% (JJjorus of jfaitij* 3feifk.iT] JD w m m * W^ WIVERS/TY OF AT URr , * l,BRAR Y A CHORUS OF FAITH Seven Great Teachers of Religion The Lovers of the Light are One." A Series of Sermon-Lectures ; A Contribution to the Parliament of Religion, by JENKIN LLOYD JONES I. Moses, the Hebrew Law-Giver II. Zoroaster, the Prophet of Industry III. Confucius, the Prophet of Politics IV. Buddha, the Light of Asia V. Sokrates the Prophet of Reason VI. Jesus, the Founder of Christianity VII. Mohammed, the Prophet of Arabia 10 Cts. Each; in Neat Case, 75 Cts. per Set A CHORUS OF FAITH AS HEARD IN THE PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS HELD IN Chicago; sept. 10-27, 1893 WITH AN INTRODUCTION JENKIN LLOYD JONES CHICAGO THE UNITY PUBLISHING COMPANY 1893 Copyright 1893 BY JENKIN LLOYD JONES *. R. DONNELLEY A SONS CO., CHICAGO TO THE LABORERS WHO ARE MAKING THE GREAT PROPHECY HISTORY; THE BELIEVERS IN THE UNIVERSAL RELIGION OF CHARACTER, THE CHURCH OF HUMANITY CONTENTS. Poem, Prelude — W C. Gannett, .... i Introduction — Jenkin Lloyd Jones, - - - n Greeting : Poem— J. G. Whittier, 24 Extracts, 25 Harmony of the Prophets: Poem — Samuel Longfellow, ..... 66 Extracts, ---.---..67 Holy Bibles : Poem — R.W.Emerson, 100 Extracts, -..--...- 101 Unity in Ethics : Poem — Leigh Hunt, 126 Extracts, 127 Brotherhood: Poem — Lewis Morris, - - - - - - 162 Extracts, -----.... 163 The Soul : Poem — David A. Wasson, 192 Extracts, 193 The Thought of God : Poem — F. L. Hosmer, 222 Extracts, 223 The Crowning Day : Poem — Robert Browning, .... 244 Extracts, 245 Farewell : Poem — Walt Whitman, ..... 284 Extracts, 285 7 8 (ffontrntg. AriKNinx : A. Extract from first call, 319 B. Objections to the Parliament, .... I. Letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury, 320 II. Jowph Cook's challenge, - - 321 III. Bishop Coxe's protest, .... 323 C. A Parliament at Henares, ..... 326 D. Philip Schaff, in Memoriam, - - - 327 POXM, 1'ostlude— John C. Learned, • - - 328 INDEX, 329 Piyadasi honors all forms of faith and enjoins reverence for one's own faith and no reviling nor injury to that of others. Let the reverence as shown in such and such a manner as is suited to the difference of belief. For he who in some way honors his own religion and reviles that of others throws difficulties in the way of his own religion ; this, his conduct cannot be right. From lithic tablets erected by the Emperor of Asoka, after the Parliament of Religions held at Patali-Putra. — 241 B.C. And they shall come from the east and west ; and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.— Jesus. "THESE WAIT ALL UPON THEE." Bring, O Morn, thy music ! Bring, O Night, thy hushes ! Oceans, laugh the rapture to the storm-clouds conning free ! Suns and stars are singing, Thou art our Creator, Thou wert, and art, and evermore shalt be ! Joy and Pain, thy creatures, praise thee, Mighty Giver! Dumb the prayers are rising in thy beast and bird and tree. Lo ! they praise and vanish, vanish at thy bidding, Thou wert, and art, and evermore shalt be ! Light us ! lead us ! love us ! cry thy groping nations, Pleading in the thousand tongues, but calling only thee, Weaving blindly out one holy, happy purpose, Thou wert, and art, and evermore shalt be ! Life nor death can part us, O thou Love eternal, Shepherd of the wandering star and wayward souls that flee! Homeward draws the spirit to thy Spirit yearning, Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be ! //'. C. Gannett. INTRODUCTION. This compilation contains one hundred and sixty- seven extracts from one hundred and fifteen different authors, all of them taken from the utterances of the main Parliament. It is to be regretted that not even the daily papers were able to give any considerable space to the various denominational and other side congresses where many noble things were said. If these denominational congresses are ever adequately reported there will be offered another rich field from which to compile a second "Chorus of Faith." This compilation is a book with a purpose. The compilers have no desire to conceal the fact, made obvious by the most casual examination, that those extracts have been taken that point to a much needed lesson. They have selected such passages as indicate the essential unity of all religious faiths at their best, the fundamental harmony in human nature made ap- parent by the noblest utterances of its representatives. They are aware that these selections may seem to prove too much. The reader will not forget that there were serious differences as well as profound harmonies, and that not all the speakers spoke up to these extracts. Still less is it to be expected that the speakers always lived up to these high standards. There were occasional lapses from the spirit of courtesy here indicated, and frequent failures to maintain the stand- ii 12 a GHjorug of jfpaiti). ard of clearness and eloquence aimed at in this com- pilation. Of course, in the seventeen days of three sessions each, each session averaging more than two hours and a half, there were some dreary stretches of the commonplace. But, in the main, the interest of the great audiences, which always taxed, and fre- quently