Mti PRAYER. GABRIEL, MAX. An ideal representation of the universal aspiration common to human nature in every age and land. A fine example of the work of a painter who is pre-eminent for deep, tender, and genuine feeling, with great power of imagination, and remarkable vieor and breadth in execution. Babylonia * B.C. 3800 Egypt B.C. 3500 India B.C. 1500 DAYS OF | IGHT FV M ALL LANDS THE BIBLES AND BELIEFS OF MANKIND f Persia B.C. 1400 * * Assyria B.C. 1300 Greece B.C. 900 * * China B.C. 480 * * Light of Asia B.C. 450 j B.C. 444 * * Star of Bethlehem Scriptures, Faiths and Systems OF Every Age, Race and Nation A Complete Story OF ALL CHURCHES AND COMMUNIONS NOTABLE UTTERANCES BY FOREMOST REPRESENTATIVES OF ALL FAITHS REV. E. C. TOWNE, B.A. REV. A. J. CANFIELD, D.D. GEORGE J. HAGAR NEW YORK Gay Brothers & Company 21 WARREN STREET Publishers' Notice. HE publishers will not offer this book for sale in Book- Stores. It is published exclusively for subscribers, and can only be obtained by subscribing for it to a duly appointed represent- ative who has secured rights in the territory canvassed, and by paying, without deviation, the publishers' regular printed price of publication. It cannot be legally obtained by any other means or through any other source, and if so obtained, by collusion or otherwise, both the seller and purchaser become liable under recent decisions of the Federal Courts, as the work is protected by the United States Copyright Laws. Copyrighted by PAY BROTHERS & COMPANY, 1895. -- Stack BL- $o TO THE BELIEVED OF Every Land and Every Race, "WHO BY PEN OR TONGUE HAVE THROWN NEW LIGHT ON THE STORY JOF THE FAITHS OF MANKIND AND TO WHOM THE WORLD IS INDEBTED FOR THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA, The Brotherhood of Man and Universal Sonship in God BECOME THE CENTRAL TRUTHS OF EVERY FAITH IN EVERY LAND, THE FOLLOWING PAGES of arr ^i^ LIGHT OF BABYLONIA. 3800 B.C. 0rd of tUe xxT0r!tt, gigfot of itxs spirits 0f 0f tjfesxtxgs ; xxrto is moxxlTx 0f t tlxxj Babylonian Hymn to Deity. LIGHT OF EGYPT. 3500 B.C. /j% mtj 050 d mid ^0rd ; tuto txast made ttxe and f 0rmje m^ gttre true au jexjje t0 atxd atx jear 10 tt^ar Itxxj; Egyptian Prayer. * * * LIGHT OF INDIA. 1500 B.C. txs raedxtats 0n llxat 0xxr The Hindu Lord's Prayer. LIGHT OF PERSIA. 1400 B.C. (JLtxd xxj p^raxj likewise f0r glxxj ^ive, d) ! stenxg 11xr0xx01x most swift, poxxrerfxxt, 10 llxe txoxxsje xxrillx 30x3 it, in matxij xxwtxdjerfxxt xxraxjs 0xxt: Zoroaster. (v) of art LIGHT OF ASSYRIA. 1300 B.C. the totfeou 0f Tteawett itoxt dattraest ! focrtts 0f tteatreu ttott 0petxest ! c0trjevcst tTue jeavtE xuiiTt tlxe f irmametxt I sjettest tlte ear t0 Ifcje ^vaijevs 0f maukiud. Assyrian-Babylonian Hymn. * * * LIGHT OF GREECE. 900 B.C. e litre m are Ms offs^ncinQ t00. e meu $ast, ^ailxer W0txfle*fxtl tEeitr ettt. Greek Poet quoted by Paul on Mars Hill. LIGHT OF ANCIENT CHINA. 500 B.C. t is tlte txratj 0f a0u 10 benefit atxtt tx0t 10 injure; 10 t:ejc0nx^euse itxjwvxj witfo Mndness. Lao-tsze. (vi) LIGHT OF CONFUCIUS. 480 B.C. feat ijott flo wot life* wrfe*w flow* to self do wot jdo to Confucius. * * * LIGHT OF BUDDHA. 450 B.C. from all wtro 0et trirtw*, wje^s oxxrw i* tfee relifliow of tfee Summary given by Buddha. LIGHT OF JUDEA. 444 B.C. feat doife tfeje Igovfl fjequivje of tfejeje fewt to flo Justly to lotrs metjc^ awd to fewwMg with tfeig Cioxl. Hebrew Prophet. * * * LIGHT OF MOHAMMED. 622 A.D. tfeaue is <&we dod aXowje^ Ciod tfeje wal; fre^ettetfe wot^ and feje is wot tfeetre is wow* Xifeje ttwto feiwi. The Koran. (vii) of Gftrlst. And the multitudes were astonished at his Teaching : for he taught them as having Authority, and not as their Scribes. (MATT. vii. 28, 29.) have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, Love your ene* mies, that ye may be sons of your Father which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. Ye therefore shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them. Christ to his Disciples. THE present work embraces an account of the Bibles and Beliefs of Mankind ; the Faiths of every age and every land being presented impartially, each from its own historical standpoint. The chapters on the Scriptures of the World, and the digest by religions of the most notable Parliament utterances, are from the pen of the Rev. Edward C. Towne, B. A., whose broad scholarship and great knowl- edge of the World's Religious Systems was fittingly rec- ognized in his selection as one of the principal editors of the Official Report of the World's Parliament of All Re- ligions. These chapters offer for the first time to the gen- eral reader a concise, connected, yet scholarly view of all the Bibles of Mankind, and of the various beliefs as to inspiration under which remarkable writings have been held to be Sacred Scriptures. The chapters devoted especially to the representative utterances of the great modern lights of the religions oi the world have been culled, with the greatest possible care, from the speeches and papers of the ablest and most eminent representatives of every Faith who stood upon the Parliament's broad platform ; equal justice be- ing done to all alike, Pagan and Christian, Jew and Mo- hammedan, Catholic and Protestant. The official report of the doings of the Parliament, in attempting to be full, (ix) x PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. was overloaded with matter of no permanent value ; and it entirely lacks the digest by religions which is of so much importance to the ordinary reader. The material used in preparing the history of the various denominations has been the subject of much careful revision, and of reference to competent repre- sentatives of the various denominations treated, in order to keep the work free from misstatement as to matters of belief, ceremonial, and observance. This part is largely devoted to a systematic and comprehensive historical account of the denominations in the United States, giving the origin, rise, progress, and present condition of every sect. The work of preparing the story of the various churches and communions has been the labor of many years, and the publishers desire to gratefully ac- knowledge their indebtedness to many eminent authori- ties, among whom may be mentioned the following : Rev. S. Morals, W. Charming Nevin, Esq., Rev. Alfred Nevin, D.D., William Border, B.A., Rev. Joseph Osgood, Rev. Dr. E. G. Brooks, Rev. Willard H. Hinkley, Albert L. Rawson, Esq., John Gilmary Shea, LL.D., Rev. C. M. Butler, D.D., Rev. W. H. H. Marsh, Rev. Edwin H. Nerins, D.D., Rev. J. L. Gracey, Rev. L. M. Sturdevant, Jr. The publishers also desire to gratefully acknowledge the aid of those who, by furnishing material difficult of access, or in revising proofs of portions of the work of which they had special knowledge, rendered ibo the editors assistance of the greatest value. The list in- cludes the following eminent names : Marshall Ballington Booth, the Salvation Army; Franklin D. Richards, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints- Rev William H. Roberts, D.D., the Presbyterian Churches'; Rt. Rev. Henry C. Potter, D.D., Rev. William Jones Seabury, D.D., the Protestant Episcopal Church ; Bishop William H. Nicholson, the PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. xi Reformed Episcopal Church ; Rev. Henry A. Hazen, the Congrega- tional Churches ; Rev. William J. R. Taylor, D.D., the Reformed Churches ; Rev. William Hull, the Lutheran Church ; Dr. Henry Hartshorne, Editor of The Friends' Review, the Society of Friends ; Rev. Edwin C. Sweetser, D.D., the Universalist Church ; James Freeman Clarke, the Unitarian Congregationalists ; Elder F. W. Evans, "The Shakers"; Rev. Edmund de Schweinitz, D.D., the United Brethren ; Rev. Chauncey Giles, the New Jerusalem Church ; Rev. Joseph Leucht, Hebrew Congregations ; Elias and Moritz Berla, Hebrew Benevolent Societies and Charitable Institutions ; Rev. Charles F. Deems, D.D., LL.D., Right Rev. Bishop H. N. McTyeire, Right Rev. Bishop L. H. Holsy, James N. Fitzgerald, D.D , the Methodist Churches ; Rev. G. W. Samson, D.D., the Baptist Church. The publishers congratulate themselves and their readers on the eminent fitness and ability of the editors of the present volume whose labors now successfully brought to a close will prove of inestimable value in giving within the compass of one volume a complete and impartial presentation of the Bibles and Beliefs of All Ages. The Rev. Edward C. Towne was well equipped by a life-long study of the religious systems of mankind ; Doctor A. J. Canfield, by close touch with the representatives of all Faiths in the Parliament of All Religions, in his relation thereto as a conspicuous resi- dent member of the executive committee, and from inti- mate acquaintance with all the chief promoters of the sympathy of religions ; and Mr. George J. Hagar, by his long familiarity with the historical and statistical prog- ress of the various denominations in an editorial capac- ity on one of the leading encyclopaedias. The whole work presents a History of the Beliefs of All Races, Nations, and Times ; a record both of What the World now Believes and what it has believed; the teachings of the great Lights and Leaders of every Laud and Faith, together with the story of their doc- xii PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. trines, systems, and scriptures. In dealing with each church and communion, the strictest impartiality has been attempted. In nearly every instance the articles were either prepared or revised by qualified representa- tives of the division of thought or belief represented. The publishers desire to assure their readers that, in the preparation of this volume they have spared neither pains nor expense to make the work acceptable to the adherents of every Faith as an impartial presentation of the Beliefs of Mankind, and of the various historic faiths throughout the world. THE PUBLISHERS. WHILE a member of the Executive Committee of the Parliament of Religions, held at Chicago in 1893, I was profoundly impressed with the epoch-mak- ing character of that surprising assemblage of wisdom and piety. Until then, I had supposed that ever-in- creasing knowledge and assured intellectual liberty would probably continue to multiply the number and variety of the world's religious beliefs. But the coming together of conspicuous representatives of every nation, race, and creed, in joyous fraternity, made clearly mani- fest the welcome fact that the fundamental elements underlying the various faiths of mankind are far less conflicting than was formerly supposed. This convic- tion became deeper and more lasting when interpreted in connection with the contemporary exhibitions of science, art, and industry. The most conspicuous characteristic of modern scien- tific thought is its disposition to include all things and all phenomena under a few comprehensive principles. In every department of investigation and enterprise the signs all point in that direction. The surprising physical "inventions of the last half century, especially those relating to methods of inter- communication, have almost annihilated time and space, and rendered social isolation impossible. Political changes and the growth of democracy have awakened fresh interest in all questions which relate to the re- moval of civic barriers. In the commercial world the spirit of consolidation is strikingly apparent. Railway corporations once independent rivals, are being united into a few great systems under uniform management. (xiii) xiv INTRODUCTION. The same is true of telegraph lines. A like tendency is seen in all kinds of industrial production and distribu- tion. It is an era of unification. So general a tendency toward the centralization of populations, of capital, and of production, manifested in ways so various, can indicate nothing less than a great new movement of humanity toward a recognition of the essential unity of the central truths of religion. Every new social or political.movement of mankind is directly traceable to some new impulse of spiritual energy. The wise thinker tries to lay hold of these fundamental impulses of the spirit, and to study them with a view to the explanation of existing condi- tions, and the solution of the pressing problems of his age. Among the most noteworthy contributions to this fascinating study, the volume herewith introduced to the public is destined to take high rank. The chapters on the Bibles and Beliefs of Mankind, with a conspectus of views of inspiration held in the various historic religions, and of the different views held among Christians regarding the inspiration of their own Bible, supplies a feature of the greatest value to a work designed to show what all men everywhere have believed. The chapters devoted to the history of all churches, and communions of Christendom, their origin and be- liefs, will prove of much interest and permanent value, as the story of each is told with absolute impartiality, and in most cases, by a representative of the particular communion treated. The reports of the Parliament of Religions which ap- peared soon after the closing of the Congress were neces- sarily prepared with newspaper-like haste, hence not only the ordinary reader, but the expert inquirer also, will find the thorough digest included in this INTRODUCTION. xv volume a much more excellent and impartial summary than the extended and bulky reports so hastily issued. To no small extent, testimonies of permanent value have been brought into this sketch, which were unfortu- nately left out of the parliament report, and there has been omitted a considerable mass of irrelevant matter which busy men will be glad to dispense with. At the same time an attempt has been made to reproduce with perfect fairness all the faiths and all the types of faiths represented in the parliament, without any color of in- dividual preference. The most notable names of the parliament appear in the successive chapters of the story of that great gather- ing, and among them must ever stand for special honor those of the Wise Men of the i&aet, who, amid much doubt of the reality of Christian welcome, and against many obstacles, undertook the long journey from India, China, and Japan, to attest their sense of human brother- hood and their faith in common spiritual communion for all souls ; and who bore themselves, in every scene of the parliament and through all their strange experi- ences, with a refinement of courtesy, a thoroughness of charity, and a respect for the noblest ideals, to which only the best Christians under the most favorable circum- stances of assembly and conference are wont to attain. It will long remain the enviable distinction of the Brah- man, Brahmo-Somaj, Jain, Buddhist, Japanese both Buddhist and Shintoist, Confucian, and Parsee repre- sentatives in the great historic parliament, that they were in its front rank not only by the interest of their appearance, but by their own high character and the character of .their contributions. The admirable fidelity to the parliament ideals of the Catholic representatives, of some of the most stanch X vi INTRODUCTION. Evangelical Protestants, of the exponents of differing schools of new advance in Christian faith and new breadth in Christian fellowship, and of Greek, Armenian, and Jewish beliefs, bore conclusive witness to that broad and generous spirit of our age which recognizes in all races and religions a common aim at goodness and truth. As a whole the volume contains an infinite variety of information, not only relating to the peculiar forms and tenets of the various sects throughout the world, but also to some extent the manners and customs of the people and the social and political phases of the nations of the earth, Christian and pagan, civilized and uncivil- ized, both ancient and modern. The treatment, how- ever, while brief, has been comprehensive, the purpose being to keep the work within limits that would make it valuable alike to the ordinary reader, as well as to the student, and it is believed that the intelligent reader who lays hold of the facts and principles herein con- tained can easily apply them to the solution of many of the pressing religious problems of the present age. For we are undoubtedly entering upon a New Era which is to be ushered in by a broader and more humane inter- pretation of the religious nature of man, and its vital relations to the social and political well-being of hu- manity. And with the dawn of this bright era comes an urgent demand for a popular, comprehensive, and im- partial story of the Bibles and Beliefs of mankind which it is confidently believed will be fully met by the pub- lication of the present volume. As the bending sky surpasses the clouds which drift across it, so stand the everlasting laws of justice, truth, and love. Whenever and wherever those laws are read aright, the human soul will recognize amid its infinite diversity of operations a blessed unity more glorious INTRODUCTION. xvii than that which binds the suns and systems of countless constellations into one harmonious whole. Then will occur the glad consummation for which the wisest sages of all ages have longed, which the inspired prophets of every religion have foretold, and which the minstrels and poets of aspiring humanity everywhere have spent their lives in singing, the " One far-off divine event, To which the whole creation moves," and which can be nothing less than the triumphant coming of the Kingdom of Him who is to gather in one all things, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, "the Christ that is to be." A. J. CANFIELD. I NDEXICAL - CONTENTS. KIRLKS AND BELIEFS OF MANKIND. FOREWORDS of Eepresentative Thought 7 INTRODUCTORY : Point of View of comparison of various Scrip- tures and Systems , 9 LANDS AND RACES of the World's Bibles : Thirteen chief Systems of Faith 17 ORIGIN OF SACRED BOOKS : How the term Bible arose 19 VIEWS OLD AND NEW OF THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE. I. ROMAN CATHOLIC View of the Bible. . 21 II. ORTHODOX PROTESTANT View of the Bible 26 III. HIGHER CRITICISM View of the Bible 31 IV. EXTREME LIBERAL View of Scripture 36 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA : The Land of Sacred Books : Babylo- nian Origins from B.C. 4000: Earliest Races conquered by Semitic : Babylonian Conception (1) of Benevolent Deities, and (2) of Malevolent Gods of Darkness : Semitic (and Jew- ish) adoption of the latter 49 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES : Oldest of the Bibles of Mankind : Four chief Sacred Writings, (1) The Priestly or Magical Texts, (2) The Hymns to the Gods, (3) The Penitential Psalms, (4) The Litanies: Later than these Scriptures, the great Mythological Poems .* 73 THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT : Universal Egyptian Belief in Immortality: Their Book of the Dead a Guide to the Future World 90 (xix) xx INDEXICALCONTENTS. HEBREW SCRIPTURES : First Appearance of a Book in the name of Moses: An enlarged form of it made a Bible B.C. 444: Later writings collected and added 103 PHOENICIA, Tyre, Sidon, and Carthage: A Religion of Fear and Terror: Influence upon the Hebrews Ill GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE: The Gods of Greece, Zeus, Apollo, Athene, Demeter and Dionysus: Homer the Bible of the Greeks: Hesiod 117 THE APOCRYPHA or Doubtful Books : An Appendix to the Hebrew Bible 129 THE TALMUD: " The Sacred Book of the Orthodox Jews: one of the strangest of the Bibles of Humanity." 133 THE SEPTUAGINT or Greek Old Testament: The Bible of the Time of Christ 137 THE AVESTA or Parsee Scripture: The Great Aryan Races : The Persian Zoroaster a great Aryan Prophet: His Gathas the earliest part of Parsee Scripture : Zoroastrian doctrine 141 THE VEDA; the Sanskrit Scripture of India: Four original Vedic Books : Various Nature Gods, Varuna, Indra, Agni, Surya 'the Sun,' and the Dawn, Yama, &c. : Conceptions of Universal Deity : The Vedic Brahmanas, books of ritual explanation: The Vedic Upauishads, books of philosophy: Great Ideas of the Vedic Creed 153 BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE ; The Tripitaka : The Life and Teaching of Buddha: The Buddhist Bible and Church: Both existing in two forms, Southern and Northern : A Three- fold Scripture, Discipline, Discourses, and Philosophy : Beatitudes of Buddha 171 CONFUCIUS AND THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE : Life of Confucius for fifty years: The "Five Classics" of Chinese Scripture, (1) The Book of Changes, (2) The Book of Rites, (3) The Book of Poetry, (4) The Book of History, (5) Spring and Autumn Annals: The " Four Books," (1) Confucian Ana- lects, (2) The Great Learning, (3) The Doctrine of the Mean,($) Mencius 186 INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. xxi MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN: Character of the Koran: Story of Mohammed's Life and Experience : Nature of his Inspiration 199 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES: The Books forming the New Testament: The Four Gospels : Book of Acts : Epistles of Paul : Chrono- logic Order and Origin : Other Epistles: Book of Revelation.. 211 APOCRYPHAL GOSPEL: Many Gospels set aside as apocryphal " The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy "Its Story of the Boy- hood of Jesus Many miracles attributed to Him. not men- tioned in the New Testament.. .. 229 xx ii INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. CHURCHES AND COMMUNIONS. WHAT THE JEWS BELIEVE. Termination of their existence as a Nation Articles of the Jewish Creed Prayers in the Syna- gogue 233 LAWS AND CEREMONIES OF THE JEWS. Slavery under the Mosaic Law Laws respecting Marriage Betrothals and Marriage- Funeral Ceremonies The Sanhedrin Worship in the Syna- gogue 239 JEWISH FESTIVALS AND HOLY DAYS. The Jewish Sabbath Jew- ish Festivals The New Moon New Year's Day Day of Expiation Feast of Tabernacles Purim The Passover Homer-DaysPentecost Modern History of the Jews 252 THE JEWS OF THE UNITED STATES. The Eeform Movement of 1885 Benevolent Societies Charitable Institutions The Pro- posed Jewish Seminary 264 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The Government of the Church Its Form and Administrators The Doctrinal Code of the Church Explanation of the Tenets What the Councils of Trent and the Vatican Enjoin , 272 THE SACRAMENTS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The Seven Sacraments : Baptism ; Confirmation ; Penance ; The Holy Eucharist; Extreme Unction ; Holy Orders; Matrimony 281 THE SACRAMENTALS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The Sac- ramental s of the Church The Devotion Paid to the Cross The Rosary and Scapular The Sacred Utensils Vestments of the Priest at Mass The Funeral Service 290 HIERARCHICAL OFFICES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The Office and Dignity of Bishops The Archiepiscopate The Papacy Methods of Electing a Pope The Last (Ecumenical Council The Dogma of Infallibility. 298 INDEX1CAL-CONTENTS. xxiii THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. First Catholic Worship in the Country The Settlement of Mary- land Jesuit Missionaries Archbishop Carroll and his Vast Work Introduction of Religious Orders The Growth of the Church Distinguished Members The Plenary Councils 306 THE GREEK CATHOLIC OR EASTERN CHURCH. The Separation of the Greek from the Latin Church Differences between the two Churches The Greek Priesthood Liturgies and Services of the Church Solemn Festivals The Mass and Holy Sacra- ments 319 BRANCHES OF THE GREEK OR EASTERN CHURCH. Georgian and Mingrelian Churches Nestorian Churches The Christians of St. Thomas The Monophysites of the Levant The Copts The Armenians 336 THE RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. Early Ecclesiastical History of Russia The Russian Mass Reverence of Relics, Images, and Pictures The Benediction of the Waters Observances of Lent Baptism Matrimony Funeral Ceremonies The Sect ofRaskolniki 351 THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND OR THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Early History The Thirty-nine Articles The Hierarchy of the Church Ceremonies of Ordinations Sacrament of the Lord's Supper The Sacrament of Baptism Confirmation Marriage Ceremonies 366 THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE UNITED STATES. Early History Organization of the Church after the Revolu- tionEfforts to Unite the Separate Churches Subsequent History of the Church 390 THE REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Origin Organization of the new Church The Founder of the Church Declaration of Principles Missionary and Synodical Jurisdictions Bishops and Officers.. . ... 408 INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Doctrines of Presbyterians Mean- ing of the Name The Government of the Church The Ses- sion, Presbytery, Synod, and General Assembly Duties of Members and Ceremonies of the Church The Ordination of Church Officers 408 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES, SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND. The Kirk of Scotland Ecclesiastical Judicatories The Sacraments The Sect of Seceders The Free Church of Scotland The Presby- terian Church in England 422 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES. I. The " Old School " and " New School " Rupture Withdrawal of Southern and Western Synods Re-union of the Old and New School Churches Statistics of the Church for 1885-'86 . . 429 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES. II. The Associate Presbyterian Church Its Origin in Scotland and Establishment in the United States The Associate Reformed Church Founding of the United Presbyterian Church The Articles of " The Testimony " 438 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES. III. The Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States The Two Branches and Synods The Cumberland Presbyterian Church Outgrowth of a Revival in Kentucky Doctrines in the Confession of Faith 449 THE METHODIST CHURCH. The Origin of Methodism The New Connexion Bible Christian Methodists Primitive Meth- odistsProtestant Methodists Association Methodists Wes- leyan Reformers The United Methodist Free Church 458 THE METHODIST CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES. I. The Methodist Episcopal Church of America The Articles of Re- ligion Government of the Church Centenary of American Methodism Lay Representation The Progress of the Church 465 INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. X xv THE METHODIST CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES. II. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Protest- ant Church The Wesleyan Methodist Church The Evan- gelical Association The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America The African Methodist Episcopal Church The Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church 476 THE BAPTIST CHURCHES OF EUROPE. Origin of the Baptists Eng- lish Baptists Welsh Baptists Scotch Baptists Irish Bap- tistsContinental Baptists 487 THE BAPTIST CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES. I. Early His- tory Roger Williams and his Work The first Church estab- lished in America Statistics of the Church The Freewill Baptist Church 500 THE BAPTIST CHURCHES m THE UNITED STATES. II. The Church of Christ The Mennonites The Church of God Seventh-Day Baptists Liberal Baptists of America German Baptists, or Brethren Southern Baptist Associations 509 THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. Martin Luther, His Times and Work The Augsburg Confession Forms of Worship and Church Order American Lutheranism Condition of the Church.. . . 521 THE REFORMED CHURCHES. The Reformed Church in America- Established in New Amsterdam, 1619 Early Dutch Ministers Doctrine, Government, and Condition The Reformed Church in the United States Established in Pennsylvania The Difference between the Two Churches. 531 THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES. Modern Congregationalism The Creed Church Discipline Foreign Missionary Work Home Missionary Work Condition of the Churches 540 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. George Fox and his Labors Articles of Belief The Orthodox Friends in the United States The Hicksite Friends Statistics and Institutions of the Friends. . 550 xxv i INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. THE UNITED BRETHREN. Founding of the Moravian Church The Bohemian Reformation The Synod of 1467 Proclama- tion of Religious Liberty The Brethren in the United States The United Brethren in Christ Doctrines of the Church. . 557 UNITARIAN CONGREGATIONALISTS. Distinguishing Doctrines Historical Sketch Unitarianism in the United States Means of Denominational Work 566 THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. The Founders and their Times- Organization Doctrine Views on Future Punishment The Condition of the Church '. 574 THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH. Emanuel Swedenborg Sweden- borg's Doctrines The Atonement The Sacred Scriptures The Resurrection The Church in the United States 580 THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. Joseph Smith, Jr., and the Book of Mormon Brigham Young chosen Prophet The Edmunds Law of 1882 The Anti-Polyg- amy Bill of 1886 The Faith and Doctrine Polygamy abol- ished by the Church Authorities 586 THE REORGANIZED CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. Opposed to Poly gamy Successor to Joseph Smith History Statistics Epitome of Faith and Doctrines Regard- ing Civil Governments and Laws Respecting Marriage Church Publications 613 THE SOCIETY OF SHAKERS. Mother Ann's Immigration to Amer- ica The True Christian Church Views on Property Em- ployments of Shakers Compend of Principles Shaker Com- munities 619 BELIEF AND HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIANS. Origin of the Church in North Carolina, Vermont, and Kentucky Founders of the Three Branches and their Views Their Union and Subse- quent Separation General Belief 626 INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. xxvii THE ADVENT BELIEVERS. The Adventist Church and its Founder Doctrines of the Believers Adventist Sects Mr. Miller's Statement of Personal Views Dates assigned for the Second Advent ... 629 MODERN SPIRITUALISM. Belief of American Spiritualists Their View of Christ The Transition from this Life to the Next Spiritual Communications not Infallible Spiritualism neither a Sect nor Church Eminent Believers The Rational Spiritualists 632 THE SALVATION ARMY. Its Origin, Growth, and Doctrines, with a Sketch of the Founder of the Movement, and its Progress in Various Countries 637 BELIEVERS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA. Early Religious His- tory Statistics of the Denominations The Consolidation of Methodist Churches Leading Church Buildings in Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa 655 BELIEVERS OF THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. Location. Products, and Population of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia Tasmania and New Zealand Growth of Religious Denominations on the Island American Churches represented in the Colonies 663 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE I. The Movement Inaugurated by Mrs. Eddy Her Teachings, Her Text Book, and other Works The Great Healing Power of Her Teachings Growth of the Movement as an Organization The Bible and Text Book take the place of Sermons 670 xxviii INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. THE PARLIAMENT IDEA and its execution : The Gathering of the Faiths : President C. C. Bonney's General Statement : Chair- man John Henry Barrows's Statement : President Higin- botham's Statement 691 BRAHMANISM : Eloquent Words of Swami Vivekananda, "the great Hindu Monk " : His Exposition of Brahmanical Beliefs : Hindu Ideas stated by the Brahman Scholar, Manilal N. D'vivedi : 701 JAINISM : An Offshoot from Brahmanism earlier than Buddhism : Eloquent Protest by Mr. V. A. Gandhi of Bombay against Christian Misrepresentation : His Statement of Jain Faith and Philosophy 714 THE BRAHMO-SOMAJ OF INDIA: Protap Chunder Mozoomdar's Ex- position of Brahmo Beliefs: The "World's Debt to Asia for Profound Religious Thinking : Keshub Chunder Sen's Proph- ecy of the World's Parliament : B. B. Nagarkar's Account of the Hindu Religious and Social Situation : His Statement of the Ideals of the Brahmo-Somaj 719 BUDDHISM: H. Dharmapala its brilliant Apostle : His Exposition of the Character and Teaching of Buddha: Points of Com- parison with Christianity: Official Declaration of Buddhist Doctrine by H. Sumangala 733 BUDDHISM IN SIAM: Statement of Buddhist Teaching by Prince Chandradat Chudhadharn, brother to the king of Siam 753 JAPANESE BUDDHISM : Et. Rev. Shaku Soyen's Account of Bud- dha's Law of Cause and Effect : His Plea for Arbitration in- stead of War: Rt. Rev. Horin Toki on the History of Buddh- ism, and Buddhism in Japan : Scholarly Account of Buddha INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. XXIX by Et. Rev. Zitsuzen Ashitsu : Notable Points of Buddhism stated by Rt. Rev. Banriu Yatsubuchi: The Nichiren Sect pictured by Yoshigiro Kawai : Powerfully Eloquent Appeal against Christian Injustice to Japan, by K. R. M. Hirai: His conception of Synthetic Religion 757 SHINTOISM : An Ancient and Universal Faith of Japan repre- sented by Rt. Rev. Reuchi Shibata : His Account of the Zhikko or Practical Sect 788 CONFUCIANISM : Pung Kwang Yu a Foremost Scholar of the Par- liament : His masterly paper on Confucian Teaching and Practice : Chief Points of his Exposition : Character and Wisdom of Confucius 791 TAOISM AND CHINESE BUDDHISM : Both a Degradation from high originals : Forms of Popular Spiritism : Lao-tze's Treatise on Wisdom and Virtue 807 PARSEEISM, OR ZOROASTRIANISM : Authentic Account by an Em- inent Parsee Scholar, Mr. Sheriarji. of Bombay: Sketch of Parsee History: Zoroaster, Philosopher, Poet, and Prophet: The Good Religion taught by him : Principal Doctrines: Parsee Morals and Worship: Use of Sacred Fire: Burial Cus- toms : Ethical and Monotheistic Purity 810 MOHAMMEDANISM: Valuable Account by Rev. Dr. George Wash- burn: The Claims of Islam: The Essentials of the Faith: Seven Principal Doctrines: Points of opposition to Christian Dogma : The Moslem Code of Morals : Ceremonies : Mys- ticism : Influence of Mohammed's Example 822 JUDAISM: Its Representative Voices : Rev. Dr. Kaufman Kohler on Human Brotherhood : Dr. E. G. Hirsch on the Elements of Universal Religion 831 CHRISTIANITY : Broadly Christian Utterances of Cardinal Gib- bons and Bishop Keane: Dr. G. D. Boardman, Dr. Geo. P. Fisher and Bishop Dudley on the Claims of Christ : Mrs. Julia Ward Howe on the Christianity of Christ: Christian xxx INDEXICAL-CONTENTS. Sympathy of Religions expressed by Rev. Dr. W. C. Roberts, Dr. H. M. Field, Prof. Philip Schaff, Dr. Momerie, Canon Fre- raantle, and Mr. W. T. Stead: Prof. F. G. Peabody and Prof. R. T. Ely on the Socialism of Christianity: Lyman Abbott on Religion and Humanity : Prof. D'Harlez on Study of all Religions : Declarations by Prince Wolkonsky, Prof. Max Muller, and Rev. Dr. E. L. Rexford: Prof. Geo. S. Goodspeed on Ancient Religions as sources of Truth : Rev. Geo. T. Cand- lin's Powerful Plea for the Sympathy of Religions : Dr. J. W. Lee on Christ: Rev. Dr. T. T. Munger on Christianity and Literature 836 BIBDEg Tip BEliIEFg Ages, Races, and Rations. BY REV. EDWARD C. TOWNE, B.A. FOREWORDS. " T~F ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto 1 your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him ? All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them : for this is the Law and the Prophets." " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hangeth the whole Law and the Prophets." " And one came to him and said, Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life ? And Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good ! Why askest thou me concerning that which is good ? One there is who is good, God. But if thou wouldst enter into life keep the commandments. If thou wouldst be perfect go, sell that thou hast and give to the poor." " Go ye and learn what that meaneth, I desire mercy and not sacrifice." (7) g FOREWORDS. Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receiveth me ; and whosoever receiveth me, re- ceiveth not me, but him that sent me." Words of Christ. " Whoso pursueth the road of knowledge, God will di- rect him to the road of Paradise ; and verily the angels spread their arms to receive him who seeketh after knowl- edge ; and everything in heaven and earth will ask grace for him ; and verily the superiority of a learned man over a mere worshipper is like that of the full moon over all the stars." MOHAMMED. " Let not Moses speak unto me, nor any of the prophets but rather do thou speak, Lord God, Inspirer and En- lightener of all the prophets ; for thou alone without them canst perfectly instruct me, but they without thee can profit nothing. Let not Moses therefore speak unto me, but thou, Lord my God, the Everlasting truth." THOMAS A KEMPIS. " That central doctrine of ours, the divine inwardness and universal light, will yet be found the stronghold of Chris- tendom." JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER, Quaker Poet. " We live in an age of discovery and research, similar to that which preceded the Reformation. The beginnings of history, the beginnings of civilization, the beginnings of Christianity, are now absorbing the attention of scholars. During the present generation early church history has been vastly enriched by new sources of information, and almost revolutionized by independent criticism." Dr. PHILIP SCHAFF, American Church Historian. "I am disposed to believe, that when we have really penetrated to the actual teaching of Christ, that religion of Jesus which preceded all schemes and creeds, we shall find that, so far from this, the true essence of Christianity, being renounced or outgrown by the progressive intelli- gence of the age, its rescue, rediscovery, purification, and re-enthronement as a guide of life, a fountain of truth, an object of faith, a law written on the heart, will be recog- nized as the most beneficient achievement of that intelli- gence.''--^. R. GKEG, Radical English Essayist. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO THE BIBLE? TIP BELIEF^ ' ' If the whole scheme of scripture ever comes to be understood, it must be in the same way as natural knowledge is come at, by the con- tinuance and progress of learning and of liberty." Bishop Butler. THE point of view of the pages in this volume devoted to the Scriptures of Mankind, assumed for the most part rather than expressed, is that of absolutely free compari- son of all sacred writings and all faiths, in the full light of modern learning and science, with a view especially to the burning questions of humanity, of new enlightenment, and of universal reason and conscience, which Christianity has to meet, and for refusing to meet which it is, under some of its forms, failing to maintain itself as the supreme principle of human progress. The best science, the strongest humanity, the purest con- science and reason of our time, are represented by Professor Huxley, in his controversy with perhaps the most eminent living champion of traditional evangelical orthodoxy, the Hon. W. E. Gladstone ; and to Professor Huxley Mr. Glad- stone has made this concession : " I will not dispute that in these words, ' Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God,' is conveyed the true ideal of religious discipline and attainment. It may be that we shall find that Christianity itself is in some sort a scaffolding, and that the final building is a pure and perfect Theism." Mr. Gladstone refers to the historical Christianity of creeds and churches, which is commonly designated as Apostolic Christianity, under the assumption that " Apos- (9) 10 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. tolic" means original, authoritative, final. This assump- tion comes into question, under Mr. Gladstone's concession, if there is any question as to the original authoritative finality of "Apostolic." And such question has been steadily rising for more than half a century. In 1823 the celebrated Jeremy Bentham published, under the name of Gamaliel Smith, a volume of 400 vigorous and bold pages entitled Not Paul, but Jesus. Some twenty years later the now eminent historical writer, James Anthony Froude, published a small volume, called The Nemesis of Faith, in which the young Oxford man of the story is represented as saying : first of the Bible ; and then of Christ : " I believe that we may find in the Bible the highest and purest religion .... most of all in the history of him in whose name we are called. His religion not the Christian religion, but the religion of Christ the poor man's gos- pel ; the message of forgiveness, of reconciliation, of love .... no hell terrors, none of these fear doctrines." " We say the Bible was written by God .... There is nothing in it but what men might have written ; much, oh much, which it would drive me mad to think any but men, and most mistaken men, had written." " Instead of a man to love and follow, we have a man- god to worship. From being the example of devotion, he is its object ; the religion of Christ ended with his life, and left us instead but the Christian religion." StiU more distinctly, at the end of another twenty years, an eminent English Broad Churchman, Rowland Williams, D.D., put on record this discrimination between a Christianity of Christ, and other Christianities not of Christ : "There was one faith of Christ; and another of the Apostles and men after the Apostles ; and yet another of the monks after Athanasius." The process of free critical study of the scriptures and faiths of mankind, which inevitably follows from the new developments of what Bishop Butler calls "learning and BIBLES AND BELIEFS OF MANKIND. H liberty," turns on the question whether the names of Moses, of Paul, and of Apostles and authors of Gospels, does not largely represent what may be regarded as historical scaf- folding, around the pure original Christianity of Christ. The scholar, in view of what he finds in other religions, in- evitably asks whether these names do not to some extent at least stand for developments in some degree sim- ilar to those of the other great religions. To great num- bers of persons deeply stirred by the new interest every- where seen in the other religions of the world, insufficient knowledge suggests cutting loose altogether from the Christian name and faith. It may serve to correct this ten- dency of extreme radicalism to give some indication of the possibility of stopping upon the Christianity of Christ, whatever else may be left, and of thereby coming into fraternal touch with the other religions of mankind. A thoughtful English Catholic, Mr. W. S. Lilly, in a re- cent volume on " The Claims of Christianity," shows in some remarks on the teaching of Mohammed, how the recognition of pure and perfect theism may reveal a unity of the religions of the world, when their respective scaffold- ings are removed. In regard to revelation, Mr. Lilly says : " Without committing ourselves to the dictum that the only monopoly of which any religion can boast is a monopoly of the errors peculiar to itself, we may safely affirm with Cardinal Newman that 'Revelation, properly speaking, is a universal, not a local gift ' ; that ' there is something true and divinely revealed, in every religion, all over the earth ' ". And of " the central thought of Mohammed's religious teaching," "the living and life-giving truth whereof Mo- hammed's mind was full," Mr. Lilly says : " The Divine Unity making, upholding, governing, per- fecting all things, was the rock on which he built. He felt that the mysteries encompassing us are great, are ineffable ; but that, however dark to us, they are not darkness in themselves : that at the heart of existence is Mind, Person- ality, Law. This is the faith stamped upon every line of 12 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. the Ku'ran, inspiring its finest poetry, and piercing through its most turgid rhapsodies, in virtue of which it has been for thirteen centuries a pillar of the cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, guiding, through the wilderness of life, countless millions of our race. Such was Mohammed's theism. His ethics flowed from it. " That everywhere there reigns an inexorable order, that the supreme duty of man is to apprehend it and to conform to it this is the great truth which gifted souls in all ages, and of all creeds, have, more or less clearly, apprehended and set forth. It is ' the law ruling in the three worlds,' which is the underlying thought of Gotama's teaching. It is that ' queen and mistress of mortals and immortals,' which Pindar celebrates. It is that law which Hooker called ' the voice of God,' and which he cannot abrogate, for ' He cannot deny Himself.' And this law is summed up for Islam in the pregnant words 'Allah Akbar.' To accept what is allotted to us ni this life, humbly and trustingly, doing the duty which lies before us, is what ' Allah Akbar [God is Very Great] really means." An eminent English scholar, of Oxford, Prof. J. Estlin Carpenter, sent to the parliament of religions a paper in which he drew from the facts now known as to the sacred books of the world the lesson that we need to see revelation not in one of them, in its form and letter, but in all of them, for their deeper suggestion and best significance, un- derneath whatever defective form and imperfect letter. Prof. Carpenter said : "The Christian fathers of the fourth century credited Demetrius Phalereus, the large-minded librarian of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 250 B.C., with the attempt to procure the sacred books not only of the Jews, but also of the Ethi- opians, Indians, Persians, Elamites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Romans, Phoenecians, Syrians, and Greeks. The great Emperor Akbar (the contemporary of Queen Elizabeth), invited to his court Jews, Christians, Mohamme- dans, Brahmans, and Zoroastrians. He listened to their discussions, he weighed their arguments, until (says one of BIBLES AND BELIEFS OF MANKIND. 13 the native historians) there grew gradually as the outline on a stone the conviction in his heart that there were sensible men in all religions. " One after another, our age has witnessed the resurrec- tion of ancient literatures. Philology has put the key of language into our hands. Shrine after shrine in the world's great temple has been entered ; the songs of praise, the commands of law, the litanies of penitence, have been fetched from the tombs of the Nile or the mounds of Meso- potamia, or the sanctuaries of the Ganges. The Bible of humanity has been recorded. What will it teach us ? I desire to suggest to this congress that it brings home the need of a conception of revelation unconfined to any par- ticular religion, but capable of application in diverse modes to all. " The sacred books of the world are necessarily varied in character and contents. Yet no group of scriptures fails to recognize in the long run the supreme importance of con- duct. Here is that which in the control of action, speech, and thought is of the highest significance for life. This consciousness sometimes lights up even the most arid wastes of sacrificial detail. Enter an Egyptian tomb of the cen- tury of Moses' birth and you will find that the soul as it came before the judges in the other world was summoned to declare its innocence in such words as these : ' I am not a doer of what is wrong, I am not a robber, I am not a mur- derer, I am not a liar, I am not unchaste, lam not the causer of others' tears.' Is the standard of duty here implied less noble than that of the decalogue ? Are we to depress the one as human and exalt the other as divine ? More than five hundred years before Christ the Chinese sage, Lao-Tsze, bade his disciples, ' Recompense injury with kindness,' and at the same great era, faithful in noble utterance, Gautama the Buddha said, ' Let man overcome auger by liberality and the liar by truth.' Is this less a revelation of a higher ideal than the injunction of Jesus, ' Resist not evil, but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also ? ' The fact surely is that we cannot draw any 14 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. partition line through the phenomena of the moral life and affirm that on one side lie the generalizations of earthly reason and on the other, the declarations of heavenly truth. The utterances in which the heart of man has embodied its glimpses of the higher vision are not all of equal merit, but they must be explained in the same way. The fact is that man is so conscious of his weakness that in his earlier days all higher knowledge, the gifts of language and letters, the discovery of the crafts, the inventions of civilization, poetry and song, art, law, philosophy, bear about them the stamp of the superhuman. ' From thee,' sang Pindar (nearest of Greeks to Hebrew prophecy), ' cometh all high excellence to mortals.' Read one of the Egyptian hymns laid in the be- liever's coffin ere Moses was born : ' Praise to Amen-Ra, the good God beloved, the ancient of heavens, the oldest of the earth, Lord of Eternity, Maker Everlasting. He is the causer of pleasure and light, maker of grass for the cattle and of fruitful trees for man, causing the fish to live in the river and the birds to fill the air, lying awake when all men sleep to seek out the good of his crea- tures. We worship thy spirit who alone hast made us ; we, whom thou has made, thank thee that thou hast given us birth ; we give thee praises for Thy mercy to us.' " Is this less inspired than a Hebrew psalm ? Study that antique record of Zarathustra in the Gathas, which all scholars receive as the oldest part of the Zend Avesta. Does it not rest on a religious experience similar in kind to that of Isaiah ? Theologies may be many, yet religion is but one. It was after this truth that the Vedic seers were groping when they looked at the varied worship around them, and cried, ' They call him India, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, sages name variously him who is but one ;' or again, ' The sages in their hymns give many forms to him who is but one.' It was the essential fact with which the early Christians were confronted as they saw that the Greek poets and philosophers had reached truths about the being of God not all unlike those of Moses and the prophets. Their solu- tion was worthy of the freedom and universality of the spirit BIBLES AND BELIEFS OF MANKIND. 15 of Jesus. They were for recognizing and welcoming truth wherever they found it, and they referred it without hesita- tion to the ultimate source of wisdom and knowledge, the Logos, at once the minor thought and the uttered Word of God. The martyr Justin affirmed that the Logos had worked through Socrates, as it had been present in Jesus ; nay, with a wider outlook he spoke of the seed of the Logos implanted in every race of man. In virtue of his fellowship, therefore, all truth was relation and akin to Christ himself. He said,' Whatsoever things were said among all men, are the property of us Christians.' The Alexandrian teachers shared the same conceptions. The divine intelligence per- vaded human life and history, and showed itself in all that was best, in beauty, goodness, truth. In all ages, affirmed the author of the Wisdom of Solomon, ' wisdom entering into holy souls maketh them friends of God and prophets.' So we may claim in its widest application the saying of Mohammed: 'Every nation has a quarter of the heavens (to which they turn in prayer), it is God who turneth them towards it. Hasten then emulously after good wheresoever ye be, God will one day bring you all together.' " In so far as the soul discerns God, the reverence, adora- tion, trust, which constitute the moral and spiritual ele- ments of its faith, are in fact identical through every variety of creed. They may be more or less clearly articu- late, more or less crude and confused or pure and elevated, but they are in substance the same. In the adoration and benedictions of righteous men, said the poet of the Masnavi- i-Ma'navi, " the praises are mingled into one stream ; all the vessels are emptied into one river, because he that is praised is in fact only one. In this respect all religions are only one religion." When St. Paul quoted the words of Aratus on Mars Hill, " For we also are his offspring," did he not recog- nize the sonship of man to God as a universal truth ? Was not this the meaning of Jesus when he bade his followers pray, " Our Father who art in Heaven ? " If there is a "true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," will not every man as he lives by the light, 16 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. himself also show forth God ? The word of God is not of single application. It is boundless, unlimited. For each man as he enters into being, there is an idea in the divine mind (may we not say in our poor human fashion ?) of what God means him to be. That dwells in every soul. Thus conceived, the history of religion gathers up into itself the history of human thought and life. It becomes the story of God's continual revelation to our race. To realize the sympathy of religions is the first step towards grasping this great thought. May this Congress hasten the day of mutual understanding, when God, by whatever name we hallow him, shall be all in all ! In a like spirit of broad, profound faith, Prof. Milton S. Terry, in a parliament paper on " The Sacred Books of the World as Literature/' said : " I am a Christian, and must needs look at things from a Christian point of view. But that fact should not hinder the broadest observation. Christian scholars have for cen- turies admired the poems of Homer and will never lose in- terest in the story of Odysseus, the myriad-minded Greek, who traversed the roaring seas, touched many a foreign shore and observed the habitations and customs of many men. Will they be like to discard the recently deciphered Accadian hymns and Babylonian penitential psalms ? Is it probable that men who can devote studious years to the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle will care nothing about the invocations of the old Persian Avesta, the Vedic hymns, the doctrines of Buddha and the maxims of Confucius? Nay, I repeat it, I am a Christian ; therefore, I think there is nothing human or divine in any literature of the world that I can afford to ignore. My own New Testament scrip- tures enjoin the following words as a solemn com- mandment : ' Whatever things are true, whatever things are worthy of honor, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, exercise reason upon these things.' " GODS OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. The goddess ISHT AR of NINEVEH standing on a gryphon. (From an impression of a cylinder-seal in the British Museum.) The Assyrian god DAGON. (From a bas-relief on the walls of the palace of Assur-nasir-pal, king of Assyria B.C. 885-860), discovered at Calah (Nimrud), now in the British Museum.') The Babylonian MOON-GOD. 'From an impression of a cylinder-seal in the British Museum.) The Assyrian heroes, GILGAMISH and EABANI. wrestling with a lion and a bull. (From an impression of a cylinder-seal in the British Museum.) EGYPTIAN GODS AND GODDESSES AMEN, father of the gods PTAH, the Create RA, the Sun-god. THOTH, scribe of the gods. The goddess The goddess SEKHET, HAPI Jtrfge of the dead. KEITH, the Weaver. the Sun-flame. the god of the Nile. l *^ ,JT O> 1^ film liUii fifI ! '5 5 J= J= |!!|1| gfifi fiirij iiili S fc W^ S^T, l-"O-O 3.E C jSs|jg- ^fc"5 H .S r* w5 "B = 5 p !r ^^ S|H4 ^ HJ fc rt -Sl5-- BABYLONIAN BOUNDARY STONE OR LANDMARK, recording the purchase of a plot of ground in Blt- Hanbi from Amil-Bel, the son of Hanbi, by Marduk- Nasir.an officer of the king of Babylon. (British Museum, No. 106.) The figures upon the upper part of the stone are supposed to re- present certain gods and signs of the Zodiac. The inscription upon the reverse gives the details of the place wherein the plot of land was situated, and states that the price of the land, viz. 816 pieces of silver, was paid in kind, and that the name of the land- surveyor was Shapiku, the son ofltti-Marduk-baladhu. It closes with a series of curses upon any future governor of Bit-Hanbi, or officer of the government, or other person, who shall remove this "everlasting landmark" or attempt to interfere with the boundaries of the land described upon it. The gods Anu, Bel, Ea, Sin, Shamash, Ishtar, Marduk, Adar Gula, Rammanu and Nebo are entreated to destroy any such offender and his children for ever and ever. BAKED TERRA-COTTA TABLET, inscribed in cuneiform characters with the Assyrian Account of the Deluge, from the Library of Assur-bani-pal, king of Assyria (B.C. 668-626), at Nineveh. (British Museum, No. K. 3375-) The Assyrian account of the Flood is told to the mythical hero Gilgamish by Khasisadra the sage. The gods Anu, Bel, Ea, and Adar, assembled together in the city Surippak on the Euphrates, decreed a flood, and they bade Khasisadra to build a ship or ark large enough to hold himself, his family, and his servants and cattle. When the ship was ready, Khasisadra entered with his possessions, and closed the door, and the floods came and destroyed mankind. The flood lasted six days and seven nights, when, the goddess Ishtar having entreated the gods on behalf of mankind, the rain ceased. The ship sailed over the sea towards the land of Nizir, where it remained until the waters abated. After seven days Khasisadra sent forth a dove, but it returned. He next sent forth a swallow, and that also returned ; and lastly he sent out a raven, which did not come back again. When Khasisadra saw this, he sent forth his family and servants from the ark, and upon an altar, set up upon a mountain peak, he offered sacrifices to the gods. The gods accepted the sacrifices, and rejoiced in their sweet-smelling savour; they clustered about them like flies. The "bow of Anu " (the Sky-god) is mentioned. THREE OF THE FRAGMENTS OF A CLAY CYLINDER OF SARGON, KING OF ASSYRIA 18.0.722-705). (From the Library of Assur-bani-pal, king of Assyria (B. C. 668-6*6), at Nineveh [British Museum, Nos. 1668 a, 1671].) The inscription states that Sargon made war against the Medes, and gives a list of the names of the governors of Median cities. It also gives a fairly full account of his famous campaign in the ninth year of his reign against Azuri. king of Ashdod, when Hezekiah was king of Judah (see Isa. xx. I). Sargon succeeded in crossing the moat, thirty-six feet deep, which the inhabitants of Ashdod had flooded, and captured the city. The people of Philistia, Judah, Edom and Moab had sent gifts to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and had asked his help ; but the result of their mission is not known. Sargon attacked the allied forces near Egypt, and defeated them, and their leaders fled. THREE COLUMNS FROM A CUNEIFORM TEXT OF NEBU- CHADNEZZAR II, king of Babylon (8.0.605-561), (Inscribed in archaic Babylonian characters upon a black basalt slab found among the ruins of Babylon, now in the India Office.) This text records the genealogy and titles of Nebuchadnezzar, and declares his reverence for the gods Marduk and Ncbo. To build a temple in honour of the god Marduk, Nebu- chadnezzar has brought together gold, silver, precious stone-,, bronze, costly woods, &c. ; and he describes the great works, architectural and other, which he undertook to the glory of his gods, the beauty of his city, and the good of his people. He restored and completed Imgur-Bel and Nimitti-Bel. the great walls of Babylon, which his father Nabopolassar had begun, and he fortified Babylon on all sides. f'*Qt DOCUMENT ON PAPYRUS, FROM EGYPT, in the form of a roll bound round with strips of papyrus and sealed with two clay seals; of the Graeco-Roman period. 2 ) (British Museum.) UNBAKED BRICK, made of Nile mud and chopped straw, stamped with the prenomen of Rameses II, king of Egypt, Usr-maat-Ra, setep-en-Ra (about B.C. 1330). (From brick No. 6020 in the British Museum.) , \| 1 1 THE MOABITE STONE. (Paris, Museum of the Louvre.) Monument dedicated to the god Kem6sh by Mcsha, king of Moab, about B. C. SjKj.jojecord his victory command of his god. The stone, which measures 3 ft. loi in the Phoenician character, was found at Dibhan in the in pieces, but about two-thirds cf the fragments were re text of the inscription frorc the paper impression which i he undertook l>y < 2 ft. X I4i in., and contains 34 lines of inscription d of Moab in 1868. It was unfortunately broken /ered, and it is possible to give a nearly complete > taken before the stone was broken. CYLINDER-SEAL, INSCRIBED WITH THE NAME OF DARIUS. The trilingual cuneiform inscription reads: "1 am Darius the great King." The seal is of hard stone, cut in the form of a cylinder, and is engraved with a design representing the king hunting lions; the emblem of the great god of Persia, in the shape of a winged figure pro- tecting the king, being placed above. FRAGMENT OF A CLAY TABLET, inscribed in cuneiform characters with part of the Assyrian Account of the Creation, from the Library of Assur-bani-pal, king of Assyria (B. c. 668-626), at Nineveh. (British Museum, No. K. 5419.) The text describes a time when water was the parent of all things, when there was universal darkness and when as yet there was neither heaven, nor earth, and when the gods them. BRICK OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR, II KING OF BABYLON (B.C. 605-561). The inscription reads: "I am Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, the restorer of the temples of Sag-ili and Zida, the eldest son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon." Bricks used in the construction of public buildings bore the stamp of the king in whose reign they were made. This brick measures 13 x 13 in. ; it is now in the British Museum EXTRACT FROM A CUNEIFORM TEXT recording the capture of Jerusalem, inscribed on a clay cylinder of the Annals of Sennacherib (B.C. 705-681), now in the British Museum. The substance of Sennacherib's account is as follows : " Six and forty of the fenced cities, and the fortresses, and the villages round about them, belonging to Hezekiah the Jew, who had not submitted to my rule, I besieged and stormed and captured. I carried away from them two hundred thousand and one hundred and fifty souls, great and small, male and female, and horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep without number. In his house in Jerusalem I shut up Hezekiah like a bird in a cage. I threw up mounds round about the city from which to attack it, and I blockaded his gates. The cities which I had captured from him I took away from his kingdom and I gave them to Mitinti, king Of Ashdod." . . . 7 HEBREW MS. (Exod. xx. 1-5) Written earlier tnan A.D.gi6. (British Museum, Add. 444 5 ) Portions of the Pentateuch. The text is arranged in two columns to the page, and is accompanied by the Massorah Magna and Parva. SYRIAC MS. (Exod. xiii. 14-16) A. D. 464. (British Museum, Add. MS. 14,435.)* Four books of the Pentateuch, viz. Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, ac- cording to the Peshitta version, in the Estrangela-Syriac character. Written in the city of Amid, A. O. 464: the oldest dated Biblical manuscript in existence. From the monastery of St. Mary Deipara in the Nitrian Desert of Egypt. SAMARITAN MS. (Deut. i. 44-ii. 7)-A.D. 1219. (Cambridge. Univ. Library, Add. 714.) The manuscript is bilingual, Samaritan and Arabic in Samaritan characters, written parallel double columns. This plate represents the Arabic text. o? * SAMARITAN MS. (Deut. i. 44-"- 7)- A - D - (Cambridge, Univ. Library, Add. 714.) The manuscript is bilingual, Samaritan and Arabic in Samaritan characters, written in parallel double columns. This plate represents the Samaritan text. AO > CTO J c.KATf YXAC P \ O CT0l MH^tCl -rof c r o M-rS y KVtof M i - cV N e eo> A? -x i Tcii H n XTf lci$ NTH c l CODEX VATICANUS (i Esdras ii. i-8)-Fourth century. (Rome, Vatican Library.) The Bible in Greek, written in uncial letters probably in the fourth century. The text is arranged in three columns to a page, except in the poetical books of the Old Testament, which are written in double columns. Apparently in the tenth century, the writine was carefully, but quite unnecessarily, retraced in darker ink, only such words and letters being left untouched as appeared to the writer to be superfluous in a correct text. The same hand added the breathings and accents. The MS. was already in the Vatican Library in Rome in the fifteenth century, but nothing is known of its previous history. eneAeyceNAi AYT*-l*t : 'CFyiSlA l | **'* KA-KAJ H NITOKOf A Al CODEX SINAITICUS (Esther ii. 3-8) Fourth or fifth century. (Leipzig, Royal Library.) uncial letters probably in the fourth or fifth century. The text is arranged p -rcL > x o i "n x | XTT.X isn -vcn OY < -ne TT x hj re C CL> c VVTCI>C XT i o> Hi e i- TXOC ) CODEX ALEXANDRINUS (St. Luke xii. 54~xiii. 4> Fifth century. '(British Museum, Royal MS. I D. v-viii.) The Bible in Greek, written in uncial letters in the fifth century The text is arranPed in two columns to a We. It once belonged to the Patnarchal Chamber of Alexandria whence ftsTame), an/w probably carried away by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Alexandra. who became Patriarch of Constantinople in .62,. Cyril sent it as a present to K,r,R Charles the First in 1627. It came into the possession of the British Museum with the rest of the Royal MSS. TU N cu <\t>iTe n\$suor>iT s epi em ylj o s sps s ec u ir> fg e a cu o Re.< s ^ MTNOU is s m>\ LATIN GOSPEL (St. Matt. xii. 42-45) Sixth century. (British Museum, Harley MS. 1775.) The Four Gospels, in Latin, of the version of Saint Jerome, written in uncial letters in the sixth century. The line written by the corrector at the top of the page is followed by the letters ft. d. (probably hie deest), and is to be inserted at the end of line 5, which is followed by the letters h. s. (probably hie scribas or hie supple). w o rCs i ixo r c: H fVi -i-errr JLV COPTIC MS. (St. Luke v. 5-9) Eighth century or earlier. (Zouche Collection.) The New Testament written in the Sahidic or Theban dialect of the Coptic language. It is one ol the oldest known Coptic MSS of the Bible. The letters * *. on the margin of line 23 mark the beginning of the Euseb.an section No. ^i. Parallel passages in other Gospels are afso referred to. The MS was brought from Egypt by the late Archdeacon Tattam. ' ai}d Races World's Bibles. THE systems of religion which are of chief account in human history may be noted by their place in the annals of mankind, by their relation to each other, and by their significance as factors of human culture. The Babylonian, which later became that of Assyria, with some very significant changes ; the Egyptian, hardly less ancient than the Babylonian, and not less original ; and the Hebrew, now found to be largely borrowed, its material from Babylonia and its spirit from Assyria, or from the kindred Canaanite or Phoenician cult, form a group in the south- western ancient field, of extreme interest and importance, from the Semitic shadows which fell on them, out of the desert and the wilderness, and from them on the historical developments which discipleship attempted of the teaching and story of Christ. Contiguous to Egypt and to Phoenicia, Greece developed a tradition of reason and humanity profoundly instructive in its facts and its form, and of a very deep influence from the lessons of light found in it, by the earlier teachers of his- torical Christianity, and not less from errors of method with scripture, and of speculation in doctrine, which the same teachers accepted and transmitted, with disaster the most deplorable to the pure original truth of Christ. Far to the northwest of the Semitic group, on the Aryan (17) 18 LANDS AND RACES OF THE WORLDS BIBLES. ground from which the Greek race had originally gone west, there sprang into immense world-wide development another and vaster group, which very early gave the Zoroastrianism of Persia, now called Parsee, and the Vedic Brahmanism of India, which we designate Hinduism; while Brahmanism, through the extraordinary person and work of Buddha, yielded Buddhism, on a basis of deep reformation and pro- found 'fulfilment' of traditional Hindu faith; and about the same time yielded the Jain sect of heretics (atheist and saint-worshipping). In the remotest east appeared two systems of China, the Taouism of Lao-tse, notable chiefly as the older of the Chi- nese systems, and Confucianism, constructed by Confucius on the basis of sagacious selection from the traditions hand- ed down from Chinese antiquity. Two great religions of later date stand unrelated to other systems and to each other, the Christian, a profoundly revo- lutionary development upon Judaism, more richly indi- vidual from Christ as a Teacher than even Christian scholar- ship yet understands, and Mohammedanism, marvellously built upon the character, life, teaching, and scripture (Koran) of Mohammed. In characteristic elements and historical place and prom- inence, Christianity appears asserting itself against and above all other systems, with Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Mohammedanism especially confronting it, and together outnumbering it more than two to one. The power of Mo- hammedanism over inferior races, those of Africa especially, and not less to convert than to accomplish some degree of elevation, has challenged not only humanitarian but Chris- tian interest. Among the more thoughtful disciples of the great systems of India, whether drawn from Vedic scripture or from the teaching of Buddha, the ethics and theism of Christ have already had a profoundly modifying effect, tending to christianize to a certain extent. What may be called the New India frankly accepts Christ as ft Teacher, and distinctly adopts a Christianity of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. ORIGIN OF THE WORLD'S SACRED BOOKS. FTJeanincj of the Term Bible. r~plHE word Bible comes to us from Egypt through the JL Greek. A plant widely cultivated in Lower Egypt gave a stem, from the fibrous parts of which ancient writing material was made. One of the ancient Egyptian names of this plant was P apu, and this gave in Greek the word papyrus, from which we have paper. A second name in Greek for the same thing was byblos, also of Egyptian origin. Herodotus always uses byblos, and from this word came the Greek word biblion, a writing or writing material, a little book. A single example of it or a single writing would be small, and the word has the ending of a diminutive. To, biblia, the plural, was used for writing material in any quan- tity, and for such a number of specimens of writing as would form what we call a book. A bible meant no more than a paper or single writing, and it would have been all the same for correct use of words if time and change had given us a Holy Paper and the daily bibles of Journalism, instead of a Holy Bible and the daily papers. There is no authority anywhere for our use of the word Bible. The plural term, TA BIBLIA, was first brought into use by a Greek scholar, Chrysostom, towards the close of the fourth century after Christ. It meant The Books, Hebrew and Christian, in use among Christians. In course of time, hundreds of years later, when learning was con- fined to ecclesiastics ignorant of Greek, and using Latin only, in which a word like Biblia would seem to be a femi- nine singular, the correct sense of Books was lost, and that (19) 20 ORIGIN OF THE WORLD'S SACRED BOOKS. of Book took its place. As a matter of correct learning any Bible except the Koran of Mohammed is a collection of books wholly separate each from the other in their origin, character, and authority, and brought into unity by tra- dition and usage only. This tradition and usage may be wise and right, but they have no such ground of authority as any separate original book might have. Ignorance has had much to do with usage and no scholar can assume that wisdom has guided tradition. Tradition was sceptical at first about the book of Revelation, one of the earliest written and most genuine books of the New Testament col- lection of books. It was put last for this reason, when it should have been put among the first. Ignorance of the real facts has led to taking the last words of this peculiar book as meant to apply to the whole of our Bible. These words forbid adding to or taking from " the words of the prophecy of this book," or " the words of the book of this prophecy," on pain of loss of eternal life. The writer had in mind his own book only, with views about it not at all in harmony with any future making of a volume in which his book should take a doubtful last place. In the several accounts of writings held to be Sacred Scriptures, under different religions, it will be found that usage and tradition have in all cases taken one identical course to put a stamp of unity upon a collection of writings, and make a Bible by binding together in use and authority a number of separate books or productions. Christians have almost uniformly held that for our Bible this was rightly done, and for all other Bibles of mankind wrongly done. Be this as it may, the facts show that it has been similarly done in all cases, and that similar convictions have led to usage and tradition creating all the Bibles of mankind. If it has been naturally done in the Christian instance, as well as in others, and has served for supernatural or spiritual suggestion in all instances alike, but without external abso- lute authority in any, religion becomes a humble search, an obedient waiting, an effort and endeavor in which all the races under all the faiths are men and brethren. JOAN OF ARC. DE CHATILLON. One of the memorable scenes in the life of a marvellously sincere religious enthusiast, whose dreams made her at once a saint and a soldier. FORBIDDEN READING. KARL OOMS. A reminiscence in effective art of occasions now long past when the Bible in the vernacular tongue was not free to the people, and to even read it in private was to incur the penalties of sedition. Qtd and L ROfflflN D0THOLIC VIEW OF THE BIBLE. THE CATHOLIC OETHODOX and high unqualified view of the Bible as the absolute Word of God, a unit of supernatural utterance, composed indeed of " the sacred books of the Jews and Christians," and making "a large volume of writings," but all alike " Holy Writ, composed under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost," was set forth in the Parliament of Religions, by Rt. Rev. Dr. Robert Seton, a Roman Catholic divine. Quoting an eminent authority, Dr. Seton said of the writings, Jewish and Chris- tian, gathered into one Divine Library or Holy Bible, that they " must be held to be divine in this sense that they are the books of God as their efficient cause, and that God is the author of these books by His supernatural action upon their human writers"; and he further said that "the canonical books being always regarded as utterances of the Holy Ghost, we are not surprised that Saint Augustine writes to Saint Jerome : ' So great is the fear and reverence which I have learned to show to those books of Scripture which are alone called canonical, that I most firmly believe none of their authors to have erred in any particular.' " " The Church,'' said Dr. Seton, " had always taught that God is the one author of the Old and New Testament ; but the Vatican Council more clearly declared that the Church holds the books of the Old and New Testament to be sacred and canonical, 'not because, hav- ing been carefully composed by mere human industry, they were (21) 22 ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW OF THE BIBLE. afterwards approved by her authority ; nor merely because they con- tain revelation with no admixture of error; but because, having been written by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author, and have been delivered as such to the Church herself.' " Dr. Seton, however, completed this statement by saying that " the inspiration of Scripture or rather our certainty of this inspiration rests upon the infallibility of the Church, whose object is the whole revealed Word of Grod"; the general fact being that " according to our view the Bible does not contain the whole of revealed truth," much of this consisting of the teaching of the Church, "the living uner- ring authority, to whom infallibility was promised and given "; " nor is it necessary for every Christian to read and understand it," because the Church, which " is historically independent of the Holy Scriptures," may stand in place of them as a source of instruction. Dr. Seton quoted " Saint Augustine, the greatest of the doctors," as having declared : " I would not believe the Gos- pel unless on the authority of the Church." And he put the Church above the Bible by saying : "The authority of the Sacred Scriptures, although, of course, very great in the Church, is not of itself supreme and paramount, being only a part of the revealed word of God, and subject in its interpreta- tion and understanding to the controlling influence of the spoken Word of God commonly called Tradition." In view of the fact that " the Holy Scriptures have been translated into every language," Dr. Seton said: "But among these almost innumerable versions one only, which is called the Vulgate, is authorized and declared to be 'authentic' by the Church"; the Council of Trent having " ordained and declared that the said old and vulgate edition, which, by the lengthened use of so many centuries, has been approved of in the Church, be, in public lectures, dis- putations, sermons, and expositions, held as authentic ; and that no one is to dare or presume to reject it under any pre- text whatever." Dr. Seton argues from this declaration of Trent, that the version so pronounced authentic " must fairly represent the ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW OF THE BIBLE. 23 original, and does not substantially, or in anything of mo- ment, depart from the true sense of the Scripture." The history of the Vulgate, Jerome's Latin Bible, he speaks of as follows : " It is the common opinion that from the first age of Christianity one particular version \i. e., of the Old Testament Hebrew books] made from the Septuagint, was received and sanctioned by the Church in Rome, and used throughout the West. Among individual Chris- tians almost innumerable Latin translations were current ; but only one of these, called the Old Latin, bore an official stamp. It is uncertain whether this translation was made in Africa or in Italy. It was early called the Italic version. The Vulgate in our modern sense is partly derived from it, and began with the work of Saint Jerome, at the end of the fourth century. He made an entirely new translation from the original [Hebrew or Greek] text of some parts of Scripture; corrected some parts of the ancient Italic version, and left other parts of this same untouched. These translations, corrections, and portions left untouched by Saint Jerome, being brought together, form the Vul- gate, which, however, did not displace the old version for two centuries, although it spread rapidly, and constantly gained strength, until about A.D. 600 it was generally received in the churches of the West, and has continued ever since in common use." Dr. Seton's account of the way in which the Bible came into the hands of the Church is as follows : "Only seven of the Apostles and disciples of our Lord left anything written, and when Saint Luke composed the Acts there were already many local churches governed by their own pastors ; and Saint Paul had commended the Romans, saying, ' Your faith is spoken of in the whole world,' forty years before the last book of the New Testament, the Apocalypse or Revelation of Saint John, was committed to writing. Some ten generations of Christians lived and died before that collec- tion of sacred books called the Bible was universally known and received. "The Christian Church did not receive the canon of Old Testa- ment Scripture from the Jewish Synagogue, because there was no settled Hebrew canon until long after the promulgation of the gospel. The inspired writers of the New Testament did not enumerate the books received by Christ and his disciples. Nevertheless we are certain that the Septuagint version or translation of the Old Testament Scriptures into Greek, made, some part (the Pentateuch) at Alexandria about 280 B.C., and the rest, made also in Egypt before 133 B.C., which con- tains several books now thrown out by the Jews, was favorably viewed 24 ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW OF THE BIBLE. and almost constantly quoted from by them, so that Saint Augustine says that it is ' of most grave and pre-eminent authority.' It is supposed to be the oldest of all the versions of the Scriptures [i. e., the Hebrew, Old Testament Scriptures], and was commonly used in the Church for four centuries, since from it was made that veiy early Latin translation which was used in the West before St. Jerome's Vulgate. It was held in great repute for a long time by the Jews and read in their syna- gogues, until it became odious to them on account of its use by Chris- tians. From it the great body of the Fathers have quoted, and it is still used in the Greek Church. It contains all the books of the Old Testa- ment which Catholics acknowledge to be genuine. The Christian writers of the first three centuries were unanimous in accepting these books as inspired, including those called deuterocanonical, and rejected by the Jews. The canon of Scripture never varied in Rome. The Bible, having become an occasion of bitter religious controversy, the canonicity of the Scriptures was thoroughly discussed and forever set- tled for Catholics by the Council of Trent, which uses these words, April 8th, 1546, A.D. : ' The Synod, following the example of the Ortho- dox Fathers, receives and venerates with an equal affection of piety and reverence, all the books both of the Old and of the New Testament- seeing that one God is the author of both and it has thought it meet that a list of the sacred books be inserted in this decree.' " The list includes, in addition to 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books, which orthodox Protestants accept, seven of the Apocryphal books of the Old Testament, " called deuterocanonical and rejected by Jews," as also by Protest- ant Christians. These are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesi- asticus, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees. In giving the list the Trent declaration pronounced the four Gospels to be "according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John"; the Acts to have been "written by Luke the Evangelist"; and it ascribed fourteen Epistles to " Paul the Apostle," includ- ing Hebrews ; and three, with the Apocalypse, to " John the Apostle." Dr. Seton, as the statements already given im- ply, gives this as the Catholic definition of inspiration : " Inspiration is a certain influence of the Holy Spirit upon the mind of a writer urging him to write and so acting upon him that his word is truly the work of God." The Vatican Council of 1870 laid down the following canon : ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW OF THE BIBLE. 25 "If any one shall not receive as sacred and canonical the books of Holy Scripture, entire with all their parts, as the Holy Synod of Trent has enumerated them, or shall deny that they have been divinely inspired, Let him be Anathema." Of the duty of the church to instruct in matters of Scrip- ture, Dr. Seton says : "One of the duties incumbent -upon the pastors of the church, in the conduct of public worship, has ever been the reading of the Scriptures, with an explanation of what was read or an exhortation derived from it. During the Middle Ages, the one course of learning which exceeded in importance all other coursee, was the study of the Scriptures; so that it is impossible to read the works of mediaeval scholars without perceiv- ing how thoroughly they were acquainted with the letter, and imbued with the spirit of Holy Writ. " At a later period the Council of Trent ordained that lectureships of sacred Scriptures, where not already founded, were to be established in cathedral and collegiate churches and in the monasteries of monks, and asked the public authorities to endow such lectureships 'so honorable and the most necessary of all ' ' that the heavenly treasure of the sacred books, which the Holy Ghost has with the greatest liberality delivered unto men, may not lie neglected.' "The Church ardently supports all efforts for a deeper study and a profounder knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, nor does she interfere with the interpretation of the sacred text when it is undertaken with, at least an implied subordination to the higher law. " Catholic commentators may differ even from the greatest and most orthodox of their predecessors, only they are not at liberty to attach to Scripture a meaning in conflict with the unanimous consent of th Fathers or a doctrinal decision of the Church." II. rtftodox Protestant View of tfte I3i6fe, THE PEOTESTAISTT OKTHODOX view of the Bible proceedb to no small extent upon the same lines as the Catholic. It' it casts out the seven Apocryphal books named as Holy Writ by the Council of Trent, the Catholic apologist can truly say that the early Christians had less doubt about these books than about some of our New Testament books, and the honest scholar is compelled to admit that our Esther, Daniel, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, are in dif- ferent ways as doubtfully divine as the seven Catholic Apoc- rypha. If a high conception of God's Word written can cover all that is embraced in the Protestant Bible, and com- mend sixty-six separate human writings to free private judgment as the absolute infallible revelation of the mind of God, the Catholic list of seventy-three writings, held in the same way as absolute revelation, but with the require- ment that none shall read without pious heed to the teach- ing of the Church, as a controlling interpretation of the mind of God, does not put any new strain upon faith. The doctrines openly insisted on by Catholicism, that the Church necessarily controls the interpretation of Scrip- ture ; that from the Church in her ministry of instruction many persons, most persons, in fact, not to say all "the faithful," must inevitably take such knowledge of revela- tion as is unto salvation ; and the declaration of anathema upon whoever should contravene the teaching held to be divine by the Church ; gave way in appearance more than in fact when the Catholic system was broken up by the rise (26) ORTHODOX PROTESTANT VIEW OF THE BIBLE. 27 of Protestant sects. To each of those sects it became neces- sary to have a teaching, and to impose this with a rigor oftentimes exceeding the Catholic. Practically Presbyteri- anism, Congregationalism, Methodism, and the individual- ism even of eccentric expounders and evangelists, have held the Catholic doctrine of Scripture, with the difference only of applying it to sixty-six separate writings instead of to seventy-three. That doctrine is a direct tradition from early ' Jewish opinion, the logic of which has dominated all the generations from that of Ezra to our own, except as the growth of mental freedom, variously qualifying the ortho- doxy of individuals or of sects, has more or less created a contradiction between professed belief and real belief. In the article " Inspiration," by a Scotch divine, Rev. Dr. T. M. Lindsay, in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Protest- ant Orthodox view is given in these terms : " 'Inspiration ' is used to express the fact that holy men of old spakt, as they were moved by the Spirit of God. The idea is not exclusively Jewish or Christian; pagans have had their inspired speakers and writers and their ideas of inspiration, and these earlier pagan notions have had their effect on some of the forms which the Christian doc- trine has assumed. "The classical languages contain many words and phrases express- ive of this idea. Artistic powers and poetic talents, gifts of prediction, the warmth of love and the battle frenzy, were all ascribed to the power of the god possessing the man inspired. And these words were taken over into Christian theological writing, and used to describe what Jew- ish and Christian divines have called inspiration. " In Christian theology inspiration always has to do with the belief that God has " wholly committed to writing ' His revelation, and that men have it permanently, fully, and in an infallibly trustworthy way. "The doctrine of inspiration in Christian theology contains very little reference to the psychological state of the persons inspired, and when it does enter into such details we may generally trace their pres- ence back to the influence of pagan ideas or words. "Our knowledge of the opinions of ancient Jewish thinkers about inspiration comes chiefly from the Apocrypha, from Josephus, and from Philo Judseus. The writers of the Apocrypha do not give us any theory or doctrine of inspiration. It is in I. Maccabees, xii. 9, that the expression ' the Holy Books ' is first used of Old Testament books ; and it is evident that the Pentateuch, or the Books of the Law, were held 28 ORTHODOX PROTESTANT VIEW OF THE BIBLE. in special reverence, but beyond this we do not find a doctrine of inspi- ration. " Nor does Josephus formally state or discuss the dogma in his writ- ings, but his language shows that he and his contemporaries [the second half of the first century after Christ] believed that the Old Testament Scriptures were the "Word of God. "It is Philo [a Jew of Alexandria in Egypt who lived from about 20 B.C. to later than 40 A.D.] who first seeks to give a theory of inspira- tion, and he does so by bringing the reflections of Plato upon the pagan inspiration or mania to explain the Jewish doctrine. Following Plato, Philo says that inspiration is a kind of 'ecstasy,' and he seems to imply that the degree of inspiration is greater in proportion to the uncon- sciousness or at least to the passivity of the man inspired (the inspired person being possessed, passive in the hands of the inspiring deity, no longer himself, but the god who for the moment dwelt in him, and used him as he might an inanimate instrument). The prophet, he says, does not speak any words of his own ; he is only the instrument of God, who inspires and who speaks through him ; but he says that there are degrees of inspiration, and that all portions of Scripture have not the same depth of inspiration. Moses has the first place in the scale of inspired writers ; but this idea of degrees of inspiration, a conception borrowed from Plato, does not seem to prevent Philo from thinking that the very words of the Old Testament were all inspired of God. It was also a common opinion among the Rabbins, that not merely the thoughts and words, but even the vowel points and accents, were of divine origin ; but this idea seems to have been compatible with the theory that there were three degrees of inspiration (for ' the Law, the Prophets, and the other Books '), the highest being the inspiration of the Pentateuch and the lowest that of the Hagiographa (Holy Writing's of the third class). "The early Christian Church seems to have simply taken over the Jewish views about the inspiration of the Old Testament; and, when the New Testament canon was complete [several generations after Christ], they transferred the same characteristics to the New Testament writings also. " It is difficult to gather any consistent doctrine of inspiration from the writings of the early fathers of the Church, and when they do speak of inspiration it seems as if they were thinking more of the psycho- logical process going on in the mind of the inspired man than of the result in an inspired book. We find the doctrine of inspiration described under such metaphors as the Platonists were accustomed to use ; and Montanus could appeal to the almost unanimous idea of the Church that prophecy implied both passivity and ecstasy. The Apolo- gists were accustomed to plead for the credibility of the inspiration of ORTHODOX PROTESTANT VIEW OF THE BIBLE. 29 the Scriptures by appealing to the oracle of Dodona, to the supernatu- ral character of the Sibylline books, and to the universally accepted fact of mania. ' ' The early theologians, when discussing the inspiration of the Apos- tles, forgot the writing in describing the writers, and enlarged on the powers communicated to them to guide the Church, to work miracles, and to foretell the future. The promise of the Spirit, however, was not confined to the Apostles ; all believers were to share in it. Justin Martyr [in the first half of the second century after Christ] speaks of the miraculous powers of the Apostles, and of the spiritual gifts of all Christians, as if the two were the same; and Tertullian [active A. D. 190-220], while he does draw a distinction between the inspiration of the Apostles and that common to all believers, declares that the differ- ence is one of degree. There emerged in due time out of these con- flicting tendencies a double doctrine of inspiration the inspiration of Scripture, which insured that the knowledge they communicated was correct, and the inspiration of the Church, which insured that the knowledge infallibly communicated was infallibly understood. ' ' The Schoolmen accepted the doctrine of inspiration as it came to them from the fathers, but methodized it. They recognized that a rev- elation which is primarily doctrinal, and that only, requires infallibility in interpretation as well as infallibility in delivery ; and so the inspira- tion of the Church was as important as the infallibility of Scripture. As time went on the infallible interpretations were collected, and side by side with an infallible Scripture was the infallible tradition. "Many of the Schoolmen held [in view of large parts of Scripture which do not contain doctrinal statements, nor give rules of holy liv- ing], that there were two kinds of inspiration in Scripture, the direct, which is to be found where doctrinal and moral truths are directly taught, and the indirect, which appears in historical passages, whence the doctrinal and moral can only be indirectly evolved by the use of allegorical interpretation. "The real gist of the Reformation doctrine of Scripture was this, that Scripture was a means of grace, a means of awakening the new life in the heart ; that above all the Scripture was the sword of the Spirit, and that its main use was to pierce the heart and conscience. Inspiration secured that the Scriptures should be instinct with God's power for salvation, able to appeal with the very power of God to the hearts and consciences of men, as well as full of the knowledge which God has pleased to communicate to man. The Reformers were content to leave the doctrine of inspiration without much further definition, but they took the full advantage of the spiritual form of the doctrine to use great freedom with the letter of Scripture. " Their successors, the Protestant Scholastics, acted otherwise. They 30 ORTHODOX PROTESTANT VIEW OF THE BIBLE. dwelt on the fact that inspiration secured accuracy, rather than on the fact that it brought with it spiritual power. Gerhard held that the writers were the 'pens,' the 'amanuenses', of the Holy Ghost. Cal- ovius and Quenstedt say the same. Quenstedt holds that everything ir. Scripture conies from the infallible divine assistance and direction,, from a special suggestion and dictation of the Holy Spirit; and he says that because Scripture is inspired it is of infallible truth and free from every error ; canonical Scripture contains not the very slightest error either in fact or in word ; whatever things it relates, all and every one of them, are of the very highest truth, whether they be ethical or historical, chronological, topographical, or verbal; there is no igno- lance, no want of knowledge, no forgetfulness, no lapse of memory in Scripture. The framers of the Formula Consensus Helvetica went further, and declared that the Old Testament was inspired of God in its matter, its words, its consonants, its vowels, and its punctuation." "The Socinians and certain Arminians, such as 3piscopius, who started with the idea that the Bible is simply a communication of knowledge, resuscitated the scholastic idea of partial inspiration. They held that inspiration was only required to communicate knowledge which the writer could not otherwise obtain, and they usually asserted that only the doctrinal parts of the Bible were inspired, while the his- torical were not. " Those who hold naturalistic views of revelation reduce inspiration to a peculiar aptitude for and sympathy with moral and religious truth. Others, although believing in the supernatural character of revelation, hold that there is no warrant to suppose anything specially super- natural about the committal of the revelation to writing, and believe that God left His revelation to be recorded in the natural course of providence by men who had perhaps a larger share than their fellows of the spiritual enlightenment common to all believers. Others again have revived the doctrine of Thomas Aquinas that parts of the Bible are inspired, and other parts are not. "To meet such theories, orthodox theologians have invented the terms plenary inspiration and verbal inspiration, but the phrases are neither very exact or very enlightening." HI. The Higher Briticism View of the HE HIGHER CEITICISM view of the Bible, which is now the __ burning question of Protestant orthodoxy, is the reas- sei don against Protestant scholasticism of the early tendency of the Reformation to make the appeal of spiritual truth to the heart and conscience of supreme importance, and to take full advantage of this supreme importance of the spiritual to use great freedom with the letter of Scripture. It is the revolt of spiritual genius, of practical devotion to making religion effective, against the barren pursuit of dogma ; and, with this, the revolt of honest new knowledge and honest free faith against the ignorance, the credulity, the supersti- tion, the degrading bondage to traditions of darkness and wrong, which both Catholic and Protestant dogmatism have too often meant, and do still more or less mean. The extreme of scholastic imagination of supernatural perfection of the whole letter of the Bible, reached by Prot- estant scholasticism not less than by Catholic, and in a form nearer than the Catholic to the wildest extravagance of Rab- binical dogmatism, without moreover any proof whatever that the Bible itself requires or suggests such a doctrine, proceeded upon ignorance the most deplorable of the facts of authorship and of literature, of history and of teaching, which scholarly study of the several sections of the Bible, and of its individual books, compels an honest inquirer to take account of. The now celebrated Dr. Charles A. Briggs, who peculiarly represents the new departure within lines supposed to be strictly orthodox, had a paper in the Parlia- (81) 32 THE HIGHER CRITICISM VIEW OF THE BIBLE. ment of Religions, ostensibly making apology for the Bible as the Word of God, truthful and trustworthy, but embody- ing also these points of surrender of the common view : " We are obliged to admit that there are scientific errors in the Bible, errors of astronomy, of geology, of zoology, of botany, and of anthro- pology. In all these respects there is no evidence that the authors of these sacred writings had any other knowledge than that possessed by their contemporaries. " There are historical mistakes in the Christian Scriptures, mistakes of chronology and geography, errors of historical events and persons, discrepancies and inconsistencies in historians. They used ancient poems, popular traditions, legends and ballads, regal and family archives, codes of law and ancient narratives. There is no evidence that they received any of this history .by revelation from God. There is no evidence that the Divine Spirit corrected their narratives either when they were lying uncomposed in their minds, or written in manu- scripts." ' ' The most exact textual criticism leaves us with numerous errors in Holy Scripture, just where we found them in the transcribed texts of other sacred books." ' ' The higher criticism recognizes faults of grammar, of rhetoric, and of logic in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The Biblical authors used the language with which they were familiar, some of them classic Hebrew, others of them dialectic and corrupted Hebrew. Some of them have a good prose style, others of them have a dull, tedious, pedantic style. Some of them are poets of the highest rank, others of them write such inferior poetry that one is surprised that they did not use prose. Some of them reason clearly, profoundly, and convincingly, others of them reason in a loose, obscure, and unconvincing manner. Some of them present the truth like intuitions of light, others labor with it, and eventually deliver it in a crude and undeveloped form." " The higher criticism shows us that the most of the sacred books were composed by unknown authors, that they have passed through the hands of a considerable number of unknown editors, who have brought together the older materia) without removing discrepancies, inconsistencies, and errors. Judging from their work, it seems most probable that they were not guided bv the Divine Spirit in their gram- mar, in their rhetoric, in their logical expressions, in their arrange- ment of their material, or in their general editorial work." " The errors of Holy Scripture are not errors of falsehood, or of de- ceit; they are such errors of ignorance, inadvertence, and of partial and inadequate knowledge, as belong to man as man." "The religion of the Old Testament, inculcates some things whk h THE HIGHER CRITICISM VIEW OF THE BIBLE. 33 are hard to reconcile with an inerrant revelation. The sacrifice of Jeptha's daughter, and the divine command to Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a whole burnt offering, seem unsuited to a Divine religion. There is indeed no prohibition of the offering up of children in the earliest codes of the Hexateuch. The prohibition was first made in the Deuteronomic code, and originated somewhat late in the history of Israel. The early Hebrews shared with the Canaanites and other neighboring nations in the practice of offering up their children in the flame to Goa. God accepted the sacrifice of Jeptha [his daughter killed on the altar, with a knife, by her father's hand]. He graciously accepted the ram instead of Isaac. He provided a sacrificial system which gradually grew in wealth of symbolism through the ages of Jewish history. God was training Israel to understand the meaning of a higher sacrifice, even the obedience of the Christ in a holy life and a martyr death in the service of God and of humanity ; and of the sim- ilar sacrifice that every child of God is called upon to make. The offer- ing up of children and of domestic animals and grains was all a pre- paring discipline. The training was true and faithful for the time. These were the forms in which it was necessary to clothe the divine law of sacrifice in its earlier stages of revelation. These partial forms were the object-lessons by which the little children of the ancient world could be trained to understand the inerrant law of sacrifice for men. They have their propriety, as elementary forces, but they err from the idea of religion as it lies eternally in the mind and will of God. The prophets with great difficulty and with increasing opposition from priests and peop/e, gradually taught them that the sacrifices must be of broken and contrite hearts, and of humble, cheerful spirits." "We cannot defend the morals of the Old Testament at all points. Nowhere are polygamy and slavery condemned. The time had not come in the history of the world when they could be condemned. Is God responsible for the twin relics of barbarism because he did not con- demn them, but on the contrary recognized them ? The patriarchs were not truthful ; their age seems to have had little apprehension of the principles of truth, yet Abraham was faithful to God, the father of the faithful, the friend of God. David was a sinner, but his life as a whole was such that we must admire and love him as one of the best of men, and we are not surprised that the heart of God went out to him also. The commendation of Jael by the theophanic angel for the treacherous slaying of Sisera could not be commended in our age, and it is not easy to understand how God could have commended it in any age. And yet it is only in accord with the spirit of revenge which breathes in the command to exterminate the Canaanites, which ani- mates the imprecatory psalms, which is threaded into the story of Esther, and which stirred Nehemiah in his arbitrary government of 84 THE HIGHER CRITICISM VIEW OF THE BIBLE. Jerusalem. The Old Testament times were not ripe for the higher rev- elationthe different ethical world into which Christ lifts us, and G-od condescended to a partial revelation of his will such as would guide his people hi the right direction with as steady and rapid a pace as they were capable of making. Through all the stages of divine revelation laws were given which were but the scaffolding of the temple of holi- ness." " When we come to the doctrinal teachings of the Old Testament, there are at times representations of vindictiveness in God, a jealousy of other gods, a cruel disregard of human suffering and human life, an occasional vacillation and change of purpose, the passion of anger and arbitrary preferences, which betray the inadequacy of Israel to under- stand, and the errancy of their conceptions and representations ; and there are doubtless dark strands of national prejudice, of pharisaical particularism, of faulty psychology, and of occasional exaggeration of the more external forms of ceremonial sin." Yet for professional orthodox apology Dr. Briggs does not hesitate to insist that " the Holy Scriptures of the Christian Church are faithful guides to God and salvation," " the Old and New Testaments true, holy, and divine"; that while other sacred books are but " as torches of varying size and brilliancy lighting up the darkness of the night," the He- brew and Christian " are like the sun, dawning in the earliest writings of the Old Testament, rising in prophetic word and priestly thorah [law], in lyric psalm and in sentences of wis- dom, until the zenith is reached in the gospel of Jesus Christ"; that the authors of Bible writings "had, when they wrote concerning matters of religion, that insight, that foresight, that grasp of conception and power of expression " which they did not have in other matters ; that " they made no mistakes in religious instruction"; that they gave "the history of G-od's redemptive workings " with " no essential errors in the redemptive facts and agencies"; that "none of the mistakes and errors which have been discovered disturb the Religious lessons of Biblical history"; that the bad writing and bad reasoning and varied erring work of un- known authors and unknown editors still left " an inspira- tion which suggests the religious lessons to be imparted"; that " the divine communication was given with such clear- ness as to guide men aright in a religious life," to "give THE HIGHER CRITICISM VIEW OF THE BIBLE. 35 them true, faithful, reliable guidance in holy things," not- withstanding the " errors of ignorance, inadvertence, partial and inadequate knowledge, and incapacity to express the whole truth of God," which we are forced to admit ; that the worst features of Hebrew usage, such as throwing one's children into the fire of sacrifice, were useful and neces- sary object-lessons ; that wrong conceptions of God in Old Testament teaching, making him cruel, jealous, vindictive an angry and arbitrary deity, " do not mar the grandeur of the true God in the Old Testament "; that " the dark strands [in Jew humanity] do not mar, but rather serve to enhance the golden strands which constitute the major part of the cord which binds our race into an organism in the interests of a perfect and glorified humanity"; and that the Jew "ideals of redemption are divine ideals which the human race has not yet attained." On this last point Dr. Briggs says : "The most characteristic doctrines of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, are the doctrines of redemption. These are so striking that they entitle us to regard Biblical history as essentially a history of redemption, and Biblical literature as the literature of re- demption. The Biblical scheme of redemption is so vast, so compre- hensive, so far-reaching, that the Christian church has thus far failed in apprehending it. The central nucleus of this redemption is the Mes- sianic idea. Man is to pursue the course of divine discipline until he attains the holiness of God. Israel is to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. All the world is to be incorporated as citizens of Zion. Zion is the light and joy of the entire earth. A Messianic king is to reign over all nations. A Messianic prophet is to be the redeemer of all. A priestly king is to rule in peace and righteousness, a kingdom of priests. All evil is to be banished from nature and from man. The animal kingdom is to share in the universal peace. The vegetable world is to respond in glad song to the call of man. There are to be new heavens and a new earth, as well as a new Jerusalem, from which all the wicked will be excluded." IV. f HE EXTREME LIBEEAL view of Scripture is of a compara- tively recent school of Christian thought, and as it is not as yet as generally understood as the older and more orthodox view, it requires more extended treatment in order to ade- quately present this new conception of inspiration. This view may be said to stand upon what is held to be the simple essential Christianity of Christ, as a Teacher whose position and doctrine it is claimed can be critically deter- mined from the existing records, and whose gospel, very unlike that of Paul, or of any Apostles so-called, was one of pure theistic humanism, wholly ethical and humani- tarian, not standing dogmatically upon theism even, much less upon any doctrinal Messianism, but finding in love to man an adequately acted faith in God, and calling all men, of all religions, to the fellowship of loving one another, and the communion of united trust in and dependence on a common Heavenly Father. In this view of the Christianity of Christ, a new Chris- tianity which is yet the oldest and the truest Christianity, the various religions, Our own included, are natural dispen- sations making more or less adequate approach to the high est and purest religion, the coming of which by observation, in a church, or in a book, or in human society, the instructed Teacher will not permit us to expect, although it is in fact in the midst to all men everywhere, and to all scriptures or literatures which at all represent the higher life and the purer endeavors of mankind. The several scriptures and religions, in this view, are chapters of universal revelation, (36) EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. 37 each perhaps carrying its own impressive lesson, and all needing to be considered in order to a just and fall concep- tion of the highest and purest religion. The initial difficulty in this position is that of compre- hending a Christianity of pure spirit and truth, apart from our common historical Christianity, and a Christianity of Christ himself, separate from other forms of Christianity represented in the New Testament. In order to this com- prehension, it is necessary to see clearly that the essence, center, and substance of Christianity is ethical, is of life, of the moral attitude, and is not of the intellect and of dogma. It rises into knowledge of God, of Christ as a person, by one path only, that of respect for the character of love, in God and in Christ. It reads Scripture to one end, and in one way only, that of the spirit of love for increase of that spirit, never, as the heathen do, to make the writings divine and make a bondage of the mind to text and tenet. Not only that, it judges Scripture, judges what has been thought sacred history, to cut away and cast away everything which obstructs the spirit of love, or puts any other ideal in its place. It scouts as the very antithesis of faith, the error of false belief, the narrow idea of any people or any writings specially shutting up in themselves the revelation of God, the mind of Christ, the power of true Christianity. .In the Oxford Bampton lectures of Canon Fremantle, a defence is made at great length of this spiritual way of conceiving Christianity. Thus Fremantle says : " There is a proleptic, or anticipatory Christianity, of which we may see traces deep down in the convictions of the various races of men. There is also an unconscious Christianity in modern times, by which men are being trained. Ideas and moral influences pass from man to man and from nation to nation, through all the forms of human inter- course, without as well as within the pale of Christendom. "We can find no standing-ground until we identify Christianity with moral goodness, and the Christian Church in its idea and ultimate development with the whole moral, social, and political system by which the human race is growing to its fulness. The Christian Church is absolutely universal. Humanity in its widest sense contains the materials of constant worship, communion, and edification. The ser- 38 EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. vice of God is not so much any formal function, not even of public prayer, as that of a life pervaded by the Christian spirit of universal, self -renouncing love. The Christian Church needs to indicate its capac- ity to be the organ of Christian universality. Certainly, it never can be the organ of universal love, so long as correct definitions of the great objects of faith and of the spiritual processes of redemption are made the test of fellowship. Help men to realize the divine now in their common life; promote a love which expands to the full measure of that of God. Christianity is to be regarded as a life, not as the holding of a series of propositions. It is by the conscience mainly that the principles which lie at the roots of the Christian life are appre- hended, and the feeling of them is often genuine when the definition of them is inadequate. When the Church is seen to be the constant inspirer of human progress, there will be no sceptics but those to whom human progress is indiff erent. The best thing that Christians can do for the faith of mankind is to exhibit the real power of Christ and of his spirit as a redeeming influence in the whole wide field of human life. It is impossible for those who take a narrow view of Christianity to be frankly hopeful. They see that the secular fields of human activity are winning upon men more and more, while Christianity, considered merely as a system of worship, doctrine, and beneficence, is barely holding its ground." One of the zealous opponents of conscious new departure from orthodox views, has put on record the following singu- larly clear statement of the fundamental conception necessi- tating such departure : "When you speak of the indispensableness of faith in Christ, what Christ or rather what revelation of Christ do you mean ? I think you must admit that, owing to mental idiosyncrasies, prejudices, edu- cational bias, men often get very incorrect and distorted, and always get very partial and inadequate, views of Christ, even from the Gospels, and that the methods of presentation of him, at least by ' orthodox ' preachers are often such as convey very erroneous notions of him. "It seems to me that Christ is presented to men not only in the Gos- pels, but also in humanity. The man who loves and serves his fellow- men really accepts and embraces that humanity which merely finds its perfection in Jesus Christ, and so really accepts Christ, though he may never have heard of his story in the Gospels, or may even have rejected some false conception of him. Whereas, the man who has no sympathy with or love for men, really rejects Christ, though he may fairly worship some imaginary conception of him which he has cre- ated for himself out of the materials supplied by the Gospels. This view seems to me to be of immense practical importance, for there is EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. 39 among evangelical Christians much too great a tendency to regard an attitude of mind toward an ideal conception as saving faith instead of a devotion of the life to him as he stands before us in humanity." In view of such a conception of Christianity, there inevi- tably rises this radically significant question : Does not the tendency to wrongly make devotion of life in imitation of Christ secondary, and to rest in that worship of Christ which is a mere attitude of mind towards an ideal concep- tion, go back to Paul and the first discipleship generally, constituting their departure from the genuine teaching of Christ, and thus making the Christianity of the Apostles' Creed, and indeed of any dogmatic faith, an obstructive scaffolding to be removed, that the real Christianity of Christ, based in perfectly pure natural religion, and built to the height of universal supernaturalism of the spirit, may be made manifest a religion primarily of love to man and completed by trust in God ; a religion of service, and not a religion of salvation. Mr. Fronde,- the historian, who wrote (1849) his " The Ne- mesis of Faith," to picture the damage to life done by a creed of dogmatic strictness, put this expression of himself into the mouth of the Oxford student of his story : "I believe that we may find in the Bible the highest and purest religion, most of all in the history of him in whose name we are all called. His religion not the Christian religion, but the religion of Christ the poor man's gospel; the message of forgiveness, of recon- ciliation, of love ; and, oh, how gladly would I spend my life, in sea- son and out of season, in preaching this. But I must have no hell terrors, none of these fear doctrines ; they were not in the early creeds. God knows whether they were ever in the early gospels, or ever passed his lips." Mr. Froude set down his judgment as a reader of the documents of early Christianity in these words : ' The religion of Christ ended with His life, and left us instead but the Christian religion." What Mr. Froude meant seems to have been that discipleship overlaid the pure truth of Christ with a system of views about Christ which became the recognized Christian religion, while the true religion of Christ was lost sight of in great part. 40 EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. An eminent English Broad-Churchman, Dr. Kowland Williams, left this record of his judgment upon what Mr. Froude calls " the Christian religion," in contrast with " the religion of Christ'-: "Whosoever will know the truth, before all things let him avoid the creed called Athanasian. Which creed, if any one thinks that Atha- nasius wrote it, without doubt he is utterly deceived. A monk of the West wrote it in Latin a hundred years after Greek Athanasius died in the East. There was one faith of Christ, and another of the Apostles, and men after the Apostles, and yet another of the monks after Atha- nasius. The Godhead of the Father of Jesus was all one, but wisdom its eternal offspring, and life its eternal breathing. Whosoever would know the truth, before all things it is necessary that he believe in God our Saviour. We know God by reason, for he made us, and by faith, for he teaches us, though we see him not with the eye. He whose reason is strongest will believe most firmly; and he whose love is deep- est will understand most truly. The infinite is not man, that we should measure his thought, nor the son of man, that we should ascribe to him weakness. Do good unto all men, and hope well of them, for they are the children of one Father. Mankind is the only-begotten of God in the flesh ; and by breathing the divine love we become one spirit with the Father. I believe in the Eternal Spirit, whose scripture is the world, and whose son is mankind." Mr. W. R. Greg, one of the most acute and sagacious of modern essayists, wrote : "I am disposed to believe, that when we have really penetrated to the actual teaching of Christ, and fairly disinterred that religion of Jesus which preceded all creeds and schemes and formulas, and which we trust will survive them all, we shall find that, so far from this, the true essence of Christianity, being renounced or outgrown by the pro- gressive intelligence of the age, its rescue, re-discovery, purification and re-enthronement as a guide of life, a fountain of truth, an object of faith, a law written on the heart, will be recognized as the grandest and most beneficent achievement of that intelligence." Rev. Dr. James Martineau closes a long life of conserva- tive devotion to advanced study of Christian faith and thought, with this double judgment upon the present out- look: I. "The conception of a canonized literature belongs to a stage of culture that has passed away ; what was once used as a divine text-book EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. 41 has become a human literature ; we have, therefore, no authoritative text-book of divine truth and human duty ; so we must open our minds to all that speaks divinely to them, whether in the Bible or elsewhere; we are not to accept from the Bible any doctrine or duty on the mere ground of its being sanctioned there, but are to make our acceptance of it conditional on its standing the tests of truth and obligation. I claim it as a noble though severe advantage that, through failure of the text-book principle, we are driven from words to realities, and must sink right home to the inward springs of religion in our nature and experience ; it is the unwritten oracles of God that have most deeply stirred the hearts of the devout; the ever-living God is the one reality that is ever with us, from moment to moment speaking within us, not less present to us for knowledge and love than to ancient seekers and servants of his will." II. " From the person of Jesus everything official, attached to him by evangelists or divines, has fallen away; and he is simply the divine flower of humanity, the realized possibility of life in God no con- sciously exceptional part to play. It was inevitable that by his disciples Jesus should be identified with the ideal messiah. When he was so, whether and how far with sanction from himself, are secondary ques- tions, I will only say that, when the really historical elements in the gospels are cleared from later additions and editors' coloring, it appears to me very doubtful whether he personally claimed the messianic char- acter. Even with the apostles themselves, the messianic drama was not to be inaugurated till his return from heaven, for which they were on the watch until death. So long as the Scriptures were to us a divine text-book, and the statements of the authors were taken on trust, we believed in this drama as a reality yet to come. I have spoken of it as having lost its credibility and reality, because the central condition, which held it all together the return from heaven has failed and come to naught eighteen centuries ago. An eschatology thus unful- filled in its very nucleus cannot retain our faith in its accessories. The poor device of slipping the date and putting it all off ad libitum is an evasion which can satisfy no honest mind. And with the eschatology must fall away from the person of Jesus all the official claims of which it is the sequel. It belonged to his age to see in him the messianic king. It belongs to every age to follow him with venerating spirit as the divine-souled Galilean prophet, the supreme representative of the filial life in God and self-identification with humanity to which the pure in heart are called." And more particularly with reference to a true theology and a usage of true faith in public worship, Dr. Martineau has said in the preface to his " Ten Services of Public Prayer " : 42 EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. " The uniform theology once supposed to pervade the New Testament, and to carry the seal of divine authority, breaks up, on more accurate research, into several distinct types, belonging to different stages of the early Christianity, and blending the pure essence of Christ's personal religion with theories about him often conflicting and always fallible. Not only have the Petrine, the Pauline, and the Johannine conceptions of the Gospel their separate characteristic phraseology, to which no common measure can be applied ; but in all of them the permanent divine element has to be discriminated from the temporary vehicle of thought which conveyed it to the passing age. No one who has once become familiar with the definite images and ideas of the Messianic Christianity in any of its forms can ever again give to its language the loose and large interpretation which alone renders it available for the voice of living piety. He knows that it really means what he cannot mean." Dr. Martineau tells fully and clearly no more than many nominally orthodox thinkers, scholars, and earnest Christian people are thinking, even if not openly confessing. The Congregationalism of England has no worthier pulpit repre- sentative than the great preacher at Birmingham, Rev. R W. Dale, who succeeded John Angell James, a noted evan- gelical of the last generation. Mr. Dale published, January, 1877, a paper in which he said : "There is a sense in which it may be said that large numbers of Congregationalists are without a theology." "We have no theological system. The Congregational tradition has been broken. We have lost our old traditions, and they are now irrecoverable. Among the present aspects of our theological thought, perhaps none is more obvious than the general disappearance of Calvinism. I have no doubt that there are many Congregationalists who think that they are Calvinists. This was the impression of Mr. Angell James. He said to me once with great energy raising his arm and clenching his hand as he said it 'I hold the doctrines of Calvinism with a firm grasp.' ' But,' said I, 'you never preach about them.' 'Well,' he replied, 'you know that there is not much about them in the Bible.' Bees, when one happens to die in the hive, leave the dead body where it lies, but seal up the cell with wax. Our modern Calvinists treat doctrine very much in the same way. But something more than Calvinistic teaching is gone. The spirit which belonged to the Augustinian and Calvinistic theology is gone (that spiritual root which made God everything, man nothing). The creed has gone. Christ is our brother only ; he is hardly our Lord." The liberal view holds that this is a return to Christ, and EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. 43 to the highest and purest religion found by searching and sifting Christian Scripture, when we examine with due care the vast field within which Christ and the Bible come before us. Christ was our brother only, a human Teacher and a Master of discipleship only, in the fragments of the record which reflect the original facts. The record as a whole does not reflect either him as he was or his teaching as he left it. It did not come into existence until after Paul and others had made over the idea of him which true report at the time would have given. It gives very little of the teaching which it mentions as having come from Christ, and it almost sup- presses the fact that " Teacher " was the title under which Christ appeared among his fellow-men. It is, however, related of Christ that " he opened his mouth and taught them "; and that " the multitude were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as having authority and not as the Scribes." The Scribes were the Scripturalists or Biblical men, and the new departure made by Christ turned upon his not using Hebrew Scripture as of authority. He did not open the Bible to teach, but he opened his mouth and taught, not only without regard to Scripture, but contrary to it. The sermon on the mount preserves half a dozen instances of his citation of Scripture for contradiction and correction, and we may reasonably surmise that a full and faithful report of his teaching would give us a hundred times as much. " Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time " was his formula in citing scripture for contradic- tion and correction: plainly showing that the belief of Scribes and Pharisees the Biblical men and the strict Or- thodox was not of any weight to him. "We know that" God spake unto Moses, but as for this man we know not whence he is," is the keynote of the true history ; though with it comes, what " some of the Pharisees said": "This man is not from God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath." In the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus Pilate is made to say : "They accuse him of one thing, that he breaketh the sabbath," and more fully his accusers say : " He overthrow- eth the scriptures and breaketh the sabbath." The Jew 44 EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. faith in sacrifice and sabbath, scripture and synagogue, found offence worthy of death in Christ's free and pure views of religion in the heart and life. In the Clementine Homilies, a writing of the early church of a type quite un- like the Pauline, we find a good deal of reference to the fact that Christ in his teaching openly separated between true and false parts of scripture. Thus Peter is represented as saying (Horn. ii. 50) : ' As to the mixture of truth with falsehood, I remember that on one occasion he, finding fault with the Sadducees, said, ' Wherefore ye do err, not knowing the true things of the scriptures: and on this account ye are ignorant of the power of God. ' But if he cast up to them that they knew not the true things of the scriptures, it is manifest that there are false things in them. And also, inasmuch as he said, ' Be ye pru- dent money-changers,' it is because there are genuine and spurious words. And whereas he said ' Wherefore do ye not perceive that which is reasonable in the scriptures ? ' he makes the understanding of him stronger who voluntarily judges soundly." Another passage (Horn. ii. 52) implies that Christ was un- derstood to have anticipated the rooting up of much that Hebrew scripture had taught and that he proffered lessons of truth to be reached by searching and sifting scripture. The passage begins by remarking how sacrifices, etc., have passed away, and then adds : "Hence, therefore, he said, ' Every plant which the Heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.' .... Also he cried and said, ' Come unto me all who labor, ' that is, who are seeking the truth and not finding it; and elsewhere, ' Seek and find,' since the truth does not lie on the surface." The next passage (Horn. ii. 53) reflects still further the .undoubted tendency of the teaching of Christ to "overthrow the scriptures " of Judaism. It reads : " In addition to this, willing to convict more fully of error the prophets from whom they asserted that they had learned, he proclaimed that they died desiring the truth, but not having learned it, saying, ' Many prophets and kings desired to see what ye see, and to hear what ye hear, and verily I say to you that they neither saw nor heard.' " In near connection with this (Horn. ii. 56), a most import- ant word of Christ is quoted. The words in italics are not in our gospel : EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. 45 " If ye then, being evil, know to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him and to those who do his will." This makes the words much more natural as the preamble to Christ's greatest word : " All things, therefore, whatso- ever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them : for this is the Law and the Prophets." The whole of the Prophets as well as the whole of the Law, in a simple commandment of conduct, service of man as suf- ficient service of God; sacrifice, sabbath, synagogue, and scripture left out of view. A later passage of the Homilies (Horn, xviii. 20) recurs to the thought about the truths of scripture compared with the errors of scripture. Peter is represented as saying : "Somewhere also he says, wishing to exhibit the cause of their error more distinctly to them, ' On this account ye do err, not knowing the true things of the scriptures ; on which account ye are ignorant also of the power of God.' Wherefore every man must become, as the Teacher said, a judge of the books written to try us. For thus he spake, ' Become experienced bankers.' Now the need of bankers arises from the circumstance that the spurious is mixed with the genuine." The use of the phrase " the Teacher," to designate Christ, reflects one of the surest facts of his true life, that he was f amiliaTly known as " the Teacher " and passed under this, and no other, title, not even Kabbi, much less Messiah, or Son of Man, until theories about him after his death had applied pious imagination, pious exegesis, and pious specu- lation and prophecy, to doing over parts of the record, while about all that was best was left to perish, or had perished from the first for want of interest in doubting disciples to preserve it. Yet we have, in the altered record even, inef- faceable evidence of the true case of Christ with his disci- ples. The following are notes of words in the first gospel which show that Christ appeared as a simple teacher, not using the name of Rabbi, not basing instruction on Hebrew scripture, but going strongly contrary to it, and not author- izing any new scripture or new authority apart from evident simple truth : 46 EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. "And he opened his mouth and taught them saying : Blessed are the poor in spirit; Blessed are they that mourn ; Blessed are the meek; Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness; Blessed are the merciful ; Blessed are the pure in heart ; Blessed are the peace- " Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy ; but I say unto you, Love your enemies, that ye may be sons of your Father which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. Ye therefore shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your chil- dren, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask him ? All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets. "Every one therefore which heareth these words "of mine and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. "And the multitudes were astonished at his teaching; for he taught them as having authority and not as their scribes. And great multi- tudes followed him." [The Pharisees said (John vii. 49) of the mass of the peo- ple, "This multitude which knoweth not the law are ac- cursed." Christ gave them the whole, both law and proph- ets, in a simple commandment of brotherly love, with no dependence on any words of scripture, with strong contra- diction of those words which had been used for Jewish separatism and not for humanity, and with theology reduced to the simplest naturally reasoned preamble to a religion of conduct, a preamble of natural confidence in the absolute goodness of God ; and the wise man he found in the doer of his simple words ; not in any believer, save as conduct is belief ; and not in any building on Mosaic or other Bible words, except as conduct framed upon the golden rule took all that was essential of those words. Hence the natural- ness of such words as the following.] " There came unto him one scribe and said, Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. "The Pharisees said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Teacher with the publicans and sinners ? EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. 47 " Certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. "They that received the half -shekel came to Peter and said, Doth not your Teacher pay the half -shekel ? "And behold, one came to him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life ? '' Then went the Pharisees and took counsel how they might ensnare him in talk. And they send to him their disciples, saying, Teacher, we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any one ; for thou regardest not the person of men. "On that day there came to him the Sadducees, and asked him, say- ing, Teacher, Moses said, If a man die, etc. "And a lawyer asked him, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law ? "Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Teacher and all ye are brethren. " The disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt thou that we make ready to eat the passover. And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, the Teacher saith, My time is at hand ; I keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. "And Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Is it I, Rabbi ? " Judas showed his specially Jewish feeling by saying Rabbi instead of Teacher. Christ showed Ms simply human con- sciousness by the designation, appearing in all the gospels, of himself as "the Teacher," in a moment of his life, that of this last passover, when, if he was to figure as the Messiah, or as God's Only Son, made an atoning sacrifice, he must have been supremely conscious of it. The absence of that consciousness in every one of the four gospels, coupled with the absence of all reference in the fourth gospel to any insti- tution of a supper ordinance, or of anything of moment at this " last supper," except a lesson of serving one another in love, gives us one page, authentic beyond all question, on which truth has engraved forever the aspect of simple hu- manity and of natural instruction which Christ stood in when the Jews, alleging Mosaic authority, fell on him and secured his death. There mu?t have been for some time on his part a very pronounced demonstration of simple, thor- ough, revolutionary teaching, not as a Rabbi looking only to the Law, written or oral, but as a radical reformer, ap- pealing to reason and conscience, in order to so common a recognition of him as an independent Teacher. 48 EXTREME LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE. And in this connection may be mentioned the form in which the Clementine Homilies report the answer of Christ to one who called him " Good Teacher," and asked the way of life. In Horn, xviii. 1, it is given as, " Do not call me good ; for One is good, the Father who is in the heavens." And in the same Homily (xviii. 