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The World's Greatest Books — Volume 13 — Religion and Philosophy

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Title: The World's Greatest Books — Volume 13 — Religion and Philosophy

Editor: Arthur Mee
        J. A. Hammerton


        
Release date: October 7, 2004 [eBook #13620]
                Most recently updated: October 28, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS — VOLUME 13 — RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY ***

THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS

JOINT EDITORS

ARTHUR MEE

J.A. HAMMERTON



VOL. XIII RELIGION PHILOSOPHY


Copyright, MCMX MCKINLAY, STOKE & MACKEKZU

       *       *       *       *       *




TABLE OF CONTENTS


    RELIGION

    APOCRYPHA

    AUGUSTINE, ST.
      City of God

    BAXTER, RICHARD
      Saints' Everlasting Rest

    BOOK OF THE DEAD

    BRAHMANISM, BOOKS OF

    BROWNE, SIR THOMAS
      Religio Medici

    CALVIN, JOHN
      Institution of the Christian Religion

    COLERIDGE, S.T.
      Aids to Reflection

    CONFUCIANISM

    FÉNELON
      Existence of God

    GALILEO GALILEI
      Authority of Scripture

    HEGEL, G.W.F.
      Philosophy of Religion

    HINDUISM, BOOKS OF

    KEMPIS, THOMAS À
      Imitation of Christ

    KORAN

    NEWMAN, CARDINAL
      Apologia pro Vitâ Sua

    PAINE, THOMAS
      Age of Reason

    PASCAL, BLAISE
      Letters to a Provincial

    PENN, WILLIAM
      Some Fruits of Solitude

    RENAN, ERNEST
      Life of Jesus

    SWEDENBORG, EMANUEL
      Heaven and Hell

    TALMUD

    ZOROASTRIANISM


    PHILOSOPHY


    ARISTOTLE
      Ethics

    AURELIUS, MARCUS
      Discourses with Himself

    BACON, FRANCIS
      Advancement of Learning

    BERKELEY, GEORGE
      Principles of Human Knowledge

    DESCARTES
      Discourse on Method

    EMERSON, RALPH WALDO
      Nature

    EPICTETUS
      Discourses and Encheiridion


A COMPLETE INDEX OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS WILL BE FOUND AT THE END
OF VOLUME XX.

       *       *       *       *       *



RELIGION


THE APOCRYPHA


     Apocrypha is a Greek word, signifying "secret" or "hidden,"
     but in the sixteenth century it came to be applied to a list
     of books contained in the Septuagint, or Greek translation of
     the Old Testament, but not in the Palestinian, or Hebrew
     Canon. Hence, by theological or bibliographic purists, these
     books were not regarded as genuine Scripture. That view was
     adopted by the early Greek Church, though the Western Church
     was divided in opinion. They appeared as a separate section in
     Coverdale's English Bible in 1538, and in Luther's German
     Bible in 1537. The Council of Trent in 1546 admitted them as
     canonical, except the First and Second Esdras and the Prayer
     of Manasses--a view rejected after the Reformation by
     Protestants, who recognised only the Palestinian Record as
     canonical. The Westminster Confession declared that they were
     only to be made use of as "human writings," and the Sixth
     Article of the Church of England states that they are "to be
     read for example of life and instruction of manners, but not
     to establish doctrine." As the result of a violent controversy
     in Scotland and America between 1825 and 1827, the Apocrypha
     was deleted from the copies of the Holy Scriptures issued by
     the British and Foreign Bible Society. The controversy was
     revived in 1862 when a quotation was engraved on the Prince
     Consort's Memorial in Kensington Gardens from the Wisdom of
     Solomon: "He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a
     long time. For his soul pleased the Lord: Therefore hasted He
     to take him away from among the wicked." All the books bear
     evidence of having been written long after the date to which
     they are ascribed.


FIRST ESDRAS


And Josias held the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem unto his Lord,
the 14th day of the first month of the 18th year of his reign, and
ordered the Levites, the holy ministers of Israel, to hallow themselves
unto the Lord, and set the Holy Ark of the Lord in the house that King
Solomon had built. And there were offered in sacrifices to the Lord on
the altar 37,600 lambs and kids, and 4,300 calves. And they roasted the
Passover with fire: as for the sacrifices, they sod them in brass pots
and pans with a good savour, and set them before all the people. And
such a Passover was not kept in Israel since the time of the Prophet
Samuel. And the works of Josias were upright before his Lord with an
heart full of godliness.

Now, after all these acts of Josias, it came to pass that Pharaoh, the
King of Egypt, came to raise war at Carchamis upon Euphrates; and
Josias, not regarding the words of the Prophet Jeremy, spoken by the
mouth of the Lord, went out against him and joined battle with him in
the plain of Magiddo. Then said the king unto his servants: Carry me
away out of the battle; for I am very weak. And being brought back to
Jerusalem he died and was buried in his father's sepulchre. And in all
Jewry the chief men, with the women, yea Jeremy the prophet, made
lamentation for him unto this day.

And the people took Joachaz, the son of Josias, and made him king; but
the King of Egypt deposed him, and made Joacim, his brother, King of
Judea and Jerusalem, who did evil before the Lord. Wherefore, against
him, Nabuchodonosor, King of Babylon, came up and bound him with a chain
of brass, and carried him into Babylon. Nabuchodonosor also took of the
holy vessels of the Lord and carried them away, and set them in his own
temple at Babylon, and made Zedechias king. Zedechias reigned eleven
years, but did evil also in the sight of the Lord.

The governors of the people and of the priests did likewise many things
against the Lord, and defiled the Temple of the Lord, who, being wrath
with his people for their great ungodliness, commanded the Kings of the
Chaldees to come up against them. This they did, and slew and spared
neither young man nor maid, old man nor child, among them. And they took
all the holy vessels of the Lord, both great and small, with the vessels
of the Ark of God and the king's treasures, and carried them away into
Babylon. As for the House of the Lord, they burnt it, and broke down the
walls of Jerusalem and set fire upon her towers. And the people that
were not slain with the sword were carried unto Babylon, who became
servants to Nabuchodonosor, till the Persians reigned, to fulfil the
word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremy.

In the first year of Cyrus, King of the Persians, the Lord raised up his
spirit, and he made proclamation through all his kingdom, saying: The
Lord of Israel, the most high Lord, hath made me king of the whole
world, and commanded me to build him an house at Jerusalem in Jewry. If
there be any of you that are of his people, let the Lord, even his Lord,
be with him; let him go up to Jerusalem and build the house of the Lord
of Israel.

Then the chief of the families of Judea and of the tribe of Benjamin,
the priests also, and the Levites moved up to Jerusalem to build an
house for the Lord there. And they were helped in all things with silver
and gold, with horses and cattle, and with very many free gifts. King
Cyrus also brought forth the holy vessels which Nabuchodonosor had
carried away from Jerusalem and had set up in his temple of idols. The
vessels of gold and of silver which were brought back by Sanabassar,
together with them of the captivity from Babylon to Jerusalem, were, in
number, five thousand four hundred three score and nine.

But in the time of Artaxerxes, the building of the Temple ceased. Now,
when Darius reigned, he made a great feast unto all the governors and
captains that were under him from India unto Ethiopia, of an hundred and
twenty-seven provinces. And when they had eaten and drunken, three young
men that were of the guard that kept the king's body strove to excel
each other in wise speeches. Every one wrote his sentence and referred
the writings to the judgment of the king. The first declareth the
strength of wine; the second declareth the power of a king; the third
the force of women and of truth. The third, who was Zorobabel, was
judged to be wisest; and all the people then shouted: Great is Truth,
and mighty above all things.

Then said the king unto him: Ask what thou wilt, and we will give it to
thee, because thou art found wisest. Then Zorobabel said unto the king:
Remember thy vow which thou hast vowed to build Jerusalem in the day
when thou camest into thy kingdom, and to build up the Temple, which the
Edomites burned when Judea was made desolate by the Chaldees.

Then Darius the king stood up and kissed him, and wrote letters for him
unto all the treasurers and governors that they should safely convey on
their way both him and all those that went with him to build Jerusalem.
He also wrote letters unto the lieutenants in Celosyria, Phenice, and
Libanus, that they should bring cedar wood from Libanus to Jerusalem;
and that they should build the city. Then the families and tribes with
their men-servants and maid-servants and singing men and women, escorted
by a thousand horsemen which Darius sent with them, were brought back to
Jerusalem.

On the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were
come back to Jerusalem, the foundation of the House of God was laid; and
the Temple was finished in the three and twentieth day of the month of
Adar, in the sixth year of Darius, and dedicated with a great feast and
sacrifices.

After these things, when Artaxerxes, the King of the Persians, reigned,
came Esdras of the family of Aaron, the chief priest, from Babylon, and
with him certain priests, Levites, holy singers and ministers of the
Temple unto Jerusalem. He brought commission from the king to look into
the affairs of Judea and Jerusalem, agreeably to that which is in the
Law of the Lord, and gifts of vessels of gold and silver for the use of
the Temple of the Lord.

Then Esdras made proclamation in all Jewry and Jerusalem to all them who
were of the captivity, that they should be gathered together at
Jerusalem. Three days after all the multitude gathered in the broad
court of the Temple, and they gave their hands to put away their heathen
wives and children, and to offer rams to make reconcilement for the
errors they had committed. And Esdras stood up upon a pulpit of wood,
which was made for that purpose, and opened the Law of Moses to the
people.

So Esdras blessed the Lord God, most High, the God of Hosts, Almighty.
And all the people answered: Amen; and, lifting up their hands, they
fell to the ground and worshipped the Lord, saying: This day is holy
unto the Lord; for they all wept when they heard the Law. So the Levites
published all things to the people, saying: This day is holy to the
Lord; be not sorrowful. Then went they their way every one to eat and
drink, and make merry and to give to them that have nothing, and to make
great cheer.


SECOND ESDRAS


The word of the Lord came unto the prophet Esdras, saying: Go thy way,
and show my people their sinful deeds which they have done against me,
for they have forgotten me, and have offered unto strange gods. I
gathered you together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings:
But now I will cast you out from my face. Then Esdras willed to comfort
Israel, but they refused, and despised the commandments of the Lord;
therefore he announced that the heathen were called to the heavenly
kingdom. After that, Esdras saw upon the Mount Sion a great people who
praised the Lord with songs; and the angel said unto him: These be they
that have put off the mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have
confessed the name of God. Now are they crowned, and receive palms in
their hands from the Son of God in their midst.

In the thirtieth year after the ruin of the city, Esdras was in Babylon
and troubled because of the desolation of Sion. He acknowledged to God
the sins of the people, yet complained that the heathen who were lords
over them were more wicked than they. Uriel, the angel, then said that
when Adam transgressed God's statutes the way was made narrow, and the
days few and evil; but, behold, the time shall come when my son Jesus
shall be revealed and shall die, and all men that have life. And after
seven days of silence, the earth shall restore those that are asleep,
and the most High shall appear upon the seat of judgment; and misery
shall pass away but judgment shall remain; truth shall stand; and faith
wax strong.

Then Esdras said: I know the most High is called merciful, and he
pardoneth; for if he did not so that they which have committed
iniquities might be eased of them, the ten thousandth part of men should
not remain living; there should be very few left, peradventure, in an
innumerable multitude. And the angel answered: There be many created,
but few shall be saved. Every one that shall be saved shall be able to
escape by his works and by faith, and then they shall be shown great
wonders. And it came to pass that a voice out of a bush called Esdras,
which prophesied that God would take vengeance upon Egypt, Syria,
Babylon, and Asia; that the servants of the Lord must look for troubles,
and not hide their sins but depart from evil, and they would be
delivered because God is their guide.


TOBIT


This is the Book of Tobit, of the tribe of Nephthali, who in the time of
Enemessar, King of the Assyrians, was led captive to Nineve. Tobit in
captivity still remembered God with all his heart, and was deprived of
his goods under King Sennacherib for privily burying fellow-captives who
had been killed. Then Tobit, who became blind, remembered that he had in
the days of his prosperity committed to Gabael in Rages of Media the sum
of ten talents; and he called his son Tobias to go forth and seek
Gabael, giving him handwriting. Tobias sought a guide and found Raphael,
who was an angel though Tobias knew it not, and who said he knew and had
lodged with Gabael. So they went forth both.

When Tobias and Raphael came to the River Tigris, a fish leaped out of
the water and would have devoured him, but the young man laid hold of
it, and drew it to land. The Angel bade Tobias open the fish, and take
the heart and the liver and the gall, and put them up safely. The young
man said to the Angel: To what use are these? And the Angel said:
Touching the heart and the liver, if an evil spirit trouble any, we must
make a smoke thereof, and the party shall be no more vexed. As for the
gall: it is good to anoint a man that a whiteness in his eyes shall be
healed.

When they came near to Rages, the Angel said: To-day we shall lodge with
Raguel, who is thy cousin and hath an only daughter named Sara. The maid
is fair and wise, and I will speak that she may be given thee as a wife.
Then the young man answered the Angel, that he had heard that this maid
had been given to seven men who all died in the marriage chamber, and he
feared lest he should also die. But the Angel said: Fear not, for she is
appointed unto thee from the beginning.

Now they came to the house of Raguel, and Sara met them and brought them
therein. Raguel and Edna his wife recognised Tobias as a kinsman, and
kissed and blessed him. Tobias and Raphael were entertained cheerfully;
and after Raphael had communicated with Raguel, Edna, his wife, was
called and an instrument of covenants of marriage between Sara and
Tobias were written and sealed. And a chamber was prepared for them by
Edna, who blessed Sara and asked the Lord of Heaven and Earth to give
her joy. And when they had all supped, Tobias was brought in unto Sara.
And, as he went he remembered the words of Raphael, and put the heart
and liver of the fish upon the ashes of the perfume, and made a smoke
therewith. When the evil spirit had smelled the smoke he fled into the
utmost parts of Egypt, where an angel bound him. Then Tobias and Sara
arose and prayed that God would have pity upon them, and bless them, and
mercifully ordain that they might become aged together. So they slept
both that night.

Raguel praised God because the Lord had had mercy upon two that were the
only begotten children of their fathers, and prayed that they might
finish their life in health and joy. Raphael then went to Rages to
Gabael for the money, and the two returned to Raguel's house with the
bags sealed up.

Now Tobit and his wife longed for their son, and Tobias said to Raguel:
Let me go, for my father and mother look no more to see me. Then Raguel
gave him Sara, his wife, and half his goods, servants, cattle and money.
And he and Edna blessed them and sent them away.

After a prosperous journey, they drew near unto Nineve. Then Raphael
told Tobias to make haste before his wife to prepare the house, and to
take in his hand the gall of the fish. Now Anna sat looking about toward
the way for her son, and when she espied him coming, she said to his
father: Behold, thy son cometh and the man that went with him. And Anna
ran forth, and fell upon the neck of her son and said: From henceforth I
am content to die. Tobias met his father at the door, and strake of the
gall on his father's eyes, saying: Be of good hope, my father. And Tobit
recovered his sight. When he saw his son, he fell upon his neck and
wept, and blessed God. Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law
at the gate of Nineve, and welcomed and blessed her; and there was joy
among all his brethren which were at Nineve.

Tobit offered to Raphael half of all that had been brought from Rages;
but Raphael called him and Tobias apart and exhorted them to praise and
magnify the Lord for all the things which he had done unto them; and
told them that he, Raphael, was 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. Then they were both troubled and fell upon their
faces; but he said: Fear not, for it shall go well with you. I go up to
him that sent me; but write all the things which were done in a book.
And when they arose they saw him no more.

Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, saying: In the land of my captivity
do I praise thee, O Lord, and declare thy might and majesty to a sinful
nation. For Jerusalem shall be built up, her walls and towers and
battlements restored. And all her streets shall say: Alleluia.

And when he was very aged, Tobit called his son and the six sons of his
son, and bade them go into Media, for he was ready to depart out of this
life, and he surely believed that which Jonas the prophet spake of
Nineve, that it should be overthrown. When he had said these things he
gave up the ghost. Tobias departed with his wife to Media, and died
there; but before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineve, which
was taken by Nabuchodonosor.


JUDITH


In the days of Arphaxad, which reigned over the Medes in Ecbatane, he
fortified Ecbatane with great stone walls, and towers and gates, for the
going forth of his mighty armies. Nabuchodonosor, who reigned in Nineve,
made war with King Arphaxad, and sent ambassadors to Cilicia, Damascus
and Syria, and the land of Moab and Ammon and Judea and all Egypt asking
aid; but the inhabitants thereof made light of the commandment, and sent
away his ambassadors with disgrace. Therefore, Nabuchodonosor was very
angry, and sware by his throne that he would be avenged upon all the
inhabitants of these countries, and would slay them with the sword.
Nabuchodonosor, in the seventeenth year of his reign, marched in battle
array against Arphaxad and overthrew his power and, all his horsemen and
chariots, and took his cities even unto Ecbatane, and spoiled the
streets thereof, and turned the beauty of the city into shame. He also
took Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragau and smote him. So he returned to
Nineve with all his company of sundry nations and feasted. In the
eighteenth year, Nabuchodonosor called the chief captain of his army,
Holofernes, and commanded him to take one hundred and twenty thousand
footmen and twelve thousand horsemen and go against all the west country
because they had disobeyed his commandment. He charged also Holofernes
to spare none that would not yield, and put them to the slaughter, and
spoil them. And the army went forth with a great number of allies like
locusts into Cilicia, and destroyed Phud and Lud, and all the children
of Rasses and Ishmael. Then the army went over Euphrates and went
through Mesopotamia, and destroyed all the high cities on the river
Arbonai to the sea, and then to Japheth over against Arabia, and Media
and Damascus, and burned up their tabernacles, destroyed their flocks
and herds, utterly wasted their countries, and smote all their young men
with the edge of the sword. Then fear fell upon the inhabitants of Tyrus
and Sidon, on the sea coasts, who sent ambassadors unto Holofernes, and
made submission. He received them, yet he cast down their frontiers, cut
down their groves, destroyed all the gods of the land, and decreed that
all the nations should worship Nabuchodonosor only, and call upon him as
God.

Now, the children of Israel that dwelt in Judea, who were newly returned
from captivity, were exceedingly afraid for Jerusalem and for the Temple
of the Lord their God. Therefore, they possessed themselves of all tops
of the high mountains, and fortified the villages, and laid up victuals
for the provision of war. And Joacim and all the priests ministered unto
the Lord in the Temple, and offered sacrifices and prayed that he would
not give the children of Israel for a prey, their wives for a spoil, the
cities of their inheritance to destruction, and the sanctuary to
profanation.

Holofernes was very angry when he heard this. And Achior, captain of the
sons of Ammon, told Holofernes what the Jews were, their history, and
what their God had done for them; and advised Holofernes not to meddle
with them. There was then tumult in the council of the Assyrian host,
and Holofernes despised the God of the people of Israel, and sent Achior
to the children of Israel that were in Bethulia, in the hill country.
Then Holofernes with all his army besieged Bethulia, and took possession
of the fountains of water, so that the inhabitants fainted for thirst,
and there was no longer any strength in them. They murmured against the
governors, and called upon them to deliver the city to Holofernes and
his army. Ozias, the chief of the city, said: Brethren, be of good
courage; let us yet endure five days, in which space the Lord our God
may turn his mercy towards us; for he will not forsake us utterly.

Now Judith heard thereof. She was a widow and was of a goodly
countenance and very beautiful to behold, and she feared God greatly.
Judith sent for the ancients of the city, and blamed them for provoking
the Lord to anger by their lack of trust, and she promised that she
would do a thing within the days before the city was to be delivered to
their enemies which should go throughout all generations to the children
of the nation. Then Judith went to the House of the Lord and fell upon
her face and called upon the Lord who breakest the battles to bless her
purpose. She went thereafter to her house, put off the garments of
widowhood and of sackcloth, and bathed, and anointed herself with
precious ointment, and put on the garments of gladness, with bracelets
and chains and rings and ornaments to lure the eyes of all the men that
should see her. Then she went forth with her maid out of the city of
Bethulia into the camp of the Assyrians, and was taken by the guard to
the tent of Holofernes, who marvelled at her beauty. Holofernes asked
Judith the cause of her coming, and she declared that if he would follow
her words, he and his army would be led by her through the midst of
Judea unto Jerusalem wherein he would set op his throne.

Holofernes and all his servants were pleased, and said there was not
such a woman in all the earth for beauty of face and wisdom of words.
Judith would not eat of the meats and wine which Holofernes offered her,
but partook only of the provisions which her maid had brought with her
in a bag. Then she was brought into a tent and abode in the camp three
days, going out every night into the valley of Bethulia to pray. In the
fourth day Holofernes made a feast, and said to Bagoas, the eunuch, to
go and persuade the Hebrew woman to come and eat and drink with him and
his officers. Judith arose and decked herself, and went in and sat on
the ground on soft skins over against Holofernes, whose heart was
ravished with her, and his mind moved, and he desired greatly her
company.

