BL 85 .H7 1908 Hoffman, Frank Sargent, 1852 -1928. The sphere of religion By FRANK SARGENT HOFFMAN THE SPHERE OF THE STATE : or, The People as a Body Politic. Cr. 8vo. $1.50 THE SPHERE OF SCIENCE ; A Study of the Nature and Method of Scientific In- vestigation. Cr. 8vo. . . . $1.50 PSYCHOLOGY AND COMMON LIFE : A Survey of the Present Results of Psychical Research, with Special Reference to their Bearings upon the Interests of Every-day Life. Cr. 8vo. Net . . . $1.30 THE SPHERE OF RELIGION: A Con- sideration of its Nature and of its Influence upon the Progress of Civilization. Cr. Svo. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York & London The Sphere of Religion A Consideration of its Nature and of its Influence upon the Progress of Civilization By Frank Sargent Hoffman, Ph.D. Professor in Union College, author of "The Sphere of the State," "The Sphere of Science," etc. "Truth, by whomsoever uttered, is from God. G. P. Putnam's Sons New York and London CTbe IRntcfterbocfter press 1908 Copyright, rgoS BY FRANK SARGENT HOFFMAN Ube Unicfterbocfter press, -Rew Ifforft PREFACE. This book is written for the express purpose of in- teresting thoughtful young men and women, especially those in our colleges, in the study of religion. It is the author's firm conviction that no other study offers to the student so many and such varied attractions, or exerts such a broadening and uplifting influence upon his mind and life. Anthropologists of to-day are unanimous in the opinion that religion came into the world with the very dawn of history, and that in all lands it originated the first signs of a civilized life. It has always in the past been a dominating factor in human development, and there is every reason to believe that it will con- tinue to be so in all time to come. No man or nation can dispense with religion, or keep it in the background. For every person is so made that when he has progressed far enough to distinguish himself from the world about him, he must recognize the existence of a power above himself and manifest some feeling of dependence upon that power. No hu- man beings have yet been discovered upon this planet who do not possess a religion of some sort, and the only serious question any man has left to ask himself on the matter is this : How can I so improve the religion I already have as to make it of the highest possible worth ? It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a sub- iv Preface ject that in recent years has undergone greater or more radical modifications as to its nature and mission than the subject of religion. President Harris of Amherst College put it none too strongly when he said in his baccalaureate sermon to the class of 1907, *' I venture to say that the Protestant Reformation itself did not work a greater, though, perhaps, a more violent change, than the last quarter of a century has marked in religious thought, belief, and life." No person in our day has any right to consider him- self a fairly well-educated individual who is ignorant of these changes, or has intentionally ignored them as of slight account. For no other matter so vitally affects his own welfare and that of the community at large. In trying to elucidate in some degree the present-day position regarding the sphere and significance of re- ligion, the author has endeavored to give an impartial hearing to the different forms of religion that have at- tained any special prominence in the course of history. He assumes that the reader will have little difficulty in selecting the one that, by its own inherent reasonable- ness and adaptation to actual human needs, is most worthy of the acceptance of his intellect and the vService of his life. Two of the chapters, the first and the ninth, have already appeared in the North American Review^ and two others have been printed wholly or in part in the Proceedings of the associations before which they were read and discussed. They are here reproduced with the consent of the publishers and at the suggestion of friends. If the readers of this book secure from its perusal even a fraction of the pleasure and profit that the author Preface v experienced while investigating the topics discussed, he will feel himself amply repaid for his efforts in trying to compress the treatment of so great a theme into so small a compass. F. S. H. Union C01.1.EGE, January, 1908. CONTENTS CHAPTER I What is Religion? CHAPTER H Steps in the Evolution of Religion . . 13 CHAPTER HI Sacred Books and How They Originate a. The Sacred Tablets of the Baby lonians . . . . • b. The Egyptian Book of the Dead c. The Vedas of the Hindus d. The Chinese Classics e. The Iliad and the Theogony of THE Greeks . . • • /. The Avesta of Zoroaster g. Buddha's Tripitaka . h. The Bible OF THE Jews . i. The Christian Scriptures j. The Koran of Mohammed k. Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon /. Mrs. Eddy and ''Science and Health " .... m. Madame Blavatsky's " Isis Un veiled" 37 37 52 60 71 77 94 100 107 131 150 165 210 vlli Contents CHAPTER IV The REI.ATION OF THE Fine Arts to Rei^igion 232 CHAPTER V ReIvIGion the Key to History . . . 256 s^ CHAPTER VI What Rei^igion has to Do with Kducation . 278 CHAPTER VII The Church and the Right to Property . 307 CHAPTER VIII The Church and the Modern State . 320 v chapter IX The Scientific Method in Theoi^ogy . . 338 chapter X Human Immortality and its Relation to Religion 352 chapter XI The Present- Day Conception of God . . 368 Index 389 The Sphere of Religion THE SPHERE OF RELIGION CHAPTER I. WHAT IS RKI.IGION? (First published in the North American Review, Feb., igo8.) No one at all acquainted with the tendencies of thought at present can fail to be impressed Vv^ith the greatly increased interest now being taken in the study of religion. Thinkers of every shade of opinion upon other subjects are fast coming to recognize the fact that religion has always held a vitally important place in the development of every race and individual, and, whether we like it or not, is certain to remain a most potent factor in the civilization of the future. For a number of years the most persistent efforts have been put forth by a small army of able investi- gators to find out the actual facts of man's religious life in all times and countries. Not only have the sacred books and rites of the nations of the earth been subjected to the most rigid scrutiny, but the folk-lore of all lands and even the crudest superstitions and most repulsive practices of savages have been carefully studied. Every possible means has been taken to dis- cover what ideas man has had in all conditions of his existence concerning the powers that rule over this universe, and also to determine to what extent these ideas have affected his thought and life. The Sphere of Religion But nothing is more 'apparent in this awakened in- terest in the subject of religion than that the old view of what constitutes religion has undergone, in some respects at least, an actual revolution. The narrow sectarian position of a generation ago has been shown to be wholly untenable ; and religion, instead of being the possible acquisition of a few, w^e now see reaches its roots deep down into the very subsoil of humanity, and cannot help giving itself some sort of expression, for good or for ill, in the experiences of every indi- vidual. Hence the chief inquiry of our time on this subject is not any longer whether a man has any re- ligion, but whether the religion that he does have is of any real value ; whether it is a help or a hindrance to his own progress and the ultimate triumph of truth and right. But before this question can properly be taken into consideration, we must make a careful scrutiny of an- other, namely, what exactly is to be meant by religion ? On this point there is still great confusion, and in the present state of the study of religion no need is more imperative than to have this confusion cleared away, or at least reduced to a minimum. We may be greatly helped to the attainment of this end by observing in the first place that religion is not to be confounded with religions. Religion is that out of which different forms of religion grow or de- velop. It stands related to religions about as the first man stands related to the whole human race. It is the germ or principle which lies at the foundation of all religions and out of which they all proceed. No error can be greater than to begin our present investigation with such a definition of religion as ex- cludes by its very terms all other religions than the What is Religion f 3 one that we ourselves most approve. This error is not an uncommon one among writers on the subject even in our own day. A distinguished Oxford professor, Sir Monier Monier- Williams, recently maintained that '•a religion, in the proper sense of the word, must postulate the existence of one living and true God of infinite power, wisdom, and love, the Creator and De- signer and Preserver of all things visible and invisible," besides other doctrines which he specified. Then he proceeded to exclude at once Buddhism from the list of religions as "no religion at all." Manifestly, a defi- nition of religion should have in it what is applicable to all forms of religion from the lowest to the highest, and not merely what is true only of one. In the second place, religion should not be identified with a belief in the existence of superhuman spirits. We are not here concerned with the question as to whether the first known variety of religion actually took on this form. It may be admitted at once, how- ever, that most of the religions now current in the world do make a great deal of this belief. But what we maintain is that if the belief should turn out to be unfounded, religion would not be destroyed thereby. It was formerly held that the wind is an immaterial spirit; that the sun, moon, and stars are gods and god- desses with their own separate ambitions and whims; that the tides ebb and flow and that plants grow and decay in direct obedience to spiritual powers. But everybody at all acquainted with the physical science of to-day is of course well aware of the fact that no such supernatural beings exist, and that these objects and their activities are satisfactorily accounted for on quite other grounds. The untutored savage, when he awakes from a The Sphere of Religion dream, believes that he has been away on a journey, or that other people have visited him. But as he takes it for granted that his body does not make these ex- cursions, he naturally concludes that his phantom or image makes them ; and when he beholds his shadow on the ground or sees it reflected on still water, he naturally infers that his double self is following him about. But no psychologist of to-day would of course admit the validity of such an explanation for these or any similar mental states that might come within the range of human experience. The realm of alleged superhuman spirits is con- stantly being lessened by modern research, and we have no way of telling at present where exactly this lessening process is going to end. Our point is that it is immaterial to our inquiry after the essential thing in religion as to where it does end. Many existing vari- eties of religion may have to go as many have gone already, but religion will remain. The doctrine of the existence or non-existence of superhuman spirits is not fundamental to its continuance. One of the ablest advocates of this view of religion is Prof. B. B. Tylor. In his Primitive Culture (vol. i., pp. 424-5), after very properly insisting that the first requisite in a systematic study of the religions of prim- itive men is to lay down a rudimentary definition, he proceeds to criticise those generally in vogue. He finds the chief error of them all to consist in identifying religion with particular developments, rather than with the deeper motive which underlies them, and concludes by saying, ' ' It seems best to fall back at once on this essential source, and simply to claim as a minimum definition of religion the belief in Spiritual Beings." What is Religion ? Now it is admitted that this belief may be a charac- teristic of all primitive religions ; and, if we were merely- treating of the histoiy of religion, we might find this definition of much use. But we are looking for the germ or common principle of all religions, and that is something for which this conception of religion does not adequately suffice. Again, we should not regard religion as primarily resting upon a belief in human immortality. Even so great a philosopher as Kant maintains that *' without a belief in a future life no religion can be conceived to exist ' ' ; and John Fiske in his very helpful book, ThroKgk Nature to God, asserts that the "belief in the unseen world in which human beings continue to exist after death' * is essential to religion. Both these thinkers forget that the early Jewish religion was with- out such belief, and that in many religions where it does exist it forms no important part of either belief or practice. Among the ancient Greeks immortality meant the immortality of the family or state rather than that of the individual. In many religions whole classes are formally ex- cluded from it and the doctrine is by no means univer- sally held to-day. As Howerth well says in a recent article {Internaf. Jour, of Ethics, Jan., 1903, p. 190) : ' ' What has the conception of immortality to do with the religious philOvSophy of those who hold, with the late Prof. Huxley, that religion is reverence and love for the ethical ideal, and the desire to realize that ideal in life ? or with that of the philosopher Herbart, who considered sympathy with the universal dependence of men as the essential natural principle of religion ? ' ' Important as this doctrine may be to some concep- tions of the ultimate nature of the universe, religion The Sphere of Religion would not perish if it should turn out to be erroneous. For what may happen in eternity cannot be the de- termining cause of the existence of a thing here and now. If the doctrine of conditional immortality, advo- cated by so many in our day, should become a general view, the universal acceptance of the doctrine would not annihilate religion. The idea of immortality can- not therefore be regarded as its final basis or ground. Nor can we clear up this subject of religion by mak- ing it primarily dependent upon the belief in one per- sonal God. This belief is, to be sure, the dominant form of thought on the subject of religion in all civil- ized lands, and that much must be admitted in its favor. But by holding to this as a satisfactory defini- tion of religion we should exclude the vast majority of the human race from the category of religious beings. For many maintain that no primitive races have this idea, and the Buddhistic religion with its almost un- told number of adherents teaches just the opposite doctrine. Of course, we are not concerning ourselves with the truthfulness or the value of this belief Our only contention now is that those w^ho deny this doc- trine do not destroy religion. What man in history was ever more sincerely relig- ious to the very core of his being than the philosopher Spinoza ? His whole life was devoted to the advocacy of the doctrine that the only thing in this world worth striving for was to love and know God. ' ' Our salva- tion," he says, " or blessedness, or liberty, consists in a constant, or eternal love towards God." Yet he dis- tinctly and deliberately rejected the personality of God as wholly out of harmony with a sound philosophy. Nature, or the World-Force, was the object of his reverence and love. What is Religion ? As a matter of fact, belief in the existence of many- gods has been far more prevalent in the history of mankind than the belief in one. Suppose polytheism should ultimately prevail over all lands, or pantheism should become the universal doctrine. That would not do away with the existence of religion. It would only be changing its form of manifestation. If the positions already taken are sound, we have gone far enough to see that religion in the truest and most profound sense of the term is not primarily de- pendent upon any specific set of beliefs. It does not rise and fall with these beliefs, or go out of existence if they cease to be. The greatest variety of beliefs have been held by the religious leaders of the world from Confucius and Zoroaster and Socrates down to our times and ntry, but few, if any, specific articles of belief are taught by them in common. No one of the creeds, even among Christians, is established beyond critical investigation, and many of them may yet be set aside or at least greatly modified by advancing thought. E. Ritchie, after a very satisfactory discussion of the relation of creeds to religion in a late number of the Philosophical Review (January, 1901), clearly states the true position in these words : ' ' We must conclude, then, that there is no particular belief as to what the ultimate reality of things is, or as to man's relation to that reality, which is either essential to, or incompati- ble with, the possession of religion." This position does not imply, however, that religion has nothing at all to do with belief ; for the opposite is true, as we shall , see a little later. Nor are we to find the ultimate ground of religion is some particular feeling or set of feelings. In the sys- tem of the famous theologian, Schleiermacher, religion 8 The Sphere of Religion was regarded as neither a knowing nor a doing, but a feeling ; and it was made to rest fundamentally on * ' a feeling of absolute dependence. ' ' Several able modern writers seem to hold this view, of whom Prof Lester H. Ward may be taken as an example. In an able article in the Iniernat. Jour, of Ethics (January, 1898), he says: "It is this sense of helplessness before the majesty of the environment which if it is not religion itself, is the foundation upon which all religion is based." The error here is not in holding that religion has to do with feeling, but in maintaining that it is grounded primarily on feeling alone. For it is psy- chologically untrue to fact that any human feeling springs up of itself. It is always preceded by some act of knowing of at least some degree of clearness and force. Finally, for the negative side of our inquiry, religion is not primarily a doing. It is not based alone upon the will. There are no acts the performing of which makes a man religious. Even ' ' being good and doing good," though a good thing in itself, will not account for religion. Nor is it adequately defined as obedience to the commandments of God or as the subjection of our fallible wills to a higher will. All these positions con- tain an element of truth ; but they do not lead us to the essence of religion as in the Hght of modern knowledge it ought to be considered. The apostle James was evidently not speaking of the ultimate foundations of religion, but of a local and temporal condition, when he made pure and undefiled religion to consist of this : * ' to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." We must look for a satisfactory definition of religion, therefore, not to any specific belief, or kind of feeling, What is Religion ? or set of voluntary acts, but to the whole of man as a knowing, feeling, and willing being. We should not identify religion with any one of these three kinds of mental phenomena, but with them all. The psychology of to-day teaches that these phenomena in all proba- bility never occur separately ; that the unit of con- sciousness includes in some measure the activity of all three. Every act of perception is accompanied by a feeling, and every feeling by an act of will. Nor can the order of their occurrence be changed. Every voli- tion is preceded by a feeling, and every feeling by some sensation or intellectual act. Pfleiderer is right when he insists that in every religious act the whole personality participates. Hence a correct definition of religion must be deter- mined by the way we put these three elements together. Our problem is a problem in psychology. It is not in the study of theology or ethnology, but of this science that we shall find the data for the proper solution of it. Religion exists because man exists. It grows up out of the normal development of his powers, and in trying to define it no basal element in his nature should be left out of account. Religion shows itself just as soon as man has devel- oped beyond the mere satisfaction of his animal appetites and begins to exercise his higher powers. There is a partial truth at least in Prof. Ward's position that " re- ligion is the substitute in the rational world for instinct in the sub-rational." No new-born babe or full-grown idiot has any religion, but every normally developed human being has. Whenever a man knows enough to distinguish the outside world from himself, and tries to act in accordance with this knowledge, he begins to be religious. lo The Sphere of Religion The first element, therefore, in religion is the recog- nition of the existence of a power not ourselves pervad- ing the universe. And another is the endeavor to put ourselves in harmonious relation with this power. Of course the feeling or affective element is presupposed as coming in between the other two. For without it the endeavor would lack a motive, and could therefore have no existence whatsoever. Kvery sane man believes at least that he is only a fraction of the sum-total of things. He also feels some dependence upon this sum- total, and he is obliged to put himself in some sort of accord with it. This is w^hat Caird has condensed into the statement, '' a man's religion is the expression of his ultimate attitude to the universe" {EvoluHo7t of Religion, vol. i., p. 30). Every growing man is continually changing in some degree his conception of the universe and the mysteri- ous power that it manifests, but at no time in his career does he arrive at a final and completed conception of it. This is due of course to the fact that his experience is limited and can never be anything else. One of the greatest reflections upon a man's character in this age when so much is being added to our knowledge of the universe is that his views about religion never change. Still, we must not forget that religion is a great per- manent reality. It is not something that comes to-day and goes to-morrow. So long as man endures, it will endure ; and as man advances it will grow in import- ance and power. Here we need to note the fact that the permanence and reality of religion can never be affected in the least by the teachings of any science. For science is only one of man's imperfect ways of looking at his know- ledge. It can never make or break any reality. Re- What is Religiofi ? 1 1 ligion was in the world long before any of the sciences came into being, and it will stay here whatever may be their future development. For science is a means to an end, and when the end is attained, when a perfect comprehension of the truth, such as we might suppose a god to possess, is arrived at, there will be no need of science. But so long as man remains finite, science will have a great deal to do with the various forms of religion that from time to time make their appearance in history. For it is the business of science to investigate and criticise all kinds of beliefs, and particularly all beliefs that are proposed for the acceptance of mankind concerning the nature and attributes of the supreme power that pervades the universe. Not infrequently science has had to combat with vigor such beliefs, for they have often been out of all accord with carefully ascertained truth. At certain periods in the past the greatest enemy of religion has been theology, and in certain localities this is the case at present. For theology is almost always the last science to yield to the incoming of new truths. But whatever may be the teachings of theology or any other science, the essential thing in religion is not destroyed thereby. The germ is always present and is growing with some degree of vigor and bearing some kind of fruit. If the view of religion taken above be correct, we are led to the observation that every man is by nature re- ligious, and unless he twists his growth out of its normal course of development, he will always remain so. Irreligion is not the state or condition of having no religion at all. It is rebellion against what one really believes to be the best religion, and the setting up of some inferior religion in its stead. Every sane 1 2 The Sphe7^e of Religion man must have a god of some sort. He is so made that he must worship something. He must put some- thing over and above himself and pay that something homage. Modern students of the subject of reHgion are now everywhere admitting the great truth con- tained in the statement of the ancient Psalmist that only a fool can say in his heart, *' There is no God." They are willing to go much farther and accept with- out hesitation the recent assertion of President Bliot of Harvard, that the true test of any man's progress in civilization is his idea of God. CHAPTER II. STEPS IN THE EVOI.UTION OF IvEUGION. The most remarkable thing yet discovered about this planet is the fact that human beings exist upon it in lar-e numbers, scattered almost everywhere over its surfece, who pay homage to super-terrestrial powers But this fact, remarkable as it is, is only a portion of the truth. For the most searching and unprejudiced investigation has failed to reveal any time in human history when it was otherwise. However ignorant and forlorn man may have been in the past, we have no evidence that he has ever been so low down m the scale of being that he did not look upward with some deo-ree of reverence and awe to higher powers. Not many years ago this fact of the universal pre- valence of religion among men was seriously called m question by no less weighty writers than Sir John Lubbock and Herbert Spencer. They quoted at length from the reports of certain travellers and missionaries among the Eskimos of North Greenland, the Hottentots of South Africa, and the Indians of Lower CaUfornia, ni support of fheir position; and they stoutly contended that in these documents we have proof, positive that there are communities now in existence that have no religion at all. This challenge lead to a careful and thorough study of the status of these tribes by compe- tent anthropologists, and in every case an extensive mythology was discovered among them, together with 13 1 4 The Sphere of Religion elaborate religious rites. A false idea of the meaning and scope of religion, a short stay in the country, or a lack of knowledge of the native language, had been the cause of the mistaken judgment. Probably no scholar of repute to-day would hesitate to accept the statement of Prof. D. G. Brinton in his work on The Religions of Primitive Peoples (p. 30) that *' there has not been a single tribe, no matter how rude, known in history or visited by travellers, which has been shown to be desti- tute of religion under some form." The reason for this historical fact is a psychological one, and has never been more clearly or forcibly ex- pressed than by Dr. Edward Caird. ' * Man, ' ' he asserts {The Evolutio7i of Religion, vol. i., p. 77), " by the very constitution of his mind, has three ways of thinking open to him : he can look outwards upon the world around him; he can look inwards upon the self within him, and he can look upwards to the God above him. ' ' And he very appropriately adds, " none of these possi- bilities can remain utterly unrealized." For the fact is that man is a self-conscious being. And inasmuch as he is endowed with some degree of reason and will, he cannot stand still and passively gaze at the objects about him as though he were a mere brute. He must at least exert himself enough to form some kind of a conception of the powers around and above him, and put forth some degree of energy to place himself in harmonious relations with them. But it should not at all surprise us if at the outset of his career^ as a religious being, he shows the same confusion of ideas about the objects he worships as he does about all the other matters that come within the sphere of his experience. On the contrary, we should naturally expect to find him growing and developing Steps in the Evolution of Religion \ 5 in his religious ideas as he grows and develops in all others. As a matter of fact, this is actually the case, and it will be our present purpose to trace out in a general way some of the principal steps that he has taken as he has advanced from lower to higher conceptions on this subject in the course of history. It is now generally agreed by careful students of an- thropology that the most primitive form of all religion is best characterized by the word Spiritism. This is the naive and unreflective belief that most objects in this world, especially those that are capable of motion, contain an unseen being, which, for the lack of a better term, we will call a demon, or spirit; that these spirits have superhuman powers and can affect for good or ill everything that concerns the ongoings of nature and the lives and happiness of man. In this stage of de- velopment human beings attribute all their pleasant experiences to a friendly demon, and all their disagree- able ones to just the opposite source. Hence they make use of every means in their power to win the favor of the good spirits, and ward off the envy and wrath of the bad. The reason for this state of things is not hard to find. For when the primitive man first begins to give form to his religion, he is himself the only being that he knows anything about that possesses the power of spontaneous action. He cannot help attributing the same power to all the objects with which he in any way comes in contact. He acts just as every little child acts in a similar condition. Any object that constantly gives a baby pleasure it pats and caresses with affection. The one from which it gets a hard pinch or knock it wants to pound and kick with all its power. It spon- 1 6 The Sphere of Religion taneously assigns to the object the same sensations and feelings and will as it is itself conscious of. Its experi- ence is so limited and crude that it does not know enough to do otherwise. So it is with primitive man. To him every other is another, and he attributes to that other all of his own powers. In his opinion the world about and above him is made up of a vague, in- definite host of superhuman demons or spirits, and the form of his religion is determined by that fact. Another thing that confirmed the primitive man in the belief that he was surrounded by a world of super- sensuous beings was his experience in dreams ; when he had developed far enough to remember his dreams with any vividness, he always thought of them as real experiences. The beings that visited him in his sleep were as genuine realities and as truly to be dealt with as any that he came in contact with when awake. In fact, he finds that he can often do things in dreams that he cannot do when awake, and that he frequently communes with beings that he has no knowledge of when awake. The Kamtchatkans and Eskimos, we are told, determine what they will do when awake to a great extent by their dreams ; for they regard the knowledge obtained in this way as far superior to that gained through the senses. Lucretius, however, goes too far when he asserts that ' ' the dreams of men peopled the heaven with gods." Many of the lower animals are vivid dreamers, but they show no signs of having any religion. Still, dreams in all ages have often been regarded with superstitious reverence, and were ur doubtedly an element in determining the character of the primitive religion of mankind. It has come down to us from the Latin poet Petro- nius that "fear first made the gods." As a complete Steps in the Evolution of Religion 1 7 statement of the origin of religion, it is contrary to the history and nature of man. The primary religious influence is not fear, but confidence and awe. The spirit of many early religions was quite the opposite of fear. ' ' Probably the first of all public rites of wor- ship," says a high authority (Brinton, The Religions of Primitive Peoples, p. 181), "was one of joyousness, to wit, the invitation to the god to be present and to partake of the repast." So Prof. Frank Granger testifies in his work on the Worship of the Romans. No word of mourning was allowed at their religious celebra- tions, and usually they consisted in large part of the- atrical performances, horse-races, dances, and games for the entertainment of their gods. Dr. Robertson Smith tells us in his Religioji of the Semites (p. 260) that the early Semitic ceremonies were " predominantly joyous," and it was often this element in their worship that led them to indulge in the grossest excesses. Many other modern students of the subject would bear witness to the presence of joy and confidence in primitive religions. Yet it cannot be denied but that fear early came to be one of their most important elements. For just as with the little child, the primitive man was often disappointed in his confidence. As his experience widened and the ills of Hfe multiplied, he began to doubt the friendly character of the spirits. He soon came to the conviction that some only were favorable to him. The rest were to be feared. And as fear once .xroused feeds upon everything within its grasp and grows with extraordinary rapidity, the uncertainty as to what the attitude of the spirits would be toward him naturally caused the primitive man to spend the most of his energy in devising ways to appease their wrath. 1 8 The Sphere of Religion Wherever this form of religion now prevails, demons of darkness and destruction have come to receive al- most exclusive worship. In fact, the wretchedness and misery of heathendom, — cannibalism, human sac- rifices, and the revolting licentiousness of many primi- tive religious rites — are chiefly due to the frantic ef- forts of ignorant man to propitiate these monsters and ward off their manifold terrors. A slight step in advance beyond spiritism was taken when the opinion began to prevail that all objects do not contain superhuman beings, but only some of them. This stage in religion is called Fetishism. The term was first applied by certain early Portuguese explorers to the objects worshipped by the savage tribes they discovered in Senegal and the region of the Congo. They found some of these peoples paying homage to such objects as a piece of wood, a feather, the fin of a fish, the claw of a bird, the hoof of a goat. Others among them regarded with reverential awe a big rock, a grove of trees, some such animal as a snail, a snake, a lizard, or a crocodile. In fact, anything became an object of worship to them when they fancied that a powerful unseen being had attached himself to it. If a fetish brings good luck, it may be sold for a high price if the owner wishes to part with it. If it brings bad luck, it is thrown away or demolished. For all virtue has gone out of it. The spirit that was in it has departed, and it has lost its power. The favorite fetish of a Papuan of New Guinea is a little wooden doll with a bright colored rag tied around it. If a stroke of ill fortune comes to him when he has this in his belt, he will take it out and stamp on it, or tear it in pieces with his teeth, and cast it from him as of utterly no value. Steps in the Evolution of Religion ig When food is offered by a South African negro to a stone by the wayside, he does not expect the stone to eat it. The food is for the fetish that resides in the stone, and the fetish is always a spirit. Man's first home was probably the hollow of a tree. He lived on the fruit of the tree and sought refuge in its branches. But when some Mexican tribes took a tree for their fetish, they did not worship the material of the tree. It was only the spirit that resided in it that they reverenced. As we go about over the surface of the earth, we find that different tribes have selected different objects for their fetish, according as the objects have impressed themselves upon them as possessing superhuman powers. Among the Maoris of New Zealand spiders were paid divine honors ; for it was in their gossamer threads that they fancied the souls of the departed as- cended heavenwards. Some of the Indian tribes of the Northwest regarded the raven, or the thunder-bird, as they called it, as es- pecially sacred ; and according to Captain Cook, the Sandwich Islanders also did so. The peacock, the swan, the rooster, the eagle, and the dove, have been the favor- ite fetishes of other tribes. In Australia and Polynesia the lizard was greatly revered. The Chaldeans paid the fish divine honors. In Egypt the ox was especially sacred, and so it is in parts of India. In certain of the Fiji Islands the shark is worshipped, just as the alliga- tor is in the Philippines. The Samoyeds in Siberia make fetishes of the whale and the polar bear. But the most widely worshipped of all animals is the serpent. Mr. Ferguson, in his work on Tree and Ser- pent Worship, finds that the serpent was accorded di- vine honors by nearly all the nations of antiquity, and 20 The Sphere of Religio7t is now worshipped in many parts of Asia, Africa, and America. Among the Lithuanians in southern Russia, says a high authority, "every family entertained a real serpent as a household god." Sir John Lubbock tells us that in Liberia " no negro would intentionally injure a serpent, and any one doing so by accident would as- suredly be put to death. Some English sailors once having killed one which they found in their house, were furiously attacked by the natives who killed them all and burned the house ' ' ( Origm of Civilization^ p. 177)- The Hindus probably excel all other peoples of the world in the number of objects to which they pay divine honors ; for they worship " almost every living creature, whether quadruped, bird, or reptile." But they never worship the objects themselves, nor do any of the tribes or peoples enumerated above do so. They always treat the object with indifference, if not con- tempt, if they believe the superhuman spirit it contained has gone out of it. In this stage of religious development, as in every other, it happened that certain persons came to devote their lives to finding out the ways of the spirits. Under the name of medicine-men, sorcerers, shamans, yogi, or fetish priests, they soon became the leaders and guides of the people, dictating even the very details of their daily lives. By the practice of many magical rites and the use of various charms and incantations they believed that they acquired such a knowledge of the plans and intents of the spirits that they could di- rect their actions almost at their option. They had all the confidence in themselves and all the authority over others of inspired prophets. Often they gained this in- sight by the most terrible self-inflicted tortures. They Steps in the Evolution of Religion 21 would not hesitate to cut off a limb, pluck out an eye, drive thongs through the body, burn themselves with hot coals, to put themselves en rapport with, the spirits. They therefore knew no limit to the suffering that they would impose upon others, if they thought the spirits could be propitiated thereby. It was not at all uncom- mon for them to call upon their followers to offer up not only their slaves and their captives, but the nearest and dearest of their own household and blood to gain the favor of the gods. For the dearer the victim, the more pleased they would be at the gift. Traces of hu- man sacrifice are found in the early history of even the noblest religions. The ancient Hebrew religion is no exception to this rule. Closely allied to fetishism, yet indicating some ad- vance in the evolution of religious beliefs is Ancestor- worship. This easily arises when man has developed far enough to begin to meditate upon the phenomena of death. At the very outset it is likely that death did not arouse much more interest than it does now among brutes. Brinton asserts that ' ' The evidence is moun- tain-high that in the earliest and rudest period of human history the corpse inspired so little terror that it was nearly always eaten by the surviving friends." But even this custom was probably of a religious origin. A traveller (D'Orbigny) in Bolivia tells us of an old Indian he met there whose only regret in giving up his old religion and adopting Christianity was that his body would now be devoured by worms, instead of being eaten by his relatives. At all events, it early became an elaborate and sol- emn religious rite to provide the body with carefully prepared viands for its last long journey. Any neglect on the part of the survivors would be severely punished. 2 2 The Sphere of Religion For the soul of the departed would continue to roam about without a home, unless it was properly attended to its final resting-place. Hence it became the world- wide custom among savage tribes to place in the tomb or on the funeral pyre such articles as the weapons, the clothing, and ornaments of the deceased. In many cases the wives or slaves or companion-in-arms were slain or slew themselves to accompany a chieftain to his long home. Often among the American Indians they were interred in the same mound, and many such mounds exist in different parts of the country. When a tribe had survived so long as to have a history, and to trace its descent through the male head of the family, a decided change in its religious views usually followed. As Giddings describes it {Pri7idples of Sociology, p. 290) ''while the household may con- tinue to regard natural objects and forces and mis- cellaneous spirits with superstitious feelings, they entertain for the soul of the departed founder of the house the strongest feeling of veneration. They think of the ancestral spirit as their protector in the land of shades. To the ancestral spirit, therefore, they pay their principal devotions." We find it generally true that the family tomb was near the house and not far from the entrance. The children were brought up under its shadow, and constantly addressed to it their prayers. Within the house on the family altar burned the sacred fire that went out only with the extinction of the family. Around this fire all the household dead were supposed frequently to assemble to hear their mighty deeds narrated and to be reverenced and adored. All the ancient Semitic tribes were ancestor-wor- shippers, and so were the Aryans when they first Steps in the Evolution of Religion 23 appeared on the shores of the Mediterranean. The Egyptians carried the cult to a high state of perfection, and the manes- worship which long held sway among the Romans is an example of it. It is to-day the re- ligion of the Bantu tribes of Africa, and still prevails to some extent in Japan. But it is chiefly among the Chinese that this form of religion has reached its high- est form of development. All changes in the customs of the country are resisted as a reflection upon the regulations established by their ancestors, for the in- fraction of which they will be severely punished. The greatest sin they can commit is to allow the graves of their ancestors to be disturbed for any cause whatsoever. Herbert Spencer regarded ancestor-worship as the primary religion. In his Science of Sociology (vol. i., p. 309) he expressly says : * ' The rudimentary form of all religion is the propitiation of dead ancestors, who are supposed to be still existing, and to be capable of working good and evil to their descendants." The trouble with this view is that it is superficial. It rests upon a false conception of religion, and is con- trary to historical and psychological fact. But perhaps the chief objection to Spencer's view is its simplicity. For as Jastrow remarks ( The Study of Religion, p. 185), " Religion is too complex a phenomenon to be accounted for by the growth and spread of a single custom." As men progress in their knowledge of the things about them, they come to see the defects in the forms of religion described above, and begin to turn their attention to more exalted powers. They cease to pay exclusive homage to the spirits that reside in the ob- jects that they themselves have handled and can make or destroy, and begin to look up in reverential awe to 2 4 The sphere of Religion the beings that manifest themselves on a vaster scale, and in a more consistent and impressive manner. Thus arose what is usually called Nature- worship, the most prominent form of which is the worship of the celestial bodies. It is probable that the division of the week into seven days came about from the dedi- cation of one day to each of the gods manifesting him- self through the seven greatest luminaries. Naturally, in all except the torrid zone, the sun-god received the greatest homage. As the source of light and warmth, as the earth's great fructifying power, as the one constant ever-recurring factor in man's daily experience, it has always awakened the most powerful religious emotions, in the minds of rude as well as semi- civilized people. Among the ancient Phoenicians the sun was the centre of their cultus. It was probably the leading feature of the religion of the ancient Persians. The same was also true of the Sabeans. The worship of Apollo, so popular among the Greeks, was in all probability sun-worship. The Egyptians gave the sun a high place in their system, and the ancient Peruvians paid it their chief honors. The Celts and the Teutons, as well as the Bast Indians, made much of it, and so do numerous tribes in Africa to-day. It is maintained by many writers that the North American Indians were always and chiefly sun-worshippers ; that the sun was actually their Manitou, or Great Spirit. In some lands the moon was fixed upon as the chief deity. Certain Australian tribes believe to-day that all things, including man, were created by the moon. Anthropologists tell us that in many American lan- guages the moon is regarded as male, and the sun is referred to as "his companion." Some of the Brazilian tribes pray to the moon as " Our Father," and regard Steps in the Evolution of Religion 2 5 it as their common ancestor. So do the eastern Eskimos. At all periods of the world's history the stars have received special homage. Among the early natives of Greenland and Australia the Milky Way was nothing less than the pathway of souls ascending to their home in the heavens. The Auroras Borealis and Australis were actually in their opinion the dance of the gods across the firmament. Another form of nature- worship was the adoration of the fire-god. Among all peoples fire has been held sacred. It was thought of as the central principle of life. Among the Kafirs in South Africa every religious ceremony must be performed in front of a fire. The Indians of Guatemala regard it as their greatest and oldest deity. The fire test was practised by the Aztecs of Mexico, as well as by the Moloch worshippers of Syria. In Borneo the crackling of blazing twigs is the speech of the gods. The vestal fire of old, and the perpetual fire of the modern Christian altar are both founded upon the assumption of its sacred character. Early missionaries in America tell us that the Hurons paid the sky the greatest homage. They imagined that it contained a powerful demon or " oki," that reigned over the seasons of the year, and controlled the winds and waves. The supreme deity of the Iroquois was the *' sky-comer," who had his festival about the time of the winter solstice. He was the one who brought their ancestors out of the mountain and taught them hunt- ing, marriage, and religion. Some of the Zulus think of the sky as the " Master of Heaven," and pay it di- vine honors, and so do the Tartars and Finns. In an- cient China, Tien, or Heaven, was the Upper Emperor, or Lord of the Universe. According to Max Miiller, 26 The Sphere of Religion Zeus was the heaven-god of the Greeks. ' ' I^ike the sky," he says, " Zeus dwells on the highest mountain, lyike the sky, Zeus embraces the earth ; like the sky, Zeus is eternal, unchanging, the highest god ' ' (I/ec- tures, 2d series, p. 425). The water-god has always had a multitude of wor- shippers. As the source of moisture and the dew and all refreshing showers,- it easily comes to be thought of as the giver of all life. ' ' All of us, ' ' the Aztecs said, "' are children of water." Tlaloc, their god of rain and water, is the fertilizer of the earth and lord of paradise. His wife dwells among the mountains where the clouds gather and pour down their streams. Among the Da- kotas, the master spirit of their sorcery and religion is said to be Unktahe, the god of the water, who dwells with his associates beneath the sea. The inland people of Sumatra, we are told, make an offering of cake and sweetmeats to the sea on beholding it for the first time. Among the Khonds of Orissa the priests often propi- tiate the rain-god with eggs and arrack and rice and a sheep. They believe that unless they do this, the seeds will rot in the ground, their children and cattle will die of want, the deer and the wild hog will seek other haunts. Although Xerxes tried to chain and scourge the Hel- lespont, he threw a golden goblet and a sword into its waters. Hannibal on leaving Carthage took scrupu- lous care to cast many animals into the sea as votive offerings to Poseidon. The famous Athenian prayer recorded by Marcus Aurelius reveals the classic con- ception of one of the chief functions of Zeus : " Rain, rain, O dear Zeus, on the plough-lands of the Athen- ians and the plains." In Vergil Oceanus is often spoken of as " pater rerum. ' ' Water is used the world Steps in the Evolution of Religion 2 7 over in libations and in acts of penitence and purifi- cation. Baptism by sprinkling or immersion has been a common sacred rite among all peoples. The Algonquins call the earth Mesukkummik Okwi and worship her as the great grandmother of all. They believe that the animals from whose flesh and skin the food and clothing of man are derived are in her care. No good Indian will dig for the roots from which his medicines are made until he has first sought her blessing. Otherwise, the roots would have no health- restoring power. The Incas of Peru at harvest time present ground corn and libations of chica to Mamapa- cha, Mother Karth, that she may grant them a good harvest. The negroes of West Africa before entering upon any great undertaking pour out their libations calling out, " Creator, come drink ; Earth, come drink ; Bosumbra, come drink. ' ' Many of the natives of India always offer some food to Mother Earth before eating. The Khonds being an intensely agricultural race recently carried the worship of the Earth-Mother to such excess that the practice of their rites had to be suppressed by the government. For they offered to her their slave-victims torn into small pieces and spread over the fields they were to fertilize. In the Chinese theology the earth holds a place next to heaven. The worship of Tien and Tu, Father Heaven and Mother Earth, by the bride and groom is an all-important part of a Chinese wedding ceremony. The Greeks prayed to Gaia as the all-mother, and Tacitus found the Germans practising the customs of his own country in worshipping '* Terram matrem." The oldest god of Chaldean mythology was Ea, lord of the earth, without whose blessing no seeds would 28 The Sphere of Religion germinate, the soil would have no fertilizing power, and there would be no harvests. The thunder-god of the ancient Hindus, who smites the dragon clouds and pours the rain down upon the earth ; the Thor of old German and Scandinavian my- thology, who hurls his crashing hammer through the air ; the Jupiter Tonans of the Romans ; the wind-gods who in all lands control the gale and the tempest, are but further illustrations of the prevalence of the tend- ency of all times and countries to pay special homage to the great forces of nature that are ever working such mighty wonders. But here again we need to notice that, as in the lower forms of religion already described, we do not find these forces worshipped as material ob- jects. They are always thought of as spirits manifesting superhuman powers. As the experience of man widens, he discovers not only that he can destroy the tree whose spirit he wor- shipped, and can entrap the animals and subdue them, but also that the sun, moon, and stars do not vary their action at their own option. They are obliged to move about in certain more or less prescribed courses. Even the clouds are driven to and fro by some superior power and are not free to follow their own desires. Hence he easily and naturally comes to see the truth that there must be powers above these forces that are far more worthy than they