From the earliest times which I can remember, I have heard the English Bible spoken of with the utmost reverence, as the undoubted word of God, as a revelation of the will, ways, and even the thoughts of the Supreme Being. Everything which it contains has been regarded as infallibly true, and the wisdom, goodness, mercy, and justice of its doctrines and laws have been judged to be unimpeachable. From the pulpit of many earnest divines I have heard innumerable sermons whose burden has been praise of, and admiration for, the morality of the Old and New Testaments, the sublimity of the language therein used, and the loftiness of the thoughts embodied. From those same teachers, and from a still greater number of laymen, I have heard the assertion repeatedly made that the Bible must be divinely inspired, because no other set of men, except those who composed its books, could write so powerfully; and depict so graphically, the wants, the woes, the pleasures, the passions, the aspirations, and the doubts of the human mind. By a great majority, if not by the whole of our imperfectly educated ministers and people, the assertion to which we here refer is raised to the position of an argument; and any opponent who ventures to question the truth of the assumption, is challenged to show a book of divinity equal or superior to the Bible.

The worthlessness of the argument might be readily shown to any one accustomed to use his reason, by pointing out that the religious books of the Ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Medea, Persians, and Etruscans, are lost to us. We may compare the assertion with that which Englishmen might have made, to the effect that the British breed of horses was superior to any other, for no one could show them a better; yet as soon as our Crusaders became acquainted with the Arabian steed, the value of the assumption was destroyed. Yet such a remark would be wholly inoperative on the mind of every bigot whose judgment of evidence is always bribed by his prejudice. Consequently, to make any serious impression upon the mind of the Bibliolater, it is desirable, if possible, to make copies of the holy images worshipped by other nations, under the name of sacred books, and to place these side by side with that grotesque production, which, for our purposes, may be compared to Diana of the Ephesians—the thing which fell down from Jupiter.

Yet even when we do bring from distant countries, to which in our complacency we give the name of "heathen," copies of their deified books, and show their equality with, or superiority to that which we are told was arranged by the disposition of angels (Acts vii. 53)—the scriptures that Paul (2 Tim. iii. 16) affirms were entirely given by inspiration of God [—Greek—], see also 1 Pet. i. 11, 12,—we are met by the assertion, if the equality is allowed, that the Pagan writings have been copied from, or are traceable to, the writers in the Old or in the New Testament.

Whenever a thoughtless theologian asserts that such a thing must be so, he is not by any means particular as to the facts upon which he bases his belief. This weakness of his is so conspicuous to the logical observer, that he sometimes feels pity at having to wound a mind so earnest as to be unable to use its reason. He almost regards himself as a man fighting a child or a weak woman. Yet men will, in their power and knowledge, deprive a baby of a bon-bon, which it is sucking eagerly, if they know that it is poisonous, and will lay violent hands upon a tender girl who, in a whirlwind of passion, is about to throw herself before a railway train. After the event both the individuals may learn to thank the roughness which saved them; and I feel sure that many an earnest religionist, who now thinks that the philosophers are treating him cruelly, by trying to deprive him of a cherished faith, will ultimately be grateful for having been induced to cease grovelling in the dust of a coarse antiquity.

If we endeavour to ascertain the basis of the belief that everything which is good must have come from the Bible, we find that it exists in the assertion that the Jews were the chosen people of God, selected by Him to receive a record of His past doings and His future desires. Hence it is argued, that all who have not been taught by the Jews, or through their influence, are without God in the world—poor, benighted pagans. To support assumptions so monstrous as this, there is not a tittle of evidence beyond the existence of certain stories in some books, said to contain a truthful record of facts. But although the theologian heaps up protestation upon asseveration until the mass attains an imposing size, the whole is not of more substantial value than a huge bubble blown by an energetic school boy. If millions could be brought to believe that such a hollow sphere was a solid, painted with the most resplendent colours obtained from the celestial mansions, it would not make it other than a film of soap and water filled with air.