3) Peter is represented as saying : "Our Teacher himself first said to the Pharisee who asked him, 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' ' Do not call me good ; for one is good, even the Father who is in the heavens.' " The terms used here suggest what the^e can be little doubt of, that if we had a better history of Christ, we should hear much more than we do of the Heavenly Father of all men, and of the Teacher whose lessons of love and trust rested, not on Hebrew scripture, but on simple grounds of reason and conscience, of spirit and truth, such as all men can ap- prehend. The paper of Rev. Theodore T. Munger, D.D., in the Parliament of Religions, had this statement, showing the leaning of orthodox exposition to the liberal view of the relation of Christ to Hebrew scripture : " Christ is to be put among the poets, those who see into the heart of things and feel the breath of the Spirit, the inner meaning of life, eter- nity and its eternal hymn of truth and love. Christ stood upon the Hebrew scriptures not as an authoritative guide in religion but as illus- trative of truth. His relation to them was literary and critical ; he emphasized, he selected and passed over, taking what he liked and leaving what did not suit his purpose. " The thoughtful reader resents putting the inspiration of the Hebrew scriptures into a rule or form, and he refuses to read them under a no- tion of authority that bars up the avenues of the mind, and turns every mental faculty into a nullity. Christianity is a wide thing and nothing that is human is alien to it. Christ is humanity as it is evolving under the power and grace of God, and any book touched by the inspiration of this fact belongs to Christian literature. All inspired literature stands squarely upon humanity, and insists upon it on ethical grounds and for ethical ends and this is essential Christianity." In a view so broad and so profound as this, all religions and all scriptures may be found approaches to pure and true Christianity, schoolmasters to lead men of every race and every land to one supreme ideal of grace and truth. THE LAND OF SACRED BOOKS. TO "Ur of the Chaldees," which appears in Hebrew scripture as the fatherland of Abram, from which he departed for " the West," as Palestine was called, we may perhaps look for the oldest sacred writings of mankind. By name it was Ur, " the city," a city of commerce and civiliza- tion, relatively as notable as New York or Liverpool, ' of a group of cities in the lower Euphrates-Tigris region, representing a grand period of human culture during many centuries before the supposed time of Abram. But it is to Ur, not alone, but as in the foreground of a group of cities, of which it was the least ancient. Eridu, or Eri-duga, " the Holy City," called also " the lordly city," and " the land of the sovereign," was the great centre of culture, civilization, and commerce we know not how long before 4000 B.C. It stood on the east side of the Euphrates, at the head of the Persian gulf, which was then very much farther inland than now. As generations passed, the head of the gulf was filled up with alluvium from the great stream, and from this it lost its rank as a port, while the trend of devel- opment up the river left it behind as a capital. The newer city of Erech, some distance higher up, and also on the east side of the Euphrates, became the chief capital for both power and culture. Later still Ur became " the city," stand- ing on the west side of the Euphrates some distance below Erech and not far above Eridu. It ranked in that far land (49) 50 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. and remote age as Chicago does in America to-day. Baby- lon, though founded very early, did not take the lead until a much later period, about 2300 B.C. Assyria, with Nineveh for its greatest city, came to the front very much later, about 1400 to 1300 B.C. The Genesis designation of Ur as " Ur of the Chaldees," in the supposed time of Abram, shows a writer not accurately informed, as the Caldai or Chaldees are first known in the history not earlier than 900 B.C., or per- haps, as the most recent knowledge shows, 1200 B.C., and Chaldrca is inaccurately used for Babylonia. Mr. Sayce, speaking of Shalmaneser's reign, B.C. 858-824, says that the Caldai or Chaldeans are heard of first at this time, that they formed a small but independent principality on the seacoast, and that they are to be distinguished care- fully from the Casdim or Semitic " conquerors " of Scrip- ture. The Hebrew writers at a much later date, looking back to early Semitic conquering power in Babylonia, made the "-torical mistake of calling it Chaldean. The true Chaldean was akin to the Akkadian. The original small tribe on the Persian gulf, when Chaldea only covered the marshes of the coast, worked their way north until, under Merodach-Bala- dan, they became masters of Babylon, and prepared the way for Babylonia to be called Chaldea. This was, however, as late as 722 to 700 B.C., and even then without any real ground for the change of name, unless we, upon the latest knowl- edge, find this in the fact that the great Nebuchadrezzar (whose name is misspelled in our Bible) was of the Caldai tribe. The Hebrew Bible knows next to nothing of the great ages of culture and empire before Abram. In the Genesis story of man after the Hood we read that Nimrod " began to be a mighty one in the earth," and that "the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar " ; and that " out of that land went Asshur and builded Nineveh." It is a little later said that when mankind were all one " they found a plain in the land of Shinar and dwelt there," and there built Babel, using brick laid with bitumen for mortar. Farther on in the his- BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 51 tory we are told how Abram and his father migrated from " Ur of the Chaldees," to go into the land of Canaan ; how they stopped at Harran, " the Boad," in the extreme north- west of the Euphrates valley, where the great highway of travel turned west towards the upper corner of the Mediter- ranean and the extreme north of Syria ; and how, after the father had died in Harran, 205 years old, leaving considera- ble wealth, Abram, at the age of 75, got together all the sub- stance and all the souls that had become his in Harran, and went west, into Canaan, and south through Palestine, and still on thence down into Egypt, whence he came back into Palestine, " very rich in cattle, and in silver, and in gold." This is the first thing told us about Abram, who figures as a nomad and a trader to begin with, in the Bedouin fashion of the Semitic desert. And this story of Abram preserves the true, though faint outline of history, in sweeping from " Ur of the Chaldees " in the lower Euphrates valley, up by Babylon to Nineveh, and to Harran, high up the river, on the road to Canaan, and through Palestine into Egypt in the valley of the Nile. Ur, Erech, Accad, and Babel, in the land of Shinar, refer to cities of Babylonia. And Assyria lying north of Babylonia was a daughter land to the older. The whole region of the Euphrates and Tigris was early called (by the Greeks) Mesopotamia, but natural features make a marked distinction between the great alluvial plain of Babylonia, and the great table-land of Assyria north, from about the point where the two rivers come nearest to each other. Harran was in the northwest on the great high- way from Ur and Babylon and Nineveh to " the west," where Canaan lay, and thence through Palestine to Egypt. The great highway of travel, and trade, and war, for near forty centuries before Christ, was that over which Abram is said to have taken his way, not as a journey but as a course of migration. And there can be little doubt that " Abram " means tribes rather than an individual, and many genera- tions of their journeying by the great road from Ur, or the desert land near Ur, round by Harran and Canaan to the vicinity of the Nile. 52 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. The earliest map in Labberton's Historical Atlas is " Bab- ylonia before the Semitic Conquest, about 4000 B.C." It shows the lower Tigris-Euphrates region, beginning at the point where the two rivers, having come within twenty miles of each other, spread apart again, enclosing a vast alluvial plain, lying between the highlands east of the Tigris and the desert west of the Euphrates ; an agricultural region of ex- treme fertility. At the date named two kindred tribes had gone west from the coast and the. highlands on the east, the Sumer into the lower, lesser, southeast part of the plain, next the head of the Persian gulf, and the Akkad into the upper, larger, northwest part. The Sumer migration may have been the earlier, but the Akkad filled the larger place, and to no small extent " Akkadian " may be used to cover both in their relations to later history. These Akkadians and Sumerians were not Aryan, nor were they Semitic. They were of the third great race of mankind the Tura- nianbut to a remarkable degree originators of civilization, culture of every kind, knowledge and worship, which passed from them to the inferior Semitic peoples, and thence to some of the chief Aryan nations. They brought from their earlier home in the eastward highlands the picture writing from which the cuneiform was developed, and the astrono- my, astrology, temple-observatory worship, remarkable burial customs, belief in spirits, faith in beneficent deities, and the sacred writings or Bible, of perhaps the earliest known chap- ter in the history of human culture. The older legends of the origin of culture and civilization in Babylonia describe it as beginning on the shores of the Persian gulf and thence working its way to the northeast. Eridu, of Sumer, figures as the primitive capital of the south- land, the first home of the god of healing and culture ; and with Eridu the earliest religious texts are intimately associ- ated. The Snmerian texts seem to show the older and stand- ard proto Babylonian dialect, and those of Akkad to the north a later phase more modified by Semitic influence. Erech, further up the Euphrates and on its east side, was next to Eridu a great seat of culture in the southland of BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 53 Sumer, but the later and grander city of Sumer was Ur, built on the southwest border, west of the Euphrates, and looking directly into the Semitic region, where the nomad hordes were whose invasion so early altered everything in Sumer and Akkad. Ur was by the meaning of its name " the city." It seems to have become great as the capital of a monarch who brought all the southern principalities under one rule, making a single sovereignty, and who first of rulers of the region became a great builder of temples, vast structures of brick laid in bitumen, rising in terraces to a summit story which was both observatory and temple. Both Erech, the older, and Ur, the younger and more splendid, were sacred burial cities, where for ages, outside the walls, were gathered a countless host, laid away with utmost believing care and devotion. In Ur rose the great temple of the Moon-god, Sin, one of whose chief seats was Sinai ; a deity conceived as masculine and worshipped as first in glory, by the side of Samas, the Sun-god, and Istar, the evening star (and morning star). The northland of Akkad had a city of Akkad, to which Sippara was a twin city, with a special devotion to worship of the Sun-god. It had also Babylon, where the course of development, begun at Eridu, reached its greatest height, and the nearer fame of which caused Ur, and Erech, and Eridu to be forgotten. North of Akkad began the great table-land of the upper Tigris-Euphrates region, where As- syria was to rise, and Nineveh was to rival Babylon, but almost wholly through Semitic development, without much admixture of Akkadian-Sumerian elements. The contrast of the irrigated plain of Babylonia, the earliest and richest garden of the world, and the arid table-land of Assyria, was profoundly fruitful of results of every kind. To the arid land the Semitic folk fitted well, and from it they looked through nature (the Sun-god) to divine power quite other than that which shone with unvarying beneficence on the unvexed garden lands of Babylonia. Directly east from Ur begins the great desert plateau of the Semitic nomads, reaching across to the mountains of 54 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. Sinai, a seat of Sin, the Moon -god, where the highest points are 8,000 feet above the sea, and farther north to the high- lands bordering the Jordan valley. To the nomads of this region the civilization and wealth of Babylonia were an object-lesson and an opportunity from a very early date. The first Semitic invasion of Akkad and Sumer, which made Babylonia a land of double type, its culture of the older type and its power for the most part that of the Semitic intruder from the desert, came at a date not much later than 4,000 B.C., but it meant a conquering class accepting in great part the superior culture of the conquered. The Ak- kadian- Sumerian people had studied the stars, had formed the calendar, had arranged the week of seven days, with the seventh a day of doing no work, had used paper and made books, and had fixed a usage and tradition of sacred writ- ings, the influence of which, coming through Hebrew, has lasted to the present time. Their later method of writing was by cuneiform letters on tablets of clay, the baking of which left them well-nigh imperishable, so that whole libra- ries may be dug out of the mounds which alone mark to-day the sites of cities whose prime fell twenty-five or thirty cen- turies before Christ. The land now desolate, whether the great alluvial plain of Babylonia or the more elevated pla- teau of Assyria to the north, was, probably before Egypt, a scene of human development the full record of which would tell the story of the youth of the world. The southland especially, to which belonged the names Babylonia and Chaldsea, after the earlier Akkadian ages were past, has been described as the centre of the world's interests and rivalries ; the hive out of which swarmed Assyria and the Canaanites, and perhaps the first origins of Egypt ; and the world's original source and centre of literature and science. In architecture, in arms, in books and libraries, in fine art shown in beautiful seal cylinders and engraved gems, the Babylonian Ur was truly " the city "; haven of a great com- merce, walled fortress of a military system, sanctuary of a splendid religion, and the western outpost of civilization, beyond which were the desert haunts of the Bedouins of BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 55 Arabia. A great canal marked the western limit of the alluvial plain of the Euphrates and the border of the desert. The migration to "the west" of Abram probably meant, not that it was from the city itself that he went, nor from any part of the goodly land of Ur and Ereoh and Eridu, but that he had lived outside of Ur, in the near desert region where he could keep his flocks, and had made Ur his place of trade. He dwelt in tents, and in Ur the tent gave place to houses of brick, plastered within, ornamented with de- vices in colored clay, and roofed with tiles or vaults of brick. Certain it is that Ur and Erech were far above the folk of Abraham in development of culture. Their culture passed long after to Assyria, and thence to the Hebrews and Phoe- nicians and the Greeks. Historical indications take us back in Babylonia to the thirty-eighth century before Christ, and permit us to infer a long previous development. Every great city of Babylonia had its library, in which Akkadian works appeared as ancient literature, with translations into a more modern vernacular. The second of Labberton's historical maps, inscribed " Chaldean Ascendency in Western Asia, 3800 B.C." (Baby- lonian is meant by Chaldean), presents "the Empire of Sargon" and "the Beginnings of Egypt." From about 4000 B.C. the Egypt of Memphis, or the northland of the mouths of the Nile, and of Thebes, or the southland, as far up the river as the first cataract, though relatively small? was thoroughly developed and organized, with its own hie- roglyphic writing, its high culture, and its architecture repre- sented in the erection of the great pyramids ; but the grand empire of that age was that of Sargon I., who expanded from Babylonia into the highlands on the east and north, and westward to the Mediterranean. Sargon's annals which have come down to us show how he made a campaign of conquest in Elam to the east, another in Syria to the west, mastering "the four quarters" of the world, and, having put down all rivals in Babylonian cities, again went west for dominion, even as far as Cyprus in the Mediterranean ; while his son, Naram-Sin, pushed his conquests to the 56 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. Sinaitic Peninsula, where mines of copper and quarries of turquoise had been sought by the rulers of Egypt also as early as the Third Dynasty, and whither the trading ships of ancient Eridu may have gone. Earlier considerably than the age of Sargon, the Sinaitic Peninsula had supplied to sculpture in Egypt the green diorite of one of the most marvellous statues in the world, a seated figure of King Kephren, of the Fourth Dynasty ; while at Tel-loh, a few miles north of Eridu, the oldest Babylonian seat, there have been dug up statues almost like the Egyptian, of the same stone, showing a monarch seated almost in the same way, and differing only in the somewhat ruder work of the sculptor. One of the Tel-loh figures holds in its lap a plan of a city, on which is marked a cubit measure agreeing with that used in Egypt by the pyramid builders, and differing from that used at a later date in Babylonia and Assyria. To all appearance the art of Babylonian Tel-loh had migrated to the Nile, the younger development becoming an ad- vance upon the older. The Sargon I. of this early history represents Semitic invasion and conquest. The people of Sumer in the south and those of Akkad in the north of the Tigris-Euphrates plain were agricultural, civilized, and cultivated. The Semitic invaders came in upon them from the desert, adopted their culture, with more or less change, and created a mixed development, the more rude race overlying the more refined. Akkadian and Sumerian Babylonia became half Semitic, or superficially Semitic, and as development advanced up the line of the great rivers, the line of Abram's route to Harran, over the arid table-land of the northerly half of the Tigris-Euphrates region, the Semitic element more and more prevailed, while the Akkadian, and still more the Sumerian, clung to the rich garden which all Babylonia was. In the course of. ages 1,500 to 2,000 years this advance of development created Assyria, almost wholly Semitic a daughter-land to Babylonia indeed, but predominantly non-Babylonian ; rude, rough, fierce, brutal, after the extreme type of the Semitic nomads of the desert. BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 57 Mr. Sayce, one of our best Authorities, says of the contrast in "moral and intellectual type" presented by the more Akkadian Babylonians and the more Semitic Assyrians : "The Assyrian has all the characteristics of the Semite. His hooked nose and angular features proclaim his origin on the physical side as unmistakably as his intensity, his ferocity, his love of trade, and his nomadic habits proclaim it on the moral side. The Babylonian, on the other hand, was square built and somewhat full-faced, an agriculturist rather than a soldier, a scholar rather than a trader. The intensity of religious belief which marked the Assyrian and the barbarities which the Assyrian perpetrated in the name of Assur, and loved to record in his inscriptions, were foreign to his nature." Mr. Sayce goes on to say that "it was from Babylonia that the Assyrians derived their system of writing, the greater part of their literature, their religion, and their laws." It was, however, with this great difference, that the mixture of Semitic and Akkadian common to both was pre- dominantly Akkadian in the more southern Babylonia and predominantly Semitic in the more northern Assyria. Of the Semitic origins Mr". Sayce says : "Many of the words which the Semites (Hebrew, Phoenician, Assy- rian) have in common seem to point to the neighborhood of Babylonia as the district from which those who used them originally came. Their first home appears to have been in the low-lying desert which stretches eastward of Chaldea on the very side of the Euplirates, in fact, on which stood the great city of Ur. Here they led a nomad life, over- awed by the higher culture of the settled Akkadian race, until a time came when they began to absorb it themselves, and eventually to dis- possess and supersede their teachers. The tribes which travelled north- ward (to create Assyria) and westward (Hebrew and Phoenician), must have carried with them some of the culture they had learnt from their Akkadian neighbors. And such, indeed, we find to be the case. Nebo, the Babylonian god of prophecy and literature, has given his name to towns of Reuben and Judah, as well as to the Moabite mountain on which Moses breathed his last, within sight of the ' moon-city ' Jericho. Sinai itself is but the mountain of Sin, the Babylonian Moon-god " [whose most splendid seat was at Ur]. Sargon I., the founder of an empire which extended from the head of the Persian gulf, east, north, and west from Elam to the Mediterranean made Akkad, or Agade, in the 58 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. north of Babylonia, his capital* The story that was many, many centuries after told of the birth of Moses on the Nile was first told of the birth of Sargon on the Euphrates. It narrates as exactly as possible Sargon's exposure in an ark of bulrushes, his rescue and rearing, and ultimate rise to power, and establishment of a supremacy distinctly Semitic. He figures also as the great lawgiver, promoter of letters and science, and fountain of the later form of Babylonian wis- dom, through which has come down the most ancient Akka- dian usage and belief. In connection with the creation of extended Babylonian empire, he gathered at his capital, Akkad, a library, and for this had two of the great stand- ards of Babylonian literature made, by compilation from older writings, (1) a great work on astronomy, in sev- enty-two books, with the title Namar-Bili, " The Observa- tions of Bel," or " The Illumination of Bel "; and (2) a work on terrestrial omens, augury, and divination, from which the Babylonian sages especially drew their wisdom. This execution, by a conqueror, of two great works of science and religion, out of the far older literary materials of a subject people, antedates the reputed career of Moses by twenty -five hundred years. Sargon's patronage of literature caused the region to be known as " the land of books," three thousand three hun- dred and fifty years before Ezra the Scribe produced, as the foundation fragment of Hebrew scripture, a single copy of the Pentateuch, purporting to be by the hand of Moses, 850 years after he was said to have lived. And the so-called u magical texts " collected by Sargon were the earliest part of the Scriptures which became an elaborate Babylonian Bible. These texts grew out of the old Akkadian-Sumerian faith in spirits, a faith known as Shamanism. In this early Shamanism the universe was one of spirits, innumerable as the objects and forces of nature ; and religion was magic, exorcism, dealing by conjuration, incantations and charms, through medicine-men, conjurors, and priestly magi- cians. The earliest sacred books were collections of mag- ical texts, antedating even old Akkadian ideas of gods, of BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 59 divine creators, of high objects of worship. Disease was especially conceived as possession by a malevolent spirit. Whatever injured, as a hurtful wind, was moved by an evil spirit. The magical texts were adjurations to bad spirits to go out, or to good spirits to give aid against the bad. The sea, or the earth, or the sky, whence much of good came, suggested spirits potent to help, and the animals whose rela- tions to man were kindly were thought of as minor agents of benefaction the figure of a chosen animal serving as a charm, while for powerful intervention the appeal would be to the great spirits of heaven and earth, of the sky, or the sun, or the glorious moon, impressive and majestic to simple minds above every other object in nature. The opening words of the great collection of magical texts are these : " The evil god, the evil demon, the demon of the field, the demon of the mountain,. the demon of the sea, the demon of the tomb, the evil spirit, the dazzling fiend, the evil wind, the assaulting wind which strips off the clothing of the body like an evil demon, conjure, O spirit of heaven ! conjure, O spirit of earth ! " In the erection of a faith higher than primitive Shaman- ism, the Akkadian-Sumerian mind conceived a god of the deep, and of the most ancient city of Eridu, called Ea. This oldest figure of Akkadian divinity, their most ancient Father Deity, was accounted the god of wisdom, the giver to man of culture, the author of sacred writings, the instructor of his worshippers in arts and sciences. And with the devel- opment of Akkadian faith Merodach was figured as the son of Ea, an interpreter of the will of Ea to man, an intercessor for men, and especially a god of mercy, the bringer of resur- rection and the revealer of eternal life. Merodach the Mer- ciful became in a later age the Bel or Lord of Babylon Merodach-Bel, or Bel-Merodach, with the character brought from Eridu the Holy, where Ea was worshipped as the Be- neficent Revealer, the great culture god, who had come up out of the deep to be a teacher to men of every excellent knowledge, and the author of scriptures for the benefit of man. And as ages of development went on a son of Mero- dach, Nebo, was added, his name meaning " the proclaimer," 60 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. " the prophet," and his office being that of the god of science and literature. Merodach was made by Semitic influences the great Sun- god of Babylon, but of the sun in its kindly offices, its bound- less beneficence, and Nebo became "the prophet," "the writer," " the creator of the written tablet," " the maker of writing," "the opener," and "the enlarger of the ear," "the author of the oracle," and in Semitic phrase " the Scribe." And as Merodach had his seven-storied magnificent temple in Babylon, Nebo had a like temple in Borsippa, Babylon's great suburb. Nebo became a popular divinity in Assyria, because patronage of literature was popular, and that meant borrowing from Babylonia, and making libraries of books which gave the old Akkadian original, accompanied by a translation into Semitic Assyrian. Nebo, letters, prophecy, passed from Babylonia into the far west of Canaan, Phoenicia, Palestine, by the same Semitic borrowing. Mr! Sayce says : "In Assyria Nebo was honored as much as he was in Babylonia. His name and worship passed even to the distant Semitic tribes of the west. The names of places in Palestine in which his name occurs, proves that the god of prophecy was adored by Canaanites and Moabites alike. Moses, the leader and prophet of Israel, died on Mount Nebo, and cities bearing the name stood within the borders of the tribes of Reuben and Judah. When the Israelites entered upon their literary era, the old name of roeh, or 'seer,' was exchanged for the more literary one of ' Nebi,' or ' prophet.' The literary age of Israel was long preceded by a literary age among their Phoenician neighbors, and .the Israelite literary growth was contemporaneous with closer relations with Tyre. As Israel was to Phoenicia (a borrower and copyist), so Assyria was to Babylonia. The Assyrians were a nation of warriors and traders rather than students ; their literature was for the most part an exotic, a mere imitation of Babylonian culture. In Babylonia education was widely diffused ; in Assyria it was confined to the learned class." "Babylonia,'' says Mr. Sayce again, " was essentially a religious coun- try, and its art, therefore, was primarily religious. Nearly all the great edifices, whose ruins still attract the traveller, were temples. The ter- raced temples of Ur, Erech, and other places, mount back to the earliest times. The internal walls of the shrine were bright with paint and bronze and gilding." Far more wonderful than the temple of Solomon was that BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 61 at Babylon dedicated to Merodach, the local supreme god, and their form under Semitic ideas, of the Sun-god. It dated from B.C. 2250, and bore the Accadian name E-Sagila, "the house of the raising of the head," or "of the lofty head." The central structure was a tower of solid masonry, rising in eight stages, of which the topmost was the shrine of the beloved god of Babylon, Merodach the Merciful. The tower, or ziggurat, had the title E-Temengurum, " the house of the foundation stone of heaven and earth." As in every case of a ziggurat the summit story was used as an observa- tory, as the "high places" were, in a hill country like Canaan, an observatory for worship as directly near heaven as possible. The ascent to the several stories and terraces of the tower was by an incline winding round all the towers on the outside. The outer lines of the temple were those of a large square inclosure formed by huge walls of brick, at the centre of which rose the eight- story tower. The grand entrance to the temple inclosure was called in Accadian Ka- khilibu, "the gate of glory." Nebuchadrezzar says of it: " Ka-khilibu, the Gate of Gflory, I made as brilliant as the sun." And he goes on to say : "The holy seats, the place of the gods who determine destiny, the Holy of Holies of the gods of destiny, wherein on the great festival at the beginning of the year, on the eighth and the eleventh days (of the month), the Divine King, the God of heaven and earth, the Lord of heaven, descends, while the gods in heaven and earth, listening to him with reverential awe and standing humbly before him, determine therein a destiny of long-ending days, even the destiny of my life ; this Holy of Holies, this sanctuary of the kingdom, this sanctuary of the lordship of the first-born of the gods, the Prince Merodach, which a former king had adorned with silver, I overlaid with glittering gold and rich orna- ment." The extreme outer walls, enclosing the ' Grand Court,' ex- tended 1,156 feet one way and 900 feet the other. Beyond the grand court was a second court, the walls of which ex- tended 1,056 feet one way and 450 feet the other. It was called the court of Istar (goddess of the evening star) and Zamama (a god of the southern sun figured as an eagle). In the walls of this court were six gates, the grand gate, the 62 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. gate of the rising sun, the great gate, the gate of the colossi, the gate of the canal, and the gate of the tower view. Still farther within was a square, walled probably and perhaps paved, in the centre of which rose the ziggurat or temple tower. A gate at the centre of each side of this square gave entrance from the grand court. The first stage of the tower was 300 feet square and 110 feet high ; the second 260 feet square and 60 feet high ; the third 200 feet square and 20 feet high ; the fourth 170 feet square and 20 feet high ; the fifth and sixth respectively 140 and 110 feet square and each 20 feet high, and the seventh or topmost 80 feet long by 70 broad and 50 feet high, its base supported 250 feet above the foundations of the whole structure. Other temples than this lofty one were built round the base of the tower ; one on the eastern side, with sixteen shrines, notably those of Nebo, eldest son of Merodach, and of Tasmit, his wife, a temple measuring 117 by 67 feet ; two on the northern side, that of Ea, Father and god of wisdom, 142 feet by 50 feet, and that of Nusku, the supreme messenger, 58 feet square ; one on the southern side, 117 feet by 50 feet, devoted to Anu and the more ancient Bel, two of the great gods of early belief ; and on the western side the chief subordinate buildings, being a wing on one side 166 feet by 34 feet ; a second wing on the other side 166 feet by 108 feet ; with a court between these 58 feet wide ; and at the back a building 208 feet by 50 feet ; these western buildings containing the great throne of gold of Merodach, the couch said to have been 15 feet long by 6 feet 8 inches wide ; and other furniture in grand and costly style. The temple of Nebo on the east of the tower contained the Holy of Holies of prophecy and revela- tion, separate from that of Merodach in a temple on the west side. Nebo was the god of prophecy, and at Borsippa, across the Euphrates from Babylon, there was a temple in his name on the same plan as that of Merodach in Babylon. The most ancient story of culture as the gift of Ea, a god of the deep, at the head of the Persian gulf, the gate of the ocean deep beyond, seems to imply that the roar of the sea and the mystery of the waters had a voice to the wise men BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 63 of Erida, who fabled the coming forth upon land of a being, at once fish and man in form, with articulate human voice and the reason of a god. In the words of the account which has com 3 down to us through a Greek borrower from a Baby- lonian book, "This being was accustomed to pass the day among men. He gave them an insight into letters and sciences and arts of every kind. He taught them to construct houses, to found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge. He made them distinguish the seeds of the earth, and showed them how to collect the fruits ; in short, he instructed them in everything which could tend to soften manners and humanize their lives. Moreover he wrote con- cerning the generation of mankind, of their different ways of life, and of their civil polity." This earliest Genesis put culture, knowledge, law, duty, before cosmology and mythology. An old Babylonian ser- mon, says Mr. Sayce, speaking of the duty of a prince to administer justice impartially and without bribes, declares that if "he speaks according to the injunction (or writing) of the god Ea, the great gods will seat him in wisdom and the knowledge of righteousness." An inscription on a gem showing Ea depicted with the body of a man and the tail of a fish, a symbolical man-fish, to express his character as god of the deep, designates him as " the god of pure life." His name implies a " house-god," deity of dwellers by the sea or perhaps of inhabitants of pile-dwellings. In some of the figures, partly man and partly fish, the fish's skin is thrown, like a priestly cloak, over the man's back, with the head of the fish appearing behind that of the man. The serpent was at times his symbol, and it is from this usage that came the possibility of saying " wise as a serpent " for an ideal that also said "harrr> 7 3ss as a dove." The original seat of the worship of Ea was Eridu, the port at the mouth of the Eu- phrates, on the east side, where the ships of Eridu sailed at least as far as Sinai, the land of Sin, the Babylonian Moon- god, and perhaps eastward to India. The fabled location of Eden was " in Eridu teeming with fertility." Here also arose the tradition of " the tree of life." It was " the cedar tree, the tree that shatters the power of the incubus upon whose 64 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. core the name of Ea is recorded," or as another description says, " the cedar tree, the beloved of the great gods, which their hand has caused to grow." The Semitic ark, a coffer or chest, which the Assyrians used, and which the Hebrews borrowed, was originally a ship, the ship of Ea at Eridu. The tradition of a god of the deep extended to all the great gods the symbol of a ship as a visible abode of the presence of the divinity. Thus an old hymn says of the ark of Mero- dach, Ea's great son, who became the Bel of Babylon : Bel- Merodach : " Its helm is of cedar wood. . . . Its serpent-like oar has a handle of gold. Its mast is pointed with turquoise. Seven times seven lions of the field (Eden) occupy its deck. The god Adar fills its cabin built within. Its side is of cedar from its forest. Its awning is the palm- wood of Dilvun. Carrying away its heart is the canal. Making glad its heart is the sunrise. Its house, its ascent, is a mountain that gives rest to the heart. The ship of Ea is Destiny. Nin-ki-gal, the princess (Dav-kina), is the goddess whose word is life. Merodach is the god who pronounces the good name. The goddess who benefits the house, the messenger of Ea the ruler of the earth, even Nan-gar (the lady of work), the bright one, the mighty workwoman of heaven,, with pure and blissful hand has uttered the word of life, ' May the ship before thee cross the canal ! May the ship behind thee sail over its mouth! Within thee may the heart rejoicing make holiday.' " This hymn, written in the old Akkadian language, and used in that language without a Semitic version, goes back to a most remote day at Eridu, before Merodach had become the great Bel or Lord of Babylon. When the Semitic changes of later days had taken place the old Accadian ship became a Semitic ark, and as such was long after borrowed by the Hebrews. A later hymn used with the one just quoted, and appearing in the two languages, old Akkadian and Semitic Assyrian, commemorated the festival of Mero- dach, in these words : BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 65 " This day the god has been made (i. e., a new image), he has caused the commemoration feast to be fully kept. The god has risen among all lands, Lift up the glory, adorn thyself with heroism, O hero perfect of breast, bid lustre surround this image, establish veneration. The lightning flashes ; the festival appears like gold ; in heaven the god has been created ; on earth the god has been created. This festival has been created among the hosts of heaven and earth. This festival has issued forth from the forest of the cedar trees. The festival is the creation of the god, the work of mankind. Bid the festival to be fully kept forever; according to the command of the valiant golden god." One of the hymns to Merodach as the Bel of Babylon has these words : " Thine is the revelation, the interpretations of visions; Thine is the glance, the seeing of wisdom ; They magnify thee, O master of the strong; They adore thee, O king and mighty prince ; They look up to thee, show unto them mercy ; Cause them to behold the light that they may tell of thy righteous- ness: Lord of the world, light of the spirits of heaven, utterer of blessings; Who is there whose mouth murmurs not of thy righteousness, Or speaks not of thine exaltation and celebrates not thy glory." In the remote pre-historic age, there sprang up other con- ceptions of divinity than that represented in Ea the Benefi- cent and Merodach the Merciful. Eridu in the south and Nipur in the north of Babylonia became two strongly con- trasted religious centres, giving rise to two types of theolog- ical thought and religious usage, the eventual blending of which made the early form of Babylonian religion, the Acca- dian faith and worship, previous to any Semitic influences and modifications. Eridu, as we have seen, was the primitive seat of the wor- ship of Ea, the beneficent god of culture and of civilization, from whom came Merodach the Merciful at Babylon, and Nebo, god of illumination and blessing, at Borsippa oppo- site Babylon. The tradition of Eridu was one of gods of help and beneficence and endless good to man. But of Nipur the tradition was one of ghosts and demons and all the pos- 66 BABYLONIA AND ASSYEIA. sible monsters of the dread under-world. Instead of Ea, divinely good to man, the god specially seated at Nipur was Mul-lil, known as " the lord of the ghost-world," and devel- oped by Semitic ideas into a king of terrors. In one version of the Flood story Mul-lil designed the destruction of all mankind without exception, and upon seeing a ship on which any were saved " he stood still and was filled with wrath against the gods and the spirits of heaven," and cried out, " What soul has escaped therefrom. Let no man remain alive in the great destruction," while Ea put in, against the furious Mul-lil, an appeal not to confound the innocent with the guilty " Let the sinner alone bear his sin ; let the evil- doer bear his own iniquity." The record says that the res- cued hero in offering sacrifice after coming out of the ark, scored Mul-lil as unjust in causing a deluge. u Let the gods come to my altar," he said, "but let Mul-lil not come to the altar, since he did not act considerately, but caused a deluge and doomed my people to destruction." This Akkadian Mul-lil was the god of the lower world, whose messengers were diseases and nightmares and demons of night, and from whom came the plagues and troubles that oppressed mankind. In one of the magical texts, JN~amtar, the plague demon, is spoken of as a " beloved son of Mul-lil," while the wife of Mul-lil is said to be Allat or Nin-ki-gal, "the queen of the mighty land," where the dead are. In a later time, under Semitic ideas, Mul-lil became a Bel, or Lord of supreme divinity, and especially the Assyrian Bel, with the attributes of one form of the sun-god ; not the beneficent giver of life and light to the world, but the fierce wrathful destructive sun, scorching all nature with his heat, and at night sinking lurid and dreadful into the darkness of the under- world. And as Ea had a son Merodach, a god of beneficence, so Mul-lil had a son Adar, a warrior god, who was much favored in Assyria, a nation of energetic and ruthless warriors. In Babylonia the arts of peace found favor; in Assy- ria those of war. In Assyria there was more of the unmitigated Semitic genius ; in Babylonia the Semitic impulses were more restrained by Akkadian culture. Both Merodach and Adar BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 67 were conceived by the Semitic mind as forms of the Sun-god ; Merodach the sun of life and light, and Adar the sun of the under-world of darkness and death. Each served as mes- senger of his father, but Merodach on errands of mercy and beneficence, and Adar on those of an implacable warrior, errands of injury and destruction ; not for mankind to do them good, but against mankind, to do ruthless injury, as in the Deluge, conceived in senseless spleen and executed in shameless fury, contrary to the good mind of all the other gods. A brother of Adar, reputed to be " the first-born " of Mul-lil, was called Mul-nugi, " the lord from whom there is no return " ; the lord of Hades, out of whose realm there is no escape. The sun gone down into darkness under the earth was thus figured as bearing sway in what Akkadian concep- tion made " the great city " of the innumerable dead. Two causes tended especially to multiplication of deities of even the highest class, the various greatest objects in nature and the usage of important local centres each naming some great god for its patron deity. A third cause most powerfully tended to violent contrasts between different gods, or different aspects of the same god, as the Sun-god, according as the thoughts of men were due to violent con- trasts in nature. In the garden land of Eridu lying near the bountiful sea there grew inevitably a cult of happy trust and elevating knowledge, while beyond this Eden, in the arid spaces of the Semitic desert, ruled by the relentless scorcher of the summer sky, there came to the rude mind of the nomad a culture of fear and ignorance and selfishness, intense, energetic, all-dominating, such as made Assyria the curse of the nations, and left Judea an astonishment and a derision, when it had framed faith on the pattern of Assy- ria, and made hatred of mankind, a narrow and rigid and even malignant separatism, the corner-stone of higher cul- ture. The subjection of Akkadianism to Semitism, which came even at Eridu, which at Erech, and Ur, and Akkad (city), and Babylon, was increasingly pronounced, and which dom- inated completely northward from Babylon in all the land of Assur, more and more raised the Sun-god to prominence, 68 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. with a tendency of the baneful, jealous, angry Sun-god to pre-eminence. Sippara, of the north or Akkad part of Baby- lonia, close by the city Akkad, which was the capital of Sargon I., became the most famous Sun-god city of Babylo- nia, and just as the magical texts of Babylonian scripture are connected with Eridu, so the body of Sun-god hymns, which come into the second part of this scripture, are con- nected with Sippara. Samas, the Sun-god, was indeed wor- shipped throughout Babylonia, but at Sippara was his most splendid service, after Semitic influences had done their work. Even the Akkadian language of the hymns to Samas, as well as many touches of their thought, has Semitic pecul- iarities. At Erech, which shared with Eridu the rank of a primi- tive capital in the south of Babylonia, the great local deity was Ana, the Sky-god, and the idea of the sky as divine car- ried the mind up to the conception of godhead as a creator. The Semitic making over of ideas, which came very early at Erech, and more fully than at Eridu, turned Ana, the sky, into Ami, the divinity of the whole expanse of heaven, the higher invisible heaven beyond the visible sky. Then the three gods of Erech, Nipur, and Eridu, became a trinity of great gods, Anu, Bel or Mul-lil, and Ea; gods of the heaven of heavens, of the under-world, and of the watery deep. Nature is bountiful in trinities, and Babylonia made an- other, of the Sun, the Moon, and the Evening Star, or Samas, Sin, and Istar; of whom Sin, the Moon-god, was the father of Samas and Istar, according to the underlying Akkadian idea that the moon existed before the sun; that the Moon- god was male, not female; that the lord of their hours of observation of the nightly heavens, and of their temple ob- servatory worship, was the supreme ruler of heaven and earth; and that the Moon-god rose in might on the darkness of the underworld of Mul-lil, making way for the sun in his strength and the star of morning (or evening) in her beauty. The Babylonian Ur was the great Moon-god city, and Har- ran again, in the far northwest, was a special Moon-god cen- tre. To all appearance both the contrasted types of natural BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 69 faith, that of the garden land of Eridu and that of the Sem- itic desert, saw a beloved and beneficent divinity in the moon of night, and to both came home the thought of the Moon-god overcoming the darkness and dread of the sunless world of night, the under- world and ghost-world of Mul-lil. In honor of the Moon-god of Ur hymns were composed and a ritual performed, and one of the grandest Babylonian tem- ples built. It was for this Sin, the Moon-god, that Sinai was named. The great temple of Sin at Ur was built, or restored, by Ur-Bagas, the earliest monarch known to have united all Babylonia under one rule. Among the Moon-god hymns which have been recovered, we have one in the Akkadian original, with an interlinear Semitic (Assyrian) translation, signed by Assur-bani-pal's chief scr'be. We are able to read both, and even to correct errors < f the translator. Some lines of this hymn run : " Merciful one, begetter of the universe, ' 'ho among men far and wide erects the supreme shrine, Father long suffering in waiting, who* hand upholds the life of all mankind ! Lord, thy divinity like the far off heal' n fills the wide sea with fear. On the surface of the peopled earth hi ^ids the sanctuary be placed, he proclaims their name. Father, begetter of gods and men, who t Mses the shrine to be founded, who establishes the offering, Who proclaims dominion, who gives t 3 sceptre to those whose des- tiny is fixed unto a distant day. First-born, omnipotent, whose heart is immensity and there is none who may discover it ; Who makes the light from the horizon to the zenith of heaven, open- ing wide the doors of the sky, and establishing light. Thou boldest the lightning and the rain, defender of all living things; there is no God who has at any time discovered thy fulness. In heaven who is supreme ? Thou alone, thou art supreme. On earth, who is supreme ? Thou alone, thou art supreme. As for thee, thy will is made known in heaven, and the angels bow their faces. As for thee, thy will is made known upon earth, and the spirits below kiss the ground. As for thee, thy will is blown on high like the wind; the stall and the fold are quickened. 70 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. As for thee, thy will is done upon the earth, and the herb grows green. As for thee, thy will is seen in the lair and the shepherd's hut; it in- creases all living things. As for thee, thy will hath created law and justice, so that mankind has established law. As for thee, thy will extends as heaven, it stretches below as earth, there are none that can record it. As for thee, who can learn thy will, who can rival it ? In heaven is thy lordship, in the earth thy sovereignty ; among the gods thy brethren a rival thou hast not. King of kings, of whose .... no man is judge, whose divinity no god resembles. Look with favor on thy temple; Look with favor on Ur, thy city." In what Sargon, 3800 B.C., looking back to what was then antiquity, called "the remote days of the period of the Moon-god," the Star (of evening and of morning), Istar, was the Moon-god's glorious daughter, as Samas, the Sun-god, was the Moon-god's son. One of the early Akkadian ideas was the pre-eminence of woman, and in Istar appeared the loftiest ideal of a goddess of independent nature, on an equal footing with the greatest gods. She was a goddess of the bond of family and home, the ideal woman throned among the great gods. One of the old hymns had these words : " To cause enlightenment to prevail am I appointed, alone am I ap- pointed ; By the side of my father the Moon-god to cause enlightenment to pre- vail am I appointed, alone am I appointed ; By the side of my brother the Sun-god to cause enlightenment to prevail am I appointed, alone am I appointed ; In the resplendent heaven to cause enlightenment to prevail am I ap- pointed, alone am I appointed; In the beginning was my glory, in the beginning was my glory; In the beginning was I a goddess who marched on high; Istar the divinity of the evening sky am I; Istar the divinity of the dawn am I ; Istar the opener of the bolts of the bright heaven is my glory." This lofty conception was contrary to the low Semitic idea of the female. Woman Semitism did not know. It knew the female, an attachment to the male. The female of man BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. 71 was as the female of the camel or the wild ass. Love was sex- ual excitement. Sexual fury in nature was a divine passion. The Semitic prophet, figuring Judea as a female espoused by the tribal deity, talks as if he supposed the woman sub- ject, like the she camel, to the periodical recurrence of a purely animal onset of excitement. The vulgar Semitic mind concentrated itself on the generative facts. Mr. Sayce re- marks that " the keystone of Semitic belief was the genera- tive character of the deity." An essential beastliness of the Semitic man, under the sun of the desert and in the atmos- phere of the wilderness, tended to a shocking degradation of religion. Istar's glory of woman, equal with father and brother, was changed to an abomination of female animal- ism. She was turned into the Ashtoreth, in whose worship sexual fury and religious frenzy were one; prostitution a sacrament; and orgies of lust a festival of highest religion. Babylonia without Semitic influences would have given us a far purer revelation and far nobler ideals. Mr. Sayce says: " Babylonia does not seem to have produced any class of men like the Israelitish prophets; but it produced cultivated scribes and thinkers, who sought and found beneath the superstitions of their countrymen a purer religion and a more abiding faith." These construed Istar as the Virgin Mother of enlighten- ment, the friendly glory of the evening and the morning, the companion of night's monarch, the Moon, and of the day's ruler, the Sun. But Semitic influences blotted all this, and on Semitic ground, above all with the Jews, and in the very temple at Jerusalem, Istar became Ashtoreth of unsur- passable abominations. Mr. Sayce says of the contrast of Semitic and Akkadian conceptions : " In the Semitic conception of social life, the male was the source of life and authority, the female being but his weaker double, the pale reflection of the man. The father was the head of the family. This was the exact converse of the ideas that prevailed among the Akkadians. Here it was the mother, and not the father, who was the head of the 72 BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. family ; and in the bilingual texts we find that in the Akkadian original the female is always mentioned before the male, while the Semitic trans- lator is careful to reverse the order. W oman in Akkad occupied a higher position than she did, or does, among the Semites. The god- desses of Accad were independent beings, like the gods whose equals they were. The Semitic female deities were simply the complement of their male consorts. They were seldom deemed worthy of a name of their own." In his most recent volume, Mr. Sayce, speaking of u the Babylonian element in Genesis," says : " The word with which the book of Genesis opens is ' in the begin- ning,' while an Assyrian poem equally tells us that the watery deep was the ' beginning, ' of the heavens and the earth. Thanks to the dis- coveries made in Babylonia and at Tel El-Amarna [Babylonian writ- ings found in Egypt], we have learned how deep and lasting was the influence of Babylonian culture upon pre-Israelitish Canaan. The belief in a chaos of waters within which the future heavens and earth lay, went back to the eai'ly dwellers on the banks of the Euphrates and the shores of the Persian Gulf." "The Sabbath rest was a Babylonian, as well as a Hebrew institution. Its origin went back to pre-Semitic days, and the very name Sabbath by \vhich it is known in Hebrew, was of Babylonian origin. The Sabbath was also known, at all events in Akkadian times, as a day on which work was forbidden to be done." Mr. Sayce implies that the Jews had no particular regard for the Sabbath until a late period in their history, when they learned it in Babylonia, while in exile there. " There is," he says, " little or no reference to it in the Books of Samuel and Kings." Mr. Sayce speaks of " the close de- pendence of the ' Jehovistic ' account of the creation and fall of man upon Babylonia"; and he farther says : ' ' The fall of man seems to be described in plain terms. The Bible story of the Fall gives evidence, not only in the general outlines and in the details of the narrative, of its derivation from Babylonia ; but the very words that are used in it betray their Babylonian origin. ' Adam ' itself is the common Babylonian ward for man, and the name ' eve ' finds its counterpart in the Babylonian ivat or ' breath.' Methusael is a purely Babylonian name Mutu-sa-ili, ' the man of God.' We now know that not only Babylonian beliefs, but the literature itself, had been brought to Palestine before the age of Moses." THE BUILDING OF THE PYRAMIDS. (From the painting by G. RICHTEK, Munich.) The Pyramids were built by individual monarchs of early Egypt to serve as tombs, in part monumental, but chiefly designed to provide a securely concealed inaccessible and eternally safe burial chamber, within which the body of the monarch might escape disturbance forever, such being a condition of the future life of the spirit which had dwelt in the body. Tfte onian Babylonian Bible not only represents Babylonia and _J_ a very great antiquity, but Assyria also, the Assyrians having adopted it, in an Assyrian translation, as Christians borrowed the Hebrew Bible, in a Greek, or Latin, or modern version. The language of the Babylonian original was the primitive Babylonian, in either the Sumerian dialect of the south or the Akkadian of the north. Several successive portions, representing stages of the history, compose the earlier and special sacred scriptures, and to these other re- markable writings succeeded, making a Literature not only of remarkable interest, but of remarkable influence down to the present time. The two most ancient portions are of the south or Sumerian section of Babylonia. Oldest of all is a body of pieces, most of them short, which have been com- monly designated the Magical Texts, because they are, so many of them, arranged for purposes of incantation. But they can be better called the Priestly Texts, because they con- tain a great deal of mythology, spirit lore, and even history, as set down by the priests. They tell of the spirits and de- mons, and of the gods and goddesses, of the earlier faith ; spirits of wind and storm, of diseases, of madness, of drought and plague, of all the ills of flesh, and the woes of the mind , and of the gods of the nature-system built by simple faith above the primitive spiritism ; and most of the pieces show that they were used in ceremonies designed to cast out, or ward off, or protect from, demons of disease and of destruc- tion. They show the magician or conjurer dealing with the (73) 74 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. spirits of every kind, and getting for men the aid of the gods for dealing with spirits, spirits of disease, of burning wind and storm, of drought and plague. The matter of these texts is very varied, showing the ideas of the time as to both spirits and gods, scenes on earth, scenes in the place of the gods, doings of many kinds. Climate, in the largest sense, suggests a great deal. Professor Huxley has said of Baby- lonia : " Except in the extreme south, the rainfall is small and the air dry. The heat in summer is intense, while bitterly cold northern blasts sweep the plain in winter. Whirlwinds are not uncommon ; and in the inter- vals of the periodical inundations, the fine, dry, powdery soil is swept, even by moderate breezes, into stifling clouds, or rather fogs, of dust." The ancient conditions were those of ample irrigation by canals, which made what is now a waste of marsh and wil- derness, the granary of western Asia. The weather condi- tions seem to have suggested the seven spirits of varied evil to which there is frequent reference in the " Magical " Texts. Thus we read : " Troublers unique are they, troublers of heaven have they been born; They are whirlwind-like ghosts; travellers are they; Wife they possess not; child they begat not; Lusty offspring they know not; Horses which have come forth from the mountain are they; Unto Ea are they hostile. The throne-bearers of the gods are they ; To trouble the canal are they set; Before Nergal the mighty warrior do they go to and fro; spirit of heaven, conjure! O spirit of earth, conjure! O spirit of Sin (Moon -god), god of the throne of light, conjure!' 5 " Seven are they, seven are they, In the hollow of the deep seven they are; Gleams of the sky are those seven. In the hollow of the deep, in a palace, they grew up. Male they are not, female they are not. Compassion and kindness know they not, Prayer and supplication hear they not; O spirit of heaven, conjure! O spirit of earth, onjurel" " Mistress they know not; The land like husks they devour; THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. 75 Compassion they know not; Against mankind they rage ; The flesh they devour, the seed they sicken, the blood they drink; Demons are they, filled with wickedness; Devourers of blood unceasing are they. O spirits of heaven, conjure! O spirits of earth, conjure! " " The reptiles that creep round and round, the evil gods are they; The warrior spirits that spare not, who were created in the cloudy vault of heaven. These seven are messengers of Anu their king ; In city after city do they cause the rainy wind ; The storm that is in heaven they bind together strongly; The fleecy clouds that are in heaven making the rainy wind are they; The rushing blast of the wind which produces darkness on a clear day are they ; With baleful wind, with evil wind they darted forth; The deluge of Rimmon, mighty whirlwinds are they; At the right hand of Simmon they march; On the horizon of heaven like the lightning; To impose the yoke they march in front; In the wide heaven, the seat of Anu the king, they set themselves with evil purpose and had no rival." From this opening the text goes on to relate the war of the seven evil spirits of the sky upon the Moon-god. The ancient Mul-lil, god of the under-world of darkness, appears as the Supreme, with Ea as " supreme adviser of the gods"; and Mul-lil had appointed Sin, Sairas, and Istar Moon, Sun, and Star of evening and morning to rule the cloudy heaven. "Along with Anu (the Sky) he had divided among them the sover- eignty of the hosts of heaven; among the three of them, the gods his children, he had divided the night and the day"; and on a day "those seven, the evil gods, in the cloudy region of heaven darted forth : violently they beset the Moon-god. The evil gods, enlarging evil heads, evil they plotted together. From the midst of heaven, like the wind on the land they swooped. Mul-lil beheld the darkness: he says to his messenger, Nusku, ' carry my word to the deep ; the news of my son the Moon-god, who is grievously darkened in heaven, to Ea in the deep convey." " Nusku exalted the word of his lord; to Ea in the deep he went with the message; to the divine prince, the counsellor supreme, the lord, the sovereign of the world, Nusku conveyed the word of his lord." "Ea in the deep listened to the tale, and he bit his lip, with outcry he filled his mouth. Ea addressed his son Merodach and roars out the 76 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. word : ' Go, my son Merodach ! Grievous is the eclipse of the Moon- god; his eclipse in heaven is proceeding; those seven, the evil gods, who swoop like the deluge, swoop upon the world like a storm. 1 " The great gods appear here as Mul-lil of Nipur, Ann of Erech, and Ea of Eridu, god of dark power (Mul-lil), god of the sky and of heaven (Anu), and god of bright beneficent wisdom (Ea). Moon, Sun, and Star, Sin, Samas, and Istar, figure as a subordinate trinity. Rimmon was god of the atmosphere, of the bright air, contrasting by beneficence with the seven spirits of the air, messengers of Anu, whose behavior got them a very bad name. Nergal was the god of war and of the planet Mars figured as a human-headed and winged lion. Nusku was Mul-lil's messenger. Mero- dach was Ea's great and good son, the kind and merciful, who took on at Babylon, under Semitic ideas, the style of a Sun-god, but the Sun of kindly good to man, just as Mul-lil became the other kind of Sun-god, under ideas still more Semitic, a Sun-god, not as the beneficent giver of light and life, the genial deity of the watered fields of Babylonia, but as the fierce and wrathful sun of the desert and the arid up- land, the scorching destroyer, sinking red with anger into the under- world of night. It should be especially noted here that during twenty or thirty centuries before the copies of texts and hymns which we can recover were made, Semitic invasion had been making over the old culture, even when superstitiously preserving it, and into the ancient texts came later words. Mr. Sayce remarks on the central tendency of the transformations which a long course of the history shows : ' ' The rise of Sun-worship at Sippara, the prominence given to the solar element in Babylonian religion generally, the obliteration of the older gods whose attributes could not be harmonized with those of a Sun -god, and the identification of deity after deity with the solar Baal (or Bel), was the result of the introduction of Semitic ideas into the religion of Babylonia. Perhaps the most striking transformation ever undergone by any object of religious faith was the conversion of Mul-lil, the lord of the ghost- world, into a Bel or Baal, a god of life and light." In fact, however, the change of Mul-lil into the Bel he be- came was not so great. It was the bad Bel as it had been THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. 77 the bad Mul-lil ; the angry sun, who was easily thought of as the sun of the under- world, seen as he so often was going down into his dread abode the lurid terror of the world, Bel-Mul-lil the Angry. The second stage of Babylonian sacred writing shows a development of the priestly texts into hymns to various gods. These hymns are still in the Sumerian dialect of Eridu and Erech. Mr. Sayce says in regard to them : "The subjects of Akkadian literary composition were multifarious. Among the most interesting are the hymns to the gods, some of which strikingly resemble the Hebrew psalms in substance as well as in form. Indeed, the parallelism of Hebrew and Assyrian poetry seems to have been borrowed from the Akkadians. But the similarity of expression and feeling is no less remarkable. A collection was afterwards made of these hymns, which was used for ritualistic purposes, and regarded as an inspired volume." But the volume always hung by the Priestly Texts, as the Hebrew Bible did by the Pentateuch, and it was not closed with the hymns to the gods. The comparison with Hebrew, moreover, shows not only many like ideas and expressions, but much unlikeness, with the Hebrew level lower than the Akkadian, because to the Hebrew so much of his religion breathed hatred of enemies and desire to have Jahveh join in this hatred, while the Akkadian sought rather to obtain kindly favor from strong gods and good gods. To no small extent the " magical " characters continue in the hymns, as hymns had also appeared in the early texts. Some choice fragments of history also appear in both the early texts and the later hymns. Both the texts and the hymns were used for liturgical repetition in the temples, and for purposes of incantation. It is in fact important to understand how the usage of mystical repetition, incantation, charms and spells, employed not only special words of conjuration, but almost any bit of story, hymn, poem, to which imagination could assign a sacred character. It might be from mere supersti- tion, or through priestly invention, that recital of any piece was supposed to control spirits or to cure disease. The background of the Babylonian Bible was this usage of sac- 78 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. raraental sacerdotal repetition. If the hymns became espe- cially the Babylonian Bible, it was not without the feeling that they best served the magical purpose, for which also the old texts continued to serve. And while hymns were chiefly composed, texts merely magical continued to be made. There have been recovered fragments only of texts and hymns, and these to no small extent as they had been changed in later times by Semitic hands. These are fragments addressed to Nebo, god of prophecy : " To Nebo, the supreme messenger, who binds all things together, The scribe of all that has a nam, The lifter up of the stylus supreme, the director of the world, The possessor of the reed of augury, The opener of the wells, the f ructifler of the corn, The god of the irrigated land and the canal, The glorious lord who pours out the oil of anointing." " lord, who givest the name to Borsippa, There is no power that can compare with thy power. There is -no temple that can compare with thy temple E-Zida ; There is no city that can compare with thy city, Borsippa; Thy command is unchangeable like the heavens, in heaven thou art supreme." " To Nebo the mighty son, the overseer of the hosts of heaven and earth. The holder of the papyrus scrolls, the taker of the stylus of the tablets of destiny, The lengthener of the day, the restorer of the dead to life, The establisher of life for men in trouble, the great lord of births." To Merodach appealing to Ea his father for a case of demoniac mad- ness, " Ea answered his son Merodach : ' My son, what knowest thou not, what can I teach thee ? Merodach, what knowest thou not, what can I teach thee 't What I know thou too knowest. Go my son Merodach.' " Then follow directions for use of holy water, and other treatment, that the malady of the head which has descended like the ram of the night may be driven away, the word of Ea issue forth like the dawn, and Merodach, the eldest son of the deep, be light and happiness unto him. THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. 79 Again we read : " Who can escape from thy message ? Thy word is the supreme snare which is stretched towards heaven and earth. It turns to the sea and the sea dreads it ; It turns to the marsh and the marsh mourns; It turns to the Euphrates, and the word of Merodach disturbs its bed. O lord, thou art supreme, who is there that rivals thee ? O Merodach, among the gods as many as have a name thou coverest them." " First-born of Ea, mighty lord of mankind, king of the world, of heaven and earth, who has no rival ! The companion of Anu and Mul-lil ; The merciful one amcng the gods ; The merciful one who loveth to give life to the dead; Merodach, king of heaven and earth ; King of Babylon, lord of E-Saggil ; Heaven and earth are thine; All round heaven and earth is thine; The spell that giveth life is thine ; The breath that giveth life is thine ; The holy writing of the mouth of the deep is thine. Mankind, even the black-headed race (of Akkad), The living creatures as many as pronounce a name and exist in the earth, The four zones, all that there are, The angels of the hosts of heaven and earth, whatever be their number, Worship thee and lend to thee their ears." The Sun-god has many hymns. One of them reads: " O Sun-god, the judge of the world art thou, O lord of the living creation, the pitiful one who directest the world ; Direct the law of the multitudes of mankind ; Thou art eternal righteousness in the heaven ; Thou art justice in heaven, a bond on earth art thou; Thou knowest right, thou knowest wickedness. O Sun- god, righteousness has lifted up its neck; O Sun-god, wickedness has been cut as with a knife: O Sun-god, the minister of Anu and Mul-lil art thou; O Sun-god, the judge supreme of heaven and earth art thou." The extent to which we have yet to recover these hymns, having for the most part only fragments as yet, and to cor- rectly render the terms used in them, and comprehend the 80 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. figures of speech, the ideas, and the characters of spirits or of gods, disables us from doing justice to the intellectual power, the moral ideals, and the religious conceptions, which they represent ; but we know enough to see that the body of utterances which had taken shape perhaps 5,000 years, or along in the centuries previous to 4,000 years before Christ, made a most remarkable chapter of culture, as unique in interest as it is in antiquity. The third part of Babylonian scripture is in the Akkadian dialect of the north of Babylonia, where Semitic influences were both earlier and stronger than in the south. It is a development of the hymns to the gods into psalms of a special type, which are characterized as THE PENITENTIAL PSALMS. They show the priest conducting confession of sin for the worshipper, and prayer for forgiveness. Their date appears to be later than that of the oldest hymns, but earlier than the later hymns ; as early as 4000 B.C. Mr. Sayce says of these psalms that "they are all distinguished by the same characteristics, which lend to them a striking resem- blance to the Psalms of the Old Testament. " It would be more exact to say that the writers of Hebrew psalms bor- rowed freely from the Babylonian, while each had character- istics which give a strong contrast, the notes of human ten- derness and of trust in natural divine mercy prevailing in the Babylonian, while in the Hebrew Jahveh's favor is bought with costly sacrifice or covenant appeal, and his favor will mean selfish advantage to those seeking his good- will. The special note which passed from Babylonian into Hebrew was the sense of sin strongly conceived and ex- pressed, but the Hebrew made it more abject and more self- ish than the Babylonian, and gave it a setting in a theology of blood and terror impossible to Babylonian culture. The Babylonian penitent says : " To the heart of him who has sinned thou utterest words of blessing; Thou lookest on the man, and the man lives, O potentate of the world, mistress of mankind, Compassionate one, whose forgiveness is ready, who accepts the prayer." THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. 81 The priest interposes with : " O god and mother goddess that are angry with him, he calls upon thee; Turn thy face towards him and take his hand." The penitent continues : " Above thee, O god, have I no director; Ever look upon me and accept my prayer. When, O my mistress, shall thy countenance he turned in pardon ? Like a dove I mourn, on sighs do I feast myself." Even the deep cry of profound confession has no note of the trading of sacrifice for salvation : " O my mistress, greatly am I yoked to evil; my mistress, thou hast surrounded me and hast appointed me to pain; The strong enemy, like a solitary has cut me down ; No message have I received; myself have I not understood; Like a field day and night do I mourn ; 1 thy servant bow myself before thee ; May thy heart be quieted ; may thy liver be appeased." The liver and the heart together constantly appear as the organs of aroused feeling, and rest for the heart-, quiet for the liver, are supposed to bring back divine good- will. " May his pure heart rest, may the prayer address him; May his heart rest in quietude ; May the heart of his lordship rest in quietude; ' O heart, turn thyself, turn thyself,' let it be said to him; ' O heart, rest, rest,' let it be said to him ; He grants much to his heart who judges grace." " Look favorably upon me; Turn thy face toward me ; May thy heart be at rest; May thy liver be quieted ; May thy heart, like the heart of a mother who has borne children? return to its place; As a mother who has borne children, as a father who has begotten, may it return to its place." Another element of Babylonian scripture consists of Litanies, not less early than the psalms, and written in the old Akkadian dialect. They were attached to psalms in 82 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. liturgical use, and left in the old language when the psalm was translated into Semitic (Assyrian). They may date not later than 4000 B.C. One of these says : " May thy life make my life like a crystal, may it grant mercy; O my god and my goddess who judge me, may my land Be blessed like gold in the mouth of men ; Like a seal may my troubles be sent far away ; Never may the evil and unpropitious curse approach me, never may it fetter; In thy sight may my name and my double be guided aright ; May the medicines and the rites which are established before thee put away all that is harmful to my image ; Never may the strength and anger of the god draw nigh to me ; May the bondage of wickedness and sin explain, to the man the curse ; May the lifting up the hand and the invocation of the great gods, In thy sight, O strong one, ask for the command : Like the heavens may I be pure when enchantments befall, Like the earth may I be bright in the time of evil witchcraft; Like the midst of heaven may I shine, may I make the multitude of my evils to fear; May the green corn purify me ; May the herb of Venus absolve me : May the tree-trunk take away my sin ; May the cup of pure water of Merodach confer a blessing; May the twofold fire of the Fire-god and the Sun-god enlighten me; By the command of Ea, the king of the deep, the god of wisdom, At the lifting up of my hand may thy heart have rest, may Merodach, the hero of the gods, give thee rest ; May the word of Ea be exalted." At a later date than any of the priestly writings in use as scripture, but still more than 2,000 years before Christ, there were produced great poems rich in natural scripture, or the story of things divine and human. Mr. Sayce says of these : "The mythological poems grew out of the development of a solar worship and the personification of the attributes of the gods. Two of these poems we possess intact, one on the Deluge, and one on the De- scent of Istar into Hades the sixth and eleventh book of a very remark- able epic in twelve books; and part of a third which describes the war of the seven evil spirits against the Moon-god." The ideas of these poems were largely borrowed in Hebrew scripture, Mr. Sayce says : THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. 83 " The details of the Chaldean cosmogony show a remarkable resem- blance to the cosmogonies of Genesis and Phoenicia. It must be remem- bered that both Phoanicians and Hebrews profess to have migrated from Chaldea. The resemblance is still more striking when we examine the Babylonian mythology. The sacred tree of Babylonia, with its guardian 'cherubs,' a word which seems of Akkadian origin, recall Biblical analogies, while the Noachian deluge differs but slightly from the Chal- dean one. Indeed, the Jehovistic version of the flood story in Genesis agrees not only in details but even in phraseology with that which forms the eleventh book of the great Babylonian epic." " The old Shamanistic ideas survived in Assyria and Babylonia, and so were handed on to the Jews. Through the Jews and the various Gnostic systems of early Christianity, the primitive doctrines of Akkad found their way into the mediaeval church. Even the phylacteries of the Jews go back to the same origin." The deluge story in Genesis gives occasion to the author of a recent handbook of the science of religion to say of "the relations between the Babylonian and Israelite ac- counts": "That in spite of many differences, they are still one and the same story, can be doubted as little as that the originality belongs to the Chaldean account." "The account in the eleventh tablet of the Izdubar epic tallies as a whole, as well as in detail, with the two accounts which the editor of Genesis has combined, and more especially with the most ancient, com- monly called the Jahvist." And of the creation story the same authority says : ''We find an original chaotic existence and an original water in Genesis as well as in the Babylonian accounts. Similarly, we find an essential agreement in the conception of creation, as the arranging of already existing matter, in the idea of a separation between heaven and earth, and in the thought of the uniting of divine life with earthly dust at the creation of man." The Babylonian deluge tale, as it has come down to us, was composed more than 2,000 years before Christ. Among the most dreaded disturbers of nature was the mdtu, or tem- pest, the wind that every year, in the month of Sebat, or January, brought "the curse of rain," and in seasons of special disturbance of nature might cover a great extent of the land with a flood of waters. The Persian gulf is a long 84 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. arm of the Indian Ocean, lying within the region of typhoons, and if, when the rivers Euphrates and Tigris were in flood, covering the alluvial plain of Babylonia with a wide over- flow, there chanced a hurricane from the southeast, driving the waters of the shallow gulf inland, there might occur a destructive deluge fully up to the mark of the story told by Babylonian scripture. In our own time such a flood in the delta of the Ganges has swept over 3,000 square miles and destroyed 100,000 people. Among the Akkadian ideas was that of beneficial influ- ence from sprinkling with water, that of revelation through dreams, that of a seventh day of sacred obligation as a day of rest, that of evil spirits or demons causing diseases, and the whole system of astrology and magic so widely preva- lent as the popular fringe to religion. The Sabbath of the Hebrews was far earlier " the day of rest of the heart," ac- cording to the Akkadian scripture, which said : u On the seventh day he appointed a holy day, And to cease from all business he commanded." In Akkadian scripture, says the Rev. H. G. Tomkins, in a sketch of the " Life and Times of Abraham," ' we read heart- felt prayers, praises and adorations, and sacred narratives carefully recorded and honestly believed ; psalms of adora- tion, humble and penitent prayers ; and we only need to change the object to stand rebuked by their devotion. Their attainment of a high civilization, general cultivation, and a remarkable social polity, left the Semitic people of Assyria and Israel to borrow from them their words for rule, author- ity, law, their system of writing, their mythology, literature, laws, and almost every art of civilization.' A hand-book of the religions of the world says : "In the region round the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris there flourished a proto-Baby Ionian civilization, from which the Semitic emi- grants borrowed their civilization, and with it also their writing. This Akkadian-Sumerian civilization is certainly one of the oldest in the world. It was inherited by the Semites who settled in Mesopotamia, and is of importance in the history of the world as the principal agent m the formation of the Babylonia*!- Assyrian civilization. The elements THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. 86 of civilization which the Semites of Mesopotamia owed to this un- Sem- itic people they transmitted to their ethnic relatives in western Asia, more especially to the Israelites and Phoenicians. From these last the Greeks likewise received it. In the view of some scholars not only are there proofs that civilization was older on the Euphrates than on the Nile, but in writing, in art, such as the building of pyramids, and in mythology also, Egypt shows that it is dependent on ancient Babylonian culture." Of dates and details in the story of Akkadian culture, and of the significance of many facts as they have been deci- phered, we have yet much to learn. The researches of George Smith, uncovering great numbers of the books made by writ- ing on tablets of clay, found a record in a work entitled "The Chaldean Genesis, containing the description of the creation, the fall of man, the deluge, the tower of Babel, the times of the patriarchs, and Nimrod"; and under each head he showed that the stories in which the Hebrews dressed their early history were very old Akkadian stories as far back as perhaps 2000 B.C., the written form of which was much older than the age of Moses. The seven days of crea- tion and the seventh day of rest were Akkadian before they were Hebrew. Of the earlier inscriptions copied on later tablets which have been preserved, Mr. Smith declared that they " have preserved to us texts which show the wonderful advance made by the people of Chaldea before the time of Moses." Of the " Babylonian legend of the creation " Mr. Smith said : " The story, so far as I can judge from the fragment, agrees generally with the account of the creation in the book of Genesis, but shows traces of having originally included very much more matter The race of human beings are called Admi or Adami, which is exactly the name given to the first man in Genesis. The word Adam used in these legends for the first human being is evidently not a proper name, but is only used as a term for mankind. Adam appears as a proper name ha Gene- sis, but certainly in some passages is only used in the same sense as the Assyrian word (as in Gen v. 1, ' male and female created he them, and called them Adam '). It has been pointed out by Sir Henry Rawlinson that the Babylonians recognized two principal races : the Adamu or dark race, and the Sarku, or light race, probably in the same manner that two races are mentioned in Genesis, the sons of Adam and the sons 86 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. of God. It appears incidentally from the fragments of inscriptions, that it was the race of Adam, or the dark race, which was believed to have fallen." After reviewing details, of which a part only are preserved, Mr. Smith said : " Thus it is evident that a form of the story of the fall, similar to that of Genesis, was known in early times in Babylonia. The dragon which leads man to sin is an embodiment of the spirit of chaos or disorder which was opposed to the deities at the creation of the world. It is clear that the dragon is included in the curse for the fall, and that the gods invoke on the head of the human race all the evils which afflict humanity. Wisdom and knowledge shall injure him, he shall have family quarrels, shall submit to tyranny, he will anger the gods, he shall not eat the fruit of his labor, he shall be disappointed in his desires, he shall pour out useless prayer, he shall have trouble of mind and body, he shall commit future sin." After an account of further details, Mr. Smith went on to say : "These fragments of the cuneiform account of the creation and fall agree so far as they are preserved with the Biblical account, and show that in the period from B.C. 2000 to 1500 the Babylonians believed in a similar story to that in Genesis. It appears from the tablets that all these legends were ' traditions ' or ' stories ' repeated by word of mouth, and afterwards committed to writing. When such traditions are not reduced to writing, they are liable to vary, sometimes very widely. Thus many different versions of a story arise, and there can be no doubt that this was actually the case with the creation legends." After reciting fragments which seem to refer to a god of pestilence Mr. Smith said, in terms recalling a notable pas- sage of Hebrew scripture : " Here we see a picture of oriental feeling with reference to natural phenomena or disasters to mankind. It is supposed that some deity or angel stands with a sword over the devoted people and sweeps them into eternity. . . . On the spread of a plague it is evident that the Babylo- nians had no better means of arresting it than to pray, and to praise the supposed terrible deity of the scourge, that he might sheathe his sword of anger." One of the most complete myths of the ancient Akkadian scripture is the story of Istar's journey into Hades or de- scent into hell. Some lines of this, as Mr. Smith deciphered them, were these : THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. 87 " I descend to the house of darkness, To the house entering which there is no exit, To the road the course of which never returns, To the house in which the dwellers long for light, The place where dust is their nourishment, And light is never seen ; in darkness they dwell, Dwell the chiefs and unconquered ones, Dwell the bards and great men, Dwell the monsters of the deep of the great gods, The Queen of the lower regions, Ninkigal, And there is not any that stands against her in her presence." At the passing of the several gates the keeper of Hades took away something from Istar, " The first gate he passed her through, And he took away the great crown of her head; The second, he took away the earrings of her ears ; The third, he took away the necklace of her neck ; The fourth, he took away the ornaments of her breast; The fifth, he took away the binding girdle of her waist ; The sixth, he took away the bracelets of her hands and her feet; And the seventh, he took away the covering cloak of her body;" and each time, as Istar asked why, the answer was, " On entering, Lady, the goddess of the lower regions Does thus with her visitors." When the two divine ladies met, " Ninkigal saw her and at her presence was angry, Istar did not consider and at her swore." It was a sad day for gods and men when Istar came not back from Hades, until the Queen thereof gave order to her attendant, " Over Istar pour the water of life, And bring her to me," and " He brought out the spirit and seated it on the golden throne, On Istar he poured the water of life and brought her," and passing her back through the seven gates, at each returned to her what had been taken there from her, until she was again restored to the place of the living. It was from this early Babylonian example of sacred scripture that Hebrew ideas of a scripture of divine author- ity started, and those who executed these ideas borrowed largely the identical materials of the Babylonian Bible, in- 88 THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. eluding essential points of the system of belief found by theologians in the passages which were of remote Akkadian origin. The same shadow of Akkadian tradition fell on the opening page of the New Testament, in the reference to " magi from the east," who came to Jerusalem saying, " we saw his star in the East." It already begins to appear as if the Bibles of Egypt, of Judea, of Mohammed, and in a very limited sense of Christianity, might be found pendent to the old Babylonian Bible, in an outward unity calculated to sug- gest how natural to man the making of Bibles has been; and when we see the even more remarkable illustration of it in the Bibles of Persia, of Brahmanical Hinduism, of Budd- hism, and of China, all creating scriptures of absolute authority, with results very mixed of benefit and bane, the thoughtful student, inclined to the service of divine truth, may perhaps raise in regard to all Bibles, in respect of text and letter, the previous question of the spirit, as alone con- cerned in divine revelation. NOTE. A discovery made in Egypt in 1887, Mr. Sayce tells us in his recentvolume on ' ' The Higher Criticism and the Monuments," has com- pelled an entirely new view of the lands lying between Babylonia and Egypt, in a part of which the Israelites settled as conquerors of an earlier people. At Tel El-Amarna in Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile, have been found a mass of documents, letters of importance, written in the cuneiform characters of Babylonia on tablets of clay. They are the official correspondence received by two kings of Egypt, father and son, of whom the father had married a daughter of a monarch on the Eu- phrates, and the son had been half of his mother's religion as well as blood, and had made a capital at Tel El-Amarna, when the priests proved too strong for him at Thebes. The Semitic worship of a form of the Sun-god had been brought to the Nile by this half foreign king, and it ended in disaster probably his murder. The memory of it all is found on the tablets dug up at Tel El-Amarna, on which appear letters from the kings of Babylonia and Assyria, of Mesopotamia, Cap- padocia, and Northern Syria, as also from Egyptian governors and protected princes in Palestine and the lands adjoining. The tongue in which they are written is almost invariably Babylonian, and they show that in all Western Asia the populations were, to use the words of Mr. Sayce, " as highly cultured and literary as the populations of Western Europe in the age of the Renaissance. " The facts clearly made out prove that in the century before the Exodus, the Babylonian language THE BABYLONIAN SCRIPTURES. 89 was the common medium of literary intercourse throughout a thoroughly civilized East, from the banks of the Euphrates to those of the Nile, and that the culture of Babylonia had penetrated across the whole region towards Egypt, carrying schools, teachers, libraries, and archives attesting universal use of books and letters. The complicated syllabary of Babylonia, along with the Babylonian language, had been so long taught and learned as to permit varieties to spring up, showing the same characters in different forms, in various parts of the Palestinian region. A difficult language, and a very difficult system of writing, had been mastered, with developments which go back many centuries from the time of the Tel El-Amarna letters, and show that for ages learning and enlightenment had overspread the whole West from Babylonia to the shores of the Mediterranean, and the borders of Egypt. It is a relic of this state of things to which reference is made in the mention of Kir jath-sepher, ' ' the city of books, " which is also called Kirjath-sannah, "city of instruction." Many such cities, which were the seats of libraries and centres of instruction, went down under the Israelitish conquest. It is now absolutely proven that the Hebrews, as also the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites, adopted the language of the Canaanites, the more civilized and cultivated people whose seats they seized, and sank into all their superstitions and abominations, while blighting their culture. The Istar of Babylonia, made by Sem- itic influences the goddess of fertility and the queen of heaven or moon-god, Ashtoreth, became a specially Canaanite goddess, and was most particularly adopted by the Hebrews down to the time of Jeremiah. Semitic polytheism, as it spread across the West to the borders of Egypt, found no worse polytheists than the Hebrews from their coming into Canaan to Solomon, who was a devotee of plural marriage and polytheism to the last age of the monarchy called after David. To all appearance Babylonia and Egypt would have made the whole region, from the Euphrates to the Nile, a land of culture if there had never taken place the surging up from the desert towards Sinai of rude and ruthless nomad tribes whose religion was one of conquest and slaughter, and of promiscuous acceptance of the worse things of the conquered. Tfte and Faltft o THAT "Egypt is believed to have been peopled from Asia, and to have derived her knowledge thence, not from the African continent"; and that "it is now acknowl- edged that the Egyptians, although much changed by an intermixture of Arab blood, were more related to the Caucasian than to the negro type," are opinions worthy of respect, although no evidence of migration from the Eu- phrates, or by way of the Euphrates from the farther east, into the land of the Nile, can be alleged. In a general way it seems as though the humanity bred at Eridu in the name of Ea the Beneficent and Merodach the Merciful had found on the Nile conditions of climate, of favoring air and unsur- passable glories of light, the light especially of the western sky at sunset, which tended to elevation, to refinement, and to very bright faith in what was beyond the gates ajar of the under- world of the setting sun. Birch says, in speaking of Egypt from the earliest times : "The Egyptian enjoyed all the pleasures of existence, and delighted more in the arts of peace than of war. In his religious belief the idea of a future state was ever present to his mind, while and his long life was one preparation for death to be devoted or pious to the gods, obe- dient to the wishes of his sovereign, affectionate towards his wife and children, were the maxims inculcated for his domestic or inner life. Beyond that circle his duties to mankind were comprised in giving bread to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, oil to the wounded, and burial to the dead. On the exercise of good works he rested his hopes of passing the ordeal of the future and great judgment, and reaching the Aahlu or Elysian fields and Pools of Peace of the Egyptian Paradise." (90) DIANA OF EPHESUS. The Greek Artemis, sister of Apollo, and a huntress with bow and quiver, was merged at Ephesus in a goddess of fertility, a mother-deity, making the Diana of the Ephesians, for whom a temple of great wealth and splendor was maintained. - THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. 91 The earlier stages of Egyptian development already reveal this high ideal of life and of human destiny, but even the outlines and the general dates of progress are not made out with any certainty. In the St. Giles lectures on the Faiths of the World, Dr. James Dodds, speaking of Egypt, said : ' ' The religion of ancient Egypt can be traced back, through vari- ous authentic sources, for more than three thousand years, the last centuries of which coincide with the first centuries of the Christian religion, before whose progress it gradually disappeared. Not that even these long cycles bring us face to face with the first beginnings of religious faith in Egypt ; old as are the memorials in which its character and features are enshrined, these testify to us of a religion already established and developed. Religion in Egypt is older far than the monuments. Egyptian religion cannot be traced to its fountain-head. Far back as we can penetrate w r e find a full-flowing stream. Seno- pheru, a monarch of the third dynasty, who carved his name, not only in his own land, but on the rocks and in the caverns of Sinai, subju- gated the Arabs of the Sinai peninsula, and worked its mines, not less than two thousand six hundred years before Rome was founded, and eleven hundred years before Abraham was born. "From whatever source we gather our information regarding ancient Egypt, there is perfect agreement as to the prominent place which relig- ion occupied in the life and manners of the people. In the middle of the fifth century before our era, Herodotus visited Egypt, and that which impressed him most throughout his travels in the country was the intense devotion of the people. He devotes no fewer than forty-one consecutive chapters to a description of the priests, the temples, and the religious ceremonies of Egypt. The first Egyptian edifice of any pre- tension, he tells us, was a temple. In all the cities of Egypt, and wherever men were gathered, capacious edifices lifted up their heads and invited the people to worship. The services held within them were maintained with all the aids that art could furnish to make them attractive and inviting to the multitude. A numerous priesthood main- tained a costly and perpetual ceremonial. Clothed in robes of the richest materials and rarest workmanship robes of which the modern ecclesiastical vestments of the Greek and Roman churches are the imita- tion and the relics the priests passed in procession through crowds of worshippers, now chanting in full chorus the praises of the gods, now n humility oif adoration bending before their altars and invoking their favor and protection. The great temple of each city was the centre of its life, the bond of civic fellowship, and the pride and joy of the inhab- itants. Religion permeated the whole being of the people. The priests were the practical rulers of the nation, and the representatives of its 92 THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. intellectual activity. Literature, art, science, had hardly any other home than the temple. ' ' But numerous as are the manuscripts that have come down to us, no writing has been discovered in which an Egyptian priest or theolo- gian has set forth the religious system of his countrymen. Eminent scholars maintain that the Egyptian religion was to the learned a sys- tem that combined belief in one self-existent God with a speculative philosophy that concerned itself with the nature of God and the destiny of man. ' The first characteristic of this religion,' says M. de Rouge, ' is the unity of God, most energetically expressed.' In proof of this state- ment he quotes such sentences as these: ' God one, sole, and only; no others with him.' ' He is the only being living in truth.' ' Thou art one, and millions of beings proceed from thee.' 'He has made every thing, and he alone has not been made.' On a staircase of the British Museum may be seen a papyrus, which speaks of ' The great God, Lord of heaven and earth, who made all things which are ' ; and Renouf asks, ' Where shall we find such a prayer in heathen Greek, or Roman times, as this: O my God and Lord, who hast made me and formed me, give me an eye to see and an ear to hear thy glories.' ' The Almighty God, the self -existent, who made heaven and earth,' is made to say: 'I am the maker of the heaven and the earth, and of the mysteries of the twofold horizon. When I open my eyes there is light; when I close them there is darkness.' Another text says: 'O God, architect of the world ; thou sustainest the substances which thou hast made. It is by thine own strength that thou movest. The roaring of thy voice is in the cloud, thy breath is in the mountain tops. Heaven and earth obey the commands which thou hast given.' " In the same course of notable lectures by representative Christian divines, Rev. Dr. Robert Flint said of the charac- teristic feature of Egyptian faith : "The ancient Egyptian turned with all his love and interest to the future. The present life he comparatively little esteemed, because he contrasted it with a higher, and better, and fuller life, only to be real- ized in the next world. The Egyptians had a strong and steady sense of a divine and righteous government of the world, and a wonderfully firm and operative conviction of a future life dependent in character on personal conduct in the present. To have expressed this sense, to have maintained this faith, was the glory of the old Egyptian religion." The testimony of another of our best authorities is as fol- lows: " It is sufficiently clear that the Egyptians attributed to the human soul a divine origin, that they held that it was throughout life engaged THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. 93 in the warfare of good and evil, and that after life its final state was de- termined by judgment according to its doings on earth. Those who were justified before Osiris passed into perpetual happiness, those who were condemned into perpetual misery. The justified took the name of Osiris, the judge, under which they indeed had appeared for judgment." In this scheme of judgment by Osiris, and redemption by having come under his name and being found in him, the Judging Osiris corresponds very closely to the Judging Christ of Christian conception. But with this elevated view went an extensive popular usage of superstitious ceremonies and forms, on the same plane as the old Akkadian Shamanism, or spiritism, a religion of incantations, charms, sacramental embalming, and burial fancies, under a priesthood, which not a little degraded genuine culture, pure worship, and care for an honest life. The Greek idea of the Egyptians as the oldest, wisest, and most religious people in the world, was not only got by an exaggeration of Egyptian facts, but it was got in complete ignorance of such remote origins as the Akkadian or Babylonian, the Vedic or Hindu, and the Chinese. Akkadian origins stand before Egyptian and Hindu stand far above them. The religion of Egypt shows animism or spiritism crowding its lower level with every possible deification of natural objects, while above emerge some lofty ideas of divinity, both natural and spiritual. The most common deity is Ra the sun-god. He is praised as the creator and ruler of the world. Horus was a sun-god or the heaven almost as much worshipped as Ra. Osiris again was the sun-god in another aspect, above all things a god of the dead, more especially in a beneficial way. Thot is the moon-god, the god of civilization and of knowledge and writing. At Memphis Ptah was one of the oldest and most important gods, and at Thebes not only was Ammon, or Ammon-Ra, one of the greatest gods, but he finally swal- lowed up all others, and was worshipped as the creator and the ruler of both gods and men, the creator of the whole earth, calling forth light, giving growth to plants and sus- tenance to animals, supporting all things, and over all the One Supreme. 94 THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. There everywhere appears a tendency to identify all the gods one with another. At a very early date almost all were represented as gods of light. Any one god, without exclud- ing the others, may be worshipped as the highest, in whom all the others meet. The thought of piety reaches to a supreme permeating the whole world, creating the order of nature, and especially manifested in light. Ra, or Ammon- Ra, is presented as the creator, the absolute whose manifes- tation other great gods are, the only existing, the one be- ing, the father of the gods, the one who shines in the heavens but rules also in Ament below, the hidden and the revealed being. Similarly Osiris, god of the dead, is represented as the only one, who is worshipped in all places and under many forms, the master of life, a universal god. Thot again, originally the moon -god, was a god of measuring, of intelli- gence, of writing, who at the judgment in the lower world sets down the guilt or innocence of the dead. Theological speculation made him the divine Word, the giver of victory to light over darkness, restorer of the eye of the sun, creator of cosmic order, god of truth, the unborn only god, ruler of heaven and earth, originator of the types of what is and what shall be. The goddess Neith, at Sais, whose temple inscription read, " I am what is, what shall be, and what has been; no one has lifted my chiton; the sun was the fruit I bore," is many times recognized as the mother of Ra, who created everything. So Hathor at Dendera is described as the mother of God, the mistress of heaven, and the creative goddess of light. The vast temples of Egypt were not designed as a place of meeting for a large congregation nor as a dwelling place for the priests, but only as a place for keeping the images of the gods and the sacred vessels and the treasures. The priests and king were alone admitted into the actual build- ing. A certain number of the initiated might enter the space between the gate and the temple. In the temple gifts were oifered to the gods and services of worship conducted; and there were arranged the processions which carried about the images of the god. THE BOOK AND tfAITH OF EGYPT. 95 The priests were an aristocracy rather than a caste, filled up largely by members of noble families, chosen by the Pharaoh, who was the religious as well as political head. Priests often filled high public offices. They exercised at all times the influence due to their education. They were the scribes and teachers ; literature was in their hands ; the edu- cation of statesmen was entirely in their hands. Their dress was of linen, and in their ablutions and their food they were subjected to strict rules of purity. There were priestesses for goddesses, and even for Amon at Thebes ; ladies of noble family. Egyptian life was strongly influenced by thoughts of death. The Egyptians considered, says Diodorus, the houses of the living as inns, and the tombs of the dead as eternal habitations. The sarcophagus was called " the lord of life," and the dead were called " the living ones." If the expenses could be borne an " everlasting house " was erected, like the pyramids, or brick buildings of the ancient kingdom, or the rock tombs of Upper Egypt. The idea of preserving the body is always kept in mind. Eighty days had to pass before the burial of the embalmed body in its elaborately prepared tomb, fully furnished and supplied for all possi- ble wants of the deceased. Over the Nile into the west they always went for burial, and the last farewells were taken, before the mummy, made to stand upright. Of the dead three parts were distinguished, the bodily likeness (Ka) which rests in the tomb; the soul (Ba), and its spiritual sub- stance, the luminous being (Khu), both of which depart, to undergo many fates, changes, and wanderings in other spheres. That there may take place a resurrection to future life the dead likeness must be preserved, or a statue imitat- ing it, the object being, not a rising out of corruption of the old body, but identification of the new body which would be given to the surviving soul in the realm of incorruption. The fate of the soul in the other world, and the nature of that world, were a large part of Egyptian religion. No more remarkable monument of belief in attainment of eternal life, by the way of a judgment unto justification and union with 96 THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. Deity, has ever taken shape than those writings, the col- lected form of which makes what scholars call the Egyptian Book of the Dead a Bible of judgment and immortality, designed to be supplied to the dead as a handbook of pas- sage to and entrance into future life, by the way of judg- ment and redemption. In the larger form to which it grew it contains 165 chapters, much of it meaningless ritual, reflection, or fable, but some parts a vivid picture of what life on earth had been, how the scenes of judgment would pass, and to what the soul would come, whether of immedi- ate felicity or of purgatorial experience before final attain- ment of eternal life. A reviewer of the literature of the sub- ject, speaking of what certain chapters of the Book of the Dead reveal to us of faith and hope " from the foundation of Egypt in the depth of its pre-historic antiquity down to the days of Porphyry when the world was beginning to turn away from heathenism to Christianity," has said : " There is a constant assertion of the immortality of man, his mani- festation to light or his doom to interminable transmigrations for pur- gation from sin, and the eventual reunion of the purified soul with the deserted human body a characteristic delusion of heathenism bor- rowed by the Jews after the captivity, and revived in a corrupted Christianity. There was always the same aspiration after a state of more perfect happiness, and an ambition of the Egyptians to be clothed with divinity, to assume the very nature of the gods, and even to be identified, one by one, with the gods of their peculiar choice. From age to age it was persistently believed that the eminently pure and upright man would become at once a renovated human person after death, and an incarnate god. ' The day ' so called in the oldest for- mulas of the Book of the Dead, stands for the day of uprising, of judg- ment, of justification ; that one long anticipated day of trial in the Hall of Truth, the dies ilia, the day before all other days, which ought to be in every one's thought. ' The justified ' in that day enters into life again. He then takes possession of his proper home. The life of a good man is an avatar of the one God under many varieties of name. But before he could be admitted to the happy life of eternity he would have to be justified by the merit of the life he was leaving. Then he would ascend into heaven. The use of his members must be restored to him. Speech to the mouth, pulsation to the heart, motion and firmness to the feet, and skill to the hands. Then the sense of hearing, lost to him when he left this world, shall be so restored and THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. 97 heightened that he shall enjoy the songs of the hlessed, and sing as well as they. This was his resurrection. Instead of his members in the mummy-cloths the gods would give the good man another body in its stead. The constant language of the book implies as much, and such conceptions lingered in Egypt in the days of the Apostles, and yet later." The authorship of the Book of the Dead is attributed to Thoth. In all that relates to the state of the departed, as written by a god, the chapters were held to be inspired; they were the rule of faith, and with the rubrics prefixed to them they became the directory for practice. The book opens with an address by Thoth himself, followed by ad- dresses of the soul to the infernal gods. The defunct enu- merates his titles to the favor of Osiris, and demands ad- mission into his kingdom. The choir of glorified souls intervenes, supporting the prayer. The priest on earth speaks and implores the divine clemency. Then Osiris encourages the defunct to speak to his father and enter freely into Amenti, the Hades of Egypt. Many chapters of less importance follow, relating to funeral ceremonies. At last the deceased is admitted into Amenti, and is amazed at the glory of the Sun-god. He chants a hymn of praise with many invocations. A chapter, entitled Of Escaping out of the Folds of the Great Serpent, tells how he has defied the evil one and escapes from him. Thus far the first and sec. ond sections. The third section contains fanciful speculations on The Reconstruction of the Deceased. In chapter 26 the person so reconstructed will rejoice in the amplitude of his powers : ' My heart is given to me in the place of hearts. My mouth has been given to me to speak, my legs to walk, my arms to overthrow my adversaries. I open the doors of heaven. I do what my soul wishes. My soul is not separated by my body from the gates of the west.' The 64th chapter is very long and great was its virtue. The rubric says : ' If this chapter is known, he has been jus- tified upon earth. In Amenti he does all that the living do.' Sixteen chapters relate to the preservation of the body in 98 THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. the sepulchre in Karneker (the grave). Nine chapters are provided for recitation by the living, to save the departed from a second death, from the defilement of evil, destruction in hell, and an eternal overthrow. Twelve chapters concern the celestial diet. Other twelve chapters are supposed to describe * the manifestation to light ' of the reconstructed human body, invested with undying powers, and surrounded with manifold defences against mortality. The departed shall come forth as the day, break through the barriers of sepulchral night, and, body and soul united, quit the earth, and ascend towards Aahenru, or Heaven. Chapter 89 is of the visit of the soul to the body in Karneker (the grave). * He sees his body, he is at peace with his mummy, he is not troubled.' Fifteen chapters are employed in describing the metamorphoses, or transmigrations. Twenty-six chapters relate to The Protection of the Soul. The first (91) is Of not allowing the Soul to be Sniffed out in Karneker (cor- ruption). Chapter 100 is For Giving Peace to the Soul. ' I have stopped the Evil Serpent,' the soul says, ' I have turned back his feet.' A serpent with many feet is a prominent figure on some of the old mummy-chests. Eight chapters describe the freedom attained by the justified, soul and body reunited. * But the section of the Hall of the Two Truths, or Scales of Justice, is of the highest interest. Here is mention of a judgment after death. The 125th chapter is of Going to the Hall of the Two Truths, and separating a Person from 7ds sins when he has been made to see the Faces of the Gods. The person appeals to the supreme judge and his assessors : 'Rub ye away my faults. I have not privily done evil against mankind. I have not afflicted persons or men. I have had no acquaintance with evil. I have not done any wicked thing. I have not made the laboring man do more than his task daily. I have not done what is hateful to the gods. I have not calumniated the slave to his master. I have not made to weep. I have not falsified measures. I have not cheated in the weight of the balance. I have not withheld milk from the mouths of sucklings. I have not THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. 99 hunted wild animals in their pasturages. I have not, etc., etc I am pure ! I am pure ! I have no sins and no perversions Let me pass the roads of darkness. Let me follow thy servants in the gate. Let me pass the lintel of the gate.' 'The chapter (155) Of not letting the Body corrupt de- scribes exemption from corruption, the incorruption of the human changed to the divine : ' I am ! I am ! I live ! I live ! I grow ! I grow ! I wake in peace. I am not cor- rupted. I am not suffocated there. My substance is not sent away. My ear does not grow deaf. My tongue has not been taken away. No injury is done to my body.' This elaborate scripture of life and incorruption, of im- mortality, with the sting of death removed, the victory of the grave annulled, a new body divine in incorruption and perfect powers, with abundant entrance into eternal blessed- ness, was Egypt's Bible of Eternal Hope and of the deeds to be done to inherit eternal life. Some two thousand five hundred years before Christ a grave in which the dead, buried under this faith, lay, had for inscription the follow- ing, after some opening words in which the departed enu- merated the services which he had done to his neighbors : " I have not troubled the son of the poor man, I have not oppressed any widow, I have not disturbed any fisherman, 1 have not driven away any shepherd ; there was no house- holder whose servant I took for labor, no prisoner languished in my days, no one died of hunger in my time. When there were years of hunger, I had all the fields of my nomos ploughed. There was no hungry person in it. I gave the widow equal measure with the married woman. I did not prefer the rich to the poor." That Thot, in whose name Egypt's Bible of triumph over death is given, was the moon-god, may perhaps connect back to the Moon-god worship of Ur of Babylonia. How much in it anticipated ideas presented in New Testament writings hardly needs to be pointed out. That Hebrew re- ligion borrowed so little, was due to the facts, as learning now makes them out, that the Hebrews in Egypt were but 100 THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. an early fragment of tribes more on the border than in Egypt, shepherds on outlying lands who were seized and put to work, but who came in no contact with the real facts of Egypt, and whose Bedouin backwardness in culture would prevent anything like attention to the wisdom or the wor- ship of Egypt, although the picture made hundreds of years later ventured upon the exaggerations which implied that Israel in Egypt must have meant a large Hebrew op- portunity to borrow knowledge, and customs, and beliefs. The early Hebrews, moreover, whose borrowings were exten- sive, showed a tendency so deplorably low and downward that it may be doubted whether they could, with the fullest opportunity, have appropriated anything of high value from the learning or the life of Egypt. Dr. Dodds says, in the St. Giles lecture already quoted from: "The 'wisdom of the Egyptians' was summarized in various com- pends of proverbial philosophy. One of these written centuries be- fore the time of Moses is termed by M. Chabas, ' the most ancient book of the world.' In common with other papyri of a similar char- acter, it inculcates the study of wisdom, the duty of honoring parents and superiors, of respecting property, of being charitable, peaceable, contented, humble, chaste, sober, truthful, and just. It shows, on the other hand, that disobedience, strife, arrogance and pride, slothfulness, intemperance, impurity, and other vices, are wicked and foolish. Un- happily, while the future life was the foundation upon which all moral and religious duties were avowedly based, its influence was counter- acted by the prevalent belief in the power of magical rites and formal routine worship to secure all that could be obtained by adherence to the laws of morality. The priests claimed the power of propitiating the gods ; so that superstition neutralized the effect which doctrine, rightly apprehended, might have produced." This baneful effect of religion based on priestly adminis- tration of propitiation is one of the chief notes of essential heathenism in all the religions which include any scheme of salvation, or make any other terms than those of Christ's insistence, in the closing passage of the Sermon on the Mount, on the doing of the things which he had said in order to standing secure whatever may befall. THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. 101 Another extremely important aspect of Egyptian eleva- tion Dr. Dodds refers to in the following : " On the monuments are found not a few records of men who rose from indigence to nobility and high offices at court, which close with the statement, 'his ancestors were unknown people.' Education was open to all ranks. In the schools the poor man's son sat on the same bench as the heir of the wealthy ; and there the master sought to fire the lagging scholar's ambition by telling him of the rich rewards which awaited all who gained a name for erudition. No barrier of birth or poverty could successfully oppose a man's progress to distinc- tion and wealth if he proved himself an eminent student of science or philosophy. "A remarkable feature of Egyptian social life was the honorable position accorded to woman. This was higher than in Palestine or in any heathen nation. She was regarded as man's friend and companion, and had equal rights of property with him. The tombs represent hus- band and wife seated on the same chair, or mingling on equal terms in the same society. Women sat upon the Egyptian throne. They officiated in temples and offered sacrifices to the gods. Nowhere ex- cept in Christian lands has woman ever possessed so much freedom or exercised so strong an influence in domestic and national life as in ancient Egypt." The most recent knowledge derived from the discoveries of Dr. Petrie in the Fayum and at Tel El-Amarna, makes it probable that Greek colonists were settled in Egypt as early as the era of the Twelfth Dynasty ; that as early as the fifth and sixth dynasties the Greeks were known in Egypt as the "lonians"; that the Mediterranean was known as the sea within the circle of which the lonians dwelt ; and that earlier than the supposed time of Moses, Greeks were em- ployed on the business of the Pharaoh in Palestine. Coming down to the time of Alexander the Great, who founded Alexandria in Egypt, we reach an historical posi- tion from which influences of profound significance have descended through more than two thousand years to our own time. In the third century before Christ, Alexandria was like a huge modern city, an immense aggregate of ele- ments of every sort. It had a population of 800,000, and one of the chief elements of this vast mass were Jews, who had "gone West," from their narrow, darkened, stifling 102 THE BOOK AND FAITH OF EGYPT. Palestine, the land of rigor, of separatism, of religion and life made a sepulchre full of moral decay ; and in the pres- ence of Greek influences had suffered themselves to learn something and to be humanized. They were destined to create in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and in their influence upon the writers of the New Testament, a principal part of that scaffolding about the Christianity of Christ which the centuries of dominant theology down to our own time would construe as the building of God not made with hands. The Septuagint version of Hebrew scripture was the Bible of the age of Christ, and of the several generations after it before a new collection of writings had become the New Testament. That Bible represented Alexandria, and not Jerusalem, Egypt and not Palestine. For the Jewish tradition of Palestine in the time of Christ, and from that onward, we must look to the Talmud. The Talmud became the Bible of orthodox Palestinian Judaism, the direct tra- dition of Mosaism. But in no way whatever did Christians, however Jewish, follow this tradition and accept the Tal- mud. They attached themselves exclusively to the Greek Old Testament, which the Hellenist Judaism of Alexandria had made familiar before Christ was born. Egypt dictated to Palestine that the new departure there from Judaism, which started from Christ, should both read its old scrip- tures in Greek and write its new scriptures in Greek. EGYPTIAN PORTRAIT STATUES. These statues, each carved from a single block of limestone about 4 feet high, represent Ra-hotep and his sister or wife Nefert. They date from the reign of Snefrou, before Cheops, of the 4th dynasty, and are manifestly likenesses as wonderful for truth as for unexampled antiquity and extreme beauty. They are in the Boulak Museum at Cairo. ^3> Scriptures. <$s^ TTEBREW TORAH, or LAW, in usage earlier than the JT1 destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (B.C. 586), or in fact the return from the captivity of half a cen- tury in Babylon (B.C. 538), meant the oral traditions held and acted on by the priests. Such writings as may have been in existence, whether embodying history or law, or preserving the first beginnings of literature, in psalms or proverbs, were held back in their own hands by the priests. We read somewhat earlier (B.C. 621) of a first fragment of Hebrew Bible having been discovered and brought out to notice. "Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jahveh." The scribe read it himself, and then read it to the king. And the king, finding that it laid down as divine laws which had not been known, and which there had been no pretence even of keeping, sent five of his priestly and other courtiers to " inquire of Jahveh " for him in regard to the book. The king was in deep concern because of the probable wrath of Jahveh against them for not having known and kept the laws set down in the book found and brought out by the priests. So he most urgently said, "Go ye and inquire of Jahveh for me." The record says that to thus " inquire of Jahveh," they " went unto Huldah the prophet- ess," wife of the grandson of a keeper of the wardrobe. And it says that she told them to tell the king that Jahveh would bring evil upon Jerusalem and upon all the people, (103) 104 THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. to make " a desolation and a curse," because they had not been true to him, but had " burned incense to other gods." The facts thus stated would be alone conclusive of the pre- vious heathenism of the Hebrews. But much more appears in the record. Josiah was but eight years old when he be- gan his reign of thirty-one years. As a mere boy he seems to have come under the influence of the Jahveh priests at Jerusalem, who wished to suppress other worships and to concentrate interest not only on Jahveh, but on Jerusalem as his seat. The record tells us how, for six years, Josiah had lent himself to the wishes of the Jahveh priests : " In the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge Judah and Jeru- salem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images. And they brake down the altars of the Baalim in his presence ; and the sun images that were on high above them, he hewed down ; and he burnt the bones of their priests upon their altars, and purged Judah and Jerusalem. And in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even unto Naphtali ; and he brake down the altars, and beat the Asherim and the graven images into powder, and hewed down all the sun-images throughout all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem." After this demonstration in the interest of Jahveh wor- ship at Jerusalem, King Josiah set his officers at the repair of the temple, and it was "when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of Jahveh," that " Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jahveh by the hand of Moses." And upon the perusal of the book thus found, there took place a further demonstration by King Josiah, in the interest of Jahveh worship, the record of which makes perfectly clear that the heathenism of both Israel and Judah had been exceedingly gross from the sup- posed time of Moses; that no one had either known or heeded " Mosaic " requirements ; and that at no previous time had an exclusive Jahveh worship existed. Thus the record tells how the king caused to be brought out of the temple itself "all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Ash- erah, and for all the host of heaven," and had them burned in the fields outside the city; how he also " put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in THE HEBREW SCSIPTURES. 105 the cities of Judah and in the places about Jerusalem " the old-time form of heathen worship" them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Jahveh [a peculiarly heathen object which had had a place in the temple itself]. And he brake down the houses of the Sodomites, that were in the house of Jahveh [the temple], where the women wove hangings for the Ash- erah. And he defied Topheth, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech [a form of human sacrifice in use up to this time]. And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of Jahveh ; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars that were on the roof of the chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, did the king break down. And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Arnmon, did the king defile. And he brake in pieces the obelisks and cut down the Asherim. Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jereboam had made, he brake down; and all the houses also of the high places that were in the city of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Jahveh to anger, Josiah took away. And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars. Moreover them that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jahveh. And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to Jahveh with all his heart, according to all the law of Moses." The very last word of this story brings in the name of Moses. The story as given is in the book of Kings. The later book of Chronicles uses the name of Moses more boldly. It says to begin with that " Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jahveh by the hand of Moses," and later it calls it "the book of Moses." This second later ac- count does not give the particulars of the immense clearance of universal heathenism made by Josiah, winding up with a wholesale slaughter of priests of other gods and other wor- ships than Jahveh's on the altars at which they had served, and the wrong of which no one before had acted on or even considered ; not one of the long line of kings or early lead- 106 THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. ers ; neither David nor Solomon : the latter in fact having begun a course of kingly devotion to " abominations " which his successors had continued down to Josiah's day. The book thus brought out in the name of Moses is con- sidered to have been the main part of our Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Pentateuch, for the quite conclusive reason that the law acted on by Josiah is found in this book only, the other and older forms of law in the name of Moses, which were not published until later, having stopped far short of the Jahveh and Jerusalem requirements which Josiah un- dertook to execute. The effort thus made by the priests to have a book of sacred law known and enforced, was a beginning only towards the Hebrew Bible. It was in fact only a beginning towards the Pentateuch, or the Law, which the Jews ever considered the most sacred part of that Bible. Practically nothing came of the book put forth by the priests until nearly two hundred years later. King Josiah did not live to carry on the work he had begun. He fell in battle against an Egyptian army. Then the exile in Babylonia came, B.C. 586, and lasted 48 years. In 538 B.C. permission was given the Judean exiles to return, but only about forty thousand availed themselves of it, and not until B.C. 520 was the re- building of the temple begun. If there was any bible in use it was only the book of Deuteronomy, "found" by the priests one hundred years before. The Persian government put a governor over the city and district of Jerusalem, and henceforth the high priest only remained as the national chief. The affairs of Judaism thus started made slow progress, until the famous Ezra came from Babylonia bringing large reinforcements both of population and of writings which Levites, or under-priests, had got into shape in Babylonia, the land of books, of sabbaths, and of sacred scriptures. Ezra came in 458 B.C., full 80 years later than the first return of exiles, but he did nothing for thirteen years towards more Mosaic scripture, or nothing publicly. In 445 B.C. another leader appeared on the scene, in the person of Nehe- THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. 10? miah, who, though a Jew, was sent as Persian governor. The next year, B.C. 444, Ezra the Scribe and Nehemiah the Persian governor united in bringing to public knowledge an enlarged book purporting to be Mosaic history and law. It was practically what we call the Pentateuch, and measures were taken to have the people feel solemnly bound by it as a divine book. The synagogue meetings and the sabbath, both of them developed, as well as the new enlargement of scripture, in Babylonia, were now used for impressing on the people the demands of the priestly book, and the scribes became a class specially devoted to the book, in co-operation with the priests. Both Ezra and Nehemiah were animated by a spirit of rigid exclusion and narrowness, under the dictates of which zeal went to an extreme in basing Judaism upon separatism of the strictest sort. It dictated the recog- nition as Jews of no Israelite whatever, and no Judean except those special Jahveh worshippers whose ancestors had shared the exile in Babylonia and the return thence to Jerusalem. Beyond Jerusalem and outside the nar- row limits of priestly administration there by book and by sacrifice, were only aliens and heretics. So rigor- ously was the idea of separatism insisted on, that if any of the Jews of the accepted type had wives not of the type, they were required to cast them off, or to go with them into exile. E^ra relates how, as Dr. Farrar puts it, "one hundred and thirteen marriages were ruthlessly annulled ; four of the highest priests, thirteen other priests, ten Levites, and eighty-six laymen "; all of the wives driven out ; "and some of the wives had borne children." Nehe- miah proceeded in the same way, whenever he found that " the holy seed had mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands." The founder of Samaritan worship was a Jew of accepted standing and character, and a priest of rank, but his wife, the daughter of the prince of Samaria, was not of the strict Jew fold, and because her husband would not heed the edict to cast her off, he was driven out. He was the son of the high-priest, and Nehemiah relates the energy 108 THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. with which he "chased him out." Of his driving off of other Jews who had married other women, he says : " I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and tore out their hair." Nehemiah relates how, from a public reading of the book of the law, they found, " in the book of Moses," a commandment to the effect that " an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God forever"; and he says that "when they had heard the law they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude." The special object of Nehemiah's holy indignation went to Samaria to his father-in-law, and became the founder of Samaritan worship. The earliest rigid keeping of the sab- bath Nehemiah relates that he initiated, and that he en- forced the claims of the priests to the dues demanded by the book, when the people and the rulers had not yet learned sabbath strictness and zeal for the temple service. From the foundation of this priestly Law-book, which Ezra brought from Babylonia, and made public as " the book of the law of Moses," there grew, by addition of other writ- ings, the present Hebrew Bible. Tradition tells us that Ne- hemiah collected, along with other documents, " the books about the kings and prophets, and the writings of David." It is so expressed in the apocryphal work called the second book of Maccabees. In another apocryphal book of the date B.C. 130 Ecclesiasticus the Jewish sacred books are refer- red to under the threefold designation of "The Law, the Prophets, and the other Books." The second and third divisions had been added to the Law at some time later than B.C. 444, the date of Ezra's making public the Pentateuch. It is thought that Nehemiah may have begun the collection of the second part. Although called " The Prophets," and including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and twelve lesser proph- ets, this part also included historical books, such as Joshua, Judges, two of Samuel, and two of Kings. If, also, Nehemiah made any collection of psalms, he will thus have initiated the formation of the third part, which embraced the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Ruth, Esther, Daniel, two books of Chronicles, and the THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. 109 books of Ezra and Nehemiah. We thus see pretty plainly that the making up of a collection, in which as we name them there are thirty- nine separate books, grew directly out of the work of Ezra and Nehemiah. There arose still a fourth body of writings, in sequel to the three named, but so uncertain in their claims that they were not counted into the Hebrew Bible. They constitute the Old Testament Apocrypha. To no small extent some of these fourth-class Jewish writings were considered a part of scripture by the early Christians, but not so much so as to secure them final recognition in the Hebrew Bible. The question of the origin of the writings which were brought together in the Hebrew Bible has received the atten- tion of many eminent scholars during a now long period, with the general result that a great majority of voices agree that there was no directly Mosaic authorship, and that names put to writings do not necessarily imply authorship at all, or may at least cover matter added to that of the author. To get an idea of how scholars are very commonly looking at the matter, the following summary of Dr. Wilde- boer's views, given in his recent " History of the Literature of the Old Testament, according to its Chronological Ar- rangement," may be considered: Hebrew literature shows a few fragments older than the 9th century B.C., such as a concise form of "the Ten Words," the verses of Num- bers x. 35, 36; and xxi. 14, 15, 17, 18, 27-30; and parts of Exodus, xv. 1-18. In the two hundred years nearly covered by the period of the Judges, we get the Song of Deborah; Judges v. 1-31; Jotham's fable; Judges ix. 7-21; and part of the piece known as the blessing of Jacob. The time of David gives us 2 Samuel i. 19-27; and iii. 33b- 34a, but not any psalms ; Solomon's time the passages in 1 Kings viii. 12, 13. In the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. were produced, each of a composite character, giving myth and legend as well as history, the Jehovistic and Elohistic portions of the Hexateuch [the first six books of the Old Testament, into which are apparently woven two writings, one of which is marked by the use of the word Jahveh, or Jehovah, and the other by the use of the word Elohim, as the name of deity]. The legal sections were in part the record of laws that were in use, and in part new priestly precepts then first laid down. 110 THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. The oldest recorded prophecies (about 780 B.C.) are those in Isaiah xv. and xvi. Then come Amos and Hosea. Micah follows, with possibly all or part of chapters iv.-vii. of later origin. Isaiah is genuine in chapters i.-xxxix. excepting quite a number of interpolations; while the chapters xl.-lxvi. belong as late as the close of the exile in Baby- lonia. Deuteronomy, for the main part, dates from B.C. 621, when King Josiah had in his hands the chapters xii,-xxvi. The two sections chap- ters i.-iv. and v.-xi. are by different authors, as are considerable sections also of the Hexateuch. In the period from 621 to 444, the school of priestly writers which brought out Deuteronomy, the earliest book of Hebrew scripture, diligently worked over the materials which appear in the Hexateuch, and those of Judges, Samuel, and Kings, which were produced between B.C. 621 and B.C. 444. It was during the Exile in Babylonia that the composition of the priestly code was begun. The " holiness law " of Leviticus xvii.-xxvi., and some other sections, were produced by the circle to which Ezekiel belonged. The so-called historical portion was composed in Babylon, between B.C. 500 and B.C. 475. Ezra brought the composite work to Judea in B.C. 458, and made some changes there, after which another writer or writers worked in with the priestly code the other documents now forming so large a part of the Pentateuch, the bringing out of which and imposition of which as of divine Mosaic authority was effected by Ezra. Malachi, Jonah, and Ruth were produced soon after Ezra's death ; Joel about B.C. 400; Isaiah xxiv.-xxvii., about B.C. 350; and Zechariah ix.-xiv., after B.C. 321. The book of Proverbs was completed during the second half of the Persian period, 436-336 B.C. ; Job somewhat later in the early part of the Greek period ; the Song of Songs and Ecclesi- astes about B.C. 200 ; the Psalter before B.C. 150 ; Daniel in B.C. 165 ; and Esther about B.C. 130. PHOENICIA rpYRE and Sidon, and their great colony, Carthage, fill a I large place in ancient history They represent Phoe- nicia, a land much smaller than Palestine even ; a strip of low coastland, widening into plains in two or three places, and backed by terraced mountain sides, which present some of the richest and most beautiful landscapes in the world. Mount Carmel, as far north as upper Galilee, was the south- ern limit, and the extent north was but a little more than two degrees of latitude. As early as the fifteenth century B.C., fully a thousand years before Judaism under Ezra was taking shape to become a great factor, for evil as well as for good, in the affairs of mankind, the region to which Phoe- nicia is the seaward front, was a meeting place of Egyptian and Babylonian elements, which made a peculiar type of culture, the far westward extension of which was effected by Phoenician commerce. The Phoenician harbors, which are now mostly destroyed by the silting up of their approaches, were the western gate for the great route from Babylonia, and the northern terminus of the great coastwise highway from Egypt. It was the disaster of Judea that it lay back among the hills, away from the great roads of the world, and open more to Bedouinism in the direction of Arabia, and to the wilderness of Semitic barbarism, than to connec- tions which would have brought it into touch with the life of humanity. From this fact it resulted that it was left to Phoenicia to hand on the torch of knowledge from Babylon to Athens. Mr. Sayce remarks in regard to philosophy : "The philosophical systems of the early Greek thinkers of Asia came to them from Babylonia, through the hands of the Phce- (111) 112 PHOENICIA. nicians, and it is consequently no more astonishing to find Anaximan- der declaring that men had developed out of the fish of the sea, than to find his predecessor Thales agreeing with the priests of Babylonia in holding that all things have originated from a watery abyss." The Phoenicians in historical times called themselves Canaanites and their land Canaan, Canaan applying equally to the coast which they themselves held and the inland highlands which the Israelites occupied. They were, in language at least, of the same north Semitic stock as the Hebrew, and as those Canaanites whose highland homes the Hebrews plundered and possessed, under the impulses of rapine and slaughter which they ascribed to the spirit of Jahveh. They were an older stock than Israel, less recently emerged from the barbarism and brutalism of the desert, and considerably educated to travel, trade, and colonization, by their situation on the narrow strip of coastwise country at the east end of the Mediterranean. Manufactures, as embroidery and purple-dyeing, of Babylonian origin, and glass-making, brought from Egypt, they brought to perfec- tion and spread the knowledge of. As a great trading people, they borrowed from Babylonia arithmetic, measures, and weights. They became seamen of the most admirable skill, order on shipboard, vigilance in steering, and knowl- edge in making a course by observing the pole-star. From the earliest time they distributed to the rest of the world the wares of Egypt and Babylon ; of eastern Africa and India, coming by the Arabian caravan route. The adapta- tion of the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet to Semitic use, the communication of the art to all the nations bordering on the Mediterranean, supplying to the Greeks this instru- ment of culture, and their reaching out by colonization ' along the distant north and west coasts of Africa and the west coast of Spain, and by a rich commerce as far as Corn- wall in Britain, were Phoenician achievements broadly con- tributory to human progress. Whatever sacred writings were produced among the Phoe- nicians, there never resulted the making of a book known to the world, and standing among the Bibles of mankind. PHCENICIA. 