Ancient Faiths And Modern Part 12

Those who love nothing and hate nothing have no fetters."

212. "From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear, he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear."

213-6. "From affection comes grief and fear, from l.u.s.t comes grief and fear, from love comes grief and fear, from greed comes grief and fear."

"He who is free from affection, l.u.s.t, love, and greed, knows neither grief nor fear." "He that loveth either father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that loveth son or daughter better than me is not worthy of me, and he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt. x. 37-39). "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the l.u.s.t of the flesh, and the l.u.s.t of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world pa.s.seth away and the l.u.s.t thereof, but he that doeth the will of G.o.d abideth for ever" (1 John ii. 15-17).

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it; for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt, xvi. 24). See also Mark viii. 34, x. 21, and Luke ix. 23-25, in the last verse of which the saying is varied by the words being used "what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself, or be cast away?" We are by habit more familiar with the style in which the Grecians wrote, than with that adopted by Sanscrit authors. But in both sets of writers the main idea is made strikingly apparent--viz., that to love anybody or anything on earth is prejudicial to our spiritual welfare, and that to act piously, it is necessary for the saint to free himself wholly from those instinctive affections which G.o.d has implanted in almost every one of his creatures. It is strange that any two ministers could have excogitated so monstrous a proposition, and that both should be called "Divine."

The effect of the teaching of Buddha and of Jesus was to draw many from their hearth whose duty, in our estimation, was clearly to remain at home, and endeavour to cherish and support their family. I enter my strong protest as an Englishman, as well as individual Christian, against the idea that a man who believes himself a disciple of the son of Mary must go abroad to teach and preach, or become an ascetic, a hermit, or a monk, and leave his wife and children to be cared for by his friends or the parish. I believe most strongly that our affections are implanted in us by our Maker, just as a mother's love exists alike in the tigress and the eagle, and that any religion which teaches us that we must overcome these propensities, is a false one. It is strange, to say the least of it, that both the son of Maya and of Mary should have promulgated such a doctrine--i.e., that religion is designed to make our pleasures less, and our miseries greater. It is perhaps too much to a.s.sert that no other form of faith, besides those which have sprung from Buddha and from Jesus, possesses such a tenet as that to which we refer; but we can safely affirm that we do not know of any in which the natural affections existing between parents and children, husband and wife, brothers and sisters, have not been cultivated as a portion of the duties to be fulfilled by the faithful.

It is scarcely necessary to call attention to the resemblance which the doctrine in question bears to that which was promulgated by the Grecian "Stoics"; and the similitude is still farther increased by such a sentence as the following in the Dhammapada:--

221. "Let a man leave anger, let him forsake pride, let him overcome all bondage! No sufferings befall the man who is not attached to either body or soul, and who calls nothing his own."

Once more we see a close resemblance between Buddhism and the Bible in

223. "Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good, let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth." "If thine enemy be hungry give him bread to eat, and if he be thirsty give him water to drink," (Prov. xxv. 21). But the motive for this recommendation to the Jews is a vindictive one, for he is told that by so doing he will heap coals of fire upon his enemy's head, whilst the Lord will take care to reward the deed to the doer. In the epistle to the Romans this saying of the Proverbs is endorsed, and to it is added "Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. xii. 20, 21).

224. "Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked, from the little thou hast--by those steps thou wilt go near the G.o.ds."

"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee, bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart; so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of G.o.d and man" (Prov. iii. 3-4); "Wherefore, putting away lying, let every man speak the truth with his neighbour"

(Eph. iv. 25). We scarcely can find, in the Old Testament, a strict parallel with the Buddhist precept, "do not yield to anger," for the Jewish scriptures, without exception, depict their G.o.d as giving way habitually to wrath, anger, and revenge--e.g., in Ps. vii. 11, we find it stated that Elohim is angry with the wicked every day. Again, in Isaiah v. 25, we read, "for all this, G.o.d's anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still;" Job iv. 9, By G.o.d's anger they are consumed; "To pour out upon them my fierce anger," (Zeph. iii. 8). There are, however, a few pa.s.sages which inculcate upon men the propriety of a command over their temper. In Ps. x.x.xvii. 8, for example, we read, "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath," and in Proverbs xxvii. 4, "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous," whilst "the Preacher" says, Eccles.

