n\n\n SUPERSTITIONS OF THE BURMESE.\n\nThe people have great faith in omens. To meet a funeral, or a person\ncrying, when starting on a journey, is unlucky, and the journey should\nbe postponed.\n\nA snake crossing the road shows that the journey will be long.\n\nTo meet with mushrooms foretells a prosperous journey.\n\nAny unusual wild animal or bird entering a house is a sign of great\nhonor for the owner.\n\nThe earth-heaps thrown up by the white ants, if under a house, will\nbring wealth to the occupier.\n\nThe itching of the palms of the hand is a sign that some money will\nsoon come into them.\n\nIn almost every bazaar, and at all large gatherings of people, will be\nfound one or two old men sitting with a slate or a Burman writing-board\nbefore them, inviting the passers-by to have their horoscope cast,\nand the best educated and most enlightened native officials will, in\nany difficulty or trouble, send for one of these diviners to consult\nthe fates. One or two lucky hits will, of course, raise any special\nprophet\u2019s reputation throughout the country, and give him abundant\nbusiness.\n\n\n THE FUNERAL OF A PONGYEE, OR MONK.\n\nAs soon as a pongyee has expired, the body is reverently washed by the\nelders, who were his supporters. The body is then opened, the viscera\nextracted, and buried anywhere without ceremony. The cavity of the\nabdomen is filled with hot ashes and various preservative substances.\nLong swathes of white cotton-cloth are wrapped as tightly as possible\nround the corpse from head to foot, over which are placed the yellow\nrobes of the order. Another coarser wrapping of cotton-cloth is tightly\nwound over this, and then thickly covered with black varnish, on which\ngold leaf is applied, so that the whole is gilt. A coffin is prepared\nfrom a single log, hollowed out, which many old pongyees keep in their\nmonasteries ready for their demise. The body, having been placed in\nthis, is left for some weeks to dry up, for most of such venerable\nand aged recluses are little more than a frame-work of bones, covered\nwith a withered skin. The cover is at length nailed on; the coffin is\nthickly covered with a resinous varnish and gilt. It is temporarily\nlaid in state in the monastery, on a high dais, ornamented with tinsel,\ngilding and paper lace, surmounted by a white umbrella, or canopy of\nmuslin, and is constantly visited by pilgrims from the surrounding\ncountry, who make their obeisance and present offerings of flowers,\netc., to it.\n\nAs soon as sufficient funds have been collected, a building, called\nNibban Kyeng (that is, Monastery of the Dead), is erected for the\nreception of the body. With obscure and inferior monks this is only\nmade of bamboos and thatch; but with a distinguished and venerated\nmonk it is a substantial structure, with large, handsome pillars of\niron-wood or teak, roofed with shingles. This is open all around, or is\nonly surrounded by a railing to keep out animals. In the centre, within\na high sarcophagus, richly but rudely adorned with gilding, glass,\nmosaic work and painting, is enshrined the coffin, to await, perhaps,\nfor four years the final funeral rites.\n\nAt length, the time of waiting has passed; the preparations are\ncomplete; a fortunate day has been fixed upon, and for weeks previous,\nthe town where the ceremony is to take place, and all the surrounding\ncountry, has been astir with the arrangements for and expectation of\nthe great event.\n\nThe coffin is placed on a gigantic car, solidly constructed, and with\nfour heavy solid wooden wheels, surmounted with a canopy similar in\nform and construction to that crowning the funeral pyre. This lofty\nturret is drawn along by hundreds of men, and placed in the centre of\nthe plain. The next day, the _fun_ begins. Two great ropes of\ntwisted canes, or coirs, are fastened to the funeral car in front and\nbehind, long enough for a hundred people to hold on to each and to pull\neach way. The people group themselves about either rope as they belong\nto one or other of two neighboring villages. Then comes a tug, each\ntrying to pull the car away from the other.\n\n [Illustration: FUNERAL PROCESSION OF A BUDDHIST PRIEST.]\n\nOn the night before the last day of the festival, the coffin is removed\nfrom the car and placed on the funeral pyre, on an iron grating, under\nwhich is a quantity of wood, made more combustible by the use of oil,\nresin and the like, mixed with fragrant woods. Early on the day\nappointed for the burning of the pongyee\u2019s body, parties come from the\ndifferent villages, bringing rude rockets of every size. Some are a\nfoot long and an inch in calibre; others are monsters, nine and twelve\nfeet in length, and have a bore of six to nine inches diameter. All are\ncrammed to the muzzles with gunpowder, the tubes being hollowed logs of\nwood strongly bound with cane. The larger ones are placed on rude cars\nwith four wheels, while the smallest are hung on long guiding lines of\ncane, or rope, fastened at one end to a strong post, and at the other\nto some point of the funeral pyre. The object is to strike the pyre\nwith the rocket, and fire the combustibles placed inside. Happy will be\nthe village which owns the fortunate rocket, and great their prosperity\nduring the ensuing year.\n\nAll being ready, men of each village are allowed to go up in rotation\nand discharge their weapon. The smoke, the flame, the roar is\ntremendous, to the intense delight of the shouting crowd.\n\nOne at length strikes as it seems with full power: a pause, a little\nsmoke, then a little flame issues from one corner of the pyre, and\na shout from thousands of throats proclaims the auspicious event.\nThe crowd rushes forward, fire is carefully applied to the mass of\ncombustibles under and around the coffin, and soon the whole is in a\nblaze. The people watch round, giving a cheer as each small pinnacle\nfalls in, and wait, anxiously looking for the lofty canopy itself to\ntopple over into the flames. This event is greeted with a tremendous\nshout, and then all disperse homewards, happy and merry. A few elders\nremain to watch the burning pyre till all is consumed, and the next\nday the monks of the monastery collect the fragments of half-burnt\nbones and the ashes of the deceased, and reverently inter them in some\nfitting place, and, perhaps, a small pagoda is erected over them as a\nmonument. Such is Buddhism in Burmah.\n\nAmerican missionaries have won many of the Burmese, as of the Karens\nalso, from these ceremonies to the Christian faith.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXI.\n\n SIAM.\n\n The \u201cCastle of Indra,\u201d call they the hall,\n In which are displayed the deities all,\n The golden images, chiseled with care,\n And all incrusted with jewels so rare.\n\n Full thirty thousand their numbers are:\n Their ugliness passes description far;\n A compound of men and animals dread,\n With many a hand and many a head.\n HEINRICH HEINE.\n\n\nSiam is the land lying just to the east of Burmah; on account of the\nextreme reverence paid to the white elephant it is often called the\nLand of the White Elephant. It has a population of 6,300,000, who are,\nwith but a few exceptions, Buddhists. Buddhism entered this country in\n638 A.D., and was thus the last nation to yield to the power of that\nreligion. The Siamese people are gentle, cheerful, timid, careless and\nalmost passionless. They are disposed to idleness, inconstancy and\ninaction; they are liberal almsgivers, severe in enforcing decorum\nbetween the sexes. They are fond of sports, and spend half their time\nin amusements. They are sharp and even witty in conversation, and\nresemble the Chinese in their dexterity in imitation. Of theatrical\ndisplays, rope-dancing and the like, they are extremely fond.\n\nOf the wit of the people, the best evidence is to be found in their\nfamiliar proverbs, of which a few are here cited:\n\n\u201cWhen you go into a wood, do not forget your wood-knife.\u201d\n\n\u201cAn elephant though he has four legs may slip; and a doctor is not\nalways right.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo up by land you meet a tiger; go down by water you meet a crocodile.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf a dog bite you, do not bite him again.\u201d\n\nAs in most Oriental lands there is the greatest and most painful\ncontrast between the luxury and splendor of the king\u2019s court and the\npoverty and squalor of the common people. The royal palaces are filled\nwith all that wealth and power can procure. The peasants\u2019 hovels are\ndenied even the common comforts of life; they are bare and comfortless.\nThey contain no furniture, but only a few roughly made vessels of\nearthenware, and a mat or two spread upon the floor. The food of a\npeasant consists of a bowl of rice with a morsel of fish. At a Siamese\nState dinner there are usually served with great ceremony from sixty to\na hundred carefully cooked dishes.\n\n\n THE CELEBRATED WAT CHANG PAGODA.\n\nThis is the most splendid temple in Bangkok. It is shaped somewhat like\na bell, rising to the height probably of 250 feet. Every inch of its\nsurface glitters with curious ornaments and carvings; the forms of men\nand birds, and beasts like nothing in heaven above, nor earth beneath,\nnor waters under the earth. It is made of brick and plastered on the\noutside. In a large niche in the sides, about two-thirds of the way to\nthe top are images of Buddha, riding on four white elephants made of\nshining porcelain each facing toward one of the points of the compass.\nA sharp spire rises from the summit. All over this temple tower, from\nthe base to the top, from every projecting point hang a multitude of\nsmall sweet-toned bells, swinging and ringing in the slightest breeze,\nfilling the air with liquid melody.\n\n [Illustration: TOWER OF WAT CHANG PAGODA AT BANGKOK, SIAM.]\n\n [Illustration: FUNERAL TEMPLE OF WOOD, BAMBOO AND PAPER, TO\n BE BURNED WITH THE BODY OF A DEAD KING.]\n\n \u201cHow they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,\n While the stars that oversprinkle\n All the heavens, seem to twinkle\n With a crystalline delight;\n Keeping time, time, time,\n In a sort of Runic rhyme,\n To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells\n From the bells, bells, bells, bells,\n Bells, bells--\n From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.\u201d\n\nWithin the Wat Chang inclosure, besides the pagoda, are priests\u2019\ndwellings, temples, with their idols, a preaching-hall, a library\nand small parks, with flower and fruit-gardens, ponds, caves and\nstone statues of Chinese sages and warriors, presenting a scene of\nbewildering richness.\n\n\n TEMPLE OF THE EMERALD IDOL.\n\nThe Wat P\u2019hra Keau is the temple where the reigning monarch worships.\nOn the road leading to this temple is another temple, the Wat Poh,\nwhere reposes in gigantic state the wondrous Sleeping Idol. This is\na reclining figure, 150 feet long and 40 feet high, entirely covered\nwith gold-plate. The soles of this giant figure\u2019s feet are covered\nwith carvings inlaid with pearl and chased with gold. The designs of\nthese carvings represent the many transmigrations of Buddha before he\nobtained Nirv\u0101na (or, as the Siamese call it, Niphan). On the nails\nof the toes are engraven Buddha\u2019s ten divine attributes. Beyond this\ntemple are the stables, or, more properly speaking, the Palace of the\nWhite Elephant, where the huge creature is housed and cared for royally.\n\n [Illustration: THE KING OF SIAM GOING TO WORSHIP AT THE\n TEMPLE OF THE EMERALD IDOL.]\n\n [Illustration: ALTAR OF THE TEMPLE OF THE EMERALD IDOL, SIAM.]\n\nBeyond these is the Temple of the Emerald Idol. This is one of the\nmost remarkable and beautiful structures of its kind in all the East.\nIts model is like that of all the others, but its finish is of a much\nhigher order. The exterior is adorned with lofty octagonal pillars,\nwith quaint Gothic doors and windows, all carved with a great variety\nof emblems, the lotus and the palm occurring most frequently. This\ntemple, like all Siamese temples, is built of brick, with a number of\nroofs rising in connected tiers, and reaching out over broad verandas,\nsupported by rows of pillars, the whole covered with white cement.\nThe roofs are usually made of many-colored tiles; at the ends of the\nridge-pole are many ornaments, resembling bullocks\u2019 horns in size\nand shape. The walls and ceiling of the interior are covered with\nfinely-executed paintings. Mrs. Leonowens, an English lady who lived\nfor six years in the palace of the King of Siam, and who thereby\nenjoyed unusual privileges, thus describes the interior and worship of\nthe Wat P\u2019hra Keau:\n\n\u201cThe altar is a wonder of dimensions and splendour--a pyramid 100\nfeet high, terminating in a fine spire of gold, and surrounded on\nevery side by idols, all curious and precious, from the bijou image in\nsapphire to the colossal statue in plate-gold. A series of trophies\nthese, gathered from the triumphs of Buddhism over the proudest forms\nof worship in the old pagan world. In the pillars that surround the\ntemple, and the spires that taper far aloft, may be traced types and\nemblems borrowed from the Temple of the Sun at Baalbec, the proud\nfane of Diana at Ephesus, the shrines of the Delian Apollo; but the\nBrahminical symbols and interpretations prevail. Strange that it should\nbe so with a sect that suffered by the slayings and the banishments of\na ruthless persecution, at the hands of their Brahmin fathers, for the\ncause of restoring the culture of that simple and pure philosophy which\nflourished before Pantheism.\n\n\u201cThe floor is paved with diamond-shaped pieces of polished brass, which\nreflect the light of tall tapers that have burned on for more than a\nhundred years, so closely is the sacred fire watched. The floods of\nlight and depths of shadow about the altar are extreme, and the effect\noverwhelming.\n\n\u201cThe Emerald Idol is about twelve inches high and eight in width.\nInto the virgin gold of which its hair and collar are composed, must\nhave been stirred, while the metal was yet molten, crystals, topazes,\nsapphires, rubies, onyxes, amethysts and diamonds--the stones crude,\nor rudely cut, and blended in such proportions as might enhance to the\nutmost imaginable limit the beauty and the cost of the adored effigy.\nThe combination is as harmonious as it is splendid. No wonder it is\ncommonly believed that Buddha himself alighted on the spot in the form\nof a great emerald, and by a flash of lightning conjured the glittering\nedifice and altar in an instant from the earth, to be a house and a\nthrone for him there!\n\n\u201cOn either side of the eastern entrance--called \u2018The Beautiful\nGate\u2019--stands a modern statue; one of Saint Peter, with flowing mantle\nand sandaled feet, in an attitude of sorrow, as when \u2018he turned away\nhis face and wept;\u2019 the other of Ceres, scattering flowers. The western\nentrance, which admits only ladies, is called \u2018The Angel\u2019s Gate,\u2019 and\nis guarded by genii of ferocious aspect.\n\n\u201cOn a floor diamonded with polished brass sat a throng of women, the\n_\u00e9lite_ of Siam. All were robed in pure white, with white silk\nscarfs drawn from the left shoulder in careful folds across the bust\nand back, and thrown gracefully over the right. A little apart sat\ntheir female slaves, of whom many were inferior to their mistresses\nonly in social consideration and wordly gear, being their half\nsisters--children of the same father by a slave mother.\n\n [Illustration: RUINED TEMPLE AND IDOL OF BUDDHA AT AYUDIA,\n THE OLD CAPITAL OF SIAM.]\n\n\u201cThe women sat in circles, and each displayed her vase of flowers\nand her lighted taper before her. In front of all were a number of\nmy younger pupils, the royal children, in circles also. Close by the\naltar, on a low square stool, overlaid with a thin cushion of silk,\nsat the high-priest, Chow Khoon S\u00e2h. In his hand he held a concave\nfan, lined with pale-green silk, the back richly embroidered, jeweled\nand gilt. He was draped in a yellow robe, not unlike the Roman toga,\na loose and flowing habit, closed below the waist, but open from the\nthroat to the girdle, which was simply a band of yellow cloth,\nbound tightly. From the shoulders hung two narrow strips, also yellow,\ndescending over the robe to the feet, and resembling the scapular worn\nby certain orders of the Roman Catholic clergy. At his side was an open\nwatch of gold, the gift of his sovereign. At his feet sat seventeen\ndisciples, shading their faces with fans less richly adorned.\n\n\u201cWe put off our shoes--my child and I--having respect for the ancient\nprejudice against them, feeling not so much reverence for the place as\nfor the hearts that worshiped there; caring to display not so much the\nlove of wisdom as the wisdom of love; and well were we repaid by the\ngrateful smile of recognition that greeted us as we entered.\n\n\u201cWe sat down cross-legged. No need to hush my boy; the silence there,\nso subduing, checked with its mysterious awe even his inquisitive young\nmind. The venerable high-priest sat with his face jealously covered,\nlest his eyes should tempt his thoughts to stray. I changed my position\nto catch a glimpse of his countenance. He drew his fan-veil more\nclosely, giving me a quick, but gentle half-glance of remonstrance.\nThen raising his eyes, with lids nearly closed, he chanted in an\ninfantile, wailing tone.\n\n\u201cThat was the opening prayer. At once the whole congregation raised\nthemselves on their knees, and, all together, prostrated themselves\nthrice profoundly, thrice touching the polished brass floor with their\nforeheads, and then, with heads bowed and palms folded and eyes closed,\nthey delivered the responses after the priest, much in the manner of\nthe English Liturgy; first the priest, then the people, and finally\nall together. There was no singing, no standing up and sitting down,\nno changing of robes and places, no turning the face to the altar,\nnor north, nor south, nor east, nor west. All knelt _still_, with\nhands folded straight before them, and eyes strictly, tightly closed.\nIndeed, there were faces there that expressed devotion and piety, the\nhumblest and the purest, as the lips murmured, \u2018O, Thou Eternal One,\nThou perfection of Time, Thou truest Truth, Thou immutable essence\nof all Change, Thou most excellent radiance of Mercy, Thou infinite\nCompassion, Thou Pity, Thou Charity!\u2019\n\n\u201cI lost some of the responses in the simultaneous repetition, and did\nbut imperfectly comprehend the exhortation that followed, in which was\ninculcated the strictest practice of charity, in a manner so pathetic\nand so gentle as might be wisely imitated by the most orthodox of\nChristian priests. There was majesty in the humility of those pagan\nworshipers, and in their shame of self they were sublime.\u201d\n\n\n WORSHIP OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT.\n\nWith regard to this subject, before referred to, we prefer using\nanother\u2019s description:\n\nSir John Bowring tells us that the Buddhists have a special reverence\nfor white quadrupeds; that he has himself seen a white monkey honored\nwith special attention. Also, that white elephants have been the cause\nof many a war, and their possession more an object of envy than the\nconquest of territory or the transitory glories of the battle-field.\nIn the money market a white elephant is almost beyond price. Fifty\nthousand dollars would hardly represent its pecuniary value; a hair\nfrom its tail is worth a Jew\u2019s ransom. \u201cIt was my good fortune,\u201d he\nsays, \u201cto present to the First King of Siam (the Siamese have two kings\nexercising supreme authority) presents with which I had been charged\nby my royal mistress. I received many presents in return; but the\nmonarch placed in my hand a golden box, locked with a golden key, and\nhe informed me the box contained a gift far more valuable than all the\nrest, and that was a few hairs of the white elephant.\n\nAnd perhaps it may be well to state why the white elephant is so\nspecially reverenced. \u201cIt is because it is believed that Buddha,\nthe supreme emanation from the Deity, will necessarily, in his\nmultitudinous metamorphoses or transmissions through all the grades of\nexistences, and through millions of \u00e6ons, delight to abide for some\ntime in that grand incarnation of purity which is represented by,\nand found in the white elephant. While all the _bonzes_ teach\nthat there is no spot in the heavens above or the earth below, or the\nwaters under the earth, which is not visited in the peregrinations of\nthe divinity--whose every stage or step is toward purification--they\nhold that his tarrying may be longer in the white elephant than in\nany other abode, and that in the possession of the sacred creature\nthey may possess the presence of Buddha himself. It is known that the\nCeylonese have been kept in subjection by the belief that their rulers\nhave a tooth of Buddha in the temple of Kandy, and that on various\ntracts of the East impressions of the foot of Buddha are reverenced,\nand are the objects of weary pilgrimages to places which can only be\nreached with difficulty; but with the white elephant some vague notions\nof a vital Buddha are associated, and there can be no doubt that the\nmarvelous sagacity of the creature has served to strengthen their\nreligious prejudices. Siamese are known to whisper their secrets into\nan elephant\u2019s ear, and to ask a solution of their perplexities by some\nsign or movement. And most assuredly there is more sense and reason in\nthe worship of an intelligent beast than in that of stocks and stones,\nthe work of men\u2019s hands.\n\n [Illustration: SIAMESE WORSHIPING THE WHITE ELEPHANT.]\n\n [Illustration: TOMB OF A BUDDHIST SAINT.]\n\n\u201cAnd yet,\u201d continues Sir John, \u201cafter all, the white elephant is not\n_white_, nor anything like it. It is of a coffee-color; not\nof unburnt, but of burnt coffee--dull brownish yellow or yellowish\nbrown--white only by contrast with his darker brother. The last which\nreached Bangkok was caught in the woods. The king and court went a long\nway out into the country to meet him, and he was conducted with a grand\nprocession, much pomp and music, and flying banners, to the capital.\nThere a grand mansion awaited him, and several of the leading nobility\nwere appointed his custodians. The walls were painted to represent\nforests, no doubt to remind him of his native haunts, and to console\nhim in his absence from them. All his wants were sedulously provided\nfor, and in his \u2018walks abroad,\u2019 when \u2018many men he saw,\u2019 he was escorted\nby music and caparisoned by costly vestments. His grandest and farthest\npromenades were to bathe in the river, when other elephants were in\nattendance, honored by being made auxiliaries to his grandeur. Now and\nthen the two sovereigns sought his presence, but I did not learn that\nhis dignity condescended to oblige them with any special notice. But he\nwanted no addition to his dignity. Everything associated with majesty\nand rank bore his image. A white elephant is the badge of distinction.\nThe royal flags and seals, medals and moneys--on all sides the white\nelephant is the national emblem, as the cross among Christians, or the\ncrescent among Turks; and the Siamese are prouder of it than Americans,\nRussians, Germans or French are of their eagles, or Spaniards of the\ngolden fleece. The Bourbon _Oriflamme_, the British Union Jack,\nshow but faintly in the presence of the white elephant.\u201d\n\n\n RUINS OF THE GREAT TEMPLE OF NAGKON WAT.\n\nSome of the most famous ruins of the world, and but little known to\ngeneral readers, are those at Angkor, in Eastern Siam. The Frenchman,\nM. Mouhot, says the ruins of Nagkon Wat--a temple which must have\nrivaled the temple of Solomon in its splendor--might take a most\nhonorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than\nanything left to us by Greece and Rome. Another writer says the ruins\nof Angkor are as imposing as the ruins of Thebes or Memphis, and more\nmysterious. Modern travelers have proved in their descriptions of these\nruins that these are not words of fulsome praise.\n\nThere are no certain answers to the questions who built it? when was it\nbuilt? and what has become of the builders? But recent researches in\nChinese history seem to show that it was built between the tenth and\ntwelfth centuries A.D.\n\n [Illustration: RUINS OF THE GREAT TEMPLE OF NAGKON WAT.]\n\nThe visitor enters upon an immense causeway, 725 feet long, with six\ngigantic griffins, each carved from a single block of stone, ranged\nalong its sides. On either side of the causeway are artificial lakes,\neach of about five acres in extent. The temple is romantically, as\nwell as beautifully and impressively situated in the midst of a forest\nof palm-trees. The outer wall of the Nagkon Wat is about half a mile\nsquare, and is built of sandstone, with gate-ways upon each side.\nThese are handsomely carved with figures of gods and dragons. The\nmain gate-way is on the western side, passing through which and up\na causeway, for a distance of 1,000 feet, one comes to the central\nmain entrance of the temple. The entire building is raised on three\nterraces, each about thirty feet above the other. The whole is built\nof stone, without cement, with joints so closely fitting that even\nthe lapse of years has not seamed. The immense blocks of stone were\nquarried about thirty miles away. The central temple is oblong, being\n796 feet long, 585 feet wide, and 250 feet high in the centre. From\nthe doorway, on either side, runs back a hall-way, with a double row\nof columns, each cut--base, shaft and capital--from a single block.\nThis hall-way has an oval-shaped roof, covered with carvings and walls\ncovered with sculptures. This gallery of sculptures, which forms the\nexterior of the temples, consists of over half a mile of continuous\npictures, cut upon sandstone slabs, each six feet in width. These\nsculptures represent subjects taken from the Hindu book called the\nRamayana, which describes the adventures of the god Rama and the son of\nthe king of Oudh.\n\nIn the Nagkon Wat 1,532 solid columns have been counted. Passing on\nup steep staircases, we come to several image-houses. These contain\nseveral hundred images, made of stone, wood, brass, clay, of all\nshapes, sizes and ages. Galleries cross and recross each other. Finally\nwe come to the central pagoda, in which are at present placed colossal\nimages of Buddha. This temple is believed to be at least 2,000 years\nold.\n\n [Illustration: STATUE OF THE LEPER KING.]\n\nA little ways from the Nagkon Wat rests the statue of the Leper King,\nwho is supposed to have assisted in the building of the temple. This\nfamous statue is carved from sandstone, in a sitting posture; the eyes\nare closed; a thin mustache, twisted up at the ends, covers the upper\nlip; the ears are long; the hair is thick, and displayed in curls upon\nthe head, the top of which is surmounted by a small, round crown. The\ntradition says that this king was an Egyptian, who for some wicked deed\nwas turned into a leper, and who built the temple in fulfillment of a\nvow that he might be freed from his disease.\n\n\n SOME OTHER TEMPLES.\n\nNear Pechaburi is a cavern, or series of small caves, called the Cave\nof Idols. One or two small openings in the ceiling permit the light\nto enter. Rows of gilt Buddhas line its sides, and a huge reclining\nimage of Buddha lies at one end of the halls. Just outside of the cave,\nand at the bottom of the hill, is a temple containing another immense\nreclining Buddha. This is built of brick and mortar, covered with thick\ngold-leaf. It is clothed with yellow garments, such as the Siamese and\nBurmese Buddhist priests wear. Its head rests upon the right hand and\npresses upon a gayly-ornamented pillow. The idol is 135 feet high.\n\nWe notice that very many of these immense reclining idols of Buddha are\nfound in Siam alone.\n\nThere are 3,000,000 of Chinese in Siam, who are Buddhists and have\ntheir own temples. The largest of these is in Bangkok, and contains\na brass Buddha, sitting cross-legged, and about fifty feet high, and\nforty feet wide at the knees. The immense temple roof is 100 feet from\nthe ground. In a smaller temple, in the same inclosure, is another\nbrass Buddha, seated upon a rock, with a copper elephant on one side\nand a leaden monkey on the other, looking up, in reverence, at the idol\nBuddha.\n\nWhen the King of Siam dies, the funeral ceremonies are participated in\nby the nation. During about four months, 300 or 400 men are engaged\nin building the funeral temple. The funeral pile, on which the body\nis to be burned, is placed in the centre, and the temple built\naround and above it. Its style is similar to other Siamese temples.\nThe trunks of teak trees, not less than 170 feet high, are placed\nupright so as to form a square about thirty feet each way. On this is\nbuilt an octagonal, sixty-foot spire, covered with gold-leaf. Around\nthis central building poles are erected, on which are hung peculiar\nornaments covered with crimson cloth. Around the interior are grouped\npictures of the gods and of the Buddhist\u2019s heaven, with lakes, groves\nand gardens. All around the temple is a screen of woven bamboo work,\nand the ground is covered with the same. The whole exterior of the\ntemple is decorated with objects of glass, porcelain, alabaster and\nsilver, with artificial flowers and images of birds, beasts, men and\nangels. Splendid chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling. Under the\ncentral tower is a pyramidal pile, on which the body is to be burned.