are of his homage. He rejects the notion that the forces of nature reveal the highest spirits, and he looks up to deities that can use these forces freely at their option. As distinguished from nature-worship and other lower forms of religion, this doctrine is called Polytheism, although it differs from these other forms not in kind but only in degree. Undoubt- Steps in the Evolutio7i of Religion 29 edly, the development of this doctrine is closely related to the development of the social and gov- ernmental relations existing among the people them- selves. When chiefs and kings begin to make their appearance in any community, then these greater gods begin to be recognised as over and above all lesser spirits. Oftentimes the kings and chiefs themselves are elevated to the sphere of gods, and in some cases, even while alive, receive divine honors. Rarely, how- ever, does polytheism do away with any of the lower forms of rehgion. On the contrary, it usually coexists with belief in disembodied spirits, local genii of rocks and fountains and trees, household gods, and a host of other good and evil demons. The deities of this form of religion simply take their place as presiding over all inferior gods, using them as messengers or agents for the furtherance of their plans and purposes. At first, each tribe or district is thought of as having its own particular deity. But as the tribes intermingle and learn more of one another, the tribal gods give way to national. At the outset the national gods of one country are regarded as distinct from those of another, but of equal powers. Even the ancient Hebrews con- sidered the gods of other nations, such as those of Assyria, Phoenicia, and Egypt, as real divinities. Many tribes and peoples have risen in some degree to the stage of polytheistic thought, but the nations that carried it to a higher degree of perfection than any others were the ancient Greeks and Romans. Costly temples were erected to the honor of their gods. Elabo- rate ritualistic services were instituted to do them reverence. A great multitude of priests and priestesses devoted their lives to finding out and enforcing their will and purpose. The character and extent of this 30 The Sphere of Religion form of religion are, however, so familiar that there is little need of further explanation of it here. This can hardly be said of Monotheism, the next step in the evolution of religion. For there has been and in some quarters still is a great divergence of opinion re- garding its historic origin. For until within a few generations, it was the common belief of thinkers on the subject of religion that the knowledge of the exist- ence of one god was a primitive revelation, made to the first representatives of the human race, and handed down by them to their posterity. Polytheism and all other forms of religion, it was maintained, are a degeneration from ia once higher form. But this view has few if any advocates among recent scholars. For it is now known that the tendency to the monotheistic position exists among all people when they have advanced to a certain degree of mental culture. As Jastrow well says : ** There is a difference in the degree in which this ten- dency is emphasized, but whether we turn to Babylonia, Egypt, India, China, or Greece, there are distinct traces towards concentrating the varied manifestations of di- vine powers in a single source." This tendency is a perfectly natural one, and arises the moment man begins seriously to reflect upon the universe. He cannot fail to observe the inequalities that exist among the deities, and to realize that of ne- cessity one must be supreme to all the others. When any two peoples united as the result of war or for any other reason, the superior place would naturally be ac- corded to the deity of the conquering power; and as a nation grew in influence and became conscious of its strength, it would gradually change its opinions regard- ing the gods of the nations about it. It would either do as the Greeks did in the case of Ammon, the god of Steps in the Evolution of Religion 3 1 the Egyptians, recognize in him their own Zeus as ap- pearing in another form, or come to treat other gods as inferior deities not worthy of being compared with their own god, as the Hebrews looked upon Chemosh, the supreme god of the Moabites, in compar- ison with Jahveh, or Jehovah, their own national deity. It is a matter of history that monotheism did not originate in any one quarter alone, but was an idea at- tained independently by many peoples at a compara- tively early stage in their development. The chief contribution of the Hebrews to religion is not their monotheistic idea, but the emphasis they put upon the ethical character of their supreme deity. He was not mere power that goes stalking through the universe, but a being of righteousness that deals with men and nations according to their moral character. It was this view that caused the worship of Jehovah to supplant that of all the other gods among the Hebrews themselves, and to survive the crash of faiths that early befell the entire ancient world. ' In this brief outline of the main steps that have been taken in the development of religion, it is not claimed that any hard and fast distinction can be made between them. Indeed, it is the opinion of competent authori- ties that all the different forms of religion described above coexisted among the Hindus, the Greeks, the old Norsemen, and to some extent still coexist among modern Africans, as well as the negroes and Indians of our own land. Nor is it held that any sudden or complete transition from a lower to a higher stage has actually taken place at any time in history. On the contrary, the changes have been gradual, and many evidences of the survival of the old amid the new exist 3 2 The Sphere of Religion in the notions and customs of even the most highly- civilized and intelligent nations of our own day. Amulets, charms, lucky stones and coins, the ven- eration of sacred relics, everything that goes under the name of Mascot, are all legitimately descended from fetishism ; just as belief in ghosts and haunted houses, fear of the dark, and the like, come from a more pri- mary form of religion. Current ideas concerning lucky and unlucky days and numbers, spilling salt, throwing rice at a wedding, charming away warts, are survivals of a similar sort. So, too, are the present notions of man as to sacred days and places, sacred utensils, holy water. And we should not hesitate to class in the list of primitive and outgrown religious ideas the worship of saints, and the common belief that a person acquires peculiar supernatural authority in religious matters by the laying on of hands, or by any other form of ordina- tion. For they are notions on a par with the old Greek tradition that one gets a supernatural inspiration by the very act of paying a visit to the fountain of Parnas- sus, or taking a draft at the Pierian spring. But the most striking of all is the present popular belief that between man and the Supreme Being there exists an ascending gradation of angels and archangels on the one hand, and evil spirits on the other, reaching up to a supreme evil demon , who, under the title of Devil or Satan, is supposed to be the author of the sin and misery of mankind. It might be objected to this outline of the develop- ment of religion that no place is left in it for the worship of idols. This omission is by no means an accident, for it is based on the conviction that idolatry is not an actual, or even a possible form of religion, if it is taken to mean that human beings have ever paid Steps in the Evolution of Religion 33 divine honors to images made of wood or stone, or to any other material object. What the so-called idolator actually worships is the spirit that the image is sup- posed to represent. If he believes the spirit has gone out of the object or image, he treats it with undisguised contempt. That there is no real difference between idolatry and fetishism is well illustrated by the way the Chinese often treat the images of their gods. As described by an eye-witness, if after long praying they do not get what they wish, they call the god all the hard names they can think of, and cry out, '' How now, dog of a spirit ! we give you a lodging in a magnificent temple, we gild you handsomely, feed you well, and offer incense to you; yet after all this care, you are so ungrateful as to refuse us what we ask of you." Then they pull the image down from its pedestal, tie cords around it, and drag it through the mud and offal of the streets to punish the god for the expense of the perfumery they have wasted upon him. Kvery image-maker the world over does his best to embody the ideas of the person for whom the image is made. He knows well enough that unless he does this, he will receive no compensation for his labor. When Brahma is represented with dozens of hands, Diana with a hundred breasts, and other greater or less deities with impossible features and accessories, it is simply an attempt to express the superhuman qualities of these beings, not to caricature their powers. If these steps in the evolution are approximately true to fact, we see how weak and erroneous the posi- tion is that makes religion the invention of priests and politicians for the purpose of terrorizing the people into submission to their authority, and securing the contin- 3 34 The Sphere of Religion uance of their power. This opinion was strongly ad- vocated by certain English writers of the eighteenth century, and had many followers ; among them the poet Shelley was one of the most prominent. It widely pre- vailed in France at the time of the Revolution, and was one of the chief causes of its horrors. Besides be- ing based on a false and superiScial idea of what relig- ion is, it ignores the fact that religion is older than any form of priesthood. The priest is, in point of fact, a conservator, and not an innovator. He chiefly concerns himself with perpetuating what already is. His hold upon the community is primarily due to the influence religion has over men, not to his ability to manipulate that religion. He may, of course, unduly increase his influence, and turn religion into wrong channels for personal ends, but the extent to which he has done so is grossly exaggerated in many quarters. For such a claim cannot be borne out by a careful study of the historical facts. In the light of this view of the evolution of religion, we can see how irrational it is to divide religions into true and false, instead of classifying them as primitive and developed. It was maintained by Empedocles among the ancient Greeks that all religions are false because they are the product of a diseased mind, and Feuerbach in the last centur>^ strongly advocated the same view among the Germans. While few, if any, maintain that opinion at present, there are many who hold that all religions are false except one, and that the one they themselves have come to adopt. The Jew does this who asserts that God by a perpetual covenant, recorded in the Old Testament, has made his own race the sole repository of his will. The Islamite does this who regards the Steps in the Evolution of Religion 35 Koran alone as the sole guide to truth and life. And the Christian who sees in the New Testament the only source of religious faith and practice belongs to the same class. No writer has given us a more vivid picture of the erroneous way of regarding the religions of the world than Milton in his Paradise Lost. That all religions except the Christian are pure inventions of the Devil to ensnare the unwary is his fundamental thought. This position has been the source of untold mischief and suffering in the past, and immensely impedes the progress of mankind at present. It is contrary to actual fact, and is based upon the false assumption that man possesses the ability to acquire absolute cer- tainty in religious matters, a thing which is denied to him in every other sphere. The truth is that man's religion develops as he him- self develops. The steps in the evolution of religion are the steps in his own mental advancement. There is never a time after he comes into conscious possession of his powers as a person when he is without religion, and there is no possibility of his outgrowing religion. He does not get his religion out of any book, but pri- marily out of the experiences of his own mind and heart. The experiences of others are a help to him only as he reproduces them in his own. The more sen- sual he is, the more sensual will be his religion, and the more rational and pure his life is, the more refined and spiritual will his religion become. In other words, the more of a man he is himself, the loftier will his con- ception be of the Maker and Sustainer of all truth and life. The reason for this is that every man is so con- structed that he must make his god in his own image. 36 The Sphere of Religion Religion arises in the ability of man to form an ideal of things that transcend the real. A man without imagi- nation would be without religion, for he would be no longer a man, but w^ould have sunk down to the level of the brute. No man ever worshipped an abstraction. He pays homage only to some concrete thing, and his ability to form a picture of a Power higher than him- self depends upon his imagination, which simply takes the highest in his own experience and attributes it to his god. This has been true of man in all stages of his history, is true now, and we cannot think of a time when it will be otherwise. The charge that religion is anthropomorphic is ad- mitted without hesitation. For this is true of every- thing beyond the merely physical, of which we have any knowledge. We cannot think of any being above ourselves, unless we assume that being to be in some respects at least in our own image. It is psycho- logically impossible not to do so, if we make the attempt at all. Every man must worship his own thought of God, and his progress in civilization is best measured by the worthiness of that thought. The re- ligious nature of man, when once aroused, can never be lulled to rest. It must feed upon something. For it is the most fundamental and pervasive of all man's powers. It is perpetually yearning for expression, and can only for a time be partially smothered. It will reach its full and complete fruition in every one of us only when we come to realize in our own experience the most commonplace and yet truest saying of all the ages upon this subject, that the highest of all exist- ences in this universe is "not far from every one of us ; for in him we live and move and have our being." CHAPTER III. SACRKD BOOKS AND HOW THKY ORIGINATE. a. The Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians.— In treating of the subject of the relation of bibles to religion we need, first of all, to note the fact that three things existed in this world long before there were any bibles, namely, nature, man, and God. The " little speck of matter " in our stellar universe which we call the earth had passed through innumer- able changes in form and condition ages before man appeared upon its surface, and man had established elaborate systems of religious worship on many por- tions of our planet centuries before a bible of any description had even been thought of. For the mo- ment a human being begins to attain a consciousness of his own existence and the existence of a world around and above him, he forms at once some sort of . religion, and there is never a time in his history as a man when he is without religion. Hence a very little reflection will lead us to see that a bible cannot be brought into existence until man has had some experience with nature and has learned to look with some degree of clearness through nature up to superhuman powers. No bible can create this ex- perience. All it can do is to record what has been experienced in the past and anticipate with more or less assurance what may come within the realm of 37 38 The Sphere of Religion future experience. Religion, therefore, cannot be based upon any bible. On the contrary, it is religion that makes bibles, not bibles religion. Nevertheless, the content and form of religion may come to be immensely affected by their influence, and such has been the historic fact. Every religion of any moment in the world has sooner or later found itself in possession of a bible in which it treasured up its pro- foundest thoughts and its noblest inspirations. It is, therefore, our present purpose to state very briefly the leading features of some of these bibles, to set forth the opinion of scholars as to how they grew to be what they now are, and at the same time to estimate in a general way their value to the cause of religion in our day. Taking them up, as far as possible, in their chronologi- cal order, we mention first of all the Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians. There is at present no agreement among scholars as to what portion of the earth first produced a permanent record of its religious life, and many are of the opinion that the origin of civilization will never be traced to any one people or country. All, however, now admit that the Sacred Tablets recently unearthed in Babylonia are among the oldest literary records of any sort yet dis- covered, and that they carry us back to a date far be- yond the wildest dreams of scholars a half-century ago. As early as 1842 M. Botta, a Frenchman, began mak- ing excavations, in a mound on the left bank of the Tigris, not far from Mosul. In it he discovered the ruins of a magnificent palace. From the inscriptions on the walls and from other data it was shown that the palace was erected by Sargon II., who reigned over Assyria from 721 B.C. to 705 B.C. Inspired by Botta's The Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians 39 remarkable successes, Sir Austin Henry Layard, an eminent English archaeologist, a few years later started to open some mounds on the opposite bank of the river a few miles to the south of Mosul. The result was that he soon unearthed the remains of the ancient city of Nineveh, bringing to light many palaces and temples still filled with the sculptured treasures of literature and art. His principal find, however, was a great collection of clay tablets, covered with cuneiform or wedge-shaped inscriptions, which turned out to be the famous royal "brick " library gathered by Asshurbanipal, who suc- ceeded to the Assyrian throne in 668 B.C. Some 30,000 fragments of this library are now in the British Museum and, together with the notable finds made shortly after by H. Rassam and George Smith, give us on the whole a most satisfactory knowledge of the re- ligious beliefs and rites of this ancient people. But what is still more remarkable, recent discoveries show us that these tablets take us back to a time far more remote than that of Asshurbanipal, or even of the existence of the Assyrians as a nation. In 1854 Sir Henry Rawlinson began uncovering the sites of the ancient cities of Babylonia. The French and German governments later took up the work. Expeditions from the University of Pennsylvania led by Dr. John C. Peters and Professor Hilprecht have within the last few years explored the region of Nippur and Mugheir, the biblical Ur of the Chaldees. From the material thus acquired it is now ascertained that the tablets of Layard are copies of originals found in the far more ancient Babylonian temples, and that they go back to a time much earlier than anything found in the mounds of Assyria proper. In fact, scholars now tell us that the 40 The Sphere of Religion religion of Assyria was borrowed from and was identi- cal with that of Babylonia, and it is the opinion of many that these tablets acquaint us with ideas and con- ditions that had come to be current in that part of the world at least 4500 years B.C. Even then there existed a number of states with well-established govern- ments and an extensive religious cult. These tablets show us that the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians were a very religious people. Their wars were carried on in the name of the gods and so indeed were all other important undertakings. The priests were not only the intermediaries between the gods and the people, but also the judges of the courts, the scribes, and the medical advisers. There is no good reason for holding that the Baby- lonians obtained their religious ideas from any outside source. "The earliest religion of Accad (the ancient name of Upper Babylonia) was," says A. H. Sayce, " a Shamanism resembling that of the Siberian or Samoyed tribes of to-day. Every object had its spirit, good or bad ; and the control of these spirits was in the hands of priests and sorcerers. The world swarmed with them, especially with the demons, and there was scarcely any action which did not risk demoniac pos- session." The tablets reveal a fully developed system of nature-worship. Anu represents the heavens ; Sha- mash, the sun ; Sin, the moon; and Raman, the weather. The head of the Assyrian pantheon was Asshur or Assur, and the chief national god of Babylon was Mar- duk. "The most striking difference," says Prof. D. G. Lyon, ' ' between the pantheons of Assyria and Baby- lonia is that Asshur had no place in the latter, while Marduk has place in the former, though not the first place." The Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians 41 There was a strong tendency among these people to group their gods in triads, and this accounts for some of their cosmological views. The most important triad consisted of Anu, the god of the heavens ; Bel or Baal, the god of the earth ; and Ka, the god of the watery abyss. The usual way of representing the gods was by symbols, or by the combination of the human form with that of some animal. The moon, for example, was often represented by the number 30, and a winged bull with a human head represented the divine guardian of temples and palaces. The inscriptions on these tablets in the British Museum are written partly in prose and partly in poetry. The prose pieces tell us of royal campaigns, the building of temples, omens lucky and unlucky, and the like. They are supposed to belong to the historical period, and may be dated with considerable exactness. The poetical parts consist of prayers, hymns, magic formulas, incantations, and especially fragments of cosmological and other mythical poems that ' ' appear to go back, at least so far as their material is concerned, to a very remote antiquity." One of the tablets gives an account of creation which very closely resembles the account in Genesis and the Sacred Books of the Phoenicians. All place the begin- ning of things in a watery abyss. Another tablet describes how the gods made a beautiful land with rivers and trees and put men in it ; the place being in all probability the same region as the Garden of Kden described in Genesis. Accounts are also given of the Flood, the origin of the Sabbath, and fragments of stories resembling those of the fall of man, the Tower of Babel or Babylonia, and the sacrifice of Isaac. Ac- cording to Professor Toy, whose translations are here 42 The Sphere of Religion used, the first of the tablets describing creation reads as follows : *'i. When the upper region was not yet called heaven, 2. And the lower region was not yet called earth, 3. And the abyss of Hades had not yet opened its arms, 4. Then the chaos of waters gave birth to all of them 5. And the waters were gathered into one place. 6. No men yet dwelt together ; no animals yet wandered about ; 7. None of the gods had yet been born. 8. Their names were not spoken ; their attributes were not known. 9. Then the eldest of the gods, 10. Lakhmu and Lakhamu, were born 11. And grew up. 12. Assur and Kissur were born next 13. And lived through long periods. 14. Anu (Rest of tablet missing.)" The fifth tablet continues the account of creation and describes the origin of the Sabbath : "1. He constructed dwellings for the great gods. 2. He fixed up constellations, whose figures were like animals. 3. He made the year. Into four quarters he divided it. 4. Twelve months he established, with their constellations three by three. 5. And for the days of the year he appointed festivals. 6. He made dwellings for the planets : for their rising and setting. 7. And that nothing should go amiss, and that the course of none should be retarded 8. He placed with them the dwellings of Bel and Ea. 9. He opened great gates, on every side : 10. He made strong the portals, on the left and on the right. 11. In the centre he placed luminaries. 12. The moon he appointed to rule the night 13. And to wander through the night, until the dawn of day. 14. Every mouth without fail he made holy assembly days. The Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians 43 15. In the beginning of the month, at the rising of the night, 16. It shot forth its horns to illuminate the heavens. 17. On the seventh day he appointed a holy day, 18. And to cease from all business he commanded. 19. Then arose the sun in the horizon of heaven in (glory)." The longest and in some respects the most consider- able of these Babylonian productions is what is com- monly known as the Izdubar poem discovered by George Smith in 1872. It is inscribed upon twelve tablets, some of which are well preserved. The first introduces the hero and represents him as the deliverer of his country from the Elamites, an event probably preceding 2000 B.C. The sixth recounts the love of the goddess Ishtar for the hero, to whom she proposes marriage, but the proposal is rejected because of the fatal character of her previous loves. Then she curses her lover and follows him continuously with her wrath. She descends into the lower world for means to circum- vent him. The seventh tablet gives a lengthy account of what takes place there. The most interesting tablet of this series is the elev- enth. In it we have a story of the Flood "almost identical with that of the Book of Genesis." Bel, the demiurge of the Babylonian system, enraged at the evil conduct of mankind, determines to destroy the en- tire human race by a flood. All the other gods give their approval except Ea, who, hearing of the decree, sends for Hasisadra, the Noah of those days, and di- rects him to build a great ship in order to save himself and family and " the seeds of life." Ea's words to him are : " ' Ivcave thy house and build a .ship. They will destroy the seeds of life. Do thou preserve in life and hither bring the seeds of life, Of every sort into the ship.' " 44 The Sphere of Religion (Here follow the dimensions of the ship, but the numbers are lost.) Hasisadra hesitates and says that, even if he should succeed in carrying out such a colossal undertaking, he would be mocked by the people and elders for doing it. Ka, however, insists and the ship is built. Into it, says Hasisadra, *♦ * All that I had I brought together. All of silver and all of gold. And all of the seed of life into the ship I brought. And my household, men and women. The cattle of the field, the beasts of the field And all my kin I caused to enter.' " On the day he was to embark fear almost over- whelmed him. He sa5^s: ** ' Yet into the ship I went, behind me the door I closed. Into the hands of the steersman I gave the ship with its cargo. Then from the heavens' horizon rose the dark cloud. Raman uttered his thunder, Nabu and Sarru rushed on. Over hill and dale strode the throne-bearers. Adar sent ceaseless streams, floods the Anunnaki brought. Raman's billows up to heaven mount, All light to darkness is turned.' " Even the gods themselves were frightened at the havoc that was made and cowered together in lamenta- tion and despair. But, says Hasisadra, " 'Six days and seven nights ruled wind and flood and storm. But when the seventh day broke, subsided the storm and the flood. The upper dwellings of men were ruined. Corpses floated like trees. The Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians 45 A window I opened, on my face the daylight fell. I shuddered and sat me down weeping. Over my face flowed my tears. I rode over regions of land, on a terrible sea. Then rose one piece of land twelve measures high. To the land Nizir the ship was steered. The mountain Nizir held the ship fast and let it no more go.' '* Then follows an account of the sending forth of a dove, the final appearance of dry land, the disembark- ment from the ship, and the building of an altar to the gods on the mount. Hasisadra says: " ' At the dawn of the seventh day I took a dove and sent it forth. Hither and thither flew the dove. No resting-place it found, back to me it came. A swallow I took and sent it forth. No resting-place it found, and back to me it came. A raven I took and sent it forth. Forth flew the raven and saw that the water had fallen. Carefully waded on but came not back. All the animals then to the four winds I sent. A sacrifice I offered. An altar I built on the mountain top.' " About this altar the gods hold a council. They try- to induce Bel to abate his efforts utterly to annihilate the race of men. ' Ka says to him : " ' Thou art the valiant leader of the gods. Why hast thou heedlessly wrought and brought on the flood? Let the sinner bear his sin, the wrongdoer his wrong ; Yield to our request, that he be not wholly destroyed. Instead of sending a flood, send lions that men may be reduced ; Instead of sending a flood, send hyenas that men may be reduced ; Instead of sending a flood, send flames to waste the land ; Instead of sending a flood, send pestilence that men may be reduced.' " 46 The Sphere of Religion Finally ' ' right reason ' ' comes to Bel and he enters the ship, takes Hasisadra by the hand, and lifts him up. Then he raises up his wife and places her hand in her husband's, giving them both his blessing. Professor Toy in commenting upon the inscription on this tablet says : * ' It is now generally agreed that the Hebrew story of the Flood is taken from the Baby- lonian, either mediately through the Canaanites (for the Babylonians had occupied Canaan before the six- teenth century B.C.), or immediately during the exile in the sixth century. The Babylonian account is more picturesque, the Hebrew more restrained and solemn.'* Some of the hymns inscribed on these tablets, like the one to the seven evil spirits celebrating their mys- terious power, are of a lower order of religious feeling, reminding us of the magical incantations of the savage tribes of to-day. But others indicate sublimity and depth of feeling that would compare not unfavorably with many in the Hebrew Psalter. The following are extracts from some of these so- called psalms : '* I, thy servant, full of sin cry to thee. The sinner's earnest prayer thou dost accept. The man on whom thou lookest lives. Mistress of all, queen of mankind, Merciful one, to whom it is good to turn. Who acceptest the sigh of the heart." " Food have I not eaten, weeping was my nourishment. Water have I not drunk, tears were my drink. My heart has not been joyful nor my spirit glad. Many are my sins, sorrowful my soul. O my lady, make me to know my doing. Make me a place of rest. Cleanse my sin, lift up my face." The Sacred Tablets- of the Babylonians 47 *' I sought for help, but no one took my hand. I wept, but no one to me came. I cry aloud, there is none that hears me. Sorrowful I lie on the ground, look not up. The feet of my goddess I kiss. To the known and unknown god I loud do sigh. To the known and unknown goddess I loud do sigh. O lord, look on me, hear my prayer. O goddess, look on me, hear my prayer." The sin I have committed turn thou to favor ! The evil I have done may the wind carry it away ! Tear in pieces my wrong-doings like a garment ! My god, my sins are seven times seven — forgive my sin ! My goddess, my sins are seven times seven — forgive my sin ! Known and unknown god, my sins are seven times seven — forgive my sins ! Known and^unknown goddess, my sins are seven times seven ; forgive my sins. Forgive my sins and I will humbly bow before thee." Among the fragments of Asshurbanipal's library taken to the British Museum by lyayard were a num- ber of broken portions of a law code. These fragments were declared at the time by two eminent German scholars, Dr. Bruno Meissner and Dr. Friedrich De- litzsch, to be parts of a code reaching as far back at least as 2300 B.C. Their opinion had a most triumph- ant vindication in the winter of 1 901-2, when there was unearthed in the ruins of the ancient Persian city of Susa the stele or column of Hammurabi, now uni- versally acknowledged to be " the most important monument of early civilization yet discovered — a law code anteceding the oldest hitherto known by upward of a thousand years." This monolith, now in the lyouvre at Paris, is seven feet four inches in height, and on it are chiselled both a 48 The Sphere of Religion bas-relief and an extended text. The bas-relief, which is twenty-six inches high and twenty-four inches broad, represents Hammurabi in the act of adoring the sun- god Shamash, from whom he receives the laws in- scribed on the rest of this ''table of stone." They consist of a prologue, an epilogue, and 282 edicts. In the prologue Hammurabi thus describes his mis- sion (Harper's translation of the code is here used) : ' ' Anu and Bel called me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, the worshipper of the gods, to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil, to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, to go forth like Shamash over the Black Head Race, to enlighten the land and further the welfare of the people." The analysis of the code made by Professor Lyon of Harvard divides it into three main parts : the intro- duction, which deals with the source of justice and what should be done to insure the purity of the court (1-5); a section on property, both real and personal, along with the laws relating to its exchange (6-126); and a section on the rights and duties of persons, in which such matters are taken up as marriage and di- vorce, the treatment of criminals, and the price to be paid for different kinds of labor (127-282). According to this code, if a judge had accepted a bribe in making a decision, he was obliged to pay twelve times the amount of the false judgment and was ex- pelled from the bench. The thief and the receiver of stolen goods were held equally responsible. In case a drought or a flood destroyed a debtor's crops, interest could not be demanded of him that year. If any one failed to keep his part of the dyke in good repair, he was liable for all damage resulting therefrom. When The Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians 49 a man divorced his wife, he was obliged to give her an allowance and make good the dowry she received from her father. The lex talionis was applied in some cases. For ex- ample: " If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye." " If one break a man's bone, they shall break his bone. " " If a man knock out the tooth of a man of his own rank, they shall knock out his tooth. ' ' " If a builder build a house for a man and do not make its construction firm, and the house which he has built collapse and cause the death of the owner of the house, that builder shall be put to death." Surgeons received a good fee if their patient recovered, but if he died they had to pay a heavy money fine or sufl:er a severe corporeal punishment, even to the ampu- tation of their fingers. The wages of field-laborers, shepherds, artisans, boatmen, and the like were fixed by law, and they were all held responsible for any loss. The epilogue of the code concludes as follows: " Let any oppressed man, who has a cause, come before my image as king of righteousness! Let him read the in- scription on my monument! Let him give heed to my weighty words! . . . Let him read the code and pray with a full heart before Marduk, my lord, and Zarpanit, my lady; and may the protecting deities, the gods who enter K-sagila, daily in the midst of K-sagila look with favor on his wishes in the presence of Marduk, my lord, and Zarpanit, my lady." These exhortations make it altogether probable that the original column was set up before E-sagila, the great Marduk temple in Babylon. The fragments of this code, found in other parts of the kingdom, are probably what is now left of copies of it. Hammurabi, the author of the code, is identified by Jo The Sphere of Religion many Assyriologists with Amraphel of Genesis xiv. , i . He was the sixth king of the first Babylonian dynasty, and came to the throne in 2250 B.C. In his day the whole of Babylonia was first united under one sway, and ex- tended not only over Elam and Assyria, but as far west as the Mediterranean Sea, thus including Syria and Palestine. The code which he drew up is considered to be a compilation from a number of earlier codes. The discovery of many contract tablets antedating his reign abundantly proves that he made use of laws and legal phraseology which had become traditional in his day. Before the discovery of the code of Hammurabi, the oldest known collection of laws was a portion of the Old Testament. The ancient Egyptian code referred to by Diodorus Siculus (57 B.C.) has never been recovered, and the Hindu Laws of Manu (c. 950 B.C.) and the Twelve Tables of Rome (c. 450 B.C.) are confessedly younger. The Pentateuchal code is now regarded as a compilation made up of earlier and later elements, the oldest portion being the Book of the Covenant referred to in Exodus xxiv., 7. This Book of the Covenant, scholars tell us, is the portion of the Old Testament recorded in Ex. xx., 22-xxiii., 33. Now when we compare this civil and criminal code with the code of Hammurabi, the likenesses in form of statement and subject-matter are too numerous to admit of the explanation that they are purely accidental. The only satisfactory position is that the earliest portion of the Mosaic code was largely taken from the much older Hammurabic code. ' 'When the Hebrews effected a settlement in Canaan," says Professor Kellner, *'they found there a people greatly their superior in culture; learning from this people the arts of civilization they gradually passed The Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians 5 1 from the unsettled life of nomad herdsmen into that of settled agriculturalists. Their new home had long been under Babylonian influence. For centuries, certainly since the days of Abraham, which were also the days of Hammurabi, the rule of Babylon had extended to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea; and at the time of the Zel-el-Amarna tablets (c. 1450 B.C.), shortly before the Hebrew settlement in Canaan, not only, as these let- ters show, was there a Hvely intercourse with Babylon, but the Babylonian language and cuneiform writing were actually used throughout Palestine in carrying on international communication. ' ' The Hebrews appropri- ated freely many Babylonian legends concerning the early history of the world. Even their " Sabbath, both in name and institution, was of Babylonish origin." Nothing was more natural for them to do under the circumstances than to adapt to their own needs the Babylonian law which had long been in use in Canaan before they arrived there. It must always be remembered that the Babylonian literature includes the Assyrian. For civilization in that part of the earth was first established in Babylonia. It is claimed by some students of recent discoveries made in Nippur that its beginning can now be traced back even to 5000 or 6000 B.C. Certain it is that religious thought and feehng had reached a high degree of development among the Babylonians many centuries before the time of Moses or David, and that the religion of the Jews was greatly affected by its influence. Fur- thermore, it is clear from the quotations cited above that the Sacred Tablets of the Babylonians did not create their religion, but simply recorded what, for a long time before they were written, had come to be commonly believed, 52 The Sphere of Religion b. The Egyptian Book of the Dead.— The chief monument of the religious life of the ancient Egyptians is entitled the Book of the Dead. The great mass of the religious literature of Egypt is written in imitation of it, or is made up of extracts from its contents. In some respects it is the most complete account of the primitive religious beliefs of mankind of which w^e have any knowledge. No people, ancient or modern, have ever equalled the ancient Egyptians in the care they bestowed upon their dead. It seems to have been the dominating purpose of their lives to secure the happiness of their deceased in the future world, whatever may have been their condition in this. No one can rightly understand their civilization unless it is considered from this point of view. The Book of the Dead was called by the Egyp- tians themselves the ' ' Book of Coming Forth in the Daytime," from the opening words of the first chap- ter, which starts out with a promise to give to the ka of the deceased the power of visiting the upper world. According to the opinion of that age and people every person consisted of three parts, a mortal cor- ruptible body called the cha^ a living soul or vital principle to which the term ba was applied, and the ka, a sort of spiritual double or protecting genius, which was the inseparable companion of every in- dividual, growing up as he grew and never forsaking him. At death the ba was supposed to leave the body in the form of a bird, which was often represented with the head and arms of a human being, and to fly up directly to the abode of the gods. The ka, however, dwelt in the tomb with the body. At any time it The Egyptian Book of the Dead 53 could at will enter the body and reanimate it. A small passageway a few inches square was frequently made in the walls of the tomb for the egress and ingress of the ka. False doors were sometimes constructed for its exclusive use. The personal existence of the de- parted spirit depended absolutely upon the preservation of the body, which must always be kept in a suitable condition for its spiritual visitor. It must never be- come " a mass of worms," but " remain as imperishable as the flesh of the gods." Consequently the body at death was carefully em- balmed as soon as the ba had left it. Linen bandages were wrapped around it and it was placed in a cofiin, upon the boards of which texts from the Book of the Dead were inscribed, in order that the deceased might have the use of them in passing through the perils of the lower world. Frequently these texts were written upon the linen bandages themselves, or put upon little scrolls, which were rolled up and placed under the armpits of the mummy, or hung about its neck. Accompanied by the relatives, friends, and many hired mourners, if the family were able to afford them, the body was carried to the place of burial, w^hich was always on the west bank of the Nile toward the setting sun. Here the priests read extracts from the Book of the Dead, burned incense, and made offerings, as they committed the body to the tomb. Since the deceased was supposed to take with him all of the appetites and desires of the body, abundant provision had to be made for all its wants. Alabaster figures of fowls, loaves of bread, little wooden wine- jars, and wooden statuettes of cooks and bakers were placed in the tomb, all of which could be immediately changed into real objects at the option of the deceased, 54 The Sphere of Religion provided the right magical text from the Book of the Dead was at hand for his use. In the same way the deceased could take with him his favorite games and other means of recreation. Actual voyages could be made by him in little imi- tation boats with miniature oars and rowers. And, above all, he could avoid the necessity of labor in the future world if he had with him a number of statuettes of laborers to answer for him when any work was assigned to him, provided he was furnished with the appropriate formulas from the Book of the Dead for giving them reality. Texts from the book were in- scribed upon the tomb, and visitors were adjured to repeat them for the benefit of the deceased that he might have the enjoyment of " thousands of bread, beer, oxen, and geese " in his place among the gods. These facts concerning some of the uses of the Book of the Dead among the ancient Egyptians will illus- trate how important the book was in their eyes. But before we can understand in any real way its teachings, or duly appreciate the illustrations of events in the lower world that it contains, we must know something of the ideas concerning the gods that had become prevalent at the time the book was written. Egyptologists seem now to be agreed that the re- ligion of ancient Egypt originated in a purely local fetishism, and was not in anj' sense a borrowed product. ''Every village of prehistoric times," says a high authority, " seems to have had its own god or demon, worshipped in some object, usually a tree or an ani- mal." Out of this chaos of deities it gradually came about that as some one village grew into a city and acquired sovereignty over neighboring villages the god of that city became the Great God, and the other gods The Egyptian Book of the Dead 55 were brought into some subordinate relation to him as a member of his household. In this way every princi- pal deity came to be surrounded by a circle of gods and there often resulted the formation of a local Triad of gods consisting of father, mother, and son. In some localities in very early times the bull was chiefly worshipped ; in others, such animals as the goat, the ram, the cat, the dog, the ibis, the beetle, and the crocodile. Whatever animal or object was selected, it was regarded as the principal local deity. As the ideas of the people became more refined and spiritual, some of the gods took on in part the human form. In general the trunk of the human body came to be attributed to a god, while he kept the head of the animal in which he was before incarnated. In this way the extremely grotesque forms which are attributed to many of the Egyptian gods in the pictures contained in the Book of the Dead are to be accounted for. Thus Ptah, the god of Memphis, ap- pears as the apis-bull ; Hapi and Amon of Thebes, as rams; Anubis of Lycopolis, as a jackal-headed man ; Bast of Bubastis, as a cat-headed woman ; Horns of Edfu, as a hawk-headed man. Thoth of Hermopolis is usually represented with the trunk of a man and the head of an ibis. Osiris is the god of Abydos, the chief burial-place of Egypt, and the lord of the lower world. He was married to Isis his sister, by whom he had two sons, Horus, who was the bringer of light, and Set, the god of darkness. Before Osiris every person on leaving this world was summoned for judgment. He was assisted by forty- two judges or ''Assessors," one from each of the forty- two districts into which Upper and I^ower Egypt were originally divided. Osiris and these assessors decided 56 The Sphere of Religion the momentous question as to whether the newcomer was fit to enter the fields of Amenti and take up his residence in the abode of the blessed. A very ancient papyrus of the Book of the Dead, found recently in Thebes and now deposited in the Royal Museum at Berlin, contains among other unique illustrations of the events in the lower world a very striking representation of this last judgment. The scene is taken from the 125th chapter, entitled, " The Weighing of the Heart." In the lower section of this picture the deceased is being led into a large subterranean hall by Mat, the goddess of truth and justice, mistress of the nether world. At the oppo- site end of what is called in the text " The Great Hall of Truth," Osiris is seated on a naos or throne ready to hear the newcomer. In the middle of the hall is a large pair of delicately balanced scales in one pan of which hawk-headed Horus has placed the heart of the deceased, and in the other jackal-headed Anubis, the god of embalmers, has put a feather, the symbol of truth and justice. On the top of the scales is seated the dog Hapi, the god of measure. To the rear of Anubis is ibis-headed Thoth, the scribe of the gods, who stands with pen in hand to register the decision. Between Horus and Osiris is a female hippopotamus with the head of a crocodile who stands ready to de- vour the newcomer, if he fails to pass the required ordeal. In the upper section of the picture the deceased is on his knees addressing a prayer to the forty- two judges, who have heads representing a great variety of animals and who carry in their hands a feather, the symbol of their office. They each have to pass sentence upon some particular sin as the accused pronounces before The Egyptian Book of the Dead 5 7 them the famous Negative Confession. Much of the matter in the Book of the Dead is to us meaningless jargon. But some extracts taken here and there from the petitions in the book for the deceased to use on entering the judgment hall of Osiris are as follows : *' Do not imprison my soul. Do not let any hurt me. May I sit down among the principal gods in their dwellings ? If you repel me from the places of regener- ation, do not let the evil principles take hold of me. Do not let me be repelled from your gates ; be not your gates closed against me. May I have loaves in Pu, drinks in Tepu. Grant to me the funeral food and drinks, the oxen, the geese, the fabrics, the incense, the oil, and all the good and pure things upon which the gods live. May I be eternally settled in the transforma- tions that will please me. May I be united with the gods of truth." (Quoted from Warner). The following are similar extracts from the Negative Confession made before the forty-two assessors : " I did not bid any one kill treacherously. I did not lie to any man. I did not plunder the supplies in the temple. I did not overcharge. I did not tamper with the weight of the balance. I was not a bully. I did not use too many words in speaking. I did not turn a deaf ear to the words of truth. I did not make my mouth work. I did not steal. I was pure, pure, pure. I did not do what the gods hate. I did not cause the slave to be misused by his master. I did not cause any one to be hungry. I did not cause any one to weep. I did not commit adultery. I did not kill. I prevailed as a man that keeps his head." (Quoted from Warner.) It is admitted that in this 125th chapter we have one of the oldest known codes of private and public morality. 