1 I J i o*vi^ k<, wte" l^woM^ ^ ' ' '- loio / A- ^^^r^ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND THE IDOLATRY OF CEYLON. BY R. SPENCE HARDY, WESLEYAN MISSIONARY. LONDON: CROFTS AND BLENKARN, 19, CHANCERY LANE ; AND SOLD BY J. MASON, 66, AND J. SNOW, 35, PATERNOSTER ROW ; ALSO BY H. BELLERBY, YORK. isii. /?- /60SI-nii> G. Palmer, Printer, 4, Robert-street, Bedford-row, London. ' i THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT No person can visit the town of Kandy, the capital of the in- terior provinces of Ceylon, without being instantly struck by the proud attitude here assumed by idolatry ; the principal temple being guarded at night, the period at which it is most usually visited, by a soldier wearing the uniform of our most gracious Queen ; and the roll of the tomtom being heard at all hours, from the moment that the morning gun announces the approach of day, until the echo of its evening report has died away amid the gathering darkness of the night : and a residence in any part of the interior, cannot fail to present a continued series of similar facts, most distressing to the mind of the thoughtful Christian. In calling the attention of the church to this topic, I am deeply impressed with the importance of the task I have under- taken, and I approach it under the impression that it is by far the most momentous question I have yet agitated, though I have recently endeavoured to direct the attention of the public to various subjects connected with the best interests of the island, in the pages of the " Friend."* Never indeed did I feel more keenly the necessity of that greatness of soul, which has frequently been manifested on kindred occasions, when, with an energy like that of the resistless torrent, the truth has swept away at once the corruptions it has assailed, bearing itself in majesty until its work was done, then changing into the gentle stream that cheers and refreshes all it can reach, and having no further hostility to the object of its attack, than to exhibit * A Periodical published monthly for the Colombo Auxiliary Religious Tract Society. A 2 M3i?533 through its clear waters the fallen monuments it has buried beneath the surface, that other ages may look upon them and learn instruction. Generations to come may dive into the stream, and wonder at the unsightly form of the fragments they discover, but at present the proud front of the towering edifice, standing in all its strength and solidity, is presented to my view Goliath of Gath, with his sword and spear, before David, the shepherd of Bethlehem. It is acknowledged that instruction by example is the most powerful method of impressing the mind. Hence the value of biography and history, the one illustrating the character of the individual man, and the other pointing out the effect of the individual character as seen in its influence upon the mass, and connecting one successive result with another through many generations. The one is the single stone, the other the elaborate temple ; as the temple is composed of many stones, so history is most commonly composed of many biographies the aggregate is essentially of the same nature as the unit. Now I would suggest that in addition to these most important results, there is another kind of instruction which may be learnt from history, and which has little analogous in the experience of the individual. The temple has an sesthetical character, which the stone has not; and when various biographies are grouped into national compartments, and these are dovetailed into each other with a master's hand, history under this form has, in like manner, peculiar and important characteristics. The philosophy of history has had of late years many able expositors, who have thrown life and power into the skeleton forms of the ancient chronicles, but I am waiting to see the broad page of universal history deeply and devoutly studied with reference to one single event, the salvation of the world through the redemption by Christ Jesus, with all the preparatory ar- rangements of divine providence, the peculiar advantages pre- sented at " the fulness of time," and the subsequent agencies which have been set at work to accomplish its grand designs upon the human race. A. sound judgment, a sober imagination, much acuteness of intellect, an extensive acquaintance with the ancient historians, and a thorough knowledge of sacred writ, both historical and prophetical, would be needful for the task ; but with these requisites, it does not appear to me that it would \ be presumption in man to attempt to discover the design of God in raising up one empire and subverting another, in bringing different nations under one government for a given period, then again parcelHng out the same possessions to separate races of various and opposite character. The production of a few illustrative examples may not be inapplicable to the primary object of the present essay. In the early civilization of Egypt, with the subsequent pre- servation of the imagery upon her solemn temples ; the es- tablishment of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan ; the maritime prowess of Tyre and Sidon ; and the poetry and phi- losophy of the Greeks ; we can trace an intimate coimexion with the grand end of revelation, but the limits to which I am confined will not allow me to illustrate this position. The Roman empire, however absurd such an idea may seem to the merely philosophic historian, appears to have been raised up expressly that an arena might be cleared for the more extended exhibition of the early triumphs of the cross, this great nation being no doubt rendered subservient to other important ends in the divine government of the world. It grew, and flourished, with accelerated increase, until its power was consolidated under the sway of Augustus Caesar. In this reign Jesus Christ was born. Under the early emperors Rome presented a grandeur of dominion unparalleled in any previous age ; this was the moment of its maturity ; and as if to call the attention of men from their usual objects of attraction to the day-spring of " the Brightness of the Father's glory," there was com- parative tranquillity during the ministry of the apostles through- out the whole of its extensive provinces. This mighty work being accomplished ; the capital, the principal cities, multitudes of all classes, having received the message of reconciliation ; the gospel having reached even to barbarous Britain ; from this very period is to be dated the commencement of the decline of the empire. Its final disruption was yet remote, but the power by which it had been raised to this pinnacle of greatness was from this dat gradually withdrawn ; it began to crumble piece- meal into ruin ; and though many efibrts were made from time to time to restore its beauty and strength, the attempt was vain, and the empire has passed away, leaving only the wreck of its former splendour in the city once named eternal. The separa- 6 tion of the Roman empire into its eastera and western divisions, the inroads of the barbarian hordes, the rise of the Mahomedan power, the crusades, the invention of printing, the reformation, the French revolution, the discovery of the power of steam each of these circumstances, if rightly considered, would be seen to bear strongly upon the interests of the church ; some of them would appear to have been permitted, and others perhaps ordained, to hasten the accomplishment of those events which are equally longed for in earth and heaven, by good men, by the spirits of the just, and by the seraph circles that encompass the Redeemer's throne. There is now existent a mightier nation than that which wor- shipped in the Pantheon, and made its theatre of a hundred thousand spectators shout at the martyr's doom. Britain, where lived the people described by the Roman poet as " horribilesque ultimosque Britannos," once scarcely acknowledged as an integral portion of the world. " toto divisos orbe," is now the first of the nations in wealth, and power, and extent of influence. There is no nook of the ocean where her ships are not found ; there is scarcely a nation among men by which her might is not acknowledged; and if we leave out China, she reigns im- mediately over one-eighth of the whole population of the world. Whence this power and vastness of dominion ? Why have India, Burma, Ceylon, the fastnesses of southern Europe, many of the tribes of Africa, extensive tracts of country in New Holland, the Canadas, the fairest isles of the Western Indies, and numerous other places of no mean importance, been placed by God under the control of the British sceptre ? We cannot doubt, if we judge only from the simple analogy of history, that success has attended our arms, and nations have been placed under our authority, that we might carry on with better effect the great work of the world's conversion, "from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." The coincidence of the manner of God's working in the cabinet of the prince and the closet of the Christian is remark- able. Half a century previous to our own times the church, generally, was indifferent to the state of the heathen world. Millions after millions passed into a fearful eternity, and no efforts were made to save them from the worm that ever gnaws, and the fire that ever burns. The most animating promises had \ been written in the word of God respecting the glory of the future generations of men, but they were forgotten, or if re- membered, they were regarded with a want of confidence that to us appears utterly unaccountable. But if the case had been reversed, and the church had been as ready then as now with its means and men, to what part of the earth could its attention have been directed with the prospect of immediate success ? The heathen nations of the world were then in the place of power, and banishment or the grave would have been the fate of the adventurous individual who might attempt to rouse the monster of superstition from his dream, though slumbering within the shadow of death. The banner of Britain then became triumphant in regions of which our forefathers had scarcely heard, and countries were added to our dominion with a rapidity that exceeded all human calculation. Then was afresh lit up and it was in Britain too the flame of Christian benevolence ; the spirits of good men were stirred within them ; with an in- crease of national influence arose the breath of prayer to heaven, that it might be exerted for the entire destruction of the empire of hell ; men were willing to take their lives in their hands, and erect the standard of the cross in places that had never been previously cheered by its presence since the dawn of sin ; mis- sionary, tract, and bible associations were formed ; and the havoc of war was quickly followed by the peaceful triumphs of the minister of Christ. Now, the glorious words, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,*' are re- echoed from almost every voice in the mighty phalanx that has started up at the gathering for the cross, and the world responds to the divine command. It is open, with scarcely an exception, to the efforts of the man of God, ** none daring to make him afraid." It is in India principally that the influence of Britain bids fair to be productive of the most important results. Upon the con- tinent we are in contact with Braminism, a system which carries the sweep of its fell existence through more than 3000 years ; in Burma and Ceylon we are equally in juxta-position with Bud- hism, the most wide-spread religion of any age ; and in Arabia and our recent conquests towards Persia, the warriors of the false prophet are succumbing to victorious troops led on by British valour. The end of these things cannot now be foreseen. 8 It is possible that our armies are to make way for the downfall of Mahomedanism, in equal ratio with the preparatory inroads they have made upon the more ancient forms of error. The destinies of the three great superstitions of mankind have thus been placed by God in our hand, and who can doubt that all this has been brought about, in order that their destruction may be accelerated, and the blessings of the Truth be diffused in their stead. It therefore becomes a matter of very serious importance, and one in which we are individually concerned, to enquire whether our authorities in the east are carrying into effect the intention for which they have been raised by God to their present anoma- lous position. At the commencement of the missionary career the aspect of affairs in India was most melancholy. It had been spread far and wide that the Hindoo, gentle in manner and plausible in speech, was a purer being than his Christian con- queror ; and it was held that there was no necessity to teach him to be a better man. Missionaries were not allowed to locate in India, and men of some pretensions to judgment asserted that any attempt to convert the natives would be fol- lowed by the loss of our possessions. The facts of the case have since been proved to be the very reverse of that which was proclaimed with so much pertinacity, and it is now too well known to be contradicted, that a baser, more bloody, and more licentious system than Braminism never cursed the fair creation of God. It will scarcely be credited in future times that this most wretched system was supported by the British Government, that a gain was made of its wickedness, and that the price of deathless souls found its way into the treasure chest of the East India Company. But the history of these evils is too long to be here told. It may suffice to say, that the voice of the church has cried out against them, and been heard ; and though there is yet much over which we have to mourn, a great victory has been achieved in procuring from the court at Leadenhall Street, the despatch of Aug. 8, 1838, addressed to the Governor- General. It contains the following paragraph : " 3. We have again to express our anxious desire that you should accomplish with as little delay as may be practicable, the arrangements which we believe to be already in progress for abolishing the pilgrim-tax, and for discontinuing the connexion \ 9 of the Government with the management of all funds which may be assigned for the support of rehgious institutions in India. We more particularly desire that the management of all temples and other places of religious resort, together with the revenues derived therefrom, be resigned into the hands of the natives ; and that the interference of the public authorities in the religious ceremonies of the people be regulated by the instructions con- veyed in the 62nd paragraph of our despatch of 20th Feb. 1833." It has been ascertained from the recent pilgrims to Jugger- naut that some of these directions are not yet attended to, but though the full accomplishment of the instructions has been delayed, they cannot long be disregarded; the church is too vigilant and too powerful to brook deception, without continued efforts at its exposure. We may thank God at the prospects before us upon the continent of India, and take courage. But it is time that we arrive at that which now more immediately concerns us, the Government of Ceylon as connected with the interests of Christianity. The national religion of Ceylon is Budhism, accompanied by the worship of demons, and the propitiation of malignant infernal spirits. Budhism is professed in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, by the populace of China and Japan, and with some modifications in Tibet. In India, the seat of its origin, and where it was once predominant, as is testified by the monuments yet existent throughout every part of the peninsula, it is now nearly un- known, except as seen in the comparatively small sect of the Jains and in Nepal. It would be foreign to my present purpose to enter into an examination of its dogmas. I rest my argu- ment for the necessity of its destruction upon the simple fact that it is opposed to the truth denies the existence of God is ignorant of the only way of salvation, by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and is utterly impotent as a teacher of morals, or as a messenger of peace to the awakened consciences of its deluded votaries. In the sacred scriptures all these errors are summed up in one word. Idolatry. The religion of Budha is idolatrous, and I contend that it is the bounden duty of the Government of the country, from its possession of the Truth, to discountenance the system by every legitimate means ; and that it can afford no open or implied encouragement to its teachers or its worship. 10 without the commission of an offence in the sight of God. I also contend that the government of Ceylon is guilty in this particular that there is an unnatural, sinful, and pernicious con- nexion between the British Government of Ceylon and idolatry. This most serious charge is founded upon the proofs I shall now adduce. I pledge myself to have made every possible effort to arrive at certainty in the facts I bring forward, and though I may possibly be mistaken in a few minor particulars, as we must ever be in some measure distrustful of information gathered in a heathen land, I have every reason to believe that in my principal assertions I am strictly correct. It is perhaps right also I should notice, that my information is in no instance official. The Portuguese, in Ceylon, as in other places conquered by their arms, set themselves in stern opposition against heathen- ism, absolutely forbidding the exercise of its rites within their dominions. The Dutch tolerated heathenism, but raised to offices of trust and authority only those natives who professed the Protestant religion. The English, on taking possession of the ceded territories, in 1796, had therefore no excuse to inter- fere in the internal management of the temples, and I believe the appointment of the Maha Nayaka, or chief priest, in each of the districts, is the only positive countenance of Budism by the government in the maritime provinces. When the chief priest was last appointed in the Matura district, the office was given by the British collector to the individual who had the greatest num- ber of the votes of his brethren. The northern province is inhabited by Malabars, who of course profess Braminism, but I am told there is no government interference with their worship ; and the same may be said of the Moors, who are scattered, often in villages of their own, through the whole of the island, and profess Mahomedanism. A proclamation by the Governor, given at Colombo, Septem- ber 23, 1799, contains the following clauses : " And it is his Majesty's will and pleasure that we should execute, and we do therefore hereby publish and declare, that we will execute the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and the office commonly called the office of the ordinary, inasmuch as relates to the collation of benefices, the granting of licenses for mar- riages, and probates of will. ** And we do hereby allow liberty of conscience, and the free 11 exercise of religious worship, to all persons who inhabit and frequent the said settlement of the island of Ceylon, provided always that they quietly and peaceably enjoy the same without offence or scandal to Government ; but we command and ordain that no new place of rehgious worship be established without our license or authority first had and obtained. " And we do hereby command that no person shall be allowed to keep a school in any part of the said settlements of Ceylon, without our license first had and obtained, in granting which we shall pay most particular attention to the morals and proper qualifications of the persons applying for the same." This mark X is attached to the two last paragraphs I have quoted, and it is said in a note to the Proclamation : " N. B. The clauses which still apply to existing estabhshments are marked J." The work from which I have copied these para- graphs was printed in 1821, and as I am not aware that the regulations in question have since been repealed, it is not lawful at the present moment to commence a school without permission from Government. They are not acted upon, but so long as they remain among the legal enactments of the island, they are liable to be made the cause of trouble and annoyance by persons who are evil disposed towards religion or instruction, and as such ought to be blotted from our statutes. In consequence of the erection of two bana maduwas near a Government school, an extract from the above Proclamation was issued, Nov. 10, 1814, and it was further declared : ** Comformably to this ordinance it will be the duty of persons desiring to erect a new place of worship to address a petition for that purpose to His Excellency the Governor, and no public pre- parations are to be made or permitted for the intended purpose, until the authority of Government to that effect be communi- cated to the proper department officially and in writing." The grant of a license by the Government for the practice of any heathen ceremony has this pernicious effect, that it appears to sanction what it only tolerates ; and as the natives generally are not able to distinguish between the one and the other, this is an additional reason why the enactment should be repealed. Certain restraints having been placed upon the Roman Catho- lics by the Dutch Government, by which they were excluded from " many important privileges and capacities," a Regulation I 12 of Government was issued. May 27, 1806, in which it is declared : " The Governor in Council enacts as follows : " First. The Roman Catholics shall be allowed the unmolested profession and exercise of their religion in every part of the British Settlements on the island of Ceylon. " Second. They shall be admitted to all civil privileges and capacities." In 1815, a Regulation was passed, "For facilitating the marriages of native Protestants," but I forbear to dwell upon the anomalies at present existing upon this subject, as I would hope that the privileges already enjoyed in England, as well as in all the British Crown Colonies, will in a little time be granted in Ceylon. In 1817, a Regulation was issued, " For enforcing the obser- vance of the Sabbath-day," by which it was enacted " that every person who shall expose articles of any description for sale in any bazaar, street, or public place, between the hours of 8 and 12 in the morning of Sunday, Christmas Day, or Good Friday, shall, upon conviction hereof, be fined in a penalty not exceeding one rix-dollar for every such offence." This enactment has taught the natives to imagine, that the prohibited hours are the whole of the Sabbath, and that during the rest of the day they are permitted by God, as well as man, to follow their ordinary occupations. The necessity for some more comprehensive regu- lation is every day becoming more apparent. In the interior, the coolies employed upon the coffee plantations are generally not required to work on Sunday, and the consequence is, that they take this opportunity of coming to the bazaars to make their purchases, and the bazaar in Kandy is more numerously attended upon the holy Sabbath of God than on any other day of the week. I am happy to hear that this circumstance has already attracted the attention of the proper authorities. These are the principal Regulations which affect the interests of Christianity, or of religion generally, that were passed pre- viously to our possession of the interior of Ceylon, by the Colonial Government; and with this brief notice I hasten to that which must be considered as the gist of the question at issue, the connexion of the British Government with the heathenism of the Kandyan provinces. 13 The interior of the island fell into our hands under circum- stances widely different from those which attended our acquisi- tion of the coast. Roused by the attrocities which were con- stantly committed by the reigning king, Raja Singha, the British authorities, at that time in possession only of the maritime provinces, resolved upon his deposition, and the sub- jugation of his country. These atrocities were of the most appalling description, almost more than human, as set forth in the " Official Declaration on the Settlement of the Kandyan provinces." In 1806, 150 British soldiers were murdered in the hospital of Kandy, left under the pledge of public faith, and at the same time the whole British garrison was massacred, commanded by Major Davie, which had surrendered on a promise of safety. Ten British subjects were afterwards most barbarously mutilated, in consequence of which eight of them lost their lives. In 1814, the tragedy was completed by a scene too dreadful to be dwelt upon in detail. " In the deplorable fate of the wife and children of Eheylepola Adigar. . . . was exhibited the savage scene of four infant children, the youngest torn from the mother's breast, cruelly butchered, and their heads bruised in a mortar by the hands of their parent, suc- ceeded by the execution of the woman herself, and three females more ; whose limbs being bound, and a heavy stone tied round the neck of each, they were thrown into a lake and drowned.'* In the language of the same authority, " led by the invitation of the chiefs, and welcomed by the acclamations of the people, the forces of His Britannic Majesty entered the Kandyan territory." War was proclaimed on the 10th Jan. 1815, the British head-quarters were established in Kandy, Feb. 14, and on the 1 8th of the same month the King was taken prisoner. From that time the British Government has exerted the same authority in religious matters as was previously exercised by the Kandyan king. 1 . The principal priests of the interior are appointed by the Right Honorable the Governor, and hold their offices bene placito. In Kandy there are two separate fraternities of Budhist priests, known by the name of the Malwatta and Asgiri es- tablishments. They have equal authority, profess exactly the same doctrines, and are bound by the same canons. Nearly 14 all the priests in Ceylon belong to one or other of these estab- lishments, though not in equal proportions, the Malwatta being more ancient, and having a greater number of temples under its authority. There appears likewise to be a territorial division of the island, the Malwatta having authority over the temples towards the south of Kandy, and the Asgiri over those towards the north. Until the year 1832, the natives generally were liable to be appointed by the Government to compulsory labour. This was in consequence of an ancient usage of the island, by which certain personal services were considered as due to the crown, in addition to the money which was paid to the king as rent, or the grain which was more commonly given for the same purpose in kind. After an insurrection, in 1818, when the country was settled upon the terms still in some measure acknowledged, though a rent of one-tenth of the produce was levied in kind, the claim of government upon the gratuitous services of the people was relinquished, but they were still liable to be called out on receiving a compensation for their labour, at an established rate. They were also futher required, as in former times, to perform gratuitously such services as the making of roads, the putting up of bridges, and keeping them in repair. Though the crown was considered to hare been originally the sole possessor of the soil, there were, in all times of which we have any statistical account, extensive lands belonging to private individuals and to the priesthood. The temple lands were principally royal donatives, but not in every instance. It is not very clear how lands came into the possession of private individuals, so as to be alienable, but we may infer that they were originally granted by the kings for some signal service performed, and that the families thus rewarded afterwards falling into decay, found themselves obliged to look out for some more powerful protection. They might either become retainers to the crown or to the church; but as the temple service was nearer their own homes, was less arbitrary and oppressive, and had moreover the recommendation that by this means they might benefit their souls, it was natural that they should dedicate their lands to the priest, rather than to the king. Lands that were newly cleared might also be considered 15 ns liable to no compulsory custom, and from a similar motive, to ensure protection, would be given over to the temple ; and in return for the protection received, certain services would be pro- mised on the part of the individual who presented the gift. We have many parallel instances of the transmission of property in the history of the feudal times. When lands were dedicated by the king, the services that were to be rendered by the cultivator of the soil were very minutely set forth, as is testified by many inscriptions still to be traced upon slabs of stone, and occasion- ally in the solid rocks, near the temple to which the lands were given. The temple lands were invariably free from royal custom or duty, the services which in the royal villages were paid to the king being here paid to the temple. This system was very ancient, some of the grants being nearly as old as the time of Christ. An extract from Robert Knox will illustrate the usages as they prevailed during his captivity, which commenced in the year 1659 : ** Unto each of the pagodas there are great revenues of land belonging : which have been allotted to them by former kings, according to the state of the kingdom : but they have much im- paired the revenues of the crown, there being rather more towns belonging to the church than unto the king. These estates of the temples are to supply a daily charge they are at ; which is to prepare victuals or sacrifices to set before the idols. Tb'ey have elephants also, as the king has, which serve them for state. Their temples have all sorts of officers belonging to them, as the palace hath . . . " Many of the vehars are endowed and have farms belonging to them. The tirinanxes (the higher order of priests) are the landlords, unto whom the tenants come at a certain time, and pay in their rents. These farmers live the easiest of any people in the land, for they have nothing to do but at these set times to bring in their dues and so depart, and to keep in repair cer- tain little vehars in the country. So that the rest of the Chingulais envy them and say of them, though they, live easy in this world, they cannot escape unpunished in the life to come, for enjoying the Buddou's land and doing him so little service for it. . . . " These officers (collectors of the revenue, whether in money 16 or kind,) can exercise their authority throughout the whole division over v^hich they are constituted, excepting some certain towns, that are exempt of jurisdiction. And they are of two sorts. First, such towns as belong to the idol temples and priests, having been given and bestowed on them long ago by former kings. And, secondly, the towns which the king allots to his noblemen and servants. Over these towns thus given away neither the fore-mentioned officers, nor the chief magistrate him- self hath any power. But those to whom they are given and do belong to, do put in their own officers, who serve to the same purposes as the abovesaid do." All the privileges granted in former times to the temples, and then in actual observance, were continued to the priests on the accession of the British government. The Proclamation issued by Sir Robert Brownrigg, Nov. 21, 1818, contains the fol- lowing clause : "21. The Governor, desirous of showing the adherence of government to its stipulations in favour of the rehgion of the people, exempts all lands which are now the property of temples, from all taxation whatever ; but as certain inhabitants of those villages are liable to perform fixed gratuitous services also to the crown, this obligation is to continue unaffected." In the same year, another Proclamation was issued, forbidding the people to dedicate lands to the priests, lest by this means they should endeavour to release themselves from government services and contributions. I am told that this law is not always attended to ; perhaps in consequence of the different tenure upon which lands are now held, it is not thought to be of the same importance as when originally promulgated, though the injurious tendency of the evasion must be evident. In a Proclamation given at Kornegalle, Sept. 18, 1819, still further to secure the interests of the Government, it was enacted that all lands which were the property of temples on the 21st Nov. 1818, should be enregistered as such within twelve months, and a certificate thereof be obtained, which certificate was to be the sole proof of the land being exempt from taxation. The term of registry was aftei-wards extended to Sept. 1st, 1822, as doubts were entertained respecting the construction of the former Proclamation. On the abolition of compulsory labour by an Order of the 17 King in Council no change whatever was made in the tenure of the temple lands, the same rights being at present valid, and the same services due. The temple lands are still free from all tax, with the exception of some trifling services, which were also required from them under the Kandyan kings. The office of priest is therefore frequently connected with great influence and emolument, excites ambition, and is the object of intrigue. The priest cannot marry, nor can he legally make away with the property of the temple to others ; but though he can have no family of his own he may have relatives whom he can assist ; and it would appear that in this way the revenues of many of the temples are scattered, as they are known to be rich in lands, and yet the sacred buildings are on every hand allowed to fall into ruin, few eflbrts being made to prevent their destruction. These practices are murmured against by the people, and they tend to bring the priesthood into great disrepute. The following offices, in the Central Province, are in the gift of the Government, and the persons who hold them receive a warrant of office under the sign manual of His Excellency the Governor, as the representative of Her Majesty. The Maha Nayaka is the arch-priest ; the Anu Nayaka, his deputy, and generally his successor; and the Nayaka answers in some re- spects to the abbot of the Roman Catholic church, having a certain jurisdiction over all the priests in the district, as well as over those in his own establishment. THE MALWATTA ESTABLISHMENT. The Maha Nayaka. The Nayaka of Welegoda. The Anu Nayaka. do. Dewanagala. The second Anu Nayaka. do. Anuradhapura, The Nayaka of Gangarame. do. The Peak. do. Walgampaye. do. Alut Nuwera. do. Deldeniye. do. Dippitiya. do. Hingule. THE ASGIRT ESTABLISHMENT. The Maha Nayaka. The Nayaka of Mutiyangana. The Anu Nayaka. do. Myhangana. The Nayaka of Dambulla. do. Hun^uhampala. do. Bamba. 18 II. The priests of the palace in Kandy are confirmed in their appointments by the British Government. The ancient palace of the Kandyan kings has been converted into various uses by their successors in power. The pattrippo, the most imposing remain, is now used as a prison for the European soldiers. The hall of audience, where the ambas- sadors were received, serves the double purpose of a court of justice on the week-day, and of a church on the Sabbath. In a long suite of apartments, once appropriated to the ladies of the royal household, resides the Honorable the Agent for the Central Province. Many of the old offices have been pulled down, and their remains cleared away, so that the buildings I have mentioned are now detached from each other. The royal temple retains its former appropriation, and is still called the Malagawa, or palace, by the natives. It is a place of no great magnificence, but in the centre of the interior court is a pagoda of two stories, in which is kept the Dalada relic, said to be a tooth of Budha. From its being the receptacle of this inestimable treasure, the Midagawa is venerated more than any other spot in the world, by many of the natives, and is frequented by great numbers at the principal festivals. The relic is in the official custody of the Government Agent, the keys of the room in which it is kept are lodged at his house, and the key of the karanduwa in which the relic is immediately deposited is also in his possession. For the purpose of opening and closing the temple, and other temple services exclusively, an arachy is appointed by the Agent, who receives from the Government a monthly allowance of thirty shillings, and is called the arachy of the Malagawa. In May, 1828, there was a Dalada festival, and the agent of the Interior, at the time, has ex- pressly said, "the superintendance of that ceremonial officially devolved upon me." The contributions amounted to 10,000 rix-dollars, about 750, which were received into the cutcherry^ to be appropriated to the embellishment of the temple. This money is given out at interest in various sums, the business connected with its transfer being conducted at the cutcherry by the clerks of the Government. The services of the temple are conducted by 40 priests, 20 of whom belong to the Malwatta, and 20 to the Asgiri. Two priests are constantly in attendance, one year from the Malwatta, 19 and the next from the Asgiri, alternately. These priests are appointed by the Maha Nayakas of the respective establishments, but must be confirmed in their office by the Agent of Govern- ment. From six in the evening to the same hour in the morn- ing, a soldier, in his regular uniform, belonging to the Ceylon Rifle Regiment, which is composed principally of Malays and officered by Europeans, mounts guard in the lower court of the temple. The Mrdagawa contains various articles of considerable value, such as books written upon leaves of solid gold, the in- trinsic v.'orth of one of which cannot be less than 2000 sterling. On a recent occasion, when these treasures were privately ex- hibited, one of the priests was heard to declare, that as they were the property of Government, it was right that the Govern- ment should protect them ; and he argued that the Government was bound to maintain their religion, from the simple fact of its retention of these sacred treasures. The nature of the Government interference with the Budhist priests of the two principal establishments, as well as with the priests of the Malagawa, and those called " stipended," may be inferred from the evidence given by the Honorable the Agent of the Central Province, at the "Trial of the Kandyan State Prisoners," as reported in the Government Gazette. The pri- soners, who were charged with insurrection and rebellion, were : " Moligode, late first Adigar ; Dunuwilla, late Dessawe ; Dembevva Unnause ; Tibbotawewe Unnanse ; Kettakumbere Un- nanse ; and Bambaradenia, late Basnaika Ralla." The trial took place before the Hon. W. Norris, Second Puisne Justice (now Sir W. Norris, Recorder of Penang), commencing Jan. 12th, 1835 ; and after a minute investigation which ended on the 19th, the Jury returned a verdict of "Not guilty." " Mr. Tumour, Government Agent. I know Mahalle and Ratnapalla Unnanse, (witnesses for the crown) the former is a stipended priest, the latter is his pupil. Formerly stipended priests were selected by the Resident, then by the Board, and after the abolition of the Board, by me. The selection is made both from the respectability of their characters and their sacer- dotal qualifications. If any complaint had been preferred against them, it would of course be investigated, but I know of none against either. Mahalle was made a stipended priest by the late Sir John D'Oyly, in 1823, and as far as I have had an oppor- B 2 20 tunity of judging, he has always been looked up to for respecta- bility and acquirements. 1 have formed this opinion, rather from the estimation in which he had been held by the principal priests and chiefs, than from my own observation. Certain charges had long been preferred, and remained uninvestigated, against the high priest, who died the night before last, and it became at last necessary to appoint a court of enquiry. The court was to consist of 15 priests and 7 chiefs. . . . *' Wattegedere Annu Nayke Unnanse was, I always thought, a priest of great respectability, until lately, when he was dis- missed after trial before Council for having threatened to de- grade Mahalle and Ratnapalla Unnanses for giving information of this conspiracy to government." In a statement made by the first Adigar when in confinement, before Mr. Anstruther and Mr. Tumour, is the following sen- tence : " On Thursday last the Maha Nayke Unnanse and the other principal priests called on deponent; they talked of the petition to Government regarding the ordination of Upasampada, and the circumstance of their not being allowed by Mr. Turnour to take their turn of duty at the Malagawa." The Anu Nayaka above referred to, said in his evidence, which he gave in favor of the prisoners : " Mahalle and Rat- napalla calumniated me, and got me dismissed from my office, also from a temple village which I had got from Government, and have also got me deprived of my monthly allowance and yearly allowance of robes which I have received from the king's time, and also of my turn at the Mfdagawa. I was examined before Council, cannot recollect it at full length. I have only heard of others being examined." It is thus evident that the cognizance of Government extends to the chief priest that the 2nd chief priest was dismissed from office " after trial before Council," which Council is com- posed entirely of Europeans that there are stipended priests that these stipended priests are selected by the British Agent that the Agent passes his judgment on their " sacerdotal quali- fications," and that the Agent can likewise interfere with the appointment of the priests in taking their " turn of duty at the Malagawa" a temple devoted to the worship of Budha. There were other circumstances that came out in evidence, which I refer to with the greater pleasure, as it afibrds me the 21 Opportunity of presenting the acts of the Government in a more favorable light than I have hitherto had the power of doing. One grievance complained of by the chiefs was, that the Govern- ment interfered in their religion. This interference, however, was proved to be nothing further, than that the Government refused to compel the attendance of the people at the festivals. ** Never," said the judge in summing up, " was a more ex- travagant complaint put forth. We refuse any longer to be parties to the monstrous absurdity of compelling the attendance of the people at the religious festivals, and this, by a strange perversion of language, is called interference." The compulsory attendance extends now only to the retainers of the temple, but this is a subject I must notice in another place. III. The Basnaika Nilamas, or lay chiefs of the principal dewfdas are appointed by the British Government. The temples of Budha are called wiharas, but in addition to these there are numerous dewalas, where the Hindoo gods are worshipped, the most popular of whom is Katragama dewiyo, the Kartikeya of the Bramins, one of whose temples, situated in the province of Uwa, is frequented by pilgrims from the most remote parts of India. The dewalas have lands attached to them, in the same w^ay as the Budhist temples. These lands are equally exempt from the payment of all dues to the Govern- ment, are held upon the same tenure, and the chiefs can demand the same services from their retainers. In Kandy there are 4 dewalas, dedicated to Maha Vishnu, Natha, Pattinee, and Kartikeya. In some parts of the island these Hindoo temples exhibit a greater splendor, and exercise a greater influence, than the pansals of the Budhist priests. I am speaking now of those dewalas only that have lands belonging to them, there being smaller buildings appropriated to the same purpose in almost every village of the interior, and attached to nearly all the Bud- hist temples. In some instances, as at Lankatilaka, the wihara and dewala are under the same roof. The priests of this order, called kapuwas, may marry. They are not distinguished by any particular dress, and although they must be of good family, they do not receive the same marks of respect from the people that are paid to the Budhist priests. Europeans are not allowed to enter their sacred edifices, and the exact nature of the rites they perform is not known. In the 22 sanctum are the halamba of Pattinee, or the weapons of the other deities, with a painted screen before them, but there are no images, at least none that are permanently placed ; in some of the ceremonies, temporary images are made of rice, or other materials. There are instances in which the office is held by females. Temporary erections are frequently made near the houses of the people in cases of sickness, in which the kapuwa invokes his god, chanting and dancing to the sound of the tom- tom. The invocations are all in the Sanscrit language, and are not understood by the kapuwas, who repeat them merely from memory. The Nilama is the organ of communication between the Government and the dewiila ; he appoints the people to the services they are required to perform ; takes charge of the money presented at the shrine ; and keeps the buildings in repair. The warrant of appointment to this office is given by the Agent of Government, and not, as in the case of the Nayakas, by His Excellency the Governor. The names of the kapuwas, when appointed to office by the Nilamas, are mentioned to the Government Agent, whose approbation is necessary to confirm them in their situation. The Agent does not usually interfere in their appointment, but in cases of contumacy, upon the petition of the people, he displaces the offender, and chooses another kapuwa in his stead. At several of the outstation dewalas there are annual pera- haras, or processions, the necessary preparations for which are made by the people as duty or service for the lands they are permitted to hold of the temple. The attendance at the various ceremonies is called rajakaria, government service. "When the accustomed services for the god are not properly paid, a repre- sentation is made on the subject to the Government Agent, and by British authority the disobedient retainer is dispossessed of the lands he held, and one that will be more zealous for hea- thenism enters upon the forfeited privilege. A hst of the Basnaika Nilamas is published annually, and I extract the names as they are printed in the Ceylon Almanac for 1839. The Diwa Nilama holds his office in connexion with Budhism, but all the others are attached to the worship of the Hindoo deities. 23 PRINCIPALS OF THE TEMPLES. CENTRAL PROVINCE. DJwa Nilama, principal of the temple Dalada Malagawa. Basnaika Nilama of Maha Vishnu Dewala. do. Natha. Basnaika Nilama of Ganagoda, do do. Kattragama. do. Lankatillaka, do. Pattinee. Udanuwara. do. Maha Dewala, do. Embckka, do. Hangurankata. do. Wegiriya, do. do. Wallahagoda, do. Dodanwala. Udapalata. do. Pasgama. BADULLA. Basnaika Nilama of Maha Kattragama Dewala. do. Horaguna. Basnaika Nilama of Saman. MATALA. Basnaika Nilama of Embckka. MADAWELETENA. Basnaika Nilama of Alawatiigoda. WESTERN PROVINCE. SEVEN KORLAS. Basnaika Nilama of VTilbawa. Basnaika Nilama of Kirindagala. do. Jangura. do. Gonawa. do. Kandawala. SOUTHERN PROVINCE. RATNAPURA. Basnaika Nilama of Maha Saman Dewala. do. Alut Nuwara. ALIPUT. Basnaika Nilama of Kattragama. IV. The British Government grants a monthly allowance for the support of Budhist priests. There are 42 priests who are " stipended " by the Govern- ment. The two Maha Nayakas receive each a monthly allow- ance of seven shillings and sixpence. The two priests who officiate at the Malagawa receive a monthly allowance from the cutcherry of three shillings each, together with four parrahs of paddy. The others receive an allowance of paddy, in various proportions, from seven parrahs and a half to three and three quarters each. They also receive from the Government a 24 monthly allowance for salt and oil. The whole of this ex- penditure, with the allowance to the outstation temples, may- amount to about 150 per annum, but of this I speak with some hesitation. Under this head ought also to be included the loss to the Government by the remission of the one-tenth upon the pro- duce of the temple lands, which, if my information be at all correct, cannot amount to less than 22,000 parrahs of paddy annually; and if the parrah be reckoned at the value of one shilling, the amount sterling is upwards of one thousand pounds. This calculation does not include the important districts of SaiFragam, the Seven Korlas, the Three Korlas, and Uwa. About these districts I am unable to procure any information, but I am aware from my own personal knowledge, that a great portion of the cultivated land of SafFragam, including some of the richest tracts in the interior, belongs to the priests. Assuming the correctness of these premises, the loss to the Government by the remission of the usual tax upon the temple produce, must amount to more than twelve hundred pounds sterling per annum. But upon these things I lay no stress ; whether I am here right or wrong makes no difference in my main argument ; it is not with the negative but the positive acts of Government that I contend. With political errors I have no controversy. By the continuance of so great an extent of territory under the sole control of the priests, as the progress of improvement, in many different ways that must present themselves at once to the thinking mind, is hindered, there is a virtual loss, not only to the treasury of the Government, but to the whole social compact. V. The Perahara of Kandy is principally got up at the expense, and by the command, of the British Government. An account of the Perahara will be found in the Appendix, extracted from the Friend, for Sept. 1839. The proper time for commencing this festival having been ascertained, an announce- ment to this effect is made by beat of tomtom, at the command of the Agent for the Central Province, and persons who are desirous to contract for the supply of the articles required in the getting up of the pageant are directed to send in their esti- mates to the cutcherry. The following is a copy of the bill sent 25 in to the Government, which was paid as usual, for the expenses attending the Perahara of the present year. s. d. '* For the cost of sundry Articles for the use of the Mala^cawa and 4 Dewalas since the procession .... 310 6 " For Devil Dancing, called Walliyakoon 3 13 2J " For 13 Outstation Dewalas 4 5 1 " For carrying the Canopy over the Karanduwa 16 " For oil and rags 3 15 15 19 9.J The chiefs are required by the Government Agent to attend and render the accustomed service, the order being conveyed by a government peon ; and when the summons is not obeyed, as in the case of the ratemahatmaya of Udanuwera this year, who pleaded sickness, a message is sent by the Agent enquiring why the chief was not present on the occasion. The chiefs are accompanied during the procession by government constables, that the people may be compelled to leave the way clear for their progress, and pay them proper respect. "The oil and rags" mentioned in the account are to supply the lights that are carried during the passage of the procession through the streets. The 13 outstation Peraharas are also got up under the direc- tion of the Government, and persons neglecting to afford the usual service are deprived of their lands in consequence by the Government Agent. There is an annual Perahara at Dondra, near Matura, but as there are some further enquiries that I wish to make on the sub- ject, I must place this account also in the Appendix. VI. The British Government is at the expense of other Festivals, both Budhist and Braminical. From ancient times the Kandyan monarchs encouraged certain festivals, the principal of which were held near the palace. They have been continued by our own Government. The ex- penses paid by the Government for the present year, and there may be others of which I have not been able to procure any account, are contained in the following enumeration : s. d. The Awurudha Festival 5 10 6 The Nanamura Festival 6 19 2| The 5 Wahala Pinkamas 25 4 o| The Katina Pinkama 43 13 8| The Kartiya Festival 5 11 8| The Alut Sal Festival 11 7 sj TJic Waliyakoon , 4 1 1 26 A brief account of each festival may not be without interest, and the detail will illustrate still further the nature of the patronage bestowed by the Government upon the heathen su- perstitions of Ceylon. 1 . The Awurudha Festival. This festival, as its name implies, is held on the 1 st day of the year, when the sun enters Mesha, or Aries, which in the present year was on the 21st of March. It is supposed to be a point of the utmost importance to ascer- tain the exact moment when the ceremonies are to commence, as upon this is said to depend the prosperity of the year ; and in the respect which is paid by the Government to the calculations of the Astrologer, encouragement is given to one of the most pernicious errors prevalent among the natives of this island. The principal Astrologer of the present day is Malabar, but there are both Singhalese and Kandyans who are supposed to be able to make the same calculations. It is a state pageant, as well as a religious festival, but is connected as I have said, with some of the greatest absurdities of Astrology in its preparation. Under the Kandyan Government, the inferior chiefs were at this period re-instated in office, on the payment of a fine, which custom was in some places kept up long after we had obtained possession of the interior, without the knowledge of the autho- rities, but I have heard no complaints upon this subject in recent times. 2. The Nanamura Festival. The ceremonies of this festival take place at the time when, according to the calculation of the Astrologer, it will be fortunate to bathe for the first time after the commencement of the year. 3. The five Wahala Pinkamas. The word pin means religious merit, or virtue acquired by a course of moral action. It is usually applied by the natives to charity, or almsgiving. Ac- cording to the Budhist system, all events are the consequence of kusala or akusala, merit or demerit ; events proceeding naturally from these causes, as heat from fire, or the tree from the seed. Kusala, or pin, is good, akusala evil, in a moral or religious sense. *' Quod licitum vel mandatum ; quod illicitum, vel pro- hibitum." All things proceed from the associated energy or power produced by moral action. Thus, ** by the united virtue of all creatures," the world is said to have been produced, according to its present constitution. The Budhists are atheist- 27 ical only inasmuch as their hsg, Placer, or Disposer, (from Siuf to place) is non-intelligent. In proportion to the acquisition of pin is the assurance of prosperity. Alms-giving is the readiest means of acquiring pin ; and the highest order, the most meri- torious mode, of alms-giving is charity to the priests. A Pin- kama is a manufacture of merit. The word Wahala signifies " the royal gate," or " the pre- cincts of the palace," and this festival was so denominated hecause some of its principal ceremonies took place in the palace, and it was carried on for the benefit of the royal household. The highest order of Budhist priesthood, Upasampada, having become extinct, Kirti Sri, 1750, sent ambassadors to Siam, to procure its restoration. On their return they were interrogated as to the festivals celebrated by the Siamese monarch, and they having said, though it is supposed falsely, that the relic of Budha was carried at certain times through the streets of the metro- polis in solemn procession, Kirti Sri immediately commanded that a similar festival should be instituted in Kandy, which was continued by his successor upon the throne. It was thus con- ducted. When the month Wesak was at hand, orders were issued to the five districts to furnish the royal treasury with the necessary supplies, such as rice, flowers, oil, &c., and these being brought, at the first quarter of the moon two or more nagas, or candidates for ordination, were presented to the king, and were treated with great respect. On the evening of the full moon, the nagas, accompanied by the relic, with a grand procession of elephants, flags, music, and dancers, and attended by the prin- cipal chiefs, paraded the streets of Kandy. Next morning, the priests of both the Malwatta and Asgiri temples, were invited to the Hall of Audience, when they received an offering of food from the king. The same ceremonies were repeated at the four following quarters of the moon. When a Pinkama is now to be celebrated, the tomtom is beat by order of the Government Agent, directing persons who are willing to contract for the supply of the articles required for the festival to make application to the cutcherry. The articles con- sist of robes for the priests, white cloth, oil, &c., as set forth in the usual form ; and these are supplied at the expense of the Government. As there is no royal household at present in existence, the merit of the ceremony is supposed by the people 28 to be acquired by the Government, and they naturally imagine that it is for this purpose the festivals are continued. 4. The Katina Pinkama. By an ordinance of Budha, the priests are not allowed to remain in a fixed habitation, except during the season of the rains ; they must live in the desert, or itinerate from place to place. The v^ord pansal, from pan, a leaf, and sala, a house, or place of resort, means literally a residence made of leaves; and this word is still used of the monasteries in which the priests reside, though they are substan- tial and permanent erections. During the rainy season, was, which is supposed to continue three months, the priests are specially provided for by the people as an act of merit, in return for which they receive religious instruction, or rather the bana is read for their benefit, though they do not understand a word of its language. The succeeding month is called cheewara masa, or the month of the robe. The people at this time purchase one or more pieces of cloth, according to their circumstances, which they present to the priests. The Katina, or cloth for the robe, cannot be received except by a sanghaya, an association of the priesthood, which must be constituted of at least five priests : thus carefully are the vows of poverty to be kept, that the Katina cannot be received except by a fraternity, nor even by them, except in this particular month. The cloth is produced and ofi^ered to the associated priesthood as sanghika. The priests then hold a conversation among each other, and enquire, " Which of us stands in need of a robe ? " The priest who is most in need of a dress ought now to express his destitution, but this rule is not attended to, as the priest who has read bana usually receives the robe, whether the most destitute or not. The priest respectfully asks the rest of sanghaya to partake of the merits produced by the offering. The assembled priests, assisted by the upasakayas make the cloth into a robe, and dye it yellow, the whole of which process must be concluded in 60 of their hours, or a natural day. In some places the robe is manufactured throughout from the raw material in the same space of time. The bana maduwa is seen filled with women, sitting upon the ground ; some bring in the cotton from the tree, others open it out, others prepare it for the spinners, who make it into yawn ; it is then handed over to the weavers who wait outside with their simple looms, and 29 make it into cloth. In the evening of the same day the cloth is received by the priests, stitched into a robe, and dyed the usual color. This custom is more practised on the coast than in the interior. It is not an ordinance of Budha. In the Katina Pinkama the cloth is presented at the expense of the Government, and is received with the usual ceremonies by the priests. 5. The Kartiya Festival. 'This festival is celebrated in the month Kartteka, at present answering to our December, on the night of the full moon. The people were required, during the Kandyan rule, to present offerings of oil to the king as part of their tax or custom. In the walls of the palace, as well as in the wall carried along the side of the lake, and in other places, there are triangular niches, or recesses, in which lamps were placed. The exact moment for commencing the ceremony having been ascertained by the astrologer, at the fortunate neketa the lamps were lighted. There were also poles erected before the palace, to which lamps were attached, and when the great square, the dewalas, and the principal streets were illumi- nated, the city must have presented an appearance of some splendour. The palace was the scene of the greatest brilliancy. The relic was also carried in procession, with its usual retinue of elephants, musicians, &c. This festival was instituted by one of the Malabar kings, in honor of Maha Bali, the great hero of Indian mythology. It is said that in ancient times two virgins were annually sacrificed on the occasion. 6. The Alut Sal Festival. A better account of this festival than I have been able to procure elsewhere, is to be found in Davy's " Account of the Interior of Ceylon." The words alut sal mean literally, new rice. "This feast, the fourth and last of the great annual festivals, was observed in the month of January, when the moon was on the increase. A nekat-wattoruwa was previously prepared by the astrologers, in which a fortunate hour, on two different days was pointed out ; one for bringing the new rice into the city, and the other for dressing and eating it. This document was sent to the king with the usual honours, and copies of it were carried by the chiefs to the royal farms in the neighbourhood. At these farms the ears of paddy and the new rice were packed up for the temple and palace, and king's stores, by the Gabada 30 Nilamas and their officers. The ears of paddy, carefully put into new earthen pots, and the grain into clean white bags, were attached to pingos for the sake of more convenient carriage. Those intended for the Malagawa were conveyed on an elephant ; those for the dewalas were borne by men marching under canopies of white cloth ; and those for the palace and royal stores were carried by the people of the king's villages, of res- pectable caste and well dressed, with a piece of white tape over their mouths, to guard against impurity. They started from the different farms under a salute of jinjalls ; were attended by tom- toms, flags, and others honors, and were met on the way by the adigars and chiefs, who attended them to the great square, to wait the nekata hour, the arrival of which was announced by a discharge of jinjalls; when the rice and ears of paddy were carried to the respective places for which they were destined. At the same fortunate hour, the chiefs and people brought new rice and paddy from their own fields and houses. ** The nekata for eating the new rice occurred two or three days after the preceding. The rice was dressed according to rule, and mixed with certain curries, and ate with the face in a particular direction ; on all which points instructions were given in the nekat-wattoruwa. The rice that was dressed and offered to the gods on this occasion, was either buried or consumed by the priests ; not indiscriminately, but by those who had led previously a life of purity." These accounts are confessedly meagre and imperfect. A fuller description might have given a greater interest to the narrative, but it would not have added at all to the force of my grand argument. At these festivals open encouragement, pecu- niary assistance, is given by the Government of this colony to the astrologer, the Budhist priest, and the kapuwa of the Hindoo god, embracing nearly the whole circle of native superstition. VII. The British Government pays the expenses of a cere- mony which consists of invocation by a demon priest. In the account paid by the Government for the Perahara of Kandy, the following item is inserted : " For the Devil Dancing called Walliyakoon, 3 I3s. 2^d." This dancing is continued seven days after the various Peraharas, both at Kandy and the outstations. I had an opportunity of witnessing the prepara- tions made for the recent ceremony at Lankatilaka, and the 31 priest very readily answered the questions I put to him upon the subject. The yakun are not exactly correspondent to the devils of reve- lation ; they are lapsed intelligences, of mahgnant dispositions, and are supposed to have the power of inflicting diseases and other calamities upon mankind. Their choicest food is human flesh, and their nectar the reeking blood. They are almost universally propitiated among the Singhalese, and a belief in their power is commonly the last superstition that leaves the native mind on the reception of the truth. The people are in absolute naisery from the idea that these infernal spirits are con- stantly besetting their path ; and the gracious discipline of divine Providence, by being attributed to this source, is robbed of all its beneficial influence, and the suff"erer is deprived of that consolation which would otherwise be imparted to the mind. ITie parent, on seeing the drooping form of his child wasted by disease, is haunted by the further thought of agony, that a demon has chosen for its victim the object of his affection ; and he applies for relief, not to God in prayer, but to the miserable yakadura, or devil priest. The devils are sometimes invoked to inspire the mind in times of danger, or for the commission of crime. A few days ago two young men were executed in Kandy for murder ; they ascended the scaff'old with an air of the most perfect indiflference, if it were not something rather like triumph, and the bystanders attributed their courage to demoniacal in- fluence. The word yakun is also applied to demi-gods, or deified heroes, but in these instances there is usually something fierce or mali- cious in their character, and they are regarded by the people as devils, though this epithet usually designates a somewhat different species of being. The word Waliyakun seems to be a corrup- tion of Wediyakun, and refers to three heroes, one the son of Vishnu, the second produced from a lotus flower, and the third from a blade of grass : they became famous hunters. I have not been able to discover any consistent reason why they in par- ticular are invoked at the close of the Perahara, though I have had given to me an account of the traditions yet in existence respecting their exploits in this and other countries. The cere- monies were formerly carried on in the palace, but the last king suspecting that thereby the royal premises were' defiled, com- 3-2 manded that they should be banished to the dewala, where they are still continued. The performances last seven days. On the day appointed for their commencement, the yakadura, having previously bathed and put on clean clothes, dedicates himself to the service, and throws the puna nula, or sacred thread, over his shoulder. He then makes the atamangala, a magical diagram of eight sides, with raw rice, and begins to mutter verses and dance, continuing the service until midnight. On the 5th day there are dances in five different modes, and it is believed that if these are not rightly performed the consequence will be death. On the 7th day, there are dances in seven different modes, and the greatest care is required in their performance, or the same fatal conse- quences will ensue, both to the tomtom beater and the priest. The former seats himself upon a mat and closes his eyes, that he may pay a closer attention to the time, and the priest also closes his eyes, that he may not be tempted to dance in the wrong step. The concluding ceremony is called yakkan, and is celebrated in five different modes. Robert Knox refers to the Waliyakun, when he says : " At this time they have a superstition, which lasteth six or seven days, too foolish to write ; it consists in dancing, singing, and juggling. The reason of which is, lest the eyes of the people, or the power of the jaccos, or infernal spirits, might any ways prove prejudicial or noisome to the aforesaid gods in their pro- gress abroad." The vouchers for the payment of this item are written in the usual form. Among the particulars at the head of the receipt it is stated, in so many words, " For the Devil Dancing called Waliyakoon." The voucher is to this effect : " Received from the Honourable the Government Agent for the Central Province, the Sum of. being in full as per the above account of par- ticulars for Her Majesty's Service, and for which I have signed duplicate receipts of the same tenor and date." Thus there are annual invocations of evil spirits, both in Kandy and at various outstations, which are paid for, from the Government revenue, by a British agent, expressly numerous vouchers tes- tifying to the same as being celebrated " For Her Majesty's Service ! " I feel as if I should be a partaker in these sins, were I silent 33 respecting them, and it is from a sense of duty that I have pub- lished these particulars. If the position be true ; that political power has been granted us, that the nations brought under our dominion may receive the benefits of divine revelation, it is evident that the neglect of this duty will bring upon us the anger of heaven ; our authority will be taken from us, and given to some other people better disposed to carry forward the counsel of God. Whilst upon this topic, I will introduce an extract from one of the most recent periodicals that I have had an opportunity of perusing, the Dublin University Magazine for April, 1839. It is the more entitled to attention, as presenting the opinion of a work not professedly religious, and as uttering the general sen- timents of the well-informed classes at home concerning a sub- ject on which, from my peculiar situation, I may perhaps be con- sidered as a prejudiced expounder. It is contained in a review of ** Statistics of the Colonies of the British Empire ; By B. Montgomery Martin, Esq." " The first and most serious consideration that is forced upon us by the general view of the British Colonies which Mr. Martin presents to us in a tabular form, at the commencement of his large work, is, that of the hundred and one millions which com- pose the population of the British Colonies, ninety- eight millions are Pagans, or Mahomedans, while the number of the Christians does not exceed three millions. This fact imposes an awful responsibility upon the rulers of Great Britain, and upon its inhabitants ; for this state of things cannot continue without the great and sinful neglect of both, and it is impossible that punish- ment should not follow neglect of the momentous duties which it prescribes to the nation. Our rulers are responsible if they neglect those duties, but the responsibility does not attach to them alone, we also are every one of us culpable if we do not call the attention of the national councils to this awful and ex- tensive ignorance, and call upon them to use every exertion to remove it, and declare that we and the whole nation are ready and desirous to bear the burden which those exertions may place upon us. England, the most highly enlightened and civilized nation upon earth, enjoying the knowledge of the sublime truths of the Christian revelation in its purest form, freed from the errors and corruptions which human devices introduced, has c 34 from her wealth more power of diffusing truth than ever fell to the lot of any nation, and has ninety-eight millions of subjects ignorant of our divine Redeemer, and for the most part slaves to the most abject and debasing superstitions. Her duty is clearly pointed out by her situation. It is to preach the Gospel among nations, to dispell the darkness that still pervades so large a portion of the globe, to spread abroad the light of Chris- tian truth, and to teach to millions of her grateful subjects the knowledge of that God who died for their salvation. As surely as God made and preserves the world, a blessing must attend exertions in such a cause, they must be crowned with success, and repay tenfold to the nation from which they proceeded." There is no sin so frequently denounced in the Scriptures as idolatry. It is called expressly by God himself, " that abomi- nable thing which I hate." Jer. xhv. 4. The prophets have thundered forth against it in anathemas that are among the most sublime aggregations to which human language was ever ele- vated ; and when we read them we admire and tremble, as the attention of the mariner is attracted by the splendour of the storm that may in an instant strike his bark into shivers. The Israelite who worshipped strange gods was stoned. The city that became idolatrous was to be ** consumed as a burnt offering, of which nothing remains ; " it was to be consecrated to Jehovah, that is to say, put under the ban, outlawed, proscribed, to be- come an holocaust. Every remnant of idolatry was to be des- troyed. It was the prevalence of this sin which filled up the measure of Israelitish iniquity, and the punishment of the people was captivity by the waters of Babylon, where they had to hang that harp upon the willows which had thrilled with tones so sweet in their native land, and to weep as they remembered the privileges of Zion. The God of the Israelites is our God, " the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," and if with Jehovah there be "no variableness," there must now be in the divine mind the same detestation of idolatry as in the patriarchal and prophetical times. The voice which then spoke, now speaks, and to us its admonitions come, louder still from the mighty ages through which they puss. ** The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God, and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils." 2 Cor. x. 20. To what I have brought forward, it is probable that two ob- 35 jections will be made : 1 . That the interference of the Govern- ment is too slight to be productive of harm : and 2. That the usages I deprecate were solemnly promised to the people at the time of their subjection to the British crov/n. 1 . It has been stated, in the preceding pages, that the British government of Ceylon appoints the principal Budhist priests of the interior province confirms in their appointments the priests of the palace at Kandy appoints the lay chiefs of the principal temples dedicated to the worship of the Hindoo deities incurs the annual expense of the Perahara at Kandy pays the expenses of other heathen festivals and sanctions devil- dances, invoca- tion to evil spirits, (a ceremony banished from his palace by a heathen monarch,) in the name of our Sovereign Lady the Queen. Can it be seriously maintained that these are trifles, by those who hold the divine authority of the word of God ? It is true that there are no pecuniary advantages accruing to the British Government from these practices, but they are, doubtless, continued under the supposition that they will tend to consolidate the British power in Ceylon ; and if they are not carried on, as similar evils have been upon the continent of India, to swell the receipts of the British Government, they are intended to increase either the reverence of its name or the stability of its do- minion, and where is the difference in the sin ? All persons at all acquainted with the case are well aware, that the influence of the Government is here paramount, and that there can be no interference whatever in the religion of the country, without an implied approbation of that religion in the sight of the natives. " Why have the company," was asked by a Hindoo, " any thing to do with Juggernaut, if his worship be wrong?" The Kandyans argue in the same manner, and hea- thenism has at this moment an influence in Ceylon which it would not otherwise be able to maintain, from the support it receives through the patronage of our Christian Government. There are many very worthy individuals who consider infidelity to be worse than heathenism, and they would uphold the Budhist religion, or any other, merely because it is a religion, and not scepticism. Without entering into this question, I do not see why the people should become infidel, were their present system to be annihilated without further ceremony. There are emisaries of the cross who are ready to pour into their villages, and tell c 2 .36 them at once of man's misery and God's mercy, proclaiming the glorious truth that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin- ners. We have bibles and tracts, which we shall be glad to carry to every hamlet in the land, heralds of reconciliation, which may continue as silent monitors in those places where the living minister can seldom have access. There is never any fear of a dearth of instruction where there is true Christianity. It is of the nature of the subtle flame, active, expansive, communi- cative ; it regenerates that which it destroys ; it " operates un- spent;" and we have express promises from God which meet the difficulties assumed, in the declaration that the spread of knowledge shall be divinely assisted, and that its energy shall be communicated to all. " For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Hab. ii. 14. "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions : and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit." Joel ii. 28, 29. 2. The other objection may be met without any difficulty, not simply by argument but by fact. The various treaties that have been made with the Kandyan people are upon record, and are open to our examination. On the 2nd of March, 1815, "a solemn conference was held in the Audience Hall of the Palace at Kandy, between His Excellency the Governor and Commander of the Forces, on behalf of His Majesty and of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, on the one part, and the Adikars, Dessaves, and the other principal chiefs of the Kandyan Provinces, on behalf of the inhabitants, and in presence of the Mohottales, Coraals, Vidahns, and other subordinate headmen from the several provinces, and of the people then and there assembled, on the other part." The British flag was on this day hoisted in Kandy for the first time, and the establishment of the British dominion in the interior was announced by a royal salute. The 5th clause of the treaty entered into on this occasion consists of the following memorable sentence : " The religion of Boodhoo, professed by the chiefs and inhabitants of these provinces, is declared inviolable, and its rights, ministers, and 37 places of worship are to be maintained and protected." I have hitherto refrained from comment in pubhshing the acts of the British Government, but in this declaration, that the religion of Budha shall be inviolable, there is something so strange, so unwarrantable, that I cannot help expressing my extreme sur- prise that such an error should have been committed by Sir Robert Brownrigg, whose respect for revelation cannot be called in question. If it was meant simply to signify that there should be no overt act on the part of the British Government to sub- vert the religion of the country, it was very improperly worded ; if it meant more, it was blasphemy. In a demi-official com- munication of the same date it is further said : " The treaty comprises, though in a summary way, the heads of a constitution carefully adapted to the wishes of the chiefs and people, and with a more particular degree of attention to some prejudices, the indulgence of which was plainly understood to be a sine qua non of their voluntary submission to an European power. The pre- servation of the religion of Boodhoo, was the first ; the other (hardly inferior in their estimation) was the recognition and con- tinuance of their local institutions." The anxiety of the Kan- dyans for the preservation of their superstitions, is in powerful contrast with the indifference manifested by the Europeans to the interests of Christianity. In the month of October, 1817, an insurrection broke out, notwithstanding, as is stated, among other particulars, in the preamble of the Proclamation issued on its suppression, Nov. 21, 1818, there had been paid "the strictest attention to the protec- tion and maintenance of the rites, ministers, and places of wor- ship of the rehgion of Budhoo." The following clause of this Proclamation speaks in a different tone to the language of the former Bulletin : " 16. As well the priests as all the ceremonies of the Budhist religion, shall receive the respect which in former times was shown them : at the same time, it is in no wise to be understood, that the protection of the Government is to be denied to the peaceable exercise, by all other persons, of the religion which they respectively profess, or to the erection, under due license from His Excellency, of places of worship in proper situations." In no other part of the Proclamation is there a single word isaid respecting the religion of Budha, and all that is here prq- 38 mised is, that its priests and ceremonies shall receive the ac- customed respect, but from whom we are not told. I am no jurisconsult, but if the simple matter of fact is to be taken, I see no reason whatever, from the tenor of these treaties, why the British Government should be considered as bound to interfere with the appointment of heathen priests, the celebra- tion of heathen festivals, and the pecuniary support of some of the most gross superstitions that ever entered into the mind of man. These things are contrary to the law of God, and there- fore, whatever might have been the consequence, it would still have been the duty of the British Government to rid itself of the responsibility, though a promise had been given to support hea- thenism in far stronger terms than any that have been actually used; there would have been a prior bar to the accomphsh- ment of its intentions ; but happily, as the Kandyans would not have comprehended the force of this argument, it is not necessary to resort to such a mode of explanation. The 8th clause of the original convention is to this eflfect : ' Subject to these conditions, the administration of civil and criminal justice and police over the Kandyan inhabitants of the said provinces, is to be exercised according to established forms, and by the ordinary authorities ; saving always the inherent right of Government to redress grievances and reform abuses in all instances whatever, particular or general, where such inter- position shall become necessary." The authority granted by this reservation has been used by the Government in cases which have affected the prejudices of the people far more powerfully, than if it were to refuse, without any reason given, all support of priests and processions from this time forth and for ever. But the most important official document to which I have to direct attention is the Proclamation issued by Sir R. Wilmot Horton, Aug. 9, 1834. The first three clauses are as fol- lows : " Whereas a treasonable conspiracy has been originated by certain Kandyan chiefs and priests, who had for their object the subversion of British supremacy, by which they had hoped to crush the liberties which under that supremacy had been con- ferred upon the people : "And whereas by evidence laid before the Government it appears that in pursuance of their traitorous design it was in- 39 tended to seduce His Majesty's Kandyan subjects from their allegiance by false assertions : amongst others that it was the object of the British Government to destroy the Religion of Buddhoo and to revive that system of compulsory service to which they had been formerly subjected : " It is hereby declared that such assertions are false and un- founded, and that although the Government will no longer interfere to enforce compulsory attendance at religious Festivals, the inhabitants of this Colony, professing the Religion of Budd- hoo, will continue to be protected and supported in the freest exercise of their religion." This Proclamation is important, inasmuch as it is the most recent document issued by the Government, which can be con- sidered in the light of a treaty, promise, agreement, or conven- tion; and as it points out the relative situation in which the Government stands with respect to the Budhist religion at the present moment ; for be it remembered, that it is to Budhism, and Budhism alone, that the Government stands pledged in any way whatever, not a word being said in any of the treaties re- specting the various ceremonies of Hindoo origin that are now carried on by command of the British Government, with the sole exception that in the 30th clause of the Proclamation of Nov. 21, 1818, it is said that " the attendance at the great Feast, which certain persons were bound to give, shall be con- tinued to be given punctually and gratuitously.'