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diff --git a/38100.txt b/38100.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b0f5f3a --- /dev/null +++ b/38100.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15891 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ancient Faiths And Modern, by Thomas Inman + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Ancient Faiths And Modern + A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends and Divinities + +Author: Thomas Inman + +Release Date: November 22, 2011 [EBook #38100] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANCIENT FAITHS AND MODERN *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + + +ANCIENT FAITHS AND MODERN: + +A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends and Divinities + +In Central And Western Asia, Europe, And Elsewhere, Before The Christian +Era. Showing Their Relations To Religious Customs As They Now Exist. + +By Thomas Inman, M.D. + +Author Of "Ancient Faiths Embodied In Ancient Names," Etc., Etc. +Consulting Physician To The Royal Infirmary, Liverpool; Lecturer, +Successively, On Botany, Medical Jurisprudence, Therapeutics, Materia +Medica, And The Principles And Practice Ok Medicine, Etc., In The +Liverpool School Ok Medicine. Etc. + +1876 + +TO THOSE + +WHO THIRST AFTER KNOWLEDGE, + +AND ARE NOT DETERRED FROM SEEKING IT + +BY THE FEAR OF IMAGINARY DANGERS, + +THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, WITH GREAT RESPECT, + +By + +THE AUTHOR + + + + +PREFACE. + +Some thirty years ago, after a period of laborious study, I became the +House Surgeon of a large Infirmary. In that institution I was enabled to +see the practice of seven different doctors, and to compare the results +which followed from their various plans of treatment. I soon found +that the number of cures was nearly equal amongst them all, and became +certain that recovery was little influenced by the medicine given. The +conclusion drawn was that the physician could do harm, but that his +power for good was limited. This induced me to investigate the laws of +health and of disease, with an especial desire to discover some sure +ground on which the healing art might safely stand. The inquiry was a +long one, and to myself satisfactory. The conclusions to which I came +were extremely simple--amounting almost to truisms; and I was surprised +that it had required long and sustained labour to find out such very +homely truths as those which I seemed to have unearthed. + +Yet, with this discovery came the assurance that, if I could induce my +medical brethren to adopt my views, they would deprive themselves of the +means of living. Men, like horses or tigers, monkeys and codfish, can do +without doctors. Here and there, it is true, that the art and skill of +the physician or surgeon can relieve pain, avert danger from accidents, +and ward off death for a time; but, in the generality of cases, doctors +are powerless. It is the business of such men, however, to magnify their +office to the utmost. They get their money ostensibly by curing the +sick; but it is clear, that the shorter the illness the fewer will be +the fees, and the more protracted the attendance the larger must be the +"honorarium." There is, then, good reason why the medical profession +should discourage too close an investigation into truth. + +But, outside of this fraternity, there are many men desirous of +understanding the principles of the healing art Many of these have begun +by noticing the style of the doctor's education. They find that he is +taught in "halls," "colleges," and "schools," for a certain period of +time; and then, at about the age of two-and-twenty, he is examined by +some experienced men, and, if considered "competent," he pays certain +fees, and is then licensed to practise as physician. As all regular +doctors go through this course, it is natural that all should think and +act in a common way, and style their doctrines "orthodox." It is equally +certain that to such opinion the majority adhere through life. But +it has always happened, that many men and women have aspired to the +position of medical professors, without going through the usual career; +or, having done so, they have struck out a novel plan of practice, which +they designate a new method of cure. These have always been opposed +by the "orthodox," and the contest is carried on with varying success, +until the general public give their verdict on one side or the other. +Into the motives which sway the respective combatants we will not enter; +our chief desire being to show that each set is upheld by those who +are designated "laymen," whose education has not been medical The most +intelligent on the heterodox side have been clergymen; and many have +been the complaints of "orthodox" doctors, that "the parsons" should +patronize, so energetically as they do, medical "dissenters." + +As the "clerk" takes pleasure in examining the therapeutical doctrines +of his physician, so the medical professor frequently inquires closely +into his clergyman's theological views and feels himself at liberty +to accept or oppose them, as the "clerk" adopts or attacks him and his +theory and practice. It would, indeed, be disrespectful in the listener +not to pay intelligent heed to the discourses which emanate from +the pulpit. I have myself listened to the preaching of hundreds of +university graduates, and of men who never took a degree, and have +noticed that the same diversity of style exists amongst them, as is to +be found in medical men. Some order a certain plan of treatment for a +soul, which they assert to be grievously affected, and give no reason +for what they say or do. Others give their motives for everything which +they affirm, and for the plan which they prescribe for cure. Under the +ministry of one of the last I sat for many years. Conspicuous for sound +judgment, and for a peculiarly clear oratory, his sermons were to me an +intellectual treat. From the exordium, forwards, I followed his words +closely, and lost none of his arguments. But I soon became conscious +that he never once carried his reasoning to its logical conclusion. +Still further, it was manifest that certain things were by him taken for +granted; and it was held to be culpable to inquire into the reality of +those assumptions. In fine, it was evident, that there was a Bluebeard's +closet in the house of God, into which, in the preacher's opinion, it +was death to pry! + +With the idea which was gradually forced upon my mind, that there was +a systematic suppression of the truth in the pulpit, I very carefully +searched the Bible, with which I have been familiar from infancy, and +upon which, it is asserted, all our faith is founded. At this time, too, +a casual inquiry into some ancient cognomens, which have descended to +us from remote antiquity, induced me to examine into ancient faiths +generally. With this became associated an examination of all religions, +and their influence upon mankind. + +I found that in every nation there have been, and still are, good men +and bad, gentle and brutal, thoughtful and ignorant. That the best men +of Paganism--Buddha, for example--did not lose, by comparison, with the +brightest light of Christianity; and that such large cities as London +and Paris, have as much vice within them as ancient Rome or modern +Calcutta. I found, moreover, that there is a culpable colouring in the +accounts given by Christian travellers of Pagan countries. The clerical +pen rests invariably and strongly upon the bad points of every heathen +cult, and contrasts them with the best elements of Christianity. I +do not know that it has ever instituted a fair comparison between +corresponding characters in each faith. As an illustration of my +meaning, let us regard the stern virtue of the Roman Lucretia, who +committed suicide, her body having been forcibly defiled by the embraces +of another than her husband, even though the ravisher was a prince. She +had heard nothing of the Jewish law or Christian gospel, nevertheless +she was far better than the wives of the nobles in the courts of Louis +the XIV. and XV., who gladly sold themselves and their daughters to the +royal lechers. These, unlike the Italian woman, were instructed both in +the law and the gospel; they attended one place or another of Christian +worship daily or weekly. Nay, if report be true, "the eldest son of the +Church," when he visited the "parc aux cerfs," made each fresh virgin, +victim of his passion, duly say her prayers before she assisted him to +commit adultery, and herself permitted fornication! We sympathize with +Paul and the early Christian fathers in their denunciations of the +Romans and Greeks for obscenities practised in honour of their gods; +but, at the same time, we feel sure that, had those apostles and +teachers lived in the middle ages, they would have denounced, with +greater warmth, the murders which were constantly being perpetrated in +honour of Jesus. + +In like manner, we may greatly regret, with the writer of Psalm xiv., +that amongst "the children of men, there is none that doeth good; no, +not one;" but we must equally bow before the statement of Ezekiel +(ch. xxii. 30), that there was no more propriety amongst the so-called +"chosen people of God," than amongst the Gentile Canaanites and +Babylonians. + +Again, we feel pain when we find the great ones of the earth--aye, and +many small ones too--seeking out for villains, "willing to commit +murder for a mede," and lament that lawgivers should secretly encourage +lawlessness; but we cannot forget that Jesus of Nazareth is represented, +in John vi. 70, to have selected a devil to bring about certain +ends--see also John xiii. 26, 27, in which the agency is well marked. + +Modern divines tell us that war, tumult, hatred, malice, quarrels of all +kinds, and murder come from the devil, and are the direct result of our +fallen nature; nevertheless, we remember that Jesus is reported to have +said--"I came not to send peace, but a sword; I am come to set a man at +variance against his father, and the daughter against the mother," &c. +(Matt. x. 34, 35). When we institute comparisons like these, the +balance is not uneven. I found, moreover, that the sharply defined line, +commonly drawn between Paganism and Christianity, is worthless--the +doctrines of the latter being, in many respects, identical with, or +deduced from, the former. + +It seemed necessary, therefore, to ascertain whether, in religion, +any other line than the one in vogue in Europe, could be drawn with +certainty. + +The result of my observations showed a wonderful similarity to exist +between the clerical and medical profession; and I feel that, if my +views about the cure of souls and bodies were generally adopted, +there would be no need either for parson or for doctor. Instead of +discovering, as I had hoped to do, which of all the rival sects of +Christendom is the best one, I found that all were unnecessary, that +many are degraded in doctrine and bad in practice; and that, if any +must exist, the one which effects the least mischief should be the one +selected for general adoption. It required much courage to allow myself +to believe that doctors have, taking everything into consideration, +done more harm in the world than good, and still more to announce my +conviction that Christianity was even more culpable than medicine. The +physician, when professing to cure, has too often assisted disease to +kill; and he who has had the cure of souls, has invented plans to +make believers in his doctrine miserable. The first fills his coffers +proportionally to the extent to which he can protract recovery; +the second becomes rich in proportion to the success with which he +multiplies mental terrors, and then sells repose. The one enfeebles the +body, the other cripples the intellect, and aggravates envy, hatred, and +malice. Both are equally influential in preventing man from being such +as we believe that the Almighty designed him to be. + +Though we oppose the old plan of medication of body and mind, we are +far from asserting that there is no value in an honest doctor, either of +divinity or medicine. On the contrary, I have a stronger faith in my own +profession, as it has been reformed, than ever I had ere the light of +good sense had shone upon it; and I have a far more confident trust +in the religion propounded by F. W. Newman, in _Theism_, than in that +current amongst Christians in general But in such schemes of physic +and faith, very few "ministers" are necessary, shams find no place, and +emoluments are small A man who communes with his God requires no priest, +mediator, middle-man, or saint--whether virgin, martyr, or both--to +intercede for him. + +Holding such opinions as these, it is not probable that I shall find +many followers. I do not seek them. My aim has been to set good sterling +stuff before the world, so that any one, whose self-reliance is great, +may receive strength. There are many who would rather die with a +physician close beside them when they are ill, than live without a +doctor; and there are few who would not rather enjoy the fear of hell +with the orthodox, than be with heretics free from such terrors--"For +sure, the pleasure is as great in being cheated, as to cheat." To all +such our writings are _caviare_. Yet, even to them, we would say that we +have warrant for our belief in statements, to which the orthodox +cannot reasonably object--viz., "If thou doest well, shalt thou not +be accepted?" (Gen. iv. 7); "In every nation, he that feareth God, and +worketh righteousness, is accepted with him" (Acts x. 35); "He that +doeth righteousness, is righteous" (1 John iii. 7). + +Let me contrast my own views with those generally current amongst us. I +believe that God did not make men, any more than the beasts, to damn the +largest number of them throughout eternity. I believe that all who aver +that they have been selected by the Creator from all the world besides +as the only recipients of salvation are wrong, and deceivers of the +people. In fine, I believe that God's "tender mercies are over all his +works." The common opinion that the Almighty so revels in cruelty, that +He makes creatures to torture them, is a horrible one to me--fit only +to come from impotent Pagan priests. That Jehovah selected about one +million of bad men, out of about four hundred other millions equally +bad, solely because their progenitor, Abraham, consented to murder and +burn his son, is to me a frightful blasphemy; and, lastly, that God has +no tender mercies for nine-tenths of the human race, is to convert our +conception of the Author of all good into the conventional "Devil." The +comparison may be summed up thus: I believe in God, the Father of all +things; the so-called orthodox believe in the God Satan. I do not know +anything in all my studies which excited my attention more painfully +than the result of the analysis of Jehovah's character, as given in our +Bible. Kind to those who are said to please Him, He is a fearful demon +to all who are said to oppose Him. + +How can any reasonable man hold the opinion that the Devil instigated +all atrocities of the Syrians, Chaldees, Assyrians, Romans, Turks, +Tartars, Saracens, Affghans, Mahometans, and Hindoos, and believe that +the good God drowned the whole world, and nearly every single thing that +had life; that He ordered the extermination, not only of Midianites and +Amalekites, but slaughtered, in one way or another, all the people whom +he led out of Egypt--except two--merely because they had a natural fear +of war. What was the massacre at Cawnpore to that in Jericho and other +Canaanite cities? I say it with sober seriousness--in sorrow, not in +anger--as a thinking man, and not as an advocate for, or against, any +religious view, that it is an awful thing for any nation to permit +a book to circulate, as a sacred one, in which God and the Devil are +painted in the same colours. + +Into this analysis of religion I was led to enter from the observation +of a friend, who challenged me to find, in any non-Hebraic or +non-Christian country, a faith or practice equal to that current amongst +the followers of Moses and Jesus, or to discover any spot in the wide +world where there is, or has been, a civilization equal to that which +existed in Judea, and the parts inhabited by Christians. In consequence +of this defiance, it became more than ever necessary for me to study the +nature of the current faith and practice of Christendom, and to inquire +how far the latter was dependent upon the former--that is to say, +whether the practices of civilization are due to our religion, or have +gradually grown up in spite of it. The next point was to pay similar +heed to the doctrines and manner of life common amongst those to whom +our Bible has been wholly unknown. + +Many of the conclusions to which I came have already appeared in the +second volume of _Ancient Faiths_, under the heads of "Religion," +"Theology," &c.; but others came upon me when that book had been +completed, and the present supplement is designed with the idea of +expressing, still further, the extent of my views, and the evidence upon +which they are founded--with special reference to the differential value +of Christian and unchristian faith and practice. + +As was natural, this involved the question constantly before my mind in +the preceding volumes--viz., "Is there in reality anything in the Hebrew +and the Christian theology essentially different from that promulgated +by the leaders of divinity in other countries?" This point has +repeatedly been discussed, and amongst the orthodox there is no +difficulty in allowing the existence of a strong similarity in all +systems of religion; but the value of the fact is supposed to be reduced +to ridicule by the monstrous assertion, that Moses and Jesus taught +all the world. Amongst the books which came under my notice, whilst +prosecuting my search, was a very remarkable one, called _The Modern +Buddhist_, now _The Wheel of the Law_, which is an account of the +religious thoughts of a Siamese monarch, with a statement of his +conversations with Christian missionaries. In this the British churchman +and non-conformist can see themselves as others see them; and the +Asiatic has quite as great, perhaps even a superior, right to call the +European "poor and benighted," as the Christian has to call the Buddhist +"a miserable Pagan." + +Notwithstanding my endeavours to be perfectly "judicial," and to give +what I believe to be an impartial account of the subjects which I +describe, I have been, by certain critics, accused of special pleading. +It is, perhaps, unnecessary to deny the charge, for each reader must +judge of my fairness, or otherwise, for himself. But, on the other hand, +I retort most strongly, by averring that I have not met, in the whole +course of my reading, a religious work by an orthodox divine, which does +not "bear false witness against its neighbours." + +There is in all both a _suppressio veri_ and a _suggestio falsi_, +which makes the honest inquirer almost entirely reject their books. +In addition to this, there is in them a recklessness of statement and +assertion which is unequalled, except in the fierce controversies of +ancient doctors. The perfect contempt which certain puny divines, who +have endeavoured to throw dirt upon the present Bishop of Natal, show +for the laws of evidence, and the systematic way in which they avoid +every real point at issue, are marvellous to those who know that such +people have had an university education, have studied logic, and +profess an unlimited respect for truth. In future years the theological +writings, generally, of our time will be as much objurgated by +enlightened, earnest, and thoughtful readers, as Protestants of to-day +abuse the theology and prurience of Sanchez, Thomas Aquinas, and Peter +Dens. + +In conclusion, I would wish to add, that I am conscious, from the amount +of correspondence which I have had on the subject in hand, that there +is not only a wide, but a constantly extending dissatisfaction +with the current theology taught by the ministers of all +denominations--excepting, as a body, the Unitarians, and such +individuals as Bishop Colenso, Bishop Hinds, Mr Voysey, and others. The +laity are awaking to the fact that priests are strenuously endeavouring +to quench the light of reason in the fogs of faith. Unless the +Protestantism, of which Great Britain was once so proud, decides to +drift into Papism--the only legitimate harbour for those who reject +reason for a guide--it must thoroughly reform itself, and ruthlessly +reject, as "necessary to salvation," every article of belief which is +not only nonsensical or absurd, but which has unquestionably descended +from a grovelling Paganism. To this end we hope that our essays will +contribute. + + + + +INTRODUCTORY + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + A recapitulation. Destruction of an old edifice precedes the + building of another on the same site. Chichester Cathedral. + Difficulties of reconstruction. Innovators are regarded as + enemies. The Old Testament appraised. The Jews and their + pretensions. Hebraic idea of Jehovah. The sun and moon. God + and goddess. Importance of sexual perfection in a Hebrew + male. Women are prizes given to the faithful Jews. Almost + everything Jewish came from Pagan sources, except the + Sabbath. Inquiry into the New Testament necessarily follows + upon an investigation of the Old. Thoughts upon the history + of Christianity. Malignancy of its professors. Life of + Jesus, by various authors. The ground preoccupied. The + plan proposed. + +In commencing another volume of a series, and one to a great extent +independent of the other two, it is advisable to pause and recapitulate +the points advanced, and the positions attained. This is the more +necessary when the present inquiry is a natural result of a preceding +one, and when an attempt is made to collect and arrange the scattered +materials into an harmonious and consistent edifice. Our volumes on the +subject of "Ancient Faiths in Ancient Names" were, to a great extent, +destructive. They struck heavy blows in all directions, wherever a false +idol was to be recognized, and they destroyed many a cherished delusion, +which was to many as dear as the apple of their eye. But, throughout +the whole process of destruction, the idea of the necessity for a +reconstruction was present to the mind of the author. + +It may, indeed, be propounded as an interesting question, whether any +iconoclast ever destroys the idols which his fellow-beings cherish, +without entertaining the belief that he has something superior to offer +in their place. When the fanatic Spaniards upset, fractured, and ground +to powder the stone monsters venerated by the Mexicans, they offered to +the natives the image of a lovely virgin and her gentle son to replace +them; and when the enthusiastic Scotchmen destroyed the marble saints +and gaudy figures of the Popish churches throughout their own country, +they eagerly set forth the superiority of adoring the invisible creator +in spirit and imagination, which afforded scope for the most entrancing +mental delineations, and was far superior to reverencing an ugly effigy, +which no one with any correct taste could admire. In like manner, when +the Mahometan Caliph destroyed the library of Alexandria, he offered to +the mourners in its place the book of the Prophet Mahomet, which was, in +his eyes, a pearl of so great price as to be equivalent in value to all +the world besides. + +There can be no doubt, however, that the process of destruction is far +more easy than the task of reconstruction. The engineer who is called +upon to remove a bridge, on account of the badness of its foundation, +may admire the extraordinary firmness with which every stone has been +dovetailed together, and, with the means at his command, may be unable +to construct another having a similar appearance of stability; yet, +after all, an arch which is secure and stable is preferable to one which +is good only in appearance. A very few years have elapsed since it was +found that the tower and spire of the Cathedral at Chichester had been +so built that there was imminent danger of the whole falling down. This +part of the edifice resembled certain faiths which have been raised with +great art to a vast height, with very slender and inadequate material. +So long as they were not assailed by any storm, or tested by the changes +which time produces, they seemed firm and unshakable; but, when they +were really tried, they began to undergo a process similar to that which +obtained in the Cathedral named--the admirers of the edifice attempted +to prop up the failing tower; with iron and timber they shored up its +bulging sides; they erected strong scaffolds to ease the mighty strain +upon the crumbling walls; but all in vain--the lovely spire, built upon +a foundation as rotten as the Mormon faith, came tumbling down, and +the tall emblem pointing to the sky returned once more to earth. Before +there could be any reconstruction attempted, it was necessary to procure +all the material necessary; and when, with great labour, this was +accumulated, a fresh erection was made, which was far stronger than the +first, for every stone was duly examined, and solid masonry replaced +the ancient rubble. So it has been with many a faith. Christianity has +replaced the crumbling Judaism which existed at the beginning of our +era, and the Reformed Church has since then, in many countries, replaced +the gigantic sham of Popery. But the metaphor is one which we cannot +wholly adopt, inasmuch as we believe that no faith of ancient times has +ever wholly fallen like the spire and tower of Chichester, nor has any +new system of belief the solidity of that new edifice which has replaced +the old. + +The difficulties connected with reconstruction are greatly increased by +the propensity which is so common in the human mind to make the best +of that which is in actual existence and familiar to the vulgar, rather +than to adopt something entirely new. The child who dislikes to go to +bed at night equally dislikes to get up in the morning, and we have +known elderly people who have systematically preferred an old lumbering +stage-coach to a first-class compartment in a railway carriage. In every +walk of life an innovator is regarded as an enemy by the majority, and +especially by those whose practice or whose theories his discoveries +supersede. + +Yet, great as is the contest which any new truth has to sustain, there +is no doubt whatever that the first part of the fight--the preliminaries +essential to conquest, are the investigation of the ground to be +occupied; the real value of the defences; the superiority of the armour; +and the temper, strength, and tenacity of the offensive weapons. The +engineer to whom is confided the attack or the defence of a town will +abandon or destroy everything which would harbour an enemy or facilitate +his operations. The fighting commodore, ere he carries his ship into +action, sacrifices readily all the gewgaws of luxury; and in like manner +the ecclesiastic ought never to endanger his position by spending his +energies in the defence of a useless outwork or a tinsel ornament. +Entertaining these views ourselves, our first effort has been to +clear the ground, and to remove every object which we consider to be +detrimental to the spread of truth. + +We have demonstrated, as far as such a matter is capable of +demonstration, that the Old Testament, which has descended to us from +the Jews, is not the mine of truth which it has been supposed by so many +to be: that not only it is not a revelation given by God to man, but +that it is founded upon ideas of the Almighty which are contradicted +by the whole of animate and inanimate nature. We showed, that its +composition was wholly of human origin, and that its authors had a very +mean and degrading notion of the Lord of Heaven and Earth. We proved, +what indeed Colenso and a host of German critics have demonstrated in +another fashion, that its historical portions are not to be depended +upon; that its stories are of no more real value than so many fairy +tales or national legends; that its myths can now be readily traced +to Grecian, Babylonian, and Persian sources; that its miracles are as +apocryphal as those told of Vishnu, Siva, and other deities; and its +prophecies absolutely worthless. We proved, moreover, that the remote +antiquity of its authorship has been greatly exaggerated; that the +stories of the creation, of the flood, of Abraham, of Jacob, of the +descent into, and the exodus from, Egypt, of the career of Moses and the +Jews in the desert, of Joshua and his soldiers, of the judges and their +clients, are all apocryphal, and were fabricated at a late period of +Jewish history, with the design of inspiriting the Hebrews at a period +when their depression of spirit from foreign conquest was extreme; that +the so-called Mosaic laws were not known until long after the time of +David, and that some of the enactments--that about the Jubilee, for +example--were never promulgated at all. We showed that the Jewish +conception of the Almighty, and of His heavenly host, did not materially +differ from the Greek idea of Jupiter and his inferior deities; that +the Hebrews regarded Jehovah as having human passions and very human +failings--as loving, revengeful, stern, merry, and vacillating--as +"everything by turns and nothing long"--as forming a resolution, and +then contriving how He might, as it were, overreach Himself. We pointed +out that the Jews did, in reality, paint God and the Devil or Satan, as +the same individual, being the former to His friends, and the latter to +His enemies. Indeed, anyone who compares 2 Sam. xxiv. 1 with 1 Chron. +xxi. 1 will see this most clearly demonstrated. We called attention to +the apparently utter ignorance of the Jews that certain laws of nature +existed, and of their consequent belief that defeat, disease, famine, +slaughter, pestilence, and the like, were direct punishments of +ceremonial or other guilt; while victory, wealth, virility, and old age +were special and decided proofs of the Divine favour. We showed that +the Jews were, in general, an abject but a very boastful race, and +that their spiritual guides--the so-called prophets--were constantly +promising, but always vainly, a striking manifestation of the Almighty's +power in favour of the Hebrews when they were in the depths of misery, +that histories were fabricated to give colour to these statements, and +that these, like modern miracles of saints, were narrated as occurring +a long time ago, and in a locality which could not be visited, e.g., in +Samaria and Egypt; we showed, moreover, that the race was imitative, and +readily adopted the religious ideas and practices of those who conquered +them. Still further, we proved that the Jews had no idea whatever of a +future state, and were in utter ignorance of heaven or hell; that they +regarded the Almighty as punishing crime or rewarding goodness in +this world alone, and, consequently, we inferred either--(1) that +the conversation said to have been held between Jehovah and certain +apocryphal men did not really occur; or (2) that God did not think +the existence of a future world a matter of sufficient consequence to +communicate to His friends; or (3) that Elohim had not then created +either a habitation for the blessed, or a future prison-house for the +damned; and we pointed out that the opinions of the Pharisees about +angels, spirits, and futurity were not based upon the writings of Moses +and the prophets, but upon Persian fantasies. In fine, we showed, that +the Hebrews could not sustain the claim they made to be the especial +people of God, and that their writings are of no more value, as records +of absolute truth, or of Divine revelation, than the books of the +Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hindoos, Chinese, or the more modern +Mahometans. + +With all this we indicated that there was, throughout the nations known +as Shemitic, a general belief in the existence of an Almighty Being, +Creator, Director and Governor of the heaven, the earth, and the +sea; that He was considered to be One, yet that He was, nevertheless, +represented by a multiplicity of names, and as having many and opposite +attributes. + +We also showed, that this sublime conception was very thickly coated +with human ideas, often of a debased and grovelling type, and darkened +by legends, which were invented by priests with the design of clothing +themselves, and those of their order, with a portion of the garments +which they had assigned to the Inscrutable. We showed, how the sun +and moon, the stars and planets, became interwoven with the idea of a +Celestial Being, and how they were described in turn as His ministers, +His residence, His army, and sometimes even as Himself. We showed, +moreover, that the Almighty was depicted by some as a male, having the +attributes and passions of men, by others as a female, or celestial +goddess, and by others as androgyne--not exactly a bifrons, like Janus, +but masculine and feminine, Elohim, Baalim, Ashtaroth; that in the +development of this idea, everything which has reference to the +phenomena of mundane creation was closely studied, and introduced into +one religious system or another. As a result of this, it followed, that +there were some sects and temples consecrated to the adoration of the +Creator as masculine, others as feminine, and others as both combined. +We showed still farther, that each sect adopted certain emblems, which +were intended to represent the distinctive mark of the sex under which +it worshipped the Omnipotent, and that the emblems became multiplied +as different nations came into contact with each other, learned foreign +theology, and advanced in their knowledge of natural history. To such an +extent was this symbolism, to which we refer, carried, that the sexual +idea of the Creator at last pervaded, to a greater or less degree, all +forms of worship, and gradually degraded them deeper and deeper, in +consequence of the emblems of the deity being mistaken for the deity +itself, much in the same way as the vulgar, amongst the Roman Catholics, +regard a statuette or picture of the Virgin, or an Ashantee a particular +form of idol fetish. As an example of such development, we pointed out +that the Assyrians represented the Godhead as four-fold, consisting of +the triple male and the single female element in mundane creation, and +that the idea of the trinity in unity, which is a doctrine recognized +as far back amongst all nations as history will carry us, was originally +founded solely upon the well-known fact that the characteristic of the +male is a triad, of which all the parts are really, and in no mysterious +manner, "co-eternal together and co-equal." We also showed that the +feminine idea of the Creator has, from time immemorial, been associated, +in one form or another, with that of a lovely virgin holding a child in +her arms, which is generally very young, and mostly receiving food from +a maternal bosom, the reason of which we hinted at. + +We showed that the myths of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarai, Esau and +Jacob, were incorporations of the idea that the trinity and the unity, +or, to use the very words of the Athanasian creed, "the trinity in +unity," were the founders of the race of living beings, and, as such, +worthy of worship and honour throughout all ages. This union was spoken +of as "the four," and was symbolized as a square or a cross of four +points, or a cross of eight points. We showed, still farther, that +the male Creator was identified with the sun, and the female with the +crescent moon, and also with the earth; and that one of the symbols of +this celestial union of the sexes was the sun lying within the moon's +crescent. + +We also demonstrated, that a very large part of Pagan worship +consisted in the performance of rites and ceremonies, whose end was the +glorification of the deity under one or other of the selected symbols, +and that a number of feasts were appointed to be held at certain +astronomical periods, in which the assistants were encouraged to indulge +in every form of sensuality (Deut. xiv. 26). We pointed out, that the +Jewish people were largely tainted by this vicious form of worship prior +to the Babylonian captivity, and that a very large portion of their +nomenclature was based upon sexual ideas of the Creator. We also showed, +that the Jewish writings encouraged certain forms of sensuality in a +conspicuous manner; that the condition of the male organ was represented +as being of such importance as to be the ground work of the covenant +between God and the Hebrews, it being declared (Gen. xvii. 14), as if by +the word of the Lord, that no man was to be allowed to live whose organ +had not been improved in a definite manner, i.e., by circumcision or +excision of the prepuce, and that no man was to be admitted into the +congregation of the faithful whose characteristic male organs had in +any way been injured or removed. Deuteronomy xxiii. 1 is conclusive upon +this point, and there is no ambiguity in the words of the decree. We +pointed out, also, that not only was abundance of offspring promised to +the faithful as a proof of God's regard to them, but that the laws, said +to be delivered by Jehovah to Moses, positively provided (see Deut. xxi. +10-14) the means by which the harems of the wealthy could be stocked in +times of war, and by which even the poor might also be indulged, in or +about the precincts of the temple, where slave and foreign women were +kept for the purpose (Numb. xxxi. 40). We pointed out that the +natural result of this licensed debauchery was a great increase in the +population, which was so much in excess of the capacity of the land to +sustain them, that it was necessary to check the number of adult mouths +by conniving at infanticide, as was done in Rajpootana up to a recent +period, and is said to be done in China now. It is clear, from the +denunciations by the prophets of the vileness of the Jews of Jerusalem, +and the impotent laws which were introduced into the so-called Mosaic +code, that the Hebrew family was to the full as bad and vile as were the +nations around them. + +We further showed that there was a marked difference in the thoughts, +the doctrines, the laws, the knowledge, the writings, and the form +of worship amongst the Jews after they had come into contact with the +Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks; and we adverted to the fact that the +laws of the Persians, and those of him, whom we would designate +"the fictitious Moses," were remarkably similar; and we showed +that everything in the Old Testament, which is, by the majority of +Christians, deemed to be of Divine origin, had been derived from or +through one or other of the sources which we have named, and which we +call Pagan. From this we deduced the important corollary, either that +the so-called revelation of the Old Testament is a sham, a priestly +fabrication, and what is known as "a pious fraud," or that it was not +made originally to the Hebrews. In neither case can the Jews establish a +title to be the "chosen people of God" in any sense of the words. If the +Bible is true, the Gentiles have spiritual precedence over the Hebrews, +and the Pagans have the _pas_ of the Christians. + +This deduction enabled us to recognize the importance of an extended +inquiry into the faith, religion, and practice of other nations, before +we assume ourselves to be in a position to appreciate the claims +which one human being, or any body of men, might make to be the +representatives of the Almighty, the sole recipients of His commands, +and the only medium by which prayers can be forwarded to Him. Again, the +history of the past, and a study of the present, enabled us to see that +the foundation of a new religion, or the modification of an old one, did +not destroy ancient practices, though it transferred priestly power to +a new set of men, who, while they introduced new gods and new dogmas, +endeavoured to incorporate the older ideas with new, so as to seduce or +cheat the vulgar, whom it was not judicious to slaughter, into adopting +the new faith. Consequently, we are able to understand how indecent +ideas, sexual emblems, and Pagan festivals, with many of the licentious +practices associated therewith, have been handed down from a remote +idolatry to a modern and comparatively enlightened Christianity. The +symbols of the objectionable still remain, but the things symbolized +have been altered, and the original ideas suppressed. The male triad is +a holy trinity; the monad is no longer the emblem of womankind, but of +the so-called Mother of God, or, as the Romanists say, of the +_Mater Creatoris_. But with this knowledge comes the very important +consideration, how far Christian ideas, which are founded upon Pagan +fancies, can be regarded as Divine. This, again, involves the question, +how far Jesus, who had not penetration enough to discover the true +nature of the writings to which he trusted, can be considered as an +incarnation of Divine knowledge, or of unbounded wisdom. Still further, +it became clear, after our arguments, that if the stories of the +creation of man, the fall of Adam, the life of Noah, of Abraham, of +Moses, the tale of Sinai, and the supremacy of Judah, are mythical--if +the prophetic writings are as worthless as the oracles of Dodona and of +Delphi--then all theories, dogmas, and doctrines founded upon them must +be equally valueless. + +In pursuance of my subject, I pointed out that there was not a nation +known to history which had not its god or gods, a sacred priesthood, a +set of prophets, either located in one spot, or appearing as independent +vaticinators, a number of holy festivals, of hallowed shrines, of +mysterious temples, and an inner and recondite arcanum into which the +profane were not permitted to enter. I showed that other nations besides +the Jews had a sacred ark which was an emblem of a divinity; that the +use of sacrifices was common to every nation of antiquity; and that such +things had existed in Hindostan from time immemorial. I pointed out, +that there was no single precept or order contained in the Jewish +Ritual which could not be found amongst all other people, with the sole +exception of the Sabbath; and that the respect for this very strange law +was due to the ignorance of the Hebrews, who regarded Saturn as the most +high amongst the gods--information gained from the Babylonians. + +Thus, an investigation into the nature and importance of Ancient Faiths +becomes a necessary prelude to, or, rather, is unavoidably followed +by, an inquiry into the beliefs, doctrines, and practices current in +Christendom generally, and in Great Britain particularly. Yet, though +I was insensibly driven forwards to complete the task which I began, +without having any definite notion of the amount of labour I should +have to undergo, I passively resisted for a long time the conclusions to +which I was drawn, feeling myself unwilling, almost, indeed, unable, to +undertake an examination which might shake my faith in the New Testament +as it had been shaken in the Old. Like many others of a thoughtful turn +of mind, I could see, without very strong regret, the Jewish writings +consigned to their appropriate niche in the library of the world; but +I shunned the effort required to take down the books of the Gospels +and Epistles and weigh them in the impartial balance of critical +truth. Nevertheless, as my work on Ancient Faiths progressed, I became +painfully conscious that I must plead guilty to the charge of mental +cowardice if I shirked the duty of examining the New, as I had +investigated the Old, Testament. But when the resolution to investigate +modern faith was at length formed, the difficulties surrounding the +subject became apparent. The history of modern faith is, to a great +extent, the history of Christianity, and the history of Christianity +must start from a history of Jesus and his apostles--Paul, Peter, James, +John, and Jude, as given in the Epistles and Gospels included in the +canon of the New Testament. To cope with any one of these histories as +they deserve to be handled would involve the work of a lifetime, and for +one man to exhaust the whole seemed to me an impossibility. There +was, in addition to this, another consideration which complicated +my difficulty still farther, viz., the fact that there were already, +written histories of the nature of those alluded to, and that it would +be useless to multiply them. It is a thankless task to pursue the +current of the Christian religion through the dark scenes which shrouded +it, from the time when it was adopted by a few "unlearned and ignorant +men," until it emerged as a power able to shake empires--from the period +wherein its professors were burned and otherwise tortured to death, +to the days when their own Christian successors racked, roasted, and +tormented their opponents, with a malignancy and cruelty as great as +that which they themselves had execrated when practised upon their +predecessors. From the moment that Christianity became a political +power, its history resembled that of any tyrant or other ruler, and it +is filled with misrepresentation, lying, fraud, the records of fighting +and slaughter, of brutal passions, frightful laws, and horrible +punishments; in fact, the record of political Christianity is that of a +Devil in sheep's clothing. Even Calvin, one of our cherished reformers, +burnt another Protestant almost in the same year as the Papists burnt +Ridley and Latimer. The English Episcopalians in Scotland, and the +Cromwellian Puritans in Ireland, showed more of the ravening wolf in +their actions than of the amiable shepherd, who "gently leads" the weak +ones of his flock. In fact, the more loud the proclamation of a pure +Christianity, the more devilish is the practice of its heralds. + +When I turned to the consideration of the life of Jesus, it was clear +that the ground was already fully occupied. In 1799 a Mr Houston +published a work entitled _Ecce Homo; or, a Critical Inquiry into the +History of Jesus Christ: being an Analysis of the Gospels_, a second +edition of which was made public fourteen years afterwards, and, as +a result, its publisher (D. J. Eaton) was prosecuted, and such of the +impressions as could be collected were publicly burned in St. George's +Fields, London, by the common hangman, whose business it was to strangle +truth as well as murderers. This book, which is little known to modern +readers, is strictly what it professes to be--a critical inquiry +into the history of Jesus Christ, and it may, to a great extent, be +considered as the progenitor of more modern treatises. It does not +materially differ from the _Ecce Homo_ of to-day, or from the other +works which we shall name, except in its style and composition. Having +been written when all were in the habit of expressing their views in +strong language, and when opponents were abused in terms of coarse +invective, the author has expressed himself in a manner calculated to +offend rather than to convince, and to stir up anger rather than +to encourage thought. Yet his arguments are unanswerable, and his +deductions unimpeachable, by those who know the value of evidence and +exercise their power of ratiocination. I have been unable to find that +any work was written in refutation of the author's views, and the +only opposition to it was from the usual agent of the weak-minded, but +strong-bodied--persecution. + +In more recent times, and within a very short period of each +other--so short, indeed, that we may say that the books were composed +simultaneously in Hindostan, Germany, France, and England--there have +appeared _A Voice from the Ganges,_ Strauss' _New Life of Jesus_, +Kenan's _Life of Jesus_, The English _Life of Jesus_, by Mr Thomas +Scott, of Norwood, a second _Ecce Homo_, from a modern Professor, and +_The Prophet of Nazareth_, by Owen Meredith.* In these volumes, the +historical value of the Gospel narratives closely and critically +examined, and a just appreciation of the character, preaching, and +practice of the Prophet of Nazareth are honestly sought after, and, +in the opinion of impartial readers, they must be held to have been +attained. Throughout the series which we have mentioned nothing that is +capable of demonstration, or of approximate proof, is taken for granted. +The scholarship of the critical philosopher everywhere overbears the +prejudice of the Christian bigot. Since the appearance of these another +author has treated upon the same subject, but only cursorily, and as +bearing upon other matters, in a work entitled _The Book of God; or, The +Apocalypse of Adam Oannes_, which was published anonymously, 1868. + + * Whilst this sheet was in the printer's hands, a most + remarkable book was published anonymously, entitled, + _Supernatural Religion_, in two volumes. In it there is a + most scholarly account of the origin of the New Testament + writings, one which every thoughtful person should peruse. + +Between the publication of the first _Ecce Homo_ and the second, viz., +in 1836, there was printed, for private circulation, a very remarkable +work, entitled _Anacalypsis; or, an Attempt to draw aside the Veil of +the Saitic Isis_, by Godfrey Higgins. His two volumes are replete with +learning, and with deductions more startling than any which had appeared +prior to his own time; but the subject matter is so badly arranged, +that it is with very great difficulty that the trains of thought which +occupied the author's mind can be dis-. covered. His main idea is, +that very nearly everything in religion which appears to be mythical or +mysterious enfolds certain astronomical facts--such as the precession +of equinoxes, the duration of cycles of time--such as are necessary +to reproduce exactly a concordance between certain terrestrial and +celestial phenomena. With this theory he interweaves an amazing number +of facts which seem to favour the opinion enunciated in the book of +Ecclesiastes--i.e., that there is nothing new under the sun. He shows +that the idea of "incarnations," the birth of a heavenly child from a +pure virgin, and a variety of so-called Christian dogmas, have existed +in every age of which we have historical accounts. + +He gives a vivid sketch of the nature of Christianity and its progress +from century to century, and he expresses himself respecting its modern +developments much in the same strain, though in a far more gentlemanlike +style, as did his contemporary, the Rev. R. Taylor, to whom was given, +or who assumed for himself, the title of the Devil's chaplain. + +In the estimation of some of these writers, Jesus, the son of Mary, is +quite as mythical a being as Hercules, the son of Alcmena. This view has +been more recently adopted by some freethinkers of the present day. The +main support on which such individuals rely is the fact that there is no +mention of Jesus by any contemporary historian; and that, although +there are extant Jewish records of current history, at the time in which +Christ is said to have lived, they make no mention of him who is now +called the Saviour and of his wonderful history. It is pointed out that +the histories of the Gospels came out with marvellous rapidity, from +Alexandria, about the end of the first century, at a time when all +contemporaries of Jesus were dead. + +To this work of Higgins it is probable that we shall have repeatedly +to refer, for his language is frequently so forcible that it cannot +be improved, and, moreover, he very often quotes from books, copies of +which I have been unable to obtain. + +When I found that the ground which I intended to occupy had already +been so well and so ably cultivated, it occurred to me that it would be +advisable to take a wider flight than was originally contemplated, and, +instead of examining the Christian faith alone, to associate with it an +account of the faiths of those nations of whom we have some knowledge. +By this means it appeared to me, that we should be enabled to see +clearly, how far the current belief and practice of Christendom differs +from the doctrines and practices of those to whom Christianity could +never, by any possibility, have come, and we can examine, incidentally, +into the teachings of Jesus, and compare them with that of his +predecessor, Sakya Muni, or Buddha. We may also investigate impartially +such doctrines as the immaculate conception, and the existence of +angels. + +When treating, however, a subject like the religions of the ancient and +modern world, it is difficult to frame the history so as to bring out +the salient points, in a manner satisfactory to the reader or to +the writer. The latter is tempted to begin, as he believes, at the +beginning, and to trace the development of religious thought from +its simplest expression up to its highest aspiration. This temptation +becomes all the stronger if, in the course of his study, he has +investigated the animal and vegetable creations. In those vast kingdoms +he sees that the philosopher is able to lead his disciples onwards +from the minute monad, or the simplest mass of matter, to the gigantic +mastodon, without any very conspicuous flaw or break in continuity; but, +on closely observing his method of proceeding, the student finds that +links which connect genera or species together are found in countries so +wide apart, that no direct communication can be supposed between the one +type and the other. Thus the gap between mammals and birds is said to +be filled by the "ornithorhynchus paradoxus," an animal living in a +vast island, in which scarcely one quadruped mammalian is known to +have existed, and where the aboriginal birds form a class peculiar to +Australia, and have no resemblance to the creature referred to. + +Yet, though the temptation is great, and although we feel justified in +reasoning from the known to the unknown, and in supplying missing links +from analogy, or from our own imagination, still, we consider that it +will be our best plan to confine ourselves, as far as possible, to +that which is written, and to describe first, the religious ideas and +practices of some so-called savages; secondly, the ideas and practices +of some ancient races, whose histories, more or less perfect, have +come down to us, with a view to ascertain whether there is anything +essentially good in modern Christianity, either in faith or practice, +which is peculiar to that form of religion, or whether almost the same +style of teaching may not be found to have been common in the remote +East, at a period some centuries prior to the birth of Jesus. + +As we have investigated the subjects of Sin, Salvation, Prayer, +Inspiration, &c., it is unnecessary to refer to them again. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + Travellers' tales not to be trusted. Prejudice perverts + facts. The Esquimaux. Cause of reverence for parents. The + Red Indian in the presence of immigration is a moral + murderer. Inquiry into Indian religion. O. KEE. PA. Indian + reverence for phenomena of nature. Ruins of a past + civilization in America. Cairns and human sacrifices. + Manufactured goods. Bronze in Yucatan. Resemblance between + the ancient American people and certain Orientals. Abbe + Domenech's travels. Sacrifice at obsequies, idea involved + thereby. Scythian proceedings. Mexico and its theology. Two + different conceptions of deity. The Unity subdivided by + Mexicans, Jews, and Christians. The God of war and the Lord + of Hosts. The God of air a deity in Mexico, a devil in Judea + or Ephesus. Mexican baptismal regeneration. Resemblances + between the Occidental and Oriental people in many curious + doctrines. Particulars. Mexican Heaven, Hell, and Limbo. + Mexican baptism and prayers. Priests and their duties. A + parallel. Romanists and Mexicans. Confession. Expiation. + Human sacrifice to obtain pardon of sin. A comparison + suggested. Mexican education. Purity of life in the Mexican + priestesses. Father Acosta's opinion thereon. Tartary, Rome, + and Mexico have something common in culture. Education of + youth. Policy of the priesthood. Reflections thereupon. + Teocallis or houses of God. Worship. Festivals. Human + sacrifice. No sexual deities or rites. Question of + credibility--God and the Devil act alike! Aztecs and + Europeans compared. Christians have offered human sacrifice + from the time of Peter downwards. Transubstantiation is a + cannibal doctrine. Christian gods in Mexico as bad as the + Aztec deities. History of Peru. The policy of its rulers. + Roads and magazines. Nature of its government Governors were + instructed in their duties. Civil service examination. + Inauguration of youths into honourable manhood. Travelling + compulsory in rulers. Postal system--division of the people + --local magistrates--law speedy. Code of law. Punishment + without torture. Peruvians and inquisitors. Reports required + of lands and families. Register of births, &c. Rapidity of + communication. Plunder not permitted. Peace the motive for + war. The vanquished incorporated with the victors. A + paternal government. Peruvian religion. Difference between + political institutions and priestcraft. Peruvian sun god. An + invisible God recognised. Priests. Eternal life. Heaven + and Hell. Temple of the sun magnificent. Golden + ornaments. Huge urns of silver. Number of priests. + Festivals. Cannibalism not permitted. Fire made from rays of + sun and concave mirror, or by friction. Virgins of the sun. + Concubines of the Inca. Matrimony. Reflexions. + +When the philosopher reads over the histories which adventurous +travellers, or Christian missionaries, have given of the religions of +the savage, or uncivilized, people whom they have visited, he feels +painfully conscious that the accounts are not implicitly to be relied +upon. In some he recognizes the fact that communications only take place +between the one party and the other by signs, which not only may be, but +very generally are, misinterpreted on both sides; in others he is able +to see, or, at least, he comes to the conclusion, that the untaught +barbarians have not a single idea which is not connected with eating +and drinking, war, revenge, and love;--that such, indeed, resemble brute +beasts, who have no more conception of hell or heaven, God and the soul, +than an elephant has of aerostation, or a crow of theology. In other +narratives the observer notices, that the individuals who interrogate +the savages are themselves enthusiasts of a high order, who ask leading +questions, and are content to receive, as a satisfactory answer, +anything which can be considered as a reply. By this means very +erroneous ideas have crept in amongst ourselves, and writers have built +arguments upon a foundation as flimsy as a shifting sand. For example, +I have repeatedly heard it alleged that every known tribe, in every part +of the world which has yet been visited, has a tradition respecting an +universal deluge, and the salvation of their progenitors by a +floating vessel; and on this has been founded the hypothesis that all +architecture, and even written characters, have an ark for their type. +This development has been very ingeniously supported by J. P. Lesley, in +_Man's Origin and Destiny_ (Trubner, London, 1868), a work replete with +learning, and bold, but somewhat unsound, deductions. This assumed fact +has also been used in support of the Biblical story of Noah, his ark, +and the universal deluge--a myth so palpably extravagant, that everyone +who professes to credit it is compelled to object to some detail, and +to lean upon some frail reed, with the hope that he may thus be pardoned +for his credulity. Since the above was written, it has been ascertained +that the tale of Noah and his deluge is adapted from an Assyrian or +Babylonian legend, written apparently with a view to make a story +fitting to the sign of the Zodiac called Aquarius, one to the full as +fabulous as that of the birth of Bacchus, and the amours of Zeus. + +In some instances, moreover, and palpably in those cases where the +account of the religion of barbarous nations is given by fanatics, such +as the Roman Catholic invaders of America, or by such conquerors as +Caesar and others, who have themselves very hazy notions of their +own faith, the philosopher feels that the savage is intentionally +misrepresented; consequently, in these, as in all other instances, it +behoves the philosopher to examine the evidence at his command with +critical acumen, rather than accept the statements made by more or less +careless observers. Endeavouring, therefore, to avoid these difficulties +as far as possible, let us summarize the result of our reading, and +record the impressions left upon our mind respecting the faith, ritual, +and practice of certain modern and ancient barbarians. + +Beginning with the vast American continent, we find that the Esquimaux +appear to have no conception whatever of a Creator, of a future state, +of a mundane theocracy, or of any unseen agency but good or bad +"luck." But they, nevertheless, put a certain amount of faith in +conjurers--cunning men or women who profess to be able to insure them a +good supply of seals or walrus, and protection from Arctic dangers. For +such a people as this the wants of the day form the chief, if not the +only, object of thought; and they resemble lions or eagles, who are now +all but famished in the hunt for food, and now gorged to repletion with +the result of their quest. To such a nation, Heaven, as described in the +Bible, with its sea of glass, its harpists and singers, would afford no +temptation, and, unless it was furnished with abundance of oily food, an +Esquimaux would not visit it; nor would the fires and heat of Hell have +any terrors for one whose torments on earth are connected with miserable +cold. In practice, the Esquimaux are very much what they are made by +their neighbours and visitors: they are very decently behaved to those +who treat them well, and cruel, barbarous, and revengeful to strangers +after they have themselves been worried by invaders. Alternately +gluttons and starving they obey the necessities of their existence--they +eat to keep themselves warm, and they must be anchorets as rigid as any +Theban hermit whilst they are seeking their prey. With a temperature +below zero, and winter huts constructed of ice, chastity is almost +a necessary virtue, and adultery cannot possibly be frequent. Where +everything of value is rare, covetousness is not common; but if the +holder of the coveted prize be always alert, it is quite natural that +murder shall be attempted, either by the thief or his victim. The +reverence of parents here, as elsewhere, is a necessary accompaniment of +savage life, and is quite independent of any knowledge of the decalogue. +To prevent reiteration of this observation, let us consider for a +moment, the chief if not the main cause, of the reverence given to the +father, and, more rarely, to the mother in the economy of human life. We +see that the Almighty has implanted an instinct in one or both parents, +throughout the larger part of the animal creation, to nourish, guide, +and teach their young. The duck leads her brood to a pond; the hen keeps +her chicks from water, but teaches them to pick up seeds, grubs, and +worms; whilst the cock keeps order amongst the family, The weasel +teaches its offspring how to attack its prey most advantageously, and +the eagle instructs her young ones to fly. In like manner, man is at the +head of his own household; he is the first power to which the young ones +bow; they know the weight of his arm, and dread his anger, knowing that +they will suffer from it when it is stirred up. We all know, as a rule, +that a habit contracted in childhood adheres to us throughout life, +consequently, the dread of the father which exists in the youth becomes, +very generally, filial reverence in the man. But we also know that +almost throughout the animal creation, the young and sturdy males +will, as they grow up to maturity, fight for supremacy, even with their +parents. So long as the latter retain the mastery they are respected; +but as soon as age and its accompanying weakness have made them succumb, +all filial respect vanishes. If, therefore, a parent, when old, is +unable to make himself feared by his prowess, revered for his good sense +or knowledge, or beloved for some faculty which makes him pleasing to +his family or the tribe, he is neglected, and often sacrificed, so +that the young shall have only themselves to provide food for. Even in +Christian England, where filial regard is cultivated as an essential +part of our religion, we too frequently find that parents are wholly +neglected by their adult offspring, as soon as they become, from +sickness, age, or other infirmity, useless members of the family. + +Without having ever heard of a law, or set of laws, given in a desert +from Mount Sinai, the Esquimaux are as moral as modern Christians, and +more so than the ancient Jews: they certainly have not more gods than +one, and do not worship any graven image. Amongst them blasphemy is +unknown. Parents are honoured; chastity is general; murder is very +rare; theft only exists when strangers come amongst them with valuable +matters, such as cutting weapons. Amongst such a primitive people false +witness is unknown, and covetousness only exists in the presence of +travellers who have well-stocked ships or sledges. But the Esquimaux do +not keep a Sabbath of rest every seventh day; how, indeed, could they, +when many of their days have a duration of six weeks--according to the +Hebrew computation, which measures the day by sunsets. It is clear, +then, that what many persons designate Christian virtues do not +necessarily depend upon a knowledge of Jehovah, of Jesus, or of both. + +The North American Indian appears to have been, when first discovered, +wholly without any distinct religious faith. It is true that some +authors have described him as reverencing his manitou, or great spirit, +and speaking of some happy hunting ground to which his soul will pass +after death; but I am unable to find any reliable testimony in support +of this poetic notion. To me it seems that the Red Indian is nothing +more than one of a ferocious tribe of men, who, having to subsist by the +chase alone, bestows all his thoughts upon getting meat, and driving off +his neighbours from interfering in his lands. To such an one a teeming +population is equivalent to a diminution in the supply of game, and +this, again, involves starvation. With him, therefore, the murder of his +neighbours becomes a matter of necessity, one which may be regarded by +him as an absolute virtue, a matter of public policy, and essentially +a moral duty; and as he is little superior to a tiger or a cat, he does +not scruple to add cruelty to homicide. He who has seen a carnivorous +beast seize its living prey, disable, without killing it, and then lie +by and watch its victim, rising now and again to give it a shake, or +a pat with its claw, can well understand how a Blackfoot Indian might +gloat over a dying Delaware, or a Mandan torture an Iroquois when he had +the chance, each regarding the other as men consider wasps and hornets. +Yet, though without religion, the Indian is not without fear. He is +terrified by strange noises, and by weird sights; there is a being whom +he dreads; and there is in every tribe a "medicine man," who is supposed +to have supernatural power, and to be able to attract good or to banish +evil fortune from the chief and his people. Practically, the Red Indian +is as superstitious about lucky and unlucky days as was the Hebrew David +and the Persian Haman, and, prior to the starting of an expedition, the +diviner is consulted, who may, possibly, answer in the words of the Lord +(?) of Judah, "let it be when thou hearest the sound of a going in the +tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt bestir thyself, for then +shall the Lord go out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines" +(2 Sam. v. 24). + +But though without religion, in the usual acceptation of the word, the +Indians were not, when first the white man knew them, wholly without +ritual, or what has been designated a sacred ceremony. The celebration +to which we refer occurred every year, was conducted by a definite set +of actors, and was attended to with wonderful reverence. A full account +of such ceremony is given by G. Catlin, in a work entitled, O Kee Pa +(Truebner, London, 1867). In it figures a mystic messenger, who comes to +demand the initiation of the young men of the tribe who have attained +a fighting age; tents are then prepared, and men and women are duly +painted and otherwise disguised to represent buffaloes and bugbears, +the bad spirit, etc.; the main intention of the whole being to test the +courage, strength, and endurance of the young men by frightful tortures, +which are too disgusting for description here. At the end of the trial, +however, each votary sacrifices a joint of the little finger of one hand +to the bad spirit. At this feast-some doll-like effigies are used to +mark the "mystery" tent. + +Amongst barbarians like these are, it will readily be imagined that +such virtues as chastity and charity have no existence,--that successful +theft ennobles the robber, and that the slaughter of an enemy, either by +treachery or in fair fight, is regarded as a proof of courage, much as +it was amongst the Spartan Greeks. Polygamy is simply a matter of wealth +and arrangement, and women are purchased and treated like slaves. It is +the man's business to hunt and fight, it is the woman's duty to make the +best or the most of the spoils of the chase. + +Yet, with this general absence of all religion, there appears to +be, here and there, a reverence for certain strange phenomena of +nature--such as hot or bubbling fountains, sulphur springs, steaming +geysers, and curious rocks, like the celebrated pipe-stone rock in the +Sioux territory. From this all pipes ought to be made, there being as +much of orthodoxy in such bowls amongst the Indians as there is in an +"Agnus Dei" amongst Christian papists. There is, too, a reverence for +the dead occasionally to be met with, but it cannot be said to amount +to worship. In some instances, but I do not find that the custom is +general, a man is interred with his horse, weapons, and medicine bag, +as if it was expected that he would live beyond the tomb, and require in +his other state of existence that which he wanted in this. + +What we have said of the North American aborigines applies with equal, +if not with greater, force to those of the South. + +From what the savage redskins are, and have been, during the last two or +three centuries, a transition to what they have been in the past is very +natural; and, whilst making the step, the philosopher will be reminded +of the observation made by some profound observer, to the effect---"go +where you will, no matter how savage the nation, you will be sure to +find the remains of a previous empire, nation, or civilization." Vast +forests, scarcely yet fully explored, cover ancient cities in Ceylon +and Central America alike, and men, who toiled to build vast temples, +towers, palaces, and fortresses, are replaced by wild animals. In +the Bashan of Palestine, primeval houses of stone still stand, where +scarcely a resident is to be found, and the present inhabitants are far +inferior to the ancient race that built these enduring dwellings. Thus +the Abbe Domenech writes (_Seven Years Residence in the Great Deserts of +North America_, London, Longman, 1860), vol. I., p. 353--"From Florida +to Canada, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, the American soil +is strewn with gigantic ruins of temples, tumuli, entrenched camps, +fortifications, towers, villages, towers of observation, gardens, wells, +artificial meadows, and high roads of the most remote antiquity." + +Without entering closely into the nature of the antiquities discovered, +we may state that they comprise pyramids, cones, obelisks, hills +surrounded by a deep vallum, like that adjoining Salisbury, and earthen +constructions analogous to that at Avebury. There is evidence that +the artificial erections, which were so built as to be visible from an +enormous distance, were designed, possibly, as cairns, or memorials of +the dead, but also as spots for sacrificial offerings, resembling those +called high places in Ancient Palestine, the tumulus over Patroclus, and +the Scythian mounds in the Crimea. The altars which have been discovered +are made of baked clay or stone, and have the shape of large basins, +varying in length from nineteen inches to seventeen yards, but generally +about two yards and a-half. Under and around the altars calcined human +bones were found, and sometimes a whole skeleton was met with in the +tumulus, as if a sacrifice of men attended the funeral rites, as we +learn from Homer that it did, before Troy, when Achilles directed the +obsequies of his friend Patroclus. Cremation, as well as sepulture, was +adopted, and with the dead, ornaments, arms, and other objects, which +belonged in life to the departed, were buried; amongst these are to be +reckoned trinkets of silver and of brass, as well as of stone and bone. +As a proof of the advanced knowledge of the people referred to, I may +here quote, from memory, a note from Stevens' _Central America_, to the +effect that the bronze tools found in Yucatan, &c., amongst the quarries +whence the stone for the ancient temples was procured, are nearly as +hard as steel, and that a similar bronze is only known to have existed +in some of the ancient tombs and quarries of Egypt, an observation +which receives additional value from Domenech's remark, vol. I., p. +364--"These works of art (arms, idols, and medals, found in New Granada +tombs) are acknowledged, by the archaeologists of Panama, to possess the +characteristics of both Chinese and Egyptian art." Here, again, I would +call my readers' attention to the facts, that in very modern times +Chinese have migrated to California, Australia, Singapore, and other +distant localities, and that Fortune found Egyptian curiosities in +_virtu_, shops in China, whilst Egyptologists have discovered Chinese +manufactures in Egyptian tombs. The subject of the extent of travel in +ancient times does not enter into my present plan; but as I am desirous +to make the mind of my readers expansive enough to receive everything +which bears upon the history of man upon the earth, I may be allowed to +sow seed by the way-side, some of which may blossom as "a garden flower +grown wild." Domenech, in p. 408, vol. I., figures a remarkable stone, +by many persons supposed to be a hoax or forgery, which was found at the +base of one of the largest mounds in North America, situated in Western +Virginia. It lay in a sepulchral chamber, thirty-five feet from the +surface, was elliptic in shape, two inches and a-half long, two wide, +and about half an inch thick, and the material was of a dark colour, and +very hard. The following is a copy from Domenech's work, and, without +dwelling upon it, we may call attention to the similarity of some of +the letters with those known to, or used by the Phoenicians, Ancient +Greco-Italians, and Carthaginians. Like the Newton Stone, in Scotland, +and some Gnostic gems, it may be said to be learned "gibberish," which +"the spirits" can read but no one else. + +[Illustration: 056] + +There is, indeed, much more evidence than is generally supposed to +connect the ancient mound-builders in America with the inhabitants +of the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly in their modes of burial, the +nature of their earthworks, and the style of such ornaments and figures +as have been found. For example, there is one enclosure described, in +the centre of which is erected a mound and pillar, precisely resembling +the linga yoni of the East. In addition to these, carved stones have +been found, which unite together such Oriental emblems as the sun and +moon, the Tau, T and the egg, O which together make the well-known +Egyptian symbol A. Again, Domenech figures some male and female human +effigies, of whom American savans write that they represent idols of +sexual design, similar to those exposed in the _Mysteries of Eleusis_, +one of them being a badly finished image of Priapus. Domenech still +farther states, on the authority of Cortez, that a form of worship, +recalling the Egyptian mysteries of Isis and Osiris, was established in +America. + +Respecting the nature of the religion of the mound builders the Abbe +writes--"The government of these nations appears to have been theocratic +or sacerdotal, like that of the Jews, and the religious administrative +and military power was, probably, vested in one and the same person. +This is clearly evinced by the taboo, or sacred monuments, being +combined with those of a purely military character," p. 366. Without +straining doubtful points too far, we may content ourselves with +affirming that the researches of Davis and Squire, of Stephens, and of +Domenech, show that the mound builders of America raised high places +for sacrificial fires; that they built huge piles of earth over dead +warriors; and, that during the funeral rites which were observed at the +obsequies, they immolated certain human victims. + +Let us now pause for a moment and consider how much is involved in the +practice of making a sacrifice by fire, or otherwise, at the burial of +any deceased chieftain or honoured man. With what idea could the living +wife join her husband on the funeral pyre in India, or the ancient +Tartars have slain the horse, slaves, wives, and chief officers of a +defunct king, burying them all in a vast grave, unless they entertained +the belief that there was a life beyond the grave? The faith may have +been of the crudest form, yet the practice evidenced the belief that +those who died, and were buried together, would arise and live at the +same time and place, and in the same relative positions which they had +during life. If this be granted, it demonstrates that the early dwellers +in America had a higher conception of immortality than had the ancient +Jews, even although the latter assumed, and pertinaciously persisted in +the assertion, that they, and they only of all the nations of the +world, were taught of God--a boast to which a vast number of thoughtless +Christians give a profound reverence, and most implicit belief. + +Without speculating upon the probable connexion between the +mound-builders and the inhabitants of ancient Mexico, we will endeavour, +with the aid of Prescott, and other writers, to ascertain something +of the faith professed by Montezuma and his subjects. Derived from two +sources, there were two distinct elements in the Mexican religion; one +of these was gentle and mild as the teaching of Christ, and the other, +ferocious and cruel, like the practice of such of his followers as +the sensual Crusaders, the persecuting Popes of Italy, and the brutal, +money-grubbing Spaniards. The former gradually dried up, like primitive +Christianity, and the harmlessness of the dove was replaced by the +ferocity of the wolf. It is in strict accordance with human nature, +that virtues are harder to maintain than vices, hence malignancy swelled +itself up and became dominant. The priests of the sanguinary class +contrived as burdensome a ceremonial as ever existed in Judea, +Greece, Spain, or Modern Rome, and they surrounded their deities with +conceptions as grotesque as those which are clustered round the Hindoo +gods of to-day, the divinities of the Greeks and Romans, and the +innumerable virgins, saints, and martys of mediaeval and modern papal +Christianity. The power and the inclination to make fetish is certainly +not confined to African negroes. The Mexicans recognized a supreme +Creator as the God by whom we live, one who was, for them, omnipresent +and omniscient--the giver of all good things, "without whom man is as +nothing." He was said to be "invisible, incorporeal, a being of absolute +perfection and perfect purity," "under whose wings men may find repose +and a sure defence." But this deity, though single, was subdivided +by the Mexican theologians, much in the same way as Jehovah became +separated into an innumerable host of angels, archangels, and devils, +and as Zeus was split up into an equally numerous army of gods, +goddesses, and demigods. The Mexicans had thirteen major, and about two +hundred minor, divinities, to one or other of whom each day was devoted, +much in the same way as certain modern Christians believe in one +Creator, four persons, three of whom are male and the other female, +seven archangels, and some hundreds of saints, virgins, or martyrs, to +each of whom one day of the year is consecrated. There are more gods and +goddesses in the Papal calendar than in that of Ancient Mexico, Greece, +or even Rome. + +At the head of the celestial army was "the god of war," "the patron of +the kingdom," whose temples were more noble in their barbaric majesty +than any other, and to whom human beings were sacrificed in abundance. +They were the noblest creatures that could be found, and in truth, there +were very few other animals to offer in their place. + +This great Mexican divinity was essentially the same as the _Jehovah +Tsebaoth_ of the Hebrew Scriptures; the Lord of Hosts of whom we read in +Exod. xv. 3, "The Lord (Jehovah) is a man of war, the Lord (Jehovah) is +His name;" and in Ps. xxiv. 8, "Who is this King of glory?--the Lord, +strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle;" and again, the same idea +appears in verse 10 of the same Psalm; see also 1 Chron. xvii. 24, "The +Lord of Hosts is the God of Israel." Indeed, we should weary the reader +if we were to quote all the texts to be found in the Old Testament, +which prove that the Hebrew Jehovah was as much a god of war as was the +chief deity of the Mexicans. Modern civilization may frame the belief +that God is not "the author of confusion, but of peace" (1 Cor. xiv. +33); but the Hebrews in the East, and the Mexicans in the West, held a +different opinion. Besides the god of war there was a god of the air, +who once lived on earth, and taught metallurgy, agriculture, and the +art of government. He was essentially a human benefactor, who caused the +earth to teem with fruit and flowers, without the trouble of laborious +cultivation--his reign was analogous to the golden age of the Greeks and +Romans. But he was not wholly satisfactory, and was banished; yet he is +to have a second coming, like Elias, and a modern deity of the Eastern +world. His portrait is identical, apparently, with the commonly received +likeness of Jesus. In Christian mythology (see Eph. ii. 2), "the prince +of the power of the air" is regarded as "the adversary," or a devil. +No other deities are described in detail by Prescott, but he says that +every household had its "penates," or household gods. On turning +to Higgins, who quotes entirely from Lord Kingsborough's _Mexican +Antiquities_, we find that the Mexicans baptized their children with +what they called "water of regeneration." Their king also danced before +his god, as David did, to his chaste wife's disgust, and was consecrated +and anointed by the high priest with a holy unction as Saul and the +son of Jesse were. On one day of the year all the fires in the Mexican +kingdom were extinguished and lighted again from one sacred hearth in +the temple, which again reminds us of the Vestal Virgins, whose business +was to keep up a holy fire in Rome, and of the lamp which was to burn +perpetually in the Jewish temple (Exod. xxvii. 20). At the end of October +the Mexicans had a feast resembling our "All Souls," or "Saints," day, +which was called "the festival of advocates," because each human being +had an advocate in the heaven above to plead for him, which again +reminds us of Jesus' dictum, that children have guardian angels, who are +always in God's presence (Matt, xviii. 10) + +The same people had a forty-days' fast, in honour of a god who was +tempted forty days upon a mountain, and thus resembled the Prophet of +Nazareth. He was called the morning star, and thus is to be identified +with Lucifer as well as Jesus (Isa. xiv. 12, Rev. xxii. 16), and carried +a reed for an emblem (see Eev. xxi. 15). The Mexicans honoured a cross, +and the god of air was represented sometimes as nailed to one, and even +occasionally between two other individuals.* + + * As we cannot imagine that the Mexicans were aware of the + manner in which modern Christians depict Jesus on the cross, + we most, I think, seek for some idea which was common to + both the East and West. In Payne Knight's work, so often + referred to by us, there is a picture which represents a + cock with a lingam instead of a head and beak; on its + pediment there is in Greek the words, soteer kosmou, "the + saviour of the world." This is also an epithet of Siva, and + he is sometimes represented as a phallus. In this he is the + Asher or Bel of the Assyrian triad, erected higher than the + other two. In Christian history the outsiders are said to be + thieves, but it was not so in Mexico. The three crosses + are simply emblems of the "trinity." + +A virgin and child were also adored, as they were in Babylonia, Assyria, +Egypt, and Hindostan, and as they are in a great part of Europe at the +present time. The people believed in vast cycles of years, at the end +of each of which there was to be a general destruction of life, and a +perfect regeneration, an idea which Higgins has shown to have existed +amongst Persians, Romans, and Jews alike. The Mexicans still further +believed in a threefold future state--a heaven for the brave, and those +who were sacrificed, there being, so far as I can discover, no abstract +idea of what we call "virtue"; a hell for the wicked; and a sort of +quiet limbo for those who were in no way distinguished. Heaven was +located in the sun, and the blessed were permitted to revel amongst +lovely clouds and singing birds, enjoying, unharmed, all the charms of +nature: a conception which is to the full as poetical, and, probably, +quite as near the truth, as that given in "Revelation." When a man died +he was burned, and, if rich, his slaves were sacrificed with him, the +Mexicans, in this respect, resembling the ancient Scythians, with whom +they had much in common. When the ceremony of giving a name to children +was gone through, their lips and bosom were sprinkled with water, and +the Lord was implored to permit the holy drops to wash away the sin that +was given to the child before the foundation of the world, so that the +infant might be born anew, or, in modern terms, regenerated (Prescott, +ch. 3). Amongst their prayers, or invocations, were the formulas, "Wilt +Thou blot us out, O Lord, for ever? Is this punishment intended, not for +our reformation, but for our destruction?" again, "Impart to us, out of +Thy great mercy, Thy gifts which we are not worthy to receive through +our own merits;" "Keep peace with all;" "Bear injuries with humility, +God who sees will avenge you;" "He who looks too curiously on a woman +commits adultery with eyes." These Mexican maxims so closely resemble +those to be found in the Bible, that it is difficult to believe that the +Spaniards really told the truth respecting them. The sacerdotal order +amongst the Mexicans was a numerous one, well arranged and powerful. The +priests used musical choirs in their worship, arranged the calendar, and +appointed the time for festivals. They superintended the education of +youth, and wrote up the traditions, like the "recorders" of the Jews, +Persians, other Orientals, and Christian monks, and looked to the +conservancy of the hieroglyphic paintings. There were two high priests, +who alone had to undertake the duty of offering human sacrifices, +and these were elected by the king and nobles, quite irrespective +of previous rank, and, when elected, they were inferior only to the +sovereign. When reading this, anyone who is familiar with biblical +history will bethink him of Luke iii. 3, "Annas and Caiaphas being the +high priests," the plural, not the singular, number being used, and of +the dictum of Caiaphas, John xi. 50, "It is expedient for us that one +man should die for the people, that the whole nation perish not." We +may put what construction we please upon these facts, but, whatever +interpretation we may adopt, we must acknowledge that the Hebrews, at +the time when our era commences, had two high priests who were concerned +in human sacrifice. + +The priests, in general, were devoted to the service of some particular +deity, and, during the time of their attendance, lived in the temple, +celibate; but, when not on duty, they resided with their wives and +families. Thrice during the day, and once at some period of the night, +they were called to prayer, much like all the varieties of Christian +monks and nuns. They were frequent in their ablutions, in which habit +they may be contrasted with those saintly hermits, who regarded dirt as +a divine ordinance, and never washed; and they mortified the flesh by +long vigils, fasting, and cruel penance, drawing blood from their bodies +by flagellation, or by piercing them with the thorns of the aloe. The +resemblance of the Mexican sacerdotalism with Jewish and Christian +customs is thus shown to be wonderful and striking, so much so, that +the Spaniards started the idea that they had been taught by some +stray apostle of Jesus. The great cities of Mexico were divided into +districts, each of which was placed under the charge of a sort of +parochial clergy, who regulated every act of religion within their +precincts, and who administered the rites of confession and absolution. +The secrets of the confessional were held inviolable, and penances were +imposed, of much the same kind as those enjoined by the Roman Catholic +Church upon her votaries. + +It was a tenet of Mexican faith, that a sin once atoned for, was, if +repeated, inexpiable a second time; consequently, confession was only +once resorted to, and that late in life; a good plan, upon the whole, +for it enabled a man whose days were numbered to get pardon "for good +and aye." It was also held that sacerdotal absolution was equivalent +to magisterial punishment. The formula of absolution contained this, +amongst other things, "O merciful Lord, Thou who knowest the secrets of +all hearts, let Thy forgiveness and favour descend, like the pure waters +of heaven, to wash away the stains from the soul. Thou knowest that this +poor man has sinned, not from his own free will, but from the influence +of the sign under which he was born." This idea may well be compared +with the current doctrine of the phrenologists, many of whom assert that +a man acts according to the configuration of his brain and cranium, and +is, therefore, only partially culpable for the commission of certain +crimes. After a copious exhortation to the penitent, in which he was +enjoined to undergo a variety of mortifications, and to perform minute +ceremonies, by way of penance, he was particularly urged to procure, +with the smallest possible delay, a slave, who was to be utilized in +sacrifice to the Deity; the priest then concluded with inculcating +charity to the poor--"Clothe the naked, and feed the hungry, whatever +privations it may cost thee, for remember their flesh is like thine." + +The necessity of sacrifice, as an atonement for sin, forms an essential, +though bloody, part of both the Hebrew and the Christian faiths, and +history has long taught us that the slaughter of a man, woman, or child, +formed, in the estimation of the Ancient Greeks, and other nations, one +of the most acceptable of the forms of homage paid by a human being to +the Creator. This idea is at the very basis of the Christian theology. +It has been held, from the time of the apostle Paul to the present day, +that Jehovah would not look favourably upon mankind until He had been +propitiated, not by the sacrifice of an ordinary individual, but by the +murder, in the crudest of modes, of a being whom He personally begat, +for the purpose of killing him when arrived at maturity. In Hebrews +x. 12, we find this doctrine very distinctly enunciated, in the words, +"this man, after he had offered one sacrifice of sins for ever, sat down +on the right hand of God," and subsequently, v. 14, "by one offering he +hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." Again, in Heb. ix. +26, "once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by +the sacrifice of himself;" and in Heb. x. 10, "we are sanctified through +the offering of the body of Jesus Christ;" and in ix. 28, "Christ +was once offered to bear the sins of many." The philosopher may doubt +whether the God whom the Christians have made for their own adoration, +is in any way different to that of King Mesha, who offered up his own +son in sacrifice, or to the Mexican one, who was contented with the +blood of a slave.* + + * It is doubtful whether any Christian has ever paid real + attention to the doctrines which are familiar to his ear, or + to the hymns which an most frequently on his tongue. In the + usual fashion which is prevalent amongst ministers and + hearers, everything which is told by missionaries of heathen + deities is taken as true. Thus it has become the general + belief that the Mexican theology, which required an annual + sacrifice of human beings, whose hearts were cut out, and + offered warm, palpitating and full of blood, to a God who + was supposed to be present in a sacred stone statue, was + beyond measure atrocious. But in what consists the horror, + unless in the fact that the sacrifice was seen by the + worshippers? In Christendom people are never called upon to + see a man killed by nailing him to a cross. If they were + condemned to this penance, very little would any of them + talk of blood. As it is, the minds of the majority are + lulled to sleep by the substitution of words for facts, and + texts of Scripture for ideas; and those who are unable to + look upon a cut finger without fainting, and would not for + worlds go to see a man decapitated, talk in the serenest + manner on most sanguinary topics. A reference to a few hymns + which are general favourites will illustrate what I mean. In + "Rock of Ages," for example, we have the lines-- + + "Let the water and the blood + From thy riven side that flowed, + Cleanse from sin and make me pure." + + Another equally popular hymn begins + + "From Calv'ry's cross a fountain flows + Of water and of blood, + More healing than Bethesda's pool, + Redeeming Lord, thy precious blood + Shall never lose its power..." and again-- + + "There is a fountain filled with blood, + Drawn from Immanuels veins, + And sinners plunged beneath that flood + Lose all their guilty stains." + + No congregation of Christian, or any other men, would + tolerate for a moment the introduction into divine worship + of a bath of blood, into which all those should plunge who + desired salvation. Not one would endeavour to wash his sins + away in a sanguine stream, drawn from any source whatever. + The horror which would be produced by the doctrine that such + things are necessary to appease our God, would make every + thinking being detest it. Yet, when we only play with the + idea, we can talk of such matters with holy complacency. If + any Christian wants to test his faith, let me advise him to + get a basinful of blood and place it in his bed-room, and + say twice a day, when looking on it, that's the stuff which + propitiates my God! It would not be long ere he saw the + absurdity of his theological tenets, and the coarseness of + the hierarchy which invented so frightful an idea of the + Omnipotent. + +For the education of the youth of Mexico a part of the temples was +allotted, where the boys and girls of the middle and higher classes were +placed at an early period--the girls to be taught by the priestesses, +the boys by priests; and from a note in Prescott's corrected edition, +1866, p. 22, we learn that the former were even more generally pure +in life than, we have reason to believe, the Egyptian priestesses and +Christian nuns proved themselves to be, Father Acosto saying, "In truth, +it is very strange to see that this false opinion of religion hath so +great force amongst these young men and maidens of Mexico, that they +will serve the Devil with so great vigour and austerity, which many +of us do not in the service of the most high God, the which is a great +shame and confusion." It is curious to notice how the Christian priest +considers that chastity may be a snare of the Devil, as well as an +ordinance of Jehovah. The boys, in these scholastic parts of the sacred +temples, were taught the routine of monastic discipline--to decorate the +shrines of the gods with flowers, to feed the sacred fires, and to chant +in worship and at festivals. The Abbe Hue, in an account of his travels +in Thibet and Tartary, has told us repeatedly of the similarity between +the rites, practices, and ceremonies of the Romish Church and those in +use amongst the followers of the Great Lama. It is equally marvellous to +discover that the Mexican ritual resembles both. The Papalist endeavours +to explain this, by the monstrous assumption that both Tartary and +Mexico were evangelized by two different Christian Apostles. But it +seems to us more probable that the Romanists, who are known to have +adopted almost every ancient ceremony, symbol, doctrine, and the like, +have unknowingly copied from travelled Orientals, than that the cult of +the people of Thibet has travelled into America, as well as into Europe. +Into the identity of the Tartars with the Red Indians it is not my +intention to enter. The higher Mexicans were taught traditionary lore, +the mysteries of hieroglyphics, the principles of government, and +such astronomical and scientific knowledge as the priests would, or, +probably, could, impart. The girls learned to weave and embroider +coverings for the altars of the gods. Great attention was paid to +morality, and offences were punished with extreme rigour, even with +death itself. Youths were taught to eschew, vice and cleave to virtue, +to abstain from wrath, to offer violence or do wrong to no man, and to +do good where possible. + +When of an age to marry, the pupils were dismissed from the convent, and +the recommendation of the principal thereof often introduced those +whom he regarded as the most competent of the students, to responsible +situations in public life. Such was the policy of the Mexican priests, +who were thus enabled to mould the mind of the young, and to train it +early to the necessity of giving reverence to religion, and especially +to its ministers--a reverence which maintained its hold on the warrior +long after every other vestige of education had been effaced. In this +matter America showed an astuteness equal to that exhibited by Papal +hierarchs in Rome. + +To each of the principal temples, lands were annexed, for the +maintenance of the priests, and these glebes were augmented by +successive princes, until, under Montezuma, they were of enormous +extent, and covered every district of the* empire. The priests took the +management of their property into their own hands, and treated their +tenants with liberality and indulgence. In addition to this source of +income, they had "first fruits," and other offerings, dictated by piety +or superstition. The surplus was distributed in alms amongst the poor, +a duty strenuously prescribed by their moral code. Thus we find, adds +Prescott, whom we are closely, and almost verbatim, following, the +same religion inculcating lessons of pure philanthropy and of merciless +extermination--an inconsistency not incredible to those familiar with +the history of the Roman Catholic Church in the early ages of the +Inquisition. + +In the course of a not very long life, I have heard, upon many +occasions, the argument that the persistency of the Roman Catholic +Church, in spite of its abominable corruptions, its utter contempt for +truth, its outrageous cruelty, its glaring superstition, its intolerable +arrogance, and its rapacious covetousness, proves that it is, and must +ever be regarded as a divine institution. But this argument loses all +its weight when we find that the religion of the Mexicans, which the +Spaniards declared to have sprung from the Devil, had the virtues, as +well as many vices, of the Roman faith. If one came from Heaven, the +other could not have come from Hell. The simple truth seems to be, that +crafty and designing men are always able to find dupes, and that red men +and black, the haughty Italian and the lively Frenchman, the stolid boor +and the polished orator, may all suffer alike from an education which +has taught them, in youth, to believe in the reality of a revelation +given to a class of human beings who, by its means, assume to be divine. + +The Mexican temples--_teocallis_, or "houses of God "--were very +numerous, indeed there were several hundreds in each of the principal +cities of the kingdom; but we need not describe them more minutely than +to say that they were truncated pyramids terminating in a level surface, +upon which blazed the sacred fire. All religious services were public, +as in Roman Catholic countries. There were long processions of priests, +and numerous festivals of unusual sacredness, as well as monthly and +daily appropriate celebrations of worship, so that it is difficult to +conceive how the ordinary business of life was carried on. The sun was +an universal object of reverence. At a period not long prior (about 200 +years) to the Spanish conquest, human sacrifices were adopted for the +first time, and they speedily became common, both as regards repetition +and the numbers of victims slaughtered. In some instances the oblations +terminated with cannibalism. The burnt offering was roasted, not +incinerated, and, like the Paschal lamb, was devoutly devoured. Sexual +rites, symbols, or worship, appear to have been very rare, for I can +only find one or two doubtful references to them. In this matter the +Mexicans were far superior to all the old Shemitic and Egyptian, as well +as the Hindoo, races. So far Prescott. + +Whilst writing the foregoing, it has required some determination not to +comment very extensively upon the facts recorded, for they do, indeed, +set the thoughtful mind on fire. Amongst the questions which they +provoke, the first is, "how far the accounts given to us are to be +depended upon?" In answering this query, we readily recognize that our +authorities can only have been Spaniards, who were, to a great extent, +implacable enemies of the Mexicans, to a great extent ignorant of their +language, and bitterly hostile to them in matters of religion. But this +recognition leads us to trust the accounts which they give, for, if the +invaders had been able to treat the natives as unmitigated savages, +they would have had the more excuse for pillaging their sacred stores, +temples, and palaces, and exterminating the pagan worshippers. Again, if +the picture thus painted were a fancy one, having no real existence save +in the mind of the writer, we should be able readily to recognize its +counterpart in the Spanish history of the Peruvians, just as we are able +to ascertain the identity of the authorship of certain anonymous works +by Lord Lytton, by the existence therein of his marked peculiarity of +style. The best testimony, however, to the substantial truth of the +accounts given of the nature of the Mexican faith, is to be found in +various minute episodes of their general history, in the behaviour of +the Aztecs with each other, and towards their invaders, and the general +customs which are recorded. That the Spanish writers had a real belief +in the account of which Prescott has given us so admirable a resume, we +may feel assured, for one of them introduced the naive remark, "that the +Devil had positively taught to the Mexicans the same things which God +had taught to Christendom." + +When once we have satisfied ourselves of the truth of the Spanish +accounts of the ancient Mexican institutions, we find ourselves in the +presence of some very striking religious and political facts. We see +before us a nation who had attained to as distinct a conception of the +Almighty as we have ourselves; who had discovered a heaven, a hell, +and an intermediate place, without the assistance of Jew or Greek, +Babylonian or Persian; who had instituted a sacerdotal class, and made +provision for their subsistence, without any assistance from Melchizedek +or Moses; who had adopted a principle of national education long before +such a thing was thought of in England, or in Europe. In fine, the Aztec +faith and policy were, at least, as praiseworthy, if not far nearer to +perfection, than the faith and policy which obtained in Christian Italy, +France, and Spain, during the dark and the middle ages. There is not, +indeed, any one point in which the contrast is not favourable to the +Aztecs, except in the single point of human sacrifice. Christianity can, +apparently, make a heavy accusation against the Aztec religion on this +point, and may fairly seem to reproach it for that frequency of human +sacrifice, and even cannibalism, which formed, at the time of the +Spanish conquest, an essential part of the Mexican faith. + +Yet, when we dive below the surface, and examine this matter with +philosophic care, we readily see that the charge is deprived of much of +its weight. Who, for example, can compare the practice of the people +of Montezuma with that of Spaniards under the sway of Ferdinand and +Isabella, without seeing that in Spain there were human sacrifices, +which were conducted with far more cruelty than those in Mexico. We +find, in the first place, that the custom of sacrificing human +beings was no more an essential part of the Aztec, than it was of the +Christian, faith; it was only in existence two hundred years before the +Spanish invasion, and many centuries, bloodless of human offerings, had +passed away ere the period of what we may term brutality arrived. Just +so it was with the religion of Jesus; for centuries it was unstained by +blood, and comparatively meek and humble, yet, when its priesthood rose +to power, they indulged in human holocausts on a most extended scale. +The Spaniards give accounts of thousands of victims offered up at once +to the Mexican god of war; but what are these in comparison to the +victims of Paris, sacrificed by Papists on the eve and day of St. +Bartholomew, and those at Beziers. + +It may be doubted by the philosopher whether the Christian religion +was not, from its very commencement, as intolerant of opposition and as +persecuting as it became hereafter. + +The story of Jesus cursing a fig tree, which did not bear fruit out +of its season (Mark xi. 13, 14, 21), shows that even he, whom the +Christians take for an example, was quite capable of that pettiness, +which visits upon the innocent the vexation felt by one's self. But when +we read the story in Acts, v., about Ananias and Sapphira, we see, in +all its naked horror, a fearful Christian persecution. The victims were +done to death for deceiving an apostle. But why should we be surprised +at the followers of "the Son" doing that which "the Father" ordained? Is +there any human king who ever promulgated a more bloody order than did +Jehovah Sabaoth, the God which, amongst the Hebrews, corresponded to the +Mexican god of war, when he commissioned Samuel to say to Saul (1 Sam. +xv. 3), "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they +have; slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel +and ass!" After such a destruction of the Midianites as is narrated +in Numb, xxxi., the fearful slaughter, effected by Crusaders, of Jews, +Turks, and heretics is scarcely worth mentioning. + +There was a teacher who remarked, "he who is without sin among you, +let him first cast a stone" at the culprit; and surely, when our Bible, +which is treasured by so many as the only rule of faith amongst us, +details such horrible religious slaughters as are to be found in its +pages, and abounds with persecuting precepts, we had better not talk too +much about Mexican sacrifice. Was there any Aztec minister so brutal in +his religious fury as Samuel was (1 Sam. xv. 33), who hewed Agag into +pieces? The Mexican was merciful to his victim; the Hebrew was like +a modern Chinese executioner, who kills the criminal by degrees. His +cruelty has been emulated in Christian France, and under the reign of +two of her kings, we have seen a Ravaillac and Damiens tortured slowly +to death, by means too horrible to dwell upon. + +The writers upon Mexico tell us of a lovely youth, who was educated for +a whole year to become a victim, and how, at the end of that time, he +was feted, adorned, and even worshipped; how four of the most charming +maidens of Mexico were selected as his wives, and how he remained in the +enjoyment of the highest honour until the time of his sacrifice arrived, +and we feel due horror at the recital. Yet, what is it compared with the +accounts we read of miserable men and women racked, in hideous dungeons, +by the most horrible tortures which an enlightened Christian ingenuity +could devise, and who then, with limbs whose loosened fibres could +scarcely sustain their bruised and mangled bodies, were led, or driven +at the sword's point, to a stake fixed in the ground, there to be tied +and burned, whilst devout Christian multitudes stood around, rejoicing, +like demons, over the hellish scene. + +No one can gloat over the imaginary torments of Hell without being a +persecuting devil at heart. + +Surely the Christians have too much sin amongst themselves to cast a +stone at the inhabitants of Mexico. + +We find a strong offset to the horror of Aztec cruelty in the very +Bible, which we regard as the mainstay of our religious world. What, +for example, is the essential difference between a Mexican monarch +sacrificing one or ten thousand men taken in battle, and Moses +commanding the extermination of the inhabitants of Canaan, and only +saving, out of Midian, thirty-two thousand virgins, that they might +minister to the lust of his Hebrew followers? What, again, are we to say +of David's God, who would not turn away his anger from Judah until +seven sons of the preceding king had been offered up as victims? And +lastly--thought still more awful! what must we say of the fundamental +doctrines of Christianity, that Jehovah Himself sacrificed His own Son +by a cruel death; and not only so, but that He had intercourse with +an earthly woman, and had thus a son by her, for the sole purpose of +bringing about his murder? Can we object to religious cannibalism in the +Aztec, when Jesus of Nazareth is said to have urged his followers to eat +his body and to drink his blood; and when hundreds of priests have shed +the blood of millions of men, who, disbelieving the power of any man +to convert bread and wine into flesh and blood, have refused to profane +their lips by a cannibal feast? + +Having now examined the nature of the Aztec faith, let us, for a while, +linger upon the fruits which it produced. Who can read the mournful +story of the fall of Mexico without contrasting, in his own mind, the +respective characters of the conquerors and the conquered? In every +so-called Christian virtue Montezuma proved himself to be superior +to the lying, unscrupulous, rapacious and covetous Cortez. Even the +greatest fire-eater who ever lived cannot fail to see that the Spaniard +would not have been victorious over the Mexican, if the latter had been +equally well equipped with arms, armour, and horses, as the former was. +We can only tell vaguely what was the condition of Anahuac prior to +the invasion of Cortez; but, from the testimony given by Prescott, we +believe that there were annual wars between adjoining tribes, who met +solely to obtain from their enemies victims for sacrifice, the battles +always ending with the day, and never being resumed for conquest, or for +the plunder of maidens to be an indulgence of a victor's lust. What the +condition of the same country under Christian rule has been, and still +is, every reader of modern and contemporary history knows; and he sees, +with regret, that Jehovah Sabaoth, Jesus of Nazareth, and the Holy +Spirit, with an army of saints, angels, virgins, and martyrs, as well as +ancient gods of the Eastern Hemisphere are, if they are to be judged by +the acts of their worshippers, as cruel, revengeful, and malignant, as +were the deities of the Mexican kingdom. + +The followers of the cross will appear to be quite as despicable when +we contrast them with the Peruvians, as they were when compared with the +inhabitants of Anahuac. + +There is something very fascinating in the history of Peru, as recorded +by the Spanish authors, and rendered into the English language by +Prescott. There is no account of ancient or modern people extant which +has interested me so much as those of the realm of Manco Capac. To hear +of a nation, separated by an ocean, we may, indeed, say two, and a vast +continent, from the civilized portions of Asia, Europe, and Africa, +located in a mountainous tract, where soil and water were scanty, and +locomotion was rendered difficult from the configuration of the land; +whose country was surrounded by strong natural enemies of all kinds; +whose people were unable to use such agents as steel and gunpowder, and +who were yet enabled to construct vast cities and temples, to quarry, +remove, and use in buildings, fragments of rock thirty-eight feet long, +eighteen feet broad, and six feet thick, and to transport these to +distances varying from 12 to 45 miles, to form good roads along the +mountain tops, for an extent of nearly two thousand miles, necessitating +the filling up chasms of enormous depth, and the making of suspension +bridges over rivers whose stream was too furious to bridge in the +ordinary European fashion, is perfectly astonishing. + +The far-sighted Incas, to make these roads still more useful, +accompanied them by the erection of large residences, like modern +European bungalows in India, fit for the reception of a monarch with +his army, and by vast magazines of provisions, sufficient to supply +the wants of a warlike expedition, or of a population starving from an +accidental failure of crops. The Peruvians, moreover, surrounded their +chief towns with strong walls, in comparison with which the Cyclopean +constructions of the old world seem small, stunted, and almost +contemptible. It appears, in addition, that they knew how to form +long tunnels, either for the passage of troops, for the benefit of +travellers, or for the conveyance of water. All these, I say, are enough +to fire the imagination of the dullest reader of history, and to shake +the belief that civilization cannot be developed in the midst of what we +have been accustomed to call savage life, and can only be brought to +a moderate perfection by the influence of the Hebrew and Christian +writings. + +Our wonder is not, however, bounded by the physical results produced by +the industrious population of Peru, it is still farther exercised by +the descriptions which are given of their wonderful domestic and foreign +policy. It would be difficult to conceive, and still more difficult +to carry into execution for many generations, a plan of government so +eminently fitted to give the greatest happiness to the greatest number, +as that which the Incas elaborated. The rulers were specially educated +to fulfil their duties in every respect, and were not permitted, as +modern princes are, to enter into the ranks of chivalry until they had +undergone a public examination, which was conducted by the oldest and +the most illustrious chiefs. The trial included tests of every warlike +and manly quality. It lasted thirty days, during which time every +competitor fared alike, living on the bare ground, and wearing a mean +attire. Those who passed the ordeal honourably were admitted formally +into the knightly order, the ceremony including an investiture of the +youth with sandals put on by the most venerable noble, equivalent to +the donning of the _toga virilis_ in Ancient Rome, and having the ear +pierced with a golden bodkin by the reigning monarch. To take off the +shoe was a ceremony exacted from all those who came into the Inca's +presence, to have it put on by a grandee was great honour. + +That the rulers might understand the condition of the kingdom, they +systematically travelled, much in the same way as James V. of Scotland, +and the Caliph Haroun Alraschid, are said to have done. The Incas, in +addition to their other plans for good government, inaugurated a +postal system: divided their peoples into tens, fifties, hundreds, five +hundreds, thousands, and ten thousands, much in the same way as the +Saxon King Alfred is said to have done, whose plan is, in many respects, +conserved to the present day; and the head man of each division was in +all respects its ruler, to repress crime, to announce to his superior +officer all unusual occurrences, and to report, generally, the actual +state of his division to the chief above him. All legal trials, +or appeals, were decided in less than five days, and a code was +established, which all might readily know, a thing only attained by the +French under the first Napoleon, and long desired by England, but in +vain. Punishments were never attended with torture, or unnecessary +cruelty. In this respect the Peruvians differed from every other +civilized nation of which I have yet read. The Chinaman methodically +inflicts painful punishments which have only been surpassed by the +followers of the "gentle Jesus." The Persians and Turks have, certainly, +shown their capacity for giving pain to those who are brought before +their ministers of justice, and the Red Indians, during their day, +reduced the art of tormenting themselves, but, still more, their +prisoners, almost to perfection. The Babylonians had discovered that a +death of agony could be accomplished by means of myriads of ants. It was +reserved to Christians, eager to uphold the faith promulgated by a God +of mercy, to find out the most exquisite of torments. Even Frenchmen, +who have for centuries assumed the position of leaders of civilization, +were, until the great Revolution beat down their kings and prelates, +more ruthlessly cruel than the most fierce redskin. The Inquisition, +which arrogated to itself the power to keep the Christian religion pure, +was distinguished by the atrocity with which it gave anguish to its +victims, and it held its head high until it was put down, we may hope +for ever, by fiery republican enthusiasts, whom priestly demons, baulked +of their prey, declared to be devils incarnate. More modern hierarchs +are obliged to content themselves with making a hell for their +enemies--with foretelling a variety of punishments to be inflicted +hereafter, which cannot be enforced here. + +The Incas exacted an annual report of the lands possessed by +individuals, with their condition as regards culture; and also of every +family. A register of births, marriages, and deaths was regularly kept, +so that the government might always know the real condition of the +nation, soil, and people. + +As far as possible, families remained constant to their business, thus +forming a sort of trade caste, but not a rigid one. The registers were +always submitted to the perusal of the Inca, and, subsequently, kept in +the capital. + +By the arrangement of "posts," and roads, an insurrection or invasion +was readily discovered, and it was speedily announced at the capital +city. The march of troops to suppress it, under these circumstances, was +easy and immediate, for every requisite for war was always at hand. In +all circumstances, plundering by the soldiery, whether at home or in an +enemy's country, was severely punished, and war was undertaken solely +with a view to peace. If a neighbour was turbulent, he was conquered, +and absorbed into the old state, and if a province was rebellious, its +worst inhabitants were carried away to some other locality, where their +power for mischief would be curtailed; a plan which, we are told, was +pursued by the Assyrian Shalmaneser (2 Kings xvii. 6), indicated by +Sennacherib (2 Kings xviii. 