58 The Sphere of Religion John Newenham Hoare in his article on ' ' The Religion of the Ancient Egyptians" in the Nineteenth Cefitury says of it : *' That which strikes one most in the 125th chapter is the profound insight that every work shall be brought into judgment, and every secret thing, whether it be good or evil. It is the voice of conscience which accuses or excuses in that solemn hour, for no accuser appears in the Hall, the man's whole life is seen by himself in its true light. ' ' Besides the scenes of the Last Judgment and the Negative Confession, the book abounds in speeches and prayers to be addressed to the gods and other beings whom the departed will meet in his various migrations. The place into which he is finally ushered is described with considerable vagueness, but for the most part it resembled the region of the Nile. A broad river flowed through it which was divided into numerous branches. Islands covered with fruitful fields existed on every side. The justified had a share in tilling the fields, and they were always rewarded with sure and abundant harvests. The Book of the Dead is admitted by all scholars to be a conglomerate made up of accretions during long periods of time. Some parts of it, they tell us, go back in all probability to prehistoric times. Others belong to the era of the pyramids and a few to a much later period in Egyptian history. Of the many existing copies, " probably not far short of a thousand," some contain only a few chapters, while other rolls are over a hundred feet in length and about fifteen inches in breadth. There is no connection between the chapters, either from a logical or chronological point of view, and thousands of years passed before the book received any very definite form. The oldest chapters are said to.be the 130th and 64th. Of the latter, Naville, a famous student The Egyptian Book of the Dead 59 of these various texts, asserts that it is "the most im- portant chapter of the Book of the Dead.' ' The chapter claims to have been written by '' the finger of the god Thoth," " the manifester of truth and righteousness." It says of itself : " There is no book like it, man hath not spoken it, neither hath ear heard of it." It is a resume of the whole Book of the Dead and occurs twice on the sarcophagus of Queen Mentuhotep of the eleventh dynasty. In another copy the name Septi of the first dynasty appears. Twenty-five hundred years before Christ, authorities tell us, the text of the chapter " was nearly as doubtful as in later ages." The seventeenth chapter is one of the most remark- able and it has been preserved from times previous to the twelfth dynasty. It contains an account of the Egyptian cosmogony as taught at Heliopolis and dates, says Davis in his recent work on the Egyptian Book of the Dead, " some 2000 years before any probable date of Moses." A text of the book of the twenty-sixth dynasty, republished by Lepsius in his Totenbuch, con- tains 165 chapters. Some recent editions have 178 chap- ters. Occasionally a chapter is repeated. The 65tli chapter is a duplicate of the 2d, and the 129th is a repeti- tion of the 1 00th . The Turin Papyrus of the Book of the Dead closes with these words : "He shall drink out of the stream of the celestial river, and shall be resplendent like the stars in Heaven." The Burton copy of the book adds the following: *' An adoration made to Osiris, the Dweller of the West, Great God, I.ord of Abydos, Eternal King, Everlasting I,ord, Great God in the plains,— I give glory to thee, O Osiris, Lord of the Gods, living in truth! Is said by thy son Horus. I have come to thee, bringing thee 6o The Sphere of Religion truth. Where are thy attendant gods ? Grant me to be with them in thy company. I overthrew thy enemies. I have prepared thy food on earth forever. ' ' The religion of these ancient Egyptians long ago passed from off the earth, but it is the opinion of schol- ars that the religion of the Jews was affected in no small degree by its influence. The rite of circumcision which the Jews made so much of they acquired from the Egyptians, who in turn received it from the natives of Africa. Ancient Egyptian mummies show that the rite was practised far earlier than the time of Abraham. The figure of the cherubim who guarded the gates of Paradise and spread their wings over the ark was probably derived from that of the Sphinx who, as the symbol of wisdom and strength, watched over the entrances to temples and tombs. So the Jewish idea of a Holy of Holies in their temple was probably of Egyp- tian origin, as was the notion of a scapegoat to carry away the sins of the people. Although the first two of the ten commandments are opposed to some of the ideas implied in the Negative Confession, the majority of them are explicitly contained in it. But the leading doctrines of the Egyptians the Jews seem to have care- fully excluded, probably to a large- extent out of preju- dice against the religion of their oppressors. We find no evidence in the Pentateuch that the people were taught anything concerning the transmigration of the soul, theembalmingof the body, or the ornamentation of tombs. But what is more surprising we find no mention in it of a future life and a judgment to come. It is the emphasis put upon this idea that constitutes the chief contribution of the Egyptians to the cause '^i religion in our day. c. The Vedas of the Hindus.— The word Veda The Vedas of the Hindus 6 1 comes from the Sanskrit vid (lyatin, videre) and means knowledge or science. In its broadest signification it designates the entire sacred literature of ancient India, which consists of more than one hundred volumes ; but in the narrower sense of the term as here used it re- fers to the three metrical compositions which lie at the basis of this literature and determine its form and character. Expert students of Sanskrit literature, such as Max Miiller, Whitney, and Lanman, tell us that these com- positions are among the oldest Scriptures that have come down to us. The Hindus have always believed, and believe to-day, that no human authors produced them, but that they have existed from all eternity, and cannot possibly be modified or destroyed. The mean- ing of these Scriptures, it is claimed, can be discerned only by certain ' ' Rishis ' ' or seers to whom from age to age it is miraculously revealed. It is universally admitted by modem scholars that the original Vedas were very much larger than the present collection and were handed down by tradition orally from generation to generation long before they were put into written form. Remnants of^ older Vedas not now extant are scattered through various portions of the present collection in a manner similar to the references to older writings in our own Bible. The Vedas are chiefly made up of prayers and hymns addressed to the personified forces of nature, and are di- vided into three principal parts, — the Rig-Veda, or hymns to be recited, the Sama-Veda, or hymns to be sung, and the Yagur-Veda, largely a collection of sac- rificial formulas and rites. To each of these is attached a body of subordinate works called Brahmanas which are for the most part explanatory discourses on the 62 The Sphere of Religion sacred text by a brahman or priest. The older Brahm- anas contain descriptions of the sacrificial ceremonies, an account of their origin, and legends illustrating their supernatural power. The later Brahmanas are more philosophical in their character. They ignore such matters as rites and ceremonies, and deal with the mys- teries of creation and existence. They are often spoken of under the term Upanishads and remain the founda- tion of all the higher thought of Brahmanism even in our own day. Attached to the Brahmanas, just as the Brahmanas are attached to the Vedas, are the Sutras. They con- sist mainly of rules to be followed in making sacrifices and conducting the affairs of every-day life. When the ceremonials had grown to such enormous proportions that no person could remember them, systematic treat- ises had to be prepared for the celebrants. For the ceremonials pertained not only to the details of the present life of an Aryan Hindu, but to his prenatal and postmortem existence. The word Sutra means a String and refers to the fact that these rules were usually writ- ten out separately with great care on dried palm-leaves tied together with a string. Bach Sutra or string ol aphorisms generally begins with the words, * ' Thus have I heard," corresponding to our ** Thus saith the Ivord." The oldest of the Vedas and much the most important is the Rig- Veda. Its size is nearly that of the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer. It consists of a little over looo prayers and hymns addressed to the fire-god Agni and various other deities, and is divided into ten books. Six of the books are called " Family Books " and they form the nucleus of the collection. Each contains the hymns ascribed to a single family or clan in which they The Vedas of the Hindus 63 originated and by whom they were handed down as a sacred inheritance. The hymns of book nine are addressed to the deified drink Soma, now believed to be the juice of a plant of the milkweed family, which was supposed to confer upon its devotees supernatural powers. The tenth book comprises hymns ascribed to many different au- thors whom the scholars of to-day regard as the poet- sages of remote times. "The oldest hymns," says Professor I^anman, "may have originated as early as 1200 or 1500 B. c, but it is not feasible to assign a precise date." Some of the hymns are put as late as goo or 800 B. c. It is now well ascertained that in- stead of having been given at any one time the collec- tion grew up graduall}^ during many centuries. The first of the hymns of the Rig- Veda, as we now have it, reads as follows {Sacred Books of the East^ vol. xlvi., p. i): " I. I magnify Agni, the Purohita, the divine ministrant of the sacrifice, the Hotri priest, the greatest bestower of treasures. 2. Agni, worthy to be magnified hy the ancient Rishis and by the present ones — may he conduct the gods hither. 3. May one obtain through Agni wealth and welfare day by day, which may bring glory and high bliss of valiant offspring. 4. Agni, whatever sacrifices and worship thou encompassest on every side, that indeed goes to the gods. 5. May Agni, the thoughtful Hotri, he who is true and most splendidly renowned, may the god come hither with the gods. 6. Whatever good thou wilt do to thy worshipper, O Agni, that work verily is thine, O Angiras. 64 The Sphere of Religion 7. Thee, O Agni, we approach day by day, O god who shinest in the darkness ; with our prayer bringing adoration to thee. 8. Who art the king of all worship, the guardian of Rita, the shining one, increasing in thy own house. 9. Thus, O Agni, be easy of access to us, as a father is to his son. Stay with us for our happiness." The word Brahma means growth or expansion and is used in the Vedas to designate the supreme, impersonal, inactive, all-pervading soul of the universe, from which all things emanate and to which they all return. Brahma receives no worship, but can be made an object of abstract meditation. By this means only can absorption in it be attained. Brahma when dominated by activity becomes Brahma, the lord and father of all creatures, and together with Vishnu, the Preserver or Saviour, and Siva, the Destroyer, constitutes the Hindu Trinity. The Vedas also recognize the existence of a large number of lesser deities in connection with which a vast system of ritualism and theosophic specu- lation has grown up. According to the Vedic teaching no real self can ex- ist apart from the one self-existent supreme self When individual spirits are allowed for a time to take on an apparent separate existence their sole end and aim should be to annihilate the apparent self by reabsorp- tion into the one only supreme self. Intimately con- nected with this doctrine in the Vedas is the doctrine of metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls. Every creature is supposed to be born again and again into any one of the various forms of existence between the one supreme self and the lowest atom of living matter before he accomplishes his annihilation as an individual by union with the Brahma. The reason as- The Vedas of the Hi7idus 65 signed for these rebirths is the desire for life, or in- dividual existence. Only when this desire is utterly eradicated will they cease. Associated with the three Vedas already mentioned was the Atharva-Veda, called after a semi-mythical family of priests. Its contents were popular and su- perstitious rather than hieratic, and the work is of a later date than the other Vedas. "It exhibits the ordinary Hindu not only in the aspect of a devout and virtuous adherent of the gods, and performer of pious practices, but also as the natural, semi-civilized man : rapacious, demon-plagued, and fear-ridden, hateful, lustful, and addicted to sorcery." Some of the later Brahmanas connected with the Vedas are called " Forest Treatises." They are prob- ably so named because of the supposed superior mysti- cal sanctity of their contents, and because they were to be recited in the solitude of the forest instead of in the village. Among the later Sutras were the so-called ' ' House Books ' ' and the ' ' Law Sutras. ' ' The former treated of matters that concerned the every-day life of the family, while the latter dealt with the whole subject of religious and secular law. The most famous of these Law-Books was called the Code of Manu. As we now have it, it consists of twelve books, the first treating of the origin of the universe and the last of transmigration and final hap- piness. Everything that pertains to the duties of a Brahman in the different stages of his life is set forth in it,— his education and duties as a pupil, his marriage and duties as a householder, his means of subsistence, his duties as an anchorite and ascetic, the duties of rulers, the mutual relations of the castes, penance and expiation. 5 66 The Sphere of Religion The code is claimed by the Hindus to be the work of a divinely inspired lawgiver by the name of Mann, who is represented in the Rig- Veda as the ancestor of the human race and the first one to ofier a sacrifice to the gods. In the first chapter of the code he declares him- self to have created all this universe. The chapter opens as follows {Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxv., pp. I seqY " I. The great sages approached Manu, who was seated with a collected mind, and, having duly wor- shipped him, spoke as follows : 2. ' Deign, divine one, to declare to us precisely and in due order the sacred laws of each of the (four chief) castes and of the intermediate ones. 3. ' For thou, O Lord, alone knowest the import (2. e. the rites), and the knowledge of the soul, taught in this whole ordinance of the Self-existent, which is unknowable and unfathomable.' 4. He, whose power is measureless, being thus asked by the high-minded sages, duly honored them, and answered, ' Listen ! 5. ' This universe existed in the shape of Dark- ness, unperceived, destitute of distinctive marks, un- attainable by reasoning, unknowable, wholly immersed, as it were, in deep sleep. 6. ' Then the divine Self-existent, himself indis- cernible, but making all this, the great elements and all the rest, discernible, appeared with irresistible creative power, dispelling the darkness. 7. ' He, who can be perceived by the internal organ alone, who is subtile, indiscernible, and eternal, who contains all created beings and is inconceivable, shone forth of his own will. 8. ' He, desiring to produce beings of many kinds The Vedas of the Hindtts 67 from his own body, first with a thought created the waters and placed his seed in them. 9. ' That seed became a golden ^z%, in brilliancy equal to the sun ; in that ^zz he himself was born as Brahman, the progenitor of the whole world.' " The word Manu is from the Sanskrit man, mean- ing literally ' ' the thinking being. " It is the consensus of opinion among scholars that the word does not refer to any historical personage, and that the code is simply a collection of the ordinances and customs of the coun- try as they gradually developed in the course of a long period of time. It is also admitted that the code, as we now have it, instead of being hoary with antiquity, should not be placed farther back than the beginning of the Christian era. There are several schools of philosophy that have arisen among the Hindus to explain and supplement the Vedas. The Vedanists hold that there is only one being in the universe, namely, Brahma, and that all else is Mayar or illusion. The Sankhyists believe in two eternal substances, individual Souls and Nature, or Brahma; while the Nyayists assume three,— Atoms, Souls, and Brahma. The system whose fol- lowers are regarded as the highest representatives of the teachings of the Vedas is a modification of the Sankhya, known as the Yoga system. Yoga means "concentration," and a Yogi is one who has so disciplined himself by a systematic course of self-castigation that he has brought about a separa- tion of his soul from matter and effected its absorption into the divine soul. In the attaining of this end, eight stages are necessary : (i) Self-control. This consists in doing no injury to any living thing, telling the truth, practising chastity, accepting no gifts. (2) Re- 68 The Sphere of Religioii ligious observance. Internal as well as external purity must be observed. One must frequently repeat the Vedic hymns, must be contented with his lot, and must constantly rely upon the Supreme Being. (3) Fixed bodily postures. These are of various sorts. They cultivate patient endurance and develop the will. (4) Regulation of the breath. This had to do with the prolongation of the period of exhalation and inhalation. It was often carried to a complete suspension of the breathing process. (5) Restraint of the senses. This means their diversion from the objects that excite them. (6) The steadying of the mind ; /. e., the free- ing of it from every sensual disturbance. This is done by fixing the thoughts exclusively upon some one part of the body, as the navel, or the tip of the nose. (7) Meditation. By this is meant such a concentration of the attention upon the one object of thought, the Su- preme Being, as to exclude all other thoughts. (8) Profound contemplation. This involves such a com- plete concentration of the mind upon the Supreme Being as to produce an utter extinction of all thought. " In such a state a Yogi is insensible to heat and cold, to pleasure and pain ; he is the same in prosperity and adversity; he enjoys an ecstatic condition." He finds himself able to know the past and future, to un- derstand the sounds of all animals, to tell the thoughts of others, to recall his experiences in his former state of existence, to see all objects at once in this and other planets. In particular, a Yogi, by passing through these eight stages of discipline, is supposed to acquire eight miraculous powers,— to make himself invisible ; infi- nitely light or heavy ; extremely small or large ; to touch anything, however distant, as the sun or moon, The Vedas of the Hindus 69 with the tips of his fingers ; to have an irresistible will ; to obtain absolute dominion over all other beings ; to change the course of nature; and to transport himself to any place whatsoever at will. By the practice of Yoga not only does he put himself in possession of these miraculous powers, but he also obtains "redeeming knowledge." When his concen- tration has become so intense that it has overcome all the hindrances that arise from his natural disposition and it is no longer possible for his thoughts to wander, his intellect is freed from all consideration of self and turns itself inward. This is the beginning of true liberation. Salvation, or final liberation, can rarely come, however, until after a succession of births. For the results obtained in one birth require a subsequent birth in order to reach their maturity. At the outset Yoga was not theistic. It was only in the course of centuries that the idea grew up that union with God, in any sense of that term, was the end to be attained by the system. Yoga originally was simply the attempt to separate the spirit from matter. There are a large number of Upanishads that treat of Yoga, but scholars are agreed that they are not among the oldest, and many think that they are even more recent than the Yoga-sutra itself. All the Vedas agree in considering existence in time and space an evil. It is a delusion resulting from desire and necessitates perpetual suffering and a per- petual transmigration through different bodies, until desire burns itself out and ceases to be. Knowledge of this fact is the only thing that will bring deliverance. " He who ceases to contemplate other things, who retires into solitude, annihilates his desires, and sub- jects his passions, he understands that Spirit is the one ^o The Sphere of Religion and the Eternal. The wise man annihilates all sensible things in spiritual things, and contemplates that one Spirit who resembles pure space." All action leads to agitation and suffering. Only knowledge, pure con- templation, can unite the soul to God and bring rest and peace. The Vedas teach the great truth of the reality of spirit, and this will always remain the fundamental doctrine of religion. But in holding that spirit is absolutely un- limited and that eternity alone is real, they make per- sonality, whether of God or man, impossible and leave no room for progress which must take place in time. The great ideas of Brahmanism need to be supplemented and corrected by the idea that the universe is the pro- duct of a power acting according to a rational purpose, and that . communion with this power comes not by absorption and inaction, but by the active obedience of the will and by personal development. Thus only will the devotees of this religion cease from being the slaves of unscrupulous tyrants, as they have been for centuries, and rise to the dignity of men. What they most need is not more intellectual ability, but more moral power. The Brahman ical priests have for many centuries held in their control the exclusive knowledge of the rites and ceremonies enjoined by the Vedas, and in this way have exerted an influence over the daily lives of the people unequalled in any other land. The caste system which they have instituted has for generations been by far the most significant factor in Hindu life. The census of 190 1 gave the number of Brahmanical Hindus as over 200,000,000. The mass of them, while not ignoring the worship of their gods, regard it as the highest law of their being to eat correctly, to drink cor- rectly, and to marry correctly, that is, in accordance The Chinese Classics 71 with the law of their caste. They believe that in this way the teachings of the Vedas are most faithfully observed and honored. d. The Chinese Classics.— The bible which from the sixth century before Christ has had a controlling influence over the destinies of the Chinese and still em- bodies the faith and practice of their ruling classes is made up of nine books, known to us as the Chinese Classics. The first five of these books Confucius pro- fessed merely to have abridged from older books, and the remaining four were composed partly by him and partly by his disciples. It is now agreed that Confucius did not commit any of his own teachings to writing. Yet so carefully did his followers preserve his sayings and so fully did they depict his life that there is probably no person of an- tiquity of whom we have more accurate knowledge. He was born on the 19th of June, 551 B.C., atShang-ping in the little kingdom of Lu. Various miracles are re- lated as occurring in connection with his birth and early childhood. His father died when he was three years old, but he was carefully brought up by his mother, who called him by a pet name meaning 'kittle hillock" because of an unusual elevation on the top of his forehead. His real name was Kong, but his disciples called him Kong-fu-tsu, or Kong, the Master, which the Jesuit missionaries Latinized into Confucius. From his early years Confucius showed an extraor- dinary love of learning and a great veneration for the ancient laws of his country. At seventeen he obtained an office under the government which he administered with unusual energy and uprightness. At nineteen he married, but after four years he gave up his family life for the sake of his public duties. When in his twenty- 72 The sphere of Religion third year his mother died, and in accordance with a law then long antiquated, that children should resign all public office on the death of either parent, he gave up his official position; and in accordance with another an- tiquated law buried the remains of his mother with such solemnity and splendor that his contemporaries resolved henceforth to pay their dead similar ancient honors. The authority of Confucius concerning the past soon became unquestioned. He pointed out the necessity of paying stated homage to the dead, either at the grave or in a part of the dwelling consecrated to the purpose. Hence ' ' the hall of ancestors ' ' and the anniversary feasts in honor of the dead in every well-regulated Chinese household of our day. Confucius spent three years in mourning and solitude, giving himself up ex- clusively to study and meditation. Then he began to instruct his countrymen in what he considered the principles of correct living, being himself the embodi- ment of all the virtues he inculcated on others. He gave instruction to all who came to him, however small the fee, provided he found in them capacity to learn and zeal for improvement. His fame soon spread abroad and before many years he had no less than 3000 followers. They were mostly mandarins of middle age, sober and grave, occupy- ing official positions of importance and respectability. This, in some degree at least, accounts for the fact that his teachings were so decidedly ethical. They were primarily intended to fit men for honorable and useful careers in this life. The political disorders of his time, which the emperor was too weak to quell, naturally turned his attention to the principles of good govern- ment as his chief topic of discourse. Confucius travelled much through various parts of The Chinese Classics 73 China and in some of them he was employed as a pub- He reformer. In his fifty-first year he returned to I^u and was appointed " governor of the people," but, ow- ing to the jealousy and intrigue of neighboring states at his success, he soon resigned and betook himself to other countries. After thirteen years of fruitless effort to find some ruler willing to be guided by his counsels, he came back to Lu in extreme poverty and spent his remaining years in literary pursuits. His last days were greatly saddened by the death of his only son and two of his most faithful disciples. He died a disap- pointed man at the non-success of his mission, in his seventieth year, but immediately, as in the case of Buddha, his name began to be treated with marked veneration, and to-day he is worshipped by many as a god. His family still continues to reside in the place where their ancestor lived and is the only hereditary aris- tocracy in China, the oldest representative of it having the title and revenues of a duke. Temples to the honor of Confucius exist in every city of the empire, and now exceed 1500 in numbers. Twice each year some 70,000 animals and 27,000 pieces of silk are burned upon his altars. Twice each year the Emperor himself makes offerings in his honor in the hall of the Imperial College at Peking. The eighteenth day of the second moon is kept sacred as the anniversary of his death. The system of Confucius, as set forth in the nine classics, has little to do with what is ordinarily called religion, and he distinctly disclaims for himself any special revelation. " I teach you nothing," he says, "but what you might learn for yourselves— viz. , the observation of the three fundamental laws of relation between sovereign and subject, father and child, hus- 74 The Sphere of Religion band and wife ; and the five capital virtues— universal charity, impartial justice, conformity to ceremonies and established usages, rectitude of heart and mind, and pure sincerity." One of his disciples once asked him about serving the spirits of the dead and the master replied : ' ' While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve their spirits?" and when asked a question about death, he answered : ' ' While you do not know life, how can you know about death ? ' ' Although Confucius lauds the present world there are a number of allusions in his works to an heavenly agency called Shang-te whose outer emblem is Tien or the visible firmament. This Shang-te is probably the ever-present Law and Order of the universe. In one passage he enjoins the people *' to contribute with all their power to the worship of Shang-te, of celebrated mountains, of great rivers, and of the * shin ' (spirits) of the four quarters." In another he says: *' as for the genii and spirits, sacrifice to them ; I have nothing to tell regarding them whether they exist or not ; but their worship is part of an august and awful ceremonial, which a wise man will not neglect or despise." In the opinion of many competent students of Chi- nese history it was this doubting attitude of Confucius toward the world of spirits that prevented his disciples from giving themselves up to the debasing superstitions and magical rites of the Buddhist and Taoist sects that still demoralize the masses of the people. The first of the so-called " Five Canonical Books " of the Chinese was originally a cosmological essay, but is now regarded as a treatise on ethics. The second is an account of the sayings and actions of two emperors who lived twenty-three centuries B.C., and of other The Chinese Classics ^t ancients for whom Confucius had the deepest rever- ence. It depicts a kind of golden age when evil, pov- erty, and ignorance had been blotted out of the empire by the virtue and example of its rulers, when ' * the upright were advanced to ofl&ce and the crooked set aside." The third is a book of sacred songs or poems, three hundred and eleven in number, many of which every well-educated Chinaman knows by heart. The fourth is called the '* Book of Rites " and prescribes the ceremonies to be observed in every relation of life. It has been for centuries, and is now, the chief cause of the artificial and unchangeable habits of the people. And the last of the five has the title, the ' ' Spring and Autumn Annals." In it Confucius gives a brief his- tory of the events in I^u from 721 to 480 B.C. It is not a work of much merit. The first of the so-called " Four Books " which fol- low these five canonical books is the Chinese bible. It is known as the ''Great Study," and is devoted to showing in what good government consists. It says, '' The ancients who desired to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the empire first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their own states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regu- late their families, they first cultivated their own persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts." The second is entitled "The Doctrine of the Mean," and is attributed to the grand- son of Confucius. It teaches what * * the due medium ' ' is in all conduct. The third book is sometimes called the " Memorabiha of Confucius," and is the chief source of our knowledge of his character and teachings. Measured by any standard, a high degree of excellence must be accorded to them all. 76 The Sphere of Religio7i Two oft-quoted passages will summarize his life and views. "At fifteen," he says, " I had my mind bent on learning ; at thirty I stood firm ; at forty I had no doubts ; at fifty I knew the decrees of heaven ; at sixty my ear was an obedient organ ; at seventy I could fol- low what my heart desired without transgressing what was right." When asked by a disciple, " Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life ? " he replied, ' ' Is not reciprocity such a word ? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." Though this golden rule happens to be negative in its form, it has all the force and intent of a positive injunction. The fourth book is written by Mencius, by far the greatest of the early Confucians, and the main effect of it is to lay down the principles of a government that is wise and just and good. To explain the vast influence that Confucianism, as a system of ethics and a religion, has exerted for cen- turies, and still exerts, over the Chinese mind, we have to observe in the first place that it is wonderfully adapted to the prosaic, practical, and conservative ten- dencies of the people. In the second place, it assumes the inherent goodness of human nature, and holds that wisdom and righteousness can be acquired by the strict and faithful performance of appointed duties and the cultivation of proper feelings and sentiments. And in the third place, it extols education as the means of re- novating mankind and inaugurating a time of universal prosperity and peace. Through its influence schools have been diffused throughout the length and breadth of the empire, ex- tending even to the remote villages. The doctrines of Confucius constitute the chief part of the instruction Iliad and Theogony of the Greeks 7 7 given in them, and up to 1906 no one could enter the public service or be promoted in it without passing a thorough examination on their contents. In Japan and Korea the authority of Confucius among the educated classes, until the last few years, was almost as unquestioned as in his native land. He has been " during twenty-three centuries the daily teacher and guide of a third of the human race. ' ' Confucianism inculcates many of the characteristics of a genuine religious life, such as reverence for the past, love of knowledge, regard for peace and or- der, and filial piety. But what it vitally needs is a larger outlook. It needs to supplement regard for the past with hope for the future, its stability with the idea of progress, its faith in man with faith in a Higher Power, its appreciation of time with an equal appreci- ation of eternity. e. The Iliad and the Theogony of the Greeks. — The chief Sacred Scriptures of the ancient Greeks were the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, and the Theogr ony of Hesiod. For this statement we have the ex- plicit assertion of no less an authority than Herodotus himself. He says distinctly, " lam of the opinion that Hesiod and Homer lived four hundred years before my time and not more, and these were they who framed a theogony for the Greeks, and gave names to the gods, and assigned to them honors and arts, and declared their several forms" (ii., 53). This is also the view of the latest scholars. Professor Seymour of Yale in his commentary upon the Ho- meric poems declares, "To the ancient Greek mind, the Iliad and Odyssey formed a sort of Bible, to which reference was made as to an ultimate authority." He would undoubtedly have included in this statement the 78 The Sphere of Religion Theogony of Hesiod, if occasion had called for any reference to that work. To the student of ancient history it is no accident that the revealers of the ways of the gods among the Greeks were poets. For poets were looked upon by them as equal to prophets, and no such distinction was made between them as we are inclined to make in our day. Everything in nature and life they instinctively regarded from the poetic point of view. To the Greeks, as James Freeman Clarke has so well said in his Ten Great Religio7is\ ** all the phenomena of nature, all the events of life became a marvellous tissue of divine story. They walked the earth surrounded and over- shadowed by heavenly attendants and supernatural powers. . . . Their gods were not their terror, but their delight. Even the great gods of Olympus were around them as invisible companions. Fate itself, the dark Moira, supreme power, mistress of gods and men, was met manfully and not timorously. So strong was the human element, the sense of personal dignity and freedom, that the Greeks lived in the midst of a supernatural world on equal terms." The question of the origin of the Greek religion was a mooted one even among the Greeks themselves, and continued to be so until very recent times. Some held that it was almost entirely an Egyptian importation, while others regarded it as a native product. The advances that have been made within the last half-cen- tur}^ in comparative philology have, however, settled the matter beyond reasonable doubt. Recent scholars tell us that over two thousand words in the Greek language are found in the Sanskrit, showing conclu- sively that the Greek people once lived in Central Asia and brought the rudiments of their religion with them Iliad and Theogony of the Greeks 79 when they migrated from that country. Later addi- tions were made to it by other colonists from Phoenicia, Kgypt, and other parts of the East. To Homer and Hesiod belongs the honor of making the first attempt to put these early traditions into per- manent form and bring them down to their own day. But who Homer was is regarded by modern scholars as an unsolved mystery. ''When and where Homer lived," says a high authority, '' no one knows. Many stories about him were invented and told, but all are without support," the one about his blindness being the most unlikely of all. His knowledge of anatomy and of the details of battles, for example, could not have been acquired by one deprived of the power of sight. Indeed, it is now agreed that the poems attributed to Homer by the ancients were not written by any one person ; for they do not have the unity we find in such works as Vergil's ^neid and Milton's Paradise Lost. Some parts of the Iliad are shown by scholars to be much more ancient than was formerly supposed, and some much more recent. Oftentimes the details of the story are not known to the writer, for he is constantly appealing to the inspiration of a Muse for his facts. That there was a conflict between the ancient Greeks and Trojans, and that Troy was destroyed about 1180 B.C. has been made quite probable by the excavations of Dr. Schliemann since 1869, showing that towns of wealth and culture like those described in the poem, ex- isted in the region of Mycenae and Ilium at that time. The Iliad opens with the visit of an old priest of Apollo to the camp of the Greeks, offering rich ransom for his daughter whom they have captured and given as a prize to one of their chieftains. It is the tenth year of the war to compel Paris, the son of King Priam So The Sphere of Religion of Ilium, to return Helen, the daughter of the goddess Leda and Father Zeus, to her husband, the King of Sparta. For from him Paris had stolen her with the help of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. As the Greeks had brought no supplies with them they lived by plunder upon the neighboring towns, slaying the men or selling them into slavery and taking the women prisoners. The daughter of this priest had been taken in this way. Her captor rudely dismisses the suppli- cation of her father, and Apollo sends a pestilence upon the Greeks in consequence. As soon as the cause of the pestilence becomes known the daughter is restored in order to win back the divine favor. lyater the Trojans break into the Grecian camp and work great slaughter, but finally they are driven back and Hector is slain, the noblest son of Priam. The Iliad closes with an account of the ransom and burial of Hector. The action of the Iliad lasts only six weeks, but the characteristics and relationships of most of the principal gods and goddesses are vividly depicted in the book notwithstanding this fact. The Odyssey gives a description of the wanderings and hardships of Odysseus or Ulysses after leaving Troy on his way home. Owing to the ill will of the god Poseidon he is helplessly driven about for the pe- riod of ten years from one country to another in various parts of the world. At first he comes to the land of the lyOtus-eaters, then to the island of the Cyclops, one of whom devours six of his comrades. Later another race of giants destroys most of his ships. Finally he is cast upon the island of a sea-nymph who cares for him till the goddess Athene persuades Father Zeus to allow his return home. After many further trials and sufferings he reaches his native shore. By the help of his son, Iliad and Theogony of the Greeks 8i whom he had left twenty years before as an infant, he slays the insolent suitors of his wife and regains his kingdom. While there is a universal agreement among scholars that these Homeric poems are the oldest works of Greek literature that have come down to us, none of them hold that they are the oldest poems that the Greeks produced. Brief lyrics on various themes such as love and war, and short epics celebrating the deeds of the gods and the exploits of famous men must have been long in circulation among the people before any poet thought of composing such extended works as these. So far from being the pure creations of the age of Homer, they are universally regarded as consisting chiefly of a body of myths and legends that had de- scended from earlier times. Kven the language and verse are inheritances from former generations. Of the personality of Hesiod, the author of the Theo- gony, there seems to be no doubt. He himself tells us that he was born in the little village of " Ascra, in winter vile, in summer most villainous, and at no time glorious." Here it was that he fed his lambs beneath divine Helicon. Here, as he says, * ' the Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, breathed into me a voice divine that T might sing of both the future and the past, and they bade me hymn the race of ever- living blessed gods." Hesiod is essentially a prophet. The message he delivers he declares is not from himself. He did not discover by his own researches the truths he proclaims. He thinks of himself as simply the mouthpiece of the Muses. As another has expressed it, *' Personal opin- ion and feeling may tinge his utterance, but they do not determine its general complexion." He is in his 82 The Sphere of Religion own opinion one whom the gods have empowered to speak for them and to make known their thoughts con- cerning man. The legends and myths he incorporates in his story were regarded by him and his age as reHcs of sacred history. Scholars in our day regard him as doing little more than to record, and in some degree to harmonize, tales more or less generally current. The many stories of gross cannibalism and outrageous im- morality among the gods that he narrates must have come down to his time from utterly savage forefathers. Hesiod's work was regarded by the ancient Greeks as their Book of Genesis. For he claims to give in it by divine inspiration a history of the successive genera- tions of the immortal gods. In the beginning, he says, Chaos alone was. Then came broad-bosomed Earth or Gaia, and Tartarus, a dark and gloomy region beneath the earth. Afterwards Eros, or Eove, appeared. Out of Chaos sprang Erebus and black Night, and from them came forth Ether and Day. Earth brought forth the starry Heaven or Uranos, then vast mountains, " lovely haunts of deities," and afterwards Pontus, or the barren Sea. Thus it was that the first generation of gods came into being. Hesiod is here evidently describing the activity of the mighty primeval forces of nature, giving the matter its appropriate poetical dress. We to-day would call the lyove of which he speaks the power of attraction bringing together otherwise discordant elements into order and harmony. The second generation was the period of the Titans, gigantic semi-personal powers. By the intermarriage of Earth and Heaven they were produced, twelve in number, six males, and six females. But Heaven feared his own children and shut them up in Tartarus. Iliad and Theogony of the Greeks 83 Earth, however, came to their aid and let them out. They overthrew their father and placed Chronos, or Time, upon the throne. The children of Time headed by Zeus rose up against him and the Titans were again imprisoned in Tartarus, watched over by the Cyclops and the hundred-handed Giants. Hesiod gives a vivid account of this battle with the Titans. After describing how Zeus by feasting his brothers and sisters upon ' ' nectar and delightful am- brosia " had induced them to join in it, he continues in part as follows : ' ' They then were pitted against the Titans in deadly combat, holding huge rocks in their sturdy hands. But the Titans on the other side made strong their squadrons with alacrity, and both parties were showing work of hand and force at the same time, and the boundless sea re-echoed terribly, and earth resounded loudly, and broad heaven groaned, being shaken, and vast Olympus was convulsed from its base under the violence of the immortals. . . . Nor longer, in truth, did Jove restrain his fury, but then forthwith his heart was filled with fierceness, and he began also to exhibit all his force ; then, I wot, from heaven and from Olympus together he went forth lightning con- tinually ; and 'the bolts close together with thunder and lightning flew duly from his sturdy hand, whirl- ing a sacred flash, in frequent succession, while all around life-giving Earth was crashing in conflagration, and the immense forests on all sides crackled loudly with fire. All land was boiling, and Ocean's streams and the barren sea. Hot vapor was circling the earth- born Titans, and the incessant blaze reached the atmosphere of heaven, whilst flashing radiance of thunderbolt and lightning was bereaving their eyes of sight " (Banks's translation). 84 The Sphere of Religion The result of this mighty conflict was that the Titan gods were at last conquered and banished to a dreary place " under murky darkness" " as far beneath under earth as heaven is from the earth." " From it they will never escape, for Neptune has placed above them brazen gates and a wall goes round them on both sides." The inhabitants of Olympus constituted the third generation. By this time the gods had reached the stage of development in which they ceased to be ab- stract ideas or the powers of nature, and had become genuine personalities, with distinctly personal quali- ties, a personal history, and a personal life. Every Greek was taught to believe that a supreme council of twelve national gods, together with a vast retinue of lesser gods and goddesses, dwelt upon the glistening snow-capped heights of Mount Olympus around its highest peak and ruled the universe. Five of these Olympian gods were children of Chronos or Time, namely, Zeus, Poseidon, Here, Hestia, and Demeter. Six were children of Zeus, — Apollo and Artemis, He- phaestos and Ares, Hermes and Athene. The twelfth was Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty, who survived from the second generation. For Beauty in the opinion of the Greeks was much older than Power. The highest and mightiest and wisest of all the Olympians was Zeus, whom the Romans called at a later time Zeus-Pater, or Jupiter. His father had in- tended to swallow him as he had swallowed all his other children as soon as they were born, but his mother substituted a stone for the child. Then she secretly conveyed him to a cave on Mt. Ida in Crete, where he was brought up by a nymph. He rapidly became so mighty in strength that at the end of a year Ihaa and Theogony of the Greeks 85 he attacked his father and gave him an emetic that caused him to vomit forth his elder brothers and sisters. By their aid he soon deposed his father and took control of the empire of the universe. The realm of the heavens he reserved to himself, while the rule of the sea he gave to his brother Poseidon, and that of lower world to Hades. Being the father of many men as well as gods, Zeus watched over all human actions, but especially those of the family and the state. He sat enthroned in ether on high mountains, where he gathered together the clouds and sent forth the storm and the rain. The eagle and the thunderbolt were the messengers of his power. Second in command among the inhabitants of Olym- pus was Poseidon, afterwards called by the Romans Neptune. He surrounded the earth and ruled the sea, which to the Greeks had an importance that we can hardly overestimate. He agitated or quieted the waves at his will and was the cause of all earthquakes, for the Greeks thought that they originated in the sea. The waves were his horses, and hence he was regarded as the creator of all horses. With his trident he smote the rocks and caused water to gush forth from them in abundance. His temper was as variable and stormy as the surface of the sea. Next came Apollo, the god of light and hence of the sun. To him was due the preservation and increase of vegetable, animal, and human life. Physical health, manly vigor, and masculine beauty were his gifts. He was the god of athletics, of the chase, and of war, as well as the healer of disease. His anger brought on disease and death. He was the god not merely of physical light, but also of mental. Hence all insight into the future, all prophecy sprang from him. He 86 The Sphere of Religion was the fountain-head of poetical inspiration, music, and song, and, therefore, the leader of the Muses. The island of Delos was his birthplace, and his parents were Zeus and lycto. Fourth in the list was Hephsestos, whom the Romans later called Vulcan. He was the author of fire and the smith of the gods. He had a huge frame and was strong and powerful as to the upper part of his body, but his legs were so weak and puny that he could hardly hobble along with a staff. He did not look like a god, but the character of his handiwork showed forth his divinity, for it far surpassed anything that any man could execute. According to Homer he was the son of Zeus and Here, and his lameness was due to the fact that one time when his parents were having a violent quarrel he spoke up in favor of his mother. Whereupon his father seized him by the feet and flung him out of heaven head foremost, twisting the bones of his legs out of joint in the opera- tion. According to Hesiod he was the son of Here alone, who produced him out of envy without a father, because Zeus had produced Athene without her aid. But when his mother found that he was lame she threw him out of heaven hoping that thus he might escape the gaze of the gods. He was cared for by two nymphs for nine years in their home in the depths of the sea, where he wrought many extraordinary works. Volcanoes were his workshops. In them metals were forged into all conceivable shapes. As the soil of vol- canoes was found to be the best for maturing excellent wines, he was appointed to the office of cup-bearer to the gods. Homer tells us in the Iliad that he was constantly ridiculed at their feasts for his awkwardness (due to his limping gait) as he went around from one couch to an- other handing each the cup. "And then," he says, Iliad and Theogony of the Greeks 87 * ' inextinguishable laughter arose among the immortal gods when they saw Vulcan bustling through the mansion." After Hephaestos comes Ares, the god of war, whom the Romans identified with their Mars. He was the son of Zeus and Here and the favorite of Aphrodite, who bore him several children. Battles and slaughter were his delight purely for their own sake. Nothing pleased him so much as to witness the wholesale destruction of men. Having no other purpose to accomplish he adhered first to one side in a battle and then to the other. In order to make the carnage as terrible as possible he took with him into battle besides other companions his sister Strife and his sons Horror and Fear, that they might add to the slaughter. Sometimes he himself was the sufferer. On one occasion when he was wounded by Diomede, Homer says of him that in his fall " he roared like nine or ten thousand warriors together." The next in importance is Hermes (the Latin Mer- cury), the swift and trusted messenger and herald of the gods. He is the go-between in all their intrigues, and being the god of all intercourse, he becomes the god of all traders, and hence, also, of thieves and liars. According to the so-called Homeric Hymn to Hermes, immediately after his birth in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia he went forth from his cradle and stole a large herd of cattle belonging to his brother, Apollo, pulling them backwards into his cave by their tails. When Apollo caught him and dragged him before their father Zeus he stoutly denied the theft, but he was speedily convicted and had to agree to give the cattle up. But before he had done so he showed Apollo a lyre that he had made out of an old tortoise shell that he had discovered, in which only the dried sinews re- 88 The Sphere of Religion mained. Apollo was so taken with the trinket that he let Hermes keep the cattle in exchange for it. He invented the flute and sold it to Apollo for the caduceus, or herald's staff and prophetic powers. With this wand he could quickly make the most intractible obedient to his will. He was consequently the patron of orators and the god of chance. According to some he was the god of weights and measures and all science. He was worshipped all over Greece and was generally represented with winged hat and feet. Here, later called Juno, was, according to Hesiod, among the elder brothers and sisters that Zeus caused his father Chronos to vomit forth by giving him an emetic. After her rescue she immediately became the wife of Zeus and the queen of heaven. She was thus a very ancient and venerable goddess. Homer frequently speaks of her as " the venerable ox-eyed Here," though he represents her as obstinate and quarrelsome. Her temper was a constant source of discord between herself and her lord, although she greatly feared him. At one time Zeus not only scolded and beat her as was his wont, but actually tied her hands together and hung her up in the clouds. Her jealousy was proverbial. She bitterly resented the innumerable amours of her husband and often vented her wrath upon the women involved in them and their offspring. She intensely disliked Hercules and sent the Sphinx to distress the Thebans because he was born in their country. The Trojans she bitterly hated because Paris did not award her the golden ap- ple that had inscribed on it, *' To the most beautiful." Being the only wedded goddess in Greek mythology she naturally presided over marriage. If the rites of her own marriage were followed, it became thereby Iliad and Theogony of the Greeks 8g especially sacred. She was universally regarded as the noblest of the Olympian dames. Next came Athene, or Pallas- Athene, known to the Romans as Minerva, who was commonly supposed to have sprung full- armored from the head of Zeus by his own power. Other versions state that Zeus swal- lowed her mother before she was born and that Hephaes- tos to relieve his pains split his head open with an axe and let her out. She