the Ep. to the Hebrews was to be received as a Greek translation by St Luke of the writing of St Paul. Clement freely alludes in his writings to the works of Clemens Romanus, Shepherd of Hermas, Ep. of Barnabas, Apoc. of Peter, &c., but though acquainted with their contents he does not recognise them in the same way as the Apostolic Scriptures. He frequently refers to the Apocalypse of St John, and we possess in Latin his notes on the 2nd Epistle. He nowhere refers to Jas. or 2 Pet. mas," does not include it among the N. T. Scriptures. He shews no sign of being ac quainted with Jas., 2, 3 John, 2 Pet. Tertullian's position is reproduced by Cy prian, Bp of Carthage († 256), who makes no use of the disputed Epistles but constantly refers to the Apocalypse. The Church of Rome. The testimony of this Church is sufficiently represented by the Muratorian Fragment (referred to above, p. 14), and by Hippolytus, Bp of Portus, who in the early part of the 3rd cent. defended the Canonicity of St John's Gospel and the Apocalypse. The Churches of Asia Minor. It will be re who represents the tradition of Asia Minor, recognised 2 John and Apoc. Gregory of NeoCæsarea in Pontus (circ. 230), who seems to have known Jas., and Firmilian of Cæsarea in Cappadocia (circ. 250), who seems to allude to 2 Pet., represent the influence of Origen's teaching. Methodius, Bp of Lycia († 311), an opponent of Origen, acknowledges the Apocalypse, and shews acquaintance with Heb., though not esteeming it of Pauline authorship. Origen (186-253), who succeeded Clement in the superintendence of the Catechetical school (203), contributes by his matchless learning, persevering labours and extensive journeys some-membered that of the disputed books Irenæus, thing more than the evidence of a single Alexandrian scholar. He acknowledges the sacred authority of the same books as Clement had received. He is the first to refer by name to Jas. although not as if he held it to be of Canonical authority. He refers to Júde, but implies that its position was disputed 1. The Ep. to Heb. he pronounces to be "Pauline in thought but not in language and style," and therefore prefers to withhold his opinion on the matter of its authorship: "Who it was who wrote the Epistle God only knows certainly." He quotes the Apocalypse as Apostolical in origin and Canonical in authority. He alludes to Clem. Rom., Shepherd of Hermas and Ep. of Barnabas; but although he may have read and recognised them for private use, there is no evidence that he considered them of equal rank with the Scriptures of the N. T. His recognition of the Apostolical Scriptures as standing on a footing of complete equality with the writings of the O. T. is shewn by the phrase "the Scriptures believed by us to be divine both of the Old and of the New Cove nant" (De Princip. IV. 1). Dionysius, one of Origen's successors in the school of Alexandria, and afterwards Bishop of the same place (248), appears in a fragment of his writings (preserved by Eusebius) to have regarded Heb. as a Pauline Epistle; he also quotes Jas. and implies that he acknowledges 2, 3 John. His testimony, however, is chiefly remarkable for the fact, that in his writings we first find expressions of doubt respecting the Apocalypse. Apparently he accepted its Canonicity and acknowledged its inspiration, but on the ground of its style denied it to be the work of St John. His opinion, though unsupported by any external evidence, is of special interest as affording proof, (a) that the limits of the Canon were not yet fixed, and (b) that great freedom of criticism was permitted and exercised at that early time, and that hence the admission of books into the Canon was no mere automatic process of blind veneration for reputedly Apostolic works. The Syrian Churches. The Christian Church of this region is represented by the Peshitto Version (see above, p. 14), which omits of our Canon 2 Pet., 2, 3 Jn, Jude and the Apocalypse, but includes all the other writings. Serapion, Bp of Antioch (190), who found a "Gospel of Peter" in use at Rhossus in Cilicia, although not prohibiting its being read, criticised its character by the light of the recognised writings of the Apostles. Pamphilus, a learned presbyter of Cæsarea, who perished in the persecution of Diocletian (307), is the last name that we need record in this period. There is good evidence to shew that he recognised Heb. as a Pauline Epistle, accepted the Apocalypse, and acknowledged seven Catholic Epistles. In conclusion it appears that at the beginning of the 4th century all the