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C A1G E N 1AN by H ong Zic hcng
translated and introduced by

Robert Aitken ^
with Daniel W. Y. Kwok

VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE

Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living
 $24.00 U.S.A.

M ING CHINA (1 368-1644), a time of politi-

cal intrigue and financial upheaval, was also
a time of astounding accomplishments in art and
literature. In 1403, when Gutenberg was seven
years old, the Ming encyclopedia, Yoncfle Dadian
[Yung Lo Ta Tien) was begun. Completed five years
later, it comprised 22,937 volumes! And around
1590, when Shakespeare finished Henry VI and
Edmund Spenser published The Faerie Queen, a hun-
dred years after Columbus "discovered'' the New
World, an accomplished scholar and philosopher,
HongZicheng, retired from public life and settled
down to write an informal book—a compilation
of his thoughts on the essence of life, human
nature, and heaven and earth. He wrote other
books, now lost, but this one survived, thanks
largely-to its continuous popularity, first in China
and later in Japan and Korea. His book, Caitjentan
(Vegetable Roots Discourse), has been studied and
cherished for four hundred years.
A provocative and personal mix of Daoist,
Buddhist, and Confucian understanding, these 360
observations are direct and timely. Over his life-
time, Hong Zicheng continued the work accom-
plished across centuries in China—integrating
Confucian ideals with Daoist and Buddhist
thought. He leads us through paths as complex,
absurd, and grotesque as life itself. "In the depth
of your mind there is no storm,- everywhere are
green mountains and clear streams. In your innate
realm there is change and growth, everywhere
you see fish leaping and hawks soaring." He
rejects all things false, and instructs us in the art
continued on back flap
VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE
ALSO BY ROBERT AITKEN

The Morning Star

Zen Master Raven

Original Dwelling Place

The Dragon Who Never Sleeps

Encouraging Words

The Practice of Perfection

The Gateless Barrier

The Mind of Clover

Taking the Path of Zen

A Zen Wave

with David Steindl-Rast. The Ground We Share

ALSO BY DANIEL W. Y. KWOK

Scientism in Chinese Thought: i900—i950, published in Chinese

as Zhongguo xiandai sixiang zhong de weikexue zhuyi

Turbulent Decade by Yan Jiaqi and Gao Gao (ed. and trans.)

The Urbane Imagination

Chinese History, Thought and Culture

with Richard Smith: Cosmology, Ontology,

and Human Efficacy
 VEGETABLE ROOTS
DISCOURSE
Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living
CAICENTAN BY HONG ZICHENG

Translated by Robert Aitken V^

y*-
with Daniel W. Y. Kwok ^
Translation copyright © 2006 by Robert Aitken and Daniel W. Y. Kwok
Foreword copyright © 2006 by Robert Aitken
Afterword copyright © 2006 by Daniel W. Y. Kwok

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or

reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission from the Publisher, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hong, Zicheng, fl. 1596.

[Cai gen tan. English]
Vegetable roots discourse : wisdom from Ming China on life
and living : The caigentan / by Hong Zicheng ; translated
by Robert Aitken with Daniel W. Y. Kwok,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN (10) 1-59376-091-4
ISBN (13) 978-1-59376-091-5
1. Conduct of life. I. Title: Caigentan. II. Aitken, Robert, 1917-
III. Kwok, D. W. Y. (Danny Wynn Ye), 1932- IV. Title.
BJ1558.C5H8525 2005

181'. 11—dc22
2005023930

Text design by Gopa & Ted2, Inc.

Cover art: The picture is adopted from the website asiawind.com with
permission of Dr. Siu-Leung Lee and Ms. Fu Yiyao.
Printed in the United States of America by Worzalla

ii
Shoemaker ■■ Hoard
An Imprint of Avalon Publishing Group, Inc.
Distributed by Publishers Group West

10987654321
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For References:
Norman Waddell, Helen Baroni, Bill Porter (Red Pine),
Jack Shoemaker

For Editing:
Jack Shoemaker, Trish Hoard, Roxanna Font,
and Norman MacAfee

For Personal Support:

Tom Aitken, Lisa Yanagi, Nelson Foster,
Michael Kieran, Ginger Ikenberry, Carolyn Glass,
Unzan T. H. Phennig, and members of the Kaimu
and Palolo Zen Center sanghas
 Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/vegetablerootsdiOOhong
for Michael Kieran
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword xi