113 Our knowledge of writings which were in existence at an early date, in the hands of the priests, comes largely from a work by Philo of Byblus, who pretended to reproduce a Pho3nician writing as old as B.C. 1221. Philo, however, made up this writing himself, using for the forgery some genuine materials, and inventing others. There seems to be no doubt that the central point in religion, and the starting- point in mythology, among the Phoenicians, was the worship of the Sun. In Hannibal the Carthaginian general's oath to Philip of Macedon, the two triads of divinities appealed to are Sun, Moon, and Earth, and Rivers, Meadows, and Waters. Philo of Byblus made El the highest god, with other gods, Elohim, subordinate to him. El is represented as having originated the sacrifice of an only son or a virgin daughter, and as the originator of circumcision. The Sun was viewed as the daily worker and revealer, under whose protection the order of nature and of the world goes on, and also as the engenderer of fruitfulness in the earth. The term Baal, meaning " Lord," was the more common name for the Su- preme. Baal and Ashtoreth were respectively the great male and the great female principles, representing also the Sun, in a beneficent aspect, and the Moon, as the Queen of heaven. The El-worship and the Baal- worship tended to fear and terror whenever the thoughts of men were fixed upon the wrathful Sun by the occurrence of drought, violent unseason- able rains, famine of food for man and beast, or any deadly plague or public calamity. It was a not infrequent custom to meet any special manifestation of divine wrath by human sacrifices, for which children, because of their innocence, were preferred, and a first-born or only son most of all. The idea of godhead as the engendering power or generative principle, from which came offspring and all fruitfulness in nature, entered very much into the common thought, leading the popular mind to believe in human sacrifices as a means to secure divine favor for the fields, for families, and for communities. The same idea of sacrifice of something holi- est and most costly brought in the custom of sacrificial 114 PHCENICIA. prostitution of virgins, and the offering of their chastity in the temples by maidens or matrons. Circumcision was a device to confess the principle of human sacrifice, a substi- tute for slaughter on the altar, and a note of the worst bar- barism known to the history of religion. The Phoenician Ashtoreth, who was worshipped as the queen of heaven, and the mother of fertility, represented' in part the Istar of Babylonia, but to Phoenicians and Hebrews the moon-deity, whose worship was especially popular. The rites of Ashtoreth worship often became licentious to an extent widely debasing, and these rites the Hebrews espe- cially adopted, along with the cruelties of human sacrifice, of which circumcision was a survival. The Phoenician temples, in the erection of which great magnificence was displayed, gave the suggestion for that of Solomon, who secured from Hiram king of Tyre (B.C. 980- 946) plans and material and help. One of our authorities says: "Hiram built David's palace, and also gave Solomon cedar and fir trees, as well as workmen for his palace and temple, receiving in exchange large annual payments of oil and wine, and finally the ces- sion of a Galilean district, in return for the gold he had supplied to decorate the interior of the temple. The temple was quite in Phoenician style, as appears particularly in the two pillars Jachiu and Boaz. We may also judge that it was Hiram's temples that led Solomon to propose to himself a similar work." And it was not in the making of a temple alone that there were the closest relations of the Hebrews with the land of Tyre and Sidon. There was nothing in Solomon's religion, nor in Hebrew religion down to the destruction of Judea four hundred years later, to distinguish it from Phoenician, except a back- woods highland rudeness tending to preference of the low- est developments of superstitution and sensualism, such as the varieties of "abominations" grouped by Solomon around Jahveh, and the harem of a thousand women which was a principal note of his magnificence. Jahveh had not figured as other than Chemosh or Moloch PHCENICIA. 115 during many ages of Hebrew history, and Jahveh priests and scribes had had no other than the common heathen credentials. Jahveh, no less than Moloch, was propitiated by human sacrifices. Ahaz, king of Judah, butchered and burned a son as a sacrifice. Manasseh, another king of Judah, did the same. It is related that a Moabite king, at war with his cousins, the Israelites, got out of desperate straits by offering up his son as a sacrifice, to Jahveh evi- dently. The story says : ' ' And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to break through unto the king of Edom, but they could not. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there came great wrath upon Israel ; and they departed from him and returned to their own land." This is the Hebrew story, and it implies as plainly as possible that Israel's own god, Jahveh, was moved against them by the bloody burnt offering of the Moabite king's eldest son. Prof. Kobertson Smith says of Hebrew Moloch worship that it was "a development of Jahveh worship"; and that " the people thought themselves to be worshipping Jahveh under the title of Moloch, or the Moloch, 'the King'; as the Baal meant 'the Lord'"; while "it was the idea of sacrificing the first born to Jahveh that is discussed and re- jected in Micah vi."; and "the horrid ritual was so closely associated with Jahveh worship that Jeremiah more than once finds it necessary to protest that it is not of Jahveh's institution." Jerusalem in fact had been, even less than Tyre, a scene of human progress and seat of human promise. Recent discoveries have shown that the Canaan into which the Israelites came as slaughtering invaders was a land where education had been carried to a surprisingly high point, with schools and books ; and in whose principal cities literary correspondence was carried on by means of a complicated script and an alphabetic system older than the Phoenician ; so that the Jerusulem of that early date was a seat of cul- 116 PHfENICIA. ture such as it never was under Israelite or Hebrew or Jew. The Assyrians, who were just like the early Hebrews in total lack of creative power, and in having a tribal god whose spirit inspired exterminating savagery, had turned their talent for destruction upon Tyre just before Judea was destroyed ; so that Jerusalem, upon the new founda tions laid by Ezra and Nehemiah, only saw Phoenicia in de- cline. If it had been possible for Jerusalem at an early date, to have come into relations of commerce and culture with the cities of Phoenicia, and to have made connections thence with Asia Minor, with Greece, with distant Spain, and more distant Britain, the benefit to the Jew would have been immense, in preserving him from the superstitution that the little hill town of Jersusalem was the only seat on earth of that building of human affairs on law and knowl- edge which betokens the blessings of light from on high. The worst that Phoenicia could give or could suggest, passed to the Jewish mind, and by way of that mind to the theologies which took the name of Christ, giving to every generation down to our own time a dominence more or less extended of the terrible dark idea of God propitiated by bloody sacrifices. But the opportunity of humanity, of en- tering into the life of the world, of having a share in the life of Greece, and of being a part of the planting of Britain, and of culture over all Europe between Greece and Britain, which was opened to Jew by Phoenica, he let go completely and forever, to find himself ultimately thrown as by dyna- mite all over the world with the indelible brand upon him of senseless separatism from humanity. A VESTAL VIRGIN. SIB FRED. LEIGHTON. A modern ideal suggested by the Roman custom of Vestal Virgins, who tended the altar fire of the goddess of chastity and domestic union. Greek Bible. 1VTATURAL conditions, of sea and sky and land, of at- 1 \ mosphere and landscape and climate, such as vary- ingly wrought on the Euphrates, on the Nile, and in the Semitic desert, effected in Greece a development of human- ity, and that reflection of humanity which religion funda- mentally is, the charm, the power, and the revealing light of which have co-operated with the ideals of Christ more than any other of the great endeavors of the human spirit. Of the sea Babylonia had but her southeastern gate at the head of the Persian gulf/ Greece had a thousand water gates opening upon the mystical beneficence figured in Ea at Eridu. The air and light through which Egypt gained impressions of elevation and bright expectation, which hung as a curtain of beneficent enlightenment and glorious prom- ise before the vast realm of the unrevealed, belonged mainly to the sky of sunset. Greece had a thousand aspects of varying charm, in scenery of the richest variety, a sky of changing lights and unchanging beauty, and hill and vale and water unrolling to every eye a grace and truth of art seen in no other land. The St. Giles lecturer on Greece, in the series on " the Faiths of the World," Rev. Dr. Wm. Milligan, marks the contrast between the religions of the East and that prospect of humanity which presents itself as we turn to Greece, by saying to an audience in Scotland, a cathedral and univer- sity audience : (117) 118 GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. " We have to turn to a country in many respects similar to our own, and to a people of a life, and energy, and a movement which have enabled them to exercise an almost unparalleled influence upon the high- est races of mankind. We have to pass from darkness into light. Instead of stagnation, we come in contact with freedom, inquiry, sci- ence, philosophy, and progress. Across the long lapse of ages, we clasp a people by the hand whose literature and art have supplied the finest models for the historians, poets, and artists of all succeeding times ; whose political spirit has in no small degree nourished our own imperishable love of liberty ; and whose, philosophic thought has even penetrated Christianity itself, and helped to mould it into the forms that have secured its victories. We are in many respects strangers to the nations of the East : with the Greeks we feel that we are one. In the most refined and spiritual elements which classical antiquity has transmitted to modern times, we are the heirs of Greek, not Roman, thought. The literature, the art, the rhetoric, the politics which we cultivate, are Greek, not Roman, in their origin. Few things are more certain than that the religious development of Greece was all along powerfully affected by its contact with the East. But it is not less certain that, by the richness of their imagination and the plastic power of their genius, the Greeks so transformed every foreign element of religion which they received as to make it their own independent possession. Greece developed her own religion ; and if we transport ourselves as far as possible into the earliest period of her history, we shall find the kernel of that development in the relation in which the Greek stood to nature. This was in many respects different from what it was elsewhere. He moved freely and joyously in the midst of na- ture. Little of his worship sprang from dread of the more terrible forces, suggested by the whirlwind, the earthquake, the wilderness. He communed with nature as one who was at ease, and who heard her voices with pleasure rather than alarm. There was about the religion of Greece a lightness and a sunniness of spirit, as well as a freedom from harsh and gloomy thoughts, that are pleasing to the mind." The lower ranges of the religious landscape of Greece are filled with personages and personifications of the most varied character, the study of which would require a vol- ume. The forms thus put into the picture of Greek relig- ion are symbols, many of them of the powers behind nature, and many of them of some aspect of the power which is far above nature and above man. It would conduce very much to knowledge if readers of stories in which the figures of gods, goddesses, demigods, etc., appear, would remember GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. 119 that in every case the story is a fiction more or less true to an idea, or an ideal, and that no manner of unworthy story, as of the conduct of Zeus or the manners of Juno, belongs in the truth of Greek religion. Mythology is mostly a vast chatter of fools, far behind which and far above which we must look for the realities or even the imaginations of Greek religion. It was a perfectly just Greek principle that figures of human frame and face could serve as symbols of various aspects of divinity. But no warrant went with this for accepting whatever stories might be told ; and in fact foolish credence given to stories, and foolish preference of stories, of scandal even, to thought and high devotion, wrought untold disaster to faith and worship. The high lines of Greek faith begin with Zeus and Apollo and Athene. Zeus bore clear and full, to whatever creature had a prayer to make, the great name God-Father. In the passage of a Greek poet from which Paul is said to have quoted on Mars' hill at Athens, we read : " With Zeus begin we let no mortal voice Leave Zeus unpraised. Zeus fills the haunts of men, The streets, the marts Zeus fills the sea, the shores, The harbors everywhere we live in Zeus. We are his offspring too ; friendly to man, He gives prognostics; sets men to their toil By need of daily bread ; tells when the land Must be upturned by ploughshare or by spade What time to plant the olive or the vine What time to fling on earth the golden grain. For He it was who scattered o'er the sky The shining stars, and fixed them where they are; Provided constellations through the year, To mark the seasons in their changeless course. Wherefore men worship Him the First the Last Their Father Wonderful their Help and Shield." The more rough and rude type of mind among the Greeks, taking its suggestions from dangerous coasts, the rough sea, and perhaps the quaking earth or the shaken mountain introduced Poseidon as a sea-god brother of Zeus, with de- mons and Titans for his servitors ; offspring of huge size 120 GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. and giant strength ; and worship by human sacrifices or by burial of horses alive ; the reflection in myth of the might and terror of the sea by rocky headlands and bold cliffs ; the god of the mariner, and never reaching comparison in character with Zeus, because the shores from which sugges- tion was taken had no such notes of rich beneficence and grandeur as those of the sky above the mountain tops ; nor even such as sounded at Eridu to Babylonian ears the praise of Ea, where the waters of the Persian gulf rolled gently in upon the low beach, and far down the glistening shallows spread under the light of mighty moons the pathway of a god of kindness and wisdom. It was in Apollo that a Greek Merodach, a son for mercy and truth to man of Beneficent Godhead, called the Greek mind to happy devotion. The son and interpreter of Zeus, a god of light, of spiritual enlightenment, of revelation, prescience, prophecy, of the art to heal and the power to re- store life, and of musical and poetic production, Apollo was the highest Greek ideal, the loftiest and purest Greek con- ception, enthroned in the height of heaven, as in the flaming sun, yet dwelling below accessible to mortal men. Perhaps even a finer type appeared in Athene, sister of Apollo, daughter of Zeus sprung in full form from his brain, grandest impersonation of divine wisdom, of unerring judg- ment and unswerving righteousness, a supreme presence of purity, and strength, and counsel, adviser by calm judgment of statesmen and warriors, expert inspirer of handicraft and industry, the housewife's goddess, strong in sympathy and in skill ; and for the higher law of ideal justice, for the mercy that overtops justice, the antagonist and controller of Zeus himself woman in finer strain of divinity laying upon the highest form of mere power, of male deity, a hand of mighty grace and truth. Hera, the spouse of Zeus, was figured at the common hu- man level, with little but the name of divinity. Artemis, sister to Apollo, goddess of the night as he of the day, the forest and mountain deity of the hunter, was hardly more to life and religion than a shadow. At Ephesus she became GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. 121 Asiatic, a great nature-goddess, an impersonation of fruit- fulness in nature, and of far from Hellenic character. Aph- rodite was a fallen Athene, the side of woman to which belong weakness together with every sensual charm ; a type, like Hera, not of what is above, but of what is below. In assuming that divine impulse gave origin to every form of intense human experience, room was made for deification of sexual attraction, and this deification was Aphrodite ; but not purely an ideal ; a reflection rather of the most beauti- ful form of sensual charm in earthly woman. In the same line of impersonation of strong passion, Ares was the god of fighters, of a rude Thracian type, son to Zeus and Hera, handsome and dashing, but coarse, cruel, lawless. Hermes was the trader's god, god of inventions, of worldly wisdom and practical knowledge, of embassies and commissions, of tricks and fraud, a clever youngster among the gods, a fleet messenger, quick in device, of bold tongue, keen at a bargain, and not afraid to steal at need. As in all religions, fire had its god in Hephoestus, who dwelt on the island of Lemnos, working in metals with mar- vellous art, the armorer of the gods, forger of the thunder- bolts of Zeus, maker of automatic tripods for Olympus and of maidens in bronze who attended him on account of a lameness peculiar to him. To a goddess of fire, Hestia, a very different character was given. Her divinity was that of the temple altar, of the city shrine, of the hearth and the home, a divinity of purity and perfection, and of the domes- tic virtues, the Greek standard of which was high and pure. Demeter ' Earth-Mother 'was the kindly and bountiful goddess of fruitfulness in nature, and of the order of human society built on settled tillage of the soil. Her primitive seat was among the farms of Thessalian Pyrasus, Wheat- land; she was the great Corn-Mother, Harvest-Queen, god- dess of peace and plenty, the revealer of farmwork skill, of the growth of grain, and of the making of bread. As Earth she was the form of the wife of Zeus, and the life to which she was mother was figured as a marvellously beloved 122 GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. daughter, Persephone, whom Hades, scouring in his chariot the flowery plain of autumn, snatched away, and bore down the west to the under- world, to be the queen there, but per- mitted to revisit her mother for spring and summer every year. As the story of Demeter ran, the mother, sorrowing for the rape of her daughter, sat weary on the Laughless Stone, by the well of the acropolis of Eleusis, and was there minis- tered to by the four daughters of the king of Eleusis, and taken by their mother to have the care of her latest born. Thence grew the planting there of her worship, when she had given the prince Triptolemus all her counsels of knowl- edge and wisdom ; not the common lessons only of the realm of nature, but the deeper lessons of life as a scene of bounty, of loss and sorrow and redemption ; and of future life, not in gloom, but ruled by the beloved child of the sunshine of Zeus. During eight hundred years the Eleusinian Mysteries cele- brated the story of Demeter and Persephone with rites pro- foundly sacramental. The temple was one of the most beautiful productions of Greek genius ; and as rebuilt after the battle of Platea, when the Persians destroyed it by fire, it was a creation of Ictinus, the architect of the Parthenon, and of Pericles and Phidias, by whom it was finished with the utmost magnificence Distant twelve miles from Ath- ens, it was visited every year by a vast concourse of the initiated, and whoever wished to be initiated, going in sol- emn procession. The traditional rites were of a varied character, to a large extent impressive from custom and an- tiquity, but in some features marvellously effective to inspire, to convert and elevate, to create faith and bestow comfort. It was by successive steps only that initiation took place ; and the whole emphasis of entering upon it was put upon purity, cleansing, high ideals of life, and hope of blessedness in a life to come ; but to every one the way was open. An old scholiast wrote : " The opinion prevailed at Athens that whoever had been taught the mysteries would, when he came to die, be deemed worthy of divine glory ; hence all were HOMER. GERARD. A Greek hymn to Apollo speaks of Homer as " the blind man that dwells in rocky Chios," an island home of song and art in the early days of Greece, where the artist imagines the bard with his harp, turned back by a youth from a dangerous precipice. THE SACRIFICE. LE Roux. Roman mother and child, offering worship before the Penates, a pair of figures representing the gods of the hearth and the house, by whose bounty the store-room and kitchen were supplied, and through whose presence the home was sacred : gods whom only the pure and chaste might approach. GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. 123 eager for initiation." The great Hall of Initiation, a vast cathedral, perhaps never equalled in the welcome of brilliant light and impressive ceremonial which it presented, was the only example in antiquity of a meeting house for worship- pers, a church for- a congregation ; and beyond a doubt no church ever left on those attending its service a more elevat- ing and lasting impression. A mingling of Dionysus rites with Demeter rites, in the Eleusinian mysteries, presents one of the singular problems of Greek religion, until we clear away everything but the fundamental essentials. The oldest and most universal sacrament is that of bread and wine, as the symbol of divine bounty in nature ; of consecration, by pure life and doing good, to the divinity that is behind nature ; and of hope for other life to which in so many ways human thought and feeling are turned. Demeter represented the first half of this sacrament. Dionysus, with very much else, represented the other half. It was after the very much else was left behind that, as Mr. Louis Dyer says in his " Gods of Greece," " Dionysus at Athens became the godhead and the centre of the widest and the best worship known to the best spirits in the best days of the best community of Hellas " " the tute- lary god and great inspirer of ^Bschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes." The lowest beginnings of Dionysus ideas were the belief that wine intoxication was a high form of supernatural ex- perience, and the further belief that future existence was better than present. The latter comes very easily at a very low stage of hardy savage culture, with its rude experience of excitement, inspiration, intoxications, dreams and visions, and its rough handling of life, fearlessness of death, and credulous hope of the beyond. In his Phrygian and Thra- cian origin Dionysus was especially the wine-god of revels and orgies on the border of the unseen life; and so the god of that unseen life, into which the rude brave and the rough fighter reeled in the reckless ecstasy of getting glori- ously drunk, and of slashing his way into the elysium of the warrior. 124 GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. This early view of ecstasy and of other world life was capable of indefinite purification, and Dionysus came to Athens, and was joined with Demeter at Eleusis, after such purification ; with the very fit result of completing a sacra- ment of bread and wine the ministry of which contem- plated a pure life here and a blessed life hereafter. Both Demeter and Dionysus were divinities of the common peo- ple, and their festivals were primarily popular, not to say peasant, festivals. As such they were adopted at Athens for public support, and they always continued to have a popular hold, through features tending to obscure the ideals finally reached, but tending also to draw up the people to those ideals. It was at a Dionysus festival that a comedy acted as part of the entertainment gave the Greek drama a start, not long after 600 B.C. Thespis took a hint from this to make tragedy a feature of Dionysus celebration. This was at Icaria in the highlands of Attica, but in 535 B.C. Thespis brought out a play at Athens, and forward from that advanced the development of Greek tragedy, one of the highest masterpieces of the human mind, in ^Eschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, as the grand fea- ture of a celebration anxiously designed in the popular mind for securing divine favor through the corn and wine of the fields and the vineyards. As the prophets of an earlier dispensation the Greek dramatists taught the chief lessons of humanity and of divinity with an insight and a power never surpassed by any ethnic religion. And the Greek philosophers followed the dramatists upon lines leading into the light far beyond the utmost ancient attainment outside of Greek lines. Had there been no elements of hindrance to progress, of repres- sion of thought, of resistance to revelation developed natu- rally, and nobly expressed in the higher forms of literature, Greek advance would have been abreast of the life and teaching of Christ. But Greece had a Bible, deplorably effective for throwing popular opinion and public action, precisely as the Jews' Bible did for the Scribes and Pharisees, against every ad- GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. 125 vance out of darkness into light. It is not commonly recog- nized, but of the fact there can be no doubt, that Homer wrought for centuries the mischief always possible to be wrought by a Bible, that of putting up a barrier against natural healthy progress in religious matters. The lecture of Dr. Milligan, to which reference has been already made, has this statement of the change from freedom of develop- ment undergone by Greek popular faith through the hold that Homer had upon the popular mind and heart : " At a time anterior to the historic period the religion of Greece, assimilating 1 elements of Assyrian, Phoenician, Egyptian, and Phrygian faith, may be said to have been in a fluid state. A great change took place in the ninth and eighth centuries before the Christian era (B.C. 900-700), under the influence of the poets, more especially under that of Homer and Hesiod. These two poets, indeed, did not so much create as reflect the religious consciousness of Greece; but, in reflecting it, they gave it such a cohesion and fixity that, from that time onward, until it was swept away by the advancing power of Christianity, it re- mained essentially unchanged. To Homer in particular, and to the Iliad and the Odyssey, this result is to be ascribed. By the marvellous power of these productions Homer became, so far as religion was con- cerned, the prophet of the whole Hellenic race, wherever it had found a settlement. His poems were the source of universal delight and ad- miration. They were read in private. They were recited in public by minstrels who devoted themselves to the task. They were taught to the young as religious catechisms are taught. They were in the mouth of every Greek during the whole period of Hellenic history. The con- sequence was, that the Homeric poems fixed the religion of Greece for 1,200 or 1,400 years. That religion saw all the changes going on around it which took place in one of the most eventful periods of the history of mana period including the dawning of the Christian age ; but it was itself changed in no essential respect. It had laid such hold of the mind of Greece, that the later developments of Greek thought and speculation never took religion along with them." ''As society advanced, it was inevitable that thought should be directed both to the deepest questions of the soul, and to the ability of the popular religion to accept the answers of reverent inquiry. But that religion had in it no element of growth. It had become fixed by poetry and art. Its priests and teachers had no share in the best cul- ture of the day, no interest in the progress of investigation, no spirit of allegiance to that great principle of truth which, even under Chris- tianity itself, is always in advance of the forms which express it and the applications which we make of it. 126 GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. " From the very first, accordingly, philosophy took up an attitude antagonistic to religion. It did so even when the philosopher pursued his own investigations without directly attacking the popular faith, as when, for example, Thales, founder of the Jonic school, stripped the Homeric Oceanus of his personality, or when Heraclitus represented Zeus as the all-pervading reason of the world. But it was still more the case when, with the advance of knowledge, the deities of Greece became themselves the subject of philosophical analysis, and when the myths were criticised in the light of purer and more elevated ideas. Philosophy could then do nothing else but treat with scorn and indig- nation the mythology which it summoned to the bar of reason. The people, on their part, met the attitude of philosophy with hatred and persecution. Anaxagoras and Diogenes had to flee for their lives. Protagoras was banished, and his books were burned. Prodicus was put to death. Aristotle had to become a fugitive from Athens, and the fate of Socrates remains an eternal stain upon the memory alike of the populace and of the judges of that city." The only claim to origin more than human which could be made for the Homeric poems was the claim generally made for rare utterance, and especially rare poetic utterance ; and the effect of the poems to fix belief in stories of gods and goddesses, and in conceptions of religious requirement in harmony with the stories, was entirely due to popular igno- rance and credulity appealed to by an elaborate poetical cre- ation, a school of marvellously interesting compositions, by various authors, but wrought into a unity, and enthroned above the people, by authorized systematic recitation at both state and local festivals. Dr. Edwin Hatch, in his Hibbert Lectures on Greek Ideas and Usages, says that the mystery of writing and reverence for antiquity conspired with belief in inspiration to give poets divine authority. 4 ' The verses of Homer were the Bible of the Greek races. It was a god who gave the words : the poet was but the interpreter. The belief was not merely popular, but was found in the best minds of the imperial age. ' Whatever wise and true words were spoken about God and the universe, came into the souls of men not without the divine will and intervention through the agency of divine and prophetic men.' ' To the poets sometimes, I mean the very ancient poets, there came a brief utter- ance from the Muses, a kind of inspiration of the divine nature and truth, like a flash of light from an unseen fire' (Dio Chrysostom). Literature consisted of the ancient poets. It was inevitable that they IS 1 SI GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. 127 should be the basis of education. 'I consider,' says Protagoras, in the Platonic dialogue which bears his name, ' that the chief part of a man's education is to be skilled in epic poetry ; able to understand what the poets have said, and whether they have said it rightly or not. It was from Homer that moralists drew their ideals; it was his verses that were quoted, like verses of the Bible with us, to enforce moral truths- All the varying theories of physics and metaphysics were made to find a support in Homer." The simple truth is that Homeric utterance, by several voices if not by many, was of a refined sweetness and charm needing no special priestly or other pains to be taken to give it, to all Greeks, popular power and to clothe it with author- ity. The real authority, moreover, was in the stories and conceptions, already familiar in popular tradition, and pre- sumed to represent the facts of nature and of the powers behind and above nature. In Hesiod, who was an individual poet, somewhat later than " Homer," a natural basis of authority appears, first in the use of materials already accepted, notions of cosmogony, of what was lucky and unlucky for tillers of the soil, of the daimones or spirits believed in by the people and specially present at seats like Delphi ; and second, in an idea of the poet as an authorized prophet of wise teaching and righteous commandment of doctrine and duty. Hesiod stood as a prophet, as a mouthpiece of the Delphian Apollo. But he was far less the real prophet than " Homer," a mere name for a family or school of masterly singers, but a name an- swering a great purpose, and incidentally having the de- plorable effect of tethering the Greek popular mind to tra- ditions which were largely those of ignorance and super- stition. After Hesiod and before the Dramatic Poets, the elegiac, iambic, and lyric poets of various parts of Greece, wrought a good deal for literature, and reached a grand climax in Pindar, whose boldness, fervor, and sublimity were largely employed upon popular heroic legends, together with grand moral lessons. The dramatists filled a half century with one of the richest and strongest outpourings of inspiration and 128 GREEK FAITH AND THE GREEK BIBLE. art in all human literature, using the popular faith in old stories and ancient conceptions, but steadily developing a splendid revelation of the ideal requirements of humanity, from which a reasonable advance would have left the old stories and the ancient conceptions behind. Dr. Edwin Hatch relates how profound was the move- ment developed among the Greeks, from about the 5th century before Christ, through the tendency of thoughtful minds to read into the Homeric stories great lessons of ethics, theories of physical science, metaphysical concep- tions, and whatever in fact the interpreter wanted to teach. Socrates thought not well of such symbolism, because it was used not only for a point of departure for good teaching, but as an apology for bad stories, which he thought objection- able, "whether with allegories or without them." The Stoics, however, read into the poets a rich body of ethical teaching, and sometimes Homer was treated as a kind of primitive encyclopaedia, a fountain-head of all the sciences, history, philosophy, politics, war, art, medicine, surgery, astronomy. The school of Anaxagoras, ethical probably in the master himself, became physical, and made symbolism serve to read in Homer a representation of physical phe- nomena, with the gods as personifications of the powers of nature. This method, says Dr. Hatch, " had for many cen- turies an enormous hold upon the Greek mind; it lay beneath the whole theology of the Stoical schools ; it was largely current among the scholars and critics of the early em- pire." Two Stoic writers of the early part of the first cen- tury of our era. the time of Christ, that is, Heraclitus and Cornutus, pushed with great energy apologetic allegorizing of Homer, the first aiming to clear the Greek Poetic Scrip- ture, the Hellenic Bible, of all appearances derogatory to religion and piety, and the second to prove that a rich and deep knowledge lay concealed under the stories and even the phrases and names of the poetic scriptures. " ESTHER." BAERMAIM. The figure pictured here is the heroine of a Hebrew Scriptural book representing a Jewess as becoming the wife of the famous Persian king Xerxes. The book is regarded as the most doubtful of all the Hebrew sacred books, because of features of the story which seem improbable. The name of God does not occur in it. AEDIPU8 AND ANTIGONE. TESCHENDORFF. This pertains to the heroic age of Greece. Antigone is the ideal of feminine devotion and duty. Her father's eyes being put out upon the discovery that his children were by a marriage with his own mother, she alone remained faithful to him, accompanying him in his exile to the hour of his death. She finally perished in a tomb for daring to bury her brother in defiance of the royal edict. THE APOCRYPHA OR DOUBTFUL BOOKS. rMHE books known distinctively as the Old Testament _L Apocrypha ; recognized in the English Bible ; and regarded as Canonical by Roman Catholics are these : 1. FIRST ESDKAS : A compilation embracing the last two chapters of 2d Chronicles, nearly all of the canonical Ezra, a little from Nehemiah, and two sections of additional mat- ter, one of which gives a story of young Zerubbabel inducing Darius to promote the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple. Of its date nothing certain is known except that Josephus used it as of repute enough to be followed as an authority, a work, therefore, of perhaps a century before Christ. 2. SECOND ESDKAS: Probably entitled originally the Apocalypse of Ezra. Its seven visions all refer to the future of Jerusalem; when it shall be restored and its enemies punished. It is probably of about the date 81 to 97 A.D. Its author was a Pharisee, like Paul, and the book is strongly Jewish in its sympathies. Yet it became popular, not with Jews, but with Christians, and got a high place, entirely without warrant, in the list of Old Testament apocrypha. It was of considerable influence upon Christian belief, taking eschatological ground like that which Paul had taken earlier. Several of the Fathers used it as prophetic scripture. (129) 130 THE APOCRYPHA OR DOUBTFUL BOOKS. 3. TOBIT : A Jewish-Greek composition, of about B.C. 180, telling the story of a pious Israelite back in the time of the captivity of Israelites (of the ten tribes) at Nineveh. It was perhaps written in Egypt. It shows extreme ignorance of the region of Nineveh, but is an effective tale, showing sym- pathy for the victims of tyranny, and containing, in the demon Asmodeus and the dog of Tobias, adaptations of Zoroastrian ideas. 4. JUDITH : A romance of Hebrew patriotism and religion, written by a Jew of the Maccabsean period, to stir up fighting zeal by telling how a beautiful and pious widow, when a city was about to be taken by Holofernes, a general of Nebu- chadrezzar, visited the enemy's camp, secured his confidence with invented tales, and after accepting a banquet, and re- maining for the night with Holofernes, used his own sword to strike off his head : whereupon her compatriots made a sudden onslaught, and secured immense spoils. The extant Greek text shows traces of a Hebrew original. Several Fathers, down to Augustine, cited it as scripture. 5. ESTHEK: A body of passages appearing to be a con- tinuation of the canonical book, but in fact variously inter- polated in it, in the Greek Septuagint translation, by Alex- andrian Jews, the object being to supplement the narrative and to suitably mention God, to whom the original book made no reference. The date may have been in the first or second century B.C. 6. THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON: A Jewish-Greek work, dating at Alexandria in the first or second century B.C.: a work of high literary excellence, fine thoughts and rhetor- ical power, profoundly theistic and spiritual, but not teach- ing resurrection of the body and not Messianic. Passages in the epistle to the Hebrews seem to draw from it, as also some words of Paul. The writer uses Wisdom much as Philo later used Logos, and thus helped to lay the founda- tion of Trinitarian doctrine. In the first half of the second century A.D. the book was treated as inspired scripture. 7. ECCLESIASTICUS, or the Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach : a half ethical, half philosophical composition, trans- THE APOCRYPHA OR DOUBTFUL BOOKS. 131 lated into Greek, about 130 B.C., from a Hebrew original, by, probably, a grandson of the author. The James, brother of Jesus, whose epistle we have, has fifteen references to this book, with fourteen to the sermon on the Mount, and five to the Wisdom of Solomon. Many Christian writers after the second century quote Ecclesiasticus as scripture. 8. BARUCH : A work professing to have been written by the friend and amanuensis of the prophet Jeremiah, in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem and at Baby- lon. It is in fact by a writer as late as 300 to 290 B.C., for the Palestinian Hebrew original, and probably two hundred years later for the Alexandrian Greek translation now extant. The book of Daniel, which has a similar fiction for its form, borrows closely in some passages from Baruch. The early Christians often quoted it as scripture, and even as by Jere- miah. A note of the religious conditions of the time is given in the following statement of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica article : "The Palestinian abode of the writer is pretty clear, especially from the melancholy view of death presented, resembling that in Psalms vi. 6: Ixxviii. 18: ciii. 29. In Alexandria the Jews had attained to a clear idea of immor- tality, in Palestine not." The same contrast is seen in the Alexandrian Book of Wisdom, which depicts immortality very strongly as the reward of wisdom and character and a good life, and the Palestinian Ecclesiasticus, which has but a dim and uncertain hope of future life. 9. THE SONG OF THE THEEE CHILDREN : A supplement to the narrative in Daniel 3, which appears in the Septuagint version. It gives a prayer, a story of deliverance, and a hymn of thanksgiving. 10. THE HISTORY OF SUSANNA : Another Septuagint addi- tion to Daniel, giving a story similar to one found in early Jewish literature. 11. BEL AND THE DRAGON : A third Septuagint addition to Daniel, the story of some destruction of objects of Baby- lonian worship, in the time of Cyrus. 132 THE APOCRYPHA OR DOUBTFUL BOOKS. 12. THE PRAYER OF MAISTASSEBS : A poetical version, found in the Septuagint, of the original prayer of Manas- seh, King of Judah, which the Chronicles account says that he made, when overtaken by calamity temporary captivity in Babylon. Date and authorship are both uncertain. 13. THE FIRST BOOK OF MACCABEES : The Greek transla- tion of a Hebrew original : the original written in Palestine, probably about B.C. 100 ; but the Greek version made in Alexandria, as part of the Greek Old Testament. It is a plain, honest, and trustworthy history of the Jewish national struggle conducted by the famous Maccabee or Hasmonean family from the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes (B.C. 175) to the death of Simon (B.C. 135). Besides a short sketch of the conquests of Alexander the Great, which brought the long Persian domination (B.C. 536-333) to a close, and estab- lished Greek sway over Palestine (B.C. -333-1 67), it relates the story of three successive Maccabean leaders, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon. Antiquity of authorship is shown by the praises bestowed on the Roman senate and people. 14. THE SECOND BOOK OF MACCABEES : A much inferior work, attempting a part of the same history, and some- times supplementing 1st Mac., but not nearly so trustworthy. It begins with two epistles which are forgeries ; and it is colored and distorted with sympathy with the Pharisees, who developed bitter hostility to the later Maccabean prince-high-priests. Its date is uncertain. Such was the literature coming before the age of Christ among the Jews, so far as it obtained recognition in a sort of appendix to the Old Testament. THE TALMUD. u THE SACRED BOOK OF THE ORTHODOX JEWS : ONE OF THE STRANGEST OF THE BIBLES OF HUMANITY."* FROM Ezra dated the earliest of the schools of which the Talmud was the final fruit and Rabbinism the method : both method and fruit the worst known to the higher history of religion. There are a very few strikingly fine touches of thought and expression in the Talmud, enough to furnish a Deutsch with the materials of an essay, but the huge bulk nearly 3,000 folio pages of the Babylo- nian Talmud has the highest average of chaff to be found in any literature, decisions of ceremonial trifles, discus- sions of idiocies of speculation, endless words that mean nothing to any good purpose, thoughts which are empty, foolish, and stupid, and imaginations insanely extravagant or wild,ly blasphemous. The original " Mosaic " claim was extended to cover the vast mass of Halakha or " Decision," of which the Mishna is mainly composed. " Delivered to Moses on Sinai " was claimed for the whole of it. The genesis of Hebrew theism is illustrated by the base use to which the Rabbis put their God. He is represented as spending three hours daily in the study of the Mosaic Law as set forth in Ezra's Pentateuch ; and as repeating upon their authority the oral law decisions made by the Rabbis. It is even said, that on one occasion God sent for the soul of a Rabbi to decide a question of leprosy disputed between him and his angels. The second part of the Talmud was another huge collec- tion called Gemara, " Completion." It was largely made up * Canon Farrar. (133) 134 THE TALMUD. of a second variety of Rabbinic utterance, called ffaggada, ' Story ' or Legend ; embodying to a certain extent moral instruction, but mostly legend, allegory, apologue, the float- ing material of a low state of culture, which the Rabbis fell back upon when the stream of decision, details of law, began to run dry. Dr. Farrar* justly says of the com- pleted Babylonian Talmud ; " the sacred book of the or- thodox Jewsone of the strangest of the Bibles of Humanity ": li lt is full of uncouth grammar, barbarous solecisms, and exotic words. It teems with errors, exaggerations, and even obscenities ; with strange superstitions of Eastern demon ology; with wild Arabian tales about the freaks of Ashmodai ; with childish extravagancies of fancy about Behemoth and the bird Bar Juchne and the Shorabor; with perverted logic; with confusions of genealogy, chronology, and history ; with exorcisms, incantations, and magic formula? ; with pro- fane and old wives fables, understood by the multitude in their literal absurdity. Things grave and fantastic, valuable and worthless, Jewish and Pagan, piled together in wild disorder labyrinths of rubbish the froth and scum, the flotsam and jetsam of a thousand years one of the dreariest of books after every allowance is made." In the celebrated Hillel of about the time of Christ, living at a great age, when Christ was born ; his son the head of Rabbinism through a large part of the life of Christ ; and his grandson the Gamaliel of whom Paul learned Jewish divinity, Rabbinism came nearer to the spirit and truth of Christ than in any other of its masters. He was personally of noble character and a life worthy of all praise ; and as the earliest founder of the Talmud, the first to have an orderly collection of traditional materials attempted, he stands a most notable figure, over against the figure of Christ ; and for 450 years the patriarch of Rab- binical Judaism was his descendent. As a humanist, who made a rule like Christ's the essence of the law, Hillel * The Bampton Lectures (for 1885) on "The History of Interpreta- tion," by F. W. Farrar, D.D., tell the story of the Bible as a book made divine, in its older Hebrew part, by the Jews; then deified almost in a Greek Translation (the Septuagint so-called) ; and finally supplemented, for Christians, by the books, written in Greek, which form our New Testament THE TALMUD. 135 seemed to Renan " the true master of Jesus ; " and some liberal Jews have claimed that Christ was " of the school of Hillel." In fact Hillel was a Rabbi with some touches of the spiritual genius of Christ, as Paul was a Rabbinical disciple, who went part way out of Rabbinism to construct a system supposed to be Christian ; while Christ was wholly spiritual genius without any Rabbinism, either of system, as in Hillel, or of theological notions, as . in Paul. Dr. Farrar says of Hillel in contrast with Christ : "Hillel taught as one of the Scribes. Christ appealed to the reason and to the conscience, Hillel to precedent and tradition. It was the object of Hillel to strengthen the hedge about the law, and of Christ to break it completely down. Hillel paid infinite regard to the oral law ; Christ repudiated its validity with complete disparagement and even with burning indignation. Hillel developed the Halakha and the Haggada ; Christ never alluded to the one, nor uttered a single speci- men of the other." The other great Rabbis were (1) Shammai, in Hillel's time, a man of sour manners, violent temper, and bru- tally rigid formalism, who so set himself against what touches of liberalism there were in Hillel, that the scholars of the two even came to blows and to blood in the heat of their disputes ; (2) Johanan Ben Zakkai, a pupil of Hillel's school, who set himself against the zealots, condemned the madness of rebellion against Roman rule, and upon the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (A.D. 70), set up Rab- binism at Jabne, six miles distant, and made an effort to proclaim, as the essence of the law, " I will have mercy and not sacrifice ; " (3) Rabbi Aquiba, a most flagrant system a- tiser, who fastened upon scripture gigantic excrescences, an amazing system of subtle extravagances, under which the Jews sunk into hopeless servility to a worse than dead letter ; and (4) Rabbi Juda, whose father, Simon, transferred the schools from Jabne to Tiberias (A. D. 166), who himself undertook, what had been forbidden hitherto, to commit to writing the whole mass of the oral law, in the Mishna, * Learning ' or ' Repetition ' ; under the six orders of HilJePs classification ; and thus left, at his death (A.D. 200), the first part of the Talmud. 136 THE TALMUD. A second Talmud, called the Jerusalem Talmud, was shaped by Rabbis whose work fell in the period A.D. 200- 500 ; but it covered only four of the six classes of laws, and was less valued as less a development and more a tradition- alism. Rabbi Ashi, who died A.D. 427, completed and sys- tematised the Gemara, the addition of which to the Mishna gave final form to the Talmud, save as some additions were made, down to. A.D. 490. To this production the designation "Babylonian" was rightly given. It was not until the Hebrew history had come to a close that Judaism was born, during the exile in Babylonia. It was from Babylonia that Ezra came to Jer- usalem with the scheme of separatism from all mankind, based on the sacred scripture of Mosaism, the suggestions for which in the light of modern scholarship appear more Babylonian and Assyrian than Hebrew. After Jabne and Tiberias schools of Rabbinism were established under the names of Nehardea, a canal between the Tigris and Eu- phrates, of Pumbeditha, which means " the mouth of the canal," and of Sora, a place on the Euphrates. Shortly before the fall of Jerusalem, there were passed, by the Rabbis of the doomed city, a body of eighteen ordinances, aimed at making more effective the self-hedg- ing of the orthodox Jews, making their separation from all mankind more rigid than ever. It was only under the touch of Greek thought and feeling that Judaism ever emerged from darkened narrowness and repulsive Semetic separatism, principally at Alexandria in Egypt ; and it was mainly through Greek influences that early Christian dis- cipleship was carried beyond deplorable Jewish limita- tions.* * The Hibbert Lectures (for 1888) of Dr. Edwin Hatch, on " The In- fluence of Greek Ideas and Usuages upon the Christian Church," es- pecially present the interesting and significant facts. The same emin- ent scholar gave in his Oxford Bampton Lectures (for 1880) on " The Organization of the Early Christian Churches," very remarkable testi- mony to the pressure of Greek and Roman times upon the early devel- opments of Historical Christianity. RA-EM-KE. A portrait statue in wood in the Cairo Museum, illustrating the art of Egypt more than two thousand years before Christ. Septuacjint; OR, GREEK OLD TESTAMENT, The Bible of the Time of Christ IN remarkable contrast, to a certain limited extent, with the narrow and rigid Jewish development which gave the Talmud, there grew up in Egypt at Alexandria a school of Jewish Mosaism greatly influenced by Greek culture, even to having the Hebrew scripture translated into Greek, and to the adoption of a method for bringing the Hebrew story and system into harmony with the elevated and elevating philosophy of the Greeks. The career of Alexander the Great, from 336 to 323 B.C. carried Greek influences over a great part of the world then known, to Egypt very par- ticularly, and across from Egypt by Syria and Babylonia to India. It was at Babylon that Alexander fixed his capital, for making the world, from the Adriatic and the Nile to India, Greek. His work was hardly more than well begun when his death at thirty-two years of age cut short what might have been an unexampled spread of light throughout the world. But at Alexandria in Egypt, which the young conqueror had founded B.C. 332, the Ptolemies admirably carried out plans such as made Egypt the successor of Phoenicia in carrying on the commerce of the world, and the heir of Greece in matters of learning. The celebrated Museum founded B.C. 300, was the greatest attempt in antiquity to collect all books, bring together all studies, and unite in one all knowledge. The Judaic spirit of exclusiveness had stigmatized as mere " books of out- siders " the incomparable products of Greek genius ; had accustomed itself to talk of the countries of mankind at (137) 138 THE SEPTUAGINT. large as a mere " without ; " but in Alexandria not less than a million Jews became so far Greek as to absorb many Greek ideas and to put their sacred books into a Greek ver- sion, known as the Septuagint. The sottish Judaism of the Rabbis, grossly heathen in its conception of Moses as their idol, the mere touch of which by common human hands was profanation, caused them to keep an annual fast because of the turning of their Hebrew original into Greek. They even went so far as to declare that the translation of the sacred law out of Hebrew into Greek was as bad for Israel as the day on which the golden calf was made. Even the author of what is known as "the forged Epistle of Ari- steas," who claimed that the Septuagint version had been made under express supernatural guidance, and was abso- lutely inspired, told how one writer had been struck blind for expressing Jewish truths in a Greek drama, and an- other had suffered a stroke of madness for thirty days for using in a Greek history facts got from translated pass- ages of the Hebrew scripture. The insistance on such utterly heathenish superstition was eventually so successful that from Justinian's time to our own the Hebrew Scrip- tures, in the public worship of Judaism, have been exclu- sively read in Hebrew by orthodox Jews, and no version permitted for private use except the Chaldee of Onqelos : an idolatry as senseless as that which set up a bull calf as the visible presentment of the tribal god of the wil- derness. The exact date of the Greek Old Testament is uncertain, nor is it known under what circumstances the translation was made. Dr. Wellhausen, the eminent German scholar, expresses the opinion that "the Greeks must have found it barbarous and unintelligible," and that it doubtless " obtained speedy acceptance with the Jews " of Alexan- dria, "first in private use and at length also in the syna- gogue service," because of its meeting their needs. The name Septuagint, or Seventy, comes from a fraud executed by some Jew, in a letter purporting to be from one Aristeas, a heathen, who represented that he served on an embassy THE SEPTUAGINT. 139 from Ptolemy II. (B.C. 285-247) to the high priest Eleazer at Jerusalem, asking for seventy-two ancient, worthy, and learned Jews, six from each of the twelve tribes, to trans- late the Torah or Law the Pentateuch, at Alexandria. These seventy-two made the translation in seventy-two days. As they came to an agreement upon the version of a section, Demetrius, the librarian of Ptolemy, had it written down. The letter is easily seen to have been a forgery, but there seems no reason to doubt that the Torah or Penta- teuch was translated not far from B.C. 250, and that before B.C. 150 all the other books of the Hebrew Bible had been added. The marked differences in the several books, some well done and some badly done, show the work of different hands, and for the whole the translation was more a para- phrase than a faithful rendering. The use of Seventy for seventy-two is a variation due to indifference to exact truth such as dominated the whole work. And the fable settled into the form that seventy separate translators in seventy separate cells made seventy separate versions of the whole, and that on comparison they proved to be word for word the same through special supernatural guidance of all the seventy pens. In the course of time, when Christ and his disciples spoke Greek, the Greek Old Testament became the Bible of the early Christians, with effects far more signifi- cant than Christian study is yet willing to admit. The general fact Dr. Farrar remarks on as follows : "As regards Christianity, the Septuagint version exercised a power- ful influence over the language, and therefore also inevitably over the thoughts, of the apostles and evangelists. Further than this its effects upon the exegesis of Christianity can hardly be exaggerated. The universal acceptance of the fables about its origin, narrated in the forged Epistle of Aristeas, the supernatural touches which from time to time were added to those fables by Philo and Joseph us, the credulity with which Justin Martyr, followed by many of the Fathers, accepted the inventions of the Alexandrian guides about the seventy cells, all tended to deepen the disastrous superstition as to a mechanical and verbal dictation of the sacred books [in the original Hebrew]. The Greek version is quoted to a very large extent (275 passages) by the writers of the New Testament, even in passages (37 passages) where it diverges widely from the original, and it furnished them with not a 140 THE SEPTUAGINT. few of the technical terms of Christian theology. It was partly on this account that the belief in its inspiration was eagerly adopted by Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Epiphanius and Augustine, and op- posed in vain by the better sense and more critical knowledge of Jerome." In fact says Dr. Farrar, the Greek version used by the Christians as the only Bible they knew, was " full of inten- tional as well as of unintentional departures from the meaning of the original." The translators did not hesi- tate to give, not the literal and natural sense, but a mean- ing currently supposed to be true. They deliberately softened or altered phrases of the original in order to leave an impression quite different from the true one. Yet the most eminent exponents of historical Christianity during its early formative period adopted the theory of the supernatural origin and divine perfection of the trans- lation into Greek of the Old Testament, and the greatest Fathers of a later time lent their authority to the same view. Shortly before the fall of Jerusalem, there were passed, by the Rabbis of the doomed city, a body of eighteen ordinances, aimed at making more effective the self -hedg- ing of the orthodox Jews, making their separation from all mankind more rigid than ever. Dr. Farrar says of the Greek translators, who were not Greek in fact, but only Jews speaking Greek : " They cannot be regarded as faithful or accurate, still less as inspired interpreters. Their intentional variations may be counted by scores, and their unintentional errors by hun- dreds ; and alike their variations and their errors were in a multitude of instances accepted by Christian interpreters as the infallible Word of God." Their is no denying the fact that awe of the Hebrew orig- inal prevailed to carry over to the Greek version the spirit which led Josephusand Philo to accept the fable of miracle attending the work of translation. And yet respect for the original was not true enough to secure an honest, accurate rendering out of the Hebrew into Greek. ^ Vesta: OR parsee Scripture. THE Persian origins, history, scripture, and faith, are of special importance, because on Persian ground the Aryan mind carried some of its best religious tendencies to peculiarly high development, and from that ground Aryan doctrine influenced Jewish when the latter was finally reaching the form and name of monotheism. We must bear in mind how the Aryan race spread in the various directions of India, Persia, and all Europe, carrying with it the early forms of religion and civilization. There is reason to suppose that the first Aryan wanderers took the direc- tion of Europe ; that the very earliest were Celtic or Keltic, represented now on the remotest west of Europe ; that with these, or after them, came the progenitors of the Hellenic and Italic peoples ; and later the Teutonic and Slavonic, and other peoples ; and that with, or perhaps after, these west- ward movements, Aryan emigration turned towards Persia, and branched off from this southward line into India. The human interest of the facts, and their importance for a cor- rect view of the relations of races and religions to each other will justify an effort to make the picture clear. In the sketch given in Farrar's Families of Speech, we may find a statement sufficient for our purpose. It is as follows : "All those nations which have been most memorable in the history of the past, and which must be all but universally dominant in the his- tory of the future, sprang from one common cradle, and are closely united (141) 142 THE AVESTA: OR PARSEE SCRIPTURE. by identity of origin and similarity of gifts. The first announcement of the Aryan unity was received with a large amount of incredulity. But what was at first the bold and brilliant conjecture from comparatively slight evidence of Sir William Jones, has now been proved, by half a century of magnificent and incessant labours [in tracing the relation of the various languages to the newly discovered Sanskrit], to be an unquestionable fact. Fifty years ago, few would have believed that Dutch, and Eussian, and Icelandic, and Greek, and Latin, and Persian, and Mahratti, and French, and English, were all indubitable develop- ments from one and the same original tongue, and that the common ancestors of the nations who speak them were, in times that can be rigidly tested by comparative Philology, living together as an undivided family in the same pastoral tents. In the present day no one doubts the facts except a few intrepid theologians. We Europeans, together with the Persians and Hindus, however wide may be the apparent and superficial differences between us, are, nevertheless, members of a close and common brotherhood in the great families of nations. First west- ward and northward, afterwards eastward and southward, the Aryans extended. The most ancient name of this race with which we are ac- quainted, was the name Aryas, derived from Ar, ' to plough,' and which therefore implied originally an agricultural as distinguished from a rude and nomadic race, and thus naturally came to mean ' noble.' This name belonged distinctively to the two great eastern branches of this family, the Iranian [or Persian] and Indian; as they lingered long- est in the region of the primitive home, they are most likely to have retained the original name. Their original home may be assigned by a multitude of probabilities. That it was somewhere in the vast plateau of Iran, in the immense quadrilateral which extends from the Indus to the Euphrates, and from the Oxus to the Persian Gulf, may be assumed as almost certain, and we may fairly conclude, by the aid of tradition and other circumstances, that it was immediately north of the great chain of the Hindoo-Koosh, west of the Bolor range, or the ancient Imaus, in the central region of Bactriana, a district so fair, and fertile, and flourishing, that it was called by Orientals ' the mother of cities.' This region was eminently suited to become the cradle of that princely race of [agricultural, not nomadic] shepherds from whose loins sprang the nations of Europe, and which, at a period long after China and Egypt had reached the apogee of their crude civilization, was still creating in the bosom of its peaceful families the eternal words which, as the law of many a noble, chivalrous, and Christian country, were destined to be- come 'honour,' 'virtue,' and 'duty.' In this region, where Nature yields her treasures, but does not lavish them, lived a race beautiful in person, pure in morals, earnest in thought, simple in habits, which, in a peaceful life, and under a patriarchal government, wrought out, as a THE AVESTA: OR PARSES SCRIPTURE. 143 means of its own precocious development, a language admirable for the wealth, harmony, and perfection of its forms, full of poetic images and pregnant metaphors, and carrying in itself the germ of a magnificent expansion; and, with this language to aid it, the same happy race learnt to acquire ideas which were destined to bear fruit a hundred-fold hereafter in the conquest, colonisation, free institutions, and unceasing Christian progress of the civilised world. The causes which led to their emigration from their peaceful home, the order in which they wan- dered forth, why the Kelt first ensconced himself behind the storm-swept cliffs of Britain, what guided one great family to the plains of Persia and Hindostan, and another to the shores of the Mediterranean and the hills of Italy and Greece, we cannot tell. Furthest from the orig- inal home are the Kelts ; nearest to it are the Hindoos and Persians ; next to them come the Greeks and Slavonians ; while the Germans and Latins occupy an intermediate position a race of mankind whose different offshoots, at various periods of history down from its earliest dawn, established the Achsemenid dynasty [in Persia, from about the date of the Hebrew king Josiah's birth, 649 B.C.], built Athens and Lacedaemon, founded Rome, worked the tin mines of Cornwall and the silver mines of Spain, first made London a city of ships, occupied Paris while Paris was still but the mud city of the borderers, produced the Vedas and the Homeric poems, and the Shah-namen, and the Eddas, and the Nibelungen-Lied, invented the printing-press, dis- covered America, circumnavigated the globe, developed the principles of every science, and, in a word, founded that immense and marvellous system of modern civilisation which is the chief triumph of the intellect of man. Eight distinct families the Indian, Iranian, Hellenic, Italic, Keltic, Slavonic, Lithuanian, and Teutonic, have sprung from the parent stock. Earliest, in all probability, was the Kelto-Graeco-Italic, which afterwards settled into the Greeks, Latins, and Kelts. The other great divergent group which streamed away from the yet stationary Iranian and Indian families may be called the Slavo-Letto-Teutonic. The last to linger by the old cradle were the Aryans proper, who sub- sequently divided into Iranians and Hindoos. The name Iranian is de- rived from Arya, and the oldest representatives of the language are the Old Persian and the Old Bactrian or Zend. The Zend is the lan- guage of the Avesta, the sacred writings of the Zoroastrian religion. The Indian family, so named from their long sojourn on the upper Indus (probably B.C. 1000 they began to advance into the peninsula and reached the Deccan about 450 B.C.), is the family whose language was Sanskrit, whose religious poems were the Vedas, and from the bosom of which arose [besides the Vedic Brahmanism] the venerable and wide- spread religion of Buddhism." (Families of Speech, pp. 51-53, 70-76, 84, 97, 104, 105]. 144 THE AVESTA : OR PARSEE SCRIPTURE. The position of Persian nationality, faith, and scripture, is that of a close relation with Hindu, the two coming directly from the primitive Aryan source. Apparently it was longer after the two families had separated before that one which might seem the elder and the closer to the parent stock, produced Zoroaster (or Zarathustra Spitama) and the Avesta or Avasta, than it was before the Hindus produced the Vedas. Prof. Whitney assigns the produc- tion of the Vedas to B.C. 2000-1500, and that of the Avesta to B.C. 1000-500. But undoubtedly the Iranian religion had waited much longer for its great prophet and its literary development than the Hindu had. India caused poetry to awake at once, and the poets originated the Veda. It was by a great thinker, at a very much later stage of Iranian history, that the impulse was given which resulted in the Avesta, before the triumph of which the earlier monuments of Iranian faith perished. There is thus less difference in real date and origin between the two great faiths than at first appears. Prof. Monier Williams makes the following statement: " The Zand- Avasta consists of 1, the five Gathas, or songs and prayers (in metres resembling Vedic), which alone are thought to be the work of Zoroaster himself, and form part of the Tazna (or r#,ma-Ya;jna), written in two dialects (the older of the two called by Haug the Gatha) ; 2, the Vendidad, a code of laws ; 3, the Yaskts, containing hymns to the sun, and other deities. There is another por- tion, called the Visparad, also a collection of prayers. The Hindu and Zoroastrian systems were evidently derived from the same source. Fire and the sun are venerated in both; but Zoroaster (properly Zarathustra Spitama) taught that the Supreme Being created two inferior beings Ormuzd (Ahuramazda) the good Spirit, and Ariman the evil. The former will destroy the latter. This dualistic principle is foreign to the Veda " (Indian Wisdom. Introd. p. xviii.i). The essay which Prof. Whitney has devoted to the Avesta affords a more full account, from which we cull the THE AVESTA: OR PARSEE SCRIPTURE. 145 following sketch, beginning with the texts of the Avesta, or Persian scripture : " The sacred canon is made up of several separate por- tions, differing in age, origin, and character. Foremost among them is the Yasna; its name is identical with the Sanskrit yajna, signifying * offering, sacrifice,' and has essentially the same meaning. It is made up of seventy- two distinct pieces or chapters, of very different extent, and of diverse age and character. A considerable number are of only slight interest. The second general division (chap- ters 28-53), along with a few passages occurring elsewhere, is written in a dialect that differs perceptibly, though only slightly, from that of all the rest of the sacred writings, and is evidently of greater antiquity. Seventeen chapters of this division constitute the so-called GdtTids, five col- lections of religious lyrics, each collection written in a different metre. The Gathas are the oldest and the most interesting part of the whole Iranian scripture ; their rela- tion to the rest may be rudely compared with that of the Vedic hymns to the later Brahmana literature. It is not impossible that some of these lyrics, with the sacred formu- las written in the same dialect, may go back to the time of Zoroaster himself. Only here, at any rate, could material so ancient and original be looked for." " Of much the same style and character as the more re- cent parts of the Yasna is the Vispered, divided into twenty -three Tcarde, ' sections,' and in extent hardly more than one-seventh of the Yasna. The Yasna and the Vis- pered are combined with one another and with a third text, the Vendidad, to make up a liturgical collection. The Vendidad is a work of a very different nature from those already noticed: while they are chiefly doctrinal and devo- tional, this is practical and prescriptive, constituting the moral and ceremonial code of the Zoroastrian religion. The name is a corruption of the title m-daevadata, ' the law against the demons,' or ' established against the devs.' It teaches by what means a man may keep himself from such sin and impurity as give the powers of evil dominion 146 THE AVESTA: OR PARSEE SCRIPTURE. over him. The impurity thus provided against is chiefly of a ceremonial character. The whole is in the form of colloquies between Ormuzd (Ahuramazda), the supreme deity, and Zoroaster (Zarathustra). To this body of cere- monial directions, however, have become appended, at the beginning and the end, certain other chapters, by no means the least interesting of the whole. The first gives a de- tailed account of the countries created by the Supreme Being ; the second describes the reign of Yima upon the earth, and his preparation of an abode of happiness for a certain part of mankind, illustrating in a striking manner the relation of the ancient Persian and Indian religions. The last five are mainly an assemblage of fragments." " Next in extent and importance are the TesJit, nearly identical with Yasna in meaning. They are twenty-four pieces, of very different length, each addressed to one of the persons or objects held in veneration by the Zoroas- trian faith. The remaining portions of the sacred writings are not of consequence enough to require any special description. The whole body of canonical scriptures is called by the Parsis [the modern disciples of this faith] the Avesta. It has already been pointed out that the different portions of the text of the Avesta are, to some extent at least, the product of different periods, and that, while some passages may perhaps be as old as the time of Zoroas- ter himself, the bulk of the collection is of such a char- acter that it cannot be supposed to have originated until long after. We cannot yet even fix our earliest limit [of time], by determining the time of the appearance of Zo- roaster, and of his activity as a reformer of the ancient religion. We can only conclude, from the obscurity which five centuries before Christ seemed to envelop and hide from distinct knowledge the period of the great religious teacher, and from the extension of his doctrines at that time over the whole Iranian territory, even to its western border, that he must have lived at least as early as a thou- sand years before our era. And the absence in the sacred texts of any mention of Media or Persia indicates clearly THE AVESTA: OR PAESEE SCRIPTURE. 147 that they were composed prior to the conquest of all Iran by the early monarchs of those countries." "Respecting the region in which the Avesta had its origin we may speak with more confidence : it was doubt- less Bactria and its vicinity, the northeastern portion of the immense territory occupied by the Iranian people, and far removed from those countries with which the western world came more closely into contact. The two oldest records of the Indo-European family, then, were composed in countries which lie almost side by side, and at periods not very far removed from one another. It is no wonder that their languages exhibit so near a kindred that the one [that of the Avesta] has been deciphered and read by the aid of the other." " It is claimed by the Parsis that the Avesta is the work of Zoroaster himself ; with how little ground will have been already sufficiently shown by what has been said respecting the character and period of the different parts. Nowhere in the texts themselves is any such claim set up ; they pro- fess only to be a record of the revelations made to the prophet, and the doctrines promulgated by him. The Parsis also assert that Zoroaster's writings originally com- posed twenty-one books, or Nosks, and covered the whole ground of religious and secular knowledge; as the Egyp- tians claimed the same thing in behalf of their forty-two books of Thoth." " The Iranian people is of our own kindred, a branch of the great Indo-European family, to which we, along with all the most highly civilized races of the present age, belong. Persia is, in a certain sense, the elder brother of the family, the first to assume that importance in the eyes of the world which the family has ever since maintained, and promises henceforth to maintain. The prominence of the Indo- European [or Aryan] races, as actors in the great drama of universal history, commences with the era of Persian em- pire. And the Persian language, and the Persian institu- tions, as represented in the Avesta, lead us back nearer to the primitive period than do those of any other nation, 148 THE AVESTA : OR PARSES SCRIPTURE. with the exception only of the Indian. The Veda and Avesta, those two most venerable documents of Indo- European history, illuminate each other's pages, and, taken together, lay before our eyes a view of the condition of that primitive epoch when the Indian and Persian peoples were still dwelling together, one nation in language, institutions, and territory ; an epoch more than a thousand years re- moter in the annals of the family than is reached even by Greek tradition." " The Zoroastrian religion is one of the most prominent among the forms of belief which have prevailed upon the earth, by reason both of the influence which it has exerted, and of its own intrinsic character. It was, indeed, never propagated by missionary labours beyond the limits of Iran ; we know of no people not of Persian origin who accepted it voluntarily, or upon whom it was forced; but its position on the eastern border of the Semitic races allowed it to affect and modify the various religions of Semitic origin. The later Jewish faith is believed by many to exhibit evi- dent traces of Zoroastrian doctrines borrowed during the captivity in Babylonia ; and the creeds of some Oriental Christian sects, as well as of a portion of the adherents of Islam, have derived essential features from the same source. But the influence which its position only gave it the op- portunity of exercising, was assured to it by its own ex- alted character. Of all the religions of Indo-European origin, of all the religions of the ancient Gentile world, it may fairly be claimed to have been the most noble and worthy of admiration, for the depth of its philosophy, the spirituality of its views and doctrines, and the purity of its morality." " By the testimony of its own scriptures, the Iranian re- ligion is with the fullest right styled the Zoroastrian : Zo- roaster is acknowledged as its founder throughout the whole of the sacred writings ; these are hardly more than a record of the revelations claimed to have been made to him by the supreme divinity. It is not, then, a religion which has grown up in the mind of a whole people, as the THE AVESTA : OR PARSEE SCRIPTURE 149 expression of their conception of things supernatural ; it has received its form in the mind of an individual; it has been inculcated and taught by a single sage and thinker. Yet such a religion is not wont to be an entirely new crea- tion, but rather a carrying out of tendencies already exist- ing: in the general religious sentiment, a reformation of the old established creed which tbe times were prepared for and demanded. And so it was in the present instance. We are able, by the aid of the Indian Veda, to trace out with some distinctness the form of the original Aryan faith, held before the separation of the Indian and Persian nations. It was an almost pure nature-religion, a worship of the powers conceived to be the producers of all the various phenomena of the sensible creation ; and, of course, a polytheism, as must be the first religion of any people who without higher light are striving to solve for themselves the problem of the universe. But even in the earliest Vedic re- ligion appears a tendency toward an ethical and monothe- istic development, evidenced especially by the lofty and en- nobling moral attributes and authority ascribed to the god Varuna: and this tendency, afterwards unfortunately checked and rendered inoperative in the Indian branch of the race, seems to have gone on in Persia to an entire trans- formation of the nature-religion into an ethical, of the poly- theism into a monotheism ; a transformation effected especially by the teachings of the religious reformer Zo- roaster. It is far from improbable that Varuna himself is the god out of whom the Iranians made their supreme di- vinity ; the ancient name, however, nowhere appears in their religious records ; they have given him a new title, Ahura-Mazdd, 'spiritual mighty-one,' or ' Wise-one.' The name itself indicates the origin of the conception to which it is given ; a popular religion does not so entitle its crea- tions, if indeed it brings forth any of so elevated and spir- itual a character. Ahura-Mazda is a purely spiritual concep- tion ; he is clothed with no external form or human attri- butes ; he is the creator and ruler of the universe, the au- thor of all good ; he is the only being to whom the name of 150 THE AVESTA: OR PARSEE SCRIPTURE. a god can with propriety be applied in the Iranian religion. Other beings, of subordinate rank and inferior dignity, are in some measure associated with him in the exercise of bis authority; such as Mithra, an ancient sun god, the almost inseparable companion of Varuna in the Vedic invocations, and the seven Amshaspands (Amesha-spenta), 'Immortal Holy-ones,' whose identity with the Adityas of the Veda has been conjectured ; they appear here, however, with new titles, expressive of moral attributes. The other gods of the original Aryan faith, although they have retained their ancient name of dceva (Sanskrit deva), have lost their indi- viduality and their dignity, and have been degraded into the demons, the malignant and malevolent spirits, of the new religion; just as, when Christianity was introduced into Germany, the former objects of heathen worship were not at once and altogether set aside and forgotten, but main- tained a kind of place in the popular belief as mischievous spirits of evil. The Dsevas, together with other classes of beings of like character, form a body of malevolent and harmful powers corresponding to the Indian rdkshas. At their head, and the chief embodiment of the spirit which inspires them, is Angra-Mainyus (Ahriman\ the ' Sinful- minded,' or ' Malevolent.' His name is one given him as an antithesis to the frequent epithet of Ahura-Mazda, spento- mainyus, ' holy-minded,' or ' benevolent.' This side of the religion came to receive, however, a peculiar development, which finally converted the religion itself into a dualism. Such was not its character at the period represented by the Avesta ; then the demons were simply the embodiment of whatever evil influences existed in the universe, of all that man has to hate, and fear, and seek protection against. This was the Persian or Zoroastrian solution of the great problem of the origin of evil." " Such being the constitution of the universe, such the powers by which it was governed, the revelation was made by the benevolent Creator to his chosen servant for the pur- pose of instructing mankind with reference to their condi- tion, and of teaching them how to aid the good, how to THE AVESTA : OR PARSEE SCRIPTURE. 151 avoid and overcome the evil. The general features of the method by which this end was to be attained are worthy of all praise and approval. It was by sedulously maintaining purity, in thought, word, and deed ; by truthfulness*, tem- perance, chastity ; by prayer and homage to Ahura-Mazda and the other beneficent powers ; by the performance of good works, by the destruction of noxious creatures ; by everything that could contribute to the welfare and happi- ness of the human race. No cringing and deprecatory worship of the powers of evil was enjoined ; toward them the attitude of the worshipper of Mazda was to be one of uncompromising hostility; by the power of a pure and righteous walk he was to confound and frustrate their ma- levolent attempts against his peace. Fasts and penance, ex- cept as imposed by way of penalty for committed transgres- sions, were unknown. Religious ceremonies were few and simple, for the most part an inheritance from the primitive Aryan time ; they were connected chiefly with the offering of Homa (Indian Soma) and with the fire. The latter was to the ancient Iranians, and has remained down to the pres- ent day, the sacred symbol of divinity. An object of wor- ship properly so called it never was ; it was only invested with the same sanctity which belonged also to the other elements, the pure creations of Ahura-Mazda ; all were in- voked and addressed with homage, and it was unpardonable sin to profane them with impurity. Fire was kept con- stantly burning in an enclosed space ; not in a temple, for idols and temples have been alike unknown throughout the whole course of Persian history : and, before it, as in a spot consecrated by the especial presence of the divinity, were performed the chief rites of worship." "The doctrines of the Zoroastiian religion respecting death, and the fate of mankind after death, are a very re- markable and interesting part of it. Sickness and death were supposed to be the work of the malignant powers. The dead body had been gotten by the demons into their own peculiar possession. But the different nature and sepa- rate destiny of the soul were fully believed in. If the per- 152 THE AVESTA: OR PARSES SCRIPTURE. son of whose mortal form the demons had obtained posses- sion had been during life a sincere worshipper of Mazda, if he had abhorred evil and striven after truth and purity, then the powers of evil had no hold upon his soul ; this, after hovering for a time about its former tenement, hoping for a reunion with it, was supposed to pass away beyond the eastern mountains from which the sun rises, to the paradise of the holy and benevolent gods ; the souls of the unbeliev- ing and the evil-doers, however, were not deemed worthy of that blessedness, and were thought, so it seems, to be de- stroyed with the body. It cannot be said, however, that this belief in immortality, and, to a certain extent, in a fu- ture state of rewards and punishments, formed a prominent feature of the Iranian religion, any more than of the Indian." THE VEDA. rjlHE Veda or Hindu Bible began with a book of hymns, _L_ genuine hymns of nature-worship, and called the Big-veda, or Veda of Praise. There are 1,017 hymns, ar- ranged in ten books. The first with 191 hymns represents 15 authors. From the second to the seventh each book rep- resents a single author, with number of hymns to each as follows : 43, 62, 58, 87, 75, 104. Thus far the work appears to be a first collection by a single hand. The eighth book has 92 hymns, representing many authors, and thrown to- gether without arrangement. The hymns of this book are called by a new name, meaning a kind of song. The ninth book has 114 hymns devoted to a sacramental drink called Soma, and designed to be sung during the preparation of the Soma drink.* These hymns are called by a special name meaning " purificational." Some hymns of like ref- erence appeared also in the previous book, the eighth. The tenth book, and last, of the Kig-veda, has 191 hymns. It is a final addition to the work ; no authors' names are known ; there is no arrangement ; the pieces are not purely devotional, but mythical, speculative, merely poetical, or miscellaneous, such as " The Gambler's Lament." This * Soma, it may be explained, means ' extract,' and was the name of a sacred drink prepared from a plant akin to our milkweed, of which the fermented juice had an intoxicating effect, and was used by the priests as a kind of holy rum, to produce the frenzy which they repre- sented as divine. (153) 154 THE VEDA. original Veda is thus a book of hymns, songs, ceremonial verses, and poetical and other pieces, a genuine historical collection, the natural production and collection of which we readily detect, especially as the original authors fre- quently refer to their own work of composition. The second and third of the four books composing the whole primary Veda* were prepared by the priests, chiefly in the words of the Kig-veda. They are books of ritual and ceremony. First of the two is the Sama-veda, a book of chants, or liturgical forms, used in the Soma sacramental ceremonies. Of its 1,808 verses, 1,733 are verses from the Rig-veda, especially its ninth and eighth books. It was a manual of Hindu High Church Ritualism, for use in the Soma sacraments. The other of these two Vedas was a book of sacrificial formulas, called the Yajur-veda, from the root yaj, ' sacri- fice.' It was a mere liturgy, the formulas of which were partly prose and partly verse. Of the 2,000 formulas, nearly half are verse, and these are chiefly from the Rig- veda. Much of its other matter is of later date. Thus the second and third of the Vedas, or parts of the Veda, are not original scriptures, but are scripture made over into liturgy. The last or fourth part of the Veda is called the Atharva- veda. It is of much later origin and of a more miscellane- ous character than the others, and was not esteemed as highly. But it is a real historical collection, and is thus next in interest and value to the Rig-veda. A sixth part of it is in prose. It extends to 6,000 verses, and of its first 18 books one-sixth is borrowed from the Rig-veda, while the 20th book is wholly from the same source. The pur- * The primary Veda, in four books, forms the Veda only as the Law, embraced in the Pentateuch, formed primarily the Hebrew Bible. In a special limited sense the four primitive books are the Hindu Bible ; but in a far larger sense the Veda, to native scholarship and belief, means a long series of sacred productions, which follow the primary four Books, and develop the revelation to the limits of a great literature. THE VEDA. 155 pose of a great part of it was that of incantation and charms, the literary and historical element being subordi- nated to the priestly. These four Yedic books are referred by Prof. Monier Williams to a succession of poets who lived in the period from perhaps 1500 B.C. to 1000 B.C. By some authorities this Vedic period is made to begin as far back as 2000 B.C., and no doubt the religion and poetry of the earliest Vedic hymns were beginning to be known as early as that, long before the age to which Moses is referred, and a thousand years, if not twelve or fourteen hundred, before the earliest book of Hebrew law was publicly known, so as to give to Moses an open name and recognized sacred authority. To his account of the original Vedic books, of which only the hymns are original and valuable, Prof. Williams adds the following statement of the character of early Vedic religion : "To what deities, it will be asked, were the prayers and hymns of these collections addressed? This is an interesting inquiry, for these were probably the very deities worshipped under similar names by our Aryan progenitors in their primeval home somewhere on the table-land of Central Asia, perhaps in the region of Bokhara, not far from the sources of the Oxus [then a land like an Eden, now wholly changed, and whence came forth all the great races of Europe, with the Per- sians, and the Hindus ; the former especially making the great body of civilized mankind, some 400 millions in number, while the race to which Moses and Mohammed belong, the Semitic, counts no more than 40 millions, and is in civilisation, and everything but the lower forces of self-assertion and superstition, very greatly inferior]. The answer is : They worshipped those physical forces before which all nations, if guided solely by the light of nature, have in the early period of their life instinctively bowed down, and before which even the more civil- ised and enlightened have always been compelled to bend in awe and reverence, if not in adoration. " To our Aryan forefathers in their Asiatic home God's power was exhibited in the forces of nature even more evidently than to ourselves. Lands, houses, flocks, herds, men, and animals were more frequently than in western climates at the mercy of winds, fire, and water, and the sun's rays appeared to be endowed with a potency quite beyond the experience of any European country. We cannot be surprised, then, that these forces were regarded by our eastern progenitors as actual 156 THE VEDA. manifestations, either of one deity in different moods or of separate rival deities contending for supremacy. Nor is it wonderful that these mighty agencies should have been at first poetically personified, and afterwards, when invested with forms, attributes, and individuality, worshipped as distinct gods. It was only natural, too, that a varying supremacy and varying honours should have been accorded to each deified force to the air, the rain, the storm, the sun, or fire according to the special atmospheric influences to which particular localities are exposed, or according to the seasons of the year when the dominance of each was to be prayed for or deprecated. 1 ' Passages of the old Vedic hymns, illustrating the letter and spirit of this earliest Hindu revelation, are given by Prof. Williams, and of these we copy the best, to show how much was attained by primitive Vedic efforts. The first passage is from the Atharva-veda, and therefore not one of the most ancient, though celebrating the ancient Aryan deity Varuna : " The mighty Varuna, who rules above, looks down Upon these worlds, his kingdom, as if close at hand. When men imagine they do ought by stealth, he knows it. No one can stand or walk or softly glide along Or hide in dark recess, or lurk in secret cell, But Varuua detects him and his movements spies. Two persons may devise some plot, together sitting In private and alone; but he, the king, is there A third and sees it all. This boundless earth is his, His the vast sky, whose depth no mortal e'er can fathom. Both oceans find a place within his body, yet In that small pool he lies contained. Whoe'er should flee Far, far beyond the sky would not escape the grasp Of Varuna, the king. His messengers descend Countless from his abode for ever traversing This world and scanning with a thousand eyes its inmates. Whate'er exists within this earth, and all within the sky, Yea all that is beyond, King Varuna perceives. The winkings of men's eyes are numbered all by him. He wields the universe, as gamesters handle dice. May thy destroying snares cast sevenfold round the wicked, Entangle liars, but the truthful spare, O King! " In the following Prof. Williams brings together various scattered texts relating to the god Indra. The Soma men- THE VEDA. 157 tioned is the sacramental intoxicant prepared by the priests according to the Soma ritual, which has been explained : "Indra, twin brother of the god of fire, When thou wast born, thy mother Aditi Gave thee, her lusty child, the thrilling- draught Of mountain-growing Soma source of life And never-dying vigour to thy frame. Then at the Thunderer's birth, appalled with fear, Dreading the hundred-jointed thunderbolt Earth shook and heaven trembled. Thou wast born Without a rival, king of gods and men The eye of living and terrestrial things. Immortal Indra, unrelenting foe Of drought and darkness, infinitely wise, Terrific crusher of thy enemies, Heroic, irresistible in might. Wall of defence to us thy worshippers, We sing thy praises, and our ardent hymns Embrace thee, as a loving wife her lord. Thou art our guardian, advocate, and friend, A brother, father, mother, all combined. Most fatherly of fathers, we are thine And thou art ours ; oh ! let thy pitying soul Turn to us in compassion, when we praise thee, And slay us not for one sin or for many. Deliver us to-day, to-morrow, every day." In the next hymn, addressed to Agni, god of fire,' es- pecially of sacrificial fire, the " mystic double Arani " to which reference is made means the two pieces of wood, of the Ficus religiosa, which by dextrous use were made to kindle into flame. It seemed an amazing miracle. But the simple fact was that the pieces of wood were heated by rub- bing to the point where the oxygen of the air would strike them into flame. In every case of fire the active agent is not the fuel, but the oxygen of the air. This will attack any fuel which is sufficiently heated. Ignorant of the ac- tion of oxygen, the Hindu mind ascribed the production of fire to the bits of wood which he made hot by friction. The verses to Agni selected by Prof. Williams are as follows : 158 THE VEDA. " Agni, thou art a sage, a priest, a king, Protector, father of the sacrifice. Commissioned by us men thou dost ascend A messenger conveying to the sky Our hymns and offerings. Though thy origin Be threefold, now from air, and now from water, Now from the mystic double Arani, Thou art thyself a mighty god, a lord, Giver of life and immortality, One in thy essence, but to mortals three ; Displaying thine eternal triple form, As fire on earth, as lightning in the air, As sun in heaven. Thou art a cherished guest In every household father, brother, son, Friend, benefactor, guardian, all in one. Bright, seven-rayed god ! ho\v manifold thy shapes Revealed to us thy votaries ! Deliver, mighty lord, thy worshippers. Purge us from taint of sin, and when we die, Deal mercifully with us on the pyre, Burning our bodies with their load of guilt, But bearing our eternal part on high To luminous abodes and realms of bliss, Forever there to dwell with righteous men." The deity to whom the next verses are devoted is Surya, 'the Sun,' who is often described as sitting in a chariot drawn by seven ruddy horses (representing the seven days of the week), preceded by the Dawn : "Behold the rays of Dawn, like heralds, lead on high The Sun, that men may see the great all-knowing god. The stars slink off like thieves, in company with Night, Before the all-seeing eye. whose beams reveal his presence, Gleaming like brilliant flames, to nation after nation. With speed, beyond the ken of mortals, thou, O Sun, Dost ever travel on, conspicuous to all. Thou dost create the light, and with it dost illume The universe entire ; thou risest in the sight Of all the race of men, and all the host of heaven. Life-giving Varuna ! thy piercing glance doth scan In quick succession all this stirring, active world, And penetrateth too the broad ethereal space, Measuring our days and nights and spying out all creatures. Onward thou dost advance. To thy refulgent orb THE VEDA. 159 Beyond this lower gloom and upward to the light Would we ascend, O Sun, thou god among the gods." One of the most celebrated of Vedic utterances, and one used in daily devotions by every Brahman throughout India to this day, is a short prayer to the Sun in his character of ' the Vivifier.' It is called the Gayatri, and the very metre in which it is written is considered supernatural. Prof. Williams gives the following as a literal rendering : "Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the Divine Vivifier. May he enlighten our understanding." Among the various ways in which the Hindu mind car- ried out the common heathen conception of a Trinity, one was that of grouping together Indra, Agni, and Surya, in which case the Divine Vivifier would answer to the Holy Spirit of Christian speculation. Prof. Williams pertinently says: " May we not conjecture, with Sir William Jones, that the great ven- eration in which this text has ever been held by the Hindus from time immemorial, indicates that the more enlightened worshippers adored, under the type of the visible sun, that divine light which could alone illumine their intellects ? " Prof. Williams appends to his illustration of Hindu rev- erence for the Sun, a paraphrase showing how the Dawn was addresed : " Hail ruddy Ushas, golden goddess borne, Upon thy shining car, thou comest like A lovely maiden by her mother decked, Disclosing coyly all thy hidden graces To our admiring eyes ; or like a wife Unveiling to her lord, with conscious pride. Beauties which as he gazes lovingly, Seem fresher, fairer, each succeding morn. Through years on years thou hast lived on, and yet Thou'rt ever young. Thou art the breath and life Of all that breathes and lives, awaking day by day Myriads of prostrate sleepers, as from death, Causing the birds to flutter from their nests, And rousing men to ply with busy feet Their daily duties and appointed tasks, Toiling for wealth or pleasure or renown." 160 THE VEDA. The ' god of departed spirits,' Yam a, is one of the Vedic deities about whom were grouped thoughts which have no place in Mosaic religion. Prof. Williams gives the follow- ing account and illustration : ' ' It appears tolerably certain that the doctrine of metempsychosis has no place in the Mantra portion of the Veda, nor do the authors of the hymns evince any sympathy with the desire to get rid of all action and personal existence, which became so remarkable a feature of the theol- ogy and philosophy of the Brahmans in later times. But there are many indirect references to the immortality of the soul and a future life, and these become more marked and decided towards the end of the Rig-veda. One ol the hymns in the last Mandala is addressed to the Pitris or fathers, that is to say, the spirits of departed ancestors who have attained to a state of heavenly bliss, and are supposed to occupy three different stages of blessedness, the highest inhabiting the upper sky, the middle the intermediate, air and the lowest the regions of the atmosphere near the earth. Reverence and adoration are always to be offered them, and they are presided over by the god Yama, the ruler of all the spirits of the dead, whether good or bad. The earlier legends represent this god as a kind of first man (his twin sister being Yami) and also as the first of men that died. Hence he is described as guiding the spirits of other men who die to the same world. In some passages, however, Death is said to be his messenger, he himself dwelling in celestial light, to which the departed are brought, and where they enjoy his society and that of the fathers. In the Veda he has nothing to do with punishing the departed (as in the later mythol- ogy), but he has two terrific dogs, with four eyes, which guard the way to his abode. Here are a few thoughts about him from various hymns in the tenth Mandala [book] of the Kig-veda: " To Yama, mighty king, be gifts and homage paid. He was the first of men that died, the first to brave Death's rapid rushing stream, the first to point the road To heaven, and welcome others to that bright abode. No power can rob us of the home thus won by thee. O king, we come; the born must die, must tread the path That thou hast trod the path by which each race of men, In long succession, and our fathers, too, have passed. Soul of the dead! depart; fear not to take the road The ancient road by which thy ancestors have gone; Ascend to meet the god to meet thy happy fathers, Who dwell in bliss with him. Fear not to pass the guards The four-eyed brindled dogs that watch for the departed. Return unto thy home, O soul ! a Thy sin and shame THE VEDA. 161 Leave thou behind on earth ; assume a shining form Thy ancient shape refined and from all taint set free." " Two of the most remarkable hymns in the Rig-veda," says Prof. Williams, are the following, the first from the first book, and the other from the last book of this oldest of the Vedas : " What god shall we adore with sacrifice ? Him let us praise, the golden child that rose In the beginning, who was born the lord The one sole lord of all that is who made The earth and formed the sky, who giveth life, Who giveth strength, whose bidding gods revere, Whose hiding-place is immortality, Whose shadow, death ; who by his might is king Of all the breathing, sleeping, waking world Who governs men and beasts, whose majesty These snowy hills, this ocean with its rivers Declare ; of whom these spreading regions form The arms ; by whoni the firmament is strong, Earth firaily planted, and the highest heavens Supported, and the clouds that fill the air Distributed and measured out; to whom Both earth and heaven, established by his will, Look up with trembling mind ; in whom revealed The rising sun shines forth above the world. Where'er let loose in space, the mighty waters Have gone, depositing a fruitful seed And generating fire, there he arose, Who is the breath and life of all the gods, Whose mighty glance looks round the vast expanse Of watery vapor source of energy, Cause of the sacrifice the only God Above the gods. May he not injure us ! He the creator of the earth the righteous Creator of the sky, creator too Of oceans bright, and far extending waters. In the beginning there was neither nought nor aught, Then there was neither sky nor atmosphere above. What then enslirouded all this teeming universe ? In the receptacle of what was it contained ? Was it enveloped in the gulf profound of water ? 162 THE VEDA. Then there was neither death nor immortality, Then there was neither day, nor night, nor light, nor darkness, Only the Existent One breathed calmly self-contained. Nought else than him there was nought else above, beyond. Then first came darkness hid in darkness, gloom in gloom. Next all was water, all a chaos indiscreet, In which the One lay void, shrouded in nothingness. Then turning inwards he by self -developed force Of inner fervour and intense abstraction, grew And now in him Desire, the primal germ of mind, Arose, which learned men, profoundly searching, say Is the first subtle bond, connecting Entity With Nullity. This ray that kindled dormant life, Where was it then ? before ? or was it found above ? Were there parturient powers and latent qualities, And fecund principles beneath, and active forces That energized aloft ? Who knows ? Who can declare ? How and from what has sprung this Universe ? the gods Themselves are subsequent to its development. Who then can penetrate the secret of its rise ? Whether 'twas framed or not; made 8r not made; he only Who in the highest heaven sits, the omniscient lord, Assuredly knows all, or haply knows he not." The following hymn illustrates the pantheism which India universally developed when speculation succeeded to simple worship. In quoting it Prof. Williams explains that the all-pervading self-existent spirit is called Purusha. The pertinent lines are as follows : " The embodied spirit has a thousand heads, A thousand eyes, a thousand feet, around On every side enveloping the earth, Yet filling space no larger than a span. He is himself this very universe. He is whatever is, has been, and shall be. He is the lord of immortality. All creatures are one-fourth of him, three-fourths Are that which is immortal hi the sky. Him gods and holy men made their oblation. With Parusha as victim they performed A sacrifice. When they divided him, How did they cut him up ? what was his mouth ? What were his arms ? and what his thighs and feet ? THE VEDA. 168 The Brahman was his mouth, the kingly soldier Was made his arms, the husbandman his thighs, The servile Sudra issued from his feet." With two hymns to Time, and to Night, Prof Williams closes his illustration of the spirit and matter best worth attention in the old Yedic hymns. " Time, like a brilliant steed with seven rays, And with a thousand eyes, imperishable, Full of fecundity, bears all things onward. On him ascend the learned and the wise. Time, like a seven-wheeled, seven-naved car moves on. His rolling wheels are all the worlds, his axle Is immortality. He is the first of gods. We see him like an overflowing jar; We see him multiplied in various forms. He draws forth and encompasses the worlds ; He is all future worlds; he is their father; He is their son ; there is no power like him. The past and future issue out of Time, All sacred knowledge and austerity. From Time the earth and waters were produced ; From Time the rising, setting, burning sun; From Time the wind; through time the earth is vast; Through time the eye perceives ; mind, breath, and name In him are comprehended. All rejoice When Time arrives the monarch who has conquered This world, the highest world, the holy worlds, Yea, all the worlds and ever marches on. The goddess Night arrives in all her glory, Looking about her with her countless eyes. She, the immortal goddess, throws her veil Over low valley, rising ground, and hill. But soon with bright effulgence dissipates The darkness she produces ; soon advancing She calls her sister Morning to return, And then each darksome shadow melts away. Kind goddess, be propitious to thy servants Who at thy coming straightway seek repose, Like birds who nightly nestle in the trees. Lo ! men and cattle, flocks and winged creatures, And e'en the ravenous hawks, have gone to rest. Drive thou away from us, Night, the wolf; 164 THE VEDA. Drive thou away the thief, and bear us safely Across thy borders. Then do thou, O Dawn, Like one who clears away a debt, chase off This black, yet palpable obscurity, Which came to fold us in its close embrace. Receive, O Night, dark daughter of the day, My hymn of praise, which I present to thee, Like some rich offering to a conqueror." The history of the four Vedic books show us, as we have seen, first, a simple hymn book of natural religion ; sec- ondly, two priestly books which treat the hymns of the first as sacred, and make them over into books of ritual ; and thirdly, a much later new collection of hymns and pieces in which priestly superstition and wandering specu- lation both appear. But to complete our view of what Veda or Revealed Knowledge was to the Hindu mind, we must glance at the successive extensions by which the idea was applied to successive stages of literature received as divine. The first stage of revelation, and the supremely divine and original one, represented by the four-fold Veda was designated as Mantra, meaning prayer and praise em- bodied in hymns, songs, verses, and texts. After this came a stage of Brahmanas, works in prose devoted to ritualis- tic precept and illustration. They grew up at a period much later than that of the original Vedic books, the old- est perhaps as early as 700 B.C. or 800 B.C. It was after the ancient hymns and liturgies, and texts of the four Vedas had come to be looked upon as sacred, miraculous, perfect Revelation, in the hands of divinely commissioned priests. These priests produced the Brahmanas as commentaries on the original revelation, and got them into use and au- thority as no less sacred than the ancient hymns. In fact they made them more important than the old original hymns. The plan of the Brahmanas was to give rules and explanations for the priests ; and these rules were so loose and rambling and interminable as to form a monstrous mass of worthless matter, which has had little or no real value, and only contains some grains of good material for the history of Vedic religion. THE VEDA, 165 The case was not unlike that of the vast mass of very mixed matter which forms the Talmud of Judaism, only the Talmud embodies much more of reflection and precept, and was much less the work of priests. So priestly and so worthless were the Brahmanas, in fact, that for any thing like thought and religious sentiment there had to be an- other stage, in a series of works appended to the Brah- manas, mostly prose dialogues, entering into an explanation of some of the problems of religious philosophy, such as the nature of deity, the origin of the universe, the nature of the soul, and the relation of spirit to matter. These philosophico-theological treatises are called the Upanishads. The word upa-ni-s7iad is said to mean " to set ignorance at rest by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit." The works which bear this name are attached each one to some one of the Brahmanas, except one instance of an Upanishad attached to an original Vedic book. It was chiefly at certain peculiarly obscure Brahmanic chapters that the thinkers of Hinduism started with their task of explanation, and the Upanishads do not escape forming a bewildering " labyrinth of mystic language, fanciful ety- mologies, far-fetched analogies, and puerile conceits." And yet they represent the early efforts of the Hindu mind to add philosophy to the priestly form of religion, and out of the germs which the Upanishads contain grew at a later date remarkable systems of Hindu philosophy. As in the doctrinal parts of the Jewish Talmud, the Upanishads some- times contain " striking thoughts, original ideas, and lofty sentiments," as Prof. Williams says. They date through a period beginning perhaps as early as 500 B.C. Although only a third stage of it, they count as revelation no less than the Brahmanas and the old Vedic books, and Prof. Williams says that "they are practically the only Veda of all thoughtful Hindus in the present day." They, and the Brahmanas, with the ancient original Veda, are all alike held to be Veda, or Divinely Revealed Knowledge. And yet the Hindu mind did not rest satisfied with all this Holy Knowledge, but carried out the germs of thought in the 166 THE VEDA. Upanishads into six systems of philosophy called Darsanas or Demonstrations. The Darsanas came in great part from the free-thinking or Broad Church members of Hindu com- munion. In the old Vedic hymns were seen only "the first gropings of the human mind, searching for truth by the light of natural phenomena," The ritualistic Brahmanas added nothing to the religion of the simple nature- worship- ping hymns. In fact. " they merely encouraged the growth of a superstitious belief in the efficacy of sacrifice and fos- tered the increasing dependence of the multitude on a mediatorial caste of priests, supposed to be qualified to stand between them and an angry god." Hence " the minds of men finding no rest in mere traditional revelation and no satisfaction in mere external rites, turned inwards, each thinker endeavoring to think out the great problems of life for himself by the aid of his own reason." It was in men's minds to ask, says Prof. Williams : " What am I? Whence have I come? Whither am I going ? How can explain my consciousness of personal existence? What is the re- lationship between my material and immaterial nature ? What is this world in which I find myself ? Did a wise, good, and all-powerful Being create it out of nothing? or did it evolve itself out of an eternal germ? or did it come together by the combination of eternal atoms ? If created by a Being of infinite wisdom, how can I account for the inequalities of condition in it good and evil, happiness and misery ? Has the Creator form, or is he formless ? Has he any qualties or none ? " The first attempts to answer such questions were made in the Upanishads, as has been stated. Prof. Williams thinks that when the Brahmanical priests found free inquiry springing up, they adopted its first fruits, the Upanishads, into the body of Vedic Revelation, and tried to have it un- derstood that a man might think what he chose if he would only support the priests and profess assent to the Veda. "It was not long before Brahmanism and rationalism advanced hand in hand, making only one compact, that however inconsistent with each other, neither should declare the other to be a false guide. A Brahman might be a rationalist, or both rationalist and Brahman THE VEDA. 167 might live together in harmony, pro Tided both gave a nominal assent to the Veda, and maintained the inviolability of caste, the ascendancy of Brahmans, and their sole right to be the teachers both of religion and philosophy. But if a rationalist asserted that any one might be a teacher or might gain emancipation for himself irrespective of the Veda or caste observances, he was at once excommunicated as a heretic and infidel. In the second book of Manu's laws it is declared: ' The Brah- man who resorting to rationalistic treatises shall contemn the two roots of all knowledge (revelation and tradition), that man is to be excom- municated by the righteous . as an atheist and reviler of the Vedas. ' Such heretics, however, soon became numerous in India." There was a common underlying creed for all the six philosopical systems, rationalistic in fact, but purporting to be Vedic. This creed, says Prof. Williams, " is not only the faith of every Indian philosopher at the present day, but also of the greater number of thinking Brahmans, whether disciples of any particular philosophical school or not, and indeed of the greater number of educated Hindus " (p. 61). The points of this Vedic creed, the common faith of the Hindus, or rationalistic Brahmanism as contrasted with priestly, are stated by Prof. Williams as follows : 1. That soul, in the individual, as well as in the Supreme Soul, has existed everlastingly and will never cease to exist. 2. That matter is equally eternal, the substance of the universe existing as soul exists, without beginning and, without end. 3. That the soul dwells in and acts through an inward body and an outward body, the inward being the mind, and this surviving with the soul when the outward body perishes. The Supreme Soul, it is held, may take form, either divine or human, with either the mind-body, as in gods, or with a body of flesh as well, in men. 4. That the union of soul and body produces bondage for the soul, and in the case of men, misery, the bodily senses bringing to the soul pain and pleasure, and leading to action, which involves the soul in the fate of actions, which is for bad actions punishment and woe. 5. And to the fate of actions belongs the necessity not 168 THE VEDA. only of heaven or hell, but of returning into some form of bodily existence, whether god, or demon, or man, or animal, or plant, or even stone, to work out the fate. According as a man has come to goodness, or passion, or darkness, he must live again as god, or man, or beast, plant, stone. Hells numerous and fearful are prepared for the bad, but from hell or heaven fate fetches forth the soul to renew bodily existence in a bound- less succession of forms. The gods are subject to the same law; they live, and suffer, and take, in due course their re- turn to the supreme soul. They feed literally on the sac- rifices. They perish as to individual life at last, the great gods of nature as well as the small. 6. The transmigration of the soul through a succession of lives is the root of all evil. By it all the misery, inequality of fortune and diversity of character in the world is to be explained. Even great genius, aptitude for special work, and innate excellence, are not natural gifts, but the result of habits formed and powers developed through perhaps millions of previous existences. So again, sufferings of all kinds weaknesses, sicknesses, and moral depravity, are simply the consequences of acts done by each soul, of its own free will, in former lives the result of which is felt, though not seen. 7. The great aim of philosophy is to teach a man to ab- stain from every kind of action, from liking or disliking, from loving or hating, and even from being indifferent in any active way, in order to finally get rid of body, mind (or spiritual body), and all sense of separate personality, and in the condition of pure and simple soul return into the supreme and only really existing Being (pp. 51-70, In- dian Wisdom). The existence of such a creed as this, in conjunction with a system of caste, which alloted to the priests or Brahmans a sacred rank, illustrates a remark made by Prof. Williams in regard to the two contrasted sides of Hindu religion. According to the Hindu idea, he says : "Veda or sacred knowledge is said to possess two quite distinct branches; the first for that vast majority of persons who are unable to THE VEDA. 169 conceive of religion except as a process of laying up merit by external rites, and for whom the one God, although really without form assumes various forms with the sole object of lowering himself to the level of human understandings; and the second reserved for that select few who are capable of the true knowledge, which is, that there is but one real Being in the universe, which Being also constitutes the universe ; this one Being existing as the great universal Spirit, the only really existing Soul with which all seemingly existing material substances are identified, and into which the separate souls of men, falsely regarded as emana- tions from it, must be ultimately merged." This says Prof. Williams, is ' ' the pantheistic doctrine everywhere traceable in some of the more ancient Upanishads," "the creed of the man who is said to possess the true Veda" " simply pantheism, it will be said, but it is at least a pantheism of a very spiritual kind." It was indeed no low or mean conception which led to the creed to which expression is given in the following from a Vedantic tract : "The world and all the course of mundane things Are like the vain creation of a dream, In which ambition, hatred, pride, and passion Appear like phantoms mixing in confusion. While the dream lasts the universe seems real, But when 'tis past the world exists no longer. Like the deceptive silver of a shell, So at first sight the world deludes the man Who takes mere semblance for reality. As golden bracelets are in substance one With gold, so are all visible appearances And each distinct existence one with Brahma By action of the five-fold elements. Through acts performed in former states of being, Are formed corporeal bodies which become The dwelling-place of pleasure and of pain. The soul inwrapped in five investing sheaths Seems formed of these, and in all its purity Darkened, like crystal laid on coloured cloth. As winnowed rice is purified from husk, So is the soul disburdened of its sheaths By force of meditation, as by threshing. The soul is like a king whose ministers Are body, senses, mind and understanding. As brightness is inherent in the sun, Coolness in water, warmness in the fire, 170 THE VEDA. E'en so existence, knowledge, perfect bliss, And perfect purity inhere in soul. The understanding cannot recognize The soul, nor does the soul need other knowledge To know itself, e'en as a shining light Requires no light to make itself perceived. The soul declares its own condition thus ' I am distinct from hody, I am free From birth, old age, infirmity, and death. I have no senses : I have no connection With sound or sight or objects of sensation. I am distinct from mind, and so exempt From passion, pride, aversion, fear, and pain.' The saint who has attained to full perfection Of contemplation, sees the universe Existing in himself and with the eye Of knowledge sees the All as the One Soul. When bodily disguises are disolved, The perfect saint becomes completly blended With the one Soul, as water blends with water, As air united with air, as fire with fire. That gain than which there is no greater gain, That joy than which there is no greater joy, That love than which there is no greater love, Is the one Brahma this is certain truth. That which is true, above, below, complete, Existence, wisdom, bliss, without a second, Endless, eternal, one know that as Brahma. Nothing exists but Brahma, when aught else Appears to be, 'tis like the mirage, false." TEMPLE AND ROYAL SEPULCHRE AT MADURA, INDIA. The largest temple in the world, built in the 3d century T..C. ; the enclosure measuring 847 by 744 feet ; nine colossal towers as gateways ; one of its halls showing 997 pillars ; the modern additions by Tirumal Nayak (1621-57). From the 3d century to the 13th Madura had a great university and was the literary centre of India. and Buflflfiist Scripture. THE TRIPITO^A. names used in speaking of this remarkable charac- 1 ter leave one in doubt how they severally apply. Sakya is the clan or tribal name. His father, king Sud- dhodana, who ruled at Kapilavastu, was the chief of the Sakyas. Gautama was the family name of the king and his son, and Siddhartha was the son's individual name. The Sakya prince, Siddhartha Gautama, became the Buddha or Enlightened, and he is called Sakya Buddha or Gautama Buddha. Sakyamuni means the Sakya solitary or monk. The birthplace of the future Buddha was about 100 miles north of Benares and about 50 miles south of the foot of the Himalaya mountains. Benares is the religious centre of Hinduism, the sacred city of India from time immemorial, and one of the most ancient cities on the globe. The Ganges makes a sweep at Benares of about four miles in length, and the city, about three miles long by one broad, lies on the elevated northern bank of this bend, rising from the river in the form of an amphitheatre, thickly studded with domes and minarets, and presenting a scene exceed- ingly picturesque and grand. The entire bank of the river, the sacred stream of the Ganges, is lined with stone. Very fine ghats or landing-places for bathers have been erected by pious devotees, and crowds of worshippers are constantly thronging into the purifying waters. Shrines and temples line the bank, and are thickly scattered through the city, the greater number small, but elaborately adorned with rich and delicate carvings worthy of the finest Grecian or Gothic (171) 172 BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. art. It was from Benares that Buddha itinerated in the valley of the Ganges during forty -five years of public min- istry, and never more than 150 miles from the Hindu Holy City. The famous Chinese pilgrim, who went all through India in the 7th century A.D., described the city at that time as containing thirty Buddhist monasteries, with about three thousand monks of the yellow robe, and about one hundred temples of Hindu gods. The birth of the Sakya prince, Gautama, took place under circumstances calculated to secure a greatly exalted opera- tion of those influences of motherhood which we may with great probability consider the origin of great genius. The two principal wives of king Suddhodana, daughters of a neighboring king, were both childless, and, according to Hindu ideas, it was an occasion of the greatest rejoicing when the elder sister, Mahamaya, in about the forty-fifth year of her age, promised her husband a son. Mr. Rhys Davids' account of the facts says : "In due time she started with the intention of being confined at her parents' home, but the party halting on the way under the shade of some lofty satin trees, in a pleasant garden called Lumbini on the river side, her son, the future Buddha, was there unexpectedly born." The story which came to be told of this birth took no note of the natural influences calculated to produce in Ma- hamaya's offspring profound strength of sensibility, with remarkable vigor of endeavor, in a mind far more of the mother than of the father, and more inclined to -the shelter of the grove or forest than to a settled home. In- stead of this there grew in time what Mr. Davids calls : " Belief in his voluntary incarnation, his immaculate conception, the miracles at his birth, the prophecies of the aged saint at his formal presentation to his father, and how nature altered her course to keep the shade over his cradle, whilst sages from afar came and worshipped him." The young prince married at 19 his cousin Yasodhara, and gave no sign for ten years of the genius which was at work in him. Then suddenly, yielding to impressions, or perhaps to visions, which reflected his observation of old age, of dis- BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. 173 ease, of death, and of the ascetic escape from the world, he left his home to go in search of the victory that over- cometh the world. Directly in his way at this moment was the happiest event of a Hindu's life, the birth of a son. To this he said, " This is a new and strong tie which I shall have to break." The rejoicings over the birth were hardly over when he rose from a troubled sleep at midnight, re- pressed, in the doorway of the room where the mother and the babe slept, the desire to take the child in his arms, and hastened away under the full moon of July, to carry out the GKEAT RENUNCIATION. The tradition here says : "Mara, the great tempter, appears in the sky, and urges Gautama to stop, promising him, in seven days, a universal kingdom over the four great continents if he will but give up his enterprise. " A long night ride with his charioteer, Channa, took him into stranger territory, and cutting off his flowing locks with his sword, he gave all his ornaments to Channa, to go back with them, and with his horse, to Kapilavastu. Seven days he spent alone in a grove. Then he gave himself to severe study of all that Hindu philosophy could teach. Then for six years he gave himself to the severest penance and self-torture in the jungle on the mountain side, until, falling as one dead, he saw the failure of all such effort, and lost the five disciples he then had by resuming the use of food and a more natural life. The crisis of his mental struggles came one day, when he sat under the shade of a great tree, reviewing everything behind him, and on through the night, while there came to him the clear light of pro- found conviction, which made him Buddha, the Enlightened. It was light under the spell of which he could have rested from effort, but love and pity for humanity made him under- take to show the world what he had found of the path of enlightenment and release. To one whom he met now, as he set off to go to Benares to begin his mission, he said : " I am now going to the city of Benares to establish the kingdom of righteousness, to give light to those enshrouded in darkness, and to open the gate of immortality to men." . "I have completely conquered all. evil passions, and am no longer 174 BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. tied down to things material ; I now only live to be the prophet of perfect truth." The five disciples who had left him were found in the Deer-forest at Benares, and to these he first preached his gospel of thought overcoming all desires and all passions, the whole brood from sensuality to unkindliness, and in perfect purity of heart, rising to perfect and universal charity, to attain the last blessed rest, the calm state of universal kindliness, of perfect Love. There are hints and suggestions in the Buddhist records which lead to the belief that he who now undertook as a Buddha to be the teacher unto redemption of men was of majestic figure and com- manding presence, with a personal magnetism singularly winning and impressive, and a voice touching as music to every listening ear ; and as he expounded with masterly analysis the way of knowledge of sorrow in all life, of de- sire and thirst and passion causing sorrow, of putting away desires and ignorance and doubt, false belief and all un- kindliness and vexation, to " exert good- will without meas- ure towards all beings, as a mother, even at the risk of her own life, watches over her child, her only child," the clear words and the deep feeling brought the five former disci- ples to new discipleship, as the result of the first five days of arduous labor to win souls, from which Buddha went steadily on for forty -five years. The idea of a priesthood, with any special power or au- thority, any magical or mystical ability to minister to souls, is utterly contrary to the spirit and teaching of Buddha. The recluse in yellow robe, with shaven face and shaven head, taking but one meal a day, and that whatever might be put into the begging bowl carried from door to door of rich and poor alike during the morning hours, could not pretend, not even Buddha himself, to the slightest place above his fellows, except that of character and truth. Gau- tama gathered at Benares about three score personal fol- lowers, monks of the yellow robe, and a somewhat larger number of outside believers. Among the former was a rich youth who first sought him at night, but later brought his BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. 175 father, as the first lay believer, and his mother and wife as the first female disciples. Buddha never approved of dis- criminating against the lay believers, or of using pressure to bring them from the life of rectitude and kindliness in the world of home and business to that of the ardent soli- tary aiming at higher perfection. Daring his whole career Buddha was accustomed to spend the rainy season at one spot, collecting about him a large number of disciples to whom he gave divinity instruc- tion perhaps never equalled for clear thinking, sagacious discrimination, and the highest and wisest possible spirit. The method of Jesus does not come into comparison, be- cause it attempted so much less, in the way of thought and system, and was so soon suspended, without leaving more than very meagre report of the things said by him. It was especially a note of the genius of Buddha that he had the right kind of word for very different classes of persons, and not only gave, in fine analysis and lucid exposition, the highest philosophy to those who could receive it, but put in equally effective shape the more simple lessons suited to minds much less advanced. It may be confidently said that divinity instruction, enabling men to minister effect- ively what they supposed to be truth, was never carried to such perfection, both of method and of spirit, as by Bud- dha. After the season at Benares Buddha took leave of his disciples with these words : "Beloved Rahans, I am free from the five passions which, like an immense net, hold men and angels in their power ; you too, owing to my teaching, enjoy the same glorious privilege. There is now laid on us a great duty, that of working effectually for men and angels, and gaining for them also the priceless blessing of salvation. Let us, there- fore, separate, so that no two of us shall go the same way. Go ye now and preach the most excellent law, explaining every point thereof, un- folding it with diligence and care." Gautama settled himself in the solitudes of Uruwela, where three famous brothers, hermit fire- worshippers, had gathered a school of disciples. These brothers were per- suaded to accept the Buddha's teaching, and Kasyapa, the eldest, became one of his principal followers. It was here 176 BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. that Buddha preached a first set sermon, which has been designated as his Sermon on the Mount. Looking across from their retreat to the hillside opposite, where a jungle- fire had broken out, Buddha dwelt with clear exposition and warning on the fires of desire, anger, ignorance, and anxiety ; birth, decay, and death ; and compared all human sensations to a burning flame which seems to be something which it is not, producing pleasure or pain, passing rapidly away, and ending only in destruction. Gautama now led his new disciples to Rajagriha, the capital of Magadha, where King Bimbisara welcomed them, and the people marvelled at the presence of Kasyapa, famous to them as the teacher of another way. Kasyapa proclaimed that he had become a disciple of Buddha; that he had given up his belief in sacrifices, either great or small, the efficacy of which was an immensely developed Hindu doctrine ; and that change of heart was the sole path. The king gave to Gautama a garden, Yeluvana or the Bamboo- grove, one of the celebrated places afterwards, where the teacher and his chief disciples spent many rainy seasons, and where he preached many of his most complete dis- courses. The Society of yellow-robed mendicants or recluses, at the head of which Buddha was, was called the Sangha, and among its leading members were two who came in at this time, Sariputra and Mogallana. Gautama's father, hearing how his son had given up ex- treme asceticism and was itinerating as a teacher and preacher, sent to ask that he might see him once more be- fore he died. The Buddha repaired at once to a grove out- side of Kapilavastu, and the father and uncles came to see him, but gave him no invitation, as the custom was, to come to them for the next day's meal. The next day, therefore, Gautama started on the street in his father's city with his begging bowl. The father hearing of it came quickly, and after remonstrances, himself took the bowl, and led the way to his palace. It was after seven years of absence that Gautama was now to see his wife. It was a rule that a recluse must not touch or be touched by a woman, and BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. 177 \ asodhara did not come out with the other women to wel- come him. She said, " I will wait and see; perhaps I am still of some value in his eyes; he may ask, or come. I can welcome him better here." Gautama said, in disregard of the rule, " The princess is not yet free from desire as I am; not having seen me so long she is exceeding sorrowful. Unless her sorrow be allowed to take its course her heart will break. She may embrace me ; do not stop her." He then went to her, and when she saw him enter, in the recluse garb and shaven head, no longer the husband she had mourned so long, she fell on the ground, unable to contain herself, and clung to his feet and wept ; then recov- ering herself rose and stood on one side. His father said, in apology for her, to his son, that she had continued in faithful love of him, would not have comforts whi^h he de- nied himself, took only the one meal a day, and used a hard uncanopied bed. The thoughts of Buddha on very many occasions are told in the accounts which are given, but nothing of what passed in his mind at this time. He evaded speech that might have seemed yielding to sorrow by telling a Jataka story of a former birth of Yasodhara, in which her virtue had been great. She became an earnest disciple, and when, long after, the Buddha was induced, much against his will, to establish a Society for female recluses or nuns, she was one of the first. Gautama had a half brother, Nanda, whose marriage festival was to take place the next day. Gautama sought Nanda and said to him, " The greatest festival after all is the destruction of all evil desires, the knowledge of truth, the life of a recluse, and the attainment of Nirvana." The great love which Nanda had for Gautama soon made him a disciple. At this time the child Kahula, Gautama's son, was sent by his mother, dressed in his best, to ask his father for his in- heritance. Taking the child in her arms at a window of the palaee where the father could be seen partaking of his mid-day meal, she said : 178 BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. " That monk whose appearance is so glorious, is your father; he has four mines of wealth ; go to him, and entreat him to put you in pos- session of your inheritance." Rahula came close to Gautama without fear and with much affection, and said, " My father, how happy I am to be near you." Gautama silently gave the child his bless- ing, and presently rose to go. Rahula followed, and asked, as his mother had told him, that he might have his inherit- ance. But Gautama said nothing, until, reaching their grove, he said to Sariputra, " Beloved disciple, Eahula is asking for a worldly inheritance which would avail him nothing ; I will give him a spiritual inheritance which will not fade away; let him be admitted among us." This loss of his son Nanda and his grandson Rahula deeply grieved the old king, and he secured from the Buddha a regulation that the consent of parents should in future be required for admission among the recluses. Then Gautama went back to Rajagriha, the capital of Magadha, where King Bimbisara had given him the Bamboo-grove. It was now but eighteen months since the Buddha began his ministry, and from this time onward there are only snatches of biography to be gleaned from the records, until we come to the last few days of the Buddha's long life. He was eighty years of age, and, resting at Pawa, east of his birthplace about eighty miles, and one hundred and twenty miles N. N. E. of Benares, he partook of a meal given him by Chunda, donor of a grove there, a meal of rice and pork, which brought on illness, as he started in the after- noon for Kusi-nagara, not far distant. Feeling that he was dying, he gave his attendant a strict charge to give a mes- sage of gratitude and praise to Chunda, that he might not blame himself for the meal of pork and rice. Going on a little Gautama rested for the last time, lying under the Sal trees, with his face to the south, and talking long and earnestly with Ananda, of whom he said to the others, "Ananda for long years has served me with devoted affection. He knows all that should be done; after I am gone, listen to his word/' BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. 