books of the N.T. were known in the Churches of Alexandria and Cæsarea, but that doubts respecting 2, 3 John, 2 Pet. hindered their complete recognition. In the Churches of Rome and Africa, Jas. and 2 Pet. had not yet been acknowledged, and the Ep. to the Heb. was excluded from the Pauline writings. The Apocalypse was generally received, except in the Syrian Churches and by Dionysius of Alexandria. Very striking is the unbroken unanimity in the acceptance of the 4 Gospels, Acts, 13 Epp. of St Paul, 1 Joh., 1 Pet. The doubts regarding the Canonicity of the disputed books are based upon the uncertainty as to their Apostolic origin. Of the shorter of these Epp. it is possible to assume that they escaped observation rather than called for unfavourable criticism. The Churches of North Africa. Tertullian's From the Persecution of Diocletian (303) to the writings belong to the close of the 2nd and the Close of the Canon. It was needful that the beginning of the 3rd century. His later works tradition thus generally established throughout were written after he had embraced Montanism. the Church should receive some final sanction. He appeals, as to inspired Scripture, to the Hitherto indeed the tendency towards a uniFour Gospels, the Acts, 13 Epp. of St Paul, form Canon of Scripture does not appear to 1 John, 1 Pet. The Apocalypse he quotes with- have produced any attempt at rigid definition. out expressing any doubt as to its Apostolic The persecution of Diocletian gave the required origin or claim to Canonicity. Jude he once impulse. The decree for the confiscation of the quotes as an Apostolic work. "Hebrews" he sacred Christian writings, which constituted an considers to be the work of Barnabas, and, al- ingenious part of the persecutor's policy, dethough placing it above "the Shepherd of Her-feated its own purpose: it advertised to the 1 We cannot place any confidence in the genuineness of the quotations from 2 Pet. occurring in the Latin Version of his Homilies. whole world the influence of the acknowledged Christian Scriptures, and forced upon the attention of the Church their infinite superiority as compared with all other ecclesiastical writings. The books indicated by the decree must for the purposes of the secular power and of the Church have been in some way identified. For some tried to evade the penalties of law by the concealment of the sacred Scriptures and the production of Apocryphal books before the civil authorities. Many too in the Church who clamoured for severe penalties against those who surrendered the sacred Books, insisted that the limits of the Collection were already practically recognised although not officially ordained. Those who surrendered their Bibles were called "Traditores," and the feeling of animosity against such offenders-which eventu ally occasioned the important Donatist schism -is hardly intelligible unless the limits of a canon had been generally acknowledged. That such limits were known is implied by Eusebius in his description of the burning of the Christian Scriptures which he himself witnessed. Eusebius, however, who by his learning, travels and wide acquaintance enjoyed peculiar advantages for the task, seems to recognise the need of a still more exact definition, and accordingly records in his History the various opinions respecting the books still under dispute. He classes the writings which were known and used in the Churches as (1) "acknowledged' (Homologoumena), (2) "disputed" (Antilegomena), (3) "heretical," "spurious" (Notha). With this 3rd Class, which included purely Apocryphal and heretical works, we need not here concern ourselves. The 2nd Class he subdivided into (a) "books generally recognised," i.e. Jas., 2 Pet., 2, 3 John, Jud., whose Apostolic authorship in spite of partial or local opposition was slowly finding acceptance, and (b) "the non-genuine books," e.g. Shepherd of Hermas, Acts of Paul, Apoc. of Peter, Ep. of Barnabas, and (with a query) Apoc. of John, whose contents were popularly reckoned inferior in tone and whose Apostolic authorship was very generally disallowed. Eusebius' 1st Class comprised the Four Gospels, the Acts, 14 Epp. of St Paul (including Heb.), 1 Pet., 1 John and (with a query) the Apoc. His own opinion respecting Heb. and Apoc. was of a somewhat fluctuating character. He seems to have reckoned Heb. among the Pauline Epp. on the supposition that, having been written in Hebrew by St Paul, it was translated into Greek by Clement of Rome. He was not himself convinced of the Apostolic authorship of the Apoc., and was content