'-rfmmmmiimmtK,- /^.■' r^ ^ k} '^.-S^^-^-S'Sr^S'SiX-^fS^SrS'S-S^ \r,- i.^VvS Cornell University Library BL80 .D63 Error's chains: how forged and,,b[;ol-D.K:Oitifn. v- %M^i s»:^ftli^3sfe. StAi/PAIjD PlJBklSHll^p HoiJ^B ERROR'S CHAINS: HOW FORGED AND BROKEN. A COMPLETE, ORAPHIC, AND COMPARATIVE HISTO-^Y OF THE MANY STRANGE BELIEFS, SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES, DO- MESTI PECULIARITIES, SACRED WRITINGS, SYSTEMS OF PHILOSOPHY, LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS, CUS- TOMS AND HABITS OF MANKIND THROUGHOUT THE ^AfORLD, ANCIENT AND MODERN. BY FRANK S. gOBBINS, Of Yokohama, Japan. ASSISTED BY Hon. S. Wells Williams, LL. D., and Prof. Isaac Hall, LL.B., Ph. D, The former forty years resident in China, noiu Prof, in Yale College, Conn., Pres- ident qf ike Anie7-ican Bible Society, etc.; the latter an eminent Orient- alist and late Professor of the College at Beirut, Syria. THE WHOLE PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED FEOM illHIiMIC AJiD TRUSIWOBTnY ADTB0E1IIE5. NEW YORK: STANDARD PUBLISHING HOUSE, 1883. /CORNE UNIVERSITY \ LIBRARY^ y. Ms^ Copyright, Frank S. Dobbins, 1883. PREFACE. THE story of the world's worship is a story of absorbing interest. The odd and the curious, the enchanting and the revolting are each factors of heathen devotion. We well remember with what exhaustless interest we looked in childhood at strange pictures of idols and temples, and listened to the reading of tales about the heathen. When the celebrated Dr. Alexander Duff was a little boy, his father was accustomed on Sabbath afternoons to show him pictures of idols, and to explain their histories. So vividly did the pictures and their stories impress the boy, that when he became a man he left Scotland and went to labor for the heathen of India. The subject is indeed intensely interesting. Every nation has its God, or gods, and its corresponding forms of worship. Nothing lies so close to the heart of mankind as its religious faith. Religion in some form is interwoven with the entire fabric of human history. It concerns man's dearest pleasures, his fondest hopes, and his highest aspirations. Man must worship. It is part of his nature to worship. Hence, from the most civilized European to the half-civilized China- man, and evendown to tlie degraded Hottentot; in all stages of man's existence, among all races and classes, some form of worship is found. Nothing surely can mterest us more than the story of that faith in which our fellow-creatures have lived and died. It is because the author believes that the subject of false gods and idol worship is so interesting, and because he liopes to furnish some much-needed information on this topic, that he has undertaken the present work. There is no one book that covers tliis ground. There are many volumes covering various phases of the religious systems of heathendom, but there is not one that deals comprehensively with all religions, extinct or existing, except indeed it be those suited only to students and to learned men. * The aim in this volume is to present the subject in a popular style, suited to the average reader of our land. It is proposed to make a VI PREFACE. book to be read in the family and by the fireside. The very best works of the most thorough students of the non-Christian religious systems have been consulted, and the author has freely availed him- self of the results of their labors. If due acknowledgment is not always made of the aid thus received, it is because he deemed it best not to multiply references and because he has so frequently found it neces- sary to translate scholastic and technical phrases used by these authors into language familiar to the general reader. Among those whose works the author has consulted are. Max Miiller and Hardwicke on Comparative Mythology; Wilkinson on the Ancient Egyptians; Lenormant on Assyria and Babylon; Haug on the Parsees; Monier Williams on Hinduism; Rhys-Davids, and Barthelemy St. Hilaire on Buddhism, and Edwin Arnold's paraphrase of Buddha's life in his "Light of Asia;" Humboldt on Central America; School- craft on the American Indians ; Wyatt Gill and Lord Grey on the Pacific Islands; Legge, Edkins and S. Wells Williams on the Chinese; Griffis and Sir Edward Reed on Japan ; and Stanley and Livingstone on Africa. Beside these he has derived great help from " The Tour of the World with General Grant," and Dr. H. M. Field's "From Egypt to Japan." In addition he has consulted quite a host of other authors 'in works of travel, and in the translations of various sacred books. In all parts of his work the author has sought to present definite in- formation, carefully arranged, truthfully told, and clearly and inter- estingly stated. He has aimed to show the origin, development and spread of each non-Christian religious system; and to give an ac- count of their gods and goddesses, temples, shrines, idols, sacred places, superstitious customs, legends, myths, domestic worship and the innumerable peculiarities of their daily religious life. The work is fully illustrated by accurate, and in many cases, expen- sive engravings. The book is not made merely to sell. Sensational statements and mere padding have been neither added nor borrowed. The author has not drawn upon his imagination in the least. He has told a story which, though sometimes stranger than fiction, is never- theless solid fact and not baseless fancy. Let it be remembered that this is a pioneer work. The author has had to blaze his pathway through a trackless forest. He has had no guide. He sincerely hopes that by its perusal his readers will be led to an increased ap- preciation of the infinite superiority of Christianity to all other re- ligions; and that they may find a deepened interest in the welfare of vhe heathen world. PREFACE. yjj It has been the purpose of the author and the publishers to place the subject-matter of this volume within the ready reach of all who con- sult it. An exhaustive Table of Contents has been given therefore, in which the chapter titles and all the sub-headings of the chapters will be found. A full index of the proper names and principal topics of the book is also added, by means of which it is believed any desired subject treated in the volume can readily be found. By such means as these the book has been made as complete and as useful as patient labor can make it. Thanks are specially due to Professor Isaac H. Hall, who not only gave careful consideration to the subjects specially under his care, but who in addition read all the MS., and gave the benefit of his extended learn- ing and excellent judgment at every point. To Professor S. Wells Williams also, the author desires to make public acknowledgment. Though burdened with many onerous duties, yet he gave his closest attention to the chapters on those much misunderstood nations, China and Japan, and from the rich stores of his own extensive and well- digested knowledge, he made such suggestions as proved of inesti- mable value. To the Publishers, who were ever ready to meet the author's largest desires, his thanks are especially due. Without such generous sup- port the volume must have fallen far below its present excellenc. In- deed, all concerned in the production of the book have proved them- selves true helpers, to whom author and readers alike will be largely iadebted. . F. S. Dobbins. CONTENTS. PAGE Preface, c List of Illustrations, 17 CHAPTER I. The World's First Woe.ship. Testimony of an old record and of language — Another witness : comparative religion — The story of the master thief — The story of Rhampsinitos — The story of the poor mason — The story of the shifty lad — Exodus of the nations, . 33 ' CHAPTER H. Whence came the many Gods and Idols? Sources of information — The transition — The first hymns and prayers — Where did idol-worship come from, .......**. 47 CHAPTER HI. Sacred and Heathen Traditions. Traditions of Creation — Traditions of the Deluge — The Chaldean story — The Hindu tradition — The Chinese tradition — The Mexican legend — The Fiji- Islander's tradition — American Indian traditions — The Greel< story — Chaldean story of the Tower of Babel — What has the Bible to say about idolatry ? . 63 CHAPTER IV. The Subject in a Nutshell. Methods of grouping religions — Dead religions and living religions — Original religions and reformed religions — Dead religions — Living worships — The pro- posed treatment — A concise view — Parseeism — African religion — Western Eu- rope — The Southern migration — Buddhism — China's religions — Shintoism in Japan — Mohammedanism — Christianity's conquests 77 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. The Land of the Sphinx. PAGE Hidden history — Tlie hieroglyphics — Some Egyptian gods — Animal worship — Mummies — The celebrated book of the dead — Egyptian worship, . . -93 CHAPTER VI. Worship of the Chaldeans. The great Chaldean historian — Ruined monuments — A library of bricl< books — Manners and customs — The religion of Assyria — The supreme god, Ilu — The Assyrian triad — The gods of the planets — The great goddess Ishtar — The Genii of Assyria — Worship of the gods at Babylon, 1 19 CHAPTER VII. Idolatry among the Jews. The plagues and Egyptian idolatry — The golden calf — Baal-worship, . . 138 CHAPTER VIII. The Gods of Greece. Origin of the world and of the gods — The generations of the gods — Gods of the Grecians — Specimen stories from Greek mythology — Hermes and Apollo — The Lotus-eaters and the Cyclops — Hercules' twelve tasks — The Phidian Jupiter — Grecian temples and worship of Paul's day — The city crowded with idols — Diana of the Ephesians, . . . . . . . . .150 CHAPTER IX. The Worship and Gods of Rome. The Etruscan religion — The Sabellian religion — The gods of the Romans — Father Jove — The Matron goddess — The goddess of schools — The goddess of the hearth — Ceres and Liber— The gods of beginnings — Rome's lesser gods — The Roman empire, 173 CHAPTER X. Our FIeathen Ancestors. Ancient Britain — The Druids — Wonderful resemblance — Worship of the Druids —Temple of the Hanging Stones — Human sacrifices — The destruction of Druidism — Who first brought Christianity to Britain — Paganism of tlie Saxons — Saxon gods — Saxon sacrifices — Fairy-lore of Western Europe— An Elfin Story — The penitent Nis — Nixes — The Peasant and the Waterman — The won- derful little pouch — Christianizing the Saxons, . . . . . .185 CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER XI. Brahminism Among the Hindus. PACK Sketch of Erahminism — The gods of Hinduism — Story of the Sages' search — Can the gods die? — .Sects of Hinduism — Principles of Hinduism — Human beings killed in sacrifice — How Hinduism regards woman, . . . .210 CPIAPTER XH. Hindu Temples, Idols and Worship. Idolj and temples of Juggernaut — Kali, the Goddess of Blood — Temple Decora- tio.