vii. 9, "Anger resteth in the bosom of fools," and in xi. 10, "remove anger or sorrow from thy heart." In the Gospel we have a somewhat divided teaching. For example, we find, from Mark iii. 5, that Jesus himself indulged in anger, when he was vexed at what he thought the hardness of his hearers' hearts; and from his saying, in Matt. v. 22, "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment," it is clear that the son of Mary approved of anger which had a cause. Again, we find, in Eph. iv. 26, "Be ye angry and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath," as if anger were not a culpable weakness, or pa.s.sion, if only indulged in during the daylight.

Yet, in the thirty-first verse of the same chapter we read, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger.... be put away from you," and in Col.

iii. 8, the putting away of anger is spoken of as an evidence of being regenerated.

Of the duty of almsgiving we find much in the Bible, but we will content ourselves with the following pa.s.sages:--"Charge them who are rich in this world that they be ready to give, and glad to distribute, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may attain eternal life" (1 Tim. vi. 17-19). Quoted from the Communion Service in the Prayer-book--"To do good, and to distribute, forget not; for with such sacrifices G.o.d is well pleased." "Be merciful after thy power. If thou hast much, give plenteously; if thou hast little, do thy diligence gladly to give of that little, for so gatherest thou thyself a good reward in the day of necessity" (Prayer-book version of certain precepts in Tobit, chap. iv. 8, 9). If our readers will take the trouble to consult the entire chapter in Tobit, they will readily conceive that it was written by a Buddhist sage, instead of an ordinary Jew.

Once more we turn to the Dhammapada, and find--

231, 234. "Beware of bodily anger, and control thy body. Leave the sins of the body, and with thy body practise virtue; control thy tongue; leave the sins of the tongue, and practise virtue with thy tongue; leave the sins of the mind, and practise virtue with thy mind."

This reference to the sins of the tongue, and the necessity for its control, recals to our mind the opinion expressed in the epistle of James, "If any one bridleth not his tongue, this man's religion is vain"

(chap, i. 26); "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity," &c.; "the tongue can no man tame," &c. (chap. iii. w. 5-10); and the verse, "I said, I will take heed io my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me" (Ps. x.x.xix.

1).

The next maxim to which I would direct attention is one which should be pondered deeply by all those who desire to become thoroughly civilized.

So far as I know, its like cannot be found in any part of the Bible. It runs thus--

243. "There is a taint worse than all taints, ignorance is the greatest taint."

If we search our own scriptures for a parallel pa.s.sage, we can only find that ignorance is inculcated, and with the express intention of preventing the mind from departing from the old into some new track--see, for example, Dent. xii. 30, where the Jews are enjoined not to inquire after the G.o.ds of other nations, lest they should adopt them: again, in Deut. iv. 19, the Hebrews are enjoined not to study or gain any information respecting the sun, moon, and stars, lest they should worship them. But Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, is even a more conspicuous advocate of ignorance, when he a.s.serts that G.o.d hath chosen the foolish things [--Greek--] of the world to confound the wise (1 Cor. i. vv. 19-28). "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding.... oppositions of science falsely so called, which some professing have erred concerning the faith" (1 Tim. vi. 20, 21). Many, indeed, who call themselves civilized Christians, aver that, where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be wise, a tenet held strongly by Mahometans, Papists, and Ritualists.

That the dictum of Paul in the text last quoted has had a a most disastrous effect upon civilization, no one who is conversant with history can fairly deny. Neither can it be shown that any known religion, except Buddhism, has opposed itself to ignorance. In every nation the rulers in general, and the priesthood in particular, have, on the other hand, encouraged indolence of mind, lest the people should learn wisdom and shake off their thraldom. We have seen, in our own times, hierarchs of every denomination oppose the spread of science, not falsely so called, with the avowed intention of endeavouring to bolster up doctrines, dogmas, and a.s.sertions, which they feel sure true science will destroy, although the same people declare their tenets indestructible, and founded on truth. Nay, we may go still further, and a.s.sert that sciolism in religious matters is fostered by the clergy of all denominations, both by the suppression of what they believe to be genuine, and by the promulgation of what they know to be false. In the place of knowledge they inculcate blind faith.