Yet though the unanimous consent of myriads cannot convert foam into a solid substance, a mass of froth may be treated as if it were something better, so long as all agree not to test its qualities; and any book may in like manner be regarded as of divine origin, so long as everybody determines not to test the reality of the opinion. We can easily imagine that those who have been educated to believe in the absolute density of a bubble, must be greatly distressed when it bursts. Indeed in every mercantile community we see frequent illustrations of this. Designing men weave a plausible story, and by inflated words induce a number of thoughtless people to believe their statements, adopt their promises, and act upon their recommendation. Whilst all seems to be prosperous, every dupe repels with indignation the statement that the whole of his confraternity are deceived. If faith in the stability of a banking house could have upheld it, Overend & Gurnets would never have broken. If then faith, the most complete and child-like trust in the truth of anything,—say particularly in a certain book—will not make it valuable if it be in reality worthless, then all those who wish to feel beneath them the everlasting arms of truth, should inquire into current beliefs rather than take everything for granted.

At the time when the wealth, power, and stability of the Bank above referred to were implicitly believed in by the many, and especially trusted by its shareholders, there were, outside of its pale, many individuals who felt sure that the establishment was very shaky, and a few who were aware that it was toppling to its fall. If then, at that time, any customer or proprietor, feeling a doubt about its safety, should have endeavoured to investigate the rumours which were adverse to it; and should have acted as reason dictated, after he had weighed the alleged facts on both sides, he might have came to a safe decision and saved his money. What is true in this case may be applied to the Bible—the Bank upon which so many draw large drafts, and in whose stability they have unbounded confidence. The thoughtless may, and doubtless will, continue to trust it implicitly—the thoughtful will probably consult, not only the Bibliolaters, but those who put no faith whatever in the volume, and judge for themselves.

The fear which many men have of biblical inquiry, has for a long period struck me as being inexplicable, inasmuch as it is at variance with the assertion of these very same people, that an examination of the book must prove it to be infallibly true. But investigation into a supposed truth can only end by confirming it fully, and thus making the truth more useful; or by demonstrating that the belief entertained is untenable. It has been the dread—nay the certainty, of the latter result, which has deterred many great minds from investigating the matter. Amongst these the late Professor Faraday was conspicuous, for we learn from a letter in the Athenaeum of Jan. 7, 1870, written by one of his own personal friends, that he—perhaps the most accomplished seeker after physical truth in his time, declined firmly to search into the value of the commonly received notions respecting "the scriptures," as he felt sure that his faith in them would thereby be shaken. Yet he was illogical enough to use them as a basis for his theological teaching. He preached to others from texts in which he had no confidence; and supported his doctrines by quotations from a book which, in his secret heart, he felt was valueless as an exponent of historical truth, or orthodox teaching.

Before we proceed to the comparison between the "Dhammapada" and the Bible, it will be judicious to place fairly before the reader the points which we hope to elucidate. We wish to show, by a collation of dates and doctrines, that the two are wholly independent of each other, and as we have elsewhere remarked, that if there has been any relationship between Buddhist and Christian writings, the first have had more than two centuries' precedence over the last. We wish to compare the morality taught by Buddha, with that promulgated in the Old and New Testaments. We desire impartially to examine into the question, whether the claim for inspiration can be allowed in either one case or the other, or in both together—whether, indeed, it is possible to believe the Hebrew scriptures to be dictated by God, without giving a similar confidence to the teachings of Sakya Muni—or, assuming that there is to be found a code of pure morality or ethics which we may suppose to be of universal application, we shall endeavour to ascertain whether the Hebrews and the followers of Mary, or the disciples of the son of Maya Deva, have made the nearest approach to its discovery and establishment. Collaterally we shall examine whether Jesus has a greater claim than Buddha to be the Son of God. The Dhammapada which has recently (TrÜbner & Co., London, 1870*) been translated by Max MÜlller from the Pali, is one of the many books which profess to give, as our Gospels and Epistles do of Christ, the teachings or precepts of Buddha. These were for some two or three centuries traditional only; but about the period, B.C. 300, many, if not most of them, were committed to writing. As far as can be ascertained, the year b.c. 246 was the period of the first Buddhist council under Asok, and shortly after this, Mahuida, a priestly son of AsokÂ, went as a missionary to Ceylon; other emissaries went to Burmah, China, Japan, and it is believed elsewhere. The oral promulgation of the Dhammapada would probably begin about b.c. 560—twenty years or thereabouts before the death of Siddartha. If we turn to contemporary history in the west of Asia, we find that at this period Jerusalem was in ruins, and the Jews were captives in Babylonia—no copies of any Hebrew sacred book were known to be in existence (2 Esdras xiv. 21; 2 Maccabees ii. 1-13—see also 1 Maccabees i. 21-23), and, so far as we could learn, India was a country wholly unknown to the Shemitic race. The acquaintanceship between Hindustan and Europe seems to have been made in the time when the Greek monarch, Alexander, overthrew Darius of Persia. Alexander invaded India about b.c. 327, consequently we infer that there was no possibility of Buddha being influenced by western notions in b.c. 560.