Now Judith took and ate and drank what her maid had prepared, and
Holofernes was greatly delighted with her, and drank much more wine than
he had drunk at any time in one day since he was born. Judith, when the
evening was come, was left alone with Holofernes, and the servants were
dismissed. Then she came to the pillar of the bed, which was at
Holofernes's head, took down his fauchion, seized hold of the hair of
his head, and said: Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day. And
she smote twice upon his neck with all her might, and took away his head
from him.

She put the head in her bag of meat and gave it to her maid, and the
twain went forth together, according to their custom, as unto prayer,
and passed the camp. Then came they to Bethulia, and were admitted into
the city; and the people were astonished wonderfully and worshipped God,
and said: Blessed be thou, O our God, which hast this day brought to
nought the enemies of thy people. The head of Holofernes was hanged up
on the highest place of the city walls, and the men of Israel went forth
by bands into the passes of the mountain. When the Assyrians saw this,
they sent to Holofernes's tent, and said that the slaves of Israelites
had come forth against them in battle. Then Bagoas went into the tent
and found the body of Holofernes cast upon the ground and his head taken
away. When also he found not Judith, he leaped out to the people and
told them; and great fear and trembling fell upon them, and they fled,
being chased until past Damascus and the borders thereof by the children
of Israel, who gat many spoils. Then Judith sang a song of thanksgiving
in all Israel, and the people sang after her. She dedicated the spoil of
Holofernes, which the people had given her, for a gift unto the Lord;
and when she died in Bethulia, a widow of great honour, all Israel did
lament.


THE BOOK OF ESTHER


     These are the chapters of the Book of Esther, which are found
     neither in the Hebrew nor in the Chaldee.


In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great, Mardocheus, who
was a Jew and dwelt in the city of Susa, had a dream. And the same night
he overheard two eunuchs plotting to lay hands on Artaxerxes, and he,
being a servitor in the king's court, told the king; and the eunuchs,
after examination, were strangled. Aman, because of this, induced
Artaxerxes to write to all the princes and governors from India unto
Ethiopia to destroy all the Jews, with their wives and children, without
pity, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar. Mardocheus and
Queen Esther, being in the fear of death, resorted unto the Lord, and
prayed for deliverance, and for the preservation of the children of
Israel. On the third day, Queen Esther cometh unto the king's presence;
and she was ruddy through the perfection of her beauty, but her heart
was in anguish for fear. The king looketh angrily at her as she stood
before his royal throne, and she fainteth. Then God changed the spirit
of the king, who leaped from his throne, took her in his arms, saying:
Be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, though our commandment be general.
As he was speaking, she fell a second time for faintness, and the king
was troubled and all his servants comforted her.

Artaxerxes then wrote a letter to all the princes wherein he taxed Aman,
the Macedonian, with having by manifold and cunning deceits sought the
destruction of Mardocheus, who had saved the king's life, and also of
the blameless Esther, partaker of his kingdom, with their whole nation.
The king revoked the decree procured by Aman, who, with all his family,
was hanged at the gates of Susa. And the king commanded the day of their
deliverance to be kept holy.


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON


Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth, for into a malicious
soul wisdom shall not enter. The spirit of the Lord filleth the world:
therefore he that speaketh unrighteous things cannot be hid. Seek not
death in the error of your life: for God made not death, and
righteousness is immortal. The ungodly reason, but not aright: life is
short and tedious, which, being extinguished, our bodies shall be turned
into ashes, and our spirit vanish as the soft air. Come, therefore, let
us enjoy the good things that are present. Their own wickedness hath
blinded them, for God created man to be immortal.

Nevertheless, through envy of the devil came death into the world. The
souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and there shall no
torments touch them. Having been a little chastised they shall be
greatly rewarded. Better to have no children and to have virtue; for
children begotten of unlawful beds are witnesses against their parents.
Honourable age is not measured by number of years. He, being made
perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time. For his soul pleased the
Lord: Therefore, hasted he to take him away from among the wicked. This
the people saw and understood it not, neither laid they up this in their
minds. That his grace and mercy are with his saints, and that he hath
respect unto his chosen. The wicked wonder at the godly, and say: What
hath pride profited us? And what good hath riches, with our vaunting,
brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow. The hope of
the ungodly is like dust that is blown away: but the righteous live for
evermore: their reward is a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand. Wisdom
is easily found of such as seek her, therefore princes must desire her;
for a wise prince is the stay of his people. He that hath Wisdom hath
every good thing. Moreover, by her means man shall obtain immortality,
and leave behind him an everlasting memorial.


THE WISDOM OF JESUS THE SON OF SIRACH; OR ECCLESIASTICUS.


     There are two prologues to this book. The first is by an
     uncertain author, stating that the book is the compilation of
     three hands and is in imitation of the Book of Solomon. The
     second prologue is by Jesus, the son of Sirach and grandchild
     to Jesus of the same name, who had read the law and the
     prophets and other books of the fathers, and had been drawn
     himself to write something pertaining to wisdom and learning.
     Coming into Egypt when Euergetes was king, Jesus, son of
     Sirach, found a book of no small learning and bestowed
     diligence and travail to interpret it, and to bring it to an
     end. The following are among the precepts given:


All wisdom cometh from the Lord: she is with all flesh according to his
gift. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and driveth away
sins. My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for
temptation. Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure. Woe be to
fearful hearts; but they that fear the Lord shall be filled with the
law. Whoso honoureth his father maketh an atonement for his sins. He
that honoureth his mother layeth up treasure. Seek not out the things
that are too hard for thee: profess not the knowledge that thou hast
not. Defraud not the poor of his living: and be not fainthearted when
thou sittest in judgment. Set not thy heart upon thy goods, for the Lord
will surely revenge thy pride. Winnow not with every wind, and let thy
life be sincere. Do not extol thy own conceit: if thou wouldst get a
friend, prove him first. A faithful friend is a strong defence. Seek not
of the Lord preeminence: humble thy soul greatly. Fear the Lord, and
reverence his priests. Stretch thine hand unto the poor, and mourn with
them that mourn. Strive not with a mighty man: kindle not the coals of a
sinner. Lend not unto him that is mightier than thyself: be not surety
above thy power. Go not to law with a judge: consult not with a fool.
Judge none blessed before his death. He that toucheth pitch shall be
denied therewith: like will to like. Say not thou: it is through the
Lord that I fell away: He has caused me to err. The Lord made man from
the beginning and left him in the hand of his counsel. He has commanded
no man to do wickedly, neither has he given any man licence to sin. The
knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom: neither at any time the counsel
of sinners prudence. Whoso discovereth secrets loseth his credit and
shall never find friend to his mind. Health and good estate of body are
above all gold. There is no joy above the joy of the heart. Give not
over thy mind to heaviness: the joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days.
Envy and wrath shorten life: carefulness bringeth age before the time.

[Then follow praises of a good householder, a good physician, a wise
interpreter of the law, and injunctions as to how a man should bear the
miseries of life, and face the approach of death. And the book concludes
with praises of the Patriarchs and the Prophets.]


BARUCH


Baruch, the son of Nerias, wrote a book in Babylon what time the
Chaldeans took Jerusalem and burnt it with fire. Baruch read the words
of his book in the hearing of Jechonias, the son of the King of Juda,
and in the ears of all the people. The Jews wept at the reading of it,
by the river Sud, and made a collection of money to send to Jerusalem,
unto the High Priest Joachim, to buy burnt offerings and sin offerings
and incense, and to prepare manna to be offered upon the altar of the
Lord. The people at Jerusalem are asked also to pray for the life of
Nabuchodonosor, King of Babylon, and his son Balthasar, and for those
who sent the gifts and the book. The book begins with a prayer and
confession which the Jews at Babylon make, acknowledging that they are
yet this day in captivity for a reproach and a curse, and to be subject
to payments according to all the iniquities of their fathers which
departed from the Lord our God. Then beginneth the book:

Hear, Israel, the commandments of life: give ear to understand wisdom.
Let them that dwell about Sion come, and remember the captivity of my
sons and daughters, which the Everlasting hath brought upon them. Be of
good cheer, O my children, crying unto the Lord, and He shall deliver
you from the power and hand of the enemies. I sent you out with mourning
and weeping: but God will give you to me again with joy and gladness for
ever. Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of thy mourning and affliction,
and put on the comeliness of the glory that cometh from God for ever;
for behold, thy children gathereth from the west and from the east and
return out of captivity with glory.

[With this book of Baruch there is an Epistle of Jeremy, which he sent
unto them that were to be led captive into Babylon because of their
sins. The prophet describes the idols and the conduct of the priests and
those who attend the heathen temples and warns the captives not to
worship the false gods in Babylon.]


SONG OF THE THREE HOLY CHILDREN


[This Song is not in the Hebrew of the Book of Daniel.]

They walked in the midst of the fire praising God and blessing the Lord.
Azarias opened his mouth in the midst of the flame and made confession
of sins, and prayer for deliverance to the confusion of their enemies.
Whereupon, the king's servants that put them in ceased not to make the
oven hot with rosin, pitch, tow, and small wood, so that the flame
passed through and burned those Chaldeans it found about the furnace.
But the Angel of the Lord came down into the oven and made the midst of
the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind, so that the fire
touched Azarias and his fellows not at all, neither hurt nor troubled
them. Then the three, as out of one mouth, praised, glorified, and
blessed God in the furnace, saying: The Lord hath delivered us from
hell, and saved us from the hand of death: for his mercy endureth for
ever.


THE HISTORY OF SUSANNA


There dwelt a man in Babylon called Joacim. And he took a wife whose
name was Susanna, a very fair woman, and one that feared the Lord. The
same year were appointed two of the ancients of the people to be judges;
and they saw Susanna walking in her husband's garden, and their lust was
inflamed towards her. Now, Susanna went into the garden to bathe, for it
was hot, and dismissed her maids. The two elders, who had hidden in the
garden, rose up and said: Consent and lie with us. If thou wilt not, we
will bear witness against thee that a young man was with thee, and
therefore thou didst send thy maids away. Then Susanna cried with a loud
voice, and the two elders cried out against her, and declared their
matter. The servants rushed in at the privy door and were greatly
ashamed, for there was never such a report made of Susanna. It came to
pass the next day when the people were assembled to her husband Joacim,
with the two elders full of mischievous imagination against Susanna,
these wicked men commanded Susanna to uncover her face that they might
be filled with her beauty, and her friends and all that saw her wept.
Then the elders made their charge which they had agreed upon against
Susanna, and the assembled people believed them: so they condemned her
to death. Then Susanna cried to the Everlasting God, saying: Thou
knowest that they have borne false witness against me, and that I never
did such things as these men have maliciously invented against me. And
the Lord heard her voice.

When she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the holy spirit
of a youth named Daniel, who said: Are ye such fools, ye sons of Israel,
that without examination or knowledge of the truth ye have condemned a
daughter of Israel? Then Daniel put the two elders aside, one far from
the other, to examine them. To the first he said: If thou hast seen her,
under what tree sawest thou them companying together? He answered: Under
a mastic tree. Daniel said: Very well; and he put him aside and
commanded the other to be brought. Tell me, he said, under what tree
didst thou take them companying together? He answered: Under an holm
tree. Then Daniel said: These men have lied against their own heads, for
even now the Angel of God waiteth with the sword that he may destroy
them. Then all the assembly arose against the two elders, for Daniel had
convicted them of false witness by their own mouth; and they put them to
death. Thus the innocent blood was saved the same day; and from that
time forth was Daniel had in great reputation in the sight of the
people.


THE HISTORY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF BEL AND THE DRAGON


When Cyrus of Persia received his kingdom, Daniel conversed with him,
and was honoured above all his friends. Now, the Babylonians had an idol
called Bel, which the king worshipped, but Daniel worshipped his own
God. The king said unto him: Why dost thou not worship Bel? Daniel
answered: Because I may not worship idols made with hands, but the
living God. Then the king said: Thinkest thou not that Bel is a living
god? Seest thou not how much he eateth and drinketh every day? Then
Daniel smiled and said: O king, be not deceived; for this is but clay
within and brass without, and it never eateth or drinketh anything. Then
trial was made by order of the king, and meat and wine were set in the
temple, the door made fast, and sealed with the king's signet. The
priests of Bel were three score and ten, besides their wives and
children, and they little regarded the trial, for under the table they
had made a privy entrance, whereby they entered the temple continually
and consumed the meat and the wine. But Daniel had commanded his
servants to strew the temple floor with ashes, before the door was shut
and sealed. Now, in the night came the priests with their wives and
children, as they were wont, and did eat and drink up all.

In the morning betimes the king arose, and Daniel with him. As soon as
the door was opened, the king looked upon the table, and cried with a
loud voice: Great art thou, O Bel, and with thee is no deceit at all.
Then laughed Daniel, and said: Behold the pavement, and mark well whose
footsteps are these. And the king saw the footsteps of men, women, and
children, and was angry when he was shown the privy doors where they
came in and consumed such things as were upon the table. Therefore the
king slew them, and delivered Bel into Daniel's power, who destroyed the
idol and the temple.

In the same place there was a great dragon, which they of Babylon
worshipped. The king said to Daniel: Lo! this dragon liveth, eateth,
drinketh; thou canst not say that he is no living god; therefore worship
him. Then said Daniel: I will worship the Lord, for he is the living
God. But give me leave, O king, and I shall slay this dragon without
sword or staff.

The king gave him leave, and Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and
did seethe them together, and made lumps thereof. These he put in the
dragon's mouth, and the dragon burst in sunder. Then Daniel said: Lo,
these are the gods ye worship!

When they of Babylon heard that, they conspired against the king,
saying: The king is become a Jew. So they came to the king, and said:
Deliver us Daniel, or else we will destroy thee and thine house. Being
sore constrained, the king delivered Daniel unto them, and they cast him
into the lions' den, where he was six days, during which the seven lions
were given no carcases, to the intent that they might devour Daniel.

Now, there was in Jewry a prophet called Habakkuk who made pottage and
broken bread to take to the reapers in the field. An Angel of the Lord
said unto Habakkuk: Go, carry the dinner that thou hast into Babylon
unto Daniel, who is in the lions' den. And Habakkuk said: Lord, I never
saw Babylon; neither do I know where the den is. Then the Angel of the
Lord took Habakkuk by the crown, and bare him by the hair of his head,
and through the vehemency of his spirit set him in Babylon over the den.
And Habakkuk cried: O Daniel, take the dinner which God has sent thee.
And Daniel said: Thou hast remembered me, O God: neither hast thou
forsaken them that seek thee and love thee. So Daniel arose, and did
eat: And the Angel of the Lord set Habakkuk in his own place
immediately. Upon the seventh day the king went to bewail Daniel; and
when he came to the den, behold, Daniel was sitting. Then cried the king
with a loud voice, saying: Great art thou, O Lord God of Daniel, and
there is none other besides thee. And he drew Daniel out, and cast those
that were the cause of his suffering into the den; and they were
devoured by the lions in a moment before his face.


THE PRAYER OF MANASSES


The Prayer of Manasses, King of Juda, when he was holden captive in
Babylon, is an enumeration of the attributes of the Almighty God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of their righteous seed; a general
confession of sins; and an entreaty that God would show him great mercy
and goodness, forgive him, and condemn him not into the lower parts of
the earth. Therefore, he would praise the Lord for ever, all the days of
his life.


THE FIRST BOOK OF THE MACCABEES


Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, reigned in the hundred and thirty-seventh
year of the kingdom of the Greeks. In those days certain wicked men of
Israel went to the king, who gave them licence to do after the
ordinances of the heathen. Whereupon, they built a place of exercise at
Jerusalem according to the custom of the heathen. Now, Antiochus made
war against Egypt, and when he had smitten the strong cities, and taken
the spoils thereof, he returned in the hundred forty and third year and
went up against Israel and Jerusalem, and captured the city with great
massacre and spoiled the Temple, and took away the vessels of gold and
silver and hidden treasures which he found therein. Therefore, there was
great mourning in Israel. Two years after, the king sent his chief
collector of tribute unto the cities of Juda, and he fell suddenly upon
Jerusalem, set fire to it, and pulled down the houses and walls thereof.
And the women and children he took away captive, and defiled the
sanctuary.

But the enemy builded the city of David, with a great and strong wall
and mighty towers, and stored it with armour and victuals and the spoils
of Jerusalem, so that it became a sore snare against the sanctuary and
an evil adversary to Israel. Moreover, King Antiochus wrote to his whole
kingdom that all should be one people, and sent letters unto Jerusalem
and the cities of Juda commanding that the Israelites should abandon
their own worship, cease to circumcise their children, and adore his
idols. Then was the abomination of desolation set up in the Temple, and
idol altars were builded throughout the cities of Juda, and the books of
the law were burned. Howbeit many in Israel chose rather to die that
they might not be defiled with meats and profane the Holy Covenant. In
those days arose Mattathias, a priest of the sons of Joarib. He dwelt in
Modin, and had five sons--Joannan, Simon, Judas who was called
Maccabeus, Eleazar, and Jonathan. The king's officers came to Modin and
asked Mattathias to fulfil the king's commandment; but Mattathias said:
Though all the nations consent, yet will I and my sons walk in the
covenant of our fathers. And he slew a Jew that did sacrifice to idols
in his presence, and the king's messenger also. So he and his sons fled
into the mountains, and, being joined by a company of mighty men of
Israel, went round about, and pulled down idol altars and circumcised
the children valiantly. And the work prospered in their hands, and they
recovered the law out of the hands of the Gentiles. When Mattathias came
to die he appointed Simon as a man of counsel, and Judas Maccabeus, who
had been mighty and strong in battle even from his youth up, to be their
captain to avenge the wrongs of their people. So he died in his hundred
forty and sixth year, and was buried in the sepulchre of his fathers at
Modin, and all Israel made great lamentation for him.

Now, Judas Maccabeus fought the battles of his people with great
valiance, captured the cities of Juda, drove Apollonius and a great host
out of Samaria, slew Apollonius, took their spoils, and Apollonius's
sword also, and therewith he fought all his life long. Judas also
overthrew Seron and the great army of Syria. Then Judas was renowned
unto the utmost parts of the earth, and an exceeding great dread fell
upon the nations round about. Now, when King Antiochus heard these
things he was full of indignation; wherefore he sent and gathered
together all the forces of his realm. And the king sent Lysias, one of
the blood royal, with a great army to go into the land of Juda and
destroy it. Judas and his brethren, when he heard this, assembled the
Israelites at Maspha, over against Jerusalem, where they fasted; and
Judas organised and armed them to battle, and camped at Emmaus. Gorgias,
the lieutenant of Lysias, attempted to surprise Judas, but Judas joined
him in battle and discomfited him, putting his host to flight and
gaining great spoil. Next year Lysias gathered another army, that he
might subdue the Israelites, and came into Idumea, and pitched tents at
Bethsura. But Judas joined him in battle, and put Lysias and his army to
flight. After this, Judas and his brethren came to Jerusalem, pulled
down the altar which the heathen had profaned, and set up a new altar.
He also builded up Mount Sion with strong towers and high walls. After
that Judas smote the children of Esau, Bean, and Ammon, and sent Simon
into Galilee, while he, with his brother Jonathan, went over Jordan, and
captured the cities of Galaad. About that time Antiochus was in Persia,
and heard of the doings of Judas. He was astonished and sore moved, and
fell sick of grief and died. Lysias set up Antiochus, his son, as king,
and called him Eupator, and brought a great army into Juda. The number
of his army was an hundred thousand footmen, twenty thousand horsemen,
and two and thirty elephants. Judas went out from Jerusalem and pitched
in Bathzacharias over against the king's camp. Then a great battle was
fought, when Judas was defeated. There being a famine in the city, he
made peace with Eupator, who, however, ordered the wall round about Sion
to be pulled down.

Demetrius came from Rome and attacked Eupator in Antioch, captured the
city, and slew Eupator and Lysias. Alsimus, who wished to be high
priest, complained to Demetrius of Judas, and the king sent Nicanor, a
man that bare deadly hate unto Israel, to destroy the people; but he was
defeated by Judas at Capharsalama with great slaughter, and in a second
battle Nicanor's host was discomfited and he himself was slain, and his
head and right hand were hanged up on the tower at Jerusalem. This was a
day of great gladness to Israel, and the victory was kept holy every
year after.