* I am willing to concede all that is promised in the Proclamation of Sir R. Wilmot Horton, that " the inhabitants of this colony profes- sing the religion of Buddhoo shall continue to be protected and supported in the freest exercise of their religion." Let the authorities continue to protect and support the Bud- hists " in the freest exercise of their religion," and cease to protect and support Budhism, per se, and the controversy be- tween the church and the Government will cease at once. I am no advocate for coercion. I have travelled far, and seen much of the working of different systems, and all that I have seen has tended to confirm me in the opinion that liberty, and above all religious liberty, is the dearest birthright of the Briton. I would willingly, were it in my power, confer the same privileges upon every being that possesses " a reasonable soul." It has been at a vast expense of argument and blood that right princi- 40 pies have been established, and I should deem myself unworthy of the rights I enjoy, I should account myself a very fool, unto whom the instructive lessons of all past ages had been uttered in vain, were I to advocate any attempt at the compulsion of the mind. Another valuable document, among the communications re- cently published relative to the interests of Ceylon, is the " Re- port of Lieut.-Colonel Colebrooke, one of His Majesty's Com- missioners of Inquiry, upon the administration of the Govern- ment of Ceylon; dated Dec. 24, 1831." I shall make a few extracts from it, some of which will be recognised as confirma- tory of my own views, and their importance will be accepted in apology for their length. " The possessions of the temples constitute a large proportion of the cultivated lands in the Kandyan provinces. In the several temples and colleges there are registers of the lands de- pendent on them, but these registers not having been examined, their extent has not been accurately ascertained. At my re- quest, translations were made of the registers in the principal temples of Kandy ; and from these it appears that the tenants and proprietors of what are called " Temple Lands " in the several provinces, are liable, on the requisition of the chiefs and priests, to render services and contributions of various kinds. These are minutely detailed in the registers, and the occupier of each allotment of land has a special duty assigned to him, or a special contribution to make, either for the repairs of the tem- ples, the subsistence of the chiefs and priests, and their atten- dants, or on occasion of the annual festivals. The regulation of these festivals, which are annually held in Kandy, and at the provincial temples, was the prerogative of the king of Kandy, and the holders of temple lands are still summoned by authority of the Government. To those who reside at a considerable dis- tance, the necessity of making long journeys to deliver some article of little value, or to assist at some protracted ceremony, became irksome and inconvenient : and as they are liable to detention for a month at Kandy during the annual festival, these duties are very negligently performed, and numbers omit them altogether. In 1820 the Government Agent for Saffragam (a distant province to the southward) stated the willingness of the landholders to pay a tax in commutation of the temple service ; 41 but in deference to the chiefs and priests, who were opposed to innovation, the measure was not adopted. Some landholders, from their influence, have been allowed to pay a composition to the temples, instead of rendering personal service for their lands. The laxity of the people, and the remissness of the Government officers in enforcing the orders for their attendance, has been urged as a subject of complaint by the chiefs. "Where the lands are situated near to the temples, and in districts where roads are constructing, the service is less un- popular, as it is in reality less severe than the government ser- vice; but any improvement in the condition of the tenants of the crown would strengthen the desire of the tenants of the chiefs and temples throughout the country for a similar reform of their tenures. If temple lands should hereafter come into possession of persons who are not Bhoodists, new objections would probably be made to the performance of the temple ser- vice by such persons. ** The selection and appointment of chiefs and priests of tem- ples was a prerogative of the kings of Kandy, which is still ex- ercised by the Government, although in the nomination to the priesthood the recommendation from the wihares (colleges) is usually attended to. This interference of the Government in the religious afl'airs of the country, although induced from con- siderations of policy, has been attended with much inconvenience. It has failed to satisfy the chiefs, and it has checked the improve- ment of the country, and the advancement of the people. While the Government was bound, by the convention of 1815, to protect the people in the free exercise of their religion, the interposition of its authority to enfore an observance of its rites is at variance with those principles of religious freedom which it is a paramount duty to uphold. Nor can it justly afford to the Bhoodist faith a greater degree of support than it extends to the Christian religion, and to other systems, including the Hindoo and Mahomedan. In some districts, particularly those of Colombo and Galle, the Christians are more numerous than the Bhoodists, and the exertions made by the Christian missionaries for the diffusion of knowledge and for the correction of the habits and morals of the people throughout the country, have pre-eminently tended to promote the best interests of the country." 42 I have been informed that it was principally to the influence of Sir John D'Oyley the priests were indebted for the very favorable circumstances under which the Budhist religion was placed at the commencement of our Kandyan rule. Considerable jealousy was for some time evinced by the Government with respect to Missionary exertion. The first Mission School was estabhshed by the Rev. R. Newstead, of the Wesleyan Mission, at Rillegalle, a little on the Kandyan side of the limits, on the road between Kornegalle and Colombo. It was commenced early in 1819. At this time the Rev. Samuel Lambric, the worthy founder of the Church Mission in the interior, was sta- tioned in Kandy as Chaplain to the Forces. An application was made in the following year, for permission to establish a school at Kornegalle, but the undertaking was prohibited by the follow- ing official notification : " Kandyan Office^ Colombo, 20th Jan. 1820. *' Sir, " I am directed by His Excellency the Governor to inform you, in reply to your letter addressed to him requesting per- mission to establish a school in the Seven Corles, that it is not deemed, under existing circumstances, politically advisable to sanction the measure for the present. ** 1 have the honor to be. Sir, " Your most obedient Servant, 'G. LUSIGNAN. "Sec. Kandyan Provinces." " The Rev. R. Newstead." This prohibition was rescinded in the course of the same year, through the kind interposition of H. Wright, Esq., at that time Agent of Government for the Seven Korlas. It would be out of place were I to notice at large the efforts that have since been made to introduce Christianity among the Kandy ans, but I may be allowed to say, that in no instance have the people generally opposed the instruction of their children, or been averse to the commencement of divine service in their villages. A few days ago I addressed a company of men and women in one of the villages of Udanuwara. The man in whose house I stood said at the close of the service, " The people are dissatisfied with the temple worship ; they are dissatisfied with 43 the dewala worship, they are indifferent to Christianity; they live like the brutes ; but if you come again and again and in- struct us in these things, we are willing to hear, and we shall be able to learn." These sentiments are very general in the places I have recently visited. Even so early as 1819, a mis- sionary wrote thus: "On my last journey to Kandy (not the city, but the province) I visited two large Budhist temples, and had some interesting conversation with the priests, who do not seem much opposed to us, except from a kind of traditionary prejudice, than which nothing is more natural ; but there is dead inertness about them and their system which would never stand against the energetic exertions of a Christian missionary, at- tended with the blessing of his divine Master. I fully believe that, unsupported by the arm of secular power, they would fall before us like dew before the sun. The lower orders of the people, so far from appearing to defend their priests and their temples, seem rather disposed to laugh at their absurdities, when they hear them rationally exposed in their own language." For the information of persons unacquainted with the present circumstances of the colony, it may be necessary, before I con- clude, to refer briefly to its Christian statistics. The Eccle- siastical Department consists of an archdeacon; 5 European chaplains ; 1 Portuguese do. ; 2 Singhalese do. ; 2 Malabar do. ; 5 proponents, or preachers of the Gospel to the natives ; regis- rars, clerks, &c. The clergyman of the Dutch church is also supported by the Government. Ecclesiastical expenditure, 1837 : ordinary, 7,924 1^. 2fc?., extraordinary, 2,240 125. d^d. There are 36 Government schools: expenditure 1,541; scholars, 2,061, of whom 222 are girls. In addition, the head master of the Colombo Academy receives 200 per annum, and his assistant 100. The incidental expenses for education, in- cluding grants to the various Missionary Societies, may be stated at 1,100, making a total expenditure, on the part of Government, of about 3,000 per annum for educational pur- poses. The Church Mission : European missionaries, 9, when the establishment is complete ; catechists, 10 ; schoolmasters and other subordinate agents, 97; average attendance at the ser- vices, 2,418; communicants, 133; schools, 58; seminarists, 71 ; boys, 2,036 ; girls, 426. 44 The Wesleyan Mission : Singhalese district : European mis- sionaries, 5 ; assistant missionaries, 9; catechists, 12; commu- nicants, 557; schools, 81; boys, 3,257; girls, 558. Tamul district : European missionaries, 3 ; assistant missionaries, 5 ; communicants, 139; scholars, 2,136. Total communicants, 696; scholars, 5,951. The Baptist Mission : European missionaries, 2 ; assistants, 5 ; schools, 1 1 ; scholars, 400. The American Mission : American missionaries, 6 : assistant missionaries, 2 ; catechists, 6 ; native assistants, 60 ; pupils in the seminary, 101 ; girls in the central school, 90; native free schools, 42; boys, 1,200; girls, 300. The number of scholars is far below the usual average, as most of the native schools have been suspended, from pecuniary embarrassment. The Eastern Female Education Society has established 3 schools in Ceylon ; the Roman Cathohc missionaries have 1 1 8 schools under their care ; and there are private schools in several of the principal towns. As the population of the colony is stated at 1,256,019, the Government expenditure for educational purposes will average a little more than two farthings for each individual. The number of children receiving Christian instruction averages 1 in 88 of the whole population ; but in the Tamul district the proportion is one twelfth. I have no data by which I can ascertain the proportion of Christians and heathens. The number of professing Christians in the maritime provinces is very large, but so far as the Sin- ghalese districts are concerned, if the Roman Catholics be ex- cepted, I fear that the number of adults who do not practise heathen superstitions in some form or other, cannot be stated at more than five or six thousand. There are many Budhists priests who were baptised in their infancy, and there are kapuwas yet practising their profession, who call themselves Christians because they have been baptised. The Central Province may be considered as entirely heathen, the exceptions being too few to be taken into the account. The island, naturally most luxuriant is morally desert ; but the servants of Christ are encouraged, by many promising indications, to proceed in their work. Many triumphs have already been achieved ; the promises are sure ; 4^ and even this people ** shall soon stretch out their hands unto God." A better opportunity than the present could not have been found for this discussion. The Right Honorable James A. Stewart Mackenzie, from the time of his entrance upon the Government of this rising colony, has constantly manifested that it is one grand object of his rule to promote the interests of religion generally in the island, and the spread of Christianity among the natives of all classes ; and I have the greater satis- faction in making this attempt, as I know full well that if these evils are seen by His Excellency, in the light in which I have been led to regard them, he will be the readiest individual in the colony to come forward and decree their suppression. It ought to be generally known, as an example worthy of universal imita- tion among Europeans, that the family of His Excellency, as I have heard upon good authority, have never, though often solicited, visited a single temple, or been present at the perfor- mance of any heathen ceremony, since their arrival in Kandy. The acts of former Governors have placed the present administra- tion in circumstances of some difficulty, but these may be speedily overcome by the judgment and energy of His Excel- lency, aided as I trust they will now be by the voice of the church, too long silent. The present Acting Agent of Govern- ment for the Central Province is the Honorable J. N. Mooyaart, a gentleman who has stood forward nobly in defence of rehgion, during a long residence in the colony, and by his own personal exertions endeavoured to spread its saving power among the people. The most liberal assistance is rendered by the Government to the various philanthropic and religious institutions of the island. The missionary societies receive its countenance and support, and are allowed the free developement of their separate plans, for the benefit of the benighted Ceylonese. The march of im- provement in the political condition of the people has recently been most rapid ; and though there are yet many defects both constitutional and executive, I speak advisedly when I say, that no land ever shone upon by an eastern sun had greater reason to rejoice in its Government, than the people of Ceylon in the beneficent aspect of the British rule ; compared with their former condition it is wealth to poverty, freedom to slavery, and 46 dignity to the lowest degradation. The natives at large see their privilege, and are grateful for the boon. Not alone were the subverters of the Kandyan monarchy in paying too great a respect to the native superstitions. The brave men who conquered our eastern possessions by their blood-stained swords appear on this count to have been generally culpable. It must be their excuse that at this time the subject of conversion had not occupied its rightful share of the public attention ; and that as the pastors of the church, as well as its private members, were, with scarce an exception, one and all indifferent, it was not to be supposed that military men, in the confusion of conquest, would regard the matter in the serious light in which it has since been presented. It was an easy method of soothing the minds of an irritated people, to flatter their religious prejudices ; it lulled alarm without incurring expense, and was in many instances a pecuniary advantage ; it was too tempting an opportunity to be foregone. The servants of Christ have been awakened from their stupor; they have argued the question in words that have told like the thunders of heaven ; and even the East India Company, in the Despatch I have already quoted, has been brought to acknowledge the justice of the requisition, and bow before the ordinance of God, *' I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils." When a power which commands the obedience of nearly 100,000,000 people, and these too Bramins, the proudest and most bigoted of all religionists, has grappled with the subject, surmounted its difficulties, and relinquished a vast revenue in consequence; it were idle, it were worse than ridiculous, to talk of insuperable difficulties connected 800,000 people, and these Budhists, the most indifferent section of the whole heathen race, and insulated in their geographical position from the rest of the world. It has been decided that the patronage of Idolatry by a Christian Government is wrong, and the only question now to be argued is, whether the acts of the British Government of Ceylon are affected by this sentence of condemnation. I have given my own humble opinion, and I now leave the subject to the more searching investigation of those who are better fitted for the task. Sincerity of intention, and local opportunities for procur- ing information which few other persons not officially connected with Government possess, must be pleaded in excuse for my \ 47 presumption in having dared to lift so feeble a hand in support of the ark of my God. I may be wrong in my opinion there may be no cause for grief or alarm I may have espoused a cause iA which none of my friends can support me ; but by all that is glorious in truth, and all that is accursed in error ; if there be an unspeakable bliss offered to the believer in heaven, and an unsearchable torment appointed to the sinner in hell ; I ask, I entreat of the members of the Christian church, that they will give the subject of this Essay their most serious attention. 48 APPENDIX. THE PERAHARA. The word perahara means literally a procession, and though the epithet may be applied to any procession, it is used emphati- cally of a festival held annually in the city of Kandy, which commenced this year on the day of the new moon in August. We have tried in vain to obtain an account of its origin from the natives ; they say that its history is lost in the darkness of antiquity. A kapurala of Udanuwara refers it to the time of Gajabahu, who reigned A.D. 113, and says that this king was a native of some foreign country, where these processions were in common use. This account cannot be correct, as Gajabahu was the son of a native prince, but on referring to the history of this monarch, there are circumstances related which may assist us in our researches. Gajabahu resided at Anuradhapura. One night, when walking through the city in disguise, he saw a widow weeping, whose sons had been taken captive by the SoUi king, in an invasion of Ceylon from the continent, during the previous reign. The king made a mark upon the door of the house, and returned to his palace. Next morning he called his nobles, and asked what injustice had been committed in the city. They rephed that the whole city was as free from injustice as a house wherein a festival is celebrated, when the king, in anger, sent for the woman whose dwelling he had marked, and asked her why she was crying upon the previous evening. She said that in the reign of the king's father, the people of SoUi had taken 12,000 captives from Ceylon, among whom were two of her sons, and that it was on this account she wept. Upon hearing this, they collected an army, and proceeding to Yapapatuna, (Jaffna) he informed his people that as the SoUi king had taken captive his subjects, he must go and bring them back to their own homes. With Neela, a giant, he arrived at the sea shore, where he dismissed his army. 49 and taking an iron rod he struck the sea, which divided, and he and the giant went over to the continent. The SolU king was in great fear, and to increase his terror Neela took one of the royal elephants, and dashed it against another with such force, that both the animals died. In the same manner, the giant devastated the country. The SoUi king, when he heard of these things from his nobles, asked Gajabahu why he had come with an array to destroy his realm ; to which he replied, that he had brought no army besides his giant, and proceeded, " In the days of your father, when my father reigned, he went over to Ceylon and seized 1 2,000 persons, and brought them hither captive, and I have come to demand them." The Solli king answered forth- with, " Though you go to dewyalokaya, and receive the assis- tance of the asoors, you will not be able to overcome me. Gaja- bahu was greatly enraged at this refusal to deliver up the captives, and declared that he would not only take his own subjects, but 12,000 other captives as well, and he threatened to burn the royal city to ashes in case of refusal. To show his great strength, that the threats were not idle words, he squeezed water out of a handful of dry sand, and afterwards out of the iron rod, which frightened the Solli king to such a degree, that he delivered up the 24,000 persons demanded, the golden halamba of Pattinee, the sacred utensils of 4 dewalas, and " the refection dish " of Budha ; and with these Gajabahu returned to Ceylon. The 1 2,000 Singhalese were sent to their respective homes, and the 12,000 captives were allowed to reside in Aloot- kfirakorla, a district to the northward of Colombo, the inhabi- tants of which to this day retain many marks of their continental origin. The sacred vessels here referred to had been taken away in the reign of Walagambahu, B. C. 90, and there can be little doubt that it was to commemorate their return the Perahara was originally established, as the carr}'ing of the halamba and other relics seems to be the most essential part of the procession, and to the dividing of the waters also a reference will after- wards be made. It is not clear from the narrative whether the halamba had been previously in Ceylon, though from other traditions we have heard we should suppose they had ; but this will make little difference in the intention of the festival, as it D 50 may still be held to celebrate their arrival. Tt is upon these relics that the heathen natives swear in the courts of justice. The origin of the Perahara is therefore to be dated as far back as the second century of the Christian sera. The account given of the Perahara by Knox, as it was cele- brated in the reign of Raja Singha II. 1 670, is as follows : " The greatest solemnity is performed in the city of Cande ; but at the same time the like festival or Perahar is observed in divers other cities and towns of the land. The Perahar at Kandy is ordered after this manner. " The priest bringeth forth a painted stick, about which strings of flowers are hanged, and so it is wrapped in branched silk, some part covered and some not ; before which the people bow down and worship ; each one presenting him with an offering according to his free will. These free-will offerings being received from the people, the priest takes his painted stick on his shoulder, having a cloth tied about his mouth to keep his breath from defiling this pure piece of wood, and gets up upon an elephant all covered with white cloth, upon which he rides with all the triumph that king and kingdom can afford, through all the streets of the city. But before him go, first some 50 or GO elephants, with brass bells hanging on each side of them, which tingle as they g. " Next follow men dressed up like giants which go dancing along agreeable to a tradition they have, that anciently there were huge men, that could carry vast burthens, and pull up trees by the roots, &c. After them go a multitude of drummers, and trurapetters and pipers, which make such a great and loud noise, that nothing else besides them can be heard. Then followeth a company of men dancing along, and after these women of such castes or trades as are necessary for the service of the pagoda, as potters and washer-women, each caste goeth in companies by themselves, three and three in a row, holding one another by the hand; and between each company go drummers, pipers and dancers. " After these comes an elephant with two priests on his back : one whereof is the priest before spoken of carrying the painted stick on his shoulder, who represents Allout neur dio, that is, the god and maker of heaven and earth. The other sits behind 51 him, holding a round thing hke an umbrella over his head, to keep off sun or rain. Then within a yard after him, on each hand of him, follow two other elephants mounted with two other priests, with a priest sitting behind each, holding umbrella's as the former, one of them represents Cotteragan dio, and the other Potting dio. These three gods that reside here in com- pany are accounted . of all other the greatest and chiefest, each one having his residence in a several pagoda. "Behind go their cook- women, with things like whisks in their hands, to scare away flies from them ; but very fine as they can make themselves. " Next after the gods and their attendants, go some thousands of ladies and gentlewomen, such as are of the best sort of the inhabitants of the land, arrayed in the bravest manner that their ability can afford, and so go hand in hand three in a row. At which time all the beauties on Zelone in their bravery do go to attend upon their gods in their progress about the city. Now are the streets also all made clean, and on both sides all along the streets, poles are stuck up with flags and pennons hanging at the top of them, and adorned with boughs and branches of cocoanut trees hanging like fringes, and hghted lamps all along on both sides of the streets, both day and night. " Last of all, go the commanders sent from the king to see these ceremonies decently performed, with their soldiers after them. And in this manner they ride all round about the city once by day and once by night. This festival lasts from the new moon to the full moon. *' Formerly the king himself in person used to ride on horseback with all his train before him in this solemnity, but now he delights not in these shows. " Always before the gods set out to take their progress they are set in the pagoda door a good while, that the people may come to worship and bring their offerings unto them : during which time there are dancers, playing and showing many petty tricks of activity before him. To see the which, and also to shew themselves in their bravery, occasions more people to resort thither, than otherwise their zeal and devotion would prompt them to do. " Two or three davs before the full moon, each of these gods 52 hath a pallenkine carried after them to add unto their honor, in the which there are several pieces of their superstitious rehcts, and a silver pot, which just at the hour of full moon they ride out unto a river, and dip full of water, which is carried back with them into the temple, where it is kept till the year after and then flung away. And so the ceremony is ended for that year. " This festival of the gods taking their progress through the city in the year 1664 the king would not permit to be performed ; and that same year the rebellion happened, but never since hath he hindered it. * At this time they have a superstition, which lasteth six or seven days, too foolish to write ; it consists in dancing, singing, and juggling. The reason of which is lest the eyes of the peo- ple, or the power of the jaccos, or infernal spirits, might any ways prove prejudicial or noisome to the aforesaid gods in their progress abroad. During the celebration of this great festival, there are no drums allowed to be beaten to any particular gods at any private sacrifice." Knox is right in his descriptions, but wrong, as might natu- rally be expected, in some of his explanatory remarks. The attendance of the giants, commemorative of the redoubtable Neela, is another evidence that it is to the reign of Gajabahu we are to look for the origin of the festival. In the Ceylon Almanac for 1834, is a "Description of the four principal Kandyan festivals, compiled from materials fur- nished by a native chief." From this document, we learn, that until the reign of king Kirtisree (a. d. 1747-1780) the Perahara was celebrated exclusively in honour of the four deities, Natha, Vishnu, Katragam, and Pattinee, and altogether unconnected with Budhism. The sacred dalada relic of Budha was first carried in procession, together with the insignia of the four gods, in 1775. The circumstances which gave rise to this innovation were as follows. The Siamese priests who were invited here by king Kirtisree, for the purpose of restoring the Upasampadawa, the highest order of Budhist ordination, one day hearing the noise of jinjalls, &c. enquired the cau.=^e, and were informed that preparations were being made for celebrating a festival in honor of the gods. They took umbrage at this, and observed that they had been made to believe that Budhism was the established 53 religion of the kingdom, and they had never expected to see Hindooism triumphant in Kandy. To appease them the king sent to assure them that this festival of the Perahara was chiefly in"^ ended to glorify the memory of Budha, and to convince them of it, the king gave directions that the great relic should be carried foremost in the procession, dedicating his own howdah for its reception. There can be little doubt that the Perahara received the coun- tenance of the native princes, rather from a political than a religious motive, though these circumstances would vary with the disposition of the reigning king. It was one of the few occasions upon which the monarch presented himself to the public gaze. The most imposing edifice connected with the palace was the pattrippo, an octagon of two stories, the upper story having a balcony that overlooked the principal square of the royal city, on one side of which was a lake, and on the other various religious and consecrated places. The procession was collected in the square, that the king might see it from the balcony ; and when the curtain which shrouded his majesty at his entrance was withdrawn, and the assembly did lowly rever- ence, amidst the clamor of the drums and pipes, the sight of the prostrate thousands, the elephants richly comparisoned, the royal guard in proud array, the countless banners floating in the breeze, and the adigars and other chiefs at the head of their res- pective clans, all arranged in due order and degree, must have produced an eff*ect that is not often equaled even in the festive scenes of far mightier kingdoms. On some occasions the king joined in the procession, but in this there was no uniformity of observance, his majesty being at one time on foot, and at another, we are told, in a golden chariot drawn by eight horses. The Perahara affbrded an excellent opportunity to the king to examine into the state of the provinces, the conduct of the governors, and the obedience of the people. The refractory were punished, the loyal rewarded, and new regulations were now promulgated, that they might be carried to the more distant districts of the island. To the inhabitants generally it must have been a time of grateful festivity, especially during the reigns of the more popular kings, as it was a spectacle of splendour, and the various chiefs were able to exhibit their consequence in the presence of the assembled kingdom. 54 The Peraliara begins on the day of the new moon in the month of aesala, which this year answers to our August. Tlie commencement is regulated by the nekata, or situation of the moon ; and at the appointed moment, which must be either in the evening or morning, never at mid-day, the kapun'da of the Vishnu dewala cuts down a young jack tree which has been pre- viously chosen, and is consecrated for the purpose by mysterious rites. The day before, the kapurala must bathe in pure water, anoint his head with the juice of the lime, and clothe himself in clean garments. In ancient times flowers were used, as men- tioned by Knox, and these were the flowers of the aehsela, cathantocarpus fistulata, but either because this tree does not now bear flowers in the proper season, or because another tree is more conveniently found, the jack has been substituted in its place, which, however, for the time, receives the name of a^hsela. When Knox wrote, the procession was in June ; when Davy wrote, in July ; it is now in August ; and like all other eastern festivals, from the imperfection of the native astronomy, it tra- verses through all the months of the year. The painted stick of Knox, adorned with flowers, appears to be commemorative of the wonder-working rod of Gajabahu, and the jack is undoubt- edly an innovation. When the tree has been cut down, it is divided into four sections, one of which is conveyed to each of the dewalas, under a white canopy, and accompanied by music. The section is cleaned at the dewala, and put into a hole, after w^hich oflferings of cakes are presented, called ganabodana. The gana are an order of inferior deities attendant upon the gods, and bodana is the Eloo form of bhojana, food. The consecrated wood is adorned with leaves, flowers, and fruit, and during the first five days the procession simply passes round it, the Kapuralas bearing the sacred vessels and imple- ments. After this time they are brought beyond the precincts of the dewala, and paraded through the principal streets of Kandy. On the night of the full moon the procession is joined by a relic of Budha, properly accompanied, which is afterwards carried to the Adahana Maluwa, a consecrated place near which are the tombs of the ancient kings and other individuals of the royal race. The maluw^a is encircled by stones, within which, it is said, the kings had no jurisdiction ; it was a kind of sanctuary. 55 The relic receives the adoration of the crowd until the morning, when it is returned to the temple. Towards the end of the festival the procession approaches the river, at the ancient ferry not far from the Peradenia bridge, and whilst the multitude remains upon the bank, the Kapuralas enter a boat that has been splendidly decorated for the occasion. The boat is rowed to some distance, when the Kapurfda takes a golden sword, and strikes the water. At the same instant a brazen vessel is dipped into the river, and whilst the water is yet disparted, a portion is taken up, which is kept until the vessel can be filled in the ame manner at the next festival. The water which had been taken the previous year is at the same time poured back into the river. There is a close analogy between this striking of the river and the striking of the sea by Gajabahu, though what is meant by the dividing of the waters we cannot tell. It is probable that there was something extraordinary connected with the passage of the king, which tradition afterwards magnified into this miracle. Were we disposed to be fanciful, we might notice the resemblance which the striking of the sea by a rod, the squeezing of water from the dry sand, the errand of the king to demand captives, and some other circumstances, bear to certain facts in the Israelitish exodus, but we have seen so many similar con- structions levelled to the ground at a single blow, that we forbear to pursue the parallel. The general arrangement of the Perahara is the same now as in former times, but in the grandeur of the spectacle there can be no comparison. There are still elephants richly adorned ; flags, pennons, and banners ; several bands of drums, tomtoms, and pipes ; the palanqueens of the gods ; the sacred utensils ; and the chiefs of the dewfdas, &c. with their separate retinues. The streets are lighted by vessels of oil, placed upon poles, and carried by men, after the manner of the meshals of the Arab tribes. There are several who have a light at each end of the pole, which they whirl round at intervals with some velocity. The din of the tomtoms cannot be better described than in the words of Knox; "they make such a great and loud noise, that nothing else besides them can be heard." The chiefs walk alone, the crowd being kept off by their attendants ; the stiffness of 56 their gait, as they are wrapped round with manifold layers of cloth, being in perfect contrast to their usual ease, indeed we may say gracefulness, of manner, llie long whips were cracked before the adigar until the present year, but no one has been appointed to this office since the death of the old man whose presence we now miss, and no other individual is entitled to the honour. The whole procession may extend about a quarter of a mile, but this is only towards its conclusion, as it gradually in- creases in the number of its attendant elephants, &c., from the commencement. The natives who attend as spectators are now few, even in comparison with recent years, and it would seem that in a little while its interest will vanish away, with many a better remembrance of the olden time. The procession was one day prevented from taking its accustomed round, as a man had hung himself in one of the streets through which it must have passed. The natives are very unwilling to enter into conversa- tion respecting the detail of this ceremony, and say that there are many mysteries connected with it which they cannot reveal. The history of the Perahara is another evidence how tena- ciously the people adhere to the Braminical superstitions, and would tend to prove, that even when Budhism was predominant upon the continent of India, it must have had very little hold upon the mass of the population ; and this may account for its almost total destruction after it had once the abihty to erect the splendid temples that yet remain, monuments at once of its majesty and its weakness. Budhism is too philosophical, too cold and cheerless, to be a popular creed, and it is only its pre- sent alliance with its deadly antagonist of former times that now preserves it in the place it occupies as the national religion of Ceylon. The Friend, September 1839. THE DONDRA FESTIVAL. This place was the capital of Ceylon for a short period, during an usurpation in the reign of Sri Sangha Bo 2nd, who reigned in the 7th century ; and it is probable that the temple, of which numerous remains are still in existence, was built about the same time. The point of land near which the present village is 67 situated, forms the extreme south of the island, and is well known to mariners. The festival takes place at the same time as the Perahara of Kandy, and is under the control of the modliar of the district, who is appointed as Basnaika Nilama by the Government. After the necessary preparations for the procession have been made, the kapurala of the Vishnu dewala commences the cere- mony at the first quarter after the new moon, at the appointed nekata, by a rite called kaphitaweema. Six kowilas, or tem- porary dewalas, are then erected for the gods Katragama, Natha, Saman, and Alut, and the goddess Pattinee, whose kapuwa is a female, and is called Pattinee Hamy. All the kapuwas bathe in clean water, and dedicate themselves to the task in the usual manner ; but before any offerings are made the tomtom beaters, singers, and dancers, the latter in most grotesque masks^ with the principal kapuwas bearing the sacred utensils, parade the streets of the villages. They are careful to return to the dewala before the proper nekata. The Basnaika Nilama, by the hand of his servants, makes the first ofi'ering at each of the altars. The kapuwa stands at the entrance of the dewala as the people present their ofl^erings, anoints their foreheads with a preparation of sandal- wood, and prays for a blessing upon them and their families. This continues 36 hours without any interruption. The expenses of the ceremony are defrayed from the offer- ings ; but, as I have said, the Basnaika Nilama is appointed by the Government ; and on the part of the Government he ap- points the kapuralas in turn, receives the money, and divides it, making the Government the conductor of the ceremony. The offerings are divided into 5 portions ; the modliar takes two- fifths, and the remainder is divided into 5 portions again ; the kapuwas take two-fifths, and the remainder is once more divided into 5 portions ; the arachy takes two-fifths, and the remainder is now divided among those who have assisted in preparing the procession, as the washermen, potters, tomtom beaters, &c. I was present at the Perahara in 1827, when it was computed that about 40,000 persons attended. Some years ago, the popularity of Katragama appearing to be on the decline, the worship of the other deities was introduced, in order to support the waning interests of superstition. The Alut Dewiyo, or new god, is at present one of the most popular. Some say, that he B 58 resided in the Magam Pattoo, a neighbouring province, and died about 60 years ago. A fatal murrain broke out among the cattle at the time of his death, and as he had been a man of austere and eccentric habits, it was supposed to have been caused by his influence. Offerings were made to him to appease his anger, and since that period he has been reckoned among the gods. Others say, that he was a man of Dondra, who having been lost, no one knew how or where, came to his own house in the mid- dle of the night, and told his family that he had become a god : as a proof, they were to take meat into the jungle, and he would come and eat it an easy method truly of claiming divine honors. ** They worship they know not what.** Q. Palmer, Printer, 4, Robert-street, Bedford-row, London. MEMOIR OF THE Prittciipal #iCiiiywiM[Ct0 ^ DURING AN EMBASSY FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO THE it v/ould have to return and land at Canton. TO THK rOUKT OF CHINA. 13 SECTION II. TAe arrival of the Embasst/, and Voyage to the Gulph of Pit'che-lee, On the 9th of February, 1816, His Excellency Lord Amherst, Embassador Extraordinary from his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, inbehalf of his Majesty, to the Emperor of China, embarked at Portsmouth, on board his Majesty's Ship Alceste, Captain MaxwelL The Honorable Company's Ship Hewit, Captain Camp- bell, was laden with presents; and his Majesty's Brig Lyra, Captain Hall, was attached to attend on the Alceste. June 23. Sir George Staunton received at Macao a letter from Lord Amherst, informing him of his arrival in the straits of Sunda on the 9th of June ; and that he proposed prosecuting his voyage in a few days. Sunday morning July 7th, Sir George Staunton, Messrs. Toone, Davis, Pearson, Manning, and Morrison, embarked on board the Honorable Company's cruiser, Discovery, Captain Ross, then lying in the Typa, near Macao, The Honorable Company's cruiser, Investiga- tor, Captain Crawford, put to sea with the Discovery to meet the Embassador. The following day, the brig Lyra arrived, announcing the Embassador's approach. The Alceste and Hewit arrived off the Lemma Island on the 10th of July. It was then found that the Embassy was constituted of the following persons : his Excellency Lord Amherst, Embassador Extraordinary, and Minister Plenipoten- tiary; Sir George Thomas Staunton, Bart., first Com- missioner; Henry Ellis, Esquire, second Commissioner ; Messrs. Toone, Davis, Morrison, and Manning, Secreta- ries and Interpreters for the Chinese Department; Mr. Hayne, acting Secretary to the Embassy, and the Em- 14 LORD Amherst's embassy bassador's Private Secretary; the Honora})le Mr. Am- herst, gentleman; Rev. Mr. Griffith, Chaplain and Tutor; Mr. Abel, Surgeon and Naturalist ; Mr. Pearson, Dr. Lynn, Surgeons; Mr. Havell, Artist or Draughts- man; Lieutenant Cooke, Commander of the Guard; Honorable Mr. Somerset, 2nd officer of the Guard; Mr, Marrige, in care of the presents; Messrs. Abbot, Martin, and Poole, attached to the Embassy ; Guard 22, Band 12, and servants, making in all 75 persons. On the 11th and 12th of July, the above mentioned five vessels watered at Hong-kong, near the Lemma. Mr. Abel went on shore in pursuit of his object as Natur- alist. During our stay, we received his Imperial Majes- ty's reply to the Foo-yuen's report respecting the Embassy; in which his Majesty declared his readiness to receive it by the way of Teen-tsin, and stated, that he had given the necessary orders, for due preparation to be made to receive the Embassy, to Na-yeu-ching, the Viceroy of Pit-che-lee, and Kwang-hwuy,then Director of the salt department, at the port of Teen-tsin. His Majesty directed also that a native linguist, acquainted with the language and manners of foreigners, should be sent to Court, and one to the Che-kcang, where the ships of the Embassy might probably touch. Sir George Staunton and Mr. Morrison moved into the Alceste, Messrs. Toone and Davis to the Hewit, Messrs. Pearson and Manning remained in the Discovery. July 13th. Our little fleet got under way with a fair wind, which in twelve days carried us within sight of Ching-shan, the promontory of Shan-tung. The many pointed hills which form the promontory, presented an interesting appearance ; as almost any land in fact does, after the dull sameness of sea and sky, with the unvaried unbroken line of the surrounding horizon. We kept so far out to sea as to perceive nothing of the Island Chow- shan. Our track appeared q uite clear and safe. During the passage, Mr. Morrison translated his Royal Highness the Prince Regent's letter to the Emperor of China; a list of presents, and of the persons in the Em- TO THE COURT OF cirrxA. 15 bassy, with some other official papers.^^ On the 26th Mr. Toone was sent forward in the Lyra to Ta-koo, with a letter from the Embassador to the Viceroy of Chih-le, informing him of our approach, and requesting him to announce it to his Imperial Majesty. Copies of the above lists were inclosed, and a request made that his Excellency would send off 20 boats for the presents and haggagey and 10 boats for the Embassador and Suite. On the 28th of July, the Alceste, Hewit, Discovery, and Investigator, anchored about 12 miles from Ta-koo, in about 3 fathoms water. The Lyra was nearer in shore, but could see little of the land from its being so low. Mr. Toone wrote on a piece of paper the object of the Lyra's approach, and gave it to some fishermen, that they might give it to any officer on shore ; which they did, and which brought off the next morning, July 29th, inferior officers, to whom he delivered the letter to the Viceroy. Those persons asked whether we had any likeness of the Emperor on board ; remembering that in the last Embassy, an officer was degraded, for not going off to see the picture of Keen-lung, which happened to be in the fleet. During the next day the Lyra joined the squadron. The gentlemen of the Lyra were astonished to find the fishermen in their boats as naked as savages, without * In those papers the Embassador and Commissioners were styled, TFang- Chae, "royal envoys," and the presents, Le-wuh, " things given from cwirtesy." The Chinese wish to call Foreign Embassadors, A'/zw^-sAe, "envoys with tribute," and the present?, Kung-wuh, "articles of tribute." That the word Kung has long been understood as here stated, appears by the following quotation, " Kao- tsong of the Sung dynasty made peace with the Tartar King Ile-tsong, on very dishonorable conditions ; for in signing this treaty, he made use ofthe word Chin, which signifies subject, and of Cong, which is tributary." (Du Halde.) It may occur to the reader that the Chinese give presents in return : true, but they call them by a very different name, viz. Shang, "a thing bestowed on an inferior." The letters which have passed between European Sovereigns and Chinese Emperors, have not been called by the same name. The letters brought they wish to be called Peaou-ivan, " A representation made," as if by petition. The letters they give are called CUh, "An Imperial Mandate." We used the word Shoo, " A book or letter," such as passes between equals. The Chinese allowed us our own phraseology, and in speaking to us, generally used it ; what they wrote on the flags of boats, or used amongst themselves, we could not control. ^^ Lord amhekst\s embassy appearing conscious of shame. Sometimes they wore a jacket over their shoulders^ but had no clothing for the lower part of the body. The same w^as true of the trackers up to Teen-tsin. They passed crowds of peo- ple, amongst whom occasionally were females at no great distance; it appeared so usual as to create no notice. Throughout the provinces of Chih-le and Shan- tung, poor boys to the age of twelve or thirteen were generally naked, standing, or running about in promis- cuous crowds. August 1st. Four Mandarins of inferior rank, one a military man with a crystal button, came off to the ships, and informed us that Kwang, a Rin-chae, or Imperial Commissioner, whom we shall hereafter call the Legate, was on shore at Ta-koo. They were instructed to ascer- tain the number of ships, of persons in the ships, and so on ; most of which questions had been anticipated by our letter to Court; but every Chinese officer wishes to inform himself of the numerical details of any affair, that he may be prepared for the interrogatories of his supe- rior. However proper it may be for them to obtjiii this information, they often act improperly by annoying the same person to give often the same information. These persons requested that some gentleman should go on shore to see the Legate, and give him such infor- mation as he might desire. It was therefore directed that Mr. Morrison, accompanied by Lieutenant Cooke, should go on shore in a ship's boat. A boat of the Dis- covery, under the care of Captain Crawford, and rowed by Lascars, accordingly went. The passage is exceed- ingly shallow; in some places not more than two feet : Ta-koo, a poor village, is situated a mile or two from the entrance. At it there is a temple, at which the Legate had taken up his abode. It rained when w^e reached the beach, and we had to wa* t till we were an- nounced. The officer with us was civil in endeavouring to keep us from the rain. In a short time carriages, or covered single horse carts, were brought to the beach : wc got into them, and drove off about a quarter of a TO THE COURT OF CHINA. If mile through a very dirty road to the temple. All- aromid was a flat, marshy , unproductive, gloomy region^ We entered an inner room in the temple, and were re- quired to send in our names, and what we were, to the still inner apartment. On being ushered in, we step- ped over the threshold, walked up, and made our bow^ On looking round there were no chairs there to receive us, but withoutside the threshold on the left side were placed three chairs. We went to conciliate, and there- fore, though we felt the haughty reception intended, took no notice of it, but sat down. In Chinese apartments there is placed at the head of the room, a large broad couch, called a Kang ; in the middle of it stands a table about eighteen inches high, intended to rest the arm on, or to place tea on; on each side of this the two principal persons sit; the left is the place of honor. From the ends of the couch, at right angles, are placed two rows of chairs ; the rank dimin- ishes as they recede from the couch : the first in the left side row is the highest place. To prevent persons taking a place they do not wish them, they sometimes remove the chairs, as was the case in the present instance. There were no chairs at the head of the right-hand row, but three placed, as I have already observed, withoutside the threshold. The Legate sat on the right-hand end of the couch, leaving the chief place empty for his absent colleague. At the upper end of the left row of chairs, the commander of the district, v/ith a red button in his cap, sat ; next to him Yin, a military officer [Heetaej with a red button, and Chang, a civil officer [Tuon-tues] of Teen-tsin, with a blue button. These two latter per- sons were to attend upon the accommodation and safe conduct of the Embassy, under the Legate and Viceroy. These two gentlemen properly bore the title of Ta-Iaoii- yay, " Great venerable father," but, in their intercourse with foreigners, were called by their domestics Fojiriy " Great Man." The Legate and Yin w^ere Tartars ; Chang was a Chinese. Kwang, the Legale, was a little man, about b% years of age ; pleasant and conversible in B 18 LORD Amherst's embassy his manner; but artful and fraudulent; seeking to obtain his purpose rather by negative than positive acts ; by withdraw^ing the means of comfort, rather than by in- flicting what was disagreeable ; close-minded, specious, and clever. Yin was of low stature and ruddy com- plexion, good-natured, with a little of the feudal pride of the Tartar, and ignorant, as Tartar Chinese military men generally are. Chang was rather old, tall, thin, and emaciated, it is to be apprehended by the use of opium and debauchery. The Commander of the troops at Ta- koo was not seen frequently enough to form an opinion of his character. In the presence of tkis assembly, the Legate began, in a distinct and cheerful tone, to enquire the distance we had come ; whether we had touched at Macao ; how long we had been from thence ; whether we had met the vessels he sent to meet us he never sent any; the number of ships ; of men in the ships ; of persons in the Embassy, and so on ; to which he received such answers as truth and prudence suggested. The other gentlemen joined the Legate in expressing their satisfaction. He hinted that instead of seventy-five persons, fifty would be enough ; to which it was replied, that to China twenty or thirty more or less, could be of very little consequence ; that to do the thing liberally would be handsome. He received the suggestion, and we heard no more of the objection till it was too late to alter it. He said that Chang and Yin would the next day go on board our ships to wait on the Embassador and the Commissioners. After this we withdrew, and had a dinner in the Chinese manner with the inferior officers who had been on board. In the Temple there was an upper story, from which w^e had a view of the surrounding country, and of the ships in the roads. Their masts only were visible. An officer entered into conversation with Mr. Morrison, and informed him that he understood the Embassy would not remain at Court so long as the last one did: that his Imperial Majesty was going to Je-ho in Tartary, and did not mean to take the Embassy thither. We heard that 10 TttE COURT OF CHINA, 1^ the Viceroy Na-yeu-ching, who had been ordered to at- tend to the Embassy, was since degraded and cast into prison. We went into one of the priests' rooms to take tea, and found hanging against the wall, as idol pictures do, an European print of the Head of Jesus Christ, crowned with thorns, and a reed in His hand. Around on the Chinese paper, in the centre of which it was pasted, were Chinese characters.. When requested to take it down, the priest declined, saying, that it was dedicated, and he could not take it down ; but he show^ed to Mr. Morrison a service, in mysterious Chinese phraseology, which was read when the picture was worshipped. We remained at the temple all night, lodged upon benches covered with mats, without any bedding whatever, not even a pillow for our heads. Lieutenant Cooke and Captain Crawford being inured to bear fatigue, did not regard it ; Mr. Mor- rison, from the want of rest, and a rough passage back to the ships next morning, was much indisposed lc)r two or three days. The Legate intended to have given us some presents in the morning, but our rough lodging in- duced us to hasten our departure very early. The Chinese afterwards made an apology for entertaining us so ill. August 4th. Chang and Yin, or as their servants call them Chan^- Tajin and Yin- Tajin^ " the great men Chang and Yin," came off to the Alceste to wait on the Embassador and Commissioners. The boats in which they came off were flat bottomed, and usually employed to cq,rry rice to Leaou-tung. On the deck a temporary cabin was erected for the two gentlemen. They sent before them large red cards of numerous folds, and about 18 inches frojn top to bottom. In the middle of the page were written their names and rank beginning with Teen- chaou, " Of the Celestial Empire." This style of card is commonly affected in their intercourse with foreigners. Amongst themselves they wn-ite, on a much smaller card, their name, prefacing it with Yu-te," Your simple young- er brother," or some other expression of humility, and 2b 38)1 LORD AMHER.**t's EMBAS8V elbsing it with Twi-show pae, " bows his head and wor- ships." At all these assumptions of greatness, of course, the Embassador was prepared rather to smile than be angry. They were saluted as they came alongside, and remarked afterwards the tremendous roar of the guns. Having, with some apprehension on their part, reached the deck of the Alceste, they passed through a line of marines, and were received in the upper cabin by Cap- tain Maxwell. The Embassador and two Commissioners' received them in Lord Amherst's cabin, which was below. The Embassador was dressed in his robes, and taking the centre seat placed them on a row of chairs at his left, iiir their apprehension the place of honor ; Sir George and Mr. Ellis took the right-hand row of chairs. Chang afterwards desired his servant to hint to Mr. Morrison^ thathe wished to be placed on a line with the Embassador. The novelty of their situation evidently embarrassed them ; they had never seen Englishmen before. As di- rected by the Legate, they made some enquiries about the Prince Regent's Letter ; its tenor ; the number of persons in the (ive ships ; whether we would land in our own boats, or theirs ; said it would be proper to practise, on our landing, the ceremony which it was the custom to observe when introduced to his Imperial Majesty. The Embassador declared his intention to practise the same ceremony as Lord Macartney did in the last Embassy, which they always designated by " the Embassy of the 58th year," it being in the 58th year of the reign of Keen- lung. They told us that Tub Chung-tung, the second Minister, had arrived at Tee'n-tsinto receive the Embassy. This did not prove to be true. An old servant, in a loud tone, stood prompting and explaining for Yin; Mr. Morrison checked him by saying, he understood the master better than the servant. Chang and Yin, after having w^alked about the ship, and gone to the top of the poop, took their leave and were again saluted. Presents of bullocks, sheep and so on, came olTin the course of the day, in the name of his Imperial Majesty. TO THE CCrUHT OF CJIINA. 81 Mx)nday 5th. Began to unload the presents and bag- gage, boats being sent ofFby the Chinese for that purpose. Chang and Yin had not been able, from the wind being against them, to regain the shore, and came again along- side the Aleeste. Mr. Morrison was sent to invite them to dinner, in the name of the Embassador. They re- ceived the message with civility, but declined accepting the invitation from a dread of passing and repassing from one vessel to the other. Tuesday 6th. Mr. Davis and Lieutenant Cooke were sent on shore, to see that the boats were ready for the reception of the Embassy; theyreturned with an answer in the affirmative. On the 7th and 8th, several official papers were pre- pared in Chinese. The wind blew fresh, and pre- vented boats coming off. The Legate sent his card, and a request to the Embassador to land. To prevent the messenger assigning an untrue reason for not landing that day, a note was written to the Legate, to inform him of the real cause, and promising to go the next day. SECTION IIL Landing of the Embassy, and arrival at Teen'tsin. August the 9th. It was determined to land ; and accordingly all the personal baggage was put into Chi- nese vessels. Lord Amherst, Sir George Staunton, Mr. Ellis, and some others, went in the boat in which Chang had come off, as he offered it and seemed to wish that it should be accepted. The barge of the Aleeste, boats from the Hewit, Lyra, Discovery and Investigator, were manned. About three o'clock every thing was ready ; yards were manned; the standard of England hoisted a salute fired, and three cheers given by the seamen. In the midst of this, the Embassador and suite left the ships and proceeded with a fair breeze in the Chinese vessel and ship's boats to the shore. When near it the Em- B 3 LOUD Amherst's embassy bassador exchanged the Chinese vessel for the Alceste'ss Barge. The boats then formed themselves mto two lines, and rowed slowly with the band playing toward the beach, on which crow^ds of people were collected. Within the mouth of the river, a long line of Chinese troops were drawn up, wnth a band, and petards to fire salutes. As we approached, their band struck up, ours ceased, and a salute was fired. Going farther up, the line was somewhat broken by Chinese boats. Crowds of men, women, and naked children lined the banks of the river; and finally we reached the place prepared for our landing ; where the ebb tide was running so strong, that the small boats found it difficult to secure themselves. There were now about a hundred and fifty English- men, and as many Chinese of various ranks, agreeing only in their ignorance of each other's language, and usages on such occasions, and consequently considerable confusion ensued. In each party there was probably a want of previous arrangement. The Chinese did not excel on this occasion. It was now evening; the heads of each party were to meet ; the baggage was to be re- moved to the boats intended to receive the Embassy, and our whole party to be fed and lodged. We had indeed marked all our baggage with Chinese characters, in the hope that the Chinese would be enabled thereby to remove the baggage at once : but neither the boat- men nor porters could read, and our labor was useless. The boats w^ere pointed out for the gentlemen, agreeably to a list we had given, but when three or four men took a box to carry it away ; not being able to read, they did not know where to go to, and laid it down before they reached its destination. The work went on slowly, and the boatmen, indifferent to any thing but saving them- selves trouble, shoved off from the shore. Our defect on that occasion, was the not appointing ten or twenty servants to attend to the general concent. Each servant cared only for his own master's things, and whilst he ran with one box, the other things belonging to him were turned aside, where they were not to be found by another servant, rummaging for his master s things. TO THE COURT OF CHINA, 23 All this goin^ on whilst aided by Chinese, who did no-t understand the English servants, caused of course great confusion. Several gentlemen did not obtain their cots that night. Embarrassment arose also from another cause. Our stores and eating utensils, table linen, &c. had been sent on shore marked in Chinese as the Embassador's bag- gage, under the reasonable expectation, that it would be found waiting for him on shore. But the Legate in his haste to get us to Court before the Emperor went to Tartary, had sent off all our stores, &c. together with the presents. He made many fair promises that they should be sent after and brought back, but did nothing more than promise. We did not obtain them till we reached Tung-chow. The Legate desired Mr. Morrison to go to him, and began to ask several questions about the rank of the per- sons in the Embassy, and to request that some expres- sions in our list might be changed, as that the expression for Secretary, viz. Peih-tee-shih^ should be changed to Tae-peih, because the first was a Tartar term, and that E'foo for Medical Man should be changed to E-sang. These verbal changes Mr. Morrison took upon himself to say, might be made ; for an answer to some other questions he referred the Legate to the Embassador; taking an opportunity, however, to suggest, that, after the fatigues of the day, it would be indecorous to trouble his Lordship with business immediately on landing. The Legate took the hint, and forthw^ith, in company with the military Governor of the district, paid a visit to the Embassador and Commissioners. Captains Maxwell, Hall, Campbell, and other gentlemen were present in the Embassador's boat, which made it a crowded hurried interview. The Legate carried himself with courteous cheerfulness, and filled up the time by taking particular notice of the Embassador's son, the Hon. Mr. Amherst, then fourteen years of age. The Legate affirmed on this occasion, agreeably to a message that he had sent to the ship, that his Imperial Majesty had made parti- 24 LORD Amherst's embassy cular enquiries about him, his age, studies, and so on. Whether this was really the case, or whether he wished to flatter the Embassador, is uncertain. Having returned to his own boat, he sent to say that he was about to set off for Teen-tsin that evening, if the Embassador intended to return his visit. As this ap- peared a hint, signifying he wished to be visited ; the Embassador immediately offered to call on him, and forthwith did so, in company with the two Commission- ers. The visit was short, and the vain Legate much gratified, affected to say, they carried their politeness to an excess. He set off immediately for Teen-tsin, to make preparations for our reception there ; teaving Chang and Yin to urge our speedy departure ; he even went so far as to request through an attendant, that w would leave by the tide, which occurred during the night : that, he was told, was impossible, and was ac- cordingly given up. The gentlemen from the ships made out as well as they could during the night ; some slept in their own boats. At day-light the next morning they took their leave, and returned to their respective vessels in the roads. It was the previous intention of the Embassador, that the whole party should dine together, and a large boat was provided, in which about twenty persons could sit down. We had however no table large enough ; nor were there chairs or stools sufficient in the boat. The plate and table-cloths had been sent on before us, and we were obliged to place Chinese tables together, and make up the deficiency of chairs and stools by planks. We were in this state till we reached Tung-chow, where we had the table in a more comfortable and respectable state, and were enabled to breakfast and dine together as long as we remained on the Canal, which was till the 12th of October, when we changed boats, to enter on the large river called Yang-try e-Keang. The boats in which we were now to sail were called Nan-chu-en, " southern vessels," from their being boats which came from the south with passengers of different 25 'PO THE COURT OF CHINA. ranks in the country. Some were fine large roomy boats?, and others but small. They were divided into rooms : first was a kind of anti- chamber for servants ; next, a room in which to receive visitors ; and farther back a bed-room. Some had four apartments, beside a place at the stern occupied by the boatmen, and used as a cooking-room. The Embassador's and Commissioners' boats were large and handsome, with streamers in the Chinese manner. Most of the others were too small for two persons, which was the general arrangement. August 10th, 11th and 12th, were spent in passing up the river to Teen-tsin. The boats were dragged by human effort : poor miserable-looking men passed cords across their breast, over one shoulder and under the other arm, and walked forwards in a leaning posture, pulling at the end of a rope, which had its other end fastened to the mast-head of the vessel, to which they were giving motion. There are sometimes ten, twenty, or thirty men employed to drag one boat. These men thus en- gaged are called Tseen-foo : where there are not persons whose constant occupation is tracking, or where an ex- traordinary number is required, government impresses poor people, wherever they find them, for one day's journey; and, to have them ready on the arrival of a fleet, sometimes confines them a day or a night : at one place we found a temple, dedicated to the Ming-keen- shih-wang^'' tenjudges in Hades," converted into a prison to confine the trackers over night : fowr of our party went to see the temple, but found its gate chained up, and the Magistrate of the town's seal upon it. A Mili- tary Officer used his influence to have it opened for us; but the large group of imprisoned trackers had so ma- nured the courts of the temple during the night, it was with great difficulty we could find an uncovered spot to tread on, or bear the strong effluvia which exhaled from the rich deposit. They commonly have a song called the Tseen-foo Ko, which they chaunt to inspirit them, and give union to their efforts. The greater part of it is merely the tone of exertion, interspersed with a few ex- 26 LORD Amherst's embassy pressions alludino^ to the country they are passing;, and the place to which they look as the end of their toils* One person repeats the sentences which have meaning, and the whole join in a chorus, Hei-o, wo-te-hei-o^ the import of which appears to be, " pull away, let us pull away." Mr. Morrison requested a man to write down a tracker's song, and it closed by holding out the hope of a breakfast when they reached Teen-tsin. The appearance of the country was miserable ; nothing but low mud huts were seen on the banks of the river. Crowds of people were every where collected to gaze on us as we passed : they were all of a more dark and swarthy complexion than a stranger, who considered the latitude in which they lived, would have expected to iind them. The head-dress of the women was different from that which prevails in the southern provinces of China; the hair was put up so as to extend from a base on the top of the head, horizontally, about six or eight inches. A rosy flower generally decorated one side of the head of the poorest temales. Whilst passing along, various expressions of civility passed between the atten- dant officer, Chang, and the Embassador. August 12th. Our approach to Teen-tsin became apparent by the increased number of spectators, and the vast collection of boats which filled the river. They were drawn to each side, so as to leave an open passage for the Embassy : the troops were drawn out below the town. Towards evening vre arrived, and were brought up, near a public oilice called San-shoo- yuen, opposite an Imperial palace, at which the late Emperor had resided some time when travelling to the south, or, as the Chinese otherwise express it, " when he blessed the south ; " for of all places which the Emperor passes, it is said, not that he travelled through it, but that he Hing-ed "h\o?>^QA'' it. The moment the boats arrived, it was announced that Kwang and Soo wished to wait upon his Lordship and the Commissioners. Kwang we know by the name of the " Legate;" Soo was an old man, near seventy, the TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 27 Shano'-shoo or President of the Knng-poo or "Board of Public works," the last of the well-known Luh-poo, i. e. ** Six Tribunals or Boards " at Pekin, amono^st whom the whole of the business of the Empire is divided. 800 had been a stout large man ; he was now rather bend- in cr under the weight of years: he was marked with the small pox, anci w^as of a rather blunt address : he commonly resigned the labour of talking to his junior colleague Kwang ; though Soo's permanent rank was much greater than Kwang's; Soowas of the first rank, and wore a red button on his cap ; Kwang had only a crystal one : they were however now both Kin-chae, *' Imperial Commissioners," which for the time being confers the greatest distinction. Chinese gentlemen are always dressed and prepared, the moment they arrive at a landing-place, to see com- pany ; and when they reach the shore, there are crowds of visitors waiting on them. This is not our usage ; and we generally require a short space of time to elapse, after arriving at a place, ere we can receive formal visitors. This circumstance more than once caused a slight embarrassment, which a knowledge of the usage would have prevented. When Kwang and Soo were announced, his Lordship was in his dressing-gowm, and said, he could not receive them at that moment, but would prepare for them in a very short time ; and forthwith requested the two Commissioners to come to his boat : the Commissioners came, and his Lordship put his coat on ; but when 800 and Kwang were informed that the Emba:ssador was not ready to receive them, they said they would defer the visit till the next day, in the mean time requesting; that some messenger from his Lordship would call on them : accordingly, Messrs. Toone, Davis, and Mor- rison waited on them, and being seated, the Legate desired them to invite his Lordship and the other gentlemen of the Embassy to an Imperial Entertainment the next morning early ; however nine o'clock was finally agreed on as the hour ; it being deemed prudent 2S LORD amheiist\s embassy on our part to breakfast at home, before goin^ to the formal repast to be given in the name of the Emperor. Soo and Kwang further requested that they might be favoured with a copy of the Prince Regent's Letter to the Emperor of China, that they might forward it to Court. To this request it was replied, an answer would be given the following day. Tuesday, August 13th. At the hour appointed, the Embassador, Commissioners and gentlemen of the Embassy, went in procession to the Hall of Chang our conductor, which was situated in the town, or as it is called in Chinese, differently from other towns, the Wei, of Teen-tsin. The band preceded ; next followed the guard with colors flying, headed by Lieutenant Cooke, and the Honorable Mr. Somerset, on horseback ; the Embassador in his robes followed ; the first Com- missioner dressed in a Fellow Commoner's gown and cap, and the second Commissioner in his Windsor uniform, succeeded ; the Honorable Mr. Amherst, and gentlemen of the Embassy in sedan chairs, closed the procession. The Hall where the entertainment was given, was about a mile from our boats. The streets were crow^ded by people, w ho by order of Government preserved a profound silence; the Legate seemed to take credit to himself for its being so, by asking, at the interview, if it were not so. On entering the Hall we passed through a large room, in which were various preparations for a play and a feast. Five of the party, the Embassador, two Com- missioners, Mr. Amherst and Mr. Morrison were conducted by a side door to an inner apartment, in which Kwang, Soo, and four Tartar Secretaries from Court, Avere waiting our arrival. The other gentlemcH remained without, amusing themselves by surveying the ornaments of the outer court. Within, the Tartars took the left side of the room, and gave to the English the right-hand side. Kwang, after a few common >civilities, said, that we were about to partake of an Imperial Feast, in which they would join with us, and TO THE COLRT OF (HTNA. 29* thai it was the custom on such occasions, first to give thanks to his Imperial Majesty, and then sit down to the feast ; and that in giving thanks it was wished we would imitate their manner of doing it, which was by performing the San-kwei-kew-kow before a table at which his Majesty was supposed to sit. On the other side it was replied by the Embassador, that he felt the highest possible veneration and respect for his Imperial Majesty, and would cordially return thanks for the entertainment about to be given, only he would wish to do it in the way that was usual with the English. In his Imperial Majesty's presence he would kneel on one knee and bow the head ; which, with the addition of kissing the King's hand, as a mark of affection,, was what he did to his own Sovereign ; that the Tartar form was exceedingly proper for the subjects of the Emperor of China; that though our form was different, they must not infer that we were less respectful. On the present occasion the Embassador was prepared to make a low bow, as frequently as the Tartar gentlemen knelt ; to preserve a decorous and uniform appearance, and for that reason alone, as in his apprehension he paid as much respect by bowing once as by bowing twenty times. The Legate said, " the feelings of the heart must he expressed by some external sign : " " Granted," it was replied; "our mode of expressing them is that we have mentioned: and it is the mode which the King of England has commanded the Embassador to follow, as the present Emperor's Father was pleased graciously to accept that mode from Lord Macartney." Soo at first affirmed, that Lord Macartney performed the Tartar ceremony, as, for brevity's sake, we shall here- after call the thrice kneeling and nine times striking the head against the ground, and referred to Sir George Staunton's recollection to confirm what he said. On further conversing, however, he admitted, that Lord Macartney performed our ceremony, the first time he saw the late Emperor; but at a subsequent 30 LORD amiierst's embasst period he performed the Tartar ceremony, in conse- quence of Keen-hmg being displeased with the first mode. When asked at what place the performance of the Tartar ceremony by the late Embassador occurred, he was unable to say. The Legate then proceeded to say, that the Tartar ceremony was indispensable : that without it our inten- tions by the visit, which were he believed to cultivate amity, would be unaccomplished, and a contrary effect produced. The Legate was assured that his view of the intention of our visit was correct: and it was sincerely hoped no such consequences as he apprehended would occur : the Embassador had too much confidence in the gracious disposition of his Majesty to anticipate any such result; his liberal mind would certainly accept what was graciously accepted by his father; for we must still use that language, as Lord Macartney was never made to know, that Keen-lung was displeased with the ceremony which he performed. Kwang said, ** the Emperor would be angry with the King of Eng- land ; " the gentleman interpreting replied, *' that will be so offensive, I dare not say it;" " well then,', added he, "do not mention it;" and it was accordingly i*e- served to be communicated after the conference was closed. The Embassador apprehending that we could not come to an amicable conclusion with the argument, in which one of the secretaries, a smart young man, some- timesjoined, proposed to dispense with the banquet that morning, and resume the subject on our arrival at Pekin : the Legate ssid to that, " We will not be violent this morning: ; I'eturn thanks in vour own way, and what- event be, we shall report it to the court, as is our duty, and wait for his Majesty's pleasure ; you will give offence if you do not conform; we warn you of the consequen- ces; do not reflect on us hereafter." Old Soo joined in, '' Do not reflect on us hereafter." The Embassador ai^sured them that he had a strong reliance on the gracious acceptance of his Imperial Majesty, and whatever oc- TO THE COUUT OF CHINA. 31 cuiTcd, he should by no means reflect on them. Kwan^ thought we began to waver, and sat it out a little longer ; urging over again the same arguments as before. As they did not succeed, Kwang said, '' We will return thanks, each in his own way do not view our form contemptuously ; " and we rose to go to the feast pre- pared ; when we came to the door of the room, the little Legate turned round, old Soo being before him, and screwing up his arch mouth, to be very serious and impressive, said, "Do conform! imitate us! if you do not, it will not be well ! " of course it produced no change in the Embassador's resolution who, when he entered the banqueting room, desired the gentlemen, who had waited long, and began to apprehend all was not right, to do what he did in point of ceremony neither more nor less. We were conducted to the lower end of the room, at one corner of which was a table with a semicircular screen behind, and a piece of yellow cloth hanging before. Soo and Kwang had some difficulty in deciding, which was the proper order in which the Embassador and Com- missioners should stand. It being finally settled, a mas- ter of ceremonies gave the word ; on hearing which, Soo and Kwang knelt down and put their foreheads io the ground, raised their bodies erect on their knees and then put their foreheads down a second time, raising the body again, still kneeling, and a third time put the forehead to the ground. When their heads went to the ground, the Embassador made a low bow standing. This was done a second and a third time, and constituted the San- kwei-kew-kow, " three kneelings and nine prostrations.'' This being over, we advanced to the higher end of the room to sit down to the banquet, and the play began. The upper end of the room was raised about a foot higher than the lower end, with pillars marking the limits of the former ; three low cushions were placed on the right-hand side for the Embassador and two Com- missioners. On the lower floor were pieces of red cloth in a line with the cushions, for the gentlemen of the Em- 32J LOUD Amherst's embassy bassy. Soo and Kwang sat opposite to the Commission-* ers, and on the lower floor, in a line with them, were two or three military men, the Tartar Secretaries, and Chang-* We were compelled by this arrangement to sit cross- legged. Some of our party, incapable of this, jd^retched^ their legs under the tables ; which was not easy to effect, as the tables were not more than twelve or sixteen inches high. Each table had a false top removeable at pleasure, and by this means the whole was taken away and a new course brought on at once. The repast was not continued long. The Tartars ate little, as they had, probably, like ourselves, breakfasted before. The dishes were in very good style ; but from the awkward posture in which we sat, it was a most uncomfortable meal. Kwang and Soo gave the signal for taking wine, which in China is done by the whole party at the same time. The play, as is usual in China, went on all the time of the banquet. It seemed a mythological piece, in which the monsters of the deep are introduced. The dresses were splendid. When we rose from the banquet, a large collection of various coloured silks were presented in the name of his Majesty, for which we expressed our thanks, and the party which at first were in the interior apartment again retired thither. The Legate entered again on the subject of the ceremony, with arguments similar to those already mentioned. The young Secretary show- ed an outline of the manner of our intended reception, and spoke much of the gracious disposition of the Em- peror; that we should be admitted to an Imperial Feast, a play, and see the gardens, and so on. The Legate tried to work en the feelings of the Embassador as a father, and desired him to have a due regard to the welfare of his son, Mr. Amherst, then present, who in the case of compliance would be blessed with the gra- cious regards of the Great Emperor; which ideas all met with appropriate answers in the tone of perfect cordiality. The Legate wished to ascertain exactly the form of our ceremony, and desired the Embassador to THE COURT OF CHIXA. 