179 To Ananda, who went aside weeping, as the evening came on, Gautama, sending for him, said : " Do not weep; do not let yourself be troubled. You know what I have said ; sooner or later we must part from all we hold most dear. This body of ours contains within itself the power which renews its strength for a time, but also the causes which lead to its destruction. Is there anything put together which shall not dissolve ? " Ananda was a cousin who had come to him twenty-five years before, and remained his attendant from that time. To Ananda he had talked, as his illness came on, of his burial, and of rules to be observed after his death. About midnight a famous Brahman came to make inquiries, and Ananda refused him admission, until the Buddha hearing and asking what it was, directed that he should come in. To a broad inquiry 'about the six systems of philosophy the Buddha said : " This is not the time for such discussions. To true wisdom there is only one way, the path that is laid down in my law. Many have al- ready followed it, and conquering the lust, and pride, and anger, of their own hearts, have become free from ignorance, and doubt, and wrong belief, have entered the calm state of universal kindliness, and reached Nirvana even in this life. Save in my religion the Twelve Great Disciples, who, being good themselves, rouse up the world, and deliver it from indifference, are not to be found. O Subhadra ! I do not speak to you of things I have not experienced. Since I was twenty- nine years old till now I have striven after pure and perfect wisdom, and following the good path, have found Nirvana." The impression made by the dying teacher led the great Brahman to ask for admission at once, in disregard of the rule requiring four months probation for a convert from any rival system ; and Buddha granted his request. To his dis- ciples he then said : " When I have passed away and am no longer with you, do not think that the Buddha has left you, and is not still in your midst. You have my words, my explanations of the deep things of truth, the laws I have laid down for the Society ; let them be your guide ; the Buddha has not left you." Again he said, with pauses or conversation between : 180 BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. " Beloved mendicants, if you revere my memory, love all the disciples as you love me and my doctrines." "No doubt can be found in the mind of a true dis- ciple." " Beloved, that which causes life, causes also decay and death. Never forget this ; let your minds be filled with this truth. I called you to make it known to you." And with these, his last words, the Buddha lay uncon- scious ; and so died, India's greatest son, most marvellous teacher, reformer at once of an old faith and creator of a new, whose colossal figure dominates the vast East of the world, as that of Christ does the West, with a light of ideals, if not of all ideas, identical for spiritual glory with that which we call the Light of the World. After the cremation of Buddha's remains some of the chief disciples secured the holding of a council or confer- ence. Such leading disciples as Sariputra and Moggallana were dead, but there were living Kasyapa, under whose presidency the council was held, a more than commonly intimate associate of Gautama ; Ananda, the beloved attend- ant of twenty -five years ; and Upali, noted, although of low caste origin, as their greatest authority on points of order and discipline, which had been decided by the Buddha as they arose. There were in all five hundred who met in council in the rainy season resort at Eajagriha, the capital of Magadha. So far as is known the seven months session of the council was occupied only with hearing from Ananda or Upali some portion of the Buddha's teaching, and the repetition of it in concert. A second council was held a hundred years later in Vaisali, 70 miles north of Rajagriha, and a third and great council about B.C. 250, under the Buddhist emperor Asoka, in his capital Pataliputra, the modern Patna. The sacred books of Buddhism, as now known in Ceylon, are believed to be substantially the same as those declared canonical at the great council under Asoka. The more orthodox Buddhists claim that this canon dates, not from the third but from the first council, but the contents, the BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. 181 biographical especially, are such as to disprove this claim. Gautama did not leave it possible for his disciples to carry over into Buddhism the scripture, the principle of sacrifice, or the ritual and priestly order of Yedic Brahmanism. He cut loose from the gods of Brahmanism, from the Veda as a Bible of inspired origin and absolute authority, and from the Brahmanical church, with its priests, its ritual, its castes, and its imposition of a Brahmanical creed. Even in forming the Sangha, or Society, of monks, also of nuns, Gautama imposed no yoke ; no vow of obedience was taken ; no observance of ceremony, no belief of any kind, was supposed to avail ; nothing but a free mind with a pure heart exerted in the direction of self-conquest and universal charity. In the deeper things of the spirit five principal kinds of meditation took the place of prayer, each con- ducted according to a careful system of reflections tending to the five ideals, which were those of Love, of Pity, of Gladness, of Purity, and of Serenity. There was in every port of Gautama's teaching the broad appeal of a great heart to the many ; not to the learned or rich but to all mankind ; to nobles and peasants, to men and women, to Brahmans and to Sudras (the lowest caste), to slaves and bondmen, giving an equal welcome to all. Every kind of wrong and oppression felt the touch of Gautama's spirit, and when Asoka made Government in India Buddhist, the enlighten- ment acted upon and the philanthropy carried out were un- exampled. As Buddhism was absolulely tolerant, was perfect in char- ity, was catholic in fellowship, denying human brotherhood with none ; and as it wrought on lines many of which were * underlying conceptions to Brahmanism also, there was noth- ing to prevent the old Brahmanical religion from continuing in India while Buddhism obtained an immense hold upon the mind of India. The son and daughter of the emperor Asoka planted it in Ceylon. It went thence to Burmah about A.D. 500, and to Siam 200 hundred years later. It had become, in a much altered form, the religion of Kash- mir about the time of Christ, and went thence to Nepal and 182 BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. to Thibet. This northern Buddhism took, as Lamaism, j marvellously altered form, so like in externals to Roman- ist Catholicism that the first Catholic missionaries thought it must be an imitation by the devil of their own religion. In China Buddhism was officially recognized, A.D. 65, as the third state religion, after Confucianism and Taouism. The history of Buddhist declension in India during some centuries, until in the 8th and 9th centuries of our era a very great effort of Brahmanical persecution drove it out completely, has been hardly at all recovered, if indeed it is not completely lost. The overthrow at least was complete, and Buddha counts 475,000,000 of nominal disciples with none to speak of in India itself, and with, in fact, China and Japan largely making up the immense count, of those who are not solely, nor even first, Buddhists, and the mass of whom know but very imperfectly the elevated and pure Buddhism of Buddha himself. Legends and superstitions, low primitive-culture spiritism, the worship of relics, for their magical efficacy, and of ancestors, and even of gods unknown to Buddha, had debased his system before India cast it out, and debases it to-day for the mass of those who are named in his name. The Buddhist Bible is commonly represented as of im- mense extent, a mass of writings so vast as to defy examina- tion. This, however, is an exaggeration, due to ignorant misconception. The Bible of Christendom, embracing both Old and New Testaments, contains not far from 950,000 words. In the Buddhist scriptures very many repetitions occur, and some of the important books are wholly made up of extracts from other books. If allowance is made for all these repetitions the Buddhist Bible, in the opinion of Prof. Rhys Davids, "is probably even shorter than ours"; and, counting the many repetitions, the full aggregate reaches " rather less than twice as many words (in the original) as are found in our Bible ; and a translation of them into English would be about four times as long." The universal Buddhist church, to which not far from 475,000,000 of the human race belong, was at an early date BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. 183 separated into northern and southern divisions, through certain divergences of development. The sacred writings of northern Buddhism are transmitted in Sanskrit, the class- ical tongue of India, and the language of the Vedas of Brahmanism the Hindu Bible. Those of southern Budd- hism are in Pali, one of the linguistic developments of ancient India, now extinct as a spoken language. The lan- guage in which Buddha expressed his teaching was in all probability nearer to classical Sanskrit than the Pali. Cey- lon, Burmah, Siam, Anam, British Burmah, and to a small extent India, belong to the southern division ; China, Japan, Korea, Thibet, and some of the East Indian islands, belong to northern Buddhism. Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptiire were made at an early date, and Japan borrowed from these. The more ancient and original texts are those of southern Buddhism. But to a large extent the tradition of sacred writings is the same in the two divisions. Both have the three Pitakas or the Tripitaka, " three baskets " and many other writings, while each has some writings which are not in the other. " The Tripitaka " designates the Buddhist scriptures, as "the Testaments" would the Christian. The first basket, or collection, of sacred authoritative ut- terances is the Vinaya Pitaka, or scripture of Discipline (for the order of yellow-robed monks established by Buddha). It is in three sections or books. The second basket, or collection, in five parts, is the Sutta Pitaka, or scripture of Discourses (for the laity and for common instruction in the teachings of Buddha). It is in this Pitaka of Discourses that occur the most that we have of the utterances of Buddha. Among the parts of this Pitaka one treats of objections to the teaching drawn from the Yeda by Brahmanism ; one sets forth the principal teachings of Buddha ; and one, called the Book of the Great Decease, relates the last words and the death of Buddha. The fifth and last portion of this Pitaka contains fifteen sections, of which two, both in verse, are (1) Dhammapada, the Path of the Law, consisting of 423 short utterances, in 184 BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. 26 chapters, a Buddhist book of proverbs ; and (2) a collec- tion of speeches and dialogues, some of them very ancient, illustrating the fundamental principles of Buddhism. In one section are given eighty-two "Songs of exultation," short lyrics supposed to have been uttered by Gautama under a great access of feeling, at important crises of his life. Another section, called Jataka, contains 550 old stories, fairy tales, and fables, as they were retold by Buddha to illustrate former-birth facts. The third Pitaka, or collection, devoted to philosophy, has seven sections, among which one is on the conditions of life in various worlds; one deals with 1,000 controverted points ; and one is on the causes of existence. Among notable words of Buddhist scripture, this summed up the means of salvation : " To cease from all wrong-doing; To get virtue; To cleanse one's own heart; This is the religion of the Buddhas." To his father Buddha stated the cardinal tenet of his teaching in these verses : " Eise up! and loiter not! Practice a normal life and right; Who follows virtue rests in bliss, Both in this world and in the next. Follow after the normal life; Follow not after wrong; Who follows virtue rests in bliss, Both in this world and in the next." Asked to declare the chief good, Buddha pronounced these Beatitudes : Not to serve the foolish, But to serve the wise ; To honor those worthy of honor; This is the greatest blessing. To dwell in a pleasant land ; Good works done in a former birth; Right desires in the heart; BUDDHA AND BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE. 185 " Much insight and education, Self-control and pleasant speech, And whatever word be well-spoken: This is the greatest blessing. To support Father and mother, To cherish wife and child, To follow a peaceful calling: This is the greatest blessing. To bestow alms and live righteously, To give help to kindred, Deeds which cannot be blamed; These are the greatest blessing. To abhor, and cease from, sin, Abstinence from strong drink, Not to be weary in well-doing; These are the greatest blessing. Reverence and lowliness, Contentment and gratitude, The hearing of the law at due seasons; This is the greatest blessing. To be long-suffering and meek, To associate with the tranquil, Religious talk at due seasons; This is the greatest blessing. Self-restraint and purity, Tho knowledge of the noble truths, The realization of Nirvana; This is the greatest blessing. Beneath the stroke of life's changes, The mind that shaketh not; Without grief or passion, and secure; This is the greatest blessing. On every side are invincible They who do acts like these, On every side they walk in safety, And their's is the greatest blessing. C0NMCKI3 AND HE Confucian Bible counts nine books which are called I classics, and which have been, for more than twelve hundred years, so widely accepted as to have been for all that time the principal study and the rule of life for every gen- eration of Chinamen. The Buddhism and the Taouism of China, widespread as they are, do not at all interfere with the absolute supremacy of Confucianism. Divine as Buddha is to Buddhists, and mere man as Confucius is known to have been, it is not Buddha but Confucius to whom China universally directs worship as to a divinity between heaven and man. The Chinese may be more or less Buddhists and Taouists, as Christians may be Spiritualists and Faith Cur- ists, the former openly always and regularly, and the latter not so openly perhaps and not so regularly. The educated classes in China are supposed to follow Confucianism only. It is almost entirely among the uneducated classes that Taouism and Buddhism also are followed, and even these will not accept what is inconsistent with Confucian teach- ing. This teaching is the basis of education. Its Bible has been the only text book which, since A.D. 631, students have had to master to comply with the conditions of com- petitive examination which China adopted at the date named. Singularly enough, Confucius at his death had not made a personal success. Neither rulers nor people had heeded his teaching or accepted the body of literature prepared by (186) THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. 187 him. He had begun giving instruction to earnest and ad- miring students when he was but twenty-two (B. c. 529) ; at thirty, when, as he tells us, he " stood firm," his fame had become great, and many noble youth were enrolled as his disciples ; at this time also he made his first visit to Loo, capital of the Chow dynasty, and had an interview with Lao-tsze, the founder of Taouism ; and on his return to Loo not less than three thousand disciples had gathered about him. But very soon public disorder sent him adrift, and even when he was able to return to Loo, he found the un- settled state of things unfavorable to public work, and em- ployed himself in compiling the " Book of Odes " and the "Book of History." At a later date, when public affairs were less disturbed, Confucius took the post of magistrate of a town, and cre- ated such order and prosperity as to lead to his being ap- pointed, first, superintendent of works, and then minister of crime, for the dukedom or state of Loo. The eminent suc- cess with which Confucius now administered justice was yet more or less a failure from the point of view of his times. To one ruler he said, " Why employ capital punish- ment at all in carrying on your government? Let your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people will be good. The grass must bend when the wind blows across it." Not many months, however, after taking office he sur- prised his disciples by signing the death warrant of one Shaou, a well-known citizen, for disturbing the public peace ; and to remonstrance replied : "There are five great evils in the world; a man with a rebellious heart who becomes dangerous; a man who joins to vicious deeds a fierce temper ; a man whose words are knowingly false ; a man who treasures in his memory noxious deeds and disseminates them ; a man who follows evil and fertilizes it. All these evil qualities were com- bined in Shaou. His house was a rendezvous for the disaffected ; his words were specious enough to dazzle any one ; and his opposition was violent enough to overthrow any independent man." The good fortune which the rule of Confucius brought to the state of Loo, where the people at their work sang songs 188 THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. in praise of him as their saviour from oppression and wrong, stirred up hostility in the state adjoining, the rulers of which were jealous of their prosperous neighbor's grow- ing strength. To countermine Confucius a crafty scheme to demoralize Loo was planned. Eighty beautiful dancing girls were sent to the Duke of Loo as an antidote to the counsels of duty spoken by the Sage, and even when the great sacrifice to Heaven at the solstice came round, after special efforts made by Confucius to have the Duke rise to a full sense of his duties, the event proved that temptation was more than a match for admonition. Confucius gave up his post and went to the state of Wei ; but a cabal drove him thence after ten months. In a moment of supposed peril at this time, Confucius showed his faith in his own mission by saying to alarmed friends : "After the death of King "Wan, was not the cause of truth lodged in me ? If Heaven had wished to let the sacred cause perish, I should not have been put into such a relation to it. Heaven will not let the cause of truth perish, and what therefore can the people of Kwang do to me ? " A short return to Wei, where the duke's consort was a notoriously bad character, was attended by an incident which some disciple thought out of character for the Sage. His response was, " Wherein I have done improperly may Heaven reject me ! may Heaven reject me !" A corrupt court was too repulsive, however, for the great teacher of propriety, and he quitted Wei. The story goes that some officious public personage had noted the " proud air and many desires, insinuating habit and wild will " of the sage, and tried to arrest him ; and that when he had escaped and reached Ching, some one announced him, to a disciple who was expecting him, as so and so in forehead and shoulders and height, " and altogether having the forsaken appear- ance of a stray dog." " Capital ! capital !" said Confucius, " to say I was like a stray dog." In person Confucius was tall, and strong, and well-built, with a large and heavy head, and a full red face. Poverty was commonly enough his lot, and he would say, " With coarse rice to eat, with THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. 189 water to drink, and my bended arm for my pillow, I am still contented and happy. Riches and honor acquired by wrong are to me as floating clouds." The taste of Confucius in dress was refined and scrupulous; to avoid red as belonging to girls and women, and to wear the " correct " colors, azure, yellow, carnation, white, and black. In matters of food and drink he showed the same scrupulous refinement, along with frugality and self-re- straint. He drank wine, but only in moderation. His manner was invariably dignified, formal, and ceremonious often, to give special significance to demeanor or action. Music was his chief accomplishment. " It is by the odes," he said, " that the mind is aroused. It is by the rules of propriety that the character is established. And it is music which completes the edifice." After an absence of two years Confucius sought to return to Wei, whose duke he seems to have had hopes of. On his way some rude fellows laid violent hands on him and made him take an oath not to go to Wei. He took the oath, and yet went all the same ; and upon the remonstrance of Tsze- kung, the ardent Simon Peter of his disciples, he said : " It was an oath extracted by force. The spirits do not hear such." These last words speak after the faith then familiar; a way of saying, so as to be understood, that such an oath had no validity. The affairs of Wei made no place for a sage, and Confucius again departed, but only to be driven back by worse prospects elsewhere. The duke of Wei used every endeavor to have the large-minded teacher give him counsel formatters of war, but got only this answer : " If you should wish to know how to arrange sacrificial vessels, I will answer you, but about warfare I know nothing." At sixty years of age, after much teaching, more waiting, and still more disappointment, owing to so much disorder everywhere in the states com prising, the empire, Confucius carried himself with a most remarkable steadiness of hope and confidence, the ideal temper of a genuine prophet. When one of his disciples had evaded replying to an in- quiry about him, Confucius said : " Why did you not say 190 THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. to him, ' He is simply a man who, in his eager pursuit of knowledge, forgets his food ; who, in the joy of its attain- ments, forgets his sorrows ; and who does not perceive that old age is coming on.'" After residence three years in one of the states where, as in the empire generally, strife and war prevailed, and hav- ing changed to another where also he was much thought of but not at all heeded, much less employed, Confucius re- turned once more to Wei, but finding the court worse than ever lived for five or six years in close retirement, until the time came when, after fourteen years' absence, he could return to his native state of Loo. It was, however, in the hope of securing his counsel for matters of war, or without permit- ting him to attempt the correction of gross evils, that he had been brought back to Loo, and in despair of public ser- vice he shut himself up in his study, a statesman far too wise and strong for any state then existing, and a scholar permitted to do no more than complete the literary under- takings which were destined to give China a Bible. If any state could have given him the helm, it was prevented doing so by rival states who feared the strength which would go with a mind so masterful. It is to the everlasting credit of Confucius that with abundant opportunity to rise to power as an adviser in military matters, he evaded every attempt to get any counsel from him in that direction, and remained to the end a devotee of peace and righteousness. The dream of his life full fifty years actively given to study and teaching was to understand the best traits of the most worthy kings of an ancient day, and holding up those reverend ideals to the rulers of his own time, secure in them character and conduct calculated to give China, then a scene of warring states and incessant strife, peace, and prosperity. There never failed him confidence the most absolute that his method of grand historical ideals, put in operation through rulers accepting them and seeking to enforce them, would redeem at once the public service and the people. And lacking opportunity to make any fair experiment, he wrought for the high ends of his faith with THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. 191 his pen, as well as his voice. His last years, in his native state, were devoted to the final editing of the " Book of His- tory," to which he wrote a preface ; while he also " carefully digested the rites and ceremonies determined by the wisdom of the more ancient sages and kings ; collected and arranged the ancient poetry ; and undertook the reform of music." The existing " Book of Changes " he not only carefully studied but wrote a commentary upon. It is related that at this time, when his life was manifestly drawing to a close, he exclaimed, with a burst of tears, " The course of my doctrine is run, and I am unknown." To Tsze-kung's question, " How do you mean that you are un- known ? " he said : " I do not complain of Providence, nor find fault with men, that learning is neglected and success is worshipped. Heaven knows me. Never does a superior man pass away without leaving a name behind him. But my principles make no progress, and I, how shall I be viewed in future At this time Confucius wrote the " Spring and Autumn Annals," the only work of which he was wholly the author. It was a history of his native state from the time of duke Yin to the last days of the Sage. He had compiled the "Book of History," which commences with "the em- peror Yaou, all-informed, intelligent, accomplished, thought- ful," as far back as 2,356 B.C. It is related that Yaou not only wrought harmony and union throughout the empire, but promoted astronomy, fixed the year and the four sea- sons, and arranged the calendar which China still uses. He was succeeded by Shun of whom the Confucian story says : ''Profound, wise, accomplished, and intelligent, he was also mild, respectful, and quite sincere. The report of his mysterious virtue was heard on high, and he was appointed to take the throne. Thereafter he sacrificed specially, but with the ordinary forms, to Shang-te [the Supreme]; sacrificed with purity and reverence to the six Honored Ones; offered appropriate sacrifices to the hills and rivers; and extend- ed his worship to the host of spirits." The empire at this time had ministers of agriculture, 192 THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. crime, works, forests, religious worship, and music. A very high standard of morality was in force and lofty ideals of public service. There came, however, times of great wrong and wretchedness, and eras again of deliverance and new, noble example. In portraying both Confucius made history speak his own lessons of wisdom, and set forth what had been the customs and conceptions of Chinese religion, some of .which he did not otherwise refer to in his teaching. The " Book of History " closes with the year 721 , and from this point the " Spring and Autumn Annals " took up the story, so that the two cover Chinese history from 2,356 to 480 B.C. In the "Book of History," called the Shoo King, the matter consists largely of conversations between the kings and their ministers on almost all subjects of public importance. In these conversations it is largely Confucius who speaks through the ancient voices. The work, says Mr. Wells Williams, " contains the seeds of all things that are valuable in the estimation of the Chinese ; it is at once the foundation of their political system, their history, and their religious rites, the basis of their tactics, music, and astronomy." In the Chun Tsew, or " Spring and Autumn Annals," Confucius wrote only the briefest notes of events during two hundred and forty-two years, without a touch of judgment on them or even of graphic literary treatment. Yet Confucius himself, and Mencius, his greatest disciple, about a century later, speak as if it was a book of righteous judgments, of severe censures, and of pictures of character and recitals of conduct calculated to deeply impress the Confucian teaching. It certainly is not as we read it now. Confucius, studiously modest and humble, disclaimed originality, and with profound sagacity sought to make China in her history the instructor of the Chinese. "A transmitter and not a maker, believing in and loving the ancients," was his own description of himself. The " Book of Changes," or Yih King, had been produced by Wan Wang, upon his imprisonment in 1,150 B.C. It sought to make a system of philosophy by means of eight diagrams and their sixty-four combinations, which the emperor Fu-he THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. 193 had invented. Its root idea was the production by the first great cause, Tai Keih, of two great male and female vivify- ing elements, the Yin and the Yang, from which come all material things, with the sexual principle inherent in them. It is a conception which runs through all knowledge in China. The heaven, the sun, the day, are male ; the earth, the moon, and night female. The great divinities of the state religion of which the emperor is high priest are Heaven and Earth. The text of Wan Wang's book was obscure enough, yet suggestive enough, to permit the stu- dent or commentator to read into it almost any outgrowth of its fundamental conception, and the commentary added by Confucius only enlarged the field of opportunity to imagine deep things. The Le Ke, or " Book of Rites," is said to have been com- piled by the duke of Chow in the twelfth century B.C. The duke of Chow was a personage on whose wisdom and virtue Confucius was never tired of expatiating. His dreams gave him constant intercourse with this heroic ancient, and when they ceased the Sage took it as a warning that with waning powers his mission was coming to an end. The purpose of the book is the application of ceremonial to every action and every relation of life, all domestic and all social duties, everything of everyday behavior and conduct. It is the guide and rule by which Chinamen live, the part of the Chinese Bible which is reflected in the manners and customs of the people. It has been described as "the most exact and complete monograph that this nation can give of itself to the rest of the world." One of the six governing boards at Peking the Board of Rites is wholly .occupied with seeing that minute observance of its precepts is maintained throughout the empire. The She King, or " Book of Poetry," is a compilation of songs and ballads, dating from a very remote antiquity. It was in the earliest days the custom of the various states of China to employ at the courts music masters and historio- graphers, whose task it was to collect and set to music the songs of the people, and to preserve the historical records 194 THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. of the empire. At certain times the princes of states met the ruling sovereign to make report and obtain instructions, and on these occasions the collected ballads and songs would be submitted, to pass into a classified collection. It thus happened that Confucius had in his hands an official collection of some three thousand songs, and out of these he chose three hundred and eleven, which fell under the four heads of "Songs of Homage," "National Airs," and the "Lesser" and the "Greater Eulogies." A Chinese historian says that Confucius " rejected those which were only repetitions of others, and selected those which would be serviceable for the inculcation of propriety and righteous- ness." The songs of homage were hymns sung when the emperor sacrificed to the Supreme God. The following is said to have been sung by the monarch, or in his name, on the occasion of a great drought in the eighth century B.C. "Brightly resplendent in the sky revolved The milky way. The monarch cried, Alas ! What crime is ours, that Heaven thus sends on us Death and disorder, that with blow on blow Famine attacks us ? Surely I have grudged To God no victims; all our store is spent Of tokens. Why is it I am not heard? Rages the drought. The hills are parched, and dry The streams. The demon of the drought Destroys like one who scatters fiery flames. Terrified by the burning heat my heart, My mourning heart, seems all consumed with fire. The many dukes and ministers of the past Pay me no heed. O God ! from thy great heaven Send me permission to withdraw myself Into seclusion. Fearful is the drought. I hesitate, I dread to go away. Why has the drought been sent upon my land? No cause for it know I. Full early rose My prayers for a good year; not late was I In off 'ring sacrifice unto the lords THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. 195 Of the four quarters and the land. Afar In the high heaven God listens not. And yet Surely a reverent man as I have been To all intelligent spirits should not be The victim of their overwhelming wrath." Crude in measure, wanting in harmony, but of a simple and religious tenor, these expressions of Chinese antiquity reveal a people among whom family life, lowly industry, respect for women, and a simple monotheistic belief, be- token remarkable culture, even while we hear at times the wail of suffering under misrule and tyranny, and the noise of revelry, bordering upon licentious and dissolute mis- conduct, of princes or nobles. A special student of Chinese literature says : " Through most of the ballads their breathes a patriarchal simplicity of thought and life. We have brought before the mind's eye the lowly cottage, where dwell a family united by the bonds of affection and duty. Their food is the produce of the soil and the spoils of the chase. The highest ambition of the men is to excel as archers and charioteers, and their religious worship is the same as that which, untainted by Buddhism or any other form of philosophical teaching, is now practised at the imperial temples of Heaven and earth, by the emperor only as high priest. Their wives are objects of affection and respect, and though in one song we find the belief expressed that ' a wise woman will ruin a city,' yet there seems to have been abundance of regard for honest housewives who did their duty, who shared the toil of their hus- bands, and enjoyed with them the simple pleasures within their reach." No doubt the "Book of Poetry," of which Confucius made a scripture, was culled with reference to the senti- ments sought to be impressed by the great teacher. The later poetry of China breathed another spirit, that of un- settled times, of war and conflict. It reflected also new and strange fancies bred by the superstition to which Taouism led, belief in spirits and in divination ; or perhaps unbelief, contempt for life, doubt of future life, and an Epicurean devotion to sensual pleasure. From 206 B.C. to 221 A.D., the Han dynasties advanced along a path of progress ; then came eight short dynasties covering times of confusion and disorder, until the period of the Tang dynasty, 620-907 A.D., 196 THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. which proved a golden age of not only literature but of power and progress in the state. Imperial armies occupied Bokhara and Samarcand ; the first influences of Christianity were brought by the Nestorians into the heart of the em- pire; the Buddhist traveller, Heuen-tsang, journeyed to India, and brought back the story of the places made sacred by the presence of Buddha. The five productions thus far spoken of, the " Book of Changes," "Book of Rites," "Book of Poetry," "Book of History," and " Spring and Autumn Annals," are known as the Five Classics. They exactly correspond in place to the Pentateuch in Hebrew literature, and to the four gospels and the book of Acts in the records of Christianity. And just as in both Hebrew scripture and Christian other writ- ings were added, so to make up the Confucian scriptures there were added to the Five Classics four other works, which are called the " Four Books." Of these the Lun yu, or " Confucian Analects," are a sort of gospel record of the sayings and doings of Confucius, made by disciples faithful to his memory and to the tradition of his teaching. They are a graphic revelation of the mind of the philosopher, the statesman, and the man. Two other works, the Ta Heo, or " Great Learning," and the Chung Yung, or " Doctrine of the Mean," are treatises, both of which are generally as- cribed to the grandson of Confucius, Tsze-sze, and both of which present digests of the doctrines of the master. The fourth work, which comes last in the ninefold scrip- ture of China, is a record of the teaching of the most emi- nent of Confucian disciples, Mencius. Born in 371 B.C., and adopting the calling of a teacher, with desire also to serve the common weal in some office of state, Mencius, no more than Confucius found his abilities and wisdom valued in courts; and he devoted his life to unsparing exposure of the evils of the time, and vigorous incisive exposition of the demands of righteousness in rulers and in the people. To the question, " May a subject put a ruler to death ? " he replied : " He who outrages benevolence is called a ruffian ; and he THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. 197 who outrages righteousness is called a villain. The ruffian and villain we call a mere fellow. I have heard of the cut- ting off of the fellow Show; but I have not heard of a ruler having been put to death." The fellow Show was the last emperor of the Shang dyn- asty ; cut off because he was a ruffian and a villain, and not a ruler. It was the doctrine of Mencius that " the people are the most important element in the country, and the ruler the lightest." Unable to make any impression on his times, or to enter the public service to put into effect his principles, Mencius spent the last fifteen years of his life in retirement, giving instruction to his disciples and compil- ing his utterances. He died B.C. 289, and it was not until the revival o learning under the Han dynasty that scholars recognized his importance, and not until the reign of Shin- tsung (A.D. 1068-1085) that the volume of his works was added to the Confucian classics. An interesting note of the life of Mencius is the place filled by his mother, in whose sole care he had been left upon the death of his father when he was in his third year. She was a lady of remarkable character, and her virtues and dealings with her son were celebrated by an eminent writer in the first century before Christ ; a work which has made her for two thousand years the model mother of Chinese reverence. The keynote of the mind of Mencius appears in his idea of the true great man : " To dwell in love, the wide house of the world ; to stand in propriety, the correct seat of the world ; and to walk in righteousness, the great path of the world : " When he obtains his desire for office, to practise his principles for the good of the people ; and when that desire is disappointed to practise them alone : " To be above the power of riches and honors to make dissipated ; of poverty and mean condition to make swerve from the right ; and of power and force to make bend : "These characteristics constitute the great man." The Confucian ideal in teaching is not what is commonly known as religion. It does not deal with things commonly 198 THE CONFUCIAN BIBLE. thought of as spiritual. But it is a total mistake to see Confucianism as anything but religion, and that of the spiritual kind. Those things of God, of spirits living be- yond present limitations, and of duty and destiny under God the Eternal, are not denied, are not wholly unknown, are not left unmentioned, but are simply postponed, under the assumption that the whole present duty of man is con- centration of interest upon the present conduct of life, leaving theism and spiritism and other- world-ism in the background. A Scotch apologist, in a St. Giles lecture on the religion of China, admits that Confucian faith has not unwisely insisted that " the chief end of man is not mainly to prepare for a future world ; " that " the present system of things, so far from being radically bad, contains in its root the germs of all perfection and the sources of infinite development." The Scotch lecturer continues : "Let it be remembered that, in proclaiming this doctrine, China has made a real contribution to the science of religious thought. It has often appeared as if she had no place in the science of religion ; her name is generally associated with the profession of atheism. That she has rarely raised her eyes to a God above the world ; that she has sel- dom striven to contemplate the essential nature of the divine life ; that she has studiously refrained from considering the possibility of any order of being beyond the range of human experience and human faculties, all this is true. But we must not forget that there is an order in the world as well as beyond it, and that the tracing of this order is itself a mode of tracing the life of God. This was precisely the point which the religions of the East did forget. God-intoxicated Brahmanism is weak in the very point in which Confucianism is strong. All along the line of Eastern faiths we are confronted by the tendency to look for divine harmony in things beyond the world. China proclaims the thought that there is a moral order in the world ; that this earth is itself a harmony ; that the one spot where divine order must be found is in the commonplace morality of daily life, the plain and practical duties of the hour." MOHAMMED AHD THE KORAH. FOR the purposes of a concise view of what is of chief interest in the Koran of Mohammed, we cannot do better than draw from a volume of lectures on Moham- med and Mohammedanism which were given at the Royal Institution in London by R. Bosworth Smith. The final summary of Mr. Smith opens the case both of the prophet of Arabia and of the faith which he taught as follows : "The religion, indeed, that he taught is below the purest form of our own as the central figure of the Mohammedan religion is below the central figure of the Christian a difference vast and incommen- surable ; but, in my opinion, he comes next to him in the long roll of the great benefactors of the human race ; next to him, longo intervallo certainly, but still next.'* In comparison with all the men that the common consent of the world has called 'Great,' Mr. Smith thinks that Mohammed, "take him all in all, what he was, and what he did, and what those inspired by him have done, stands alone, above and beyond them all Without a standing army, without a body- guard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by right Divine, it was Moham- med The contemporai'ies of Mohammed, his enemies who re jected his mission, with one voice extol his piety, his justice, his veracity his clemency, his humility, and that before any imaginary sanctity could have enveloped him " (pp. 233, 235, 236). In a sense not distant from that of the truth of Christ Mohammed brought every soul under the direct sovereignty of Deity, and made the essence of faith to consist in utter submission of heart and life to God. If he did not clothe the absolute God and Lord of all in the character of Christ's God and Father of all souls, and did not understand as Christ did the brotherhood of all souls and the law of sym- pathy and love, he at least named God ever, " The Compas- (199) 200 MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. sionate, the Merciful," and would not so much as think, that he could receive blood as an offering and slaughter as a sacrifice; and he made a mighty effort, with marvellous success, to advance justice and kindness among men, and to promote human welfare. Mr. Smith not unjustly says : "In a sympathetic study even of Mohammedanism as it is, Christians have not a little to gain. There is the protest against polytheism in all its shapes ; there is the absolute equality of man before God ; there is the sense of the dignity of human nature; there is the simplicity of life, the vivid belief in God's providence, the entire submission to his will ; and last, not least, there is the courage of their convictions, the fearless avowal of their belief in God, and then 1 pride in its possession as the one thing needful. There is in the lives of average Moham- medans, from whatever causes, less of self-indulgence, less of the mad race for wealth, less of servility, than is to be found in the lives of average Christians " (p. 231). But how did Mahommed do and think all this ? On what foundation did he build ? With what method did he work ? Whence drew he that confidence which gave his mission such reality and power? What was the solid fact under his feet, which to him seemed the veritable interference of God himself ? How was it that was wrought through him the making of the Koran, which he regarded as the stand- ing miracle of his mission, and not his own work, but in every word the work of God himself. The mere letter of the Koran was in no sense the power which created the re- ligion, nor was it the power which moved and sustained the prophet. That power lies behind the Koran, in that expe- rience of Mohammed which at once made him feel and seem a prophet, and also produced the Koran. That evident, genuine, and altogether wonderful experience first com- pelled Mohammed, in dismay and fear and against his will, to think himself a prophet ; it then carried conviction of his prophetic gift and mission to those about him ; and finally it produced, in detatched parts, and little by little, the revelations which are put together as a book in the Koran. What the Koran is we will see before we consider the MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. 201 experience of the prophet, out of which it grew, and on which the claim of a right to speak in God's name was made to rest. Mr. Smith speaks in the following of the general character of the Koran : "We have in it a book absolutely unique in its origin, in its preser- vation, and in the chaos of its contents, but on the authenticity of which no one has ever been able to cast a serious doubt. There, if in any book, we have a mirror of one of the master-spirits of the world; often inartistic, incoherent, self-contradictory, dull, but impregnated with a few grand ideas which stand out from the whole; a mind seething with the inspiration pent within it, 'intoxicated with God,' but full of human weaknesses, from which he never pretended to be free" (p. 17). Again Mr. Smith says, comparing our Bible with Moham- med's : "The Bible is the work of a large number of poets, prophets, states- men, and lawgivers, extending over a vast period of time, and incor- porates with itself other and earlier, and often conflicting documents ; the Koran comes straight from the brain, sometimes from the ravings, of an unlettered enthusiast, who yet in this proved himself to be poet and prophet, statesman and lawgiver in one" (p. 19). And in summing up Mohammed's record, Mr. Smith fur- ther says of him : "Illiterate himself, scarcely able to read or write, he was yet the author of a book which is a poem, a code of laws, a Book of Common Prayer, and a Bible in one, and is reverenced to this day by a sixth of the whole human race as a miracle of style, of wisdom, and of truth. It was the one miracle claimed by Mohammed his ' standing miracle ' he called it; and indeed a miracle it is " (p. 237). And yet it has to be said of this book that it has no method, and that its character is to a singular degree a want of character. It is in chapters called Suras, some very short indeed and some quite long and elaborate, each a separately given revelation, but not one of them, of any length, sus- taining a uniform character throughout. It is a dull and monotonous book to read, unless one has an interest to study it. But the most remarkable fact about it is that none of it was written by Mohammed. It was not as a pen- 202 MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. man that Mohammed produced one by one the Suras of the Koran, but as a speaker, whose words were listened to, taken down, and finally copied out to make a book. In part the memories of his disciples served to catch and preserve the master's spoken words, but in time all were written, gath- ered into one book, and made a Bible of Islam. Mr. Smith says, of " The way in which it was composed, preserved, edited, and stereotyped " : "Dictated from time to time by Mohammed to his disciples, it was by them partly treasured in their memories, partly written down on shoulder-bones of mutton, or oyster shells ; on bits of wood, or tablets of stone, which were not put into any shape until after the prophet's death. The work of the editor consisted simply in arranging the Suras in the order of their respective lengths, the longest first, the shortest last .... By this arrangement, even such psychological de- velopment as there was in the Koran has been obscured ; for, as a rule, what the editor put last really came first " (pp. 123, 124). Rodwell, in his translation of the Koran, following the labors of learned critics before him, arranges the Suras in their probable chronological order. In his preface Rodwell "The scattered fragments of the Koran were in the first instance collected by his immediate successor Abu Bekr, about a year after the prophet's death, at the suggestion of Omar, who foresaw that, as the Muslim warriors, whose memories were the sole depositories of large portions of the revelations, died off or were slain, the loss of the greater part, or even of the whole, was imminent. Zaid Ibn Thabit, a native of Medina, and one of the Ansars, or helpers, who had been Mohammed's amanuensis, was the person fixed upon to carry out the task, and we are told that he ' gathered together ' the fragments of the Koran from every quarter, ' from date leaves and tablets of white stone ad from the breasts of men ' " (p. vii). The earliest uttered Suras are the shortest ones. They are the burning words of the prophet's first inspiration, suggesting the shepherd of the desert, the despised vis- ionary, the poet and prophet not yet made self-conscious by success. As his mind became more engaged with his mis- sion, and more used to uttering itself, the Suras increased in length, in argumentative effort, and in the appearance of MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. 203 conscious opinion and purpose, rather than unconscious in- spiration (Smith, 88, 96, 121-125). The whole made a volume which became a Bible more strictly and rigidly than even the Christian has ever been. The Suras were put forth in the name of God, and they from time to time claimed to be God's work and to be far above anything that man could do. The prophet who in all else asserted his fallibility, was never more sincere than when he claimed an equal in- fallibility for all the Suras of the Koran alike ; and as we read the Koran we find that it lays claim to a verbal, literal, and mechanical inspiration in every part alike (Smith, pp. 18, 231). In setting up this claim, and in pretending to be a prophet of God, Mohammed rested upon the double fact that he did not of his own purpose, wish, or thought, at- tempt the prophetic office, but had it thrust upon him by extraordinary visions, wherein were spoken to him the com- mands and instructions, as he was assured and believed, of God himself ; and that the successive Suras of the Koran, were none of them consciously conceived and deliberately composed by himself, from his own thought and feeling and purpose, and with his own words and style, but were all of them, either given to his mind to be recited as revela- tions, or directly spoken through his lips, in a way beyond and above his consciousness, from a presence and power which appeared independent of his own mind, and which not only employed a style and disclosed thoughts and aims which he could not have reached, but also declared itself to be, in a special manner, and for a great historic purpose, the direct, unerring inspiration of Deity. There is no other in- stance in human history in which equal external evidence has created a prophet, or in any way moved a mind to a course which it would not otherwise have taken. Moham- med stands first among men for extraordinary experience of visions, ecstacy, the trance, and for a life honestly, faith- fully, and resolutely built upon this experience. The illiterate Meccan trader found himself speaking as none of his race had ever spoken; making Arabic itself to 204 MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. wear a perfection as mere language which it had never ap- proached ; uttering poetry which no other could equal, and he himself could not consciously produce ; and declaring ideas of religion, of ethics, of reform, which he knew he had not consciously discovered, and would not have de- liberately adopted, and to which the testimony of all his visions and revelations affixed the seal of God's own com- mand, as if for every utterance God himself had said, * Speak thou and say? Mohammed had absolutely no knowledge of the real nature of his experience. He could only understand it as the Hebrews did, and as all savage and barbarous, and much civilized, and even Christian, culture has done, as a supernatural work. With his sincere and fervent piety, the Arabian seer of visions and trance- speaker, must inevitably find the hand of God in it, and believe himself the organ of a literal word of God. The conviction came with far more warrant of this kind than Hebrew prophet or Christian apostle ever knew. Moham- med's experience of ecstasy and the trance, of visions and words imprinted thereby on the mind, was of an energy, a tremendous intensity, and a terrible distinctness, both of the physical phenomena and of the mental exercises, for which no parallel can be found. There was a mingling of physical disorder and mental action ; of hysteria, catalepsy, or epilepsy, with imagination and thought ; and of over- throw of consciousness with high excitement of uncon- scious thought and utterance, which would even now com- mand the attention, the reverence and awe almost, of a large portion of average mankind anywhere, and which to Mohammed and the witnesses of his experience could not but seem the undoubted visitation of God. And to this belief would be added strong confirmation by the fact that the powers and the moral qualities of Moham- med, being exceptionally high, came out in words, princi- ples, and deeds, in life, ethics, and religion, of a truth worthy of admiration and reverence and faith. Beyond all doubt or question, as both the signs and the substance of his mission appeared to Arab, or to candi$ Hebrew eyes of MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. 205 that day, Mohammed wore the character of an inspired and infallible prophet of the word of God. It is only when we understand the fallacy of every appeal of this sort, that we can set aside the book and the authority of Mohammed. From the lowest savage culture, up to Hebrew, and Arabian, not to speak of any other, there is the same appeal origin- ally to visions, dreams, ecstasy, and the trance. But of all prophets the world ever saw, Mohammed stands first in this appeal to supposed signs of God speaking by mortal lips. It was simply that his physical constitution, and his mental nature, in their peculiar union of force with disturbance, of power with disorder, of energy and character with disease and infirmity, made him the most remarkable enthusiast, visionary, trance- speaker, and honest fanatic, the race has ever produced. Of the personal appearance of this greatest of Semitic prophets, Mr. Smith says : ' ' Mohammed was of middle height and of a strongly huilt frame ; his head was large, and across his ample forehead, and above finely arching eyebrows, ran a strongly marked vein, which, when he was angry, would turn black and throb visibly. His eyes were coal black, and piercing in their brightness; his hair curled slightly ; and a long beard, which, like other Orientals, he would stroke when in deep thought, added to the general impressiveness of his appearance. His step was quick and firm, 'like that of one descending a hill.' Between his shoulders was the famous mark, the size of a pigeon's egg, which his disciples persisted in believing to be the sign of his prophetic office ; while the light which kindled in his eye, like that which flashed from the precious stones hi the breast-plate of the High Priest, they called the light of prophecy. In his intercourse with others, he would sit silent among his companions for a long time together, but truly his silence was more eloquent than other men's speech, for the moment speech was called for, it was forthcoming in the shape of some weighty apothegm or proverb, such as the Arabs love to hear. When he laughed, he laughed heartily, shaking his sides, and showing his teeth, which 'looked as if they were hailstones.' .... He was fond of ablutions, and fonder still of perfumes; and he prided himself on the neatness of his hair, and the pearley whiteness of his teeth " (pp. 83-85). The father of Mohammed was regarded in his youth as the handsomest young man of his time, and both he and his 206 MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. wife belonged to a tribe which was then the most influential in all Arabia. Mohammed was an only child, and from his mother he inherited a tendency to epilepsy, and some also of his most marked mental peculiarities. She was of a nervous temperament, and it is related of her that she used to fancy, while between sleeping and waking, that she was visited by spirits. At the age of twelve Mohammed visited Syria in the company of his uncle, a merchant trader, who sent him back in charge of one Sergius, an Arabian monk, why may have put some Christian ideas into the boy's mind; and no doubt the later journeys to Syria of the future prophet added to his knowledge of Christian and Jewish ideas. At twenty-five years of age Mohammed took charge of a Syrian trading expedition for Khadijah, a rich widow of Mecca, who rewarded his success in her service by offer- ing him her hand. She was fifteen years his senior, but for twenty-five years the marriage was the greatest good fortune to him, not only raising him to social rank equal with the best in Mecca, but securing to him for the first ten years of his mission a disciple and helper without whose faith, and courage, and consoling fidelity, the Syrian trader might never have become the Arabian prophet. Life was Moham- med's only education ; it seems to be the true opinion that the art of writing, which was but just introduced into Arabia, he never learned; Khadijah's business, social position, and home, were Mohammed's school for fifteen years before he began to be a prophet, and then for ten years she was to him more than all the world beside, refuge, and help, and comfort, amid the perplexities and terrors of the prophet's struggle for recognition. "God thus ordained it," said Ibn Ishak, an Arabian biographer of the prophet, "that his duties might be made easy to him ; for, as often as he had to hear reproachful language, or was accused of falsehood, or was cast down, she cheered him up and inspired him with courage, saying, ' Thou speakest the truth.' " Had Khadijah lived fifteen years longer Mohammed might have died with- out a blot upon his aame, and Mohammedanism gone forth to the conquest of a large part of mankind many degrees MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. 207 purer than Mohammed without her left it. It is a signal illustration of the fact, which no system of faith has yet recognized, that the agency nearest to the direct action of deity in the elevation of mankind is the influence of woman, and that with her in the home dwells more of the kingdom of God than church or creed ever possessed, or ever will possess. The beginning of inspiration with Mohammed is related by Mr. Smith as follows : " Up to the age of forty, there is nothing to show that any serious scruple had occurred to him individually as to the worship of idols, and in particular of the Black Stone, of which his family were the hereditary guardians. The sacred month of Ramadhan, like other re- ligious Arabs, he observed with punctilious devotion ; and he would often retire to the caverns of Mount Hira for purposes of solitude, meditation, and prayer. He was melancholic in temperament, to begin with ; he was also subject to epileptic fits, upon which Sprenger has laid great stress, and described most minutely, and which, whether under the name of the ' sacred disease ' among the Greeks, or ' posses- sion by the devil ' among the Jews, has in most ages and countries been looked upon as something mysterious or supernatural. It is possible that his interviews with Nestorian monks, with Zeid, or with his wife's cousin, Waraka, may have turned his thoughts into the precise direc- tion they took. Dejection alternated with excitement; these gave place to ecstasy or dreams ; and in a dream, or trance, or fit, he saw an angel in human form" (pp. 75, 76). His earliest vision of Gabriel, with the command to recite divine revelation, and be the spokesman of God to His peo- ple, sent him trembling with terror to his wife Khadijah. He was in an agony of mind at the seemingly divine call. <% He had always hated and despised soothsayers," says Mr. Smith, " and now, in the irony of destiny, it would appear that he was to become a soothsayer himself " (p. 78). It was then that Khadijah consoled and encouraged him, hailing as joyful tidings his call to be the prophet of his nation, and promising him her faith and fidelity. Zeid also, the faithful servant, and Waraka, his wife's cousin, became his disciples. But still the agitated visionary was but the victim as yet of his experience. So depressed was he that the thought of suicide forced itself upon him. For a period 208 MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. his revelations ceased, his mind hung in suspense, he doubt- ed the reality of his call, though he dared not yield to his doubt. But the experience which he deemed supernatural came back to him ; fixed in him a firm purpose to declare his revelations to the world ; and henceforth never failed him. In obedience to a new vision he boldly announced his mission to his tribe, who would lose everything by it, as keepers of the place of the chief idols of Arabia. And thence onward for ten years of bitter struggle, peril, and almost destruction, he proved by his unwavering faith the reality of his conviction, and the sincerity and firmness of his purpose. The reality of his experiences gave him this faith. Mr. Smith says of the phenomena attending his times of inspiration : " Strange and graphic accounts have been preserved to us by Ayesha of the physical phenomena attending the prophet's fits of inspiration. He heard as it were the ringing of a bell ; he fell down as one dead ; he sobbed like a camel ; he felt as though he were being rent in pieces, and when he came to himself he felt as though words had been written on his heart. And when Abu Baker, ' he who would have sacrifled father and mother for Mohammed,' burst into tears at the sight of the prophet's whitening hair, 'Yes,' said Mohammed, ' Hud and its sisters, the Terrific Suras, have turned it white before its time ' " (p. 128). A further fact mentioned by Mr. Smith gives a vivid, and no doubt a correct idea of the intense physical excitement which formed a part of Mohammed's prophetic experience : " Among the phenomena attending Mohammed's fits, it is recorded that if one came on him while riding, his camel itself became first wildly excited, and then fixed and rigid " (p. 180). We may conceive of Mohammed as not unlike the trance- speakers of modern spiritism, only we must discriminate the particulars in which he differed from these. The in- tensity and vigor of his nature gave to his abnormal experi- ences peculiar elevation and energy, while the force of his character and the natural powers of his mind, his ethical genius and his poetic gift, gave him a rank quite by him- self. At the same time it is a fact beyond all question that the Koran is as distinctly marked by the signs of the pro- MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. 209 cess which produced it, as are the columns of ' Messages ' published in a Spiritist newspaper. The peculiar style and characteristic defects of trance-utterances are the same in all ages and in all stages of culture, and though Mo- hammed was too great to be suppressed by his ecstasies, yet the stream of his speech flows after the very manner which Spiritism has made so familiar in our own day. The incoherence, the frequent repetitions, the poverty of imagi- nation, the endless monotony of expression, and the evi- dent recasting of all facts and fancies and ideas in one mould, so that patriarchs and apostles and Messiah, Ju- daism and Christianity, and many another system or per- sonage, all talk alike, and all tamely and stiffly, like ghosts shuffling over an unaccustomed stage, these charac- teristics of the Koranic text, apart from the passages which are exceptional outbursts, remind us vividly of the feeble drivel which Spiritism would have us believe that the masters of varied speech here are alike reduced to in the atmosphere of ' the summer land.' The Koranic drivel is largely redeemed by the fact that the commonplaces of Mohammed's mind were the great facts of religion, or the pressing interests of his prophetic struggle, but the poorness of the method remains the same. It was only as a man of no culture, of little instruction, and of gifts rude and silent, though strong, that Moham- med's experience was education and emancipation to his mind, as well as divine authority to his faith. If he could have been quickened and brought out by conscious disci- pline and experience, both as to his powers, and as to the depths of his thought and spiritual tendencies, he could have made a book better than the Koran, but all that con- scious elevation was impossible, and the Koran it would have made would have borne no divine aspect. The inferior method of inspiration turned a boor into a prophet ; and a visionary into the founder of a religion ; and a book of poor, though remarkable, compositions into a divine Bible ; and a man of like passions with ourselves, though of many admira- ble qualities and elevated ideas, into a vicegerent of Deity. 210 MOHAMMED AND THE KORAN. In connection with one of the most doubtful acts of his life we get a glimpse of the better side of Mohammed from some things which he was then moved to say. Exhorting his wives not to " desire this present life and its braveries,' but rather " God and His apostle and a home in the next life ; " offering to give an honorable divorce to any who pre- fer rich dresses, etc., to humble life with him ; and advising them to be of discreet speech, to abide in their houses and not go in public decked as in the days of ignorance, and to observe prayer and obey God and the Apostle, since God only desireth with cleansing to cleanse them, he concludes as follows : " And recollect what is rehearsed to you in your houses of the Book of God, and of wisdom : for God is keen-sighted and cognizant of all. Truly the men who resign themselves to God, and the women who re- sign themselves, and the believing men and the believing women, and the devout men and the devout women, and the men of truth and the women of truth, and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the men who give alms and the women who give alms, and the men who fast and the women who fast, and the chaste men and the chaste women, and the men and the women who oft remember God ; for them hath God prepared for- giveness and a rich recompense." This mingling of good and bad is not the work of a deceiver, but the delusive result of a method which facilitates self-deception, a ad invites fraud to entirely conceal itself under piety. Of the piety towards God of Mohammed no candid stu- dent can have any doubt. The undertone of all was God the Compassionate, the Merciful, and Man the Self-Surren- dered. The Koran exhausts expression to encourage peni- tence, faith, and virtue, by declaring that God is forgiving, merciful, and that in submission to him is eternal life. Waging a desperate struggle with moral and spiritual dark- ness, in a light which was less than that of dawn, a twilight of imperfect revelation, Mohammed conceived far better of God, and of man as God's creature and subject, than much Christian dogma has done. OFFERING TO MINERVA. H. DE GAUDEMARIS. A representation of Roman worship of the gtxidesa who presided over all handicrafts, arts, and sciences, Christian Scriptures. THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES of the New Testa- ment came into existence gradually. The Oxford University " Helps to the Study of the Bible," of which the editor is Rev. Dr Maclear, makes this concise state- ment: "The New Testament was gradually added to the Old. But it was some time after Christ before any of the books contained in it were actually written. The first and most important work of the apostles was to deliver a personal testimony to the chief facts of the gospel his- tory. Their teaching was at first oral, and it was no part of their in- tention to create a permanent literature. A cycle of selected repre- sentative facts sufficed to form the groundwork of the oral Gospel (I Cor. xv. 1-10). But in the course of time, many endeavored to com- mit to writing this oral gospel. Thus the gospels came into existence, two by the apostles themselves, and two by friends and close companions of apostles. But already had arisen another kind of composition. Founders of churches desired to communicate with their converts for purposes of counsel,- reproof, or instruction. Thus arose the epistles." Dr. Maclear's volume gives the following chronological indications : Birth of Christ, B.C. 4. Death of Christ, A.D. 29 or 30. Paul's Conversion, A.D. 37. His first ten years of missionary labor, A.D. 42-52. The period of his Epistles, A.D. 52-66. Epistle of James, A.D. 52 (or before 62). Gospel of Matthew, A.D. 50 (or before 60). Gospel of Luke, A.D. 58 (or 60). Gospel of Mark, A.D. 63 (or before 70). Gospel of John, about A.D. 95. (211) . . 212 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. Acts and 1 Peter, A.D. 63. Eevelation of John, A.D. 68. The order and dates of Paul's epistles are given as : 1st and 2d Thessalonians, A.D. 52. 1st and 2d Corinthians, A.D. 57. Galatians and Romans, A.D. 58. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians, A.D. 63. Hebrews (?), A.D. 63. 1 Timothy and Titus, A.D. 64. 2 Timothy, A.D. 66. To some extent these dates have been revised by re- cent orthodox scholarship. The Matthew which was written at an early date was a record of sayings of Christ, in Ara- maic, and our present Matthew in Greek, is later; and probably one of its three great sections embodies the earlier record of sayings of Christ. Mark is commonly held to be the original among our three synoptic gospels. The general fact in regard to dates, as orthodox authorities understand it, is given by Rev. Dr. A. B. Bruce in these words : " It is impossible to give the exact dates of the gospels. The synoptic gospels were, in all probability, not later than between 60 and 70 A.D. The probable date of the fourth gospel is between 80 and 90 A.D." The "between 60 and 70 A.D." really means no more than " before the fall of Jerusalem," in A.D. 70. Two things thus appear at once, that the writers of gos- pels waited until from thirty or thirty-five to fifty years after the death of Christ before producing our gospels ; and that Paul occupied with his work and his writings more than twenty years preceding the production of our gospels. Of the latest of the synoptics, Luke, Dr. Bruce says that students of scripture, in consequence of modern discus- sions, " have seen, as they never saw before, the Pauline stamp on every page of that gospel." If oral gospel alone was depended on for from a third of a century to half a century after Christ, and if what was then written showed, in one gospel at least, the plain impress of Paul's views, how does that affect the history ? It is a serious question. CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. 213 In Boole by Book* a volume of recent " Studies of the Canon of Scripture," Rev. Wm. Sanday, an eminent Eng- lish authority, says that " the first three gospels present a problem which is believed to be unique in the history of literature," inasmuch as they seem to have " each a separate and independent history," and are " marked by a number of substantial differences," and yet " present numerous points of contact and coincidence," while "the fourth gospel stands comparatively alone." Dr. Sanday notes that the first three gospels " are almost entirely taken up with the ministry in Galilee," while the fourth has much to say of visits of Christ to Jerusalem. As to the first three he favors the view that " a common document or documents lie at the base of all three gospels," '* documents which are hypothetical found in no extant manuscripts and the text of which cannot be appealed to." It is supposed, in this view, that there was " an original Matthew older than our present Matthew and an original Mark older than our present Mark," while " the third gospel came as we have it from Luke." The order of the succes- sive sections, says Dr. Sanday, is the order of Mark, and Mark too " contains the largest proportion of the common language." And this seems to prove that "Mark has pre- served more nearly than Matthew or Luke the original form of that common authority (whatever it was) which lies at the base of the whole evangelical tradition." But no one can tell how nearly our Mark represents "the original document." Dr. Sanday thinks that the mass of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, " even if not actually committed to writing, had at least assumed its present form before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D." " In that year," he says, " a fugitive little com- munity at Pella was nearly all that. remained of the Hebrew or Aramaic-speaking Christians," while far and wide Gen- tile Christianity was being built up. " The three gospels," * The authorities quoted throughout this chapter are those of the Book by Book volume of ''Studies." 214 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. says Dr. Sanday, " are so Jewish to the core that they could not have arisen except amid Jewish circumstances, such as ceased with the fall of Jerusalem." Yet "touches in them appear to date not before but after the taking of Jerusalem." The " true date of Luke must be placed at a substantial interval after the fall of Jerusalem say about the year 80." Dr. Sanday dates "the main body of the first gospel at a measureable distance before the event of A.D. 70; and the main body of the second gospel within nearer sight of that event." "Many signs," says Dr. Sanday, "point to the conclusion that the period of greatest activity in the composition of gospels included the years just before and just after the fall of Jerusalem." They were thus written in "an anxious and troubled period," and "under circum- stances of constraint and secresy, very probably on rough material." "The first copies would be passed about privately from hand to hand, often suffering in the process, and becoming more degenerate as bad copies were propagated." Those who had copies, says Dr. Sanday, would not hesitate to put hi "additions from the oral tradition," or " alterations seemingly trivial." " The autographs of the gospels soon perished, and these interpolated copies alone became the parents of that long succession which has come down to us." " For some fifty years," says Dr. Sanday, "after the fall of Jerusalem, in A.D. 70, there was a concurrent stream of oral tradition side by side with the written gos- pels ; and the church writers (such as there were, for but few of their remains have come down to us), drew from this stream as well as from the gospels. And even when they used the gospels, their use of them seems to have been affected by the fact that they were still in what we may call an oral period. They are apt to trust to memory, and to re- produce freely, often combining what was found in one gospel with what was found in another, and not seldom, like the New-Testament writers themselves, mixing together passages more or less widely separated in the original." In regard to Matthew Dr. Sanday refers to the tradition that Matthew wrote in Aramaic, or the Hebrew of that time, "the Oracles" or sayings of Christ, "and every one interpreted them [into Greek] as he was able." But our first gospel comes to us in Greek, and the indications are that it was composed in Greek, and is not a translation from the Aramaic of Matthew. Clearly marked phenomena," says Dr. Sanday, " strongly suggest the conclusion that our CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. 215 present Matthew is a composite work, in three main parts, one the matter peculiar to it, a second the whole framework of narrative, and the third certain great blocks of discourse inserted at intervals " ; and " it is hard to believe that the first and second of these parts came originally from the same hand." "The hand which gave to our Matthew its present shape" seems to have welded them together. " When the narrative of Matthew is closely examined by the side of Mark, the greater originality of Mark," says Dr. Sanday, " is almost everywhere visible." If not our Mark, " a document very like our Mark supplied the base for both the other gospels." It is hardly probable, Dr. Sanday reasons, that the Apostle Matthew would thus use another's work instead of his own recollections. It is " much more probable that a later writer combined the three elements into one, himself supplying the first, and drawing upon other sources for the other two." Examination of the dis- courses in Matthew, compared with what is said of an early composition of the oracles or sayings of Christ in Hebrew, seems to bring proof that " the gospel, as we have it, was not composed by Matthew ; but that he did compose the collection of oracles embodied in our gospel, and this, its most distinctive part gave the gospel its name." The " doc- trinal character and purpose of the Gospel," says Dr. San- day, was " to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was really the Messiah of Jewish prophecy." It is "essentially Jewish," and "there is something equally Jewish in the way in which the evangelist clings to the old use of terms," and in "the stress which is laid upon the fulfilment of the Law." Thus " the three sources of the gospel seem to be, (1) the Mark-gospel, (2) the 'Oracles' originally composed in Hebrew (Aramaic) by Matthew, and (3) Oral Tradition, specially collected by the evangelist." And " the structure of the gospel is determined by its leading idea, the presen- tation of Jesus of Nazareth as the Jewish Messiah." Mark Dr. Sanday calls "the Petrine gospel." He says that " Justin Martyr, in the middle of the second century, refers to it in so many words as 'the Memoirs of Peter';" 216 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, and that "all agree tliat the preaching of Peter supplied the materials for the gospel." This account was given by Papias, one of the early Christian writers, who had it from an Elder that "Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down what he remembered, accurately though not in order, of the things said and done by Christ." The account says that Mark had " neither heard the Lord nor had he been in His company," and that Peter, in what Mark heard, "adapted his teaching to the occasion, and not as though he were putting together a record of the sayings " of Christ. Dr. Sanday remarks that Mark "says nothing about a Judean ministry " of Christ, and that " extensive and important matter is omitted." The last twelve verses were not a part of the original gospel. Dr. Sanday thinks that, " if not taken from a written document, they were adopted from the still living tradition," and " are not devoid of sub- stantial attestation." The object of Mark, says Dr. Sanday, " appears to be to give an adequate idea of the wondrous and wonder-working life of Christ," according to Peter's conception in the Acts (x. 37-41): how Jesus by the power of the Holy Ghost healed all that were oppressed by the devil, and how His resurrection was made manifest to a certain few chosen witnesses. Luke Dr. Sanday describes as one degree removed from the events ; he had not been present at them, but belonged to the second generation of Christians, and had obtained his account from those who had been present or had been indirectly connected with the events. He " claims to pos- sess a full and accurate knowledge of the whole history, and to reproduce it in regular order from first to last." The gospel " was written, in the first instance, for a private per- son named Theophilus," who may have been a person of distinction at Antioch. The great probability, not to say certainty, in Dr. Sanday's opinion, is that the Luke of whom we hear as a physician, and for some time a companion of Paul, wrote the gospel, about the year 80 A.D., and also wrote the book of Acts. " The gospel is thus especially Pauline. The predominant tone is such as we should ex- CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. 217 pect in the companion and disciple of Paul." Certain addi- tions seem to have been made to what Luke wrote, at two distinct times, first the words of xxii. 43, 44, and xxiii. 34, and second the words of xxii. 19, 20, on the Eucharist, bor- rowed from 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25, and the description of the Ascension, xxiv. 51. Dr. Sanday says that "additions like these are just such as would be made by the private posses- sor of a written narrative." The Fourth Gospel, says Rev. Dr. Salmon, comes from a writer who " four times expressly claims to have been an eye-witness " of the life of Christ, who seems beyond doubt to have been John the Apostle, writing " to supplement some omissions " in the first three gospels. The earlier gospels, based in large part on " the account which Peter gave of what he remembered," gives an account of but one year of the min- istry of Christ, the scene of which, until the last week, is laid in Galilee, whereas John " relates the events of more pass- overs than one, and tells of more visits than one to Jerusalem." It " is quite exceptional," says Dr. Salmon, " if we find in the Fourth Gospel anything that had been recorded in the others." It is " supplemental to the other three," and ' all critics agree in ascribing to it a date considerably later than that of any of the other three"; much later than 80 A.D., but exactly when Dr. Salmon does not attempt to say. The Acts, says Rev. Dr. Farrar, does not deal with " the Apostles." but almost solely with Peter and Paul, and of them its account is very incomplete. The part devoted to Paul is "both fragmentary and discontinuous." Luke, the author, a companion of Paul, " does not so much as allude to the fact that Paul ever wrote a single epistle." The book covers a period of about thirty years, A.D. 33 to A.D. 63. It falls into two great sections, chapters 1 to 12, mainly oc- cupied with the work of Peter, and 13 to 28 devoted almost exclusively to the missions, sufferings, and controversies of Paul. Where the book was written, Dr. Farrar says, " can- not be stated with any certainty," but he thinks that it may have been at Rome, and that it " may have been given to to the world about A.D, 63." 218 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. The epistles of Paul, treated in Book ~by BooTc by Rev. Dr. Marcus Dods, are taken in this order; Romans, 1st and 2d Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philipians, Colos- sians, 1st and 2d Thessalonians, and Philemon. The 1st and 2d epistles to Timothy, the epistle to Titus, and the epistle to the Hebrews, treated by other writers, are also ascribed to Paul. Dr. Dods gives the date of Romans as the spring of the year 59 A.D.; that of 1st Corinthians as the spring of either 57 or 58 A.D. ; that of 2d Corinthians as a few months later than the 1st ; that of Galatians as uncertain, but either just before or just after 1st Corinthians ; the two epistles, Ephesians and Colossians, during his imprisonment at Rome in 63 A.D. ; that of Philippians near the close of the same imprisonment, 64 A.D.; that of 1st and 2d Thessalonians, the 1st in the early part of 53 A.D., and the 2d a few months later in the same year. The epistles to Timothy and Titus are supposed to have been written in about A.D. 66 and 67, if Paul's life lasted so long ; Philemon's date is not given. The epistle to the Hebrews is left uncertain as to both authorship and date, except that " its date cannot have been early, must have been after Paul's death, and before 70 A.D." Taking now Paul's epistles in the order of their supposed date, the two Thessalonian epistles are four or five years the earliest, the earliest extant writings of Paul. Paul had spoken to the Jews of Thessalonica in their synagogue on three Sabbaths (Saturdays), and found some sympathizers, especially among Greeks and women, but had been driven away by the violence of the more orthodox Jews. He wrote after hearing from the results of his preaching, which he refers to as having brought heathen " to turn unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, Jesus, whom He raised from the dead." Dr. Dods says that "the constantly recurring theme of the epistle is the Coming of the Lord." Paul, he says, " set before the Gentiles Jesus as the Lord appointed by God to judge the world in righteousness." Persecutions made His converts "more ready to listen to highly colored pictures of CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. 219 the kingdom and coming of Christ," and " such was the ex- cited expectancy which the idea of the speedy return of Christ produced that some of them gave up their secular employment and became dependent idlers," while "others again were disturbed in their minds because they feared that their friends who died before the coming of Christ might miss that event." To this fear Paul's reply was : " For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." The second epistle was written a few months later " to remove some understandings of what Paul had said in the first regarding the Coming of the Lord." Getting the im- pression that " the day of Christ was at hand," Paul's disci- ples " had on the one hand been perplexed to find that the months went by without any fulfilment of this expectation, and on the other hand they were led into idle and disorderly conduct." Paul assures them that continuance of persecu- tion is, as Dr. Dods puts it, " only a more certain proof that a manifestation for the judgment of their enemies and for their deliverance will take place. " He tells them, as Dr. Dods expresses it, that "lawlessness must come to a head in a person before the personal coming of Christ to destroy it." And he gives " stringent instructions as to members walking disorderly, being carried away by the expectation of the Second Coming." Paul, says Dr. Dods, " believed that the Jewish anatocism was to culminate in an Anti- Christ, a false Messiah, necessarily a Jew, who should head the anti-Christian movement, and only be defeated by the appearance of Christ Himself. The expressions and phraseology in which these expectations were em- 220 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. bodied find their roots in the eschatological discourses of the gospels and in the book of Daniel." Dr. Dods says that the Coming or Presence (Parousia), " which is spoken of as imminent in the first epistle, is in the second more guardedly, though more definitely, explained." The lan- guage of Paul is this : "If so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense afflic- tion to them that afflict you, and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed, because our testimony unto you was believed, in that day. "Now we beseech you, brethren, in behalf of the presence (or touching the coming) of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering to- gether unto him ; to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is present ; let no man beguile you in any wise: for the falling away must come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped ; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. Re- member ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work, only until he that now restraineth be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the Lawless One, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of bis pres- ence, whose presence [the lawless] is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that are perishing; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie ; that they all might be judged [damned our old version says] who believed not the truth but had pleasure in un- righteousness." At Corinth Paul had spent eighteen months, leaving in the spring of A.D. 54, for Jerusalem, whence he went to Antioch for some time, and on through Asia Minor to Ephe- sus, which he reached either late in A.D. 54 or early in A.D. 65. Apollus had been at Ephesus, and had gone thence to CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. 221 Corinth. Paul remained at Ephesus some three years. Corinth was a centre of Greek and Roman city life of the worst sort, and in a letter not extant Paul had advised his converts against intercourse with its corrupt elements. Their reply raised questions which led him to write our first epistle, in perhaps the spring of A.D. 58, before he left Ephe- sus on a journey which brought him, by way of Macedonia, to Corinth for the next winter. The second epistle he wrote from Macedonia, on hearing news from Corinth, and sent in advance of his own coming. Besides the practical matter of personal separation for Christian life from those of bad character and evil life, Paul wrote against party spirit, gave his views of the origin and administration of the Lord's Supper, explained the various gifts and offices which he considered elements of Christian order, and pre- sented his argument in support of resurrection from death. In the second epistle " he proceeds," says Dr. Dods, " to ex- pose those who had come among them professing to have their gospel from Christ himself, and striving to undermine his authority. He speaks in language of extreme severity, calling the persons who plumed themselves on having heard Christ himself the ' overmuch Apostles ', and even de- nounces them as ' false Apostles.' In a singularly powerful and eloquent passage, he disposes of their pretensions, and explains on what his own authority rests." After Paul had written his second Corinthian epistle he went on from Macedonia to Corinth for the winter, and in the early spring made his way to Jerusalem. At Jerusalem he suffered arrest, and imprisonment for two years in Csesarea, and was thence sent a prisoner to Rome, perhaps in A.D. 61. The Galatians to whom Paul's epistle of that name was addressed were of Celtic blood and characteristics, a people of Asia Minor to the northeast of Phrygia. In the first in- stance Paul had preached to them in consequence of deten- tion caused by a seizure of his illness. Dr. Dods says that " the Galatians were unconscious of, or seemed to overlook anything insignificant or repulsive in Paul's appearance, and showed him the utmost attention." Paul himself wrote : 222 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. " Ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you the former time ; and that which was a temptation to you in my flesh ye despised not, nor spat out; but ye received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. I bear you witness, that, if possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me." But two years later, as Paul passed that way, from Jeru- salem to Ephesus, he found Judaizing teaching at work, and heard more of its influence after his departure. On reaching Ephesus therefore, or some time later, he wrote the epistle to, in the first place, argue his own authority as an Apostle, and, in the second place, to show that Jewish re- quirements were not binding upon Christians. His apostle- ship, he declared, was " not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father." Dr. Dods says : " He proves from his movements after his conversion to Christianity that it was impossible he should have received his knowledge of the gospel from men. In point of fact he had gone first into Arabia, and when at length he did go to Jerusalem he saw only Peter. It was only after many years of preaching that at length he went to confer with the original apostles at Jerusalem, and even then, so far from receiving any additional light from them, they approved of his teaching, gave him the right hand of fellowship, and encouraged him in his work." Upon this ground of acknowledged authority Paul urges the freedom of Gentile Christians from Jewish require- ments, and insists that liberty is not license, but is the special Christian privilege and duty. At Rome Paul had never been heard. His plan had been, when he went from Corinth to Jerusalem, to go from Jeru- salem to Rome, but arrest and detention followed, and it was only as a prisoner that he finally went from Caesarea to Rome, about A.D. 61. It was in the spring of A.D. 59, before leaving Corinth for Jerusalem, that he wrote the epistle, as an introduction of himself and his teaching. Dr. Dods further says : "In substance the epistle is a justification of the Apostle's mission to the Gentiles. In it he explains his fundamental thoughts, why he con- siders the gospel needful, what it is, and in what consists its sufficiency for Jew and Gentile alike. His epistle is an exposition of the applica- bility of the gospel to the Gentiles." CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. 223 The epistle called Ephesians does not seem to be specially addressed to that, or to any individual church. It rather appears to have been a general or circular letter, meant " to be read first by the Ephesians, then by the Laodiceans, and then by the Colossians." Its great theme is unity, spiritual unity in God and church unity. At the time of writing it (and Colossians) Paul was a prisoner at Rome. The Colossians epistle was of the same character, and writ- ten at the same time. Much that is in one occurs also in the other. In both Paul refers to his being put in trust of a ministry to make known the mystery which had been long hid ; and both Christ's work and position and the Christian life are similarly treated in the two epistles. The epistle to the Philippians, says Dr. Dods, " bears on its face that it was written from Rome towards the close of Paul's imprisonment." He further remarks that "although the object of the epistle was not doctrinal, Paul never more clearly announced his gospel than in the third chapter." The immediate object of the epistle was an expression of the personal feelings of Paul, in view especially of a gift sent by the Philippians, and the return to them of their messenger. The epistles to Timothy, and that to Titus, cannot, says the bishop of Ripon, have been written by Paul unless he was released from his Roman imprisonment, and was thus able to act as the epistles imply, journeying, etc. The bishop of Ripon argues that the author of Acts would, at the close of his book, have said so if death by martyrdom had closed Paul's life, and that his saying nothing means that Paul was well known to have had his release and re- sumed his work. Although "the biographical difficulties are great, they cannot be called decisive against the Pauline authorship of these letters." The epistle to the Hebrews, which Dr. Maclear writes of as " the epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews," he yet says " cannot have been early," and "must have been written after Paul's death and before the fall of Jerusalem, A.D. 70." We may " gather from the epistle itself that it was written to 224 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. Jews, and that some particular church is intended, but which it seems impossible to say." Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin agreed that it was not written by Paul, and Luther made " the attractive suggestion" that its author was Apollos, an Alexandrian Jew, learned and eloquent, who is known as a preacher in connection with Paul, and a friend to him, although some thought his teaching preferable to Paul's. Dr. Dods states the reasons against Pauline authorship as follows : " The writer classes himself with those who received the gospel at second hand from those who had heard Christ. " The writer of Hebrews has a stately style, showing 1 cultivation, sentences rhythmical and balanced, and words carefully chosen, while the style of Paul shows no trace of art. ' ' The quotations are introduced in a different way from Paul's : they are taken from the Greek translation, commonly with exactness, and show little or no acquaineance with Hebrew ; while Paul often relies on his memory [in the usual inexact fashion of the times], sometimes quotes from the Greek translation, and sometimes translates from the Hebrew. ' ' The epistle shows a familiarity with the Alexandrian tone of thought, and probably with the writings of Philo Judaeus [the great Jew of Alex- andria, who adopted Greek teaching from Plato, but seems not to have known anything of that of Christ]. "The doctrinal agreement with Paul's teaching is commonly admit- ted, but it differs from his mode of presentation : the conception of faith is distinct from that of faith which justifies: nothing is said about the admission of the Gentiles to the privileges of Israel: Paul dwells upon the Law as having become obsolete ; the epistle dwells on ceremonial as the counterpart of Christ's priestly work : and the prominence which Paul gives to the resurrection of Christ is not found in the epistle." The " sum of the arguments " of the epistle the writer at the very beginning compresses into these three verses : " God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages ; who being the effulgence of his glory and the impress of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." THE INVOCATION. LE Roux. Roman mother offering prayer and burning incense before the grated window of the Larwrium, or Household Shrine, within which was placed the Lar Familiaris, an image personifying the Family, and before which family worship was offered daily, and on festival days. " ORPHEUS ATSTD EURYDICE. LEIGHTON. The playing of Orpheus on the lyre was so divine that when he went down into the underworld to seek his dead wife, Eurydice, the stern keeper of the dead granted that she should follow him back to life provided that he gave her no look as be went forward. CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. 225 The epistle of James is assigned by Rev. Dr. Maclear to the James who is mentioned in Matthew as one of four brothers of Jesus, " James, Joses, Simon, and Judas," and who appears as the presiding Elder of the Christians in Jerusalem during the apostolic period, until his death by stoning in A.D. 62, when a high priest of extreme Jewish antagonism to even Jewish Christians took advantage of the suspension of Roman authority by the death of Festus. The epistle was written from Jerusalem, addressed to Christians of Jewish birth, and making no allusion to any other. This is "probably a proof of the very early date of the epistle." Its apparent refer- ence to Paul's writings (implying a later date) probably means reference to such matters as " justification," " faith," and the u example of Abraham," as they had been " dis- cussed before Paul's time, in the Jewish school." What seems to be very explicit pointing at things said by Paul, was in fact aimed at the Rabbinic teaching of these things before Paul. Luther described the epistle as " an epistle of straw," because it seemed to contradict the Pauline doctrine of justification by faith and to give righteousness to doing of works. " The tone of the whole epistle is practical. There is little of dis- tinctively Christian doctrine. The Gospel is not named. We are re- minded throughout of the teaching of Christ as recorded in the first three gospels , rather than of that side of it which is recorded in John, or the truths, revealed after Pentecost [notahly Paul's teaching]. Among the quotations from the Old Testament, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,' is distinguished by the title of the Royal Law, in consequence, no doubt, of the prominence given to it by Christ. The book of Proverbs is twice quoted ; and it is thought that James used the kindred teaching of the [apocryphal] book of Ecclesiasticus. In re- gard to the New Testament, tbe echoes of Christ's teaching, and par- ticularly of the Sermon on the Mount, are numerous. The language, contrary to what might have been expected, is a very pure specimen of Hellenistic Greek. The epistle culminates in the thoughts belonging to the second advent ; the abrupt way in which the epistle ends showing the pressure of the expectation under which the appeal is made to save a brother while there is time." It appears from the gospels that the brethren of Jesus 226 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. were not his disciples during his life. James remained a Jew in observances after he became the head of the Chris- tians at Jerusalem. The flight to Pella [on the east side of the Jordan, nearly opposite Galilee] in anticipation of the destruction of Jerusalem, and Jewish persecution, finally left but a remnant, whose tradition lasted for some time as Ebionitism. The precise date, says Dr. Maclear, of the first epistle of Peter cannot be fixed. It may have been A.D. 67 or 68. Peter .wrote from Babylon, but whether as a visitor so far to the East or as a resident, does not appear. " The whole form of the epistle has a great likeness to the epistles of Paul. The phraseology is frequently that of Paul, and there can be little doubt that some passages are quotations from his writings or influenced by a recollection of them, particularly Romans. The familiarity shown by Peter with the thoughts and words of Paul comes on us as a surprise. But we must remember that Paul was the great letter- writer as well as the great teacher. In the enforcing of what was contained in his gospel, as he termed it [" according to my gospel," Rom. ii. 16 and xvi. 25 ; " the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles," Gal. ii 2], he moulded to a great degree the language of the church while directing its thought. His doctrinal teaching is much fuller than James's, as we might expect from his position midway between him and Paul. Paul's characteristic teaching about justification does not occur. In antiquity it was among the books uni- versally received. In modern times its authenticity has been called in question, on the ground of its want of origi- nality, its use of the writings of others, and the absence of such a distinct individuality as would befit Peter. The theory of the objectors is that it was written by an adherent of Paul, who had also a leaning towards Peter, or perhaps by one of Peter's school who wished to recommend himself by adoption of much of Paul's doctrine." The second epistle of Peter, Dr. Maclear attaches to Peter as author without attempting to fix the date. It has a more literary and Greek style than the first. It seems to CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. 227 have borrowed from the epistle of Jucle. Paul's writings are referred to as on a level with the scriptures of the Old Testament. The consent of the church is the firm ground on which it is accepted as an epistle of Peter. The epistle of Jude, the brother of James, and of Jesus, may be dated, Dr. Maclear thinks, sometime between A.D. 60 and 70. It is by a Jew writing in Greek. The style is im- petuous and intensely earnest. It uses as authority for sacred history sources not in the Old Testiment, such as a legend found in the Rabbinical traditions ; and it quotes the Book of Enoch, " an important early work (about B.C. 100) of the apocalyptic class, modeled on the style of the latter part of Daniel, which was used by the early Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, and Augustine though Tertullian alone regarded it as canonical." The three epistles ascribed to John, in addition to the Apocalypse or Revelation and the Fourth gospel, made him the author of five books of the New Testament. The first epistle was undisputed in the early church, and internal evidence shows identity of authorship for the epistle and the gospel. The two minor epistles, though not similarly known to the early church, are not less certainly shown by internal evidence to have come from the pen of the author of the gospel. The Apocalypse or Revelation of John, Dr. Wm. Milligan calls " the enigma of the Church." He does not give it a date further than " prior to the destruction of Jerusalem," A.D. 70. It was written then to " show unto God's servants the things that must shortly come to pass." The seven epistles of chapters 2 and 3 " contain an abstract of all that is afterwards unfolded in the book," under the seven times repeated cry, "He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." " Everything," says Dr. Milligan," is to be understood symbolically and spiritually." He considers the book " simply an expansion of the great discourse of Matt. xxiv. and xxv. (and parellels)." "The great truths of that discourse took shape in the figures 228 CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. which the Old Testament and his Jewish training had made familiar to him ; and the Apocalypse was the result." The book is not predictive, and we are not to seek in history, earlier or later, for fulfilment of proposed predictions. It is " mainly occupied with the enunciation of the great prin- ciples which guide the action of the Church's Lord until the time of His return. The whole book is the action of Jesus, though of Jesus glorified "; and " the action of the book covers the whole Christian era from its beginning to its end." Although we have " in the visions of the Seer repre- sentations only of events contemporaneous with himself," he looked forward indefinitely from them, taking them as illustrations of what would be, all the way on to the very last end, " the final manifestation of the Lord, the final judgment of the wicked, and the casting of death and Hades into the lake of fire." In regard to objections to the book, Dr. Milligan says : "It is impossible not to sympathize with those in every age who have found difficulty in accepting it as a divinely inspired and canon- ical book. In its contents and in its style it is so entirely different from all the other books of the New Testament. All is dark and per- plexingand extravagance of figure such as was never before wit- nessed; and an irregularity of language such as has no parallel in any ancient writing either sacred or profane." LOST IN THE CATACOMBS. ADOLPH GRASS. An effective picture of an incident of the time when the Roman Catacombs, a vast labyrinth of underground passages, were used as Christian cemeteries, by excavating in their sides recesses like berths in a ship m which the corpses were interred. Apocryphal G s P e l AMONG curiosities of Scripture, which show most re- markably what could be written and believed in the earlier days of Christian development, there are several gospels which were put aside by the sober judgment of the early church as apocryphal. One of the most striking of these is the " Arabic Gospel of the Infancy," the story of a part of which, from the time that Jesus was seven years of age, well illustrates the general character of these Gospel Apocrypha. The story tells how, Jesus being at play with other boys of the same age and making figures of animals with clay, " the Lord Jesus said, the figures which I have made I will command to walk." The boys asked him " whether then he was the Son of the Creator," and Jesus answered by doing as he had said. " He had made figures of birds and spar- rows, which flew when he bade them fly, and ate and drank when he offered them food and drink." One day "as the Lord Jesus was running about and playing with the boys," he came to the shop of a dyer who had many cloths to be dyed various colors. " The Lord Jesus took all these and cast them into a vessel full of Indian blue." Upon the dyer crying out upon him for this act of mischief, "the Lord Jesus began at once to take the cloths out of the vessel, each of them dyed the color which the dyer desired." The story makes Joseph to have been a poor carpenter, who had no need to do anything with his own hand, be- cause, " as often as Joseph had to make any of his work a cubit or a span longer or shorter, the Lord Jesus used to (229) 230 APOCRYPHAL GOSPEL. stretch out his hand towards it, and it became such as Joseph wished." When Joseph had taken two years to make a throne, and had got it two spans shorter on each side than the proper measure, " the Lord Jesus said to him, take thou one side and I will take the other, to set it right. And when each had pulled on his own side the throne was made right. They who were present were amazed, and praised God." Another time " the Lord Jesus seeing some boys who had met to play, followed them, but the boys hid themselves from him," and when he asked for them in their hiding- place of some women, they told him that there were only kids there. Whereupon " the Lord Jesus cried aloud and said, Come out, O kids, to your shepherd. Then the boys came out, having the form of kids, and began to skip about him." The women were seized with fear and besought and prayed him to restore the boys. " The Lord Jesus therefore said, Come, boys, let us go and play; and immediately, while the women stood there, the kids were changed into boys." At one time "Jesus assembled the boys as if he were their king," and in the play it chanced that the boys compelling every one to go and adore their king, brought certain who were carrying home almost dead a boy whom a deadly serpent had bitten. Jesus said that they would go and kill the serpent, and coming to the place Jesus called to the serpent to come forth at once, and he did so. "And he said, Go and suck out all the venom which thou hast infused into this hoy. The serpent therefore crawled to the hoy and sucked out all the venom. Then the Lord Jesus cursed him ; where- upon he was instantly rent asunder, hut the boy, being stroked by the hand of the Lord Jesus, became well again. And when he began to weep, the Lord Jesus said to him, Weep not, for hereafter thou shalt be my disciple. And this was Simon the Canaanite, of whom mention is made in the Gospel." On another day, Jesus went along as companion while his brother James gathered wood, and James had his hand bitten by a noxious viper. Then " the Lord Jesus breathed on the place ; whereupon he was instantly healed." On a APOCRYPHAL GOSPEL. 231 day " when the Lord Jesus was again among the boys who were playing on a housetop, one of the boys fell from above and immediately died." The other boys ran away, and the dead boy's kindred coming accused Jesus of pushing him off. " Then the Lord Jesus came down, and standing over him that was dead, he said in a loud voice, Zeno, Zeno, who cast thee down from the housetop ? Then he that was dead answered, saying, Lord, thou didst not cast me down; but such a one pushed me off. Then all who were present praised God for this miracle." One day "my lady, Lady Mary, commanded the Lord Jesus to go and fetch her some water from the well. But his ^vater-pot, already filled, was shattered and broken. But the Lord Jesus, spreading out his garment, took the water he had drawn to his mother, who marvelled at the act. But she laid up and stored in her heart all that she saw." " Another day the Lord Jesus was at the water-side with some hoys, and they made little pools. Now the Lord Jesus had made twelve sparrows and ranged them three on each side about his pool; and it was the Sabbath day. So the son of Ananias, a Jew, coming up and seeing them doing such things was angry and indignant. Do you, then, said he, make figures of clay on the Sabbath day ? and, running up in haste, he destroyed their pools. Now when the Lord Jesus had clapped his hands over the sparrows he had made, they flew away chirping. Then the son of Ananias came also to the pool of Jesus, and kicking it down with his shoes, spilled the water from it. And the Lord Jesus said to him, As that water hath disappeared, so also thy life shall disappear; and immediately the boy withered away. At another time when the Lord Jesus was returning home with Joseph in the evening, he met a boy, who ran and thrust him so violently that he fell down. The Lord Jesus said to him, As thou hast thrown me down, so shalt thou fall and not rise; and the same hour the boy fell down and breathed his last." Zacchreus, a teacher of boys, said to Joseph, " Why dost thou not bring me Jesus to learn letters ? " He was sent to Zacchseus, and having said one letter, demanded to know its meaning before he would say another. The teacher was about to flog him. when he began and explained all about 232 APOCRYPHAL GOSPEL. A and B, and then told all the letters, besides telling and explaining " many things which the master himself had never heard, nor had read in any book." At this the master wondering said, " I think this boy was born before Noah ; thou hast brought to me to be taught a boy that is wiser than all teachers. There is no need of instruction for this thy son." Upon this "they brought him to another and more learned master," and when he had lifted up his hand and struck Jesus because he would not say a second letter unless he was told what was the meaning of the first, the master's hand " immediately withered, and he died. Then Joseph said to Lady Mary, Henceforth we will not let him go out of the house, for whoever opposeth him is punished with death." When taken at twelve years of age to Jerusalem, he not only " remained in the temple among the doctors and elders and learned men, and asked them sundry questions about the sciences," but " he explained the Scriptures and the law and the precepts, and the statutes and the mysteries which are contained in the books of the prophets things which the understanding of no creature attains unto." Mysteries of astronomy also he explained, "and other things which reason does not attain unto." And to one "excellently skilled in the handling of natural things," who " asked the Lord Jesus whether he had studied medi- cine," he "explained physics and metaphysics, hyper- physics and hypophysics," and many other things, including "the operation of the soul upon the body," and, "finally, conjunction and disjunction, and other things which the intellect of no creature attains unto." THE MOTHER OF OUR LORD. GOODALL. One of the most recent attempts of art to make an ideal presentment of the mother of Christ. She appears bringing an offering after the birth of her son "a pair of turtle-doves." Luke ii. 24. LIGHT OF THE WORLD. HOLMAN HUNT. A. study by an eminent English painter of the figure of Christ and his office as the Light of the World. of tfye World. 0E Tlie Denominations in tf\e United States, PRECEDED BT AN ACCOUNT OP *he Jews Believe. THE national existence of the Jews may be considered as having terminated" with the destruction of Jerusa- lem by Titus A.D. 70. Although widely scattered over the earth, and constituting a portion of almost every nation, they present the singular phenomenon of a people subsisting for ages, without their civil and religious policy, and thus surviving even their political existence. Unlike other con- quered nations, they have never mingled with the conquer- ors, and lost their separate name and character, but they invariably constitute a distinct people in every country in which they live. In the present sketch will be found an account of the re- ligious beliefs and practices of this truly wonderful race. ARTICLES OF THE JEWISH CREED. The religious customs of the Jews are not all of equal au- thority ; neither are they observed by all alike ; for this rea- son they are divided into three classes. The first contains the injunctions of the written law, viz.: those included in the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses. The second class relates to the oral law, or that which was delivered by word of mouth. It comprehends those comments which the rabbis and doctors made in their days upon the Pentateuch, and an infinite variety of ordinances. These were collected (233) 234 THE JEWS. into one large volume, called the Talmud. The third class includes such things as custom has sanctioned in different times and places, or which have been lately introduced among them. These are properly termed customs. Of these three classes the first and second are received by all Jews, where- soever dispersed ; but in regard to the third, they differ greatly from each other ; because sojourning in various parts of the world, many of them have adopted the names and fallen into the manners of the nations among whom they dwell. In this respect the greatest difference lies between the Eastern, German, and Italian Jews. The Jewish creed consists of thirteen articles, from which none are permitted to swerve. They are as follows : I. I believe, with a strong and lively faith, that there is one God, the Creator of all things, and first principle of all beings, who is self-sufficient and independent, and without whom no created being can subsist. II. I believe, etc., that God is one and indivisible, but of an unity peculiar to himself alone ; that he has been, is, and shall forever be, the only God, blessed for evermore. III. I believe, etc., that God is an incorporeal being; he has no bodily quality of any kind whatever, which either is possible, or can any ways be imagined. IV. I believe, etc., that God is eternal, and all beings, ex- cept himself, had once a beginning ; for God is the begin- ning and end of all things. V. I believe, etc., that none but God is the object of di- vine adoration ; and no created being ought to be worshipped as a mediator or intercessor. VI. I believe, etc., that whatever is written in the books of the prophets is true ; for there have been, and still may be, prophets qualified to receive the inspirations of the Su- preme Being. VII. I believe, etc., in the truth of the prophecies of our master Moses (peace be with him) ; for Moses was a prophet superior to all others ; and God Almighty honored him with a peculiar gift of prophecy which was never granted to any of the rest. ARTICLES OF THE JEWISH CREED. 235 VIII. I believe, etc., that the law left by Moses (peace be with him) was the pure dictate of God himself ; and conse- quently the explication of those commandments, which were handed down by tradition, came entirely from the mouth of God, who delivered it to our master Moses, as we have it at the present day. IX. I believe, etc., that this law is unchangeable, and that God will never give another ; nor can there be the least ad- dition to, or diminution from k. X. I believe, etc., that God perfectly knows the most se- cret thoughts, and governs all the actions of mankind. XI. I believe, etc., that God will reward those who observe this law, and will severely punish such as are guilty of the least violation of it. Eternal life is the best and greatest reward, and damnation of the soul the most severe pun- ishment. XII. I believe, etc., that a Messiah shall come more de- serving than all the kings that have ever lived. Although he thinks proper to delay his coming, no one ought on that account to question the truth of it, or set an appointed time for it, much less produce Scripture for the proof of it ; since Israel will never have any king to rule over it but one that shall be of the line of David and Solomon. XIII. I believe, etc., that God will raise the dead ; and although I know not when, yet it will be when he sees most convenient. Hallowed be his name forever and ever. Amen. The Jews go to prayers three times every day in their syn- agogues ; and when they enter they bow towards the Hechal, or Ark, repeating some verses from the Psalms in an humble tone. The first four hours after sunrise are appointed for the morning service, which is called Shachrith. The second service is in the afternoon, and called Mincha. The third at the close of the evening, which they call Arbith. But in several places, on such days as are not festivals, the after- noon and evening prayers, for convenience sake, are said to- gether at sunset. 236 THE JEWS. PEAYEES IN THE SYNAGOGUE. At their first entrance into the synagogue, having put on a devout and humble demeanor, they cover themselves with a white embroidered linen cloth, of an oblong figure, called the Talith, and then pronounce the benediction contained in Numbers, chapter x. : " Blessed be thou," etc. Some Jews only cover their heads with the Talith, but others bring it close about their necks, that no object may divert their thoughts, and that their attention to the prayers may in no way be interrupted. In the next place they put on the armlets and forehead-pieces, called Tefillin, meaning that which is worn during the time of prayer. The Tefillin are made as follows : They take two slips of parchment, and write on them with great accuracy, and with ink made for that particular purpose, these four passages, in square let- ters, from Exodus, chapter xiii. 1-3, 5-6, 8-10, 11-13. These two slips of parchment are rolled up together, and wrapped in a piece of black calf -skin : after which, the lat- ter is fixed upon a thick square piece of the same skin, leav- ing a slip thereof fastened to it, of about a finger's breadth, and nearly a cubit and a half long. One of these Tefillin is placed on the bending of the left arm; and after they have made a small knot in the slip, they wind it round the arm in a spiral line, till the end thereof reaches the end of the middle finger ; as for the head Tefillin, they write the four passages before mentioned, upon four distinct pieces of vel- lum, which, when stitched together, make a square. Upon this they write the letter Scin, and over it they put a square piece of hard calf -skin, as thick as the other, from which pro- ceed two slips of the same length and breadth as the former. They put this square piece upon the middle of their fore- head. The slips going round their heads, form a knot behind, in the shape of the letter Daleth, and then hang down before upon the breast. The forehead-pieces are usually put on in the morning only, with the Talith. Some, indeed, wear them at their noon prayers too ; but there are THE PENTATEUCH. 237 very few who wear even the Talith at those prayers, except- ing the Reader. God is said to enter the synagogue as soon as the door is opened, and when ten are assembled together, and each of them thirteen years and a day old, at least (for otherwise certain prayers cannot be sung after a solemn manner), then he is said to be in the midst of them, and the Chazan, or Reader, goes np to the table, or altar, or stands before the ark, and begins to sing prayers aloud, in which the rest of the congregation join, but in a softer and less audible voice. The form and mode of prayer is not uniform among the Jewish congregations. The Germans sing in a louder tone than the rest. The Eastern and Spanish Jews sing much after the same manner as the Turks ; and the Italians soft and slow. Their prayers are longer or shorter, according as the days are, or are not, festival. In this particular, too, the several branches differ greatly. The rabbis have divided the five books of Moses into fifty- two lessons, called Parushioth, or divisions ; and one of them is read every week in their synagogues ; so that in the compass of a year every Jew, be he where he may, is expected to read the whole book through. On Mondays and Thurs- days, after having said their penitential prayers, they take the Sefer Tora, or book of the law, out of the ark, and while that verse of the 34th Psalm, " O praise the Lord with me," etc., and some others are repeating, they place it on the desk ; where, being opened and unrolled, they desire three persons to read the beginning of the Parascia, which means section or chapter, in the same place with them. And the whole congregation repeat some words of it, which are pre- ceded and followed with a blessing. After this, the Reader gives them his benediction, and they all promise either to bestow something on the poor, or to contribute towards the necessities of the synagogue. Then the Sefer Tora is held up wide open, and the Reader, showing the writing thereof, says to the congregation, according to Deuteronomy, chapter iv., verse 44, "This is the law which Moses set before," etc. After this declaration, the book is rolled up and covered, 238 THE JEWS. and then shut up in the ark. Besides this, no day must pass without reading some portion of the law at home. An epitome of the tenets, ordinances, and traditions of all the rabbis up to the time of Rabbi Juda, about 120 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, called the Mishna, was divided into six parts ; the first treats of agriculture ; the second of festivals ; the third of marriages, and everything relating to women ; the fourth of law-suits, and of the dis- putes which arise from loss or interest, and of all manner of civil affairs ; the fifth, of sacrifices ; and the sixth, of things clean and unclean. This being very concise, occasioned various disputes ; a circumstance which prompted two rab- bis of Babylon to the compilation of all the interpreta- tions, controversies, and additions which had been written upon the Mishna, together with other supplementary matter. Thus they placed the Mishna as the text, and the rest as an exposition ; the whole forming the book called the Talmud Babli, the Talmud of Babylon, or Ghemara, which signifies the book of completion. POLISH JEWS IN SYNAGOGUE. The Jews of Poland, numbering about 800,000, are of an extreme type in the intense conservatism of their devotion to Talmudical observances and in their preservatinn of a peculiar type of person and dress almost unknown in lands where LaWs and Ceremonies THE JEWS SLAVEEY UNDER THE MOSAIC LAW. THE law delivered by Moses to the Jews contained not only directions for the manner in which sacrifices were to be offered, and, indeed, the whole service, first of the tab- ernacle and then of the temple, but, likewise, a system of moral precepts. The distinctions of persons, according to the different ranks in life, were pointed out. Women were not permitted to wear the same habit as the men. Young persons were commanded to stand up in a reverent manner before the aged, and to treat them with every mark of re- spect. The same justice was to be done to strangers as to free-born subjects. No stranger was to be chosen king over them ; for, as they were surrounded by heathen nations, a stranger, having the civil power in his hands, might have led them into idolatry. They were commanded not to abhor, nor to treat with contempt, the Edomites ; because they were the descendants of Esau, the elder brother of Jacob ; nor were they to treat the Egyptians with cruelty. Slavery was permitted by the law of Moses, but slaves or bondmen were not to be treated with cruelty ; and the reason assigned was, that the children of Israel had themselves been slaves in the land of Egypt. The Jewish slavery was two- fold, and arose from a variety of circumstances. When men were reduced to poverty, it was in the power of their credit- 240 THE JEWS. ors to sell them : but they were not to be treated as stran- gers ; they were to be treated in the same manner as hired servants ; and when the year of jubilee took place, they, and their wives, with their children, were to be set at liberty, and they were to return to the possessions of their ancestors. Those persons who were purchased, or, in other words, taken into a state of servitude, were not to be sold by their mas- ters, nor were they to be treated with any sort of severity. When a servant was discharged, his master was to give him as much corn, wine, oil, and other necessaries, as he and his wife and children could carry home to their houses. In the patriarchal age, the power of masters over their servants was unlimited, for they had a right to put them to death whenever they pleased ; but after the children of Israel had returned from Egypt, this power was confined within proper bounds. Such as engaged for a limited time were to have leave to go out at the expiration of it ; and if a man was married when he entered into servitude, his wife and children were to be set at liberty; but if his master gave him a wife, both she and the children were to remain the^ property of the master. This circumstance, however, seldom took place, for the law had provided a remedy. It fre- quently happened, that when the term of servitude expired, the servant, having no prospect of procuring a subsistence, and, at the same time, unwilling to part with his wife and children, told his master that he would serve him during the remainder of his life. In such cases the master took him before the elders, or judges, and in their presence an awl was bored through his ear and' fixed to a post in the gate of the city ; signifying that he and his wife and children were to serve the master till death. It was the same with women servants, who were bound by the same obligations. With respect to strangers, they were, at all times, permitted to re- deem themselves, and this was to be done in an equitable manner before the judges. All the arrears due to them were to be paid ; and if the time of their servitude was not ex- pired, then they were to make a proper deduction, so that *toa master should not receive the least injury. LAWS RESPECTING MARRIAGE. 241 LAWS RESPECTING MARRIAGE. Many of the heathen nations lived in an incestuous man- ner ; but this practice was not tolerated under the law of Moses. The degrees of consanguinity were so strictly at- tended to, that no person was to break through them ; and a table of those degrees has always been affixed to the Eng- lish translation of the Bible. A man was not to marry two sisters, lest it should create family dissensions. If a man died without having children, and if he had a brother alive unmarried, then the bachelor was to espouse the wide w ; that by descendants the name of the family might be kept up ; but the first-born child was to succeed to the name and estate of the first husband. As nothing was more odious among the Jews, than for men or women to live unmarried, so if the brother-in-law refused to marry the sister-in-law, to preserve the name of his family, the widow was to go before the judges in the gate of the city, and there exhibit her com- plaint. This being done, the brother-in-law was called be- fore the judges, and examined concerning the nature of his objections ; and when it was found that he absolutely re- fused to marry the woman, then she was called in, and the refusal intimated to her. The judges then were to tell her to act according as the law of Moses directed ; and she, stooping down, unloosened the shoe from off his right foot, and, spitting in his face, declared her abhorrence of the man who refused to perpetuate the name of his family, and the name of his brother ; and from that time forward he was called " The man whose shoe was loosed in Israel." A woman was not to marry into any tribe but that to which her father belonged. This seems to have been done to keep up the grand distinctions among the twelve tribes, especially that of Judah ; from whom the Messiah was to be descended. Moses permitted a man to put away his wife, and both par- ties were allowed to marry again. But if a husband divorced his wife, and she married a second husband, who afterwards died, then the first husband was not to take the woman again. This was done to discourage divorces. Every man 242 THE JEWS. was exempted from going to war, and from all public busi- ness, during the first year of his marriage ; and the reason was, that there might not be too many young widows or fatherless children among them. Every widow and orphan were to be considered as objects of compassion ; and those who treated them with cruelty were to be considered as ob- jects of the Divine displeasure. Nay, it was further threat- ened in this law, that those who oppressed the widow and the fatherless should die an ignominious death ; that their widows should be exposed to want, and their children sub- jected to hardships. As polygamy was permitted among the Jews, great care was taken that no abuses should happen, in consequence of partiality in favor of the children of the second or third wife, in preference to those of the first. It was ordered, that although the first wife should be despised, or even hated by her husband, yet her first-born son should succeed to the in- heritance ; and the judges were under the most solemn obli- gations to see this part of the law properly executed. Pro- vision, however, was made for the rest of the children, and amongst them the personal estate was divided without any partial respect ; but if there was no personal estate, then two- thirds of the real estate were given to the first-born, and the third divided equally among the rest. In military affairs, the law of Moses was well calculated to promote the interests of the commonwealth, and was alto- gether suitable to the genius, times, and circumstances of the people. Every family was obliged to return to the chiefs of the tribes a list of all the males upwards of twenty years of age, fit to carry arms. When the return was made, the males of each tribe were called together, and the following ques- tions were asked them, one by one : " Has any man built a house, and has not had time to dedicate it ? Has any man planted a vineyard, and not yet eaten of the fruit of it ? Has any man betrothed a wife, and not yet married her ? Is any man fearful or faint-hearted to go against the enemy ? Then let all those return home, and attend to their domestic duties." CIVIL JEWISH LAWS. 243 According to the Jewish law, when they attacked a city they were to offer terms of peace to the inhabitants, upon condition of surrendering themselves up prisoners of war, and submitting to the will of the conqueror ; which was, that they should pay a certain tribute. But if the citizens refused to accept of the proffered terms, then the place was to be attacked, and if taken, all the males were to be put to the sword. The women and children were to be sold as slaves ; the cattle, and all the goods were to be taken and distributed equally among the soldiers, after which the city was to be reduced to ashes. Wilful murder was to be punished with death ; for thus it was written in the Mosaic law : " And if he smite him with an instrument of iron (so that he die), he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite him with throwing a stone (where- with he may die), and he die, he is a murderer." In the same manner, if he smote him with an instrument of wood, so that he died, he was a murderer ; but still no crime could be called murder, unless there was malice in the offending party. In all such cases, the nearest of kin had a right to put the mur- derer to death with his own hands. The difference between murder and manslaughter was pointed out, and a straight line of distinction drawn. Thus, if there had been no malice between the contending parties, and it happened that one of them killed the other suddenly, then the aggressor was to flee to the city of refuge, where he was kept in a state of safety, until the judges had inquired into the affair. This was done in a very solemn manner, and, what is remarkable, the evidence was delivered in the hearing of all those who lived in the district where the affair happened. When a solemn inquiry was made, and it was found that the aggressor entertained malice against the deceased, then he was delivered up to the avenger of blood to be put to death. But if it was found that no malice had existed be- tween the parties, then the judges were to see the offender safely conducted to the city of refuge, where he was to remain as an inhabitant till the death of the high-priest. During 244 THE JEWS. that time, if he ventured to go out of the city of refuge, the avenger of blood had a right to put him to death ; but when the high-priest died, he was restored to the peaceable enjoy- ment of his temporal possessions. When it happened that a pregnant woman was injured so as to occasion her mis- carrying, then the husband was to demand a line from the offending party, and the judges were to determine how much was equitable. It was common in the Eastern countries to steal children, and sell them to be brought up as slaves ; but the law of Moses absolutely prohibited this practice, and the offender was to be put to death. In some cases, offenders were permitted to take shelter on the horns of the altar, the place to which the victim was bound ; but if he was a murderer, and found guilty by the judges, then the executioners had a right to drag him from the altar and put him to death. BETROTHALS AND MARRIAGE. Every Jew is under an indispensable obligation to marry, the time appointed for it by their rabbis being at eighteen years of age ; and he who lives single till he is twenty is reckoned to live in the actual commission of a known sin. They are allowed to marry their nieces, that is, their broth- er's or sister's daughters, and likewise their first cousins ; but a nephew must not intermarry with his aunt, that the law of nature may not be reversed : for when the uncle marries his niece, the same person remains as the head who was so be- fore ; but when the nephew marries his aunt, he becomes, as it were, her head, and she must pay homage to him ; by which means the law is reversed. The other degrees of con- sanguinity which are forbidden, may be seen in the 18th chapter of Leviticus. A widow, or a woman divorced from her husband, cannot marry again till ninety days after the death of the one, or separation of the other, that it may there- by be certainly known whether the first husband is father of the child which may afterwards be born. If a man dies and leaves behind him an infant that suckles, the widow cannot MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 245 marry again till the child be two years old ; the rabbis hav* ing limited that time, for the better maintenance and educa- tion of the orphan. The Jews often marry their children very young, fchough the marriage is not consummated till they are of a proper age ; therefore, when a child who is under ten years of age (whether her father be alive or dead) becomes a widow, and afterwards marries with the consent of her mother, or brothers, a man whom she does not approve of, she may have a divorce at any time till she attains the age of twelve years and one day, at which period she is deemed a woman. If she declares that she will not have such a man, it is sufficient ; and when she has taken two witnesses to set down her refusal in writing, she may obtain a divorce, and marry again with whom she pleases. When the Jews have settled the terms of accommodation the marriage articles are signed by the husband and the re- lations of the wife ; after which the former pays a formal visit to the latter, and, before witnesses, takes her by the hand, saying : " Be thou my spouse." On the wedding-day the bride and bridegroom dress in all the grandeur and mag- nificence their circumstances will admit of, and the bride is conducted in pomp to the house intended for the celebration of the nuptials by several married women and maidens, who are her friends and acquaintances. She is first bareheaded, and her hair all loose and in disorder. After this she is seated between two venerable matrons, and her friends flock round about her, comb her head, curl her hair, dress her, and put on her veil, for virgin modesty forbids her to look her in- tended husband in the face. In this she imitates the chaste Eebecca, who covered her face when Isaac cast his eyes upon her. For the solemnization of the marriage the lovers who are betrothed meet, at an hour appointed for that purpose, in a kind of state-room. The bridegroom is conducted thither by the bridemen, friends, etc., and the bride by her train- the whole company crying out : " Blessed be the man that cometh." They now sit on a nuptial-throne, under a canopy, whilst a select band of music plays before them ; or whilst children, as is the custom in some places, move in solemn 246 THE JEWS. order round them, having torches in their hands and singing some appropriate words. All those who are of their syna- gogue being assembled (that is, ten men at least, else the marriage is null and void), a Talith is put upon the heads of the bridegroom and bride. It has the tufts hanging down at the corners, in imitation of Boaz, who threw the skirts of his robe over Ruth. After this the rabbi of the place, or the reader of the synagogue, or some near relation, takes a glass or any other vessel filled with wine, and having blessed God for the creation of man and woman and the institution of matrimony, says : " Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God ! king of the universe, the creator of the fruit of the vine. Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, king of the universe, who hath sanctified us with his commandments, and hath forbid us fornication, and hath prohibited unto us the betrothed, but hath allowed unto us those that are married unto us by the means of the canopy and the wedding-ring. Blessed art thou, O Lord ! the sanctifier of his people Israel, by the means of the canopy and wedlock." Then the bridegroom and bride drink of the wine. The bride now walks three times round the bridegroom, and he does the same twice round her. This ceremony is said to be grounded on Jeremiah, chapter xxxi., verse 22: "A woman shall compass a man," etc. Then the bridegroom, putting a ring upon the finger of his bride, who stands on his right hand, before two or more credible witnesses, who are com- monly rabbis, says : " Thou art my wife, according to the ceremonies of Moses and Israel." After this the marriage articles are read, wherein the bridegroom acknowledges the receipt of the consideration money, the obligation he is un- der to make his wife a jointure, and to maintain, honor, and cherish her, and live peaceably with her all the days of his life. For the due performance of all the articles above men- tioned he gives a duplicate to his wife's relations. After this, more wine is brought in a new vessel ; and having sung more benedictions, the bride and bridegroom drink a second time, and the residue of the wine is thrown upon the ground as a declaration of their joy. The glass or vessel being empty. FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 247 the bridegroom throws it on the ground and breaks it to pieces. In the meantime all persons present cry out, Mazal tou, " May it prove propitious," and then withdraw. On the Sabbath-day morning, after the consummation of their marriage, the bridegroom and the bride go to the syn- agogue together. The bride is attended by all the women that were present at the wedding. At the lessons of the Pen- tateuch the bridegroom is desired to read. He then promises to give liberally to the poor, and all who come with him fol- low his example. When prayers are over the men wait on the bridegroom home, and the women on the bride ; after which they part, with abundance of courtesy and complai- sance. The bridegroom, in some places, lives during the first week with his wife's relations, where he amuses himself, and entertains his friends and acquaintance. These are the general practices in all Jewish weddings, though there are some little variations observed according to the various countries in which they live. FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 'Mi: , When the person who is ill is in danger of death, or just expiring, they never leave him alone, but watch with him day and night. They salute him, and take their last fare- well, just at the moment when the soul is separating from the body. To be present at the separation of the soul from the body, especially if the person be a learned or pious man, in their opinion, is not only a laudable, but a meritorious action. The person who is present when the sick man gives up the ghost, according to ancient custom, tears some part of his own garments. This rent is generally made on the right side of the forepart of the clothes, and must be the eighth of a yard in length. When they mourn for a father or mother, all the clothes must be rent on the right side ; Whereas the left side of the outward garment only is torn, if it be for a distant relation. The rent is always from top to bottom ; whereas that of the ancient priests was, former- ly, from bottom to top. As soon as any one is dead, his 248 THE JEWS. eyes and mouth are closed, his body is laid upon the ground in a sheet, his face is covered, and a lighted taper is set by his head. After this, the corpse is thoroughly washed with warm water, in which camomile and dried roses have been boiled. In the next place, a shirt and drawers are put on, and over them some put a kind of surplice of fine linen, a Talith, or square cloak, and a white cap on the head. They now bend his thumb close to the palm of the hand, and tie it with the strings of his Talith ; for he goes to the other world with his veil on. The thumb thus bent stands in the form of Shaddai, which is one of God's attributes. The deceased, in all other respects, has his hand open, as a testimony that he relinquishes all his worldly goods. When dressea, the deceased is laid on his back in a coffin made on purpose, with one linen cloth under, and another over him. If the party deceased be a person of consider- able note, his coffin is made in some places with a pointed top ; and if a rabbi, a considerable number of books are laid upon it. Then the coffin is covered with black, and a small bag of earth is deposited under the head of the dead. The coffin is now nailed up, and conveyed to a grave as near the place as possible where the family of the deceased are in- terred. All the people now crowd round about it; and since the attendance on a corpse, and the conveyance of it to the grave, is looked upon as a very meritorious action, they all carry it upon their shoulders by turns some part of the way. In some places the mourners follow the corpse with lighted flambeaux in their hands, singing some melancholy anthem as they march along. In others, this ceremony is omitted. The relations, however, who are in mourning, ac- company the corpse in tears to the grave. In this solemn manner the dead are carried to the burial-place, which is most commonly a field set apart for that purpose, called Beth Hachaim, or "House of the living": the dead being looked upon as living, on account of their immortal souls. When the deceased is laid in his grave, if he has been a person of any extraordinary merit, there is generally a proper person present, who makes his funeral oration. As THE SANHEDRIN. 