32), and carried out by Nebuzaradan (2 Kings +xxv. 11.). In fine, we may repeat, that it would be difficult for a +modern philosopher to conceive a better model of a really paternal +government than that which, it is asserted, was found by the Spaniards +when they invaded the kingdom of the Incas. Of the respective value of +Christian Spanish government, and of the so-called Pagan Inca rule, none +can doubt, who reads the present by the light of the past. The Peruvians +kept up their roads, protected their subjects, respected life, and +fostered everything which tended to increase the general happiness +and prosperity of the kingdom--all these objects, have been for a long +period neglected, and Peru, which was under the Spanish rule, one of +the blots on the face of civilization and Christianity, is only +just emerging from a long night, under the influence of Republican +institutions. + +Our next step will be to ascertain the religion of the people whose +political condition contrasts so favourably with that of every other +nation of whom travel and history have informed us. But we may, in the +first place, remark, that there is no absolute or necessary connection +between the happiness, or otherwise, of a nation and its dominant +religion, as Buckle has already shown in his _History of Civilization_. +The writer of to-day can find abundant evidence in recent history to +illustrate the proposition here advanced. He can point to France, +and its condition under a sacerdotal rule, prior to the time of the +Revolution, and contrast it with its state since its rulers have +tried to make the people prosperous and happy, independently of their +religious faith. He can point to Austria and Spain, when they were laid +at the feet of the Pope of Rome, and everything was made subservient to +the demands of a powerful hierarchy, and to the same states now, when +religion is subordinate to the material welfare of the majority. Who, +that has read the story of modern Italy, or heard of the atrocities +committed under the priest-led Ferdinand of Naples--better known in +England by the sobriquet of Bomba; who, that knew anything of his +brigand-rearing towns and cities, and has visited them since they have +been ruled constitutionally, and with the priestly power curbed by a +strong hand, can doubt which set of directors are the best? Christian +Rome was never so happy under her Popes as she is now, when the +so-called head of the church is subordinate to the chief of the state. +But of all priest-ridden countries, one which would never have borne the +popish sway as she has done, if her chieftains had been sensible and +her people thoughtful, Ireland deserves our commiseration the most. +Hibernian hierarchs of the Roman faith designate their country as a +land of saints. So, perhaps, it is, if by the word is meant admirers of +laziness and filth, who consider that attention to religion justifies +murder, and every brutal crime against purse, person, and property. + +As a rule, admitting of no exceptions, civil government has preceded +sacerdotal rule, and a nation is generally in a weakly and fallen +condition as soon as its affairs are directed by the priestly class. +When first the Aryans invaded Hindostan, the hierarchy was second to the +warrior caste; but as the first aggrandized their power, the second lost +their supremacy, and under Brahminic rule the foundation was laid for +pusillanimous and indolent luxury in the warrior. The power to plan, +and the nerve to enforce laws, for the benefit of all classes of the +community, is very different to that which is requisite to exalt and +enrich the priestly order; and the well-being of a state depends far +more upon the exercise of the first than of the second. Whenever, +therefore, the executive government is entirely independent of the +influence of the hierarchy, or is itself the head of that caste, it can +produce good results for the nation, no matter what may be the dogmas of +the priesthood, or the nature of the gods which are reverenced. + +Still following Prescott as our guide, we find that the sun was the +great god of the Peruvians, and that the Incas assumed the title of his +true children. To that luminary a vast temple was built in Cuzco, more +radiant with gold than that of Solomon at Jerusalem. To Cuzco, as to the +capital of Judea, the name of Holy City was given, and to it pilgrims +resorted from every part of the empire. Blasphemy against the sun was +considered as bad as treason against the Inca, and both were punished +with death. A province, or city, rebellious against the sun was laid +waste, and its people exterminated. When conquest over a new tribe +subjugated it to Peru, the people were compelled to worship the sun, +temples to whose honour were erected in their territory. To these was +attached a body of priests, to instruct the people in the proper form +of adoration, which consisted in a rich and stately ceremonial. The +divinities of the conquered people were removed to Cuzco and established +in one of the temples, where they took order amongst the inferior +deities of the Peruvians. + +But, though the sun was unquestionably worshipped, Prescott observes, +ch. iii, "it is a remarkable fact that many, if not most, of the rude +tribes inhabiting the vast American continent had attained to the +sublime conception of one Great Spirit, the Creator of the universe, +who, immaterial in his own nature, ought not to be dishonoured by an +attempt at a visible representation, and who, pervading all space, was +not to be circumscribed within the walls of any building, however grand +or rich." + +As civilization progressed, we are told that a separate order of men, +with a liberal provision for their subsistence, was set apart for +religious service, and a minute and magnificent ceremonial contrived, +which challenged comparison with that of the most polished nations of +Christendom. This was the case with the natives of Quita, Bogota, and +others inhabiting the highlands of South America, but especially with +the Peruvians, who claimed a divine origin for the founders of their +empire, whose laws rested on a divine sanction, and whose domestic +institutions and foreign wars were directed to preserve and to propagate +their faiths. Religion was the basis of their polity, the condition of +their social existence. The government of the Incas was essentially a +lay theocracy. + +The Peruvians believed in the future existence of the soul and the +resurrection of the body. They had faith in a Hell, located in the +earth's centre, and a Heaven, in which the good would revel in a life +of luxury, tranquillity, and ease. The wicked, however, were not to be +hopelessly damned and tormented for everlasting, but were to expiate +their crimes by ages of wearisome labour. They believed, also, in an +evil principle or spirit, called Cupay, to whom, however, they paid no +more attention than an ordinary Christian does to the Devil. + +The great men were entombed after death, and were commonly buried with +the chief things which they required on earth. Sometimes a chieftain was +buried, not only with his treasures, but with his wives and domestics. +Frequently, over the dead, vast mounds were raised, which were +honeycombed, subsequently, with cells for the burial of others. Cairns +were as common in that part of the New World as they have been in the +Old, and the majority of buildings found at the present day in Peru have +been connected with funereal pomp. + +The supreme Being in Peru was named Pachacamac, "he who gives life to +the universe," and Viracocha, of which the only translation given is +"foam of the sea." To him one temple only was raised, which is said to +have been built prior to the accession of the Incas, and largely visited +by vast numbers of distant Indians. The sun, as we have noticed, was +chiefly venerated, and to him a temple was erected in every city and +large village, and to him burnt offerings were made in abundance. The +moon was also venerated, being connected with the sun as his wife--and +Venus, called by the name of Chasca, "the youth with the long and +curling locks"--was also regarded reverentially as the page of the sun. +Temples were dedicated to thunder and to lightning as God's ministers, +and the rainbow was regarded as an emanation from the great luminary. +In addition to these, the elements, the winds, the earth, the air, the +great mountains and rivers, were considered as inferior deities, to +which were added the gods of the conquered races. The chief temple of +the sun was extraordinarily gorgeous. It was constructed of stone, and +was so finely executed, that a Spaniard declared that only two edifices +in Spain could, in the stone work, be at all compared with it like +Italian and other churches, it contained many small chapels and +subordinate buildings, and the interior was dazzling with gold. On its +western wall the deity was emblazoned as a human face surrounded with +rays of light, just as the sun is personified amongst ourselves. +The figure was engraved on a massy gold plate, thickly powdered with +emeralds and precious stones. This was so situated in front of the +great eastern portal, that the rays of the morning sun, falling upon it, +lighted up the whole temple with a wondrous sheen; but every part of +the inner walls blazed with gold. The roof was, however, "thatch" alone. +Adjoining the temple of the sun were fanes of smaller dimensions, for +the worship of the moon, stars, thunder, lightning, and the rainbow. + +"All the plate, ornaments, and utensils of every description +appropriated to the uses of religion, were of gold or silver. Twelve +immense vases of silver (said to be as high as a good lance, and so +large that two men could barely encircle them with outstretched arms) +stood on the floor of the great saloon, filled with Indian corn. The +censers for the perfumes, the ewers which held the water for sacrifice, +the pipes which conducted it through subterraneous channels into +the buildings, the reservoir that received it, even the agricultural +implements used in the gardens of the temple, were all of the same +rich material. The gardens, like those belonging to the royal palaces, +sparkled with gold and silver, and various imitations of the vegetable +kingdom. Animals, also, were to be found there, amongst which the llama, +with its golden fleece, was most conspicuous, executed in the same +style, and with a degree of skill which, in this instance, probably did +not surpass the excellence of the material" The reader of Prescott will +find that he has not adopted this account without carefully estimating +the value of his authorities, and I believe that he may be fairly +trusted. The various reports, given by Spanish writers, of priests of +the grand temple, seem also to have been carefully estimated by the +historian, and the number which they amounted to is put down at four +thousand at the least. + +The high priest was second in dignity only to the Inca, and he was +generally closely related to this ruler. The monarch appointed this +Peruvian pope, who held office for life. He had the appointment of +inferior priests, but all must be from the sacred race of Incas. The +high priests of the provinces were always of the blood royal. The +hierarchy wore no peculiar badge or dress, nor was it the sole +depositary of learning, and it had not to superintend education, or to +do parochial work. These duties were performed by others of the Inca +class, all of whom were holy, though not, so to speak, in "holy orders." +The priest's business was to minister in the temple; his science was +confined to a knowledge of the fasts and festivals to be observed in +connection with religion, for these were very numerous, and demanded +separate rituals. The four principal festivals were solar, i.e., at the +equinoxes and solstices, that of Midsummer being the grandest, on which +occasion every one who could find time and money enough to do so visited +the capital city. The feast was preceded by a three days' fast, and no +fires were to be lighted during that period. + +When the day arrived a vast array of people, dressed in their handsomest +apparel, crowded the streets and squares, waiting for the rising of the +sun. When it appeared shouts of joy, heightened by instrumental music, +were raised in swelling tones, until the whole orb had ascended above +the horizon, after which a libation was poured of fermented liquor, +and all the nobles and the king repaired to the great temple, each +individual, except members of the royal family, removing their sandals +as they entered. After prayer came sacrifice, animals, grain, flowers, +and sweet-scented gums being the prescribed offerings; sometimes a +child or lovely maiden was also immolated, generally to commemorate a +coronation, the birth of a royal heir, or a great victory. Cannibalism +never followed the sacrifice; and it may be added, parenthetically, +that when the Incas conquered and annexed man-sacrificing and man-eating +tribes, they always abrogated the custom, and with far more decision +and firmness than Britain has shown in abolishing self-immolation of +Juggernaut pilgrims in her Indian Empire, and the burning of widows +with their dead spouses. Some may doubt whether a conqueror ought to +interfere with the religious customs of the vanquished, but few would +plead for the continuance of such customs as human sacrifice and +cannibalism. + +The animal usually sacrificed by the Peruvians was the llama, and +the priest who officiated drew auguries from the appearance of the +intestines. To effect the oblation a sacred fire was now kindled by a +concave mirror which acted as "a burning glass," precisely as was done +by Numa in the days of Ancient Rome. If the sky was clouded, and no rays +could be collected, fire was produced by friction. When lighted, the +fire was committed to the care of the virgins of the sun, who were +bound to keep it up for the ensuing year. After the single sacrifice +was completed, great numbers of other animals were slaughtered, and a +regular carousal began, attended with music, dancing, and drinking, +that lasted for many days, during which period all the lower orders kept +holiday. In the distribution of bread and wine at this high festival, +the invading Spaniards saw a striking resemblance to the Christian +communion, and they recognised a similar likeness in the Peruvian +practices of confession and penance. The virgins of the sun were called +"the elect," and were young maidens taken from their homes at an early +age, and introduced into convents, where they were placed under the care +of elderly matrons, who taught them their religious duties, and how to +spin and weave, embroider and adorn hangings for the temples, and to +frame garments for the Incas. Their work was such, that it was found to +be superior to any which the Spaniards had ever seen, or were themselves +able to produce. The virgins were separated wholly, not simply, from the +world in general, but also from their own relations and friends--none +but the king and queen could enter into their convent. The closest +attention was paid to the morals of these maidens, and visitors were +sent every year to inspect the institutions, and to report on the +state of their discipline; a plan similar to which has been repeatedly +proposed in Christian England, yet never sanctioned by the parliament! +If a virgin was discovered in an intrigue she was buried alive, her +lover was strangled, and the town or village to which he belonged was +razed to the ground, and sowed with stones, to efface even the memory +of its site. These solar attendants were all of royal blood, and were +estimated to number fifteen hundred; but to provincial convents the +inferior nobility were allowed to send their daughters, and sometimes +a peculiarly lovely peasant girl was admitted. The convents were all +sumptuously furnished. But, though virgins of the sun, they were brides +of the Incas, and we cannot fail, when we read of the vast harem of the +Peruvian monarch, to think of the female establishments of the Jewish +Solomon, of the Persian Ahasuerus, and that of Louis XV. of Christian +France. If at any time the Inca reduced his harem, the superfluous +concubines were restored to their homes, swelling with the importance +which they had gained by their familiarity with the monarch. + +Polygamy was permitted. Matrimony was effected by the Inca, or other +chief man, joining the hands of the parties. The king usually espoused +his own sister, but no other person was allowed to do so. No marriage +was valid without the consent of parents. As a general rule, all unions +were effected on the same day of the year, and thus the wedding of +couples was followed by general rejoicing. + +The genius of the Peruvian government penetrated into the most private +recesses of domestic life, allowing no man to act for himself, even in +those personal matters in which none but himself, or his family, could +be interested. No Peruvian was too low for the fostering vigilance +of the government; none was so high that he was not made to feel his +dependence upon it in every act of his life. The government of the Incas +was the mildest, but the most searching and beneficent, of despotisms. + +We now, but with great reluctance, leave our friendly guide, the +accomplished Prescott, and ask ourselves, once more, the lessons which +we have learned from the departed races of the vast American continent. +Can anyone doubt that one of the most conspicuous results obtained +is, that Christian rule, and the Christian doctrine, have not proved +themselves, in any respect, superior to the Incas' government and their +solar religion? Who can read of the civilization, the theology, and the +practice of the Peruvians, without believing one of two things--the one, +that Jewish ritualism, and the majority of Christian teaching, is of +human invention; the other, that the Almighty has revealed His will in +the Western as well as in the Eastern Hemisphere? Can any thoughtful +man believe that the brutal, covetous, lying Spaniards, who broke, +with impunity, every commandment promulgated in those Gospels, to whose +authority they professed allegiance, and upon which their faith is +founded, were better men, or more favoured by the Lord, "who loveth +righteousness and hateth iniquity," than were the gentle Peruvians, who +fell before them as lambs and sheep before wolves and tigers? Surely the +story of the Incas should make Christians, in all ages, blush for their +inferiority to those, amongst whom neither Moses, Samuel, and other +so-called prophets, Jesus, nor any of his apostles, preached; and more +strongly should it convince us that the wish to do good on a large scale +can come otherwise than by the Gospel. If grace, and peace, and love +came by the Nazarene alone, how is it--and let us ponder over the +question deeply--that all Christian countries have been, and that some +are still, conspicuous for the brutality of their political and priestly +governments, for the frequency with which they make war, for their +ferocity in the destruction of religious enemies, and for the intense +hatred evinced against rival sects, by those who call themselves the +representatives of the Prince of Peace; whilst, on the other hand, +a nation who never heard of the son of Joseph or of Mary, should be +conspicuous for the virtues which ought to adorn the soldiers of the +cross, but do not? Surely, if the saying be true, "by their fruit ye +shall know them," the denizens of the old world must be children of the +Devil, who do the work, of their father, whilst certain of the nations +of the new world, as it is called, were really children of the light, +abounding in love, charity, and goodwill towards all men. + +To me it is astonishing how thoughtful men, who have read accounts of +the Mexicans and the Peruvians, can continue to believe that the Bible +is the book of God, written by holy men, whose thoughts and diction were +essentially those of the third person in the Trinity. Who can assert +that Abraham and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, were taught of God, and that to +the Hebrews alone has the Creator revealed His will? Who can see, in +the sensual king David, a man after God's heart, and applaud the brutal +murder of Agag, the destruction of the priests of Baal, by the orders +of Elijah, and the extermination of the Baalites in Israel by Jehu? +Compared with such wretches as these the Incas were angels. They had not +left to them the bloody legacy which has come to the Christian world by +means of the Old Testament: they had not been taught to believe that the +Almighty revelled in the blood of human beings: they never had, amongst +their sacred songs, verses like the following--"that thy foot may be +dipped in the blood of enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same" +(Ps. lxviii. 23). + +Ah, it is time for civilized men to cease their admiration for a book +which has produced such frightful fruits, and which has converted +millions of human beings into incarnate fiends. + +The Vedas and the Shasters--the writings of the Buddhists, and those of +the Parsees and the Chinese, contain, nowhere, such a justification +of wholesale murder, as do the Scriptures of the Jews and of the +Christians.* From these have been drawn the power to persecute, and, if +possible, to exterminate those who worship God in a different fashion +to those in power. Calvin was as bad as Torquemada; and, even at the +present time, it is only public opinion that prevents fanatics, like the +early New Englanders, from reducing their Christian hate to practical +torture. Everywhere the professed followers of Jesus assume the power +to torment their opponents, whenever they can do so without breaking the +civil law, and there are few pulpits from which the voice of revilement, +contumely, and denunciation is not repeatedly heard. The Romans abuse +the Anglicans; the Establishment sneers at Dissent; Nonconformists +censure all churches; and all libel those whom they call Free Thinkers +and Atheists. To find "toleration" in matters of religion, one must seek +amongst the Deists, or amongst those who refuse to see in the Bible the +revealed will of God to man. + + * See Matthew x. 34, 85; Luke xii. 49, 51, 52, 53. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Can civilization grow out of barbarism? Dislike of progress, + especially if mental. Rediscovery of ancient knowledge. + Advance and retrogression. China and Japan--influence of + strangers. Decadence of nations--followed by a rise. The + Shemitic and Negro races. Varied religious ideas. The Negro + Fetish and Obi. Jewish, Arab, and Christian communication + with the dead. Australian idea about white men. Ideas of a + soul and futurity amongst the Aryans and Egyptians. Their + priesthood. The Aryans Monotheiste. An Aryan hymn. Max + Mueller and Talboys Wheeler. Aryan conceptions compared with + Psalm civ. 1-4. Monotheism of the Egyptians. Shemitic + religions. + +At one period of my life I entertained the idea that civilization never +had grown, nor ever could grow, out of barbarism. Perhaps I have not yet +wholly abandoned it. The considerations which the question involves are +all but infinite. It is doubtful whether we can reduce them into shape +without writing an extensive treatise. We will, however, attempt to do +so, and present the subject to our readers to the best of our ability. + +As far as our own personal and historic experience goes, we find that +man has no natural propensity to learn beyond that which he has received +simply as an animal. With him school is a hateful place, and education +is a painful process, even in the midst of the highest civilization we +see individuals who cast from them all the luxuries of life, and descend +voluntarily to a level scarcely superior to that of the brute creation. +But those who take kindly to education, and consent to try and learn +everything which the teacher presents to their notice, are bounded by +the amount of knowledge possessed by the instructor, who cannot impart +to others information in matters of which all are ignorant. It is true +that I once read a question propounded by his schoolmaster to one of my +sons, which ran--"Enumerate upon paper all the capes, bays, and rivers +of England that you don't know by name, and describe the seas which you +have never heard of." Without dwelling upon the anecdote farther than +to say, that it points out the absurdity of the idea that education +of itself advances knowledge, we may pass on to remark, that even in +nations, whose intellect is highly cultivated, the propensity to advance +in knowledge is singularly small. Throughout the old world an inventor +is usually regarded as a visionary, or a lunatic, and flouted by all his +contemporaries.* From the time of Aristotle and Hippocrates, scarcely +any advance was made in philosophy, and, throughout Europe, the +fourteenth century was as barbarous, if not indeed more so, than the +first of our era; and to such a dark age there is a strong clerical +party in Great Britain which desires us to return. + + * A man who had travelled much once said to me,--"I will + tell you the main difference between a Yankee and an + Englishman. If you inform the latter of some new discovery-- + or propose the use of some recent invention for his own + benefit--he will tell you either that the thing is old, or + worthless. On the other hand, if you recount to the former + what you have told the latter of, his rejoinder will be, I + can improve upon that." This is true, and we are now + repeatedly adopting from the United States discoveries of + various kinds, which we rejected when offered to us in the + first place. + +Yet, notwithstanding the propensity of cultivated nations to remain +quiescent, there do appear, from time to time, individuals who, +being discontented with things as they are, endeavour to bring about +improvements in the arts, the sciences, and the general conditions of +life. The recognition of a want, is an incentive to a thoughtful mind +to supply the exigency. Whenever an individual endeavours to attain +a definite end, he exercises his mind, not only in what he has been +already taught, but what he can observe beyond that; he rakes up, if +possible, the experience of others, studies their proceedings, and +experiments with a definite object, and ponders upon the affinities, +nature, and the like, of every substance which he surmises may be of +service to him. When, by these means, he has obtained his purpose, +he will repeatedly find that he has done no more than rediscover a +something which was known thousands of years before his time. Without +a doubt, much of the philosophy, science, art, religion, &c., of the +present day, is due to a close observation and an attainment to the +knowledge possessed by our predecessors. "Is there any thing whereof it +may be said, see this is new?--it hath been already of old time, which +was before us" (Eccles. i. 10). + +If this be true, even though it may only be so to a partial extent, it +is clearly more philosophical to believe that some primeval men were +created with a considerable amount of knowledge, rather than that all +were savage, barely, if at all, superior to monkeys, and that one or +more of these, gradually elevated their race, by degrees so slow, as to +be imperceptible in less time than many thousand years. + +This side of the argument receives corroboration when we study the +history of such semi-civilized countries as China, and such barbarous +regions as those of Africa and Australia. In none of these parts do +we see any general propensity to advance. In the first we see a +retrogression; there is now no effort to repair ancient roads which +have been worn away by centuries of traffic, to restore the old temples, +towers, and landmarks, erected when time was younger, or even to keep +up the teachings of Confucius. A similar apathy existed amongst the +Japanese--yet no sooner do the civilized nations of Europe show the +rulers of China and Japan that it is necessary for them to improve, if +they desire to retain their power, than they attempt to learn the arts +which have enabled their rivals to overcome them. In both cases, the +progress is recognized as due to the interference of a nation, superior +for the time being, to that whose education has been faulty. Advance, +then, in such countries, is clearly due to foreign influence, rather +than to an innate propensity to general, mental, scientific, or +practical development. + +But, on the other side, it may be alleged that the African has been in +existence from time immemorial--that he has been in contact with the +civilization of ancient and modern Egypt--with Christianity--with the +ancient Tyrians and Carthaginians--with the Arabs--with the Spaniards, +Portuguese, and British, and yet the African tribes remain almost as +savage now as when they first were known. Similar remarks apply to +the inhabitants of the Andaman Isles, of the vast islands of Borneo, +Celebez, Papua, New Guinea, and others. + +Yet in many places, now considered barbarous, we see the remains of +previous empires--and when we are able to find some comparatively +authentic history which tells of the overthrow of a powerful kingdom, +it is clear that the civilized people have usually been destroyed by the +barbarian. The wealth of Rome tempted the hordes from the inhospitable +north, just as the gold of Mexico and Peru were the causes of their +decadence under the Spaniards, whose people were in themselves scarcely +superior to the troops led by Alaric, Genseric, and other so called +barbarians. Yet we know, as in the case of Spain herself, that decadence +from civilization to comparative barbarism may be due to causes inherent +in the people and its governors, wholly independent of foreign conquest. +This decadence is due to the bestial propensities of man being allowed +to dominate over the intellectual, and the result is the same, whether +the animal passions be cultivated by a debased and degrading policy of +monarch and priest, or by the indolence of each individual. + +By developing the train of thought thus indicated, we imagine that the +philosophical reader will conclude that amongst men, some race, family, +or tribe, has been created with intelligence, as much above the rest of +their kind as the elephant is superior to the hippopotamus, and the dog +to the cat, and that others are generically as low as is the Australian +"dingo" in the canine race. Those once perfect may deteriorate, yet +carry with them the power of rising again--whilst those originally low +never rise at all, no matter what example may be set them, unless force +is used to make them learn. To these we must add a third set, specially +to include the American, for we have no evidence whatever that the +civilization of the Aztec and Peruvian was anything more than a +restoration of the scientific knowledge of a more ancient people, +possibly of an Aryan stock. Who that is acquainted with the Shemitic +race can fail to see in its people the type of an ancient condition +which has decayed, until, like a fallen gentleman, it can only show what +once it was, by conserving and exhibiting a few ornaments of no value, +save from their age, but whose sons may yet become princes in their +paternal domains? Who that studies the negro in Africa, America, and St. +Domingo, can fail to see that he is, or, at any rate has hitherto shown +himself, almost wholly incapable of development as a philosophic man? +And who can read the pages of Prescott without recognizing the fact that +some of the ancient inhabitants of America inaugurated--unassisted, as +we judge by any example from others--a style of religion and government +of which the world has hardly, if at all, seen an equal? Yet it is +remarkable, that both the Mexican and Peruvian traced their laws and +institutions to strangers who came amongst them, as Oannes did to the +Babylonians, and who taught them what arts, religion, and science they +themselves had. The subject of centres of human life into which our +considerations have drawn us, is by far too vast for discussion here. +It involves the study of geology, of anthropology, of glossology, +of navigation, of physical geography, of climate, of the laws of +reproduction, of the influences of climate over animals, and of diet +upon man. Into all these we dare not enter: we shall confine ourselves +rather to considering the religious ideas of the lowest of the known +races of mankind; and then proceed to those which have been held by what +we may call the oscillating people, i.e., those vibrating repeatedly +between a state of empire and one of slavery, like the people of +Hindostan, Babylon, Judea, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Egypt. + +When we endeavour to ascertain the religion of the negro, by which term +we include all the black native tribes of Africa, we find ourselves +almost in the position of a modern chemist seeking for the philosopher's +stone. In no single book, and I have read very many, can I find any +trustworthy evidence of the negro having any religion at all. It is true +that travellers in Abyssinia, and those who are now returned from their +successful expedition against Magdala, tell us that in Abyssinia there +is a form of religion which is evidently a corrupt form of Christianity, +but with this exception, the blacks seem to have no idea of that +congeries of fact and fiction, dogma, ritual, and practice, which passes +current for religion in more civilized countries. Yet though they have +no definite idea of a Creator, and the way in which He works throughout +the universe, they have a dread of some unseen power, and, like a number +of frightened children, dread the effects of "fetish," and the power of +the Obi or Obeah man. When the mind is predisposed to fear, and it is so +amongst the lower animals as well as in man, it is astonishing at what +contemptible objects one may stand aghast. I can vividly remember being +sent, whilst a very young child, with a message from an aunt, at whose +home I was staying, to the maid, who was washing in an outhouse, but ere +I reached the door of the latter, I was terrified at a head which seemed +to be rising from the ground, Such was my horror that I ran away, too +proud to scream, yet almost fainting with horror. To me that ancient +battered barber's doll was "fetish," and if my friends had determined to +cultivate the timidity which I then showed, it is quite possible that to +this day I might have a dread not dissimilar to that of the African. +As it was, my aunt told me that what had scared me, was only a piece of +carved and painted wood, and so put me upon my mettle, that I delivered +my message and gave the image a kick in the face; yet my valour was +short lived, and during the rest of my sojourn I dared not venture +within sight of the bugbear. To all intents and purposes that human head +was, in my estimation, the guardian of the garden--its presence made all +within its influence under taboo--had I ventured to tell a lie, or to +have been naughty, I cannot conceive that any punishment would have been +greater than being doomed to sit in the presence of the weird image. +Hence I can easily understand the abject terror of the African at +"fetish," and his dread of the Obeah man, who asserts that he can direct +upon whom he will the power of the unknown god. So great is the fear of +this negro magician, and so common is that fear to man in general, that +we sometimes find the white man as full of it as the black. I have had, +for example, under my own care, an Englishman of good education, who, +whilst superintendent of a Jamaica plantation, became so cowed by "Obi," +that he was obliged to give up his position and return to England, +literally insane upon the subject of "fetish" and "Obeah," and wholly +unfitted for any work whatever. + +The objects to which the name of "fetish" is given are very numerous--a +rock, a stone, a tree, a pool, a dried monkey, an alligator, man, or +skull--anything will suit the purpose. One which is said to be very +popular amongst chieftains is prepared somewhat in the following +manner:--The head of a father is removed after death, and so placed, +that as the brain decays and softens, it may fall into a receptacle +already half filled with palm oil or other grease. The material so +formed, consisting to a great extent of the thoughtful organ of the +sire, is then supposed to give his spirit to the son, whenever the +latter smears himself with it, or takes it as a potent medicinal spell. +The head thus placed becomes the royal "fetish," and the king goes to +take counsel from it just as ancient priests inquired, or pretended to +inquire, from the god or lord of some shrine or oracle. I cannot charge +my memory with everything that has been at one time or another regarded +as an object of wonder, worship, or "fetish," but I have an indistinct +recollection that a musical box has been venerated by Africans, as much +as the Ancilia, the Palladium, the Diana which fell down from Jupiter, +the Caaba or black stone of Mecca, the ark of the covenant, the brazen +serpent, the wood of the true cross, the nails which pierced Jesus, +and the handkerchief which was used to wipe the face of the suffering +Nazarite, all of which have been sacred amongst civilized nations, and +are still adored by some. It would be difficult for a philosopher to +draw a distinction between an African "fetish" and a Papal relic. There +is no virtue which the Romanist has attributed to old bones, old nails, +old shoes, old coats, old houses, old staircases, old bits of wood, old +links of chains, old hairs, old statues, &c., that has not been equally +attributed by negroes to some absurd fetish in Ashantee, Dahomey, or +elsewhere. + +In some parts of the vast African continent, however, there seems to be +an indistinct idea of a life after death, and when a great man dies, +or is killed, his wives, and many of his slaves, are sacrificed for his +future use, and vast human sacrifices are made annually in his honour, +that the departed may hear, from time to time, of the welfare of those +whom he has left behind. Feeling indisposed to regard this practice +as the offspring of religious faith, I would compare it with the crude +conceptions of some of the lowest class in Europe and America, aye, of +some cultivated intellects as well, who profess to be able, by means +of _media_, to communicate with the dead, or who send messages to +their departed relatives by friends that are dying. The most remarkable +development of this idea which I have yet met with has recently occurred +in France, where a young man attempted to murder a beautiful young +woman, to whom he was a total stranger, the reason he assigned being, +that he intended to commit suicide immediately after the murder, so that +he might enter the future world with a pleasant companion. + +We can scarcely regard the persons figuring in the following true story +as being very much superior to the King of Dahomey. In a well-cared +for English village a poor woman was about to die in the full odour of +Protestant sanctity. In youth she had lost one leg, and now had disease +in the other. To her came an old woman and said,--"I hear thou's goin' +to dee Betty, and that thou's goin' to heaven--at least parson says +so--when thou's got there, willee tell my owd man that I've just bought +that field as he set his heart on." "Oh dear," said the dying woman, +"how can I go stumping all about heaven with my legs in the state +they're in." "Well, you can tell him at anyrate if you happen to see him +go by!" + +Passing from the African, let us now say a word or two about the +Australian. It is, I think, Mitchell, who states, in an account of his +travels in that country, that the white men were used in a manner so +considerate, in some instances, indeed, so kindly, that he was induced +to inquire into the cause. He found that these friendly tribes were +in the habit of eating their defunct relatives--being always short of +provisions, they used man meat, as do other starving creatures when they +devour their like--and they cooked the body much in the same way as we +do dead pig. By scalding the carcass, the cuticle and the black layer, +called _rete mucosum_, was removed, and the corpse became white. This +gave the people the notion that Europeans were their own dead relatives +returned from the spirit world. Sir G. Gray also, in his account of an +expedition to the north-west coasts of the same vast island, describes +how all the people with whom he came into contact believed in the +power of sorcery or witchcraft. Without extending our inquiry into the +undeveloped religious ideas of other barbarians, we may affirm, from the +preceding examples, that there is, even amongst the lowest human beings, +some idea of a future state, and of the existence of some unseen power, +which may work mischief upon themselves or their friends. Beyond these +vague notions the savage who has neither been taught, nor inherited the +power or propensity to learn, rarely, if ever, passes. + +If, then, the surmise to which we gave utterance awhile ago is founded +in truth, we may fairly endeavour to ascertain what is the race, or +the people, which have been born with a higher religious development, a +greater capacity for learning, and a higher appreciation of the value of +agriculture and civilization than the rest of the world's inhabitants. + +We now find ourselves on the threshold of a question which has, for many +years past, divided the scientific world, viz., Was there originally one +human couple only, or were there many intellectual centres? Into this +matter it would be unprofitable to enter, for to give an account of the +Chinese, Egyptian, Aryan, American, and Shemitic races, would require +many huge volumes. It will, probably, be permitted to me to omit from +the inquiry all but Aryans and Egyptians. I select these because I +have, in the preceding volumes, descanted largely upon the faith of the +Babylonians, Assyrians, Tyrians, and others, and because I believe that +these ancients have done very much to modify the faith of Europe. If +time and opportunity permitted, I fancy that anyone might make a +most interesting analysis of that which Europe owes to the Shemites, +Egyptians, and Aryans respectively; but it is beyond our powers at +present to go into the whole subject. The volumes which have recently +been published about the Ancient Hindoo religion may be counted by +dozens, and the writings of Egyptologists are almost equally numerous. +We must, therefore, content ourselves with a reference to a few main +points. + +It seems to be an undoubted fact, that both the Egyptians and Aryans +recognized the existence of a soul in human beings, and believed that it +survived the dissolution of the body in some state, whose position and +physical condition were unknown. They held, moreover, that the locality +and condition of the spiritual part of man after death depended upon +the actions of the individual during life. Both people believed in the +influence of prayer, of sacrifices, of a maceration, or torturing of the +fleshy body, and they had, moreover, each of them, a priestly race, +who regulated festivals, ordained ceremonies, and prescribed everything +which those who regarded their spiritual welfare should do. I believe +that the Egyptians were, in reality, monotheistic; but my authority for +the idea has escaped me. It is certain that the ancient Aryans were so, +and I cannot do better than refer my readers to the _History of Sanscrit +Literature_, by Max Mueller, and the first vol. of the _History of +India_, by Talboys Wheeler. Yet, as the first is out of print, and the +second a volume of considerable size, it will, perhaps, be judicious if +I quote some passages from both. The following hymn, translated by M. +M., p. 559 sq., is, to my own ideas, far more grand in conception than +any other which I have read, and shows a depth or sublimity of thought +that could only be attained by a profoundly intelligent intellect. +Moderns might equal it, none could surpass it. Speaking of the +beginning, the words run, "Nothing that is, was then; even what is not, +did not exist then." The poet then proceeds to deny the existence of +the sky, and of the firmament, and yet, unable to bear the idea of an +unlimited nothing, he exclaims, "What was it that hid or covered the +existing? what was the refuge of what? was water the deep abyss, the +chaos which swallowed up everything?" Then his mind, turning away from +nature, dwells upon man, and the problem of human life. "There was no +death, therefore there was nothing immortal There was no space, no life, +and lastly, there was no time--no difference between day and night--no +solar torch by which morning might have been told from evening. That One +breathed breathless by itself, other than it, nothing since has been. +That One breathed and lived; it enjoyed more than mere existence; yet +its life was not dependent upon anything else, as our life depends upon +the air we breathe. It breathed, breathless. Darkness there was, and all +at first was veiled in gloom, profound as ocean without life." Mueller +then rather describes what the poet means than gives his words; I will, +therefore, adopt now, for the rest of the hymn, the metrical version, +which he gives at p. 564:-- + + "The germ that still lay covered in the husk + Burst forth, one nature, from the fervent heat. + Then first came Love upon it, the new spring + Of mind; yea, poets in their hearts discerned, + Pondering this bond between created things And uncreated. + Comes this spark from earth, + Piercing and all-pervading, or from heaven? + These seeds were sown, and mighty power arose, + Nature below, and Power and Will above. + Who knows the secret? who proclaimed it here? + Whence, whence this manifold creation sprang? + The gods themselves came later into being. + Who knows from whence this great creation sprang? + He, from whom all this great creation came. + Whether His will created or was mute, + The Most High seer, that is in highest heaven, + He knows it; or, perchance, e'en He knows not" + +One more hymn is even more distinct in its monotheism, p. 569. "In the +beginning there arose the source of golden light. He was the only born +Lord of all that is. He established the earth and this sky. Who is the +God to whom we shall offer our sacrifice? He who gives life. He who +gives strength; whose blessing all the bright gods desire; whose shadow +is immortality; whose shadow is death.... He who, through His power, is +the only King of the breathing and the awakening world. He who governs +all--man and beast.... He whose power these snowy mountains, whose power +the sea proclaims, with the distant river. He whose these regions are, +as it were, His two arms.... He through whom the sky is bright, and the +earth firm. He through whom the heaven was 'stablished, nay, the highest +heaven. He who measured out the light in the air.... He to whom heaven +and earth, standing firm by His will, look up, trembling inwardly. +He over whom the rising sun shines forth.... Where-ever the mighty +water-clouds went, where they placed the seed, and lit the fire, thence +arose He who is the only life of the bright gods.... He who, by +His might, looked even over the water-clouds, the clouds which gave +strength, and lit the sacrifice. He _who is God above all gods_.... May +He not destroy us. He, the creator of the earth; or He, the righteous, +who created the heaven. He who also created the bright and mighty +waters." In this hymn I have only omitted the repeated question--Who is +the God to whom we shall offer our sacrifice? + +Of the high antiquity of these productions no competent scholar +entertains a doubt. It is not certain how many years before our era it +was composed, but it is considered that it was prior to B. C. 2000, long +before the time when the ideal Moses is said to have written, and _a +fortiori_ anterior, by at least a thousand years, to the authors of the +Book of Psalms. + +Talboys Wheeler remarks, p. 27--"Having thus sketched generally the +individual character of the leading deities of the Aryans as they appear +in the Rig Veda, it may be advisable to glance at that conception of One +Supreme Being, as in all and above all, which finds full expression in +the Vedic hymns. Upon this point the following passages will be found +very significant:--'Who has seen the primeval being at the time of His +being born? what is that endowed with substance that the unsubstantial +sustains? from earth are the breath and blood, but where is the +soul--who may repair to the sage to ask this? What is that One alone, +who has upheld these six spheres in the form of an unborn?'" Then +follows the hymn just quoted from M. Mueller. + +I may add that the so-called gods Indra, Agni, Surya, the Maruts, &c., +are only personifications of the abstract powers of nature, the sky, +fire, the sun, the winds, &c. These are the same conceptions as are +referred to in Ps. civ. 1-4--they are not deities, but ministers. + +It will probably be said by the orthodox that these descriptions of the +creation and the Creator are mere efforts of the human mind, and not the +products of "revelation." We grant it at once, and answer, why, then, +should the comparatively miserable conceptions of one or more Hebrews, +who knew nothing of a soul or a future life till they had learned it +from the Chaldeans or the Persians, be regarded differently? Was the +Jewish ignorance the result of Divine "inspiration?" Did the Devil give +to the heathen the knowledge of Satan's origin and power? If so, why did +the Jews, and why do Christians, adopt it? + +I have already mentioned that the Aryans believed in the efficacy +of prayer to their gods: they offered to them, much as we do now, +supplications for rain, abundant harvests, prolific cattle, bodily +vigour, long life, numerous progeny, &c., just as did, very rarely, the +seed of Abraham. + +We may now make some quotations from the Egyptian Ritual for the Dead +(Bunsen's _Egypt_, Vol. V.). "O soul, greatest of things created" (p. +165); "I am the Great God, creating himself" (p. 172); "Oh Lord of the +great abode, Chief of the gods" (p. 177). Throughout this invocation, +however, the lord of the universe seems to be spoken of as the sun under +various titles. There is frequent reference to the danger of the soul +falling into the power of some malignant deity, and orthodoxy is secured +by addressing every good god by his or her proper title. There is no +grand conception anywhere, and the endless repetitions disgust the +ordinary reader. I must add that the sun, Osiris, and the male organ, +are spoken of as emblematic of each other. + +If we next turn to the Shemitic religions, we have to contend with the +difficulty produced by the paucity of written records, and the doubts +which exist about certain epithets that relate to the gods. As far as I +can discover, there was an idea of a Supreme Being, whose name was Jeho. +Io. Iou., or the like, and Il or El. His ministers were the sun, moon, +planets, constellations, and stars. His emblems were the sexual organs, +and worship was, to a great degree, licentious. There was no conception +of a spiritual life after death, or of a state of future rewards and +punishments. Sacrifice was thought much of, but I doubt whether there +was anything like what we know as prayer. At any rate, in all those +parts of the Bible which seem to be the oldest, there is a singular +absence of any formula or command for supplication. Solomon's prayer +is comparatively of modern date. Indeed, this vacuity is implied in the +expression of one of Jesus' disciples, "Teach us to pray, as John +also taught his disciples" (Luke xi. 1), thus showing clearly that the +practice of prayer was not a Judaic, i.e., Mosaic one.* + + * As a friend, who has been kind enough to assist me to + correct these sheets in their passage through the press, + considers that I ought to give some reasons for the + assertion made in the text, the following information is + appended:-- + + I. There are, in all, about a score of different words in + Hebrew which have been translated, "prayer," "I pray," + "praying," &c. These are--(1) ahnah or ahna, (2) begah, (3) + ghalah, (4) ghanan, (5) loo, (6) lahgash, (7) na, (8) + gathar, (9) pagag, (10) pahlal, (11) tztlah, (12) seeagh, + (13) shoal, (14) tephilah. The rest are different forms + of the same roots. + + II. These words do not, except in a few instances, really + bear the signification of "prayer" or "intercession," which + is given to them in the Authorised English Version of the + Bible; as any one may convince himself by consulting + Wigram's Hebrew concordance. + + Thus, No. 1, in three instances, is translated in the A. V. + by the interjection "or,(OL)" No. 2, in the A. V. is once + used as "praying," but in other parts as "seeking" for + persons, "desiring" or "requesting," and "making." No. 8 is + translated in various parts of the A. V. "I am weak" "I + fell sick," "was not grieved," "a parturient woman crying," + "to put one's self to pain," "is grievous," "hath laid," "is + my infirmity," and these meanings are far more common than + the signification of "prayer." No. 4 is only used twice, and + is in one place translated "by showing mercy," and in the + other by "making supplication." No. 5 is translated "O + that," "peradventure," "would God that," "if," "if haply," + "though," and only once "I pray thee." No. 6 is translated + "enchantment," "orator," "earrings," "charmed," and once + only "prayer," with the marginal reading "secret speech." + No. 7 is in one place "now," in another "Oh," "go to," as + well as "I pray," and this in the same sense as we should + use the words to a child "I wish you would be quiet" No. 8 + is generally used in the sense of "intreaty" or "prayer," + but it once is found as "earnest," and "multiplying words," + as in a Litany. No. 9 is used to signify "he came," + "reached," "thou shalt meet," "fall upon," or "kill," "he + lighted" on a certain place, "they met together," and in + the 53d chapter of Isaiah the same word is used in verse 6, + "for the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all," and + in verse 12, for "and made intercession for the + transgressors!" No. 10 is used almost exclusively for + prayer, but it is only found six times in the whole + Pentateuch, in one of which it is read "I had no thought" + in the A. V. No. 11 is only found twice, once in Ezra and + once in Daniel, and signifies "prayer" in both. No. 12 has + many interpretations in the A. V., viz., "meditation," + "speaking," "talking," "complaining," "declaring," in one + instance only is it translated "pray," and that in the + apparently important text Ps. lv. 17, "Evening and morning + and at noon will I pray." As a substantive the word is + rendered as "complaint," "talking, meditation," + "babbling," and only once "prayer," and that in Ps. lv. 2, + "Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer." No. 13 is generally + translated "ask," as we should remark, "well, if he asks me + what must I say?" "beg," as "he shall beg in harvest;" + "consulted," in the text "he consulted with images," + "salute," "to salute him of peace;" "enquired," "Saul + enquired of the Lord;" "wished," "and wished in himself to + die;" "lent," "I have lent him to the Lord," "so that they + lent unto them." No. 14 is used exclusively for prayer, but + the word is not to be found in the whole of the Pentateuch. + III. There is reason to believe that the most important of + these words have come from the Persian, a language allied to + the Sanscrit; and if so, it is clear that the idea of + prayer was adopted by the Jews after they were patronised by + the conquerors of Babylon. Some of the other words are + Aramaic, and probably even more modern than the rest. For + example, No. 10 is compared by Furst in his Hebrew and + Chaldee Lexicon, to the Sanscrit phal, and No. 8 may also be + derived from the Persian, and a Sanscrit root gad, which + signifies "to speak to," or "call upon," Anahf No. 1, is + Aramaic. + +I think that it was Mons. Weill, in his remarkable book called Moise et +le Talmud, who first drew attention to the influence of the Talmudists +upon the Jewish Scriptures. He pointed out that in the Mosaic law there +was no idea of prayer, intercession, or pardon; everything was based +upon the "lex talionis," an eye was to be paid for with an eye, murder +was to be avenged by murder, and ecclesiastical, ceremonial, and other +transgressions were to be atoned, i.e., satisfaction was to be given by +sacrifice and payments to the priest or tabernacle. But when the Jews, +after their contact with the Chaldeans, Medea, Persians, Greeks, and +Romans, began to study theology, two sects arose--the Talmudists, who +explained away the older Scriptures, interpolated narratives, or simply +texts therein, so as to suit their purposes; and the Sadducees, who +refused to adopt as matters of faith anything which was not taught by +Moses. The first was the strongest sect, and composed the majority in +the Sanhedrim. They thus had power over the sacred canon, and could +reject manuscripts or adopt them according as the purposes which were +aimed at were served. The Talmudic interpolations are supposed to b" +recognised chiefly in the more modern parts of the Old Testament, +in Ezra, Nehemiah, the second Isaiah and Jeremiah, in the books of +Zechariah and Malachi, in the Chronicles, Daniel, in many Psalms, more +sparsely in the older histories, but very largely in the Pentateuch. +From these considerations, from the absence of any order in the Mosaic +law for the priests to offer any supplication, and from, the general +absence of prayer from the sacrifices of all nations, we may conclude +that "intercession" formed no part in the Jewish religion in the early +days of its existence. + +When working upon this subject I endeavoured to examine the curious +Iguvian tables, on which Aufrecht, Eircher, and Newman have bestowed +such pains. These are, I believe, the only tables extant which give +directions to the old Umbrian, or any other ancient priests, how to +conduct public sacrifices and the ensuing feasts. In them there are +directions for invocations, but no formula for prayers, unless one can +call invocations by that name. I fancy, that in some parts of the +tables there are words which may be rendered "speak," or "mutter," or +"meditate," or "pray silently." + +The fact that a Hebrew historian has composed a prayer, and put it into +the mouth of King Solomon, rather than into that of a high priest, shows +that supplication for the people was not a strictly sacerdotal duty. +Even now, with all our liberality of thought, we take our prayers from +the Archbishops, and not from the crown. + +But what we have said points to another important consideration, viz., +how far our Authorized Version can be trusted as a foundation upon which +to build a theory respecting the use of prayer, when we find that the +words given in English do not correspond with the words in the original +Hebrew. + +We have noticed in the text that both John and Jesus taught their +disciples to pray; we may now call attention to the idea which the +latter had of "prayer." In a parable, which was evidently intended to +represent what was common enough in his day, he says, "Two men went up +into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican; +the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself--God, I thank Thee that +I am not as other men are," &c (Luke xviii. 10-13). Surely one cannot +call a boastful enumeration of one's virtues either "supplication," +"prayer," or "entreaty;" but we understand readily that what we should +call "meditation" was once included under the name "prayer." This +anecdote unquestionably seems to prove that there was nothing like +public prayer in the temple ritual. The idea of the Ancients was to +obtain what they wanted by costly sacrifice; the idea of the Moderns is +to obtain their desires by the expenditure of words only. We know that +Pagans used long litanies, and that Christians do so too. In Jezebel's +time "0 Baal, hear us" resounded on Mount Carmel in sonorous monotony. +We have replaced that heathen chant by another, and our cathedrals +reverberate constantly with the musical rogation, "We beseech Thee to +hear us, good Lord," uttered more than a score of times. Our orthodoxy +consists in our using English instead Phoenician words, and in calling +Baal by a word more familiar to us; and as the highest commendation +which we can give to others is to imitate them, so we praise the Ancient +heathen highly, who thought that they would be heard from their "much +speaking." It is ever easier to change our words than our practice. Like +the Pharisee, Christians boast that they are not as other men are; but +by their proceedings they show that they are like the Jews, of whose +paternity Jesus had not an exalted opinion. (See John viii. 44). + +In further illustration of the absence of a set form of prayer in the +temple worship in Jerusalem, and of the independence of all devout +solicitors of priestly aid, I may point to Matthew vi. 5 to 8, wherein +we find that hypocrites offered their supplications, not only in the +temple, but at the corners of the streets. It is just possible that in +the former locality there might have been some public worship going on, +in which the saintly could join, but certainly there was no such ritual +at street corners. But if there had really been divine service in the +temple, it follows that those who joined in it would not have been +conspicuous, or deserving the name of hypocrites. The fault of these +which is mentioned by Jesus is ostentatious public prayer, i.e.9 the +doing of that which had not been prescribed by Moses. + +As I have, in a preceding volume, spoken at some length concerning the +morals and manners of ancient races, and shown how, as a rule, their +conduct has been the same as that of modern Christians, and as, +moreover, the subject has been treated of in an essay by Lecky (_History +of European Morals_), I will not pursue this part of my subject further +than to remark, that we have scarcely two articles of faith--if, indeed +we have more than one--i.e., respect for one day in seven--which we have +not received, directly or indirectly, from Pagans. Even our Christianity +is but a modified Buddhism, as I shall endeavour, in my next chapter, to +show. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Christianity and Buddhism. The new and old world. An + impartial judge is said to be a partisan. Works on the + subject. Sakya Muni's birth, B.c. 620 (about), position in + life, original views. Parallels between Brahmin-ism, + Buddhism, Hebraism, and Christianity. History of Sakya Muni + --that of Jesus corresponds with it marvellously. Sakya + receives a commission from an angel--is henceforth a + saviour. History of Jesus follows that of Sakya. Siddartha + neither dictated nor wrote. A favourite garden. Sakya and + the Brahmins. Buddha and Christ equally persecuted. Spread + of Buddhism after Siddartha's death. Asoka a royal convert + Buddhist missionaries, b.c. 307. Their wonderful successes. + Different development of Buddhism and Christianity. + Persecution a Christian practice, Buddha tempted by the + Devil, and by women, like St Anthony. Buddha's life reduced + to writing, at least B.c. 90. Hardy on Buddhist miracles. + His remarks criticised. Necessity for miracles is doubtful. + Sakya and a future life. Resurrection from the dead. Jesus + not the first fruits of them that slept. Paul's argument + worthless. Buddhists in advance of Christians. Priestcraft + at time of Buddha and Jesus. Both did away with ceremonial. + Sakya's doctrine--compared with Christian teaching. Another + parallel between Buddha and Jesus. Commandments of Tathagata + (Buddha), or the Great Sramana. Rules for his saintly + friends--for outsiders. Definition of terms. The Sra-mana's + opinion of miracles--a comparison. The history of Jesus told + without miracles. Buddhistic confession--remarks on in + modern times. Filial respect. Public confession, murder + absolved thereby. Asoka, about B.c. 263, sent out + missionaries. Objections made against Buddhism. Ideas + respecting God. Salvation. Buddha and Jesus. Nirvana. Heaven + and Hell--Christian ideas. Apocalypse. The heaven of John + and Mahomet compared with that of Buddha. Prayer not a + Buddhist institution--nor originally a Christian one. Nature + of prayer. The developments of Buddhism, particulars-- + comparison between the Eastern ancient and Western modern + practice. Abbe Hue. No sexual element in Buddhism and + Christianity at first--it has crept into both in later + times. Inquiry into the probable introduction of Buddhism + into the West. Asceticism peculiar to Buddhism and + Christianity. The Essenes, their faith and practice-- + resemblance to Buddhism. John and Jesus probably Essenes. + If Jesus was inspired, so was Siddartha. Differences + between Sakya and Jesus. Jesus 'believed in an immediate + destruction of the world. Idea of preexistence in Jesus and + Sakya adopted by their followers. The basis of the two + faiths is morality--but an unsound one. Nature of the + unsoundness. Morality has a reference to a life on earth + only. The decalogue superfluous. Ideas of future rewards and + punishments. Dives and Lazarus. The world can exist without + a knowledge of a future life. God thought so when He taught + the Jews. Dogma versus morality. See how these Christians + live! There are a few good men amongst Christians. + Supplementary remarks. + +From the Peruvian and Aztec religious systems in what we designate the +New World, a phrase which involves the idea that its existence was for +ages wholly unknown to the historians of the Eastern Hemisphere, we turn +to another form of faith, which demands even greater attention. Buddhism +has, probably, done more to influence the minds of men in Asia than +any other religion in any part of the globe, and its history is so +remarkable, that it deserves the attention of every philosophical +student of mankind. To the Christian it ought to be especially +interesting, inasmuch as there is strong reason to believe that the +faith current amongst ourselves is to be traced to the teaching of +Sakya Muni, whose original name, we may notice, in passing, was no more +"Buddha" than "Christ" was the cognomen of the son of Mary. + +An ingenious author on one occasion wrote a charming essay "upon the +art of putting things," and I cannot read any treatise upon Buddhism, +written by a Christian, without thinking how completely "the advocate" +is to be seen throughout them all Ecclesiastical writers, who are +Protestant preachers, endeavour laboriously to prove that the teaching +of Sakya Muni could not have been inspired, and was certainly false; +whilst other writers, who have no particular leaning towards Jesus, +extol the author of Buddhism beyond that of Christianity. Truly, in such +a matter it is extremely difficult not to appear as a partisan, however +carefully the scales may be held. The very fact of endeavouring "to see +ourselves as others see us" involves the necessity of "putting things" +in a different light to that which is most common or familiar to us. A +bumptious Briton thinks more of his own Islands than a Yankee thinks of +them, and one who endeavours to describe "the wheel of the law" as an +astute Buddhist would do, and who, at the same time, compares it with +the teachings of the son of Mary, must seem to those who, without +knowing its nature, despise the former, and yet implicitly believe in +the latter, to be a partisan. Acting upon this belief, we shall not +scruple to appear as an advocate, for we believe that "an opposition" +is as good in religion as in politics, and that it behoves us all to +examine every important question in all its bearings. + +In the following essay I shall not attempt to go into every detail about +the life of Sakya Muni, for to do so would weary the reader. Anyone +who wishes for such information may be referred to _Le Bouddha et sa +Religion_, par J. Barthelemy Saint Hilaire, Paris, 1860, a book which +may be fairly designated as exhaustive. The English reader may also +consult _The Legends and Theories of the Buddhists_, by Rev. R. Spence +Hardy, London, 1866, which, though very prejudiced, is extremely +suggestive. Hardy's _Eastern Monachism_ and _Manual of Buddhists_ are +about the same. _The Mahawanso_ translated by Tumour, is also a very +valuable work of reference. + +There appears to be little doubt that Sakya Muni was born about 622 +years before our era, and that he died when about eighty years of age, +i.e.f B.C. 542. He was thus a contemporary of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and +other Jewish prophets. Though of royal birth, and of the warrior or +kingly caste, he does not appear to have been instructed in general +history, if, indeed, any such was in existence in Hindostan at that or +any other period; and we cannot find a tittle of evidence that he +ever heard of any other religion than Brahminism, the dominant faith, +apparently, of the Aryan invaders of India. In that he was taught +assiduously, and some of its tenets he most firmly believed. Amongst +others, he held that men lived in a future world, in which each one was +rewarded or punished according to his doings when in a human form. His +teaching was founded upon the belief which the Brahmins inculcated, +that all men endure misery in this world for their conduct in a previous +state of existence, and that they would once again suffer after death, +unless they conducted themselves, in this life, in a manner pleasing +to the Almighty. In this creed is clearly involved, if not distinctly +enunciated, a full acknowledgment of the existence and power of God, of +the certainty of a future life, and a desire to escape from penalties +to be inflicted therein by a supreme celestial Judge, for immorality or +impropriety committed in the present state. For these points of doctrine +Sakya did not contend, he merely laid down a different system to the +Brahmins as to the method by which salvation was to be attained, and the +penal consequences of a sinful life were to be avoided. + +We may now, halting here for a moment, examine these matters for +ourselves, and inquire in what way such faith differs from our own. +The Brahmin taught that man suffers pain, misery, and death for certain +crimes committed in a previous state of existence; the Christian teaches +that each one suffers for a fault committed by ancestors who lived +thousands of years ago. Neither the one nor the other regard pain, +sorrow, suffering, and death as the normal accompaniments of life, but +both attribute them to the wrath of an offended deity, who can be, in +some way, cheated, cajoled, appeased, or propitiated. Both assert that +men are debtors to God, and that miseries are "duns" used to make men +pay their obligations to heaven. The Brahmin taught that this could be +effected by prayer, sacrifice, and sundry ceremonies to be performed +by some man who had been specially appointed for the purpose. A due +attention to morality was also inculcated, but it was apparently +considered as of less importance than ritualistic observances. + +The Jew, whom so many amongst us believe to have been especially taught +by God, propounded a belief essentially similar to that of the Brahmin, +with the single exception that he had no faith in a future existence, +but thought that sacrifice and offerings, through a priesthood, were +necessary to obtain comfort in this life. + +The Christian teaches that the horrors of eternity can only be escaped +by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts xvi. 30, 31), and by being +moral in addition. + +The "belief" here referred to is somewhat amplified in other parts of +the Bible, and notably in John iii. 15-17, 36; vi. 39, 40; ix. 35; xi. +15; and Acts viii. 37; from which we learn that an item in the faith was +a firm hold upon the idea that Jesus was the son, the only begotten son, +of God. This dogma is still further extended in the "Apostles' Creed," +wherein the Christians express, as articles of faith, their belief, that +Jesus Christ was the only son of God, conceived by the Holy Ghost, and +born of the Virgin Mary, &c. This tenet is somewhat varied in the Nicene +Creed, which expresses the Christian belief to be, that the Lord Jesus +Christ is the only begotten son of God--begotten of his Father before +all worlds--being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things +were made, &c. + +The fundamental teaching of Sakya was, that man can only escape the +tortures of the damned, by a strict propriety of conduct in this +world, and a persistent endeavour to renounce and think nothing of the +gratifications which make life pleasant. The modern Buddhist adds to +this a belief in the absolute divinity of the founder of his faith, not +simply that he was a son of God, but a visible embodiment of a portion +of the Creative Unity. Brahmins and Buddhists believe in transmigration +of souls: the Christian does the like, only, instead of being converted +into a beast, he imagines that he will become either an angel or a +devil. + +Within certain limits, we may, therefore, say that the Brahminic, the +Jewish, the Buddhist, and the Christian religions are essentially +alike, differing only upon minor points, such as the absolute value of +morality, of ceremonial, of doctrine, of asceticism, the nature of a +hypothetical antecedent, and an equally uncertain future existence, and +the best means of escaping the penalties attached, in the second state, +to impropriety of conduct in the first. If we deride the Brahmin +and the Buddhist for the faith which they entertain, our laugh must +necessarily recoil on ourselves, for we have no more unequivocal grounds +for our belief than they have for theirs. We point in vain to what we +call "Revelation," for they can do the same, and if priority in such +matters is good for anything, the Brahminic must take precedence of the +Jewish, and the Buddhist of the Christian code. Nor can we call miracles +to our exclusive aid, for the religious books of the Hindoo are as full +of them as are those of the Jew and Christian, and the stories told +in the one can be readily paralleled in impossibility, incapacity, +frivolity, and absurdity by the others. + +We must remember, then, when speaking of the teaching of Sakya, that it +was constructed upon the supposed fundamental truths of Brahminism, just +as the doctrines of Jesus were built upon those of Judaism. By adopting +these, respectively, the two preachers have demonstrated their belief in +them, but neither the one nor the other have advanced our knowledge +as to the reality of the earliest faith, nor demonstrated the truth of +their subsequent assumptions. + +If we now endeavour, for the sake of comparison, to place the Eastern +and the Western points of belief in parallel columns, we shall be better +able to see the points of resemblance and of difference than by any +other plan. + +[Illustration: 114] + +[Illustration: 115] + +These are only a few of the leading points of resemblance and +difference, and might be almost indefinitely multiplied. + +After this preface, we may proceed to notice that Siddartha--another +name for Buddha--was of royal birth, and born in wedlock: his mother was +called Maya Devi, and was herself the daughter of a king. His father was +of the warrior caste, and, according to ancient usage, Sakya, like Jesus +some centuries later, was presented in the temple of the God of his +parents, and recognized by a Brahmin, whom we may designate as a +predecessor, by some hundreds of years, of the Jewish Simeon (Luke ii +25, seq.)f as having the marks of a great man upon him. As Sakya grew up +to man's estate he was found to be peculiarly clever, and soon distanced +his masters, as Jesus was and did, when, at twelve years, he went into +the temple and astonished the doctors. He was always thoughtful, and +frequently remained alone. Once he wandered into a forest, (compare +Matthew iv. 1-11), in which he was found lost in thought. When obliged +to exhibit his talents, Siddartha was found to have every conceivable +excellence, bodily and mental He was, by parental desire, married to a +paragon of a wife, who showed her good sense by rejecting the use of a +veil. In this Sakya differs from Mary's son, who never married, being, +most probably, of the tribe of the Essenes. In later life Siddartha +discouraged wedlock and every form of love. But, during all his outward +happiness; Siddartha's thoughts ran upon the misery which he saw on +every side to be common in the world, and he entertained a hope that +he would be able to show man the road to a happy immortality. In these +ideas the teacher was encouraged by a god, who appeared to him by night, +and told him that the appointed time for the deliverer had come. This +comforter also recommended him to leave his wife, his wealth, his +father's house, and give up all he had, so as to be able to seek, +unencumbered, the way of salvation. Compare here the passage, Mark x. +20-30, wherein Jesus gives the same kind of advice as the angel gave +to Sakya Muni. Having become satisfied of his mission from God, he +resolutely abandoned everything, and, being really a scion of royalty, +he had much to renounce. Siddartha thus became a mendicant, dependent +upon others for food and raiment, and resembled that son of Mary, of +whom we read that he had not a residence wherein to lay his head (Matt. +viii. 20; Luke ix. 58). He was about twenty-nine years of age when he +thus became poor for the sake of mankind. Compare what is said of +Jesus, Luke iii. 23. Though Siddartha was opposed to the Brahmins, he +nevertheless studied their doctrines, as Mary's son did that of the +Hebrew theologians, thoroughly, under one of the wisest of them, for +many years. Then, leaving this teacher, he went about preaching and +doing good. So much were men impressed with his beauty, his piety, and +his doctrines, that they flocked in crowds to see him, and he taught +them whilst sitting on the brow of Mount Pandava--even kings came to +hear him. Compare here what is said of the Nazarene, Matt. iv. 23 to +Matt. viii. 1. Sakya was persecuted for a long time by a relative, who +ultimately became one of his most ardent disciples. Compare Matt. xvi. +22 and John xxi. 15, et seq. Siddartha's austerities and mortifications +of himself, in every conceivable way, were excessive during the next six +years, and these have been represented as a combat with the Devil, whose +kingdom he destroyed. At the end of this probation, Sakya Muni, finding +fasting and pain not profitable for eternal salvation, resumed the +ordinary human habits of eating, &c. This disgusted many of his +disciples, and "they walked no more with him." He was partly supported +by a slave woman, and was content to clothe himself with vestments taken +from the dead. Finally, this wonderful son of Maya heard within him a +voice, which told him that he was divine, the saviour of the world, and +the incarnation of the wisdom of God--Buddha, "the word" itself. Compare +John i. 1, et seq. This was confirmed by a miracle, and thus, at the +age of thirty-six, and at the foot of a fig tree, Sakya Muni received +a divine commission, "and the word was made flesh." But, though thus +divinely inspired, the saviour doubted his power to convert mankind, and +at the first he only preached his new doctrines to a few. Even in this +respect it is marvellous to see how closely the Christian story of Jesus +follows that of his predecessor Siddartha. Some opposed Sakya, but these +were soon converted by his majesty, and the glory with which he spake +the words--"Yes," he said, "I have come to see clearly both immortality +and the way to attain it; I am Buddha--I know all--I see all--I have +blotted out my faults, and am above all law." Recognizing in Siddartha +the teacher of mankind, the common people heard him gladly, and gave +him homage, and he, in return, taught them his full doctrine. The Indian +saviour then proceeded to the holy city, Benares, and taught there. +But though he spoke much, he neither dictated nor wrote--like Jesus, +subsequently, he made no provision by which his doctrines might be +perpetuated. From Benares he went to other places, some of which were +especially dear to him, and thus became sacred. In like manner Bethany +was sanctified by Jesus. Amongst others was a garden, given to him, +with a mansion, by a wealthy disciple, which a lively fancy might call a +Hindoo Gethsemane. In this garden Buddha made many disciples, and in +it the first council of his followers was held after his death. Another +favourite retreat was a plantation of mango trees, and this, like every +other spot that Siddartha is known to have visited, has been adorned by +the faithful with ornamental architecture in commemoration of him. + +As may be supposed, Sakya, when he assailed the Brahmins, was in turn +opposed by them with persevering malevolence; the former was outspoken +and said what he thought of the priests--he called them hypocrites, +cheats, impostors, and the like--and they were apparently conscious that +they deserved such titles. + +Here, again, we notice a singular parallel between the Hindoo saviour +and the Jewish one, who followed him after a long interval. Not that +there is anything wonderful in the founder of a new faith reviling the +ministers of one more ancient--nor in the priests of an established +church endeavouring to suppress, by punishments, the professors who +interfere with their repose. We know how the Christian fathers abused +and lampooned the faith of those whose practices they detested--how +Luther and his followers lashed the vices of the Papists, and how these +in their turn burned the new preachers--when they had a chance; how the +Nonconformists censured the Establishment, and how the Episcopal Church +has harried Independents and Presbyterians. But it is strange to +find both Sakya and Jesus inaugurating a religion of peace by fierce +invectives. We have not particulars respecting the choice of language +made use of by the Indian, but we can scarcely imagine that it could be +more to the purpose than the vituperation employed by the Hebrew. Jesus +says,--"Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is +made ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves,"--"Ye +are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, +but are within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness" (Matt, +xxiii. 15-27). One cannot wonder that the Brahmins and the Pharisees, +who were objurgated as hypocrites, should retort upon their accusers, +prosecute the one and crucify the other. + +As Sakya's influence increased, the power of the old priesthood +diminished, and there are accounts of many contests between the old +dispensers of Brahma's religion and the new saviour, which were held +before kings and people. In consequence of these disputes Buddha's life +was repeatedly in danger. But though often threatened, Siddartha died +peacefully when about eighty years old, beloved by many, respected by +more, worshipped as a divinity by his immediate disciples and intimate +friends, and venerated by all who had listened to his discourses. + +There are a great many legends existent, and of very respectable +antiquity too, which tell of miracles performed by this very remarkable +Indian teacher; but the judicious historian, upon whose authority I am +at present relying (St. Hilaire), does not intermingle these with the +narrative of Siddartha's life. In this respect he shows greater judgment +than the scribes who first compiled the stories of Buddha and of Jesus, +both of whom conceived that human beings could not be converted to a new +style of belief without thaumaturgy. + +The account of Sakya Muni and his religion would be incomplete did we +not add that he left behind him enthusiastic disciples who were eager +and successful in spreading his views. But many years, how many we do +not know with absolute certainty, elapsed ere any account was written +either of his life or of his teaching. Nor ought we to wonder at this, +for until time has been given to mankind, it cannot fairly estimate the +value of anything new; and when men do at length form, what they believe +to be, a perfect judgment of the importance of the doctrine which has +become deeply rooted, they are more eager to promulgate it in the world +than to record it by writing in the closet. + +The new religion certainly spread extensively all over the vast +continent of Hindustan, and in the course of about three hundred years, +found an enthusiastic and powerful convert in the person of a king +called Asoka, who was reigning when the third convocation of Buddhists +was called, b.c. 307. This ruler was imbued with a missionary spirit, +and under his influence, preachers full of energy went not only +throughout India, but into China, Japan, Ceylon, and apparently into +every country to which ships, caravans, and the flow of commerce gave +them access, including Persia, Babylonia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and +the very populous and important emporium Alexandria. We may judge of the +fanaticism of these religious envoys by their success, and we may, as +is often done by Christian missionaries, test the real value of their +doctrine by its endurance, and its adaptability to the religious +wants of the human animal. If missionary success is a test of truth in +religion, Buddhism must be superior to Christianity. Buddah--for his +name is spelled variously--has more followers, according to competent +authorities, than Jesus, and if the depth and earnestness shown by the +converts to the two men could be weighed in impartial scales, we believe +that the preponderance would be in favour of the followers of the Indian +saviour. + +We readily allow that Buddhism has not developed in many matters like +Christianity has done. The Buddhism of to-day does not essentially +differ from that in the early ages of the faith; the followers of +Siddartha have not adopted the doctrines of the nations amongst which +they have settled. The Christianity of to-day, on the other hand, is so +widely different from that current in the first century of our era, that +it has been remarked, with great pungency, that if Jesus revisited us +now, he would be denounced as a heretic, and abused as a nonconformist. +His followers soon introduced politics into religion, and adopted the +fables and the doctrines of the Pagans amongst whom they dwelt, merely +changing certain names, and ascribing virtues and miracles to saints, +which the heathen attributed to Apollo, Mars, or Venus. Jesus, though a +Jew, never sacrificed, nor did his apostles, but his followers thought +prudent to filch the practice from the heathen; and, to smooth their +difficulty, they profess to turn bread and wine into flesh and blood, +and offer it up as an oblation upon their ecclesiastical altar. Jesus +knew nothing of purgatory; with him the rich man went direct to hell, +and Lazarus to Abraham's bosom. Modern Christians are wiser than their +teacher; for he disdained the learning of Egypt, his followers took +their purgatory and trinity therefrom. All this shows, that the faith +of Christians in their teacher has not been equal to the unbounded trust +felt by the Buddhist in his master's wisdom. Buddhism, moreover, has +neither taught nor sanctioned any system of persecution. Sakya, it is +true, encouraged men to make themselves miserable upon earth that they +might attain future immunity from woe, but he never ordered them to use +the sword or dragonnades to force other people to do so. The followers +of Jesus, on the other hand, have but too often founded their claim to +a happy immortality on making other men, whom they called heretics, +miserable, as during the period of the crusades against the Saracens, +the Albigenses, the Lollards, and the Waldenses. The Christians in many +ages seemed to argue thus:--As the painful death of Mary's son saved the +world, so I, by torturing a heretic, may save myself. This is an idea +of vicarious atonement which, though prevalent for centuries, has never +been committed to writing by those who hold it. We do not mean to allege +that the opinion referred to cannot be found in history, for it is from +such a source that our assertion comes. A belief, such as we refer to, +was promulgated amongst the Crusaders, and was fostered by the founders +of the Inquisition. Such an idea, too, is embodied in the word--"The +time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God +service" (John xvi. 2). + +We may, however, trace the idea of persecution in the early Christian +Scriptures. Paul, for example, when writing to the Corinthians (1 +Epistle v. 3-5) gives such encouragement as he can to those who punish +an erring brother Christian, by delivering him over to Satan for the +destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the +Lord Jesus, and in (1st Tim. i. 20), the same author declares,--"I have +delivered Hymenseus and Alexander unto Satan that they may learn not to +blaspheme." The idea being, that by thus acting, both the Corinthians +and Paul were improving their own ecclesiastical condition. + +As I may not have another available opportunity for introducing one or +two striking parallels between Sakya Muni and Jesus, I may mention +here that the former is represented as being tempted by and having +conversation with an evil spirit called Mara, Evil one, Destroyer, +Devil, or Papiyan. In one of these confabulations Buddah says,--"I will +soon triumph over you--'desires' are your chief soldiers, then come +idleness, hunger and thirst, passions, sleepy indolence, fears, doubts, +angers, hypocrisy, ambition, the desire to be respected, and to have +renown, praise of yourself and blame for others--these are your black +allies, the soldiers of the burning demon. Your soldiers subjugate gods +and men, but not me, I shall crush them by wisdom, then what will you +do?" (Hilaire, p. 61). The sage is then, not unlike the so-called St. +Anthony, tempted by lovely woman, thirty-two lovely demons (Apsaras) +deploying all their charms. Then follows a third trial, and Mara says +to Siddartha,--"I am the lord of desire, I am the master of the entire +world, the gods, the crowd of Davanas (spirits), men and beasts have +been subjugated by me and are in my power. Like them enter my domains, +rise up and speak like them." Buddha replied,--"If you are the lord of +desire you are not the lord of light. Look at me, I am the lord of the +law, you are powerless, and in your very sight I shall obtain supreme +intelligence," (p. 64, op. cit.). The demon makes one more effort, and +is again conquered, and then retires, tracing with an arrow these words +upon the ground--"My empire has passed away." It may be imagined that +the French author whom I quote is a partisan of the Indian sage; far +from it, he records such tales with regret, for he sees how strong an +influence they must have upon the perfect or imperfect authenticity +of the New Testament and the story of Jesus. The similarity of the two +histories is heightened by the legend before noticed, that Buddha went +to Heaven to convert his mother, whilst Jesus is said to have gone down +to Hades to preach to the spirits in prison, with the implied intention +of converting them to the faith which he preached. + +It will doubtless have occurred to anyone reading the preceding pages, +if he be but familiar with the New Testament, that either the Christian +histories called Gospels have been largely influenced by Buddhist's +legends, or that the story of Siddartha has been moulded upon that +of Jesus. The subject is one which demands and deserves the greatest +attention, for if our religion be traceable to Buddhism, as the later +Jewish faith is to the doctrines of Babylonians, Medes, and Persians, +we must modify materially our notions of "inspiration" and "revelation." +Into this inquiry St. Hilaire goes as far as documentary evidence allows +him, and Hardy in _Legends and Theories of the Buddhists_ also enters +upon it in an almost impartial manner. From their conclusions there can +be no reasonable doubt that the story of the life of Sakya Muni, such as +we have described it, certainly existed in writing ninety years before +the birth of Jesus; consequently, if the one life seems to be a copy of +the other, the gospel writers must be regarded as the plagiarists. + +In the story of Buddha, we have eliminated the miraculous part, and +exhibited him simply as a remarkable man. Nevertheless, in the writings +of his followers, miracles in abundance are assigned to him. Whether +these existed in the original history Hardy doubts, and his remarks +are so apposite that we reproduce them (op. cit. p. xxviii). "Upon +the circumstances of this first rehearsal (of the life and doctrine of +Siddartha), most important consequences depend. If the miracles ascribed +to Buddha can be proved to have been recorded of him at the time of his +death, this would go far towards proving that the authority to which +he laid claim was his rightful prerogative. They were of too public +character to have been ascribed to him then if they had not taken place; +so that if it was openly declared by his contemporaries, by those who +had lived with him in the same monastery, that he had been repeatedly +visited by Sekra and other Deivas; and that he had walked through the +air and visited the heavenly world in the presence of many thousands, +and those the very persons whom they addressed, we ought to render to +him the homage awarded to him by even his most devoted followers. But +the legend of the early rehearsal has nothing to support it beyond +the assertion of authors who lived at a period long subsequent. The +testimony of contemporaneous history presents no record of any event +that quadrates with the wonderful powers attributed to the 'rahals,' +which would undoubtedly not have been wanting if these events had really +taken place." + +The reader of this extract will now naturally turn his attention to the +Christian gospels, and inquire into the time when they were written, and +whether the arguments used by Hardy, for disbelieving the miracles +of Buddha, do not equally disprove the authenticity of the miracles +attributed to Jesus. We can find nowhere, in contemporary history--and +there is an adequate account thereof, both Jewish and Roman--any records +of the wonders said to have been done in Judea by the son of Mary. +Though he was noticed by a certain writer in the Talmud, under the name +of Ben Panther, that book contains no account of the marvellous works +recorded in the gospels, nor any reference to his miraculous power. The +Romans who dwelt in Jerusalem knew nothing of any real miracle, though +Herod is reported to have noticed some gossiping accounts of John's +successor. We do not find a single reference to any of the wonderful +events told in the gospels in any epistle written by those who +"companied with Jesus"--except the assertion that he had risen from the +dead, to be found in 1 Corinthians xv. and elsewhere--whose value is +problematical Still farther, we have tolerably good evidence to show +that the Gospels were written at a time when they could not be tested +by those people in whose presence the wonders were said to have been +wrought. The narrative of John, for example, is, by scholars, supposed +to have been written more than a century, probably one hundred and fifty +years, after the crucifixion, and the others seem to have been composed +for the benefit of those who did not live in, or know Jerusalem and +Judea intimately. They resemble, in almost every respect, the stories +told of such Roman saints as Francis of Assisi, Bernard, Carlo Borromeo, +and Ignatius Loyola, which were always composed long after the death, +and out of the presence of every one of those who could deny or +controvert them. However much, or little, we may credit the biographies +of Buddha and Jesus, we cannot for a moment doubt, that the two +individuals were instrumental in founding forms of religion, which, +by the aid of missionaries, spread over a vast extent of the habitable +globe. Unlike that of Mahomet, the faiths referred to were promulgated +by peaceful persuasion rather than by the sword, and by the power +of eloquence, example, and precept, rather than by the influence of +miracles. If, for the sake of argument, we grant that every specimen +of thaumaturgy which his followers attribute to Jesus is correctly +reported, we must allow also that his power of making converts by +teaching, preaching, and wonder working, was inferior to that of his +followers, who taught, preached, and proselytized without performing +many, if any miracles. If we assert that miraculous powers are necessary +for the establishment and propagation of a new religion, then we must, +to be consistent with ourselves, believe in the thaumaturgy of the +Buddhists, and the divine mission of Sakya Muni. If, on the other hand, +we deny that Siddartha was an incarnate god or saviour, was not divinely +inspired, and performed no real miracle, then it is clear that the +miracles, which Jesus is said to have achieved, were wholly unnecessary, +and not required in any way to upset an old religion, to found a new, or +to spread it when established. + +The philosopher may pause here, with profit to himself, and inquire +whether there is, or there are, any new form or forms of religion which +has or have sprung up within his own observation, and if so, whether +it or they has or have been based upon thaumaturgy--and, if one or more +have been so founded, whether one shows evidence of stability. + +Few can deny that Mormonism is a form of belief which has a considerable +number of adherents, a body of earnest missionaries, and a laity whose +faith and practice have been sorely tested by hardship. Yet there has +not been a single miracle performed by its prophets. It is reported +that its founder announced that he would perform one in the sight of +all Israel and of the sun, but when the time came he said, that if the +spectators believed that he could do what was promised, that was quite +enough! + +Spiritualism, on the other hand, is a new sort of theosophy, ostensibly +founded and supported wholly by thaumaturgy; its disciples have induced +themselves to believe, against their original ideas, that we are not +only surrounded by the spirits of the departed, but that these can be +brought into connection with us by means of certain individuals, called +mediators or mediums--that these have such power, over the invisible +beings hovering in the air, that the souls of the dead may be made to +shake the tables of the living, and lift up their sofas to the ceiling. +The miracles are believed in by many, but Spiritualism lags far behind +the Mormon theology, and probably always will do. + +We may regard this part of our subject in yet another light. Let us, +for example, suppose that the Buddhists and the Christians succeed in +persuading each other of the incorrectness of the miraculous element +in their respective books, does it therefore follow, that any essential +part of the creed of either one or other must be altered? The doctrines +of Siddartha would not be valueless even if his followers disbelieved +in his power to fly as a bird, or cross a river on the surface of the +water--nor would those of Mary's son be proved to be worthless if it +were certain that he never marched over a billowy sea, and that he was +not really killed by crucifixion. The disciples of Sakya Muni believed +in a resurrection of the dead, without having had the advantage of +a real or imaginary reappearance of their master after his supposed +decease. The Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans, had all an Elysium to which +the good folk went. The Red Indian believes in a future life and happy +hunting grounds (so we are told), although he has never heard of Judea. +The rude Northmen and Danes had also their Valhalla to go to after +death, long ere they were Christians. Still farther, it is to be +noticed, by the close observer, that the Jews at the time of Jesus, and +some of the Greeks about the same period, were divided in their opinions +respecting the existence of men in a future state. The Sadducees, +holding fast to the books of Moses and the Prophets, denied the +existence of a resurrection, of angels or of spirits. The Pharisees, +on the other hand, influenced apparently by Babylonian and Persian +theology, had faith in all three. That this belief in a future life was +not commonly held by the poor folk in Judea, we infer from Mark ix. 10, +wherein we are told that Peter, James, and John were "questioning +with one another what the rising from the dead should mean." That the +Athenians were equally careless about what is now called "heaven and +hell," we judge from Acts xvii. 18, wherein we are told that Paul's +preaching about "Jesus and the resurrection" was a strange affair, and +from the thirty-second verse of the same chapter, wherein it is said +that the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus was received with +derision. + +I am quite aware that it may be objected to these remarks that the doubt +about the rising from the dead does not point to a general resurrection, +but simply to the return to life of one particular individual. This, +however, only removes the difficulty to a short distance, for Greek +story tells us of the annual return of Proserpine from the realms +of Pluto to the light of day, and Adonis was yearly resuscitated, in +mythical narrative. For the Hebrew, the rising from the dead ought not +to be a wonderful matter. Was it not told in their Scriptures how, when +certain persons were burying a man, the bearers in a fright threw the +corpse into the sepulchre of Elijah, whose bones had such efficacy that +they revived the dead man, who stood on his feet (2 Kings xiii. 21). We +find also, from Mark vi. 16, Luke ix. 9, that Herod had a full belief in +the power of John to rise again from the death to which that monarch had +consigned him. The sceptic may doubt the ability of the two evangelists +to read what was passing through the royal mind when Jesus and his works +were brought before its notice, but he cannot doubt that the writer was +aware that in Herod's time there was a belief in the resurrection of +individuals. Indeed, we find in the verse following that which tells +of the Apostle's bewilderment, Mark ix. 11, a question, "why say the +scribes that Elias must first come?" To which the reply is that the +prophet has come. We are constrained, therefore, to believe that +Jesus was not the first who rose from the dead; nay, even he himself +commissioned his disciples to "cleanse the lepers, and raise the dead" +(Matth. x. 8). What, then, is the value of the arguments that Paul +builds upon the assertion that Christ is "the first fruits of them that +slept." + +This being so, we may fairly ask, whence did Mary's son derive the ideas +which he promulgated of a resurrection, and of salvation, and why had +a sophistical writer like Paul to adopt the clumsy contrivance of +asserting that Jesus not only had risen, but that he was the first +individual who had done so, to demonstrate that the dead really did +return again to life? Paul's argument, indeed, shows how little he +knew or had thought upon the subject, for he distinctly preaches a +resurrection of the body, not of the soul, a belief adopted into the +Apostles' creed. Yet, at the very period when the minds of Christians +were thus unformed, the disciples of Buddha, to a man, believed in a +future "Nirvana," in which "there should be no more sorrow nor crying, +neither should there be any more pain, and where all earthly things +should have passed away" (see Rev. xxi. 4). We are not yet in the +position to prove that Mary's son and certain of his followers received +their inspiration from disciples of Siddartha, but there is certainly +a strong presumption in favour of the possibility, much evidence of its +probability, and nothing whatever to disprove it. To this, however, we +will return by and by. + +Ere we proceed to examine into the nature of the doctrines of Sakya Muni +and of Jesus, we may cast a glance over the condition of the men whom +they converted. In both instances, it is not too much to say that +they all were "priest-ridden" in the fullest meaning of the term. The +residents in Modern India and Papal Rome, until a short time ago, well +understood what the term signifies; day by day, and almost hour by hour, +there is, or was in these places, some ceremony to be attended, some +prayer to be uttered, some confession to be made, some contribution +to be given to monastery, church, or priest. Penances are, and were +inflicted of the most painful, sometimes of the most disgusting kind. +The last I heard of was in Wales, where a man was ordered to lie down +at the church door as a mat, upon which the faithful were to wipe their +feet. Both in India and Italy, men, women, and children alike are, or +were, taught to regard themselves as the servants, and even slaves of +the hierarchy, and their money is, or was, alienated from wives and +children to swell the coffers of spiritual tyrants. Perpetual terrors of +hell are sounded, until those hearers, whose hearts are impressionable, +are habitually haunted by imaginary horrors, each one of which has to be +bought off by a sort of hush-money paid to the priest, who has invented, +adopted, or described them. + +Such was the condition of England and France prior to the Reformation +and the Revolution. + +So long as men are debased by their guides, and allow themselves, +with the docility of a well-trained dog, to be ruled, and so long as +tyrannical flamens can wring an ever increasing tax from the people, +there is probably nothing more in the breast of each than a vague +feeling of dislike, or regret, at the existence of such things, which +rarely receives utterance for fear of punishment. But as soon as a +man, more bold than his neighbours, raises a standard of revolt, whose +success appears to be secure, the bulk of the oppressed first sympathize +with, yet fear to join him, then, after watching eagerly the course of +events, and admiring the boldness of men more resolute than themselves, +they timidly make common cause with the reformer, and, if circumstances +favour them, they become enthusiastic. As the news of the mental revolt +swells, the people, tired of oppression, rise in their might and sweep +away the hierarchy, or compel it to abandon its pretensions. Buddha and +Christ were such leaders as we here describe, and such was the course +gone through by their followers. The timid Peter denying Jesus, and yet +afterwards boldly preaching him up, is an example almost too well known +to be quoted. + +We are now in a position to inquire into the nature of Siddartha's +teaching. + +Premising that his doctrines were collected at least 200 years B. C., +the first which we notice is one that he not only inculcated by language +but enforced by his abiding example. He taught that the comforts and +pleasures of this life act as fetters, to chain man's spirit to earth; +that day by day they necessitate the cultivation of propensities +and passions more or less bestial in their nature; and that as these +strengthen, so the individual who possessed them would be born again, +after his death, to some form of misery and woe in which he would have +to atone for the human infirmities which he had not conquered. To escape +from the possibility of such an event, Sakya counselled his disciples +to wean themselves, as far as possible, from every sensual passion; to +mortify the body by fasting, so as to make it more readily separable +from the inner man; to renounce all comfort except that of doing good; +and believing in a state of perfect future salvation. + +A man, he taught, must abandon everything as valueless compared with the +attainment of salvation or _nirvana_; he must be wholly dependent upon +others for food and raiment; he must take no thought for the morrow, and +live like a bird or lily, laying up no store; for certainly a disciple +of Sakya ought not to undertake any trade or other means of gaining a +livelihood, lest it should ensnare his spirit and tie it down to the +grovelling things of earth. + +This was the rule for the very faithful, the infirm believers had a more +lenient code. + +If we now turn to the doctrine said to have been taught by Jesus and +his disciples, we shall find a close parallel between it and that of the +Indian teacher. For example, John says (1 Epis. ii. 15,16) "Love not +the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love +the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the +world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye, and the pride of +life, is not of the Father but is of the world." Paul says (Rom. xii. 2) +"Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing +of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and +perfect will of God." James also says (ch. iv. 4) "Know ye not that the +friendship of the world is enmity with God; whosoever, therefore, +will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." Again, we find in +Matthew xix., Mark x., and Luke xii., the story of a young man who was +possessed of wealth, probably scarcely less than that of Sakya Muni, +and whose life had been conscientiously conducted, according to the +commandments which he knew, and who having heard of Jesus, came to ask +him if there were a more certain way of salvation than the one he was +in. To him the reply is,--"If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that +thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, +and come and follow me." In the verses, moreover, which follow, there is +a remark from the same teacher to the effect, that "every one that hath +forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, +or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred +fold, and shall inherit everlasting life." + +Once again, we find an exact counterpart of Buddha's teaching in the +sermon on the Mount, which is recorded in Matth. vi. 25-34--"I say unto +you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall +drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more +than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air, for +they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your +heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?... Why +take ye thought for raiment, consider the lilies of the field... if God +so clothe the grass... shall he not much more clothe you? Therefore +take no thought, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or +wherewithal shall we be clothed?... Take therefore no thought for the +morrow... sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Other similar +passages might readily be given, but the above suffice to demonstrate +the Buddhistic teaching of the prophet of Nazareth. + +Both start from the idea that death, disease, pain, and misery is the +result of sin--and both imagine that sin consists in living and acting +upon the natural wants, necessities, and propensities of human kind. +Both imagine that to be natural is to be vile, and that salvation is to +be attained by resisting every impulse which is common to mankind Man +desires to eat when hungry--this is a weakness to be combated; a mother +loves her babe--this must not be tolerated; a youth covets a damsel in +marriage--this is a snare to draw both down to hell; celibacy must be +enforced. The argument runs thus,--If any one enjoys life he is sure to +fear death, and will certainly pay for his pleasures; but if any one has +the resolution to pass his years on earth in misery like that of hell, +he will be glad to die, and fearless of any place of torment; use has +bred a habit in him and no torture can come amiss. + +Some Christian author has ventured to assert "religion never was +designed to make our pleasures less," but he was a conspicuous heretic. +Buddha's doctrine was founded upon the assertion that life is always +short, and that it is not worth a man's while to buy a few years of +enjoyment with myriads of years of agony. Jesus preached that the Jews' +time was short, for they, and most probably all the world besides, were +to be burned up any day within the duration of the generation--what then +was the use of laying up stores of grain, of buying fine clothes, and +keeping wine to get mellow? + +Both preachers were equally short sighted and absurd in their teaching, +for if their disciples were to live upon alms, and all repented and +adopted the doctrine, it is clear that all would starve together, and +self immolation by hunger was repugnant to both prophets. If no one made +clothes all must go naked, and indecency was forbidden. If no one was +to lay up money, there would be no one to pay for work, yet toil was +considered to be a duty. If every one was to live from hand to mouth, +who would keep a calf until it became a heifer, or a lamb to become a +sheep? + +It is difficult to conceive that two individuals could have worked out +such a scheme of salvation independently, and the minuteness of the +resemblances induces me to believe that Jesus, possibly without knowing +it, first adopted and then promulgated in Judea the doctrines of the +Indian sage. + +Following, again, the lead of St. Hilaire (_Le Bouddha, &c_, 1860, pp. +81, et seq.), we find that Siddartha taught 600 years B. C., that death +and all the miseries of mankind were due to the passions, desires, and +sins of man; that all this misery would cease in Nirvana (of which we +shall speak by and by), and that the means to attain to this salvation +is to keep the true faith; to have a correct judgment; to be truthful in +all things, and to hold every false thing in abhorrence; always to act +and to think with a pure and honest mind; to adopt a religious life, +i.e., one that is in no respect worldly, not owing even subsistence +to anything which might be tainted with sin; to practise a careful +and earnest study of the law; to cultivate a good memory, so that all +mistakes in conduct may be remembered if they have occurred, and be +avoided in the future; and frequent meditation, i.e., an abstraction +of the mind from self consciousness, a thinking of nothing, so as +to approximate the soul to Nirvana. These were Buddha's fundamental +verities. It is put more shortly thus,--"Practising no evil, advancing +in the exercise of every virtue, purifying one's self in mind and will, +this is indeed the doctrine of all the Buddhas." _Journal of Royal +Asiatic Society_, vol. xix. p. 473. + +We may once more stop to compare the teaching of Siddartha with that +familiar to Christians. Paul says, for example (Rom. v. 12) "As by one +man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon +all men, for that all have sinned;" again, in chap, vi. 23, "the wages of +sin is death;" again, in chap. vii. 5, "when we were in the flesh the +motions of sins... did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto +death;" and again, chap. viii. 6, "to be carnally minded is death; but +to be spiritually minded is life and peace." We may next refer to what +some call the fundamental teaching of Jesus, as enunciated in answer +to the question of the young man "What shall I do that I may inherit +eternal life?" Matthew xix., Mark x., "If thou wilt enter into life, +keep the commandments. Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit +adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, +honour thy father and thy mother, and thou shalt love thy neighbour as +thyself." And when the young man asserted that he had done so, all +that he was told to do in addition, was to sell his property, give the +proceeds to the poor, and become a follower of Jesus, who had not where +to lay his head, and to live upon the charity of other people. I must, +however, notice in passing, that the teaching of Jesus is not by +any means so uniform as that of Sakya, for we find the former here +instructing a young man to do no murder, but at a subsequent period, +that of the last supper, Jesus exhorts his disciples, and through them, +possibly, the very man to whom he rehearsed the commandments, thus "He +that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one," (Luke xxii +36). Certainly a direct encouragement to homicide. + +For the benefit of the Buddhists a short formula of faith has been +framed, which is to this effect--"Tathagata (another name of Sakya +Muni), in the proper condition, has explained that our present state +is produced by antecedent causes, and the great Sramana, or Ascetic +(another cognomen of Siddartha), has told us how to avoid the effects of +sin. The effects are pain and actual existence, having for their cause +past sins; the cause is the production of suffering: the cessation of +these effects is Nirvana, the teaching of Tathagata, or of the great +Sramana, is the way which leads to Nirvana." The Christian formula runs, +"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." To this +we may compare a Nepaulese saying, "Arise, leave your possession, take +up the law of Buddha, and break asunder the power of death." + +In addition to the fundamental maxim given on the preceding page, Sakya +Muni added many others, amongst them, "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt +not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not lie, thou +shalt not get drunk;" others are of lighter consequence--"thou shalt +not eat out of due season, thou shalt not watch dances or theatrical +representations, or listen to songs or music, thou shalt abstain from +all ornamentation of dress, &c., and from perfume; thou shalt not have +a large bed, nor ever take gold or silver; thou shalt remain inflexibly +chaste." + +To those who desired to become disciples and personal friends of Buddha, +it was ordained that (a) They should only be clothed with rags taken +from the cemeteries, or from heaps of refuse, or found on the high road. +(b) That there should only be three of these vestments, and that each +should be stitched by the wearer, and that they should be covered with +a cloak of yellow wool (c) That the food should be as simple as +possible--a rule adopted by Christian saints, but not by Bishops. +(d) That all should live upon alms and offerings, which should be begged +for, in perfect silence, from house to house, and placed in a vessel +made of wood--a plan adopted by certain Christian mendicant friars. +(e) That only one meal should be taken during the day--a rule to be found in +some Christian monasteries. (f) That no aliments, even the most simple, +should be taken after noon, the rest of the day after this period should +be devoted to teaching and meditation. (g) The faithful should live in +the wilderness or forest, and not in towns or villages. Hence Christian +hermits lived in the deserts of the Thebaid. (h) They should only +shelter themselves under the boughs and leaves of trees. (i) They should +sit with the back supported only by the trunk chosen for refuge. +(j) They should sleep sitting, and not lying down. (k) They should never +change their sitting mat from the place where it was put first. (l) The +disciples should unite together, at least upon one night in the month, +to meditate amongst the tombs upon the instability of human things. +Mendicity, chastity, and asceticism were essential parts of Sakya Muni's +practice, and St. Hilaire (op. cit., p. 87) naively remarks that these +certainly are not the means for making good citizens, though they may +produce good saints. + +We may notice, in passing, that the pious followers of Sramana (the one +who mastered his passions) were very much more proper, in our eyes, than +some of the Brahmins, from whom they seceded, inasmuch as the former +wore sufficient garments to cover themselves decently, whilst the +latter, whom the Greeks called "Gymnosophists," went without any more +clothing than the horse or ass. It is also to be noticed that Siddartha +provided a sort of code of laws to be observed by those who wished to +adopt his method of salvation, without becoming altogether "religious." +These consisted in the enforcement of chastity, purity, patience, +courage, contemplation, and knowledge--these were, it was asserted, the +transcendent virtues which would pass man across the river of death. +They would not land him there in life, but whilst these were adopted as +the rule of life, the aspirant was in the right way to attain "Nirvana." + +The charity which Sakya Muni ordained was universal, extending even +to what we call the lower animals, and one example is given in which a +disciple cast himself into the sea to save a boat's crew in danger of +death from a storm, whilst another tells of Buddha giving himself as +food to a tigress, who had not sufficient milk for her young ones. + +Again, the precept against "lying" included false witness, and all that +we call "bad language," as well as trifling chat, called "badinage," +"wit," and the like. Persons were not only to avoid wrong, but they +were to cultivate every good habit, or what we designate each "Christian +grace." It was inculcated, that beauty of language, or eloquence, +pleasantness of voice, and a due respect to cadence should be studied, +so as to make their teaching popular, a precept not much regarded +amongst ordinary Christian divines. Beyond other things, humility was +inculcated, not that which exists on the lips only, and is apparently +compatible with the determined endeavour to exercise unlimited power, +which has been conspicuous in the Papacy for a millennium at least, but +that which conceals greatness and demonstrates littleness. Thus there +is a legend of Buddha refusing, at the request of a king, to exhibit any +miracle to convince his opponents, his answer being, "Great king, I do +not teach the law to my hearers by saying to them, 'Go, oh you religious +men! and before Brahmins and house-holders perform, by means of a +supernatural power, miraculous things, which no other men can effect,' +but I say to them, in teaching them the law, 'Live, oh ye pious ones, so as +to conceal your good works, and to let your sins be seen.'" + +At this point we pause once more to draw a parallel between Siddartha +and Jesus, though, in the delineation of the doctrine of the latter, +we shall see a discrepancy which appears to indicate two distinct +authorships in the recorded story. We refer, in the first place, to Luke +vi, wherein we find, v. 27, et seq., "Love your enemies, do good to +them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which +despitefully use you, and to him that smiteth thee on the one cheek +offer also the other" (compare Matt. v. 39, 40). Again, Matt. vi. 3, +"When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand +doeth," and in v. 6, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet," &c.; +v. 16, "When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance." +Side by side with this we may place the directions given in Matt, x., +where we find that Jesus called his disciples unto him, and gave them +"power against unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner +of sickness and all manner of disease "--they were, moreover, "to +cleanse the lepers and raise the dead," i.e.t the disciples were to +perform miracles; but if they, in their wanderings and teachings, should +be rejected, despised, or affronted, the apostles were to shake off the +dust of their feet against the persecutors, being certain that condign +punishment would fall upon the offenders. + +It is curious that in the histories of the Indian and the Jew, there +should be analogous discrepancies between records of their sayings and +doings. Siddartha and Jesus are represented, each of them, as declining +to perform miracles when asked or expected to do so. Nevertheless, in +the same histories we find marvellous accounts of the wonders which they +performed. We have seen the clashing reports of Buddha, the following +reports of the son of Mary are equally discordant. To make the +dissonance more striking, we place the passages in parallel columns. + +[Illustration: 141] + +At what time after the death of Jesus the miracles recorded of him were +fabricated we can scarcely tell. If, with most critical scholars, we +believe that John's Gospel was written by some Neoplatonic Greek, at +least a century and a-half after the period alluded to, we must also +believe, either that all the legends about the casting out of devils by +the son of Mary were invented after the time when "John" lived, or else, +which is probable, that the last evangelist gave no credit to them, if +they did already exist; and if the good sense and superior knowledge of +"John" led him to discredit the tale about the legion of devils, which +left one man* to enter into about two thousand pigs, I do not see that +other Christians are obliged to believe the legend. From considerations +which we advanced in the articles Prophets, Prophecy, &c., in _Ancient +Faiths_ (Vol. II., p. 515), and especially in the history of Barcochab, +who was supposed to be the Messiah by some Jews in A.D. 131-5, we argued +that new matter was certainly introduced into the story of Jesus told by +Matthew, Mark, and John, as late as the era of that enthusiastic Hebrew +leader. We noticed the doubts that existed in the minds of many early +Christians as to whether this redoubtable warrior was not "the man" +of whom the prophets spake. We may now still further notice that +he professed to perform miracles, which appear to be thoroughly +contemptible when weighed against those of the gospels. To our mind +it is inconceivable that the followers of Mary's son could have been +acquainted with the marvellous works attributed to Jesus in the gospels, +and, yet be shaken by such a man as Barcochab. We notice, also, that not +one "Epistle" writer refers to them--consequently, we believe that +all the wondrous tales told of the prophet of Nazareth, must have been +introduced after the time of Hadrian (in whose reign Barcochab was +destroyed), and were fabricated by pious Christians, to prove that the +Messiah, in whom they believed, was infinitely superior to that warrior +whom others had for a time trusted. Both, to be sure, had been killed by +the Romans, and thus both might seem upon a par, but if history could +be cooked--and there is probably no single history existing which is +strictly true--to show that the first performed a hundred times the +wonderful works of the second, he would thus become greatly exalted. See +especially Matt. xxiv. 24, in confirmation of this view. Be this as it +may, there is, I understand, solid foundation for the assertion that +the New Testament, such as we have it now, might have been composed, +altered, curtailed, added to, remodelled, or otherwise fashioned, at +any period between the years a.d. 50 and 300, after which change was +difficult, though we cannot say impossible. A corresponding statement is +true of the books which record the life and doctrines of Buddha. + + * In Matthew viii. 30-32, we are told that there were two + men who were possessed with the devils which subsequently + entered the herd of swine;--in Mark v. 11-13, the spirits + are represented as being concentrated in one person, and in + Luke viii. 32-33, the tale appears in the same guise as in + Mark--only the man is made to call himself "Legion," on + account of the multitude of devils living inside him. In + cases of this kind one need not be rigidly particular, for + it signifies little whether the spirits were one thousand in + one man or two thousand in two--the wonder is that spirits + could talk--fly away from man to pig, or commit suicide in + the bodies of the swine when they might have done the same + thing in one or two men. It is clear from the miracle that + certain devils change their habits when they take up their + habitation in porcine instead of human beings. + +At this period of our parallel we may profitably examine the New +Testament, and ascertain whether we cannot extract from it a tolerably +fair account of the life and teaching of Jesus, without including +therein a single act of thaumaturgy. We fearlessly assert, not only that +we can, but that the miracles are not an essential part of his doctrine. +For example, we learn that Jesus was the son of a woman betrothed to a +carpenter, who became pregnant ere yet the ceremony of marriage was gone +through. Her affianced husband did not make her frailty an excuse for +annulling the contract, possibly for a good, and to him a sufficient +reason. He married the already fruitful Mary, and her child passed +amongst the neighbours as being the son of Joseph. This we learn from +Matt. xiii. 55, where we find the people saying, "Is not this the +carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren James, +and Joses, and Simon, and Judas, and his sisters, are they not all +with us?" a statement repeated in similar terms, Mark vi. 3. This short +account is important, since it completely destroys the papal doctrine +that Mary was "ever virgin," for she bore at least four other sons +than her first born, and two daughters. At no period was Jesus regarded +either by the family or by the neighbours as illegitimate, nor is there +any reason to believe that Joseph looked upon him otherwise than as his +own son. Indeed, in Luke ii. 42-48, the carpenter distinctly appears to +act as if he recognized Jesus as his own offspring--in verse 48, Mary +says, "Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold thy father and I +have sought thee sorrowing," asserting as plainly as words could speak, +that Joseph had begotten Jesus. It is true that the youth replied, "Wist +ye not that I must be about my father's business?" but the story adds +the important information, that the couple did not understand the +saying. + +It is clear to us, that if the legend of the impregnation of Mary by the +Holy Ghost, after that event had been previously announced to her, and +if, as we are told in Matt. i. 20, Joseph had been informed by "the +angel of the Lord" that the foetus in Mary's womb was begotten by the +Holy Ghost, it would not have been possible for Joseph and his wife +to have misunderstood the words of Jesus. The very wonder which they +expressed demonstrates the belief of the parents that there was nothing +unusual in the conception. The father Joseph knew that he had borne his +share in the event, and Mary knew that she had not conversed with any +other man; consequently, for her son to indicate another father than +Joseph, naturally mystified her. We therefore cannot allow the assertion +to pass, that the conception and birth of Jesus was in itself a miracle. +But as we shall revert to the subject in a separate chapter, we will say +no more about it here. + +After living and working with his parents for some years, Jesus was +attracted by the preaching of his cousin John, whose doctrines were +essentially Buddhistic and Essenian. Like the Hindoos, he used water as +an emblem of purification, and urged his hearers to repentance and good +conduct. What motives urged John to become "the voice of one crying in +the wilderness," we have no means of judging, but the gospel narratives +tell us that he, like Jesus, believed in the almost immediate +destruction of the world. His text was, "Repent, for the kingdom of +heaven is at hand." Jesus adopted the view, and promulgated it more +extensively. His text was the same as that of his cousin, but more +expanded. "The kingdom of heaven means glory to the righteous, and +everlasting life; misery and everlasting destruction to the wicked. +The time is near, hasten to escape from the coming vengeance." +The earnestness of Jesus, his acquaintance with the prophets, his +self-denial and his constant kindness, endeared him to the common +people. The same virtues had a like effect in the case of Buddha. +Amongst villagers and poverty-stricken fishermen he soon won his way, +and every one had some story to tell of him, which increased in wonder +as it passed from mouth to ears, and from these to the tongue of the +listeners. Those who know how an ordinary circumstance may gradually +become described as miraculous, even in England, can well imagine how +the miracles of Jesus and Siddartha were produced. + +In time Jesus endeavoured to induce the magnates of Jerusalem to adopt +his doctrine, and to trust in repentance for salvation rather than in +sacrifice, but the enthusiast could not overcome the ritualists, and +they at once began to weigh their power against the influence of +Jesus upon the multitude. After a time the priests were convinced that +supremacy rested with them, and the man who preached a religion of the +heart, was sacrificed by the adherents of ceremonial. Such a fight is +common, as we see around us. The Evangelicals and the Ritualists of +to-day, resemble the followers of Jesus and of Moses. When the latter +appeared in the guise of powerful Romanist rulers, they put down the +former, but now when the former are the strongest, they endeavour to +depress the latter. + +After the death, or the withdrawal of Jesus from public life--for we +have no belief in the legends of his resurrection--considering that +his apparent decease was a prolonged fainting fit, for had he been dead +blood would not have followed a spear wound as it did--the disciples of +Jesus spread his fame largely. Whilst Jesus was with them they clung +to him; when he was no more, each man became a preacher, and then +Christianity spread until it met with Buddhism in Egypt, and thus became +developed in a peculiar direction. Then came the gospels, which made +Jesus a second Sakya. Although we can readily conceive that Jesus, like +his paltry successor, Joe Smith, the Mormon, captivated the minds of +hundreds without performing any supernatural deed, and that his "elders" +vastly increased the number of those who believed in him, yet it is +clear, that ancient and modern theologians were and are anxious to +establish the reality of the thaumaturgy attributed to Jesus, that +they may appeal to it to demonstrate that he was the son of God, an +incarnation of a portion of the creative mind--"the word," or _logos_, +having the same relationship to Jehovah, the "I Am," the Self-Existent +One, as Buddha, "the understanding" had to "Brahma," The Supreme One. + +Accepting this issue for the sake of argument, we affirm once again +that, as the miracles of Sakya and of the son of Mary are equally +unreliable, or equally true, Buddha was as much a true son of God as +Christ was, or that Jesus was no more an incarnation of Jehovah, than +Siddartha was of Brahma. Jehovah and Brahma being merely different names +for the same great Being. That miracles are not necessary to the spread +of a new faith, the history of modern Presbyterianism and Mormonism +distinctly proves. For further remarks, we refer the reader to +the article Miracle in the preceding volume. We will postpone to a +subsequent page what we have to say respecting the asceticism of the +Buddhists, and that which was prevalent in the early Christian church. +For the present, we resume our account of Sakya Muni's teaching as +described by St. Hilaire. + +Founded upon his doctrine of absolute humility, he established the +custom of confession amongst his apostles or disciples, and amongst +those who venerated his teaching, though they did not' become his +immediate followers. This confession was not that simply auricular one +enforced by Ritualists, but it was made twice a month, at the new and +the full moon, before the great Sramana and the congregation, in a clear +voice. Powerful kings are reported to have followed this practice. + +It will not require more than a minute's reflection to see that the +Buddhistic system of confession was far superior--as regards the end +in view--than that which has been adopted by Romanists and Ritualists. +Sakya and James (ch. v. 16) advised the practice in question, that +the sinner might be humiliated in his own eyes, and deterred from the +necessity of having again to acknowledge a fall from virtue before a +congregation of the faithful. Popes and Protestant Ritualists, on the +contrary, use confession for the purpose of inquiring into the character +of every penitent, and the practice is adopted by the sinner, not with +the view of repentance, but to wipe out periodically a sin which is +habitually renewed. + +If confessions were made before a congregation, instead of to a priest +in a closet, or some other secret spot, there would not then be current +so many scandalous stories as there are--too true, alas, in many +instances--respecting women who have been debauched under the guise +of religion, and priests who have prostituted the ordinances of their +church, until they have made them pander to vice, and act as seeds to +produce immorality. + +Though personally Tathagata preached celibacy, he had not, like some of +the so-called saints of Christianity, any feeling of disrespect towards +family ties. He always spoke affectionately of his mother, though he +never knew her, and the legends say that he endeavoured to convert her +in heaven. His command that all his followers should honour their father +and mother was repeatedly enforced, that being only second to the duty +of learning, venerating, and keeping the law. It even went so high as to +include endeavours to teach the parents if they were ignorant. + +One of the main duties of every teacher appointed by Siddartha, was to +go about preaching the law, and exhorting his hearers to learn and to +obey it. But no one, on any account, was to introduce the persecuting +element. No respect whatever was to be paid to caste, all being alike +human before God. Buddha himself is described as a very striking +preacher, charming his hearers by his clear and eloquent diction, +astonishing them by his supernatural power, sometimes instructing the +common folk with ingenious parables, and inciting them to emulation by +telling what others had done. He referred to the sins which had been +committed in former days by an ancient people, and how severely punished +those who had committed them had been, or still were, and he even +recorded his own faults, that others might learn to avoid them. He urged +all his hearers to cultivate truth and reason, which is certainly not a +Christian practice, and not blindly to obey their spiritual guides, as +the modern faithful are taught to do. By making the practice of every +virtue the sole means for attaining eternal salvation, he practically +discouraged vice, but it does not appear that he endeavoured actively +to denounce immorality, sin, or sinners. He did not, like many modern +persons, "compound for sins they are inclined to, by damning those they +have no mind to." It is distinctly declared that it was not necessary +for ordinary followers of Buddha to become what is called "religious," +or "to enter into religion," as friars, monks, &c. To those who +preferred an ordinary mode of life, instructions were given, that they +should cultivate charity, purity, patience, courage, contemplation, and +knowledge. Indeed, we may assert that the precepts of Jesus, as +recorded in Matthew v., vi, and viii, and in Luke iii. 7 to 14, are not +essentially different from those propounded by Sakya Muni Neither the +one nor the other ordered or even recommended all men to be celibate, +all men to become poor, all soldiers to leave their profession--but +both urged upon every one who wished for salvation, to be kind, pure, +patient, courageous, thoughtful and eager after all knowledge. It would +be well if those calling themselves Christians would endeavour more +fully to understand that cultivating science is the same as advancing in +the knowledge of God. + +Some of the remarkable parables found in Buddhist books are very +probably the original ones of Sakya; they are certainly ingeniously +framed to illustrate his doctrine. Nor is there wanting, indeed, one +in which there is an episode resembling the story of the thief upon +the cross. It is of a lovely courtesan who falls deeply in love with +a jeweller, young, and a devoted follower of Buddha, and solicits his +company. To every message she sends him, he returns the answer "it +is not time for you to see me." At length she commits a crime, and is +sentenced to have ears, nose, hands, and feet cut off, and to be carried +to the graveyard to die, leaving the cut off members at her ankles. At +this period the young man visits her, to see the true nature of those +joys which drown men in perdition; then he consoles the poor creature by +teaching her the law; his discourse brings calm into her breast, and she +dies in professing Buddhism with a certainty that she will rise again +amongst the good. + +We may mention, in passing, that there were female Buddhists as well as +males, both being on the same footing. The law, as announced by Sakya, +equally concerned and affected the two sexes. + +Another and very interesting parable tells of a king who came before +a Buddhist priest and his assembled hearers, to the number of 350, to +confess his crimes, amongst others murder, and his resolution to avoid +all faults in future, and Bhagavat (the teacher's name) at once remits, +in conformity with the law, the faults of the king, which have thus +been expiated before a numerous assembly of the faithful, a remarkable +instance of remorse, repentance, confession, and remission of sin--some +centuries before Jesus was born. + +At length a powerful king, Asoka, was converted to the new faith, or +came to the throne already a Buddhist, in the year b.c. 263, and reigned +thirty-seven years, during which time he devoted himself to spreading +the religion of his choice. He sent out a cloud of earnest missionaries +who spread themselves over Hindostan, Ceylon, China, Japan, and Thibet. +Indeed, they seem to have gone wherever there was means of locomotion, +or a knowledge of the existence of a people. As the Greeks were +then certainly trading with India, both by land and sea, it would be +surprising if the Buddhist missionaries had not accompanied the merchant +ships, or the overland convoys to Alexandria. But this subject, it is +convenient for the present to postpone. + +There are two points connected with the teaching of Sakya Muni to +which many Christian writers have especially addressed their remarks, +apparently with the view of rendering Buddha more or less contemptible, +or at least of degrading him far below Jesus of Nazareth. It is asserted +that Siddartha did not believe in a god, and that his Nirvana was +nothing more than absolute annihilation. To these I am disposed to +add, that the Buddhists were not taught to pray, nor did their founder +practise the custom. + +To my own mind, the assertion that Sakya did not believe in God is +wholly unsupported. Nay, his whole scheme is built upon the belief that +there are powers above which are capable of punishing mankind for their +sins. It is true that these "gods" were not called Elohim, nor Jah, +nor Jahveh, nor Jehovah, nor Adonai, nor Eliieh (I am), nor Baalim, +nor Ashtoreth--yet, for "the son of Suddhodana" (another name for Sakya +Muni, for he has almost as many, if not more than the western god), +there was a supreme being called Brahma, or some other name representing +the same idea as we entertain of the Omnipotent. Still further, in the +life of Buddha, quoted by St. Hilaire (p. 9) we find the following as +part of the thoughts of the young Siddartha--"The three worlds, the +world of the gods, the world of the assours (the benighted ones, or, as +we should call them, 'the devils ), and that of men, are all plagued +by the occurrence of old age and disease." We do not, for we dare not +assert that this opinion is identical with ours; but we are equally +indisposed to say that the opinions current amongst ourselves are +absolutely true. + +Men living in future days, and whose minds are educated, will probably +declare, "that the Christians of Europe and elsewhere, for nearly two +thousand years, had no god but the devil They said he was good, but +they painted him as one who rejoiced in pain, lamentation, mourning, and +woe." Buddha preached that man suffered from the effects of his +sins, and that unless he attained salvation, he would be punished +everlastingly. The son of Mary, and all his followers, taught, and +Christians still entertain the belief, that man suffers from the sin of +a progenitor (assumed to be the parent of all mankind), and that each +person will be tortured throughout eternity unless he is able to mollify +his maker, who is also his judge. Both teachers had necessarily an idea +of a power able to make laws for the conduct of human life, to ordain +rewards for good behaviour, and to apportion punishment for offences, +and yet who was sufficiently forgiving to cease from requital, "for a +consideration," the bribe being invariably a bloody one. Jesus called +this power "my Father," Siddartha called him Brahma, the Supreme one. + +Jesus and his followers have asserted that the power of the son with +"the Father" is so great, that the latter will conform to the former, +nay, he even asserts his identity with the Supreme in the words "I and +my father are one," (John x. 30). See also Acts iv. 12, and 1 Thess. v. +9, in which it is distinctly affirmed that Jesus is the sole means by +which man can attain salvation, or, in other words, turn away the +wrath of God and change it into love. But Jesus could only rise to the +position of equal or prime favourite by a very sanguinary process, as we +find from Heb. ix. 22, that there could be no remission of sin without +shedding of blood. From the following verses, and from Heb. x. 19, we +learn that it is by the sacrifice of himself that Jesus entered into his +heavenly powers. + +Can any one who depicts the gods of savages, of Grecians and others +to whom human beings were immolated in hundreds, call such deities +"devils," and then assert that the Jehovah, whom he extols as above all +gods, is not painted by men in the same colours. Siddartha's god was +not a sanguinary one, nor did Buddha always talk of shedding blood, or +profess to give his disciples his own flesh to eat, and his blood to +them, that they might all drink of it. + +The way in which this Supreme One, Brahma, was painted at his time was +accepted by Sakya as he found it. He no more questioned the accepted +truths of Hindooism, than Jesus doubted about the absolute truth of +the Hebrew scriptures. But, in his own mind, after he had contemplated +deeply on the subject, he believed that the discovery which he had made +of the way to Nirvana, universal knowledge, or whatever else Nirvana +was, had raised him above Sakra Brahma, Mahesvara, and all the gods of +the pantheon. + +Instead of breaking into expressions respecting the insanity or the +blasphemy of such an idea, let us school ourselves into calmness, and +turn to our own New Testament and read over Philippians, chap, ii. vv. +5-11, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being +in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but +made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, +and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a +man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death +of the cross: wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a +name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee +should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under +the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is +Lord to the glory of God the Father." + +Still further, I have repeatedly heard Protestant Christian divines +assert that Jesus was really "Lord of the world above," and I cannot see +any greater insanity or blasphemy in the son of Suddodana believing that +he was at least equal with God, than in the son of Mary asserting "I and +my Father are one" (John x. 30), and when reproached for making himself +thus equal with God, he is reported to have remonstrated with his +auditors who accused him of blasphemy because he asserted himself to be +the son of God. The creeds of the Anglican and Roman churches repeatedly +declare the identity of Jesus with Jehovah, e.g., "equal to the Father +as touching his godhead." + +The natural rejoinder to this representation is the assertion by the +Christian that he knows that Jesus of Nazareth really was what he +represented himself, and he is sure that Sakya Muni was not; but, on +the other hand, the Buddhist may say just the reverse with equal +pertinacity. This argument, if such a name it really deserves, is so +common amongst all careless religionists, that it deserves a few words +in reply. It is based upon the very natural notion, "what I believe, +must be true," and to an objector, the only answer is the question, "you +don't fancy that I can be wrong, do you?" When two such persons as +a Christian and a Mahometan met in days gone by, these were the only +arguments used by each, and they were first of all enforced by such +revilings as come naturally to the faithful--"hound of a Moslem"--"dog +of a Christian," "you are a serpent"--"you are a viper," and the like; +from words they came to blows, and the strongest arm was supposed to +demonstrate the correctness of the victor's faith. If, instead of +taking physical strength as a test of truth, we assume that a numerical +preponderance on one side or another proves the correctness of the +belief held by the greatest number, we come to the absurd conclusion +that what is right to-day may be wrong to-morrow. Babylonians were once +far more numerous than Jews, and Jews than Christians, to-day the +last exceed vastly both the others. Now, there are more Buddhists +in existence than true followers of Jesus, in the next century the +proportion may be reversed. + +Truth does not so fluctuate, and a philosopher who uses his reason will +take up a different stand entirely, and affirm that a man cannot become +God by meditation, fancy or assertion, nor yet by the consent or vote of +millions of his fellow-men, and that the assumption that any individual +must be, and is the begotten son of God, is on a par with the folly of +the potentates who call themselves brothers of the sun and moon. Such +absurdity and blasphemy are very common, nevertheless, and men believe +that Jesus is God, because they have elected him to that elevated +position by a general vote--or European plebiscite. + +We now address ourselves to another important statement made by some +writers upon the religion of Sakya Muni, to the effect that he taught +annihilation to be the end most desirable for good men who have learned +and practised the law. This view is held by St. Hilaire, who, in almost +every other respect, has shown himself an historian rather favourable +to Siddartha than otherwise, and who speaks with some regret of the +conclusion which he feels obliged to draw. But he is opposed upon this +point by a very great English or German authority, viz., Max Mueller, +who, in a lecture delivered before the general Meeting of the +Association of German Philologists at Kiel, and which is to be found +translated in Trubner's _American and Oriental Literary Record_, Oct. +16, 1869, distinctly declares his belief that the nihilism attributed to +Buddha's teaching forms no part of his doctrine, and that it is wholly +wrong to suppose that Nirvana signified annihilation. + +When two such earnest inquirers differ, it is instructive to notice +the reason why. This is to be found in the fact that the etymological +signification of the word does signify "nothingness," or "extinction," +but not, as Mueller contends, annihilation of the individual, but a +complete cessation of all pain and misery. The last quoted author shows +that Siddartha used Nirvana as synonymous with Moksha, Nirvritti, and +other words, all designating the highest state of spiritual liberty and +bliss, but not annihilation. It seems to be perfectly clear that what +was meant by Sakya is, that to the good who have embraced the means of +salvation preached by him, the future world would be a haven of rest, +in which all sorrow, suffering, and sin should be annihilated. But +the teacher does not go beyond this, and descant upon the opposite +conditions, and promise joys ineffable and full of glory. His followers +believe that they will attain to immortality, and that they will be free +from all such horrors as life brings with it. But the pleasures which +they expect are negative. + +Before we either pity or despise Siddartha for not giving his followers +any idea of what we call Heaven, it would be well to endeavour to +discover the true teaching of Jesus of Nazareth upon this point, and the +ideas of his followers. We must also say a few words about his ideas of +Hell. He clearly believed that there was a place in which those whose +lives had been wicked would be punished after death by the devil and his +angels--the place was one of outer darkness, where shall be weeping and +wailing, and gnashing of teeth (Matt. viii. 12). In Matt. xiii. 42 this +place of outer darkness is described as "a furnace of fire," and in Mark +ix. 43-44 this fire is described as one that never shall be quenched, +and in which there lives a worm. In Luke xvi. 23-24 there is an +expression of the belief that the body lives after death in its usual +form, and has eyes, a tongue, the power of speech, &c.; yet in Matt. x. +28 the doctrine is inculcated that both body and soul are destroyed +in Hell. In Jude 7 and 13 Hell is again described as a place of +unquenchable fire, and yet one occupied by the blackness of darkness; +whilst in Revelation xix. 20 and xx. 10 we are told that the fire is +a lake of burning brimstone. Of the absolute locality of this horrible +spot not a word is said. + +On the other hand, Heaven is described (Matt xiii. 43) as a place where +the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of God. In +Luke xvi. 22 the pleasure of Heaven is made to consist of a simple +repose in the bosom of Abraham; but though we are there led to believe +that the blessed can see the torments of the damned, it does not appear +that either "the father of the faithful," or the poor beggar Lazarus, +take any pleasure in contemplating them, as some few divines of the +church of England believe that they will do, when they have arrived at +the abode of bliss, and see their enemies in the burning lake. Paul, +when writing to the Corinthians, (1 Ep. xv.) gives his idea of the +resurrection of the just as one in which each man will be a spiritual +edition of his former terrestrial self, but beyond the statement in 1 +Thess. iv. 17, that the redeemed will, when in heaven, dwell for +ever with the Lord, he expresses no opinion of the occupation of +the glorified ones. In John's gospel (xiv. 2) Jesus is reported as +saying,--"In my Father's house are many mansions or houses--I go to +prepare a place for you," but there is nothing like any account of what +is to be done in those abodes. + +Again, we find, Ps. xvi. 11, in a verse which has been largely adapted +to Christianity, an idea of Heaven given thus--"in thy presence is +fulness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." +What David's pleasures were we may judge from his life, and we may +fairly imagine that the writer of the passage had an idea something like +that of Mahomet--that there were houris in Heaven for the delectation of +the faithful. But in Isaiah lxiv. 4, and I Cor. ii. 9 everything about +Heaven is declared to be vague--a something which the eye has not seen, +the ear heard, or the heart conceived. + +In the book called _The Revelation of St. John the Divine_, we have a +far more detailed account of what was believed by some about heaven, +than in any other, and there is no doubt that to it a large number of +Christians appeal, for it is, indeed, almost the only foundation +on which they can build. Yet the Apocalypse was for a long time an +uncanonical book, and its truth and value were, and still are, doubted +by many of the faithful. In the part referred to, heaven is described +as a place incalculably rich in gold and precious stones, in music and +pleasant odours, and its joys are pour-trayed as consisting in constant +contact with the evidences of wealth, and in eternally singing a certain +refrain, an hour of which would be a great trial to human ears. To this +is added the absence of pain, sorrow, and suffering. The New Jerusalem, +described in chapter xxi. is nothing more than a palace similar to that +of Aladdin, which is described in _The Arabian Nights?_ fabulously +adorned with gems, lighted by other means than a burning sun or a cold +moon, cooled or refreshed with a river of clear water, and furnished +with trees bearing different kinds of fruit, but all delicious--thus +involving the certainty that the singing referred to, must have been +suspended whilst the palate was regaled--and having leaves said to be +_for the healing of the nations_. The words thus italicised seem to show +the indefiniteness of the _idea_, we dare not say of the _knowledge_ of +John, for the existence of this new Jerusalem involves the absence of +any disease which required healing; and every person who was not already +assigned to the brimstone lake, was a resident on the margin of the +crystal river. Such discrepancies are common in visionary writings, and +ought to make us distrust them; but instead of that, wild theories are +founded upon these absurdities, and the builders thence attempt to prove +their own superior knowledge. Well, in this new Jerusalem, every man +is to be a ruler, for we are told, that in it the servants of the Lamb +(chap. xxii. 3 sq.) shall serve him, and see his face, that his name +shall be written upon their foreheads, and they shall _reign_ for ever +and ever. The word italicised, very naturally recalls to us an earlier +passage in the same book (chap, i. 6) wherein the writer expresses the +belief that Jesus Christ has made his followers "kings and priests." +It is then clear that John had the notion that in heaven every denizen +would be a king. But king over whom? or over what? if every one in +new Jerusalem is a ruler, what is he a ruler of? It is, to the critic, +moderately certain, that all which the words are intended to convey is, +that every inhabitant of the New Jerusalem or Heaven will be as rich and +happy as a mundane sovereign. This, again, involves the belief that the +author of the Apocalypse had an essentially sensual idea of Heaven, +and that he pourtrayed it as a man would do, who, pining in misery, +suffering from disease, pinched with want, obliged to serve as the slave +of wealth, and to contribute much, out of his little, to the king's +taxes, saw daily, and envied deeply, the high position and great wealth +of a tyrant, with whom, his faith induced him to believe, that he would +change places hereafter. + +That the descriptions of Heaven in Revelation can be considered as +reliable, by any thoughtful Christian, I marvel, for they are bound up +with an assurance which the lapse of time has fully demonstrated to be +false. In chap, xxii., v. 12 and 20, the one who is described as the +Lord of the New Jerusalem, the Christian Heaven, asserts that he is +coming quickly, and that his reward is with him. Yet in no sense of the +words is this true, nor has it ever been so. + +Tested, then, by every available means, we assert that the Heaven +described by Jesus of Nazareth and his immediate followers is quite as +vague, indistinct, and unreliable as the Buddhist Nirvana; or, if the +affirmative be preferred, we say that the Christian Heaven is quite as +uncertain or indefinite a prize for Jesus' disciples as the Nirvana +of Sakya. Both teachers seem to have been equally confident of the +existence of a Hell, and equally cautious in expressing their ideas +about a Heaven. And we, who have had the advantage of many centuries of +civilization and thought, dare no more frame or promulgate a scheme of +Elysium than the Romans did--we really know nothing whatever about a +future state. + +There is this, however, to be said in favour of Siddartha--he did not, +like Mahomet and John, preach a Paradise, in which all the pleasures are +worldly, sensuous, or sensual--John promising music and fruit, Mahomet +feasting and women. All the Indian's teaching pointed to a future world, +in which human passions, frailties, and propensities would find no +place, for the purified being would cast off, with his earthly body, +every carnal appetite. In fact, there is reason to believe that Buddha's +idea was, that after death each essence would become reincorporated with +the Great Spirit, of whom his soul had originally formed a part. It +is doubtful whether any of us could tell him a more perfect way to the +truth about the matter. + +Yet, although neither Sakya nor Jesus gave any distinct account of +Heaven, it is certain that some of their followers have done so, and +it is remarkable to see how they have developed their ideas in the same +way. Compare, for example, the account given by John, Apocalypse chaps, +xxi., xxii., with the following account, which I copy from the +_Kusa Iatakya_, a Buddhistic legend of Ceylon, by T. Steele, p. 195. +"_Swarga_, or the heaven occupied by Indra, is described as the most +splendid the human mind can conceive (Percival's _Land of the Vedas_, +p. 160). Its palaces are composed of pure gold, resplendent diamonds, +jasper, sapphire, emerald, and other precious stones, whose brilliance +exceeds that of a thousand suns! Its streets are of crystal, fringed +with gold. The most beautiful and fragrant flowers adorn its forests, +whose trees diffuse the sweetest odours. Refreshing breezes, canopies +of fleecy clouds, thrones of the most dazzling brightness, birds of the +sweetest melodies, and songs of the most delightful harmony, are heard +in the enchanting pleasaunces, which are ever fragrant, ever robed in +summer green." The author whom I am quoting follows these remarks with +lines from Bernard de Morley's hymn, _Jerusalem the Golden_, clearly +showing how greatly he has been struck with the parallelism between the +Buddhist and Christian idea. + +So far as I can find, there appears to be a certainty that Sakya Muni +did not teach to his followers the necessity for prayer. That Jesus did +so teach his disciples is the common belief of Christians. Yet, in the +parallel which we are thus drawing, we are perfectly justified in the +assertion that the son of Mary did not teach it from his own spontaneous +judgment, as John the Evangelist had done before him. Jesus certainly +did not originate prayer; indeed, it appears that the subject was forced +upon him, and that unless he had been urged to it, he would neither +have taught to others the necessity for prayer, nor have dictated the +supplication which still passes by his name. The following passage in +Luke xi. 1 seems to be decisive upon this point:--"And it came to pass, +as he was praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said unto +him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." We +see, then, in the first place, that Jesus did not hold, as a fundamental +doctrine, that prayer was part of the duty of man, but that he took it +up as a necessary part of his Jewish education, and adopted it amongst +the subjects of his discourses, following the example of John. When +we try to penetrate into the mind of Jesus, as shown in "the Lord's +Prayer," and ascertain what he regarded as the fittest objects for +orison, we find that they are almost exclusively worldly. There is, +in the first place, an ascription of praise, or of reverence, then an +expression of a desire that the world should become good; that each man +should have a daily meal; that all offences should be condoned, and none +others committed; and that no harm should happen to any who used the +entreaty. Compared with the composition attributed to Solomon, and said +to have been uttered by him at the dedication of the temple, that which +is said to have been given by Jesus is meagre in the extreme. It +does not contain a single supplication for spiritual blessing, or for +salvation. + +In the mind of a philosopher there is a doubt whether the general +heathen notion about prayer, or the apparent Buddhist prayerlessness, is +to be the most commended. Yet, ere we discuss the point, I must remark +that although Buddha does not appear to have taught the duty of prayer +to his disciples, they practise it nevertheless, and have long litanies, +chantings, and mechanical contrivances quite as efficacious, and not +more absurd, than the senseless repetitions which pass current amongst +us for supplications to the Most High. Now, if we require from ourselves +a distinct answer to the question, what is prayer? we can frame no +other than this--"it is the expression of a desire on our part that +the Creator will modify the laws of nature in our favour, in favour of +others, or in His own favour!" The idea that He will do this is plainly +builded upon the supposition that the Creator is like a man, and can be +induced to change His mind--that a creature thinks He is harsh or wrong, +and must be set right. When put thus clearly, the most obtuse can see +that prayer must necessarily be inefficacious, and must always proceed +from a selfishness so intense as to cloak the blasphemy from view. + +If, instead of the above definition, we designate prayer as the uttering +of a fervent hope or desire for the benefit of an individual, we can +understand that it is quite as useful as any other ejaculation. Nothing +is more common than for an angry man to curse with all the energy of +exasperation; nothing more common than for a punished hound to yelp, and +for a child, when pained, to cry or roar. Still further I will say, from +personal experience, that the utterance of cries or groans enables an +individual to bear pain with less effect upon his nervous system than +would be felt if they were suppressed. Vociferations are as natural, +and, to some, as necessary as indulging the appetite for hunger. In like +manner, when the mind of man, especially of one only partially educated, +is dominated by intense fear, or by any form of anxiety or present +suffering, there is an instinctive propensity to seek aid from any +source, certain or uncertain, and the enunciation of hopes with an +audible voice is as much necessary to some as roaring is to a lion, +or bleating to a sheep. In this sense prayer is a comfort--it helps to +soothe feelings which, if pent up, would become, probably, too great for +endurance; and, knowing this, I would no more deride prayer than I would +laugh at a baby who cried for his absent mother. + +I do not doubt, in the smallest possible degree, that prayer is a +comfort under certain circumstances. For example, my child may be +seriously ill, and I may do everything which my medical knowledge +enables me to do; but day by day drags wearily along, the fever seems to +intensify, and it is clear that there is a struggle between the living +force, and the agent which interferes with it. As hour after hour +passes, and anxiety deepens into fear, I am like a hardy fellow under +the lash: at first the stripes are borne with firmness, but as another +and another falls, not only does-the pain seem keener, but the mental +power which gives courage to bear the cutting agony diminishes, and the +pent-up feelings are vented in a roar of anguish, or a groan of despair. +Just so in the depth of my misery I may utter a prayer--a wish that in +one way or another my torn and lacerated feelings as a father might be +healed, and I may expect to receive solace thereby, no matter whether I +address Jehovah, Brahma, Ishtar, or the Virgin Mary. To hear the sound +of one's own voice, even the task of having to compose an intelligible +sentence, relieves, for a time, the poignancy of grief, and thus helps +one to bear it more patiently. That supplication thus brings relief I +do not for a moment doubt, but that it has any influence in the result I +deny. + +Entertaining this view, I cannot regard prayer as a duty. It seems to me +to be a deliberate insult to the Almighty to be constantly urging Him to +alter the course of nature--or as we may otherwise put it "to change His +mind." To trust that prayer will obviate the necessity for action seems +to me the height of folly. If a man uttered the words "Give me this day +my daily bread" a hundred times over, and yet never sought to obtain it, +we should regard him as a lunatic. Equally silly should we be if, when +praying "Defend us in all assaults of our enemies," we did not prepare +for battle--or if, after ejaculating "defend us from all perils and +dangers of this night," we were to go to bed without seeing that our +premises were as secure as forethought could make them. However much +the theologian may believe in prayer, he cannot deny that it is less +efficacious than action. Now Buddha preached action whilst Christ +preached inaction, e.g., "take no thought for the morrow," &c. (Matt. +vi. 25-34), consequently we are more disposed to give the palm for +correct judgment to the Indian than to the Jew. + +We must, in the next place, notice that many followers of the son of +Suddodana and the son of Mary have both acted, and do still act, upon +the belief, not only that prayer is a duty, but that every supplication +has positive power in the world above--consequently the more extended +the utterances the greater their influence. In point of fact, prayers +are spoken of as if they were equivalent to sacrifice, alms-giving, or +any other supposed virtue. For this there seems to be some foundation +in Acts x. 4, where Cornelius is told that his prayers and his alms have +come up before God; in James v. vv. 15, 16, we are told that "the prayer +of faith shall save the sick;" and that "the effectual, fervent prayer +of a righteous man availeth much." In Revelation v. 8, we are told that +the prayers of the saints are kept in golden vials in heaven, and used +as odours. In chapter viii. 3, we find they are offered with incense +upon the celestial altar, and that the two conjointly come before the +presence of God. This being so, there is a desire to accumulate prayers +on the creditor side of the heavenly books, just as in the days when +sacrifices were trusted in, there was an attempt to increase their +influence by augmenting the number of the creatures slaughtered. This +propensity to multiply orisons was distinctly rebuked by Jesus, who +ordered his followers not to make vain repetitions, for that the custom +was heathenish and to be avoided; a prohibition which had been made by +Siddartha to his followers some centuries before. + +To me, I confess, that a life of perpetual prayer without action +indicates a belief that God can be "pestered" into doing something that +He did not intend; and that it is infinitely worse than a life of +action such as Sakya Muni inculcated. I can see no sense in praying for +something that I do not want, or that I cannot have without personal +exertion. It seems to me sheer nonsense for anyone to pray that he may +not grow older, and equally foolish to supplicate that he may live to be +a king. In like manner it would be silly in me to petition for power to +read Assyrian writing, and yet never study its characters. If, then, +by diligent and steady plodding a man can attain his desire, it appears +wholly useless in him to pray for it. We may say the same of one who +wishes to curb his passions--he can do so to a great extent by assiduous +self-control; but he cannot do so any more completely by a lifetime +passed in prayer. From this point of view, therefore, we must again side +with Siddartha rather than with Jesus. + +It now remains to us to make some observations upon the developments of +Buddhism after the death of Sakya Muni, but we need not linger over them +long. His doctrine of self-denial, of patient suffering, of celibacy, of +fasting, of preaching and of meditation, gradually produced a system in +which asceticism, solitude, and penance were the prevalent duties. +Men and women desirous of being saintly and of attaining to eternal +happiness, selected some den, cave, or tree in which they could live +a life devoted to contemplation, or else they banded themselves into +companies where they could practise the Buddhistic virtues in each +other's presence, and one could encourage or correct another. Buddhist +monkeries and nunneries are almost as common, and certainly more ancient +than Roman Catholic monasteries, and they had very nearly the same +numerous accessories in worship, which we are familiar with in papal +countries. It is almost impossible to read the accounts given by the +Abbe Hue, and other Eastern travellers, of Buddhism in China, Thibet, +and Japan, without seeing the close resemblance of the Roman Church to +that founded by Siddartha. Indeed, the Abbe was sorely tried by what +he saw; and it is rumoured that he was punished by some ecclesiastical +authority, and his book suppressed. Pure Buddhism, moreover, was, like +pure Christianity, a very painful religion in practice, consequently +both the one and the other have degenerated, and have gradually become +altered much in the same way--both having amalgamated themselves with +other systems, and having gradually eliminated those proceedings which +are most repulsive to human nature. In both there is now, apparently, +the idea that the ascetic life may be lived, as it were, by deputy. +In Buddhism, certain men obtain their living by fasting, meditating, +macerating their flesh, and praying instead of other people, being, of +course, adequately paid for their endurance of privation. In a branch +of the Church founded by Jesus the same notion has obtained, and men who +have wallowed in filth, starved themselves, and spent their days in +a miserable round of penance and prayer, are dignified by the name of +Saints, and are supposed to be able to hand over--for a consideration +in money--the benefit of their sufferings to people who wish to live +comfortably as well as piously. + +Without burdening this chapter with a dissertation upon the Romish +doctrine of works of supererogation, I will quote a few extracts from +the Roman Missal, in use in England, to show that works done by another +can be made available for the use of any particular individual. On +January 16, the day of Saint Marcellus, the people are told to pray +"that we may be aided by the merits of blessed Marcellus, Thy martyr and +bishop, in whose sufferings we rejoice." On January 29, the day of +Saint Francis of Sales, we find in the prayer to be used by the people, +"mercifully grant that we may by the aid of his merits, attain unto the +joys of life everlasting." Again, on February 8, the day of Saint John +of Matha, we find in the prescribed prayer, "mercifully grant that by his +merits pleading for us, we may be," &c.--and, lastly, we notice on March +19, on Saint Joseph's day, "vouchsafe, O Lord, that we may be helped by +the merits of Thy most holy mother's spouse," &c. The practice of the +Buddhists is then essentially followed by the Roman Christians. + +Pure Buddhism was wholly free from the sexual element so common in other +religions of antiquity, and so was the religion of Jesus. Yet in Thibet +the first became intermingled therewith and Vajrasatta or Dorjesempa the +Thibetan "God above all," is represented in _Schlayintweit's Atlas +of Plates_ as a male conjoined with a female; but so ingenious is +the contrivance that the many might see the drawings without noticing +anything particular, for the trinity and the unity are both hidden from +view; and in Europe the latter has introduced St. Foutin and St. Cosmo +into her calendar, and has founded her worship of a trinity and a virgin +upon the pagan reverence given to the creative organs in both sexes. +Veneration for a triune God and his female consort is no more a portion +of the teaching of the son of Mary than it was the doctrine of the child +of Maya Devi, Buddha's mother. + +It will probably be quite as difficult for the reader of the preceding +pages, as it has been for the writer of them, to avoid putting the +question to himself, "Was Jesus of Nazareth a Buddhist disciple?" In +answer to this question I reply that we have no direct proof either on +one side or the other, but there is much circumstantial evidence to show +that he was. We may marshal it thus:-- + +1. There is very strong reason for belief that the intercourse +between the inhabitants of India and the successors of Alexander was +considerable. For example, we find before the time of the Maccabees, +b.c. 280, or perhaps somewhat later, that Antiochus, the king of Syria, +had 120 elephants--things which had never before been seen in Syria, +Palestine, or Egypt, and which took their local name from the Phoenician +_aleph_, a bull--the Jews supposing that they were a new kind of cattle. +From the accounts given us we infer that these were Indian, and were +trained either by Hindoo mahouts or by Greeks taught in Hindustan. +Animals of this size may have come by land or by water. In either +case we have evidence of traffic. We have already seen that the great +missionary effort of Buddhism took place in the time of Asoka about +B.C. 307, and it is not likely that the West would be neglected when the +Eastern countries received such attention as they did. The Greeks had by +this time found their way by sea to India, and thus it is certain that +the route was known. There is then presumptive evidence that Buddhism +was taught amongst the people frequenting the kingdom of Antiochus the +Second, B.C. 261. At this period and subsequently, this king and his +subjects came much into contact with the Jews, so that it is equally +easy to believe that the Hebrews were found out by the Hindoo +missionaries as that the Alexandrian Greeks were. + +2. I have been unable to find in the Jewish law, in Grecian story, in +the accounts of old Babylonians, Carthaginians, Romans, Egyptians, or +in any other history except that of India, testimony which shows that +asceticism was an essential part of religion. It is true that we do find +fasting to be occasionally mentioned in the Old Testament as a sign of +grief or of abasement,* but never as a means of gaining salvation in a +future life--whose very existence was unknown to Moses and the Jews. The +observation of a period of hunger formed no part of the Mosaic law. On +the contrary, ancient European religions, and those of Egypt and Western +Asia were associated with feasting and jollification (see Deut. xiv. +26.) The Jews were encouraged to indulge in a plurality of wives; but +they were nowhere directed or recommended to live on alms. Again, +we find nowhere any orders to the priests or Levites to go about the +country expounding or teaching the law. Consequently, when we notice +the rise of asceticism, preaching, and celibacy, between the time of +Antiochus and that of Jesus, we are justified in the belief that they +were introduced from without, and by those of the only religion which +inculcated them as articles of faith and practice. + + * In Lev. xvi. 30; xxiii. 27, 28; and Numb. xxix. 7, there + are directions given to the Jews, that on a certain day they + are "to afflict their souls," and a threat is added, that + "whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that + self same day, he shall be cut off from amongst his people." + There is no specific direction as to the method of + afflicting the soul; but it is to be associated with + absolute laziness, for whatever soul doeth any work on that + day shall be destroyed (Lev. xxiii. 28-31). The law is + evidently a very modern one, as we do not find it referred + to in the Ancient Jewish records, and the idea of atonement + was introduced by the Talmudic Pharisees. + +3. The Hebrews always showed during the Old Testament times a great +aptitude to adopt the faith of outsiders--and as the Jewish people were +in great abasement and misery at the period when it is probable that the +Buddhist missionaries came into Syria, they would be prepared for the +doctrine that they were suffering for bygone sins. The idea that men +in the present were sometimes punished for sins done in the past was a +Hebrew as well as a Hindoo idea, else Saul's sons would not have +been hanged for their father's misdeeds, or the Amalekites have been +slaughtered by Samuel, because their forefathers had some centuries +before fought with Israel and been conquered by Moses and Joshua. + +4. That after the Persian reign it is certain, that three Jewish sects +existed,--the Pharisees, the Essenes, and the Sadducees--the last alone +being purely Mosaic, and the two first being very like the Buddhists. + +To strengthen the links of evidence, we may now say a few words about +the remarkable sect of the Essenes, premising our belief that it was +founded by missionaries of the faith of Sakya Muni, whose doctrines and +practice became, subsequently, modified by Mosaism, just as Christianity +was considerably remoulded by Talmudism, or, to use an example nearer +our own times, as the Christianity preached by European missionaries to +the New Zealanders has been altered by the natives, in accordance with +their ancient ideas. To them the Old Testament is the Bible, the New +Testament is of no value. + +The Essenes are described by the Rev. Dr Ginsburg, whose authority I +follow (_The Essenes_. Longmans, London, 1864), as a Jewish sect of +singular piety. They did not sacrifice animals, but endeavoured to make +their own minds holy--fit for an acceptable offering to Jehovah. They +provided themselves with just enough for the necessities of life, and +held such goods as they possessed, e.g., clothes and cloaks, in common. +They only allowed themselves to converse on such parts of philosophy +as concern God and man. They abhorred slavery, but each served his +neighbour. They respected the Sabbath. Their fundamental laws were, to +love God, to love virtue, and to love mankind. They affected to despise +money, fame, pleasures, professed the most strict chastity, or, rather, +continence, and they practised endurance as a duty. They also cultivated +simplicity, cheerfulness, modesty, and order. They lived together in +the same houses and villages, and sustained the poor, the sick, and the +aged. When they earned wages the money was paid to a common stock. They +did not marry, or have children; but if any of their body chose to wed, +there was nothing in the regulations to prevent their doing so, only +they then had to enter another class of the brotherhood. When possible, +they worked all day. They were highly respected by those who knew them, +and were frequently receiving additions to their number. They seem to +have resembled, in their habits and customs, a fraternity of monks of +a working, rather than a mendicant, order. Pleasure they regarded as +an evil, having a tendency to enchain man to earthly enjoyments, a +peculiarly Buddhist tenet. Still further, they considered the use of +ointment as defiling, which was certainly not a Hebraic doctrine; but +they dressed decently. They prayed devoutly before sunrise; but until +the orb had risen they never spoke of worldly matters. They gave thanks, +and prayed before and after eating; and ere they entered the refectory +bathed in pure water. The food provided was just sufficient to keep +them alive. When a person wished to enter the community, he underwent +a period of trial, and, if approved, he proceeded to take an oath--"to +fear God; to be just towards all men; never to wrong anyone; to detest +the wicked, and love the righteous; to keep faith with all men; not to +be proud; not to try and outshine his neighbours in any matter; to love +truth, and to try and reclaim all liars; never to steal or to cajole; +never to conceal anything from the brotherhood, and to be reticent with +outsiders." The Essenes reverenced Moses, and so great was their respect +for the Sabbath, that they would not ease nature on that day. They bore +all tortures with perfect equanimity, and fully believed in a future +state of existence, in which the soul, liberated from the body, +rejoices, and mounts upwards to a paradise, where there are no storms, +no cold, and no intense heat, and where all are constantly refreshed by +gentle ocean breezes. Josephus compares this sect with the Pythagoreans; +and I think this fact is worth noticing, for there was, in old times, +a strong opinion that the founder of that sect brought his peculiar +opinions from Hindostan. Pliny, in writing of the Essenes, remarks that +their usages differ from those of all other nations--which we may +take as a demonstration that they did not copy their constitution from +Greeks, Romans, or Jews. Respecting the origin of this sect nothing +certain is known, beyond that they were in existence at the time of the +Maccabees. Critics decline to see in them any direct relations to the +Pythagoreans, and some imagine that the order sprung naturally out of a +spiritual reading of the Mosaic law, modified, probably, by Persian or +Chaldee notions. + +It seems to me, however, that the tenets and practice of the Essenes +indicate rather a Buddhist than a Mosaic origin, for celibacy is +everywhere in the Old Testament spoken of as a misfortune, and abundance +of wives as a proof of God's favour; and I imagine that some devout +Indian missionary persuaded many pious Jews to listen to his doctrine, +but that he was unable to convert them sufficiently to induce them +to give up the law of Moses for that of Siddartha. I conceive still +further, that John the Evangelist, and, subsequently, Jesus of Nazareth, +were perfectly cognizant of the doctrines of the Essenes, if they were +not members of the sect, and that there is nothing incredible in +the idea that both these preachers were instructed by some Buddhist +missionary, although neither was ever induced to give up his belief +in the absolute truth of those Jewish writings, which both had been +accustomed to regard as absolutely true and sacred. + +We readily allow that our theory may be called a wild one, but we assert +that, in reality, it is far otherwise. Of course a critic may say that +John, and his follower, Jesus, were just as likely to have struck out a +new theory of salvation as Sakya Muni was; or, if exceedingly orthodox, +he may assume that the preaching of Jesus was the pure result of +inspiration, not such as was given to the prophets by Jehovah, but +emanating from himself as a source of absolute truth. But we demur to +both assertions. The profound reverence that Mary's son showed, in the +early part of his career, for the law and for the prophets, would have +prevented his doing anything to upset the former in so marked a manner +as he did, in respect to the Sabbath day and other matters (see Matthew +v. 31, 32, 33, 34, 38, 39, 43, 44), unless there had been some strong +influence, from without, brought to bear upon his mind, and to cast it +in a different mould to that of Pharisee or Sadducee. Nor can we +believe Jesus to have been inspired, unless we extend the same belief to +Buddha's teaching, and believe that he also was a fountain of light and +righteousness, which we certainly are not disposed to do. + +Our hypothesis respecting a connection between the teaching of the +Indian and the Hebrew, appears to be strengthened when we contemplate +the distinction between the doctrines of the Jewish and the Hindoo +sage. We have seen how they agree as regards the morality which they +inculcate, the celibacy and poverty that they enjoin, the firm belief +in preexistent, or original, sin, and in a future state of rewards or +punishments. They differ in the veneration paid to antecedent authority. +Sakya Muni believed in his own inspiration, and rejected the writings +which were reverenced by his parents and Mends. Jesus seems to have +believed that he was himself supplemental to Moses and the prophets. +He did not want to destroy or to supersede them absolutely, as we learn +from Matthew v. 17, and xxiii. 23. He had, apparently, an unbounded +confidence in their truth, and, with an assurance in their sanctity, he +spoke of their writings as the very words of God, and we shall see +that the main, if not the only, points in which Jesus diverges from +the Hindoo prophet were the products of the Hebrew's full belief in the +sacred truth of the Jewish Scriptures. + +The son of Mary taught, as the most important part of his doctrine, that +the world would shortly come to an end, and that he was sent to +show mankind, or, rather, the Jews, how to escape from the terrible +catastrophe. I do not think it possible for anyone to read the words +attributed to Jesus, and not recognize that this was the turning point +upon which everything in his preaching hinged. Sakya Muni spoke of the +future misery of all those who did not adopt his method of salvation; +Jesus treated of the impending destruction of the whole world, of an +immediate judgment of mankind, and of the certain punishment of the +majority. That we are not uttering vague assertions we may show by +reference to Matt. xxiv. 3, wherein we find certain disciples asking, +"What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" +After a long preamble, telling of troubles and misery, we have the reply +of Jesus in vv. 29 et seq.:--"Immediately after the tribulation of those +days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, +and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens +shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in +heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall +see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great +glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and +they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end +of heaven to another.... Verily I say unto you, This generation shall +not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." This is substantially, +and almost literally, repeated in Mark xiii. 26-30, and in Luke xxi. 32.* + + * I have heard the words of this preceding quotation handled + by a great variety of divines, asserting themselves to be + orthodox, and who hold the position of Christian ministers. + All, without exception, profess to regard the expressions + about the sun being darkened and the stars falling, as + figurative or metaphorical, and each, according to his + prevalent ideas, or to the pet theory of the day, explain + the imagery as having a reference to some emperor, king, + queen, general of armies, and I know not what besides. But, + to anyone who examines the phraseology closely, it will be + seen that the words are to be taken in their most literal + sense. Jesus had, as we have shown, a firm belief in the + immediate destruction of the world, and upon that theme he + descants and dilates. Taking the Mosaic account of creation + as strictly true to the letter, Jesus regarded the sun, + moon, and stars as apanages of our earth, and very naturally + drew the inference, that when the world was burned up, there + would be no necessity for the celestial luminaries--the sun + would cease to shine, the moon would be dark, and the stars + fall from the sky under the influence of the same power that + produced the mundane destruction. These defunct bodies would + be replaced by a vast apparition, whose glory would exceed + that of the ancient rulers of the day and night, and he who + now stood on earth as a man of sorrows and acquainted with + grief would be seen and recognized as the arbiter of the + destinies of every man. The passages referred to in the text + bear no other meaning than the one here assigned to them; + nor would anyone, however wild "a divine" he might be, ever + see, or endeavour to discover, in the words referred to, a + hidden meaning, unless the solemn assertion of Jesus of his + immediate advent in the clouds of heaven had been such a + signal failure as time has proved it to be. We have always + protested against those theologians who pronounce passages + in the Bible to be metaphorical or literal as it suits the + event, and we do so now. Why such men should insist upon it + that everything in the Koran and Buddhistic books must be + taken au pied de la lettre and that everything in the Bible + may be allegorised, is a matter beyond my comprehension. + They surely forget the dictum--"with what measure ye mete it + shall be measured to you again" (Matt, vii. 2). + +In Matthew x. we find Jesus sending out his disciples as missionaries, +saying to them (v. 7), "as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven +is at hand," a doctrine previously proclaimed by John (Matt iii. 2), and +based upon some words of Isaiah and the more precise presages in Daniel +See also Matt iv. 14-17; Luke ix. 2, and x. 9. We find a yet more +important reference in Matt. xi. 14, in which Jesus is reported to have +said, when speaking of John, "If ye will receive it, this is Elias, +which was for to come." The observation here made plainly refers to +an utterance of the Jewish Malachi, who, in his last two chapters, +foreshadows the advent of a messenger, who should immediately precede +the coming of the Lord to judge the world. There is yet another passage, +of almost equal force, in Matt. xvi. 27, 28--"For the Son of man shall +come in the glory of the Father with his angels, and then shall he +reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, there be +some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son +of man coming in his kingdom." In Matt. xix. 28 we read, "Jesus said +unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the +regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, +ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of +Israel," &c. Again, we see in Matt, xxv., after a parable intended +to show the possibility of a sudden occurrence, the words, "Watch, +therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of +man cometh." That this belief was due to the Jewish writings we judge +from the frequent references made to them; and we may especially notice +one which is attributed to Jesus after his resurrection, viz., "all +things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and +in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me." So firmly was the +belief of an immediate judgment impressed upon the minds of Christians, +that we find Paul affirming respecting it (1 Cor. xv.), "We shall not +all sleep, but we shall all be changed... at the last trump" (vv. 31, +52). This is more decidedly enunciated in 1 Thess. iv. 15-17--"For this +we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive, and +remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them that are +asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, +with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead +in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be +caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, +and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Compare with this 2 Peter iii. +1-4, in which there is a repetition of the same leading idea, and with +Acts i. 11, and ii. 16-36. + +From these passages, it is unquestionable that Jesus preached that a +destruction of the whole creation was imminent, and we, who have the +light of history to guide us, can readily understand the powerful +influence of the doctrine. We have read of panics, even in London, where +some enthusiast has propounded the statement, that the world was to +be destroyed upon a certain day, and can well believe, how a similar +assertion would frighten ignorant, and, probably, learned Hebrew men. +But, as time advanced, and generation after generation passed away, the +original doctrine required to be modified. Yet it has never been quite +given up, and to this day, a part of the system of Christianity is, to +put faith in a second coming of Jesus, to judge the world. The +"second coming" here referred to, frequently passes by the name of the +Millennium, and earnest pietists believe that the son of Mary will come +in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, to punish all who +do not believe in him; and to elevate the existing, and all other past +saints, to be kings and priests in a new Jerusalem, wherein all will +enjoy perfect happiness for a thousand years. + +There is another point in connection between Buddha and Jesus, to which +the biblical student should not fail to pay attention. The followers +of the former had a perfect belief that each of them had lived in a +previous state of existence. Upon this point not a doubt disturbed +them. The disciples of the latter, however, had no such ideas, nor when +propounded to them, did they apparently understand it. As far as we can +judge from the first three Gospels, Jesus did not assert that he had +ever existed prior to the time of his birth at Bethlehem. But in the +fourth Gospel, written as almost every scholar believes, about A.D. +150, a claim is repeatedly made by Jesus, of having lived for an untold +period, in the spirit world in company with the Father. + +We will not enter here upon the grossness of thought, which is mingled +with the better ideas of the writer of John's Gospel--a notion that +involves the necessity for a celestial spouse of God; for if the son +existed--"begotten by the father before all worlds," it could only be by +some union--for the word "son" implies the necessity of a father and a +mother--more especially when it is declared, that he was "begotten." +Our chief business, however, is not with this point, but with the +preexistence of Jesus. + +The assertions by which the claim to a preexistence is recognized, may +be found in the well known words in the beginning of John, also in the +10th verse--"The world was made by him." In these parts, the evangelist +declares that Jesus was coeval with his father, which no son can be. In +chap. iii. 13, we find, "no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he +that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven,"--a +strange text indeed, which totally ignores the ascension of Enoch and +Elijah--or which demonstrates that they lived in heaven before they were +born on earth, and which still further makes Jesus say, that he was in +heaven at the time when he was talking to Nicodemus! In chap, vi. 62, +there is a similar idea, "and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up +where he was before." In chap. viii. 14 to 23, 38, and 56, a similar +idea is propounded; and in v. 58, Jesus is made to assert positively, +"before Abraham was, I am." In chap, xvi. 28, again, we read, "I came +forth from the Father," and in chap. xvii. 5, we see, "and now, O +Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had +with thee before the world was." + +We do not believe that the son of Mary made these assertions himself, +nor did the son of Maya. But Sakya Muni had not long been dead, before +his disciples promulgated the doctrine that he was, in reality, a part +of the Supreme, who had existed for everlasting, and had been manifested +in the flesh to become a teacher; what his followers did for Buddha, it +was natural that others should do for Christ. It may be that the latter +were stimulated to do so by noticing the former, but it is quite as +probable that the idea of glorification came spontaneously to both sets +of men. Whichever view of the case we may take, one thing is certain, +viz., that both Buddhists and Christians, have, from the death of their +respective masters, done everything in their power, century by century, +to augment the claims of each, until indeed, individuals are found, who +regard Sakya Muni as the Supreme, and Jesus the All in All. The learned +historian may trace in the East, the rise of Buddha's influence in some +spots, and its decadence in others; and, when he looks nearer home, +he may see the gradual fall of Jesus, and the rise of Mary amongst the +Papists, whilst amongst the Protestants, the son has been raised even +above the Father. Not many months have passed, since a clever preacher +and thoughtful man, told me that he was determined to see nothing in the +world but Christ--for whatever was done, he felt a certain confidence +that it was done by him, and for his glory. + +We see then, that both Buddhism and Christianity have been founded +on the assertion that mankind suffers pain, misery, and death, in +consequence of antecedent criminality before "The Great Master"--that +men will be punished after death for certain sins committed in this +life; and that they can attain to salvation by adopting the precepts +and practice laid down by Buddha and by Christ. Those who preach these +doctrines are sure of the facts that misery exists, and that man desires +to escape it. According, then, to the painting of the one, and the +earnest promise of the other, all teachers of the two sects have a +strong hold upon the imagination of their followers. I assert, without +fear of contradiction from any thoughtful man, that the main +inducements held out by our divines to persuade their hearers to embrace +Christianity, are an awful painting of the horrors of hell, and +an assurance not only of escaping it, but of gaining a place quite +different to the Devil's kingdom, provided only that the plan adopted +by the theologian is followed to the letter. Neither Buddhists nor +Christians seem ever to have studied the laws of nature, or the works of +the Supreme, with any largeness of mind or understanding. Had they done +so, they would alter their views respecting sin entirely, and they would +attribute the miseries of life to their proper cause. + +It will be interesting to the reader, if we now endeavour to remove from +the two religious systems, of which we treat, all those parts, which are +to my mind, clearly imaginary; and examine what is left behind. There +is nothing beyond a skeleton of morality, pure and simple. But even the +morality is not based upon common sense. It is tainted by what every +thinker must regard as absurdities. For example, when Siddartha +instructed his disciples to become ascetics, and live upon alms, he did +recognize the fact, that, if all men adopted his law, they must starve; +for not one would have anything to give. In like manner, when Jesus +of Nazareth sent off his disciples without any provision for their +subsistence; and when he preached, "take no thought for the morrow," +he did not appear to take in the idea, that if all the world became +converted to his doctrine, all would suffer, and die of hunger. It is, +therefore, quite as necessary for a modern philosopher, to correct some +of the better parts of the doctrines of the sons of Maya Devi, and +Mary, as it is to emendate their worst features. If such an one were +to pretend--or to believe, that he was "inspired" to rectify the +dispensation of Siddartha and Jesus, as the latter thought himself +commissioned to improve upon, or to fulfil the law of Moses--it is +probable that he would be regarded as a prophet; but if he should only +try to coax men to think, rather than drive them to believe, he would be +unheeded by the majority. Nor after all, does it much signify. Sheep are +tolerably comfortable whoever the shepherd may be, and if there should +be a fight between rivals for the ownership of a flock, the quadrupeds +do not care, so long as they are not trained to fight, to fast, or to +live on an animal diet. + +When any one speaks of the morality, pure and simple, inculcated by +Sakya Muni and Jesus, it is a fair question to ask whether asceticism +is included therein. In other words, is there anything of the nature of +absolute goodness in the attempt to make oneself miserable? Or, to vary +the question still further--granting, for the sake of argument, that it +is intrinsically right in the sight of God to abstain from such of our +propensities as induce us to marry, to eat, drink, and sleep heartily, +to fight a duel with a rival, to steal, to lie, to covet, and the +like,--granting, too, that every such abstinence is entered as "an +asset" on the creditor side of the books of Heaven--is it an equally +available item to abstain from brotherly love and comfort generally? +The logician sees clearly that there is no distinction in kind between +controlling one set of animal passions and another, and is forced to +allow that if it be a commendable thing to avoid indulging in one carnal +appetite, it is still more commendable to endeavour to counteract them +all Consequently, by granting the premisses, we find ourselves landed in +a difficulty. If universal asceticism were to prevail, it is clear that +man would be opposing himself to the manifest designs of the Creator, +as shown in the world at large; and we cannot conceive, that direct +disobedience to instincts, implanted in us by our Maker, can be anything +but an item on the debtor side in the books, which Jewish writers +have said that He keeps. Thus we are driven to investigate the very +assertions which in the commencement of our inquiry we took for granted, +and to ask ourselves, is there really any intrinsic value in morality +in the sight of God? Can a most virtuous life command for the individual +who has practised it an eternity of bliss? Jesus answers this tolerably +distinctly in the words reported in Luke xvii. 10, "When ye shall have +done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable +servants: we have done that which it was our duty to do." But we doubt +whether this dictum enunciates sufficiently clearly the abstract value +of morality. To ascertain this we must endeavour to read the book of +nature on other pages than those which treat of man. + +There can be no doubt in the mind of a thoughtful observer that man and +the lower animals have much in common--that; all have been framed with a +purpose, and are ruled by natural laws. Some creatures excel in cunning, +some in reason, some in activity, some in sloth--all have certain +proclivities. In some, instinct leads them to eat grass, boughs, +leaves, and fruits; in others, it teaches them to seek insects or +other creatures for their food. All have, more or less, periodically a +propensity to propagate;--which is attended in some by a pairing off +of male and female, who consort for the purpose of having offspring and +assisting each other in rearing them. In others, either where there +is naturally an equality of the sexes or a preponderance of males, the +latter instinctively fight with each other for a single mate, or for a +number of females. Again, in the case of animals actuated by hunger, or +by other motives, there are frequent battles, and the conquered is not +only killed, but eaten. Or where two or more sets of animals are living, +the one on land, the other in the air, we may find that one will rob the +other. Nothing, for example, is much more common than for rats and crows +to steal eggs, or for tigers to commit murder. Nature, then, being such +as we find it, we cannot assert--reasonably--that a young stag when he +covets a neighbour's wife and fights her present consort, for property +in her, commits a crime against the Almighty,--nor can we say that a fox +which steals a goose will be sent to hell. On the other hand, we should +never think of commending a hungry lion for abstaining from killing a +harmless lamb, nor of declaring that he has done a good action in the +sight of heaven. In like manner, a writer in proverbs tells us that +"men do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is +hungry,"--and the general consent of mankind refuses to see the crime of +murder in the slaughter of one, out of a miserable boat's crew, who +is killed and eaten that the survivors may escape death from hunger. +Society, too, is somewhat lenient when two men fight for the love +of such a woman as Helen. But we readily recognise the fact that a +community, or even a family, would be weakened and disorganized if theft +was encouraged, and every pretty female was the cause of close fighting +between man and man. Hence we see that, in reality, that which is called +"the moral law," is a code which is intended to influence social life in +this world, and not the position of human beings in the next. + +However much we might desire to think the contrary, we are driven to the +belief that the moral precepts inculcated on the Jews, the Buddhists, +and the Christians, had a human, and, we may add, a political origin. +Taking the Bible even as being what many believe it to be--the inspired +word of God--we must nevertheless allow that such a code as that book +contains in Exodus and elsewhere, existed in Egypt long before the +departure of the Jews from that country. Had not murder been prohibited +on the Nile bank, Moses would not have run away to escape the penalty +for homicide. Because the Mizraim punished killing, were they taught of +God? + +The natural answer to this query when it is addressed to a bibliolater +is that the Egyptians were taught by God to punish murder with death +through the intervention of their forefather, Ham, who heard the command +given by God to Noah, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his +blood be shed," Gen. ix. 6. But if the Egyptians thus knew the law, so +the descendants of Shem must have learned it also; and if so, what need +was there to repeat it amongst the thunders of Sinai. It is plain from +the romantic legend of Joseph and Potiphar's wife: first, that the +Hebrew slave feared to commit adultery, as it was a great wickedness +and a sin against God, Gen. xxxix. 9; and, secondly, that the Egyptian +considered it a crime in anyone to violate the wife of another. But +neither Joseph nor Potiphar could by any possibility have heard of the +laws enunciated on Sinai. So, if we could inquire farther, we should +most assuredly learn that the Mizraim venerated their parents, punished +theft, and took means to prevent and to punish perjury. If, then, +the Egyptians had, long before they ever heard of a Jew, the same +commandments amongst them which were subsequently enunciated in the +wilderness, we can only come to the conclusion that the Hebrew writer +who told the story of Sinai, gave the god whom he described, a great +deal of unnecessary work. Can we for a moment suppose that the Jews when +in Egypt had their wives in common?--and if each man had his mate, and +each woman her husband, it is almost self-evident that adultery would +not be tolerated amongst them. As there were therefore distinct moral +laws long before the Exodus, the decalogue was entirely superfluous. + +The morality inculcated by teachers is nothing more than instructions +for mankind how to attain the greatest harmony amongst their fellows. +It is very natural for a thoughtless man to assert that one who wilfully +disturbs the general comfort of the human family during his life-time, +shall be tormented eternally after his death; and, on the other hand, +to proclaim that he who does everything in his power to increase the +happiness of his fellow-men shall be rewarded in a heaven above, with +everlasting music, or other delights; yet we may fairly doubt the +averments, for both are founded entirely upon human ideas of right and +wrong, justice and injustice. The prevalent idea is, that everything +which to some man seems to be wrong on earth, will be righted in another +sphere--Even Jesus appears to have adopted this view, for he talks (Luke +xvi) of a Dives and Lazarus--the one, a rich man who fared sumptuously +every day, and the other a beggar, full of sores, who longed for the +crumbs from wealth's table. After the deaths of these two people, we +are told that the rich man went to Hell, and the poor one to Heaven, +not--apparently--because one was bad and the other good; but simply +because misery in the present is sure to be changed into luxury for the +future, and _vice versa_. We see this doctrine distinctly enunciated by +the imaginary Abraham, in whose bosom Lazarus lay, for he remarks (Luke +xvi. 25), "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good +things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and +thou art tormented." We nowhere find that his position was a reward to +the beggar for virtue or morality. There is also a current doctrine that +he whom we call a vile man--one who indulges his brutal desires, shall +in another world become more brutalized--meeting with, and being beaten +by, powers whose mischievous propensities are superior to his own; +whilst, on the other hand, he whom we call a saint, one who endeavours +to subdue the affections of the flesh in this world, shall be able to +indulge in any desire that he may have, in the next, unlimitedly. In +short, each individual makes a Heaven for himself, and a Hell for his +neighbours. I have heard, in days gone by, a Southern States lady say +she would not go to heaven, willingly, if she knew that she should meet +negroes there on terms of equality. + +In rejoinder to these considerations, the question is put, "Could the +world be habitable by men, without the existence amongst them of a +belief in a future state, in which rewards and punishments shall be +meted out for supposed misdeeds committed in the present?" It is well +for us to look the matter in the face boldly, and ask ourselves whether +fierce tigers, angry bulls, combative stags, kindred devouring rats, +offspring eating alligators, infanticidal birds and pigs have succeeded +in extirpating their race? There are herds, without number, of +graminivorous animals in Africa, and thousands of carnivorous creatures +who could not exist without murdering some of the former; yet the +slaughter committed by scores of lions does not annihilate antelopes. In +like manner there are many folks who have lived in sundry islands of +the Pacific without an idea, so far as we can learn, of an eternity, +who sometimes spend their leisure time in fighting with and eating each +other, and occasionally unite to kill a shark: each individual lives and +dies like any other animal, but the race remains. Even the systematic +"hellishness" of persecution indulged in by the followers of Jesus in +the middle ages did not extirpate the Jews; and if organized murders, +such as were, in days gone by, sanctioned by individuals wielding the +sceptre of powerful governments, could not cut off from existence a +comparatively feeble race, surely we may conclude that a nation can +continue populous even if any individual, in a fit of passion, should +rise against his fellow and smite him to the dust. But we need not go to +New Zealand, China, and Japan to prove that men can live in a community +without an idea of eternity, for we have only to refer to the Jews, the +so-called people of God. To them no knowledge of eternal life was given, +consequently we infer that Jehovah knew that they would get along in the +world very well without it. What Elohim thought was unnecessary, it is +not for man to propound as important. + +When the modern Christian philosopher--and there really are a few who +deserve the term--finds that the morality of Jesus did not materially +differ from that of Sakya Muni, he endeavours to show that the doctrine +of "faith in the son of God" is of more value than simple propriety, +and that even the most virtuous life will not enable a man to attain to +paradise unless he holds the Catholic faith. When the "Catholic faith," +as it is termed, is placed in such a position, we are bound to examine +its pretensions, and inquire in what way doctrines or dogmas are better +than morality, and whether they are in any way superior to what the +orthodox call "irreligion." To my mind the best method of solving +the question is an appeal to history. If, as it is contended by the +orthodox, the teaching of Christianity is far above that of any other +religion, then it must follow that all those who believe in it, or even +profess it, must be paragons amongst men as citizens and rulers. To +what extent many theologians believe in this axiom may be judged by the +frequency with which we hear, from the pulpit, an old anecdote to +the effect, that the expression, "see how these Christians love one +another," was, in olden time, nearly equal to the most powerful sermon +in favour of the religion of Jesus. Without pointing a sneer, by +requesting my readers to substitute the word Buddhists for Christians, +let me lay the very heavy charge against the leaders of the faith, that +the words in question are the heaviest condemnation possible against the +supposed value of the doctrines of the son of Mary, as formerly and at +present expounded. "See how these Christians love!" Aye, see how they +love--read their own histories of the past, and their newspapers in +the present; attend their meetings; listen to their speeches; and +even follow them into private life. In every position "see how these +Christians love one another" is the damning sentence which tells of the +real value of the doctrine attributed to the son of Mary. Whilst I +write (Jan. 7, 1870), a council, called OEcumenical, consisting of Roman +Catholic Christian bishops, summoned to the capital of ancient Italy +from all parts of the world, is sitting, and one of the subjects of its +deliberation is, whether a certain individual, elected by men to assume +the direction of a community of men holding a particular faith in +common, shall be regarded, by those who join such branch of the church, +as absolutely infallible in every statement of opinion which he makes as +a high priest. Men positively have met to clothe, and now have invested, +a man with an attribute of God, and millions of Christians will, by +those men, be compelled to consider themselves bound by the decision! +"See how these Christians love!" they are persecuted by the world at +first, then they persecute their oppressors, and massacre each other; +educated by Jesus, they gradually encourage ignorance until they reach +a superstition as crass as the darkness of a dense fog in a moonless +night. They oppose the advancement of knowledge and science, then, by +degrees, endeavour to exalt each other, until, by common consent, they +deify the chieftain of the order. There is not a known crime of which +the leaders of the Christian church, as it is called, have not been +guilty, both as men and ecclesiastical rulers. "See how these Christians +love!" Yet these very men endeavour to deride, and affect to despise, +those whom they call the godless. The latter, taking their stand upon +morality and common sense, aver that all affairs between man and his +maker ought to be referred to the arbitrement of Heaven. The Christian +hierarchs, on the contrary, declare that they are the earthly agents of +heaven, and that they, and the secular arm--a very mundane court--can +act just as well, perhaps better, than the Supreme Judge. We will +not say whether it was a pleasant pastime for the Spanish, and other +Inquisitors, to torture individuals who were thought to be inimical to +the true faith, inasmuch as we do not know their inmost mind; but +we asseverate that all Europe, except those who had the power of +persecution, and used it, rejoiced greatly when the enthusiastic armies, +of what was designated atheistic France, annihilated the so-called Holy +Inquisition. + +I speak with sober earnestness when I say, that after forty years' +experience amongst those who profess Christianity, and those who +proclaim, more or less quietly, their disagreement with it, I have +noticed more sterling virtue and morality amongst the last than the +first. Though I thus express myself, I must also acknowledge my belief +in the dictum, "that many men are better than their creeds would +make them," and, consequently, that all men are not to be taken as +characteristic of their system of belief. I know, personally, many +pious, sterling, good Christian people, whom I honour, admire, and, +perhaps, would be glad to emulate or to equal; but they deserve the +eulogy thus passed on them in consequence of their good sense having +ignored the doctrine of faith to a great degree, and having cultivated +the practice of good works. They have picked out the best bits of the +Bible, and rejected the worst. In my judgment the most praiseworthy +Christians whom I know are modified Buddhists, though, probably, not one +of them ever heard of Siddartha. I would gladly trace their character, +but I forbear, as I think they would be horrified at the thought of +my comparing them with those whom they have been taught to regard as +followers of a false prophet, or something worse. Let it suffice to say +that I honour consistent reasonable Christians everywhere, and that +whatever remarks I make which seem to be opposed to this, are directed +against those whose doctrines, morality, and conduct, ostensibly built +upon the Bible, are irrational and bad. + +Since the preceding remarks were written, there have appeared three very +remarkable works upon Buddhism in addition to those which I have already +noticed--and they have the advantage for general readers, of being +clothed in an English dress. The first which I will notice, is _Travels +of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun: Buddhist Pilgrims from China to India_ (408 +A.D., and 518 a.d.; London, Truebner, 1869, small 8vo. pp. 208.) This +work is remarkable as illustrating the fact, that there has been the +idea, even in China, of sending men, or of devout persons spontaneously +going, to distant places, to endeavour to seek for more perfect +religious knowledge, than they believe themselves and their teachers to +possess where they are. With such an example before us, we can give +more easy credence to the stories told of Pythagoras, of Solon, and +Herodotus; how they visited distant countries to learn the way of God +and man more perfectly. Nor must we pass by the proof, which the journey +of the Chinese travellers affords, that, what may be called missionary +zeal is not an apanage of Christianity alone. An account of their +travels will be found in the next chapter. The second publication +to which we refer, is _Buddhaghosa's Parables_, translated from the +Burmese, by Capt. T. Rogers; with an introduction containing _Buddha's +Dhammapada_, or _Path of Virtue_, translated from the Pali, by Max +Mueller; London, Trubner & Co., 1870, 8vo. pp. 374. This work is of such +importance to all students of the Science of Religion, that we shall +notice it in a separate essay. The third contribution, is _The Modern +Buddhist_, being the views of a Siamese Minister of State, on his own +and other religions, translated, with remarks, by Henry Alabaster, +interpreter of H. B. M., consulate-general in Siam; London, Triibner & +Co., 1870, small 8vo. pp. 91. This has now arrived at a second edition, +and is called _The Wheel of the Law_. + +This last book is, perhaps, the most interesting of the three, inasmuch +as it enables us to compare the modern development of the religion of +Buddha, and that of Christ. It enables us, moreover, to see ourselves +and modern Christian doctrines as others see them, and to discover the +essential points at issue, between the followers of the son of Maya +Devi, and of Mary. + +The first point to which we would call attention, is the statement that +the Siamese are nowhere excelled in the sincerity of their belief, +and the liberality with which they support their religion. "In Bangkok +alone, there are more than a hundred monasteries, and ten thousand monks +and novices. More than this, every male Siamese, sometime during his +life, and generally in the prime of it, takes orders as a monk, and +retires for some months or years, to practise abstinence and meditation +in a monastery." Against this, or side by side with it, what can Great +Britain, or any other Christian country show? We have, it is true, +plenty of monasteries in Christendom, and in the majority of western +kingdoms, there are colleges and universities for the education of +youth, and there is, in some such institutions, a pretence of meditation +and of abstinence. Yet the finger of scandal points, and has pointed, +for many hundred years, to the disreputable conduct pursued in almost +the whole of such Christian institutions; whereas, not even its enemies +can find evidence to convict Buddhist ascetics of indulging in sensual +gratifications of any kind whatever. + +We learn, from Mr Alabaster's preface, that the late king of Siam, +though "eminent amongst monks for his knowledge of the Buddhist +scriptures, boldly preached against the canonicity of those of them, +whose relations were opposed to his reason, and his knowledge of modern +science." "His powers as a linguist were considerable, and enabled him +to use an English library with facility." They are his views--which royal +etiquette prevented him from writing, that inspired his prime minister. +What have we here? Surely it is an example that British rulers, and +especially divines, should follow. Yet with all our boasted skill, +science, and powers of thought, our theologians prefer to preach, and to +uphold, doctrines which they know to be repugnant, both to reason and to +science, rather than abandon that which was propounded when reason and +knowledge were almost in their infancy. Certainly, in this respect, +the believers in Sakya Muni show themselves more sensible than those in +Jesus. + +Again, let us quote the following paragraph--pointing out the analogy we +wish to draw, by using a literary contrivance--and calling attention to +the fact, that no Roman Catholic authority in Christian Europe, has yet +dared to say, what a Buddhist ruler does. + +"Our {Siamese \ Papal} literature is not only scanty, but nonsensical, +full of stories of {genii \ saints} stealing {women \ relics} and {men +\ saints} fighting with {genii \ devils} and {extraordinary persons\ +Elijah and Philip} who could fly through the air, and bring dead +people to life. And, even those works, which profess to teach anything, +generally teach it wrong; so that there is not the least profit, though +one studies them from morning to night" (p. 7). + +The following observation is equally powerful--Chaya. Phya. +Praklang--the name of the Siamese author, might, "as a Buddhist, believe +in the existence of a God, sublimed above all human qualities and +attributes--a perfect God, above love, and hatred, and jealousy, calmly +resting in a quiet happiness that nothing could disturb; and of such a +God he would speak no disparagement, not from a desire to please Him, +or fear to offend Him, but from natural veneration. But he cannot +understand a God with the attributes and qualities of men, a God who +loves and hates, and shows anger, a Deity, who, whether described to him +by Christian Missionaries, or by Mahometans, Brahmins, or Jews, falls +below his standard of even an ordinary good man" (p. 25). + +After the passages which we have quoted, the translator gives many +pages of accounts of conversation between missionaries and the Siamese +minister, which well repay a perusal. They are too long for quotation +entire, but there are three paragraphs that deserve commemoration, as +they show us the reasoning powers of the Buddhist in favourable contrast +to the bigotry of his would-be instructor. "I said, 'then you consider +that even a stone in the bladder is created by God?' He replied, 'Yes, +everything, God creates everything.' 'Then,' answered I, if that is +so, God creates in man that which will cause his death, and you medical +missionaries remove it, and restore his health! Are you not opposing +God by so doing? Are you not offending Him in curing those whom He would +kill?' When I had said this the missionary became angry, and saying 'I +was hard to teach,' left me" (p. 29). Again, when he and Dr Gutzlaff +were discussing the story of the creation and "the fall," as taught in +the Christian and Jewish Bible, and the Buddhist has clearly the best of +the argument, the missionary told him, that if any spoke as the minister +had been doing in European countries, he would be put in prison--and +Chaya Phya adds, "I invite particular attention to this statement" (p. +34). Thus, not only in other parts of his work, but here also, he points +out how that which Christian emissaries say is "a religion of peace +on earth and good will to men" is, in reality, one of intolerance and +persecution, even on the showing of its own ministers. In the third +example to which I refer, Gutzlaff is again talking with Chaya upon the +curse of man, and the Siamese speaks thus--"Besides, the Bible says, by +belief in Christ, man shall escape the consequences of Eve's sin; yet +I cannot see that men do so escape in any degree, but suffer just as +others do." The missionary answered, "It is waste of time to converse +with evil men, who will not be taught, and so he left me" (p. 35). When +men like Gutzlaff, who is really eminent in his way, can be so readily +silenced and put to flight by a native of Siam, whose mind is not +familiar with the science and logical training of European thinkers, it +is by no means surprising that cultivated Englishmen should refuse +to believe in the childish stories and foolish doctrines that are +promulgated by Christians at home, as being an inspired and infallible +revelation from the Almighty. Alas, for our country and her people! +they have much to unlearn as well as to learn before they can lay a fair +claim to the position which they assume to hold. + +We may next quote the following, as being useful to missionary societies +here. After having described the religion of Papists, Protestants, and +Mormons, Chaya says, "All these three sects worship the same God and +Christ, why, then, should they blame each other, and charge each other +with believing wrongfully, and say to each other, 'You are wrong, and +will go to Hell; we are right, and shall go to Heaven?' You make us +think that it is one religion which Christians hold, yet how can we join +it when each party threatens us with Hell if we agree with another sect, +and there is none to decide between them? I beg comparison of this with +the teaching of the Lord Buddha, that whoever endeavours to keep the +commandments, and is charitable, and walks virtuously, must attain to +Heaven" (p. 43). The commandments referred to are-- + +1st. Thou shalt not destroy nor cause the destruction of any living +thing. + +2d. Thou shalt not, either by fraud or violence, obtain or keep that +which belongs to another. + +3d. Thou shall not lie carnally with any but proper objects for thy +lust. + +4th. Thou shalt not attempt, either by word or action, to lead others to +believe that which is not true. + +5th. Thou shalt not become intoxicated. + +We much fear, that if the commandments which nominal Christians observe +are contrasted with those kept by the Buddhists, that the former must be +regarded as much lower in the scale of religious civilization than the +latter. + +The Siamese author next discusses the question, "how shall a man select +that religion which he can trust to for his future happiness?" His +answer is, "He must reflect, and apply his mind to ascertain which +comes nearest to truth." Then follow a few very true remarks about the +difficulty of shaking off any faith once adopted--about the causes +which determine men to change their belief, and, in illustration of the +difficulties, the author quotes a sermon by Buddha to those who were +in doubt, and desired to select a right religion. "And the Lord Buddha +answered, You are right to doubt, for it was a doubtful matter. I say +unto all of you, do not believe in what ye have heard, that is, when you +have heard anyone say this is especially good or extremely bad; do not +reason with yourselves, that if it had not been true it would not +have been asserted, and so believe in its truth. Neither have faith in +traditions, because they have been handed down for many generations, and +in many places. + +"Do not believe in anything because it is rumoured and spoken of by +many; do not think that is a proof of its truth. + +"Do not believe merely because the written statement of some old sage is +produced; do not be sure that the writing has ever been revised by the +said sage, or can be relied on. Do not believe in what you have fancied, +thinking that, because an idea is extraordinary, it must have been +implanted by a Deva, or some wonderful being. + +"Do not believe in guesses, that is, assuming something at haphazard, as +a starting point, and then drawing conclusions from it--reckoning your +two and your three and your four before you have fixed your number one. + +"Do not believe because you think there is an analogy, that is, a +suitability in things and occurrences--such as believing that there must +be walls of the world because you see water in a basin, or that Mount +Meru must exist because you have seen the reflection of trees, or that +there must be a creating god because houses and towers have builders. + +"Do not believe in the truth of that to which you have become attached +by habit, as every nation believes in the superiority of its own dress, +and ornaments, and language. + +"Do not believe because your informant appears to be a credible person, +as, for instance, when you see anyone having a very sharp appearance, +conclude that he must be clever and trustworthy: or, when you see anyone +who has powers and abilities beyond what men generally possess, believe +in what he tells; or think that a great nobleman is to be believed, as +he would not be raised by the king to high station unless he were a good +man. + +"Do not believe merely on the authority of your teachers and masters, +or believe and practise merely because they believe and practise. + +"I tell you all, you must of yourselves know, that 'this is evil, this +is punishable, this is censured by wise men, belief in this will bring +no advantage to anyone, but will cause sorrow;' and when you know this, +then eschew it" (pp. 45-47). Then follows a long account of the examples +which Buddha gave to his disciples, examining them by questions, whose +answer is obvious; but these, though wonderfully to the point, are too +long for quotation, and we must refer our readers to the book itself. +Nor do we act thus, reluctantly, for we believe that every honest +inquirer will thank us for the introduction. We should rejoice if +some of our divines became acquainted with it. They might draw as +many valuable texts from the discourses attributed to Buddha, herein +described, as they do now from Jesus' sermon on the mount. We may add, +in passing, that, in the conversation of Sakya Muni, he says, "it is +better to believe in a future life, in which happiness or misery can +be felt, for if the heart believes therein, it will abandon sin and act +virtuously; and even if there is no resurrection, such a life will bring +a good name and the regard of men. But those who believe in extinction +at death, will not fail to commit any sin that they may choose, because +of their disbelief in a future; and if there should happen to be a +future after all, they will be at a disadvantage--they will be like +travellers without provisions" (p. 54). + +The following exposition of modern Buddhist belief well deserves +attention. + +"Buddhists believe that every act, word, or thought, has its +consequence, which will appear sooner or later in the present, or in +some future state. Evil acts will produce evil consequences, i.e., may +cause a man misfortune in this world, or an evil birth in hell, or as +an animal in some future existence. Good acts, etc., will produce good +consequences; prosperity in this world, or birth in heaven, or in a high +position in the world in some future state" (p. 57). + +We will only add, that if the value of Buddhism, like Christianity, is +to be known by its fruits, it is clear, that the former, as practised +generally in Siam, is decidedly superior to the latter as practised in +Great Britain, America, and Christendom, generally. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Priority of Buddhism to Christianity. Strange assumptions. + When was India first known to Christians? Thomas the + Apostle, When Asceticism was introduced into Christianity. + Results of inquiry into the introduction of Christianity + into India. Tarshish and Ceylon. Peacocks known as the + Persian birds to the Greeks, temp. Aristophanes. Indian + elephants in army of Darius. Roman traffic with India, b.c. + 30. Buddhist missionaries. The gift of tongues. Rise of + Asceticism in Western Asia. Essenes again. Collection of + Buddhist writings, 450 b.c. Degeneracy of original Faith. + Missionaries from China to Hindostan in search of Buddhist + works and knowledge. Travels of Fah Hian, their experience + and remarks. Quotations from their writings. Footprints of + Buddha and Peter. Immaculate conception of Sakya. Old + Simeon--a repetition. Wise men from the East. St. Ursula. + Three Buddhist councils to compile scriptures. Buddhism + lapsed into image-worship and processions. Progress of the + pilgrims. Return by sea. Deductions. Developments of + Christianity and Asceticism. Observations about travelling. + Conclusions. + +With the usual pertinacity of Englishmen, there are many devout +individuals who, on finding that Buddhism and Christianity very closely +resemble each other, asseverate, with all the vehemence of an assumed +orthodoxy, that the first has proceeded from the second. Nor can the +absurdity of attempting to prove that the future must precede the past +deter them from declaring that Buddhism was promulgated originally +by Christian missionaries from Judea, and then became deteriorated by +Brahminical and other fancies! It is really difficult, sometimes, to +discover what are the real tenets of the obstinate orthodox to whom +we refer; but, so far as we can learn from the character of their +opposition, it would appear that they do not deny the existence of such +a man as Sakya Muni, to whom his followers gave the name of Buddha. Just +in the same way, we may add, as his followers gave the name of Jesus +Christ to Ben Panther. Whilst allowing that Siddartha founded a new +religion, the orthodox assert that all its bad parts are human, whilst +all its good parts consist of doctrines tacked on to the original, after +Christianity had been introduced into India, by one or more of Jesus' +apostles or disciples. + +If, for the sake of argument, we accord to such cavillers the position +of reasonable beings, and ask them to give us some proof of the +assertion, that early Christian people went to Hindostan and preached +the gospel there; or even to point out, in history, valid proofs that +India was known to a single apostle, we find that they have nothing to +say beyond the vaguest gossip. + +What the testimony is we may find by turning to the article Thomas, +in Kitto's _Cyclopoedia of Biblical Literature_, which was written by +a learned professor of Gottingen. Therein we see, and the statement +is amply vouched by quotation from authorities, that the Apostle in +question is said to have preached the gospel in Parthia and in Persia, +and to have been buried in Edessa; and that, according to a later +tradition, Thomas went to India, and suffered martyrdom there. Then +follows a statement that this account has been assailed, &c. Similar +traditions are mentioned by Dean Stanley in Smith's "_Dictionary of the +Bible_" with the addition that it is now believed that the Thomas of +Malabar Christian fame was a Nestorian missionary. + +Eusebius writes, book v., ch. 10, speaking of Pantaenus, about +a.d. 190--"He is said to have displayed such ardour... that he was +constituted a herald of the gospel of Christ to the nations of the East, +and advanced even as far as India; and the report is, that he there +found his own arrival anticipated by some who were acquainted with +the gospel of Matthew, to whom Bartholomew, one of the Apostles, had +preached, and had left them the gospel of Matthew in the Hebrew, which +was also preserved unto this time. Pantaenus became finally the head of +the Alexandrian school." Such a piece of gossip no historian can trust +for a moment. + +Socrates, in his _Ecclesiastical History_, about a.d. 420, writes, +"We must now mention by what means the profession of Christianity +was extended in Constantine's reign, for it was in his time that the +nations, both of the Indians in the interior, and the Iberians, first +embraced the Christian faith. But it may be needful briefly to explain +why the expression in the interior is appended. When the apostles went +forth by lot amongst the nations, Thomas received the apostleship of the +Parthians. Matthew was allotted Ethiopia, and Bartholomew the part of +India contiguous to that country; but the interior of India, which was +inhabited by many barbarous nations, using different languages, was not +enlightened by Christian doctrine before the time of Constantine," about +320 A.D. Then follows a story of a Tynan philosopher, who, with two +youths, took ship, and arrived somewhere in India, just after the +violation of a treaty between that country and the Romans. Everyone in +the ship was killed but the two lads, who, being young, were sent as a +present to the Indian king. One became a cupbearer, the other the royal +recorder. The king died, freeing the youths, and the queen, left with a +young son, made the strangers his tutors, or regents. One, who was the +highest, then began to inquire whether, amongst the Roman merchants +trafficking with that country, there were any Christians to be found. +Having discovered some, he induced them to select a place for worship, +and he subsequently built a church, into which he admitted some Indians, +after previous instruction. The other youth comes back to Tyre, and then +the regent comes to Alexandria, talks to Athanasius, and begs him to +send a bishop and clergy to the place he has left, to which no name is +given. To the latter youth Frumentius, ordination is given, and he +returns to India to preach, to perform miracles, and build oratories, +[--Greek--]. The historian, adds Rufinus, assures us that he heard these +facts from the former king's cupbearer, Edesius, who was afterwards +inducted into the sacred office at Tyre. + +We may next quote the _Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of +Philostorgius_ (who wrote about A.D. 425), compiled by Photius, +Patriarch of Constantinople. Therein we may observe how completely the +first contradicts Socrates as before quoted, and may also infer +the reason why. In book ii., ch. 6, the words run, "The impious +Philostorgius relates, that the Christians in Central India, who were +converted to the faith of Christ by the preaching of St. Bartholomew, +believe that the son is not of the same substance with the father." He +adds that "Theophilus, the Indian who had embraced this opinion, came to +them and delivered it to them as a doctrine; and also that these Indians +are now called Homeritae, instead of their old name, Sabaeans, which they +received from the city of Saba, the chief city of the whole nation." +This leads me to doubt very strongly whether the ecclesiastical writers +in early days did not group, under the name of India, the southern parts +of Arabia, Persia, and Beloochistan. + +Sozomen, writing about the period of 325 A.D., says, book ii, ch. 24, +"We have heard that about this period some of the most distant of the +nations that we call Indian, to whom the preaching of Bartholomew was +unknown, were converted to Christianity by Frumentius, a priest." Then +follows an enlarged edition of the legend told by Socrates, and the +words, "it is said that Frumentius discharged his priestly functions so +admirably that he became an object of universal admiration." Theodoret, +writing about 420 A.D., places the conversion of the Indians about 328 +A.D., and gives substantially the same account as the preceding writers +whom we have quoted. + +We will not, however, content ourselves with this short notice, but +will first inquire whether, if the accounts of the earlier reporters, +Eusebius, Socrates, Clement, and Rufinus, who wrote about a.d. 320, +390, 190, and 370, are not to be trusted, we can believe the stories of +Gregory Nazianzen, Ambrose, Jerome, Nicephorus, and Abdias, who wrote +about a.d. 380, 380, 400, 815, and 910 respectively. If we believe one +set of Christian "fathers," that Thomas the apostle died in Syria, we +cannot credit a set of Christian "sons," who affirm that he was martyred +in India. But--and the point is an important one--we can see reason why +the children should invent an account of which the parents saw not the +necessity. About the period of Gregory Nazianzen arose that asceticism +which sent Simeon Stylites upon the top of his pillar in a.d. 394, and +kept him there for the rest of his life, and that peopled the Thebaid +with hermits of the most approved Buddhist order--celibates shunning +luxury, and cultivating filthiness of the outer to cleanse the inner +man. The way in which the original faith, preached by Jesus and modified +by Paul, was distorted during the first few centuries in Egypt can only +be rationally accounted for by a spread of Buddhist doctrines by Indian +missionaries, or promulgated by Christian merchants, who had travelled +to the Indies, and modified their original faith by what they saw and +heard from the followers of the great Sramana; and it was natural for +the Alexandrian Christians to adopt the modifications referred to, and +to stamp the innovations with the assertion that they were +apostolic reflections--rays of divine light falling from "the sun of +righteousness" upon the mind of the blessed Saint Somebody, Thomas, for +this purpose, being a name which answered as well as any other. There is +positively no evidence whatever--except some apocryphal Jesuit stories +about certain disciples of Jesus, found by Papal missionaries at +Malabar--that any disciple of Mary's son ever proceeded to Hindostan to +preach the gospel during the first centuries of our era. Those who +know the history of the "Decretals," and of Prester John, can readily +estimate the value of tales told by Jesuits in India, where there was +not at the time anyone to test their veracity. + +Being myself desirous of ascertaining what evidence really exists--or +existed in the times of ancient authors, whose works have come down to +us--of the knowledge of India by Europeans in days gone by, I instituted +an inquiry, with the determination to be impartial. The results obtained +were the following:-- + +The only reason for believing that Hindostan and Ceylon were known to +the Phoenicians is a short passage in the Biblical History of Solomon, +in which we are told that after a three years' absence, Hiram's Tyrian +sailors returned from Tarshish, bringing what our translators call +ivory, apes, and peacocks. The words in the Hebrew original are said +by Tennant to be all but identical with those in use in Ceylon at +the present date. For a full account of the probable identity of the +Tarshish in the passage alluded to and Galle, see Emerson Tennant's +_History of Ceylon_. + +Yet, if we grant that the Tyrian shipmen traded to India, we are bound +to confess that the knowledge which they acquired died with them; +nor did their successors, the Greeks, know anything distinctly about +Hindostan prior to the time of Alexander the Great. In the Biblical +story of Esther we are told, i. 1, viii. 9, that a Persian king reigned +from India to Ethiopia, the Hebrew word for the former being _Hodoo_, +supposed to be a form of _handoo_, or _hindoo_; Pehlevi, _hendo_; Zend, +_heando_; Sanscrit, _Sindhu_ (Fuerst, s.v.), equivalent to the Greek +_Indikee_, or the country of the Indus. We find reason to believe that +the India of Artaxerxes was a portion of Hindostan--first, because the +Persian monarch had Indian soldiers in his army, and elephants, when +he fought with Alexander; and secondly, because the peacock, a bird of +Ceylon, was known to the Greeks, in the time of Aristophanes, as "the +Persian bird." That the Persians traded with Northern India we infer, +from the account which Appian gives us of the advance eastward of +Alexander, after his victory at Arbela. But the whole story of the +Grecian warrior's advance into the Punjaub and down the Indus, contains, +in itself, tolerably clear proof that Hindostan was very little known to +the Greeks. Of a subsequent invasion of India by Alexander's successor, +Seleucus Nicator; of the mission of Megasthenes to Sandracottus, the +grandfather of Asoka, the Buddhist Constantine; of the navigation of the +Grecian ship down the Indus, and the subsequent traffic by land and +sea between the Greeks and the Hindoos, we need not say more than that +Augustus, b.c. 30, regulated the trade to Hindostan, _via_ Alexandria, +and that, at the time of Pliny the elder, about A.D. _60_, voyages were +being made to India every year, companies of archers being carried on +board the vessels to protect them from pirates. We learn also that a +twelvemonth did not elapse without a drain upon the Roman Empire of +about one million and a-half sterling for India, in exchange for Hindoo +wares (book vi., ch. 26). + +At the period Pliny refers to, and for a long time previously, there +can be no pretence that any of Jesus' apostles accompanied traders to +Hindostan, for every one of them were employed nearer home. On the other +hand, we may inquire into the possibility and the reasonableness of +Buddhist missionaries travelling westward in the course of Alexandrian +traffic, or of the caravans which, we have grounds for believing, came +through Persia to the Roman Empire. + +On turning to Oriental literature, we find that the often-mentioned King +Asoka adopted Buddhism as the religion of his empire about b.c. 250, and +that, in his time, missionaries carried that faith successfully to the +uttermost parts of Hindostan--to Burmah, to Ceylon, to Japan, to Thibet, +and to China. The envoys carried with them, in some instances, written +books, in others, their guide was oral tradition. Wherever they went +they bore a biography of Sakya--or Buddha--accounts of miracles that he +had performed, and a summary, more or less extended, of his preaching or +doctrines. This dispersion of Hindoo envoys was about fifty years later +than the mission of the Greek Megasthenes to the court of Asoka's +grandfather, and it is quite as probable that Buddhist preachers went to +enlighten what they imagined to be the benighted, and what they knew +to be the then defeated Grecians, as that they went over frightful +mountains and stormy seas to Thibet, China, and Japan. + +We may profitably pause for a moment here, to contemplate that which +I at one time believed to be the most wonderful of all the miracles +recorded in the New Testament, viz., "the gift of tongues." The +references to this which we meet with in the epistles of the apostle +Paul might lead to the supposition, that some who had this "gift" spoke +mere gibberish--something which was not, either in intention or in +reality, an utterance in a foreign language; but the story of the +original imparting of power to speak in a previously unknown tongue +involves the idea, that the disciples had, on the occasion referred +to, a faculty given to them, by which they knew the languages used +by various nationalities, without the trouble of learning them. Many +divines have held that such ability was absolutely necessary to those +who had to go forth to teach all nations the doctrines of the gospel I +am quite aware that, however earnest I might be to propagate truth, +I could not go, with advantage, to preach in Russia, because I know +nothing of its language. + +Doubt in the reality of the miracle recorded in Acts ii. was not born +until I found that Buddhist missionaries went out into distant lands, +where their own tongue was unknown, and yet made converts. When once I +felt dubious as regards the veracity of the historian, I began to notice +what the apostles generally did when they went to a new country or town. +Their practice seems to have been to have visited synagogues of the Jews +living on the spot--and able, if they chose, to be interpreters--or, +where there were such establishments, "the schools" were visited, where +the students and the masters understood Greek. In the time of Paul the +language of the Hellenes was spoken by Romans of high position, much as +French was spoken at the court of Frederic the Great of Prussia, and +as German is at St. Petersburg. The Apostle seems to have spoken Greek +readily, and when he could use that tongue or the Hebrew he was fluent. +I have sought in vain for evidence that either Paul or any of the +Apostles ever addressed a foreign mob, whose language was neither Greek +nor Hebrew. A study of the nineteenth chapter of the Acts will show +this--especially, we must notice the end of the tenth verse, where we +are told "that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both +_Jews and Greeks_." When disturbance occurred in the theatre, Paul was +not the orator put forward to appease the people--he probably could not +speak their patois. Yet he tells us, 1 Cor. xiv. 18, that he spoke with +tongues more than his fellows.* + + * There is much difference amongst ecclesiastical writers + respecting what is called the "gift of tongues." The + difficulty arises mainly from the desire to reconcile "the + true" with "the absurd." Starting from the point that all + "scripture" is written by "inspiration of God," the orthodox + are obliged to receive the account narrated in Acts ii. as + being literally correct. + +In plain language, the story runs thus:--The Apostles, twelve in number, +were sitting in a room. Whilst there, a noise was heard, and something +like fiery tongues, more or less split, appeared, and one settled upon +each of the company. These all, at once, began to speak in languages +which were strange to all. + +From the noise made, neighbours had their attention called, and from one +mouth to another the tidings of the ranting ran, until it reached the +ears of devout men, who, from every nation under heaven, were then +assembled in Jerusalem. Whether these foreigners were Hebrews, or +whether they, being strangers, had the gift of understanding the reports +couched in Aramaic, we do not know. But it is narrated that, in the +course of a few minutes--possibly an hour or two--the devout strangers +came to listen to the Apostles, either speaking singly or at once. + +As these foreigners noticed what was said, they recognized words +in their own respective dialects, and then the Parthian said to the +Mede--the Elamite to the Mesopotamian--the Phrygian to the Pamphyliaji, +&c., "What does all this mean?" So to interchange a question involves +that the interlocutors, like the Apostles, had suddenly received the +gift of speaking, and understanding, other tongues than their own. When +the listeners had convinced themselves about the marvel, each began to +talk in his own language, and the Jews understood them to say, "What +meaneth this?" the Hebrews, like the rest, having also the gift of +knowing what was said in a strange language. + +Some, however, had not this power of interpretation, and remarked, "the +fellows are drunk!" For a moment we pause to inquire how many people +there were in one room of one house. The Apostles were twelve; +then there were, at least three, Parthians, Medes, &c., in all about +forty-five more, and in addition, there were "the mockers." To all +these Peter preached, and the wonders of the day were crowned by the +conversion of three thousand people! + +It seems, therefore, to be clear, from the account of this extraordinary +miracle, that the Apostles then gathered together acquired the power of +expressing their thoughts in languages which they had never learned, the +judges of the feat being those whose dialects were spoken. + +If we now proceed in biblical order to examine into the ideas connected +with this strange faculty, we find, in Acts x. 44-46, that the +circumcised Jews alone were satisfied, in the plenitude of their own +ignorance, that Cornelius and his company could "speak with tongues." +Again, in Acts xix. 6, we learn that certain Ephesians, after baptism, +and imposition of hands, "spake with tongues "--no judge of the fact +being quoted. + +In 1 Cor. xii. 10, we discover that amongst the gifts of the Holy Spirit +are "kinds of tongues," and the interpretation thereof which will, +probably, remind the lover of Shakespeare of Act iv. Scenes 1 and 3, +in "All's well that ends well," wherein there is a nonsensical jargon +spoken by one person which another interprets to the satisfaction of the +silly Parolles. In vv 28, 30, we see strong indications that the gift +of tongues and interpretation may be compared to some things now heard +of in spiritualistic or other conjuring seances. + +This notion of "speaking with other tongues" reaches its climax, +apparently, in 1 Cor. xiii. 1, wherein Paul indicates, but does not +positively assert, that he can "speak with the tongues of men and +angels," a boast which 2 Cor. xii. 4 leads us to take literally. But how +any one on earth could test the reality of assertion it is difficult to +conceive. + +In 1 Cor. xiv. we see indications that "speaking with tongues" is little +more or less than a sort of hysterical utterance of gibberish, which +we may compare to the once celebrated chorus of + + Lilli-bullero-lero-lero-Lillibullero bullen a la. + +One may now ask, "Why did people think that it was part of the +Christian's privileges or powers to speak with tongues?" The only answer +which I can discover is indicated in Acts ii. 18, wherein we find it +given as the opinion of Peter, that a certain vaticination in Joel +applied to the followers of Jesus. The philosopher may wonder at the +ignorance--possibly at the knowledge--which confounded "prophesying" +with the utterance of unintelligible rubbish; but the philologist should +be led to investigate more strictly the real signification of words, +and to inquire into the theories which are traceable to false +interpretations. + +Considerations such as these, which might be multiplied indefinitely, +I have come to the belief that the Apostles of Jesus were no better, as +regards their knowledge of foreign tongues, than their predecessors, +the missionaries sent by Asoka, or than the modern envoys sent out by a +London Society. + +What renders it probable that Buddhist ascetics found their way, +probably amongst the camp followers of Antiochus the Great, and +endeavoured to promulgate their doctrines in western Asia, is the fact +that a sect sprang up amongst the Jews after the Grecian conquest of +Palestine--called "The Essenes," to which we have before referred, +amongst whose tenets Buddhism and Judaism were closely mingled The +asceticism practised by this sect was, so far as we know, different to +anything known at that time in Greece or Western Asia, and as it came +into fashion at the same time in Palestine as Indian elephants and +Hindoo Mahouts, there is some reason for the belief that it was brought +by disciples of Siddartha. Without dwelling upon this again, we return +to the well ascertained fact that Buddhism was promulgated most widely +in Eastern and Northern Asia about 250 b.c., that a collection of +religious books was made about two hundred years prior to that date, and +that these were revised again during Asoka's reign. But, however earnest +were the teachers and the taught, the scriptures which they respected +were so voluminous and the facilities for multiplying them were so +small, that it happened, as it did amongst early Christians, that many a +church had no written book of the law. As a consequence of this, one +part or another of Sakya's doctrines became exalted unduly in one +locality, whilst in another a portion was left out of sight. Stories, +also, of miracles became varied, just as we find that they have been by +the writers in the New Testament, the tendency being, as in the history +of the blind man near Jericho, to exaggerate the wonder--for example, +Mark and Luke, chap. x. and xviii, give an account of one man being +cured of blindness, whilst Matthew, chap, xx., tells us that there were +two. The narrators under such circumstances act as if they thought that +it is as easy for a divinity to heal two or two thousand as to cure one, +and we who tolerate the practice in a Christian evangelist must not +ridicule it in Buddhist disciples. + +When we contemplate the confusion that existed in the Christian +church--the gradual deterioration of the faith taught by Jesus, and more +especially by Paul, and the steady absorption of Pagan rites into the +worship inaugurated by Peter and the other apostles, we can readily +understand that in the course of six or seven hundred years there would +be reason in countries distant from the home of Siddartha to deplore +the gradual decadence of Buddhism, and a desire amongst the devout for +tuition at the fountain-head. In modern times we have read of hierarchs +coming from the uttermost parts of the earth to consult the Roman +Pontiff upon points of discipline affecting the church, and we therefore +see without surprise that, about A.D. 400, six hundred years after it +had been planted, the congregation of Buddhists in China had within +it men who determined to go to India, and bring back to their +fellow-worshippers what they hoped would be a purer doctrine than that +which they were accustomed to, and, if possible, to secure authentic +books. Pilgrimage, with this object, cannot be regarded as being so +absurd as that which has in modern days taken numbers of Christians to +Lourdes, in the Pyrenees, or to St. Paray-le-Monial. + +Ere we describe this Chinese search after truth, let us imagine a +Christian from Central Russia determining to seek for enlightenment at +Antioch about a.d. 640, and subsequently at the seven churches named +in the Apocalypse--and afterwards writing his experience. We should be +certain to find him bewailing the fall of Christianity and the rise +of Islam. We may indeed affirm that if such a history was now to be +discovered undated, we should regard it as having been written before +or after the date named, according as "the churches" were described as +being the seat of Mahommedism or of Christianity. Still further, if in +every place which this traveller visited, he found a general belief in +the stories told of Jesus and in the efficacy of his doctrine, we should +consider this as proof that the people remained faithful to their early +teaching. If, on the other hand, the wanderer found himself proscribed +in any locality as a benighted heathen, without knowledge of the way +of salvation--he would naturally think that a teacher had given to its +inhabitants instruction different from that which was familiar to him. +I do not exaggerate when I say that a genuine account of the travels in +search of sound Christian doctrine through every part of Europe in the +fifth century of our era, would be invaluable as an indication of the +tenure of certain doctrines, not only in various localities, but as +to the existence or the reverse of dogmas now regarded as of supreme +importance. + +Such a manuscript, which, however, relates to Buddhism and not to +Christianity, exists in China, and it has lately been translated into +English _Travels of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun, Buddhist Pilgrims from China +to India_, 400 a.d. and 518 a.d., translated from the Chinese by Samuel +Bea. (Truebner & Co., London, 1869.) It tells us, in a singularly terse +style, how a large portion of China was traversed by these pilgrims;--of +the terrible journey over the mountains to the north of Hindustan; of a +visit to the birth-place of Siddartha; to Benares, to Calcutta, and to +Ceylon;--with an account of the return voyage in a good-sized ship back +again to China. Everywhere, with one single exception, they find the law +of Buddha prevailing. The place referred to as exceptional is Yopoti, +Java, of which it is said: "In this country, heretics and Brahmins +flourish; but the law of Buddha is not much known" (p. 168). In every +other spot which they visit the Chinese wanderers speak applaudingly of +the hold which the religion of Siddartha has upon the people, and the +exemplary conduct of the faithful. From the beginning of the journey +to the end, the enquirers appear always to have found the same form of +faith which had been preached in their own country six hundred years +before. The most careful investigator fails to find a shadow of those +doctrines in which the teaching of Jesus differs from that of Sakya. +There is not any allusion made to an impending dissolution of the world, +to baptism, or to any sacrament; every remark relates to the essentials +of Buddhism as known in each place where Europeans have been able to +peruse the authorized Buddhist scriptures. + +We may now quote some passages bearing on important points. About the +sources of the Indus: "All the priests asked Fah-Hian what he knew as +to the time when the law of Buddha began to spread eastward from their +country." Hian replied, "On enquiry, men of those lands agreed in saying +that, according to an ancient tradition, Shamans from India began to +carry the sacred books of Buddha beyond the river, from the time when +the image of Maitreya Bodhisatwa was set up." This image was set up +three hundred years or so after the Nirvana of Buddha (about B.C. +243--or, according to some estimates, B.C. 177), which corresponds with +the time of Pingwang of the Chan family (b.c. 770--the Chinese date of +Buddha's Nirvana being different from that which is usually received in +India.) Hence it may be said that the diffusion of the great doctrine +can be attributed to the influence of this image. For, apart from the +power of the divine teacher Mait-reya, who followed in the footsteps +of Sakya, who would have been sufficient to cause the knowledge of the +three precious ones to be spread so far, that even men on the outskirts +of the world acquired that knowledge? We may conclude, therefore, with +certainty, that the origin of this diffusion of the law of Buddha was no +human work, but sprung from the same cause as the dream of Ming Ti +(pp. 23-25). The three precious ones above referred to, are the Buddhist +trinity, everywhere acknowledged, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha--or, as +some say, Buddha--the law and the church. The dream of Ming Ti resembles +that which we know as the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, and foretells +the coming of "the Saviour," one of the names given to Siddartha. The +vision of a divine being, 70 feet high, with a body like gold, and +his head glorious as the sun--one who is fanciful may here discern a +likeness to the individual described in Rev. i. 13, seq.--induced the +king to send to India to seek after the law of Fo, or Buddha. Some one +speaking of two great towers adorned with all the precious substances, +which had been erected at a certain town--the Taxila of the Greeks--to +commemorate episodes in the life of Buddha, makes the remark "The kings, +ministers, and people of all the surrounding countries vie with each +other in making religious offerings at these places, in scattering +flowers and burning incense continually" (p. 33). + +"In the city of Hilo is the Vitiara containing the relic of the +skull-bone of Buddha. This Vitiara is entirely covered with plates of +gold, and decorated with the seven precious substances (gold, silver, +lapis lazuli, crystal, cornelian, coral, and ruby.) The king of the +country reverences in a high degree this sacred relic." As this example +shows well the Buddhist veneration for memorials of the dead, I will not +quote more. It is clear that old bones were regarded with religious +awe in Hindostan before they were enshrined in Christendom. In the case +above recorded, "extraordinary pains are taken to preserve the relic +from theft or substitution, and the king offers flowers and incense +in front of it daily, then bends his head to the ground before it +in adoration, and departs." In another place Buddha's robe is kept, +although we may fairly doubt whether he ever possessed one, but +doubtless it is quite as authentic as "the holy coat" of Treves, or the +Virgin Mary's milk. There is another relic of Sakya not yet copied by +Christian pagans, viz., the shadow of the great teacher--which lives +in a cave, and can only be seen by the faithful (p. 45, 46). We commend +this to thaumaturgical Gallican divines, such as those who describe how +certain it is that Mary of Judea came to show herself at Lourdes, and to +talk French. + +On arriving at the Punjaub the record states, "The law of Buddha is +prosperous and flourishing here..." On seeing disciples from China +coming among them they were much affected, and spoke thus: "How +wonderful to think that men from the ends of the earth should know the +character of this religion, and should come thus far to seek the law +of Buddha. We received from them all that we required, and were treated +according to the provisions of the law" (p. 51,52). "All the kingdoms +beyond the sandy deserts are spoken of as belonging to Western India. +The kings of all these countries firmly believe in the law of Buddha" +(pp. 53, 54). + +In the following, we may see the prototype of monasteries, "From the +time of Buddha's Nirvana, the kings and nobles of all these countries +began to erect viharas for the priesthood, and to endow them with lands, +gardens, houses, and also men and oxen to cultivate them. The records +of these endowments being engraved on sheets of copper, have been handed +down from one king to another, so that no one has dared to deprive +them of possession, and they continue to this day to enjoy their proper +revenues. All the resident priests have chambers, beds, coverlets, food, +drink, and clothes provided for them without stint or reserve. Thus it +is in all places. The priests, on the other hand, continually employ +themselves in reciting their scriptures, in works of benevolence, or in +profound meditation" (pp. 55, 56). + +It is very important that we should notice, although it is unnecessary +to dwell upon the fact, that the pilgrims visited the spot whence Buddha +went up to heaven to preach his law to his mother Maya, who died when +her child was seven days old, and, consequently, long before he became +"the Saviour." The son remained with his parent three months (p. 62.) +Jesus, it will be remembered, only preached to the spirits in prison +during a day and a-half--which, by common consent, passes amongst +Christians for three days. I may also notice that there is mentioned (p. +66), an idea that three Buddhas existed before the advent of Sakya Muni, +and that the following are their precepts, translated from the +Chinese copy of a Buddhist book:--1. The heart carefully avoiding idle +dissipation, diligently applying itself to religion, forsaking all lust +and consequent disappointment, fixed and immovable, attains Nirvana +(rest.) 2. Practising no vice, advancing in the exercise of virtue, and +purifying the mind from evil; this is the doctrine of all the Buddhas. +3. To keep one's tongue, to cleanse one's mind, to do no ill--this +is the way to purify oneself throughout, and to attain this state of +discipline is the doctrine of all the great sages (p. 66). + +The Buddhists also preserve impressions of Siddartha's feet and show +them to pilgrims, just as certain papal priests show the impressions of +St. Peter's feet at a church a little outside Rome, on the Appian +way. The pilgrims "visit Kapilavastu, now a desert, but once the royal +residence of Suddhodana. There are here a congregation of priests and +ten families of lay people. In the ruined palace there is a picture of +the Prince Apparent and his mother (supposed to be) taken at the time +of his miraculous conception. The prince is represented as descending +towards his mother riding on a white elephant." This elephant came from +the Tusita heaven surrounded by light like the sun, and entered the +left side of the mother. As the elephant is the strongest of known +terrestrial animals, it certainly represented "The power of the Highest" +(see Luke i. 35), and we may draw one of two inferences--either that the +sons of Maya and Mary were conceived equally miraculously, or that the +story of one is just as true or as incredible as that of the other. +Certainly the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was known in India +long before it was enunciated by a Christian Pope in Rome. Perhaps, had +Pio Nono known that he was copying a Buddhistic story, he would have +wavered long before he assimilated his religion to that of Siddartha. +At the same locality a tower is raised to mark the spot where the Rishi +(Saint or Prophet) Asita calculated the horoscope of Sakya, and declared +that he would become a supreme Buddha--a legend which is very similar +to that told of old Simeon and the infant Jesus (Luke ii. 25, seq.). The +pilgrims were also shown the garden--not a stable--in which Maya brought +forth her son, and wherein immediately afterwards the infant walked. Two +dragon kings--perhaps wise men from the East--washed the infant's body, +and this spot afterwards became a sacred well (p. 88). + +We must pass by an account of a miracle, to the full as wonderful and +quite as incredible as that of Saint Ursula and the eleven thousand +virgins, who left their bones at Cologne because it has no distinct +reference to Buddha. (P. 97)--But I may mention that the Chinese writer +states after the end of the story, that a certain violation of the law +occurred one hundred years after Sakya's death, and upon this record Mr +Beal has the following important note--"This refers to the second great +council of the Buddhist church. According to Singhalese authorities +(Mahawanso) there were three great convocations or councils--1st, +immediately after Buddha's death to compile the authorised scriptures; +2d, to refute certain errors that had crept into the church; 3d, under +the great Asoka," (p. 99). We may doubt the value of the Mahawanso, but +at the same time we may express a wish that early Christians had even a +tradition of a council to compile authorised scriptures about the son +of Mary ere time sufficient had elapsed to allow "the marvellous" to +develop itself into "the incredible." + +In like manner I must omit the description of a procession of images, +amongst which that of Buddha is conspicuous; the fete is held at Patna, +supposed to be the ancient Palimbothra where Asoka reigned. It resembles +in almost all its details the grand processions of the Papists on +certain occasions,--lamps, lights, games, riot, and religious offerings +are mingled together for the healthy and for the sick, and wonderful +cures are provided as far as possible. To this account is to be +appended a very significant, perhaps I might say satirical, note by the +translator of the pilgrims' manuscript. "From the whole of this account +(of the procession of images), it would seem that the Buddhist worship +had already begun to degenerate from its primitive simplicity and +severity. Plays and music and concerts, are strictly forbidden by the +rules of the order; we can begin to see how Buddhism lapsed into Sivite +worship, and sank finally into the horrors of Jaganath" (p. 107). To +the thoughtful reader of our christian history, this note upon Buddhist +processions of images is painfully pregnant. It reminds us that the +followers of Maya's son and Mary's alike lapsed into paganism, and +almost by the same stages. We cannot accuse the Hindoos of copying the +orgies of the Christian saturnalia or carnival, nor do we think that the +Europeans cared to imitate the Hindoos; but what we do believe is that +both parties have fallen lower and lower from their pristine purity in +consequence of the gradually increasing feeling that the generality of +human beings can only be brought under priestly power by an appeal to +their animal propensities. + +Some affirm, with great show of argumentation, that it is man's bestial +propensities which lead his race to hell. It may be so, but then, on the +other hand, it is certain that ecclesiastics endeavour to chain us to +their chariots by pandering to, managing, exciting, or otherwise playing +upon those propensities, which man has in common with the sheep, the ox, +the tiger, the serpent, and the elephant. Every form of religion, yet +promulgated, that appeals to sound sense, thought, and reason, has +failed from the want of followers capable of dominating their passions. +Than a pure religion based upon thoughts such as Sakya Muni and the son +of Mary gave utterance to, nothing seems grander, but such is its nature +that it can only be fully embraced by a few. If all are poor, none can +live upon alms--if all sell their worldly goods to purchase Heaven, +no buyers will be found in the market. The Buddhist and the Christian +anchorite may, for a time, live on charity, yet each succeeding +generation of ascetics will more and more dislike the plan of winning +food by misery. We have seen how kings made grand provision for the +comfort of the priestly followers of the son of Maya; and in later +times, we have seen how the followers of the son of Mary have, by +artfulness, provided many similar homes for themselves. Yet, with all +this, there are both Buddhists and Christians who have protested, +by their actions, against religious luxury of every kind. Each of my +readers may judge of what spirit he is, by asking himself whether he +regards such individuals as wise or foolish. + +The pilgrims pass on to the place where five hundred saints assembled +after Sakya's death to arrange the collection of sacred books (p. +118)--thence to the spot where Siddartha bathed, and the Deva or Angel +held out the branch of a tree to assist him in coming out of the water +(p. 121)--thence to the spot where Buddha was tempted by three daughters +of Maka as courtesans, a more severe temptation than befel the Christian +Anthony--and by Mara himself with a vast army; but all uselessly, for +Sakya was as impregnable as Jesus. And we find that in the same spot he +subsequently underwent mortification, not for forty days only, but for +six years. All of these localities are marked by towers, which must, +according to ecclesiastical reasoning, demonstrate the truth of the +legends. + +After a very long search--for the purpose of Fah Hian was to seek for +copies of the _Vinaya Pitaka_--he found his exertions to find a copy of +the sacred work were useless, because, throughout the whole of Northern +India, the various masters trusted to tradition only for their knowledge +of the precepts, and had no written codes. The pilgrims, however, when +they arrived in Middle India, found a copy, "which was that used by the +first great assembly of priests convened during Buddha's lifetime" (p. +142); this appears to have been generally regarded as the most correct +and complete (p. 144). Fah Hian also obtained "one copy of Precepts, in +manuscript, comprising about 7000 gathas (verses or stanzas). This +was the same as that generally used in China. In this place also an +imperfect copy of the Abhidharma was obtained, containing 6000 gathas; +also, an abreviated form of Sutras, or Precepts, containing 2500 verses +in an abreviated form; also, another expanded Sutra, with 5000 verses, +and a second copy of the Abhidharma," according to the school of the +Maha Sanghihas (the greater vehicle). "On this account Fah Hian abode in +the place (Patma, the ancient Palibothra) for the space of three years, +engaged in learning to read the Sanscrit books, to converse in that +language, and to copy the Precepts. Here his companion, To Ching, +remained; but Fah Hian, desiring with his whole heart to spread the +knowledge of the Precepts throughout China, returned alone" (p. 146). +This pilgrim then goes to the kingdom of Champa, where he stopped two +years, to copy out sacred Sutras, and to take impressions of the figures +used in worship. Here the law of Buddha was generally respected. He +then sailed in a great merchant vessel for Ceylon (p. 148). From this +expression we presume that he entered a seaport, and, as such, one +likely to have been reached by some Christian missionary, if any had +ever visited India, as Paul attained Asia Minor, Italy, &c. All that we +learn about it, however, is in a translator's note, which tells us that +the place was mentioned by another China man, Hiouen Thsang, who spoke +of the number of heretical sects who were mixed together here--Buddhism +being here corrupted at an early period by local superstitions. In +Ceylon Fah Hian remained two years, and, continuing his search for the +sacred books, obtained a copy of the Vinaya Pitaka, of the great Agama, +and the miscellaneous Agama (books of elementary doctrine), also a +volume of miscellaneous collections from the Pitakas, all of which were +hitherto entirely unknown in China. Having obtained these works in the +original language (Pali), he forthwith shipped himself on board a great +merchant vessel, which carried about 200 men, and started for his native +land (p. 166). "After Fah Hian left home, he was five years in arriving +at Mid India. He resided there during six years, and was three more ere +he arrived again in China. He had successively passed through thirty +different countries." In all the countries of India, after passing the +sandy desert (of Gobi), the dignified carriage of the priesthood, and +the surprising influence of religion (amongst the people), cannot be +adequately described... "Having been preserved by Divine power (by +the influences of the Three honourable Ones), and brought through all +dangers safely, he was induced to commit to writing the record of his +travels, desirous that the virtuous of all ages may be informed of them +as well as himself" (p. 173). + +After reading this account, we think that no thoughtful man can +reasonably assert that Christianity was taught in India at an early +period, was widely adopted, and became the parent of Buddhism. If, in +rejoinder, we are told that no writers have asserted that there were +Christians in India in olden times, except in Malabar, the answer is, +that these were described by those who first met with their successors +as totally distinct from the Hindoos, and, consequently, neither +Buddhists nor Brahmins. Moreover, we are told that they were regarded +by the Holy Inquisition of Europe as heretics, and were, consequently, +persecuted by the Christians (see Gibbon's _Roman Empire_, vol. viii, +355). + +Rosse, in his book of dates (London, 1858), speaks of an Indian embassy +to Constantine the Great, a.d. 334, and another sent to Constantius the +Second, but received by Julian, A.D. 362. I cannot, however, as yet, +find his authority. But Socrates, in his _Ecclesiastical History_, +book i, ch. 19, about A.D. 331, speaks of a treaty which had been in +existence a short time before, between the Romans and the Indians, but +which had been recently violated. He also, in the same chapter, states +that there were Christians amongst the Roman merchants in India--no +town or locality being given, however, so that we cannot test his +assertion--but that they did not then unite to worship. We find also, +from the same chapter, that up to that period there were no Christian +Indians known. + +Coupling the foregoing fragments of history together, we may safely +assert that India, generally, was Buddhist in A.D. 400, and that, +according to Pliny, the Romans, or, rather, the Alexandrians, had been +in yearly communication with the country, for at least three centuries, +at the time of Constantine. As it appears that there were Roman +merchants in India, so we presume that there were Hindoo traders +resident in Egypt. The presumption is, that these were Buddhists, and +that they were attended, or followed, by missionary Buddhist priests. +Absolute proof of this there is none. + +We now turn to Gibbon's history, and inquire into the period when +monastic asceticism first began to prevail in Egypt, the necessary +residence of our presumed Hindoo traffickers. We find (see _Decline and +Fall_, chapter 37) that Anthony, an Egyptian, and unable to write in +Greek, living in the lower parts of Thebais, distributed his patrimony, +deserted his family and native home, lived amongst tombs, or in a ruined +tower, then in the desert, and then in some lonely spot, near the Red +Sea, where he found shade and water. It certainly seems clear that he +took the son of Maya, rather than the child of Mary, as his exemplar. +At and after this time, the rage for asceticism spread amongst the +inhabitants of Eastern Africa as conspicuously as it had done in +Oriental Asia at the time of Asoka. It is difficult to read the chapter +of Gibbon's history to which we refer, and a history of Buddhism, +without regarding Egypt, and her miserable ascetics, in the same light +as we look upon the folks of Hindustan and Thibet. If Jesus of Nazareth +had dictated such a life, surely his early followers would have been +more conspicuous in their habitual mortifications than their later +disciples were. The son of man--the child of Mary--"came eating and +drinking," and was called "a gluttonous man and a wine bibber, a friend +of publicans and sinners" (Luke vii. 34; Matt, xi. 19). Not so the +son of Maya. The Apostles of Jesus had power to lead about a wife or a +sister, and they did so. Neither Paul nor Peter shunned woman's society, +nor did they practise poverty; nay, they worked with their own hands, +lest they should have to live on alms (2 Thess. iii. 8), and they +collected money for poor saints from the wealthier brethren. There was +no asceticism here, nor can we find, in any part of the New Testament, a +text upon which a system of austerity can be founded. + +We might, perhaps, think comparatively little of the parallel which we +have drawn between Buddhism, and Christianity, did we not recognize the +fact, that almost everyone of the later developments of the latter had, +for centuries before, found a place in the former, even including, as we +have mentioned, the dogma of the immaculate conception. + +To the preceding considerations we may add another, which, as Ivanhoe +said of himself, "is of lesser renown and lower rank, and assumed into +the honourable company less to aid their enterprise than to make up +their number." Standing alone it may have small power, but as a link +in a chain it is important. We refer to the abundant testimony which +we possess of the strength of Grecian influence upon the tenets of +Christianity. Without laying any stress upon the fact that the whole +of the New Testament extant is written in Greek, we may advert to the +current belief amongst thoughtful scholars, that the so-called Gospel of +St. John was written by some Alexandrian Greek about 150 A.D., or by one +who was imbued with the philosophy of Plato. Sharpe has distinctly shown +that the doctrine of the trinity was held in Ancient Egypt, and first +adopted, then promulgated, by the Egyptian or Alexandrian divines. The +influence of Greek ideas upon Philo Judaeus is very conspicuous. + +We may now turn our attention to one statement about the Athenians, +viz., "that they and the strangers which were there spent their time +in nothing else than to tell and to hear some new thing," and that they +were so particular--in this respect resembling the Ancient Peruvians--in +adopting foreign gods, that they had an altar to the Unknown Deity (Acts +xvii). To this we must add what Sozomen says of them (_Ecclesiastical +History_, book ii. chap. 24)--that the most celebrated philosophers +amongst the Greeks took pleasure in exploring unknown cities and +regions. Plato, the friend of Socrates, dwelt for a time amongst the +Egyptians, in order to acquaint himself with their manners and customs. +He likewise sailed to Sicily, to examine its craters.... These craters +were likewise explored by Empedocles. Democritus of Coos relates that he +visited many cities, and countries, and nations, and that eighty years +of his life were spent in travelling in foreign lands. Besides these +philosophers, thousands of wise men amongst the Greeks, ancient and +modern, habituated themselves to travel. Solon, it is well known, +travelled to the court of Croesus, and it is affirmed that Pythagoras +visited India. Sozomen makes the above statement to explain how it was +that Merope of Tyre, with two young relatives, visited India, the two +latter becoming its first two bishops. + +Nothing is more probable than that Greeks, who had resided for a time +in India, on their return, believing that as they had recognized +in Hindostan an earnest form of Christianity, differing from the +Alexandrian standard only in a few minor points, thought it right to +introduce into western religion Buddhist practices--first into Egypt, +_via_ Alexandria, and thence into Europe. We certainly cannot prove +that they did it, but there is a very good reason for believing so. +The doctrines of Jesus emanated, we believe, from some early Asoka's +missionaries; whilst the doctrines of the Alexandrians and the Ascetics, +came from subsequent Buddhists, who placed their stamp on Christianity +once more. + +Thus we have been led, by a strict inquiry into every extant testimony +known, to believe that the faith taught by Siddartha, was held for at +least 250--and most probably, 500 years, before our era. Still further, +we have been led to believe, from the extraordinary energy and success +of Buddhist missionaries in the three centuries before Christ--a success +before which all Christian missionary enterprise pales--that emissaries +from Asoka's colleges of priests, penetrated westward with the Greeks as +far as the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, and forced some devout +Jews to modify their belief. But, though it is probable that the Hindoo +teachers introduced the morality inculcated by Sakya Muni, it seems +certain that they could not induce their Hebrew disciples to abandon +their implicit trust in those writings which they had been induced +to think were absolutely inspired or written by direct command of +the Almighty--consequently, Christianity must be regarded not as pure +Buddhism, but a form of it modified by Jewish traditions. But when those +who embraced the religion of Jesus, had learned to distrust the literal +truth of the Old Testament, and had the certainty that the prophesies +about the immediate destruction of the world were false, they came again +into contact with Buddhist teaching, and were content to forego +Judaism. They did not, however, give up Jesus as the Saviour. Instead of +believing with Sakya, that man suffered for his own sin, they clung to +the legend of Adam and Eve, and affirmed that suffering was introduced +into the whole world by this very original couple. Instead of Nirvana, +their heaven was Ouranos--the sky above them. Instead of an abode where +all the senses were at rest, they adopted the idea of a golden city, +with a river of crystal running through it; brilliant with jewels, and +guarded by gates and walls in which all the good should spend their time +in singing and music. The Christians adopted all the Asceticism, dirt, +and love of vermin, that the disciples of Sakya, and even Siddartha +himself, delighted in--but they nevertheless clung to the idea that the +world was sure to be destroyed, and that Jesus would come again. It +is indeed, difficult to reconcile the belief, that he who washed his +disciples' feet, and praised a woman for cleaning and anointing his own, +sanctioned an idea which, throughout centuries, urged religionists to be +filthy; yet we must do so if we are orthodox. We have, indeed, similar +anomalies now. Devout Christians tell us that this world ought to be +made a preparation for another; and that the main joy of heaven will +be an indefinite increase of knowledge. Yet these same people +affirm, sometimes in distinct terms, that an extension of scientific +attainments, and a constant inquiry into the will of God, as expressed +in the works of His hands, are snares of the Devil, and so to be avoided +by all good people. The Orthodox as a rule believe--though few venture +to affirm it, that Jehovah loves the fools the best, and that ignorance +is godliness. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Estimation of the Bible. The Dhammapada and Hebrew (sacred) + books. Certain important dates. Jews were never + missionaries. Precepts of Buddha. Contrasts. How to overcome + undesirable thoughts. Knowledge beats prayer. Sunday + proverbs. New birth. Divines preach brotherly love in the + pulpit, and provoke hate when out of it. Buddhist precept is + "do as I do," not "do as I say." The narrow way of the + Gospel finds an origin in Buddhism. One law broken all law + broken--a Buddhist maxim. Sakya taught about a future world. + Parallel passages. Effect of Buddhist and Christian + teaching. Parallel passages about truth and almsgiving. + Ignorance a Buddhist vice and a Christian virtue. + _Suppressio veri, suggestio falsi_ in the pulpit Classes in + the religious world. Why ignorance is cherished. Ignorance + often more profitable than knowledge. Examples. Charlatans + live by the fools. Honest doctors and parsons must be poor. + Poverty an essential part of Buddhism. Hierarchs are quite + unnecessary to the enlightened man. Parallel passages again. + Unphilosophical dicta in Buddhism and Bible. Prosperity not + a proof of propriety, and misery not always a reward of + badness. Lions and lambs. Design in creation. Right and + wrong--do they exist before the Creator. False analogies. + Persecution a Christian but not a Buddhist practice. Popgun + thunders from the Vatican. Age not equivalent to wisdom. + Siddartha did not prophesy, and so made no mistake about + that which was to follow. More negatives and positives. + Another contrast No obscene stories in Buddhist as in Jewish + scriptures--no legend of Lot and his daughters, David and + Bathsheba, of Onan, Judah and Tamar, Zimri, Cozbi, and + Phinehas, and a host of others. A good deal of nonsense in + all ancient writings. The foolish stories and prophecies of + the Bible--if abstracted, little remains. The little might + be improved by extracts from Plato, Epictetus, and Buddhist + scriptures, and even from those of Confucius. + +From the earliest times which I can remember, I have heard the English +Bible spoken of with the utmost reverence, as the undoubted word of God, +as a revelation of the will, ways, and even the thoughts of the Supreme +Being. Everything which it contains has been regarded as infallibly +true, and the wisdom, goodness, mercy, and justice of its doctrines +and laws have been judged to be unimpeachable. From the pulpit of many +earnest divines I have heard innumerable sermons whose burden has +been praise of, and admiration for, the morality of the Old and +New Testaments, the sublimity of the language therein used, and the +loftiness of the thoughts embodied. From those same teachers, and from +a still greater number of laymen, I have heard the assertion repeatedly +made that the Bible must be divinely inspired, because no other set of +men, except those who composed its books, could write so powerfully; and +depict so graphically, the wants, the woes, the pleasures, the passions, +the aspirations, and the doubts of the human mind. By a great majority, +if not by the whole of our imperfectly educated ministers and people, +the assertion to which we here refer is raised to the position of an +argument; and any opponent who ventures to question the truth of the +assumption, is challenged to show a book of divinity equal or superior +to the Bible. + +The worthlessness of the argument might be readily shown to any one +accustomed to use his reason, by pointing out that the religious books +of the Ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Medea, Persians, and +Etruscans, are lost to us. We may compare the assertion with that which +Englishmen might have made, to the effect that the British breed of +horses was superior to any other, for no one could show them a better; +yet as soon as our Crusaders became acquainted with the Arabian steed, +the value of the assumption was destroyed. Yet such a remark would be +wholly inoperative on the mind of every bigot whose judgment of evidence +is always bribed by his prejudice. Consequently, to make any serious +impression upon the mind of the Bibliolater, it is desirable, if +possible, to make copies of the holy images worshipped by other nations, +under the name of sacred books, and to place these side by side with +that grotesque production, which, for our purposes, may be compared to +Diana of the Ephesians--the thing which fell down from Jupiter. + +Yet even when we do bring from distant countries, to which in our +complacency we give the name of "heathen," copies of their deified +books, and show their equality with, or superiority to that which we +are told was arranged by the disposition of angels (Acts vii. 53)--the +scriptures that Paul (2 Tim. iii. 16) affirms were entirely given by +inspiration of God [--Greek--], see also 1 Pet. i. 11, 12,--we are met +by the assertion, if the equality is allowed, that the Pagan writings +have been copied from, or are traceable to, the writers in the Old or in +the New Testament. + +Whenever a thoughtless theologian asserts that such a thing _must_ be +so, he is not by any means particular as to the facts upon which he +bases his belief. This weakness of his is so conspicuous to the logical +observer, that he sometimes feels pity at having to wound a mind so +earnest as to be unable to use its reason. He almost regards himself as +a man fighting a child or a weak woman. Yet men will, in their power and +knowledge, deprive a baby of a bon-bon, which it is sucking eagerly, if +they know that it is poisonous, and will lay violent hands upon a tender +girl who, in a whirlwind of passion, is about to throw herself before a +railway train. After the event both the individuals may learn to thank +the roughness which saved them; and I feel sure that many an earnest +religionist, who now thinks that the philosophers are treating him +cruelly, by trying to deprive him of a cherished faith, will ultimately +be grateful for having been induced to cease grovelling in the dust of a +coarse antiquity. + +If we endeavour to ascertain the basis of the belief that everything +which is good _must_ have come from the Bible, we find that it exists in +the assertion that the Jews were the chosen people of God, selected by +Him to receive a record of His past doings and His future desires. Hence +it is argued, that all who have not been taught by the Jews, or through +their influence, are without God in the world--poor, benighted pagans. +To support assumptions so monstrous as this, there is not a tittle of +evidence beyond the existence of certain stories in some books, said to +contain a truthful record of facts. But although the theologian heaps up +protestation upon asseveration until the mass attains an imposing size, +the whole is not of more substantial value than a huge bubble blown by +an energetic school boy. If millions could be brought to believe that +such a hollow sphere was a solid, painted with the most resplendent +colours obtained from the celestial mansions, it would not make it other +than a film of soap and water filled with air. + +Yet though the unanimous consent of myriads cannot convert foam into a +solid substance, a mass of froth may be treated as if it were something +better, so long as all agree not to test its qualities; and any book +may in like manner be regarded as of divine origin, so long as everybody +determines not to test the reality of the opinion. We can easily imagine +that those who have been educated to believe in the absolute density +of a bubble, must be greatly distressed when it bursts. Indeed in every +mercantile community we see frequent illustrations of this. Designing +men weave a plausible story, and by inflated words induce a number of +thoughtless people to believe their statements, adopt their promises, +and act upon their recommendation. Whilst all seems to be prosperous, +every dupe repels with indignation the statement that the whole of his +confraternity are deceived. If faith in the stability of a banking house +could have upheld it, Overend & Gurnets would never have broken. If +then faith, the most complete and child-like trust in the truth of +anything,--say particularly in a certain book--will not make it valuable +if it be in reality worthless, then all those who wish to feel beneath +them the everlasting arms of truth, should inquire into current beliefs +rather than take everything for granted. + +At the time when the wealth, power, and stability of the Bank above +referred to were implicitly believed in by the many, and especially +trusted by its shareholders, there were, outside of its pale, many +individuals who felt sure that the establishment was very shaky, and a +few who were aware that it was toppling to its fall. If then, at that +time, any customer or proprietor, feeling a doubt about its safety, +should have endeavoured to investigate the rumours which were adverse to +it; and should have acted as reason dictated, after he had weighed the +alleged facts on both sides, he might have came to a safe decision +and saved his money. What is true in this case may be applied to the +Bible--the Bank upon which so many draw large drafts, and in whose +stability they have unbounded confidence. The thoughtless may, and +doubtless will, continue to trust it implicitly--the thoughtful will +probably consult, not only the Bibliolaters, but those who put no faith +whatever in the volume, and judge for themselves. + +The fear which many men have of biblical inquiry, has for a long period +struck me as being inexplicable, inasmuch as it is at variance with the +assertion of these very same people, that an examination of the book +must prove it to be infallibly true. But investigation into a supposed +truth can only end by confirming it fully, and thus making the truth +more useful; or by demonstrating that the belief entertained is +untenable. It has been the dread--nay the certainty, of the latter +result, which has deterred many great minds from investigating the +matter. Amongst these the late Professor Faraday was conspicuous, for we +learn from a letter in the Athenaeum of Jan. 7, 1870, written by one of +his own personal friends, that he--perhaps the most accomplished seeker +after physical truth in his time, declined firmly to search into the +value of the commonly received notions respecting "the scriptures," as +he felt sure that his faith in them would thereby be shaken. Yet he was +illogical enough to use them as a basis for his theological teaching. +He preached to others from texts in which he had no confidence; and +supported his doctrines by quotations from a book which, in his secret +heart, he felt was valueless as an exponent of historical truth, or +orthodox teaching. + +Before we proceed to the comparison between the "Dhammapada" and the +Bible, it will be judicious to place fairly before the reader the points +which we hope to elucidate. We wish to show, by a collation of dates and +doctrines, that the two are wholly independent of each other, and as we +have elsewhere remarked, that if there has been any relationship between +Buddhist and Christian writings, the first have had more than two +centuries' precedence over the last. We wish to compare the morality +taught by Buddha, with that promulgated in the Old and New Testaments. +We desire impartially to examine into the question, whether the claim +for inspiration can be allowed in either one case or the other, or in +both together--whether, indeed, it is possible to believe the Hebrew +scriptures to be dictated by God, without giving a similar confidence +to the teachings of Sakya Muni--or, assuming that there is to be found a +code of pure morality or ethics which we may suppose to be of universal +application, we shall endeavour to ascertain whether the Hebrews and the +followers of Mary, or the disciples of the son of Maya Deva, have made +the nearest approach to its discovery and establishment. Collaterally +we shall examine whether Jesus has a greater claim than Buddha to be the +Son of God. The Dhammapada which has recently (Truebner & Co., London, +1870*) been translated by Max Muelller from the Pali, is one of the many +books which profess to give, as our Gospels and Epistles do of Christ, +the teachings or precepts of Buddha. These were for some two or three +centuries traditional only; but about the period, B.C. 300, many, if not +most of them, were committed to writing. As far as can be ascertained, +the year b.c. 246 was the period of the first Buddhist council under +Asok, and shortly after this, Mahuida, a priestly son of Asoka, went as +a missionary to Ceylon; other emissaries went to Burmah, China, Japan, +and it is believed elsewhere. The oral promulgation of the Dhammapada +would probably begin about b.c. 560--twenty years or thereabouts before +the death of Siddartha. If we turn to contemporary history in the west +of Asia, we find that at this period Jerusalem was in ruins, and the +Jews were captives in Babylonia--no copies of any Hebrew sacred book +were known to be in existence (2 Esdras xiv. 21; 2 Maccabees ii. +1-13--see also 1 Maccabees i. 21-23), and, so far as we could +learn, India was a country wholly unknown to the Shemitic race. The +acquaintanceship between Hindustan and Europe seems to have been made in +the time when the Greek monarch, Alexander, overthrew Darius of Persia. +Alexander invaded India about b.c. 327, consequently we infer that there +was no possibility of Buddha being influenced by western notions in b.c. +560. + + * _Buddhaghosa's Parables_, translated from Burmese, by Capt + T. Rogers; with an introduction, containing Buddha's + Dhammapada, or "Path of Virtue," by Max Mueller. Truebner & + Co., London, 1870. + +To these considerations we must add the fact that the Jews have +never been, from the earliest to the latest times, a missionary +nation,--indeed, their laws and precepts forced them to be so peculiarly +reserved, that even if they had known about India they would not have +sent their emissaries there, inasmuch as the Mosaic law obliged them to +present themselves at the Temple at Jerusalem thrice a-year, which was +wholly incompatible with distant travel. Moreover, there are many extant +histories to show that intelligent westerns went to India for knowledge +and religion, and never seemed to think of carrying their own faith +thither. The whole course of history points to religion and civilization +coming westerly from India or Central Asia. + +The dates above given will clearly show that Sakya Muni could not have +derived his ideas from the teaching of Jesus, or of the Talmudists, +neither of whom were in existence when he flourished. Whatever +similarity, therefore, we find in the doctrines, &c., of the two, cannot +be accounted for by supposing that Christian missionaries carried the +New Testament to India. The reverse is far more probable, as we have +demonstrated in a preceding chapter. + +Some inquirers into the history of the sons of Maya Deva and of Mary are +so convinced of the priority of the first, and of the close resemblance +of the incidents in the lives and in the teaching of the two, that +they have found themselves forced, reluctantly, to consider the +question--whether Christianity is not Buddhism altered in some respects +by Judaism. This point having been elsewhere spoken of, we will not +pursue it. But a far more important, and, for many Christians, a more +momentous inquiry, is, whether we can speak of the Son of Mary as the +offspring of Jehovah, and yet affirm that the child of Maya Deva +was nothing but a common man. So deeply have some been moved by this +consideration, that I have positively heard the opinion broached, that +the Indian sage was the very same as he who subsequently was put to +death in Jerusalem. Wild though the allegation is, there is quite as +great an amount of probability in it as in the assertion that Jesus went +and preached unto those spirits which were sometime disobedient, i.e., +in the time of Noah (1 Pet. iii. 19, 20), and were, consequently, then in +prison, or that Buddha went to his dead mother, and converted her to +his own faith. About supernatural births we shall treat in a succeeding +part. + +Without incumbering our pages with all the precepts of the Dhammapada, +we will copy a few in detail to show the reader their style, and then +we will only quote those which are most appropriate to our subject. The +opening paragraphs singularly resemble those in Bacon's _Novum Organon_, +and run thus--"All that we are, is the result of what we have thought: +it is founded on our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil +thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of him who +draws the carriage (lv.)." + +2. "All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded +on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts +with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never +leaves him" (lvi. et. seq.). + +3. "He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me--hatred in +those who harbour such thoughts will never cease."** + +4. "He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me--hatred in +those who do not harbour such thoughts will cease." + +5. "For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by +love"--this is an old rule. + + * The figures refer to the separate precepts, which are + given in numerical order. + + ** With this and the following saying we may compare the + words of the Psalms--"Do not I hate those, O Lord, that hate + thee? and am I not grieved with those that rise up against + thee? I hate them with a perfect hatred; I count them mine + enemies" (Ps. cxxxix. 21, 22). The words of David, said to + be a man after God's own heart, are equally opposed to the + law of love, viz., "Thou hast given me the necks of my + enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me" (2 Sam. + xxii. 41; Ps. xviii. 40); I shall see my desire on them that + hate me" (Ps. cxviii. 7). In Deuteronomy we find, moreover, + that indulgence in hatred is attributed to the Almighty, + "who repayeth them that hate Him to their face to destroy + them: He (God) will not be slack to him that hateth Him, he + will repay him to his face" (chap. vii. 10). Hatred of their + enemies is, indeed, everywhere encouraged in the Jewish + Scriptures, called sacred, and the Hebrew Jehovah is + described as one with whom the power to hate and revenge + Himself is a favourite luxury. + +6. "And some do not know that we must come to an end here; but others +know it, and hence their quarrels cease." + +7. "He who lives looking for pleasures only, his senses uncontrolled, +immoderate in his enjoyments, idle and weak, Mara (the Tempter, the +Adversary, or Satan) will certainly overcome him, as the wind throws +down a weak tree." + +8. "He who lives without looking for pleasures, his senses well +controlled, in his enjoyments moderate, faithful and strong, Mara will +certainly not overcome him, any more than the wind throws down a rocky +mountain." + +11. "They who imagine truth in untruth, and see untruth in truth, never +arrive at truth, but follow vain desires." + +15. "The evildoer mourns in this world, and he mourns in the next, he +mourns in both.".... + +16. "The virtuous man delights in this world, and he delights in the +next; he delights in both." + +We may pause here, and ask ourselves whether, throughout the whole of +the Old Testament, we can find a single passage which so distinctly +points to a future state as does this Buddhistic teaching. Yet +bibliolaters assert that the effusions of Jewish writers were inspired +by God! Mortal men cannot tell what takes place after their bodies have +become dissipated into various chemical compounds; consequently, they +cannot decide, with certainty, which deserves the greater credit for +accuracy--the Dhammapada, or the Hebrew Scriptures; but all those who +believe in the teaching of Jesus are bound to acknowledge that the +Indian sage was inspired by a power superior to that which is said to +have dictated to the Israelite. + +How profitably, again, might the following observations be enunciated +from our pulpits, instead of the vapid and superficial divinity, which +disgraces both the utterer and the listener:-- + +21. "Reflection is the path of immortality, thoughtlessness the path of +death. Those who reflect do not die; those who are thoughtless are as if +dead already." + +25. "By rousing himself, by reflection, by restraint and control, the +wise man may make for himself an island, which no flood can overwhelm." + +27. "Follow not after vanity, nor after the enjoyment of love and lust. +He who reflects and meditates obtains ample joy" + +We dare not affirm that the writer of the first epistle of John was +familiar with the Dhammapada, but his words (chap. ii, v. 15), "Love not +the world, neither the things that are in the world," &c., are as purely +Buddhistic as if he had known the doctrine of the Indian sage. + +We doubt whether, in the whole Bible, a parallel passage to the +following can be found:-- + +36. "Let the wise man guard his thoughts, for they are difficult to +perceive, very artful, and they rush wherever they list: thoughts well +guarded bring happiness." + +It is true that in the Psalms, and elsewhere, there is a full +recognition of the power of God to know, and even to punish man for, +bad thoughts, but there is no precept recommending man to cultivate his +mental powers for the pleasure which the task will bring. The following +observation is equally to be commended:-- + +40. "Knowing that this body is (fragile) like a jar, and making this +thought firm like a fortress, one should attack Mara (the tempter, or +Satan, the adversary) with the weapon of knowledge, one should watch him +when conquered, and never cease from the fight." + +A few moments' consideration here, will show the reader that there is +a fundamental distinction between the theology of the East and West +in reference to the management of "the thoughts of the heart." Jew +and Christian teachers alike encourage their disciples to combat evil +thoughts by prayer and by fasting, but they never once allude to the +value of "knowledge" as a weapon. Yet, of its power, relatively to +supplication, none can have a doubt. It it probable that no man or woman +can attain to adult age without being aware of the intrusion, into their +minds, of thoughts, whose presence greatly distresses the individual, +and the worst of these is, that they take so complete a possession, +as not to be driven away by any simple wrestling with them. In this +emergency the devout Christian has recourse to prayer, which serves to +nail the intruder even more closely to his seat. The philosopher, on +the other hand, turns his mind to think actively upon some other subject +than that which has intruded upon him, and as soon as he has fixed his +attention upon the second, the first immediately withdraws. Smarting, +for example, under a sense of ridicule from some accident which has +happened to himself in a ball-room, or other assembly, a man may retire +to his pillow, yet find thereupon no rest. He sees, every minute, the +merry faces which laughed when he put the sprig of lavender, that his +lovely partner gave him for a keepsake, behind his ear, as if it were +a pen, and grinds his teeth with rage or shame. Yet, if he now betakes +himself to go through the preparations which ought to be made to enable +observers to notice accurately the transit of Venus, and then the means +by which they can approximately ascertain the mean distance of the sun +from the earth, he will find at once a pleasant refuge from his trouble, +and fall asleep whilst extracting a square root. Those young men, and +others, who, like the old saints are said to have done, often suffer +much from what may be called "presumptuous desires of the flesh," will +find the acquisition of knowledge is a powerful agent in subduing +the cravings of lust, and hard thinking curbs our passions far more +effectually than the scourge of the ascetic, or the prayers of the +hermit. Mental activity, although it does not entirely remove it, +does much to repress inordinate desire, and we consequently prefer the +teaching of the son of Maya to that of any son of Abraham. + +Of the estimate of a well-regulated mind we have the following:-- + +42. "Whatever a hater may do to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy, a +wrongly-directed mind will do us greater mischief." + +43. "Not a mother, not a father, nor any other relative, will do so much +that a well-directed mind will not do us greater service." To this we +can find no parallel in the Hebrew scriptures. + +Some of the following are equal to any of those proverbs attributed to +Solomon:-- + +76. "If you see an intelligent man who tells you where true treasures +are to be found, who shows you what is to be avoided, and who +administers reproofs, follow that wise man: it will be better, not +worse, for those who follow him." + +78. "Do not have evildoers for friends, do not have low people; have +virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of men." + +80. "Well-makers lead the water wherever they like, fletchers bend the +arrow, carpenters bend a log of wood, wise people fashion themselves." + +81. "As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people falter not +amidst blame and praise." + +94. "The gods even envy him whose senses have been subdued, like horses +well broken in by the driver, who is free from pride and free from +frailty." + +97. "The man who is free from credulity, but knows the uncreated, who +has cut all ties, removed all temptations renounced all desires, he is +the greatest of men." A saying which is almost identical with "He that +is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his +spirit better than he that taketh a city" (Prov. xvi. 32). Those +Christians who believe in works of supererogation, and trust to stores +of merit laid up by certain saints, who have lashed their bodies and +otherwise injured themselves, may read the following opinion with +profit:-- + +108. "Whatever a man sacrifices in this world as an offering or as an +oblation for a whole year in order to gain merit, the whole of it is not +worth a quarter; reverence shown to the righteous is better." + +Respecting evil, we find the following:-- + +116. "If a man would hasten towards the good, he should keep his thought +away from evil; if a man does what is good slothfully, his mind delights +in evil." + +117. "If a man commits a sin, let him not do it again, let him not +delight in sin; pain is the outcome of evil." + +118. "If a man does what is good let him do it again, let him delight in +it; happiness is the outcome of good." + +126. "Some people are born again; evil-doers go to Hell, righteous +people go to Heaven; those who are free from all worldly desires enter +Nirvana." + +It is therefore clear that Jesus of Nazareth did not inaugurate the idea +of a new birth. + +In precept 133 we have another sentiment parallel with a passage in +Proverbs: "Do not speak harshly to anybody; those who are spoken to will +answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful blows, for blows +will touch thee;" or, as our Bible has it, "A soft answer turneth away +wrath, but grievous words stir up anger" (Prov. xv. 1). + +The following is a reproach to a vast number of individuals who are +called Christian preachers, and teach doctrines of brotherly love, but +act as if religious hatred of dissenters of every class were a duty:-- + +159. "Let each man make himself as he teaches others to be; he who is +well subdued may subdue others; one's own self is difficult to subdue." + +166. "Let no one neglect his own duty for the sake of another's, +however great: let a man, after he has discerned his own duty, be always +attentive to his duty." + +The following might have served as the original of the epistles of +John:-- + +167. "Do not follow the evil law! Do not live on in thoughtlessness! Do +not follow false doctrine! Be not a friend of the world." + +168. 9. "Rouse thyself! do not be idle, follow the law of virtue--do not +follow that of sin. The virtuous lives happily in this world and in the +next." + +170, 1, 2, 3, & 4. "Look upon the world as a bubble; the foolish are +immersed in it, but the wise do not cling to it. He who formerly was +reckless, and afterwards became sober, and he whose evil deeds are +covered by good deeds, brighten up this world like the moon when freed +from clouds." + +174. "This world is dark--few only can be here; a few only go to heaven +like birds escaped from the net." A statement repeated by Jesus in +different words,--"Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which +leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. vii. 14). There +may likewise be a comparison instituted between the following:-- + +176. "If a man has transgressed one law, and speaks lies and scoffs at +another world, there is no evil he will not do." "Whosoever shall keep +the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (Jas. +ii. 10). + +I quote this and the next saying to corroborate the assertion that +Buddha taught the existence of a future world:-- + +177. "The uncharitable do not go to the world of the gods; fools only do +not praise liberality; a wise man rejoices in liberality, and through +it becomes blessed in the other world." + +Compare 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18,19, "Charge them that are rich in this +world.... that they be--ready to distribute, willing to communicate, +laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to +come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." + +See again (306), "He who says what is not, goes to hell; he also who, +having done a thing, says I have not done it. After death both are +equal, they are men with evil deeds in the next world." + +309. "Four things does a reckless man gain who covets his neighbour's +wife--a bad reputation, an uncomfortable bed--thirdly, punishment, and, +lastly, hell." + +310. "There is bad reputation, and the evil way (to hell)." + +311. "As a grass blade if badly grasped cuts the arm, badly practised +asceticism leads to hell." + +178. "Better than sovereignty over the earth, better than going to +heaven, better than lordship over all worlds, is the reward of the first +step in holiness." + +"What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his +own soul?" or, "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt, +xvi. 26). + +It would be difficult to find any doctrine enunciated in the Bible more +simple than the following:-- + +183. "Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind, that +is the teaching of the Awakened." + +184. "The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the +highest Nirvana, for he is not an anchorite who strikes others, he is +not an ascetic who insults others." + +185. "Not to blame, not to strike, to live restrained under the law, +to be moderate in eating, to sleep and eat alone, and to dwell on the +highest thoughts, this is the teaching of the Awakened." + +Equally difficult would it be to find in the Old Testament such precepts +as-- + +197. "Let us live happily, then, not hating those who hate us; let us +dwell free from hatred among men who hate." "Let us live free from greed +among men who are greedy." + +200. "Let us live happily though we can call nothing our own." + +204. "Health is the greatest of gifts, contentedness the best riches; +trust is the best of relatives, Nirvana the highest happiness." + +The following quotations deserve the close attention of the Christian +inquirer, for they not only contain sentiments almost identically the +same as those found in the New Testament, but they are couched in the +same language, as closely as the circumstances of the case allow. Both +enunciate the opinion that it is injudicious to cultivate or even to +permit the existence of those affections which we have in common with +the lower animals, and that to attain perfection love and hatred must be +trampled under foot. We give the Buddhist teaching priority, as it was +promulgated first:-- + +210. "Let no man ever look for what is pleasant or what is unpleasant. +Not to see what is pleasant is pain, and it is pain to see what is +unpleasant." + +211. "Let, therefore, no man love anything; loss of the beloved is evil. +Those who love nothing and hate nothing have no fetters." + +212. "From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear, he who is +free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear." + +213-6. "From affection comes grief and fear, from lust comes grief and +fear, from love comes grief and fear, from greed comes grief and fear." +"He who is free from affection, lust, love, and greed, knows neither +grief nor fear." "He that loveth either father or mother more than me is +not worthy of me, and he that loveth son or daughter better than me is +not worthy of me, and he that taketh not his cross and followeth after +me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he +that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt. x. 37-39). "Love +not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love +the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the +world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of +life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth +away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for +ever" (1 John ii. 15-17). + +"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let +him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever +will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for +my sake shall find it; for what is a man profited if he shall gain the +whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange +for his soul?" (Matt, xvi. 24). See also Mark viii. 34, x. 21, and Luke +ix. 23-25, in the last verse of which the saying is varied by the words +being used "what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose +himself, or be cast away?" We are by habit more familiar with the style +in which the Grecians wrote, than with that adopted by Sanscrit +authors. But in both sets of writers the main idea is made strikingly +apparent--viz., that to love anybody or anything on earth is prejudicial +to our spiritual welfare, and that to act piously, it is necessary for +the saint to free himself wholly from those instinctive affections which +God has implanted in almost every one of his creatures. It is +strange that any two ministers could have excogitated so monstrous a +proposition, and that both should be called "Divine." + +The effect of the teaching of Buddha and of Jesus was to draw many from +their hearth whose duty, in our estimation, was clearly to remain at +home, and endeavour to cherish and support their family. I enter my +strong protest as an Englishman, as well as individual Christian, +against the idea that a man who believes himself a disciple of the son +of Mary must go abroad to teach and preach, or become an ascetic, a +hermit, or a monk, and leave his wife and children to be cared for by +his friends or the parish. I believe most strongly that our affections +are implanted in us by our Maker, just as a mother's love exists alike +in the tigress and the eagle, and that any religion which teaches us +that we must overcome these propensities, is a false one. It is strange, +to say the least of it, that both the son of Maya and of Mary should +have promulgated such a doctrine--i.e., that religion is designed to +make our pleasures less, and our miseries greater. It is perhaps too +much to assert that no other form of faith, besides those which have +sprung from Buddha and from Jesus, possesses such a tenet as that to +which we refer; but we can safely affirm that we do not know of any +in which the natural affections existing between parents and children, +husband and wife, brothers and sisters, have not been cultivated as a +portion of the duties to be fulfilled by the faithful. + +It is scarcely necessary to call attention to the resemblance which the +doctrine in question bears to that which was promulgated by the Grecian +"Stoics"; and the similitude is still farther increased by such a +sentence as the following in the Dhammapada:-- + +221. "Let a man leave anger, let him forsake pride, let him overcome all +bondage! No sufferings befall the man who is not attached to either body +or soul, and who calls nothing his own." + +Once more we see a close resemblance between Buddhism and the Bible in + +223. "Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good, +let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth." "If thine +enemy be hungry give him bread to eat, and if he be thirsty give him +water to drink," (Prov. xxv. 21). But the motive for this recommendation +to the Jews is a vindictive one, for he is told that by so doing he will +heap coals of fire upon his enemy's head, whilst the Lord will take care +to reward the deed to the doer. In the epistle to the Romans this saying +of the Proverbs is endorsed, and to it is added "Be not overcome with +evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. xii. 20, 21). + +224. "Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked, +from the little thou hast--by those steps thou wilt go near the gods." +"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee, bind them about thy neck; write +them upon the table of thine heart; so shalt thou find favour and good +understanding in the sight of God and man" (Prov. iii. 3-4); "Wherefore, +putting away lying, let every man speak the truth with his neighbour" +(Eph. iv. 25). We scarcely can find, in the Old Testament, a strict +parallel with the Buddhist precept, "do not yield to anger," for the +Jewish scriptures, without exception, depict their God as giving way +habitually to wrath, anger, and revenge--e.g., in Ps. vii. 11, we find +it stated that Elohim is angry with the wicked every day. Again, in +Isaiah v. 25, we read, "for all this, God's anger is not turned away, +but his hand is stretched out still;" Job iv. 9, By God's anger they are +consumed; "To pour out upon them my fierce anger," (Zeph. iii. 8). There +are, however, a few passages which inculcate upon men the propriety of +a command over their temper. In Ps. xxxvii. 8, for example, we read, +"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath," and in Proverbs xxvii. 4, "Wrath +is cruel, and anger is outrageous," whilst "the Preacher" says, Eccles. +vii. 9, "Anger resteth in the bosom of fools," and in xi. 10, "remove +anger or sorrow from thy heart." In the Gospel we have a somewhat +divided teaching. For example, we find, from Mark iii. 5, that Jesus +himself indulged in anger, when he was vexed at what he thought the +hardness of his hearers' hearts; and from his saying, in Matt. v. 22, +"Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger +of the judgment," it is clear that the son of Mary approved of anger +which had a cause. Again, we find, in Eph. iv. 26, "Be ye angry and sin +not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath," as if anger were not a +culpable weakness, or passion, if only indulged in during the daylight. +Yet, in the thirty-first verse of the same chapter we read, "Let all +bitterness, and wrath, and anger.... be put away from you," and in Col. +iii. 8, the putting away of anger is spoken of as an evidence of being +regenerated. + +Of the duty of almsgiving we find much in the Bible, but we will content +ourselves with the following passages:--"Charge them who are rich in +this world that they be ready to give, and glad to distribute, laying up +in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, +that they may attain eternal life" (1 Tim. vi. 17-19). Quoted from the +Communion Service in the Prayer-book--"To do good, and to distribute, +forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." "Be merciful +after thy power. If thou hast much, give plenteously; if thou hast +little, do thy diligence gladly to give of that little, for so gatherest +thou thyself a good reward in the day of necessity" (Prayer-book version +of certain precepts in Tobit, chap. iv. 8, 9). If our readers will take +the trouble to consult the entire chapter in Tobit, they will readily +conceive that it was written by a Buddhist sage, instead of an ordinary +Jew. + +Once more we turn to the Dhammapada, and find-- + +231, 234. "Beware of bodily anger, and control thy body. Leave the sins +of the body, and with thy body practise virtue; control thy tongue; +leave the sins of the tongue, and practise virtue with thy tongue; leave +the sins of the mind, and practise virtue with thy mind." + +This reference to the sins of the tongue, and the necessity for its +control, recals to our mind the opinion expressed in the epistle of +James, "If any one bridleth not his tongue, this man's religion is vain" +(chap, i. 26); "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity," &c.; "the +tongue can no man tame," &c. (chap. iii. w. 5-10); and the verse, "I +said, I will take heed io my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will +keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me" (Ps. xxxix. +1). + +The next maxim to which I would direct attention is one which should be +pondered deeply by all those who desire to become thoroughly civilized. +So far as I know, its like cannot be found in any part of the Bible. It +runs thus-- + +243. "There is a taint worse than all taints, ignorance is the greatest +taint." + +If we search our own scriptures for a parallel passage, we can only +find that ignorance is inculcated, and with the express intention +of preventing the mind from departing from the old into some new +track--see, for example, Dent. xii. 30, where the Jews are enjoined not +to inquire after the gods of other nations, lest they should adopt them: +again, in Deut. iv. 19, the Hebrews are enjoined not to study or gain +any information respecting the sun, moon, and stars, lest they should +worship them. But Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, is even a more +conspicuous advocate of ignorance, when he asserts that God hath chosen +the foolish things [--Greek--] of the world to confound the wise (1 +Cor. i. vv. 19-28). "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy +trust, avoiding.... oppositions of science falsely so called, which some +professing have erred concerning the faith" (1 Tim. vi. 20, 21). Many, +indeed, who call themselves civilized Christians, aver that, where +ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be wise, a tenet held strongly by +Mahometans, Papists, and Ritualists. + +That the dictum of Paul in the text last quoted has had a a most +disastrous effect upon civilization, no one who is conversant with +history can fairly deny. Neither can it be shown that any known +religion, except Buddhism, has opposed itself to ignorance. In every +nation the rulers in general, and the priesthood in particular, have, +on the other hand, encouraged indolence of mind, lest the people should +learn wisdom and shake off their thraldom. We have seen, in our own +times, hierarchs of every denomination oppose the spread of science, not +falsely so called, with the avowed intention of endeavouring to bolster +up doctrines, dogmas, and assertions, which they feel sure true +science will destroy, although the same people declare their tenets +indestructible, and founded on truth. Nay, we may go still further, and +assert that sciolism in religious matters is fostered by the clergy of +all denominations, both by the suppression of what they believe to be +genuine, and by the promulgation of what they know to be false. In the +place of knowledge they inculcate blind faith. + +As one not wholly unknown to be an earnest and honest inquirer, I +have had extensive correspondence and personal intercourse with many +preachers, and with others whose opportunities for learning "the +clerical mind" are more extensive than my own, and I may divide the +body of religious ministers, and the laity as well, into the following +classes:--1, Those who refuse to inquire, examine, and think about +religious subjects, except in a certain prescribed way; 2, Those who +will investigate into the grounds of their belief, as they would into +any doubtful assertion, or into any science; 3, Those who individually +abandon the old faith and yet continue to preach it, and profess to +adhere to it as strongly as they did at first; 4, Those who venture +timidly to insinuate doubts into the minds of others, whilst professing +to be orthodox themselves; 5, Those who are too noble to be hypocrites, +and boldly affirm that which their advance of knowledge has induced +them to adopt as a belief. Yet these very men, distinguished above +their fellows for earnestness, for science, for honesty of purpose, a +religiously ignorant priesthood persecutes; and Englishmen, who wish to +be regarded as peculiarly "enlightened," stand by almost unmoved, or, as +happens too frequently, applauding. + +When we endeavour to ascertain the reason why ignorance is so greatly +cherished amongst mankind, we can readily discover it in indolence on +the part of one group of men, and cupidity on the part of others. There +are many positions in life wherein Sciolism seems to be more profitable +than knowledge. We may mention a few. A "solicitor" who has an imperfect +acquaintance with the law, may induce his clients to bring cases before +various legal courts, in which they are certain to lose their cause and +money, but this solicitor gains large fees for his trouble. A physician +who does not know how to cure certain diseases may yet treat them for +months, pass for a devoted doctor and a clever friend, and receive a +large honorarium, which is far beyond his merit, though the patient may +think it far too small. The man, on the other hand, who can cure such +complaints readily, has to be content with a very slender fee, as his +attendance is only required for a few days. The schemers, who live upon +the ignorance of dupes, bear the name of legion. We see one of the body +as a promoter of all sorts of bubble companies, and as secretary to such +societies as banks, trade unions, burial clubs, assurances, &c. Anon he +takes the form of an adulterator of provisions, of various drinkables, +of cloth, silk, linen, &c. If Sciolism were not common, such charlatans +as "spiritualists," "clairvoyants," "mesmerists," and the like, could +not thrive as they do, nor quacks of all kinds flourish famously. One +medical pretender is indeed reported to have said to a "regular" doctor, +who lived in the same street with him, but whose clients were few +compared with those of the charlatan--"the reason why you have so small, +and I have so large, a number of patients is, that the fools come to me, +the knowing ones to you." + +What is true in the case of other professions is preeminently so in the +clerical In religion, such as it is professed in Christendom, Sciolism, +or imperfect knowledge, alone is lucrative. Real understanding, diffused +amongst the people, would render every hierophant a beggar, and thorough +enlightenment amongst the priesthood would force them to allow that +such should be their normal position. For example, if every layman, in +countries owning the spiritual headship of the Pope of Rome, knew that +all the stories of Heaven, Purgatory, Hell, Angels, Saints, Confessors, +Hermits, and the like, were absolutely baseless--if he knew that man has +no power in the court of the Almighty to influence His will in favour +of a congener, and that nothing whatever is known respecting the world +beyond the grave--he would not order masses, whether high or low, and a +host of other ceremonies, each of which has to be paid for. Or, if each +Protestant knew, that every tenet preached to him from the pulpit is +founded upon absolute ignorance of the Almighty's operations, that every +doctrine, every prayer, and every ritual, is based upon fantastic, half +savage, or semicivilized human ideas, he would recognize at once the +total uselessness of the parson. "They that are whole need not +the physician, but they that are sick." The doctor, knowing this, +endeavours, when he has a chance, to induce a client to believe himself +ill, and that he and no other man can cure him--or, if he should really +be disordered, these ideas will be kept up as long as possible. So it is +in "religion," it is only the culprit that wants the Saviour, but when +he has a chance, the _soi disant_ saviour tries to persuade those who +consult him, that they are sinners, yet that he can make them saints; +and having once implanted this belief, he endeavours to sustain it. To +doctors and priests such as we here describe, the ignorant credulity of +their clients is a source of wealth. So long as there are dupes +there will be sharpers, and so long as men are human, there will be, +unconsciously very likely to themselves, abundance of both fools and +knaves. + +From what has been already said, our readers will have probably drawn +the conclusion that we deny the existence of a thoroughly educated +and honest hierarch, who has become wealthy by the exercise of +his profession in a perfectly conscientious manner. Exceptional +circumstances prevent us saying exactly the same of a doctor, but +into these we need not enter, as they have not their counterparts in +divinity. Such being our belief, we recognize the fact that poverty and +knowledge must, in an earnest priesthood, be ever associated. But the +clergy of every denomination are loath to agree to this, and endeavour, +by hook or by crook, to acquire the means of living well. + +Hence Buddha, who was thoroughly honest himself, and did not become a +preacher for the sake of emolument or a livelihood, adopted, as part +of his plan, a systematic estrangement from every luxury of whatever +sort,--or, in other words, the adoption of a poverty as great as exists +in the lower animals. He enjoined that the saintly teacher, having food +and raiment of the most homely kind, ought therewith to be content. This +was Paul's view also--see 1 Tim. vi. 8. In this teaching the son of Mary +concurred; like the son of Maya, he "had not where to lay his head," he +had not even such a home as a fox or a bird (Matt, viii. 20), and when +he sent out his disciples to preach, his direction to them was, "Take +nothing for your journey" (Luke ix. 3, see also Matt, vi. 25-28). To sum +up our remarks upon this particular command of Buddha to avoid the +taint of ignorance, we may frame an axiom in political economy, +thus--"Ignorance in the many ensures wealth in a few," or, "A diffusion +of sound knowledge amongst the ruled, reduces the power and the +emoluments of the rulers, and compels them to work hard if they wish to +retain their position." To apply this idea still further, I would add +that a thoroughly educated people, each one of whom feels that he +must "work out his own salvation" (Phil ii. 12), does not require a +priesthood. Consequently hierarchs, whose sole business in this world +seems to be to instil terror into young minds, and to make rules for +them to break, that priests may be paid for showing how the imaginary +results may be escaped, would have no place if men were wise and +thoughtful. It is a curious, though a certain fact, that the depth of +savagery and the height of civilization alike ignore the necessity of a +hierarchy. The first does so because it never thinks of God--the second, +because its conceptions of the Almighty are such that it cannot believe +Him to be influenced by individuals who assume to be His earthly +vicegerents, or are elected to that pretentious situation by their +fellow-men. The God of the Bible can only be adored by individuals whose +minds are not emancipated wholly from the thraldom of barbarism, and +who regard Jehovah as a man, and not a good one either, or, as we have +before remarked--a devil. We may once more extract some sentences for +comparison, to show, either that no inspiration was necessary to pen the +Bible, or that the Dhammapada has equal claims with the Old Testament-- + +244. "Life is easy to live for a man who is without shame, a crow hero, +a mischief maker, an insulting, bold, and wretched fellow. But life is +hard to live for a modest man, who always looks for what is pure, who is +disinterested, quiet, spotless, and intelligent. O man, know this, that +the unrestrained are in a bad state; take care that greediness and vice +do not bring thee to grief for a long time." + +Compare this with the Psalmist's expression--"I was envious at the +foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked, for there are no bands +in their death, but their strength is firm; they are not in trouble +as other men, neither are they plagued like other men; therefore pride +compasseth them about as a chain, violence covereth them as a garment, +their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could +wish.... these are the ungodly who prosper in the world, they increase +in riches.... Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou +castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into +desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors" (Ps. +lxxiii. 3-19.) "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading +himself like a green tree that groweth in his own soil, yet he passed +away, and lo! he was not, yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. +Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is +peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together, the end of +the wicked shall be cut off." "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, +neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall +soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in +the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and, verily, thou +shalt be fed" (Ps. xxxvii. 35-38--1-3). The class of sentiments is the +same in both, only they seem to differ because we are very familiar with +the phraseology of the Bible, and the reverse with translations from the +Sanskrit. + +At this point the philosopher may judiciously pause to inquire, whether +the sentiments expressed in the preceding biblical quotations are not +incorrect, and consequently whether they can be regarded as inspired; +and whether the Buddhistic solution of the difficulty, which points to +a future state, is not superior to the Jewish one which treats of this +world only. Experience abundantly shows that individuals practising what +is called "goodness" find it no safeguard against misery, starvation, +tortures, and death. Jesus of Nazareth, his disciples, and vast numbers +of his followers, have experienced from the dominant party in those +states wherein they dwelled contumely, reproach, and hours of lingering +torment. Louis the XIV. of France, and the New Englanders of America, +alike persecuted "Protestants" and "Quakers." In Spain "the reformers" +were successfully opposed by fire and sword, and Papal Italy once +extirpated from her midst the disciples of Luther and Calvin. Yet the +so-called wrong-doers flourished, and the unfortunate "good people" were +run down or dragooned with a sudden and swift destruction. If the dictum +of the Psalmist is right, then Admiral Coligny, who was killed in +the Bartholomew massacre, at Paris, must have been a bad man put in a +slippery place that he might fall, for his destruction came suddenly, in +an instant. But all history shows him to have been a worthy fellow, +who was punished for his virtues. The observer of nature is driven to +believe that the co-existence of powerful and bad men, with feeble, yet +good men, is a rule in creation for which no adequate explanation can +be found. He sees that in the domain of the air there are hawks and +pigeons, eagles and ostriches, cuckoos and hedge-sparrows, that on the +land there are tigers and sheep, lions and buffaloes, wolves and deer, +that in the water there are perch and minnows, pike and trout, sharks +and whales--in other words, there is throughout the world a division of +living creatures into those who live by destroying vegetables, and those +who subsist by the destruction of animals. The cow, sheep, and deer are +quite as ruthless, in their noxiousness to the ornaments of the meadow, +as are foxes in a hen-roost to the beauties of the barn-door; both alike +mar the graceful features of creation. Yet it is clear that both the +graminivora and the carnivora were made to effect this apparent +wrong. Still further, we see throughout creation, that in almost every +community of animals, the strong ones dominate over the weak, and +endeavour, far too frequently, to deprive them of such pleasures as they +and their females possess. See, for example, a cock with a bevy of hens: +he will allow no other chanticleer to strut besides him on the dunghill +of the yard; he will not permit a rival to make love to anyone of his +harem, nor to feed upon any dainty morsel, until his wives and himself +have had enough. The same may be said of stags, of bulls, of rams, of +horses, and many other creatures whose habits are known. The leader of +a herd is a despot, and when he is at length conquered by another, those +who are ruled have merely changed their masters. Young and weak cocks +will never attain to power, and must ever submit to be bullied. + +We notice, at the same time, that each tyrant must in the end succumb; +with age comes infirmity and loss of strength, in the last battle +the old is beaten by the young. Just so it is with mankind; in its +comparative infancy monarchs rule, and are at length deposed by others. +The Babylonians conquered Palestine, the Medes and Persians vanquished +the Babylonians, the Greeks subjugated the Persians, the Romans overcame +the Greeks, and the Goths destroyed the Roman power; yet under every +regime the powerful could torment the weak. The result in every case +was brought about by the conqueror being strong and brutal--not by the +immorality of the victims. + +When a philosopher sees such things, he very naturally endeavours to +ascertain whether any design can be discovered in the events of the +world, and to this end he may be diligent in collecting facts, or he +may at once frame some theory, and then cease to think about the matter. +"Oh," such an one may say, "all that is wrong here will be righted in +another world." Another, who ponders more deeply, may doubt whether it +is proper to divide the phenomena of nature into "right" and "wrong." +"If," he will say, "I believe with the Jew that God is in the heavens, +and does whatsoever He pleases" (Ps. cxv. 3), or that "the Lord hath +made all for Himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil" (Prov. +xvi. 4) I must allow that everything which emanates from the Creator +must be right. Speaking individually, I prefer rather to examine into +the ways of Providence--i.e., of the Almighty, without framing any +theory of right and wrong, than to dogmatize upon what He _must_ intend +by this or that. "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord (Jehovah), +or being his counsellor hath taught him?" (Is. xl. 13)--see also the +Pauline version of this sentiment, Rom. xi. 33, 34. + +It is very questionable whether any human analogy will enable us, +even approximately, to fathom what are designated "the designs of +Providence." Every example that I can at the present remember given by +theologians is bad. Take, for example, the most common one which draws +a comparison between God and a father, Ps. ciii. 13, "like as a father +piti-eth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him;" Prov. +iii. 12, "Whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the +son in whom he delighteth;" Heb. xii. 6, 7, "Whom the Lord loveth +he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." "If ye be +without chastisement, whereof all men (are) partakers, then are ye +bastards and not sons." These enunciate the idea that God, being the +universal father, treats mankind as a judicious parent treats his +offspring, and that as a child cannot at all times know why he is +punished until many years have passed over his head, so human beings +cannot tell, until they reach another world, why they were punished +in this. To assist this assertion the text is quoted "What I do thou +knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter" (John xiii. 7.) If there +be any truth in the analogy, it must follow that all who in this world +"endure grief, suffering wrongfully" (1 Pet. ii. 19), are children of +God, whom he is educating for a better world. If that, again, be +so, then--when Christians persecuted Mahometans, Romanists burned +Protestants, and Spaniards slaughtered Mexicans and Peruvians--it +follows that the vanquished, and not the conquerors, were the elect of +the Father. But this deduction directly opposes those promises said to +be made to the Jews by Jehovah, viz., that victory should be the reward +of their piety. As it is a poor system which declares that two opposite +results come from the same cause, we must refuse to believe that both +victory and defeat are proofs of a Father's love. I am quite aware that +some reader may retort that a kind parent may punish one child at the +same time that he rewards another. I grant it at once, but that only +demonstrates, if it proves anything, that all creatures must be regarded +alike as the offspring of the Creator, and that none are favoured +peculiarly on the one hand, or are outcasts on the other. + +As it is undesirable to mix political up with religious events, I +refrain from drawing from history such illustrations as have frequently +been supposed to indicate the will of the Almighty. The fall from power +of Egypt, Tyre, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Carthage, Rome, +Spain, are all supposed to have been caused by some special providential +design. In like manner theologians draw certain deductions from the +discovery of the New World, and the slaughter of the majority of its +aboriginal inhabitants; from the Crusades; from the influx of the Turks +into Christendom; and of the Moors into Spain. Some, whose imaginative +powers overwhelm their reasoning faculties, see in the wars of recent +times that final shaking of the nations, which some _soi-disant_ prophet +declares must precede the millennium, and the battle of Armageddon; +vaccinators, and interpreters are as abundant and irrepressible now as +ever they were. Their fundamental assumption is that God has acted as +they would have done in His place. Now He is a sort of Irish landlord, a +portion of whose property is overrun with pauper farmers, and He clears +them away to make room for more sensible and wealthier tenants, as +the Canaanites were removed to give place to the Hebrews. Now, He is +represented as a parent, who hearing that a son has engaged in fight and +been conquered, merely remarks "serves him right!"--the kind of +comfort given to the Jews after they had been harried by the Edomite +confederacy, and subsequently by the Chaldeans. Again, the same mighty +Jehovah is represented as a Stoic, who remarks, when some mischance +happens to those who are said to be his children, "Never mind, accidents +will happen--through much tribulation you must enter into my rest, or +the kingdom of heaven." + +I entirely decline to adopt the profession of prophet and interpreter, +contenting myself with increasing what knowledge I may have, rather +than endeavouring to deduce from it theories whose weakness an hour may +demonstrate; nor do I put faith in any one who adopts such a business. + +For example, let us assume that two savage tribes, having gods +of different names and shapes, go to war on the bidding of their +priests--one is conquered and the other is victorious. The one +attributes his reverse to the anger of his own deity, not to the power +of the god of his enemy. The other imagines that he owes success to the +influence of his protector and his superiority over his foe's fetish. +A civilized on-looker, who believes that all the deities are devils and +powerless, attributes victory and defeat to perfectly natural causes, +e.g., superiority in weapons, tactics, numbers, or strength. It is +clear that neither the deductions of the first nor second men are right; +neither has read the mind of his fetish. So it is with the half educated +theologians of our own day, who think and talk as glibly of God and +Satan, as if they were personal acquaintances, who make no secret either +of their deeds or their motives of action. + +Once more we return to the Dhammapada and find, + +248. "O, man, know this, that the unrestrained are in a bad state; take +care that greediness and vice do not bring thee to grief for a long +time." We do not here seek to find any parallel passage in the +bible, but we turn to history, remote and collateral, and compare the +priesthood of Buddha with that of Jesus. Does travel tell us of any set +of teachers more self-denying than the individuals who devote themselves +as religious Buddhists? Can history, on the other hand, tell us of any +hierarchy more greedy and vicious than the Christian priesthood in the +middle ages, and down to a comparatively recent period? We will not +accuse them of vice, but even now is there in the whole world a more +grasping set of men than those who have received what they term "holy +orders" from the descendants of Jesus or of Peter? I trow not. If, +therefore, a doctrine is to be known by its fruits, in one respect at +least Buddhism is superior to that which we call Christianity, by which +term I do not mean the exceptional practice of a few, but the general +habits of the majority of the bishops, priests, &c., of Christendom. +Once more let us contrast the doctrine of Buddha with the practice of +Christians. He says-- + +Da. 256, 7. "A man is not a just judge if he carries a matter by +violence; no, he who distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned, +and leads others, not by violence, but by law and equity, he who is a +guardian of the law and equity, he who is a guardian of the law, and +intelligent, he is called just." Our histories tell us of Christians +persecuting Christians; Trinitarians endeavouring to extirpate Arians; +Franciscans torturing Dominicans; of Jews slaughtered by those +whose master said, "Father, forgive them;" we see brutal Spaniards +exterminating, under the shadow of the cross, whole nations in the new +world who had never harmed them, and in the old world we find Crusaders, +under the guise of piety, murdering and robbing the dwellers in +Palestine. There is scarcely a large town in Europe which has not +witnessed the ferocious violence of Papal, yea, and Protestant, +hierarchs. Even in recent times we have seen bishops and their +congeners, in our so-called civilized nation, oppose violence, and +the popgun thunder of excommunication, to a learned prelate, and to an +humble priest. Judged by the standard of Buddha, our divines are unjust +and unrighteous. I cannot discover any standard by which they can be +regarded as "praiseworthy," except that embodied in the two sayings, +"Get what you can, and what you get hold;" "Where ignorance is bliss, +'tis folly to be wise." We may say of such persecutors, in the words of +the Dhammapada-- + +260. "A man is not an elder because his head is grey; his age may be +ripe, but he is called old in vain," and many would at once be able, if +they tried, to remember the names of some who, in a Christian community, +have abandoned their principles, or their learning, as soon as they +became bishops or elders of the church. I have no doubt Popes have done +so. There is a saying, that however clever a man is, you make a fool of +him by placing a mitre upon his head. + +The following is, perhaps, more curious than our previous quotations, as +it tells of the pre-Christian antiquity of a common Romish custom:-- + +264. "Not by tonsure does an undisciplined man, who speaks falsehood, +become a Sramana; can a man be a Sra-mana who is still held captive +by desire and greediness?" The Sramana is a word equivalent to our +"priest," literally, "a man who performs hard penances" (see Dhammapada, +Note 265, p. cxxxii.). + +Without copying any other texts from the Dhammapada, we may next inquire +what there is to be found in the Bible that is not to be found in the +teaching of Buddha. We notice that the element of so-called prophecy is +wholly wanting in the sayings of the Indian sage. I cannot remember that +either Sakya Muni or any of his followers assumed the power to foretell +the future. There is, it is true, a vague threat of future misery to the +wicked, which was founded upon the prevalent idea of metempsychosis; but +there is no endeavour to pourtray the occurrences that are supposed to +be impending over one or more sections of the human race. There is not +any attempt to induce individuals to join themselves to the son of Maya, +by declarations that the world, and all that it contains, is about to be +destroyed, and that all who do not become disciples of the teacher, +and shelter themselves under his mantle, will be miserably punished +throughout eternity. + +There is not any Buddhist description in detail, either of Hell, or +Heaven, or Nirvana; there is no story of "worms," "fires," "devils," +"death," and the like, in the first. The second is not depicted, by +the preacher himself, as a sort of palace, made gorgeous with gold and +precious stones, resounding in barbaric music, and discordant chants, +where animals dwell, and where horses are kept stabled, to go throughout +the world with messengers upon their backs (see Zechariah i. 8, 10; +vi. 2, 7; Rev. iv. 6, 7; vi. 2, 4, 8). There are no denunciations of +vengeance upon heretics, nor is the god of Buddha like the one described +by Hebrew writers, who "winks" during times of ignorance upon earth +(Acts xvii. 30), who requires to be reminded by prayer of the wants of +men (Exod. iii. 7), and who comes down to earth to inquire if matters +are according to the accounts which have reached his dwelling-place +(Gen. xviii. 