overflowed, the limits of Columbus Hall, accommodating about three thousand people, was maintained to the end. Indeed, in estimating the significance of the Parliament, the phenomenal listen- ing power, the staying quality of the audience, the persistent eagerness of the throng under circumstances peculiarly exhaustive, expensive, and distracting must be taken into consideration. The variety of interest, faiths, rank, races, and locations represented in the audience was, to say the least, as great as that found on the platform. The reader will also remember, in justice to the speakers, that this is a book of extracts. It does not attempt to give complete arguments. The extracts are made from the necessarily hasty, but, in the main, remarkably full and satisfactory reports which ap- peared from day to day in the Chicago Herald. To this paper due acknowledgement is here made. This little book will not take the place of the larger two-volume history of the Parliament edited by Dr. John Henry Barrows, whose eminent service as chair- man of the committee so peculiarly qualified him to be the historian of the great occasion. But even this larger two-volume history will necessitate such con- densation and compilation as will only increase the demand for that full verbatim reproduction of the Jhurotructton. *3 entire proceedings which we hope the Directors of the Columbian Exposition, aided by the United States government, will give to the world. Such a report of the Parliament, together with associate volumes con- taining the proceedings of the various congresses held under the auspices of the World's Congress Auxiliary during the six months of the Exposition, would pre- sent in encyclopedic form such a popular presentation of human progress up to date as could be found in no other form. Confessedly inadequate and unsatisfactory as these selections are, the compilers hope that they are suffi- cient to prove to many minds the reality of the uni- versal brotherhood herein confessed; and that under its simple inspiration the spiritual life grows. Where kindliness is, piety must be. Where hospitality thrives, reverence triumphs. The human heart left free to seek its own in the unfenced field of humanity grows joyous, and the human mind finds new spon- taneity; it becomes alert, acquisitive. At this Parlia- ment of religion the Brahmin forgot his caste and the Catholic was chiefly conscious of his catholicity. Here the Presbyterian laid aside his creed, the Baptist rose above his close communion tenet, the Methodist tun- neled under his "Discipline." All these came there simply as men conscious of their ignorance, conscious also of an intensified potency and of an increasing hunger for companionship. It was plain to see that the priests and preachers on the platform of Colum- bus Hall were having an exceedingly good time. The soul had escaped its conventional fetters, laid aside its ecclesiastical trumpery and had gone out to play i4 a £f)oru8 of Jfattt). in the open fields of God. The spirits of men and women were out walking on the hilltops of human nature. They were having a good time because they had all escaped barriers and fetters peculiar to them. Next to the gorgeously bedecked and jolly Bishop of Zante, of the Greek Church, sat his reverence Bishop Shibata, of the Shinto faith of Japan, who was probably the most elaborately harnessed figure on the plat- form. How far away he looked in his pontifical robes! How insular he seemed wrapped in his rich Japanese silk and doomed to the silence of a foreign speech. Very conventional seemed the benedictions which he dropped upon the audience with the cedar paddle he reverently carried in both hands, symboliz- ing some sanctity we knew not of, which he evidently did not feel free to discard. But, as Dr. Barrows read for him his translated address, in which he told us how " fourteen years ago he had told his people his longing for such a friendly meeting as this," his thirst for that " fraternity that would put an end to war, that fearlessness in investigating the truth of the universe that would be instrumental in uniting all the religions of the world, bringing hostile nations into peaceful relations by the way of perfect justice," that vast audience soon forgot the priest as they discovered the man. They looked beneath his satin vestments and found his human heart. The great wave of applause from the risen audience was too much for him to handle with his ecclesiastical paddle. It was an impressive moment when, yielding to a spontaneous impulse he threw away his paddle and reached out his naked non-official hands towards his Entrotructum. 