249 soon as this eulogium is over, they repeat the prayer called Zidduc Haddin, "the justice of the judgment," which be- gins with these words of Deuteronomy, chapter xxxii., verse 4, " He is the rock, his work is perfect ; for all his ways are judgment," etc. At their departure from the grave, every one tears up two or three handf uls of grass, and throws it behind him, repeating, at the same time, these words of the 72d Psalm, verse 6, "They of the city shall nourish like the grass of the earth." This they do by way of acknowledg- ment of the resurrection. They then wash their hands, sit down, and rise again nine times successively, repeating the 91st Psalm, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High." After this, they return to their respective places of abode. After the expiration of the ten days, they leave the house, and go to the synagogue, where several of them order lamps to be lighted on each side of the Hechal or Ark, procure prayers to be said, and offer charitable contributions for the soul of the deceased. This ceremony is repeated at the close of each month, and likewise of the year. And if the per- son who is dead be a rabbi, or a man of worth and distinc- tion, they make his Esped upon those days ; that is, a funeral discourse in commendation of his virtues. A son goes daily to the synagogue, morning and night, and there repeats the prayer called Cadish, that is Holy, for the soul of his mother or father, for eleven months successively ; and some of them fast annually on the day of the death of their respective relatives. THE SANHEDRIM. The Sanhedrin, the supreme judicial authority, formerly existing among the Jews, was instituted in the time of the Maccabees (some ascribe to it an earlier origin), and was composed of seventy -two members. The high-priest generally sustained the office of president in this tribunal. The next officers in authority were the first and second vice-presidents. The members who were admitted to a seat in the Sanhedrin were as follows : 1. Chief priests, who are often mentioned 250 THE JEWS. in the New Testament and in Josephus, as if they were many in number. They consisted partly of priests who had pre- viously exercised the high-priesthood, and partly of the heads of the twenty-four classes of priests, who were called in an honorary way, high or chief priests. 2. Elders, that is to say, the princes of the tribes, and the heads of family asso- ciations. 3. The Scribes, or learned men. Not all the scribes and elders were members, but only those who were chosen or nominated by the proper authority. The Sanhedrin was the great court of judicature. It judged of all capital offences against the law. It had the power of inflicting punishment by scourging and by death. Its power had been limited in the time of Christ, by the in- terference of the Romans, and the consistory itself terminated its functions upon the destruction of Jerusalem. They were never able to re-establish themselves since, nor is anything related of them in the history of our own times, except the council which the Jews held in Hungary in the seventeenth century, and the convocation held at Paris, under the aus- pices of Napoleon, in 1806, already mentioned. WOKSHIP IN THE SYNAGOGUE. The worship in the synagogue, with its appendant school or law-court, where lectures were given, and knotty points of the law debated, became the great bond of national union, and has continued, though the monarchical centre of unity in Tiberias disappeared in a few centuries, to hold together the scattered nation in the closest uniformity. This was extremely simple. Wherever ten Jews were found, there a synagogue ought to be formed. It was a custom, therefore, in some of the more numerous communities, to appoint ten " men of leisure," whose business it was to form a congrega- tion. In the arrangement of the synagogue some remote re- semblance to the fallen temple was kept up. The entrance was from the east ; and in the centre stood an elevated tri- bune or rostrum, from which prayer was constantly offered, and the book of the Law read. At the west end stood a WORSHIP IN THE SYNAGOGUE. 251 chest, in which the book was laid up, making the place, as it were, the humble Holy of Holies, though now no longer separated by a veil, nor protected by the Cherubim and Mercy-Seat. Particular seats, usually galleries, were railed off for the women. The chief religious functionary ascended the tribune, re- peated or chanted the prayers, his head during the cere- mony being covered with a veil. He called the reader from his place, opened the book before him, pointed out the pas- sage and overlooked him that he read correctly. The read- ers, who were three in number on the ordinary days, seven on the morning of the Sabbath, five on festivals, were se- lected from the body of the people. The Law of course was read, and the prayers likewise repeated, in the Hebrew lan- guage. The days of public service in the synagogue were the Sabbath, the second and fifth days of the week, Monday and Thursday. There was an officer in the synagogues out of Palestine, and probably even within its borders, called an interpreter, who translated the law into the vernacular tongue, usually Greek in the first case, or Syro-Chaldaic in the latter. The rabbis, besides the privilege of preaching, and instructing their pupils, have that of binding and loos- ing, that is, of determining whether a thing be forbidden or allowed. When thJs power is conferred upon them, they have the five books of Moses, and a Tcey, put into their hands. They create new doctors, and ordain them by imposition of hands, as Moses, just before his death, laid his hands on Joshua, his successor, and gave him his benediction; but they limit and restrain their power as they see most con- venient ; one being confined to interpret the law, or such questions only as relate thereunto ; and another to judge of controversies arising upon those questions. Jewisft Festivats and Hofijdajjs, THE JEWISH SABBATH. THERE is no festival which the Jews have so great a veneration for as the Sabbath day ; because they say it was instituted immediately after the creation of the world, and is mentioned in various places and at sundry times in their sacred writings ; particularly in the decalogue, where- in the performance of the least thing upon that day is for- bidden, and a general rest from all labors is commanded. They must not either kindle fire, nor extinguish it, upon this day ; in compliance with what is written in the 35th chapter of Exodus, verse 3 : "Ye shall kindle no fire through- out your habitations upon the Sabbath day." Nay, they are not allowed to touch it ; not even to stir it up. They are not suffered even to light up or extinguish a lamp ; they may employ, however, any servant that is not a Jew to kindle their fire ; if they do not, they either dispose it so that it lights of itself, or else they sit in the cold. They dress no meat upon the Sabbath ; neither are they allowed to taste anything that has been dressed, or that grew, or was gathered on that day. They are not allowed to carry any burden on that day ; so that they wear no more clothes THE JEWISH SABBATH. 253 than what is absolutely necessary to cover them. Their ex- actness extends even to the garb of their women, children, and servants, and to the loading of their beasts. They are forbidden on this day to talk of any worldly affairs ; to make any bargain with respect to buying and selling ; or, to give or take anything by way of payment. Neither must they handle or touch any of the tools of their trade, or any other things, the use whereof is prohibited on the Sabbath day. They never engage in any work on the Friday, but what they can accomplish with ease before the evening ; and what- ever is necessary for the Sabbath is prepared beforehand. About an hour before sunset, they take the provision which is intended for the next day, and deposit it in a warm place ; after which all manner of work is over. In some towns, a man is appointed on purpose to give notice about half an hour before the Sabbath begins, that every one may cease from his labors in convenient and due time. The Jewish Sabbath begins half an hour before sunset, and, consequently, from that instant all prohibitions are strictly observed. For this reason the women, even the most neces- sitous, are obliged, previously, to light up a lamp, which has seven lights, emblematical of the seven days of the week. This lamp burns the greatest part of the night. In order to begin the Sabbath well, many of them put on clean linen, wash their hands and face, and go to the synagogue, where they say the 92d Psalm, " It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord," etc., with their common prayers. They also thank God that, by his separation of them from the rest of mankind, he has reserved and chosen their nation from all others, as his only favorite. To these prayers and thanks- givings, they add a commemoration of the Sabbath in these words, from the 2d Genesis, "Thus the heavens were fin- ished," etc. " And God blessed the seventh day," etc. They go directly home from the synagogue ; and their usual salutation to each other afterwards, is, " a good Sab- bath to you," and not "good-evening," or "good-morning." Moreover, the fathers bless their children, and the doctors their pupils, on that day ; others add to these benedictions 254 THE JEWS. several portions of their sacred writings, in commemoration of the Sabbath ; some before meat, and some after, according to the custom of the place where they sojourn. When the whole family is seated at supper, the master of the house holds a glass of wine in his hand, and pronounces these words, out of the 2d of Genesis, "Thus the heavens were finished," etc. He then returns God thanks for having instituted and appointed the strict observance of the Sab- bath, and blesses the wine. He then drinks some part of it himself, looking steadfastly on the Sabbath lamps, and then gives a small quantity to such as sit at the table with him. After this, he repeats the 23d Psalm, " The Lord is my shep- herd," etc. Then he blesses the bread, holding it up on high with both his hands whilst he pronounces the name of the Lord. He now distributes it all round, and the family eat and amuse themselves that evening and the next day as agreeably as they can. Supper being over they wash their hands, and some Jews, after they have eaten, repeat the 104th Psalm, " Bless the Lord, my soul," etc. In the evening they go to the synagogue again, and join the remembrance of the Sabbath with their common prayers ; and three persons read out of the Pentateuch the beginning of the section for the week following. They have likewise a commemoration of the dead, and sometimes a prayer for them on the Sabbath, after which those who can afford it are very charitable and beneficent to the poor. They usually make three meals in the twenty-four hours of the Sabbath ; the first is on the Friday, after evening service ; the other two on the day following. The cloth is never removed during the whole time. As soon as night comes on, and they can discover three stars in the heavens of any considerable magnitude, the Sab- bath is over, and they are allowed to go to work ; because the evening prayer, which they rather delay than hasten, is then begun. To the usual prayer for the evening, they add a re- membrance of the Sabbath, which is distinguished from the other days of the week ; also the 91st Psalm, " He that dwell- eth in the secret place of the Most High," etc. To this, sev- JEWISH FESTIVALS. 255 eral portions of their scripture, and several benedictions and good wishes, are likewise added. JEWISH FESTIVALS. The new moon is a festival, because it is instituted and appointed in the Book of Numbers ; and because there was a new and grand sacrifice offered on that day. This festival is sometimes part of two several days, that is, the end of one day and the beginning of another. They are not debarred from working or trading upon this day ; the women only, who are exempted from all labor during the festival, lay aside their work, and they all indulge themselves a little more than usual in the way of living. The Jews say that the new moon is in a peculiar manner the women's festival, in commemoration of their liberality in parting with their most valuable jewels, to contribute to the magnificence of divine service. In their prayers they make mention of the first day of the month, and repeat from the 113th to the 118th Psalm, on that day. They bring out the Pentateuch, and four persons read it, to which is added the prayer called Mussaf, or addition. They also read the institution of the sacrifice which was formerly offered on this day. The Talmudists do not agree in fixing the time when the world began. Some insist that it was in the spring, that is, in the month Nisan, which is our March ; others, that it was in autumn, that is, in the month Tisri, which answers to our September. This last notion has so far prevailed, that they begin their year from that time. And notwithstanding it is written in the 12th chapter of Exodus, of the month Nisan, " This month shall be unto you the beginning of months," yet afterwards they altered it, and began their year with the month Tisri, or September. From thence came the feast Roch Hasana, or New- Year's Day, which is kept on the first two days of Tisri ; for, in Leviticus, chapter xxiii., verse 24, it is written, " In the seventh month, in the seventh day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath," etc. During this fes- tival all manual operations and transactions in trade are en- tirely laid aside. 256 THE JEWS. They hold, from tradition, that on this day particularly God Almighty judges the actions of the past year, and orders all things that shall happen for the year to come. From the first day of the month Elul, or August, therefore, they begin their penance, which consists in plunging themselves into ld water, and in confessing themselves. In some places, they wash themselves before it is day, say their prayers, and acknowledge their manifold sins and iniquities, and repeat some penitential psalms. There are many who give alms without ceasing until the day of absolution. This they con- tinue forty days, and sound a horn on the beginning of the month Elul. On New- Year's Eve they say all their prayers fasting. After these two holy days are over, the Jews still continue to rise before day to say their prayers, fast, and do penance, until the 10th of the month Tisri, which is the fast, or day of expiation, and called Jom Hachipnr ; for they consider that the Supreme Being is employed in examining the ac- tions of mankind during the first nine days, and that he pronounces sentence on the tenth. In the 23d chapter of Leviticus it is said, " On the tenth of the seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement," etc., and during that day all manner of work is laid aside, as on the Sabbath. They observe this fast with such strictness, that they neither eat nor drink anything ; thinking, by this abstinence, that their names will be enrolled in the Book of Life, and blotted out of the Book of Death, wherein they would assuredly be found without due repentance. Two or three hours before the sun sets they go to prayers, and then to supper ; but all must be over before sunset. They now dress themselves in new robes, or put on their funeral clothes, and thus attired, each with a taper in his hand, they go without their shoes to the synagogue, which, on this night, is splendidly illu- minated with lamps and candles. There each man lights his taper, and repeats several prayers and confessions in a loud, but melancholy tone, as a demonstration of the sincerity of his repentance. The next morning, such as went home repair again by FEAST OF TABERNACLES. 257 .daybreak to the synagogue, dressed as before, and there stay till night, standing all the time, saying their prayers without intermission, repeating psalms and confessions, and beseech- ing God to pardon all their transgressions. In the course of the service, various portions of Scripture are read, particu- larly part of Leviticus, chapter xxvi., Numbers, chapter xxix., and Isaiah, chapter Mi. They mention in their prayers the additional sacrifice of the day, and. entreat God to build their sanctuary, to gather their dispersions among the Gentiles, and conduct them to Jerusalem, where they may offer the sacrifice of atonement, agreeably to the Mosaic law. In the afternoon service, besides portions of the law and prophets, the greatest part of the book of Jonah is read. On the fifteenth day of the same month, Tisri, is the Feast of Tents, Tabernacles, or Booths ; which is called Succoth, in commemoration of their encampment in the wilderness, when they departed out of Egypt ; and under which they were preserved as a nation for forty years together, in the midst of frightful and barren deserts. In the 23d chapter of Leviticus it is written, " In the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days ; on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook ; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days ; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths : that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." Every one, therefore, makes a booth, or tent, in some place near his house, which he covers with leaves and adorns in the best manner that he can. The rabbis have been very punctual as to the fashion and nature of these booths, as well as their dimensions. No tent must be more than twenty cubits high, nor less than ten spans. Such as are rich adorn them with tapestry, over which they hang boughs of trees 258 THE JEWS. laden with fruit as oranges, lemons, and grapes. These tents must be neither set up under a house nor tree They eat and drink in these tents, and some lie all night in them, or at least spend in them so much time of the night and day as they used to pass at home, during the eight days that the festival lasts. It continues nine days in reality, although the law instituted and commanded seven ; but ancient cus- tom has added one ; and another day was ordained over and above for the solemn assembly in Numbers, chap, xxix., verse 35. The first two and the last two days of this festi- val, like those of the Passover, are very solemn ; but the other five are not so strictly observed. This festival of Tents, or Tabernacles, begins at home, with some particular bene- dictions, and is succeeded by a supper. Private devotion now succeeds the public, and the father of the family never begins to consecrate the festival till he has been first at prayers in the synagogue till night. They leave their tents at the end of the eighth day, as soon as night draws on. On the fourteenth of the month Adar, the feast of Purim is observed, in commemoration of Esther, who upon that day preserved the people of Israel from a total extirpation by the conspiracy of Haman, who was hanged, with all his chil- dren. This feast was called Purim, because it was written in the 9th chapter of Esther : " Therefore they called those days Purim," etc. ; the word signifying Lots or Chances ; for Haman, their enemy, had cast lots to destroy them on those two days. The first only, however, is strictly and solemnly observed. They fast on the eve, but during these two days they may traffic, or do any manner of work ; yet on the first day, though under no obligation, they voluntarily abstain from both. On the first night they go to the synagogue, where, after their ordinary prayers, they commemorate their happy de- liverance from that fatal conspiracy, and the Chazan reads and explains -the whole book of Esther, which is written on vellum and rolled up like the Pentateuch. The Chazan is allowed to sit at this lesson, whereas he must stand while he reads the law. After he has unrolled the volume he pro- THE PASSOVER. 359 nounces three prayers, and returns thanks to Almighty God for calling them together to share this ceremony, and for de- livering them out of the merciless hands of Haman. He then reads the history of Haman and Esther. The Jews observe similar ceremonies in the service of the next morning, and read on this day out of the Pentateuch the 17th chapter of Exodus, verse 8: "Then came Amalek," etc. They have, likewise, particular prayers and blessings for this happy occasion. The fifteenth day of the month Msan is the first day of the Passover, which is called Pesach, or the passage over, in commemoration of the departure of the Jews from Egypt. It continues a whole week ; but such as live out of Jerusa- lem and its territories make it hold eight days, according to the ancient custom, when the new moon, by the Sanhedrin's order, was proclaimed without any computation. This festi- val is ordained in the 12th chapter of Exodus, and in several other parts of the Bible. The Sabbath which precedes the Passover is called the Grand Sabbath, on which day the rab- bis preach a sermon on the Paschal Lamb. The first two and last two days of the Passover are solemn festivals, on which no person is permitted either to work, or do any man- ner of business ; nay, they keep them as strictly as the Sab- bath, only that they make a fire, dress their meat, and carry what things they want from place to place. On the four middle days they are only obliged to refrain from work, but are permitted to touch money. During these eight days they must neither eat, nor have, any leavened bread, or any leaven in their houses, nor even in their custody ; so that they eat none but unleavened bread all that time : according to Exodus, chapter xii., verses 15, 16, 17. This bread they call Matzos. The Jews make a great difference between the ancient and modern way of celebrating the Passover. Formerly they used to eat the lamb roasted whole ; but ever since their sac- rifices have been abolished, which could be offered nowhere but at Jerusalem, they roast one part of it and boil another ; nay, sometimes cut it in pieces, which is enough to prevent 260 THE JEWS. its being sacrificed. The want of their sacrifices, likewise, obliges them at present to suppress several hymns which re- late to the Paschal Lamb ; and their dispersion obliges them, also, to beg of God to re-establish Jerusalem, the temple, and its sacrifices, and to deliver them at this day, as he formerly did their forefathers, from the tyranny of the Egyptians. The modern Jews conclude their meal with the unleavened bread, but in former times they ended it with the lamb ; and they now omit girding their loins, taking a staff in their hands, and pulling off their shoes when they eat the lamb : all which was practiced under the ancient law ; but they take care, however, to preserve that humility and attention which are due to this religious ceremony. They incline their heads all the time they are eating ; and such Jews as are eminent for their piety put nothing inta their mouths without meditating on the several mysteries with the utmost respect and veneration. From the day after the Passover to the thirty-third day following they spend their time in a kind of mourning ; they neither marry nor dress themselves in any new clothes ; neither do they cut their hair, nor show any demonstrations of public joy, because at that time that is, from the day after the Passover until the thirty-third day after there was once a great mortality amongst the pupils of Rabbi Hachiba, who was one of their most celebrated doc- tors. After the death of some thousands the sickness ceased on the thirty-third day of the Homer. This day is therefore kept with general rejoicings, and puts an end to all appear- ance of sorrow or concern. The Jews call the fifty days which intervene between the Passover and the feast of Pentecost, Homer-days. On the fiftieth day of the Homer, which is the sixth of Sivan, is celebrated the festival Shavuoth, or of Weeks ; which is so named, because it is kept at the end of the seven weeks, which they compute from the Passover. Two days are ob- served almost as strictly as the Passover holidays ; for no work is allowed to be done upon them, neither can the Jews transact any business, nor, in short, do anything more than on the Sabbath ; excepting that they are allowed to kindle PENTECOST. 261 their fire, dress their victuals, and carry whatever they want from place to place. At the feast of Pentecost five persons read the sacrifice of the day, and likewise the history of Ruth, because frequent mention is made there of the harvest. At this time they regale themselves with all sorts of dainties made of milk, which, in their opinion, is a symbol of the law, both on ac- count of its sweetness and its whiteness ; and as the Jews take a pride in having, as far as possible, the most express and lively images of the most remarkable circumstances that occurred at the birth of their religion, they never forget to serve up at table on this day a cake made moderately thick, which they call the Cake of Sinai. This is to remind them of Mount Sinai, on which God gave them the law. The Jews formerly called Pentecost the feast of the Har- vest, and day of First Fruits, because the first of their corn and fruit was at that time oifered in the temple, which was the close of this solemnity ; but this can never be in Europe, harvest falling always much later than Whitsuntide. It might, however, bear this name in the land of Canaan, Arabia, and in the neighborhood of the Red Sea. Upon this day their tradition assures us that the law was given on Mount Sinai ; for which reason they adorn their synagogues, the Hechal, or ark, the reading-desk ; also their lamps and candlesticks, and even their houses, with roses and other gay and odoriferous flowers and herbs, beautifully wreathed in the form of crowns and festoons. Of these decorations they are very profuse. Their prayers are adapted to the feast, and they read the account of the sacrifice made on that day out of the Pentateuch ; also the Aftara, out of the Prophets. In the afternoon there is a sermon preached, in commemoration of the law. When the second day of the feast is over, the ceremony of the Habdalla is performed in the evening, as at the close of the Passover, to denote that the feast is concluded. 262 THE JEWS. MODERN HISTORY OF THE JEWS. In the Old World the Jews have been the subjects of fre- quent and important legislation since the fall of the First Napoleon, rendered imperative by race difficulties which, in the main, sprang from the commercial competition of the Jews with their neighbors. Ordinances admitting them to civil rights, exempting them from oppressive taxation, and opening to them various trades and professions, were issued by the Grand Duke of Baden, in 1809 ; the king of Prussia, in 1812 ; the Duke of Mecklenburgh-Schwerin, the same year ; and the king of Bavaria, in 1813 ; while the act for the federative constitution of Germany, passed at the con- gress of Vienna in 1815, pledged the Diet to turn its atten- tion to the amelioration of the civil state of the Jews throughout the empire. England has legislated liberally for them, and they now enjoy throughout the entire kingdom equal rights with British subjects in all instances, excepting where the particular character of their religion forms a bar- rier. Beyond all this, however, the history of none of our later years has been exempt from narratives of suffering, persecu- tion, and bloodshed endured by them. In Eoumania, Mo- rocco, Tunis, Persia, Asia Minor, Italy, the provinces of East Prussia and West Eussia, and even Palestine itself, they have been the subject of assaults which the strongest arm of the law was not always able to suppress. More recently the anti-Semitic feeling led to rioting in the Danubian princi- palities, in Servia, in Austro-Hungary (1882) and in Eussia (1883), which required the national troops to quell. The prejudice against the Jews throughout the Old World had spread so rapidly and so far, by the year 1875, that the most prominent of the faith in favored countries united in the es- tablishment of the Alliance Israelite Universel, for the pur- pose of elevating and benefiting their co-religionists wher- ever in suffering. This body, by a hearty co-operation of all its branches, soon made itself a power in the political affairs of the Old World ; and by adhering strictly to the letter of EMINENT JEWS OF MODERN TIMES. 263 its organization, it has frequently been permitted to raise its voice in behalf of its brethren within the closest precincts of European diplomacy. No account of the Jews of modern times would be com- plete without an appreciative mention of the eminence at- tained by them in the intellectual callings of life. Among the scientists of high repute must be placed the names of Zunz, Geiger, Munk, Rappoport, and Luzzato. Philosophy claims Mendelssohn, Maimon, Herz, Bendavid, and Frank. In political economy Ricardo and Lasalle achieved distinc- tion among the most distinguished. The pages of literature were brightened and intensified by Borne, Heine, Auerbach, Grace Aguilar, Jules Janin, and Bernstein. Music numbers among her most talented expositors Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Meyerbeer, Halevy. To statecraft were given Disraeli, Cre- mieux, and Lasker ; to the profundities of mathematics, Mtzarhausen, Sklow, Cassel, and Hirsch ; and to philan- thropy, the grand old Montefiore. Religious reform has had for sturdy, consistent advocates, Chorin, Holdheim, Lilien- thal, Hess, Stern, Creizenach, and Einhorn ; while among the conservative theologians of the world none have stood higher than Plessner, Johlsohn, Steinheim, and Hirsch. Jewish names are plentifully scattered over the great roster of the quiet, busy devotees of historical research, among which the following stand out as " bright, particular stars in the firmament": Jost, Furst, Philippson, Salvador, Herz- feld, Frankel, Sachs> Saalschutz, Steinschu 3ider, Neubauer, Raphael, Leeser, and Wise. The Jews of the United States. first settlement of Jews in the United States was JL made at Newport, R. I. On February 28, 1677, a deed was recorded, describing the purchase of a tract of land there for a burial-place for them. A synagogue was erected in 1762, and dedicated the following year. A settlement was made in New York City in 1729 ; in Savannah, Ga., in 1733 ; in Charleston, S. C., in 1765 ; in Philadelphia, in 1782 ; in Baltimore, Md., in 1823; and in New Orleans, La., about the same time. There are no ecclesiastical authorities in the United States, other than the congregations themselves. Each congrega- tion makes its own rules for its own government, and elects its own minister, who is appointed without any ordination, induction in office being made through his election, which is made either for a term of years or during good behavior, as it may meet the wish of the majority. In the preceding pages, the name of Spanish and Portu- guese, in contradistinction to that of German Jews, has been mentioned. The reader may feel curious to know in what they differ. With regard to the tenets of their faith, they hold precisely the same views. They both accept the thirteen (264) THE JEWS OF THE UNITED STATES. 265 articles of the creed laid down by Maimonides, and conform likewise to the traditional rules embodied in the Talmud. The long dispersion, however, and the interruption of com- munication consequent thereupon, caused a notable diversity in the liturgy, but especially in the pronunciation of the Hebrew language. Those whose ancestors dwelt, previous to the expulsion of 1492 by the edict of Ferdinand and Isa- bella, in the Iberian land, give to it a softer sound than their co-religionists who are of Teutonic origin. It would be im- possible at this distance of time, and since the language has ceased to be spoken as a distinct language, to ascertain which accent is the most correct. Grammarians appear to favor, if not wholly, partly at least, that of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews. With respect to the liturgy, that of the Germans, for ordinary occasions, contains the traditional prayers in a more condensed form. But for the festivals and fast days it abounds in poetical compositions of deep meaning. This fact has furnished the ground for the intro- duction of radical changes in the synagogue. It was argued that to detain the congregation with the recital of that which requires a comment to understand, would be to es- trange them from the worship. That the absence of mind exhibited by many, during the reading of that portion of the "ritual, was detracting from the sanctity of the service. And that unless it be expunged the rising generation would join religious communions more congenial to their feelings. Heretofore simplicity had characterized the Jewish wor- ship. A Reader, chosen by the congregation, chanted the established prayers, and the audience made the responses. Either that individual, or another possessed of the requisite knowledge, delivered an occasional lecture explanatory of the Biblical lesson of the week, or instructive of the duties connected with some approaching holiday. But that sys- tem was declared by Jews of the modern school incompatible with the wants of the age. First vocal music was introduced, and soon after instrumental music echoed in the synagogue. Hymns in English and German superseded Hebrew psalmo- dies ; and preaching, which had been, however welcome, 266 Tx*> JEWS. a mere adjunct, became the most indispensable part of the service. These innovations, to which many Israelites object, because they divest the synagogue of the venerable appear- ance which antiquity gives it, and because they dress it in a garb foreign thereto, would nevertheless have been tolerated, as not encroaching absolutely upon the tenets of Judaism ; but when the innovators went further, and erased from the ritual every mention of the restoration of their people to Palestine, every allusion to the resurrection of the dead, and taught in their sermons the abrogation of the dietary laws, then a schism divided the Jews into two schools ; so that at present they are distinguished in almost all cities by the name of orthodox and reformers. THE REFORM MOVEMENT OF 1885. But the most radical innovation of all was the " platform " adopted at the national Rabbinical Convention of the Re- formed Hebrew Church, held in Pittsburgh, Pa., Nov. 17, 18, 1885. The following are the leading professions : " We hold that Judaism presents the highest conception of the God idea as taught in our holy Scriptures and devel- oped and spiritualized by Jewish teachers. We maintain that Judaism preserved and defended amid continual strug- gles and trials this God idea as the central religious truth for the human race. " We recognize in the Bible the record of the consecration of the Jewish people to its mission as priest of the one God, and value it as the most potent instrument of religious and moral instruction. We hold that the modern discoveries of scientific researches in the domains of nature and history are not antagonistic to the doctrines of Judaism, the Bible re- flecting the primitive ideas of its own age, and at times cloth- ing its conception of divine providence and justice dealing with man in miraculous narratives. " We recognize in the Mosaic legislation a system of train- ing the Jewish people for its mission during its natural life in Palestine, and to-day we accept as binding only the moral THE REFORM MOVEMENT OF 1885. 267 laws, and maintain only such ceremonies as elevate and sanc- tify our lives, but reject all such as are not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization. " We hold that all such Mosaic and Rabbinical laws as reg- ulate diet, priestly purity, and dress originated in ages and under the influence of ideas altogether foreign to our present mental and spiritual state. They fail to impress the modern Jew with a spirit of priestly holiness ; their observance in our days is apt rather to obstruct than to further modern spiritual elevation. " We consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community, and therefore expect neither a return to Pales- tine nor a sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron, nor the restoration of any of the laws concerning the Jewish State. :< Christianity and Islam being daughter religions of Juda- ism, we appreciate their providential mission to and in the spreading of monotheistic and moral truth. We acknowl- edge that the spirit of broad humanity of our age is our ally and the fulfilment of our mission, and therefore we extend the hand of fellowship to all who operate with us in 'the es- tablishment of the reign of truth and righteousness among men. " We reassert the doctrine of Judaism that the soul of man is immortal. We reject, as ideas not rooted in Juda- ism, the beliefs both in bodily resurrection and in gehenna and Eden (hell and Paradise) as abodes for everlasting pun- ishment or reward." The subject of Sabbath observance was discussed at some length, and a resolution was unanimously adopted declaring that there is nothing in the spirit of Judaism or its laws to prevent the introduction of Sunday services in localities where the necessity for such services appears or is felt. In the preamble to the resolution the importance of maintain- ing the historical Sabbath as a bond with the past and as a symbol of the unity of Judaism the world over is recog- nized. 268 THE JEWS. BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES. Notwithstanding all the diversities of opinion, the Jews in the United States generally unite in objects of benevo- lence. It is the acknowledged merit of Israelites that they are very solicitous for the welfare of their needy brethren. They will never suffer the destitute to be an incubus upon society at large. Rarely is any of their faith an inmate of the almshouse, and more rarely is any arrested as a vagrant or an outlaw. Charitable associations supplying food, gar- ments, fuel, and house-rent ; loan societies, to encourage the industrious ; hospitals, orphan asylums ; foster-houses, and homes for the invalid and the decrepit, are supported wher- ever a Jewish community exists. Our Jewish citizens, as a class, are exceedingly fond of the great secret orders and societies that are established all over the country, and it would be difficult to mention one of a fraternal or benevolent character, with which they have not affiliated. They have done much to extend such orders as Freemasonry and Odd Fellowship by uniting among them- selves and forming new lodges with a pronounced Hebrew membership. At the same time they have established a num- ber of distinct Orders among themselves to which none but Jews are eligible. The strongest of these are : the Independ- ent Order of B'nai B'rith ; the Independent Order Free Sons of Israel ; the Improved < )rder Free Sons of Israel ; the Sons of the Covenant ; the Independent Sons of Benjamin ; the In- dependent Sons of Abraham ; the Order of the Iron Band ; and the Order Kesher Shel Barzel. All these pay weekly sick benefits, usually $5, and a very liberal death benefit, besides taking care of the widows and orphans of deceased members. The aggregate of membership in the United States on Janu- ary 1, 1886, was 150,000. The first attempt to collate and publish a directory of re- lief organizations was made by the Associated Hebrew Chari- ties of the United States, the results appearing in December, 1885. Although acknowledged as incomplete from the fail- ure of many officers to report, the effort made a grand show- CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 269 ing. There were then 84 distinctively Ladies' Hebrew Be- nevolent Associations ; 87 Hebrew Relief, Aid, or Benevolent Societies ; fifty -nine congregations having special relief fea- tures, and 276 organizations, the names of whose presidents were ascertained. These societies by no means represented the total in the United States, but those merely which were operating under the auspices of the Associated Hebrew Charities, and unfortunately what was known to be but a small portion of them. CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. No more practical evidence of individual liberality and hearty sympathy with suffering and misfortune in all their forms could be expressed by any people than the grand in- stitutions which the Jews have erected and are nobly main- taining in this country. The record is one that invests them with the highest honor, and lends additional glory to the humanity of American citizenship. The most noted of these institulions are Mount Sinai Hospital, New York ; the Jew- ish Hospital, Philadelphia ; the Hebrew Hospital, Baltimore ; the Jewish Hospital, Cincinnati ; and the Touro Infirmary, New Orleans ; the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum, New York ; the Foster Home and Orphan Asylum, Phila- delphia ; the B'nai B'rith Orphan Asylum, Cleveland ; the Jewish Orphan Asylum, Baltimore ; the Pacific Orphan Asy- lum, San Francisco ; the Home for the Aged and Infirm, Philadelphia ; the Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews, New York ; the Home for Widows and Orphans, New Orleans ; the Familien Waisen Verein, Philadelphia; Deborah Nursery and Child's Protectory, New York ; and the Sheltering Guardian Society, New York. It is a singular fact that a people so enterprising in busi- ness and so active in public affairs have never taken practi- cal steps to measure their own strength in the United States. The first attempt to do so resulted in 1880 in statistics that were manifestly very far below the actual condition. These showed that at the close of 1878 there were less than 300 con- 270 THE JEWS. gregations, less than 15,000 congregation members, less than 13,000 children attending schools, and only 270,500 Jews in the country. New York City was credited with 60,000, and the entire State with only 85,000. Between those dates and January 1, 1886, the Jewish population was greatly aug- mented, particularly in the large Eastern cities, while the popu- lation of interior towns was also largely increased by reason of the settlement of refugees and immigrants from Germany Austria, Russia, and other countries. The absence of defi- nite statistics is as much a subject of surprise to the Jews themselves as it is to others. Some of the most intelligent estimated the total Jewish population on January 1, 1886, at 500,000 ; the number of congregations at 7,500 ; of congrega- tion members, 250,000 ; of children at religious and day schools, 215,000; value of synagogue buildings, $800,000; and of charitable and benevolent institutions, $5,000,000. THE PKOPOSED JEWISH SEMINAEY. In January, 1886, a movement was inaugurated by some of the most prominent Jews of New York City, having in view the erection and endowment of a seminary for the in- struction of Hebrew rabbis and teachers. The intention of the promoters was clearly expressed by the Rev. Dr. Kohut, as follows : " We imperiously need a seminary which shall have no other ambition, no other title than to be purely and truly Jewish. We do not desire it to be destined for a sect, whether reform, conservative, or orthodox ; we would have it be a Jewish theological seminary, like that of Breslau, for exam- ple. I will not rashly assert that our seminary will also equal at present the above named in importance and thor- oughness. All we want now is a beginning. We desire that not the hewn and broken remnants of religious belief be taught in its halls. We desire that every rabbi candidate be enabled, at a later period of life besides obtaining a large fund of knowledge to form an objective and impartial judgment of true Judaism, and that he be not beset by the THE PROPOSED JEWISH SEMINARY. 271 gnawing worm of doubt in the beginning of his studies through the one-sided, prejudicial, and subjective instruc- tions of his teachers. Such a Jewish seminary, vivified by the proper spirit and tended with the proper love, is des- tined to introduce a new era in American Judaism. We would lead back to the pure fountains of truth and faith. Every step made in this direction is a step forward towards light, forward towards knowledge and faith." The plan proposed the location of the seminary in New York City. The ministers prominent in the matter were the Rev. Drs. A. Kohut, H. Pereira Mendes, and F. de Sola Mendes, of New York ; the Rev. S. Morais, of Philadelphia ; the Rev. A. P. Mendes, of Newport ; the Rev. Dr. B. Drach- man, of Newark ; and the Rev. H. W. Schnuberger, of Bal- timore. According to the census of 1890 there were in the United States 316 organizations of Orthodox Jews, who had 122 synagogues and 1 93 halls used for religious services, 57,597 church members, and church property valued at $2,802,050 ; and 217 organizations of Reformed Jews, with 179 syna- gogues and 38 halls, 72,899 members, and church property valued at $6,952,225 ; making together 533 organizations, 301 synagogues, 231 halls, 130,496 members, and $9,754,275 invested in church property. The census office also compiled a very detailed report on the vital statistics of the Jews in the United States. The results show that special inquiries were made of 10,618 fam- ilies, representing 60,630 persons. During the five years from January 1, 1885, to December 31, 1889, these families had 2,148 marriages, 6,038 births, and 2,062 deaths, the annual death rate being only 7.11 per 1,000 persons. Of the total 18,115 males reported as having a definite occupa- tion, 14,527 were wholesale or retail dealers, bankers, book- keepers, clerks, etc., while only 84 were reported as being laborers and 383 as being engaged in agricultural pursuits. Neither of these reports must be considered as showing an actual census of the Jewish population, for both deal with selected classes. The Roman Catholic Church. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHUECH. THE Roman Catholic Church, for the purpose of the present description, may be denned as the community of the faithful united to their lawful pastors, in communion with the See of Rome or with the Pope, the successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ on earth. The government of the Catholic Church may be considered monarchical, inasmuch as the Pope is held in it to be the ruler over the entire Church, and the most distant bishop holds his appointment from him, and receives from him his authority. The dignity or office of Pope is held to be inherent in the occupant of the See of Rome, as successor of St. Peter, by virtue of the commission given to St. Peter, not as his own personal pre- rogative, but as a part of the constitution of the Church, for its advantage, and therefore intended to descend to his suc- cessors, as the episcopal power .did from the apostles to those who succeeded them in their respective Sees. The election of the Pope is made by the six suburban bishops of Sees in the immediate vicinity of Rome, namely, those of Ostia and Velletri, Porto and Santa Rufina, Albano, Palestrina, Sabina, Frascati, who are always Cardinal bishops ; and by the Car- (272) M. ANGELO AT WORK ON HIS MOSES. A. TORRI^I. Michael Angelo, an artist of indomitable will and superhuman energy, the last and most famous of the great Florentine masters, after executing his vast and magnificent design for the decoration of the Sixtine chapel, produced in his Moses one of the greatest works of the sculptor's art. GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. 273 dinal priests and deacons of the ancient churches of Rome, wno form the bodies of Cardinal priests and deacons. These Cardinal priests may hold dignities in other countries as archbishop or bishop, but in the Cardinalship they are simply Cardinal priests. The Catholic Church being essentially episcopal, is gov- erned by bishops, who are of two kinds : bishops in ordin- ary, governing dioceses, who bear the name of the See over which they rule, and titular bishops bearing the title of some ancient See, who govern temporary districts as vicars-apos- tolic, or assist otherwise in the government of the Church. The powers of bishops, and the manner of exercising their authority, are regulated by the canon law ; their jurisdiction on every point is clear and definite, and leaves little room for arbitrary enactments or oppressive measures. Each diocese is generally, when fully established, divided into parishes, each provided with a parochus or parish priest. The appointment to a parish is vested in the bishop, and a parish priest holds for life, unless he is removed for just cause after a trial. Where canon law is not fully es- tablished the clergy corresponding to the parish priests have missions or local districts with variable limits placed under their care, but are dependent upon the will of their ecclesi- astical superiors. The parish priests are assisted by curates, who are removable. A great number of clergy are devoted to the conduct of education, either in universities or semi- naries ; some occupy themselves exclusively with preaching, others with instructing the poor, or attending charitable institutions. The parochial and other priests directly subject to the bishops form the secular clergy. Besides these there are numbers of priests belonging to religious orders, who form the regular clergy, that is, priests living under a regula, or rule. These are the monks, such as the Benedictines, Car- thusians, Cistercians, etc. ; the Mendicant Friars, the Fran- ciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and Carmelites; the Regular Clerks, such as the Jesuits, Redemptorists, Passion- ists, Lazarists, etc. These are immediately subject to their 18 274 THE xtOMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. own Superiors, and the Bishop acts on the regular clergy through these Superiors. The most solemn senate in the Roman Catholic Church is a general council, that is, an assembly of all the bishops of the Church, who may attend either in person or by deputy, under the presidency of the Pope. When once a decree has passed such an assembly and received the approbation of the Holy See, there is no further appeal. A distinction, however, must be made between doctrinal and disciplinary decrees. When a general council cannot be summoned, or when it is not deemed necessary, the government of the Church is con- ducted by the Pope, whose decisions in matters of discipline are considered paramount. The discipline of smaller divis- ions is maintained by plenary councils, provincial or diocesan synods. The first, embracing the archbishops and bishops of a country, or separate province, as the United States or Aus- tralia, consist of the bishops of a province under their metro- politan ; the latter of the parochial and other clergy under the superintendence of the bishop. THE DOCTRINAL CODE OF THE CHUECH. The formulary of faith is the creed of Pius IV., issued after the Council of Trent, with some additions after that of the Vatican. It is as follows : "I, N. N., with a firm faith believe and profess all and every one of those things which are contained in that creed, which the holy Roman Church maketh use of." Then follows the Nicene creed : "I most steadfastly admit and embrace apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions, and all other observances and con- stitutions of the same Church. " I also admit the holy Scriptures, according to that sense which our holy mother the Church has held and does hold, to which it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpreta- tion of the Scriptures ; neither will I ever take and interpret them otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the fathers. THE NICENE CREED. 275 "I also profess that there are truly and properly seven sacraments of the new law, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, though not all for every one to wit : baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, holy orders, and matri- mony ; and that they confer grace ; and that of these, bap- tism, confirmation, and orders cannot be reiterated without sacrilege. I also receive and admit the received and approved ceremonies of the Catholic Church, used in the solemn ad- ministration of the aforesaid sacraments. " I embrace and receive all and every one of the things which have been defined and declared in the holy Council of Trent, concerning original sin and justification. " I profess, like wise, that in the mass there is offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead ; and that in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and that there is made a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood, which conversion the Catholic Church calls transubstantiation. I also confess that under each kind Christ is whole and entire, and a true sacrament is received. " I firmly hold that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful. " Likewise, that the saints reigning with Christ are to be honored and invocated, and that they offer up prayers to God for us ; and that their relics ought to be venerated. " I most firmly assert that the images of Christ, of the Mother of God, and also of the saints, ought to be had and retained, and that due honor and veneration are to be given them. " I also affirm that the power of indulgences was left by Christ to the Church, and that the use of them is most whole- some to Christian people. " I acknowledge the holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church for the mother and mistress of all churches ; and I promise 276 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. true obedience to the Bishop of Rome, successor to St. Peter, prince of the apostles and vicar of Jesus Christ on earth. " I also undoubtedly receive and profess all other things delivered, denned, and declared by the Sacred Canons and General Councils, and particularly by the Holy Council of Trent, and delivered, defined, and declared by the General Council of the Vatican ; especially concerning the Primacy of the Roman Pontiff and his infallible teaching authority ; and I also condemn, reject, and anathematize all things con- trary thereto, and all heresies whatsoever condemned, re- jected, and anathematized by the Church. " This True Catholic Faith, out of which none can be saved, I now truly profess and truly hold. And I, N" , promise to hold, and profess the same whole and entire, with God's assistance, to the end of my life. Amen." EXPLANATION OF TENETS. Concerning the adoration which is due to God, the Catholic Church teaches that it principally consists in adhering to God with all the faculties of their souls, through faith, hope, and charity, as being the sole object that can make them happy by the communication of that sovereign good, which is himself. This internal adoration is attended with its ex- ternal signs, of which the sacrifice of the mass, identical with that which Christ offered on the Cross, is the only Latria of the New Law, the only public act ordained by God. It can be offered to God alone ; because sacrifice was ordained to make a public and solemn acknowledgment of God's sov- ereignty over us, and of our absolute dependence upon him to render him homage, to atone for sin and ask for blessings. The idea of Latria or adoration thus held is peculiar to God, and is entirely distinct from all other acts and rites. As Latria can be offered to God alone, honor inferior to it can be rendered to others. As Christ portrays the rich man in hell praying to Abraham, a saint with God, for his brother, the Church, in asserting that it is beneficial to pray to the saints, teaches the faithful to pray to them in that spirit EXPLANATION OF TENETS. 277 of charity, and according to that order of brotherly love, which inclines them to request the assistance of their breth- ren living upon earth ; and the catechism of the Council of Trent concludes from this doctrine, that if the quality of Me- diator, which the Holy Scriptures attribute to Jesus Christ, received the least prejudice from the intercession of the saints who dwell with God, it would receive no less an injury from the mediation of the faithful who live with us upon earth. This catechism demonstrates the great difference there is between the manner of imploring God's aid and assistance, and that of the saints ; for it expressly declares, that the Catholics pray to God either to bestow on them some bless- ing, or to deliver them from some misfortune ; but since the saints are more acceptable in his sight than they are, they beg of them to be their advocates only, and to procure for them such things as they want. For which reason, the Catholics make use of two forms of prayer widely different from each other, for when they make their applications to God himself, they say, "Have mercy on us, hear us ! " Bat when they address themselves to the saints, they only say, " Pray for us ! " In all cases, whether the prayer is direct or indirect, the favor is expected from God alone. Considering, however, that this honor which the Catholic Church pays to the saints principally appears before their images and sacred relics, it will be proper to explain the be- lief of the Church in both these particulars. In regard to images, the Catholics are expressly forbidden by the Council of Trent to believe there is any virtue in them of so heavenly a nature as to prove an inducement to pay divine adoration to them ; and they are enjoined to ask no favors of them, to put no trust or confidence in them, but to reverence them only in honor of the originals which they represent. The respect which is paid to relics, in imitation of the primitive Church, must be understood in the same manner. They look upon the bodies of the saints as having been victims offered up to God by martyrdom or penance, without in any way diminishing that duty and respect which they owe to God himself. 278 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. As to the point of justification, they believe that their sins are freely remitted by the divine mercy, for the sake of Jesus Christ; and that they are freely justified, because neither faith nor good works, which precede their justifica- tion, can merit that favor. As to the merit of good works, the Catholic Church teaches, that eternal life ought to be proposed to the children of God, both as a grace mercifully promised them by the means and mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as a reward faithfully bestowed on them for their good works and merits, in consequence of that promise. These are the express terms of the Council of Trent. But that the pride of mankind should not flatter itself with the idea of a presumptuous merit, the same Council teaches, that the whole worth and value of Christian works arise from a sanctifying grace, which is freely granted us in the name of Jesus Christ, and is the result of that constant influence which this divine Head has upon his members. Roman Catholics maintain that the faithful cannot be ac- ceptable to God but in and through Jesus Christ ; nor do they apprehend how any other sense can be imputed to their belief. They place all the hopes of their salvation so per- fectly in him alone, that they daily direct the following pe- tition to God in the sacrifice of the mass : Vouchsafe, O God ! to grant unto us sinners, thy servants who trust in the mul- titude of thy mercies, some share and society with thy blessed apostles and martyrs, into the number of whom we beseech thee to receive us, not in view of any merit on our part ; but pardoning us through thy grace in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The Catholics, without exception, teach that Jesus Christ only, who was both God and man, was able, by the infinite dignity of his person, to offer up a sufficient satisfaction to God for sins ; but having made an abundant recompense for them, he had power to apply that infinite satisfaction to the faithful in two several ways ; either by an absolute remission, without the least reserve of any penalty, or by exchanging a greater for a less, that is to say, an eternal for a temporal punishment. As the first is the most perfect and conform- CHARACTER OF INDULGENCES. 279 able to his divine goodness, he makes use of that, first of all, in the sacrament of baptism. They believe that he uses the second in the forgiveness which he grants to those who after baptism relapse into sin, he being in some measure compelled thereto, through the ingratitude of those who have abused his first favors ; for which reason they are to suffer some temporal punishment, though the eternal be taken off. In order to satisfy the duties imposed upon them by their re- ligion, the Catholics are subject to certain penances, which ought to be performed on their parts with repentance and humiliation ; and it is the necessity of these works of expia- tion, which obliged the primitive Church to inflict those punishments upon penitents, that are termed canonical. When the Church, therefore, imposes those painful and laborious penances upon sinners, and they undergo them with patience and humility, it is called satisfaction ; and when the Church shows any regard either to the ardent de- votion of the penitents, or to other good works which she prescribes, and remits any part of the punishment due to them, it is termed indulgence. The Council of Trent pro- posed nothing more relating to indulgences, than that the Church had the power of granting them from Jesus Christ, and that the practice of them is wholesome. Which custom, that Council held, ought still to be preserved, though with moderation, lest ecclesiastical discipline should be weakened by too great a toleration. Whence it is manifest that the articles of indulgences only regard discipline. The authority of the Church for the remission of temporal punishment is drawn from Matthew xviii. 18, 19, and the example of Paul in 2 Corinthians, ii. It is the belief of the Catholics, that those who depart this life having retained their baptismal innocence, or been re- stored to God's grace through the sacrament of penance, but who are, notwithstanding, subject to those temporal punish- ments which divine justice has reserved for them, must suffer them in the other world ; and for that reason the whole Christian Church in the earliest ages offered up both prayers, alms, and sacrifices for the faithful who had died in peace, 280 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. and in the communion of the Church, with a lively hope and expectation of their being relieved by those acts of devotion. This is what the Council of Trent proposed that the Catholics should believe with respect to souls confined in purgatory, without determining either the nature of their punishments, or several other things of the like kind ; in regard to which that holy council exacts considerable precaution, and partic^ ularly condemns those who say anything that is uncertain and precarious. Sacraments OF THE Roman Catholic Ghurcfy. THE SEVEN SACKAMENTS. riTlHE Roman Catholic Church acknowledges seven sacra- 1 ments, which number, according to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, is established by the Scriptures, by the tradition of the fathers, and the authority of councils. The sacrament of BAPTISM is defined by the Church as one instituted by Jesus Christ, in order to wash away original sin, and all those actual ones which may have been committed ; to communicate to mankind the spiritual regeneration and grace of Jesus Christ ; and to unite them as living members to their head. The most essential part of the ceremony of baptism in the Catholic Church is as follows : At the church- door the priest first asks the godfather and godmother what child they present to the Church ? whether or no they are its true godfather and godmother? if they be resolved to live and die in the true Catholic and Apostolic faith ? and what name they intend to give it ? All profane names, as those of the heathens and their gods, must be rejected. After the usual questions have been asked, the priest makes an exhortation to the godfather and godmother, with regard to the devotion which ought to accompany the whole per- formance. The exhortation being ended, the priest con- tinues the ceremony; and calling the child by the name (281) 282 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. that is to be given it, asks it as follows : What dost thou demand of the church ? To which the godfather answers, Faith. The priest adds, What is the fruit of faith ? The godfather answers, Eternal life. The priest continues, If you are desirous of obtaining eternal life, keep God's com- mandments : Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, etc. After which he breathes three times upon the child's face, and at the same time says, Depart from this child, thou evil spirit, and make room for the Holy Ghost. This being done, with the thumb of his right hand he makes a cross on the child's forehead, and afterwards an- other on its breast, pronouncing these words : Receive the sign of the cross on thy forehead, and in thine heart. Whereupon he takes off his cap, repeats a short prayer, and laying his hand gently on the child's head, prays for him a second time. This second prayer being ended, the priest blesses the salt in case it was not blessed before ; which being done, he takes a little of it, puts it into the child's mouth, pronouncing these words : Receive the salt of wis- dom. He then repeats a third prayer ; after which he puts on his cap, and exorcises the Prince of Darkness, command- ing him to come forth out of him who is going to be bap- tized. At the end of the exorcism he again makes the sign of the cross on the child's forehead, lays his hand on its head, and repeats another prayer. After this fourth prayer, the priest lays the end of the stole upon the child, and admits it into the Church. The godfather and godmother enter at the same time, and repeat with the priest the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer, as they advance towards the font, which having reached, the priest exorcises the devil once again, and after the exorcism, takes saliva from his mouth with the thumb of his right hand. With this he rubs the child's ears and nostrils, and, as he touches his right ear, repeats a Hebrew word, " Eph- phetha," which signifies "Be thou opened"; the same which Jesus Christ said to the man who was born deaf and dumb. The priest then asks whether he renounces the devil and all DOS works, the pomps, etc. The godfather answers in the SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. 283 affirmative. The priest then anoints the child between the shoulders, in the form of a cross, and after that lays aside his violet stole, and puts on a white one ; when the child is again questioned with respect to his belief, to which the godfather makes suitable answers in his name. These pre- liminaries being ended, the priest takes some of the bap- tismal water, which he pours thrice on the child's head in the form of a cross, and as he pours it, says, " I baptize thee, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," taking care to pour the water at the same time that he pronounces the words. This being done, he anoints the top of the child's head with the chrism, in the form of a cross, lays a piece of white linen upon its head, to repre- sent the white garment mentioned in Scripture, and puts a lighted taper into the child's hand, or into that of the god- father. The form for baptizing adults is longer and more imposing. The sacrament of CONFIRMATION can be conferred only by one having received episcopal consecration, unless in special cases, as where in remote districts which a bishop cannot visit. Confirmation is defined as a sacrament in which men receive the Holy Ghost to make them strong and perfect Christians, and soldiers of Jesus Christ. The order for conferring the sacrament is short. The bishop in white cope and a mitre recites prayers to ask the Holy Ghost to descend upon those to be confirmed. He then takes his seat before the altar, and the candidates advance one by one, each attended by a sponsor. The bishop now asks the name of each, and has it registered, after which he dips his right thumb into the chrism, and therewith makes the sign of the cross upon the forehead, the bishop at the same time saying : " I confirm you by the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," giving a gentle blow on the cheek to the person con- firmed, and saying, " Peace be with you." The sacrament of PENANCE is the sole means through which sins committed after baptism are forgiven. The preparation for the reception of this sacrament on the part 284: THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. of the faithful must be made with care. Two great parts of the sacrament are contrition and confession. The other sac- raments are administered with a certain pomp and solemnity of ritual ; but this one, which enters so largely into the plan of redemption, and is the great means of salvation, is almost strikingly devoid of all external rite. The priest, in his stole, is seated in the confessional. The penitent kneels be- side him, and repeats the Confiteor ; then after stating the period which his confession is to cover, the time when he last approached the sacraments, he lays open to the spiritual physician and judge the wounds of his soul the offences of which he arraigns himself. The case is fully before the judge, who is to exercise the discretionary power vested in him by Jesus Christ. He is to bind or to loose. If the case requires time to test the penitent's sincerity, or a reference to a higher tribunal, the priest binds it for the present. If the contrary be the result of the confession, he announces that he will loose him from his sins. He then assigns the satis- factory works to be performed, which are commonly called the penance, and generally consist of a few prayers. Confession being ended, the confessor recommends him or her to the divine mercy, stretches out his right hand towards the penitent, begging God to remit his or her sins ; after which he gives the absolution in the name of Christ Jesus, and adds, holding his right hand always lifted up towards the penitent, that he absolves him, by Christ's authority, in the name of the Father, etc. He .then prays to God that " Our Saviour's passion, the merits of the Holy Virgin and of all the saints, may concur to remit the penitent's sins. " The penance is enjoined that the faithful may do something to sat- isfy God for their sins ; for, it is held, the satisfaction of Christ does not relieve from the obligation of penitential works. Connected with the doctrine of satisfaction is that of indul- gence. An indulgence is not a remission of sins, it is not the forgiveness of future sins ; but it is the remission of the whole or part of the temporal punishment which is due to the justice of God after the sin and eternal punishment are remitted. The indulgences, in their present form, refer to THE MASS. 285 the canonical penances of the early church. An indulgence for a specified number of years, is a remission of that length of canonical penance in the primitive usage, and a remission of so much temporal punishment as corresponds thereto. A plen- ary indulgence is a complete remission of canonical penance. The HOLY EUCHARIST differs from the other sacraments in its permanent character, in its existence apart from the ac t of imparting to the faithful. The bread and wine are consecrated in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This sacrifice is the peculiar act of divine worship in the Church. The Holy Eucharist consecrated in the mass is either then, or at other times, given to the faithful as a sacrament. Every child of the Church ought to be present at mass with a con- science void of offence ; and in order to show them the neces- sity of such internal purity, they are sprinkled with a water sanctified for that purpose by a solemn benediction. The mass consists of two principal parts, viz. : the first from the beginning to the offering, which was formerly called the Mass of the Catechumens ; and the second from the offering to the conclusion, called the Mass of the Faithful. Every person, without any distinction, was required to be present at it until the offering ; because, in this first part, the lessons from Scripture and the preaching of the Gospel were in- cluded, from which none were to be excluded. But after the sermon none were permitted to have a share in the sac- rifice but those of the faithful who were duly qualified to partake of it. The catechumens were ordered to depart, and the penitents were not only shut out and kept from the com- munion, but even from the sight of the mysteries, for which reason the deacon cried out : " Holy things are for such as are holy ; let the profane depart hence ! " The mass is now generally divided into the Ordinary and the Canon. The framework of the mass is the same for all times, but certain parts, the Introit, Gradual, Tract or Se- quence, Secret, Communion, and Post-Communion, are dif- ferent according to the day and the season, as well as the Epistle, a selection from the Old Testament or the New, after the four Gospels, and the Gospel, which is always from one 286 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. of the four Gospels. A great deal of the mass is made up of Scriptural extracts, and all prayers are addressed to God the Father. The missal is translated into English and other modern languages, but is rarely used by the people. A great variety of prayers and devotions in harmony with the gen- eral idea of the mass, are in use, each one following any one or his own pious thoughts, as he prefers. Not one Catholic in a thousand ever carries a missal to church. The blessed sacrament is administered as a Viaticum, or provision for a journey, to those whose life is in danger. The sick person must receive it fasting, provided he can do so with safety ; and if he be not able to swallow the whole wafer, a piece of it may be given him, and afterwards some liquid ; but the host must not be dipped in any liquid beforehand, on pretence that the sick person will be the better able to swallow it. EXTKEME UNCTION is denned as a sacrament that gives Christians afflicted with dangerous sickness grace to suffer with patience the pains and troubles of their infirmities, endues them with strength to die a happy death, and restores them to health, provided it be for the good of their souls. On entering into the sick person's apartment, the priest, in surplice and violet stole, says, Pax Tiuic domui, et omnibus Tiabitantibus in ea, i. e., "Peace be to this house," etc. After having placed the vessels of the holy oils upon the table, he gives the sick person the cross to kiss, and then sprinkles the sick person, the apartment, and the bystanders, with holy water, at the same time repeating the anthem, Asperges me, etc. Confession where possible precedes Ex- treme Unction ; but in case the person be speechless, the sacrament is administered to him conditionally that is, acting on the probability that he is properly disposed to receive it. The anointing is performed in this manner : The priest dips the thumb of his right hand in the holy oil, and anoints the sick person in the form of a cross, on the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, hands, and feet, saying at each anointing an appropriate prayer. When the last supreme moment approaches the rite of the Commendation of the HOLY ORDERS. 287 Peparting Soul is performed, when the priest in surplice and purple stole, after sprinkling the dying person, and giving him a crucifix to kiss, repeats a number of prayers as the moments grow shorter, and after the last breath has gone, utters another, beseeching the saints to meet the departed, and the angels to receive his soul and offer it in the sight of the Most High. The sacrament of HOLY ORDERS is generally administered during the Ember-days, although bishops may confer them at other times. In the very early Church no particular days were observed ; ordinations were held whenever necessity re- quired. In the Western Church it became customary at an early period to have only one solemn ordination in the year, namely, in December. Subsequently the middle of Lent and Holy Saturday were appointed for this purpose. The clerical orders of the Church are divided into two classes, sacred and minor orders. The first consists of subdeacons, deacons, and priests, who are bound to celibacy, and the daily recitation of the breviary, a collection of psalms and prayers, occupying a considerable time. The minor orders are four in number, Ostiarius, Lector, Exorcist, and Acolyte, and are preceded by the tonsure, an ecclesiastical ceremony in which the hair is shorn, initiatory to the ecclesiastical state. The employ- ment of the door-keeper, or Ostiarius, is to open and shut the church-doors, and also to take care that the bells be rung in due time ; that of the Lector or Eeader, to read aloud the portions appointed ; that of the Exorcist, to exorcise persons possessed ; that of the Acolyte, to bring in the tapers, to light them, to prepare the censer and the wine and water for the sacrifice, and to attend upon the subdeacon, the deacon, and the priest. The minor orders are conferred by a bishop only. The major or sacred orders comprise the Subdeaconship, the Dea- conship, and the Priesthood. The duties of a Subdeacon are to aid the Deacon, and under him to serve in the functions of the ministry ; to sing the epistle in solemn masses ; to take care of the holy vessels and linens used in the Holy Sacrifice ; to wash the palls, purificatories, and corporals ; to receive the offerings of the people ; to carry the cross in processions ; to hold the 288 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. book of the Gospels while the deacon chants the Gospel of the day, and to present it to the bishop or priest who cele- brates, to be kissed by him. The Deacon is the immediate assistant of the priest at the Holy Sacrifice. He acquires the power of preaching by the express permission of the bishop, as well as of baptizing. The Priesthood is considered " the crown of the orders, as in it the Sacrament of Holy Orders culminates." By his ordination the priest receives all the sacerdotal powers ; but to exercise them, he requires faculties from the bishop of the diocese. These are conceded, either to say mass, preach, and hear confessions, or for the first of these only. The sacrament of MATRIMONY. Independently of the age requisite for marriage, the liberty of contracting so solemn an engagement, and the publication of the banns, the church requires further, " That the persons to be joined together in matrimony shall be sufficiently instructed in the Christian doctrine ; that they should know the nature of the sacrament of marriage, its ends and obligations ; and that they should first confess, and receive the blessed sacrament, before they join themselves together forever." It is the wish of the Church that the marriage should take place during mass, and a special form, the Missa pro Sponso et Sponsa, is in the missal. When the nuptial mass is said the bride and groom receive holy communion, and are then joined in wedlock in the usual form, receiving the nuptial blessing. When the marriage is not with the mass, the priest in surplice and white stole goes to the altar ; he is preceded by attendants ; he advances towards them, the man standing on the epistle and the woman on the gospel side, so that the man stands at the woman's right hand. Then the priest addresses himself to the man and woman separately, calling them both by their proper names, and asks the man whether he will have such a one for his wife ? and the woman whether she will have such a one for her husband \ After mutual consent has been given, the priest, making them join hands, says, Ego jungo vos in matrimonium, etc. ; that is, " I join you together in marriage, in the name of the MATRIMONY. 289 Father,'' etc. At the same time he makes the sign of the cross upon them, and then sprinkles them with holy water. This being done, he blesses the wedding-ring, and sprinkles it also with holy water, in the form of a cross ; after which he gives it to the bridegroom, who puts it on the wedding-finger of the bride. ic Gfiurcfiu THE SACEAMENTALS OF THE CHUECH. THE sacramentals include the prayers of the church and the blessings of the church. All the prayers of the church said by the priest in the mass, the psalms sung in the divine office, the forms of prayer used in the adminis- tration of the sacraments, in the consecration of bishops, the consecration and blessing of churches, of bells, vestments, crosses, rosaries, and of pictures, are sacramentals. The books containing these official prayers are : The Missal, or Mass-Book, contains the ordinary of the mass, which is the unalterable portion, and also the introits, collects, epistles, tracts, graduals, sequences, epistles and gos- pels, offertories, secrets, prefaces, communicantes, commun- ions and post-communions, for the various feasts and ferine of the ecclesiastical year; with a variety of votive masses which may be said at option on certain days, the mass of marriage, dedication of churches, and the masses of requiem, or masses for the dead. At one time many countries, and even parts of countries, had missals varying somewhat ; but in later years these have gradually been laid aside, and the Roman missal is now in almost universal use, although each country has one of its own, containing services for special feasts to which the people of that country have particular THE SACRAMENTALS OF THE CHURCH. 291 devotion, such as the saints who have flourished in the coun- try, or the feasts which have become in some way patronal. The Breviary, or Office-Book of the O'irch, with the Di- urnal, contains the church prayers for the different hours of the day, according to the ancient division and the custom of the East. These are matins ; lauds ; prime, so called from being said at the first hour ; tierce, said at the third hour ; sext, at the sixth ; none, at the ninth ; vespers, or the even- ing service ; and compline, or the concluding service of the day. Each of these parts contains some of the psalms of David, with extracts from other parts of the Bible, or from the Fathers, or an account of the feast or saint honored on the day ; canticles from the Scriptures, hymns, and prayers. The breviary is divided into four parts, corresponding to the seasons ; a division evidently of Jewish origin, as their prayer-books to this day are similarly divided. The Ritual is a book containing the form of administer- ing many of the sacraments, the funeral service, various ben- edictions, and minor services ; while those peculiar to bishops are given in the Pontifical. The Litanies are a form of united prayer by alternate sentences, in which the clergy lead and the people respond. They are usually of a peni- tential character. By the name Angelus is denoted the Cath- olic practice of honoring God at morning, noon, and evening, by reciting three Hail Mary's, together with sentences and a collect, to express the Christian's rejoicing trust in the mys- tery of the incarnation. Concerning Blessed Candles, the present custom of the Church requires that candles should be lighted on the altar from the beginning to the end of mass. The candles must be of pure wax and of white color, except in masses for the dead, when yellow ones are used. Six candles are lighted at High Mass, seven at the mass of a bishop, twelve at least at the benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Candles must also be lighted when communion is given, and one lighted candle is required in the administration of extreme unction. Holy Water is placed at the door of the church in order that the faithful may sprinkle themselves with it as they enter, 292 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. accompanying the outward rite with internal acts of sorrow and love. Holy water is also employed in nearly every blessing which the Church gives. Holy Ashes are obtained one year by burning the palms of the preceding year. The administration of the ashes was originally made only to public penitents, but has since been extended to the whole congregation. The Chrism consists of olive oil mixed with balm, is blessed by the bishop and used by the Church in confirmation as well as in baptism, ordination, consecration of altar-stones, chalices, churches, and in the blessing of bap- tismal water. The Holy Oils are three in number, and are consecrated by the bishop on Holy Thursday. They are the oil of catechumens, the chrism, and the oil of the sick, which is also used in blessing bells. DEVOTION TO THE CROSS. The sixth (Ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople, about the close of the seventh century, decreed that Jesus Christ should be painted in a human form upon the cross, in order to represent in the most lively manner imaginable, to all Christians, the death and passion of the Blessed Saviour. But emblematic figures of Him had been in use for many pre- ceding ages. Christ was frequently delineated in the form of a lamb, at the foot of the cross, and the Holy Ghost in that of a dove. The cross, as the copy of that on which our Lord died, was an object of reverence from the first, and was made on the person with the words : " In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The crucifix, a cross with the effigy of our Lord nailed to it, was introduced when idolatry was overthrown. In the service of the Church special honor is paid to the crucifix on Good Friday. She places the cross on the spires, which show that she looks up to heaven ; she places the crucifix above her altar and in the hands of her dying children ; she makes the sign of the cross at all times. The sign of the cross, which begins all prayers and devotions, is made by drawing the hand from the fore- DEVOTION TO THE CROSS. 293 head to the breast and then from the left to the right shoul- der. How old the usage is may be seen in Tertullian, who, writing in the second century, said : " At every step and movement, whenever we come in or go out, when we dress and put on our shoes, at bath, at table, when lights are brought in, on lying or sitting down, whatever employ- ment engages our attention, we make the sign of the cross upon our foreheads." The Church encourages the use of crucifixes by indulgences conferred on those who devoutly use those blessed with that view. Connected with the cross are two feasts of the Church : The Invention (i.e., Finding) of the Holy Cross, celebrated on the 3d of May, to commemorate the discovery of the cross at Jerusalem by the Empress Helena ; and the Exalta- tion of the Holy Cross, celebrated on the 14th of September, to commemorate its recovery from Chosroes; king of Persia, by the Emperor Heraclius, and its solemn restoration and exaltation on Mount Calvary. The most popular devotion connected with the cross is the Stations, or Holy Way of the Cross. It is a devotional exercise, not properly a part of the church service, in which the passion, death, and sepulture of the Son of God pass before us in a series of fourteen pictures, and in which the faithful meditate upon them, passing from station to station, in memory of his sad and bitter passage from the tribunal of Pilate to the tomb. Constant tradition attests that, from the very first, devotion led the followers of our Lord to tread that path, and bedew with their tears and prayers the way which he had hallowed with his precious blood. As the Church spread, pilgrims came from afar to perform the same devotion. When in time Jerusalem fell into the hands of the enemies of the Church, so that it was unsafe for many to venture thither, the Franciscan Fathers, to whom especially the guardianship of the holy places was assigned, began to set up in their churches in Europe four- teen crosses, with as many pictures, representing the various stages of that dolorous way, that the faithful, meditating before them, might in spirit accompany the pilgrims to Je- 294 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. rusalem on their way to Calvary. This devotion is often performed in the penitential times of Lent and Advent ; and crosses are specially blessed to enable those prevented by illness from performing the devotion before stations canon- ically set up, to obtain the same spiritual favors by going through the devotion in their own homes. Another devotion among the people to honor Christ as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world is the Agnus Dei. The Agnus Dei is the figure of a lamb stamped on the wax which remains from the Paschal candles, and sol- emnly blessed by the Pope on the Thursday after Easter, in the first and seventh years of his Pontificate. THE ROSARY AND SCAPULAR. The early Christians recited daily the one hundred and fifty psalms. Those who could not learn them recited the Lord s Prayer one hundred and fifty times ; and in time the Hail Mary was substituted, the Lord's Prayer being recited after every decade, or ten Hail Mary's. In reciting these beads were used, as they have been in Asia from time im- memorial, and are to this day from Syria to Japan. St. Dominic, founder of the order of Friar Preachers, divided this into three parts, and taught the people to meditate while reciting it, on some mystery of redemption connected with the life and passion of Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. The fifteen mysteries are divided into three parts : the first includes the fwe joyful mysteries ; the next five are the sorrowful; and the last five, the glorious, as being des- tined to his resurrection, ascension, etc. The devotion of the scapular of Mount Carmel consists likewise of two small pieces of cloth, three or four inches square, tied together with two ribands. It is worn as a badge of fellowship in prayer and good works, with the re- ligious of the Carmelite order. It is evidently derived from the Jews, who wear a similar badge, known as the little taleth, to remind them of their duty ever to pray. Christ wore the taleth, and the practice has therefore Scriptural authority. VESTMENTS OF THE PRIEST AT MASS. 295 THE SACRED UTENSILS. For the celebration of the mass the priest has a Chalice, generally of silver or gold, and a Paten of the same mate- rial. The use of the latter is to hold the consecrated host. These utensils are solemnly blessed and anointed for the use of the altar, and are kept and handled with the great- est reverence. The Pyx, or Ciborium as it is now called, is the vessel in which the Blessed Sacrament is kept, and is usually covered with a silk veil. Pyx is the name given to a small vessel, or box, in which the Blessed Sacrament is conveyed by the priest to the sick. The Ostensorium, or Monstrance, is used for the exposition of the Holy Sacrament at the benediction. The Censer was formerly known as the Thurible, and the part that holds the burning incense was called the navette, but is now termed the bowl or boat. The Chrismale is the receptacle of the Holy Chrism. The Cor- poral is the linen cloth on which the host is laid. It is blessed before being used, either by a bishop or by a priest with special faculties. A part of the Corporal at one time was spread over the chalice, but now a small cloth of linen, stiffened with cardboard and having an upper surface of silk, called the Palla, is used. VESTMENTS OF THE PRIEST AT MASS. The Amice is a piece of fine linen, of an oblong-square form, which is worn on the shoulders and crossed over in front. It was formerly a hood, thrown back during service, and is still so used by the priests of some orders. The Alb is an ample linen tunic, so called from the Latin word alba, signifying white. This ancient linen tunic, once the general garb, is retained by the Church to the use of her priests, deacons, and subdeacons when ministering at the altars. The lower part of the alb was formerly ornamented with scarlet stripes, or fringed with gold. The alb was always girt by a cincture, and the Church retains it, as our Lord and his apostles make a spiritual reference to the custom. 296 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. The Maniple, now an embroidered vestment, worn on the left arm, was originally a linen handkerchief. The Stole was a mark of honor, and has its antecedent in the veil worn by the Jews at prayer. It is worn around the neck, the ends being crossed on the breast ; but a bishop wears it hanging down on each side. The Chasuble is placed over these vestments. It was originally a square or round cloth, with a hole in the centre for the head. The chasuble now worn in the Greek Church is of this form ; but in the Latin Church the sides have been cut open to give play to the hands, and the garment grad- ually trimmed to its present shape. It bears a large em- broidered cross on the back. The Dalmatic is the special vestment of the deacon. It is a vestment, open on each side, and differs from the priest's chasuble by having a species of wide sleeve, and, instead of being marked on the back with the cross, is ornamented with two stripes that were originally the augustus clavus, worn upon their garments by the less dignified of the Roman people. It is of the same color as the priest's vestments of the day. The tunic worn by the subdeacon is still shorter, and without sleeves. It corre- sponds in color with the chasuble. The vestments are cloth of gold for solemnities ; white, for confessors and virgins ; red, for feasts of the Holy Ghost, the Apostles, and Martyrs ; purple, for days of fasting ; black, for masses for the dead. THE FUNERAL SERVICE. In its full rite the funeral service begins at the house of the deceased. The priest, in surplice and black stole, before the body is removed, sprinkles it, and intones the 129th Psalm. As the funeral procession enters the church the chanters intone the antiphon : " The bones that are humbled shall rejoice." The melancholy occasion of the ceremony does not admit of any pompous decorations on the altar. All the flowers, festoons, relics, and images are removed. Six yellow wax lights, and a cross in the middle, are the only ornaments. The corpse is placed in the middle of the church, with the feet towards the altar, if a layman ; but if a priest. THE FUNERAL SERVICE. 290 with his head towards it. Tapers are lighted around it. After the Funeral Mass is said, the priest, taking off his chas- uble and maniple, moves processionally to the coffin, the sub- deacon, if one is present, leading with the cross, and taking his position at the head of the deceased, one acolyte on either hand bearing tapers, while the priest stands at the foot, with attendants bearing a censer and a holy- water vessel. Then the priest begins : Non intres in judicium, etc. " Enter not into judgment," etc. The celebrant walks round the coffin, sprinkling it with holy water, and afterwards incensing it on all sides, bowing as he passes the cross. When he has per- formed the absolution he says the Pater, and thereupon turns to the cross, repeating several verses and prayers. Lastly, he makes the sign of the cross over the coffin, and says, Requiescat in pace,"~Let him rest in peace." After the absolution the celebrant and his attendants return in the same order as they approached. On arriving at the grave, opened in consecrated ground, the corpse is placed beside it; the priest again sprinkles and incenses the body and the grave, and recites the Canticle of Zachary, followed by the antiphon: "I am the resurrection and the life," etc. After the corpse has been lowered into the ground, the Kyrie again resounds, the Lord's Prayer is repeated, and then the final prayer. of BI3PP, THE OFFICE AND DIGNITY OF BISHOPS. BISHOPS are considered as the fathers and pastors of the faithful, and the successors of the apostles ; by virtue of which superiority they are allowed the chief places in the choir, in chapters, and processions. As successors to the apostles, they claim respect and homage from the laity ; and as fathers and pastors, they are obliged to preach God's holy word to the faithful. Bishops were first chosen by the apostles. After the elev- enth century they were elected by the clergy of the cathe- dral church, the confirmation resting with the metropolitan. Gradually this privilege passed into the hands of the Pope. The mode of election or selection varies in different coun- tries. The Pope has granted the right to the sovereigns of some Catholic countries, and even the Protestant govern- ment of Germany, to exclude from a list of names proposed for the high office such as may be deemed locally objection- able. The right of confirmation, however, is vested abso- lutely in the Pope. The appointments to the Episcopate are from time to time officially proclaimed, or, as it is called, preconized at Home by the Pope in consistory. An official letter called a bull, from the round seal attached to it, is sent to the bishop-elect, OFFICE AND DIGNITY OF BISHOPS. 299 and he is then consecrated. Three bishops are required, by the ancient canons, and by the general practice of the Church, for the consecration. At the time appointed for the conse- cration, the bishops, with the elect, go in procession to the church, and the Consecrator is vested in full pontificals, as are the assistants in rochets, stoles, copes, and mitres ; and the bishop-elect puts on the amice, alb, cincture, and stole, crossed on his breast as a priest. The Consecrator sits at the altar, and the bishop-elect, wearing his small cap, is led to him by the assistant bishops ; and after saluting him, they sit down, the assistant bishops on either side of the bishop- elect. The apostolic commission is read, an oath of duty and fidelity is administered to the bishop-elect, a series of questions embracing the creed and profession of faith are put and answered, and the Consecrator, laying aside his mitre, begins the mass. After the Litany is ended, the Con- secrator places the Book of the Gospel open on the shoul- ders of the bishop-elect, where it is sustained by one of the chaplains until it is delivered into his hands. Next follows the imposition of hands, accompanied by the words : " Re- ceive thou the Holy Ghost." The Consecrator, again assum- ing his mitre, makes the sign of the cross on the head of the bishop-elect with holy chrism, and anoints the whole ton- sure. The hands of the bishop-elect are then thrice anointed, the crozier, or pastoral staff, is blessed and given him, the ring is blessed and placed on the right hand, the gloves are blessed and placed on his hands, and he is then ceremoni- ously placed in the Episcopal chair. The Gospel of St. John then closes the mass, in the usual way. The Mitre had its origin in the metal plate worn on the forehead by the Jewish high-priest. It was once very low, and was first used by the Roman Pontiffs, who permitted its use to bishops. Gradually it was made higher, until it at- tained its present form about the sixteenth century. The Crosier, or pastoral staff, is designed to signify that the power and grace of the pastoral office must be derived from God, the supporter of human weakness. The Ring was, among the ancients, a sign of authority, and was early adopted by 300 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. the Church. In time the mitre and crosier were granted to certain abbots ; but their mitre is properly of the second or third order, and the crosier has a veil or banner, and when used has the crook turned towards the abbot, not towards the people as a bishop holds his. THE ARCHIEPISCOPATE. The consecration of an archbishop is similar to that of a bishop, but he is not fully inducted into the archiepiscopate until he receives the pallium, which is the special mark of that dignity. The pallium is a vestment made of lamb's- wool, dotted with purple crosses. It is worn on the shoul- ders, with a lapel hanging down the breast and back. On the feast of St. Agnes the abbot of St. Peter's, ad mncula, blesses two lambs, which are then carried to the Pope and blessed by him. The lambs are next sent to the nuns of San Lo- renzo, in Panisperna, or the Capuchin nuns, who shear them and make the vestments. These are laid on the tomb of St. Peter the night preceding his feast, and are then blessed by the Pope. The pallium serves to put the prelate in mind that he is bound to seek out, like the good shepherd, and carry home on his shoulders the strayed sheep of his flock. Every particular pallium serves for the use of that archbishop only to whom it was first given ; neither can he make any use of it in case he be translated from one archbishopric to another, nor leave it to his successors. When an archbishop dies his pallium is buried with him ; and if he be buried in his own diocese, it is laid upon his shoulders ; but if out of it, under his head. Archbishops date back to the times of the apostles. They govern their own dioceses as bishops ; but have a certain jurisdiction over a number of their dio- ceses which form their province. The bishops under them are called suffragans. In some countries, where there are sev- eral archbishops, one See is often, from its antiquity or some other reason, regarded as the first in dignity, and the arch- bishop of that See is called the Primate of the country. THE PAPACY. 301 THE PAPACY. In the government of the Church the Pope is assisted by the College of Cardinals, who are of three grades Cardinal bishops (6), Cardinal priests (50), and Cardinal deacons (14). Cardinals were originally the bishops near Rome, and clergy of the city of Rome, and a Cardinal bishop is always bishop of one of the suburban churches, and every Cardinal priest, though he may be archbishop or bishop in some other country, always has the title of some church in that city. The Car- dinalate is not sacramental, and the conferring of the dignity is not a part of Holy Orders, nor a rank in the episcopate. When the Pope makes a promotion of cardinals he gives them the title of priest, or deacon, as he thinks proper ; and because all cardinals are equal by their* dignity, they take place according to the date of their promotion and the qual- ity of their title. As cardinals, with regard to spirituals, govern the Church of Rome in all parts of the Christian world, subjects of the different nations of it are allowed to aspire to this dignity, according to the decisions of the Council of Trent. Cardinals wore only the common vestment of priests, which was like a monastic habit, till the time of Innocent IY. The red hat was given them in 1243, in the Council of Lyons. According to writers they were not clothed in scarlet till the pontificate of Paul II. ; others pretend that their robes were of that color as early as Innocent III. ; and others, again, that they wore the purple under Stephen IV. Paul II. distinguished them by the embroidered silk mitre, and the red cope and cap, red housings for their mules, and gilt stirrups. Urban VIII. , in order to add fresh splendor to the cardinalate, ordered that the title of Eminence should be given to them. The red cap is dispatched to the newly created Cardinal by a member of the Pope's Noble Guard, and if he be not a resident of Rome, an ablegate with a brief and credentials is sent with the biretta, which is formally presented to His Eminence in a Cathedral church. Within a year he must proceed to Rome to receive the other insignia. The closing 302 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. and opening of the mouth of new Cardinals is the first cere- mony. The ring and title are conferred together, after the unsealing of the mouth. The Cardinal, kneeling before the Pope, receives the gold ring, set with a sapphire, which the Pope places on his finger and commits the titular church to his care. The cap is made of red cloth, lined with red silk, with a red silk cord around the crown, and tassels of red silk in five rows. METHODS OF ELECTING A POPE. The election of a Pope is regarded with universal interest in the Church, and in those countries where the Roman Catholic is the State religion. After the burial of a deceased Pope, the Cardinals assemble in a church, and walk in pro- cession with their conclavists, a secretary, and a chaplain, to the great gate of the Palace, in which one will remain as Sovereign Pontiff. The Cardinal Camerlingo, with three others, administers the government until an election is had. There are three methods of electing a Pope, by scrutiny, by compromise, and by inspiration or acclamation. The first consists of collecting and examining the ballots of the Car- dinals. If there is no election the ballots are burned and new ones used for a second vote, and so on until a choice is made, the decisive vote being two-thirds of all the Cardinals. A Pope is elected by compromise when the Cardinals agree to appoint a given number of their associates to make a selection, pledging themselves to acknowledge the one they may nominate as duly elected. The last method is where all are so manifestly in favor of a certain person that neither balloting nor compromise is necessary, and the choice is made by the acclamation of the Cardinals. When a Pope is chosen, a door leading out on a balcony previously walled up, is broken open, and the first Cardinal Deacon steps through and announces the result: "I give you tidings of great joy. We have as Pope the most emi- nent and reverend Lord , cardinal of the holy Roman Church , of the title of St. , who has assumed the name of ." If the newly-elected Pope is not a bishop he THE LAST (ECUMENICAL COUNCIL. 303 is consecrated a bishop and crowned with the triple crown. From his election he is head of the Church can decree, rale, name or depose bishops, and exercise every pontifical juris- diction ; but he cannot ordain or consecrate until he has received the imposition of hands from bishops inferior to himself. THE LAST (ECUMENICAL COUNCIL. The last (Ecumenical Council of the Church was held in Eome, 1869-70, and- was the first convened since the famous Council of Trent, held in 1545. Pursuant to the mandatory letters issued by Pope Pius IX., all the Christian prelates of the world, who had accepted the invitation, repaired to Rome on Dec. 2, 1869. A preparatory assembly was held of those prelates who had reached the Eternal City, Pope Pius pre- siding at the session. A Novena, or nine days' prayer, was publicly instituted to invoke the Divine assistance during the deliberations of the Council. At dawn of day on the 8th, the cannon of St. Angelo and the bells of Rome an- nounced that the Vatican Council was about to be formally opened. The left transept of St. Peter's had been partitioned off to serve as the Council Chamber, and the different sec- tions had been arranged and furnished according to the rank of those entitled to a place in the assembly. About 9 A.M. the procession started from the Vatican Palace, and after the Pope and accompanying prelates had reached the places assigned to them the Mass of the Holy Ghost was sung by Cardinal Patrizzi. Bishop Fessler, Secretary of the Council, then placed the book of the Gospels on a desk, after which Monsignor Passaralli, Archbishop of Iconium, preached the opening sermon. The customary act of homage was then rendered to the Pope, and after some devotional exercises, the Council was declared formally opened. No less than 728 prelates and divines assisted at the opening of the Coun- cil, which terminated on the 18th of July, 1870, when 536 of the members gave in their adhesion to the Dogma of Infal- libility. As this ecclesiastical action has since been the subject of 304 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. profound consideration, and is imperfectly understood, a literal translation of the Dogma, as promulgated by the Council, is submitted : " And since, by the divine right of apostolic primacy, the Koman pontiff is placed above the universal Church, we fur- ther teach and declare that he is the supreme judge of the faithful, and that in all causes the decision of which belongs to the Church recourse may be had to his tribunal : and that none may reopen the judgment of the Apostolic See, the au- thority of which is greater than all other ; nor can any law- fully review its judgment. Wherefore, they err from the right course who assert that it is lawful to appeal from the judgments of the Roman pontiffs to an oecumenical council, as to an authority higher than that of the Roman pontiff. " Therefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, for the glory of God cur Saviour, the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and the salvation of Christian people, the sacred council approv- ing, we teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed : That the Roman pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra that is, when, in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme apostolic author- ity, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed, for defining doctrine regarding faith or morals ; and that, therefore, such definitions of the Roman pontiff are irref ormable of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church." Among those Bishops who were opposed to the Dogma of Infallibility, fifty-five wrote a letter to the Pope prior to its adoption, announcing that their minds remained unaltered, and that they should absent themselves from the session. Of those who were conspicuous by their advocacy of the Dogma may be mentioned Archbishops Deschamps, of Ma- lines ; Manning, of Westminster ; Spaulding, of Baltimore ; and Bishop Martin, of Paderborn. The leaders among the THE DOGMA OF INFALLIBILITY. 305 opponents were : Hefele, afterward Bishop of Rottenburg ; Strossmeyer, of Bosnia ; Cardinal Rauscher,of Vienna ; Arch- bishop Darboy, of France ; Dupanloup, of Orleans ; and Ken- rick, of St. Louis. The very day the Pope confirmed the decree, Napoleon III. declared war against Germany, and on September 20th the Italians took possession of the city of Rome. On October 20th the Pope prorogued the Council, and it has not yet been reassembled. The decree had scarcely been promulgated when Dr. D61- lenger protested against it as an innovation. He was joined by a number of theologians, in Germany and Switzerland, who formed a separate communion and became known as "Old Catholics." In Synods held subsequently they made many alterations in the discipline of the Church. In 1880 it was estimated that their adherents did not exceed 50,000. The leaders were all excommunicated from the Roman com- munion. 20 Tfte Roman Catftofic Cftitrcft tn tfte United States, EARLY HISTORY. VEN in the territory now embraced in the United States this ancient Church preceded all other Christian denom- inations. As early as 1521 Yasquez de Ayllon commenced a settle- ment on one of the rivers flowing into the Chesapeake, and the Dominican friars who attended him reared the first Cath- olic chapel on our soil, where for months the rites of the Church were offered ; but the commander died and the set- tlement was abandoned. The expeditions of Narvaez and De Soto had clergymen with them, but no settlements were formed, and these pioneer ministers of religion perished amid the hardships of the march. Impelled by the.account of a survivor of one of these * ill-fated expeditions, the Franciscan Father Mark, of Nice in Italy, penetrated in 1539 to New Mexico. Others followed and began missions, only to be murdered by the Indians. In 1595 the Spaniards occupied the country, and founded Santa Fe. The Catholic worship was established, and has contin- ued almost uninterruptedly in that territory for nearly three centuries. In an outbreak against the Spaniards, at the close of the seventeenth century, many of the missionaries perished. (306) THE CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 307 Some Dominican priests were slain in Florida in 1549 while trying to convert the natives ; and Tristan de Luna, in 1559, had a Christian shrine at Pensacola. When St. Augustine was begun, in 1565, a Catholic chapel was erected, and from that time the services of the Church were regularly offered. At St. Helena, on Port Royal Sound, and later on the banks of the Rappahannock, there were Catholic chapels as early as 1571. For many years St. Augustine had its Franciscan convent, and chapels within and without the walls. Missions were established among the Indian tribes by the Jesuits and then by the Franciscans, and the Timuquans, Apalaches, and other tribes embraced Christianity. In 1699 Pensacola was founded and a Catholic church erected there ; but the Indian missions were finally almost extirpated by Carolina and Georgia. Many devoted missionaries were slain amid their pious labors to regenerate the aborigines. Texas was settled by the Spaniards, and a town grew up at San Antonio, with church and convent, while missionaries planted the cross among the Indian tribes from the Rio Grande to the Sabine. The Catholic Church was the only Christian body here for a century and a quarter. Upper California was settled about the time of our Revo- lution, and the Franciscans established a series of Indian missions whose names are still retained. They were finally destroyed by the greed of the Mexican government, just be- fore our conquest of the country. As in Florida, the Catho- lic Church in New Mexico, Texas, and California has its list of missionaries who held life less precious than the cause of Christ. North of our territory lie Canada and Nova Scotia, set- tled at an early day by Catholic France. The worship of the Church of Rome was celebrated beneath rude temporary structures at Boone Island, in Maine, and subsequently at Mount Desert, early in the seventeenth century. The very year the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock a Fran- ciscan priest in sandalled feet crossed the Niagara River from Canada, and preached Christ, and him crucified, to the Indi- ans of Western New York. A few years later two Jesuits 308 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. met the Chippewas at Sault St. Mary's, by the outlet of the most remote of the Western Lakes, and one of them, the gentle yet intrepid Father Jogues, returned to die by the tomahawk, while endeavoring to imbue the minds of the Mohawks with the sweet spirit of Christ. In the latter part of the seventeenth century there were Catholic chapels on the Kennebec and coast of Maine, from the Mohawk to the Niagara, at Mackinaw, Sault St. Mary's, Green Bay, and Kaskaskia. Early in the last century Detroit had a church. Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes were the next seats of Catholicity. At the South, New Orleans and Mobile were founded and Catholic churches were established, Capuchins laboring in the settlements, and Jesuits and missionary priests among the Indian tribes. The Ursuline Nuns at New Orleans began to labor as teachers and nurses. These churches and institutions, from Maine to Louisiana, were subject to the bishops of Quebec. In the English colonies Catholicity began its life in Mary- land coeval with the settlement, two Jesuit priests having formed part of the first body of colonists, taking up lands and bringing over men to cultivate them. By the leader of this mission, Father Andrew White, Catholic worship was first offered on St. Clement's Isle, in the Potomac, on the 25th of March, 1634. This was a most important epoch in the history of the Church and of the United States as well. The events of those days, from which such glorious results have since been obtained, possess an enduring interest and cannot be too fre- quently considered by every patriotic and Christian citizen. Lord Baltimore having received from Charles I. the charter of Maryland, hastened to carry into effect the plan of colon- izing the new province, of which he appointed his brother, Leonard Calvert, to be Governor. The first body of immi- grants, consisting of about 200 gentlemen of considerable rank and fortune, chiefly of the Roman Catholic persuasion, with a number of inferior adherents, sailed from England, under the command of Calvert, in November, 1632, and after a prosperous voyage landed in Maryland, near the mouth of THE SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND. 309 the Potomac, in the beginning of the following year. The Governor, as soon as he landed, erected a cross on the shore, and took possession of the country both for our Saviour and for the king of England. Aware that the first settlers of Virginia had given umbrage to the Indians by occupying their territory without gaining their permission, he deter- mined to imitate the wiser policy that had been pursued by the colonists of New England, and to unite the new with the ancient race of inhabitants by the reciprocal ties of equity and good- will. The Indian chief to whom he submitted his proposition of occupying a portion of the country, received it at first with sullen indifference. His only answer was that he would neither bid the English go nor would he bid them stay ; but that he left them to their own discretion. The liberality and courtesy of the Governor's demeanor succeeded at length in conciliating his regard, and so effectively, that he not only promised a friendly league between the colonists and his own people, but persuaded the neighboring tribes to accede to the treaty. Having purchased the rights from the aborigines at a price which gave them satisfaction, the colon- ists obtained possession of a considerable district, including an Indian town, which they proceeded immediately to occupy, and to which they gave the name of St. Mary's. The tidings of this safe and comfortable establishment in the province, concurring with the uneasiness experienced by the Roman Catholics in England, induced considerable num- bers of the professors of this faith to follow the original im- migrants to Maryland, and no efforts of wisdom or generosity were spared by Lord Baltimore to facilitate the population, and promote the happiness of the colony. The transporta- tion of people and of necessary stores and provisions during the first two years cost him upwards of 40,000. To every settler he assigned fifty acres of land in absolute fee ; and with a liberality unparalleled in those days he united a gen- eral establishment of Christianity as the common law of the land, with an absolute exclusion of the political predomi- nance or superiority of any one particular sect or denomina- tion of Christians. By the enactment of a memorable " Act 310 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Concerning Religion," by the Assembly of the province, then composed chiefly of Roman Catholics, the Catholic planters of Maryland won for their adopted country the distinguished praise of being the first of the American States in which toleration was established by law. It was thus that Maryland was founded on the broad prin- ciples of religious freedom, and Puritans expelled from Vir- ginia found shelter there. During the period of the Com- monwealth, however, they overthrew the authority of Lord Baltimore and passed severe penal laws against the Catholics, sending all the priests as prisoners to England. In a few years they returned and resumed their labors under great disadvantages. Though a law of toleration was passed in 1649, it was of brief duration. In 1654 Catholics were de- prived of civil rights, and, though there was a lull during the reigns of Charles II. and James II., the storm broke out with renewed fury on the accession of William III. The Catholic worship was forbidden by law, and could be offered only in secrecy ; Catholics were loaded with double taxes, and deprived of all power of voting or bearing arms. Yet most of the Catholics persevered, the Jesuits and Franciscans hav- ing chapels in houses which were attended by the people. A school was even established where boys were fitted for a college training in Europe. Between the years 1634 and 1687, Catholic missionaries had already traversed that vast region lying between the heights of Montreal, Quebec, and the mouth of the Missis- sippi ; the greater portion of which is now known as the United States. Within thirteen years the wilderness of the Hurons was visited by sixty missionaries, chiefly Jesuits. One of their number, Claude Allonez, discovered the south- ern shores of Lake Superior ; another, the gentle Marquette, walked from Green Bay, following the course of the Wis- consin, embarked with his beloved companion and fellow- missionary, Joliet, upon the Mississippi, and discovered the mouth of the impetuous Missouri. A third, the fearless Menan, settled in the very heart of the dreaded Mohawk country. The Onondagas, the Oneidas, and the Senecas wel- FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA. 311 corned the missionaries, and lent an attentive ear to the tid- ings of the gospel of peace. When it is considered that these missionaries were established in the midst of continual dangers and life-wasting hardships, that many of the Jesuit fathers sealed with their blood the truth of the doctrines they preached, the sincerity of their love for those indomit- able sons of the American forest, no one can be surprised at the eloquent encomiums that have been passed upon their dauntless courage and their more than human charity and zeal. During the control of James as Duke and King over New York, liberty of conscience prevailed and Catholics began to settle there. Several clergymen of that faith came over, and the settlers who adhered to it were thus enabled to enjoy the consolations of religion. A Latin school was also opened, the first one in the colony. Leisler, on the fall of James, drove nearly all Catholics out of the colony. When Pennsylvania began to be settled under the liberal policy of Penn, Catholics gradually entered, and as the Ger- man immigration began, a considerable number adhered to the faith planted in their fatherland by St. Boniface. As early as 1708 the Mass was regularly offered in Philadelphia, and after a time St. Joseph's church, on Willing's Alley, was begun. A church was erected at an early period at Lancaster, and there were mission-houses at Conewago and Goshenhoppen. In other colonies there were a few scattered Catholics, but nowhere in numbers sufficient to establish a church. The Acadians, carried off by the British government from Nova Scotia in 1755 and scattered on the coast, were Catholics, but only at Baltimore did they find a welcome. There they founded the first Catholic church, and were attended by a priest. The Catholics in the British colonies were subject to a bishop in England, known as the Vicar- Apostolic of the London District. At the beginning of the Revolution there was a strong feeling against the adherents of the Church of Rome. Cath- 312 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH olics, however, without exception, rallied to the cause of freedom. The Catholic Indians in Maine, under their chief, Orono, took up the cause of the colonies ; the St. Regis In- dians, on the New York border, did the same ; and the French settlers in Illinois, with the Indians around them, joined Major Clarke and gained the West for the United States. The Continental Congress and the Constitutional Conven- tion had Catholic members, who were honored by all. After the close of the Revolution the Catholics in the United States could no longer be subject to the London vi- car-apostolic. Some desired a bishop ; others thought that the time had not yet come. Pope Pius VI., in 1784, ap- pointed as prefect-apostolic the Rev. John Carroll, a Mary- land patriot-priest, who had, at the desire of Congress, gone to Canada during the Revolution to try and win over the in- habitants of that province. The patriotism of this distin- guished clergyman was as decided as his piety. One who knew him said : " He loved Republicanism, and so far pre- ferred his own country, that if ever he could be excited to impatience, or irritated, nothing would have that effect more certainly, than the expression of the slightest preference, by any American friend, for foreign institutions or measures. " It was in the year 1776 that he accompanied Dr. Franklin, Samuel Chase, and that other and illustrious Catholic, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, on the political mission to Canada. The new prefect set to work to ascertain what scattered Catholics there were in the country. More were found in all parts than had been anticipated. The priests in Penn- sylvania had before the war visited Catholics at the iron works and at Macopin in New Jersey, and the Rev. F. Steen- meier (Farmer), a Fellow of the Royal Society and a distin- guished mathematician, quietly visited New York and gath- ered a little congregation. These flocks had now increased. There were a few Catho- lics even in Boston, at points on the Hudson and Mohawk, near Pittsburgh, and in Kentucky. Other priests came over ARCHBISHOP CARROLL. 313 from Europe, and these scattered bodies began to organize and assemble for worship. The total number of Catholics in the United States at this time could not have been much under forty thousand, including the French and Indians. The reports of Very Rev. Mr. Carroll to the Pope satisfied him that a bishop was needed, and he left to the clergy in the country the nomination of a suitable candidate and the selection of his See. The choice fell on Dr. Carroll, who was appointed Bishop of Baltimore November 6, 1789, and his diocese embraced the whole United States. Bishop Carroll proceeded to England, and was consecrated in the chapel of Lulworth Castle, August 15, 1790. The founder of the American hierarchy is a grand figure worthy of his time. His wisdom, learning, ability, and moderation were all required to build up the Church. Soon after his re- turn to the United States the Revolution in France drove into exile many worthy and learned priests, not a few of whom came to America and aided Bishop Carroll in his work. Churches were begun or completed at Boston, New York, Albany, Charleston, Greensburg, and other points. Carmelite nuns came to found a convent of their order in Maryland ; the Sulpitians established a seminary in Balti- more ; a college was begun at Georgetown, soon followed by one at Emmittsburg. In 1791 Bishop Carroll gathered twenty priests in a synod at Baltimore, and rules were adopted suited to the exigen- cies of the situation; but the duties of bishop were too heavy for one man. The Rev. Leonard Neale was appointed his coadjutor, and consecrated bishop in 1800. This was, however, but a temporary relief, and in 1808 bishops were appointed for Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Bardstown, Ky. At this time his diocese contained sixty-eight priests and eighty churches. Bishop Cheverus, appointed Bishop of Boston, a man of zeal, charity, and gen- tleness, had all New England as his diocese, and won the affection of persons of every creed. The Bishop of New York died at Naples, and his diocese languished, and many important works, a college, and a convent-academy were 314 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. abandoned. Bishop Egan, of Philadelphia, had as his dio- cese the State of Pennsylvania and part of New Jersey. He met with difficulties in Philadelphia, which increased under his successor, and were detrimental to all real religious life ; but in other parts of the diocese religion progressed. The diocese of Bardstown embraced Kentucky, with Ohio and all the Northwest. Here much was to be done ; but the saintly Flaget, with coadjutors like Nerinckx, Badin, Rich- ard, Salmon, and the English Dominicans, soon revived re- ligion in places where it seemed dying out. The division of the vast diocese and the establishment of new Sees were made at a most fortunate time. The cause of religion was spreading rapidly in all directions. Orders were springing up to meet the wants of the increasing Cath- olic population. Miss Teresa Lalor founded a monastery of Visitation Nuns ; Mrs. Elizabeth Seton, a convert of one of the best New York families, established a community of Sis- ters of Charity, based on those of St. Vincent de Paul in Prance ; Poor Clares and Ursulines came over from Europe ; the Dominican Fathers revived their Order in Kentucky ; monks of La Trappe established a monastery of their severe rule in the West ; the Rev. John Du Bois, subsequently Bishop of New York, laid the foundation of Mount St. Mary's College, at Emmittsburg, Md., which has continued to combine a theological seminary and a college, and has be- stowed on America some of its most zealous priests and most educated and devoted laity. The United States were then bounded by the Mississippi. Louisiana, which embraced the country west of that river, had, at the request of the Spanish government, been formed into a diocese by Pope Pius VI., who in 1793 appointed a learned and charitable Cuban, Rev. Dr. Penalver, Bishop of Louisiana. When Louisiana was ceded to the United States, in 1803, the bishopric was vacant, and the administration of the Church in that vast province was also confided to Bishop Carroll. The Church there was in a peculiar condition, or- ganized originally under the Spanish system, but long neg- lected. Great troubles ensued ; but the elevation of Rt. Rev. DIVISION OF DIOCESES. 315 William L. Dubourg to the episcopate, and the establishing of Sees at New Orleans and St. Louis, gave a new impulse to religion. On December 3, 1815, the venerable patriarch of the Church in the United States expired at the age of eighty. He had wisely guided the policy of the Church so as to in- sure the complete adoption of the canonical system, else- where in use, without exciting prejudice beyond the fold, or alienating from the faith those who had caught too much of the uncatholic ideas amid which they lived. The rapidly increasing emigration after the fall of Napo- leon added greatly to the number of Catholics, and priests were called for at many points. The first effort of the Cath- olic priest is to erect a church or churches in the district assigned to him, and in time to add schools. As a diocese is formed the bishop aids his clergy in this work, and en- deavors to establish seminaries for young ladies, orphan asy- lums, hospitals under the care of Sisters belonging to some religious order fitted to the work, and colleges, high-schools, and a theological seminary. The religious orders of men come as auxiliaries to the secular clergy, and conduct many of the colleges. Each diocese thus becomes a centre of such institutions. The rapid increase of Catholics, and their com- parative poverty, have made this work difficult and onerous ; and aid has been derived from organizations like the Asso- ciation for the Propagation of the Faith in France, which was organized originally to aid the struggling churches in America. The original dioceses; with the growth of the country, soon required division. Out of that of Baltimore have grown that of Richmond (1821), Charleston (1820), Savannah (1850), Wheeling (1850), and Wilmington (1868), and North Caro- lina has been formed into a vicariate. The original diocese of Philadelphia has been divided into those of Philadelphia, Scranton (1868), Harrisburg (1868), Pittsburgh and Allegheny (1843-76), and Erie (1853). The diocese of Newark, formed to embrace New Jersey (1853), has had Trenton set off from it (1881). Nw York contains the dioceses of New York, Albany (1847), Brooklyn (1863), Buffalo (1847), Rochester 316 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. (1868), Ogdensburg (1872). Besides the See of Boston, there are in New England Sees at Portland (1855), Manchester (1884), Burlington (1853), Springfield (1870), Providence (1872), and Hartford (1844). In the West, Kentucky has bishops at Louisville and Covington (1853) ; Ohio an archbishop at Cin- cinnati (1822), and bishops at Cleveland (1847) and Columbus (1868) ; Indiana comprises two dioceses, Vincennes (1834) and Fort Wayne (1857) ; Michigan, those of Detroit (1832), Grand Rapids (1882), and Marquette (1857) ; Illinois has an archbishop at Chicago (1844), and bishops at Alton (1857) and Peoria (1877) ; Wisconsin an archbishop at Milwaukee (1844), and bishops at Lacrosse and Green Bay (1868) ; in Missouri there is an archbishop at St. Louis, and bishop at Kansas City and St. Joseph (1868-80) ; in Arkansas a bishop at Little Rock (1843) ; bishops in Iowa at Dubuque (1837) and Davenport (1881) ; in Minnesota at St. Paul (1850) and St. Cloud (1875) ; in Kansas at Leavenworth (1877) ; in Nebraska at Omaha (1885) ; Montana at Helena (1884) ; Idaho, Dakota, and Colorado are vicariates-apostolic, each under a bishop. In the South there is an archbishop at New Orleans ; bishops at Nashville (1837), at Natchitoches (1853), Natchez (1837), Mobile (1824), St. Augustine (1870) ; Texas has bish- ops at Galveston (1847) and San Antonio (1874), and a vicariate- apostolic on the Rio Grande. Ancient New Mexico has its archbishop at Santa Fe (1850) ; Arizona a vicar-apostolic. California has an archbishop at San Francisco (1853), and bishops at Grass Valley (1868) and Monterey (1850). Oregon has its archbishop (1846) ; Washington Territory a bishop (1853), and Indian Territory a prefect-apostolic. The diocese of an archbishop, and those of his suffragans, form a province. In each province, from time to time, Pro- vincial Councils are held, in which the archbishop presides and his suffragans take part, with their theologians and the heads of the religious orders. In these assemblies decrees are adopted for the better government of the Church in the province. The first council was that of Baltimore in 1829, held by Archbishop Whitfield. A number of councils were subsequently held there; and when other archbishoprics THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH. 317 were erected, councils were held at New York, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco, and in Oregon. Besides these there have been three Plenary Coun- cils, imposing assemblages, held at Baltimore, attended by all the archbishops and bishops of the country. In the fall of 1883, Archbishop Gibbons, of Baltimore, and other leading Catholic prelates, were summoned to Rome for the purpose of taking into consideration the affairs of the Church in America. The result of that conference was the convoking of the third Plenary Council of Baltimore. At first the Pope was disposed to appoint an eminent Italian clergyman to represent him at the Council, but upon further advising with the American Archbishops this idea was aban- doned, and Archbishop Gibbons was appointed Apostolic Delegate and President of the Council. The Council was opened November 9, 1884, and continued its sessions until December 7th. There were present fourteen archbishops, sixty bishops, one prefect-apostolic from the United States, with five visiting bishops from other countries, and thirty abbots or superiors of religious orders. The decrees adopted were formally certified, and then forwarded to Home for ap- proval. They were returned in 1886, and then became operative. About the same time Archbishop Gibbons was created a Cardinal priest. The wonderful growth of the Catholic Church has not been without opposition. Many saw in it a danger to re- publican institutions, and violence has not been confined merely to words or publications. Catholic institutions and churches have been destroyed by mobs. To advocate and defend their doctrines and polity the Catholics have a quarterly review, several monthlies, and a large number of weekly papers in English, German, French, and Spanish. Their publishing houses issue in great num- bers Bibles, Testaments, Prayer-books, doctrinal and contro- versial as well as devotional works, and books of a lighter character chiefly for the young. The Catholic body is composed of the descendants of the colonial settlers and more recent immigrants and their off- 318 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. spring, with members joining them from other religious bodies ; but they have no missionary societies and no direct machinery for extending their doctrines among those unac- quainted with it. Many of its prominent men have, how- ever, been converts Archbishops Whitfield, Eccleston, Bay- ley, Wood; Bishops Tyler, Wadhams, Young, Gilmour, Rosecrans, Orestes A. Brownson, the philosopher; Halde- man, the philologist ; Dr. L. Silliman Ives, formerly bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church ; Father Hecker, founder of the Paulists ; Mother Seton, founder of the Sisters of Charity. Among other distinguished men of the Catholic body must be named Cardinal McCloskey, the first American member of the Sacred College ; Archbishop Hughes ; Arch- bishop Kenrick, of Baltimore, a great theologian and Bibli- cal scholar ; Bishop England, of Charleston ; Bishop Baraga, Father De Smet ; the Abbe Rouquette and Rev. A. J. Ryan, gifted poets ; Bishop Dubois, founder of Mount St. Mary's ; Bishop Brute, of Vincennes ; Carroll of Carrollton, Commo- dore Barry, and Prince Gallitzin. Religious orders are numerous ; the ancient Benedictine and Cistercian monks ; the Franciscan, Dominican, Carmel- ite, and Augustinian friars ; Jesuits, Redemptorists, Servites, Oblates ; Priests of the Holy Cross, of the Holy Ghost, of the Resurrection ; Sulpicians, Brothers of the Christian Schools, Brothers of Mary ; Xaverian, Alexian, and Fran- ciscan Brothers; Benedictine, Carmelite, Ursuline, Visita- tion, Dominican nuns ; Ladies of the Sacred Heart ; Sisters of Charity, of Mercy, and many others. In 1894 the Catholic Church in the United States com- prised 14 provinces, 1 cardinal, 16 archbishops, 71 bishops, 9,717 priests (7,231 secular and 2,486 regular clergymen), 8,729 churches, 5,704 chapels and stations, 8 universities and 25 secular seminaries, 2,076 students for the priesthood, 172 high schools for boys and 668 for girls, 3,732 parochial schools, 238 orphan asylums, 753 charitable institutions, 860,356 children in Catholic institutions, and 8,902,033 re- ported and 12,000,000 claimed adherents. THE GREEK CATHOLIC EASTERN CHURCH. THE SEPARATION OF THE GREEK FROM THE LATIN CHURCH. THE Greek Church may be considered, in regard to its antiquity, as coeval with the Roman or Latin Church ; and for the first eight centuries, the two churches were assimilated, not only in regard to the peculiar doctrines of their faith, but also to their acknowledgment of the suprem- acy of the Eoman pontiff. The schism of these two church- es is a most memorable epoch in ecclesiastical history, as it forms the most distinguishing picture of the two religions at the present day. The members of the Greek or Eastern Church, as contra-distinguished to the Roman or Western Church, are to be found in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and are subdivided into three distinct classes : First, those who agree on all points of worship and doctrine with the Patriarch of Constantinople, and reject the supremacy of the Roman pontiff; second, those who adopt the doc- trines and ceremonies of the Greek Church, and are entirely independent of the Patriarch of Constantinople ; and third, those who are still subject to the See of Rome, though not conforming in all points to the worship of that Church. The Greek Church is considered as a separation from the (319) 320 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. Latin. In the middle of the ninth century, the controversy relating to the procession of the Holy Ghost (which had been started in the sixth century), became a point of great importance, on account of the jealousy and ambition which at that time were blended with it. Photius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, having been advanced to that See in the room of Ignatius, whom he procured to be deposed, was solemnly excommunicated by Pope Nicholas, in a council held at Rome, and his ordination declared null and void. The Greek emperor resented this conduct of the Pope, who defended himself with great spirit and resolution. Photius, in his turn, convened what he called an (Ecumenical Council, in which he pronounced sentence of excommunication and de- position against the Pope, and got it subscribed by twenty- one bishops and others, amounting in number to a thousand. This occasioned a wide breach between the Sees of Rome and Constantinople. However, the death of the Emperor Michael, a,nd the deposition of Photius subsequent there- upon, seem to have restored peace ; for the Emperor Basil held a council at Constantinople, in the year 869, in which entire satisfaction was given to Pope Adrian. But the schism was only smothered and suppressed for a while. The Greek Church had several complaints against the Latin ; particularly it was thought a great hardship for the Greeks to subscribe to the definition of a council according to the Roman form, prescribed by the Pope, since it made the church of Constantinople dependent on that of Rome, and set the Pope above an (Ecumenical Council. But, above all, the ceremonials of the Roman court occasioned the Greeks much distaste; and, as their deportment was regarded as disrespectful to his Imperial Majesty, it entirely alienated the affections of the Emperor Basil. Towards the middle of the eleventh century, Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Con- stantinople, opposed the Latins with respect to their making use of unleavened bread in the eucharist, their observation of the Sabbath, and fasting on Saturdays, charging them with living in communion with the Jews. To this Pope Leo IX. replied ; and in his apology for the Latins, declaim- THE GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 331 ed very warmly against the doctrines of the Greeks, and interposed, at the same time, the authority of his See. He likewise, by his legates, excommunicated the Patriarch in the church of Santa Sophia. From that time, the animos- ity of the Greeks to the Latins, and of the Latins to the Greeks, became insuperable, insomuch that they have con- tinued ever since separated from each other's communion. As the numerous sects which are now subsisting in the Levant are of Greek origin, and as their principles and cere- monies, except in some few particular points, are nearly the same, it will be necessary to treat on the religion of the Greeks, properly so called, before we describe the different branches that have issued from it. The Greek Church was not formerly so extensive as it has been since the emperors of the East thought proper to lessen or reduce the other patriarchates, in order to elevate that of Constantinople. The Greek Church under the Turkish do- minion preserves almost entirely its ancient organization. It is now governed by the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alex- andria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, of whom the first, as the (Ecumenic Patriarch, presides over the general synods of Constantinople, which are composed of the above-mentioned patriarchs, several metropolitans, and bishops, as well as twelve eminent Greek laymsn. He exercises a supreme ecclesiastical authority over all the Greeks of the Ottoman Empire, and is also acknowledged as the Primate of their church by the inhabitants of the Ionian Islands, and such of those under the dominion of Austria who profess the Greek religion ; but, excepting by confirming the appointment of bishops when elected by the clergy, and presiding at coun- cils, he exercises no supremacy over the other Patriarchs. In Russia, since the time of Peter the Great, the sovereign has been recognized as the real head of the Church, and the patriarchal powers are exercised by a synod. In Greece a similar constitution has been adopted (it was only recog- nized after much negotiation by the Patriarch of Constanti- nople in 1850) ; and now the Archbishop of Athens is at the head of the national synod. 