was the favorite daughter of Zeus and little inferior to him in power, often wielding his aegis in his stead. Being a warlike goddess she was much worshipped in the citadels of fortified towns. Sacred images of her, called Palladia, were said at times to fall from heaven and were preserved with the utmost care, for the possession of one of them in a city made it impregnable. Homer tells us that the Palladium of Troy was the gift of Zeus to the founder of Ilium, and that when Ulysses and Diomede stole it, victory went to the Greeks. She was not merely the source of heroic valor, but chiefly of military wisdom and careful strategy. Hence she was regarded as the patron of all learning from the humblest arts to the most profound philosophy. Sacred to her were the serpent, the owl, and the olive which she gave to her favorite city, Athens, so named in her honor. There she presided over the courts and de- voted herself assiduously to the preservation of the lib- erties and well-being of its citizens. Together with Apollo and Zeus she formed the supreme triad of the religion of the ancient Greeks. Power came from Zeus, wisdom from Athene, and the mission of Apollo was to reveal to mortals the results of their harmo- nious union. The worship of Athene was universal throughout the whole of Greece. go The Sphe7'e of Religion Ninth in the list of these Olympian deities was Artemis (later called Diana), the twin sister of Apollo and the sharer of his attributes of destruction and heal- ing. As a destroying goddess she was thought of as a full-grown virgin armed with bow and arrows with which she often took vengeance upon her enemies. In her capacity as a preserving deity, she watched over the sick and helped those in distress. She was the pa- troness of chastity and her ministers were pledged to chastity by the strictest vows. Just as her brother presided over the sun and was often called Phoebus, so she was the moon-god and frequently went by the name of Phoebe. Woods and lakes were her favorite haunts and she often lead in chase and war. In later years her temple at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the world. Aphrodite (later Venus) comes next, the goddess of sensual love. She was not an original creation of the Greeks but was imported from Phoenicia where under the name of Astarte she had many worshippers. Hesiod asserts that she first appeared in the foam of the sea on the shores of "wave-dashed Cyprus," and that when she landed on the island, attended by nymphs and tri- tons, flowers sprang up under her feet and all nature rejoiced. Homer represents her as the daughter of Zeus and Dione and as much at ease in the Olympian circle. Though the reputed wife of Hephaestos, accounts of her amours with other gods and with mortals abounded among the legends of the Greeks. She generally fig- ured as the inspirer of unworthy passion and the enemy of chastity. Courtesans held her in high repute and sacred prostitution was practised in many of her tem- ples. Still there were some places where she was Iliad and TJieogony of the Greeks 9 1 worshipped as the goddess of married and chaste love. Hestia (the Roman Vesta), the eleventh of the blessed Olympians, was the first-born daughter of Chronos and, as the fire-goddess, she presided over the family hearth. The deeds of Aphrodite she utterly abhorred, and, when wooed by Apollo and Poseidon, swore by the head of Zeus always to be a virgin. A libation was poured out to her on the hearthstone at the beginning of a feast and even of an ordinary meal. Scarcely any private or public ceremony was begun without first making her an offering. She united the family together and was the centre of the family life. She was honored in the temples of all the gods and at every fireside. The sacred flame to Hestia was to be kept burning in every community and carried wherever a colony went to found a new home. The last of the twelve Olympian immortals was De- meter, later known as Ceres, literally Mother Earth. She was a sister of Zeus and by him she became the mother of Persephone, whom Hades caught while she was gathering flowers in a meadow and carried off to the lower world. Demeter long sought for her daugh- ter in vain until the all-seeing Helios told her of her fate. In her grief she hid herself and the earth ceased to yield her fruit. Finally Zeus sent Hermes to compel Hades to give up his wife to her mother. But owing to the fact that she had been persuaded by Hades to eat a pomegranate she was not free to leave her husband. A compromise was affected by which she should spend two thirds of the year with her mother and one third with her husband. Demeter in her wanderings had been kindly enter- tained at Kleusis and, in return, had blessed the spot. Q2 The Sphere of Religion There the Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated in her honor. This incident in the life of Demeter is told at length in the sacred Homeric H3^mn to Demeter where she is often called the fruitbringer, the goddess of the spring season. She presided over the seed time and harvest and was, therefore, the goddess of settled insti- tutions and laws. Besides the twelve immortal inhabitants of Olympus enumerated above, the Greeks worshipped an indefi- nite number of scarcely lesser deities ; every river and mountain, every forest and dell, every sight and sound, indeed, every thought and act had its god. The bond of connection between gods and men was the Greek idea of heroes. They were the offspring of gods and beautiful earth-born women. Thus the sons of the gods became the founders of races and the patrons of the professions and the arts. The Greeks never had the dark and terrible notion of two rival principles, a good and a bad, contending for the mastery of the uni- verse. They humanized everything, even their gods who freely allied themselves with mortals, and no me- diator stood between them. Every man, woman, and child was at liberty to worship, or sacrifice, or pray whenever and wherever, and as often as, the heart de- sired. Hence the Greek religion was "dogmatically as well as practically one of the brightest and most joy- ous, no less than the mildest and most tolerant, of ancient creeds. ' ' Still it must be admitted that the gods of the Greeks had few if any of the attributes of real divinity. They were made in the image of men and had all the passions and vices of men. Heraclitus well expressed the mat- ter from the point of view of the Greeks when he said : ' ' Men are mortal gods and the gods are immortal men. ' ' Iliad and Theogony of the Greeks 93 For the gods had no higher aim than to have a good time. Their usual occupation according to Homer was to make love, to fight, and to feast. In one of their fights represented in the twenty-first book of the Iliad, Homer says that Athene seized a stone and struck Ares on the neck with it, and that when he fell he covered seven acres and defiled his back with dust. In the same fight Here held both of the hands of Artemis in one of hers and beat her over the head with her own bow. But the occasions were rare when they did not, as Ho- mer says, " feast all day till sundown" and then "retire to repose, each one to his own house, which renowned Vulcan, lame in both legs, had built." Whenever they took part in the affairs of men it was usually to gratify some whim or passion. They had little or no moral purpose and did not by precept or example un- dertake to guide the consciences of men. No wonder that Plato was shocked at their doings as depicted by Hesiod and Homer, and would not allow the writings of these poets a place in his ideal state. Yet in spite of all these defects it must be granted that the religion of the Greeks has furnished to the world some of the most important ideas of a genuine religious life. It represented the gods as imminent, ever-present powers, and not mere outside forces having nothing to do with the ongoings of the universe, and thus it set forth the great truth that all nature is alive with the divine. It taught that man could acquaint himself with the gods and co-operate with them as a friend and companion. Nothing, therefore, that concerned the gods was foreign to him. It emphasized the fact that man's chief mission is to develop himself and grow up into likeness to the gods. Because of these ideas it came about that " nowhere on the earth, before or since, Q4 The Sphere of Religion has the human being been educated into such a wonder- ful perfection, such an entire and total unfolding of itself, as in Greece. ' ' These ideas remain to-day the fundamental teachings of a truly progressive religious life. f. The Avesta of Zoroaster.— The bible of the ancient Persians is called the Avesta, or the Zend- Avesta. Avesta probably means the text or the law, and Zend, commentary or explanation. The following facts concerning the Avesta and its history are chiefly taken from the recently published investigations of the subject by Prof A. V. WilHams Jackson, of Columbia. The discovery and first deciphering of the Avesta are due to the efforts of a young French scholar by the name of Anquetil-Duperron. In 1723 a copy of a small portion of the Avesta was secured from the Parsis in Surat, and deposited as a curiosity in the Bodleian library at Oxford. No one, however, was able to read the text. Anquetil happened to see in Paris some tracings made from the Oxford manuscript, and im- mediately conceived the idea of going to India and obtaining from the priests themselves a knowledge of their sacred books. In 1754 he undertook the journey, and after seven years spent in overcoming almost in- surmountable obstacles, he succeeded in winning the confidence of a few of them who taught him the lan- guage of the Avesta and initiated him into some of their rites and ceremonies. The translation of the Avesta published by Anquetil was at one time thought to be a forgery, but later it was conclusively shown to be substantially correct. It made known to European scholars for the first time what is acknowledged to be one of the most ancient and important of all the bibles of the Eastern world. The Avesta of Zoroaster 95 The authorship of the Avesta is unanimously as- cribed by both classical and Persian writers to Zoro- aster, whose date was formerly often spoken of as 6000 B.C. This was due to a misinterpretation of the Persian chronology, which makes a difference between the existence of the spiritual essence of Zoroaster, which his disciples claimed began at that date, and the bodily existence. Scholars are now agreed that his physical birth occurred about 660 B.C., in the northern part of Persia, though his religious activity was chiefly in the eastern part. Tradition has sur- rounded his childhood and youth with numerous miracles, but in reality little is known of him till his thirtieth year. Then he appeared, claiming to have received direct from God a new revelation. He at once began to oppose the superstitious beliefs of his day and to urge the adoption of the new doctrines. Between his thirtieth and fortieth year seven visions of heavenly and divine truth are said to have come to him. After the visions tradition asserts that he was led b)^ the devil into the wilderness to be tempted, from which trial of his faith he came off entirely the victor. His first convert was his cousin, but he did not gain many followers until he converted the Persian King Vishtaspa and his court. Then his doctrines speedily extended over all Iran. After a life of great activity and usefulness, he was slain in battle during an invasion of his country in his seventy -eighth year. According to our best scholars it is not probable that Zoroaster wrote anything. The revelations that were claimed to have been given to him by God word for word in the form of conversations were, in all like- lihood, orally preserved by his disciples and handed down by them to posterity, just as were the Vedas, the q6 The Sphere of Religion Talmud, the Koran, and the sayings of Jesus. The word Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, as appUed to the authorship of the Avesta, is now regarded as indicating a school of high priests of which Zoroaster was the founder rather than the name of any individual. In the opinion of Professor Jackson some portions of the book probably date back a thousand years or more before Christ. Many parts are several centuries later, while others are as recent as the beginning of the Christian era. The Avesta originally was many times more exten- sive than at present. Pliny speaks of 2,000,000 verses composed by Zoroaster, and Arabic authorities affirm that it was inscribed in letters of gold on 12,000 cow- hides and deposited in the palace library at Persepolis, which was destroyed by the Greeks under Alexander the Great. Making all allowance for Oriental exag- geration, the extent of the original Avesta must have been very great. From the time of the Macedonian conquest to the accession of the Sassanian kings, that is, for about five hundred years, the rehgion of ancient Persia, the re- ligion of Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes, of the Magi of the New Testament who came to worship Jesus at Bethlehem, underwent a rapid decline. Many of the documents containing its doctrines were neglected and lost. But when the Sassanians came to the throne they did everything in their power to revive the ancient faith. They collected all the extant fragments of the Zoroastrian gospel into the collection we now possess, which equals in extent about one tenth of our Bible. Like our Bible it is a collection of books. The first collection is called the Yasna and is by far the most important. The whole of it now comprises seventy-two The A vest a of Zoroaster 97 chapters. Probably it is so arranged in order to repre- sent twelve times the six "seasons" the Persian god was said to be occupied in creating the world. The Yasna consists chiefly of prayers to be recited at such sacrificial rites as the consecration of the holy water ; the preparation of the sacred juice called Homa, closely resembling the Vedic Soma and serving a similar purpose ; the offering of the holy cakes which were partaken of only by the priests, as in the Catholic communion serv^ice. In the midst of these prayers are inserted the five Gathas or psalms of Zoroaster which take the place, in this form of religion, of the Sermon on the Mount. Most scholars now maintain that they are the only por- tions of the sacred Persian scriptures that emanated directly from Zoroaster himself These songs or dis- courses resemble in metre the Vedic hymns. They be- gin with the heading: *'The Revealed Thought, the Revealed Word, the Revealed Deed of Zarathustra the Holy; the archangels first sang the Gathas." Some extracts from the Gathas run as follows : '*I desire by my prayer with uplifted hands this joy, — the works of the Holy Spirit, Mazda, ... a disposition to perform good actions, . . . and pure gifts for both worlds, the bodily and spiritual." * ' I keep forever purity and good-mindedness. Teach thou me Ahura-Mazda, out of thyself ; from heaven, by thy mouth, whereby the world first arose." " I praise Ahura-Mazda, who has created the cattle, created the water and good trees, the splendor of light, the earth and all good. We praise the Fravashis of the pure men and wo- men, — whatever is fairest, purest, immortal." "We honor the good' spirit, the good kingdom, the good law, — all that is good." " In the beginning, the two heavenly Ones spoke — the Good 7 g8 The Sphere of Religion to the Evil — thus : * Our souls, doctrines, words, works, do not unite together.' '* By the study of these psalms we find that Zoroaster taught that there are two principles in this world in constant conflict with each other, the principle of good and light and life, and the principle of sin, dark- ness, and death. Ormazd, or Ahura-Mazda as he is sometimes called, is the omniscient and omnipotent em- bodiment of the former, and Ahriman of the latter. They are primeval and co-eval, but not co-eternal powers. Nature is now rent asunder by the conflict of these two principles, but man as a free agent will eventually overthrow and annihilate all evil. The time will come when the good kingdom will be estab- lished. Ormazd and his good angels will triumph ; Ahriman with his legion of devils will be destroyed. Zoroaster exhorts every man to abjure polytheism and to have no other god than Ormazd, to eschew all forms of evil and cleave to the good, to think lightly of the allurements of the present world, and fix his thoughts upon the joys of the faithful in the life that is to come. We have here a very close approach to the Jehovah and Satan of the Old Testament and the kingdom of righteousness of the New. A large portion of the other parts of the Yasna was probably composed by early disciples of Zoroaster and consists chiefly of prayers in prose addressed to Ahura- Mazda, the angels, the fire, the earth, the water, and other spiritual beings presiding over the different parts of the good creation. There is also a chapter containing a formula used in initiating converts into the new religion . The second part of the Avesta is a collection of minor The A vesta of Zoroaster gg litanies, invocations, etc., addressed to a variety of divinities and heads of the faith. The third part is made up of hymns of praise of certain individual angels or mythical heroes and is probably the work of many Median bards. Then follows a section of what may be called Minor Texts forming a sort of manual for morn- ing devotion. The fifth part corresponds to our Pen- tateuch and is the code of religious, civil, and criminal laws of the ancient Iranians. It is evidently the work of many hands and many centuries. The pursuit of agriculture is especially enjoined and the care of useful animals. Much is made of the duty of keeping the water pure and of sanitation in general. For bodily purity is considered as of equal value with moral purity. The sixth and last part is a general appendix. The power of Zoroastrianism as a national religion was hopelessly overthrown by the Mohammedan inva- sion of 641 A.D. Those who did not adopt the creed of their conquerors either fled to the mountains, where they remain to-day a feeble remnant of about seven or eight thousand, or migrated to India, where they now have a flourishing colony in the region of Bombay. There they are called Parsis and number about ninety thousand. They strenuously protest against being called fire-worshippers and are noted for their upright- ness, morality, and benevolence. In business they have shown remarkable ability and a number of them are among the weathiest merchants of Bombay. The religion of the Avesta has much in common with that of the Vedas, and both are probably derived from a common Aryan source. Many of the powers, such as Indra, Sura, Mithra, and the like, have the same name in both systems. Both regard fire as divine and pay reverence to the same intoxicating drink, loo The Sp he T^e of Religion called Soma in Sanskrit, and Homa in the Avesta. But in the course of their development they came to be almost mutually exclusive. The gods of the Vedas appear in the Avesta as evil spirits. The Hindu utterly rejects the dualism of the Persian, and the dis- ciple of Zoroaster is shocked at the slight regard for morality manifested in the system of the Hindu. Both Judaism and Christianity have been immensely affected by Zoroastrian thought. Their doctrine of angels and devils, and the idea that good and evil are equal and permanent adversaries in this world so often maintained by their adherents, are probably derived from this source. ** Such poems as Milton's Paradise Lost, and Goethe's Faust,'' says James Freeman Clarke {Ten Great Religions, vol. i., p. 204) "could perhaps never have appeared in Christendom, had it not been for the influence of the system of Zoroaster on Jewish, and, through Jewish, on Christian thought." But apart from this, the Persian religion has undoubtedly contributed more than any other so-called heathen re- ligion to acquaint the world with the great thought that the kingdom of God is a kingdom of righteous- ness, and that it is the duty of every man to work for its establishment here and now. g. Buddha's Tripitaka. — About five hundred years before the Christian era a powerful religious sect arose in India known as the Buddhists, and their bible came to be called the Tripitaka, which literally means the three baskets. It is made up of three collections. The first consists of aphorisms ; the second of rites and ceremonies ; and the third of philosophical speculations. Although Buddha, the founder of the sect, preached for more than forty years, he wrote nothing himself. His chief followers, however, immediately after his death Bttddhas Tripitaka . loi reduced his teachings to writing, and the first part of the Tripitaka consists, in the main, of his discourses handed down by word of mouth. The Sanskrit word Buddha, or Booddha, means en- lightened. It is applied to any man who, by numerous good works, continued through countless forms of exis- tence, has become released from the bonds of existence and who, before he enters into Nirvana, proclaims to others the only true way for bringing about the re- demption of man. There have been innumerable Buddhas, but the Buddha of history, it is now admitted, was the son of a wealthy Indian chieftain, who had his capital at Ka- pilavastu near the foot of the Himalayas. His birth occurred about 550 B.C., and one of his early names was Gautama. By this he was generally known until he became the Enlightened One and set out on his new mission. Then he was called Gautama Buddha, just as Jesus came to be called Jesus Christ. Brought up in the seclusion and luxury of an Oriental court, he saw no signs of human misery till his twenty-ninth year. Then, as he went among the people, he was so impressed by the universal wretchedness that existed in the world, regardless of sex, caste, or condition, that he resolved to devote his life to finding some way of relief from it. He at once abandoned his luxurious home, his wife, and infant son, and, assuming the garb of a mendicant, betook himself to the life of a Brahmanical recluse. But, in spite of all his efforts to discover a way of sal- vation for himself and others in this manner, no light came to him. Finally he plunged into the forest and for six years gave himself up to extreme austerities and self-mortifi- cation. Still he did not find the deliverance and peace I02 The Sphere of Religion that lie sought. At last in sheer despair he flung him- self down under a bo-tree and there, after forty days and nights of fixed contemplation, enlightenment came to him. He had the beatific vision and experienced the inward rest of Nirvana. The bible of the Buddhists is founded on what Buddha called the Four Sublime Verities. The first asserts that suffering exists wherever sentient life is found. The second teaches that the cause of suffering is desire, or a craving for life and pleasure. The third affirms that the only way to be delivered from suffering is by the extinction or ' ' blowing out ' ' of desire. The fourth maintains that the only way to cause suffering to cease and thus reach Nirvana is to follow the Path of Buddha, or the Noble Eightfold Path. This path consists of right views (as to the nature and cause of suffering); right judgments; right words; right ac- tions; right practice (in getting a livelihood); right obedience (to the law); right memory (of the law); and right meditation. The third part of the Tripitaka attempts to give an explanation of the system. The immediate cause of suffering, it maintains, is birth. For if we were not born, we should not be exposed to death or any of the ills of life. All the actions and affections of a being at any one stage of his migrations leave their impressions and stains upon him, and determine the peculiar form of existence he must next assume. When a man dies he is immediately born into a new shape according to his merit or demerit in following the Eightfold Path, and his shape varies from the lowest or most disgusting animal imaginable up to a divinity. In case of extreme demerit he may descend into any one of the one hun- dred and thirty -six Buddhistic hells in the centre of the Buddha s Tripitaka 103 earth, where the minimum term of suffering is ten millions of years. When Buddha attained enlighten- ment under the bo-tree he was able, it is claimed, to recall all of his previous forms of existence on the earth, in the air, in the water, in hell, and in heaven; and a great part of the Buddhistic legendary literature is devoted to narrating his good deeds in all these states. Man, according to the Tripitaka, is a combination of five bundles, namely, material qualities, sensations, abstract ideas, tendencies of mind, and mental powers. Death is the breaking up of this combination. But there is a force called Karma or destiny which is left behind, under the influence of which these bundles recombine and form a new individual. In his discourses Buddha considers mankind as di- vided into two classes : those who earnestly devote them- selves to the religious Hfe, and those who cling more or less tenaciously to the world. At first he formed all of his disciples into a Brotherhood and gave them ten prohibitions or commandments for their observance. But later as his followers increased in numbers he exempted the laymen from a portion of these regu- lations. The first five of the commandments which are of universal obligation are the following : Thou Shalt not kill (even the humblest insect); thou shalt not steal ; thou shalt not commit adultery ; thou shalt not lie (or indulge in any form of harsh language); thou shalt not use strong drink. The remaining five, which are for the special guid- ance of the Brotherhood, require them to abstain from taking food out of season, that is, after midday, and from looking at dances or plays ; from listening to songs or music ; from using any kind of perfumery I04 The Sphere of Religion and from wearing ornaments ; from having a large mat or quilt upon which to sleep ; and from receiving gold or silver. For those who devoted themselves exclusively to the religious life twelve other observances of a much severer kind are enjoined. Among others, that they are to dress only in rags sewed together with their own hands and a yellow cloak made in the same way to throw over their shoulders ; to eat only food given in charity and but once a day ; to live in the jungle and to have no roof but the foliage of the trees ; never to lie down when they sleep and never to change the position of their mat when once spread ; and, lastly, to go monthly to a cemetery to meditate on the vanity of life. In addition to these prohibitions and observances the cultivation of certain positive virtues as works of super- erogation is enjoined by the Tripitaka. Respect for parents, charity for others, and solicitude for the wel- fare of every living thing are carried by the teachings of the Buddhists to the greatest extreme. Their sym- pathy for sorrowing humanity knows no bounds. It is probably this feature of the Buddhistic religion rather than any other that has caused it to spread so exten- sively over the Oriental world. While it now has little influence in India proper, it holds almost exclusive sway in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Nepaul, and Thibet (where it is called Lamaism), rivals the adherents of Confucius in China, largely dominates in Korea and Japan, and extends as far north as Siberia and Lap- land. Over a third of the human race, it is alleged by many, is under its sway. But in this estimate all the Chinese and Japanese are classed as Buddhists. Buddhism, as James Freeman Clarke points out, is Buddha s Tripitaka 105 Romanistic in its form, but Protestant in its spirit. The first Catholic missionaries were amazed at the likeness between the Buddhistic rites and ceremonies and their own. For the central object in a Buddhist temple is an image of the Buddha and a shrine containing his relics. Here flowers, fruit, and incense are daily of- fered in great profusion, and frequents processions are made with the singing of hymns. But fundamentally Buddhism is a protest against the doctrine that salva- tion is to be secured by following the prescriptions of a priestly caste. It is thus made purely a matter of the individual. In ancient India the whole life of a Brahman was divi- ded into four stages : the school, the household, the forest, and the solitude. Up to the age of twenty-seven he was a student under the constant direction and con- trol of a Guru. After that age had been reached, he was required to marry, to found a household, and to perform faithfully all the rites and ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas. When he had lived long enough to see his children's children, he was expected to relinquish his social and religious duties. He left his home and re- tired to the solitude of the forest. There he devoted himself without interruption to meditation upon the Upanishads, and sought in every way rest and peace by absorption in the divine. Buddha by his experiences in this direction became convinced that the preparatory stages of student and married life were of no avail, and he started out by urg- ing every man to enter at once upon the search for the higher life. As Max Miiller in describing the rise of Buddhism has well said : "The first and critical step consisted in Buddha's opening the doors of a forest life to all who wished to enter, whatever their age, what- io6 The Sphere of Religion ever their caste, " and he rightly emphasizes the fact that, ' ' this leaving of the world before a man had performed the duties of a student and of a father of a family was the great offence of Buddhism in the eyes of the Brahmans; for it was that which deprived the Brahmans of their exclusive social position as teachers, as priests, as guides and counsellors. In this sense Buddha may be said to have been a heretic and to have rejected the system of caste, the authority of the Veda, and the whole educational and sacrificial system as based on the Veda ' ' ( The Nineteenth Century, vol. 33, p. 778). Still Buddhism was in no sense a new religion inde- pendent of Brahmanism. For it was chiefly derived from it and would be quite inconceivable without it. Both Buddhism and Brahmanism seek to escape from the vicissitudes of time by gaining the absolute rest of eternity. But the latter attempts to do this by pas- sive reception, the former by earnest individual effort. Brahmanism knows only absolute eternal spirit and calls this world an illusion. Buddhism knows this world only and calls the next, being so unlike this, a nullity. Much discussion has arisen among scholars as to what the Buddhistic doctrine of Nirvana, of heaven, really signifies. Such writers as Max Miiller, Schmidt, and others make it equivalent to annihilation, but many hold that it is nothing, only in the sense that it is a state or condition so opposite to all that we know- in this life, and so exalted above our present powers to conceive, that it is the same as nothing to us now. Would human nature ever actually accept the former view and earnestly strive to bring about its perfect realization? Is it likely that millions of men and women would spend their lives urging others to right The Bible of the Jews 107 conduct in order to attain happiness or Nirvana here- after, if the absolute annihilation of the self were to be the inevitable result ? Buddhism emphasizes two great truths, namely, that religion is a rational matter, and that it is designed for all mankind. It appeals to human reason and has made its progress by preaching and not by force. It respects all men and has unbounded charity for all. It seeks to make known its gospel to every creature. Buddha says in so many words, " My law is a law of grace for all." In a certain sense, however, Buddhism is a religion without a God. For it makes him as well as the good and heaven equivalent to nothing, at least in this present life. It leaves no room for the principle of love to come in either for God or for man. It con- tributes to religion the great doctrine of rewards and punishments, the reign of law, the equality of man, pity for human sorrow, self-denial, charity, and self- control. But it must radically change its conception of the relation of man to God and fully recognize that they are inseparable realities, capable of living here and now in constant and joyful accord, before it will be worthy of a high place among the forces that make for righteousness of life in our day. h. The Bible of the Jews. — The bible of the ancient Jews at the beginning of the Christian era ex- isted in two forms, the Palestinian collection and the Septuagint. The former was written in Hebrew and the latter in Greek. The Hebrew bible was divided into three parts, viz.. The Law, The Prophets, and The Psalms. The Law comprised the first five books, which were known as "The Law of Moses." This part the Jews considered to be the oldest of their Scrip- io8 The Sphere of Religion tures, and much more sacred and authoritative than any other portion. They said that God spake face to face with Moses, but less distinctly and positively to other holy men. The Prophets began with Joshua and ended with Malachi. This division included such books as Judges and Kings as well as Isaiah and Jeremiah, probably because it was supposed that the former were written by prophets as truly as the latter. The third division was often called The Writings. The Psalms was the initial book of the collection. It also included such books as Job, Ruth, and lyamentations, and ended with Chronicles. The writings in this group were much less esteemed by the Jews than those in the groups preceding, and some of them were supposed to have but a small measure of inspiration. The right of a few of them to be in the collection at all was much disputed among the Rabbis. The Septuagint had a different grouping of the books, and did not attempt to follow the chronological order. It arranged the books according to the subjects treated, putting the historical books first, the poetical next, and the prophetical last. The Septuagint also added several books not found in the Hebrew bible. The English bible follows the order of the Septuagint and so does the Latin Vulgate. It is the Septuagint that is followed here. The first book, called Genesis, opens with a passage of almost unparalleled sublimity : "In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void ; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, Let there be light, and there w^as light." The Bible of the Jews 109 Soon there is a rapid descent from the dignity of this remarkable introduction and the stories that follow for some chapters are in many respects on a par with the mythologies of the other nations of antiquity. Elohim is represented as bringing the different objects on the earth into being by his mere fiat, accomplishing the task in six days and resting on the seventh. To the man whom he had made out of " the dust of the ground," he gave dominion over all the earth and put him in a beautiful garden, having furnished him with a companion and helpmeet constructed out of a rib taken from his own body while he slept. A talking serpent soon beguiled the pair into taking some fruit from a tree in the garden that God had forbidden them to touch. The consequence was that when ''they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day " they attempted to hide them- selves from his presence. But he called them to him and insisted upon knowing what had happened. On hearing the account of their disobedience he im- mediately cursed the serpent and drove the man and his wife forever out of the garden, saying to the woman, ' ' I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy concep- tion ; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children ; and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee." And to Adam he said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it ; cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground." Notwithstanding their hard lot 1 1 o The Sphere of Religion the human race rapidly increased and multiplied according to the account, Adam himself living and be- getting children till he was nine hundred and thirty years old, while some of his posterity lived to be still older. But human wickedness more than kept pace with the increase in numbers. Soon " it repented Jehovah (Yahveh) that he had made man on the earth" and he therefore resolved to destroy everything upon its surface, ' ' both man and beast and the creeping thing, and the fowl of the air," with a great flood. But one man, Noah, " found grace in the eyes of Jehovah " and he was commanded to build a great ark and bring into it his wife and his sons with their wives, together with two of every sort of "every living thing of all flesh." This he did and when the terrible flood came, lasting a hundred and fifty days, the ark and its contents alone survived the universal ruin. Then God blessed Noah and his sons and com- manded them to increase and multiply and replenish the earth ; and he made a covenant with them, setting his bow in the cloud as a token of his everlasting love and favor and as a pledge that ' ' the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." It is stated that Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years, dying at the age of nine hundred and fifty. No sooner, however, had the earth been repeopled than human sin and arrogance again brought things to a climax. An attempt was made to build " a tower whose top should reach unto heaven." As soon as the rumors of this endeavor of men to become gods and set up for them- selves reached Jehovah, he at once " came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded." The result was that he immediately cut The Bible of the Jews \ 1 1 short the project by confounding their language, " and so Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth." The next great event described in this history is the call of Abraham, who leaves his native city of Ur and follows the guidance of Jehovah into anew and strange land. There he becomes the founder of a great nation and the father of the faithful in all time. Twice before had Jehovah entered into covenant with mankind— with Adam and with Noah— and twice it had been broken. Now ''a chosen people is raised up through whom all the families of the earth are blessed." Two events in the life of Abraham are especially to be noted— his plea with Jehovah for the doomed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the sacrifice of Isaac. The former is full of naive dignity and moral earnest- ness. Jehovah, having heard of the corruption of Sodom, accompanied by two angels comes down to inquire into the case. He first pays a visit to Abraham and takes a repast with him. Then he sends the angels to destroy the city, but after they have gone Abraham intercedes with Jehovah to spare the place, knowing that his kins- man I^ot dwells in it. The narrative runs as follows : ' ' And Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked ? Perhaps there are fifty righteous men within the city. Wilt thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are therein ? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked ; that so the righteous should be as the wicked ; that be far from thee ; shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? And Jehovah said. If I find in Sodom fifty righteous, then I will spare all the place for their sake. And Abraham answered and said: 1 1 2 The Sphere of Religion My Lord, I who am dust and ashes have taken upon me to speak to thee ; there may perhaps lack five of the fifty righteous ; wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five ? And he said, I will not destroy it if I find there forty and five. ' 'And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Perhaps there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake. And he said, O let not my lyord be angry, and I will speak ; perhaps there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, my Lord, I have taken upon me to speak to thee ; perhaps there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake. And he said, O let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but once ; perhaps ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake. And Jehovah went his way as soon as he had left communing with Abraham and Abraham returned unto his place" (Gen. xviii. 23-33)- The ten righteous men could not be found and the destruction of the city was complete. Lot alone escap- ing with his wife and daughters. But the wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. When Abraham and Sarah his wife were in their ex- treme old age, Isaac, the long-promised seed, was born. But straightway the Lord ordered Abraham to offer him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. This he proceeded to do until he was stayed by divine interposition, and a ram was substituted in Isaac's place. To the mind of Abraham, according to these accounts, Jehovah was "The Most High." He talked with Abraham face to face and was his personal protector and friend. He agreed to give him and his posterity The Bible of the Jews 1 1 3 the land of Canaan, and in this promise Abraham had implicit faith. Abraham's belief in Jehovah did not exclude belief in other gods, but they were all inferior to his God. While he thought of Jehovah as almighty, he did not regard him as omniscient or omnipresent. When the rumors concerning the sinfulness of Sodom began to circulate, Jehovah had to come down to ascer- tain whether they were correct or not. And he had doubts about the faith of Abraham, so he ordered him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Joseph, one of the descendants of Abraham, owing to his skill in interpreting dreams rose to high dignity and honor in the court of Egypt, and it was through his agency that the entire Israeli tish family in a time of famine was allowed to settle in the rich pasture lands in the northern part of that country. Genesis closes with an account of the death of Joseph and his assertion to his brethren that * ' Jehovah will surely visit you and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Exodus tells us that the rapid increase of this "chosen people ' ' in numbers and wealth soon began to alarm the ruler of the Egyptians and he resolved to despoil them of their possessions and reduce them to the class of slaves. It also tells us how, in this emergency, Moses was raised up to be their leader and to guide them back into the land that Jehovah had promised to their fathers. Early adopted by the daughter of Pha- raoh, Moses had been thoroughly educated in all the learning of the Egyptian priesthood and for many years had enjoyed all the honors and privileges of a member of the royal court. But his heart went out toward his suffering brethren. Because of some act of cruelty he smote to the ground an overseer who was in 114 The Sphere of Religion charge of some Jewish slaves. This made him an exile and it was while living as a shepherd in Arabia Petrea that ' ' the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. . . . The bush burned with fire and the bush was not con- sumed. . . . God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I." As a result of the extended inter- view that followed Moses was commissioned to go to Pharaoh and bring forth the chosen people out of Egypt ''unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey." To assure Moses of his continued presence in the carrying out of this undertaking, Jehovah directed him to cast his shepherd's rod upon the ground and imme- diately it became a serpent. * * And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and caught it, and it be- came a rod in his hand. That they may believe that Jehovah the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee." In the same way Jehovah changed the hand of Moses instanter into a leprous hand as white as snow, and back again into a hand of natural flesh. With his rod Moses brought many deadly plagues upon Kg3Tt- With it he parted the Red Sea and let the chosen people pass through on dry land to the number of " about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, besides children." With it he caused the waters of the sea to return and engulf the pursuing hosts of Pharaoh so that ''there remained not so much as one of them." He smote the rock in Horeb with it and the water gushed out in great abundance, and he repeatedly gave instantaneous success to the The Bible of the Jews 115 armies of Israel against enormous odds by raising it aloft. When the Children of Israel arrived at Mount Sinai, Jehovah came down upon the top of the mount, and amid great "thunderings and the lightnings and the noise of the trumpet " he called Moses up to the top of the mount, and when he had made an end of commun- ing with him he gave him "two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." When Moses came down from the mount he showed to the people the Ten Commandments on these tables, and proclaimed them as the law of the land. The rest of Exodus from the twentieth chapter con- taining these commandments, is taken up with a de- scription of the efforts of Moses to organize the people into a nation under a divinely prescribed system of cere- monial laws. Leviticus contains numerous special laws, chiefly those relating to public worship, festivals, and similar topics. Numbers gives a supplement to the laws and tells of the weary march through the desert and the beginning of the conquest of Canaan. In Deuteronomy Moses, as an old man near his end, reminds the people of the experiences they have gone through, of the laws they have received, and exhorts them to follow and obey Jehovah. In the book of Joshua we read of the conquest and partition of Canaan and of the farewell exhortation and death of Joshua. Judges describes the anarchy and apostasy that soon followed. It tells of the consequent subjugation of the chosen people b}^ their heathen neighbors and the ex- ploits of the heroes that were raised up to rescue them. 1 1 6 The Sphere of Religion The two books of Samuel give us an account of Sam- uel's life as a prophet and judge, and the history of Saul and David. In the books of Kings we read of the death of David, the brilliant reign of Solomon, the decline of the king- dom, the revolt of the ten tribes, their practical anni- hilation, the carrying away into captivity of the greater part of the kingdom of Judah, and the fate of the miser- able remnant. At the same time the books describe the treatment of the noble prophets who kept on testifying for God in spite of the opposition of wicked kings and the indifference of a degenerate people. Chronicles supplements this history and Ruth is in- troduced as an episode in the time of the Judges, telling with exquisite grace how Ruth the Moabitess came to marry Boaz, the great-grandfather of David. Ezra and Nehemiah close the strictly historical part by describing the return of the chosen people from their foreign exile, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the res- toration of the temple worship. The book of Esther re- cords the wonderful escape of the Jews from annihilation while held in captivity by their Persian conquerors. The book of Job is a philosophical work of great beauty of diction, abounding in profound thoughts, es- pecially upon the origin of evil and the mission of suffering, and inculcating the duty of absolute resig- nation to God's mysterious will. The Psalms are a collection of devotional lyrics much prized by the Jews. The first one reads as follows : '* I. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. "2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. The Bible of the Jews 1 1 7 " 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf also shall not wither ; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. *' 4. The ungodly are not so : but are like the chaff which the wind driveth awa3^ "5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. "6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous : but the way of the ungodly shall perish." The twenty-third Psalm is perhaps the gem of the collection, and consists of the following verses : " I. The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want. "2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. "3. He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. " 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. " 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup runneth over. * ' 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life : and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. ' ' The Proverbs is a book of wise maxims and short discourses on more or less practical affairs. Ecclesiastes is an eloquent wail over the transitoriness of all earthly things, and the Song of Solomon is an amatory idyl, the mission of which it is hard to explain. The Jews had a rule that no one should read it till he was over thirty, and the utility of reading it at all was often questioned. I T 8 The Sphere of Religion The remaining books of the bible of the Jews from Isaiah to Malachi are prophetic in their character. They take the religious experiences and ideas that the historical books make known to us, and show how they ought to inspire the people with unremitting zeal in their conflict with unbelief and apostasy. They also point out how those who are faithful to Jehovah ought to look forward with high anticipation for the future. For deep religious feeling and sublime conceptions of God, for beautiful diction and rich imagery, many of these books are unsurpassed. As a whole they reveal the nation's heart and purpose in a way that is unique in the history of any race or people. As one of the best samples of this kind of literature in the Old Testament we may take the fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah : " I. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price. " 2 . Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. " 3. Incline your ear, and come unto me : hear, and your soul shall live ; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. " 4. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. "5. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not ; and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel ; for he hath glorified thee. The Bible of the Jews 119 '' 6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. "7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the un- righteous man his thoughts ; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him : and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. " 8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. " 9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. " 10. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow, from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater ; "11. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth ; it shall not return unto me void ; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall pros- per in the thing whereto I sent it. "12. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. "13. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlast- ing sign that shall not be cut off." In recent years the several books of this Hebrew bible have been studied as to their origin and composi- tion with scrupulous care by a great number of eminent scholars such as Eichhorn, Graf, Bleek," Wellhausen, and Holzinger in Germany ; Kuenen and his followers in Holland ; Cheyne and Driver in England ; Robertson Smith and George Adam Smith in Scotland ; and Toy, 1 20 The Sphere of Religion Briggs, Bacon, Kent, and Mitchell in America. The result is that few, if any, investigators in our day disa- gree with the opinion that what we call the Old Testa- ment was not originally written as we now have it, but is the work of a great number of prophets, and priests, and sages, extending over a long period of time. "Some of the oldest poems of the Old Testament," says Professor Kent, ' ' go back to the days of the Judges, about B.C. 1200, and certain of the Psalms and the Book of Daniel are in all probabilit}^ later than B.C. 200." Almost every book in this Hebrew bible is now re- garded as a conglomerate made up of material taken from early and late sources, joined together by faithful copyists and editors, who were interested in preserving them for future times. In other words, it is now recog- nized that the history of the bible of the Hebrews is like that of other ancient sacred books. It began with the recording of the songs and legends of the people and then gradually received other additions by way of prophetic utterances and ceremonial laws, till it finally crystallized into its present form and came to be re- garded as an unalterable rule of faith and practice. Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, is now held to be made up of two great compilations. The first is a history written from the point of view of the prophets and consists of two documents called respec- tively the Jehovistic and the Klohistic, because of the term uniformly applied to God in each of them. The fact that these documents often described the same events accounts for the many stories repeated in the book, especially in the first part. The second is a priestly history forming a setting to the priestly code. This is held to be post-exilic in origin, the author get- The Bible of the Jews \ 2 1 ting much of his material for the account of creation, the origin of the Sabbath, the Flood, and other alleged prehistoric events during the Babylonish captivity. The first compilation is regarded as the work of a Judean editor about 750 B.C. It is evident, therefore, that the book of Genesis came into being gradually, and, long after the time of Moses took on its present form. The composite character of Exodus is seen in the fact that the legislative sections, namely, xxi.-xxiii., known as the Book of the Covenant ; xx. 1-17, the Decalogue; and xxxiv. 10-28, the older Decalogue, evidently be- long to different periods. It is the general opinion of competent authorities that the oldest form of the Deca- logue cannot be much older than the eighth century, several centuries after the time of Moses. Numbers is moral in tone rather than ritual, and the stress laid upon the prohibition of image-worship requires a later date than that of Elijah and Elisha. As to I^eviticus the Law of Holiness (chapters xvii.- xxvi.) is now believed to have been compiled during the exile, and, together with the Priestly Code making up the rest of the book and the book of Numbers, to have been put into its present form by the editors of the Pen- tateuch after the return from Babylon about 444 B.C. The chronological order of these codes is now thought to be as follows : Book of the Covenant, Deuteronomic Code, Law of HoHness, and Priestly Code. In the first there is no restriction of the worship of Jehovah to a single sanctuary, but there is in all the others. The Holiness Code recognizes only Aaronites as priests. The Priestly Code makes a sharp division between Levites and priests. Scholars are now practically unanimous that the book 1 2 2 The Sphere of Religion of Deuteronomy is the book referred to in 2 Kings xxii. 8, as having been found in the eighteenth year of Jo- siah (622 B.C.) by the High Priest Hilkiah. It is also agreed that this law-book was not by any means as ex- tensive as the present book of Deuteronomy. Mau}^ think that it consisted of chapters v.-xxvi., composed not earlier than the time of Hezekiah, and perhaps by Hilkiah himself. The rest of the work according to the scholars of to-day is made up of later additions to fit the book into its present place in the Pentateuch. Such investigators as Kuenen, Graf, Wellhausen, and Stade regard the Deuteronomic Code as based upon the Book of the Covenant (Bx. xxi.-xxiii.) which it en- larges and adapts to new conditions. They also hold that it is older than the Law of Holiness (Lev. xvii.- xxvi.) and the Priestly Code. It is now maintained that the original Deuteronomy was probably written in Jerusalem, where a special ef- fort was made after the destruction of the northern king- dom to form an ideal code that would keep the people true to the worship of Jehovah. And as all the proph- ets were constantly pointing to the days of the wan- derings in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses as the ideal days, tradition gradually came to attri- bute the authorship of the book to Moses, the subject- matter being made over by ed i tors to fit in with this view . The first five books of the Hebrew bible are no longer regarded as making up a consistent whole. The book of Joshua is now included with them and the collection is called the Hexateuch, the word Pentateuch being excluded from use, when the attempt is made to deal with an actual grouping of the facts. The book of Joshua, it is now admitted, was written long after the time of Joshua. The historical narrative The Bible of the Jews 123 in it, practically all agree, was probably written in the seventh century B.C., while the various codes and the priestly history were added several centuries later. Joshua, it is now held, was a prominent leader in the movement which brought the Hebrews into posses- sion of the lands to the west of Jordan, and in all like- lihood captured Jericho, but the other deeds attributed to him in the book belong to later periods. The books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings are no longer regarded as histories in the proper sense of that term. The events recorded in them do not follow each other either chronologically or otherwise according to any discoverable plan. Together with the books that precede them, constituting the Hexateuch, they form in the opinion of modern scholars a great historical compilation extending from the creation to the destruc- tion of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II. in 586 B. c. It was made from numerous sources that were put into their present form by redactors of post- exilic times, who took it for granted that the promises alleged to have been made to Abraham and Moses regarding the pos- session of Canaan and the future greatness of the Hebrew people had already been literally fulfilled. Chronicles is now considered as one w^ork with Ezra and Nehemiah, they all having a common author. It is evident that the writer lived some time after Ezra and was devoted to the religious institutions of the new theocracy. It is doubtful if the references to Ezra and Nehemiah as leaving memoirs are authentic. It is also doubtful if any return of exiles in large numbers took place in the time of Cyrus. As a consequence of this modern attempt to get at the facts scholars now hold that there was an individual by the name of Moses of whom we have some distinct 124 The Sphere of Religion reminiscences, but for the most part the name designates a personage around whom there gradually came to be centred all the traditions, legends, and myths connected with the exodus from Egypt and the settlement of the people in their own land. In the opinion of a large number of scholars Abraham designates a tribe merely and not an individual. Some, however, regard him as a real personage who probably had his home at Hebron. All admit that many of the stories told of him have come down from various periods and preserve for us a picture of the conditions that prevailed in the earliest times of which the people centuries after his demise had any recollection. Some scholars now hold that Isaac is a tribal name, but that the character of the tribe has been almost en- tirely obscured by the many legends that have grown up around a supposed personality. The incidents in the story of the offering up of Isaac on Mount Moriah were invented, it is thought, to account for the pro- hibition of human sacrifices as set forth in the Penta- teuchal codes, and to emphasize the claims of Jerusalem as the only legitimate sanctuary of Jehovah. The home of the tribe was probably Beersheba,just as Hebron was of Abraham and Bethel of Jacob. The stories about these three patriarchs, it is held, represent the gradual coalition of the traditions of the three clans that united to form the confederacy known as the Bene Israel or Children of Israel. David, in the opinion of most modern scholars, was a great warrior and a natural born leader of men, full of courage and inexhaustible energy. But he was often cruel to his enemies, sometimes treacherous, and always willing to adopt any measures to accomplish his ends. Many hold that he did not write any poetry, excepting, The Bible of the Jews 125 perhaps, the dirge on the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. The life and works of Solomon, David's son and successor, are described, it is believed, with considerable accuracy in Kings, though highly colored by legendary lore added several centuries later than the earlier docu- ments upon which the account in Kings is based. The books ascribed to him— Proverbs, Canticles, and Ec- clesiastes— are all of them now regarded as much later than his day. The description of the temple he built is generally considered to be a great exaggeration, while the account of the ceremonies that took place in it is held to be post-exilic, and so is also the prayer of consecration. Such a story as that of the alleged visit of the Queen of Sheba to learn by personal observation of the glory of Solomon, naturally came to connect itself in the minds of the people with his magnificent reign. All authorities agree that the book of Proverbs is a combination of several distinct collections, and that some of the sayings may go back to the time of Solomon. Yet the work as a whole was a gradual growth and must have extended over several centuries. It is believed that the first of the eight sections (chapters i.-ix.) into which it is divided is the latest, and was not put into its present form till about 250 b.c! The second section (chapters x.-xxii.) is regarded as the oldest and composed not long before the return from Babylonia. Of the one hundred and fifty compositions making up the book of Psalms, seventy-three came eventually to be ascribed to David. But it is now held by 01s- hausen, Cheyne, George Adam Smith, and other eminent scholars that none of the Psalms were written in his time, or even before the exile. Some, however, 126 The Sphere of Religion would admit the existence of pre-exilic Psalms and a few are still of the opinion that the first Psalm and possibly several others are Davidic. The first of the three collections into which the Psalms are now divided, scholars tell us, was probably compiled in the days of Ezra ; the second in the Persian period ; and the third in the Greek, close to the beginning of the Christian era. I^ong before any of the Psalms were composed there must have existed much of what may be called folk-poetry, such as David's lament over Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel i. 17-27), the Song of the Well (Numbers xxi. 17-18), the Song of Lamech (Genesis iv. 23-24), and the Song of Deborah (Judges V. 1-3 1 ). The lost book of Jasher was probably a book of songs. Canticles is now regarded as a collection of songs used at weddings and similar gatherings. Instead of being written by Solomon, it is supposed to be one of the latest compilations to find a place in the Hebrew canon. Because Solomon early became the ideal repre- sentative of wisdom and riches and power, the original author of Kcclesiastes naturally ascribed his book to him as the best judge of the vanity of life. Everything is doubted in the book except, indeed, the divine ex- istence, — the advantages of wisdom and virtue, and even the justice and goodness of God. It is thoroughly pessimistic and was probably written at some special period of depression in the history of the Jews. It was admitted into the canon only after later editors had interspersed some elevating sentiments through the body of it, and especially had added a pious conclusion to soften down its audacious tone. The longest and greatest of all the prophetic books of the Old Testament is Isaiah. It is now considered The Bible of the Jews \ 2 7 by modern scholars as the work of several authors, ex- tending over a long period of time. They account for its existence as follows : The discourses of Isaiah, who was born about 760 B.C., form only a small portion of the book, and these have been much changed to adapt them to more modern conditions. The watchword of Isaiah was that no people can prosper except by right conduct, and the impression that this message made upon his own age was propagated to later times. He thus became the type of all genuine prophets of Jeho- vah. Every one who brought forth a similar message for the people strove to have it considered a part of Isaiah's. The book is a twofold collection. The first takes in chapters i.-xxxiii., and contains the discourses of Isaiah; the second (chapters xxxiv.-lxvi.) is exilic and post-exilic, and must be the work of several other authors. Isaiah was a prophet of doom, but he came to be supplemented later by the prophets of hope. The book probably extends firom the last of the eighth century B.C. to the beginning of the third. Chapter ii. stands by itself and seems to be a very late introduction written after the rest of the collection had come into its present form. The second of the four major prophetical books, Jeremiah, appears to have had an origin very similar to that of Isaiah. Only a few of the discourses in it, it is now believed, can be definitely ascribed to Jeremiah, who was bom about 650 B.C., and no one of these is probably just as he delivered it. The compilers of the book have sought to bring together under his name whatever they could find that would give consolation and inspiring thoughts to the faithful. It is chiefly the product of the sad days that followed the departure of 12 8 The Sphere of Religion Nehemiah and reaches down to the uprising of the Maccabees. The book of Lamentations is not now generally ascribed to Jeremiah though it is admitted that the work has been greatly influenced by his style and thought. Most of the elegies or dirges in it were com- posed to bewail catastrophes that befell the people both before and after the exile. Scholars now maintain that most of the prophecies that have come down to us in Kzekiel are substantially as they were left by the prophet, who was himself one of the captives carried to Babylonia at the command of Nebuchadnezzar. By visions, parables, and allegories, he endeavored to arouse the masses to a genuine reali- zation of the sad events that were transpiring around them, and at the same time to comfort and encourage them for the future. That the book of Daniel was composed about the year 165 B.C. is now admitted by practically all schol- ars. The narratives and visions refer to conditions that existed in Jerusalem at the time when the Jews were being bitterly oppressed because of their religion by An- tiochus IV., surnamed Epiphanes, King of Syria 187- 164 B c. While some hold that the book is the work of several authors most scholars now regard it as the product of a single mind. Antiochus was endeavoring to supplant the Jewish rites by introducing the Greek form of worship. The author of Daniel, using difier- ent historical names, such as Nebuchadnezzar, Belshaz- zar, and Darius for his attacks upon Antiochus, makes every effort he can by the use of figures and visions to stir up his compatriots to throw off the hated yoke. The book did in all probability have much to do in bringing about the Maccabean uprising which for a The Bible of the Jews 129 time gave the Jews great hope of restoring their national unity and power. Of the so-called twelve minor prophets scholars are agreed that they each represent original discourses much modified by later additions and interpolations. They are not arranged in chronological order, either in the Hebrew or in the English bible. Malachi, although the last in the English version, is now regarded as belonging to the Persian period and as written about the first half of the fourth century B.C., when the evils described in it were beginning to reach their climax. Moreover, the title Malachi in the opinion of many scholars does not refer to any in- dividual, but is to be taken literally as ' ' my messen- ger." Others in the list of the minor prophets are probably also anonymous. No one claims that the book of Jonah contains his prophecies. It is merely a story about him, an allegory teaching the lesson that man cannot escape from God by flight, and that when one has a duty to perform he should do' it fearlessly, leaving results to God. It is now held that the thing that most radically af- fected the composition and character of the Hebrew bible was the Babylonian captivity. When Jerusalem fell the people for the first time in their history began to realize their true position. They began to see that their calamities were due to their sins in not following the injunctions of their prophets ; and that, if they were ever to regain their national existence, they must make up their minds to aboHsh all other deities and rites and worship Jehovah alone. During the exile they had due time to reflect upon the situation. Their leaders searched into the annals and traditions of the past and they found that whenever they had 130 The Sphere of Religio7i turned aside to other gods disasters at once began to multiply. Nothing, therefore, was of greater moment to them than to know exactly what course of action and life would be acceptable to Jehovah. Their prophets and scribes set to work to prepare such a code. Ezra, who was the chief agent in this work, first introduced the code with the aid of Nehemiah at the time when a small remnant of the faithful gathered together about the ruins of Jerusalem in 444 B.C. From that time forth this code was regarded as embodying the direct, unchange- able will of Jehovah. I,ater, after many legends and much historical matter had been added to it, it became our present Pentateuch, which was itself finally incor- porated with other laws and traditions ending with the second book of Kings. The whole Hebrew bible represents a period of liter- ary activity of over a thousand years, ending with the book of Daniel about 165 b. c. The style of its thought is intuitive rather than logical. It has little interest in scientific method, yet its love of nature is one of its most striking features. The subjects it treats concern almost every phase of human life. Its chief aim is to present the character and will of Jehovah and to set forth the principles upon which he governs his universe. Its legal codes were intended to show the people how they might attain their own highest development and at the same time carry out the plans and purposes of their God. Many of the Psalms voice the feelings and the attitude of will that characterize every truly religious individual. The modern study of the book has brought out the fact that the truths it contains are the result of centuries of growth and development from the gross and super- ficial to the deeply spiritual and profound. The message The C J iris Han Scriptures 131 that it brings to mankind must always remain a living and a vital one. i. The Christian Scriptures.— The book con- taining the history and teachings of early Christianity is now called the New Testament, and even the most casual reader cannot fail to see that it was written to record the experiences of a small number of people in a decidedly obscure corner of the earth. The book is a collection of writings which may well be arranged, as we now have them, into three main groups. To the first or the historical group belong the four gospels, giving an account of the life and dis- courses of Jesus, and the Acts of the Apostles, describ- ing the influence of that life upon the Jewish and pagan world of their day. The second, or didactic and hor- tatory-group, is made up of thirteen epistles of Paul, two of Peter, three of John, one epistle of James, and one of Jude. The third consists solely of the book of Revelation. The four gospels are attributed lespectively to Mat- thew, Mark, Luke, and John. Chapter i. of Matthew's gospel begins with, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ," tracing it back to Abraham through Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom Jesus was born. Then follows the announcement b}^ an angel of the Lord to Joseph of the coming virgin birth of Jesus. Chapter ii. tells of the visit of the Magi who came to worship the infant Jesus, being guided by a star which "went be- fore them till it came and stood over where the young child was." Herod the King sought to kill the child, but Joseph fled with his family into Egypt, returning after the death of Herod and settling at Nazareth. After a brief resume of the ministry of John the Baptist and his baptism of Jesus in chapter iii., we 132 The Sphci'e of Religion have an account of the fasting and temptation of Jesus in the first part of chapter iv. The rest of the chap- ter tells us how Jesus began to preach, to call his fol- lowers from their fishing nets, and to heal all manner of diseases. From this point on the author seems to abandon the chronological order for the topical. Chapters v., vi., and vii. contain a group of discourses describing the character of the Messianic Kingdom, now called the Sermon on the Mount, which begins with the following Beatitudes (Chapter v. 3-16.): " Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the king- dom of heaven. "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ' ' Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness : for they shall be filled. " Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy: " Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. ' ' Blessed are they which are persecuted for right- eousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. " Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and per- secute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. " Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." In chapter vi. 9-13 we have what is now commonly called the Lord's Prayer which reads as follows : The CJu^istian Scriptiu^es i 00 "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. " Give us this day our daily bread : " And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." The next two chapters describe a series of miracles Jesus performed, such as cleansing the leper, stilling the tempest, raising from death the daughter of Jairus, and giving sight to two blind men. Then comes an- other group of discourses, or parables, setting forth the nature of the Messianic Kingdom, which in turn is fol- lowed by another group of miracles covering chapters x.-xiv. So far we have the ministry of Jesus in Galilee. With a similar grouping of miracles and dis- courses his ministry north and east of Galilee is de- scribed in chapters xv.-xviii. The latter part of the gospel is taken up with his work in and about Jerusa- lem, closing with an account of his betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. The writer clearly shows that his purpose is to set forth Jesus as the promised Jewish Messiah. But he severely rebukes the view of the Messiah held by the Scribes and Pharisees of his time, and strongly em- phasizes the commission of Jesus to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. The gospel according to Mark, although it goes over much of the same ground as the gospel according to Matthew, differs from it in being more simple in its structure and in following the normal chronological order of events in the life of Jesus. In the first thirteen 134 'The Sphere of Religion verses it briefly describes the work of John the Baptist and the baptism and temptation of Jesus. It then takes up the popular work of Jesus in and beyond Galilee, setting it forth mainly as a work of instruction for his immediate disciples (chapter i. 14-ix. 29). Then begins the journey to Jerusalem when Jesus clearly an- nounces his coming death, which, according to Mark, seems to have determined from that time on the charac- ter of his work. At Jerusalem Jesus lays his claims to be the Messiah before the religious leaders, who per- sistently reject them (chapters ix. 30-xiii. 37). The concluding chapters, as with Matthew, deal with the betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. Mark makes no reference to the virgin birth of Jesus, or the Sermon on the Mount. When he introduces any of the discourses of Jesus they are very much shorter than in Matthew. The familiarity of the author with Jewish customs ^nd ideas, as well as his in- timate acquaintance with the Aramaic language, shows that he was a Jew, but the constant need of explaining these customs and interpreting this language to his readers shows that he was writing for Gentile Chris- tians rather than for Jewish, as we found was the case with Matthew. The third of these gospels differs from either of the preceding both in the amount and the arrangement of its material. The author states in his introduction that his purpose is to give Theophilus, the person to whom the work is addressed, a more orderly and com- plete account of the ' ' things most surely believed among us " than he had already received. The narra- tive begins, not only with an extended description of the virgin birth of Jesus, but also of the birth of John the Baptist ; and ends with an account of the ascension. The Christian Scriptures 135 Besides giving very much the same material as is found in Matthew and Mark, he adds many new de- tails and brings out many new facts ; for example, he alone gives the song of Mary, the prophetic song of Zacharias, the story of the shepherds, the song of Simeon, and the visit of the boy Jesus to Jerusalem. In describing the public ministry of Jesus the writer arranges his material into two main divisions about the same as Mark does, namely, the work of Jesus among the people and his work of instructing his disciples. The gospel of Luke alone contains an account of the transfiguration. The last journey of Jesus to Jerusa- lem is described at much greater length than in any of the other gospels, nearly ten chapters being devoted to it. It is admitted by the author that he was not an eye- witness of the events he describes, but he claims to have access to material that was prepared by those who " from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word." He is evidently writing chiefly for Gentile readers, for he habitually quotes from the Septuagint translation, avoids the use of Aramaisms, and assumes that his readers are unacquainted with Palestinian geography and Jewish customs. In marked contrast with the three gospels already mentioned, the gospel of John is not in any sense a biography of Jesus. The author assumes that his readers already know of the principal events in the life of Jesus from other sources. Only the events of a very few days in his public ministry are described at any length by him, probably less than twenty. The author himself declares that the purpose of his writing is to help his readers to "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (xx. 31), and he selects such 3 6 T/ie Sphere of Religion events and discourses as lie thinks will contribute to this end. He asserts at the very outset that Jesus vi^as the divine Logos incarnate, and introduces the prologue to his gospel with the following remarkable passage: " In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him , and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life ; and the life was the light of men." The rest of the gospel is written to show how Jesus established this belief regarding himself in the minds and hearts of his disciples. The author tells us in the first four chapters how the earliest followers of Jesus began to have faith in him. Then he writes in the next eight chapters chiefly of the great conflict Jesus had with the unbelieving Jews and what unavailing efforts he put forth to convince them. Even the great miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead only made them more intensely hostile. The next section of the gospel (chapters xiii -xvii.) treats of the self- revelation of Jesus to his disciples. By washing their feet, by conversations at the supper about his relation to the Father and to them, by dis- courses on the way to Gethsemane, and by his inter- cessory prayers in their behalf, he made himself known to them in such a way that their faith in him was carried to the climax of intensity. Then follows the record of the chief culminating events in his earthly career, terminating in his glorious resurrection, and proving beyond all doubt to the mind of the writer that what he had claimed for Jesus in the prologue he reall^^ was. The gospel seems to have been written by an eye- The Christian Scriptures 137 witness of many of the events recorded in it. In some of these events he seems also to have taken a prominent part. His way of referring to most of the persons he mentions gives the impression of an intimate acquaint- ance with them, and his knowledge of Palestine and of Jewish customs and ideas appears to be entirely first hand. The natural inference is that the author was a Jew who had broken away from the Judaism of this time and given himself heart and soul to the advocacy of the Christian system. The fifth book of the New Testament as we now have it, is called the Acts of the Apostles, and is sub- stantially a continuation of the third gospel. The first part, after giving a fuller account of the ascension than we find in Luke, describes at length the work of Peter in extending the church in and about Jerusalem (chapters i.-xii.). The second part tells of the mis- sionary journeys of Paul and his efforts to spread Christianity in Gentile lands. In this part the pro- noun "we" is frequently used, implying that the writer was a companion of Paul at the time and had much to do with the events described. Next comes the epistle to the Romans, the first of the thirteen epistles attributed in our New Testament to Paul. In this epistle the author states at the out- set that he is intending to make his readers a visit, but at the time of writing is under obligation to go to Jeru- salem. Very naturally under the circumstances he does what he can to inform them as to the vital matters in his preaching and thus prepare them to give him a friendly reception when on his coming tour he arrives in the metropolis of the world. The epistle naturally divides itself into two main por- tions. The first part is chiefly doctrinal, ending with the 138 The Sphere of Religio7i doxology in chapter xi. 36, and the second is chiefly practical. Paul at first explains his doctrine of justifi- cation through faith, and then, after vindicating the doctrine historically and experimentally against many conceivable objections, he shows why it ought to be preached to the Gentiles in spite of the fact that ' ' sal- vation is of the Jews." The last chapter of the epistle is devoted to salutations to those in the Roman church with whom the writer had a personal acquaintance. The epistle to the Romans is followed by two epistles to the Corinthians. The first treats of the divisions and abuses that existed in the Corinthian church and answers a number of questions which had been asked by letter. In chapter xiii. of this epistle we have the following remarkable description of the essence of all religion : " I. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,! am become as sound- ing brass, or a tinkling cymbal. '' 2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and un- derstand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. *' 3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. "4. Charity suflfereth long, and is kind; charity en- vieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up ; " 5. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil ; "6. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; "7. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. The Christian Scriptures 139 " 8. Charity never faileth: but whether there be pro- phecies, they shall fail: whether there be tongues, the}^ shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. •' 9. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. *' 10. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. "11. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I under- stood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I be- came a man, I put away childish things. ** 12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face ; now I know in part ; but then shall I know even as also I am known. " 13. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." The second epistle to the Corinthians rebukes certain scandals that had arisen in the church, and seeks to restore Paul's apostolic authority, which had been questioned. The next epistle was written ** unto the churches of Galatia ' ' which apparently were composed chiefly of Gentiles. Outside agitators were trying to persuade them that they must observe the ceremonial law of Moses, especially the rite of circumcision. Against this Paul vigorously protests and insists upon his funda- mental doctrine of justification by faith and not by works. All that any believer has to do, he declares, is to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. The fifth epistle is addressed ' ' to the saints which are at Kphesus. ' ' The first three chapters are doctrinal ; the last three hortatory and practical. After setting forth that Christ is * ' the head over all things to the church " and has "made us to sit together in heavenly places ' ' through his grace and not through works, I40 The Sphere of Religion Paul exhorts his readers to *'walk worthy of the vo- cation " wherewith they are called and "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ' ' The sixth epistle of Paul is addressed ' ' to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons." He exhorts them to " let nothing be done through strife and vainglory ; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." They are to "beware of evil workers and the false teachings in their midst, and to cleave earnestly and joyfully to the Christian life." In the epistle to the Colossians Paul exalts the headship of Christ over the world and its powers, warns his readers against the Gnostic errors that were beginning to assert themselves, and exhorts them to trust implicitly and solely for salvation to faith in Christ. Of the two epistles to the Thessalonians the first tells of the apostle's joy in their patient endurance of perse- cution, and he encourages them with the hope that the lyord would speedily return and deliver them out of all their distresses (chapter iv. 16-17). The second epistle is written to rebuke the Thessalonians for abandoning their usual occupations in view of this hope and urging that they be resumed. Meanwhile they should fix their attention upon certain events that must precede the Lord's second coming. The three following epistles, tv/o to Timothy and one to Titus, are attributed in their opening passages to Paul. They are occupied chiefly with the apostle's in- structions as to the duties of the pastoral ofiice, a work in which the recipients were at the time engaged. The second epistle to Timothy is peculiar in that the last chapter contains a reference to the apostle's expected martyrdom. The Christian Scriptures 141 Philemon is a letter on a purely private matter written by Paul to his friend in behalf of a fugitive slave who had become a Christian under his influence. He ex- horts his friend to pardon the slave and treat him as a Christian brother. The last of the epistles attributed to Paul in our au- thorized version of the New Testament is the letter to the Hebrews. The object of the epistle is to show the infinite superiority of Christ over Moses and to warn its readers against apOvStasy. It establishes the New Testament on the basis of the Old and sets forth the eternal character of the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ. The eleventh chapter gives a glowing sum- mary of the heroes of faith. The general epistle of James comes next and the two epistles of Peter. James writes to defend the doctrine that * ' by works a man is j ustified and not by faith only." " For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (chapter ii. 26). The first epistle of Peter inculcates the need in peril- ous times of special patience under suffering and exhorts each one to attend carefully to his assigned duties. The second epistle is especially directed against false teach- ers and corrupters of the church. In the first of the three epistles attributed to the apostle John the literary form and subject-matter re- mind one of the fourth gospel. The epistle is written to show the reader that the Word is the word of life, and to unfold w^hat it is to be children of God. The second and third epistles are more like ordinary letters. The first seems to be a general letter to a church, and the third a supplementary note to an influential individual. Jude is the last of the twenty -one epistles of the New' 142 The sphere of Religion Testament. It is an impassioned outburst against heretics and false teachers, and much resembles the second epistle of Peter. The last book of our New Testament is entitled The Revelation of St. John the Divine. It is properly called an apocalypse in that it attempts to explain the present dominion of evil in the world and to encourage the faithful by depicting the time when their prophetic hopes will be fulfilled and all evil shall be entirely overcome. By the use of visions and highly fantastic imagery, much of which is taken from the Old Testa- ment, it exhorts its readers to resist the allurements of the reigning evil powers and cleave to God. It begins with certain admonitions in the form of letters to the seven churches. It then predicts the judgments that are speedily to fall upon the malign spirits that now dominate the world, and concludes with an account of the final blessedness which will come to those that endure. It would be dij0&cult to find any scholar in our day who would maintain that the different books of the New Testament were written in the order in which we now have them. On the contrary, it is generally agreed that most of the epistles were in existence long before the gospels, and that the gospels did not origin- ally appear in their present form or order. Jesus him- self left no writings and his early disciples probably did not at first see the need of any. When, however, Paul by his missionary journeys among the Gentiles had established various groups of believers over the then Roman world, many occasions arose for apostolic counsels that could be given only by letter. Hence arose the epistles, which are all of them occasional writings, though some of them not The Christian Scriptures 143 only give advice about the Christian life, but expound at considerable length the fundamental ideas upon which it is based. The first book in the New Testament to be written, it is now maintained by many scholars, was the epistle of James. It is a sort of encyclical letter addressed ** to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad," and probably appeared some time before 50 a.d. from the pen of James, the head of the mother church. There is no sign in the epistle that any attempts had yet been made to carry the gospel beyond distinctively Jewish circles. The controversy about the position of the Gentiles in the church which led to the Jerusalem council had not yet come up. The point of view of the writer was still that of the Old Testament doctrine of justification by works, the Pauline doctrine not yet having been developed. It is now generally admitted that after the epistle of James the oldest books of the New Testament are Paul's two letters to the Thessalonians, written chiefly to set aside their false expectations concerning the nearness of the return of Jesus. They were probably written at Corinth during a.d. 52 or 53. Then, accord- mg to most authorities, follow the doctrinal epistles,— Galatians, i and 2 Corinthians, and Romans; while the so-called epistles of the imprisonment— Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, and Philippians— are assigned to Paul's first Roman imprisonment during the years 62- 63. The remaining pastoral epistles are supposed to have been written just before the apostle's martyrdom about 67 or 68. Some critics do not allow that Paul wrote all of the epistles ascribed to him above, and a few regard only the four doctrinal ones as genuinely his. 144 ^^^^ Sphere of Religion Regarding the epistle to the Hebrews all scholars reject it as Pauline on the ground that its style, its language, and its mode of thought do not resemble anything else attributed to him. Who the author of Hebrews was is still unsettled. Of the remaining epistles the first epistle of Peter was probably written by him at Rome, it is held, between 50 and 55 a.d. But the second epistle is of doubtful genuineness, no distinct trace of its existence having come to light be- fore the time of Origen. The three epistles ascribed to the apostle John are generally regarded as his, though in each case there seems to be no way to fix their date, place of writing, or destination. Regarding the gospels it is now the general opinion of scholars that for at least a generation after the death of Jesus no attempt was made to commit to writing any of his sayings or deeds, so widespread and universal was the belief that his second coming and the end of the world were close at hand. But as time wore away and he did not return it became evident that some au- thentic account of what the apostles had seen and heard about Jesus should be made for the benefit of those who were to come after them. Specialists are now coming to recognize as the source of our present gospels of Matthew and lyuke, two re- latively primitive documents, — the gospel of Mark, or an early draft of it giving a simple account of the chief facts in the life of Jesus, and a document called " logia " made up chiefly of his sayings and discourses. The logia or discourses, it is held, were written in Aramaic and probably by the apostle Matthew. About the same time Mark, who is commonly known as the interpreter of Peter, wrote out in Greek what he had heard Peter say in his addresses about the life and The Christian ScripHcres 145 work of Jesus, adding from other sources whatever he regarded as equally trustworthy. The first three gospels of our New Testament have so much in common that ever since the time of Gries- bach, who over a hundred years ago published the first critical edition of the New Testament, they have gen- erally been called the synoptic gospels. For they give the same general outline of the life of Jesus. As a rule they cite the same miracles and discourses and omit the same incidents. The order of events described is often the same, even when it is not chronological, and the language is also often identical. ' It is now practically the unanimous verdict of schol- ars that Mark's gospel is much the earliest and was probably in existence by 70 a.d. It is also equally agreed that the authors of the first and third gospels of our New Testament were familiar with Mark's gospel and freely used it. Our present gospel of Matthew is thus the product of an attempt to combine the logia of the apostle Matthew with the original Mark. It was written in the first instance for Jewish Christians to show how the religion of Jesus organically developed out of the I,aw and the Prophets, but its author was not an apostle or a companion of Jesus, otherwise we should not have such an artificial arrangement of the material, or such a decided dependence upon pre- vious authorities. About its exact date there is still a division of opinion, some putting it a little before and some shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 a.d. When Rome, soon after this event, became one of the most important centres of Christianity the gospel of Mark, it is held, was re-edited and somewhat en- larged to adapt it to the comprehension and needs of 1^6 The Sphere of Religion the Gentile Christians and brought into its present form. The preface (i- 1-3) was probably then added and also xvi. 9-20. Other minor insertions and changes were probably made at the same time throughout its entire contents. Next the gospel of lyuke is supposed to have ap- peared, possibly also in Rome, its author making use chiefly of the logia, the original Mark, and our Mat- thew, at the same time introducing other material both oral and written from sources now lost. Thus it is seen that each one of these writers made free use of what had been written by his predecessors and did not claim for himself or them any infallible authority. It is also clear that no one of these synoptic gospels, as we now have it, is the record of direct personal knowledge. The gospel of John is admittedly one of the most im- portant books of the whole New Testament. It is in many respects in striking contrast to the synoptic gospels already discussed. In place of genealogies the author puts a profound but brief statement regarding the incarnation of the eternal I^ogos. The earthly life of Jesus is laid by this writer almost exclusively in Judea, while the synoptics put it chiefly in Galilee. The latter give the impression that the public work of Jesus did not extend much over a year, while the former mentions three and perhaps more passovers. The fourth gospel puts the cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, the synoptics at the close. The last supper is placed by the synoptics on the evening of the passover itself, but this gospel puts it on the evening before. The gospel of John assumes that its readers are familiar with the other three and makes no mention of much that they record. Many of its characters are new and the same is true of its The Christian Scrip Hires 147 scenes and localities. It introduces few miracles and chiefly those not referred to by the other gospels, such as the raising of Lazarus from the dead. John also makes their object different, — to show forth the super- human mission of Jesus, not to supply some pressing human need. The lengthy discourses in the fourth gospel which take up the larger part of the work are very different from the parables and practical exhortations recorded by the other three. Their style and matter are so unique that it is hard to separate what the author attri- butes to Jesus from what he supplies himself. Further- more, there is little or no room in the fourth gospel for the human development of Jesus, From the first he seems to be fully aware of his mission and so do his followers. The inwardness and spirituality of the re- ligious experience recorded in this gospel, and its con- ception of the eternal life and of the last things, differ remarkably from what is everywhere present in the synoptics. For these and other reasons a great controversy has been raging for nearly a century as to how the fourth gospel originated and what is its historical value. It is now generally maintained that in sub- stance, at least, it is the work of the apostle John and was written at Ephesus near the close of the first cen- tury, primarily for the Christian circles of that region. John had had a long time to reflect upon the incidents he had witnessed and the discourses he had heard. He had lived very close to the Master, had observed the origin and progress of the church for over half a century, had been well acquainted with Paul, and in his later years had been profoundly affected by the philosophical speculations everywhere current in his adopted city. 148 The Sphere of Religion His book was written to give his mature judgments concerning the mission of Jesus and in part to describe the growth of his own rehgious experience. He does not in all probability reproduce word for word the dis- courses of his Master, as he wishes at the same time to explain them and point out their eternal significance. "Being an apostle he did not need to be literal." Prob- ably he frequently modified the historical setting in order more fully to attain his purpose. Probably also the gospel originally ended at the close of chapter xx. The twenty-first chapter, written to correct a wrong impression concerning the meaning of the words of Jesus to Peter regarding John, may have been added shortly after the apostle's death, if not before it. Hitherto the book of Revelation has been considered a work so full of mystery as to be almost unintelligible except to a chosen few. Some have regarded its pro- phecies as referring to a time already past, some have taken the book, with the exception of the first three chapters, as having to do with events yet to come, and others have looked upon it as giving a symbolic history of the experience of the Christian church from the be- ginning to the end of time. It has usually been taken for granted that it was written by the apostle John when in exile on the island of Patmos just before the destruction of Jerusalem, and that he himself had only a dim consciousness of its significance. In our time the book is no longer considered either obscure or mysterious, but far more easily compre- hended, for the most part, than many things to be found in other portions of the New Testament. For it is now seen to have a strictly historical basis, and is interpreted solely in the light of the circumstances sur- rounding its origin and the views entertained by the The Christian Scriphtres 149 people for whom it was written. It is placed side by side with a mass of similar literature that appeared in abundance among the Jewish people from at least the second century B.C. Scholars have now made it clear that for several centuries it was the universal expectation of the Jews that after one dreadful outburst of the hostile forces of earth and heaven, God would appear in the person of his Messiah and set up once for all his glorious king- dom. Whenever his people came to any crisis in their affairs owing to unusual persecutions or other distresses, an apocalypse would appear to revive their drooping spirits, strengthen their faith in God, and assure them of his final victory. Their apocalypses were written in riddles, because it was usually dangerous to be distinct, and because human nature instinctivel)^ associates the mysterious with the divine. They were generally ascribed to some celebrated character of the past in order to attract attention to their contents. Such writ- ings attributed to Enoch, Moses, Ezra, Daniel, and others still exist. Scholars now hold that the book of Revelation like the book of Daniel was written at a time of great religious persecution, and that like Daniel its predic- tions are based upon existing conditions and concern the immediate future. The author of the book is still in the Old Testament stage of development regarding the world and the state, which he hates with all his heart. He has not yet risen to the New Testament idea of loving his enemies. Still he shows a firm faith in Jesus as the true Messiah and Saviour of his people. So permeated is he with the spirit of the prophets and psalms that he borrows most of his strange imagery from Kzekial, Zechariah, and other Old Testament 150 The Sphere of Religion writers who had adopted this peculiar mode of ex- pressing their thoughts. These considerations lead the scholars of our day to place the date of its com- position in the time of the Domitian persecutions, that is, about 95 or 96 a.d. This makes it the last book in point of time in the New Testament. Its author is now regarded as some unknown Jewish Christian not yet fully imbued with the spirit and teachings of the gospel. Its style and ideas are so far removed from the fourth gospel that few, if any, recent scholars can see in it the work of the profoundly philosophical and spiritually-minded apostle John. To the New Testament as a w^hole we are chiefly indebted for the two ideas which lie at the foundation of the highest conceivable form of religion — the father- hood of God and the brotherhood of man. No other book gives us such a revelation of the love of God for all his creatures and his unceasing interest in every- thing that concerns their welfare. Jesus stands forth in it as the true interpreter of the universe, as the true revealer of the mind and heart of God. All that is noblest and best in our modern civilization and in our modern conception of religion we owe to his teachings and life. j. The Koran of Mohammed. — The bible of the Mohammedans is about the size of the New TcvStament and is called the Koran, a term derived from a word meaning to chant or recite. It is the sacred book of more than a hundred millions of people, and according to a high authority ' ' is perhaps the most widely read book in the world. It is the text- book in all Mohammedan schools. All Moslems know large parts of it by heart. Devout Moslems read it through once a month. Portions of it are recited in The Koran of Mohammed 151 the five daily prayers, and the recitation of the whole book is a meritorious work frequently performed at solemn or festival anniversaries." The students of science and philosophy among the Arabians almost from the time the Koran was first published have had it for their sole mission to understand its precepts. The book consists of one hundred and fourteen chap- ters, or suras, and each chapter begins with a heading which states the title and almost always the place of revelation. Then comes the formula '* In the name of the most merciful God." The first chapter is often called the Lord's Prayer of the Moslems, and is uni- versally regarded as the gem of the whole book. It is entitled " The Introduction ; Revealed at Mecca," and reads as follows : " In the name of the most merciful God. Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures ; the most merciful, the king of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg assistance. Di- rect us in the right way, in the way of those to whom thou hast been gracious ; not of those against whom thou art incensed, nor of those who go astray. ' ' There does not seem to be any other principle in the arrangement of the chapters than that of length. The longest chapter comes immediately after the introduc- tion and consists, in Sale's translation, which is here followed, of many (34) pages. The shortest chapter is the 1 1 2th, and contains less than two lines. Chapter second is the real beginning of the book and is entitled " The Cow," probably from the story of the red heifer that occurs in it. The first part of this chapter is as follows : ' ' Revealed partly at Mecca and partly at Medina. In the name of the most merciful God .... A. L. M. There is no doubt in this book ; it is a di- rection to the pious, who believe in the mysteries of 152 The Sphere of Religion faith, who observe the appointed times of prayer, and distribute alms out of what we have bestowed upon them ; and who believe in that revelation, which hath been sent down unto thee, and that which hath been sent down unto the prophets before thee, and have firm assurance of the life to come ; these are directed by their I^ord, and they shall prosper. As for the un- believers, it will be equal to them whether thou ad- monish them or do not admonish them ; they will not believe. God hath sealed up their hearts and their hearing ; a dimness covereth their sight, and they shall suffer a grievous punishment." The letters "A. I^. M." have had many interpreta- tions. The most reasonable one seems to be that they stand for " Amar li Mohammed," i. e., "at the com- mand of Mohammed." For it is universally admitted that the Koran is the work of Mohammed, and that he dictated it to an amanuensis. There is no evidence that he himself could either read or write. The Koran from first to last claims to be direct from God. Except in a few passages where Mohammed or an angel is represented as speaking, God is the speaker throughout, using sometimes the pronoun *'I," but generally the plural of majesty ' ' we. ' ' The Koran itself claims to be simply a copy, *'the original whereof is written in a table kept in heaven " (last line of chapter 85). It also states that the sacred book was "sent down ' ' by God * ' gradually by distinct parcels ' ' in order that the faithful might be the better confirmed in their hearts thereby. It affirms that an angel, gen- erally called Gabriel, but sometimes the Holy Spirit, dictated the revelation to the Prophet, who committed it to memory and did not "forget any part thereof except what God shall please" (chapter 87). The Koran of Mohammed 153 In chapter second is briefly stated the attitude of the Koran towards Jesus and Christians, and many re- ferences to the subject occur in other chapters. " We follow the religion of Abraham the orthodox, who was no idolater. Say, We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down to us, and that which hath been sent down unto Abraham, and Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was delivered unto Moses, and Jesus, and that which was delivered unto the prophets and their Lord. We make no dis- tinction between any of them and to God are we re- signed." Farther on in the chapter frequent prayer is enjoined, and each believer is exhorted to "turn, there- fore, thy face towards the holy temple of Mecca ; and w^herever ye be, turn your faces towards that place." A pilgrimage to Mecca is also enjoined and the ab- staining from * ' that which dieth of itself, and blood and swine's flesh and that upon which any other name but God's hath been invocated. But he who is forced by necessity, not lusting, nor returning to transgress, it shall be no crime in him if he eat of those things, for God is gracious and merciful." In the middle of the chapter righteousness is described as follows : ** It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces in prayer towards the east and the west, but righteousness is of him who believeth in God and the last day, and the angels, and the scriptures, and the prophets ; who giveth money for God's sake unto his kindred, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the stranger, and those that ask, and for the redemption of captives ; who is constant at prayer, and giveth alms ; and of those who perform their covenant, when they have cove- nanted, and who behave themselves patiently in ad- versity, and hardships, and in time of violence ; these 154 The Sphere of Religion are they who are true and these are they who fear God." War is enjoined against the infidels when they "ob- struct the way of God" or introduce false gods. For "temptation to idolatry is more grievous than to kill." * ' When they will ask thee concerning wine and lots ; answer, In both there is great sin, and also some things of use to men, but their sinfulness is greater than their use. ' ' After treating of many other legislative matters much after the fashion of the Pentateuch and with frequent reference to the stories and incidents recorded in it, the chapter closes with the prayer: "O Lord, lay not on us a burden like that which thou hast laid on those who have been before us ; neither make us, O Lord, to bear what we have not strength to bear, but be favorable unto us, and spare us, and be merciful unto us. Thou art our patron, help us therefore against the unbelieving nations." The third sura is entitled, " The Family of Imram," which is the name given in the Koran to the father of the Virgin Mary, and like the second treats of a great variety of matters. The unity of God is constantly reiterated in it, also the value of the Koran as the book of truth, the blessedness of those who accept it, and the dreadful fate of those who do not. "There is no God but God, the living, the self-subsisting. . . . O Lord, thou shall surely gather mankind together unto a day of resurrection ; there is no doubt of it, for God will not be contrary to the promise. As for the infidel, their wealth shall not profit them anything, nor their children, against God ; they shall be the fuel of hell fire. . . . For those who are devout are prepared with their Lord gardens through which rivers flow; The Koran of Moham^ned 155 therein shall they continue forever ; and they shall enjoy wives free from impurity, and the favor of God. Verily the true religion in the sight of God is Islam." A few pages of the chapter are devoted to matters con- cerning the Virgin, and what is said of her is taken for the most part from the various traditions of the Jews. Chapter four has for its title "Women: Revealed at Medina," and chiefly treats of marriage, divorce, dower, the treatment of orphans, and the like. It be- gins, ''O men, fear your I^ord, who hath created you out of one man, and out of him created his wife, and from them two hath multiplied many men and women ; and fear God by whom ye beseech one another ; and respect women who have borne you, and give the orphans when they have come to age their substance ; and render them not in exchange bad for good ; and devour not their substance by adding it to your own substance, for this is a great sin ; and if ye fear that ye shall not act with equity towards orphans of the female sex, take in marriage such other women as please you, two, or three, or four, and no more. But if ye fear that ye cannot act equitably toward so many, marry one only, or the slaves which ye shall have acquired. This will be easier, that ye swerve not from righteous- ness." The laws enjoined in this chapter concerning the treatment of women and orphans do not differ ma- terially from those of the Pentateuch, from which they are manifestly derived. The title of the fifth sura is *' The Table," which towards the end of the chapter is said to have been let down from heaven to Jesus. It is chiefly devoted to exhortations to follow the Koran. The law was suf- ficient, it is argued, until the coming of Jesus Christ, after which the gospel was the rule. Both are now set 156 The Sphere of Religion aside by the Koran because in it thej^ both come to their proper fulfilment. Turning to the middle chapters of the book we find that many of them consist only of a few pages and are devoted in a large degree to the defence of the author as an apostle of God. They also abound in fuller and more vivid descriptions of the rewards of the faithful and the fate of unbelievers. Take, for example chapter fifty-three, entitled ' ' The Star," which opens as follows : "By the star when it setteth ; your companion Mohammed erreth not ; nor is led astray ; neither doth he speak of his own will. It is no other than a revelation which hath been re- vealed unto him. One mighty in power, endued with understanding, taught it him ; and he appeared in the highest part of the horizon. Afterwards he ap- proached the prophet and came near unto him ; until he was at the distance of two bows' length firom him, or yet nearer ; and he revealed unto his servant that which he revealed. The heart of Mohammed did not falsely represent that which he saw." Chapter fifty-four is entitled "The Moon," and be- gins : "The hour of judgment approaches ; and the moon hath been split in sunder ; but if the unbelievers see a sign, they turn aside saying. This is a powerful charm, and they accuse thee, O Mohammed, of impos- ture, and follow their own lusts ; but everything will be immutably fixed." " The Inevitable " is the title of the fifty-sixth sura, which starts out with a vivid description of the last judgment and of the final destiny of the faithful and the unfaithful. " When the inevitable day of judg- ment shall suddenly come, no soul shall charge the pre- diction of its coming with falsehood : it will abase some The Koran of Mohammed 157 and exalt others, when the earth shall be shaken with a violent shock ; and the mountains shall be dashed in pieces, and shall become as dust scattered abroad ; and ye shall be separated into three distinct classes : the companions of the right hand (how happy shall the companions of the right hand be ! ); and the companions of the left hand (how miserable shall the companions of the left hand be ! ) ; and those who have preceded others in the faith shall precede them to paradise. These are they who shall approach near unto God : they shall dwell in gardens of delight : (There shall be many of the former religions ; but few of the last.) Re- posing on couches adorned with gold and precious stones ; sitting opposite to one another thereon. Youths which shall continue in their bloom forever shall go round about to attend them, with goblets, and beakers, and a cup of flowing wine ; their heads shall not ache by drinking the same, neither shall their reason be dis- turbed ; and with fruits of the sorts which they shall choose, and the flesh of birds of the kind which they shall desire. And there shall accompany them fair damsels having large black eyes ; resembling pearls hidden in their shells ; as a reward for that which they shall have wrought. They shall not hear therein any vain discourse, or any charge of sin ; but only the salutation, Peace ! Peace ! . . . And the com- panions of the left hand (how miserable shall the companions of the left hand be !) shall dwell amidst burning winds and scalding water, under the shade of a black smoke. . . . Ye, O men, who have erred and denied the resurrection as a falsehood, shall surely eat of the fruit of the tree al Zakkum and shall fill your bellies therewith ; and ye shall drink thereon boiling water ; and ye shall drink as a thirsty camel 158 The Sphere of Religion drinketh. This shall be their entertainment on the day of judgment." In the fifty-seventh chapter special rewards are promised to those ' ' who shall have contributed and fought in defence of the faith before the taking of Mecca. . . . These shall be superior in degree unto those who shall contribute and fight for the propagation of the faith after the above mentioned success. ' ' Several chapters are then devoted to the treatment of women by their husbands; and some of the petty dis- agreements of Mohammed with his own wives, God is represented as discussing at length, giving to the prophet a dispensation from the law imposed on other Moslems, especially in regard to the number of his wives and his treatment of them. Farther on we come upon suras that are decidedly rhapsodic in character, abounding in strong emotion, indicating a high degree of religious excitement. Sura seventy-four begins, " O thou covered, arise and preach and magnify the Lord, and cleanse thy garments ; and fly every abomination ; and be not liberal in hopes to receive more in return ; and patiently wait for thy lyord. When the trumpet shall sound, verily that day shall be a day of distress and uneasiness unto the unbelievers. ... I will afflict him (the unbeliever) with grievous calamities : for he hath devised and prepared contumelious expressions to ridicule the Koran. May he be cursed : how maliciously hath he prepared the same ! and again, may he be cursed " The following is the conclusion of the eighty-first sura : "Verily, I swear by the stars which are retro- grade, which move swiftly, and which hide themselves; and by the night when it cometh on ; and by the The Koran of Mohammed 159 morning when it appeareth ; that these are the words of an honorable messenger, endued with strength, of established dignity in the sight of the possessor of the throne, obeyed by the angels under his authority and faithful ; and your companion Mohammed is not dis- tracted. He hath already seen him in the clear horizon : he hath suspected not the secrets revealed unto him* Neither are these the words of an accursed devil. Whither, therefore, are you going ? This is no other than an admonition unto all creatures ; unto him among you who shall be willing to walk uprightly ; but ye shall not will, unless God willeth, the I/^rd of all creatures. ' ' The fourth from the last sura is a curse upon the uncle of Mohammed, who opposed the establishment of the new religion to the utmost of his power. '' The hands of Abu I,aheb shall perish and he shall perish. His riches shall not profit him, neither that which he hath gained. He shall go down to be burned into flaming fire ; and his wife also, bearing wood, having on her neck a cord of twisted fibres of a palm-tree" fas fuel for hell.] The third from the last sura is the shortest in the Koran, and is held in particular veneration by Moham- medans. It is said to be equal in value to a third part of the whole Koran. ''Say, God is one God; the eternal God : he begetteth not and neither is he be- gotten : and there is not any one Hke unto him." Chapters one hundred and thirteen and one hundred and fourteen, the last two, are regarded by Moslems with peculiar favor. ' ' They consider them, ' ' says Sav- ary, " as a sovereign specific against magic, luna influ- ences, and the temptations of the evil spirit. They never fail to repeat them evening and morning." 1 60 The Sphere of Religion The one hundred and thirteenth chapter runs as follows : ''Say, I fly for refuge unto the I^ord of the daybreak, that he may deliver me from the mischief of those things which he hath created ; and from the mischief of the night when it cometh on ; and from the mischief of women blowing on knots ; and from the mischief of the envious, when he envieth." And the last chapter of the book is, *' Say, I fly for refuge unto the Lord of men ; the king of men ; the God of men, that he may deliver me from the mischief of the whisperer who slyly withdraweth, who whispereth evil sugges- tions into the breasts of man ; from genii and men." From this general survey of the Koran it is easy to see why scholars are agreed in dividing the suras into three general classes, according as their contents relate to the history and condition of the author, namely, those delivered during the early part of Mo- hammed's preaching in Mecca, including those from about the seventy-third chapter to the close of the book ; the middle chapters, which were in all prob- ability delivered during the latter part of his sojourn in Mecca ; and the first part of the book, where the chapters are probably composite in their character, made up of a number of smaller discourses delivered during the later years of his life at Medina. Mohammed began his career as a prophet in his fortieth year, and continued to send forth his revela- tions for over twenty years. It is maintained by many of his followers that the earliest sura is the first part of the ninety-sixth, which begins with the words, ' ' Read [from the scroll let down by the angel] in the name of thy Lord, who hath created all things." Others ascribe that honor to the seventy -fourth, the opening verses of which have already been quoted. The Koran of Mohammed i6i Mohammed at the outset did not make any effort to have his utterances preserved. Only after he had become a famous leader in the community did he begin to think about putting his revelations into a permanent form. The entire Koran is so completely the product of Mohammed's personal experiences that it cannot be properly understood without taking into consideration some of the chief events in the history of his life. All authorities are agreed that he first appeared in Mecca as a prophet about 6io a.d. According to the best traditions he was born in 570, at Mecca, of very poor, but worthy parents, his father belonging to the most powerful of the Arabian tribes of that day, the Koreish, to whom was entrusted as a matter of heredity the guardianship of the Kaaba. This sacred cube-shaped heathen temple contained the famous black stone said to have been given by an angel to Abraham, and was the centre of native religious rites. Mohammed's father died two months before his birth and his mother, for whom he always had the greatest veneration, six years after. Being adopted by his uncle, who was a man of large family with scanty means, he spent his early years in tending sheep, gathering wild berries in the desert, and driving camels. On one occasion he went with his uncle on a trading expedition into Syria, and there met a monk whose discourses greatly influenced his subsequent career. When about twenty-five years of age, having won by the integrity of his conduct the surname of "the faithful," on the recommendation of his uncle he became the business agent of a wealthy widow of Mecca, for whom he made several successful com- mercial journeys to the countries round about. In a few years he married the widow and proved himself a devoted and faithful husband. Seven children resulted 1 62 The Sphere of Religion from this marriage, but his three sons died while very young. Relieved by his marriage to Khadija from the neces- sity of constant toil, Mohammed was able to devote his time to the development of his religious sentiments, which had always had a predominating influence over his conduct and thoughts. Every year he retired for long periods to the fastnesses of Mount Hira, near Mecca, and gave himself up to solitary meditation and prayer. It is no longer claimed by any well-informed scholars that Mohammed independently produced the ideas and doctrines of the Koran. A generation at least before his time the Jews had become numerous in and around Medina. Indeed, the whole northern part of the Arabian peninsula began to be dotted over with Jewish colonists soon after the destruction of Jerusalem. Be- tween them and the natives there had always existed a perfectly free intercourse. Beyond any doubt Moham- med derived nearly all of the stories and a great part of the laws of the Koran from Jewish sources. Chris- tianity, though in a crude and degenerate form, had already penetrated Arabia through Syria and Abys- sinia, and he had at least a partial acquaintance with it. The native religion in which he was brought up had long recognized Allah as the highest and universal deity. According to all authorities, when Mohammed came upon the scene the religious life of Arabia had reached a most deplorable state. Star- worship of every variety made up the religion of the masses, but even this form of religion had ceased to be regarded as of any vital moment. Wine-drinking, petty gambling, sensual love, extortion, and robbery absorbed the time and The Koran of Mohammed 163 energies of the people. The status of the great ma- jority of women was little above that of common pros- titutes. Polygamy, as everywhere in the Orient, was the prevailing custom and many Arabs had no less than eight or ten wives, which they could at any time throw out into the street without food or protection, entirely at their option. The habit among the Bedou- ins of selling their new-born daughters was a gen- eral one, and went on generation after generation unrebuked. A few devout souls here and there, however, were not satisfied with this state of affairs, and Mohammed was one of them. He saw the need of a new religious awakening, and by uniting the three principal religions of his time and country he thought he could produce it. This idea is now considered the key to the Koran. Everywhere in it the Pentateuch and the Psalms are recognized as sacred revelations and so are also the Gospels. Moses and Christ are frequently declared to be genuine prophets. Resignation to the will of Allah, the all- wise and almighty, the chief god of his own tribe and people, is the one supreme duty of man. Judaism, Christianity, and heathenism all contained for Mohammed important God-given truths. In the Koran he is constantly striving to win over the ad- herents of each, or else is rebuking them for the non-recognition of his mission. That Mohammed thoroughly believed in himself, at least in the first years of his mission, is no longer questioned. At the outset he was probably only one among a number of ascetics seeking their own salvation rather than that of others. But being possessed of a natural tempera- ment that strongly addicted him to religious excite- ment, when what he regarded as direct revelation from 1 64 The Sphere of Religion God came to him in his ecstatic visions, he was obliged to burst forth upon the community as a prophet. Although his wife at once accepted his alleged reve- lations, when he announced to her that the angel Gabriel had appeared to him in the mountain and commanded him to proclaim the name of Allah, most of his relatives scornfully rejected them. For four years he preached in secret to slaves and people of the lowest rank, gaining only a mere handful of fol- lowers. Then the call came to go forward and publicly to assail the superstitions of the Meccans. This he did without fear or favor, exhorting them to turn from their idols and their sensuality and worship the only real and true God. The result was that he was obliged to flee from Mecca to Medina to escape assassination. This occurred in 622, and is known as the Hegira, from which all Moslems now reckon time. The suras of this first period breathe a genuine religious spirit. The great fundamental ideas of the unity of God and the duty of prayer and almsgiving were constantly insisted upon as the vital things for this life and the life to come. But when once estab- lished in Medina, the consciousness of power and the rapid advance of the new form of religion under his leadership made him willing to maintain himself by strategy and force and at any cost. It must be admitted that he was at times deceitful, cunning, and revengeful. In one respect, at least, he used his authority as a prophet to make provision for the flesh, excepting himself from the restrictions re- garding women that were imposed upon others, as the Koran explicitly states. In common with his age he believed in signs and omens, and had many other super- stitious beliefs. Yet in general we may say that, Joseph SmitJis Book of Mormon 165 judged by the standards of his time, the cause of re- hgion has had few more earnest or sincere devotees. The Koran will always stand as a fitting monument to one of the world's master spirits. k. Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon.— In the year 1830 there was published at Palmyra, a little village in what was then called the Wilderness of Western New York, the first edition of a bible which has since reached a circulation, it is asserted, of several millions, and has been printed in nearly all the leading languages of our time. For many years missionaries have been sent to all parts of the civilized world to spread abroad a knowledge of its contents, and they never were so active or so numerous as at present. The book is about the size of the New Testament, and purports to be "The Sacred History of Ancient America from the Earliest Ages After the Flood to the Beginning of the Fifth Century of the Christian Era." The title of the volume is ' ' The Book of Mormon ; an account written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates taken from the Plates of Nephi. ' ' The title-page of the first edition also bore the inscription, ** Joseph Smith, Jun., Author and Proprietor," but in all subsequent editions this has been changed to, "Translated by Joseph Smith, Jun." Immediately after the title-page comes the following ajG&davit, signed by Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris: "Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who 1 66 The Sphere of Religion came from the tower of which hath been spoken ; and we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us ; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates ; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon ; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our lyord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true ; and it is marvellous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the lyOrd commanded us that we should bear record of it ; wherefore to be obe- dient unto the commandments of God, we bear testi- mony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful to Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen." Attached to this affidavit is another, introduced by the use of the same phraseology, signed by four mem- bers of the Whitmer family, the father and two brothers of Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of the work, and Hiram Page, son-in-law of Peter Whitmer, Sen., in which they bear witness that ' ' we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have .spoken." Joseph Smith, Jun., himself thus summarized the contents of the book : ' ' The histor}' of America is un- Joseph SmitJis Book of Mormon 167 folded from its first settlement by a colony that came from the Tower of Babel to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian Era. We are informed by these records that America, in ancient times, has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites, and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle toward the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians. ' ' This book also tells us that our Saviour made his appearance upon this continent after his resurrection ; that he planted the gospel here in all its fulness and richness and power and blessing ; that they had apos- tles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists ; the same order, the same priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, powers, and blessing, as were enjoyed on the Eastern Continent ; that the people were cut off in consequence of their transgressions ; that the last of their prophets who existed among them was com- manded to write an abridgment of their prophecies, history, etc., and to hide it up in the earth." This so-called Bible of the Western Continent con- sists of fifteen books, and claims to have been written by authors who were divinely appointed to rule over the people of their day, and to make a record of their doings upon metallic plates prepared for the purpose. The books vary greatly in size. The book of Alma in recent editions of the work is divided into sixty-three chapters, and covers nearly a hundred pages; while the book of Enos has only one chapter, and covers a little over two pages. 1 68 The Sphere of Religion The first book in the volume is entitled ' ' The First Book of Nephi, His Reign and Ministry," and has twenty-two chapters. The text is preceded by the fol- lowing synopsis : ' ' An account of Lehi and his wife, Sariah, and his four sons, being called (beginning at the eldest) Iranian, lyemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land of Jeru- salem, because he prophesieth unto the people concern- ing their iniquity ; and they seek to destroy his life. He taketh three da3^s' journey into the wilderness with his family. Nephi taketh his brethren and returns to the land of Jerusalem after the record of the Jews. The account of their sufferings. They take the daugh- ters of Ishmael to wife. They take their families and depart into the wilderness. Their sufferings and afflic- tions in the wilderness. The course of their travels. They come to the large waters. Nephi' s brethren re- belleth against him. He confoundeth them and build- eth a ship. They call the name of the place Bountiful. They cross the large waters into the promised land, etc. This is according to the account of Nephi ; or in other words, I, Nephi, wrote this record." * ' The large waters ' ' referred to are the Red Sea and the Pacific Ocean. " The promised land " is the west- ern coast of South America. The very first passages of the first chapter of this book well illustrate the style of all the books, and, ex- cept where the ideas of the Old and New Testaments are made use of, the general nature of their contents : ** I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, there- fore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father ; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days — nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days ; yea, having had a great Joseph SmitJis Book of Mormon 1 69 knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days ; yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. And I know that the record that I make is true ; and I make it with mine own hand ; and I make it according to my knowledge. " For it came to pass, in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah (my father Lehi having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days), and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people, that they must repent, or the great city of Jerusalem must be destroyed. Wherefore, it came to pass that my father Lehi, as he went forth, prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people. " And it came to pass, as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him ; and he saw and heard much ; and because of the things which he saw and heard, he did quake and tremble exceedingly. " And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem ; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the spirit and the things which he had seen ; and being thus overcome with the spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heaven open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising God. " And it came to pass that he saw one descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his lustre was above that of the sun at noonday ; and he also saw twelve others following him, and their bright- ness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament ; and 1 7o The Sphere of Religion they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth ; and the first came and stood before my father, and he gave him a book, and bade him that he should read. "And it came to pass, that, as he read, he was filled with the spirit of the I.ord, and he read saying, Wo, wo unto Jerusalem ! for I have seen thy abominations, ' ' etc. In chapter ii. we have a description of several ap- pearances of the Virgin Mary to Nephi. He also saw, he affirms, ' * the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken ; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the I,amb of God went forth and was baptized of him ; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost came down out of heaven and abode upon him in the form of a dove." Many other events in the life of Jesus are here referred to including the crucifixion. Chapter xiii. opens with a covert attack upon the Church of Rome. " And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the foundation of a great church. And the angel said unto me. Behold the foundation of a church, which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth down and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church ; and I saw the devil that he was the foundation of it. And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing ; and I saw many harlots. " And the angel spake unto me, saying, Behold the gold, and silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and Joseph SmitJis Book of Mormon 1 7 1 the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, and the desires of this great and abominable church," etc. Many other chapters contain tirades on the same theme and, for the most part, the language of the book of Revelation is employed to express them. These views regarding the Roman Catholic Church were comm.only held at the time of the appearance of the Book of Mormon throughout the region of Western New York. At the close of chapter xviii. Nephi describes the mutiny that occurred on the ship as they were crossing "the large waters." For his brothers bound him and purposed to throw him overboard. But when they found that in the tempest that arose they could not steer the ship without him, they loosed him and allowed him again to assume command. "I took the compass" he says, "and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the I^ord ; and after I had prayed, the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land. And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days, we did arrive to the promised land, and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents ; and we did call it the promised land." Then follows a vivid description of the marvellous plenty of the country. Cows and oxen and horses ex- isted there in great abundance. '* And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of cop- per." Out of the ore plates were made which upon was engraved the record ot the people, in particular the visions and prophecies of Nephi. The rest of this 1^2 The Sphere of Religion first book of Nephi is taken up with an account oi what was put upon these plates. The principal part .of it consists of literal extracts from the prophecy of Isaiah as recorded in the Old Testament, though no acknowledgment is made of this fact. The second book of Nephi is much like the first in subject-matter. Leaving out the visions and prophecies in it, w^e have an account of the death of Lehi, of the rebellion of Nephi' s brethren against him, the warn- ings of the Lord to Nephi to depart into the wilder- ness, and his various experiences after getting there. The creation of the world and the fall of Adam as we have it in Genesis is described in the second chapter. The book of Jacob comes next. This was written by a younger brother of Nephi. For Lehi had two sons, Jacob and Joseph, born to him just before the family embarked upon the ship to cross "the large waters " for the promised land. Both these sons grew up to be " prophets and priests unto God," and it was through this Joseph that a "righteous branch" was preserved from the Joseph of Egypt to Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of the Book of Mormon and the divinely appointed head of the Church of Christ in modern times. Jacob succeeded to the rule after the death of Nephi and added his own plates to those of Nephi. The book of Jacob abounds in vigorous denuncia- tion, not only of pride and vainglory, but especially of polygamy. A "sore curse even unto destruction" is called down upon all who practise it. " Behold David and Solomon," it says, "truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord ; wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by Joseph SmitJis Book of Mormon 173 the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph. Wherefore, I, the Lord God, will not vSuffer that this people shall do like unto them of old. Wherefore my brethren, hear me, and harken to the word of the Lord ; for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife ; and concubines he shall have none ; for, I, the Lord God, delighteth in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me ; thus saith the Lord of Hosts. Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts ; or cursed be the land for their sakes. ' ' The same views are expressed in the book of Mosiah and in the book of Ether. Jacob, when he comes to die, hands over the plates to his son Enos, who writes the next book. In it he tells us of the wrestles he had with God before he re- ceived a remission of his sins. Then he describes his own efforts and those of his people to bring the wicked followers of his uncle Laman, who had already had their white skins changed to copper-red because of their sins, back to the true faith. "But," he says, "our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil na- ture that they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood- thirsty people ; full of idolatry and filthiness, feeding upon beasts of prey ; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven ; and their skill was in their bow, and in the cimeter, and the axe. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat ; and they were continually seeking to destroy us." Here we have a very matter-of-fact description of the Indians of Western New York in the days of Joseph 174 The Sphere of Religion Smith. Many references to their life and habits occur in other parts of the work. The book of Amni tells us how the Nephites came to discover the people of Zarahemla, who " came out of Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, King of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon." They cast their lot with the followers of Nephi under the rule of King Mosiah. From the engravings on a large stone found in Zarahemla it is discovered that the land had once been occupied by one Cariantumr whose "first parents came out from the tower at the time the Lord confounded the languages of the people." Owing to his disobedience of the commandments of the Lord and the wickedness of his people, they had all been cut off " and their.bones lay scattered in the land northward." This was a common view in Western New York of the origin of the many mounds containing human relics to be found in that part of the country. The book of Alma, the longest in this bible, devotes itself chiefly to the secular affairs of the people. Great battles and massacres are described in it. The coming of Christ is predicted, but this is opposed by one Korihor, who uses arguments that were probably taken from Thomas Paine' s Age of Reason. The result is that he is struck dumb for his blasphemy. Near the middle of the book we have several exhorta- tions to repentance which show how familiar the writer was with the methods of the old-time Methodist camp- meeting. Amulek, the last speaker at such a gather- ing, closes his harangue as follows: "Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon His holy name, that He would have mercy upon you ; yea, cry unto Him for mercy ; for He is Joseph SmitJis Book of Mormon 175 mighty to save ; yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto Him ; cry unto Him when you are in your fields ; yea, over all your flocks ; cry unto Him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, midday, and evening; yea, cry unto Him against the power of your enemies ; yea, cry unto Him against the Devil, who is an enemy to all righteous- ness. And now as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore I beseech of you, that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end ; for after this day of life, which is given unto us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this hfe, then cometh the night of darkness, wherein there can be no labor per- formed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world." In the book of Helaman we have the first of the attacks upon Free Masonry to be found in the Book of Mormon. It expresses the strong antipathy to the organization that prevailed in Western New York at the time the book appeared, owing to the abduction and alleged murder in 1826 of one William Morgan, a mechanic of Batavia, by some of the Masonic frater- nity. The reason for the act, it was alleged, was the fact that Morgan was preparing a book to divulge the secrets of the order. The book of Nephi III., besides giving an account of the secular events of this reign, describes the wonderful phenomena that accompanied the birth of Christ and his visit to the Nephites after the Resurrection. He 176 The Sphere of Religion not only preached to them the Sermon on the Mount, but also many of his other discourses recorded in the gospels. He broke bread among them and performed many of the same miracles that are 'described at length in the New Testament. He chose twelve apostles, who taught the multitude and carried on the work of spreading the gospel. Things proceeded in the same manner as the New Testament records show they did in Palestine. In the book of Mormon, one of the last books in this volume, and the one that gives name to the entire col- lection, we are told how in the year 384 a.d., just before a great battle in the land of Cumorah, in which an army of 230,000 Nephites was slain and the race practically annihilated, " I [Mormon] made this record out of the plates of Nephi and hid up in the hill of Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave to my son Moroni." It was these golden plates that Joseph Smith alleges he, on Septem- ber 22, 1827, under the direction of an angel, dug up on the top of what is now known as Mormon Hill, in the township of Manchester, N. Y., about four miles from the village of Palmyra. The plates, as he describes them, were about eight inches long and seven wide, and were connected to- gether by rings so as to form a volume about six inches thick. Hieroglyphic characters in an unknown lan- guage, which Smith declared to be Reformed Egyp- tian, covered both sides of the plates. By the aid of two stones, joined together into a sort of spectacles, which he found in the box, and called Urim and Thummim, he affirms that he was able to decipher the record on the plates and translate it into English. Joseph Sfnil/is Book of Mormon 177 This was taken down by an amanuensis, and makes the present text of the Book of Mormon. Smith tells us that "multitudes" tried to get the plates away from him, but he held on to them. As fast as he translated them he handed them back to the angel, who keeps them in a box with other plates that have not yet been unsealed. The 22d of September, 1827, was not, according to Smith, the first time that he had known of the existence of these plates. In his autobiography published in the Milleyinial Star 2.\. Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1838, he afl&rms that on the night of September 21, 1823, while he was praying to God for the forgiveness of his sins, his room suddenly became illuminated with a great light. A person clothed in a robe of exquisite whiteness called him by name and announced himself to be a messenger sent from God. Then, as Smith describes it, the angel told him where there was a book deposited, written upon golden plates, giving an account of the former inhabi- tants of this continent and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the Everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Saviour to the ancient inhabitants. During the same vision the angel described to him the ' ' two stones in a silver bow ' ' that were deposited with the plates, the possession of which "constituted seers" in ancient times. By the use of these stones God would enable him to read what was engraved upon the plates and translate it into English. Under the direction of the angel he went at once to the hill and found the big stone in the hollow of which the plates were concealed. But he made no effort to gain possession of them as the angel informed him that the time for bringing them out had not yet arrived. 178 The Sphere of Religion neither would till four years from that time. But he was told to come every year to the spot ' ' until the time should come for obtaining the plates. ' ' Joseph Smith's father soon after the publication of the Book of Mormon gave out a vivid description of the way in which the plates were finally procured and the account was confirmed by his mother in her Biographi- cal Sketches of Joseph Smith and his Progenitors, pub- lished some years later. The father says in this description that "He [Joseph] procured a horse and light wagon with a chest and pillow case, and pro- ceeded punctually with his wife to find the hidden treasure. When they had gone as far as they could with the wagon, Joseph took the pillow case and started for the rock. Upon passing a fence a host of devils began to screech and scream, and make all sorts of hideous yells, for the purpose of terrifying him and preventing the attainment of his object ; but Joseph was courageous and pursued his way in spite of them." On arriving at the rock, " with the aid of superhuman power ' ' he pried up the lid and secured the first or upper- most article, ' * putting it carefully into the pillow case before laying it down." Immediately the lid fell back into its original position and an angel warned him not to seek for anything more at the present time. He was also warned not to allow any one to touch the article he had * ' for if they did, they would be knocked down by some superhuman power." On getting back to the fence Joseph was met by another host of devils w^ho yelled and shrieked much louder than the former, and one of them struck him a blow on the side ' * where a black and blue spot remained three or four days." When Joseph reached home with the article * ' I Joseph Smitlis Book of Mormon 179 weighed it," says his father, "and it weighed thirty pounds. ' ' As soon as the Book of Mormon was published it attracted converts and Smith immediately organized them into the Church of Christ of I^atter Day Saints, placing himself at their head. At the time of his death at Carthage, Illinois, where he and his brother Hyram were assassinated by a mob in June, 1844, he had founded a New Jerusalem of some fifteen thousand souls at Nauvoo on the banks of the Mississippi, and was universally recognized by his followers as the apostle and prophet of God. Brigham Young correctly expressed the position of the whole Mormon Church when he said of him shortly after his death: ''Every spirit that confesses that Joseph Smith is a prophet, that he lived and died a prophet, and that the Book of Mormon is true, is of God, and every spirit that does not is of Antichrist." The Latter Day Saints have always believed and believe to-day that Smith obtained the plates in the manner already described, and that the Book of Mormon is of a purely divine origin. Of those who do not ac- cept this view of the matter some hold that the work is the joint product of a Congregational minister once living at New Salem, Ohio, by the name of Solomon Spaulding, who supplied the historical part, and a Baptist minister by the name of Sidney Rigdon, who filled in the religious part and brought out the book under Joseph Smith's name and with his sanction. This opinion is strongly advocated by W. A. Linn in his exhaustive work on the Story of the Mormons from the Date of their Origin to the Year igoi. In spite of all that has been written in support of this view by Linn and others, nobody has yet been i8o The Sphei^e of Religion able to show that Smith ever heard of Spaulding or his alleged novel about the origin of the American Indians. No tangible proof of the existence of such a novel was forthcoming till 1885, when President Fairchild, ot Oberlin College, claimed that he had accidentally dis- covered the manuscript of it in the library of a friend in Honolulu. He himself admits, however, that there is little or no resemblance between Spaulding' 3 story entitled Ma7iiiscript Fou7id and the Book of Mormon either in style or subject-matter, except that they both have considerable to say about the Ten Lost Tribes. Dr. Hurlburt, in whose house the manuscript was found, says of it: " I should as soon think the Book of Revelation was written by the author of Don Quixote, as that the writer of this manuscript was the author ot the Book of Mormon." The only similarity that he was able to find between them was that they both claim to have been dug up out of the ground. As to Sidney Rigdon the evidence is good that he had only the slightest acquaintance with Smith until after the establishment of the Church of Latter Day Saints, when he became one of his converts. The more rational view of the origin of the Book of Mormon, and the one now held b3' almost all com- petent and unprejudiced investigators, is well expressed by Dr. I. W. Riley in his extremely able work on The Founder of Mormonisni, when he says: "Joseph Smith's record of the Indians is a product indigenous to the New York * Wilderness,' and the authentic work of the * author and proprietor. ' Outwardly, it reflects the local color of Palmyra and Manchester, inwardly its complex of thought is a replica of Smith's muddled brain." In other words, barring out the choicest parts of Joseph Smitlis Book of Mi ormoTi the Old Testament and the copious extracts from the gospels that we find in the book, the history of Joseph Smith before the work appeared and his history after show beyond reasonable doubt that he produced it by the use of his own natural powers. The very first words of the first chapter reveal the fact that the acts of Nephi are the acts of Joseph, and so on to the closing passages of the last chapter. The conversion of Joseph Smith occurred near Pal- myra in 1820, when he w^as in his fifteenth year. He had previously been noted ' ' only for his indolent and vagabondish character, and his habits of exaggeration- and untruthfulness." His father was a shiftless farmer and root-digger, who had wandered from Sharon, Ver- mont, where Joseph was born December 23, 1805, over into Ontario County, New York, and there taken up a land claim. Both Joseph's father and mother were strong believers in heavenly visions, faith cures, witch- craft, and demoniacal possessions. The son had grown up in the atmosphere of these ideas, and he took to them as to his natural breath. Besides this, in his youth he was given to epileptic seizures, and many times he seriously injured himself while in this state. On several occasions he twisted his limbs out of joint and severely bruised his body, having at the time no consciousness of the fact. He grew up in a most extraordinary religious en- vironment. Western New York in his boyhood was swept by wave after wave of religious excitement, and later came to be generally known as the Burnt Dis- trict. A multitude of contending sects existed on every hand. Near Ithaca there were seven different kinds of Baptists, and during Smith's stay in Palmyra four schisms occurred among the Methodists — the sect to- 1 82 The Sphere of Religion ward which he was himself more particularly inclined. At Canandaigua, only ten miles from his home, the Fox sisters by their extraordinary rapping seances dumbfounded their auditors and laid the foundations of modem spiritualism. William Miller at Rochester had already successfully established the sect of Second Adventists. Jemima Wilkinson, who claimed to have been raised from the dead to preach the gospel and to be able to work miracles, had purchased 14,000 acres of land in Yates County and established a colony there of her followers. What wonder that young Smith, who had had re- markable experiences of his own, early began to medi- tate upon the ways and means of carrying out some similar project. He was constantly having visions, and his conversion occurred in one of them. This he describes as follows : ' ' After I had retired into a place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart unto God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely over- came me, and had such astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. ' ' Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I was doomed to sudden destruc- tion. But exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to de- struction, not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such a marvellous power as I had never before felt in any being. Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon 183 a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the bright- ness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages whose brightness and glory defy all description, stand- ing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, . . . When I came to myself again I found myself lying on my back looking up into heaven." In the second of his recorded visions, the one of September 21, 1823, in which he was told about the existence of the plates, he affirms that at midnight, while he was engaged in ' * prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all his sins," the room became *' lighter than at noonday," and a heav- enly messenger came to his bedside and described the plates so vividly " that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and dis- tinctly, that I knew the place again when I visited it." This vision was repeated three times the same night and many times afterwards. In addition he was repeatedly .told in these early visions that none of the existing religious denomina- tions were acknowledged of God as his church and kingdom. "I was expressly commanded," he says, "to go not after them ; at the same time receiving a promise that the fulness of the gospel should at some future time be made known unto me." Can it be won- dered at under the circumstances that he set himself to work to create some sort of a consistent whole out of these and similar experiences, making use of all other available data that he had at his command ? It is true that Smith lived in the backwoods and had little schooling, but he still was alive to what was 1 84 The Sphere of Religion going on in the community and had access to a few inexpensive books that were in common circulation. Besides the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments he undoubtedly had the New England Primer, which nearly every child of that period thumbed from cover to cover and was supposed to know almost by heart. It contained the Westminster Confession of Faith, which, as Dr. Riley has shown, is closely paralleled in the speech of Nephi to his brethren. Then, as has already been pointed out, he probably was more or less familiar with Paine' s Age of Reason. Beyond all ques- tion he had every opportunity to acquaint himself by reading or by hearsay with the creeds and disciplines of the numerous sects that were laboring to make converts in that region. Smith's Lamanites actually have the very same be- liefs that existed in his own locality. In harmony with his times he takes it for granted that the primitive red men had the idea of one great Spirit and the various notions that flow from it. The modern student of the subject would not agree with this position. For he maintains that such beliefs arose among these people only after long famiharity with the doctrines of Christianity. The theory that the Indians were the remnant of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel was an idea current almost from the first settlement of the country. The early Spanish priests identified the natives with them, and so did a Jewish rabbi as early as 1650. John Eliot, " the Apostle to the Indians in Massachusetts," wrote an essay in favor of it. Roger WiUiams, William Penn, and Jonathan Edwards advocated this view, and Smith must have been familiar with it from early boyhood. But the most striking thing in Smith's surroundings Joseph Smitlis Book of Mormon 185 was the large number of mysterious aboriginal remains that abounded on every hand. " Along the shores of Lake Ontario there was a series of ancient earthworks, entrenched hills, and occasional mounds or tumuli." Human bones and relics had been found on an em- bankment in Canandaigua. Livingston County had a big artificial ditch of sixteen acres, and Seneca County had ancient caches full of art relics and frag- ments of pottery. Near Geneva were the remains of a so-called Indian castle, and in the vicinity of Smith's home spear-heads and hatchets had been dug up in abundance. In early youth Smith had been a money digger, and Indian mounds were the most attractive and profitable places in which to search for hidden treasures. As Dr. Riley has well said, "He [Smith] mixed up what he knew about living Indians with what he could gather about dead ones, and the amalgam was the angel Moroni's ' brief sketch concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country.' " That Smith was capable of composing the Book of Mormon from the material at his disposal is also seen by comparing its style and matter with other works that he unquestionably produced. No sooner had he completed his labors on the Book of Mormon than he went to work on the Visions of Moses, and six months later he brought out the Writings of Moses. Later he completed a Revised Translation of the Old and New Testaments. In 1842, as the editor of Times and Seasons, he published a "Translation of Some Ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands from the Catacombs of Egypt, the Writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand upon Papyrus." This was a 1 86 The Sphere of Religion " book " that lie had made up from the hieroglyphics found in the casings of some Egyptian mummies that he had persuaded the church to buy for him of a show- man passing through the place. From the day he assumed the title of " Prophet, Seer, and Revelator " at the age of eighteen to the end of his career he was constantly claiming to receive direct communications from the Almighty on almost every conceivable sub- ject. These "revelations" were collected together into what he called the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. In all of these productions we have unmistakable evi- dence from the style of composition and general subject- matter that their author is identical with the writer of the Book of Mormon and of the affidavits that were signed by the eleven witnesses regarding the plates upon which it was engraved. Before the book was completed Smith began to make preparations for carrying out the idea that he was the lineal descendant of Joseph, the prime minister of an- cient Egypt, and the divinely appointed head of all Latter Day Saints. On May 15, 1829, he took Cow- dery, his amanuensis, with him into the woods and earnestly besought the Lord to inform him about how to carry out the baptism mentioned in the plates. Speedily John the Baptist, he says, appeared to them in a cloud of light, ** and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying unto us : ' Upon you, my fellow-servants, in the name of the Messiah, I confer the priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.' " Later he received from Peter, James, and John, he Joseph SmitJis Book of Mormon 187 asserts, ** the power of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost," thus supplanting even the bishops of the Roman Church, who get their power through a succession of popes and not direct from heaven. When Smith wanted anything done he got a reve- lation for it just as he thought was the custom of all prophets. He was often in such a state of mind that he could not distinguish between subjective illusions and objective realities. It seems quite impossible, there- fore, in his case to draw the line between self-deception and conscious duplicity. His remarkable success in attracting followers, over many of whom he exerted a strong hypnotic influence, was attended not only with a growing sensualism which ultimately led to his secret adoption of polygamy , but also developed a colossal egotism which surpassed all bounds. He soon came to think and talk of him- self, says Dr. Riley, as *' the smartest man in Amer- ica," and fully equal to any conceivable position or task. In 1843 he went to Washington and presented to President Van Buren a bill for $1,381, 044. 55>^ to com- pensate himself for the damages to his property and character that he had received from the United States. As Congress that winter did not make the necessary appropriation to pay it, he had his followers nominate himself for President. One of his last addresses was entitled, '' Views of the Powers and Policy of the Gov- ernment of the United States," in which there are quotations not only in English, but also in Italian, Dutch, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldee, so intro- duced as to convey the impression that it was a matter of utter indifference to him in what language he chose to express his thoughts. 1 88 The Sphere of Religion Josiah Quincy tells us in his Figures of the Past that when he and Charles Francis Adams visited the Mor- mon colony at Nauvoo in 1843, Smith explained to them the inscription on his Egyptian mummy by say- ing : *' That is the handwriting of Abraham, the Father of the Faithful. This is the autograph of Moses, and these lines were written by his brother Aaron. Here we have the earliest account of the creation, from which Moses composed the book of Genesis." Smith's own written assertion concerning himself is: " I know more than all the world put together. . . . I cut the Gordian knot of powers, and I solve mathe- matical problems of universities with truth, diamond truth, and God is my right-hand man." When we consider what a conglomeration of ideas the Book of Mormon really is and Joseph Smith's history before and after its appearance ; when we recall the fact that it was nearly seven years from the first vision of the plates to the actual publication of the book, and that during a large part of this time, at least, he was cogitating upon its contents, it seems wholly unnecessary to assume that the work was beyond his natural powers. The influence that the book has had and still has over many minds lies not only in the descriptions of the marvellous that abound in it, but also in the great and vital truths the author has incorporated in the body of the work taken literally from such parts of the Old and New Testaments as the prophecies of Isaiah and the discourses of Jesus. I.Mrs. Eddy and "Science and Health."— An- other book that has recently been exalted to the dig- nity of a bible by its devotees is Mrs. Mary Baker G. Kddy's work entitled Science and Health, with Key Mrs. Eddy and '' Science and Health " 189 to the Scriptures, the first edition of which was published in I^ynn, Mass., in 1875. As the founder of the sect of Christian Scientists and the pastor of its Mother Church, Mrs. Eddy made not long ago the following announcement : " Humbly, and as I believe, divinely directed, I hereby ordain the Bible, and Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures, to be hereafter the only Pastor of the Church of Christ, Scientist, throughout our land and in other lands. " From this date, the Sunday services of our de- nomination shall be conducted by Readers, in lieu of pastors. Bach church, or society formed for Sunday worship, shall elect two Readers : a male, and a female. One of these individuals shall open the meeting by reading the hymns, and chapter (or portion of the chapter) in the Bible, lead in silent prayer, and repeat in concert with the congregation the Lord's Prayer. . . . The First Reader shall read from my Book, Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures, alternately in response to the congregation, the Spiri- tual interpretation of the I^ord's Prayer ; also shall read all the selections from Science and Health referred to in the Sunday I^essons. The Reader of the Scrip- tures shall name, at each reading, the book, chapter, and verses. The Reader of Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures, shall commence by announcing the full title of this book, with the name of its author, and add in the announcement the Christian Science text-book." At the same time Mrs. Eddy prescribed that ' ' this form shall also be observ^ed at the Communion service." And when she arranged a monthly service for the chil- dren, she desired that " a vSermon shall be preached to igo The Sphere of Religion the children, from selections taken from the Scriptures and Science and Health, especially adapted to the occasion, and read after the manner of the Sunday service." In prescribing the duties of those who are authorized by her to teach Christian Science, she says, " they shall steadily and patiently strive to educate their students in conformity to the unerring wisdom and love of God, and shall enjoin upon them habitually to study His revealed word, the Scriptures, and Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures." Thus we see that whenever Christian Scientists meet together for worship or instruction, the Bible and Science and Health are put by their leader upon equal terms. The objection made by some of her followers that this is not done cannot be allowed. In August, 1906, Mrs. Eddy's book had already reached the 434th edition of one thousand copies each, according to the reports of the Society having the pub- lication in charge, 77,000 copies of the work having been sold the previous year. New editions of the work are constantly being issued to meet the increas- ing demand. At one time the book was published in two volumes, probably in imitation of the Old and New Testaments, but of late it has appeared in one volume, often in heavy Oxford India bible paper. It now con- sists of about 600 pages. A concordance is published to accompany it of about the same size and price as the book itself. The different editions of Science and Health vary greatly in the arrangement of the chapters. There is little or no logical connection between them, and it was probably never intended that there should be any. Each chapter easily stands alone by itself, and each Mrs. Eddy and '' Science and Health "191 chapter sets forth by constant reiteration Mrs. Kddy's fundamental ideas. In many of the later editions the first chapter is entitled Prayer, but some of the earlier editions open with the chapter on The Science of Being, which begins as follows : " In the year 1866 I discovered metaphysical healing, and named it Christian Science. The Principle thereof is divine and apodictical, governing all, and it reveals the grand verity that one erring mind controlling another (through whatever medium) is not Science governed by God, the unerring Mind. "When apparently near the confines of the death valley, I learned certain truths : that all real being is the Divine Mind and idea ; that the Science of Divine Mind demonstrates that Life, Truth, and I^ove are all- powerful and ever-present ; that the opposite of Science and Truth, named Error, is the false supposition of a false sense. This sense is, and involves a belief in, matter that shuts out the true sense of Spirit. The great facts of omnipotence and omnipresence, of Spirit possessing all powers and filling all space,— these facts contradicted forever, to my understanding, the notion that matter can be actual." In this passage Mrs. Eddy describes how she came to discover what she claims to be the way in which Christ regarded this universe, and the ultimate prin- ciple upon which he based all of his labors for the elevation of men. This ultimate principle, she affirms, is the truth that the Divine Mind and its ideas are the only actualities. Hence, every one who holds that the knowledge of Christ is valid knowledge, as she does, is a Christian Scientist, and must maintain that matter in all its forms has no reality. Its alleged existence is an illusion of the senses. Sin, sickness, and death, not 1 92 The Sphere of Religion being ilie ideas of the Divine Mind, cannot have any reality. They are simply the false ideas of our mor- tal minds and are to be banished from our thoughts forever. Mrs. Eddy claims to have received these truths di- rect from Christ. ' ' No human tongue or pen, ' ' she says, "has suggested the contents of Science and Health, nor can tongue or pen overthrow it. Whatever men may now think of it, its truths will remain for the Christ-inspired to discern and follow." Jesus, wherever he went, says Mrs. Eddy, "demon- strated the power of the Divine Science to heal mortal minds and bodies." And it is the greatest need of this age that his disciples should literally follow his command, " Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." This injunction is stamped on the cover of every copy of Science and Health as giving the keynote of its entire contents. These views are reiterated again and again through- out this chapter. Only a page or two beyond the passage first quoted we read : ' ' The only realities are the Divine Mind and its ideas." " Sin, sickness, and death are comprised in a belief in matter." " Because Spirit is real and harmonious, everything inharmonious — sin, sickness, death— is the opposite of Spirit, and must be the contradiction of reality, must be unreal." " Nothing hygienic," says Mrs. Eddy, " can exceed the healing power of mind. By mind alone I have prevented disease, preserved and restored health, healed organic as well as acute ailments in their sever- est forms, elongated shortened limbs, relaxed rigid muscles, restored decaying bones to healthy conditions, brought back the lost substances of the lungs and caused them to resume their proper functions. ' ' Mrs, Eddy and " Science and Health "193 A little farther on, Mrs. Eddy describes what she means by * ' mortal mind " : " Usage classifies both evil and good together as mind ; therefore, to be under- stood, I will call sick and sinful humanity mortal mind, — meaning by this term, the flesh that is opposed to Spirit, human error and evil in contradistinction to Goodness and Truth, Matter is the primitive belief of mortal mind, that has no cognizance of Spirit. To mortal mind substance is matter and evil is good." " Understanding spiritual law, and knowing there is no law of matter, Jesus said : ' These signs shall follow them .that believe : they shall take up serpents ; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall re- cover.' Jesus' promise was perpetual. Had it been given only to his immediate disciples, the Scriptural passage would readjF^z^, not them'' In the chapter on Physiology, Mrs. Eddy affirms that '' Anatomy, physiology, treatises on health, — sus- tained by whatever is termed material law, — are the husbandmen of sickness and disease. It is proverbial that as long as you read medical works you will be sick." *' Because Science is at war with physics, even as Truth is at war with error, the old schools will oppose it. When there were fewer doctors, and less thought was given to sanitary subjects, there were better constitutions and less disease. In olden times whoever heard of dyspepsia, cerebro-spinal meningitis, hay-fever, and rose-cold ? " ' ' What an abuse of nature to say that a rose, the smile of God, can produce suffering. The joy of its presence, its beauty and modesty, should uplift the thought and destroy any possible fever. It is profane to fancy that the sweetness of clover and breath of 1 94 The Sphere of Religion new-mown hay may cause, like snuff, sneezing and nasal pangs." ' ' The primitive privilege, to take no thought about food, left the stomach and bowels free to act in obe- dience to nature, and gave the gospel a chance to be seen in its glorious effects upon the body. A ghostly array of diseases was not kept before the imagination. Fewer books on digestion, and more ' sermons in stone and good in everything ' gave better health and greater longevity to our forefathers. When the mechanism of the human mind goes on undisturbed by fear, selfishness, or malice, disease cannot enter and gain a foothold." ** Shall a regular practitioner," continues Mrs. Eddy, *' treat all the cases of organic disease, and the Chris- tian Scientist lay his hand only on hysteria, hypo- chondria, or hallucination? One disease is no more real than another. All disease is the result of hallu- cination, and can carry its ill effects no further than mortal mind maps out. Facts are stubborn things. Christian Science finds the decided type of acute disease, however severe, quite as ready to yield as the less distinct type and chronic forms of disease^ It handles the most malignant contagion with perfect assurance. ' ' '' You can even educate a healthy horse so far in physiology that he will take cold without his blanket ; whereas the wild animal, left to his instincts, sniffs the wind with delight. Kpizootics] is an evolved ailment, that a natural horse never has." " I have discerned disease in the human mind, and recognized the patient's fear of it, many weeks before the so-called disease made its appearance in the body. Disease being a belief, — a latent creation of mind, be- Mrs. Eddy and " Science and Health " 195 fore it appears as matter, —I am never mistaken in my scientific diagnosis of disease." * ' We walk in the footsteps of Truth and I^ove by following the example of our Master, and having the understanding of metaphysics. Christianity is its basis ; and physiology, that pins our trust to matter instead of God, is directly opposed to it. " " We are Christian Scientists only as we quit our hold upon material things, and grasp the spiritual,— until we have left all for Christ." In the chapter on Imposition and Demonstration Mrs. Eddy says: *%et us rid ourselves of the belief that man is a separate intelligence from God, and obey the unerring principle of Life and Love. Jesus acted boldly against the accredited evidence of the senses, against Pharisaical creeds and practices. He refuted all opponents with his healing power. We never read that Jesus made a diagnosis of a disease, in order to discover some means of healing it. He never asked if it were acute or chronic. He never recommended at- tention to laws of health, never gave drugs, never prayed to know if God were willing that man should live. He understood man to be an immortal, whose life is in God, — not that man has two lives, one to be destroyed and the other to be made indestructible." ''Jesus established his church, and maintained his mission, on the basis of Christian healing. He taught his followers that his religion had a Principle that could cast out errors, and heal both the sick and the sinful. He claimed no intelligence, action, or life separate from God. Despite the persecutions this brought upon him, he used his divine power to save men both bodily and spiritually." "As in Jesus' days, tyranny and pride need to be whipped out of 196 The Sphere of Religion the Temple, while humility and Divine Science are welcomed in." ' ' The Man of Sorrows best understood the nothing- ness of material life and intelligence, and the mighty actuality of all-inclusive Mind. These are the two cardinal points of Mind-healing, or Christian Science. The highest earthly representative of God, speaking of human ability to reflect divine power, prophetically said to his disciples, ' The works that I do shall ye do also.' " The following extracts from the chapter on Healing and Teaching give a fair illustration of its general contents : ' ' Fear is the foundation of all disease. " " Remember that all is Mind. You are only seeing and feeling a belief, whether it be cancer, deformity, consumption, or fracture that you deal with." '' Sickness is a dream from which the patient needs to be awakened." *' In- struct the sick that they are not helpless victims ; but that if they only know how, they can resist disease and ward it off, just as positively as they can a temptation to sin. Instead of blind and calm submission to incip- ient or advanced stages of disease, rise in rebellion against them." " The depraved appetite for alcoholic drinks, tobacco, tea, coffee, opium, is destroyed only by the mastery of Mind over body." " Pufl&ng the obnoxious fumes of tobacco, or chewing a leaf naturally attractive to no animal except to a loathsome worm, is self-evident error." *' Man's enslavement to the most relentless masters — passion, appetite, or malice — is conquered only by a mighty struggle. . . . Here Christian Science is the sovereign panacea, giving to the weak- ness of mortal mind, strength from the immortal and Mrs. Eddy and *' Science and Health " 197 omnipotent Mind, lifting humanity above itself, into purer desires,— even into moral power and good will to man." ''We must have faith in all the sayings of our Master, though they are not included in the teachings of the schools, and not understood generally by our instructors in morality. Jesus said (John viii. 52), ' If a man keep my sayings, he shall never taste of death.' " "If man is never to overcome death, why do the Scriptures say, ' The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death ' ? " ''Sin brought death, and death will disappear with sin. Man is immortal, and the body cannot die, because it has no life of its own. The illusions named death, sickness, and sin are all that can be destroyed." In later editions of Science and Health the chapter on Healing and Practice is somewhat enlarged, and has the title of Christian Science Practice. Among the added instructions Mrs. Eddy gives to her students in it we have the following: ''Until the advancing age admits the efficacy and supremacy of Mind, it is better to leave the adjustment of broken bones and disloca- tions to the fingers of a surgeon, while you confine yourself chiefly to mental reconstruction, and the pre- vention of inflammation or protracted confinement. Christian Science is always the most skilful surgeon, but surgery is the branch of its healing which will be last demonstrated. However, it is but just to say that the author has already in her possession well-authen- ticated records of the cure, by herself and her students, through mental surgery alone, of dislocated joints and spinal vertebrae." The last chapter in many editions of Science and Health is entitled Glossar>s in which is given the 1 98 The Sphere of Religion spiritual meaning that words used in the Scriptures have according to Mrs. Eddy. This meaning varies greatly from that ordinarily accepted. One of her maxims is that * * the literal or material reading is the reading of the carnal mind, which is enmity toward God." Even proper nouns, she claims, do not have in the Bible their usual significance. For example, Euphrates means, '' Divine Science, encompassing the universe and man," *' Metaphysics, taking the place of physics, " " a state of sinless mortal thought. ' ' Eve is defined as "mortality," "a futile belief of life, sub- stance, and intelligence in matter," ''self-imposed folly." And of Adam she says : "Somewhat in this way ought Adam to be thought of: as a dam, an ob- struction, as error opposed to truth, — as standing for that which is accursed, spoiled, or undone." Every- thing in the Scriptures, according to Mrs. Eddy, is misunderstood until it has a spiritual, or what she calls a "metaphysical" interpretation, and this she claims is found alone in her Key. The lyord's Prayer, which she requires to be used in all Christian Science churches, she spiritually inter- prets as follows : " Principle, eternal and harmonious, Nameless and adorable Intelligence, Thou art ever present and supreme. And when this supremacy of Spirit shall appear, the dream of matter will disappear. Give us the understanding of Truth and Love. And loving we shall learn God, and Truth will destroy all error. And lead us unto Eife that is Soul, and deliver us from the errors of sense, sin, sickness, and death. For God is Life, Truth, and Love forever." Mrs, Eddy and *' Science and Health " 199 With this general summary of the contents of Science and Health before us, our next endeavor will be to ascertain what there was, if anything, in Mrs. Eddy's early history that wdll enable us to account for the origin of the book. And the moment we open her autobiography, to which she has given the title Intro- spection and Retrospection, we find that her experiences have always been in her opinion of the most unusual sort. ' ' When I was about eight years old, ' ' she writes, ' ' I repeatedly heard a voice, calling me distinctly by name three times, in an ascending scale." At first the voice frightened her, but as soon as she learned to an- swer the call by replying, ''Speak, I^ord, for thy servant heareth," every fear vanished, and all became peace and joy. In describing her early education she tells us that " at ten years of age I was as famihar with Lindley Murray's Grammar as with the Westminster Catechism; and the latter I had to repeat every Sunday. My favorite studies were Natural Philosophy, Logic, and Moral Science. From my brother Albert I received lessons in the ancient tongues, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin." In accounting for the slight evidence of this knowledge in . her works she says, "After my dis- covery of Christian Science, most of the knowledge I had gleaned from schoolbooks vanished like a dream.'' Just before she was admitted to the Congregational (Trinitarian) Church at the age of twelve, as she tells us in a chapter entitled Theological Reminiscences, " the doctrine of Unconditional Election or Predesti- nation greatly troubled me. . . .So perturbed was I by the thoughts aroused by this erroneous doctrine that the family doctor was summoned and pronounced me stricken with fever. ' ' 2 00 The Sphere of Religion While in this condition, her father, she says, tried his best to convert her to his man-made creed, but to no purpose. On the contrary, " My mother," she con- tinues, ' ' as she bathed my burning temples, bade me lean on God's love, which would give me rest, if I went to Him in prayer, as I was wont to do, seeking His guidance. I prayed ; and a soft glow of ineffable joy came over me. The fever was gone, and I rose and dressed myself, in a normal condition of health. Mother saw this and was glad. The physician mar- velled ; and the ' horrible decree ' of Predestination — as John Calvin rightly called his own tenet — forever lost its power oyer me." Out of this experience and others of a similar char- acter grew Mrs. Kddy's favorite doctrine of the supe- riority of the feminine element in matters of religion. Woman she describes as ** a higher term for man." She alone "gives the full spiritual compound idea of Him who is Life, Truth, and Love." " She is the first to abandon the belief in the material origin of man and to discern spiritual creation." It is this quality of superior spiritual insight that "enables woman to be first to interpret the Scriptures in their true sense." Just as ' ' Jesus was the offspring of Mary's self-conscious communion with God, ' ' so when Divine Science comes into the world, " woman must give it birth. It must be begotten of spirituality, since none but the pure in heart can see God." Mrs. Eddy's doctrine on this subject reaches its climax in the clear intimation, if not the direct asser- tion, that she is herself the woman referred to in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, which opens as follows: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven ; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon Mrs, Eddy and " Science and Health " 201 under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." " When quite a child," she writes, *' we adopted the Graham system for dyspepsia, ate only bread and vege- tables, and drank water. Following this diet for years, we became more dyspeptic, however, and, of course, thought we must diet more rigidly ; so we partook of but one meal in twenty-four hours, and this consisted of a thin slice of bread, about three inches square, without water; our physician not allowing us, with this ample meal, to wet our parched lips for many hours thereafter ; whenever we drank it produced vio- lent retchings. Thus we passed most of our early years, as many can attest, in hunger, pain, weakness, and starvation." Here we find most unmistakably one of the chief sources of Mrs. Eddy's ultra opinions so often reiterated about the futility of any attempt to regain health by following the laws of hygiene, or any prescription based upon material science. From this and similar experiences she says herself that she learned to bid defiance to the "medicine- men." '* Metaphysical Science came in and saved me." " Truth, opening my eyes, relieved my stomach, and I ate without suffering, giving God thanks. " * ' I learned also that food gives no strength or weakness to the body, that mind alone does that. ' ' Mrs. Kddy's birthplace was in the town of Bow, N. H. , in sight of her present home at Pleasant View in Concord, the capital of the State. While she was still a young girl, her parents moved to Tilton, a village eighteen miles north of Concord, adjoining the town of Canterbury, where there was a flourishing settlement of Shakers. From them she undoubtedly received 202 The Sphere of Religion many ideas and suggestions that greatly influenced her tendencies of thought. The doctrine of "divine illumination," for which the Shakers were famous, she must have become familiar with, as it was one of the current topics of conversation in all that region. Her brother Albert worked in the law office of Franklin Pierce (afterward President of the United States), who was counsel for the Shakers, and had charge of an important trial of some of their number in Concord in 1848. Being impelled, as she says herself, ' ' from my very childhood by a hunger and thirst after divine things,— a desire for something higher and better than matter and apart from it," she must certainly have read with avidity the current literature of this '' Church of Jesus Christ and Mother Ann," which she could so easily obtain from any of her neighbors. In it we find the same outbursts against putting confidence in matter that we find in Science and Health. Both the Shakers and Mrs. Eddy reject and almost abhor the literal interpretation of the Bible, and constantly insist that the symbolic interpretation is the only true one. Both affirm that the last dispensation will be one of healing by spiritual means alone. Both teach that the Second Coming of Christ must of necessity be in the form of a woman. In fact, if we should take the declaration of the Shakers, as expressed in their Manual, that * ' Shakerism is the only religious system that teaches Science by Divine Revelation," we should only need to change the first word of the sentence to have a satisfactory statement of Mrs. Eddy's claim. Mother Ann's personal experiences must have made a deep impression upon Mrs. Eddy, and their lives have much in common. Mrs. Ann I^ee Stanley, who Mrs, Eddy and '* Science and Health " 203 had succeeded to the leadership of the Shaking Quakers in England, came to this country with a few of her fol- lowers in 1774, and settled in Watervliet, New York, a few miles from Albany. She was acknowledged as a ''Mother in Christ" by her devotees, and early as- sumed the title of " Ann, the Word." She believed that she was constantly inspired from on high, and that she had the power to work miracles. A civil charge was brought against her for high treason and witchcraft, and for some years she was imprisoned at Albany and Poughkeepsie. The result of this alleged persecution was that her followers rapidly multiplied. Settlements were formed in New Hampshire, Connect- icut, Ohio, and other States to carry out her doctrines. After her death it was asserted by many of her followers that messages were received from her both orally and in writing. Both Ann Lee and Mrs. Eddy early in life had their heavenly visions. Their extraordinary ascetic practices were very similar, and their views about marriage and the motherhood of God were strik- ingly ahke. They both taught their followers to apply to them *'the endearing term of mother," and they both claimed the possession of superhuman powers. For these and other reasons, the evidence is most decisive that the influence of the one upon the other was direct and intimate. In 1843 Mrs. Eddy married her first husband, a Mr. Glover, of Charleston, South Carolina, but he died the following year, and she returned to the paternal roof in Tilton to take up afresh her search for health. ''I wandered," she says, "through the dim mazes of Materia Medica, till I was weary of 'scientific guessing,' as it has been called. I sought knowledge from the different schools— Allopathy, HomcEopathy, 204 The Sphere of Religion Hydropathy, Electricity, and from various humbugs — but without receiving satisfaction. . . . Neither ancient nor modern philosophy could clear the clouds, or give one distinct statement of the spiritual Science of Mind-healing. Human reason was not equal to it.'* Another experience that furnished Mrs. Eddy with much material for Science and Health was her sojourn in the sanitarium of P. P. Quimby, a noted mental healer of Portland, Maine. For many years after her second marriage to Dr. Patterson, she remained an in- valid, and no relief came to her aid until in 1862 she was taken for treatment to Portland. For seven years previous to her going to Quimby, she says in a letter quoted by Dr. Riley in his valuable article on "The Personal Sources of Christian Science ' ' {Psychol. Rev. , Nov., 1903), " I was confined to my bed with a severe illness and seldom left my bed or room." So much did he help her that "in less than one week," accord- ing to her own statement, she " ascended by a stairway of one hundred and eighty-two steps to the dome of the City Hall," and was almost entirely well. Quimby' s method of treatment is thus described in one of his circulars of 1859 : " I make no outward ap- plication, but simply sit by the patient, tell him what he thinks is his disease, and my explanation is the cure. If I succeed in correcting his errors, I change the fluids of his system and establish the truth or health. The truth is the cure." Mr. Quimby died the year before Mrs. Eddy made what she calls her " Great Discovery," that all is mind and mind is all. Of the parallelisms between Mrs. Eddy's views as found in Science and Health and Quimby' s, Dr. Riley in the article quoted above writes as follows : " At first sight Eddyism might seem noth- Mrs. Eddy and '' Science and Health " 205 ing but Quimbyism. He taught a 'Science of Health ' ; she wrote ' Science and Health ' ; both em- ployed the term Christian Science. Again, Mrs. Eddy has her reversed statements, propositions which are offered as self-evident because they read backward. She propounds this concatenation : ' There is no pain in Truth, and no Truth in pain ; no matter in mind, and no mind in matter ; no nerve in Intelligence, and no Intelligence in nerve ; no matter in Spirit, and no Spirit in matter.' Similar patent reversibles are to be found in Quimby's ' Science of Man ' : ' Error is sick- ness, Truth is health ; Error is matter. Truth is God ; God is right, error is wrong.' " It is beyond reasonable doubt that both Mr. Quimby and Mrs. Eddy got many of their ideas from the books in common circulation in their day dealing with the subjects in which they had a deep personal interest. And it is nothing to their discredit that such was the case. Durant's New Theory of Animal Magnetism, with a Key to the Mysteries, was a book that then had many readers. Dr. Dod's book on the Philo- sophy of Electrical Psychology must have been fre- quently at hand, to say nothing of Grimes's Mys- teries of Human Nature, of which almost everybody in that day had something to say pro or con. Furthermore, Mrs. Eddy repeatedly refers to her experiences with Homoeopathy as greatly influencing her views. "I found," she says, in her chapter on Introspection and Retrospection, " in the two hundred and sixty-two remedies enumerated by Jahr, one per- vading secret,— namely, that the less material medicine we have, and the more mind, the better the work is done ; a fact which seems to prove the principle of Mind-healing. One drop of the thirtieth attenuation 2o6 The sphere of Religion of Natrum Muriaticum, in a tumblerful of water, and one teaspoonful of the water mixed with the faith of ages, would cure patients not affected by a larger dose." With these numerous sources to draw from, we can- not admit Mrs. Eddy's assertion that what she calls "The Precious Volume" is ''hopelessly original," and that all other systems of mental healing are pla- giarisms from it. Much less can we assent to her pre- posterous claim when she says : * ' I should blush to write of Science and Health, with Key to the Scrip- tures, as I have done, were it of human origin, and I, apart from God, its author ; but as I was only a scribe, echoing the harmonies of Heaven in divine meta- physics, I cannot be supermodest of the Christian Science text-book. ' ' The work before us plainly grew up out of Mrs. Eddy's peculiar experiences and environment. It is the product of the application of her own natural powers to the data thus acquired, and its value ought to be determined by just the same tests as we apply to all similar products, namely, by the success with which it accounts for all the actual facts. Now nothing is better established by observation and experiment than that the mind under certain condi- tions can to a remarkable degree affect the activities of the body. Great mental excitement has often made people insensible to what would otherwise have been excruciating pain. Paralytics in numerous in- stances have risen from their beds and fled unaided from burning buildings. Many persons have brought on sickness and death by the morbid dread of certain diseases. Others have maintained themselves in health and strength against extraordinary odds by a cheerful Mrs. Eddy and " Science and Health " 207 and hopeful spirit. These facts have been noted almost from the dawn of history, and are made use of to-day by the Hottentots of South Africa as well as by the most refined and cultivated people of the globe. As Professor Angell has expressed it in his excellent discussion of " Christian Science from a Psychologist's Point of View" (77?- For individuality, as Caillard has so clearly pointed out, always has a double aspect, an outer and an inner. The outer is open to scientific investigation. Its phenomena are capable of being classified under their appropriate heads. But the inner does not yield itself to this treatment. It stands by itself. It is known only to the man himself. It is the bane of science, be- cause it cannot be generalized. When ma7i is treated solely from the external point of view, he is merely a bundle of impressions, a stream of conscious experi- ences, as Hume and Huxley regard him. But this course ignores the principal thing about man, which is the in- ternal aspect of his individuality, his self-knowledge, which is intuitive, incommunicable to another, stands out alone by itself, and separates him from all other known existences. It is this aspect of man that takes the problem of his future destiny out of the sphere of science, and takes man out of the category of all other organisms open to our knowledge. 358 The Sphere of Religion The ground for the existence of all lower organisms seems to terminate with death. They find in the visible order of things all the opportunity for develop- ment that their powers require, and they die from the natural exhaustion of those powers. The function of man is different. He never is contented with his at- tainments. He always knows that he could do more and better under more favorable conditions. The more highly educated and cultured he becomes, the more vividly does he realize how limited he is, and how far he falls short of his possibilities. He is always looking to the future, always forming ideals of what he ought to do and become. This ability to idealize himself and everything about him creates a presumption that he will survive death, that his developed but unused powers will not be for- ever annihilated by the sudden cessation of the beat- ing of the heart. Of course this presumption, derived from the origin and nature of man, that he is destined to a continuation of life beyond the present, is bassd simply on the ground that he is fitted to survive the present. It does not establish the fact of such survi- val. It only furnishes a reasonable expectation, which should be taken into consideration in making our esti- mate of what probably is to be from what now is and what has been. It is to be noted, however, that this presumption of a future life for man is far different and far stronger than the one often derived from the history of insect life. When the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, it leaves its encasement behind it to be resolved into its elements, but it does not take on powers that cannot find their opportunity for a full development in its new sphere. Man, from the very fact of being a man, Human Immortality ^^g possesses such powers, and the more developed he is the more he realizes how much he is hampered and curtailed in their use. One of the chief objections to this presumption comes from physiological psychology, and arises from the well-established relation of the mind to the brain. Everybody knows that a blow on the head will destroy memory and produce a state of semi-consciousness, that imbecility is due to an arrest of brain develop- ment, and that drugs can very quickly change the character of one's ideas by producing an overstimula- tion of the cells of the brain. Anatomists, physiolo- gists, and pathologists agree not only that thought is a function of the brain, but that special forms of thought are connected with special portions of the brain. Our thoughts about things seen are connected with the occipital lobe, about things heard with the temporal lobe, and when we speak we use a portion of the frontal lobe. All intelligent students of the subject recognize the fact that our minds are absolutely de- pendent, so far as we know them, upon the brain. Hence the question inevitably arises, how can there be any rational ground for belief in a life hereafter when science has taught almost every schoolboy the fact that the gray matter of the brain is the seat of all our mental powers ? Admitting in every detail the intimate connection of our minds with our bodies, there are at least three dif- ferent theories that may be taken to account for this relation. One of these theories is well stated and ably maintained by K. Duhring, when he says: ''The phenomena of consciousness correspond, element for element, to the operations of special parts of the brain. ... So far as life extends, we have before us only an 360 The Sphere of Religion organic function, not a Ding-an-sich, or an expression of that imaginarj^ entity, the Soul. This fundamental proposition . . . carries with it the denial of the im- mortalit}^ of the soul, since where no soul exists, its mortality or immortality cannot be raised as a ques- tion." This ma}^ well be called the production theory of the relation of mind and body. Professor Clifford ably champions the combination theory and considers the theory incompatible with in- dividual immortality. " Consciousness," he says, "is not a simple thing, but a complex ; it is the combina- tion of feelings into a stream. . . . Inexorable facts connect our consciousness with this body that we know ; and that not merely as a whole, but the parts of it are connected severally with parts of our brain- action. If there is any similar connection with a spir- itual body, it only follows that the spiritual body must die with the natural one." But there is a third theory of this relation open to our choice, namely the transmission theory, which Professor James has recently elaborated. ' ' When we think of the law that thought is a function of the brain," he says, " we are not required to think of pro- ductive function only ; we are entitled also to consider permissive or transmissive function. And this the or- dinary psycho-physiologist leaves out of his account. ' ' According to this latter view, he goes on to say, "our soul's life, as we here know it, would none the less in literal strictness be the function of the brain. The brain would be the independent variable, the mind would vary dependently on it." As this permissive theory fully accounts for all the facts as well as either of the other theories, we are justified in adopting it as the true theory, and in holding that the inherent Human Immortality 361 probabilit}^ of man's continuous existence after death is not set aside by any known interdependence of mind and body. But the probability in favor of the continuance of human personality after death is greatly increased when we come to consider the constitution of the uni- verse and the evidences that exist there of a rational plan or purpose. Astronomy, geology, biology, psychology, and all the other sciences, as well as philosophy itself, would perish if the rationality of the universe should be denied or seriously doubted. If man did not take it for granted that his mind was rationally constructed, and could, under the guidance of the laws of thought, detect fal- lacies in his own mental processes and the processes of others, he would never undertake the formation of a science. Nor would he undertake it if he did not as- sume that the universe is capable of being understood by the application of those laws. Otherwise all motive for scientific study would be wanting. The very idea of making the attempt to comprehend things scientifi- cally would never enter the mind. Every human being would be as listless and indifierent to the nobler aspects of the universe around him as a brute. The moment the mind begins to see the order that reigns in nature, it must assert that this order exists for an intelligible end. Now the assumption of human immortality fits in with this teleological view of the universe. It fills out that view and helps to give it a solid basis. Otherwise, the highest known products of the universe — rational beings and their ideals — have no permanent place in the system of things. In assuming a future life we merely maintain that the same rational end which holds good in this present 362 The sphere of Religion world will hold good in another ; that what we see to be rational before death will be rational after. The survival of personality is based upon the implication that the opportunity for realizing perfection offered in the present order of things will not be annihilated almost at the very moment when it begins to be attained. All sound ethics in our present life requires that we should regard a self-conscious being as of far higher value than any form of matter. It demands with no uncertain voice that we reverence personality above impersonal force. Is it, then, too much to say that no ethics can show itself rational without ascribing at least the same degree of reality and permanence to per- sonality as science everywhere ascribes to mere matter .