\nThousands of priests are engaged in prayers during the service. The\nscene and service at such a time is impressive beyond the power of\ndescription.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXII.\n\n THIBET.\n\n Ah! blessed Lord! Oh, High Deliverer!\n Forgive this feeble script, which doth thee wrong,\n Measuring with little wit thy lofty love.\n Ah! Lover! Brother! Guide! Lamp of the Law!\n I take my refuge in Thy name and Thee!\n I take my refuge in Thy Law of Good!\n I take my refuge in Thy Order! Om!\n The Dew is on the Lotus! Rise, Great Sun!\n And lift my leaf and mix me with the wave.\n _Om Mani Padme Hum_, the Sunrise comes!\n The Dewdrop slips into the shining Sea!\n EDWIN ARNOLD. (PERORATION OF \u201cTHE LIGHT OF ASIA.\u201d)\n\n\nThibet is a country lying north of India and west of China. It has a\npopulation of about six millions. The early worship of the Thibetans\nwas that of spirits, devils and of nature. The old worship, called\nthe _Bon_ religion, bore a strong resemblance to the Taoism of\nChina, and even to-day Buddhism has not destroyed that old religion\nentirely. The people still have gods of the hills, trees, dales and\nlakes, and still use charms and resort to magic. Just when Buddhism was\nintroduced into this branch of the Mongolian family we cannot tell, but\nit certainly was not well-established until 630 A.D. All around Thibet\nBuddhist missionaries had gone long before this, and it is probable\nthat there is some myth in the tradition that a few missionaries\ntoiled, though in vain, to bring the Thibetans to the Buddhist belief.\nAt the beginning of the fifth century Fa-Hian, the Chinese monk, made\na pilgrimage to the sacred places of Buddhism in India. He and his four\ncompanions were forced to avoid crossing Great Thibet.\n\n\n SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF LAMAISM.\n\n [Illustration: A THIBETAN LAD.]\n\nA Thibetan king established his seat of government at H\u2019lassa in 617\nA.D. He married a Chinese princess of the Buddhist faith. By her\nrequest, he sent a minister to India, who brought back with him a great\nnumber of the Buddhist sacred books. The king had great difficulty\nin overcoming the objections of both priests and people, but finally\nsucceeded. About the middle of the fourteenth century a great reformer\narose in Thibet named Tsong-khapa. He forbade the priests to marry,\nand declared that magic and necromancy were against Buddhism, and\nintroduced other changes. Another great reformer lived about the same\ntime named Gedeen-tubpa; he built the great monastery at Teshu Lumbo\nin 1445, and in him commenced the perpetual incarnation of Buddha,\nin the persons of the Grand Lamas. In 1650 the sixth successor of\nthis last reformer visited the Emperor of China, and accepted from\nhim the designation of Dalai Lama, _Lama_ meaning priest, and\n_Dalai_, ocean. There are several rival Grand Lamas, the Dalai\nLama, the Teshu Lama and the Taranath Lama. There rapidly grew up in\nThibet a system of organized priesthood, which has made the Buddhism of\nThibet almost altogether unlike that of any other land.\n\n\n MONKS AND MONASTERIES.\n\n [Illustration: MONASTERY OF HEMIS IN THE HIMALAYAS.]\n\nThere are the monks and clergy, who are subordinate to the holy and\nsacred Lamas, the monks and nuns, the abbots and abbesses, chief Lamas,\nand, over all, the Grand Lama. The monks go bare-headed, though those\nof high rank wear caps; their heads are shaved, and they are dressed in\na yellow robe and high leathern boots, with the mendicant\u2019s food-bowl\nand the prayer-wheel in their hands. They are collected in vast\nmonasteries scattered over the country, the largest and most numerous\nbeing round the city of H\u2019lassa. These monasteries contain many\nthousands of lamas, and similar establishments are scattered not only\nin the inhabited valleys, but over the wildest parts of Great Thibet.\nAs there is little wood in the country, the people rarely burn their\ndead. The dead bodies are usually carried to a high mountain, to be\ndevoured by beasts and birds. The monks\u2019 bodies are, however, burned,\nand their ashes carefully gathered as relics. Women are not buried or\nexposed with the bodies of their dead husbands, as was once the case\nwith Hindu women. In fact, this is rendered impossible by the existence\nof polyandry, one woman in Thibet generally having many husbands.\n\n [Illustration: TARTAR WOMAN.]\n\nThe monasteries are called _Gonpas_; the Lamas\u2019 house, _Labrang_; and\nthe temple, consisting of a room full of images and pictures, Lhakhang.\nThe _Dung-ten_ is a relic repository, such as the _Tope_ of India; and\nimmense votive piles of stones or dykes, from a few feet to half a mile\nin length, covered with slabs and stuck over with banners inscribed\nwith the Thibetan prayer _Om mani padme hum_, are called _Mani_. The\nimages of Buddha are always seated, with the right hand resting on the\nknee, the left on the lap, and holding the alms-dish; the body painted\nyellow or gilt, and the hair short and curly and painted blue. They\nare of all sizes, and there are other images of beings connected with\nBuddhistic ideas.\n\nThe services consist of recitations and chanting of the _Sutras_, or\nprecepts and rules of discipline, to the sound of musical instruments,\ntrumpets, drums, cymbals and conch-shells. The tunes are impressive and\nsolemn; incense is burned during the services, and there are offerings\nof fruits and grain to Buddha and to the Buddhisatwas, especially to\nAvaloki-teswara, who is incarnate in the Dalai Lama. Mystical sentences\nand titles of Buddha are also recited. The bell is used during the\nperformance of service, and the prayer-wheels--metal cylinders,\ncontaining printed prayers in rolls, with the axes prolonged to form\nhandles--are in constant use, not only during the service, but on every\noccasion, being fixed in rows on the walls of temples, near villages,\nand in streams, to be turned by water. The prayer-wheels have been in\nuse among these people for more than a thousand years, for they are\nmentioned by the pilgrim Fa-Hian.\n\n\n TEMPLE AT TESHU LUMBO MONASTERY.\n\nIt contains thirteen gigantic figures, which would be about eight feet\nhigh standing, but they are all, except the image of the god of war\nand another, sitting cross-legged. They are of copper-gilt, holding a\npot with flowers or fruit in their lap. They are represented covered\nwith mantles, and crowns or mitres on their heads; and altogether,\nparticularly the drapery, are far from being badly executed. The\nthrones upon which they sit are also of copper-gilt, adorned with\nturquois, cornelians and other inferior stones. The mouldings and\nornaments of the thrones are in a good style. Behind each figure\nthe wall is covered with a piece of carved work, like unto the heavy\ngilt frames of our forefathers\u2019 portraits or looking-glasses. Behind\nthem are china vases, some of them very handsome; loads of china and\nglass-ware, the last partly Chinese, partly European, filled with\ngrain, fruit or gum flowers, a variety of shells, large conches set in\nsilver, some ostrich eggs, cocoanuts, cymbals, and a variety of other\narticles, making a most heterogeneous gathering. Round the necks of the\nimages are strings of coral, ill-shaped pearls, cornelian, agate and\nother stones, and their crowns are set with the like ornaments. The\nceiling of the gallery is covered with satins of a variety of patterns,\nsome Chinese, some Kalmuk, some European, brought through Russia and\noverland. The gallery is lighted on the south side from five windows,\nand the walls between are hung with paintings of the different deities\nand views of heaven. The opposite side, where the images are, is shut\nin all the length of the gallery with a net of iron-work that meddlers\nmay be kept off.\n\n\n SERVICES AT THE H\u2019LASSA CATHEDRAL.\n\nK\u00f6ppen presents a very full account of the worship in one of the chief\nBuddhist temples, in the centre of Buddhism, the city of H\u2019lassa.\nRhys-David condenses this as follows:\n\nThe entrance to the chief temples of the holy city is through a large\nhall where holy water and rosaries are sold, and in which stand four\nstatues of the archangels. The walls are covered with rude paintings\nof scenes from the legends of Buddha, and its roof is supported by six\nmassive pillars, covered with beautiful carving, spoilt by gorgeous\npaint and gilding. The temple itself is a long nave, divided by rows of\npillars from two aisles, and by silver screens of open trellis-work\nfrom two large chancels. Into the aisle on each side open fourteen\nchapels; at the end is the holy place. In its furthest niche, in a kind\nof apse, is the magnificent golden statue of the now deified Gautama\nBuddha. In front of the idol is the high altar or table of offerings,\nraised by several stages from the floor; on the upper levels being\nimages of gold, silver and clay; on the lower, the bells, lamps,\ncensers and other vessels used in the holy service. At the sound of a\ntrumpet the clergy assemble in the entrance hall, wearing the cloak and\ncap; at its third blast the procession, with the living Buddha, the\nGrand Lama, at its head, marches down the aisle. When he is seated on\nhis throne, each Lama, or cardinal, bows three times before him, and\nthen seats himself on a divan according to his rank. After a bell is\nrung, the ten Buddhist commandments are repeated and other formulas,\nthen the priests sing in choir pieces from the sacred books. The monks\nburst out into a hymn of prayer for the presence of the spirits of all\nthe Buddhists. One of them raises aloft over his head a looking-glass,\nthe idea of which seems to be to catch the image of the spirit as it\ncomes; a second raises a jug; a third a mystic symbol of the world; a\nfourth a cup, and so on. Meanwhile the voices of the singers, and the\nsound of the bells, drums and trumpets grows louder and louder, and the\ntemple is filled with incense from the sacred censers. The monk with\nthe jug pours several times water, mixed with saffron and sugar, over\nthe mirror, which another wipes each time with a silk napkin. The water\nflows over the mirror to the symbols of the world, and is caught in\nthe cup beneath. Thence the holy mixture is poured into another jug,\nand a drop or two is allowed to trickle on to the hands of each of the\nworshiping monks, who marks the crown of his shaven head, the forehead\nand his breast with the sacred liquid. He then reverently swallows the\nremaining drops, and, in so doing, believes himself to be swallowing\na part of the divine being, whose image has been caught in the mirror\nover which the water has passed.\n\n\n PRAYING-WHEELS.\n\nAmong the most curious things in Thibet are the praying-wheels. They\nare little wooden drums covered round the sides with leather, and\nfitted vertically in niches in the walls. A spindle running through\nthe centre enables them to revolve at the slightest push. They are\ngenerally in rows of eight and ten, and well thumbed and worn they\nusually are. Others, of larger dimensions, are placed by themselves,\ndecorated with the words, \u201cOm mani padmi hum,\u201d in the Lanza character,\nall round the barrel.\n\nIn the vicinity of the monasteries are various small temples, like\nchapels of ease, rudely decorated with grotesque figures in red and\nyellow, and having queer-looking structures fastened on the top of\nthem, generally a trident, with tufts of hair attached, or strips of\ncolored calico, horns of animals and other rude devices.\n\n [Illustration: PRAYING MACHINE.\n\n Instead of saying prayers they set a machine in motion, each\n revolution counting as a prayer. The more prayers one says or\n turns, the more sure he is to get to Heaven. Sometimes the\n wheel is set so as to be turned by water or machinery, and\n these machine-prayers are counted as good as others.]\n\nIn one place there is a praying-wheel turned by water; but one cannot\nascertain whether the benefit accrues to the water, or to the possessor\nof the stream, or to the public generally. Sometimes the people carry\nportable wheels, and one often meets them provided with huge brass\nones, with a wooden handle. They are suspended from their necks, in\ncompany with a collection of square leather charms fastened by a string\nto the coat, the whole collection presenting a very odd appearance.\n\n\n THE MYSTIC SENTENCE OF THIBET.\n\n [Illustration: PRAYING WHEEL WHIRLED IN THE HAND.]\n\nThere is one sentence which the Thibetans and Mongolians have\ncontinually in their mouths. The same sentence is written upon their\nmonuments, temple-walls, relic-houses, prayer-wheels--indeed, almost\neverywhere. It is\n\n OM MANI PADMI HUM.\n\nThese are words from the Sanskrit language. \u201cOm,\u201d among the Hindus,\nis the mystic name of divinity, which begins all their prayers. It\ncorresponds to our interjection Oh! only that it is uttered with a\nreligious emphasis, due to its hidden, sacred meaning. \u201cMani\u201d means\njewel; \u201cpadmi,\u201d the lotus; and \u201chum,\u201d amen. So the whole sentence\nis, \u201cOh! the jewel of the lotus. Amen.\u201d But the Thibetan Buddhists\nhave attached mysterious meanings to each of the six syllables of\nthe sentence. These meanings grew out of the legendary history\nof the introduction of Buddhism into Thibet; but even this is\nall but forgotten, and the words are repeated by the millions of\nThibetans without the slightest knowledge of their force, but with\na superstitious belief in their sacredness, which is unshaken and\nimmovable as the rocks themselves\n\n\n THE INCARNATION OF BUDDHA IN THE GRAND LAMA.\n\n\n [Illustration: STONE WITH THE MYSTIC SENTENCE, \u201cOM MANI PADMI\n HUM.\u201d]\n\n [Illustration: MANI PADEE, A BUDDHIST TOMB IN THIBET.]\n\nThe Thibetans believe that the soul of Buddha dwells in the body of\ntheir high-priest or Grand Lama; that, at the time of his death, the\nsoul passes into the body of another person, who is to be the Grand\nLama until his death. Thus Buddha is born and re-born over and over\nagain. It is an easy matter to determine into whose body the soul of\nBuddha enters, because they make it so. It is very much the same as\nif the chief Lamas were to elect the Grand Lama\u2019s successor, because,\nin reality, they determine where the soul of Buddha shall be found.\nAt present, however, it seems that the Emperor of China exercises a\nparamount influence on the discovery of these transmigrations, or, in\nother words, on the filling up of clerical posts; and there can be no\ndoubt that his influence is supreme in the case of determining the\nelection of the two highest functionaries of this theocracy. In order\nto ascertain the re-birth of a departed Lama, various means are relied\nupon. Sometimes the deceased had, before his death, confidentially\nmentioned to his friends where and in which family he would re-appear,\nor his will contained intimations to this effect. In most instances,\nhowever, the sacred books and the official astrologers are consulted\non the subject; and if the Dalai-lama dies, it is the duty of the\nPan-chhen to interpret the traditions and the oracles; whereas, if\nthe latter dies, the Dalai-lama renders him the same good service.\nThe proclamation of so great an event, however, as the metempsychosis\nof any Dalai-lama or Pan-chhen is preceded by a close examination of\nthe child that claims to be in possession of the soul of either of\nthese personages. The re-born arch-saint, usually a boy four or five\nyears old, is questioned as to his previous career; books, garments\nand other articles used and not used by the deceased are placed before\nhim, to point out those which belonged to him in his former life.\nBut, however satisfactory his answers be, they do not yet suffice.\nVarious little bells, required at the daily devotions of the Lama,\nare put before the boy, to select that which he did use when he was\nthe Dalai-lama or Pan-chhen. \u201cBut where is my own favorite bell,\u201d the\nchild exclaims, after having searched in vain; and this question is\nperfectly justified, for, to test the veracity of the re-born saint,\nthis particular bell has been withheld from him. Now, however, there\ncan be no doubt as to the Dalai-lama or Pan-chhen being bodily before\nthem. The believers fall on their knees, and the Lamas who successfully\nperformed all these frauds join them in announcing to the world the\nmomentous fact.\n\n\n THE LAMAIST BIBLE.\n\n [Illustration: A THIBETAN WOMAN.]\n\nThe Thibetan sacred books are called Kanjur. This contains 1,083 works\ngathered in 180 folio volumes. These are divided into seven sections as\nfollows: 1. The Book of Discipline. 2. The Book of the Transcendental\nWisdom. 3. The Book of the Association of Buddhas. 4. The Book of \u201cthe\nJeweled Peak,\u201d (whatever that may mean). 5. The Book of Aphorisms.\n6. The Book of the Doctrine of \u201cDeliverance from Emancipation from\nExistence\u201d (_sic_). 7. The Book of Mysticism. These all are said\nto contain the words of Buddha himself. Besides these is a work, called\nthe Tanjur, or translation of doctrine, but has not the authority of\nthe Kanjur.\n\nThe art of printing from engraved wooden blocks has been long known to\nthe Thibetans. This aided greatly in spreading the sacred books. There\nis no Buddhist monastery in Thibet which has not a copy of these works.\nSometimes these are very costly; one was prepared about a quarter of a\ncentury ago, which cost $10,000. Four or five years ago a magnificent\ncopy of Buddha\u2019s works was being executed for a Mongol prince, in the\nThibetan language. At that time 80 of the 180 volumes were completed.\nThe printing was in letters of gold, and the volumes are bound in\nembroidered silk with silver clasps.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIII.\n\n CHINA--CONTINUED.\n\n And yonder by Nankin, behold!\n The Tower of Porcelain, strange and old,\n Uplifting to the astonished skies\n Its nine-fold painted balconies,\n With balustrades of twining leaves,\n And roofs of tile, beneath whose eaves\n Hang porcelain bells that all the time\n Ring with a soft, melodious chime;\n While the whole fabric is ablaze\n With varied tints, all fused in one\n Great mass of color, like a maze\n Of flowers illumined by the sun.\n HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW.\n\n\nFo (or Fuh) is the imperfect rendering of Buddha into the Chinese\nlanguage, as the initial sound of B is almost unknown in Chinese.\nBuddhist missionaries visited China as early as 250 B.C., and in the\nsecond year before Christ a number of Buddhist sacred books were\npresented to the Emperor of China by an ambassador of the Tochari\nTartars. But it did not receive official recognition and did not really\ntake root in China until about the year 67 A.D. In the year 61 the\nEmperor Ming-ti saw in a dream the image of a foreign god entering his\npalace. Impressed with the singular vision, he sent, at his brother\u2019s\nsuggestion, an embassy to secure Buddhist images, books and teachers.\nAn Indian Buddhist priest, named Kashiap-Madanga, accompanied the\nembassy on its return. He translated some of the Buddhist books into\nChinese. The religion spread rapidly after it received the imperial\nfavor. This it did the more readily as, with India-rubber-like\nelasticity, Buddhism stretched itself to include the greater part of\nthe ancient Chinese faiths. Native Chinese became Buddhist monks about\nthe year 335 A.D. The Emperor Hiau Wu erected a pagoda in his palace at\nNankin in 381 A. D. The ancient Chinese historians say that about this\ntime large monasteries began to be established and that nine-tenths of\nthe common people bowed to the faith of the saint and sage of India.\nIn 405 A.D., Kumarajiva, an Indian Buddhist, translated the principal\nBuddhist books into the Chinese. He was assisted by 800 priests. More\nthan 300 volumes were thus prepared.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE IMAGE OF BUDDHA.]\n\n [Illustration: BRONZE LIONS.]\n\n [Illustration: A CHINESE MANDARIN.]\n\nAt this time the celebrated Chinese traveler, Fa Hien, was collecting\nsacred books and visiting sacred places in India. He went by land as\nfar as Ceylon, and returned from that island by sea after an absence of\nfifteen years.\n\nThis journey furnishes an illustration of the intelligent earnestness\nof the Chinese Buddhists of this period. From the years 420 A.D. to\n451, the Buddhists suffered opposition on the part of the ruling\nTartar family of the Wei dynasty. In the year 526 A.D., the famous\nBodhidharma came to Canton. He was received with great honor at the\ncourt of the Emperor of Southern China. The emperor said to him: \u201cFrom\nmy accession to the throne, I have been incessantly building temples,\ntranscribing sacred books, and admitting new monks to take the vows.\nHow much merit may I be supposed to have accumulated?\u201d The reply was:\n\u201cNone.\u201d The emperor: \u201cAnd why no merit?\u201d The patriarch: \u201cAll this is\nbut the insignificant effect of an imperfect cause not complete in\nitself. It is the shadow that follows the substance, and is without\nreal existence.\u201d The emperor: \u201cThen what is true merit?\u201d The patriarch:\n\u201cIt consists in purity and enlightenment, depth and completeness,\nand in being wrapped in thought while surrounded by vacancy and\nstillness. Merit such as this cannot be sought by worldly means.\u201d\nThe emperor: \u201cWhich is the most important of the holy doctrines?\u201d\nThe patriarch: \u201cWhere all is emptiness, nothing can be called\n\u2018holy\u2019 (_shing_).\u201d The emperor: \u201cWho is he that thus replies to\nme?\u201d The patriarch: \u201cI do not know.\u201d The emperor--says the Buddhist\nnarrator--still remained unenlightened.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE SALE OF PRAYERS, CONDUCTED BY THE\n PRIESTS.]\n\n [Illustration: PORCELAIN TOWER AT NANKING, CHINA.]\n\nBodhidharma, not being satisfied with the result of his interview with\nroyalty, crossed the river Yang-tsze into the Wei kingdom and remained\nat Lo-yang. Here he sat with his face to a wall for nine years. The\npeople called him the \u201cWall-gazing Brahmin.\u201d When it was represented\nto the emperor of the house of Liang, that the great teacher, who\npossessed the precious heirloom of Shakya, the symbol of the hidden law\nof Buddha, was lost to his kingdom, he repented and sent messengers to\ninvite him to return. They failed in their errand. The presence of the\nIndian sage excited the more ardent Chinese Buddhists to make great\nefforts to conquer the sensations. Thus one of them, we are told, said\nto himself: \u201cFormerly, for the sake of religion, men broke open their\nbones and extracted the marrow, took blood from their arms to give to\nthe hungry, rolled their hair in the mud or threw themselves down a\nprecipice to feed a famishing tiger. What can I do?\u201d Accordingly while\nsnow was falling, he exposed himself to it till it had risen above his\nknees, when the patriarch observing him, asked him what he hoped to\ngain by it. The young aspirant to the victory over self wept at the\nquestion, and said: \u201cI only desire that mercy may open a path to save\nthe whole race of mankind.\u201d The patriarch replied, that such an act was\nnot worthy of comparison with the acts of the Buddhas. It required, he\ntold him, very little virtue or resolution. His disciple, stung with\nthe answer, took a sharp knife, severed his arm, and placed it before\nthe patriarch. The latter expressed his high approval of the deed, and\nwhen after nine years\u2019 absence he returned to India, he appointed the\ndisciple who had performed this strange act to succeed him as patriarch\nin China.\n\n\n PAGODAS.\n\nThe word Pagoda has been applied by French and Portuguese authors\nto temples where images are worshiped and priests live, but English\nwriters confine the word to the high, tapering polygonal structures\nseen in China, which are called _tours_ by the French. Etymologically,\nthe word signifies \u201chouse of idols,\u201d or \u201cabode of God,\u201d being derived\nfrom the Persian words _but_, an idol, and _kadah_, a house, a temple.\nSome of the pagodas are built upon hill-tops and other places for the\npurpose of securing the prosperity of the locality by the laws of\ngeomancy. These latter are not used for worshiping in.\n\nSome authors use interchangeably the words dagaba and pagoda. Exactness\nwith reference to Oriental terms is very difficult to attain. The same\nword is not unfrequently used among the natives themselves, to denote\ndifferent objects, and travelers frequently confound the terms and use\nthem confusedly. We aim at the highest precision. Dagabas are lofty,\ntapering, cylindrical buildings, erected over a relic of Buddha, though\nsometimes pagodas also are used for keeping the relics of Buddha. The\npagoda at Tung Cho, near Peking, has thirteen stories, and is 150 feet\nhigh; its base is forty feet in diameter. It stands near the northern\nwall of the city, and is the most conspicuous object to be seen for\nmany miles around the place. Once a year it is the custom, in some\ncities, to illuminate the pagodas. A large number of paper lanterns\nare used, each having a lamp or common candle in it. The priests hang\nthe lighted lanterns at each corner of each story of the pagoda. At\nNanking there stood, a short time since, a celebrated pagoda, called\nthe \u201cPorcelain Tower.\u201d This tower was of equal stories, the lower one\nbeing 120 feet around. It rested upon a solid foundation of brick work,\nten feet high, up which a flight of twelve steps led to the tower. A\nspiral staircase led to the top, which was 260 feet from the ground.\nThe body of the tower was of brick; this was encased with tiles of\nglazed porcelain of green, red, yellow and white, and various other\ncolors. The stories had projecting roofs, which were covered with green\ntiles, and seventy-two bells were suspended from each corner. These\nbells were rung by the wind, and sent their tinkling tones down among\nthe busy crowds below. In the interior were hundreds of little gilded\nimages. The tower was commenced 1430 A.D., and finished in 1449 A.D. It\nwas totally destroyed by the Tae-Ping rebels about 1860.\n\n\n CHINESE BUDDHIST TEMPLES.\n\nThe temples of the Buddhists, in China, are of varied construction.\nVery many of them bear evidences of neglect and decay. In the\ncities and their suburbs, along the highways, standing alone by the\nroadside or on the hill-tops, are thousands of these edifices, called\njoss-houses by foreigners, in which are idols of every description,\nbefore which incense is burning. These temples are devoted to the\nworship of various deities, as the goddess of sailors, the god of war,\nthe gods of special neighborhoods or occupations. Generally at the\nentrance of the temple drums or bells are placed. These are struck by\nthe worshipers as they enter, either to call the attention of the gods\nto the worship about to be begun, or to summon the attendant priests.\nElijah taunted the priests of Baal, when they gashed themselves before\ntheir altar on Mount Carmel, as they shouted to the sun, as it rose\nmajestically in the heavens, calling him to come and consume their\nofferings. He suggested that perhaps their god, Baal, was asleep, and\nneeded to be awakened by a noise, or that he might be away on a journey\nand needed to be recalled. So the Chinese worshipers seem to deem it\nnecessary to arouse their gods to hear their prayers. On entering the\ntemple, the worshiper faces the idols, which are generally in a sitting\nposture, on a platform about five feet from the floor. Guarding the\nentrance, generally, there are two gigantic images standing, facing\neach other. Sometimes, as in the temple of the Kushan Monastery, there\nare four statues; these represent the ministers of Buddha. The first\nhas black eyes, and a fierce countenance, intended to strike awe to the\nheart; he holds a huge, drawn sword in his hands; a horrible, black,\ndwarfish figure crouches beneath his feet. The second is a merry\ngod, playing on a guitar. The third stands with an unfolded umbrella.\nThe fourth holds in one hand a struggling serpent, in the other a ball.\nGenerally, there are three images of Buddha, seated side by side, in a\nsort of pavilion; these are called the \u201cThree Precious Ones,\u201d--Buddha\npast, present and to come.\n\n [Illustration: BEATING ON A TEMPLE DRUM TO ATTRACT THE GOD.]\n\n [Illustration: TEMPLE OF THE \u201cTHREE PRECIOUS BUDDHAS,\u201d AT SAN\n FRANCISCO. CAL.]\n\n [Illustration: THE \u201cTHREE PRECIOUS BUDDHAS.\u201d]\n\nThe Chinese who have come to America have brought with them their\nidolatries, so that heathen temples have been opened for worship of\nidols, even in this Christian land. As most of these Chinese are in San\nFrancisco, the largest Buddhist temple in America is to be found there.