322 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CHURCHES. I. They rebaptize all those Latins wlio are admitted into their communion. . II. They do not baptize their children till they are three, four, five, six, ten, and even sometimes eighteen years of age. III. They exclude Confirmation and Extreme Unction from the Seven Sacraments. IV. They deny there is any such place as Purgatory. V. They do not acknowledge the Pope's authority, nor that of the Church of Rome, which they look upon as fallen from her supremacy because, as a Greek schismatic historian expresses himself, " she had abandoned the doctrines of her fathers." VI. They deny that the Church of Rome is the true Catho- lic Mother Church. They even prefer their own to that of Rome ; and on Holy Thursday excommunicate the Pope and all the Latin prelates, as heretics and schismatics. VII. They deny that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. VIII. They refuse to worship the Host consecrated by Latin priests with unleavened bread, according to the an- cient custom of the Church of Rome, confirmed by the Coun- cil of Florence. They will not suffer a Latin priest to offici- ate at their altars, insisting that the sacrifice ought to be per- formed with leavened bread. IX. They assert that the usual form of words, wherein the Consecration, according to the Latins, wholly consists, is not sufficient to change the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, without the use of some additional prayers and benedictions of the fathers. X. They insist that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ought to be administered in both kinds to infants, even be- fore they are capable of distinguishing this spiritual food from any other, because it is a divine institution. XI. They hold that the laity are under an indispensable obligation, by the law of God, to receive the communion in THE GREEK AND LATIN CHURCHES. 323 both kinds, and look on the Latins as heretics because they maintain the contrary. XII. They assert that no members of the Church, when they have attained to years of discretion, ought to be com- pelled to receive the communion every Easter, but should have free liberty to act according to the dictates of their own conscience. XIII. They show no respect, no religious homage, nor veneration for the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, even at the celebration of their own priests ; and use no lighted tapers when they administer it to the sick. XIV. They are of opinion that such Hosts as are conse- crated on Holy Thursday are much more efficacious than those consecrated at other times. XV. They maintain that the sacrament of Matrimony is a union which may be dissolved. For which reason, they charge the Church of Rome with being guilty of an error, in asserting that the bonds of marriage can never be broken, even in case of adultery, and that no person upon any prov- ocation whatsoever can lawfully marry again. XVI. They condemn all fourth marriages. XVII. They refuse to celebrate the solemnities instituted by the Church and the primitive Fathers, in honor of the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, and wholly neglect the ob- servance of several Saints' days which are of ancient institu- tion. They reject likewise the religious use of graven im- ages and statues, although they admit of pictures in their churches. XVIII. They insist that the canon of the mass of the Lat- ins ought to be abolished, as being full of errors. XIX. They deny that usury is a mortal sin. XX. They deny that the subdeaconry is a holy order. XXI. Of all the general councils that have been held in the Catholic Church, they pay no regard to any after the sixth. XXII. They deny auricular confession to be a divine pre- cept, and claim that it is only a positive injunction of the Church. 324 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. XXIII. They insist that the confession of the laity ought to be free and voluntary ; for which reason they are not compelled to confess themselves annually, nor are they ex- communicated for neglect. XXIY. They insist that in confession there is no divine law which enjoins the acknowledgment of every individual sin, nor a discovery of all the circumstances that attend it. XXV. They administer the sacrament to their laity both in sickness and in health, though they have never applied themselves to their confessors ; the reason of which is, that they are persuaded all confessions should be free and volun- tary, and that a lively faith is all the preparation that is requisite for the worthy receiving of the sacrament ol the Lord's Supper. XXVI. They oppose the Latins for their observance of the vigils before the nativity of the Blessed Saviour, and the festivals of the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, as well as for their fasting in Ember- week. XXVII. They condemn the Latins as heretics, for eating such things as have been strangled, and such other meats as are prohibited in the Old Testament. XXVIII. They deny that simple fornication is a mortal sin. XXIX. They insist that it is lawful to deceive an enemy, and that it is no sin to injure and oppress him. XXX. They are of opinion that, in order to be saved, there is no necessity to make restitution of such goods as have been stolen or fraudulently obtained. XXXI. To conclude : They hold that such as have been admitted into holy orders may become laymen at pleasure. To which it may be added, that they approve of the mar- riage of their priests, provided they enter into that state be- fore their admission into holy orders, though they are never indulged in that respect after their ordination. THE GEEEK PRIESTHOOD. The first, or lowest order of the priesthood, is the lecturer, whose peculiar province is to read the sacred Scriptures to THE GREEK PRIESTHOOD. 325 the people on solemn festivals ; from this station he is grad- ually advanced, first, to be a chorister or chanter, then sub- deacon, whose office it is at mass to sing the epistle ; and then he is ordained deacon, and sings the gospel. The last order is that of the priests, who are either seculars or reg- ulars. According to the orders in the pontifical, when a person is to be ordained a priest, two deacons accompany him to the sacred doors, and there deliver him into the hands of the priests. The protopapas, and he who is next in dignity to him, lead him three times round the altar, singing the hymn of the martyrs. The candidate for the priesthood then kneels down, and the ordinant makes three times over his head the sign of the cross, repeats the prayers adapted to that particular occasion, and lays his hands upon him. In one of the prayers in particular, the ordinant enumerates the principal functions of a priest, viz., those of sacrificing, preaching the gospel, and administering the sacrament of baptism, etc. These prayers being concluded, he orders the new priest to rise, and puts the band of the horary, which hangs down behind, over his right shoulder. He then pre- sents him with the epitrachelium, or the stole ; and the phe- lonium, or the surplice ; the choir singing during the whole of the time this ceremony is performing. A deacon after- wards pronounces the following exhortation, " Let us love one another." Then the Patriarch kisses the altar, and each priest approaches the sacred table in regular order, accord- ing to his rank and dignity, and not only kisses it, but also the Patriarch's hand, which lies upon it, and then his cheek. The priests salute each other, and the deacons follow their example. The priests wear a white woollen fillet behind their hats or caps, which hangs down upon their shoulders, and is called " peristera," that is to say, a dove ; and is looked upon as an emblem or figure of the innocence and purity of the priesthood. The bishop moves this dove from any priest under his jurisdiction, who is proved guilty of any offence. At the ordination of a bishop, the priests deliver him into 326 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. the hands of two prelates, who oblige him to make a formal procession round the altar, as in the preceding ordinations. After these preliminary ceremonies, the chartophylax, or archivist, delivers the contacium, which is a small collection of degrees, forms, etc., relating to the election of a bishop, to the Patriarch, who takes it in his left hand, and lays his right on the candidate for the bishopric, in order to read the form of his election. After this lesson, he opens the book of the gospels, and lays it on the head of the candidate, all the assistant bishops laying their hands on the book at the same time. All these ceremonies are accompanied with several prayers which are suitable to the solemn occasion. The prayers being over, the ordinant takes the book from the head of the bishop-elect, and having deposited it on the altar, presents him with the pallium. This ceremony is ac- companied with singing and with holy kisses. LITURGIES AND SERVICES OF THE CHUECH. The service of the Greeks consists of nine parts, viz., the nocturns, or night service ; the morning service, or matins ; the laudes, prime, tierce, sexte, none, vespers, and complin. After the nocturnal, they sing the trisagium, or " Holy God, Holy and Omnipotent, Holy and Eternal"; and repeat the Gloria Patri three times successively ; and, at all the hours, perform the same service. The Greeks have four distinct liturgies ; the first is that of St. James, which has met with a universal reception throughout the Greek Church. As this particular service is very long, and requires five hours at least for the celebration of it, it is read but once a year, that is, on the 23d of Octo- ber, which is St. James's day. The second is that of St. Basil, who, perceiving that the uncommon length of St. James's liturgy tired the people, abridged it. The liturgy of St. Basil is read every Sunday in Lent, Palm Sunday excepted, on Holy Saturday, on the vigils or eves of Christmas, the Epiphany, and the festival of St. Basil. The third liturgy is that of St. Chrysostom, who ascertained that the liturgy LITURGIES AND SERVICES. 327 of St. Basil, though an abridgment, was still too tedious, and that he did not make sufficient allowance for the weakness and frailty of the faithful, who are unable to support a close attention to the duties of religion for several consecutive hours. St. Chrysostom, therefore, made a new reduction of this liturgy, or rather extracted the most essential parts from St. Basil's abridgment, and inserted them in his own.. This liturgy of St. Chrysostom is used during the whole year, except on the days above particularly specified. The fourth, which is that of St. Gregory, is called the preconsecrated liturgy, because it always follows that of St. Chrysostom or St. Basil. The liturgy of St. Gregory is no more than a col- lection of prayers, peculiarly adapted to inspire both the priest and the people with that ardent zeal and devotion which are requisite for the Lord's Supper. During divine service the Greeks observe several distinct postures, which are considered as actually essential, and of the greatest moment in the performance of their religious duties ; in general, when they pray, they stand upright, and turn their faces to the east ; but they may lean, or even sit down to rest themselves, when they find it convenient. The laity sit, while the priest reads his exhortation to them ; but stand, when they pray to God or sing an anthem. On reach- ing their respective places they uncover their heads, and make the sign of the cross, by joining the first three fingers of their right hand, by which it is implied that there are three persons in the sacred Godhead. In this sign of the cross the three fingers placed on the forehead denote that the three persons in the sacred Godhead reside in the king- dom of heaven ; when brought below the breast, they point out four great mysteries at once, viz., Christ's incarnation, crucifixion, burial, and descent into hell. When placed on the right shoulder, they imply that Jesus Christ, being risen, sits at the right hand of God. In short, as the left shoulder is a type or figure of the reprobation of the wicked, the Greek devotee, by placing his three fingers there, begs of God that he may not be reckoned among the number of those aban- doned wretches ; but be delivered from the power of the devil. 328 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. SOLEMN FESTIVALS. The Greeks have four solemn fasts, or Lents. The first commences on the 15th of November, or forty days before Christmas. The second is Lent, which immediately precedes Easter, which they keep according to the old style, the East- ern Christians not having admitted the Gregorian Reforma- tion of the Calendar. Their third is distinguished by the title of " the Fast of the Holy Apostles," which they observe upon the supposition, that the apostles then prepared them- selves by prayer and fasting for the promulgation of the Gospel. This fast commences the week after Whit- Sunday, and continues till the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul. The number of days therefore comprised in this Lent is not set- tled nor determined ; but consists of more or less, according as Whit-Sunday falls sooner or later. Their fourth fast com- mences the 1st of August, and lasts only until the 15th. It is by this fast that they prepare themselves for the celebra- tion of the festival called "the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin." This fast is observed so strictly, that the Greek monks are not allowed to touch a drop of oil during the continuance of it, except on the 6th of August, which is the festival of the Transfiguration, at which time they are in- dulged in the eating both of oil and fish ; but on the follow- ing day they are obliged to observe the same rules of absti- nence as were before prescribed to them. To these four general fasts must be added that of the 28th of August, in commemoration of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. They prepare themselves by a fourteen days' fast for the festival of the Exaltation of the Cross ; during which time the monks preach, and endeavor to affect the peo- ple with a long and pathetic history of our Saviour's Passion ; few, however, excepting the monks, observe the latter fast ; they being the persons who peculiarly devote themselves to exercises of devotion, and the mortification of the flesh : accordingly, they not only abstain from all flesh, butter, cheese, and milk, but from all fish that have either shells, tins, or blood. They are allowed, however, to eat any kind SOLEMN FESTIVALS. 329 of fish during that Lent which begins the 15th of November ; as well as on their ordinary fast-days of Wednesdays and Fridays ; which days are in general fast-days throughout the year, except a few particular ones ; and among the rest, those in the eleventh week before Easter, which they call Artzeburst, which, in the Armenian language, signifies mes- senger. Lent, with the Greeks, begins on a Monday. They are so rigid in the observance of their fasts, that they will not admit of any cases of sufficient urgency to justify the grant of any dispensations ; and the Patriarch himself, according to their ideas, cannot authorize or empower any person to eat meat when the church has enjoined the contrary. Upon a general computation, there are only about one hundred and thirty days in the year on which meat is allowed ; and neither old nor young, sick nor weak, are excused from the strict ob- servance of all their fasts. In regard to their fasts, Easter is accounted by the Greek Church the most solemn festival in the year. It is custom- ary for them at this time, upon meeting with their friends, to greet them with this formal salutation, " Jesus Christ is risen from the dead"; to which the person accosted replies, " He is risen indeed": at the same time, they kiss each other three times once on each cheek, and once upon their lips, and then part. This ceremony is observed on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and the three subsequent days ; and every week till Whitsuntide. According to some historians, two priests on Good Friday, in order to commemorate the sacred sepulchre, carry in procession at night upon their shoulders the representation of a tomb, in which an effigy or painting of the crucified Jesus is deposited. On Easter Sunday this sepulchre is carried out of the church and exposed to the public view ; when the priest begins to sing, " Jesus Christ is risen from the dead ; he has triumphed over death, and given life to all such as were laid in their graves." After which, it is carried back to the church, and there thurified, or incensed, and the service is continued. The priest and the congregation repeat almost every moment this form of words : 330 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. " Jesus Christ is risen from the dead." In the next place, the celebrant, or officiating priest, makes three signs of the cross, kisses the Gospel and the image of Jesus Christ. Then the picture is turned on the other side, on which Jesus Christ is represented as rising out of his sepulchre. The priest kisses it, and in a more elevated strain pronounces the same form, "Jesus Christ is risen from the dead." The whole congre- gation embrace and make their peace with each other. The ceremony concludes with the benediction, pronounced by the officiating priest. The women observe much the same cere- mony among themselves, in that part of the church which is appropriated to their peculiar service. On September 2d the monks alone celebrate the festival of St. John the Baptist, whom they have dignified with the character of temperate and abstemious, as setting the first and glorious example of fasting. The 26th is consecrated in commemoration of St. John the Evangelist, of whom it is a received belief among the Greeks, that he was translated to heaven like Enoch and Elias. According to Christopher Angelus, there are six-and-thirty solemn festivals in the Greek calendar, twelve of which are devoted to the honor and service of the Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin ; the remaining twenty-four are appropri- ated to St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, and the Holy Martyrs. THE MASS ATTO HOLT SACKAMENTS. The Greeks celebrate mass, which consists of a round of ceremonies somewhat similar to those of the Latin mass. The laity, as well as the clergy, however, among the Greeks, take the sacrament in both kinds, and receive from the hands of the priest the consecrated bread and wine in the same spoon, which the Greeks call Labis. The laity receive the sacrament standing at the door of the sanctuary ; the men first, and then the women. Those who presume to par- take of this holy banquet must stand in a modest and rever- ential posture ; their eyes must be fixed on the ground, and their head bowed down, as persons in the act of adoration, SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 331 and their arms must be crossed. The Greeks follow the exam- ple of the Latins, carry the communion to the sick, but with less pomp or grandeur, it being contained in a little box, en- closed in a bag, which the priest bears under his arm. This is a small parcel or portion of the blessed bread, which they also carry to those whose business confines them at home. They take a small portion of consecrated bread, about an inch square, cut in the form of a cross and sprinkled with a little blood (that is, transubstantiated wine), and adminis- ter it to the sick, after having moistened it with a little water, or a little wine, and this is their viaticum which they give to sick and dying persons. BAPTISM. The first sacrament of the Greek Church is that of Baptism, and the Greeks take care to bring the children as soon as they are eight days old to the church door. If an infant, however, be in any apparent danger of death, he is baptized immediately, for fear he should die, as they express it, out of tJie light. The priest goes to the church door, in order to receive the infant, and to give him his benediction, as St. Simon formerly did to the Saviour. At the same time he marks him with the sign of the cross on his forehead, his mouth, and his breast. These are the preliminary ceremo- nies to the sacrament of Baptism, and are styled putting the seal upon an infant. The initial ceremony is followed by a prayer repeated by the priest ; after which he takes the infant and raises him in his arms, either before the church door or the image of the Blessed Virgin, making several signs of the cross upon him. This baptism is performed by a threefold immersion ; but before he administers this sacra- ment, the priest breathes three times on the infant, which is looked upon as an exorcism, and deliverance from the power and malice of the devil ; afterwards he plunges him three times all over in the baptismal font, and at each immer- sion names one of the three personages of the Sacred Trinity. The relations, who bring the child to be baptized, take care to have the baptismal water warmed, throwing into it a col- 332 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. lection of the most odoriferous flowers ; and while the water is warming, the priest sanctifies it by a prayer, breathes upon it, and then pours oil into it, and, with the same oil, anoints the infant in the form of a cross. The oil is a symbol or figure of man's reconciliation with his Maker, and this unc- tion is performed by the priest upon the child's forehead and breast, all round about his ears, and upon his loins, dur- ing which he pronounces the following forms of words, in anointing the forehead, " The servant of the Lord is anointed " ; in anointing his breast, " For the cure of his soul and body "; and at the unction of his ears he adds, " that the faith may be received by hearing." After the last prayer in the office of baptism, the infant is confirmed by the priest, who, on applying the chrism, in the form of a cross, to the forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet of the infant, says, " Behold the seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost." Seven days after baptism, the infant is brought to church in order to be washed. The priest, pronouncing the prayers directed in their ritual, not only washes the infant's shirt, but cleans his body with a new sponge, or a linen cloth prepared for that purpose, and dismisses him with the following words : " Thou art now baptized, surrounded with a celestial light, fortified with the Sacrament of Confirmation, and sanctified and washed in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." MATEIMONY. The particular ceremonies and preliminaries of the mar- riage rites of the Greeks are as singular as those of other countries. In the office of matrimony there is a prayer for the bride, who is to be muffled up either in a veil or a hood. Those who are inclined to be joined together in the bonds of wedlock, make their applications to the priest as soon as mass is over for the solemnization of their nuptials. The bridegroom stands on the right hand, and the bride on the left. Two rings, one gold, the other silver, are deposited near to each other on the right side of the communion table, SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY. 333 the latter pointing to the right hand, and the former to the left. The priest who performs the ceremony makes several crosses upon the bride and bridegroom ; puts lighted wax- tapers in their hands, thurifies, or incenses, them, in the form of a cross, and accompanies them to the temple. The choir and the deacon pray alternately that the bridegroom and the bride may prosper in all their undertakings, and be blessed with a numerous and hopeful issue. When these prayers are over, the priest gives the gold ring to the bridegroom and the silver one to his spouse, saying three times succes- sively, "I join N. and N., these servants of the Almighty here present, in the name of the Father," etc. Having pro- nounced these words, he makes the sign of the cross with the rings over their heads before he puts them on the proper finger of the right hand. Then the paranymph, or brideman, exchanges these two rings, and the priest reads a long prayer, in which the virtue and dignity of the nuptial ring are typically compared to Joseph's ring, and that of Daniel and of Thamar. While the bride and bridegroom are crowned, the same priest accompanies the ceremony with several benedictions, and other emphatical prayers, which being completed, the bridegroom and his spouse enter the church with their wax- tapers lighted in their hands ; the priest marches in proces- sion before them, with his incense-pot, singing, as he pro- ceeds, the 128th Psalm, which consists of a promise to the faithful Jews of a prosperous and fruitful marriage. At the close of every verse the congregation repeat the Doxology or the Gloria Patri. The deacon, as soon as the psalms are over, resumes the prayers, and the choir makes the usual re- sponses. These prayers being concluded, the priest places the crown on the bridegroom's head, saying, " This man, the servant of the Lord, is crowned, in order to be married to this woman," etc. After which, he crowns the bride, and repeats the same form, which is followed by a triple benediction, the proper lessons, and prayers. The priest, in the next place, presents the bridegroom and the bride with a goblet, or large glass, 334 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. full of wine, after which he takes off their crowns. Another prayer, accompanied with a proper benediction, and several compliments paid to the newly-married couple, conclude the ceremony. EXTREME UNCTION. A striking difference exists between the Greeks and the Latins, in regard to the manner of administering the extreme unction, and there are several ceremonies which belong peculiarly to the two unctions of the Greeks. The arch- bishop, or, in his absence, the bishop, consecrates, on Wednes- day in holy week, the oil of unction for the whole year ; and on Maundy-Thursday, the patriarch, or bishop, ad- ministers the unction publicly to all the faithful. The prel- ate is anointed first by the (Economist, after which he him- self anoints the whole congregation. The other circum- stances relating to the unction and extreme unction of the Greeks, which are peculiar to themselves, are, that the priest, after he has dipped his cotton, which is fastened to the end of a stick, into the sacred oils, anoints the penitent or the sick person, in the form of a cross upon the forehead, chin, cheeks, the upper side and palms of the hands. After which he pronounces a short prayer. The seven assisting priests anoint all the sick persons, one after another. The principal lays the gospel upon his head, while the others lay their hands upon him. The differences which have been observed between the unction of the Latins and that of the Greeks may be thus ex- plained. By the laws of the Latin Church one person alone may administer the sacrament of extreme unction ; whereas the administration of it, in the opinion of the Greeks, is ir- regular, unless three at least assist at the celebration of it. By the Latin ritual the bishop only has authority to conse- crate the oil ; but the Grecian priests, as well as their prelates, are invested with that power. Independently of the parts of the body of their sick which are differently anointed it is customary with the Greeks to anoint their houses also, and to imprint upon them at the same time several signs of the cross. FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 335 FUNEBAL SOLEMNITIES. On the decease of any person, whether male or female, the body is dressed in its best apparel, and afterwards extended upon a bier, with one wax taper at the head and another at the feet. The wife, if the husband be the object of their sorrow, the children, servants, relations, and acquaintance, enter the apartment in which the deceased is thus laid out, with their clothes rent, tearing their hair, beating their breast, and dis- figuring their faces with their nails. When the body of the deceased is completely dressed, and decently extended on the bier, for the regular performance of the last serrices, and the hour is arrived for his interment, the crucifix is carried in procession at the head of the funeral train. The priests and deacons who accompany them, reciting the prayers appointed by the church, burn incense, and implore the Divine Majesty to receive the soul of the deceased into his heavenly mansions. As soon as the funeral service is over, they kiss the cruci- fix, and afterwards salute the mouth and forehead of the de- ceased. After that, each of them eats a small bit of bread, and drinks a glass of wine in the church, wishing the soul of the deceased a good repose. A widow who has lost her husband, a child who has lost his father or mother in short, all persons who are in deep mourning, dress no victuals at their own houses. The friends and relations of the deceased send them in provisions for the first eight days ; at the end of which they pay the disconsolate family a courteous visit, in order to condole with and comfort them under their loss, and to wait on them to the church, where prayers are read for the repose of the soul of the deceased. The men again eat and drink in the church, while the women renew their cries and lamentations. After the ninth day, masses and prayers are again read upon the same occasion, which are repeated at the expiration of forty days ; as, also, at the close of six months, and on the last day of the year. After the cere- mony is concluded, they make their friends a present of some corn, boiled rice, wine, and some sweetmeats. This custom, which is generally called by the Greeks Ta Sperna, ;s looked upon by them as very ancient. BRANCHES 6REEK, en E^gTEp, CfKI W GEORGIAN A1STD MINGBELIAlSr CHURCHES. ~T) ESIDES the Greek Church proper, of which the Rus- JD sian Church may be considered an independent branch, there are several other branches of the same church, which are scattered over a great extent of country in the East, em- bracing an unknown, but large number of members. We shall describe the most important of them. Georgia and Mingrelia are two countries of Asia. The former lies between the Black and Caspian Seas ; and the latter between Circassia on the north, and Guriel on the south. The former was the ancient Iberia, the latter in part the ancient Colchis. Georgia was declared a Russian province in 1800. Peter the Great had obtained some portions of the territory by treaty in 1723 and 1724. Its last king, George XIII., be- queathed his dominions to the Czar of Russia, by will, dated Oct. 28, 1800, and Alexander I. published a manifesto ac- cepting the responsibility, Sept. 12, 1801. Other parts of the country were obtained by the Russians in 1813, 1828, and 1829. Mingrelia was declared an independent principality by a treaty between Turkey and Russia, in 1774. In 1812 the Russians acquired an ascendency over the native princes, and by the treaty of Gulistan, Oct. 12, 1813, the Turkish government renounced all claim to the province. THE PALM OFFERING. GOODALL. The portrayal by an eminent English artist of a mother and child of the people presenting the simplest of offerings, while representing all that is most interesting in humanity. GEORGIAN AND MINGEELIAN CHURCHES. 337 Each of these nations has a pontiff at its head, whom they call Catholicos, or the Catholic who is obliged to pay a cer- tain tribute to the Patriarch of Constantinople but is, in every other respect, independent of any foreign jurisdiction. They have also bishops and priests. The priests are allowed not only to marry, according to the custom of the Greek Church, before ordination, but also to enter into second mar- riages at the expense only of a dispensation from the bishop. In short, they may marry a third or fourth time upon pay- ing double fees for every new indulgence. In regard to their baptismal ceremonies, as soon as an infant is born, the priest makes the sign of the cross on his forehead, and eight days afterwards anoints him with the myrone that is, their consecrated oil ; but he never bap- tizes him till two years after. The following form is then observed : The child is brought to the church, and presented to the priest, who immediately asks his name, and lights a little wax-taper ; after which he reads a long lesson, and re- peats several prayers suitable to the occasion. After that, the godfather undresses the infant, and plunges him naked into a kind of font or bathing- vessel, full of lukewarm water, mixed with walnut-oil, and washes his body all over, the priest taking no share in this part of the ceremony, nor pro- nouncing a single syllable during the whole of the time. After this general ablution, however, he advances towards the water- vessel, and gives the myrone to the godfather, to anoint the infant. The godfather accordingly anoints his forehead, nose, eyes, ears, breast, navel, knees, soles of the feet, heels, hams, loins, shoulders, and the crown of his head. After this ceremony is over, he plunges him again into the font, or water- vessel, and offers him a bit of blessed bread to eat,, and a small portion of sacred wine to drink. If the child swallows them, it is looked upon as a happy omen. .In conclusion, the godfather returns the infant to its mother, saying three times, " You delivered him into my hands a Jew, and I return him to you a Christian." The nuptial ceremonies of the Georgians are, in fact, noth- ing more than a mere contract. The parents bring their 22 338 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN CHURCH. daughters to market, and agree with the purchasers for a particular sum, which is greater or smaller, according to the value of the living commodities. A female who has never been married commands a much higher price than a widow, and a virgin in her bloom more than an antiquated maid. As soon as the purchase-money is raised and ready, the father of the bridegroom gives an entertainment, at which the son attends with his cash in hand, and deposits it on the table be- fore he offers to sit down. At the same time, the relations of the bride provide an equivalent, which is generally as near the value of his money as possible, consisting of all manner of necessary household goods, cattle, clothes, slaves, etc. This custom appears to be very ancient. After the enter- tainment is over, the bride repairs to the bridegroom's house, attended by her relations, friends, and acquaintances. The procession is enlivened by a concert of instrumental music ; the contractors going before, to inform the family that the newly-married couple will arrive soon at home. These mes- sengers, on their first arrival, are presented with bread, wine, and meat. Without offering to enter the house, however, they take the flagon of wine, and pour it lavishly round about it. This libation is consecrated by their hearty wishes for the health, prosperity, and peace of the newly-married couple. After this they return to the bride, and conduct her home to her husband's apartment, in which the other relations and friends are all assembled. In the middle of the room a carpet is spread upon the floor ; and a pitcher of wine, with a kettle-full of dough, called Gom, with which they make their bread, are set upon it. Soon after her en- trance, the bride kicks down the pitcher, and scatters the paste with both her hands all over the room. The ceremony is attended with the usual pastimes and demonstrations of joy which are customary on such public occasions. The essential part of the nuptial ceremony, however, is not solemnized here, but in a private apartment, for fear the sor- cerers should cast a spell upon the newly-married couple. The bridegroom and his bride stand with their godfather before a priest, who reads over the marriage words by the NESTORIAN CHURCHES. 339 light of a wax-taper. Two garlands of flowers, either nat- ural or artificial, are set close to each other on an adjoining table, with tufts of various colors, together with a tavaiole, that is, a veil, a glass of wine, a piece of bread, and a needle and thread. The godfather now throws a veil over the bridegroom's head, and, while the priest is reading the cere- mony, sews the garments of the bride and bridegroom to- gether. This godfather likewise puts crowns upon their heads, changing them three or four times, successively, ac- cording to the tenor of the prayers repeated on the occasion. After this, he takes the glass and the pieces of bread into his hands, and gives the bridegroom one bit, and the bride another. This he repeats three times, and eats what is left himself. He now gives them the glass three times apiece, and then drinks the remainder, which concludes the cere- mony. The mourning of the Mingrelians is like that of persons in the very depth of despair, and consists not only in weep- ing in honor of their dead, but also in shaving their beards and eyebrows. Moreover, when a wife loses her husband, or some other near relation, she rends her clothes, strips herself naked to the waist, tears her hair, and scarifies her body. The men likewise behave nearly in the same manner, and are more or less violent, as necessity, inclination, or the cir- cumstances of their mourning prompt them. This continues forty days, with a gradual diminution of their sorrow, as that term draws near to its expiration. NESTOBIAN CHUECHES. There are several sects of Christians in the Levant, who are known and distinguished by the name of Chaldeans or Syrians ; but the most considerable part of them are those who pass under the denomination of Nestorians, and in re- ality revere Nestorius, who was Patriarch of Constantinople in tne beginning of the fifth century, by invoking him in their prayers. The occasion of the controversy in which Nestorius involved the Church, was furnished by Anastasius, 340 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. who was honored with his friendship. This presbyter, in a public discourse, delivered in 424, declaimed warmly against the title of Mother of God, which was then frequently at- tributed to the Virgin Mary in the controversy with the Arians, giving it as his opinion that the Holy Virgin was rather to be called Mother of Christ, since the Deity can neither be born nor die, and, of consequence, the Son of Man alone could derive his birth from an earthly parent. !N"es- torius applauded these sentiments, and explained and de- fended them in several discourses. In opposition to him, Eutyches, an abbot at Constantino- ple, declared that these natures were so united in Christ as to form but one nature, that of the Incarnate Word. It was an age when men were fast losing sight of the Gospel, and contending about modes and forms ; and these opposite opin- ions threw the whole Eastern world into bitter contention, and gave rise to that great division which continues to this day among the remnant of the Eastern churches. The fol- lowers of the former are called Nestorians, the latter Mono- physites. The Nestorians early became the chief propagators of the Gospel in the East. They enjoyed the patronage of the Per- sian monarch, Pherazes, by whom their opponents were ex- pelled from his kingdom, and their Patriarch was established at Seleucia. They established a school at Nisibis under Bar- sumas, a disciple of Nestorius, from whence proceeded, in the fifth and sixth centuries, a band of missionaries, who spread abroad their tenets through Egypt, Syria, Arabia, In- dia, Tartary, and China. In the twelfth century they won over to their faith the Prince of Tartary, who was baptized John ;' 'and because he exercised the office of presbyter, was, with his successors, called Prester John. They formed at one time an immense body, but dwindled away before the Saracen power, and the exasperated heathen priests and jealous Chinese emperors. They acknowledged but one pa- triarch until 1551, who resided first at Bagdad and after- wards at Mosul. , But at this period the Roman Catholics succeeded in dividing them, -and a -new Patriarch was con- THE CHRISTIANS OF ST. THOMAS. 341 secrated by Pope Julius III., and established over the adher- ents to, the Pope, in the city of Ormus. The Nestorians are scattered over Asia, and are particularly strong in Meso- potamia, where their Patriarch resides at Dyarbekr. The churches belonging to the Nestorians are divided by balustrades or rails, and one part of them is always allotted for the peculiar service of the women. The font is erected on the south side. When they say their prayers, and pay their homage to the Supreme Being, they always turn their faces towards the east. Before the entrance into these churches there is, generally, a large court. This court was originally the place appointed for the reception of penitents, and was made use of as a bar to the profane, in order to prevent them hearing and seeing the different proceedings and ceremonies of the Christian assemblies. Independently of the fasts, which are generally observed by the Christians of the Greek Church, the Nestorians keep one in particular, which continues three days. It is called the Fast of Nineveh, because they therein imitate the repent- ing Ninevites, who did penance for their sins for three days after the preaching of the prophet Jonas. This fast is the introduction to their Lent. Their nuptial ceremonies are very singular and remarka- ble. The bridegroom is conducted to the house of the bride on horseback, between two drawn swords, which are carried by two men, one before and the other behind him. The rela- tions, friends, and acquaintance of the bride receive him with their flambeaux lighted, and music preceding them, accom- panied with songs, acclamations, and other testimonies of general joy. On the wedding-night the bridegroom gives his spouse an uncourteous kick, and commands her to pull off his shoes, as a token of her submission and obedience. THE CHRISTIANS OF ST. THOMAS. With regard to the origin of the Christians of St. Thomas, who inhabit the coast of Malabar and Travancore, there ex- ists much difference of opinion. The Portuguese, who first opened the navigation of India, in the fifteenth century, and 342 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. found them seated there, assert that St. Thomas, the apostle, preached the gospel in India, and that these are the descend- ants of his proselytes. The Christians of St. Thomas declare themselves descend- ants of one Mar Thomas, or Thomas Cana, an Armenian merchant, who settled at Congraiior. Mar Thomas married two wives, and had issue by each. The children by the former were heirs to all his effects and lands, which were situate in the southern part of the kingdom of Congranor ; and those of the latter, who was a negro slave converted to the Chris- tian faith, inherited the settlement of which their father died possessed in the north. In process of time, his descendants became very numerous, and constituted two considerable branches, which were never united nor allied to each other. The issue of his first wife, from whom the nobility are de- scended, look down with disdain on the Christians of the other branch, and carry their aversion to so high a pitch as to separate themselves from their communion, and to reject the ministry of their priests. Mar Thomas, whom these Christians look upon as their common parent, flourished, according to the general belief, in the tenth century ; but M. la Croza thinks that he lived in the sixth. These Christians enjoyed so many valuable privileges under the sovereigns of the country, and grew so powerful, that they at length elected kings out of their own nation and religion. In respect to their religious ceremonies they observe at Easter a kind of public collation, which bears some affinity with the Agapce of the primitive Christians. This feast or entertainment consists generally of nothing but a few herbs, fruits, and rice ; and is made in the fore-court before the church-porch. The priests at those times have a double, and the bishop a triple portion of what is provided. To these AgapcB, we must add another ceremony, called by the Chris- tians of St. Thomas their Casture, which is said to be an em- blem, or symbol of brotherly love. During the time they are in the church, they take hold of the hands of one of their most ancient Cacanares, or priests, and in that posture receive his benediction. THE MONOPI1Y SITES, 343 These Christians have holy water placed at their church- doors, with which they make the sign of the cross, repeating at the same time a prayer in commemoration of Nestorius. It is merely a little common water mixed with a small quantity of mold, taken out of the road through which St. Thomas had traveled. In case they have no such mold, they throw a few grains of frankincense into it. They have crosses erected not only in their streets and high-roads, but in the most solitary places. They are erected on a pedestal, in which there is a hole or cavity, large enough to contain a burning lamp. In the Lord's Supper their form is more Prot- estant than Roman. The cross alone is admitted into their churches, in which the Syric language is used. For many years they have been under the protection of the British gov- ernment, and secured in the management of their own affairs. THE MONOPHYSITES OF THE LEVANT. This sect originated in the fifth century, and maintained that the divine and human natures of Christ were so united as to constitute ?, at one nature. They were the followers of Eutyches, who nad the controversy with Nestorius, and branched into several sects. The term Monophysites was first used after the condemnation of the doctrines by the fourth general council, held at Chalcedon in 451. In Egypt and the East they are called Jacobites. The head of the Asiatic Jacobites is the Patriarch of Antioch. He has an assistant, called the Primate of the East, who resides in the monastery of St. Matthew, near the city of Mosul, in Mesopotamia. All the Jacobite Patriarchs assume the name of Ignatius. The African Monophysites, or Jacobites, are subject to the Patri- arch of Alexandria, who usually resides at Cairo, Egypt. The Jacobites neither deny a state of purgatory, nor reject prayers for the dead ; but their beliefs in these particulars are the same as those of the Greeks and other oriental na- tions. They do not consecrate the sacrament with unleav- ened bread, the Armenians, and, according to Alvares, the Ethiopians, only excepted ; for the true Jacobites make use of 344 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. leavened bread. Gregory XIII., who purposed to found a college at Rome for the Jacobites, there being one antece- dently erected for the encouragement of the Maronites, would no doubt have indulged them, as well as the Greeks, with the administration of the sacrament with leavened bread ; but in regard to confession, the claim that it is not practiced among them, is a gross mistake ; for as it is not looked upon by them as of divine institution, it is conse- quently very much neglected. A great distinction must be made between the Jacobites, when the Copts, Abyssinians, and Armenians are included under that denomination, for though they are all followers of that St. James, from whom they derive their title, yet, they do not all observe the same ceremonies. James was the disciple of Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, in the sixth century. He is revered as a saint by the Jacobites as well as Dioscorus, who was his contem- porary. Before baptism the Jacobites imprint the sign of the cross, not only on the arm, but on the face of the infant to be baptized. It is likewise a belief among them, that the souls of the righteous reside on earth till the day of judg- ment, waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ ; also, that the angels consist of two substances, fire and light. THE COPTS. The Copts, according to Scaliger and Father Simon, derive their name from Coptos, once a celebrated town of Egypt, and the metropolis of Thebaid ; but Volney and others are of opinion, that the name Copts is only an abbreviation of the Greek word Aigouptios, an Egyptian. The Copts have a patriarch, whose jurisdiction extends over both Egypts, Nubia, and Abyssinia, who resides at Cairo, but who takes his title from Alexandria. He has under him eleven or twelve bishops, besides the abuna, or bishop of the Abyssin- ians, whom he appoints and consecrates. The rest of the clergy, whether secular or regular, are composed of the or- ders of St. Anthony, St. Paul, and St. Macarius, who have each their monasteries. Their arch-priests are next in de- THE COPTS. 345 gree to bishops, and their deacons follow. Next to the pa- triarch is the bishop or titular patriarch of Jerusalem, who also resides at Cairo, because there are few Copts at Jerusa- lem. He is, in reality, little more than bishop of Cairo, ex- cept that he goes to Jerusalem every Easter, and visits some other places in Palestine, within his own jurisdiction. To him belongs the government of the Coptic church, during the vacancy of the patriarchal See. They have seven sacraments : baptism, the eucharist, con- firmation, ordination, faith, fasting, and prayer. They admit only three ecumenical councils : those of Nice, Constantinople, and Ephesus. They observe four Lents, as do the Greeks and most Eastern Christians. There are three Coptic liturgies : one attributed to St. Basil, another to St. Gregory, and the third to St. Cyril. These are translated into Arabic for the use of the clergy and the people. The Copts are fond of rites and ceremonies. During the time of service, they are always in motion. In particular, the officiating priest is in continual motion, incensing the saints, pictures, books, etc., every moment. They have many monasteries, in which the monks bury themselves from society in remote solitudes. Their nunner- ies are properly hospitals ; and few enter them except wid- ows reduced to beggary. Their nuptial ceremonies do not essentially differ from those practiced by the Greeks. After midnight service, or, as the Romans would express it, after matins, the bride- groom in the first place, and then the bride, were conducted from their own apartments to church, accompanied by a long train of attendants with wax-tapers, and other lights. During the procession several hymns were sung in the Cop- tic language, and the performers beat time, or accompanied the vocal with instrumental music, by striking little wooden hammers upon small ebony rulers. The bridegroom was conducted into the inner choir of the church, and the bride to the place appointed for the women. Then the priests and the people began several prayers, interspersed with hymns, within the choir. This ceremony was very long. At the 346 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. conclusion, the priest who solemnized the nuptials went up to the bridegroom, and read three or four prayers, making the sign of the cross both at the beginning and at the conclusion of each prayer. After that, he made him sit down upon the ground, with his face towards the Heikel. The priest who stood behind him held a silver cross over his head, and in that posture continued praying. Whilst this ceremony was performing in the inner choir, the sacristan had placed a form or bench at the door of the outer choir, for the bride to sit on with one of her relations. The priest having finished in the inner choir what the Copts call the Prayer of the Conjugal Knot, the other priest, who solemnized the nuptials, dressed the bridegroom in an alb, tied it with a surcingle about his waist, and threw a white napkin over his head. The bridegroom thus equipped was conducted to his spouse. The priest then made him sit down by her side, and laid the napkin, which before covered the bridegroom's head, over them both. After this, he anointed each of them on the forehead, and above the wrist. To conclude the ceremony, he read over to them, after their hands were joined, an exhortation, which principally turned on the duties incumbent on all those who enter into the holy state of matrimony. Then followed sundry prayers ; and after them the mass, at which the bridegroom and the bride received the blessed sacrament, and then departed. THE AEMETSTANS. The Armenians, from Armenia, a province of Asia, con- sisting of the modern Turcomania, and part of Persia, were formerly a branch of the Greek Church. They professed the same faith, and acknowledged the same subjection to the See of Constantinople, until nearly the middle of the sixth century, when the doctrines of the Monophysites spread through Africa and Asia, and comprehended the Armenians. But, though the members of this church still agree with the other Monophysites in the principal doctrine of that sect, respecting the unity of the divine and human nature in THE ARMENIANS. 347 Christ, they differ from them in so many points of faith, worship, and discipline, that they hold no communion with that branch of the Monophysites who are Jacobites in the more limited sense of that term, nor with the Copts or the Abyssinians. The Armenians allow and accept the articles of faith according to the Council of Nice, and use the Apostles' Creed. With respect to the Trinity, they agree with the Greeks in acknowledging three persons in one divine nature, and that the Holy Ghost proceeds only from the Father. They be- lieve that Christ descended into hell, and liberated thence all the souls of the damned, by the grace and favor of his glorious presence ; that this liberation was not forever, nor by a plenary pardon or remission, but only until the end of the world, when the souls of the damned shall again be re- turned into eternal flames. They worship after the Eastern manner, by prostrating their bodies, and kissing the ground three times. When they first enter the church, they uncover their heads, and cross themselves three times ; but afterwards they cover their heads, and sit cross-legged on carpets. The greatest part of their public divine service is performed in the morning, before it is light. They are very devout on vigils to feasts, and on Saturday evenings, when they all go to church, and, after their return home, perfume their houses with in- cense, and adorn their little pictures with lamps. In their monasteries, the whole Psalter of David is read over every twenty-four hours ; but in the cities and parochial churches, the Psalter is divided into eight portions, and each portion into eight parts, at the end of each of which is said the Gloria Patria. The rites and ceremonies of the Armenian Church greatly resemble those of the Greeks. Their liturgies also are essenti- ally the same, or at least ascribed to the same authors. The fasts, which they observe annually, are not only more nu- merous, but kept with greater rigor and mortification than is usual in any other Christian community. They mingle the whole course of the year with fasting ; and there is not a single day which is not appointed either for a fast or a festi- 348 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. val. They commemorate our Lord's Nativity on the 6th of January, and thus celebrate in one festival his birth, epiph- any, and baptism. The Armenians practice the triple immer- sion, which they consider as essential to baptism. After bap- tism, they apply the chrism, and anoint the forehead, eyes, ears, breast, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet with consecrated oil, in the form of a cross. Then they administer to the child the eucharist, with which they only rub its lips. The sacrament of the eucharist is celebrated only on Sun- days and festivals. They do not mix the wine with water, nor put leaven into their bread, as do the Greeks. They steep the bread in the wine, and thus the communicant receives both kinds together. In their fasts they are much more rigorous than the Greeks, and no dispensation is allowed on any account. Dur- ing the forty days of their Lent, which precedes their Easter, they must eat nothing but herbs, roots, beans, peas, and the like, and no greater quantity of them than is just sufficient to support nature. The Armenians, however, are allowed to eat fish on Sundays. They have an established custom of having no mass on fast-days and during their Lent ; but on Sundays only there is a kind of spiritual humiliation. This mass is celebrated at noon, and is called low-mass ; because there is a curtain drawn before the altar, and the priest, who is unseen, pronounces nothing with an audible voice, but the gospel and the creed. All their fasts in general are observed with the same strictness and austerity as their grand Lent. Children generally leave the choice of the person whom they are to marry, as well as the settlement of the marriage articles, to their parents or nearest relations. Their mar- riages are the result of the mother's choice, who very seldom advises with any persons upon the subject except her hus- band, and even that deference is paid with no small reluc- tance. After the terms of accommodation are settled and adjusted, the mother of the young man pays a visit to the young lady, accompanied by a priest and two venerable ma- trons, and presents her with a ring, as the first tacit promise of her intended husband. He generally makes his appear- ARMENIAN MARRIAGES. 849 ance at the same time, with all the seriousness he is able to assume, or perhaps with all the perplexity of one who has not the liberty to make his own choice. The Armenians never publish their banns of matrimony, as is customary with other Christian churches. The evening before the wedding the bridegroom and the bride send each other some presents. On the wedding-day there is a procession on horseback, and the bridegroom rides in the front from his mistress' house, having on his head a gold or silver network, or a flesh-colored gauze veil, according to his quality. This network hangs down to his waist. In his right hand he holds one end of a girdle, whilst the bride, who follows him on horseback, cov- ered with a white veil which reaches down to her horse's legs, has hold of the other. The relations and friends (generally young men and maids), either on horseback or on foot, accompany them to the church with great order and decorum in the procession, having wax- tapers in their hands and a band of music marching before them. They alight at the church-door, and the bridegroom and bride walk up to the very steps of the sanctuary, still holding the ends of the girdle in their hands. They there stand side by side, and the priest, having put the Bible upon their heads, pronounces the sacramental form. He then per- forms the ceremony of the ring, and says mass. The nuptial benediction is expressed in the following words : " Bless, O Lord ! this marriage with thy everlasting benediction ; grant that this man and this woman may live in the constant prac- tice of faith, hope, and charity ; endow them with sobriety ; inspire them with holy thoughts, and secure their bed from all manner of pollution." When an infant dies under nine years of age, the father, or his nearest relation, provides prayers to Almighty God, eight days successively, for the soul of the deceased ; and during all that time pays the expenses of the priest to whose care that act of devotion is intrusted. On the ninth day the solemn service for the soul is performed. Those who are pious, and in good circumstances, have a particular day set apart for the commemoration of their relations, and for the 350 THE GREEK, OR EASTERN, CHURCH. due celebration of all the requisite offices. It is a received custom among them to visit the monuments of the dead upon Easter Monday, at which time the men sigh and groan, but the women actually scream. This they call the visible testimonies of their sorrow and concern. A more agreeable scene immediately succeeds. They all withdraw under the refreshing shade of some luxuriant tree, where an elegant entertainment erases the idea of affliction. The Maronites are a sect of Eastern Christians subject to the authority of the Pope. Their principal habitation is on Mount Libanus. They have a patriarch who resides in a monastery on the mount. They were connected with the Monothelites until the twelfth century, when they united with the Roman Church on the condition that they should retain all their ancient rites and customs. It is claimed by many ecclesiastical historians that the Abyssinians and Ethiopians, as well as other sects in Africa, are in reality branches of the Greek or Eastern Church, cut off in the very remote past. As Christianity has been intro- duced into every important section of " The Dark Continent," and as the representatives of all creeds have met with an en- couraging degree of toleration, and in many instances suc- cess, the reader will doubtless better appreciate narratives of the condition of the various denominations in operation there at the present time, than a repetition of statements that have the indefiniteness of tradition and the flavor of extreme antiquity. For a view of the present state of the various denominations in Africa, the reader is referred to Chapter VIII., and those in which the denominations of the United States are treated. THE EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF RUSSIA. IT is impossible to settle with any certainty at what period, or by whom, Christianity was first introduced into Russia. What we learn with most appearance of proba- bility is, that the Grand Duchess Olga, grandmother to Vladimir, was the first person of distinction converted to Christianity in Russia, about the year 955, and that she as- sumed the name of Helena at her conversion ; under which name she still stands as a saint in the Russian calendar. Methodius, and Cyril the philosopher, traveled from Greece into Moravia, about the year 900, to plant the gospel ; where they translated the service of the church, or some parts of it, from the Greek into the Sclavonian language, the common language at that time of Moravia and Russia ; and thus it is thought that this princess imbibed the first principles of Christianity. And, being herself fully persuaded of its truth, she was very earnest with her son, the Grand Duke Sviatoslav, to embrace it also ; but this, from political mo- tives, he declined to do. In the course, however, of a few years, Christianity is said to have made considerable prog- ress in that nation. Little occurred in the ecclesiastical history of Russia, ex- (851) 352 THE RUSMA& (GREEK) CHURCH. cept, perhaps, the rise of the sect of the Raskolniki, which excited considerable tumults and commotions in that king- dom, till Peter the Great ascended the throne of Russia. He resolved to be the reformer of his church as well as of his empire. While he made no change in the articles of faith entertained by his countrymen, which contained the doctrine of the Greek Church, he took the utmost pains to have this doctrine explained in a manner conformable to the dictates of sound reason and the spirit of the gospel. He extinguished the spirit of persecution, and renewed and confirmed to Christians, of all denominations, liberty of conscience, and the privilege of performing divine worship in the manner prescribed by their respective liturgies and institutions. This liberty, however, was modified in such a manner as to restrain and defeat any attempts that might be made by the Jesuits and other members of the Roman Church to promote its interests in Russia, or to extend the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff beyond the chapels of that communion that were tolerated by law ; and particular charge was given to the council, to which belonged the cognizance of ecclesiastical affairs, to use their utmost care and vigilance to prevent the propagation of Roman tenets among the people. All this caution had, no doubt, arisen from the repeated efforts of the Roman pontiffs and their missionaries to extend the Papal empire over the Greek churches, under the claim of uniting the two communions. Peter abolished the office of Patriarch, putting himself at the head of the church, which, under him, was to be governed by a synod. Proposals for uniting the two communions have been made by different popes, as Honorius III., Gregory IX., Innocent IV., Gregory XIII., and last of all, by the Academy of Sor- bonne in 1718 ; but the Russian sovereigns and the nation have always remained firm and true to their religion ; at the same time, all religions, without exception, are tolerated in Russia. In the year 1581, in the reign of Czar John Vasilie- vitz, Pope Gregory XIII. proposed to that sovereign that the Lutheran clergy should be banished from Russia ; but he was answered, that " in that country all nations have a free JOAN OP ARC MEETING THE SPIRITS. D. MAILLART. A striking illustration of an experience of exceptional persons in all ages and under all religions, in which spirits of the dead become inspirers of the living, through the imagination at least if not in reality. THE RUSSIAN MASS. 353 exercise of their religions"; and now in Russia there are Lutherans, Calvinists, Hernhutters, Armenians, Jews, Mo- hammedans, Pagans, Hindoos, Roman Catholics, and repre- sentatives of nearly every creed in Christendom. In her doctrines, the Russian Church agrees with the Greek Church ; like her, she receives the seven sacraments or mysteries ; allows no statues or graven images, but admits pictures and invocation of saints. Their Bible is translated into the Sclavonian language from the Greek Septuagint ; but they never suffer it to be carried into church, for fear of profaning it by several passages that are to be met with in the Old Testament. It is the New Testament only, and some particular passages extracted from the Psalms and the Prophets, which are read in their churches ; they are, how- ever, allowed to read the whole Scriptures at home. THE RUSSIAN MASS. During the celebration of the mass, the laity, not except- ing the sovereign himself, are obliged either to stand or to kneel, and be uncovered ; and to observe the same position during the performance of all the other parts of divine ser- vice. The Russian mass is always performed in the ancient Sclavonian language ; and a great part of it is said in a low voice. Like the Greeks, the Russians bow down before the host, and adore it. From the preface of the mass to the communion, the doors of the sanctuary are shut, and a cur- tain is drawn before it, which covers the altar. In Easter- week, however, the sanctuary doors are always open, even during mass. To the other ceremonies observed at the com- munion, in conformity with those of the Greeks, we must add, according to Olearius, that the Muscovites administer the sacrament to those who are deprived of their reason, by touching their lips only with the bread dipped in the wine ; that they are not allowed to give the communion to a woman who lies in, in the room where she was brought to bed. Those who have taken a false oath before a court of judica- ture, or have been guilty of any notorious crime, cannot re- 23 354 THE RUSSIAN (GREEK) CHURCH. ceive the sacrament of the eucharist till they are at the point of death. It is customary to give those who are sick, some water or some brandy, in which several of their sacred relics have been first infused, before they give them the com- munion. EEVEEENCE OF RELICS, IMAGES, AND PICTUEES. The Russians have a peculiar regard for relics, images, and pictures of saints ; for the invocation of saints, the crucifix, and the sign of the cross ; for an infinite number of inclina- tions, genuflexions, and prostrations, not only before those objects which are adorable, but those likewise which demand only a common reverence and esteem ; and also for number- less processions and pilgrimages. The cathedral church at Moscow is in possession of what is called the garment of Jesus Christ, and a picture of the Blessed Virgin, drawn by St. Luke. The Russians look upon this picture as the pal- ladium of their state. Other churches claim of being pos- sessed of the bodies of several Russian saints ; and thirty- six gold and silver shrines, full of very valuable relics, are to be seen in the church of the Annunciation. These shrines, or boxes, are said to contain, among other things, some of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, one of the hands of St. Mark, and some of the bones of the prophet Daniel, etc. Every Russian, whether his condition be high or low, has his own titular saint, to whom he offers up his morning and evening prayers, and whom he never fails to consult on all occasions of a doubtful or hazardous nature. No one can pay a Russian a higher compliment than by taking some deferential notice of the picture of his saint, upon entering and leaving his dwelling or place of business. The walls of their churches are all covered with pictures, which are not only representations of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin, but of St. Nicholas and several other saints, whom the Rus- sians have made choice of for their patrons and protectors. The invocation of saints constitutes a considerable part of the religious worship of the Russians ; but greater demon- BENEDICTION OF THE WATERS. 355 strations of respect are shown to St. Nicholas than to any of the rest. It is customary, in Russia, to mention God and the Czar at the same time when they have any affair of im- portance to transact. Thus they frequently say, " God is powerful as well as the Czar." " With God and the Czar's permission." Their devotees go in pilgrimage, for the most part, to those places where their saints have especially dis- tinguished themselves. THE BENEDICTION OF THE WATERS. The number of ceremonies and religious customs among the Russians nearly equals that of the Roman Church. The most rigorously observed and ostentatiously conducted of all these is the festival called the " Benediction of the Waters." This solemnity is celebrated at the beginning of the year at St. Petersburg, in the following manner : On the river Neva, upon the ice, which is then very strong, there is erected a kind of temple, of wood, usually of an octagonal figure, painted and richly gilt, having the inside decorated with various sacred pictures, representing the baptism of our Saviour, his transfiguration, and some other parts of his life, and on the top a picture of St. John the Baptist. This is called the " Jordan," which name used to signify the bap- tistery or font, or any basin in which holy water is conse- crated. There the attention of the spectators is drawn to a large emblem of the Holy Ghost, appearing to descend from heaven, a decoration common to almost all Greek churches, in which a peristerion or dove, as a symbol of the Holy Ghost, is usually suspended from four small columns which support a canopy over the Holy Table. The " Jordan " is surrounded by a temporary hedge of the boughs of fir-trees ; and, in the middle of the sanctuary or chancel is a square space, where the broken ice leaves a communication with the water running below, and the rest is ornamented with rich tapestry. Around this temple a kind of gallery is erected, and a platform of boards, covered with red cloth, is laid for the procession to go upon, guarded also by a fence of boughs, 356 THE RUSSIAN (GREEK) CHURCH. The gallery communicates with one of the windows of the imperial palace, at which the emperor and his family come out to attend the ceremony, which begins as soon as the liturgy is finished in the chapel of the imperial palace, and the regiments of guards have taken post on the river. Then, at the sound of the bells, and of the artillery of the fortress, the clerks, the deacons, the priests, the archimandrites, and the bishops, dressed in their richest robes, carrying in their hands lighted tapers, the censer, the Gospel, and the sacred pictures and banners, proceed from the chapel to the " Jor- dan," singing the hymns appointed in the office, and fol- lowed by the emperor, the grand dukes, the nobles, and the whole court. When arrived at the place where the ice is broken the Archbishop of Moscow, or other officiating bishop, descends, by means of a ladder, to the side of the water. There he reads the prayers appointed in the office, dips his cross three times, and ends the ceremony by an exhortation appropriate to it. As soon as the service is finished the artillery and soldiers fire ; after which the prelate sprinkles the water on the company around him, and on the colors of all the regi- ments that happen to be at St. Petersburg, which are planted round the " Jordan. " He then retires, when the people crowd towards the hole in the ice and drink of the waters with avidity. Notwithstanding the cold the mothers plunge their infants, and the old men their heads, into them. Every- body makes it a duty to carry away some for the purifica- tion of their houses, and curing certain distempers, against which the good Russians believe this water to be a powerful specific. OBSEBVANOES OF LENT. The first grand ceremony in the Lenten season takes place on Palm Sunday. On the eve of this day all the inhabitants of Moscow resort, in carriages, on horseback, or on foot, to the Kremlin, for the purchase of palm-branches to decorate the sacred pictures in the streets or elsewhere. The governor, attended by the maitre de police, the commandant, and a THE LENTEN SEASON. 357 train of nobility, go in procession mounted on fine horses. The streets are lined with spectators, and cavalry are sta- tioned on each side to preserve order. Arriving in the Krem- lin, a vast assembly, bearing artificial bouquets and boughs, are seen moving here and there, forming the novel and strik- ing spectacle of a gay and moving forest. Upon this occasion every person who visits the Kremlin, and would be thought a true Christian, purchases one or more of the branches ; and in returning the streets are crowded with droskis, and all kinds of vehicles, filled with devotees, holding in their hands one or more branches, according to their circumstances or desires. The same custom is observed in St. Petersburg and all the large cities in the vast empire. The second ceremony takes place on Thursday before Eas- ter at noon, when the archbishop washes the feet of the apos- tles. The priests appear in their most gorgeous apparel. Twelve monks, designed to represent the twelve apostles, are placed in a semicircle before the archbishop. The ceremony is performed in the cathedral, which is crowded with spec- tators. The archbishop, performing all that is related of our Saviour in the thirteenth chapter of St. John, takes off his robes, girds up his loins with a towel, and proceeds to wash the feet of all, until he comes to the representative of Simon Peter, who rises; and the same interlocution takes place between him and the archbishop which is said to have taken place between our Saviour and that apostle. The third and most magnificent ceremony of all is cele- brated two hours after midnight, in the morning of Easter Sunday. It is called the ceremony of the resurrection, and exceeds in splendor anything of the kind celebrated any- where. A learned spectator of this ceremonial thus describes its magnificence : " At midnight the great bell of the cathedral tolled. Its vibrations seemed the rolling of distant thunder, and they were instantly accompanied by the noise of all the bells in Mos- cow. Every inhabitant was stirring, and the rattling of car- riages in the streets was greater than at noonday. The whole city was in a blaze ; for lights were seen in all the windows. 358 THE RUSSIAN* (GREEK) CHURCH. and innumerable torches in the streets. The tower of the cathedral was illuminated from its foundation to its cross. " We hastened to the cathedral, which was filled with a prodigious assembly of all ranks and sexes, bearing lighted wax- tapers, to be afterwards heaped as vows on the different shrines. The walls, ceilings, and every part of this building are covered with the pictures of saints and martyrs. In the moment of our arrival the doors were shut ; and on the outside appeared the archbishop, preceded by banners and torches, and followed by all his train of priests with cruci- fixes and censers, who were making three times, in proces- sion, the tour of the cathedral ; chanting with loud voices and glittering in sumptuous vestments, covered with gold, silver, and precious stones. After completing the third cir- cuit they all halted opposite the great doors, which were shut ; and the archbishop, with a censer, scattered incense against the doors and over the priests. Suddenly those doors were opened, and the effect was great beyond description. The immense throng of spectators within, bearing innumer- able tapers, formed two lines, through which the archbishop entered, advancing with his train to a throne near the centre. The profusion of lights in all parts of the cathedral, and, among others, of the enormous chandelier which hung from the centre, the richness of the dresses, and the vastness of the assembly, filled us with astonishment. Having joined the suite of the archbishop, we accompanied the procession and passed even to the throne, on which the officials permit- ted us to stand among the priests, near an embroidered stool of satin placed for the archbishop. The loud chorus, which burst forth at the entrance to the church, continued as the procession moved towards the throne, and after the arch- bishop had taken his seat. " Soon after, the archbishop descended, and went all round the cathedral ; first offering incense to the priests, and then to the people as he passed along. When he had returned to his seat, the priests, two by two, performed the same cer- emony ; beginning with the archbishop, who rose and made obeisance with a lighted taper in his hand. From the mo- THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 359 ment the church doors were opened, the spectators had con- tinued bowing their heads and crossing themselves. " I had now leisure to examine the dresses and figures of the priests, which were, certainly, the most striking I ever saw. Their long dark hair, without powder, fell down in ringlets, or straight and thick, far over their rich robes and shoulders. Their dark thick beards also entirely covered their breasts. On the heads of the archbishop and bishops were high caps, covered with gems, and adorned with miniature paintings, set in jewels, of the crucifixion, the virgin, and the saints. Their robes of various-colored satin were of the most costly embroidery, and even on these were miniature pictures set with precious stones. " After two hours had been spent in various ceremonies, the archbishop advanced, holding forth a cross, which all the people crowded to embrace, squeezing each other nearly to suffocation. As soon, however, as their eagerness had been somewhat satisfied, he retired to the sacristy ; where putting on a plain purple robe, he again advanced, exclaim- ing three times in a very loud voice ' Christ is risen ! ' Thus was Easter proclaimed." THE SACKAMENT OF BAPTISM. As soon as an infant comes into the world, the parents send immediately for a priest to purify him. The godfath- ers and godmothers of the first child must stand sureties for all the other children in that family, however great may be the number. After entering the church, these godfathers deliver nine wax-tapers into the hands of the priest, who il- lumines them all, and sticks them in the form of a cross about the font or vessel in which the infant is to be baptized. The priest then thurifies the godfathers, and consecrates the water ; and after that he and the godfathers go thrice in procession round it. The clerk, who marches in the front, carries the picture of St. John. After this, they all arrange themselves in such a manner that their backs are turned towards the font, as a testimony of their aversion to the 36t THE -RUSSIAN (GREEK} CHURCH. three questions which the priest proposes to the godfathers ; that is to say, First, " Whether the child renounces the devil?" Second, "Whether he abjures his angels?" and Third, "Whether he abhors and detests their impious works ? " At each question the godfathers answer " yes," and spit upon the ground. The exorcism follows, which is performed out of the church, lest the devil, as he comes out of the infant, should pollute or profane it. After the exor- cism is over, the priest cuts some hair off the child's head in the form of a cross, and puts it into a book, or wraps it up in wax, and deposits it in some particular place belonging to the church appropriated for that purpose. The baptism which ensues is performed by a triple immersion, as we have before observed with respect to the Greeks. The priest, hav- ing now put a grain of salt into the infant's mouth, anoints him several times in the form of a cross, which may properly enough be called his confirmation ; and as he puts on him a clean shirt, he says, " Thou art now as clean as this shirt, and purified from the stain of original sin." To conclude this ceremony, a little gold or silver cross, or one of inferior value, according to the circumstances of the parent, is hung about the infant's neck, which is the badge or token of his baptism. He must wear this not only as long as he lives, but carry it with him to his grave. To this cross must be added some saint, appointed by the priest to be his guardian and protector, the picture of whom he delivers into the god- fathers' hands, and in express terms charges them to instruct the child in what manner he may pay a peculiar respect and veneration to his patron saint. After the baptism is over, the priest salutes the infant and his sponsors. THE SACEAMENT OF MATRIMONY. In the evening of their wedding-day, the bridegroom, ac- companied by a numerous train of his nearest relations and acquaintances, proceeds to wait on his mistress, the priest who is to solemnize their nuptials riding on horseback be- fore them. After the congratulations, and other compli- SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY. 361 merits, customary on such joyful occasions in all countries, the company sit down to table. But notwithstanding there are three elegant dishes instantly served up, no one takes the freedom to taste of them. At the upper end of the table is a vacant seat intended for the bridegroom. While he is in earnest discourse with the bride's relations, some young gentleman takes possession of his chair, and does not resign it without some valuable consideration. As soon as the bridegroom has thus redeemed his seat, the bride is intro- duced into the room, dressed as gayly as possible, but cov- ered with a veil. A curtain of crimson taffeta, supported by two young gentlemen, now parts the lovers, and prevents them from stealing any glances from each other's eyes. In the next place, the bride's Suacha, or agent, wreathes her hair, and after she has turned up her tresses, puts a crown upon her head, which is either of gold or silver gilt, and lined with silk, and of greater or less value, in proportion to the quality or circumstances of the person for whom it is in- tended. The other Suacha is employed in setting the bride- groom off to the best advantage. During this interval, some women that are present sing a number of little merry catches to divert them, while the bridesmaids strew hops upon the heads of the company. Two lads after this bring in a large cheese, and several rolls or little loaves, in a hand-basket, with curious sable tassels to it. Two of the bride's attend- ants bring in another cheese, and the same quantity of bread, upon her particular account. All these provisions, after the priest has blessed them, are carried to the church. At last there is a large silver basin set upon the table, full of small remnants of satin and taffeta, with several small square pieces of silver, hops, barley, and oats, all mingled together. The Suacha, after she has put the bride's veil over her face again, takes several handfuls of this medley out of the basin, and strews it over the heads of all the company. The next ceremony is the exchange of their respective rings, which is performed by the parents of the newly-married couple. The Suacha now conducts the bride to church, and the bridegroom follows with the priest. 362 THE RUSSIAN (GREEK) CHURCH. One part of the pavement of the church, where the cere- mony is performed, is covered with crimson taffeta, and another piece of the same silk is spread over it, where the bride and bridegroom are appointed to stand. The priest, before he enters upon his office, demands their oblations, which consist of iish, pastry, etc. Then he gives them his benediction, and holds over their heads the pictures of those saints who were made choice of to be their patrons. After which, taking the right hand of the bridegroom and the left of the bride within his own hands, he asks them three times, whether they sincerely consent to and approve of their marri- age, and whether they will love each other for the future as is their bounden duty so to do, When they have answered " Yes," all the company in general take hands and join in a solemn dance, while the priest sings the 128th Psalm (ac- cording to the Hebrew computation), in which almost all the blessings that attend the married state are enumerated. The priest, as soon as the psalm is finished, puts a garland of rue upon their heads ; but if the man be a widower, or the woman a widow, then he lays it upon their shoulders. The blessing attendant on this ceremony begins with these words, " In- crease and multiply"; and concludes with that other solemn direction, which is contained in so many marriage ceremo- nies, " Whom God hath joined, let no man put asunder." As soon as this is pronounced, all the company light their wax- tapers, and one of them presents the priest with a glass of wine, which he drinks, and the newly-married couple pledge him. This is done thrice, and then the bride and bridegroom dash their glasses down upon the floor, and tread the pieces under their feet, denouncing several maledictions on all those who shall hereafter endeavor to set them at variance. At the same time, several women strew linseed and hempseed upon their heads. After this ceremony is over, the usual congratu- lations are repeated, with such other demonstrations of gayety and rejoicing as generally accompany the nuptial rites in other countries. FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 363 FUNERAL CEREMONIES. The Russian funeral solemnities are as remarkable in all respects as their nuptial ceremonies. As soon as a sick per- son has expired, they. send for the relations and friends of the deceased, who place themselves about the corpse. There are women likewise who attend as mourners, and ask the de- ceased, " What was the cause of his death ? Were his circum- stances narrow and perplexed ? Did he want either the neces- saries or conveniences of life ? " In the next place, the corpse is well washed, dressed in clean linen, or wrapped in a shroud, and shod with Russia leather, and put into a coffin, the arms being laid over the stomach, in the form of a cross. The corpse is not carried, however, to church, till it has been kept eight or ten days at home, if the season or circumstances of the deceased will admit of such a delay ; for it is a received opin- ion, that the longer they stay in this world, the better recep- tion they will meet with in the next. The priest thurifies the corpse, and sprinkles it with holy water, till the very day of its interment. The funeral procession is arranged in the following man- ner : A priest marches in the front, carrying the image of the particular saint who was made choice of as patron of the de- ceased at the time he was baptized. Four young virgins, who are the nearest relations to the deceased, and the chief mourn- ers, follow him ; or, for want of such female friends, the same number of women are hired to attend, and to perform that melancholy office. After them comes the corpse, carried on the shoulders of six bearers. If the party deceased be a monk or a nun, the brothers or sisters of the convent to which he or she belonged perform this last friendly office. The relations and friends bring up the rear, each having a wax-taper in his hand. As soon as they are arrived at the grave, the coffin is uncovered, and the image of the deceased's favorite saint is laid over him, while the priest repeats some prayers suitable to the solemn occasion, or reads some particular passages out of the liturgy. After that, the relations and friends bid their last sad adieu, either by saluting the deceased himself, or the 364 THE RUSSIAN (GREEK) CHURCH. coffin in which he is interred. The priest, in the next place, comes close to his side, and puts his certificate into his hand, which is signed by the archbishop, and likewise by his father confessor. This is a testimonial of the virtue and good actions of the deceased, or, at least, of his sincere repentance of all his sins. When a person at the point of expiring is so happy as to have the benediction of his priest, and after his decease his certificate in his hand, his immediate reception into heaven is, in their opinion, infallibly secured. The priest always recommends the deceased to the favor and protection of St. Nicholas. To conclude, the coffin is nailed up and let down into the grave, the face of the deceased being turned towards the east. The friends and relations now take their last fare- well. During their mourning, which continues forty days, they make three funeral entertainments, that is to say, on the third, the ninth, and the twentieth day after the interment. A priest must spend some time in prayer for the consolation and repose of the soul of the deceased every night and morn- ing, for forty days successively in a tent, which is erected on that occasion over the grave. They commemorate their dead, likewise, once a year. This ceremony consists, principally, in mourning over their tombs, and in taking care that they be duly perfumed with incense by some priest. THE SECT OF EASKOLNIKI. This is the only sect that has separated from the estab- lished church in Eussia. The date of the separation was about the year 1666. They profess to be ardent lovers of the Holy Scriptures, and distinguished for their piety. Its members assume the name of IbraniM, that is, the multi- tude of the elect ; or, according to others, Straoivertsi, that is, believers in the ancient faith ; but the name given them by their opponents, and that by which they are generally known, is Raskolnikl, that is, schismatics. In defence of their separation, they allege the corruptions, in both doctrine and discipline, that had been introduced into the Russian THE SECT OF RASKOLNIKL 365 Church. They profess a rigorous zeal for the letter of the Holy Scripture ; and the transposition of a single word in a new edition of the Russian Bible, though this transposition was intended to correct an uncouth phrase in the translation commonly received, threw them into the greatest tumult. They hold that there is no subordination of rank, no superior or inferior among the faithful ; that a Christian may kill himself for the love of Christ ; that " Hallelujah " must be only twice pronounced, that it is a great sin to repeat it thrice ; and that a priest must never give a blessing except with three fingers. They are regular, even to austerity, in their manners. They have suffered much persecution ; and various means have been used to lead them back into the bosom of the church, but in vain. Some wealthy merchants and great lords are attached to this sect ; and it is widely diffused among the peasants. THE Church of England EPISCOPALIAN. EARLY HISTORY. IT is asserted by some authorities that the Gospel was in- troduced into Britain as early as A.D. 63. To Lucius and to Joseph of Arimathea, among others, the honor of its introduction has been accorded, and St. Paul is said to have preached there in A.D. 66. The British Church is often mentioned by writers of the second and third centuries ; and British martyrs suffered under the edicts against the Christians issued by Diocletian in 303. British bishops were present at the councils of Aries, in 314, and of Nicsea, the first general council, in 325. About 597 Gregory I. sent Augustine and a band of monks to endeavor to bring the British Church into subjection to Rome. Ethelbert, king of Kent, was converted, and a struggle between the early British Church and Gregory's representatives at once began. At the Reformation the entire system, which had at length been established by Rome, was overthrown, and the British Church restored to that state of independence in which it had originally existed throughout the islands. Many laws for the regulation of the Church were made by the Anglo- Saxon kings. Its right of sanctuary was rigidly enforced. Attempts at encroachment by the Roman Church were fre- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 367 quently opposed, and the first article of the Magna Charta (1215) provided that the Church of England should be free, and enjoy her whole rights and liberties inviolable. In 1530 the clergy in convocation acknowledged Henry VIII. as su- preme head of the English Church ; and by 25 Hen. VIII. c. 21 (1534), the Papal power in England was abrogated. The king was appointed supreme head of the Church by 26 Hen. VIII. c. 1 (1534). The Articles were drawn up in 1551, and published in 1553. They were forty- two in number. They were revised and reduced to thirty-nine in 1562. At the Union in 1800, the Church of Ireland was united with that of England, under the title of " The United Church of Eng- land and Ireland." A bill introduced into Parliament March 1, 1869, to disestablish and disendow the Irish Church, received the royal assent, July 26. The act took effect from Jan. 1, 1871. For further historical mention of the Established Church, the reader is referred to the notice of the Presbyterian Church in England. In Scotland Episcopacy was abolished in 1561, restored in 1606, again abolished in 1639, again restored in 1661, and abolished at the Revolution in 1689, when the bishops were expelled. Before the Revolution there were two archbish- oprics and twelve bishoprics in Scotland, the last, that of Edinburgh, having been founded by Charles I. in 1633. Though the Presbyterian Church was acknowledged as the national church at the Revolution, many of the old Episco- palian bishoprics were revived, and are still in healthful operation. The founding of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, although a practical offspring of the Church of England, is due to the Episcopacy of Scotland, for Dr. Samuel Seabury, the first Bishop, was refused conse- cration in England, and obtained it at the hands of the Scottish bishops in Aberdeen. The religious tenets or doctrines of the Church of England are to be found in the Book of Homilies, consisting of short moral and doctrinal discourses, and in the Thirty-nine Arti- cles, which, with the three Creeds and Catechism, are in* sorted in the Book of Common Prayer. 368 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. THE THIBTY-NTNE AETICLES. I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity. There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity ; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. II. Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very Man. The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, of her substance : so that two whole and perfect natures that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood were joined together in one Person, never to be divided ; whereof is one Christ very God and very Man ; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to reconcile his father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men. III. Of the going down of Christ into Hell As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also it is to be believed, thai he went doAvn into Hell. IV. Of the Resurrection of Christ. Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of Man's nature, wherewith he ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all men at the last day. V. Of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty > and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God. . . .,;..' . . ;; ; VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Satiation'. "'"-. ^ Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: So that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be. re- quired of any man that it should be" believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture,, we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church. THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES. 369 OF THE NAMES AND NUMBER OF THE CANONICAL BOOKS. Genesis. The First Book of Chronicles. Exodus. The Second Book of Chronicles. Leviticus. The First Book of Esdras. Numbers. The Second Book of Esdras. Deuteronomy. The Book of Esther. Joshua. The Book of Job. Judges. The Psalms. Ruth. The Proverbs. The First Book of Samuel. Ecclesiastes, or Preacher. The Second Book of Samuel. Cantica, or Songs of Solomon The First Book of Kings. Four Prophets the greater. The Second Book of Kings. Twelve Prophets the less. And the other Books, as Hierome saith, the Church doth read for ex- ample of life and instruction of manners, but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine : such are these following : The Third Book of Esdras. Baruch the Prophet. The Fourth Book of Esdras. The Song of the Three Children. The Book of Tobias. The Story of Susanna. The Book of Judith. Of Bel and the Dragon. The rest of the Book of Esther. The Prayer of Manasses. The Book of "Wisdom. The First Book of Maccabees. Jesus the Son of Sirach. The Second Book of Maccabees. All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them Canonical. VII. Of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the New and Old Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and Man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the Law given from God to Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any Commonwealth : yet notwithstanding, no Christian man whatso- ever is free from the obedience of the Commandments which are called moral. VIII. Of the Three Creeds. The three Creeds, Nicene Creed, Athanasius's Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed : for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture. 24 370 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. IK. Of Original, or Birth Sin. Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam as the Pelagians do vainly talk but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam ; whereby man is very far gane from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the Flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore, in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain yea, in them that are regenerated; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek phronema sarkos, which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affection, some the desire of the flesh, is not subject to the Law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized, yet the Apostle doth confess that concu- piscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin. X. Of Free Will The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God : Wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God, by Christ, preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will. XL Of the Justification of Man. We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort : as more largely is ex- pressed in the Homily of Justification. XII. Of Good Works. Albeit that good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow aftei justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's Judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out, necessarily, of a true and lively faith ; insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree discerned by the fruit. XLtl. Of Works before Justification. Works done before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration of the Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ : neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or, as the School Authors say, deserve grace of congruity; yea rather, for that THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES. 371 they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin. XIV. Of Works of Supererogation. Voluntary works besides, over and above God's Commandments, which they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught without ar- rogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye hath done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants. XV. Of Christ alone without Sin. Christ, in the truth of our nature, was made like unto us in all things, sin only except; from which he was clearly void, both in his flesh and in his spirit. He came to be the Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, should take away the sins of the world : and sin, as St. John saith, was not in him. But all we the rest, although bap- tized and born again hi Christ, yet offend in many things ; and, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not hi us. XVI. Of Sin after Baptism. Not every deadly sin, willingly committed after Baptism, is sin against the Holy Ghost and unpardonable. Wherefore the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after Baptism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin ; and by the grace of God we may arise again, and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned, which say, they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent. XVII. Of Predestination and Election. Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby, be- fore the foundations of the world were laid, he hath constantly decreed by his counsel, secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honor. Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called, according to God's purpose, by his Spirit working in due season : They through grace obey the calling : They be justified freely : They be made sons of God by adoption : They be made like the image of his only be- gotten Son Jesus Christ : They walk religiously in good works : and, at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity. 372 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, As the godly consideration of Predestination and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly per- sons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh and their earthly members, and draw- ing up their mind to high and heavenly things ; as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation to be en- joyed through Christ, as because it doth fervently kindle their love to- wards God : so, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God's Pre- destination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation. Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in such wise as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture : And in our doings, that will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared unto us in the word of God. XVIII. Of Obtaining Eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ. They also are to be had accursed, that presume to say, that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be dili- gent to frame his life according to that law, and the light of nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved. XIX. Of the Church. The visible Church of Christ is a Congregation of faithful men, in the which the true word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same. As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so aiso the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and man- ner of ceremonies, but also in matters of faith. XX. Of the Authority of the Church. The Church hath power to decree Ritey or Ceremonies, and authority in controversies of faith : And yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written ; neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church be a witness and a keeper of Holy Writ, yet as it ought not to decree any thing against the same, so be- sides the same ought it not to enforce any thing to be believed for neces- sity of salvation. , . THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES. 373 XXI. Of the Authority of General Councils. General Councils may not be gathered together without the command- ment and will of Princes : and when they be gathered together foras- much as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore, things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, un- less it may be declared that they be taken out of Holy Scripture. XXII. Of Purgatory. The Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping, and Adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God. XXIII. Of Ministering in the Congregation. It is not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or ministering the Sacraments in the Congregation, before he be lawfully called and sent to execute the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully called and sent, which be chosen and called to this work by men who have public authority given unto them in the Congrega- tion, to call and send Ministers into the Lord's vineyard. XXIV. Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a Tongue as the People Under standeth. It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the primitive Church, to have public prayer in the Church, or to min- ister the Sacraments, in a tongue not understanded of the people. XXV. Of the Sacraments. Sacraments ordained of Christ, be not only badges or tokens of Chris- tian men's profession ; but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good-will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him. There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord. Those five, commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures ; but yet have not like nature of Sacraments with Baptism and 374 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. the Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God. The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about, but that we should duly use them. And hi such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation ; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves damna- tion, as St. Paul saith. XXVI. Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which Hinders not the Effect of the Sacraments. Although in the visible Church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometimes the evil have chief authority in the ministration of the Word and Sacraments ; yet forasmuch as they do not the same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by his commission and authority, we may use their ministry, both in hearing the Word of God, and in the receiving of the Sacraments. Neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such as, by faith, and rightly, do receive the Sacraments ministered unto them ; which be effectual, because of Christ's institution and promise, although they be ministered by evil men. Nevertheless, it appertaineth to the discipline of the Church, that in- quiry be made of evil Ministers, and that they be accused by those that have knowledge of their offences ; and finally, being found guilty, by just judgment be deposed. XXVH. Of Baptism. Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened; but it is also a sign of Regeneration, or New Birth ; whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly, are grafted into the Church ; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed ; faith is confirmed, and grace increased, by virtue of prayer unto God. The Baptism of young children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ. XXVIII. Of the Lord's Supper. The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another ; but rather it is a Sac- rament of our Redemption by Christ's death : insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ ; and likewise, the cup of bless- ing is a partaking of the blood of Christ. THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES. 375 fransubstantiation or the change of the substance of bread and wine iii the Supper of the Lord cannot be proved by Holy Writ ; but is re- pugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions. The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean, whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is Faith. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance r*f served, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped. XXIX. Of the Wicked which Eat not the Body of Christ in the Use of the Lord's Supper. The wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth, as St. Augustine faith, the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ ; yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ, but rather, to their condemnation, do wt and drink the sign or sacrament of so great a thing. XXX. Of both Kinds. The Cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the Lav-people ; for both the parts of the Lord's Sacrament, by Christ's ordinance and command- ment, ought to be ministered to all Christian men alike. XXXI. Of the One Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross. The offering of Christ once made, is that perfect Redemption, Propi- tiation, and Satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual : and there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have re- mission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous de- ceits. XXXII. Of the Marriage of Priests. Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, are not commanded by God's Law, either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage : Therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve better to godliness. XXXIII. Of excommunicated Persons, How they are to be Avoided. That person, which by open denunciation of the Church is rightly cut off fi'om the unity of the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be the whole multitude of the faithful, as an Heathen or Publi- 376 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. can, until he be openly reconciled by penance, and received into the Church by a Judge that hath authority thereunto. XXXIV. Of the Traditions of the Church. It is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all places one, or utterly like, for at all times they have been diverse, and may be changed according to the diversity of Countries, Times, and Men's Man- ners, so that nothing be ordained against God's Word. Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repug- nant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly that others may fear to do the like as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth the authority of the Magistrate, and woundeth the consciences of the weak brethren. Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish ceremonies or rites of the Church, ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying. XXXV. Of Homilies. The Second Book of Homilies, the several titles whereof we have joined under this Article, doth contain a godly and wholesome doctrine, and necessary for these times ; as doth the former Book of Homilies, which were set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth ; and therefore we judge them to be read in Churches by the Ministers diligently and dis- tinctly, that they may be understanded of the people. OF NAMES OF THE HOMILIES. 1. Of the right Use of the Church. 10. Of the Reverent Estimation of 2. Against Peril of Idolatry. God's Word. 3. Of Repairing and Keeping clean 11. Of Alms-doing. of Churches. 12. Of the Nativity of Christ. 4. Of Good Works ; first of Fast- 13. Of the Passion of Christ. ing. 14. Of the Resurrection of Christ. 5. Against Gluttony and Drunk- 15. Of the worthy Receiving of the enness. Sacrament of the Body and 6. Against Excess of Apparel. Blood of Christ. 7. Of Prayer. 16. Of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 8. Of the Place and Time of 17. For the Rogation Days. Prayer. 18. Of the State of Matrimony. 9. That Common Prayer and Sac- 19. Of Repentance. raments ought to be admin- 20. Against Idleness, istered hi a known Tongue. 21. Against Rebellion. THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES. 377 XXXVI. Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers. The book of Consecration of Archbishops and Bishops, and Ordering of Priests and Deacons, lately set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth, and confirmed at the same time by authority of Parliament, doth con- tain all things necessary to such consecration and ordering ; neither hath it any thing that of itself is superstitious and ungodly. And there- fore, whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to the rites of that book since the second year of the fore-named King Edward, unto this time, or hereafter shall be consecrated or ordered according to the same rites, we decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and lawfully consecrated and ordered. XXXVII. Of the Civil Magistrates. The King's Majesty hath the chief power in this realm of England and other his dominions, unto whom the chief government of all estates of this Realm, whether they be ecclesiastical or civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not, nor ought to be, subject to any foreign jurisdic- tion. Where we attribute to the King's Majesty the chief government, by which titles we understand the minds of some slanderous folks to be of- fended, We give not to our Prince the ministering either of God's Word or of the Sacraments, the which thing the Injunctions also, lately set by Elizabeth our Queen, do most plainly testify; but that only preroga- tive which we see to have been given always to all godly Princes in Holy Scriptures by God himself ; that is, that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to thew- charge by God, whether they be ecclesiastical or temporal, and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evil-doers. The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England. The laws of the Realm may punish Christian men with death for hein- ous and grievous offences. It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons and serve in the wars. XXXVIII. Of Christian Men's Goods, which are not Common. The riches and goods of Christians are not common, as touching the right, title, and possession of the same, as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast. Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he pos' sesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability. XXXIX. Of a Christian Man's Oath. As we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ, and James his Apostle ; so we judge that 378 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Christian religion doth not prohibit but that a man may swear when the Magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith and charity ; so it be done, ac- cording to the Prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth. THE HIERARCHY OF THE CHURCH. Two ARCHBISHOPS are at the head of the Church of Eng- land, who take their titles from the cathedral towns of Can- terbury and York. As their episcopal rank is equal, the Archbishop of Canterbury is known officially as the Primate of all England, while the Archbishop of York is similarly designated the Primate of England. When a bishopric becomes vacant, the canons of the cathedral give notice of it to the sovereign, and desire leave to choose another. The sovereign, at the same time that he or she sends the conge-d? elire, recommends the in- dividual whom it is his or her will they should elect ; and then the dean and chapter choose the person so named. The bishop so chosen is consecrated, installed, renders homage to the sovereign, takes the oath, and pays the first fruits. The other prerogatives which the sovereign enjoys, as head of the church, are to make ordinances respecting ceremonies and exterior rites ; to call or prorogue the convocation ; and to enact the decrees of synods into laws. But all this still leaves the sovereign in the state and condition of a lay head, and the profession of faith says, that the supreme governing of all the states of the kingdom, whether ecclesiastical or spiritual, in all cases whatever, belongs to him, yet so that he is not invested with a power to preach the word of God, or administer the sacraments. The bishop is superior to a priest, and a priest to a deacon. The essential office of a DEACOTST is to see that the wants of the poor are supplied, to assist the priest (or minister) at the com- munion service, to bless those who present themselves to be married, to baptize, to bury the dead, to preach, and to read to the people the Holy Scriptures, or the homilies. Their ordination consists first in a sermon or exhortation preached to them, which being concluded, the archdeacon, or whoever HIERARCHY OF THE CHURCH. 379 officiates in his stead, presents them to the bishop, who in- quires of the said archdeacon, whether he has examined them and found them deserving. He then directs his speech to the congregation present, both to know if there be any existing impediment to the election, and to recommend the candidates to the prayers of the congregation. After some prayers and litanies, the third chapter of St. Paul's first epistle to Timo- thy, from v. 8 to the end of that chapter, is read to the dea- cons, or chapter vi. of the Acts of the Apostles, from v. 2 to 8. Then they take the oath of supremacy, and among several questions put to them, the bishop asks them whether they have in them an interior call from the Holy Ghost to take upon them the office of a deacon. The answer to this ques- tion being made in the affirmative, the bishop puts the New Testament into their hands, and gives them authority to read and preach the word of God to the faithful. He receives the communion himself, and gives it to all whom he has ordained. The whole ceremony is concluded with a prayer suitable to the occasion, and the blessing. The ordination of PRIESTS consists of prayers, exhortations, and imposition of hands. By the constitutions of the year 1603, the time appointed for giving orders was on those Sun- days which follow the Ember weeks during the service, in the cathedral or parochial churches where the bishops reside, in the presence of the archdeacon, the dean, and two prebend- aries, or at least of four grave persons, who must be masters of arts, and have lawful power to preach. They are only as witnesses to the ordination, which belongs solely to the bishop ; he alone has authority to say to those who are or- dained, " Receive the Holy Ghost ": the other four only pray with the bishops, and lay their hands upon the ordained. To become a priest, it is necessary to be made first a deacon ; but both orders may be received on one and the same day. After the examination and the exhortation which is immediately before the communion service, the epistle is read, Acts, chap. xx. from v. 17 to 36, and if both orders are to be given on the same day, the third chapter of the first epistle to Timothy is added. The reading of the gospel follows, out of the last 380 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. chapter of St. Matthew, from v. 11 to the end of that chapter ; or out of St. John, chap. xx. from v. 10 to 24. Then the Veni Creator is sung or read. The rest differs but little from the deacon's ordination. The congregation is desired to join in mental prayer for the happy success of this ceremony. Silence is maintained for some short time ; then the bishop prays aloud, and immediately lays his hands, and the priests then present lay theirs upon those who are ordained, and who are kneeling. The bishop uses at the same time these words : " Keceive the Holy Ghost. Sins shall be forgiven to all those to whom you forgive them. Be faithful dispensers of the word of God and of the sacraments." This being said, he puts the Bible into their hands. The BISHOP is, under Christ, according to the doctrine of the Church of England the first pastor of the church. Sub- ordinate ministers are only his deputies. When he is absent, the priest may bless the people, but whenever he is present at the divine service, it belongs to him to pronounce the blessing. There are two archbishops and twenty-four bishops in England. They enjoy the dignity of barons, and take place before those of the laity. Thus the Bishop of London, being the first bishop, is likewise the first baron. All are peers of the realm, and sit in the House of Lords, except the Bishop of the Isle of Man, who is named by and holds of a subject. The archbishops are called Your Grace, which title is also bestowed on dukes. The bishops are styled Right Reverend Fathers in God. At the consecration of bishops or archbishops, the third chapter of St. Paul's first epistle to Timothy, from v. 1 to 8, is read ; then some verses out of chap. x. or xxi. of St. John's gospel ; the creed is said ; the bishop-elect is presented by two other bishops to the archbishop of the province, or to another bishop officiating for him. " Right Reverend Father in God," they say, " we present to you this pious and learned man, to be consecrated bishop." The sovereign's order for his consecration is produced and read openly. The bishop elect takes the oath of supremacy and that of obedience. The consecrator leads the congregation in prayer, saying to HIERARCHY OF THE CHURCH. 381 them : " Brethren, it is written in the gospel of St. Luke, that our Saviour Christ continued the whole night in prayer, before he did choose and send forth his twelve apostles. It is written also in the Acts of the Apostles, that the disciples did fast and pray before they laid hands on Paul and Barna- bas and sent them forth. Let us, therefore, following the ex- ample of our Saviour Christ and his Apostles, first fall to prayer." Then the litany is said; and after this passage, That it may please thee to illuminate all bishops, etc., the following prayer is inserted : " That it may please thee to bless this our brother elected, and to send thy grace upon him, that he may duly execute the office whereunto he is called, to the edil'ying of thy church." The people answer, "We beseech thee to hear us." The litany ends with a prayer, after which the archbishop, sitting in his chair, says to him that is to be consecrated, "Brother, forasmuch as the Holy Scripture and the ancient canons command that we should not be hasty in laying on hands, and admitting any person to government in the Church of Christ, which he has purchased with no less price than the effusion of his own blood ; before I admit you to this administration, I will ex- amine you." The question ends with a prayer, which is fol- lowed by the hymn of the Holy Ghost, or the Veni Creator, said or sung, at the end of which the archbishop repeats another long prayer. Then the archbishop and bishops pres- ent lay their hands upon the head of the elected bishop, the archbishop saying : " Receive the Holy Ghost ; and remem- ber that thou stir up the grace of God which is given thee by this imposition of our hands." Still keeping one hand on the head of the bishop-elect, with the other he delivers him the Bible, saying, " Give heed unto reading, exhortation, and doctrine ; think upon the things contained in this book. Be to the flock of Christ a shepherd, not a wolf ; hold up the weak ; be so merciful ; so minister discipline." Then the archbishop and the new bishops, with others, receive the com- munion ; and the whole ceremony concludes with a prayer by way of collect, to desire Almighty God to pour down his blessing on the new bishop. 382 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. English bishops have their own vicars and officials ; but the officials are better known in England by the name of chancellors. These are the true and chief officials, but there are some commissioners who are often mistaken for them. Their archdeacons, who in ancient times were only the first among deacons, are now in the English Church above priests. Bishops are called reverend, archbishops most reverend, archdeacons venerable, while common priests have no title bestowed upon them. The archdeacon's chief function is to visit the diocese by procuration in default of the bishop or vicar, at least once in three years. No one can be made a deacon before twenty-three, nor a priest before twenty-four, nor a bishop before thirty. The convocation of the clergy is a kind of parliament. The archbishops and bishops are the upper house ; the lower is composed of the subordinate clergy, viz. : twenty-six deans, sixty archdeacons, five hundred and seventy-six canons, be- sides curates and deacons. They meet upon the concerns of the Church, tithes, raising taxes, ecclesiastical laws, which must afterwards be approved by the sovereign and parlia- ment. They hold likewise national synods, which keep an exact correspondence in their deliberations, and make no absolute definition, but with a unanimous consent. DIVINE SEEVICE IN THE CHURCH. The customs established in the performance of divine ser- vice, and appointed by the English liturgy are : That all priests and deacons are required to say daily the morning and evening prayers. The order of both is the same. They begin with several passages of Scripture, which the minister says aloud. These passages are followed by an exhortation to prepare for the general confession of sins, which is said kneeling, by the minister and the whole congregation. The Church of England uses three different forms of absolution : one in the morning and evening prayer, another at the visi- tation of the sick, and a third at the communion service. After the absolution, the priest and congregation, all kneel- SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 383 ing, say the Lord's prayer, which is followed by some re- sponses, a psalm, some lessons out of the Old Testament, as set down in the calendar at the beginning of the liturgy, the singing or reciting of the Te Deum or Benedicite omnia; another lesson out of the New Testament, a hymn, or a psalm ; the creed said or sung, during which the people stand ; the Lord's prayer a second time ; several responses, three collects, a prayer for the sovereign, another for the royal family, a third for the clergy, St. Chrysostom's prayer, and the blessing. The rubric says, that the minister must stand when he reads the lessons, and turn himself towards the congregation, that he may be heard the better ; this is very rational, for those lessons, the decalogue, etc., are an instruc- tion to the people ; but when he addresses himself to God by prayer, by saying or singing a psalm, or by confession, he must then turn from the people and look towards the upper end of the chancel, which is the chief and most rever- ential part of the church. The prayers, collects, and lessons often vary, on some days, as Christmas, Epiphany, etc. The Athanasian creed is said or sung instead of that of the Apos- tles' or of Nice. Sunday morning, Wednesday, and Friday, the long litany is said or sung. Particular prayers are said likewise on special occasions, as for rain, for fair weather, for a time of famine, or great dearth, for success in war, against popular commotions, epidemic or contagious dis- tempers ; every day also in Ember weeks, for those who are to be ordained, for the parliament while it sits ; which prayers are all either to obtain mercy from God, or to give him thanks for favors received. SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. The communion is one of the principal sacraments of the Church of England, for which purpose the altar, for this name is often given by the members of the Church of Eng- land to the communion table, ought to have a clean white linen cloth upon it, and to stand in the body of the church, or in the chancel, where morning and evening prayers are 384 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. appointed to be said. At all other times the said table is covered with silk, and set in a decent place altar- wise. The priest, standing at the north side of the table, repeats the Lord's prayer, with a collect, then rehearses distinctly the ten commandments ; after each, the people, kneeling, say, " Lord, have mercy on us, and incline our hearts to keep this law." This is followed by a collect for the sovereign, which the priest says standing ; the collect of the day, the epistle, and gospel, at which last the people stand, as they do like- wise at the singing or reciting the Nicene or Constantinopoli- tan creed, which is done immediately after the gospel Then the curate declares unto the people what holidays and fast- ing days are in the week following to be observed ; and, if occasion be, publishes the banns of matrimony, reads briefs, citations, and excommunications. Then follows the sermon, which being ended, alms are taken for the poor, or church purposes. This is followed by prayers and exhortations ; after which, the priest stands up before the table, and having so ordered the bread and wine that he may with the more readiness and decency break the bread before the people, and take the cup into his hands, repeats the prayer of consecration, which begins the third part of the communion service ; the wording of it is very re- markable, and runs thus : " Hear us, O merciful Father, and grant that we, receiving these thy creatures of bread and wine, according to Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remem- brance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed body and blood, who in the same night that he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he break it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ' Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me.' Likewise, after supper, he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ' Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for you, for the remission of sins. Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me.' " The priest first receives the communion in both kinds him- self, then proceeds to deliver the same to the bishops, priests, THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 335 and deacons (if any be present) ; and after that, to the people also in order into their hands, all meekly kneeling. The priest repeats a prayer when he gives the bread, and another when the cup is given to any one. If the consecrated bread or wine be exhausted before all have communicated, the priest is to consecrate more. If, on the contrary, there remains any when all have communicated, the minister re- turns to the Lord's table, and reverently places upon it what remains of the consecrated elements, covering the same with a clean linen cloth. Here begins the fourth and last part of the communion service. The Lord's prayer is recited by the minister, the people repeating after him every petition ; then follows another form of thanksgiving; after which, " Glory be to God on high," a hymn to which antiquity has given the appellation of angelical. The whole service is con- cluded by the priest (or bishop, if he be present) dismissing the congregation with a blessing. THE SACKAMENT OF BAPTISM. The rubric says, that it is most convenient baptism should not be administered but upon Sundays, and other holydays, when the greatest number of people are assembled ; as well for that the congregation there present may testify the re- ceiving of them that are newly baptized into the number of Christ's church ; as also because, in the baptism of infants, every man present may be put in remembrance of his own profession made to God in his baptism, or that made for him by his godfathers or godmothers. Nevertheless, if neces- sity so require, children may be baptized on any other day. Every male child must have two godfathers and one god- mother, and every female one godfather and two godmothers, who, with the children, must be present at the font imme- diately after the last lesson of the morning or evening prayer. The priest coming to the font, which is then to be filled with pure water, and standing there, asks the usual question, exhorts the people to pray, says two prayers for the child, reads a gospel (Mark x. 13, and following), ex- 336 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. plaiiis it, gives God thanks, instructs the godfathers and godmothers in their duty, receives their renunciation of the devil in behalf of the child, and repeats with them the profession of faith. After this and a few more prayers, he takes the child into his hands, desires the godfathers and godmothers to name him or her ; and then, naming it after them, he sprinkles it with the water, saying, N., I baptize thee, etc. The ceremony ends with the minister's signing the child with the cross, repeating the Lord's prayer, giving thanks to God, and a second charge to the godfathers and godmothers. CEREMONY OF CONFIRMATION. In the Church of England the bishops are sole ministers of the religious ceremony of confirmation. The short cate- chism, which every person is to learn before he is brought to be confirmed by the bishop, is to be found in the Book of Common Prayer. The Church of England orders that, for the instruction of the faithful beginners, "The curate of every parish shall diligently upon Sundays and holydays, after the second lesson at evening prayer, openly in the church instract and examine so many children of his parish, sent unto him, in the catechism. All fathers, mothers, mas- ters, or mistresses, shall cause their children, servants, and apprentices, who have not learned their catechism, to come to the church at the time appointed, and obediently to hear and be ordered by the curate, until such time as they have learned all that is appointed for them to learn. The children who are sufficiently instructed shall be brought to the bishop, and every one shall have a godfather or a godmother as a witness of their confirmation. All being placed and standing in order before the bishop, he or some other minister appointed by him shall read what is called the preface of confirmation, which briefly explains the nature and end of it ; then he makes them renew and confirm the promises which were made for them by their godfathers and godmothers at bap- tism, and prays for them, that they may receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost ; then all of them kneeling in order before MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 387 the bishop, he lays his hand upon the head of every one sev- erally, repeats another prayer, then the Lord's prayer, and two collects, and dismisses them with his blessing." MAKKIAGE CEREMONY OF THE CHUKCH. According to the ritual of the Church of England the banns of all those who are to be married must be published in the church three several Sundays or holydays, in the time of divine service, immediately before the sentence of the offer- tory. If the persons who are to be married dwell in different parishes, the banns must be asked in both parishes ; and the curate of the one parish shall not solemnize matrimony with- out a certificate of the banns being thrice asked from the cu- rate of the other parish. At the day and time appointed for the solemnization of matrimony, the persons to be married come into the body of the church, with their friends and neigh- bors, and there standing together, the man on the right hand and the woman on the left, the priest reads an exhortation on the duty, condition, and chastity of a married state ; then another, particularly directed to the persons who are to be married. At which day of marriage if any man do allege or declare any impediment why they may not be united in matrimony by God's law, or the laws of the realm, then the solemnization must be deferred until such time as the truth be ascertained. If no impediment be alleged, then the curate asks their mutual consent, which being declared, they give their troth to each other, taking alternately each other by the right hand and saying : " I, N"., take thee, N"., to be my wedded wife (or husband) ; to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish (the wife says to love, cherish, and obey), till death us do part, accord- ing to God's holy ordinance, and thereto I plight thee my troth." Then they again loose their hands, and the man produces a ring. The priest, taking the ring, hands it to the man, who puts it upon the fourth finger of the woman's left hand, and the man, taught by the priest, says : " With this 388 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship." Both kneel down, the minister says a prayer, joins their hands together, and adds a blessing. Then going to the Lord's table, repeats or sings a psalm, which being ended, the man and the woman kneeling before the Lord's table, the priest, standing at the table, recites a litany, followed by some prayers, and an in- struction concerning the duties of man and wife, and so con- cludes. The rubric adds, that if it is convenient the new married persons should receive the holy communion at the time of their marriage, or at the first opportunity after their marriage. But though the ritual of the Church of England requires the publication of the banns of such persons who are about to marry, and though the lower classes always have their marriage banns published, yet it is the custom of the higher, and to a great degree of the middle classes also, to marry by license, dispensing with the publication of banns. A license may be had on application to a surrogate. In the year 1837 a new Marriage Act was passed, which made a very consider- able change in the marriage ceremony, to those who were desirous to avail themselves of it, while it left at liberty all who preferred the former course to pursue it as before. Members of the Church of England still marry in the churches by banns or license, while Dissenters more gener- ally avail themselves of the provisions of the new act. By the new act, persons wishing to marry may be joined together either in dissenting meeting-houses, licensed for the purpose, or in the offices of the Superintendent-Registrars of the Poor-Law Unions, in the districts of which the parties may live. The presence of the registrar of the district, and two witnesses, is indispensable to the lawfulness and validity of the ceremony. Before any marriage can be contracted under the new act, either a license must be purchased of the registrar, on giving seven days' notice, or three several no- tices of such intended marriage must be read and published at the Union Workhouse, before the Poor-Law Guardians of the Union, at three of their successive weekly meetings, which may be held, within the twenty-one days which must MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 389 pass between the day of giving notice to the registrar and the day of marriage. A certificate also must be obtained of the registrar, before the marriage can take place, stating that no one has forbidden the marriage. In cases where the mar- riage takes place at the office of the superintendent-registrar, he, as well as the registrar of the district, must be present with the two witnesses, and the ceremony must take place, with open doors, between the hours of eight and twelve in the forenoon. An office is appointed, called " The General Register Office," for keeping a register of all births, deaths, and marriages in England, as well as a register-general to discharge the important duties of the same. Marriage between persons related to each other within the Levitical decrees is unlawful ; and this prohibition embraces relationship by affinity as well as that by consanguinity. A marriage between a man and the sifter of his deceased wife, is, therefore, void. Parliament has been frequently urged to abolish this particular restriction, but, up to 1886, without success, although the vote in favor of the change perceptibly increased during several years preceding that date. In 1894 there were reported 2 archbishops, 32 bishops, 17 suffragan bishops, 30 deans, 89 archdeacons, 132 residentiary canons, 810 rural deans, 14,300 beneficed clergy, and 9,500 unbeneficed, making the total clergy about 23,000. Both archbishops and 24 of the bishops had seats in the House of Lords. The educational work of the Church was repre- sented by about 11,960 schools of all grades, with an average attendance of 1,677,123 pupils and scholars. There were in addition 30 training colleges for school teachers, and 28 schools for secondary education. The Church has an enor- mous endowment. The amount annually raised by volun- tary means averages 1,000,000 for church building and res- toration, 539,510 for foreign missions, 528,000 for ele- mentary education, and 500,000 for home missions, tem- perance work, and other activities, a total of 2,567,510, or $12,478,098. The total revenue of the Church from all sources is estimated at 7,250,000, or $35,235,000. Protestant Episcopal UNITED STATES. EAELY HISTORY. E Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States 1 is a daughter of the Church of England. The Church of England in the Colonies labored under many disad- vantages. In the absence of bishops, its ministry could be replenished only by emigration from the mother Church of England, or by a double voyage of candidates across the Atlantic. The same cause naturally led to a relax- ation of discipline. Although many of the clergy in the Colonies were exemplary and devoted men, yet the condi- tion of things, in those distant dependencies, was such as to open a refuge there for clergymen of doubtful reputation and antecedents in the Church of England. The evils re- sulting from this state of things led to early, but unsuccess- ful attempts to secure the introduction of bishops into the American Colonies. The Episcopal oversight of the Colonies was committed to the Bishop of London. Commissioners of the Bishop, who were charged by him with authority to enforce the disci- pline of the Church, were appointed for Virginia, Maryland, New York, and South Carolina. But the effort on the part of the clergy of the Colonies to secure the Episcopacy not (390) ORGANIZATION AFTER THE REVOLUTION. 