Caigentan

Preface 3

Book I 7

Book II 103

Notes to the Caigentan 163

Afterword 165

Notes to tHe Afterword 212

References 216

OtFier Editions of the Caigentan 219

Pinyin to Wade-Giles Glossary 220

FOREWORD

(first encountered quotations from the Caigentan (pro-

nounced tsaiguntan) in R. H. Blyth's Zen in English Lit-
erature and Oriental Classics while interned in Kobe back in
the spring of 1943. Later in a Tokyo bookshop I found
Yaichiro Isobe's translation titled Musings of a Chinese Veg-
etarian, published in 1926. It became one of my favorite
"little books." I have quoted from the Isobe translation
here and there in my own writings, and a couple of years
ago I sent a copy of the book along to my publisher and
friendjack Shoemaker with the suggestion that he repub-
lish it. He responded that he would be interested, but that
the work needed retranslation. One thing led to another,
and I found myself like Yu Kongjian, clearing my desk
of books and papers, clearing my mind of extraneous
thoughts, and doing the task myself.
I was a little over halfway through a first draft when
I was felled by a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), col-
loquially termed a "mini-stroke," which my neurologist
remarked is like speaking of a little cancer or a slight
case of pregnancy. At least for a time I could barely read
English, much less Chinese. I called my old friend Daniel
XII FOREWORD

W. Y. Kwok, professor emeritus of history at the Uni-

versity of Hawai'i, and asked him if he knew a graduate
student who could help me. "I'll do it myself," said Dan
promptly. The upshot is a collaboration that is far better
than anything I could have done by myself in the best of
health, not to mention a gratifyingly deeper friendship.
Besides correcting the clangers in my text, Dr. Kwok
restored the original Chinese and composed an extended
afterword—which deftly places the book in the context
of Chinese cultural history.
In the process of our congenial collaboration I learned
how the Chinese will use the first-person pronoun with
the utmost modesty as a way of taking responsibility and
softening an admonition in places where in English we
would use the standoffish "you," “we," or the abstract
"one." "We don't do that in those circumstances" becomes
"I don't do that...."
Another lesson was to drop my preoccupation with
gender-free locution. Not one entry of the 360 total cases
includes anything positive about women, or about sex.
One entry extolling family harmony mentions mother,
father, sister, and brother but doesn't include wife. (1:21)
The only entry to mention a happy marriage remarks
that it will interfere with seclusion. (11:15) This is Chi-
nese culture at its most chauvinistic, even worse than
the Japanese. Well, Samuel Pepys, who also lived in the
 FOREWORD XIII

seventeenth century, was a male chauvinist too, and so

were most of his contemporaries. The Caigentan offers
a fine view of Ming China, warts and all. Our warts are
bigger, it seems to me.
In translating I tried to keep the Chinese idioms. If
the original says, "Keep your bowels cool," that's the way
I rendered it in English, not "keep a cool head," which
would translate the figure of speech itself, and flatten it
in the process.
Finally, we used Pinyin romanization throughout.
After more than 60 years of working with Wade-Giles,
this was a wrench. Po Chti-i becomes Bo Juyi, and the
very book title, the Ts'ai-ken T'an (or Saikontan, as I knew it
for decades in the Japanese) becomes the Caigentan. With
a sigh I acknowledge that I am out of date. Never mind.
The wisdom of presentation is enhanced by consistency.
I am pleased to presume that we have the Caigentan for
our new century.
Robert Aitken
Honolulu
Spring 2005

Pinyin is used through the work, but not for works and usages origi-
nally in other forms of romanization. The Chinese text is presented
in the traditional form, janti, for historical reasons. Original Simplified
Chinese, jianti, usages are retained. A Pinyin/Wade-Giles and jianti/fanti
glossary is provided for reference. —DK
VEGETABLE ROOTS
DISCOURSE

C A I G E N TA N
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CAIGENTAN PREFACE

D eclining to see guests and keeping my own com-

pany, I have retired to my thatched hut. I am happy
to be in the company of those within the Dao, taking
no delight in the company of those outside of the Dao.
I exercise no restraint in arguing with ancient sages on
points of similarity and difference in the Five Classics,- but
I stay in step in the company of two or three disciples tar-
rying at the foot of mountains with ever-changing clouds.
Every day I sing and chant with fishermen and farmers on
the banks of the Five Lakes' and in the groves of the fields.
I rarely express myself or contend with those who vie
for trifles as though they were treasures in the context of
unpredictable passions and odorous carnage. Occasion-
ally I nurture one or two persons studying Song learning,
and try to enlighten those who follow Buddhism. I send
on their way those who indulge in idle chatter. All these
activities are commensurate with my skills when living
in the mountains.
One day my friend Hong Zicheng showed me his
4 PREFACE

Caigentan and even asked me to write a preface. At first I

only glanced at it half-heartedly. Then I cleared my desk
of books and papers and cleared my mind of extraneous
thoughts. 1 read the book at hand and I began to under-
stand: When he discusses true life, I enter its essence
directly. When he discusses human nature, I am able to
probe its every meaning. When he discourses on heaven
and earth, I see every pulsation of his breast. He sees fame
and fortune as so much dust, and he imparts the loftiness
of knowledge and humor. His brushwork is like green
trees and blue mountains, and his words are like hawks
in flight and leaping fish.
We do not know the depth of this person s enlighten-
ment. Based on his own words, as they aim at warning
the world and awakening people, they are not just florid
sounds entering ears only to exit through the mouth. He
has named these sayings "Roots of Vegetables," meaning
that they are distilled from the tribulations of simple and
humble circumstances. There is the meaning of watering
and growing as well. One can imagine he has tumbled
and fallen in the wind and waves and scaled dangerous
cliffs and obstacles.
Master Hong says: "Heaven burdens me with toil, yet I
calm my mind to supplement it. Heaven blocks me from
smooth encounters in life, yet I persevere in the Dao to
clear the obstacles." (1:90) From this one can also see his
 PREFACE 5

self-admonition and means of self-strengthening. With

these few words, then, I introduce this work so all will
know there is true taste in vegetable roots.
Yu Kongjian, Master of Three Peaks
BOOK I