\nThe three idols of Buddha are seated under a lacquered canopy. Before\nthem is a sort of altar, on which is a vessel of ashes, in which the\nincense-sticks are placed. Beside this is a shallow dish, filled with\npebbles and water, and the narcissus (daffodil) plant growing in it. In\nfront of the altar stands a large Chinese table, on which five bronze\nvases are placed--the end ones for flowers, the central for the symbols\nof the three Buddhas, and the others for candles. The central figure\nof the three idols represents _the_ Buddha, the Intelligence;\nthe one to his right is Dharma, the Law, and the other is Sangha,\nthe Priesthood. Beside the main pavilion is the shrine of Kwan-Yin,\nthe goddess of mercy and the queen of Heaven. The idols in Chinese\ntemples range from six to twelve feet high, and are mostly made of\nwood, covered with gilt. Sometimes they are of bronze, wood or stucco,\ngilded, and of gigantic size. Crowds of secondary divinities are ranged\nround the walls of the temples. The worship in the temples is very\nsimple. The worshiper first presents an offering of money or rice, then\nprostrates himself on his mat, before the idols, rubbing the palms of\nhis hands together, telling his beads and mumbling his prayers. The\npeople are coming and going all the day long, for the temples are never\nshut.\n\nIn Peking is a temple called the \u201cTemple of the Thousand Lamas.\u201d\nIn Canton is the \u201cTemple of the Five Hundred Gods.\u201d These are the\n\u201cArhans,\u201d or scholars of Buddha. As a temple, it is much like all the\nother Chinese temples, but it differs from all in the images of the\ndeified disciples of Buddha. These are life-size, sitting on their\nheels, in Oriental style, each exhibiting the wonderful act for which\nhe has been deified. The eyes of one are perpetually turned to Heaven,\nand are supposed never to have winked. Another held his hand above\nhis head until it has become immovable. Another has held his hand out\nso steadily and softly that a bird has come and built its nest in it.\nAnother became so holy that Buddha opened his breast and entered his\nheart. They are made of clay, and gilded. Before each is a vessel of\nashes for the joss-sticks, and vases for flowers. This is one of the\nmost interesting places in Canton, and is one of the temples most\nvisited by foreigners.\n\n [Illustration: WORSHIP OF BUDDHA IN THE TEMPLE OF THE\n THOUSAND LAMAS, PEKING, CHINA.\n\n One of the most splendid temples, and occupied by one of the\n most devout assemblages of all heathendom.]\n\n [Illustration: TEMPLE OF KWAN YIN, QUEEN OF HEAVEN, AT\n CANTON, CHINA.]\n\n\n THE WORSHIP OF KWAN-YIN.\n\nKwan-Yin, the goddess of mercy, is worshiped with great pomp on the\nnineteenth day of the second month, which is the anniversary of her\nbirth, and also on the anniversaries of her death and canonization. The\nstory of the career of this canonized Buddhist nun is full of marvels,\nand it is scarcely possible to enter her temples without finding women\nand children in them. On her anniversaries, women resort to them in\nlarge numbers, and light incense-sticks at the sacred lamp above the\naltar. They carry the burning incense to their homes, as the smoke is\nsupposed to possess a purifying effect. Other votaries, who have sick\nrelatives, expose tea to the smoke, which rises in clouds from the\nincense burning on the altar. On their return home they administer the\ntea to the sick. Kwan-Yin is also much worshiped during the Tsing-Ming,\nor Worshiping of Graves, as she is supposed to extend her protecting\ncare over the souls of departed ones. Paper representations of clothes,\nhouses, servants and sedan chairs, fashioned of the same material,\nare at such a season burnt in front of her altars. The goddess is\nsupposed to convey these offerings to the departed spirits for whom\nthey are intended. The ceremony is usually performed at midnight. At\nthis season, also, ladies resort to her temples to pray for afflicted\nhusbands or children. The form of worship observed on such occasions is\nconducted by Buddhist priests. Two tables are placed, about six feet\napart, in front of the idol, and fruits and flowers are arranged upon\nthem as offerings. The ladies sit or kneel near the tables, and the\npriests march round them to slow music. The music quickens, and at last\nthe priests are found careering round the tables. This absurd service\nis brought to a close by the priests rushing wildly toward the ladies,\nand in most extravagant terms tendering them their congratulations.\n\n [Illustration: COLOSSAL GILDED BUDDHA--Fifty feet high;\n carved from the solid rock.]\n\n [Illustration: ALTAR OF A CHINESE PAGODA, NEAR THE KIN-CHA\n RIVER, WESTERN CHINA.]\n\nThe temples in honor of the Goddess of Mercy are very numerous\nthroughout the empire. In the most important of these, at Canton,\nwere at one time several ornaments of great value, which had been\npresented to the goddess by the Emperor Taou-kwang, in return for\nblessings which she was supposed to have conferred on the southern\nportion of the empire. One of these was a jade-stone ornament of great\nvalue, which was presented in acknowledgment of a victory which the\ngoddess was supposed to have given to the Chinese troops over the\nBritish barbarians, as they are called, in 1841.\n\n\n THE WORSHIP OF KUM-FA.\n\nAnother goddess who is popular with Chinese wives is Kum-Fa, the\ntutelary goddess of women and children. A native of Canton, she\nflourished during the reign of Ching-hwa, who ascended the throne A.D.\n1465. When a girl of tender years, she was a constant and regular\nvisitor to all the temples in her immediate neighborhood. She is said\nto have had the power of communing with the spirits of the departed.\nBecoming at length tired of the world, she committed suicide by\ndrowning. In course of time, her body rose to the surface of the\nwater, and when it was taken out the air became impregnated with\nsweet-smelling odors. It was placed in a coffin, and a sandal-wood\nstatue or idol of Kum-Fa rose apparently from the bed of the river,\nand remained stationary. A temple was erected for the image, but an\niconoclast deliberately destroyed it by fire, and it is now replaced\nby a clay figure. Her principal temple stands on the south side of the\nriver at Canton. Her votaries are mostly wives who desire to become\nmothers. The list of the duties which her ministering attendants divide\namong them is a complete summary of the art of rearing children. One is\nconsidered to be the guardian of children suffering from small-pox. The\nsecond presides over the ablutions of infants. The third superintends\nthe feeding of new-born babes and young children. The fourth is the\nespecial patroness of male infants. The fifth attends to the careful\npreparation of infants\u2019 food. The sixth watches over women laboring\nwith child. It is in the power of the seventh to bestow upon women\nwho have conceived, male or female children, in answer to their\nprayers. The eighth can bless women with male offspring. The ninth\nmakes children merry and joyful. The tenth superintends the cutting of\nthe umbilical cord. The eleventh causes women to conceive. It is the\nprivilege of the twelfth to make children smile. The thirteenth has the\ncare of infants until they are able to walk. The fourteenth teaches\nthem to do so. It is the calling of the fifteenth to teach them how to\nsuck. The sixteenth watches over unborn babes. On the seventeenth, it\ndevolves to see that their bodies are, immediately before birth, free\nfrom sores or ulcers. The eighteenth is regarded as the special\npatroness of female infants. To impart strength to infants is the duty\nof the nineteenth; and the twentieth is named Fo-shee-fa-fu-yan.\n\n [Illustration: THE GODDESS MA-CHU AND HER ASSISTANTS.]\n\n [Illustration: THIRTEEN-STORIED PAGODA AT TUNG-CHO, CHINA.]\n\n\n IDOLS.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE IDOL.]\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE IDOL.]\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE IDOL.]\n\nIn some of the temples the idols are very numerous, and in Yang-chow\nthere is one in which there are said to be no fewer than 10,000. The\nidols, which are very diminutive, are contained in one large hall, and\nin their fanciful, but orderly arrangement, present a very singular\nappearance. In the centre of the hall stands a pavilion of wood, most\nelaborately carved, under which is placed a large idol of Buddha. The\npavilion, within and without, is literally studded with small idols,\nwhich are different representations of the same deity. On each of the\nfour sides of the hall are small brackets, supporting idols of Buddha;\nand a still larger number of these are placed on the beams and pillars\nof the vaulted roof. Two are full-sized figures of the sleeping Buddha.\nAt Peking and Canton there are halls precisely similar. The hall of\n10,000 idols, at Canton, is, like the monastery of which it forms a\npart, in a most ruinous state, and the majority of the idols with which\nits walls were at one time adorned have disappeared in ways not now\nunderstood.\n\nIn the prefecture of Shu-hing, where marble quarries abound, idols are\nin many cases made of that material. At Pun-new-chan, a market-town\non the banks of the Grand Canal, one sees in a ruined monastery three\nlarge iron idols, representing the Past, Present and Future Buddhas.\nThere are in certain temples stone, earthenware and porcelain figures.\nThe three large idols in the Tai-fan monastery, at Canton, are said to\nbe made of copper, and many of the small idols of Buddha are also made\nof the same material. Buddha is represented in a variety of postures,\nand some of the figures have smiling countenances, whilst others appear\ndecidedly sorrowful.\n\n\n THE TEMPLE OF HORRORS.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE BUDDHIST\u2019S IDEA OF HELL.]\n\n [Illustration: A CHINESE PICTURE OF THE GODDESS OF MERCY\n DELIVERING A SOUL FROM PURGATORY BY THE SACRED LOTUS-FLOWER.]\n\nNear the Temple of the Five Hundred Gods is the \u201cTemple of Horrors,\u201d\nso called by foreigners, where are ten cells, in which are exhibited\nthe various pains of the Buddhist purgatory. The actual scenes are\nexhibited in clay figures, about two-thirds life-size. The first cell,\nabout ten feet square, which is the measurement of each of them, is\nthe hall of judgment, where the poor wretches are tried. Then comes one\nchamber where a man is receiving from the demons a terrible whipping,\nbeing stretched on the ground face downward, by two men, while a\nthird is beating him with a paddle. The next cell exhibits a criminal\nfastened in a frame, head downward, and being sawn in two, lengthwise.\nIn the next, another is suffering the tortures of slow burning; another\nis supposed to be sitting under a red-hot bell. In the next there are\ncages, and some chained with a Chinese _cangue_; in another they\nare being beheaded; and, in another, they are ground in a mill and\npounded in a mortar. In the next they are boiling a poor fellow in\noil; and, in the last, some poor wretches, for having been guilty of\neating beef, are being themselves slowly transformed into oxen. Several\nfigures in this cell present the various steps of this transformation.\nIn all these cells numerous figures of demons are looking on with\nexpressions of diabolical satisfaction, and, strange to say, around the\nsides of each of the cells are ranged in scenic manner mountain and\nhillside retreats, on which are seen smaller figures of the good and\nsaved, seeming to take an equal delight in witnessing the pains of the\nunhappy ones who have missed of paradise. Notwithstanding all these\nhorrors, booths are rented out before all these cells, and a lively\ntraffic is carried on, and the priests themselves drive a large trade\nin selling fans, sacrificial money, etc., which are to be burned for\nthe use of these suffering wretches.\n\nBut a Buddhist may be sent by the judges to purgatory without being\nobliged to remain there. The living relations, if they but pay enough\nto the priests, and beg often and long enough to persuade the priests\nto pray to Kwan-Yin, the goddess of mercy, to deliver their dead\nfriends from purgatory, it will be accomplished, so say the priests,\nby means of the sacred lotus-flowers. The clay images in many of the\n\u201cTemples of Horrors\u201d are sometimes made so as to move their limbs and\njaws, when a string is pulled by some unseen person. Occasionally the\npeople meet in great crowds for the purpose of worshiping Kwan-Yin,\nand beseeching her to deliver from the ten departments of hell those\nwho have no friends to intercede for them; then a wholesale delivery\nis supposed to take place. The priests are greatly enriched at such\nseasons, and therefore these occasions are numerous.\n\n\n MONASTERIES.\n\nThe monasteries are often embosomed among the hills, and surrounded\nby groves of bamboo and other trees. These are sometimes in the\nneighborhood of crowded cities; at other times, away in the lonely\nwilds of the mountains. They are generally used as temples, as well as\ndwellings for the priests. The monasteries have kitchens, eating-rooms,\nsleeping apartments and libraries. Most of the larger monasteries own\nland, or other property, from which annual rent, payable in crops or\nmoney, is received. In connection with some of these monasteries are\nlarge bells. These have no tongues, but are struck on the outside by\na ponderous swinging beam. In some few cases the sound of the bell is\nnot suffered to cease; relays of priests keep it always ringing. In\nthe monasteries generally, morning worship is held before daylight,\nand evening worship about five o\u2019clock in the afternoon. The service\nlasts from an hour to an hour and a half. All the priests join in it.\nThe service consists, principally, of a chant or recitation of passages\nfrom the Buddhist sacred books, the Sanskrit prayers in which have been\ntransliterated in Chinese characters. This is accompanied, not by\nthe music of organs, but by one or two of the priests beating the time\non a hollow \u201cwooden fish.\u201d The chant is impressive, though monotonous.\nOften they move in slow processions about the room, chanting as they\nmarch, and bowing when they pass and re-pass the image of Buddha.\n\n [Illustration: MONUMENT OF A BUDDHIST LAMA, NEAR PEKING,\n CHINA.]\n\nIn the monasteries great attention is paid to comfort. There are rooms\nfor the reception of officers, for the common people, study rooms and\nthe room for daily worship; in addition, a place is sometimes provided\nfor keeping living animals. These are not kept for food, but are\ndonated by devotees who send them there. It is a part of the Buddhist\nfaith not to kill any living creature, because, if one kills or injures\na horse, or any other animal, he may be inflicting suffering on his\nmother, or some other friend. For the same reason, the Buddhist priests\nof China sometimes take care of sick and wounded animals. No animal is\nput to death, but permitted to die a natural death, and then is buried.\nWhen you tell the priests that the air, water, vegetables or grain they\neat are full of tiny, living animals, and when you try to show them by\nthe help of the microscope, they refuse to believe that they are really\nanimals having organic life. The Chinese dislike the Buddhist priests,\nbecause they disown the family relation, and yet they patronize them\nand follow their teachings with an unquestioning faith and an implicit\nobedience.\n\n [Illustration: PRIEST AT A PRAYING-WHEEL.]\n\n\n A MONK\u2019S MONUMENT.\n\n [Illustration: CHINESE BONZE, OR PRIEST.]\n\nWithin the grounds of an old Buddhist temple, about half a mile from\nPeking, is a magnificent marble monument. A hundred years ago, or more,\nthe Teshu Lama of Thibet, a man of great sanctity, died. He died of\nthe small-pox. While his body was embalmed and sent back to Thibet,\nover his clothing was built this great mausoleum. It is built of\nbeautiful marble, and from the base of the terrace to the large gilt\nball on the top is about ninety feet in height. Scenes from the life\nof this Lama, distinguished for his piety and devotion, are sculptured\nin _bas-relief_ on the monument. These include his birth, his\nconversion to the Buddhist religion, his teaching his disciples and\nhis death. The carving is executed by the Chinese, with a high degree\nof artistic taste and skill. On the top of the monument is a neat\nmarble urn, and on this a lotus-flower and a gilded marble globe. Not\nonly Chinese Buddhists, but even the Thibetans, greatly venerate this\nmonument. Often they may be seen measuring their length on the ground,\nand in this way proceeding entirely around the monument.\n\n\n CHINESE BUDDHIST BONZES.\n\nThe priests often go in companies of thirty and forty, dressed in\nloose, yellow robes of cotton or silk, with a wide collar, with beads\naround their necks, begging for the support of their monasteries. The\npeople will give them rice, or oil, or, perhaps, \u201ccash,\u201d which is the\nname of the common round Chinese coin, having a square hole in the\ncentre. The priests shave the hair from their heads, and often spots\non their heads are burnt with coals of fire so that the hair will\nnever grow again; this is a badge of their profession. They never\nmarry, and they leave their homes forever. They never even sleep in\ndwelling-houses with other people. They make no friendships, but shut\nthemselves off from the rest of mankind. They profess to have given up\nthe world and all its pleasures. They pass their time in chanting from\nthe Buddhist sacred books. They are employed in private families to\npray for the sick and dying, or for the dead, for which they are paid.\nThe ranks of the priests are recruited by buying boys who are trained\nfor the priesthood. Often, mandarins tired of business, or shop-keepers\nunsuccessful in trade, or scholars failing to pass the examinations,\nwill enter the monasteries and become monks, or, perhaps, priests.\nThere are often priests who retire from the world altogether, for a\ntime; who receive their food through a hole in the wall of their cells.\nThese profess to give themselves entirely and only to meditation, and\nso hope to become Buddhas when they die. The bodies of the priests are\nusually burned with great ceremony and are not buried as is the custom\nprevalent with us.\n\n\n BUDDHIST DEVOTEES.\n\nMany Buddhist devotees seek to subdue the flesh by inflicting painful\nseverities on their bodies. One will meet, frequently, a company of\npriests, one of whom will pull up the sleeve of his coat and uncovering\nan arm without a hand, beg for alms, assuring you that he had, by a\nslow process, burned his hand to the stump, as an atonement for his\nsins and as a recommendation for his promotion at some future time to\nthe state of Buddha-hood. At Peking a priest will often be seen sitting\nin a sedan chair, the interior of which is thickly studded with sharp\nnails and spikes, so that he can neither move nor sleep. He informs\nthose who stand round his penitential chair that the nails acquire a\nheavenly virtue in proportion to the misery which they cause him, and\nthat he is prepared to sell them for a fair price each, as antidotes\nagainst evil. He assures them that he had resolved to remain in the\nsedan chair until every nail has been sold.\n\nAt Tien-tsin there formerly lived a priest who had passed through his\ncheek a sharp skewer, to the end of which he had attached a chain. To\nrelieve him of its weight, some little boys held up the chain--an act\nwhich was, of course, regarded as very meritorious. Sometimes these\ndevotees perform pilgrimages of penance to distant shrines, traveling\nhundreds of miles on foot. It is remarkable that the Buddhists should\nsubject themselves to such self-torture, as Buddha himself, on one\noccasion, preached a most powerful sermon against self-torture and all\nsuch follies.\n\n\n CEREMONY OF THE WATER-LAMPS.\n\nDoolittle, in his work on China, says: Frequently a large number\nof small and cheap earthen vessels, shaped somewhat like bowls, is\nprovided. A preparation of pitch and some other inflammable material,\nor some oil, or a candle, is put in each. Around the top of the outside\nof each are fastened paper imitations of lotus-flowers or some other\npretty plant. Early in the evening, these vessels are carried in a\nprocession of priests from the place where the principal ceremonies are\nperformed to the edge of the nearest running water, where, the pitch or\noil having been lighted, the vessels are placed carefully on the water\nand allowed to float away. The object of this is explained to be, to\nafford lights for the spirits that come or go by water. The priests\ncoming to the water and going from it, on this occasion chant their\nclassics, and clap their cymbals together, walking along slowly and in\nsingle file. This ceremony is called _letting go the water-lamps_.\n\n [Illustration: LETTING GO THE WATER-LAMPS.]\n\n\n THE DO-NOTHING SECT OF REFORMED BUDDHISTS.\n\nFor about two hundred years there has existed a sect in China which\nbears quite a close resemblance to Buddhism, and yet differs widely\nfrom this faith in that it opposes idolatry. They are called the\nWu-Wei-Kiau, or \u201cThe Do-nothing Sect.\u201d Their central doctrine seems\nto be that religion does not consist in outward ordinances and\nceremonies, but in quiet meditation. They have temples but no idols.\nIn a discussion with some priests, who had brought a huge brass Buddha\nto the court of the king, Lo-tsu, the founder of this sect, said: \u201cA\nbrazen Buddha melts, and a wooden Buddha burns, when exposed to fire.\nAn earthen Buddha cannot save itself from water. It cannot save itself,\nthen how can it save me? In every particle of dust there is a kingdom\nruled by Buddha. In every temple the king of the law resides. The\nmountains, the rivers, and the great earth form Buddha\u2019s image. Why,\nthen, carve or mould an image?\u201d\n\nThis sect worships, in addition to Buddha, a goddess called the Kin-mu,\nor \u201cgolden mother.\u201d She is believed to protect from dangers, from\nsickness and from the miseries of the unseen world. This sect eat only\nvegetables.\n\n\n BOOLDO, THE BUDDHISM OF THE COREANS.\n\nCorea is a country lying between China and Japan. Buddhism entered\nit in 372 A.D., from China. The Coreans have two names for God; one,\na native name, Hannonim, meaning the Heavenly One; the other, the\nChinese name, Shang-te. Buddhism is called Booldo in Corea. The priests\nor monks, called Joong, are very numerous; they are said to form\none-fourth of the whole male population. Their principal images are of\nbrass, the secondary ones of carved stone; they have none of clay. The\npriests dress in black or gray, while the rest of the people generally\ndress in white. They use rosaries. Confucius is worshiped twice a year\nby the magistrate of each city in Corea. There are two very popular\ngods--belonging to the old religion that existed in Corea before\nBuddhism was introduced--they are the god of the mountains and the god\nof rain. The Buddhists have four sects in Corea. In their doctrines\nand general worship there is but little difference between the Corean\nand the Chinese Buddhists. These few notices of Buddhism in Corea must\nbe taken with caution, for our information respecting that secluded\ncountry is too imperfect to enable us to describe it fully or with\nconfidence.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIV.\n\n JAPANESE BUDDHISM.\n\n Buddhism, that worship without God, that religion of\n nothingness, invented by despair, is superior, in many respects,\n to the religion which it has displaced in Japan.--AIM\u00c9\n HUMBERT.\n\n My mountain dwelling\u2019s roof of thatch\n Is with Yahemugura moss o\u2019ergrown,\n Of passer-by no glimpse I catch,\n I dwell uncheered and alone.\n\n THE PRIEST\u2019S LAMENT FOR THE DESERTED TEMPLE (translated\n from the Japanese).\n\n\nBuddhism was introduced into Japan in 552 A.D. By this time, the\noriginal Buddhism of India had been very greatly altered. \u201cIt now\nhad a vast and complicated ecclesiastical and monastic machinery,\na geographical and sensuous paradise, definitely-located hells and\npurgatories, populated with a hierarchy of titled demons. Of these,\nthe priests kept the keys, regulated the thermometers, and timed or\ngraded the torture or bliss.\u201d The Chinese had very greatly modified\nthe Buddhism of India, and the Coreans had still further changed the\nBuddhism which they had received from China; and now, Japan, in her\nturn, modifies the religion she received from Corea. The way was\nprepared for the coming of Buddhism to Japan. Shintoism had become\nan empty, cold system of political management, used as a support of\nthe government. It had lost its hold on the affections of the people,\nand they were heart-hungry for just such a warm religious system as\nBuddhism had to offer. In the year 552, King Petsi, of Corea, sent to\nKin-Mei, the thirteenth Mikado of Japan, a statue of Gautama, together\nwith books, banners, a baldaquin and other objects of worship. Buddha\nhad said: \u201cMy doctrine shall extend to the East;\u201d and King Petsi\ndesired to aid in fulfilling that prophecy. The mikado suffered the\nstatue to remain; a chapel was built for it, and worship offered by a\nfew of the members of the mikado\u2019s court. An epidemic broke out; it was\ndeclared that the new image was the cause of it, and the chapel was\nthereupon burned and the statue cast into the river.\n\nIn the reign of the next mikado, Bidasu, a Buddhist bonze (priest)\ncame over from Corea. He had been warned of the difficulties before\nhim, but surmounted them by a pleasant device. When he was presented\nto the mikado at his court, he saw his little grandson, a boy of six\nyears old, at whose birth there had been some extraordinary signs. He\nprostrated himself at the child\u2019s feet, and worshiped him, declaring\nthat he recognized in him the incarnation of one of Buddha\u2019s disciples,\nthe new patron of the empire. The mikado left the child in the care of\nthe Corean priest, to be educated by him. As might be expected, the\nchild became the first high-priest of Buddhism. Through his efforts,\nbeing so closely related to the Emperor, the religion spread with\ngreater rapidity, and soon became the dominant religion of the land.\n\n\n BODHIDHARMA IN JAPAN.\n\nIn Japan, as in India, there have been many ascetics, noted for their\nwonderful penances. One of the first and most famous of these is\ncalled Bodhidharma, who founded the Shin-Shin sect of Buddhists. He\ncame from Corea, in 613 A.D., according to the legend, floating upon a\nlarge lotus-leaf. Kobo Daishi, the inventor of the Japanese syllabary\nor alphabet, was a celebrated priest, born in 774 A.D. Fodaishi was\na remarkable inventive genius, who came from China. The priests had\nbeen required to read the \u201cwheel of the law,\u201d as it was called, with\ngreat regularity. He constructed a movable desk, and spread on it\nthe rolls of the sacred books. He allowed his disciples, instead of\nreading all the books through--which would have been a most tiresome\ntask--to give this desk a half or three-quarters of a turn, counting it\nas if they had read the books which passed before them. He and great\npriests of later days did much to mix the two religions, Buddhism\nand Shintoism together, and thus secure its readier acceptance. The\nthirteenth century was the time when Buddhism attained the height of\nits prosperity. At this time, many of the greatest temples were built,\nand most of the sects founded. Of these sects, there are seven chief\nand some twenty minor ones, illustrating the utmost diversity.\n\n\n THE SUN-CHILD AND HIS MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE.\n\nIn 1222, a child was born, who was named Nichiren, because his mother\ndreamed that the sun (nichi, in Japanese) had entered her. While still\na child, he was intrusted to the care of a priest. As he grew up, he\nturned away from all the accepted teachings, and resolved to found a\nnew and purer sect. He changed the common Japanese prayer from \u201cSave\nus! O Eternal Buddha!\u201d to \u201cGlory to the salvation-bringing book of\nthe law!\u201d This prayer is inscribed in the temples of this sect, upon\ntheir tomb-stones and shrines, and was even engraven on the shields\nof their warriors. Nichiren was a traveling preacher, and he founded\nmany temples. He bitterly opposed all other Buddhists, and made many\nbitter enemies. The story is thus told by Griffis: \u201cOn a certain\nday, he was taken out to a village on the strand of the bay, beyond\nKamakura, and in front of the lovely island of Enoshima. This village\nis called Koshigoye. At this time, Nichiren was forty-three years\nold. Kneeling down upon the strand, the saintly bonze calmly uttered\nhis prayers, and repeated \u2018_Namu mio ho ren ge kio_\u2019 upon his\nrosary. The swordman lifted his blade and, with all his might, made\nthe downward stroke. Suddenly a flood of blinding light burst from the\nsky, and smote both the executioner and the official inspector deputed\nto witness the severed head. The sword-blade was broken in pieces,\nwhile the holy man was unharmed. At the same moment, Hojo, the Lord\nof Kamakura, was startled at his revels in the palace by the sound of\nrattling thunder and the flash of lightning, though there was not a\ncloud in the sky. Dazed by the awful signs of Heaven\u2019s displeasure,\nHojo Tokoyori, divining that it was on account of the holy victim,\ninstantly dispatched a fleet messenger to stay the executioner\u2019s hand,\nand reprieve the victim. Simultaneously, the official inspector, at the\nstill unstained blood-pit, sent a courier to beg reprieve for the saint\nwhom the sword could not touch. The two men, coming from opposite\ndirections, met at the small stream which the tourist still crosses\non the way from Kamakura to Enoshima, and it was thereafter called\nYukiai (meeting on the way) River, a name which it retains to this\nday. Through the pitiful clemency and intercession of Hojo Tokimuni,\nson of the Lord of Kamakura, Nichiren was sent to Sado Island. He was\nafterward released by his benefactor, in a general amnesty. Nichiren\nfounded his sect at Kioto, and it greatly flourished under the care of\nhis disciple, his reverence, Nichizo. After a busy and holy life, the\ngreat saint died at Ikegami, a little to the north-west of the Kawasaki\nRailroad station, between Yokohama and Tokio, where the scream of the\nlocomotive and the rumble of the railway car are but faintly heard in\nthe solemn shades. There are to be seen gorgeous temples, pagodas,\nshrines, magnificent groves and cemeteries. The dying presence of\nNichiren has lent this place peculiar sanctity; but his bones rest on\nMount Minobu, in the province of Kai, where was one of his homes when\nin the flesh.