to let its claim to Apostolicity determine the question whether it should be assigned to the "acknowledged' or to the inferior class of "disputed" writings. The testimony of Eusebius like that of Origen derives peculiar interest from the fact that he does not merely give his own opinion or the practice of a local Church, but was enabled by his studies, friendships and travels to ascertain the general custom of the Church prevalent not only in different places but in the same place at different periods. Eusebius was famous for his extensive knowledge in his own lifetime; and he it was whom Constantine, after embracing Christianity, commissioned to prepare 50 copies of the text of the Canonical Scriptures. The learning and discretion of Eusebius sufficiently represented the most educated opinion of the Church, even in matters on which he spoke with the greatest hesitation. His doubts upon the Apoc. may have been satisfied by assigning it a place as an Appendix at the close of the Canon. The action of the Emperor at any rate hastened the process of determining the limits of the Canon, and the influence of Eusebius tended to confirm the decision of popular usage. The list of Athanasius (367) (Ep. Fest. 1. 767) which represents the opinion of the Church of Alexandria agrees precisely with the contents of our N.T., and gives no sign of hesitation as to the acceptance of the Apoc. The Shepherd of Hermas and the Teaching of the Apostles are mentioned, but merely as writings useful for purposes of instruction. Other representative lists of the Eastern Church, e.g. of Cyril of Jerusalem († 386) and Gregory of Nazianzus († 389), agree with the Athanasian Canon except in the exclusion of the Apocalypse. The Council of Laodicea (circ. 360) laid down in its 59th Canon that only Canonical Books should be read in the Church; and the spurious list (added probably to this Canon at the close of the same century), giving as the Canonical writings of the N. T. the same collection of books as Athanasius, represents the ultimate decision of the Eastern Church. For although for some time a smaller Canon of the N.T. was received by the Church in North Syria, as is shewn by the absence of reference to 2 Pet., 2, 3 Joh., Jud., Apoc. in the writings of e.g. Chrysostom († 407) and Theodore of Mopsuestia († 429), these books seem to have been added to the Peshitto in the 5th or 6th cent. The Armenian and Ethiopic Versions contain the disputed Epp. And the Quini-Sextine Council (692) ratified the list of the Laodicene Canon. In the W. the disputed books received conclusive sanction from the authoritative approval of Jerome and Augustine. Jerome has no hesitation in recognising their Canonicity upon "the authority of the ancients," and nowhere speaks of other ecclesiastical writings as Holy Scripture. Augustine supported the same Canon: he entertained doubts as to the Pauline authorship of Heb., but nowhere questions its Canonical authority. The opinion of the two master theologians of the W. received confirmation from the 3rd Council of Carthage, 397, which specifies the Canonical Scriptures of the N.T. to be "four books of the Gospels, one book of the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles of the Apostle Paul, one Epistle of the same to the Hebrews, two Epistles of the Apostle Peter, three of John, one of James, one of Jude, one book of the Apocalypse of John." The decision of the Provincial Councils does! not mark any new step. It was Jerome's Biblical work which practically put the seal of Canonicity upon the collection of N.T. Scriptures which he had revised for his Vulgate Version. The authoritative recognition of his Canon by Innocent I. (405) and Gelasius (492496) added only a formal confirmation to the work which time and popular feeling had gradually completed. Note on Secondary and on Apocryphal Books. -A few words may here be given to the secondary ecclesiastical writings. Of these some were, as we have seen, very generally read in the Churches for purposes of instruction, others only found favour in particular districts. The contrast which they present to the Canonical Writings illustrates with startling vividness the limits of Apostolic inspiration, and justifies the wisdom of the ages, which had determined the bounds of Canonicity. 