391 only encountered the indifference of the mother Church, but was also met by violent; resistance on the part of the other denominations. They declared that Bishops from England would come into the Colonies possessed of. all the preroga- tives which they enjoyed at home, and would thus bring other churches under Episcopal jurisdiction, and subject them to the action of ecclesiastical courts. When the Revolutionary War began there were not more than eighty parochial clergymen to the north and east of Maryland. In Connecticut the Episcopal Church received an impulse, in the early part of the eighteenth century (1722-'27), from the accession to its ranks of several eminent Presbyterian clergymen some of them members of the fac- ulty of Yale College and soon became " rooted " in that Colony " amid storms and persecutions." The larger part of the clergy in this and other Colonies were supported by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. ORGANIZATION OF THE CHUKCH AFTER THE REVOLUTION". The Episcopal Churches in the American Colonies estab- lished, as we have seen, by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and placed under the juris- diction of the Bishop of London, were called collectively "the Church of England in America." When the Colonies became independent, the Episcopal Churches became, of ne- cessity, severed from all connection with the Church of Eng- land. Their organic union with it was dissolved, but their essential unity in the ministry, creeds, liturgy, and articles was maintained. At the close of the Revolution the Episcopal Church was in an exceedingly feeble state. Most of its clergy in the Northern States had adhered to the parent government, and had fled to England, or to other Colonies, on the breaking out of the war. Those who remained and refused to omit the prayers for the king, or to pray for Congress, were treated with much violence. In many of the Northern Colonies not one church remained open ; and in Pennsyl- 392 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. vania only the one church, of which Dr. White (subse^ quently Bishop White) was rector, was left undisturbed. In Virginia the loyal clergy were ejected from their livings. The consequence of this state of things was that when peace was proclaimed in 1783, the Episcopal Church was found to have been almost destroyed. Virginia had entered in the war with one hundred and sixty-four churches and chapels, and ninety-one clergymen spread through her sixty-one counties. At the close of the war ninety-five parishes had become extinct, and of the ninety-one clergymen only twenty-eight remained. A similar state of things existed in Maryland. But twenty of the clergy remained there, and the parishes had suffered in an equal proportion with those of Virginia. In North and South Carolina the Church was, if possible, in a still worse condition. The existence of separate States in a Federal Union, fur- nished an occasion for realizing the theory of the Episcopal Church, viz. : that of a National Church consisting of dioceses, each one distinct from the others, but all united in one body. Conventions of members of the Church, both clergy and laity, began to be held in the several States ; and in time the Church in each State was organized with its own Con- stitution and Canons, and with a Bishop presiding over it. But without waiting for the accomplishment of this result the effort was made to establish a common organization by the united action of delegates authorized to represent the Church in each State. As to this matter, however, a dif- ferent policy prevailed in different quarters. The Church in Connecticut proposed first to complete itself by obtaining a Bishop, and afterwards to consider the question of union with others. The Churches in the Middle and Southern States proposed first to organize a common representative government, and afterwards to seek Bishops. The first step towards the forming of a collective body of the Episcopal Church in the United States was taken at a meeting of a few clergymen from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, at New Brunswick, N. J., on the 13th and 14th of May, 1784. Their plans were not matured until EFFORTS TO UNITE THE SEPARATE CHURCHES. 393 the 5th of October ensuing, when an adjourned meeting was held in New York City. It consisted of fifteen clergymen and eleven laymen from New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl- vania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The general principles which they agreed should be the basis of the union were as follows : The continuance of the three orders of the ministry ; the use of the Book of Common Prayer ; the establishment of a representative body of the Church, consisting of the clergy and laity, who should vote in sepa- rate orders. They recommended to the Churches in the several States to send clerical and lay deputies to a Conven- tion, to be held in Philadelphia, on the 27th of September, 1785. EFFORTS TO UNITE THE SEPARATE CHURCHES. The clergy of Connecticut, pending their proceedings to obtain a Bishop, did not feel at liberty to unite in the general organization. As soon as peace had made it possible (March 25, 1783), the clergy had met in convention and elected Dr. Samuel Seabury, of New York, to be their Bishop. Dr. Sea- bury had sailed for England to obtain consecration there, before the British troops had evacuated New York. He made application for consecration to the Archbishop of York, the See of Canterbury being then vacant ; but the Archbishop could not consecrate a citizen of the United States without a special Act of Parliament. Hence Dr. Seabury had re- course to the Scottish bishops, who were not connected with the State, and who could, therefore, if they were so disposed, consecrate a Bishop for the United States. The application of Dr. Seabury was readily granted ; and he was consecrated at Aberdeen, November 14, 1784, by Bishop Kilgour, of Ab- erdeen, Bishop Petrie, of Moray and Eoss, and Bishop Skin- ner, Coadjutor of Aberdeen. The General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church called for September 29, 1785, met at the appointed time, and was composed of clerical and lay deputies from seven of the thirteen States of the Union, viz. : New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and South Car- 394 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. olina. They made such changes in the Prayer-Book as were necessary to accommodate it to changes in the State. A general Constitution was proposed ; measures were taken to obtain the Episcopacy ; and changes in the Prayer-Book and Articles were proposed and published in a volume called "The Proposed Book." The outlines of the Constitution, as finally agreed upon, were as follows : There shall be a triennial convention, con- sisting of a deputation from each diocese of not more than four clergymen and four laymen ; they shall vote by dio- ceses, each order having a negative on the other ; when there shall be a Bishop in the State he shall be ex officio a member of the convention ; the different orders of the clergy shall be accountable only to the ecclesiastical author- ity of their own dioceses ; previous to ordination there shall be a declaration of belief in the Holy Scriptures and con- formity to the doctrines and worship of the Church. The convention appointed a committee to correspond with the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England, with a view to obtain the Episcopate. The convention then ad- journed to meet in Philadelphia on the 20th of June of the following year. The address of the committee to the English prelates was forwarded to John Adams, then the American Minister in England, with the request that he should present it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Governors of New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, for which States it was contemplated that Bishops should be consecrated, also sent certificates testifying to and approving the acts of the convention. In the spring of 1786, the committee received an answer signed by two Archbishops, and seventeen of the twenty Bishops of England. It was courteous in its tone, and expressed a desire to comply with the request, but de- layed compliance until they could be advised of the altera- tions which were to be made in the Prayer-Book. The General Convention held in June, 1786, and the subsequent one which met in Wilmington in October, made such satis- factory representations to the English Bishops that all ob- CONSECRATION OF AMERICAN BISHOPS. 395 stacles to the consecration of the American Bishops were removed. Accordingly, Dr. White, of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Provoost, of New York, sailed to England ; and were consecrated in the Chapel of Lambeth Palace on Sunday, February 4, 1787, by the two Archbishops and the Bishops of Bath and Wells, and Peterborough. Dr. Madison was consecrated for Virginia in 1790 by the Archbishop of Can- terbury, and the Bishops of London and Rochester. Thus the Episcopate, in the line of succession from the English Church, was finally secured to the American branch ; and these three Bishops representing the line of the Church of England, uniting, in 1792, with the Bishop of Connecticut representing the line of the Scottish Church, consecrated at Trinity Church, N. Y., Dr. Claggett, for Maryland, through whom every subsequent Bishop of this branch traces his Episcopal succession. In the Convention of 1789, in Phil- adelphia, after the provision for the power, on the part of the House of Bishops, of originating acts and of a negative on the proceedings of the lower house, the Prayer-Book re- ceived certain modifications, some of which had long been desired by many eminent bishops and divines in the English Church, and thus the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States was finally established with the Constitution, Ritual, and Discipline which it has since, with a few unim- portant modifications, retained. The organization of the Church is singularly analogous to that of the Republic. Every regular member of a parish is a voter for the vestry, which administers the affairs of the parish. The vestry, thus elected, select a clergyman, fix his salary, and manage all the temporalities of the church. At an annual meeting of the vestry lay delegates are appointed to a Diocesan Convention, in which the clergy and laity have an equal voice, and which legislates for the Church in the diocese. A Diocesan Convention stands to the General Convention as State legislatures do to Congress. The General Convention is composed of two houses the House of Bishops and the House of Clerical and Lay Dep- utieseach house having a veto on the other. 396 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The doctrines of the Church are found systematically stated in the Creeds and the XXXIX. Articles, which are the Articles of the Church of England adapted to the changed relation to the civil authority. The same adaptation was necessary in regard to services provided by the Prayer-Book, in which some other alterations were also made, designed chiefly to avoid repetition and obsolete phraseology. In sub- stance the two Prayer-Books are the same : the only import- ant difference being in the Liturgy, properly so called, or Communion Office, in which the American Book adds to the words of Institution recited in the Consecration Prayer of the English Book, the Oblation and Invocation derived from the Communion Office of the Scottish Church. SUBSEQUENT HISTOEY OF THE CHUECH. Since the final settlement of the Episcopal Church in the United States it has made rapid progress. At that period there were but three bishops, and the number of the clergy was less than two hundred. Nearly one hundred years later, or in 1886, it published to the world the following grand record of advancement : Bishops, active, 66 ; retired, 4 ; clergymen, 3,729 ; parishes and missions, 4,565 ; families represented in membership, 192,019 ; individual members, 760,207 ; communicants, 397,192 ; Sunday-school teachers, 36,001 ; Sunday-school scholars, 326,203 ; aggregate of con- tributions and offerings, for the year, $9,017,155.16. There were then 66 dioceses and missionary jurisdictions. Seventy new churches were consecrated during the year, and 50,602 persons baptized. The most important of the church institu- tions were the General Theological Seminary, New York City (est. 1817) ; Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y. ; University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. ; a theological seminary at Nash- otah,Wis. ; Racine (Wis.) College ; Trinity College, Hartford, Conn, (chartered 1823) ; Theological Seminary and Kenyon College, Gambier, O. (Inc. 1824, 1839) ; Griswold College, Davenport, la. (founded 1859) ; and the Western Theological Seminary, Chicago, 111. ; there were 13 Sisterhoods, 2 orders SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 397 of deaconesses, 2 orders of Sisters, and 1 community con- nected with the church. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, a General Convention has been regularly held every three years, and a few special conventions, which are also provided for in cases of emergency, have also been convened. In the Northern States the progress of the Church has been steady and rapid. But in the South it continued long feeble. In the General Convention of 1811 the Church of Maryland was reported as " still in a deplorable condition," and the Church in Virginia was declared to be " in danger of her total ruin." In the next General Convention of 1814 the same representations, with regard to the Southern dioceses, were repeated. In Delaware the condition was " truly dis- tressing, and the prospect gloomy." In Maryland the Church still continued "in a state of depression "; in many places " her ministers had thrown off their sacred profes- sion," " her liturgy was either contemned or unknown," and "her sanctuaries desolate." From the reports made in the convention in 1820 the Church appears to have received a new impulse. The General Theological Seminary, begun in New York in 1817, and subsequently transferred to New York again, had been established at New Haven, and a Gen- eral Missionary Society organized. " The Church was now rapidly extending on every side and the clergy lists record over three hundred names." In the Convention of 1829 seventeen dioceses were repre- sented by forty-seven clerical deputies, and thirty-seven lay deputies, from fifteen dioceses, and by nine bishops. Thirteen bishops, fifty-one clerical and thirty-eight lay deputies made up the Convention of 1832, which convened in New York on the 17th of October. The Convention of 1835 was one of the most important that was ever held ; and was a turning-point in the policy, and a starting-point for an accelerated progress of the Church. Fourteen bishops and one hundred and twenty deputies, sixty-nine clerical and fifty-one lay, representing twenty-one dioceses, com- posed the convention. Illinois, with the Rt. Rev. Philander 398 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Chase, was received into union. The Constitution of the Board of Missions was established, making every baptized member of the church a member of the missionary organiza- tion. Provision was made for Missionary Bishops, and for the division of dioceses. The Canons were revised and reported in one body. Arrangements were made for securing histor- ical documents of the churches, and the Rev. Dr. Hawks was appointed their conservator. From this period the prog- ress of the Church was much more rapid than before. Under the zealous labors of Bishops Moore and Meade, the Church in the diocese of Virginia revived, and became one of the most prosperous in the union. In Maryland, also, and in North and South Carolina a similar revival of spiritual life and of missionary zeal was awakened. The Convention of 1853 was memorable for the memorial presented by the Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg and other prominent divines, in favor of Liturgical relaxation and Church com- prehension. It resulted in the appointment of a commission having the consideration of these subjects committed to them. Notwithstanding the earnest desire of some of the most eminent of the bishops and clergy for the promotion of this object, nothing farther was effected than the develop- ment of the fact that some of the first minds of the Church anxiously desired larger liberty in the use of the Liturgy, and more flexibility in all the agencies for Church exten- sion. The Convention of 1862 met in New York in troublous times. No bishops or delegates, of course, appeared from the seceded States. The introduction of resolutions having reference to the disturbed state of the country, occasioned lengthy debate, and absorbed a large part of the session. One portion of the Convention desired that an emphatic testimony should be given to the sin of rebellion, and to the duty of supporting the government in putting it down ; and another portion were anxious that the Convention should limit its action to strictly ecclesiastical and religious ques- tions; and thus interpose no obstacles to the subsequent reunion of the separated dioceses. This reunion in fact THE "MISSION SERVICE" OF 1885-'86. 399 took place in the next Convention of 1865. The Churches in the seceded States had become formally separated by their independent action during the civil war, in organizing a Council, framing a Constitution and Canons, and proceeding to the consecration of a Bishop, with an express disavowal of the authority of the General Constitution of the Church. But a reconciliation was effected ; and the Bishop of Ala- bama, who had been consecrated during this period, was received into the Episcopate of the Church of the United States, by signing an equivalent to the promise of conform- ity taken by the other Bishops at their consecration. The ritualistic tendencies of some of the churches in Eng- land found their counterpart in the United States. In both countries the supreme authorities of the Church warned, presented, and disciplined their clergy for violations of the prescribed ceremonials ; yet in almost every large city there were found in 1865 strong "High Church" and "Low Church " advocates, and churches in which extremely ritual- istic customs were observed. Both the Presbyterian and the Protestant Episcopal Churches in the United States have been divided into two parties on the question of church gov- ernment. In each case there was a separation, and in the Presbyterian alone a reunion. In the Protestant Episcopal Church the parties were diametrically opposed. After many years of controversy a separation occurred in 1873, and a new church, taking the name of the Reformed Episcopal Church, (quod vide), was organized in New York City, with the Rev. George David Cummins, D.D., as its first Bishop. THE "MISSION SERVICE" OF 1885-'86. A number of the bishops and clergy of the Church desired for a long time that some of her clergy should devote them- selves to special evangelistic work. From time to time com- mittees were appointed to report to "the next General Convention" the desirableness of an order of Evangelists, freed from parochial cares and duties, to itinerate among the " feeble parishes," and also to visit Zion's waste places. 400 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Fearing that their services might result in religious excite- ment, and be followed by a speedy reaction, and that " re- vival services might interfere with the conservative and quiet ways " of the Episcopal Church, the matter was de- ferred from one General Convention to another, and no canon authorizing the appointment of an " order of Evan- gelists " had been adopted up to January 1, 1886. But, as individual bishops have the power to appoint clergymen to do evangelistic work, some resolved to do so. A committee to consider the subject and formulate a plan was appointed in 1884. The committee, headed by Assistant Bishop Potter, of New York, prepared and published the following reasons for the projected missions : 1. A large class of well-to-do and refined people, who have ceased to be, or never have been, Church-goers. 2. Formal communicants. 3. The irreligion of the young men of our well-to-do families. 4. The evils in the life of men and women in fashionable society. 5. The feeble recognition on the part of masters and mistresses of the need of Church attendance by then* servants, resulting largely from a want of care for the spiritual welfare of servants. 6. The evils of Class Churches. 7. The evils which come from the instability of Church connec- tion. 8. The lack of opportunity for private prayer, consequent upon the condition of our tenement and boarding houses, and the fact that few churches are constantly open. 9. The want of definite, positive instruction in religious duties, and in what practical Christian living consists. 10. The lack of personal spiritual ministry to the rich. 11. The drain upon the mind, souls, and bodies of two classes : (1) of those who give themselves up to the demands of society life ; (2) of those laden down with too much work unfitting both classes for a healthful Christian life. Among the causes of this drain we specify, (a) late hours; (b) stores open late Saturday nights; (c) no Saturday half holidays. 12. The religious deprivation suffered by the large and rapidly increas- ing portion of the population called to labor at night, in connection with the homeless and the vicious classes abroad under cover of darkness. 13. The wrongs inflicted by employers upon their employes. 14. The lust of wealth, issuing in the manifold evils of unscrupulous THE "MISSION SERVICE" OF 1885-'86. 401 competition ; over- work, under-pay, scamped work, and mutual enmity and discontent between employer and employe. 15. The immorality and irreligion caused by the unrighteous denial to a large and increasing class of one day's rest in seven. 16. The prevalence of the sins of intemperance and impurity. 17. The special religious difficulties caused by the constant flow of immigrants. 18. The hindrance to the growth of the Christian life caused by our luxuriousness and selfishness. 19. The ostentatious display by Church-goers of all classes. 20. The want of public spirit in its bearing upon both Church and State. According to the recommendations of the committee, " missions " were conducted in many of the largest Protest- ant Episcopal churches in the country throughout the winter of 1885-'86. Eloquent " missioners " were employed ; special services were held for children ; and the great innovation for this conservative Church was proved beyond a doubt to be both popular and fruitful. The official reports of the Church for 1893 showed : Dio- ceses 53, missionary jurisdictions 18, foreign missions 7, bishops 78, clergy 4,369, lay readers 1,495, parishes and mis- sions 5,872, communicants 577,814, Sunday-school teachers 44,371, pupils 404,822, parish school teachers 405, pupils 10,120, hospitals 33, orphanages 31, homes 79, dispensaries 2, and reformatories 6. During the previous year the Domestic Missionary Society aided 818 missionaries, to the amount of $342,611. The foreign field had 225 stations and outstations in Africa, China, Japan, and Haiti, and a mission school in Greece, with 499 helpers and 75 presbyters and deacons, of whom 58 were natives. In China there were 5 missionary physicians, 41 other lay workers of all grades, 372 native lay readers and teachers, 29 boarding-schools with 782 pu- pils, 77 day-schools with 2,929 pupils, and a total of 5,223 children under instruction. In Haiti there were 14 clergy, 19 mission stations, 216 Sunday-school pupils, and 141 day- school pupils. Mexico had 5 clergy, 23 congregations, and 11 day-schools with 400 pupils. Under charge of a bishop of the American Church there were in Europe 16 churches, 19 clergy, and 853 communicants. (Ufte d>fturcft. OEIGIN. THIS denomination originated in New York City in 1873. The Dean of Canterbury, Church of England, was a delegate to the World's Conference of the Evangelical Alliance which met in October of that year in New York. During the conference he participated one Sunday in the celebration of the communion service in conjunction with a number of clergymen representing several non-Episcopal bodies. The attention of Bishop Potter was called to the occurrence and letters were sent to the Dean and Archbishop of Canterbury, expressing regrets for his action. Assistant Bishop Cummins, of Kentucky, defended the Dean and ac- knowledged that he also had participated in a communion service outside his own church, and challenged the citation of any law of the Church prohibiting such participation. A\ very heated controversy arose, which was carried on in the' pulpit and in the newspaper press, and it was emphasized! by Bishop Potter publishing a letter commending his sub- ordinate for censuring the Dean and explaining the objec- tions to such, mixed communions. . (402) THE FOUNDER OF THE NEW CHURCH. 403 OEGANIZATION OF THE FEW CHUKCH. This letter was followed by the resignation of Bishop Cummins of his office in the Protestant Episcopal Church, on Nov. 10, in a long letter to Bishop Smith, of the Diocese of Kentucky, in which he fully explained his position. In it he declared, among the reasons for his course, that when- ever called upon to officiate in certain churches, he had been most painfully impressed by the conviction that he was sanctioning and endorsing by his presence and official acts the dangerous errors symbolized by the services customary in ritualistic churches, and that he could no longer by par- ticipation in such services be a partaker of other men's sins, and must clear his own soul of all complicity in such errors. A call was issued five days later for a meeting to be held on Dec. 2, at Association Hall, New York City. A large number of laymen and ministers, who for various reasons had withdrawn from the church, presented themselves at the appointed time, and the " Reformed Episcopal Church " was organized. The Rt. Rev. George David Cummins, D.D., was unanimously elected Presiding Bishop, and the Rev. Charles Edward Cheney, of Chicago, was elected an ad- ditional Bishop, to be known as Missionary Bishop of the Northwest, A Declaration of Principles, several provisional rules, and a Constitution, to be in force until the first meet- ing of the General Council, were adopted. A prominent feature of the latter, as amended, was the reference to the communion service in these words : " Our fellow-Christians of all other branches of Christ's Church, and all who love our Divine Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in sincerity, are affectionately invited to the Lord's table." THE FOUNDER OF THE CHUKCH. Dr. Cummins was born in Delaware, Dec. 11, 1822. He was educated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., and grad- uated from that institution in 1841. He entered upon the study of theology with Robert Emory, a Methodist minister, and spent two years as a preacher " on trial " in the Method- 404 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 1st Episcopal Church. He afterwards joined the Protestant Episcopal Church, and was ordained a deacon in that church by Bishop Lee, in October, 1845 ; a priest by the same Bishop in July, 1847 ; and was successively appointed to the following parishes : Christ Church, Norfolk, Va. ; St. James Church, Richmond, Va. ; Trinity Church, Washing- ton, D. C. ; St. Peter's Church, Baltimore, Md. ; and Trinity Church, Chicago, 111. While in charge of the last-named parish he was elected Assistant Bishop of Kentucky- and was consecrated in Christ Church, Louisville, in November, 1866. He officiated efficiently until the events occurred that led to his withdrawal from the church in 1873. He died June 26, 1876. DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES. I. The Eeformed Episcopal Church, holding " the faith once delivered unto the saints," declares its belief in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God, and the sole Eule of Faith and Practice ; in the Creed, " commonly called the Apostles' Creed " ; in the Divine institution of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper ; and in the doctrines of grace substantially as they are set forth in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion. II. This Church recognizes and adheres to Episcopacy, not as of divine right, but as a very ancient and desirable form of church polity. III. This Church, retaining a Liturgy which shall not be imperative or repressive of freedom in prayer, accepts the Book of Common Prayer, as it was revised, proposed, and recommended for use by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, A.D. 1785, reserving full liberty to alter, abridge, enlarge, and amend the same, as may seem most conducive to the edification of the people, " provided that the sub- stance of the faith be kept entire." IV. This Church condemns and rejects the following erroneous and strange doctrines, as contrary to God's Word : First, That the Church of Christ exists only in one order or form of ecclesiastical polity. Second, That Christian ministers are " priests " in another sense than that in which all believers are " a royal priesthood." Third, That the Lord's Table is an altar on which the oblation of the Body and Blood of Christ is offered anew to the Father. Fourth, That the presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper is a presence in the elements of Bread and Wine. Fifth, That Regeneration is inseparably connected with Baptism. MISSIONARY JURISDICTIONS. 405 At the close of the first year of its existence, the new church had 40 ministers, 36 churches, and upward of 3,000 communicants. On June 1, 1885, there were reported, bishops, 10 ; ministers, 61 ; Sunday-school teachers, 960 ; Sunday-school scholars, 11,267 ; communicants, 7,877 ; value of church property, less incumbrances, $1,009,843. The church was divided into the Synods of New York and Phila- delphia, the Synod of Canada, the Synod of Chicago, and the Missionary Jurisdictions of the Pacific, of the South, of the Northwest and West, and the Special Missionary Jurisdic- tion of the South. It also had in Great Britain 2 bishops, 13 presbyters, 2 deacons, 17 parishes, 718 Sunday-school scholars, and 418 communicants. MISSIONARY AND SYNODICAL JURISDICTIONS. The First Synod in the Dominion of Canada comprised the churches in the several Canadian Provinces, except British Columbia, and was in charge of Bishop Edward Wilson, D.D. The Missionary Jurisdiction of the Pacific comprised the Canadian province of British Columbia, and all the States and Territories of the United States west of the Rocky Mount- ains, and was in charge of Bishop Edward Cridge, B.A., Cantab. The Synod of New York and Philadelphia comprised the churches in the New England States, and in the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and was in charge of Bishop William R. Nicholson, D.D. The Missionary Jurisdiction of the South comprised the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, and all other of the United States lying east of the Mississippi River and south of the Ohio River, not embraced in the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, and in the Special Missionary Juris- diction of the South, and was in charge of Bishop James A. Latane, D.D. The Special Missionary Jurisdiction of the South com- prised all the colored parishes and congregations in the 406 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Southern States, and was under the charge of Bishop P. F. Stevens. The Missionary Jurisdiction of the Northwest and West comprised the States of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois not including the Synod of Chicago Wisconsin, Minne- sota, and all other of the States and Territories of the United States lying west of the Mississippi River, and east of the Rocky Mountains, and was in charge of Bishop Samuel Fallows, D.D. The Synod of Chicago comprised the following churches : Christ's Church, Chicago ; Emmanuel Church, Chicago ; St. Matthew's Church, Chicago ; Grace Church, Chicago ; St. John's Church, Chicago ; Trinity Church, Englewood ; Christ Church, Peoria ; St. John's Church, Chillicothe ; Church of the Epiphany, Detroit, Michigan, and was in charge of Bishop Charles Edward Cheney, D.D. The General Synod of Great Britain and Ireland comprised England, Scotland, and Ireland, under the charge of Bishops John Sugden, B.A., and A. S. Richardson, D.D. Rev. P. X. Eldridge, Christ Church Parsonage, Peterborough, being Secretary had a separate and independent existence, granted by resolution of the General Council, May 26, 1878. THE BISHOPS AND OFFICEES. The bishops living on Jan. 1, 1894, were : Charles Edward Cheney, D.D., consecrated by Bishop Cummins and five Presbyters, in Christ Church, Chicago, HI., Dec. 14, 1873 ; William R. Nicholson, D.D., consecrated by Bishops Cum- mins, Cheney, Simpson of the Methodist Episcopal Church and nine Presbyters, in the Second Reformed Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 24, 1876; Edward Cridge, B. A. ,Cantab. , consecrated by Bishops Cheney, Mcholson,Car- man of the Methodist Episcopal Church and nine Presby- ters, in Emmanuel Church, Ottawa, Ontario, July 17, 1876 ; Samuel Fallows, D.D., consecrated at the same time and place as Bishop Cridge, and by the same Bishops and Presbyters ; THE BISHOPS AND OFFICERS. 407 P. F. Stevens, consecrated by Bishops Nicholson and Fallows, assisted by several Presbyters, in the Second Reformed Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pa., June 22, 1879 ; James A. Latane, D.D., consecrated at the same time and place as Bishop Stevens, and by the same Bishops and Presbyters ; Edward Wilson, D.D., consecrated by Bishops Nicholson and Latane, assisted by several Presbyters, in the Second Reformed Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pa., July 1, 1880 ; and Thomas W. Campbell. The officers of the General Council for 1885-'7 were : Pres- ident and Presiding Bishop, Bishop James A. Latane, D.D., of Baltimore, Md. ; Secretary, Charles D. Kellogg, New York City ; Assistant Secretary, Rev. Joseph B. North, Philadel- phia, Pa.; Treasurer, John Heins, Philadelphia, Pa. In 1890 there were reported 83 organizations, 84 church edifices, and 2 halls used for church purposes, 8,455 members, and $1,615,101 invested in church property. THE Presbyteriaq DOCTKHS T ES OF PKESBYTEKIANS. T)RESBYTERIANS hold in common with many other JL bodies of Christians the Calvinistic system of doctrines. Their faith is epitomized in the Westminster Confession. They derive their denominational name from the fact that there is no order in the Church, as established by Christ and his Apostles, superior to that of Presbyters; that all ministers being ambassadors of Christ, are equal by commission ; that Presbyter or Elder, and Bishop, are merely different names for the same person ; and that Deacons are laymen whose office is chiefly to take care of the poor. They regard a Presbytery as a society of clerical and lay Presbyters, or, as they usually call them, ministers and elders. They affirm that the primitive form of church government was universally Presbyterian, and that this form, having, after the time of the Apostles, been supplanted by Episcopacy, was restored in various parts of Europe after the Reformation had begun. They acknowledge no authority in respect to the doctrines and duties of the Christian church but the will of God as found in the sacred Scriptures ; they maintain that God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doc- trines and commandments of men ; that the rights of pri- (408) THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. 409 vate judgment, in all matters that respect religion, are uni- versal and inalienable ; that all ecclesiastical power is only ministerial and declarative ; that no church judicatory ought to pretend to make laws to bind the conscience in virtue of their own authority, and that all their decisions ought to be founded upon the word of God. Ecclesiastical discipline is purely moral and spiritual in its object, and ought not to be attended with any civil effects ; hence it can derive no force whatever but from its own justice, the approbation of an impartial public, and the favor and blessing of the great Head of the church. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. The officers of the Presbyterian Church are bishops or pastors, ruling elders, and deacons. The pastor is the spirit- ual teacher of the congregation. He is expected to preach the gospel in the church on the Lord's day, to instruct the people by occasional lectures, to superintend the catechis- mal teaching of the young, and to visit the sick and bereaved, and console them by spiritual counsel adapted to their ne- cessities. Ruling elders are elected by the people as their representatives in the ecclesiastical courts, and to co-operate with the pastor in watching over the spiritual interests of the congregation. Deacons are officers whose duty is the care of the poor, and the reception and disbursement of the charitable and other funds of the congregation. The SESSION is the primary court of the church, and con- sists of the bishop or pastor, and the ruling elders. The bishop is the president, and has the title of " Moderator of the session." The session is charged with the duty of watch- ing over the spiritual interests of the congregation. It can summon offenders to an account for their irregularities, or their neglect of Christian duty. It can investigate charges presented by others, and admonish, rebuke, or suspend or ex- clude from the Lord's table, those who are found to deserve censure, accord mg to the degree of their culpability. It is the business of the session also to appoint a delegate of its own 410 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. body, to attend, with the pastor, the higher judicatories of the church. It is required of the session to keep a fair rec- ord of all its proceedings, as also a register of marriages, baptisms, persons admitted to the Lord's Supper, deaths, and other removals of church members, and to transmit these records, at stated periods, to the presbytery for their inspection. A PRESBYTERY consists of all the ministers, and one rul- ing elder from each church within a certain dktrict. Three ministers, and any number of elders who may be present, constitute a quorum. The presbytery has power to receive and issue appeals from church sessions, and references brought before them in an orderly manner ; to examine, license, and ordain candidates for the holy ministry ; to in- stall, remove, and judge ministers ; to examine and approve or censure the records of church sessions ; to resolve ques- tions of doctrine or discipline, seriously and reasonably pro- posed; to condemn erroneous opinions which injure the purity or peace of the church ; to visit particular churches for the purpose of inquiring into their state, and redressing the evils that may have arisen in them ; to unite or divide congregations, at the request of the people, or to form or receive new congregations ; and, in general, to perform whatever may be deemed necessary to the spiritual welfare of the churches under their care. A SYNOD consists of several presbyteries united. Not less than three presbyteries are necessary to compose a synod. It is not made up of representatives from the pres- byteries, as presbyteries are of representatives from the ses- sions, except in Synods which have adopted the delegate system. As a rule, each member of all the presbyteries included in its bounds is a member of the synod, so that a synod is nothing different from a larger presbytery, consti- tuted by a combination of several presbyteries into one. The synod reviews the records of presbyteries, approving or censuring their proceedings, erecting new presbyteries, unit- ing or dividing those which were before erected, taking a general care of the churches within its bounds, and propos- CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH. 411 ing such measures to the General Assembly as may be f 01 advantage to the whole church. The synod is a court of ap- peal for the presbyteries within its bounds, having the same relation to the presbyterial courts which the presbyteries have to the sessions. The GENERAL ASSEMBLY is the highest judicatory in the Presbyterian Church. It is constituted of an equal delega- tion of bishops or pastors and elders from each presbytery in the following proportion, viz. : each presbytery consisting of not more than twenty-four ministers, is entitled to be represented by one minister and one ruling elder ; and each presbytery consisting of more than twenty-four ministers, is entitled to be represented by one minister and one elder for each twenty-four ministers, or for each additional fractional number of ministers not less than twelve. These delegates are styled Commissioners to the General Assembly. The General Assembly meets annually in such cities as may be selected at preceding sessions. DUTIES OF MEMBERS AND CEREMONIES OF THE CHUECH. As the Presbyterian Church has been the parent of many independent denominations, that are now flourishing and honored in all parts of the world, and as the branches have adhered almost wholly to the discipline and practices of the parent church, the following exposition of the duties of the members and the ceremonies of the church will be found replete with interest : I. THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE LORD'S DAY. 1. Preparation is to be made for observing it. 2. The whole day is to be kept holy to the Lord. 3. Families are to make such arrangements as to allow servants and all the household to enjoy its privileges. 4. Every person and family is to prepare for the public worship of God by prayer and holy meditation. 5. The people are to attend upon public worship af the stated hour. 6. The remainder of the day, after the public services are over, is to be spent in prayer and praise, and devotional reading and teaching the young, and works of charity. 4i2 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. II. THE ASSEMBLING OF THE CONGREGATION AND THEIR BEHAVIOR DURING DIVINE SERVICE. 1. The people are charged to assemble in a grave and reverent manner. 2. To join in the services without allowing their attention to be dis- tracted from the solemn duties appropriate to the time and place. III. THE PUBLIC READING OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 1. The reading of the Holy Scriptures is a part of public worship. 2. The Holy Scriptures are to be publicly read in the vulgar tongue, so that the people may understand. 3. The portion to be read is to be selected by the officiating pastor or teacher in the exercise of Christian discretion. IV. THE SINGING OF PSALMS. 1. It is enjoined on Christians as a duty to praise God in the singing of psalms and hymns. 2. Sacred music is to be cultivated, so that the spirit of true devotion may be united with a proper exercise of the understanding. 3. The whole congregation should be furnished with books, that all may take part in singing. 4. The proportion of time to be spent in singing is to be left to the discretion of the minister. V. PUBLIC PRAYER. 1. Public worship to be commenced with a brief invocation of the divine blessing. 2. After singing a psalm or hymn and reading the Scriptures, a more full and comprehensive prayer is to be offered. 3. There should be a prayer after sermon, which should have relation to the subject treated of in the discourse. 4. It is enjoined upon ministers to prepare themselves for an accept- able and edifying performance of this duty. VI. PREACHING THE WORD. 1. Preaching the word is an institution of God, and demands great attention. 2. The subject of a sermon should be some verse or verses of Scrip- ture; and its object to explain, defend, and apply some part of the sys- tem of divine truth ; or, to point out the nature, and state the bounds and obligation of some duty. 3. The method of preaching requires much study and prayer, and ministers ought not to indulge themselves in loose extemporary hai" CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH. 413 angues. They are to avoid ostentation, and to adorn their doctrines by their lives. 4. Sermons are not to he too long and tedious. 5. The sermon being ended, the minister shall pray and return thanks to Almighty God, a psalm or hymn shall be sung, and the assembly dismissed with the apostolic benediction. 6. No person must be permitted to preach in any pulpit except by the consent of the pastor or church session. VII. THE ADMINISTRATION OF BAPTISM. 1. Baptism is to be administered by none but a minister of Christ. 2. It is usually to be administered in the church in the presence of the congregation. 3. Children are to be presented by one or both of their parents, or hi case of adopted children or servants, they are to be presented by those who are really responsible for their religious training. Godfathers and Godmothers are rejected by the Presbyterian Church, as unauthorized, and inconsistent with the design of the ordinance, as binding those who are charged with the spiritual training of the young. 4. Before baptism let the minister use some words of instruction respecting the institution, nature, use, and ends of this ordinance, show- ing ' ' That it is instituted by Christ ; that it is a seal of the righteousness of faith ; that the seed of the faithful have no less right to this ordinance under the gospel than the seed of Abraham to circumcision under the Old Testament ; that Christ commanded all nations to be baptized ; that he blessed little children, declaring that of such is the kingdom of heaven ; that children are federally holy, and therefore ought to be bap- tized ; that we are, by nature, sinful, guilty, and polluted, and have need of cleansing by the blood of Christ, and by the sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God." The minister is also to exhort the parents to the careful performance of their duty; requiring "That they teach the child to read the word of God; that they instruct it in the principles of our holy religion, as con- tained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments ; an excellent summary of which we have in the Confession of Faith of this Church, and in the Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly, which are to be recommended to them as adopted by this Church as their direction and assistance in the discharge of this important duty ; that they pray with it, and for it ; that they set an example of piety and godliness before it ; and endeavor, by all the means of God's appoint- ment, to bring up their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." 5. Then the minister is to pray for a blessing to attend this ordinance, after which, calling the child by its name, he shall say, "I baptize thee 414 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." As he pronounces these words, he is to baptize the child with water, by pouring or sprinkling it on the face of the child, without adding any other ceremony; and the whole shall be concluded with prayer. Vm. THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 1. The times for celebrating the Lord's Supper are to be determined by the minister and elders. In some portions of the Church it is ob- served only semi-annually; more generally, however, as often as once in three months ; in others, once in two months, and in a few monthly. 2. The ignorant and scandalous are hot admitted. In the Presby- terian Church in the United States it is not deemed necessary to protect the table of the Lord from unworthy communicants by requiring tickets of admission. It is found that very seldom does any one offer to ap- proach without being a regularly acknowledged communicant. 3. Public notice is given of the intention to celebrate the Lord's Sup- per one Lord's day previous to the administration of the ordinance, and a lecture is delivered on some convenient season in the course of the week, that by preparatory instruction and devotion the church may come in a suitable manner to this holy feast. 4. When the service has been introduced with appropriate devotional exercises or a sermon, the bishop or pastor shows that this is an ordin- ance of Christ, by reading the words of the institution, either from one of the Evangelists, or from 1 Cor. xi. chapter, which, as to him may appear expedient, he may explain and apply. 5. The table on which the elements are placed, being decently covered, the bread in convenient dishes, and the wine in cups, and the commun- icants orderly and gravely sitting around the table, or in their seats before it, the minister sets the elements apart by prayer and thanksgiv- ing. He then takes the bread and breaks it, in the presence of the peo- ple, saying: "Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the same night in which he was betrayed, having taken bread and blessed and broken it, gave it to his disciples ; as I, ministering in his name, give this bread to you, say- ing (while the elders commence the distribution), ' Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.' " After having given the bread with due care that none have been neg- lected, he takes the cup and says : ' ' After the same manner our Saviour took the cup, and having given thanks, as hath been done in his name, he gave it to his disciples, saying (while the minister repeats these words he gives the cup to the elders), "This cup is the New Testament hi my blood, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. Drink ye all of it.' " The pastor and elders may communicate at such times as are convenient. The service is commonly concluded with exhortation and CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH. 415 prayer, and singing a hymn, and pronouncing the apostolical bene- diction. IX. THE ADMISSION OF PERSONS TO SEALING ORDINANCES. 1. Children born within the pale of the visible church and baptized in infancy, are to be admitted to the Lord's Supper, when they arrive at the proper age, if they give evidence of true piety. The rite of confirmation is rejected as without warrant in the word of God. 2. The years of discretion are to be judged of, by the elders in indi- vidual cases, as they arise, and the session is to judge of the qualifica- tions of those who make application to be admitted to sealing ordinances. 3. Those thus admitted must be previously examined by the session as to their knowledge and piety. 4. Unbaptized persons applying for admission to sealing ordinances, shall make a public profession of their faith in the presence of the con- gregation. X. THE MODE OF INFLICTING CHURCH CENSURES. 1 . Christ has given the church power by its proper officers to exercise discipline over offenders for their good, and the general purity of the church. 2. When any member of a church shall have been guilty of a fault deserving censure, the judicatory shall proceed with tenderness to restore their offending brother. 3. When gentler means fail, they must proceed to rebuke the delin- quent, or to suspend him from the privilege of the Lord's table. 4. After such suspension it is the duty of the bishop and the elders to converse with him kindly, as well as to pray in private that God would grant him repentance. 5. When an offender has been adjudged to be cut off from the com> munion of the church, it is proper that the sentence be publicly pro> nounced against him. 6. The design of excommunication is to operate on the offender as a means of reclaiming him; to deliver the church from the scandal of his offence ; and to inspire all with fear by the example of his punishment. 7. When an excommunicated person shall give to the session satisfac- tory evidence of true repentance, they may, with the advice and con- currence of the presbytery, restore him. XI. THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGE. 1. Marriage is not a sacrament. 2. Christians ought to marry in the Lord; therefore it is fit that their marriage be solemnized by a minister of the gospel. 3. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman only; and they 416 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. are not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity prohibited by the word of God. 4. The parties ought to be of such years of discretion as to be capable of making their own choice. 5. Parents ought not to compel their children to marry contrary to their inclinations, nor deny their consent without just and important 6. Marriage is of a public nature, involving the interests of the com- munity and of families. It is therefore enjoined on all ministers of the gospel, not to solemnize a marriage without being well assured that no just objections lie against it. 7. When marriage is solemnized a competent number of witnesses must be present. 8. When the parties present themselves, the minister is to ask if there be any person present who can show any reason why these persons may not be joined together in the marriage relation. No objections being made, he is then to address himself, severally, to the parties to be mar- ried, in the following or like words: "You, the man, declare, in the presence of God, that you do not know any reason, by pre-contract or otherwise, why you may not lawfully marry this woman." Upon his having answered affirmatively, he addresses himself to the bride in similar terms, "You, the woman, declare, in the presence of God, that you do not know any reason, by pre-contract or otherwise, why you may not lawfully marry this man. " Upon her declaring that she does not, he is to begin with prayer for the blessing of God. Then, after such suitable prefatory address as he may judge fit, he causes the bridegroom and bride to join then* right hands, and pronounces the marriage cove- nant first to the man, in these words : ' ' You take this woman, whom you hold by the hand, to be your lawful and married wife ; and you promise and covenant in the presence of God, and these witnesses, that you will be unto her a loving and faithful husband, until you shall be separated by death. " When the man has given his assent, the minister addresses himself to the bride, in these words : ' ' You take this man, whom you hold by the \hand, to be your lawful and married husband; and you promise and covenant in the presence of God, and these witnesses, that you will be unto him a loving, obedient, and faithful wife, until you shall be sepa- rated by death." Her assent being given, the minister says, ' ' I pronounce you husband and wife, according to the ordinance of God. Whom, therefore, God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." He then concludes the whole with prayer, sometimes adding the benediction. The Presby- terian Church, however, does not bind her ministry to this precise form of marriage. They may vary it to gratify the parties, if the principles brought to view in this formula are only expressed. CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH. 417 XII. THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 1. It is enjoined on the sick to send for their minister. 2. The minister shall teach the sick to make a spiritual improvement of " the chastening of the Lord." 3. He shall instruct the ignorant in the nature of repentance and faith. 4. He shall exhort to self-examination. 5. If the sick signify any scruple, doubt, or temptation, the minister shall endeavor to remove them. 6. If the sick be stupid and regardless of spiritual things, he shall en- deavor to awaken his mind. 7. If the spirit of the sick appear to be broken with a sense of sin, and under an apprehension of the want of the divine favor, he shall adminis- ter consolation and encouragement from the all-sufficiency of the right- eousness of Christ, and the supporting promises of the gospel. Xm. THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 1. When any person departs this life, let the corpse be taken care of in a decent manner; and be kept a sufficient and proper time before inter- ment. 2. The body is to be decently and solemnly attended to the grave. Sometimes the corpse is first taken to the church, and a funeral sermon is delivered. More commonly, however, there is a brief service of reading the Scriptures, prayer, and exhortation, at the house of the deceased per- son. These services are by some, and in pleasant weather, performed at the grave. XIV. FASTING AND OBSERVATION OF THE DAYS OF THANKSGIVING. 1. There is no holy day to be observed except the Lord's day. 2. Nevertheless, days of special f asting and thanksgiving are indicated by peculiar providences. 3. Such days may be observed by individuals, or families, or single congregations, or by a number of congregations, as the proper authority, that is, the people or their representatives, may appoint. 4. It must be left to the discretion of individuals, families, churches, presbyteries, etc., to judge when a fast or thanksgiving may be proper for each. If the civil power appoint such a day, as good citizens and Christians we are to observe it religiously. 5. Public notice is to be given beforehand of days of public fasting and thanksgiving. 6. The services are to be adapted to every special occasion. 7. On the fast day, the minister is to point out the authority and providences demanding such an observance, to confess the sins with their aggravations that have brought down the judgments of heaven, 27 418 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. and to lead the people, as far as may be, to humiliation and mourning before God. 8. On days of thanksgiving, he is to give similar information respect- ing the authority and providences that call to the observance of them, and to adapt his services to the promotion of a spirit of thankfulness and praise. XV. SECRET AND FAMILY WORSHIP. 1. It is a duty enjoined on each person to pray in secret alone, and of each family to hold daily family worship. 2. Secret worship is enjoined by our Lord. It should consist of prayer, reading the Holy Scriptures, meditation, and serious self-examination. 3. Family worship ought to be performed, ordinarily, by every family, morning and evening. 4. The head of the family who is to perform this service ought to be careful that all the members of his household duly attend. 5. The heads of families are to be careful to instruct their children and servants in the principles of religion. THE ORDINATION OF CHURCH OFFICERS. ELDERS and DEACONS are elected by a majority of the people of a congregation. When an elder or deacon elect shall have signified his willingness to accept the office, a day is appointed for his ordination. The day being arrived, after sermon the bishop or minister proposes to the can- didate, in the presence of the congregation, the following questions : 1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice? 2. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith of this church as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ? 3. Do you approve of the government and discipline of the Presby- terian Church ? 4. Do you accept the office of ruling elder (or deacon, as the case may be), in this congregation, and promise faithfully to perform all the duties thereof ? 5. Do you promise to study the peace, unity, and purity of the church? These questions having been answered in the affirmative, the minister addresses to the members of the church the following question : ORDINATION OF CHURCH OFFICERS. 419 Do you, the members of this church, acknowledge and receive this brother as a ruling elder (or deacon), and do you promise to yield him all that honor, encouragement, and obedience in the Lord, to which the office, according to the word of God and the constitution of this church, entitles him ? These questions having been answered in the affirmative, the minister proceeds to set the candidate apart to his office by prayer, after which the members of the session take the newly ordained elder by the hand, saying, " We give you the right hand of fellowship, to take part of this office with us." The Presbytery licenses candidates for the sacred office, that the people may be able to judge whether they are suit- able persons to become pastors in the church. Before pro- ceeding to licensure, the Presbytery requires satisfaction with respect to the piety and learning of the candidate. For this purpose he must sustain an examination in respect to per- sonal piety before the Presbytery. In addition to this, and an examination on the arts and sciences, he must exhibit instances of his learning and ability in several written com- positions, as, 1. An exegesis in Latin, on some important head hi divinity. 2. A critical exercise on some difficult portion of Scripture. 3. An expository lecture adapted to popular instruction; and 4. A popular sermon. If the Presbytery be satisfied with his "trials," they pro- ceed to license him in the following manner : The modera- tor proposes to him these four questions : 1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice ? 2. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith of this church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scrip- tures? 3. Do you promise to study the peace, unity, and purity of the church ? 4. Do you promise to submit yourself, in the Lord, to the government of this presbytery, or of any other presbytery, in the bounds of which you may be called ? 420 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. These questions having been answered in the affirmative, the moderator proceeds to license him in the following words : In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by that authority which he has given to the church for its edification, we do license you to preach the gospel, wherever God in his providence may call you ; and for this purpose may the blessing of God rest upon you, and the Spirit of Christ fill your heart. Amen. When a BISHOP or PASTOK is to be ordained, after the preliminary examinations have been passed through in much the same method as in cases of licensure, and a ser- mon has been preached to the congregation, the moderator of the presbytery propounds several questions to the candi- date. The first three are the same as those proposed to an elder. The remainder are as follows : 4. Do you promise subjection to your brethren hi the Lord ? 5. Have you been induced, as far as you know your own heart, to seek the office of the holy ministry from love to God and a sincere desire to promote his glory in the gospel of his Son ? 6. Do you promise to be zealous and faithful in maintaining the truth of the gospel, and the purity and peace of the church, whatever perse- cution or opposition may arise unto you on that account ? 7. Do you engage to be faithful and diligent in the exercise of all pri- vate and personal duties, which become you as a Christian and a minis- ter of the gospel ; as well as in all relative duties, and the public duty of your office ; endeavoring to adorn the profession of the gospel by your conversation, and walking with exemplary piety before the flock over which God shall make you overseer ? 8. Are you now willing to take charge of this congregation, agreeably to your declaration in accepting then* call ? And do you promise to discharge the duties of a pastor to them as God shall give you strength ? These questions having been answered in the affirmative, the moderator proposes to the people the following : 1. Do you, the people of this congregation, continue to profess your readiness to receive A. B., whom you have called to be your minister ? 2. Do you promise to receive the word of truth from his mouth, with meekness and love, and to submit to him, in the due exercise of dis- cipline ? ORDINATION OF CHURCH OFFICERS. 421 3. Do you promise to encourage him in his arduous labor, and to assist his endeavors for your instruction and spiritual edification ? 4. And do you engage to continue to him, while he is your pastor, that competent worldly maintenance which you have promised, and whatever else you may see needful for the honor of religion, and his comfort among you ? The people having answered these questions by holding up their right hands, the candidate kneels down, and the moderator, by prayer and with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery upon his head, according to the apostolic ex- ample, solemnly ordains him to the holy office of the gospel ministry. Prayer being ended, he rises from his knees ; and the minister who presides first, and afterwards all the other members of the presbytery, in their order, take him by the right hand, saying, " We give you the right hand of fellow- ship, to take part of this ministry with us." Presbyterian SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND. THE KIRK OF SCOTLAND. T1HE conversion of the inhabitants of what is now Scot- land to the Christian faith began, it is probable, to- wards the close of the second century, for Tertullian writing about 205 A.D., testifies that "portions of Britain inaccessible to the Romans have been subdued by Christ," and from the first establishment of Christianity in that country till the Reformation in the reign of Mary, mother of James I. and of Mary I. of England, their church government was epis- copacy ; but the Presbyterian discipline was not finally es- tablished in Scotland until the reign of King William and Mary, A.D. 1689, when episcopacy was totally abolished. The Westminster Confession of Faith was then received as the standard of the national creed, to which all ministers, and principals and professors in universities, are obliged to sub- scribe as the confession of their faith, before receiving induc- tion into office. The Church of Scotland is remarkable for its uncommon simplicity of worship. It possesses no liturgy, no altar, no instrumental music, no surplice, no fixed canonical vestment of any kind. It condemns the worship paid to saints, and observes no festival days. Its ministers enjoy a parity of rank and of authority. It enforces that all ministers, being (422) THE ECCLESIASTICAL JUDICATORIES. 423 ambassadors of Christ, are equal in commission ; that there is no order in the church, as established by the Saviour, superior to presbyters ; and that bishop and presbyter, though different words, are of the same import. It acknowl- edges no earthly head. Its judicatories are quite distinct from, and independent of, any civil judicatory ; insomuch, that the decisions of the one are often contrary to those of the other, yet both remain unaffected and unaltered. When, for example, a clergyman has been presented to a parish by a patron, and induction and ordination have followed on that presentation, if afterwards it be found that the patron, who had given the presentation, had not that right, and that it belongs to another, the clergyman may be ejected as to all the temporalities of the office ; but quoad sacra, he may continue minister of the parish, and exercise all the sacred functions. And though a new presentee may obtain a right to the civil endowments of the benefice, he can per- form none of the sacred duties while the other chooses to avail himself of his privilege. THE ECCLESIASTICAL JUDICATOKIES. There are four ecclesiastical judicatories, namely, the Kirk Session, the Presbytery, the Synod, and the General Assembly, from each of which there is a power of appeal to the other ; but the decision of the General Assembly is supreme. The lowest court is the Kirk Session, which is composed of the minister of the parish, who is the moderator or presi- dent of it, and a number of the most grave and respectable laymen, members of the congregation. Their number varies in different parishes, five or six being about the average num- ber ; and their services are entirely gratuitous. They are something like church- wardens in England, only they have a spiritual jurisdiction, as it is a part of their duty to visit the sick, etc. The Kirk Session manages the funds of the poor, a duty in which it formerly was assisted by deacons, a class of men inferior to elders, as they had no spiritual jurisdiction. 424 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The Presbytery, the court next in dignity, is composed of the ministers of a certain district, with an elder from each parish. Their chief duty consists in the management of such matters as concern. the church within their respective bounds. But they may originate any matter, and bring it ander the view of the Synod or General Assembly. They have also the superintendence of education within their bounds, such as the induction of teachers, and the examina- tion of schools. The Synod is the next intermediate court. Each one con- sists of the clergymen of a certain number of presbyteries, with elders, as in presbyteries. Presbyteries meet generally once a month ; synods twice a year, though some remote synods, such as that of Argyle, only once. The General Assembly is the last and supreme court, and meets yearly in the month of May, in Edinburgh. The sov- ereign presides by his representative, who is always a noble- man, and is denominated the Lord High Commissioner. The General Assembly is a representative court, consisting of 200 members, representing presbyteries, and 156 elders rep- resenting burghs or presbyteries, and five ministers or elders representing universities, making altogether 361 members. They choose a moderator or president, out of their own number, distinct from the Royal Commissioner, the duty of the latter consisting merely in convening and dissolving the court, and in forming the medium of communication be- tween it and the throne. The moderator is now always a clergyman, though previous to 1688, laymen sometimes held that office. THE SACEAMENTS. Baptism in this church is practiced by none but ministers, who do it by sprinkling ; and whether performed in private or in public, it is almost always preceded by a sermon. The Lord's Supper is not administered so frequently in Scotland as in some other places. Some time before this sacrament is observed, it is announced from the pulpit. The week before, the Kirk Session meets, and draws up a list of THE SACRAMENTS. 425 all the communicants in the parish, according to the minis- ter's examination-book, and the testimony of the elders and deacons. According to this list, tickets are delivered to each communicant, if desired, and the ministers and elders also give tickets to strangers who bring sufficient testimonials. None are allowed to communicate without such tickets, which are produced at the table. Those who never received are instructed by the minister in the nature of the sacra- ments, and taught what is the proper preparation thereunto. The Wednesday or Thursday before, there is a solemn fast, and on the Saturday there are two preparatory sermons. On Sunday morning, after singing and prayer as usual, the minister of the parish preaches a suitable sermon, and when the ordinary worship is ended, he in the name of Jesus Christ forbids the unworthy to approach, and invites the penitent to come and receive the sacrament. Then he goes into the body of the church, where one or two tables, according to its width, are placed, reaching from one end to the other, cov- ered with a white linen cloth, and seats on both sides for the communicants. The minister places himself at the end or middle of the table. After a short discourse, he reads the institution, and blesses the elements. Then he breaks the bread, and distributes it and the wine to those that are next him, who transmit them to their neighbors, the elders and deacons attending to serve, and see that the whole is per- formed w&h decency and order. While these communicate, the minister discourses on the nature of the sacraments and the whole is concluded with singing and prayer. The min- ister then returns to the pulpit, and preaches a sermon. The morning service ended, the congregation are dismissed for an hour, after which the usual afternoon worship is per- formed. On the Monday morning, there is public worship, with two sermons ; and these, properly speaking, close the communion-service. No private communions are allowed in Scotland. Marriage is solemnized nearly after the manner of the Church of England, with the exception of the ring, which is deemed a relic of the Roman Church. By the laws of Scot- 426 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. land, the marriage-knot may be tied without any ceremony of a religious nature ; a simple promise in the presence of witnesses, or a known previous cohabitation, being sufficient to bind the obligation. The funeral ceremony is performed in total silence. The corpse is carried to the grave, and there interred without a word being spoken on the occasion. THE SECT OF SECEDERS. Dissenters from the Kirk, or Church of Scotland, call them- selves Seceders ; for, as the term Dissenter comes from the Latin word dissentio, to diifer, so the appellation Seceder is derived from another Latin word, secedo, to separate or to withdraw from any body of men with which we may have been united. The secession arose from various circum- stances, which were conceived to be great defections from the established church of Scotland. The Seceders are rigid Calvinists, rather austere in their manners, and severe in their discipline. Through a difference as to civil matters, they have divided themselves into two classes, Burghers and Anti-burghers. Of these the latter are the most con- fined in their sentiments, and associate therefore the least with any other body of Christians. The Seceders originated tinder two brothers, Ealph and Ebenezer Erskine, of Stir- ling, about the year 1780. It is worthy of observation, that the Rev. George Whitfield, in one of his visits to Scotland, was solemnly reprobated by the Seceders, because he re- fused to confine his itinerant labors wholly to them. The reason assigned for this monopolization was, that they were exclusively God's people. Mr. Whitfield smartly replied, that they had, therefore, the less need of his services ; for his aim was to turn sinners from the error and wickedness of their ways by preaching among them glad tidings of great The Burgess' oath, concerning which the Seceders differed, is administered in several of the royal boroughs of Scotland, and runs thus : THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 427 " I protest before God and your lordships, that I profess and allow with my heart the true religion presently professed within this realm, and authorized by the laws thereof; I shall abide thereat, and defend the same to my life's end, renouncing the Roman religion called papistry." The Messrs. Erskine and others maintained there was no incon- sistency in Seceders taking this oath, because the established religion was still the true religion, in spite of the faults at- taching to it, and hence were called Burghers. Messrs. Moncrieff and others thought the swearing to the religion, as professed and authorized, was approving the corruptions, therefore the oath was inconsistent and not to be taken ; hence Anti-burghers. The Seceders are strict Presbyterians, having their respective associate synods, and are to be found not only in Scotland, but also in Ireland and in the United States of America. Both classes have had among them ministers of considerable learning and piety. There is also a species of Dissenters from the Church of Scotland called Relief, whose only difference from the Kirk is, the choosing of their own pastors. They arose in 1752, and are respectable as to numbers and ability. The Relief are Calvinists as well as Presbyterians, but liberal in their views, admitting to their communion pious Christians of every denomination. They revere the union of faith and charity. THE FEEE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. In 1835, an attempt was made by the Church of Scotland to place itself on a more popular basis, by giving to the heads of families, communicants, a veto upon the nomina- tion of the patron ; but, the ecclesiastical action by which this was sought to be effected, having been declared by the courts to be a civil act beyond the jurisdiction of the church and no disposition being manifested by the Parliament to aid in removing the difficulty, a number of its most distin- guished members, in 1843, withdrew in a body, and formed the " Free Church of Scotland." The late eminent Doctors Chalmers, Candlish, Cunningham, and many others distin- 428 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. guished for their learning and piety, took part in securing the division. No fewer than 474 ministers and professors completed their separation by the "deed of demission." The new church set to work bravely, erecting new houses of worship for their congregations, establishing a school in connection with each, founding high grade educational in- stitutions, and entering upon a very active domestic and foreign missionary service. It was estimated in 1885 that her communion embraced about one-third of the whole pop- ulation of the kingdom. The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, organized at Edinburgh, May 13, 1847, consists of what were called the Seceders and Relief Churches. The Church of Scotland has always enjoyed a high reputation as a working denomina- tion ; and in this respect the various bodies that have sprung from it have worthily imitated the parent. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ENGLAND. The first Presbyterian congregation in England was formed at Wandsworth, near London, in 1572. In the reign of Charles I., 1645, it was proposed in the treaty of Uxbridge, to make the Established Church of England Presbyterian, and the proposition was carried into effect, by way of trial in 1646. Three years later the Presbyterian discipline was sanctioned by Parliament, and the Established Church was Presbyterian until Episcopacy was revived with the resto- ration of Charles II. in 1660. The successors of the old Presbyterian congregations in England have in general be- come either Unitarians or Independents. The congregations which are at the present day adherents of the Presbyterian form of church government belong to, or maintain friendly relations with, the Presbyterian churches of Scotland. The Synod of English Presbyterians is a separate organization, and holds the principles of the Free Church of Scotland. There are also many United Presbyterians in England, who represent the union of the Seceder and Relief Churches, effected in 1847. I. Jfte United EARLY HISTORY. THE Presbyterian Church in the United States is com- monly regarded as the offspring of the Kirk of Scot- land, although it has spread from three centres ; for it was established by the Dutch in New York, by the Scotch-Irish in Virginia and New Jersey, and by the Huguenots in Caro- lina. The first Dutch church was organized in New Amster- dam in 1619 ; Scotch-Irish Presbyterians settled on the Eliz- abeth Eiver, Ya., between 1670 and 1680, and a church was organized at Snow Hill, Md., in 1684 ; the Huguenots were driven from France in 1685, and they began founding churches in this country shortly after that date. By the year 1700 the number of Presbyterians from these three sources had so scattered and increased that they began to take steps towards an organization similar to that in Scot- land. The primary ecclesiastical union of the American Presbyterians occurred in 1705, when the Presbytery of Philadelphia was formed with seven ministers, representing Ireland, Scotland, and England. This Presbytery having become much enlarged, and, in consequence of the increas- ing migration of persons from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, (429) 430 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. having also become widely disseminated, it was decided at their meeting in September, 1716, to subdivide their body into four subordinate meetings or presbyteries, all of which were constituent members of the general body, thenceforward denominated the Synod of Philadelphia. The first meeting of this Synod was held on Sept. 17, 1717, and was composed of thirteen ministers and six elders. While various acquisitions tended to enlarge the Presby- terian body, they, at the same time, greatly diminished its harmony. It soon became apparent that entire unity of sentiment did not prevail among them respecting the exami- nation of candidates for the ministry on experimental relig- ion, and also respecting strict adherence to presbyterial order, and the requisite amount of learning in those who sought the ministerial office. Frequent conflicts occurred in different Presbyteries. Parties were formed. Those who were most zealous for strict orthodoxy, for adherence to presbyterial order, and for a learned ministry were called the " Old Side," while those who laid a greater stress on vital piety than on any other qualification, were called the " New Side," or "New Lights." The spirit of harmony was broken in 1727, but a partial compromise was effected two years later by the " adopting act." In 1739 party feeling again broke out in consequence of the Whitfield visit and revival. The "New Side" de- sired to introduce the celebrated revivalist into their pulpits, while the " Old Side " viewed him as heterodox in his prin- ciples, and refused to countenance his preaching. As a culmination of the troubles the Synod was rent asunder, and in 1741 the Synod of New York, composed of " New Side " men, was set up in opposition to that of Philadelphia, which retained the original name and comprehended all the " Old Side " men who belonged to the general body. These Synods remained in a state of separation for seven- teen years. At length, however, a plan of reunion was agreed upon. Several years were spent in negotiation. Mutual concessions were made, the articles of union in de- tail were happily adjusted, and the Synods were united OLD AND NEW SCHOOL RUPTURE. 431 under the title of the " Synod of New York and Philadel- phia," in the year 1758. After this time the Presbyterian body went on increasing in numbers, harmony, and general edification until the close of the Revolutionary War, when it could reckon about one hundred and seventy ministers and a few more churches. At the meeting of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia in May, 1785, finding the independence of the United States established, that judicatory began to take steps for revising the public standards of the Church. In 1788 the work of revising and arranging the standards was completed, and they were then ordered to be printed and distributed for the government of all the judicatories of the Church. Under the new arrangement the body was divided into four Synods, viz. : the Synod of New York and New Jersey ; the Synod of Philadelphia ; the Synod of Virginia ; and the Synod of the Carolinas ; and over these, as a bond of union, was constituted a " General Assembly," modeled in all its essential particulars after the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The next year (1789), the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States met in Philadel- phia, and was opened with a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Wither- spoon, who presided until the first moderator of that body (the Rev. Dr. Rogers) was chosen. At this time there were 188 ministers belonging to the whole Presbyterian body, and 419 churches. These were distributed into four Synods and seventeen Presbyteries, embracing a large number of vacant congregations. THE "OLD SCHOOL" AND "FEW SCHOOL" RUPTURE. Affinities and a fraternal confidence between Presbyterians and Congregationalists had led to an admixture of Congre- gationalism in Presbyterian judicatories. The Old School insisted that this admixture, as unconstitutional, should cease. The New School contended for its toleration and ex- tension. The Old School preferred strictly ecclesiastical 432 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. agencies for conducting the missionary and other general evangelical work of the Church, urging, particularly, the establishment of a Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. The New School desired, in union with Congregationalists, to confide this work to voluntary associations, the foreign part of it to the American Board of Commissioners. The Old School held that certain errors, inconsistent with sound doctrine, were prevalent in the Church, and endeavored to visit with discipline several prominent ministers charged therewith. The New School resisted the discipline proposed, arguing that some of the views alleged to be erroneous were irreconcilable with the Calvinistic system, and denying that the others were really entertained by the parties accused, or were seriously prevalent. This difference as to doctrine was by far the most serious difference between the parties. An open rupture occurred in 1837, when the Old School ma- jority in the General Assembly disowned four Synods, as so far Congregationalized that they could no longer be acknowl- edged as Presbyterian bodies, whereupon the New School adherents in the General Assembly of 1838 refused to recog- nize an organization of this judicatory which excluded repre- sentatives from the disowned constituency, and formed ano- ther Assembly. It is but just to state that the New School acquiesced in the separation with great reluctance. While each party adhered firmly to its own view of the questions at issue, the New School body urged that there was no occasion for a disruption. The relative strength of the two, when they separated, cannot be definitely ascertained. The un- divided Church made the following report in ] 837 : Synods, 23 ; presbyteries, 135 ; ministers, 2,140 ; licentiates, 280 ; candidates, 244 ; churches, 2,865 ; members, 220,557. The first tabular statement of the denomination called the "New School" appeared in 1839, showed 85 presbyteries, 1,286 churches, and 100,850 communicants. An examination of the roll afterwards, revealed the fact that ten presbyteries were improperly included in this exhibit and should be de- ducted, which would place the number of presbyteries at 75 and of communicants at 97,033. WITHDRAWAL OF SYNODS. 433 The statistical report of the Old School in 1840 showed 17 synods, 96 presbyteries, 1,763 churches, and 126,583 com- municants. To test their claim to the true succession and their title to the funds and institutions of the Presbyterian Church, the New School commenced a suit in March, 1839, in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, before Judge Rogers and a jury at nisi prius. The verdict was in favor of the New School. A new trial was obtained, in which this decision was entirely re- versed, and the whole case settled in favor of the Old School. The two bodies can hardly be said to have fairly started upon their career as distinct denominations until 1843. Their relative strength at that time was, New School, 1,263 min- isters, and 1,496 congregations ; Old School, 1,434 ministers, and 2,092 congregations. Right here should be noted a dis- play of Christian feeling on the part of the New School body, which must ever redound to its credit. In 1846 the two as- semblies met in Philadelphia at the same time, and the New School made a proposition to the other body for a recogni- tion of each other, as bodies of Christian brethren, by com- muning together at the Lord's table. This proposition the Old School found it inexpedient to accept, to the general re- gret of both schools. They rejected it kindly, yet decisively. WITHDRAWAL OF SOUTHERN AND WESTERN SYNODS. In the year 1858 the Southern synods, in the heat of the slavery controversy, separated from their brethren of the North, carrying with them about 200 New School churches and 10,000 members. Simultaneously with the opening of the Civil War, the Southern synods of the Old School branch withdrew and organized a separate church. Thus were lost 10 synods, 45 presbyteries, 1,134 churches, and 76,000 com- municants. Again, after the war of the Rebellion the action of the General Assembly upon the state of the country and of the church gave great offence to many persons, particular- ly in the border States. The Presbytery of Louisville, Ky., issued a " Declaration and Testimony," to which they solicit- 434 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. ed tlie signatures of all who agreed with them. The was that in 1865 the larger portion of the churches in Ken- tucky, and about one-half of those of Missouri, embracing some 10,000 members, ceased to be enrolled as an integral part of the church. Adding this to the other loss of 1861, and we find a total loss of 86,000 members. Yet, to counter- balance these appalling losses, the church, in the ten years, 1859-'69, gained 65,000 members, thus leaving her, in 1869, but 21,000 members short of her number in 1859. The above decade was a prosperous one with the New School church. The summary for 1869 exhibited the following results : min- isters, 1,848 ; churches, 1,631 ; communicants, 172,560, a gain of about 300 ministers, 100 churches, and 35,000 mem- bers. Thus it will be seen that at the time of re-union both bodies were in a highly prosperous and satisfactory condi- tion. The crudities and objectionable features which were manifest in the early history of the Church were eliminated, and there now appeared no visible reason why they should not become the most influential and effective of Protestant denominations in this country. Their consolidation was all that was needed to accomplish this result, and in 1869 this was consummated. EE-UNION OF THE OLD AND NEW SCHOOL CHURCHES. The causes that led to re-union may be very easily explain- ed. The principal actors in the separation of 1837 had passed away; their gradually increasing intercourse had brought about a friendly feeling between the two bodies ; and the issues which led to the separation had in the main died out. Yet in 1862 the Old School Assembly still declined to talk of re-union, though it unanimously agreed to open a corre- spondence by delegates. No doubt this correspondence was a great advance towards organic unity. But, although the subject was brought every year to the notice of both Assem- blies, nothing more definite was accomplished until 1866, when the first joint committee was appointed to confer upon "the desirableness and practicability of re-union." The RE-UNION OF OLD AND NEW SCHOOL CHURCHES. 435 Presbyterian National Union Convention of November, 1867, held in Philadelphia, gave a perceptible impulse to the whole movement. It developed a growing, enthusiastic, and irre- sistible feeling in favor of re-union, which had the effect to turn many opponents into friends of the measure. In ] 869 the report of the Joint Committee on Re-union was per- fected and adopted by both Assemblies. The only points in it which we deem necessary to mention here are the fol- lowing : 1. The two bodies "shall be re-united as one Church, under the name and style of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, possessing all the legal and corporate rights and powers pertaining to the Church previous to the division in 1838, and all the legal and cor- porate rights and powers which the separate Churches now possess." 2. ' ' The re-union shall be effected on the doctrinal and ecclesiastical basis of our common standards; the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments shall be acknowledged to be the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice ; the Confession of Faith shall continue to be sincerely received and adopted as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ; and the government and discipline of the Presbyterian Church in the United States shall be approved as containing the principles and rules of our polity. " The re-union was consummated at the General Assembly which met in Philadelphia, May 19, 1870. An " Old School man," Rev. Dr. Backus, was chosen moderator, and a "New School man," Rev. Dr. Hatfield, stated clerk. It was then unanimously resolved to celebrate the great event by mak- ing a special offering for the Lord's work of $5,000,000. The whole church was animated with the spirit of the resolution, and at the meeting of the General Assembly in May, 1871, the result of the year's effort was reported at the handsome sum of $7,607,499.91, all of which was immediately applied to church work. But still there remained an important body of Presbyte- rians outside the fold those of the Southern and Border States who withdrew in 1861 and 1866 and became known as the Southern Presbyterian Church, and in 1870 the Gener- al Assembly addressed itself to the task of persuading this 436 rHE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. body to crown the work of re-union by connecting itself again with the parent Church. A committee was appoint- ed, and armed with resolutions expressive of the cordial desire of the body they represented for the speedy establish- ment of fraternal relations with the Southern Presbyterian Church, repaired to Louisville, Ky., where the last-named body was sitting. Their overtures, however, were unsuc- cessful, and further efforts in this direction were postponed. STATISTICS OF THE CHURCHES FOE 1893. The following statistics will show the condition of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, as the Northern branch is officially known, in 1893 : Synods 31, presbyteries 221, ministers 6,509, elders 25,399, deacons 8,356, churches 7,292, communicants 855,089, Sunday-school mem- bers 909,062, and total contributions $14,916,311. The con- tributions included $1,028,585 for home missions, $849,355 for foreign missions, $261,835 for aid for colleges, $818,666 for church erection, $170,800 for education, $138,374 for Sunday-school work, $123,587 for freedmen, $10,514,429 for congregational purposes, and $1,263,624 for miscellaneous expenses. During the preceding year the Board of Foreign Missions, with stations in various parts of the world, had 210 American and 420 native ministers, 386 American and 1,108 native lay missionaries, 384 churches with 30,479 mem- bers, 771 secular schools with 29,011 pupils, 26,393 pupils in Sunday-schools, and 167 native students for the ministry. The Board of Home Missions employed 1,479 missionaries and 360 missionary teachers, had 93,504 mission church and 132,651 congregational members under its charge, and 2,190 Sunday-schools with 141,236 members. During the year 111 church buildings were erected, 107 new churches were organized, and 52 older ones had become self-supporting. The Presbyterian Church in the United States, as the Southern branch is officially known, reported in 1893 as fol- lows : Synods 13, presbyteries 72, ministers 1,271, churches 2,562, ruling elders 8,089, deacons 6,385, communicants STATISTICS OF THE CHURCHES FOR 1893. 437 188,546, baptized non-communicants 37,275, teachers in Sun- day-schools 16,647, scholars 119,754, and total contributions $1,943,580. The contributions included $808,784 for pastors' salaries, $621,792 for congregational purposes, $120,954 for foreign missions, $45,762 for sustentation, $84,136 for evan- gelistic work, $53,527 for education, $28,711 for church erec- tion, $14,131 for the invalid fund, $11,720 for colored evan- gelization, $14,982 for Presbyterial purposes, and $124,776 for miscellaneous expenses. During the year, 34 churches were aided from the Church Erection and Loan Fund, and 36 white congregations from the regular Loan Fund ; 237 ministers and licentiates serving weak congregations were assisted from the Sustentation Fund ; 9 ministers and 3 teachers among the Indians, and 44 ministers in evangelistic work were aided from the Evangelistic and Indian Missions Fund ; and 145 additions were made to the beneficiaries of the Invalid Fund. Evangelistic work was carried on among the colored people in all the Southern States excepting Arkansas and West Virginia. In the above narrative a number of important historical events are purposely omitted, because, as they resulted in the organization of new churches that have lived and are now doing a large work, they are deserving of special men- tion as independent bodies. These will be separately con- sidered. II. Uqiteel THE ASSOCIATE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. THIS church originated in a separation from the Estab- lished Church of Scotland, in the year 1733. Corrup- tions in the doctrines of the church and tyranny in her government were the grounds alleged for the action. In the above year the causes which had long been increasing in strength, were brought to an issue by the presentation of a protest to the General Assembly against certain acts, by Rev. Messrs. E. Erskine, Wilson, Moncrieff, and Fisher. This protest excited considerable ill-feeling in the Assembly, and having refused to withdraw it, these four ministers were "suspended from the exercise of the ministerial functions and all parts thereof." This occurred in August. In the succeeding November it was found that the four brethren had continued to exercise their ministry, and the order of the Assembly then was to proceed to a higher censure. The remarkable proceedings of the ecclesiastical courts, and the undaunted bearing of the accused, awakened a wide-spread sympathy for them. Seven synods sent up communications in their favor, and some presbyteries sent petitions of a like character. Finally it was decided, by a large majority, to " Loose the (438) THE ASSOCIATE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 439 relation of the said four ministers to their charges, and de- clare them no longer ministers of this church, and to prohibit all ministers of this church to employ them in any min- isterial function." Seven ministers of the commission protested against this senteoce. When the sentence was announced to the four brethren they handed in a paper, declaring themselves under the necessity of seceding from the church. They soon after met as a presbytery, and pub- lished what has generally been distinguished as the Extra- judicial Testimony. They declined to act judicially for about three years after their secession, hoping that the breach would be healed, but towards this end no substantial progress was made. In 1736 the four seceding ministers proceeded to judicial acts, and near the close of that year published their " Ju- dicial Testimony." They appointed Mr. Wilson professor of theology, and at his death Mr. Moncrieff filled the chair. In May, 1739, a libel was framed against them by a commis- sion of the Assembly and laid before the Assembly itself. It charged, in substance, their secession and their acting as an independent court of Christ. Being summoned, the se- ceders, now eight in number, appeared as a constituted pres- bytery at the bar of the Assembly and formally denied its authority. The next year the Assembly passed an act of deposition against them, and they were ejected from their places of worship. Notwithstanding these trials in their early history, the Associate Presbytery had soon increased so much in num- bers that they found it necessary to constitute themselves into a synod, to consist of three presbyteries. This was done in 1744, at which time the whole number of settled ministers was twenty-six. Not long after this a question came before them in regard to the lawfulness of swearing certain Burgess oaths. (See chapter on the Kirk of Scotland. ) The synod was nearly equally divided upon this point. Two years of sharp contention ensued, and, in 1747, a breach took place and two distinct synods were formed, the General As- sociate or Anti-burgher Synod and the Associate or Burgher 440 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Synod. After a separation of over seventy years these two branches were re-united September 8, 1820. The Associate brethren were characterized by a missionary spirit from the first, and their particular attention was ad- dressed to the American field. In 1736 a letter was received from Pennsylvania urgently requesting that either an or- dained minister or a probationer be sent over to labor in that district. This the presbytery was not then able to do. In 1750 petitions were again sent, addressed to the Anti- burgher Synod, from some of the colonists of Eastern Penn- sylvania. In 1751 urgent applications were again made by Rev. Alex. Craighead, of Pennsylvania, and a number of other persons, earnestly beseeching the synod to send min- isters to labor in that part of America. In 1753, Mr. Alex- ander Gellatly was appointed to this important work, and had the honor to become the first missionary of the Asso- ciate Church in this country. In the latter part of that year he arrived, accompanied by Rev. Andrew Arnot, who was temporarily to assist him. Soon after their arri- val, according to instructions, they constituted themselves into a presbytery, named the "Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania," subordinate to the Associate Anti-burgher Synod. The Presbyterians who had been occupying the field before them, invited them to join with them, and upon their declining to do so they issued a warning against the associate body, denouncing them as schismatics and separatists. In 1758 Matthew Henderson arrived as a missionary from Scotland, and was settled at Oxford. In 1761 Mr. Gellatly died, in the forty-second year of his age. In the same year Mr. John Mason arrived and settled in New York. At this time the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania consisted of only three ministers. Hitherto all the missionaries sent had been connected with the Anti-burgher Synod, but, in 1764, Rev. Thomas Clark arrived in America with most of his congregation, of Balli- bay, Ireland. They were connected with the Burgher Synod. Arriving at New York, part of the people went to THE ASSOCIATE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 441 Long Cane, S. C., and the rest, with their minister, settled at Salem, N. Y. The next year Dr. Clark, having assented to certain articles, was received as a member of the Asso- ciate Presbytery of Pennsylvania. This union between Burghers and Anti-burghers was, by instructions from the Anti-burgher Synod, dissolved in 1771. In 1776 the Associate Presbytery was so far strengthened that it was found expedient to divide it into two presbyte- ries. The Presbytery of Pennsylvania consisted of ten min- isters, and the Presbytery of New York consisted of three ministers. These two were co-ordinate, but both subordinate to the Synod of Edinburgh. A movement was set on foot to unite the two associate bodies and the reformed presby- teries into one ecclesiastical body. This resulted in the union at Pequa, Pa., June 13, 1782. Several ministers and elders protested and appealed to the Associate Synod of Scotland, and their protest not being admitted they with- drew, claiming to be the true Associate Presbytery of Penn- sylvania. The united body took the name of the Associate Reformed Church. In 1794 the church established a theological seminary in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, of which Dr. John Anderson continued to be the sole professor until 1819, when he re- signed, owing to age. The number of students was very small, the average attendance being not more than four or five and the highest number nine. In 1800 a synod was constituted, consisting of four presbyteries Philadelphia, Cambridge, Chartiers, and Kentucky (now Miami). Its first meeting was at Philadelphia, May 20, 1801. The evil of slaveholding had engaged the attention of the church for many years, and, in 1811, at the synod in Canonsburg, an act was passed declaring it a moral evil to hold negroes in bondage, directing the members of the church to set them at liberty or to treat them as free in the matters of food, clothing, and wages. Those who refused were declared un- worthy of church fellowship. These provisions not being complied with, the synod, in 1831, passed an act by which all slaveholders were forthwith excluded from her commun 442 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. ion. The effect of this was to entirely extinguish the Asso- ciate Presbytery of the Carolinas. In 1851 the Reformed Dissenting Presbytery proposed a union with this church, which was effected. In 1854 the presbyteries of Cambridge, Albany, and Vermont (which, in 1840, had withdrawn from the church and claimed to be the true associate synod) re-united with it. In 1858 a union was effected between the Associate and Associate Reformed Churches, and they chose as their name the " United Pres- byterian Church." When the two bodies united the Asso- ciate Church consisted of 21 presbyteries, 293 congregations, and 23,505 members. THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED CHURCH. The Associate Reformed Church had its origin in a union which was agreed upon at Pequa, Pa., June 13, 1782, be- tween the Associate and the Reformed Presbyterian Churches, and took its title from a union of the names of the two bodies. The Associate was the older of these churches in this country, and until the war of the Revo- lution it continued in subjection to the Synod of Scotland. The war interrupted their intercourse with the Synod, and the Associate people, the earliest and warmest advocates of American independence, began to agitate the question of a separation from the Synod and a union of the different Presbyterian bodies in this country. First, the Burgher and Anti-burgher portions of the Associate church united. Next, overtures were made to the Presbyterian Synod of New York and Philadelphia for a union, but these resulted in failure. Afterwards a union with the Reformed (Cove- nanter) Presbytery was proposed. Some twenty conven- tions were held in reference to it, and at length the Re- formed Presbytery, the Associate Presbytery of New York, and nearly all the members of the Presbytery of Pennsyl- vania united in one organic body which constituted the As- sociate Reformed Church. This was consummated at Pequa, and the Synod was formally constituted in Philadelphia on THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED CHURCH. 443 the 30th of October, 1782. The basis of the union consisted chiefly in a modification of the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith concerning the power of civil magis- trates in matters of religion, and an adaptation of the form f church government to the Word of God and the circum- stances of the church in this country. The united body then consisted of three presbyteries and fourteen ministers. From 1799 forward the church prospered and grew rapidly. Soon its churches were scattered over the country from the Canadas to the Carolinas and southwest as far as Kentucky. In October, 1802, the Synod was divided into four subordinate synods, viz.: New York, Pennsylvania, Scioto, and the Carolinas. On May 30, 1804, the first Gen- eral Synod met in Greencastle, Pa., of which Rev. Alex. Dobbin was chosen Moderator. The General Synod soon began to transact all the import- ant business of the church, so that the subordinate synods, being of little interest or importance, were given up. This centralizing of power produced trouble ; unhappy feelings were excited, and in 1820 the entire Synod of Scioto with- drew all connection with the General Synod, and the follow- ing year the Synod of the Carolinas asked to be constituted an independent synod. In 1821, overtures were made by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church for an or- ganic union. A basis of union was prepared by a joint com- mittee, and in 1822 it was adopted by the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Church by a vote of seven to five. The General Synod was then declared dissolved, and its members invited to seats in the General Assembly. Thus terminated the General Synod, but the great mass of the ministry and membership did not acquiesce in the union, and set themselves at once to the work of perpetuating the Associate Reformed body on its original grounds. The Associate Reformed Synod of the West had, in 1820, constituted itself an independent synod. It was then com- posed of fourteen ministers and eight elders. This now be- came the nucleus of the church in the West, and her inter ests again advanced rapidly. Numerous churches were 444 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. organized, new presbyteries were formed, and in October, 1839, a new synod was formed, styled the Second Associate Reformed Synod of the West, which held its first meeting at Hamilton, Ohio, the following year. In October, 1852, a third synod was organized, named the Associate Reformed Synod of Illinois, whose first meeting was held at Oquacoka, 111. These several synods were placed under the care of the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Church of the West. In 1858 it had three subordinate synods ; twenty- two presbyteries ; 360 churches and congregations ; 23,916 communicants ; two theological seminaries, several colleges, higher schools and academies, and three foreign missionary fields. The Synod of the Carolinas, which in 1821 became an independent synod, called the Associate Reformed Synod of the South, numbered in 1858 eight presbyteries and sixty- five ministers, and had an efficient college and theological seminary under its care at Due West, South Carolina. The Synod of New York, having never withdrawn from the General Synod, and not having acceded in any way to the act of union with the Presbyterian Church in 1822, upon that event occupied the ground and claimed the rights of the General Synod. Until 1855 these different synods had been independent, though adhering to the same standards ; but on May 17th of that year a union was effected between the Synod of New York and the General Synod of the West, under the name of the General Synod of the Associate Re- formed Church. The Synod of the South continued its separate existence. In 1858 a union was effected between the Associate and Associate Reformed Churches, and the united body assumed the name of the United Presbyterian Church. THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The United Presbyterian Church was formed in Pitts- burgh, Pa., May 26, 1858, by a union of the Associate and Associate Reformed Churches of North America. These churches claimed as their common parent the Church of THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 445 Scotland, and were substantially one in doctrine, worship, and church government. The members composing these different churches were intermingled all over the country, and in their divided con- dition their congregations were so small as to be unable, in many cases, to support pastors. The consequence was that in many portions of the country these people were not able to enjoy the preached word by ministers of their own faith. To remedy this evil, and, if possible, to bring these churches into a closer relation, conventions were held in 1838, 1839, 1841, 1842, and 1845. These actions had a salu- tary effect upon the people, who were, with few exceptions, strongly favorable to union. They redoubled their efforts to create an overwhelming sentiment in favor of the meas- ure. The General Synod of the Associate Reformed Church took up the matter and appointed delegates to attend a fu- ture convention, should the sister churches or either of them concur in the measure. At this time the Reformed Presby- terian Church withdrew and no longer co-operated in the efforts to effect a union of the churches. At length a basis, framed in accordance with the general principles which had been approved by the supreme judica- tories of the Associate and Associate Reformed Churches respectively, was prepared by a committee, which, being presented to the synods, was by them transmitted in over- ture to the presbyteries. After revising the reports of the presbyteries at the annual meeting of the supreme judica- tories, the basis was adopted by them both, with the under- standing that the formal consummation of the union should take place at the time of the annual meeting in 1858. On Wednesday, May 26, 1858, the union of the Associate and the Associate Reformed Churches was consummated in Pittsburgh, Pa., and the measure was hailed with rejoicings by the people of both churches throughout the land. Of the " Testimony of the United Presbyterian Church," we give the following as the substance : ARTICLE 1. The Scriptures are in every part the inspired Word of 446 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. God, both in language and in sentiment, and are the only rule of faith and practice. ARTICLE 2. Jesus Christ is Supreme God, being one in essence with the Father, and also the Son of God in respect of his natural, necessary, and eternal relation to the Father. ARTICLE 3. God created man hi a state of perfect holiness and with perfect ability to obey him, and entered into a covenant with him, hi which covenant Adam was the representative of all his natural poster- ity, so that hi him they were to stand or fall as he stood or fell. ARTICLE 4. Our first parents, by breach of covenant with God, sub- jected themselves to his eternal wrath and brought themselves into a state of depravity wholly inclined to sin, and unable, of themselves, to perform a single act of acceptable obedience to God ; that their posterity are born in the same state of guilt, depravity, and inability, and so will continue until delivered therefrom by the grace of our Lord Jesup Christ. ARTICLE 5. That Jesus Christ, by appointment of the Father and by his own voluntary act, placed himself in the room of a definite number who were chosen in him before the foundation of the world ; so that Lc was their proper and legal surety, and, as such, in their behalf, satisfied the justice of God and answered all the demands which the law had against them, and thereby infallibly obtained for them eternal redemp- tion. ARTICLE 6. That in justification there is an imputation to the believer of that righteousness, or satisfaction and obedience, which the Lord Jesus Christ, as surety of his people, rendered to the law ; and it is only on the ground of this imputed righteousness that his sins are pardoned or his person accepted of God. ARTICLE 7. That the gospel hi its strict and proper sense, as distin- guished from the law, is a revelation of grace to sinners as such ; and that it contains a free and unconditional offer and grant of salvation through Christ to all who hear it, whatever may be their character or condition. ARTICLE 8. That saving faith is not merely an assent of the mind to the proposition that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of sinners ; but also a cordial reception and appropriation of him by the shiner as his Saviour, with an accompanying persuasion or assurance corresponding to the degree or strength of his faith that he shall be saved by him. ARTICLE 9. That repentance is one of the fruits of a justifying faith, and, of course, cannot be regarded as a ground of the shiner's pardon, or as necessary to qualify him for coming to Christ. ARTICLE 10. That although the moral law is of perpetual obliga- tion, and ever binds the believer as a rule of life, yet as a covenant, he is, by his justification through Christ, completely and forever set free "THE TESTIMONY" OF THE U. P. CHURCH. 447 from it, and, consequently, is not required to yield obedience to it as a condition of life and salvation. ARTICLE 11. That the Holy Spirit accompanying the word so acts upon the soul as to quicken, regenerate, and sanctify it ; and that with- out its direct operation the soul would have no ability to perceive in a saving manner the truths of God's Word or yield to the motives which it presents. ARTICLE 12. That Jesus Christ has a two-fold dominion besides that which belongs to Him as God. These are over the Church, of which He is the living Head and Lawgiver, and over all created persons and things. ARTICLE 13. That the law of God is supreme in its authority and obligations, and where commands of Church and State conflict we are to obey God rather than man. ARTICLE 14. That slaveholding is a violation of the law of God and contrary to the letter and spirit of Christianity. ARTICLE 15. That all associations which impose an oath of secrecy or an obligation to obey a code of unknown laws, are inconsistent with the genius and spirit of Christianity, and church members ought not to have fellowship with them. ARTICLE 16. That the Church should not extend communion in seal- ing ordinances to those who refuse adherence to her profession or sub- jection to her government and discipline, or who refuse to forsake a communion which is inconsistent with the profession she makes ; nor should communion in any ordinance of worship be held under such circumstances as would be inconsistent with the keeping of these ordi- nances pure and entire, or so as to give countenance to any corruption of the doctrines and institutions of Christ. ARTICLE 17. That public social covenanting is a moral duty, not at stated times, but upon extraordinary occasions, in times of danger to the Church, in times of exposure to backsliding, and in times of reforma- tion. Such covenant transactions bind posterity faithfully to adhere to and prosecute the object for which they were entered into. ARTICLE 18. That it is the will of God that the songs contained in the Book of Psalms be sung in His worship, both public and private, to the end of the world ; and in singing God's praise these songs should be employed to the exclusion of the devotional compositions of uninspired The foregoing declarations cover the views of the United Presbyterian Chnrch " in relation to certain articles of divine truth which have been either denied by not a few profess- ing Christians, or permitted to lie in obscurity." By them 448 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. they did not design to displace the Confession of Faith, but rather to direct attention to it as a document to which the Church had solemnly declared its adherence. The official reports for the year 1893 showed : Synods 10, presbyteries 62, ministers 805, congregations 935, pastoral charges 759, communicants 111,119, Sunday-schools 1,116, officers and teachers 11,115, scholars 96,908, young people's societies 654 with 28,092 members, mission stations 207, and total contributions $1,400,090, of which $563,020 were for ministers' salaries, $437,550 for congregational purposes, $290,826 for the various Boards of the Church, and $108,694 for miscellaneous expenses. The Board of Missions to the Freedmen reported 7 stations, 5 congregations, 9 Sunday- schools, 2,678 scholars, 6 ordained ministers, 48 missionaries of whom 10 were colored, Sunday-school enrollment 2,810, and communicants 418. The Board of Foreign Missions had under its charge 82 missionaries of all classes in Egypt and India, 580 native workers of all grades, 41 churches, 10,641 communicants, 264 day-schools with 12,068 pupils, and 238 Sunday-schools with 6,766 scholars, and received $37,197 in contributions from the two missions. III. THE PRESBYTERIAH CHURCHES IN THE UHITED STATES. THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. E Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States JL derives her origin from the old Reformation Church of Scotland. In that country the revival of evangelical religion may be said to have assumed practical shape in 1559, when, under the preaching of John Knox, the people were brought to regard the Church of Rome with such hostility that the Queen Regent avowed her intention to suppress the Reformation with fire and sword. This pre- cipitated the crisis, and induced the Reformers to combine and arm themselves in self-defence. From this time forward the progress of the Reformation was rapid. In 1560 the authority of the Pope was renounced, the Bible was declared free to all, and a Confession of Faith and Book of Discipline, giving to the Clmrch a Presbyterian constitution, were adopted. In 1580 the Scottish Reformers entered into a solemn covenant, which was subscribed and sworn to by the king and people of all ranks. This was called the "National Covenant." In subscribing to it the covenanters solemnly bound themselves to adhere to and defend the true religion, as expressed in the Confession of Faith, and to forbear from the practice of the innovations 29 (449) 450 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. recently introduced, which, in their belief, were " contrary to the W ord of God and tending to the re-establishment of the Popish religion." Thus arose the Reformed Presby- terian Church. The union of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603 resulted in a hierarchy which was deemed dangerous in the last degree to the Presbyterian interests. This united in still closer bonds the friends of ecclesiastical liberty. When King James VI. on the death of Queen Elizabeth of England, became monarch of that kingdom also, he laid aside his Presbyterian principles and became one of the strongest asserters of arbitrary power. He held that the king is the Head of the Church, and " that a Presbytery was fit only for a nation of republicans." In 1617 James endeavored to impose on the Church of Scotland the whole system of ceremonies observed in the English Church, but upon the first attempt to introduce them, so unmistakable were the murmurings of the people that the bishops took the alarm and laid them aside. The English liturgy was, however, read every day in the Royal Chapel, and for the first time since the Reformation the sound of instrumental music was heard there. In 1618 an assembly held in Perth passed certain acts for the introduc- tion to Scotland of some English ceremonies. These were, kneeling at sacrament ; the private administration of bap- tism ; private communicating ; the observance of holidays ; and confirmation. They are known as the " Five Articles of Perth " ; they were ratified by Parliament and became the law of the land. Their rigorous enforcement followed, which resulted in the banishment of many ministers emi- nent for piety, learning, and eloquence. In 1633 King Charles imposed upon Scotland a " Service Book." This was the signal for a most determined resist- ance to the innovations from all parts of Scotland, and the result was the great moral revolution of 1638. In this year, while Charles I. and Parliament were contending, the Prot- estants of Scotland entered into a solemn league and covenant with the English Parliament, by which the independence THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 451 of the Presbyterian churches was confirmed. It was at this time that the Scottish Presbyterians began to be styled "Covenanters." At the accession of William and Mary in 1689, Episco- pacy was established in England and Ireland, and Presby- terianism in Scotland. This retained the very obnoxious feature against which the Covenanters had so long struggled royal supremacy over the Church and a portion of them dissented from it, urging, 1st, that the Solemn League and Covenant, which they considered the constitution of the empire, was entirely disregarded in its arrangements ; and, 2d, that the civil rulers usurped an authority over the church which virtually destroyed her spiritual independ- ence, and was at variance with the sole headship of the Redeemer. For more than sixteen years the Covenanters remained without a ministry, organizing themselves into praying so- cieties and meeting statedly for religious worship. In 1706 the Rev. John MacMillan left the Established Church and joined them. The Rev. Mr. Nairne followed, from the Se- cession Church in 1743, and these two, with ruling elders, constituted the "Reformed Presbytery." Through this body the Reformed Presbyterians in America received their ministry. From the early part of the eighteenth century the per- secutions at home had gradually driven a number of Cove- nanters and their families to America. In 1743 the Rev. Mr. Craighead collected the Covenanters of Pennsylvania together and induced them to bind themselves to abide by and maintain their principles. In 1752 the Rev. Mr. Cuth- bertson arrived in America from the Reformed Presbytery of Scotland, and being joined by Messrs. Lind and Dobbin, from the Reformed Presbytery of Ireland, in 1774 a presby- tery was constituted and the Church took her stand as a distinct visible community in the North American Colonies. Her growth was slow until 1782, which year was signalized by the union of the presbyteries of the Associate and Re- formed Churches, which gave origin to the " Associate Re- 452 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. formed Church in the United States." A portion of the Associate Church and one of her ministers, however, did not approve of the union, and a large number of the people of the Reformed Presbyterian Church were also opposed to it. Neither of these bodies would enter into it when consummated, and thus both, though diminished in num- bers, retained their distinctive organizations. Hence, in- stead of the consolidation of two bodies into one, there re- sulted but the addition of a new body to the original number. Within ten years from this time four ministers emigrated from Europe to aid in maintaining the Reformed Presby- terian cause. They were the Revs. Reid, McGarragh, King, and McKinney. In 1798 the Rev. Messrs. McKinney and Gibson, with ruling elders, proceeded to constitute the "Reformed Presbytery of the United States of North America." Thus the Church took her stand on American ground. Some Reformed Presbyterians have, from time to time, entertained the opinion that the Constitution and gov- ernment of the United States are essentially infidel and im- moral, and that, therefore, they should be dissenters from both, and principally on the ground of maintaining this opinion a number of ministers with adherents, in 1833, with- drew from the General Synod, and up to the present time the two bodies have maintained a separate existence, each claiming to be the original church. The seceding party of 1833 assumed the name of the "Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church," while the other body retains the name which the Church had before the division, viz. : " The General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church." The doctrinal principles of the Church are thoroughly Calvinistic. Their leading doctrines and order of worship are substantially the same as those of the Presbyterian Church proper, except in the following respects : 1. That in singing God's praise the Psalms are to be used in social worship, to the exclusion of all imitations and un- inspired compositions. 2. Sacramental communion is not to be extended to those THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 453 who do not approve the principles of this particular church or submit themselves to her authority. Not that she designs by this to unchurch any other denomination, but she does not feel at liberty to allow every man to be the judge of his own qualification for sealing ordinances. The following statistics will show the condition of the two branches respectively as reported by the census of 1890 : Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod. Number of presbyteries 5, organizations 33, church edifices 33, com- municants 4,602, and value of church property $469,000. The presbyteries were the Northern, the Ohio, the Phila- delphia, the Pittsburg, and the Western, of which the Phila- delphia was the strongest in membership, 2,103; the West- ern the strongest in organizations, 11. This branch was represented in the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Vermont. Reformed Presbyterian Church, Synod. Number of pres- byteries 11, organizations 115, church edifices 115, com- municants 10,574, and value of church property $1,071,400. This branch was represented in the States of Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. It was strongest in number of organiza- tions, 33, and members, 3,272, in Pennsylvania, with New York ranking second and Iowa third. THE CUMBEELAND PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH. Near the close of the last century a great revival of re- ligion was developed among the Presbyterians of Kentucky. The first indications of it appeared in May, 1797, in the Gaspar River congregation, under the ministry of the Rev. James McGready. In September, 1798, the congregations of Red River and Muddy River were stirred up to unusual religious ardor. By 1800 the revival had extended itself into what was then called the Cumberland country. Meet- ings were held in the open air ; and multitudes flocked to- gether from the distance of fifty and even in some instances a hundred miles. This is said to have been the origin of camp-meetings. As the number of converts was great, and 454 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. religion was extended into destitute and neglected regions, a strong necessity was felt for a more rapid multiplication of Christian ministers. At this juncture the venerable Rev. David Rice, the oldest Presbyterian minister in Kentucky, suggested that a number of men, of pronounced piety, should be selected from the churches, and encouraged to prepare themselves for the work of the ministry, although they might not have and might not be able to obtain, that amount of education re- quired by the Book of Discipline. As it was believed that the circumstances called for extraordinary means, the sug- gestion was adopted. Three men, Alexander Anderson, Finis Ewing, and Samuel King, were accordingly selected. They prepared written discourses, and presented themselves before the Transylvania Presbytery in the fall of 1801. In the Presbytery the measure was strongly opposed. The three men were obliged to read their discourses privately to Mr. Rice, who reported favorably upon them. Still the Presbytery wanted further evidences of their fitness, and required further discourses to be submitted at the next ses- sion. The men again presented themselves, and after an ex- amination, Mr. Anderson was received as a candidate for the ministry ; the others were rejected, but were authorized to catechise and exhort. In the fall, however, of 1802, they were all licensed as probationers for the ministry, having adopted the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church, with the exception of the idea of fatality, which appeared to them to be taught by the doctrines of election and repro- bation. In 1804 the Synod of Kentucky, in reviewing the book of records of the Cumberland Presbytery, took notice of their having introduced men into the sacred office who had not acquired a regular education, and who were understood to have taken exceptions to the doctrinal standards of the church. This led to the appointment of a commission, with full powers to act in the place of the Synod, both in holding a friendly conference with the Presbytery, and in judicially terminating the case. THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 455 The commission demanded that all those persons who had been ordained or licensed without an examination on all the branches of learning and doctrine required in the Confession of Faith, should appear before themselves, and submit to a full and regular examination. To this demand the Presby- tery declined to submit. The commission then passed a resolution that those who had been thus licensed or ordained without a full examina- tion should be prohibited from the exercise of official func- tions, until such times as they should submit themselves to their jurisdiction. The members of the Presbytery continued to exercise their ministry, but not without making various efforts during a period of five years to obtain through the General Assembly a "redress of grievances." Having failed in all these en- deavors, the Rev. Messrs. Ewing, King, and McAdam, in 1810, declared themselves independent, and constituted the Cumberland Presbytery, which was the germ of the present Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In their constitution the following statement is made as defining their position : We, Samuel McAdam, Finis Ewing, and Samuel King, regularly ordained ministers of the Presbyterian Church, against whom no charge either of immorality or heresy has ever been exhibited before any judica- ture of the church, having waited hi vain more than four years, in the meantime petitioning the General Assembly for a redress of grievances, and a restoration of our violated rights, have and do hereby agree and determine to constitute ourselves into a presbytery, known by the name of the Cumberland Presbytery, on the following conditions : All candidates for the ministry, who may hereafter be licensed by this presbytery, and all the licentiates or probationers who may here- after be ordained by this presbytery, shall be required, before such licen- sure and ordination, to receive and accept the Confession of Faith and Discipline of the Presbyterian Church, except the idea of fatality that seoms to be taught under the mysterious doctrine of predestination. It is to be understood, however, that such as can clearly receive the Con- fession of Faith without an exception, will not be required to make any. Moreover, all licentiates, before they are set apart to the whole work of the ministry, or ordained, shall be required to undergo an examination hi English Grammar, Geography, Astronomy, Natural and Moral Phi- losophy, and Church History. It will not be understood that examina- 456 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. tions in Experimental Religion and Theology will be omitted. The presbytery may also require an examination on any part, or all, of the above branches of knowledge before licensure, if they deem it expedient. So rapid was their growth, that three years after, in 1813, they became three presbyteries, and constituted a synod. In this year a committee was appointed to prepare a Confession of Faith, Catechism, and Form of Church Government, in conformity with the avowed principles of the body. The Confession of Faith and Catechism are a modification of the Westminster Confession, and contain substantially the fol- lowing doctrines : that the Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice ; that God is an infinite, eternal, and unchangeable spirit, existing mysteriously in three per- sons, the three being equal in power and glory ; that God is the Creator and Preserver of all things ; that the decrees of God extend only to what is for his glory ; that he has not decreed the existence of sin, because it is neither for his glory nor the good of his creatures ; that man was created upright, in the image of God, but that by the transgression of the federal head, he has become totally depraved, so much so that he can do no good thing without the aid of divine grace ; that Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man ; that he is both God and man in one person ; that he obeyed the law perfectly, and died on the cross to make satisfaction for sin ; that, in the expressive language of the apostle, he tasted death for every man ; that the Holy Spirit is the efficient agent in our conviction, regeneration, and sanctification ; that repentance and faith are necessary in order to acceptance, and that both are inseparable from a change of heart ; that justification is by faith alone ; that sanctification is a progressive work, and not completed till death ; that those who believe in Christ, and are regenerated by his Spirit, will never fall away and be lost ; that there will be a general resurrection and judgment, and that the right- eous will be received to everlasting happiness, and the wicked consigned to everlasting misery. Cumberland Presbyterians baptize the children of believ- ing parents, and adult persons who have not been baptized STATISTICS. 457 in infancy, upon a credible profession of religion. They ad- minister baptism by affusion, and sometimes, when the sub- ject has conscientious preferences, by immersion. At the session of the synod in 1828, three new synods were erected, and measures were taken for the organization of a General Assembly. The first meeting of the General Assembly occur- red at Princeton, Ky., in 1829. The official reports for the year 1892 showed : Presbyteries 124, congregations 2,916, ordained ministers 1,670, commu- nicants 171,609, and total contributions $794,576, of which $9,428 were for church erection, $9,868 for ministerial relief, $10,525 for ministerial education, $22,499 for home missions, and $20,431 for foreign missions. A colored branch of the Church was organized in Mur- freesborough, Tenn., in 1869 ; its first presbytery was formed in 1870 ; its first synod in 1871 ; and its general assembly in 1874. In 1890 it had 23 presbyteries, 238 congregations, 13,439 communicants, 192 church edifices, and church prop- erty valued at $202,961. THE ORIGIN OF METHODISM. E word " Methodist," applied descriptively to one of JL the largest and most influential denominations of Prot- estantism, was a derisive appellation that was used against John and Charles Wesley when they were sowing the seeds of the great church of to-day. The Methodici were physi- cians in ancient Eome, and the allusion of scoffers at the Wesleys' work to that very old word was occasioned by the doctrines they taught and personally practiced, of, among others, visiting the poor and sick. The history of the inception and subsequent growth of Methodism forms one of the most entertaining narratives in the whole range of ecclesiastical records. The achievements of the Wesley brothers and their immediate followers are now known and honored "to the uttermost parts of the earth." The Wesley brothers sprang from a family of strong re- ligious convictions, which gave to the world several clergy- men distinguished in their day. John was born at Epworth, Eng., June 17 (0. S.), 1703. He entered Christchurch, Ox- ford, when seventeen years old, and was ordained in 1725. Soon after his ordination he went to officiate as curate to his father at Wroote, where he remained two years. During (458) THE ORIGIN OF METHODISM. 