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE OF A BONZE.]\n\n [Illustration: SHRINE OF KWANON.]\n\nThe disciples of Nichiren drank in their master\u2019s spirit, and they long\ncontinued the most powerful sect of the Buddhists in Japan. The Shin\nsect, which was brought to great strength by Shinran in 1262 A.D.,\ndiscarded fasting, penances, pilgrimages, separation from society,\nnunneries and monasteries, and taught salvation by faith in Buddha,\nand not by works. They use the sacred Buddhist books in a translation\ninto Japanese, while the other sects used the (to them) unintelligible\nSanskrit and Chinese. Their temples are built mainly in crowded cities.\nTheir priests marry, and their sons succeed them in office. This sect\nwields a vast influence over the religious life of the people. To these\ntwo men, Shinran and Nichiren, and their missionary labors, the great\nprogress of Buddhism in Japan is due.\n\n [Illustration: INTERIOR OF KWANON\u2019S TEMPLE, TOKIO, JAPAN.]\n\n\n FURTHER HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN JAPAN.\n\nThe books and idols were brought from Corea in 552. In 584 several\nof the nobles at court professed faith in the new religion. In 585\nthe pestilence broke out, and the progress of Buddhism seemed to be\nchecked. In 741 an imperial decree was given that two temples and\na seven-storied pagoda be built in each province. This would seem\nto indicate the establishment of Buddhism in Japan. But, from the\ntime (800) when Kobo Daishi showed that, according to Buddhism,\npatriotism and piety were one, and that the Shinto gods were but\nJapanese manifestations of Buddha, it gained a sure foothold in Japan;\nthe religion spread more and more extensively, until the fourteenth\ncentury, when the zeal of Nichiren, Shinran and their co-workers were\nsomewhat forgotten. Many of the largest Buddhist temples now standing\nwere built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and are therefore,\nfive or six hundred years old. In the fourteenth century the great\nmajority of the soldiers were Buddhists. Images of Buddha were sewed\ninto their helmets; texts from the sacred books were woven into their\nbanners; and amulets or charms, with sacred characters written on the\npapers within them, were worn as a protection in battle.\n\n [Illustration: THE HIOGO BUDDHA.]\n\nFrom the year 1570 Nobunaga, a famous warrior, appears as a persecutor\nof the Buddhists. The Buddhists were then very powerful; they had\nenormous monasteries and stone-walled and moated fortresses. The\npriests of the various sects were continually quarreling among\nthemselves, and used arms with the dexterity of the soldiery. They\ngrew to be less and less strict in their observance of religious rites\nand rules as they grew prosperous. On the shore of Lake Biwa was the\nlargest monastery in all Japan. Here thousands of monks were gathered\ntogether. They chanted their prayers before gorgeous altars, while they\nreveled in luxury and licentiousness, drinking wine, eating forbidden\nfood, and yielded to the charms of concubines or fanned the flames of\nwars between their followers and those of other sects. Nobunaga, who\nhad been trained among priests, had no respect for such characters; he\nwas born, bred and educated as a Shintoist, and he hated Buddhism. In\n1571 he ordered his soldiers to set fire to this and other monasteries,\nand to destroy their occupants without exception. Before this, Xavier\nand other Jesuit missionaries had come to Japan, and they were\nencouraged by Nobunaga, because he regarded them as opponents of the\nBuddhists. But Buddhism thrived in spite of this persecution. Now the\nwhole country, with its 35,000,000 of people, may be called Buddhist.\nBut since the thirteenth century not many very extensive monasteries\nhave been built. That work is nearly abandoned.\n\n\n BUDDHIST SECTS IN JAPAN.\n\nBuddhism in Japan is broken up into many sects. These sects differ\ngreatly, much more than even Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.\nFor a time they waged bitter wars against each other, and sought to\nexterminate each other.\n\nW. E. Griffis has prepared the following tabular list of Buddhist sects\nin Japan:\n\n Chief Sects. Total number\n of Temples.\n 1. Tendai, founded by Chisha, in China, 6,391\n 2. Shingon, \u201e \u201e Kobo, in Japan, A.D. 813, 15,503\n 3. Zen, \u201e \u201e Dharma, \u201e 21,547\n 4. Jodo, \u201e \u201e H\u00f6nen, \u201e A.D. 1173, 9,819\n 5. Shin, \u201e \u201e Shinran, \u201e A.D. 1213, 13,718\n 6. Nichiren, \u201e \u201e Nichiren, in Japan, A.D. 1262,\n 7. Ji, \u201e \u201e Ippen, \u201d A.D. 1288, 586\n\nAccording to the census taken in Japan in 1872, there was a population\nof 33,110,825. Of these there were 75,925 priests, abbots and monks;\n9 abbesses; 37,327 novices preparing to become monks or priests; and\n98,585 religious devotees were gathered in monasteries. These last are\nmostly of the Shin sect. In 1875 the census showed a decrease of over\n4,000 of these _religieux_. Besides the seven chief sects above\nmentioned, there are twenty-one \u201cirregular,\u201d \u201clocal\u201d or \u201cindependent\u201d\nsects, which act apart from the others, and in some cases have no\ntemples or monasteries. A number of other sects have originated in\nJapan, flourished for a time, decayed and passed out of existence. Mr.\nGriffis estimates that it took 900 years to convert the Japanese from\ntheir nature-worship to Buddhism.\n\n\n THE PROTESTANTS OF BUDDHISM.\n\n [Illustration: BUDDHIST SHRINE AT KOBE.]\n\n [Illustration: JAPANESE PILGRIM IN WINTER DRESS.]\n\n [Illustration: DINING-ROOM OF A BUDDHIST MONASTERY.]\n\nThe members of the Shin sect, founded in 1213, sometimes called the\nShinshin, at other times the Monto sect, are the Protestants of\nJapanese Buddhism. They protested and still protest against penance,\nfasting, pilgrimages, convents and monasteries, hermitages, charms,\namulets and the reading of the Buddhist sacred books in an unknown\ntongue. Its founder, the priest Shinran, married a noble lady of\nKioto. The Monto priests always marry and oppose the celibacy of\nthe priesthood. This is the most thoroughly organized and earnestly\naggressive of all the Buddhist sects of Japan. Its priests are\nwide-awake and active. Two of them have been studying the Sanskrit\nlanguage with the famous Professor Max M\u00fcller, preparing better\nto understand and preach their sacred books, which are written in\nthis tongue. One of the foremost priests of to-day is Akamatz, who\nspent several years in England studying Sanskrit and Christianity.\nTheir temples are the most magnificent in Japan. A specially favored\nvisitor to the Nishi-Hongu-wanji temple, which may be described as the\ncathedral of the Monto sect, describes what she saw while there as\nfollows: \u201cWe walked around the outside of the public rooms, which are\nnumerous, large and lofty, by a deep-corridor, from which we saw the\ninterior through the open doors and the dull gleam of rich dead gold\nhinted of the artistic treasures within. For in these dimly-lighted\nrooms, most of which have been set apart for guests for centuries,\nthere are painting\u2019s nearly 300 years old, and the walls are either\npaneled in gold, or are formed of sliding-screens, heavily overlaid\nwith gold-leaf, on which, in the highest style of Japanese art, are\ndepicted various sacred emblems--the lotus, the stork, the peony, and\nthe _Cleyera Japonica_--executed very richly and beautifully with\nslightly conventionalized fidelity to nature. From thence are passed\ninto the great temple, the simple splendor of which exceeds anything I\nhave yet seen. The vast oblong space has a flat roof, supported on many\ncircular pillars of finely-planed wood; a third part is railed off for\nthe sanctuary; the panels of the folding-doors and the panels at the\nback are painted with flowers on a gold ground; behind a black lacquer\naltar stands a shrine of extreme splendor, gleaming in the twilight;\nbut on the high altar itself there were only two candlesticks, two\nvases of pure white chrysanthemums, and a glorious bronze incense\nburner. An incense-burner was the only object on the low altar. Besides\nthese there were six black lacquer desks, on each desk a roll of\nlitanies, and above the altar six lamps burned low. It was imposingly\nmagnificent. The Japanese have a proverb: \u2018As handsome as a Monto\naltar.\u2019\u201d\n\n [Illustration: RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL AT NIGHT IN THE\n TEMPLE-GROUNDS OF ASAKUSA, TOKIO.]\n\nThis sect rejects images and all sensuous paraphernalia addressed to\nthe popular taste.\n\nThe Creed of the Monto sect is thus given by Akamatz: \u201cRejecting\nall religious austerities and other actions, giving up all idea of\nself-power, rely upon Amita Buddha with the whole heart for our\nsalvation, which is the most important thing; believing that at the\nmoment of putting one\u2019s faith in Amita Buddha our salvation is settled.\n\n\u201cFrom that moment invocation of his name is observed to express\ngratitude and thankfulness for Buddha\u2019s mercy. Moreover, being thankful\nfor the reception of this doctrine from the founder and succeeding\nchief priests, whose teachings are as kind and welcome as the light in\na dark night.\n\n\u201cWe must also keep the laws which are fixed for our duty during our\nwhole life.\u201d\n\n\n KWANON\u2019S TEMPLE AT ASAKUSA, TOKIO.\n\nTokio, the eastern capital of Japan, is the most thickly populated city\nof the empire. It has a very large number of temples and shrines. The\nmost famous and popular of all is the temple of Kwanon, at Asakusa.\nAsakusa is really one great play-ground, with the temple in the centre.\nThe people gather there for pleasure as well as worship. The approach\nto the temple is by a long lane, from twelve to fifteen feet wide, and\nis lined with booths, stalls and shops, in which toys and articles of\nornament and the like are sold. It is always holiday time here. The\ntoys, dolls and all manner of playthings are displayed in wonderful\nvariety. The shops are open all along their fronts, and the toys are\narranged on steps, rising as they were farther and farther from the\nfront, so that everything in the shops could be seen at a glance. The\nJapanese are a very domestic people, and think a great deal of their\nchildren, and often when they go to the temple to worship they take\nthe children with them, and purchase toys, games, puzzles or dolls\nfor them at these booths. Inside the temple-grounds are \u201ctea-houses,\u201d\nas they are called, where the people sit to quaff the tea from tiny\ncups, while they listen to some interesting tale, as it is told by the\nstory-tellers. The story-tellers are a regular profession in Japan.\nJugglers and gymnasts, painters and play-actors are doing their best to\namuse the worshipers. Little stands are erected, where beans (Japanese\npeanuts) are being roasted, where savory stews are being prepared,\nwhere barley sugar-candy is being pulled, or where sweetmeats are being\nprepared for little purchasers. It is astonishing to see the manifold\nways in which amusements are provided, and all is in connection\nwith the temple services. The owners of the booths, etc., all pay a\npercentage of their profits to the priests. Just before coming into\nthe temple proper, one passes through a huge red gate-way, having a\ncompartment on each side of the doorway. In these compartments are two\ngigantic wooden images, painted red. They are two of the guardians\nof Heaven, defending the passage-way, to keep out evil spirits. The\nidols are protected by wire screens, such as are used to protect store\nwindows. To these gratings huge straw sandals are tied. They are the\nofferings of the worshipers for the use of the gods. On New Year\u2019s Eve\nthe priests are placed on a platform, suspended in this doorway and\nunder the eyes of the gods. From this position they distribute paper\namulets to the people, guaranteeing the protection of Kwanon to such\nwho shall be so fortunate as to secure one. They throw them in the\nair, their servants fanning them, so as to distribute them the more\nthoroughly, and the great, surging crowds struggle in their search of\nthem. Inside the gate-way are more booths; these are for the sale of\nthe objects to be used in worship--idols, rosaries, candles, domestic\naltars and the like. Here, in a little stable on the left of the way,\nis an Albino pony. This is for the use of the goddess Kwanon. Each\nmorning the priests lead the pony before the goddess, and ask her if\nshe does not wish to take a ride. At a large table near by, an old\nwoman sells large beans, which the pious worshiper buys and give to the\nsacred white horse for food. He has a priest to attend him. On another\ntable the worshiper purchases a small dish of beans, which he throws on\nthe ground, and immediately flocks of pigeons sweep down and eat them.\nThese are sacred pigeons, to whom the right of using the temple and\nall its buildings is given. Within the temple-grounds, and surrounding\nthe temple of Kwanon, are some forty or fifty sacred buildings,\ntemples and shrines, devoted to the worship of almost all the national\ngods--shrines of Sanno, the ruler-god; Dai-Koka, the rice god; Benten,\ngoddess of harmony; Hachiman, god of war; and even of the fox are to\nbe found here. The fox is worshiped because of the mischief he can do.\nHis little chapel is on the summit of a knoll; just before it are two\ngranite images of the fox, representing him in a sitting posture, with\nhis eyes on every one approaching his sanctuary. The faithful bow, cast\ntheir coins in the box placed here for that purpose, kneel in prayer,\nhang up their offerings, and turn away. Near the central temple is a\nseven-storied pagoda, symbolizing the supremacy of Buddhism. From the\neaves of each story are suspended wind-bells.\n\n [Illustration: NEW YEAR\u2019S FROLIC IN JAPAN.]\n\n [Illustration: BUDDHIST \u201cNIO,\u201d OR TEMPLE GUARD.]\n\nWe turn to ascend the copper-edged steps of the central building. This\nis a plain wooden structure, built with great solidity, and yet so\nplanned as to be secure against the frequent earthquakes. Its massive\nsloping roof of gray tiles sweeps up from either side. There are two\nmain rooms in the temple, a sort of vestibule, where the worshipers\nperform their ceremonies, and the screened shrine of the goddess. The\npigeons are perched about the rafters, and the whole place is noisy and\ndirty. Huge lanterns are suspended from the ceiling; private shrines\nare scattered here and there; the walls are hung with pictures and\nwhite tablets. Around the great red columns which support the ceiling,\nand on the wire screens before the idols, are hung scores of braids of\nhair of men and women, presented as offerings to Kwanon. The ceiling is\ncovered with paintings of scenes from Buddha\u2019s life. The worshiper, as\nhe enters, drops a coin in the lap of an old woman, at the door, who\nputs a pinch of incense on the fire burning in a brazier, and passes\non to the front of the altar to pray. The great altar, on which is the\nsplendid gilt statue of Kwanon, is protected by a wire screen. Before\nthe screen is a large coffer, extending clear across the front of the\naltar, with bars across its top. Into this, before engaging in prayer,\neach worshiper casts a coin. Then he kneels, rubbing the palms of the\nhands together, repeating his prayer and telling his beads. Often one\nwill buy from the priest a written prayer, put it in the mouth and\nchew it into pulp and then throw the \u201cspit-ball\u201d at the screen. If it\nsticks, he believes that his prayer will be heard; if it falls, he\nexpects it to fail! Men, women and children, shop-keepers and soldiers,\npeasants and princes, country and city folks, are all the time coming\nand going. After worshiping at the main altar, the devotee often turns\nto the side altars or to some of the shrines. At the right of the\naltar sits an ugly wooden idol, perched up on a table. He rivals even\nthe main altar in the number of worshipers that throng to touch him. He\nis the god Binzuru, one of Buddha\u2019s sixteen disciples who is reputed\nto cure disease. It is a pitiable sight to see crowds of blind, lame,\ndiseased, sickly persons coming in a long string, eagerly awaiting\ntheir turn to touch him; for if they can but first rub their hands on\nhim, and then on the diseased spot, it is sure to heal. Often a group\nof mothers, each with a sickly little babe on her back, carried in\nJapanese fashion, between her inner and outer garments, will approach\nBinzuru. Reaching around, they take the tiny hand of the sick child,\nand rub it on the face of the idol. So constant has been the rubbing\nthat the idol, though made of hard wood, has lost all its features;\neyes, nose, lips, ears are all rubbed away. Near by is a stand where an\nold woman sells for the priest pictures, or small shrines of Kwanon,\nwhich are exactly like the accompanying pictures.\n\n [Illustration: JAPANESE PICTURE OF KWANON.]\n\nBehind the screen are many smaller idols and altars, and an inclosed\nmatted space, where those who choose may, by paying an extra fee to\nthe attendant priests, enter and worship undisturbed. On high days and\ngreat festival occasions, a space near the altar is fenced in, and the\npriests, richly dressed, chant their prayers, while incense is smoking\nand candles are flaring. The crowd presses against the fence, and by\nmaking special gifts of money, secure special prayers for themselves,\nand extra candles, representing such prayers, are placed on the stand\nfor them by the attendants.\n\nTo the left of the altar are placed, by the symbols of the\nShinto-worship, the mirror and white paper. This enables all shades of\nopinion to be suited.\n\nOutside the building are groves of plum and cherry trees, which\nare esteemed not so much for their fruit as for their blossoms.\nHere are carefully kept beds of lotus, azaleas, chrysanthemums, and\ncamellias and evergreens. These evergreens are dwarfed and trimmed\ninto all sorts of fanciful shapes, even while growing. Trees many\nyears old are made to represent cats, dogs, boats, houses, wagons and\nother objects. Around the bases of the idols of Buddha, scattered\neverywhere, are heaps of small stones, representing prayers offered.\nA praying-machine--a stone wheel set to run on a stone post--stands\nclose by. There is an exhibition of wax-works, which would rival Madame\nTussaud\u2019s, of London. These are intended to depict various deliverances\nfrom dangers and peril, wrought by Kwanon.\n\n\nTEMPLE OF SHIBA, IN TOKIO, JAPAN.\n\n [Illustration: MUSICIANS OF THE TEMPLE AT SHIBA.]\n\n [Illustration: TORII, OR WATER GATE, TO THE TEMPLE OF\n MIYAJIMA, INLAND SEA, JAPAN.]\n\n [Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE OF SHIBA.]\n\nOne of the finest temples of Japan was that of Shiba, in Tokio. It\nwas burned by a fanatic incendiary on the eve of New Year\u2019s Day,\nDecember 31st, 1874. Formerly the visitor passed through an immense\nred gate-way on the north side of the temple, and then passed along a\nwide avenue lined with overhanging fir-trees. After passing through\nanother gate-way, one enters a large court-yard, in which were arranged\n200 stone lanterns, each the gift of a Japanese prince, the head of\na clan. Going on through another carved and gilded gate-way, another\ncourt-yard is entered, having six large gilt lanterns, each the gift\nof a prince of the royal family. Then another gate-way, more richly\ncarved and ornamented than the last, is passed, and the visitor stood\nbefore the handsome shrines. The lacquered steps lead up to gilt doors,\nwhich swing open upon a room covered with the finest white matting.\nThe walls, panels and beams are covered with sculpture. There the\ngreat altars rise up, resplendent with golden lacquer and sculpture.\nIn caskets are placed the tablets of the deceased shogouns and rulers.\nImages of Buddha and Kwanon are scattered about. One of these idols\nrepresents Buddha on his death-bed. For many years the mikado lived in\nKioto, secluded from the sight of the people. The real ruler was called\nshogoun (in later days, termed tycoon). This functionary lived in Yedo\nor Tokio. He was accustomed to worship at Shiba. On the great festival\noccasions he proceeded there with an immense retinue, and the services\nwere performed with great magnificence.\n\nThere are very many idols and shrines in the country places, as\nwell as in the cities. In every hamlet, by the roadsides, among the\nrice-fields, by the sea-shore, on the hill-tops, by the running\nstreams, in groves of trees or in niches of the rocks. Generally, the\ntemples are placed in elevated positions; these are reached by long\nflights of steps. Just outside of Tokio, and commanding a fine view of\nthe city, is the hill called Atagosa Yama. One hundred steps lead to\nthe top of this hill; there, amid the clumps of cedar and bamboo, are\ntwo idols, formerly much worshiped. They are both Buddhas; the one is\nstanding on a lotus-flower; the other is sitting on a tortoise.\n\nKob\u00e9 is the sea-port town of Osaka. High up on a mountain-peak, near\nthe city, is a famous temple built by Jingu Kogo, the Amazonian\nempress of Japan, after her return from invading Corea. Many hundreds\nof pilgrims visit it annually. In Kob\u00e9 is the shrine of a hero, much\nloved and honored by the Japanese. This is one of the means used by\nthe Buddhist priests to intrench themselves and their religion in\nthe affections of the people. Immediately, on the death of any hero\nor noted personage, they propose erecting a shrine or a monument to\nhim, thus drawing the devotions of the people anew to that particular\nshrine, and through it, to their faith.\n\n\n TEMPLE OF FIVE HUNDRED GODS.\n\nThe temples of the 500 disciples of Buddha are among the most\ncelebrated in Japan. Of these, there are several--one in Asakusa, and\none in Honjo. In one of these, near the main image of Buddha, is an\nidol of Hachiman, having three eyes, horns, hoofs and long hair--a\ncurious combination. In each corner, in iron cages, are the gods\nDaikoku and Yebisu. Yebisu is the god of daily food, and has a fish\nunder his arm; Daikoku, god of wealth, sits on two sacks of rice,\nwith a mallet in his hand, which, when he shakes it, is supposed to\nsend wealth to the worshipers. Great numbers of strips of paper, with\nprayers written on them, are tied to the railing before these gods,\nand this indicates their popularity. These images are found in almost\nevery household, and receive daily worship. The idols are seated under\na scroll, on their throne. Shallow dishes containing oil with floating\nwicks, are placed on either side and lighted. On low tables are placed\nloaves of _mochi_, made of glutinous rice-flour and fishes, and vases\ncontaining scrolls. The head of the family, kneeling between the tall\ncandle-stick, presents, each morning before breakfast, a cup of tea or\n_saki_--a very common drink, brewed from the rice, accompanied with a\ndish of rice.\n\nIn the Temple of the Five Hundred Gods, there are, besides these\ngods, a statue of Kwanon and images of the five hundred of Buddha\u2019s\ndisciples. On a throne of weather-stained rocks and pieces of\nvolcanic rock and lava, is a colossal image of Buddha, seated on the\nlotus-flower. On either side of him is a statue of an elephant and of\na lion. Next to Buddha is the statue of the disciple who collected all\nof Buddha\u2019s sayings; next, the disciple who never forgot anything his\nmaster taught him, and so on through all the list. Away in the rear is\nthe black image of Yema, the god of hell.\n\nIn this representation of the Buddhistic hell Yema sits upon his throne\nbehind a table, as the Japanese pictures put him, with his pencil in\nhand, ready to write out the sentence of the condemned. On either\nside are those who keep the records of the misdeeds of men, and, in\nfront, the executioner ready to cast the condemned man from his boat\ninto the lake of fire. In the future state, there are, according to\nthe teaching of the Buddhist priests, eight modes of torture. \u201cFirst,\nthe wicked are alternately beaten and resuscitated; secondly, they\nare dragged limb from limb, chopped to pieces, pounded in a mortar,\nsawn or planed into various shapes, eyes gouged out, and the tongue\nand nails are plucked out; in the third, the crowd of the wicked are\nbeaten about like animals in a pen; the fourth is weeping; the fifth,\nis great lamentation; the sixth, burning and roasting; the seventh,\nhills covered with large needles, over which the wicked are driven; the\neighth, being thrown into the bottomless pit of perdition.\u201d These are\nspecimens of the terrors which heathenism holds over its followers.\n\n [Illustration: TEMPLE OF FIVE HUNDRED GODS, CANTON, CHINA.]\n\n\n THE CASTING OF A TEMPLE BELL.\n\nOsaka is the greatest commercial city of Japan. In it are many temples.\nOne of the most beautiful sounds the traveler ever hears, as he travels\nin Asia, is the sound of the temple bells of Japan. They are very\nlarge, and generally sounded by striking a suspended beam against the\nbell. Some of these bells are ten feet high. On their sides are cast\nor engraven texts from the Buddhist sacred books, images of Buddha or\nKwanon, or of heavenly beings. The bell was stuck on a knob on its side\nby the small tree-trunk. Few sounds are sweeter than the quivering,\nmellow tones of the Japanese temple bells. The bells are often, as\nin Osaka, placed in separate buildings, built for them; this was to\ngive a better effect to the sounds. The occasion of the casting of a\nbell was one of great public rejoicing. Offerings of money or jewelry,\nor utensils of tin, copper, silver or gold were brought by men and\nwomen. \u201cWhen metal enough, and in proper proportion, had been amassed,\ncrucibles were made, earth-furnaces dug, the moulds fashioned, and\nhuge bellows--worked by standing men at each end, like a see-saw--were\nmounted; and, after due prayers and consultations, the auspicious day\nwas appointed. The place selected was usually a hill or elevated place.\nThe people, in their gayest dress, assembled in picnic parties, and\nwith song, and dance, and feast waited while the workmen, in festal\nuniform, toiled, and the priests, in canonical robes, watched. The\nfires were lighted, the bellows oscillated, the blast roared, and the\ncrucibles were brought to the proper heat and the contents to fiery\nfluidity, the joy of the crowd increasing as each stage in the process\nwas announced. When the molten flood was finally poured into the mould,\nthe excitement of the spectators reached the height of uncontrollable\nenthusiasm. Another pecuniary harvest was reaped by the priests before\nthe crowds dispersed, by the sale of stamped kerchiefs or paper\ncontaining a holy text, or certifying to the presence of the purchaser\nat the ceremony, and the blessing of the gods upon him therefor. Such\na token became an heirloom; and the child who ever afterward heard the\nsolemn boom of the bell at matin or evening, was constrained by filial,\nas well as by holy motives, to obey and reverence its admonitory call.\u201d\nSuch devotion to the idol-worship is not so frequently seen to-day, as\nskepticism is becoming prevalent.\n\n [Illustration: BELFRY OF THE TEMPLE AT OSAKA, JAPAN.]\n\n\n THE COLOSSAL IDOL, THE KAMAKURA DAI BUTSU.\n\nThere is a gigantic image about two miles from Kamakura, and\ntwenty miles from Yokohama. The colossal idol of Buddha here (see\nfrontispiece) is of bronze, and, though sitting in Oriental style,\nis forty-four feet high, and including the terrace on which it sits,\nis sixty-five feet. It is probably the most finished work of art the\nJapanese possess, regarded both for its beauty and the religious\nsentiment it expresses. After leaving Kamakura, with its wonderful old\ntemples, the road passes out among the rice fields, down toward the\nshore washed by the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Every here and there\n_torii_, or birds\u2019 rests, as they are called, great gate-ways,\nmodeled after those before the topes in India, are placed. They consist\nof two upright shafts of stone, about ten or twelve feet high, with\ncross-pieces on their tops bending upwards at the ends, and extending\nbeyond the uprights, and a square cross-piece about a foot from the\ntop running from shaft to shaft. Knowing the immensity of the statue,\nthe visitor for the first time is on the lookout for it. But its\nbuilders have used great judgment in placing it, for it is not to be\nseen until one reaches the most favorable spot. After passing through\nthe red gate-way, with its Gog and Magog, the giant idols, on either\nside, the road seems to end in a clump of trees. However, it passes\naround the trees, and there, right from the best place to see the idol\nfavorably, there right before him it sits. There is an irresistible\ncharm about it; the features of the face are in such perfect harmony,\nthe garments are so simple, the face is so serene and benevolent in\nits contemplative ecstasy, and the whole pose of the figure so well\nexecuted. The hills, clad with evergreens, gently slope together in the\nbackground, and all the buildings, dwellings for priests, etc., are so\ndexterously concealed by the foliage. The place is silent, and time has\nso tempered the bronze idol itself and the stones of the terrace, that\nthe whole effect is grand, and compels admiration.