As one not wholly unknown to be an earnest and honest inquirer, I have had extensive correspondence and personal intercourse with many preachers, and with others whose opportunities for learning "the clerical mind" are more extensive than my own, and I may divide the body of religious ministers, and the laity as well, into the following cla.s.ses:--1, Those who refuse to inquire, examine, and think about religious subjects, except in a certain prescribed way; 2, Those who will investigate into the grounds of their belief, as they would into any doubtful a.s.sertion, or into any science; 3, Those who individually abandon the old faith and yet continue to preach it, and profess to adhere to it as strongly as they did at first; 4, Those who venture timidly to insinuate doubts into the minds of others, whilst professing to be orthodox themselves; 5, Those who are too n.o.ble to be hypocrites, and boldly affirm that which their advance of knowledge has induced them to adopt as a belief. Yet these very men, distinguished above their fellows for earnestness, for science, for honesty of purpose, a religiously ignorant priesthood persecutes; and Englishmen, who wish to be regarded as peculiarly "enlightened," stand by almost unmoved, or, as happens too frequently, applauding.

When we endeavour to ascertain the reason why ignorance is so greatly cherished amongst mankind, we can readily discover it in indolence on the part of one group of men, and cupidity on the part of others. There are many positions in life wherein Sciolism seems to be more profitable than knowledge. We may mention a few. A "solicitor" who has an imperfect acquaintance with the law, may induce his clients to bring cases before various legal courts, in which they are certain to lose their cause and money, but this solicitor gains large fees for his trouble. A physician who does not know how to cure certain diseases may yet treat them for months, pa.s.s for a devoted doctor and a clever friend, and receive a large honorarium, which is far beyond his merit, though the patient may think it far too small. The man, on the other hand, who can cure such complaints readily, has to be content with a very slender fee, as his attendance is only required for a few days. The schemers, who live upon the ignorance of dupes, bear the name of legion. We see one of the body as a promoter of all sorts of bubble companies, and as secretary to such societies as banks, trade unions, burial clubs, a.s.surances, &c. Anon he takes the form of an adulterator of provisions, of various drinkables, of cloth, silk, linen, &c. If Sciolism were not common, such charlatans as "spiritualists," "clairvoyants," "mesmerists," and the like, could not thrive as they do, nor quacks of all kinds flourish famously. One medical pretender is indeed reported to have said to a "regular" doctor, who lived in the same street with him, but whose clients were few compared with those of the charlatan--"the reason why you have so small, and I have so large, a number of patients is, that the fools come to me, the knowing ones to you."

What is true in the case of other professions is preeminently so in the clerical In religion, such as it is professed in Christendom, Sciolism, or imperfect knowledge, alone is lucrative. Real understanding, diffused amongst the people, would render every hierophant a beggar, and thorough enlightenment amongst the priesthood would force them to allow that such should be their normal position. For example, if every layman, in countries owning the spiritual headship of the Pope of Rome, knew that all the stories of Heaven, Purgatory, h.e.l.l, Angels, Saints, Confessors, Hermits, and the like, were absolutely baseless--if he knew that man has no power in the court of the Almighty to influence His will in favour of a congener, and that nothing whatever is known respecting the world beyond the grave--he would not order ma.s.ses, whether high or low, and a host of other ceremonies, each of which has to be paid for. Or, if each Protestant knew, that every tenet preached to him from the pulpit is founded upon absolute ignorance of the Almighty's operations, that every doctrine, every prayer, and every ritual, is based upon fantastic, half savage, or semicivilized human ideas, he would recognize at once the total uselessness of the parson. "They that are whole need not the physician, but they that are sick." The doctor, knowing this, endeavours, when he has a chance, to induce a client to believe himself ill, and that he and no other man can cure him--or, if he should really be disordered, these ideas will be kept up as long as possible. So it is in "religion," it is only the culprit that wants the Saviour, but when he has a chance, the _soi disant_ saviour tries to persuade those who consult him, that they are sinners, yet that he can make them saints; and having once implanted this belief, he endeavours to sustain it. To doctors and priests such as we here describe, the ignorant credulity of their clients is a source of wealth. So long as there are dupes there will be sharpers, and so long as men are human, there will be, unconsciously very likely to themselves, abundance of both fools and knaves.

