[Illustration:
W. B. Scott. Painter Illman Brothers Engravers & Printers]
PROGRESS OF THOUGHT.
ENGRAVED EXPRESSLY FOR ERROR’S CHAINS.]
ERROR’S CHAINS:
HOW FORGED AND BROKEN.
A COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL, SOCIAL AND
RELIGIOUS ERRORS THAT MANKIND HAS FALLEN
INTO AND PRACTISED FROM THE CREATION
DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME.
BY FRANK S. DOBBINS,
LATE RESIDENT 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, late Prof. of Chinese
Language and Literature in Yale College, Conn., Author of
“The Middle Kingdom” the Standard Lexico of China, etc.,
etc., President of the American Bible Society, etc.; the
latter an eminent Orientalist and late Professor of the
College of Beirut, Syria, now Associate of the
American Oriental Society and the London
Society of Biblical Archæologyy Associate
Editor of the “Sunday-School Times,” etc._
MAGNIFICENTLY ILLUSTRATED.
THIRTY-NINTH EDITION.
WILLEY BROTHERS & CO.,
NEW YORK.
1886.
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 Chinaman,
and even down to the degraded Hottentot; in all stages of man’s
existence, among all races and classes, some form of worship is found.
Nothing surely can interest 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 hopes to furnish some
much-needed information on this topic, that he has undertaken the
present work. There is no one book that covers this 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
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 himself 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 necessary 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 Müller 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; Schoolcraft 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
information, carefully arranged, truthfully told, and clearly and
interestingly stated. He has aimed to show the origin, development
and spread of each non-Christian religious system; and to give an
account 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, expensive
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 nevertheless 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 appreciation of the infinite superiority of
Christianity to all other religions; and that they may find a deepened
interest in the welfare of the heathen world.
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
consult 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
learning 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 inestimable value.
To the Publishers, who were ever ready to meet the author’s largest
desires, his thanks are especially due. Without such generous support
the volume must have fallen far below its present excellence. Indeed,
all concerned in the production of the book have proved themselves true
helpers, to whom author and readers alike will be largely indebted.
F. S. DOBBINS.
STEEL-PLATE ENGRAVINGS.
PAGE
FRONTISPIECE, 2
TEMPLE OF THE TEN THOUSAND IDOLS, 47
HINDU FAKIRS PRACTICING THEIR SUPERSTITIOUS RITES, 217
THE HINDU MOTHER, 234
THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, 498
A SCENE ON THE JUMNA RIVER, 760
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFACE, 5
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 17
CHAPTER I.
THE WORLD’S FIRST WORSHIP.
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 II.
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 III.
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 Greek
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
proposed treatment--A concise view--Parseeism--African
religion--Western Europe--The Southern
migration--Buddhism--China’s religions--Shintoism in
Japan--Mohammedanism--Christianity’s conquests, 77
CHAPTER V.
THE LAND OF THE SPHINX.
Hidden history--The hieroglyphics--Some Egyptian
gods--Animal worship--Mummies--The celebrated book of the
dead--Egyptian worship, 93
CHAPTER VI.
THE CHALDEANS.
The great Chaldean historian--Ruined monuments--A library
of brick 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, 119
CHAPTER VII.
THE JEWS.
The plagues and Egyptian idolatry--The golden
calf--Baal-worship, 138
CHAPTER VIII.
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.
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 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 the Saxons--Saxon
gods--Saxon sacrifices--Fairy-lore of Western Europe--An
Elfin Story--The penitent Nis--Nixes--The Peasant and the
Waterman--The wonderful little pouch--Christianizing the
Saxons, 185
CHAPTER XI.
INDIA.
Sketch of Brahminism--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
CHAPTER XII.
HINDU TEMPLES, IDOLS AND WORSHIP.
Idols and temples of Juggernaut--Kali, the Goddess of
Blood--Temple Decorations--Benares--The sacred city of the
Sikhs--Cave-temples of Elephanta and Gwalior--Ganesha, God
of Wisdom--Pagodas--Hindu washings for sin--Hindu holy men,
devotees and fakirs, 232
CHAPTER XIII.