1. The secondary books comprise the writings which came or professed to come from men of the Apostolic generation. (a) The Ep. of Clement was written from Rome to the Corinthian Church about A.D. 96 with the purpose of urging the members of that Church to peace and unity. It was for a long time read publicly in the Church of Corinth and elsewhere. It is found (along with another socalled Epistle wrongly bearing Clement's name) in the Codex Alexandrinus placed after the Apocalypse, and follows Jude in the list given by the Apostolic Canons (Can. LXXXV. al. LXXXVI.). It was frequently quoted by the Fathers, but was never classed with Canonical Scripture. (b) The Epistle of Barnabas. This writing dates probably from the first half of the 2nd cent. The Epistle is characterised by its strong antagonism to Judaism. In consequence probably of its seeming claim to quasi-Apostolic authorship it obtained in the Church of Alexandria favourable recognition, Jerome mentions its being read in the Churches in his day among the Apocryphal writings. In the Codex Sinaiticus it stands after the Apocalypse; and in the list of contents of the Codex Claromontanus it stands before the Apocalypse. (c) The Shepherd of Hermas, a product of the first half of the 2nd cent., approaches most nearly in tone the writings of the N. T.; and the visions, of which it consists, may possibly reflect the influence of the Apoc. The "Hermas is not to be identified with the name mentioned in Rom. xvi. 14; the writer of the Muratorian Fragment asserts that the "Hermas" who was the author of this Ep. "wrote it very lately in the city of Rome, while the Bishop Pius his brother filled the see of the Roman Church." It represents a "legal" tendency of Christian thought, but is only incorrectly associated with Ebionism. Tertullian expresses himself very strongly in its condemnation, and states that it was classed by every council of the Churches among the false and Apocryphal books." It attained however very general popularity, and was commonly read in public. In the Codex Sinaiticus it comes next after the Ep. of Barnabas; in the list of Cod. Claromontanus it follows after the Apocalypse and the Acts of the Apostles. It also found its way into Latin Bibles. Eusebius and Athanasius and Jerome, though excluding it from the Canon, class it among the 'disputed" books of secondary authority. (d) The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, the text of which has only recently been recovered, found special favour at Alexandria. By Athanasius it is classed with the Shepherd of Hermas. So far as its character has at present been determined, it appears to be a Christian adaptation-early in the 2nd century-of possibly a Jewish book of religious instruction. 2. The large literature of purely Apocry. phal writings which grew up round the Canonical Books seems to have been for the most part composed for purposes of religious instruction, many of them representing heretical lines of thought and advocating special types of unorthodox Christian doctrine. (a) The most ancient of these (if indeed it should be counted among them) is probably the so-called Gospel according to the Hebrews, referred to by Clement and Origen, and classed by Eusebius with the Ep. of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. Jerome rendered it into Greek and Latin. It seems to have preserved an early oral tradition of sayings and deeds of our Lord. Only a few fragments of it remain. (b) The Gospel, Apocalypse and Preaching of Peter. Important fragments of the Gosp and Apoc., discovered in Egypt, were published (1892) by the French scholar, Bouriant. Serapion, Bp of Antioch (c. 190), mentions the Gosp, as in use at Rhossus (ap. Eus. H. E. VI. 12). The Apoc. is mentioned in the Muratorian Fragment (see p. 14). For the newly discovered fragments see the small edition by Robinson and James (Camb. Univ, Press, 1892). The Preaching of Peter was used by Aristides in his Apology (c. 130). (c) The Gospel (inaccurately termed the Protevangelium) of St James, which relates the legendary history of the Virgin Mary up to the visit of the Wise Men, was known to Origen, and was probably written in the 2nd century. (d) and (e) The Pseudo-Matthew of the 5th cent. and the Gospel of Thomas, a work possibly of the 3rd cent., deal with fabulous incidents attributed to our Lord's birth and infancy. (f) The Gospel of Nicodemus, of which the earliest part is possibly to be identified with the Acts of Pilate, describes the Passion of Jesus and the Descent into Hades. The date of the second half is probably the 4th cent. The first portion, if the same as the Acts of Pilate alluded to by Justin Martyr, must be very early; but this is much disputed. (g) The so-called Epistle to the Laodicenes, sometimes found in Latin MSS, of the Pauline Epistles, is merely