21). + +In Siddartha's teaching there is, as we have seen, an absence of the +element of prayer. According to his view, each man is regarded, to a +certain extent, as the author of his own destiny. Man, in his opinion, +must ever be influenced by the actions of other men--he may, for example +either be caressed or tormented, yet, under both circumstances, he +is instructed to retain equanimity of mind. He is not to pray for +prosperity, nor to supplicate that trials may be removed. He is to face +and overcome every trial by his resolute will, and not to waste time in +praying not to be led into temptation. + +Again, in Buddha's writings, and in those of his followers, there is an +absence of those obscene tales with which the Old Testament abounds. We +seek in vain for counterparts of the story of Lot and his daughters, of +Onan, of Joseph and the wife of Potiphar, of Judah and Tamar, David and +Bathsheba, Amnon and his sister, Zimri Cozbi and Phinehas, and the +like. It is true, that in some Buddhist writings, there is a cosmogony +introduced more preposterous than that in the Bible; but there are no +parallels to the tales of Noah, of Moses, and of Israel in Egypt, the +desert, and Palestine. Indeed, when we remember that Sakya Muni was +an Oriental, accustomed to inflated language, we are struck by the +plainness of his speech. + +If we now ask ourselves, as earnest practical Christians--that is, as +men, anxious and eager to attain to religious truth, and desirous of +teaching only those things which would tend towards sound edification +and to a pure morality--what parts of the Bible most offend sense of +propriety, we should answer, that they are its untenable cosmogony; its +preposterous accounts of the longevity of the men reported as being the +earliest formed; the legend of the flood; the origin of the rainbow; +the tales of Moses, Pharaoh, the plagues of Egypt, the sojourn in the +desert, the capture of Canaan, the miraculous battles, in which each man +of Israel put a thousand enemies to flight. We would wholly expunge +the fabulous account of Elijah and Elisha; the ravings after vengeance +uttered by the prophets; the apocryphal episodes described in the books +of Jonah and Daniel, every obscene story, and disgusting speech and +writing, whether uttered as a threat against Israel or his enemies. +In like manner we would wish to expunge, from the teaching of +Jesus, everything relating to the immediate destruction of the +world--everything connected with community of goods, the advantages of +beggary, and the potency of faith and prayer. We would suppress every +miracle, and say nothing of a resurrection of the dead Jesus. We +would equally abandon any attempt to describe Heaven or Hell, or any +intermediate state. + +When all these were removed from the Bible, we positively should have +very little left, except a certain amount of morality which is sound, +and a large portion which is radically bad. To make such an emendated +book as perfect as possible, we might, with great advantage, correct +it from the teaching of Buddha or from the sayings of Socrates, Plato, +Epic-tetus, and even of Confucius; and when all was completed, it would +be found that all men, everywhere, have had instinctive notions, more +or less definite, of morality, but have allowed their animal passions +to overcome their better feelings. Far too many of us know the good, but +yet the bad pursue. + +This investigation would most distinctly disprove the assertion, that +God has selected a very small percentage of His creatures for objects +of His care, and those who have charity towards all men would greatly +rejoice thereat. Individually we cannot bear to eat, however hungry +we may be, whilst we see others near us without food--our pleasure is +heightened when we divide our luxuries with others; just so we believe +it should be in religion--none should rejoice at the idea that he is one +of the few that are to be saved, nor should anyone repine, as Jonah did, +when he finds that the tender mercies of God are over all his works. + +To simplify the matter as far as possible, I have drawn up the following +parallel between Buddhism and Christianity:-- + +[Illustration: 263] + +[Illustration: 264] + +[Illustration: 265] + +[Illustration: 266] + +[Illustration: 267] + +In the next chapter I propose to examine, as far as authorities will +permit, the religion of the Persians--a nation intervening, to a great +degree, between the old Aryan and the Shemitic races. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +The Medo-Persians and Parsees. Artfulness of theologians. They +systematically break the ninth commandment. Frauds in orthodoxy. A man +may use false weights innocently, but is punished, nevertheless. In +theology ignorance does not justify deceit. Case in trade. Professional +blindness. A law for punishing adulteration of truth is wanted. Mosaism +and Zoroaster. Parsees and Christians. Moses and Zoroaster. The ancient +magi. The Persians. Conflicting ideas of God in Bible. The source of the +Biblical theology. Cyrus. Inquiry into the authenticity of the Avesta. +The book condemned. Account of the Medo-Persian faith from Herodotus. +Period of introduction of the Devil to the Bible. Summary. Comparison +and contrast. Introduction to next chapter. + +In every ancient, and, indeed, in every modern, faith which I have +yet examined, I have been shocked with the manner in which it has been +represented by interested opponents. Whether they are Romanists or +Protestants, Evangelicals or Ritualists, Orthodox or Non-conformists, +all our divines endeavour to prove their own tenets to be the best, by +blazoning everything which is good, and veiling from sight everything +which is doubtful. This being so, it is not at all surprising that +Christians generally should try to exalt the religion professed +by themselves over that propounded by others, whom they designate +"heathens." But though it is not strange that very human partisans +should act thus, it is marvellous to find that all the ardent disciples +of Jesus, without an exception, that I know of, should, in their +dealings with mankind, systematically break the ninth of those +commandments which they assert were given by God to man, upon Mount +Sinai All of them bear false witness against their neighbour, and give +incorrect accounts of themselves in addition. They resemble, indeed, +those Dutch merchants whom Washington Irving describes, so pleasantly, +in his history of New York, who had two sets of weights, a heavy lot by +which to purchase, and a light set by which to sell Such traders we call +"fraudulent;" and I assert that every so-called orthodox polemic whose +books I have read deserves the same epithet. Their fraud is shown by the +misrepresentations that they make, both of the creed which they uphold +and the one which they oppose. The heterodox and the so-called atheist +may be trusted, at least, to tell the truth. + +In saying this, I do not assert that everyone gives false witness +knowingly, any more than I would blame a tradesman for using false +scales, or weights, if he could demonstrate that he had purchased them +as true, and could show that he had never tampered with them. Yet the +law would punish such a man for their use, arguing that he ought to +have made inquiry. In one of the large towns of Great Britain, on one +occasion, a merchant, believed to be both religious and honest, sold to +a broker a cargo of stuff which had no existence, and, when the delivery +had to be made, the first destroyed himself, and the second was adjudged +to be a culpable bankrupt, because he had taken the existence of the oil +for granted, without investigation. Just so it is with ordinary divines; +they assume certain statements in their own religious book to be +true--they are taught to shut their eyes to the absurdities in the same +volume, and to explain away, in one manner or another, everything which +militates against common sense. By this plan they contrive to sell, +as sterling stuff, something which is made of base material, without +knowingly being parties to a fraud. In the same way a shopman may, on +the word of the manufacturer, dispose of a piece of goods as wholly +silk, although he has a shrewd presumption that the fabric contains a +large proportion of cotton. For such individuals we have the proverb, +"there are none so blind as those who will not see." But these very +theologians of whom we are speaking, when they are dealing with the +sacred books, ordinary customs, ritual, and the like, of other +people, having a different religion to their own, are exact, in the +extreme--every absurdity is exhibited ruthlessly; every legend is +ridiculed; every discrepancy is magnified; and everything which betrays +ignorance, or want of scientific knowledge, is paraded with inglorious +ceremony. On the other hand, everything good which is to be found +therein is, if possible, suppressed. A book, which was, for a long time, +a standard one amongst our divines, entitled, _Christ and Many Masters_, +is particularly open to this charge. In it there is throughout a +_suppressio veri_, a _suggestio falsi_, and scarcely a page that +does not bear false witness. If there were a law to punish those who +adulterate or falsify "truth," our magistrates would be kept extremely +busy. + +As an inquiry into the realities of Buddhism has led us to the belief +that the origin of Christianity may be found in the doctrines of the +son of Maya, which were adopted with certain Judaic modifications by the +sons of Elizabeth and Mary--so it is highly probable that what is called +Mosaism has been built upon the teachings of the Persian or Median +theology, said to have been founded by Zoroaster. Perhaps it would +be difficult to find any modern evidence of the likelihood of this +hypothesis more powerful than the fact that at the present day the Jews +and the Parsees fraternize almost like brothers. The latter in England, +and, I understand, elsewhere, select, when they can, the house of a +Hebrew wherein to lodge, rather than that of any man of another nation. +To this testimony, such as it is, we must add another which is very +telling, viz., that almost every modern orthodox writer who has +treated of Zoroaster, has declared that the prophet of Persia drew his +inspiration from the lawgiver of Israel The priority of the latter being +asserted, and the second place having been given to the former, the +matter was supposed to be proved, and the Persian, after having been +regarded as a copy of the Hebrew, was consigned to oblivion. + +There can be little doubt, however, that the teachings of Zoroaster had +more life in them than those either of the Jew or the Christian, for +the Parsee always and even to the present day, and in every position of +life, may lay claim to the title of nature's gentleman, which very +few of the disciples of Jesus or of Moses could pretend to until very +recently. The morality of these religionists is excellent. In every +relation of life they endeavour to be, to do, and to think that which is +right--and though there may be black sheep amongst them, the proportion +of these to the main body is small In no period of their history, so +far as I can learn it, have the Zoroastrians been as brutal as the +Christians were so long as they had the power--nor have they ever +introduced into their worship figures of men, women, or children with +the apparent intention of honouring or adoring them, or the assertion +that such things assisted their devotions. Being strictly monotheists, +they have not split up the Godhead into three males influenced by +a female who is the spouse of one and mother of a second; nor have +asserted that the one great Creator is compounded of a father, a +son, and a pigeon, with a woman for an intercessor with her celestial +consort. Nor do the Parsees build vast temples for the Almighty to +dwell in, neither do they reduce any portion of the Omnipotent to the +necessity of residing in a bit of bread shut up for many a long day in +a box. On the contrary, the modern followers of Zoroaster worship "the +father" in spirit and in truth--not with eye service as men-pleasers, +but with singleness of heart, fearing God (Col. iii. 22.), thus being, as +we are told, the very men whom the Almighty seeketh (John iv. 23, 24). + +The first resemblance between the Persian and the Jewish lawgiver to +which we would call attention, is the mythical nature of both. The +Hebrew who believes in Moses can show no other ground for his faith +than a number of books which tell of Moses, his genealogy, his acts, +his laws, his character, and his death. Yet when an independent inquirer +subjects these books, and the accounts which they contain, to a rigid +examination, he finds evidence that the writings are fabrications of a +period at least a full thousand years after the era of their supposed +epoch--probably more; and that all collateral testimony and all internal +evidence drawn from the books themselves disprove the actual existence +of Moses. To the scholar, the Hebrew lawgiver is as apocryphal or +fictitious a being as Hercules, Romulus, and our own king Arthur. Nor is +this belief of the critic shaken when he finds that the history of Moses +is interwoven with miraculous legends--credit them he cannot; but he may +pause before he determines to see in them evidence of fabrication. He +cannot fairly deny the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, because many +marvellous stories were told of him, nor would a similar cause alone +lead him to assert that Francis of Assisi was a mythical individual. +But whichever way the careful philosophical inquirer may decide the +questions at issue, he will remember that many strange stories are told +of the conception, birth, and life of Zoroaster, and that the critic +must mete out equal justice, both to the Jew and to the Persian. Again, +impartial inquirers find themselves unable to determine, with anything +approaching to accuracy, either by internal evidence or contemporary +remains--the positive epoch when the tale about Moses was originated. It +is true that the Bible seems to afford foundation for a chronology in +a few parts, as, for example, in the historical books; but these are +so completely contradicted by genealogies in other parts that we cannot +trust them. After stripping away every doubtful scrap from Jewish +history, all we can find is, that Moses was first talked of, familiarly, +after what maybe called the Grecian Captivity of Jerusalem (see +_Obadiah, Ancient Faiths, &c._t Vol. ii.), and that he was said to +be the author of the ceremonial, moral, and political laws which were +framed for the Jewish nation, and which were assiduously taught to the +Hebrews after the Babylonish captivity. + +The followers of Zoroaster are equally ignorant of the real history of +their prophet, and are equally unable to demonstrate the claim of the +Zend Avesta to be a true account of the teaching of the Persian sage, as +are the Jews to prove the antiquity of their laws and nation. Putting +on one side all those which may be regarded as modern fancies, the first +mention made of the Prophet is in the first Alcibiades of Plato, which +we may imagine was written shortly after B.c. 412, in which year that +distinguished Greek citizen negociated a treaty between Athens and +Persia. Plato, when speaking of the education of the sons of the kings +of Persia, says (_Bohn's_ edition, Vol. iv., p. 344), "At fourteen years +of age, they who are called the royal preceptors, take the boy under +their care. Now these are chosen out from those who are deemed most +excellent of the Persians, men in the prime of life, four in number, +excelling (severally) in wisdom, justice, temperance, and fortitude. +The first of these instructs the youth in the learning of the Magi, +according to Zoroaster, the son of Oromazes--now by this learning +is meant the worship of the gods--and likewise in the art of kingly +government." But Herodotus, writing about B.c. 450, when giving, in Book +i, c. 131, an account of the religion of the Persians, makes not only +no mention of Zoroaster, but attributes to that nation a form of worship +differing from what is supposed to be pure Zoroastrianism;* but he +mentions--and it seems to be a significant fact, that it is not lawful +for a Persian to sacrifice unless one of the Magi is present, who +sings an ode concerning the original of the gods which, they say, is an +incantation. + + * There is strong constructive evidence, from the nature of + the Aryan Mythology, from the pages of the Vedas, from the + anthropological resemblances between Persians, Caucasians, + Greeks, Latins, Germans, British, and others; from the + linguistic alliances between what have been called the Indo- + Germanic races; and from a variety of other sources, each + small in itself, but strong in the aggregate, for the belief + that the origin of the Aryan mythology, or the Vedic + religion as it is otherwise called, may be traced to Bactria + or to Ancient Persia. Persia is spoken of by Plato as if her + people carried the dynasties of their kings far back into + eternity. (First Alcibiades, Bohn's edition, vol. iv., p. + 343). Herodotus again (Book i., c. 131) tells us that the + Persians from the earliest times have sacrificed to the sun + and moon, to the earth, fire, water, and the winds, that + they sacrifice on high places, have no divine statues, nor + do they build temples. Now this is almost entirely a + description of the old Aryan religion. The sun, for example, + is Surya, Aryama, Mitra, Vivaswat, Martunda, Savitor, Sura, + Ravi, Varuna, Indra Yama, Vishnu, and Krishna (Moor's Hindoo + Paillhcon, p. 287). The moon is Chandra and Soma, and the + origin of these words is to be found in the Persian as well + as in the Sanscrit writings (Moor's H. P., p. 284-5). The + Earth is Prit'hivi, 11a, Lakshmi, and Vasta. Fire is the + powerful Agni. The water is Nara, or Narayana (Moor's JET. + P., 74), from which all things came (see Water in Ancient + Faiths), and the Winds are Maruts and Vaya. To these + deities, individually or collectively, the modern Hindoo + offers prayer and praise; and the hymns of the Rig Veda, + such as we have them edited by Max Muller and Wilson, are + copies probably of the same chants which accompanied the + sacrifices of the Ancient Persians. + + +This seems to indicate that the Persian religion was then undergoing +some supervision by rulers who had a different faith to that held at a +later period. When we next turn to Herodotus, Book L, c. 101, we find +that the Magi were one of the six tribes which composed the Medes; +and we notice that Phraortes, the son of Deioces, reduced the Persian +kingdom under the dominion of the Medes about B.c. 650. If, then, we +regard Zoroaster as being the founder of the Magi, we must throw back +his epoch considerably further than this date. But even if we accept +this conquest as the era of the Parsee prophet, we find that Zoroaster +preceded the first public promulgation of the Mosaic law amongst the +Jews.* + + * Time of Zoroaster.--Dr. Hang, who is no mean authority in + everything which concerns Zoroastrianism, states in an able + resume of the evidence, that we cannot assign a later date + to the prophet than 2300 years before Christ. He quotes from + Diogenes Laertius who affirms that Xanthos of Lydia, b.c. + 600-450, states, that Zoroaster lived 6000 years before + Xerxes invaded Greece; from Pliny who, on the authority of + Aristotle, says that the teacher preceded Plato by 6000 + years; from Hermippus of Smyrna, who studied Magism B.c. + 250, and averred that the founder of that sect lived 5000 + years before the Trojan war; and from Pliny, to show the + general belief of ancient Greek authors that Zoroaster lived + many thousand years before Moses. Dr. Haug says (I am + quoting from "A Lecture on an Original Speech of Zoroaster, + with Remarks on his Age, by Dr Haug" London: Triibner & Co., + 1865), that the traditional books of the Parsees say + Zerdosht (another form of the more familiar Greek name) + lived 300 years before Alexander invaded Persia. Our author + adds that Hermippus, in 250 b.c., speaks of two millions of + verses of Zoroastrian origin, and infers that these would + require 1000 years for their growth. He then points out the + relationship between the Iranian and the Yedic religion, and + Zoroaster's antagonism to the latter, and argues that this + must have happened ere the Aryans invaded the Punjaub, 2000 + years B.c. Dr. Haug then inquires into the probable source + whence the Greeks drew their ideas respecting the antiquity + of Zerdosht, and argues, with great show of reason, that + they consulted the chronology of the Babylonian priests. He + shows that a trustworthy record was kept which went back to + 2284 b.c., this he concludes, from data given by Berosus, + was the year when Babylon was conquered by the Medes;--and + from Synkellos he shows that the founder of the dynasty of + the eight Median tyrants over Babylon was called Zoroaster. + But this word, Zarathustra, in the original, signifies a + high priest, and to distinguish him from other hierarchs + the prophet is called Zarathustra Spitama, in the Zend + Avesta--hence this king is supposed not to be the prophet + him" self, but a descendant from him, and a priest in the + order which was founded by the original Zerdosht. This again + points to the fact that the Babylonians could only know + anything about the founder of Magism from the Medes + themselves, and they might, from want of any accurate + chronology, assign to Zoroaster any date they liked--just + as, with many a semi-civilized nation 'a long time may be + converted into ten, a hundred, a thousand, or a million + years.' Haug does not endeavour to assign any particular + date to the era of Zoroaster beyond expressing the opinion + that he might have lived one or two hundred years before the + Median conquest of Babylon, and that this occurrence was + probably one of the results of the ferment which his + doctrines caused. "He preached, like Moses, war and + destruction to all idolaters and wicked men, and said that + he was commissioned by God to spread the religion of Ahura + Mazda. Daring his life-time, and shortly after his death, + his followers seem to have engaged in incessant wars with + their religious antagonists, the Vedic Indians, which + struggle is well known in the Sanscrit writings as that + between the Asuras (Ahura) and Devas (the Hindu gods). But + afterwards they spread westward and invaded the countries of + other idol worshippers in order to uproot idolatry, and + establish everywhere the good Mazdayan religion. They really + appear to have changed the order of things in Babylon when + they conquered it, and spread a new creed, for they are + spoken of by Berosus as tyrants." Zoroaster was the first + prophet of truth who appeared in the world, and kindled a + fire which thousands of years could not entirely + extinguish." + +When Moses was first talked about we know not, but at the time of +Samuel, David, and Josiah he was unknown. We have no reason to believe +that the Hebrews ever came into contact with, or ever heard of the +Persians, until after the Babylonish conquest, followed by that of +Cyrus; consequently, if the Jewish law first propounded contained +nothing akin to the doctrines and laws of Zoroaster, and subsequent +publications did so, we should naturally conclude that the last were +copied. It is unnecessary to tell the student of biblical history that +the Jews were for many years under the dominion of the Persians and +Medes, and that Nehemiah, one of their great men, after the Babylonian +captivity, was a personal, though humble, friend, of the king of +Persia--i.e., if we take his account of himself for true. + +Of the fact of there being two distinct doctrines respecting the +Almighty in the Old Testament no scholar has a doubt. In the one, God +is represented as the sole Being who rules and influences the world: +whatsoever was done He was regarded as the doer of it. He had no +powerful enemy who could thwart His will, no adversary who could +withstand Him successfully. In the other the existence of two rival +powers is distinctly recognised--Jehovah and Satan--the Aryan Mara, +the tempter, who plot and counterplot against each other, and even +condescend to personal wrangling. The most conspicuous example which +we can give of these two doctrines is to be found in 2 Sam. xxiv. 1, in +which we are told that Jehovah moved David to number Israel, whereas +in 1 Chron. xxi. 1, evidently written by a modern scribe, we find that +Satan, the adversary, was he who incited the king to perform this deed. +We see the duality of persons conspicuously put forward in the first and +second chapters of Job, in which Satan is represented as being at large, +not being even under the surveillance of Jehovah. See also 1 Kings xxii. +20-23, wherein we find Jehovah at a loss how to bring about a certain +result, and assisted out of a dilemma by a lying spirit--who can do what +the Lord could not effect! We may say that the story is a fiction, but +no Hebrew dare have spoken thus of Jehovah had he ever heard of Moses +and his laws. + +As we cannot imagine that a revelation from God to the Hebrews would be +thus changeable, we can come to no other conclusion than that the Jewish +writings were of human origin, and their first doctrines modified by +those of other nations to whom the Hebrews were subjects or enslaved. To +this consideration we may add, that when the Israelites came in contact +with the Medes and Persians, they were merely a 'posse' of slaves, +a crowd of prisoners removed from their own land without a shadow +of power, or any influence, and only anxious to induce those who had +conquered their late masters, the Babylonians, to have pity on their +misery, and restore them to beggared Jerusalem. The idea of the Hebrews +gaining friends by endeavouring to induce the Persian Magi to change +their faith and embrace that of the poor and probably despised Jew +is preposterous. On the other hand, there would be every possible +inducement for the Hebrews to study the faith of that people whose God +had given them victory over the Chaldeans. See in corroboration of this +Ps. cxxxvii., especially the two last verses. + +We may regard the question before us in yet another light, If we are +to allow that the words of Isaiah are correct, which describe Cyrus as +God's shepherd (ch. xliv. 28), and as anointed by Jehovah Himself, we +cannot conceive that the religion which he professed was opposed to +that entertained by the Hebrew prophet. As it is morally impossible +that Cyrus and his hierarchy were taught their religion by any Jew, it +follows that the Persian faith can lay the same claim to inspiration as +the Hebrew, if the latter were not indeed almost identical with it. +If, then, we insist upon the latter being "a true revelation," we must +concede the same to the former, or if we pronounce the Persian religion +to be of human invention, we must pass a similar verdict upon the +Jewish. + +When we are upon the horns of such a great dilemma we may well pause. +It is indeed almost impossible for orthodox divines to make a selection +which prong of the fork is the worst. If we elect to say our belief +is, that the primitive teaching of the Hebrew was God-given and a true +revelation, we cannot put faith in those scriptures which tell us of a +devil who fights with Jehovah, and is generally victorious. If, on the +other hand, we hold that the Christian notions of the Creator and Satan +are true, we must regard the Zoroastrian teaching as inspired; and +the early Jewish writings as unworthy of credit--of human invention +and heterodox. Theologians will probably elect to remain in a state of +uncertainty on this subject. Philosophers, on the contrary, will escape +from it at once by asserting their conviction that both the Hebrew and +the Magian religion are wholly of human invention.* + + * When commencing this chapter, it was my intention to + amplify what I have already said in Vol. II. respecting the + Magian religion, by giving an analysis of the celebrated + Zend Avesta, a translation of which into French, by Anquetil + du Perron, I had recently procured for the purpose. + + As I was aware that Dr Haug, a learned scholar, believed the + original to be trust-worthy, I read the translation in good + faith, but I soon began to doubt whether the book was what + it professed to be, for to my mind it bore internal evidence + of having been fabricated at a comparatively recent period + by some one who was familiar both with the Aryan and the + Mosaic, if not the Christian, doctrines and literature. I + felt that I should not be acting honestly unless I took such + steps as lay in my power to satisfy myself upon this point + The essay was therefore laid aside for a considerable time, + until, indeed, every available source of information had + been searched. After my inquiry was over the text was + resumed as above. + +But in the middle, or perhaps we might say upon the threshold of our +inquiry, we must pause to examine into the amount of confidence which +can be given to those under whose guidance we are invited to place +ourselves. Such investigations are too frequently omitted. Those who +have faith in the Bible usually decline to search into the grounds +of their belief, and, in like manner, those who have always heard +the author of the Zend Avesta quoted as trustworthy are apt to take +everything which it may say as correct. To avoid this error, I have +consulted all the volumes of the transactions of the Royal Asiatic +Society of London, and have found therein sufficient to throw the +gravest doubts upon the great antiquity of the Parsee religion. It will +be an useful task if I attempt to classify the evidence on each side, +and to draw an inference therefrom. Our knowledge respecting the +Magian religion which the Bactrian* prophet founded, is built, with the +exception of the notices in Greek and Latin authors, already quoted, +upon the work known as the Avesta. This is written in a language called +Zand,** and there are within it parts, which are written in another +tongue, to which the name of Pahlavi has been given, and from these the +sacred books of the Parsees have been translated into French by Anquetil +du Perron, into German by Spiegel, and into English by Haug. All these +writers assume that the language referred to is Ancient Persian, and +closely allied to the Sanscrit, and Haug especially endeavours to +demonstrate that the Avesta, and the origin of the religion of the +Parsees, must be as old as the time of the Vedas, inasmuch as the same +sort of legends, the same names, and, to a certain extent, the same +genii, are to be found in both. There is not absolute identity, however, +for those which are spoken of as good by the Vedas are treated as bad in +the Avesta. Viewed from this point, Haug assigns to the Zand volumes +an age of about four thousand years, and he supports his belief by a +reference to the length of time which would be required to make up the +two million verses attributed to Zoroaster by some Greek author. In the +conclusion that both the Zand and the Pahlavi are very ancient Persian +tongues, it is stated that the majority of German and French critics +agree. + + * Zoroaster is said by many early writers to have been a + king in Bactria.--Smith's Dictionary, s.v. + + ** The word "Zend" is more familiar to many than the form + "Zand;" but I have adopted the latter, as also the spelling + of Pahlavi, from an essay by Mr Romer, with an introduction + by Professor Wilson, in Vol. IV., Royal Asiatic Society's + Journal. + +But on the other hand, such orientalists as Sir William Jones, Colonel +Vans Kennedy, Mr Thomas, and Mr Romer, and indeed all British oriental +scholars, regard both the Zand and the Pahlavi as bastard languages, +never spoken, and wholly fabricated by a comparatively modern +priesthood, for the express purpose of making the holy books which they +wrote comprehensible only by themselves. Such scholars show that the +Zand and Pahlavi are built upon a Sanscrit, Arabic, and modern Persian +model, and that the Parsee Pahlavi is very different to the Pehlevi of +the Sassanian coins, and, in Vol. IV., Transactions of Royal Asiatic +Society, Mr Romer supports this conclusion by a number of passages in +the various languages referred to. It is also asserted that many words +in the Avesta have been borrowed from the Arabic, and others from the +Sanscrit tongues, possibly, also, from the Greek. Being unable, from my +comparative ignorance of Eastern language, to form a decided opinion on +independent grounds, all that I can say is, that it does really seem to +be proved that the religious books of the Par-sees are not so ancient as +they have been by many supposed to be. + +The question which next arises for our consideration is, whether such +volumes represent the tenets of an ancient faith, or whether they +are the fabrication of men who have, possibly in the wreck of an old +worship, brought about by war or other calamity, endeavoured to create a +new religion out of the relics of one or more old ones. In favour of the +antiquity of the Avesta are the facts that the great god, Ahura Mazdao, +seems to be almost identical with the Aura Mazda of the Persepolitan +inscription of Darius. But in proof of its untruthfulness as a +representative of pure Persian tradition, we find the book introducing +Devs and Ahuras,--the counterpart of the Devas and Asuras of the Vedas, +only reversing their character--we also see Indra mentioned as a devil, +whilst Siva and Mitra are introduced as Sharva and Miltra. (Haug's +_Essays on the Parsee_, Bombay, p. 230, 1862). If, therefore, we allow +that there is some of the old Zoroastrian doctrine to be found in the +Avesta, we must equally grant that such teaching has been modified by +hatred of a rival faith. Yet herein is another question, viz., Was +the antagonism between the doctrines of the Avesta and of the Vedas +contemporary with the origin of the two systems, or was the teaching of +the Avesta the result of its author's coming into hostile conflict with +Vedic teachers, as they possibly might have done after Alexander had +opened a highway for intercourse between Persia and Hindostan? + +On weighing the subject as impartially as I can, it seems to me that the +Avesta contains a great deal of the Ancient Persian faith, but that it +will be the safest plan for us to describe what is known of the Persian +and Median faith from other sources, rather than take our information +mainly from this doubtful source. Herodotus tells us of his own +knowledge (B. i, c. 131, seq.), that the Persians, about b.c. 450, did +not erect statues, temples, or altars--that they sacrificed on lofty +hills to high heaven, the sun, moon, fire, water, and the winds, and +that this had been a custom from time immemorial Sacrifice was attended +by a priest or magus, and prayer and praise were offered, not for +themselves alone, but for all the Persians, and especially for the king. + +In about the year 521 B.c., Darius, king of the Medes, caused be +made, in three languages, upon a rock at Behistun, an inscription of +considerable length. The one which is in the Persian tongue has been +translated by Rawlinson (_Royal Asiatic Society Journal_, vol 10). In +it, the king acknowledges Auramazda as his god, and speaks of him as the +Jews did of Jehovah. This epithet is explained by two Sanscrit roots (Op +cit., vol. x., p. 68), and may be paraphrased as "The Lord or giver of +life," "The great Creator," or "The Eternal," and the king in a doubtful +passage refers to "the evil one" (?), who by lies deceived the rulers +of certain states, inducing them to rebel, and then left them to be +conquered by the Ormazd-governed Darius. In the Babylonian copy "lies" +are as it were personified. Whilst in the Scythian version, translated +by Mr Norris (Op cit. vol. xv., p. 144), we find the account run thus: +"These are the provinces which became rebellious, 'the god of lies' +made them rebel that they would subvert the state, afterwards Ormaza +delivered them into my hand." The "lies," or the god of lies, we very +naturally associate with the being whom we call in our time the devil, +who is spoken of (John viii. 44) as a liar, and the father of falsehood, +who was so from the beginning [--Greek--], and consequently regarded as +coeval with the "father of light." + +We next turn to such evidence as is given us in the book of Job. We +select this ancient writing in consequence of the strong internal +evidence there is, that it was written by some one about the period of +the Achaemenian dynasty living in Persia (see Rawlinson in _Journal of +B. A. Soc_., vol. 1, new series, p. 230). In Job we find two distinct +powers spoken of, the one being the Good God, and the other Satan the +opposer. The last is regularly described as if he had the power to cause +war, devastation, tempest, disease, and death, for ch. ii., v. 6, lets +us infer that he might have killed Job had he been so minded and God +allowed the bargain, and in verse 19 of the same chapter we find +him killing all the sons and daughters of the patriarch. Job +clearly recognised the necessity of sacrifice for purification, for +sanctification, and he seems not to have offered this upon any altar, in +any temple, or with the intervention of any priest. It is clear that Job +had never heard of Moses or the writings assigned to him. The persecuted +patriarch and his friends all believe that punishment in this life is +the result of offences committed against the Good God, but all seem +to be singularly free from the idea that Satan is the cause of Job's +sufferings either directly or indirectly. There is throughout the book +no reference made to a preceding or a succeeding condition of man, +such as obtained amongst the Brahmins, and it is doubtful whether the +Persians believed in heaven or hell. When man died he was supposed to +perish. Hence we conclude that the doctrine of the resurrection was not +prevalent at the time the story was written, and in the country where +the writer of the book of Job resided. Equally unknown to that author, +whoever he was, were the ideas about angels, ministers of God, or +disembodied spirits. These were of Babylonian origin. We must now, to +carry on the thread of the argument, recal to mind the fact that Babylon +was taken by the Medes and Persians, that the rulers of the united +people often made that city their residence, that Herodotus tells us +(B. 1, c. 135) that "the Persians are of all nations most ready to adopt +foreign customs," and I may notice, in passing, that the same authority +states that the two nations were scrupulously truthful, ceremoniously +cleanly, and intolerant to leprosy. It is well known, moreover, that +even after the commencement of our era Babylon was the chief seat of +Babbinic and Talmudic lore. + +When we examine into the religion of the Babylonians we find that +they believed in the existence of angels--minis-, ters of the +Supreme--intelligences,--unseen by man, yet powerful to act in his +favour, or against him. If we rightly interpret many of the engraved +gems which were executed by the Chaldees, we can only come to the +conclusion that they believed in a Devil, a Typhon, or spirit of +destruction. + +We next must call attention to the fact that the Jews were conquered by +the Babylonians, and enslaved in Mesopotamia for very many years--that +they were subsequently emancipated by the Medo-Persians, and that the +latter, whom from the inscription of Darius we believe to have been +devout, permitted and even encouraged the Israelites to entertain the +faith which they then held, and even assisted them to rebuild their +temple. This permission, and the friendliness of Nehemiah with the +Median monarch, seem to show a great similarity, if not an identity, +between the Persian and the Jewish creeds. + +If, then, we could frame any definite idea of the tenets held by the +Jews before they came into contact with the Babylonians, and those which +they professed afterwards, we might form a conception of what they got +from the Chaldees, the Medes, and the Persians respectively. Without +going very deeply into the matter, we may say that Hebrew scholars +generally allow that the ideas of Satan--a power opposed to that of God, +and of angels or spirits, were introduced between the captivity and +the period when the scriptures were translated into Greek, and that the +notion of a future life and the resurrection of the dead, was developed +after the time of the Septuagint, about b.c. 277. + +From the preceding considerations we draw the inference that the idea of +the resurrection of the dead, of a future state of existence, in which +each will be punished or rewarded for what had been done by him in his +mortal condition, was not a portion of the original Median, Persian, +Babylonian, or Jewish religion. A mass of circumstantial evidence has +led me to believe that the idea of a Heaven for the good and a +Hell for the bad, came from those who professed what we will call the +Vedic or the Buddhist faith. If, in reply to this, it is alleged that +it may have come from the Greeks directly, the rejoinder is simply +this--that the Grecians, as Aryan colonists, brought with them only +a rude notion of a futurity, which they were the medium of improving, +when, through the influence of their arts and arms, they opened a +highway to India both by sea and land. Those who could import into their +armies such huge beasts as elephants, could far more readily import a +new article of faith, if it pleased the priests. + +If our reasoning is sound, we cannot, I think, regard the Avesta as +a trustworthy exposition of the ancient teaching of Zoroaster. On the +other hand, we must, in my opinion, consider it as a book fabricated to +serve a particular purpose. In this respect it resembles our own Bible, +which was composed for the glorification of the Hebrews when smarting +under a series of ignominious defeats and enslavements; and then +enlarged, contracted, or altered, to suit emergencies. + +The following table will assist the reader to compare or contrast +the religion of the Medo-Persians with that of the Hebrews in some +matters:-- + +[Illustration: 285] + +[Illustration: 286] + +The Hebrews first worshipped a calf, and then a box; they believed that +their God taught them to build a tabernacle first, then a temple, and +to It is not the practice of the Perform altars for sacrifice. The +Hebrews sians to erect statues, or temples, also believed that Elohim +had one or or altars, and they charge with folly more human forms--see +Gen. xviii. 1, those that do. They do not think 2, and the following +chap. xix. 1--see the gods have human forms, also Gen. xxxii. 1 and +24-80, also Josh. v. 13, 14, 15, Jud. ii. 1-5. + +The anthropomorphism of the Jewish Scriptures has already been referred +to in Vol. I. of Ancient Faiths. + +The Persians are accustomed to ascend the highest parts of the +mountains, and offer sacrifice to Jupiter, calling the whole circle of +the heavens by that name. + +The Persians sacrificed to the son and moon, to the earth, fire, water, +and the winds. + +Amongst the Persians, sacrifices were attended by invocations and +prayers, and were always offered up by a priest. + +The Persians, next to bravery in battle, considered the greatest proof +of manliness was to be able to exhibit many children. + +Whoever has the leprosy or scrofula is not permitted to stay within a +town, nor have communication with other Persians; and it is supposed +that the infliction is caused by some offence against the deity (sun +god). Herodotus, book I., chaps. 131,138. + +The eldest son of the Persian king was instructed during youth in the +learning of the Magi according to Zoroaster the son of Oromazes--by this +learning is meant the worship of the gods--and likewise in the art of +kingly government. Plato, in Alcibiades. + +The Hebrews sacrificed on high places for a long period. Sacrifice in an +enclosed place seems to have been adopted from the Phoenicians by David +and Solomon, but not to have been popular for some centuries. + +The Jewish people sacrificed to sun, moon, and some planets--had a +sacred fire in the temple, and regarded clouds and wind as the ministers +of God. The God that answered by fire was the one adopted by Elyah. The +so-called orthodox Jews only acknowledged one God, and subsequently one +devil. + +The Jews neither offered invocation nor prayer at their sacrifices, and +prophets and kings offered victims without priestly assistance. In later +times every sacrifice was offered by a priest. + +The Hebrews regarded a large family as a gift from Jehovah. + +The Hebrews had the same practice; and, as we learn in the book of Job, +and Deuter. xxviii, notably in the 27th verse, they deemed that botch, +scab, itch, and emerods were punishments sent by Jehovah. + +The royal families of Judah received no instruction, either in political +matters or in religion, and were allowed to grow up and do much as they +liked in regard to worship. The only power which influenced them was +that assumed by some man who professed to be divinely inspired. + +In a chapter of ancient faiths and notice an allegation which has that +Parseeism or Zoroastriamsm has been borrowed from Jews and Christians. +To this we wholly demur. Nowhere in the Avesta do we find a reference to +the imminent destruction of the world, the resurrection of a dead man, +his subjugating all the powers of evil, and reigning for a thousand +years with his followers as kings and saints. Nowhere in the Avesta do +we discover such immoral notions of God as prevailed amongst the ancient +Jewish writers. Take these away from Judaism and Christianity, and +then the two resemble the religions which are held everywhere by the +thoughtful and the good. If there has really been any copying at all, +we do not see the imitators in Central Asia but on the shores of +the Mediterranean. The Jews copied from Tyre, Babylon, and +Greece--Christians have taken as models Egyptians, Grecians, Romans, and +even barbarians, and they have denied a once pure faith by covering it +over with the ordures of heathenism. Yet we talk of others imitating us! + +I propose now to examine at some length into such of the developments as +have taken place in certain religious systems, for by so doing we shall +be better able to judge what are those doctrines which Christians hold, +in common with what they call Pagan nations, and how far those matters +which are regarded as fundamental points of doctrine are in reality +trustworthy. We must ever bear in mind that if we find the same set of +ideas entertained amongst peoples who by no possibility can have had any +communication with each other, it is only rational to believe that each +race possesses those notions in virtue of their being human. Or, if +desirous of avoiding this admission, the orthodox declares that +every asserted fact is a copy of a precedent one, then we ask them to +reconcile the legend of Hercules being begotten by Jupiter, and Jesus by +the Holy Ghost, for unquestionably the story of Alcmena's son preceded +that told of Mary's. + +In the following chapter I shall avoid as far as possible any reference +to the tales told of the conception of Jesus, for no man, however +subtle he may be, can prove that the Son of Man had a certain mundane +individual called Joseph for a father; all that I desire to show is, +that in every nation whose history has come down to us there have been +persons whose mothers have declared themselves to have been pure virgins +until adopted by some god as a temporal and temporary spouse, or who, +being wives, have asserted that a son who has distinguished himself +in the world has been of divine procreation--an affirmation, be it +observed, that can only be made in case the spouse has been manifestly +unfaithful, or by some fulsome historian desirous of exalting his hero +to celestial rank. There is scarcely a barbaric dynasty known, indeed, +which does not claim an origin from some heavenly father, mother, or +both. + +There have been many hierarchs who, having felt conscious of the +absurdity of making, by miraculous agency, all wonderful beings come +from woman only, have consequently invented legends in which men have +produced offspring without a consort. Some may be disposed to deride +these tales, who can readily credit the stories of virgin mothers; but +in reality there is no difference between the two sets of legends, in +probability, wherever "miracles" are assumed. It would have been quite +as easy for the writer of Genesis to have made Isaac come from old +Abraham's bosom as from the womb of his hoary-headed wife. But the +Jewish writers have never proved themselves as subtle as the Hindoos and +Greeks. Instead of asserting that a man, without a woman's assistance, +has borne a son--a matter capable of proof--they have declared that a +woman has conceived, without the assistance of a man; an asseveration +for which there cannot be any proof whatever, no not even physical, +for accoucheurs know that many a female conceives by her lover's +instrumentality, and bears a child, at whose birth, or rather when +parturition is imminent, that part which is called "the Hymen," and is +the Mosaical test of virginity, is not only unbroken, but so small +in aperture, and strong in flesh, as to require operative or surgical +interference before the child can come into the world. According to +Mosaism these must be regarded as absolutely virgin mothers. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Supernatural generation. What is meant by the term. Examples. Children +given by the gods. Anecdote. Frequency of god-begotten children in +Ancient Greece. Their general fate. The stories not credited by the +grandfathers of children, nor apparently by the mothers. The babies, +how treated. Foundlings and Hospitals. Antiope. Leucothoee. Divinely +conceived persons not necessarily great or good. Babylonian idea that +a god came down to enjoy human women. Tale from Herodotus. Jehovah as a +man. Grecian idea attached to the expression Son of God. Homer. Hebrew +ideas. Roman notions. Romulus, son of Mars and a Vestal Augustus, son +of Apollo. Modern ideas respecting Incubi. Prevalence of the belief. +Its suppression. Causes of its origin. Bible made to pander to priestly +lust. Dictionnaire Infernal. History of incubi therefrom. Stories. +Strange idea that the Gods who made men out of nothing cannot as easily +make babies. Divine Androgynes. Strange stories of single gods having +offspring. Narayana and the Spirit of God of Genesis. Chaos. Hindoo +mythos of Brahma. Birth from churning a dead man's left arm, and again +his right. Ayonyesvara, his strange history. Similar ones referred +to. History of Carticeya. Christian parallels. Immaculate conception a +Hindoo myth. The dove in India and Christendom. Agni and cloven fiery +tongues. Penance and its powers. Miraculous conception by means' of a +dove. Other myths from various sources. + +It is a question which should, in my opinion, be asked by every +individual in a rational community, whether it is advisable to continue, +as a matter of faith, a doctrine which must be repudiated, as a matter +of fact. To this we may join, as a rider, can anyone who puts his +credence in a legend because it is old, claim to be superior to those +who originally invented the tale, in the darkness of antiquity? When +moderns smile at the stories told by the classic Varro, how certain +mares in Lusitania were impregnated by the wind on a certain mountain, +without any access to a horse, and at the credence given to similar +accounts by Virgil, Pliny, and even the Christian bishop Augustine; and +by some old Scotch authority how a young woman became a mother through +the intervention of the ashes of the dead: and when they pity the +benighted Greeks who gave to Hercules, Jupiter for a father; and to +Mars, Juno for a mother, without intercourse with her celestial spouse, +it behoves them to inquire whether each may not be addressed in the +sentence, "Mutato nomine, de te fabula narratur"--i.e., change but the +name of the believers from Greeks and Romans to modern Christians, and +it will be found that Popes, priests, and peoples believe as firmly +now in supernatural generation as the most crass pagan of which history +treats. + +Our classical reading tells us abundance of marvellous stories--how +Jupiter seduced Danae in the form of a golden shower, and yet had a +common son by her, who was not an aureous coin; how Leda received Zeus +as a swan, and bore therefrom a couple of eggs; how Europa was tempted +by him as a bull, and yet did not bear a calf; and how Callisto, a +maiden of Diana, was debauched by the same god under the guise of her +mistress, and yet that from two maidens a boy was formed. + +Of the amours of Apollo with a dozen and a half damsels, and of the very +numerous disguises which he assumed, we find abundant details in our +classical dictionaries. Mars, though not so frequently adopted by +human females as a lover, had many children of whom he was the putative +father. + +Jupiter had Bacchus and Minerva without Juno's aid, and Juno retaliated +by bearing Ares without conversation with her consort. We deride these +tales, and yet think, that because we laugh at a hundred such we shall +be pardoned for believing one. How little we are justified in acting +thus a few philosophical considerations will demonstrate. + +There are few things in mythology that are more curious than the subject +of the miraculous formation of certain individuals. Some of these have +been regarded as the offspring of a celestial father and a mother of +earthly mould; others again, as for example AEneas, were said to be +the result of a union between a heavenly mother and a terrestrial +father--e.g., AEneas was the son of Anchises, a handsome man, and Venus, +goddess of beauty and love. Some, though these are few, are said to be +children of a virgin or deserted wife, who has produced them without any +extraneous assistance,* and others are declared to be descended from a +father whom no consort could ever claim. One individual, indeed, called +Orion, is represented as having been wholly independent of both father +and mother, and the result of a strange form of development, the like of +which Darwin never dreamed of as he came from a bladder into which three +gods had micturated. His name, we are gravely assured, came _ab urina_. + + * The following is a good case in corroboration of what is + said in the text. In the _Dictionnaire Infernal_, to which + more particular reference will be made shortly, there is, s. + v. Fecondite, a report of a trial before the Parliament of + Grenoble, in which the question was, whether a certain + infant could be declared legitimate which was born after the + husband had been absent from his wife four full years. The + wife asserted that the baby was the offspring of a dream, in + which she had a vivid idea that her wandering spouse had + returned to love and duty. Midwives and physicians were + consulted, and reported on the subject. As a result, the + Parliament ordained that the infant should be adjudged + legitimate, and that its mother should be regarded as a true + and honourable wife. The judgment bears date 13th February + 1537. + +The quaint ideas associated in mythology with the supernatural +generation here referred to have been various. In some instances they +have been wholly poetical, as when we are told that "the Supreme" by his +union with law and order (Themis) produced "Justice," "the Hours," "Good +Laws," and "Peace" (Hesiod Theogony, 900), and as when Europa is said to +have tempted Jupiter to leave Phoenicia, and travel westward to Crete +as the first step towards the colonization of an unknown continent. In +other instances, the ideas have been framed upon the very natural belief +that anyone--whether existent in story only, or in reality--who has +greatly surpassed his fellows, must have had a large element of the +Deity in his constitution. In other instances, the notion has been +associated with the once prevalent belief, that the Creator had a sex, +to which we shall refer by and by; and in other cases, the fancy has +clearly been mingled with the fact, that many an unmarried woman has +attributed to some god, a pregnancy, or baby, which has been due, in +reality, to a very mortal man. Here we may notice that the fecundity +which damsels of old were wont to refer to a god or some inferior, but +yet beneficent, deity, more modern christian girls have associated with +a demon. Jupiter and Apollo being replaced by a special class of imps +who were named "incubi," and of the particulars of whose embraces the +strangest stories are told. This small truth seems to be sufficient to +demonstrate that the Greeks were not familiar with the being to whom +we give the name of "Satan" and the "Devil," and that their belief +coincided in one respect with that of the older Jews, who considered +that whatever occurrence happened in the world, whether apparently for +good or evil, was done by Jehovah, or as the Hellenic damsels reported +by Jupiter, Apollo, or Mars. + +Here, too, I may be permitted to introduce a remark suggested by a +narrative, told to me by a lady of high British rank. She had been +brought up in a foreign country under the eye of a sensible and pious, +we may add prudish, mother, who endeavoured to shield her daughter from +all contact with external vicious influences, and to prevent her ears +or her mind from ever coming to the knowledge of those matters which +are associated with love, marriage, and offspring. When the young lady +naturally inquired of mamma where the infants sprang from which came +into the world and grew up around her, she was told, "from God," and she +was referred to Psalm cxxvii. 3, which declares that "children are an +heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward." After +having attained adult age, and being wholly imbued with this belief, +she, on one occasion, expressed her opinion that Mademoiselle--who had +recently been confined--must have been a peculiarly virtuous maiden, to +have received so great a present as a baby from the beneficent Creator. +This speech fell like a bombshell amongst a mixed company, but she knew +not why. It was not until her marriage some time subsequently, that she +learned that infants were said to come from God or the Devil according +to circumstances, but that in reality they were always due to men and +women. + +The anecdote given above, naturally enables us to call attention to +the remarkable fact that though the Grecian poets repeatedly spoke of +maidens being fertilized by a divinity, yet Greek fathers never paid +any heed to the power of that god, whom their daughters asserted to have +operated upon their femininity; but always treated the earthly love of +the alleged celestial spouse, as if the latter was wholly powerless to +punish the hard-hearted parent, who had no scruples to turn his daughter +from his door, so that she might hide her shame in distant lands. In +those classic times, procreation by a god upon a human being was the +attempted cover for bastardy. Moreover, even the woman herself, to whom +Jupiter or Apollo was alleged to have descended from heaven to honour, +felt herself so much injured by the visit, that she either tried to +destroy the resulting offspring with her own hands, or exposed it upon +a mountain to the tender mercies of dogs and vultures. Much in the +same way many a modern maiden places her shame-covered infant in +the turn-table of a foundling institution. Antiope, for example, the +daughter of a king of Thebes, was, according to her version, beloved by + +Jupiter, who visited her in the form of a satyr and implanted twins. +When she discovered the coming event, which casts its shadow before, she +left the paternal mansion, to avoid her father's anger, and fled to a +mountain, on which she left her hapless offspring. They were found by +shepherds and brought up. + +The story of fair Leucothoee is still more to the point. She was +sufficiently beautiful to attract Apollo, who seduced her under the form +of her own mother--not a very likely story it is true, but the two lived +happily together until a rival told the loved one's father of the amour. +The incensed paterfamilias ordered his daughter to be buried alive, and +yet the god who could change her body after death into the frankincense +tree, and himself into a matronly looking woman and yet retain his sex, +could not prevent his earthly spouse from dying a cruel death. In other +words, Orchamus, the parent of the damsel, wholly disbelieved in the +existence of a divine "spark," and felt assured that his daughter had +disgraced herself with a man far below her in earthly rank. + +From these, and a number of other Grecian anecdotes, we can draw no +other conclusions than that the sires in those days were as jealous of +the honour of their daughters as we are of our own now; that when that +honour was in danger of being tarnished, a god was alleged by the +damsel to be the offender; that the story was not believed; and that the +daughter fled, was punished, or was pardoned, according to the sternness +or credulity of the parents. The idea that individuals who were the +sons or daughters of a god, must necessarily be great and good, does not +appear to have prevailed amongst the ancient Greeks. Nay, we may even +doubt whether any of them really believed that Jupiter, Apollo, or +Neptune, could, or had ever become incarnate, for the sole purpose +of impregnating a human female. That such an idea, however, prevailed +amongst the Babylonians we learn from Herodotus, who informs us, book i. +c. 181, that Belus comes into a chamber at the summit of a sacred tower +to meet therein a native woman, chosen by the god from the whole nation; +and in the succeeding chapter he indicates that a similar occurrence +takes place in Egyptian Thebes, and in Lycian Patarae. Yet even whilst +writing the tales, the historian expresses his own incredulity of their +value, and we may well suppose that the thoughtful generally, would only +give such credence to the statements of the temple priests, as was given +to certain Christian stories by a philosopher, who said he believed them +because they were impossible. Even if the common people credited the +assertion that "The Supreme" did elect a woman with whom to converse, we +must not despise them too lightly, for we are distinctly told in our own +scriptures that Jehovah appeared as a man, and as such, ate, drank, and +talked with Abraham (Gen. ch. xviii.); that Elohim was in the habit of +conversing face to face with Moses (Exod. xxxiii. 11); and that the +same God wrestled with Jacob as a man, and could not prevail against the +patriarch until he had lamed him. We must also notice that myriads of +Christians have believed, and many still do so, that He in a certain +form had commerce with a Hebrew maiden (Luke i. 34, 35), and had by her +a begotten son. + +When civilization spread over Greece, there seems to have been a +change of expression--which being at the first wholly metaphorical, +subsequently became realistic. Thus, any man peculiarly characteristic +amongst his fellows for strength, knowledge, or power, was designated +"a son of God." Thus, as Grote remarks (12 vol. edition), vol. ii. p. 132, +note 1. "Even Aristotle ascribed to Homer a divine parentage; a damsel +of the isle of Ios, pregnant by some god, was carried off by pirates to +Smyrna at the time of the Ionic emigration, and there gave birth to the +poet" (Aristotle ap. Plutarch Vit. Homer, p. 1059). Plato, also by +some, called "the divine," was said by Seusippus to be a son of Apollo +(_Smith's Dictionary_, 8. v.) The Hebrews had a similar metaphorical +expression, and gave to everything supereminently good, an epithet which +we may paraphrase as "divine." Some few writers used the title, "sons +of God," as for example, Job i. 6, and xxxviii. 7, and Hosea i. 10; an +epithet adopted by John i. 12, Rom. viii. 14, 19, Phil ii. 15, 1 John iii +1, 2, as if the same were applicable to all who are virtuous and good +to an especial degree. The Hebrews even seem to have adopted the belief +that Elohim, like the Grecian Zeus, had many children, could, and +did really, associate with human beings, for we can in no other way +reasonably interpret the strange narrative in Genesis vi, wherein we are +told that the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, who became +the sires of mighty men of great renown. + +Amongst the Romans, similar ideas to those which we find amongst the +Greeks prevailed. For example, Romulus was said to be the son of Mars +and a Vestal virgin; but so little did her relatives believe in the +possibility of the occurrence, or the divine nature of the maiden's +offspring, that the mother was buried alive, and the twins which she +bare were exposed, much in the same way as modern "foundlings" are. In +this case, as in many others, it is probable that little notice would +have been taken of such supernatural generation had the mother been of +low origin--but when a god inveigles a king's daughter from her duty, +both the one and the other must be punished; the one in her person, the +other in his child. Yet these very writers who told of the punishment of +the Vestal Hia for her intrigue with Mars, took advantage of the story, +and spread a report that Romulus, the offspring of the two, was, after +his death, taken up to heaven to dwell there as a god. At a subsequent +period, Augustus Caesar announced, on his mother's authority, that he +was the son of Apollo, and claimed to be treated as a veritable scion of +that venerable deity. + +The account of the conception and birth of Servius Tullius is curious +from its circumstantiality. Ovid tells us, _Fasti_, vi., 625-659, Bonn's +translation: "Vulcan was the father of Tullius; Ocrisia was his mother, +a woman of Corniculum, remarkable for her beauty. Her, Tanaquil, having +duly performed the sacred rites, ordered, in company with herself, to +pour some wine on the decorated altar. Here amongst the ashes, either +was, or seemed to be, a form of obscene shape; but such it really was. +Being ordered to do so, the captive (Ocrisia was a slave), submits to +its embraces; conceived by her, Servius had the origin of his birth from +heaven. His father afforded a proof, at the time when he touched his +head with the gleaming fire, and a flame rising to a point, blazed upon +his locks." In some earlier lines, the poet tells us that the goddess, +Fortune, was enamoured of this same Roman king, and visited him +nightly--much as Venus came to converse with Anchises. + +In this story, we have an unusual ingredient, inasmuch as there is a +witness to that which we may call the immaculate conception, and after +birth, a proof of the child's divine origin! Of course there are many +irreverent people who declare that the story is untrue--that it is far +more likely that the real father was Tarquin, who, finding his consort's +beautiful servant to be with child, contrived a plan by which she would +escape the vindictiveness of the mistress--one which, if devotionally +inclined, she was bound to give credence to. Nor can devout Christians +altogether range themselves amongst the unbelievers in the miracle, for +the founder of their religion was borne by a woman of low condition, and +is said to have been begotten by an overshadowing spirit. He assumed to +be a king; but the son of Ocrisia became one in reality, and instituted +games in honour of his divine progenitor. + +For some more modern poetical fictions of the same nature, we may refer +our readers to Scott's _Lady of the Lake_, where, in the account of the +Highland seer, Brian, they will find a parallel to the story promulgated +by Alexander the false prophet, respecting his birth, described by +Lucian. + +The same ideas, with which we are all of us so familiar in Christendom, +that they form a portion of the creeds which the orthodox weekly +rehearse, have obtained in far Ceylon. Thus, for example, we read in a +Buddhistic legend (_Kusa Iatakaya_, translated by T. Steele, Truebner, +London, 1871, small 8vo., pp. 260):-- + + "As Sakra*, with his thousand eyes gazed over every land, + The hapless queen, with heart distraught, he saw dejected stand; + His godlike eye revealed to him that to her blessed womb + Two radiant gods illustrious from Heaven's high town should come. + + Then entering first the Bodisat's blest skyey palace fair, + And next unto another god's, did Sakra straight repair: + Benign he said:--Go to the world of men, that distant scene, + And there be born from out the womb of yon delightful queen. + + The saying of the king of gods unto their hearts they took; + Then bathed they in his feet's bright rays that shone as shines a brook: + 'Let us be so conceived,' they said, when they the order heard, + 'Within the womb of yonder queen, even as the Lord declared.'" + + --Stanzas 129-131. + + * Indra, "The Supreme." + +But the two children do not appear as twins, like Romulus and Remus, for +we find in stanza 155-- + +"Now when the darling little child, the wisdom-gifted one, Began to lift +his tiny foot, and learn to walk alone, Another god from Heaven's high +town flashed down the sky serene, And was conceived within the womb of +that delightful queen." + +I may notice in passing, that the lady was married, but had always been +barren with her husband. + +In the instances to which we have referred above, there has been no very +marked departure from the ordinary course of nature. In all, an union +between a father and mother has occurred--in all, the relation between +each to the offspring has been maintained, and the ordinary progress of +gestation observed. The main discrepancies which are to be noticed are, +that a divine is substituted for a human father, or, as in the case of +AEneas, the sire has been a man, and the mother a "celestial." But after +birth, instead of the child being cared for by its parents, it very +frequently happens that a goat, wolf, or other animal, performs +the mother's duty as a nurse. The reader whose antiquarian lore is +considerable, will probably remember that Christians in Italy, France, +and I dare not say in how many other Catholic countries, were implicit +believers in the idea that spirits from the invisible world could assume +a human form, and under that, have intercourse with youths of either +sex. The literature upon this subject was at one time very great, but +such pains have been taken to destroy it, in order that so great a blot +upon the infallibility of Papal rulers should no longer be found, that +there are few books to which I can refer inquirers. The first time I +met with the subject was in a Latin treatise by Cardan, a.d. 1444-1524,* +being commentaries upon Hippocrates. In this, many chapters are devoted +to the possibility of intercourse between women and embodied spirits. +The Mediaeval virgins, unlike the Greeks, always attributed their +pregnancy to demons and not to gods, although on some occasions maidens +were foolish enough, like those of ancient Babylon, to believe that they +were embraced, by a divine being or angel. Into this matter the Italian +doctor enters folly, and endeavours to establish some distinction how +a woman could distinguish an "incubus" from a human being, and if she +became pregnant and brought forth, how the devil's offspring could +be told from an ordinary baby. The particulars which are given to the +learned in Latin, will not bear to be reproduced in the vernacular, +suffice it to say, that they are such as would be given by silly women +more or less conscious of having been guilty of impropriety, and who +were goaded by sanctimonious but ribald divines to enter into every +detail of the devil's doings and the females' sensations. + + * It is more than thirty years since I read the book in + question, and I have long ago parted with it. As I am unable + now to lay my hands upon a copy I am not sure whether the + author was Facio Cardan, who flourished at the period given + in the text, or the more celebrated Jerome Cardan who lived + A.D. 1601-1576. + +Before saying more of the "incubi," we may bestow a passing glance upon +the foundation of the idea of their existence. In mediaeval times, a +large portion of the New Testament was taken to be literally true, and +the people were instructed to believe that the devil went about like a +roaring lion seeking whom he could devour. The papal priests encouraged +the idea, for by frightening the ignorant, they induced them to purchase +sacerdotal insurance by paying for masses to protect themselves from the +snares of Satan. For hierarchs who were obliged to live without wives, +it was easy in the first place to imbue the mind of a superstitious +maiden with a horror of Apollyon's power, and then to take advantage of +her fears by personifying the fiend. In this manner the bible suggested +the sin to the priest and made the maiden passive. + +It would not be profitable to write a catalogue in detail of the +authorities upon which I found these statements. I will rather give a +short resume of an article upon "Incubi," which is to be found in a most +curious book entitled _Dictionnaire Infernal ou Bibliotheque universelle +sur les etres, les personnages, les livres, les faits et les choses +qui tiennent aux apparitions, a la magie, au commerce de Venfer, aux +divinations, aux sciences secretes,... aux erreurs et aux prejuges,... +generalment a toutes les croyances mer-veilleuses, surprenantes +mysterieuses et surnaturelles.--Par M. Colin de Plancy. Deuxieme +edition entierement refondue _; Paris, 1826. The book is rare, but most +interesting to the philosopher who concerns himself about matters +of "faith," for it shows, clearly, that there is no depth of human +degradation into which people who are guided by blind trust in some +fellow mortal, unchecked by the exercise of reason, will not enter, and +there reside permanently, until stirred up by those whom they assert on +the first blush to be "infidels." + +After a few preliminary remarks, we are told that the French incubi did +not attack virgins, but in the next paragraph is an account of a maiden +who was seduced by a demon in the form of her betrothed. This was in +Sardinia. An English fiend acted in a similar way, and from the congress +followed a frightful disease of which the poor girl died in three days. +This story is told by Thomas Walsingham, b. A.D. 1410. A Scotch lass +is the next victim reported, and to her the unclean spirit came nightly +under the guise of a fine young man. She became pregnant, and avowed +all. The parents then kept watch, and saw the devil near her in a +monstrous unhuman form. He would not go away till a priest came, then +the incubus made a frightful noise, burned the furniture, and went off +upwards, carrying the roof with him. Three days after a queer form was +born, more horrible than had ever been seen, so bad indeed, that the +midwives strangled it. For the credulous, what fact could be more +strongly attested than this? The reporter is Hector Boetius, b. 1470. + +The next tale, having a locale in Bonn, occurred at a time when priests +married and had a family. The daughter of one who was closely watched +and locked up when left by herself, was found out by a demon, who took +upon him the form of a fine young man. Such an occurrence was thought +nothing uncommon then, inasmuch as Paul had told the Corinthians that +Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light (2 Cor. xi. 14). The +poor victim became enceinte and confessed the whole to her father, who, +fearing the devil, and anxious not to make a scandal, sent the daughter +away from home. The impudent fiend came to remonstrate, and killed the +wretched sire with a blow of his fist.--Quoted from _Caesarii Heistere +mirac_., lib. iii., c. 8. The next case occurs at Schinin, wherein +we are told (Hauppius _Biblioth portai, pract._, p. 454) that a woman +produced a baby without head or feet, with a mouth in the chest near to +the left shoulder, and an ear near the right one; instead of fingers it +had webs like frog's feet, it was liver coloured, and shaky as jelly, it +cried when the mother wanted to wash it, but somebody stifled and then +buried it. The mother, however, wanted it be exhumed and burned, for +it was the offspring of a fiend who had counterfeited her husband. The +thing was taken up and given to the hangman for cremation, but he could +neither burn it nor the rags which enwrapped it until the day after the +feast of Ascension. + +The following story is laid near Nantes:--Therein a young girl baulked +of her lover, mutters something like a modern order to him to go to +the foul fiend, and remarks to herself that a demon would be a better +friend. She is betrayed in the usual manner, and finds, when too late, +that she is embracing a hairy incubus which has a long tail. She exclaims +fearfully. The "affreet" blows in her face and leaves her. She is found +frightfully disfigured, and is brought to bed seven days after of a +black cat. The remaining histories are of a similar nature, all alike +showing how completely the so-called Christian people of Modern Europe +believed that disembodied spirits could assume human form with such +completeness as to be the father of offspring. We may fairly compare +these tales with that told by heathen Greeks about Jupiter and Alcmena, +but when we place them side by side, the ancients show a far superior +fancy in their fables than do the comparative moderns. I find from +_Reville's History of the Devil_, p. 54 (London: Williams & Norgate, +1871), that so late as a.d. 1756, at Landshut, in Bavaria, a young girl +of thirteen years of age, was convicted of impure intercourse with the +devil, and put to death. It is a pity that no account of the trial is +appended. + +Talboys Wheeler, in his _History of India_, vol. IL, p. 515, indicates +that there is to this day, in India, a belief in _incubi_. Speaking +of Paisacha marriages, in which a woman is united to a man without her +knowledge or consent, he remarks:--"The origin of the name is somewhat +curious. The Paisachas were evil spirits or ghosts (see "_Lilith" +and "Satyr" Ancient Faiths_, vol. ii.) who were supposed to haunt the +earth.... If, therefore, a damsel found herself likely to become a +mother without her being able to furnish a satisfactory reason for her +maternity, she would naturally plead that she had been victimized by a +Paisach.... In modern times, however, the belief is still very general +throughout the rural districts of India, that wives, as well as maidens, +may be occasionally victimized by such ghostly admirers." + +Every mythologist who has invented such stories as that of Jupiter and +Alcmena, and every woman who has ever attributed her pregnancy to a +divine being, call him what she may, seems completely to ignore the idea +that a god who deserves the name, does not require human aid to produce +a man or woman. Surely every profound thinker would say to himself, +The Supreme, who could by a word create full-grown creatures "in the +beginning," has not lost the power now; surely He, who could make Adam +out of dust, and Eve out of a bone of man, can produce in later days +similar images of the godhead, as we are told in Genesis i. 26, +without accoupling with a descendant of the rib. The mythological +idea, therefore, of a divine child coming from a celestial father and a +terrestrial mother, has nothing profound therein, for it is essentially +a bungling contrivance of some stupid man. On the other hand, such a +notion could only be entertained where a grovelling or anthropomorphic +idea has prevailed, or is cherished amongst a credulous people. To put +the subject into the fewest words possible, a god has never--so far as +thoughtful men can judge--been said to be the father in the flesh of a +human being, except by frail women, or vain, foolish, or designing men. + +We are fortified in this conclusion by the method in which nations or +sects who have each their own favourite "son of God," treat each +other. None endeavour to prove that the mother of their own hero had +no commerce with man, for that is impossible--all, on the other hand, +ridicule the idea of there being a child without a human father, and +insist that no woman's word countervails the laws of nature. But this +argument is only used against opposing religionists--it has no weight +against their own divine leader. The cases which we have described are +wholly different from those mythological stories, in which the union +of the sexes is absolutely or relatively ignored. They differ also +from those in which the Creator is represented as androgynous, or being +originally without sex, becomes, by an effort of will, a bisexual being, +so as to bring about the creation of man and of the world. For example, +when we find in the Orphic Hymns (Cory's _Ancient Fragments_, pp. 290, +seq.), "Zeus is male, Immortal Zeus is female," it is clear that there +was in the writer an idea of an union of the sexes being necessary to +creation. But when we find Chaos alone being the progenitor of Erebus +and Black Night, from which again were born Ether and Bay, and Earth the +parent of Heaven and the Sea (Hesiod, Theogony, 116-130), there is a +total absence of a sexual notion. This idea, however, appears in the +subsequent lines which represent Earth wedding with Heaven. The same +sexual notion, appears in another fragment from _Aristophanes_, (Cory, +A. R, p. 293), which tells us that "Night with the black wings first +produced an aerial egg, which in its time gave rise to love, whence +sprung all creation." Yet the egg necessarily presupposes a being which +formed it, and another that fructified it, so that the mythos is not +wholly free from the intermixture of the sexual element. + +When mythologists have been peculiarly anxious to shake off the somewhat +grotesque doctrine that the celestial Creator must be independent of any +other power, in the genesis of the world and heaven, there has been a +great variety of attempts to show how this has been brought about. In +one curious Hindoo legend, Vishnu is represented sleeping on the bosom +of Devi, at the bottom of the ocean which covered the world. Suddenly a +lotus sprung from his navel, and grew till it reached the surface of the +flood. From this wonderful flower Brahma sprang, and, seeing nothing but +water, imagined himself the first-born of all creatures. But ere he felt +sure, he descended the stalk and found Vishnu at its root; and then the +two contested their respective claims, but Mahadeva interposed, and, by +a curious contrivance, stopped the quarrel, demonstrating that before +either came into existence there reigned an everlasting lingam. + +Another myth closely resembles one which is indicated in the Hebrew +Scriptures, viz., that Narayana, or the spirit of God, a self-existent +entity, moved over the waters, and made them bring forth all things +living. This Narayana is identical with the _yomer elohim_--"the spirit +of God" of the Hebrew Genesis i. 2; the [--Greek--]--the spirit of God, +or Holy Ghost of the Greeks. It is the same as the breezes of thick air +which hovered over chaos in the legend assigned to Sanchoniathon (Cory's +Fragments, p. 1), and produced the slimy matter from which all beings +sprung. Narayana is again the same as the Night of the Orphic fragment +which hovered with her black wings over immensity--the same as the +_chakemah_, or "wisdom" of Proverbs viii.; the Greek _sophia_ and the +_logos_--"the word" of John i. 1. The Buddha--or Brahma of the Hindoo. +From this mysterious source matter was formed into shape and all +creatures sprang into life. + +Another Indian mythos (Moor's _Hindoo Pantheon_, p. 78), attributes even +more than this to Brahma. He is said to have produced four beings who +proved refractory, and grieved their maker. To comfort him, Siva issued +from a fold in his forehead--then strengthened by Siva, he produced +Bhrigu and the seven Rishis, and after that, Narada, from his thigh, +Kardama from his shadow, and Dacsha from the forefinger of his right +hand. He had, apparently, without a consort, sixty daughters, and from +these last proceeded all things divine, human, animal, vegetable, and +mineral. + +This is not altogether dissimilar from the Hebrew idea of Jehovah +creating all things except woman from the dust,* and forming her +mysteriously from a rib of the only existing man. We may also compare +it with the birth of Minerva from Jupiter's brain, and Bacchus from +his thigh. But the Greek myth differs from the Hindoo, inasmuch as the +deities referred to were originally conceived by human women, and did +not grow from The Thunderer's body like branches from a tree. + + * In Mythology, things ever repeat themselves, with very + little alteration. For example, Mahadeva is represented as + fighting with Dacsha, and producing heroes from the dost by + striking the ground with his hair. (See Moor's H. P., p. + 107). + +There is amongst the Hindoos a goddess called Prit'hvi, who is said to +personify the Earth; she had many names which we need not describe, and +she was also furnished with a consort, whose birth is thus described +(Moor, H. P., p. 111.)--"Vena being an impious and tyrannical prince, +was cursed by the Brahmans, and, in consequence, died without issue. To +remedy this, his left arm was opened, and churned with a stick till it +produced a son, who, proving as wicked as his father, was set aside; and +the right arm* was in like manner churned, which also produced a boy, +who proved to be a form of Vishnu, under the name of Prit'hu." We may +add that Prit'hvi treated him badly, and he had to beat and tear her +before she would be comfortable with him. Hence the necessity for +ploughing and digging before crops of cereals, &c., will abound. We can +understand the last part of the legend better than the first. In the +Vedic Mythology, we may say generally, that the means of producing +offspring are curiously numerous; for example, we find in Goldstucker's +_Sanscrit and English Dictionary_, page 20, under the word _angiras_--a +statement that an individual bearing this cognomen, is named in the +Vaidik legends, as one of the 'Prajapatis', or progenitors of mankind, +engendered, according to some, by Manu; according to others, by Brahma +himself, either with the female half of his body, _or from his mouth, or +from the space "between his eyebrows._" + + * As these legends generally are based upon something which + Europeans would designate a vile pun, I turned to the + Sanscrit Lexicon (Monier Williams), first to ascertain the + names of "the arm;" and, secondly, if there were any words + allied to it, however remotely, which had a certain meaning. + Amongst others, I find that _buja_ signifies "an arm," and + _bhaga_ is a name of Siva--one of whose epithets, _bhagan- + dara_ = "rending the vulva." _Dosha_ also means "the arm" + and "night." Another word having the same meaning, is + _praveshta_, and this not only signifies the arm, but one + "who covers over." We can then, I think, see why the device + of the churning, referred to in the text, made a process + available for the production of a child. The legend is a + clumsy one, but not more so than that in Exodus xxxiii. 23, + wherein we are told that Jehovah showed to Moses "His back + parts,"--Vulgate, _posteriora mea_--inasmuch as no one could + see His face and live! + +A still more curious story is related in the same dictionary, p. 451, +under the word _ayonijeswara_. This appellative is one belonging to a +sacred place of pilgrimage sacred to _Ayonija_, whose miraculous birth +was thus brought about. A very learned Muni, though making a commendable +use of the proper nasal way of reading sacred scripture in his own +person, yet associated with individuals who did not give the orthodox +twang.* The good man remained, in consequence of this, in a sonless +condition, but the legend does not condescend to explain why toleration +of tones in religious ceremony should make a husband infertile and +his wife barren. At any rate, the Muni, named Vidyananda, feeling the +punishment a great one, travelled, apparently alone, from one holy +place to another without being nearer paternity. At length he met with +a _yogin_ or male anchoret, hermit, devotee, or saint, corresponding +to the _yoginis_, who are represented by Moor (H. P., p. 235) as being +sometimes very lovely and alluring; and he, taking pity upon the Muni, +gave him a wonderful fruit, which, he informed him, if eaten by his +wife, would have the effect of procuring for Vidyananda the birth of a +son. But the Muni, like many another character in mythological and fairy +tales, seems suddenly to have lost his sense of hope deferred and a +certain prospect of relief, for instead of hurrying home he sought +repose under a tree on a river's brink, and whilst there ate the fruit +himself. He at once became pregnant. When the new state of things +was evident, he confessed all that had happened to the Yogin, and the +latter, by means of his supernatural power, introduced a stick into the +body of Yidyananda, and relieved him of the infant. The creature was a +beautiful boy, radiant like the disc of the sun, and endowed with divine +lustre, and on account of the mode in which he was born his father +called him _Ayonija_, which signifies, "not born from the womb." The +account then goes on to state that this miraculous infant became a +wonderfully good, learned, pious, religious, and fanatic man; that the +god, delighted with his piety, gave him sons and grandsons, and after +his death received him into his heaven. Any persons coming now to +bake at the spot where these favours from Siva were granted, and +duly performing the various duties of a pious pilgrim, are rewarded, +according to their piety, &c., with progeny, worldly happiness, freedom +from transmigration, and eternal bliss. + + * This reminds me of an anecdote which I once read of a + devout Scotch mother, who, on hearing her son read the Bible + in an ordinary tone of voice, cuffed him violently because + he presumed to read that Holy Book without the customary + religious drawl. + +Under the word _Ayonija_, Goldstucker gives the following examples +of individuals "not born from the _yoni_" viz.:--"_Drona_, the son +of Bharadwaja, who was born in a bucket" "_Suyya_, whose origin was +unknown." "_Draupadi_, who at a sacrifice of her father Drupada, arose +out of the sacrificial ground." "_Sita_, who sprang into existence in +the same manner as Draupadi" The same is also an epithet of Vishnu or +Krishna. + +These stories pale in interest before that of the origin of Carticeya +(see Moor's H. P., p. 51, 89), and I give an account of this legend, +foolish though many conceive it to be, for everything which is +connected with a Hindoo mythos is remarkable, whenever it is found to be +antecedently parallel with Christian surroundings of a somewhat similar +narrative. We notice, for example, in the following tale, that the +Indian idea of the power of "penance" and "asceticism," is, that these +doings or actions are so great, that by their means alone man may compel +the Creator to do things against His design, whilst in the Papal +tales of certain monks and nuns, we find the doctrine asserted that by +preeminent fastings, scourgings and prayers, people have acquired the +power to sell salvation to their fellow men, in a manner different to +that which is appointed. Again, the god when forced to obey the power of +the devotee, is represented as inventing a method by which he could, +as it were, cheat himself, just as Jehovah or Elohim is said to have +contrived a plan by which He could circumvent Himself for the vow which +He had made to destroy all the men upon the earth by a flood of water. +Again, as the arrogance of the ascetic threatened to destroy the world +and the heaven, a deliverer or a saviour was promised, who should be +begotten by an incarnate god upon a goddess equally incarnate, and save +mankind from a terrible devil This is a counterpart of the Papal theory, +which makes it appear that a portion of the godhead became incorporated +with a dove, and had union with a woman, herself an immaculate +manifestation of another portion of "The Supreme." Yet still more +striking than this, is the part which the dove plays in the Indian +mythos of the birth of the Hindoo Saviour. In almost every mediaeval +painting or etching of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, the +dove takes the position of the divine father of Jesus. Nay, so distinct +is the idea intended to be conveyed in one instance, that a dove, +surrounded by a galaxy of angelic heads, darts a ray from his body on +high, into the very part of the virgin, proper to receive it. The design +of the artist is still farther heightened by the _vesica piscis_, the +emblem of woman being marked upon the appropriate part of the dress, and +a figure of an infant within it, points unmistakeably to the belief that +the Holy Ghost, like a dove, absolutely begot the Jewish saviour as he +did the Hindoo deliverer of gods and men. (_See Ancient Faiths_, vol IL, +p. 648, fig. 48). + +But the parallel may even be carried farther, for in the Indian history +it is Agni, the embodiment of fire or the fire or sun god, who +becomes the dove; whilst in the Christian history, fire is one of the +manifestations of the Holy Ghost (Acts ii. 3). We conclude this from the +fact, that all devout churchmen believe that the Holy Ghost descended +upon the day of Pentecost with the sound of a rushing mighty wind, as +a multitude of cloven fiery tongues, which again suggests to the +recollection of those familiar with the Vedic story, that the +Maruts--rushing, mighty, stormy winds--were frequent attendants upon +Agni For example, in one of the Hymns (p. 39) of the Rig Veda Sanhita +(translated by Max Mueller), the burden or chorus of every verse is, +"with the Maruts come hither, O Agni." Here, however, the parallel +between the two myths ceases, for in the Indian tale the saviour has no +earthly mother. We may really affirm that he has no mother at all, being +the offspring of the father alone, whilst in the Christian history, the +deliverer is represented as having no human sire. The one story is just +as likely to be true as the other, or just as unlikely. As a reasonable +being I cannot believe the one without crediting the other, or reject +only one of the two. + +With this preface, we may proceed to relate the legend as recorded +by Moor. A certain devil or Daitya--for it must be remarked that the +Hindoos regard the devil as being composed of many individualities, +much in the same way as Christians do--was extremely ambitious and +oppressive, as Satan is said to have been in heaven.* To force Brahma +to promise him any boon he should require, the ascetic went through the +following penances, persisting in each for a hundred years. (1) He stood +on one foot, holding the other, and both hands upwards, and fixed his +eyes on the sun. (2) He stood on one great toe. (3) He lived upon water +alone. (4) He lived on air. (5) He immersed himself in water. (6) He +buried himself in the earth, and yet continued as before in incessant +adoration. (7) He then did the same in fire. (8) Then he stood upon his +head with his feet upwards. (9) He then stood upon one hand. (10) He +hung by his hands from a tree. (11) He hung on a tree with his head +downwards. + + * I call attention to these parallels, for they compel as + either to accept the Hindoo stories as true, because they + coincide with that which Christians regard as "revealed + truth," or they oblige as to distrust our current ideas as + to the inspired verity of some biblical stories, founded as + they are upon the same, or a similar, basis to those of the + Brahmins. The Hindoo tale being founded in the Sinpurana, + there can be no reasonable doubt that its fabrication + preceded that of the Hebrew or Christian mythos. + +The effect of these austerities alarmed all the gods, and they went to +Brahma for consolation. He answered that though he was bound to grant +the boon desired by a man who became powerful by his austerities, he +would devise a method of rendering it inoffensive to the heavenly host. +Tarika, the name borne by the Daitya, asked for the gift of unrivalled +strength, and that no hand should slay him except a son of Mahadeva. +This being acquired, he plundered all the minor gods--the sun, dreading +him, gave no heat; and the moon, in terror, remained always at the +full--in short, the devil, Tarika, usurped the entire management of the +universe. Nareda--the personification of Reason--Wisdom, the Logos, or +"word," now prophesied that the destined deliverer, or saviour of the +world, would come from the union of Mahadeva and Parvati. But the +first was indisposed to marry, and only consented to do so after being +mollified by ardent devotions and great austerities enacted by the +second. To the horror, however, of the discomfited world, Parvati was +barren; and the gods deputed Agni to try to produce the son whom all +so earnestly desired. He took the form of "a dove," and arrived in the +presence of Mahadeva just as he had risen from the arms of Parvati, +and received from him, in a manner not easy or necessary to describe +minutely, the germ of Carticeya; but, unable to retain it, the bird let +it fall from his bill into the Ganges. On the banks of this river arose, +therefrom, a boy, beautiful as the moon, and bright as the sun. This was +"The Saviour" promised by the prophet. When he attained to manhood, he +fought the devil in a terrific combat which lasted ten whole days; but +Carticeya came off the conqueror, and delivered the world. I may notice +in passing that as Carticeya is represented to be the son of his +father, Mahadeva alone--so Ganesa, who was born after the marriage +above referred to, is said to be solely the son of his mother, Parvati; +Mahadeva not having anything to do with him. It is still farther stated +in the _Sin purana_ that the husband was jealous, and displeased at +this assumption of independent power by his spouse, punished her in the +person of this mysterious son (Moor, H. P., page 171-2). + +There is another Hindoo story in which a father alone becomes the +progenitor of twins--and it is remarkable, not only for this, but for +the dread which a deity is said to feel from the austerities of a man. +Wheeler (_History of India_, vol. i, p. 78; Williams' _Sanscrit Lexicon, +s. v. Kripa_), regards this tale as Brahmanical, and, accepting his +authority, we can see that the asceticism which is introduced into the +story is intended to exalt the claims of that section of the priesthood +who torture themselves. It runs thus:--Saradvat, by the magnitude of his +penances, frightened Indra, who sent a celestial nymph to tempt him. +He resisted all her wiles, and refused all commerce with her; but his +excited imagination produced one of its common effects, and from that +which was "spilled upon the ground" a boy and girl arose, Drona and +Kripa. In Wheeler's sketch of the story, two such miraculous events +occur, for a precisely similar occurrence took place with a certain +Raja--and the males sprung from this supernatural form of generation, +Drona and Drupada, became cronies, and were educated together. In +Wheeler's account Kripa becomes the wife of Drona, and not his twin +sister. She is represented to have been born from a Brahmin named +Gautama, in the same fashion as Drona was. Certes, the scribes who wrote +the gospels, and doubled wonders to make them more miraculous, are far +behind the Hindoos in the unblushing effrontery of their conceptions. + +A story somewhat analogous to that of the origin of Carticeya--Drona +and Drupada, is to be found in Grecian mythology. Therein we read +(see Lempriere's _Classical Dictionary, 8.V_., Minerva), that +Jupiter promised to his daughter, Minerva, that she should never be +married--since that was her especial desire. But, unfortunately, the +Thunderer had not a good memory, and was unable to foresee the future; +he therefore promised to Vulcan that he would--in return for a perfect +suit of armour--give him whatsoever boon he asked. The distorted god, +being a great admirer of the personification of wisdom, demanded Minerva +in marriage. Zeus then granted his petition and gave Minerva to him for +a bride, so that "arts and arms" should thenceforth be wedded together. +But the goddess disliked Vulcan, just as much as science and philosophy +shun war and physical weapons. Jupiter then privately counselled his +daughter to submit, apparently, but to contend, actually, whenever her +husband should endeavour to caress her. This advice the goddess very +artfully and determinately carried out. But Vulcan's impetuosity was +extreme, and the contest between the spouses was prolonged. Though the +promised wife was in the end victorious, and retained her virginity, the +scene of the strife, like many another battle-field, required cleansing. +The material employed by the goddess in the process was thrown down +to earth, and from this stuff sprung Ericthonius, as the son of Vulcan +alone, who, on attaining man's estate, became the fourth king of Athens. + +A somewhat similar story is told of Jupiter (Arnobius, _adv. Gentes_, B. +v.), who is represented as enamoured of Themis, who, when lying on the +rock Agdus, in Phrygia, and there surprised by the god, resisted his +desires, as Minerva had done those of Vulcan, and with a somewhat +similar result. But in this instance, that which the author calls in +another passage of his work, the _vis Lucilii_, fell upon the hard rock. +This conceived, and, after ten months, the stony soil brought forth a +son, called, from his maternal parent, Agdistis. His character, and even +his appearance, were frightful and rugged in the extreme. His strength, +recklessness, and audacity frightened all the gods. In their dilemma, +Bacchus offered to give his aid, and proceeded first to make the man +drunk by substituting wine for the water of the fountain from which he +habitually drank. Then, by a curious contrivance, he made the fierce +hunter emasculate himself. The earth swallows up the sanguinary ruins +of his manhood, and in their place comes up a pomegranate tree in full +bearing. This being seen by Nana, a king's daughter, she plucks some of +the fruit, and lays it in her bosom. By this she becomes pregnant, and, +her story being disbelieved, her father attempts to starve her. But the +mother of the gods sustains her with apples (see Canticles ii. 5), +and berries, or other food. Her baby, when born, is exposed as being +illegitimate, but found by a goatherd and brought up--becoming the all +but deified Atys. + +In this legend, we see one son born without a human mother, and a second +without any other father than Rimmon, or a pomegranate.* + + * Agdus, Agdistis, &c--I am frequently tempted, after + reading a story like the preceding, to search in the + Sanscrit lexicon to ascertain if there can be any esoteric + signification in the legend that can be explained by that + ancient language. Arnobius opens the story with a statement + of the remote antiquity of the tale, and how it is connected + with the Great Mother. He then tells of a wild district in + Phrygia, called Agdus. Stoaes taken from it, as Themis had + enjoined, were used by Deucalion and Pyrrha to repeople the + world which had been destroyed by a flood. The great mother + was fashioned amongst the rest, and animated by the deity; + then follows the story given in the text. Now, in the + Sanscrit, Agadha signifies a "hole or chasm," and such + things have from the earliest times typified the Celestial + Mother. Agdistis I take to be a Greek form of Agasti--son + both of Mitra and Varuna by Urvasi, said to have been born + in a water-jar, to have swallowed the ocean, and compelled + the Vindhya mountains to prostrate themselves before him, + &c. (Monier Williams' Sanskrit English Lexicon, pp. 4, 6). + Themis may be a corruption of Dhamas--the moon, an epithet + of Vishnu, Yama, and Brahma; also the Supreme Spirit (M. W. + op. cit., p. 448). Deucalion seems readily to be resolved + into the dyu or div--holy, and Kalam, semen virile (M. W., + p. 211). Pyrrha may apparently be derived from bdra--an + opening or aperture (M. W.); also bhdra--bearing, carrying, + cherishing, supporting (M. W., p. 700). Atys, described as + of surpassing beauty, may fairly be associated with atisi + and atisaya--to surpass, excel, exceed; and pre-eminence, + superiority (M. W., op. cit., p. 15). Liber, again, who is + clever enough to outwit and conquer Agdistis, may, without + too strong a stretch of imagination, come from Idbha-- + obtaining, gaining, getting; capture, conquest; the rootword + is labh--to seize, to take hold of, gain, recover, regain, + fcc. (M. W., p. 861, 2). Nana, the mother of Atys the + beautiful, has probably come from nanda--happiness, + pleasure, joy, felicity, delight (M. W., op. cit. p. 467). + In the previous volumes I have referred to the pomegranate-- + Hebrew, Rimmon--as an emblem. In the legend which makes Nana + conceive by eating this fruit, there are, I fancy, two + ideas--one, that the pomegranate is filled with seeds and + pulp of a red colour; the other, that in the Greek its name + is rota, or roa, which has a close resemblance in sound with + reo--to flow or gush. Of the word Midas--the name of him who + sought to bring about the union of the opposite sexes by + marrying his daughter Nana to Attis or Atys, the most + appropriate etymon which I can find in the Sanscrit is in + the root math, which signifies to strike fire by rubbing + wood together, to churn or produce by churning. + +If we allow that there is truth in these derivations, we can then see +how completely Arnobius has been deceived by taking the legend au pied +de la lettre. He sees nothing but the exoteric side of the fable; the +more instructed philosopher sees in it nothing beyond an attempt to +weave a story to account for ordinary men and women existing. The Earth, +from her deep womb produces stones which become male and female (compare +Psalm cxxzix. 15--"When I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in +the lowest parts of the earth." But mycologists were not always content +with giving precedence in creation to the "Great Mother," consequently +the "Father of all" comes upon the scene from no one knows where. +Refusing to share with him her supremacy, he, like the Hindoo Mahadeva, +becomes a father in spite of her. Like his parent, the son becomes +raging mad, like an elephant or a horse in spring. He is tamed by +castration, but the parts he loses still bear a fructifying power, +and once more, a maiden--type of the celestial virgin, has offspring. +Without going further into the tale, the story teller endeavours again +to introduce marriage, but on the threshold arrests himself, apparently +under the idea that the wedded state takes away the pleasure of freedom +from fine young men. Beyond this point it would be unprofitable to go, +since few of us can realize Greek ideas on certain matters. + +The origin of Venus is told by Hesiod in such a manner as to lead his +readers to believe that, not only was she the daughter of a father +alone, but of that particular part of his body which has been deified +as a Trinity. After speaking (_Theogmy_, 170-200), of the cruelty of +Ouranos, and how his wife inspirited Cronos to punish his father by +means of a sickle made of white iron extracted from her body (t.&, the +earth), we read--"Then came vast Heaven, Ouranos, bringing Night with +him, and eager for love, brooded around Earth (_Ge_) and lay stretched, +I wot, on all sides; but his son from out his ambush grasped at him with +his left hand, whilst in his right he took the huge sickle, long and +jagged-toothed, and hastily mowed off the genitals of his sire, and +threw them, to be carried away, behind him. These fell into the sea, +and kept drifting a long time up and down the deep, and all around kept +rising a white foam from the immortal flesh; and in it a maiden was +nourished. First, she drew nigh divine Cythera, and thence came next to +wave-washed Cyprus. Then forth stepped an awful, beauteous goddess; and +beneath her delicate feet the verdure throve around; her, gods and men +name Aphrodite the foam-sprung goddess," &c. (Bonn's Translation, p. +11,12). + +Still further, we find in the Grecian mythology that Minerva was the +offspring of Jupiter without a mother being in the case--unless we +put faith in the tale, that the god impregnated Metis, or wisdom, and +afterwards ate her up. In this case the goddess ought, however, to have +emerged from the abdomen, and not from the head of her father. Vulcan, +moreover, is said to have been the son of Juno alone, "who in this +wished to imitate Jupiter, who had produced Minerva from his brains"--a +mythos which does not tally with the statement that Zeus ordered Vulcan +to cleave his head open, not the part corresponding to the yoni The +tales certainly lack that evidence which the philosopher is bound to +seek for; but for those orthodox believers who are bound to credit every +extraordinary event which is recorded in the books of the faithful, +no testimony is required. Those who feel assured that a serpent, ox, +donkey, tree, bush, and other things have spoken rationally, can readily +extend their trust and assure themselves that a female has had a child +without a male, and _vice versa_--especially when the individuals were +divine. + +As we have before remarked, there is nothing in the mythological stories +which we have just recounted that is either more or less miraculous than +conception, &c., by a virgin without the intervention of a human +spouse. There is, whenever a miraculous agency is presumed, no greater +difficulty in believing that children may be produced without mothers, +than that they should be formed without the intervention of a father. +Ere a tree can rise in the soil of a field, a germ, seed, or cutting is +as necessary as the existence of a moist mould, or other ground. There +being then no greater probability that a crop will spring from a moist +plain without seed, than that an abundant harvest will come from dry +seed alone, we are necessarily thrown back upon testimony, when we are +asked to believe in the paternity of man and the maternity of woman +without any association of the one with the other. + +The mythologists who conceived, or who recorded the fabulous history of +Orion, evidently had some idea in their minds of the necessity of two +elements in the formation and growth of a child, when they told the +tale of the generation of that giant; and the myth connected with this +individual is so curiously like one recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, +that it deserves full notice. In Genesis the narrative informs us that +there was an old couple, both beyond the age at which there is any +probability of either party performing the part necessary for the +production of offspring (Gen. xviii. 12), both were desirous of having +at least one son, but though they had been long united in marriage, +their aspirations had been vain. To this couple, or rather to the +husband, Jehovah is said to have appeared with two companions (Gen. +xviii. 1, 2), and as the man was hospitably disposed, he ordered his +wife to make some cakes, whilst he went to fetch and kill a calf for his +servant to dress and cook. The visitors then partook, alone, of the good +cheer, and when they had made the repast they promised the husband that +his long cherished desire should be fulfilled, and that he should have a +son. There does not, however, appear to be anything supernatural in the +generation of the infant, except the mere facts that the father had been +effete for some time, and the mother had always been barren even when +young, so that conception was more surely miraculous by reason of her +advanced age. The probability of pregnancy at Sarah's time of life was +certainly small, but she was reminded that nothing was too hard for +Jehovah to effect. Had not He already made man out of dust and woman out +of man? and surely after that it was easy to cause a man and woman to +act their respective parts. The reader must specially bear in mind this +observation of the Lord's when he reads the Greek story following. (See +Ovid's _Fasti_, book 5). + +"Jupiter, his brother Neptune, and Mercury, were on their travels; the +day was far spent and evening approached. They were spied by a venerable +man, an humble farmer, who stood in the doorway of his small abode. He +accosts them with the words, 'long is the road and but little of the day +remains, my door too is ever open to the stranger,' and so earnest is +his look of entreaty, that the gods accept his invitation." + +Jupiter and the others, however, conceal their divine nature, and +eat and drink like common men. But after a draught of wine, Neptune +inadvertently names Jupiter, and the poor man who has thus entertained +angels unawares, is frightened at their presence. After a few moments of +natural embarrassment, he goes to his field and kills his only ox--the +drawer of his plough--then he cuts up the animal, roasts it well, +produces his best wine, and lays the feast, when ready, before his +august guests. Then Jove, delighted with his hospitality and piety, says +to the farmer, 'If thy inclination leads thee to desire anything, wish +for it, and thou shalt receive it.' To which the old man answers, 'I +once had a dear wife, known as the choice of my early youth, yet she is +now gone from me and an urn contains her ashes. + +To her I vowed, calling upon you my lord gods as witnesses to the oath, +that I would never wed me more. I swore and will keep my word. She and +I longed for a son, yet none came to bless our declining years. I yearn +for one now, but will not endeavour to procure one, I wish to be a +father, yet refuse to be a husband or enact his part.' To deities like +Jupiter, such a request was by no means a difficult one to grant, the +gods could as readily form a boy as they could fabricate Pandora--a +lovely woman--and send her to Prometheus, with all the ills which flesh +is heir to, confined in an ark, chest, or coffer. Yet the process of +what may be designated conception was a strange one. The three simply +relieved themselves of the wine which they had drunk, using the skin of +the slaughtered ox instead of a more commodious vessel. The man was then +ordered to bury the whole in the ground, and wait according to the time +of life. The gestation of the earth was completed in ten months, and +at the end of that period the venerable farmer possessed a fine lad who +grew up and became famous. If, now, we substitute for the Grecian name, +Hyrieus, the Hebrew title Abraham; if for Jupiter, Neptune, and Mercury, +we read, Jehovah and two angels; if for the phrase, "they were on their +travels," we read, "they were going down to Sodom to see if it was as +bad a place as it was reported to be" (see Gen. xviii. 