15 brethren and sisters, and he had not hands enough. I hope the newspaper men were right when they said that the sisters' cheeks were kissed, as I know some of the brethren's were, for it was the triumph of man, not the man. It was the human soul unsexed as it was unsected. It was the child of love and grief, the victim of pains and disappointments, the bearer of hopes, the servant of ideals that was greeted and greeting. If nothing else is left of the Parliament there will be left this sweet revelation of brotherhood. If ignorance and narrowness should still continue to blind the soul to the beauty of other faiths than its own, if the heart of Christendom should continue to yield no place for Confucius or Buddha, and their devotees still distrust or deny the spiritual loftiness of Jesus, yet those who attended the meetings of last September will send their hearts around the globe to find and to hold the individuals they there learned to respect and to love. The Parliament, if it has proved nothing else, has proved what a splendid thing human nature is to build a religious fellow- ship upon. Who cares for a creed which a prophet like Mozoomdar cannot sign? Who wants a church that has no room in it for a Pagan like Dharmapala? Who would insult the memory of Jesus by excluding from a so-called " Lord's table " those who served his brothers and sisters in the land of the cherry blossoms, the beautiful isles of the Pacific — those gentle teachers, Hirai, and his mild and cultivated associates? Having listened to the dignified Pung Quang Yu we can never again abuse the Chinese '6 a £f)oru« of jFaitf). with as stupid a conscience. Having heard Bishop Arnett and Prince Massaquoi, it will be harder than ever to spell negro with two "g's." The Parliament demonstrated the essential piety of Terrcnce, when he said, " I deem nothing foreign that is human." The second unity made perceptible at this Parlia- ment was the unity of the prophecy, the harmony of the prophets. Thousands were made to feel by di- rect contact, thousands more will come to feel through the study of its triumphs, that the message of all the great teachers of religion is essentially the same. Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Moses, Zoroaster, Sokrates and Mohammed taught, not so many different ways to God, but the same way, the only way, the way of service, the lonely way of truth- seeking, the homely way of loving and helping. Their followers in- vented other ways, of ritual and sacrament, of creed and confession, but in the final tests these short cuts of lesser minds all prove either supplementary or useless. The soul must travel the one highway, the way of character, the road of conduct, the path of morals. This alone brings the beatitudes of life. Traveling this road we come to the third unity that bound together the Parliament, made it a coher- ent and cohesive body: the unity of reverence, the sense of the mysterious in the infinite, the thought of God. There was but one faith prevading the Parlia- ment except when some one began to number his di- vinities or to count the attributes of his deity, then disintegration was imminent. Perhaps the least fruit- ful day of the Parliament was the one set apart for the discussion of the divjne nature. Let it be con- JFmroinictton. 17 fessed that was rather a dry day. The Parliament was most triumphant when it took God for granted. The soul can be trusted on its Godward side if it is only developed on its manward side. Give the spirit its freedom and it will fast enough use its wings. Teach the mind to think and it will soon enough dis- cover that it is " thinking God's thoughts after Him." To recapitulate: The Parliament was at least a cumulative revelation of the common bonds of human nature, common love of nobility, common de- pendence on the great revealers of history, — loyalty to the leaders of the race. And, lastly, in propor- tion as these two unities are realized, there comes the common sense of the divine, the nestling of the human close to the heart of God. The Parliament was not without its discordant notes. It is not going to put an end to bigotry. There are those who distrusted the project and who regret the triumph. It is but fair to recognize that fact. In the appendix to this book we print the most famous objections to the Parliament and its outcome. But the Parliament has made it easier for a man to think his own thoughts, to love truth and to follow it even though it cross the barriers of an adopted creed. It will make men more willing to reach hands across denominational lines into other church folds. It will make it harder for an honest man to subscribe to a creed he does not approve. It will make it more cowardly for a preacher to think one thing in the study and to imply a different thing in the pulpit. It will make it more dishonorable than ever for a man 2 i» a <2Tf)oru!3 of ;ff aitf). to support the church that he does not believe in, or to withhold his support from the church he does believe in. Christianity was thrown on the defensive on the floors of the Parliament. To borrow a World's Fair phrase, the so-called Pagans, " made the best exhibit." They were the most in demand. They enkindled the greatest enthusiasm. This is not wholly explained by the fact of novelty. Seventeen days would have exhausted the novelty of white and saffron robes had there not been, under these robes, minds skilled to thought, spirits that probed through things local and transient to things universal and eternal. The Japanese won the American hearts in spite of their garb, their foreign tongue, and their so- called " heathen " antecedents. The representatives of the Orient triumphed over the audience by speak- ing