Those dwelling in the house of virtue

may be lonely at times, but those who
prosper by fawning upon the powerful are
forlornly alone for ten thousand ages.
The master looks to matters that are
beyond matters, and muses on the body
that is beyond the body. It is better to be
lonely at times than to face ten thousand
ages of forlornness.

Those who mind the world lightly are

also lightly stained by it; those who enter
deeply into worldly affairs are mired in
its calculating ways. Thus noble persons
would rather be naive than clever, relaxed TRIM'S

rather than bent upon trifles.

7
8 VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE

, il-frE]£j, The mind of the noble person is like the

sun on a fine day, evident to everyone.
The talents of a noble person should be
like hidden treasures, not easily noticed.

4
One who does not draw near to power,
wealth, and luxury is pure, but one who
iiGiSj EjS 4 A>/j? J
draws near to them and is not stained is
#$$*5, TAp^Abrij,
even purer. One who does not engage in
:£PA^7 4 Jf] 4^ A rtj O
clever deception is honorable, but one
who knows about clever deception and
does not practice it is even more honorable

5
4t If treacherous talk constantly assails your

-o
ears and hostility constantly troubles
your heart, use this power as whetstones
#- #- 4 ^-So
of moral cultivation. If every word fell
pleasantly on your ears and every event

ft-te *14- ^ 4 o gladdened your heart, then your entire life

would be mired in venomous poison.
 BOOK I 9

Birds are ill at ease in high winds and

pelting rain,- grasses and trees rejoice in
sunshine and gentle breezes. Just as
heaven-and-earth needs harmony every
day, so every day the human heart needs vX'O Ei O

happiness.

7
Rich wine, fatty meats, spicy and sweet
foods don't have true flavor. True flavor
is actually quite bland. The sage is not
an exotic superhuman. The true sage
is actually quite ordinary.
iAXAfo

The universe seems silent and unmoving,

yet its natural functions never cease.
The sun and moon hurry along day and
El n
night, yet their brightness never diminishes.
By the same token, the noble person
is alert while at leisure, and makes time for
tasteful pursuits when busy with duties.
TO V EG ETA8LE ROOTS IS

Q
y

When human sounds are hushed late in the

night, I sit alone and examine my heart-
mind. Delusions seem to lift and abruptly
my true person appears. At such moments,
a great opportunity seems to draw near. But

A^jtbt#^ftr'|-io with truth becoming manifest my delusions

still persist after all, and I feel great shame.

*
<1 Q

Favor and patronage can lead to mischief.

Thus in times of pleasant goodwill, it is
important to be constantly on guard. The
Mk&.&£LA$r,
aftermath of failure can be the success.
Thus when things go contrary, don't lose
heart.

n
|DW, Those who subsist on shrubs and weeds are
almost all pure and clear as jade,- those who
£*MI
dress in finery and eat sumptuously have
the complexion of fawning servitors. For
true ambition is manifest in simplicity and
purity, and integrity perishes in sweet fat.

A ip
 BOOK I 11

When you are still plowing the fields ahead, &M&J GEJ %,

make a point of being open-minded, and

there will be no murmuring among others.
After your life is over, its blessings will
flow for a long time, giving contentment
to people in their thoughts.

Where the road narrows, step aside to let A,

others pass,- when enjoying tasty food,
leave three measures [out of ten] for others
>ii ^ ML A A^t o
to taste. This is the most felicitous way
to pass through the world.

One need not have achieved great under-

takings to make a name for oneself, merely
avoiding the vulgar would do it. One need
not study highly or broadly to improve
oneself on the way to sagehood, merely
divesting oneself of worldly encumbrance
would do it.
12 VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE

T G

Making friends requires a few measures

Yf A-lci-f— ,Si 't'L'o

of gallantry,- cultivating true character
needs a bit of innocence.

H#'J Alf, Don't be ahead of others in accepting

patronage. Don't lag behind others in
virtuous endeavor. Don't accept favors
beyond your share. Don't allow your
to practice of governing yourself to be
weaker than your best efforts.

17
^% ifj, It is wise to yield a step going through life,
for yielding a step is really fundamental
to improvement. Toward others, a measure
jj£ "A ,
of broad-mindedness really brings fortune,
A**] for benefiting others is fundamental to
benefiting oneself.
 BOOK 1 13

Splendid accomplishments that span the

world mean nothing against the single
word “arrogance." Crimes that extend
to the heavens mean nothing against the
single word "repentance."