21); if for the +ox which was roasted, we place, "a calf tender and good," we see a +wonderful resemblance between the stories of the conception of Orion and +Isaac. But there is this difference that in the Hebrew tale the divine +gift is brought about by a transient restoration of power to Abraham +and Sarah; whilst in the Grecian mythos, the old man is faithful to +the memory of a beloved spouse, and refuses to renew with another the +pleasure which he had in her company. We conceive that the exigency of +the Jewish account, made it necessary that the son of Abraham should be +of his father begotten, as well as a child of promise; whereas no one +can call Orion the son of any one, although he was as surely a child of +promise granted by the gods, as Isaac was, who was given by Elohim (or +the gods) of the Hebrews. + +We may enter now, for a short time, into a speculation whether the +Grecian story was borrowed from the Hebrew or the contrary. We are +disposed to believe that the tale was adopted by the Jews after they +became acquainted with the Greeks. The following are our reasons:--The +conception of a godhead composed of three persons, is foreign to the +Hebrew thoughts of the Almighty. Still further was it from Jewish +belief to think, that Jehovah would come down upon earth to acquire +information, and when there, eat and drink and talk like any ordinary +man. Amongst the Israelites it was generally held that no one could see +the face of God and live, On the other hand, the Greeks were familiar +with tales which told of gods coming down to earth in the guise of men. +As an illustration of this, we may point to Acts xiv. 11-13, wherein +we find that the people of Lycaonia imagined that the gods Jupiter and +Mercurius had come down to them in the likeness of men, and prepared +to sacrifice to them. Yet after all, Paul had simply cured a single +paralytic. On the other hand, the Jews regarded as rank blasphemy, and +a crime worthy of death, that Jesus should assert himself to be a son of +God, even although the miracles alleged in support of the assertion were +as stupendous as they were numerous. + +Still, further, we cannot imagine that the degrading story of Jehovah's +feasting with Abraham could have been composed, except when the Jews +were no better than an untaught and grossly superstitious race. We +have already, in _Ancient Faiths, &c._, expressed our opinion that the +Israelites were at the very lowest period of their history at the time +when Isaiah began his exhortations. There had been a confederacy between +the men of Edom, of Moab, Gebal, Amnion, Amalek, Tyre, Philistia, and +Assyria, the Ismaelites and the Hagarenes, which had attacked Jerusalem +and Judea, and captured all the inhabitants, many of whom they sold to +the Grecians (see Joel iii. 5-7). At, and shortly after this time, +the Jews were in a condition of abject misery (see Isaiah i. 4-9), and +capable of believing any story told to them, and would just as easily +credit the mythology which the Grecian captives told, or their Grecian +masters taught, as their successors do those which at a subsequent +period filled the Hebrew Scriptures. + +Whilst then, on the one hand, there is a probability of the Hebrews +having borrowed the fable from Hellenistic sources, there is, on the +other, the strongest objection to the supposition that the Greeks +should have borrowed from the Jews. Everything which the latter say of +themselves, indicates that they were exclusive to an inordinate +degree, refusing to have intercourse on equal terms with any of their +neighbours, that they never sought to make their history, laws, and +customs, known to Gentiles, and especially those outside of Judea, and +that their writings never assumed a Grecian dress until the time of +Ptolemy Philadelphus, who ordered the Septuagint translation to be made +about B.c. 285, with the direct view of making the Hebrew Scriptures +known to the Greeks. + +Moreover, we know from everything which was said of the Jews by +the Gentiles, that the latter treated the former with contempt and +contumely, and would no more dream of imitating any of their writings, +&c., than we should care to adopt the myths of Abyssinian negroes as an +integral part of Christianity. + +It will now be profitable if we examine the story of Sanchoniathon and +the statements of the Orphic Hymns. + +We have, in the course of this chapter and elsewhere, so" often referred +to the Grecian story of the Creation as given by Sanchoniathon and in +the Orphic hymns, that I think my readers are entitled to receive +some further account of them; so I reproduce passages which bear upon +supernatural generation, and especially that of the world and its +inhabitants--my main authority being _Ancient Fragments, &c._, by J. P. +Cory (London, 1832). + +Of Sanchoniathon we know little; our information may be summed up by +saying that he is mentioned eulogistically by Eusebius (a.d. 270-338), +an historian whose veracity cannot be entirely depended on. He says that +Sanchoniathon had, ere his time, been translated by a certain writer +called Philon Byblius, and it seems that Porphyry is credited with +having copied a great part of this translation into Greek from the +Phoenician. Nothing, however, is actually known of the historian in +question, except from Eusebius (_Smith's Dictionary_, p. 308, vol.III., +s. v., Philon.) We may then assume, according to our inclination, either +that the story is really a compendium of Tyrian legendary lore, or +simply a representation of what the Greeks imagined. The way, however, +in which the generation of beings is described, well deserves attention +from its similarity, and its contrasts with the biblical story. First, +there was a breeze of thick air and Chaos. These united and produced +Pothos. This again united with the wind, and Mot was the result, also +called Ilus; from this sprung the seed of Creation. And there were +certain animals without sensation, from which intelligent animals were +produced.* After this follows a quantity of stuff that is traceable to +Hesiod, and a part of which may be considered a paraphrase of Genesis. +Then mention is made of Elioun, called Hypsistus (the most High), +and his wife Beruth--as being the contemporaries of others; but no +indication is given from whence they came. These produced Ouranos +(Heaven) and Ge (Earth). Their father was killed by wild beasts! Then +Ouranos married Ge, and had offspring by her. But he had other women, +and Ge was jealous. Ouranos, however, came to her when he listed and +attempted to kill her children. He had a son, Cronus, who drove him from +his kingdom. This son turns out to be the original being called Ilus, +and he contrived to emasculate his father, and from the blood which +flowed sprang rivers and fountains. The remainder of this story scarcely +deserves notice. + + * The author of the tale evidently had something in common + with our modern Darwin. + +Ere we turn our attention to the compositions known as the Orphic Hymns, +it will be interesting to inquire whether the preceding account of +Creation had a Phoenician origin, or may more fairly be traced to an +Indian source flowing through a Greek channel After a diligent search in +the Hebrew Lexicon--and it is to be noticed that the Hebrew is all but +identical with the Tyrian and Carthaginian, I cannot find any words +or roots from which the proper names in the opening paragraph of +Sanchoniathon can by any ingenuity be derived. Nor can I discover in the +Greek anything which explains the esoteric signification of the story. + +But, on reference to the Sanscrit, there is a curious identity apparent +between the second verse in Genesis and a Hindoo idea. The former +runs:--"The earth was without form and void (_tohu ve bohu_), and +darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved +on the face of the waters." The Indian interpretation of the myth is +this:--"Air in motion, _vahu_, ruffled the inexplicable, or empty space, +_ka, has_, or _Icha, Icham_, a word also signifying 'nothing.' Thence +proceeded the earth, _Ua, or Mot_ (Sans); _Math_ (Sans) making fire +by rubbing sticks (coitus?) _Mada, mdda, and moda_, pleasure, delight, +gladness=love, Eros." This is almost the same idea that Hesiod +propounds. + +In the Orphic Hymns we find much more clearly than in any other writing +amongst the ancient Greeks the early Hellenic notion of the generation +of the worlds and of mankind. Respecting the value of the fragments +there may be some difference of opinion. The curious and doubtful may +be referred to _Smith's Dictionary_ (s.v. Orpheus); for me it will +be sufficient to state that both Aristophanes and Plato refer to the +presumed author as a religious teacher and a preacher against murder, +and Euripides frequently mentions him. This will place Orpheus at least +before b.c. 480. If, however, we consider him as identical with the +oft-sung husband of Eurydice, we must place him B.c. 650 (Smith, s.v.). + +In quoting from Cory's translation, I shall not scruple to make the +sense of more importance than literality: "Zeus is the first--he, the +thunderer, is the last; he is the head and the middle, he fabricated all +things. Zeus is male; he, the immortal, is also female; he founded the +earth and the starry heaven; he is the breath of all things, the rushing +of indefatigable fire. Zeus is the root of the sea, the sun and moon, +the king, the author of universal life; one power, one demon, the +mighty prince of all things; one kingly frame, in which this universe +revolves--fire and water, earth and ether, night and day, and Metis +(counsel); the primeval father and all delightful Eros (love). All these +things are united in the vast body of Zeus. Would you behold his head +and his fair face? It is the resplendent heaven, round which his golden +locks of glittering stars are beautifully exalted in the air. On each +side are the two golden taurine horns, the risings and settings, the +tracks of the celestial gods: his eyes are the sun and opposing moon; +his unfallacious mind the royal incorruptible Ether." + +The next fragment has been filched by the author of _Sanchoniathon_, and +we must not quote it. After a recapitulation about Chaos, Cronos, Ether, +and Eros, he proceeds:--"I have sung the illustrious father of night +existing from eternity, whom men call Phanes, for he first appeared. I +have sung the birth of powerful Brimo (Hecate), and the unhallowed deeds +of the earth-born giants who showered down from heaven their blood--the +lamentable seed of generation, from whence sprung the race of mortals +who inhabit the boundless earth for ever." + +"Chaos was generated first, and then the wide-bosomed Earth--the ever +stable seat of all the Immortals that inhabit the snowy peaks of Olympus +and the dark dim Tartarus in the depths of the broad-wayed earth, and +Eros--the fairest of the immortal gods, that relaxes the strength of +all, both gods and men, and subjugates the mind and the sage will in +their breasts. From Chaos were generated Erebus and black Night; and +from Night again were generated Ether and day, whom she brought forth, +having conceived from the embrace of Erebus; and Earth first produced +the starry heaven, equal to herself, that it might inclose all things +around herself." + +The preceding is given by Hesiod (900 B.c.). The following is the +version given by Aristophanes:--"First were Chaos and Night, and black +Erebus and vast Tartarus; and there was neither Earth nor Air nor +Heaven: but in the boundless bosoms of Erebus, Night with her black +wings first produced an aerial egg, from which at the completed time +sprang forth the lovely Eros, glittering with golden wings upon his back +like the swift whirlwinds. But embracing the dark-winged Chaos in the +vast Tartarus he begot our race (the birds). The race of the Immortals +was not till Eros mingled all things together; but when the elements +were mixed one with another, Heaven was produced, and Ocean and Earth +and the imperishable race of all the blessed gods." + +"Maia, supreme of gods, Immortal Night, tell me, &c." The next +invocation is to the double-natured Protogonus--the bull coming from +the egg, the renowned light, the ineffable strength, Priapus the king, +&c.--"Metis (wisdom) bearing the seed of the gods, whom the blessed +inhabitants of Olympus call Phanes Protogonus." "Metis the first father +and all-delightful Eros." Again, in allusion to Phanes,-- + +"Therefore the first god bears with himself the heads of animals--many +and single--of a bull, of a serpent, and of a fierce lion, and +they sprung from the primeval egg in which the animal is seminally +contained." "The theologist places around him the heads of a ram, a +bull, a lion, and a dragon, and assigns him first both the male and +female sex." "Female and Father is the mighty god Ericapeus; to him also +the wings are first given." + +The Japanese account of the creation is of sufficient interest to +be noticed here. I quote it from a translation of the _Annals of the +Emperors of Japan_, by Mons. Titsingh, assisted by interpreters of the +Dutch Factory at Nagasaki, and rendered into French, after being duly +compared with the original by M. J. Klapworth--(printed for the Oriental +Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland; London, 1834). In the +account of the seven generations of the heavenly bodies, we are told +that "anciently the heaven and the earth were not distinct, nor was the +female principle then separated from the male. The chaos, having the +form of an egg, moved about like the waves of an agitated sea. The germs +of everything were there, and these ultimately divided, the pure and +transparent ones going upward to form heaven, whilst the dull and opaque +ones coagulated and formed the earth. Between the two a divine being +sprang up; he was followed by two others in succession." All these were +pure males, and engendered without consorts. After them came a male and +a female deity, but they had no intercourse with each other. These and +three other divine couples, who followed them, reproduced their like by +mutual contemplation. The last couple directed the "celestial spear +made of a red precious stone"--said by Japanese commentators to be +the phallus--into the world below, and stirred it up to the bottom. On +withdrawing the lance some drops fell from it and produced an island, +upon which the celestial couple descended. Each one then began to walk +in opposite directions around the isle, and when they met the feminine +spirit sang joyously--"I am delighted to find so handsome a young man." +But this vexed the male spirit, who, being a man, asserted that he ought +to have been allowed to speak the first. So they parted once more on +their solitary walk; and when they met the second time, the woman waited +to be spoken to. Then followed a conversation somewhat too coarse for +repetition, which was followed by corporeal union. From the intercourse +of these divine beings all creation sprang. But, after a time, the +partners reflected that there was still wanting a governor for the +world which they had engendered. So they again accoupled, and produced +a daughter so lovely, that her parents thought her too good for earth; +gave her the name of "the precious wisdom of the heavenly sun," and sent +her to heaven, there to assume the universal government of all things. +The parents once again united, and produced the moon, who was sent to +heaven to assist her sister. A terrible fellow was then born from them, +who represents the Devil, or those tempests which seem to oppose the +beneficent action of the sun upon the soil. The parents returned to +heaven, and there are constant contentions between the brother and +sister. The former is described as being furious under attempts at +control; generally, he was quiet, and always had tears in his eyes (dew +and rain), but sometimes, when provoked, he broke every thing, uprooted +trees, and set the mountain forests on fire. We need not pursue +the story further than to say that the celestial beings created a +terrestrial couple, whose children bear considerable resemblance to the +Greek Jupiter, Apollo, Neptune, and others, and from them came the first +Emperors of Japan. In the matter of evidence upon such a point as the +conception of a man without a woman, or a woman without a man, it is +clear that unsupported assertion is wholly valueless. + +For example, I may for a time absent myself from general society, and +return to it again after a certain interval, having with me a child, +whom I assert to be my very own, produced by my own inherent power, just +as a tree produces a leaf which grows, matures, and falls. I may frame +a romantic account of a dream, in which I was told that if I planted +myself in the central bed of a certain garden, and contrived an +apparatus for daily watering my buried legs, that a child would sprout +from my right side, who should be to me as a daughter. Yet, however +ingenious my tale, there is not any one possessing sound sense and +knowledge who would believe me. In like manner, if a woman should tell a +story analogous, though not identical, she is certain to be discredited; +even the assertion of the existence of a divine father would not, if the +woman were unmated, save her character from a stain. + +We may next refer to the legend of Prometheus, inasmuch as in many +points it resembles the Hebrew mythos so greatly, that we must imagine +they both have a common origin, or that the one is a copy--though +an indifferent one, of the other. Prometheus, or forethought, was +represented to be the first who made an ordinary man--he formed him +of clay, and then animated him with fire from heaven. The Jewish tale +asserts that it was Jehovah who made the first man. That man was first +formed like a statue out of clay or dust, and had no life until breath +was infused into his nostrils. In both stories man alone is formed +first. In the Grecian fable Prometheus does not make a consort for his +man; nay, he refuses to receive one for himself when the gods send +to him Pandora--a paragon of loveliness. Instead of this he gives the +damsel to Epimetheus--or after-thought--who takes her carelessly, and +finds that even a charming woman is not a guarantee against cares and +woes. Some accounts, however, say that Prometheus made both man and +woman out of clay. + +The discrepancy does not signify much, for we see the same in Genesis, +wherein we are told in one place that man and woman were made together, +whilst in another the story runs that Adam preceded Eve, and that, +instead of being formed of dust or clay, the latter was formed of bone. + +We may now refer to the story of Apollonius Tyaneus, whose history has +interest for us, inasmuch as it illustrates three important points, upon +which much stress has been, and may still be, laid by inquiring minds. +The most conspicuous is the propensity of historians, or, to speak +more correctly, of a biographer, to record wonderful things about an +extraordinary man; next the ridicule cast upon the tale by those who +have circulated stories equally improbable, and the indication that +travel to Hindostan was apparently common, prior to and during his time. +In sketching the life of the philosopher, I quote something from +_Le Dictionnaire Infernal_, and the rest from Smith's _Biographical +Dictionary_. The philosopher in question was born about 4 years B.C. His +history was written by Philostratus, about 100 years after the hero's +death, and is ostensibly founded upon memoirs left by his secretary, +Damis, an Assyrian, who accompanied Apollonius during his travels, and +recorded his discourses and prophecies, and acted much as Luke did with +Paul. + +Amongst the proofs which Damis gives of his veracity, he tells us that +when he and his master traversed the Caucasus, they saw the chains which +bound Prometheus, still fixed to the rocks. This bit of verification +is now derided, but in my school-days I recollect having an account put +into my hands, written by some author, stating that the remains of the +ark were still to be seen upon Mount Ararat.* + + * On the day before this was written there appeared in _The + Telegraph_ a paragraph, to the effect that an Assyrian slab + had been translated by Mr. Smith of the British Museum. The + record is said to give an account of "the deluge," and it + tallies nearly with that given by Berosus, recorded in my + second volume. It adds, however, that the ark was at that + period in existence, and its wood and bitumen used as + amulets. Singularly enough, the tale is supposed to confirm + the bible legend, the writer of the paragraph never dreaming + that it more certainly confirms the Babylonian or Assyrian + origin of the book of Genesis. The other parts of this slab, + which were wanting, have more recently been found. But there + is no necessity for me to change the wording of the note. + +There was also current a "Joe Miller" about some old woman, who would +not believe in flying-fish, which her sailor-boy had seen, but who +readily believed his tale of hooking up a chariot wheel on an anchor +fluke from the bottom of the Red Sea! + +Dr. Smith, or Mr. Jowett, the author of the article, very judiciously +says--"We have purposely omitted the wonders with which Philostratus has +garnished his narrative.... _Many of these are curiously coincident with +the Christian miracles_--(the italics are our own). The proclamation of +the birth of Apollonius to his mother by Proteus, and the incarnation of +Proteus himself; the chorus of swans which sung for joy on the occasion, +the casting out of devils, the raising the dead and healing the +sick, the sudden disappearances and reappearances of Apollonius; his +adventures in the cave of Trophonius, and the sacred voice which called +him at his death--to which may be added his claim as a teacher, having +authority to reform the world--cannot fail to suggest the parallel +passages in the Gospel history." We learn, moreover, that the biographer +was high in favour with Alexander Severus, and that Eusebius of Caesarea +naively allows the truth of Philostratus' narrative in the main, with +the exception of what is miraculous. None of the authors quoted seem +to think of the adage--"Change but the names, and the same classes of +wonders are a matter of faith to you." Surely it is as easy to credit +the strange deeds of Proteus as those of Gabriel. + +Whether we choose to adopt the hypothesis that Apollonius was a rival +of Jesus, that the Nazarene and Tyanean were independent of each other, +that the evangelists took a hint from Damis, or Philostratus imitated +Luke in more ways than one, we have still the fact that two different +biographers, giving a history of the life of two contemporary +individuals, assert that the birth of their respective heroes was +announced by a divine being, who himself brought about the conception +of the infant that, on arriving at maturity, was held to be divine. +In writing thus, it will be distinctly understood that we draw no +comparison between Jesus and Apollonius, but only between the authors +who have undertaken their respective biography. + +Leaving this curious point, the next noteworthy one is that Philostratus +records, that the Tyanean went through Assyria, Babylonia, and Bactria, +to India, "where he met Jarchus, the chief of the Brahmins, and disputed +with Indian gymnosophists _already versed in Alexandrian philosophy_." +I have placed these last words in italics, to call attention to the +apparent belief of the historian, that prior to his day there had been +extensive religious communication between India and Greece--a point on +which I have much insisted in a previous chapter. The Tyanean is said to +have been five years upon his eastern journey. We have no idea where the +Nazarene was during his youth and before he began his public career, and +we cannot help regarding the omission to notice this part of his life as +being blameworthy in the evangelists. Those who knew so much of Jesus at +his conception, and about his birth and infancy, could surely, if they +would, have informed us of his adult years. + +Nor, _a propos_ to this short account of the biography of Apollonius, by +Damis and Philostratus, must we omit to notice the conceits of those +who have assumed that the Tyanean was set up as a counterfoil to, or an +imitator of, Jesus of Nazareth; for, just as the Christians may, with +some show of reason, affirm that the miracles recorded in their writings +have been filched by others; so may the Buddhist, with still greater +plausibility, declare that the greatest part of the life of the +Nazarene, as given in the Gospels, has been copied almost verbatim from +the biographers or evangelists of the Indian saga For myself, I consider +that the miraculous parts of the history of all the three conspicuous +men which have been named are equally true or--false. + +The idea of attributing to the Supreme God the birth, or, rather, the +procreation, of an extraordinary man, seems, so far as we can judge, to +have existed in the Western Hemisphere as well as in the Eastern. For +example, in an interesting book, entitled _New Tracks in North America_, +by W. A. Bell, M.A., M.B., Cantab; London, 1869, we find the following +legend respecting Montezuma, the most popular ruler of the ancient +Mexicans. The legend is intended to explain the occurrence of vast ruins +amongst the Pima Indians, of which other history is silent, and runs +thus: "Long ago a woman of exquisite beauty ruled over the valleys and +the region south of them. Many suitors came from far to woo her, and +brought presents innumerable of corn, skins, and cattle to lay at her +feet. Her virtue and determination to continue unmarried remained alike +unshaken, and her store of worldly possessions so greatly increased, +that, when drought and desolation came upon her land, she fed her people +out of her great abundance, and did not miss it, there was so much left. +One night, as she lay asleep, her garment was blown from off her breast, +and a dew drop from the Great Spirit fell upon her bosom, entered her +blood, and caused her to conceive. In time she bore a child, who was +none other than Montezuma, who built the large 'Casas,' and all the +other ruins which are scattered through the land" (vol. i. p. 199). + +It is allowable for the reader to doubt whether there ever was a Mexican +Queen whose renown was spread far and wide, who preferred celibacy to +marriage, and who, being rich, was not plundered by the chiefs whose +alliance was rejected. We may equally doubt the efficacy of a drop +of water, even though it came from the Great Celestial Spirit; but, +notwithstanding every objection which the most sceptical can advance, +the legend is quite as probable as those current amongst the ancient +Greeks, the religious Hindoos, and a large portion of modern Christians. +A miracle, always improbable, is not necessarily true because it is said +to have occurred in the old world, or indubitably false because it is +reported to have happened in the new. Nor can one who regards faith as +superior to reason, refuse to believe or to question the truth of +any supernatural story simply because he was not told it during his +childhood or youth. + +When the philosophical inquirer finds that in every country, with whose +literature we are familiar, there are, not only abundance of tales +about supernatural generation before the world was formed, but from +the earliest periods of history to our own day, he may well pause +and inquire into the intrinsic value of a religion or a faith that is +founded mainly, if not wholly, upon the assertion that a certain person +was the son of the Supreme Creator, and being so, has the qualities of +his sire as well as those of his human mother. The orthodox in Britain +do not believe in Cristna, Krishna, or Vishnu, because the Hindoo sacred +books declare that he has appeared repeatedly as an incarnation of +the Creator--nor do they credit the tales told of the supernatural +generation of Bacchus or Hercules--yet, when they are asked what +stronger evidence they have for the truth of their own story, they are +unable to give more than affirmations, strong, perhaps, but not more so +than those of ancient Hellenic priests. + +It is out of my province, now, to enter into every thing connected +with the doctrine held by those who are known as Trinitarians. My +main endeavour in this part of my subject is to clear the way for +"reconstruction." It is my desire to give to those who have not the +leisure, or, perhaps, the inclination, to wade through the dull tomes of +theological, mythological, and similar books, an account of what is and +has been entertained as religious belief by others, with whom, or with +whose opinions, they have not come in contact. I have no special wish to +prove that my opinions are right and the prevailing ones wrong; my chief +aim is to give data by which others may form a judgment for themselves. +With this view I have systematically endeavoured to satisfy myself of +the trustworthiness of the witnesses whom I call upon to testify to +facts; to my knowledge, nothing has been suppressed which seems to me to +bear upon my subject, nor is aught set down in malice. + +In my next chapter I shall institute an inquiry into another important +doctrine, held by Christians from their first existence until the +present day, namely, the Existence and Ministration of Angels. Since the +chapter was originally written, Dr. Kalisch has published an essay upon +the same subject in the second part of his commentary upon Leviticus. +I shall probably take the liberty of quoting from his pages; but, as +we treat the matter from different points of view, I do not feel called +upon to suppress my own work because he has preceded me. It gives me +pleasure to feel and to know that fellow-workers in the same toilsome +task, not only may help each other, but rejoice in the opportunity of so +doing. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + Angels. The ideas associated therewith. Why winged. Wishing- + caps. Jehovah and His Angels made to walk by the historian. + The belief in Angels incompatible with that of an + omnipresent and omniscient God. Pictorial representations. + Absurd conceptions of angelic wings. Angela want birds' + tails. Men have tried to fly. Difference between birds and + men. Arms and wings. A writer at fault about this world is + not to be trusted in his accounts of another. Bats and + similar mammals. The Devil better winged than Michael--Yet + Satan, a roaring lion, goes about as a bull with bat's + wings. Angels and beetles. Harmony in creation. Strange idea + of spirits. Spiritualism. Varieties of angelic forms. Not + the products of lunacy. Angels and demigods. Egyptian ideas. + Assyrian notions. Christian fancies. Birds and Men united in + human celestialism. Persian Angels. Mithra winged. Angels in + Persia twelve in number. Job, the work of a Persian Jew. + Angels referred to therein. Darius had a consecrated table. + Babylonian belief. Daniel. Greece and Rome. Gods, Demigods, + Angels, and Saints. Christian demigods. Angels' duties. + Book-keeping, clerks of wind and weather;--police-agents. + The inventor of Heaven admired centralization. Babylonian + tutelary Angels. Christian ones. Christian saintly imagery. + The bleeding heart of Mary. A funny Chaldean goddess to + match. Popish saints have an aureole, but no wings. Francis + of Assisi could make stigmata but could not change his arms + into pinions. Babylonian and Papal emblems identical + Development of Angels amongst the Jews in Babylon. Angelic + mythology founded upon Astronomy and Astrology. Planets are + Archangels. Angels and Devils mentioned on bowls found in + Mesopotamia by Layard. The probable meaning of their names. + Hebrews adopted Chaldee beliefs: evidence. Juvenal. Jews and + Chaldeans. Sadducees and Pharisees. Sadducees and our + Reformers compared. A legal anecdote. Angels in Ancient + Italy. Our angelic forms are of Etruscan origin. Some such + beings had three pairs of wings. Etruscans had guardian + angels for infants and children. Angels carry various + matters. Angels of marriage. Angels for heirs of salvation. + Etruscan angel of marriage. Jewish match-maker. Raphael. + Description of an Etruscan painting in tomb of Tarquin. The + angel of death. The Greek theology. The Greeks taught the + Jews. The Jews never taught other nations. Greeks had a + supreme god and a host of inferior deities. War in heaven. + Titans--giants. Children of the sons of God and daughters of + men. Greek origin of Christian and Miltonian angelic + mythology. The begotten Son of God (Hercules born to Jupiter + by Alcmena). Restores the kingdom to his father. Greek ideas + of demons. Hebrew and Christian ideas of good and bad + spirits. The recording angel. Demigods and archangels. Greek + deities not winged except Mercury. Some minor gods have + pinions.--Pegasus has wings. Hymen, the angel of the + covenant of marriage. Genius loci and cherubim. Alcmena and + Mary. Jupiter and "the power of the Highest" Roman + mythology. Romans adopted the Etruscan form of angels. + Christians adopted it from Romans. The Christian crozier is + the Etruscan and Roman _lituus_, or "divining staff." Rome + and London both avid of religious novelty. Instability in + religion a proof of infidelity in the old. Hence a desire + for infallibility, to crush doubt. Angelic mythology of the + Bible. Christians use words in parrot fashion. Words ought + not to stand for ideas. Prayer-cylinder in Thibet. + Contradictions. Figures and metaphors are theologian cities + of refuge. Prophet who says that he converses with an angel- + -is he to be credited? A spirit without flesh and bones, + cannot move his tongue to utter words. Drunkards see "blue + devils"--they are unreal If the appearance of a man in a + dream is an illusion, his words are so too. Absurd ideas + about phantoms. Notice of the deeds of a few Hebrew angels. + A resume of their history. Inspiration did not reveal + angels. Human fancy did. Conspiracy in Heaven! The Genesis + of Hell. What sort of a place it is supposed to be. God made + the Devil, so man must multiply his imps! Lucifer taught + Elohim! Old Testament less knowing than the New. The Devil + not a fallen angel. The book of Enoch. Deductions drawn. + +There is scarcely a single article in our current belief which does not +prove, on examination, to have descended to us from Pagan sources, or to +be identical with heathen beliefs older than the Hebrew. The idea of a +personal God dwelling in some locality, vaguely described as "Heaven," +in which He reigns, and rules, like a modern emperor, has been found to +exist in almost every nation whose language we know, and whose history +has descended to us. Human weakness makes it so. Such a ruler has been +called Brahma, Siva, Vishnu, Mahadeva, Bel or Baal, Melech or Moloch, +Ormazd, Elohim, Jah, Jehovah, Jupiter, Yahu, God, and a variety of other +names; but He has always been hailed as king, and lord of all creation, +having a throne beside which attend a number of servitors, standing +before and around him, all ready to do his bidding and to go wherever +they are sent. As a potentate rules on earth over provinces far distant +from the central government, so the heavenly monarch was, and is yet, +supposed to have "viceroys," "lieutenants," or "vicars," who have +authority delegated to them, and exercise it under his superintendence. + +A scheme such as we have described does not seem to have existed from +the first amongst the Jews; for, when men of reasoning powers conceived +the idea of a Creator, He was regarded as omnipotent, omniscient, and +omnipresent. It became gradually interwoven with theology; for when men +of limited capacity thought of such a vast empire as the universe, they, +under the influence of a grovelling anthropomorphism, recognized, as +they imagined, the necessity of furnishing it with a system of acquiring +intelligence, and promulgating decrees which should be far superior to +any postal plan devised by human kings. Amongst the Kaffirs, men with +missives race against time, and by means of relays, messages are sent +to vast distances in a comparatively short period. By means of horses, +skilfully engaged beforehand, an ancient Persian tyrant could make his +commands known all over his vast empire in the course of a few days, +and moderns, by means of railways and the electric wire, can forward +information at a still more rapid rate. + +Yet, to old theologians, and even to observant men of the present day, +all these means of communication between God and his subjects seemed to +be slow. We may, for example, notice a fly buzzing round the head of +the running Kaffir, or the ears of the fleetest of Persian steeds, and +a swallow on the wing outstrips a railway express. The velocity of the +carrier-pigeon has long been known. All these were, therefore, regarded +as swift-winged creatures, and fit for message bearers. As then, it was +observed, that of all beings who could move, the bird is the swiftest +in its movement from place to place, it was very natural that dogmatists +should represent the messengers of the great king with powerful pinions, +like those of the eagle or the albatross. In this manner the addition +of wings to any mythological character sufficed to show that he who bore +them was a celestial being; one who stood before the supreme ruler, +and received from him delegated power--either as vicar, viceroy, or +messenger. Thus the Greeks depicted Mercury with wings on his legs +and elsewhere, and the Hebrews gave large pinions to their +seraphim--sometimes as many as six being used by each (Isa. vi. 2.) +The Etruscans pictured their angels with two wings only, and we have +followed, implicitly, their lead. But the Hindoos did not in early times +adopt ideas such as this. They noticed the speed of the sunbeam, the +velocity of the hurricane, and the rapidity of thought; and since they +saw many birds borne away by the wind, they imagined that celestial +messengers must travel in a corresponding fashion. For one who rode upon +the clouds of the typhoon, pinions were useless. I have in my possession +a plate,* in which the celestial attendants on the god are all wingless, +but have sex. The name given to the attendants referred to is "Apsaras," +who are described as having been produced in myriads when the ocean was +churned. They are said to reside between the waters above the firmament +and those below it, and are represented as being of consummate beauty +and elegance of form, their business being to attend upon the gods and +give them pleasure, by singing, music, dancing, and in every possible +way. They are sometimes represented as being of both sexes, all having +the power to change their gender. Generally, they are described as +females, and take the business of Venus in the Greek heaven, and of the +Houris in that provided by Mahomet and his followers. The Hindoos have +in their theology an abode of bliss, in which the pleasures are wholly +sensual. In this they do not differ from the Christians, except that the +latter only expect to indulge in music and a sanctified vengeance. + + * Plate x., vol. 1, "Recherches sur l'origine, &c., des Arts + de la Grece," D'Harcanville, London, 1785. The author states + that the plate is copied from Le Voyage de Niebuhr, T. 1, + Tab. vi. + +With great ingenuity the Hebrews conceived that the will of God must +be equivalent to His wish--that His wish must be the same as a command, +and, consequently, that He could send His messenger from one spot +to another in an instant; or, if He chose, He could go Himself and +communicate personally, as He did with Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, and +Joshua. For such a Being even light would be too slow (see Psalm xviii. +10; civ. 3, 4). + +From a similar thought arose the stories which have found their way into +our fairy mythology of "wishing caps" which would enable the bearer to +pass in an instant of time, and wholly invisibly, from one part of the +world to another. In oriental countries, a carpet or a coat was the +carrying agent, whilst amongst the more clumsy story-tellers of Europe, +a pair of boots was furnished, whose wearer could cover twenty miles at +a stride. + +In the plenitude of our prejudice we may smile at the caprice which +invented the "wishing cap;" but if we reflect calmly upon the matter, +we discover more depth of thought in this than has been shown in the +formation of tales in which winged angels are introduced. The contrast +will readily be recognized if we take a scene from "Fortunatus," and +another from the Old Testament The former, by putting on a cap, could +transport himself in a moment from Formosa to Great Britain. Whereas +we learn, from Genesis xviii, that three angelic men took "a walk" from +somewhere to Sodom, that they might see what sort of a place it really +was. The hero in the fairy tale was not fatigued; the angels of the +Hebrew mythology were glad to wash their feet, and to eat and drink, so +as to recruit their energies (v. 8; Ps. lxxviii. 25.) A mythical +tale like this demonstrates incontestably the mean condition of the +story-teller, who does not furnish Jehovah even with a mule or ass, but +makes Him go afoot. + +We must, therefore, regard the theological contrivance which furnished +angels with wings, as being a clumsy one; indicating superficiality, +rather than profound thought, and emanating from human infirmity rather +than divine inspiration or direct revelation. We shall see this more +distinctly if we inquire into the ideas necessarily associated with +wings. + +The theologians who have furnished their ideal messengers with wings +show, in the first place, that they have the idea of an air upon which +the sails can strike--of muscular structures to move the pinions, and +of the necessity for food to enable the motive power to be kept up. The +idea of a winged angel, therefore, necessarily implies a belief in the +presence of a solid material body moving through an aeriform fluid, +resembling the atmosphere just above the earth's surface. That there +really was this belief associated with celestial messengers we find +in the Jewish scriptures, wherein it is stated, as if it were a common +occurrence, that angels came to talk familiarly with men; as, for +example, Gen. xviii, xix., xxxii.; and Judges i., where we are told +that an angel came from Gilgal to Bochim, to deliver a statement, to the +Hebrews, such as a silly girl at Lourdes asserted the Virgin Mary had +come from Heaven to make to her; see also Judges xiii., and the book of +Tobit. + +That angels were, moreover, supposed to possess thews and sinews, we +find from Gen. xxxii. 24-30, wherein we are told that some celestial +being wrestled with Jacob, but could not prevail against him. In a +previous chapter, although it is only in a dream, Jacob saw them mount +and descend a ladder as if their wings--if they then had them--were +useless. + +We shall not now be far from the truth, if we affirm that winged +messengers, envoys, or angels, can only be supposed to exist by +individuals whose god is nothing more than a man without universal power +and knowledge. To any one who believes God to be omnipresent, the idea +of His having ambassadors, or vicars upon earth, is blasphemous. + +The comparative coarseness of those minds which fabricated the notion +of winged men, as celestial messengers, will be the more certainly +recognised, if we examine into the pictorial conception which they have +permitted, and still allow, to pass, for the embodiment of their idea. +Let me, for example, invite the reader to cast his mental eye over the +winged men-like bulls, &c., of Assyria and Babylonia; the winged genii +of the ancient Egyptians; the winged soul and angel of Death of the +Etruscans; the angels of ancient and modern Christian painters; and the +pinioned heads which came from the walls to listen to the music of Saint +Cecilia--according to Papal legends--and then to try to discover the +locality of the muscular organs which are necessary to give movement to +the wings. Everybody who has ever carved, at his dinner-table, a grouse, +partridge, pheasant, duck, or other fowl, must be aware of the enormous +mass of flesh which is associated with the wings. If we bare the breast +and remove the pinion bones from any bird which flies--(it is necessary +to make this proviso, for such as the dodo, the apteryx, the ostrich, +emu, and others, have wings which are only rudimentary, and not used for +flight)--we find but a very meagre body remaining behind. Hence we see +the necessity of furnishing an imaginary angel which has wings with +muscles that will enable the pinions to be used; but in no pictorial +representation of an angelic messenger do we ever find the ordinary +figure of a man departed from, or any provision made for muscles to +move the feathered organs. And we must notice, in passing, that it is +monstrous to suppose that a man must become, in part, a bird ere he can +be useful to a god! + +Again, we recognize in the conventional form of angels a total absence +of knowledge of natural history, of gravity, of force, &c. Let us, for +example, imagine for a moment that the metaphorical wings are real ones +used in flight. We see directly that they will only raise the individual +perpendicularly into the air. The angelic human creature, even if his +wings were--as they ought to do--to replace his arms, would still lack +a tail, to use as a rudder to direct his flight. It is clear, then, that +no one has seen an angel, and that those who have pretended to have done +so, were deeply ignorant men. To make our observations upon this point +somewhat more comprehensible, we may just refer to the fact that many +individuals, misled apparently by the mass of ideal celestial men--or +angels--which are to be seen in almost every cathedral or parish church +in Europe, have conceived the idea that they could fly, if only they +could contrive the necessary apparatus to append to their arms, legs, +or both; in other words, many men have fancied that they could do better +for themselves than nature has done for them. But a few minutes' calm +thought would teach any one familiar with the composition of forces, +that an attempt at the imitation of a bird's flight must be a failure in +man. Let me show this by a simple observation: A bird extends its wings, +and by a strong stroke towards its own body, rises into the air, though +neither solid nor rigid, both wings and air have apparently been so. In +imitation of this bird, we will now suppose that a man places himself, +with arms outspread, like the letter T between two uprights, forming +something like the letter U. + +The individual would then be represented thus [J]--unlike the bird, +his _point d' appui_ would be solid, and his arms would be far more +unyielding than feathers. Yet not one athlete in a million could spring +upwards, so as to stand upon the summit of the U. Man's "pectoral +muscles"--as physiologists call the mass of flesh below the collar bone +and above the nipple--are intended to move the arm; the bird's pectoral +muscles are intended to move the body. Cut off a man's arms and +pectorals--the counterpart of the bird's wings and fleshy breast--and he +has barely lost a tenth part of his weight; on the other hand, cut off +the corresponding parts of a bird, i.e.t the pinions and the muscles +which move them, and not a tenth part of the original weight is left +behind. Speaking coarsely, we may then affirm that man's body is +relatively about a hundred times heavier--air being the standard--than +that of a bird, and his pectoral muscles, relatively to his body, a +hundred times less in bulk. Consequently, even if a human being could, +by muscular action, develop the bulk of his "pectorals," so that they +should be relatively to the rest of his frame, equal to those of a +bird, still his bulk would be so much more solid than that of the bird's +bones, flesh, and feathers, that his power of flight would be a hundred +times less. A man, with the exception of his lungs, is in health, solid +or fluid, in every part of him; a bird's bones, on the contrary, are +everywhere permeated by air cavities, which make them as light as pith +or cotton wool. A pound of lead and a pound of feathers are certainly +equal in weight, yet, if both are allowed to drop from a balloon, the +first will reach the ground a long time before the second. In like +manner, by contrivance, I could with my breath sustain an ounce of +eiderdown in the air, although I am quite powerless to sustain, by like +means, the same quantity of solid meat. I say nothing of the relative +position of the shoulder-joint in man and birds--although the point is +physiologically important. + +Again, we may assert that the originators of the angelic mythology were +absolutely ignorant of that which is called comparative anatomy. We +have already expressed our belief that no one has a right to expect that +people will believe in the reality of a man's knowledge respecting +the unseen world, so long as he is palpably at fault in his notions +respecting the visible creation. Consequently we assert that one who +is careless as regards actual phenomena and ignorant of common truths, +cannot be trusted in metaphorical, mythological, or divine lore. + +A comparatively small amount of observation proves to us that amongst +the highest classes of animal life, the wing is the counterpart of the +arm or of the fore-leg. In the creature called the "flying squirrel," +there is no pinion as there is in the "condor,"--there is simply an +unusual development of skin which unites the fore and hind limbs much in +the same way as the web unites together the toes of the goose or duck. +In the bat, which, though a mammal, is allied, as regards its power of +flight, to the birds, we find that the fore-leg is developed so as to +make a bony frame on which a thin skin may be stretched, which is still +farther strengthened by being attached to the hind leg. In the ordinary +bird, the skin which we see in the bat and flying squirrel is replaced +by feathers, which are longer, broader, and lighter than a fold of skin. +The ordinary method, therefore, in which angelic beings are depicted +does not associate them with the highest classes of animal life. +Our modern artists are much more skilful in depicting Satan than in +pourtraying Raphael, Gabriel, or Michael. + +Our last remarks would be comparatively unimportant, were it not that +the close observation which the moderns have given, to every thing +connected with natural history, has shown us that there is a harmony +throughout creation. No animals have noses on their backs, nor eyes in +their hind legs. No insect--so far as I can remember--has a thick neck; +nor has any mammal or bird a thin one, like the wasp, bee, or fly. As we +imagine that it is proper to extend our knowledge rather by the lights +which we have already attained, than by silly or hap-hazard guessing, so +we think that it is better to investigate the subject of angelic forms +by comparative anatomy, than by the dreams of divines, who probably have +never studied any other subject than the best means of gaining influence +over their fellow-mortals. We assert that there is not in all the +creation, known to man, any creature with arms and legs--or their +equivalents, legs and wings, or fore-legs and hind legs--which has, in +addition, wings upon arms, legs, head, or back. In such a combination +there is something monstrous. I confess that I could, if satisfactory +evidence were given, credit the occurrence of a devil with a tail--of a +centaur with a horse's body and a human head--but I could not possibly +believe that Satan went about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he could +devour in the dress of a bull with bat-like wings, as well as horns and +hoofs; or that an angel of God approaches us in a form nearer to the +scarabseus of Egypt than to the human form divine. Yet when we say that +a pictorial angel approaches nearer to a beetle that revels in +filth, than to an etherial essence which ought to be very close upon +perfection, we are still far from precision. Ladybirds, cockchafers, and +others of the class allied to the scarabseus that was almost deified +in Egypt, have six legs, two wings, and two wing cases--ten means of +locomotion in all. Butterflies, moths, and the like, have six legs and +two wings. Consequently, if there be any design in creation, and angels +have been created, they can only be regarded as the connecting link +between the highest and the lowest classes of animal life. + +If then, there be such a thing as harmony of design in Creation--if the +Creator be not the author of confusion (1 Cor. xiv. 33)--if matter be +material, and imponderable forces cannot be weighed or made otherwise +recognisable by the senses, except by their effects--if the Almighty be +omnipresent and omniscient, it is absolutely impossible for a thoughtful +mind to believe in the existence of angels in any shape--whether +material, immaterial, or essential. But this consideration forces us +still further, and we feel compelled to ask ourselves, whether, with +our minds constituted as they are, we can believe in, or understand +any thing wholly immaterial? Whether we can imagine the existence, for, +example, of "force" without matter?--a shape which is formless?--a form +visible to the eye, yet wholly immaterial? + +It seems to me to be desirable, at the present day, to call attention to +this point in a particular manner, inasmuch as there are vast numbers, +both in Europe and America, who believe in what is called Spiritualism, +and are, in reality, as greatly the dupes of charlatans as were the +disciples of Alexander the false prophet, whose history we gave in vol. +II. The jargon of these pretenders is based upon the assertion in the +Bible that there are spirits--the accounts of certain of these returning +to the earth which they have quitted, or conversing with human beings in +dreams, or in reality. But both they and their victims fail to see that +a spirit, being without a material existence, cannot put matter into +motion--it cannot produce the waves in the ether that cause those +impressions on eye and ear which give the idea of sight and sound. +We may best give our reader a glimpse of our meaning, if we compare a +spirit to a picture projected on a sheet by a magic lantern. It is true +that we can see it--yet we know that it is powerless to hear, to speak, +to move; it cannot of itself even vanish. Yet there are many onlookers +who, by a ventriloquist, can be made to believe that the picture speaks. + +After prolonged observation, I believe that spirits, angels, demons, &c., +have no reality except in the delusions of individuals whose diseased +brains induce them to believe that they see apparitions and hear them +speak. To this matter we shall probably return by and by. + +We may now revert to a subject which we mentioned incidentally a few +pages back--viz., the ideas which induced priestly inventors to depict +the angels of their imagination in a particular form. Those who are +familiar with the Bible, and not with any other book, and who decline to +examine into the ways of God in the universe generally, will naturally +reply to our strictures that the angels of the Jews were described in +a particular fashion, because they were seen "in the visions of Elohim" +(Ezek. i. 1; Dan. x. 5, 6; and Rev. i. 10-20). But this observation +involves the idea that the angels which have appeared are so various +in shape, that an individual who had seen and described one, could not +enable another man to recognize a similar messenger when seen under +another form. In Genesis xviii, xix., xxxii., and Judges xiii, angels +assume the form of men; in Isaiah vi. they have six wings--one pair being +used to cover the face, another to cover the feet, and another to +fly with. To this it may be objected that what Isaiah described were +seraphim; yet verse 6 shows that one of these, at least, was a messenger +or envoy. In Ezekiel i. we find an apparent description of angels, or an +envoy, which is so involved that it is most difficult to understand it. +In Daniel x. an archangel is described as a brilliant man whose body was +like the beryl--_tarshish_--a stone of a sea-green colour probably; or, +possibly, a topaz, "whose eyes were like lightning, and whose arms and +feet were like polished brass, and whose loins were girded with fine +gold"--as if to conceal his sex--a characteristic which we find, from +Matt. xxii. 30, angels do not possess. The writer's description must, +therefore, be classed with that of afreets, genii, and the like, in the +_Arabian Nights_ tales. In Zechariah, again, we find an angel or envoys +described (ch. i.)--(a), "as a man riding upon a red horse," having +behind him "red horses, speckled and white" (v. 8); (6), as "four horns" +(vv. 18,19); (c), as "four carpenters" (w. 20, 21.) Again, in chap, v., +we find an angel in "a flying roll;" another in "an ephah;" another in +a big piece of lead, and another in a woman, and still another in two +beings of the same nature. + +We can readily understand that some who are unacquainted with lunatics, +would describe these portraitures as the result of insanity or +hallucination; but those who are more conversant with persons of unsound +mind will doubt whether any ordinary insane persons ever see or describe +things which they have never met with. One or two, certainly, have +wonderful flights of imagination, but these have been highly educated +men of extensive reading, &c. In mania, when visions are seen, some +person or other whose description has been read by the lunatic, or who +has really been observed, appears--or something which the individual has +seen depicted, or otherwise been told of, presents itself, or there is +a strange jumble of reality and possibility--just as in dreams, +comical, grotesque, or horrible combinations are common, and cause us no +surprise. There is, however, too much consistency in the method in which +angels are depicted, to enable us to believe that their form was decided +by any lunatic or dreamer. + +We scarcely can form an idea whether the Egyptians had a definite belief +in angels, as the word is understood by moderns. With them, as it was +with the Greeks, it is most probable that all beings which Jews +and Christians alike would call angels, were designated "gods" or +"demigods." Be this as it may, we find that the Mizraim had deities who +wore wings. A round disc, apparently intended to represent the sun, two +erected serpents to support it, and a long broad pinion on each side of +the body, was symbolic of "the Supreme." The same may be said to be true +of Assyria and Persia--only that in the symbolism of the two last, +the serpents did not, generally, appear. In plate 30a, of Wilkinson's +_Ancient Egyptians, 2d series_, a human figure is represented as winged, +and before him is a five-rayed star. In plate 35 of the same book, Isis +is represented as a nude woman, winged; the position of one pinion being +such that it serves to conceal the body from the waist almost to +the knees. In plate 36, "Athor" is depicted as being attended by a +human-headed bird. On the other hand, in plate 39, where the gods are +instructing the king in the use of the bow, the former are bird-headed +men without wings. Whilst in plate 44, the soul of a dying man is +represented as a human-headed bird with wings, arms, and legs. In plates +52, 53 of the same work, we notice specimens of winged serpents. In +plate 63, Isis again appears as a wing bearer, and in this figure we +find, as we ought to do, that the feathers of the pinions are attached +to the arms of the goddess. + +In Assyria, we may gather from the sculptures which have been preserved, +that there was not any idea of angels being essentially different to +gods. Indeed, it is very difficult wherever there is a polytheism in any +form, to understand the distinction between a god and an angel Even in +the religion which passes current as "the Christian," which acknowledges +three gods as "coeternal together and coequal," we are distinctly +told that one of the three "proceeds" from the father and the son +(_Athanasian Creed_). The New Testament, again, repeatedly informs +us that the son was "sent" into this world by his father to effect a +special purpose--e.g.t "God sent his only begotten son into the world, +that we might live through him" (1 John iv. 9; see also John iii. 16, 17; +Matt. xxi. 37; Mark xii. 4; John v. 38; vi. 29; vii. 28, 29; and compare +with John i. 33 and Mal.iii. 1-3). If, therefore, we regard the bearer +of a message or an order from the supreme king as an "angel," Jesus of +Nazareth was certainly one, inasmuch as he said that he was sent hither +by the father of all; and the Holy Ghost was another, for we find John +(xv. 26) stating that Jesus would send him to the earth--an assertion +repeated in chap, xvi. 7--whilst in the fourteenth chapter of the same +book we observe that the father was to send this comforter, who was +to abide in this world for ever (v. 16). Indeed, the presumed +identification of Jesus with the promised Messiah, "the prince" of Dan. +ix. 25, shows the belief that he was one who was as much appointed to +do a certain duty as was that "angel of death" which went out to destroy +the Assyrian army (2 Kin. xix. 35). + +With such indicated reservation, we notice that the angel which the gods +sent to watch over various Assyrian kings is depicted almost invariably +with wings. Now he is an archer, standing in a disc representing the +sun, having wings below him; now he stands in front of the circle, the +pinions and sometimes his body terminating in feathers resembling a +bird's expanded tail. Then, again, the minor divinities bear wings, some +of them no less than four (Bonomi's _Nineveh_, 2d ed. p. 157). It would +be superfluous to linger over a description of the winged bulls with +human heads, and the winged men with eagle or hawks' faces, which are +so familiar to us in consequence of the researches of Layard and others. +All alike bear testimony to the connection, in human celestialism, +between birds and men. Nor can we reasonably doubt, that the idea +intended to be conveyed by the inventor of the Assyrian composition +which we refer to was, that the being, thus symbolized, was famous for +strength like the bull; for rapidity of movement, like the eagle; and +for wisdom, like a man. + +There is to be found amongst the relics of the ancient Persians a symbol +of an angel who was supposed specially to guard the king. This somewhat +resembles that used at Nineveh. There are, however, many forms of it. +For example, we find in Hyde's _De Religione veterum Persarum_ (Table +6) a figure of a Persepolitan king, above whom, in the air, and quite +distinct from the sun, stands a venerable man fully draped, standing +upon what seems to be a large pine cone reversed, which is surrounded +by clouds instead of being furnished with wings. The man thus depicted +extends the forefinger of one hand to the sun, whilst with the other +he holds a ring. In Table 6 Mithra is represented as winged, after the +modern fashion of angels. + +Hyde assures us, in chapter twelve, that twelve angels were recognized +by the ancient Persians, in addition to those who presided over the +months and days. One of these appears to be the same as the Greek +Rhadamanthus, who sat as supreme judge in the invisible world, and +apportioned to the dead their rewards or punishments. A second was +equivalent to Neptune and ruled the sea, but he had also under his +charge everything which related to generation, or production generally. +The third was much the same as the more modern Lares and Penates, and +superintended dwelling-houses and families. The fourth had a somewhat +similar and subordinate office. The fifth was named after the stars, and +had his kingdom in the south heavens. The sixth the learned author does +not describe. The seventh really seems to be a sort of duplicate angel, +called Haruts and Maruts, who were two naughty ones that rebelled, and +are, according to some, imprisoned still in Babylon, being hung up by +the heels. The eighth, Hyde is himself doubtful about, and does not +describe. The ninth is the same as the German "storm-king." The tenth +may fairly be styled the "angel of the victualling department." The +eleventh is the giver of life, the opponent of Azrael, the minister of +death; and the twelfth angel is one which we may call either by the name +of "conscience" or "judgment" for he it is who approves or reprobates +the works of man. + +Though I quote from Hyde, I am somewhat doubtful of the value of his +authority. He relies to a considerable extent upon the work known as the +"Zend Avesta," and supposed to represent the tenets of Zoroaster and his +followers. This book is, as I have mentioned, generally believed to be +a genuine relic of antiquity by Continental scholars, though it is +mistrusted by British orientalists, who regard it as a modern production +founded upon Aryanism, Christianity, and Maho-metanism. In my judgment, +my compatriots are right; and if it be proper to trust such a man as +Sir H. Rawlinson in the matter of the "Avesta," one may be pardoned for +believing with him that the book of Job was written by a Persian Jew, or +translated by a Hebrew from a work in the time of Darius, or some other +of the Achoemenidae. + +In Job angels are only once mentioned--viz., in chap. iv. 18, and then +they are spoken of in such a way, that we are doubtful whether or not +to regard the verse simply as a poetic metaphor. The idea which runs +through the part of the chapter in which the passage occurs is this: +"Job, you are suffering; the innocent do not perish; the righteous are +not cut off; you have been very proper; man has nothing to say against +you; but you are not right in accusing God of injustice; you doubtless +have done some wrong, for even God's servants are not wholly trusted; +they sometimes misbehave unknowingly, and his own angels are called +perverse by him (Job iv. 18); you cannot expect to be better than they, +and it is no shame to you to be in the same category as they are." + +But it must be allowed that the words of the story--"There was a day +when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and +Satan came also among them; and the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest +thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in +the earth, and from walking up and down in it"--do really intimate +a full belief in good angels and bad, who were not so much angels, +messengers, or envoys, as subordinate powers resembling the barons of +ancient England, the Paladins of Charlemagne, or the kings created by +Buonaparte; amongst whom all were, so to speak, "good angels," except +Bernadotte, of Sweden, who rebelled against the imperial thraldom, and +became to his late master a modern satan. In whichever way we regard the +subject of angels, amongst the Persians there is little doubt that +the Iranian conception of God was wholly anthropomorphic, and that +the Medians and their magi, as well as their Persian neighbours, +acknowledged a "father of lies," who was antagonistic to the deity.* + + * Quintus Curtius informs us (_Life of Alexander the Great_, + b. v. a ii.) that Darius had in Babylon a consecrated table, + from which he used to eat; that Alexander began to be + ashamed of his sacrilege in treading upon it--(it had been + placed as a footstool for his imperial chair)--the sacrilege + being against the gods presiding over hospitality, carved + upon the table. These may be regarded as angels or + otherwise, according to fancy. + +Our knowledge of the angelic mythology of Babylonia is comparatively +slight. The main thing which shrouds the subject in darkness is the +difficulty which exists to distinguish between god, gods, and angels. If +we could put any confidence in the book of Daniel, we should recognize +therefrom that his "Nebuchadnezzar" most distinctly believed in the +existence of angels, for in chap. iii. 25 he believes that he sees the +son of God (_bar elohim_), and in verse 28 of the same chap. he remarks +that "God hath sent his angel (_malachah_), and delivered his servants +that trusted in him." Again, in the fourth chapter, in which he recounts +a dream, he declares that he saw "a watcher and a holy one" (_geer and +kadesk_) come down from heaven with a message to him. But Daniel is not +an adequate authority upon ancient Babylonian beliefs. We are, in the +absence of direct testimony upon this subject" driven to such evidence +as is drawn from sculptured or other remains in ruins and on gems, and +to cuneiform and other writings. George Rawlinson sums up his account +thus--(_Ancient Monarchies_, vol. I, ch. vii., pp. 138, 9): "Various +deities, whom it was not considered at all necessary to trace to a +single stock, divided the allegiance of the people, and even of the +kings, who regarded with equal respect, and glorified with exalted +epithets, some fifteen or sixteen personages. Next to these principal +gods were a far more numerous assemblage of inferior or secondary +divinities, less often mentioned, and regarded as less worthy of honour, +but still recognized generally through the country. Finally, the +Pantheon contained a host of mere local gods or genii, every town and +almost every village in Babylonia being under the protection of its own +particular divinity." + +The passage above quoted, which represents very fairly our existent +knowledge, suggests to the thoughtful mind a comparison with other +religions. In Greece there were many great gods and goddesses, and +other divinities of less renown. In Rome there were gods for almost +everything. But what these nations called "gods" the Hebrews called +"angels," as we shall see shortly. In Christendom angels and gods have, +as a general rule, been deposed, and "saints" have taken their +places. Not only has every town a cathedral which is dedicated to some +particular name--said to have been borne by a holy man or woman, whose +aid in heaven is thus secured by his votaries upon earth--but every +church in every parish, and every chapel in every church is set apart to +a particular "saint." Still farther, every trade and every position in +life has its tutelary patron in heaven, and secondary gods are as +common in Papal districts as they were in the land of the Chaldeans. The +philosopher cannot find a valid distinction between Ishtar, Venus, and +Mary, Dionysus and Denis, and a host of other gods, saints, or angels. + +Assuming that the minor gods of Greece and Rome, and those essences +generally called "angels" are substantially the same order of beings, +we find that the Babylonians had a great number of celestial envoys, +viceroys, or messengers who ruled over the land and sea, +the sky and storms, the thunder and the rain, crops, men, war, +buildings--everything, indeed, was superintended by some one on behalf +of the Supreme Ruler. + +We might pause here to speculate upon the question whether there is any +difference in kind between such a kingdom as Babylonia or Russia and the +heaven believed in by the ancient Jews and the modern Christians. In +all there is an autocratic sovereign who has a prime minister and +secretaries of state, who keep his books and perform his will according +to his bidding; under these again there are private clerks, who +superintend wind and weather, rain and hail, snow and frost; governors +of provinces, mayors, or prefects of cities; police, and so large a host +of subordinates, that nothing, great or small, can be done which escapes +the notice of one of the imperial envoys or ministers. The inventor +of heaven, such as we know it, was certainly an admirer of +'centralization'. Those who desire to see the description of the unseen +world modified are those who are opposed to an absolute monarchy, and +who see in everything, everybody, and in all the world a proof of the +presence of a supreme, omniscient, omnipresent, Creator, Ruler, or +Governor. + +Without going into an account of the Chaldean mythology, we may say that +there is strong reason to believe, both from the nomenclature which has +survived, and from such gems as are preserved from destruction, that +every Babylonian, whether bond or free, was called after some deity, who +was supposed ever afterwards to be his tutelary angel In modern times +Roman Catholics hold a similar belief, and each parent imagines that by +making selection, for his offspring, of the name of a particular saint, +the latter can be induced to take the child under its special care. + +The learned in papal mythology know that every saint is depicted in +such a manner that none shall be mistaken. To such an extent indeed is +pictorial contrivance carried, that the art of recognising a particular +saint demands a special study. It is all but certain that the same +custom prevailed in Babylon; but, as all the professors which taught the +means of identification have passed away, we can only guess at the +name or nature of the angel. Let us imagine, for example, what an +archaeologist could make of the figure of Mary--of the bleeding or +burning heart, two thousand years after all history of the mother of +Jesus has passed away, like that of Ishtar has done. A curious figure, +called heart-shaped, but really not so, is found placed on the central +part of a woman's breast; from it flames appear to arise and blood +to drop, and through it is a dagger, and this mass of imagery is put +outside the body, and the dress is held open to enable any one to see +it. + +Without a key to the enigma, this is a mystery; but when the key is +given, and the inquirer hears the explanation, he finds it so absurd +that it is difficult to believe it. In like manner, when I see upon a +Babylonian gem, copied as a vignette on the title-page of Landseer's +_Sabean Researches_, a woman who has a beard, a necklace, two small +breasts, from each of which she squeezes apparently a river of milk; +over whose breastbone there is one large globe and two small ones, +placed perpendicularly; who has a spider waist, and wears a skirt +covered with pistol-shaped ornaments, I, not knowing whether the +Chaldeans adored "our lady of the flowing bosom," cannot frame an idea +as to the name of the saint, angel, virgin, or martyr which is depicted, +or what may have been her peculiar duties, who she was, and what trade +she patronised. + +Whatever idea the Papal Church entertains respecting her canonised +saints, one thing is remarkable, viz., that they are not portrayed as +having wings. Each has an aureole of some sort round his or her head--a +painter's contrivance for saying "This individual, who seems like a man +or woman, is not a common but a divine creature." Francis of Assisi is, +in addition, depicted with stigmata, or marks on his hands, feet, and +side, which, though they resemble those made with nails in the case of +Jesus of Nazareth, were doubtless, in the case of the "saint," made with +the strong caustic called "spirit of salt" or other escharotic. We +might speculate upon the state of mind which sees in the assumption +of "stigmata" a greater evidence of faith than would be offered by the +conversion of the arms into the pinions of Michael the archangel; but, +as it is so much easier for even the most potent saint to make breaches +in his skin, than to persuade feathers to grow on his arms, we do not +think the task worthy of our care. + +The Babylonians in this respect were predecessors of papal pagans. It is +a rare thing to find on any of their gems a winged angel or genius. One +such is depicted on the frontispiece of Landseer's _Sabean Researches_, +which is birdlike both as regards the head and pinions; and four other +winged creatures are given in Lajard's _Culte de Venus_. In two the +figures are human headed, and combined with the body of a quadruped. +At a later period of Babylonian mythology "grotesques" were introduced, +apparently from Egypt. + +It is not to be lightly passed by, that the symbol which represented the +presence of the deity--which, if we may adopt a phrase, we should call +"the angel of his presence" (see Exod. xxxiii. 14,15; Isa, lxiii. 9), is +almost identical in the Chaldean and the papal religions, viz., a circle +containing a cross, an emblem as common in our churchyards as in the +capital of Nebuchadnezzar. + +The resemblance between papal and Chaldean emblems and doctrines have +repeatedly attracted the attention of theologians; and I am not far +wrong in asserting that Protestants generally have identified "the +woman" of Revelation xvii., spoken of as "Mystery, Babylon the Great, +the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth," with Rome under +the popes. For myself I do not care to express any opinion on the point, +beyond a general dissent from the popular estimation of the dictum and +its interpretation. At the same time I must declare that every year, +over which my inquiries have extended, has imbued me more and more with +wonder at the similarity between the ancient Babylonian and the modern +papal religion. The two resemble children of the same parents, only that +one is older than the other; and it requires but little penetration in +an observer to trace in both, the lineaments of a grovelling +superstition, united with a base priestly cunning. + +In our own estimation the strongest evidence in favour of a belief in +angels, of every degree, amongst the Chaldeans and Babylonians is the +enormous development of angelic mythology amongst the Jews, who lived +in the city of Nebuchadnezzar, and in those who migrated thence into +Palestine subsequent to the period of the captivity. From indications, +which are necessarily imperfect, we have formed the opinion that the +Babylonians were astronomical students of great proficiency, from a very +remote antiquity; that many of these professors turned their attention +to what is called judicial astrology--i.e., they attempted to judge +of future events by certain phenomena occurring in the heavens, and +especially in the relationship between different planets and the various +constellations. + +As the planets wander through the sky, naturally they were regarded as +the messengers of El--"the Supreme," who sent them to investigate the +condition of groups of stars, many of which formed a sort of community +that was unvisited by the Great King, for months together, and, in +many instances, not at all.As the heliacal rising of one star seemed +generally to be followed by good weather, and the corresponding rise +of another intimated the reverse, it was natural that one should be +regarded as an angel of happiness, the other as a harbinger of misery +or death. So strongly rooted is this belief amongst some, that it even +"holds its own" in educated England. The astronomer Royal is often asked +to cast a nativity; and a living merchant of Liverpool does so yet, +having confidence that his deductions suffice to prove their value. + +The formula is "_Astra regunt homines, sed regit astra Deus_"--"The +stars rule men, but God rules the stars." A guardian star, then, that is +to say, the particular planet or other conspicuous celestial body which +was "in the ascendant" at the period of the birth of each individual, +was regarded in the same light as Christians esteem protective angels +and Romanists estimate patron saints. There can be, we think, little +doubt that the seven archangels are the seven planets known to the +ancients, each of which had a day dedicated to it, and who thus +originated the week of seven days. These amongst the Phoenicians were +called the Cabeiri, or the powerful ones. In the conclusion at which we +have arrived we are greatly strengthened by the discovery in Babylonian +ruins of certain bowls; facsimiles and descriptions of which are given +in Layard's Nineveh and Babylon, pp. 510-526. The inscriptions which +have been translated appear to be forms of exorcism, or amulets, by +which evil spirits are to be driven away; and reference is made in these +writings to the devil, for example, under the name _shida_; and to +Satan under the cognomen _Satanah_, evidently the same as the Satanas +habitually used in the New Testament; also to Nirich, probably from +a root like the Hebrew _narag_, "a noise maker or screamer." This +creature, as I think, is the same as the "Satyr" of Isaiah xiii. 21, +and xxxiv. 14, and represents or personifies those unseen but howling +maniacs who wandered about at night (see _Lilith and Satyr_ in my second +volume). Another demon is called _Zachiah_, a cognomen which I cannot +satisfactorily explain unless it is allied to _Zachar,_ and indicates +the power which, as the French would say, "can tie a knot in the needle" +(nouer l'aiguilette) or "a levin brand." Another of the devils is called +"Abitur of the Mountain," whose name resembling, as it does, the Jewish +_Abiathar_, is more likely to belong to the good than the bad angels. +Lilith is another demon still feared by the Jews, who employ charms +against her to this day. She is supposed to be a sort of spiritual +vampyre, and to suck the life out of infants and young people. These +names of angels occur in the first inscription given by Layard; in +the second we find Satan, associated with idolatry, curses, vows, +whisperings, witchcraft, and _Zevatta_--a concealer, rider, or enchanter +from root like this and answering to the fairy which steals away. + + "It was between the night and day + When the fairy king has power, + That I sank down in a sinful fray, + And 'twixt life and death was snatcht away + To the joyless Elfin bower." + + --Lady of the Lake, canto iv., stanza xv. + +Another is named _Nidra_, which I take to signify vows made by supposed +sorcerers. This demon is associated in the same line with _Zevatta_ +above described. _Patiki_ is another bad influence, probably now, "a +sword," for the charm has reference to freedom from captivity. Another +devil is called _Isarta_, which I take to be a leader of banditti or +marauders, from the Assyrian word (Furst's lexicon s.v. _asar_), +"a leader, head or commander," and a word from a root like _ta_, "to +drive," "to push forward," "to sweep away." We should call such an one +"the demon of destruction." + +In this same inscription two good angels are named, Batiel or Bethiail, +probably a variant of Bethuel, "the residence of El," and Katuel or +Kathuail, the executioner or sword of El, from _katal_, to kill; compare +this with the expression, "Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and +say, sword, go through that land, so that I put off man and beast +from it" (Ezek. xiv. 17). In addition to these two angels another +is mentioned who has eleven names, not one of which is written in +full--e.g. SS. BB. CCC. + +In a third inscription a devil is named "Abdi," which may be derived +from the root _abad_, and be regarded as the same as the New Testament +Abaddon (Rev. ix. 10)--the king of the slaughterers, bucaneers, rovers, +&c. We can fancy that Negroes who are captured and sold in droves +to foreigners, might imagine that Abdi was the devil which ruled the +African slave drivers and Christian purchasers. This demon is associated +with Levatta,--with tribulations, the machinations of the Assyrians, +misery, treachery, rebellion; Nidra, with sorrows generally; and _Shoq_, +which I take to be from a root like _shuq, or shaqaq_--i.e., "enemies +thirsting for booty, rangers, bands of robbers." Compare--"And the +spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies" +(1 Sam. xiii. 17). See also--He "delivered them into the hand of the +spoilers" (Jud. ii. 14; 2 Kin. xvii. 20). Amongst the devils must, I +think, also be classed _Asdarta_, which is clearly the same as the +goddess Astarte, and she is closely associated with "the machinations of +the Assyrians." + +The good angels of this inscription are Barakiel, Ramiel, Raamiel, +Nahabiel, and Sharmiel, over whose names we will not now linger, except +to notice that the devils have names compounded with _jah_, whilst the +good ones are derived from EL. + +In the fifth inscription, amongst the bad things are mentioned evil +spirits, both male and female, the evil eye, sorcery, and enchantments +both from men and women, along with Nidra and Levatta. The good angels +are called Babnaa, Ninikia, and Umanel, which I take to be intended +for Wu, _banahel_=El builds, or "the strong one who establishes us;" +_nachaghel_. El is powerful, or the Angel of Strength; and amanel, or +"the fostering angel." + +In some fragments the names of good angels found have been Nadkiel, +Ramiel, Damael, Hachael, and Sharmiel, which we shall probably notice +again subsequently. + +We do not lay any particular stress upon the fact of the bowls, on which +these inscriptions were found, having been dug up amongst Babylonian +ruins; nor do we care to prove either that they were of Jewish or +Chaldean origin. What we here desire to show is, that there existed in +Babylon a full belief in the existence of evil and good influences which +were invisible; that some individuals had, or were thought to possess, +supernatural powers for harm, which could be counteracted by those +who placed themselves under the protection of potencies supposed to be +holier, wiser, or stronger than the evil genii From the method in which +everything connected with witchcraft, magic, astrology, and the like, is +spoken of in the Old Testament, and from the fact that slaves are much +more likely to imitate their masters than conquerors to become pupils of +the vanquished, we conclude that it was not the Hebrews who taught the +Chaldees, but that the contrary was the case. + +In the view thus enunciated we are confirmed by the manner in which old +Jewish writers spoke of the nation that enslaved them--e.g., "Babylon, +the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency" (Isa. xiii. 19); "All of them +princes to look at after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea."... +And "she (Jerusalem) doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into +Chaldea; and... she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated +from (or by) them" (Ezek. xxiii. 15-17); "It is a mighty nation, it is +an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not" (Jerem. +v. 15)--Jeremiah knew more about the people than Isaiah (see Isa. +xxiii. 13). Habakkuk, again, speaking of the same people, says (chap, +i. 6-10)--"The Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation... terrible and +dreadful:... they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a +scorn unto them." Such being the estimation of the Babylonians by Hebrew +prophets, it is morally certain that the Jews would regard them with +respect, admire, study, and copy them. To what extent the imitation went +it is difficult to say. + +When, therefore, we find that the descendants of Abraham, a patriarch +whom a veneration for the ancient Babylonians induced the Israelite +mythologists to represent as being a Chaldee; and those who were taught +on the banks of the Euphrates, were spoken of in Rome about the time of +our era, and shortly afterwards, as being almost synonymous epithets +for sorcerers, astrologers, charmers, &c., we must conclude that the +Mesopotamian was the master, the Palestinian the pupil. That the +two were regarded as relatives we infer from Juvenal (sat. vi. +544-552)--"For a small piece of money the Jews sell whatever dreams you +may choose, but an Armenian or Commagenian soothsayer promises a tender +love;... but her (i.e., the lady who consults such folk) confidence in +Chaldeans will be the greater." + +But, ere we leave this portion of our Essay, we must notice one other +piece of evidence of considerable value which is drawn from the New +Testament. We find, for example, in Acts xxiii. 8, "The Sadducees +say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, but +the Pharisees confess both." If we inquire into the origin of these +sects--and we shall be greatly assisted in doing so by two very +elaborate articles by the erudite Dr. Ginsburg, in Kitto's _Cyclopaedia +of Biblical Knowledge_--we shall see reason to believe that the +Sadducees were a sect who considered that they were not bound to believe +any tenet as necessary unless they could find it distinctly enunciated +in the Pentateuch. They resolutely declined, therefore, to accept +as revelation such stories as had been adopted by the Hebrews from +Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and possibly from the Romans. + +We might institute a comparison between the Sadducees and those whom +we know as "reformers." The first acknowledged the authority of +Moses alone, such as they found it in "the five books;" the second +acknowledged the authority of Jesus and his apostles, such as they found +it in the New Testament: the first rejected the commentaries of Rabbis; +the second those of "the fathers." Both appealed to antiquity, and both +traced to what we may designate paganism, heathenism, or foreign sources +generally, a large portion of the current faith which they saw around +them. The Sadducees regarded the doctrine of seraphic interference, +and all the angelic mythology common in their time, as the fond fancy of +those who desired to harmonize Judaism with Gentilism. The Reformers, in +their turn, rejected all the fables of Papal anchorites, &c.; denied the +power of any martyr to influence the condition of the living after their +death; and generally opposed the saintly, as the Sadducees opposed the +angelic, hierarchy. Individuals who sympathize with Luther, Calvin, +and those of a similar way of thinking, may readily understand the +Sadducees, whereas, those of what is called the "High Church," will give +their interest to the Pharisees, who upheld the then mediaeval customs, +&c. + +It is probable that some will say, that Jesus of Nazareth, being the +son of God, a deity incarnate, and consequently familiar with everything +which goes on in the court of heaven; having adopted the angelic +mythology; having conversed familiarly with the devil; having sent, at +least, two thousand devils out of one man into a herd of swine; having +gone down to hell, wherever that may be; and having preached to the +spirits imprisoned there, whoever they may be or have been; having, +still further, had an angel to comfort him; having had a conference with +Moses and Elijah on a certain hill; having asserted that he had only to +pray to his father to obtain the assistance of twelve legions of angels; +and having also told us that every child has an angel who stands before +the face of God--seeing these things, I say, one can imagine persons +asseverating that all our current notions of angels, which are built +upon the New Testament, must be true. + +To this we rejoin, that these assertions beg the question. The +philosopher affirms that the idea of angels is incompatible with that +of an omnipresent God--that the belief of Jesus in an angelic mythology +proves him to have had an anthropomorphic notion of "the Supreme," and, +as a consequence, it follows that Jesus was nothing more than a Jew, +although very superior to the generality of his countrymen, having +possibly been taught by some Buddhist.* The bigot, on the other hand, +can only scream out the formularies which the so-called orthodox provide +for him. Johanna Southcote once made some folks believe that she was +pregnant with a Messiah, and she had most enthusiastic followers; but +neither argument nor rhetoric sufficed to beget the promised baby and, +in like manner, no amount of declamation can convert an assumption into +a fact. But of this truth most of our theologians appear to be ignorant, +and, like the heathen with their litanies, they think that they will +obtain their will by "much speaking." + + * It will be noticed by the reader, that the remarks in the + text have reference to the supernatural stories which were + interwoven into the biography of Jesus by those whom we call + Evangelists. The bibliolaters must, however, stand or fall + by the many legendary tales which pass current for truth. If + Jesus, as an ordinary Jew, believed in angels--just as our + king, James I., believed in the existence of modern witches + --we cannot use his evidence to prove the existence of angels + and devils, any more than the Christian laws against + witchcraft demonstrate that old women and men sold their + souls and bodies to Satan. If, on the other hand, we allow + that the spiritual mythology of the New Testament is due to + Pharasaic influence, all the testimony propounded in favour + of the assertion, that Jesus was, in reality, "a son of + Jehovah," crumbles away. + +When summoned, a long time ago, to give evidence in a court of justice, +the question was put to me--"Now, doctor, you have heard the symptoms +from which the deceased suffered; do you believe that they were produced +by arsenic?" Being doubtful about the propriety of the query in a court +of law so prudish as ours is, I remained silent, and in an instant the +judge, Baron Alderson, said--"I won't allow that question to be put or +answered; you want the witness to take the place of the jury, and it +shall not be done. You may ask the doctor, if you will, what are the +symptoms produced by arsenic, when taken in a poisonous dose, and then +it is the business of the jury to compare those, with such as have +already been sworn to as occurring in the man before he died." This +anecdote is frequently in my mind when I am composing an essay like the +present. If I wish to convince the jury who reads my papers of the truth +of a particular conclusion to which I have arrived, it is not enough for +me to express my own opinions. I may assert, in the matter in question, +that I am a skilled witness, and have closely investigated the subject, +but it is open to any one to doubt my industry and to distrust my +judgment; consequently, it is necessary for me to adduce evidence, as +well as to draw deductions therefrom. + +The hypothesis which I have formed, after a pretty extensive reading, +is, that the belief in the mythology of angels which is current amongst +Christians at the present time, and which is based upon a series of +pretended revelations, said to have been made exclusively to Jews of +ancient times, is, in reality, founded upon fancies of pagan priests or +poets; and, as a corollary, I infer, either that our celestial mythology +must be given up to oblivion, as being heathenish, or that we must +abandon those claims to an exclusive inspiration which have been made +for, and accorded by many to, the Bible. I have already described the +ideas associated with angels in some ancient peoples, and I now propose +to examine those of other nations with whom the Jews and Christians, +directly or indirectly, came in contact. + +The reader of ancient Roman history cannot doubt that the city on the +Tiber was indebted to the Etruscans for all, or nearly all, of its early +knowledge. It is probable that the original gods and goddesses of Rome +were those of their northern neighbours, and everything which the Romans +knew of augury was due to the priests of Etruria; consequently it is not +unprofitable to inquire, as far as we can, whether these had any idea +of beings such as we call angels. As we have not many available written +remains of the remarkable people to whom we refer, we are obliged to be +satisfied with pictorial and other relics which have survived until our +days. Some of the scenes depicted on urns, vases, and walls, in tombs +and elsewhere, are sufficiently explanatory of the subjects which +the artist has desired to pourtray; others, on the contrary, can be +interpreted in a variety of ways. Paying no attention to the latter, +we may safely affirm, that the Etruscans had ideas upon the subject of +angels very similar to our own. The form which their artists gave to +them is precisely that which is current at the present day, except +that, unlike the Christian, the Etruscan angels were of different sexes. +Sometimes both males and females were draped from the neck to the +feet, in other drawings they were partially or wholly nude. In the vast +majority of cases each one possessed two wings that were attached to the +back, behind the arms, precisely as they are in modern pictures; but in +one very remarkable instance (plate 7, _Description de quelques Vases +Etrusques_, par H. D. de Luynes--folio, Paris, 1840) the beings to +whom we refer had each three pairs of pinions, the one attached to the +shoulder blades, a second to the loins, and a third to the calves of the +legs. These creatures correspond to our demons or imps of Satan, or the +devils of the New Testament which were sent into a herd of swine. + +Some of the winged Etruscan demons must be regarded as "angels +of death," for they are represented as hovering in the air over +individuals, such as Cassandra and Polynices, who are about to be +sacrificed. One angel, who, as usual, Diaitized bv is spoken of by the +Christian describer thereof as a goddess, is designated "Cunina." Her +business was to look after and take charge of infants in their cradle. +A being such as this, by whatever name we may designate her, cannot fail +to remind us of the expression in the New Testament--"Take heed that ye +despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in heaven +their angels do always behold the face of my father which is in heaven" +(Matt, xviii. 10). In another Etruscan painting we find two angelic +beings, fully draped, carrying a nude corpse apparently to the future +or invisible state. These naturally remind us of the passage in Rev. +xx. 1--"I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of +the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand." In some Etruscan +paintings we have scenes which are supposed to indicate the preparation +of a bride for the wedding ceremony. In these there are diminutive +angels introduced, which are sometimes hovering in the air and sometimes +seated on the edge of the bath; these are by the learned supposed to +represent Cupid, Eros, Hymen, or Love, and they indicate the devout +feeling, that an angel watches over those who contract marriage in an +orthodox manner.* + + * Whether the Romans obtained all their inferior deities + from the Etruscans, or whether the priests of the Eternal + City in ancient times improved upon the mythology which came + to them from their predecessors, just as the priests of + modern Rome have expanded, without improving, the + Christianised paganism which came to them, is a matter + difficult to decide. But it is certain that the old Romans + multiplied their "gods," as the modern ones have multiplied + their "saints." Amongst the former were many curious + deities, who presided at the wedding of young people, some at + the public ceremony, and others at the private rites. + "PRema" was the angel of quietness, whose business it was to + see "ne subacta virgo se ultra modum commovens semen a vulva + ejiceret." "Subigus" was another angel or demigod, whose + duty it was to see that the consummation should take place + in an appropriate manner--lovingly, pleasantly, and + peacefully. There was another--Pertunda--of whom Augustine + (Civ. Dei, vol. 9) remarks--"Si adest dea Prema ut subacta se + non commoveat quum prematur, dea Pertunda quid ea facit?" In + modern times the Papal saints, Cosmo, Damian, Foutin, and + sundry others, have had the special duty assigned to them to + make the husband fit for his marital duties. + +That the absence of such a spirit was looked upon as unlucky we gather +from an expression in Propertius (b. v. el. 3) in which a wife, whose +husband has been obliged to leave her, and go to a distant war, when +bewailing her destiny, amongst other references says--"I wedded without +a god to accompany me." This calls to memory the statement in Hebrews +i. 14, wherein, after speaking of angels, the writer asks--"Are they not +all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be +heirs of salvation?"--a sentence which implies the idea that those who +are not heirs of salvation have not angels which minister for them. The +doctrine was certainly not exclusively Christian. Of this any one may +assure himself by referring to Eccles. v. 6--"Neither say thou before +the angel that it was an error; wherefore... should God destroy the +works of thine hands?" + +Again, we find an angel seated between two young folk of opposite sexes, +and archaeologists tell us that the winged creature thus figured is +a nuptial god--one whose business is to induce appropriate couples to +meet, to love, and to marry. Such a celestial match-maker was the Jewish +Raphael, who, though "one of the seven holy angels, which present the +prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the +Holy One" (Tobit xii. 15)--yet condescended to conduct Tobias a long way +to meet Sara, and instructed him how he could marry her with safety, and +defeat a devil. + +Amongst other individuals, in the Etruscan mythological paintings who +are winged, are the following, which are named thus by the authors who +describe the vases, &c., whether rightly or wrongly it is not necessary +for me to prove:--Janus; Furina, the goddess of thieves; Mercury, the +messenger of Jupiter and the patron of robbers; Vacuna, or Desideria, +or Venus, the goddess of indolence, desire, or love; Hymen, the angel +or god of marriage; Cupid, the god of love; Victory, Bacchus, Silenus, +Dryads, Calliope, Tempest, Fame, Proserpine; Iibitina, the goddess of +funerals; Venus, infera, Nemesis, or fate; Death, life, Charybdis, The +Furies, Geryon, Justice, Peace, Iris, and Diana. On such a subject the +reader may consult with advantage Augustine (_de Civitate Dei_, b. vl. +c. 9); Arnobius (_Adversus Gentes_, b. iv. c. 7); and Tertullian (_Ad +Nationes_, b. ii. c. 11). + +We may now refer to a remarkable series of drawings, representing the +funeral of Patroclus, described by Homer, which were discovered in the +Etruscan sepulchre of the Tarquinii near what once was Vulci and is now +"Ponte della Badia," in the year 1857, and which is described in _Noel +des Vergers L'Etrurie et les Etrusques_, and in _Corpus Inscriptionum +Italicarum_ (Turin 1867), the latter of which I use as my authority. In +one of the scenes we find depicted the sacrifice of the Trojan youths +at the grave of Patroclus. The artist has not left to the fancy of the +observer the identification of his figures, but has written in Etruscan +letters the modified names of the actors. Beginning from the right hand, +we find Ajax Oileus, and next to him a naked Trojan youth, whose hands +are bound behind his back, and who is guarded by Telamonian Ajax. Behind +and besides him is Charon, and in front of the latter is another Trojan +youth, nude, seated on the ground, and receiving his death-wound from +Achilles. Behind the latter stands a winged, draped, tall female figure, +whom at one time I took to be the glorified soul of Patroclus; but, +having seen a similar figure on other Etruscan designs depicting human +sacrifice or death, and finding over the head of this one the word +_fanth, vanth, or fano_--according to the value which we assign to the +digamma or F and O--which is, I think, equivalent to the Latin _Fatum_, +fate, &c., we must regard the figure as resembling Azrael--"the angel +of death." Besides and behind her stands a draped man unarmed, having a +fixed countenance of settled melancholy, and regarding without a shade +of exultation the death of the young Trojan whom Achilles slaughters. +Over his head are the words _hinthial patrucles_, which is believed +to signify "the shade of Patroclus." The last figure in the group is +Agamemnon. + +This and the other sculptures in the tomb are extremely interesting +to the archaeologists, firstly, because they bear evidence of a very +superior style of art; secondly, because they testify to the antiquity +of Homer's _Iliad_, and its popularity in other nations than the Greek. +They show, moreover, that the wealthy men amongst the Etrurians were not +ignorant of the Grecian language, or rather literature, although they +had difficulty in adapting the Hellenic words to their own alphabet; +lastly, they ought to be especially valuable to us inasmuch as +they demonstrate the existence of a belief in ancient Italy of the +resurrection of the body, and of the existence of angels precisely the +same in shape as those which pious Christians delight to see in their +churches, and in their manuals of devotion. It is worthy of notice +that upon some Etruscan vases in the museum at Munich there are angelic +warriors covered with armour--a winged female carrying a caduceus, and +winged horses--like Pegasus, and probably like those seen by Zechariah, +the Hebrew vaticinator. + +We consider it best to omit making any remarks respecting the ideas +entertained about angels by the Phoenicians, for we have scarcely any +information about their mythology beyond the names of certain gods and +goddesses. It will be more profitable to pass on to the Greeks, and +inquire into the general system of their theological belief. This is, +we think, a matter of some importance, for this people, as victors and +masters, came into contact with the Jews in the time of Joel, about b.c. +800; and if any captive Hebrews came back from Grecia (see Joel iii. 6), +we believe that they would naturally bring back with them much of the +Hellenic lore of their conquerors. The reader must not be carried away +here with the once popular notion that everything which was found +in heathendom, which resembled something biblical or Jewish, came of +necessity from scriptural or Israelitish sources. The reverse is +much more likely, for the Hebrews in old times are described by their +historians and preachers as hankering after novelty--"going whoring +after other gods," as the Bible has it. They, on the other hand, were +encouraged to keep themselves aloof from others, and were never a +missionary nation; nor, had they been so, were they sufficiently +honourable or wealthy, as a race, ever to command respect. They were, +indeed, generally despised by the people round about them, who would +no more think of adopting Jewish fables than we should care to learn +theology and cosmogony from African negroes. + +If we endeavour to reduce Grecian mythology to its simplest expression, +we find that it consisted of a belief in a creator--grand beyond +conception, and one whom the mind could not conceive, nor pencil nor +the chisel depict. Under him there was thought to be a host of minor +deities, who agreed, more or less, amongst themselves, each having +a particular department of creation to preside over, or a definite +function to perform. Jupiter, for example, had the air and the heavens +generally under his management; Neptune superintended the sea; Rhea, or +Gaia, or Gee, was the goddess of the surface of the earth; and Pluto had +the management of the interior of the globe and of those who were buried +therein. If corpses were unburied, they did not come under his immediate +cognizance. Then, as it was quite possible that one deity might be +counteracting another, as, indeed, they are represented to have done +during the Trojan war, another god was necessary to be a medium of +communication between the others, and Mercury became the messenger, or +go-between. + +Below the major gods was an infinity of smaller ones, who presided +over physical and moral matters. There were, for example, wood and +tree nymphs; Dryads and hamadryads--gods of rivers, such as Simois +and Scamander. Pan presided over husbandmen; Hermes, over thieves, &c. +Others, like Eros, fulfilled the duty of bringing the sexes together. +Hymen secured them in marriage, and Venus had the duty of insuring +connubial happiness, whilst Lucina's business was to bring the offspring +of the marriage into the world--with as little pain or danger as +possible. Then, again, Fortune brought good luck. The "furies" brought +evil, and the "fates" ruled the destiny of mortals. + +Against some of these gods others rebelled. For example, there were the +Titans, the sons of Heaven and Earth (Caelus et Terra), who were all of +gigantic stature, and may be said to be identical with the giants spoken +of in Gen. vi. 2-4, as being the offspring of the sons of God and the +daughters of men. These Titans were much disliked by their father, and +confined in the bowels of the earth, or, as we should say, in Hell; but +their mother relieved them, and they in turn revenged themselves upon +their progenitor. When Jupiter succeeded to Cronos or Saturn, the +giants, the sons of Tartarus and Terra, or Hell and Earth, united with +their half-brothers, the Titans, and attacked Olympus, and its gods, in +dismay, assumed disguises and fled into Egypt--a rare spot, whence also +came as history tells us, the founder of Christianity and the doctrine +of the Trinity. To regain his position, Jupiter found a man--a son of +his own--whom he had begotten by lying three nights in the heart of +the earth, or, as the fable has it, in the arms of Alcmena--Hercules by +name, to attack the allied monsters, and thus with the aid of a mortal +the gods became victorious. Just as in more modern days the divine +mission and position of Jesus of Nazareth and Mahomet of Mecca, have +been determined by the arms of human warriors. The power of men in +heaven is wonderful, considering how great is their weakness upon earth! +It is probable, that to the Greeks, Milton owed his ideas of _Paradise +Lost_. + +According to the ordinary ideas of angels, the gods, demigods, +goddesses, genii, and the like, were essentially the same amongst the +Hebrews as the archangels and inferior hierarchy are in modern christian +mythology. We shall the more readily see this if we inquire into the +ideas of the Greeks respecting _demons_. "The latter were regarded as +spirits which presided over the actions of mankind, and watched over +their secret intentions." Many Greek theologians thought that each +man had two, the one good, the other bad. These sprites could change +themselves into any form, and at death the individual was delivered up +to judgment by these companions, who testified to his actions during +life. Socrates often spoke of his own peculiar "spirit." Not only were +these creatures supposed to influence men, but they were also believed +to guard places, and a genius loci was the same as the God of Ekron, or +any other locality. + +It is almost impossible for a thoughtful man not to compare with the +Greek ideas those held by moderns. We hear in familiar discourse, and +read in popular books, about a good angel and a bad one. God is said to +use both (see Ps. lxxviii. 49, and 1 Kings xxii. 21, 22.) Many, too, of +the readers of Sterne will remember the remarks which he makes about a +recording angel who was obliged to register an oath, but who contrived +to blot out the entry with a tear (com. Mal. iii. 16.) As we have already +adverted to the belief of Jesus that every child had an angel, who +is always in the presence of. God, we need not remark again upon the +matter. + +But though the Grecian gods and demigods were the counterparts of the +archangels and lesser powers of the Jews and Christians, they were not +pictorially depicted, as they were in other places, like winged men or +other creatures. + +Arnobius, for example, in _Advenus genies_, when writing about the +divinities of the heathen, remarks, that they are so like ordinary men +and women, that the artist has to resort to some contrivance to show +that any offspring of his brush, or of his chisel, is a god or goddess. +A painter, he observes, will select the finest young women he can +discover--or the handsomest prostitute in his country, and from one +maiden, or from the collective charms of many, will paint a lovely woman +and style her Venus; yet she is only a courtezan after all. His remark is +a certainly true one. Jupiter is never represented otherwise than as a +man, nor does Minerva ever figure except as a woman. None of the greater +gods of Hellas are winged like the tutelar gods of the Assyrians and +Persians were. Even Hermes, though he does bear pinions, does not carry +them in the usual form. Instead of having powerful wings behind his +arms, like the Gabriel or Michael of Christian mythology, he has little +nippers attached to each side of a cap, of a pair of socks, and of a +curiously-shaped wand--all of which he can put off when he pleases, +or don when he is sent with a message. Jupiter's thunders bear similar +wings. But such minor deities, or devils, as Eros or love; Hymen or +marriage; Fame, or victory; Aurora, or day-break; the winds, the Genii, +the Gorgons, the Furies, the Harpies, Iris, Isis, Hebe, Psyche, and even +Pegasus--a wondrous horse, are winged with pinions which resemble those +of the eagle. + +If we now pause for a moment to compare one thing with another, we +readily see that Hymen may fairly be described as the angel of the +covenant of marriage, and that Mercury is identical with Raphael. The +"genius loci," the "dryad" or "hamadryad," is the counterpart of the +cherubim guarding the ark and the mercyseat of the Jewish temple. Apollo +is the angel in the sun (Rev. xix. 17.) Neptune is "the angel of the +waters" (Rev. xvi. 5.) Nay, we may--indeed we must go further, and affirm +that either the angel Gabriel, or "the power of the Highest," which, +we are told in Luke i. 26, 35, overshadowed Mary, the espoused wife +of Joseph, is a perfect counterpart of the Hellenic Jupiter who +overshadowed Alcmena. + +Both produced a being equally celebrated--for we may fairly assert that +Hercules was believed in by as many individuals as have faith in Jesus. +For ourselves, we do not credit the myth of the Hellenists; of the very +existence of a Hercules we are profoundly incredulous. Yet we do not +doubt for a moment that Jesus of Nazareth lived as a man upon this +earth, and founded, with the subsequent assistance of Paul, the religion +which is called Christian. But of the supernatural conception of Mary +and of her impregnation by a deity we are intensely sceptical. + +Of the theology of the Romans in the times prior to, and somewhat +subsequent to, our era, we need say little. It resembled both the +Etruscan and the Greek at the first, and subsequently it was modified by +the Egyptian and by the Persian. But it was in Rome, whilst pagan, that +the present pictorial type of angels was perfected (see Plates ix. to +xiii, Lajard's _Culte de Venus_), in which allegorical figures, from old +Roman bas-reliefs, precisely like modern angels, are represented killing +the Mithraic bull. I may also add, in passing, that the crozier borne by +Romanist bishops is a reproduction of the Etruscan _lituus_, the augurs' +or diviners' staff of office. + +The Roman nation, like the Papist and Peruvian religions, was +omnivorous, and not only venerated the old gods of the soil, but adopted +new divinities eagerly. Whoever chose to import a new deity, and a novel +style of worship was hailed, patronized and enriched, much in the same +way as at London during recent times, Mesmerists, "spirit rappers," +"cord-conjurors," clairvoyants, male and female, spiritualists like +Home, very High Churchmen, and many other classes of a similar stamp +have been encouraged. As in Athens, we are told that "the Athenians and +strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else but either +to tell or to hear some new thing" (Acts xvii), no matter whether the +novelty was religious or otherwise, so it has been elsewhere. London +really, and Rome metaphorically are constantly adopting new ideas, some +highly commendable and philosophical, others quite the reverse. Amongst +the latter, we may mention that which professes that a certain man +can, like Jesus is said to have done, heal by a touch. This assertion, +however, is only sparsely credited on the Thames. Far more general is +the belief which professes, that an Ecumenical Council can by a vote +make one man and his official successors "infallible." + +We cannot pass by this subject without remarking that instability in +religion is evidence of infidelity; and the adoption of new tenets is a +proof of the low estimation in which old ones have been held. Even the +new, or Christian dispensation, as it is called, is founded upon the +insufficiency of the old or Jewish covenant, which, by those who adopt +the one, is a confession that they believe the other was imperfect and +therefore not of God. Consequently, when we find a "church," like the +Roman, habitually patching its old clothes, we conclude that its leaders +are dissatisfied with them and desire better. A lover who finds his +mistress perfect neither seeks nor wishes to change her for another; nor +endeavours to induce her to modify her attire until he is dissatisfied +therewith. When he insists upon an alteration it is because his ardent +love has faded. The philosopher may see clearly why certain prelates +desire to have some infallible man to appeal to--for it is easier +to find out the opinion of one individual than to harmonize the +contradictory hypotheses of fifty dogmatical or authoritative writers. +Yet the same man will not fail to see that such a proceeding, whilst it +strengthens the hold of the church upon the weak-minded, cuts it adrift +from the strong. The policy is not altogether bad, for it seeks to bind +closer those who, whilst wearing the chains of captivity, regard them +as ornaments. But all those who adopt such tactics ought, boldly and +unequivocally, to withdraw from the rank of truth-seekers, and of envoys +of that God who is not "the author of confusion but of peace." + +We may now proceed to the consideration of the angelic mythology of the +Old and New Testaments. In our inquiry we shall endeavour to arrive +at the ideas contained in the words which are used, and not content +ourselves with simple quotation. There is strong reason to believe that +Christians in general rarely examine into the real signification of +words which they are taught to use, or which, from some fancy or other, +they commit to memory. They imagine--if they think on the subject at +all--that to repeat a text or a creed is to perform an act of faith, +which, in itself, is praiseworthy and a good work. Such do not, in any +appreciable degree, differ from the Thibetans, described by the Abbe +Hue, who perform their devotions by turning round upon their axles +certain cylinders, upon which some prayers are engraved. Not only these +Asiatics, but Europeans of large mental calibre are often contented with +vague ideas; and when they are challenged to support "the faith which +is in them," show that they have never yet examined it. If, for example, +they are asked how they can believe in the truth of such passages, +"I have seen God (Kohim) face to face" (Gen. xxxii. 30); "The Lord +(Jehovah) spake unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh unto his +friend" (Exod. xxxiii. 11); "Moses whom the Lord knew face to face" +(Deut. xxxiv. 10), and the opposite one, "Thou canst not see my face, +for there shall no man see me and live" (Exod. xxxiii. 20)--the sole +reply rendered is that the first passages are figurative, passing by +entirely the comparison in the second, which asserts that God talked +with Moses as one friend with another. + +As a farther illustration of my meaning, I may point to the glibness +with which Christians talk, sing, and listen to discourses about blood. +If people really gave heed to what they chant, and to the words of their +ministers, they would really be puzzled to find a distinction between +the god whom they worship and that idol deity of Mexico, which called +constantly for the hearts and the blood of his worshippers. "Without +shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. ix. 22) is a dogma that puts +the Europeans' God on the same level as the deities worshipped in pagan +Africa, New Zealand, and by the Anthropophagi generally. + +In like manner, if ordinary people are asked to reconcile such passages +as the following--"Who maketh his angels spirits;" "A spirit hath not +flesh and bones as ye see me have" (Luke xxiv. 39)--with a host of +others, in which angels are said to have appeared, talked, and acted +like men, they allege that "much of the phraseology of the Bible is +metaphorical." But if it be granted that the language is metaphorical, +must we not equally believe that the facts referred to are mythical; and +if so, how much of the so-called inspired book can we trust? If metaphor +and figure-imagery are cities of refuge for theologians, those who fly +to them must remember, that there they must remain and live therein all +their days; they cannot be citizens of the world, and yet never leave +their asylum: if, for them, facts are fictions, by parity of reason +fictions are facts. + +If, when an individual, said to be a prophet, and, as such, the +mouthpiece of the Holy Ghost or of Jehovah, tells us that he saw and +talked with an angel, who imparted to him such and such information, +we are bound either to believe the whole statement or to reject it as +valueless, _quoad_ revelation. If the man did see an angel, and that +angel spoke, it must have been material; and if material, it could not +be a spirit, and if not a spirit, it was not an angel.