From what has been already said, our readers will have probably drawn the conclusion that we deny the existence of a thoroughly educated and honest hierarch, who has become wealthy by the exercise of his profession in a perfectly conscientious manner. Exceptional circ.u.mstances prevent us saying exactly the same of a doctor, but into these we need not enter, as they have not their counterparts in divinity. Such being our belief, we recognize the fact that poverty and knowledge must, in an earnest priesthood, be ever a.s.sociated. But the clergy of every denomination are loath to agree to this, and endeavour, by hook or by crook, to acquire the means of living well.

Hence Buddha, who was thoroughly honest himself, and did not become a preacher for the sake of emolument or a livelihood, adopted, as part of his plan, a systematic estrangement from every luxury of whatever sort,--or, in other words, the adoption of a poverty as great as exists in the lower animals. He enjoined that the saintly teacher, having food and raiment of the most homely kind, ought therewith to be content. This was Paul's view also--see 1 Tim. vi. 8. In this teaching the son of Mary concurred; like the son of Maya, he "had not where to lay his head," he had not even such a home as a fox or a bird (Matt, viii. 20), and when he sent out his disciples to preach, his direction to them was, "Take nothing for your journey" (Luke ix. 3, see also Matt, vi. 25-28). To sum up our remarks upon this particular command of Buddha to avoid the taint of ignorance, we may frame an axiom in political economy, thus--"Ignorance in the many ensures wealth in a few," or, "A diffusion of sound knowledge amongst the ruled, reduces the power and the emoluments of the rulers, and compels them to work hard if they wish to retain their position." To apply this idea still further, I would add that a thoroughly educated people, each one of whom feels that he must "work out his own salvation" (Phil ii. 12), does not require a priesthood. Consequently hierarchs, whose sole business in this world seems to be to instil terror into young minds, and to make rules for them to break, that priests may be paid for showing how the imaginary results may be escaped, would have no place if men were wise and thoughtful. It is a curious, though a certain fact, that the depth of savagery and the height of civilization alike ignore the necessity of a hierarchy. The first does so because it never thinks of G.o.d--the second, because its conceptions of the Almighty are such that it cannot believe Him to be influenced by individuals who a.s.sume to be His earthly vicegerents, or are elected to that pretentious situation by their fellow-men. The G.o.d of the Bible can only be adored by individuals whose minds are not emanc.i.p.ated wholly from the thraldom of barbarism, and who regard Jehovah as a man, and not a good one either, or, as we have before remarked--a devil. We may once more extract some sentences for comparison, to show, either that no inspiration was necessary to pen the Bible, or that the Dhammapada has equal claims with the Old Testament--

244. "Life is easy to live for a man who is without shame, a crow hero, a mischief maker, an insulting, bold, and wretched fellow. But life is hard to live for a modest man, who always looks for what is pure, who is disinterested, quiet, spotless, and intelligent. O man, know this, that the unrestrained are in a bad state; take care that greediness and vice do not bring thee to grief for a long time."

Compare this with the Psalmist's expression--"I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked, for there are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm; they are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men; therefore pride compa.s.seth them about as a chain, violence covereth them as a garment, their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish.... these are the unG.o.dly who prosper in the world, they increase in riches.... Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors" (Ps.

lxxiii. 3-19.) "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green tree that groweth in his own soil, yet he pa.s.sed away, and lo! he was not, yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together, the end of the wicked shall be cut off." "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the gra.s.s, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and, verily, thou shalt be fed" (Ps. x.x.xvii. 35-38--1-3). The cla.s.s of sentiments is the same in both, only they seem to differ because we are very familiar with the phraseology of the Bible, and the reverse with translations from the Sanskrit.