To these considerations we must add the fact that the Jews have never been, from the earliest to the latest times, a missionary nation,—indeed, their laws and precepts forced them to be so peculiarly reserved, that even if they had known about India they would not have sent their emissaries there, inasmuch as the Mosaic law obliged them to present themselves at the Temple at Jerusalem thrice a-year, which was wholly incompatible with distant travel. Moreover, there are many extant histories to show that intelligent westerns went to India for knowledge and religion, and never seemed to think of carrying their own faith thither. The whole course of history points to religion and civilization coming westerly from India or Central Asia.

The dates above given will clearly show that Sakya Muni could not have derived his ideas from the teaching of Jesus, or of the Talmudists, neither of whom were in existence when he flourished. Whatever similarity, therefore, we find in the doctrines, &c., of the two, cannot be accounted for by supposing that Christian missionaries carried the New Testament to India. The reverse is far more probable, as we have demonstrated in a preceding chapter.

Some inquirers into the history of the sons of Maya Deva and of Mary are so convinced of the priority of the first, and of the close resemblance of the incidents in the lives and in the teaching of the two, that they have found themselves forced, reluctantly, to consider the question—whether Christianity is not Buddhism altered in some respects by Judaism. This point having been elsewhere spoken of, we will not pursue it. But a far more important, and, for many Christians, a more momentous inquiry, is, whether we can speak of the Son of Mary as the offspring of Jehovah, and yet affirm that the child of Maya Deva was nothing but a common man. So deeply have some been moved by this consideration, that I have positively heard the opinion broached, that the Indian sage was the very same as he who subsequently was put to death in Jerusalem. Wild though the allegation is, there is quite as great an amount of probability in it as in the assertion that Jesus went and preached unto those spirits which were sometime disobedient, i.e., in the time of Noah (1 Pet. iii. 19, 20), and were, consequently, then in prison, or that Buddha went to his dead mother, and converted her to his own faith. About supernatural births we shall treat in a succeeding part.

Without incumbering our pages with all the precepts of the Dhammapada, we will copy a few in detail to show the reader their style, and then we will only quote those which are most appropriate to our subject. The opening paragraphs singularly resemble those in Bacon's Novum Organon, and run thus—"All that we are, is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of him who draws the carriage (lv.)."

2. "All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him" (lvi. et. seq.).

3. "He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me—hatred in those who harbour such thoughts will never cease."**

4. "He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me—hatred in those who do not harbour such thoughts will cease."

5. "For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love"—this is an old rule.

6. "And some do not know that we must come to an end here; but others know it, and hence their quarrels cease."

7. "He who lives looking for pleasures only, his senses uncontrolled, immoderate in his enjoyments, idle and weak, Mara (the Tempter, the Adversary, or Satan) will certainly overcome him, as the wind throws down a weak tree."

8. "He who lives without looking for pleasures, his senses well controlled, in his enjoyments moderate, faithful and strong, Mara will certainly not overcome him, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain."

11. "They who imagine truth in untruth, and see untruth in truth, never arrive at truth, but follow vain desires."

15. "The evildoer mourns in this world, and he mourns in the next, he mourns in both."....

16. "The virtuous man delights in this world, and he delights in the next; he delights in both."

We may pause here, and ask ourselves whether, throughout the whole of the Old Testament, we can find a single passage which so distinctly points to a future state as does this Buddhistic teaching. Yet bibliolaters assert that the effusions of Jewish writers were inspired by God! Mortal men cannot tell what takes place after their bodies have become dissipated into various chemical compounds; consequently, they cannot decide, with certainty, which deserves the greater credit for accuracy—the Dhammapada, or the Hebrew Scriptures; but all those who believe in the teaching of Jesus are bound to acknowledge that the Indian sage was inspired by a power superior to that which is said to have dictated to the Israelite.

How profitably, again, might the following observations be enunciated from our pulpits, instead of the vapid and superficial divinity, which disgraces both the utterer and the listener:—

21. "Reflection is the path of immortality, thoughtlessness the path of death. Those who reflect do not die; those who are thoughtless are as if dead already."

25. "By rousing himself, by reflection, by restraint and control, the wise man may make for himself an island, which no flood can overwhelm."