* If to this it be +answered that individuals do see what they deem to be spirits--just +as many a drunken man avers that he sees "blue devils," we grant it at +once. We go still farther, and state that we know individuals in full +possession, apparently, of all their senses, who see, occasionally, men, +women, horses, dogs, and other things, which have no more existence +than the figures which appear to us in dreams. Such men not only see +imaginary beings, but they hear conversations or speeches which have no +reality in them. But we cannot for a moment allow that such delusions of +the senses are sterling, and such utterances, messages from the Almighty +delivered by angels. To be logical, therefore, the theologian must +either accept the stories told in the Bible about angelic beings as +literally true, to the exclusion of all metaphor, or believe that +every thing tainted by such celestial mythology is entirely of human +invention. + + * The authority for this is Ps. civ. 4; Heb. L 7, 14,--"Who + maketh his angels spirits;" "Are they not all ministering + spirits?" + +As an illustration, let us consider two episodes in the history of +Elisha. We find in 2 Kings ii. 11, that a chariot of fire and horses of +fire, appeared to this prophet, and parted him from Elijah, with whom +he was walking, and carried the latter away into heaven; and we see in +2 Kings vi. 17, that Elisha's servant could really see a multitude +of chariots and horses of fire round about his master. We must also +remember that "the chariots of the Lord are thousands of angels" +(Ps. lxviii. 17; see also Ps. xxxiv. 7.) Now these were, or were not, +realities--if the chariots and horsemen existed, then we infer that some +sort of stables and ostlers exist in heaven; if none such exist, then +the chariots and horses could neither have been seen, nor have separated +the two prophets. + +It may be urged that supernatural beings do exist for those who can +see them, and for no other; just as the angel was seen by Balaam's ass +thrice (see Numbers xxii. 22-33) before he was recognized by her master. +But this observation is worthless, for it amounts to nothing more than +this--viz., that the persons seen in dreams exist for the dreamers and +for no one else; but it in no way proves the reality of the asserted +apparition. + +It would be as useless to discuss, at this point, the actuality of what +are called "spectres," as of other things named fairies, pixies, gnomes, +or sprites. Of the existence of such there is abundance of evidence; and +for hundreds of years there was not a human being who did not believe in +them. But there was even stronger proof that the world stood still, and +the sun went round it, and during untold centuries all who thought on +the matter believed the statement. Yet in these days all the testimony +is regarded as worthless in the presence of the stern facts of science; +and ghosts are only believed in by such as write treatises upon squaring +the circle, perpetual motion, and the plane figure of the earth. We +shall take up the subject at length in our next chapter. + +If we were to follow the bent of our inclination, we should now +endeavour to prove that the Jews had no idea of an angelic mythology +prior to the Babylonian captivity, and that they had no distinct +literature prior to the Grecian and Edomite captivity referred to in +Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and Micah, except possibly such records and written +laws as may be styled "annals" or "year-books;" and, as a consequence, +that all parts of the Old Testament in which angelic beings figure are +comparatively modern, having been fabricated after the long sojourn of +the Jews in Babylon. But to carry out this intention would require a +treatise rather than an essay, and I must content myself with saying +that I believe it to be affirmed by all Hebrew scholars, that up to the +time of Nebuchadnezzar--or Hezekiah--the sole unseen power recognized +by the Jews was Jehovah alone. They did not believe either in angel or +devil What their ideas were we may shortly describe*:-- + + * Long after the remark in the text was written, and long + before it was in type, Dr. Kalisch, in his second part of a + commentary on Leviticus, published his views upon the point + referred to. When I can refer my readers to so masterly a + composition as his essay upon Angels in the Jewish theology, + it is seedless for me to say much on the subject. I may also + refer those who are interested in the matter to a work + entitled _The Devil: his Origin, Greatness, and Decadence_ + (Williams & Norgate, London, 1871--small 8vo., pp. 72). My + essay supplements these, and in no way clash therewith. + +1. Angels were spirits, being also ministers (Heb. L 7.) They were a +flaming fire (Ps. civ. 4); compare Jud. xiii. 20, and Acts vii. 35--that +is, spirits are made of a combustible material which is, however, +incombustible! + +2. They could assume the form of men, and were identical with God (see +Gen. xviii. 19; Tobit, and Luke i.): that is to say, they were masters, +yet servants--the sender and the sent at the same time! + +3. Their faces were terrible (Jud. xiii. 6); but they also shone (Acts +vi. 15) and yet they were so good-looking and handsome that the Sodomites +fell in love with them as Jupiter did with Ganymede (Gen. xix). + +4 One was the superintendent of destruction, and was visible on one +occasion to David (2 Sam. xxiv. 16, 17), to Oman, his sons, and to the +elders of Israel (1 Chron. xxi. 16-20.) His weapon was a sword (_ibid._) +He certainly must have had flesh and bones. It would be an interesting +matter to inquire whether the sword was as spiritual as the angel was. + +5. One angel was outwitted by a donkey (see Numb. xxii. 22-33.) Yet +this angel was God (comp. Numb. xxii. 35, and xxiv. 4, 15,16). It is +marvellous to me how any one can read this history of Balaam and his +ass, and notice how the animal turned God from His purpose (see chap, +xxii. 33), and yet believe the story to be of _divine_ origin! + +6. They are made of light (Luke ii. 9), yet can talk the vernacular, and +can be counterfeited by Satan (2 Cor. xi. 14); but how he manages it, and +whether he then ceases to be a roaring lion or a fallen angel "reserved +in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" +(Jude 6), is a matter for surmise. + +7. One of them fought with the Devil, and kept his temper (Jude 9.) Of +the language used in the disputation we do not know; nor can we tell how +the two recognized each other. + +8. Some of them are guilty of folly (Job. iv. 18), and some sinned--how, +one does not know--and were cast down to hell, and delivered into chains +of darkness. It is fitting that beings who have no flesh and bones +should be bound by fetters that have no reality (2 Peter ii. 4). + +9. Some were discontented with their home and were punished (Jude 6); +but where their original habitation was, or why it was regarded as so +miserable that another place was desired, is a mystery. + +10. They have food provided for them (Ps. lxxviii. 25), and they eat like +men (Gen. xviii. 8; and xix. 3), consequently angels must have flesh, +blood, and a stomach to digest victuals. Sometimes instead of eating +food they order it to be burned, and the smoke from the viands serves as +a vehicle to heaven (Jud. xiii. 19, 20). + +11. Their number is twenty thousand (Ps. lxviii. 17). + +12. They are chariots (_ibid_), yet they walk and get their feet dusty +(Gen. xviii. and xix. 2; compare Jud. ii. 1; vi. 12); the chariots are of +fire, and so are the horses (2 Kings vi. 17); but they are also clouds +(Ps. civ. 3). + +13. They are taught military discipline and arranged in "legions" (Matt +xxvi. 53). + +14. They are sexless (Mark xii. 25), yet were men when they appeared to +Abraham, Sarah, and the Sodomites (Gen. xviii, xix.). + +15. They are liable to do wrong, and will be judged by men, some time or +other (1 Oor. vi. 2, 3). As in this passage the angels are put below the +saints, and in Gen. xviii. and xix., it is clear that Elohim and Jehovah +were angels, it follows that holy men, when raised, will be superior to +the power that gave them heaven! + +16. Though sexless, the angels, or sons of God, may be captivated by the +beauty of woman, and engender giants with them in a very human fashion +(Gen. vi). + +17. They are very sensitive respecting the hair of women, and require +it to be covered in worship--at other times they probably are not so +particular. Although they minister upon those who are heirs of salvation +(Heb. i. 14), they might be tempted from their business, if they were to +see a pretty snood in golden tresses hid (1 Cor. xi. 10). + +18. Every child has an angel, or rather angels, to look after it (Matt, +xviii. 10), which leads to the belief that the number of angels has +increased since the sixty-eighth Psalm was written, when there were only +20,000, and perhaps a few more.* + + * The words of the christian father, Tertullian, upon this + subject are so very apposite to our subject of angels, that + I am tempted to quote them--Clark's edition, vol. i. p. 487- + 8. + + Speaking to the heathens, he says--"And you are not content + to assert the divinity of such as were once known to you, + whom you heard and handled, and whose portraits have been + painted, and actions recounted, and memory retained amongst + you; but men insist upon consecrating with a heavenly life, + i.e.t they insist on deifying, I know not what incorporeal + inanimate shadows and the names of things, dividing man's + entire existence amongst separate powers, even from his + conception in the womb, so that there is a god (read + _angel_) Consevius, to preside over concubital generation, + and Fluviona to preserve the infant in the womb; after these + come Vitumnus and Sentinus through whom the babe begins to + have life and its earliest sensation; then Diespiter, by + whose office the child accomplishes its birth. But when + women begin their parturition Candelifera also comes in aid, + since child-bearing requires the light of the candle; and + other goddesses there are (such as Lucina, Partula, Nona, + Decima, and Alemona) who get their names from the parts they + bear in the stages of travail There were two Carmentas + likewise, according to the general view. To one of them, + called Postverta, belonged the function of assisting the + birth of the malpresented child; whilst the other, Prosa or + Prorso, executed the like office for the rightly born. The + god Farinus was so called from his inspiring the first + utterance, whilst others believed in Locutius from his gift + of speech. Cunina is present as the protector of the child's + deep slumber, and supplies to it refreshing rest. To lift + them when fallen there is Levana, and along with her Rumina + (from the old word _ruma_, a teat). It is a wonderful + oversight that no gods were appointed for clearing up the + filth of children. Then to preside over their first pap and + earliest drink you have Potina and Edula; to teach the child + to stand erect is the work of Statina (or Statilinus), + whilst Adeona helps him to come to dear mamma-, and Abeona + to toddle back again. Then there is Domiduca, to bring home + the bride, and the goddess Mens, to influence the mind to + either good or evil. They have likewise Volumnus and Voleta, + to control the will; Paventina, the goddess of fear; + Venilia, of hope; Volnpia, of pleasure; Praastitia, of + beauty. Then, again, they give his name to Peragenor, from + his teaching men to go through their work; to Consus, from + his suggesting to them counsel. Juventa is their guide on + assuming the manly gown, and 'bearded Fortune,' when they + come to full manhood. If I must touch on their nuptial + duties, there is Afferenda, whose appointed function is to + see to the offering of the dower. But fie on you--you have + your Mutunus, and Tutunus, and Pertunda, and Subigus, and + the goddess Prema, and likewise Perfica. O spare yourselves, + ye impudent gods." + +19. Some angels are evil, but are much the same as the good (Ps. lxxviii +49), in their power of doing mischief. + +20. Every heir of salvation has an angel to minister to him in some way +or other (Heb. i. 14); so have Roman babies--see note. + +21. The angels are only a trifle superior to men (Ps. viii. 5), and in +the invisible world will be inferior to them if the latter be saints (1 +Cor. vi. 3; Heb. ii. 5). + +22. They can speak all sorts of languages (1 Cor. xiii. 1); that which +Michael and the devil used (Jude 9) has not been revealed to us. + +23. They use a trumpet, probably as immaterial as themselves, and make a +great noise thereby (Matt xxiv. 31); and horses (Zech. i. and Rev. vi). + +24. They have wings and can fly (Rev. viii. 13; xiv. 6), although they +are chariots. + +25. When on earth they are clothed with a long white garment, have a +face like lightning, and one can appear to be two, or not appear at all +to some, though very distinctly seen by others (see Matt xxviii. 2, 3; +Mark xvi. 5; Luke xxiv. 4; John xx. 12). + +Of all the angels mentioned in the Apocalypse we need not write. One +of the best accounts I have met with of the angelic mythology of +the Hebrews is in Coheleth, or The Book of Ecclesiastes, by Rev. Dr. +Ginsburg (Longman, London, 1861). It is written in explanation of Ch. v. +5, wherein is the expression, "Do not say before the angel that it was +error" (page 340), and the following remarks are condensed therefrom:-- +"The angels occupy different rank and offices--seven of them as the +highest functionaries; princes or archangels surround the throne of God +and form the cabinet--(1) Michael, the prime minister, the guardian +of the Jewish nation, the opponent of Satan (Zech. iii. 1, 2), of the +prince of Persia (Dan. x. 13, 20), the conservator of the corpse of +Moses (Jude 9), and the dragon (Rev. xii); (2) Raphael, who presides +over the sanitary affairs (Tobit iii. 17, xii. 15)--'When God would cure +any sick person,' says St. Jerome, 'he sends the archangel Raphael, one +of the seven spirits before his throne, to accomplish the cure.' There +can be little doubt that this was the angel who went down at certain +seasons to move the waters of the pool to cure the impotent people (John +v. 4); (3) Gabriel, the messenger to announce or to effect deliverance, +also a presence angel (Luke i. 11-20, 26-35); (4) Uriel, mentioned +in Esdras (2 b., ch. iv., w. 1 and 20). In Targums these four are +represented as surrounding the throne of the divine majesty, but all do +not agree; Jonathan's arrangement is--Michael at the right, Uriel at the +left, Gabriel before, and Raphael behind.* The fifth, sixth, and seventh +archangels are Phaniel, Raguel, and Sarakiel." + + * An observation such as this distinctly shows how + completely the ideas of angels are associated with gross + anthropomorphism. + +"Next to the cabinet comes the privy council, composed of four and +twenty crowned elders (1 Kings xxii. 19; Rev. iv. 4; vii. 13; viii. 3), who +surround the throne, before whom Christ will confess those who +confessed him. Then comes the council, consisting of the seventy angel +princes--the provincial governors presiding over the affairs of the +seventy nations into which the human family is divided." Hence the +Targumic paraphrase on Gen. xi. 7, 8--"_The Lord said to the seventy +presence angels, Come now and let us go down, and there let us confound +their language, so that one may not understand the language of the +other. And the Lord manifested himself against that city, and with him +were the seventy angels according to the seventy nations_." Hence the +Septuagint translation of Deut xxxii. 8--"When the Most High divided +the nations... he set the boundaries... according to the number of the +angels." The doctor also notices the four angels mentioned in Zech. vi, +who seem to have the management of four great monarchies, but he +does not advert to the angels of the seven churches spoken of in the +Apocalypse. He then proceeds--"Then comes the innumerable company of +presence angels, since every individual has a guardian angel as well +as every nation"... St Jerome, remarking upon Matt, xviii. 10, +says,--"_Great is the dignity of these little ones, for every one of +them has from his very birth an angel dedicated to guard him_."* When +St. Peter was chained in his prison, his angel released him (Acts xiii. +7,11), and the damsel who opened a house door for him was told that he +who was knocking was Peter's angel. + + * We have never been able to see the force of this remark, + unless the idea of children having guardian angels was + associated with the belief that these beings left them when + they grew up. If the adults standing round Jesus had each an + individual warden, there would be nothing peculiar in the + warning given in the verse referred to. It is, however, just + possible that the notion existed that it was to adults only + that tutelary spirits were assigned, and that the prophet of + Nazareth declared that each infant had a protecting genius + as well as every man. + +Then there are angels who preside over all the phenomena of nature. +One presides over the sun (Eev. xix. 17); angels guard the storm and +lightning (Ps. civ. 4); four angels have charge over the four winds +(Rev. vii. 1, 2); an angel presides over the waters (Rev. xvi. 5); and +another over the temple altar (Rev. xiv. 18). + +We need not pursue this subject further; enough has been said to show +that the Hebrew ideas of angels differ in no essential respect from +those of other nations, who, if not older than the Jews, were certainly +never influenced by the Hebrews. From the evidence before us, we are +constrained to believe that the knowledge which we assume to possess of +the celestial court has descended to us from heathen or pagan sources, +and that the pictorial designs which pass current for likenesses of +angels or archangels have descended from Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, +Grecians, Etruscans, and Romans, and cannot pretend to anything +approaching to a revelation from God. + +We have already remarked that the Hebrew notions of the heavenly +hierarchy are evidence of a gross anthropomorphism; they indicate a +belief in the existence of a monarch having a face and back, a right +hand and a left, ears and a mouth, and a wherewithal for sitting upon a +throne--the part which was shown, as we are told, to Moses; they tell of +a theology that recognizes places in the universe where God is not, and +of which He has no cognizance save through messengers. If this be so, +what shall we say of the hagiology which tells us that there was on one +occasion a conspiracy amongst the courtiers of the celestial ruler, a +discovery of treason, and a punishment of the offenders as dire as the +most malignant man could invent? We have often thought that no human +being, unless he were vile, brutal, sensual, clever, disappointed, and +revengeful, could have invented the idea of hell, and that none would +ever have believed in it unless he was both timid, thoughtless, and +malignant The dormant hate of the orthodox against opponents is an +awful quantity. The expression of "fallen angels" is a pregnant text; it +recalls to our mind the passage--"Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom +I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against +me" (Ps. xli. 9). It reminds us of David, Absalom and Ahitophel, of +Solomon and Jeroboam, of Joram and Jehu, Benhadad and Hazael, Louis +XVIII. and Marshal Ney. We feel sure that an individual who could +write the words--"If we sin wilfully after that we have received the +knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but +a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which +shall devour the adversaries" (Heb. x. 26, 27), could readily have +invented a hell, if he had not found one already made to his hand. The +sentence just quoted bears evidence of intense theological spitefulness, +and a petty meanness that neither Sakya nor Jesus would have shown. Such +thoughts are womanish, not manly, although apostolic. + +We can fancy it having been penned by James or John, who once asked +Jesus whether they should not call down fire from heaven to consume +the Samaritans, simply because the latter were not polite to the +master--"because he seemed to be going to Jerusalem" (Luke ix. 53, 54). +But if so, those disciples must have forgotten the rebuke of Jesus--"Ye +know not what manner of spirit ye are of." + +Here we must pause awhile, and consider the idea of various peoples +about Hell. + +Some, perhaps we ought to say, many, earthly potentates have encouraged +the belief that there is a place in which evildoers, who have escaped +punishment for crime in this world will, after their death here, receive +their deserts. A place of torment which no man has seen, or can see +in life, and which, consequently, anyone can describe, is a wonderful +supplement to imperfect police arrangements, and as such, has been +fabricated or adopted in various nations. But in all the nations of +antiquity, and those which we call pagan, Hell has been assigned to +those who have committed crimes upon earth, such as murder, theft, and +the like, and whose evil deeds have outnumbered their good ones. The +idea of a torture vault for heretics has, so far as I can learn, been +reserved for Christian times, and for nations who punish ecclesiastical +offences more severely than the most atrocious crimes. The papal church, +wherever she has had power, has punished rejection of her communion far +more cruelly than she has dealt with rape, robbery, and murder; and all, +who think with her, draw their arguments for so doing from what is said +to be God's method of dealing with His rebellious angels. Surely, the +idea runs, if the Almighty, who cannot do wrong, has punished with fire +and everlasting torment the ministers who stood in His presence and +around His throne, simply because they kept not their position, or did +not watch over their principality--for both meanings may be assigned +to the original words--surely man must treat his heretic fellow on +a similar plan. God, runs the argument, made the Devil, and man must +multiply his imps. It is true, according to Hebrew and Christian +mythology, that the idea of a Devil was not originally in the mind of +Jehovah. But when Satan rebelled he was immediately invested with power! +In other words, Lucifer taught Elohim, and thoughtful Christians believe +this!! + +If we now attempt to frame a history of the modern Hell, its rulers, +its angels, or its devils, we find, in the first place, that the Old +Testament contains no idea whatever of Satan being an angel originally +bright and fair, but subsequently disobedient, rebellious, conquered, +and punished. Nor is the New Testament much more communicative--we +find the arch-fiend described as a murderer and as a liar; he also is +associated with angels, as in the words, "the Devil and his angels." +He is described as "the Prince of the power of the air,"--as "a roaring +lion, seeking whom he may devour." He is "the spirit which worketh in +the children of disobedience." He is also represented as telling Jesus, +that he is able to dispose of all the kingdoms of the globe, and to give +their glory to whom he will. Yet nowhere is a hint breathed that he +was once an angel in heaven. The only verse in the whole Bible which is +supposed to bear upon this matter, shows that the devil and his imps +are not identical with the fallen angels, for Jude distinctly declares +(verse 6) that the latter are "reserved in everlasting chains, under +darkness, unto the judgment of the great day," a condition quite +incompatible with their identity with Satan, who is represented as +telling God that he had been going to and fro through the earth, and +walking up and down in it (Job ch. i., v. 7). A conversation then +follows the question, which must have been quite impossible had God +recognized him as an escaped convict. + +Again, if we turn to the book of Enoch (an apocryphal production, +supposed for ages to have been lost, but discovered at the close of the +last century in Abyssinia, now first translated from an Ethiopian MS. in +the Bodleian Library, by Richard Laurence, LL.D., Archbishop of Cashel; +3d edition, 8vo. Oxford, 1838),--which is, and I think justly, believed +to be the authority quoted by Jude, we find a full confirmation of our +view of the independence of the Devil or Satan, and the fallen angels. +The foundation of the work is the story-told in the sixth chapter of +Genesis. In that work, the angels which kept not their first estate are +described as those who preferred intercourse with human females to +a celestial celibacy, for in those days there were sons of God and +daughters of men. Nay, in one verse (chap, liii. 6) it is distinctly +declared that one cause why the wrath of God came upon them was that +"they became ministers of Satan, and seduced those who dwell upon the +earth." In many places a reference is made to the close imprisonment of +the angels who had "been polluted with women;" one such will suffice, +(chap, xxi. 6), where, on seeing a terrific place, Enoch is told by Uriel +"this is the prison of the angels, and here are they kept for ever." +It is not even Satan who tempts the angels, for chapter lxviii. tells us +that it was Yekun and Kesabel, two of themselves, who gave evil counsel, +and induced their fellows to corrupt their bodies by generating mankind. +It is clear that such a writer does not conceive the possible existence +of angelic women. + +The nearest approach to evidence of identification is the statement made +in the same chapter (w. 6, 7), that Gradrel was the name of one of the +leaders of the fallen, and that he seduced Eve. But this testimony is +wholly worthless in the face of the fact that he, like all his company, +are kept chained up, which Satan certainly is not. + +From the foregoing facts and considerations, we can come to no other +conclusion than that there is no truth in the angelic mythology current +amongst ourselves--for which Milton and his _Paradise Lost_ are mainly +responsible. We may, indeed, affirm that a belief in angelic mythology +is wholly incompatible with an enlightened religion. If we regard the +Almighty as omnipresent and omniscient, we cannot imagine that He can +require messengers, or organize an "intelligence department" in Heaven. +A man who is present with his family requires no servant to tell him +what each is doing, or to deliver his orders to one or other. So, if God +be always with us, it is downright blasphemy to say that He requires a +go-between to let Him know what we are doing, or what He wishes us to +do. + +In our next chapter we shall enter upon the consideration of a subject +closely allied to that of Angels--namely, that of Ghosts, Apparitions, +Disembodied Spirits, or by whatever name they are called. These mainly +differ from the beings of whom we have treated in the fact that, whereas +an angel is a messenger--one sent to do certain duties--a ghost is a +being who comes upon the scene, which he or she has quitted, to do or to +persuade somebody else to perform something that has been omitted to be +done during the life-time of the deceased. In nine-tenths of the stories +which we read of "revenans," the returned one is not sent as a +messenger, nor does he come for any definite purpose. A man or woman +barbarously murdered is painted as haunting the scene where the violence +was committed, as flies flit over a carcase. Misers come to brood over +their hoards, not to use them. In no case which I can remember do the +tales represent the ghosts as being sent from either of the two +powers--God and Satan; and to fancy that a deceased man or woman is a +free agent after death is, to say the least of it, a proof that the +believers in the doctrine do not believe the biblical text--"As the tree +falleth so it must lie." + +The ideas of Angels and of Ghosts have their origin in what may be +called a superstitious education; and credence in the latter is an +almost necessary pendant to a belief in the former. Indeed, if we put +ourselves into the position of Manoah's wife, Zacharias (Luke i), and +Mary, we feel sure that we should not have known whether the being who +appeared was an angel or a ghost. + +Note.--The reader interested in the subject of this chapter, will find +additional information thereupon in Records of the Past (Bag-ster, +London, 1873-74; vol. i. 131-135, and vol. iii.139-154). The volumes +are inexpensive, and extremely valuable to the student of Assyrian, +Babylonian, and Egyptian mythology. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + The inexorable logic of facts. Saul and the witch of Endor. + Influence of Elisha's bones. The widow's son. Ideas about + ghosts--about their power. Papal belief in ghosts. Ritual + for exorcisms. St. Dunstan and St. Anthony. The Bible and + ghosts. Scriptural ghosts. Ghosts independent of Judaism and + Christianity. Japanese story. Buddhist priests, like + Papalists, exorcise ghosts professionally. Ancient Grecian + ghosts. Stories from Homer, Herodotus, Iamblichus. Modern + French ghosts. Latin ghosts. Ghosts and lunacy. Ghosts and + spiritualism. Mistakes of clairvoyantes. + +It is not until we systematically inquire into certain tenets of our +own belief, and compare or contrast them with those of other people far +removed from us, that we are able to form an opinion about how much we +owe to what we call "our peculiar religion," and how much we hold in +common with other distant members of the human family. + +It is probable that there is scarcely a "Bible Christian" in Great +Britain who is not impressed with the truth of the statement made in 2 +Tim. i. 10--_viz_., that Christ abolished death, and brought life and +immortality to light by the Gospel. But the inexorable logic of facts +proves to us that the idea of a life after death existed even amongst +some ancient Jews--a people to whom it was certainly not revealed by +God--and amongst nations who have not to this day become acquainted with +Jesus, or what we call the Gospel, and who are mainly influenced by the +doctrines of Buddha. + +To give examples: no one can read the very fabulous story of the Witch +of Endor and Saul without recognizing the fact, that both the one and +the other are represented by the historian to have believed, that, +though the body of the prophet Samuel had been rotting for a long period +in its tomb, the spirit of the man was yet existent. Nor does a Bible +Christian see anything peculiar in the miracle of the restoration of the +dead man mentioned in 2 Kings xiii. 21, who, when he touched the mouldy +bones of Elisha, which represented all that was left, on earth, of that +distinguished wonder-worker, at once revived, and stood upon his feet. +But the story forces us to believe that the Hebrew writer, who had no +revelation from Jehovah about a future life, was, from some cause or +other, obliged to allow that the prophet had some sort of existence +after his decease. A similar remark may be made respecting the story of +the widow's son, given in 1 Kings xvii. 17-23, in which it is clear that +both the mother of the child and the prophet believed it to be dead, +although the latter acted as if there was yet its living spirit existing +somewhere, and capable of being recalled. No simple figure of speech +will explain away the doctrine referred to, for there is reference +distinctly made to the idea of a life independent of that of the body. + +It may well be supposed, that the very extraordinary tales spoken of +were introduced into the ancient books by modern Pharisees, as proofs +of their faith being superior to that of the Sadducees--it is, indeed, +probable that they were so; but into this point we will not enter. We +pass by, in like manner, the real signification of the English word +"ghost," and make no reference to the idea of there being a Holy, in +contradistinction to a profane, vulgar, and unholy, ghost We may also +omit anything more than a bare allusion to the fact that the third +member of the Trinity, as it is called, appeared in forms recognizable +by the eye; and that when it assumed an overshadowing condition (Luke +i. 35), it acted as a male human body would have done, and impregnated +Mary, as Jupiter did Leda. It is rather my desire to call attention to +the ideas actually existing, probably in all Christendom, and certainly +in Great Britain, respecting "ghosts." They may be thus described. + +It is believed by many that certain individuals have, during their +lifetime, a power of determining that some immaterial part of their +living body shall, after death, assume the figure and proportions +possessed by the person during life, as well as his clothes, &c., and +act as if this second self had a real existence, recognizable by men, +animals, and even candles,* and a definite worldly purpose. In other +cases it is assumed, that the defunct has not had any particular desire +to return to life until after his death has taken place; but that his +spirit, having as much power to think without its brains as with them, +makes itself apparent with a distinct object, formed, not in the living +body, but in the corpse. The purposes generally attributed to ghosts +are, to give information about murder or money, to compel religious +rites over their dead body, or to punish a relentless oppressor with +daily horror. Still further, some suppose that ghosts are doomed for +a certain time to walk the earth, and suffer during the day in fires +perpetual, till, in some unknown way, the sins of their bodies have been +purged away, or until some one, living, has made an atonement for +sins committed and unpardoned during the lifetime of the "revenant" +(Shakespeare in Hamlet). The so-called disembodied spirits are supposed +to be able to operate upon matter, to throw our atmosphere into waves, +producing vision and hearing, and to move from one spot to another. They +have, still farther, the power of making and emitting light, and are so +partial to using the faculty, that they prefer appearing by night, and +in darkness. + + * "And the lights in the chamber burnt blue." + + --Alonzo the Brave.--Lewis. + +Of the real existence of such ghostly beings no devout Romanist can fail +to convince himself; for his Church, which claims to be infallible, has +provided special services for combating them, and a Papal priest has, +many a time, claimed, and attempted to exercise, the power to drive what +the French call "revenans," from the earth into the Red Sea. The saintly +annals of the Church of Rome are filled with stories of angels, gods, +and devils, who have appeared to holy men of old, either to applaud +their conduct, or to try their faith The legends about Saint Dunstan +and Saint Anthony are too well known to require repetition here, and +it would be idle to refer to some particularly good ghost story, when +everybody knows so many. + +The general credit obtained by the tales referred to has been attributed +by many to the teaching of the Bible. The apparition of Samuel to Saul; +the intercourse between the angel Raphael and Tobit; the manifestation +of some celestial beings to Zacharias (Luke i. 11); to Mary (v. 28); +to certain shepherds (Luke ii. 9); the statement that some men have +entertained angels unawares (Heb. xiii. 2); the transfiguration scene, +described in Matt, xvii. and Mark ix., in which Moses and Elias are said +to have returned from heaven to earth, with the design of comforting +Jesus; and the story of Peter and the angel, told in Acts xii. 6-15--all +indicate a firm belief in the existence of ghosts, and form the +Christian's warrant for believing in them. + +But an extended knowledge of the belief entertained by people other +than the followers of Jesus shows that the idea in question is wholly +independent of both Judaism and Christianity. A credence in ghosts is +profound in Japan, and it resembles, in every respect, that which has +been so long current in Europe. If any one, for example, will read a +story in A B. Mitford's _Tales of Old Japan_ (Macmillan; London, 1871), +entitled, "The Ghost of Sakura," a village, he will scarcely be able to +divest himself of the idea that the legend is of British origin. Without +going into the reasons which have convinced me that the writer has +fairly given a purely Japanese tale, and one wholly untainted by Popish +legends, I may shortly indicate the main points in the narrative, which +purports to be a true one. A certain lord behaved very badly to his +tenants, increasing the imposts upon them until life became a burden. By +ordinary petitions he was unmoved, and it was necessary to have recourse +to unusual means. The adoption of a promising plan was, in the mind of +its proposer, a positive passport to a cruel death, by crucifixion. In a +touching leave-taking of his wife, he ends his speech with the words--"I +give my life to allay the misery of the people of this estate" (vol. ii, +p. 12). His proceedings save the poor peasants, for whom he sacrifices +himself, from utter ruin--every grievance which they have is redressed; +but their saviour is condemned to be crucified, in which punishment +his wife is included, and his sons are to be beheaded before his face. +Unable to save the man, his nearest male friends become priests, and +end their days praying and making offerings on behalf of their friends' +souls, and those of the wife and offspring (p. 25), and they collect +money enough to erect six bronze memorial Buddhas. "Thus," the tale goes +on to say, "did these men, for the sake of Sogoro and his family, give +themselves up to works of devotion; and the other villagers also brought +food to soothe the spirits of the dead, and prayed for their entry into +Paradise; and, as litanies were repeated without intermission, there +can be no doubt that Sogoro attained salvation." The next sentence is a +Buddhist text, viz.:-- + +"In Paradise, where the blessings of God are distributed without +favour, the soul learns its faults by the measure of the rewards given. +The lusts of the flesh are abandoned, and the soul, purified, attains +to the glory of Buddha." I scarcely need mention, to those interested +in Buddhism, that this conception of Paradise is very different to that +which many persons uphold to be "nothingness." The Japanese "Nirvana" is +evidently not annihilation. + +When Sogoro was to die, the friendly priests entreated the authorities +that they might have his body, so as to be able to bury it decently; +but the request was only granted after the corpse had been exposed three +days and three nights. + +At the time appointed, Sogoro and his wife are tied to two crosses, and +their children brought out for decapitation. The utterance of the eldest +son (aet. 13) is very touching--"Oh my father and mother, I am going +before you to Paradise, that happy country, to wait for you. My little +brothers and I will be on the banks of the river Sandzu,* and stretch +out our hands, and help you across. Farewell, all you who have come +to see us die; and now, please cut off my head at once." With this he +stretched out his neck, murmuring a last prayer (p. 28). + + * The Buddhist Styx, which separates Paradise from Hell, + across which the dead are ferried by an old woman, for whom + a small piece of money is buried with them. I may add that + such a custom obtains amongst the lower orders in Ireland to + this day. + +At length it is the parents turn to die, and thus speaks the +wife--"Remember, my husband, that from the first you had made up your +mind to this fate. What though our bodies be disgracefully exposed on +these crosses? (compare Gal. iii. 13). We have the promises of the Gods +before us; therefore, mourn not. Let us fix our minds upon death; we are +drawing near to Paradise, and shall soon be with the saints. Be calm, my +husband. Let us cheerfully lay down our lives for the good of many. Man +lives but for one generation, his name for many. A good name is more to +be prized than life." "Well said wife; what though we are punished for +the many? our petition was successful, and there is nothing left to wish +for..... For myself, I care not; but that my wife and children should +be punished also is too much.... Let my lord fence himself in with iron +walls, yet shall my spirit burst through them, and crush his bones, as a +return for this deed." As he said this, he looked like the demon Razetsu +(p. 30). The execution is completed by thrusting a spear into the side +until it comes out at the opposite shoulder, and as it is withdrawn, the +blood streams out like a fountain. Ere Sogoro dies, he again threatens +his lord to revenge himself upon him in a manner never to be forgotten, +and adds--"As a sign, when I am dead, my head shall turn and face +towards the castle. When you see this, doubt not that my words shall +come true" (p. 31). As Sogoro laid down his life for a noble cause, he +was canonized, and became a tutelar deity of his lord's family. After +the execution, those subordinates of the lord of the land were dismissed +from their office, who, by their culpable and vile conduct, had made +such a catastrophe necessary--a retribution that reminds the reader of +that which is said to have fallen on the Jews, because of a death by +crucifixion which they brought about. The Japanese historian then goes +on (p. 34)--"In the history of the world, from the dark ages down to the +present time, there are few instances of one man laying down his life +for the many, as Sogoro did; noble and peasant praise him alike." + +Four years after this the ghosts of Sogoro and of his wife and family +begin to torment their late cruel lord. His lady is gradually frightened +to death; the crucified couple appear to her and to her husband in a far +more fearful form than Jesus is said to have appeared to Constantine. +They threaten both with the pains of Hell, and declare that they have +come to take them there; and with them come other ghosts, who hoot, +yell, laugh, and come and go at pleasure. No one, not even priests, +could quiet the frightful sounds, or get rid of the horrible sights. +Violence was wholly unavailing; mystic rites, incantations, and +prayers were alike useless. The visions appeared at first by day, but +subsequently by night. They were visible to everybody. But, after a long +consultation, the once brutal, but now humbled, nobleman agrees to erect +a shrine to the crucified man, and to pay him divine honours. This was +done: Sogoro became a saint, under the name of Sogo Daimiyo, and the +ghosts appeared no more. But terrible misfortunes fall upon the Lord +Kotsuke, and he "began to feel that the death of his wife, and his own +present misfortunes, were a just retribution for the death of Sogoro and +his wife and children, and he was as one awakened from a dream. Then, +night and morning, in his repentance, he offered up prayers to the +sainted spirit of the dead farmer, acknowledged and bewailed his +crime, vowing that, if his own family were spared from ruin, and +re-established, intercession should be made at the court of the Mikado +on behalf of the spirit of Sogoro, so that, being worshipped with even +greater honours than before, his name should be handed down to all +generations" (p. 43). In a foot note we learn that the Mikado of Japan +could, like the Pope of Rome, confer posthumous divine honours upon whom +he pleased. The tale tells us that, by the means just before alluded +to, the spirit of Sogoro was appeased, and then positively became his +quondam enemy's patron saint, and was universally respected in all that +part of the country. His shrine was made beautiful as a gem, and night +and day the devout worshipped at it Mitford adds (p. 47)--"The belief in +ghosts appears to be as universal as that of the immortality of the soul +upon which it depends. Both in China and Japan the departed spirit is +invested with the power of revisiting the earth, and, in a visible form, +tormenting its enemies, and haunting those places where the perishable +part of it mourned and suffered. Haunted houses are slow to find +tenants, for ghosts almost always come with revengeful intent; indeed, +the owners of such houses will almost pay men to live in them, such is +the dread which they inspire, and the anxiety to blot out the stigma." + +The parallel between an episode in Palestine, and that herein described +as having occurred in Japan, will be completed if the reader remembers +the passage in the Epistle to the Romans, wherein Paul, after speaking +of the fall of the Jews, subsequent to the death of Jesus--who gave +his life for others--remarks, "if the casting away of them be the +reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life +from the dead" (Rom. xi. 15). + +In addition to the ghost story above described, many others are detailed +by Mr Mitford that are exact counterparts of some of those most +firmly believed by orthodox Christians, and most commonly met with in +novelettes and magazines. We give a digest of them-- + +A paterfamilias is thrown into prison for gambling. After being confined +some time, he returns home one night pale and thin, and, after receiving +congratulations, he tells the friends assembled that he is permitted +to leave the prison that evening by the jailers, for that he is to be +returned to them the next day publicly. When the time arrives, they are +summoned to remove his corpse--he had died the night before, and it was +his ghost which had appeared. Compare Acts v. 19, and xii. 7-14. + +The next runs thus--A cruel policeman had a housemaid, who broke one of +ten plates which he valued--she confessed the accident to the mistress. +When the master came to hear of the loss, he tied the girl to a +cupboard, and cut off one of her fingers daily. She managed to escape, +and drowned herself in the garden well. Every night afterwards there +was a noise from the well, counting up to nine, and then came a burst +of grief. All the retainers left the place; the magistrate could not +perform his duties, and was dismissed. The ghost was ultimately laid by +a priest. + +After recounting this story, Mitford remarks--"The laying of disturbed +spirits appears to form one of the regular functions of the Buddhist +priests; at least, we find them playing a conspicuous part in every +ghost story" (p. 50). + +The next tale is one of a haunted house. No paying tenant will live +there, but a poor fencing master takes it for nothing. He first hears +a terrific noise in the garden pond, and, on looking, sees a dark cloud +enshrining a bald head. He inquires, and discovers that a former tenant, +ten years ago, murdered a money-lender, and threw his head into the +water. The actual tenant now drains the pond, finds the skull, takes it +for burial to a temple, causing prayers to be offered up for the repose +of the murdered man's soul. Thus the ghost was laid, and appeared no +more. This tale serves as an additional means of recognizing the descent +of Papism from Buddhism. + +Returning once again to Europe, we find that the ancient Greeks had not +only an idea of the resurrection of the dead, and life after death, but +that departed spirits could be summoned to appear by the living. For +example, at the opening of the eleventh book of the Odyssey, Ulysses +recounts how-he offered a certain sacrifice, and tells us that, after +it, the souls of the perished dead came forth from Erebus--betrothed +girls and youths--much enduring old men, and tender virgins having +a newly grieved mind--and many Mars-renowned men, wounded with +brass-tipped spears, possessing gore-smeared arms, who in great numbers +were wandering about the trench, on different sides, with a divine +clamour, and pale fear seized upon me.... At first the soul of my +companion, Elpenor, came, for he was not yet buried.... The shade +addressed the hero, and, after telling the manner of his own death, +entreats to have his corpse burned, and a tomb to be placed over it +After this shade, appears Ulysses' mother, then Theban Tiresias, having +a golden sceptre (Bohn's translation, pp. 147, 8). The rest of the +book is made up of a number of dialogues between the traveller and the +illustrious dead. + +The following, from Herodotus (vi. 68, 69), might have been introduced +into chapter viii, for it is not only an example of a ghost, but of +supernatural generation--but it is most appropriate here. Demaratus, +having been twitted by certain persons that he was not the son of his +putative father, who was known to be impotent, and that he was begotten +by a mean man--a feeder of asses--adjures his mother, by a most solemn +oath, to tell the truth. She replies--When Ariston had taken me to +his own house, on the third night from the first a spectre, resembling +Ariston, came to me, and having lain with me, put on me a crown that it +had, it departed, and afterwards Ariston came; but when he saw me with +the crown, he asked who it was that gave it me. I said, he did; but he +would not admit it.... Ariston, seeing that I affirmed with an oath, +discovered that the event was superhuman; and, in the first place, the +crown proved to have come from the shrine... situate near the palace +gates, which they call Astrabacus's; and, in the next place, the seers +pronounced that it was the hero himself. We need not dwell upon the +miracle, being only desirous to show that, in the time of Herodotus, +ideas of the return of departed spirits to earth were common--had it not +been so, the story would not have been conceived. See also _Herod_ iv. +14, 15; _AEsch Theb_. 710; _cf. Porson on Eur_. Or. 401; _AEsch Ag_. 415. + +Perhaps the most striking example of a phantom is given in Herodotus +viii. 84, where a spectre, in a woman's form, appeared, and cheered the +Greeks on shipboard to a battle, saying, so that all the warriors heard +her--"Dastards, how long will you back water?" + +In more recent times, Iamblicus (on the _Mysteries_, section ii, chap, +iv.), speaking of different celestial and ordinarily invisible +powers, observes--"In the motions of the heroic phasmata (or +apparitions--phantoms or ghosts) a certain magnificence presents itself +to the view." In the phasmata of the Archons the first energies appear +to be most excellent and authoritative, and the phasmata of souls are +seen to be the more moveable, yet are more imbecile, than those of +heroes.... The magnitude of the epiphanies (or manifestations) in the +gods, indeed, is so great, as sometimes to conceal all heaven.1' Then +the author describes how this brilliancy is less in each inferior order +of spirits, and is smallest in those souls below the grade of heroes +(Taylor's translation, pp. 89, 90). In sect iii., chap, iii., the same +writer remarks--"The soul has a twofold life, one being in conjunction +with the body, the other being separated from all body." Again, in +chap. xxxi.--"Still worse is the explanation of sacred operations, which +assigns, as the cause of divination, a certain genus of daemons, which +is naturally fraudulent, omniform, and various, and which assumes the +appearance of gods and daemons, and the souls of the deceased" (Taylor's +ed., p. 199). _Le Dictionnaire Infernal_, which I have previously +described, gives two very modern-like histories from the Greeks, under +the names Philinnion and Polycritus; but, as I cannot verify them by +reference, I shall say no more of them. + +When we come to speak about the Romans, the first history which occurs +to my mind is the well-known statement, that the ghost of Caesar appeared +to Brutus before the battle in which the latter met with his death. The +narrator of the story dwells somewhat upon the coolness with which the +living hero encounters the shade of the dead, as if it were strange for +people, when they saw ghosts, not to be terrified. I think that we may +believe in the Etruscans having an idea of invisible spirits becoming +occasionally apparent, inasmuch as in a sepulchral painting, in the tomb +of the Tarquinii, the shade of Patroclus is represented as standing over +Achilles as he kills the Trojan captives in sacrifice. + +In later times, Otho declared that Galba's ghost had appeared to him, +and had tumbled him out of bed (Suetonius' _Lives of the Caesars_, Otho, +vii). + +We may take our next illustration from Cicero upon the nature of the +gods. In book 2, ch. ii.,--"Who now," he makes Lucilius say, "believes +in Hippocentaurs and Chimeras? or what old woman is now to be found so +weak and ignorant as to stand in fear of those infernal monsters which +once so terrified mankind? For time destroys the fictions of error and +opinion, whilst it confirms the determinations of nature and truth. And +therefore it is that, both amongst us and amongst other nations, sacred +institutions and the divine worship of the gods have been strengthened +and improved from time to time; and this is not to be imputed to chance +alone, but to the frequent appearance of the gods themselves. In the war +with the Latins... Castor and Pollux were seen fighting with our army +on horseback... and as P. Vatienus... was coming in the night to Rome... +two young men on white horses appeared to him, and told him that king +Perses was that day taken prisoner." He told the news and was imprisoned +as a liar; but further information confirmed the ghost's story, and he +was liberated and rewarded."... The voices of the Fauns have been often +heard, and deities have appeared in forms so visible that they have +compelled everyone, who is not senseless or hardened in impiety, to +confess the presence of the gods" (Bohn's translation, p. 46). In page +186 of the same edition, two remarkable instances are given wherein +supernatural voices told of approaching trouble, and how it was to be +avoided. No notice was taken of the warning, and the misfortunes which +had been foretold occurred. The second miracle very closely resembled +the modern voice of the Virgin at Lourdes. + +Whilst I was writing the preceding remarks, my attention was called by +a friend to the following remarks in _The Examiner_, which seem to me so +appropriate to this chapter and the preceding one, that I gladly +quote them:--"If there is anything more striking than the thoughtless +credulity with which men accept statements agreeing with their +preconceptions, it is the stubborn incredulity with which they receive +statements at variance with those preconceptions. The devotees of each +religion, and even of each sect into which a religion is so commonly +split up, accept and even adore the absurdities of their own belief, +while they scan, with a sceptical severity that cannot be surpassed, the +not greater follies of other systems of belief. In no respect is this +fact more glaring than in the case of miracles. Each Church has its +own special miracles, devoutly believed in, but repels with contempt +or horror the alleged miracles of other religions. Happy that it is so. +Were superstition not in its essence and nature a dividing folly, could +it but muster in one herd all its votaries, common sense and truth would +have a hard battle for existence." + +At this point of my subject, I feel the natural inclination of a +physician to enter upon those changes in the nervous centres which +induce individuals to hear, feel, and see, noises, sensations, and +spectra, which have no real existence. But with the majority of +experienced medical men, the matter is so well known that it would be +idle for me to dwell upon it, further than to say, that it is a matter +of fact that many an individual who hears and sees words and beings +which are illusions, acts upon them as if they were real. Many an +assault upon some quiet citizen, many an instance of wilful mischief, +and even of murder, is due to a communication made, apparently by a +supernatural visitor, to a person who has fully believed it. To a man +in his perfect senses the delusive character of a spectre, or a message +given in an audible voice may be readily recognized; but when an +individual has a diseased brain, all delusions seem real, and it is a +part of the affection that they are not only recognized, but acted on. + +The question has often suggested itself to my own mind, "How much +has insanity of mind had to do with religion?" In modern times, the +psychologist can readily see how far Swedenborg, Johanna Southcote, and +many others, were influenced by a diseased condition of the brain; he +can also see indications of lunacy in Ezekiel and the author of Daniel. +But he is unable to prosecute the subject far without discovering that +mental weakness is often bolstered up by fraud. Nothing is more easy +than for an intelligent physician to understand the physical causes of +such visions as certain religionists have talked of. But when a +spurious miracle, like that of the apparition of a talking, +immaculately-conceived Virgin at Lourdes, is traded on, the occurrence +leaves the region of folly, and enters that of fraud. Into that it is +injudicious to enter here. + +I may, however, advert to the current belief that certain individuals +in the same family have, for many succeeding generations, their death +foretold by some "wraith" or "phantom" appearing to them. This story is +probably founded upon the fact that hereditary brain disease exists in +the constitution of all such persons, and that its occurrence in each +victim is marked by an ocular, and, perhaps, some aural delusion. The +apparition may seem real to the diseased nervous system, though it has +no absolute existence. + +We are then constrained to believe that the idea of ghosts has not +arisen, in the first place, from any peculiar form of religious belief, +but from the fact that in all inhabitants of the world there has existed +that form of insanity which consists in the victim believing that he +hears and sees individuals, inaudible and unseen by others. It is not, +however, necessary that there shall be insanity with the hallucinations +referred to; for I am personally acquainted with many individuals who +have both seen and heard, as they imagine, persons and voices, but of +whose sanity I have no doubt. Such delusions often come from overstudy, +or too great mental emotion; and the medical worker in his closet and +the Roman general in his tent may equally see a spirit. + +But it must be understood that to all classes the hallucination has the +effect of reality, until, by the exercise of an active will, inquiry +proves that both sounds and sights thus noticed are illusions. If, +therefore, persons who have visions, &c., have not intellects which are +cultivated, the spectres will pass for realities, and, as such, will be +described. + +If we endeavour to apply this observation to certain cases, we shall +see how far the deductions are _vraisemblable_. Of all the causes which +produce atrocious crimes, insanity of mind is the most common. But this +cause is rarely recognized at the time, even in a country like our own. +Murder, rape, arson, and a host of other atrocities are often the first +evidence of a diseased brain. The doctor is assured of this long before +an ignorant public, and he traces without surprise the course of a +malady which is not seen by the vulgar, until its culmination in some +better known form of lunacy. These mental sufferers are exactly those +to whom visions are most common, and who are most unable to test the +reality of their hallucinations. If, then, they are integers of a people +to whom insanity is unknown, it is natural that their narratives will be +listened to with awe. The Japanese tyrant, whose case we have given, +was probably brutal from impending brain disease, and the visions which +appeared to him were caused by an increase of his malady. + +Shakespeare has evidently taken this view of the question, for, in +_Macbeth_, he makes that hero (act ii., scene 1), soliloquise with a +dagger which he sees, but cannot clutch--"Art thou not, fatal vision, +sensible to feeling, as to sight, or art thou but a dagger of the mind; +a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?" Conscious +of the illusion, Macbeth recognizes the probable cause; but, at a +later period, when the diseased brain is worse than it was before, the +unfortunate man is quite unable to reason, and we find him in act iii., +scene 4, affrighted by the ghost of Banquo--whose appearance he believes +to be real, even although his wife recalls to his mind the dagger scene, +and reasons upon his weakness. + +I do not think that we shall be far wrong if we assume that many +nations, who were not far advanced in mental speculation, obtained their +first ideas of the resurrection of the body from the hallucinations +of approaching or actual insanity. Christian divines unquestionably +endeavour to demonstrate the truth of the dogma referred to, by the +frequent appearance of Jesus to his disciples after his crucifixion. + +But the manifestation of Jesus differed wholly from that of Moses +and Elias who once came to talk to him. He takes particular pains to +demonstrate to Thomas that he has flesh and blood and a hole in his +side, as well as in his hands and feet. This indicates that Jesus did +not die upon the cross, but that he fainted and came back to life. + +To insist for a moment upon the lessons taught by the narrative in the +gospels, let us inquire what is the value of the argument which proves +the resurrection of the body, either by the appearance to some one of a +departed friend or enemy, or the visits of Jesus to his disciples. If it +is demonstrated thus that the body is eternal and will rise again, it is +equally certain that its garments, whether cloth, linen, or calico, will +be resuscitated also! + +The subject, however, is not yet exhausted, for we have now to remark, +that no one has ever been known to see a spectre which does not +represent some one whom he has seen, or whose picture he has noticed; +nor does he ever hear a voice in a tongue unknown to himself. +Consequently, when we find individuals recognizing some one whose +portrait they have seen, but who talks in the mother tongue of the +visionary, we are forced to conclude that the matter is unreal. If a +French girl--or several of them, see the Virgin Mary, and hear her +talk French, it is evident to every thinking mind, either that there +is mental disorder or priestly craft. In like manner, when individuals, +calling themselves "mediums," declare their power to call before them +the ghosts of Homer and Hero, Leander and Alexander, and assert that +they can distinguish Plato from Socrates, and Seneca from Xenophon, and +can converse with all in pure English, it is clear that such people are +not insane, and that their pretended skill has no existence. That which +goes by the names of clairvoyance and spiritualism is based solely upon +an unreasoning credulity. + +In speaking of a belief in "spiritualism" as being analogous to implicit +credence in ghosts--and both as being founded upon imperfection in +judgment, it is right that I should give some reasons for what I say. + +More than thirty years have elapsed since I attended my first seance +with a clairvoyant. She had then been in Liverpool some time, and not +only came to us from America with a wonderful renown, but soon attached +to her triumphal car some of the most conspicuous of our local savans. +Having read much upon the subject of Mesmerism--the Od or Odyllic +force, animal magnetism, &c., I was desirous of gaining some personal +experience, and gladly accepted an invitation to see the lady referred +to, at the house of a near relative. There were many present, and before +the meeting formally began, I obtained permission to take notes in +writing of what passed. The first undertaking was that we should be told +what two of our number were doing in a dark room below stairs. I was one +of the two, and we stood with one hand upon the other's shoulder, and +the loose hands were held out horizontally. One leg of each was resting +on the tabla The lady reported us as sitting together on a sofa. Her +husband explained away the failure by saying that there was a mirror in +the room! As there was a looking-glass in every apartment in the house, +my friend and I took our position on the stairs; and on this occasion +we lay down at full length heads downwards. The clairvoyant said that we +were arm in arm talking. After this second failure, I was asked to take +the lady's hand in mine, and think deeply of some place which she would +then describe to me. + +I must here pause to notice the condition referred to. My mind was to be +absorbed in what I required to be described--if I allowed my thoughts to +wander, I was told that the woman would be confused, and her performance +a failure. This involved the idea that I was not to criticise, as the +affair proceeded, but to make one thing "square" with another, if I +could. My part was carefully pointed out, but nothing came of it. I then +gave a possible clue, which was followed up, and with some surprise +I found the woman describe what I was really thinking about. But the +repetition of a phrase struck upon my ear--it was this, "I see a lot of +things going back and for'rads," and I found that I had interpreted this +as men, women, schoolboys, horses, palisades, trees, cloisters, houses, +and coaches! + +After my retirement an elderly man grasped the hand, and I with pencil +took down the words the woman used, with the intention of asking certain +outsiders next day if the terms conveyed to them any distinct idea. I +found the favourite sentence referred to came so often, that I merely +left for the words a space with t. b. f., to show where the phrase +occurred. There were far more spaces in my manuscript than words. But +the old gentleman was satisfied, and so was his son who was present. It +had been agreed between them that the clairvoyant was to describe "their +house"--both were satisfied that she had; but one was thinking of the +town and the other of the country house! + +During the talk, the woman, every time she uttered a sentence, said, +"Am I right?" and when told that she was wrong, she adroitly changed her +statement. Every experiment that night was a failure, and to some of us +who were sceptics our host remarked--"How is it that when you expect the +most, everything goes wrong?" To this my reply was--"When doubters +are present you scan evidence closer than when you are all believers +together." + +When once I was known as a pyrrhonist, I was invited to see everybody +who was regarded by others as extraordinarily perfect in clairvoyance; +and was astonished to find out how ignorant the believers were of the +laws of evidence. + +After a time clairvoyance was replaced by spiritualism, and I was +again challenged to test the virtue of mediums. As my avocations wholly +prevented my personal attendance, I challenged certain of the faithful +to describe my library, saying that I should not be content with being +told that there were windows and a door, a fireplace and a chair, a +table and an inkstand, &c., but that I had something very peculiar in +it, the like of which I had never seen before--if this were described, +I should fancy that the spirits knew something. But I added, so long as +"spirits" only did things which conjurors, prestidigitateurs, "et +hoc genus omne," did, I should decline to believe that spirits were +corporeal, and that Grecian statesmen, Latin orators, and Sanscrit +theologians were familiar with the English language. + +It must be emphatically stated that a man must not attribute everything, +of which he knows little, to a power of which he knows less. No one +can tell why an ordinary tree grows upwards, whilst a few peculiar ones +grow, after a certain period of their life, downwards; and if any one +were to declare that the first were influenced by the spirit of an +unicorn, and the second by the spirit of a cow's tail, he would be +regarded as a fool. Not much wiser would he be, who, when he heard a +knock of some kind or other, asserted or believed that it came from the +angel of night--the well-known Nox. The untutored savage, when first he +sees a watch, cannot tell how it goes--if he says that he is ignorant, +we may respect him; but if he declares that a spirit moves it, we +despise his credulity. The polite circles of civilized cities who +attribute the absurd capers of tambourines, concertinas, tables, and +the like to the vivacity of the ghosts of defunct philosophers, and +who think that it requires the shade of Venus to tell us, that feminine +women are more graceful than masculine hoydens, are not much superior to +the natural savage. + +These remarks may be supplemented by the experiences imparted to me by +several personal friends; for, as it seems to me, each one has his +own way in looking at things, and has, so to speak, an idiosyncrasy in +belief and scepticism. One man, for example, inquires "How is it that +if I propound to a spiritualist, to an artist with 'planchette,' or any +other person who professes clairvoyance--a question, through a friend +who does not know the answer, I never get a correct reply; but if I +propound the same question the response is always right?" In this case +it is clear that the inquirer answers himself--not wittingly, it is +true; but, by means of a slight hesitation under certain circumstances, +he gives to the adroit professor the needful clue. How far this is +true has been repeatedly proved by those who have made the spirits say +anything--"Where is my sister?" such an one asks, and by the alphabet +and raps he hears that she is in Munich; but as the inquirer never had a +sister, the spirits have clearly been duped. + +One of my friends, ordinarily a thorough sceptic, was converted to the +belief that one of his hands was positively and the other negatively +magnetic, and he showed me how he turned, by their means, a book +suspended between us upon a door key finely tied within the leaves. +But when I showed him that this was done by a movement of the body, and +could not be done if both hands employed were fixed upon anything--he +was convinced that what seemed due to one thing depended, in reality, +upon another. Yet that man was an acute and able chemical analyst. +How the late Dr Faraday convinced "table turners" that they did, +unconsciously, that which they wished, but determined not to do, will +long be remembered as a marvel of philosophical induction. We all have +not the faculty of analyzing evidence, and it would be well if those who +are deficient in that power would be less bigoted than they are. We can +scarcely expect it, however, for ignorance and arrogance usually walk +together; and no man is more convinced of his knowledge than the one +who takes it at second hand, and believes what he is told. The faithful +swallow "squid," and become a mass of blubber; the sceptics feed on +solid flesh, and are thin as tigers. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + Reconstructive. Faith and reason. Result of previous + investigations. Value of morality. Morality and Romanism. + Vice encouraged by priests--end in view. Submission to + priests more valuable than virtue. Vice better than + scepticism. Theological false witness. Compulsory faith. + Supply without demand--in theology. Correctness of doctrine + proved by the sword. Church and state in modern times. + "Nerve" required to change a belief. Moral courage. What is + faith? Absurd definition given by Paul. Faith must be + uncompromising. Why faith signifies blind confidence. Faith + and folly go hand in hand. Faith makes fools. Jesuits and + faith. Popery and faith. Faith persecutes reason. All + religious teachers uphold faith--the reason why. Quiet after + activity. The one who partly abjures faith resembles a + mariner at sea. Faith and reason incompatible. The author's + personal belief: Negative--positive. Opinions on various + received dogmas. Laws of Nature. Providence. The Book of God + in the universe. Sin--the ideas connected with children and + whelps. Human and animal instincts. Religious laws against + God's. Pious murder. When crimes are praiseworthy. Human + laws and ecclesiastical. Effect on common law of priestly + legislation. Ecclesiastical laws generally bad ones. The + Church makes sins; so does society. A case supposed. Society + contravenes the laws of Nature. The proper basis of + legislation. Personal impressions. Duty the guide of + conduct. Conclusions. + +Importance of them. Reason gives peace of mind. Fears of the orthodox. +Reason may regenerate the world; Faith does not. Another way of treating +the subject Mr Gladstone upon education. Opposes "dread of results" to +"desire of learning." Gladstone and Strauss. Various oracles. Oxford +graduates rarely philosophic. Lord Bacon's aphorisms. Science obstructed +by human weaknesses. Progress of science barred by ecclesiastics. +Religion and despotism. The man who scouts induction is a bigot. +Revelation requires exposition. Three sets of expounders--all differ. +Which must the faithful follow? Popish miracles claim credence from the +faithful. He who argues must be logical. Can a bigot be a liberal? If +learning is valuable, it must have free scope. Choice proposed--faith or +reason? Men of mark who shun religious inquiry. Faraday and Gladstone. +Influence of faith, or reason, on the clergy. Examples. An objection +noticed. Reason useless in matters of faith--its absurdity demonstrated. + +It is now time to enter upon what has, throughout the composition of +the preceding essays, been constantly present to my mind, viz., +"reconstruction." In the two larger volumes, and in this small one, +it has been my aim to clear away the foul rags which have, for many +thousand years, been heaped upon the lovely figure of truth--to +endeavour to remove the meretricious, or rubbishy, constructions that +designing men have builded round the magnificent structure of God's +universe. I have, in my own opinion, demonstrated that the Jews have +no real claim to be regarded as Jehovah's chosen people, and that their +writings present no marks of having been inspired or revealed--that, +on the contrary, there are proofs to show that a large portion of their +Scriptures are worthless fabrications, contrived by imperfectly educated +men, for a political purpose, or to foster vanity. + +In our examination into the character of the Hebrew God, and of those +individuals said to be his special friends and messengers, as given +in the Bible, we found evidence to show that the historians were a +semi-civilized, sensual, and malignant race, whose ignorance was only +surpassed by their arrogance. It has been further shown, that every +portion of the Jewish Scriptures which modern Christians have adopted +into their own religion, came to the so-called "chosen people" from +those whom they, and many amongst ourselves, designate "heathen." We +have, still further, shown the almost absolute identity between the +current Christian faith and that originated by Sakya Muni, which still +reigns in Thibet, Tartary, China, Ceylon, Japan, and elsewhere. We have +demonstrated that a high grade of civilization, and a form of government +more paternal and provident than any which the old world knew, existed +in Peru, without the smallest evidence of Christianity or Mosaism having +ever existed there. + +We have, in addition, shown that the miraculous conception of the Virgin +Mary is not, by any means, as great a marvel as it is generally supposed +to be, such an occurrence being as common to-day as it was from the +beginning, and as it probably ever will be. By a similar inquiry we +could readily have proved that the ascension of Jesus was not at all +unique, inasmuch as great men of old were in the habit of rising after +their decease, and making their dwelling in the heaven above--e.g., +Romulus. + +We have, still further, demonstrated that the modern belief in an +angelic host has nothing in it peculiar to Bible Christians and +modern Jews, and that our notion of a resurrection of the body is not +exclusively a portion of the Christian's creed, but that it was held, +in one form or another, more or less distinct, by the ancient Greeks and +Romans, and the distant Japanese. In fine, we have done much to sweep +away the major part of the religious doctrines and dogmas which are +prevalent in the Christian world.. Our writing hitherto has been +essentially iconoclastic. + +But, amongst all the idols which we have attempted to throw down, we +have not, in any instance, threatened morality. We take no credit for +forbearance, but we point to the fact, inasmuch as whenever opposite +religionists contend about their tenets, they never lay violent hands +upon morality. They may abuse the practice of their opponents, and hold +up the imaginary vices of their enemy to execration, but real goodness +in the work of life is ever respected.* + + * I am, however, somewhat in doubt whether the Roman Church + deserves the eulogy here given to other bodies. In my + reading of history, especially in what are called the "Dark + Ages" of Christianity, the Papal authorities winked at + crimes against morality, so long as the sinners paid due + deference to ecclesiastical authority, and bled freely, by + pouring lands, treasures, and wealth of all kinds into the + priestly treasury. The history of the Popes is written + almost everywhere in blood. Murder, assassination, and + spoliation were common weapons in their hands, and rape and + robbery were condoned easily to those who were powerful and + active slaves of the Church. + +As soon as the Popes of Rome were free from persecution and danger, +they, in their turn, used the arts of the tyrants of old, and sought for +political supremacy by pandering to all the passions of kings and great +men--if, by that means, they could make them friendly. Up to within a +very short period there has not been a Christian despot, or a Pope, who +has not punished political crimes more severely than offences against +morality. + +Yet, with all the fearful practices adopted by Romanists, they have ever +had in their months exhortations to propriety and personal purity--their +words have been peaceful, whilst war of the most malignant type has been +in their hearts. What they have practised, however, they have accused +their adversaries of having preached. + +It may also be objected that some small sects in modern days have really +preached the doctrines of "free love," and license in sensuality; but +of these it would be unprofitable to discourse. The people who join in +promulgating such doctrines are below contempt. + +When controversialists find that they have one subject upon which they +can all of them cordially unite, the philosopher would expect that +they would study to develope it, and, for that purpose, place it in the +foreground. But this is far from their practice. The ministers of every +denomination, on the contrary, place morality far behind doctrine--those +of the Protestant sect, for example, declare "good works" to be +essentially valueless without "faith," and our pulpits teem with +discourses which demonstrate the enormous superiority of a blind belief, +in doctrine and dogma, over an intelligent morality, irrespective of +creed. + +In this propensity our preachers do not stand alone, for, in every +instance where history has led us to inquire into this point, we find +that submission to priestly rule has been regarded as more praiseworthy +than virtue. When Israel slew the Midianites there was no apparent +difference between the morals of the two people. Both were equally bad +or good; but such as they were, their deeds were sanctioned by different +gods; and whilst the Jews were right, their opponents were wrong. When +the Crusaders attacked the Saracens, there can be little, if any, doubt +that the worth of the latter far exceeded that of the former; but as +their faith differed, the practice was of no consequence in the eyes of +the invaders, and he who died in fighting for his country was execrated +by the robbers, who desired to steal it. + +If, from a comparatively distant past, we approach nearer to our own +times, there is abundance of testimony to prove that the excellence of +the French Protestants was superior to that of the Papal priests and +their followers in the time of Louis XIV.; but this was of no avail--the +good were persecuted by the bad, because they were good only in deeds +and not in doctrine--the last being upheld by the bigots who persecuted +them. + +We may all see precisely the same phenomenon in our own day. Those who +are called Unitarians, and the vast majority of those who are designated +atheists are, in proportion to their numbers, far more moral than those +who are generically described as "Christians;" but their integrity +in every relation of life does not prevent their being abused and +persecuted, by parsons in "the establishment," by every means available +in a free country, and amongst the weapons used, the most common are +slander and false witness. + +On inquiry into its origin, we find at the root of this aversion to +recognize probity as the most important item of religion, the undoubted +fact that the upright, thoughtful man requires no other person to help +him as a priest or a mediator between him and the Creator. + +To possess a doctrine there must be some one to teach it, and the demand +begets a supply. But though the last aphorism is true in commerce, it +is not by any means universally so, for many an inventor of goods has +to force a supply, ere any demand for his article can arise. It is +certainly so in Ethics. The Jews made no request to Moses for a new +religion when he offered to lead them; they soon became weary of him, +and wanted to go back to Egypt. Jesus constrained his first followers +to accept a salvation of which they did not feel the need, and Mahomet +compelled, at the sword's point, his victims to accept that which they +detested. In these instances there was no want to be met, except on the +part of individuals who desired to obtain personal influence. + +In religion the laws of supply and demand have only exceptional sway, +for each individual priest or minister may, according as he pleases, +elect to provide for known desires, or to inaugurate a new set of +requirements. But whether he does one or the other he is clearly an +opponent to, and frequently disliked by, any one who refuses all manner +of traffic in spiritual affairs. He is then practically in the same +condition as the English government was in when the Chinamen refused to +take the opium which they had been receiving for many years before; and, +like it, he must endeavour to enforce his wishes by war. But the parson +does not fight with cannon and gunpowder, for he assumes the power to +wield weapons of far greater importance--viz., the power to torture +after death all his adversaries. "Believe me," run his words, "and +you shall be saved from hell fire; reject my message, and you shall be +burned in everlasting flames!" + +When belligerent kings go to battle, they do not go alone and fight +single-handed for their cause; on the contrary, they enlist upon their +side every man whom they can influence or compel; nor do they care, +so long as the troops obey orders, what their private thoughts are; +probably few Chinese who fought the British were not opium consumers, +and few English cared for the drug at all. In like manner, when priests +differ among themselves, they do not meet in wordy tournaments, but +they enlist on their respective sides everybody whom similarity in +superstition, interest, or any other motive induces to join their +standard. When an issue is joined, the result is governed by force of +arms, arts, or numbers, as the case maybe. + +Thus, in the last resort, the correctness of a doctrine is, as we have +frequently remarked in previous pages, proved by thews and sinews--not +by brains. So long as the Pagans were numerically superior to +Christians, the latter were heretics and victims; but when the disciples +of Jesus were actually the strongest, they became suddenly "the +orthodox," and the poor Pagans "the damned." In later times +Protestantism asserted its faith by the prowess of Cromwell's +"ironsides" in England and Ireland; in like manner the Covenanters of +Scotland proved, by the might of their swords, Presbyterianism to be +superior to Episcopal government. By dint of Saxon might, Ireland was +long politically at one with Great Britain; now by her numbers she is +allied to the Vatican. + +The well-read politician will see that a contest similar to those thus +indicated is going on almost all over Europe. In Great Britain and +Ireland, in France, Prussia, Austria, and Italy--even in the once +bigoted Spain, priestly parties are striving for supremacy over the +party of rational order and philosophical government. The question at +issue is by no means doubtful--it is one which has been agitated for +thousands of years, but that has never assumed large proportions in +consequence of general ignorance and consequent apathy. In England, +France, and Germany, innumerable champions on the one side have risen, +fought, and died, overpowered by the numbers-ranged against them; but, +as persecution is said to be the seed of orthodoxy, so these men and +their writings have, by dissemination through the press, and the effect +of increased education in the languages of Europe, gradually raised so +large a party, as to be able to contend with some chances of success. + +It will be seen that the question to which I refer is this--"Shall men +and states be governed by faith?" in other words, "by the hierarchy of +the most numerous section of the community--or by reason--i.e., by the +good sense of the majority?" In Austria and in Italy this issue has +clearly been tried, and in both instances the priesthood has been +obliged to accept a secondary position. In Prussia the same momentous +point is being tried with every chance of the sacerdotal party being +worsted. In the British kingdom religion has long been regarded as +subordinate to state policy; nevertheless there is yet a strong party +who desires to reduce her inhabitants to clerical bondage. If all the +individuals composing this section of the community were united, they +would prevail by their numbers; but, as the aggressive army is composed +of troops who bear an almost deadly hate against each other, small +danger is to be anticipated from them. The Ritualist and Roman Catholic +might unite together; but these would not stand shoulder to shoulder +with the Wesleyan, Baptist, and Low Churchman. Although all equally +detest those who say "parsons are not wanted," sects will not ally +themselves, lest, if every one were to be compelled to select a form of +faith, the compulsory decree might augment the numbers following some +adversary. + +We have thus placed before our readers what we believe is the first +article which has to be considered in Reconstruction. We have to ask +ourselves whether we should enlist ourselves under the banner of faith, +and endeavour to add one form of religion to those already existing; +or, whether we should join the banner of reason, and repudiate all +doctrines, dogmas, credences, and the like, which are offensive to +common sense. We may fairly parody the words of the mythical Elisha, and +say to ourselves--"Choose ye this day whom ye will serve; if faith suits +your indolence, then hug your chains; if you prefer reason, gird up the +loins of your mind, and metaphorically kill the priests of Rite." + +Ere, however, we can reasonably expect those who have hitherto been +inconsiderate to make their selection of standard bearers, it is +desirable to say something of the two. _In limine_ we must observe that +we do not believe that the choice will be determined by the head +alone, for there are many whose arms are, so to speak, paralyzed by +a constitutional peculiarity. A hero in his study has often proved a +poltroon in the field of battle. I may point the moral by quoting from +memory a story in Addison's _Spectator_--"A B is a hen-pecked husband; +he knows it, and bewails his thraldom; he consults C D, who sympathises +with his case, increases his detestation for the home tyranny, and tells +him how to break the chains. A B, full of resolution, tries the plan +recommended, but breaks down at once." The moral is, that those who are +born to serve, or are too weak-minded to assert their independence, had +better submit to be ruled--even if the tyrant be a woman, than try to +gain peace by conflict. Into this story I fully enter, for I know, from +experience, how much "nerve" is required for any one to change his or +her relative position. The moral courage of which I speak, is one that +dominates over constitutional shyness and fear; it differs from the +boldness of a soldier, and the dash of the beast of prey; it is not a +simple mental assent; but it is a motive which, after being once placed, +becomes a mainspring of life. To adopt Faith as a guide, is to go +through life easily--so long as "thought" can be sent to sleep. To adopt +Reason, is to prevent thought ever slumbering, and to live the happier +the more steadily that the mind is watchful In few words, Faith is "a +quack doctor," Reason "a physician." The first will always have the most +admirers. + +Without further preface, let us inquire "what Faith really is?" This is +a question with which I have been familiar since my childhood, and the +answer offered to me for adoption was--"It is the substance of things +hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. xi. 1). This reply +has never suggested any distinct idea to me, and I am confident that the +author of "Hebrews" had not a definite meaning in his own mind when he +wrote the words. The context shows that the word [--Greek--] is used +to signify distinct states of mind, and one example, which is given +frequently, indicates a different signification from another that +precedes or follows. For example, in v. 5 we are told that Enoch was +translated by "faith;" but the only evidence for this is, that "he +pleased God;" whereas, in verse 11, we are told that Sarah, who laughed +at the idea of having offspring, and disbelieved the promise which said +that she should have a son, conceived "through faith." Still further, +the false history of the chapter disgusted me--e.g., we read in w. 24, +25, 27, that Moses by faith elected to bear affliction with the people +of God, and from the same cause forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of +the king, &c.--both of which statements are untrue, for he ran away both +from the afflictions of the Hebrews and the wrath of the monarch, and +required "pressing" before he would leave his retreat in Midian. I +regard the chapter thus referred to as one of the great stumbling blocks +of Christianity. Its logic is contemptible; yet it must pass for truth, +because Paul is thought to have written it. Being now thrown back +upon our own resources for a definition of "faith," we affirm that it +signifies "_uncompromising_ belief in what one is told." Every religious +book which occupies itself with this subject illustrates the word in +question by affirming that it resembles the motive which actuates a +child who, at a father's bidding; leaps from a height upon the promise +that papa will catch him in his arms. + +Though, as a rule, I am disinclined to use adjectives, I have added the +word in italics, because it is a material part of the definition, and +involves more than at first sight appears. Peter tried to walk upon the +water--he doubted, and began to sink. He has been imitated by others; +they have all failed. "Doctor," a man may say, "can I swallow this +without being choked?" "Yes, if you think you can." He tries to swallow +the morsel, and is choked. The result in every case is attributed to a +want of faith. In other words, hesitation cannot effect what confidence +can. Consequently we are justified in asserting that faith and doubt +are absolutely incompatible. Faith implies an absolute and perfect +confidence. This faith may be compulsory--as when a shipmaster is +obliged by local law to give up the management of his ship to a pilot; +or it may be spontaneous, as when a patient trusts himself to a surgeon. +For a man only to give a half confidence, is to cripple to that extent +the capacity of the one who is responsible. + +Religious faith, then, involves the necessity of an absolute and blind +confidence in the priestly pilot selected as a conductor through life +to eternity; it precludes inquiry, discourages thought upon the most +important matter which every man has to consider, and makes of a +rational being an intellectual slave. In few words, it reduces its +votary to the position of a tool, and renders him, so far as religion is +concerned, mentally blind. + +We recognize the accuracy of our deductions when we find that the aim of +the Roman church has been to reduce men to the condition here described, +and then to use them as carpenters do planes, chisels, and axes. It is +probable that there never existed in the world an order of men who have +so completely reduced themselves, and voluntarily too, it must be borne +in mind, to the position of a machine, as the Jesuits have done. They +are an instrument in the hands of their superiors, and they blindly +obey. Whether the order exists for good or harm, it is not my purpose to +discuss. + +Next in order to the society of Jesus comes the gigantic society known +as the Papacy, or Roman Catholicism. I place this as second to Jesuitry, +because, for a long period, there was a certain freedom of opinion +allowed to the superior clergy. But now, when it has become a tenet +of the church of Rome, that its head is absolutely infallible in all +matters of dogma and doctrine, it is probable that the demand of faith +from the laity may equal, if not exceed, that made upon professed +Jesuits. + +In religion, the only place in which uncompromising faith finds +its home, is the Papal. That demands unlimited belief in everything +ecclesiastically promulgated, hatred of everything dogmatically +condemned, and acquiescence in every sacerdotal command. Amongst that +sect, doubting is an offence, and opposition is a crime. + +We have seen this illustrated in the person of the learned Bishop +Doellinger, who has been excommunicated simply because he refused to +accept the new fangled notions of an almost effete old pope. He cannot +see anything in a modern council to supersede apostolic traditions; he +doubts; therefore the Papalists do everything in their power to damn +him. In like manner, although prior in time to the declaration of +the Pope's infallibility, we have seen the present king of Italy +excommunicated; because he, as the head of his own dominions, ordered +a decree to be carried into effect which, whilst it was good for the +people generally, was regarded as hostile to the church. + +The observer need not, however, go far from home in search of +illustrations, for every year sees one or another Protestant minister +leaving the Anglican for the Roman communion, on the sole ground that +in the latter there is no room for doctrinal doubts and contests. To the +laity, the very repose of the religious mind is held out as a bait by +Papal missionaries, and it is probably one of the most successful which +"the fishers of men" employ. I once heard a brother physician express +his opinion on this point. Conversation had turned upon a confrere who +had been in religious matters "everything by turns, and nothing long." +"Ah," said the Romanist, "he'll be tired of roaming some day, and find +repose at last in the bosom of the church; his soul will then be at +rest, and will wander no more." + +The possibility of Protestants entertaining a doubt upon the power of +"the Church" to demand unlimited belief and obedience from the faithful, +is a sore thorn in the side of many dignitaries of the national creed. +As this propensity to inquiry is an essential part of the legacy +bequeathed to Englishmen by the reformation, this last movement has been +execrated by some of our High Churchmen. It is asserted, that, as the +taking of the Bible for the sole rule of faith has been followed by +a great splitting up of the so-called "Church of Christ," so it is +advisable to change the standard, and to adopt that of "Ecclesiastics" +personally or collectively. In any case, such advocates desire to +re-establish the reign of faith. What the Reign of Faith has been in +Europe, it would be idle to describe. + +As soon as the mind of an individual revolts from giving implicit faith +to any creed, doctrine, or dogma, he must be regarded as a mariner who, +being not quite contented with his own country, endeavours to find a +better. In his voyage he first leaves the shore as a fledgling does the +nest--he goes a short excursion, and returns; after a time he becomes +more brave, and puts off more boldly. At first he probably finds +a number of other barques as venturous as his own, and he becomes +emboldened; it may be his arms are strong, his head clear, and his boat +good; and he steers into the offing. No sooner does he leave the herd, +however, than he is chased, and if he refuses to put back, curses follow +him; and the friends whom once he had are condoled with. Such is the +position of a Protestant who departs seriously from the religion of the +majority. With or amongst the Romanists to leave the shore is an act of +disbelief which must be atoned for by penance or punishment. + +It is clear that every such individual who, like a chick, leaves the +shelter of the maternal wings, must be more or less at sea. He or she +may have no idea of going very far, yet may be compelled to sail on +until he has reached the other side of Doubting Straits, and has landed +in the realm of Reason. We can well conceive the waters to be covered +by small "craft," which keep together for company's sake, or who boldly +sail out and solicit followers--some cluster, it may be, round a stately +galleon, others sail with a dashing cruiser, some come into collision +or hostile contact with their neighbours, and try to damage each others' +barques. But all are at sea--driven hither and thither by breezes which +spring up, no one knows how, and drop down again as swiftly as they +rose. The mariners, however, seem to enjoy the excitement, and refuse to +return to their own land. + +The individuals whom we here describe are the ordinary Protestant sects +(not including the Unitarians, who have long reached a comparatively +stable ground). These, by whatever name they are called, refuse to give +implicit faith to the Pope; they will, however, accord, in some degree, +to some pet parson, the management of their conscience; they dread what +is called "free-thinking," as a mariner does a lee shore. They put up +with every accident which arises from mingling faith with reason, and +are, on the whole, contented, as long as too much pressure is not put +upon them, to steer in a definite direction. Of these it may be said, +"Thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, +because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee +out. of my mouth" (Rev. iii. 15,16). The endeavour to make reason +subservient to faith, must ever be a failure as complete as would be +the endeavour to weld iron with water, or to heat an anchor shaft by +surrounding it with cold coals and wood, then blowing a blast of air +upon the whole. He who is determined to use reason, must drop faith; and +he who clings to faith, must drop reason. The conclusions drawn by all +who attempt the combination will always be lame and impotent. + +If, in the stead of faith, an individual takes reason for his guide +through this world to the next, he incurs the wrath and malignancy of +the many, and the respect of the few. He comes in for far harder names +than Pagans gave to Christians, and Papalists gave to Huguenots. If, +unfortunately, he should live in a country where priests rule, he may be +burned, as Savonarola was at Florence, Latimer and Ridley at Oxford, and +Servetus at Geneva. Luther was said to be a devil--a so-called Atheist +is believed to be something worse. + +Yet, notwithstanding all the obloquy thrown upon Freethinkers by the +orthodox, they steadily have increased in numbers, ever since the spread +of education and the cheapness of books have enabled men to study in +retirement When there was little instruction and few books, people +gained what knowledge they had from their spiritual guides. This power +of the pulpit enabled the hierarchy to set up and substantiate any +claims which they chose. But, since the power of the printing press has +risen, the influence of the priesthood has diminished. With all this +tendency to so-called Atheism, there has been no loss of propriety; on +the contrary, the probity of the few exceeds that of the many, and in +all there is a great improvement. The present times in Italy are far +superior to those when the Borgias and their religion were supreme. + +When we inquire what the Freethinkers, or Rationalists, are, it is +readily seen that they have been maligned by "the faithful." There is +little difficulty in summing up their tenets: it is "Reverence, without +servility." They draw their views from the book of creation, and hold it +infamous to fight for supremacy where facts and logic can decide. This, +however, is by far too meagre to satisfy either a friend, an inquirer, +or an opponent; it is, therefore, desirable to go into the matter more +fully. In doing so, I make no pretence to be the mouthpiece of a party, +nor even to give a digested account of what those who have written and +published before me have enunciated; my sole aim is to give, in as plain +terms as I can command, the opinions which inquiry has forced upon my +mind. + +My first confession of faith must be negative, for, until the ground has +been cleared, it is not advisable either to plant or construct: + +1. I do not believe in the authority of any written book as being an +inspired production, or as containing a revelation from God to man. In +my estimation, the Bible is not in any way superior to the Koran, to +the Dhammapada, the Puranas, the Main-yo-Khard, the Avesta, or any other +collection of scriptures held sacred. + +2. I do not believe the story given in Genesis of the creation, of +the formation of human beings, and what is ordinarily called "the +temptation" and "the fall". + +3. I do not believe in the existence of what is technically designated +"original sin," nor that the human race is "a fallen one;" consequently, +I do not believe in the necessity for "salvation." I do not believe that +death came into the world by sin. + +4 I do not believe in the existence of "sin," in the ordinary +acceptation of the word; nor do I believe that man requires the +intervention of any fellow mortal, either to reconcile or embroil him +with an unseen power. + +5. I do not believe in the existence of a Devil, or of any other power +in the whole universe, than that of the Supreme Maker of all. + +6. I do not believe in any description which has yet been given of Hell +or Heaven. + +7. I do not believe that God has ever directly spoken to man. + +8. I do not believe that God has ever become incarnate, or that he has a +celestial spouse, or a son. + +9. I do not believe in the existence of truth-speaking prophets, in the +existence of angels, or ghosts, or in the supernatural birth of any one. + +10. I do not believe that God has now, or ever has had, a separate and +chosen people, peculiarly "His own," and, consequently, that there are +none to whom the term "the elect" can apply. + +11. I do not believe that what is generally designated religion is +necessary to the existence of law and order in a state or in a family. + +12. I do not believe that God requires the assistance of man, here +or elsewhere, to enable Him to find, or to keep, or to punish, His +subjects. + +These negatives might be multiplied, but I doubt whether profitably so, +inasmuch as the more we dilute important points, the less readily are +they recognized. We may now proceed to affirmations:-- + +1. I do believe in the existence of a distinct Power in creation--great +beyond conception, which pervades all space--which is everywhere present +in the earth, the sea, the air, and in every conceivable part of the +Universe--which made all things, and gave to them properties, powers, +and laws. A power to which it were blasphemy to assign ears, eyes, +hands, or human parts, and an evidence of a grovelling mind to suppose +it capable of human passions, such as love, hate, jealousy, and +merriment, and to describe it as ignorant, vacillating, and grieved at +its own work. That Power I cannot conceive as having either an origin or +an end. Into the designs of such a power, man cannot enter, nor can he +even seem to approach them, except by noticing the works of creation, +and studying the laws which apparently govern it By the term, "laws of +nature," I understand "the laws of the power of which I speak." I cannot +conceive how man can form an idea of a state of spiritual existence of +which he can neither see, observe, or notice anything. + +It is, in my opinion, unnecessary here to enter into the vexed question +of the continued interference of this Power with its works, for where we +have only human analogies to guide us, it is undesirable to argue +upon them in the attempt to discover the superhuman. As we shall have +occasion shortly to indicate our views upon a matter analogous to this, +we will postpone anything which we may have to say. + +I believe that the Power has never made, nor can ever make, a mistake; +that all its works are perfect, and that where they seem to us to be +otherwise, it is from our ignorance of their design. + +It seems to me that lions and lambs, sharks and gudgeons, that hawks and +chickens, form a portion of a grand scheme: that the distinct classes +of animals were originally perfect; that they may deteriorate, yet never +advance beyond perfection. I do not believe that a lion could become, +under any circumstances, a bull; a bear a camel, or a pig an elephant. + +2. The belief that the Creator made each creature originally perfect, +and with certain well defined propensities, involves the further +confidence that the indulgence in those propensities is a necessary part +of the scheme of creation; consequently, I believe that the tiger eats +flesh because it is a law of his existence, and that in doing so he +commits no sin. I believe, still further, that a close observation of +nature gives us some apparent insight into the plan of creation For +example, I think the existence of gills in a fish leads us fairly to the +conclusion that it was intended to live in the water; that the existence +of teeth implies that they were to be used in eating, wings in flying, +legs in walking. Still further, when we notice that vegetables can +assimilate mineral matter, which animals, as a rule, cannot, I believe +that the vegetable kingdom has its special place in the world; and when, +moreover, we find creatures who can eat and digest vegetables, and have +a special apparatus for the purpose, it is fair to conclude that they +too have their station assigned. A corresponding remark applies to the +carnivora. Once again,--when an extended observation shows us that the +beasts and birds of prey select for their victims the young of animals +which their parents are unable to protect, the aged, who are too infirm +to fight for themselves, or the sickly, which are quite unfit to live: +when, moreover, we find these carnivorous creatures die when age or +accident deprives them of the power of getting food; nay, when we see +large numbers of all animals die from want of food, of air, of warmth, +or from accidents--I believe that we are justified in deducing the idea +that it is a design of the Power, that those which cannot live shall +die; I believe that death is as essential a necessity to every creature +as is its birth, and that its many forms have a definite purpose. + +Let us now, for a moment, turn our attention to the very commencement +of life. If from any cause the new being is seriously malformed or +diseased, it is a common thing for the dam to miscarry. If a mother, say +a pig, rat, or bird, brings forth a larger brood than she can nourish, +she commonly kills the smallest, and allows only those to survive which +she can find food for--the bird that lays more eggs than her nest will +hold, turns the overplus out; and if, when the fledglings grow up, they +are too bulky, one of them will be discarded. The cuckoo's chick has a +special provision made for helping it to turn out the young of another +bird, and its mother has also a special instinct to lay its eggs in the +nest of the hedge-sparrow. The life of one involves the death of three +or more. Again, in the aquatic world, one fish makes no scruple to feed +on its own young ones or those of its neighbours, and the old crocodile +seeks out its offspring as a favourite luxury. We find, moreover, +that where these creatures abound there may often be found a small +animal--the ichneumon--whose instinct teaches it to seek for and destroy +the eggs of the saurian. In like manner crows, rats, cuckoos, and +probably many other creatures, have a propensity to feed upon the eggs +of various birds. In few words, we recognize throughout creation an +apparent design to prevent a superabundance of life. + +This remarkable provision, working, as it does, through laws which seem +to be fixed and established, prevents our belief in the interference of +the Creator. When an animal has reached the period of nearly adult age, +there is in many instances a considerable amount of instruction given +to it, sometimes by the sire, but mostly by the dam. When that has been +imparted, parents and offspring seem to be like strangers to each other. + +It is probable that, if we could observe all animals, we should find +some system of training of the family. As it is, we can only speak of +domestic fowls, and notice the order which the hen keeps up amongst her +brood of chickens; they are taught to live peaceably. Her punishments +are never lenient; they are, indeed, necessarily severe. + +We may next proceed to inquire into the animal instincts which exist +in adult life, at a period when every creature is supposed to be in its +perfection. At a certain time of the year there is a propensity for +the male and female to unite. There is not anything in creation which +affords a more attractive study than this, for every class of creatures +has a practice peculiar to itself. One might fancy that in an act so +necessary and so simple there would be little cause for interest; yet, +in reality, "the prodigality of design"--a term which we hope to explain +fully hereafter--is more largely shown in this process than in any +other. It is, however, a subject upon which one cannot descant before +the general public. + +So far as we are able to observe animals, we find that at this period +there is, amongst a great number of classes, a power amongst the males +to discover the most perfect amongst the females, and to fight for them. +By this means the young are certain to be the offspring of perfection of +grace and beauty in the dam, and strength and size in the sire. We can +readily understand that, if the loveliest hind were to pair with the +weakliest stag, the breed would degenerate, and probably die out. But +the conqueror can hold his place only so long as he has vigour; when age +has weakened him, the youthful successor practically prevents the old +buck from being a father. In some exceptional cases (apparently so at +least) the number of males exceeds that of the females, and, as a result +of the instinct before alluded to, the fight ends in the majority of the +males being destroyed. The survivor then has one spouse only, and not a +seraglio. This is said to obtain amongst rats and lions. + +As yet, there is not a sufficient amount of observation available to +enable us to affirm what is the general cause of exit from life, when +no death by violence occurs. We do not know the end of old buffaloes, +elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, whales, and other monsters. Tales +are told of decrepit lions being occasionally seen tottering to their +fall; and gossip says that ancient cats know when they are about to die, +and retire to some secluded nook, where they give up the ghost quietly. +I cannot charge my memory with a single anecdote in which the youthful +animal endeavours to sustain the old one, by feeding it during its +decrepitude. Throughout creation parental affection signifies solicitude +for offspring. We do not anywhere discover a love towards a parent after +the younger creature has reached adult age. + +In all the cases to which I have referred, and, were I a naturalist, +they might be greatly multiplied, there is no pretence, even amongst +the orthodox, that any of the creatures have committed "sin" against +the Almighty, or against the community of which they form a part. On the +contrary, what is done, even though it amounts to murder, is regarded +as a necessity; and we admire the laws of nature which bring about such +results. We do not stop to inquire whether any contrivance would prevent +birds from laying too many eggs, and cuckoos from dropping theirs into +the nests of other birds; we content ourselves with saying, "such is the +will of Providence." It is easy to come to such a conclusion as regards +what we are pleased to call "the lower animals," but as soon as we +inquire "whether similar laws or instincts are implanted in us," we are +generally met with a howl of repugnance. + +But I believe that we shall never understand our true position in life +and in nature until we deliberately investigate that which we have +in common with other animals, and wherein we are different--probably +superior. I use the word _probably_, because, in the estimation of +higher beings than ourselves--if such there be--the horse and the +elephant may be regarded as being far above us in the scale which those +beings have framed for themselves. + +I have never yet seen any deliberate attempt to work out the problem +referred to. Every one, or nearly so, who if orthodox, assumes that it +is absolutely wicked to compare the beasts which perish, to man who has +a soul As I have, in a previous volume, shown that the evidence for the +immortality of the horse is equal to that for the human race, I will not +stay to point out the absurdity of building an important argument upon a +baseless assumption, but simply express my belief that man has very much +in common with other mammals; but that he is in possession of something +superadded, which, at first sight--though not in reality--takes him +out of the trammels of the ordinary laws of nature that operate in the +brutes. + +No one can doubt that man has as strong a propensity to unite with +woman, as bulls and stags have with the females of their kind. He has, +even in civilized societies, a propensity to fight with one or more of +his fellows for a female of surpassing beauty. Men will combat about +a disputed field or country as fiercely as dogs over a bone, or hermit +crabs over a shell. As a rule, man detests to be taught, quite as much +as does the whelp; yet, when he has gained an art, he is as proud of it +as a highly trained spaniel. Men are gregarious as horses in a field, +and quite as intolerant as they, of an interloper. Like the wild wolves, +men will unite together to capture and prey upon creatures of each +of whom individually he stands in fear. Like a set of wild bulls or +buffaloes, men will, for a time, agree to obey a leader, and, when the +object is gained, break loose. Like a cat, man will steal, when he can, +his neighbours' goods, like a crow, he will pay no attention to his +parents, nor to a Sunday. + +Without entering into farther particulars, we may affirm that some +highly trained elephants, dogs, and horses, are superior to many human +beings in every point upon which an impartial judge can determine. + +It is my belief that, for a man to obey an instinct which is implanted +in his nature, is not "a sin" against God. + +To see this in a fair light, let us assume, as we have a right to do, +that it is an instinct in the nature of all known creatures, to +increase and multiply their like. To avoid doing so intentionally, is a +contravention of one of the Creator's laws. If this be so, then celibacy +is a sin, as great, indeed, as if one were to refrain from food of all +kinds; and no one can be considered as worthy of the name of good, +who remains unpaired without just cause. In like manner, it is not an +offence against the laws of God for any man and woman to unite, for it +is as much a law of nature that they shall do so, as that they must eat +and drink. The plea of "religion" cannot make that wrong, which is by +nature right. + +In like manner, if in a limited community--say upon an island, the +number of men exceeds that of the women, I believe that a fight amongst +the males for the possession of mates, would not be "sin" against the +Omnipotent even though many combatants died during the contest. + +Nay, so common upon many points is the agreement; amongst even the most +orthodox, that none would say that a man commits a crime when he steals +the store of honey laid up by bees, kills animals for food or for their +fur, or covets and appropriates the prairies hitherto occupied by herds +of deer and bison. Even the commandments said to be delivered by +God Himself are held not to be literally binding upon man, except in +relation to his friends. He may, for example, by the laws of war, murder +his enemies, fornicate with their wives, steal their property, and +deceive them in every way. Abraham, the so-called friend of God, +murdered many Orientals, and plundered them; not because he had any +quarrel with them, but simply because they had murdered and plundered +some of his friends. David again, a man after God's own heart, with his +dying breath, gave his son instructions to put individuals to death in +cold blood, superseding the law of Sinai, by a heritage of hate. When, +therefore, common consent takes certain actions out of the list of +crimes or sins, provided that the deeds are done against enemies, we +have to seek for the origin of those ideas which make murder, theft, +robbery, rape, and false-witness crimes in the abstract. + +To understand this point, we have really to start from the bestial +basis, and aver that what is not sin in them, is not sin in savage man. +No one of any intelligence would say that a Briton would be justified in +shooting an Ashantee because the latter had killed and eaten an enemy, +or an aged parent; nor would any one of us sentence a Hindoo to death +because he had killed a dozen Thugs. Even in comparatively civilized +American backwoods, a person who has killed a bully has been thought +a public benefactor. Again, when we cast our eyes upon Australia, and +learn the brutal way in which the black native virgins are violently +carried away from their relatives and married, and how again they +are repeatedly carried off as wives by other men, we feel ourselves +justified in leaving the ravishers without punishment, for there is +no violation of law, or, if there be, Englishmen have no right to +interfere. + +But what we tolerate in uncivilized lands, even where we are ostensibly +rulers, we will not suffer in our own. The reason of this is, that we +have banded ourselves into a society in which "the laws," once settled +and determined by the majority, supersede, in certain cases, individual +action. + +To make our meaning clear, let us imagine that amongst some nation or +people there is one man more astute and powerful than his fellows; +still further, we assume that he has fought, or is desirous to fight, a +neighbour of nearly equal force. It is clear that if his people murder +each other from any cause he will lose warriors; consequently, he will +let his tribe understand that he will punish homicide, on a plan which +he thinks will be deterrent. Still further, as he requires soldiers of +strong limbs and sturdy constitution, he declares that no woman shall +many without his consent, so that he may prevent any one selling +herself, or being sold, to a weak or old man for mere pelf. As, in a +savage state, most possessions are those which are useful in war, he +would prohibit theft. As a consequence, he, and all who respected his +power to punish, would regard murder, theft, rape, and unauthorized +wife-selling as crimes--offences, that is to say, against the ruler of +the state, and not against the Creator of mankind. + +It signifies little to my argument, whether society is