-;s — Uenares — The sacred city of the Sikhs — Cave-temples of Elephanta and Gwalior — Ganesha, God of V/isdora — Pagodas — Hindu washings for sin — Hindu holy men, devotees and faldi's, ........ 232 CHAPTER XHI. Hindu Sacred Books, Fairy STorass and Fireside Tales. The Vedic hymns — The law-book of Manu — Degradation of women according to Manu's laws — The burning of widows commanded by iVtanu — The god Vishnu made man — A Sanskit story-book — The story of the terrible bell — The story of the lion and the old hare — The story of the Brahmin and the pans — The story of the recluse and the mouse, . 2S8 CHAPTER XIV. Shintoism, the Nature-worship of Japan. The sacred books of Japan — Japanese story of creation — The emperors descended from the gods — The sun-goddess enticed from the cave — Shinto worship, . 305 CHAPTER XV. Popular Gods and Shrines of Shintoism. The seven household gods — The sacred mountain — Shinto temples and gate-ways — The sacred shrines of Ise 321 CHAPTER XVI. The Dark Continent. African belief in a god or gods — Praying for rain — The Hottentots' god, Gounja- Gounja — The Bushmen's god — Zulu tradition of the origin of men — Good and bad spirits — Tlie spirit in the insect — Fetich worship — A horrible fetich — Stanley and the Africans' fear of fetich — Witchcraft, 341 xn CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVII. The "Great Spirit" of America. PAGE Tlic Indirms of North America — The Great Spirit — Worship of ancestors — Indian legends — The "Song of Hiawatha" — Indian allegory of winter and spring — ■ Alaslvans' worship of evil spirits — Indian sun-worship — Amazon sun-worship ' — The Araucanians — Patagonia — The Aztecs — Ancient Aztec idol — The Incas, .............. 362 ) CPIAPTER XVIII. Idolatry in Oceanica, The depraved condition of the Papuans — The pagan Polynesians — Traditionary origin of human priesthood — Polynesian notion of the sun and moon — The lire-god's song, ............ 387 CHAPTEPv XIX. The Karens and their Traditions. Tlie Karens not idolaters — Worship of Yuah — A singular tradition — The dog who ate the book — Funeral services — Mrs. Vinton's letter, .... 401 CHAPTER XX. The Fire-worshipers. Zoroaster, the prophet of Ormazd — Zoroaster's worship of one God — Ormazd and Ahriman — Finding of the Zend-Avesta — The Pareee Bible — Parsee v/orship,. . 407 CHAPTER XXI. The Chinese Philosopher, Lao-Tsze. Cliinesc contrarieties and language — The three Chinese religions The old boy The talisman of long life— The visit of Confucius to Lao-Tsze— The voyage in search of the talisman of lonT life, . . ,,^^ ^' ° • . . .410 CHAPTER XXII. The Taoist Sacred Books and Gods. The book of rewards and punishments— Some selections from the book of rewards and punishments— The book of secret blessings— The gods of the Taoists The god of letters— Channs—Kwan-te, God of War— Tsai-shin, the God of Riches — Taoist superstitions, o CONTENTS. j^JJi CHAPTER XXIII. Confucius and the Classics. PACE The background of the picture — The story of the .sage's life — Teachings and writings of the Chinese sage — Tlie wisdom of the sage, ..... 445 CHAPTER XXXV. Confucian Temples and Worship. The worship of Shang-tc, at Peking — Temple of Confucius — Examinations in the sacred books — Anecdotes of students — How Mencius's mother incited her son to study — How a tired student was led back to his studies — The little sage who hid fire to light his lamp — An example of a studious ancestor — The student with a round stick for a pillow, ......... 460 CI-IAPTER XXV. Home-life under Confucianism. Ceremony of turning the bridgedadder — Worship of ancestors at a wedding — • Mother, Goddess of Children — Teaching a child to worship idols — The story of Ma-chu, Goddess of the Sailors, ........ 478 CHAPTER XXVI. Buddha, the " Light of Asia." The story of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism — Gautama's four visions — The great renunciation — Gautama becomes an ascetic — The "Light of Asia" and the " Light of the World," 498 CHAPTER XXVII. The Buddhist Bible, the " Three B.\skets," and its Teachings. |The Buddhist way of salvation — What is Nirvana ? — Buddhist morals — Some of the " footsteps of the law " — Buddhist beatitudes, 513 CHAPTER XXVIH. The Growth of Buddhism — the Buddist Order of Mendicants. The Sangha, or Buddhist Brotherhood — The initiation ceremony — Rules of the Order — Daily life of a monl< — The three great Buddhist councils — Buddha- ghosha, the famous monlc and missionary — The story of King Kakavanna — • Buddhist courtesies of the present day, 522 xiv CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIX. Buddhism in India and Ceylon. PAGB The famous Topes — The great Sanchi Tope — Ceyloncsc Buddhism — The sacred Bo-tree of Ceylon — Reducing the Tripitaka to writing — Buddhaghosha in Cey- lon — A Buddhist temple in Ceylon — The sacred Ceylonesc books, . . . 53^ CHAPTER XXX. Buddhism in Burmah. The Shway-da-gong pagoda — The story of Shway-da-gong — Other pagodas — Worship of nats — A nat story — Superstitions of the Burmese — The funeral of a pongyee or monk, ........... 555 CHAPTER XXXI. Buddhism in Siam. The celebrated Wat Chang pagoda — Temple of the Emerald Idol — Worship of the white elephant — Ruins of the great temple of Nagkon Wat — Some other temples, 575 CHAPTER XXXII. Lamaism, the Buddhism of Thibet. Sketch of the history of Lamaism — Monks and monasteries — Temple at Teshu Lumbo monastery — Services at die H'Lassa cathedral — Praying-wheels — The mystic sentence of Thibet — The incarnation of Buddha in the Grand Lama — The Lamaist Bible, 598 CHAPTER XXXIII. FoisM, THE Buddhism of China. Pagodas — Chinese Buddhist temples — The worship of Kwan-yin — The worship of Kum-Fa — Idols — The Temple of Horrors — Monasteries — A Monk's Mon- ument — Chinese Buddliist Bonzes — Buddhist devotees — Ceremony of the Water-lamps — The Do-nothing sect of Reformed Buddhists — Booldo, the Buddhism of the Corens, . . . . . . . . .611 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XXXIV. Japanese Buddhism. PAGE Bodhidharma in Japan — Tlic Sun-child and his miraculous deliverance — Further history of Japan — Buddhist sects in Japan — The Protestants of Buddhism — Kvvanon's Temple at Asakusa, Tokio — Temple of Shiba, in Tokio — Temple - of five hundred gods — The casting of a Temple Bell — The Colossal Idol, the Kamkura Dai Butsu — Some Japanese gods — Japanese Festivals — IWount Fuji- Yama — Customs concerning birth, marriage and death — Some Jaj^anese super- stitions — Religion of the Ainos, ......... 656 CHAPTER XXXV. Mohammedanism. Extent of Mohammedanism — The Arabian camel-driver who founded a great religion — The Prophet's youth and early manhood — Gabriel's message to Mohammed — The flight of Mohammed — Converts made at the sword's point — Mohammed's successors, the Caliphs — Caliph Omar — The Crusades — The writing of the Koran — The teaching of the Koran — Some selections from the Koran — Mohammed's Paradise — The Koran on the judgment, . . -719 CHAPTER XXXVI. Mohammedan Mosques and Worship. Worship in the Mosques — The dancing and howling Dervishes — The smart and smarting answer of a Dervish — Daily worship — The Mosque of St. Sophia — The Jummah Musjid at Delhi, India — The Taj Mahal, the "jewel of India " — Pilgrimages and festivals — Conclusion, ........ 741 CHAPTER XXXVII. Winning the World to the Worship of the one God. Comparison of heathen religions and Christianity — Why shall we give Christ- ianity to the world — A flight over the battle-field — Position of the Christian army. 767 Index, 779 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Colored Map of World Full Page 32 Ancient Serpent Idol 48 Teraphim 57 Dagon, the Fish-god 58 Ancient Serpent Idol 59 Group of Altars (5o Idol from Hindustan Full Page 6i Coin Representing the Deluge 66 Comparative Chart of all Religions Full Pace 91 Ruined Temples 93 Rock Temple of Ibsambul, Restored 95 Song of the Threshers 96 Egyptian Hieroglyphics 97 Pasht, the Cat-lieaded God 98 One of the forms of Isis 99 Crocodile God 100 Scarabfeus loi Shrouding of the Dead 103 Mummy Case 103 Fomis of Mummy Cases 104 Egyptian Priestess 107 Avenue of Sphinxes leading to a Temple 112 Gate- way of the Ancient Egyptian Temple of ICarnak 113 The Singing Memnon 114 Ruins of Thebes Full Page 115 The Sphinx and the Pyramids 117 Star Worshipers 1 20 Baljylonish Coffin and Lid of Green Glazed Pottci-y 123 Assyrian Cuneiform Lettei's 124 Robed Statue 125 Statue of Oanncs, the King 129 Adar Strangling the Lion ' 1 30 Sargon's Palace, Restored Full Page 133 Human-headed Eagle-winged Assyrian Lull 135 Sculptured Locust 139 Goddess Ashtoreth, Ishtar 141 Phoenician Goddess Astarte 142 The Ammonite Fire God Moloch 143 2 xvii Xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS- PAGB Jehovah's Triumph over Baal '47 Image of Jupiter, by Phidias Full Page 165 Temple of Diana of Ephesus Full Page 170 Medal of Diana 171 Jupiter Tonans '77 Janus 180 Ancient Druidic Worship at Stonehenge, England 191 (jods of our Saxon Ancestors 198 Sacrificial Rites of the Ancient British Druids 202 Ancient Hindu Idol 211 Devil Woi"shiped in Tennevelly 213 Indra, God of the Atmosphere 214 The Three Chief Hindu Gods 215 Bird's-eye view of the Hindu Temple at Cav^mpore 219 Sculptured Idols on a Pillar 221 Dying Brahmin holding the tail of the Sacred Cow, so as to enter Heaven . . . 223 A Caste-marked Brahmin at his devotions 224 God of Hell, from a Hindu picture 225 Amadeo, God of Love 226 Teaching a child to worship Ganesha, the God of Wisdom 228 A child bringing an offering to the Idol of a Bull 229 Hindu Woman 231 The most Sacred Temple of Juggernaut at Puri 233 Worship in the Temple of Krishna, or Juggernaut 235 Hindu Devotees dragging Juggernaut's Car and immolating themselves .... 