27. "Follow not after vanity, nor after the enjoyment of love and lust. He who reflects and meditates obtains ample joy"

We dare not affirm that the writer of the first epistle of John was familiar with the Dhammapada, but his words (chap. ii, v. 15), "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world," &c., are as purely Buddhistic as if he had known the doctrine of the Indian sage.

We doubt whether, in the whole Bible, a parallel passage to the following can be found:—

36. "Let the wise man guard his thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, very artful, and they rush wherever they list: thoughts well guarded bring happiness."

It is true that in the Psalms, and elsewhere, there is a full recognition of the power of God to know, and even to punish man for, bad thoughts, but there is no precept recommending man to cultivate his mental powers for the pleasure which the task will bring. The following observation is equally to be commended:—

40. "Knowing that this body is (fragile) like a jar, and making this thought firm like a fortress, one should attack MÂra (the tempter, or Satan, the adversary) with the weapon of knowledge, one should watch him when conquered, and never cease from the fight."

A few moments' consideration here, will show the reader that there is a fundamental distinction between the theology of the East and West in reference to the management of "the thoughts of the heart." Jew and Christian teachers alike encourage their disciples to combat evil thoughts by prayer and by fasting, but they never once allude to the value of "knowledge" as a weapon. Yet, of its power, relatively to supplication, none can have a doubt. It it probable that no man or woman can attain to adult age without being aware of the intrusion, into their minds, of thoughts, whose presence greatly distresses the individual, and the worst of these is, that they take so complete a possession, as not to be driven away by any simple wrestling with them. In this emergency the devout Christian has recourse to prayer, which serves to nail the intruder even more closely to his seat. The philosopher, on the other hand, turns his mind to think actively upon some other subject than that which has intruded upon him, and as soon as he has fixed his attention upon the second, the first immediately withdraws. Smarting, for example, under a sense of ridicule from some accident which has happened to himself in a ball-room, or other assembly, a man may retire to his pillow, yet find thereupon no rest. He sees, every minute, the merry faces which laughed when he put the sprig of lavender, that his lovely partner gave him for a keepsake, behind his ear, as if it were a pen, and grinds his teeth with rage or shame. Yet, if he now betakes himself to go through the preparations which ought to be made to enable observers to notice accurately the transit of Venus, and then the means by which they can approximately ascertain the mean distance of the sun from the earth, he will find at once a pleasant refuge from his trouble, and fall asleep whilst extracting a square root. Those young men, and others, who, like the old saints are said to have done, often suffer much from what may be called "presumptuous desires of the flesh," will find the acquisition of knowledge is a powerful agent in subduing the cravings of lust, and hard thinking curbs our passions far more effectually than the scourge of the ascetic, or the prayers of the hermit. Mental activity, although it does not entirely remove it, does much to repress inordinate desire, and we consequently prefer the teaching of the son of Maya to that of any son of Abraham.

Of the estimate of a well-regulated mind we have the following:—

42. "Whatever a hater may do to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy, a wrongly-directed mind will do us greater mischief."

43. "Not a mother, not a father, nor any other relative, will do so much that a well-directed mind will not do us greater service." To this we can find no parallel in the Hebrew scriptures.

Some of the following are equal to any of those proverbs attributed to Solomon:—

76. "If you see an intelligent man who tells you where true treasures are to be found, who shows you what is to be avoided, and who administers reproofs, follow that wise man: it will be better, not worse, for those who follow him."

78. "Do not have evildoers for friends, do not have low people; have virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of men."

80. "Well-makers lead the water wherever they like, fletchers bend the arrow, carpenters bend a log of wood, wise people fashion themselves."

81. "As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people falter not amidst blame and praise."

94. "The gods even envy him whose senses have been subdued, like horses well broken in by the driver, who is free from pride and free from frailty."

97. "The man who is free from credulity, but knows the uncreated, who has cut all ties, removed all temptations renounced all desires, he is the greatest of men." A saying which is almost identical with "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit better than he that taketh a city" (Prov. xvi. 32). Those Christians who believe in works of supererogation, and trust to stores of merit laid up by certain saints, who have lashed their bodies and otherwise injured themselves, may read the following opinion with profit:—

108. "Whatever a man sacrifices in this world as an offering or as an oblation for a whole year in order to gain merit, the whole of it is not worth a quarter; reverence shown to the righteous is better."