HINDU SACRED BOOKS, FAIRY STORIES 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 Manu--The god Vishnu made man--A Sanskrit
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, 288
CHAPTER XIV.
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--The spirit in the insect--Fetich worship--A
horrible fetich--Stanley and the Africans’ fear of
fetich--Witchcraft, 341
CHAPTER XVII.
THE “GREAT SPIRIT” OF AMERICA.
The Indians of North America--The Great Spirit--Worship of
ancestors--Indian legends--The “Song of Hiawatha”--Indian
allegory of winter and spring--Alaskans’ worship of evil
spirits--Indian sun-worship--Amazon sun-worship--The
Araucanians--Patagonia--The Aztecs--Ancient Aztec idol--The
Incas, 362
CHAPTER 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
fire-god’s song, 387
CHAPTER XIX.
THE KARENS AND THEIR TRADITIONS.
The 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 Parsee Bible--Parsee worship, 407
CHAPTER XXI.
THE CHINESE PHILOSOPHER, LAO-TSZE.
Chinese 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 long life, 416
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--Charms--Kwan-te, God of War--Tsai-shin, the God of
Riches--Taoist superstitions, 428
CHAPTER XXIII.
CONFUCIUS AND THE CLASSICS.
The background of the picture--The story of the sage’s
life--Teachings and writings of the Chinese sage--The
wisdom of the sage, 445
CHAPTER XXIV.
CONFUCIAN TEMPLES AND WORSHIP.
The worship of Shang-te, 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
CHAPTER XXV.
HOME-LIFE UNDER CONFUCIANISM.
Ceremony of turning the bridge-ladder--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 BASKETS,” AND ITS TEACHINGS.
The Buddhist way of salvation--What is Nirvana?--Buddhist
morals--Some of the “footsteps of the law”--Buddhist
beatitudes, 513
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE GROWTH OF BUDDHISM--THE BUDDHIST ORDER OF MENDICANTS.
The Sangha, or Buddhist Brotherhood--The initiation
ceremony--Rules of the Order--Daily life of a monk--The
three great Buddhist councils--Buddhaghosha, the famous
monk and missionary--The story of King Kakavanna--Buddhist
courtesies of the present day, 522
CHAPTER XXIX.
INDIA AND CEYLON.
The famous Topes--The great Sanchi Tope--Ceylonese
Buddhism--The sacred Bo-tree of Ceylon--Reducing the
Tripitaka to writing--Buddhaghosha in Ceylon--A Buddhist
temple in Ceylon--The sacred Ceylonese books, 532
CHAPTER XXX.
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.
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.
THIBET.
Sketch of the history of Lamaism--Monks and
monasteries--Temple at Teshu Lumbo monastery--Services at
the H’Lassa cathedral--Praying-wheels--The mystic sentence
of Thibet--The incarnation of Buddha in the Grand Lama--The
Lamaist Bible, 598
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHINA--_continued_.
Pagodas--Chinese Buddhist temples--The worship of
Kwan-yin--The worship of Kum-Fa--Idols--The Temple of
Horrors--Monasteries--A Monk’s Monument--Chinese Buddhist
Bonzes--Buddhist devotees--Ceremony of the Water-lamps--The
Do-nothing sect of Reformed Buddhists--Booldo, the Buddhism
of the Corens, 611
CHAPTER XXXIV.
JAPAN.