33 to shew him. This was a request that could not well be complied with ; but to enable him to see the form, and to accommodate as far as possible, Lord Amherst caused the boy to kneel down on one knee, bow the head and kiss his father's hand; "This" said the Embassador, "is our ceremony, and to perform it once we consider as stronji^ an expression of veneration as to perform it twenty times; if it be his Imperial Majesty's wish that I should repeat it nine times, rather than perform it once, I will cheerfully comply with his wishes in that." We now prepared to take our leave, and a copy of the Prince Regent's Letter to the Emperor was given to Soo and Kwang, for the information of the Ministers, at their very urgent request. The Embassador and suite returned to their boats in procession, as on their way to the Imperial banquet. Some thought that a victory had this day been gained ; but the less sanguine did not cherish any high expecta- tions from what had occurred, Chang afterwards in- formed us that the Emperor was in a great rage, when he heard that we stood, whilst his own people were kneeling and knocking heads. A gratuity v/as here offered through an attendant officer to the bearers of the chairs ; the officer reported it to Kwang, and he would not allow the people to accept it. He always maintained a high tone of affected purity in prohibiting the reception of any present by his own people. The poor men who labored for us in any way, were afterwards rewarded by ourselves, with- out the intervention of any officer, and in that way the reward was conferred without the ostentation of confer- ring it. The Chinese attached to each boat a military officer and two soldiers. Sometimes men wearing a crystal or a blue button, were attached to the Embassador's, at other times officers wearing a white stone button. In the province of Chih-le, for so the province usually called Pechele is more familiarly denominated, a middle-aged robust man, who held the rank in China called Pa-tsung, c 34 LORD Amherst's embassy was attached to his Lordship's boat. His name was Ko, and to have ^iven him his proper title he w^ould have been called Ko-foo-yay ; but as his title vv^as unmeanin*^ to the most of our party, and it vais dillicult to distin- /!uish him by the single syllable Ko, ho was denominated Commodore Ko. He was a bustling: man, and generally ready to oblige ; at least was considered so for a long time: further acquaintance made many doubt this, and ho obtained the appellation of being " a good old soul, and a big old rogue." Commodore Ko will always be remembered by most of the gentlemen of the Embassy. Chang also put two servants into the pjmbassador's boat; who were well-meaning and useful men. One of them obtained the appellation of " old blow-hard," from his being short of ureath ; the other was too sedate and quiet to acquire any ridiculous epithet. Chang also at- tached to Mr. Morrison a faithful active young man, w^ho assumed the character of a Shoo-pan, or writer in public oilices. These three persons would have accom- panied the Embassy to Canton, had not Kwang set his lace against it, agreeably to v^hat appeared to be his uniform system of discouraging a free intercourse with the natives, in order to prevent our obtaining informa- tion respecting the government or country. At Teen-tsin many cf the gentlemen felt much the want of nuisquito cmtains, and there was not time to have them regularly procured. Commodore Ko went, as he said, amongst his friends, and obtained several pairs, for which he charged a rather exorbitant price. SECTION IV. From Teen-tsin to Tang-chow, August 14th. We again were put in motion to proceed to the Capital. The v/ell laiown grain boats were here seen in cons:derable numbers, and, from their uniform structure and decorated sterns, presented an interesting TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 35 Spectacle. They p;o in large fleets. Wherever they occurred, they were moored on one side of the river, to allow the Embassy to pass. On common occasions every other species of vessel must give way to them; they stop for no man : the progress of grain to the Capi- tal must not be delayed. A scarcity of water in the course of their voyage sometimes impedes them : it is, however, always an affair seriously taken up by Govern- ment. In the evening 800 and Kwang called on the Embas- sador and Commissioners ; they returned the copy of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent's Letter, and said it was a good letter. They objected only to the term Hv/ang-kaou applied to the late Emperor. It is, they said, not the usage to speak of him by that term. Also the word Heung " brother," from the Prince Regent to the Emperor, was inadmissible ; they could not take upon them to forward it to Court, and begged that the words should be taken away altogether. To this no positive answer was given. They again insisted on the happy effects of conforming to the ceremony, and con- trariwise. Old Soo threw out, in a rather gruff tone^ that the Russians had been rejected for their non-com- pliance, and their commerce interrupted ; and hinted that it would be the same with us. He was told that in comparison with national honor that was a small matter. The interruption of commerce was never again men- tioned by him or any other person. Kwang threw out what his own better knowledge would scarcely let him utter, viz. that as there is but one Sun in the Heavens, so there is but one Sovereign in the v/orld ; which So- vereign is the Emperor of China; to him all kings owe homage and submission. It excited a murmur on the other side, but was too ridiculous to be seriously opposed. It M^as merely said, that was not admitted. About this time the two Legates, Soo and Kwang, entreated to be favored with a sight of the gold box con- taining the Prince Regent's Letter; they were accord- ingly favored with it one evening. They asked anxiously c 2 36 LORD Amherst's embassy whether the translation was to be enclosed in it, and were answered in the affirmative. Aug-ust 15th. In the morning, Soo and the Legate called, and said that his Imperial Majesty had sent down an order to dispense with the Band. They showed a copy of the Imperial edict. As usual, the Emperor had interlined with red ink one of the Legate's dispatches in reference to the Band; '^ These may be withdrawn." This was thought a strange remark, and rather indicating a weak capricious mind. It was said to the Legate, that the Band were few and innocent ; that to separate them from their companions, and deprive the Embassador of the pleasure of hearing them, was ungracious; he was begged to represent it again. Kwang asked of what use they w^ere ; ho would take care and send them down .iafely to the ships. As to the use, it was replied, they were just of the same use as many other things which contribute to innocent amusement and ornament. The ships, the speakers knew, were probably gone, but they evaded saying any thing about them. The conference broke up without any final decision of the question. The impracticability of sending them back soon appear- ed, and nothing more was ever said about them. From the cheerful effect which they had on our own party, and the great interest they excited amongst Chinese of all ranks, they proved a most useful part of the retinue. In the evening, a message came to say that Soo and Kwang proposed to call immediately. They were ac- cordingly requested to come. When Kwang reached the head of the boat, anger was evidently marked in his countenance. He was scarcely seated ere he said, that they had heard with, surprize the ships had left. Provi- sions had been carried off to them, but they were not there ; where had they gone ? Where they were at this moment, it was replied, was not known. Every person knev7 very well that for such large vessels the gulf of Pet-che-lee was very unsafe; that whilst the Embassy lay there much appreheFiSion was felt for the safety of ihe ships. Itwms extremely difficult logo to the south- TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 37 ward against iha monsoon ; and the ships would proba- bly precede his Excellency, as in the last Embassy. Kwang said he knew the unsafeness of the anchor- age, but they ought to have been informed of the intention to depart ; and his Majes^ty's permission ob- tained, as in the last Embassy: that we had been guilty of a Ff{h'she,\, e. "doing what is not right." It was said in reply, had the question ever been asked, a candid and direct answer would have been given: if there was any fault, their's v/as the fault in not asking. The Legate said that the tenor of his conversation, in frequent allu- sions to the ships, supposed their remaining; and if they were not to remain, it should have been said so: he sup- posed the Embassador intended it, and the fault rested with the person who had been the medium, turning at the same time to that person, and holding up his finger, he said, " It is your fault.-' That person, a man of warm temper, and who had given his opinion against doing any thing that could be construed by the Chinese into a want of perfect candour, and against silence respecting the ships in particular, said, " If I must be accused thus in- nocently, I'll be the medium no longer;" drawin^:; back at the same time in his chair. Soo then took up the con- versation with another gentleman who spoke Chinese. Kwang, looking at the Embassador, pursed up his old- fashioned mouth, and put his fingers on it, signifying he was now dumb, from not knowing a language common to both. The Embassador, always of a conciliating dis- position, said something in favor of the integrity of the person who had been interpreting, which was communi- cated through another mediumtothe Legate, and added, *' We will lay aside mutual recrimination, and discuss the question amicably:" the person accused comanuni- cated this, and Kwang resumed his usually cheerful good- natured tone of voice. It was finally agreed that the ideas mentioned above, respecting the unsafety of the anchorage oif Ta-Koo, &C. should be committed to writing in Chinese immediately, and sent to the Legate to be forwarded to Court. This was done^ and the quea- (3 38 LOUD Amherst's embassy tion of the ships set at rest. The Comraanding- Officer at Ta-Koo was degraded for not havmg given the first information of the departure of the ships; and Chang was ordered to go and enquire on the coast of Shan-tung about them. He used effectually his influence at Court to have this order dispensed with. August 16th. Early in the morning a messenger came from Soo and Kwang, saying that they had received from Court an imperial edict of importance, which they wished to communicate. The Embassador and Com- missioners were scarcely out of bed; but they rose im- mediately, and sent to say when they were ready. Instead of the Legate and Soo coming, the conductors of the Embassy, Chang and Yin, came, and being seated, said, " The purport of the Emperor's edict is this by conforming to the Tartar ceremony, viz. kneeling three times, and nine times putting the fore- head to the ground, you may proceed to Court and be graciously received; if you decline to conform, neither the tribute nor the Embassador can be received, you may return ; say, yes or no." Lord Amherst and the two Commissioners declined giving an answer to the conductors of the Embassy. They said, ^' We rose from our couches to receive the Imperial Commissioners, Soo and Kwang; we wait their arrival." Chang and Yin urged, but urged in vain, that an answer should be given them to the message they had brought ; alleging that to send them back without an answer, put them in an unpleasant situation, inasmuch as it made them appear useless. The Embassador, however, was firm, and they were obliged to depart without an answer. Soo and Kwang then came, and delivered the purport of his Majesty's will in much the same terms, and closed by asking what was to be done. It was proposed that if some of his Imperial Majesty's Ministers would per- form the Tartar ceremony before his Royal Highness the Prince Regent's picture, the Embassador would perform it before the Emperor; Kwang said, with a countenance half sneering and half dissatisfaction, '- To TO THE COURT OF CHINA. ^9 what are we to peiforrathe ceremony? we are not sent to Enoland if we were, w^e WH)iild not ol)ject to per- forin it." This hist expression was taken hold of, and replied to thus : " If the Emperor will in w^ritin^ declare it to he his will, that, in case of an Emhassador ^oing to England, that Emhassador shall perform the Tartar ceremony, I w'ill perform it to the Emperor." The fact is that all such propositions, as they imply a perfect equality, are more oifensive to the Chinese and^ Tartars than declininjr to perform their ceremoii}". Kwan^ said that he and his colleague Soo did not dare to make any such proposal to Court ; such a question co(dd not he discussed as hetween equal states. 'I'he Emhassador urged that such a statement as he had made brought round an arrangement in tLe laj-t Embassy, and it might do so now; the Emperor Kang- ho had himself proposed something similar in his time, in reference to the Russians if the Legate and his col- league w^ould not transmit any statement of the Embai^-- satlor's views, he must charge the rupture on them. They replied, "^ We have already incurred a Fi/h-she, ' a charge of having done wrong,' from his Imperial Majesty, the Ta-hwang-te, and w^e dare not make any such pro- posals : if w^e he withdrawn, and other persons appointed, perhaps those persons m.ay take upon them to transmit such sentiments; w^e dare not." As to tlie case of the Russians and Kang-he, he had heardsomelhingof that Emperor's causinga person of in- ferior rank, about the third degree, to peiform the cere- mony before an altar, on or behind which an image of the Cod of the Russiaiis was placed ; but he believed it waa merely traditional; it was not found In any authentic records. Kvvang, in broken interrupted language, hinted that we could perform the ceremony, and repre- sent it in England as we pleased. To do orre thing and say another, was declared to be impossible, and the I^egate did not Hiention it aofaln. Old Soo dwelt on the happy eli'ects of conformity, viz. being invited to an Imperial Banquet; seeing a play^ 40 ' LORD Amherst's embassy and walking in the gardens. To receive homage, and to display its own pomp and grandeur, are the objects which the Chinese Court proposes to itself in admitting foreign Embassies. The bad effects, Soo added, will be your going away in disgrace, and a stoppage of the trade between the two nations ; as had been the case with the Russians. The last clause was uttered in an under tone. To his tone of intimidation a high tone was opposed, and it was said that the stoppage of the trade was compara- tively a small matter: since they would not accept of any of the above proposals, nor yet transmit a paper from the Embassador, or his sentiments in their own form, so that they might reach the Emperor's ears since they refused all these, and affirmed that the result of any thing less than unconditional compliance must be his departure, he was ready to depart; and in this abrupt termination of the negociation still thanked them for their personal civilities he did not reflect on them. In all these conferences Kwang adopted the privacy of English usage. The Chinese affect to do every thing in public with a crowd of attendants around them. He could not well order out his own people; but he often desired an English gentleman present to keep them out. It was now determined that the boats should turn about, and go down the stream to a more convenient anchorage, there to wait for the return of the presents and baggage, whi-ch had been hurried on to Tung-chow, as well as for further advices from Pekin. We were within about thirty miles of the capital of China. At breakfast, the Embassador mentioned to the gentlemen of the Embassy the alteration in our destin- ation which had taken place, and which, when the gentlemen had returned to their own boats, was carried into effect. The Embassy fell down the stream to a pleasant situation on the left bank of the river, called Tsae-yifen, ''the vegetable gardens." The dispatches from Court at this time were, according to poor old emaciated Chang, what he called, grinding TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 41 and gnashing his teeth as he uttered the words, Yentih- Khan., *^ extremely stern and severe." The compliment paid them, by sending nearly half the circumference of the globe a man of high rank from an independent, pow- erful, and enlightened country, with rich presents, prepared to use the most respectful language, and go down on one knee to the Sovereign is all rejected, and a peremptory demand made that he shall perforn an act of homage, such as they exact from the smallest, weak- est, and mosit uncivilised state in the petty islands of the Soo-loo Sea. Such was the demand ; compliance was refused ; and the threat of rejection began to operate. During the whole of the IGth we remained at Tsae-yuen; most of the gentlemen walked on shore at a small distance from the boats. In the mean time the government seemed to have made up its mind to try the British Embassador a little further. August 17th. In the morning Chang, Yin, and the young secretary mentioned above, v/aited on Lord Am- herst and the two Commissioners, to say that the two propositions made yesterday were such as they did not dare to report to the Emperor, nor even to mention when in his Majesty's presence. However, they v/ould again write to Court and entreat his Majesty to accept of the Le, or "ceremony" proposed by Lord Amherst, viz* to kneel on one knee and bow^ the head three times ; which act, in compliance with the Emperor's wish, would be r^epeated thrice. An ofilcial note, promising to do this, was required and given. It was however dis- tinctly specified that this Ta-Ze "grand ceremony "could be performed no w^here but in the Emperor's immediate presence ; that the Embassador did not like the idea of Yin-ley "practising any ceremony," as he had been many years familiar with the forms of a Court. After this arrangement, our boats again got under weigh to ascend the stream, and proceeded towards Pe-kin. During the 18th and 19th no business was transacted ; other men were now to take the lead, and to try w^hat 42 LORD Amherst's embassy rank higher than the Embassador's, and a still more haughty manner could effect on the Englishmen. In taking this measure, the Tartars greatly misunderstood the English character. SECTION V. Proceedings at Tung- Chow and Yuen-mi fig-yu en. August 20th. In the evening, the boats of the Em- ba??sy came to, at the distance of about two miles from Tung-chow, near a temple at which the last Embassy was lodged, but which was now to bo occupied by other guests from Court. The boats lay together in a very crowded manner, owing to tlie narrowness of the stream, which ceases here to be navigable, at least to such boats as those employed for the End)assy. Here, according to the custom of China, Soo and Kwang waited our arrival. It was too late to desire the Embassador to leave his boat ; but they requested that Mr. Morrison would go and see the Kung-Kwan, or house prepared by government for the reception of the Embassador. It was a house which had been occupied by trading people, and was fitted up for the present occasion: within the gate was a small court-yard, next a range of buildings with a passage in the centre to an- other court-yard beyond, in which was the principal apartment, designed for the Embassador. On the left sideof the court-yard there was a gate leading into another yard, in which was an inferior apartment. The Em- bassador's was divided into three rooms ; Soo and Kwang were standing there w4ien Mr. Morrison arrived on horseback, accompanied by Gen. Yin. "You see" said the Legate, "how gracious the great Emperor is, in ordering so good an apartment to be prepared." It wareplie:l, " No doubt the Embassador is fully sensible of his Imperial Majesty's goodness; many thanks to TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 43 him/' The Legate hiniseh' however thouo^ht tho apartments would not contain all the suite, some would be obliged to remain in their boats; indeed when tho house was examined by the gentlemen, most of them preferred remaining in their boats. The Legate pro- posed pitching tents in the court, which he did, and which were occupied by the officers of tho guard. The next morning, August 21;st, the Embassador himself went on shore to see the house. Ho determined on remaining there during the day, and perhaps sleeping in his boat at night. Chang and Yin wero very importu- nate that the principal persons should sleep on shore as a compliment to the Emperor, and it was finally acced- ed to. The Embassador and Mr. Amherst were in the chief apartment. Sir George Staunton and Mr. Ellis took possession of a large room near the gate, which they divided by a curtain ; Mr. Morrison tried to occupy the apartment on the left of the court-yard, and remained in it one night ; but it was so close, and smelled so strong of the incense which had been burnt in it to idols, he returned to his boat. These apartments had couches built with brick, on which was laid a coarse felt cover- ing, and underneath was a place to put fire, in order to warm it in the winter season. All the gentlemen of the Embassy dined and break- fasted together under a mat-shed before the Embassador's apartments. Two of the guard stood sentry constantly, and at meals the band played. The natives climbed up to the middle of surrounding trees to see the table laid, and to hear the band more distinctly : many officers, and those of better condition, were admitted to the court-yard. The collection of officers, civil and milita- ry, wearing blue and red buttons, was considerable through the whole course of the journey. The Je-naoiiy " heat and bustle," as the Chinese term it, was much greater, they said, than when tho King of Cochin China, in person went to court. The weather was now very warm, and their figurative expression for a great con- course of people was also literally true. 44 LORD AM1IJ;U.St\s KMBAfciSY Auf^ust 21st. In the morning the active Tartar Se- cretary came to announce the arrival at Tung-chow of Ho Kimg-yaij, ''Duke Ho:" his name in full is Ho-she- lae, which ^if translated, would be '' Ho, great in his ge- neration." He is brother to the Empress ; was made a Duke for his services during the attack on the Palace by the rebels in 1813. He was about 35 years of age, of the middle size ; stout, and possessing apparently great bodily strength and warmth of temper. Kwang after- wards charged the Emperor's barbarous conduct to the Duke's youth and self-confidence, supposing the English would yield to him. He then held several important situations, the chief of which was Le-fan-yuen-shang' shoo^ "President of the Board for Foreign Affairs;" principally the territories on the western part of the Em- pire. With him came from court, Muh ; the Le-poo Shang-shoo, *' President of the Board of Rites," a thin old man^ who never spoke a word at any conference, and who was hence denominated by the English " the silent Muh." Soo, the Kimg-poo Shang-shoo, " President of the Board of Public Works," and Kwang still remained, but now took the lowest place. There are in China but seven of the Shang-shoo or Presidents, and three of the seven were now to confer with the English Embassador, and finally destined to be dismissed from their employ- ments on his account. These persons, as well as their Secretaries, were all Tartars, who were, throughout, the responsible persons to whose care the Embassy was committed ; the lower and laborious departments were generally filled by Chi- nese. The term, which the first of these adopt to express themselves, is Ke-jin, or, as they pronounce it, Che-Jin^ " A man of the Standard or Banner," or Ke-hea-jin, " A man under the Standards." The latter call themselves Ilan-jin, " Men of Han." The young Secretary being seated, said, that the Duke had that moment arrived, and was then washing his hands : this requiring no answer, a short pause ensued, and he went on to give the Duke's character ; that he TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 45 wa3 a man of few words ; but with him it was a word and an act ; very different from the easy and little-mean- ing loquacity of some persons. If he meant, as he pro- baibly did, that on his announcing Ho, the Embassador should propose to pay him the first visit, this intimidating* speech was not the way to carry his point. The Embassa- dor merely said, " Very well ; I am informed of the Duke's arrival." With that answer the messenger went away. It was next announced that several persons, five or six, were coming from the Duke. It was of course intended to give them a civil reception. Accordingly the second Commissioner walked down the steps from the Embas- sador's apartment to meet them, and made a bow to one of them, a very tall man, who appeared to be the princi- pal. They were all in their court dresses, and court beads round their necks. The man to whom Mr. Ellis bowed, so far from returning it, rushed past him with large strides and an affected grave, stern look, bounced up the steps into the chief apartment, raid, followed by his comrades, took the principal seats. During all this not a word w^as spoken ; but every person already felt highly indignant, yet said nothing. The Embassador completely overturned the idea of giving them the pre- cedence, by putting the English gentlemen above him, and himself taking the lowest place. These persons were afterwards nick-named, " The Ladsof Moogden," # and by that name we shall now denominate them. Two only spoke that day : The very tall rude man first ; and he who took the second place, a prim, thin-lipped, shrill-voiced, pock-marked man. The tall man began, Nayihko she Ching kung she, ^' Which one is the prin- cipal tribute-bearer?" The Embas^;ador was pointed out, with the reply, Na yih i^ei she Ching fVa/ig Chae, '' That person is the Royal Envoy." He then proceeded in atone affecting great sternness and dignity, "The ce- remonies of the Celestial Empire are of vast importance, * MvOog^lt?^ is till" c:\pital ofAlancliow Tartary. 46 LORD amiieust'.s embassy and indispensably Mndinc:; the Tribute-bearer is recjuir- ed to attend to-morrow morninir in order to practise." The Embassador replied, " I am not prepared to attend for any such purpose; when I see the Duke I will con- verse with him on that subject." The prim thin-lipped lad then put in his word, and asserted the vast importance end indispensably binding nature of the ceremonies of the Celestial Empire. He received the same answer as his haughty colleague. The English generally felt very indignant at the Lads of Moogden for the insolence of their manner. These men, however, were merely acting a part. It was expected that a stern haughty manner and lofty pretensions would have awed the then unprotected fo- reigners into submission. The Lads of Moogden would have fawned and flattered if they had been told to do so ; as they smirked and cringed on a subsequent day, when the policy was for a while altered. Having received their answer, they rose and rushed out of the room as they entered, without taking leave. The tone of intimidation, however, was not yet given up ; it was to be tried again. The next day, August 22nd, a request came to the Embassador from the Duke to meet him, not at either of their apartments, but at a third place, in the city of Tung- chow. Lord Amherst and the Commissioners accord- ingly consented to go thither. This attempt to waive the question of precedence was thought to augur well. In the mean time, however, it was deemed proper to prepare in Chinese a sealed Memorial to the Emperor himself, in case of an unfavourable issue of the Confer- ence. In it was expressed the greatest respect and veneration for the person of his Imperial Majesty, as the Sovereign of so great an Empire. The ceremony with which it was proposed on the part of the British Embas- sador to enter his august presence was stated, and his Majesty prayed to accept of it, or to signify his gracious pleasure respecting its return. This document the Embassador took in his pocket. TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 47 The day became overcast and rain fell : the parly waited some time, in the hope that it would clear up; hut, contrariwise, the rain increased. The Duke and his party had already f^one some time to the city; and it became necessary at last to brave the weather. Four or five persons went in chairs, and others in one-horse carriages, in which they had foretaste of the distressing jolting afterwards to be suffered on their journey to Yuen-ming-yuen. The officers of the guard rode on horseback, and got completely drenched. The road to the town was dirty and slippery to a degree that could be exceeded by nothing but the streets of Tung-chow, where the poor creatures who carried the chairs were up to the knees in water. The party finally arrived at the Heo-yuen^ or "Literary Hall " of Tung-chow. There was no antichamber in which a person could sit down; and the Embassador had to stand a few minutes till our arrival was announced. Four persons were invited into the room in which the Duke was: its being small weis assigned as a reason for not more going. Mr. Amherst bore his father's train. The Che-chow, or Magistrate of the town was in waiting. He was a person who at first professed to be very civil, but who, from the trouble that the public service gave him, soon changed his tone and manner; and his eyes, which at no time looked straight before him, for he squinted much, indicated the utmost aversion. He said that Sze ko jin, ''four men^^ were to go in; old Chang, who was also of the party, corrected him, and said, i&e-j^e/, ^' four gentlemen, ^^ A small court-yard, not defended from the rain, was to be crossed. By the aid of umbrellas this was effected, and a bamboo hanging screen being raised, discovered the Duke, Muh and Kwang, standing, about three or four feet from the door, with their faces towards it. The Embassador made an inclination of the head, which the Duke did not return in any way, but began in a loud stern tone : '' We are especially sent here by the Great Emperor to see the ceremony properly perform- 48 LORD Amherst's embassy. ed." Mr. Morrison said, ^^Let the Embassador be seated, and then converse." The Duke replied, hi.^ lip quivering with anger, " We stand, and he also may stand." This was explained to the Embassador, who said, ^^ Very well; we will stand." The Duke was then desired to resume what he was about to say. He began, Teen woo hang jih ; Te-woo urh Kwang; "^ A^ in heaven there are not two Suns, so on earth there are not two Sovereigns.' The Great Emperor is Teen-tsze, ' the Son of Heaven ; ' before him all Kings should bow down. You know it," looking at Mr. Morrison, who had been seen reading Confucius, and v/hich had reached the Duke's ears, ^ the ceremony insisted on was coeval with Kae-Kwo, ' the com- mencement of the dynasty." ' Feeling this to be no great length of time, he added "it has existed from the high- est antiquity, and Kangkae puh tih ^cannot be altered.' Without the performance of this ceremony, the Em- bassador and his tribute will be forthwith rejected and cast out;" throwing his hand from him as he pronounced the last word. The Embassador, instead of yielding to the impulse of feelings such as this speech was calculated to produce, took no notice of the Duke's rhodomontade. but with self- command and in a firm tone said, " That he considered the Emperor of China as one of the greatest Sovereigns in the world ; and from his Royal Highness the Prince Regent also considering him in the same point of view,he had sent him to compliment his Imperial Majesty. The ceremony which he proposed to perform, was the same as was performed by the last British Embassador, Lord Macartney, and which was graciously received by the late Emperor." The Duke's face put on a smile at the first part of this speech, and he took a purse from his side and gave it to Mr. Amherst ; but when he heard the close, he replied with warmth, " The afiairs of the last Embassy were its own afllairs ; those of the present Embassy alone are what we will converse about." He turned to Chang, TO rm- couuT of china, 49 who was standin^r by, and said, " Do you lead them out and explain fully what I have said, and the reasons of it." The Embassador being informed of this, saw plainly that nothing; was to be done with the Duke tben, and of course could not submit to be referred to a person of Chang's rank to discuss the subject. Ho therefore asked the Duke if he might expect to see him again. The Duke supposed that the Embassador considered the meeting as partaking of the nature of a visit, and said, ''This is not a visit it is an official meeting on national affairs." He was told the Embassador also consi - dered it as such. He then said, " Whether you see me again or not, depends upon the resolution you choose to come to." On hearing this the Embassador took the Memorial from his pocket and presented it to the Duke, saying, " I'll trouble you to transmit that to his Imperial Majesty." The Duke, evidently disconcerted at such an unexpected occurrence, took it, looked at the address, turned it over, passed it to Muh, and said, '' It is sealed!" The Duke was taken down a peg or two by this reference to his master, and walked forward a few steps to see the Embassador ouf. The whole party immediately returned to the Embassador's house. A gratuity was given to the chair-bearers and drivers of the carriages. Chang's servant, old Blow-hard, undertook to distribute it; and, according to Chinese usage, first told his master, to have his permission. Chang could not sanction it, in consequence, as he said, on several occasions, of the Emperor's taking the' severest notice of any thing that could be construed into the receiving of money. One of the gentlemen of the Embassy distributed with his own hand the dollars to the poor men, who were thereby abundantly rewarded for the labour gone through on account of the English. The feelings of the English v/ere this day a good deal roused by the insolence of the Duke's manner, and the absurdity of his pretensions. -At the first some were angry, at the latter all laughed. D 5D LORD AiMHERST's EMBASSY We were now at a stand till w^e could hear what the decision of his Imperial Majesty was. Express after express went and came in the course of the next day. Chang came to confer ; but as he could not confer with the Embassador, Mr. Morrison w^as the medium for the English. Chang, no doubt, was fully instructed what to say; but at the same time, it is probable he introduc- ed ideas of his own ; and to separate what was absolutely official from what was his own, is not practicable. He did not seem at heart favourable to submission ; he always called it ^Hheir Tartar ceremony," and dis- claimed the idea of its being Chinese. *' They were," he said, '* most tenacious of it ; so much so, that old infirm people, who could no longer kneel or stand, were caused to raise themselves from the seat on which they sat, and fall down again with a bump, the number of times that others knocked their head." He urged conformity, from our coming being volun- tary ; we had embarrassed them, not they us ; had we not come, they would neither have sent for us nor complained of our staying away ; that what they valued was the ceremony, not the presents ; if they dispensed with it with regard to us, what were they to do with other nations? It was argued on the other side, that they seemed to err in applying ancient rules which were suitable enough in respect of petty states around, which were really tributary, to modern powerful nations with whom they had heretofore had no intercourse : that now they would do wisely to have different rules for different nations, according as they were or were not tributary. To apply the same rules to Russia and to Britain, which they did to Lew-kew and Siam, was injudicious. As our dress and features were different from theirs, so our forms of polite intercourse were different, A master in his own house with propriety dictated what forms he pleased to his own servants ; but v^hen the servants of another master came on business common to both families, it was not incumbent on the one to TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 61 enforce the ceremonies of his house on the servant-s of the other; it showed an enlarged mind to pass over these slight varieties; and his Imperial Majesty, in allowing the British Embassador to observe the cere- monies of his own Court, would be still more and more admired. He was however urged to bring an official reply to the note given. He finally brought in his hand the note itself; and said that as the name of the Embassador was not outside, it was contrary to rule to forward it; every person sending a sealed document to the Emperor must write withoutside his name. However, the Duke had opened it. Some displeasure was expressed at this as a mere quibble, as if, though the word " Amherst" was not there, the phrase "British Embassador" was not distinct enough. He acknowledged unofficially, that he believed it a pretence. " If a sealed document from the meanest subject was referred to the Emperor," Baid he, " how would they venture to conceal a letter from a foreign minister?" He then said, if we would alter some expressions in it, they would send it ; if, instead of saying " the King of England had cultivated amity with Keen-lun^," we would say that "Keen-lung had treated the Kmg of England amicably." This was conceded. Then he wanted the phrase taken away, in which our own ceremony w^as proposed, and to have inserted that the Embassador would kneel on both knees. This was rejected, as a childish proposal ; for if that were done, the memorial itself became useless. After carrying it to the Duke again, he brought it back and desired we would withdraw it, for it could not, he affirmed in the name of the Duke, be sent to his Majesty. On the other side it was urged, that if the Embas- sador could not be heard, negociation was at an end. With the note returned, Chang brought formulas of the intended mode of reception at Court, which were received from him, but not carefullv read and translated D 2 52 LORD Amherst's embassy at the time, as it still remained quite uncertain whether the Embassy would proceed to court or not. Chang was now mstructed to commence an attack on some of the persons of the Embassy, by way of intimidation. The gentlemen from Canton were con- sidered as mere traders, and therefore the Embassy was not properly filled up. One of the commissioners, it was said, had been appointed, according to advices from Canton, by the government of England, in conse- quence of his knowledge of the usages of the Celestial Empire; but he, knowing those usages, failed in his duty, inasmuch as he did not inform the Embassador of them, and persuade him to comply with the ceremony. It was insinuated that as far as regarded his future stay in Canton, he would consult his own interest by giving the advice suggested. All the idle stories which had reached the court, of the aviaries, splendid apartments, fine horses, &c. &c. possessed by Europeans living in Macao, were now applied to the individual alluded to. Various efforts were made to stop Chang in this very im- proper harangue ; and the Embassador made him under- stand that he was much displeased at the present interfe- rence with the persons of the Embassy : that as the Emperor of China employed whom he pleased, so did the Go- vernment of England. Chang mumbled a sentence, as if obscurely asking if the King of England did not trade. The general tone of the message seemed impertinent, and it was dismissed with indications of displeasure. Finally a paper was brought purporting to be an edict from the Viceroy of Pekin. The name of one of the Commissioners was introduced into it, and an additional guard ordered to watch the Embassador's house, that no clandestine intercourse might take place between the Natives and the English. There was ac- cordingly a great show that evening of an additional guard. Six days had now elapsed since the interview with the Duke; and the Chinese, or rather Tartars, appeared to be passing from one insult to another: no answer had ' TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 63 been returned from his Majesty it was therefore de- termined to write an official note, and demand that we should be informed of his Majesty's pleasure respecting our departure. The note was written and carried to the Duke by Messrs. Hayne and Davis. This note appears to have d(me away with the hope of our yielding, and therefore the Duke sent by Chang to ask the Embassador to call once more, and also to request that he would introduce the subject. The Embassador agreed to go. On arriving at the temple at which the Duke resided, we found chairs placed on the left side of the court yard. The Duke, Moo, Soo, and Kwang, walked forward to receive the Embassador and Commissioners. The chairs were placed in two rows. The left-hand row was a little higher than the opposite. The Duke took the upper seat on the left hand, and Lord Amherst on the right. The Duke commenced by a few remarks in the form of question, as to the distance of England from China, tlie time which the voyage occupied, and so on. He then asked, if Chang had explained every thing respect- ing the ceremony. The Embassador, on the other hand, wished to know what answer the Duke had to give to his former note. The Duke said, it would be of no use to our cause to send it to his Majesty ; and was proceed- ing to reason the propriety of homage from the King of England to the Emperor of China, as he did in the former interview. It was therefore thought better to wave the subject, and to ask him, what he thought could be done to justify the Embassador to his own govern- ment ; would it be given in the name of the Emperor officially, that his Majesty affirmed on his own recol- lection that Lord Macartney performed the ceremony, and so on ? To a question put respecting the probable disposition of his Majesty, the Duke said *^he could give no answer; it might as well be asked him, whether he thought it would rain or thunder to-morrow. The d3 54 LOUD AMHEBSt's EMBASSt ways of the Son of Heaven were, like those of Heaven itself, inscrutable." The Embassador said, " he could not promise to comply; however, he would in the course of the day send him a final answer." In the afternoon an answer was sent, saying, the Embassador could not comply with the Tartar ceremony. The note had scarcely reached the Duke, when he and his party came to the Embassador's house to pay a visit, and to say it w^a^ determined the Embassy should proceed to Court, at Yuen-ming-yuen, the next day. The Embassador and Commissioners, apprehensive that their note had been misunderstood, asked the Duke if he were aware that they bad written to say they could not perform the ceremony. He seemed to say " yes," and bowed his head ; which all understood as affirming " You are to be received according to the forms you propose." Kwang returned the same even- ing in order to heisten the departure of the Embassy early the next morning. He, when asked, if the Em- bassador's intention was fully understood, said, '' The Emperor is of an enlarged and liberal mind, and hence dispenses with your compliance." During that night several gentlemen attended to the unloading of the presents; and the utmost exertion wa used to prepare the Embassador's carriage. During the above discussion Chang once said, " Do not be in haste ; you will go to Court there are wise men amongst them." He was not however a person in whose judgment it was proper to place confidence. Kwang also sent a man, during the discussion, to know what presents required men's shoulders to carry them, in order to prevent their breaking, which would lead a person to suppose that the Duke and his party had made up their minds some time before they acknow- ledged it. The following morning was a scene of bustle and confusion. The weather was warm. The Local Offi- cers be^an to number our packages, in order to prevent their bemg lost; but they were so numerous, and some to THE COURT OF CHINA. 65 i)f them so heavy, the people lost all patience and gave . it up. The Legate was anxious to hasten our departure, and came himself to the spot. The carriage was ready sooner than the packages* Should however another Emhassy ever go to China, a Bengal palanquin would be much more convenient than a carriage. The carriage has a fine appearance, but there are rarely roads on which it can travel. At 4 P. M. August 28, every thing was ready ex- cept some conveyance for the men who were sick. The Legate had promised that a proper conveyance should be procured. One man died the day before, and was interred in the neighbourhood. The same was the case in the last Embassy : a man died, and was interred at Tung-chow. When the conveyance was brought, it was found unfit for the purpose, and two chairs, ori- ginally intended for the principal persons of the Em- bassy, were finally given to the sick. The Embassador, two Commissioners, and Mr. Amherst, were in the carriage : several gentlemen chose horses, and others were accommodated m Chinese single-horse carriages. The guard and band were in carts. There was a great number of Chinese officers and troops in attendance, who, together with the bag- gage and persons of the Embassy, made avast cavalcade. The weather was warm, and the road dusty. The jolting of the Chinese carriages was extremely fatigu- ing. Without constant effort to hold by the sides of the carriage, a person's head was thrown first on one side and then on the other. The Embassador's carriage, though soiled much, Was an object admired by the natives. Crowds came on purpose to vsee it. One remarked, it appeared proper for the Emperor. The badness of the stone road between Tung-chow and Pekin, as well as of other parts of the way, made even the English carriage at once fatiguing and dangerous. About half-way we stopped at a place intended for the refreshment of travellers; and found some food 66 LORD amiierst's embassy prepared. But being an attempt at English cookery, it was neither English nor Chinese. There were neither knives nor forks, nor yet the small ivory sticks of the Chinese. At this place the Legate and Soo sent for a gentleman of the Embassy, and said, "His Majesty has given a s:racious intimation respecting the Embassador. He has iixed to-morrow for seeing him." This was communi- cated to the Embassador, to whose apprehension it did not appear to be very gracious to be in such a violent haste. The Legate said," Whether the Embassador be introduced or not to-morrow, let us settle when we get there ; but in the mean time we must endeavour to arrive." Of course we could not remain where we were, nor .was it ever intended to stop there. The party accord- i'ngly again commenced its journey. The Embassy passed withoutside the city of Pekin when it was dark, and arrived at Yuen-ming-yuen soon lifter day-break on the morning of the 29th. Leading ilown to the palace there is a paved path, along which the wheels of the carriages, which were according to usage driven fast, made a great rattling. Neither Soo nor Kwang could be permitted to ride in chairs here. Old Chang was on horseback. Part of the gentlemen were conducted to the Embas- sador's house, about a mile from the palace. The Em- bassador, the Commissioners, Mr. Morrison, Mr. Abel, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Cooke, Mr. Abbot, and Mr. Somerset, were led direct to the palace gate. The road leads round the South-east corner of the court-yard before the palace. Soo and Kwang were obliged to alight before turning the corner. Here Soo and Kwang came to the Embassador's car- riage door, and desired him to alight to take a cup of tea. The two Commissioners gotiirstoutof the carriage. jVone of the party knew certainly where they were, but began to be apprehensive that some imposition was intended. Lord Amherst, being really fatigued by tra- TO THE COURT OF CHINA. '57 veiling all night a dangerous road, pleaded indisposition, and said, he could neither see any person nor transact any business till he had taken rest. After much impor- tunity he alighted from his carriage, and was led round the corner to a small unfurnished dirty apartment on the right-hand side of the court-yard. There was a bench in the room, covered with white cotton felt, and which, in the manner of the Tartars, serves for either a seat or a bed. The paper of the roof w^as old and torn. A crowd of persons of all ages and ranks fdled the room. The English gentlemen, disap- pointed, vexed and weary, sat down on the bench. The Embassador directed that the crowd should be desired to withdraw, and leave him alone. The crowd of Chinese and Tartar officers paid not the least attention, but con- tinued to press forward to see the strangers. Chang was desired to use his influence or authority ; but here he possessed neither the one nor the other: he endeavoured to apologise for them from the novelty of the occurrence. A few minutes after entering this room, an invitation came from the Duke requesting the Embassador, Com- missioners, and Mr. Morrison would go to his rooms. The Embassador said he could not see him then, and only begged to be led to the apartments intended for him. The Duke then came himself, and said, he wanted to introduce the Embassador to his Majesty, and added, ''Have you the letter?'' The Embassador without rising said, that he felt unwell, and begged his Imperial Majesty would graciously decline requiring him to attend that day. The Duke said, "^ You shall use your own ceremony." The Embassador requested the Duke to supplicate his Majesty to decline requiring an audience. The Duke became very anxious. The perspiration stood on his face. He went out came again took the Em- bassador by the arm to urge him away ; and told an at- tendant to help him. The Embassador shook them from him, and said, he would not go so, repeating the request to the Duke that he would report his case to the Empe- ror, and entreat his Majesty's acquiescence. A messen- 68 LORD Amherst's embassy ger came to the cloor of the room, and in a tone of hie^Ii anger called away the Duke. Poor Chang struck his thigh, and called out, "Ah! now they are incensed! A man who comes here should have no will of his own! " from which we augured something bad. During the time that the Duke was going out and re- turning, several persons of rank cnme, stared at the English gentlemen, and went away. One old gentleman, vv^th a long silver beard, came and ottered the words, Fa-Zang-ke, with another Tartar-sounding word, which the writer of this did not understand. It was said to him, "We are not French but English." Mr, Morrison requested the old gentleman to turn out the crowd; it was so rude for them to press into a small room in the way they did. He gave no answer to this, but went his way. As soon as he had gone out, a gentleman present, who knew the meaning of the round badge which he wore on his breast, iniorraed the party that he was a Prince of the Blood. Others wearmg the same badge came in, took a rude stare, and went away again. Towards the close of this strange scene, a part of the rabble of officers left the room; the others said they could not, they were ordered to be there. Chang now came in and said there was a favorable reply from his Majesty. To announce it, the Duke came and said, "His Majesty has graciously ordered his phy- sician to wait on the Embassador. He may now go to his apartments." The Duke v/as moreover ordered to see him thither. Men armed with swords then cleared a path through the crov/d, and the Embassador pro- ceeded, walking through the court-yard, and round the corner, to the carriage. In passing the court the Duke accompanied us, and himself cuffed the crowed of Man- darins of various ranks, and kicked them to open a wider path. It is probable that the Emperor himself, from some part of the palace, had a view of the party walking across the court, and that the Duke was showing off his activity and zeal; or that he was vexed, and s;pent his rage on the first he dared to strike. He took TO TUB COURT OF CHINA, &9 the writer of this by the arm, and squeezed it, saying somothino^ which was not heard distinctly enough to be remembered. When round the corner, he took a gkmce at the Embassador's carriage, got into his chair, and was never seen again. The Embassador, Commissioners, and Mr. Amherst, again entered the carriage, and, attended by a large retinue of Chinese officers, proceeded in slow state to the house provided for his excellency. This house be- longed to Sung Taj in, the amiable friend of the last Embassy, who is now first Minister of State, and was then absent in Western Tartary. It was an exceedingly handsome and spacious house. His Majesty's physician came; felt the Embassador's pulse ; said he supposed the climate did not agree with him, and took hi leave. Soo and Kwang were both present. Most of the gentlemen retired to sleep. Break- fast was served up, at which four only were present. His Lordship took something in his own room. He ob- tained a few of his packages, but no part of his toilet. In about two hours Chang brought the news that w^e were to leave immediately. His Majesty was greatly displeased, and had ordered our dismissal instantly. This of course was quite unlooked for ; but what could be opposed to the caprice of a despot, surrounded by cour- tiers, who, as afterwards appeared from the Emperor's own hand, did not dare to tell him that the Embassador had travelled all night, and had not been at his own apartments when he was fraudulently brought to the door of the palace ? The writer of this was asleep when the message came. Major-general Yin came and awoke him, saying, "All has gone wrong ! Kwang wishes to see you ; you are to go away directly." On going out half-dressed, Soo and Kwang were found together. Kwang was generally the spokesman. He said in a demure tone, " His Majesty is angry, and requires you to go from this house today! What is to be done?" It was replied, " His Majesty's will must be obeyed. 60 LORD AMHERST S EMBASSY What do you say is to be done?" " I know not; I also am involved." was the answer. He added, "We will send your thinj^^s carefully back." "Talk not about things!" said the other, yet suffering under excessive fatigue, ^^ throw them into the sea, if you like ; but, re- gard persons." At that moment the silent Moo came in, and Kwang addressed him, "Are they to go?" He replied, "They are to go." The decree it appears had gone forth, probably in a fit of anger, or a panic of fear, on the part of the Em- peror. His courtiers, who sat by, without opposing it, or stating facts, were either afraid to risk his displeasure, or secretly hoped this very strong measure would produce intimidation and submission. Some of the gentlemen obtained with difficulty a hand- basin and a change of linen. The Embassador could not. The Chinese would not permit abox to be brought into the house. The carts which had not been unloaded were driven off. The Embassador's house and court- yard were filled with officers of various ranks, and rude mferiors, who kept staring in at the window, and thrust- ing^ open the door to paze on the foreigners. The Embassador did not hurry his departure, in order to give the Court time to think on the very harsh and barbarous step which they had deterinined on. Chang was told that Vv^e must dine ere we commenced another journey. Yin said we should go but ten leagues that eA^ening ; this, however, proved untrue ; perhaps he was himself misinformed. About two o'clock a large blustering man came into tlie court-yard, and called out, " Where is there an In- terpreter?" On finding a person who understood him, he began, and explained at great length from whom he was deputed; how great the person was; greater than the Viceroy of Chih-le; he was the Kew-mi/n-te-tifh, "Commander of the forcesof the Nine Gates" of Pekin He is the first and greatest military officer in the Empire. Being informed that we knew who the Kew-mun-te-tuh TO TIJE COURT OF CHIXA. 61 was, he proceeded, '' My master, who commands a mil- lion of men, requires that the Embassador leave the limits of his command immediately. The Embassador is a rude man, who does not know how to behave himself. Your Kinir is respectful and obedient; but the Embas- sador is not. He has used disrespectful lan^uatre. His Majesty will write to the Kin^ to complain of him." He was interrupted, and told that the Embassador did not use disrespectful lant^uaj^e; that he said nothing^ more than be^ that his Majesty would graciously defer the audience. *' The Ceremonies of the celestial Empire," said the large man, "are unalterably binding." It was replied, " This is not a time to talk of ceremonies." '' Well," re- joined he, ''I am not sent to talk about that, but to require your departure." " Very well," said the other, " we shall go." About three o'clock, a dinner in the Chinese manner, and in good style, was prepared in the Embassador's hall;. Major-general Yin himself waited on the Embas- sador at table in the most good-natured manner. Before leaving, he stepped into the room in which the Embas- sador was alone, and said, '' They do not mean you to go only kneel on two knees," putting, at the same time, two knuckles on the table to represent the act of kneeling. That, of course, was out of the question then. Chang kept urging our departure, but did not provide porters to reload the carts ; a few only of his Lordship's boxes were reloaded by the exertions of our own people. About 4 P. M. the Embassador, Commissioners and Suite left the house. Four persons travelled in chairs, the rest in the Chinese two- wheeled carriages. The fol- lowing night was dark and rainy, The earliest of the party arrived at Tung-chow about 4 A. M. of the 30th of August. On the road, one of the Embassador's servants was overturned in the car]/ in w^iich he rode, and recei\^ed a I 02 LORD AMHEUST-S KMBAifY contusion of the head, which for some time threatened to terminate fatally. It was yet dark when we arrived, and the boat-men asleep. The squinting Governor of Tung-chow nailed up the door of the house which we had left the day be- fore. Commodore Ko and the boat-men remained un- altered by the displeasure of the despot. On the evening of the same day, Soo and Kwang called on the Embassador, and said, that his Majesty had sent a Joo-e, or emblem of prosperity, of the corun- dum stone ; a string of court beads, such as are worn by the Emperor and ladies of the palace ; and, finally, some ornamental purses. These he wished to be con- veyed to the Prince Regent ; and requested, in return, the maps, the prints, and portraits of the King and Queen, which were mentioned in the list of presents. The Embassador complied with their request, but at the same time took occasion to speak to them freely of the treatment he had received. Six days after this violent act, the Emperor published one of his penitentiary papers, in which he said, he, Puh jin, could not bear the idea of our having come so far, and of being dismissed in the w^ay we had been. He had, he said, now found out what he did not know when he took the harsh resolution, viz. that the Embassador had travelled all night ; had not been at his own apart- ments; nor had with him his Court-dress; "Had I known these circumstances," said the Emperor, "I would have changed the day of audience." He then proceeded in the same official document to reflect in the strongest terms on the Princes and Courtiers, especially the Duke; who were called to his presence that morn- ing, to all of whom the truth was known, but to mention which none would step forward. He blamed the selfish system which each seemed to have adopted, when they sat before him and said to themselves, " The affair does not concern me." " Thus," added he, " they ruined the affair." The Duke he degraded by depriving him of the high situation he held as President of the Foreign TO THE COURT OF CIIIWA. 63 Board: Moo and Soo, Presidents of the Boards of Rites and Works, were also removed: K wan e^ was deprived of his situation as Salt commissioner, and reduced to the low rank of a gold button. He was granted the indulg- ence of wearing his former one whilst with the Embassy. He wrote also to the viceroys of provinces through which the Embassy had to pass on its way to Canton, to give orders to all connected with them to treat it with ci- vility and respect. Yin gave it as his opinion that they would have recalled it, but for what they conceived the very undignified appearance of reversing the Imperial decree. SECTION VI. Journey from Tung-chow to the Yang-tsze Keang, The Emperor required in the Edict just referred to, that the Embassador shoudbe treated civilly, and at the same time that the Military should, wherever the English passed, put on an imposing appearance; have their arms and accoutrements well cleaned; at once, said he, to Boothe and to aw^e. Under these circumstances we had now to commence a four months' journey. Some delay was occasioned by the confusion and haste with which the baggage was brought back from Yuen-ming Yuen. A writing table, containing papers belonging to the Em- bassador, was missing. It had been left behind in the hurry, and was to be sent for the whole distance. One bundle belonging to Lieut. Cooke was lost. September 2nd. We began to move down the stream. At Teen-tsin the Embassy remained iv^o days, whilst the Legate transferred the affairs of his office to his successor. On the 18th, we left Teen-tsin, and proceeded up the far-famed Canal called here Yun-leang Ho, '' the grain- bearing or transporting river,'' also Yu-Ho, ^Hhe 64 LORD Amherst's embassy Imperial river." In other parts of it?'* course it is eallefl Cha-Ho, " the river with locks or flood-gates." This canal was commenced under Yuen, the first Tartar dy- nasty. It received gradual additions and alterations in the course of centuries. The Emperor Kang-he of the present family paid particular attention to it. In Chih- le and Shan-tung they have much low swampy ground, liable to very serious inundations. To make a way for the waters to pass off, was probably one object of the ca- nal, as well as to make a road for the transportation of goods. September 18th. Entered Shan-tung province, and ar- rived at Tih-chow [Te-chou], situated not far from the borders of the province. Here Yin the Major-general, Chang our conductor, and his two servants old Blow- hard and his fellow-servant, left the Embassy. The Em- bassador gave considerable presents to the principal persons, and rewarded the inferiors. They were all very desirous of what they received, but were afraid of its reaching the ears of the Emperor. Chang, before we left Teen-tsin, heard that he had been named in the Gazette as Judge of Shan-tung. He owed this promotion to the Duke, who was himself de- graded. Chang set off for Je-ho, in Tartary, to see his Imperial Majesty, and return him thanks. At Tung-chow we were joined by the Judge of Chih- le province; Shing was his name as vain and loquacious a Tartar as ever lived. He had read various of the books respecting Europe which have been published in China. He professed, with a high degree of self-complacency, that he knew all about the religion, geographical extent, dependance on commerce, and so on, of England. " You must not tell me," said he, addressing himself to Mr. Mor- rison, and giving a wink to Chang, who was sitting by, "I know that the teachers of religion in England all wear beards, and you have loaves of bread three or four cubits in diameter. Your country is but small," said he, "my civil jurisdiction extends all the way to the Gourkas." Looking at Chang, he said, '- Our country to THE COURT OF CHIXA. 6^ k too large; it is extremely difficult to g;overn." When vapouring about England being a commercial country^ he was reminded that the Emperor monopoli- zed the salt department, which nettled him a little. He seemed to flatter himself that he could persuade the English to submit to the ceremony, and so bring about a reconciliation. He entered very fully into the subject when he met the Embassador at Chang's boat. Not having been ordered by the Emperor to call oil the Embassador, he would not; but met him at a third place. When he went away, he said, " Heaven knows ; we may meet again." In every province the Embassy was put under the care of a Tartar Judge or Treasurer ; a General or a Major-general also, for the most part Tartars. The Legate was the constant Superintcndant ; under these were various other inferior oificers. The Treasurer of Shan-tung, whose name was Hoy " Concord," was a very well-disposed man. He remem- bered Mr. Morrison, having seen him at an interview with Mr. Elphinstone, the late chief of the Factory at Canton. He sent his card when he joined the Embassy, and called on the Embassador when he left it. September 22ni[l. Arrived at Lin-tsin Chow, with- outside of which is a lofty Pagoda, or, as the Chinese call it and all such buildings, Ta, It was taken particu- lar notice of by the gentlemen who gave an account of the last Embassy. There is not now any appearance of procelain withoutside. It is nine stories high. It seems a rule in all such structures to make them nine, seven, five, or three stories high. Over the door of this Pagoda are the words, ta paou le Shay 4 3 2 1 '^ A precious Monument ta the' Shay-Ie ;" i. e. ^^re- liques of Fuh ; " which last syllable is an abbreviation of Fuh-too, the Chinese for Buddah. There are good marble steps within, all the way to the top; several gentlemen ascended it. In the various stories are idols 66 LORD AMHKRST X KMBASST placed in uiches; most of them broken and out of re- pair. On a marble tablet inserted in the wall were the words, "The 13th year of the Emperor Wan-leih, of the Ming dynasty;" which answers to 1584. There are in the vicinity four Mohammedan ]Mosques. The roofs of the places of w^orship, called in Chinese Le-pae Sze, were different from the usual Chinese tem- ples. There was a centre roof rising from four equal sides, and terminating in a point, on which was placed a round ball. On each side were similar roofs, smaller and lower than the centre one ; the^ terminated by a conical ornament. September 28th. In the morning passed the river called Wan-ho, erroneously called Luen-ho in the books of the last Embassy. It is said to arise from seventy- two springs in the mountains called Tae shan, in Shang- tung. It flows from the east, and arriving at this point sends part of its waters to the north branch of the canal, and part to the south. The land is high on each side at its mouth ; opposite to which on the other side of the canal stands the temple called Limg Wang MeaoUy *^ The Temple of the Dragon King;" or, as he is other- wise called, Ta-wang, "the great King;" he is the God of seas and rivers. This temple is sometimes called Fmi'shwuy Meaou, "The Temple at the division of wa- ters;" from the circumstance already mentioned. We had now the current of the canal with us ; but it flowed so gently as to be but slightly perceived. The Chinese books assert that from Lin-tsing to this place there are seventy-two Cha, or locks. The C/?a, or locks, are gate-ways with stone abutments on each side, in the middle of which are grooves to receive the ends of planks, which being let down stop the water's egress or ingress. Whether placed on the sides of the canal to admit water into it, or prevent its flowing out ; or whether placed across the canal where the descent is rapid ; they are still called Cha. The canal now passes through what are called Hoo, or lakes ; but they are frequently nothing more than TO THE tJOL'RT OF CHINA. 67 marshy swamps, with shrubs and trees growing out of them. In dry seasons the waters retire to very narrow limits, and the land is cultivated. The present was a year of heavy rains: they fell during tlie fifth moon, aud inundated the crops which were sown. Fishing- boats wera now and then seen on these lakes, and poor people gathering the seeds of the water-lily, which occasionally covered a space of a few acres extent. A few miserable huts were scattered on the banks of the canal, with the water up to the very door ; and in some cases rendered uninhabitable by the water rising to the top of the bank, and flowing into the hut. There were spots left dry in the lakes on which were houses and trees, w^hich relieved the melancholy prospect of swamps, in some points of the compass terminated only by the distant horizon. The country we had hitherto travelled through, had been an entire plain. We had not seen a single hill, but the Tartarian hills north of Yuen-ming Yuen. The willow had been almost the only tree which was seen ; and the only grain, the Kaou-leang or Barbadoes millet. It was from eight to twelve feet high, and consisted of a tuft of grain on the top of a stem, about the thickness of the sugar-cane. Not far from where we were on the 28th of Septem- ber was the town called Hwa-heen, which was occupied some months, by the rebels in 1813. On taking the towm the Government troops put to the sword all the inhabitants, men, women, and children, amounting to between ten and twenty thousand souls. Other fami- lies have been since sent to re-people it, and to cultivate the land around. Some of the gentlemen who had read Confucius, felt interested in passing near Keuh-fow Heen, which was, it is said, his birth-place, and is still in the possession of his descendants. September 30th. On the eastward saw a long range f)f hills beyond the marshy lake. October 1st. Early in the morning passed the village Heachin. The houses were of brick, and presented a e2 ' 68 LORD Amherst's embasst better appearance than any that we had seen in China ; they had heretofore been almost always of mud, and in an exceedingly bad state. - Near this place the canal runs through a corner of Keang-nan; enters Shan-tung again for a short distance, and finally enters Keang-nan a second lime. On the 30th of September we were a short time in Keang-nan, where the custom is, on state occasions, to give the track- ers a uniform jacket and cap. Our trackers had them on the 30th of September: they were deprived of them on the 1st and 2nd of October ; but were put in posses- sion of them again at Yaou-wan chin, which is within the limits of Keang-nan, on the 3rd of October. In the course of our journey on the first, the canal was crossed by a stream from the western mountains. The crossing stream was called Shih-tsze Ho, " The letter ten river;" ten being two cross lines, thus+. Anew temple was erecting on the corner of the bank, almost the i only new building which has occurred in our route. October 2nd. From the lake Hoo-shan-yih a mass of water passing through seventeen flood-gates enters the canal, which, during the whole of the distance tra- velled this forenoon, flowed at the rate of about three miles and a half an hour. October 3rd. Remained a few hours at Hwang-Iin chwang, in the borders of Keang-nan. Ho Taj in, the Pooching-sze of Shan-tung, waited on the Embassador to take leave. He received from his Lordship's own hands a glass snuff bottle, and gave his own to Mr. Am- herst in return. Ho was succeeded by Chin, the Pooching-^ sze or Treasurer of Keang-nan. The military otBcer, called Hee-taCy or Major-general, wearing a red button. His own name was Wang; a Chinese who was exceed- ingly civil as long as he remained with the Embassy. He was rather tall, and a good figure. He was upwards of 40 years of age ; had been in the wars against the Gourkas in the last reign, and acted against the rebels in the beginning of the present reign eight years. He had been slightlv wounded thirteen TO THE roUUT OF CIIIXA, 69 times, and had received the distinction of a peacock's feather together with a Tartar title, which was express- ed in Chinese letters, Kecmg-ynng-pa too-loo, and denoted '"a brav^e and gallant officer." October 5th. All the boat-men of our fleet brought cards of congratulation on account of the Chmig-tsew Tsee, or Harvest-moon. Presents were given to them, agreeably to the usage of the country. October 6th. In the morning saw the mast and sails of boats navigating the Yellow river, which runs some dis- tance nearly on a line with the canal. O ur boats came to an- chor within a quarter of a mile from where the canal enters the river, without our knowing it. The Legate intended to remain there all night and cross the river the next morning; but a favourable breeze springing up, he changed his intention, and sent to inform the Embassador that he purposed getting under weigh immediately, and crossing the river. Knowing the great extent which the river runs, and the destructive inundations which frequently take place from the impetuosity of itscurrent acting on the loose alluvial soil which forms its banks, the mind was worked up to expect something grand. The expectation was, like all highly excited hopes and expectations, disappointed. The Yellow River was' here about three quarters of a mile broad; its waters very muddy when agitated by a pole or an oar ; its current not running more than three miles an hour: in the middle it was about five fathoms deep. It presented to the view a large sheet of water as the western sun fell on its surface. At the distance of a few miles above and below, it turned aside and intercepted the view. We entered it from the canal on the N. E. side, and saw, not directly across, but in a slanting direction to the S. W., the mouth of the passage destined to receive us. Some of the boats had considerable difficulty in working up against the stream to the entrance referred to, even after they had reached the opposite shore of the Yellow River. They finally, however, all reached the mouth of the passage called by the boatmen, the E 3 70 LoD Amherst's embassy Tae-ping ho, where they anchored during the night. Several of the gentlemen supplied themselves with bot- tles full of the water of the Yellow River, as others had done before with bits of the wall of Pekin. October 7th. On the S. W. side of the river the lake, called Hung-tsze-hoo, is situated. At some dis- tance higher up the river than where we now lay, the waters of the Yellow River are conducted into the lake> and passing through it enter, part of them, the Hwae-ho, ** river Hwae," and part of them again enter by the Tae-ping'ho^ where we now lay, "i\\Q Yellow River.'' It appears from Chinese books that during inundations of the river its waters forced themselves into the Hwae- ho, and it became an object to give strength and impe- tus to the current of the Hwae-ho, which, as they say, was effected by bringing the waters of the river through the lake, and down to the river again, at the point where its waters could not be resisted ; thus, as they express it, they made the river oppose its own violence. In books which treat of the large rivers of the Empire, the Yellow River is called by way of eminence, " The River." On the Hwae-ho, where the rush of water was great, a plan like the above was often adopted. A new channel was cut on one side of the river, and part of the waters carried off, to be brought in again at the distance of half a mile or a mile below. From the Hung-tsze-hoo a great mass of water was rushing through a gateway made by immense earthen abutments, confined by the stem of the Kaou-leang and ropes. These narrow flood-gates, made of earth, are called Pa-tsze. The stone ones are called Cha as men- tioned above. We had, on the morning of the seventh, to pass the first and most difficult flood-gate against the stream. It was a task of some difficulty. The boats were drawn through by ropes ; a large concourse of officers attend- ing in case of accidents. On the bank were perpen- dicular windlasses, round which the end of the rope was thrown. to THE COURT OF (^IIINA* Tl On the same day we had to pass round the pouit which divides the waters of the lake, part to enter the Yellow river, and part to swell the current of the Hwae- ho. We had ascended one flood-gate and had to descend another. The latter was formed of compact mason-work, and called Teen-fei Cha^ " The lock of the celestial Lady." The water of the upper part is sometimes four cubits higher than the lower surface of the water. It iiad been opened some time in order to diminish the fall. Chinese gentlemen, however, deem it safe to go on shore whilst the boats pass the lock. An elegant tent was provided on shore, and the Embassador invited by the Legate to go to it. The boats were laid on one side of the flood-gate, and gradually brought by ropes within the influence of the falling stream, when the rope was slipped, and the boat shot through. It had a fine effect. Kwang and the Treasurer were both there : the old Legate was polite and cheerful, as usual. The Embas- sador, in consequence of an explanation, conceded to Kwang, as Imperial Commissioner, the first place. The Treasurer was going to take the second, which he soon perceived was not agreeable, and he said, '' I have some little things to attend to^ and will retire," which he did immediately. Kwang, the evening before, affirmed that the usages established by law required him to take precedence of Foreign Ministers, and he neither could nor would decline, even at a private meeting. He wa3 late in ar- riving at the spot. When he came, he said he had been at the temple of the Queen of Heaven, burning incense, and praying for a prosperous journey to us all. October 8th. Early in the morning passed a large, populous, unwalled town, called Tsing-keang-poo. In the middle of the town there is a Cha^ or lock, with an Imperial Pavilion on each side of the abutment. Over the gate is written Yu-she-ting^ " The Pavilion of the Imperial Ode." It is probable that some of Keen-lung\i odes, made in the course of his journey to the South, 72 LOUD AMHliRST's EMBASSY were cut on stone and deposited here. The use to which they are now appropriated is to store up ropes necessary for the repair of the lock. Below Tsing-keang-poo the banks raised on each side of the river are so high, and the land behind them so low, that the tops of houses and trees appear from the boats passing down the stream to be on a level with the banks. General Wang remarked in the course of conversa- tion, that the wars which preceded and accompanied the ascendancy of the reigning family, thinned the po- pulation so much, that the earth produced great abun- dance for the wants of the people. Since that period there has been a vast increase of population, the con- sequences of which are scarcity and poverty. In the General's opinion, anothc**:* war to diminisli the popula- tion would be a good thing. October 10th. Passed Yang-chow Foo during the night; which was a great disappointment to several of the gentlemen of the Embassy. October 11th, 12th, 13th. Remained at the foot of a very elegant Temple and Pagoda, called Kaou-ming-sze and Wan-ming-ta. An old cheerful little man, who acted as commissary, and whom we denominated the little governor, from his holding the situation of Che- chow, opened to the Embassador and Suite the gates of the Temple and the doors of the Pagoda. . The ascent to the top was easy, and from the several stories a charming prospect was enjoyed of the surrounding country. This Temple and Pagoda were fitted up magnificently for Keen-lung, and are still the property of Govern- ment. We were now to leave the boats in which we had sailed ever since we entered China, and were to embark on board larger and differently-constructed vessels, fitted to navigate the Yang-tsze-Keang. Some of the gen- tlemen here applied for horses to take an airing, but were refused by the Legate, whose conduct was then blamed ; but, as afterwards appeared, was induced by an order from the Emperor not to allow us to go on shore. This TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 73 the Leg;ate never attempted to enforce, but, of course, he could not himself furnish the means to violate the order. Some of the gentlemen walked, without know- ing it, in a direction for Yang-chow- Foo, which caused some apprehension on the part of those whose duty it was to prevent our straying. They sent a messenger after them to say, we were going to get under way ; which was an untruth. It however answered the pur- pose that time. The gentlemen immediately returned. October 14th. We dropped down to Kwa-chow, which is situated on the banks of the Yang-tsze Keang. The fleet was detained till the 19th by contrary winds. In dropping down, the wind blew very fresh, and sent the Embassador's boat with violence against the bank, so as to cause it to leak a good deal. It was, however, afterwards repaired so as to perform the voyage in safety. Above Kwa-chow are situated the Woo-yuen, " Five Gardens," which were in the last reign an Imperial resi- dence. They have never been visited by Kea-king since he ascended the throne, and are much out of re- pair. Two, years ago one of the sage Yu-she, i. e. '^ public Censors," upbraided his Majesty with the needless'expense of the Five Gardens. His Majesty told him he was a great blockhead for not knowing that the Emperor paid no attention to them, nor spent any money whatever upon them. That no money has been laid out on them for many years, is perfectly apparent. Seen from Kwa-chow rising out of the Yang-tsze- Keang, which here is nearly two miles broad, there is an island like the conical top of a mountain standing above the water. Its sides are clothed with trees, amongst which are seen light airy buildings in the Chinese man- ner, and on the summit is a handsome Pagoda. This island is called Kin-shan, " The Golden Hill." The Kin- shan was an object of admiration to all the gentlemen of the Embassy ; many wished much to visit it, but the order alluded to above, prevented its being done. Be- yond the Kin-shan, on the tops of the surrounding hills, the white canvass tents of the soldiers produced an inter- 74 LORD AMHERST S EMBASSY esting effect; and farther still to the S. E., in the valles^ and up the sides of the hills, the populous town of Chin- keang appeared. That town stands at the entrance of the canal which passes to Hang-chow, in Che-keang. Kwa-chow is now in a very declining state, and the walls in ruins. To accommodate the late Emperor in passing to the Golden Hill, a canal v/as cut through the town, and a bridge made from its Southern point across the Keangto the island. Since that period, as the Go- vernor of the town informed Mr. Morrison, the Tung- ahwuyj ^' or fortune of the place," has gradually declined. SECTION VII. From Kwa-chow on the Yang-tsze Keang,io Kwang- chow FoOy or Canton. At Kwa-chow were several pleasant walks through country lanes shaded by the foliage of trees. In one of these was situated a Gan or Temple occupied by three widows, who had, having no human dependance, devot- ed themselves to the worship of the God Chin-te. The matron was eighty years of age, and the other two up- wards of fifty. One went through her morning devotions in my presence. She appeared sincere, and probably w^as fully persuaded in her own mind of the real existence of that Being to whom she burnt incense, knelt down, and offered up prayers. To amuse the Embassador, General Wang caused a few of his men to go through their exercise, in shooting with bows and arrows at a target, and firing their mus- kets in quick succession. After the men had shot witll their bows, the old General wished some of his oflScers to try, and, as is perhaps the usage in such cases, took a bow and arrow, and smiling said to the Embassador, " Do not laugh at me," he let fly his arrow, but it missed the target. One of his officers who performed after him TO THE eOL'RT OF CfllNA. i iJ sent hia arrow throug;h the target every shot. The matchlocks performed better than it was supposed they would, and eight or ten men, loading with powder only, kept up in front of their party an unremitting fire. The Legate, Treasurer, and other officers, went to the Temple of the God of wind, to supplicate a favorable breeze. One of the gentlemen took out his gun and shot a crow. The Legate sent to desire he would desist, lest he should alarm the country people, and also because the Tartars venerate the crow. The reason is the following* The grandfather of the first Emperor of the present dynasty was, when a lad, left by some accident in the field of battle after the defeat of his own party. When the enemy was advancing upon him, he crouched down in a hole, the mouth of which was immediately sur- rounded and covered by a flight of crows. The victo- rious party, supposing there could be no human being where the crows were sitting, passed on, and the lad was saved. At the spot where this took place the Tartars annually hang meat on a pole to feed the crows, and dis- courage on all occasions putting them to death. October 19th. At an early hour our fleet entered on the Yang-tsze Keang, which at this place is a large and rapid river. The wind was extremely light, and not quite fair. The boat-men with much difHculty coasted along the northern side, which was flat and marshy, covered with long reeds, which are raised for fuel. October 21st. Arrived at Kwan-yin Mim, " The gate of the Goddess Kwan-yin." The arch of a bridge con- necting two hills is so named. On one side of the gate is situated a very picturesque rock, with shrubs hanging from it over the river, which runs rapidly along at its base. Its summit is crowned with trees and a Pavilion called Yen-tsze Ke, perhaps, "The swallow rock." Further up the stream, on the opposite side of the gate, was a romantic temple built against a perpendicular rock with verdure on its top. It was called ''The iron-bound solitary Hill." 76 LORD AMHEKSt's EMJ&ASSV The Viceroy of Keang-nan, Gan-hwiiy, and Keang-se, came to Kwan-yin Mun about twenty leagues from Nan-kin to meet the Legate, to whom he appeared to wish to be peronally civil. He invited the Legate to breakfast. To the Embassador, gentlemen, guard, band and servants, he sent presents and bestowments of sheep and sweetmeats of various kinds, with a message, saying he was happy to lind the Embassador and the party had been Gan-tsmg, '' peaceable and quiet." To this the Embassador made no reply, but sent a present in return. The Viceroy sent back the present ; and it was said in behalf of his Lordship, that the Viceroy's present could not be received unless he took a present in return. After some discussion the Viceroy sent back for his Lordship's present. He did not call on the Embassador nor did the Embassador propose to call on him, but sent his card to say he hoped the Viceroy was well. The Viceroy whose name was Pih, a man inimical to and disliked by the English, sent back, according to Chinese usage, in civil intercourse, the card, saying the Embassador was exces- sively polite, and so on. To-day, which proved to be the anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar, the Embassador had the body-guard drawn out, and examined the state of their accoutrements. We got under way and arrived in the evening at the western gate of the city of Nankin. The suburb was called Hea-kwan. Here we remained till the 24th. Without the wall of Nan-kin there are villages and numerous gardens interspersed with fish-ponds. The ditch or moat is a considerable width, and full of water, with paths now and then across it. The streets are paved with brick, and some paths are laid with rough slabs of marble ; which was in great abundance in many places along the banks of the Keang. The Embassador walked towards the gate of the city, which the attending officers rudely shut in his face, instead of desiring him not to enter. On a representation being sent to Kwang, he dispatched General Wang up, and had the gate opened before the Embassador left it. TO THE COURT OF CHTNA. 