Respecting evil, we find the following:—

116. "If a man would hasten towards the good, he should keep his thought away from evil; if a man does what is good slothfully, his mind delights in evil."

117. "If a man commits a sin, let him not do it again, let him not delight in sin; pain is the outcome of evil."

118. "If a man does what is good let him do it again, let him delight in it; happiness is the outcome of good."

126. "Some people are born again; evil-doers go to Hell, righteous people go to Heaven; those who are free from all worldly desires enter Nirvana."

It is therefore clear that Jesus of Nazareth did not inaugurate the idea of a new birth.

In precept 133 we have another sentiment parallel with a passage in Proverbs: "Do not speak harshly to anybody; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful blows, for blows will touch thee;" or, as our Bible has it, "A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger" (Prov. xv. 1).

The following is a reproach to a vast number of individuals who are called Christian preachers, and teach doctrines of brotherly love, but act as if religious hatred of dissenters of every class were a duty:—

159. "Let each man make himself as he teaches others to be; he who is well subdued may subdue others; one's own self is difficult to subdue."

166. "Let no one neglect his own duty for the sake of another's, however great: let a man, after he has discerned his own duty, be always attentive to his duty."

The following might have served as the original of the epistles of John:—

167. "Do not follow the evil law! Do not live on in thoughtlessness! Do not follow false doctrine! Be not a friend of the world."

168. 9. "Rouse thyself! do not be idle, follow the law of virtue—do not follow that of sin. The virtuous lives happily in this world and in the next."

170, 1, 2, 3, & 4. "Look upon the world as a bubble; the foolish are immersed in it, but the wise do not cling to it. He who formerly was reckless, and afterwards became sober, and he whose evil deeds are covered by good deeds, brighten up this world like the moon when freed from clouds."

174. "This world is dark—few only can be here; a few only go to heaven like birds escaped from the net." A statement repeated by Jesus in different words,—"Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. vii. 14). There may likewise be a comparison instituted between the following:—

176. "If a man has transgressed one law, and speaks lies and scoffs at another world, there is no evil he will not do." "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (Jas. ii. 10).

I quote this and the next saying to corroborate the assertion that Buddha taught the existence of a future world:—

177. "The uncharitable do not go to the world of the gods; fools only do not praise liberality; a wise man rejoices in liberality, and through it becomes blessed in the other world."

Compare 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18,19, "Charge them that are rich in this world.... that they be—ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

See again (306), "He who says what is not, goes to hell; he also who, having done a thing, says I have not done it. After death both are equal, they are men with evil deeds in the next world."

309. "Four things does a reckless man gain who covets his neighbour's wife—a bad reputation, an uncomfortable bed—thirdly, punishment, and, lastly, hell."

310. "There is bad reputation, and the evil way (to hell)."

311. "As a grass blade if badly grasped cuts the arm, badly practised asceticism leads to hell."

178. "Better than sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven, better than lordship over all worlds, is the reward of the first step in holiness."

"What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" or, "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt, xvi. 26).

It would be difficult to find any doctrine enunciated in the Bible more simple than the following:—

183. "Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind, that is the teaching of the Awakened."

184. "The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the highest Nirvana, for he is not an anchorite who strikes others, he is not an ascetic who insults others."

185. "Not to blame, not to strike, to live restrained under the law, to be moderate in eating, to sleep and eat alone, and to dwell on the highest thoughts, this is the teaching of the Awakened."

Equally difficult would it be to find in the Old Testament such precepts as—

197. "Let us live happily, then, not hating those who hate us; let us dwell free from hatred among men who hate." "Let us live free from greed among men who are greedy."

200. "Let us live happily though we can call nothing our own."

204. "Health is the greatest of gifts, contentedness the best riches; trust is the best of relatives, Nirvana the highest happiness."

The following quotations deserve the close attention of the Christian inquirer, for they not only contain sentiments almost identically the same as those found in the New Testament, but they are couched in the same language, as closely as the circumstances of the case allow. Both enunciate the opinion that it is injudicious to cultivate or even to permit the existence of those affections which we have in common with the lower animals, and that to attain perfection love and hatred must be trampled under foot. We give the Buddhist teaching priority, as it was promulgated first:—

210. "Let no man ever look for what is pleasant or what is unpleasant. Not to see what is pleasant is pain, and it is pain to see what is unpleasant."

211. "Let, therefore, no man love anything; loss of the beloved is evil. Those who love nothing and hate nothing have no fetters."