236 The Idol Juggernaut usually can-ied on the car 238 Disrobing and disjointing Juggernaut 239 The Goddess Kali 240 Idol of Kali Full Page 241 A Night Feast of the Bloody Goddess, Kali 244 Goddess Kali, from a Hindu Picture 245 Hindu Notion of the Universe 246 Golden Temple of the Hindus of Umritsur 247 Entablature from a Hindu Temple 248 Children Worshiping in Temple at Benares Full Page 249 Bas-relief from a Hindu Temple 251 Causeway of the Golden Temple Double Page 2^^4-5 Great Idol of the Cave of Mandar, India 258 Scene from Cave of Elephanta I-'ull Page 259 Cave of Elephanta Doitble Page 262-3 Image of Ganesha 265 Annual Boat-festival of Ganesha on t'ne Ganges 266 Wayside Idol of Ganesha Full Page 267 Gate-way of Madura Temple 270 Pagoda of Pondicherry, famed for its Sculpture ■ • 27 1 Disused Idols and sacred articles from Ongole, India 272 Bird's-eye view of Pagodas and Temple Grounds, Madras, India, Double Page 274-5 / 1ST OF ILL USTRA TIONS. y^^y^ PAGB iHindus wasliing in the Sacred River Ganges at Benares 277 Temple of the Sacred Fountain 278 ;Fakir of tlie Immovable Foot 279 The Holy Man with the Iron Collar 280 .Fakir of the Long Hair 281 A Fakir, who never helps himself 2S2 _A. Hmdu Holy Man torturing himself by hanging from a hook 283 .Fakir hanging to a limb 2S4 J3evotee enduring fire 2S3 Fakir of the long nails Full Page 286 J"Iindu Festival of the New Moon 2S9 'Xjuards of the Flindu Temple Ayenar 292 Hindu women rescued from their degradation Full Page 297 The ten incarnations of Vishnu 300 The God created from Izanagi's staff 310 Jimmu Tenno, first emperor of Japan ^Ij "The Mikado's coat-of-arms 317 ■Raiden, God of Thunder, with his string of drums 318 JFuten, God of Winds, with his huge sack 319 Daikoku, tlie Rice-god, on his throne of rice-bags 322 Fukoruku Jin, tlie god who can bestow long life Full Page 323 ■Domestic Altar of the gods of daily food and of rice 326 Hotel, the God of Happiness 327 The Sacred Mountain, Fuji-Yama 330 :5hinto Shrine, near Yokohama, Japan, with worshipers, vessel of holy water, etc. 331 .A Tento, or "Heavenly Lantern" 332 I^Shrines of Ise, the most sacred place of Shintoism 333 ^Interior of a Shinto Temple, showing the arrangements for worship 335 Ceremonial dance of the Shinto Priests 338 A. lawyer of Zululand 343 King Coffee's Protecting God 346 The Priests' trick of raising an idol out of the earth 348 A Cazembe Fetich Man 351 JDecorated Fetichist 352 Juju House or Temple of Skulls Full Page 353 Idols with mirrors in their bodies 356 A Witch Doctor > 357 Jndian Medicine Man 363 Indian Burial Place 366 Indian Image 367 Sun-worship on the Amazon Double Page 374-5 Ancient Aztec Idol 3S0 .Sun-worship among the Peravians 3S3 Ancient Peruvian Temple of the Sun 3S5 A Papuan Fetich House 3SS 'Tattooed Girl of Oceanica 389 .Polynesian Idol and its devotees .' 390 XX ^' J^ T OF IL L US TRA TIONS. PAGB. A Fijian bure temple 39' Idol of South Sea Islands 392 Great Idol of Oceanica, (six feet in height) 393 Hawaiian Idol, known as the Poison God 394- Idol from Polynesia 395 New Zealand Moon-god 397 Hawaiian War-god 399 Christian Karen Girls 4^4 A Parsee Merchant of Bombay 4°^ Chinese ornaments with words of cheer 4' 7 A Chinese Book 4i8 Censer, from a Taoist Temple 4^9' Ceremonies in a Taoist Temple 433 The Three Pure Ones 435 God of the Kitchen 435 God of Thunder 435 Canning the Dragon 43^' Dragon Boat-races, a Chinese Festival 437 Charm to ward off Evil Spirits from a Bride 438 God of Thieves 43^ Sword Chann 439 Kwan-te, God of War 440. Taoists consulting the oracles at the magicians 441 Stone pillars erected by the Chinese to keep off evil spirits 442 Tall Wliite Devil 443 Short Black Devil 444 Traditional likeness of Confucius 446' Monumental gate-way erected in honor of Confucius 448 Temple of Confucius, in Peking Full Page 453 Chinese School-boys 460- Chinese Joss-stick 461 Sacred Altar of Heaven, at Peking Full Page 465 Temple of Agriculture, at Peking, China 468- Bronze Temple in honor of Confucius Full Page 470 Chinese sitting-room 479 Ancestral Tablet 48: Chinaman burning prayers instead of saying them 482 Bringing home one of the souls of a dead man in his clothes 483. Ceremony of turning around the bridge-ladder 484 Chinese maiTiage procession Full Page 487 Worship of ancestors at a wedding 4891 Chinese baby in its cradle 49 1 Teaching a child to worship 492 Offering sacrifice to the Kitchen-god 493 God of Gambling 496. Idol of Buddha 509 lieligious meeting of the Jains Full Page 533. LISV OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ,.^: Tope of Sanchi Full Page 537 Capital of a pillar of gate-way of Sanchi Tope 53(j Gate-way of Sanchi Tope Dojihle Page 542-3 Roadway to a Buddliist temple in Ceylon , 545 Devil-dancers' mask from Ceylon 549 Buddhist Temple in tlie Island of Ceylon 551 Worship of Buddha's Tooth I'ull Page 553 Shway-da-gong, the great Pagoda of Rangoon, Burmah 558 Sacred Garden attached to Temple Double Page 562-3 Pagoda at Maulmain, Burmah 565 Funeral procession of a Buddhist Priest 573 Tower of Wat Chang Pagoda at Bangkok, Siam Full Page 577 Funeral Temple of wood, bamboo and paper 578 The King of Siam going to worship at the Temple of the Emerald Idol ... 5 So Temple of the Emerald Idol Full Page 581 Ruined Temple of Ayudia, Altar of the, Siam F21II Page 585 Siamese worshiping the White Elephant 589 Tomb of a Buddhist Saint 590 Ruins of the Great Temple of Nagkon Wat 593 Statue of the Leper King 595 A Thibetan Lad 599 Monastery of Hemis in the Himalayas 600 Tartar Woman 601 Praying Machine 605 Praying Wheel whirled in the hand 606 Stone with the mystic sentence, "Om Mani Padmi Hum" 607 Mani Padee, a Buddhist Tomb in Thibet 60S A Thibetan Woman 609 Chinese Image of Buddha 612 Bronze Lions Full Page 613 A Chinese Mandarin 615 Chinese sale of prayers conducted by the Priests 616 Porcelain Tower at Nanking, China Full Page 617 Beating on a Temple Drum to attract the God 622 Chinese Temple at San Francisco Fztll Page 623, The "Three Precious Buddhas" 625 Worship in the Temple of the thousand Lamas Full Page 627 Temple of Kwan-Yin Full Page 6t,o Colossal Gilded Buddha 632 Altar of Chinese Pagoda Doicble Page 634-5 The Goddess Ma-chu and her assistants 638 Pagoda at Tung-Cho Full Page 639 Chinese Idols 641 Chinese Buddhist's Idea of Hell 642 Goddess of Mercy delivering a soul . . • • Full Page 643 Buddhist Monument at Peking Full Page 647 Priest at a Praying Wheel 649 xxii LrST OF ILL USTRA TIONS. PAGB Chino-sc Bonze, or Priest 650 Letting go the Water-lamps 653 Miraculous delivery of a Bonze Full Page 659 Shrine of Kwanon 661 Interior of Kwanon's Temple Full Page 663 The Iliogo Buddha 666 Buddhist Shrine at Kobe 668 Japanese Pilgrim in winter dress 669 Dining-room of a Buddhist Monastery 670 Religious festival in Temple Grounds Full Page 67 1 New Year's frolic in Japan Full Page 675 Buddhist " Nio," or Temple Guard 677 Japanese Picture of Kwanon 680 Musicians of the Temple at Shiba 682 Torii, or Water Gate of the Temple of Miyajima Full Page 683 Interior of the Temple of Shiba 685 Temple of the Five liundred Gods, Canton, China Full Page 689 Belfry of the Temple at Osaka, Japan 69 1 Street Mountebanks in a New Year's Festival in Japan .... Double Page 696-7 Japanese idea of the Judge of Hell 700 Festival of Foxes Full Page 703 Driving the devils out of the house on New Year's Eve with beans 705 A Japanese Matsuri, or Religious Festival 706 Religious Procession in Japan Full Page 707 Fujisan, from a village on the Tokaido 708 Worship at the Tomb of an Ancestor Full Page 713 The Flowing Invocation 715 Temple of the Kaaba, at Mecca, Arabia 722 Mohammedan Cemetery at Mecca 727 Interior of a Turkoman tent, in Western Persia 729 Mosque of Omar, on the site of the Jewish Temple, at Jerusalem 730 Mohammedans praying before the Mosc^ue of Omar 731 Mohammedan Mosque on the Hooghly River, near Calcutta, India 742 Interior of Mosque in Persia Double Page 744-5 Interior of Mosque at Delhi, India 747 Interior of Mosque of St. Sophia 748 A Whirling Dervisli 749 Moslem Boy studying the Koran 752 Mosque of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, Turkey 753 Mosque at Delhi, containing a hair from Mohammed's beard 755 Entrance to the Mosque at Delhi yj6 Tower of the Koutub, India Full Page 757 Taj Mahal, the tomb of the Empress Mumtaj Mahal, at Agra, India 759 Interior of the Taj, the tomb of Mahal . . . ' 762 Mohammedan Feast of Mohurrim 764 Two New Zealanders: the Savage Te Wetere and the Christian Te Kote . . . 768 A Missionary home in Burmah ^74 STEEL-PLATH ENGRAVINGS. Pack Frontispiece, .... ... 2 Temple ok ihe Thousand Idols, ... 47 Hindu Fakirs Practicing their Supekstiitous Ri lEs, . . . . . . .217 The Hindu Mother, ...... 234 The FuLFiLi.MENr of Prciphecv, .... 498 A Scene on the Jumna Rivek, . . . 760 (0 o o •a c X CO c u THE WORLD'S FIRST WORSHIP. ,, CHAPTER I. THE world's first WORSHIP. I have laid it down as an invariable maxim constantly to follow his- torical tradition, and to hold fast by that clew, even when many things, in the testimony and declarations of tradition, appear strange and almost inexplicable, or at least enigmatical ; for so soon in the investigation of ancient history as we let slip that Ariadne's thread we can find no outlet from the labyrinth of fanciful theories, and the chaos of clashing opinions. — F. Von Schlegel. THERE are many systems of worship in the world. Some of these are Hmited to single nations, others extend themselves over different nations, and in history we read of certain religions which no longer exist. For instance — of those systems limited to a nation, there is the worship of ancestors, as taught by Confucius, in China ; the worship of the idol gods Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and a multitude of other gods, more numerous than their worshipers, in India ; and Shintoism, the nature- worship of Japan. Of those which have extended to other lands, there is the worship of the hero-saint, Gau- tama Buddha, in all southern and eastern Asia ; and Mohammedanism, the fierce opponent of idolatry, and the system of the prophet Mohammed, in India, Turkey, Egypt and in China. Of the dead religions, there are those of Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome. These are but a few of the many forms of worship that we find in glancing over the world's history, or in looking at its present condition. There are wide differences between ^A EHRUKS CHAINS. these systems of worship and also many resemblances among them. Where did these systems all come from ? Where and how did they start? They differ very materially one from another. Some worship one God and have no idols, others worship millions of gods and have multi- tudes of idols. Their temples are of different styles. Their sacred books and ceremonies are extremely varied. Can they have started from one source, or did each start independently of the rest? TESTIMONY OF AN OLD RECORD AND OF LANGUAGE. How shall we find out about this ? We have one rec- ord that will help us and upon which we can depend. This is the oldest history of mankind. There were a great many of these histories written later, but for no one of them is there a tenth part of the evidence as to its being genuine, which there is for this one old record. It has been tested in every possible way and no flaw has yet been found. Ancient monuments and their inscrip- tions, the oldest traditions of the most ancient peoples, all confirm its statements. But these monuments and the written histories of nations go back but a few thou- sand years, and this one record is older than they all. So traditions only remain to be compared with it. No, there is one thing left that is related to tradition. It is lan- guage. Those who have studied the languages of the world and compared them with each other have