Now, Judas, being informed of the power and policy of the Romans, made a
league with them of mutual help. Notwithstanding, Demetrius sent
Bacchides and Alcimus a second time into Judea with a great host, and
camped at Berea. Now, Judas had pitched his tent at Eleasa, where,
seeing the multitude of the other army to be so great, his men began to
desert him, whereupon Judas said: God forbid that I should flee away
from the enemy; if our time be come, let us die manfully for our
brethren, and let us not stain our honour.

The armies came to battle, and the earth shook at the noise thereof, and
the fight continued from morning to night. Judas discomfited the right
wing of the enemy under Bacchides and pursued them to Mount Azotus, but
the left wing followed upon Judas and a sore battle took place, insomuch
that many were slain on both sides. Judas was killed also, and the rest
of his army fled. The body of Judas was taken to the sepulchre of his
fathers at Modin by Jonathan and Simon, his brothers, and all Israel
made lamentation for him, and mourned many days, saying: How is the
valiant man fallen that delivered Israel!

Jonathan took command of the Israelites in the room of Judas, and made
peace with Bacchides. Thereafter, Demetrius made large offers to have
peace with Jonathan, including freedom of worship and release of
tribute, together with the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the
towers thereof, and the repairs of the sanctuary; but Jonathan and the
people gave no credit to these words because they remembered the great
evil Demetrius had done in Israel. Jonathan made peace with Alexander,
and joined him in battle against Demetrius, whose host fled, and he
himself was slain.

After that Demetrius the younger came out of Crete, and sent a great
host to Azotus. Here Jonathan attacked him, and with the help of Simon,
his brother, defeated the enemy and set fire to Azotus, and the temple
of Dagon therein. There were burned and slain with the sword eight
thousand men. Now, King Alexander honoured Jonathan and sent him a
buckle of gold such as is given to those of the king's blood. After
these days, Jonathan did many wonderful exploits in Galilee and
Damascus, and then returned to Jerusalem. Now, when Jonathan saw that
the time served him, he renewed his league with the Romans and
Lacedemonians, and pursued the Arabians unto Damascus. He strengthened
the cities of Juda, but he was captured by fraud by Tryphon at
Ptolemais. Simon was made captain in his brother Jonathan's room, and
prepared to attack Tryphon and, rescue his brother, but Tryphon slew
Jonathan, and returned into his own country.

The land of Juda was quiet all the days of Simon, and every man sat
under his own vine and fig-tree. When Simon was visiting the cities that
were in the country, Ptolemeus, son of Abubus, the captain of Jerico,
invited Simon and his two sons into his castle, called Docus. There a
great banquet was given, at which Simon and his sons drank largely, and
Ptolemeus and his men came into the banqueting place and slew them.


THE SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES


The brethren, the Jews that were at Jerusalem and in the land of Judea,
wrote a letter to the Jews that were throughout Egypt to thank God for
the death of Antiochus. In his letter are recounted all the sayings of
Jeremy, and the great deeds of Judas Maccabeus and his brother Simon, as
recorded in the books of Jason, until Nicanor the blasphemer was killed,
and his head hanged upon the tower at Jerusalem, from which time forth
the Hebrews had the city in their power.

       *       *       *       *       *



ST. AUGUSTINE


THE CITY OF GOD


     A French critic has said of Augustine's "City of God" that it
     is the earliest serious attempt to write a philosophy of
     history, and another has spoken of it as the encyclopaedia of
     the fifth century. These two remarks together characterise the
     work excellently. It is a huge treatise in twenty-two books,
     begun in the year 413, and finished in 426, and was given to
     the public in sections as these were completed. Augustine (see
     LIVES AND LETTERS) himself explains the origin of the work.
     The fall of Rome by Alaric's invasion in 410 had been ascribed
     to the desertion of the old gods of Rome and to the wide
     extension of Christianity, or the City of God, throughout the
     empire. It was to refute this calumny that the learned African
     bishop elaborated his great defense of Christ's kingdom, the
     "Catholic Church, which should include all nations and speak
     in all tongues." In Books 1-5 St. Augustine shows that the
     catastrophe of Rome was not due to the neglect of the old
     mythological superstitions; and in Books 6-10 that the heathen
     cult was helpless for the life after death. Books 11-14 deal
     with the origin of the two cities, namely, of God and the
     World; Books 15-18 with their respective histories, and Books
     19-22 with their respective ultimate destinies.


_I.--THE ORIGIN OF THE TWO CITIES_


I write, dear Marcellinus, of that most glorious City of God, both in
her present pilgrimage and life by faith, and in that fixed and
everlasting seat which she awaits in patience. I write to defend her
against those who place their gods above her Founder--a great and
arduous work, but God is my aid. I well know what power a writer needs
who would show the proud how great is the virtue of humility. For the
law of our King and Founder is this: "God is against the proud but gives
grace to the humble"; but the swollen and insolent soul loves herein to
usurp the divine Majesty, and itself "to spare the subject and subdue
the proud." Wherefore I may not pass over in silence that earthly city
also, enslaved by its lust of empire.

For it is from this City of the World that those enemies have arisen,
against whom we have to defend the City of God; Romans, spared by the
barbarians on Christ's account, are haters of the name of Christ. The
shrines of the martyrs and the basilicas of the apostles received, in
the devastation of the city, not their own people only, but every
fugitive; and the fury and greed of the invaders were quenched at these
holy thresholds. Yet with thankless arrogance and impious frenzy these
men, who took refuge under that Name in order that they might enjoy the
light of fugitive years, perversely oppose it now, that they may
languish in sempiternal gloom.

Never has it been known, in so many wars as are recorded from before the
foundation of Rome to the present day, that an enemy, having reduced any
city, should have spared those who had fled to the temples of their
gods; not even the Romans themselves, whose moderation in victory has so
often been justly praised, have respected the sanctuary of vanquished
deities. The devastation and massacre and pillage and conflagrations of
the sack of Rome were nothing new. But this one thing was new and
unheard of--these savages became suddenly so mild as to set apart
spacious basilicas and to fill them with people on whom they had mercy;
no one might be killed therein nor any dragged from thence. Who does not
see that this is due to the name of Christ and to a Christian age? Who
can deny that these sanguinary hordes were bridled by Him Who had said:
"I will visit their sins with the rod, but will not take my mercy from
them"?

All natures, because they exist and therefore have their manner and
species and a certain peace with themselves, are good; and when they are
in the places belonging to the order of nature, they preserve the being
which they have received.

The truest cause of the felicity of the good angels is to be found in
this, that they adhere to Him Who supremely is; and the cause of the
misery of bad angels lies in this, that they have turned away from Him
Who supremely is, to themselves, who have not supreme being. This vice
has no other name but pride, which is the beginning of every sin. They
refused to preserve their strength for Him, and so threw away that in
which all their greatness consisted. It is vain to seek for an efficient
cause for the bad will; we have to do, not with anything efficient, but
with a deficiency. The mere defection from that which supremely is to
things which are on a lower grade of being is to begin to have a bad
will.

Now God founded mankind, not as the angels, so that even did they sin
they should not die; but in such a way that did they obey, they should
enter, without death, on a blessed eternity; but, did they disobey, they
should suffer the most just penalty, both of body and of soul. For
though the human soul is truly said to be immortal, yet is there a sense
in which it dies when God forsakes it.

Only because they had begun inwardly to be evil did the first of mankind
fall into overt disobedience. A bad will had preceded the bad action,
and of that bad will the beginning was pride, or the appetite for an
inordinate rank. To lift oneself up is in itself to be cast down and to
fall. Wherefore humility is most highly of all things commended in and
to the City of God, and in Christ her King; but the contrary vice of
arrogance especially rules her adversary, the devil, and this is
unquestionably the great difference by which the two cities are divided,
and the society of the pious from the society of the impious. Thus two
loves have founded two cities, the love of Self extending to contempt of
God has made the City of the World; the love of God extending to
contempt of Self has made the Heavenly City.


_II.--THE GROWTH OF THE CITIES_


This whole universal time or age, in which the dying give way and the
newborn succeed them, is the scene and history of those two cities which
are our theme. The City of the World, which lasts not for ever, has its
good here below, and rejoices in it with such joy as is possible. The
objects of its desire are not otherwise than good, and itself is the
best of the good things of earth. It desires an earthly peace for lower
ends, makes wars to gain this peace, wins glorious victories, and when
victory crowns a just cause, who shall not acclaim the wished-for peace?
These things are good indeed, and unquestionably are the gifts of God.
But if, neglecting the better things, which belong to the supernal city,
they covet these lower ends as if there were none higher, misery must
inevitably follow.

All men, indeed, desire peace; but while the society which does not live
by faith seeks its peace in the temporal advantages of the present life,
that which lives by faith awaits the promised blessings, and makes use
of earthly and temporal things only as pilgrims do. The earthly city
seeks its peace in a harmony of the wills of men with respect to the
things of this life. And the heavenly city also, or, rather, that part
of it which travels in this mortality, must use that earthly peace while
mortality remains. Living a captive life in the midst of the earthly
city, it does not hesitate to respect its laws. Since this mortality is
common to both cities, there is a concord between them in the things
that belong to it. Only, the heavenly city cannot have common laws of
religion with the earthly city, but has been forced to dissent, and to
suffer hatred and the storms of persecution.

Therefore, this heavenly city, a pilgrim upon earth, calls out citizens
from all peoples and collects a pilgrim society of all tongues, careless
what differences there may be in manners, laws and institutions by which
earthly peace is achieved and maintained, destroying none of these, but
rather serving and fulfilling them. Even the celestial city, therefore,
uses the earthly peace, and uses it as a means to the heavenly peace;
for that alone can be called the peace of a rational creature which
consists in a harmonious society devoted to the enjoyment of God and one
another in God.

As for that uncertainty with regard to everything, which characterises
the New Academy, the City of God detests all such doubting as a form of
madness, since she has the most certain knowledge of those things which
she understands by mind and reason, however that knowledge may be
limited by our corruptible body. She believes also the evidence of the
senses, which the mind uses through the body, for he is miserably
deceived who regards them as untrustworthy. She believes also the holy
Scriptures, which we call canonical.

It is no matter to the City of God what dress the citizen wears, or what
manner of life he follows, so long as it is not contrary to the Divine
commands; so that she does not compel the philosophers, who become
Christians, to change their habit or their means of life, which are no
hindrance to religion, but only their false opinions. As for these three
kinds of life, the contemplative, the active, and that which partakes of
both qualities, although a man living in faith may adopt any of them,
and therein reach eternal reward, yet the love of truth and the duties
of charity alike must have their place. One may not so give himself to
contemplation as to neglect the good of his neighbour, nor be so deeply
immersed in action as to neglect the contemplation of God. In leisure we
ought to delight, not in an empty inertia, but in the inquisition or
discovery of truth, in such a way that each may make progress without
envying the attainments of another. In action we ought to seek neither
the honours of this life nor power, since all that is under the sun is
vanity; but only the work itself, which our situation enables us to do,
and to do it rightly and serviceably.

According to the definitions which Scipio used in Cicero's "Republic,"
there never really existed a Roman republic. For he briefly defines a
republic as the estate of the people--"res publica" as "res populi," and
defines the people as a multitudinous assemblage, united by consent to
law and by community of advantage. So, then, where justice is not, there
can be no people; and if no people, then no estate of the people, but
only of a confused multitude unworthy of the name of a people. Where no
justice is, there is no commonwealth. Now, justice is a virtue
distributing unto everyone his due. Where, then, is the justice of the
man who deserts the true God and gives himself over to unclean demons?
Is this giving everyone his due?

But if we define a people in another way, and consider it as an
assemblage of rational beings united by unanimity as to the objects of
their love, then, in order to ascertain the character of a people, we
must ascertain what things they love. Whatever it loves, so long as it
is an assemblage of rational creatures and not a herd of cattle, and is
agreed as to the objects of its love, it is truly a people, though so
much the better as its concord lies in better things, and so much the
worse as its concord lies in inferior things. According to this
definition, then, the Roman people is indeed a people, and its estate is
a commonwealth. But what things that people has loved in its earlier and
later times, and how it fell into bloody seditions and into social and
civil wars, breaking and corrupting that concord which is the health of
a people--of these things history is witness. Yet I would not on that
account deny it the name of a people, nor its estate the name of a
republic, so long as there remains some assemblage of rational persons
associated by unanimity with regard to the objects of love. But in
general, whatever be the nation in question, whether Athens, Egypt,
Babylon, or Rome, the city of the ungodly--refusing obedience to the
commandment of God that no sacrifice should be offered but to Him
alone--is without true justice.

For though there may be an apparent mastery of the soul over the body,
and of reason over vices, yet if soul and reason do not serve God as He
has commanded, they can have no true dominion over the body and its
passions. How can the mind which is ignorant of the true God, and
instead of obeying Him is prostituted to impure demons, be true mistress
of the body and the vices? Nay, the very virtues which it appears to
itself to possess, by which it rules the body and the vices in order
that it may obtain and guard the objects which it desires, being
undirected to God, are rather vices than virtues. For as that which
makes flesh to live is not flesh but above it, so that which enables man
to live in blessedness is not of man, but above him.


_III.--THE DESTINY OF THE JUST_


Who is able to tell of the creation, with its beauty and utility, which
God has set before the eyes of man, though here condemned to labour and
sorrow? The innumerable loveliness of sky, earth and sea, the abundance
and wonder of light, the sun, moon and stars, the shade of trees, the
colours and fragrance of flowers, the multitude of birds of varied hue
and song, the many forms of animals, of which the smallest are more
wonderful than the greatest, the works of bees more amazing than the
vast bodies of whales--who shall describe them?

What shall those rewards, then, be? What will God give them whom He has
predestined to life, having given such great things to those whom He has
predestined to death? What in that blessed life will He lavish upon
those for whom He gave His Son to death? What will the state of man's
spirit be when it has become wholly free from vice; yielding to none,
enslaved by none, warring against none, but perfectly and wholly at
peace with itself?

Who can say, or even imagine, what degrees of glory shall there be given
to the degrees of merit? Yet we cannot doubt that there will be degrees;
and that in that blessed city no one in lower place shall envy his
superior; for no one will wish to be that which he has not received,
though bound in closest concord with him who has received. Together with
his reward, each shall have the gift of contentment, so as to desire no
more than he has. There we shall rest and see, we shall see and love, we
shall love and praise. For what other end have we, but to reach the
kingdom of which there is no end?

       *       *       *       *       *



RICHARD BAXTER


THE SAINTS' EVERLASTING REST


     Richard Baxter, the Puritan author of one hundred and
     sixty-eight volumes, of which "The Saints Everlasting Rest"
     was, and is, the most popular, was born in 1615 during the
     reign of James I., and died in 1691, soon after the accession
     of William III. His lifetime, therefore, was coincident with
     the troubles of the Stuart House. For fifty years Baxter was
     one of the best known divines in England. Throughout, his was
     a moderating influence in politics, the Church, and theology.
     His best known pastorate, one of extraordinary success, was at
     Kidderminster, between his twenty-sixth and forty-fifth years,
     and there, in an interlude of ill-health of more than
     customary severity--for all his life he was ailing--he wrote,
     anticipatory of death, "The Saints Everlasting Rest." The
     book, which was dedicated to his "dearly beloved friends the
     inhabitants of the Borrough and Forreign of Kederminster," was
     published in 1650 and had an immediate and almost
     unparallelled success. Twenty thousand copies were sold in the
     year after publication, and various editions are now in
     circulation. The saintliness of this broad-minded divine's
     character emerges unsullied from an age of contentious
     bigotry.


_I.--THE NATURE OF REST_

    "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God."
      --Heb. iv, 9.


It was not only our interest in God and actual fruition of Him which was
lost in Adam's covenant-breaking fall, but all spiritual knowledge of
Him, and true disposition towards such a felicity. Man hath now a heart
too suitable to his low estate--a low state, and a low spirit. And when
the Son of God comes with tenders of a spiritual and eternal happiness
and glory, He finds not faith in man to believe it; but, as the poor man
would not believe that any one man had such a sum as a hundred
pounds--it was so far above what he possessed--so no man will hardly now
believe that there is such a happiness as once he had, much less as
Christ hath now procured.

The Apostle bestows most of his epistle against this distemper, and
clearly and largely proves that the rest of Sabbaths and Canaan should
teach men to look for further rest, which indeed is their happiness.
What more welcome to men under personal afflictions, tiring duty,
successions of sufferings, than rest? What more welcome news to men
under public calamities, unpleasing employment, plundering losses, sad
tidings, than this of rest?

Now let us see what this rest is. Though the sense of the text includes
in the word "rest" all that ease and safety which a soul hath with
Christ in _this life_--the rest of grace--yet because it chiefly intends
the rest of eternal glory I shall confine my discourse to this last.

Rest is the end and perfection of motion. The saints' rest, here in
question, is _the most happy estate of a Christian having obtained the
end of his course_.

May we show what this rest containeth. Alas! how little know I of that
whereof I am about to speak. Shall I speak before I know? If I stay till
I clearly know I shall not come again to speak. Therefore will I speak
that little which I do know of it rather than be wholly silent.

There is contained in this rest a cessation from motion or action. When
we have obtained the haven we have done with sailing; when we are at our
journey's end we have done with the way. There shall be no more prayer
because no more necessity, but the full enjoyment of what we prayed for.
Neither shall we need to fast and weep and watch any more, being out of
the reach of sin and temptations. Nor will there be use for instructions
and exhortations; preaching is done; the ministry of man ceaseth;
sacraments useless; the labourer called in because the harvest is
gathered, the tares burned, the work done.

This rest containeth a perfect freedom from all the evils that accompany
us through our course, and which necessarily follow our absence from the
chief good. Doubtless there is not such a thing as grief and sorrow
known there; nor is there such a thing as a pale face, a languid body,
feeble joints, unable infancy, decrepit age, peccant humours, dolorous
sickness, griping fears, consuming care, nor whatsoever deserveth the
name of evil. Indeed, a gale of groans and sighs, a stream of tears
accompanied us to the very gates, and there bid us farewell for ever.

This rest containeth the highest degree of the saints' personal
perfection, both of soul and body. This necessarily qualifies them to
enjoy the glory and thoroughly to partake the sweetness of it. This is
one thing that makes the saints' joy there so great. Here eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived what God hath laid up for them
that wait for Him; but there the eye and ear and heart are made capable,
else how do they enjoy it? The more perfect the appetite the sweeter the
food; the more musical the ear the more pleasant the melody; the more
perfect the soul the more joyous those joys, and the more glorious to us
is that glory.

This rest containeth, as the principal part, our nearest fruition of
God, the chiefest good. And here, wonder not if I be at a loss. When I
know so little of God, I cannot know how much it is to enjoy Him. When
it is so little I know of mine own soul--either its quiddity or quality,
while it is here in this tabernacle--how little must I needs know of the
infinite majesty, or the state of this soul when it is advanced to that
enjoyment. Nay, if I never saw that creature which contains not
something unsearchable, nor the worm so small which afforded not matter
for questions to puzzle the greatest philosopher that ever I met with,
no wonder if mine eye fail when I look at God, my tongue fail me in
speaking of Him, and my heart in conceiving. What strange conceivings
hath a man born blind of the sun of its light; or a man born deaf of the
nature of music; so do we want that sense by which God must be clearly
known. But this we know, the chief good is for us to be near to God.


_II.--HOW THE SAINTS WILL BE EMPLOYED_


This rest containeth a sweet and constant action of all the powers of
the soul and body in this fruition of God. It is not the rest of a stone
which ceaseth from motion when it attains the centre. Whether the
external senses, such as now we have, shall be continued and employed in
this work is a great doubt. For some of them, it is usually
acknowledged, they shall cease, because their being importeth their use,
and their use implieth our state of imperfection--as there is no use for
eating and drinking, so neither for taste. But do not all senses imply
our imperfection? As the ore is cast into the fire a stone, but comes
forth so pure a metal that it deserves another name, so far greater will
the change of our body and senses be--even so great as now we cannot
conceive. And, doubtless, as God advanceth our sense and enlargeth our
capacity, so will He advance the happiness of those senses, and fill up
with Himself all that capacity.

And if the body shall be thus employed, oh, how shall the soul be taken
up! As the bodily senses have their proper aptitude and action, so doth
the soul in its own action enjoy its own object--by knowing, by
thinking, by remembering, by loving. This is the soul's enjoying.

Knowledge of itself is very desirable, even the knowledge of some evil,
though not the evil itself. As far as a rational soul exceeds the
sensitive, so far the delights of a philosopher in discovering the
secrets of Nature, and knowing the mysteries of science, exceed the
delights of the glutton, the drunkard, the unclean, and of all
voluptuous sensualists whatsoever--so excellent is all truth. What,
then, is their delight who know the God of truth! What would I not give
so that all the uncertain, questionable principles in logic, natural
philosophy, metaphysics, and medicine were but certain in themselves and
to me, that my dull, obscure notions of them were but quick and clear.
Oh, what then should I not either perform or part with to enjoy a clear
and true apprehension of the most true God!