459 this brief residence he received priest's orders. Towards the close of 1728 he was summoned back to college, in accordance with a regulation that such of the junior fellows as might be chosen moderator, should perform the duties of their office in person. There he found his younger brother, Charles (born in 1708), then an undergraduate of Christchurch, one of a small association of students already distinguished in the university by the sarcastic appellations of the Holy Club, the Godly Club, the Bible Moths, the Bible Bigots, the Sacra- mentarians, and the Methodists. At first their religious en- thusiasm only carried them the length of devoting Sunday evenings to the reading of divinity, the other nights being given to secular study. Very soon, however, religion became the sole business of their meetings. They communicated once and fasted twice a week ; they employed much of their time in visiting the prisons and the sick ; gave away whatever they could spare in charity ; observed among themselves a regular system of prayer, meditation, and self-examination, and, in a word, exhibited in all things a zeal and abstraction from the world such as has scarcely been surpassed by the most rigid order of religious devotees. John Wesley immediately joined this gathering, which now (1729) consisted of about fifteen individuals, of whom the most remarkable, besides the Wesley brothers, were Mr. Morgan, a commoner of Christchurch; James Hervey, author of the well-known "Meditations," and George Whitefield, who became the celebrated revivalist. In the spring of 1735, Mr. John Wesley was called to attend his dying father, who desired him to present to Queen Caroline a book he had just finished. Soon after his return to Ox- ford, he went to London on this account, where he was strongly solicited by Dr. Burton, one of the trustees for the new colony at Georgia, to go there to preach to the Indians. At first he peremptorily refused. He particularly men- tioned the grief it would occasion to his widowed mother. The case being referred to her, she is said to have made this reply : " Had I twenty sons, I should rejoice that they were all so employed, though I should never see them more." 460 THE METHODIST CHURCH. His way appeared now plain, and he made arrangements for this enterprise. On Tuesday, October 14, 1735, he set off from London for Gravesend, accompanied by Mr. Ing- ham, Mr. Delamotte, and his brother Charles, who had taken holy orders, to embark for Georgia. There was a little com- pany of Germans on board, members of the Moravian Church, with whose Christian deportment Mr. Wesley was much struck, and he immediately set himself to learn the German language, in order to converse with them. The piety and devotion which Mr. Wesley and his com- panions manifested during the voyage indicated a becoming impression of the importance of their undertaking. Charles returned to England with despatches from Governor Ogle- thorpe early in 1737, and John remained until the close of that year. His work was taken up by his valued friend, Mr. George Whitefield, who arrived at Savannah on May 7, 1738, and was received by Mr. Delamotte and many of Mr. Wesley's hearers. It may be proper to notice the success which attended Mr. Whitefield's labors in this quarter of the globe. He returned to England at the close of the same year to receive priest's orders. On his return to America in 1739, he landed at Philadelphia, and immediately began his spiritual labors, which he continued as he passed through the colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and North and South Carolina, being attended by considerable audiences. Upon his arrival at Savannah, he found the colony almost deserted, which moved him to carry into effect his scheme of building an orphan-house, which he had the happiness to see com- pleted through his exertions, and the liberal donations of his friends. Upon his third visit to the western continent, he took a voyage to the Bermuda Islands, where his minis- try was successfully attended, and some contributions made for his orphan-house at Savannah. Upon his sixth voyage to Georgia, he received the thanks of the governor and prin- cipal people for the advantage which the colony had derived from his benevolent exertions. In 1769 he made his seventh and last voyage to America ; but although his labors were so extensive, he formed no separate congregation. EARLY BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH. 461 In the meantime John Wesley, soon after his arrival in London, hastened to renew Ms connection with the Mora- vians. In the summer of 1738 he visited these brethren at their original seat of Herrnhut, Germany. He remained, in belief, with this sect until July, 1740, when he separated himself from them on account of differences on some funda- mental points of doctrine. The first separate meeting-house for the Methodists was begun to be built in the Horse Fair, near St. James' Church, Bristol, May 12, 1739. Upon his withdrawal from the Mora- vians and return to London, John Wesley devoted himself to preaching, traveling, writing books, and laboring in all other possible ways for the consolidation and extension of the new church. Mr. Whitefield died Sept. 30, 1770, at Newburyport, near Boston, worn out by his extraordinary exertions. Charles Wesley died in London, March 29, 1788, while the life of his brother John was prolonged to his eighty-seventh year, and when he died, in March, 1791, he had been sixty-five years in the ministry, and fifty-two years an itinerant preacher. He lived to see in Great Britain and Ireland about 300 itin- erant preachers, and 1,000 of what are called local preachers, raised up from the midst of his own people, and 80,000 per- sons in the societies under his care. Whitefield is regarded in England as the founder of the Calvinistic section of Methodists. Of this sect the original chapels have become, not adopting any connectional bond, Independents ; but from it arose two separate sects, the Countess of Huntingdon's connection, and the Welsh Cal- vinistic Methodists. EARLY BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH. In 1793 great dissensions sprang up among the Methodists in England about the sacraments, as to whether they should or should not be administered by the ministers, in the chapels to the members of the society who required them, as a part of Christianity. These led to secessions in Bristol and elsewhere. In 1795 many influential societies chose 462 THE METHODIST CHURCH. delegates, and sent them to the Conference then held at Manchester, for the purpose of claiming some share in the government of Methodism. This led to concessions that may be found in the Plan of Pacification. These conces- sions, however, did not satisfy all. The dissenters formed themselves into a body under the leadership of the Rev. Alexander Kilham, and, withdrawing from the church, estab- lished the " NEW CONNEXION," in 1797. By the year 1853 this body had 301 chapels, 95 circuits, 814 local preachers, and 16,070 members ; while at the close of 1860 they reported 473 chapels, including those in Ireland and Canada, 189 preachers, 1,204 local preachers, 29,331 members, and 60,753 Sunday-school scholars. Thirty years later these figures had been increased as follows: 514 chapels, 472 societies, 188 circuit preachers, 1,271 local preachers, 29,299 members, and 92,703 Sunday-school scholars. THE BIBLE CHRISTIAN METHODISTS were consolidated into a denomination by Mr. O'Bryan, of the North Cornwall dis- trict. They were not seceders from the Wesleyan stock, but an independent sect that gradually adopted the Wesleyan tenets. In 1852 they had 403 chapels, 113 itinerant preachers, 1,059 local preachers, and 13,862 members. THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS originated in Staffordshire. Their first camp-meeting was held May 31, 1807. . It com- menced at six o'clock in the morning, and continued till eight in the evening. These camp-meetings being disap- proved of by the old connection, a separation took place, when H. and J. Bourne enlarged their views, and the cause spread in every direction. Societies were established at Boylstone, Todely, and Hallington in Derbyshire. A general meeting was held at Tunstall, February 13, 1812, and a preparatory meeting at Nottingham, August 18, 1819, when arrangements were made for annual meetings. Quarterly meetings were held in March, June, September, and December, under which " the work mightily enlarged. " Missionary exertions, which had been declining, were revived at Belper "very power- fully," while " the praying people, in returning home, were accustomed to sing through the streets of Belper ! " EARLY BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH. 463 It is said, that this circumstance procured them the name of Ranters, and the name of Ranter, which first arose on this occasion, afterwards spread very extensively. The work then spread to Derby and Nottingham, whence circuits were established, one circuit having been hitherto sufficient for the connection. The camp-meetings also had declined, but were thus revived. In June, 1860, the Primitive Methodists in England had 2,267 chapels, 3,268 rented chapels and schools, 675 travel- ing preachers, 132,114 members in society, and 167,533 Sun- day-school scholars. In 1883 they reported 1,147 traveling preachers, 15,982 local preachers, 10,994 elders, 4,437 chapels, 1,812 other preaching places, 4,184 Sunday-schools, 400,597 scholars, and 196,480 members. In 1829 dissensions in Leeds gave birth to the PROTEST- ANT METHODISTS, who declared that the Wesleyans had violated their own laws by the erection ol an organ in one of their own chapels in that town, contrary to the decision of a leaders' meeting. In 1835 the establishment of the Theological Institution, the expulsion of Dr. Samuel Warren, and differences on the rights of leaders' meetings, gave existence to the ASSOCIA- TION METHODISTS. This denomination was so prospered that within a period of seventeen years it had secured 329 chapels and 171 rooms and other places for preaching, 90 itinerant ministers, 1,016 local preachers, 1,353 class leaders, and 19,411 members. In 1850 the WESLEYAN REFORMERS were organized, in consequence of the expulsion, by the Conference, of certain ministers accused of anonymous writings against the powers claimed by the Conference. At a conference of delegates in the month of March, resolutions were adopted declaring that they approved of and adhered to the doctrines of John Wesley : and that they denied the right on any just or Scrip- tural ground of the Conference to assume to be the sole legislative body. They also resolved that leaders and office- bearers should be chosen by the church; that admission into and expulsion from the church, and all disciplinary 464 THE METHODIST CHURCH. acts, should be determined by a leaders' meeting, subject to an appeal to the quarterly meeting; that the quarterly meeting should consist of the traveling preachers of the dis- trict and an equal number of lay representatives, to be chosen at the March quarterly meetings ; and that the Con- nectional Committees should consist equally of preachers and lay members of the society. It was estimated that this secession drew off 100,000 members from the parent stock. Subsequently, a large num- ber of the Reformers having joined the Wesleyan Associa- tion in forming the UNITED METHODIST FREE CHURCH, the Reform Union numbered about 60,000 members, with up- wards of 3,000 places of worship, 3,000 preachers, and 500 class leaders. In 1883 the Wesleyan Reform Union had 216 chapels and preaching places, 457 preachers, 480 elders, 7,950 members, 187 Sunday-schools, with 3,140 teachers and 19,715 scholars. At the third annual meeting of the United Methodist Free Church in 1859, there were reported 825 chapels, 422 preaching places, 163 itinerant preachers, 2,522 local preachers, 2,095 leaders, 50,133 members, and 97,961 Sunday-school scholars ; while in 1884 they had 1,350 chapels and 184 other preaching rooms, 373 itinerant preachers, 3,330 local preachers, 4,068 leaders, 75,841 members, 1,350 Sunday-schools, with 26,631 teachers and 196,509 scholars. A summary of English Wesleyans throughout the world, excluding the United States, in 1894, showed 7,440 ministers and 1,315,871 members, of whom 1,819 ministers and 239,557 members belonged to the churches in Canada. 1. HETHODIST CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES. THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF AMERICA. IN the preceding chapter a description has been given of the origin of the Methodist Societies in England under the Wesley brothers, and of the first attempts to introduce their peculiar doctrines into the United States. In 1758 John Wesley visited the county of Limerick, Ireland, where he found a singular community, settled in several villages, that were not native Irish, but of German descent ; and being for nearly half a century without pastors who could speak their own language, had become greatly demoralized and noted for an utter neglect of religion. The Methodist itinerants penetrated to their homes and preached to them the Word of God. Many were converted, and the entire community were now a reformed and devout people. These German- Irish were called " Palatines," from the fact that they had been driven from the Palatinate on the Rhine, by the Papal troops of Louis XIV. They found refuge under the kindly government of Queen Anne. In the spring of 1760 a com- pany of these Palatines sailed from Limerick to Amer- ica, A large company gathered on the quay to say fare- well lor the last time. One of their number, a young man HtL thoughtful look and resolute bearing, was evidently the 30 (465) 466 THE METHODIST CHURCH. leader of the party. He was their spiritual adviser and helper, and had often preached to them the Word of Life ; many had been converted under his preaching, and then, surrounded by his spiritual children, he once more broke to them the bread of life. His name was Philip Embury. The company landed at New York, August 10, 1760, and were scattered abroad. It is not known that any meetings were held by them until in 1766 they were joined by other relatives and fellow-countrymen, and although the religious life of many had declined, Embury, at the earnest solicita- tion of his cousin, Mrs. Barbara Heck, called them to worship in his own house, on Barrack Street, now Park Place, where, after a stirring sermon, a class was organized. They con- tinued to meet weekly thereafter, and in a short time Em- bury's house could not accommodate all the hearers, and he hired a large room in the neighborhood, providing for the rent by gratuitous contributions, and preaching to them regularly on the Sabbath. In the year following they were visited by Captain Thomas Webb, a quartermaster in the British army, stationed in Albany, N. Y., who had been licensed by Wesley as a local preacher. In 1767 a rigging-loft, sixty by eighteen, on William Street, was rented, where Webb and Embury preached twice a week to crowded assemblies. It could not contain half the people who desired to hear the Word of the Lord and to join in the services of his devout com- pany. In 1768 the first effort was made to build a church. A site was selected and leased on John Street, and purchased two years later, and a stone building, faced with blue plas- ter, sixty feet by forty-two, was erected. Embury was chief architect, and also worked on its walls with other voluntary or paid workmen. On the 30th of October, 1768, he ascended its pulpit, and dedicated the building by the name of " Wes- ley Chapel," preaching a sermon on the occasion from Hosea x. 12 : " Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain righteousness upon you." METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN AMERICA. 467 Thus did Embury establish the first Methodist church in the New World, being its first preacher, first class leader, first treasurer, and first trustee of the first society organized. Captain Webb made frequent excursions to other parts of the country, preached, and formed classes in Philadelphia, Wilmington, and New Castle, and extended his labors as far as Baltimore. While these two local preachers were laying the founda- tions of a great work in New York and elsewhere, Robert Strawbridge, another Methodist Irish emigrant, had arrived in the country and settled on Sam's Creek, in Frederick County, Maryland. As an evangelist he preached through all that neighborhood, and formed a Methodist Society, and not long after built a log meeting-house on Sam's Creek, and also founded societies in Baltimore and Harford Counties. The first chapel in the county was built near Baltimore, and here Richard Owen was converted, who, after laboring as a local preacher for some years, entered the itinerant rank and died in it, being the first native Methodist preacher in this country. Joined by Sater Stephenson, Nathan Perigo, Rich- ard Webster, and others, they carried Methodism into the heart of Pennsylvania, aroused the population of the eastern shore of Maryland, thence passed to Georgetown and Alex- andria, on the Potomac, through Fairfax County, Virginia, and winning great victories through Delaware and Mary- land, and the entire peninsula. In 1769 Robert Williams, one of Wesley's preachers, came to America and gave him- self up wholly to the work of an evangelist, and labored with great success in Petersburg, Norfolk, and through Eastern Virginia and North Carolina. John King, a local preacher, came from England in the same year and began his labors in Philadelphia, and extended them through Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey. On August 3, 1769, John Wesley announced in the Con- ference in England the cry that came from America for help, and asked, " Who is willing to go ? " Richard Board- man and Joseph Pillmore responded to the call, and were set apart and returned on the Conference Journal as Mis- 468 THE METHODIST CHURCH. sionaries to America. They arrived in Philadelphia in 1769, and were warmly welcomed by Rev. George Whitefield, who was then laboring in that city. They set themselves at once to systematize the work, and in 1770 " America " appears for the first time on Wesley's printed minutes, with four preach- ers, Boardman, Pillmore, Williams, and King ; and the fol- lowing year recorded 316 church members. In 1771 two other regular preachers were sent over by the Conference, Francis Asbury and Richard Wright. The former, then a young man of twenty-six, was destined to be the most influ- ential and successful of laborers and the most historical of its preachers. Other ministers arrived in 1772, and on July 14, 1773, the first American Methodist Conference was held at Philadel- phia, consisting of ten preachers, with a church membership of 1,160. All the preachers agreed to labor under the author- ity of Mr. Wesley, and to abide by his doctrine and disci- pline, and not to administer the sacraments. The Second Annual Conference met again in Philadelphia, May 25, 1774, Thomas Rankin presiding, with 17 preachers and 2,073 members. In the succeeding ten years the Societies were very much distracted by the political excitements growing out of our Revolutionary contest. The Societies were still identified with the Wesleyans of England, and many of the preachers had left the country. In 1776 all had returned to England except Mr. Asbury, who found retirement at the home of Judge White, of Delaware. In 1779 the Seventh Annual Conference assembled in Vir- ginia. The ordinance question again came up. A former Conference had passed a resolution by which they had agreed to " exhort the people to attend the established church and receive the ordinances there only. " This was very obnoxious to the people ; the ministers not being ordained could not administer the sacraments ; hence in many places they were destitute of the Lord's Supper, and their children were grow- ing up without baptism. After much discussion a committee of four of the oldest .preachers were appointed to ordain min- METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN AMERICA. 469 isters. They first ordained each other, and then some of the other members of the Conference. Those thus ordained ad- ministered the ordinances during the year. The question continued to agitate the Conferences until th^ close of the war, when a special Conference was called by Mr. Wesley to take measures to adapt this religious society TO the new con- dition of affairs. Up to this time Mr. Wesley had enjoined at home and in the Colonies the necessity of loyalty to the Church of Eng- land. No sacraments were received or administered by them outside of the churches of the establishment. All the Meth- odist preachers except the Wesleys and a few other clergy- men were unordained lay preachers. Episcopal churches are still standing in New York and elsewhere in which Embury, Pilhnore, Boardman, Rankin, and Asbury received the sacra- ment. Mr. Wesley now foresaw that an independent society was inevitable, and he at once set to work to give direction to the important movement that was now assuming definite shape in the new Republic. The preachers were clamorous for ordination, and satisfying himself that a Presbyter and a Bishop were one and the same order in the Church of Christ, Mr. Wesley assumed the office of Bishop, and, assist- ed by other Presbyters of the Church of England, he set apart and ordained Rev. Thomas Coke, LL.D., already a Presbyter of the Church of England, as " General Superin- tendent " of the American Societies. He arrived in America November 3, 1784, and summoned all the preachers to meet him at Baltimore on December 25th. On that day sixty preachers assembled in a special, though not a regular General Conference. "After some delibera- tion," says Mr. Asbury, " it was agreed to form ourselves into an Episcopal Church." Rev. Richard Whatcoat, after- wards Bishop, says, " We agreed to form a Methodist Epis- copal Church. " Here the " Methodist Episcopal Church of America " was launched forth as a separate and distinct church, with Super- intendents, Elders, and Deacons. Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury were chosen Superintendents ; 470 THE METHODIST CHURCH. the former being already in orders, proceeded to ordain Francis Asbury. On Saturday he was ordained Deacon, on Sunday Elder, and on Monday was set apart as General Superintendent. Three Deacons and twelve Elders were also ordained. Articles of religion were adopted, and a gen- eral system of government established. The work was di- vided into three Conferences, and the following year, 1785, the Bishops met them, transacted the usual Conference busi- ness, and stationed the preachers. THE AETICLES OF EELIGIOH". Its doctrines are embraced in twenty-five "Articles of Religion " declaring : 1st. Faith in the Holy Trinity. 2d. That the Word or Son of God was made very man, possessing two whole or perfect natures whereof is one Christ very God and very man. 3d. A belief in the resurrection of Christ. 4th. The Divinity of the Holy Ghost. 5th. The sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures, as containing all things necessary to salvation. 6th. Obedience to the commandments of the Old Testament to be re- quired. 7th. A belief in original sin as attaching to the nature of every man. 8th. A belief in the free moral agency of man. 9th. A belief in the doctrine of justification through faith in Christ. 1 Oth. Good works to be pleasing and acceptable to God, though not a ground of justification. llth. The utter absence of power to perform works of supererogation. 12th. The possibility of sin after justification. 13th. The true Church of Christ is declared to be a congregation of faithful men in which the pure word of God is preached and the sacra- ments duly administered. 14th. Declares purgatory, worshipping and adoration of images and saints as repugnant to the Word of God. 15th. Requires all speaking ha the congregations to be in such tongue as the people understand. 16th. Declares the sacraments to be signs of grace, and recognizes two only as Divinely established. 17th. Declares Baptism to be a sign of regeneration as well as of pro- fession of faith. GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. 47] 18th. The Lord's Supper a sacrament of our redemption by Christ disclaims all proof of transubstantiation. 19th. Both the wine and the bread should be received by the laity. 20th. The perfect oblation of Christ, finished upon the cross. 2 1st. Declares it lawful for ministers to marry at their discretion. 22d. Allows of freedom hi its rites and ceremonies. 23d. Requires respect for rulers of the United States and allegiance to all their authority and laws. 24th. The riches and goods of Christian men are not common prop- erty; requires liberality in alms-giving. 25th. Allows of judicial oath-taking. GOVERNMENT OF THE CHUECH. The only canon law of the church is found in the " General Rules " (the same as those adopted by Mr. Wesley). The legislative authority is in the General Conference, which is composed of ministerial and lay delegates from the annual conferences, and holds its sessions once in four years. The annual conferences are composed of all the traveling ordain- ed elders and deacons included in a district of country de- fined by the General Conference, and averaging about one hundred and twenty-five members each. They are presided over by one of the bishops, who, with the advice of the pre- siding elders, meet in private council, arrange the work for all the preachers, the appointments being made every year, and no pastor may return to the same charge more than three years in six. The Conference passes every preacher's char- acter under careful examination, and if complaints are made against any, a court of investigation or trial is appointed, who may suspend or expel him if found guilty of moral wrong. Reports are received from the several denomina tional interests, and action taken in reference thereto. Min- isters who have traveled two years, and who pass a satisfac- tory examination before a committee, on general literary and theological qualifications, are admitted to membership in the Conference and ordained deacons, and such as have traveled four years and passed satisfactory examination are ordained elders Action is afeo had on many moral and religious questions. The territory of each annual conference is again 472 THE METHODIST CHURCH. subdivided into districts comprising several stations or circuits under the superintendence of a traveling preacher, denominated presiding elder. He holds a business meeting with each charge quarterly, the members of the quarterly conference being the traveling and local preachers, exhorters, class leaders, stewards, trustees, and Sunday-school superin- tendents. It is from this body that all recommendations of persons to preach must originate, so that the laity guard the door of approach to the annual conference, and none are ad- mitted until recommended by them. Class meetings are weekly social meetings for the relation of Christian experience, presided over by a layman appoint- ed by the preacher in charge, styled the class leader. It is usual to have from twelve to forty persons in each class, and any number of classes required in a church to accommodate all the members. In the class-meeting an hour or more is spent in the relation of Christian experience by the members, responded to by the leader in words of encouragement, re- proof, exhortation, or counsel, as the spiritual well-being of the individual may seem to require. Love feasts are held quarterly, in which all the members of a society unite ; bread and water are partaken of by all, as an evidence of their good- will and fellowship, after which the time allotted is spent in the relation of religious ex- perience, singing, and prayer. Members are received on probation for six months, are placed under the watchful care of class leaders, and at the expiration of the above period, if they still give satisfactory evidence of religious character and experience, are admitted into full membership. THE CENTENARY OF AMERICAN METHODISM. One of the most interesting events in the history of this denomination was the Centenary Celebration held in 1866. The General Conference of 1864 made careful provision for permanent results to the church from the occasion, and laid broad plans for great financial contributions. The LAY REPRESENTATION. 473 primary object of the celebration was the spiritual improve- ment of the membership, and a cultivation of a feeling of devout thankfulness by a careful review of the great things God had wrought through the church. The first Sunday in January was observed throughout the Church as a day of special and united prayer for the Divine blessing upon the centenary services of the year ; for a gen- eral revival of religion, and that the year might prove to be an epoch in the spiritual progress of the church. A me- morial sermon was preached before each annual Conference as their sessions occurred. The celebration proper began on the first Tuesday of October, and continued throughout the month. Immense meetings were held during the month of a general character in all the cities and towns of the country, at which addresses were made by leading ministers and laymen. One Sunday of the month was set apart as the children's day of jubilee, and was celebrated with great in- terest and grand results. Appropriate medals were dis- tributed to all contributors. The last Sunday of October was observed as a day of thanksgiving. The contributions of the church amounted to the munifi- cent sum of $8,032,755. LAY REPRESENTATION. The movement in favor of lay delegates being admitted to the legislative councils of the church excited great interest for many years. T \vice the General Conference expressed its willingness to legalize lay representation as soon as con- vinced that the membership of the church desired the change. This was in 1860 and 1864. In the latter year the question was submitted to a vote of the people, and was re- jected by a small majority, by far the larger number of the membership declining or neglecting to vote. This was thought to be very largely on account of the absorbing in- terest of our national affairs, and the hesitation of the peo- ple to interfere with any system of government that had, under God, been productive of such sublime results. The demand still continued from leading and influential minis- 474 THE METHODIST CHURCH. ters and laymen. Some of the regular church papers strongly urged the claim, while Bishop Simpson and other prominent ministers strongly urged the change. In 1868 the General Conference again voted in favor of submitting the question to a popular vote, and called upon the member- ship, both lay and clerical, to express their preference. The lay vote was taken in the month of June, 1869, all members, male and female, having the privilege of voting " for " or " against lay delegation." The election was held in each society, presided over by the pastor. The total vote cast was about 250,000, of which 170,000 were cast in favor of the change and about 80,000 against it. This was considered a large vote, and being above the required major- ity vote, was made an argument in urging all the ministry to vote in their several annual Conference sessions for the change. The clerical vote was taken in the fall of 1863 and spring of 1870, and resulted in giving the required three- fourths vote of approval, and the General Conference of 1872 was authorized to make the change. The General Confer- ence of 1872 gave an approving two-thirds vote, making the change complete, and lay delegates were admitted to the General Conference. THE PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. The statistical history of this church and its affiliations are both complete and impressive. A Conference in com- memoration of the centenary of the organization of Ameri- can Methodism, by the meeting of the first General Confer- ence of the M. E. Church, commonly called the " Christmas Conference," Dec. 25, 1784, was held in Baltimore, Md., be- ginning Nov. 10, 1884. The following comparative view of the strength of the Methodist Churches in 1784 and 1883 was presented : 1784. 1883. METHODISTS IN THE UNITED STATES. 83 Itinerant preachers, 25,839 .... Local preachers, 34,714 14,988 \ay members, THE PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 475 1784. METHODISTS IN CANADA. 1883. Itinerant preachers, 1,688 Local preachers, 1,979 Lay members, 171,903 TOTAL METHODISTS IN THE WORLD. 197 Itinerant preachers, 33,385 .... Local preachers, 77,935 49,219 Lay members, 5,064,564 Total Methodist population, 25,489,745 The official reports of the Methodist Episcopal Church, North, in 1894 showed : Number of bishops 18, ministers in full connection and on trial 16,444, local preachers 14,274, lay members and probationers 2,524,053, Sunday-schools 28,392, officers and teachers 326,050, scholars 2,411,525, churches 24,535, estimated value $104,754,208, and parson- ages 9,300, value $16,200,800. The total contributions for benevolent purposes were $2,152,528, for active ministerial support $10,298,915, for various church beneficiaries $263,648, for buildings and improvements $5,348,686, for old indebted- ness on church property $1,761,808, and for current expenses $3,641,917. The Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society had receipts of $363,763, and 1 theological seminary, 10 colleges, and 12 academies, with 229 teachers and 5,808 students, among colored people, and 3 colleges and 18 academies, with 110 teachers and 3,257 students, for white people. These institutions combined had property valued at $1,808,800. In the foreign mission field the Church had 543 American missionaries, 4,141 native helpers, 59,138 mem- bers, 31,652 probationers, 76,572 adherents, 13,090 pupils in day-schools, and 120,954 in Sunday-schools. In the domestic mission field there were 689 missionaries, 38,588 members, 7,005 probationers, and 44,409 pupils in Sunday-schools. The Ep worth League had 11,300 chapters and 750,000 members, and the Junior League had 2,000 chapters and 80,000 members. The bishops of the Church, on January 1, 1894, were: Thomas Bowman, Randolph S. Foster, Stephen M. Merrill, Edward Gr. Andrews, Henry W. Warren, Cyrus D. Foss, John F. Hurst, William X. Ninde, John M. Walden, Willard F. Mallalieu, Charles H. Fowler, William Taylor, John H. Vincent, James N. Fitzgerald, Isaac W. Joyce, John P. Newman, Daniel A. Good sell, and James M. Thoburn. II. flETHODIST CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES. THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUECH, SOUTH. THIS denomination sprang from the Methodist Episcopal Church and was organized in 1845. It is a well-known fact that the parent church had been greatly agitated almost from its inception in the United States by the question of slavery. The new church was the result of a carefully planned and conservatively executed separation : in nowise a secession, as many now suppose. At the General Confer- ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1844, the subject of the withdrawal of the members of the church in the slave- holding States was discussed with "painful interest." A separation being deemed inevitable, measures were adopted with a view to the organization of a distinct church in the most friendly manner possible. A convention of delegates was held in Louisville, Ky. , May 1, 1845. Acting under the provisions of the " Plan of Separation," they declared the jurisdiction thitherto exercised by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church over the conferences in the slave-holding States entirely dissolved, and erected the Annual Conference into a separate ecclesiastical connec- tion under the style and title of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The "Plan" was framed, considered, and (476) THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. 47? adopted in a friendly spirit, and contained ample provisions for a division of the property of each branch and the inde- pendence of each jurisdiction. The first General Conference was held in Petersburg, Va., May 1, 1846. Joshua Soule, senior Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Bishop Andrew, adhered to the new church, and were recognized in their episcopal character ; and William Capers, D.D., and Robert Paine, D.D., were elected and consecrated as their colleagues. A subsequent misun- derstanding, relative to the division of the property of the two branches, led to litigation, which was terminated by a decision of the United States Supreme Court, which recog- nized as valid the " Plan of Separation," and sustained the claim of the Southern branch. In this organization no change was made in the doctrine, polity, usages, or form of government peculiar to Methodism. On the dividing question the Southern branch held that " slavery, wherever established and protected by constitu- tional law, is a civil question with which ecclesiastical bodies have no authority to meddle, and that the true function of the church is to preach the gospel and administer the sacra- ments and discipline of Christ's religion alike to master and slave. " The Methodist Episcopal Church condemned slavery, proclaimed themselves in duty bound to do all in their power for the extirpation of what they regarded as a great evil. At first the bishops of the church, North, declined to exercise their functions in the South ; but during the civil war, and since, in obedience to instructions of their General Conference, they have organized annual conferences in all parts of the South. The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church held in Chicago in 1868 appointed fourteen commissioners to treat with a similar commission from any other Methodist church on the subject of union. The bishops who also con- stituted a part of the commission, in May, 1869, communi^ cated to the bishops of the church, South, the fact of the appointment of the commission, and urged the appointment 478 THE METHODIST CHURCH. of a similar one from that church. A further communica tion was made to the Southern Methodists, and presented to the General Conference of 1870. In reply the Southern Conference unanimously adopted resolutions appreciative of the spirit of the communications, but declaring " that if this distinguished commission were fully clothed with authority to treat with us for union, it is the judgment of the confer- ence that the true interests of the Church of Christ require and demand the maintenance of our separate distinct organ- izations." At the General Conference of the church, North, in 1872, ambassadors were appointed to bear fraternal greetings to the church, South, whose General Conference met in Louis- ville, in 1874. The ambassadors were most cordially received, and the church, South, reciprocated the courtesy by appoint- ing ambassadors to the church, North, for the General Con- ference of 1876, and directing them to adjust, if possible, any existing difficulties between the two connections. In 1892 the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, had 47 annual conferences, 5,368 traveling preachers, 1,305,715 mem- bers, 13,426 Sunday-schools, 13,426 officers and teachers, 754,223 scholars, 179 schools and colleges with 16,620 pupils, $1,538,000 in aggregate endowment, and $4,485,042 in value of property. Missions were maintained in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, and among the American Indians. The foreign field had 99 missionaries and their wives. The Woman's Board of Missions supported 9 missionaries in China, 12 in Mexico, and 8 in Brazil ; 3 teachers among wild Indian tribes ; 16 assistant missionaries and 7 native teachers in Mexico ; and 39 native missionaries and assistants and 2 Bible-women in China. In Mexico there were 935 women and children under the instruction of this Church ; in China, 689 children ; and in Brazil, 215 children. The Board also maintained a hospital at Foo-Chau, China. There were 524 Epworth Leagues connected with this branch of the Church. The bishops of the Church on January 1, 1894, were: THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH. 479 John C. Keener, Alpheus W. Wilson, John C. Granbery, Kobert K. Hargrove, E. R. Hendrix, C. B. Galloway, J. S. Key, Atticus G. Haygood, and O. P. Fitzgerald. The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America (quod tilde) sprang from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1870. THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH. This denomination had its origin in a controversy that arose in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was organ- ized in Baltimore, Md., in 1830. Among the various reasons alleged for the protestations of its founders was that the government of the church had been too exclusively clerical. They protested against the rule which secured to the itiner- ant ministers an unlimited exercise of the legislative, execu- tive, and judicial powers of the church, to the exclusion of all other classes of ministers and of the people. Members of several General Conferences had exhibited marked dis- satisfaction with some of the leading features of the church government, and a goodly number, although a vast minority, had struggled hard to effect changes that appeared to them not only important but vital. Various conventions were held to deliberate, and many ministers were expelled from the parent church for the simple act of participating in them. In November, 1827, a general convention, composed of ministers and lay delegates, elected by the State conven- tions, assembled in Baltimore. This convention, determin- ing to make a last effort, drew up a memorial to the General Conference of the church of 1828, in which it was claimed that the government of the church ought to be made repre- sentative, and more in accordance with the mutual rights of the ministers and the people. To this memorial the General Conference replied adversely. The reformers then withdrew in considerable numbers, and called another general conven- tion, to be held in Baltimore, Nov. 12, 1828. This convention drew up seventeen Articles of Associa- tion to serve as a basis for the provisional government for 480 THE METHODIST CHURCH. the Associated Methodist Churches. A subsequent conven- tion which was held in Baltimore in November, 1830, adopted a Constitution and Discipline, and the Methodist Protestant Church was launched as an independent denom- ination. The Rev. Francis Waters, D.D., was elected president. The office of bishop was not recognized, and the presidents of the General Conferences were to be chosen by ballot. The basis on which the government was founded embraced two very important particulars : First, " The Lord Jesus Christ is the only HEAD of the Church, and the word of God is the sufficient rule of faith and practice, in all things per- taining to godliness." Second, "A written constitution establishing the form of government, and securing to the ministers and members of the church their rights and privileges, on an equitable plan of representation, is essen- tial to, and the best safeguard of, Christian liberty." It will doubtless be remembered right here that the right of lay representation was not accorded by the Methodist Episcopal Church until 1868-1872. In 1858 most of the conferences of this church in the Free States became intensely anti-slavery, and demanded of the General Conference which met in Lynchburg, Va., in May, such legislation as should exclude slaveholders from the communion of the church. As the General Conference re- fused to comply with this demand, nineteen annual confer- ences sent delegates to a convention which met in Spring- field, Ohio, Nov. 10, 1858. This convention suspended all communication with the other portions of the church so long as they tolerated slaveholding. Subsequently this confer- ence seceded from the Methodist Protestant Church, and with a number of other non-episcopal Methodist bodies organized " The Methodist Church." The Methodist Protestant Church increased steadily and was soon in possession of a Board of Foreign and Domestic Missions, a theological seminary, several colleges, and a publishing department. In 1890 there were reported 2,529 congregations, 1,923 THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH. 481 churches, 575 halls used for religious purposes, 141,989 members, and church property valued at $3,683,337. The Church had the largest membership in Ohio, North Caro- lina, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, in the order named, and the largest value of church property in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, District of Columbia, Michigan, and West Virginia. In 1880 the General Conference adopted a proposition for holding a convention for the consideration of constitutional changes, upon the ratification of which by two-thirds of the Annual Conferences the General Conference of 1884 would be empowered to constitute itself such a convention. The necessary authority was voted, and the session of that year was of unusual interest. Among other subjects of legisla- tion committees were appointed to consider the advisability of a union with the Congregational Methodist Church, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The institutions of the church in 1894 were : the Adrian (Mich.) College ; the Western Maryland College ; the Yad- kin (North Carolina) College ; and the Gittings Seminary, at La Harpe, 111. The denomination was sustaining a mis- sion among the Choctaw Indians, and one in Japan. THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHUECH. Some of the most zealous preachers in the Methodist Epis- copal Church were early leaders in the anti-slavery cause. As they carried their convictions on this public question into their churches, a controversy among the preachers be- came inevitable. Like the founders of the Methodist Prot- estant Church, these worthy brethren also found a grievance in the government of the church. They, accordingly, took steps to organize a church that should be in more perfect accord with their convictions ; and in 1843, at a convention held in Utica, N. Y., the new church was duly formed, on a basis identical in theology and internal discipline with that of the elder body, but excluding the episcopacy and presiding elders, and providing lay representation. Oppo- sition to slavery, as well as to intemperance, was a leading feature of the new church. Its rules forbade the manufac- 482 THE METHODIST CHURCH. tore, sale, or use of intoxicants as beverages, and even the intentional aiding of others so to do. Fellowship with Free Masonry and kindred societies was also forbidden, as incom- patible with the spirit and precepts of the Christian religion. Its itineracy was voluntary, and the pastorate was consid- ered purely as a subject of agreement between the pastors and the people. The elementary principles of the denomination are : 1. A Christian church is a society of believers in Jesus Christ as- sembled in any one place for religious worship, and is of divine institu- tion. 2. Christ is the only Head of the Church ; and the Word of God the only rule of faith and conduct. 3. No person who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, and obeys the gospel of God our Saviour, ought to be deprived of church membership. 4. Every man has an inalienable right to private judgment in matters of religion, and an equal right to express his opinion in any way which will not violate the laws of God or the rights of his fellow-men. 5. Church trials should be conducted on gospel principles only; and no minister or member should be excommunicated except for immorality, the propagation of unchristian doctrines, or for the neglect of duties enjoined by the Word of God. 6. The pastoral or ministerial office and duties are of divine appoint- ment, and all elders in the Church of God are equal ; but ministers are forbidden to lord it over God's heritage, or to have dominion over the faith of the saints. 7. The church has a right to form and enforce such rules and regula- tions only as are in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, and may be necessary, or have a tendency, to carry into effect the great system of practical Christianity. 8. Whatever power may be necessary to the formation of rules and regulations is inherent in the ministers and members of the church ; but so much of that power may be delegated, from time to time, upon a plan of representation as they may judge necessary and proper. 9. It is the duty of all ministers and members of the church to main- tain godliness and to oppose all moral evil. 10. It is obligatory on ministers of the gospel u> be faithful in the dis- charge of their pastoral and ministerial duties ; and it is also obligatory on the members to esteem ministers highly for then* work's sake , and to render them a righteous compensation for their labors. At the time of their organization they reported 6,000 THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION. 483 members and 300 preachers. In 1890 there were reported 565 organizations, 342 churches, 16,492 communicants, and church property valued at $393,250. This Church has since entered upon missionary work in Africa. THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION. The followers of this denomination are sometimes called Albrights and German Methodists. It took its rise about the year 1800 in the State of Pennsylvania. The members were first called Albrechtsleute, on account of Jacob Al- bright having been, by the grace of God, the instrument of their solemnly uniting themselves for the service of Al- mighty God. About the year 1790, Jacob Albright became the happy subject of the awakening influences of the Holy Spirit. After a long and very severe struggle, he received at last the remission of his sins and the spirit of adoption. In this state he spent several years in the service of God. Pained at the evidences of immorality that prevailed among the people of his nationality in the western part of the State, and resolved to attempt the work of reforming them, he united himself in the year 1800 with a number of persons, who by his preaching had been awakened and converted to God, into a Christian society. Three years later the society determined to introduce and institute among and for them- selves an ecclesiastical regulation Mr. Albright was chosen pastor or bishop, and was authorized to exercise all the func- tions of the ministerial office over the members of the society. They unanimously chose the Sacred Scriptures for their guide in faith and action, and formed their church discipline accordingly. Their Articles of Faith are twenty-one in num- ber, and conform closely to those of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have classes, circuits, districts, conference districts, and quarterly, annual, and general conferences. The first General Conference was held in Union County, Penn., in 1816, and consisted of nine elders and ministers. Since 1843 this body has met once every four years. At first, when their principles and designs were but little known, the denomination met with considerable opposition, and 484 THE METHODIST CHURCH. suffered much persecution, but it has since achieved a sub- stantial success. In 1871 the denomination had fifteen an- nual conferences, 587 itinerant and 401 local preachers, 965 churches, 1,033 Sunday-schools, with 11,646 officers and teachers and 56,028 scholars, and 72,979 members. In 1876 their membership had increased to 80,000, and in 1885 to 100,000. In the latter year their institutions were : North Western College, Naperville, 111.; Union Seminary, New Berlin, Pa. ; Blairstown (Ohio) Seminary ; and the Ebenezer Orphan Institution at Flat Rock, Ohio. THE COLOEED METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUECH IN AMEEICA. This denomination is an outgrowth of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South, and was organized in a General Con- ference, which met at Jackson, Tenn., December 16, 1870. It arose out of provisions made by the General Conference of the parent church, which met at New Orleans in 1866, authorizing the organization of the colored members of the church into congregations, districts and annual conferences, and ultimately into a general conference, with bishops of their own. Five colored conferences were speedily organ- ized, and at the ensuing meeting of the General Conference the steps already taken were warmly sanctioned, and the completion of the organization was authorized. William Henry Mills and Richard H. Yandenhorst were duly elected and ordained bishops. Steps were taken, at the organiza- tion of the new church, to prepare a discipline and hymn- book, and a condition of membership was adopted which excluded all whites. Upon the completion of the organization, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, legally transferred to it all the property it had been holding in trust for the colored brethren; and the parent church cordially assisted the younger in getting into practical ecclesiastical order. The success of the measure has since fully justified all that was urged in its favor previous to the organization. Official reports in 1892 showed: Number of bishops 4, annual conferences 22, local preachers 2,409, traveling preachers 1,111, churches 3,219, members 126,893, Sunday- AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 485 schools 2,061, officers and teachers 9,731, and pupils 78,928. The educational institutions were : Payne Institute, Au- gusta, Ga.; Lane Institute, Jackson, Tenn.; Haygood Semi- nary, Washington, Ark. ; and Beebee Institute, New Orleans, La. The Church also issued two monthly periodicals, The Christian Index and The Colored Methodist. THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. This denomination was organized by colored members of the Methodist Episcopal Church worshipping in Philadel- phia, Pa. The determining cause was a conviction that their color and station created a prejudice against them. They first built a Bethel church, which Bishop Asbury dedi- cated for them. Instead of peace they found their troubles increased ; and when one of their number received ordina- tion at the hand of Bishop White, of the Protestant Episco- pal Church, they hastened to effect an independent organiza- tion with their ordained brother for leader. The church thus started in 1816, with the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen as its first Bishop. Its career since has been one of substantial growth. In 1890 there were reported 44 conferences, 2,481 organiza- tions, 4,124 church edifices, 31 halls, 452,725 members, and church property valued at $6,468,280. The membership was the largest in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and Florida in the order named. The educational institutions of the church are controlled by a Board appointed by the General Conferences. They are : Wilberf orce University, Ohio ; Johnson High School, Raleigh, N. C. ; Allen University, Columbia, S. C. ; William Paul Quinn College, Waco, Tex. ; St. James' Academy, New Orleans ; Divinity and High School, Jacksonville, Fla. ; Ward Normal Collegiate Institute, Huntsville, Tex. ; Turner College, Hernando, Miss. ; Western University, Quindora, Kan. ; Morris Brown University, Atlanta, Ga. ; and Gar- field University, Montgomery, Ala. All but the first two of these became active between 1880 and 1885. Besides these institutions the church was supporting 33 subordinate schools in South Carolina in 1884, and 25 missions in the 486 THE METHODIST CHURCH. Indian Territory. The negotiations which had been pend- ing several years for a union with the British Methodist Episcopal Church having been carried to a successful termi- nation, the General Conference in 1884 ordered that a decla- ration be issued announcing the consummation of the union. The territory covered by the British church, which included chiefly Canada and Bermuda, was made the tenth district of the African M. E. Church, and placed under the jurisdic- tion of Bishop R. R. Disney. THE ZION AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. This church originated in a withdrawal of colored people from the Methodist Episcopal churches of New York City, in 1819. They retain all the distinctive features of the parent church, except that they elect their bishops annually, and that they do not consecrate them by formal ordination. They have bishops, elders, and deacons, and General, An- nual, and Quarterly Conferences. In 1890 the denomination was represented in 29 States, and was the strongest in North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida in the order named. There was a total of 1,704 organizations, 1,587 church edifices, 114 halls used for religious purposes, 349,788 members, and church property valued at $2,714,128. In 1893 efforts were being made to effect a union of this denomination with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, as in all constitutional elements the two bodies were virtually one. The Baptist Churches England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, ORIGIN OF THE BAPTISTS. ~T"N the popular mind the chief distinctive feature associ- JL ated with that body of Christians comprising a num- ber of subdivisions and known as Baptists, is their practice of Immersion, as, in their judgment, the only Scriptural form of Baptism. They are supposed to differ from all others mainly on the mode and subjects of Baptism. This is in part true ; but to give our readers a more accurate concep- tion of this large body, we will first glance at their claim to a place in history, and then give a synopsis of their beliefs and practices. Baptists, or as formerly derisively designated Anabaptists, i. be punished without end. FOEMS OF WOESHIP AND CHUECH OEDEE. In her rites of worship the Lutheran Church in Europe employs liturgies differing in minor points, but agreeing in es- sentials, similar to those of the Protestant Episcopal Church, except in extension, being not more than one-third as long. In the United States a short uniform liturgy has been adopted, the use of which, however, is left to the option and discre- tion of each minister, as he may deem most conducive to edi- fication. The festivals of Christmas, Good-Friday, Easter, the Ascension, and Whitsunday are retained and observed in the Lutheran Church, as commemorative of the funda- mental facts of the Christian religion, and for the purpose of leading her clergy to preach annually on the events which they severally represent. The church maintains the institu- tion of infant church membership and baptism, and in con- nection with it, the rite of confirmation; and, as from the beginning, so now, she extends her parental care and vigil- ance over the religious education of her baptized children. With respect to her clergy, entire parity is maintained in the United States, and even in those kingdoms where the Lutheran is the established church, and where she retains nominal bishops, she discards the " divine right " of minis- terial imparity as anti- Scriptural, holding with her founder, that in the primitive church the terms bishop and presbyter were but different names for the same office. The church in the United States, in common with her Protestant sister churches, deprecates as unwarranted and dangerous, all inter- ference of civil government in religious affairs, excepting the mere protection of all denominations and all individuals in AMERICAN LUTHERANISM. 525 the unrestricted right to worship in any and every way they think proper. The government and discipline of each individual church is substantially like that of the Presbyterians. The Synods in structure and powers most resemble their Presbyteries. The General Synod is wholly an advisory body, resembling the consociation of the Congregational Church. In addition to these regular ecclesiastical bodies constituting the system of government the Lutherans have special conferences for the purpose of inquiring into the temporal and spiritual condition of the congregations, presenting and discussing doctrinal and practical questions, together with the preach- ing of the Word. They are held annually in the several districts, and last two days. AMERICAN LUTHEEANISM. The earliest settlement of Lutherans in this country was made by emigrants from Holland to New York, soon after the first establishment of the Dutch in that city, then called New Amsterdam, which took place in 1621. This fact, which is of some historical interest, rests upon the authority of the venerable patriarch of American Lutheranism, Henry Mel- chior Muhlenberg. In his report to Halle he says : " As I was detained in New York I took some pains to acquire cor- rect information concerning the history of the Lutheran Church in that city. This small congregation took its rise almost at the first settlement of the country. Whilst the territory yet belonged to Holland the few Low Dutch Luther- ans were compelled to hold their worship in private, but after it passed into possession of the British, in 1664, liberty was granted them by all the successive governors to conduct their worship publicly, without any obstruction." Indeed, so great was the number of Lutherans, even at this time, that the very next year (1665) after the English flag had been displayed from Fort Amsterdam, they petitioned for liberty to send to Germany a call for a regular pastor. This petition Governor Nicols of course granted, and in February, 1669, two years 526 THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. after lie had left the government, the Kev. Jacobus Fabricius arrived in this colony and began his pastoral labors. On the 13th of October, 1669, Lord Lovelace, who had suc- ceeded Governor Mcols, publicly proclaimed his having re- ceived a letter from the Duke of York, expressing his pleas- ure that the Lutherans should be tolerated. But, although the first settlement of Lutherans was in New York, that city cannot claim the distinction of having established the first Lutheran churches. On the authority of Rev. J. C. Clay, in his "Annals of the Swedes on the Delaware," and of Schubert, in his " Schwedische Kirchen- verfassung," we find that the first Lutheran churches in the United States were established by the Swedes, who emigrated to this country and settled on the banks of the Delaware during the reign of Queen Christina, and under the sanction of her prime minister, Oxenstiern, about the year 1636, six- teen or seventeen years after the settlement of New England by the Pilgrim Fathers, and about thirty years after the es- tablishment of an English colony in Virginia. In 1703 a Lutheran church was erected in the city of New York by Lutherans from Holland, in which worship was conducted in the Dutch, the English, and afterwards also in the German tongue. To preserve the chronological order of the establishment of Lutheran churches in America, then, we have, first, the churches of the Swedes on the banks of the Delaware ; second, the church at New York ; and third, the German Lutheran churches in Pennsylvania, of which we are now to speak. From the date of the grant of Pennsylvania to William Penn, in 1681, until 1700, many hundred German families emigrated to that colony. It was not until a few years later, however, that the tide of German emigration fairly set in. In the year 1710 about 3,000 Germans, chiefly Lu- theran, who went from the Palatinate to England in 1709, to escape religious persecution, were sent over fco New York by Queen Anne. In 1713, 150 families of these settled in Schoharie, in New York, and so rapidly did German settlers nock into Pennsylvania, that in 1717 the Governor felt it AMERICAN LUTHERANISM. 537 his duty to call the attention of the Provincial Council to the fact u that great numbers of foreigners from Germany, strangers to our language and Constitution, had lately been imported into the province." In 1727 large numbers of Germans went to Pennsylvania from the Palatinate, Wur- temberg, Darmstadt, and other parts of Germany. This colony was long destitute of a regular ministry, and until they were supplied the Swedish ministers labored among them as far as their duties to their own churches would permit. In 1733 a number of Lutherans established themselves in Georgia, and to designate the gratitude of their hearts to God, who had protected them, styled their location Ebene- zer. These emigrants were from Salzburg, formerly belong- ing to Bavaria, and restored to the Austrian dominions at the peace of 1814. Through the aid of the British Society for the Promotion of Christianity these people were enabled to find a refuge in the wilds of America. Those two able and faithful ministers, Messrs. Bolzius and Gronau, came to them shortly after their arrival, and settled among them as pastors, in which capacity they continued to serve them until their death. Gronau died twelve years after his ar- rival in Georgia, but Bolzius was spared to the church about thirty years. In 1738 these colonists erected an or- phan house at Ebenezer, to which work of benevolence im- portant aid was contributed by the distinguished George Whitefield, who also furnished the bell for one of the churches erected by them. Soon after the above coloniza- tion numerous Germans, coming from Pennsylvania and other States, settled in North Carolina, and there enjoyed the services of many excellent ministers, among whom were Nussman, Arndt, Storch, Roschen, Bernhard, and Shober. In 1735 a settlement of Lutherans was formed in Spottsyl- vania, as Virginia was then sometimes called. A church was formed, and the pastor, the Rev. Mr. Stoever, visited Germany for aid. He obtained 3,000, part of which was expended in the erection of a church, the purchase of a plantation and slaves to work it for the support of the min- 528 THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. ister, and the balance for a library and the necessary ex- penses of the town. The year 1742 was a memorable one for the church. It was signalized by the arrival of Henry Melchior Muhlen- berg, the patriarch of the American Lutheran Church. He possessed high intellectual and moral qualifications, and his whole life had been one of indefatigable zeal and arduous and enlightened labor for the Master's cause. His education was of the very first character. In addition to his knowl- edge of Greek and Hebrew, he spoke English, German, Hol- landish, French, Latin, and Swedish. Soon after his arrival Muhlenberg was joined by other highly respectable men, of excellent education, and of spirit like his own, the greater part of whom came like himself from Germany. Among them were Brunnholtz and Lemke, in 1745 ; Handshuh, Hartwick (the founder of the flourish- ing Seminary which bears his name), and Weygand, in 1748 ; Heinzelman and Schultz, in 1751 ; Gerock, Hausil, Wortman, Wagner, Schartlin, Shrenk, and Rauss, in 1753 ; Eager, in 1758 ; Voigt and Krug, in 1764 ; Helmuth and Schmidt, in 1769 ; and Kunze, in 1770. The first synod was held in 1748, and there were then only eleven regular Lutheran ministers in the United States. In 1751 the number of congregations was rated at about forty, and the Lutheran population in America at 60,000. In 1787 the Legislature of Pennsylvania, out of gratitude for the Revolutionary services of the Germans, and respect for their industry and excellence as citizens, endowed a col- lege in Lancaster for their special benefit, to be forever under their control. Of this institution Dr. Muhlenberg, then pas- tor in Lancaster, was chosen president. In 1791 the same body passed an act appropriating 5,000 acres of land to the flourishing free school of the Lutheran Church in Philadel- phia, in which at the time eighty poor children were receiv- ing gratuitous education. CONDITION OF THE CHURCH. 539 CONDITION OF THE CHURCH. That the Lutherans have manifested great zeal in the cause of education may be seen from the splendid roster of institutions which they had established previous to 1871, viz.: Theological Seminaries : Hartwick ; Theol. Sem. of Gen'l Synod; Theol. Dep't Wittenberg College; Theol. Dep't Capital University ; Theol. Sem. of Philadelphia ; Theol. Sem. of Gen'l Synod ; (Southern) Theol. Sem. Missouri Synod ; Theol. Dep't M. Luther College ; Augustana Seminary ; Theol. Seminary, St. Sebald, Iowa ; Scandinavian Theol. Seminary. Colleges : Pennsylvania ; Muhlenberg ; Thiel ; Wittenberg ; Capital University ; Roanoke ; North Caro- lina ; Newberry ; Concordia ; Carthage ; St. Paul's ; Augus- tana; Mendota ; Luther; North Western University; Mar- tin Luther ; Colorado. Female Seminaries : Lutherville ; Hagerstown ; Susquehanna Col. ; Burkittsville ; Mont Amoe- na ; Staunton ; Lexington ; St. Joseph's ; Conestoga ; Hart- wick ; St. Matthew's ; Missionary Inst. ; Washington Hall ; The " Hill " School ; Conoquenessing ; Greenville ; Bethel ; Swatara ; Overlea ; Tableau ; Normal Scientific School ; Teacher's Sem'y; St. Ansgar ; Marshall ; Stoughton ; Holden ; Classical Seminary, Miss. Eleemosynary Institutions : Tress- ler's Orphan Home ; Orphans' Farm School ; Orphans' Home, (Rochester) ; Wartburg Orphans' School ; Passavant's In- firmary ; Emmaus Institute ; Immigrant Mission ; Scan- dinavian Orphan House ; Deaconess' Hospital ; Soldiers' Orphan School ; Infirmary, (Milwaukee) ; and Orphan Homes at the following points : Germantown, Toledo, Buffalo, Jack- sonville, Wasa, and St. Louis. The General Synod, North, was organized in 1820, and holds biennial meetings. The General Synod, South, was organized in 1863. In the field of Foreign Missions the two General Synods co-operate. In Nov., 1884, a Diet was held to effect a union of all the synods south of the Potomac River, and a basis of negotiation was completed for the future consideration of the parties interested. 34 530 THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. In 1893 the General Synod of the North reported 26 synods, 1,046 ministers, 1,441 congregations, 165,346 com- municants, and $230,694.23 in aggregate contributions. The General Synod of the South reported in 1893, 8 synods, 205 ministers, 405 congregations, 36,518 communicants, and $18,575.42 in total contributions. The General Council, or- ganized in 1867, had the same year, 9 synods, 1,055 ministers, 1,777 congregations, 307,523 communicants, and $287,811.93 in contributions. The Synodical Conference, organized in 1872, had 3 synods, 1,519 ministers, 2,165 congregations, 441,129 communicants, and $ 1 71 , 254. 86. There were in 1893 also J2 independent synods with 1,477 ministers, 3,28] con- gregations, 342,647 communicants, and $176,521.82 in contri- butions. These branches combined gave to the Southern Church in the United States, 60 synods, 5,302 ministers, 9,069 congregations, 1,293,163 communicants, 2,786 parochial schools with 3,370 teachers and 146,287 pupils, 5,365 Sun- day-schools with 48,233 officers and teachers, and $884,859.26 in aggregate contributions. The activities of the Church comprised 26 theological seminaries with 90 professors, 1,033 students, property valued at $1,097,800, and endowments aggregating $527,700; 35 colleges with 297 professors, 5,162 students, property valued at $3,024,500, and endowments of $709,223 ; 37 academies with 176 teachers, 4,380 pupils, property valued at $488,250, and endowments of $50,100 ; and 13 ladies' seminaries with 125 professors and 1,047 pupils. The Church also main- tained 35 orphanages, 8 asylums for the aged, 14 hospitals, 6 deaconesses' institutions, and 12 immigrant and seamen's missions, and published 133 periodicals in different lan- guages. Reformed Churches. THE EEFOKMED CHURCH IN AMERICA. T I THIS is the title that has been chosen by the American _L descendant of the Reformed Protestant Church of Holland, in place of the Reformed Dutch Church, by which it was known for many years. It is the oldest body of Christians, working on the Presbyterian plan 5> in the coun- try, and its history is inseparable from that of New York City, as the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church of New York was the first formed in North America, dating its origin from the earliest settlement on Manhattan Island. The colony of New Amsterdam (now New York) was set- tled in 1612. Missionaries and pious immigrants arrived there in the very beginning of the colony, but precisely at what time a church was first organized is not known. The Collegiate Church is supposed to have been formed in 1619, though the earliest period to which its records conduct us is the year 1639. An authentic document is said to be still ex- tant containing a list of its members in 1622. The Dutch Church was the established church of the colony until it surrendered to the British in 1664, after which its circumstances were materially changed. Not long after (531) 532 REFORMED CHURCHES. the colony passed into the hands of the British an act was passed which went to establish the Episcopal Church as the predominant party, and for almost a century afterwards the Dutch and English Presbyterians and all others in the colony were forced to contribute to the support of that church. The first judicatory higher than a consistory among this people was a Coetus, formed in 1747. The object and powers of this assembly were merely those of advice and fraternal intercourse. It could not ordain ministers, nor judicially decide in ecclesiastical disputes without the consent of the classis of Amsterdam. The erection of this Coetus was the result of a movement made in 1737 to throw off the authority of the parent classis. For a number of years prior to this time many leading minds in the American church had been discussing the expediency of forming entirely independent church judicatories and training and ordaining their own ministers. The result was a protracted controversy which agitated the church for thirty-four years, embracing the period from 1737 to 1771, and finally resulting in the mutual adoption of the Articles of Union proposed by the classis of Amsterdam. The distinct organization was then unitedly and harmoniously made, since which time the church has had a peaceful history. The following appears, from the most reliable authorities, to be the order in which the churches of this faith were planted in America. We have before mentioned the Collegi- ate Church as the first ; after it followed the churches in Albany, Flatbush, New Utrecht, Flatlands, and Esopus, now Kingston. The first church edifice erected by the colony in New Amsterdam (now New York) appears to have been located near the lower end of Stone Street. The second stood close down by the water's edge, within the fort of New Amsterdam, and on the spot now called the Battery. The old church in the fort was called "St. Nicholas," in honor of the tutelary and guardian saint of New Amster- dam ; and there for half a century, from 1642 to 1693, the early Dutch settlers worshipped God. The church was seventy-two feet long, fifty- two wide, and sixteen high. The THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA. 533 Rev. Everardus Bogardus arrived at New Amsterdam from Holland in 1633, and was the first pastor of the church. He was lost at sea in 1647. His immediate successors in the pastorate were : Joannes Backerus, 1647-1649 ; Joannes Megapolensis, 1649-1670 : Samuel Drisius, 1652-1673 ; Sam- uel Megapolensis, 1664-1668 ; Wilhelmus Yan Nieuvenhuy- sen, 1671-1682 ; and Henricus Selyns, 1682-1701. These min- isters and their successors, Gualterns DuBois (1699-1751), Boel (1713-1754), Ritzerna (1744-1784), and DeRonde (1751- 1784), were all educated in the universities of Holland, and were well trained for their work in this country. In addition to preaching and teaching in New Amsterdam, these domi- nies also officiated in various parts of the State where Dutch settlements had been made. In 1693 the House of Assembly yielded to the plan of Governor Fletcher, and passed an act establishing the Epis- copal Church in the city and county of New York, and in the counties of Westchester, Richmond, and Queen's. From that year until 1776, the Dutch, English, and Scotch Churches, and all other non-Episcopal inhabitants of the counties named, were obliged not only to support their own ministers, but to sustain through a heavy taxation the small body of Episcopalians. During this civil establishment many of its members were alienated ; the legitimate work of the churches in their mission of saving souls was neglected in a great measure, and in the heat of strife the spirit of humble piety which had characterized it before could no longer be regarded as its distinguishing feature. The church also during this period experienced severe losses from another cause. Despite the fact, which was plainly apparent, that the English language was to become the common language of the country, there was a question- able persistence in the use of the Dutch language in the services of the church, notwithstanding that a very large body of the younger members clamored for a change which would accommodate both German and English hearers. Finally, the point was yielded and English sermons per- mitted, though not until many of their members were 534 REFORMED CHURCHES. driven off into other denominations. The first minister who preached exclusively in English was the Rev. Dr. Laidlie, a native of Scotland and a graduate at Edinburgh. He was called by the consistory of the Collegiate church, and entered on his ministry in 1764. His first sermon, preached to an immense audience, was founded on 2 Cor. v. 11 : " Knowing the terrors of the Lord we persuade men." A signal re- vival of religion soon commenced under his ministration, and the church greatly flourished. Space will not permit us to follow the intensely 'interesting history of this de- nomination up to the present time ; and we can merely give the results of patient labor and Christian fidelity. The doctrines of the church are those handed down by the Reformers, and are shared in common with all branches of the Reformed Churches. The church receives as its creed the Confession of Faith, as revised in the national Synod of the Council of Dort, 1618-1619, consisting of thirty-seven articles ; with the Heidelberg Catechism ; the Compendium of the Christian religion ; the Canons of the Council of Dort on the famous five points : Predestination, Definite atonement of Christ, Man's entire corruption and helplessness, His conversion by God's grace alone, and Per- severance of the Saints in grace. In government the church is strictly Presbyterian. They only use a different nomenclature in some respects in speak- ing of ecclesiastical affairs. Their primary court is that of the Consistory the same as that called a session in the Presbyterian Church. This consists of the three distinct offices: ministers or bishops, elders, and deacons. The pastor and elders meet as a spiritual court to admit mem- bers, exercise discipline, etc., and the deacons meet statedly to provide for the poor, etc. The pastors, elders, and deacons meet as a consistory for the transaction of all temporal business relating to their own church. On important occa- sions, such as calling a minister, the Great Consistory is called together. This is composed of all those who have at any time been elders and deacons in the church. The next court is the Classis, which corresponds precisely with the THE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 635 presbytery in the Presbyterian Church. This is composed of a minister and an elder from each distinct church under the care of the classis. Next is the Particular Synod, which consists of two ministers and two elders from each classis within its bounds. The General Synod is the high- est court, and from it there is no appeal. It is composed of three ministers and three elders from each classis through- out the entire church. Its meetings are now annual for the transaction of the business of the church. Her college and theological seminary at New Brunswick, N. J., are an honor to the church. Amply endowed and furnished with able professors, they exert their full share of influence in raising up a learned and able ministry. The charter of the college was obtained in 1770. The seminary was founded and opened in 1810, with Rev. Dr. John H. Livingston at its head. Official reports of the denomination in 1893 showed: Num- ber of particular synods, 11 ; classes, 35 ; churches, 603 ; ministers, 698 ; families, 63,993 ; total in communion, 97,520; baptized non-communicants, 41,324; catechumens, 36,037; Sunday-schools, 884 ; members, 119,758 ; and contributions for congregational purposes, $1,095,764. The Board of Domestic Missions aided during the year in its Eastern and Western field 177 churches and missions, having 10,409 members and 13,100 Sunday-school pupils. The Board of Foreign Missions had missions in China, India, and Japan, with 15 stations, 202 outstations, 26 ordained and 43 unor- dained assistant missionaries, 36 native ordained ministers, 356 other native helpers, 55 churches with 5,799 members, 4 theological schools, 14 seminaries, 154 day-schools, and hos- pitals in China and India which had treated 18,870 patients. The church has, beside the theological seminary and college, at New Brunswick, N. J., a theological seminary and col- lege at Holland, Mich., also under liberal endowment. THE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. This denomination was formerly known as the German Reformed Church in the United States. The difference be- tween this church and the one just described may be briefly 536 REFORMED CHURCHES. stated thus : The Reformed (Dutch) Church in America is an exact counterpart of the Reformed Church of Holland, while the Reformed (late German) Church in the United States bears a similar relation to the Reformed or Calvinistic Church of Germany. This was founded by TJlrich Zwingli, I who was contemporary, and for a long time intimate with ,' Martin Luther. The great controversy between them was on the subject of the Lord's Supper. Luther's views were regarded as involving the dogma of a real material presence. Zwingli contended that the sacramental elements were mere- ly symbols. It was this point alone which prevented Zwin- gli from adhering to the Augsburg Confession. The church dates its establishment in the United States from about 1727. Members of the denomination in Europe began to emi- grate to Pennsylvania soon after the province was confirmed to William Penn. They formed congregations and schools, and, for want of regular church ministrations, sought to edify each other by singing and listening to sermons and prayers read by the schoolmasters. In 1727 the Rev. George Michael Weiss was sent over by the classis of the Palatinate, accompanied by about 400 emigrants. They settled at Skip- pack, in Montgomery County, Pa. ; organized a consistory ; built a log church, and placed Mr. Weiss over them as pas- tor. Through him the wants of the Reformed people in America were made known to the parent church, and the classis of Amsterdam furnished men and means to carry forward the work. In 1730 the number of the Reformed faith in this country was 15,000, and thereafter there was a large annual increase. Settlements were made in the colo- nies of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, but owing to a lack of ministers, the work of or- ganizing churches was greatly retarded until about 1746, when the Rev: Michael Schlatter arrived in this country on a mission from the church of Holland. He was commis- sioned to gather together the Reformed people, organize them into churches, arrange for supplying churches with ministers, and form an annual synod, besides adjusting all THE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STAidS. 537 difficulties in churches, and visiting them statedly. In Sep- tember of that year the first synod met in Philadelphia, holding their sessions with the First Reformed Church. This synod numbered thirty-one ministers and elders, repre- senting a f w thousand members, though it was by no means a full representation of the strength of the denomination, which at that time was forty-six congregations, embracing some thirty thousand members. From this time forward the progress of the church was very slow. The French and Indian war, and later the Revo- lutionary war, sadly interfered with its prosperity by break- ing off in a great measure its communication with the parent body in Europe, and thus losing its material aid. In 1792 the church severed its connection with the European body, which caused it to languish to a still greater degree. The absence of an educated capable ministry, the great lack of funds, the unfortunate prostration of business and spiritual interests by wars, the separation from the discreet, able, wise, and liberal parent church, all served to prostrate the energies and reduce piety to a low ebb in a denomination which bade fair, in its early history, to prevail over all oth- ers in America. This condition of affairs continued until 1812, when the church began to exhibit a measure of its old energy. In that year it was resolved to extend her borders, and a missionary (Jacob William Dechaut) was sent to Ohio and stationed at Miamisburg, Montgomery County. Shortly afterwards two others (Messrs. Weiss and Winters) joined him, and their united labors were rewarded with gratifying success. A classis was formed in 1819, followed, in a short time, by others. In 1820 the numerical strength of the entire church was fifty ministers and about 300 congrega- tions, in most of which services were held only at intervals of one and two months. In 1824 a majority of the Ohio classes erected an independent judicatory under the name of the " Synod of Ohio," and, for many years thereafter, the Reformed Church consisted of two independent synods, viz. : the Synod of the German Reformed Church in the United States, which was the Eastern and parent body, and the 538 REFORMED CHURCHES. Synod of Ohio and the adjoining States. These bodies were slightly bound together by a triennial convention, which, however, was not a court of appeal, and possessed none of the powers of a general synod. Until 1825 the church had no institutions of learning with which to fill its clerical ranks, but in that year a theological school was established at Carlisle, Pa., in connection with Dickinson College. In 1829 this was transferred to York, and in 1835 to Mercers- burg, Pa., and thence to Lancaster, Pa., where it still remains, enjoying a good measure of prosperity. From 1825 onward, the growth of the church was more rapid, and in 1845 the published minutes of the two synods made the following ex- hibit : The Eastern Synod comprised ten classes, 145 minis- ters, 471 congregations, and 31,170 communicants. The Western Synod comprised six classes, 72 ministers, 236 con- gregations, and 7,885 communicants. The whole Reformed Church, then, consisted of two synods, sixteen classes, 227 ministers, 707 churches, and 39,055 communicants. In 1871 there were, instead of two independent synods, one General Synod and four particular synods, viz. : Eastern, Pittsburg, Ohio, and Northwestern. These comprised 32 classes, 547 ministers, 1,214 congregations, and 189,964 members, of whom 121,314 were communicants. In 1893 there were reported 8 synods, 56 classes, 885 ministers, 1,583 congregations, 212,830 members, 1,563 Sunday-schools, 149,023 scholars, $649,892 receipts for benevolence, $3,022,174 for congregational pur- poses, and 136 missions with 15,749 members. Considerable zeal has been manifested, of late years, in advancing the educational interests of the denomination, and it may now be said to be fairly supplied with institu- tions of learning which are generally well sustained ; among them Heidelberg College, Franklin and Marshall College, Ursinus College, and Mercersburg Theological Seminary are worthy of special mention. In the department of Home Missions a commendable degree of activity has been dis- played. The aggregate number of missions under the care of the Board during the three years ending with 1869, was 97. At the end of the year 1885 this number had been ' ' R EFORMA TION FESTIVAL." 539 increased to 142. At the annual meeting of the General Synod in May, 1884, the third Sunday in June of each year was fixed upon as a day to be observed in all the churches as a "Reformation Festival." This date was selected be- cause it comes nearest the 19th of the month, the day on which, in 1563, the Heidelberg Catechism was first pub- lished. Hfte MODERN CONGREGATIONALISM. THE Congregational form of church organization is one which recognizes no human authority over the local church or Christian congregation. The term is, however, limited by ordinary usage to churches holding what is called the orthodox system of theology. There are also numerous churches, Congregationally organized, which by their own choice, or by common consent, have received some other title, and are never included in the term Congregationalists. With this explanation we proceed to give a sketch of those churches known to each other, and more or less associated under the title the Congregational Churches of the United States. Congregationalism in modern times had its beginning in the sixteenth century. Previous to that time, Christianity had been in most countries where it prevailed a State re- ligion, governed as to its forms, and influenced not a little, even, in its doctrines, by the same power that controlled the nation. But separation between Church and State was a necessary condition of human progress, an inevitable con* sequence of free thought. The State refused to be governed by the Church, and the Church began to learn that if God never organized it for the administration of civil affairs, He certainly never placed it in the power of the State to destroy (640) MODERN CONGREGATIONALISM. 541 individual responsibility, or limit the faith and practice of Christians to the uniformity of a State religion. From many quarters at once there came a cry for liberty of conscience. A cry which was met on the other hand by those who, seeing nothing in liberty but anarchy, insisted that the State should produce uniformity, only they could not agree by whose con- science that uniformity should be regulated. But uniformity had then become impossible, and organizations independent of the State began to prevail. There were two possible direc- tions which these new organizations could take. The one was to attempt the establishment of national churches, with governments and ecclesiastical powers, similar to those for- merly exercised in connection with the civil power. The other was to renounce all idea of national religious institutions, and resolve church organization into the mere fact of the organized fellowship and co-operation of Christians living near together. Most of the churches which express the former of these tendencies have been at one time or another connected with the State, while the latter tendency express- ed from the beginning the strongest aversion to State inter- ference or control. The idea of the Church as it is now held by Congregation- alists, had doubtless a somewhat gradual development. The independence of the local church was first recognized, for the notion of it grew naturally out of the existence of feeble con- gregations, who knew no larger body with which they could conscientiously fraternize. Afterwards these churches learn- ed what seemed to them almost as important as their own independence the fellowship of churches ; an idea still re- jected by some, who are called Brownists, or Independents, rather than Congregationalists. As early as the year 1562, when the separation of the Church of England from that of Rome may be said to have been finally completed, we begin to find casual notices of persons called Separatists, and in 1567 a company of them meeting in Plummer's Hall, in Lon- don, were committed by the Lord Mayor to the Bridewell. In that prison they organized what seems to have been the first Independent church in England. The pastor, the deacon, 542 THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES. and several members of this church died in prison, of the plague, but that was the beginning of a movement yet in progress both in England and America. An active persecu- tion failed to repress it. The new Protestant church was scarcely more tolerant of dissent than its predecessor. Nor should this seem strange when we know that such men as Richard Baxter approved of persecution for conscience sake, under certain circumstances. ,u In the year 1606 at Scrooby, a village in the north of Eng- land, there was organized an Independent church, probably a branch of one before existing at Gainsborough, which proved the germ of Congregationalism in America. Their second pastor was John Rdbinson, and among the early members were elder Brewster and William Bradford, both afterwards famous among the " Pilgrim Fathers " of New England. This church, to escape from continual an- noyances, and the peril of martyrdom, which had already come upon several of their brethren, was transplanted in the year 1608 to Leyden in Holland. In the year 1620 the same persons organized a colony which emigrated, 102 in number, to the wilderness of New England, where they landed upon Plymouth Rock, on the 21st of December of the same year. By this time the doctrines of Congregationalism, as now understood, were pretty clearly developed. Other colonies speedily followed this one, settling in Salem, Boston, and other places. They were composed, for the most part, of men of like spirit with the Pilgrims. But these new immigrants lacked the advanced views of the Pilgrims, and only gradually came under the influence of their liberal and enlightened convictions. They were not at first prepared for such ideas as that of the independence of the local church. But the logic of New England history more and more separated the colonists from the institutions of the mother country, and so favored the ideas prevalent in the Plymouth Colony, that they soon pervaded nearly all the religious institutions of the region. New England became generally Congregational, and has remained so to a great extent ever since. MODERN CONGREGATIONALISM. 543 With such a foothold in a part of the country prolific in emigration and influential from the beginning, especially through its institutions of learning, which are still the most prominent in the land, and still for the most part in Congre- gational hands., the denomination might naturally have been expected to fill a larger place than it does in the religious statistics of America. The fact is, that for several years it made little progress towards the West. When, near the com- mencement of the present century, the New England emi- grants, who were rapidly filling up the State of New York and establishing there churches of their own order, found in the same region a simultaneous emigration from Maryland and Pennsylvania where Presbyterianism had taken root about the year 1790 it was felt that denominations so sim- ilar in their views of theology should be practically united. Various discussions finally produced a plan of union which influenced the movements of the two denominations for several years, not only in New York, but farther west. Both parties entered upon this plan in an honest and Christian spirit. But when we consider that with one party the church meant only the local body, while the other was thoroughly imbued with the idea of a national organization which their convictions compelled them as far as possible to realize, and that the union was to be only such as the Con- stitution of the Presbyterian Church would admit, and espe- cially when we consider that the New Englanders were educated to think little of forms, it will not seem strange that the plan of union tended for the most part to build Presbyterian churches. Congregationalists found what was for them the essential thing living local churches among the Presbyterians, and the desire for more perfect union continually drew them towards the centralized system of their brethren. Twenty-five years later Congregationalists, who had by this time many churches scattered in the West, began to take a different view of the relation of their polity to the ecclesiastical history of America. They began to see that centralized church governments might be multiplied indefinitely without bringing us any nearer to the much- 544 THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES. desired union of Christians. They came to believe, on the other hand, that, in the independence of the local church the union of Christians simply on the ground that they are Christians they saw the final cure for the divisions of Chris- tendom. A general council of Congregational churches, held at Albany in the year 1852, did much to spread these ideas and to promote sympathy between the different churches of the denomination throughout the land. The same movement was strengthened, six or seven years later, by the separation of the New School Presbyterians from the American Home Missionary Society, in which the two denom- inations had co-operated ever since the early days of the plan of union. Since that time Congregationalism has been far more progressive and earnest. Its friends claim that it has the polity taught in the New Testament, and that it is peculiarly adapted to American ideas, and especially fitted to harmonize the discordant religious elements of our land. Another gen- eral council was held at Boston in the year 1865. This council sought to effect a more perfect union of the denomination, and while it studiously avoided all centralization of power and put forth no claim of authority, it did much to give practical effici- ency to the Christian efforts of those who are united by their membership with churches holding the same faith and order. A National Council was organized at Oberlin, O., in 1871, and at its session in St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 11-15, 1880, memorials " Concerning a Confession of Faith " were presented from the Congregational Association of Ohio, the Central South Conference of Tennessee, and the General Con- gregational Conference of Minnesota. Also a paper upon the subject of " A New Declaration of Faith " was read by Kev. Hiram Mead, D.D., Oberlin, O. By resolution, a Commission was appointed to prepare in the form of a creed or catechism, or both, a simple, clear, and comprehensive exposition of the truths of the glorious Gospel of the blessed God for the instruction and edification of the churches. This Commission accordingly reported, Dec. 19, 1883, two important documents one, a Statement of Doctrine ; the other, a Confession of Faith. THE CREED. 545 THE CREED. I. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who is of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who is sent from the Father and Son, and who together with the Father and Son is wor- shipped and glorified. II. We believe that the Providence of God, by which He executes His eternal purposes in the government of the world, is in and over all events ; yet so that the freedom and responsibility of man are not im- paired, and sin is the act of the creature alone. III. We believe that man was made in the image of God, that he might know, love, and obey God, and enjoy Him forever; that our first parents by disobedience fell under the righteous condemnation of God; and that all men are so alienated from God that there is no salvation from the guilt and power of sin except through God's redeeming grace. IV. We believe that God would have all men return to Him ; that to this end He has made Himself known, not only through the works of nature, the course of His providence, and the consciences of men, but also through supernatural revelations made especially to a chosen people, and above all, when the fulness of time was come, through Jesus Christ His Son. V. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the record of God's revelation of Himself in the work of redemption ; that they were written by men under the special guidance of the Holy Spirit; that they are able to make wise unto salvation; and that they constitute the authoritative standard by which religious teaching and human conduct are to be regulated and judged. VI. We believe that the love of God to sinful men has found its high- est expression in the redemptive work of His Son ; who became man, uniting His divine nature with our human nature in one person ; who was tempted like other men, yet without sin ; who, by His humiliation, His holy obedience, His sufferings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection, became a perfect Redeemer ; whose sacrifice of Himself for the sins of the world declares the righteousness of God, and is the sole and sufficient ground of forgiveness and of reconciliation with Him. VII. We believe that Jesus Christ, after He had risen from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, as the one Mediator between God and man, He carries forward His work of saving men ; that He sends the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin, and to lead them to repentance and faith ; and that those who through renewing grace turn to righteousness, and 35 646 THE CO&urrtEGATIONAL CHURCHES. trust in Jesus Christ as their Eedeemer, receive for His sake the forgive- ness of their sins, and are made the children of God. VIII. We believe that those who are thus regenerated and justified, grow in sanctified character through fellowship with Christ, the indwell- ing of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to the truth ; that a holy life is the fruit and evidence of saving faith ; and that the believer's hope of con- tinuance in such a life is in the preserving grace of God. IX. We believe that Jesus Christ came to establish among men the kingdom of God, the reign of truth and love, righteousness and peace ; that to Jesus Christ, the Head of this kingdom, Christians are directly responsible in faith and conduct ; and that to Him all have immediate ccess without mediatorial or priestly intervention. X. We believe that the Church of Christ, invisible and spiritual, corn- Irises all true believers, whose duty it is to associate themselves in churches, for the maintenance of worship, for the promotion of spiritual growth and fellowship, and for the conversion of men; that these churches, under the guidance of the Holy Scriptures and in fellowship with one another, may determine each for itself their organization, statements of belief, and forms of worship ; may appoint and set apart their own ministers, and should co-operate in the work which Christ has committed to them for the furtherance of the gospel throughout the world. XI. We believe in the observance of the Lord's Day, as a day of holy rest and worship ; in the ministry of the Word ; and in the two Sacra- ments, which Christ has appointed for His church : Baptism, to be ad- ministered to believers and their children, as the sign of cleansing from sin, of union to Christ, and of the impartation of the Holy Spirit; and the Lord's Supper as a symbol of His atoning death, a seal of its effica- cy, and a means whereby He confirms and strengthens the spiritual union and communion of believers with Himself. XII. We believe in the ultimate prevalence of the kingdom of Christ over all the earth ; in the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; hi the resurrection of the dead; and in a final judgment, the issues of which are everlasting punishment and everlast- ing life. CHURCH DISCIPLINE. These churches claim that church discipline is in the New Testament the act of the local body, not of its officers or of any higher court. In accordance with these views they are careful to speak of Congregational Churches, never using the phrase, the Congregational Church. They arrange their systems of co-operation by the consent of the churches, and CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 547 are careful by no means to interfere with their independence. The same idea also accords with their theory of church officers and Christian ministry. All churches which have been at one time connected with the State, and others modeled after the same forms, have a class of clergymen who are members, not of the local bodies, but of the national church or some of its subdivisions, and amenable only to its discipline. 'They differ among themselves in that some of them hold the equality (parity) of the clergy, while others (sometimes called prelatists) divide the clergy into two or more orders. Con- gregationalists differ from both quite as much as they differ from each other. They hold the equality of the brotherhood. They have, it is true, an order of ministers, but they are members of the churches, and subject to their discipline. Consecrated to a particular work, these ministers are esteemed for its sake ; but they have neither office nor authority, ex- cept as they are chosen by some church to the pastorate, and they hold that office only during the pleasure of the church. The system of church officers is very simple. They find in the New Testament only two classes of officers, the elders or bishops (called also pastors), who administer the spiritual affairs of the church and are its religious teachers, and the deacons who are charged with its temporal interests. In former times it was customary to have several elders in each church, some of whom were executive officers, but not pub- lic teachers. Of late, however, these offices are for the most part concentrated in one elder, or as he is generally called, pastor. A pastor may be called from the membership or even the pastorate of another church, but when he is installed he does not become a member of his own unless he is re- ceived by that church by letter or profession like any other member. Installation over a church does not make him a member of it. Some pastors have not been and refused to be, members of the church to which they have ministered. In practice the deacons have usually a large share of spirit- ujil care*. 548 THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES. The official reports of the churches in 1893 skewed : Num ber of churches, 5,140 ; ministers, 5,003 ; families, 364,350 ; members, 542,725 ; Sunday-school members, 644,782 ; Young People's Societies of Christian Endeavor, 3,195, with 157,678 members. Benevolent contributions reported: for foreign missions, $441,948 ; education, $252,699 ; church erection, $137,770 ; home missions, $593,974 ; American Missionary Association, $148,805 ; Sunday-schools, $54,974 ; New West Educational Commission, $47,091 ; ministerial aid, $26,326 ; and miscellaneous purposes, $948,305. The seven theological institutions at Andover, Mass., Ban- gor, Me., Chicago, 111., Hartford, Conn., Oberlin, Ohio, Oak- land, Gal., and New Haven, Conn., had together 52 profes- sors, 38 other instructors, 11 fellows, 29 graduate students, and 545 under-graduate students. The New West Educa- tional Commission in 1892 had under its charge 28 day- schools of all grades, with 68 teachers and 2,812 pupils, and 21 Sunday-schools with 2,000 pupils. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- sions, organized in 1810, is the oldest society for general missionary work in the United States, and its work is now carried on exclusively by Congregationalists. The reports of 1893 showed total receipts $641,421, and expenditures $768,- 333, making a large debt, for the first time in sixteen years. The receipts of the previous year were $840,804, and the expenditures $840,839, and the treasury held a balance of $729. In 1893 the American Board, as it is called for short, had under its supervision 20 missions, 96 regular stations, 1,128 outstations, 1,323 places for stated preaching, and con- gregations aggregating 69,357 members. The total number of missionaries and helpers, including physicians, sent from the United States, was 557, and there were 2,738 native pas- tors, preachers, school-teachers, and other helpers. Con- nected with the missions were 442 churches, with 41,566 members, 17 theological seminaries and station classes, 67 high schools and colleges, 63 boarding-schools for girls, and 1,019 common schools, with a grand total of 48,585 natives under instruction. AMERICAN MISSIONARY A 1SOCIATION. 549 The American Home Missionary Society, organized in 1826, has national and State auxiliary societies, a woman's department, and influential publications. In 1893 it was determined to change its name to " The Congregational Home Missionary Society," as soon as legal requirements would permit. In that year the society carried on its work in 47 States and territories of the United States, through 2,002 persons, supplied 3,841 congregations and missionary dis- tricts, organized 265 Sunday-schools and 140 churches, com- pleted the erection of 153 church buildings, started 34 new ones, and repaired or improved 217, had a total of 2,270 Sunday-schools, and about 159,300 Sunday-school and Bible- class scholars, and received 11,232 persons into church mem- bership. The contributions to the society's funds aggregated $287,364; legacies, $239,217; contributions to auxiliaries and expended locally, $211,499 ; making with balance from previous year and cash reserved for drafts payable, total receipts of the year, $775,261. The total expenditures were $685,108. The American Missionary Association, organized in 1846, though an unsectarian body, is supported by Congregation- alists. It labors among the freedmen, the Indians, and the Chinese in the United States, and in 1893 was also aiding financially a mission on the west coast of Africa, carried on by the United Brethren. During the seven months ending April 30, 1893, its receipts from all sources were $184,139, and its expenditures $229,000. THE Society of Friends. GEOEGE FOX AKD PIS LABOES. rp\HE Friends, or Quakers, owe their origin to George Fox, I who was born in Leicestershire, Eng. , about the year 1624. At an early age he became apprentice to a shoemaker. While in this situation, he devoted himself with great diligence to the perusal of the Scriptures, and, as opportunity presented, was wont to exhort his fellow-shoemakers, from whom, how- ever, he received no great encouragement. As he was one day walking alone in the fields, reflecting, according to cus- tom, on the disorderly lives of men, and considering the most proper means to reform them, for the glory of God and their own temporal and eternal happiness, he thought he heard a voice from heaven, or rather he felt one of those sudden im- pulses, which the Friends receive as special motions from the Holy Spirit. Considering that he had received a call from heaven, he lived in a closer retreat than before. He searched narrowly into the state of his conscience, retrenched whatever he found superfluous, and followed his trade no further than was necessary for his subsistence. He went about preaching from place to place, and boldly entered into disputes with divines and ministers, trusting solely to and being guided only by what he considered to be that divine voice which interiorly speaks to the heart and draws men (550) PERSECUTIONS. 551 as it pleases. This caused Fox to be looked upon as a sedi- tious person, on which account he was seized at Nottingham, in 1649, and imprisoned. This first imprisonment occurred when he was twenty-five years of age. On being released from Nottingham jail, he preached in other places, where he was roughly handled by the mob for his eccentric behavior, and the boldness with which he interrupted the ministers in their sermons. At Derby he was shut up for six months in a house of correction, and when he came out of it, in order to be examined by Jeremy Bennet, a justice of the peace, the name of Quaker was given to him and his disciples, be- cause, in his answers and public exhortations, he often said quaking and trembling were necessary dispositions to hear the word of God with profit. The Quakers^ as they were then called, flattered themselves with the hope of enjoying some quiet at the restoration of Charles II. ; but refusing to take the oath of allegiance to that monarch because in their opinion all oaths are for- bidden, a grievous persecution was raised against them. While some of the Protestants earlier organized, as the Presbyterians and Baptists, met the force of the persecution, the Friends sustained the severest shocks. It is estimated that during the winter of 1662 between 4,000 and 5,000 of their number were incarcerated in English jails. While suffering these persecutions, they were considerably strength- ened by the accession to their fraternity of the well-known William Penn, who, on account of his talents and ample fortune, soon acquired no small influence and reputation among them. In 1686, when partly through his influence a proclamation was issued by the king releasing all persons who were imprisoned on account of religion, among those set at liberty were 1,490 Friends. About the same time the persecution against them abating, they employed themselves in reducing their views to a more regular system, and in adopting rules according to which they were to govern them- selves. These we shall briefly notice. 552 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. DISCIPLINE OF THE FRIENDS. Discipline is maintained on certain principles : 1. That Christ is the Supreme and only Head of his church ; 2. That Christians are to minister to the temporal and spiritual needs of each other, in privacy and love ; 3. Elders and over- seers are to be guardians of the flock, in addition to those who preach ; 4. No one (or class) is to make himself a lord over God's heritage, which power belongs to the people in their collective capacity ; 5. The Holy Spirit has immediate control of all affairs in the church, from the time that the church was established by a most extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Ghost. The form of the church government was settled as early as 1666, under the lead of George Fox, who advocated the set- ting up of women's meetings, which very soon were held as regularly as those of the brethren. The chief authority is in the yearly meeting of the body at large, by their repre- sentatives, men and women meeting separately. Minor matters are arranged at the monthly meetings, such as the care of the poor, visiting of the afflicted and in prison, mar- riage and burials, births and deaths, education, and the settlement of legal matters (appeals to courts not being allowed). There are also quarterly meetings, composed of monthly meetings. ARTICLES OF BELIEF. The Society of Friends has never formed a creed after the manner of other religious bodies. They accept the doctrines of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and of his atonement for the sins of men. Christ is the true light, which enlightens all men. This is performed by an immediate inspiration, and not alone by the outward doctrine of the gospel, which Christ has preached to men as a rule of their belief and practice ; which outward preaching of evangelical truths is not the only method used by God to enlighten mankind ; but he sends to each person interior inspirations. This interior light is to be adored, as being Christ himself and God himself. ARTICLES OF BELIEF. 553 The source of inspiration is the Holy Spirit, who inte- riorly teaches us ; and the Scripture is a rule given by and subordinate to that Spirit. An immediate inspiration is as necessary to us as to the apostles ; it teaches us whatever is necessary to salvation. The promise which Christ made to his apostles, to teach them all truth by his Spirit, and that the Holy Ghost should always remain with them,, was not confined to the apostles only, it belongs to all the faithful ; and it is said of them all, that the unction shall teach them all things ; that is, all spiritual truth which they need. Outward baptism is not an ordinance of Christ. Whoever pretends that Christ's order is to be understood of water-bap- tism adds to the text, which does not mention water. The baptism enjoined by Christ is a baptism of spirit, not of water. The water-baptism was John's, and has been abol- ished. Paul says he was not sent to baptize, but to preach. Water-baptism, and the spiritual baptism, are two entirely different baptisms. The inward baptism alone is the true baptism of Christ. Friends are opposed to war, under all circumstances ; be- lieving it to be contrary to the spirit of Christianity. They also deny the propriety of all oaths, in accordance with Christ's command, " Swear not at all." Their plain speech, using " thee " and " thou," instead of " you," is believed to be according to Scripture, wherein it is enjoined by the precept and example of our Lord Jesus and his apostles. They do not prescribe a form of speech or of dress as a condition of membership, but they do re- quire of their members the practice of simplicity and truth- fulness, becoming the Christian, and to avoid flattery, exag- geration, and untruthfulness, vain compliments and super- fluous or gay apparel. (Mat. xxiii. 8 ; Rom. xii. 9 ; Eph. v. 9 ; Phil. iv. 5 ; I Peter iii. 3, 4.) The eldest of all the Yearly Meetings is that of London, which dates from 1672. At the session of 1884 there were reported 14,200 members. The Yearly Meeting at Dublin, the same year, reported 2,935 members in that city. 554 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. THE FRIENDS IN THE UNITED STATES. Bancroft says : " The rise of the people called Quakers is one of the memorable events in the history of man. It marks the moment when intellectual freedom was claimed unconditionally by the people as an inalienable birthright." The founding of the Society in the United States was at- tended with much persecution. In September, 1656, two Quaker women, Mary Fisher and Ann Austin, arrived in Boston from Barbadoes. They were arrested, thrown into prison, stripped of their clothing, convicted on charges of heresy, and expelled from the State. In Rhode Island the Friends were tolerated, but very few settled there until 1672. The great impetus to immigration was given by William Penn after 1632 when he founded Pennsylvania, and great numbers flocked annually to that State. "The purity of their lives, and their constant warfare against all immorality, war, intemperance, and especially against slavery, have ex- ercised an influence over the opinions and practices of the civilized world greater than that of any other body of men of no greater number that has existed in modern times." THE HICKSITE FRIENDS. In the year 1827, a portion of the members in some of the American Yearly Meetings seceded from the society, and set up a distinct and independent association, but still hold- ing to the name of Friends. Elias Hicks led the movement of separation. He was born at Hempstead, L. I., March 19, 1748, and died Feb. 27, 1830. At the time of the separation Hicks was eighty years old. Parts of six of the Yearly Meetings then existing in the United States withdrew from the general society, and the followers of Hicks, about one- third or more of the whole number, formed themselves into a new society. Hicks based his movements upon some of the doctrinal points held by the Friends, in particular those relating to the divinity of Christ, and the nature of the atone- ment, which were regarded by many as being inconsistent STATISTICS AND INSTITUTIONS. 555 with the belief of the orthodox. A document was issued bearing the date, " the 21st of 4th month, 1827," and stating the causes of the secession in these words : " Doctrines held by one part of the society, and which we believe to be sound and edifying, are pronounced by the other part to be unsound and spurious." From this time the Friends were classed as the Orthodox and the Hicksites, although the latter name is not accepted by those to whom it is applied by others. In 1868 some of the Orthodox Friends in the United States established a foreign missionary society, and they have been very active in opening schools among the freedmen, and in missionary and educational work among the Indians. STATISTICS AND INSTITUTIONS. In 1890 the Friends in the United States were divided into four distinct bodies : the Orthodox, the Hicksite, the Wil- burite, and the Primitive. The Orthodox body had 10 yearly meetings (corresponding to State or district organ- izations), 794 meetings (or congregations), 815 meeting places, 80,655 members, and property used for religious pur- poses valued at $2,795,784. The Hicksite body had 7 yearly meetings, 201 meetings, 217 meeting places, 21,992 mem- bers, and property valued at $1,661,850. The Wilburite body had 5 yearly meetings, 52 meetings, 53 meeting places, 4,329 members, and property valued at $67,000. The Prim- itive body had 4 yearly meetings, 9 meetings, 9 meeting places, 232 members, and property valued at $16,700. Com- bining these bodies, there were in the United States 26 yearly meetings, 1,056 meetings, 1,094 meeting places, 107,208 members, and property used for religious purposes valued at $4,541,334. The first quinquennial conference of Orthodox Friends was held in Indianapolis, Ind., October 18, 1892, and among other projects, a plan for a board of foreign missions was adopted. In the United States Bible Schools were officially recognized and supported in all the above Yearly Meetings 556 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. except Philadelphia ; in it, however, a number of such schools exist without official recognition. The Orthodox Friends had three collegiate institutions : Haverford College, near Philadelphia ; Earlham College, Richmond, Ind. ; and Penn College, Oskaloosa, Iowa. Bryn Mawr College for women, near Philadelphia, has been man- aged by Friends, but not as a denominational institution. Yearly Meeting Boarding Schools have existed in Maine, Rhode Island, New York, and Pennsylvania. THE UNITED BRETHREN. FOUNDING OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. THE United Brethren, sometimes called Moravians, were originally formed by the descendants of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren, who being persecuted for their re- ligious tenets and non-conformity in their native country, founded a colony, under the patronage of Count Zinzen- dorf, on an estate of his, called Berthelsdorf, in Upper Lu- satia, in the year 1722, to which colony the name of Herrn- hut was given, on account of its situation on the southern declivity of a hill called Hutberg. The original homes of the church are Bohemia and Mo- ravia, two small countries in the heart of Europe, the one a kingdom, the other a margraviate of the Austrian empire. They are inhabited by the Czechs, who form a division of the great Slavonic race which burst into that continent from the far East, and which now holds nearly one-half of its area. The Czechs were converted to Christianity in the ninth century, through the labors of Cyrill and Methodius, the illustrious apostles of the Slavonians. These mission- aries came from the Greek Church, translated the Bible into the vernacular, and introduced a national ritual. Hence, although Bohemia and Moravia gradually fell under the jurisdiction of the Koman Hierarchy, they protested, from (567) 558 THE UNITED BRETHREN. the earliest times, against some of its claims, and resisted, more or less, its spiritual authority. Within the mountain barriers which inclose these lands, religious liberty found a refuge ; and Rome could not wholly suppress the testimony that fell from the lips of the believers. Even as the Swiss were the first nation in the Middle Ages to proclaim from their Alpine heights the inalienable right of man to govern himself, so the Bohemians and Moravians were the first peo- ple to herald, from their Erzgebirge and their Giant Moun- tains, the coming of that glorious day when the human conscience would be free. In the course of the fourteenth century such testimony grew loud and clear. Preachers like Conrad Waldhausen and John Milic, who, for authority in reforming the masses and power in swaying open-air con- gregations, which numbered thousands of hearers, may be put by the side of George Whitefield and John Wesley, and writers like Matthias Janow, sent forth truths that swept through the land as the wind, and caused the religious feel- ings of the people to swell as the sea. THE BOHEMIAN REFORMATION. Thus was the way prepared for the Bohemian reforma- tion. Of this reformation John Huss became the distin- guished leader, until the Council of Constance, deliberately breaking the pledge of personal safety which had been given him, condemned him to the stake. He suffered, and, as Montgomery says, " To heaven upon a fiery chariot rose," on the 6th of July, 1415. His followers flew to arms, a meas- ure which was contrary to all his teachings, and inaugurated the Hussite war. It raged with fury for fourteen years. God himself used the Hussites as ministers of his ven- geance. They were invariably successful, defeating immense armies of imperialists, driving before them, with their iron- pointed flails, the flower of the chivalry of Europe, and spreading the terror of their name far beyond the confines of their own country. But they were divided among them- selves. The one faction bore the name of Taborites, from a THE BOHEMIAN REFORMATION. 5/5*, fortified hill, which they made the centre of their operations. The other was known as the Calixtines, from Calix, a cup, because they contended mainly for the restoration of the cup to the laity in the Lord's Supper. These two parties the Council of Basle succeeded in arraying against each other. In the spring of 1434, a battle was fought between them, which resulted in the triumph of the Calixtines. Many of the more liberal Taborites thereupon joined them, and they were now constituted the National Church, with certain concessions granted by the Council, such as the Lord's Supper in both kinds, and the use of the vernacular in public worship. From the midst of this communion those men of God proceeded who founded the church. They were true fol- lowers of John Huss, and had discountenanced the Hussite war. They longed to work out their own salvation, and to reform the National Church, which was rapidly passing to affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church. John Rokyzan, the head of the Calixtines, and an illustrious preacher, was inveighing against the corruptness of the times. Around him these fathers gathered, and besought him to begin a reformation. But he was afraid of the danger to which he would expose himself, and loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Hence, they determined to carry out among themselves the principles of Huss, and to unite in some quiet retreat for the exercise of personal religion. About 100 miles east of Prague, on the confines of Silesia, was an estate called Lititz, owned by the Regent of Bohemia. It had been devastated in the war, was sparsely inhabited, and brought him but a small revenue. The associates begged Rokyzan to induce the Regent to grant them an asylum there. Rokyzan, who was anxious to get rid of them, eagerly consented. The Regent, think- ing that such a settlement would tend to develop his estate and increase his income, as eagerly gave the desired per- mission. The associates immediately left Prague, and built them- selves cottages at Kunwalde. In that village, in the midst 560 THE UNITED BRETHREN. of dense forests, and in the shadow of the Giant Mountains, before ever the Pilgrim Fathers had planted the standard of liberty in our land, before ever the Anglican Reformation had separated the Church of England from that of Rome, before even Luther had kindled the torch of truth at the fire which burns on God's own altar when, with the ex- ception of the Waldenses, all Europe yet lay in the dark- ness of mediaeval superstition, and America was still undis- coveredin 1457, the church of the United Brethren was founded. "Brethren" was the name which its members adopted, and which has remained to the present day. The principles that they enunciated were, in brief, the following three : The Bible is the only source of Christian doctrine ; public worship is to be conducted, and a discipline is to be administered, in accordance with what the Scriptures teach, and on the model of the Apostolic Church ; the Lord's Supper is to be received in faith, to be doctrinally denned in the language of Scripture, and every human explanation of that language is to be avoided. Lititz soon became the rallying-point for awakened persons throughout Bohemia and Moravia, so that the brethren in- creased in numbers. During the first ten years of their history, however, they constituted merely a little church within the National Church, from which they had not yet formally separated. Some of its converted priests joined the Association, and ministered to them in holy things. But when this church began a cruel persecution, that added many to the noble army of martyrs, and when the Brethren found that it would be impossible to secure a sufficiency of Calixtine priests, they began to consider the propriety of severing the last tie which united them with the Establish- ment, and of instituting a ministry of their own. They made the question one of special prayer for several years, and called frequent synods to discuss it, until it was finally decided in the affirmative, in 1464, through the use of the lot. THE SYNOD OF 1467. 661 THE SYNOD OF 1467. At last, on the occasion of a synod held at Lhota, in 1467, nine men, of high repute for piety, were elected by ballot as the nominees of the church. Then the question was a second time put absolutely into the hands of the Lord. Twelve lots were prepared, nine being blank, and three in- scribed with the Bohemian word Jest. Thereupon a fer- vent prayer was offered up beseeching God to designate of these nine nominees, either one, or two, or three, as his ministers ; but if this should not be the time which he had ordained for such a consummation, to cause all the nine to receive blanks. In this event, the Brethren would have de- ferred further action to some future period. Nine lots having been drawn singly from a vase and given to the nominees, it appeared that Matthias of Kunwalde, Thomas of Prelouc, and Elias of Chrenovic, had each received one marked Jest. The whole synod instantly rose to its feet, and every member hastened to acknowledge, by the right hand of fellowship, these three men as the future ministers of the church. A thanksgiving hymn, composed for the occasion, was joyfully sung, after which followed the Lord's Supper. When Martin Luther nailed his theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, on the 31st day of October, 1517, there existed a church of Reformers before the Reformation in Bohemia and Moravia, numbering at least 200,000 mem- bers, among whom were some of the noblest and most in- fluential families of the realm, counting over four hundred parishes, using a hymn-book and a catechism of its own, proclaiming its doctrines in a confession of faith, employing two printing-presses, and scattering Bohemian Bibles broad- cast through the land. As, in the days of the apostles, the great persecution at Jerusalem scattered the Christians abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, where they converted many, and thus extended the church, so now the cruel hand that thrust the Brethren out of their native country, unwittingly 36 562 THE UNITED BRETHREN. helped to plant a new branch of them in Poland. This branch grew so rapidly that in 1557, at a general synod, the Polish churches were admitted as an organic part of the Unitas Fratrum, which now became larger and more influ- ential than ever, having three provinces, the Bohemian, the Moravian, and the Polish, each governed by bishops of its own, but all combined as one unity. PROCLAMATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. In 1609 religious liberty was proclaimed in Bohemia and Moravia, and the Brethren were constituted one of the legally acknowledged churches of the land. From the pinnacle of prosperity, however, which they reached in 1609, they were soon cast down by that hand which has, for ages, been smiting at the truth. In 1617, Ferdinand II. ascended the throne. The following year witnessed the beginning of that scourge of Europe, the Thirty Years' War. In the course of the complications which ensued, the Prot- estants of Bohemia rebelled, and elected Frederick of the Palatinate as their king. But his army suffered a total de- feat near Prague in 1620. Ferdinand inaugurated what is generally termed the Bohemian Anti- Reformation. When this work was accomplished, Bohemia and Moravia lay chained, while more than thirty thousand of their Protest- ant families were in exile. Among these were three or four Brethren to every one Lutheran or Reformed. Their pastors were banished or slain ; their churches taken from them ; their ecclesiastical organization ceased to exist. For a time, Poland became their refuge, and the town of Lissa their rallying-point. It was at this juncture that the Brethren accepted the offer of Count Zinzendorf, and made a settlement upon his estate. They have since been allowed to worship in peace. THE BRETHREN" EST THE HOTTED STATES. Count Zinzendorf came to America in 1741, and preached at Germantown and Bethlehem. On February 11, 1742, he THE BRETHREN IN THE UNITED STATES. 663 ordained at Oley, Pa., the missionaries Ranch and Bnettner ; and Ranch baptized three Indians from Shekomeco, east of the Hudson, " the firstlings of the Indians." He soon, with his daughter Benigna, and several brethren and sisters, visited various tribes of Indians. For an entire century, from 1742 to 1843, the exclusive polity was enforced. Even those churches which were not in Moravian towns, felt the influences of this system. Ag- gressiveness was no part of their work. They were looked upon by the synods as little more than preaching-places, with a handful of the faithful clustering around them, who were to do all the good they could by evangelizing, without proselyting. Hence the question with regard to the small- ness of the Moravian Church in this country cannot apply to the first century of its existence. It remained small on principle. And when a new era had dawned, in 1844, through the abolition of the exclusive polity at Bethlehem, the mother of the whole province, twelve years elapsed before all the settlements followed her example ; Salem, in North Caro- lina, the last Moravian town, not yielding its position until 1856. Since that time, and not before, the American Mora- vian Church adopts extension as one of its principles, and stands, in all other respects, on the same basis as its sister denominations of Christians. The ecclesiastical church officers are the bishops, through whom the regular succession of ordination, transmitted to the United Brethren through the ancient Church of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren, is preserved, and who alone are authorized to ordain ministers, but possess no authority in the government of the church, except such as they derive from being the presidents of the governing boards ; the presbyters, or ordained stated ministers of the communities, and the deacons. The degree of deacon is the first bestowed upon young ministers and missionaries, by which they are authorized to administer the sacraments. The Moravians formerly had separate communities at Beth- lehem, Nazareth, and Lititz, in Pennsylvania, and at Salem, North Carolina. The first named of these is still their largest 64 THE UNITED BRETHREN. establishment in America, and they have there an educational institution which enjoys a large patronage and an enviable reputation. The education of youth is regarded by the Brethren as worthy of the greatest attention, and, therefore, wherever their communities are located the most thorough and excellent schools will be found. At Lititz, Nazareth, and Salem, Moravian schools are located, which, although not enjoying the extensive patronage of the Bethlehem in- stitution, are deservedly popular and well sustained. The Moravians in the United States are divided into the Northern and Southern Districts. The former made strong efforts in 1881-'82 to effect a union of both bodies, but with- out success. In 1890 there were reported, in the Northern District, 79 organizations, 96 churches and halls, 9,962 mem- bers, and church property valued at $621,750 ; and in the Southern District, 15 organizations, 22 churches, 1,819 mem- bers, and church property valued at $59,500 ; total, 94 organ- izations. 118 churches and halls, 11,781 members, and church property valued at $681,250. THE UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST. This denomination took its rise in the United States about the year 1755, and is distinguished from the Mora- vian Church by the additional phrase of " In Christ." In 1752 William Otterbein, a distinguished divine in the Ger- man Ref@rmed Church, came to America, and immediately began preaching. He formed a connection with two other divines of his church, Messrs. Beohm and Geeting, and in 1771 Messrs. Asbury and Wright, arriving from England, united with the German Brethren in their religious labors. The number of German Brethren increased rapidly, and the work spread through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and- Virginia, and rendered necessary a union of workers for the benefit of the cause. The first conference was held in Baltimore, Md., in 1789. At this time the Brethren represented not only the German Reformed, but the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Mennon- ite, and Methodist interests. The first annual conference was held in 1800, when their present name was adopted. Messrs. Otterbein and Beohm were elected superintendents or bishops, and it was agreed that each should be allowed to DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 565 act according to his own convictions as to the mode of bap- tism. In 1815 the first General Conference was held at Mount Pleasant, Pa., and after prayful deliberation a Discipline was prepared, containing the doctrines and rules for the government of the church. William Otterbein. the founder of the church, was born March 6, 1726, and died November 17, 1813. He resided twenty-six years in Germany, and sixty-one in America, all of which latter term he labored in the ministry. DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. The doctrines of the church may be briefly summed up : 1. They believe in the only true God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that these three are one, the Father in the Son, the Son in the Father, and the Holy Ghost equal in essence or being with both. 2. They believe in Jesus Christ, that he is very God and man ; that he became incarnate by the Holy Ghost in the Virgin Mary, and was born of her; that he is the Saviour and Mediator of the whole human race, if they, with full faith, accept the grace proffered in Jesus. 3. They believe in the Holy Ghost; that he is equal in being with the Father and Son ; and that he comforts the faithful and guides them into all truth. 4. They believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God ; that it contains the only true way to our salvation ; that every true Christian is bound to receive it with the influence of the Spirit of God, as the only rule and guide ; that without faith in Jesus Christ, true repentance, forgiveness of sins, and following after Christ, no one can be a true Christian. 6. They believe that the fall in Adam and the redemption through Jesus Christ, shall be preached throughout the world. 7. They believe that the ordinances, namely, baptism and the remem- brance of the sufferings and death of Christ, are to be in use and prac- ticed by all Christian societies, but the manner of which ought always to be left to the judgment of every individual. The example of washing the saints' feet is left to the judgment of all to practice or not. In 1889 there was a division in the Church over a new constitution, and a minority withdrew and formed an Old Constitution branch. In- 1890 there were reported in the original denomination 3,731 organizations, 2,836 churches, 780 halls used for church purposes, 202,474 members, and church property valued at $4,292,643. The Old Constitution branch had 22,807 members. Ufie LInitarian DISTINGUISHING DOCTRINES. T TNITARIANISM takes its name from its distinguishing LJ tenet, the strict personal unity of God, which Unitari- ans hold in opposition to the doctrine which teaches that God exists in three persons. They believe in only one supreme, self-existent God, the Father, who exists as one person, one being, infinite in his attributes, and the only proper object of the highest love and adoration. They regard Jesus Christ as a person distinct from God, and dependent on God, from whom he derived his being and power. They accept literally his saying : " My Father is greater than I." While agreeing in the doctrine of the subordination of Christ to God they differ very much in their views of the nature of Christ and of his precise relation to God. Some regard him as simply a man, distinguished for his goodness and spiritual endowments, the son of Joseph and Mary ; others, as the son of the Virgin Mary by supernatural gener- ation, especially enlightened, empowered, and sent into the world by God ; others, as the highest representative of hu- manity and of God ; others, again^ believe in his pre-exist- ence, and super-angelic nature. Unitarians have never believed in the Holy Spirit as a person, but regard it as an attribute or influence of God, or (566) HISTORICAL SKETCH. fi$7