something to say, and it is this : All languages can be grouped into families or classes of speech, and all these families are seen to have started from one common source. This, too, agrees with the story of that older record. That tells how God made first a man and then a woman, how that THE WORLD'S FIRST WORSHIP. ,- they were very good at the outset, but soon became bad. It goes on to tell how their children were very wicked, and how God punished them by sending a great flood of waters which destroyed all but one family. Then this family increased, and they too became wicked. They finally planned to build an immense tower, so, perhaps, that they should not be drowned again in a flood ; at any rate, if this was not the reason, it was for some other wicked purpose that they builded, God was angry with their wickedness, and to stop their building confused their language. They had all spoken the same lan- guage before, but now some spoke one and some an- other. Just here other histories begin, and the stories in these and in the record we have referred to, go on very much alike. But the traditions, which are older than the histories, agree with the record, as we shall see in a future chapter. This record is the Bible, especially the first part of the Book of Genesis. So here is found one answer to our question, — all religions grew out of one original system of worship. ANOTHER WITNESS : COMPARATIVE RELIGION. There is still another way to get an answer. Place the religions side by side, study their principles, examine their legends, and see if, after all, there are not resem- blances beneath the surface. Let us strip them of those things which are the additions of a later day, and of those things which the peculiar conditions of their countries, climates and languages have added. Take for instance their legends or household stories. Some of these tra- ditions are written in the inscriptions on the ancient monuments of Egypt, or especially of Babylonia, or in the sacred books and histories of the older nations ; others have been handed down by word of mouth. It was long 36 EJiHOR'S CHAINS. after these legends were old, that even neighboring- nations held any communications with each other. It had been just as if a great high wall was built around each nation — a wall without gates. So they could not have told these stories to each other. Then, too, some of these stories are told by nations thousands of miles apart. The truth certainly is that before the several branches of the race separated from their common home, perhaps on the table-lands of Bactria, they had many legends, nur- sery tales and peculiar stories in common. As they moved to the colder North, or to the warmer South, they carried these tales with them. In course of time these came to be somewhat altered. This change was in the dressing rather than in the tales themselves. Hence we- find among the Egyptians, Hindoos, Greeks, Germans, Spaniards, Norsemen, stories which are so much alike- that it is certain that they had a common origin. Take, for instance, the story of the Master Thief of the Norse- men, and compare it with the same story as told by other- nations, and we are led to the conclusion that it is part of a stock of nursery tales which were told before the dispersion. Let us remember that many collections of stories were not originated by the men whose names they bear, but that these men simply gathered together legends and tales which they found already existing among the people. Thus "Grimm's Household Tales" is a collection of old German fireside stories. "The Arabian Night's Entertainment," the "Hindoo Hitopadesa," "Da- sent's Popular Tales of the Norse," and " Old Deccan Days," are collections of the same sort. It will repay us to attend at some length to the various versions of one of these stories, which will serve to illustrate many others of more momentous character. THE WORLD'S FIRST WORSHIP. ,-• THE STORY OF THE MASTER THIEF. In the Norse tale, the Master Thief is a farmer's apprentice. In his country there is an order or society of thieves, and the apprentice wishes to join them. The thieves promise to admit him to their society provided he can succeed in steaUng an ox from his master as the master is driving three oxen, one by one, to market. It must be done, the thieves say, without the master's^ knowledge, and without hurting him. The youth put a silver-buckled shoe in his master's way as he traveled along the road. The farmer admired the shoe but passed on without touching it, as an odd shoe would be of no service to him. The thief cunningly picked up the shoe and ran around by another path so as to come out ahead of his master, and place the shoe in the farmer's way again. This time he stopped, tied his ox to the fence, and picking up the shoe before him, went back to find its mate. The lad then stole the ox and took it away to the thieves' council. But they want to try him still further, and direct him to steal a second ox from his master, who is again driving to market. Disguising himself the lad put a rope around his body under his arms and hung himself to a tree at the roadside. The farmer passed on, barely noticing the lad. He was so much troubled about the loss of his ox that he did not think of render- ing assistance. The lad then untied himself, and run- ning by a roundabout way came out on the road ahead of the farmer and hung himself as before. Again the farmer passed by unconcernedly. Again the thief hung himself. This time the farmer thought himself bewitched, and returned to see if the other two lads were still hang- ing. His second ox was now left tied up and the lad then led it also away. The thieves then said that if he ,^ EJiHOK'S CHAINS. would steal the third ox from the farmer, now on his ^uard against tricks, he should be their master. Going into a piece of woods along the road, as his master was passing by with the third ox, he imitated the bellowing of oxen. The farmer now hurried away to catch his lost cattle, leavine the third one to fall into the thief's hands. The thieves thereupon took him into their council, but determined (as he shrewdly provoked them to do) to outdo the young thief, they went away to carry out their plans. The lad then returned his master's oxen, and carried off all the valuables and goods which the thieves had stored away. Soon after he married his master's daug-hter. This story was told in Western Europe, probably long before Herodotus heard the story of the Egyptian thief and wrote it out, or before the Hindoo tale of Karpara and Gata was made known outside of India. The tale of the Forty Thieves in the Arabian Nights also bears a close resemblance to these. The Spanish legend of the Poor Mason may have been borrowed from any one of these. Compare the main points of these stories with those of the tale of the Master Thief THE STORY OF RHAMPSINITOS. Rhampsinitos, an architect, built for the King of Egypt a treasure-house with a secret entrance. This secret, at his death, the architect told to his two sons. They there- upon helped themselves to the king's treasures. As the king noticed how his treasures were gradually decreasing, he placed a trap in the entrance to the treasure-house. The younger brother was caught in the trap, and seeing that he could not escape, he beg-gred his brother to cut off his head so that the king might not know that the archi- tect had told the secret, and that the brother might not THE WORLD'S FIRST WORSHIP. ■ ,« get into trouble. So the king found the headless body, and of course could not recognize the thief. But to find out who he was, he had the body exposed in a public place, and ordered the guards to arrest any person who should mourn for the dead man. The mother saw and re- cognized the body, and threatened to tell the king, unless the elder son should bring the body home. The son then filled some skin bottles with wine, and loaded them upon asses. As he rode by the guards, he slightly loosened the mouth-string of the sacks, and the wine began to run out. The guards, pretending to help him, helped themselves to the wine. After tying up the skins, the youth asks them to sit down and drink wine with him. They do so, and are soon overpowered by it, and fall asleep. He then carried away the body. Soon after he was married to the princess, for the king sought to honor this Master Thief, and he was held to be the clev- erest man of the cleverest people. THE STORY OF THE POOR MASON. In the Spanish story of the Poor Mason a priest wished liim to build a secret hiding-place for his treasure. In ■order that the mason might not know how to get at the treasure, should he be so inclined, the priest blindfolded Tiim from the time of leaving his own home till he arrived at the treasure-house, and again blindfolded him on his return. So the mason knew the secret of the priest's hidden treasure, but did not know where the house was In which it was secreted. The priest finally died. The house was then said to be haunted. The landlord could ■not find a tenant. At last he happened on the poor mason, and offered him the house rent free. As soon as the mason entered it, he saw that it was the house where the wealth was stored, and where he had worked. He 40 ERROJi'S CHAINS. kept the secret to himself, until like the Egyptian archi- tect, he told it on his death-bed to his son. In the story of Trophonius and Agamedes, which Pau- sanius tells, the two masons built the treasury of the king, so that one stone in the wall could be removed from the outside. The king found his wealth growing less, and set a trap for the thief. Agamedes was caught and Trophonius cut off his head. In the Hindoo story of two brothers, Gata and Karpara, not only treasure is stolen by means of a secret entrance to the king's palace, but also the princess, the king's daughter. Karpara was finally found out, was put to death, and as it was desired to catch the other thief, his body was exposed. The guards were ordered to seize any one who might mourn the death of Karpara. The word "Karpara" means a gourd or melon. Gata, Karpara's brother, in order that he might mourn as Hindoos feel bound to do and yet not be caught, loaded some asses with melons, and as he passed the body of Karpara, contrives to have his load slip off, crying, as the gourds fell to the ground and burst, "Alas ! for my precious Karpara !" The guards supposed,. of course, that he referred to his gourds, and so did not arrest him. Afterwards they perceived the trick that had been played upon them, and told it to the king. He then, by royal proclamation, offered the princess in marriage to the clever thief if he would but come and claim her. STORY OF THE SHIFTY LAD. The historian of ancient Scottish leg-ends records a tale which resembles in many points the tales mentioned above. In the