How noble a faculty of the soul is this understanding! It can compass
the earth; it can measure the sun, moon, stars, and heaven; it can
foreknow each eclipse to a minute many years before; yea, but the top of
all its excellency is that it can know God, who is infinite, who made
all these--a little here, and more, much more, hereafter. Oh, the wisdom
and goodness of our blessed Lord! He hath created the understanding with
a natural bias and inclination to truth as its object, and to the prime
truth as its prime object; and lest we should turn aside to any
creature, He hath kept this as His own divine prerogative, not
communicable to any creature, namely, to _be_ the prime truth.

And, doubtless, memory will not be idle or useless in this blessed work,
if it be but by looking back to help the soul to value its enjoyment.
Our knowledge will be enlarged, not diminished; therefore the knowledge
of things past shall not be taken away. And what is that knowledge but a
remembrance? Doubtless, from that height the saint can look behind him
and before him; and to compare past with present things must needs raise
in the blessed soul an unconceivable esteem and sense of its condition.
To stand on that mount whence we can see the wilderness and Canaan both
at once; to stand in heaven and look back on earth, and weigh them
together in the balance of a comparing sense and judgment, how must it
needs transport the soul and make it cry out: Have the gales of grace
blown me into such a harbour! O, blessed way, and thrice blessed end!

And now if there be such a thing as indignation left how will it here
let fly: O vile nature that resisted so much and so long such a
blessing! Unworthy soul, is this the place thou camest so unwillingly
towards? Was duty wearisome? Was the world too good to lose? Didst thou
stick at leaving all, denying all, and suffering anything for this? Wast
thou loth to die to come to this? O false heart, that had almost
betrayed me and lost me this glory!

But oh, the full, the near, the sweet enjoyment is that of the
affections--love and joy! It is near, for love is of the essence of the
soul; love is the essence of God, for God is love. Oh, the high delights
of this love! The content that the heart findeth in it! Surely love is
both work and wages.

But, alas! my fearful heart scarce dares proceed. Methinks I hear the
Almighty's voice saying to me, as to Job, "Who is this that darkeneth
counsel by words without knowledge?" But pardon, O Lord, Thy servant's
sin. I have not pried into unrevealed things, nor with audacious wits
curiously searched into Thy counsels; but, indeed, I have dishonoured
Thy Holiness, wronged Thine Excellency, disgraced Thy saints' glory by
my own exceeding disproportionate pourtraying. I bewail that my
conceivings fall so short, my apprehensions are so dull, my thoughts so
mean, my affections so stupid, expressions so low, and unbeseeming such
a glory. But I have only heard by the hearing of the ear. Oh, let Thy
servant see Thee and possess these joys, and then I shall have more
suitable conceivings, and shall give Thee fuller glory!


_III.--HOW THE ETERNAL REST IS REACHED_


Having thus opened to you a window towards the temple, and showed you a
small glimpse of the back parts of that resemblance of the saints' rest
which I had seen in the Gospel-glass, it follows that we proceed to view
a little the adjuncts and blessed properties of this rest, and first
consider the eminent antecedents, the great preparations, the notable
introduction to this rest; for the porch of this temple is exceeding
glorious, and the gate of it is called beautiful. And here offer
themselves to our observation as the four corners of this porch the most
glorious coming and appearing of the Son of God; His wonderful raising
of our bodies from the dust, and uniting them again with the soul; His
public and solemn proceedings in their judgment; His solemn celebration
of their coronation, and His enthronising of them in their glory.

Well may the coming of Christ be reckoned into His people's glory and
enumerated with those ingredients that compound this precious antidote
of rest, for to this end it is intended, and to this end it is of
apparent necessity. Alas, fellow Christians, what should we do if our
Lord should not return? What a case are we here left in! It cannot be;
never fear it, it cannot be. And O, fellow-Christians, what a day will
that be when we, who have been kept prisoners by sin and the grave,
shall be fetched out by the Lord Himself! It will not be such a coming
as His first was--in meanness and poverty and contempt. He will not
come, O careless world, to be slighted and neglected by you any more. To
think and speak of that day with horror doth well beseem the impenitent
sinner, but ill the believing saint. How full of joy was that blessed
martyr Mr. Glover, with the discovery of Christ to his soul, after long
doubting and waiting in sorrow, so that he cries out: "He is come! He is
come!" If thou have but a dear friend returned, that hath been far and
long absent, how do all run out to meet him with joy! "Oh," said the
child, "My father is come!" Saith the wife, "My husband is come!" And
shall not we, when we behold our Lord in His majesty returning, cry out:
"He is come! He is come!"

The second stream that leadeth to Paradise is that great work of Jesus
Christ in raising our bodies from the dust and uniting them again unto
the soul. A wonderful effect of infinite power and love. "Yea, wonderful
indeed," saith unbelief, "if it be true." "What," saith the Atheist and
Sadducee, "shall all these scattered bones and dust become a man? A man
drowned in the sea is eaten by fishes, and they by men again, and these
men by worms. What is to become of the body of that first man? Shall it
rise again?" Thou fool--for so Paul calls thee--dost thou dispute
against the power of the Almighty? Wilt thou pose him with thy
sophistry? Dost thou object difficulties to infinite strength? Thou
blind mole, thou silly worm; thou little piece of creeping, breathing
clay; thou dust, thou nothing, knowest thou who it is whose power thou
dost question? If thou shouldst see Him, thou wouldst presently die. If
He should come and dispute His cause with thee, couldst thou bear it? If
thou shouldst hear His voice, couldst thou endure?

Come then, fellow-Christians, let us contentedly commit these carcasses
to the dust, knowing that prison shall not long contain them. Let us lie
down in peace and take our rest; it will not be an everlasting night or
endless sleep. As sure as we awake in the morning when we have slept out
the night, so sure shall we then awake. What if our carcasses become as
vile as those of the beasts that perish, what if our bones are digged up
and scattered about the pit brink, and worms consume our flesh, yet we
know that our Redeemer liveth, and shall stand at the last on earth, and
we shall see Him with these eyes.

The third part of this prologue to the saints' rest is the public and
solemn process at their judgment. O terrible, O joyful day! Then shall
the world behold the goodness and the severity of the Lord--on them who
perish, severity; but to His chosen, goodness. Then, fellow-Christians,
let the terror of that day be never so great, surely our Lord can mean
no ill to us.

The fourth antecedent and highest step to the saints' advancement is
their solemn coronation, enthronising and receiving into the kingdom.
They that have been faithful unto death shall receive the crown of life,
and according to the improvement of their talents here so shall their
rule and dignity be enlarged.


_IV.--EXCELLENCES OF THE ETERNAL REST_


A comfortable adjunct of this rest is the fellowship of the blessed
saints and angels of God. Oh, when I look in the faces of the precious
people of God, and believing, think of this day, what a refreshing
thought is it! Shall we not there remember, think you, the pikes which
we passed through here; our fellowship in duty and in sufferings; how
oft our groans made as it were one sound, our conjunct tears but one
stream, and our conjunct desires but one prayer. And now all our praises
shall make up one melody, and all our churches one church; and all
ourselves but one body; for we shall be one in Christ, even as He and
the Father are one.

It is a question with some whether we shall know each other in heaven or
no. Surely there shall no knowledge cease which we now have, but only
that which implieth imperfection! And what imperfection can this imply?
Nay, our present knowledge shall be increased beyond belief. It shall be
done away, but as the light of candles and stars is done away by the
rising of the sun, which is more properly a doing away of our ignorance
than of our knowledge. Indeed, we shall not know each other after the
flesh; nor by stature, voice, colour, complexion, visage, or outward
shape, but by the image of Christ and spiritual relation, and former
faithfulness in improving our talents we shall know and be known.

Again, a further excellence is this--it will be unto us a _seasonable_
rest. When we have passed a long and tedious journey, and that through
no small dangers, is not home then seasonable? When we have had a long
and perilous war, and have lived in the midst of furious enemies, and
have been forced to stand on a perpetual watch, and received from them
many a wound, would not a peace with victory be now seasonable? Some are
complaining under the pressure of the times--weary of their taxes, weary
of their quarterings, weary of plunderings, weary of their fears and
dangers, weary of their poverty and wants, and is not rest yet
seasonable? Some of us languish under continual weakness, and groan
under most grievous pains, weary of going, weary of sitting, weary of
standing, weary of lying, weary of eating, weary of speaking, weary of
waking, weary of our very friends, weary of ourselves. Oh, how oft hath
this been mine own case--and is not rest yet seasonable?

A further excellence is that this is a _suitable_ rest. Gold and earthly
glory, temporal crowns and kingdoms could not make rest for saints. Such
as their nature and desire such will be their rest.

It will, too, be absolutely _perfect and complete_--as there is no
mixture of our corruption with our graces, so there will be no mixture
of our sufferings with our solace. We shall know which was the right
side and which the wrong. Then shall our understandings receive their
light from the face of God, as the full moon from the open sun when
there is no earth to interpose betwixt them. It is a perfect rest from
perplexing doubts and fear, from all sense of God's displeasure, from
all the temptations of Satan, the world, and the flesh. And it is an
_eternal_ rest. This is the crown of our crown. Mortality is the
disgrace of all sublunary delights. But, O blessed eternity, where our
lives are perplexed by no such thoughts, nor our joys interrupted by any
such fears! Our first paradise in Eden had a way out, but none in again;
but this eternal paradise hath a way in, but no way out again. The Lord
heal our carnal hearts lest we enter not into His eternal rest because
of our unbelief.

       *       *       *       *       *



BOOK OF THE DEAD


     This is probably the oldest religious book in the world.
     Properly speaking, indeed, it is no book at all, but rather a
     collection of hymns and litanies which have no more connection
     with each other than the Psalms. Like the Psalter, too, this
     so-called book has grown by degrees to the magnitude which it
     now usually assumes in European and other libraries--175
     chapters of varying sizes. Its Egyptian name is "The Book of
     the Coming Forth by Day" (Renouf), or "The Coming Out of the
     Day" (Naville); the latter being probably more correct, "day"
     in this connection denoting man's life with its morning and
     evening. The hymns in this collection are supposed to be
     recited by the deceased person with whose body they were
     commonly buried, and by the recital of these and other sacred
     texts the departed was believed to be protected against injury
     in his journey to the underworld, and also to have secured for
     him a safe return in the form of a resurrection. It was
     Lepsius, the great German Egyptologist, who gave this
     compilation the name "Book of the Dead." Even this name,
     however, though more correct than any other, gives by no means
     an adequate account of that for which it stands. This, and
     other summaries of the sacred books of the East appearing in
     THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS present in quite original ways the
     systems and philosophies of the great non-Christian religions.



_INTRODUCTORY_


The Book of the Dead may be described as the soul's _vade mecum_ in the
journey from this world. It prescribes the forms the soul must have at
command in order to ward off the dangers on the way to the underworld,
during residence in the world, and on the journey back.

The ancient Egyptians considered this book as inspired by the gods, who
caused their scribe, Thoth, to write it down. Every chapter is supposed
to exist for the sake of persons who have died. Sometimes chapters had
to be recited before the body was put down out of sight. Often a
chapter, or more than one, was inscribed on the coffin, or sarcophagus,
or mummy wrappings, this being thought a sure protection against foes of
every kind.

This collection has been chiefly found written on papyrus in
hieroglyphic or hieratic characters on coffins, mummies, sepulchral
wrappings, statues, and on the walls of tombs. Complete copies have been
found written on tombs of the time of the 26th Dynasty (about 800 B.C.).

There are many recensions, or editions, in the various libraries of
Europe and also in the East, and no two of them are identical in the
text. Lepsius translated from the Turin papyrus; Budge bases his
translations on what is called the Theban recension. But in all the text
is exceedingly corrupt, and translation is often no more than a guess.
Owing to the number of proper names and technical terms which we have no
means of understanding, it is often quite impossible to know the drift
of large paragraphs, and even of whole chapters. Since many of the
chapters were treated merely as having a magical efficacy either when
recited or when inscribed on something buried with the body, it was of
small consequence whether or not the words were understood. The bare
recital or writing of names of gods, etc., had a magical efficacy
according to the people who counted the Book of the Dead their sacred
scriptures.

As regards date, the greater number of the hymns and prayers were
recited by the people of Egypt on behalf of their deceased friends
before the first dynasty had begun to reign. Birch says before 3000 B.C.
The hymns and prayers were first of all preserved in the memory only,
and their number was at an early time but small. They were written down
when the priests had doubts with regard to the meaning of certain terms,
and wished to hand them on unimpaired to posterity, being influenced by
the belief that the words of this sacred book were, as such, magically
potent. The oldest extant papyrus containing the Book of the Dead
belongs to the 18th Dynasty, _i.e._, about 1500 B.C.; but we do not come
across a complete copy, with the chapters collected and set in order
much as they are to-day, until the 26th Dynasty (about the 7th century
B.C.). Previous to this the chapters seem to have been put together with
no regard to order; probably they existed on different papyri, which
were used as occasion required. Commonly they would be sold, and for
that purpose stored up.

The translations which can be recommended to students are those by
Renouf, with text and notes; Budge, with text and notes; and that by
C.H.S. Davis, U.S.A. (based on Pièrre). All these editions include the
vignettes, which are very helpful in understanding the text.


_I.--THE SCRIBE ANI PLEADS WITH OSIRIS THROUGH THOTH FOR ADMISSION TO
THE UNDERWORLD AND FOR A SAFE EVIT (RESURRECTION)_


(Osiris)[1] Ani the Scribe says: Praise be to thee, Osiris Bull [so he
was often represented]. O Amentet [the lower world] the eternal king is
here to put words into my mouth. I am Thoth, the great god in the sacred
book, who fought for thee. I am one of the great gods that fought on
behalf of Osiris. Ra, the sun-God, commanded me--Thoth--to do battle on
the earth for the wronged Osiris, and I obeyed. I am among them moreover
who wait over Osiris, now king of the underworld.

I am with Horus, son of Osiris, on the day when the great feast of
Osiris is kept. I am the priest pouring forth libations at Tattu, I am
the prophet in Abydos. I am here, O ye that bring perfected souls into
the abode of Osiris, bring ye the perfected soul of (Osiris) the Scribe
Ani, into the blissful home of Osiris. Let him see, hear, stand, and sit
as ye do in the home of Osiris.

O ye who give cakes and ale to perfected souls, give ye at morn and at
eve cakes and ale to the soul of Ani the Scribe.

O ye who open the way and prepare the paths to the abode of Osiris, open
the way and prepare the path that the soul of (Osiris) Ani the Scribe
may enter in confidence and come forth [on the resurrection]
victoriously. May he not be turned back, may he enter and come forth;
for he has been weighed in the scale and is "not lacking."[2]


_II.--THE PRAYER OF ANI THE SCRIBE_


_The chapter about coming forth by day and living after death._

Says (Osiris) Ani: O thou, only shining one of the moon; let me,
departing from the crowd on earth, find entrance into the abode of
shades. Open then for me the door to the underworld, and at length let
me come back to earth and perform my part among men.

_A chapter whereby the funeral statuettes (Shabti) may be made to work
for a man in the underworld._[3]

O thou statuette there! If in the underworld I shall be called upon to
perform any tasks, be thou my representative and act for me--planting
and sowing fields, watering the soil and carrying the sands of East and
West.

_A chapter concerning the piercing of the back of Apepi._[4]

Tur, the overseer of the houses, says through his god Tmu: O thou wax
one[5] who takest thy victims captive and destroyest them, who preyest
upon the weak and helpless, may I never be thy victim; may I never
suffer collapse before thee. May the venom never enter my limbs, which
are as those of the god Tmu. O let not the pains of death, which have
reached thee; come upon me. I am the god Tmu, living in the foremost
part of Tur [the sky]. I am the only one in the primordial water. I have
many mysterious names, and provide myself a dwelling to endure millions
of years. I was born of Tmu, and I am safe and sound.

_About contending against fever with the shield of truth and good
conduct._

Says (Osiris) Ani: I go forth against my foes endowed with the defence
of truth and good conduct. I cross the heavens, and traverse the earth.
Though a denizen of the underworld, I tread the earth like one alive,
following in the footsteps of the blessed spirits. I have the gift of
living a million years. I eat with my mouth and chew with my jaw,
because I worship him who is master of the lower world.


_III.--NU PRAISES RA (THE SUN-GOD) FOR HIS ABILITY TO GO DOWN INTO THE
GRAVE AND RETURN TO EARTH THROUGH THE MAGIC USE OF THE SACRED TEXTS_


_About entering the underworld and coming forth therefrom._

Nu says: I cry aloud to thee, O Ra, thou guardian of the secret portals
of Seb [the grave], which leads to where Ra in the underworld holds the
balance which weighs every man's righteousness every day. I have burst
the earth [returned to earth]; grant that I may remain on to a good old
age.


_IV.--THE SPIRIT OF THE SCRIBE MESEMNETER PRAYS THAT SOME OFFENDED GOD
MAY BE CONCILIATED_


_About removing the anger of the god towards the departed one._

The scribe Mesemneter, chief deputy of Amon, says: Praise be to thee, O
God, who makest the moments to glide by, who guardest the secrets of the
life beyond that of the earth, and guidest me when I utter words. The
god is angered against me. But let my faults be wasted away, and let the
god of Right and Truth bear them upon me. Remove them wholly from me, O
god of Right and Truth. Let the offended one be at peace with me. Remove
the wall of separation from before us.

_A hymn to Ra at his rising and setting_.

(Osiris) the scribe says: Praise to thee, O Ra, when thou risest. Shine
thou upon my face. Let me arise with thee into the heavens, and travel
with thee in the boat wherein thou sailest on the clouds.

Thou passest in peace across the heavens, and art victorious over all
thy foes.

Praise to thee who art Ra when thou risest, and Tmu when in beauty thou
settest. The dwellers in the land of night come forth to see thee ascend
the sky. I, too, would join the throng; O let me not be held back.

_Hymn of praise to Osiris._

Praise be unto thee, Osiris, lord of eternity, who appearest in many
guises, and whose attributes are glorious.

Thou lookest towards the underworld and causest the earth to shine as
with gold.

The dead rise up to gaze on thy face; their hearts are at peace if they
but look on thee.


_V.--LITANY TO OSIRIS_


_Prayer_. Praise to thee, O lord of the starry gods of Annu, more
glorious than the gods hidden in Annu.

_Answer (repeated after each prayer)._ Grant thou me a peaceful life,
for I am truthful and just. I have uttered no falsehoods nor acted
deceitfully.

_Prayer_. Praise to thee, O Ani; with thy long strides movest thou
across the heavens.

_Prayer_. Praise to thee, O thou who art mighty in thy hour, great and
mighty prince, lord and creator of eternity.

_Prayer_. Praise to those whose throne is Right and Truth, who hatest
fraud and deceit.

_Prayer_. Praise to thee who bringest Hapi [the Nile]; in thy boat from
his source.

_Prayer_. Praise to thee, O creator of the gods, thou king of the North
and the South. O Osiris, the all-conquering one, ruler of the world,
lord of the heavens.


_VI.--HYMN OF PRAISE TO THE SETTING SUN_


_About the mystery of the underworld and about travelling through the
underworld._

When he sets on the underworld the gods adore him. The great god Ra
rises with two eyes [sun and moon]; all the seven gods (Kuas) welcome
him in the evening into the underworld. They sing his praises, calling
him Tmu. The deceased one says, "Praise be to thee, O Ra, praise be to
thee, O Tmu. Thou hast risen and put on strength, and thou settest in
glorious splendour into the underworld. Thou sailest in thy boat across
the heavens, and thou establisheth the earth. East and West adore thee,
bowing and doing homage to thee day and night."


_VII.--ABOUT THE RESURRECTION, OR THE COMING BACK TO LIFE (DAY), OF
DEPARTED SHADES._


[This is one of the oldest (cir. B.C. 2700) and most remarkable
chapters, though also one of the hardest to follow in its details. The
vignettes reproduced in the editions of Davis, Renouf, and Budge help
considerably in following the line of thought. An exact copy of this
chapter has been found on the tomb of Horhotep.

The soul of the deceased encounters all manner of obstacles and
opponents in the attempt to pass to the upper air, and he seeks
constantly the help of Ra, etc., that he may be victorious].

_Of the praises of entering the lower world and of coming out_.