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

213-6. "From affection comes grief and fear, from lust comes grief and fear, from love comes grief and fear, from greed comes grief and fear." "He who is free from affection, lust, love, and greed, knows neither grief nor fear." "He that loveth either father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that loveth son or daughter better than me is not worthy of me, and he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt. x. 37-39). "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (1 John ii. 15-17).

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

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

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

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

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

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

224. "Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked, from the little thou hast—by those steps thou wilt go near the gods." "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee, bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart; so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man" (Prov. iii. 3-4); "Wherefore, putting away lying, let every man speak the truth with his neighbour" (Eph. iv. 25). We scarcely can find, in the Old Testament, a strict parallel with the Buddhist precept, "do not yield to anger," for the Jewish scriptures, without exception, depict their God as giving way habitually to wrath, anger, and revenge—e.g., in Ps. vii. 11, we find it stated that Elohim is angry with the wicked every day. Again, in Isaiah v. 25, we read, "for all this, God's anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still;" Job iv. 9, By God's anger they are consumed; "To pour out upon them my fierce anger," (Zeph. iii. 8). There are, however, a few passages which inculcate upon men the propriety of a command over their temper. In Ps. xxxvii. 8, for example, we read, "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath," and in Proverbs xxvii. 4, "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous," whilst "the Preacher" says, Eccles. vii. 9, "Anger resteth in the bosom of fools," and in xi. 10, "remove anger or sorrow from thy heart." In the Gospel we have a somewhat divided teaching. For example, we find, from Mark iii. 5, that Jesus himself indulged in anger, when he was vexed at what he thought the hardness of his hearers' hearts; and from his saying, in Matt. v. 22, "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment," it is clear that the son of Mary approved of anger which had a cause. Again, we find, in Eph. iv. 26, "Be ye angry and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath," as if anger were not a culpable weakness, or passion, if only indulged in during the daylight. Yet, in the thirty-first verse of the same chapter we read, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger.... be put away from you," and in Col. iii. 8, the putting away of anger is spoken of as an evidence of being regenerated.

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

Once more we turn to the Dhammapada, and find—

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

This reference to the sins of the tongue, and the necessity for its control, recals to our mind the opinion expressed in the epistle of James, "If any one bridleth not his tongue, this man's religion is vain" (chap, i. 26); "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity," &c.; "the tongue can no man tame," &c. (chap. iii. w. 5-10); and the verse, "I said, I will take heed io my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me" (Ps. xxxix. 1).

The next maxim to which I would direct attention is one which should be pondered deeply by all those who desire to become thoroughly civilized. So far as I know, its like cannot be found in any part of the Bible. It runs thus—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Compare this with the Psalmist's expression—"I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked, for there are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm; they are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men; therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain, violence covereth them as a garment, their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish.... these are the ungodly who prosper in the world, they increase in riches.... Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors" (Ps. lxxiii. 3-19.) "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green tree that groweth in his own soil, yet he passed away, and lo! he was not, yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together, the end of the wicked shall be cut off." "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and, verily, thou shalt be fed" (Ps. xxxvii. 35-38—1-3). The class of sentiments is the same in both, only they seem to differ because we are very familiar with the phraseology of the Bible, and the reverse with translations from the Sanskrit.