You can't rightfully claim fine reputation

and exemplary integrity just for yourself.
Share them with others and you will pass
T rXiiilF;
your days free from harm. When disgraceful
conduct has stained reputations,
don't shirk from conceding your own
responsibility. Keep your light under cover
in this way, and nurture your virtue quietly.

In everything you do, practice a little

moderation. In this way, heaven and earth
cannot envy you and demons cannot
harm you. Seeking total success in every
endeavor and fullness in every honor
may not only cause internal discord but
will surely lead to external troubles.
14 VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE

The true Buddha is in the home. The true

Dao is in everyday functions. If you maintain
0 t,
an honest heart, a harmonious manner,
a pleasant countenance, and graceful words
'1 with your father, mother, brothers, and
sisters, and flow with them, each in turn,
in wholehearted accord of body and spirit,
/yiO j

then isn't this ten thousand times better

than breath control and introspection?

22
If you love activity you are like lightning
among the clouds or a lantern in the wind.
If you are fond of quiet you are like dead
ashes or a withered tree. Only with the
spirit of a hawk soaring among tranquil
clouds or a fish leaping from calm water
can you personalize the Dao.
 BOOK I 15

Don't be too severe when correcting

another's wrongdoing,- consider how
well it might be taken. Don't be too lofty
in demanding another's reform,- consider
whether or not it can be done.

^4
Larvae are unappealing, yet they turn into jfc ,
cicadas that drink dew in the autumn wind.
Withered grass is lusterless, yet it brings
forth fireflies that glow beneath the summer
moon. Thus grubbiness in the course of 'it % H r(T7 $jf JL f\ O

things can produce purity, and dimness in Krftb,

the course of things can produce light.

Lofty pride and self-important arrogance

are artificial. When artifice is subdued and
given up, righteous disposition can thrive.
JUt;
Desires and covetousness are wrongful.
When the wrongful mind is expunged, i. MI -§r 'O , yfi

the true mind appears. A,

l6 VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE

Consider your feelings when you are

satiated. You find that you no longer
distinguish between rich and bland. In a similar
way, after sexual relations, thoughts of
men and women at sport dwindle away
completely. Thus you can use the wisdom
of hindsight to correct the fixations of
&B&p3LJJk3&,
the moment. You can frustrate the urge to
]
M }'t£ Zirfi MM: -&-o
indulge and keep your conduct steady.

<i7

J&$flL^Ct, Occupying an eminent office, hold in your

heart the mountains and forests. Living
amidst woods and streams, hold in your
heart the halls of the Privy Council.

28
In public affairs, it is not necessary to

$ri&&&&; always claim credit,- not committing any

error is your credit. From others one need
not always expect recompense,- not
causing resentment is your recompense.
 BOOK l 17

jq
$tm A- V'

Sincere endeavor is fine virtue, but

excessive stress is hard on your natural
JoM 'J M vx it 'fi i& ‘It;
disposition. A serene state of mind is lofty,
?k. T3j jit,
but excessive asceticism does not help
and benefit others. A# M'J & VX /W A^'J^o

At a dilemma in your program, summon

up your original intention. When you are
enjoying the fullness of success, look
carefully at the road ahead.

31
It is fitting that a wealthy and privileged
family be generous and kind, but when
the family turns out to be neglectful and
JSL'IT it-
stingy, they may enjoy wealth, but they
practice meanness. How could that be
very enjoyable? It is fitting for an astute
person to be altogether modest and
reserved, but when such a person turns
out to be a glorified braggart, it is as though
a disease of stupid foolishness had set in.
How could that not be ruinous?
l8 VEGETABLE ROOTS D1S

After living in poverty, you know how

perilous it is to rise high. After dwelling in
fa ,
obscurity, you know how perilous it is to be
exposed. After maintaining a tranquil life,
4r$LJv&fr2t*Uk$. o you know how odious it is to toil immod-
erately. After cultivating silence, you know
how strident verbosity can be.

%> % rfr -^-'O T", When one drops the desire to gain fame
and fortune, one rises above the vulgar,-
when one no longer sets one's mind on
morality and righteousness, one enters
tTASo sagehood.

34
Desire for gain is not necessarily
a malicious objective. It is self-centered
opinion that forms blister worms of
If & ^L'jO lit,
malicious objective. Women and song are
not necessarily a hindrance to the Dao.
It is cleverness that forms bulwarks
of hindrance to the Dao.
 BOOK T9

35
Human nature is inconsistent and contrary. Mi Alt,
The path of life is rough and rugged.
IT 'f' dr ML. } '

Where the going is difficult it is necessary

To -fr'IHTJML,
to know how to withdraw a step. Where
the going is easier, be inclusive in yielding
portions of credit for your work.