(Osiris) the scribe Ani says it is a good and profitable thing on earth
for a man to recite this text, since all the words written herein shall
come to pass.

I am Ra, who at my rising rule all things. I am the great self-made god.

I am yesterday and to-morrow. I gave the command, and a scene of strife
among the gods arose [_i.e.,_ the sun awakened all the forces of Nature
into action]. What is this? It is Amentet, the underworld.

What is this? The horizon of my father Tmu [the setting sun]. All of my
failings are now supplied, my sins cleansed as I pass through the two
lakes which purify the offences which men offer the gods.

I advance on the path, descending to the realm of Osiris, passing
through the gate Teser. O all ye who have passed this way in safety, let
me grasp your hands and be brought to your abode.

O ye divine powers of Maert, the sworn foes of falsehood, may I come to
you.

I am the great Cat [_i.e.,_ Ra] himself, and therefore in his name which
I bear, I can tread on all my enemies. O great Ra, who climbest the
heavenly vaults and who sailest in thy boat across the firmament with
undisputed authority, do thou save me from that austere god whose
eyebrows are as menacing as the balance that weighs the deeds of men.
Save me, I pray thee, from these guardians of the passages who will, if
they-may, impede my progress. O Tmu, who livest in the august abode, god
of gods, who thrivest upon damned souls, thou dog-faced, human-skinned
one, devourer of shades, digester of human hearts, O fearful one, save
me from the great soul-foe who gnaws and destroys shades of men.

O Chepera in thy bark, save me from the testing guardians into whose
charge the glorious inviolate god has committed his foes; deliver thou
me. May these never undo me, may I never fall helpless into the chambers
of torture. O ye gods, in the presence of Osiris, reach, forth your
arms, for I am one of the gods in your midst.

The (Osiris) Ani flies away like a hawk, he clucks like a goose, he is
safe from destruction as the serpent Nehebkau. Avaunt, ye lions that
obstruct my path. O Ra, thou ascending one, let me rise with thee, and
have a triumphant arrival to my old earthly abode.


_VIII.--A LITANY ADDRESSED TO THOTH_


_The speech of Ammautef, the priest_:

I have come to you, ye gods of heaven, earth, and the underworld,
bringing with me Ani, the scribe, who has done no wrong against any
gods, so that ye may protect him and give him good-speed to the
underworld.

_The speech of Ani himself_:

Praise be to thee, O thou ruler of Amenta, Unneferu, who presides in
Abydos. I have come to thee with a pure heart, free from sin. I have
told no falsehoods nor acted deceitfully. Give thou me in the tomb the
food I need for the journey, so let me have a safe entrance to the
underworld and a sure exit.

_The speech of the priest Samerif:_

I come to the gods residing at Restau. I have brought you (Osiris) Ani;
grant him bread, water, and air, and also an abode in the Sechithotepu
[Field of Peace].

_The speech of Ani himself:_

Praise be to Osiris, everlasting lord, and to the gods of Restau. I come
to thee knowing thy goodwill and having learned those rites which thou
requirest for entrance into the lower world. May I have a safe arrival,
and find food in thy presence.

_Litany to Thoth:_

O thou who makest Osiris triumphant over his foes, make thou this scribe
Nebenseri victorious over his foes.

O Thoth, make Ani triumphant over his enemies, etc., etc.

[If this chapter is recited over the deceased he shall come forth into
the day and pass through the transformations which the departed one
desires.]


_IX.--A MAGICAL CHAPTER_


_Chapter of the Crown of Triumph_.

Thy father Tmu has made thee this beautiful crown as a magical charm so
that thou mayest live for ever. Thy father Seb gives thee his
inheritance. Osiris, the prince of Amenta, makes thee victorious over
thy foes. Go thou as Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, and triumph ever on
thy way to the underworld.

Yea (Osiris) Aufankh shall, through this recited text, live and triumph
for ever and ever. Horus repeated these words four times, and his
enemies fell headlong. And (Osiris) Aufankh has repeated these words
four times, so let him be victorious.

This chapter is to be recited over a consecrated crown placed over the
face of the deceased, and thou shalt cast incense into the flame on
behalf of (Osiris) Aufankh, so securing triumph over all his foes. And
food and drink shall in the underworld be reached him in the presence of
Osiris its king.

_Chapter about making the deceased remember his name in the underworld_.

Nu triumphant, son of Amen-hotep, says: Let me remember my name in the
great House below on the night when years are counted and months are
reckoned up. If any god come to me, let me at once be able to utter his
name[6] and thus disarm him.

_A chapter about not letting the heart of the deceased act against him
in the underworld_.

My heart, received from my mother, my heart, without which life on earth
was not possible, rise then not up against me in the presence of the
gods in the great day of judgment when human thoughts, words, and acts
shall all be weighed in a balance.

These words are to be inscribed on a hard green, gold-coated scarab,
which is to be inserted through the mouth into the bosom of the
deceased.

_Chapter about repelling the ass-eater_[7].

Avaunt! serpent Hai, impure one, hater of Osiris. Get thee back, for
Thoth has cut off thy head. Let alone the ass, that I may have clear
skies when I cross to the underworld in the Neshmet boat. I am guiltless
before the gods, and have wronged none. So avaunt! thou sun-beclouding
one, and let me have a prosperous voyage.

_Chapter about reserving for the deceased his seat in the underworld_.

Nu says: My seat, my throne, come ye to me, surround me, divine ones. I
am a mummy-shaped person. O grant that I may become like the great god,
successful, having seat and throne.

_A chapter about coming forth by day from the underworld_ (i.e., _the
resurrection_).

[One of the very oldest chapters in the Book of the Dead, as old at
least as the first dynasty, say 4500 B.C. No chapter was regarded with
greater reverence, or recited or copied with more confidence in its
efficacy, probably because it is a summing up of the important chapters
on the coming forth by day from the underworld. He who knows this
chapter by heart is safe against danger in this world and in all other
abodes.]

Nebseni, lord of reverence, says: I am yesterday and know to-morrow. I
am able to be born again. Here is the invisible force which creates gods
and gives food to denizens of the underworld. I go as a messenger to
Osiris.

O goddess Aucherit, grant that I may come forth from the underworld to
see Ra's blazing orb. O thou conductor of shades, let me have a fair
path to the underworld and a sure arrival. May I be defended against all
opposing powers. May the cycle of gods listen to me and grant my request

       *       *       *       *       *




BOOKS OF BRAHMANISM


_INTRODUCTORY_


     The religion of the ancient Persians and of the ancient Aryan
     Indians was at one time the same, and it is easy now to see
     the common basis of the beliefs and practices embodied in the
     Hindu Vedas and the Zend Avesta (see ZOROASTRIANISM), and
     their general resemblance. The religion of the ancient Aryan
     Indians has passed through three outstanding phases,
     designated by modern scholars: Vedism, or that taught by the
     Vedas; Brahmanism, based on the Brahmans, or ritual additions
     to the Vedas; and Hinduism (_q.v._), the form which revived
     Brahmanism took after the expulsion of Buddhism. Though the
     latter is strictly an Indian religion, judged by its origin
     and characteristic features, it has for centuries almost
     ceased to exist in India proper. It will be found generally
     true that in Brahmanism there is, as compared with Vedism, an
     increase of the ritual, and a corresponding decrease of the
     moral element. The gods become more material, and the means of
     conciliating them ceremonial and magical. So also there is a
     growth in the power of the priesthood. One may compare this
     with the course of development among the Hebrews--the ritual
     and ceremonial bulking more and more, and the ethical
     receding, according to most modern scholars. It has to be
     remembered carefully, however, that the distinction between
     Vedism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism is more logical than actual.
     The seeds of Hinduism, even the doctrine of caste, may be
     traced in the Rig Veda, and a modern orthodox. Hindu will tell
     you that his principal scriptures are the Vedas, and that his
     creed and practice have their source in these scriptures.
     Brahmanism may be represented as a system of law and custom in
     the Laws of Manu; as a philosophy in the Upanishads; and as a
     mythology in the Ramayana and Mahabharata.


MAHABHARATA


The word "Mahabharata" means "The Great Bharata," the name of a
well-known people in ancient India. The epic so called is a very long
one, containing at least 220,000 lengthy lines. It is really an
encyclopaedia of Hindu history, legend, mythology, and philosophy.
Four-fifths of the poem consist of episodes, some of them very
beautiful, as the tale of Nala and his wife Damayanti. These have no
primary connection with the original, though they are worked in so
deftly as to make the whole appear a splendid unity. For pathos,
sublimity, and matchless language, no poem in the world exceeds this
one.

It is arranged in eighteen books, all of which claim to have been
composed by Vyasa--another name for the god Krishna--who is said also in
the course of the epic to have composed the Vedas and the Puranas. This
is, of course, mythology, and not literary history.

The historical nucleus underlying this poem is the conflict which raged
in ancient India between two neighbouring tribes, the Kurus (or
Kauravas) and the Pandavas. But this is worked up into another long tale
into which and around which Brahman teachers and philosophers have woven
a very network of religious, theosophic, and philosophic speculation.
The tale is, in fact, made a vehicle for teaching Brahman ism as it
existed in India in the first five centuries of our era, though much of
the Mahabharata goes back to a thousand years or so B.C.


_OUTLINE OF THE EPIC_


The descendants of Bharata, the king of Hastinapura, about sixty miles
north of Delhi, were divided into two branches, the Kauravas and the
Pandavas, each of which occupied the territory which had come down to it
by inheritance. They lived together in peace and prosperity, worshipping
the gods, studying the Vedas, and spending much time in meditation about
higher things. But there came a change for the worse. The Kauravas, not
content with their own territory, looked with jealous eyes upon that of
their kinsmen, the Pandavas. Soon their covetousness realised itself in
action, for gathering their armed men together, they sprang suddenly
upon the land of their neighbours, whom they disarmed previously by
professions of friendship and goodwill The Pandavas were conquered and
driven into a far country, where they wandered homelessly and yet filled
with undying love for the old home of their fathers and with a resolve
to regain at the first opportunity their ancestral territory.

With the help of as many princes and generals as they could win to their
side they marched towards the land which they had lost, taking back by
force what had been wrested from them by force. The two armies met face
to face on the field of Kurukshetra (land of the Kurus), and the battle,
which lasted eighteen days, was about to begin. The father and king of
the Kauravas, called Dhritarashtra, aged and blind, felt that he could
not stand to witness the bloody affray. He accordingly accepted the
offer of Vyasa (Krishna), a relative of both the contending parties, to
have the entire course of events described to him when all was over, one
Sangara, being deputed to perform the task. The battle began and
proceeded for ten long days when Bhrisma, the chief general of the
Kauravas, fell.

At this point Sangara advanced to the old King Dhritarashtra to acquaint
him with the course things had taken, and among the rest to recite to
him a conversation which had taken place between Krishna and Arguna, the
Pandavan prince and general. It is this dialogue which constitutes the
Holy Song, known as the Bhagavad-Gita, or Krishna Song, the Krishna of
this philosophic poem being, of course, the eighth avatara; or
incarnation, of Vishnu.

The remaining books of the Mahabharata recount the subsequent incidents
of the war, which, in all, lasted for eighteen days. The Kauravas were
destroyed, the only survivors being the Pandavas and Krishna with his
charioteer. The many dead that were left on the field were buried with
the rites of religion, and amid many signs of touching affection and
grief.

Bhrisma, leader of the Kauravas, instructs Yudhishthira on the duties of
kings and other topics. The poem then ends.


THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, OR HOLY SONG OF BRAHMANISM


This poem forms one of the finest episodes in the great Iliad of India,
and, in fact, is hardly surpassed for profound thought, deep feeling,
and exquisite phrasing, in the whole literature of India. Telang holds
that the song is at least as old as the 4th century, and is inclined to
regard it as an original part of the epic. According to most scholars,
however, the "Divine Song" was added at a later period, and, in fact, in
its present form it is scarcely older than 500 A.D. It is so thoroughly
Brahmanic in its teaching that there can be little doubt but that this
song was introduced in order to convey the teaching of Brahmanism
prevalent at the time. The German scholar, Dr. Lorinser, has tried to
prove that the author of this song had a knowledge of the New Testament
and used it. The following passages are pointed out by him as dependent
on New Testament passages.


BHAGAVAD-GITA

    I am exceedingly dear to the
    wise man; he also is dear
    to me.

    I am the way, supporter,
    lord, witness, abode, refuge,
    friend.

    I never depart from him (the
    true Yogis); he never departs
    from me.

    They who worship me with
    true devotion, are in me
    and I in them.

    Be assured that he who worships
    me perishes not.

    I am the beginning and the
    middle and the end of existent
    things.

    I will deliver thee from all
    sin; do not grieve.

    He who knows me as unborn
    and without beginning, the
    mighty Lord of the World,
    he among mortals is undeluded,
    he is delivered from
    all sins.

    What sacrifice, almsgiving, or
    austerity is done without
    faith is evil.

    That man obtains the perfect
    state who honours by his
    proper work him from
    whom all things have issued,
    and by whom this All
    was spread out.


NEW TESTAMENT

    He that loveth Me shall be
    loved of My Father, and I
    will love him (John xiv.
    21).

    I am the way, the truth, and
    the life (John xiv. 6) I am
    the first and the last (Rev.
    i. 17).

    He that dwelleth in Me and I
    in Him (John vi. 56).

    I in them and thou in Me,
    that they may be made perfect
    in one (John xvii. 23).

    Whosoever believeth in Him
    shall not perish, but have
    everlasting life (John iii.
    16).

    I am Alpha and Omega, the
    beginning and ending (Rev.
    i. 8).

    Son, be of good cheer; thy
    sins be forgiven thee (Matt.
    ix. 2).

    This is life eternal, that they
    might know Thee, the only
    true God, and Jesus Christ,
    Whom Thou hast sent (John
    xvii, 3).

    Whatsover is not of faith is
    sin (Rom. xiv. 23).

    Whether therefore ye eat or
    drink, or whatsoever ye do,
    do all to the glory of God
    (1 Cor. x. 31).


_OUTLINE OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA_


The blind old father of the Kauravas asked Sangara to tell him how the
battle had gone. He replied that, just as the fighting began, Krishna,
the Heaven-Born One, stationed his glorious chariot between the armies
and entered into a long conversation, with Arguna, the prince-general of
the Pandavas. Said Arguna, "My grief at seeing these kindred peoples at
war is beyond bearing, and the omens are unfavourable. I long not for
victory, but for peace and for the prosperity of all. Behold, in battle
array grandfathers, fathers, sons, friends, and allies. We have resolved
to commit a great sin, to slay our kindred and associates, and all for
lust of wealth and power."

The Holy One (Krishna) said in reply, "Thou grievest for those who need
no grief of thine; yet are thy words words of wisdom. The wise have no
grief for dead or living; know thou, O Arguna, that the man who has
knowledge of the Eternal and Absolute One will never more be born, nor
will he know death. As one puts away an old used garment, putting on a
new one, so the self in a man puts away the old body and assumes one
that is new. He, the Everlasting One, is unchanging and inconceivable.
Be not thou grieved and have no fear. If slain in the battle, thou shalt
reach endless bliss in heaven. If victorious, thou shalt have happiness
on the earth; get thee, therefore, honoured one, to the fight and have
no care for pleasure or pain.

"Some obtain comfort from what the Vedas promise with reference to
eternal bliss. But these very Vedas teach that a man should strive at
self-mortification and advancement in virtue with no regard to any
reward. The final good after which men are chiefly to aim is a state of
supreme indifference and contempt."

"But," asked Arguna, "what, pray, is that state of equipoise of spirit
which thou urgest?"

Said the Holy One, "There is a twofold law: that of Sankhyas, or
intellectual devotion, and that of Yogis, or practical devotion. Men
must strive after the highest knowledge, that of Brahma, and also seek
after right conduct." "What," asked Arguna, "is the cause of sin?" To
which the Holy One replied, "Love and hatred, for hatred is begotten of
love, and ignorance of moral distinctions and of anger; from all this
comes unreasonableness and resulting ruin. A man's knowledge carries
always with it desire, as the fire smoke. The senses are great, the mind
is greater, and the intellect still greater, but the greatest of all is
the Eternal Essence, Brahma.

"Many," said the Holy One, "are my births, and I know them; many too,
are thine, but thou knowest them not. I am born from age to age for the
defence of the virtuous and the undoing of the wicked. He who believes
in my divine birth and work has no second birth, but enters me and
abides with me for ever. Know me as the creator of the cates, know me
also as the Eternal one that creates nothing. Faith brings with it
knowledge, and knowledge contentment. Without knowledge and faith the
soul is lost."

Arguna asked, "How fares it with the man who is not able to suppress his
lower instincts and to undergo the discipline of Yogis? Is he for this,
to be undone for ever?"

"No," replied the Holy One, "neither in this world nor in the next is he
lost. The virtuous man does not enter an evil state. He reaches that
heaven provided for all the good, and is born thereafter with higher
moral capacities, with which, and by means of the knowledge gained in
his previous existence, he rises to greater perfection; so that after
many births he reaches absolute perfection and is united for ever with
Brahma. But learn thou my higher nature; what thou seest is my lower,
for I am divine and human. All the world came forth from me, and I will
at the last destroy it. Higher than I does not exist. I am taste, light,
moon, sun; I am the mystic OM; I am the mystic seed from which all
things grow. He that offers sacrifice to inferior gods goes after death
to those gods, but they that worship me come to me."

"What," asked Arguna, "is Brahma, the supreme spirit, the supreme
sacrifice?"

The Holy One answered, "He is the Supreme, the Indestructible One; I am
the Supreme Sacrifice in my present body.

"Hear now, Son of Pritha," said the Holy One. "If thy heart be fixed on
me, and thou seekest refuge in me, thou shalt know me fully, and I shall
reveal to thee the perfect knowledge of God and man. There are countless
myriads of men in this world, but few there are who seek after
perfection, and fewer still there are who obtain it."


_OTHER PARTS OF THE MAHABHARATA_


Though the husband die unhappy on account of his wife's ill-treatment
and disobedience, yet if she consign herself to the flames after his
death she is deserving of great praise. How much more should a woman be
venerated who flings herself of her own accord into the flames after the
death of a husband whom she has treated with affection and submission!

Let gifts be avoided; for receiving them is a sin. The silkworm dies of
its riches.

It is not proper to rebuke or even blame wrong acts of gods or priests
or seers; though no one is justified in following them in these acts.

Virtue is better than everlasting life; kingdom, sons, renown, and
wealth all put together do not make up one-sixteenth part of the value
of virtue.

The greatest sin that a king can commit is atoned for by sacrifices
accompanied with large gifts [cows, etc.] to the priests.

       *       *       *       *       *



SIR THOMAS BROWNE


RELIGIO MEDICI


     Sir Thomas Browne, English essayist, came of a Cheshire
     family, but was born in London on October 19, 1605. Educated
     at Oxford, where he graduated in 1626, he next studied
     medicine at the great universities of Montpelier, Padua, and
     Leyden, and in 1637 went to live at Norwich, where he remained
     until his death on October 19, 1682. He was happily married in
     1641, and was knighted by Charles II. in 1671. Sir Thomas
     Browne is one of the greatest figures in English literary
     history. He had extraordinary learning, a magnificent style, a
     certain dry humour, and, above all, great power and nobility
     of mind. In his two most valued works, "Religio Medici," or
     "Religion of a Physician," published in 1643, and "Urn
     Burial," in 1658, he deals with the greatest of all themes,
     the mysteries of faith and of human destiny. The "Religio
     Medici," written about 1635, was not at first intended for
     publication; but the manuscript had been handed about and
     copied, and the appearance, in 1642, of private editions,
     forced the author to issue it himself.


_I.--THE BROAD-MINDED CHRISTIAN_


For my religion I dare, without usurpation, assume the honourable style
of a Christian. Not that I merely owe this title to the font, my
education, or the clime wherein I was born; but that having, in my riper
years and confirmed judgment, seen and examined all, I find myself
obliged, by the principles of grace and the law of mine own reason, to
embrace no other name but this.

But, because the name of a Christian is become too general to express
our faith--there being a geography of religion as well as lands--I am of
that reformed new-cast religion, wherein I dislike nothing but the name:
of the same belief our Saviour taught, the apostles disseminated, the
fathers authorised, and the martyrs confirmed; but, by the sinister ends
of princes, the ambition and avarice of prelates, and the fatal
corruption of the times, so decayed, impaired, and fallen from its
native beauty, that it required the careful and charitable hands of
these times to restore it to its primitive integrity.

Yet do I not stand at sword's point with those who had rather
promiscuously retain all than abridge any, and obstinately be what they
are than what they have been. We have reformed from them, not against
them, for there is between us one common name and appellation, one faith
and necessary body of principles common to us both; and therefore I am
not scrupulous to converse and live with them, to enter their churches
in defect of ours, and either pray with them or for them.