77 The next day several of the gentlemen ascended a hill within the gate, about a quarter of a mile high, and had an extensive prospect all around. However, as far as the eye could reach over the space enclosed by the walls, the town did not appear, except lofty gateways and a Pagoda, the famous Porcelain tower. The whole space was occupied by gardens and fields, with now and then a cluster of houses. Some of the gentlemen walked very near what was judged to be the inhabited and populous part of the town, and when the crowd began to collect, returned. The Porcelain Pagoda is called Lew-le paouTa. Lew- ie is a kind of glassy substance. It is also called Keang- 7ian paou-gan-sze, " The Temple of Gratitude in Keang- nan." Large sheets, containing a print and a description of it, are sold in the streets of Hea-kwan. It was begun in the 16th year of the reign of Yung-lo, of the last dynasty, and finished in the 6th year of Seun-tih, being 19 years in building. It cost 2,485,484 taels of silver. On the top were 48 catties of gold, 1400 catties of red copper. Some superstitious stories are told of the God of thunder pursuing demons to this spot, and there des- troying them, the shock of which injured the tower: The fact appears to have been, that it was struck by lightning. Large grants of ground ail around v/ere made to the Temple and Tower. At a Temple in the suburbs, found three large bronze vessels, cast at the expense of Ho-ching, a eunuch who travelled to Bengal in the reign of Hung-he, about A. D. 1424. There are in the suburbs of Nan-kin hot baths for poor people. Admittance costs from four to ten cash, equal to a halfpenny or a penny. The baths are in a small room, which continues filled with steam. The bathers are all together, and come out to dry themselves and dress in a public room, in which are cupboards num- bered to contain the clothes of the separate bathers. The sign of one was in large characters painted against a white wall, Heang shwuy yu Tang, " The bath of fra- grant water." Some of the gentlemen put their heads ^78 LORD AMHLHiiT's liMBASSY into the bath, and found the fragrance any thing but agreeable. October 2 1th. The squadron moved from the jileas- ant situation which it occupied before the walls of the ancient capital of China. October 27th, 28th. Were at a small creek on the left bank of the Keang, called Tseen-yu-tsuy, near which place wp entered the province of Gan-hwuy, and accord- ingly changed officers. Along the Yang-tsze Keang, at set distances, are ar- tificial creeks for boats and large vessels which navigate the river, to anchor in at nights, out of the influence of the wind and current. This river was found to be much more difficult to navigate, and more dangerous than was at first supposed. The wind blowing against the current made a very heavy swell. Some Chinese Gen- tlemen were sick in consequence of the agitation. October 30th. Passed Woo-hoo Heen. The country on the left was diversified by gentle hills and rich culti- vation. Thermometer at 50. We anchored at the foot of a steep rugged hill, up the sides of which were small temples placed fantastically ; it w^as called Se-leang Shan. On the other side of the river w^as a corresponding hill called Tung-leang Shan. Fancy suggested that the two hills had once formed one, but by some convulsion of na- ture had been rent asunder. October 31st. Had a fine northerly breeze through- out the day. Thermometer at 66. The country on the right bank of the river w^as extremely pleasant. A hilly undulating ground, well wooded, and spots highly cultivated. In the distance was a long range of moun- tains. At 5 P.M. reached a village called Teih Keang. The scenery on approaching it, was very beautiful. A great variety of foliage prevailed every where. The dark au- tumnal tint of some trees blending w^ith the green of others, w^as exceedingly pleasing to the eye. Near the left bank w as a small woody island, called Yili-ke. A temple adorned its summit, and rocks were TO TUli COL'RT Oh CHINA. 79 r.pread along at its base. A pleasant northerly breeze, a clear sky, and cool temperature, made every person feel delighted with the climate. Many a wish was ex- pressed, that so fine a country were more accessible to persons of every clime. On the hill above Teih-keang was a Temple dedicated to Newshin, "the God of Kine." A figure of a black cow, with a person sitting on it, stood in the Temple ; and by the side were several marble inscriptions, con- taining the names of the founders, and the views and feelings of the original proposer, who invited all the farmers in the neighbourhood to join in the expense. In the streets of the village, observed a proclamation respecting the English Embassy. The purport was : " The English Embassador is about to pass this place on his return. His Majesty's pleasure on the subject has been received. Through the whole of the Embassy not a man of the Embassy is allowed to land. Their language is not known to the natives, therefore no in- tercourse is permitted ; no buying or selling ; no books to be sold to them. Natives are not permitted to crowd about them, nor to make a clamorous noise. No females are permitted to show their faces," &c. Throughout the whole of the province of Gan-hwuy, similar papers were pasted up by Government, at the same time that it sent its soldiers and police-officers to accompany the gentlemen who chose to walk through the towns or into the country for miles around. November 1. Stopped at Ting-kea-chow, a small island. Enjoyed an agreeable walk betwixt two row^s of trees, many of which were the tallow tree, of which candles are made : it was called here Pe-yew-kwo-tsze, and by others the La-shoo. In this part of the country, as well as lower down, many of the soldiers were arrayed in the ancient Chinese helmets and coats of mail. They are now considered useless, but are yet occasionally worn for ornament. November 2. At 10 A. M. arrived at Tung-ling Heen. The country around is hilly and v/ell wooded. 80 LOUP Amherst's embassy The oak and the fir were amongst the number of the trees which adorned the hills and the dales. Saw porpoises in the Yang-tsze Keang. The boat- men called them " River pigs." November 3. Remained at Ta-tung. Prom the great number of public necessaries in the lanes and streets, the place is very disagreeable. On the hills, which are well wooded, there are pleasant walks. From the book of a village^school extracted the following couplet : " To have good children and grand-children, constitutes happiness : *' Though large estates be not possessed, there is no occasion for sorrow." On the sides of the hills were numerous coffins un- buried. Those in easy circumstances had a vault built over them. Others had nothing but a mat laid over the coffin, which mat the relations of the deceased replace annually. It is probable that they are kept unburied, only till the persons concerned can find a place for, and perform the rites of sepulture agreeably to their wishes, or till they can afford to purchase a burying- place ; for, except at large towms, there is no public burying-ground open to the poor. Crossed over from Ta-tung to an island on the oppos- ite side of the river, on account of the offensive smell when anchored at the village. The island was called Ho-ye Chow. This island is sometimes overflown by the Yang-tsze Keang: when that occurs, the people remove to the hills on the opposite side. Was interest- ed by the appearance of a family containing four gene- rations, amounting to about twenty persons, in the same house. The patriarch was only 70 years of age ; at his feet stood his great grand-child, whilst his son was working at his father's coffin. I asked the old man why he now prepared his coffin. He said he felt his health decline, and he wished to have a place ready, in which to rest after death. An opportunity did not offer to ascertain his views of a future state of existence. When asked if the sight of his coffin did not excite TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 81 iournful ideas, he replied, '' No." A mandarin with me remarked, " His mouth says No, but it is not the language of his heart." In the distance is seen a lofty mountain called Kew- hwa Shan, from the circumstance of a temple being erected on it to the God Kew-hwa. The ascent is said to be so difficult in some places, that in going up it is judged necessary to attach a rope from above to the per- sons ascending. At the temple are upwards of a thou- sand priests. Their supplies of food are obtained from the plains below. Saturday 9th. About 2 P. M. arrived at Gan-king Foo, the capital of Gan-hwuy. The gentlemen of the Embassy had permission to go about the town without interruption. The city is small ; the people apparently wealthy, and a degree of health and colour enjoyed which did not appear in other places. There is a Pa- goda in the suburbs nine stories high. It is called Ying-Keang Sze. Mr. Pearson ascended to its top. November 11th. Arrived at this village last evening : it is called Hwa-yuen Chin, and is about 90 leagues distant from Gan-king. Rain and wind prevent our proceeding. About half past four P. M., Millidge, a marine, who was attached to Mr. Morrison for the purposes of the Embassy, in passing along the outside edge of the boat, fell overboard and was drov/ned. The current was very strong. Mr. Griffith looked out immediately on hearing the splash : but the man was gone. The same gentleman got into a boeit, and had it rowed down the stream, but could see nothing of Millidge. He returned and felt with poles at the spot where the man fell in, but in vain. He went down in a boat a second time, whilst some of the man's comrades grappled with hooked poles at the side of the boat ; but all was ineffectual. Millidge was a well-behaved man^ about 30 years of age. His parents were living when he left England. The Chinese asked, whether having lost his life in this service, his parents would be rewarded. 82 LORD Amherst's embassy In the evening the Chinese found the body, which was next morning interred with much decorum. The guard and band attended. Mr. Griffith read the fu- neral service. The Legate, who behaved in the most gentlemanly manner on this occasion, had a stone cut during the night with this epitaph : "THE TOMB OF MILLIDGE, OXE OF THE BODY-GUARD OF THE BRITISH EMBASSADOR. NOVEMBER 12th, I8I6." The epitaph was in Chinese characters. November 12th. Al^out 3 P. M. passed a conical rock about 200 feet high, situated in the middle of the river. Superstition had reared, with much difficulty and exj)ense, a building upon its southern side and at its summit. There are supported in it about a hundred priests : it is called Seaou-koo Shan, " The little orphan rock, or hill." This hill is within the limits of Keang-se. In a south-east direction were seen numerous wild and precipitous mountains, whilst on the north-west nothing appeared but a dreary plain, the effect of which was increased by a black cloudy sky and a drizzling rain. A little above the little orphan rock is situated the town called Pang-tsih Heen, which occupies the valley next the river, whilst its wall passes over the tops of the mountains which encircle the town towards the South-east. In the evening the trackers' line broke, and left our boat, with only two men on board, to drift down the stream, which is rapid, and, with the wind from the westward, extremely dangerous. We lost one anchor ; but brought up with a second. November 14th. Arrived at Ta-koo Tang, opposite an island called Heae Shan, " Shoe-hill." It stands in the mouth of the Po-yang Lake. On both sides are TO THE CO CRT OF CHINA. 83 hills of varied height. In the distance on the north- west side, a lofty and remarkably poinded mountain extends its huge length. On this side there is a small town, with several temples in it, and a few shops in which provisions are sold. On the sides of Shoe-hill there are temples with a long range of steps, by which to ascend ; and on the summit is a Pagoda. During the 15th remained on account of the rain. November 16th. Proceeded up the lake, with a little current against us. On the top of the Leu-shan^ *' The Mountain of Retreat," snow had fallen during the night, and remained shedding a white glare around the summit, which, contrasted with the green below, made it appear like sun-shine on the top, although the sun was quite obscured. Snow which falls now, does not usually melt till the fourth or sixth moon of the ensuing season. Each side of the lake is here hemmed in by hills of varied height. Some on the north-east side are entirely sand. The Governor of Pang-tsih Heen called, and asked, amongst other questions, whether we had any opium with us. He says, it is used by persons even in his poor district. " There is," he said, " a preparation of tobacco used as a substitute for opium, and which they call Sze-yen." In the afternoon arrived at Nan-Kang Foo, situated on the border of the Lake. The walls had been recently repaired, which excited a favourable anticipation as to the wealth of the place. It is, however, in a very ruin- ous poor state withinside. Before the town there is a stone pier running parallel with the beach, and from the centre of the pier a passage at right angles leads to the principal gate of the town. Boats pass in behind each end of the pier, and are sheltered from the agitation of the Lake when it blows hard. Up the first street are a number of the stone arch- ways called Pae-fang or Pae-loo. There is on them a great variety of curious sculpture, representing birds, animals, F 2 V 84 LOUD Amherst's embassy men, horses, and so on. They bore the dates of Wan- leih, and Kea-tsing, of the last dynasty. There are in the town two Wan-Meaoii^ as the Temples of Confucius are called ; and a Woo-Meaou^ as the Temples of Kwan- Te, the military demi-god of China, are denominated. Most of the party took extremely interesting walks %o the Len^Shan, '*- Momitain of Retreat." A small stream issued from the side of the mountain, and fell a considerable height. It was seen distinctly from where the boats lay. November 19th. Visited the Pih-luh tung Shoo^ yuen, "College of the White Stag Valley," which is situated about six English miles to the north-west of jNan-Kang Foo. It is a place famous in China. It was anciently a national seminary, and in it Choo-foo-tsze, the favourite commentator of Confucius, taught about six hundred years ago. There is still bearing flowers a Kwei-hwaSJioo tree which he planted with his own hand. Persons are prohibited from plucking its leaves or flowers. Some of the gentlemen, however, who felt interested by the name of Choo-foo-tsze brought away a few small twigs. The college is situated at the further end of a beau- tifully wild ravine. A torrent of water runs over a broken rocky bed, which, in passing up, it is necessary to cross several times. The hills are high, and more or less wooded on each side, whilst beyond the stupendous " Mountain of Retreat " lifts its black and rocky summit in rugged points, called " The five old peaks." This place is visited by many Chinese Scholars of eminence, and the inscriptions neatly cut on a black stone are very numerous. About 200 yards from the Col- lege, a rock hanging over the brook is pointed out as the spot where Choo-foo-tsze angled at his leisure hours. The writer of this felt more interest and pleasure from a sight of this place, than from any thing else that occur- red during the whole journey. TO THE COURT OF CHINA. Sb Wednesday, November 19th. Reached Woo-ching- Chin, situated on the left bank of the Tan-ho, which flows by the capital of Keang-se and enters the Po- yang Lake. Woo-ching--Chin is a great depot for the commodities of various provinces. There are in the town very ele- gant Hwuy Kwan^ or "halls of merchants," from the same province. There is also a very spacious and elegant temple, dedi- cated to a man whose name was Heu Chin Keun, who is deified, and is called " The happy Lord of Keang-se.", His temple was by some Emperor denominated Wan- show Kung, which is the name by which it is now known. Here the front is decorated with various devices on porcelain, and with handsome masonry. A large court is formed in front, and a fine building raised on the opposite side for the public performance of plays. November 21st. Arrived at Nan-chang Foo, the capital of Keang-se, where we had to quit the boats with which we had navigated the Yang-tsze Keang and the Po-yanglake. Theremainingpartof the journey was by the same road as the gentlemen of Lord Macartney's Embassy. Whilst at Nan-chang Foo, an alarming fire broke out in the evening in the suburbs, on the banks of the river. Our fire engines were offered to the Legate, who, with many professions of thanks, declined accepting them, as it was the duty of the local officers to see the fire ex- tinguished, not his. In about the space of two hours they succeeded. November 27th. The Legate sent a covered boat to take the Embassador, and any other gentlemen Vv^ho chose to accompany him, to see a temple called Hwa Wang MeaoUy " The temple of the King of flowers." His Majesty is represented seated on a fantastic group of rocks, surrounded by gay divinities, male and female, for each month of the year. The figures were quite new, and painted in the most lively colours. The F 3 8*6 LORD Amherst's embassy temple was supported by the salt merchants in the neighbourhood, who in an adjoining hall had placed an idol denominated Tsae-shiriy " The God of wealth." Before him was a stage for theatrical exhibitions, which are blended with the service of all the temples. On the evening of the 27th reached a village called She-chih. In front of the boats saw an instance of the harsh usage to which the people in China are subjected from the police runners, who are armed and dressed like soldiers. A respectable-looking man, walking quietly away, was seized by the tail and the beard, and dragged away to receive Ta-pan-tsze^ " A bambooing." On enquiring the cause, it was affirmed that he had Ma- kwaiiy '^ used insolent language to an officer of the government." At Nan-chang Foo, three hundred boats had been put in requisition for the Embassy, and had been detain- ed two months. Having received no pay for a whole month, they appealed to Government for support, and had then to each boat 150 cash, that is about fourteen pence daily, given them. December 2nd. Mr. Hayne's boat struck against a rock and filled with water ; the boatmen ran her on shore and saved every thing: his clothes and books were, however, much injured. In the evening the boat, al- ready repaired, overtook the rest of the fleet, and was again taken possession of by the gentlemen who had been wrecked in her at noon. The fleet now consisted of about a hundred boats, which, passing with their sails spread up the river Kan- keang, whose stream, clear as crystal, meanders at the foot of hills and mountains, formed a fine sight. December 5th. All the boatmen in our fleet sent a petition to the Embassador, requesting a pecuniary gra- tuity to enable them to perform the usual rites, before passing the eighteen rocky rapids, called Shih-pa-tan. The Legate sent a Tan-sze, " Master of the Rapids,"or pilot, and a soldier, to assist in each boat. The river in this neighbourhood abounds with rocks just above TO THE COUKT OF CHINA. 5t Water, the passage between which is frequently very narrow. The bed of the river is a ravine enclosed by hills and mountains, generally barren, but now and then clothed with firs, and occasionally a few trees of other kinds along the shore. The morning of the 7th set in with a cheerful sun, but became overcast with thick black clouds, which hung on the tops of the mountains, and gave the whole a wild gloomy ap- pearance. December 10th. All the boats were provided with new tow-ropes, to drag the boats up the " Pillars oC Heaven," which is the name of a dangerous rapid. Wo saw the recent wreck of a fine boat as we ascended the rapid. In the evening arrived at Kan-chow Foo, where two streams unite. One comes from the province of Fuh- Keen, and the other, called the " Western River," from the mountain Mei-ling, which divides Canton from Keang-se. Early the next morning walked half-way round tho ramparts to an elegant Pagoda nine stories high. The external appearance was compared by De Guignes, but with little propriety, to the bamboo bonnets of poor Chinese piled on each other. Several gentlemen as- cended the Pagoda to view the surrounding country. December loth. Passed some very beautiful spots in the morning. The stream is clear as possible. The bottom generally pebbly. The hills and plants on each side throw a dark hue upon the surface of the w^ater, which runs a continually winding course. The nume- rous water-wheels described by former travellers, in constant motion and siiaded by green foliage, along the banks of the limpid stream, delighted the eye. The Legate has on two or three occasions of late or- dered his own boatmen, and those of some other boats, to be beaten with twenty stripes for not getting their boats on with greater expedition. Those who dragged the boats were exposed to the rain from heaven, and walked a great part of the day up to the middle in water. That in times of perfect tranquillity, for a state of rebellion and anarchy does not apply, that in a 88 LORD amiierst's embassy state of perfect tranquillity a poor man who has labour- ed all day in the profession to which he is devoted, shall be liable at the close of the day to twenty blows upon his bare breast, a punishment at once ignominious and painful, merely because he could not bring his labours to the successful close which some others did, is really detestable. The minds w^hich can inflict, and the minds which can bear such treatment, how different from the minds of Englishmen ! December 18th. Arrived at Nan-gan Foo. Here we had to disembark in order to pass the Mei-ling Mountain: the first land-journey which we had to take since leaving Tung-chow. A Ktmg'Kwan, " Public or Government lodging," was provided on shore. There were three houses. That intended for the Embassador was very good for a Chinese house. One of the others was that in which the Dutch Embassy had been lodged twenty years ago. The Frenchman who was of that party, had written his name on one of the wooden pannels of the window, with a black-lead pencil. The name is still perfectly legible : thus, ^^ de guines Tozy 1795." Mr. Tozy was a Dutchman, seen by the persons of the present Embassy at Batavia. It was remarked, on seeing these names, " How frequently the Chinese wash their houses!" On the 19th the presents were carried across the mountain. The large glasses cost 120 taels to transport them over it. December 20th. The Embassador and suite, some in chairs and some on horseback, performed the journey. The pass on the top of the mountain is about 30 Chinese leagues from Nan-gan Foo, and 90 from Nan-heung Foo on the Canton side. There is a paved path all along the valley on each side of the hill. Towards the top the difficulty of ascent is lessened by steps, distant from each other about three or four feet. The path. TO THE roCJRT OF CHINA. 89 cut down through the solid black rock, was made du- ring the dynasty Tang, about a thousand years ago, by an individual who had retired from Court. A tablet still remains, which, it is said, was erected at the time, but it is now illegible. An arched gate-way of brick stands in the middle of the pass. It had a tower on the top of it, but it is now fallen down. On one side of the gate it is Keang-se province, on the other the province of Kwang-tung, Canton. The view towards Keang-se is very wild and dreary. Towai'ds Canton, the view is intercepted by hills on each side of the passage, and a few trees give it a pleasing eifect just as you pass through the gate ; but none of the " flourishing fields and gar- dens'' mentioned in the accounts of the last Embassy, as " laid at the feet " of the traveller, are to be seen after getting through the defile just mentioned ; the prospect is just as dreary and barren as on the Keang-se side of the mountain. On the sides of the rock in the pass are various in- scriptions cut out. Teen lejin tsingy " Heavenly prin- ciples and humane feelings," apparently applied to the man who made the pass, appear in very large characters. His image is placed in a Temple on the Canton side of the gate, and is worshipped with divine honours. In the Temple a Mei-hwa Shoo, " Mei flov/er tree," was in full blossom. From this tree the name Mei-ling, "the Mountain of the Mei-flower," is derived. Dec. 21st. At Nan-heuns* Foo the Embassy apfain embarked in small boats, the river being extremely shallow. Dec. 26th. At Chaou-chow Foo removed to larger boats, in which on the first of January 1817 we arrived at Canton. Captain Maxwell in his barge, attended by about twenty ships' boats, filled wnth officers and gentlemen, came to meet the Embassador. The American Consul B. C. Wilcocks, Esquire, joined the party in a boat car- rying the American colours. In the evening his Lordship landed in State at a Tem- ple called Hae-chang-sze, situated on an islet opposite 60 LORD AMHERST S EMfiASSV the European factories at Canton. It had been fitted up in a most splendid manner, in a st}^le partly Chinese and partly English, under the direction of J. B. Urmston, Esquire, of the Select Committee of Supra-cargoes. In the evening his Lordship took his New-year's dinner with a large party of Englishmen at the Honorable Com- pany's Factory. The gentlemen of the Embassy were delighted to meet againtheir countrymen, who had long anxiously expected them. Every heart was glad. January 1st. The Legate waited on the Embassador to congratulate him on his arrival. Several days were occupied in arranging the etiquette of an interview with the Viceroy. On the 7th he, the Foo-yuen, and the Hoppo, were received by the Embassador and two Commissioners. He brought, carried by thirty-six bearers, in a little yellow sedan chair, a letter from the Emperor of China to the Prince Regent. Lord Amherst, Sir George Staunton, and Mr. Ellis, had the precedence resigned to them by the Viceroy and other two officers. The Viceroy mentioned that the duties of the Hewit had been remitted in consideration of her bringing out the presents. He next adverted to his Imperial Majes- ty's bounty in permitting the trade for so great a length of time. The Embassador said, he believed it was a mutual benefit to both countries. The Viceroy wished that obligation and dependance should be acknow- ledged; but when he found that such a tone was un- pleasant, he said, ''Well, we will not speak on subjects that may excite angry feelings may amity long con- tinue ! " The Embassador wished him health and pros- perity, and so took his leave. An entertainment was presented in the name of the Emperor. January 9th. The Embassador returned the Legate's visit. The old gentleman was cheerful and chatty as usual. A few days after, on the invitation of Sir George Staunton, he met the Embassador at the Factory, and sat down to an entertainment with a large party of officers and gentlemen. TO THE COURT OF CHINA. 91 January 19th. He waited on Lord Amherst to take his final leave, and expressed a hope that the Embassa- dor would represent matters to his own Sovereign in a way calculated to preserve peace and good-will between the two countries. On the 20th the Embassy left Canton. His Lordship and suite went to Whampoa in Captain Maxwell's^ barge. The band and guard preceded, and two lines of boats followed. The Viceroy placed himself in a boat on the river where his Lordship had to pass in order to take leave of him. Numerous salutes were fired all the way down the river. January 23rd. The Embassador and suite landed at Macao. Chinese troops were marched into the town to receive his Lordship on the beach. Before he sailed an interesting document was ob- tained. It was a manifesto written by the Emperor's own hand, and addressed to the whole world, to foreign nations as well as to his Tartar and Chinese subjects. In this he expresses regret and shame for what was done: to take blame to himself was all that he could suffer, but the courtiers who had deceived him he de- livered to be tried by the proper tribunal : They decreed that the Duke should have his title taken from him ; that Moo should be laid aside entirely; that Soo should be degraded to the fifth rank, and that Kwang should be made a subordinate secretary of the 8th rank, and next spring, on his return, be sent to Tartary to offi- ciate there. The Emperor pitied his brother-in-law the Duke, and retained his title, but took from him all his important situations. Soo, if he behaved well eight years, might be permitted to supplicate restora- tion to his dignities. This however was like adding mockery to degradation, for Soo is now nearly seventy years of age, and will, should the grave not become his habitation ere the period of probation be expired, be unfitted by extreme old age to hold any important public situation. The Duke and Moo reported from Tung-chow that the Embassador was daily performing the Tartar ceremony k 92 LORD amkeust's embassy with a degree of veneration and respect that merited the highest commendation; a statement founded on a posi- tive untruth. Men, who can deliberately and officially write an absolute falsehood, whatever their rank may be, sink very low in the estimation of every well-regu- lated mind. Their degradation can scarcely be regret- ted. The most ludicrous occurrence is the case of the loquacious Judge of Chih-le, who was introduced to the reader in the preceding pages. He went to Court and informed his Majesty of the lectures he had given, and the questions which he had put to the English. The answer he received was : " I did not send you to lecture, nor to ask questions, but to see the Embassy safely and quietly out of the Province ; for your officiousness you shall suffer." My Lord Judge was forthwith degrad- ed and sent into banishment. SECTION VIII. Notices respecting Mohammedans and Jews. Mohammedans were found in every part of our journey. They frequently hold situations in the Go- vernment. On the evening of September 10th, whilst walking on shore, at a village called Too-leaou, about fifty miles from Teen-tsin, I observed written on the lantern of a poor huckster's shop Hwuy-Hwuy laou teen, '^ An old Mohammedan Shop." On stopping to ask the owner, who was an old man, whence he came, he replied, from Se-yang, " The Western ocean." When urged to say, from what country of the west, he said he did not know. He understood his family had been in the place in which he now was for five generations. He informed me that there were many Mohammedans in the neighbourhood ; they had aLe-paeSze, "temple for worship;" they observed every third and seventh TO THE COURT OP CHINA. 93 day, chiefly the seventh. They used for the Chinese word Teeiiy "Heaven," the word Choo, "Lord or Sove- rei|2:n." The old man could not read : he did not cease to sell commodities on the Sabbath. October 13th. At a temple of Fuh, near Kvva- chow, met with a gentleman who held a situation in the Go- vernment : on entering into conversation with him, it appeared that he was a Mohammedan. He said he understood the Mohammedans came over to China during the dynasty Tans:, about 1200 years ago. In Chinese the Mohammedans express the Deity by Choo^ " Lord," and not by Shin, " a god or spirit ;" be- cause, he said, "the gods, Shin, were included in things created." " We," said he, " venerate the Lord, who is the true Lord of what exists and what does not ; the Creator of all things. He is not like any thing ; not to be com- pared to any thing : the one only true Lord." He called the Sabbath by the name of" Choo-ma-urh^'' He informed me that at Kae-fung Foo, in Honan pro- vince, there were a few families denoted Teaou-kin Keaou,'' the plucking-sinew sect," because they take away the sinews from all the flesh which they eat. They also had a Le-paeSze, or " Temple of Worship." They observed the eighth day as a Sabbath. He regarded them the same as the Teen-chow Keaoii, which is the name by which the Christians are known in China. The above statement exactly corresponds with what is related in Grosier, on the authority of a Romish Mis- sionary. That person saw and conversed with the peo- ple of whom he spake, and he considered them as Jews. The gentleman felt a little unwilling to converse on the subject of religion ; said it was not their custom to do it ; but to satisfy the curiosity of a stranger, and as I had been civil to his brother, he now did so. The Priest of Buddah was sitting by and handing tea all the time. 94 LORD amheust\s embassy November 27. At Nang-chang' Foo, the capital of Keang-se, v/as visited by a young military Mohamme- JIiEK.ST\s EMBASSY the same as at Canton. The strong arm of power inti- midates them, and they acquire a habit of departing from the truth. Of this numerous instances occurred in the course of the journey. The Tartars were generally more proud and haughty than the Chinese. If " barbarity" or being "barbarous" expresses some- thing savage, rude and cruel, the present inhabitants of China do not deserve the epithet ; if it expresses a cun- ning, selfish policy, endeavouring to deceive, to intimi- date, or to brow-beat, as occasion may require, connect- ed with an arrogant assumption of superiority on all occasions, instead of cultivating a liberal, candid, friend- ly intercourse with men of other nations^ they are Bar- barians. FINIS, JfAMES NICHOLS, PRINTER, Z, WARWICK-SQUARE, LONDON. r H r: WITNESSING CHURCH. A SERMON, DELIVERED BEFORE THE WE6I.EYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, IN GREAT QUEEN STREET CHAPEL, LONDON, APRIL 28th, 1837; AND IN GROSVENOR STREET CHAPEL, MANCHESTER, ON BEHALF OF THE EAST LANCASHIRE AUXILIARY TO THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY, JUNE SOra. REV. JOHN HARRIS, AUTHOR OF " MAJIMON," " TUK GREAT TEACHER," "BRITANNIA," ETC. LONDON: THOMAS WARD & CO., 27, PATERNOSTER ROW; AND ELLERBY, MANCHESTER. 1837. %u T. C. Savill, Printer, St. Martin's Lane, Cliaring Cross TO THE DIRECTORS AND FRIENDS THE WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, AXD OF THE EAST LANCASHIRE AUXILIARY TO THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY, HOLDING THEIR ANNUAL MEETING IN MANCHESTER, THE FOir.OWINO PREACHED AT THEIR RESPECTIVE ANNIVERSARIES AND PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST, IS MOST RKSPECTFULLV INSCRIBED, BY THEIR HUMBLE SERVANT, JOHN HARRIS. THE WITNESSING CHURCH. ISAIAH. xLin. 12. ** YE ARE MY WITNESSES, SAITH THE LORD, THAT I AM GOD." There is one important respect in which all objects in the universe, from the atom to the arch-angel, unite : all are witnesses for God. He who made all things for himself, has so made them, that, voluntarily or involuntarily, ac- cording to their respective natures, they distinctly attest the divine existence and character. He has not left it contin- gent whether they give such testimony or not. The great name of the Maker is inwoven into the texture of every- thing he has made. So that even if the creature possess a will, and that will become depraved, and guiltily with- hold its intelligent testimony to the divine existence, an eloquent and incorruptible witness is still to be found in the physical constitution of that creature ; if the fool should say in his heart, *' There is no God," every pulse of that heart replies, " There is," and every atom of that vital organ adds, " He is thy Maker." As the nature of the material witnesses differ, it follows of course that the manner in which they render their evi- B \u- THE WITNESSING CHURCH. dence will vary accordingly. In regard to some of them, the marks of design and beneficence are so obvious that they may be said to be ever speaking for God, without solicita- tion, the divine signature is visibly imprinted on their surface. In regard to others, the evidence lies deeper, and must be sought for patiently. In such cases, while the witnesses are under examination, while the investigation is proceeding from link to link in the chain of evidence, the ungodly sometimes unseasonably exult, and the timid and uninformed believer in revelation trembles for the issue. But he need not. Let him only wait confidently, as God does, till the examination be complete, till the inquiry has reached the last link of the chain, and that link will invari- ably be found in the hand of God. Chemistry once the stronghold of the sceptic has long since discovered that no substance in nature is simple and unmixed; in other words, that everything is in a made state, that even the atom is an artificial, manufactured thing : so that an argument for God lies hid in every particle of which the globe is composed ; and a witness is in reserve in every pebble we pass ; and a final appeal is lodged for him in the elements, or first principles, of all things : thus demolishing the altar which scepticism had erected to the eternity of the world, and replacing it by an altar dedicated and inscribed to the Divine Creator. So that, if we hold our peace, or withhold our homage, the very stones will cry out. Geology, the voice of the earth, the Pompeii of natural religion, the witness now under examination, a witness raised from the grave of a former world, is producing her primitive formations, to shew that even thei/ are in a made state, and her fossil skeletons, to shew that they bear indu- bitable marks of having come from the hand of the one THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 7 Great Designer : leaving us to infer, that, could we reach the foundation of the earth, we should find it inscribed with the name of the Divine Architect that, could we penetrate to the central atom of the globe, it would speak for God ; and thus impelling us to erect, out of the wreck of a former world, a temple to Him who hath created all things new. Astronomy leads us forth into the vast amphitheatre of nature, to gaze on ten thousand times ten thousand burning worlds : and are they not all witnesses for God ? For are they not all in motion ? This is not nature, but miracle. The first miracle was the production of matter ; the second, to make that matter move. Its natural state is rest ; but here are unnumbered myriads of material worlds in motion, out of their natural state, in an artificial, constrained, preterna- tural state. They are all God*s witnesses. The stars in their courses fight against irreligion. Each of them, obediently followed, is a star of Bethlehem a guide into the Divine presence. Each of them rushes through immensity as a miracle and a messenger from God to the universe, pro- claiming " There is a God, and the hand of that God is upon me :" and all of them unite yes, this is the real music of the spheres, the chorus of creation ! all of them unite in proclaiming his eternal power and godhead. In the estimation of the psalmist, the creation is a vast temple ; and often did he summon the creatures, and join them in a universal song of praise. And John heard the chorus. The noise and din of a distracted world may drown their voices here ; '' But," saith he, " every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever." Thus nature, with all her myriad voices, is ever making B 2 8 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. affirmation and. oath of the divine existence, and filling the universe with the echo of his praise. But since the period of the creation, a new state of things has arisen, and a new order of witnesses has consequently become necessary. Sin has entered the world. Man hiis fallen away from his Maker, and has renounced the divine authority. To say, therefore, that there is a God, and that that God is wise, powerful, and good, is only to say, in effect, that there is ground for the greatest apprehension and alarm : for sin is a guilty impeachment of that wisdom, a hostile defiance of that power, and a wilful affront of that goodness. The question, therefore, now arises, what is the course which the offended Majesty of heaven is likely to take towards us ? What, under these new circum- stances, are the new terms on which we stand with him ? W^i'ZZ justice have free course against us ? And, if not, what is to turn it aside ? On this anxious topic, nature has received no instructions, and is silent. " The Depth saith, ' It is not in me.^ " Clouds of gloom have gathered and settled into thick darkness round about his throne, and whether the light that will eventually burst forth from that gloom will be a fierce flash to scathe and destroy, or a genial ray to enkindle hope, nature could not foretel. By the introduction of sin, our condition had become preter- natural, and the voice that speaks to us, therefore, must be supernatural. God must become his own witness. And he did so. Breaking the fearful silence which sin had produced, and which might have lasted for ever, he spoke to us. And every accent he uttered was an accent of love. His first sentence contained hope for the world. He signified that it was his divine intention to save, and announced, at once, a coming Redeemer. Then God is love ! The great question is answered the grand secret has THE WITNESSING CHURCH. transpired, that God is love f And the world must know it. The veil which sin had raised between God and us has fallen and, behold, " God is love !" And every creature under heaven must hear of it. The happiness of every man depends on his knowing it. " This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.** But if the knowledge of the divine character be thus indispensable, how shall that knowledge be made most accessible and available? As nations multiply, and one generation succeeds another, how shall this sacred treasure be preserved and transmitted ? Depravity will tamper with its holiness; who shall guard it from polluted hands? Penitence and fear will question its truth ; who shall en- courage them to believe it? Unbelief will dispute its authenticity; who shall bear witness for God? All will need it, for it is essential to salvation ; how shall it be made accessible ? Now these questions had been anticipated by the eternal mind, and all these necessities provided for, in his purpose of instituting a church, a society of witnesses for God. The design of this divine institution, indeed, is twofold partly, to promote the welfare of its own members, but principally to be a witness for God, an instrument of his mercy to the world. It is first a focus, in which all the light from heaven should meet, and all the sanctified excel- lence of earth be collected and combined ; that it might next be a centre, whence the light of truth might constantly radiate, and pour forth in all directions over the face of the earth. And, accordingly, the general remarks to which I would now solicit your devout attention relate to the following important positions : that the church of God is expressly 10 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. designed, in its relative capacity, and as the depositary of the knowledge of salvation, to be his witness to the world ; that in every age it has prospered or declined in propor- tion as it has fulfilled or neglected this special office ; that its motives and its responsibility for answering this end are greater now than at any preceding period of its history ; and that this consideration should induce its members anxiously to survey its wants and its resources for answering that end : and may the divine Founder of the church be graciously present by his Spirit to aid our meditations. First, then, I would illustrate the great truth that the church of God is expressly designed, in its relative capacity, and as the depositary of the knowledge of salvation, to be his witness to the world. Passing by all the interesting illustrations of this truth which might be drawn from antediluvian and patriarchal history, let us confine our attention to the Jewish and Christian churches. And here, on viewing these churches together, as parts of a great whole, we are instantly struck with the different ways in which they concur to answer their design as witnesses for God. The Jewish church was a local stationary witness ; and the duty of the world was to come and receive its testimony : the Christian church is not local and stationary, but is to go to the world. The Jewish church was an oracle, and the world was expected to come and inquire at its shrine : the Christian church is an oracle also, but instead of waiting for the world to come to it, it is commanded to go into all the world, and to testify the gospel of the grace of God to every creature. In accordance with this representation of the Jewish church, we find that it contained every prerequisite for answering its end as a stationary witness for God ; nothing was omitted calculated to promote this object; its early THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 11 history was a history of miracles, to excite the attention, and draw to itself the eyes of the wonder-loving world ; its ritual was splendid and unique ; its members were dis- tinguished in character from those of every other commu- nity on the face of the earth ; its creed, or testimony, was eminently adapted to the existing state of the world, for it proclaimed a God, and promised a Saviour ; its members possessed a personal interest in the truth of the testimony they gave ; and, what was especially important, its geogra- phical position was central. That large portion of the earth, whose waters flow into the Mediterranean, is the grand historical portion of the world as known to the an- cients. Judea was situated in the midst of it, like the sun in the centre of the solar system. Placed at the top of the 'Mediterranean, it was, during each successive monarchy, always within sight of the nations; and its temple-fires, like the Pharos of the world, were always flinging their warning light across the gross darkness of heathenism pro- testing against idolatry, witnessing for the one living and true God, inviting the nations to come and worship before him, and foretelling the advent of One whose light should enlighten the world. Thus studiously adapted, and divinely qualified to act as a stationary witness for God to the world, the Jewish church is called on in the text to appear in this its official capacity, and the idolatrous nations are summoned to Judea to receive its testimony. Ages had elapsed since that church had been called into existence, but still the worship of idols prevailed. Now, therefore, God is sublimely re- presented as determined to bring the great question to a close ; his voice is heard issuing his mandate to all the nations of the earth, to all the idols and their votaries, to appear in Judea ; and then calling forth the Israelites to 12 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. give evidence in his behalf. " Bring forth the blind peo- ple that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears the sense- less idolators ; let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled : what god among them can shew us former things ? Let them bring forth their wit- nesses, that they may be justified; or, if they cannot do it, let them hear me, and acknowledge that what I say is truth. Ye people of Israel are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I, even I, am God, and besides me there is no Saviour." As if the Almighty had said " It is high time to bring this great controversy to a final decision ; let all my rivals come." And we are to suppose them assembling : Moloch, " besmeared with infant blood," and all the cruel gods of the Ammonites ; Rimmon, Ashtaroth, and all the licentious idols of Syria; Baal, Dagon, Tammuz, and all the false deities of Phoenicia; Apis, and all the monster-deities of Egypt. " Let them come from their fabled resorts in Ida, from the heights of Olympus, from the shrines of Delphos and Dodona, from their temples, groves, and hills, the whole pantheon, the thirty thousand gods of heathen my- thology, with all their retinue of priests and worshippers. And now," saith Jehovah, " having assembled, let them produce their witnesses to justify their conduct in receiving worship ; and for this end, let them prove that one of their pretended prophecies was ever fulfilled. I am content to rest my claims on that single proof. Are they silent ? Then let my witnesses stand forth ; let the nation of Israel appear. De- scendants of the patriarchs, children of the prophets, ye are my witnesses. Testify in my behalf before this assembled and idolatrous world. Read in their hearing the history of my conduct towards you, from the day that I brought you out of Egypt to the present moment, and they will be con- V THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 13 Strained to admit the fact of my existence, and the doctrine of my superintending providence. Tell them of all the miracles I have wrought in your behalf, and thus you will be witnesses to my almighty power. Inform them of all your apostacies from me, and rebellions against me, and of the way in which I have borne with and pardoned you, and thus you will be witnesses to my infinite patience. Tell them of all the predictions which I have caused my pro- phets to utter, and of the literal fulfilment they have re- ceived, and thus you will testify to my omniscience. Take them, in solemn procession, to Sinai, and repeat the laws which I there proclaimed when the mountain trembled, and thus you will attest my unspotted holiness and inflexible justice. Conduct them to my temple on Sion, lift up the veil of my sanctuary, let them see for themselves that no image stands in my shrine, no human sacrifice bleeds on my altar, no licentious rites pollute my worship, and thus you will be attesting the unity and spirituality of my essence, the purity and mercifulness of my character. Forget not to assure them that I am no respecter of persons that there is mercy for them that, as I live, I will not the death of a sinner. Lead them to the altar of sacrifice, and, as the victim bleeds, say to them " Behold, in a type, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." Tell them that to him have all my prophets given witness, and let them hear the glorious things which they have witnessed. Let my servant Isaiah stand forth and declare, that upon that sacrifice I have laid the iniquities of mankind, that he is wounded for their transgressions, bruised for their iniqui- ties, that the chastisement of their peace is upon him, and that with his stripes they may be healed, that he shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied, for he shall save out of all nations a multitude which no one can number. 14 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. Thus will you be my witnesses that I am God, and that be- sides me there is no Saviour." Now such was the honourable office and the lofty inten- tion of the Jewish church, it was a stationary witness for God to the world ; and the sublime scene described in con- nexion with the text is only the figurative realization of that idea. Through each successive age of that church this divine mandate may be said to have been issued to the world, directing it to repair to God's witnesses in Judea. But the world heeded it not. Individuals, indeed, resorted thither from far distant lands ; but in all the regions whence they came, idolatry still reigned. The leading nations had, each in succession, come into contact with God's witnesses ; but, so far from receiving* their testimony, they went on worshipping their idol-gods, and even essayed to enshrine them in the very temple of Jehovah. Even the Jews them- selves had lost the high and spiritual import of their own testimony. All things proclaimed that, if the world is to be enlightened and saved through the instrumentality of the church, another church must be set up, and another mode of witnessing be employed. When the fulness of time was come, that church was set up. You know its heavenly origin, its aggressive constitu- tion, and its early apostolic history, all combining to prove that it was a new thing in the earth, a fresh witness for God. In another and a nobler sense than before, God be- came his own witness. The Son of God, in person, assumed the office. In this capacity he had been predicted " I have given him," said God, " for a witness to the people." In this capacity he came ; and having traversed Judea in every direction, and found it hemmed in on all sides by the grossest idolatry, having found that he could nowhere step over its frontiers without entering the territory of an idol- THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 15 god, having taken an ample survey of the world, what was his estimate of its moral condition ? He lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said for he found that he could obtain no fit audience on earth " O, righteous Father, the world hath not known thee !" And what, under these circum- stances, was the course which he pursued ? " To this end was I born," said he, " and for this cause came T into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth," to the full manifestation of God. And, accordingly, his acts demonstrated the existence of God, his humanity embodied the spirituality of God, ^his character illustrated the per- fections of God. He was the true " tabernacle of witness." The glorious train of the divine perfections came down and filled the temple of his humanity. God was manifest in the flesh. His character left no attribute of the divine nature unillustrated, his teaching left no part of the divine will unrevealed, his kindness left no fear in the human heart unsoothed, his meritorious death left no amount of human guilt unatoned for. Wherever he went, and however he was employed, he was still winning for himself that title which he wears in heaven " The Faithful and True Wit- ness." But, chiefly. Calvary was the place of testimony. There, when he could say no more for God, he bade the cross begin to speak. There, when his lips had uttered their testimony, he opened his heart, and spake in blood. There was the summing up of all the promises, and of all the character of God ; and the total was universal and infi'^ nite love. And now, if his first object had been thus to witness for God, his second was to arrange for the boundless diffusion of the testimony. No sooner has he worked out the great truth that God is love, than he provides that the world shall 16 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. resound with the report. As if he had been sitting on the circle of the heavens, and surveying all the possibilities and events that could occur down to the close of time, he an- swers the objections to this design before they are uttered, anticipates wants before they arise, and provides against dangers before they threaten. Was it necessary, for in- stance, that he should first distinctly legislate on the subject ? " Go," said he and he was standing but one step from the throne of heaven " Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Still, plain as this command might at first appear, the duty which it enjoins is so novel, and the project which it contemplates so vast, that doubts are likely to arise as to its import and obligation ; he repeats it, therefore, again and again, repeats it in other forms, as an old prediction that must be fulfilled, and as a new pro- mise ; " Then opened he their understandings, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and re- mission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things." But peculiar qualifications will be necessary ; " Ye shall receive power from on high," said he, '* after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ; and ye shall be wit- nesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." But peculiar dangers will assail them ; " All power is mine," said he ; " gOj and you shall move under the shield of Omnipo- tence ; lo ! I am with you always, even to the end of the world." Thus, making the most comprehensive provision, and taking the whole responsibility of success on himself, his last word to his witnesses was, " Go" his last act was THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 17 to bless and dismiss them to their work, and the last im- pression he left on their minds was, that his church was to be essentially missionary, or aggressive. And as this was the last indication of his will on earth, you know how his first act in heaven corresponded with it. Let the scenes of Pentecost attest. The eternal Spirit him- self came down came expressly to testify of Christ came to be the great missionary spirit of the church, to " con- vince the world of sin." You know how the witnesses began at Jerusalem, when three thousand souls received their testimony. You know how their hesitation to quit Jerusalem and Judea was graduaHy overcome how a Paul was added, like a new missionary element infused into their spirit and you can conceive how they must have felt, in the terms of his new commission to be a witness to the Gen- tiles, as if their own original commission had been renewed and reinforced. You know how they were divinely allured further and further from Jerusalem how vision after vision drew them on to invade the neio^hbourinff terri- es o tories of idolatry and how, at length, when even a Paul evinced a reluctance to pass the last limit of Jewish restric- tion when even he scrupled to leave the confines of Asia you know how a vision was seen far back in the western regions of idolatry the emblem of Europe in the person of the Macedonian suppliant, saying, " Come over and help us.'' Bursting that last enclosure, the outermost circle of restriction, he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; and the church found itself fully committed to its lofty office of traversing the world. But was there no danger lest the church should yet, under the influence of its old attachments, cast back a lin- gering look to Judea, lest it should debase and localize reli- gion by regarding Jerusalem as its rallying point, and the 18 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. temple as its home ? Judaism, and the place where for ages it had dwelt, are forthwith swept away ; henceforth but two parties are to be left on the earth the missionary witnessing church of Christ, and the listening world. Thus Judea, which had been the goal of the old religion, the resting-place after its wanderings, now became the starting- point of the Christian church, for the race of the world. The old economy had expected the world to be missionary, and to send to it. The new economy requires the church to be missionary, and to send to the world. And if the waiting and stationary character of that church had been emblema- tically represented by the bending cherubim on the mercy seat, the new missionary church was henceforth to be repre- sented by another mighty angel, flying in the midst of heaven,- having the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation and kindred, and tongue, and people, that dwell on the earth. And now, we might have thought, the Saviour has surely made it sufficiently apparent that his people are to be his witnesses to the world. Nothing more can be necessary to shew that this great object enters into the very design and principle of his church. But not so thought the Saviour himself. Once more does he come forth and reiterate the truth. When we might have supposed that his voice would be heard no more once again does he come forth, and break the silence of the church ; and the subject on which he speaks is the missionary character of his church. Not that his church had lost sight of its office. His witnesses were carrying their testimony in all directions. But as if the angel having the everlasting gospel did not yet speed on his way fast enough to satisfy the yearnings of infinite compassion, or as if he feared that angel would stop ere the whole earth, the last creature, had heard the gospel THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 19 testimony he came forth personally, and announced " The Spirit and the bride say, Come ; and let liim that heareth say, Come ; and let him that is athirst, come ; and whosoever will, let him come, and take of the water of life freely." Oh ! where is the tongue that can do justice to the boundless benevolence of this final declaration of Christ ? What is the comparison which can adequately illustrate it ? Picture to your minds a large company of travellers, desti- tute of water, while crossing one of the vast deserts of the east. For days previous they have had barely sufficient to moisten their parched lips ; but now their stock is quite exhausted. Onwards they toil for a time, in the hope of finding a refreshing spring. But the unclouded sun above, and the burning sands beneath, render some of them un- able to proceed they lie down never to rise again. The rest agree to separate, and to take different directions, in the hope of multiplying their chances of discovering water. After long wandering in this almost forlorn pursuit, one of them finds himself on the margin of a stream. Slaking his enraged thirst, he immediately thinks of his fellow- travellers. Looking around and perceiving one in the dis- tance, he lifts up his voice, and shouts to him, with all his returning strength, to come. He communicates the reviv- ing signal to another still further off, and he to a third, till the very extremities of the desert ring with the cheering call to come. Brethren, that desert is the moral waste of the world ; those perishing travellers, perishing by millions, are our fellow men ; that living spring is the redemption of Christ ; the first that drank of it was his church ; that church, every member of it, directly or indirectly, is to lift up his voice to the world, with the divine invitation to come ; while the Spirit of Christ, speaking through them. 20 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. gives the call effect. Every one that hears the call is to transmit it further still, till it has reached the very last of human kind, and the world echoes with the welcome sound. Brethren, such is the scripture theory of the Christian church. Its members are witnesses for Christ to the world. Every place to which their instrumentality reaches is meant to be a centre for extending it to a point further still. Every individual added to it is meant to be an additional agent for propagating the sound of salvation onwards, till a chain of living voices has been carried around the globe, and from pole to pole, and the earth grows vocal with the voice of the church witnessing for Christ. II. Now, if the design of the Christian church be essen- tially that of a missionary witness, we may expect to find that every page of its history illustrates and corroborates this truth. No law of nature can be obeyed without ad- vantage to him who obeys it ; nor violated, without aveng- ing itself, and vindicating its authority. The same is true of the laws of the Christian church. And accordingly, we find secondly, that in every age it has prospered or declined just in proportion as it has fulfilled or neglected this pri- mary law of its constitution. This might be demonstrated by an induction of the great facts of its history. But on an occasion like the present, we must confine ourselves to general remarks. And here, need I remind you that the period of its first, its greatest activity, was the season of its greatest prospe- rity ? that it expanded without the aid of any of man's favourite instrumentality learning eloquence, wealth, or arms ? that it achieved its triumphs in the face of it all ? THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 21 that though Persecution ten times kindled her fires, the blood of the church ten times put them out ? that it saw some of its bitterest foes become its champions and mar- tyrs, and new territories constantly added to its domains ? that its progress from place to place was marked by the fall of idol temples the banners of the cross floated over the thrones of idolatry and God caused it to triumph in every place ? And' why all this, but because the church was acting in character, answering its end, fulfilling its office, as the witness of Christ to the world ? Oh ! had we witnessed the activity of its first days, had we heard only of its early history and triumphant progress from land to land, how naturally might we ask, " How long was the church in completing a universal conquest ? At what precise period did India embrace the faith of Christ ? How long: was it before China was evangelized ? Was there not a year of jubilee on earth, when the gospel had been preached to the last of the species; and in what year did it occur? Alas! for the church, that these in- quiries should sound so strange ! and alas, for the world ! and alas, too, that the most striking historical illustrations of the design of the church should be those drawn from its neglect of that design ! Need I remind you that the cessation of its activity was the cessation of its prosperity? From the moment the church lost sight of its appropriate character, it began to lose ground to the world. Its members, instead of witness- ing to the world, began to bear false witness against each other. When it ought to have been the almoner of God to the world, it became the great extortioner, absorbing the wealth of the nations. When it ought to have been the centre whence radiated the light of life, it was the focus, drawing to itself the learning and the vain philosophy of 22 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. heathenism. When it ought to have been the birthplace of souls, it was the grave of piety, so that, in order to live, it was necessary to leave it. When its members should have been the peacemakers of the world, it was a camp the great school of war. When it should have been check- ing political ambition, it has been used as the great engine of states. When it should have been furnishing martyrs to the world, it has itself been a great martyrium, in which to witness for God was to burn. And the strength of the church, which should have been all put forth in aggressive efforts, has been wasted in the strife of internal discords. What was the history of the Christian church, what has been the history of any branch of that church, when it has once lost its essential aggressive character, but the closing scenes of Judaism enacted over again ? What do we see, in such a case, but the spirit of piety displaced by the spirit of discord ? Scribes, Pharisees, and Sad- ducees the proud, persecuting, and worldly, among its members? The great doctrines of grace supplanted by outward forms? What do we see but the Son of God rejected, betrayed for money, deserted by his professed disciples, delivered into the hands of his enemies, receiving the mockery of homage, crucified afresh, and put to an open shame ? What, then, do we see in that church but fearful signs of approaching judgments? till, at length, when it ought to have been vanquishing the world, the world, like the Roman army, advances, besieges, and des- troys the church. But as every departure of the church from its aggressive design is sure to be avenged, so every return to that cha- racter has been divinely acknowledged and blessed. Had we no facts at hand to prove this, the calls which our Lord gave to the seven Asiatic churches to repeat their first works. THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 23 and his promises of prosperity if they did so, would lead us to infer it ; the uniformity of the divine procedure would warrant us to expect it ; the very return itself, implying, as it would, a divine influence, would itself be a proof of it. But facts are at hand. The history of every protestant Christian church in Britain, during the last fifty years, demonstrates, that every return to spiritual activity is, in so far, a return to divine prosperity. Ascertain the mea- sure of holy activity and devotedness in any church, and you have ascertained the measure of its internal prosperity. So that a person might at any time safely say, " Tell me which branch of the Christian church is the most scripturally active and aggressive in its spirit, and I will tell you which is the most prosperous." And the reason of this is sufficiently obvious. The planet is then moving in its appointed orbit, the church is then moving in a line with the purposes of Omnipotence, and in harmony with its own principles. If, before, it had been hampered with forms, customs, and corruptions, at every effort which it now makes to move, some portion of these old incrustations of evil fall off; a desire to advance aright sends it to consult the word of God ; a concern to retrieve its past indolence fills it with a zeal that calls on " all men everywhere to repent ;" the conversions which ensue furnish it with the means of enlarging its sphere of activity. The existence of all this both proves the presence of the Divine Spirit in the midst of it, and leads it to earnest cries for still larger effusions of his influence ; and thus, by action and reaction, an increase of its prosperity leads to importunate prayer for larger importations of the Spirit, and larger impartations of the Spirit necessarily pro- duce an increase of divine prosperity. Brethren, look at the Christians and Christian denomi- c 2 24 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. nations of Britain at present; and say, what but their activity for God, and the sakitary effects of that activity on themselves, constitute the sign and means of their visible prosperity ? Take away this, and what single fea- ture would remain on which the spiritual eye could rest with pleasure? Their orthodoxy ? That would be their condemnation ; for, if their creed be scriptural, activity for God is necessary if only to make them consistent with themselves. The numbers they include ? The world out- numbers them ; and it is only by their aggressive activity, blessed by God, that they can hope to keep their dispropor- tion from increasing. Their liberality ? Apart from this Christian activity, where would be the calls on that liberality? It is this which brings it into exercise, and by exercise augments it. Their union with each other ? This activity for enlarging the kingdom of Christ is almost the only bond which, at present, does unite them ; take away this, and almost the last ligament of their visible union would be snapped. Their spirit of prayer ? That has been called into exercise almost entirely by means of their Chris- tian activity ; for, feeling the utter insufficiency of their own endeavours, they have earnestly entreated God to make bare his arm in their behalf. Their aggressive spirit, then, in the cause of human sal- vation, whether at home or abroad, forms, at present, the principal sign and means of their visible prosperity. Amidst scenes of political strife, it has brought to them visions of a kingdom which is not of this world. Amidst scenes of ecclesiastical discord, it has provided one standard around which all can rally against the common foe. Amidst the icy selfishness of the world around, it has called forth warm streams of Christian liberality ; it has given employ- ment to energies which would otherwise have been wasted THE WITNESSING CHUUCH, 25 in the arena of angry controversy. It has given a heart to the church, stirred its deepest sympathies for the v^^orld, brought large accessions to its numbers, enlarged its views, and brightened its visions, of the reign of Christ, filled many of its members with a sense of self-dissatisfaction of utter dependence on God, of aching want and craving desire for something more, and something better, than it yet possesses ; so that its loudest prayers are prayers for the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit : from all of which we infer, that a full return in faith and prayer to the aggressive design of the Christian church would be a full return to its first prosperity. III. Now if such be the design of the church, and such its illustrative history, let us, thirdly, attempt to enforce that design ; and we shall find that the motives of the Christian church, and its responsibility as a witness for God, are greater now than at any preceding period. Not only do all the original motives to this duty exist, they exist in aggravated force, and others in addition have come to reinforce them. 1. For instance, the first witnesses for Christ required no higher motive to duty than the divine command of their risen Lord. They no sooner saw that he designed his church to bear his testimony to the world, than they hastened to obey. Brethren, that design is not merely essentially the same it is now more apparent than ever. Could those first witnesses return to the church on earth again, they would find that the history of every church, since the time of Christ, had unceasingly illustrated and enforced that design, without a moment's intermission. " He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." And this is the language of the 26 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. Spirit as he conducts us over the ruins of once flourishing churches " Exist aggressively, or not at all. Behold in the state of every existing Christian church an illustration of the principle, that to act the evangelical missionary church is to prosper ; to neglect it is to languish and perish." 2. " But is there the same necessity for a witnessing church now as at first ?" The wants of the world are more urgent than ever ; or, what amounts to the same thing in the matter of our responsibility, we are better acquainted with them, and our facilities for meeting them, as far as Christian instrumentality can meet them, are greater than ever. The map of the world, in the days of the Apostles, was only the map of a province, compared with that which lies open before us. Every geographical discovery since, has only served to enlarge our ideas of the great Satanic empire. Oh ! in what a small minority does the Christian stand ! What a fearful expanse of darkness around him ! and that darkness how dense ! and what hideous enor- mities does it conceal ! There, cruelty has its chosen habi- tation, and feasts perpetually on human blood. There superstition has its temples, and its sacrifices of human suf- fering, and its music of human groans. There, sin has its priesthood its ceremonials of murder, and its ritual of lust ! By a very slight effort of the imagination, we can cause the hosts of evil to pass before us ; and what a spectacle to behold ! First, come the Jews out of all nations under heaven, each with a veil over his heart, and stained with the blood of the Just One. Next, nominal Christians, by myriads, and from all parts of Europe, headed by one who drags a bible in triumph, as a dangerous book, and embraces an image, or an amulet, instead. Then comes the crescent of imposture, followed by Turkey and Persia, by large tracts of India, the islands of the Eastern sea, Egypt and THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 27 northern Africa, the inhabitants of the largest and the fairest portions of the globe. After these, the swarthy tribes of Africa, central, western, and southern, with their descendants of the Western Indies, laden with the spells of witchcraft, and covered with the charms of their Fetish worship. Now come the aborigines of the two Americas, and the islanders of the great Pacific fresh from the scalp- dance, the cannibal feast, or the worship of the snake- god. Next, the selfish Chinese, one-third of the species in appearance all idolators in reality all atheists a world of atheists, to whom all truth is a fable, and all virtue a mystery. Last comes India the nations of southern Asia, and the many islands of the Eastern sea, a thousand tribes, including infanticides, cannibals, and the offerers of human blood, dragging their idol-gods, an endless train, with Juggernaut at their head,worn with the toil of their penances, and marked with the scars of self-torture. And who are these that close the train? The Thugs of India, just dis- covered a vast fraternity of secret murderers the votaries of Kalee, who has given one-half of the human race to be slaughtered for her honour. Oh, God, and is this thy world ! Are these thy creatures ! Where is thy church ? Oh, righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, and thy church, appointed to declare thee, hath neglected to fulfil her trust ! Christians, did you count their numbers as they passed ? Six hundred millions at least. Did you ask yourselves, as they passed, whither they were going ? Fol- low them, and see. Can you do so, even in imagination, without feeling an impulse to rush and erect the cross be- tween them and ruin? That is your office; that is the great practical design for which the church exists, to go and testify this faithful saying, that Christ has come to save them all. *' Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord." 28 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 3. And this reminds us of another inducement, the tes- timony of the gospel is divinely adapted to them. It is not the fearfid burden of Isaiah, threatening judicial blind- ness and hardness of heart, or we might hesitate to go. It is gospel. It is a message from Pity to Misery an invita- tion from Mercy to Guilt. It is a gift from the fulness of God to the emptiness of man. The witness for Christ takes with him a treasure more precious than the ancient Jew, could he have taken the ark of the temple. Christian missionaries, you take with you tears the tears of incarnate compassion ; blood the expiatory blood of the Son of God. " Before your eyes," said the apostle to the Gala- tians, " Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you." Brethren, you go to India with the cross, to repeat the scenes of Calvary, to let the Hindoo see Christ crucified before his eyes. Do you feel sufficiently the grandeur of your message ? You go to Africa with the identical gospel that Paul took to Rome. You go to China with the identical blessing that Christ brought from heaven. Oh, it was the consideration of theu* subject its necessity, its a^laptation, its infinite grace and glory, which fired the apostles which made them think little of life itself when this was at stake which made them wonder that any should suppose that persecution could affright them from their office which gave them the air of ambas- sadors, the port of kings which would have led them, if necessary, to contend for precedence with an angel. You go to address a nature which, however depraved, was ori- ginally pre-configured to the truth, and the message you bear is divinely adapted to the moral state which that de- pravity has created and the Spirit goes with you to give it effect. You go to tell the victims of imposture of essen- tial truth to point the eye of the Hindoo widow from the THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 40 corpse of her husband to Him who is the resurrection and the life to tell the infanticide mother that she may save her offspring, and may press them to her heart to tell the followers of Boodha of a true incarnation and the parched pilgrim of the desert, of a well of water that springeth up to everlasting life and the devotee of the Ganges, of the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost and the self-torturing votary of cruelty, that the name of God is Love and the self-immolating worshipper of Juggernaut, of the sacrifice offered once for all, and of the blood which cleanseth from all sin. Oh, find out the nation where guilt has been hourly accumulating ever since the time of the deluge ; and the command of Christ is, " Go to it." And, having gone, challenge them to produce the one guiltiest man of their nation ; and the command of Christ is, " Offer him redemption through the blood of the cross." Have they, as many of the nations have, a fabu- lous tradition that such or such a cavern is the mouth of hell ? Ask them to lead you to it ; for even there, could the dreadful spot be found, your commission would extend to the very brink ; for He whom you preach is able to save even to that uttermost. Brethren, in testifying to the necessity and divinity of the gospel, you occupy higher ground than did even the apostles. Since their day, nearly eighteen hundred years have added their testimony to the fact that man by search- ing cannot find out God that spiritual deliverance, to be effectual, must come direct from heaven; and nearly eighteen hundred years have only served to demonstrate the sufficiency of the gospel remedy. Guilt, which might destroy a world, has been cancelled by it iron chains of sin have been burst asunder hearts filled with pollution made habitations of God, where Satan's seat was, happy 30 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. communities have been formed earth has been blessed by it and heaven has been hourly growing louder in its praise. In affirming its necessity, then, all history is speak- ing in your voice ; the nations that have perished all the lost rise up and confirm your testimony, and urge you to repeat it with a deeper, and yet deeper, emphasis. And in proclaiming its efficacy, the thousands who in every age have been saved by it, urge you to speak louder in its praise the chorus of all heaven comes to your aid, as- cribing " salvation to the Lamb that was slain." Again, think of the certainty that the testimony of the gospel shall ultimately and universally prevail. We do not undertake to say that the present kind of Christian instru- mentality alone will cause it to prevail that no new ma- chinery, no miraculous agency, will come to its aid. But, whatever the means employed, the end will be gained and gained as the result of all that had in any way been scrip- turally done to obtain it the gospel, in the most enlarged sense, shall be preached as a witness to all nations. Where now is Diana of the Ephesians? Where now are Jupiter and the gods of Greece ? and where the whole Pantheon of Rome ? The first Christians testified against them, and they vanished. Witnesses for Christ came to Britain and where now are Woden, and all the Saxon gods, Hessus, and all the more ancient and sanguinary rites of the Druids ? Brethren, the idols we assail have long since been routed ; and the sword we wield routed them. The gods of India are the same, under different names, which Italy and Greece adored: the sword of the Lord chased them from the West ; and shall it do less now in the East ? Many of them are already fallen. " Bel boweth down, and Nebo stoopeth." And the Christian missionary, approaching and standing before the most crowded temple THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 31 and the firmest throne that idolatry boasts, is divinely war- ranted in taking up a burden against it, and saying, " Thy days are numbered, and thine end draweth near." Yes, if there be stability in a divine decree merit in the mediation of Christ, if any truth in the doctrine of his reign any power in the agency of his Spirit, the prediction shall be fulfilled. Prior to the ultimate triumph of the gospel, in- deed, unnumbered events may transpire which have not yet been conceived. It is possible, even, that the affairs of the kingdom of Christ may at times assume a doubtful aspect, and his people may begin to wonder how he can retrieve them. But he sees no difficulty he feels no perplexity. At any moment, he can touch some secret spring which shall, silently and imperceptibly, but most effectually, change the whole aspect of his affairs. Looking on to the end, he sees nothing desirable which he has not provided for, nothing adverse which he has not provided against. The history of the world, to the latest period of time, is written already in his mind. Every province of idolatry and error has its limit and its date appointed there. The angel is already selected who shall eventually shout, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen.'