It is not hard to treat petty people sternly,

but it is hard not to dislike them. It is not
hard to treat noble people respectfully,
i,
but it is hard to do it with propriety.
vfiJiMMr&o

37
Rather than holding forth on the trivial fk0/l,
and sensational, it is better to protect your
latent talent, cherishing a bit of upright
spirit, and then returning it to heaven-
and-earth. It is better to reject the glossy
and ornamental and be content with the
simple and plain, afterward leaving a pure
name in the cosmos.
20 VEGETABLE ROOTS D!

Subduing the devil is a matter first of

yielding up your heart. When you
surrender your heart, the gang of devils
pays attention and goes away obediently.
To manage your flank, first manage your
spirit. When your spirit is peaceful,
your flank can't be assaulted.

Ti T:;|

Teaching students is like bringing up

daughters. Be stern about their comings
tb A.if 5C-$T
and goings, and demand a prudent choice
^—#• sit BE A,
of friends. Once they are allowed to bond
with unwholesome people, it will be like
planting a single bad seed in a well-kept
field. In the end, an auspicious harvest
will be difficult.
 BOOK ! 21

On a path of personal aspiration, don't

follow the easy way and smudge your
finger. Once you smudge a finger, you are
engulfed to the depths of ten thousand
fathoms. On an intellectual path, don't let
yourself hesitate at difficulties and step
back. One halted step is a separation of
ten thousand mountains.

41
If you are an amiable person you treat your- i)#Y,
self well, and you also treat others well.
You are amiable about everything every-
where. If you are a casual person, you are
indifferent about yourself, and you also 'NF^'7T ^ ^.o

treat others with indifference. You are

casual about everything everywhere.
It follows that, as a noble person, in daily
life you are prudent, neither excessively
and dazzlingly amiable nor excessively
dry and indifferent.
22 v EG ETABLE ROOT'S

42
Wealth is for them,- virtue is for me.
Peerage is for them; integrity is for me.
The noble person is fundamentally
A £#A, &-MA,
indomitable, a master of destiny, who puts
things in motion with single-minded
purpose, free from the strictures of
ministers of state and free even from the
kilns and molds of heaven-and-earth.

43
5L% — # SL, If the stand you take for yourself and your
inclinations are not elevated a little above
the vulgar, it is as though you shake out
•k*
your clothing in dust, or wash your feet in
mud. How can you amount to anything?

-hfk^’kM, If you do not withdraw a step and take

your place in the world, you will be like
a moth hurling itself at a candle, or a ram
challenging a fence. How can you find
ease and comfort?
 BOOK I 23

A scholar should gather up spirit and

energy in single-mindedness. If your quest —J&o

for virtue is for reasons of fame and fortune,

you will never amount to anything.
If in scholarly endeavors you indulge
in fashionable verse and stylistic flourishes,
you cannot attain depth and stability
of mind.

45
Every one of us is endowed with great
mercy and compassion. The sage Vimala-
kirti and the executioner are not of two
natures. Every place has the potential
for flavor and zest. The mansion and the
thatched hut are both built on the ground.
However, if greed obscures and blocks
our sympathies, even though we come
face-to-face with mercy and compassion
for a moment, we are nonetheless off by
a thousand miles.
24 VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE

4IS
In practicing virtue and pursuing the Dao,
you will need to keep wood and stone as
TES &IM,
your models, for once you feel envious of
another's fortune, you become covetous.
In managing affairs of state, you will need
to conduct yourself with the sensibilities
of a monk, for once you feel acquisitive,
you fall into danger.

47
The righteous person carries on circum-
spectly and serenely whatever happens,
2p|£
and is undeviatingly harmonious even
when asleep and dreaming. The malevolent
person lapses into violent behavior instead
of discussing things, and betrays anger
even while speaking musically with
laughing words.
 BOOK \ 25

4>;

With a liver ailment, vision fails. With

a kidney ailment, hearing fails. Disease
is contracted in a part of the body where it
'f- fb ,
is invisible, and manifests where it is apparent
to everyone. Thus the noble person
will not wish to have wrongdoing out in
the open, and will determine from the start
never to transgress invisibly.

49
Nothing is more blessed than having little
to vex over. Nothing is more miserable
than excessive cares. No doubt those who
worry about things know the blessing of
having little to do. Those with tranquil
minds are the ones who know the misery
of excessive cares.
26

!>U

In peaceful times, conduct yourself in an

upright manner. In turbulent times, conduct
JtJl-tM-Jl 15,
yourself flexibly In decadent times,
&M;
you should be especially careful to be
l£, modest and tactful. It is proper to be

^F <§ 3L Jlc,
generous with the good, severe with the
wicked, and, as appropriate, to maintain
a generous or severe manner with people
generally.

I should not bear in mind how kind I have

been to another, but not fail to bear in mind
how injudicious I have been. I should not
forget the obligations I have to another,
but not fail to forget all my grudges.
 BOOK I 27

When you bestow a favor on someone

and you do not reflect upon yourself within
d'T'JLA,
nor reflect upon the other without, then
a dipper of millet is benevolence worth ten
thousand measures. When you bestow
a kindness on someone and you gauge your # AAM.,
return or hint at compensation, even a gift
of a hundred abundances will have hardly
the value of a single coin.