I am naturally inclined to that which misguided zeal terms superstition;
at my devotion I love to use the civility of my knee, my hat, my hand,
with all those outward and sensible motions which may express or promote
my invisible devotion. At the sight of a crucifix I can dispense with my
hat, but scarce with the thought or memory of my Saviour. I could never
hear the Ave-Mary bell without an oraison, or think it a sufficient
warrant, because they erred in one circumstance, for me to err in
all--that is, in silence and dumb contempt.

I could never divide myself from any man upon the difference of an
opinion; I have no genius to disputes in religion. A man may be in as
just possession of truth as of a city, and yet be forced to surrender;
'tis therefore far better to enjoy her with peace than to hazard her
upon a battle. If, therefore, there rise any doubts in my way, I do
forget them, or at least defer them, till my better settled judgment be
able to resolve them. In philosophy, where truth seems double-faced,
there is no man more paradoxical than myself; but in divinity I love to
keep the road, and, though not in an implicit, yet an humble, faith
follow the great wheel of the Church.

Heads that are disposed unto schism, and complexionally propense to
innovation, are naturally indisposed for a community, nor will be ever
confined unto the order or economy of one body; and, therefore, when
they separate from others, they knit but loosely among themselves; nor
contented with a general breach or dichotomy with their church, do
subdivide and mince themselves almost into atoms.

As for those wingy mysteries in divinity and airy subtleties in religion
which have unhinged the brains of better heads, they have never
stretched the membranes of mine. Methinks there be not impossibilities
enough in religion for an active faith; I love to lose myself in a
mystery, to pursue my reason to an _O altitudo!_ I can answer all the
objections of Satan and my rebellious reason with that odd resolution of
Tertullian: "It is certain because it is impossible."


_II.--THE DIVINE WISDOM_


In my solitary and retired imagination I remember I am not alone; and
therefore forget not to contemplate Him and His attributes who is ever
with me, especially those two mighty ones, His wisdom and eternity. With
the one I recreate, with the other I confound, my understanding; for who
can speak of eternity without a solecism, or think thereof without an
ecstasy?

In this mass of Nature there is a set of things that carry in their
front, though not in capital letters, yet in stenography and short
characters, something of divinity; which, to wiser reasons, serve as
luminaries in the abyss of knowledge, and to judicious beliefs as scales
to mount the pinnacles of divinity.

That other attribute wherewith I recreate my devotion is His wisdom, in
which I am happy; and for the contemplation of this only, do not repent
me that I was bred in the way of study. The advantage I have of the
vulgar, with the content and happiness I conceive therein, is an ample
recompense for all my endeavours in what part of knowledge soever.
Wisdom is His most beauteous attribute; no man can attain unto it; yet
Solomon pleased God when he desired it. He is wise because He knows all
things; and He knows all things because He made them all; but His
greatest knowledge is in comprehending that He made not--that is,
Himself. The wisdom of God receives small honour from those heads that
rudely stare about, and with a gross rusticity admire His works. Those
highly magnify Him whose judicious inquiry into His acts, and a
deliberate research into His creatures, return the duty of a devout and
learned admiration. Every essence, created or uncreated, hath its final
cause and some positive end both of its essence and operation. This is
the cause I grope after in the works of Nature; on this hangs the
providence of God.

That Nature does nothing in vain is the only indisputable axiom in
philosophy. There are no grotesques in Nature, nor anything framed to
fill up unnecessary spaces. I could never content my contemplation with
those general pieces of wonder, the flux and reflux of the sea, the
increase of the Nile, the conversion of the needle to the north; but
have studied to match and parallel those in the more obvious and
neglected pieces of Nature which, without further travel, I find in the
cosmography of myself. We carry with us the wonders we seek without us;
there is all Africa and her prodigies in us.

Thus there are two books from whence I collect my divinity: besides that
written one of God, another of His servant, Nature, that universal and
public manuscript, that lies expansed unto the eyes of all. Surely the
heathens knew better how to join and read these mystical letters than we
Christians, who cast a more careless eye on these common hieroglyphics,
and disdain to suck divinity from the flowers of Nature. Now, Nature is
not at variance with art, nor art with Nature, they being both the
servants of His providence. Art is the perfection of Nature. Nature hath
made one world, and art another. In brief, all things are artificial,
for Nature is the art of God.

This is the ordinary and open way of His providence, which art and
industry have in good part discovered, whose effects we may foretell
without an oracle. But there is another way, full of meanders and
labyrinths, and that is a more particular and obscure method of His
providence, directing the operations of individual and single essences.
This we call fortune, that serpentine and crooked line whereby He draws
those actions His wisdom intends in a more unknown and secret way.

This cryptic and involved method of His providence have I ever admired;
nor can I relate the history of my life, the occurrences of my days, the
escapes, or dangers, and hits of chance, with a bare grammercy to my
good stars. Surely there are in every man's life certain rubs,
doublings, and wrenches, which pass a while under the effects of chance;
but at the last, well examined, prove the mere hand of God. 'Twas not
dumb chance that, to discover the fougade, or powder plot, contrived a
miscarriage in the letter. I like the victory of '88 the better for that
one occurrence which our enemies imputed to our dishonour and the
partiality of fortune: to wit, the tempests and contrariety of winds.

There is no liberty for causes to operate in a loose and straggling way,
nor any effect whatever but hath its warrant from some universal or
superior cause. 'Tis not a ridiculous devotion to say a prayer before a
game at tables; for even in sortileges and matters of greatest
uncertainty there is a settled and pre-ordered course of effects. It is
we that are blind, not fortune. Because our eye is too dim to discover
the mystery of her effects, we foolishly paint her blind, and hoodwink
the providence of the Almighty.

'Tis, I confess, the common fate of men of singular gifts of mind to be
destitute of those of fortune; which doth not any way deject the spirit
of wiser judgments, who thoroughly understand the justice of this
proceeding; and, being enriched with higher donatives, cast a more
careless eye on these vulgar parts of felicity. It is a most unjust
ambition to desire to engross the mercies of the Almighty.

I have heard some with deep sighs lament the lost lines of Cicero;
others with as many groans deplore the combustion of the library of
Alexandria; for my own part, I think there be too many in the world, and
could with patience behold the urn and ashes of the Vatican, could I,
with a few others, recover the perished leaves of Solomon. Some men have
written more than others have spoken. Of those three great inventions in
Germany, there are two which are not without their incommodities. Tis
not a melancholy wish of my own, but the desires of better heads, that
there were a general synod--not to unite the incompatible difference of
religion, but for the benefit of learning, to reduce it, as it lay at
first, in a few and solid authors; and to condemn to the fire those
swarms and millions of rhapsodies, begotten only to distract and abuse
the weaker judgments of scholars and to maintain the trade and mystery
of typographers.

As all that die in the war are not termed soldiers, so neither can I
properly term all those that suffer in matters of religion, martyrs.
There are many, questionless, canonised on earth that shall never be
saints in heaven, and have their names in histories and martyrologies
who, in the eyes of God, are not so perfect martyrs as was that wise
heathen Socrates, that suffered on a fundamental point of religion--the
unity of God. The leaven and ferment of all, not only civil but
religious actions, is wisdom; without which to commit ourselves to the
flames is homicide, and, I fear, but to pass through one fire into
another.


_III.--THE HOPE OF IMMORTALITY_


I thank God I have not those strait ligaments or narrow obligations to
the world as to dote on life or tremble at the name of death. Not that I
am insensible of the horror thereof, or, by raking into the bowels of
the deceased and continual sight of anatomies, I have forgot the
apprehension of mortality; but that, marshalling all the horrors, I find
not anything therein able to daunt the courage of a man, much less a
well-resolved Christian. Were there not another life that I hope for,
all the vanities of this world should not entreat a moment's breath from
me. Those strange and mystical transmigrations that I have observed in
silkworms turned my philosophy into divinity. There is in these works of
Nature which seem to puzzle reason, something divine, that hath more in
it than the eye of a common spectator doth discover.

Some, upon the courage of a fruitful issue, wherein, as in the truest
chronicle, they seem to outlive themselves, can with greater patience
away with death. This seems to me a mere fallacy, unworthy the desires
of a man that can but conceive a thought of the next world; who, in a
nobler ambition, should desire to live in his substance in heaven rather
than his name and shadow in the earth. Were there any hopes to outlive
vice, or a point to be superannuated from sin, it were worthy our knees
to implore the days of Methuselah. But age doth not rectify but brings
on incurable vices, and the number of our days doth but make our sins
innumerable. There is but one comfort left, that though it be in the
power of the weakest arm to take away life, it is not in the strongest
to deprive us of death.

There is no happiness within this circle of flesh, nor is it in the
optics of these eyes to behold felicity. But besides this literal and
positive kind of death, there are others whereof divines make mention,
as mortification, dying unto sin and the world. In these moral
acceptations, the way to be immortal is to die daily; and I have
enlarged that common "Remember death" into a more Christian
memorandum--"Remember the four last things"--death, judgment, heaven,
and hell. I believe that the world grows near its end; but that general
opinion, that the world grows near its end, hath possessed all ages past
as nearly as ours.

There is no road or ready way to virtue; it is not an easy point of art
to disentangle ourselves from this riddle or web of sin. To perfect
virtue, as to religion, there is required a panoplia, or complete
armour; that whilst we lie at close ward against one vice, we lie not
open to the assault of another. There go so many circumstances to piece
up one good action that it is a lesson to be good, and we are forced to
be virtuous by the book.

Insolent zeals that do decry good works, and rely only upon faith, take
not away merit; for, depending upon the efficacy of their faith, they
enforce the condition of God, and in a more sophistical way do seem to
challenge heaven. I do not deny but that true faith is not only a mark
or token, but also a means, of our salvation; but, where to find this is
as obscure to me as my last end. If a faith to the quantity of a grain
of mustard seed is able to remove mountains, surely that which we boast
of is not anything, or, at the most, but a remove from nothing.

For that other virtue of charity, without which faith is a mere notion
and of no existence, I have ever endeavoured to nourish the merciful
disposition and humane inclination I borrowed from my parents, and
regulate it to the written and prescribed laws of charity. I give no
alms to satisfy the hunger of my brother, but to fulfil the command of
my God; I draw not my purse for his sake that demands it, but His that
enjoined it. Again, it is no greater charity to clothe his body than to
apparel the nakedness of his soul; and to this, as calling myself a
scholar, I am obliged by the duty of my condition.

Bless me in this life with but the peace of my conscience; command of my
affections the love of Thyself and my dearest friends; and I shall be
happy enough to pity Caesar! These are, O Lord, the humble desires of my
most reasonable ambition, and all I dare call happiness on earth:
wherein I set no limit to Thy hand or providence; dispose of me
according to the wisdom of Thy pleasure. Thy will be done, though in my
own undoing.

       *       *       *       *       *



JOHN CALVIN


INSTITUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION


     John Calvin was born on July 10, 1509, at Noyon, in Picardy,
     Northern France. Although the Calvins, his ancestors, had been
     bargemen on the Oise, his father was notary apostolic,
     procurator-fiscal of the county, clerk of the church court,
     and diocesan secretary. Young Jean Calvin was eight years old
     when Luther nailed his theses to the door of the castle church
     in Wittenburg. The new religion gaining very quickly a footing
     in France, the youth became influenced by it when studying in
     Paris at the College de la Marche. He held meetings with
     Protestants in a cave at Poitiers. His precocity was
     remarkable. At the age of twenty-three he wrote his first
     book, a commentary on Seneca's "Treatise on Clemency." At
     twenty-five he revised a translation of the French Bible. At
     twenty-seven he published the first edition of his mighty
     work, "The Institution of the Christian Religion," a treatise
     which has been styled "one of the landmarks of the history of
     Christian doctrine." At twenty-eight Calvin was the foremost
     man in Geneva, and was already one of the most remarkable
     reformers in the world. His career has rarely been paralleled.
     Calvin died on May 27, 1564.


_I.--THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE CREATOR_


Our wisdom consists almost exclusively of two parts: the knowledge of
God, and of ourselves. But, as these are connected together by many
ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes, and which
gives birth to the others. Our weakness, ignorance, and depravity remind
us that in the Lord, and in none but Him only, dwell the two lights of
wisdom, of virtue, and of piety. It is evident that man never attains to
a true self-knowledge until after he has contemplated the face of God,
and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.

It is beyond dispute that there exists in the human mind, and indeed by
natural instinct, some sense of deity. As Cicero, though a pagan, tells
us, there is no nation so brutish as not to be imbued with the
conviction that there is a God. Even idolatry is an evidence of this
fact. But, though experience teaches that a seed of religion is divinely
sown in all, few cherish it in the heart. Some lose themselves in
superstitious observances; others, of set purpose, wickedly revolt from
God; and many think of God against their will, never approaching Him
without being dragged into His presence.

But since the perfection of blessedness consists in the knowledge of
God, He has been pleased not only to deposit in our minds the seed of
religion, of which we have already spoken, but so to manifest His
perfections in the whole structure of the universe, and daily place
Himself in our view, that we cannot open our eyes without being
compelled to behold Him. His essence is, indeed, transcendent and
incomparable, but on each of His works His glory is engraven in
characters so bright that none, however dull and illiterate, can plead
ignorance as an excuse.

Herein appears the shameful ingratitude of men, that, though they have
in their own persons a factory where countless operations of God are
carried on, instead of praising Him, they are the more inflated with
pride. How few are there among us who, in lifting our eyes to the
heavens, or looking abroad on the earth, ever think of the Creator! In
vain, because of our dulness, does creation exhibit so many bright lamps
lit up to show forth the glory of its Author. Therefore, another and
better help must be given to guide us properly to God as our Creator,
and He has added the light of His Word in order to make known His
salvation.

Here it seems proper to make some observations on the authority of
Scripture. Nothing can be more absurd than the fiction that the power of
judging Scripture is in the Church. When the Church gives it the stamp
of her authority, she does not thus make it authentic, but shows her
reverence for it as the truth of God by her unhesitating assent.
Scripture bears, on the face of it, as clear evidence of its truth as
black and white do of their colour, sweet and bitter of their taste. It
is preposterous to attempt, by discussion, to rear up a full faith in
Scripture. Those who are inwardly taught by the Holy Spirit acquiesce in
it implicitly, for it carries with it its own testimony.

It is foolish to attempt to prove to infidels that the Scripture is the
Word of God. For it cannot be known to be, except by faith. Justly does
Augustine remind us that every man who would have any understanding in
such high matters must previously possess piety and mental peace. In
order to direct us to the true God, the Scripture excludes all the gods
of the heathen. This exclusiveness annihilates every deity which men
frame for themselves, of their own accord. Whence had idols their
origin, but from the will of man?

There was thus ground for the sarcasm of the heathen poet (Horace,
Satires, I.8). "I was once the trunk of a fig-tree, a useless log, when
the tradesman, uncertain whether he should make me a stool, etc., chose
rather that I should be a god." In regard to the origin of idols, the
statement of the Book of Wisdom has been received with almost universal
consent, that they originated with those who bestowed this honour on the
dead, from a superstitious regard to their memory.


_II.--THE GRACE OF CHRIST THE REDEEMER_


Through the fall of Adam arose the need of a Redeemer, the whole human
race having by that event been made accursed and degenerate. Man thereby
became deprived of freedom of will and miserably enslaved. The dominion
of sin, ever since the first man was brought under it, not only extends
to the whole race, but has complete possession of every soul. Free will
does not enable any man to perform good works unless he is assisted by
grace. Yet, since man is by nature a social being, he is disposed, from
natural instinct, to cherish and preserve society; and, accordingly, we
see that the minds of all men have impressions of order and civil
honesty. So that, in regard to the constitution of the present life, no
man is devoid of the light of reason. And this gift ought justly to be
ascribed to the divine indulgence. Had God not so spared us, our revolt
would have carried with it the entire destruction of nature. But to the
great truth, what God is in Himself, and what He is in relation to us,
human reason makes not the least approach. The natural man has no
capacity for such sublime wisdom as to apprehend God, unless illumined
by His Spirit, and none can enter the kingdom of God save those whose
minds have been renewed by the power of the spirit.

It is certain that after the fall of our first parent, no knowledge of
God without a Mediator was effectual to salvation. Hence it is that God
never showed Himself propitious to His ancient people, nor gave them any
hope of grace without a Mediator. The prosperous and happy state of the
Church was always founded in the person of Christ. The primary adoption
of the chosen people depended on the grace of the Mediator, and Christ
was always held forth to the holy fathers under the law as the object of
their faith.

It deeply concerns us that He who was to become our Mediator should be
very God and very man. The work to be by Him performed was of no common
description, being to restore us to the divine favour so as to make us
sons of God and heirs of the heavenly kingdom. In Him the divinity was
so conjoined with the humanity that the entire properties of each nature
remained entire, and yet the two natures constitute only one Christ.
Everything needful for us exists in Christ.

When we see that the whole sum of our salvation, and every single part
of it, are comprehended in Christ, we must beware of deriving even the
minutest part of it from any other quarter. If we seek salvation, we are
taught by the very name of Jesus that He possesses it; if we seek any
other gifts of the Spirit, we shall find them in His unction; strength
in His permanent government; purity in His conception; indulgence in His
nativity, in which He was made like us in all respects, in order that He
might learn to sympathise with us; if we seek redemption we shall find
it in His passion; acquittal in His condemnation; remission of the curse
in His cross; satisfaction in His sacrifice; purification in His blood;
reconciliation in His descent into hell; mortification of the flesh in
His sepulchre; newness of life in His resurrection; immortality also in
His resurrection; the inheritance of a celestial kingdom in His entrance
into heaven; protection, security, and the abundant supply of all
blessings, in His kingdom; secure anticipation of judgment in the power
of judging committed to Him. In fine, since in Him blessings are
treasured up, let us draw a full supply from Him, and none from another
quarter.


_III.--THE MERIT OF CHRIST AS OUR SAVIOUR_


It may be proved both from reason and from Scripture that the grace of
God and the merit of Christ (the Prince and Author of our salvation) are
perfectly compatible. Christ is not only the minister, but also the
cause of our salvation, and divine grace is not obscured by this
expression. Christ, by His obedience, truly merited this divine grace
for us, which was obtained by the shedding of His blood, and His
obedience even unto death, whereby He paid our ransom.

It is by the secret operation of the Holy Spirit that we enjoy Christ
and all His benefits. In Christ the Mediator the gifts of the Holy
Spirit are to be seen in all their fulness. As salvation is perfected in
the person of Christ, so, in order to make us partakers of it, He
"baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire," enlightening us into
the faith of His Gospel, and so regenerating us to be new creatures.
Thus cleansed from all pollution, He dedicates us as holy temples to the
Lord.

But here it is proper to consider the nature of faith. The true
knowledge of Christ consists in receiving Him as He is offered by the
Father, namely, as invested with His Gospel. There is an inseparable
relation between faith and the Word, and these can no more be
disconnected from each other than rays of light from the sun. John
points to this fountain of faith thus: "To-day, if ye will hear His
voice," to "hear" being uniformly taken for to "believe." Take away the
Word and no faith will remain. Hence Paul designates faith as the
obedience which is given to the Gospel.

The mere assent of the intellect to the Word is, according to some, the
faith insisted on in Scripture, but this is a mere fiction. Such as thus
define faith do not duly ponder the saying of Paul, "With the heart man
believeth unto righteousness." Assent itself is more a matter of the
heart than the head, of the affection than the intellect.


_IV.--OF REPENTANCE_


Repentance follows faith and is produced by it. In the conversion of the
life to God we require a transformation not only in external works, but
in the soul itself, which is able only after it has put off its old
habits to bring forth fruits conformable to its renovation. Repentance
proceeds from a sincere fear of God, and it consists of two parts, the
mortification of the flesh and the quickening of the spirit. Both of
these we obtain by union with Christ. If we are partakers in His
resurrection we are raised up by means of it to newness of life, which
conforms us to the righteousness of God. In one word, then, by
repentance I understand regeneration, the only aim of which is to form
us anew in the image of God, which was sullied and all but effaced by
the transgression of Adam.

The apostle, in his description of repentance (2 Corinthians vii. 2),
enumerates seven causes, effects, or parts belonging to it. These are
carefulness, excuse, indignation, fear, desire, zeal, revenge. I stop
not to consider whether these are causes or effects; both views may be
maintained. The penitent will be careful not in future to offend God; in
his excuses he will trust, not to his own apologies, but to Christ's
intercession; his indignation will be directed against his own
iniquities; his fear will be lest he cause God displeasure; his desire
is equivalent to alacrity in duty; zeal will follow; and revenge will be
practised in the censure passed on his own sins.