Scottish story, the Shifty Lad goes through his apprenticeship, not among a company of thieves, but under the sole charge of the Black Rogue, of whom he at last rid himself by getting him to try the THE IVORLD'S FIRST WORSHIP. >j pleasant sensation of being hung by the neck. The trick answers to that of the Norse thief, but the mode of effecting it differs widely. Having disposed of his mas- ter, he engages himself to a carpenter, whom he per- suades to break into the king's storehouse. The advice of the Seanagal, whom the king consults, is that a hogs- head of soft pitch be placed near the entrance. The Wright, again making the venture, sinks into the pitch, and the Shifty Lad, stepping in on his shoulders, takes as much as he can carry, and then sweeping off his mas- ter's head, leaves the body in the hogshead. Again the Seanagal is consulted, and his answer is "that they should set the trunk aloft on the points of the spears of the soldiers to be carried from town to town, to see if they could find any one at all that would show sorrow for it." As they pass by the Wright's house, his wife screams, but the Shifty Lad cutting himself with an adze, leads the captain of the guard to think that the cry was caused by sorrow at his own hurt. The body is then by the king's order hung on a tree, the guard being ordered to seize any one who should venture to take it down. The lad driving before him a horse loaded with two kegs of whisky, approaches the soldiers, as though he wished to pass them stealthily, and when they catch the horse's bridle, he runs off leaving the men to drink themselves to sleep, and then returning takes away the wright's body. This exploit is followed by others which occur in no other version ; but the final scene is a feast, at which, according to the Seanagal's prediction, the Shifty Lad asks the king's daughter to dance. The Seanagal upon this puts a black mark upon him, but the lad, like Mor- giana in the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," discovering the mark, puts another on the Seanagal and on twenty other men besides him. The king is then ad- 42 AA'AcJA'\i' CHAINS. vised to say that the man who had done all these tricks, that had been so well done, must be exceedingly clever, and that if he would come forward and give himself up he should have the princess for his wife. All the marked men accordingly claim the prize; and the craft of the Shifty Lad is once more called into practice, to secure the maiden for himself From the comparison of these popular tales with each other we can see their common origin. Nations so widely separated as the Norsemen, Hindoos, Spaniards, Egyptians and the early inhabitants of Scotland, could not have borrowed these stories from each other. Their resemblances — a thief of wonderful cunning, his suc- cesses and escapes, and final honor — all point to the fact that they are but different versions of the same story. This one story could not have been communicated by one nation to the others, and as the only way to account for the resemblances we are shut up to believe that the nations long ago all lived in one home, from which they afterward separated to go to the different lands of their final settlements. When we add to this evidence, that from the sameness in the ideas of God held by the different nations in their descriptions of His power, and even in the very names by which they designated God, we are carried back to the early worship of the race, and we see from all these evidences that, originally, man worshiped one God. The human race did not begin life on the earth as a savage, or as a child, and was not developed from this condition to a higher state of intelligence ; but man began life as a full-formed, mature, intelligent creature. From this high vantage ground he has descended, first, to the wor- ship of many gods, and later on, of idols. Such degeneration has often happened in the history THE WORLD'S FIRST WORSHIP. ., of the world. The descendants of powerful nations- have, in the lapse of years, become far inferior to their ancestors. For example, the ancient Egyptians have left monuments whose construction baffles us. We cannot imagine how they have raised and posed the immense stones, nor can we ascertain the purpose of many of their buildings. We talk of "lost arts" and "lost civih- zations." We know that it has often happened that edu- cated colored people from the southern United States, have sunk to the low level of the people of Africa when they have returned to the land of their fathers. From the Bible narrative, as well as from the most ancient tra- ditions of heathen nations, we learn that at the first, man held close intercourse with God and that he held this pure worship during many centuries. The traditions of ancient nations confirm the Bible account of the high position of man at the outset. In the Avesta, the sacred book of the Parsees, who are known also as fire-worshipers, we are told that the first king, Jemshid, and his subjects, after living for a time in the original home of the race of mankind, removed to a secluded spot not far distant. Here, there "was neither overbearing nor mean-spiritedness, neither stupidity nor violence, neither poverty nor deceit, neither puniness nor deformity, neither huge teeth nor bodies beyond the usual measure. The inhabitants suffered no defilement from the evil spirit. They dwelt among odoriferous trees and golden pillars; these were the largest, best and most beautiful on earth; they were themselves a tall and beautiful race." The Mexicans tell of the "golden age of Tezenco." The Peruvian tradition begins with the story of the two children of the Sun, who established a civilized country on the banks of Lake Titicaca. Hesiod records the Greek tradition thus: 44 ERROJi'S CHAINS. " The immortal gods, that tread the courts of heaven, ■ First made a golden race of men. Like gods they lived, with happy, careless souls, From toil and pain exempt; nor on them crept Wretched old age, but all their life was passed In feasting, and their limbs no changes knew. Nouglit evil came them nigh; and when they died, 'Twas but as if they were overcome by sleep. All good things were their portion : the fat soil Bare them its fruits spontaneous, fruit ungrudged And plentiful ; they, at their own sweet will, Pursued in peace the tasks that seemed them good. Laden with blessings, rich in flocks, and dear To the great gods." The Chinese and Hindoo traditions also point back to the beginning of the history of the human race as a time of happiness and perfection. In those early ages man lived a long life, and so the early worship of the one God could be handed down from aee to acre with scarce a chance of change. Thus we are brought down to the time of the Deluge. While there was a general ten- dency to evil on the part of all the descendants of Adam, God preserved some pure characters, such as Enoch and Noah, who kept the truth from utterly perishing from off the earth. On account of the increasing wickedness of mankind, God sent the Deluge, which destroyed all the race, Noah and his family alone excepted. This we learn not only from the Bible, but from Chinese, Hindoo, Egyptian, Greek and Mexican traditions. Soon after this deluge, the descendants of Noah multiplied gready, and on account of their wicked attempt to build the tower of Babel, God confused their language. Thus the great dispersion of nadons was brought about, through their inability to communicate with each other by means of speech. They separated inevitably from each other. THE WORLD'S FIRST WORSHIP. .^ EXODUS OF THE NATIONS. Somewhere to the north of Persia, in the land of Khiva, was probably the second cradle of the race. This land is now the central meeting place of empires ; here, Russia from the north, England, through India, from the south, and the European powers from the west are com- ing together. This was the point of departure whence the nations started for their future homes. From the three sons of Noah came the nations by whom the whole earth was overspread. Let us keep in mind that Noah's worship of God was pure, that he preserved the true faith in Jehovah, that he handed this to his sons, and that the degeneration into the worship of many gods and idols took place later in history. The religion of the world was still one. Not that all men accepted it, for many wickedly rebelled against it, but the knowledge of the true God was too fresh in their minds for them to set up other gods for themselves. Not only this, but while they were all together, each new generation received in- struction from those who did worship God in the right way. It was only when they were scattered and left solely to their recollections of these teachings , that their religions ■began gradually to differ from that which they had known when together. Then, also, the peoples began to differ from each other; then those who went to the cold north or warmer south, to the isles of the sea or to inland hills and valleys, gradually changed their habits of life ;and worship according to their surroundings. From the miountains of Armenia, where Noah landed from the ark, the streams of population poured forth to all parts of the world; north-west to Europe, west to Asia Minor, south-west to Egypt and Africa, south to Arabia, south-east to Persia and India, and east to China. 3 46 ERROJ^'S CHAINS. Of course, this was not the work of a day. It took ages-- for the nations to reach the more distant lands; ages for them to become settled in their new homes ; ages for them to people these lands densely. Hundreds of years, after the deluge, some of the peoples who reached the western shores of the Pacific Ocean, and who ventured on its waters, were carried away on the stream whose currents sweep to the north, then to the east, and thence down again to the south. It has happened in the last. few centuries that Malays and Japanese sailors have thus been swept away by the Kuro Shiwo (Black Stream). Thus, in all probability, the continent of America was. peopled. Thus the present Japanese nation originated- from the mixing of these Malays from south-eastern Asia and the Ainos, the nation which had made its way overland to Japan. In the languages and traditions of these nations, even after they were well settled, are to be found traces of Monotheism. Not distinct and clear, it is true, for the Polytheistic worship of after ages has destroyed to a great extent these indications of the early worship of one God, and yet in almost all systems of religion a su- preme place is given to some one Deity, who is above all the others, and who is recognized as the ruler of all. € &, -i ■z. y N t HIJENlE came JJJE AjANY auJJS AAD IDOLS^ ,~, CHAPTER II. WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS? The fair humanities of old religion, The power, the beauty and the majesty. They had their haunts in dales or piny mountain, Or forest by slow stream, or pebbly spring. Or chasms and watery depths. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. WE have seen that the first worship of the world was of one God. We have watched the world in its processes of changing as the nations were separated from each other. We have found that not long after the settlement of the nations in their new lands the worship of many gods appeared, and with this worship, or soon after it began, the worship of idols appeared also. The number of gods and their idols multiplied rapidly, until they numbered hundreds of mil- lions. There were gods of every name and shape ; gods of heaven, earth, and hell ; gods of occupations and em- ployments ; gods of every living creature, and of many inanimate things. Where did they come from ? Where and when did that great change occur, when man ceased to worship one God and began to multiply his gods and idols ? How did it come about ? What influences pro- duced the change ? Why was the world permitted to wander so far from the truth ? All these, and a hundred kindred questions come to us at this time. Can we answer any of them ? The sources of information are WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS? ^q SOURCES OF INFORMATION. The Vedas, the sacred books of the Hindus, are the oldest existing sacred writings, excepting those from which Moses compiled the earlier chapters of Genesis. In these Vedas there is little of the confused mass of mythological statements, gross superstitions and the hosts of gods of later Brahminism. Here is presented a pic- ture of the simple nature-worship of the people of India in their earhest history. Having been composed so soon after the dispersion of the nations, or rather the hymns contained in it having been handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation, it is a very valuable source of information just here. Before the beginning of this century the Vedas were almost unknown to European scholars. Since that time great attention has been devoted to the subject, especially since Max Miiller went to England to seek the aid of Englishmen, and more particularly of the East India Company, in publishing his translation of the Vedas. At present we can read them for ourselves in tolerably accurate translations. Until within a hundred years, there was no direct way of learning of the faith, and manners, and customs of ancient Persia. It was known that there was an author- itative record of the earliest Persian religion, a Bible of the Parsees, but no European had ever read it. In 1754, a young French student of Paris, chanced to see a few lines of an ancient manuscript in an unknown language. He at once determined to go to Persia, or India, whence the manuscript had come, and to learn more about it. As he could not secure the means for the journey, in any other why, he enlisted as a private soldier to go to India. Just before saiHng, however, he received the means to go, and his discharge from the army. He traveled through WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS? c j- ■change took place gradually, not abruptly. It was a result of the natural degeneration of the race. There were certain depraved tendencies of the human heart which brought it about. It was a work of time to develop these and give them full play. We must keep in mind these facts and the condition of the human race just at this time, if we would correctly apprehend this change and its slowly-moving but efficient causes. THE TRANSITION. The worship of one God passed into the worship of the powers and objects of nature. This grew out of a natural awe at the sight of the mighty forces evidently at work and yet inexplicable to the nations in their uncultured state. Their habits of life were simple. While they journeyed, as they tilled their fields, or fed their flocks, their attention was drawn to the sky, now •clear, now cloudy; to the sun, now shining in beauty, now ■obscured in the darkness of night; to the day-dawn and the sunset, to the resurrection of vegetable Hfe in the spring, the growth of cropsthroughtheheatof summer, the ripening harvests of autumn, and the cold of winter and the barrenness of earth. They gazed in awe upon the -Storms ; upon the lightning as it glared in the midst of the dark, black clouds ; upon the tall trees bending beneath the strong winds ; upon the mountains shaking in the earthquake or vomiting their contents with rumblings, and flame, and smoke. They listened in astonishment to the noise of thunder, to the whistling, and sighing, and Toaring of the wind. With wonder they saw the earth into which they cast their seed return it to them in the manifold harvest ; they watched the fruits and grains ►mature and ripen. All about them mysterious processes were going on, which they could not comprehend. Were WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS? r, could easily overthrow ; as creatures of a day in the presence of these, seemingly, ever-enduring beings. So man passed from the worship of God to the worship of the works and forces which God had made ; from rev- erence for the Creator to reverence for the created. THE FIRST HYMNS AND PRAYERS. Reverence for the gods was not merely a silent observ- ance and awe-stricken contemplation of the great powers at work in nature. The observers felt that these beings held some relation to themselves, and that praises, prayers and offerings would not only be acceptable to the gods, but that they were really demanded in order to avert the anger of the gods or secure their favor. Hence the earliest literature of the race is devoted to singing the praises or invoking the aid of the gods. Priests were soon selected to represent the people at the seasons of sacrifice and to give themselves more continually to prayer than would be possible to men generally. The worship of these early days was exceedingly simple and the priests possessed no unusual powers. As Whittier has expressed it : " The morning twilight of the race Sends down these matin psalms ; And still with wondering eyes we trace The simple prayers to Luna's grace, That Vedic verse embalms. ' ' The American Indians, the Aztecs of western South America, the early Hindoos, the Chinese and the Parsees all exhibit in their sacred writings this nature-worship. Traces of it are still to be seen in the Parsees' worship of the sun, in the worship of heaven and earth among the Chinese, in the Indians' reverence for the Great Spirit, in CA ERKOK'S CHAINS. the Peruvian sun-worship and in many otlier features of worship among the heathen nations of to-day. Let us look at some specimens of early religious poetry. The first is from Monier Williams' transla- tions of the Vedas. Varuna is the god of the "moist- ing sky," Agni is the god of fire, Surya, the sun-god, Indra the atmosphere-god. " The mighty Varuna, who rules above, looks down Upon these worlds, his kingdom, as if close at hand. AVhen men imagine they do aught by stealth, he knows it. No one can stand, or walk, or softly glide along, Or hide in dark recess, or lurk in secret cell. But Varuna detects him, and his movements spies. Two persons may devise some plot, together sitting. And think themselves alone; but he, the king, is there — A third — and sees it all. His messengers descend . Countless from his abode, forever traversing This world, and scanning with a thousand eyes its inmates. Whate'er exists within this earth, and all within the sky, Yea, all that is beyond. King Varuna perceives. .■ The winkings of men's eyes are numbered all by him ; ,; He wields the universe as gamesters handle dice. % I ■" Indra, twin-brother of the god of fire, When thou wast born, thy mother Aditi, Gave thee, her lusty child, the thrilling draught Of mountain-growing Soma — source of life And never-dying vigor to thy frame. Thou art our guardian, advocate and friend, A brother, father, mother — all combined. ■' Most fatherly of fathers, we are thine. And thou art ours. Oh ! let thy pitying soul Turn to us in compassion when we praise thee. And slay us not for one sin or for many. Deliver us to-day, to-morrow, every day. Vainly the demon dares thy might ; in vain I Strives to deprive us of thy watery treasures. [■ Earth quakes beneath the crashing of thy bolts. j WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS f ce Pierced, shattered lies the foe — his cities crushed, His armies overthrown, his fortresses Shivered to fragments ; then the pent-up waters, Released from long imprisonment, descend In torrents to the earth, and swollen rivers, Foaming and rolling to their ocean-home, Proclaim the triumph of the Thunderer. ■" Agni, thou art a sage, a priest, a king. Protector, father of the sacrifice. Commissioned by us men, thou dost ascend A messenger, conveying to the sky Our hymns and offerings. Though thy origin Be threefold, now from air, and now from water. Now from the mystic double Arani, Thou art thyself a mighty god, a lord. Giver of life and immortality, One in thy essence, but to mortals three ; Displaying thine eternal triple form, As fire on earth, as lightning in the air. As sun in heaven. Thou art the cherished guest In every household — father, brother, son. Friend, benefactor, guardian — all in one. Deliver, mighty lord, thy worshipers. Purge us from taint of sin, and when we die, TDeal mercifully with us on the pyre. Burning our bodies with their load of guilt, But bearing our eternal part on high To luminous abodes and realms of bliss, Forever there to dwell with righteous men. ■" Behold the rays of Dawn, like heralds, lead on high The Sun, that men may see the great all-knowing god. The stars slink off like thieves, in company with night. Before the all-seeing eye, whose beams reveal his presence, Gleaming like brilliant flames, to nation after nation. Surya, with flaming locks, clear-sighted god of day, Thy seven ruddy mares bear on thy rushing car. With these thy self-yoked steeds, seven daughters of thy chariot. Onward thou dost advance. To thy refulgent orb, Beyond this lower gloom, and upward to the light Would we ascend, O Sun, thou god among the gods." 56 EKROA"S CHAINS. The Samoyedes thus addressed Jumala, the god of the air: " Harness now thyself, Jumala, Ruler of the air, thy horses ! Bring them forth, thy rapid racers. Drive the sledge with glittering colors, Passing through our bones, our ankles. Through our flesh that shakes and trembles, Through our veins which seem all broken. Knit the flesh and bones together. Fasten vein to vein more firmly, Let our joints be filled with silver. Let our veins with gold be running !" The principal Chinese deities are called Tien-Chi, or Heaven and Earth. Confucius preserved in his vi^ritings. the ancient worship