At this point the philosopher may judiciously pause to inquire, whether the sentiments expressed in the preceding biblical quotations are not incorrect, and consequently whether they can be regarded as inspired; and whether the Buddhistic solution of the difficulty, which points to a future state, is not superior to the Jewish one which treats of this world only. Experience abundantly shows that individuals practising what is called "goodness" find it no safeguard against misery, starvation, tortures, and death. Jesus of Nazareth, his disciples, and vast numbers of his followers, have experienced from the dominant party in those states wherein they dwelled contumely, reproach, and hours of lingering torment. Louis the XIV. of France, and the New Englanders of America, alike persecuted "Protestants" and "Quakers." In Spain "the reformers"

were successfully opposed by fire and sword, and Papal Italy once extirpated from her midst the disciples of Luther and Calvin. Yet the so-called wrong-doers flourished, and the unfortunate "good people" were run down or dragooned with a sudden and swift destruction. If the dictum of the Psalmist is right, then Admiral Coligny, who was killed in the Bartholomew ma.s.sacre, at Paris, must have been a bad man put in a slippery place that he might fall, for his destruction came suddenly, in an instant. But all history shows him to have been a worthy fellow, who was punished for his virtues. The observer of nature is driven to believe that the co-existence of powerful and bad men, with feeble, yet good men, is a rule in creation for which no adequate explanation can be found. He sees that in the domain of the air there are hawks and pigeons, eagles and ostriches, cuckoos and hedge-sparrows, that on the land there are tigers and sheep, lions and buffaloes, wolves and deer, that in the water there are perch and minnows, pike and trout, sharks and whales--in other words, there is throughout the world a division of living creatures into those who live by destroying vegetables, and those who subsist by the destruction of animals. The cow, sheep, and deer are quite as ruthless, in their noxiousness to the ornaments of the meadow, as are foxes in a hen-roost to the beauties of the barn-door; both alike mar the graceful features of creation. Yet it is clear that both the graminivora and the carnivora were made to effect this apparent wrong. Still further, we see throughout creation, that in almost every community of animals, the strong ones dominate over the weak, and endeavour, far too frequently, to deprive them of such pleasures as they and their females possess. See, for example, a c.o.c.k with a bevy of hens: he will allow no other chanticleer to strut besides him on the dunghill of the yard; he will not permit a rival to make love to anyone of his harem, nor to feed upon any dainty morsel, until his wives and himself have had enough. The same may be said of stags, of bulls, of rams, of horses, and many other creatures whose habits are known. The leader of a herd is a despot, and when he is at length conquered by another, those who are ruled have merely changed their masters. Young and weak c.o.c.ks will never attain to power, and must ever submit to be bullied.

We notice, at the same time, that each tyrant must in the end succ.u.mb; with age comes infirmity and loss of strength, in the last battle the old is beaten by the young. Just so it is with mankind; in its comparative infancy monarchs rule, and are at length deposed by others.

The Babylonians conquered Palestine, the Medes and Persians vanquished the Babylonians, the Greeks subjugated the Persians, the Romans overcame the Greeks, and the Goths destroyed the Roman power; yet under every regime the powerful could torment the weak. The result in every case was brought about by the conqueror being strong and brutal--not by the immorality of the victims.

When a philosopher sees such things, he very naturally endeavours to ascertain whether any design can be discovered in the events of the world, and to this end he may be diligent in collecting facts, or he may at once frame some theory, and then cease to think about the matter.

"Oh," such an one may say, "all that is wrong here will be righted in another world." Another, who ponders more deeply, may doubt whether it is proper to divide the phenomena of nature into "right" and "wrong."

"If," he will say, "I believe with the Jew that G.o.d is in the heavens, and does whatsoever He pleases" (Ps. cxv. 3), or that "the Lord hath made all for Himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil" (Prov.

xvi. 4) I must allow that everything which emanates from the Creator must be right. Speaking individually, I prefer rather to examine into the ways of Providence--i.e., of the Almighty, without framing any theory of right and wrong, than to dogmatize upon what He _must_ intend by this or that. "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord (Jehovah), or being his counsellor hath taught him?" (Is. xl. 13)--see also the Pauline version of this sentiment, Rom. xi. 33, 34.