_V.--OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH_


A man is said to be justified in the sight of God when, in the judgment
of God, he is deemed righteous, and is accepted on account of his
righteousness. So we interpret justification as the acceptance with
which God receives us into His favour as if we were righteous; and we
say that this justification consists in the forgiveness of sins and the
imputation of the righteousness to Christ. Since many imagine a
righteousness compounded of faith and works, let it be noted that there
is so wide a difference between justification by faith and by works that
one necessarily overthrows the other. If we destroy the righteousness by
faith by establishing our own righteousness, then, in order to obtain
His righteousness, our own must be entirely abandoned. The Gospel
differs from the law in this, that it entirely places justification in
the mercy of God and does not confine it to works. It is entirely by the
intervention of Christ's righteousness that we obtain justification
before God.

The doctrine of Christian liberty is founded on this justification by
faith. This liberty consists of three parts. First, believers renouncing
the righteousness of the law look only to Christ. Secondly, the
conscience, freed from the yoke of the law, voluntarily obeys the will
of God. This cannot be done under the dominion of the law. Thirdly,
under the Gospel we are free to use things indifferent. The consciences
of believers, while seeking the assurance of their justification before
God, must rise above the law, and think no more of obtaining
justification by it. Our consciences being free from the yoke of the law
itself, voluntarily obey the will of God.


_VI.--ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION_


Ignorance of the doctrine of election and predestination impairs the
glory of God and fosters pride. The covenant of life is not preached
equally to all, and among those to whom it is preached does not always
meet with the same reception. The reason of this discrimination belongs
to the secret thing of God. This doctrine is cavilled at; yet when we
see one nation preferred to another, shall we plead against God for
having chosen to give such a manifestation of His mercy? God has
displayed His grace in special forms. Thus of the family of Abraham He
rejected some, and kept others within His Church, showing that He
retained them among His sons.

Although the election of God is secret, it is made manifest by effectual
calling. Both election and effectual calling are founded on the free
mercy of God Calling is proved to be according to the free grace of God
by the declarations of Scripture, by the mode in which it is dispensed,
by the instance of Abraham's vocation, by the testimony of John, and by
the example of all those who have been called. There are two species of
calling. There is a universal call by which God, through the preaching
of His Word, invites all men alike. Besides this, there is a special
call, which, for the most part, God bestows on believers only, when by
the internal illumination of His Spirit he causes the Gospel to take
deep root in their hearts.

       *       *       *       *       *



SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE


AIDS TO REFLECTION


     This famous book, of which the full title is "Aids to
     Reflection in the Formation of a Manly Character on the
     several Grounds of Prudence, Morality, and Religion," was
     published in 1825, nine years before the author's death. Its
     influence on thoughtful minds was very great, and many of the
     first divines of that period owed to it their profoundest
     religious ideas. It has been said that the fame of Coleridge
     (see LIVES AND LETTERS) as a philosophic thinker is not so
     great as it was during the twenty years immediately after his
     death; but one imagines that this statement merely means that
     not so many people now read Coleridge as did fifty years ago.
     The book, at any rate, has not yet been written which exposes
     a fallacy in his argument or demolishes his system. It should
     be remembered that this poet and searching thinker, to whom
     men like Wordsworth and Haslitt listened with reverence, was
     for some time in his life a Unitarian, and won to faith in the
     divinity of Christ by the use of his reason.


_I.--INTRODUCTORY APHORISMS_


It is the most useful prerogative of genius to rescue truths from the
neglect caused by the very circumstance of their universal admission.
Truths, of all others the most awful and interesting, are too often
considered as so true that they lose the power of truth, and lie
bedridden in the dormitory of the soul.

There is one sure way of giving freshness and importance to the most
commonplace maxims--that of _reflecting_ on them in direct reference to
our own state and conduct, to our own past and future being. A
reflecting mind, says an ancient writer, is the spring and source of
every good thing. As a man without forethought scarce deserves the name
of man, so forethought without reflection is but a metaphorical phrase
for the instinct of a beast.

In order to learn, we must attend; in order to profit by what we have
learnt, we must think; he only thinks who reflects.

To assign a feeling and a determination of their will as a satisfactory
reason for embracing or rejecting an opinion is the habit of many
educated people; to me, this seems little less irrational than to apply
the nose to a picture, and to decide on its genuineness by the sense of
smell.

In attention we keep the mind passive; in thought we rouse it into
activity.

An hour of solitude passed in sincere and earnest prayer, or the
conflict with and conquest over a single passion or "subtle bosom sin,"
will teach us more of thought, will more effectually awaken the faculty,
and form the habit of reflection, than will a year's study in the
schools without them.

Never yet did there exist a full faith in the Divine Word which did not
expand the intellect, while it purified the heart; which did not
multiply the aims and objects of the understanding, while it fixed and
simplified those of the desires and passions. "Give me understanding,"
says David, "and I shall observe Thy laws with my whole heart."

It is worthy of especial observation that the Scriptures are
distinguished from all other writings pretending to inspiration, by the
strong and frequent recommendations of knowledge and a spirit of
inquiry. The word "rational" has been strongly abused of late times.
This must not, however, disincline us to the weighty consideration that
thoughtfulness and a desire to rest all our convictions on grounds of
right reasoning, are inseparable from the character of a Christian. He
who begins by loving Christianity better than truth will proceed by
loving his own sect and church better than Christianity, and end in
loving himself best of all.


_II.--REFLECTIONS RESPECTING MORALITY_


Sensibility, that is a constitutional quickness, of sympathy with pain
and pleasure, is not to be confounded with the moral principle.
Sensibility is not even a sure pledge of a good heart. How many are
prompted to remove those evils alone, which by hideous spectacle or
clamorous outcry are present to their senses and disturb their selfish
enjoyments? Provided the dunghill is not before their parlour window,
they are well contented to know that it exists, and perhaps is the
hotbed on which their own luxuries are reared. Sensibility is not
necessarily benevolence.

All the evil of the materialists is inconsiderable besides the mischief
effected and occasioned by the sentimental philosophy of Sterne and his
numerous imitators. The vilest appetites and the most remorseless
inconstancy towards their objects, acquired the titles of the "heart,"
"the irresistible feelings," "the too-tender sensibility"; and if the
frosts of prudence, the icy chain of human law, thawed and vanished at
the genial warmth of human nature, who could help it? It was an amiable
weakness! At this time the profanation of the word "love" rose to its
height; the muse of science condescended to seek admission at the
saloons of fashion and frivolity, rouged like a harlot and with the
harlot's wanton leer. I know not how the annals of guilt could be better
forced into the service of virtue than by such a comment on the present
paragraph as would be afforded by sentimental correspondence produced in
courts of justice, fairly translated into the true meaning of the words,
and the actual object and purpose of the infamous writers.

Do you in good earnest aim at dignity of character? I conjure you, turn
away from those who live in the twilight between vice and virtue. Are
not reason, discrimination, law, and deliberate choice the
distinguishing characters of humanity? Can anything manly proceed from
those who for law and light would substitute shapeless feelings,
sentiments, impulses, which, as far as they differ from the vital
workings in the brute animals, owe the difference to their former
connection with the proper virtues of humanity? Remember that love
itself, in its highest earthly bearing, as the ground of the marriage
union, becomes love by an inward fiat of the will, by a completing and
sealing act of moral election, and lays claim to permanence only under
the form of duty.

All things strive to ascend, and ascend in the striving. While you
labour for anything below your proper humanity, you seek a happy life in
the region of death.

    Unless above himself he can
    Erect himself, how mean a thing is man!


_III.--PRUDENTIAL APHORISMS_


With respect to any final aim or end, the greater part of mankind live
at hazard. They have no certain harbour in view, nor direct their course
by any fixed star. But to him that knoweth not the port to which he is
bound, no wind can be favourable; neither can he who has not yet
determined at what mark he is to shoot, direct his arrow aright.

It is not, however, the less true that there is a proper object to aim
at; and if this object be meant by the term happiness, the perfection of
which consists in the exclusion of all hap [_i.e.,_ chance], I assert
that there is such a thing as _summum bonum_, or ultimate good. What
this is, the Bible alone shows certainly, and points out the way. "In
Cicero and Plato," says Augustine, "I meet with many things acutely
said, and things that excite a certain warmth of emotion, but in none of
them do I find these words, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest!'"

In the works of Christian and pagan moralists, it is declared that
virtue is the only happiness of this life. You cannot become better, but
you will become happier; you cannot become worse without an increase of
misery. Few men are so reprobate as not to have some lucid moments, and
in such moments few can stand up unshaken against the appeal of their
own experience. What have been the wages of sin? What has the devil done
for you?

Though prudence in itself is neither virtue nor holiness, yet without
prudence neither virtue nor holiness can exist.

Art thou under the tyranny of sin, a slave to vicious habits, at enmity
with God, a fugitive from thy own conscience? Oh, how idle the disputes
whether the listening to the dictates of prudence from self-interested
motives be virtue, when the _not_ listening is guilt, misery, madness,
and despair! The most Christian-like pity thou canst show is to take
pity on thy own soul. The best service thou canst render is to show
mercy to thyself.


_IV.--APHORISMS ON SPIRITUAL RELIGION_


If there be aught spiritual in man, the will must be such. If there be a
will, there must be spirituality in man.

There is more in man than can be rationally referred to the life of
Nature and the mechanism of organisation. He has a will not included in
his mechanism; the will is, in an especial sense, the spiritual part of
our humanity.

I assume a something, the proof of which no man can _give_ to another,
yet every man may find for himself. If any man say that he cannot find
it, I am bound to disbelieve him. I cannot do otherwise without
unsettling the foundations of my own moral nature. If he will not find
it, he excommunicates himself, forfeits his personal rights, and becomes
a thing--_i.e.,_ one who may be used against his will and without regard
to his interest. If the materialist use the words "right" and
"obligation," he does it deceptively, and means only compulsion and
power. To overthrow faith in aught higher than nature and physical
necessity is the very purpose of his argument. But he cannot be ignorant
that the best and greatest of men have devoted their lives to enforce
the contrary; and there is not a language in which he could argue for
ten minutes in support of his scheme without sliding into phrases that
imply the contrary.

The Christian grounds his philosophy on assertions which have nothing in
them of theory or hypothesis; they are in immediate reference to three
ultimate facts--namely, the reality of the law of conscience; the
existence of a responsible will as the subject of the law; and lastly,
the existence of evil--of evil essentially such, not by accident of
circumstances, not derived from physical consequences, nor from any
cause out of itself. The first is a fact of consciousness, the second a
fact of reason necessarily concluded from the first, and the third a
fact of history interpreted by both.

I maintain that a will conceived separately from intelligence is a
non-entity, and that a will the state of which does in no sense
originate in its own act is a contradiction. It might be an instinct, an
impulse, and, if accompanied with consciousness, a desire; but a will it
could not be. And this every human being knows with equal clearness,
though different minds may reflect on it with different degrees of
distinctness; for who would not smile at the notion of a rose willing to
put forth its buds and expand them into flowers?

I deem it impious and absurd to hold that the Creator would have given
us the faculty of reason, or that the Redeemer would in so many varied
forms of argument and persuasion have appealed to it, if it had been
useless or impotent. I believe that the imperfect human understanding
can be effectually exerted only in subordination to, and in a dependent
alliance with, the means and aidances supplied by the supreme reason.

Christianity is not a theory, or a speculation, but a life. Not a
philosophy of life, but life, and a living process. It has been eighteen
hundred years in existence.

The practical inquirer has his foot on the rock when he knows that
whoever needs not a Redeemer is more than human. Remove from him the
difficulties that perplex his belief in a crucified Saviour, convince
him of the reality of sin, and then satisfy him as to the fact
historically, and as to the truth spiritually, of a redemption therefrom
by Christ. Do this for him, and there is little fear that he will let
either logical quirks or metaphysical puzzles contravene the plain
dictate of his commonsense, that the Sinless One that redeemed mankind
from sin must have been more than man, and that He who brought light and
immortality into the world could not in His own nature have been an
inheritor of death and darkness.

A moral evil is an evil that has its origin in a will. An evil common to
all must have a ground common to all. Now, this evil ground cannot
originate in the Divine will; it must, therefore, be referred to the
will of man. And this evil ground we call original sin. It is a
mystery--that is, a fact which we see, but cannot explain; and the
doctrine a truth which we apprehend, but can neither comprehend nor
communicate.

The article on original sin is binding on the Christian only as showing
the antecedent ground and occasion of Christianity, which is the edifice
raised on this ground. The two great moments of the Christian religion
are, original sin and redemption; _that_ the ground, _this_ the
superstructure of our faith. Christianity and redemption are equivalent
terms.

The agent and personal cause of the redemption of mankind is--the
co-eternal word and only begotten Son of the living God. The causation
act is--a spiritual and transcendent mystery, "that passeth all
understanding." The effect caused is--the being born anew, as before in
the flesh to the world, so now born in the spirit to Christ.

Now, albeit the causative act is a transcendent mystery, the fact, or
actual truth, of it having been assured to us by revelation, it is not
impossible, by steadfast meditation on the idea and supernatural
character of a personal will, for a mind spiritually disciplined to
satisfy itself that the redemptive act supposes an agent who can at once
act on the will as an exciting cause, and in the will, as the condition
of its potential, and the ground of its actual, being.

The frequent, not to say ordinary, disproportion between moral worth and
worldly prosperity has at all times led the observant and reflecting few
to a nicer consideration of the current belief, whether instinctive or
traditional. By forcing the soul in upon herself, this enigma of saint
and sage, from Job, David, and Solomon to Claudian and Boëtius, this
perplexing disparity of success and desert, has been the occasion of a
steadier and more distinct consciousness of a something in man,
different in kind, which distinguishes and contra-distinguishes him from
animals--at the same time that it has brought into closer view an enigma
of yet harder solution--the fact, I mean, of a contradiction in the
human being, of which no traces are observable elsewhere, in animated or
inanimate nature.

A struggle of jarring impulses; a mysterious division between the
injunctions of the mind and the elections of the will; and the utter
incommensurateness and the unsatisfying qualities of the things around
us, that yet are the only objects which our senses discover or our
appetites require us to pursue; these facts suggest that the riddle of
fortune and circumstance is but a form of the riddle of man, and that
the solution of both problems lies in the acknowledgement that the soul
of man, as the subject of mind and will, possesses a principle of
permanence and is destined to endure.

Evidences of Christianity! I am weary of the word. Make a man feel the
want of it; rouse him, if you can, to the self-knowledge of his need of
it; and you may safely trust it to its own evidence--remembering only
the express declaration of Christ himself, "No man cometh to Me, unless
the Father leadeth him."

Christ's awful recalling of the drowsed soul from the dreams and phantom
world of sensuality to actual reality--how has it been evaded! His word,
that was spirit! His mysteries, which even the apostles must wait for
the parable in order to comprehend! These spiritual things, which can
only be spiritually discerned, were--say some--mere metaphors! Figures
of speech! Oriental hyperboles! "All this means only morality!" Ah! how
far nearer the truth to say that morality means all this!


       *       *       *       *       *



CONFUCIANISM


THE LUN YU, OR SAYINGS OF CONFUCIUS


     The so-called "Four Books" of Chinese literature are held in
     less esteem than the "Five Kings," or "Primary Classics," but
     they are still studied first by every Chinaman as a
     preparation for what is regarded as the higher and more
     important literature. It should be borne in mind that the four
     "Shus," as these books are called, tell us much more about the
     actual teaching and history of Confucius. The four books are:
     (i) The "Lun Yu," or the "Analects of Confucius," which
     contain chiefly the sayings and conversations of Confucius,
     and give, ostensibly in his own words, his teaching, and, in a
     subordinate degree, that of his principal disciples; (2) the
     "Ta-Hsio," or "Teaching for Adults," rendered also the "Great
     Learning," a treatise dealing with ethical and especially with
     political matters, forming Book 39 of the "Li-Ki," or "Book of
     Rites," the "Fourth Classic," (3) the "Chung Yung," or
     "Doctrine of the Mean," more correctly the State of
     Equilibrium or harmony, forming Book 28 of the "Li-Ki"; and
     (4) "Meng-tse," Latinised "Mencius," that is, the
     conversations and opinions of Mencius. The first, the "Lun
     Yu," or "Analects," is the most important of these, the next
     in importance being the teaching of Mencius. The book to which
     we are most indebted in the preparation of the following
     epitomes is "The Chinese Classics," edited by Dr. J. Legge.
     Other books are "The Sayings of Confucius," translated by S.A.
     Lyall; "Chinese Literature," by H.A. Giles; and "The Wisdom of
     Confucius," by G. Dimsdale Stacker.


_INTRODUCTORY_


The original of the Chinese title of the "Lun Yu" is literally
"Discourses and Dialogues." By Legge and most British Chinese scholars
this work is called "The Confucian Analects," the word "analect"
denoting things chosen, in the present case from the utterances of the
master.

The "Lun Yu" is arranged in twenty chapters or books, and gives,
ostensibly in his own words, the teaching of Confucius and that of his
leading disciples. It is here that we learn nearly all that we know
about Confucius. Since the work was composed, as we have it, within a
century of the master's death, there seems good reason for believing
that we have here a _bona-fide_ record of what he thought and said. We
may compare with the "Lun Yu" the Christian Gospels which profess to
give the doctrines and sayings of Jesus, and also the traditional
utterances of Mohammed edited by Al-Bokhari, who died in 870 A.D. The
utterances which follow are by the master (Confucius) himself, unless it
is otherwise stated. Other speakers are generally disciples of
Confucius.


_GENERAL MAXIMS_


I care little who makes a nation's laws if I have the making of its
ballads.

The young child ought to be obedient at home, modest from home,
attentive, faithful, full of benevolence, spending spare time mostly
upon poetry, music, and deportment.

A son ought to study his father's wishes as long as the father lives;
and after the father is dead he should study his life, and respect his
memory.

A man who is fond of learning is not a glutton, nor is he indolent; he
is earnest and sincere in what he says and does, seeks the company of
the good, and profits by it.

At fifteen my whole mind was on study. At thirty I was able to stand
alone. At forty my speculative doubts came to an end. At fifty I
understood Heaven's laws. At sixty my passions responded to higher
instincts. At seventy my better nature ruled me altogether.

Mere study without thought is useless, but thought without study is
dangerous.

Fine words and attractive appearances are seldom associated with true
goodness.

If a man keeps cultivating his old knowledge and be ever adding to it
new, that man is fit to be a teacher of others.

The superior man is broad-minded, and no partisan. The mean man is
biased and narrow.

Tze-chang studied with a view to official promotion. The master said,
"This is wrong," adding, "Thou shouldest listen much, keep silent when
there is doubt, and guard thy tongue. See much, beware of dangers, and
walk warily. Then shalt thou have little cause for repentance."

I do not know how a man can get on without truth. It is easier for a
waggon to go without a cross-pole, or a carriage to be drawn without
harness.

Neither courtesy nor music avail a man if he has not virtue and love.

Worship the dead as though they stood alive before you. Sacrifice to the
spirits as if they were in your immediate presence.

If I am not personally present when the sacrifice is being made, then I
do not sacrifice. There can be no proxy in this matter.

Tze-kung wanted to do away with the offering of a sheep at the new moon.
The master said, "Thou lovest the sheep, but I love the ceremony."

These things are not to be tolerated: Rank without generosity, ritual
without reverence, and mourning without genuine sorrow.

It is better to have virtue with want and ignominy, than wealth and
honour without virtue.

If a man in the morning learns the right way of life he may die at night
without regret.

A scholar's mind should be set on the search for truth, and he should
not be ashamed of poor clothes or of plain or even of insufficient food.

The superior man loves the good and pursues it; besides this, he has no
likes or dislikes.

The good man considers what is right; the bad man what will pay.

As long as thy parents live thou must not go far from them. But if
through necessity thou leavest them, let them know where thou art, and
be ready to come to them when needed.

The man who governs himself, restraining his passions, seldom goes
wrong.

The good man desires to be slow of speech, but active in conduct.

Virtue stands never alone. It will always make neighbours.

In my first dealings with men I listened to their words, and gave them
credit for good conduct. Experience has taught me not to listen to their
words but to watch their conduct. It was from Yu that I learned this
lesson.

I have met no man of strong and unbending will; even Chang is
passionate.

On being asked why Kung-wan was said to be cultured, the master replied,
"Because he was quick to learn, fond of learning, and especially because
he was not ashamed to ask questions of those below him." Of Tze-chang
the master said that he had four characteristics of the gentleman: he
was humble in his own life, respectful towards seniors, generous in
supplying the needs of the people, and just in all his demands of them.