of these gods. The Mongolians also worshiped the Teng-Ri, or god of the sky. The Chinese have for centuries believed in "celestial spirits," as they call them, spirits of the sun, and moon, and stars; spirits of clouds, winds, rain and thunder; spirits of mountains, fields, rivers, grains and trees. All these were reverenced as gods. So the Egyptians worshiped natu- ral objects and powers. Indeed, every one of the re- ligions which existed in antiquity, and of which anything is known, possessed nature-worship as their primary ele- ment. The ancient religions which continue unto this, day, also possess this characteristic, and though covered with the debris and overgrowth of centuries of supersti- tious teachings, still it is to be distinctly traced. WHERE DID IDOL-WORSHIP COME FROM ? Thus far we have no trace of any other than the direct worship either of God; or of the invisible spirits, or gods, that were supposed to dwell In the objects of nature; or of those objects themselves. As yet no attempt had been. WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS? 57 made to represent them by images or idols. When, where and how did the worship of idols take its rise? These are questions difficult to answer. In the Bible the first distinct traces of idolatry are found in Genesis xxxi, 19, where we read that "Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's." These images, or idols, or gods, as both Jacob and Laban term them, were the teraphim or luck-givers. They had a human head and were used in divination or fortune-telling. They were consulted as oracles. But these could hardly have been the first idols, for their idea was too well developed. There must have been a grad- ual introduction of idols and of the idea of making repre- sentations of the gods. The account in Genesis, just re- ferred to, speaks as though it were no unusual thing to have gods; there is no expression of strangeness at the occur- rence, nor anything that would indicate that these were the first known idols. What follows is suggested as the probable line of development in the idea of idols, but so far as is now known, there is no way of definitely determining the question. Finding it difficult to fasten their thoughts on invisible, intangible beings, men, at the beginning, probably sought to aid their worship by selecting some object to represent the being worshiped. This object was not to be wor- shiped in and for itself, but, simply, as an aid to devotion, TERAPHIM. 58 £A'/?OJ!'S CHAINS. representing the being worshiped. Then, gradually, the' worship was transferred to the object and withdrawn from the being represented. Or, it may be that the being worshiped was supposed in some manner to dwell in the idol, and was worshiped thus. Or, it may be that me- teoric stones were regarded as images of the gods sent down from the heavens. Or, it may have been in several of these ways, or in all combined. The aesthetic tastes of men would soon lead them to give a more shapely appear- ance to the meteoric masses of stone, and then, as these must of necessity be scarce, copies of them were sculptured. As men became more and more accustomed to these idols and less and less spiritual in their worship- they would venture to give expression to their ideas of the unseen eods. Other materials were used and, as might be required by the materi- als, other shapes were of necessity given. At first, it would seem, that only representations of animals were attempted,, then, as in the teraphim^ the head of man was- attached to various ani- mal forms, as also in^ Dagon, the fish-god, which was a human fig- DAGON, THE FISH-GOD. ^^e, terminating in a fish. When this introduction of idols occurred, we cannot tell ; probably, not long after the worship of nature had WHENCE CAME THE MANY GODS AND IDOLS? 59 ^"%^ W become established, and die worship of one God had been generally forgotten. Not very much more than one hundred and fifty years elapsed between the death of Noah and the birth of Jacob, so that in all prob- ability idols had not long been in use when this in- cident of Jacob and Laban took place. Not long after this time the full human figure was used in idol representations, and in a short period a collec- tionof idols would have represent- ed almost every conceivable ob- ject, and being, and creature of the wild fancy of ^^*. man. These were made of all man- ner of materials, of all shapes and sizes. The highest: conceptions of art were lavished on some of these idols, and at the same time the rudest notions of the most barbarous nations were also expressed in them. The word idol originally meant simply an image, and only in after ages was an idol regarded as itself a divine thing or being, rather than merely an image of it. Xu^:i^_i:.-^ ANCIENT SERPENT IDOL. 6o ERROR'S CHAINS. Thus we have traced the worship ot the world down through the ages of antiquity. We have had to rely upon other than merely historic sources of information. We have seen the gradual introduction of Polytheism (many gods' worship), and of idolatry (the worship of visible forms). For the rest of our way the light shines more and more clearly. Historic times are now reached, and we shall find much less difficulty in tracing the stories of religions : and we shall also find data from which we may reason back, and so find confirmation of what has thus far been of necessity somewhat shadowy. jj^iSSiJSp''' GROUP OF ALTARS. ROMAN. ASSYRIAN. EGYPTIAN. EGYPTIAN. ASSYRIAN, BABYLONIAN. GRECIAN. GRECIAN PERSIAN. Before passing to these, however, we shall turn aside for a little to consider the testimony which ancient heathen records and traditions furnish on the genuine- ness of the Bible history, and also to notice the singular system of Hebrew worship, standing alone like a green oasis in the weary wastes of heathenism. IDOL FROM HINDUSTAN, SACRKD AND HEATHEN TRADlTIONi,. 63 CHAPTER III. SACRED AND HEATHEN TRADITIONS. What appears to be of most importance is, the fact, attested by the hieroglyphic paintings of the Mexican, as well as by the tales now current in all quarters from the Arctic Ocean to Cape Horn, that ona of these great periods, called "the Age of Waters," closed with a convulsion, the account of which, in all its broader outlines, is re- markably akin to the Mosaic record of the Deluge. — Archdeacon Charles Hardwick. FROM time to time during the past half century travelers have unearthed traditions from among heathen nations concerning the early history of the world. They have deciphered inscriptions, found the key to the hieroglyphics, or writings whose letters were yet pictures in form, and, by questioning, learned from the heathen peoples themselves of traditions and legends which bear upon the prominent events of early history. These narratives are from a variety of sources and from peoples differing widely in locality, language and civiliza- tion. They are matters of curious interest, and they serve to confirm the Biblical stories of the creation, deluge, dispersion of the races and other events. They agree to a great extent among themselves, just as far as is really possible considering the changing circumstances of the peoples who hold them. But they serve another and more important purpose to us just here. They throw much light on the early history of the religions of which they form a part. They confirm the idea of the original f-^A /z:a'A-(>a-s (■//.; aa'.s. unity ot the race and ot the early existence of one reli- gion for the world. The oldest civilizations of the world are, respectively, those of Eg-ypt, Babylon, Phenicia, the Hindu and the ( ireek. Among each of these the traditions ot the early events referred to above are found. Almost, though not ([uite, all the nations ot the world try to give some account ut the origin of the world and of nations. Man)' of the uncivilized peoples, as the Indians of America, the Mex- icans and the Pacific Islanders, have some pojjular stories ot the deluge. We propose to place side by side some of these, that they may be compared with each other. The traditions of the creation are often mixed up with those of the deluge or the re-creation, and we give of them the versions accepted by the best scholars. TRADITIONS OF CRE.VTKjN. Among many peoples is found the teaching that man was made of the dust of the earth. The Greeks repre- sent Prometheus as moulding from clay the first human beings, and giving them life by means of fire which he stole from heaven. The Peruvians called the first man Alpa Camasca, or "animated earth." The IMandans, a tribe of Indians ot North America, believed that the Great Spirit formed two figures ot clay, which he dried and animated li\" the breath of his mouth. To the one was eiven the name of the "first man," to the other, "companion." The Otaheitans said tliat God made man of red earth, and the Dyacks of Borneo, that he had been made of common dust. The Zoroastrians (or Parsees) in the Bundehesh, a l.iook containing none but ancient traditions, have man)' traditions regarding the creation and fall of man. The "garden ot P^den was undoubtedly in southern Persia, or near by, hence these are traditions which have lingered SACKJiJJ AiVD HEATHEN TR41)1 fJOSS A- around the spot where the events happened. According to the Parsees, there was a garden where the first human belnCTs Hved, and ui it two trees, the one bearing- " Haoma, " supposed to give immortaUty to those who drank its juice. (Haoma and the Hindu word "Soma" are probably different forms of one word. The Hinchi .Soma was possessed of the same properties as the Parsee Haoma). Then follows a story of the first temptation of man, bearing the closest resemblance to the Bible story, even in the incident of the tempter having taken the form of a serpent. The inhabitants of the Caroline Islands, a group in Micronesia, said: "In the beginning there was no death, but a certain Erigiregers, who was one of the evil spirits, and who was sorry to see the happiness of the human race, contrived to get for them a sort of death from which they should never wake." The Hottentots said that " their first parents had committed so great a fault, and so grievously offended the Supreme God, that he had cursed both them and their children." Berosus, the Chaldean, read from the inscriptions on the Assyrian monuments, the tradition that there had been ten kino;s before the delucre. Ten antediluvian heroes are mentioned in Genesis. The legends of the Parsees say the same thing. In India the tradidons tell of nine Brahmadikas, who, with Brahma, the first of all, make ten, whom they called the Ten Fathers. The Chinese count ten emperors, who reigned before his- torical times began. There is a multitude of correspond- ences similar to these. These are selected simply as specimens. There is another tradition, well-nigh