It is very questionable whether any human a.n.a.logy will enable us, even approximately, to fathom what are designated "the designs of Providence." Every example that I can at the present remember given by theologians is bad. Take, for example, the most common one which draws a comparison between G.o.d and a father, Ps. ciii. 13, "like as a father piti-eth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him;" Prov.

iii. 12, "Whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth;" Heb. xii. 6, 7, "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." "If ye be without chastis.e.m.e.nt, whereof all men (are) partakers, then are ye b.a.s.t.a.r.ds and not sons." These enunciate the idea that G.o.d, being the universal father, treats mankind as a judicious parent treats his offspring, and that as a child cannot at all times know why he is punished until many years have pa.s.sed over his head, so human beings cannot tell, until they reach another world, why they were punished in this. To a.s.sist this a.s.sertion the text is quoted "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter" (John xiii. 7.) If there be any truth in the a.n.a.logy, it must follow that all who in this world "endure grief, suffering wrongfully" (1 Pet. ii. 19), are children of G.o.d, whom he is educating for a better world. If that, again, be so, then--when Christians persecuted Mahometans, Romanists burned Protestants, and Spaniards slaughtered Mexicans and Peruvians--it follows that the vanquished, and not the conquerors, were the elect of the Father. But this deduction directly opposes those promises said to be made to the Jews by Jehovah, viz., that victory should be the reward of their piety. As it is a poor system which declares that two opposite results come from the same cause, we must refuse to believe that both victory and defeat are proofs of a Father's love. I am quite aware that some reader may retort that a kind parent may punish one child at the same time that he rewards another. I grant it at once, but that only demonstrates, if it proves anything, that all creatures must be regarded alike as the offspring of the Creator, and that none are favoured peculiarly on the one hand, or are outcasts on the other.

As it is undesirable to mix political up with religious events, I refrain from drawing from history such ill.u.s.trations as have frequently been supposed to indicate the will of the Almighty. The fall from power of Egypt, Tyre, a.s.syria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Carthage, Rome, Spain, are all supposed to have been caused by some special providential design. In like manner theologians draw certain deductions from the discovery of the New World, and the slaughter of the majority of its aboriginal inhabitants; from the Crusades; from the influx of the Turks into Christendom; and of the Moors into Spain. Some, whose imaginative powers overwhelm their reasoning faculties, see in the wars of recent times that final shaking of the nations, which some _soi-disant_ prophet declares must precede the millennium, and the battle of Armageddon; vaccinators, and interpreters are as abundant and irrepressible now as ever they were. Their fundamental a.s.sumption is that G.o.d has acted as they would have done in His place. Now He is a sort of Irish landlord, a portion of whose property is overrun with pauper farmers, and He clears them away to make room for more sensible and wealthier tenants, as the Canaanites were removed to give place to the Hebrews. Now, He is represented as a parent, who hearing that a son has engaged in fight and been conquered, merely remarks "serves him right!"--the kind of comfort given to the Jews after they had been harried by the Edomite confederacy, and subsequently by the Chaldeans. Again, the same mighty Jehovah is represented as a Stoic, who remarks, when some mischance happens to those who are said to be his children, "Never mind, accidents will happen--through much tribulation you must enter into my rest, or the kingdom of heaven."

I entirely decline to adopt the profession of prophet and interpreter, contenting myself with increasing what knowledge I may have, rather than endeavouring to deduce from it theories whose weakness an hour may demonstrate; nor do I put faith in any one who adopts such a business.

For example, let us a.s.sume that two savage tribes, having G.o.ds of different names and shapes, go to war on the bidding of their priests--one is conquered and the other is victorious. The one attributes his reverse to the anger of his own deity, not to the power of the G.o.d of his enemy. The other imagines that he owes success to the influence of his protector and his superiority over his foe's fetish.

A civilized on-looker, who believes that all the deities are devils and powerless, attributes victory and defeat to perfectly natural causes, e.g., superiority in weapons, tactics, numbers, or strength. It is clear that neither the deductions of the first nor second men are right; neither has read the mind of his fetish. So it is with the half educated theologians of our own day, who think and talk as glibly of G.o.d and Satan, as if they were personal acquaintances, who make no secret either of their deeds or their motives of action.