a cento of extracts from Pauline writings. Its origin is to be explained by the desire to supply an Epistle which would correspond with the one mentioned in Col. iv. 16. It is extant now in Latin, but was probably first current in Greek. It is not to be identified with the Ep. to the Laodicenes in Marcion's Canon, by which he intended our Ep. to Ephes. As it is first mentioned by Theodore of Mopsuestia († 429) and Jerome († circ. 420), we may conjecture that it was composed in the 4th cent. (h) The Acts of Paul and Thecla are referred to by Tertullian, and can hardly be later than the latter part of the 2nd cent. They describe how the Virgin Thecla devotedly followed the Apostle St Paul, and heroically endured persecution and was delivered from the wild beasts. The book was clearly written in praise of Virginity, and of the exaggerated forin of asceticism practised by the Encratites. (i) The Epistola Abgari ad Jesum and the Epistola Jesu ad Abgarum belong to the legend which told how Abgar, King of Edessa, wrote to Jesus begging Him to come to Edessa and cure him of a sore disease; how Jesus wrote in reply blessing Abgar for his faith and promising to send to him one of his disciples; and how Thaddeus, one of the seventy, after the Lord's Ascension, healed King Abgar. The legend in one form was well known to Eusebius, and the original composition is probably not later than the middle of the 3rd cent. Besides these, there are many other less important Apocryphal writings (Gospels, Acts and Apocalypses), which cannot here be enumerated. APPENDIX ON THE SACRED BOOKS OF PRE-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS. a BY THE RIGHT REV. BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, D.D., LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM. The Sacred Books of pre-Christian religions, King, the Book of Poetry (Dr Legge's Chinese which form the authoritative records of exist- Classics iv; S. B. E. iii); (3) The Yih King, the ing systems, are all Asiatic. At the same time Book of Changes (Dr Legge, S. B. E. xvi), seem they represent the three great groups of lan- to consist in the main of records earlier than guages, themselves the spontaneous expres- Confucius, who appears to have brought tosion of three fundamental types of character-gether the documents belonging to one prowhich had their origin in the Asiatic birth- vince and to have destroyed the rest. The field of nations, the Turanian, the Aryan, the fourth Book Chun-Tsew, Spring and Autumn, Shemitic. is a brief Chronicle of 722-481 B.C. compiled by Confucius (compare Dr Legge's Essay, HongKong, 1872). The fifth Li-ki, Ceremonial Records ('a collection of treatises on the rules of propriety and ceremonial usage': Dr Legge, S. B. E. xxvii, xxviii), is a later compilation, and was not completed till the second cent. B.C. (b) Besides the five King, the five primary classics,' there are also four secondary classics,' the four Shoo, i.e. Books of the four philosophers (Confucius, a scholar of Confucius, a grandson of Confucius, Mencius). These are (1) Lun-Yu, the digested conversations of Confucius (the Confucian Analects: Dr Legge, Chinese Classics i); (2) Ta-hsio, the Great Learning (Dr Legge, .c.); (3) Chung-Yung, the doctrine of the mean (Dr Legge, l. c.); (4) The Works of Mencius (Meng-tsze † 288 B.C.; Dr Legge, Chinese Classics ii). The treatises (2) and (3) are included in the Li-Ki, Books xxxix, xxviii. To these four may be added Hsian King the classic of filial piety (Dr Legge, S. B. E. iii, pp. 465 ff.). The representative Books of the Shemitic language, which form our own Old Testament, have been already considered. It remains to give some account of those which embody the religious thoughts of the highest civilization of the Turanian and Aryan races in Asia, the Chinese on the one hand and the Indian and Iranian on the other1. Within the last few years these have been made accessible to English students in trustworthy translations, and a large part of them are already included in the series of Sacred Books of the East edited by Professor Max Müller (Oxford, 1879 ff.). I. Turanian Group. THE SACRED BOOKS OF China. One of the earliest and most typical forms of Turanian language has been spontaneously stereotyped in Chinese, where every character is a word; and the Sacred Books of Confucianism are the absolute standard of its classical purity. But these Books do not stand alone. The indigenous sacred literature of China consists of two distinct parts, the literature of Confucianism, and the literature of Taouism. The