Yen Yuan and Chi Lu were once sitting by the master, who turned to them
and said, "Come, I want each of you to tell me his wishes." Chi Lu said,
"I should like to have carriages and horses and light fur robes to share
with my friends that they, and I, may carelessly wear them out." Yen
Yuan said, "My wish is to make no boast of moral or intellectual
excellence." The master said, "My wish is this: to make the aged happy,
to show sincerity towards friends, and to treat young people with
tenderness and sympathy."

Nature preponderating over art begets coarseness; art preponderating
over nature begets pedantry; art and nature united make a proper
gentleman.

To men whose talents are above mediocrity we speak of superior things.
To men whose talents are below the common we must speak things suited to
their culture.

On being asked, "What is wisdom," the master replied, "To promote right
thoughts and feelings among men; to honour the spirits of the dead." In
reply to the question, "What is love?" the master answered, "Making most
of self-sacrificing efforts but of success only in a subordinate
degree."

Perfect virtue consists in keeping to the Golden Mean. He who has
offended against Heaven has no one to whom he can pray.

Men should not murmur against Heaven, for all that Heaven does is good.

The master paid great attention to three things--piety, peace, and
health.

If I have coarse rice to eat and pure water to drink, and my bent arm
for a pillow, I am content and happy. But ill-gotten riches and honour
are to me as a floating cloud.

If my life could be lengthened out by a few years, I would devote at
least fifty years to the study of the "Yi King" [Book of Changes], then
might I be purified from my sin.


_ON POETRY, HISTORY, AND PROPRIETY_


The master constantly talked about poetry, history, and the rules of
propriety.

Tze-lu, on being asked about Confucius, gave no answer. The master asked
about being present, said, "Why didst thou not say to him, 'Confucius is
a man so eager in the pursuit of knowledge that he forgets his food, so
jubilant in its attainment that he forgets his grief and grows old
without knowing it'?"

I was not born in the possession of knowledge, but I am fond of the past
and study it closely, and hence knowledge is coming to me.

My pupils, do not think that I hide anything from you. Whatever I think
and do I tell you frankly and truly. I keep no secrets from my
disciples.

The master used to teach four things: culture, morals, and manners,
piety, and faithfulness.

In knowledge and in culture I am perhaps the equal of other men. I have
not yet attained to perfection, nor are my knowledge and living
consistent.

The master once being very ill, Tze-lu asked permission to pray for him.
The master asked, "Is that customary?" "It is," replied the disciple,
"for the memorials have it, 'Pray to the spirits in heaven above and on
earth below.'" The master replied, "I have for long prayed for myself,
and that is best."

The master was dignified, yet gentle. He was majestic, but inspired no
fear. He was gentlemanly, but always at ease.

Poetry rouses the mind, the rules of propriety establish the character,
music crowns a man's education.

It would be hard to meet a man who has studied for three years without
learning something good.

Learn as though you felt you could never learn enough, and as though you
feared you could not learn in your short life what is needful for
conduct.

A man from a certain village once said, "Confucius is, no doubt, a very
learned man, but he has not made himself a name in any special thing."
When the master heard this, he said to his disciples, "What shall I
undertake: charioteering, archery, or what? I think I shall become a
charioteer, and thus get me a name."

A high officer asked Tze-kung, "May we not say that the master is a sage
because he can do so many things?" To which Tze-kung replied, "Heaven
has indeed highly endowed him, and he is almost a sage; and he is very
many-sided."

On hearing this the master said, "Does the officer know me? Being of
lowly birth when I was young, I learnt many a trade, but there was
nothing great in that. The superior man may excel in one thing only, and
not in many things."

Wishing to go and live among the nine wild tribes of the East, one of
his friends remonstrated with the master and said, "They are low. How
can you go and live among them?" To which he gave for answer, "Nothing
that is low can survive where the virtuous and the good-mannered man
is."

After I returned from Wei to Lu I found the music had been reformed, and
that each song was given its proper place.

The master said, "To serve ministers and nobles when abroad, fathers and
elder brothers when at home, to avoid neglect in offerings of the dead,
and to be no slave to wine: to which of these have I attained?"


_CONFUCIUS AT HOME AND AT COURT_


In his own village Confucius looked homely and sincere, as if he had no
word to say; but in the ancestral temple and in the court he was full of
words, though careful in using them.

When waiting at court he talked with the lower officers frankly, but to
the higher officers more blandly and precisely. When the sovereign was
present he used to be respectful but easy, solemn yet self-possessed.
When the sovereign bade him receive visitors his countenance changed,
and his legs appeared to bend. Bowing to those beside him, he
straightened his robes in front and behind, hastening forward with his
elbows extended like a bird's wings. When the guest had retired he used
to report to the prince, saying, "The guest does not any more look
back." When he entered the palace gate he seemed to stoop as though it
were not high enough for him. Ascending the dais, lifting up his robes
with both hands, he held his breath as if he would cease breathing. As
he came down his face relaxed after the first step, and looked more at
ease. At the bottom of the steps he would hurry on, spreading out his
elbows like wings, and on gaining his seat he would sit intent as
previously.

He was never arrayed in deep purple or in puce-coloured garments. Even
at home he wore nothing of a red or reddish colour. In hot weather he
used to wear a single garment of fine texture, but always over an inner
garment. Over lambs' fur he wore a garment of black, over fawns' fur one
of white, and over foxes' fur one of yellow. His sleeping-dress was half
as long again as his body. On the first day of the month he always went
to court in court robes. On fast days he wore pale-hued garments,
changed his food, and made a change in his apartment.

He liked to have his rice carefully cleaned and his minced meat chopped
small. He did not eat rice that had been injured by heat or damp or that
had turned sour, nor could he eat fish or meat which had gone. He did
not eat anything that was discoloured or that had a bad flavour, or that
was not in season. He would not eat meat badly cut, or that was served
with the wrong sauce. No choice of meats could induce him to eat more
than he thought right.

After sacrificing at the ancestral temple he would never keep the meat
there overnight, nor would he keep it more than three days at home. If
by any mishap it were kept longer, it was not eaten.

He never talked at meals, nor would he speak a word in bed. Though there
were on the table nothing but coarse rice and vegetable soup, he would
always reverently offer some of it to his ancestors. If his mat was not
straight he would not sit on it.


_ON LEARNING AND VIRTUE_


Chung-kung asked about virtue. The master said: "It consists in these
things: To treat those outside thine own home as if thou wert welcoming
a great guest; to treat the people as if thou wert assisting at a high
sacrifice; not to do to others what thou wouldest not have them do to
thee; to encourage no wrongs in the state nor any in the home."

The master being once asked "Who is the virtuous man?" answered, "One
that has neither anxiety nor fear, for he finds no evil in his heart.
What, then, is there to cause anxiety or fear?"

The master, on being once asked by one of his disciples "On what does
the art of government depend?" answered, "Sufficient food, troops, and a
loyal people." "If, however," the same disciple asked, "one of them had
to be dispensed with, which of the three could we best spare?" "Troops,"
said the master. "And which," the disciple then asked, "of the other two
could be better spared?" "Food," said the master.

Tze-chang asked the master, "When may a scholar or an officer be called
eminent?" The master asked, "What dost thou mean by being eminent?" To
which the other answered, "To be famous throughout the state and
throughout his clan." "But that," said the master, "is fame, not
eminence. The truly eminent man is genuine and straightforward; he loves
righteousness, weighs people's words, and looks at their countenances.
He humbles himself to others, and is sincerely desirous of helping all.
That is the, eminent man, though he may not be a famous one."

If a ruler can govern himself, he is likely to be able to govern his
people. But how can a man who has not control of himself keep his people
in subjection?

Tze-kung asked, "Is it proper that a man should be liked by all his
neighbours?" "Certainly not," said the master. "Is it then proper,"
asked the same, "that a man should be hated by all his neighbours?"
"Decidedly not," said the master. "The good man is loved by his good
neighbours, and hated by his bad ones."

The virtuous man is hard to satisfy, but easy to serve. Nothing that
thou doest to please him satisfies him unless it is strictly according
to right. But in all his demands upon his servants he expects according
to capacity, and is satisfied if the servant does his best, though it be
little. The bad man is easy to satisfy, but hard to serve. He is
satisfied with whatever pleases him, though it be not right; and he
demands of his servants whatever he requires, making no allowance for
capacity.

A scholar whose mind is set upon comfort is not worthy of the name.

"Where there's a will," said the master, "there's a way."

To refrain from speaking to a man who is disposed to hear is to wrong
the man; to speak to a man not disposed to listen is to waste words.

"How can one in brief express man's whole duty?"

"Is not reciprocity such a word?" said the master; "that is, what thou
dost not want others to do to thee, do thou not to others."

There are three things which the virtuous man has to guard against. In
youth, lust; in full manhood, strife; and in old age, covetousness.

The highest class of men are those who are born wise; the next those who
become wise by study; next and third, those who learn much, without
having much natural ability. The lowest class of people are those who
have neither natural ability nor perseverance. Men are very similar at
birth; it is afterwards the great differences arise.

It is only the wisest and the silliest of men who never alter their
opinions.

"My children," said the master once to his disciples, "Why do you not
study the Book of Poetry [the Shih King]? It would stimulate your mind,
encourage introspection, teach you to love your fellows, and to forbear
with all. It would show you your duty to your fathers and your king; and
you would also learn from it the names of many birds and beasts and
plants and trees."


TA-HSIO, OR TEACHING FOR ADULTS


_INTRODUCTORY_


The "Ta-Hsio," or "Teaching for Adults," rendered also "The Great
Learning," is really a treatise dealing with ethical, and especially
with political, matters, the duties of rulers, ministers, etc. It is
usually ascribed in part to "the master" himself, and in part to Tseng
Tsan, one of the most illustrious of his disciples. This forms Book 39
of the "Li Ki," or "Book of Rites," and it is admitted by the best
scholars to be a genuine specimen of the teaching of Confucius, though
no one believes that "the master" is the author of the book as it now
stands. The likeliest suggestion as to authorship is that which ascribes
the present treatise, and also the "Chung Yung" (No. 28 of the "Li Ki")
to Khung Chi, the grandson of Confucius.

The great Chinese philosopher Chang said of this book: "'The teaching
for Adults' is a book belonging to the Confucian school, forming the
gate through which youthful students enter the great temple of virtue.
We should not have been able to ascertain the methods of learning
pursued by the ancients if this book and the works of Mencius had not
been preserved. Beginners ought to start their studies with this book,
and then pass on to the harder books, after which the Five Classics
should be read and pondered over."

The object of the "Ta-Hsio" is to illustrate outstanding virtue, to
promote love of the people and their improvement in morals and manners.
In order that these results may be obtained, this treatise must be
patiently calmly, and thoughtfully studied.


_HOW THE EMPIRE IS TO BE IMPROVED_


The ancients, wishing to make their empire perfect, first endeavoured to
make their states perfect. For this last purpose they exerted themselves
to improve their famines, and to this end they took great pains to
improve their personal character. In order to improve their personal
character, they endeavoured to purify their hearts and to make their
thoughts sincere.

From the Son of Heaven [the Emperor] to the masses of the people, the
cultivation of personal character was regarded as the root of all
amelioration. To know this has been called knowing the "root," which is
the perfection of knowledge.

On Thang's bathing-tub these words were inscribed:

"Renovate thyself day by day, yea, every day renovate thyself." At the
opening of his reign, Thang was exhorted to renovate his people.

In the Book of Poetry it is said that although Kau was an ancient state,
yet it regarded Heaven's commands as ever new. In the same book we read
that the thoughts of the Emperor Wan were deep, and his conduct firm. In
all his relationships he was reverent and true. As a sovereign he was
benevolent; as a minister respectful; as a son he exhibited filial
piety; as a father he was kind and considerate; towards his subjects he
was steadfastly faithful. This virtuous and accomplished sovereign, Wan,
took great pains to sharpen his intellect and to make his heart more
sensitive to all obligations. How majestic, how glorious was he; he
shall ever be remembered by his grateful people at the ancestral shrine.

"The cultivation of personal character depends upon the regulation of
the mind." What does this mean? If a man's passions are not kept under
control, he will form wrong judgments about actions and never have a
well-balanced mind. Therefore must man regulate his mind in order to
cultivate himself. "The government of the family depends upon the
cultivation of personal character." What does this mean? Where there is
affection, judgment is distorted. We see the good qualities of those we
love, but are blind to the bad ones. We see the bad qualities of those
we hate, but are blind to the good ones. In order to be able to govern a
family rightly, we must train our minds to judge fairly and impartially
of those nearest to us--_i.e.,_ it requires careful self-training to be
able to train a family.

"We must be able to govern the family before we can rule a state." What
means this? If a man fails to teach the members of his own family to be
obedient and loyal to their head, how can he train a nation to be
united, obedient, and loyal?

Yas and Shun ruled with love, and the people became loving. Kieh and Kau
ruled with violence, and the people became violent. The sovereign must
have and exhibit the same qualities that he wishes his subjects to
cultivate. Nor has he the right to expect his people to be free from bad
qualities which are in himself. The ruler must himself be what he wants
his people to be. Thus it is that the government of the state rests upon
the proper government of the family.

"That the empire should have peace and prosperity depends upon the
government of the constituting states." What does this mean?

When ruler and ministers treat their aged ones as they ought to, the
inhabitants in general become filial. Similarly, the inhabitants learn
to show respect towards their seniors and sympathy towards the young
when their superiors set them the right example in these matters. No man
should treat his inferiors as he would not like his superiors to treat
him. What he disapproves of in his inferiors, let him not exhibit in his
dealings towards his superiors.

In the Book of Poetry it is written, "The parents of the people are much
to be congratulated. A sovereign whose loves and hates correspond with
those of his people is his people's father." To gain the people is to
gain the state; therefore a ruler's primary concern should be his own
integrity, for thereby he wins his people's loyalty, and through that
loyalty he obtains the state, and therewith the wealth of the whole
country.

Virtue is the root, wealth but the branches. See first, therefore, to
the root.

In the Records of Khu one reads, "The State of Khu values men, not gems
nor robes."

A country is wealthy if it consumes less than it produces, and that man
is rich whose income exceeds his expenditure.

The virtuous ruler gathers wealth on account of the reputation it can
bring him. The wicked ruler seeks wealth for its own sake, sacrificing
even virtue to obtain it.

A benevolent sovereign makes a just people. When the people are just the
affairs of the sovereign prosper. The state's prosperity consists in
righteousness, not in riches.


CHUNG YUNG, OR DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN


_INTRODUCTORY_


The "Chung Yung" is more correctly rendered "The state of equilibrium
and harmony" (Legge, etc.) than by "The Doctrine of the Mean," its usual
appellation. Other titles suggested have been "The Just Mean," "The True
Mean," "The Golden Mean," and "The Constant Mean." The word "chung"
means "middle," "yung" denoting "course" or "way." Hence, "Chung Yung"
means literally, "The middle way." Compare Aristotle's doctrine of The
Mean ("Ethics" Book II.).

This treatise occurs as Book 28 of the "Li-Ki" and by Chinese scholars
has been declared to be the most valuable part of the Book of Rites. We
have here the fullest account existing of the philosophy and ethics of
the master. Apart from its value as such, the "Chung Yung" is
exceedingly interesting as a monument of the teaching of the ancient
Chinese. In its existing form the "Chung Yung" is arranged in five
divisions, containing, in all, thirty-three chapters. No attempt is made
in the epitomes that follow to retain these divisions and chapters. For
the authorship and date of this third book see what is said in the
introduction to the "Ta-Hsio."


_THE GOOD MAN'S PATH_


The sense of obligation has been implanted in man by Heaven. The path of
duty is a life in accordance with this heaven-implanted intuition. Every
man ought always to tread this path; the true doctrine teaches how this
is to be accomplished. The good man will ever be on his guard lest he
depart a hair's breadth from the right way.

The mental state of equilibrium is reached when a man is free from the
distracting influences of anger and goodwill, joy and sorrow. When these
emotions exist in due proportion and extent the state of harmony is
attained. From the first proceed all great human enterprises. The state
of harmony is the path along which all good men will go. When the states
of equilibrium and harmony exist in their fulness gods and men receive
their dues, and there is prosperity and happiness.

Kung-ni[8] said, "The virtuous man embodies in himself the states of
equilibrium and harmony, but the low man knows neither of these states."
This perfect condition of human character in which there is complete
equilibrium and harmony is reached but by few. Why is this so? It is
because those who are wise consider these ideal states too commonplace,
and they aim at things which the world values more highly. The low man,
on the other hand, grovels in the dust and never rises to higher
thoughts or nobler aims. Men could, if they would, distinguish the
worthy from the unworthy, just as with a healthy palate they can tell
good food from bad. But men's moral discernment has been blunted by a
life of sensuality and sin, just as the physical palate loses its power
of tasting when in a diseased condition.

In order to find out the Mean, our Father Shun, of blessed memory, used
to question the people[9] and study their answers, even the shallow
ones. He used to encourage them to speak out by seeming to value the
poorest answers. He would take the extremest sayings he heard, and from
them deduce the Mean.

It is hard to keep in the middle way: men rule kingdoms and accept
honours and emoluments who have yet signally failed to govern themselves
by the rules of the Mean.

The good man's ambition is not to perform feats which startle the world
and give him fame, but rather to live the life of the moderate and
harmonious one; yet how often for lack of true discernment he fails!
This middle path is not, however, hidden from the sincere and pure; even
common men and women may know it, though in its highest reaches it
baffles the wisest. The greatest and the wisest and the best find lodged
within them unrealised ideals. Whoever strenuously aims at realising
these ideals, though he fails, is near the right path.

"The good man has four difficulties," said the master, "and I have not
myself been able to overcome them. (1) To serve my father as I should
like my son to serve me. (2) To serve my ruler as I should like him to
serve me were I his ruler. (3) To serve an elder brother as I should
like him to serve me were he my younger brother. (4) To act towards a
friend as I should like him to act towards me were our relations
reversed."[10]

The good man suits his conduct to his station in life. If he has wealth
and high office he acts becomingly, never treating his inferiors with
harshness or contempt. If he be poor and unrecognised, he never murmurs
against heaven, or pines over his lot, or cringes before superiors, or
does anything immoral for applause or gain. The virtuous man accepts
heaven's allotments thankfully and uncomplainingly.

In order to attain to the middle path we must carefully perform the
duties which lie nearest to us, not waiting to do great things. In the
Book of Poetry we read of the love of wife, of children, and brothers.
Cultivate this love on the home hearth, and thy charity will expand and
take in mankind. [Note how charity, though beginning at home, travels
far afield.]

Shun displayed his filial piety on a huge scale, and brought great
honour to his parents and to himself. No wonder that such filial piety
as his was rewarded with dominion, wealth, and fame. It is well said in
the Book of Poetry, "The good man receives Heaven's benediction."

The Emperor Wan was the only man with no cause for grief, his father
being the admirable Ki, and his son the equally admirable Wu. The father
laid the foundation of all this excellence, the son transmitting it to
his own son. The Emperor Wu retained the honour and distinction of his
forebears Thai, Kai, and Wan. He had the dignity of the true Son of
Heaven, and owned all within the Four Seas.[11] He sacrificed regularly
in the ancestral temple, and after death his successors sacrificed to
him. The Duke of Kau continued the glorious traditions handed on by Wu.
Both these great rulers realised the aspirations and wishes of their
forefathers, restoring and improving the ancestral temple, renovating
the sacred vessels and offering sacrifices suited to each year. In other
ways also they perpetuated the good deeds of their ancestors, observed
their religious rites, encouraged the study of music and poetry,
honoured the honourable, and loved the lovable. They showed due respect
to their departed ones, and thus discharged their duty to the living and
the dead.


THE WORKS OF MENCIUS

_INTRODUCTORY_


Mencius is the Latinised form of "Mengtse," which means "the philosopher
Meng," Meng (or Meng-sun) being the name of one of the three great
Houses of Lu, whose usurpations gave so much offence to Confucius. His
personal name was Ko, though this does not occur in his own works. He
was born in B.C. 372, and died in B.C. 289 at the age of 83, in the
twenty-sixth year of the Emperor Nan, with whom ended the long
sovereignty of Kau (Chow) dynasty. He was thus a contemporary of Plato
(whose last twenty-three years synchronised with his first
twenty-three), Aristotle, Zeno, Epicurus, and Demosthenes, and he is
well worthy of being ranked with these illustrious men.

Mencius was reared by his widowed mother, whose virtue and wisdom are
still proverbial in China. The first forty years of his life are
virtually a blank to us, so that we know very little of his early
ed

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