Some people feel equitable about their

circumstances, while others do not.
Yet how can 1 feel thoroughly equitable
alone? If I am reasonable sometimes and
unreasonable at other times, how can A # rn Y? A jtMs tIM

others be thoroughly reasonable? Keep

this in mind. Mutual, harmonious
consideration is the one way to open
the gate of the Dharma.
28 VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOt

54
Those with minds as pure as heaven-
and-earth are able to read books for their
ancient meanings. However, those who
^ jL — -I--ft IK & /'# ,
are secretly selfish can't be expected to do
W— a single virtuous deed. They will quote
virtuous words to make false points. It is
as though they were providing weapons
to forces of the enemy, or provisions as
religious offerings to bandits.

4Mt£ For the extravagant, even wealth will not

provide enough. How can they compare
to the thrifty, for whom even poverty can
provide more than necessary? For the
talented, even diligent labors can garner
resentment. How can they compare to
the unskilled, for whom even leisure can
be genuinely fulfilling?
 BOOK I 29

58
Those who study without appreciating
sagely wisdom are mere scribes. Those
who serve in office and have no affection
'F'it
for the people are thieves in courtly garb.
Those who teach and do not act upon their
teachings are merely mouthing Chan [Zen]
Those who build careers without thinking
^oi#i
of planting seeds of virtue are but flowery
flourishes.

57
There is true literature in the mind of each
of us, but it is entirely too scattered.
Likewise there is true music, but seductive
tunes and alluring dancing drown it out.
Thus it is important for me to sweep away To
external things and search after the
essential. Only in this way can I grasp my
ilLTT,
own authenticity.
30 I *Bi E ROOTS DI SCOU R ' -

%,%
*e#

In the midst of adversity, something

gladdens my heart. In the midst of
##3f,
attaining my desires, sadness about
my purpose springs up.

59
Wealth and honor, when attained ethically,

-fo J_) ^ ^ , are like flowers in the mountains,

flourishing and luxuriating naturally,- when
1j
attained artificially, they are like flowers in
beds, having a time to flourish and a time to
decay,- when attained forcibly, they are like
cut flowers in vases, rootless and certain
to wither.
^ ^7 ,

ft-*#.,
 BOOK f 3i

60
Spring comes,- it is a genial season. Flowers
spread forth in their pleasant colors, and
birds sing their many melodies in sweet
voices. Gentle folk of high society, if you
do not remember to use kind words and
carry out kind actions, you may dwell in filM, T'&sLlft,
this world a hundred years, but it will be as
though you had scarcely lived a single day.
EI o

As a scholar you must cultivate an

enterprising will, but at the same time have
elegant taste. Even a dash of conventional
&—M. & j

asceticism is the killing element of autumn.

It is not the regenerative element of spring.
How can you hope to extend nourishment
to the ten thousand beings?
32 TS DISCOURSE

cn
CJsfe

A person of true integrity is not known

for it, because any such reputation is
surely that of a schemer. Great skill is
not developed with clever devices,
precisely because it is the use of devices
that is clumsy.