^ The chorus is appointed whose voices are to resound, " The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." " And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great mul- titude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Halleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." Brethren, if we listen, we can hear that voice too ; for even now are they rehearsing for the glorious day, and every hour increases the chorus, and every echo that reaches us rebukes our indolence as wit- nesses for God, and proclaims the dignity of our office, and the certainty of our success. 32 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 5. And, then, think what the consequences of that suc- cess would be. Civilization ? The missionary of the cross, indeed, is the missionary of civilization. This the gospel taught first at imperial Rome, cleansing her amphitheatre of human blood ; and evincing that her boasted civilization had been only a splendid barbarism. Morality? The mission- ary of the cross is the missionary of morality. The gospel produced charity even in Judea, humility at Athens, chas- tity at Corinth, humanity at Rome. And wherever it has gone, in our own day, liberty, morality, education, the arts of civilization, and the blessings of commerce, have followed in its train. It has extinguished the fires of the suttee, called away the cannibal from his unholy feast, and among its latest trophies are the broken slave-chains of a million men. It elevates the barbarian into a man, and raises the man into a useful member of society. It turns the wan- dering horde of the wilderness into a civilized community, and calls it to take rank among the nations. There is but one art which the gospel does not promote ; as the peace- maker of the world, it steps between the ranks of war, and, taking the weapons of death away, it declares that men shall learn war no more ; and, joining their hands in amity, it says to them, '* Love as brethren." Oh ! could mere human civilization effect results such as these, how soon would her image be set up, and what multitudes would fall down and worship ! But these are triumphs for the gospel alone, and triumphs which it achieves incidentally, by aiming at greater things than these. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It raises the savage into the man by making him a new creature in Christ Jesus ; it prepares him for civil society by making him a member of a Christian church. In the zeal of its new-found existence, that church becomes a witness for THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 33 Christ to others ; the word of God sounds forth into all the regions round about ; and similar triumphs result, only to be followed by similar labours and triumphs again. Thus every step of present success is a new facility for a further advance, and an additional pledge of universal triumph. Oh, there is a day call it the millennium, or by any other name there is a period yet destined to bless the earth, when it shall no more be necessary to witness for God, for all shall know him ; the knowledge of his glory shall fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. Happy state of Christian triumph ! a day without a cloud the reproach of indo- lence wiped away from the church, and of ignorance from the world. Truth shall have completed the conquest of error Christ shall have given law to the world and, im- pressing his image on every heart, shall receive the homage of a renovated race. Brethren, these are visions but they are the visions of God ; and let nothing rob us of the in- spiration to be derived from gazing at them. They are visions but visions painted by the hand of God dear in every age to the church of God gazed on in death by the Son of God. Yes, then they were brought and set before him, and such was the joy with which they filled him, that he endured the cross, despising the shame. Then, on the lofty moral elevation of the cross, all the ages of time, and all the triumphs of his church, passed in review before him. He saw our missionaries go forth in his name to distant climes again he looked, and saw them surrounded by ten thousand converts to his grace. He saw the veil fall from the heart of the Jews ; and heard their bitter mourning as they stood looking at him whom they had pierced. He saw Ethiopia stretching out her hands unto God; and heard her, as the slave-chain fell from her loins, exulting in a double liberty. He heard his name shouted from land 34 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. to land as the watchword of salvation, and marked how its every echo shook and brought down the pillars of the empire of sin. He saw the race of Ishmael that now traverses the desert tracts of Arabia the castes of India with their num- bers infinite the national Chinese the Tartar hordes the unknown and snow-concealed inhabitants of the north the tribes of Europe and all the islands of the sea ; he saw them flocking into his kingdom his grace the theme of every tongue his glory the object of every eye. He saw of the travail of his soul, and was satisfied; his soul was satisfied ! Glorious intimation ! Even in the hour of its travail, it was satisfied. What an unlimited vision of human happiness must it have been ! Happiness not bounded by time, but filling the expanse of eternity ! His prophetic eye caught even then a view of the infinite result in heaven ! His ear caught the far, far-distant shout of his redeemed and glorified church, singing, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain !'* Brethren, if we would do justice to our office as witnesses for God if we would catch the true inspiration of our work we, too, must often cross, as he did, the threshold of eternity transport ourselves ten thousand ages hence into the blessedness of heaven, and behold the fruits of our instrumentality there, still adding new joy to angels, new crowns to Jesus, new tides of glory around the throne of God. Realizing that scene, we should gird up our loins afresh, as if a new command had come down from heaven, calling us by name to be witnesses for God. IV. We have now seen that the Christian church is, in its very constitution and design, a missionary church that its history illustrates this truth and that all the original motives for enforcing it still exist, and exist in ever-accumu- V THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 35 lating force. What, then, can be more appropriate for us, fourthly, than to survey our condition, and estimate our wants, in relation to that design, to profit by that history, and to yield obedience to those motives. 1. Now it must be obvious that whatever else may be necessary, a vivid and all-pervading apprehension of the original design of the church is of the first importance. " But do not our various aggressive efforts shew that we have already recovered that apprehension?" To a very limited extent. Until recently, the Christian church was well nigh as local and stationary as the Jewish. And, as might be expected, considering the state of its piety, its movements, since it began to awake, have been fitful and uncertain, rather than healthy and regular. Are not its members, still, too content, generally speaking, with sup- porting a ministry for themselves alone ; and thus resem- bling the local character of the Jewish church ? Is not the clear apprehension of its missionary design confined still to a small minority ? Or, if felt by the many, felt only as a passing impulse the result of an annual appeal, rather than as a personal obligation, and a universal principle ? Or, if felt as a claim, felt as a duty to be easily devolved, and discharged by proxy ? Brethren, according to the theory of the Christian church, every one of its members is a witness for Christ. In making you, Christian, a partaker of his grace, he not only intended your own salvation he intended the salvation of others by your instrumentality he intended that you should go forth from his presence as a witness, conveying to the world the cheering intelligence that he is still pardoning and saving sinners sitting on his throne of mercy, waiting to be gra- cious to them, as he has been to you. He says to you, in effect, " You have given yourselves to me, and I give you \^ 36 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. to the world give you as my witnesses : look on your- selves as dedicated to this office dedicated from eternity." Brethren, your very business^ as Christians, your calling, is to propagate your religion. Is the gospel-cause a warfare? Every Christian present is to regard himself as drawn to serve. Is there a great cause at issue between God and the world? Every Christian present is subpoenaed as a witness for God. Look on yourself in this light, and you will not, on the ground of disqualification, dismiss the sub- ject from your mind. You will not think that a mere annual subscription buys you off from that great duty for which God has made you a Christian. " I cannot speak for Christ," said a martyr, on his way to the flames, " but I can die for him." And, in the same martyr spirit, you will say, " I cannot speak for Christ would that I could the world should hear of him ; my lips cannot speak for him, but my life shall ; my tongue cannot witness, but others can ; and, if property can aid, and prayers prevail, they shall." Brethren, this is simply the sentiment of scripture ; this was the spirit of the primitive saints. They looked on them- selves individually as born to be witnesses for Christ or- dained to the office of diffusing the gospel. Wherever they went, the language of Christ was still sounding in their ears, " Ye are my witnesses go into all the world." Is it true that he has said this to us ? To the ear of piety he is saying it still to the eye of piety he is here this day to re- peat it do you not behold him ? Do you not hear him saying it to you and to you ? Never till Christians feel themselves thus individually addressed, will the church fulfil its lofty design as a missionary witness for Christ to the world. 2. A second requisite for this end is wisdom wisdom to mark the characteristic features of the age, and the move- ments of the world, to appreciate the peculiar position of THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 37 the church in relation to them, and to apprehend and obey the indications of God concerning them. Never was there an age when the wide field of human misery was so accurately measured, and so fully explored, as the present ; and, consequently, there never was a time when the obliga- tion of the Christian church to bring out all its divine re- sources and remedies, was so binding and so great. Never was there an age when science attempted so much, and promised so largely challenging the gospel, in effect, to run with it a race of philanthropy ; and, consequently, never was there a time when it so much concerned the church to vindicate her character as the true angel of mercy to the world ; and to shew that not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God, the wounds of the world must be healed. Never was there a time when the elements of universal society exhibited so much restlessness and change when the ancient superstitions exhibited so many signs of dotage and approaching death, when the field of the world was so extensively broken up, and ready for cultiva- tion ; broken up, not by the ordinary ploughshare of human instrumentality, but by strange convulsions from beneath, and by bolts from an invisible hand above ; and, conse- quently, never was there a time which so loudly called on the Christian sower to go forth and sow. And never was there a land blessed with such peculiar facilities as Britain, for acting as a witness for Christ to the world. Why is it that the gospel is at this time in trust with a people whose ships cover the seas, who are the merchants of the world ? Has he who drew the boundaries of Judea with his own finger, who selected the precise spot for the temple, who did everything for the Jewish church with design^ abandoned the Christian church to accident ? And, if not, if he has placed the gospel here with design, what can the nature of D ^\ 38 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. that design be, but that it should be borne to the world on the wings of every wind that blows ? Say, why is it that Britain, and her religious ally, America, should divide the seas, should hold the keys of the world? Oh, were we but awake to the designs of God, and to our own responsi- bility, we should hear him say, " I have put you in posses- sion of the seas ; put the world in possession of my gospel/' And every ship we sent out would be a missionary church, like the ark of the deluge, a floating testimony for God, and bearing in its bosom the seeds of a new creation. Christians, ours is, indeed, a post of responsibility and of honour ! On us have accumulated all the advantagfes of the past; and on us lies the great stress of the present. The world is waiting, breathless, on our movements ; the voice of all heaven is urging us on. Oh, for celestial wis- dom, to act in harmony with the high appointments of Providence to seize the crisis which has come for blessing the world ! 3. A third requisite is Christian union. It is in vain to talk of the beneficial rivalry of sects. This only shews that we are so much accustomed to our divisions, that we are beginning to see beauty in that which forms our deformity and disgrace. It is in vain to say that good is done not- withstanding our want of union. Is not the good which is effected abroad, effected by merging the disputes of home in fact, by uniting? And would not a knowledge of our differences there be fatal to our usefulness ? But the doc- trine of Christ on the subject is decisive " that they all may be one, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." In other words, the visible union of Christians is essential to the conversion of the world. It is in vain to say that but little disagreement exists as yet among the Christian witnesses abroad ; the seeds of discord only ask THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 39 for time, and they will not fail to bear their proper fruit. But why have not the witnesses abroad differed ? If they are right, must we not be wrong ? And how is it that even we, on occasions like the present, can quit our denomina- tional camps, and proclaim the truce of God ? Both owing to the same means by paying greater deference to the will of Christ than to the claims of party by looking out on a world perishing by erecting the cross for its salva- tion, and rallying around it, in a word, by reverting prac- tically to the design of the church. Oh ! who is not ready to say, at such times, " Would that the whole church could be converted into a Christian Missionary Society, and meet in that capacity alone." The union wanted is not the union of one day in a year, but the union of every day not merely a oneness of purpose, but, as far as practicable, a union of means for the attainment of that purpose. Here is one society calling aloud for agents, and pledging itself to raise the funds for their support; while another pro- claims that it has agents ready, if it did but possess the means of sending them forth. Now the spirit we need is that which, on the first hearing of a statement like this, should induce the parties to sympathize in each other's wants, and, by uniting their respective means, to supply them. Brethren, the same obligation which binds the church to act as a witness for God at all, binds it to do so in the best manner, and to the full amount of its resources. While division is making that which is already little, still less not only would a spirit of union, by combining our resources, economize and increase them, but by evincing a greater concern for the will of Christ than for the success of party, it would invite it it would humbly challenge his blessing, for it would be a substantial fulfilment of his prayer. 40 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 4. And is not greater liberality wanted ?* Not that which waits for public excitement, that which gives, not a little from much, but much from a little, that which brightens into cheerfulness, and rises into prayer, as it casts its gift into the treasury, saying, " May this be a witness for Christ." The liberality wanted is that which shall induce the wealthy Clu'istian parent to offer up his pious son on the missionary altar, and to lay beside him, at the same time, whatever may be necessary to make the oblation complete. The liberality wanted is that which shall constrain the wealthy Christian to ascend that altar himself, taking with him all he has, and offering the whole as a missionary obla- tion to God. Talk not of sacrifice ; do you forget that the world has been redeemed by sacrifice, do you remem- ber the nature of that sacrifice ? Oh, if you really know * Appropriateness required that the remarks which immediately followed this inquiry on the two distinct occasions specified, should materially differ. In preaching before the Wesleyan Missionary Society, it was added " To this fact [the need for increased liberality] I should not have alluded on the present occasion as a distinct topic, did I not read in the report of this society, a statement to the effect, that it has missionary agents to send, did it only possess the pecuniary means for employing them. Christians of property, shall this statement become an accusation? Can you think of all that is im- plied in it, without feeling as if a burning truth had fallen upon your naked heart? Can you know as. some of you must that you are at this moment holding in your possession that which would send some of those agents to the ends of the earth ? can you know this, without hearing that property cry out and give witness against you ?" On the second occasion referred to, the well- known liberality of Manchester Christians at the anniversaries of their auxiliary to the London Missionary Society, naturally called forth a wish that " every town were, in this respect, a Manchester !" but accompanied with an intimation that *' even then the question would not be irrelevant." If the difference in the tone of these remarks on the two occasions should convey to the mind of the reader an impression that in the one class of Christians there is a want of that liberality which is commended in the other, it is only necessary to hint that the comparative want of" pecuniary means,'* complained of by the Wesleyan Society, may arise, not from a greater defi- ciency of liberality in its members than in the members of other societies, but from causws rather which may redound to their honour from their possess- ing a greater number of agents ready for missionary service than some other ^s' THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 41 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, let the church but sym- pathize with Christ in the travail of his soul ; such acts of self-devotion would become of frequent occurrence, and new songs would burst forth in heaven. 5. The history of the church would justify, and its pre- sent position demands, an increase of energy and zeal. I say this, not so much in relation to our missionaries as to our churches. He must be ignorant, indeed, who does not know that rashness often passes for zeal, and that the path of wisdom lies between a blind impetuosity on the one hand, and a cold calculating policy on the other. But blind must he be, also, not to perceive that much in the Christian church, at present, which assumes the name of prudence, is timidity and unbelief in disguise ; that, as missionary witnesses, we treat with God too much in the commercial spirit ; that we societies possess and, also, from their Christian activity and zeal expending so nearly the whole of their annual income, that they are left in a state of ho- nourable and exemplary poverty. I have remarked that the liberality of Manchester Christians on missionary anniversaries is the subject of praise in all the churches. In the amount of their collections at their late anniversary, they have "gone beyond" them- selves ; not, indeed, so much in the actual excess of the sums collected com- pared with former years, as from the peculiar circumstances under which that excess has taken place. The earthquake-shock which trade and commerce lately sustained, was felt especially at Manchester. So that, had the contri- butions at this anniversary exceeded those of the preceding by only a single farthing, it would have been more than could have been expected, and must have been hailed as a great triumph of the missionary spirit, and of Christian benevolence, over that selfish contraction of the heart which naturally arises from a depressed state of trade, and the attendant apprehensions of personal exigence. The collections approached very nearly to 3000/. And thus Manchester, long since denominated, by Howe, the Capernaum of religious privileges, has proved itself the Macedonia of Christian liberality ; for " their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality." But though Manchester is, in this respect, far in advance of many, of most, other places, it knows and proclaims that it is not yet at the goal. Its liberality, accom- panied by a spirit of fervent supplication for the promised presence of the Holy Spirit, cannot fail greatly to augment, and to exhibit, to the glory of God, still "greater things than these." May its " zeal provoke very man v." 42 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. do not trust him to any large amount ; that we look too much at funds in reserve, and too little at promises in re- serve. '' Prove me, now, saith God, whether I will not open the windows of heaven to bless you." But who thinks of accepting the generous challenge ? Does not our con- duct, in effect, reproach the first witnesses, and charge the confessors and reformers of later days with guilty rashness ? If we are only prudent, what were they ? Imprudent men, to venture life so recklessly as you did ! Imprudent wit- nesses for God, to calculate present consequences so little, and to think so much of the future ! And how insensible must you have been to say, when all the engines of martyr- dom were brought out, that none of these things moved you ! And how presumptuous to affirm that the promises of God warranted such zeal ! How would you have stood corrected now ! How much more cheaply might you have purchased distinction in the church now I But if distinction was your aim, well is it for your present fame that your zeal burned so long ago ; for, though your names are now on every lip, and we boast that God raised you up, you could not now repeat your noble deeds without endangering your fame. Yours is zeal to be admired at a distance ! And yet, brethren, theirs, in truth, is the energy we want the zeal of a Paul, and the first disciples ; of a Luther, and the early reformers ; of a Brainerd, and our first mis- sionaries a zeal that would startle the church ; aye, and be stigmatized by thousands of its members, as what zeal has not been ? zeal that would be content to be appreciated a century hence. The zeal wanted is that which, while it in- vites prudence to be of its council, would not allow her to reign which, while it would economize its means, would be too frequent in its demands on the funds of Christian bene- volence to allow them to lie long at interest anniversary zeal THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 43 made perpetual. The energy we want is that which springs from sympathy with the grandeur of our theme, the dignity of our office, and the magnificence of the missionary enterprise. Oh, where is the spiritual perception that looks forth on the world as the great scene of a moral conflict, and beholds it under the stirring aspect which it presents to the beings of other worlds ? Where are the kindled eye, and the beaming countenance, and the heart bursting with the momentous import of the gospel message ? Where the fearlessness and confidence whose very tones inspire conviction, and carry with them all the force of certainty, and the weight of an oath ? Where the zeal which burns with its subject, as if it had just come from witnessing the crucifixion, and felt its theme with all the freshness and force of a new revelation ? the zeal which, during its intervals of labour, repairs to the mount of vision to see the funeral procession of six hun- dred millions of souls to the mouth of hell to hear six hun- dred millions of voices saying, as the voice of one man, * Send to our brethren, lest they also come into this place of this torment" to Calvary, to renew its vigour by touch- ing the cross to the spot where John stood, to catch a view of the ranks of the blessed above. Enthusiasm is sobriety here. In this cause, the zeal of Christ consumed him ^his holiest ministers have become flames of fire ; and, as if all created ardour were insufficient, here infinite zeal finds scope to burn, " for the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall per- form it." 6. And where is this flame to be kindled ? where is the live coal to be obtained but from off" the altar ? It was there the witnesses of Christ, in every age, found it ; and there they kept it bright and burning. It was there that Christ himself sustained that zeal, in the flames of which he at last ascended as a sacrifice to God. Nay, what was ,^ 44 THE WITNESSING CHURCH. that atoning sacrifice itself, but a more intense prayer for the redemption of the world the prayer of blood a prayer so ardent that he consumed himself in the utterance a prayer which is ascending still, and still filling the ear of God with its entreaties a prayer, from which all other prayers derive their prevailing power. And what was the object of that bleeding intercession ? and what did he him- self regard as the full answer to it ? What but the advent of the Spirit, as the agent of a new creation ? Oh, Chris- tians, is there such a doctrine in our creed as the doctrine of divine influence ? Is there such an agent in the church as the Almighty Spirit of God? Is he amongst us ex- pressly to testify of Christ to be the great animating spirit of his missionary witness, the church ? and is it true that his unlimited aid can be obtained by prayer that we can be baptized by the Holy Ghost, and with fire ? Oh, ye that preach " believe and be saved" to the sinner, preach the same to the church " believe the promise of the Spirit, and be saved." Ye that love the Lord, keep not silence ; send up a loud, long, united, and unsparing entreaty for his promised aid. This, this is what we want. And this is all we want. Till this be obtained, all the angelic agency of heaven would avail us nothing ; and when it is obtained, all that agency will be unequal to the celebration of our triumphs. Witnesses for Christ, hear the conclusion of the whole matter : the cause of your Redeemer has come on in the heathen world the cause of human happiness ; the destiny of immortal myriads is involved ; and the world is hushed, and waiting to receive your evidence. By the love of Christ, will you not go and testify in his behalf? The destroyer of souls is witnessing against him ; and millions are crediting and confirming the dreadful testimony : will you not has- ten to testify for him ? Mahometanism is denying his di- THE WITNESSING CHURCH. 45 vinity, and is placing an impostor in his stead will you not attest that there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved, but the name of Christ your Lord? China is denying his existence, and one-third of the human race believe it; will you not go to proclaim " This is the true God and eternal life" ? Hindooism is affirming that his name is Juggernaut, and that he your Lord, the Saviour of the world that he loves impurity and blood ; and millions believe it ; will you not go and attest that " his name is Jesus, because he saves the people from their sins" ? Shall his cross have next to no witnesses of its benevolence? shall his blood have no tongue to proclaim its efficacy? his cause no friends to espouse it ? Witnesses for Christ, your Lord is in India, awaiting your arrival. He has obtained a hearing for you ; and he is on the plains of Africa at the gates of China in the temples of Hindostan, calling for his wit- nesses to come and testify in his behalf. And shall he call in vain ? He is saying to his church to-day, not for the third, but for the thousandth time '' Lovest thou me !" Then, by the blood which redeemed you by the benevo- lent design of that redemption, that you might be my wit- nesses by the wants of the world, waiting to hear you pro- claim my grace, and perishing till they hear by the cer- tainty of your success, and the glories that would result from it by the power of that cross which is destined to move the world awake, arise, to your high prerogative and office ; call down the kid of the great renewing Spirit ; and let every creature hear you say, " We have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." " Ye are my witnesses." T. C. Savill, Printer, 107, St. Martin's Lane, London. BAPTISM: THE IMPORT OF BAnTIZXl. REV. EDWARD BEECHER, PRESIDENT OP ILLINOIS COLLRriK, JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS. REPRINTED FROM THE AMERICAN BIBLICAL REPOSITORY, JANUARY AND APRIL, 1840. LONDON: JOHN GLADDING, 20, CITY ROAD. 1840. Price One Shilling. . / J. H ADDON, CASTLE STREET, FINSBURY, BAPTISM ^/ To engage anew in the discussion of the subject of Baptism, may seem to need an apology. Mine is, that it is a point in which Chris- tians are not as yet agreed, and therefore all truth is not seen. For I cannot think that God has of design hidden the truth, or that he has revealed it doubtfully on a point which has proved to be of such magnitude by its practical results. Hence I believe that when all truth is seen on this subject, which may be seen, all true Christians will so far agree that no obstacle to their perfect union in feeling and action will remain. But the truth on this, as on all other subjects, is not to be elicited by the action of any one mind, but by the united contributions of many. When in the dark ages, in the midnight of Papal gloom, all truth was lost or obscured, and the social fabric erected on principles radically corrupt, it pleased God to make no new revelation, nor to raise up and illumine any one gigantic mind, of power to grasp all truth and to restore it at once to its systematic proportion, or to erect in all its harmony a model of the social system in its perfect state. ^ Of the universal system different individuals grasped different parts, yet still mingled with much error, and thus God accomplished that which no single mind was capacious enough to do. He grasped, through many minds, the great outlines of the system of universal truth, so that none might be lost. Yet as in individual minds it was still limited and mingled with much error, divisions and sects arose, each holding important truth, which God was not willing to lose ; and yet not so unmingled or in such proportions that all could unite as one. But this mixture of error with truth is not destined always to last. The movement of the mind of the universal church is destined still / to be upward ; for she is taught of God. And in completing the fabric which he is about to erect, shall contribute his portion of . A 2 ^ truth to the grand result, whilst the errors of each shall disappear and die away. Then shall all finite minds be harmonized in one by the all-pervading mind of God. As if to prepare the way for this result, the public mind has of late been directed with new interest to this subject. It has been brought up by certain great questions in evangelizing the world, and has excited much attention. It has elicited works of much talent and extensive research through a wide field of philology. The spirit of the discussion has been much ameliorated, at least in many of the leading writers, though not always in the local and subordinate controversies. Yet union is far from being obtained, nay, in some particulars the prospect is more discouraging than ever. This must be a matter of grief to all who desire the fulfilment of the prayer of Christ. Nor is it in harmony with the convictions of the age on the duty of Christian unity, for however Christians practise, they are more and more convinced that there is something wrong and offensive to God in the present divided state of the Church. We have reason, then, to suppose that exactly the right ground has not been taken on either side, and we ought to aim at the simple ground of truth for the sake of union and the common good. To furnish some small share of the materials which God may use in pro- ducing this result, is my object in this effort. And at present my remarks will relate entirely to the mode of Baptism. STATEMENT OF THE CASE, AND OF PRINCIPLES OF INVESTIGATION. I. The case is this : Christ has enjoined the performance of a duty in the command to baptize. What is the duty enjoined ? or, in other words, what does the word Baptize, in which the command is given, mean ? One of two things must be true ; 1. Either it is in its meaning generic, denoting merely the pro- duction of an effect (as purity), so that the command may be fulfilled in many ways ; or, it is so specific, denoting an external act, that it can be fulfilled in but one. To illustrate by an analogous case, Christ said, '^ Go teach all nations." Here the word go, is so generic as to include all modes of going which any one may choose to adopt. If a man walks, or runs, or rides, or sails, he equally fulfils the command. On the other hand, some king or ruler, for particular reasons might command an act by a word entirely specific, as, for example, that certain mourners should walk in a funeral procession. Now it is plain that such a command could not be fulfilled by riding, or by running, for though these are models of going, they are not models of walk- ing, and the command is not to go in general, but specifically to walk. So when a general says, March, it will not answer for the soldiers to run ; for though this is a mode of going, it is not a mode of marching. So likewise, when Christ said baptize, he either used a word which had a generic sense, denoting an effect, such as purify, cleanse ; or a specific sense denoting an act, such as immerse, sprinkle, dip. 2. Whichever way we decide, as it regards the import of the word^ we ought to be uniform in its use as applied to the rite of baptism. For though the same word may have diverse meanings when applied to different things and in various circumstances, yet it certainly can- not, when applied to the same thing and in the same circumstances. Hence, if we adopt the generic meaning, purify or cleanse, we must adhere to it at all times, when speaking of the rite. On the other hand, if we adopt a specific meaning, as immerse, or sprinkle, we must adhere to it in the same way, and not pass from the generic to the specific, or from the specific to the generic, according to exigencies, on the ground that the word jSaTrr/^w, may in the whole circuit of its use, mean sometimes one thing and sometimes another. Nor must we adopt both, for however numerous the possible meanings of a word may be in its various usages, it has in each particular case but one meaning, and in all similar cases its meaning is the same. Hence the word j3a7rrt?w, as applied to a given rite, has not two or many meanings, but one, and to that one, we should in all cases adhere. 3. If we adopt a generic meaning, denoting an effect, we are not limited by the command to any specific mode of fulfilling it, and are at liberty to vary the mode according to circumstances. But if we adopt a specific meaning denoting an external act, we are limited by the very import of the command, to the range of that meaning. Hence if the command is purify, or cleanse, we are not limited by the command to any one mode, but may choose that which seems to us most appropriate, whether it be sprinkling, pouring, or immersion. But if the command is specific, as immerse, then we are limited by the range of that word, and cannot fulfil the command by sprinkling. or pouring, for these are not modes of immersion any more than riding is a mode of walking, or writing a mode of painting. It is true that sprinkHng and pouring may be modes of purifying, and so is riding a mode of going. But if the command is not purify, but immerse, then all debate as to the mode is at an end, for you can immerse, not by sprinkling, but only by immersion. CAUSES OF THE DISREGARD OF THESE PRINCIPLES, AND FALSE POSITIONS TO WHICH THIS DISREGARD HAS GIVEN RISE. II. Though the principles stated are simple and obvious, yet the natural operations of the mind on questions of philology have been in this case embarrassed and perplexed by certain influences of a kind peculiar to this word. At the time of the translation of the Bible, a controversy had arisen as it regards the import of the word, so that, although it was conceded to have an import in the original, yet it was impossible to assign to it in English any meaning without seeming to take sides in the controversy then pending. Accordingly, in order to take neither side, they did not translate the word at all, but merely transferred it with a slight alteration of termination to our language. The con- sequence was, that it ceased to exhibit its original significancy to the mind of the reader, or indeed any significancy except what was de- rived from its application to designate an external visible rite. In short, it became merely the name of a rite, and had a usage strictly technical, and lost to the ear whatever significance it originally had. The habit of using the word in a technical sense has tended to unfit the mind for the discussion of the question as to the mode of baptism in various ways, of which I shall mention three. 1. It has led to a departure from the principles already stated, that words, when applied to the same subject, and in the same cir- cumstances, cannot have a double sense. This rule, as has been remarked, does not forbid that the same word in diflferent circum- stances should have various senses, accordingly it may be conceded that the word jSaTrrt^'ij has various senses in the wide range of its usage, in scriptural and classical Greek; but out of this variety of usages, there is one strictly of a religious nature, and having direct reference to one of the great revealed facts of Christianity. Now in ^' a case like this, the laws of philology require that some one of the meanings of the word should be fixed on and assigned to it in all cases. But the habit of using the word baptize in a strictly technical sense, as the name of a rite, has led to a disregard of this simple and obvious rule. Many writers, fixing their minds merely upon the idea of a rite, and finding that the word j3a7rrt2&> means sometimes to wash, some- times to immerse, and sometimes, as they think, to pour or sprinkle, conclude that the rite of baptism may be performed in either way, entirely forgetting that, although the word should happen, in the wide range of its usage, scriptural and classical, secular and religious, to have all these meanings, it by no means follows that when used as a religious term, it has more than one. Hence, if as a religious term, and in certain circumstances, it means immerse, it does not also in similar circumstances mean to wet or to wash, to sprinkle or to pour, to colour or to dye, but simply to immerse. And just as plainly, if in some cases of its religious use, it means to purify, it does not in others of the same kind mean to pour, to sprinkle, or to immerse. 2. The other mode in which the technical use of this word has unfitted the mind for a fair consideration of the question is, it has permitted the introduction of a discussion as to the mode of baptism, after concessions have been made, which ought for ever to exclude it. For example, the question arises what meaning did the word jSaTrrt^w convey to those- who in the age of the New Testament writers read the command, go baptize all nations ? Was it to immerse ? So our brethren the Baptists maintain, and so many who do not immerse concede. Now after such a concession, with what propriety they can debate any longer as to the mode, I acknowledge that I cannot perceive. Nor do I think, that they would do it were it not for an illusion practised by the technical word baptize, upon their minds. After admitting as a point of philology, that the word jSaTrrf^w in its religious use means immerse, the mind seems to revert to the old habit of using the Anglicised word baptism, without attaching to it any meaning, and we are at once told that it is of no use to dispute as to the mode of baptism. Suppose, now, instead of the word bap- tism, we substitute the meaning which it has been conceded to have, and the illusion is at once exposed. We concede that j3a7rrtfa> means immerse, but of what use is it to dispute concerning the mode of immersion ? of none surely, so you do but immerse. But canyou 8 immerse by sprinkling ? Is sprinkling a mode of immersion ? The fact iS;, that if the word denotes a given definite act, no other dissi- milar act is or can be a mode of it. Pouring is not a mode of sprinkling or of immersion, nor is sprinkling a mode of pouring or of immersion, nor is immersion a mode of sprinkling or pouring. 3. Others again still using the word merely as a technic, say that baptism is the application of water, in any way, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; but base their con- clusions rather on reason and the nature of the case, or on the design of the rite, than on a thorough philological investigation of the word. Now the defect of this last mode of reasoning is, that it does not in- terpret the command. It uses the word like a technic, having no meaning of its own, and gives rather a description of a rite than a definition of jSaTrri^w. No one ever pretended to define PanTiZio as meaning " to apply water in any way," of course baptism cannot be defined to be *' the application of water in any way." And whether this view of the rite is correct or not, must depend entirely on the meaning of the word. STATEMENT OF THE POSITION TO BE PROVED. III. From what has been said it is plain that those who have written on the subject of the mode of baptism may be arranged in four classes. 1 . Those who maintain that the word in the whole extent of its usage has various meanings, and from this fact alone draw the in- ference that, therefore, the rite may be performed in various ways, making at the same time no attempt to prove which of its possible meanings it actually has in the case in question. 2. Those who fix on a specific meaning e. g. immerse, and which of course excludes all dispute as to the word, and yet insist that no more is essential. 3. Those who look mainly at the obvious design of the rite, i. e. to indicate purity, and on this ground affirm that to baptize is to apply water in any way which denotes purity, without attempting to make out a philological proof of the truth of their position from the import of the word jSaTrn'Sw. 4. Those who insist that the word in all its extent of usage has but wo 9 one meaning viz., to immerse and that this excludes all debate as to the word. None of these positions is in my judgment adapted to explain all the facts which occur in the use of the word, and to give satisfaction and rest to an inquiring mind. Any view which shall effectually do this will be found to have the following requisites : (1) That it shall be strictly philological. (2) That out of all the possible meanings of j3a7rri?w, it shall fix on one as the real meaning in the case in question. (3) That it shall at all times steadily adhere to this. (4) That this shall limit the performance of the rite to no par- ticular mode. The position which I shall endeavour to prove in accordance with these views is this, that the word jSaTrrt^w, as a religious term, means neither dip nor sprinkle, immerse nor pour nor any other external action in applying a fluid to the body, or the body to a fluid nor any action which is limited to one mode of performance. But that as a religious term it means at all times, to purify, or cleanse words of a meaning so general as not to be confined to any mode, or agent, or means, or object, whether material or spiritual, but to leave the widest scope for the question as to the mode so that in this usage it is in every respect a perfect synonym of the word /ca^apt^o). Let it then be borne in mind, that the question is not this. Does the word in all its extent of usage denote at any time a definite ex- ternal act? nor this, Is this its original, 'primitive signification? Even if all this were admitted, it would not touch the question for, as we all know, nothing is more common than for words to be used in more meanings than one, and to decide in what sense a word is used in a given instance, we are not to follow etymology or fancy, but evidence, derived from the facts of the case. With regard then to other uses of the word (^anTiZw, I freely admit that in classic usage it does, as a general fact, clearly denote some external act of a specific kind, yet it is by no means clear to my mind that it does not in different cases denote different acts. And though I do not regard it as an integral part of the argument which I propose to construct, yet for the sake of completeness, I think it best to state what seems to be the truth on this point. 1. I freely admit that in numerous cases it clearly denotes to immerse in which case an agent submerges partially or totally some 10 person or thing. Indeed, this is so notoriously true, that I need attempt no proof. Innumerable examples are at hand, and enough may be found, in all the most common discussions of the subject. 2. It is also applied to cases where a fluid is poured copiously over any thing so as to flood it, though not completely or perman- ently to submerge it. Of this usage I shall adduce but one example : Origen, referring to the copious pouring of water by Elijah on the wood and on the sacrifice, represents him as baptizing them. For the passage, and remarks on it, see WalPs History of Infant Baptism. 3. It is also applied to cases where a fluid without an agent rolls over or floods, and covers any thing as in the oft quoted passage in Diodorus Siculus, vol. vii. p. 191, as translated by Prof. Stuart: *' The river, borne along by a more violent current, overwhelmed many" (fjSaTrnSc). So, vol. i. p. 107, he speaks of land animals intercepted by the Nile, as (^awriZoiueva, overwhelmed, and perish- ing. The same mode of speaking is also applied to the sea shore, which is spoken of by Aristotle as baptized or overwhelmed by the tide. 4. It is also applied in cases where some person or thing sinks passively into the flood. Thus Josephus, in narrating his shipwreck on the Adriatic, uses this word to describe the sinking of the ship. I am aware that by some writers rigorous eflbrts are made to reduce all these senses to the original idea to immerse or dip. But it seems to me that they are rather led by their zeal to support a theory, than by a careful induction from facts ; and that they wrest facts to suit their principles, rather than derive their principles from facts. To me it seems plain that in all these cases there is a material difference, as to the external act ; nor am 1 prepared to admit that either, in preference to the other, is the original and primitive mean- ing of the word. If it were an object of much importance to decide what this is, inasmuch as they all agree in one common idea of a state or condition, though variously caused, I should incline to give to the word the meaning to cause to come into that state, and this idea is favoured by the termination, t^w. The state is, a state of being enveloped or surrounded by a fluid, or any thing else adapted to produce such a result. And a general meaning of jSaTrrt^w would thus be to cause to come into this state whether it be done by pouring the fluid copiously over an object, or by the flowing of a 11 fluid, over an object, without the intervention of any agent, or by the passive sinking of an object into it. In all these cases the state of the object becomes the same, but the external act, by which it comes into this state, is not the same in either case. To all this, however, I attach no great importance in the discussion of the present question ; unless it be of use in exposing the fallacy of all efforts to reduce this word to such a perfect simplicity of mean- ing, even as it regards an external act, as is claimed for it by some. On the other hand, even if I were to admit that its original and primitive idea was to immerse, and that when it denotes an external act, it never departs from this sense ; still the question would arise, is there not another meaning derived from the effects of this act, and in which the mind contemplates the effect alone, entirely irrespective of the mode in which it is produced. I contend that there is and that as thorough purification or cleansing is often the result of submersion in water, so the word jSttTTTtSw has come to signify to purify or cleanse thoroughly, without any reference to the mode in which it is done. IV. There is not a priori the least improbability of such a change of meaning, from the laws of the mind, or of language. It may at first sight seem an improbable position to some, that if a word originally signifies " to immerse," it can assume a meaning so remote from its primitive sense as " to purify J' and entirely drop all reference to the mode. Yet the slightest attention to the laws of the mind, and to well-known facts, will show that not the least improbability of such a result exists. No principle is more universally admitted by all sound philologists, than that to establish the original and primitive meaning of a word, is not at all decisive as it regards its subsequent usages. It often aids only as giving a clue by which we can trace the progress of the imagination, or the association of ideas in leading the mind from meaning to meaning, on some ground of relative similitude, or con- nexion of cause and effect. So the verb to spring, denotes an act, and gives rise to a noun denoting an act. A perception of similitude transfers the word to the issuing of water from a fountain to the motion of a watch-spring and to the springing of plants in the spring of the year. Yet who does not feel that to be able to trace such a process of thought, is far from proving that, when a man in one case says, I made a spring 12 over the ditch, in another, I broke the spring of my watch, in another, I drank from the spring, in another, I prefer spring to winter, he means in each case the same thing by the word spring ? And who in using these words, always resorts to the original idea of the verb ? Indeed, so far is it from being true that this is commonly done, that most persons are pleased when the track of the mind is uncovered, and the path is pointed out by which it passed from meaning to meaning, as if a new idea had been acquired so conversation, prevent, charity, as now used, have obviously departed widely from the sense in which they were used in the days of the translators of the Bible. But to multiply words on a point so plain, would be needless, had not so much stress been laid on the supposed original meaning of this word. It is therefore too plain to be denied, that words do often so far depart from their primitive meaning, as entirely to leave out the original idea and that the secondary senses of a word are often by far the most numerous and important. Moreover, to establish such secondary meanings, it is not necessary that we should be able to trace the course of the mind, though it is pleasant to be able to do it. A secondary meaning, however unlike it may seem to the primitive, may yet be established like any other fact in the usage of language, that is by appropriate testimony. But whilst such transitions are common in all words, they are particularly common in words of the class of jdairTiZu) denoting action by, or with reference to, a fluid. This is owing to the fact that the effects produced by the action, depend not on the action alone, but on the action and the fluid combined and of course may be varied as the fluid or its application varies. Let us now take the general idea of enveloping or immersing in a fluid, and see how unlike the effects to which it may give rise. If the envelopment is produced by a flood, a torrent, or waves, the effect may be to overwhelm, to oppress, to destroy. If by taking up the object and immersing it into a colouring fluid, it is to impart a new new colour, or to dye. If by taking up an object and immersing it into a cleansing fluid or by going into a fluid or by pouring a fluid copiously over the object, the effect is to purify or cleanse. And on these natural or material senses, may be founded the same number of spiritual or moral senses, by transferring the ideas to the mind. Now as a matter of fact such transfers have taken place in cognate 13 and similar words. I shall out of many select a few cases from Greek, Latin, English, and Hebrew words, fully to illustrate, and clearly to confirm these principles, and to show that they are peculiar to no language, but rest on universal laws of the mind. In Greek all admit that the most common sense of jSotttw is to dip, to immerse. I am willing to admit that it is the primitive sense. But it is beyond all dispute that the same word has passed to the meaning to dye, without any reference to mode. Great efforts were once made to deny this. But the most intelligent Baptists now entirely abandon this ground, and that with the best reason. And indeed, so far has the word passed from its original sense, that it is applied to colouring the surface of an object by gold, i. e. to gilding. A few examples out of many in so plain a case must suffice. In the battle of the frogs and mice, a mouse is represented as dying or colouring the lake with his blood itairrEro oifiaTi At/uvrj. On this there was once a battle royal to prove that it could be proper to speak of dipping a lake into the blood of a mouse ; and all the powers of rhetoric were put in requisition to justify the usage. Hear now Mr. Carson, inferior in learning and research to none of the Baptists : '' To suppose that there is here any extravagant allusion to the literal immersion or dipping of a lake, is a monstrous perversion of taste. The lake is said to be dyed, not to be dipped, or poured, or sprinkled. There is in the word no reference to mode. Had Baptists entrenched themselves here, they would have saved themselves much useless toil, and much false criticism, without straining to the impeachment of their candour or their taste. What a monstrous paradox in rhe- toric is the figuring of the dipping of a lake in the blood of a mouse ! Yet Dr. Gale supposes that the lake was dipped by hyperbole. The literal sense he says is, the lake was dipped in blood. Never was there such a figure. The lake is not said to be dipped in blood, but to be dyed ivith blood." P. 67, Am. edition, N. York, IS32. This is well said, and is the more to our purpose on account of its author. Indeed his whole discussion of this point is able, lucid, and decisive. Of the examples adduced by him I shall quote one or two more. *' Hippocrates employs it to denote dying, by dropping the dying liquid on the thing dyed : eTrsi^av iTTtcTTaKy Ittl to, Ifiaria f^cnrTsrai : * When it drops upon the garments they are dyed.' This surely is not dying by dipping." Carson, p. 60. '* Again. In Arrian Expedition of Alexander: tovq de Trwyayvag XijEi Neapx^C on jSaTrrwvrof 'Iv^oi : ' Nearchus relates that the In- 14 dians dye their beards.' It will not be contended that they dyed their beards by immersion." P. 61. He quotes cases in which it is used to describe the colouring of the hair ; the staining of a garment by blood ; the staining of the hand by crushing a colouring substance in it ; for which, and others of a like kind, I refer to him, and to Prof. Stuart. In the com- pounds and derivations of this word the sense to dye is very exten- sive ; to be fully satisfied of which, let any one examine the The- saurus of H. Stephens, or the abbreviation of it by Scapula on this word. It is compounded with colours of all kinds, as 7ro^^upoj3a(^r7C vajctvOtvojSa^rjC, of a purple, or hyacinthine dye. It denotes a dyer, a dying vat, a dye-house, &c., (5a(pEvg /3a(^aov, &c., and it even passes, as before stated, to cases in which a new colour is produced by the external application of a solid, as xpvaojSa^ijCj coloured with gold, or gilded. But it is needless to quote at large all the examples which might be adduced to illustrate and confirm these points : and as all that I claim is conceded even by our Baptist brethren, to proceed farther would seem like an attempt at useless display. I shall therefore pro- ceed to consider the usages of a kindred word in the Latin language. Tingo, beyond all doubt, means to immerse. In this sense Fac- ciolatus and Forcellinus in their Totius Latinitatis Lexicon give jSaTTTw as its synonyme. And as jdaTrrw is used to describe the im- mersing of an axe to temper it, so is ti7igo to describe similar opera- tions. So Virgil, speaking of the operations of the Cyclopian work- men of Vulcan, thus describes them as immersing the hissing metals in water to temper them. Stridentia tingunt aera lacu. JE, 8. 450. So speaking of a sword. Tinxerat unda stygia ensem. JE. 12. 91. Celsus speaks of sponges dipped in vinegar. Spongia in aceto tincta. The setting of the heavenly bodies is spoken of as an immersion in the sea, and to describe this tingo is used. Tingere se oceano properant soles hyberni. Virg. Geor. 2. 481. Tingat equos gurgite Phoebus. JE. II, 914. But to prove that it means immerse is needless ; no one can deny it, ^nor is it the point at which I chiefly aim. This is, that like /3a7rrw, it loses all reference to the act of immersion and comes to signify simply to dye or colour in any way. Of this there is a pre- sumptive proof that is obvious even to those who do not understand 13 the learned languages. It has giA^en rise to the words tinge and tint in our language and who that speaks of the rosy tints of morn or of the sun tinging the clouds with golden light, would have the least thought of immersion. And is it probable that such senses would have passed from the Latin to our language, had tingo not passed from its original sense to that of dying or colouring in any mode. But there is direct proof in the Latin classics of the same kind as exists with respect to jSoTrrw. Horace uses the word to denote the dying of wool, as tingere lanas murice ; Ovid, to denote the colouring of the hair, and of ivory ; Horace, to denote the colouring of the axe used in sacrificing the victims, as victima pontificum secures cervice tinget ; Virgil. Geor. 3. v. 492, to denote the malignant effects of a plague on cattle, mentions that they had scarce blood enough left to colour the knives used to slay them. " Vix suppositi tinguntur san- guine cultri." So in Georg. 2: v. 8. We have the words Tinge crura musto, referring to the colouring or staining of the legs by the treading of the wine press. In Pliny we have Tingentium officinae, shops of dyers, and in Cicero, Tincta in the phrase to denote coloured things. It is followed by an accusative of the colour, as in Pliny tingere coeruleum, to dye blue. We have also in Lucretius, Loca lumine tingunt nubes to tinge or colour, that is to illuminate with light. See Forcellinus and Facciolatus, or Leverett's Lexicon, on the word. Indeed on this word no less than on j3a7rrw, we have the unequivocal concession of Mr. Carson, that it means to dye. '' In Latin also, the same word, tingo, signifies both to dip and to dye." Carson, p. 77. Facciolatus, and Forcellinus, and Leverett also give it the sense to moisten, to wet, and make it in this sense synonymous with riy^b) from which indeed it is derived, and to my mind the examples adduced are abundantly sufficient to establish this sense. But on this it is needless to insist, as Mr. Carson professes not to be satisfied that this sense can be established, and for the present I wish to rely on facts concerning which there is no dispute. In English, for the sake of contrast, I shall select the word to wash. The original and common idea of this word is undeniably to cleanse by a purifying fluid, as water and that without respect to mode. Of these ideas in its progress it drops all, and assumes a meaning that involves neither to purify nor to use a fluid at all. As washing is often performed by a superficial application of a fluid, it 16 often assumes this sense and loses entirely the idea of cleansing, as when we speak of washing a wound with brandy ; or with some cooling application to alleviate inflammation. In this case we aim not at cleansing but at medicinal effect. So we speak of the sea as washing the shores or rocks, denoting not cleansing, but the copious superficial application of a fluid. Again, as a superficial application of a fluid or a colouring mixture is often made for the sake of changing the colour, we have to white- wash, to red-wash, to yellow-wash ; and the substances or fluid mix- tures with which this is done, are called washes. Next it drops the idea of a fluid at all, and assumes the sense of a superficial application of a solid as to wash with silver or gold. And here a remarkable coincidence in result, in words of meaning originally unlike, deserves notice as a striking illustration of the pro- gress of the mind in effecting such changes. In Greek, /3a7rrw, denotes originally to immerse action alone, without reference to effect. In English, wash denotes to cleanse or purify alone, without reference to mode. Yet by the operation of the laws of association, both are used to denote colouring, and both to denote covering superficially with silver or gold. Finally, when we speak of the wash of a cow-yard, and call those places where deposits of earth, or filth, or vegetable matter are made, washes, who will contend that the idea of purity is retained ? Again, lustro denotes to purify, by certain religious rites, and especially by carrying around the victim previously to its being killed. From this it passes to the idea of passing around or through drop- ping the idea of purifying as Pythagoras i^gyptum lustravit. Cicero Pythagoras traversed Egypt. Navibus lustrandum aequor. Virg. the ocean to be traversed with ships. Hence it passes to the idea of observing, surveying, accurately examining, either with the eyes, or the mind. Totum lustrabat lumine corpus, Virg. He scrutinized, or examined his whole body with his eyes. Cum omnia ratione animoque lustraris, when you shall have surveyed and accurately examined all things by your reason and in your mind. And what wider departure from the original sense to purify is possible ? In Leverett KaOaptrig is given as a synonyme of lustratio, and yet the same word is used to denote travelling from city to city. Lustratio municipiorum also the course or circuit of the sun lustratio solis. So too in Ezek. xxii. 15, h:in to immerse is used to 17 denote dying where ^'^h^iu denotes dyed attire, as Mr. Carson also allows. Similar transitions of meaning could be pointed out in lavo DSD and tjQip and other words, were it at all necessary, and did time allow. Now with such facts before us, to increase the number of which indefinitely were perfectly easy, who can say that there is the slightest improbability in the idea that the word jSoTrri^w should pass from the sense to immerse, to the sense to purify, without reference to the mode ? Can jSoTrrw, tingo and wash, pass through similar transitions and cannot jSoTrr/^w ? But what secondary sense shall be adopted cannot be told a priorii but must be decided by the habits, manners, customs, and general ideas of a people, and sometimes by peculiar usages for which no reason can be given. For example, no reason exists in the nature of things why jSaTrrw rather than jSaTrri^w should pass from the sense immerse to the sense to dye yet there is evidence that it did. On the other hand it could not be certainly foretold that jSaTrrt^w rather than jSaTrrw would pass to the sense to cleanse, and yet that it did so pass may still be true, and if true can be proved like any other fact. And the existence of manners and customs tending to such a result, renders such a result probable. V. Circumstances did exist tending to produce such a transfer of meaning in j3a7rri2w, and therefore there is a strong probability that it was made. As it regards j3a7rrw and tingOj we have no proof that any peculiar causes existed tending to such a change of meaning as they are confessed to have actually undergone. But as it regards j3a7rri^w, such a tendency can be proved to have existed in the man- ners and custom of the Jews, for though no immersions of the person were enjoined in the Mosaic ritual, but simply washings of the body, or flesh, in any way, yet there can be no doubt that im- mersions and bathings were in daily use and these, as well as all their other washings, were solely for the sake of purity, and held up this idea daily before the mind. Hence, when after the conquests of Alexander, the Greek language began to be spoken by the Jews, it encountered a tendency of the same kind as that which had already changed the meaning of j3a7rrw to color or dye ; but far more definite, powerful, and all-pervading ; for the practice of immersing to color was limited to a few, but the practice of bathing or immersing to purify, was common to a whole nation. Indeed the idea of purifica- tion from uncleanliness pervaded thfiir whole ritual in numberless cases, and must have been perfectly familiar to the mind of every one. B ' 18 The inference from these facts is so obvious that it hardly needs to be stated. As the laws of the mind made from j3a7rrw, to dye, to color, to paint, and from tingo, the same ; so there is a very strong pre- sumption that so general a use of immersion, to produce purity would give to jSaTTTi^w the corresponding sense, to purify. This does not, I am aware prove that it did. But it opens the way for such proof and shows that there is not the least ground for the rigorous efforts that are made to set it aside. Even a moderate degree of proof is suffi- cient in a case like this, when the most familiar laws of the mind, and all the power of presumptive evidence from analogical cases, tend this way. VI. There is no probability a priori against this position from the general nature of the subject to which the word is applied, in the rite of Baptism. But the probability is decidedly and strongly in its favour. No law of philology is more firmly established than this, that in the progress of society, new ideas produce new words and new senses of old words ; and hence, in judging concerning such new senses we are to look at the nature of the new subjects of thought that arise. Now that in this case the Greek language was applied to a new subject of thought is most plain, and that subject is the pecu- liar operations of the Holy Spirit, for that the ordinance of baptism refers to these is admitted by all. Now if any external act had any peculiar fitness to present these to the mind, a presumption would be in favor of that act ; and if the meaning claimed was unfit to present them to the mind there would be a presumption against it. Now so far is this from being the fact that directly the reverse is true. What is the peculiar effect of the operation of the Holy Ghost on the mind? Is it not moral cleansing or purification ? Now no word denoting merely a mode of applying a fluid to a thing, or of putting any thing into a fluid, conveys of itself any such idea. To pour, sprinkle, immerse, or dip, convey in themselves no idea at all of cleansing. The effect of the action depends mainly on the fluid, not on the action, and may be either to purify or to pollute. If clear water is used, the effect is to purify. If filthy water is used the effect is to pollute. So Job says, " If I wash myself with snow- water and make my hands never so clean, yet shalt thou plunge me [Greek j3a7rrw. Heb. ^nt?] in the ditch, and my own clothes shall abhor me." Here the effect of plunging is pollution, because it is not into clean water but into filthy. Hence, no external act has in itself -^anyjitness to present to the mind the operations of the Holy Spirit, I 19 On the other hand to wash, to purify, to cleanse all direct the mind to the very thing done by the Holy Spirit hence the presumption is entirely against the supposition that the word denotes an external act, and in favor of the meaning claimed. VII. There is decided philological proof in favor of this view. This I shall soon proceed to adduce. But the course which the argument has too often taken, renders it necessary to make a few re- marks on the principles of the reasoning involved. It is commonly the case, that after proving that there are clear instances in which jSaTTTt^w means to immerse, it is assumed that it is violently improbable that it ever means anything else ; and that, if it can be shown that in a given passage it can possibly mean immerse, no more is needed, so that the main force of argument is not to prove that it does so mean from the exigency of the place, but that it may possibly so mean, and therefore in consequence of its meaning so in other places, it does so here. Prof Ripley reasons on these principles in his reply to Prof. Stuart, but Mr. Carson has more boldly and fully developed them than any writer on that side of the question with whom I am ac- quainted. He goes so far as to say, p. 108, 109, that when one meaning of a word is proved by sufficient evidence, no objections to retaining this meaning in other places can be admitted as decisive, except they involve an impossibility. This he says is self-evident, and lays it down as a canon ; and affirms, p. 106, that the man who does not perceive the justness of his positions is not worth reasoning with. Now that there is not the least ground for assuming the im- probability of the meaning to purify, nay that the probability is de- cidedly in its favor, I have clearly shown. Of course to show that in a given case it can possibly mean immerse is nothing to the point. The question is what is its fair, natural, and obvious sense in the case in question, not what it can possibly by any stretch of ingenuity be made to mean. Of old it was customary in the same way to try to prove that jSttTTTw does not mean to dye, because some other sense is possible or conceivable and as we have seen, Gale even goes so far as to main- tain, that a lake is spoken of as figuratively dipped in the blood of a mouse lest he should be obliged to admit the obvious sense that the lake was dyed, colored, or tinged, with the blood of a mouse. But this mode of reasoning, as it regards (dairrw, is at last candidly and b2 20 fairly given up and may we not hope that the same candor will at length lead to the same results in the case of the cognate word It may be farther observed that the reasoning of philology is not demonstrative, but moral and cumulative ; and that an ultimate result depends upon the combined impression of all the facts of a given case as a whole on the principle that the view, which best harmonises all the facts, and falls in with the known laws of the human mind, is true. And where many, and separate, and independent facts all tend with different degrees of probability to a common result, there is an evidence over and above the evidence furnished by each case by itself, in the coincidence of so many separate and independent probabilities in a common result. And to be able to prove that each may be ex- plained otherwise, and is not in itself a demonstration, cannot break the force of the fact, that so many separate and independent proba- bilities all tend one way. The probability produced by such coinci- dences is greater than the sum of the separate [probabilities : it has the force of the fact that they coincide and that the assumption of the truth of the meaning in which they all coincide, is the only mode of explaining the coincidence. That there are various independent proofs, that /3a7rri^oj as a re- ligious term means to purify, and that these all coincide, and that this view harmonizes and explains all the facts of the case, I shall now attempt to show. VIII. In John iii. 25, KaBaQKr/iog is used as synonymous with paTTTKTfiog, and the usus loquendi, as it regards the religious rite, is clearly decided. The facts of the case are these, ver. 2^, 23. John and Jesus were baptizing, one in Judea, the other in ^^non, near to Salim, and in such circumstances that to an unintelligent observer there would seem to be a rivalry between the claims of the two. The disciples of John might naturally feel that Jesus was intruding into the province of their master. They might even believe John to be the Messiah, and thus give rise to the sect which held that belief. On this point a dispute arose between the disciples of John and the Jews, (or a Jew as many copies read,) v. 25. They come to John and state the case, v. 26. ** Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thoubearest witness, behold the same baptizeth, and all men come to him,'*'' Plainly implying that in so doing he was im- properly interfering with the claims of John. John in reply, v. 27 21 31, disclaims all honor except that bestowed on him by God, of being the forerunner of the Messiah, and rejoices to decrease in order that he may increase thus justifying the course which was so offen- sive to his disciples, and settling the dispute in favor of the claims of Christ. The argument from these facts is this : The dispute in question was plainly a specific dispute concerning baptism, as prac- tised by Jesus and John, and not a general dispute on the subject of purification at large; so that ^/jrrjo-tc Trtpi jSaTrrtcr/xou is the true sense ; and if it had been so written, the passage would have been regarded by all as perfectly plain. But instead of jSaTrrto-jiiov, John has used KaOapiafiov, because the sense is entirely the same. In other words, " a question concerning baptism," and " a question concerning purification," were at that time modes of expression per- fectly equivalent ; that is, jSaTrrtcrjuoc is a synonyme of Ka^apto-juoc* The only mode of escaping this result is to say, that as immersion in water involves purification, and is a kind of purification, so it may have given rise to a question on the subject of purification at large ; but to this I reply, that the whole scope of the passage forbids such an idea. The question was not general but specific, being caused by the concurrence of two claims to baptize ; and so was the reply of John. Moreover, to assume a general dispute on purification renders the whole scope of the passage obscure ; as is evident from the fact that those who have not seen that in this case KaOapKTfxog is a synonyme of jSaTrrio-jUoc, are much perplexed to see what a dispute on purification in general has to do with the facts of the case. The origin of the dispute from the concurrence of two claims to baptize, is obviously indicated by the particle ovv in v. 25, showing unde- niably that the events just narrated gave rise to the question. This connexion does not appear in our translation, and hence the course of thought is somewhat obscured. It is plain, then, that inde- pendently of all theories or interests, jca^apto-juoc is used as synony- mous with j3a7rrto"ju6c. Assigning this meaning makes the passage natural, lucid, and simple ; to assume a general debate on purification at large, renders it forced and obscure, and the reply of John totally irrelevant. And what reason is there for denying this conclusion ? None but the fear of the result. No law of language requires it no existing fact no previous probability. These, as we have shown, are all zr^ 22 decidedly the other way. It is then of no avail to talk of possible senses. The question is not what is possible, but what is a rational inference from a fair view of the facts of the case ; and this, I do not hesitate to say, is that (^aTTTia/jioc and KaQapKjfxoQ are synonymous. I have spoken the more at large on this case, because it is so rarely referred to in arguments on this question, and because the light which it throws on the usus loquendi is peculiarly clear. No word is more entirely independent of all reference to modes and forms than KaOapO^u), and nothing can more clearly show that /BaTTTi^o) had dropped all reference to form, and assumed the sense to purify or cleanse, than making it a synonyme of KaOapiZu). And the evidence is the more striking, as it is incidental and undesigned. It is as if we could stand on the plains of Judea and hear them interchange jSaTTncTjuocj and KaOapiapog as synonymous words. But if this is the force of the word in one instance as a religious rite, then it is its force in all similar cases. IX. This view alone fully explains the existing expectation ^ that the Messiah would baptize. That the Messiah should immerse ^1 is nowhere foretold; but that he should purify ^ is often and fully predicted. But especially is this foretold in that last and prominent prophecy of Malachi, (iii. 1 3,) which was designed to fill the eye of the mind of the nation, until he came. He is here presented to the mind in all his majesty and power, but amid all other ideas that of purifying is most prominent. He was above all things to purify and purge, and that with power so great, that few could endure the fiery day. Who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appeareth ? Suppose now the word /3a7rTt?a) to mean as I affirm the whole nation are expecting the predicted purifier ; all at once the news goes forth that a great purifier has appeared, and that all men flock to him and are purified in the Jordan. How natural the inference ! the great purifier so long foretold, has at last appeared, and how natural the embassy of the Priests and Levites to inquire. Who art thou ? and when he denied that he was the Messiah, or either of his expected attendants, how natural the inquiry, *' Why purifiest thou then ? It is his work of him it is foretold, why dost thou intrude into his place and do his work ?'* In view of these facts I do not hesitate to believe* most fully, that the idea which came up before the mind of the Jews when the words ( ^ 23 'Iwavvrjc 6 BaTrnarrJc were Used, was not, John the immerser, or John the dipper, but John the purifier, a name pecuharly appropriate to him as a reformer as puritan was to our ancestors, and for the same reason. This view has to my own mind the self-evidencing power of truth, for there is not the sHghtest presumption against it ; all probable evidence is in its favor ; and it explains and harmonises the facts of the case as no other view does. Indeed I can never read the account of John's baptism, and his various replies, without feeling that this passage from Malachi gives color to them all. This idea I shall consider more at large in the following section. X. The contrast made by John between his own baptism and that of Christ, illustrates and confirms the same view. This contrast exists in three particulars the subject, the agent, and the means. In the case of John, the subject was the body in the case of Christ, the mind. In the case of John, the agent was material, i. e. a man- in the case of Christ the agent was the Holy Spirit. In the case of John, the means were water in the case of Christ the truth and the emotions of God. Now the idea to purify is perfectly adapted to illustrate and carry out such a contrast, but to immerse is not. This sense is never transferred to the mind, in any language, so far as I know, to indicate any thing like the effects of the agency of the Holy Spirit. Where oppressive, crushing, painful, or injurious influences are denoted, it is so transferred as fiupiaig (j)p6vTi(7iv /3c- a7rrf(TjUvoc rov vovv, Chrysostom, papvraTaig ajuapriaig /3ta7r- TicTfiivoi Idem, TroWotg KVfiacn TrpayfJLciTwv f^e^aiTTiaiiivoi, Idem and in this sense the overwhelming and crushing of Christ by cares and agony is spoken of as a baptism in the gospels. But this does not denote the peculiar and appropriate effects of the agency of the Holy Spirit. But the sense to purify, can be with ease applied to body or mind, to human agents or to the Holy Spirit, to water or to the truth and divine influence. How simple and natural the statement ! " I indeed purify you with water but he shall purify you with the Holy Spirit. I perform an external and symbolical rite, by which the body is cleansed with water, but he shall perform a higher cleansing, or that in which the mind itself is purified by the Spirit of God." And how harsh, how forced, how unnatural to say, I immerse you in the Holy Spirit and in fine, such a use of language to denote such a thing is entirely foreign to all the laws of the human mind. Indeed so much is the force of this felt, 24 that in this part of the antithesis many resort to a new modification of the idea, and maintain that it means to imbue largely, to overwhelm with divine influences. But this destroys the whole symmetry of the antithesis. John does not mean to say I immerse you largely with water, but either, I immerse you in water, or I cleanse you with it : and whichever sense we adopt in one part of the antithesis, we ought to retain in the other. But when the agent is spiritual, the object spiritual, and the means spiritual, and the end purity, immersion is out of the question. Nothing but the most violent improbability of the sense to purify, can authorize us to reject it in such a case. But no such an improbability exists ; the probability is entirely in its favor. Purify, then, in any view of the subject must here be the sense. This view is still further confirmed by comparing the language of John with the passage from Malachi already quoted. It seems to be at all times his great desire to lead them to apply those words to Christ, and not to himself. As if he had said, "Do not think that I am the great purifier spoken of in those words. After me cometh one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am unworthy to loose. He shall purify you with the Holy Ghost and with fire whose fan is in his hand, and he shall thoroughly purge (^laKaOapLu) his floor," &c. But all the force, correspondence, and natural illumination of these passages, depends on giving to the word jSaTrrt^w the sense which I claim. XI. In 1 Cor. xii. 13, the Holy Spirit is directly said to baptize, and in this case all external acts are of course excluded, and purify is the only appropriate sense. " For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." If any shall say that joining the church by the external rite is here meant, I reply, that is never performed by the Spirit, but by man. But this baptism is as much a real work of the Holy Spirit, as the causing to drink into one Spirit, which is not external, but internal and real. But to immerse in water is not the work of the Holy Spirit, nor is it his work to immerse the mind, but to purify the mind is. More- over, not an external union to the visible church, but a real union to the true and spiritual body of Christ is here meant, and this is pro- duced by the purification of the mind, not by the immersion of the body. Hence to describe the operations of the Holy Spirit in uniting us to the body of Christ, purify is adopted immerse is not. 25 XII. BaTTTt^w and KaOapiZwaTe so similarly used in connexion with the forgiveness of sins, as decidedly to favor the idea that they are in a religious use synonymous. The purification effected by the Holy Spirit is of two kinds, (1.) a purification from spiritual defilement; (2.) a deliverance from the guilt of sin, i. e. liability to be punished, and from a sense of guilt, through the atonement. It is through the atonement that pardon is given ; and through the Holy Spirit convic- tion of sin is produced ; and by him also a sense of guilt is taken away in view of the atonement ; and in this sense he is said to cleanse from sin by the blood of Christ. This kind of purification may be called legal, as it relates to guilt, forgiveness, and an atonement. The other kind of purification may be called moral, inasmuch as it removes the unholy and impure feelings and habits of the mind, and produces in their place those that are holy and pure. Both kinds of purification are expressed by the same word KaOaplZd), Its use to denote legal purification or expiation is very extensive. It denotes, (1.) to make atonement. As in Ex. xxix. 37, and xxx. 10. **Thou shalt make atonement for the altar," '* Aaron shall make atonement ; " Sept. KaBaplZtt), Heb. nsp. (2.) To forgive, Ex. xx. 7. ** The Lord will not hold him guilt- less (ov KaSapiu) that taketh his name in vain." Ex. xxxiv. 