Buddhistic literature is of later and external origin, and does not fall within our notice. See S. Beal, Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese: Lectures on Buddhist Literature in China. i. The Sacred Books of Confucianism. The Sacred Books of Confucianism consist of two groups, (a) The primary Books (The Five King); and (b) The secondary Books (The Four Shoo). (a) The Five King2 are commonly held to have been compiled and arranged by Confucius (Kung-foo tsze, i.e. the Master Kung, † B.C. 478). Of these the first three, (1) The Shoo King, the Book of History (Dr Legge's Chinese Classics iii; S. B. E. iii); (2) The She 1 The deeply interesting fragments of Assyrian literature give the promise that future discoveries will enable scholars to arrange a collection of Sacred Books' of the 'Akkadian' people, in the region where Turanians came into close contact with Shemites. A popular account of the great Epic with accounts of the Creation and the Flood, of the prayers and psalms, which have been recovered, is given in Sayce's Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments. 2 This title was added to the Books at the time of their final revision under the former Han dynasty. The word King properly means 'the warp threads of a web, and their adjustment,' hence what is regular and insures regularity.' Compare Canon. 3 The character Shoo expresses a pencil speaking, hence a written character, and a written record." 4 She means 'speech' and then 'poetry.' An attempt was made to destroy the Confucian writings, with the exception of the Yih King, c. 213 B.C. under the Tsin dynasty, which built the great wall. The attempt, like that of Diocletian against the Christian Scriptures, failed. The edict requiring their destruction was repealed B.C. 191; the writings were finally collected, revised and arranged under the former Han dynasty (lasting to 24 B.C.); and the text has been preserved to the present time substantially in the form which it then assumed. The Classics were the first books printed from wooden blocks in the tenth (or sixth) century. The Sacred Books of Confucianism make no claim to contain a revelation. The præ-Confucian writings offer many traces of a primitive faith and worship of the deepest interest, closely connected with the Akkadian belief of central Asia; and there is reason to think that the interpretation of the mysterious Yih King is to be found in Akkadian syllabaries (M. Terrien de la Couperie, quoted in Quart. Rev. July 1882). The later writings are ethical and ceremonial, treating of the organization of social life with unrivalled completeness and Power. The permanence of the Chinese Empire is the witness to their practical influence. The Shoo King, which professes to give historical memorials ranging over 1700 years from 2357 B.C. to 627 B.C., contains many passages of epic dignity (e.g. The songs of the five sons, S. B. E. iii, 79f.; Self-devotion, id. 91, 153; The great plan, id. 140 f.; The self-containedness of a people, id. 151). The Li-Ki announces its theme in the opening words 'always and in everything let there be reverence.' On this fundamental principle rules are laid down for the fulfilment of family relations, for the organization of the State, for education, for the formation of character, for sacrifice, for mourning. There is a calendar of the year, in which the duties of the emperor and the people are placed in a fitting relation to the physical condition of the months (Bk iv); and it is characteristic that a musical note is assigned to each season, varied in some way for each of its parts. The Book abounds in noble passages. The student will do well to read "The death of Confucius' (S. B. E. xxvii, 138); Education' (id. 230 ff., 248); The harmony of outward and inward' (id. 395 f.); 'Great and small a whole together' (id. 404); "The three impartialities' (S. B. E. xxviii, 281) 'Dykes' (id. 284); The perfect man' (id. 319); "The scholar' (id. 405); The golden mean' (id. 419). Compare with the Li-Ki the Tcheou-li (the rites of Tcheou) translated by E. Biot, Paris, 1851. The She King is disappointing. Probably it suffers in translation from loss of form. One of the four parts into which it is divided contains 'Odes of the Temple and the Altar,' but these deal directly only with the imperial worship of ancestors. In one remarkable Ode 'God' (Shang-ti) is represented as speaking to King Wan (S. B. E. iii, 391 f.). The two Books of the four Shoo, which are not included in the Li-Ki, the Confucian Analects and the works of Mencius, are both of great