unwelcome truths, telling them things they did not like to hear. These men triumphed because they left much of their baggage at home. The ecclesias- ticism, the forms and the dogmas of these religions were not worth paying freight on from home, so they left them behind. They came as prophets and not as priests. They came to proclaim the universals, the things we hold in common. They came to show us that we held no monopoly upon the superlative things of the soul. They found us, unfortunately, in the midst of all our baggage, overlaid by our secondary things. Christianity was on the defensive only in so far as it tried to guard its peculiar, and what it may claim as exclusive prerogatives, when it tried to jus- tify that which it ought to amend, and should be ashamed of. Christianity as the " only revealed relig- Introduction. i 9 ion," the "one true religion " set over against a "false religion " found itself in straightened circumstances at the Parliament. Its boast was denied in the most emphatic way such a denial could come. The claim was disproved by men who by their radiant faces, enkindled words and blameless lives, proved that they, too, were inside of the Kingdom of God, partakers of his righteousness, though still outside the traditions and dogmas of Christianity. Christianity as one of the religious forces in the world, wrestling with error and struggling with crime, quickening hearts with love, nerving souls to do the right, has nothing to fear, but much, very much, to gain from this Parlia- ment. It will grow strong by increasing its modesty; grow efficient by concentrating its forces and discov- ering its true enemies. Christianity as the gospel of love trying to reduce the hates of the world, as the gospel of light trying to reduce the ignorance of the world, as a progressive religion trying to appropriate the discoveries of science, the triumphs of commerce, and the mechanic arts, has received a magnificent impetus in this Parliament. So also has Buddhism as a religion of love, gentleness and service. And the same is true of Brahminism and all the others. These messengers from Japan, China, and India will go back with a larger conception of the work which awaits them. We may be sure they will put a more univer- sal accent into their preaching, more progressive cour- age into their practice. Jesus, the blessed friend of sinners, the peasant prophet of righteousness, the simple priest of charac- ter, the man illuminated and illuminating in the ser- 2o a cTlionis of ,lf aiti). mon on the mount, the golden rule, the matchless parables of the good Samaritan and the prodigal son, was magnificently honored at the Parliament. His fame was immeasurably extended and his power increased. But the Christ of dogma, the Christ of a "scheme of salvation," of a vindictive soul-damning god-head was threatened. There was little place on that platform for any atoning blood that will snatch a murderous and thieving Christian into heaven and plunge an honest, life-venerating pagan into hell. Jesus, one of the saviors of the world, the noblest, as it seems to me, of that noble brotherhood, the spirit- ual leaders of the race, remains made more near and dear by this fraternity of religions. But Jesus, as "The Saviour of the World," who, by miraculous endowment or supernatural appointment, is to sup- plant all other teachers and overthrow their work, will find but little endorsement for such a claim in the thought or feeling that will grow out of the Parliament of Religions. What of results ? I look for no revolution in religious thought or institutions ; but there will come a more rapid evolution of both. Existing churches will remain, but their emphasis will be changed more and more from dogma to deed, from profession to practice. From out their creed-bound walls will come an ever-increasing throng, upon whose brows will rest the radiance of the sunrise; whose hearts will glow with the fervid heat of the Orient intensified by the scientific convictions of the Occident. These people will demand a church that will be as inclusive in its Entrotmcttott. *« spirit as the Parliament. The Parliament will teach people that there is an Universal Religion. This must have its teachers and it will have its churches. This universal religion is not made of the shreds and tatters of other religions. It is not a patchwork of pieces cut out of other faiths, but it is founded on those things which all religions hold in common : the hunger of the heart for comradeship, the thirst of mind for truth, the passion of the soul for usefulness. In morality the voices of the prophets blend and the chorus is to become audible throughout the world. In ethics all the religions meet. Gentleness is every- where and always a gospel. Character is always rev- elation. All writings that make for it are Scripture. It is great to have lived to have seen this triumph. But it will not do to forget that "one swallow does not make a summer." On the crest of a great oppor- tunity, borne by a splendid inspiration, focalized at the quadro-centennial celebration of the discovery of a world, it has been possible to realize a world's Pente- cost for seventeen