7. "That will by no means clear the guilty." Deut. v. 11. Idem, In these and similar cases the Greek Ka^api^w corresponds to the Hebrew nj?: to forgive, to absolve from punishment, and is used in a sense strictly legal, and does not refer to moral purity at all. So in 1 John i. 7. **The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin ;" and v. 9, *'He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." In these cases the idea of atonement and forgiveness by it, are involved in KaOapiZu) ; and in Hebrews the blood of Christ is said to purge the^conscience from dead works, implying a deliverance from a sense of guilt, and a sense of pardoned sin. KaOapiZoj is here used ; hence an atonement is called Ka9api(Tfiog in Heb. i. 3. " When he had by himself purged our sins, {KaOapicTfiov iroLrjaafxevog,) he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high." In this case the atonement, KaOapKTjuLbg, was made first, and then applied to cleanse by the Holy Spirit. Nor is this usage confined to Scriptural Greek ; we find that when Croesus exempted Adrastus from liability to punishment for killing his brother, it is said fxlv ka^i^pe he purified him ; and when Adrastus /r, 26 requested such exemption, KaOapcriov iSf'tro he requested expiation, or exemption from liability to punishment. Among the Jews this kind of purification was indicated by its appropriate external forms, of which the sprinkling of blood was the most common if not the only one. Besides this, as all know, KaOapl^d) is used abundantly to denote moral purification or its emblem ceremonial purification of which no examples are needed. Hence to a Jew the most natural word to connect with the idea of the forgiveness of sins was KaSapicrfMog, or some synonymous word. Between immersion and the forgiveness of sins no such associations had ever been established. For all the remissions of sin under the old ritual were by blood, and hence Paul, Heb. ix. 19 23, after speaking of the sprinkling of blood upon the people and the book of the taber- nacle and the vessels, says, kol gtx^^ov Iv ai}xaTL rravra KaOapiZ^raL Kara rov vdfiov, koX xwp\g aliuiaTK\v(TLag ov yivETat a(f>E(Tig. Here the connexion of KaOapicriuLog and az(ng afiapriCjv "purification," and "forgiveness of sins" are presented at once to the eye. And there was no rite that involved immersion, which had any connexion with the forgiveness of sins. Now if any word is found to sustain the same relations as KaQapicrphg to the same idea, forgiveness of sins, we have reason to think that it is used in the same sense. But jSaTrr/^w and its derivatives do sustain the same relation. Mark i. 4. "John preached the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins," so in Luke iii. 3. Also, Acts iii. SS. "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost." Here the idea is legal the forgiveness of sins. The common expression for this is Ka6api(Tfxog and baptism has a direct relation to it and immersion is never used in any such relation. How natural then the conclusion that j5a7rTi(j/jLog has the same sense as the word in whose familiar place it stands. But though baptism in these places relates chiefly to legal purification, in others it relates as clearly to moral purification, and in this respect also cor- responds with KaOapiZtt) which, as we have seen, includes both kinds of purification, legal and moral. To sum up all in a few words |3a7rrt?w as well as KaOapi^^w relate to both kinds of purification legal and moral, of the conscience and of the heart ; and the language most commonly applied to the first is KaOalptj or KadapiZ,io and this is always in the ritual symbolised by 27: spvinkling and by blood. Hence as jSaTrriSw has the same extent of appHcation with Ka^api^w and as it stands in the same relations with it to the forgiveness of sins, it is highly probable that it has the same sense. By giving it a meaning so extensive as purify, it is adapted to fulfil all its relations. By confirming it to a meaning so limited as to immerse, it is unfitted for at least one half of the relations in which it stands. ' j XIII. The account of Baptism given by Josephus, a cotemporary Jew, is perfectly in coincidence with this view. XIV. In Heb. ix. 10, a fair view of the scope and connexion of the passage requires jSaTrrfcr/xot to be used as synonymous with Kadapi(Tij.oh In this case the word does not indeed relate to the ordinance of Christian Baptism, but to Mosaic purifications. Yet it is still a religious use of the word ; moreover it is applied with reference to those very usages, of which I have spoken, as adapted to cause the word fdaTTTl^w to pass from its original, to the secondary sense, to purify. Hence it is an example of great weight in the case, and, as might have been expected, it has been strongly contested. But with how little reason I shall endeavour to show. The scope of chapters 8, 9 and 10, is to show that the purifica- tions, legal and moral, provided by Christ for the conscience and the heart, had, in themselves, a real efficacy, and were, therefore, entirely superior to those of the Mosaic dispensation, which related only to the body, and could produce no purity but such as was merely ex- ternal and symbolical. Let now the following things be noticed. 1. Those things only are spoken of in the whole discussion, which have a reference to action on the worshippers ; that is, the whole pas- sage relates to the effects of the Mosaic ritual entirely on persons, and not on things. The gifts, the sacrifices, the blood of sprinkling, the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, all relate to persons. 2, The jSaTTTtcTjuot are spoken of as enjoined, as well as the other rites. But of persons, no immersions at all are enjoined under the Mosaic ritual. As this fact does not seem to have been noticed, as it ought, and as many assume the contrary, it is necessary to furnish the proof of this assertion. It lies in this fact, that no washing of persons is ever enjoined by the word ^?i3, to immerse, even in a sin- gle instance, nor by any word that denotes immersion ; but as I think without exception by the word yrrn which denotes to wash or purify, without any reference to mode. 28 Those who read the English version might suppose that where the direction to bathe occurs, immersion is enjoined ; but in every such case the original denotes only to wash. I do not deny that where the washing of the body, or of the flesh, or of all the flesh is en- joined, it would probably be done, if most convenient, by immersion or bathing. But I affirm that there is no washing of the person en- joined in the whole ritual, which could not be performed wherever there was water enough to wash the body all over, in any way, even though bathing or immersion was out of the question. Why should it not be so ? Could Moses suppose that at all times, and in all cir- cumstances, while in the desert, during journeys, at home and abroad, every man who became unclean, in various and numerous ways speci- fied in the ritual, would be able to bathe or to immerse himself? Even when best supplied with the means of bathing it could not be expected, that every family, rich or poor, and however situated, would be able to have a private bath. Nor could it be expected, that every running stream or rivulet would be deep enough to bathe in. But such was the benign regard of God to all these possible contingen- cies, that he did not enjoin immersion at all ; but only a total wash- ing, such as could be performed in any brook, or running stream, or in any suitable vessel at home. If any doubt whetlir this is the true view of the import of yrn, let him take a Hebrew Concordance and trace it through the whole of the Old Testament, and he will have abundant proof He will find it used to denote the washing of any thing, in any way, of the feet, the hands, the face, the body, or the mind. Its translation in the Septuagint denotes how wide its range of meaning is ; for it is at one time Xovto, at another vitttu), and at another ttXvvu), just as cir- cumstances may seem to require. If ever it is applied in cases where bathing was probably performed, the idea depends not at all on the word, but on the circumstances of the case. So a Baptist writer thinks that, in the case of Pharaoh's daughter, Ex. ii. 5, the word denotes bathing. It may be true that the daughter of Pharaoh did, as a matter of fact, bathe herself ; but all our evidence of it lies in the fact, that she went down to the Nile, and not at all in the word "prn, and therefore our translators have very properly rendered it wash. I would quote passages to illustrate all these assertions, did not the proof lie so plainly on the surface of the whole usage of the word 29 that I do not suppose any one, who has investigated the subject, will think of denying it. Let any one, who desires to see a specimen of proof, examine, in the original, Gen. xviii. 4, and xliii. 31, Lev. xiv. 9, Ex. xxix. 71, Isa. iv. 4, Ps. xxvi. 6, and Ixxiii. 13, Isa. i. 16. Nor is the washing of the clothes, so often spoken of, enjoined by a word denoting immersion. In all such cases, DSD is used, which denotes merely to wash, a word commonly confined to the washing of clothes. But it is sometimes also applied to the washing of the mind, as in Ps. li. 4, 9, (English version Ps. li. 2, 7,) Jer. iv. 14, Jer. ii. 22. It is perfectly plain, therefore, that, whatever was the practice of the Jews, no immersions of the person were enjoined, and the whole Mosaic ritual, as to personal ablution could be fulfilled to the letter, without a single immersion. I do not doubt that immersions were common, but nothing but washings of the body was enjoined and immersions fulfilled the law, not because they were immersions, but solely because they were washings. Of course, as yrr^ had only the sense to wash, even in case of bathing, (dairriZo) would tend to the same. 3. Even where immersion was convenient, and, a priori, probable, it was not deemed essential to complete and thorough purification, or to an entire washing of the body. This I infer from the account given in Tobit vi. 2, of the washing of the young man. We are told that he went down to the river To Se iraL^apiov Kari^ri for what. To immerse himself of course, the advocates of immersion will reply. Whole volumes of argument, as we all know, depend on going down to a river. But, how was it? did he go down to im- merse himself? Hear the writer : KaTi(5rj nepiKXifaaaOm. He went down to wash himself all around, just as a man stands in a stream and throws the water all over his body, and washes himself by fric- tion ; a mode of washing much more thorough than a mere immersion, and corresponding much more nearly to the import of the word yni. Let it not be supposed that I regard this as an actual fact. The story may be true or false, and yet be equally in point to illustrate the ideas of the age, in which the writer lived. If he was a Jew, as all admit, and was writing of Jews, it is enough. He would of course write in accordance with the views of his day. He may indeed after his TTspiKXvmg, have immersed himself, and very probably he did. But he did not go down for an immersion, but for such a washing as could be performed in any stream, even though immersion was 'K 30 out of the question. I regard the incidental testimony of a case like this, as of far more worth than the formal testimony of the Rabbis of a later age, as to the importance attached, by the Jews, to immersion, which learned writers have so copiously adduced. For the testi- mony of later Jews, as to the times preceding the fall of Jerusalem, needs to be received with much doubt and suspicion. But on an in- cidental statement of this kind, of so early a date, no reasonable suspicion can rest. 4. The only immersions enjoined in the Mosaic law were im- mersions of things to which no reference can be had here, as ves- sels, sacks, skins, &c. In this case no act was performed, that had any tendency to affect the worshipper, but only the thing immersed. But in all this passage, Paul regards the ritual with reference to its effects on the worshipper. In ver. 9. he says, that these rites could not make the worshipper, rov Xarpevovra, perfect as to the conscience. In ver. 10, he assigns the reason why. They consisted only in services which could affect the body, diKai(jjfia(n aapKog and these related to meats and drinks, and divers purifications. The kqi, before ^iKaiwfiaaL (rapKog, ought to be omitted, as it is by Griesbach and others; so that those words, shall not denote other ordinances, but stand in opposition to (Bptofiaai and woinacFi, and ^laffiopoig idaTTTKTiuLOLg, to dcuotc the imperfection of them all, because they affect the body alone and not the mind. Hence it is perfectly plain that no reference can be had here to the immersions of inanimate things^ but only to the purifications of persons. Indeed the whole scope of the passage forbids the idea of such immersions. What could any one think that the immersion of vessels of earth, or wood, had to do with purifying the conscience or the heart of a worshipper? A washing of the body, or a sprinkling of blood, or of the ashes of a heifer might seem to purify the unclean but not surely the immer- sion of vessels of earth or wood, or of sacks and skins. To refer here, then, to such things, is totally unnatural, and entirely out of the train of thought. 5. Besides, the purifications of the person are Sm<^opoi, diverse, various ; ^but the immersions of things are not, either in act, or cir- cumstances, or end. If vessels, or things became unclean, in the cases specified, they were all immersed, and all alike, and all for the same end. What various immersions here ? On the other hand the purifications of men were exceedingly 31 numerous and of various kinds. Some were legal and sacrificial, relating to the atonement, and made by blood. Others were moral, relating to regeneration and purity of heart, as symbolised, sometimes by various kinds of washing, and at other times by sprinkling. To all these various kinds, reference is had in the context. Purification by blood, ch. ix. 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, and ch. x. 1, 2 and in numerous other places. Purification by water, and by sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, ch. ix. 13, and x. 22. Why should the apostle leave purifications so various and numerous as these, and so entirely in point, and speak of a simple regulation as to the immer- sion of cups and vessels, &c., things altogether foreign to the scope of the passage, as ^lacpopoL j3a7rrt is the natural and obvious sense of /SaTrrt^w, and KaOapiafiog of (danTKTfiog* 1. This sense fulfils perfectly all the exigencies of the passages. I know indeed that it is said by some, that in Mark there is a rise in the idea from the lesser washing of the hands, which was common before all meals, to the greater washing implied in the immersion of the body after coming from the market. But on the other hand, there is simply a rise from the specific to the general and indefinite. They always wash their hands before meals, and when they return from market they also purify themselves, (as the nature of the case may require,) before they eat. In the latter case, Bloomfield remarks, it denotes a washing of the body, but not an immersion. The sense, Kada^iZb), also more naturally suggests the reply of Christ in Luke. Now do ye Pharisees make clean, Ka^apf^erf, the outside of the cup, and the platter, &c. where j3a7rr/2a> seems to suggest ica^ap/^w. I admit indeed that the object of immersion might suggest the same idea. But such associations of thought are more likely, the more obvious the similarity in the meaning of the words. But, not to rely on this, I remark, ^. Nothing in the context demands the sense, immerse, and power- ful reasons forbid it. All must confess that purification is the only idea involved in the subject of thought. Now it is no more likely that a want of immersion offended the Pharisee, Luke xi. 38, in the case of Christ, than it is that this was the ground of offence in the case of the disciples, Mark vii. It does not appear that Christ had been to the market. Nor is it likely at all that an immersion was expected, as a matter of course, before every meal, even on coming from a crowd. The offence in the case of the disciples, was that they had not washed their hands. An immersion was not expected of them, though they had been in crowds. Why should it be of Christ ? Rosenmiiller, on this passage, well remarks, that the existence of any such custom of regular immersion, before all meals, cannot be proved. And the opinions and statements of Jewish writers, in after ages, are of very little weight. The case narrated in Tobit has, in my mind, more weight, in throwing light on actual opinions, than a host of such more modern writers. It teaches us clearly that, even in cases where it was possible, they attached no peculiar importance to the form of immersion, and thought only of a suitable washing. 33 How much more is this likely to be true of a purification, which the Pharisee seemed to expect, as a matter of course, before every meal ? But above all, the immersion of the couches on which they reclined at meals is out of the question. That this is the meaning of kXlvojv here, the whole context shows, and all impartial critics allow ; and these were large enough for them to recline upon at their ease. And are we to believe, that the Pharisees and all the Jews were in the habit of immersing these, just to avoid the inference that ftaTTTiZtj means to purify? What if remarkable instances of superstition, in particular sects, can be pointed out ? Is it likely that a whole nation, all the Jews, ever held to a practice like this ? That they should purify them with various and uncommanded rites is altogether pro- bable ; but that they should immerse them is totally incredible. Mr. Carson seems to feel this point keenly, and yet manfully maintains his ground. He says, that he will maintain an immersion until its impossibility is proved, and suggests that the couches might be so made as to be taken to pieces for this end ! He has proved, he says, the meaning of the word, the Holy Ghost affirms that the couches were immersed, and to call this absurd, is to charge the Holy Ghost with uttering an absurdity ; and he is filled with hoiTor at the thought, and warns his opponents to beware of so fearful a crime, and he has a long dissertation on the infidel and Unitarian tendencies of allowing difficulties to shake our faith in the assertions of God. But what is all this to the point ? The question is not. Will we believe that the couches were immersed, if the Holy Ghost says so ? but this. Has he said so ? And what has Mr. Carson proved ? Why, truly, that in other instances, fdairTiciu) means immerse. But does this prove that it means so here ? Does it even create a pro- babihty that it does ? Not at all. The probability, as we have shown, is all the other way. Hence the demand to prove an impos- sibility of immersion is altogether unreasonable. And it is against his own practice in other cases. Does he not admit that j3a7rra> means to dye, or color, when it is applied to the beard and hair ? And is it impossible to dip these ? Improbable it surely is, but not half so much so as the immersion of couches. The fact is, that the whole reasoning against the sense claimed for jdawTiZd), in these passages, rests on false principles. It assumes a violent improbabihty of the meaning in question, and resorts to all c 34 manner of shifts, to prove the possibility of immersion, as though that were all that the case required ; whilst the truth is, that no such im- probability exists, but one directly the reverse : and the whole scope of the passage demands the meaning claimed, that is, to purify. Were it necessary, I would remark more in detail on the state- ment of Prof Ripley, as to the dipping of hands, and the Jewish rules concerning couches, as quoted by Dr. Gill. It is sufficient to remark, that these ideas are the result of the ingenuity of later ages, and the existence of any such rules or practices, in the days of Christ, is totally devoid of proof, and even of probability. XVI. In the case so often quoted from Sirach xxxiv. 25, /3a7rrf?(i) requires the sense, KaOapiZio. The passage is this : |3a7rrt Jo/uevoc iiTTo vLKpov KOi iraXiv aTTTOfievoQ avTov tl w^fXijerf rtf \ovTp(^ avrov. " He that is cleansed from a dead body, and again touches it, of what profit to him is his cleansing ?" Here I remark : 1. The sense, KaOapiZu), purify, suits the preposition otto, immerse does not. It is natural to speak of purifying, or cleansing from, but not of immersing from, a dead body. 2. No immersion, in the ease of touching a dead body, was en- joined, but simply a washing of the body, so as to leave room for various modes in various circumstances, and it is not likely that this would be spoken of as an immersion. 3. The rite of purification from a dead body was complex, and no import of the word /3a7rrtfw, but the one claimed, is adapted to in- clude the whole. By far the most important part of the rite was the sprinkling of the water, in which had been put the ashes of the heifer. Concerning this it is said. Num. xix. 13, that whosoever shall not purify himself with it, after touching a dead body, *' that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of separation was not sprinkled on him." Of the washing no such thing is said, and Paul, Heb. ix. 13, refers to the sprinkling, as if it included the part of the rite on which the effect mainly, if not entirely, depends. It is the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, that is spoken of as sancti- fying to the purification of the flesh, ayiaZ^u irpbg ttjv Ttjg crapKOQ KaOapoTT^Ta, Of course the writer could not mean to exclude so essential a part of the rite as this, nay its very essence. Nor could he call it an immersion. It is a sprinkling. It can purify, but it cannot immerse. But the sense, KaOaplZw, can include both the sprinkling and the washing: for, taken together, they purify, and A "10 35 this is the complex result of the whole rite, and nothing else. If any object, that it is not consistent to apply Xovrpt^ to a complex opera- tion like this, I ask them, how then is it consistent to apply it to the blood of Christ, which is spoken of as the blood of sprinkling ? And yet we are spoken of as washed from our sins in his own blood, where Xovu) is used. The truth is that the sense of Xovio is general too, and denotes merely a washing or cleansing, without respect to mode. Besides, an actual washing is a part of the complex rite. The effort of Prof. Ripley to establish the sense, bathing, from the word XovTpov, is vain. No fact is more notorious than that Xovw, of itself, does not mean to bathe. In this respect it is as unlimited to any mode]^as YV^ ; so much so that the vessels, in the vestibules of ancient churches, for washing the hands, were called Xour^pec* as well as vLTTTripeg. One of the Fathers, as quoted by Suicer, says XovTTJpeg vdarog TreTrXrjpw fiivoi, stand before the gate of the church, that you may wash your hands (viipyjo), so without the church, sit the poor, that by alms you may wash {irXvvrii') the hands of'your soul. I do not quote this passage for the sake of its theology, but to show that Xovio and its derivatives mean simply to wash or to cleanse, and not to bathe, any more than the Latin lavo. Circumstances may show that bathing is meant, but the word itself does not. Mr. Carson says, that all reasoning from this passage proceeds on the assumption that the Jews had made no additions to the rite. Not so. It proceeds upon the assumption that they had not omitted its very essence, the sprinkling with the ashes of a heifer;, and that they would not call this an immersion, but a purification, as in fact it was ; and that as no immersion was enjoined, but simply washing, so the sense, immersion, is not to be assumed without necessity and without proof, and against the whole probability of the case. That the Jews did take the view of this rite that I claim, is plain from the account given of it by Philo. He directs the whole attention to sprinkling and nothing else ; vol. ii. p. 251. (The edi- tion in the Andover Library.) He says Moses does this philosophi- cally, for most others are sprinkled with unmixed water : some with sea or river water, others with water drawn from the fountains. But Moses employed ashes for this purpose. Then, as to the manner, they put them into a vessel, pour on water, then moisten branches of hyssop with the mixture (Ik tov KpajuLaroQ ^airrovTag vaaMTTOv 36 kXadovQ)) then sprinkle it upon those who are to be purified, rote KaOaipojuivoig. And this account was written after the passage in question. Here we note, in passing, a use of f^cnrTw with k-, at war with the idea to dip, and consistent only with the idea to moisten or wet. Now for what reason are we to set aside probabilities like these ? Merely to avoid so simple, natural, and probable a conclusion, as that (daTTTiZu) sometimes means sirnply to purify, as in this case it most clearly does. XVII. The case of Judith also sustains the same view. In Judith xii. 7, we are told that she remained in the camp of Holofernes three days, and by night, that is, on each nighty she went out to the valley of Bethulia, and purified or washed herself, in the camp at the foun- tain of water. liapifxuv^v Iv ry 7rapE/i/3oX^ rifiipag rpng, kol ?7ro- pVro Kara vvKTa dg rrjv (papayya BsruAoua koX ajdawTiZiTO tv rp irape/ij^oXy tirX Trig TTTjyJjc tov v^aTog. Here we notice that the purification in question was performed in the camp, and at or near the fountain and for three nights in suc- cession. In the case of Tobit, a man at a river, and away from all observation, we know that immersion was more probable. But here a female, in a camp, and at or near a fountain, it is insisted, did im- merse herself, three nights in succession. We are told of her courage and faith, and of possible bathing places near the spring, and all for what ? To avoid so obvious a conclusion as that the writer merely means to say that she purified, or washed herself, without reference to the mode. In the case of Susannah, we are told that she desired to wash herself, XovaacrOaty in the garden, because it was warm. Here she could shut the doors and be alone, ver. 17. Yet the writer says merely wash. But in the case of Judith, even in a camp, he must needs insist, it seems, on the mode, and that mode must be immersion. And what reason is there for all this ? Is not the sense KaOapiZu), a priori, probable ? Yes. Does it not fulfil all the exigencies of the case ? Yes. Was it of any importance to specify the mode? No. Do the circumstances of the case call for immersion? No ; they seem, at first sight, entirely to forbid it ; and nothing but skill in suggesting possibilities can at all remove the im- pression. In fact the circumstances of the case have led the vast majority of minds in all ages to feel that immersion is not the mean- ing here, and that to purify or to wash is. Hence it is that Mr. ^^ 37 Carson, in his arduous attempt to prove that jSaTrrt^w never means to wash, irrespective of mode, is obhged to admit that he has " all the lexicographers and commentators " against him, p. 79. XVIII. No contrary probability, or usage, can be established from the writers of the New Testament age, or of the preceding age, who used the Alexandrine Greek. It will be noticed that the argument thus far is specific, and relates to a religious usage, produced at a particular time, and by particular circumstances definitely and clearly marked. Now to refute this argument, it is of no use to go to writers who lived and wrote entirely out of this range of circum- stances and ideas. It could only prove that, in other circumstances, another usage of the word did exist, and this no one need deny. But it is very noticeable that, in the very writers where alone proof of an opposite religious usage, or even of a probability of it, can rea- sonably be looked for, there is none to be found. It is in these very writings that the whole current of probability and of usage sets strongly the other way. I do not deny that these writers do also use the word j3a7rr^?w, in other circumstances, and in a secular sense, to denote immersion, sinking, overwhelming, or oppression. But this only proves that the two usages did coexist ; just as Mr. Carson proves that the two usages of (5airru) did coexist in Hippocrates, and that the existence of the one did not disprove the existence of the other. So, at least four meanings of the word spring coexist, and yet no one infers from one that the others do not exist. That the religious usage of these writers all sets one way, one obvious and admitted fact may show. Mr. Carson admits that all the lexicographers and commentators do assign to the word j3a7rrt$w the unlimited sense to wash, or cleanse. Now on what writers do they rely? Beyond all dispute on the writers of Alexandrine Greek, the very writers who have furnished all the facts on which this argument is based. And these writers, be it noticed, furnish no pre- sumption or usage the other way. Even in those minuter shades of meaning, which are furnished by allusion, comparison or association of ideas, all things tend the same way. So, in the account of the baptism of Paul, the sacrificial reference of baptism is plainly indi- cated. Acts xxii. 16 : Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, ^Avaarag ^aTrrLtrai, icai airoXovaai rag afiapriag ^wrto-juoc, TraXiyyeweaia, Qsoyevveaia, avd-rrXacng ; that is, light, illumination, regeneration, the divine generation, a new creation. Hence also ^wri'Sw, to baptize. XXI. Besides this general reasoning from well known facts, there is also philological proof that the word was often used by the Fathers in the sense KaOapiZ(i)' That the other sense also occurs I need not deny ; for they were originally formed rather in the school of classic, than of Alexandrine Greek. In their case two currents met, and we are not to look so much for universally consistent use, as for evidence that the Alexandrine current did mingle in the stream. Hence I remark, 1. The earlier Christian writers do not so often use the word j3a7rrt?w as some synonyme derived from the sense to purify, as avajEvvdu), as before stated. Nor do they fix the mind on the idea immerse, but on purification, and use such paraphrases as denote it. AL\ 43 Thus, after the passage of Justin Martyr already quoted, he says, in describing the mode of regeneration or baptism, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, XovTpbv Troiovvrai, they wash or purify them. 2. They often use (dairrKTiuibg in the legal and sacrificial sense, so as to exclude any idea but KaOapicrfiog, So Chrysostom, Horn, xxxiii, says, '*He calls his cross and death, a cup and baptism, a cup, because he readily drank it ; baptism, (fianrKTfjiov,) because by it he purified, Ka0i7pf v, the world ;" that is, he calls]it purification, because by it he purified the world, in which case the sense is sacrificial, he made atonement for the world, and the reason assigned depends, for all its force, on giving to jSaTrrfo-^uoc the sacrificial sense KaOapKr/mog. I do not quote this, nor the following passages, because I believe that he assigns the true reason, but simply to illustrate his use of language. So Theophylact, on Matt. xx. 22, 23, says, " He calls his death, fiaTTTKTfiov u)Q KaOopTiKov ovTa TTCLVTiov Tifjiiov ', as making a purifica- tion, or expiation for all of us,'' where the whole force, as before, rests on giving to jSaTrrto-juov the sacrificial sense KaQapiafiov, As if he had said, he calls his death, a purification, because it was designed to purify all of us. So, on Mark x. 38, 39, he says, " He calls his cross (^aTTTKTfxov, as about to make a purification for sins," KaOapiafiov rwv afiapriivv. Here the sacrificial sense is still more evident and un- deniable, and requires j^airrKTfxov to mean Ka6api(T(jLbv, as before. Many other passages of a like kind could be adduced, but it is- needless. 3. They sometimes, in describing the rite, use Ka^atpo) or KaOapiZw alone. Thus Gregory Nazianz. says, bxpei KuOaipojuevov Trjaovv Iv T(^ ^lop^avy Trjv t/XTjv KaOapcnv fiaXXov Se ayviZovra ry KaOapaei ra vdara ov yap Se avrbg I^hto KaOdpcFEwg 6 aipiov T7]V afxapriav tov KOdjuLov ; that is, thou shalt see Jesus purified, i. e. baptized, in the Jordan, with my purification, i. e. baptism, or rather, sanctifying the waters, by his purification: for he did not need purification who taketh away the sins of the world. Here jSaTrrf^a) is not used at all in describing the rite, and in its place is used Ka^aiptj and its deriva- tives, both in a moral and sacrificial sense. Again, " He who can take away the sins of others," ov KaOaprrlwv evEKa liTi ra vdfiara p\Tai, aW oxrrs dvvafjiiv avToXg IvOuvaL KaOap- TiKrjv, does not come to the water for the sake of being purified himself but to impart to it a purifying power. Here, as before, I do not vouch for the truth of the ideas. They 44 are pregnant with superstition. From the notion that Christ, at his baptism, gave to the water a purifying power, came the idea of holy w^ater, and of a mysterious influence or presence in the water of baptism, which is a constituent part of the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. Still the passages are of no less importance in showing the use of words ; and for this alone I quote them. It would be of no avail, here, to say that the Fathers did in fact immerse ; this could not decide that purify was not the sense, and even if it could be shown that some of them use the word /BaTrrfSw to denote the act of immersion in baptism, it would avail nothing. It would only prove inconsistent usage. But in the confluence of classical and Alexandrine Greek, after the days of Christ, and in writers so various and so multifarious, we are not to look for con- sistent usage. It is enough that we find the usage claimed. We should rather expect a transition from the original ideas of the New Testament writers, through a period of inconsistent usage, till, as the form usurped the place of the spirit, and a superstitious eflScacy was attached to immersion, the original sense would disappear, and the name of the form alone remain, as is the case in the Greek Church at the present day. I do not expect to find in the Fathers a correct philosophical account of the origin or progress of their own errors. They assign different, and often inconsistent reasons for the usages of language already adverted to. It is enough for me that I have the facts before me, and the laws of the mind to explain them. They are just such as I should expect, on the supposition that the original religious sense of j3a7rrt?w was KaOapi^to, Printed by John Haddon, Castle Street, Finsbury . THE IDENTITY OF POPERY WITH PAGANISM : A LECTURE, DELIVERED IN NORFOLK-STREET CHAPEL, SHEFFIELD, FEBRUA^RY 13th, 1840, BY JOSEPH ROBERTS, CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, AUTHOR OF "ORIENTAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES," <&c., &c. LONDON : PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. SOLD BY SIMPKIN & MARSHALL, STATIONERS'-HALL COURT; AND BY JOHN MASON, 14, CITY ROAD ; AND AT 66, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1840. . Price One Shilling. ENTERED AT STATIONERS -HALL LONDON: PRINTED BY JAMES NICHOLS, 46, HOXTON-SQUAFE. ADVERTISEMENT. The following is one of a series of Lectures now being delivered by the Wesley an ministers in Shef- field to the people of their charge, on the great apostasy from Christ. By the advice of several of my brethren and friends, I venture to print this ; and, should the churches of Great Britain evince their favour, 1 intend to publish others, to prove the Pagan origin of Popish votive -offerings, pilgrimages, processions, penances. Pontiffs, celibacy, monasteries ; Hermits, the apotheosis, purgatory, relics, the rosary, amulets, holy- water, and sacred fountains, incense, consecrated garments, exorcisms ; devoted shrubs and flowers, "the sacring-bell," the tonsure, and services in an unknown tongue. J. R. * > A LECTURE, " Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven ahove, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : Thou shalt not bow down thyself, nor serve them." Exod. XX. 4, 5. The subject of this Lecture is the identity of Paganism and Popery ; that is, an attempt to prove that they are one in their rites and ceremonies ; and that the latter is indebted to the former for its awful perversions of the pure, the simple, the immutable gospel of Christ. I regret that the time devoted to the present service will not allow me to notice more than the origin of their connexion, and the analogies subsisting between them in image- and idol-worship, and their obvious similarity in temples, churches, and festivals. Let us for a moment glance at the state of the world when Jesus Christ appeared. With the exception of Judea, it was entirely heathen : for the fragments of patriarchal piety which were occa- sionally found, when compared with the crying sins which then prevailed among the rest of mankind, will appear like a few drops of rain in contrast to the waters of the ocean. The first advocates of Christianity penetrated into various parts of Asia and Africa ; and though for nearly two centuries the superstitions of those coun- tries were not materially mixed up with the faith and ceremonies of the infant-church, yet subsequently we see an amalgamation which too clearly shows the origin of such an adulteration and the reasons assigned for it. Rome, at that period, was rampant in idolatry ; and her proud eagles had hovered over most of the adjacent coun- tries. Much of her mythology had been taken from Egypt, Greece, and oriental regions ; for all history, all the glorious monu- ments of antiquity, go to prove, that she was their inferior in years ; and her numerous aflBnities with them show how close was the relation. It is not always easy to follow in their course the various corruptions with which the bright face of Christianity has been beclouded : but we may confidently offer, as one general reason and cause, the locality in which the Church of Rome commenced its national career. And let me request, that this may be distinctly kept in mind ; because it will give the key to numerous oriental ceremonies purely Pagan, which are universally observed wherever Popery prevails. Christianity had been struggling with its great antagonist for State-ascendancy for more than two centuries, but had not gained the victory, till Constantine the Great ascended the throne of the Caesars. He was born in the year of our Lord 271? and died in 337 ; being himself a convert from the idolatry of his fathers. He made a bold attempt to establish his adopted faith as the religion of the empire ; but such was the opposition of its enemies, that he in a great degree failed ; therefore, for that and other reasons, he resolved to found another city, which should be the emporium of the Christian and eastern portion of his dominions. He selected for its site Chrysopolis, where formerly stood Byzan- tium ; and there he erected that magnificent capital, Constan- tinople, which remained in possession of the Christians for the long period of eleven hundred and twenty-three years. Thus on the boundary-line of Asia was reared the splendid metropolis of the East, extending its influence over all European and many Asiatic regions, and attempting by its zealous agents to subjugate all Pagan rations to the religion of the Cross. During his reign many of the inhabitants of the East Indies are said to have been won over to the Christian faith, by the ministry of Frumcntius, who had been brought up the greater part of his life in that country, and who had been ordained by Athanasius as Bishop, and sent to labour amongst them.* At that time also, the monastic institutions had their rise in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt ; and not in Europe, as some erroneously suppose. For, Aihanasius and others had the honour of introducing them into Italy and Rome, where their character and tendency had been previously treated with great contempt.-f" And how reasonable it is to suppose, when men change from one religion to another, especially in those so much opposed to each other as are Christianity and Heathenism, that they have been intellectually convinced of the absurdity of the one, and the excel- lency of the other; or that they have been induced by sinister motives, such as family-connexions in marriage, children adopting the new creed of their parents ; or for reasons of State-policy, having the prospect of emolument or honour ; or through their minds being enlightened by the Holy Ghost, so that they became not merely nominal but spiritual Christians ! That vast numbers have joined the Church in all ages from among the Pagans through mercenary motives, all history, all experience goes to prove ; and that as circumstances have changed they also have turned, is a matter of no surprise. Hence the numerous apostasies, and the frequent retention, in private at least, of many of the superstitions and practices of their former faith. Tiie primitive Fathers and rulers had frequently to denounce the mixing up of ancient rites ; and the penalties for such incongruous Cave in loco, and Bingham's "Antiquities," vol. ii. p. 108. ftssociations were confiscation of goods, and corporal punishments. But these proving insufficient, and a hope being entertained that some of the figments of the old system might be retained in the new, and thus form a source of attraction to the multitude, and of profit to the church ; they at length tacitly complied with that which they never properly attempted to overcome. There were also other reasons which influenced the early governors to introduce changes into the simple ordinances of the Gospel ; for we find from one of their own historians, that " in the first age the people pre- sented themselves in crowds for admission into the church, but were offended at the simplicity of Christianity ; and therefore, to please them, several ceremonies were introduced." * Aringhus also defends the admission of the old rites by saying, it was necessary "in the conversion of the Gentiles to dissemble and wink at many things ; and yield to the times, and not to use force against cus- toms of which the people were so obstinately fond ; nor to think of extirpating at once every thing which had the appearance of being profane ; but to supersede in some measure the obligation of the sacred laws, till those converts, convinced by degrees, and informed of the whole truth by the suggestions of the Holy Spirit, should be content to submit in earnest to the yoke of Christ." Jerome, however, sa^^s, in reference to the complying with the popular prejudices of the Gentiles, that the church had in conse- quence declined in virtue, though she had increased in power, and that several superstitious usages had been taken into her service ; which are also alluded to by Ambrose and Chrysostom, as in com- mon use in their days.-f* And when we turn to the operations of this fatal apostasy amongst the Heathen at this day, we see the same awful alliance with darkness, making Christianity a medley of every thing that Satan or wicked men can desire. And how can I select a better site for the basis of my observations than the East, where I resided for many years ? It was not till 1503 that Albuquerque and his brother, the celebrated Portuguese navigators, made their first voy- age to India, by the Cape of Good Hope. Till that age no ship of Europe had ploughed those seas ; and not until some time after did the missionaries go to propagate their religion. Far be it from me to insinuate, that all those agents were impostors or profligates ; many of them, I doubt not, were influenced by an ardent desire for the conversion of the natives to their own views. There was Xavier, who appears to have been a man of much devotion. I have visited places where he preached and established communities ; have conversed with the descendants of those men who were brought over to his creed ; and I have witnessed the idolatrous veneration paid to his memory, by seeing them bow down and worship his image ; I have met with hundreds called by his name, and have heard and read of his labours in various parts of India and Japan, and of his intense desire for the conversion of the Chinese. But " In Des Anciennes Cerem. p. 24. t Ambhos. in Luc. i., in Middle ton, p. 302. even he was guilty of fearful concessions and admissions ; he made a sad and (I must say) a guilty compromise of the Gospel of Christ, showino- how much he was under the influence of time-serving Rome. Instances might be cited to a great amount to establish all I have asserted ; but I shall confine myself to two from his great eulogist, Father Barroli, who says, " Xavier made surprising and unexpected conversions, by espousing the different and various inclinations and desires of all sorts of sinners ; insinuating and gain- ing their affections miraculously, by the use he made of the omnU bus omniar'^ The great secret of the Papacy is in this omnibus omnia ; it is the viaticum of the priesthood ; the last touch and finish in their education, to enable them to comply with the opi- nions and modes of living, and frame the injunctions of the Gospel to the inclinations of men ; that none may be offended, and some the more easily gained to their views. This is the foundation of their craft, the main-spring of all their movements. To the priests of Hindostan they professed themselves to be white Brahmins from the far west ; they adopted their dress, their ablutions, and modes of living ; they abstained from animal food, and conformed to their superstitions. To the Bonzes of China they confessed admira- tion for Confucius, and tolerated his worship, and that of the saints of the celestial empire, stating that " God delights in seeing us pay respect to the Manes^ because by their'means he hearkens to our prayers, and through them gives us his favour.*" "f* Thus to the Grand Lama or the Pontiff, to the Great Mogul or the Rajah, to ignorance or wisdom, to liberty or despotism, they could pay a real or feigned obedience, so as to be enabled to ensnare unwary souls. But I must give another instance of the pliancy of Xavier to one of his own countrymen in the East ; because it brings out the trimming policy of that wonderful man. His friend and admirer Barroli informs us, that the saint was invited by Senhor Antony Gomez, a Portuguese merchant, to dine ; and that at the table were seated some of the concubines of his host ; but, instead of reprehending what he saw, he addressed himself in a very familiar manner, asking them many pleasant questions, and complimenting them on their personal charms. Here therefore we discover the wily, the truckling submission of the avowed minister of Christ : the Gospel bows to Satan, and Jesus is insulted and abjured by Lis professed advocate and friend. And yet Xavier is denominated " the apostle of the East ;'' he stands at the head of all the foreign representatives of Rome. His miracles, related by the Hindoos, and recorded by hi& annalists, outvie those of all others in his day. He could baptize five thousand and thirty-seven persons in the centre of India ; and yet, at the same time, could be in South America, assisting the wife of Senhor Perer, who was ill of apoplexy. J What therefore could be expected from the labours of such men as these, but the results narrated in the effects of Constantine, and Parthexopius, p. 21. t Idem, p. 203. \ Barrom, Sacchinus, and Ribadeneira. 9 Fmmentius, and Paulinus, and the other propagators of their faith amongst the Pagans as at this day ? The parallel is most com- plete ; and never did principles produce a more exact conformity, than those of the early and modern corruptions. And you must not suppose that these are mere antiquated views, the rule of policy in the dark ages ; for we have them re-iterated in all their primitive force, in what is called the " Catho- lic Magazine" for Sept. 1839. It appears, a Wesleyan Missionary had written from India on the wonderful and shameful imitations (in holy mother-church) of Hindooism ; and some of the lynx-eyed fraternity, seeing this, immediately took up cudgels for their insulted faith. The writer says, " If he (the Wesleyan) Jiad known anything at aU of the history of Christianity, he would have known it teas precisely by acting as tlie Catholic Missionaries now do, and have always done, that Christianity was propagated. As the Divine Wisdom acts through kuma?i agency, that agency must accommoduie itself to circumstances ^ (teas not h>t. Paul ' all things to all men ? ^J and provided tlie principles of Christianity he not compromised, it is perfectly lawful to attempt to win over idol- atrous nations to the faith of Christ, by such innocent displays as may abate their prejudices.'''' Here then you have all you can require to prov that as it was, so it is ; yes, and, till Jehovah shall speak, so it ever will' be. See the assumed wisdom and self-com- placency of this writer. He says, " If the Missionary had known anything of the history of Christianity."' Yet he understood that as well as the poor Apologist himself: and if he had said, '' the history of Popery^'' instead of " Christianity, '"' he would then have furnished something resembling a correct definition, which is always necessary to prepare us for the argument. Full well do we know, that this is the manner in which their own Missionaries have ever acted. But the Divine Wisdom will never work for itself in crooked ways ; it will not submit to be used and abused, by the policy and stratagems of men ; it seeks not their devices and frauds ; but, in peerless majesty, spurns all imposture from its feet ; and asserts its pure, its eternal principles in heaven, in earth, and in hell. Thus we have here again your omnibus omnia^ your "all things to all men!" But did the apostle mean, he would enlist Paganism into the service of Jesus .'^ that he would bow down to images, and present to them his votes and offerings, and take them out, as the Papists and Hindoos, in ponderous cars, or in smaller tabernacles on men's shoulders, like Remphan and Moloch ; or have paintings on hugh machines, descriptive of the exploits of gods or men; or carry banners, and hold canopies, and discharge fire-works, and beat tom-toms, and keep fasts of six, nine, eighteen, twenty, or twenty-seven days ; or tie the tali, changing the figure from Pulliar or Siva to a dove or angel ; or perform ceremonies for the dead ; or observe the crescent, the full, or the waning moon ; or worship saints or angels, or go on pilgrimages and processions, and submit to penances and wear relics, amulets, and beads, and use holy water and ashe^, and bathe 10 in sacred fountains^ and dress in consecrated garments ; or bum incense and lamps, and speak in an unknown tongue, and make exorcisms, and sell pardons and rescue souls from purgatory^ and fabricate an apotheosis ; or enter a monastery^ or forbid to marry ! Did he mean any of these practices of the two great conspiracies against God and liis Christ ? Answer, blessed Paul ! Tell us, Latimer, Ridley, and Hooper ! Tell us, ten thousand thousand Protestant tongues ! Tell us, O Holy Ghost, and pronounce the final doom ! " Babylon the great is fallen. Amen, Hallelujah. The Lamb shall overcome them ; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings." Did he not prohibit some of the time-serving Corinthians, whose consciences allowed them to feast on meat which had been offered to idols ? And yet he knew, as well as they, that idols are nothing. Did he not mean he would accommodate himself to the prejudices of the weak ? To the recently-converted Jews, who would only eat herbs when among the Gentiles, lest they should partake of flesh which they still considered unclean, or that which had been offered to idols, to them he would gladly become as a Jew, and join in their feast of herbs. Nay, if by eating meat which had not been consecrated to the gods, and was perfectly free from all heathenish ceremonies, he should cause his weak brother to be offended, to be in danger of returning to idolatry and sin, he would not touch it so long as he lived. This was what he meant by becoming " all things to all men ;'" and not the base, renegade spirit of Popery, which will sell Christ and his apostles in order to enslave simple souls. The origin of idol-worship in that remote age cannot be fully ascertained. There is, however, a propensity in man to form ideas of objects he has never seen ; and he is often heard to exclaim, when for the first time he sees them : " I had entertained quite different views ; I had thought to find them large, or small, or beautiful, or deformed." And this imaginative power in him, unrestrained by true piety, has led to the bold, the profane attempt to describe Almighty God ; a practice alike common to the Gentile and Romish superstitions. But this inclination in man to portray figures of things which he has never seen, is nurtured by the strong desire to have some visible object on which to fix his eyes and regards ; a practice leading to the most fearful and rank idolatry. Hence we read, in all ages, of men clinging to some representation of deity, to which they made oflferings and prayers, and from which they professed to derive wisdom, consolation, and defence. Thus the natural sight usurped the proper place of the spiritual, the body that of the soul. I. After all, however, there appears to have been some hesitation in the literati of the East as to these absurdities ; for they assign many reasons and apologies for the practice. The Brahmins say, " The idol is necessary for the vulgar, who, being uninstructed in the higher or mystic parts of the system, require a visible object to 11 bring the deity down to the level of their comprehension ; and if you do not give them something to see, they will not believe." They insist on having an object to assist devotion ; for without it, they affirm, the thoughts can neither remain fixed on that which it is m the act of requiring, nor on the deity who must answer the request. From this it might be supposed, that the learned them- selves are perfectly free from this practice ; whereas they are as much addicted to it as the multitude ; and when they depart from it, they are often plunged into the most subtile atheism ; showing that the tendency of such a system is to induce a disbelief in the being of a God, and the consequent irresponsible condition of man. But some of them boldly assert, that the representation is often filled with the deity, thus denying it to be a mere piece of matter. They declare, that they have seen the eyes move, and have heard the tongue speak ; or they will argue for the divine presence on other principles. Take the following instance : A missionary was once preaching to a large company of Hindoos and Brahmins on the omnipresence of God, endeavouring thereby to show the futility of their images. A priest exclaimed : " I have a question to ask. Do I understand you to say, that your God is everywhere ?" *' Yes," was the answer. "And thereby to prove that, as ours are in one place, they are not divine ?" '' Yes," was the reply. He then turned to the people, and said, " You comprehend the argu- ment ? " They vociferated, Ahma^ ahma ! *' Yes, yes." He rejoined : *' God is eicerywhere then he is in the idols therefore we may icorship idols.'''' See the sophistry of this man ! He was aware it was not meant, that the Almighty was corporeally present ; but He saw, and knew, and heard everywhere. But he thought he had found something to rest upon ; so weak, so anxious is the human mind when in the possession of error ! The Chinese assign curious reasons for their idolatry ; adopting the language of their great lawgiver Confucius, they say, " The Supreme Essence is above the apprehension of our senses ; therefore we take to our aid his true images. The worship is paid to things which we see, and which we worship in seeing them ; it also is given to things not seen, represented by inanimate objects ; because we hope thereby to obtain their favour." And who can avoid being reminded of the similarity betwixt these excuses, and those offered by the Greeks and Romans ? Celsus, as Origen informs us, asks, " Who believes that our idols are so many gods ? They are only symbols of the Divinity, and we do not adore them but in honour of God." * " Plato, Maximus Tyrius, and others say, it was a wise thing to contrive images to help human infirmity, and to remind the ignorant of the objects of devotion ; that they ought to be worshipped as so many signs or representations of the divinity; and that the sun, moon, and stars were to be adored, not as gods, but as their images or statues." Porphyry, according to Eusebius, calls images " the books of idiots," by which they were taught and kept in awe. I^ib. vi. Contra Genfes, in Meagher, p. 25. 12 And Dr. Challoner defends the use of images amongst the Roman- ists precisely on the same grounds as their Pagan progenitors; for, in his book, called, " The Catholic Christian," the question occurs : " What is the doctrine of the church with regard to the pictures or images of Christ and his Saints ?" " Answer. That it is good to keep them, and retain them in churches, not only for ornament and instruction of the ignorant, but for the honour and resemblance of Christ and his Saints, and for to help to raise our thoughts to heavenly things?'' Who does not see the identity of the arguments employed in support of these superstitions, by all the classes of idol -wor- shippers ? " They are for the instruction of the ignorant, and to help devotion ;" such is the language both of the Heathen Sages and of Romish Priests. But the canonized mortals who are sent to hea- ven by the Romish Pontiffs stand in the place of the demi-gods and ministers of the Pagan mythology. Thus Christophorus Battelli, in the name of his Holiness, in 1712, during the consecration of four new Saints, called them, Procerum ccelestis Jerusalem, " the Peers or Noblemen of the heavenly Jerusalem ;" and further declared it to be the opinion of the Pope, that " if ever, at any previous juncture, we stood in need of the salutary helps (or saving aid) and omnipotent protection of the Peers of the heavenly Jeru- salem, we do so at this present time." * So that these Romish Princes of glory are not a whit inferior to those of the Gentiles. II. All the prevailing superstitions of India, Egypt, Greece, and Rome have had the statues of their gods or deified men sculptured in metal, wood, or stone ; and though some of them are exceed- ingly graceful in their symmetry, others are most outrageously out of proportion, disgusting, and deformed. The minor divinities are believed to act as mediators for men. The apologist says, " There is one God, the Lord of all things ; but those whom we worship are gods also : for as there is but one Caesar, who has under him Judges and Governors, Consuls and Tribunes, and other powers ; so, we believe, in the same manner, that there is only one supreme God in this world. These are subjected, indeed, to the sovereign Deity ; but they dispose of us men, and direct all earthly affairs." "f Before you are permitted to approach an earthly monarch, you must propitiate the manthari, the minister, the officers, and guards ; and then you may perhaps speak through them in the royal ear. The fact is undeniable, that, in general, when men have departed from the worship of the only true God, they have made graven images, and bowed down and worshipped them. But they have also had paintings on the walls of their temples, describing the exploits of their gods in war, in love, in science, in heaven, and in hell. Some of these delineations are most offensive and obscene ; yet the people of every age and sex study them to acquire at once a history of the past, and the reasons for such Delivered in the Vatican, April 26th, 1712. t Clem. Recog. lib. v., in M. Mussard, p. 129. 18 supple adoration ; and though they cannot copy all that they see, they have been but too successful in trials at imitation, as universal depravity goes to prove. What can be more illustrative of the custom of having pictorial representations, and of its baneful effects, than the testimony of the prophet Ezekiel, who lived five hundred and seventy-four years before Christ ? He saw " the idols of the house of Israel portrayed upon the wall round about,'' improper drawings of men, " the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion ;"" and some of these were exceedingly abominable, causing those who saw them to be inflamed with vile desires. (Ezek. xxiii. 14-21.) In the temples, tombs, and pyramids of Egypt, such lewd paintings have been discovered, with their colours as fresh and fair as if but laid on yesterday. Among them may be seen the coiTupting sign of Osiris corresponding with the Baal-peor of the Philistines, the Lingam of the Hindoos, the Phallus of the Greeks, and the Priapus of the Romans. Philosophers and theorists may say what they please about the original intention, the practical effect has been most calamitous on the people. And when we turn to Antichrist, we see that the acts of saints and martyrs were painted on the walls of such churches as were dedicated to their names, to serve as ornaments and memorials, and to take the place of those which the new converts from Heathenism had lost by leaving their former temples. Thus would they seem to have been granted to satisfy the extreme desire for an object on which the eye could look, and the mind could calmly dwell, in the absence of sound scriptural experience and intellectual exertion. But these palpable objects soon gained such an ascendancy over those who had recently been rescued from Paganism, that they actually offered to them the same kind of worship as that which they had tendered to the former objects of adoration ; and thus did they insensibly glide from one mode of idolatry to another. Augustine himself, who was born a.d. 354, tells us that he knew many who were actual adorers of what they saw ;* and Paulinus, who was himself a convert from Heathenism, says, the pictures were made with an intention to attract the rude multitudes, from the profane rites of idolatry, to a knowledge and good opinion of the Christian doctrine, by learning from them what they were not able to acquire from books. Thus were these " helps to devotion," as the advocates of Popery and Paganism call them, introduced into the Bomish (no longer the Christian) Church about the end of the fourth century. Who can now avoid being astounded at the impiety of these apostates in giving a full-length portrait of Almighty God, as may be seen in many of their churches ? " In the Nicholini Chapel at Florence, there is a dome beautifully painted in fresco ; having for its subject the coronation of the Virgin Mary. She is seated in the centre of the picture ; whilst on one side stands a venerable old man, intended to represent the Supreme Being, and on the other Jesus Christ ; both of whom are engaged in placing a crown on the head of the Virgin, and the Holy Ghost is seen hovering over the whole Novi multos esse sepulchroncm et picttirarum adoratores. Middleton, p. 49. 14 in the form of a dove/' Then in the Prayer-Books before the Reformation, there was a drawing of Jehovah; and, in one printed in 1526, according to the ceremonial of Salisbury, " He is exhi- bited under the appearance of an old man with a triple crown, resembling the tiara of the Pope, having rays around his head. At Padua there was one which described the mystery of the Trinity by an old man with three faces and three beards." * And these profanities are defended by their most celebrated divines, such as Cajetan, Diego Payva, T. Valdensis, Molan, Bellarmine, and last, though not least, by the modern Dr. Challoner, who says, " / do not take it to he more unlawful to paint God the Father under the figure of a venerable old man^ (because he was so represented in the tision of Daniel^) than it is to paint the Holy Ghost under the figure of a dove^ because He appeared so when Christ was baptized^ "f Now, just before this quotation, he hints at it being unlawful to make an image of the Supreme Being ; but, with much dexterity, turns from that, and says he does not deem it more unlawful to paiiit God under the figure of a venerable old man, than the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. Mark the distinction he makes betwixt an image and a painting^ as if one were less sinful than the other. Daniel says, I saw in my xision by night : " The Ancient of days did sit, whose gar- ment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like fine wool : his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire." (Dan. vii. 9.) Now, what is there here to authorize the creature to paint the Creator like an old man ? Remember, it was a vision which Daniel saw ; and did he or any of the Jews ever attempt to depict that sight ? They had not the daring eflfrontery of this monstrous community. And as to its being as lawful to do one thing as another, what does that prove ? Just as much as many other of their comparisons, a glaring absurdity, an unheard-of wickedness ! Who defends it as lawful to paint the Holy Ghost as a dove, for purposes of devotion ? Who, but those who set up one crime to justify another ? Can that which John saw form an excuse or reason for describing the Unseen as an old man ? I tremble for the men who will write a line, or speak a word, in defence of such wickedness. In all their churches they have pictures, before which deluded creatures may be seen kneeling to repeat their prayers ; and some do not feel satis- fied till they have paid a visit to each of these representations, and thus finish what is called their " stations." Go to the sister Island, if you wish your eyes to be pained with such sights. Go to the land fetid in Popery, and steeped in human gore. Go, and see Romanism stalking there in shameless effrontery, claiming and receiving all she can require to trample on our prostrate faith. Go, and view her best sons, like pilgrims, sailing to other shores, where, for a season at least, they may enjoy quietness and peace. Go, and tell us, Protestants, are we to be silent, and crouch to the tvranny of ' ^""f "-'-- ~' - * PiCART, vol. i. p. 331 ; and Clavia Calendaria, p. 36<). t " Catholic Christian/' p. 41^. 15 Rome ? And wliat do I hear ? Our tongues shall never cease to speak, nor our fingers to write, against this direful and desecrating apostasy from Christ, till death shall silence the one and unnerve the other; either till this "abomination" which defileth shall no longer be at once the scourge and the reproach of Christendom, or till we shall hear in heaven, " Well done, good and faithful servants, enter ye into the joy of your Lord ! " III. All the images of the eastern idolaters have to he consecrated by solemn and potent ceremonies, before they can be put into the holy place, or be duly qualified to receive the prayers of the people. Some of the rites, are most expensive and imposing ; but, having been once performed, they need not be repeated till the images have been defiled by impious hands ; in which case, they must pass through all the former observances to regain their original purity. Nor have instances of desecration been of rare occurrence ; for we find, in the history of barbarous nations, that this was one way of showing contempt for the religion of the vanquished ; and some- times they were carried off in triumph, and admitted into the Pan- theon of the national faith. Even in our wars in the East, how fre- quently have our troops entered the Heathen temples, and pillaged them of golden spoils, and polluted their idols ! After which, when the place had to be re-occupied, hundreds of Brahmins were employed to restore the whole to its pristine state of presumptive holiness. Incense, sacrifices of various kinds, holy water, and per- fumed oils were profusely offered to bring back the supposititious hallowing presence. If we look at ancient Greece, we meet with precisely the same thing ; for, their idols, however beautiful or perfect in their form, were not ready for use till they had passed through some sacred rites of purification. The Scholiast on Aristophanes says, " A woman dressed in garments of various hues, with a pot on her head, con- taining sodden pulse, as a grateful offering to the gods, attended to the duty." But others had more sumptuous gifts : thus, at the dedication of the statue of Jupiter, a new vessel was brought with two handles, which were bound about with a chaplet of wool ; then a libation, termed "ambrosia," composed of water and honey and various fruits, was poured on the ground. Another mode was, to put a crown on the head of the idol, and, having anointed it with oil, to present to it sacrifices and prayers ; and it is recorded of one image, that, when passing through the consecrating ceremony, it was twice heard to say to the matrons who officiated, " Ladies, you have dedicated me in a very becoming manner." * And where is there an image used in the Church of Rome which has not been previously consecrated, by the Pope, the Bishop, or the Priest ? Does she indeed deign to take unhallowed deities into her sanctuaries ? Is she inferior to her progenitrix, and does she lower herself in the view of the Heathen ? She scorns the Augustine, lib. iv. c. 19; Val. Maximus, lib. ii. c. 8; also, Dypnoso- phists, as in Potter and others. 10 thought! One method adopted by her to impart the sanctifying power is, " after saying the prayer, and giving it the name of the saint it represents, to sprinkle it with holy water," which makes it ready for use. But should an idol of the Virgin have to be con- secrated, " it must, in addition to the former, be incensed three times, and have an Ave Mary, and Psalms, and Anthems, chanted to its praise." * The charm is given ; and by this process, as St. Thomas says, " inanimate things acquire a certain spiritual virtue, which renders them fit for divine service." -f* Thus, by common belief, the fingers of PontiflTs and Martyrs must have communicated an immense amount of holiness to this naughty world ; and the wonder is, after all these hallowings, that Satan has any dominion left under his fearful sway. You have seen, therefore, that though the consecration is attained by a somewhat different procedure, yet the object is the same ; namely, to impress men with the opinion, that the idol or image is now invested with an extraordinary degree of sanctity; and that the Divinity is in it, rendering it the^tme and certain medium of prayer and praise. And are these practices per- formed by a church calling itself " Christian and Catholic, the followers of Jesus Christ and the successors of Peter, Paul, and John," by those who denominate themselves " the true fcdth ? " O that this had never been told in the Gaths and Aske- lons of many heathen lands ! then would they have long since been brought over to the true faith of Christ. IV. All the gods of every age and clime had some symbol, or weapon, or garment, or animal, by which they were described and known. Amongst the oriental divinities, there is the supreme Siva, who has the soolam or trident, and the sacred bull ; and the wor- shipper, seeing any of these, at once recognises the king of heaven. Parvati, the goddess, like her sister Astarti, has the crescent moon on her head; and Patrakali claims the lion as her beast. Sc AND AN, the divine warrior, has the proud peacock for his bird ; and Yama, the sovereign of hell, the buffalo, and a snare with which to catch souls. The meretricious and dishonest Chrishna has the flute and serpent ; and Lechimy, the goddess of beauty, the lotus- flower as her sign. Kama, the deity of love, has five potent arrows, to pierce the hearts of gods or men ; and the fierce Durga, an infant she is about to slay and devour; whilst Sooriy an, the god of the sun, has swift horses at his command. Some of them hold in their hands weapons or ornaments, musical instruments or books ; others have animals, as the boar, the elephant, the rat, the monkey, the deer, the eagle : so as to render them easily distin- guishable. The signs therefore were absolutely necessary, to enable the devotee to select his deity from the rest, and thus offer the peculiar worship due to his name. Let us look at the mythology of the western Heathens. There is the mighty Jove with horns, grasping the thunderbolt, ready to PiCART, in loco. t M. MussARD; p. 191. 17 be hurled at the giant prey. In the other hand is a sceptre, having an eagle perched ; his cloak is embroidered with animals and flowers, and his sandals are of solid gold. Apollo is there, with his harp, and wolf, and swan ; and Mercury with his winged rod and serpents entwined. The besotted Bacchus has his javelin, or Thyrsus^ encircled with leaves of ivy and the vine. Juno, the celestial queen, has the sceptre and the peacock ; and Mars, the spear. The threatening Minerva carries and claims the game-cock and owl as her signs. Saturn cuts down every thing earthly with his scythe ; and Janus holds a rod and a key. Vulcan has the hammer; and Aurora the horses and a halo of glory on her head. Vesta has the drum, a bull, a sheep, and a goat ; and Pan has the pipe. The fair Diana carries the quiver and the bow, having the faithful dog by her side. Neptune shakes the trident ; and Hercules has the club. iEscuLAPius has laurels on his head, for his staff a jointed cane, and the dog his sacred creature. Thus the votaries of these deities likewise could, by such symbols, distin- guish the idols of their peculiar adoration. Now see Popery, the supplanter of the old system, with her images to occupy the same idolatrous places in the minds of the young converts as those which had been forsaken. She had departed from the simplicity of the Gospel, and, having opened the way to various assimilations, was compelled to carry out her princi- ples. She had ventured into a current which nothing could resist, and was soon carried into a whirlpool which, nothing could overcome. She talked and dreamt of a return, when her die was cast, her moment was gone. Hence her wickedness in bringing forward the apostles and others, to stand in the niche with the symbols and living crea- tures of repudiated Pagan gods. There is the amiable James, like a brawny Hercules, with his ponderous club. How easy for the poor worshipper who is just brought within the pale of the Romish communion, to transfer his former ideas to him ! Peter may well vie with Cybele and Janus, having the key of other worlds. Thomas can occupy the place of Mars with his spear. Matthias has the battle-axe ; and Paul, a noble sword. Mat- thew carries the halbert and hatchet, having an angel by his side. Philip, like ^sculapius, has his trusty staff; and Bartholomew, his knife. And, strange to say, Moses, of Old-Testament fame, is graced with horns. Luke has the bull, being equal to that of Siva or Vesta; and Mark rivals another, with the lion for his friend. The loving John, like Jove, has the eagle, and, as Mer- cury, he has also the serpent. St. Cecilia has a harp ; and Gertrude, a rat: St. Gekovefa has a candle; St. George, a dragon ; Paul the hermit, a raven with a piece of bread ; Athanasius, a spider's web ; and Anthony of Padua is pounding the heads of heretics, and preaching to the fish of the sea, that said, " Amen ! " as they passed that way. O the match- less impudence, the extreme impiety of all this ! What renegadoes to other creeds have been so vile as these ? Little will it avail them to say, by some of these weapons the individual saints were *>^ I 18 killed : there they are in their hands, as in the images of the Heathen ; and there are the sacred creatures the lion, the eagle, the serpent, and the bull, to greet and assist the eyes of those who bow down and worship at their feet ! V. But the idols of antiquity were also adorned in tawdry or costly apparel. Thus was Jove attired in a splendid robe of gold; which was, however, stolen by the sacrilegious tyrant Dionysius, who sub- stituted another of wool ; declaring it would be warmer in winter, and lighter in summer, and therefore more adapted to the comfort of his condition. Nearly all had vestments to please the eye, and nothinf? was considered too valuable to adorn the statues of their ffods. Looking at their ancestors, or peers, in the East, we see the same reckless profusion ; for if the object is a true representation of a divine being, what can be considered too gorgeous to cover its sacred form ? No skill, no sacrifice, no riches are deemed too great ; for after nature and art had exhausted all their stores, the deity arose in honour higher in the estimation of his worshippers, than all his ornaments. Hence there has frequently been more wealth in the temple than in the palace; inducing now and then furtive attempts at sacrilege, for the purpose of replenishing the coffer from the shrine ; and the treasure thus purloined has seldom been dis- gorged, except the priests could work on the fears of the titled offenders, by the threatened retribution of the gods. Some of the most costly gems of Europe once glittered on Heathen idols ; and the temples of Asia contain many of the most splendid specimens of precious stones to be found in any palace on earth. There you see the coronet of the image studded with rubies, and diamonds of the first water ; and here a breastplate of virgin gold, covered with minerals of every hue, and braided with pearls most chastely joined, giving a beauty surpassing any thing which your eyes have seen. And is the Papacy in the rear of all this earthly glory ? No : she has strained every nerve to enrich her sanctuaries. Her images are clothed in the most beautiful attire ; kings and emperors, priests and laymen, have laboured with their own fingers to adorn their favourite saints. Some of these have riches of immense value placed on their exterior on the great festivals ; and may be said in several respects to equal, in amount and delicate workmanship, the most exquisite ornaments of Heathen devotion. Thus, a crown of jewels for the head of the Virgin ; a necklace of pearls, a cross of diamonds, and such other appendages as false piety or perverted skill could devise, have been furnished to her honour, or that of other deified human beings. Where, I ask, is the difference betwixt the decorations of the one and the other, and from whom has the usage been evidently derived ? If they refuse the honour to the Pagans, let them, if they can claim it, have the benefit of an original idea ; the conception, execution, merit, and guilt shall be all their own. VI. In every system of Polytheism the sex have taken a distin- guished part in the government of heaven, of earth, and of hell. 19 Some of tliem were famed for their beauty, their singing, their intrigues and amours ; and it was in good keeping with their admirers in this world, that ample provision should be made, in the state after death, for the gratification of their pleasures. All had their celestial queens, from whom the fair on earth were described as receiving innumerable blessings ; and though these goddesses had not inde- pendent sovereignty, yet they influenced the Supreme, or gained by stratagem what they could not otherwise obtain. There is the great Amma in oriental mythcdogy, who in time of affliction has more offerings and prayers than all the other deities of the celestial and infernal abodes. Under the name of Baali, she became incar- nate ; and the most lascivious stories are told of her regards, so that it became an honour, rather than a disgrace, for virgins to have a vile dedication to her name. Mahomet, also, in his voluptuous inventions, took care to have the Houri for his deluded followers. The history of Juno also is replete wdth incident to elucidate these facts. She presided over the nuptial rites, and set at liberty the struggling soul of Dido. And there was Minerva, one of "whose names was Pallas, reminding us of Troy. For, while the temple and castle of the goddess were building, her image fell into the latter from the skies, and, as predicted, that place was never taken till she was removed. As to Vknus, her character was too gross to be noticed in this place ; and that all have had their female deities, is a fact so notorious as not to allow contradic- tion. But who can read, without astonishment and disgust, of the rivalry of Popery in feminine dynasties, in this and other worlds ? They have outvied in number and achievements all their predeces- sors ; and the Pagan converts are furnished with the lovely Mary, for their celestial queen : and though the recreants have not gone to the same extremes, yet they have used most daring and gross language corresponding with their sensual ideas. The image of this regina regnant has not been inferior in splendour or worshippers to any of her ^prototypes. In the church of Nuestra Senora del Pilar in Saragossa, the Virgin, most richly attired, stands on a marble pillar having an infant Jesus in her arms. Around her are fifty silver angels, each bearing a large flambeau ; and there are fifty lamps, and numerous branches, of the same metal, with tapers burning to her glory by night and by day.* And there can be no doubt she has had more devotions and donations, than all the other female saints in the Pantheon of Rome. Nay, she has outvied the Father and the Son ; for, independently of the fact that nearly all terrestrial petitions must go through her, numerous prayers are especially addressed to herself as a divine being. A few selections from the supplications and praises found in her devotional exercises, shall now be given : " Hail, O Queen, thou Mother of mercy, life, sweetness, and our hope, we salute thee ! Go to, therefore, our Advocatress : turn towards us those thy merciful eyes ; and show us, after this banishment, Jesus the blessed fruit of thy womb, O PiCART, vol. i. p. 378. u 9 20 mild, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary ! " * " Holy Mother, suc- cour the miserable, help the weak-hearted, refresh the weeping, pray for the people, mediate for the clergy, intercede for devout women. Let all who celebrate thy commemoration feel thy aid. Holy Mary, Mother of God and yet a Virgin, I, though unworthy to serve thee, yet, trusting in the clemency of thy motherly heart, choose thee this day, before my guardian angel and the whole court of heaven, for my Mother and peculiar Lady Patroness and Advo- catrix."-f* Lipsius also prays to her as follows : " Grant to me, O my goddess, whom 1 contemplate as present in my mind, that what I have piously designed I may happily accomplish ! " and, after noticing several miracles performed at her shrine, he continues : " O Goddess, thou art the Queen of heaven, of the sea, of the earth, above whom there is nothing but God. Thou Moon, (next to Him the Sun,) whom I implore and invocate ! protect and take care of us, both in public and private ! Thou hast seen us these forty years, tossed in a public storm. O Mary, calm this tumultu- ous sea ! " I And as to Pope Pius V., he was married to the Virgin : but the account is too sensual to be read in your ears. Andrew of Avellino describes the Mother as being more merciful than the Son ; and declares that there can be no devotion, no access to God, without her. "She is the Mediatrix of mankind, and has a great deal of merit which she never received from her Son.'' When the Pope was reading the sermons of the saint, he exclaimed, in view of what the Virgin had said in praise of her admirer Avellino, Apotheosi dignus est quern Virgo sic laudazit ; " He on whom the Virgin has bestowed such praise is worthy of an apotheosis." St. Felix of Cantalice had so great an affection for the Virgin, he always slept with her image in his arms, and addressed most ardent prayers to her for protection and grace. Bonaventure, also a saint, wrote several tracts in honour of "our Lady ; " and says, in conclusion of a prologue, " O most benign Lady Mary, accept this small gift, which thy poor friend offers up unto thee, with this little book, upon my bended knees ! and with my bowed head I salute thee, saymg, both with heart and mouth, A^e Maria ! " This same saint also composed another Office, in which he thus addresses her : " O Empress and our kind Lady, hy the authority of a mother^ command thy beloved Son^ our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would vouchsafe to lift up our minds from the love of earthly things unto heavenly desires I " He also published a Psalter, in which the Psalms of David are addressed to her, having the name of God erased, and hers put in the place ; and, be it known, this was printed under the license of Sextus V., who has himself also been canonized. We might go on for hours, multiplying extracts from their books of devotion ; and might refer to the prac- tice of their followers in India and China, to show the ardent devo- tion to Mary as their Goddess and Queen. But we forbear : only asking. Was there ever a female deity, in any system of Polythe- Brev. Rom. ad Completnr. p. 107. t Brev. Rom, in Commein, de Sanb'a Maria. X Lipsii Opera, p. 1288. 