Once more we return to the Dhammapada and find,

248. "O, man, know this, that the unrestrained are in a bad state; take care that greediness and vice do not bring thee to grief for a long time." We do not here seek to find any parallel pa.s.sage in the bible, but we turn to history, remote and collateral, and compare the priesthood of Buddha with that of Jesus. Does travel tell us of any set of teachers more self-denying than the individuals who devote themselves as religious Buddhists? Can history, on the other hand, tell us of any hierarchy more greedy and vicious than the Christian priesthood in the middle ages, and down to a comparatively recent period? We will not accuse them of vice, but even now is there in the whole world a more grasping set of men than those who have received what they term "holy orders" from the descendants of Jesus or of Peter? I trow not. If, therefore, a doctrine is to be known by its fruits, in one respect at least Buddhism is superior to that which we call Christianity, by which term I do not mean the exceptional practice of a few, but the general habits of the majority of the bishops, priests, &c., of Christendom.

Once more let us contrast the doctrine of Buddha with the practice of Christians. He says--

Da. 256, 7. "A man is not a just judge if he carries a matter by violence; no, he who distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned, and leads others, not by violence, but by law and equity, he who is a guardian of the law and equity, he who is a guardian of the law, and intelligent, he is called just." Our histories tell us of Christians persecuting Christians; Trinitarians endeavouring to extirpate Arians; Franciscans torturing Dominicans; of Jews slaughtered by those whose master said, "Father, forgive them;" we see brutal Spaniards exterminating, under the shadow of the cross, whole nations in the new world who had never harmed them, and in the old world we find Crusaders, under the guise of piety, murdering and robbing the dwellers in Palestine. There is scarcely a large town in Europe which has not witnessed the ferocious violence of Papal, yea, and Protestant, hierarchs. Even in recent times we have seen bishops and their congeners, in our so-called civilized nation, oppose violence, and the popgun thunder of excommunication, to a learned prelate, and to an humble priest. Judged by the standard of Buddha, our divines are unjust and unrighteous. I cannot discover any standard by which they can be regarded as "praiseworthy," except that embodied in the two sayings, "Get what you can, and what you get hold;" "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." We may say of such persecutors, in the words of the Dhammapada--

260. "A man is not an elder because his head is grey; his age may be ripe, but he is called old in vain," and many would at once be able, if they tried, to remember the names of some who, in a Christian community, have abandoned their principles, or their learning, as soon as they became bishops or elders of the church. I have no doubt Popes have done so. There is a saying, that however clever a man is, you make a fool of him by placing a mitre upon his head.

The following is, perhaps, more curious than our previous quotations, as it tells of the pre-Christian antiquity of a common Romish custom:--

264. "Not by tonsure does an undisciplined man, who speaks falsehood, become a Sramana; can a man be a Sra-mana who is still held captive by desire and greediness?" The Sramana is a word equivalent to our "priest," literally, "a man who performs hard penances" (see Dhammapada, Note 265, p. cx.x.xii.).

Without copying any other texts from the Dhammapada, we may next inquire what there is to be found in the Bible that is not to be found in the teaching of Buddha. We notice that the element of so-called prophecy is wholly wanting in the sayings of the Indian sage. I cannot remember that either Sakya Muni or any of his followers a.s.sumed the power to foretell the future. There is, it is true, a vague threat of future misery to the wicked, which was founded upon the prevalent idea of metempsychosis; but there is no endeavour to pourtray the occurrences that are supposed to be impending over one or more sections of the human race. There is not any attempt to induce individuals to join themselves to the son of Maya, by declarations that the world, and all that it contains, is about to be destroyed, and that all who do not become disciples of the teacher, and shelter themselves under his mantle, will be miserably punished throughout eternity.

There is not any Buddhist description in detail, either of h.e.l.l, or Heaven, or Nirvana; there is no story of "worms," "fires," "devils,"

"death," and the like, in the first. The second is not depicted, by the preacher himself, as a sort of palace, made gorgeous with gold and precious stones, resounding in barbaric music, and discordant chants, where animals dwell, and where horses are kept stabled, to go throughout the world with messengers upon their backs (see Zechariah i. 8, 10; vi. 2, 7; Rev. iv. 6, 7; vi. 2, 4, 8). There are no denunciations of vengeance upon heretics, nor is the G.o.d of Buddha like the one described by Hebrew writers, who "winks" during times of ignorance upon earth (Acts xvii. 30), who requires to be reminded by prayer of the wants of men (Exod. iii. 7), and who comes down to earth to inquire if matters are according to the accounts which have reached his dwelling-place (Gen. xviii. 21).