-* In the light of our present knowledge the three great postulates of a rational theory of the universe are the conservation of physical energy, the indestructibility of matter, and the conservation of personality. Each of these postulates requires the other two to give us a harmonious survey of the entire field of investigation that is open to our view. But the presumption of a future life for man is after all chiefly dependent upon our conception of the nature and character of God. The existence of a Supreme Be- ing is here assumed, and so is also the view that this Supreme Being is a Person. It would, of course, be too great a diversion from our present purpose to at- tempt any statement of the grounds for these assump- tions. But granting their truthfulness, it is not difficult to see that the probability of human immor- tality is greatly affected by the character of this Being, and will rise or fall according as we believe or disbelieve in his moral trustworthiness. Huma7i Immoj^tality 363 The perfect goodness of the Supreme Being is evi- dently not capable of demonstration, but it is the only ground upon which we can account for all the good in the world and hope for a good issue from all the evil. Human life cannot be understood without it. If God is the Father of mankind, as well as the Creator, the total of human history has some rational significance. And just as we base our belief in the hypotheses of science upon the completeness of their working, so we should assume the moral perfection or infinite goodness of the Supreme Being from the order and hope that flow from it. If we grant this goodness, then the endless life of man follows as a necessary corollary. For if God is infinitely wise and good, he will not annihilate man at death, cutting him off in the infancy of his powers. The reason and conscience in God will find their permanent expression in the reason and conscience of man. God will seek in man, possessed to some extent of like powers with himself, perpetual fellowship. For man is continually finding himself able, with ever-in- creasing approximation to the truth, to ''think the thoughts of God after him." This implies that the human and divine have, to some extent, a common nature ; just as man's power, partially at least, to transcend in thought the temporal implies some relation to the eternal. It is hard to see how any being thus capable of entering into ethical re- lationship with God could drop out of existence without occasioning a definite loss to God, leaving a void in his experience that no other being could fill. Each finite human person is a unique ethical being of far more worth to God than he is to himself. No other creature can take j ust the place he takes in his 364 The Sphere of Religion relationship to God. The value of man is, therefore, beyond all human calculation. For he is not only de- rived from God and sustained by him, but he is the reflex of his own infinite powers. How can we pos- sibly regard death as the termination of this relation- ship ? Must it rather not be a mere incident in the earthly system of things, of no significance outside the physical order with which alone it is concerned ? This doctrine of the natural immortality of man is, of course, no new thing in history. On the contrary, it has been strongly maintained by many of the greatest thinkers of our race. Plato held that birth and death are but phases of the same life flowing out from and returning to the fountain of Being, that our powers for discovering the order of the world declare our divine origin. Origen, one of the greatest intellects of his age, stoutly upholds the endless life of man. Death, he declares, has no power over the soul, for it existed before time in the invisible world of spirits and is kin- dred in essence to God himself. Berkeley cannot find anywhere in this universe a hint that death is the decay of spirit, for spirit is self-active, unchanging in its na- ture, and absolutely permanent. Variation and decay are foreign to its very essence. It is doubtful if a more solid piece of reasoning in favor of a future life for man has ever been constructed than that set forth by Bishop Butler. He does not at- tempt to demonstrate human immortality, but to point out its inherent probability, and to show why a wise man will shape his life in accordance with it. His ar- gument is based upon the fundamental maxim that whatever exists now will presumably exist forever un- less it can be made evident that something fatal to that Human Im^nortality 365 existence stands in the way. If it cannot be shown that death is the destruction of the soul, the fact that the soul exists now constitutes a strong probability that nothing will destroy it, and that it is endowed with an endless life. To Kant the sublimest fact in the consciousness of man is duty. In it he finds the explanation of human life and the pledge of immortality. Duty requires per- fect conformity to the moral law, but perfect conformity in this life is an impossibility. All that can be done is to start toward the goal which will require an endless future for its complete realization. But the Highest who gave the law and commands man to attain it will see that the means are provided, and will confer upon him an everlasting life. Such are a few of the utterances upon this subject by the leading minds of the past, and the matter has by no means been neglected by the thinkers of the pres- ent. Indeed, within the past few years in our own country, to say nothing of other lands, many of our ablest intellectual leaders— Roy ce, Gordon, Fiske, and others— have given the matter their profoundest thought, and there is a substantial agreement among them that man is destined to an immortal life. The more we know of this present life the more vivid and definite does this conviction come to be. It has always been true that Hfe has brought immortality to light just in proportion as it has come to realize its own dignity and put a just estimate upon its own worth. The doctrine of human immortality in the past has often been associated with grossly sensual conceptions and radically false ideals. Some, in their extreme ad- vocacy of " other worldliness," have fallen little short 366 The Sphere of Religion of making earth a hell, in order to merit heaven. The notion of a future life commonly entertained in our day- is derived from the dark ages, and partakes of the nar- rowness and ignorance of man and nature characteristic of that period. Enlightened people of the present gen- eration, with their ever-broadening field of knowledge, have little use for such a view. Moreover, it is unques- tionably true that our actual duties lie in our present environment, and anything is a blessing that will keep man sufiiciently in the dark regarding his future des- tiny to force him to attend properly to his daily terres- trial tasks. What can be more unwise and futile than to spend our time in preaching to the immortal souls of men, while we do nothing to relieve the distress and anguish of their mortal bodies ? In a certain sense it is true that if we live up to the demands of the Golden Rule in the life that now is, the future will take care of itself. But, after all, how can we properly conform to this rule without some knowledge of the true range and bearing of the present life ? If the existence of our- selves and of all other persons, past, present, and to come, is limited to the world that now is, that fact must vastly affect our conception of our present duties. A thousand and one enterprises for the advancement of mankind in knowledge and virtue will not be en- tered upon at all if this is taken as our standpoint. We could not tolerate the slow progress and bitter dis- appointments that we know would inevitably be our lot. The unrest and overeagerness for results which now often impede individual development and retard the cause of social regeneration, would be immensely lessened if more emphasis were put upon the larger hope, the wider outlook. The gloom of our personal Hummi Immortality ^.tl bereavements, and the shock that comes with the first consciousness of the decay of our natural powers, the sufferings of the incurably diseased, the horrors en- dured by the victims of war and pestilence, and the long catalogue of ills due to the ignorance and the neglect, the oppression and the despair, of mankind would not cut the nerve of manly endeavor half so fre- quently as they now do, if eternity, instead of time, were taken as our point of view. The apathy often apparent in the Christian church concerning -the life everlasting " is not due so much to histoncal criticism of the ground of its belief, or the lack of scientific proof of its position, as to the low ideal that is generally taken of what that life is. When we think of it as we have a right to think of it, not simply as a condition of freedom from the cares and sorrows and turmoils of the world, a state of merely passive contemplation, but one where all healthful and normal capacities will be utilized, where whatever of intellectual and emotional and moral power we pos- sess will be completely and joyfully employed, we will impart a dignity and significance to the present life that cannot :fail to be the source of untold inspiration to manly effort, and a perpetual foundation of mental serenity and peace. CHAPTER XI. THK PRKSKNT-DAY CONCEPTION OF GOD. John Fiske, in his little book on The Idea of God, writing of the different conceptions of the Deity that have prevailed at various times in the course of histor>% gives us in some detail his own first conception of him. " I imagined," he says, " a narrow office just over the zenith, with a tall standing desk running lengthwise, upon which lay several open ledgers bound in coarse leather. There was no roof over this office, and the walls rose scarcely five feet from the floor, so that a person standing at the desk could look out over the whole world. There were two persons at the desk, and one of them, a tall slender man, of aquiline features, wearing spectacles, with a pen in his hand and one behind his ear — was God. The other, whose appear- ance I do not distinctly recall, was an attendant angel. Both were diligently watching the deeds of men and recording them in the ledgers." Something like this childish conception of God dominates the thinking of all undeveloped people, and even the early Christians were much affected by it. For they could not help being immensely influenced by the form of government with which they came in daily contact. Almost without exception they came to regard God as a great celestial monarch. In the Roman system, with which alone they were familiar, the Emperor was the mysterious source of all authority 368 The Present-Day Conception of God 369 and power. He ruled by arbitrary fiats. These he first made known to his immediate subordinates, and they in turn proclaimed them to their lieutenants, whose mission it was to communicate them to the people at large and see to it that they were implicitly obeyed. When the Roman empire went to pieces its place was taken in almost every particular by the Roman Church, the officials of the former being supplanted by the officials of the latter ; at the same time the leaders of the church took upon themselves even more ex- tended powers. Long before the beginning of the Middle Ages the ecclesiastical system had reached such a degree of development and had secured such a strong hold upon the people that practically no one thought of approaching God except through a long line of church officials reaching from the curate up to the Pope. In the early part of the fifth century Augustine came into prominence in the church, and his superior abilities almost at once placed him in the foremost rank as the mouthpiece of the system. Hence it is to him that we are to look for the medieval conception of God and the ideas of man and the world that are con- nected with it. Augustine' s two great books, The Con- fessions and The City of God, are the chief sources of our knowledge of his views. The former was written about 400 and the second completed in 426. From the study of these books we find that Augustine thought of God as a great Imperial Czar, who after an infinitely long period of inaction determined to create a world. This he did some four thousand years before the Christian era, and made it out of nothing in six natu- ral days. 24 3 70 The Sphere of Religion He first created the angels. They are the " light " referred to in the Scriptures as God's first act. Some of them immediately rebelled against him and set up a rival kingdom under their leader Satan. Then he created the material universe, and when it was finished everything in it was essentially just as it is at present. Adam, the first man, he made out of the dust of the earth, and endowed him with every conceivable per- fection both of mind and body. But Adam sinned and God cast him out of the garden in which he had placed him, and left him to care for himself. Before doing it, however, God cursed the ground, and caused it to bring forth thorns and thistles, so that Adam should be compelled to earn his bread by hard labor until the time came for him to return to the dust out of which he had been formed. Voluntarily depraved and justly condemned for disobeying the commands of his Maker, Adam begot depraved and condemned children. For, as Augustine argues, we were all in him, when "all of us " consisted of him alone ; and as his nature was stained by sin, God gave him and all his posterity over to corruption and death, just as any earthly potentate would do in case a sub- ject rebelled against him and refused to conform his conduct to the behests of his lord. But God was not to have his purpose in creating a world thus summarily brought to naught. He deter- mined to institute a system of grace by which he could withdraw a portion of the human race from the general ruin ; and to do this he sent his Son into the w^orld to pay the needed ransom. As man had had nothing to do with effecting this reconciliation, the selection of those who were to be benefited by it rested solely with God. There thus arose alongside of the earthly state of man The Present-Day Co7iception of God 3 7 the istate or city of God. Those in the latter were to reign eternally with God, while those in the former were to suffer eternal punishment with the Devil. Augustine combats with vigor those who hold that God would be acting unjustly to punish all men forever regardless of their efforts to love and serve him. On the contrary he maintains that God is perfectly justified in conferring his "irresistible grace" upon those he chooses without reference to their present conduct, as monuments of his mercy, while he leaves the majority to eternal damnation as the monuments of his justice. The church, says Augustine, prays for all men, but if she knew with certainty who the persons are that are predestined by God "to go into the eternal fire with the Devil ' ' she would no more pray for them than for the Devil. Although this conception of God as a Celestial Czar advocated by Augustine was generally accepted by the recognized leaders of the church during the Middle Ages, yet Anselm, the famous Archbishop of Canter- bury, some six centuries after the time of Augustine, did much to strengthen it by his book entitled. Cur Deiis Homo ? or Why did God Become Man f In this book he assumes practically all of Augus- tine's positions, but objects to the view held before his time by such leaders as Origen, Ambrosius, Leo the Great, and many others, that God sent his Son into the world as a ransom to the Devil. His own view was that incarnation follows of necessity, if God adopts a method of salvation at all. For sin against God is an offence of infinite degree and demands an infinite satisfaction. In spite of his goodness God cannot pardon sin without compounding his honor. He must, therefore, 372 The Sphere of Religion either destroy humanity entirely or inflict upon it the eternal punishment of hell. There is only one way for God to escape from this dilemma, and that is by taking upon himself this punishment. For man is a finite being and incapable of rendering to God an infinite satisfaction. However long he might be punished it would all be of no avail. If, therefore, God is to save at all, he must become man in Christ, and Christ must sufier and die as our substitute. Christ having thus laid up a storehouse of infinite merit and acquired the right to a corresponding recompense, God assigns this recompense to that part of the human race that was to be forgiven and restored to divine favor. The first noticeable signs of any discontent with these medieval views of God appeared a few genera- tions after the time of Anselm in a work published by Peter I^ombard, Bishop of Paris, entitled. Four Books of Sentences. The work was chiefly a collection of quotations from the church Fatheis, but in some of his commentaries on the doctrines laid down in these quo- tations, the author naively propounded such questions as the following : If God made heaven and earth at the same time out of nothing, where was he before there was any heaven ? Could God have made things better than they are ? What kind of bodies do angels have, and in what form do they appear to men ? Why was Eve taken from the side of Adam and not from some other part of his body? Why was she made while Adam was asleep ? Would all men live forever on this earth if Adam had not sinned? Would chil- dren have come into the world full-grown as Adam and Eve did ? Why did not God incarnate himself in a woman instead of a man ? No real attempt was made by lyombard to answer The Present-Day Conception of God 373 these questions, and the raising of them does not appear to have shaken his faith or that of his readers, so far as we know, in the conception of God as a Celestial Czar, nor did all the upheavals of the Reformation have any effect in that direction. For the Protestants did not differ from the Catholics on this matter. The only question between them was : What is the source of our authority for the view ? The one said the church and the Bible, and the other looked to the Bible alone. It was not till the last century that any real opposi- tion to the medieval conception of God appeared in history, and then not in the ranks of the church, but from a source quite outside of its sphere of influence. The first attack upon this conception came from the students of geology. They began to investigate the question whether God actually made the earth in six natural days about four thousand years before the Christian era. There is little or no doubt in our time but that the earth very gradually came into its present form and has been in existence many times six thousand years. The arguments for this view are derived chiefly from two sources, the facts now known concerning the cooling of the earth to reach its present status, and those concerning the changes that have occurred in the heat of the sun. For the sun and all its planets were once one common mass of gaseous matter, and the process of separation and of becoming what they now are must be accounted for. G. K. Gilbert, of the United States Geological Survey, has well expressed the probable facts in the matter. ''Estimates of the earth's age," he says, "based on geological data have ranged from ten or twenty million years to as many billion years. I^imits derived from the refrigeration of the earth range from twenty million 374 'r^^ Sphere of Religiojt to four hundred million years. The limiting period determined by the sun is estimated at from ten to twenty million years." The next attack upon the medieval conception of God came from anthropology. Down to a very recent period it was universally believed that God made man in the full perfection of all his powers, that he first ap- peared in Central Asia, and that the entire human race has descended from one pair. Now many think that the human race has arisen from many centres, and some careful students would claim Southern Europe or Northern Africa as the oldest of them all. President Warren of Boston Universit}^ has written an able book entitled. The North Pole — The Cradle of the Human Race, The exact place of man's first appearance is still unsettled, but few if any investigators of to-day take exception to the statement of J. W. Powell, late Director of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, when he says: " Investigations in archaeology have now made it clear that man was distributed throughout the habitable world at some very remote time or times in the lowest stage of human culture, when men employed stone tools and other agencies of industry of a like lowly character, and that from this rude condition men have progressed in culture everywhere, but some to a much greater degree than others. The linguistic evidence comes in to sustain the conclusions reached by archaeol- ogy ; for a study of the languages of the world leads to the conclusion that they were developed in a multi- plicity of centres. ' ' The biology of to-day is strongly opposed to the medi- eval view. It teaches us that all organisms are made of a combination of cells and have grown up from a single The Present-Day Conception of God 375 microscopic cell. It cannot admit that God made man de novo out of the dust of the earth, but it holds thatman has ascended from the lower animals and has come into existence after untold ages of the existence of other forms of life upon this planet. The recent study of history has also contributed to show the defects of this view. God has not confined himself to the Jewish people alone . Other nations great and mighty have existed on this earth, such as the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, and have per- formed a useful mission. Plato and Aristotle have con- tributed to the civilization of the world as truly as Moses and Isaiah. God has manifested himself in some degree among all peoples, and has not left any of them utterly without a witness of his existence and care. Modern astronomy in particular requires a different conception of God to account for its extraordinary reve- lations. Our planet is now known to be '' but a speck in the order of creation, and every other science besides astronomy is concerned with what is going on upon this little speck of matter. ' ' The discoveries made possible by the telescope are extending the universe step by step into the domains of infinity. It is now established that although the orbit the earth makes in its annual jour- ney around the sun is one hundred and eighty-six mil- lion miles in diameter, it would hardly be noticed when seen from the nearest fixed star. Then, too, each of the innumerable hosts of fixed stars is not merely a point of light- in the heavens, but a sun with its possible retinue of inhabited planets. The famous astronomer Prof. Simon Newcomb sums up a description of the stellar universe by saying : " It is composed of an unknown host of stars, certainly more than fifty million, mostly scattered in irregular 376 The sphere of Religion aggregations forming the Milky Way, while many are aggregated in yet closer clusters, some of which are situated within the Milky Way and some without it, and of a number of enormous masses of incandescent gases situated at unknown distances. Our sun is simply one of these fifty million stars, without, so far as we know, any mark to distinguish him among his fellows. He is rather smaller than the average ; re- moved to one million times his present distance, which is probably the average distance of the stars of the first magnitude, he would shine only as a star of the third or fourth magnitude." But not only so. Spectrum analysis teaches us that all this vast collection of worlds is composed of essen- tially the same elements as exist upon the earth, and that essentially the same combinations of these elements are taking place in other parts of this universe as take place here. Consequently we have every right to claim that the same forces are at work to-day as have been at work in all tbe countless ages of the past ; that creation is going on to-day just as truly and just as extensively as at any time in the past. All that we know about the universe leads us to assert that it is one, and that the same force pervades it all. We have no data for hold- ing that there ever was a time when a Celestial Czar, enthroned in the heavens, created matter and force out of nothing. God has not set up a system of laws to govern the universe, leaving them to operate themselves with here and there an occasional interference. As John Fiske well states it : " Paley's simile of the watch is no longer applicable to such a world as this. It must be replaced by the simile of the flower. The universe is not a machine, but an organism, with an in- dwelling principle of life. It was not made, but it has The Present-Day Conception of God 377 grown." It is not too much to say that this change in our conception of the universe marks the greatest revo- lution that has ever occurred in the history of human thought, and demands a corresponding change in our conception of God if we are going to make it fit in with present knowledge. One of the chief differences between the medieval conception of God and that of to-day concerns the sources of the data out of which it is to be formed. In medieval times it was held that all our knowledge of God came through a supernatural revelation. It was assumed that man had no way of finding out anything about him ; and that unless God himself should choose to come in and make himself known to him, he would perish in utter ignorance of the existence and powers of such a Being. But God did choose, it was claimed, to reveal himself exclusively to the fathers of the Jewish people, and through them this knowledge has been transmitted to us. The view of to-day is that we get our ideas of God from what we know of the universe about us, and from what we know about ourselves. And the data that have been accumulated during the last few generations on these matters have been so vast that we can well say with Dr. Edward Caird i^The Evolutioji of Religion, vol. i., p. 138) that "human knowledge will belie all its past history, if the new light upon man's relation to the world and to his fellow-men, which science is every day bringing to us, does not give occasion to a new solution or interpretation of the idea of God." From the study of the universe we learn that the various forms of nature have come into existence one after another through the workings of an all-pervading and persistent Force. The harmony of nature is not 378 The Sphere of Religion something imposed upon it by some power outside of itself, but is inherent in its very being. The concep- tion of matter as inert or dead is entirely outgrown. Everything is quivering with energy, and all the mo- tions of matter are manifestations of Force to which the notion of beginning and end can in no way be applied. The modern doctrines of the indestructibility of matter and the continuity of motion are simply two aspects of the fundamental truth of the persistency of Force. The most common, but at the same time most im- pressive illustration that can be given of this unity of nature, as every one admits who stops to reflect upon the matter, is the luminiferous ether. For one can no longer talk of empty space. Every portion of space is filled with a " cosmic jelly " of almost infinite elasticity and hardness. Yet it does not interfere in any percep- tible way with the motions of even the most insignifi- cant of the heavenly bodies. Undulations that we call heat, hght, magnetism, electricity, and the like, radi- ating from millions of centre points, run along this substance, crossing each other in every conceivable direction ; and although this has been going on for- ever, so far as we know, we have no evidence that the harmony of the motions in the universe has ever been in the least disturbed thereby. Now all these considerations should have a funda- mental influence upon our conception of God. We should see that this Infinite Eternal Energy from which all things proceed, and which forever sustains everything that is, and keeps each part of the universe in perfect accord with every other part, is a primary factor in this conception. We should freely admit with Origen and Cousin that we have no other way of think- ing about the relation of God to the world than by The Present'Day Conception of God 379 aflfirming, as they did, that " God is no more without a world than a world is without God. ' ' Probably no writer more clearly and concisely ex- presses this truth as seen in the light of present knowledge than Herbert Spencer when he says : ' * Amid the mysteries which become the more mysterious the more they are thought about, there will remain this one absolute certainty, that we are ever in the presence of an Infinite Kternal Energy from which all things proceed." This conception of God prevents us from regarding him as the great First Cause ; for he is the one without whom nothing is and with whom every- thing is. He is the only Cause, and there are in nature no secondary causes. The ancient Hebrews were literally correct in say- ing : " He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap. He layeth up the depth in storehouses. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man. He looketh on the earth and it trembleth. He toucheth the hills and they smoke." They went to the very bottom of the subject, though perhaps they were far wiser than they knew, when they spoke of God as the one "who coverest thyself with light as with a garment ; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain ; who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters ; who maketh the clouds his chariot ; who walketh upon the wings of the wind." Every act of nature is the direct act of God. God is in nature and in all of it. Its laws are simply his ways of working. God is, therefore, never to be thought of as afar off. He is present in every stone and leaf and flower at every moment. As Tennyson says in his poem on "The Higher Pantheism " : "The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills, and the plains, Are 380 The Sphere of Religion not these, O soul, the vision of Him who reigns? . . . Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands or feet." There is, therefore, no room for a distinction in this universe between the natural and the supernatural. We can apply either word to all that takes place, but not both words. The truth requires us to assert that all the phenomena of nature are of the same sort. God is in all phenomena, and if there were no God we should have no phenomena. God is all the time changing the forms of his manifestation. The phe- nomena of yesterday are not the phenomena of to-day. In other words, God never stops creating. As Lyman Abbott keeps reiterating, every day is a creating day, and every new leaf or sprig or flower is a new creation. From the history of the development of life upon this planet, and especially from the life of man, we learn that there is another element that should also enter into our conception of God, namely, that the Infinite Eternal Energy in the universe is a Power that makes for righteousness. There is a progress in the events that are constantly going on, and this progress shows a righteous plan or purpose about us. This is clearly discernible in the arrangements nature has made for the production of higher forms of life out of lower. All the chief stages of this progress are now depicted with such detail that he who runs may read, and the grand consummation towards which all organic evolu- tion is tending is the production of the highest form of psychical life. This has gone on, it is true, through countless ages of toil and trouble, but it has now pro- gressed so far that the glory of the end or purpose admits of no reasonable doubt. Under the sway of natural law those organisms have The Preseiit-Day Conception of God 381 survived that were fitted to bring about what we now know to be a fact, namely, that higher and higher in- dividuals appeared upon the scene of action, endowed with capacities for an increasingly varied and richer Hfe. All the dramas of life and death that took place during the ages of geologic history led up to the appearance of such organisms, so that, as another expresses it, "the whole scheme was teleological, and each single act of natural selection had a teleological meaning." The existence of an end or plan or pur- pose in the universe was never so evident as in the light of present knowledge. It is, however, only the form of the argument for a design in the universe that has changed in recent times, not the argument itself. The old natural tlieology represented by Paley insisted, as we have seen, upon the simile of the watch. Mod- ern thought supplants that with the simile of the flower, which makes the argument for design a thou- sand-fold more wonderful and impressive. For it depends chiefly for its cogency upon the phenomena of life. Never before in history has the reasonableness in the world been so evident as it is now. For never before has there been such a flood of light thrown upon the origin and nature of man as now. His existence is now seen to be due to a change in the working of natural selection, as John Fiske has so clearly pointed out. Before his time physical variations w^ere selected and psychical variations ignored. Then came a time when the situation changed. Psychical variations were selected and physical variations ignored. The long infancy of man made the family possible, and the family led to human society with the beginnings of political, moral, and religious ideas and sentiments. 382 The Sphere of Religion Man with these ideas and sentiments became a dif- ferent being from all lower creatures, not only in degree but kind, and capable of a progress to which we can set no conceivable limits. All the forms of life below man use their energy to develop their physical powers. They always carry out the motto : Eat and drink for the glory of the body. With man began the process of using the body for the life of the soul. He is capable of following the injunction, Whether ye eat or drink, do all for the glory of the spirit. He can, therefore, develop to ever-increasing degrees of perfection. Thus man is seen to be the crown and glory of the universe, and his moral discipline its ultimate ground or end. In other words, the universe is so constructed that a rational plan dominates in it. The power that it re- veals makes for righteousness. And we have no other way of properly accounting for this power than by looking upon it as one of the essential elements in our conception of God. No people ever had such an appreciation of this power in the universe that makes for righteousness, as the ancient Hebrews. ' ' The word righteousness, ' ' as Matthew Arnold has well pointed out, ' ' is the master- word of the Old Testament." And he might have added it is the master-word of the New Testament also. The Old Testament writers are constantly exhorting their readers to adopt ''the way of the righteous." Sinners shall not stand "in the congregation of the righteous." Instead of observing meaningless cere- monials as others did around them, they were ex- horted to "offer sacrifices of righteousness." "The way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death." And from the outset of their his- tory they keep asserting of God, " Shall not the judge The Present-Day Conception of God 383 of all the earth do right ? " "A God of truth, just and right is he. " * ' Righteousness, ' ' they declare, ' ' is the habitation of his throne. " ''The righteous I^ord loveth righteousness ; his countenance doth behold the up- right.' ' The primary injunction of the New Testament is of a similar import : "Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness." The gospel itself is declared to be ''the word of righteousness," and in the world to come we are told it is the righteous who "shall shine forth as the sun." If we think of God as in our day we have a right to think of him, we shall say that he is the Infinite Eter- nal Energy from which all things proceed, and that he is the Power in the universe from which all righteous- ness proceeds. But these two aspects of God, important as they are, only lead us on to a third aspect, namely, the aspect of him as a knowing, feeling, and willing being; our study of the phenomena of nature discloses to us in part what God is. The study of the phenomena of human history adds still further data about him. And proceeding in exactly the same way, we have to look to the mental operations going on in the universe for still more light on the subject. Beings that know, and feel, and will, have come forth from God. He must, therefore, be adequate to their production ; whatever else that is higher he may be capable of doing, he must be capable of knowing, feeling, and willing. We have certainly just as good ground for holding that God produces man with all his powers as that he produces the tree or the flower. We are scientifically justified in maintaining that God knows what is going on in the universe and feels an interest in it. We may, therefore, truly say that God 384 The Sphere of Religion is "the Beginning and End of all knowledge," and that he is the "master-light of all our seeing" ; for every truth is one of his thoughts. If there were no God there would be no truth, nothing for us to know, and consequently no opportunity to feel or to do. We cannot know anything that God does not know, and we have no powers for willing what he cannot will. There is a sense in which man is in the image of God and God is in the image of man, although the two propositions are not identical. The Greek and Roman mythology grossly exaggerated the latter view and the Hebrews often misinterpreted the former. All we as- sert here is that God is capable of doing all that man can do. Whether he has any other mental powers, it is beyond us to say. At all events, we certainly have no right to put upon him the limitations to the exercise of his powers that we everywhere find imposed upon ourselves. We have no reason for believing, however, that he ever contradicts himself and acts in one capa- city in such a way as to nullify what he does in another, as we sometimes do. While every new manifestation that God may make of himself in the future will shed new light on what he is, the highest form under which he has already mani- fested himself of which we have any knowledge is that of a Father. For human fatherhood, rightly un- derstood, is the highest of all his products. For this reason our highest conception of God is that of a Father, and we ought to fashion all of our notions of him in accordance with this point of view. That Jesus did this and exhorted his disciples to do it, places him above all other teachers of any time or country. Not only does the model prayer he taught his disciples show this, but from the beginning to the The Present-Day Conception of God 385 end of his ministry he was constantly asserting to his followers that God was his Father and their Father. All anybody had to do, he says, to lead a righteous life, is to do the will of the Father. Even his famous parable of the Prodigal Son is chiefly intended to show the love of the Father. It is entirely safe to say that if we could once adequately comprehend what is meant by the statement, God is our Father, we should have all the theology we need, all we are capable of apprehending with our present powers. In the light of this conception of God we see how radically the old medieval view of things must be changed. We have already disposed of its notion of creation out of nothing, and have shown how its as- sumption of a strict line of division between the super- natural and the natural, between a special and a general Providence, must disappear with God as the one only cause of all that is, and the one who always pro- ceeds in a regular and orderly way to accomplish his purpose. Now this conception of God as our Father reveals the fact that he always loves his children. There never was a time when he did not love them and was not ready to forgive them when they went astray. He has alwaj^s been saying to those who disobey him, * * Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways , for why will ye die ? " We have every reason for believing that it has always been literally true that like as a father pitieth his children so the Lord pities us when we hurt ourselves by sinning. Hence we must hold that he did not send his Son into the world to make it possible for him to forgive. Forgiveness is a natural act and is constantly going on in the material world as well as the human. The forces of nature are always striving to 386 The Sphere of Religion heal wounds and make up for injuries. Man is ever intently searching for nature's remedies, and his great ambition is to find a way by which he can apply them, and give nature a chance to do her normal work. It did not require any ransom to be paid for sin to induce God to look with favor upon his erring children and allow them to come back. The mission of Jesus, therefore, was not to reconcile God to man, to change God's attitude toward his children, but to inspire in man greater love and devotion to God. Nor was it his work to take away the penalty of wrong-doing, but to help on the abandonment of sinful living. He never claimed to do the former, but constantly spoke of himself as giving his life for the remission of sins. Jesus is the great inspirer of man to holiness of life, because he showed sinful man that God always loved him, and how he ought to conduct himself in order to enjoy his love and favor. He is the representative to us, under human conditions and limitations, of God our Father. He is not the same as God, but a manifesta- tion of God. God is more than the sum-total of his manifestations just as a man is more than the sum-total of his thoughts. Therefore, we should think of God as more than Jesus, who was the highest form of his manifestation of which we have any knowledge. Furthermore, when we think of Jesus as manifesting to us the Father, we should not attribute to him a divinity different from that of our divinity. To do so dishonors God. We are as truly sons of God as he was. There are not several different kinds of divinity^ but one kind only. Jesus differed from us in the de- gree to which he manifested the Father and in the purity and holiness of his life. He lived the kind of a life he did because of the conditions of his time. He The Present- Day Conception of God 387 suffered because a father always suffers if the one he loves goes astray. Love always sacrifices itself for the object loved if any need arises for so doing. Jesus suffered not to vindicate God's laws, but to reveal God to man and to make known God's love for him even in his sins. God being our Father, we have every reason to suppose that he will do all in his power to disclose his interest in his children, that he will show them by concrete example, and not merely by precepts and commands, how to live the highest life possible un- der human conditions and Hmitations. This Jesus did and he had the right to say of himself, '' I am the way, the truth, and the life. ' ' We ought not, however, to think of God as having incarnated himself once for all two thousand years ago. He is all the time incarnating himself in human his- tory. We cannot set any limit to the possible forms of his incarnation in the future. We have gone as far as we have any right to go when we say that Jesus was sent into the world ''that he might be the first born among many brethren. ' ' Because he has shown us the mind and heart of God beyond any other being that has appeared in history we have the right to regard him as embodying our highest conception of God, and to praise and reverence him for what he has done in our behalf. INDEX Abraham, 111-113, 124 A.cts of the Apostles, 137 Ahriman, 98 Ahura-Mazda, 98 Ancestor worship, 21^23 Angell, President, on ances- tor worship in China, 271 Angell, Professor, on Chris- tian Science, 207 Anselm's conception of God, 369-371 Anthropomorphism in re- ligion, 36 Aphrodite, 90 Apollo, 85, 86 Apostles' Creed described, 345-347 Architecture and its relation to religion, 234, 242-244 Ares, 87 Aristotle, 286, 338 Art and its relation to re- ligion, 231-235, 242-255 Artemis, 90 Assyria, its relation to Baby- lonia, 51 Athene, 89 Augustine's conception of God, 371, 372 B Babylonians, their sacred tablets, 37-51 Bacon, Professor, 120 Baldwin, S. E., on relation of religion to history, 265, 267 Berkeley on human immor- tality, 364 Blavatsky, Madame H. P., 210-216, 225-227 Bleek, 119 Bluntschli on the modern state, 329, 330 Book of the Dead, 52-60 Brahma, meaning of, 64 Briggs, Professor, 120 Brinton, D. G., on the uni- versality of religion, 14; on joyousness in primitive re- ligions, 17; on primitive architecture, 243; on belief in immortality, 354 Brooks, Phillips, on the mis- sion of art, 255 Buddha, Gautama, 100-102 Butler, Bishop, on the sphere of probability, 342 ; on immortality, 364 Butler, President, on the definition of education, c Caird, Edward, definition of religion, 10; evolution of religion, 14; idea of God, 377 Calvin, John, on education, 297, 298 Ceres, 91, 92 Cheyne, 119, 125 Chinese classics, 71-77 Christian scriptures, 131- 142; how they originated, 142-150 Christianity and education, 290-306 Church, the, and property, 307-319; see Property; re- lation to state, 320-337; see State. 389 390 Index Cicero on Roman education, 289 Clarke, James Freeman, on the religion of the Greeks, 78; on Zoroaster, 100; on Buddhism, 105 Clifford, Professor, on im- mortality, 360 Code of Hammurabi, 47-51 Code of Manu, 65-67 Comenius and education, 301 Comte quoted, 244 Confucius, 71-77 Creation, Babylonish account of, 42 D Daniel, book of, 128, 129 Demeter, 91, 92 Dewey, John, on the defini- tion of education, 305 Diana, 90 Dreams and religion, 12 Driver, 119 E Eddy, Mrs. Mary Baker G., 199-206 Education and religion, 278- 306; among the Egyptians, 280; the Babylonians, 280, 281; the Hebrews, 281, 282; the Hindus, 282; the Persians, 282, 283; the Chinese, 283, 284; the Greeks, 284-287; the Ro- mans, 287-290; the Chris- tians, 290-306 Egyptian Book of the Dead, 52-60 Eichhorn, 119 Erasmus, 296 Exodus, 1 1 3-1 1 5 ; and how it originated, 121 F Ferguson on tree and ser- pent worship, 19, 20 Fetishism, 18-21 Fine arts, their nature and relation to religion, 232- 255 Fiske, John, on the basis of religion, 5; immortality, 365; idea of God, 368; argument from design, 376, 377; human selection, 381 Flood, the, Babylonish ac- count of, 43-46 Froebel and education, 302, ^o^ G Gautama Buddha, 100-102 Genesis, described, 108-113; how it originated, 120, 121 Giddings, Professor, on an- cestor worship, 22; on fellow-feeling as a cause in social phenomena, 273 Gilbert, G. K., on the age of the earth, 373, 374 God, the present-day con- ception of, 368-387; the child's conception, 368; the medieval conception as represented by Augustine, 369, 371; by Anselm, 371, 372; the modern concep- tion as affected by geology, 373. 374; by anthropology, 374; by biology, 374, 375; by astronomy, 375, 376; the conception as Infinite Eternal Energy, 378-380; as a Power that makes for righteousness, 380, 383; as a Father, 383-387 Graf, 119 Granger, Frank, on joyous- ness in early religion, 17 Guizot on religion and civili- zation, 256; on origin of democracy in Europe, 264 H Hague Peace Conference, ori- gin of, 275 Index 391 Hammurabi, code of, 47-51 Harnack, Professor, on the place of church history, 257 Harris, President, on changes in reHgious thought, 303 Hebrew bible, described, 107- 119; its origin, 1 19-130 Hephaestos, 86, 87 Heraclitus, 92 Hermes, 87, 88 Hesiod, 77, 81-84 Hestia, 91 Hexateuch, 122 History and religion, 256-277 Holzinger, 119 Homer, 77-79 Home, H. H., on^the defini- tion of education, 303 Huxley, on the basis of re- ligion, 5; on education, 303 Hyslop, Professor, referred to, 352 Iliad, described, 77-80; its origin, 81 Imagination in religion, 36 Immortality, human, 352- 367; recent doubts on the subject, 352; primitive be- liefs concerning it, 353, 354; a question of proba- bihty, 354, 355; argument from the nature and origin of man, 355-361 ; from the rationality of the universe, 361, 362; from the charac- ter of God, 362-364 Isaiah, described, 118, 119; its origin, 126, 127 Isis Unveiled, 217-224 Jackson, A. V. Williams, re- ferred to, 94, 96 James, epistle of, 141, 143 James, William, definition of education, 303; on im- mortality, 360, 361 Jastrow, Professor, on ances- tor worship, 23; on origin of civilization, 279 Jesuits, 299, 300 Jesus, mission of, 386, 387 John, epistles of, 141, 144 John's gospel, 135, 137, 146- 148 Joyousness in primitive re- ligion, 17 Juno, 88, 89 Jupiter, 84, 85 K Kant on human immortality, 365 Kent, Professor, quoted, 120 Knox, John, on education, 298 Koran, described, 150-160; its origin, 162-164 Kuenen, Professor, 119 Lanman, Professor, quoted, 63 Lares, 288 Last Judgment according to the Egyptians, 56, 57 Latter Day Saints, 179 Laurie, S. S., quoted, 278, 286,287 Layard, Sir Austin Henry, exploration at Nineveh, 39 Leuba, Professor, on im- mortality, 352 Liberty, religious, the parent of political, 263, 264 Linn, W. A., on the Mormons, 180, 181 Locke, John, on probability in life, 348 Lodge, Sir Oliver, on the reign of law, 257; on the sphere of religion, 304 Lubbock, Sir John, on the universality of religion, 13; on serpent worshij^, 20 392 Index Lucretius on dreams and re- ligion, 1 6 Luke's gospel, 134, 135, 144- 146 Luther, on the divine author- ity of rulers, 259, 260; on education, 297-299 Lyon, D. G., quoted, 40 M Mark's gospel, 133, 134, 144- 146 Mars, 87 Matthew's gospel, 1 31-133; its origin, 144, 145 Melanchthon and education, 298, 299 Mencius, 76 Mercury, 87, 88 Minerva, 89 Mitchell, Professor, 120 Mivart, St. George, 336 Mohammed, 160-165 Monotheism, 30-34 Mormon, Book of, 165-177; its origin, 180, 181 Moses, 113-115, 123, 124; as a schoolmaster, 281 Mother Ann, 202, 203 Miiller, Max, on sky worship, 25, 26; on Buddhism, 105, 106; on Madame Bla vat- sky, 227-229 Munroe, Professor, quoted, 291, 292, 297, 305 N Nature worship, 23-28 Negative Confession of the Egyptians, 57 Neptune, 85 NewcomlD, Simon, on the stellar universe, 375, 376 New Testament, described, 132-142; its origin, 142- 150 Nineveh, explorations at, 39 Nirvana, 106, 107 O Olcott, H. S., and Madame Blavatsky, 213-217 Origen on immortality, 364 Ormazd, 98 Osiris, 55-57 Ostler, William, on immor- tality, 352 Painting and its relation to religion, 234, 235, 247-250 Paley, 376 Paul's epistles, 1 37-141, 142- 144 Penates, 288 Pentateuch, 122 Pericles, 285 Pestalozzi and education, 301, 302 Peter, epistles of, 141, 144 Peters, John C, explorations in Babylonia, 39 Petronius on fear in religion, 16 Pfleiderer on the basis of religion, 9 PhilHmore, Sir R., on the basis of international law, 272, 273 Plato on immortality, 364 Poetry and its relation to re- ligion, 235, 252-255 Polytheism, 28-30 Poseidon, 85 Property and the church, 307-319; what is not and what is the ultimate ground of the right to property, 307-309; the state as the ultimate con- troller of the sources of property, 310, 311; of the mode of its acquisition, 311, 312; of its uses, 313; of its transfer and descent, 314-316; the church in the United States can control its regulation, 318, 319 Index 393 Proverbs, book of, 117; its origin, 125 Psalms, book of, 1 1 6, 1 1 7 ; its origin, 125, 126 Rawlinson, Sir Henry, ex- plorations in Babylonia, 39 Religion, what it is, 1-12; not identical with belief in superhuman spirits, 3-5 ; or in human immortality, 5, 6; or in one personal God, 6, 7; or with certain feelings, 7,. 8; or with cer- tain acts of the will, 8, 9; it concerns the whole of man as a knowing, feeling, and willing being, 9-12; the steps in its evolution are: spiritism, 15-18; fe- tishism, 18-21; ancestor worship, 21-23 ; nature wor- ship, 23-28; polytheism, 28-30; monotheism, 30- 34; its relation to the fine arts, 241-255; to history, 256-277; to education, 278-306 Revelation, book of, 142; its origin, 148-150 Rice, Professor, on faith in science, 350, 351 Rig-Veda described, 62-64 Riley, I. W., on Mormonism, 180, 184, 185; on Christian Science, 204, 205 Royce on immortality, 365 Sabbath, Babylonish account of its origin, 42, 43 Sacred books and their ori- gin, 37-232 Schiller, F. C. S., on im- mortality, 352, 353 . Schleiermacher on the basis of religion, 8 Science and Health, de- scribed, 188-198; its origin, 199-206 Sculpture and religion, 234, 244-247 Shamanism, 40 Smith, George Adam, 119, 125 Smith, Joseph, 181-188 Smith, Robertson, 17, 119 Spencer, Herbert, on uni- versality of rehgion, 13; on ancestor worship, 23; on education, 303; on idea of God, 379 Spinoza on the basis of religion, 6 Spiritism, 15-18 State, the modern, and the church, 320-337; necessity of recognizing a relation between them, 322; the four great theories of this relation stated and criti- cised, 322-328; the true theory, 328, 329; the re- lation in the United States explained, 333-337 Tennyson's idea of God, 379, 380 Theology, the scientific method in, 3 3 8-3 5 1 ; the sci- entific method described, 238-342; all generaliza- tions are probable only, 342-345; hence must be in theology, 345-3 5 ^ Theosophy, its present status in the United States, 230, 231. See Isis Unveiled. Toy, Professor, 119 Triad of the Egyptians, 55 Tribune, New York, on the Casablanca uprising, 269, 270 Trinity of the Hindus, 64 Tripitaka described, 100-104 394 Index Tylor, E, B., on the basis of religion, 4 Vedantis, 67 Vedas of the Hindus, 60-71 Venus, 90 Vesta, 91 Vestal virgins, 288 Von Ranke, 2 85 Vulcan, 86, 87 W Ward, Lester H., on the basis of religion, 8, 9 Weber on the relation of re- ligion to history, 277 Wellhausen, 119 White, Andrew D., on Ger- many's religious inheri- tance, 264 Yoga system described, 67- 69 Young, Brigham, on the Book of Mormon, 179 Zeus, 84, 85 Zoroaster, 9 5-100 Zwingli, 298 •^ Selection from the Catalogue of G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Complete Catalogues sent on application By Frank Sargent Hoffman, Ph.D. Professor in Union College THE SPHERE OF THE STATE Or, The People as a Body Politic Cr. 8vo. $1.50 " Professor Hoffman has done an excellent piece of work. 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