\n\nBut, while the whole scene inspires one with a sense of its beauty\nand grandeur, it saddens one to think that after all it is an idol.\nEven while one stops to study its beauty he is jostled by the pilgrims\nwith their white garments, broad hats, little bells fastened to their\ngirdles and their staves, as they come bowing and rising alternately,\ntill they get near to the idol. The idol is made of bronze plates,\nnicely united, though time and the weather have somewhat exposed some\nof these joints. In front of it are vases with bronze lotus lilies, and\na bronze brazier where incense is burned day by day for the benefit of\npilgrims.\n\nThe image is hollow, and inside smaller idols are ranged. A window in\nhis shoulder lets in the light. His ears are large, as are the ears\nof almost all idols, and the head is covered with representations\nof snail-shells, to protect him from the sun. The idol was cast and\nerected about six hundred years ago. At first a building inclosed it,\nbut it was soon destroyed, and for nearly six centuries past he has\nbeen exposed to wind and rain, and snow and frost, to earthquake and\ntyphoon, and yet he is there unharmed, and widely admired and adored by\nhundreds of devout worshipers.\n\n [Illustration: STREET MOUNTEBANKS IN A JAPANESE NEW YEAR\u2019S\n FESTIVAL.]\n\n\n THE FAMOUS TEMPLE OF THE GREAT BUDDHA, AT NARA.\n\n \u201cLong ere great Buddha strode\n Upon his calm, colossal, godlike way\n O\u2019er the broad rolling river of Cathay,\n By the Corean road,\n\n \u201cAnd stepping stormy seas\n Hither, to mount the golden lotus throne,\n O Nara, there to rule and muse alone,\n Through lingering centuries.\u201d\n\nAs usual in approaches to Japanese temples, there are several shops\nnear to the temple itself. In the centre of the large open space\nbetween the lesser gate-way and the temple is an immense and very old\nbronze lantern, large enough for a man to stand in. This lantern was\npresented to the temple by the renowned hero and statesman, Yoritomo,\nwho died in the year 1199, and is 700 years old. It is in daily use\nstill. This temple was originally founded, and the immense image made,\nby the Mikado Shomu, the forty-sixth of the present line of emperors,\nand the third of Nara, who died 748 A.D. The temple was destroyed 700\nyears ago, in the terrible civil wars of the twelfth century, and again\nseriously injured, so that the head of the god had to be recast, in\nthe seventeenth century. The great gate-way, however, with most of the\nother buildings of the great temple, have escaped such injuries, and,\nalthough constructed of wood, have stood as they now stand for more\nthan eleven centuries.\n\n [Illustration: JAPANESE IDEA OF THE JUDGE OF HELL.]\n\nThe interest of this place centres in the great god of gold and bronze,\nwhich has been the wonder of Japan for so many ages past. It has been\npositively stated by some that a considerable amount of gold entered\ninto his composition; but those on the spot seem to be uncertain as to\nwhether the gold employed in making him was mixed with the bronze of\nwhich he is cast, or applied superficially to him. That much has been\napplied in the latter way there can be no doubt; and in places in which\nthe gold is visible, and which I closely examined, it seemed to me that\nit conformed to an external line of ornament in each case, which would\nindicate that it was superficial only. The dimensions of this god are\ntruly colossal. His height from the base of the lotus-flower, on which\nhe sits, to the top of his head is sixty-three and one-half feet; and\nabove this rises an aureole fourteen feet wide, above which again rises\nfor several feet the flame-like glory which arches in the whole figure.\nThe face proper is sixteen feet long; its width, nine and one-half\nfeet. The eyes are three feet nine inches long; the eyebrows, five and\none-half feet; the ears, eight and one-half feet. The chest is twenty\nfeet in depth. Its middle finger is five feet long. Around the head,\nshoulders and sides of the god, in front of the aureole, are sixteen\nsitting figures, said to be eight feet long. The leaves of the immense\nlotus on which he sits are each ten feet long and six feet wide, and\nthere are fifty-six of them. The casting must have been wonderfully\nwell executed, although the fineness of the leaf-edges, and other parts\nwhich we were able to examine, and the elaborate engraving which can be\ntraced upon the lotus-leaves in the uninjured parts, leaves no doubt\nthat the founder\u2019s art was elaborately supplemented by the file and\ngraver. The countenance of the god is less mild and calm of expression\nthan is usual in images of Buddha. The right hand is open and raised\nupwards; the left rests on the lap.\n\n\n SOME JAPANESE GODS.\n\nMany of the gods of Shintoism have been adopted by the Buddhists.\nHotei\u2019s image is carved into the shape of buttons, and used for\nholding the pipe in the girdle (a Nitsuki). Inari, the rice-god, and\nhis companion, Kitsune, the fox, are worshiped. A very great many\nsuperstitions are connected with the fox. If one is sick, he is said\nto have a fox in him, and a priest is sent for, who, by beating a\ndrum--at, say, three beats each half minute all night long--will\ndrive him out. He is the cause of a thousand ills to the people. He\nis reverenced because he is supposed to be the most cunning creature\nin creation. Kitsune becomes by turns a sacred, amusing, perfidious,\ndiabolical personage. One superstitious notion is, that if the\ntraveler fail to honor the fox before his journey, he, Kitsune, will\ntake revenge by causing will-o\u2019-the-wisps to spring up all over the\nrice-swamps, and so mislead the traveler, and prolong his journey\nindefinitely. This lighting the will-o\u2019-the-wisp is called the Festival\nof the Foxes, and is shown in the opposite picture.\n\n\n SOME JAPANESE FESTIVALS.\n\nNew Year\u2019s day is observed in Japan with many ceremonies. On the day\nbefore all accounts are squared, new clothing is bought, and the people\nprepare to spend the morrow with great joy. The Chinese seek to drive\nthe devils out of their houses by exploding fire-crackers. The Japanese\nhave a feast on New Year\u2019s Eve, and when the merriment is almost over,\nthe head of the house takes a dish of beans and goes all over the\nhouse, throwing the beans in every corner; in this way they think they\ndrive out the devils, and when they are all out, they place a sacred\npiece of paper, which they have purchased from the priest, on the\ndoor, to prevent their re-entering. On New Year\u2019s day the streets are\nalive with the people. It is _the_ holiday of the nation, and the\ntemples are thronged with the gay worshipers and dexterous jugglers.\n\n [Illustration: FESTIVAL OF THE FOXES.\n\n This is a supposed freak of the foxes in order to mislead\n travelers who do not honor them. Will-o\u2019-the-wisps are\n regarded as originating in this way.]\n\n [Illustration: DRIVING THE DEVILS OUT OF THE HOUSE ON NEW\n YEAR\u2019S EVE WITH BEANS.]\n\n [Illustration: A JAPANESE MATSURI, OR RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL.]\n\n [Illustration: RELIGIOUS PROCESSION IN JAPAN.]\n\nWe will let an eye-witness describe a Matsuri, or festival scene.\nHe writes from Osaka: \u201cThe other day a procession passed our door,\nwhich you, perhaps, would like to hear of. We heard a din, a Babel\nof voices, growing louder and louder, and on going to the door saw a\ncrowd approaching, composed largely of boys between five and ten years\nof age, though some men were among them. The first fifty or more were\ndressed in uniform colors, a suit of red and white, in squares of about\nan inch and a half, the red being a dominant color, looking, indeed,\nlike circus clowns. Each person had a cloth tied around his head,\nwith apparently a paper stuck in it, and a paper fan in his hand. They\nwere dancing along, striking their hands, or perhaps each other, with\nthe fan, and singing and chatting. The men especially were cutting\nup queer antics. Some of the boys had bells hung to their girdles.\nThen came a lot of older persons, dressed in blue and white garments.\nPerhaps a hundred and fifty in all. Last of all came a triumphal car, a\nminiature temple, or shrine, with a man in it. They were having a jolly\ntime altogether.\u201d\n\nAnother festival is that of the god Tengou. The Japanese mariner knows\nno festival so attractive as that of which the sea is the theatre.\nWhen the sea-side inhabitants of Sinagawa, at Tokio, celebrate the\nanniversary of their favorite deity, _Tengou_, they believe that\nthey best show their affection for the idol by transporting it into the\nsea. While the veterans of the priesthood and their servants attend\nto the annual purification of the temple and its furniture, the most\nvigorous of the priests take upon their shoulders the frame on which\nthe shrine or Mikosi rests. When they have reached the shore, they lay\naside their sacerdotal vestments, and in good order plunge through\nthe waves. Meanwhile the crowds of fishermen, who follow them with\ntumultuous shouts, encircle the _cort\u00e9ge_; seize with their strong\narms the sacred abode of the god; raise it above the lacquered caps of\nthe priests; and in spite of the efforts, real or pretended, of its\nofficial guardians, who struggle against the crowd in the midst of the\nwaves, the tottering, but still upright shrine in the hands of the\npeople accomplishes its maritime pilgrimage.\n\nThis ceremonial takes place on the sixth day of the sixth month, which\nis about the end of our July. It lasts, with its different rites, to\nthe eighth day, when, to conclude, the priests distribute to their\nflocks branches of trees laden with fruit in the condition in which the\npeople most like it--that is to say, when it has scarcely arrived at\nmaturity.\n\n\n THE SACRED MOUNTAIN, FUJI.\n\n [Illustration: FUJISAN, FROM A VILLAGE ON THE TOKAIDO.]\n\nOne of the grandest sights to be seen in all the world is the view of\nthe great Sacred Mountain of Japan, Fuji-Yama. The writer will never\nforget the impression it made upon him. It rises in all its lonely\nmajesty to a height of 13,080 feet high. Its beautifully sweeping sides\nrise, cone-like, from the almost level lands surrounding its base.\nIt is no wonder that the mountain is so dear to the heart of every\nJapanese. On almost all their works of art, in bronze or lacquer-ware,\nMount Fuji is drawn or wrought. Long before the sun has lighted the\nearth below at the sunrise, and long after the hills and valleys are\nshrouded in the darkness of the coming night, Fuji\u2019s snow-crowned\nsummit is aglow with light; the huge cone rising high above the clouds,\nsublime, colossal and beautiful in its ruddy purple. To this mountain\nthe Japanese are accustomed to make pilgrimages. All who have visited\nFuji-Yama in pilgrimage wear a little bell attached to their girdle,\nin addition to their pilgrim suit. Longfellow has introduced into his\nPoems of Places, in the volumes on Asia, the following translation of a\nJapanese poem on Fuji:\n\n \u201cHeaven above from earth below\n Long ago the gods have parted,\n Henceforth hiding far from men.\n Round the hoary peak sublimely\n Towering o\u2019er Suruga\u2019s land,\n Fuji\u2019s venerated mountain,\n All the wide-arched azure sky\n Though thou search with wistful gaze\n Of the hastening sun\u2019s bright track,\n Not a glimpse shalt thou enjoy;\n Nor of gentlier beaming moon\n Hail the shadow-fringing shimmer:\n Fleecy clouds are hovering,\n Hovering round the high, bare summit,\n Veiling it from mortal ken.\n Hath thereon the white snow fallen;\n Would\u2019st thou of the lofty gods\n Know the annals, only Fuji\n Can the secret story tell thee.\u201d\n\n\n CUSTOMS CONCERNING BIRTH, MARRIAGE AND DEATH.\n\nWith but a very few exceptions the Japanese Buddhists are intensely\nsuperstitious. Some of the young men of Japan, who have come in contact\nwith foreigners, have given up their superstitions; but the rest of the\npeople, more especially the peasants, hold a firm faith in a multitude\nof superstitious customs. These touch upon the most insignificant\noccupations of every-day life, as well as upon birth, marriage and\ndeath.\n\nWhen a child is thirty days old it is taken to the temple of its\nparents\u2019 gods, and, with the assistance of the priest, a name is\nchosen. Three names are selected by the parents, and written on slips\nof paper. These slips are tossed in the air by the priest, while he\nmumbles incantations, and the first slip that falls to the floor is\nbelieved to contain the name chosen by the gods for the little babe.\nThe priest then writes this name on a piece of sacred paper, and it is\ngiven to the parents as a talisman.\n\nIn a few of the Buddhist sects, the priest assist at the marriage, but\nin the great majority of cases he has no part to perform there. At the\nmarriage ceremony neither bride nor bridegroom can wear any garment\ncontaining purple color. The Japanese believe that to do this would be\nmost fatal; for as purple is the color which fades most readily, so\nthe marriage of those who wear purple would come to an end speedily.\nThe Japanese marriage ceremony is a very simple one, and is rather\nsingular, because religion finds no place in it. When the bride and\nbridegroom and their friends are gathered together, a small cup is\nfilled with the native wine, which a chosen friend hands to the bride,\nwho drinks from it, and then passes it to the bridegroom; he passes it\nback, after drinking, and thus it passes back and forth between the\ntwo a few times until it is emptied, and this constitutes them man and\nwife. The Japanese say that it is thus, that, as husband and wife,\nthey must drink of the same cup of sorrow or of joy. The writings of\nConfucius, are the basis of many of the laws of Japan. According to\nthese, among the seven causes for divorce is the one: \u201cIf she talk too\nmuch.\u201d Every heathen religion lowers women to a position far below\nthat of man. In India, woman\u2019s lot is the saddest, and in Japan,\nprobably the happiest of all heathen countries. According to Buddhism\nthere is no salvation for a woman unless she is born over again as a\nman. The nature-worship of Japan gives to woman a much higher place\nthan Buddhism does. Two things tend to cause the degradation of women\nin Japan. The one is the custom of having many wives; the other is\nthe demands of parental obedience. In Japan, according to Buddhist\nteaching, a girl must obey her father in everything, and no exception\nis allowed. Hence it not infrequently happens that the father commands\nhis child to enter upon a life of sin, that he may make money by it.\nThe daughter is bound to do as she is bidden, and thus the greatest\nevil that can come upon a woman is brought upon her under the direction\nof a heathen system. But, thank God, noble Christian women have gone\nforth from our own and other Christian lands, and by their teachings\nand examples have done much to better the condition of the women of\nJapan and a brighter day is rapidly dawning upon them.\n\nFrom the moment when a person dies in Japan, religious ceremonies are\nperformed in the house of the deceased until the body is removed to\nthe grave. Priests are immediately sent for, who light the candles and\nincense-sticks before the household gods, and who recite their prayers.\nThe priests, carrying their rosaries, head the funeral procession as\nit goes to the temple. The nearest relatives are dressed in white, and\ncarry various objects formerly used by the deceased. The square coffin\nis set down in the temple before the altar, and religious services are\nperformed, with more or less pomp, according to the wealth of those\nwho fee the priests for the services. Very frequently, the bodies are\nthen burned, and the ashes placed in an urn; at other times, the bodies\nare buried. After a time, the nearest relative of the dead person buys\nfrom the priest a long, narrow board or tablet, containing the new\nname of the deceased. This is placed on the grave. Fresh flowers and\nevergreens are kept on the tomb-stones in bamboo vases for a long time.\nThe relatives resort to the tombs for worship; praying, sometimes,\n_to_ the deceased, asking his aid, or at other times _for_\nthe deceased, that he may be freed from the pains of purgatory. In\neither case they are very devout.\n\n\n SOME JAPANESE SUPERSTITIONS.\n\n [Illustration: WORSHIPING AT THE TOMB OF AN ANCESTOR IN\n JAPAN.]\n\n [Illustration: THE FLOWING INVOCATION.]\n\nScattered all over Japan are trees, which are specially devoted to\nthe gods, or _Kami_, as they are called in Japanese. Often they\ntwist some rice-straw into a rope, and bind it around the base of a\ntree to indicate its sacredness. Like the Greeks of old, the Japanese\nimagine that the mountains and valleys, the rills and rivers, the\nrocks and trees, are all filled with spirits. They tell tales of trees\nshedding blood, or groaning in agony, when the woodman cut them with\nhis axe. Some trees, we are told, are believed to have wonderful power\nto attract men to commit suicide; this is because they are possessed\nby evil spirits. Other trees are noted for the shelter they afford in\nstorms, for the protection they furnish when flying from enemies; these\nare supposed to be inhabited by good and helping spirits. Many customs\namong Christian nations, so-called, are decidedly superstitious. For\nexample, it is counted _unlucky_ in some parts of America to spill\nsalt, to break a looking-glass, to have thirteen people sit down at\ntable together; and many are the stories, _undoubtedly true_, it\nis declared, which are told to illustrate the certainty with which\nevils follow these signs. So in Japan there are many such superstitious\nsigns and customs, some of them just the opposite of signs in other\nlands. These signs are almost innumerable, and concern the actions of\nevery day. Many are the fairy tales and ghost stories which the\nO-Baa-San, or grandmother, tells to the children as they gather around\nthe fire-box at night, and which send them shivering and shaking to\nbed. Some of the superstitious customs, however, are not revolting, but\nare very beautiful. Mr. Griffis, an American teacher in Japan, tells\nus one of this better kind. It is called \u201cThe Mother\u2019s Memorial.\u201d It\nis popular with all classes, being often used by the Shintoists as\nwell as the Buddhists. He writes thus: \u201cA sight not often met with in\nthe cities, but in the suburban and country places as frequent as the\ncause of it requires, is the _nagare kanjo_ (flowing invocation).\nA piece of cotton-cloth is suspended by its four corners to stakes set\nin the ground near a brook or rivulet. Behind this is a high, narrow\nboard, notched near the top, and having an inscription written upon it.\nResting by the brookside is a wooden dipper. Perhaps, upon the four\ncorners, in the hollow ends of the upright bamboo stakes, may be set\nbouquets of flowers. The inscriptions and flowers are like those set up\nupon graves. Waiting long enough, perchance but a few minutes, there\nmay be seen a passer who pauses, and, devoutly offering a prayer, with\nthe aid of his rosary, reverently dips a ladleful of water, pours it on\nthe cloth, and waits until it has strained through, before moving on.\nAll this, when the significance is understood, is very touching. It is\na silent appeal to the passer-by, by the love of Heaven, to shorten the\npenalties of a soul in pain. The Japanese believe that the mother dying\nin child-bed, suffers, by such a death, for some sin committed long\nago. After death, they say, she sinks into a hell, until this \u2018flowing\ninvocation\u2019 ceases, by the wearing out of the symbolic cloth. When this\nis so utterly worn that the water no longer drips through, but falls\nthrough at once, the mother\u2019s soul is delivered from her sufferings.\nBut in addition to the sadness that this superstition brings upon us,\nas we think of the delusion this people rest under, there is a feeling\nof indignation awakened as we learn that these cloths can only be\npurchased from a priest, and that for much money a cloth can be bought,\nso thin in the middle, that the water soon runs through, while the poor\nperson must be content with a cloth that it will take a long while to\nwear out.\u201d\n\n\n RELIGION OF THE AINOS.\n\nTo the north of the main island of Japan, and almost touching it, lies\nthe island of Yezzo. The people of Yezzo are called Ainos; they are\nsavages in their manner of life, though their disposition is kind and\ntheir manner gentle.\n\nThe following account of Ainos worship, particularly the strange\n\u201csacrifice of the bear,\u201d is from Mr. J. J. Enslie, Consul at Hakodate,\n1861\u20133:\n\n\u201cThe religious creed of the Ainos is the ancient Japanese \u2018Shintoism,\u2019\nor the adoration of the Kamis. Their rulers have made many attempts\nto convert them to Buddhism; but the only result of these endeavors\nis that the Ainos now rub their hands together as a form of worship\nbefore their gods, instead of raising the hands above the head as they\nformerly did. There is a slight difference between the symbols of\nJapanese and Aino Shintoism--the former exhibiting a looking-glass and\na variety of white paper ornaments, while the latter use a polished\nstone and garlands made of a peculiar description of very white\nwood. The Ainos, however, have numerous festivals totally distinct\nfrom Shintoism. The grandest and most solemn of these festivals is\nundoubtedly the Sacrifice of the Bear, for which animal the Ainos\nentertain a strange sort of veneration.\n\n\u201cThe savage denizen of the forest destined to be exalted to the\nposition of a god is reared from a cub by the village chief, and the\nfemale most distinguished in rank and beauty enjoys the honor of being\nits wet-nurse. As soon as the bear is two years old, he is carried\nin a cage to an eminence (previously consecrated for the ceremony),\namid shouts of joy and the most inharmonious concert of various noises\never heard; while from time to time the bereft nurse utters the most\npiercing and heart rending cries, expressive of her poignant grief.\nAfter this uproar has continued for some time, the chief of the village\napproaches the bear, and with an arrow gives him the first wound.\nThe animal, previously maddened by the din around him, now becomes\nfurious, the cage is opened, and he springs out into the midst of the\nassemblage. Then, at a signal given by the children of the nurse,\neverybody in the crowd wounds him with the various weapons they have\nbrought with them, each one striving to inflict a wound, as all believe\nthat he who fails to wound the bear has no claim to any favor from\nthe new Kami, or god. As soon as the poor animal falls down exhausted\nfrom the loss of blood, his head is cut off, and the arrows, spears,\nknives, sticks, and in fact all the weapons by which he has been\nwounded, are solemnly presented to the headless trunk by the village\npatriarch, who requests the bear to avenge himself upon the weapons by\nwhich he has been insulted and slain. The severed head is then affixed\nto the trunk, and the dead bear is carried to the altar, where the\n_Rama Matsouri_ (the sacrifice of the bear) commences amid various\nsolemnities, such as singing, music, and offerings consisting of\neverything the Ainos most esteem. The nurse meanwhile deals blows with\nthe branch of a tree upon every one who has taken part in the bear\u2019s\ndeath. The flesh is then distributed among the people, and the head is\nplaced upon a pole opposite the hut of the chief, where it is left to\ndecay.\n\n\u201cThe Ainos entertain great fear and profound respect for strength and\ncourage; and this is the cause of their veneration for the bear--the\nstrongest and fiercest animal known to them. Their most energetic\ncomparison is the bear. A man is \u2018strong as a bear,\u2019 \u2018fierce as a\nbear,\u2019 etc. The bear is the burden of their national songs, and, in\na word, this animal is the symbol of everything they think worthy of\nrespect. To compare an Aino with a bear is the surest plan to gain his\nfriendship; and it must be acknowledged that the merit the Ainos attach\nto the bear is more or less deserved, as the Yezzo bear is the finest\nspecimen of his species.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXV.\n\n MOHAMMEDANISM.\n\n Utter the song, O my soul! the flight and return of Mohammed,\n Prophet and priest, who scattered abroad both evil and blessing,\n Huge wasteful empires founded, and hallowed slow persecution,\n Soul-withering, but crushed the blasphemous rites of the Pagan.\n SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE.\n\n\nThe story of the idol worship of the world would not be complete\nwithout having described that system of religion which began as an\nopposition to all idolatry. This was the motive that led Mohammed\nto start on his career of destroying idols, and compelling their\nworshipers, at the sword\u2019s point, to believe in the one God. Add to\nthis the fact that this religion has extended far beyond the bounds of\nits birthplace, and it will be seen to be well worthy of our attention.\n\n\n EXTENT OF MOHAMMEDANISM.\n\nThere are from 150,000,000 to 180,000,000 of Mohammedans, or Moslems\n(as they are sometimes called), in the world. These are found in the\nsouth-east corner of Europe, and are scattered over Asia and Africa.\nArabia and Turkey are _the_ Mohammedan countries, though in Egypt\nand India, and even in China, they are to be found by the hundreds\nof thousands. This system is a proselyting one, and thus has come\nto spread so widely. Starting with but a handful of disciples, the\nfollowers of Mohammed include more than one-tenth of the human race.\nIts believers are true, strong believers, holding their faith with\nfirmness and fervor. For hundreds of years they have been trying to\nbring the world to the faith embodied in their motto, \u201cGod is God, and\nMohammed is His Prophet.\u201d Formerly, in great armies, they swept over\nAsia and Africa, making their proselytes at the point of the sword;\nto-day they borrow Christian methods, and Moslem missionaries go forth\nto preach the Koran (their sacred book), and thus seek to extend the\ndominion of Mohammed. In their university at Cairo, 10,000 students\nare gathered to-day, preparing to go as the missionaries of the Moslem\nfaith. A celebrated traveler describes this university thus: \u201cThis\nuniversity is 900 years old (older than Oxford), and still flourishes\nwith as much vigor as in the palmy days of the Arabian Conquest.\nThere I saw collected together 10,000 students. As one expressed it,\n\u2018there were two acres of turbans,\u2019 assembled in a vast inclosure,\nwith no floor but a pavement, and with a roof over it, supported by\n400 columns, and at the foot of every column a teacher, surrounded by\nhis pupils. As we entered, there rose a hum of thousands of voices,\nreciting the Koran. These students are not only from Egypt, but from\nall parts of Africa, from Morocco to Zanzibar. They come from far up\nthe Nile, from Nubia and Soudan; and from Darfour, beyond the great\ndesert, and from the western coast of Africa. Asia, too, is largely\nrepresented in students from Western Asia, from Turkey, Arabia and\nPersia; and from Central Asia, from Khiva, and Bokhara, and Turkistan,\nand Afghanistan, and the borders of China. They live on the charities\nof the faithful; and when their studies are ended, those who are to\nbe missionaries mount their camels, and, joining a caravan, cross\nthe desert, and are lost in the far interior of Africa.\u201d And there,\nwe should say, they meet our no less faithful and ardent Christian\nmissionaries, who are laboring to elevate the depraved Africans. These\ncarry to a happy completion the very imperfect work which Moslem\nmissionaries are able to perform.\n\nNow let us turn to the story of the man who founded Mohammedanism.\n\n\n THE ARABIAN CAMEL-DRIVER WHO FOUNDED A GREAT RELIGION.