Bodhidharma in Japan--The Sun-child and his miraculous
deliverance--Further history of Japan--Buddhist sects in
Japan--The Protestants of Buddhism--Kwanon’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 Kamakura Dai Butsu--Some Japanese gods--Japanese
Festivals--Mount Fuji-Yama--Customs concerning birth,
marriage and death--Some Japanese superstitions--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 Christianity to the world--A flight over the
battle-field--Position of the Christian army, 767
INDEX, 779
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
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 60
Idol from Hindustan _Full Page_ 61
Coin Representing the Deluge 66
Comparative Chart of all Religions _Full Page_ 91
Ruined Temples 93
Rock Temple of Ibsambul, Restored 95
Song of the Threshers 96
Egyptian Hieroglyphics 97
Pasht, the Cat-headed God 98
One of the forms of Isis 99
Crocodile God 100
Scarabæus 101
Shrouding of the Dead 103
Mummy Case 103
Forms of Mummy Cases 104
Egyptian Priestess 107
Avenue of Sphinxes leading to a Temple 112
Gate-way of the Ancient Egyptian Temple of Karnak 113
The Singing Memnon 114
Ruins of Thebes _Full Page_ 115
The Sphinx and the Pyramids 117
Star Worshipers 120
Babylonish Coffin and Lid of Green Glazed Pottery 122
Assyrian Cuneiform Letters 124
Robed Statue 125
Statue of Oannes, the King 129
Adar Strangling the Lion 130
Sargon’s Palace, Restored _Full Page_ 133
Human-headed Eagle-winged Assyrian Bull 135
Sculptured Locust 139
Goddess Ashtoreth, Ishtar 141
Phœnician Goddess Astarte 142
The Ammonite Fire God Moloch 143
Jehovah’s Triumph over Baal 147
Image of Jupiter, by Phidias _Full Page_ 165
Temple of Diana of Ephesus _Full Page_ 170
Medal of Diana 171
Jupiter Tonans 177
Janus 180
Ancient Druidic Worship at Stonehenge, England 191
Gods of our Saxon Ancestors 198
Sacrificial Rites of the Ancient British Druids 202
Ancient Hindu Idol 211
Devil Worshiped in Tennevelly 213
Indra, God of the Atmosphere 214
The Three Chief Hindu Gods 215
Bird’s-eye view of the Hindu Temple at Cawnpore 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 carried 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_ 254–5
Great Idol of the Cave of Mandar, India 258
Scene from Cave of Elephanta _Full Page_ 259
Cave of Elephanta _Double Page_ 262–3
Image of Ganesha 265
Annual Boat-festival of Ganesha on the Ganges 266
Wayside Idol of Ganesha _Full Page_ 267
Gate-way of Madura Temple 270
Pagoda of Pondicherry, famed for its Sculpture 271
Disused Idols and sacred articles from Ongole, India 272
Bird’s-eye view of Pagodas and Temple Grounds,
Madras, India _Full Pages_ 274–5
Hindus washing in the Sacred River Ganges at Benares 277
Temple of the Sacred Fountain 278
Fakir of the Immovable Foot 279
The Holy Man with the Iron Collar 280
Fakir of the Long Hair 281
A Fakir, who never helps himself 282
A Hindu Holy Man torturing himself by hanging from a hook 283
Fakir hanging to a limb 284
Devotee enduring fire 285
Fakir of the long nails _Full Page_ 286
Hindu Festival of the New Moon 289
Guards of the Hindu 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 313
The Mikado’s coat-of-arms 317
Raiden, God of Thunder, with his string of drums 318
Futen, God of Winds, with his huge sack 319
Daikoku, the Rice-god, on his throne of rice-bags 322
Fukoruku Jin, the god who can bestow long life _Full Page_ 323
Domestic Altar of the gods of daily food and of rice 326
Hotei, the God of Happiness 327
The Sacred Mountain, Fuji-Yama 330
Shinto Shrine, near Yokohama, Japan, with worshipers,
vessel of holy water, etc. 331
A Tento, or “Heavenly Lantern” 332
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
Decorated Fetichist 352
Juju House or Temple of Skulls _Full Page_ 353
Idols with mirrors in their bodies 356
A Witch Doctor 357
Indian Medicine Man 363
Indian Burial Place 366
Indian Image 367
Sun-worship on the Amazon _Double Page_ 374–5
Ancient Aztec Idol 380
Sun-worship among the Peruvians 383
Ancient Peruvian Temple of the Sun 385
A Papuan Fetich House 388
Tattooed Girl of Oceanica 389
Polynesian Idol and its devotees 390
A Fijian bure temple 391
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 404
A Parsee Merchant of Bombay 408
Chinese ornaments with words of cheer 417
A Chinese Book 418
Censer, from a Taoist Temple 429
Ceremonies in a Taoist Temple 433
The Three Pure Ones 435
God of the Kitchen 435
God of Thunder 435
Carrying the Dragon 436
Dragon Boat-races, a Chinese Festival 437
Charm to ward off Evil Spirits from a Bride 438
God of Thieves 438
Sword Charm 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 White 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 481
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 marriage procession _Full Page_ 487
Worship of ancestors at a wedding 489
Chinese baby in its cradle 491
Teaching a child to worship 493
Offering sacrifice to the Kitchen-god 493
God of Gambling 496
Idol of Buddha 498, 509
Religious meeting of the Jains _Full Page_ 533
Tope of Sanchi _Full Page_ 537
Capital of a pillar of gate-way of Sanchi Tope 539
Gate-way of Sanchi Tope _Double Page_ 542–3
Roadway to a Buddhist temple in Ceylon 545
Devil-dancers’ mask from Ceylon 549
Buddhist Temple in the Island of Ceylon 551
Worship of Buddha’s Tooth _Full 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 580
Temple of the Emerald Idol _Full Page_ 581
Ruined Temple of Ayudia, Altar of the, Siam _Full 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 608
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 _Full Page_ 623
The “Three Precious Buddhas” 625