At this point the philosopher may judiciously pause to inquire, whether the sentiments expressed in the preceding biblical quotations are not incorrect, and consequently whether they can be regarded as inspired; and whether the Buddhistic solution of the difficulty, which points to a future state, is not superior to the Jewish one which treats of this world only. Experience abundantly shows that individuals practising what is called "goodness" find it no safeguard against misery, starvation, tortures, and death. Jesus of Nazareth, his disciples, and vast numbers of his followers, have experienced from the dominant party in those states wherein they dwelled contumely, reproach, and hours of lingering torment. Louis the XIV. of France, and the New Englanders of America, alike persecuted "Protestants" and "Quakers." In Spain "the reformers" were successfully opposed by fire and sword, and Papal Italy once extirpated from her midst the disciples of Luther and Calvin. Yet the so-called wrong-doers flourished, and the unfortunate "good people" were run down or dragooned with a sudden and swift destruction. If the dictum of the Psalmist is right, then Admiral Coligny, who was killed in the Bartholomew massacre, at Paris, must have been a bad man put in a slippery place that he might fall, for his destruction came suddenly, in an instant. But all history shows him to have been a worthy fellow, who was punished for his virtues. The observer of nature is driven to believe that the co-existence of powerful and bad men, with feeble, yet good men, is a rule in creation for which no adequate explanation can be found. He sees that in the domain of the air there are hawks and pigeons, eagles and ostriches, cuckoos and hedge-sparrows, that on the land there are tigers and sheep, lions and buffaloes, wolves and deer, that in the water there are perch and minnows, pike and trout, sharks and whales—in other words, there is throughout the world a division of living creatures into those who live by destroying vegetables, and those who subsist by the destruction of animals. The cow, sheep, and deer are quite as ruthless, in their noxiousness to the ornaments of the meadow, as are foxes in a hen-roost to the beauties of the barn-door; both alike mar the graceful features of creation. Yet it is clear that both the graminivora and the carnivora were made to effect this apparent wrong. Still further, we see throughout creation, that in almost every community of animals, the strong ones dominate over the weak, and endeavour, far too frequently, to deprive them of such pleasures as they and their females possess. See, for example, a cock with a bevy of hens: he will allow no other chanticleer to strut besides him on the dunghill of the yard; he will not permit a rival to make love to anyone of his harem, nor to feed upon any dainty morsel, until his wives and himself have had enough. The same may be said of stags, of bulls, of rams, of horses, and many other creatures whose habits are known. The leader of a herd is a despot, and when he is at length conquered by another, those who are ruled have merely changed their masters. Young and weak cocks will never attain to power, and must ever submit to be bullied.

We notice, at the same time, that each tyrant must in the end succumb; with age comes infirmity and loss of strength, in the last battle the old is beaten by the young. Just so it is with mankind; in its comparative infancy monarchs rule, and are at length deposed by others. The Babylonians conquered Palestine, the Medes and Persians vanquished the Babylonians, the Greeks subjugated the Persians, the Romans overcame the Greeks, and the Goths destroyed the Roman power; yet under every regime the powerful could torment the weak. The result in every case was brought about by the conqueror being strong and brutal—not by the immorality of the victims.

When a philosopher sees such things, he very naturally endeavours to ascertain whether any design can be discovered in the events of the world, and to this end he may be diligent in collecting facts, or he may at once frame some theory, and then cease to think about the matter. "Oh," such an one may say, "all that is wrong here will be righted in another world." Another, who ponders more deeply, may doubt whether it is proper to divide the phenomena of nature into "right" and "wrong." "If," he will say, "I believe with the Jew that God is in the heavens, and does whatsoever He pleases" (Ps. cxv. 3), or that "the Lord hath made all for Himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil" (Prov. xvi. 4) I must allow that everything which emanates from the Creator must be right. Speaking individually, I prefer rather to examine into the ways of Providence—i.e., of the Almighty, without framing any theory of right and wrong, than to dogmatize upon what He must intend by this or that. "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord (Jehovah), or being his counsellor hath taught him?" (Is. xl. 13)—see also the Pauline version of this sentiment, Rom. xi. 33, 34.

It is very questionable whether any human analogy will enable us, even approximately, to fathom what are designated "the designs of Providence." Every example that I can at the present remember given by theologians is bad. Take, for example, the most common one which draws a comparison between God and a father, Ps. ciii. 13, "like as a father piti-eth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him;" Prov. iii. 12, "Whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth;" Heb. xii. 6, 7, "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." "If ye be without chastisement, whereof all men (are) partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons." These enunciate the idea that God, being the universal father, treats mankind as a judicious parent treats his offspring, and that as a child cannot at all times know why he is punished until many years have passed over his head, so human beings cannot tell, until they reach another world, why they were punished in this. To assist this assertion the text is quoted "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter" (John xiii. 7.) If there be any truth in the analogy, it must follow that all who in this world "endure grief, suffering wrongfully" (1 Pet. ii. 19), are children of God, whom he is educating for a better world. If that, again, be so, then—when Christians persecuted Mahometans, Romanists burned Protestants, and Spaniards slaughtered Mexicans and Peruvians—it follows that the vanquished, and not the conquerors, were the elect of the Father. But this deduction directly opposes those promises said to be made to the Jews by Jehovah, viz., that victory should be the reward of their piety. As it is a poor system which declares that two opposite results come from the same cause, we must refuse to believe that both victory and defeat are proofs of a Father's love. I am quite aware that some reader may retort that a kind parent may punish one child at the same time that he rewards another. I grant it at once, but that only demonstrates, if it proves anything, that all creatures must be regarded alike as the offspring of the Creator, and that none are favoured peculiarly on the one hand, or are outcasts on the other.