\n\nThe descendants of Ishmael and of Abraham have inhabited\nuninterruptedly a land inclosed by the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the\nPersian Gulf, the Euphrates River and the land of Syria. There are\na few fertile valleys and excellent pastures in Arabia; but a great\npart of the country consists of bleak wildernesses, barren hills and\nwastes of sandy deserts. There is not one navigable river in the whole\ncountry. Goods are carried on camels, whose drivers travel in groups\ncalled caravans. The Arabs are a simple and temperate race, quick to\nrevenge, yet exceedingly hospitable. The great majority of the people\nin the interior live a tent life; thus they are brought into close\ncontact with nature, and are reverential and imaginative. From their\nout-door life, they were early inclined to worship the sun, moon,\nplanets and all the hosts of heaven and angels. Desiring a visible\nobject of worship, something to be seen and felt, they made images\nof their deities. The \u201cBlack Stone,\u201d in the Temple of the Kaaba, at\nMecca, was an especially honored object of worship. This stone, about\nsix inches by eight, was one of the precious stones of Paradise, and\nfell down to the earth with Adam. At the deluge, it was taken up again,\nor otherwise preserved, and afterward brought by Gabriel to Abraham,\nwhen he and Ishmael were building the Kaaba. This temple was placed in\ncharge of one family. In the year 570 A.D., of this family was born a\nchild named Mohammed, destined to affect the religious life of hundreds\nof millions of his fellow-beings.\n\n [Illustration: TEMPLE OF THE KAABA, AT MECCA, ARABIA.]\n\n\n THE PROPHET\u2019S YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD.\n\nMiraculous signs were said to have attended his birth. For five years,\nhe remained away from his mother; at the end of that time, he became\nsubject to epileptic fits, and returned to his home. He then saw\nthe multitude of pilgrims, with their camels laden with spices and\nbeautiful cloths, coming yearly to visit Mecca, and undoubtedly was\nimpressed with the sights and sounds in the Kaaba.\n\nWhen he was twelve years old, an event occurred which greatly\ninfluenced his after life. With his uncle\u2019s caravan he journeyed to\nPalestine, where he met Jews and Christians. From these he must have\ngained that knowledge of the Bible which he used in his teachings in\nafter years. The Jews, from the day when God cured them of idolatry,\nby sending them away to Babylon, had persistently opposed the worship\nof idols, and upheld and urged the worship of the one true God. The\nChristians were such in name only; for, with their ritual, crosses,\npictures, vestments and images, they were hardly better than the\nidolaters around them. But Mohammed gained only a superficial knowledge\nof these faiths, and knew almost nothing of their leading features.\n\nWhen he was twenty-five years old he entered the service of the\nKhadija, a rich widow of Mecca, for his family was poor. She appointed\nhim as a camel-driver, to care for the caravans. The widow soon was\ncharmed with the noble appearance and energetic manliness of Mohammed,\nand in a modest way led him to seek to marry her. The marriage was a\nhappy one, and Mohammed loved his wife long after her death, even to\nhis old age. When all the world turned its back upon him in scorn,\nshe clung to him; and while they called him cheat and impostor, she\nrecognized him as the prophet of God. During all this time he always\nappeared as a very religious and upright person. Often with his wife\nhe retired to a cave, about three miles from Mecca, to pray and fast.\nHere, when in his epileptic fits, it is claimed, he saw visions and\nreceived revelations.\n\n\n GABRIEL\u2019S MESSAGE TO MOHAMMED.\n\nIn his fortieth year, he was spending the sacred month in the cave.\nOne night, as he said, there appeared \u201cone mighty in power, endued\nwith understanding,\u201d who stood about two bows\u2019 length from him. It\nwas the angel Gabriel, who held a silken scroll in his hand, and bade\nMohammed read the writing thereon. He replied that he could not; then\nGabriel said, \u201cRead in the name of the Lord, who hath created all\nthings. Read by the most beneficent Lord, who taught the use of the\npen; who teacheth man that which he knoweth not.\u201d Then the angel flew\naway, leaving Mohammed in perplexity. After a time, when doubt and\ndespondency filled his mind, the voice of the angel was heard speaking\nfrom a throne midway between heaven and earth, saying: \u201cO Mohammed!\nthou art the prophet of God, and I am Gabriel.\u201d This he regards as his\ncommission, and straightway tells his wife. Secretly he commits the\nrevelation made him to various persons, and after four years gathers\ntogether thirty or forty converts. Then Gabriel comes again, and brings\nfrom the Lord this message: \u201cO thou covered, arise and preach, and\nmagnify the Lord, and clean thy garments, and fly every abomination.\u201d\nHe obeyed this, and in consequence of the changes he urged, was\nforced to suffer persecution. Even his relatives turned against him.\nHe was mocked and scorned, and occasionally abused. His disciples\nsuffered with him, and so he sent away to Abyssinia eleven of them as\nmissionaries.\n\nAt first his teachings had not been uncompromising; but, so he thought,\nin a revelation he was warned that this was wrong, and he proceeded to\nburn the bridges behind him. Of some of the idol gods he had said:\n\u201cTheir intercession may be hoped for with God.\u201d After his vision he\nsaid, \u201cThese are no other than empty names, which ye and your fathers\nhave made gods.\u201d Then the idol worshipers turned on him; he was, said\nthey, a fool, a fanatic, a forger. Then they ostracized him; he was\nshut out from their homes and cut off from their friendship. To escape\npersonal violence he fled the city, mingling with the pilgrims from\ndistant lands as they journeyed to Mecca, and preaching to them his\ndoctrines. Then his wife, Khadija, died. Soon after this he married,\nand was betrothed (in his fiftieth year) to a child of seven years, as\nit is the custom of the Arabs to allow a man to marry as many wives as\nhe might wish.\n\nNow came the turn of the tide; his failing fortunes began to rise\nagain. A few pilgrims from Medina were converted. With zeal they\nsought to spread Mohammed\u2019s doctrine on their return home. They met\nwith astonishing success, and soon the prophet\u2019s name was in every\nhousehold in Medina, and the motto, \u201cGod is God, and Mohammed is His\nProphet,\u201d was heard on every side. The prophet was invited to go and\nlive in Medina. After a year, with many companions, his Medina converts\nreturned to him at Mecca, and again pledged their fidelity.\n\n\n THE FLIGHT OF MOHAMMED.\n\nOn the 20th of June, A.D. 622, the celebrated \u201cHejira,\u201d or flight, took\nplace. From this day, the Mohammedans date their era, as Christians\ndo from the birth of Christ. They regard this as the most momentous\nevent of their history, for from this time forth, Mohammed\u2019s course\nwas one of constant progress. After eight days\u2019 journey, they arrived\nat Medina, and in great pomp made a triumphal entry into the city. He\nwaited until his camel voluntarily knelt and there built his house.\nThen a temple, 150 feet square, was built; this is called to-day the\nMosque of the Prophet. Here a simple worship was established. Mohammed\nwas now married to Ayesha, the child to whom he had been betrothed.\nAs he already had one wife he thus indorsed the custom of having many\nwives. This practice and, growing out of it, the enormity of treating\nwomen as really little better than slaves, are the conspicuous blots on\nMohammed\u2019s career.\n\n\n CONVERTS MADE AT THE SWORD\u2019S POINT.\n\nMohammed was now established in a secure position. His prosperity\nspoiled him. He longed for greater numbers of converts than he could\nmake by preaching simply, hence, his disordered mind prompted him to\nsee a vision in which he was directed to take the sword to compel\nconverts. In one of the sacred months he sent eight of his followers\nto waylay a Mecca caravan. One man they killed, two others were taken\nprisoners and with their booty the Mohammedans returned to Medina. The\nnext was the celebrated battle of Badr, when a troop of Meccans came\nout to destroy Mohammed and his Medina followers, but were themselves\ndestroyed. Mohammed asserted that 3,000 angels fought with them, and\nthat thus they gained the battle. This battle placed Mohammad where\nhe could command (or rather demand) unhesitating obedience from his\nfollowers. Battle after battle followed, and converts were made by\nthe thousands. Mecca was subdued, and then the whole of Arabia. To\nhis followers, he promised Paradise should they fall in the fight.\nSaid they to him: \u201cIt is hot.\u201d He replied: \u201cHell is hotter.\u201d Mohammed\nwas made of stern stuff; his indomitable will supported him in his\ngreat undertakings. He was not a true prophet, neither was he an\nimpostor. His religion was begun, developed and completed under what he\ntook to be the inspiration of God. To all appearance he was sincere,\nthough awfully mistaken. He believed firmly in his mission and in the\nassistance of God; he never faltered, he never hesitated, he went\nstraight forward.\n\n [Illustration: MOHAMMEDAN CEMETERY AT MECCA.]\n\nThus, until his sixty-second year, his religion kept growing, embracing\nan increasing territory under its dominion. At this time, he was\nattacked with a violent fever, which in less than a month ended his\nlife. He exclaimed: \u201cOh, to depart and be near the Lord,\u201d \u201cEternity of\nParadise!\u201d \u201cPardon!\u201d and then the Prophet of Mecca was dead.\n\nMecca and Medina long remained the strongholds, the centres of\nMohammedan influence. Mecca especially became the Holy Place to which\nthe faithful made their pilgrimages, and in the cemetery of which city\nthey longed, at last, to lie in death. All Mohammedans turn to Mecca\nin saying their prayers, and in all the mosques, by a niche or by some\nother means, the direction of Mecca is indicated as a guide to the\ndevotions of the faithful who assemble there.\n\n\n MOHAMMED\u2019S SUCCESSORS, THE CALIPHS.\n\nAfter Mohammed\u2019s death, his bosom friend, Abu Bekr, was elected to\nbe his successor, called the Caliph. From his attachment to Mohammed\nhe received the name of \u201cThe True.\u201d The name Abu Bekr means \u201cThe\nFather of the Virgin,\u201d and was given him because Ayesha, his daughter,\nwas the only virgin bride of Mohammed. The office of Caliph was the\nhighest that could be held in the Mohammedan world. All the \u201cFaithful\u201d\nrecognized in the Caliph both the temporal and spiritual head. Abu\nBekr proved a worthy successor to Mohammed. He put down the Bedouin\nrebellions, which began immediately after Mohammed\u2019s death, and not\nonly conquered them, but won them to his cause, and turned their fierce\nfanaticism into the service of Mohammedanism. Abu Bekr was a man of the\npurest character, and had the firmest faith in Mohammed\u2019s mission. He\ndied after a reign of about two years and a half, and Omar became the\nnext Caliph.\n\n [Illustration: INTERIOR OF A TURKOMAN TENT, IN WESTERN\n PERSIA.]\n\n\n CALIPH OMAR.\n\n [Illustration: MOSQUE OF OMAR, ON THE SITE OF THE JEWISH\n TEMPLE, AT JERUSALEM.]\n\nUnder Omar, who reigned from 634 to 643 A.D., Mohammedanism spread\nnorthward and westward. Damascus and its neighborhood, then Palestine,\nand finally all Syria yielded to him. In 636 A.D., Jerusalem\nsurrendered to him. \u201cMounted on his camel, a bag of dates and a skin\nof water by his side--ample provision for his simple wants--he made\nhis entry into the sacred city.\u201d On the site of Solomon\u2019s Temple, he\nbuilt the \u201cDome of the Rock,\u201d the Mosque of Omar, as it is commonly,\nbut erroneously, called to this day. The Mosque of Omar stands upon an\nartificial plateau called the Haram area. This is sparingly ornamented\nwith cypress and other trees and fountains. The mosque is one of the\nmost prominent belongings of Jerusalem. It is second in importance\nonly to the Mosque of the Kaaba at Mecca. It is 170 feet high, and\n536 feet around its eight sides. In the interior is a gray limestone\nrock, from which the mosque sometimes takes its name, the \u201cDome of the\nRock.\u201d This stone is believed by the Mohammedans to have \u201cdescended\nfrom heaven and to have been suspended in the air; that it attempted to\nfollow the Prophet on his ascension to Paradise, but was kept back from\nits native quarry by the angel Gabriel, who left his large hand-prints\nas a permanent memorial of the miracle!\u201d\n\n [Illustration: MOHAMMEDANS PRAYING BEFORE THE MOSQUE OF OMAR.]\n\nPersia soon yielded to Omar, and then Egypt. His empire now extended\nfrom Northern Syria to Southern Arabia, and from Eastern Persia to\nWestern Egypt. Omar was the first Caliph who was called the \u201cPrince of\nthe Faithful.\u201d Though his power and honor were so great, \u201che affected\nno regal state, was the friend and companion of the beggar and poor,\nand in his mud palace, at Medina, was ready to share his meal with the\nhumblest brother of the faith.\u201d Omar was killed by a Persian slave. He\nwas succeeded by the Caliph Othman. He reigned amidst great turbulence\nand discontent until the year 654 A.D., when he was murdered. The next\nCaliph, Ali, who reigned till 660 A.D., was, likewise, assassinated.\nHassan, the next Caliph, was poisoned by his wife. Several Caliphs,\nMuavia and Hosein, occupied the throne before Valid I. reigned. His\nreign extended from 705 to 716 A.D. Under him the empire of the \u201cPrince\nof the Faithful\u201d attained its greatest extent. It then extended from\nIndia to Spain. Thus, just about one hundred years from the time when\nMohammed had received his call to enter upon his mission as the Prophet\nof God, to re-establish His worship and to destroy idolatry, the empire\nwhich he had founded, and the religion he had started, had spread\nover Arabia, Syria, Asia Minor, Spain, part of Gaul (now France),\nEgypt and Northern Africa, and over Persia and Northern India. Soon\nafter this, reigned a Caliph whose name is a household word among us,\nHaroun-al-Raschid, of whom the \u201cArabian Nights\u201d has so much to say.\nThe Caliph preceding him had moved his capital to Bagdad. As the first\ncalendar says, in the \u201cArabian Nights\u201d story, \u201cHaroun-al-Raschid\u2019s\ngenerosity was renowned through the world.\u201d The stories tell us of his\nwandering in disguise among his people to ascertain more accurately\ntheir condition, and thus to be better able to govern them.\n\nHitherto the Caliphate has been held by Arabians, soon after\nHaroun-al-Raschid\u2019s time, it passes into the hands of the Turks. They\nhave retained it without interruption down to the present day.\n\n\n THE CRUSADES.\n\nAttempts were often made to roll back the tide of Mohammedan conquest,\nbut without avail. Rebellions were put down rapidly, and no nation\nfrom without seemed disposed to dispute with the Mohammedans their\npossession of the conquered countries. But in the year 1096 A.D., fired\nby the desire to recover the land of the birthplace of Christ, and\nanxious to revenge the insults and injuries heaped upon the Christian\npilgrims to the Holy Land by the Moslems, led the Christians of Western\nEurope to determine to begin a Crusade. The Pope, Urban II., aided\nby the preaching of Peter the Hermit, succeeded in inducing an army\nto start for the conquest of Palestine. They seemed to succeed, and\nyet theirs was a doubtful victory. They reached Jerusalem, and slew\nmultitudes of the Saracen Moslems. But they could not retain their\nhold upon the city. A second Crusade was undertaken in 1148 A.D., but\nutterly failed to accomplish its object. St. Bernard, who had urged on\nthis Crusade, declared that it had failed because of the sinfulness\nof the Crusaders, and that none but innocent hands could wrest the\nHoly Land from the Moslem hands which held it. So in 1212 began the\nChildren\u2019s Crusade; 30,000 children, under the boy-leader, Stephen, and\n20,000 German boys and girls, under the peasant-lad, Nicholas, started\nfor the conquest of Palestine, only to perish by sea or land, or to\nbe carried to the slave markets. Two other Crusades were commenced,\nbut both failed, and to-day the Holy Land is under the dominion of the\nMoslem Turk. The religion of Mohammed is still spreading, though only\nin Africa. It obtained a footing in Western China some time ago, and\nmore lately spread throughout the Indian Archipelago.\n\nWe now pass to consider the Mohammedan Bible, known as the Koran, and\ngive attention to its teachings.\n\n\n THE WRITING OF THE KORAN.\n\nDuring the lifetime of Mohammed no attempt was made to collect the\nmultitudinous revelations constituting the Koran into one book. The\nvarious passages had been written down from his lips, from time to\ntime at their delivery, by some friend or follower performing the\noffice of amanuensis; or they had been first committed to memory,\nand then at some subsequent period recorded. For this purpose the\nrude materials in use among the Arabs were employed, as palm-leaves,\nleather, stone tablets, or the shoulder-blades of goats and camels.\nThere was no systematic arrangement of these materials. There were,\nindeed, recognized \u201cSuras,\u201d or chapters; and it seems probable that the\ngreater part of the revelation was so arranged during the Prophet\u2019s\nlifetime, and used in that form for private reading, and also for\nrecitation at the daily prayers. Some of the Suras were short and\nself-contained; others were longer, and from time to time were added\nto by the command of Mohammed, who would direct a new revelation to\nbe \u201centered in the Sura treating of such and such a subject.\u201d There\nwas no fixed repository for these materials; but there is reason to\nconjecture that the greater portion, or at least the most important\nchapters, were laid up in the habitation of one of the Prophet\u2019s wives\n(for he had no separate room or dwelling-place of his own), or left in\nthe custody of the scribes or secretaries who had first recorded them.\nThey were, moreover, treasured up with pious reverence in the memories\nof the people, and transcripts of the several Suras or fragments,\nespecially of those most frequently in use for meritorious repetition,\nor for public and private devotion, were even before the Flight in\nthe hands of many persons, and so preserved with religious and even\nsuperstitious care. As the Faith extended, teachers were sent forth to\nthe various tribes throughout Arabia to instruct the new converts in\nthe requirements of Islam; and these carried with them, either in a\nrecorded form or indelibly imprinted on the mind (for the Arab memory\nwas possessed of a marvelous tenacity), the leading portions of the\nMohammedan Revelation.\n\n\n THE TEACHING OF THE KORAN.\n\nSir William Muir, one of the first expositors of the Koran, thus\nwrites: \u201cThe teaching of the Koran is very simple. God has revealed\nHimself in various ages, under different dispensations, through the\ninstrumentality of inspired prophets. The dispensations varied in\noutward and accidental form; but the great catholic faith in the unity\nof God and Islam (that is, submission to His will), underlies them all.\nThe truth thus successively promulgated was as often lost or distorted\nby the ignorance and perversity of mankind. The mission of Mohammed\nwas to establish the last of these dispensations; and, while at first\nprofessing to hold that his own teaching was simply concurrent with\nthat of former revelations, in the end he caused it to obliterate and\noverride them all.\n\n\u201cThe first condition of Islam is belief in the creed: \u2018There is no God\nbut the Lord, and Mohammed is His Apostle.\u2019 This at once sweeps away\nidolatry, and the \u2018association with God\u2019 of other objects of worship;\nand it also establishes the Koran as the paramount rule of faith and\npractice. There is no priesthood in Islam. Man deals immediately with\nthe Deity. Mohammed is but a Prophet, himself a sinner needing mercy\nand forgiveness. Salvation is promised to the believer; but he is at\nthe same time bound to abstain from evil, and to do good works, and,\nin particular, to observe the ordinances of Islam. These requirements,\nthough few and simple, pervade the whole life of a Mussulman. The day\nopens with prayer at the dawn; with prayer the night closes in; and\nthe ceremony is repeated three other times, at fixed intervals, during\nthe day. Each prayer consists of two or more series of prostrations,\naccompanied by ejaculatory prayer and the recital of short passages\nof the Koran. Then there are the prescribed tithes, or alms; the\nfast throughout the whole month of Ramodh\u0101n (which, though rigorous\nfrom dawn to sunset, admits of entire relaxation by night); and the\npilgrimage to Mecca, which, although not burdensome to the Arabs for\nwhom it was first established, is evidently unsuitable for observance\nby all mankind.\n\n\u201cThat the fate of man, and whatever happens, great or small, has been\nfixed by inevitable decrees is unconditionally asserted throughout\nthe Koran. The doctrine is often intelligibly urged as a ground of\nresignation and patience under misfortune, of equanimity in success,\nand of calmness in danger; but it is not confined to such innocent and\nlegitimate purposes. The dogma is constantly obtruded in its most naked\nand offensive form: \u2018God misleadeth whom He pleaseth, and guideth whom\nHe pleaseth aright.\u2019 \u2018We created man upright, and then caused him to be\nthe vilest of the vile.\u2019 \u2018The fate of every man have we bound about his\nneck;\u2019 and so forth. But while there is nothing to be met with in the\nKoran expressly of an opposite tenor, there is much that by implication\nconveys the sentiment of free will. Prayer is continually enjoined. It\nwas practiced by Mohammed himself, and deliverance is often ascribed\nto its effect. Men are exhorted to believe and do good works. They are\nwarned against infidelity and sin, \u2018lest they cast themselves into\nperdition.\u2019 Salvation, indeed, is dependent on faith, and faith upon\nthe will of God; yet there are not wanting passages which speak of man\nas choosing the wrong or choosing the right, and of Paradise or hell as\nthe consequence. The believer is frequently bid to beware of the wiles\nof Satan. Discretion in the following of good or evil is implied in\nmany parts of the Koran and retribution set forth as the result of its\nexercise. Man is responsible for his own sin only. \u2018The burdened soul\nshall not bear the burthen of another.\u2019 Hereditary taint from the fall\nis nowhere admitted. Adam fell, it is true, by eating the forbidden\nfruit; but his fall (as it would appear) was the consequence, not the\ncause of the proneness of his nature to sin. All men have sinned, but\nit has been each his own fault, acting independently, and not because\nof anything antecedent.\u201d\n\n\n SOME SELECTIONS FROM THE KORAN.\n\nWe first present one of the passages in which reference is made to\nJesus Christ. In the ninth Sura, the Koran says: \u201cFight against them\nwho believe not in God, nor in the last day, and forbid not that which\nGod and His apostle have forbidden, and profess not the true religion,\nof those unto whom the Scriptures have been delivered, until they pay\ntribute by right of subjection, and they be reduced low. The Jews say\nEzra is the son of God; and the Christians say, Christ is the son of\nGod. This is their saying in their mouths: they imitate the saying\nof those who were unbelievers in former times. May God resist them.\nHow are they infatuated! They take their priests and their monks for\ntheir lords, besides God, and Christ, the son of Mary; although they\nare commanded to worship one God only: there is no God but He; far be\nthat from Him, which they associate with Him! They seek to extinguish\nthe light of God with their mouths; but God willeth no other than to\nperfect His light, although the infidels be averse thereto. It is He\nwho hath sent His apostle with the direction and true religion; that\nHe may cause it to appear superior to every other religion; although\nthe idolators be averse thereto. O, true believers, verily many of the\npriests and monks devour the substance of men in vanity, and obstruct\nthe way of God. But unto those who treasure up gold and silver, and\nemploy it not for the advancement of God\u2019s true religion, denounce a\ngrievous punishment. On the day of judgment their treasures shall be\nintensely heated in the fire of hell, and their foreheads, and their\nsides, and their backs shall be stigmatized therewith; and their\ntormentors shall say, This is what ye have treasured up for your souls;\ntaste therefore that which ye have treasured up.\u201d\n\nThe Koran says of idols: \u201cOmen, a parable is propounded unto you;\nwherefore hearken unto it. Verily, the idols which ye invoke, besides\nGod, can never create a single fly, although they were all assembled\nfor that purpose: and if the fly snatch anything from them, they cannot\nrecover the same from it.\u201d\n\n\n MOHAMMED\u2019S PARADISE.\n\nSura LVI., of the Koran, says: \u201cThese are they who shall approach near\nunto God: they shall dwell in gardens of delight. Reposing on couches\nadorned with gold and precious stones; sitting opposite to one another\nthereon. Youths which shall continue in their bloom for ever, shall go\nround about to attend them, with goblets, and beakers, and a cup of\nflowing wine: their heads shall not ache by drinking the same, neither\nshall their reason be disturbed: and with fruits of the sorts which\nthey shall choose, and the flesh of birds of the kind which they shall\ndesire. And there shall accompany them fair damsels having large black\neyes, resembling pearls hidden in their shells, as a reward for that\nwhich they shall have wrought. They shall not hear within any vain\ndiscourse, or any charge of sin; but only the salutation, Peace! Peace!\nAnd the companions of the right hand (how happy shall the companions of\nthe right hand be!) shall have their abode among lote-trees free from\nthorns, and trees of many, loaded regularly with their produce from top\nto bottom; under an extended shade, near a flowing water, and amidst\nfruits in abundance, which shall not fail, nor shall be forbidden to\nbe gathered: and they shall repose themselves on lofty beds. Verily,\nwe have created the damsels of Paradise by a peculiar creation; and\nwe have made them virgins beloved by their husbands, of equal age\nwith them; for the delight of the companions of the right hand. There\nshall be many of the former religions, and many of the latter. And the\ncompanions of the left hand (how miserable shall the companions of the\nleft hand be!) shall dwell amidst burning winds and scalding water,\nunder the shade of a black smoke, neither cool nor agreeable.\u201d\n\n\n THE KORAN ON THE JUDGMENT.\n\nSura LXXXI. says: \u201cWhen the sun shall be folded up; and when the stars\nshall fall;[8] and when the mountains shall be made to pass away; and\nwhen the camels ten months gone with young shall be neglected; and when\nthe wild beasts shall be gathered together; and when the seas shall\nboil; and when the souls shall be joined again to their bodies; and\nwhen the girl who hath been buried alive shall be asked for what crime\nshe was put to death; and when the books shall be laid open; and when\nthe heavens shall be removed; and when hell shall burn fiercely; and\nwhen Paradise shall be brought near; every soul shall know what it hath\nwrought.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVI.\n\n MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUES AND WORSHIP.\n\n One silver crescent in the twilight sky is hanging,\n Another tips the solemn dome of yonder mosque,\n And now the Muezzin\u2019s call is heard, sonorous, clanging,\n Through thronged bazaar, concealed harem and cool kiosk:\n \u201cIn the Prophet\u2019s name, God is God, and there is no other.\u201d\n On roofs, in streets, or closets, beside his brother,\n Each Moslem kneels, his forehead turned toward Mecca\u2019s shrine,\n And all the world forgotten in the one thought divine.\n WILLIAM ROUNSEVILLE ALGER.\n\n \u201cLa Illah il\u2019 Allah!\u201d the Muezzin\u2019s call,\n Comes from the minaret, slim and tall,\n That looks o\u2019er the distant city wall.\n\n \u201cLa Illah il\u2019 Allah!\u201d the Faithful heed,\n With God and the Prophet this hour to plead,\n Whose ear is open to hear their need.\n BAYARD TAYLOR.\n\n [Illustration: MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUE ON THE HOOGHLY RIVER, NEAR\n CALCUTTA, INDIA.]\n\nThe Mohammedan mosques vary somewhat in their style of architecture\nin different countries. Their builders borrowed, generally, from the\nstyle of the various nations who adopted the Moslem faith. In Christian\nlands, they seized upon the Christian churches or cathedrals, and\nturned them into mosques; in India, the mosques are patterned after\nthe temples of the Buddhist Jains (this may be seen in the Mohammedan\nmosque on the Hooghly River, near Calcutta); and in Turkey, they\naccepted the model of the Byzantine architecture of Constantinople. Two\nor three features are common in all. The dome is one of the most common\nand most beautiful features of the mosques. Sometimes there is an open\nsquare in each mosque, in the centre of which is a tank or fountain,\nfor the washing required in Mohammedan worship. Arabesques and\nsentences from the Koran are inscribed upon the walls; and _never_\nis there an image or picture of any living thing to be discovered in\nany part of a mosque. Sometimes the floors are covered with mats or\nrugs; there are no pews, seats or benches, for the worshiper sits, in\nOriental fashion, with his feet doubled under him, upon the floor.\nIn one corner--the south-east--is a pulpit for the Im\u00e1m or teacher.