days. But it took unnumbered centuries and uncounted martyrs to prepare for this festival of the spirit. The renunciation of Buddha, the cup of hemlock at Athens, and the bitterness of Calvary, together with the countless love-offerings and life-sacrifices inspired by these, all helped to make the triumph witnessed in Chicago in September, 1893, a triumph compared with which the councils of Nicea, of Dort, Trent, and all the rest of them are secondary and unimportant. They were local ; this universal. They resulted in schism ; this made for unity. They inspired disputes, emphasized differ- « & OTijorus of jf aiti). ences ; this rose above disputes and invited harmony. That it is to have immeasureable results for good I firmly believe, but not without our strivings and our self-sacrifices. After all the lesson most needed is the lesson of self-denial, consecration, and devotion to an ideal that our pilgrim-guests enforced by their practice more than by their precept. If this little book will in any measure inspire such practices its publication will be justified and the labors of the compilers will be amply rewarded. J. LI. J. Chicago, December 25, 1893. GREETING. 23 Sound over all waters, reach out from all lands, The chorus of voices, the clasping of hands; Willi glad jubilations Bring hope to the nations! The dark night is ending and dawn has begun ; Rise, hope of the ages, arise like the inn, All speech flow to music, all hearts beat as one! Sing the bridal of nations! with chorals of love Sing out the war-vulture and sing in the dore, Till the hearts of the people keep time in accord And the voice of the world is the voice of the Lord! Clasp hands of the nations In strong gratulations: The dark night is ending and dawn has begun ; Rise, hope of the ages, arise like the sun, All speech flow to music, all hearts beat as one! Mow, bugles of battle, the marches of peace; East, west, north, and south let the long quarrel cease Hark ! joining in chorus The heavens bend o'er us ! The dark night is ending and dawn has begun; Rise, hope of the ages, arise like the sun, All speech flow to music, all hearts beat as one! John G. Whittier. 24 GREETING. The opening meeting was a memorable one in many respects. Picturesque to a high degree in the variety of costumes, hues, and nationalities were the representatives that crowded the platforms. There was to be seen the brilliant robes of eminent prelates in the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches as well as those of non-Christian religions alongside of the plain Quaker garb and civic costumes. The audience that crowded every available inch of space looked into faces ranging from clearest white to deepest black. All climates were there represented. The range of thought was as wide as the range of race. There were believers in the Divine Unity, the Divine Trinity, and the Divine Multiplicity. Brahminism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Parsiism, Shintoism, Mohammedanism, as well as the complexities of Christendom were represented by those who were prepared to interpret them from the inside. For once at least there was to be a comparison of view when each faith was to be measured by its friends, interpreted by its devotees. In the face of all this diversity the unity of that meet- ing was a most palpable fact. The fellowship was not feigned ; the enthusiasm was not assumed. Over and over again the throng broke into tumultuous applause. The waving of handkerchiefs, the mingling of tears and of smiles combined to make a scene never to be 25 26 & (tfyotw of jFattf). forgotten by those who participated in the opening meeting. The following contains essentially the addresses made on that occasion in the order given. But much is lost in the instructive and stimulating introductions and the exchange of cordialities which were not reportable. Worshipers of God and Lovers $tf0. i^OTtnep. of Man: — Let us rejoice that we have lived to see this glorious day ; let us give thanks to the Eternal God, whose mercy endureth forever, that we are permitted to take part in the solemn and majestic event of a world's congress of religions. The importance of this event cannot be overestimated. Its influence on the future relations of the various races of men cannot be too highly esteemed. If this congress shall faithfully execute the duties with which it has been charged it will become a joy of the whole earth and stand in human history like a new Mount Zion, crowned with glory and making the actual beginning of a new epoch of brotherhood and peace. For when the religious faiths of the world recognize each other as brothers, children of one Father whom all profess to love and serve, then, and not till then, will the nations of the earth yield to the spirit of con- cord and learn war no more. In this congress the word "religion" means the love and worship of God and the love and service of man. We believe the scripture, "Of a truth God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of Greeting. *7 him." We come together in mutual confidence and respect, without the least surrender or compromise of anything which we respectively believe to be truth or duty, with