governed, as the +early Aryans were, by warriors, or, as the later ones were, by Brahmans. +In either case the leaders make laws, and declare a violation of them to +be punishable. + +When communities are small in size, and extend over a small area, few +rules of life are necessary; but when a nation increases in size, +and especially when it consiste of many tribes or class which have +voluntarily united together, legislation is far more complicated, +inasmuch as the ideas of right and wrong in each section may, from long +custom, vary from each other. For example, in most of the United States +of America bigamy, or the possession of two wives at a time, is a crime; +whereas, in Salt Lake city, its rulers have twenty, and its men a dozen, +if they like, and yet are esteemed saints, and really conduct themselves +as if they had a clear claim to the title. + +The greatest complication is when the laws of a community have been +framed, partly by soldiers, partly by ecclesiastics, and partly by +mercantile men, for each party has a different creed. The first makes +no scruple to fight at the command of the second, whilst the third +endeavours to prevent all war whatever. The second set intrigue to have +the supreme power; the first and third often endeavour to suppress the +second, knowing its aggressiveness and lust of supremacy. + +When a nation is under what is grandiloquently called a Theocracy, every +offence against a command given _ex cathedra_ is regarded as a sin; not +simply a disregard of the law, but a defiance of the God who is said to +have ordained it. Thus, according to what is known as the Mosaic law, +it was a crime punishable by a lingering death to gather sticks on a +Sabbath day (Num. xv. 32-36); but it was no crime to kill all the +males and women of a whole nation, and retain the maidens for private +prostitution and for the use of the priest (Num. xxxi. 17, 18, 40, +41). In such a nation it was no crime to commit forgery--and of all the +bearers of false witness, none exceeded in ancient times the Jewish +writers in the Bible--but in mercantile England, the former has been at +one time punished with death, and the latter by ignominious penalties. + +In modern Theocracies, such as once existed in Austria, Spain, Italy, +England, and elsewhere, it was considered criminal to think differently, +upon any religious point, from the authorized standard. In those +kingdoms many a person was doomed to die a painful death, and thereafter +sent--as it was supposed, to Hell--whom we now regard as a virtuous, +brave, and noble individual. + +The common sense of mankind induces all citizens to buy what they have +need of, at the smallest possible price; but a mercantile government +says to its people--"You shall not buy anything from anybody who has not +first paid us for the privilege of trading, and something more for every +ware which he offers for sale, and every one contravening this order +shall be seriously punished." Here, again, an artificial offence is +manufactured that has no origin in nature. + +When a people has succeeded in throwing off publicly the trammels of +Ecclesiastical legislation, as England, Italy, Spain, France, Austria, +Belgium, and other nations have done, they by no means shake off their +private shackles. The only difference between Spain, Austria, and other +places, now and formerly, is, that the priesthood are seeking to attain +by subtlety what they could previously command by their state power. At +one period in the history of modern Rome, it was a crime not to kneel +on the bare ground when certain priests passed with a bit of wafer +surrounded by gorgeous trappings. This is a crime no longer against the +state, but for all who believe the Papal hierarchy it is yet a sin. + +At one time in England, it was a crime not to go to church on Sunday; +it was equally punishable to carry on any business. The laws respecting +these matters have not yet been repealed, and they have been put +recently into operation, although the good sense of the majority has +made them practically obsolete. Yet, though this is the case, and the +law no longer punishes Sabbath-breaking, the priestly body continue to +launch their thunders against all who regard every day alike. It is, +indeed, doubtful if, in the eyes of our parsons, there is any sin so +great as enjoying one's self on a Sunday. The law of our country does +not make it a crime for a woman to prostitute her body, or for a man +to have a concubine of greater or less permanency, but the hierarchs +denounce the arrangement as criminal in the sight of God. + +We need not multiply our illustrations farther. Sufficient has been +advanced to show that there are two distinct classes of sins--one, those +made by Ecclesiastics, or by those legislators passing under the name +"Society;" the other, those which are against the laws of nature--e.g., +an enforced celibacy, such as that to which Romish priests are doomed. +In saying this, we readily allow that what is right, according to the +laws of God, as set forth in the universe, is wrong according to the +code made by the legally constituted authorities of the state in which +an individual lives. We grant, moreover, that, if a government is strong +enough, the laws of man should be enforced by human means. But we do not +believe that mortals should be compelled to carry out that which priests +tell them is the justice of the Immortal, of which they know absolutely +nothing. I hold that no state can fairly claim to take cognizance of, or +to punish, thoughts, or any private indulgence which creates no public +scandal. + +If we endeavour to reduce our views to a still clearer issue, the +difference between divine and human laws will be the more readily +understood. Let us assume that Miss Kallistee is the most perfect +woman in a district. For her contend with their natural weapons Messrs. +Dunamis, Kratos, Kalos, Sophos, and Mathesis; and the conqueror, having +killed his adversaries, takes the lady to wife. The law of man or of +society now steps in and kills off the survivor; or, if it should know +beforehand of the coming contest, will prevent it. As a consequence, +the lady must be contended for peaceably, and may become the bride of +impotent old age or wealthy disease. As a result, the healthy offspring, +which nature would have reared, are either absent, sickly, diseased, +or idiotic. Here, then, I affirm that a law of society is a sin against +God. + +I would wish my readers to ponder over this matter, which gives much +food for thought. I do not think that such contests as I have described +can be tolerated in any society of civilized beings, for, in proportion +to our emergence from barbarism, we do not seek mere strength and beauty +of form in our population. We desire to cultivate the intellectual +rather than the animal in man. But experience has shown that, as a rule, +the further man departs from the latter, and the nearer he approaches to +the former, the more does his progeny deteriorate physically. + +It is a problem whether, by any available contrivance short of that +which was adopted by the Incas of Peru, man can uniformly develope +upwards. The physiologist can readily see how the matter might be +effected, but in republican or constitutional kingdoms, the means will +never be adopted. + +We have now come to a point when it is necessary for me, as an +individual, to express an opinion as to the selection which a +philosopher, living in a comparatively civilized community, should make +between a promulgation of the so-called laws of God--an instruction +respecting the laws of nature--or an utterance of the laws of society, +with the enforcement of them. Ere forming a decision, let us endeavour +to ascertain what each alternative involves. + +If a state, acting through its executive government, decides to make +what are called the laws of God the basis of legislation, it must first +decide what those laws are. In the endeavour to do so, every thoughtful +man will recognize the impossibility of verifying a single one. The +whole must, therefore, be promulgated on assumption; and if so, the +legislators will be conscious that they have no valid authority. If, on +the other hand, they assume the laws of nature to be a safe guide, they +must allow proceedings which are opposed to the feelings of the majority +of civilized mortals. Being, then, averse to elect either of these codes +as a sole basis, the statesman will endeavour, as far as in him lies, to +make or adapt laws for the society in which he lives. + +When the well-being of the community becomes the basis of its +legislation, the idea of sin vanishes from the statute book, and the +stern realities of life have to be envisaged with firmness and decision. +So also when religion has merged into common sense, and facts are +appealed to rather than fancies, policy takes the place of dogma, and +the voice of a majority overcomes that of any priesthood. + +Into political economy, however, it is not my desire to enter, further +than may be necessary to illustrate my own opinions upon religion. + +Having emancipated myself from the thraldom of bibliolatry and +priestcraft generally, it is my aim to examine what seems to be my duty +as a man and an integer of society. I conceive that, although I have +no certain knowledge thereof, I am one of the myriads of instruments +by which the Almighty works out His designs. My appreciation may be +imperfect, but still it seems to me a duty, always to be a good husband, +father, friend, and citizen--to act ever towards others as I should +desire myself to be treated under the same circumstances--to improve +such talents as I am conscious of possessing; and, in a general way, to +do as much good as I can during my lifetime--taking care, if possible, +to leave after my death no mischievous agency set on foot by me. In +few words, I believe that the only true religion consists in a constant +steady performance of duty--a duty discovered and determined by the +individual, and not one prescribed by any set of men. + +The conclusion thus arrived at, appears at first sight, to be meagre +in the extreme, but when it is fully examined, it is found to involve +important consequences. The faithful, for example, or, as they style +themselves, "the orthodox," live, when they pay any attention to such +matters, in a state of perpetual fear of God and eternity; some, indeed +we may say many, go mad from the oppression which they feel from having +committed an unpardonable sin; some pass through life weighted by the +dread of not being finally "saved"; all, with rare exceptions, have a +horror of death and of the results of "the judgment." Feeling assured +that few will be saved, and the many will be damned, they have a +dreadful feeling of certainty that either they or some of their dearest +relatives or friends will be amongst the majority. Some go through life +sinning and repenting--"in dust and ashes," as the technical phrase +runs--until they are ashamed of their own vacillation, or go on sinning, +without any qualms of conscience, until it is too late to mend; and +they recognize before them "a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery +indignation." These fantastic terrors are far more deeply rooted in the +Protestants than in the Papists, who have so completely become imbued +with the belief that their priests have almost unlimited power in the +unseen world, that the dying folk become easy in their minds, by a +full assurance of hope that friends, hierarchs, and "masses" will make +purgatory bearable and heaven certain. Of fear about eternity I know +nothing; feeling confident that the God who made me--directly or +indirectly it would be a waste of time to discuss--had some work for +me to do here. I am quite content with whatever may be assigned to me +hereafter by the same Power. Of a future state I am wholly ignorant. +As an integer, I feel a sort of instinct that death is not absolute +annihilation; but beyond that I do not now seek to know, for every +source of intelligence is absent. + +To some inconsiderate enthusiasts this may seem a cold belief, but in +reality it is anything but that, for my days and nights are freed from +that wet blanket of vague dread which makes so many mentally shiver; and +my time is passed pleasantly in the alternate labour required by duty, +and the repose necessary to recruit one's energies. + +Let us, for a moment, consider what would be the condition of the world, +if each individual conducted himself according to the dictates of a pure +and enlightened morality, instead of according to the direction of a +body of Ecclesiastics. + +We may, I think, fearlessly assert that there would be no wars, no +murders, thefts, adulteries, libels, violations of female purity; in +short, every one would do as he wished to be done by. In such a people +persecution would find no place, ignorance would not be permitted, and +law would be unnecessary. Other desirable things would also take place, +to which it is unnecessary to refer at large. + +When all are strictly proper in every relation of life, I cannot believe +that anything more would be wanting to make the human family as happy +as it can be here. What, let us ask, would the orthodox declare was +amissing? The reply is, to my mind, awful: There would be, first, the +want of hatred and malice; then would be added the want of Hell-to which +enemies could be sent, and of a Heaven, in which the faithful could feed +their malignancy by watching the tortures of those whom they detested on +earth. + +In fine, I beg to express my own deliberate opinion, which has been +growing stronger monthly since I first began to collect materials for +this work, that those who can find nerve to sweep from their minds the +trammels which have been woven around them by hundreds of generations of +hierarchs, and adopt the simple faith which I have above indicated, will +be far happier and better than ever they were before. No man will stand +between them and God, and they will find Him infinitely more good and +merciful than any of those who profess to be His agents. + +There is yet another way by which the subject of "faith and reason" may +be approached, and their antagonism tested. This is by considering how +far the former is essentially human, and the latter divine--by which +we mean, superior to the propensity which all mankind has in common. We +recognize the importance of the inquiry, when we find Mr Gladstone, +a Prime Minister of England, discouraging the action resulting from +philosophical thought, because a man named Paul, some 1800 years ago, +recommended his friends to hold fast that which he, and they, under +his teaching, believed to be good. The speech of the Premier, which +was delivered at a large Liverpool School, and was written with unusual +care, held up, to a lot of schoolboys, the propositions of Strauss as +something which were so bad, that the enunciation of them carried with +it their refutation. Yet, at the same time, the speaker allowed that the +German thinker was conspicuous for intellectual attainments, powers of +thought beyond the ordinary run of mortals, sobriety in mental culture, +and boldness in the enunciation of the conclusions to which his reason +compelled him. In Mr Gladstone's opinion, such a man's doctrines +deserved to be withered; not because they were opposed to reason, to +logic, to the stern reality of facts, but because they opposed the +prejudices of certain persons educated in a different style of faith. + +If we inquire in what way the German philosopher and the English bigot +differ, we can come to no other conclusion than that the one has used +his intellect upon the dogmas which have been presented to his mind, +from his infancy upwards, until they have been mistaken for fundamental +truths, whilst the other has exercised his mental powers upon something +beyond the doctrinal grounds on which his early education has been +framed. The then English Premier, who had to direct the state, allowed +himself to be guided by defunct men, precisely in the same way as +Pyrrhus, Croesus, and others, were governed by the pretended oracles at +Delphi, Dodona, and elsewhere. The man, in other words, who once wielded +the might of England, and is conspicuous for his classical acquirements, +is as much the slave of superstition as any ancient Egyptian or Grecian +monarch, only his oracles are not the same as theirs. + +It is clear, that when the speech, to which reference has been made, was +composed, Mr Gladstone was under the influence of the belief, that what +he had been taught, and had adopted, must necessarily be the only truth +which can be relied on, at least, in its fundamental points. It is this +very presumption, this lazy habit of mind, that was long ago pointed out +by Bacon as being the most fertile cause of the retardation of science, +and it is remarkable that Oxford, as an University, and most of its +alumni, are still victims to the weakness referred to. It naturally +follows in the train of what is called classical learning, when the mind +is taught to remember rather than to think; and one easily believes that +he can recognize in the late Premier the gradual development of thought, +and can tell the epochs when cherished idols have been thrown aside, +with the energy of one who is suddenly roused to exercise a powerful +mind in an independent manner. + +It would be useless to copy all the aphorisms by which Lord Bacon +attempted to destroy the old philosophy, which, in his time, was most +universally adopted, and to build up a new state of things, in which +science should advance, but a few of them are of such value that they +deserve recording. In _Novum Organum_, aph. 23 we read--"There is no +small difference between the fancies [--Greek--] of the human mind and +the ideas of the divine mind--that is, between certain notions that +please us, and the real stamp and impression made by created objects as +they are found in nature." That is to say, man commonly imagines things +to be what he fancies they ought to be, and neglects what they really +are. The learned aphorist then points out certain peculiarities of men, +by which they are induced to cleave to the bad, and neglect the good. + +Aph. 46---"The human understanding, when any proposition has once +been laid down (either from general admission and belief, or from the +pleasure which it affords), forces everything to add to it support and +confirmation. But this evil insinuates itself still more craftily in +philosophy and in the sciences, in which a settled maxim vitiates and +governs every other circumstance, although the latter be much more +worthy of confidence." Aph. 47--"The human understanding is most excited +by that which strikes and enters the mind at once and suddenly, and +by which the imagination is immediately filled and inflated. It then +begins, almost imperceptibly, to conceive and suppose that everything +is similar to the few objects which have taken possession of the mind, +whilst it is very slow and unfit for the transition to the remote and +heterogeneous instances by which axioms are tried, as by fire, unless +the office be imposed upon it by severe regulations, and a powerful +authority." + +We may paraphrase the preceding axiom thus:--Those who, from personal +preaching, or by parental influence, have adopted a certain belief in +the truth of that which has been taught to them as a "revelation," no +matter who the individuals are, or may have been, who propound it, are +loth, ever, to inquire into the real nature of the matter. Hence it is +that "clairvoyance" and "spiritualism" have so many staunch adherents. + +Aph. 56--"Some dispositions evince an unbounded admiration of antiquity, +others eagerly embrace novelty, and but few can preserve the just +medium, so as neither to bear up what the ancients have correctly laid +down, nor to despise the just innovations of the moderns. This is very +prejudicial to the sciences and philosophy, and, instead of a correct +judgment, we have but the factions of the ancients and the moderns." + +There are other aphorisms following, which point out the mischief of +following certain theories, simply because they have been long accepted, +and are generally supposed to be correct. + +At the period when Bacon wrote, there was the same conservatism in +science and philosophy as there had been in the Roman Church for ages, +and very few, if any, had ventured to suggest the necessity for a +radical change. In England the reformation of church and state preceded +the reformation of philosophy; yet, there are many amongst us yet who +regard all such changes as a mistake. We constantly find individuals who +hanker after a despotic rule, by king or emperor, who cannot endure a +church in which there is no tyrannical head, nor a science which only +professes to advance, and refuses to be stationary. + +Yet the thoughtful know how much the world would have lost, had it yet +been prostrate at the feet of Aristotle and of barbaric Popes; and there +is not a Christian who does not rejoice that Jesus prevented mankind +from worshipping Moses, and adhering to Hebraic notions. + +When, therefore, an individual, professing to be learned, scouts the +propositions of a careful inductive and rigidly reasoning philosopher, +simply because they violate generally believed notions; and when, +in addition, he appeals to the ignorance and impressionability of +schoolboys rather than to the mature judgment of adults, he proclaims +himself, in that respect, at least, a bigot--of a dye as deep as those +fanatics who urged on their fellows to suppress the discoveries of +Galileo. But the matter does not end here. We recognize the necessity +for a public man, who has once proclaimed his adherence to the doctrines +of Revelation, and has preached the necessity for "faith," and its +superiority over reason--however calm and rigid, to go further, and +to proclaim that which he regards as Revelation, and who are the +individuals he will receive as the interpreters of that so-called +communication from God to man. + +It is clear that the words which have been uttered by man require a +human expounder; equally clear is it that, if the original sayings are +regarded as being inspired, but, nevertheless, of doubtful meaning, +they can only be cleared up by other men, who are, like the original +oracles--"inspired." But, as a matter of fact, there are in our own +times three distinct sets of individuals who lay claim to the faculty of +interpretation; and these differ so amongst themselves, that certainly, +at least, two, and very probably all, are wrong. + +The man, then, who is disposed to make faith his guide must, in so far +as Christianity is concerned, join himself either to the Greek or Roman +Church, whose pretensions to a divine presence in their midst have been +of the longest; or to the Protestant Church, which endeavours to oust +the other two upon the plea that they cannot be under divine teaching, +because they have become corrupt; and then, on the plea of having +discovered the alleged faults, it assumes to have the authority which +its predecessors have forfeited. + +Thus, as we have frequently remarked before, man sits in judgment upon +Him whom he calls his maker. The Protestant Churches, however, are the +only ones who do not formally lay claim to having the divine presence +amongst them in a conspicuous degree; they do not pretend to the +performance of miracles, and they scout the idea that any modern +representative of Jesus can do any wonders like those that teacher did. +The Roman Church proves to the satisfaction of its votaries that "the +Lord" is still with them, inasmuch as the presence of the Virgin, in +a visible form, occurs to cheer her servants that trust in her +intercession, and even pictures of her become instinct with life. + +If, then, an individual is resolved to walk by faith alone in matters of +religion, he is bound to join himself to that church wherein the divine +founder is habitually and visibly present; to whose saints the saviour +has appeared, and given stigmata like those which were produced in the +original by the barbarous nails and spear of the Roman soldiers. For the +votaries of faith--pure and unadulterated belief in things divine--the +only legitimate home is the bosom of the Papal Church. Why, then, do +not men, like Mr Gladstone, join it? Simply because their faith is not +a pure and confiding one. It is tainted by the doubt whether the +pretensions of the Roman See are sustainable, or by the certainty that +Popish miracles are contemptible shams. They believe that Francis +of Assisi made the stigmata, which he professed to receive from his +"crucified Saviour," by burning his hands, feet, and side, with some +strong caustic, or by a heated iron. + +By these doubts, or certainties, individuals demonstrate that they are +not in the list of the faithful; for doubt implies unbelief, and both +are incompatible with faith pure and simple. + +Whenever, then, a person confesses, by his words or actions, that he +does examine into the grounds of his belief, he is logically bound to +continue those inquiries into everything wherein there is a possibility +of human error creeping. + +When we pursue our observations further, and inquire into the reasons +why a Papist believes certain things which a Protestant rejects, and +vice versa, we find that, in the first place, each believes what he has +been taught; he--to speak figuratively--imbibes his dogmas and belief +with his mother's milk; and when he advances in age, is taught and +imagines that he has mastered the stock arguments which are relied +upon by the opposite parties. There is, therefore, on first sight, a +reasoning power exercised by each; but it is not so, for the arguments +themselves, and their force, are regarded as matters of faith--as +weapons with which a warfare may be waged, but which, in no sense, are +to be tested by those who use them. + +As far as the common run of religionists are concerned, they are all in +this "fool's paradise;" they fancy that they are secure, invincible, and +mighty, because they take their own prowess and their opponents weakness +as matters of faith. But when one of these comes into collision with +another whose reason is exercised upon facts and the deductions to be +drawn from them, the questions occur, possibly for the first time, Are +the grounds of my belief tenable? am I justified in using my reason only +in one direction? if I profess to argue, am I not bound to be logical? +and if what has been given to me as sound meat, is rotten in reality, am +I bound to eat it? can it do me good in any way? When a thoughtful man +has arrived at this point, he has to elect between Faith and Reason. +Then, if, like Mr Gladstone, he foresees to what his inquiries will +probably lead, and is disinclined to pull down a cherished edifice, +even to erect a better, he will naturally cling to the old belief, +saying--"With all thy faults, I love thee still." With his eyes wide +open he hails the banner of bigotry, no matter what may be the scutcheon +which it bears. + +Then come the important questions--"What right has any religious bigot +to profess himself a liberal?" and, "With what face can a man, who +refuses to exercise his understanding upon what he calls the most +important part of life, i.e., the preparation for eternity, proclaim +himself a friend of education?" + +To insist upon the value of "learning" in forming the mind, and then +to set the example of recoiling from the knowledge which intellectual +efforts bring, is, in a statesman, a mean vacillation. Mr Gladstone +ought either to proclaim that his ideas are those of the Jesuits, or +to pronounce in favour of education, to whatever goal it legitimately +tends. To say to boys--or men--you must learn to think; but you must +only come to the same conclusions as myself, would disgrace a statesman +of a free country, though such a proclamation would seem natural to a +pope, or any other tyrant I do not, for a moment, assert that the then +Premier of England did, in a written, and, therefore, a deliberate +speech, to a large and influential school of boys, utter the words +which I have used; on the contrary, he employed his rhetorical powers +to express the idea, without either clearly understanding it himself, or +giving the lads a clue to it. Had the meaning of the discourse been put +into a few pregnant sentences, it may be doubted whether it would ever +have been uttered. + +If Mr Gladstone, like the mythical Elijah, had placed before his +auditors, in naked words, the proposition--"Choose ye this day whom ye +will serve, Faith or Reason," his discourse would have been clear. Even +his own mind could not have painted the two as being the same thing; nor +would a school-boy have failed to see that, in the future, he must +elect between indefinitely expanding his intelligence, and materially +contracting his intellect to the narrow limits prescribed by the faith +of his parents. + +To my mind it is sad to witness men of great general capacity, like the +late Dr Faraday, and the past Prime Minister of Great Britain, shunning, +in every way, an inquiry into the basis of their belief. We cannot +regard this as a result of simple intellectual indolence, or ignorance. +The only cause to which we can attribute it, is that weakness which, +by most people, is called moral cowardice; a fear, not so much of Mrs +Grundy--the world and its dread laugh--but the fear of some unseen, +unknown, incomprehensible danger to themselves--of dangers that have no +reality, except in an imagination which has been moulded long before the +mind was capable of thought, but whose hold upon the individual is +such, that he shrinks from the mental effort necessary to efface its +impressions. + +There is yet another phase of faith, which deserves a passing mention. +It is that which declines to see or to hear a proof or an argument, lest +it should be convinced against its will. There are many men amongst us +who, in Scripture phrase, refuse to hear the voice of the charmer, charm +he never so wisely. This obstinacy, stupidity, dogged-ness, or firmness, +is quite compatible with a partially cultivated intellect, and is in +itself a measure of intellectual capacity. I have heard, for example, a +learned divine, but one whose writings are often so bemuddled, that the +ideas which they contain are as difficult to discover "as a needle in +a bottle of hay," declare that he would no more listen to an argument +against the existence of "the trinity," than he would open his ears to +hear evidence that his wife or mother was adulterous. + +Such strong asseverations we may sympathize with, and even admire; but +they prove nothing beyond the impracticability of an individual mind, +or what, in some cases, takes its place--viz., the injudiciousness of +acknowledging a truth, when the enunciation of a belief in it would be +followed by unpleasant consequences. + +Again, I know of another divine, who has steadily refused to inquire +into the value of what are called "the Christian evidences," his reason +being, that he is conscious that inquiry would shake his confidence in +the doctrines which he teaches. He clings to what he feels to be a sham, +lest others should, by his means, regard it in its proper light. + +Another divine, who has not feared to be an inquirer, is incessantly +persecuted by his brethren, not because he has asserted his intellectual +freedom, but because, by having done so, he has, by implication, cast +a sort of odium upon those who hug their mental darkness. His argument +is--Can a man who hates the light be worthy to speak of the "Sun of +Righteousness?" Their reasoning is based upon the assertion, that those +who live in darkness, and like it, need not be told about a luminary. +If people chose to believe that the moon is made of green cheese, it is +more profitable to talk to them about its connection with the milky +way, than to say that the notion is absurd. Faith teaches that, where +ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise; whilst reason only impels one +to habitual thought or mental worry. + +Other divines of my acquaintance have used their reason in a twofold +way: they have ceased to hold their first faith, yet they hold their +"livings," as they have no other means of subsistence; whilst a few +have, with their advancement in knowledge, paid for their knowledge by +embracing poverty. + +The world treats those who walk upon the ground with a far greater +injustice than it treats those who lie beneath its surface. For a man +who disturbs us in our fool's paradise, more feet than hands are used; +but to him who only disturbed the father's complacency, and taught the +son in youth, we erect memorial statues. Jesus was crucified when he was +alive, and deified when dead. His apostles were persecuted when living; +now that they are deceased, they are called saints. Savonarola was burnt +alive at Florence; now his memory is cherished, and his worth fully +known. Luther was detested when he was able to thunder in men's ears; +now he is regarded as a son of light. The present Pope, Pio Nono, +has found an obsequious council, whose voices have declared him to be +infallible--a god upon earth; the time will come when that Pope, and +that council, will be regarded as the personification of blasphemy +and folly. The days of Faith will be everlasting; but her power to act +wickedly will be curtailed more and more. The reign of Reason advances +every year, for it is allied to thought and knowledge; and we may fairly +hope that the old adage will be true--_Magna est Veritas et praevalebit_. + +It may be said that, in the preceding parts of this essay, I have wholly +lost sight of, or, at least, have not referred to the argument--or +the statement, made by the upholders of faith, as a rule of life--that +reason has nothing to do with things divine, and that where God has made +a direct revelation of His will to man, no human being has a right to +criticise or object to it. + +This kind of remark is in the mouth of every preacher, and each minister +who utters it imagines that he deals a blow so very heavy that nothing +can stand against it. But in reality it is only a big bubble, which +collapses when it is touched. "How," for example, we may ask, "can +anything be recognized as divine, unless human judgment is passed upon +it? or, How can any revelation be accepted, unless the mind has examined +the messenger and the message?" Who would believe the ravings of a +lunatic, even though he told us that God had sent him with a message +to man? Why do Christians, as a body, reject the revelation made to +Mahomet, and the frequent inspirations which give laws to the latter-day +saints? To these queries the reply is--"Because we know that God does +not speak to man now, and that when the bible was closed all revelation +ceased." But when we inquire into the reason for this belief we can +find not one. Every theologian must allow that the God who spoke once to +Moses spoke again; that He supplanted one dispensation by a second, and +has promised a third. + +Thus we see, that by their own books, the orthodox are bound to believe +that supplementary communications must be made to the human race; +consequently, when any one asserts that he is a divine prophet, his +pretensions are examined. The faithful Christian disbelieved in Mahomet; +the trusting Arabs believed in his mission, and fought for their creed. +They, like orthodox divines of to-day, refused to use their reason +in things divine, and to cavil at a revelation, Unable to agree, the +followers of Jesus, and those of Mohammed, fought, the latter almost +annihilating the former for a time, thus proving the value of their +faith. Both parties had a firm belief--the one in the prophet of +Nazareth, the other in the prophet of Arabia; and no reasoning could +have convinced either that his trust was misplaced; nor, to this day, +has reason convinced the Mahometans that Jesus was superior to Mahomet, +or the Christian that the Arab sectarian was a prophet at all; and it +is singular that both parties call in reason in attestation of their +respective creeds. + +Is, then, the sturdy English theologian to be content to leave the +followers of Islam alone, because they have faith? or, must he still +endeavour to convert them by the use of reason? Can the Christian adopt +the belief that Mahometan and Mormon are both orthodox because they have +faith? and that the Jew must still be dear to Jehovah, inasmuch as he +still clings closely by faith to the revelation given to Moses and the +prophets? If this cannot be done, how can the follower of Jesus hope to +convert others to his belief, unless by the use of reason? If, then, the +theologian uses reason as a weapon against heterodoxy, upon what ground +can he object to its being employed by another? Latter-day saints have +made many proselytes in Christendom, and a Mahometan floored in debate +the late pious Missionary, Henry Martyn, whose propositions were met +by counter ones, and every one of whose arguments was taken up and +retorted, the names only of the persons spoken of being changed. "I +know," said the one, "that God spoke to us by Christ Jesus"--"I know," +said the other, "that Allah spoke to us by Mahomet" "You are wrong, my +friend," said one, "Allah has not spoken to man since the last Apostle +died." "You are wrong," said the other, "God has spoken to us long after +that. You may call Mahomet an apostle, if you like; we call him a +prophet of Allah, and know that he was one." And so controversy goes on +now where there is faith without reason. + +It is clear, then, that truth cannot be established by any number of +people thundering out "I believe it," and by their victoriously fighting +for it. The argument, therefore, which I may be accused of omitting, is +of no value at all; it is sheer nonsense--a windbag, or, perhaps, it may +best be compared to a boomerang, which, when badly used, recoils upon +the person of him who threw it. Of such arguments theology is builded +up. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + Honesty. A question propounded. Are "divines" honest? + Meaning of the word. Learners and teachers--their + relations to each other. Honesty expected in a professor. + Teachers of religion are trusted--they are bound to be + faithful. Political rights of men in respect of the clergy + of the Established Church. Right to see that religion is + not adulterated. Man's right to truth. What truth is not. + Assertions required at "ordination." Canonical Scriptures. + Verbal inspiration. Doubts of laity. Two schools--those + who will and those who will not inquire. Rev. Dr + Colenso. Rev. Dr Browne. Precious stones and "paste." + How should a doubt be tackled--by inquiry, or by ignoring + it? An analogy. Compass and bible. If compass wrong, + why steer by it? Passenger and captain--one appeals to + stars, the other to his owners and the seamen under him. + Precision of Colenso--his words falsified so as to be + confuted: this is not honesty. Is Bishop Browne honest in + controversy? Tabernacle, temple, doors, &c. The _Speaker's + Commentary_ not an honest book. Papal falsehoods; false + decretals; false letter from Prester John. Pious frauds. + Influence of dishonest teaching on education. The point + involved in sectarian discussions. Lying miracles--are + they promulgated honestly? Is it honest in religion to + promulgate that which we knew to be wrong, or which we dare + not inquire into for fear of consequences? Do Papal + authorities believe in the annual miracle at Naples? The + Protestant Church judged by a ruler of Siam. Bigotry, by + not inquiring, does not establish truth. Each man who is + deceived has a propensity to deceive others. The masses + agree to be deceived. Mr Gladstone on education. His + proposition that inquiry is bad if it leads to change of + religious opinions. Anecdotes of stupidity. Sailing in + search of truth. Captains who avoid the right course. + The condition of society when the schoolmaster overrides the + ecclesiastic. Reason and education ought to precede + faith. Result of honesty. Divines recoil from the honest + truth. Parsons in their pulpit preach what their week-day + precepts oppose. Honesty in ecclesiastical matters is not + the best policy. Divines and the silversmiths of Ephesus. + Examples. An honest parson is persecuted by his fellows: + this insures mediocrity and bigotry. If an author cannot + be persecuted he is avoided. Ecclesiastics persecute + their colleagues, but do not prove them wrong. + Excommunication easier than refutation. What an honest + merchant and divine should do when they discover a diamond + to be paste. Ought the divine to be less honest than the + merchant? The Author's challenge. Conclusion. + +I am now about to propound a question which I have heard mooted in quiet +by many, but for which publicity seems to be dreaded by all--_viz_., "Is +there honesty amongst Christians, and especially amongst the hierarchy +of the Churches of England and Rome?" + +No one can doubt the importance of the subject; there is not a +thoughtful person who does not, in words at least, scorn to build up his +everlasting belief upon a fable, and who does not affect to be disgusted +with everyone who is deliberately untruthful I speak not now of those +time-servers who regard every artifice to be fair in love, war, and +theology; but only of those earnest minds who are anxious to seek out +and to hold fast that which is true, and who, under all circumstances, +resolve to be honest with themselves. That there may be no doubt as to +the sense in which I use the word, the following may be regarded as, +in my opinion, the synonyms which are properly given in _Webster's +Dictionary_--"Integrity, probity, uprightness, trustiness, +faithfulness, honour, justice, equity, fairness, candour, plain dealing, +veracity." To this may be added--"not bearing false witness." + +Presuming that English scholars agree in this definition, let me now +inquire whether "we"--by which term I mean the non-theological class by +profession--have a right to expect "honesty" amongst our teachers--be +they Roman, Anglican, Hibernian, Scottish, Unitarian, Wesleyan, or of +any other body? and, in the next place, whether we get that to which +we are entitled? Presuming that it is necessary to begin with the +foundation, let us first inquire into "our rights," and whence they are +supposed to be derived. + +The positions of a learner and a teacher--or a disciple and a +master--are, in some cases, different to what they are in others; for +example, I need not, unless I think it desirable, learn astronomy, +chemistry, the art of telegraphing, or that of ship-building; but if I +do elect to learn any of these matters, and engage a man to instruct +me, I have a legal claim upon him for his services. There is, indeed, a +contract between us--he engaging to teach me, and I agreeing to pay him +for his labour. In my selection of a professor, it is quite possible +that I have not chosen the best; nay, seeing that I require to be +taught, it is nearly certain that I cannot assume the position of a +judge as regards the superiority of one teacher over another. But when +the agreement is once entered into, each of the parties is bound to +perform his part of the contract to the best of his ability. If, for +example, I bargain with a master to teach me Spanish, and I, being +wholly ignorant thereof, am instructed in Portuguese, I have a definite +legal claim for redress. + +If, on the other hand, the law, or the custom of the country, compels +me to take a certain class of teachers, whether they are competent or +worthless, I, as one of the community, am justified in investigating the +intellectual power of the professors, individually and collectively, in +every way in my power. + +At one period, when autocracy, or tyranny, was supreme, this right was +denied, and the legislators made it a criminal matter for any one to +call in question the nature of the instruction which was given to the +people in matters of politics, religion, and other things, wherein the +government was concerned. At the present time there are few, if any, +states whose ruling powers demand from the people such an abject +submission. + +But, although a republic may allow unlimited latitude of opinion in +matters of political economy, there may be a religious section within +it, which consists of those who consent to be led, in matters of faith, +by certain individuals, who, on their parts, are declared to be, by +some power that the laity are disposed to submit to, the only persons +competent to conduct persons to a happy eternity. + +Every individual in such a family is associated with the rest by +voluntary ties. He may, if he chooses, inquire into the capacity of his +guide; he is at perfect liberty to analyse his arguments, to inquire +into his allegations, and, speaking generally, to test his truth. If, as +a result of the investigation, any one is satisfied that the teacher is +incompetent, the two are perfectly clear to make new engagements. There +has been no definite contract, nor can there be any legal claim for a +presumed breach thereof. + +When, on the other hand, there is a State Religion, supported by +Parliamentary authority, and to which, in one way or another, the +majority of the people must subscribe, each man has as perfect a right +to see that he gets what he pays for, as he has to see that the member +of parliament for whom he votes, does not neglect the interests of the +town which he represents. + +As an Englishman, I have no right to call in question the power of the +Pope of Rome, the Patriarch of the Greek Church, the Elder of the Mormon +Communion, the Arch-Pneuma of the Spiritualists, or any other religious +head, to teach his followers any doctrine that he may please. I may +laugh at the "false decretals" of the papacy, and the charlatanerie of +the clairvoyants; but no political right supports me in my calling them +to account for their stewardship. + +On the other hand, when I know that the bishops of the Church of England +are parties to the formation of our laws, and I find myself called upon +to pay tithes or dues to individuals of the same establishment, I have +a political right to ascertain, that the persons actually do what they +profess to do for their money or position. If, for example, I live in a +sparsely populated district, I and all my family are dependent upon the +parson of the parish for instruction how to get to heaven; or, as an +alternative, if I do not agree with his doctrine, I may abstain from +being instructed at all. If, on the contrary, I inhabit a large town, +still I am dependent for religious teaching upon the state clergyman, +unless I elect to do without him, and any one else of the same +persuasion, or select some non-conformist preacher who is to me no less +offensive than the parliamentary parson. + +When a confraternity has obtained, no matter how, or by what means, a +definite prescriptive right to sell a certain material to the community +at large, the latter have certainly a legal power to see that the stuff +given is according to contract. If a company of millers engage, for +certain privileges, to sell good wheat flour to all comers, the last can +deprive them of their exclusive right, provided that it can be proved +either that the flour is bad, or that it comes from barley, rye, oats, +or potatoes, or is adulterated with gypsum, &c. + +Presuming that this argument is tenable, our next inquiry is into that +which our national church professes to sell, or to impart, in return for +its privileges. In the fewest possible words we may say, that its duty +is to impart "truth," or to teach what is, in its learned and educated +opinion, the true religion for life and eternity. + +The word truth is one which lies at the root of our question respecting +honesty. Pilate is reported to have said--"What is truth?" We may put +the same question now. + +Without saying what "truth" is, we can readily declare what is +"untruth." It is not truth if we, in argument, misrepresent an +adversary; affirm that he made a certain statement, and then oppose--not +the thing said--but some other matter which was not spoken of at all, +and then assert that we have confuted him. + +It is not truth to affirm, that observations recently made have been +oftentimes presented before, and always successfully refuted, when +the remarks in question are novel, never have been controverted, and +apparently, are not capable of being disproved. + +It is not truth to affirm, that human "authority," which, has been long +acknowledged, can falsify "a fact," or make an unfounded assertion equal +to a reality; or to declare, that one religion is good and another bad, +simply because the speaker believes the matter to be so. + +It is not truth to assert, that a certain book, and every part of it, +is the revealed word of God, when it is known to be contradicted by +science--i.e.t by a knowledge of the laws imposed on creation by its +Maker, to be inconsistent with itself, and to contain internal evidence +that it was composed by men of small knowledge and of grovelling +disposition. + +It is not truth to affirm, that if God's world proves what is called +God's Book to be wrong, science must be neglected and the Bible upheld. + +It is not truth to affirm that God spoke exclusively to one people, when +it is known that the race in question drew nearly, if not quite, all +their religious beliefs, from the neighbours amongst whom they were +thrown. + +It is not honest to propound in the pulpit the propriety of examining +the Scriptures daily, and yet to persecute any one who by doing so +becomes convinced of their human origin. + +It would be honest, and prove the existence of a love of truth, if every +preacher of every denomination spent as much time in trying the value of +his text-book, as he does now in expounding it and explaining it away. + +We should imagine that a minister loved truth, if he were first to ask +himself how he treats the Vedas and Puranas, the Avesta, the Koran, the +Apocryphal Gospels, the Apocrypha, the Book of Mormon, the visions and +prophecies of "Latter-day saints," "Friends," Roman visionaries, and +the oracles delivered at Delphi and elsewhere, and then to treat his own +book with the same measure as he used with the others. + +On the other hand, we should regard him as untruthful and dishonest, +if he weighed the books and belief of others with weights and scales +different to those with which he tried his own. + +From each minister of religion the people have a right to demand an +impartial inquiry into the absolute value of the doctrines which he +teaches, and an investigation into the foundation, as well as the +superstructure; and they may require, still further, that he, like +Great-heart in Bunyan's story, shall do battle with assailants. When +such a leader professes to fight, but always avoids the shock of +battle, he cannot be regarded either as honest, or as comparable with +Valiant-for-truth in the _Pilgrim's Progress_. + +We are then, as laymen, justified in requiring that our spiritual +leaders shall take a conspicuous part in examining the grounds of the +faith which they teach, and that the leaders of the Established Church +shall seek to establish its doctrine upon as firm basis as it is +possible to obtain. + +This certainly involves inquiry and discussion upon those points which +modern criticism has prominently advanced. + +When we turn to the "Prayer Book," we find that Deacons are required to +say, that they unfeignedly believe all the Canonical Scriptures. Priests +are obliged to affirm that the Holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all +doctrine required of necessity for eternal salvation, through faith in +Jesus Christ, &c. In the consecration of bishops the same, or nearly the +same, formula is gone through. Thus, at the outset of their career, the +ministers of the Church of England commit themselves to, or are required +by law to make, a declaration which will preclude inquiry into the value +of the book on which their teaching is founded; their first step in the +ministry puts it out of their power to be honest, if experience should +teach them more than they knew when young. The bishops and priests, +however, when they subscribe to the opinion that the Bible contains all +things necessary for salvation, do not pledge themselves to the belief +that every sentence, part, division, book, or arrangement of the +Canonical Scriptures is, and must of necessity be, true. Even in the +dawn of ecclesiastical information in England, there was not a belief in +the verbal inspiration of the Bible. + +Of late years, when habits of thought and the art of printing have +increased, the knowledge, and consequently, the power of the laity +disproportionally to the advance made by clerics--a strong propensity +to accumulate facts, and to argue thereupon has been very generally +developed, and the increased information obtained has induced steadily +increasing numbers to doubt, not only the verbal inspiration, but even +the historical truth of the Scriptures. When this difficulty occurred, +or rather, when it became recognized, scholars, no matter whether +they were professional or amateur ecclesiastics, divided themselves +involuntarily (we may fairly say, unknowingly, inasmuch as each +individual worked quite independently, in the first place, of another) +into those who believed that, if the Holy Spirit dictated the +Scriptures, he must have seen that his amanuensis wrote correctly; those +who imagined that the Bible was to be taken "in the lump;" and those +who considered that the Scriptures are entirely of human origin, and +absolutely valueless as a guide of faith. Consequently, three schools +have arisen, two of which are essentially ecclesiastic. Of these, +one regards all inquiry into the accepted text as improper, the other +considers that everything should be done to verify the value of the +so-called original Scripture. + +Amongst the latter, Dr Colenso, Bishop of Natal, stands out +conspicuously. Of the highest intellectual attainments, trained to close +and scientific inquiry; able, far better than men of meaner capacity, to +weigh the value of "evidence," whether "ancient or modern," he has drawn +the conclusion that the Bible is not what it is generally supposed to +be; in other words, that its historical portions are not trustworthy, +and that there is grave reason to believe its writings to have been +produced for a purpose, which involved dishonesty in the scribe, and in +the promulgator of his writings. The learned doctor was honest in his +investigation, and fearless in announcing his conclusions. + +As an upright man, the Bishop of Natal is as completely justified in his +inquiry into the validity or importance of an ancient book, alleged to +be a pearl of great price, a gem or diamond of the first water, as the +official curator of a museum would be, in determining whether a certain +ruby, given into his charge, were real or artificial. Of the necessity +of such an inquiry, the following anecdote, which was told me by the +gentleman concerned, will convince the reader:-- + +A wealthy lady, of high position in life, sent to a museum, for +exhibition, a number of "precious stones." If they were really what they +were supposed and stated to be, their value would have been reckoned by +thousands of pounds sterling. If accepted as genuine, and found, upon +their restoration to the depositor, to be imitation jewels, the curator +would be liable, not only for their value, but his character for honesty +would be gone; consequently, ere he gave a receipt for the lot, he +tested each. Not one was real! + +This man was in the position which Dr Colenso occupies now. The owner of +the jewels was indignant at the idea that the stones were false, and the +apparent insinuation that imitations were being foisted on the public as +realities; but her fury did not alter the fact. If she were artful, her +plan was detected; if she had been deceived, her anger, though useless, +was justified. + +On the other hand, there are many Bishops who uphold the verbal +inspiration of the Bible, and will not inquire if the gem be real, or +only test it by plans known to be valueless for the purpose. Some do not +go altogether so far as this, They consider it obligatory upon them to +examine just a little bit, but not to go too deeply, lest they should be +forced to believe that there never was such a man as Moses--a man who +is commonly reported to have written certain books at a distant period. +Some persons seem to think that their hope of happiness in this, as well +as in another world, and not only their own, but that of everybody who +is under their instruction, depends upon their feeling sure that Israel +was once in Egypt--that Abraham begat Isaac, and became the progenitor +of an innumerable offspring, exceeding in number the Indians of +Hindostan, the Assyrians of Mesopotamia, the Egyptians of the Nile, and +the Romans of Italy. Between these two inquirers, if the latter class +can fairly be called such, the issue is distinct. There can be no +difficulty amongst scholars as to the means by which the question ought +to be settled. + +An appeal to hard and dry facts is the plan adopted by philosophers. For +men, who have a single eye to discover the truth, it matters little in +what direction their inquiries lead them. Metaphorically speaking, they +may begin a series of investigations, expecting that everything will +lead them northwards, and they end by reaching the south; just as many +an enthusiastic, but little instructed, man has accumulated "pyrites," +under the impression that it was an ore of gold, and found, on inquiry, +that the material was a sulphuret of iron, and of small commercial +value. + +But it is this very possibility of research bringing them to an +undesirable goal, which deters so many of our divines from making any +inquiry. Outwardly, they allow that it is their duty, as leaders, to +examine, not only the condition of their own forces, but the position +and power of those who assail the army which they profess to guide. +Inwardly they find reasons for remaining quiet, and excuse themselves to +their followers in some plausible fashion. + +Why, however, should any goal be undesirable which leads us nearer to +truth? Why should any body of professedly learned-men run the risk +of being considered wanting in honesty, or candour, by avoiding their +opponents, whom they are in honour bound to encounter? + +The reply to these questions generally runs thus:--"We, as ministers +of the Established Church of England, are bound to be faithful to the +Bible, and to it we must adhere, whatever our own private judgment +may be. We did not make the law; we simply take it as we find it, and, +having sworn to obey it, we do so." This answer would be exhaustive, if +it were the fact that the laity made the law for the theologians. But, +as we know, that the ecclesiastics have, in the last resort always made +laws for themselves, the rejoinder is not conclusive History tells us +how ministers of religion have instructed the people, and how these, +again, have legislated under the tuition of their advisers. When +Paganism was supplanted by Christianity, the change was effected by +preachers, who taught the populace to believe the new doctrine, and who +influenced the minds of the lawmakers. In like manner, when Popery in +England was put down by the Protestants, each party was headed by its +priests. Many a minister, at that period, felt bound to follow what he +believed to be truth, rather than to abide by a vow made in youth; +and they who had upheld the authenticity of Popish miracles, and of +Apocryphal Scriptures, ceased to give credence to them, or to use them +as authorities in matters of religion. These men were honest. + +That which has been done by men aforetime, may be done or imitated in +our own day; and our divines have as great a power to examine into the +value of the Bible now, as they had at the Reformation. If they refuse +to make the inquest suggested--in what way, may we ask, do they differ +from the Romanists in the time of Luther, who would not inquire into the +truth of his arguments lest they should be convinced? Can any one who +professes to be a Protestant--a child of the Reformation--honestly +refuse to investigate the grounds of the faith which is in him, and +shelter himself, as Bonner and others did, under the pretext of a +declaration or vow made at ordination? + +If those who make the excuse just referred to, are honest, they are +bound to reject every doctrine which they, or their predecessors, have +received from Romish priests, who propounded in adult life, doctrines +different to those which they professed when yet almost children. + +To illustrate the tendency of our remarks still further, let us, for a +moment, suppose that the captain of a ship has, from any cause whatever, +adopted a particular "compass" by which he directs his course, and which +perhaps he calls by the name of Faith. All in the vessel are, to a great +extent, dependent upon him for a successful voyage, and a safe arrival +at the desired haven. Seeing how the master-mariner honours the magnetic +needle, every thoughtful passenger will probably consult it in like +manner. One more advanced in knowledge than the rest may desire to test +the instrument by the position of the pole star, and thinking that he +could recognize the latter, might infer that the magnet did not point +truly. This doubt, we will imagine still further, he imparts to the +captain, who, disinclined to distrust his compass, endeavours to +demonstrate that the position of the pole star is doubtful. + +In the place of the mariners' compass let us read the "Bible," and, +instead of the pole star, let us substitute "science." We shall then +recognize the position of such men as the Bishop of Winchester and Dr +Colenso--the latter endeavours to test the value of the instrument which +is most used by churchmen by certain well-known means; the former, +on the contrary, aims to demonstrate that what he regards as a true +indicator is so in spite of all which the planets prove to the contrary. + +To carry on our metaphor a point further, let us imagine that the +captain and the doubting passenger appeal to the seamen and the other +people on board the barque--the latter telling in simple terms the +grounds of his belief, whilst the former appeals to the passions of +those who have long trusted him, and only notices the arguments of his +opponent to misrepresent them. This is what was done by the Papists, in +every country, at the time of the Reformation, and which more recently +has been done by the Bishops and Archbishops of the Church of England, +when in controversy with the Bishop of Natal Dr Colenso has in +voluminous works, and with a precision which every scholar must admire, +shown that the Old Testament--the "compass" of churchmen--is not what it +is supposed to be. Against his views a new "Bible commentary" has been +issued, with the sanction of the highest ecclesiastical dignitaries; and +in it the authors stoop to misrepresentation! If there were no pretence +of joint authorship, one might imagine that each writer was responsible +only for his own shortcomings; but when there is a parade of great +names, which is intended to demonstrate the almost infallible truth of +everything (except typographical errors), one is bound to treat the +contributors as being on a level with each other, and all hierarchical +coadjutors. How can any one, with a tendency towards fair dealing, +characterize but with the epithet "contemptible dishonesty," a +deliberate quotation from Dr Colenso, which is falsified, that the +fabrication may be refuted? The Bishop of Natal's argument is a just +one, and, although it is only contained in a note and not in the text +itself, is of great weight. It runs thus (Part v., p. 97)--"Of course +the fact that the tabernacle at Shiloh had _doors_ (1 Sam. iii. 15)-- +that the lamp was allowed regularly to _go out_ in it (1 Sam. iii. 3), +and that Samuel _slept_ in it, and apparently Eli also (1 Sam. iii. 2, +3), are sufficient to show that this could not have been the 'Mosaic +Tabernacle.'" This is a fair and scholarly statement; the layman +recognizes it as such, and looks to his ecclesiastical superior for an +honest opinion on its value. What does he find? Simply this--Bishop +Browne answers: "The objection (Colenso, Part v., p. 97) that the +Tabernacle (at Shiloh) could not be the tabernacle, in the wilderness, +because it had a 'door' (1 Sam. ii. 22) is rather singular, if we +observe that the words in Samuel, on which the objection is founded-- +'The women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the +congregation'--are literally a quotation from Exod. xxxviii. 8--'The +women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of +congregation.' Of course the word door, fine _pethah_, is as applicable +to a tent door as to a house door, and is constantly used of the door of +the Tabernacle in the Pentateuch." + +In this observation of the Bishop of Winchester a false issue is +deliberately raised; the quotation given by Colenso is not touched, and +for it another, wide of the mark, is substituted! In the verse referred +to by the Bishop of Natal the words are--"And Samuel lay until the +morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord," &c.--"doors" +being in the original, _dalethoth_--a different word altogether to +_pethah_, and certainly in the plural number. In other language, we may +say that in the _Speaker's Bible_, almost every argument and criticism +of Colenso and his German authorities are left unnoticed and unanswered; +and this, almost the only quotation made, is not a true one! Is this +honest? So gross, in my opinion, is the want of candour shown in this +case, that I, for one, cannot trust a single assertion of the Bishop +of Ely, now translated to Winchester, even when he quotes chapter and +verse, until I have verified the extract. + +But the flagrancy of the proceeding is, if it can be, heightened by a +reference to the subject Dr Colenso was endeavouring to show, by those +undesigned coincidences, that hierarchs profess to love so much, and +which they parade with great earnestness when it suits their purpose, +that the tabernacle at Shiloh was not that described in the Pentateuch. +It was perfectly open to Dr Browne to adduce evidence that it was the +same. This he does not do--the scholar can well understand the reason +why, viz., that a close inquiry supports the Bishop of Natal's view. For +example, in 1 Sam. L 9, we find that Eli is sitting "upon a seat by +a post of the temple of the Lord." This sentence is significant in +English, it is much more so in Hebrew. The words "post" and "temple" +certainly are quite incompatible with a tent or tabernacle. In the +Hebrew, the tabernacle is generally spoken of as _ohel_, whilst "temple" +is _heckal_. Still further, the expression, "post of the temple," is +peculiar, because a corresponding one is found only once in the Old +Testament--viz., in Ezek. xli. 21, where the English version has "the +posts of the temple," whilst the marginal reading has "post" The word +_heckal_ is in constant use throughout the later Jewish books, but does +not occur once in the Pentateuch; and it is a significant fact that, in +1 Kings xxi. 1, 2 Kings xx. 18, Ps. xlv. 8, cxliv. 12, Pro. xxx. 28, Is. +xiii. 22, xxxix. 7, Dan. i. 4, the word in question is translated in our +authorized version _palace_. + +As the idea of a palace--a royal residence, is totally distinct from a +tent or tabernacle, it is clear that the narrative about Eli, Hannah, +and Samuel, was written by some one to whom the story told in +the Pentateuch was quite unknown. The dishonesty--we speak thus, +controversially--of the bishops concerned in the new commentary is not +only shown in the _suggestio falsi_, but in the _suppressio veri_; and +no amount of skill in argument or of book-learning can, amongst those +who are aware of the fraud, get over the effect which is produced by +the cheat. It is evident, that the questions which the Bishops ask +themselves are--"Since there are so many who are wholly ignorant of this +matter, shall we not do more to uphold current ideas by fraud than by +truth?" and, "Is it not right for us to risk our own souls in support of +a faith which we do not, but which the people do, believe?" + +In a time when all men are ignorant enough not to understand what is +history and what pure fable; when they are so careless as not to examine +quotations, made from "authorities," in confirmation of opinions, or +so credulous as to believe anything which a churchman, and, +_par-excellence_, a Bishop, may affirm, it may be regarded by +ecclesiastical writers as a pardonable sin, if not, indeed, a tactical +master stroke, to misrepresent an adversary. But in the present day, +when all educated Englishmen have heard of the false decretals on which +the Popes have founded their claims to superiority, and the astute +legend of Prester John, it is bad policy for a Bishop to found an +argument upon a wrong quotation, or to imagine that a glaring untruth +can by any possibility support his position. For myself, I confess that +I began to read the _Speaker's Commentary_ with interest, inasmuch as +it purported to be an exposition and refutation of the arguments against +the authenticity of certain Biblical writings; but when I found an +English hierarch could so forget his duty to "the truth" as to misquote +such a man as his episcopal brother, the Bishop of Natal, I abstained +from a farther perusal, for I found the necessity of verifying +quotations involved more time than I could afford. Dr Colenso has, +however, sufficiently shown the viciousness of the new commentary, and +there is no necessity for a second investigator. + +From what has been said, we have shown that the members of the Church +of England, and all Protestant dissenters, have a right to expect from +their teachers an opinion, founded upon learned inquiry, "whether the +objections made by scholarly critics against the inspiration of the +Bible are well founded," and that ministers of all denominations, as a +body, not only shirk the duty, but persecute such of their fraternity as +venture to do so. + +When an individual in the community accepts a trust and does not fulfil +it, he is amenable to the law; and if it can be proved that there has +been wilful negligence, the trustee may be punished. This does not, +however, apply directly to the clergy, for the trust which is confided +to them is to preach and teach from the Bible. That, certainly, is +what they engage to do before the law, but the very essence of their +existence as ministers of religion is, that they shall instruct men +in the way of salvation. This trust, which is never put into legal +phraseology, is proclaimed to be in existence by every preacher; and +each minister, by implication or assertion, declares that he is desirous +of exercising this trust to the best of his ability. If, then, the +real value of his leadership is challenged, he ought, as a champion, +to defend it. He does so in every point, except that which is most +essential He will discuss circumcision with a Jew, infant christening +with a baptist, purgatory with a popish priest, bishops with a +presbyterian, confession with a ritualist, and the like. There must, +then, be some cause why Revelation should not be treated of. + +If we consult human nature, the only causes to which we can assign this +reticence are, conscientious cowardice and dishonesty. The first is, +by many persons, regarded as a duty--they are taught that it is sin to +doubt; the second is not called by its right name. Yet, as we have said +elsewhere, our religious societies are founded upon the principle of +sowing doubt broadcast; and we denounce the pious frauds which invented +winking virgins and bleeding nuns. Surely, if there be any truth in the +line--"An honest man's the noblest work of God," it is most essential +that they, who style themselves His ministers, ought to be conspicuously +honourable, candid, and thoroughly trustworthy in matters of doctrine as +well as of morality. + +The subject on which we are now treating has ramifications so wide, that +it is difficult to see the end of the branches. Amongst the most obvious +is the influence which it has upon the matter of public education--one +which occupies a large portion of the interest of our nation at the +present time. + +In our preceding vol. II., p. 113, we have a note to the effect that +there is much doubt upon the subject whether faith ought to be drilled +into the minds of our youth prior to an acquisition of, or the power of +using, their reasoning faculty, and we remarked that the question is far +too extended to be treated in a casual note. + +The matter was shortly afterwards discussed in parliament, but not one +of the orators ventured to touch upon the point involved. If we ask +ourselves "the reason why," it is probable that the answer would +run--because all the interlocutors did not venture to be honest; by +which I mean, did not wish to utter, in distinct language, the +opinions that they held, and the end which they sought. There are +some legislators who regard moral cowardice as a virtue, and political +dishonesty as a desirable kingcraft. + +If an observer of the parliamentary debates, to which we refer, was also +a diligent and thoughtful reader of orations made in country towns and +metropolitan districts, by preachers and teachers of all our various +religious denominations, he would readily come to the conclusion that +there was something underlying every speech, which was never allowed to +come to the surface--a something which each was perfectly cognizant of, +but which it would be unmannerly to name, or even to hint at strongly. +It is not, in public meetings, or in parliament, permitted to any +speaker to accuse an adversary of falsehood or dishonesty. + +Yet, what an orator may not judiciously say of particular individuals, +a writer may assert of a class, or of a single person, if he is a +representative of a body. I may, for example, accuse the Pope of +dishonesty in misrepresenting certain well-known facts. I may equally +charge controversial writers with fraud, when they falsify the words or +arguments of an opponent. Whoever frames such an indictment is, however, +bound to take into consideration the possibility of there being an +unintentional error. It may, for example, be true that Popes never see +newspapers which tell the truth, and that divines may quote without +ever reading the book which they profess to criticise. In both cases +the critic acquits them of malice, but only to convict them of culpable +ignorance. + +When we investigate how this bears upon education, we ask ourselves--"Do +we, as historians, or in our capacity of reading men, know that the +pretensions of the Church of Rome are founded upon, or are bolstered +up by, assertions which every learned man knows, or ought to know, are +unworthy of belief?" + +To be more particular, let us propound the question--Does any Papal +hierarch believe that Francis of Assisi received certain bodily marks on +his hands and feet direct from Jesus? or that any portion of the blood +of a man has been preserved for ages in the Cathedral of Naples, as +having once belonged to a person who is called by the same name as +the first month in our year? We might readily increase our queries by +remarking about St. Dennis, St. George, St Fou-tin, and a variety of +others who appear in the Roman heaven. Our purpose, however, will be +answered if we ask, whether the thoughtful amongst us do not object to +the Papal faith, because those who proclaim it are not to be trusted? + +If we listen to energetic Protestant divines, we hear much of "lying +wonders," wrought by Antichrist, which are calculated even to deceive +the very elect. These men frequently quote such passages as the +following:--"Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the +Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these" (Jer. +vii. 4); "They have committed villany in Israel, and have spoken lying +words in my name, which I have not commanded them" (Jer. xxix. 23); +"Have ye not spoken a lying divination," &c. (Ezek. xiii. 7, 8, 9); "Then +shall that Wicked be revealed, whose coming is with lying wonders, and +with all deceivableness of unrighteousness; and for this cause God shall +send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie," &c. (2 +Thess. ii. 8-12). Indeed, the main objection to the Roman Church, amongst +all those who are acquainted with its secret history, is that it is +founded, and still exists, upon a foundation of fraud. + +There are many who consider that the Churches of England and of Scotland +have not a better basis; but both have so many friends in Great +Britain, that the sins of neither are closely examined, except by their +adversaries. + +Each sectarian is fully alive to the want of good faith shown by every +other division of the Church of Christ; and not only so, but we have +seen, in our own times, a ruler in Siam who knows about them too (see +_Wheel of the Law_, by H. Alabaster; Triibner & Co., London, 1871), and +is perfectly alive to the fact that we deceive ourselves. + +It is a part of human nature that each individual has a propensity to +deceive himself or herself. A child, who has been told that Old Bogy +lives in a certain cupboard, will not go and look therein; a man who +adores a lovely wife will not believe in her frailty; and a fond woman +will not credit even her father, when he tells her that her admirer is a +worthless scoundrel. + +We grant this readily, but we add the proviso, that we only allow +ourselves to be deceived by our own friends. It would be, to all of us, +a frightful infliction if our sons or daughters were to tell us that +we were under strong delusions, and believing in lies. Consequently, +everyone desires that his family shall have a similar faith with his +own. + +At the present time, however, more conspicuously than at any other since +printing was invented, there is, in society, a vast number of men who +believe, from their critical inquiries, that all religionists trust +in lying vanities which do not profit. These individuals have become +sceptics, in consequence of education having led them to think for +themselves. Being opposed to all, they are friendly with none; and +although they are not aggressive, as a rule, they are vigorously +attacked by every sect which steadily refuses to come to the light. + +Under these circumstances every hierarch argues: "The education which +frees the mind from all the shackles of superstition is prejudicial to +us, who earn our living hy making fetters, fixing them, and relaxing +them when duly paid to do so. A sound teaching--a style of instruction +that will induce the rising generation to examine into our pretensions +will cut the ground from under our feet. We must, therefore, endeavour +to limit, in some considerable degree, our tuition." Like the Jesuits in +Austria and of to-day, they will cram the memory, but not exercise +the understanding; they will crowd the mind with lying statements, +and prohibit all inquiry. Sectarians, therefore, as a rule, object to +education, unless it has a religious element in it. They agree in this +point, but differ as to the style of faith which is to be taught Hence +all the difference of opinion, for as the sectarians cannot decide upon +what faith is to be taught, they object to all instruction whatever. Are +they honest? + +If, instead of nursing a private idea, each legislator were boldly to +say what he desired to obtain and to avoid, there might be some chance +of united action. But when all pretend to work in common, yet not one is +absolutely in earnest, and all, more or less, play at "make believe," no +valuable end will be obtained. + +One politician, whose memory is tenacious, and his temerity great, +cannot bear the idea that the British mind should approximate to that of +the Germans; and, whilst he eulogizes education, he denounces Strauss. +Not because the latter is not a man of profound learning, but because +the cultivation of his intellect has led him to certain conclusions +which are distasteful to an English politician. This is not honesty. + +Again, our bishops and the priesthood generally say, "Education is a +desirable thing; it is wrong for man, who has a soul to be saved, not +to seek out the way of salvation." But if, in the course of inquiry, a +scholar imagines that their way is incorrect, he is anathematized, and +his fellows are instructed to believe that no one can find comfort for +the soul except in the way patronized by the Church. This, again, is +not honest. But--and the word is of mighty import--if, instead of saying +this distinctly, a few individuals of high standing in the Protestant +community deliberately, and with the intention to deceive--or to retain +people in the bonds which astute predecessors have thrown around the +laity, state, as their belief, that which their critical knowledge tells +them is untrue, or withhold knowledge of importance, because they deem +its publication detrimental to ecclesiastical institutions, they are not +simply dishonest--they are culpable, and guilty of spiritual murder. + +My meaning may be illustrated by one or two pertinent anecdotes: The +captain of a man-of-war was doubtful of the existence of a rock laid +down upon a chart. One day at dinner he announced to his company the +disbelief which he had, adding, that if the spot were truly described, +the ship would strike directly. It did so, and few survivors were left +to tell the tale. The commander judiciously elected to perish with his +vessel. Had he told his officers, and the distinguished passengers whom +he was carrying, what he was doing, it is certain that the danger would +have been avoided. + +Another ship captain was addressed by a civilian who was on board, +and told that a hurricane was approaching, which might be avoided by +steering in a certain direction; but, metaphorically speaking, the +bishop would not listen to the layman. The typhoon came, the vessel was +partially dismasted; then the passenger was consulted, and by his aid +the ship got out of the danger. + +The civilian was well read, not in ancient books, but in modern science; +the master mariner knew only his log-book, compass, and "the rule of +thumb." + +A person who loses his ship because he is too stupid to believe a chart, +or the rules of a science, which every scholar may test, deserves the +name of an imbecile, and our Board of Trade would deprive him of the +power to do any more mischief as a captain; but bishops and priests may +pilot their vessel wrongly, for none have any jurisdiction over them, +provided always that they steer in the old channels. It matters not +how far the way may be shifted, all is supposed to be right, if the old +landmarks are still used. + +To make our meaning still more clear, let us imagine ourselves a +nation of mariners, and of ocean-travellers. We go to school, and learn +astronomy, trigonometry, geography, physics, and the like; yet, when +we are at sea in any ship whatever, we must neglect our knowledge, and +trust implicitly to the captain of our ship. We know that we are, in +reality, going southwards, when our proper destination lies to the +north: for us it is easy to read the stars, and thus to test both the +chronometer and the compass; must we, then, be quiet because we have +embarked in a vessel belonging to a certain "line," which is commanded +by a master appointed by the "firm" or "company" to which the barque +belongs. What is the value of education unless it enables us, when +necessary, to find whether we are in the right way or not? + +Let us, still further, suppose that we remonstrate with the captain, and +that he, in place of arguing the matter fairly, endeavours to override +our objections by quoting from ancient geographers, to demonstrate that +what we believe to be the wrong is, in reality, the only true way to go; +we may be silenced, probably until we accidently discover in the ship's +library, a dissertation proving that the old traveller's charts are +worthless. When we find out that, what will be our opinion of the +captain? Can we believe him to be honest? + +If we now were to remonstrate with our naval dictator, and he were to +rejoin--"My worthy brothers, I know that you are right, and that I +have been wrong. I have, indeed, known it from the time I began to +be commander, but my living depends upon my belief in old charts and +ancient compasses. I dare not change my plan, for my masters would +dismiss me. They know--at least I feel convinced that they are aware, +that the old sailing directions are wrong; but they have not the courage +to say so, or to alter them--and if I do so, they will cashier me." + +Is the "firm" or "company" honest? and if we are to mete out degrees of +culpability, to whom must the severest punishment be awarded? Surely, +in the case of the Church of England, to her Bishops, who, knowing, as +scholars, that their compass and charts are incorrect, yet oblige those +under their command to steer by them--thus compelling the men who ought +to be standard-bearers in the forefront of intellectual work, either to +be silent, or to fight at a disadvantage. + +It is the knowledge of the duplicity of a vast number of intelligent +divines, which has induced laymen to take the business of education out +of the hands of the clergy as a body. The Protestant believes that a +Jesuit will not teach correct history; the Romanist feels certain +that, even in biography, evangelical narratives cannot be trusted; and +Nonconformists generally feel that they cannot rely upon the instruction +given by those of a different sect. + +It is desirable to sketch, if possible, what would be the condition of +society if, in the place of the clergy, there was a set of men trained +to the office of instructor, and that all individuals in the kingdom +were compelled to attend school for a definite period in their youth. In +the first place, nothing would be taught which is not known to be true. +After having mastered the rudiments of knowledge, the art of reading, +writing, and ciphering, the students would be taught to train their +minds in drawing inferences from facts, and the art of passing from +imperfect knowledge to certainty. They would be schooled into habits of +exactness, and the necessity for careful inquiry before they believed an +assertion to have the same power as a fact Those whose inclination led +them to study one or more of the arts or sciences, drawing, painting, +sculpture, designing, weaving, chemistry, engineering, building, and +a host of others, would learn that in every one of them knowledge and +precision are required to ensure success. + +When the instructor found that his pupils were sufficiently trained to +the exercise of reasoning, he would then proceed to explain the ideas +which have been entertained by various people about the existence of +beings, other than those which can be recognized by the senses. He would +lead his class through the geological history of our planet, and point +out the sequence of events from the latest formation, to the primary +rocks; on his way he would linger on the nature of ancient plants and +animals; from our earth he would lead them to a study of the stars, and +then point out how very natural is the opinion that all the universe had +a designer. + +Then, after giving a history of the belief in ancient times, he +would gradually descend to our own. He would critically examine the +pretensions of any person who had, in former ages, asserted, or who +proclaimed now, that he or she knew all about this presumed Creator, and +was charged to communicate that knowledge to mankind. After +explaining the critical test by which such an assumed mission might be +examined--viz., by accurate knowledge of the earth and of mankind, he +would apply this trial to all known pretenders to inspiration. + +As a result, his pupils might prefer one to another, or refuse +to believe in all which have hitherto appeared. In any case, each +individual would enter upon the form of faith which he selected with +full knowledge of the facts in favour of it. He would, therefore, be +a disciple worth having. If, on the other hand, he disbelieved all +pretenders to inspiration, his condition would be the result of +deliberate reasoning upon ascertained facts, and not built, as +all religion now is, upon parrot lore, taught in childhood, ere +thoughtfulness has begun to grow. + +Assuming that men were thus trained by honest and able instructors, +all those people who live upon the weaknesses and the ignorance of the +multitude would cease their endeavours to prey upon mankind, and to get +a living by playing upon the fears which so many persons have of the +unknown. There would then be no religious wars or contests--no popes, +prelates, priests, nor deacons. Quackery of all kinds would cease, and +statesmen would all agree in endeavouring to procure for mankind the +greatest amount of available happiness. This would be the result of +honesty. But from such a picture many men absolutely recoil As the +effect of training has been to make them believe that unsubstantial +things are of sovereign importance, they cannot endure the idea of man +being wholly rational; and they insist, as does the late Premier of +England, that, if scientific schooling of the mind leads men to neglect +what some call Revelation, the plan must be radically bad and worthless. +But to eulogise education and to deprecate its results is dishonest. +This political tenet or practice resembles that of many a parson, who +tells his hearers from the pulpit that they are to "take no thought for +the morrow, for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself;" +"they are not to take thought for life, for food, for raiment; nor to +lay up for themselves treasures upon earth" (Matt vi. 19, 25, 34), and on +the week-day urges them to lay by a store against the time of sickness +or old age. Such double-dealing is dishonest, and is unworthy of a +thoughtful man. If Jesus was right, why not enforce his teaching? if he +was wrong, why not say so? + +Is it possible that any minister in politics, or religion, can believe +that "Honesty is the best policy," and yet act with double-dealing? Can +any person, who has power to think, believe that he will be respected +when he, on a Sunday, preaches improvidence as being taught by the +Almighty, and on a Monday proclaims that men are wicked who do not make +a provision for the future? If such people were honest with themselves, +they would soon discover that the doctrine propounded from the pulpit is +a Buddhistic one, acted upon by all the early disciples of Sakya Muni, +and in a conspicuous manner by himself. Yet, if a parson were to be +candid thus far to himself, he would probably say--"I cannot afford +to be honest in this matter openly, and I must keep this knowledge to +myself." Interest, unfortunately, determines the actions, even of our +divines, more than a rigid uprightness. + +We are thus at the foundation of those causes which are in operation +to make the thoughtful laity distrustful of the clergy--it is, that +the latter are not honourable or strictly veracious--they preach +one doctrine, and act upon another. Honesty is on their lips, but +self-interest in their hearts. From the Pope to the humblest deacon, +there is a conscious reticence in every mind--an inner belief that their +pretensions are not tenable, yet an outward determination to proclaim +them at all hazards; like the silversmiths of Ephesus, they all unite in +the belief that "their craft is in danger" when the apostles of reason +appear. + +Far be it from me to assert that all the clergy are dishonest in +the full meaning of the word. I believe that many of them have such +undeveloped minds, or such mean intellectual capacities, that they are +absolutely unable to think upon any subject which has not been drilled +into them when their brains were childish and ductile. Others, again, +have been schooled into the belief that "doubt" and "the devil" are +identical, and who pray to be defended from both--with them, "to +inquire" is a temptation of Satan, and so is to be manfully resisted; +others, again, say to themselves, and sometimes even to their +friends--"I know what will follow if I go into 'the evidences'--I dare +not do it, and prefer to remain in my present condition." Others, again, +say to their conscience--I am paid to expound a certain book, in a +certain way; I cannot afford to give up my position; consequently I will +neither hear of nor argue upon either the volume or the doctrine. There +are, again, some few religionists who, by constantly encouraging a blind +faith, and repressing all intellectual doubts, come at length to believe +their position impregnable, and who trust it because it is, as it +were, always kept under a glass-case. Some such I know, or have known, +personally; and have heard from their own lips how their very accurate +knowledge of the Bible has made them doubt its inspiration, and +how "they have wrestled with God in prayer"--to use their own +expression--until the temptation to distrust has been changed into a +childlike confidence. Men like these are not dishonest to the world, +they are only so to themselves. + +The career of one of my acquaintances has been so striking, that +it deserves a record. The man of whom I speak was one of powerful +intellect, and of an inquiring turn of mind; but he was in holy orders, +and had schooled himself never to investigate the Bible's claim to +inspiration, or anything connected with religion. He faithfully did the +ordinary duties of a minister according to his lights; but throughout +his ministrations, in the composition and delivery of every sermon, +there was a powerful undercurrent of the mind which was constantly +saying, without using words--"You know that you are not honest." Prayer +did not subdue this mental conflict, and day by day the undercurrent +grew stronger. It was, however, resolutely opposed, and an outward +orthodoxy rigidly kept up. Of the throes of such a man, when he was +quietly alone, few but those who have felt them can have an idea. Under +their influence the brain gave way, and insanity was the reward of +a resolute determination to be orthodox against personal conviction. +Similar cases are not uncommon, when faith opposes reason. + +It is very doubtful whether ordinary laymen have an adequate idea of the +extent of clerical dishonesty existing amongst us, not only in the seats +of learning, but in our towns, cities, and villages. As I have had much +correspondence and conversation with many ministers of religion, I have +formed the opinion that parsons of all denominations regard themselves +much in the same light as trade unionists and non-union men, the two +parties look upon each other as hostile. The former, who call themselves +the orthodox, keep up a sort of spy system upon those whose opinions +they fear, because they are not in the union. Such men, if they had a +chance, would not scruple to "ratten" an adversary. They judge of a man +by the books which they chance to see in his library, book-cases, or +upon his table; and, without the manliness to confront, they have the +weakness to backbite those whose mind is more robust than their own. + +As a physician, I have been consulted by a Church of England minister, +who was suspected by the rest of the ministers in his town of being a +non-union man. Of strong mind, he did not preach the usual jargon which +the pulpit delights in. Irons upon _Prophecy_ and Inman's _Ancient +Faiths_ had been seen in his study, and he spoke approvingly of Colenso. +As a consequence, he was watched in the pulpit and in the street. He was +followed to the homes of poverty, and sick folk were visited, that the +nature of his ministrations might be searched out. He was visited by +persons of all classes, who, taking their cue from the New Testament, +strove to entangle him in his talk. Being married, and having a family, +and no means of subsistence, save his church living, this trade union +persecution made him miserable, and seriously injured his health. But he +was resolute not to be dishonest, and held on his way. I was, he assured +me, the only person whom he knew that could appreciate his condition, +and he was most thankful for my sympathy and advice. He left my house +already improved in health; and the feeling that he had a friend to whom +he might always apply, enabled him to bear his persecution manfully. +He still retains his position, notwithstanding all the wiles and +"picketings" of the trade unionists. + +This spy system, mentioned in the above example, is associated with an +attempt to discover and apply backstairs influence--those who have +the power of making appointments in the church, the chapel, or the +meeting-house, are studied, and their opportunities to remove a +non-unionist taken advantage of by clerical "By-ends," who endeavour to +shape their judgment according to that of their patrons. + +This dishonesty reacts upon itself. Men who preach habitually one set of +doctrines to a congregation, tie themselves and their understanding down +to the low level of the majority of mediocrities; and as this level has, +under such circumstances, a tendency to lower itself, the clergy have +been compelled to fall, with their patrons, far down in the intellectual +scale, and the intelligence and educational status of ministers of all +denominations sinks annually lower. The proprieties of society prevent +me from repeating what has come to my ears from the lips or pens of +distinguished clerics. It will be enough if I utter my belief that one +or more outspoken laymen will do more good to religion, and advance the +interests of society more, than all ecclesiastical unionists. In this +and the preceding volumes it has been my aim to be thoroughly honest. In +some things of small moment, such as Greek accents, Hebrew points, &c., +it is probable I have been faulty. I will even allow, willingly, that a +more perfect Hebrew scholar than myself may esteem my etymons fanciful +and incorrect. My work having been done in the midst of constant +interruptions, I concede that, to accomplished bookworms, it must appear +disjointed. But, with all its faults, it is honest; and, being so, I +claim the right to challenge any one who chooses to enter the lists, and +encounter me honourably, to a knightly combat. I am sure that my aim has +been, and is yet, to elicit truth. To me vituperation, because I have +run foul of what are called established doctrines, has no more influence +than it had upon the prime movers of any revolution. A foul blow, such +as iniquitous misrepresentation, would probably anger me for a moment, +yet it would nerve me, in the course of a few hours, to make an +onslaught more furious than ever. With a literary rascal one cannot +observe the strict laws of knighthood, except indeed, those which govern +the relations of the noble and the varlet. + +I make this challenge the more boldly, because the so-called orthodox +cannot persecute me by those meannesses which they employ against each +other. Having no ecclesiastical status, I have no penalty to dread from +frightened bishops or malignant priests. In the face of such a defiance +the clerical party must fight fairly, or slink away as cravens. One +condition, however, I must make with any one who enters the lists--viz., +that any misrepresentation, such as that made about Bishop Colenso by +Dr Browne of the See of Winchester, shall be regarded as _ipso facto_--a +signal of defeat. + +To return to the idea which is enunciated at the early part of this +essay, let us contemplate what would be, or rather, what ought to be, +the duty of an honest man, whose aim is to defend the faith which he +professes, and to prove that the book which he reveres is deserving of +his confidence. + +It is probable that, if a merchant had in his possession a bill, +or promissory note, which some person had examined carefully, and +pronounced to be a forgery, he would never think of parading it before +his customers as a valid "asset." Yet, as I write the sentence, memory +recalls to my mind that traders have done this very thing, and have +counted what they ought to have known were bad debts, or fraudulent +bills of exchange, amongst their securities for money; and that, when +the parties so acting have become bankrupt, their proceedings have been +severely punished by the authorities, as being dishonest and fraudulent. + +The analogy is an useful one, inasmuch as it enables me to ask the +question--"Ought the morality of a 'divine' to be inferior to that +practised by a merchant or banker?" Still further, let us inquire +whether we should have a high opinion of a trader, who endeavoured +to palm off upon us, as a genuine diamond, an article which had been +publicly declared to be a bit of "paste," and whether we should be +satisfied with his excuse--"I believe everything is a gem that goes by +the name of a precious stone." + +In the course of this and our preceding volumes we have, as plainly as +words could express our meaning, enunciated our conclusions upon certain +Biblical difficulties. We have, at least, endeavoured to be honest; we +have not misrepresented those with whose opinions we differ, nor have +we tried to shirk any question, however difficult it may have been. We +claim a corresponding degree of honesty from those who profess to be +authorised guides--and certainly are in the position at present of +national leaders in religion. + +We are not like an unfortunate clerk in "holy orders," who can be +silenced by law. We are, on the contrary, a stranger knight who comes to +a tourney, and claims the right to combat with the most redoubtable of +the champions of their court and kingdom. Still further, we assume the +power to write those down as cowards who, upon any pretence whatever, +decline to compete in the lists with us. + +In the days of chivalry there was not a knight who would not have been +regarded as "craven," if he declined a combat because his challenger +did not speak or write French correctly, or had a speck of rust on his +armour, a dint in his shield, or a hole in his breastplate. Yet, in +these degenerate days, we see that poltroons refuse to entertain the +arguments of a writer who, from any cause whatever, appears to be +inaccurate in Hebrew points, or consonants, or Greek accents, or +transliteration. For ourselves, we regard every excuse which is framed +to avoid meeting a fairly stated argument as a proof of weakness, and +when it is uttered by a professional champion, as an act of cowardice. +When such champions are paid by a state to uphold the honour of their +country, to avoid a challenge by evasion is dishonesty. There was, +however, in knightly days, some established law of chivalry that no +champion need fight a "squire" or "varlet;" but, on the other hand, no +nobleman could refuse to enter the lists on the plea that his challenger +had a different faith to his own. Combats between Christians and Paynim +were common. Consequently, we cannot regard a bishop justified in +declining a fair challenge, because he is invited to enter the lists by +an "Infidel." + +Considering myself as an university graduate and an English gentleman, +entitled to give a literary challenge, I make no scruple to enter the +lists, and invite champions to break a lance with me in favour of their +patron saint or lady. + +I assert that their tutelary saints--Adam, Abraham, David, Moses, +Solomon, and the prophets, are imaginary beings, or, where real, were +not as worthy as they are supposed to have been. I defy scholars to +prove that the Israelites were ever, as a body, in Egypt; that they +were delivered therefrom by Moses; that the people wandered during forty +years in "the desert;" received a code of laws from Jehovah on Sinai; +and were, in any sense whatever of the words, "the chosen people of +God." + +I assert that the whole history of the Old Testament is untrue, with the +exception of a few parts which tell of unimportant events--e.g., it is +probable that the Jews fought with their neighbours, as the Swiss have +done in modern days--but I do not believe the tale about Samson any more +than that of William Tell. + +I assert that there is not a single true prophecy in the whole Bible, +which can be proved to have been written before the event to which it +is assumed to point, or which is superior, in any way, to the "oracles" +delivered in various ancient lands. + +I assert that the whole of what, is called the Mosaic law had +no existence in the days of David, Solomon, and the early Hebrew +chieftains--or kings--if they are thought to deserve the title. + +Here there is no room for evasion--the issue is clear; the cause to be +adjudged by combat is unmistakable. As the weapons on both sides +must necessarily be literary--the pen, and not lance or spear, it is +advisable to say a few words thereupon. In argument I do not recognize +that style of logic which considers that the words "it may be" are equal +to "it is." + +I am induced to make this remark, because in theological works, the two +forms are constantly used as if they were identical. Many years ago, a +near relative, staying in my house, was preparing for ordination in the +Church of England, and amongst other hooks, had a certain work of the +late Cardinal Wiseman, for perusal--with the intention of collecting +materials for refuting it. He told me that the Papal Archbishop was too +strong for him, and requested my aid. As a result, I became familiar, +not only with many dogmatic writings of the Roman, but also of the +Anglican, Church. All of them had, in my estimation, the same logical +fault. Their authors imagined that any given point is proved when it +can be shown that the occurrence in question _may_ have happened. At +a subsequent period I discovered that this was the prevalent argument +amongst writers in my own profession. It has, indeed, been supposed +generally, that success in proving an opponent to be wrong, is the same +as demonstrating your own propositions to be right. + +The writers in the _Speaker's Commentary_ upon the Bible have not +advanced beyond this. A thousand such commonplaces as fill its pages, +are worthless to the philosophical inquirer, and I no more regard them, +than a knight would a targe and lance made of barley-sugar. + +My challenge, however, is not confined to the subject of the Old +Testament; I affirm that the New Testament is equally untrue--although +not to the same degree. Yet, as in the latter, there are not so many +asserted facts, there cannot be so many points for cavil. To be more +specific: I assert that the history of Jesus was framed upon that of +Sakya Muni, and very probably at Alexandria, long after the death of +the son of Mary. I do not deny the existence of Jesus; but I assert that +every miracle which is told respecting him--and the narrative of his +miraculous conception, and of the marvels occurring at his birth, have +no foundation in fact. + +It is unnecessary to repeat what I have already said upon such points as +"original sin," "the fall of man," and "the need of a Saviour." + +In what I now say or write, I am perfectly honest. I have not been paid +to preach a certain doctrine, whether my understanding assents to it +or not I affirm, moreover, that the comfort in which I live, is wholly +unbroken by any fears for the future; and that I look back upon the +period when my days and nights were made wretched by superstition, and +rejoice that I am emancipated from the shackles of Ecclesiastics. "The +Church," and every sect of it, which is known in Christendom, is, in my +opinion, unfit to be trusted by thoughtful human beings. Its votaries +are only happy in proportion to their power of forgetting its doctrines, +or explaining them away. Yet all, as I said in the first chapter of +my second volume, agree "to make believe," and by dint of persistently +doing so, end in persuading themselves that they are clothed with lovely +garments--which have no existence, save in the opinion of the wearer. + +My whole life has been passed amongst religionists of more or less +piety. I have known them in public and in private, in their connection +with the world, and their relations with wife, children, and servants. I +am also familiar with some who are avowed free-thinkers. As an impartial +judge, and certainly having the desire to be an honest one, I declare +that the so-called irreligion or infidelity of the latter makes them +better citizens of the world, better fathers of a family, and +better priests to those who are struggling with misfortune, than the +religion--orthodox or non-conformist--of the former induces them to +become. + +If there were in reality, as there was once in fable, a domain in which +every one was constrained to speak the truth; and if, still farther, one +could carry thereto every religionist, and inquire into his belief, I +feel sure that those whom the professed Christians affect to despise as +infidels, would be the only ones who would be found faithful in private, +to the principles which they profess in public. If, for an example, +the question were put to both "What is honesty?" the answer of the +free-thinkers would be--"Doing to others, in every position of life, +that which you would wish others to do to you;" the reply of the +dogmatic would be the same, with the important addition--"Except in +matters of faith." + +My readers must not imagine that I am hasty or unscrupulous in what is +passing from my mind to my pen. There never was a time in which I +have felt more deeply that my duty, as an independent man, is to speak +plainly. On the other hand, there is not one single religionist of my +acquaintance, to whom the words--"Ye know not what manner of spirit ye +are of" (Luke ix. 55)--do not apply. + +On the shelves of my library are books written by almost all classes of +authors, and in many different languages. It has been a self-enforced +duty to compare their contents, and to endeavour, still further, to +elicit from those who are not writers, information which may assist me +in forming a correct idea upon any particular point. Up to the present +time I have not found one single work, which has relation to the +religion of opponents, and is written by a parson, thoroughly +trustworthy or honest Everyone is guilty, either of the _suppressio +veri_ or _suggestio falsi_--generally of both. A book emanating from a +priest is bad, that from a bishop is worse. Colenso, whom I regard as +the only thoroughly truthful member of the episcopal hierarchy, is the +one who is more foully treated by religionists than any other minister +has ever been--"Tis true, 'tis pity, and pity 'tis, 'tis true." + +We may be pardoned, if we close this chapter by the expression of our +views as to the religion which will prevail when men have thought as +much upon their future life as upon their present, and are honest with +themselves: + +1. They will try to form some distinct idea of what would be to them +a heaven; but, as they will be wholly unsuccessful, they will cease to +speculate upon it. + +2. They will cease to fear a hell, knowing that, if there be any +immortal part of man, it must be immaterial; they will not believe that +it can be tormented by material fires, forks, and furies. + +3. They will cease to pay any attention to men who call themselves +prophets, divine messengers, or vicars of God on earth, whether they use +lying wonders or not. + +4. Instead of constantly cogitating how much they can sin against, and +yet get pardon from, some unknown deity, they will recognize the laws +of nature for their guide, and live in communities as their reason +dictates. The future will be left wholly in the power of the Creator. + +5. There will be no belief in a trinity, in a virgin mother of God, in +intercessors of any kind whatever between human beings and the invisible +God; each man and woman will be independent and alone in the presence of +the Supreme. + +6. Man will no longer try to usurp the place of God, and persecute his +fellow mortal on religious grounds. + +7. There will be no priests or ministers of religion; but there will be +instructors in science, in the laws of life, and moral order; there will +be magistrates to enforce social propriety, and establishments where the +insane and the criminal can be secluded. + +8. There will be no strife about religion, for each will attend to his +own personal concerns. + +9. The laws of nature will be studied as regards marriage and family; +the infected will not be allowed to perpetuate a feeble race, nor the +diseased infant be pampered, that it may live to a sickly and useless +maturity.* + + * We may add, that there will then be neither silly women + nor crotchety men, who will encourage free trade in + fornication, and the diffusion of loathsome diseases, and + endeavour to promote unnecessary suffering by their + opposition to the methods of avoidance. + +10. No law will be made but that which is drawn from a study of the ways +of the Creator, and the proper requirements of His creatures. + +11. Every pretender to revelation, or inspiration, will be incarcerated +as a rogue or a lunatic. + +12. The aim of all will be individual and general comfort, and as much +happiness as is compatible with humanity. + +When each does to others as he would be done by, the millennium, so much +talked of, will have come. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +27th March, 1875. + +Dear Dr Inman, + +At pp. 11 and 81 of your new volume, the proof-sheets of which you were +good enough to show me, you intimate that an earlier origin can be found +for all Hebrew feasts and observances excepting the Sabbath. It would +appear, from discoveries made and works published since you began to +write, that you need not make even this exception. There are, I think, +plain indications of a Sabbath among the Egyptians, and proofs of its +observance by the Assyrians. + +Dr G. G. Zerffi, in a note appended to Mr Tyssen's _Origin of the Week_* +says--"Judging from the Egyptian mythology, we are justified in assuming +that they had some correct notions of the division of time. Their eight +gods of the first order point to an incarnation of the cosmical forces, +or the planetary system. The twelve gods of the second order undoubtedly +presided over the twelve months of the year; whilst the seven gods of +the third order were to watch over the seven days of the week..... The +Teutons have inherited the division, not only of the week in seven +days, but also the names by which these days are called, from the +Indians....." (Bohlen's _Das alte Indien_; _Toth_, by Dr Uhlemann; +and Bunsen's _Egypt's Place in History_; Tacitus, Suidas, Pliny, and +Amosis). + + * The Origin of the Week Explained, by A. D. Tyasen, B.C.L., + M.A.; Williams & Noigate, 1875. + +These, perhaps, are only what I have called them, indications of a +Sabbath, since it is conceivable that a week of seven days might exist +without one day being more sacred than another. A plainer indication may +be found in the Hymn to Amen-Ka, which exists upon a hieratic papyrus, +judged to be of the fourteenth century, B.C., and purporting to be only +a copy of an earlier writing. I quote four lines, and call attention to +the fourth:-- + + O! Ra adored in Aptu [Thebes]: + High-crowned in the house of the obelisk [Heliopolis]: + King (Ani) Lord of the New-moon festival: + To whom the sixth and seventh days are sacred.* + +When we leave Egypt for Assyria, we pass from indication to proof. At p. +12 of George Smith's _Assyrian Discoveries_,** the author says--"In the +year 1869 I discovered, among other things, a curious religious calendar +of the Assyrians, in which every month is divided into four weeks, and +the seventh days, or 'Sabbaths' are marked out as days on which no work +should be undertaken." More precise information as to these Sabbath-days +is given by Rev. A. H Sayce, M.A., in _Records of the Past_, vol. I., p. +164, where the following words occur:--"The Babylonian year was divided +into twelve months of thirty days each, with an intercalary month every +six years.... According to the lunar division, the seventh, fourteenth, +nineteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-eighth days were days of 'rest' on +which certain works were forbidden." + + * Translated by C. W. Goodwin, M.A., in Records of the Past, + vol. II Bagster & Sons. + + ** Sampson Low, & Co., 1875. + +The Assyrian legends tell of seven evil spirits who rebelled against +the gods; of the goddess Ishtar descending to Hades, and passing through +seven gates; of a deluge, the duration of which was seven days, &c., &c. +Mr H. F. Talbot, F.R.S., speaks of the great degree of holiness which +the Assyrians attributed to the number seven, and where that number was +sacred, the seventh day could scarcely escape special honours. _Why_ the +number seven was sacred, or whether the Babylonian Sabbath was at first +any more than an unlucky day, like the sailor's Friday, when it was +sowing for the whirlwind to begin any enterprise, are other questions. + +I am, yours faithfully, + +GEORGE ST. CLAIR. + + +These observations of Mr St Clair deserve attention, for they show that, +from an ancient period, a sixth and seventh day were holy in Egypt, +although we cannot discover from the context whether they were reckoned +after the first day of a year, a month, or a week. But this is of +small importance, as I do not find evidence that the Jews borrowed any +Egyptian ideas, even if they ever knew any. It is far more important to +know, that in the Assyrian calendar the seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, +twenty-first, and twenty-eighth days of the month were days of "rest," +for all Biblical testimony points to the adoption of the Jewish Sabbath +in the time of the second Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel--i.e., not very +long after the Assyrians made their power felt in Palestine. When we +consider the propensity which the Hebrews had to copy parts of the +religion of those who conquered them, it is highly probable that some +astute priest of the Jews adopted the idea of consecrating a seventh +day, as their Mesopotamian adversaries had done, to the most high +god Saturn; and as it was desirable to have some pretence for the +introduction of the Sabbath, it was natural that it should be put under +the same head as the new moon, and that stories should be invented, and +gradually circulated, of the vast antiquity of the new institution. It +is clear, from the Jewish history, that the Sabbath was not generally +known amongst the common people until long after the return from +Babylon. Had it been so, Ezra would not have thundered so energetically +in its favour. The same remark applies to Nehemiah. I have elsewhere +remarked that the Sabbath was unknown to David and Solomon, and may now +add that any one who will read the episode in the history of Elijah, +recorded 1 Kings xix. 7, 8, will see that this prophet could have known +nothing, and the angel who spoke to him could have known no more, of the +Mosaic Sabbath, inasmuch as the latter directs, and the former obeys, +an order which must have involved a breaking of the "rest" of at least +five, and possibly six, Sabbaths. The whole life, indeed, of Elijah +shows a perfect ignorance of this so-called Mosaic institution. + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Ancient Faiths And Modern, by Thomas Inman + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANCIENT FAITHS AND MODERN *** + +***** This file should be named 38100.txt or 38100.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/1/0/38100/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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