\nThe Im\u00e1m is the most honored of Moslem teachers, and always wears a\nturban higher than that of the common teachers, readers or Moslems\ngenerally. The people hold them in great reverence. In the direction\nof Mecca, there is a niche in every mosque, toward which the faithful\nmust look whenever they pray. Opposite the pulpit is a platform\nhaving a reading-desk, upon which is a copy of the Koran--in Arabic, of\ncourse--for the Moslems never allow the Koran to be translated; and as\nto printing it, that is not permitted them, except from lithographs,\nso as to keep up the appearance that it is _written_. No copy for\na public reading would be allowed to be _printed_. Publication in\nthe languages is not permitted, except far away from Arabia. It would\nbe thought grossly unholy in Turkey to attempt such a thing.\n\n [Illustration: GORGEOUS EXTERIOR OF A MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUE IN\n PERSIA.]\n\n [Illustration: INTERIOR OF MOSQUE AT DELHI, INDIA.]\n\n\n WORSHIP IN THE MOSQUES.\n\nThe congregations of the faithful gather for worship in the mosques\non Fridays. This is the Moslem Sabbath, because, say they, Adam was\ncreated and died on Friday, and because on Friday the world will be\njudged. The worship consists simply of prayers and washings, with an\noccasional sermon on a text from the Koran. During the service every\none maintains the utmost solemnity; though, after the service they\nlounge, chat and even make bargains in the sacred building. On entering\nthe mosque, the Moslem removes his shoes, carrying them in his left\nhand, sole to sole, with great care, putting his right foot first over\nthe threshold. He then goes through with the necessary ablutions (often\na mere sham, a mere going through the motions,) and takes his place\nupon the matting, laying his shoes before him. The worshipers generally\narrange themselves in rows facing the niche toward Mecca. Women seldom\ngo to the mosques, and if they do, they sit apart from the men. The\nreason for this is that the Koran does not say that women must pray,\nand many Moslems believe that women have no souls. Yet they believe\nthat they will enter Paradise, but this is only that they may continue\nto be slaves of men; each of the faithful is to have in Paradise, so\nthey believe, 80,000 slaves and 72 wives, in addition to those he had\nin life and who evinced a faithful spirit.\n\n [Illustration: INTERIOR OF MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA.]\n\n\n DANCING AND HOWLING DERVISHES.\n\n [Illustration: A WHIRLING DERVISH.]\n\nThe Dervishes are Mohammedan monks. They are among the most curious\ndevotees of the Moslem religion. They perform their wonderful feats\non Friday afternoons in the mosques. Dr. Philip Schaff writes of one\nof their performances which he witnessed: \u201cAfter the preliminary\nexercises of prayer and prostration, they whirl around on their toes,\nring within ring, without touching each other, for about an hour, until\nthey are utterly exhausted. I saw thirteen of them all dressed in\nflowing gowns, and with high white hats of stiff woolen stuff; their\nhands were stretched or raised to heaven, their eyes half closed, and\ntheir minds apparently absorbed in the contemplation of Allah. They\nmade about forty or fifty turnings a minute. The Howling Dervishes\nswing their heads up and down, crying incessantly with all their might,\n\u2018La llaha, ill\u2019 Allah!\u2019 and some other phrases, until they are stopped\nby sheer exhaustion.\u201d All this is done for the same reasons for which\nthe Fakirs of India, and the devotees of other nations torment their\nbodies.\n\n\n THE SMART AND SMARTING ANSWER OF A DERVISH.\n\nIn the north-west provinces of India there lived a Dervish who was\nnever guilty of using his tongue too freely in conversation. If a nod\nor a sign would do, he would spare his words. He was considered a\nquiet, inoffensive, but shrewd man. He went by the name of \u201cthe holy\nDervish.\u201d\n\nIn the same place there lived a rich, native gentleman, good-natured,\nbut given now and then to frolics.\n\nOne day he proposed to some friends to go together and pay the holy\nDervish a visit. \u201cI wish,\u201d the gentleman said, \u201cto puzzle him with\nthree questions which he will never be able to answer.\u201d They found the\nholy man sitting near his hut in a newly-plowed field.\n\nThe Mohammedan gentleman walked up to him, and with great mock humility\nsaid unto him, \u201cHoly father, I am troubled with three questions; will\nyou kindly answer them to me?\u201d The Dervish gave an affirmative nod.\n\nThe gentleman began. \u201cThe first question, holy father, is about God.\nPeople say that there is a God; but I cannot see Him, and no one can\nshow Him to me, and therefore, I cannot believe that there is a God.\nWill you answer this question?\u201d A nod was the answer of the Dervish.\n\n\u201cMy second question,\u201d the gentleman continued, \u201cis about Satan. The\nKoran says that Satan is created of fire. Now, if Satan be created of\nfire, how can hell-fire hurt him? Will you explain that too?\u201d A nod.\n\n\u201cThe third question refers to myself. It is said in the Koran, that\nevery action of man is decreed; now, if it be decreed that I must\ncommit a certain action, how can God bring me into judgment for that\naction, Himself having decreed it? Please, holy father, answer me.\u201d\n\nA nod was given by the Dervish, and whilst the party were standing and\ngazing at him, he quietly seized a clod from the newly-plowed field\nand sent it with all his might at the gentleman\u2019s face. The gentleman\nbecame furious, and had the Dervish carried before the judge.\n\nArriving in court the gentleman stated his complaint, saying the pain\nin his head was so severe that he hardly knew how to bear it.\n\nThe judge looked at the Dervish, and asked whether these things were\nso? A nod was the reply; but the judge said, \u201cPlease explain yourself,\nfor nods will not do in my court.\u201d\n\nThe Dervish replied, \u201cThis gentleman came to me with his companions,\nand asked three questions which I carefully answered.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe did no such thing,\u201d the gentleman exclaimed; \u201ca clod of earth he\nthrew into my face--and oh, how it pains me!\u201d\n\nThe judge looked at the Dervish, and said, \u201cExplain yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d was the answer. \u201cPlease, your honor, this gentleman said to\nme that people maintained that there was a God, but he could not see\nHim, nor could any one show him God, and therefore he could not believe\nthat there was a God. Now he says he has pain in his face from the clod\nI threw at him, but I cannot see his pain. Will your honor kindly ask\nhim to show us his pain, for how can I believe he has any if I cannot\nsee it?\u201d\n\n\u201cAgain, this gentleman asked, that if Satan was created of fire, how\ncould hell-fire hurt him? Now, the gentleman will admit that Father\nAdam was created of earth, and that himself also is earth. Now if he be\nearth, how could a clod of earth hurt him?\u201d\n\nAnd as to the third question, the Dervish drew himself up and said with\ngreat dignity, \u201cSir, if it be written in my fate to throw a clod at\nthis gentleman\u2019s face, how can and dare he bring me before the judge?\u201d\n\nThe judge allowed that the Dervish had answered the three questions\nwith his clod, but admonished him to answer questions in future in a\nmore becoming way, as he might not be able to get himself off so easily\nfrom the usual penalties at another time.\n\n\n DAILY WORSHIP.\n\n [Illustration: MOSLEM BOY STUDYING THE KORAN.]\n\nFive times daily the Moslem says his prayers. On the ship, in the\nstreet, in the house or store, wherever he may be, and forgetful of\nall his surroundings, at the hour of prayer he spreads his mat, sits\nupon it, turning his face toward Mecca, raises his hands to heaven,\nthen bends until his forehead almost touches the ground. His prayer\nis, generally, a recital of the first chapter of the Koran. The five\nhours of prayer are, first, between daybreak and sunrise, a little past\nnoon, in the afternoon, four minutes after sunset, and at night-fall.\nThe times of prayer are announced from the minaret, or tower, of each\nmosque, by the Muezzin, one of the under-officers of the mosque. He\nchants the words \u201cAllah is great. I testify that there is no God but\nAllah. I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of Allah. Come to prayer.\nCome to security. Allah is most great. There is no Deity but Allah!\u201d\nIn the morning he adds, \u201cPrayer is better than sleep.\u201d At night, for\nthe sake of the very pious, two extra calls for prayer are sounded.\nBlind men are often chosen to be Muezzins, because the high position of\nthe minaret would enable one who could see to get too full a view of\nthe interior of the neighboring houses and harems. The faithful from\nearliest childhood are required to be diligent students of the Koran.\n\n\n THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA.\n\n [Illustration: MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA, AT CONSTANTINOPLE,\n TURKEY.]\n\nOne of the most celebrated mosques is that of St. Sophia, at\nConstantinople. This was once a Christian cathedral. It was originally\nbuilt by Constantine the Great, in 325 A.D. It was destroyed in\n404 A.D., rebuilt, and again destroyed in 532. After this Justinian\nrestored it. It took seven years to build it. Ten thousand workmen were\nemployed in its erection. It was built of materials gathered from all\nover the Roman Empire, and comprised remains of almost every celebrated\nheathen temple of ancient times. The dome of the tabernacle was of\nsolid gold, and was surmounted by a solid golden cross, encrusted\nwith precious stones, in all weighing seventy-five pounds. The whole\ncathedral is said to have cost more than $65,000,000 (Mr. Neale\u2019s\nestimate, in his volume on the \u201cEastern Church.\u201d) In the year 1453\nA.D., when the Turks entered Constantinople, they appropriated this\ncathedral for a mosque. The Christian emblems were removed, destroyed\nor covered up with plaster; the crosses were chiseled out of the walls;\nthe great cross on the summit of the dome was removed, and the crescent\ntook its place. The crescent is a half moon, with the horns turned\nupward. It is the distinctive Turkish emblem, and, in some sense, the\nMohammedan symbol also.\n\n\n THE JUMMAH MUSJID AT DELHI, INDIA.\n\n [Illustration: MOSQUE AT DELHI, CONTAINING A HAIR FROM\n MOHAMMED\u2019S BEARD.]\n\n [Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE MOSQUE AT DELHI.]\n\n [Illustration: TOWER OF THE KOUTUB, INDIA.]\n\nIn Delhi itself is probably the finest Mohammedan mosque in all\nIndia. This is called the Jummah Musjid (the Pearl Mosque). It is\nbuilt entirely of sandstone, and is raised upon a high terrace. This\nmasterpiece of Indo-Mohammedan architecture is the most venerable\nmonument of the Moslems in India. Vivid though severe colors clothe\nevery part of the building. After mounting long flights of steps, the\nvisitor passes through huge bronze doors into a large, open court,\nwith a fountain in its centre. At one side is a piece of black marble,\nin which is the print of Mohammed\u2019s foot--at least, the priests say\nso. In the interior, the roof, pillars and pavement are of the purest\nwhite marble, embroidered with finest arabesques. These arabesques\nare composed of colored marbles, and precious stones inlaid in the\nmarble in various patterns of scroll-work or of inscription. Bishop\nHeber said of this structure: \u201cThis spotless sanctuary, showing such\na pure spirit of adoration, made me, a Christian, feel humbled, when\nI considered that no architect of our religion had ever been able to\nproduce anything equal to this temple of Allah.\u201d But the worship\nis not now so pure. The building is reverenced by the Mohammedans,\nnot merely on account of its age or wondrous beauty, but because it\ncontains a most highly esteemed relic of Mohammed. From a small nook of\nsolid marble, with a carefully-locked door, the priests take, for the\ninspection of visitors and devotees, a small silver case; with slowest,\nmost cautious reverence, the casket is unlocked, and the priest exposes\nto view--_a hair from Mohammed\u2019s beard_. What would that fierce\nhater of relics and idols, Mohammed, say, could he but see how far\nhis modern disciples have departed from his teachings? Besides the\nhair, they retain as relics a garment and a pair of sandals which once\nbelonged to the prophet.\n\nDelhi is to the Moslems of India what Mecca is to the Moslems of Arabia\nand Egypt. The city is surrounded by walls seven miles in extent In\nthe suburbs one rides through miles of ruins of mosques, towers and\ntombs. Few cities have had as splendid a career as Delhi, and few have\nsuffered as greatly. One of the marks of the Mohammedan conquest in\nIndia, 600 years ago, is the giant tower of the Koutub, near Agra.\nIt is the highest tower, standing alone, in the world; built of red\nsandstone, fluted, and has five stories. The mention of Agra recalls\none of the most famous structures of the world, erected by a Moslem\nMogul of India. Shortly after a visit to this famous Mohammedan\nmonument, Dr. H. M. Field wrote the accompanying description of it and\nof his visit:\n\n\n THE TAJ MAHAL, THE \u201cJEWEL OF INDIA.\u201d\n\n [Illustration: TAJ MAHAL, THE TOMB OF THE EMPRESS MUMTAJ\n MAHAL, AT AGRA, INDIA.]\n\nThe jewel of India--the Koh-i-noor of its beauty--is the Taj, the tomb\nbuilt by the Emperor Shah Jehan, the grandson of Akbar, for his wife,\nwhom he loved with an idolatrous affection, and on her death-bed\npromised to rear to her memory such a mausoleum as had never been\nerected before. To carry out his purpose, he gathered architects\nfrom all countries, who rivaled each other in the extravagance and\ncostliness of their designs. The result was a structure which\ncost fabulous sums of money (the whole empire being placed under\ncontribution for it, as were the Jews for the Temple of Solomon),\nand employed 20,000 workmen for seventeen years. The building thus\nerected is one of the most famous in the world--like the Alhambra or St\nPeter\u2019s--and of which enthusiastic travelers are apt to say that it is\nworth going around the world to see. This would almost discourage the\nattempt to describe it, but I will try and give some faint idea of its\nmarvelous beauty.\n\nBut how can I describe to others what is but a picture in my memory?\nDescriptions of architecture are apt to be vague, unless aided by\npictorial illustrations. Mere figures and measurements are dry and\ncold. The most I shall aim at will be to give a general (but I hope\nnot indistinct) _impression_ of it. For this, let us approach it\ngradually.\n\n [Illustration: A SCENE ON THE JUMNA.]\n\nIt stands on the banks of the Jumna, a mile below the tort at Agra. As\nyou approach it, it is not exposed abruptly to view, but is surrounded\nby a garden. You enter under a lofty gate-way, and before you is an\navenue of cypresses, a third of a mile long, whose dark foliage is\na setting for a form of dazzling whiteness at the end. That is the\nTAJ. It stands, not on the level of your eye, but on a double\nterrace; the first, of red sandstone, 20 feet high and 1,000 feet\nbroad, at the extremities of which stand two mosques, of the same dark\nstone, facing each other. Midway between rises the second terrace,\nof marble, 15 feet high and 300 feet square, on the corners of which\nstand four marble minarets. In the centre of all, thus \u201creared in air,\u201d\nstands the TAJ. It is built of marble--no other material than\nthis, of pure and stainless white, was fit for a purpose so sacred. It\nis 150 feet square (or rather, it is eight-sided, since the corners\nare truncated), and surmounted by a dome, which rises nearly 200\nfeet above the pavement below.\n\nThese figures rather belittle the TAJ, or, at least,\ndisappoint those who looked for great size. There are many larger\nbuildings in the world. But that which distinguishes it from all\nothers, and gives it a rare and ideal beauty, is the union of majesty\nand grace. This is the peculiar effect of Saracenic architecture. The\nslender columns, the springing arches, the swelling domes, the tall\nminarets, all combine to give an impression of airy lightness, which is\nnot destroyed even when the foundations are laid with massive solidity.\nBut it is in the finish of their structure that they excelled all the\nworld. Bishop Heber said truly: \u201cThey built like Titans and finished\nlike jewelers.\u201d This union of two opposite features makes the beauty\nof the TAJ. While its walls are thick and strong, they are\npierced by high arched windows which relieve their heaviness. Vines\nand arabesques running over the stone-work give it the lightness of\nfoliage, of trees blossoming with flowers. In the interior there is\nan extreme and almost feminine grace, as if here the strength of man\nwould pay homage to the delicacy of woman. Inclosing the sacred place\nis a screen of marble, carved into a kind of fret-work, and so pure\nand white that light shines through it as through alabaster, falling\nsoftly on that which is within. The Emperor, bereaved of his wife,\nlavished riches on her very dust, casting precious stones upon her tomb\nas if he were placing a string of pearls around her neck. It is overrun\nwith vines and flowers, cut in stone, and set with onyx, and jasper,\nand lapis-lazuli, carnelians and turquoises, and chalcedonies, and\nsapphires.\n\nBut the body rests in the crypt below. We descend a few steps and stand\nby the very sarcophagus in which all that loveliness is enshrined.\nAnother sarcophagus contains the body of her husband. Their tombs were\ncovered with fresh flowers, a perpetual tribute to that love which was\nso strong even on the throne, to those who were thus united in life,\nand in death are not divided.\n\n [Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE TAJ, THE TOMB OF MAHAL.]\n\nHere sentiment comes in to affect our sense of the beauty of the place.\nIf it were not for the touching history connected with it, I could not\nagree with those who pronounce the TAJ the most beautiful\nbuilding in the world. Merely as a building, it does not \u201covercome\u201d me\nso much as another marble structure--the Cathedral of Milan. I could\nnot say with Bishop Heber that the mosques of Islam are more beautiful,\nor more in harmony with the spirit of devotion, than Christian churches\nor cathedrals. But the TAJ is not a mosque, it is a tomb--a\nmonument to the dead. And that gives it a tender interest, which\nspiritualizes the cold marble, and makes it more than a building--a\npoem and a dream.\n\nAs we came out the moon was riding high overhead, flooding the marble\npile with beauty. Round and round we walked, looking up at arch and\ndome and minaret. At such an hour the TAJ was so pale and\nghost-like, that it did not seem like a building reared by human hands,\nbut to have grown where it stood--like a night-blooming Cereus, rising\nslowly in the moonlight--lifting its domes and pinnacles (like branches\ngrowing heavenward) toward that world which is the home of the love\nwhich it was to preserve in perpetual memory.\n\nWith such thoughts we kept our eyes fixed on that glittering vision, as\nif we feared that even as we gazed it might vanish out of our sight.\nBelow us the Jumna, flowing silently, seemed like an image of human\nlife as it glided by. And so at last we turned to depart, and bade\nfarewell to the TAJ, feeling that we should never look at it\nagain; but hoping that it might stand for ages to tell its history\nof faithful love to future generations. Flow on, sweet Jumna, by the\nmarble walls, reflecting the moonbeams on thy placid breast; and in thy\ngentle murmurs whispering evermore of Love and Death, and Love that\ncannot die!\n\n\n PILGRIMAGES AND FESTIVALS.\n\n [Illustration: MOHAMMADEN FEAST OF MOHURRIM.]\n\nMecca, the birthplace of Mohammed, is _the_ holy place of the\nMoslems. The Kaaba, Mohammed\u2019s homestead, is _the_ holy place of\nMecca. From all over Moslemdom once in every year great caravans\ngo to visit the birth place of the prophet. This is _the event_ in\nthe lives of the faithful. The long processions, mounted on camels,\ngorgeously caparisoned, file out from the cities, and across hill,\nand plain, and over the desert to Mecca. Mohammedanism is probably\nthe most active of the non-Christian religions. The pilgrimages, the\nnumbers of missionaries and the seeming devotion of the people, as\nmanifested in their attendance at the mosques, and on the occasions of\nfestivals indicate this. One of their festivals, celebrated in India,\narouses their religious zeal, and carries it to the highest pitch\nof fanaticism. This is the feast of Mohurrim, the Moslem \u201cFeast of\nMartyrs,\u201d commemorating the bloody death of Mohammed\u2019s grandsons. \u201cThe\nmartyrdom of these Moslem saints is commemorated by little shrines in\ntheir houses, made of paper and tinsel, and on the great day of the\nfeast they go in procession out of the city (of Delhi) to a cemetery\nfive miles distant where they bury them in newly-opened graves.\nMen, women and children by tens of thousands on foot, and others in\nbullock-carts or mounted on horses, camels and elephants. Immense\ncrowds gather by the roadside, mounting the steps of old palaces or\nclimbing to the tops of houses, to see this mighty procession pass, as\nit goes rolling forward in a wild frenzy to the cemetery. There they\nlay down these images of their saints as they would bury their dead.\u201d\n\n\n CONCLUSION.\n\nThe Mohammedan religion was established by the sword, it has constantly\nsuffered by the sword, it seems destined to perish by the sword. Its\nhistory is tracked with blood. It has kept back the nations that have\naccepted it, retarding their progress. It has degraded woman. It has\nno teachings of sin or a Sacrifice or a Saviour. God is the \u201cAll\nmerciful,\u201d but His mercy is, according to Moslem teachings, with\nutter disregard of justice. To be a Moslem is all that is necessary\nto obtain mercy, to refuse to yield to the faith of Mohammed is all\nthat is needed to deprive one of God\u2019s mercy. The idea of God is cold\nand cruel, with no idea of the Father. But Mohammedanism has rendered\nthis service to the world, it has greatly lessened idolatry. The\nmost stubborn opposition to Christian missionary work comes from the\nMohammedans. But the whole building of Mohammedanism, especially in its\npolitical relations, seems to be tottering and crumbling, and threatens\nsoon to fall in ruins.\n\nMay the Cross soon gain a peaceful, bloodless triumph over the\nCrescent!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVII.\n\n WINNING THE WORLD TO THE WORSHIP OF THE ONE GOD.\n\n There is a cry in Burmah, and a rush\n Of thousand footsteps from the distant bound\n Of watery Siam and the rich Cathay.\n Not for food\n Or raiment ask they. Simply girding on\n The scanty garment o\u2019er the weary limb,\n They pass unmarked the lofty domes of wealth\n Inquiring for a stranger. There he stands;\n The mark of foreign climes is on his brow;\n He hath no power, no costly gifts to deal\n Among the people, and his lore perchance\n The earth-bowed worldling, with his scales of gold,\n Accounteth folly. Yet to him is raised\n Each straining eyeball, \u201cTell us of the Christ!\u201d\n And like the far-off murmur of the sea\n Lashed by the tempest, swelled their blended tone,\n \u201cSir, we would hear of Christ. Give us a scroll\n Bearing His name.\u201d\n MRS. L. H. SIGOURNEY.\n\n\nBefore concluding the pleasant task upon which he has been engaged\nso long, the author feels that it will be necessary to meet the\nexpectation that he should say something about the work of bringing\nthe world back to its first worship. At first, we have seen, the\nworld worshiped one God; then many gods and idols were introduced.\nRepeated efforts to restore the pure worship of primitive times ended\nin failure. Zoroaster tried and failed; Buddha tried, and _he_\nfailed; Mohammed tried, and _he_ failed; Jesus the Christ tried,\nand _He_ did not fail.\n\n\n WHY GIVE THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD?\n\n [Illustration: TWO NEW ZEALANDERS: THE SAVAGE TE WETERE AND\n THE CHRISTIAN TE KOTE.]\n\nThe ground of the success of Christianity lies in its superior\ncharacter. Its revelations are clearer and fuller, its motives are\npurer, and its hopes are higher than those of any heathen system.\nOne may glean the choicest sayings of the masters of religious\nteachings, and in comparison with those of Jesus the Christ, their\nlight is as that of a candle compared with the light of the sun.\nUndoubtedly this conviction has forced itself upon the mind of the\nreader as he has considered the various systems of religion; that\nthere is not one among them all that can do for the world that which\nChristianity can accomplish. Compare the founders of religions with\nthe Founder of Christianity, in their lives, characters and teachings.\nCompare together the sacred books; the Vedas, the laws of Manu, the\nZend-Avesta, the Tripitakas and the Koran, with the Bible. Compare\nthe effects of these religions upon the political, social, civil and\ndomestic life of the people with the effects of Christianity; compare\nChristian and heathen lands, Christian and heathen homes, Christian\nand heathen governments. Compare the best parts of the best of heathen\nreligions with any part of Christianity. One cannot but see the marked\ncontrasts, and the infinite superiority of Christianity. This being so,\nthen does it not follow that they who are seeking to give the Gospel\nof Jesus the Christ to the world are rendering a service to the cause\nof humanity? And they are but obeying the command of Jesus Christ to\n\u201cpreach the Gospel to every creature.\u201d A young curate, who had fed on\nSydney Smith\u2019s diet of sarcastic witticisms, once approached the Duke\nof Wellington with the question, \u201cDo you not think that the work of\nconverting the Hindus is all a fanatical farce?\u201d \u201cLook to your marching\norders, sir!\u201d the stern old Iron Duke replied. Common gratitude moves\nus to desire that the world shall be made to know of Jesus Christ.\nWhen we read of the worship of our heathen ancestors, and remember\nthat we should have been doing to-day as they did, had it not been\nfor the Christian men who took the Gospel to England, we feel new\nobligations resting upon us. Further, all things are working to this\nend. Inventions, explorations, the discoveries of science, progress in\ngovernment, everything waits upon this work.\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE WORK.\n\nIt began 1,850 years ago. A Christian man named Paul went among the\nheathen of Asia Minor and South-eastern Europe--among the worshipers of\nthe gods of Greece and Rome--to tell them of Christ. He was accompanied\nby other Christians. They met with considerable success, though they\nwere made to suffer for it.\n\nIn later years, from Rome, that had then become the centre of\nChristianity, other Christians went to Western Europe. From Greenland,\nof the Arctic Zone, to the West Indies, of the Tropics, Christianity\nwas extended. Nation after nation gave up its idols, cruel customs were\nabolished, and a purer life and worship was begun. But it was left for\nthe last hundred years to witness the development of this work to its\ngreatest extent.\n\n\n THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE CHRISTIAN ARMY.\n\nThe Christian camp-fires are lighted and the tents of the Christian\narmy have been erected in almost every land of the globe. The\nconquering army pursues only peaceful methods; it does not seek to\ndrive but to win; not to harm but to help. In gaining its present\nposition many lives have been lost, many sacrifices have been made. It\nhas had to contend for the ground it occupies, inch by inch; the forces\nof idolatry have been mustered against its advance. The giant Goliath,\nHeathenism, has counted on a speedy destruction of the stripling David,\nChristianity. One country after another has opened its doors to the\ncoming of Christianity. India, in the year 1705, opened her doors only\nto close them again after a little; since 1830, however, the work\nhas been prosecuted vigorously. China, in 1807, and Japan, in 1859,\nwelcomed the first Protestant Christian missionaries. Thus, too, other\ncountries of Asia, Africa and the Islands of the Pacific have received\nthe Christian heralds, within the last hundred years. Now behold them\nmarshaled for the fight. Let us hastily glance at the various fields in\nsuccession.\n\n\n A FLIGHT OVER THE FIELDS.\n\nLet us rub our Aladdin\u2019s lamps, and summon the genii to bear us away\nover the world. Let us on imagination\u2019s swift wings fly over the\nbattle-fields.[9]\n\nIn _Japan_ we see Buddhism being galvanized into a new life for\nthe moment, and Shintoism cast off by the government and in great\npart by the people. We see a few new temples being erected, but many\nold ones falling into ruins. Western ideas have been introduced, and\nwestern civilization is making rapid progress in this most eastern\nland. One hundred and twenty-three Christian missionaries have won\n3,000 Japanese to join their churches. The Japanese have the New\nTestament in their own language. Corea has just been reached by\nmissionaries, and the New Testament is being published in the Corean\nlanguage.