the hope that mutual acquaintance and a free and sincere interchange of views on the great questions of eternal life and human conduct will be mutually beneficial. The religious faiths of the world have most seriously misunderstood and misjudged each other, from the use of words in meanings radically different from those which they were intended to bear, and from a disregard of the distinctions between appear- ances and facts; between signs and symbols and the things signified and represented. Such errors it is hoped that this congress will do much to correct and to render hereafter impossible. At first the proposal of a world's congress of religions seemed impracticable. It was said that the religions had never met but in conflict, and that a different result could not be expected now. A com- mittee of organization was, nevertheless, appointed to make the necessary arrangements. This com- mittee was composed of representatives of sixteen different religious bodies. Rev. Dr. John Henry Barrows was made chairman. How zealously and efficiently he has performed the great work committed to his hands this congress is a sufficient witness. The preliminary address of the committee, pre- pared by him and sent throughout the world, elicited the most gratifying responses, and proved that the proposed congress was not only practicable, but also that it was most earnestly demanded by the needs of 28 & ONjonia of ,jf aitft. the present age. The religious leaders of main- lands, hungering and thirsting for a larger righteous- ness, gave the proposal their benedictions and prom- ised the congress their active co-operation and support. The programme for the religious congresses of 1893 constitutes what may with perfect propriety be designated as one of the most remarkable publica- tions of the century. The programme of this general Parliament of Religions directly represents England, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Syria, India, Japan, China, Ceylon, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, and the American states, and indirectly includes many other countries. This remarkable programme presents, among other great themes to be considered in this congress, Theism, Judaism, Mohammedanism, Hin- duism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Catholicism, the Greek Church, Protestantism in many forms, and also refers to the nature and influence of other religious systems. This programme also announces for presentation the great subjects of revelation, immortality, the incarnation of God, the universal elements in religion, the ethical unity of different religious systems, the- relations of religion to morals, marriage, education, science, philosophy, evolution, music, labor, govern- ment, peace and war, and many other themes of absorbing interest. The distinguished leaders of human progress by whom these great topics will be presented constitute an unparalleled galaxy of emi- Greeting. 2 9 neJt names, but we may not pause to call the illus- trious roll. To this more than imperial feast, I bid you wel- come ! We meet on the mountain height of absolute respect for the religious convictions of each other and an earnest desire for a better knowledge of the consolations which other forms of faith than our own offer to their devotees. The very basis of our convo- cation is the idea that the representatives of each religion sincerely believe that it is the truest and the best of all ; and that they will, therefore, hear with perfect candor and without fear the convictions of other sincere souls on the great questions of the immortal life. Without controversy, or any attempt to pronounce judgment upon any matter of faith or worship or religious opinion, we seek a better knowledge of the religious condition of all mankind, with an earnest desire to be useful to each other and to all others who love truth and righteousness. This day the sun of a new era of religious peace and progress rises over the world, dispelling the dark clouds of sectarian strife. This day a new flower blooms in the gardens of religious thought, filling the air with its exquisite perfume. This day a new fra- ternity is born into the world of human progress, to aid in the upbuilding of the kingdom of God in the hearts of men. Era and flower and fraternity bear one name. It is a name which will gladden the hearts of those who worship God and love man in 3° & tfljovua of Jfaitt). every clime. Those who hear its music joyfully echo it back to sun and flower. It is the Brotherhood of Religions.. In this name I welcome the first Parliament of the Religions of the world. Mr. President and OTtjainnan tfartOtoS. Friends:— If my heart did not overflow with cordial welcome at this hour, which promises to be a great moment in history, it would be because I had lost the spirit of manhood and had been forsaken by the spirit of God. The whitest snow on the sacred mount of Japan, the clearest water springing from the sacred fountains of India are not more pure and bright than the joy of my heart and of many hearts here that this day has dawned in the annals of time, and that from the farthest isles of Asia; from India, mother of religions; from Europe, the great teacher of civiliza- tion; from the shores on which breaks the "long wash of Australasian seas"; that from neighboring lands and from all parts of this republic which we love to contemplate as the land of earth's brightest future, you have come here at our invitation in the expecta- tion that the world's first Parliament of Religions must prove an event of race-wide and perpetual signifi- cance. For more than two years the general committee, which I have the honor to represent, working together in unbroken harmony, and presenting the picture of prophecy of a united Christendom, have carried on their arduous and sometimes appalling task in happy Greeting. 