CHAPTER LIV_The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 32, 1640 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century.

The discovery by the religious of many superstitions concealed by

some new Christians

[The greatest of the griefs of the Christian ministers in China

was the discovery of a number of superstitions concealed by their

converts. Many of these had to do with matters which were requisite for

them to retain their honor and their positions in the state. They were

obliged to offer the adoration yielded by everyone in this kingdom

to their deceased ancestors and to worship a certain great teacher

of theirs, Congchu [67] by name, who has left for them admirable

laws full of excellent moral teachings and political virtues, and

defective only from the lack of the divine illumination. The superiors

of the religious orders went secretly to behold the mode in which

the ancestors were worshiped, of which a full description is given in

the text. The magistrates are required to render special worship to

an idol named Chinhuan, the Christian magistrates, in order to hold

their office, being obliged to perform sacrifices to this idol. Among

the flowers they conceal a small cross, thus thinking that they may

be able to satisfy their consciences and to keep their offices. All

the Chinese scholars are obliged to sacrifice to Conchu. This worship

is required of the mandarins and all public officers. Our religious

informed the Christian Chinese that the mere exterior performance

of these rites was a mortal sin, incapacitating them to receive the

sacrament. It is affirmed by the Chinese that the fathers of the

Society of Jesus permitted them to render this sacrifice, but this

is not the case. The religious, by opposing these superstitions, met

with many difficulties. At this time books were printed in Chinese

against our faith, and the superiors of the two orders went to visit

the author of the books, who, angry at the correction of the fathers,

declared that they had attempted to kill him. Worse books were issued,

one of them by a magistrate. The fathers openly opposed what was said,

and were in danger of death, but were delivered by the hand of God.]

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 32, 1640 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century. · 第 54 / 61 章