\n\nOld China is being brought to the childhood of conversion to Christ;\nher conservatism is passing away; her exclusive policy is being\nyielded up; her hatred of the foreigners (the \u201cforeign devils\u201d and\n\u201cbarbarians\u201d) is being overcome and replaced by respect and in some\ncases by love. To-day a man behaving himself properly and not bearing\nhimself insolently, can travel unmolested in any part of China, even\nwhere foreigners once were murdered. Every one of its provinces has\nbeen visited by Christian missionaries; in almost all they reside.\nThe language (said to have been invented by the devil to perplex\nmissionaries) is very thoroughly understood and used. Their false\nscience and law is being replaced by true instruction. Christ is\ntaking Confucius\u2019s place, as it is seen that his teaching can never\nregenerate China. Buddha\u2019s dreary faith of annihilation, and Lao-tze\u2019s\nsuperstitious materialism are being slowly yielded up by the people.\nThe taking of this Gibraltar of heathenism is by no means accomplished;\nyet her walls are being scaled, and a foothold on their summit gained.\nThey that have turned the world upside down have gone thither also.\nBy unique and unexpected providence, God is aiding His workers. The\nrecent terrible famine was such a providence. Yet while the number\nof converts is not great, a very great deal of unseen work has been\naccomplished. It seems as though a whole legion of devils catch up the\nseed of the Gospel sown in China, almost as quickly as it touches the\nground; still some, and much, brings forth good fruit. Considering the\npowerful opposition, the gigantic obstacles, the almost insurmountable\ndifficulties, that there should be 19,000 living Chinese Christians\nto-day, and probably 85,000 nominal Christians, is surprising.\nTo-day 496 missionaries are at work in China, seeking to convert its\n400,000,000 people.\n\nMoravian missionaries are preaching the Gospel of Christ on the borders\nof Thibet, the stronghold of Buddhism. It is here that the Buddhist\nLama or Pope resides.\n\nIn Siam great changes have recently occurred. The country is now open\nto foreigners; a missionary is in charge of the government school and\nthis nation, like Japan, seems to be progressing toward the light.\nTwenty-four missionaries (one among Chinese colonists), with 631\nconverts represent the strength of the church there.\n\nIn Assam \u201cthe light of a brighter day gilds the hill-tops and spreads\nalong the valleys, ripening the long corn-fields for the reaper\u2019s\nsickle.\u201d Long and patient toil has not as yet been rewarded with great\nharvest gatherings, but the missionaries look forward in patient\nwaiting for a better day. There are 13 churches, with 1,800 members; 26\nmissionaries, and 75 native preachers.\n\nThere are European missionaries in Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas;\namong the aborigines of Australia, and in the Island of Mauritius.\n\nWhat a grand work has been done in Burmah, where missionary labor\nhas been so emphatically blessed; among Burmese, Karens, Shans and\nKakyens. The young mission at Bhamo is in a precarious condition at\npresent, owing to the relations of King Thee-bau to England; yet the\nmissionaries there stand by their posts. The Buddhism of Burmah seems\nas yet but little affected by the presence of Christianity; the work\namong the Karens has made more rapid progress than among the Burmese,\nbecause of the preparation for the Gospel by their singular traditions\nand prophecies. There are 23,000 Christians, the nucleus of a Christian\ncommunity of about 75,000. There are 103 missionaries in Burmah.\n\n [Illustration: A MISSIONARY HOME IN BURMAH.]\n\nIndia has been very thoroughly evangelized. The opposition of the\nrepresentatives of so-called Christian nations, the strength of caste,\nand the attachment to the elaborate system of Hinduism were the\nprincipal obstacles to the progress of Christianity. Five-sixths of\nall the converts are from the lower castes or ranks of the people.\nBy education in mission-schools, but mainly by direct preaching,\nabout 115,000 converts have been made. There is a native Christian\ncommunity (M. A. Sherring says) of a half a million. Six hundred and\nseven missionaries were at work in 1875. One of the most extraordinary\nevents of all modern missionary history was the sudden turning of the\nthousands of Teloogoos to Christ. The people of India have been greatly\nenlightened, thought awakened, and a wonderful transformation is\noccurring. The sacrifice of infants, the horrible practice of suttee,\nthe Juggernaut festivals, are no more tolerated. English and American\nladies have gained an entrance into the zenanas, and the women of\nIndia are becoming aware of a new life of which they never dreamed.\nAll over India, Christian villages and churches dot the land; and\nbefore another generation has passed away, if the increase shall be\nproportionate to the recent past, India will be a Christian country.\nThe Brahmo-Somaj, a sort of reform on Brahminism, has recently drawn\nvery near to Christianity, and as illustrated by Keshub Chunder Sen\u2019s\nrecent remarkable address may soon become a Christian body.\n\nLittle has been undertaken in Afghanistan, Beloochistan or Arabia,\nas yet. There are 29 missionaries and 1,376 converts in Persia. The\nconverts are principally from the Nestorians, who have long been\nnominally Christians. Access to the Mohammedans is becoming easier.\n\nIn Turkey, momentous changes are occurring. The despicable, despotic\ngovernment is losing its power. Here the first triumphs of the first\nmissionaries were won. The old Armenian race, the Anglo-Saxons of the\nEast, who received Christianity in the fourth century, have in later\nyears shown a remarkable readiness to receive Protestant preaching.\nThe Mohammedans, here as elsewhere, are almost inaccessible. In\nConstantinople alone, a city of the size of Philadelphia, they have 300\nmosques. There are 158 missionaries in Turkey, and 7,200 converts, and\n14,000 children in their schools. In Syria there is a strong missionary\nbody. It is difficult to reach the Jews, Mussulmans and Christians\n(Greek and Roman Catholic churches), because of their exceeding\nreligiosity. The American Congregationalists and Presbyterians, and\nalso the Church of England, have missionaries here. There are 1,317\nProtestant Christians, 110 missionaries, and 12,057 scholars in Syria.\n\nCentral Asia is almost the only part of the world yet closed against\nthe Gospel, though even here a little has been done by the brave old\nJoseph Wolff and English officers.\n\nAfrica, the dark continent, has a population of about 200,000,000.\nMohammedanism has thoroughly overrun Africa, especially the northern\nportions. Fetichism, the lowest form of idolatry, holds the great mass\nof the African peoples. There are two missions in Egypt; the British,\nwith one missionary and two stations, and the American, with twenty-two\nmissionaries, thirty-four stations and 1,000 members, mainly from the\nCopts, an old Christian sect. The children in the mission-schools are\nmostly Mohammedan. In South Africa twelve or fifteen societies have\nnot less than 40,000 converts. The western coast, from Sierra Leone to\nthe Gulf of Guinea, is fringed with Christian missions. At the mouth\nof the Congo, on the west, and on the Niger and Zanzibar coast, on the\neast, the missions are flourishing. The greatest interest attaches to\nthe very recent occupancy of Central Africa. On November 15th, 1876,\nStanley\u2019s famous letter, mentioning King Mtesa\u2019s request for Christian\nteachers, was received. A few days after, $20,000 were offered to found\na mission at Victoria Nyanza. Within seven months a picked party of\nseven missionaries stood on the eastern shore of Africa. They have\nexperienced great difficulties and met with slight success.\n\nMadagascar may be called a Christian country now, as may also the\nSandwich Islands, the British West Indies, and, perhaps, the greater\npart of the islands of Polynesia. In Mexico, and in South America, as\nin the Papal lands of Europe, Protestant missionaries are laboring.\n\n\u201cThe field is the world;\u201d the motto is--the world for Christ and Christ\nfor the world. The great triumphs of the past are being eclipsed by the\ngreater ones of the present. The old decrepit and deformed sects of\nChristianity, long sleeping if not long dead, are taking on a new life.\nThe Pagan religions are attempting the impossible task of preventing\nthe incoming of Christianity; but their thraldom is broken, and\neverywhere the dropping of the broken fetters is heard. Mohammedanism\nalone is gathering itself with vigor to resist and repel and overcome\nChristianity, but its sword has been wrested from its grasp. The\nconquests of Christianity have not been won by might of sword; her\nvictories over old faiths have not been gained by worldly wisdom. By\nlove, by persuasion, by patient toil and suffering, the self-offered\nbut God-called missionaries have done this work. God be praised for\ntheir lives, their works and their successes. May the day soon come\nwhen, his \u201cGospel having been published throughout the whole world for\na testimony to all the nations,\u201d Christ, by whose command they went\nforth, shall come and gather out of all nations His own!\n\n\n\n\n INDEX.\n\n\n Abhidharma, 514\n\n Abu Bekr, 728\n\n Abyssinia, 724\n\n Adar, 130\n\n Aditi, 216\n\n Africa, 341\n\n African Religion, 89, 341;\n Missions, 776\n\n African Travelers, 341\n\n Agni, 216\n\n Agra, 760\n\n Agricola, 195\n\n Agriculture, Temple of, at Peking, 467\n\n Ahriman, 410\n\n Ainos, 716\n\n Akamatz, 669, 673\n\n Alaskans, 362, 371\n\n Alexander, 412\n\n Alger, W. R., 741\n\n Allegory of Winter and Spring, 369\n\n Altars, 60\n\n Amaterasu, 311\n\n Amazon sun-worship, 377\n\n American Indians, 361;\n Traditions of Deluge, 72\n\n Amon, 104\n\n Ancestors, Worship of, 364, 481, 486\n\n Angkor, 592\n\n Anubis, 104\n\n Apis, 106\n\n Apollo and Hermes, 159\n\n Arabian Night\u2019s Entertainment, 567\n\n Arab slave-dealers, 341\n\n Araucanians, 378\n\n Arhans, 626, 687\n\n Arnold, Edwin, 500, 507, 522, 598\n\n Arnold, Matthew, 184\n\n Asakusa, 673\n\n Ashtoreth, 141\n\n Asoka, 513, 527, 532, 540\n\n Assamese Missions, 773\n\n Asshur, 127\n\n Assyrian Triad, 128;\n Bull, 135\n\n Atagosa-Yama, 686\n\n Athens, 167\n\n Augustine, 209\n\n Avesta, 411\n\n Aztecs, 53, 379\n\n\n Baal, 142, 194\n\n Baalbec, Temple of Sun at, 583\n\n Baal-Peor, 141\n\n Babel, Chaldean story of, 74\n\n Babylon, 135\n\n Bangkok, Pagoda of, 576\n\n Baruch, 138\n\n Basutos, 347\n\n Bear Worship, 717\n\n Beatitudes of Buddha, 520\n\n Beggars, Buddhist, 523\n\n Begging-bowl, 525\n\n Bel, 128\n\n Bell of Osaka, 691\n\n Bells, The, 578\n\n Benares, 255, 502, 508\n\n Benten, 328, 678\n\n Benzura, 680\n\n Berosus, 63, 74, 121, 128\n\n Bible and Idolatry, 74\n\n Bible of Thibet, 609\n\n Bible testimony to first worship, 34\n\n Bidasu, 657\n\n Binzurn, 680\n\n Bishamon, 328\n\n Black Stone, 721\n\n Bodhidharma, 615, 657\n\n Bombay, 518\n\n Bonny, 355\n\n Bon Religion, 598\n\n Bonzes, Chinese, 651\n\n Book of the Dead, Egyptian, 108\n\n Books of Brick, 123\n\n Booldo, 654\n\n Borsippa, 136\n\n Bo-tree, 507, 539, 550;\n of Ceylon, 546\n\n Bowring, Sir John, 588\n\n Boyesen, 200\n\n Boy, Moslem, 752\n\n Boy, The Old, 424\n\n Brahma, 216\n\n Brahmanas, 217\n\n Brahminism, 92, 502\n\n Brahmins and Gautama, 507\n\n Brick Books, 123\n\n Bricks of Chaldea, 122\n\n Bridge-ladder, Turning the, 483\n\n Britain in ancient times, 186\n\n Brittan, Miss H. G., 295\n\n Browning, Mrs. E., 84\n\n Buddha, 500;\n Gautama becomes, 508;\n and Christ, 509\u2013512\n\n Buddhaghosha, 514, 528, 550;\n Parables of, 528\n\n Buddhas, The Three Precious, 625\n\n Buddha\u2019s Tooth, Worship of, 553\n\n Buddhism, 87, 93, 500;\n in China, 420, 611;\n in India and Ceylon, 532;\n in Burmah, 555;\n in Siam, 575;\n in Thibet, 598;\n in Corea, 654;\n in Japan, 656\n\n Buddhist Councils, 527\n\n Buddhist Saint\u2019s Tomb, 590\n\n Bull, Assyrian, 135\n\n Burmese Buddhism, 555;\n Missions, 773\n\n Burmese Superstitions, 570\n\n Bushmen, 346\n\n Byron, 536\n\n\n C\u00e6sar, 192, 527\n\n Cairo University, 720\n\n Calf, Golden, 140\n\n Caliphs, 728\n\n Cambyses, 106\n\n Camel Driver, 721\n\n Canton, 615, 626, 637\n\n Canton, Examination Hall in, 473\n\n Caste, 222\n\n Cathay, 699\n\n Causes of decay in religion, 84\n\n Cave of Idols, 596\n\n Cazembe Fetich-man, 351\n\n Cemetery at Mecca, 727\n\n Centaurs, 163\n\n Ceremony of Water-lamps, 653\n\n Ceres and Liber, 179\n\n Ceylonese Buddhism, 540;\n Bible, 554\n\n Chair of Nails, 652\n\n Chaldean story of Deluge, 64;\n of Babel, 74;\n Tablets, 119\n\n Champollion, 100\n\n Channa, 507\n\n Chaos, 154\n\n Charlemagne, 527\n\n Charms, Chinese, 439\n\n Childe Harold, 536\n\n Children taught to worship idols, 230, 490\n\n China, 416;\n religions of, 94, 416, 419;\n Missions in, 771\n\n Chinese Deities, 56;\n Languages, 418;\n Home Life, 478;\n Buddhism, 611;\n Idols, 641;\n Devotees, 652\n\n Chinese in Siam, 596\n\n Chinese tradition of early ages, 44;\n of Deluge, 69\n\n Christ and Buddha, 509\u2013512;\n and other Masters, 767\n\n Christian and Buddhist ideas, 515\n\n Christianity\u2019s Conquest, 95, 767;\n in Great Britain, 195\n\n Clement of Alexandria, 104\n\n Coffee, King, 346\n\n Coleridge, S. T., 47\n\n Colossal Buddha, 632, 693\n\n Comparative religion, 35\n\n Confucianism, 94, 419\n\n Confucian Temples, 461, 471\n\n Confucius, 445, 710;\n and Lao-Tsze, 425\n\n Constantine the Great, 513, 527, 754\n\n Corea, 654, 699\n\n Corean Priest, 657;\n Buddhism, 687\n\n Corinth, 168\n\n Costumes of Chaldea, 125\n\n Councils of the Buddhists, 527\n\n Creation, Traditions of, 62, 307\n\n Cross and Crescent, 766\n\n Crusades, 733\n\n Cuneiform Letters, 124\n\n Cunningham, A., 540\n\n Cyclops, 154\n\n Cypress-tree of Ceylon, 532, 546\n\n\n Dagabas, 548, 620\n\n Dagon, 58\n\n Dai Butsu of Kamakura, 693;\n of Nara, 699\n\n Daikoku, 323, 678\n\n Dalai Lama, 600\n\n Dante, 527\n\n Dead and living Religions, 82\n\n Dead, Egyptian Book of the, 108\n\n Dead Pan, 85\n\n Dead Religions, 84\n\n Delhi, 754\n\n Deluge, Traditions of, 66\n\n Dervishes, 748\n\n Devil Mask, 549\n\n Devils, Driving out, 705\n\n Devotees, 281;\n of China, 652\n\n Dharma, 514\n\n Diana of Ephesus, 171, 583\n\n Dining-room of a Buddhist Temple, 670\n\n Dispersion of the Nations, 45\n\n Do-nothing Sect, 654\n\n Doolittle, J., 653\n\n Douglass, R. K., 446\n\n Dragon Boat-race, 436\n\n Druids, 188\n\n Du Chaillu, P., 358\n\n Dyaus, 214\n\n\n Ebisu, 326\n\n Ebn-el Farid, 77\n\n Edda, 199\n\n Edkins, J., 419\n\n Egyptian Architect, 38\n\n Egyptian Book of the Dead, 108\n\n Elephanta, Cave of, 256\n\n Elephant, Palace of, 579\n\n Elephant, White, 588\n\n Elfin story, 205\n\n Elijah, 144, 621\n\n Elysian Fields, 518\n\n Emerald Idol, 579\n\n English Heathenism, 185\n\n Ephesian Diana, 171\n\n Erebus, 154\n\n Etruscan Religion, 174\n\n Europe, 92\n\n Examinations in China, 473\n\n Exodus of Nations, 45\n\n\n Fa Hian, 599, 612\n\n Fakirs, 279\n\n Farrar, F. W., 290\n\n Fetich, 350\n\n Field, H. M., 97, 473, 758\n\n Fielde, A. M., 498\n\n Fijian Temple, 391\n\n Fiji Islanders\u2019 Tradition of the Deluge, 71\n\n Fire Crackers, 499\n\n Fire-god\u2019s Secret, 393\n\n Fire-worshipers, 407\n\n First Hymns, 53\n\n First Worship, 33\n\n Five Hundred Gods Temple, in China, 626;\n in Japan, 687\n\n Flight of Mohammed, 719, 725\n\n Flowing Invocation, 715\n\n Foism, 611\n\n \u201cFootsteps of the Law\u201d, 518\n\n Fox-worship, 703\n\n Freiligrath, F., 41\n\n Fuji-yama, 329, 708\n\n Fukuroku Jin, 322\n\n Funeral in Japan, 711\n\n Funeral of Burmese Monk, 571\n\n Funeral of Siamese King, 596\n\n Funeral Ritual of Egypt, 104\n\n Funeral Temple of Siam, 578\n\n\n Gabriel\u2019s Message, 724\n\n Gambler\u2019s God, 498\n\n Ganesha, 265\n\n Ganges, 255, 272\n\n Garden, Buddhist, 562\n\n Gata and Karpara, 40\n\n Gate-ways of Shinto Temples, 332\n\n Gathas, 409\n\n Gautama, 502\n\n Gedeen-tubpa, 600\n\n Genii of Assyria, 132\n\n Goddess of Mercy, 632;\n of women, 637\n\n God of Letters, 438;\n of War, 439;\n of Riches, 440;\n of Kitchen, 493\n\n Gods, African, 343;\n Japanese, 703\n\n Gods of Taoism, 434\n\n Gounja-Gounja, 345\n\n Grand Lama, 607\n\n Graves, Worship at, 631\n\n Gray, J. H., 443\n\n Great Spirit, 364\n\n Greek Tradition of Deluge, 72\n\n Greek Tradition of Early Ages, 44\n\n Gregory the Great, 208\n\n Griffis, W. E., 658, 667\n\n Grouping Religions, 77\n\n Guards of Temple, 677\n\n Gutzlaff, C., 69\n\n Gwalior, Cave of, 257\n\n\n Hachiman, 678\n\n Hairs of White Elephant, 587\n\n Hamonim, 654\n\n Hardwick, C., 61, 428\n\n Hardy, Spence, 502, 514\n\n Haroun-al-Raschid, 732\n\n Heine, H., 575\n\n Hejira, 725\n\n Hell, Chinese idea of, 642;\n Japanese idea of, 688, 700\n\n Hemis, Monastery of, 600\n\n Herculaneum, 183\n\n Hercules, 163\n\n Hermes and Apollo, 159\n\n Herodotus, 97\n\n Hesiod, 151\n\n Hiawatha, 368\n\n Hieroglyphics, 50, 100\n\n Hilaire, B. St., 500, 510\n\n Hindu Tradition of Early Ages, 44\n\n Hindu Tradition of Deluge, 68\n\n Hiogo Buddha, 666\n\n H\u2019lassa, 599;\n Cathedral, 603\n\n Holy men of Hindus, 279\n\n Holy Scriptures, 518\n\n Homer, 151\n\n Homes, Chinese, 478\n\n Hooghly River Mosque, 742\n\n Horrors, Temple of, 642\n\n Hotei, 327, 703\n\n Hottentots, 345, 349\n\n Household gods of Japan, 321\n\n Howqua, 478\n\n Human Sacrifices in Britain, 192;\n among Hindus, 225\n\n Humbert, Aime, 656\n\n Humboldt, 387\n\n\n Ibsambul, 99\n\n Idolatry and the Bible, 74\n\n Idol, Emerald, 579;\n Sleeping, 579\n\n Idol of Buddha, 509\n\n Idols and Koran, 738\n\n Ilu, 127\n\n Im\u00e1m, 742\n\n Inari, 703\n\n Incarnations of Vishnu, 299\n\n Incas, 383\n\n India, 92, 532;\n Missions in, 773\n\n Indian Tradition of Deluge, 72\n\n Indians of America, 363;\n Legends, 367\n\n Initiation Ceremony, 523\n\n Insect-god, 349\n\n Ise, 332\n\n Ishtar, 130\n\n Izanagi and Izanami, 308\n\n\n Jacob, 138\n\n Jagan-nath, 233\n\n Jains, 518, 532\n\n Janus, 180\n\n Japanese Customs, 709\n\n Japanese Gods, 703\n\n Japanese Pilgrims, 669, 709\n\n Japanese Poem, 709\n\n Japanese Shintoism, 94;\n Buddhism, 656\n\n Japanese story of Creation, 307\n\n Japanese Superstitions, 712\n\n Japan, Mission in, 771\n\n Jesuit Missionaries, 666\n\n Jesus and Buddha, 509\u2013512;\n and Koran, 737\n\n Jimmu Tenno, 313, 319\n\n Jingu Kogo, 687\n\n Jogees, 532\n\n Jonas, 535\n\n Joong, 654\n\n Joshua, 138\n\n Joss-stick, 461, 620\n\n Jove, 176\n\n Judge of Hell, 700\n\n Judgment, 739\n\n Judson, A., 767\n\n Judson, Emily C., 402, 555\n\n Juggernaut, 233\n\n Jummah Musjid, 754\n\n Juno, 178\n\n Jupiter, 164, 177\n\n\n Kaaba, 721\n\n Kaang, 346\n\n Kaffirs, 351\n\n Kakavanna, King, 529\n\n Kali, 240\n\n Kamakura, 661, 693\n\n Kandy, 553\n\n Karens, 402, 555\n\n Karnak, 113\n\n Keshub Chunder Sen, 212\n\n Khadija, 723\n\n Kin-mu, 654\n\n Kitchen, God of, 493\n\n Kitsune, 703\n\n Kobe, 668, 687\n\n Kobo Daishi, 657, 665\n\n Koran, 734, 737\n\n Koutub, 757\n\n Krishna, 233\n\n Kronos, 154\n\n Kum-Fa, 637\n\n Kushan Monastery, 622\n\n Kwanon, 661;\n Temple of, 673;\n Picture of, 680\n\n Kwan-te, God of War, 439\n\n Kwan-Yin, 631, 645\n\n\n Laban, 138\n\n Lama, 600;\n Grand, 607\n\n Lamaism, 598\n\n Lamaist Bible, 609\n\n Lao-Tsze, 416\n\n Lenormant, 119\n\n Leonowens, Mrs. A., 583\n\n Leper King, 595\n\n Letters, God of, 438\n\n Leyden, 230\n\n Living Worships, 86\n\n Longfellow, H. W., 367, 611\n\n Lotus Eaters, 161\n\n Luther, R. M., 402\n\n Luxor, 114\n\n\n Ma-chu, 494, 498, 638\n\n Maclear, G. F., 185\n\n Magi, 410\n\n Mahawanso, 554\n\n Mahinda, 540, 549\n\n Malayo-Polynesians, 387\n\n Mandarin of China, 615\n\n Mani Padee, 608\n\n Manu\u2019s Laws, 293\n\n Mara, 508, 519\n\n Marriage in Japan, 710\n\n Mason, Francis, 555\n\n Master Thief, Stories of, 37\n\n Matsuri, 704\n\n Maulmain Pagoda, 565\n\n Mecca, 721, 727, 752, 763\n\n Medicine Men, 364\n\n Medina, 725\n\n Memnon, 114\n\n Mencius, 475\n\n Mendes, 104\n\n Mendicants, Buddhist, 523\n\n Mercy, Goddess of, 632, 661, 673, 680\n\n Merodach, 130\n\n Meteor-gods, 58\n\n Mexican Tradition of Early Ages, 43;\n of Deluge, 70\n\n Michell, N., 210\n\n Mikado of Japan, 657\n\n Mikado\u2019s Crest, 317\n\n Milton, J., 138\n\n Minerva, 179\n\n Ming-ti, 611\n\n Missionary and non-missionary Religions, 82\n\n Missionary work, Christian, 767;\n in Japan and China, 771;\n in Thibet, 772;\n in Siam, Burmah, Assam and India, 773;\n in Turkey, 775;\n in Africa, 776\n\n Mnevis, 104\n\n Mohammed,\n\n Mohammedanism, 87, 95, 522\n\n Mohammedans, 210\n\n Mohurrim, 764\n\n Moloch, 143\n\n Monasteries of China, 646\n\n Monks, Buddhist, 525;\n Burmese, 571;\n of Thibet, 600\n\n Monk\u2019s Monument, 650\n\n Monto Priests, 668;\n Creed of, 673\n\n Monuments, Ancient, 50\n\n Moon-god,\n\n Moses,\n\n Moslem Boy, 752\n\n Moslems, 719\n\n Mosque of Omar, 730\n\n Mosques, 741;\n Worship in, 747\n\n Mother\u2019s Memorial, 715\n\n Mother, The Goddess, 490\n\n Mouhot, H., 592\n\n Mountain, Sacred Japanese, 329, 708\n\n Mpomo, 358\n\n Muir, Sir W., 735\n\n M\u00fcller, F. Max, 340, 407, 513, 517, 668\n\n M\u00fcller, J. G., 362\n\n Mummies, 104\n\n Music lesson of Confucius, 450\n\n Mystic sentence of Thibet, 606\n\n Myths of Greece, 159\n\n\n Nagkon Wat, 592\n\n Nanking, 611, 621\n\n Naoroji, 414\n\n Nara, 699\n\n Nats, 530, 566\n\n Nature-worship, Beginning of, 51\n\n Ndengei, 389\n\n Nebo, 130\n\n Nebuchadnezzar, 121\n\n Nergal, 130\n\n New Testament, 514\n\n New Year\u2019s Day in Japan, 704\n\n Niam-Niams, 347\n\n Nichiren, 658\n\n Nick, Old, 198\n\n Nigban, 517\n\n Nio, 677\n\n Nirvana, 517\n\n Nitsukis, 703\n\n Nixes, 206\n\n Nobunaga, 665\n\n Numa, 177\n\n\n Oannes, 128\n\n Oceanica, 387\n\n Odyssey, 155, 162\n\n Old Boy, 424\n\n Olympus, 153\n\n Omar, 729\n\n Omens, 712\n\n Om Mani Padmi Hum, 606\n\n Ongole, 272\n\n Original and Reformed Religions, 82\n\n Ormazd, 409, 410\n\n Osaka, 704\n\n Osiris, 102\n\n Othman, 732\n\n Oudh, King of, 594\n\n\n Pagoda, Shway-da-Gong of Rangoon, 557;\n of Maulmain, 565;\n of Wat Chang, Siam, 576\n\n Pagodas, 122;\n of India, 269;\n of Burmah, 560;\n the Seven, 565;\n of China, 620\n\n Pan is dead, 85\n\n Papuans, 387\n\n Paradise of Buddha, 517;\n of Mohammed, 518, 738\n\n Parseeism, 88, 407\n\n Parsees, 407\n\n Parsee Worship, 414\n\n Patagonians, 365, 378\n\n Patna, Council of, 527\n\n Paul, St., 164, 770\n\n Pearly Emperor, 435\n\n Pechaburi, 596\n\n Peking, 461, 626, 652\n\n Persia, 408\n\n Peru, 372, 383\n\n Peruvian Tradition of Early Ages, 43\n\n Peter, St., Statue of, in Siam, 584\n\n Petsi, King, 657\n\n Phidian Jupiter, 164\n\n Pilgrimage to Mecca, 763\n\n Pilgrim, Japanese, 669, 673\n\n Plagues of Egypt, 139\n\n Pliny, 189\n\n Poe, Edgar, 578\n\n Poison-god, 394\n\n Polyphemus, 162\n\n Pombi, 344\n\n Pompeii, 183\n\n Pondicherry, 270\n\n Pongyee, Burmese Monks, 571\n\n Poor Mason, 39\n\n Pope, 497\n\n Porcelain Tower, 611, 621\n\n Prayers, Sale of, 616\n\n Praying for rain, 344\n\n Praying-wheels in Thibet, 605;\n in China, 649\n\n Priest, 651\n\n Priest\u2019s lament, 656\n\n Priest\u2019s trick, 350\n\n Proposed treatment, 87\n\n Proverbs and Precepts, Chinese, 431\n\n Pyramids, 117\n\n\n Queen of Heaven, 497\n\n\n Ra, 102\n\n Rahanda, 529\n\n Raiden, 318, 319\n\n Railroad in Japan, 662\n\n Rain, Praying for, 344\n\n Rajaratnacari, 554\n\n Ramayana, 594\n\n Rammohun Roy, 212, 221\n\n Rangoon, 557\n\n Reed, Sir Edw., 305\n\n Refuges, The Three, 524\n\n Relics of Buddhists, 540\n\n Religions, missionary and non-missionary; dead and living;\n original and living, 38\n\n Religions of the World, 500\n\n Renunciation, The Grea, 506\n\n Rewards and Punishments, Book of, 430\n\n Rhampsinitos, 38\n\n Rhys-David, 514, 524, 537, 603\n\n Riches, God of, 440\n\n Rogers, Captain, 529\n\n Romans, Paul\u2019s letter to, 182\n\n Ruins of Egypt, 98\n\n\n Sabellian Religion, 175\n\n Sabines, 175\n\n Sacred animals of Egypt, 106\n\n Sacred books of Japan, 306\n\n Sacred Bo-tree, 507, 539;\n of Ceylon, 546\n\n Sacrifices, Human, 192, 225\n\n Sage, The Little, 475\n\n Sakya Muni, 502\n\n Sailors\u2019 Goddess, 494\n\n Saint Hilaire, B., 500, 510\n\n Sale of Prayers, 616\n\n Samoyedes, 56\n\n Sanchi Tope, 536\n\n Sangha, 523\n\n Sanno, 678\n\n Sanskrit stories, 301\n\n Sargon, Palace of, 132\n\n Satan, 737\n\n Saxon Paganism, 197\n\n Sayings of Confucius, 456\n\n Schaff, P., 748\n\n Schiller, F. Von, 150\n\n Schlegel, F. Von, 33\n\n School-boy of China, 460\n\n Schoolcraft, H., 368\n\n Scottish story of the Shifty Lad, 40\n\n Sea-God, 707\n\n Sebek, 104\n\n Secret Blessings, Book of, 433\n\n Sects of Hindus, 218;\n Buddhists in Japan, 667\n\n Serpent Idol, 59\n\n Set, 103\n\n Seven Pagodas, 565\n\n Shakespeare, 203\n\n Shamanism, 371, 555\n\n Shanghai, 421\n\n Shang-te, 463, 654\n\n Shans, 555\n\n Shasters, 298\n\n Shiba, Temple of, 682\n\n Shinran, 662\n\n Shin-Shin Sect, 657, 668\n\n Shinto Symbols, 681\n\n Shintoism, 94, 656\n\n Shoes, Putting off, 587\n\n Shrines of Ise, 332\n\n Shway-da-Gong Pagoda, 557\n\n Siamese Buddhism, 575;\n Missions, 773\n\n Siamese White Elephant, 588\n\n Sigourney, Mrs. L. H., 767\n\n Sikhs, 256\n\n Sioux, 365\n\n Siva, 216\n\n Sleeping Idol, 579\n\n Smith, Sidney, 769\n\n Song of the Threshers, 101\n\n Sotheby, 173\n\n Soul, Bringing home the, 483\n\n Southern migration, 92\n\n Southey, 232\n\n Spanish story of the Poor Mason, 39\n\n Sphinx, 97, 112\n\n Spires, 122\n\n Spirit, Great, 364\n\n Spirit-house, 390\n\n Stanley, H. M., 356\n\n Stoddard, R. H., 450, 460\n\n Stonehenge, 188\n\n Stories from the Sanskrit, 301\n\n Stories of the Master Thief, 37\n\n St. Paul, 164\n\n St. Sophia, 748, 753\n\n Student, The Tired, 475\n\n Suddhodana, 502\n\n Sun-child, 658\n\n Sun-goddess of Japan, 313\n\n Sun, Temple of, in Peking, 467\n\n Sun-worship of Indians, 372\n\n Superstitions, Japanese, 712\n\n Suttee, 231, 296\n\n\n Tae-Ping Rebellion, 621\n\n Taj Mahal, 758\n\n Talisman of Long Life, 424\n\n Taoism, 416\n\n Taoist Books, 428\n\n Tao-te-king, 428\n\n Tartar Woman, 601\n\n Tartarus, 153\n\n Taylor, B., 739, 741\n\n Tektha, 567\n\n Temple of Horrors, 642\n\n Tengou, 707\n\n Tennent, Sir E., 546, 548\n\n Tennyson, Alfred, 77\n\n Teraphim, 57, 138\n\n Teshu Lumbo Monastery, 602\n\n Testament, New, 514\n\n Thibet, 598;\n Mission in, 772\n\n Thor, 200\n\n Thoth, 104\n\n Thousand Lamas\u2019 Temple, 626\n\n Three Baskets, 513\n\n Three Precious Buddhas, 625\n\n Three Pure Ones, 434\n\n Threshers, Song of, 101\n\n Thunder, Japanese God of, 318, 319\n\n Tien-chi, 56\n\n Tient-sin, 652\n\n Tinnevelly, 213\n\n Tired Student, 475\n\n Tissa, 540\n\n Titans, 153\n\n Tokio, 673, 682\n\n Tooth, Buddha\u2019s, 553\n\n Topes, Buddhist, 508, 535\n\n Torii, 332\n\n Tortures of Holy Men, 283\n\n Towers, 122\n\n Traditions of man in early ages, 43;\n of creation, 62, 305;\n of deluge, 66\n\n Trees, Sacred, 712\n\n Triad, Assyrian, 128\n\n Trick of Priests, 348\n\n Tripitaka, 513, 545, 548\n\n Tsong-khapa, 599\n\n Tung-cho, 620\n\n Turkish Mission, 775\n\n Tussaud, Madame, 681\n\n\n Umkululu, 347\n\n Umritsur, 256\n\n Universe, Greek conception of, 151;\n Hindu, 246\n\n University at Cairo, 720\n\n\n Varuna, 216\n\n Vedas, 49, 54, 92, 286, 548\n\n Vesta, 179\n\n Vinaya, 514\n\n Vindya Mountains, 507\n\n Vinton, Mrs., 406\n\n Virgil, 173\n\n Vishnu, 216;\n incarnations of, 299\n\n Visions of Gautama, 504\n\n Visparad, 414\n\n\n Walhalla, 199\n\n War, God of, 439\n\n Wat Chang Pagoda, 576\n\n Water-lamps, 653\n\n Wat P\u2019hra Keau, 579\n\n Wax-works, 681\n\n Wellington, Duke of, 769\n\n White Elephant of Siam, 579, 588\n\n Whittier, J. G., 53, 532\n\n Wilkinson, 101\n\n Williams, M., 54\n\n Williams, S. W., 416, 482\n\n Woden, 199\n\n Woman, according to Hinduism, 227, 295;\n and Mohammedanism, 748\n\n Wu-Wei-Kiau, 654\n\n\n Xavier, 666\n\n Xisuthrus, 66\n\n\n Yasnas, 413\n\n Yasodhara, 508\n\n Yebisu, 687\n\n Yema, God of Hell, 688\n\n Yezzo, 716\n\n Yuah, 403\n\n\n Zenanas, 228, 295\n\n Zend Avesta, 43, 49, 411\n\n Zoroaster, 409\n\n Zulus, 345, 347\n\n\n THE END.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] In later ages the scribes of Babylonia wrote important matters on\nboth burnt and unburnt bricks. One would be left unharmed by water,\nwhile the other was made permanent by fire.\n\n[2] Lenormant, the eminent French scholar of Assyrian antiquities, is\nour authority for the main part of this chapter, and we have quoted\nliberally from his writings.\n\n[3] King of Congo.\n\n[4] Contributed by the Rev. R. M. Luther, of Burmah.\n\n[5] A crore is 10,000,000; a thousand thousand crores would be 10\nmillion millions.\n\n[6] Monk.\n\n[7] Abbot.\n\n[8] Bayard Taylor writes thus:\n\n \u201cTill the sun grows cold\n And the stars are old\n And the leaves of the Judgment Book unfold.\u201d\n\n\n[9] The facts and figures that follow are gathered from the latest\nreports of over seventy missionary societies of Germany, France, Great\nBritain and America. These are in the writer\u2019s possession, and from\nthem he presents the latest ascertainable returns to March 20th, 1881.\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\n1. Obvious printers\u2019, punctuation and spelling errors have been\ncorrected silently.\n\n2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the\noriginal.\n\n3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have\nbeen retained as in the original.\n\n4. Italics are shown as _xxx_.","title":"Error's chains : $b How forged and broken : A comparative history of the national, social and religious errors that mankind has fallen into and practised from the creation down to the present time.","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":161092}