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

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

For example, let us assume that two savage tribes, having gods of different names and shapes, go to war on the bidding of their priests—one is conquered and the other is victorious. The one attributes his reverse to the anger of his own deity, not to the power of the god of his enemy. The other imagines that he owes success to the influence of his protector and his superiority over his foe's fetish. A civilized on-looker, who believes that all the deities are devils and powerless, attributes victory and defeat to perfectly natural causes, e.g., superiority in weapons, tactics, numbers, or strength. It is clear that neither the deductions of the first nor second men are right; neither has read the mind of his fetish. So it is with the half educated theologians of our own day, who think and talk as glibly of God and Satan, as if they were personal acquaintances, who make no secret either of their deeds or their motives of action.

Once more we return to the Dhammapada and find,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Siddartha's teaching there is, as we have seen, an absence of the element of prayer. According to his view, each man is regarded, to a certain extent, as the author of his own destiny. Man, in his opinion, must ever be influenced by the actions of other men—he may, for example either be caressed or tormented, yet, under both circumstances, he is instructed to retain equanimity of mind. He is not to pray for prosperity, nor to supplicate that trials may be removed. He is to face and overcome every trial by his resolute will, and not to waste time in praying not to be led into temptation.

Again, in Buddha's writings, and in those of his followers, there is an absence of those obscene tales with which the Old Testament abounds. We seek in vain for counterparts of the story of Lot and his daughters, of Onan, of Joseph and the wife of Potiphar, of Judah and Tamar, David and Bathsheba, Amnon and his sister, Zimri Cozbi and Phinehas, and the like. It is true, that in some Buddhist writings, there is a cosmogony introduced more preposterous than that in the Bible; but there are no parallels to the tales of Noah, of Moses, and of Israel in Egypt, the desert, and Palestine. Indeed, when we remember that Sakya Muni was an Oriental, accustomed to inflated language, we are struck by the plainness of his speech.

If we now ask ourselves, as earnest practical Christians—that is, as men, anxious and eager to attain to religious truth, and desirous of teaching only those things which would tend towards sound edification and to a pure morality—what parts of the Bible most offend sense of propriety, we should answer, that they are its untenable cosmogony; its preposterous accounts of the longevity of the men reported as being the earliest formed; the legend of the flood; the origin of the rainbow; the tales of Moses, Pharaoh, the plagues of Egypt, the sojourn in the desert, the capture of Canaan, the miraculous battles, in which each man of Israel put a thousand enemies to flight. We would wholly expunge the fabulous account of Elijah and Elisha; the ravings after vengeance uttered by the prophets; the apocryphal episodes described in the books of Jonah and Daniel, every obscene story, and disgusting speech and writing, whether uttered as a threat against Israel or his enemies. In like manner we would wish to expunge, from the teaching of Jesus, everything relating to the immediate destruction of the world—everything connected with community of goods, the advantages of beggary, and the potency of faith and prayer. We would suppress every miracle, and say nothing of a resurrection of the dead Jesus. We would equally abandon any attempt to describe Heaven or Hell, or any intermediate state.

When all these were removed from the Bible, we positively should have very little left, except a certain amount of morality which is sound, and a large portion which is radically bad. To make such an emendated book as perfect as possible, we might, with great advantage, correct it from the teaching of Buddha or from the sayings of Socrates, Plato, Epic-tetus, and even of Confucius; and when all was completed, it would be found that all men, everywhere, have had instinctive notions, more or less definite, of morality, but have allowed their animal passions to overcome their better feelings. Far too many of us know the good, but yet the bad pursue.

This investigation would most distinctly disprove the assertion, that God has selected a very small percentage of His creatures for objects of His care, and those who have charity towards all men would greatly rejoice thereat. Individually we cannot bear to eat, however hungry we may be, whilst we see others near us without food—our pleasure is heightened when we divide our luxuries with others; just so we believe it should be in religion—none should rejoice at the idea that he is one of the few that are to be saved, nor should anyone repine, as Jonah did, when he finds that the tender mercies of God are over all his works.

To simplify the matter as far as possible, I have drawn up the following parallel between Buddhism and Christianity:—

In the next chapter I propose to examine, as far as authorities will permit, the religion of the Persians—a nation intervening, to a great degree, between the old Aryan and the Shemitic races.