ffi- f£ Vt, /$] M., The cficfi water vessel tips over when it
is full. The puman money-saving vessel
is perfect when it is empty. The noble
person abides with nothing rather than
jl|_ £Jt ^ IML xj o with something, and is content with lack
rather than with completeness.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
of Arabia or across the Red Sea, and who, in turn, engrafted upon
the religion of the conquered certain tenets of their own, and in this
way formed a new system, the records of which we find in “The
Book of the Dead,” which is not only the oldest book extant, but also
the most antiquated collection of sacred literature of which we have
knowledge. Exploration in Egyptian burying-grounds plainly shows
that between the time of the disposition of the dead, as first noted,
and the date of the supremacy of the “Book of the Dead,” that there
existed civilizations in this valley who no longer buried their dead
whole, with crude attempts at embalming with bitumen, but who
burned their corpses more or less completely, and threw the
remaining bones into a shallow pit. After this came a race who
dismembered the bodies of their dead, burying the hands and feet in
one place, while the trunk and the rest of the arms and legs were
placed in a grave, separate again from the head. It is impossible, of
course, to even guess at the length of time necessary to effect such
changes in the customs of people, but we do know that at least
seventy centuries ago the ritual contained in the “Book of the Dead”
was generally accepted. And from this remote pre-dynastic time
down to the seventh century after Christ, mummifying was, in some
form or other, continually practiced in the Valley of the Nile. At the
earliest time of which we have record, we find the Egyptians
worshiping a number of autochthonic gods, of whom Osiris and his
sister Isis were the chief. Their ideas of the deities were entirely
anthropomorphic. Osiris having lived and suffered death and
mutilation, and having been embalmed, was by his sisters, Isis and
Nephthys, provided with a series of charms, by which he was
protected from all evil and harm in the future life, and who had
recited certain magical formulæ which had, in the world to come,
given him everlasting life. It is certain that the practice of this belief
changed in minor details many times as the semi-barbarous and
sensual North Africans were subjected to the influence of their more
highly moral and spiritual Asiatic conquerors. Their tombs changed
from shallow pits to brick sepulchres, and these were in turn
replaced, by those who could afford it, by pyramids—the most
substantial form of human architecture left by historic races. As
showing the height of the civilization reached by the ancient
Egyptians, it is worthy of note that the great Pyramid of Cheops is
not only the most gigantic tomb ever built, but that it was designed
to serve also as an astronomical observatory, and that its Orientation
for this purpose is very accurate, when we consider that the
Egyptians had no transits or other instruments such as we have now.
Consequently, in the location of this work, they were forced to either
use the shadow or polar method, and the latter being the most
accurate was, in fact, selected by them. Had they known anything of
the refraction of light as it passes from space into our atmosphere,
and been able to make the correction for horizontal parallax, their
location would have been accurate. The purposes of their
astronomical observations, as made from this pyramid, were
astrological undoubtedly, as the completion of the tomb shut off the
galleries which had been so carefully located.
According to the “Book of the Dead,” the human economy was
composed of nine different integral parts, all of which, except the
“ren” or name, are comprised broadly within our idea of body and
soul. The judgment of each individual took place after death, before
the tribunal of Osiris, and in his Hall of Judgment. Here the soul,
stripped of all chance of deceit or subterfuge, was forced to make,
as his address to Osiris, the justly famous “Negative Confession,”
and the truth being apparent to Osiris and his forty-two associates,
judgment was given impartially and upon an absolute basis of fact.
The standard of ethics demanded of the individual can be realized
from the fragments quoted from this address:—“In truth I have
come to thee and I have brought right and truth to thee, and I have
destroyed wickedness for thee. I have not brought forward my name
for exaltation to honors. I have had no association with worthless
men. I have not uttered evil words against any man. I have not
stirred up strife. I have not judged hastily. I have not made haughty
my voice, nor behaved with insolence. I have not ill-treated servants.
I have not caused harm to be done to the servant by his master. I
have not made to be the first consideration of each day that
excessive labor should be performed for me. I have not oppressed
the members of my family. I have not defrauded the oppressed one
of his property. I have neither filched away land, nor have I
encroached upon the fields of others. I have not diminished from the
bushel, nor have I misread the pointer of the scales nor added to
the weights. I have not carried away the milk from the mouths of
children. I have caused no man to suffer hunger. I have made no
one to weep. I have not acted deceitfully. I have not uttered
falsehood. I have not wrought evil in the place of right and truth. I
have not committed theft. I have not done violence to any man. I
have done no murder. I have ordered no murder done for me. I have
not caused pain. I have not done iniquity. I have not defiled the wife
of any man. I have not committed fornication, nor have I lain with
any man. I have not done evil to mankind. I have not committed any
sin against purity. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure.” Those who
were condemned before this tribunal were instantly devoured by the
“Eater of the Dead,” while the good were admitted into the realm of
Osiris to enjoy everlasting happiness and life.
We turn now from the Valley of the Nile to that of the Tigris and
Euphrates, lying about one thousand miles eastward. Here we find
the home of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, and interwoven
with their religion we find many of the old myths which, in a
corrupted form, occur in our own Bible. As the papyri of Egypt have
been forced to give up their secrets, so have the clay cylinders of
Mesopotamia. These, now lying in the British and Berlin Museums,
tell in a purer and more primitive form than that found in the Old
Testament, the story of the fall of man, and upon an old cylinder
seal we have it illustrated, apple tree, woman, serpent, and all. The
story of the deluge is also there taken from the library of
Sardanapalus at Nineveh, just as it was written upon the cylinder
more than two thousand years before Christ. All that is required to
duplicate this deluge as far as the valley of Mesopotamia is
concerned, is a tremendous downpour of water, coincident with a
tornado blowing up the Persian Gulf, just as some thirty years ago,