31 anticipation of this golden hour. Your coming has constantly been in our thoughts and hopes and fervent prayers. I rejoice that your long voyages and jour- neys are over, and that here, in this young capital of our western civilization, you find men eager for truth, sympathetic with the spirit of universal human brother- hood, and loyal, I believe, to the highest they know, glad and grateful to Almighty God that they see your faces and are to hear your words. Welcome, most welcome, O wise men of the East and of the West! May the star which has led you hither be like unto that luminary which guided the men of old, and may this meeting by the inland sea of a new continent be blessed of heaven to the redemp- tion of men from error and from sin and despair. Were it decreed that our sessions should end this day, the truthful historian would say that the idea which has inspired and led this movement, the idea whose beauty and force have drawn you through these many thousand miles of travel, that this idea has been so flashed before the eyes of men that they will not forget it, and that our meeting this morning has be- come a new, great fact in the historic evolution of the race, a fact which will not be obliterated. Welcome, one and all, thrice welcome to the world's first Parliament of Religions. Welcome to the men and women of Israel, the standing miracle of nations and religions. Welcome to the disciples of Prince Siddartha, the many millions who cherish in their heart Lord Buddha as the Light of Asia. Welcome to the high priest of the national religion of Japan. This city has every reason to be grateful to the enlightened 3* 21 £1)oru9 of Jf aitf). ruler of the sunrise kingdom. Welcome to the men of India and all faiths. Welcome to all the disciples of Christ. And may God's blessing abide in our council and extend to the twelve hundred millions of human beings, the representatives of whose faiths I address at this moment. The privilege has been given me of ,-fFcrfjan. g' v ' n K greeting in the name of the Cath- olic Church to the members of the Par- liament of Religions. Surely we all regard it as a time and a day of the highest interest, for we have here the commencement of an assembly unique in the history of the world. One of the representatives from the ancient East has mentioned that his king in early days held a meeting like this, but certainly the mod- ern and historical world has had no such thing. Men have come from distant lands, from many shores. They represent many types of race. They represent many forms of faith: some from the distant East, rep- resenting its remote antiquity; some from the islands and continents of the West. In all there is a great diversity of opinion, but in all there is a great, high motive. Of all the things that our city has seen and heard during these passing months the highest and the greatest is now to be presented to it. For earnest men, learned and eloquent men of different faiths, have come to speak and to tell us of those things that of all are of the highest and deepest interest to us all. We are interested in material things; we are interested in beautiful things. We admire the wonders of that Greeting. 33 new city that has sprung up on the southern end of our great City of Chicago; but when learned men, men representing the thought of the world on relig- ion, come to tell us of God and of his truth, and of life and of death, and of immortality and of justice, and of goodness and of charity, then we listen to what will surpass infinitely whatever the most learned or most able men can tell us of material things. Those men that have come together will tell of their systems of faith, without, as has been said by Doctor Barrows, one atom of surrender of what each one believes to be the truth for him. No doubt it will be of exceeding interest, but whatever may be said in the end, when all is spoken, there will be at least one great result; because no matter how we may differ in faith or in religion, there is one thing that is common to us all, and that is a common humanity. And those men representing the races and the faiths of the world, meeting together and talking together and see- ing one another, will have for each other in the end a sincere respect and reverence and a cordial and fra- ternal feeling of friendship. As the privilege which I prize very much has been given to me, I bid them all in my own name and of that I represent a most cordial welcome. I would be wanting in my duty as a