21 ism, that had more fervent attachment, offerings, and prayers ren- dered to her. But we cannot close this part of our subject without glancing at the numerous other Romish deities of the sex. They have bequeathed names to the church, honoured by the most stu- pendous miracles ; they still move heaven and earth ; and, though inferior to her who has taken Juno'^s place, they are separately addressed by their feminine appellations, and ten thousand thousand blessings are daily coming through their gentle hands. So that popery can boast of as many female celestials as any system, devised by Satan or received by man. VII. But sometimes great efforts have to be made to bring the idols or images of the departed heroes or heroines into fame amongst the people, and hence recourse may be had to a little pious fraud to impose on their superstitions. One way which the crafty priest of the Hindoos adopts, is, to have a dream for several nights together, that a god is ignobly buried in a deep tank or pond ; and he takes care that intelligence of his vision shall be conveyed to some opulent person, stating at the same time his great distress of mind at not being able to drain off or otherwise empty the place of water ; he also intimates it may he a false impression, that some deity, envious of the one he loves, may have inspired him with the nightly visitation, to bring his own into disrepute ; when the knave all the time knows right well, that the image is there as it was cast in by himself perhaps a year before. After the grand and solemn secret is cautiously divulged, and the news is well known, the rich and the poor make their contributions of money and men, and the popula- tion of the district come together in the greatest excitement ; with heart, and hand, and voice, they commence the undertaking, cutting channels, or baling out the water with hundreds of vessels attached to levers. In due time, the whole stagnant pool is drained, and the mud exposed ; and in they plunge with frenzy to grope for the sacred prize, not doubting that he who finds it will be for ever blessed. At last, one half-frantic exclaims, " I have found it ! " and the people, seeing it, shout, and wonder, and adore. The priest pretends to be utterly overpowered and confounded at the goodness of his god ; he worships, he weeps, he sings. All declare a temple must be raised ; nothing can exceed the enthusiasm and benevolence of the crowd ; the spot is chosen, and instantly given by its pious possessor. Every man, woman, and child vow their aid ; and not a soid, whatever his rank, will pass that way without bringing a stone on his head or shoulder. Soon the masons com- mence their meritorious duties, and, in the course of a year, you see a noble edifice, where the chief actor in the imposition vegetates for life. But perhaps it is in a field where the god has told the holy man that his image is ingloriously buried ; and thither the dupes accompany him. They tread with cautious steps, and wait his orders : he looks with great anxiety around him, and piously implores direction ; he is sure the field is the same which he saw in his dream ; he remembers the tree, the hill, and pomts to what he 22 thinks is the spot, but' knowing that the sacred image is not there ; for though tlie place is covered with grass where he deposited it, he has a mark by wliicli to find it out. The people begin, with zeal bordering on madness. They dig and tear up the ground ; but, alas ! no god ! The caitiff who has misled them assumes an appearance of great distress ; he cries aloud for guidance, and soon exclaims : " It is there ! There it must be ! " Again they root up the earth ; and at last, one shouts, " Here it is ! Here it is ! "" Min- gled emotions of deliorht and awe seize the multitude : the priest takes hold of it, in an ecstasy of joy. All the people feel satisfied that he is the favoured son of heaven. They fall at his feet and implore his blessing ; they bow at his nod and tremble at his frown. He is the delegate of another world ; who, therefore, will think of refusing him ? A single malediction of his can dispatch body and soul to hell ; and one smile from him can raise from earth to heaven. There is no sin he cannot remit, no crime without its price ; he is a half-deified mortal, who only lives to guide them to eternal joy. The statue has come from the skies ; a temple must be raised, and all w^ith alacrity and joy contribute their quota to the work. These are the vile expedients to which the abettors of supersti- tion have recourse in every age and clime. Well might Middle- ton select the account given by Cicero : " A man, being at plough in a certain field of Etruria, and happening to strike his share some- what deeper than usual, there started up before him out of the furrow a deity, whom they called Tages. The ploughman, terri- fied by so strange an apparition, made such an outcry that he alarmed all his neighbours, and in a short time drew the whole country around him ; to whom the god, in the hearing of them all, explained the whole art and mystery of divination : which all their writers and records affirmed to be the genuine origin of that disci- pline for which the old Tuscans were afterwards so famous."" * Cicero says, *' None can be so silly as to believe that a god was ever dug out of the ground ; and any attempt to confute such stories would be as silly as the belief of them.*" We have already referred you to the image of Minerva, which fell from heaven into the temple of Troy ; and we have instances of the gods furnishing the heroes of their choice with shields and weapons made by their celestial hands : so that Pagan Greece and Rome have not been inferior to their brethren of the East. But who does not blush to know that Popery has had the match- less effrontery to have recourse to the grossest imposture, in order to bring her idols into fame ? She could not, would not, consent to surrender the palm to those whom she called "the false faith.'' No : she rushed into every machination to excite the veneration and services of the deluded people. From the same authority I cite the following relation : " When the inhabitants of Impruneta had resolved to build a church to the Virgin, and were digging the foundations of it with great zeal, on a spot marked out to them by Page 267. 23 heaven ; one of the labourers happened to strike his pick-axe against something under-ground ; from which there presently issued a com- plaining voice or groan. The workmen, being greatly amazed, put a stop to their proceedings for a while ; but, having recovered their spirits after some pause, they ventured to open the place, from which the voice came, and found the miraculous image." Then there was the glorious statue of St. Dominic at Suiriano, in Calabria ; which, as their history testifies, was brought from heaven more than two hundred years ago, by the Virgin in person ; who had for her com- panions St. Catherine and Mary Magdalene. And what could be more glorious, in the reign of Charlemagne, than the discovery of a crucifix by a deer ? which, being hunted, suddenly stopped. Its pursuers looked and saw the sacred object ; and not till that impor- tant moment did it attempt to escape. The precious relic being found, a noble monastery was erected on the spot. The case of the Egyptian Princess was equally miraculous ; for, having heard of the Virgin, she resolved to have her image ; and applied for that pur- pose to the Christian prisoners at Cairo. But, sad to relate ! none of them could paint ; though one was bold enough to make the attempt. He, however, utterly failed ; and they gave themselves up to their prayers. Through weariness they fell asleep ; when, to their astonishment, in the morning they saw an image of our Lady, and instantly sent it to the princess ; which gave her so much joy that she set them at liberty, and became herself a convert to the true faith.* There was also Romuald, a reformer of the Order oi St. Benedict, who was talking with a nobleman of the name of Maldoli, and told him of a vision in which he had seen " a ladder that reached from his field on the Mount Apennine to heaven itself, and a man clothed in white, as we are, to go up to God." The good peer believed him, and made over the land ; on which cells for hermits were soon erected.-f- It is also related of Norbert, who founded the Order of Premontre, that an angel showed him the place which was to be the site of his first monastery .J But the image of our Lady at Loretto and Guadalupa had a most wonderful develope- ment ; having been concealed in the earth for more than six hundred years. A shepherd who had lost his cow went in search of her ; and, after some trouble, found her apparently dead. Great was his distress at such a loss ; but he thought he might as well take off the skin, as that was of some value. He accordingly com- menced operations ; but what was his astonishment and terror, to see the creature revive ? At that critical moment the Holy Virgin appeared in matchless splendour, telling him not to be afraid, but to go and call the priests of the city, and to assure them, if they came and digged in that place, they should find her image. On his expressing doubts as to whether they would believe him, she replied : " On your return home, your child will be dead ; but at your word, it shall be restored to life in the presence of numerous witnesses." To the silencing of all doubts, every thing was accom- PiCART, vol. i. p. 328, 379. t RiBADENEiRA in Vita S. Romuald^ M. Emilhane, p. 95. J Idenif p. 130. 24 plished as predicted, the image was found, and a cluirch raised to its glory.* But t must not pass over the famous narrative given by Platina respecting Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. This venerable matron was admonished, in a dream, to go to Jerusalem to seek for the true cross of Christ ; and, in obedience to the injunction, went to the holy city, and began her search. In excavating, she found a marble statue of Venus ; but, going deeper, she discovered three crosses those of the two thieves and that of Christ, and also the title which was once fastened to his cross : Hie est Jesus Rex ille Judceorum : but by some means it had been separated from its original position, and therefore she could not tell which was the 7^eal cross. This, however, was soon decided ; for a poor woman, who was near death, being touched by two of them, received no benefit ; but, on the application of the third, she instantly recovered, and Helena, overjoyed, carried it to her home. Strange to say, the nails were still in the wood, two of them she fastened to the bridle of her son's horse, to make him invulnerable in battle, and one in his crown, (though Platina says, in his hel- met,) and the fourth she cast into the Adriatic Sea, which calmed a tremendous tempest. Thus, though, as Baronius tells us, there could not be more than three or at most four nails, we have as many as an old satirist declared would afford ample materials for a village smith. And to keep up these impostures, credulous Rome, at this day, celebrates " the finding of the Holy Cross'' on the third of May. But we have also the history of the tree which furnished the wood for the cross. When Adam became very old he sent his son Seth to the angel who guarded Paradise, for some oil of mercy to anoint his body after death. The reply was, it could not be granted till his years were fulfilled ; but a branch of the tree which led to the introduction of sin was given to be planted on his father's grave ; and when it produced fruit, the transgression was to be for- given. It was put there, and became a large tree ; so that, in the reign of Solomon, it was hewn down to assist in building the tem- ple ; but nothing could bring it to the purposes required : it was therefore thrown away, and soon became buried in the earth. In the course of years, a pool was made in the place where it was con- cealed ; and the water cured all kinds of diseases ; and the Jews, it is certain, made the cross of Christ of that very tree. Thus was accomplished the apocryphal prophecy of the angel to Seth ; the fruit had come forth, and Adam's sin was forgiven.-(- Now, who will refuse the palm to Papal Rome ? She ran a long and vigorous career with her Heathen competitors ; and, having gained the goal, now receives the inglorious prize. VIII. But not only were many of the idols of both superstitions sent direct from heaven, or otherwise miraculously discovered, to con- Hotting. Eccles. Hisior. vol. iii. p. 789; also Wichmans, Sabbatismns Marianus, cup. v. pp. 47, 48. t Roman. Festival, De Inventione Cruets, p. 100. 25 firm the people in a belief of their divinity; but subsequent events also of a kindred nature were required, to keep up the grand delu- sion. Thus, if we travel from Bombay to Bengal, and thence to Pekin ; if we turn to the numerous islands of that vast Archipelago, and visit temples magnificent or obscure, we shall find legends in each concerning the mysterious deity within, who has been heard to allude to the neglect, or respect, of his servants, and who has occa- sionally demanded a more costly edifice for his glory. He has spoken in fearful, or in gentle, speech ; and has been known to laugh, to dance, and sing. The sacred cakes on his altar have been all consumed, and he has been seen to go to other shrines, and return before the morning light. He has at a single glance healed the most obstinate diseases, reconciled inveterate foes, given victo- ries to monarchs, and liberty to slaves. He has quelled tempests, removed dearths and plagues, and has covered the fields with corn, and the trees with fruit. He has given progeny to the childless, wealth to the indigent, and life to the dead. In short, there is nothing in the three worlds beyond his pleasure or his rage. He is their joy or grief, their honour or their disgrace ; and therefore all who desire prosperity must worship at his feet. Is the idol of Pagan Greece or Rome inferior in its wonder- working power to that of the East ? Let history tell its own story. " Virgil informs us, the image of Minerva had been seen to perspire ; and Cicero says the same thing of the statue of Apollo at Cuma in Campania, of that of Victory at Capua, and of Mars in Rome." That of Juno, when asked for its consent to be removed to the imperial city, bowed its head in token of compliance ; and the image of Fortune gave a similar sign. Some have been known to weep or sing, as Memnon ; and that of Mark Anthony, in the wars of Augustus and Cleopatra, exuded blood. They cured or inflicted maladies ; as that of Pelichus, with which Lucian, in his Pseu- domantis, makes himself so merry : and Dion Cassius declares, that, in the Consulate of Corvinus and V. Messala, the images were often seen to sweat as if in great toil, anxiety, or woe. Some were removed through the air to some other abode ; as that of Serapis, from Pontus to Alexandria ; and some, by the direction of divine beings, were taken from the earth or sea, as the golden Tripos of Apollo. In such qualifications, therefore, these can vie with others, of any age or clime.* And do the images of Papal Rome succumb to those of other creeds ? Certainly not. They equal, if not surpass, all their pre- decessors in the arena of imposture. I will not weary you with instances ; but must be permitted to give you a few. We read in the Acts of the second Council of Nice, " that a woman of Csesarea, having laughed at an image of St. Anastasius, was instantly struck with convulsions ; but, having begged pardon, she was restored to her wonted health.'' Then again, before the glori- ous picture of St. Dominic, which was brought from heaven, See T. Livius, lib. v. p. 22; V. Maximus, lib. i. c. 8. p. 5; Cicero de Divin. lib. i. ; Dion Cassius, lib. i. ; and Rhodiginus, lib. xxii. cap. 6. 26 ** numbers of the dead have been restored to life, and hundreds from the agonies of death ; the dumb, the blind, the deaf, the lame have been cured ; and all sorts of diseases and mortal wounds miraculously healed." And these facts have been attested by Notaries Public, and confirmed by Cardinals and Prelates, and Priors of various Orders. Aringims also says, " The images of the blessed Virgin shine out continually by new and daily miracles, to the coirfort of their votaries, and the confusion of their foes.'" What an astonishing event was that, when a Jew had the temerity to strike a crucifix with a knife ; at the point of impinging, out rushed blood and water, which, being carefully gathered up, and preserved, cured all sorts of diseases ! There was also on a time an audacious peasant, who knocked out one of the eyes of the Vir- gin with a goad ; but no sooner was he out of the chapel, than with quick retribution it put out one of his eyes. How was this effected ? Nothing more facile : for while the brutish fellow was belabouring his ox with the identical goad, it snapped asunder, struck his right eye, and instantly deprived him of sight. Scotus, surnamed '* the subtle Doctor," received a bow from a picture of the Virgin, for his able arguments in defence of the immaculate conception : and the Abbot Gualbert had a similar honour, for having pardoned a man who had murdered his brother. There was also Xavier, who let a crucifix fall into the sea, but recovered it again by a fish which brought it to him on the shore. Some Popish images have been seen (with what eyes t) to shed tears and sweat drops of blood, to distil oil, and have been heard to sing solemn tunes, and, in brief, have given all the signs of inward life. Baronius informs us, that, when the celebrated dispute at Winches- ter took place in 975, as to whether the married priests who had been ejected, or the monks, should occupy the sacred office ; a voice was heard from the Crucifix by all present, saying, Non fiet^ non fiet ! Judicdstis bene ; mutaretis non bene : " It must not be, it must not be ! You have determined well. You will do ill if you change."* Who does not see that the Roman Catholics have in many instances left their Pagan ancestors in the distance ; have equalled, if not outstripped, the Polytheists of any age or clime ? For if the deities in the new mythology had been inferior to those of the old, it would have led to endless quarrels amongst the worshippers. Even where there is some appearance of an equality, still envy and strife sometimes arise respecting the capabilities of their idols or images, their saints or demigods. Each party begins to cite proofs of the greatness of their own divinity ; and should there, in the heat of debate, escape any epithet of contempt from the lips of those concerned, then the fierce passions are let loose, and the partisans tear each other, more like furies than men. Popery, having once embarked in this ungodly, this infernal commerce, she was obliged to proceed ; for if she could not oifer as many celestial peers, as the others could exhibit minor deities ; if her resourceti MiDDLETON, M. 31rssARD, p. 201, and Meagher. 27 were not equal, nay, greater, in that department of religious emula- tion, she could scarcely expect the Heathen to come over to her pale. She therefore became rampant in her Pagan imitations and creations ; nothing could elude her sight, or escape her grasp ; she was furieus in her idolatrous zeal, and successful in her achieve- ments. IX. All the old Gentiles had divine beings to superintend the earth, the air, the fire, and the water. Thus the Asiatic idolater has his god of the sea, who sweeps with majesty tlirough the flood, or walks on the mountain-wave. To him they cry aloud in the tempest, and vociferate his name in ceaseless repetitions. They lift up their hands to the heavens, and then present them to the deep ; they go to the bows of the vessel, as if to meet their deity, and place them- selves in an attitude of devotion. They then make offerings with great fervour, casting some to the raging billows ; and vow, that, should they escape to land, they will present costly gifts to the name of the great sea- god. In calms also, they apply to the sove- reign of the winds, that he may grant them propitious breezes : so that with storms and adverse gales they are in constant intercourse, through their sacrifices and prayers. The western Pagans likewise had their Nkptune, whose dominion was believed to extend over oceans, rivers, and fountains. He could produce earthquakes, and by a blow of the trident could raise islands from the bottom of the sea. He was extensively worship- ped, and games were instituted to his honour. He sat in his shell- chariot drawn by sea-horses, and seemed to fly over the surface of the main ; while whales and sea-monsters rendered to him their homage, and the ocean owned the presence of its god. Sacrifices of the bull or horse were oflPered to his glory, and the Roman sooth- sayers presented to him the galls of their victims, because of their bitterness. But there were others also, who had some share in the government of the waters : thus Triton, the son of Neptune, had the office of trumpeter ; and could calm or disturb the briny elements at pleasure. There was also Oceanus, who is represented as an old man, with a long flowing beard, sitting calmly on the waves; while the ships in the distance appear under sail ; and sea-monsters are sporting all around. Next comes Glaucus, who from a poor fisherman became a marine deity ; for he observed that when the fish he had caught touched a certain herb, they recovered more than their pristine strength, and leaped again into the surf; wondering at this, he tasted the plant himself, and immediately plunged into the sea, having been metamorphosed into a divine being. The Sirens also bore great sway among the waters, and by their songs allured multitudes to death. Mariners therefore had numerous patrons to propitiate ; no wonder, then, that they and their pas- sengers should make solemn offerings and invocations on leaving the shores ; and sliould, in the furious blast, pledge their faith as to the performance of certain sacrifices to the marine deities, should they by their aid ever reach land. 28 See those of the recreant faith, who presume to call themselves Christians ; what admirable provisions have they made for such as *'go down to the sea in ships ! "*"' There is the ever-potent Virgin, to whom all seamen of the true faith make supplications and vows ; and her image, in the cabin or on deck, however ragged and decayed, always secures a large share of their ignorant devotion ; and to her they sing the favourite hymn as they glide along in their course. Her name has been heard a thousand and a thousand times ; amidst the roaring of the tempests and the lashing of the waves, perishing mortals have cried aloud to her, instead of the living God. One way adopted in distress to appease her majesty, or to secure her aid, is to promise large wax-tapers to burn before her image, should the sufferers arrive in safety on terra firma. I have no need to have recourse to history or to report for establishing these assertions ; yet I will select one or two instances. Lipsius tells us * of thirteen sailors in fearful peril on their voyage to Antwerp ; when the cap- tain, conceiving there was no hope of saving the vessel, or the lives of the passengers, exhorted them to submit themselves to the will of God, and so prepare for a better state of existence. But one on board suggested, that every one should betake himself to vows and invocations to the Lady of Halla ; and, his counsel being embraced, immediately a light shone upon the vessel, and a great calm ensued. They arrived at port with loss of cargo, but not of life ; and all of them repaired in a body to Halla, to offer praises and fulfil their vows. Sometimes pious frauds have been exercised ; for, people in danger have been known to promise what they did not intend to perform. Thus a son of Hibernia, mentioned by Poggius Florentinus, when in danger of being wrecked, declared, with characteristic generosity, *' he would dedicate a wax -taper to the Virgin as tall as the mast of the ship ;" and on being reminded of the difficulty he would have in doing that, he whispered^ " The good Virgin may think herself well off, if I give her a farthing candle when I get to shore." When the six Jesuit missionaries were sent to China, they had frequent contrary winds and calms ; the seamen were becoming ill ; and it was therefore resolved to perform nine Masses to the Virgin, that by her intercession they might have favourable weather. They chanted the Litany to our Lady, and added the chaplet, joined by all on board ; so that great devotion was insured, and they soon had prosperous gales. *(- But I will not make further references to books in testimony of these matters. I will only ask those who have' been on board Romish ships for any length of time, to say whether they have not seen these things repeatedly prac- tised .? Thus has Mary, " Star of the Sea," been as potent on the waves, as Neptune, or Triton, or any other naval deity. But as those of the old system had many gods to whom they could apply in maritime strife, so they of the new have also various friends who exercise dominion over the flood ; for, Xavier himself has more than once ruled in Neptune'*s domains : Le Compte informs us, that, when on his voyage from Siam to Pekin, Lips. Virg. Ilallem. p. 1261. t "Voyage of Jesuits," p. 21. 29 tliey were caujflit in a typhoon ; but by praying to that saint, they procured a calm.* St. Nicholas also is a great favourite with JPopish sailors; because he has performed the most wonderful exploits in favour of those who put their trust in him, Certain mariners, being in great danger by a sudden storm, began to cry out, '' O Nicholas, servant of God ! if these things be true which we have heard concerning thee, now succour us ; that so, being delivered from this danger, we may render thanks to God and thee ! " While they were speaking, one appeared and said to them, " Behold, I am here ! for you called me ! " and he immedi- ately began to help them in handling their sails, cables, and other tackling ; and a little afterwards the sea ceased its roaring, and the tempest was hushed into repose. The mariners, when they came to the shore, inquired where St. Nicholas was ; and hearing that he was in the church, they went, and (what is wonderful !) knew him immediately ; though no one had pointed him out, and they had never seen him before ! Falling at his feet, they offered him their thanks, and related in what way he had delivered them from im- pending death. -f- St. Antonia also is a great pet of eastern sailors ; for they bawl out to him most lustily when they are in danger : and should he repeatedly fail to grant them a fair wind, they thiuk nothing of giving his image a smart flogging, or a sudden dip in the sea ; thus bringing to our recollection the Arcadians, who, before they went to hunt, made a sacrifice to Pan ; but if they were not successful in the chase, they whipped him with onions.J Whenever the Syrian goddess displeased Nero, he was accustomed to show his resentment in a still more offensive manner. But there are other saints to whom recourse may safely be had in time of dan- ger. So -that though the Heathens had their Neptune, Triton, and Glaucus, and their Sirens, to whom they vowed and prayed ; yet Popery is in this particular more than a match for them, as she can exhibit in the Pantheon of her idolatry, " in her chambers of imagery,"" those who have outrivalled the exploits of the former gods of the mighty deep, and have most adroitly occupied their vacated thrones. X. It were passing strange if the earth had not its celestial guar- dians in these ingenious devices ; which, by the way, all tend to show the natural weakness and ignorance of man, and his exposure to the attacks of infernal adversaries. Thus all the oriental nations of ancient or modern date had their divine protectors^^S whom they made offerings, and uttered cries, in the hour of enreme trial or adversity, and thanks for their deliverances. For though they had one supreme divine Ruler, this did not preclude, in their estima- tion, the necessity of co-adjutors. Hence they had many of a minor class to take a part in the affairs of men. The supreme Governor, however, under whatever name he might be invoked, was claimed by each nation as its own, and was understood to take the * Le Compte, p. 11. t PiCART, vol. ii. p. 59. X Theoc. iu M. MrssARD. p. 213. -r 30 charge and management of its affairs. Many in the higher ranks of Pagan society assumed the name of their chief god as part of their own. Others, more modest, claimed a share in his attributes. The inhabitants of Cuth had Nergal, and Hamath had Ashima. The Avites preferred Nibhar and Tartah ; and the Sephar- vites had the sanguinary Adrammelech and Anammelech. The Babylonians, among whom idolatry had its cradle, had Suc- COTH-BENOTH * and Bel for their protectors ; and Egypt had her Isis and Osiris. Some of the eastern nations claim Siva or VisHNOo ; others Confucius, Budhu, or Mahomet. The inhabitants of Rhodes and Delphos had their divine Apollo ; and Rome had its Jupiter Capitolinus, Mars, and Quiri- Nus. Ephesus had her Diana, and Athens her Minerva. The Thebans had their Bacchus, and the Calabrians their Neptune. The Cretans had their Jupiter, and the Cyprians their Venus: so that all were well provided for attack or defence. And see the rivalry of the mother of harlots, the Romish Baby- lon. She has in her great benignity given to France St. Michael the archangel, and Denis the saint. On Spain she has bestowed St. Januarius, or James, he who was on the mount of trans- figuration, and whose remains are at Compostello at this day ! The Popish portion of Germany has, with all the due submission of implicit faith, received Martin and Boniface as her tutelary saints ; and Portugal, her St. Sebastian. As for poor Poland, she must have been most profanely neglected by St. Stanislaus, or else he never would have deserted her in the hour of danger, and allowed her to become a tributary province of a neighbouring State. Russia boasts of her St. Nicholas ; and Ireland of her dear St. Patrick. Scotland has her St. Andrew ; Wales, her St. David ; and old England, her noble St. George.-|- These tutelary deities displaced those of Paganism ; and the young converts were fully convinced, (whatever you may be,) that they had made a great and glorious change ; the old ones had become antiquated, and these, being of the new school, were therefore of the right sort. But every town also had its divine guardians ; and of this Jere- miah accuses the fallen Jews : " According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah."J She had joined herself to idols, and was drenched in iniquity. In the Acts of the Apostles also reference is made to these Heathen protectors : " for the priest of Jupiter which was before their city " alludes to his image and tem- ple placed at the entrance, to denote that it was in his custody. Hundreds of towns and hamlets in every country of the east are under the guardianship of a god, and called after his name. And has not Rome, the Papal city itself, her St. Peter, and St. Paul ; Paris, her St. Genevieve ; Venice, St. Mark ; Naples, her Thomas Aquinas ; and Antwerp, St. Eligia ? But why do I go to other countries : look at every county in Great Britain and Ireland, and you will find places called by the name of some patron saint, who was in days of yore the delight and comfort of all the inhabitants. 2 Kirgs xvii. .30, 31. 1 Picaht, vo^ iii. p- ^2. t Jer. ii. 28. 31 In Cornwall, where Popery was in former times rampant, they have forty-nine towns and villages, called after the once-dominant, but now-prostrate, Saints ; whose names are bequeathed to us as a memorial of the past, to intimate what our ancestors were, and what some suppose we ourselves may again become. The secret enemies, or the mistaken friends, of Protestantism, resemble the buyer so graphically depicted by Solomon ; who, when endeavour- ing by craftiness to obtain a good bargain, exclaims, " It is naught, it is naught."' "But," adds the wise king, " when the same man is gone his way," has obtained his sinister purposes, " then he boasteth."" Many are now at ease in Sion ; the trumpet, in the hnnds of some, gives no longer a certain sound. There is no shout, " To your tents, O Israel !" The watch-towers are forsaken, and deep sleep hath fallen on men. " But let us watch and be sober," for the night cometh. XI. But we pass on to notice other features in this frightful apos- tasy; for we see it wind itself into all the multiform affairs of common life ; thus the sciences and occupations amongst the Heathen had their gods, to whom men considered themselves under great obliga- tions for assistance and direction, and to whom they made their offerings and prayers. Thus the Hindoo artificers have Sarusa- pathi, the beautiful goddess of Brahma, for their patroness and friend ; and to her and to their implements on the nata rdteri^ or " nine nights," do they offer incense and devotions. And when they first take up their tools every morning, they always devoutly think upon the goddess. The farmer never begins to plough or sow his fields without propitiating the image of his god. The war- rior invokes the ever-conquering Scanden ; and the man of letters, his all -inspiring Ganesa : reminding us of the Roman orators and poets who applied to Apollo and the Muses. The ancient Roman warriors had their Mars and Minerva ; physicians, their ^scula- pius ; lovers of the chase, the swift Diana ; and those of the forge, the brawny Vulcan ; all corresponding with former superstitions. But some of the divinities are described as having occasionally come to earth to perform some menial office. Thus Siva once worked as a Cooly; and Chrishna, as a shepherd. Sometimes indeed on account of their amours and other crimes which they perpetrated in human shape, they received from injured men due personal chastise- ment. And who does not know that Grecian and Roman mythology teems with similar nauseous instances ? There were some who came to earth for revolting purposes ; and others, as common labourers. Hercules had the honour of being an expert scavenger ; Apollo, a tolerable cow-herd ; and Neptune, a laborious mason. What does modern Rome say to all this ? Is she coy or chary about defiling herself with this integral part of Heathenism ? On this subject she exhibits no pious delicacy, but consecrates the whole mass, and gives numerous additions to those who have come over to her embrace : So they have been no losers by the exchange. Take a few instances : liiterarv men have their St. Gregorv and St. S2 Catherine, instead of Apollo; and divines are blessed with Thomas Aquinas and the Lady of Purity for their themes ; so that they have only to make application to them when they have a difficult subject, or when their powers are dull, and they are certain of feeling in their souls the noble glow of needful inspiration. Some have been wonderfully assisted in their classical pursuits, and found out a regular royal road to such attainments ; for St. Augustine informs us in his eleventh chapter, J)e Curd pro 3Iortuis, of a student at Carthage, who was greatly puzzled with some passages in Cicero which he had to construe and explain on the next day. " In that very night,'' says the Father, " I interpreted to him in his dream that which he understood not. Nay, not I, but my image ; I being wholly ignorant of this affair, and being so far beyond the sea, doing or dreaming some other thing, and being wholly careless of his cares." Painters have for their patron St. Luke ; sculptors, St. Leonard ; goldsmiths, St. Eloi ; and Catholic smiths are in much better condition than were the Romans, those under Vulcan ; for they have St. George for their deity. Curriers have St. Lau- rence ; and shoemakers, the well-known St. Crispin. Coachmen have St. Lucian ; waggoners and messengers are favoured by St. Anastasius ; and even the lowest carmen are not left desolate, for they have St. Vincent for their friend. Grooms claim the Lady St. Ann ; and cow-keepers can vie with those of their fraternity who formerly sheltered themselves under the auspices of Hercules or Chrishna ; for they have St. Bartholomew for their guide. As for butchers, they need not fear, they having St. Mary of the Oak for their defence. Innkeepers have St. Eustace ; and vintners have St. Sylvester. Wholesale merchants are in great security under St. Lau- rence ; and mercers need not kill themselves with care, since Sebastian is their saint. Druggists live under the sway of St. Laurence of Miranda ; and, degrading as the association may be, both physicians and barbers are protected by St. Damian and St. Cosmus. The carpenters need not think themselves forgotten, as they have St. Joseph, who was himself of that trade ; and bricklayers may be very well content with St. Gregory. Coopers should not murmur at St. Mary of the Chapel ; neither should wool-combers be dis- satisfied wiih the blessed St. Blaize. Surely the bakers have no right to find fault with our Lady of Loretto. But I must not forget the furriers, who have St. Pantaleon, a gentleman with whose personal merits and history I have yet to make myself acquainted. The saddlers have St. Saviour; and those who work in mixed manufactures are in a more enviable situation than all the rest ; for they have a noble array of guardians : listen to the roll celestial, St. Mary of the Gardens, St. Saviour of the Crucifix, of the Trinity, St. Angelo, St. Bernard, St. Jerome, St. Lucian, St. Roe, St. Julian, St. Thomas, St. Mary of the Tears ; and, in addition to all these, the forty crowned Martyrs,* if you know who they are. Now, what man will assert that Popery has not come up to the mark ? She has acted with spirit, and shown herself to be no sneak, PiCART, vol. i. p. 394 ; and M. Mussard, pp. 140, 144. 33 no coward in the work. Again tlierefore I ask, What did the slaves and devotees of the old system lose by coming over to the new ? How could they resist such a temptation to improve their circumstances ? O Rome, " full of all subtilty," " thou enemy of all righteousness ! **"* when wilt thou " cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord ? "" Thou shameless spoiler of the gospel, come out of thy hiding-place, and repent, " lest a worse thing than this come upon thee ! " I must not, however, forget to notice the fact, that the celestials amongst the Gentiles had sometimes to attend to strange things on earth ; as in the case of Hercules, Neptune, Apollo, Chrishna, and Siva. The Virgin Mary had also to come from heaven on that sleeveless errand, to sew up a rent in the gown of St. Thomas a Becket. Nay, she once had to descend from her heavenly shrine to support a robber on the gallows, because he had been ardent in his devotions to her image. She had also to supply the place of a lady abbess, who was in most questionable circumstances. She has been known to sing Matins for a Friar, and to wipe perspiration from the faces of the monks of Clairvaux. Surely, therefore, these veritable condescensions are equal to those of her predecessors. XII. If Heathen gods were supposed to preside over the pursuits of men, can it be matter of surprise if they likewise kindly under- took the supervision of their health ? They were thought to be acquainted by intuition with the termination of diseases ; and therefore, when Ahaziah the son of Ahab fell through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, he sent messengers and said unto them, " Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease." (2 Kings i. 2.) For this he was solemnly rebuked by Elijah the Tishbite, who said, " Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die." And all the Asiatics have their deities who are believed to be especially interested in this department of human woe ; for they have gods whose fame has travelled hundreds of leagues, so that messengers or patients come from all the adjacent regions. In the time of plague, the people crowd to the gates of the holy temple, with their offerings and vow^s. Often poor wretches are carried in front of the sacred place, that they may have a last look and a last hope. You see them with their bones ready to protrude through the skin, and hear a few feeble repetitions of the name of their god. Some, whose case is not so desperate, gain permission to sleep on the steps of the temple, or in the lobby, in expectation of health ; and, whilst there, except when slumbering, they are incessantly engaged at their devotions. Those who are subject to any kind of fits, apply to Sanne, who corresponds with our Saturn ; and childless wives have Siva, to whom they can con- fidently go. The different parts of the human frame are assigned to several guardian spirits ; the head belongs to Brahma, and the other members to their several protectors. When we refer to ancient Greece or Rome, we see the same 34 provision made for personal suffering. Here stands Apollo, who must be invoked for the plague ; and let him only nod assent, and the infection will soon depart. Fever had her altars and temples in the palace, and was worshipped that she might not harm the illus- trious guests. Those troubled with epilepsy had only to make suit to Hercules, and the cure was soon performed. Not less than five deities presided over the nuptial rites, and there were others who were the guardians in parturition ; Juno Lucina was one of them, as she had one hand empty, and in the other a burning torch, to signify the light of life : Diana was another among those who took a part on that interesting occasion. Then some had to rule the members : as Jupiter, the head ; Neptune, the breast ; Mars, the waist ; the Genii, the forehead ; Cupid, the eyes ; Memoria, the right hand ; Fides, the back ; Mercury, the feet ; and Minerva, the fingers. Here again we see the analogies betwixt the supersti- tions of the East and West, manifesting an equal anxiety to rob the true God of his glory, by frittering away his attributes, and parcel- ling them out to the figments of a crude imagination. Look at the " Holy Mother ! "" what care has she evinced for her offspring ! what ample provision for all their wants ! The body and the soul are alike in her safe keeping ; and ungrateful indeed would her sons be to say, she had not been indulgent to all their wants. What can be more consoling in plagues, when no skill, no power of man can arrest them, than to have the exalted St. Sebas- tian, who is the guardian deity of Portugal, and the potent St. Roch, for their physicians ? who prescribe without mistake and with- out pay. Then in fevers, whether remittent or intermittent, scarlet, yellow, or putrid, they have the ever-skilful St. Petronella, whose virtue is the grand catholicon against all unnatural fires in the human frame. All who are poisoued, whether by eating improper food, or by the villany of their enemies, or bitten by serpents, or reptiles, or rabid creatures in any clime, (for the virtue is preserved in all its saving efficacy both in the frigid and torrid zones,) need only have recourse to St. John the Evangelist, and the venom is extracted, the health is restored. And O what a relief to those suffering under that concentration of all anguish, the tooth-ache, to know they have only fully to believe in the welcome Apollonius, and all the pangs shall cease, not another shall dare to dart fresh anguish across the nerves ! Then with regard to the diseases of the eye, whether from cataract, accident, old age, the ophthalmia in foreign lands, or from any other cause, they have no need for fear ; St. Ostilia is appointed for their relief; and if incredulous mortals were only to transfer their cordial belief to this saint, there would not be a single oculist or spectacle-manufacturer in the world. There are also several other maladies not to be named in this place, but which are removed in one moment by a glance of the Saint. But we must not commit the injustice of passing over such as are possessed by evil spirits ; for St. Remain has a wand more potent than all the magicians of ancient Egypt, Greece, or Rome ; and the wonder is, that there has never been a successful attempt to obey the proverb, " Heal thyself ! " Then as to epilepsy and all 35 Kinds of fits, wliat loss had the young converts or old devotees in entering upon the profession of the new faith ? It is true, they had lost Hercules ; but what of that ? they had gained St. Valentine. As for those who were called to suffer in parturition, though Diana and Juno Lucina had been forsaken, they had received the ever- vigilant, ever-skilful St. Margaret ! Happy, thrice-happy people, to drive such bargains on such easy terms ! Listen to Theodoret, who is speaking of the power of the Martyrs, the Manes of Popery : " In health we beg the continuance of it," (that is, at their altars,)" in sickness, the removal of it ; the childless crave children ; and when these blessings are obtained, we ask for the secure enjoyment of them. When we undertake any journey, we solicit them to be our companions and guides ; and wlien we return safe, we pay them our thanks.""* But the sons of the " true^ the Catholic^'' church, as well as the old Heathen idolaters, have had guardians appointed for the different parts of their persons. The great angel who visited Mary has care of the head. Hence it is inserted in the Office : " Holy Gabriel, be thou to us a helmet : " and who will dare to utter a doubt respecting his ability to furnish as good an one as old Jupiter or Brahma ? And though the breast be exceedingly vulnerable to all missiles, fear not ; it has the angel who fought against the dragon for its defence : and the man who says, in true Romish faith, " Holy Michael, be thou to me a breast-plate," may set at defiance all the balls, arrows, spears, or darts, that men or devils can shoot or hurl. As for the other members, they are perfectly safe, because there is a shield continually moving before them ; and the person in doubt who cries, " Holy Raphael, be thou to me a buckler," is instantly ren- dered secure. There is, in addition, the sublime Uriel " for a defence ; "" and, lest any of the deities should be nodding, or other- wise engaged, the people may exclaim : " Holy cherubim, be thou to us health." Thus have they delightful provision for any unfore- seen contingencies amonofst the Saints. In sickness the poor patients are carried to the churches, that they may regain health. There they sit or recline, looking at the image or the tomb, and remain days and nights in praying for the particular blessing which they require. Nay, some devotees actually pilfer or purchase the earth from the grave of some noted Saint, that they may mix it with a little water ; and, if " well shaken and often taken," they are sure to be restored. Such was the popularity of the titular Lopez in the East, that sick devotees often clawed away nearly all the soil from the old man's bones, and would actually have had them too for a decoction, had not the vigilant sexton continued to fill up the grave, and supply svuIMq pabulum for the strong digestive organs of those of the " true faith." St. Basil, who was born in the year 328, and gained great celebrity for his devotion and eloquence, tells us that in his day " all who were pressed with any difficulty or distress, used to fly for relief to the tombs of the Martyrs."-f* In these respects, therefore, the identity between Paganism and Popery is complete. Sermo viii. de Martyribus, in Middlt:ton, p. 52. -)- Basilii Opera, torn. ii. p. 645. Edit. Benedict, in Middleton, p. 42. c 2 XIII. When we turn from tlie gods to their earthly abodes, we feel no surprise, that their supposed holiness should be thought to consecrate the place, that the locality should be impregnated with the divine essence : hence the costly fanes which have been erected to their glory. Among the Asiatic Pagans, these are often raised by the contributions of the multitude, and sometimes by the munifi- cence of the great ; and though some of them are of an inferior class, others are of the most splendid character, outvieing in extent and magnitude the largest conceptions of those by whom they had not been previously seen. One reason for the number of these buildings may be found in the wish of many old and egregious sin- ners to make what they deem an adequate atonement for accumulated crimes before they die ; and it is only necessary for a crafty priest to give a gentle hint, that such an act will be conducive to eternal bliss, and he soon ensures all the energies of the veterans and of their families. Each of these rich temple-founders evinces a great wish that he mav live long enough to see it finished, and be present at some of its first ceremonies. Already he has liberally endowed it ; and the priests are most anxious he should survive to see the consum- mation of his prayers. It is in this way that thousands of such sacred places have been built without any reference to the immedi- ate locality of others equally sacred. They are actually in many parts crowded together, not in reference to the supposed spiritual wants of the people, but because that was the particular spot seen in the dream, or it was the strip of land which the hoary sinner had to spare, or because some miracle had been there performed. Thus, in passing through streets of eastern towns and cities, you may often sec temples huddled together, which illustrate the miscellane- ous and ardent piety of their builders. Some men have such strong views of the necessity of thus honouring their gods, that they actually make themselves paupers, and have spent the residue of their days in soliciting contributions for the unfinished fabric. After the selection of the site, it has to be solemnly consecrated, and cleared of demons, that it may be perfectly holy. The ground is enclosed, and in some instances the grass is allowed to grow, that a sacred cow or bull may be turned in for twenty-four hours ; and wherever the honoured animal has reposed, or performed any of the functions of nature, a hole is there made, and the pillar, or altar, is erected, on which an image of the saint or god is placed. For instance : If it is dedicated to Siva, the Lingam is placed on it ; if to any other deity, then it receives the appropriate symbols. Around this recently devoted spot, the foundation-lines are care- fully and piously traced ; sacred ashes and holy water are devoutly and profusely sprinkled around ; odoriferous incense ascends as an offering to the gods ; prayers, incantations, and processions are made to cast out and keep at a distance all evil spirits. But should these infernals ever again be able to obtain admission, through some deficiency in the rites ; or should the temple be otherwise polluted by design or accident, by the entrance of a person who is of low caste or unholy.; then the whole of those consecrating cere- monies must be repeated, that the evil spirits may be eradicated, 37 and the good ones restored. At the opening of the edifice for wor- ship, the image, and all the sacred utensils and vessels, are put in their proper places ; and multitudes assemble together to witness the imposing scene. Many of the temples occupy more ground, and have cost more money, and are better endowed, than the most noble buildings in any part of Europe. Perhaps a monarch has commenced the holy undertaking, and each succeeding sovereign is bound to add to it a wing or a tower ; so that the complicated pile has been for ages increasing in size and grandeur. Black granite, wherever it can be procured, is the favourite material ; and lime made from burnt shells is the cement which fastens it together. The edifice must stand due east and west, 'as no other position can be allowed. From the entrance (to the east) at the extremity, is the holy place, its top crowned with a dome, where the principal idol is placed ; and in other niches stand various inferior beings, who act as heralds or ministers to the one supreme. The name of the whole must be according to that of the deity-in-chief. Thus some are called Siva- koil, or Vishnoo, or Kaali, or Vyraver, as the wishes or wants of the people may require : but all of them must have some divine appellative. The Pagans of Egypt, Greece, and Rome have left imperishable memorials of their devotion, skill, and power. Their works, though in ruins, tell of the glory of the past : for, some of them were of great magnificence ; and, as Arnobius says, they had pillars of marble ; their roofs glittered with gold and precious stones, so as to represent the firmament of heaven. Wherever they stood, arrangements were made, if possible, that the windows might receive the rays of the morning sun. In primitive times it is be- lieved the front was towards the west ; and in the opposite direction stood the altars and the idols, that the worshippers, as they entered, might have their faces towards the east ; at least, so say Clemens of Alexandria, and Hyginus the freed-man of Augustus Caesar. But we have high authority for believing, that at a very early period the entrance was from the east ; and the statues, being at the other end, had their faces towards the rising sun ; such was the position of that of the Syrian goddess in Lucian ; also the one at Memphis, built by Psammitichus, king of Egypt, in Diodorus the Sicilian ; and that of Vulcan erected by another Egyptian monarch, in the second book of Herodotus.* The temples were divided into two parts, sacred and profane ; the former, being the abode of the deity, was called cella, and the vessel for holy water was placed at the porch. Before they were occupied, they had to be conse- crated ; and Tacitus has given us an interesting account of the cere- mony as it occurred at Rome in hallowing the site for the sacred edifice. [ The whole ground was surrounded by fillets and gar- lands ; and those soldiers who had lucky names entered first, with branches in their hands, sacred to the gods ; then the Vestals came with boys and girls, (whose parents were still living,) and sprinkled * Strom, p. 8. DiOiSY siv s, libro de antro Nympharum : in Potter, vol. i. p. 189. t Histor. lib. iv. Kennet. Also Cicero in Oral, pro Domo sua : and others. 38 the place with water from the brook, the river, and the spring. Then one of the chief priests, having sacrificed a swine, a sheep, and a bullock for the purgation of the floor, laid the entrails on a turf, and besought Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, and the other deities, protectors of the empire, that they would prosper the undertaking. He then seized the fillets and ropes to which the great foundation- stone was fastened, and, assisted by the attendant priests and sena- tors, dragged it to its place amidst the most boisterous joy of the people, who cast in pieces of gold and other metals which had not been in the fire. In the erection of their sacred buildings, as the idolaters tell us, strange beings of this or of other worlds frequently took a part. Ask them, how the ponderous masses ^vere brought together, which they do not now seem to have the power to remove to such dis- tances ; they reply, "Giants brought them on their shoulders;'** or, "Some divinity*" (like Neptune in the service of Laomedon) " became a mason for the time ;" or, " Fiends, for their wicked- ness, were compelled to the drudgery of the whole." Sometimes the walls have been carried up to their proper height by the celestials in a single night ; and at other periods what had been reared in the light was sure to be thrown down in darkness ; and not till the fierce spirit who had thus vented its spite was chained in his cave, could they successfully proceed. Cases have occurred also where the wrong site has been selected, and then the materials and the structure have had a rapid transit by an unseen hand to the proper place. The " Holy Mother "*' of Rome here again acted with her wonted tenderness to the children of her adoption. She gave them all they desired at the time, with the vain hope perhaps that at some future period she might eject the tolerated evils : but, what- ever of sin clings to a profession of Christianity in individuals, it never leaves its hold till forcibly removed by a superior power. But the adulterations here had been calmly and deliberately received ; there was a regular compact with Satan, and a fatal breach with Jehovah. And as to the iniquity being thrown off by the dishonoured, the corrupted Gospel, that was impossible in its state of thraldom ; for it was bound and chained to the corpse of Paganism. If we look at Omnipotence itself, we perceive that it can only act in harmony with the other divine attributes, and with human volition ; it will not force men to become right ; and if we seek for the native energy of primitive Christianity, any self- acting power, that was all neutralized or destroyed by the unholy compromise which the Papacy had ratified with Heathenism : so that, conventionally, the case is hopeless ; Rome will never offi- cially, never of herself, be purified. "Do grapes on thorns, or figs on thistles grow ?"" O no ! the effort must be from without. The keys are in her firm grasp ; but we must, with the divine blessing, break down her enclosures, and set the prisoners free. The analogies betwixt her temples and those of her great progeni- trix are sufficiently striking to identify their origin. Vast numbers of those built by Rome have been erected without any regard to the spiritual necessities of the people : there was no demand for .39 tliem as to cliurcli-accommodatioTi. They are often huddled toge- ther, within a few yards of each oilier ; as may be seen in all coun- tries under her sway. Even England, in her cathedral towns, presents the same objects ; for you see, in those religious structures of Popish rearing, strange approximations towards each other ; so that the question often is, "Why are they built so closely toge- ther?" One reason for their strange and promiscuous contiguity in all countries, has been some great exploit, some wonderful miracle, performed on the spot ; and, to secure the virtue, to retain the mortal influence, to honour the hero, and thus also to secure his favour, opulence has poured in her stores, superannuated vice has made a purchase of adscititious piety, and strange rivalries have sprung up in the fierce contest to secure eternal bliss. Then the position of Popish churches with reference to the cardinal points, from west to east, is in full accordance with the Heathen temples ; for, on entering, your face is towards the sacred place where stand the chief image or crucifix, and the altar ; and where the priest bows and turns before the mysteries of his own creation. His altar is the substitute for that on which the former victims bled and died ; and on it he has wickedly placed the Mass, which is believed to be a living sacrifice. The religious pile is called after the name of its guardian Saint ; for how could it remain without some heavenly protector ? How could it be tolerated that the new building should be inferior to the old ? This would have been deemed a disgrace of no common magnitude, and not to be brooked by a proud Pontiff possessed of infinite supplies. But the ground which sustains the precious burden has also been consecrated by ceremonies equally as potent^ and by hands as pure^ as those of the former faith ; for in that vicinity the pious dead have also to repose, which could not be done except the devils were ejected to their native hell. The august ceremony must be performed by the bishop, or some priest of his appointment. On the previous evening, a. cross the height of a man must be set up in the middle of the church- yard ; and before it a piece of wood of about sixteen inches in elevation, on which are placed three wax tapers. The next morn- ing, a carpet is spread near the place, and also the holy water, thuribles, and other sacred utensils. Then the priest, in his sacer- dotal vestments, comes out of the sacristy in procession, with an exorcist, or acolyth, carrying holy water ; another bears the thurible and incense ; and two clerks take the ritual, with three tapers made of white wax. All then rally around the sacred symbol : an address is delivered on the holiness and the privileges of burying- grounds. The large candles are lighted, the prayers are read, the Litanies are chanted ; and when the priest says, " We beseech you to purify and bless this churchyard C he makes the cruciform sign, which must be done three times. The cross, or crosses, (for sometimes they have twelve,) and the circumference of the holy spot, must all be sprinkled with the purifying fluid ; and should the enclosure be ever again polluted by the burial of an infidel, or a heretic, by an excommunicated or unbaptized person, the whole of 40 this ceremonial process lias to be repeated.* The hallowing of the foundation-stone must be performed by a prelate, or by some infe- rior ecclesiastic whom he may depute. The day before, a cross must be fixed where the altar has to stand ; and, should it be at Rome, the pontiff himself will discharge the duty in his robes ; but an inferior wears the common surplice and a plain mitre, the amict, the albe, the girdle, the white pluvial ; and carries in his left hand the pastoral staff. The mitre is put on to exorcise the salt and water. The Saint is addressed to wdiom the church is dedicated ; the foundation-stone is blessed ; and then all evil spirits are driven from the place. As the mason fastens the stone, the celebrant sprinkles it again with holy water, and the excavations are hallowed and purified with various ceremonies. When the structure is finished, it also has to be consecrated ; taking care to have relics for the altar, a small vessel for the holy chrism, and another for the sacred oil ; and two pounds of incense, a thurible, navet and spoon, a vase for live coals, and another with ashes, also one for salt, and an additional one for wine, a hyssop-sprinkler, some napkins, a cere cloth, four small wax crosses, wooden spatulas, a vessel for scrapings, two burning flambeaux, a bason with water, a crumb of bread, two pounds of silk with which to rub the crosses, the chrism, and a couple of vessels for holy water. The bishop is dressed in his pontificals ; and twelve candles are lighted over the same number of crosses painted on the walls. The celebrant walks round the church, beginning at the right, and sprinkles the fabric in the name of the Trinity. Returning to the door, he knocks, and is replied to from the deacon within ; then he goes to the left, to perform the same office : so that if any evil one had gained a lodg- ing-place even in a crevice, he would be obliged to depart. This being done, he returns to the portal ; when the deacon inside asks, " Who is the King of glory ?" to which the priests and bishops reply, " The Lord Almighty : He is the King of glory.'"* Then all cry, "Open ! '' The bishop signs the cross on the door, repeats a verse in Latin to drive off malignant spirits, and then he and his attendants enter, saying, " Peace be to this house." After this, the prelate, on his knees and bare-headed, with his face towards the high altar, begins the Vent Creator ; ashes are sprinkled on the pavement in the form of a cross. Litanies are sung, and the saint to whom the place is sacred, is twice invoked to take possession of the church, and make it his home.-f* As to the lying wonders of Paganism, about gods and angels, giants and devils assisting in the erection of their temples, Romanism is nothing daunted ; for she can rival them all. Take one instance only: The house in Naza- reth, in which Mary the mother of Jesus was born and brought up, stood there for thirteen hundred years ; but in the night of the 9th of May, a. d. 1291, it was removed by four angels to a mountain in Dalmatia, a distance of two thousand miles ; and, in the flight, produced a great effect on the Adriatic Sea, as it has been much calmer since that event. In the morning of the 10th of May, the house w^as seen on the mountain to the astonishment of * PiCART, vol. ii. p. 97. t PiCAHT, vol. i. PP. 344, 351. 41 all around. Multitudes crowded to the place ; and there they saw the entire building. It had an arched roof, a chimney, and a steeple for bells ; and no wonder that they approached it with great reverence and fear. After some time they ventured into a chapel of an oblong form, which was built of stone ; and its roof was con- cave and fretted, being painted blue, and adorned with stars. The walls were nearly a cubit thick ; and. on them were depicted the mysteries of the habitation, which were in good preservation, excepting at the bottom, where the figures had been much defaced ! The building was forty feet in length, twenty in breadth, and twenty-five in height ; in a corner was a cupboard of earthenware, which had belonged to the Virgin ; and to this day it has the faculty of working wonderful miracles. In it was found an image of the Mother and Child ; she was covered with a stole of gold, and a blue mantle on her shoulders. The infant held out the fingers of his right hand, as if wishing well to those who came, and in his left hand was a globe of gold. The people were astonished beyond measure ; for they soon saw that it had been translated from another place. They fell down to worship ; when those who were diseased received an instant cure. Bishop Alexander of Trisectum was at the point of death, when he heard the news. He endeavoured to go to the sacred spot, but could not ; when the Virgin herself appeared to him, confirming all he had heard, adding that, at the altar of the place, St. Peter himself had oflficiated ; that the cruci- fix was put there by the apostles ; and that the image or likeness was drawn by St. Luke ; and, as a proof of the truth of all this, the poor dying prelate was restored to perfect health. This faithful account is given by the Jesuit Horatius Tursellinus, and was printed at Rome by the sanction of Clement VIII.* And need I ask you, " What is all this .?" Must I argue to prove the perfect resemblance of the two systems ? I will not insult your minds by the effort ; but pass on to glance at the festivals of these terrible delusions. XIV. When men had made images of invisible beings, who were believed to bless or curse mankind through such agency, and had erected splendid fanes to their worship ; it is no wonder that certain days and festivities should be appointed to their service. And so numerous are those in eastern idolatry, that there is not an hour in the year, during darkness or light, which some god or devil does not demand as its own ; so that if fresh claimants were to be introduced into their Pantheon, it would be utterly impossible to find them a place in the niche of devotion without dethroning the old deities. The hours, watches, days, weeks, and months, are called by the names of the divine guardians recorded in their Calendars ; and almost the whole of their festivities are most corrupting in their character. The orgies of the Satte Poosy are of a nature not to be disclosed to the public ear ; they are only what hell could coun- tenance, and fiendish men could perform. Sometimes you see * Dr. Geddes, p. 90. 42 thousands of every age and sex come together on the anniversary of the demon, the deity, or saint. All are apparelled in their best jewels and robes ; the ways are prepared by sweepings and sprink- lings ; beautiful pandals or arbours are erected ; immense garlands of fragrant flowers adorn the temples and cars ; the priests sing, and the girls dance ; harsh music meets the ear ; and all seem infected by delirious zeal to gain the favour of their god. Every kind of Heathenism has had corresponding provision for the honour of its infernal or celestial rulers. The Philistines had theirs, as well as the Moabites, who seduced Israel into lascivious- ness ; for " the people did eat,"*" " and bowed down to their gods,'' and joined themselves " unto Baal-peor," the same object as the obscene Phallus of Greece. The Romans also had their feast of Agnolia, in honour of Janus ; that of Carmen talia, for Garments, the mother of Evander ; the Lupercalia ; the Feralia sacred to Ghosts ; the Matronalia, to Mars ; to Anna Perenna, who in time of famine supplied the people with corn ; also to the goddess of shep- herds ; and the Floralia, with many others, such as the Saturnalia, and the Epiphanies in memory of supeoiatural appearances : so that the Heathen, both western and eastern, "were well accustomed to such celebrations. But the Holy Catholic Mother, anxious to secure the attach- ment of her young converts, (who, as Gale tells us, were " content to assume the title of Christian, yet, not willing to part with their ancient rites,) changed the name for some Martyr or Saint, with the hope that by such symbolizings, to gain them over to the embracing of the Christian religion.'' * And how well does this agree with the proceedings of Popery in the East ! For, whenever there is a feast of Hindooism, you will be sure to find a similar one among the Papists to some of their own mummeries. The two forms of superstition are always in parallels, and at the same speed ; the modern never being out-distanced by the more ancient. Ask the eastern Romanists, "How is this.?" and they frankly confess that it is to attract and secure adherents to the " true faith.'''' Fauchet, also, in his " Antiquities of Gaul," defends this conduct. He says, " that Christians " (that is, the Papists) kept holy the Purification^ and in afflictions made processions, rogations, and Litanies, (that is, supplications,) on which^ and in the Nndipedalia^ (which were processions and journeys made barefoot,) " they used to call upon our Lord Jesus Christ, instead of Jupiter, by which they did not Paganize, if I may be allowed the expression, but prudently countermined Pagan- ism, and employed it as a shield to ward off the reproaches which the Heathen used to mnt against themr-\ We thank the old historian for this defence of his religion, as, in conjunction with modern practice, it forms an ample concession to the charges which we have here preferred. But though many great men have been compelled to acknow- ledge the idolatrous origin of their festivals, and have even boasted of the wisdom of their church in finis incornoratino- them with her 43 own superstitious ceremonies ; there are others who have consider- able misgivings, and turn round with specious language to the ritual of Moses, as the source of some of their observances. Their cham- pion Challoner says, " The Temple had its incense, and lamps, and holy- water." We grant the Israelites had incense ; but did they use it in the same way as do the Romanists ? Do these copy them .'* They had lamps ; but did they hang them up before images and shrines.'' They had "the water of separation," as "a purification for sin ; " but that was to remove a legal impurity to which the Jews were so subject by their various exposures. But St. Paul, referring to this very " sprinkling the unclean to the purifying of the flesh," asks, *' How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit oflTered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.?" (Heb. ix. 13, 14; Gal. iv. 9, 10; Heb. vii. 18.) This therefore was the thing signified ; it had its termination and ful- filment in what St. Paul here describes, and it can offer no justification or excuse for the holy-water of Rome. The law was " a shadow of good things to come ;" and when Jesus came, all was fulfilled. The types and ceremonies were then abolished, being fully accomplished in his life and death, in his resurrec- tion and ascension to God. If these apostates are resolved to derive a few things from Moses, as an apology for them ; why did they not take more ? Because they would not have been palatable to the Heathen. This is the true secret : they were wily eclectics, choosing from any thing and every thing which was adapted to suit their infant charge. They would have Moses or Confucius, Jupiter or Budhu, as the case might require. They were quite willing to return " to the weak and beggarly elements," and enter again into bondage, by observing " days, and months, and times, and years." They cared not for the " disannulling of the commandment " of the old dispensation : they became " all things to all men," and thus made the word of God " of none effect." As for the three pitiful analogies cited by Challoner, the incense, lamps, and holy-water ; who believes that the originators would profess to go to Jerusalem for them, when the Romans had thrown the Temple to the ground ? Would they go there, when the lamps were burning, the incense smoking, and the water sprinkling at their own altars ? Would they attempt to go to the captive Jews, when their conquerors, the ancient Romans, had at their own doors plenty of lamps, incense, and holy-water? The thought is too egregious to require a moment's reply. To conclude : You have seen the infent Romish church in its early associations with Heathenism, and the reasons assigned by the primitive Papal governors for that degrading connexion. You have glanced at its first efforts in the East, at its alliance there with idolatry, and the modern defence set up by " the Catholic Maga- zine ;" at the propensity in man to form ideas of objects which he has not seen ; at the great talisman of Popery, " All things to all men ;" at the apologies given by Pagans and Papists for images 44 and pictorial representations ; at the mutual consecrations of idols previous to their being worshipped ; at the symbols, weapons, ani- mals, and costly attire sacred to the gods of both superstitions, to enable the devotees to distinguish the one from the other, and to gratify the eyes of the young converts ; at the parallels in female divinities ; at the efforts to bring images and idols into reputation, by dreams, by impostures, by burying in the earth, by pretended miracles, such as their walking, talking, sweating, bleeding, laugh- ing, crying, or their descent from another world ; at the guardian- ship of the earth, sea, countries, cities, hamlets, men, their health, members, sciences, and occupations ; at the temples, and churches, with reference to the motives for building, disregard to spiritual wants, position in reference to the cardinal points, the names, the form, the altars, the vessels for holy water, the consecration of the ground and of the edifice for the ejection of demons ; at the lying wonders about saints, angels, gods, giants assisting in the work, their transit through the air ; at their festivals, and abortive attempts to derive them from the Jews ; at the true cause, to displace the Pagan deities, changing their names from gods to Martyrs. And now I think, you will acknowledge there is a complete identity, -showing whence it comes and whither it must go. We have traced the Romish Lady "arrayed" in "purple," and " scarlet," and " gold," with her cup of " abominations and filthi- ness." We have seen her in a few of her fatal bargains made in darkness, and have brought them forth to the light. She has sold herself to work iniquity, and her covenant is written in blood. She may either threaten or promise ; we are in each case proof against her wiles. We have taken up our position on the Rock of ages ; and here we live, and here we die. Let her therefore go on in her adulteries with idols ; still cling to them as to her life ; let lier proceed in her " worshipping of angels," and " intruding into those things" which she has " not seen," being " puffed up " in her mind, and rampant in her path. But what saith the Lord God of hosts ? " Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues ! " Come out of her, ye children of the Reformers ; whether of the Episcopal, Pres- byterian, Congregational, or Wesleyan churches .' Remember Smithfield and the " Martyrs' Hill : " for " she is drunken with the blood of the Saints, and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus." On her head is " written Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth ! " " The Lamb shall overcome " her ; for " strong is the Lord who judgeth her." And as the "mill-stone" cast into the sea by the Angel of Jehovah is " found no more ;" so shall the " beast and the false prophet " sink " into the lake of fire and brimstone : " and our God shall be all in all. the end. LONUOX : PRINTED BY JAJn:S NICHOLS, 46, IIOXTON-SQUAllE. n^ SHIN V. # SHANG-TE. ANTAGONISTIC VERSIONS OF THE CHINESE SCRIPTURES, A REVIEW OF THE CONTROVERSY RESPECTING THE PROPER RENDERING OF UZOfflM XNB EOS INTO CHINESE; AND ItEtmBut nf tljB nhut, aliamiiig n XargB 3Ka|nriti(^ far SHiN. ADDEESSED TO THE FRIENDS OF THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY, AND THE CONTRI- BUTORS TO THE BENEVOLENT SCHEME FOR SUPPLYING THE CHINESE WITH A MILLION COPIES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. BY A LIFE MEMBER OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY OF THIRTY YEARS' STANDING. " Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth." Exodus xxiii. 13. " I am Jkhovah, that is my name : and ray glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." Isa. xlii. 8. ' If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone ? or if (he ask ) a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? "Luke xi. 11. LONDON: WERTHEIM AND MACINTOSH, 24, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1854. PEICE SIXPENCE. V ADVERTISEMENT. The first part of this Pamphlet originally appeared as a letter in the " Morning Advertiser " of April 1 ; and is now republished, with additional matter, comprising a Summary of the Evidence pro and con; and an Appendix, including letters from eminent Hebraists and others, who have given much attention to the subject, in support of the Author's arguments and views on this lengthened controversy. May 5, 1854. A REVIEW, ETC. The benevolent project for supplying the Chinese with a million copies of the New Testament has, I believe, been brought to a suc- cessful issue. A very important question now arises for the serious consideration of the subscribers viz., which of the two antagonistic versions of the Chinese New Testament should be chosen by the pro- jectors and managers for distribution among the people of China ? The object of this letter is to bring before my readers (many of whom are doubtless contributors to this benevolent scheme), some plain in- formation respecting these two versions, and to state briefly the result of many years' controversy amongst the Protestant missionaries in China, about the proper rendering of Elohim and eos (God, gods) into Chinese. It is now supposed by many, that this controversy has been decided by the leaders of the insurgents in favour of the Shang-te version. But this supposition is not supported by facts. For, though Shang-te is frequently used by them for the " true God " exclusively, in their religious books, yet Shin is constantly used by them as a generic term for both the true God and all false gods, just as Elohim and eos are used throughout the Scriptures j for Elohim is not only given to Jehovah (to whom alone the name properly belongs), but we also read of the Elohim^ or gods of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and of all other nations. And eos is used in the same generic sense, for the Greeks had eot ttoAAoi, " gods many," and "lords many." The insurgents have used Shin in the same general sense, and quite in accordance with the constant practice of Morrison, Milne, Marsh- man, and all the Protestant missionaries up to a very recent period. And, after a lengthened controversy of many years, a very large majority of the missionaries have unanimously and conscientiously A decided upon adopting this term as the only suitable one for rendering Elohim and eo9 into Chinese. 1. The advocates of Shin allege that Shang-te, High, or Supreme Ruler, being the name or title of the Jupiter of China, it ought not to be used for the true God, whose name is Jehovah. And, being only a proper name, or title of one, or some half-dozen, of the superior gods of China, it is of course quite unsuitable for rendering the generic terms, Elohim and 0eo9, into Chinese. The insurgent leaders have, indeed, used Shang-te in the former sense, as a proper name for the true God, partly from deference to their ancient classical books, and partly because they found it put for the true God in GutzlafF's translation of Genesis, which seems to have fallen early into their hands. They suppose, with Dr. Medhurst, that the Chinese formerly worshipped the true God, under the name of Teen, heaven, and Shang-te, liigli ruler. The Greeks and Romans might have advanced an equal claim for the continued use of the ancient classical names of their supreme gods, Zeus, Jove, or Jupiter. But these high-sounding names were utterly rejected by the inspired writers of the Scriptures, and the generic name cos was alone adopted, which exactly corres- ponded, in its heathen signification, to Shin, in the Chinese. 2. When the leaders and teachers of the insurgents are better in- structed, and find that Jehovah not only ignores all other gods, but has determined to destroy their names out of the earth, they will then give up their Shang-te to the shades. The charge given by Jehovah to Israel on this point (Ex. xxiii. 13), is decisive : "Make no men- tion of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth." (See also Deut. xii. 3, and Isaiah xlii. 8 ; Zech. xiv. 9.) 3. The real question at issue between the two parties is not as to the most suitable name in the Chinese for Jehovah, the true God, though it is often erroneously supposed to be. Dr. Medhurst and his party seem to be under constant misapprehen- sion as to the kind of name or term required. He appears to take it for granted that a proper and distinctive name for the true God is wanted in Chinese, and therefore only seeks for the most dignified name of the highest god in China. Now, a name of this kind is not wanted at all, for God has already declared his own proper and incommunic- able name to be Jehovah, which ought to be retained in every version of the Scriptures, and can easily be expressed in Chinese. Besides, it is absurd to look for the name of the true God amongst a heathen people that know him not. But Dr. Medhurst and his party have become so prejudiced in favour of Shang-te, that they now labour hard to prove that the Chinese already know and worship the true G-od under this name, although they are well aware that the nation is " wholly given up to idolatry," from the Emperor down to the meanest peasant, and have themselves charged the Chinese with this universal idolatry before they became enamoured of Shang-te. Moreover, if they already know the one true God, where is the necessity for sending missionaries to teach them ? The Emperor Kang-he, when urged by the Jesuits to be baptized, replied, *' Where is the necessity, since I already worship Shang-te the same God as you do?" But if they are still ignorant of God, and in " gross darkness," like all other heathen nations, then the use of Shang-te by Christian teachers will become a stumbling-block, and may be the means of sealing them up in ignorance and darkness, under the vain conceit that their idol Shang-te is all they need ! Let us now come to the real object of inquiry. The simple and only question then is, what is the generic term in Chinese corresponding to Elohim and cos ; or, in other words, what is the term universally used by them to denote all their gods ? Now, it is acknowledged by all parties that the Chinese themselves, ancient and modern, ignorant and learned, use Shin, as a general name to denote every object of worship known to them, whether spirit, image, or idol. The warmest advocates of Shang-te do not deny this. And while they choose Shang-te for the true God, they constantly used Shin for all the false gods, in their writings, till recently, when they resolved on using it for Spirit only. 4. Although the leaders and teachers of the insurgents have frequently used Shang-te for the true God exclusively, yet their constant use of Shin as a generic term, both for the true God and false gods, is felt to be in favour of the advocates of the latter term, and weakens the position taken by the advocates of the former. I learn this from a pamphlet, which has just reached me from China, with the title, " An Essay on the Bearing of the Publications of the Tai-ping Dynasty Insurgents on the Controversy respecting the proper Xerm for Translating the Words Elohim and cos in the Chinese Version of the Scriptures," which is evidently from the pen of Bishop Boone. He says " An attempt has been made to show that the insurgents have derived their terms for God, gods, from the native Evangelist, Leang Afah, The authority of Afah, though a native writer, is set down as of no value, because he followed Dr. Morrison, and is not himself a thorough scholar. Of his scholarship we know nothing ; but this is not a question which demands much depth of learning. Plain common sense is all that is needed. If it be admitted that the Chinese have many gods and Dr. Medhurst A 2 himself has said, ' that it is more easy to find a god than a man in China' then it cannot require a greater amount of learning to ascertain by what name they call thern, than to ascertain by what name they designate the genus man. But it is easily proved that the insurgents have not followed Leang Afah." 5. The author then, in proof of this, refers to tables prepared by Dr. Medhurst, exhibiting the various names and titles used for God in the books of the insurgents, and in those of Leang Afah, and also the various uses of Shin by both parties. Of the former class i.e. of proper names and titles, amounting to twelve the insurgents and Leang Afah have not used more than one in common, viz.