uni- versal, and agreeing in all important particulars as told by different nations. This is that concerning the flood. In addition to traditions there are coins, medals and 66 £IiJiOJi'S CHAINS. monumental inscriptions which perpetuate the story, as is illustrated in the specimen coin given below. TRADITIONS OF THE DELUGE. Let us keep in mind the differences between the nations holdino- the tradition. It was impossible for them to have conferred with one another, or to have copied from each other. The confusion of languages, their wide separation in point of space and time, prevented this. The oldest historic nation, Egypt, having lost most of its sacred books before they were made known to other nations or even to the later generations among them- selves, possess few traces of the tradition. One passage e in the writings of Manetho, the historian, distinctly refers to the deluge. "The Book of the Dead" constantly refers to the sun-god, Ra, as voyaging in a boat on the celestial ocean, and Ra is said to have been so disgusted with the insolence of men that he determined to exterminate the race. Clear and complete is the account which Berosus has preserved. He was a learned Chaldean priest, liv- ing in the time of Alexander the Great, about 325 B. C. This narrative is a translation made from the inscriptions of the Assyrian monuments, and compared with tradi- tions of his own time. COIN REPRESENTING THE DELUGE. THE CHALDEAN STORY. After the death of Ardates, his son, Xisuthrus, reigned eighteen sori (an uncertain period). In his time happened a great deluge, the history of which is thus described : The deity Kronos appeared to him in a vision and SACRED AND HEATHEN TRADITIONS. 67 warned him that on the 15th day of the month Dsesius there would be a Hood by which mankind would be de- stroyed. He therefore enjoined him to write a history of the beginning, course and end of all things; and to bury it in the City of the Sun, at Sippara.* He was also to build a vessel, and to take with him into it his friends and relatives; he was to put on board of it food and drink, with different reptiles, birds and quadrupeds. As soon as he had made all arrangements he was to commit himself to the deep. Having asked the Deity whither he was to sail, he was answered: "To the gods, after having offered a prayer for the good of mankind." Whereupon, not being disobedient to this heavenly vision, he built a vessel five stadia in length and two in breadth. Into this he put everything which he had pre- pared, and embarked in it with his wife, his children and his personal friends. After the flood had been upon the earth and had in due time abated, Xisuthrus sent out some birds from the vessel, which not finding any food, nor any place where they could rest, returned to the ves- sel. After an interval of some days, Xisuthrus sent out the birds a second time, and now they returned to the ship with mud on their feet. A third time he repeated the experiment and then they returned no more. Xisu- thrus hence judged that the earth was visible above the waters, and accordingly he made an opening in the ves- sel, and seeing that it was stranded upon the summit of a certain mountain, he quitted it with his wife and daugh- ter and the pilot. Having then paid his adoration to the earth, and having built an altar and offered sacrifice to the gods, he, together with those who had left the vessel * In later ages the scribes of Babylonia wrote important matters on both burnt and unbumt bricks. One would be left unharmed by water, while the other was made permanent by fire. o8 EJiJiOJ^'S CJ/.Ui\'S. with him, disappeared. Those wlio had remained in the vessel, when they iound that Xisuthrus and his compan- ions did not return, in their turn left the vessel and began to look for him, calling him by his name. Him they saw no more, but a voice came to them from heaven, bidding them lead pious lives, and so join him who was gone to live with the cjods, and further informing: them that his wife, his daughter and the pilot had shared the same honor. It told them, moreover, that they should return to Babylon, and how it was ordained that they should take up the writings that had been buried in Sippara.and impart them to mankind, and that the country where they then were was the land of Armenia. Having heard these words this company offered sacrifices to the gods, and taking a circuit journeyed to Babylon. The vessel having been thus stranded in Armenia, and parts of it still remaining in the mountains of the Corcyrseans (or Cordyaeans, /. e., the Kurds of Kurdistan), in Armenia, the people scrape off the bitumen from the vessel and make use of it by way of charms. Now, when those who were so commanded returned to Babylon, they dug up the writings which had been buried at Sippara; they also founded many cities and built temples, and thus the country of Bab^'lon became inhabited again. The Hindoo narrative has been colored by the char- acter of that people, but yet it is preserved with great accuracy, and possesses many points of likeness to the Biblical story. I'HE irrNDOO TRADITION. The traditions of India appear in many forms. The one which most remarkably agrees with the BibHcal ac- count is that contained in the Mahabharata. We are there told that Brahma, having taken the form of a fish. SACA'EJi JXJi HEA'JJIEN TKAV/T/ONS. 69 appeared to the pious Manu (Satya, /. e., the righteous, as Noah also is called) on the banks of the river Wirini. Thence, at his request, Manu transferred him to the Ganges when he had grown bigger, and finally, when he was too large for even the Ganges, to the ocean. Brahma now announces to Manu the approach of thr Deluge, and bids him build a ship, and put in it all kinds of seeds, together with the seven Rishic, or holy beings. The flood begins and covers the whole earth. Brahma himself appears in the form of a horned fish and the ves- sel being made fast to him, he draws it for many years, and finally lands on the highest summit of Mount Hima- rat (/. c, the Himalaya). Afterwards, by the comrnand of God, the ship is made fast, and in memory of the event, the mountain is called Naubandhana (?'. e., ship bind- ing). By the favor of Brahma, Manu, after the Flood, creates the new race of mankind, which is thenceforth termed Manudsha, or born of Manu. The Chinese story is sometimes called in question as possibly not referring to the general deluge, but to some local flood. The truth is, we know as yet comparatively little about the story, which is as follows- THE CHINESE TRADITION. Fuh-he is the reputed founder of the Chinese civilization and the author of the Yhi-king, the oldest of the sacred books. According to the legend, he is represented as escaping from the waters of a deluge, and re -appearing as the first man at the production of a renovated world. He is attended by seven companions, his wife, three sons and three daughters. Dr. Gutzlaff, long a resident in China, says that he saw in one of the Buddhist temples a representation of the deluge in plaster work. Let it be kept in mind, that JO MR/iOK'S CHAINS. Buddhism incorporated in every land to which it went all the traditions, myths and legends which it found current among the people. "In beautiful stucco," Dr. Gutzlaff says, "was depicted the scene where Kwan-Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, looks down from heaven upon the lonely Fuh-he (or Noah) in his ark, amidst the raging waves of a deluge, with the dove with an olive branch in its beak, flying toward the vessel." Passing to the other side of the Pacific Ocean, we find among the Mexicans and the Americans traditions of the same character as the above. These agree so precisely that they cannot be a myth, a mere invention, but must of necessity, be the recollection of a real, terrible event, indelibly impressed on the memories of their ancestors, and faithfully handed down. That it has never been for- gotten, nor its important points altered, even though the dress of the story has been changed, is an evidence of the awful impression which this judgment of God left upon the nations descending from the survivors. The Mexican traditions were first taken down as they were told to the Dominican missionaries. Travelers have compared their accounts with the hieroglyphics on ancient Mexican monuments and found them to agree. THE MEXICAN LEGEND. "Of the different nations that inhabit Mexico," says A. von Humboldt, "the following had paintings resemb- ling the deluge of Coxcox, namely, the Aztecs, the Mixtecs, the Zapotecs, the Tlascaltecs and the Mechoacans. The Noah, Xisuthras, or Manu of these nations, is termed Coxcox, Teo Cipactli, or Tezpi. He saved himself with his wife, Xochiquetzatl, in a bark, or, according to other tra- ditions, on a raft. The painting represents Coxcox in the midst of the water waitino- for a bark. The moun- 'SACRED AND HEATHEN TRADITIONS. yj tain, the summit of which arises above the waters, is the peak of Colhuacan, the Ararat of the Mexicans. At the foot of the mountain are the heads of Coxcox and his wife. The latter is known by two tresses in the form of horns, denoting the female sex. The men born after the deluge were dumb: the dove from the top of a tree dis- tributed among them tongues, represented under the form of small commas." Of the Mechoacan tradition he writes, "that Coxcox, whom they called Tezpi, em- barked in a spacious acalli with his wife, his children, several animals and some grain. When the Great Spirit ordered the waters to withdraw, Tezpi sent out from his bark a vulture, the zopilote, or vultur aura. This bird did not return on account of the carcasses with which the earth was strewn. Tezpi sent out other birds, one of which, the humming-bird, alone returned, holding in its beak a branch clad with leaves. Tezpi, seeing that fresh verdure covered the soil, quitted his bark near the mountain of Colhuacan." The Peruvians also have legends of the deluge as have many of the Polynesian islanders. THE FIJI islanders' TRADITION. The Fiji Islanders say that "after the islands had been peopled by the first man and woman, a great rain took place, by which they were finally submerged ; but before (the highest places were covered by the waters, two large double canoes made their appearance. In one of these was Rokora, the god of carpenters, in the other Rokola, his head workman, who picked up some of the people and kept them on board until the waters had subsided ; after which they were again landed on the island. It is reported, that in former times, canoes were always kept in readiness against another inundation. The persons ■J 2 EA'ROK'S C/J.IJA'S. thus saved, ci^ht in number, were landed at Mbenga, where the highest of their gods is said to have made his first appearance. By virtue ot this tradition, the chiefs of Mben