Worship in the Temple of the thousand Lamas _Full Page_ 627
Temple of Kwan-Yin _Full Page_ 630
Colossal Gilded Buddha 632
Altar of Chinese Pagoda _Double 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
Chinese 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 Hiogo 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_ 671
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 Hundred Gods, Canton, China _Full Page_ 689
Belfry of the Temple at Osaka, Japan 691
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 Mosque of Omar 731
Mohammedan Mosque on the Hooghly River, near
Calcutta, India 742
Exterior of Mosque in Persia _Double Page_ 744–5
Interior of Mosque at Delhi, India 747
Interior of Mosque of St. Sophia 748
A Whirling Dervish 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 756
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 774
[Illustration: WESTERN HEMISPHERE
EASTERN HEMISPHERE
BUDDHISTS.
FETICHISTS.
MOHAMMEDAN.
CHRISTIANS.
HINDOOS.]
CHAPTER I.
THE WORLD’S FIRST WORSHIP.
I have laid it down as an invariable maxim constantly to follow
historical 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
limited 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, Gautama 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 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 multitudes 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 record 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 inscriptions, 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 thousand 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 language.
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 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 language before, but now some spoke one and some another.
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 resemblances 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 traditions 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 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, nursery 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 Norsemen, 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,” “Dasent’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 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 stealing 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 rendering
assistance. The lad then untied himself, and running 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 hanging. His second ox was now
left tied up and the lad then led it also away. The thieves then said
that if he would steal the third ox from the farmer, now on his guard
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, leaving 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 daughter.
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 thereupon 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 begged his brother to cut off his head so that the king
might not know that the architect had told the secret, and that the
brother might not 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 recognized 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 cleverest man of the cleverest
people.
THE STORY OF THE POOR MASON.
In the Spanish story of the Poor Mason a priest wished him 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 him 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
kept the secret to himself, until like the Egyptian architect, he told
it on his death-bed to his son.
In the story of Trophonius and Agamedes, which Pausanius 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 legends 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 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 master, he engages himself to a carpenter, whom he
persuades to break into the king’s storehouse. The advice of the
Seanagal, whom the king consults, is that a hogshead 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 master’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 Morgiana 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
advised 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 successes 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 worship of
many gods, and later on, of idols.
Such degeneration has often happened in the history 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 civilizations.” We know that it has often happened that educated
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 traditions 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:
“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.
Nought 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 age to age with scarce a chance of
change. Thus we are brought down to the time of the Deluge. While there
was a general tendency 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 greatly, and on account of their wicked attempt
to build the tower of Babel, God confused their language. Thus the
great dispersion of nations was brought about, through their inability
to communicate with each other by means of speech. They separated
inevitably from each other.
THE DISPERSION OF 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 coming
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 instruction 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 mountains 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. 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 supreme place
is given to some one Deity, who is above all the others, and who is
recognized as the ruler of all.
[Illustration: Illman Brothers, Engravers & Printers.
THE TEMPLE OF TEN THOUSAND IDOLS IN JAPAN.]