^ Shang-te, which was only found twice in Leang Afah's books. " Shin, with some of its compounds, is the only term common to them, except that Afah has twice used the term Shang-te. It is plain, then, that the insurgents have not used any term for God, or gods, simply because Afiih or any other man happened to use it. They have freely expressed their thoughts in words of their own choice. As well might they be accused of imitating Afah, because they use the same word that he does for man^ or for the earth. They have evidently used Shin for God, gods, for the sim'ple and sufficient reason that in many cases the Chinese language afforded them no other term that would answer their purpose." Essay, pp. 2, 3. So far, then, as the general term Shin is concerned, its advocates are supported by the usage of the insurgent leaders ; and, conse- quently, their position is strengthened, and not weakened, by the present movement in China. 6. Now, let us see what was the state of the question at the com- mencement of the revolution, about three or four years ago. Just about the same time the controversy, which had been carried on several years, was interrupted by one party (the advocates of Shang-te, Teen-te, Te, &c.) seceding from the board of delegates, at Shang-hai, after having previously acted in concert for several years in revising the New Testament. In order to show the actual result of this long and sifting contro- versy, and the relative strength and numbers of both parties, I shall quote a very satisfactory document namely, a printed letter, addressed by John Radley, Esq., one of the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, to the Rev. Carr John Glynn, occasioned by some bitter articles in the " Evangelical Magazine " against the Committee. After some explanatory observations, in reply to the Reviewer's strictures upon the conduct of the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society in passing a Resolution against Shin, and not forthwith adopting Shang-te ; and after mentioning the firmness of Dr. Boone and his friends, in still adhering to Shin, and their strong objections to Shang-te, Mr. Radlej says, " We cannot be blind to the fact, that the term insisted on by Dr. Boone has been maintained by many high Chinese authorities : it was adopted by Morrison, Milne, and Marshman ; it was pleaded for by the late Professor Kidd, and the Rev. Mr. Tomlin, formerly in the service of the London Missionary Society, having had the various publications and correspondence sent to him at his special request, gives to it his decided preference. The present Missionaries are lamentably divided on this point, and, however incredible Mr. Meller's statement may appear, yet so far as we have been able to ascertain their relative numbers, we have reason to believe that there are only nineteen of the present missionary labourers in China, who are prepared, with Dr. Medhurst, to adopt the rendering of Shang-te, while no less than fifty-five adhere, with Dr. Boone, to the rendering of Shin. One of the last acts of our lamented Brandram was to draw up, from a printed list, a comparative statement, and such was the result at which he arrived, the fifty-five being composed of Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists; and in the American Report more recently received, the numbers are given, for Shang-te nineteen, for a transferred term, six, and for Shin, fifty-five. From nearly forty of these we have had a protest against the adoption of Shang-te, And if even we restricted ourselves to those who have had the advantage of a ten years' residence in China, there appear to be only seven in favour of Shang-te, and eleven for Shinr 7. Mr. Radley brings out an important fact, in stating that the fifty-five for Shin were composed of various denominations ; for this shows that it was no sectarian or party question with them. But the nineteen in the minority were all Independents in connexion with the London Missionary Society, excepting two viz.. Dr. Gutzlaff, and Mr. Doty, an American, of recent standing. However, there is another fact, which I gladly mention to the credit of the London Missionary Society, inasmuch as it was distinctly brought forward by their Secretary, Dr. Tidman, and laid before the Committee of the Bible Society, though its bearing will be seen to be in favour of Shin. Mr. Radley thus candidly alludes to it : '* The difiiculty has been further increased by the conflicting opinions of friends at home. When the pamphlets of Drs. Boone and Medhurst reached this country, and which embrace nearly all that has since been advanced on the subject, there were transmitted to our Committee by Dr. Tidman, 8 under date of September 20th, 1848, communications from five gentlemen^ whose separate and independent judgment was solicited by the London Missionary Society on the points of controversy between the missionaries engaged in the revision of the Chinese Scriptures. But such was the want of harmony in the views of these learned referees, that while two of them were in favour of Shin^ as the proper rendering of God, two were opposed to it, and the fifth undecided, yet adding * If compelled to an alternative, I must acquiesce in Dr. Boone*s determination in favour of Shin* " " Under such circumstances, it is plainly impossible for the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, unacquainted, as they are, with the Chinese language, literature, and habits of thought, authoritatively to determine between the respective parties ; least of all, formally to adopt the views of the minority, more especially when the American Bible Society has concluded in favour of Shin. Its Secretary tells us * Drs. Taylor and Robinson have given much attention of late to the subject, who are, perhaps, as well qualified as almost any men living to reach its true merits, and they feel rather confident that Shin will before long convey to the Chinese mind what cos did to the Greeks, and Deus to the Latins, and God to the English, and that but one version will be current. But we will wait patiently, and see what the Lord orders by his providence.' " See Letter, &c., pp. 2, 3. 8. Here is evidently a strong case made out for Shin^ and that on the testimony of two unexceptionable witnesses, Mr. Radley and the late Secretary of the Bible Society, both of whose private opinions were well known to be in favour of Shang-te rather than Shi?i. Mr. Brandram found, after careful inquiry, that fifty-five of the Protestant missionaries voted for Shin, and only nineteen for Shang-te, giving a clear majority of thirty-six for Shin! And, on limiting the calcula- tion to those of ten years' standing and upwards, he found eleven for Shi7iy and only seven for Shang-te, still giving a decided majority of four. 9. Surely this unimpeachable statement of such decided majorities for Shin ought, in all fairness, at once to have decided the question, especially after a lengthened controversy of six or seven years ; for it actually commenced in 1843. I leave it to the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society to tell the reason why they have not acted upon the strength of this evidence, so clearly and satisfactorily brought forward by their late much esteemed secretary. I am aware that they had previously given their verdict against Shin by a Resolution passed prematurely. I say prematurely, for in passing it they acknowledged their incompetency to give judgment in the matter. Yet, however humiliating, it would have been their wisest course to have cancelled their Resolution, especially after such ample evidence was adduced for Shin^ and to have decided at once for this term. The advocates of Shin had certainly a right to look for this. And they and their friends were astonished to see the Bible Society still halting between two opinions. And the question is often put " What kind and what degree of evidence will satisfy the Bible Society ? " If the Committee will plainly say what evidence they still require, the advocates of Shin undertake to furnish it. Several of their friends, I know, were surprised at their wavering and indecision, after such plain and weighty evidence was laid before them by their own Secretary. Sir George Staunton, though an advocate for Shang-te, candidly acknowledged that " Shin had got the day," and recommended the Bible Society to adopt the term. The writer had a long and friendly correspondence with Sir George, and a few other Chinese scholars in England, as well as with some of the first Hebraists and divines, and others who gave much time and attention to the subject in Britain, of whom two-thirds at the least were decided for Shin^ after full consideration and thorough under- standing of the question. The American Bible Society, after long and serious deliberation on all the documentary evidence laid before them by both parties, passed a Resolution in favour of Shin, and against Shang-te; and published a very able and candid Report, stating fully their reasons for preferring Shin, and for rejecting Shang-te, and all other proper names and titles of false Gods. They passed this Resolution after they were aware that the British and Foreign Bible Society had rejected Shin, and had the advantage of more ample evidence than the latter possessed. They consequently sanction only the Shin version of the Scriptures. 10. I think the case is now plain enough for any serious-minded, sensible Christian, who is willing to be guided by the Word and Spirit of God, to form a sound judgment in this important matter. The subscribers to the benevolent scheme for supplying China with a million copies of the New Testament, have certainly a right, and should also consider it their bounden duty, to see that the truth of God is maintained, and his great and glorious name honoured, and not dishonoured, in China. He has solemnly forbidden his people even to mention or record the names of heathen gods, however venerable or high sounding they may be. Jehovah has sworn that 10 He will not give his name to idols and false gods, neither will He, by parity of reason, be called by their names. Baal, Jove, Jupiter, and Shang-te, must all perish out of the earth. The advocates of such Heathen names and titles do not consider the great sin of contending for and upholding them. On the contrary, they treat it as a light matter, with which conscience and the Word of God have little or nothing to do. It is merely a question of philology with them. Hence, their constant vacillation and uncertainty as to which of several high names and titles of Heathen gods they should finally fix upon. For, though Shang-te^ High Ruler, was taken up at the beginning (a name first used by the Jesuits) it was discarded, and half a dozen others (1) (Teen-te, (2) Te, (3) Teen, (4) Teen-Choo, &c.*) tried and rejected in turn. After which, Shang-te became the favourite again. On the other side, the advocates of Shin have never wavered or doubted that this generic term is the only suitable one in the Chinese language for translating Elohim and 0O9 since they entered thoroughly into the question and rightly understood it. Many compromises have been proposed by the other party and their friends, but they have no choice left them in this matter. They are fully assured that there is only one term in the language that will answer the purpose, (such also are Elohim, cos, and God, in Hebrew, Greek, and English), and, therefore, to surrender it for any other name or title would be to violate their conscience, and disregard the Word of God altogether. Let me, in conclusion, express a hope that this plain and popular view of this vexed question may enable the friends of China, who earnestly desire its Evangelization, to make up their minds on the subject, and act accordingly. P.S. It appears by the papers that we are also to have a Shang-te version of the Prayer-book, under the auspices of the Bishop of Victoria. It is to be modelled ** after the simple and chaste style of the Jesuits ! ! " A junior missionary is selected for accomplishing this work, while an experienced and well-qualified missionary is wholly overlooked, simply, we presume, because he happens to be a decided and conscientious advocate for Shin. Former Protestant versions of the Prayer-book in Chinese, by Drs. Morrison and Gutzlaff, seem to be entirely ignored by the bishop, and the Romish Breviary preferred! I trust the Prayer-book and Homily Society will pause before they consent to lend their sanction and support to this version. * (1) Heaven's Euler. (2) Kuler. (3) Heaven. (4) Heaven's Lord. u SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE PRO AND CON, I. Of the Protestant missionaries in China : (1.) Of the whole number who voted 55 for Shin. 19 for Shang-te. (2.) Of those of ten years' standing and upwards 11 for Shin, 7 for Shang-te, Giving decided majorities of 36 and 4 for Shin. II. Of Hebraists, Chinese scholars, and others who studied the subject in Britain : (1.) Chinese scholars 3 for Shin. 1 for Shang-te. (2.) Hebraists and divines 4 for Shin. for Shang-te. (3.) Friends of China who studied the question 2 for Shin. 1 for Shang-te. (4.) Five referees of Lond. Miss. Society 3 for Shin. 2 for Shang~te, 12 4* III. The American Bible Society : The Committee, after mature deliberation on all the docu- mentary evidence, unanimously resolved upon adopting Shin, and published an able Report, stating the grounds of their preferring Shin and rejecting Shang-te, and all proper names and titles of heathen gods. IV. Concessions in favour of Shin, as a generic term, by the advo- cates of Shang-te : 1. Sir G. Staunton admitted that Shin included "the whole Chinese mythology," or all false gods.-)- 2. Mr. Meller came to the conclusion that " Shin is the general name of all the beings worshipped in China." 3. Dr. Medhurst and his party allowed that Shin was compre- hensive enough, as comprising all false gods, and said, " It is comprehensive enough, and too much so ; it includes vastly more, and therefore is not the term to express the identical idea of Elohim and eo?." Dr. Medhurst, in his English and Chinese Dictionary (published 1847), says, " The Chinese themselves, for gods, or invisible beings, * Or 3 to 1. t See "An Inquiry," &c., by Sir George Thomas Staunton, Bart., M.P., p. 30. 12 in general use ^fA Shin" i. e., the Chinese use Shin as a generic term for all their gods. And in his Dictionary of the Foken Dialect, (1832,) defines Shiny "a god, a spirit ; Chin-Shin^ the true God," &c. His definition of Te is, "an emperor, a ruler, a sovereign." According to Dr. Medhurst, ih^ primary meaning of Shin is "god ;'^ and the primary and proper meaning of Te is emperor, ruler, &c., there being no allusion under the definition of Te either to god or spirit ! 4. GutzlafF said that Shin meant god, gods, but not the true God.* 5. Sir G, Staunton, on hearing the large majority for Shin^ said, "Shin had got the day," and advised the Bible Society to adopt it. V. Morrison, Milne, Marshman, and all Protestant missionaries, till recently, used Shin generally for God, gods. VI. Conduct of the two parties in the controversy : 1. The advocates for Shin allege that this generic term is the only suitable one in the language for Elohim, 0eos, and have never wavered in their opinion from the beginning, or allowed of any compromise. 2. The advocates for Shang-te chose half a dozen proper names and titles, and discarded each in succession, viz. ; 1. Shang-te ; 2. Te; 3. Teen-te; 4. Teen; 5. Eloha;\ Q. The Egyptian symbol, 0, by Dr. Bowring ; and 7. Resumed Shang-te^ their favourite term, originally used by the Jesuits. They were induced to resume it by Dr. Legge's undertaking to prove that Shang-te was the name of the only living and true God, &c. He rested the whole force of his argument and his reputation, * As stated in a letter to the Author, now in hand. t Medhurst and his friends having discarded Shang-te^ after many years' trial, and Tien-te, Te, after some months' trial, adopted " Aloho," " Against which," they said, "no believer in Divine revelation dare raise his voice ! ! ! " Speaking of their plan of transferring this Hebrew word, they say, " We cannot go wrong in so doing. It is sanctioned hy the Scriptures. We are, therefore, right in employing it, unmistaJceahly and incontrovertihly right. We free ourselves hereby from all mix- ture with Chinese superstition.^^ Then to persuade the missionaries, who have but recently come to the country, to follow their course, they say, in their letter of the 30th of January, 1850, addressed to the Protestant missionaries at Hong-Kong and the Five Ports, " Those who have enjoyed the most of these advantages (i. e., most thorough knowledge of the classics, and had most extensive intercourse with the Chinese), are the first to abandon native terms." Bishop Boone further states, " It is, however, I believe, now well ascertained that, notwithstanding this pro- position came before them so highly recommended, and that, too, in such confident language, there has been no single missionary in China induced to follow the six signers of this Letter ! " Bp. Boone's Defence, p. 140. 13 as a logician and divine, upon the assumption that Elohim is a relative and not a generic or absolute term ! 3. Various compromises were proposed by Dr. Medhurst and his friends. (1.) By Medhurst, if Shang-te, or Te^ would be allowed for the True God, Shin might be used for all false gods, &c., or for Spirit. (2.) Mr. Meller proposed Shang-Shiny which both parties rejected. (3.) Bishop of Victoria proposed 1st, Teen-Shin; and 2d, Teen-Choo, used by the Romanists, who are distinguished by this name from the Protestants by the Chinese viz., as the Teen-Choo-Kiaau, or sect of Teen-Choo. (4.) Sir G. Staunton proposed that " Shin be used as the generic name for God (and Ling for Spirit) ; but when- ever used for the True God exclusively, the definition or epithet, Shang-te, should be added : thus, Shin Shang-te God Almighty." VII. The advocates of Shang-te, especially Dr. Medhurst and Dr. Legge, have lately maintained, but not proved, that the Chinese know and worship the true God under this name. Medhurst seems to have taken up this notion recently, for the following quotations from his own work, published in England, viz., " China ; its State and Pros- pects," show that he held a very different opinion before this contro- versy commenced : " There are in the works of the philosopher (Confucius) some allu- sions to heaven and the presiding power of nature, and to fate, as the determiner of all things, but he does not appear to attribute origin- ality to the one or rationality to the other ; and thus his system remains destitute of the main truth which lies at the basis of all truth, viz., the being of a self-existent, eternal, and all-wise God." Again : " From these expressions about ' heaven,' the * Supreme Ruler,' {Shang-te,) and the * principle of order,' we might infer that the Chinese had some knowledge of the Ruler of the universe, and honoured Him as such, were we not baffled by the very incoherent manner in which they express themselves, and shocked at the propen- sity to Materialism which they constantly exhibit." Again : " ' No first cause ' characterizes all the sects, and the supreme, self-existent God is scarcely traceable through the entire range of their metaphysics ; and yet the Chinese manage to combine the apparently irreconcileable principles of Atheism and Polytheism. ' Gods many and Lords many ' are adopted by every sect, and it 14 is more easy to find a god than a man in China. Though they account no divinity to be eternal, yet they discover a god in everything." Dr. Legge asserts that Shang-te is " God over all, blessed for ever," but the assumption on which he rests his whole argument, and on the truth of which he stakes his reputation as a logician, that " Elohim is a relative term^' and not an absolute or generic one, carries along with it its own refutation. However, he endeavours to persuade his readers, by a vast accumulation of passages from the Scriptures, that his position is correct, and Shang-te being an analogous term is therefore its correlative in Chinese, and signifies "God over all, blessed for ever ! " The use of Shang-te for God will delude the Chinese with the notion that they are serving the one true God, while worshipping their idols under that name. Some of the junior missionaries who used this term out of deference to their seniors, had painful illustrations of this, which led them to discard the name with horror. " A missionary at Ning-po wrote to inform his brethren in the south that the term must be abandoned, for that one of their number having exhorted a man to worship Shang-te, and told him that Shang-te had sent his Son to save us, was met by the offer on the part of this man to show him his god, who therefore led him into a temple, and pointing to the image of Yuh-wang Shang-te (the chief god of the Taou sect), said, * There is the Father of Jesus ; there is THE god you worship !' " " A man of some intelligence, who read his own language very well, after hearing us preach, applied to Rev. Mr. Syle for special instruc- tion ; he gave him a copy of his Catechism, and requested him to come to his study every morning. The man came regularly for some ten days, and exhibited great interest. He read over all the attributes predicated of Shang-te, which we were accustomed to predicate of God, and appeared to understand thoroughly what he read. It occurred to Mr. S. one morning to inquire whether he followed the advice given him at the commencement of their inquiries to pray to Shang te every morning and evening?. The man replied, with great simplicity, that he had not failed to visit his temple twice a day for this purpose. This answer led to inquiry, and Mr. S., to his inex- pressible grief, learned that the man had been understanding him for ten days as recommending the worship of this idol ! " Bishop Boone's Defence of an Essay, S^c., p. 87. The great error of the party who advocate Shang-te has been that they have not taken up this important question in a serious, becoming spirit, and have not submitted to be guided by the Word of God. This they openly avow, and said to their opponents, " This we conceive has nothing to do with conscience, viz., moral sense, but with judg- ment, v&c. You have always considered this controversy as a matter affecting conscience ; we never have ! " Here is a strange admission ! Has the translation and interpreta- tion of God's Word nothing to do with conscience? Does not Jehovah pronounce that man blessed who fears and trembles at his word ? What, then, shall we think of a Christian teacher or trans- lator of God's holy Word who has no fear of mistaking the meaning of it, or of dishonouring his truth and glorious name ? It is no wonder that they who can avow and glory in such loose sentiments, should be more concerned for their own name and reputation as scholars, and more desirous of triumph in this protracted controversy, than for the glory of God, and the revelation of His Name and truth to the Chinese ! But will the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society connive at such conduct ? Will they, in the view of such ample and clear evidence for Shin, lean to the opposite party, and sanction and support the Shang-te version ? When the Chinese ask for "bread," shall we for bread, " the bread of life," give them " a stone ? " If they continue to halt between two opinions, I cannot conceive how they can avoid incurring a fearful responsibility to God and the millions of Chinese who are waiting for the bread of life. The case is now a plain one, and the Bible Society might at once set the question at rest, by coming to a decision, as the American Bible Society has done. It is impossible to roll the burden of their responsibility upon the shoulders of the missionaries, and to say with a quiet conscience, " We will still wait to see what the Lord will bring about in his good providence.'* The American Bible Society could conscientiously use this language in a spirit of forbear- ance and charity towards the British and Foreign Bible Society, after they had themselves investigated the matter thoroughly, and boldly decided for Shi7i. After seven years' sifting controversy, and after having again and again humbly remonstrated with the Committee of the Bible Society, I would once more earnestly and affectionately entreat them to recon- sider this matter in a serious, candid spirit, and with a single eye to the glory of God, and come to a decision on this all important subject, and set the seal of the Bible Society only upon one version, which alone can bring glory to God, and bless the Chinese with the light of his pure Gospel. * See Num. xxii. 19, compared with ver. 12. 16 Finally, I would also affectionately appeal to the friends of China, and the numerous contributors to the noble and benevolent scheme for giving a million of New Testaments to the Chinese, not to shrink from the plain path of duty, in requiring that version to be given, by which alone God will be honoured, and the Empire of China blessed with the pure Gospel. I now leave the matter in their hands, and with God, praying that He would vindicate his own cause, and graciously direct the hearts of his servants in the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society to a wise decision on this subject. A Life Member of the British and Foreign Bible Society, of Thirty Years' Standing. P.S. The writer is prepared to substantiate, by fuller evidence, every important point of the above brief statement. The nature and object of this summary view precludes further detail at present. APPENDIX. TESTIMONIES OF LEARNED HEBRAISTS IN FAVOUR OF SHIN FOR ELOHIM. Bev. Dr. IPCauPs testimony for Shin. " St. 3Iagnus Hectory, May 15, 1850. " My dear Sir, I have now read Bishop Boone's pamphlet, and am able to give an opinion as to the manner of rendering cnVw and mrr; though, to speak the truth, I had no doubt upon the subject, the moment the question was proposed. cn'-'X is the generic name of God, signifying * Deity object of worship,' and applicable either to the true God, or false gods, and cannot therefore be rendered by the proper name of any Heathen deity. I do not understand Chinese, but the arguments of Bishop Boone and your own statements, lead me to believe that Shin is the best word that can be adopted. " Alex. M'Caul. " The Rev. J. Tomlin." Again, on the 30th of May, Dr. M'Caul writes, " I had not an idea that any one doubted that Elohi.m is the generic name of deity. No proper name can express it. The proper name of a Heathen deity can only lead to confusion in the minds of the Chinese, and make them believe that the Jews worshipped one of their Heathen deities." Again, December 3d, 1851, he wrote, "I have read the Report of the American Bible Society on the Chinese version with much interest and pleasure. Jt bears the stamp of good sense and calm judgment, and I concur in their recommendation to adopt Sliin for God, and to transfer Jehovah, as a means of correctly representing the original Hebrew." 17 The late Professor Lee of Cambridge, and Dr. Todd of Dublin, though at first rather inclined towards Shang-te, after a full view of the arguments on both sides, expressed their decided judgment in favour of Shin. The Rev. Dr. Wilson, author of an excellent work in Hebrew, viz., " The Bible Student's Guide," and also the Hev. W. Carus, expressed their early and decided opinions in favour of Shin. The latter wrote, January 24th, 1852, " I must of course feel very incompetent to form an opinion where so many Chinese scholars differ. But one thing strikes me as of importance that everywhere the sacred and incommunicable name of Jehovah should be used itself, and no translation attempted. It cannot be translated. 1 have felt this a great defect in our own admirable English version. Next, with reference to translation of the terms * Lord,' and ' God,' I cannot see that there ought to be any difficulty ; that passage, 1 Cor. viii. 5, seems to me to settle the point. ' For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many and lords many), but to us there is but one God, and one Lord.' The ordinary term to express a god, or a lord, is obviously sufficient for translation ; so also for ' Spirit.' "W. Carus." Now, it is conceded by all parties that " the ordinary terms " in Chinese for "a god" and "a lord" are Shin and Choo, consequently Mr. C, guided by common sense and scriptural usage, determines for Shin as the proper rendering of Elohim, God, gods. TESTIMONIES RECEIVED IN APPROBATION OF THE LETTER TO THE "MORNING ADVERTISER," OF APRIL 1st, 1854, Which encouraged the writer to publish it, with additions, in the form of a Pamphlet. 1. Rev. M. Margoliouth. April 5, 1854. " I read your very interesting article on the ' Antagonistic Versions ' with very much satisfaction. In fact, I looked for something of the kind from you, ever since the ' million of New Testaments ' began to be talked of. I trust that both the Bible Society and the Prayer-book and Homily Society will do nothing rashly, but deliberate most seriously on the important arguments which you have advanced in favour of the only proper rendering of n^nV^, viz., Shin. Though I lay no claim to Chinese scholarship, I lay claim to having given the subject which you treat of as great an amount of study and consideration, as could have been given by any one similarly situated with mvself." 'April 7th, he adds, " 3fy Vicar was delighted with it. I got it to-day from him, and forwarded it to Chancellor Raikes, of Chester. I cannot help saying once more, the Committee of the Bible Society must now give heed to the right side of the question." 2. Rev. J. Byron, Vicar of Killingholme. " April 6. " My dear Sir, I have read the article with great pleasure, and think it must be perfectly satisfactory to any person who will be at the trouble of con- 18 sidering the question. I wish the Bible Society might be brought to adopt your view. Would it not be worth while to print your letter in the form of a cheap pamphlet ? " John Byron." 3. Rev. H. A. Browne, Rector of Toft Newton, "April 21, 1854. " My dear Sir, The letter, which I had attributed either to yourself or to the Rev. Mr. M'Clatchie, of Shanghai (now, I believe, in England), appears to me to make the course of the Earl-street Committee tolerably plain. I fear, however, that the minority have some strong supporters amongst the members of the London Missionary Society at home, and this may have its share in keeping the Bible Society's Editorial Sub-Committee from declaring any determinate conclusion." N.B. Mr. Browne acts as Hon. Secretary for the Society in Lincolnshire. 4. Rev. Samuel Broadbent, Superintendent of the Wesleyan Ministers in the Grimsby District. " April 29, 1854. " My dear Sir, I beg to return you my best thanks for the * Morning Advertiser,' and especially for the valuable and seasonable communication it contains on the subject of the Chinese versions of the Holy Scriptures. I have read it with much attention and interest. To my mind it is conclusive, and I cannot doubt but it will have weight with the Committee of the Bible Society, who are so much interested in the question. " Samuel Broadbent, " Formerly a Missionary in Ceylon and South Africa, during Six Years." 5. J. R. Rae, Esq. " K. Mains, Castle Douglas, Scotland, April 11. " My dear Sir, I have just read your valuable letter in the ' Morning Advertiser,' and I think you have proved the absurdity of using the term for the Chinese Jupiter as applied to the true God. The matter is of great im- portance, certainly far more than any mere question of philology." 6. Col. Inglis. " Carlingwarh House, Castle Douglas, April 13. " My dear Sir, Many thanks for the perusal of your very interesting letter in the 'Morning Advertiser,' which shows very clearly the British and Foreign Bible Society is wrong in not following that of the American Bible Society. " A. Inglis." Although the author has for several years had an extensive correspondence on this important subject with many friends, both in England and China, he has hitherto been reluctant to publish his opinions, and has resisted the repeated urgent entreaties of his friends to do so, because he hoped, year after year, that the Committee of the Bible Society would see their way was already made plain for coming to a decision, as the American Bible Society did four years ago. The following extracts from letters will show this more plainly : 19 1. The Rev. Mr. Syle, an American Episcopal Missionary at Shang-hai, writes to a friend at Southampton, July 5th, 1851 : " Is Mr. Tomlin in print, or has he, too, * left the controversy to its fate ? ' I trust not, for the matter is far from being settled. The duty which rests upon the Bible Societies of deciding rightly the important question as to how the money they spend shall be employed can only be met by a faithful dealing with the merits of the case. It can never be set at rest by the expedient of giving to this or that Society a few hundred pounds now and then to keep them quiet, and their presses going. Every vote of funds made in this spirit is an added wrong. " You are aware, no doubt, by this time, that the Bishop of Victoria has got up another compound term in addition to those previously proposed by Dr. Legge {Shang-te), and Sir George Staunton {Shin Shang-te), not to mention Mr. Meller's [Shang Shin), and the still earlier (Shin-teen) and (Tien-te). Add to this Dr. Bowring's O, and what a list of make-shifts have we got ! His Lordship's is Tien Shin, with which he is much enamoured. Let those take up with it who sympathize with, or are subservient to him ; I do not like the flavour of it, ' the old is better.' Until I see some more and better reasons than have yet been produced against the use of Shin, and Shin alone, I am constrained to adhere to it. Sad, my dear Sir, is it, and sad beyond expression, that our work should be embarrassed by the necessity for so much " striving " and " contending." There seems, however, to be no alternative left for us but this : either yield to an authority which we do not confide in, or maintain our ground (and it is the old ground, that on which Morrison and Milne stood), by stedfastly pro- testing against those who are not content to seek * the old paths,' but are con- tinually seeking out 'many inventions' of their own." 2. Extract from a letter of Mr. W. H. Rogeks, of Southampton, to Joseph Toomer, Esq. : ** I still take a deep interest in the question, and I should like to see it solved to the satisfaction of all, but I almost despair of doing so. I am firmly persuaded that Shin will finally prevail, but to hasten that day we must all lend a helping hand. I think the time has now come for Mr. Tomlin to throw in his powerful voice. I am sure it would tell well in China just now, and perhaps decide the question. Nothing material has emanated from Britain yet, and, as Mr. Syle says, all parties are looking for a voice from home, and with God's blessing it might prevail." The following was written in reply to the above entreaties : "iVw. 17,1851. " My dear Sir, I assure you I feel the force of the united wishes of Mr. Syle, Mr. Rogers, and yourself, that I should send forth a statement of our views on this important question . I have, indeed, more confidence in the judgment of my friends in this matter than my own. I may have erred in de- laying so long to publish. I thought the question had been so thoroughly sifted and made plain to every candid mind, capable of going into it fully, that our opponents would soon yield to Shin. The leaders of the opposite party, after changing their ground half a dozen times, and quitting every post as untenable, struck their colours, and fled to foreign or neutral ground, where neither duty nor inclination obliged or prompted us to follow them. " The redoubted Dr. Legge comes boldly to the rescue, takes up the fallen standard of Shang-te, and tries to rally the scattered forces, and, by dint of logical prowess, peculiarly his own, endeavours to set up ' Dagon ' upon his legs again ! "The Bishop of Victoria next steps in, and politely ofi'ers his services as mediator, and tenders to the two main opposing parties, ' Teen-Shin,' or * Teen-choo,' as a compromise, in favour either of heathenism or Popery I As Protestants, we say, * No surrender ! ' ' No peace with Pope or Pagan ! ' 20 " By God's help, I hope soon to enter the field more openly. Seeing that the Committee of the Bible Society, who ought to act as faithful and impartial umpires in this matter, are still wavering, and halting between two opinions, and feeling much encouraged by my friends in England and China, I resolve, by God's help, to renew the contest, though, as a man of peace, I would have rejoiced had there been no necessity for it. " Joseph Toomer, Esq." " J. T. The same friend, fearing there might still be delay, wrote in reply to the above : " I confess I should hail your publication as actually extant with delight ; though I cannot give in my adhesion to the modest opinion expressed in your letter, that you have grounds for more confidence in the opinions of Mr. Syle and of Mr. Rogers than in your own. I think a strong and determined exhibition of your views regarding Shin is yet a great deside- ratum, especially in China on the subject ; and that you are the only person in England capable of giving it, and that they may reasonably hope for such succour." I still waited more than two years in patient hope that the Lord would mercifully cut short this controversy, by causing his servants to see eye to eye in a matter so weighty, and now so plain. But as the Committee of the Bible Society seem to be still halting and lost in a mist, and the millions of China are craving the bread of life at their hands, I could not any longer be silent. Dr. Legge and the Bishop of Victoria seem to have more authority and weight with them, and the principal Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, than the large majority of fifty-five Missionaries against the small minority of nineteen ! And what has Dr. Legge to offer them but the compound term of the Jesuits, after having been discarded by its ablest and warmest advocate, Dr. Medhurst, and commended to them solely on the ground that he can prove that Elohim is a relative and not an absolute or generic term ! And why should the Bishop of Victoria be entitled to more regard than fifty-five practical missionaries, each of which knows, probably, much more of Chinese than his Lordship does ? And what does he offer for their choice ? Two compound terms, viz., " Teen-shin " and " Teen-choo," " Heaven's God," and " Heaven's Lord," as an adequate translation of the simple generic term Elohim I The former he soon discarded, though he boasted of having ten reasons for its adoption, and took up Teen-choo, which is the Romanist term, and a badge of the sect of the Roman Catholics amongst the Chinese! But this pet term, in turn, is also cast off, and now the old term of the Jesuits supplants it, and is at present the reigning favourite, both with the Bishop and Dr. Medhurst's party. So that we are now to have a Shang-te version of the Prayer-book, modelled after the Romish Breviary, as well as a Shang-te version of Scriptures ! Wertheim and Macintosh, 24, Paternoster-rovr, London. THE DOCTRINE OF THE PASTORATE: DIVINE INSTITUTION, EELIGIOUS EESPONSIBILITIES, AND SCEIPTUEAL CLAIMS OP THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, CONSIDERED WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WESLEYAN METHODISM. BY GEORGE SMITH, F.A.S., MEMBEB OP THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OP GBEAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, OP THE ROYAL SOCIETY OP LITERATURE, OP THE IRISH ARCH^OLOQICAL SOCIETY, &0. He that heareth you lieareth me ; and he that despiseth you despiseth me. Jesus Christ. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR: SOLD BY JOHN MASON, 66, PATERNOSTER-ROW. MDCCCLI. Price One Shilling. n\ lokdon: printed by jambs nichols, hoxton-squabb, TO THE REVEREND JOHN BEECHAM, D.D., PRESIDENT OP THE WESLEY AN CONFERENCE, THIS TREATISE, WRITTEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEFENDING C]^c Scriptural l^octrinc of tl)t C!)riltian ^a^toratt, OF DIFFUSING EVANGELICAL VIEWS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, AND OF PROMOTING A RELIGIOUS FEELING TOWARDS THOSE WHO SUSTAIN THAT SACRED OFFICE, IS MOST RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED, AS A PUBLIC ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PERSONAL AND FAMILY BLESSINGS RECEIVED THROUGH THE WESLEYAN MINISTERS, AND OF HIGH ESTIMATION OF THEIR CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, BY THE AUTHOR. Trevu, January 1st, 1851. PREFACE Numerous subjects, in these times of theory and excite- ment, claim attention, and struggle for ascendancy in the public mind. But, among them all, there is not one of higher intrinsic importance, or which stands invested with deeper interest, than that which is discussed in the follow- ing pages. Notwithstanding the great questions now mooted in political science, social life, educational progress, and moral philosophy, it would be difficult to select a single topic so fully identified with the best interests of the human family, so immediately associated with the practical operation of the gospel of Christ, as the doctrine of the pastorate, the scrip- tural claims, and legitimate religious position, of the Chris- tian ministry. Even in the present period of extraordinary developement, this is the question of the day ; and, in fact, comes before us as possessing additional importance from the existing state of the church and of the world. Towards the close of the last century, infidelity made alarming progress in our own countrj' ; and acquired such fearful ascendancy on the Continent, as even to threaten the existence of Christianity. But we have in our time seen evangelical religion rise up into powerful and vigorous action unknown for ages. Laying aside all minor matters of con- troversy, she has put forth her Divine energy for the salva- tion of the world, with a measure of success unprecedented since the days of the apostles. Benevolent institutions have been multiplied ; additional light has been cast on the great doctrines of Christian charity and of Christian temperance ; the practical experience of scriptural godliness has been dif- fused to a great extent through every grade of civil society ; and the power of the gospel has been brought, in aggres- sive action, to bear upon nominal Christians and benighted Heathens with gladdening results. The efiects of this onward movement have indeed been so signal, in the dif- fusion of spiritual devotedness and godly enterprise among the evangelical churches of our land, and in the removal of most of those obstacles which impeded our missionary operations abroad, throwing the whole world open to the efforts of Christian zeal, that sober-miuded Christians had begun to anticipate the dawn of that day when " the PREFACE. V glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." It could not, however, be expected, that the church mili- tant would be allowed to proceed in this career of hopeful progress, without special opposition from the malignity of the grand adversary. So it has proved to be. The powers of darkness raged ; earth and hell were moved. The first of these recent attacks was directed against the kingdoms of this world : their institutions were assailed. A revolutionary whirl- wind swept over Europe ; every throne trembled ; all faces gathered blackness ; sovereigns were hurled from their royal seats, their honours laid in the dust; and the constitution both of civil and religious society was convulsed to its centre. Yet, amid all this wreck of empire, deluge of blood, and waste of life and wealth, God watched over the land of mis- sions, of Bibles, and of evangelical effort : and through His gracious providence the sheet-anchor of European weal held firm ; Britain remained unmoved, and the great principles of religious advancement and improving civilization were conserved. But the artillery of the enemy was not exhausted in these civil commotions : a more direct attack on the religion of Christ was soon commenced. For a long period, an insidious effort had been made to introduce Popish doctrines and usages into the Reformed Protestant Church of England, and with considerable suc- cess. The culminating point of this effort was, an attempt to establish a claim on behalf of the clergy to extravagant and unscriptural powers as a Christian priesthood. These claims, when calmly considered in the light of scripture, simply produced disgust ; but, acting upon the democratic opinions and sensibilities which had been engendered and incited by political and revolutionary movements, they pro- duced, to a serious extent, a diminished respect, and in many minds a measure of contempt, for the Christian minis- try in general. It was impossible for any one to take an active part in the operations of Wesleyan Methodism, or to be an attentive observer of other churches, without perceiv- ing painful evidence of the existence and operation of this evil leaven. At this juncture, when the baneful feeling was at its height, an opportunity offered for the w^orld and the devil to make a combined onslaught on one of the largest and most influential of our evangelical churches. The Wesleyan Con- ference having expelled three ministers from the body, these persons commenced what they called "an agitation of the Connexion.'* On the details of this crusade against all ecclesiastical order and religious principle, I do not now Yl PREFACE. dilate. I have, once for all, expressed my opinion on that subject ; and shall ever rejoice at the success with which it pleased God to crown that production. My present more immediate object is to deal with the heresy which this agita- tion, acting upon the previously-excited state of the public mind, has evolved, promulgated, and brought into actual operation. I do not now stand between the Conference and schism, but interpose to repel the aggressions of heresy on an ordinance of Christ. This strong language is amply justified by the unscrip- tural principles which have been disseminated, and the still more unscriptural conduct which they have produced. It has been proclaimed throughout the length and breadth of the land, that Christian pastors hold their office, and exercise their ministry, in responsibility to the people ; that if ministers do not so conduct themselves as to give entire satisfaction to those who contribute towards their temporal sustenance, the people, or any section of them, are justified in withholding that support, and in attempting to starve them into supple compliance. This has been pompously paraded at public meetings. Some members and ministers of other churches, not particularly distinguished for their exhibition of " the meekness and gentleness of Christ," have joined with those "who are given to change," in urging these heretical dogmas. Pious, spiritually-minded minis- ters of Christ have not only been traduced as mercenary, servile, and paid agents ; they have also been stigmatized as venal and corrupt. It has been voted by quasi majo- rities, that it is the duty of Christian men, as members of a voluntary religious society, to recognise ministers as their spiritual pastors, and at the same time to deprive them and their children of the means of subsistence, for the express purpose of compelling them to act in opposition to their religious and conscientious judgment ! And this is exultingly proclaimed as "religious reform," "Christian progress," and, above all, "advancing liberty!" The issue of the unhallowed agitation on the "Wesleyan body, is no longer doubtful ; it has long since been decided. This evangelical church, raised by the special providence of God, and enabled by the gifts of his Holy Spirit to present to modern times the best specimen of " Christianity in ear- nest," will not only maintain its institutions unimpaired, and its evangelical power undiminished, but will soon emerge from the raging of this furious storm, purer than ever in spirit, richer in faith, and more mighty in apostolic energy : for to use the words of an able and honoured writer " Wesleyan Methodism is only in the infancy of its difficulties, of its moral power, and of its glory." PREFACE. VU The case, however, of those who are led away by these pernicious doctrines is not so easily solved. Nor can the full extent of their evil influence upon individuals or on society be estimated prior to the judgment of the great day. I have seen so much of this, have had such abundant evi- dence of the perversion of ignorant and unwary souls, through plausible pretences, that I have been constrained to publish the following sheets, in the humble hope that at least they may contribute somewhat toward arresting the insidious evil, and disseminating sound and scriptural views of the Christian ministry. But although these circumstances may be regarded as the immediate cause of this publication, it has been my object, as far as possible, to avoid controversy, and to produce a portable and cheap summary of scriptural teaching on a subject of vital and permanent interest to the church of Christ. Uninfluenced by prejudice or party, I simply desire to know the truth of God ; and, believing that I have in some measure succeeded in obtaining this knowledge in respect of the Christian ministry, I submit my thoughts most respectfully, but earnestly, to the attention of my fellow-Christians. In the discussion of the subject, it has been thought. best to confine attention almost exclusively to an investigation of the teaching of holy scripture. Great brevity has been stu- died, as it was important to confine the argument within a small compass. But it is hoped, notwithstanding, that no important element in the case has been neglected. This little work is devoted to the defence of what the author considers to be the cause of God, and of his truth. Whatever opposition it may excite towards him, by those of different opinions, will be cheerfully endured ; while all the good that may ensue shall be ascribed to the honour and glory of Him who is "over all, God blessed for ever!" Trevu, Camborne, December 28M, 1850. CONTENTS. SECTION I. Page. The Divine Ikstitittion of the Christian Ministry 2 II. This Ministry is, by Divine Appointment, separated prom all WORLDLY Pursuits and secular Enoaqements 9 III. The relative Position op Local Preachers to the Christian Ministry, considered with Reference to Opinions which have been recently propounded on the scbjeot . 22 IV. THE Christian Minister must evince a spiritual and blame- less Character, and manifest it especially in his Care OF THE Church 43 V. The Ministry is charoed with the Proclamation of Gospel Truth, for the Conversion of the World and the Edifi- cation op the Church : 47 VI. The Ministry is required to gather the Fruits of the Gos- pel INTO the Church, and to nurture this spiritual Body 51 VII. The Ministry is held responsible for the Exercise op godly Discipline, and the Administration of Church Govern- ment 55 VIII. Several popular Objections to the scriptural Doctrine of THE Pastorate considered 68 IX. Holy Scripture claims for the Ministry the Respect, Esteem, AND Affection op the Members of the Church 80 X. Holy Scripture claims for the Ministry an adequate tempo- ral Support..; 85 XI. Concluding Observations 91 THE DOCTRINE OF THE PASTORATE, The most powerful antidote to prevailing error is, the explicit manifestation of Divine truth. It is on this principle that the promulgation of the gos- pel is the grand remedy for the guilt and misery of our sinful world. Men may reprove evil, declaim against vice, denounce sin, with more or less success ; but, after all, the Divinely appointed means of checking the torrent of ini- quity is, to oppose its progress by the bulwark of God's holy word. This not only holds good as a general principle, but is equally important in practice ; and there are occasions when it is not merely the best course, but the only one avail- able. Every religious Protestant, who has carefully noted the progress of public events during the past few years, will allow, that it would be a task as endless as hopeless, to expose and refute all the perversion of scripture, and all the insidious error, that have been recently published on the subject of the Christian ministry. Popish assumption, either unblushingly avowed, or but ill-concealed under the plea of Anglican-churchism, has, on the one hand, impiously claimed for ordained ministers powers and prescriptive rights which invade the prerogatives of God, infringe the religious privileges of the church, and clearly evince their antichris- tian character ; and, on the other, a democratic. Chartist- like principle has assailed the legitimate character of the Christian pastorate ; and, not content with levelling all distinctions, and trampling on the most explicit declarations of revealed truth, aims at placing the ministry in necessary subserviency to the people. In these circumstances, although it may be neither pro- per nor possible to analyse and refute all the error, it is surely necessary to assert the truth, and to place the scrip- tural doctrine respecting the Christian Pastorate briefly, but fairly and fully, before the church and the world. This is the object and aim of the present Essay. In the prosecution of this purpose, I shall demonstrate in 2 DOCTRINE OF THE PASTORATE. [SECT. SECTION I. THE DIVINE INSTITUTION OF THE CHRIS- TIAN MINISTRY. The sacred institute which is now the subject of investi- gation, did not first come into operation in our time. We did not see its origin, or watch its rise and progress in the world. On the contrary, we look around us on every side, throughout all the various sections and ramifications of the Christian church, and find the Christian ministry existing as an ancient, settled, and established institution. The question, therefore, necessarily arises, Whence did it come? Is it from heaven, or of men ? Was this arrangement devised by human wisdom, and raised by human policy? or did it arise out of the direct appointment of God ? It is essential to a right understanding of the subject, that this question be clearly and fully answered. In order to its satisfactory solution, several particulars must be consi- dered : 1 . It will be necessary to refer to the origin of the Chris- tian ministry, and its historical developement, from the period of its appointment by our blessed Saviour, until it was fully established as an integral portion of the apostolic church. One immediate consequence of our Redeemer's public ministrations was, that a considerable number of persons attached themselves to him as his disciples. Aa the term imports, by this act they professed to devote themselves to '' learn " his doctrine. For this purpose, they not only attended his public ministry, but were also favoured with important religious instruction, given to them exclusively in a more retired and familiar manner. From these disciples the Lord Jesus at first chose twelve, whom he also named apostles, that is, ** persons sent.'* His object in this selection is distinctly stated in the sacred narrative. It was, '* that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils." (Mark iii. 14, 15.) Afterward he sent forth seventy others* of the disciples, to proclaim the approach of "the kingdom of God," and to " heal the sick," and to cast out devils. The commission given to these primitive preachers w^as so truly Divine, that the same responsibility attached to the hearing of their word, as to the listening to that of their Divine Master. For He said, " He that heareth you heareth me ; and he that despiseth you despiseth me." (Luke x. 16.) * This is the correct rendering of the phrase, which in our transla- tion reads, " other seventy also." The expression in the original does not denote a second seventy, but seventy besides the twelve previously mentioned. See Barnes in loc. I.] THE MINISTRY A DIVINE INSTITUTION. 3 Yet, notwithstanding tlie election of the apostles, and the sending of them and the seventy forth to preach, it may be regarded as an established fact, that, up to the time of the Redeemer's death, he had communicated to the apostles no precise information or commandment respecting their future caUing as ambassadors of mercy to a sinful world. Imme- diately after his resurrection this omission was supplied. The most remarkable of our Saviour's communications on this subject are the following : *' And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, bap- tizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (Matt, xxviii. 18 20.) "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Mark xvi. 15, 16.) *'Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day : and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations." (Luke xxiv. 46, 47.) "Then said Jesus to them again. Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them. Receive ye the Holy Ghost : whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John XX. 21, 22.) Following the course of events in the evangelical narra- tive, the descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost next claims our attention. On that occasion, all the disci- ples, in number about one hundred and twenty, were filled with a glorious effusion of the Divine Spirit, and spake in divers tongues to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the strangers who had come up unto the feast, "as the Spirit gave them utterance :" while " Peter, standing up with the eleven," explained to the astonished multitude the nature and character of this wonderful visitation. Three thousand souls were on that day saved, and added to the church. (Acts ii.) The conversion and vocation of Paul throw additional light on this subject. The special appointment of this eminent apostle is narrated in terms so strong and explicit, that they scarcely admit of misconstruction. " He is," said the Lord to Ananias, " a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." (Acts ix. 15.) The Divine communication to the Q 2 4 DOCTRINE OF THE PASTORATE [SECT. apostle himself is narrated as follows : "I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee ; deliver- ing thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to Hght, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is ia me." (Acts xxvi. 1618.) From these passages the inference is to be drawn, that the first heralds of the cross were immediately appointed by the Lord Jesus ; that, in fact, the original institution of the ministry was designed by him ; and that its nature and character are such as are made known to us, primarily, by the vocation and appointment of the apostles to their extra- ordinary sphere of duty. Bat it may be questioned, whether the men who suc- ceeded the apostles as the ordinary ministers of the church, are to be regarded in the same light ; whether these two classes are to be viewed as elements of the same great institution. A brief review of the sacred narrative will be sufficient to justify an affirmative answer to these doubts. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves," said Paul to the presbyters of Ephesus, " and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.^' (Acts xx. 28.) So that, just as the apostles were Divinely appointed, so were these, the first by Christ, the second by the Holy Ghost. The same truth is most unambiguously asserted in the Epistle to the Ephesians, where the inspired writer, enume- rating the several offices appointed in the church, says, **And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Eph. iv. 11, 12.) Here the unity and identity of the ministerial institute are clearly stated. Whatever difference there might be in the several offices, whether temporary, as suited to the times of the infant church, (as apostles and prophets,) or per- manent and requisite for the maintenance of the body of Christ in all ages, (as pastors and teachers,) they are all given by Christ. He designed the diversity, he adapted the office to the occasion, and the men to the office. The great object is the same, *' the perfecting of the saints, the building up of the body of Christ;" and the great appointing power is the same : " He gave" them. So that, as certainly as the apostles heard the voice of the Son of God, and knew they were called by him, so certainly I.] THE MINISTRY A DIVINE INSTITUTION. 5 docs every real minister of his sanctuary know, that he is called and appointed to his work hy the Spirit of Christ ; and that not merely instrumentally or mediately through the appointment of his people, but directly and positively by the influence of his Holy Spirit, making an intelligible and powerful impression upon his heart to that effect. Hence it is said, in a preceding verse of the paragraph just referred to, *' Unto every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ." (Eph. iv. 7.) The asser- tion of the Saviour on this point is as pertinent as it is powerful : *' He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." And almost immediately he adds, " I am the door," "I am the door." (John x. 1, 7, 9.) It appears, therefore, from a careful consideration of the manner in which the ministers of Christ's gospel were first appointed to their sacred office, as well as from the scrip- tural account of the way in which the ministry, as an institute, was established in the church, that the vocation is of God, and not of human device or invention. 2. The same conclusion will result from an inquiry into the character of the ministerial office. What are Christian ministers? The scriptural answer is, "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." (2 Cor. v. 20.) If, indeed, it be questioned whether this passage does not apply exclusively to the apostles, without reference to the ordinary ministry, a moment's consideration will be sufficient to remove the doubt. Timothy is associated with Paul as sending this epistle to the church at Corinth. (2 Cor. i. 1.) The plural pronoun in the text under consideration, therefore, does not refer to the apostles as a body, but to Paul and Timothy : so that the assertion, " We are ambassadors for Christ," is not even made with exclusive reference to the apostolic mission, but includes the ministerial agency which succeeded the apostles. The terms of the assertion justify and con- firm this acceptation of the passage. These ambassadors were charged with the ministry of reconciliation ; which clearly arose out of the ruined state of the world, and the mighty application of Divine Mercy. And both these elements are the same now as in the days of the apostles. The world is still at enmity with God ; and the gospel is still a gracious overture of reconciliation. Every man, therefore, who has been called out of the world, and Divinely commissioned to make a proclamation of mercy to his ruined fellows, is truly an "ambassador for Christ." Whose undoubted prerogative, then, is it to appoint an 6 DOCTRINE OP THE PASTORATE. [sECT, ambassador, but that of the prince who is to be repre- sented by hira ? This point, clear as it seems when regarded in that aspect, is not left to be elicited from the nature of the appointment : it is distinctly and repeatedly asserted. The apostle, speaking on this subject, is careful to tell us, *' All things are of God, who bath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, mul hath (/iren to us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Cor. v. 18.) *' Hath given to us :" so that the ministry is the gift of God, immediately com- municated to every one who is sent on this errand of mercy. Consequently, in immediate connexion with the passage already quoted, these ambassadors are called "the ministers of God;" (2 Cor. vi. 4;) and, in other places, "ministers of Christ;" (2 Cor. xi. 23;) their immediate relation to Christ as his servants being thus plainly asserted. 3. The validity of this doctrine may be further argued from the source of the qualifications necessftry to form the ministerial character. The scriptures uniformly speak of the ability to minis- ter as a Divine gift. " I came to you," says an apostle, " not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." (1 Cor. ii. 1, 4.) "The wisdom of God," revealing things "which God hath prepared for them that love him," is not fathomeJ by "the wisdom of this world:" "But," says the apostle, " God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." For " we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (Verses 6 12.) Again : "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves ; but our sufficiency is of God ; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament ; not of the letter, but of the spirit." (2 Cor. iii. ;>, 6.) Another in- spired .apostle says, " If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God ; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth : that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter iv. 11.) The word of God, indeed, clearly asserts, that, in the minis- tering of the gospel, the Holy Spirit is ministered ; and that this ministration arises not from any ordination, or rite, or circumstance employed by the minister, or received necessarily by him from others, but springs out of the spiritual state of the minister's mind, and the spiritual gifts with which he is endowed. " He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, dceth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Gal. iii. 5.) The proclamation of I.] THE MINISTRY A DIVINE INSTITUTION. 7 gospel truth, therefore, when made by ministers whom God has called and qualified, is emphatically spoken of as '* the ministration of the Spirit." 4. The Divine institution of the Christian ministry is further proved, by the nature and extent of the work which it is intended to accomplish. The peculiarities of this work are set fortli in the Divine commission given to St. Paul : "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." (Acts xxvi. 18.) It will be at once admitted that this emancipation of the human mind this turning - of men from Satan to God, this bringing of guilty persons to the experience of forgiveness of sin, and idtimately to the attainment of a heavenly inheritance is a work not only beyond all that the human mind could devise or effect ; it is one which no human intellect or energy can so comprehend, as to originate adequate means for its accomplishment. "Who can forgive sins but God only?" is a question which admits of but one, and that a self-evident, reply. And it will surely be allowed, that even more than this must be included in the power which could plan, and carry into execution, the appointment of a ministry of reconciliation. The object of this institution is set forth in other words : " Christ in you, the hope of glory : whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom ; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." (Col. i. 27, 28.) "And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ : till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph. iv. 1113.) These portions of holy writ still more fully exhibit the object of the Christian ministry as infinitely beyond the knowledge or the power of man. To "present every man perfect in Christ Jesus," to build up the body of Christ, until " all come in the unity of the faith, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;" this is a work far beyond all human enterprise. It never could have been attempted by the wisdom or the will of man. The grand object of the Christian ministry is, there- fore, either a fiction, and its pretensions a delusion, or the ministry is an institution appointed by God, and maintained in vigour and efficiency by his power. 8 DOCTRINi: OF THE PASTORATE. [SECT^ It does not at all militate against this conclusion to nrge, that there are many men professing to be Christian minis- ters, who never appear to aim at these high spiritual objects, and who certainly never afford any evidence that they have reahzed them in their ministrations. This is only to insis^t, upon what every one allows, that men may pretend to be Christian ministers who are neither Divinely called to the work nor qualified for it ; or that even good and real ministers may, in certain spheres of labour, toil for a long time without seeing satisfactory fniit of their ministry. The question is. Are there men who enter upon their work,' avowing this high and holy calling and purpose? Do they declare that they adopt the scriptural model, and stake their character upon the results ? And are these men surrounded by fruits of their ministry, who claim them as their fathers in Christ, and testify to all thtit they are turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unta God, and that they have obtained the forgiveness of their sins? And do such persons, from time to time, pass away by death, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God ? If this be the case, then we have proof positive in scripture and rn fact, th?it the high and spiritual object of the ministry declares it to be Divine. A careful consideration of the origin, developement, cha- racter, and qualifications of the ministerial office, as set forth in the New^-Testament scriptures, leads to the con- clusion, that, whatever false claims may be made by hypo- crites, or vain pretenders to this sacred ofllce, the Christian ministry is not an arrangement or device of man, or a profession, the duties of which any man, however gifted, can by the exercise of merely human powers adequately and efficrently perform ; but that it is an ordinance of God> a sacred institution, specially raised up by Almighty Power and Infinite Wisdom, to attest the greatness of the Divine Mercy to mankind, and to be the prominent agent in the salvation of the world. As this is an important point, it is necessary to be explicit. In asserting that the Christian ministry i an ordinance of God, it is not merely meant to state that it exists as such by Divine permission, in the same manner as many other distinctions, such as those between the rich and the poor, between masters and servants, between the learned and the illiterate, distinctions which arise out of the general provi- dence of God. The Christian ministry exists not merely by Divine permission as an institution, but by special and imme- diate individual call and endowment. Each man is called by the Holy Ghost to the office ; and is thus placed in immediate relation to Christ, as His ambassador, or minis- tering servant. Each individual is in some measure endowed. II.] THE MINISTRY SEPARATED AND UNSECULAR 9 immediately from God, with spiritual gifts expressly fitting him for the work. The Christian ministry is, therefore, in the most emphatic sense of the terms, a Divinely appointed institution. It did not originate in the will, wisdom, or power of man, but in the infinite goodness and mercy of the All-wise God. SECTION II. THIS MINISTRY IS, BY DIVINE APPOINT- MENT, SEPARATED FROM ALL "WORLDLY PURSUITS AND SECULAR ENGAGEMENTS. Although it is essential to a complete exhibition of the subject to prove the Divine institution of the ministry, this is not, at the present time, the most important, or the most disputed, portion of the scriptural doctrine of the Christian ministry. We live in days when evangelical truth is exposed to the opposite influence of conflicting errors. It becomes us, therefore, to exercise a sound and godly discri- mination, and to defend the truth of God *' by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on- the left." (2 Cor. vi. 7.) Popish error has invested the Christian minister with a false character, and given him superstitious claims. The Christian pastor is by it styled " a priest." And to sustain this absurd title, a pretended sacrifice has been invented, and falsehood and blasphemy have been introduced into the sacred services of religion ; whereas the whole tenor of scrip- ture declares that since " Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," (1 Cor. v. 7,) ** there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." (Heb. x. 26.) And as one leading error becomes the parent of a progeny of lies, it has been found necessary to claim for this so-called Christian priesthood the most extravagant and unscriptural powers. These priests are sup- posed to be invested w^ith a professional attribute of perform- ing miraculous acts. They can, as they allege, by pronouncing a certain form of words, actually change a wafer into the body and blood, soul and divinity, of our blessed Saviour : so that the identical body which was born in Bethlehem, which knelt on the Mount of Olives, which sweat blood in Gethsemane, and which died upon the cross, is actually made out of a wafer by the muttering of a Priest ; and then more wonderful still! this new creation of body, soul, and divinity is eaten by him and his credulous flock. Nor is this the only piece of spiritual legerdemain which is put forth by this false system. The minister, that is, the prie&t, is supposed to derive special grace by his ordination, through which he is enabled to do these superhuman acts. On this account he can make a wafer into Christ ; on this account baptism from his hands is sure to be accompanied B 5 10 DOCTRINE OF THE PASTORATE. [SEGT. by a spiritual work of grace in the heart even of an infant, by which the child is made the subject of regeneration and saving grace. In like manner it is taught, that the Lord's supper, comraunicated by one of these men, certainly minis- ters spiritual grace to the recipient ; and this irrespectively of the moral or religious character of priest or people. More than this, the ministerial power received at ordination is held to be indestructible during the life of the priest. He may sink into the lowest abyss of sin ; may become infidel in senti- ment, and alien in heart from all religion ; yet, Midas-like,, his touch retains its potency. Even should he renounce Christianity altogether as a system of fraud and falsehood, still baptism from his hand regenerates, and the eucharist dispensed by him conveys spiritual life ! If these unreasonable, unscriptural, and truly monstrous opinions had been confined to Popery, it would perhaps have been scarcely necessary to refer to them. But, unhap- pily, they are not so. The apostolical-succession doctrine of the Anghcan church is but a new edition of all these claims of ordination and sacramental efficacy. The Christian minis- ter, a priest, *'once a priest, always a priest," baptismal regeneration, and the necessary religious effect of the Lord's supper, rightly administered^ as they say, are echoed throughout the length and breadth of our land, to the amazement of uninstructed common-sense, and to the deep affliction of those who really understand the meaning of God's written word. But amazement and sorrow are not the only feelings excited by the constant iteration of these unscriptural dogmas. Sickening of heart, and thorough disgust at such absurd claims, have been induced to a wide extent ; and, as the human mind is always prone to oscillate from one extreme to another, an opinion has been introduced, and has obtained considerable support, that Christian ministers have no scriptural warrant for any peculiar status as a sepa- rate body. Hence it is asked with the utmost confidence. Were not the disciples in general described by the Saviour as *' the light of the world, the salt of the earth?" As of old, (Num. xvi. 3,; it is urged, " Are not the Lord's people holy every one of them?" The ministers, it is freely admitted, are Divinely called to their work, and qualified for the discharge of its important functions. But then, it is contended, so are other Christians specially fitted for their different spheres of usefulness, teachers for teaching, exhorters for exhortation, and others for other rehgious duties. The question of the times, therefore, respecting the Christian ministry, does not so much refer to its Divine appointment, as to the point whether it is thereby separated II.] THE MINISTRY SEPARATED AND TJNSECULAR. 11 from all secular pursuits, and required to give undivided devotion to sacred duties ; whether, in fact, the ministry is specially appointed to stand out in distinction from the body of the church, by being removed from all worldly engage- ments and pursuits, and limited in object and effort to the great work of preaching the gospel, and building up the church of God. In discussing this question, I will not stay to argue the case with those who place all the spiritual offices of the church, and all its didactic exercises, as of necessity, in the hands of the minister ; who, in fact, make the sacred office a castTe^ into which if a man is once introduced, he can never retire from it, whatever change may take place in his health, his sentiments, or his spirit. It will be sufficient here to declare, that this claim of ministerial prerogative is utterly at variance with the teaching of the Bible. It may, indeed, be questioned which of these fatal errors has inflicted the greatest amount of evil on the church, the reception of the extravagant dogma respecting the peculiar and exclusive right of the minister to exercise spiritual functions, or the kindred sentiment, that it is a violation of order, and essen- tially improper, for lay members of the church to teach, reprove, exhort, and, according to their ability, to afford rehgious instruction and aid to their friends, neighbours, and the public at large. These errors and evils mutually generate each other, and unite to wither and destroy the spiritual efficiency of the religious commuuity among whom they find a place. It is, however, necessary and important to show, that it is both the duty and privilege of every real Christian to be an in- strument in the hand of the Great Head of the church in sav- ing souls. This is the very genius of the gospel. " The king- dom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." (Matt. xiii. 33.) As the leaven, imbued with an energy of fermentation, would communicate the same principle to those particles of meal which should come into contact with it, and these, in their turn, would extend the stirring power to others, until the whole should become leavened ; so the men whose minds are imbued with saving grace, are to teach, advise, entreat, and pray for those with whom they have inter- course, until they, converted to God, shall carry on the ever- widening aggression, and the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Such is also the doctrine taught in the parable of the good seed. The same sentiments are inculcated in the first three petitions of the Lord's prayer. This duty is, indeed, a prominent doctrine of the New Testament ; and exhortations to its exercise are frequent. 12 DOCTRINE OF THE PASTORATE, [sECT. " Exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day.'* (Heb. iii. 13.) " Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." (James v. 20.) But le&t it should be supposed, as is sometimes the case, that these inculcations refer to the private communications and influence arising out of social intercourse, and do not warrant the laity to take any part in the didactic exercises of the church, or to conduct any of its services, I will bnefly direct attention to this point ; and, in doing so, will place in an abridged form before the reader what I wrote on the subject several years since. The twelfth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians may be referred to, as exhibiting important information on this subject. Here the apo&tle says, *' Now^ there are diver- sities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differ- ences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which work- eth all in all. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to another the w ord of knowledge by the same Spirit J to another faith by the same Spirit ; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit ; to another the working of miracles ; to another prophecy ; to another discerning of spirits ; to another divers kinds of tongues ; to another the interpretation of tongues : But all these workcth that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (1 Cor. xii. 46, 811.) This diversity of spi- ritual communication having been insisted on, the apostle proceeds to compare the whole to one l)ody, the body of Christ ; and dwells with emphasis upon the utility of every part, so that the foot could not say, ** Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body." (Verse 15.) And thus the whole company of believers at Corinth are said to be "the body of Christ." (Verse 27.) His Spirit and life is the animating principle of the whole ; and all the members, uniting their various powers and functions in harmonious action, mutually contribute to the general good. From the head or the hand, the wisest or most powerful minister, to the weakest and most obscure member, all partake of the same spiritual life ; and a beautiful diversity of influence is exhi- Uted by the combined operation of these various gifts of the Holy Ghost. How diff'erent is this from the clergy-and-laity principle, as exhibited in Popery throughout all its develope- ments ! In the fourteenth chapter of this Epistle, the sacred writer, pursuing the same line of teaching, observes, " I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied." (Verse 5.) On this text Dr. Clarke notes, "The word ^sAw II.J THE MINISTRY SEPARATED AND UNSECULAR. 13 does not so mucli imply a wish or desire, as a command or permission. As if he had said, * I do not restrain you to prophesying or teaching, though I prefer that/ " From the whole scope of the apostle's observations, it is evident that the rehgious instruction of the Corinthians was not limited to the ministrations of the presbyters, but that all those who were endowed by the Holy Ghost were encou- raged to a diligent exercise of the gifts intrusted to them ; and the members generally were not merely allowed, but desired, to "covet earnestly the best gifts." (1 Cor. xii. 31.) But it may be objected, that if these principles are adopted and acted on in the church, they would, under certain circumstances, almost necessarily lead to confusion ; and the same apostle is quoted to show that '* God is not the author of confusion, but of peace." (I Cr. xiv. 33.) All this is freely admitted : such was the case in the church at Corinth. We have, therefore, an opportunity of seeing the manner in which the great apostle of the Gentiles dealt with the application of these principles, when inconvenience had actually resulted from their operation. The members of the Corinthian church were richly endowed with spiritual gifts; but these were not always used with sound judgment, and for the edification of the church. St. Paul wrote on this subject at length ; and what is the substance of his teaching ? Does he say, that as confusion had been pro- duced in consequence of the part which so many had taken in the religious services of the church, therefore none should speak in public but those who had been specially ordained for the purpose ? Does he limit the ministration of the Spirit to one man in each congregation, that order might be maintained ? Nothing of the kind. On the contrary, he says, "Ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all m