importance. The Analects abound in sayings and traits of 'the Master' which vividly portray his striking personality (e.g. vi, 20; vii, 1, 17, 19, 20, 24; ix, 5; xi, 11; xiv, 2, 13, 37). The writings of Mencius, more than anything else, secured the final supremacy of Confucianism. Though they were not formally included in the Classics till the eleventh century, they had enjoyed in substance a wide currency from the time of the philosopher. Their present form is due to a revision in the second cent. B.C. Their main interest is concentrated in the last two of the seven books into which they are divided. In these we have the most complete exposition of Mencius' teaching on human nature, which Dr Legge justly compares with that of Bp Butler. Man according to Mencius is made for virtue; but as he treats this ideal of humanity he makes it the source of that self-sufficiency which is the ruling trait of Chinese character. He gave his countrymen the type of Confucius as the attainable image of the perfect man, and for two thousand years they have rested in it. The following passages give Mencius' views of the moral constitution of man and deserve study: II, i, vi, 3 ff.; vi, ii, ii, 1 ff.; VII, ii, xxiv (Legge, Chinese Classics, ii, pp. 174, 326, 375). Compare E. Faber, translated by A. B. Hutchinson, The Mind of Mencius. For the Books of Confucianism see specially the Prolegomena to the larger edition of Dr Legge's Chinese Classics. ii. The Sacred Books of Taouism. The authoritative writings of Taouism, the system of Lao-tsze ('the old philosopher') the elder contemporary of Confucius (born c. 600 B.C.), are of less extent than those of Confucianism. (a) The primary Book is the Tao-tih King, 'the book (Classic) of the Way (Tao) and of virtue.' This has been translated into French by M. Stanislas Julien (1842), and into English by Dr Chalmers of Canton (1868). A translation is promised in the Sacred Books of the East by Dr Legge (S. B. E. iii, pp. xxi ff.). There is a good account of its contents in Dr Douglas' Confucianism, &c. pp. 186 ff. Compare Dr Legge, Religions of China, pp. 209 ff., F. H. Balfour, Tao-tih-King; and especially Watters, Lao-tsze, a Study in Chinese philosophy. Few books are more impressive and suggestive than this pregnant collection of oracular utterances. It might have been written by Heraclitus. (b) There are also two Books of secondary authority, the Kan-ying-peen, the Book of rewards and punishments,' and the Yinchih-wan, the Book of secret blessings.' The former is translated by Dr Douglas (l. c. pp. 257 ff.), and is said to be the most popular religious book in China, being circulated gratuitously. It may be described briefly as a book of ethical proverbs of great force and truth. Some account of the latter Book is also given by Dr Douglas, l. c. 272 ff. II. Aryan Group. THE SACRED BOOKS OF India AND Persia. tinct lines of religious development, which The Aryan Sacred Books represent two dismay be broadly described as (i) Indian and (ii) Iranian. tensive groups, (1) Brahmanic and (2) BudThe Indian Books again fall into two ex dhistic. The Iranian Scriptures consist of the fragments which have been collected in the Zend Avesta. i. The Sacred Books of India. 1. Brahmanic. The authoritative religious literature of Hinduism is theoretically distinguished as (a) Sruti, 'the hearing,' i.e. that which is heard, the voice of God, and (b) Smriti, recollection, tradition. Practically however the Smriti has the chief influence on the common faith, though in origin it is held to be less directly divine. (a) Sruti. The primary records of revelation. These are popularly included under the title 'the Vedas (Veda knowing, knowledge: comp. old-a, vid-eo, wit). The writings to which this name is given exhibit very different types of thought; they belong to different dates; they were not recognised as of binding force at the same time; but they are now held in common esteem as being equally of absolute authority, self-proved, eternal. The Vedic literature consists of three separate elements, the Mantras (the sacred text), the Brahmanas (the ritual comment), the Upanishads (the philosophic development). Properly the Mantras and Brahmanas-the practical elements-were alone Sruti, but in general account the Upanishads-the speculative element-came to be held of even higher value." A mantra (man [mens], to think) is an expression of prayer, praise, thanksgiving, adoration. The Rishi (seer) through whom it found expression is supposed to have 'seen' it as already existing, and not in any sense to have |