in the delta of the Ganges, nearly a quarter of a million persons
perished during a like phenomenon in the Bay of Bengal. Here also
we find the creation myth, and how after a terrible struggle with the
engulfing waters, Marduk finally cut them in twain, and out of one-
half made the roof of heaven, while out of the other half he made
the earth. Then, too, out of mingled clay and celestial blood, he
made the first two human beings, man and woman. The Babylonians
and Assyrians believed in the immortality of the soul, dependent, of
course, upon the mode in which it lived here. Thus, we find the fifth,
sixth, and seventh commandments just as we have them in the
Pentateuch, together with injunctions of humanity, charity, mercy,
and love on the part of the follower of Babel. Speaking the truth and
keeping one’s word, as well as freedom from deceit, are also
commanded, and infringements of these were regarded as sins
punishable by human afflictions and ailments of all sorts, including
death. Their idea of heaven was fairly well-developed, very greatly in
excess of that of the Hebrews. Their heaven was a place of delight
and ease, while Sheol was a place full of thirst and discomfort. It is
also interesting to know that the Jews got their ideas of angels from
the Babylonians, with whom, as far as we know, this idea was
original, inasmuch as we find no mention of them in the Egyptian
religious system.
Considering now the civilization which existed in the valleys of
Mesopotamia from five to six thousand years ago, the first thing
which arrests our attention is their knowledge of astronomy. In place
of the Egyptian pyramid, with its sides Oriented toward the cardinal
points, we find the ziggurat pointing the angles instead. This one
fact shows that Chaldea did not borrow from Egypt, but developed
her science independently of her western neighbor. The planets were
all known and named, eclipses were foretold with accuracy, and to
Accadia we owe not only our observance of Sunday, but our angular
duodecimal scale. What length of time must have been required to
admit of such a highly-developed civilization as this, with such
advanced religious and ethical ideas, is beyond the faintest
conjecture. Far more remote than that time, however, were the first
settlements on the alluvial plains by the rude aborigines of the
highlands.
 On the plateau of Iran, in Central Asia, we find the location of the
oldest known habitation of the Aryan race. Here, in the earliest
twilight of our history, we find tribes of human beings who
possessed well-developed religious and ethical ideas, and whose
descendants, moving toward the southeast and into the valleys of
the Himalayas, formulated the hymns which, when compiled,
constitute the Vedas or the sacred literature of the Aryan Indians,
while the portion who remained behind, became the progenitors of
the Aryan Iranians whose religious lore we find in that wonderful
collection known as the Avesta. In these two literatures, both of
which are worthy of the deepest investigation and maturest
deliberation, we have, so far as is known, the oldest idea of a non-
anthropomorphic deity. His attributes with the Indian were so
subdivided and abstracted as to allow this one god essence to
almost fill a panthenon. Their worship took the form of adoration for
the striking grandeurs of nature, each of whom they regarded as a
separate personal consciousness possessed of superhuman powers.
Their religion seems to the superficial investigator to be but an
exceptionally pure form of pantheism, but this is not, in fact, the
case, since philologists to-day recognize that the overwhelming
spontaneous impulse which forces the barbaric human mentality to
give utterance to its deepest emotions, is a certain index of a crude
monotheistic conception. It is Brahma who is the universal self-
existent soul, and who comprises, in his infinity, both the god and
the adorer. Of course, as time went on, these ideas became more
gross, until, with the introduction of caste, the ancient Vedic religion
had lost much of its beauty and purity. The religious system had
become both dogmatic and pretentious, and particularly insolent in
its authority with the rise in power of the sacerdotal class, the
Brahmans. While the Vedic religion is imbued with a spirit of strong
belief in the efficacy of sacrifice and prayer, we find that this steadily
increases in domination as we approach modern times. To all, except
the Sudras or Serfs, a course of life conduct is prescribed consisting
of four stages, viz.: as a religious student, as a householder, as an
anchorite, and last, as a religious mendicant. Corresponding to
these, there were four sacred debts, viz.: that due to the gods and
paid by worship; that due to the ancient sages and discharged by
Vedic study; that which he owes to his manes, and which he relieves
himself of by the perpetuation of his name in a son; and last, that
which he owes to mankind, and which demands his incessantly
practicing kindness and hospitality. They believed in the immortality
of the soul and through metempsychosis, in its reward or
punishment, according to its existence here.
In the sixth century before Christ, there lived in India a member of
the Brahman class who was destined to more than restore
Brahmanism to its pristine purity. Gautama Buddha was born as the
son of a local ruler and his wife, whose conception was
accomplished by her falling into a trance and dreaming that the
future Buddha had become a superb white elephant, who, walking
around her and striking her upon the right side with a lotus flower,
entered her womb. Such is the Hindoo myth. This reformer
altogether denied the existence of the soul, as an entity or
substance possessing immortality in the individual sense, and he
taught that the soul’s future happiness in the abstract was entirely
dependent upon its performance while here, as distinguished from
any recollection or effect of its previous existences. He denied the
authority of the Veda and the efficacy of prayer—in fact, his creed is
best shown by a quotation from his gospel: “Rituals have no efficacy,
prayers are but vain repetitions, and incantations have no saving
power. But to abandon covetousness and lust, to become free from
all evil passions, and to give up all hatred and ill-will; that is the right
sacrifice and the true worship.” This is the kernel of the pure
Buddhistic belief, and this declaration at once reduces his system
from a religious to a purely ethical one. Excepting the myth of his
conception, his life was a perfectly natural one. Nothing could be
more real than his discovery of sorrow and misery, and his inquiry
after its cause; nothing can be more touching than his parting from
his wife and son, whom he loved so much that he could not hazard
the pleasure of a last farewell. And under the stress of this situation,
we are particularly told that he was human enough to give way to
tears. No ethics could be higher in the aggregate than his—not once,
but time and again, does he speak thus: “Indulge in lust but little,
and lust, like a child, will grow. Charity is rich in returns; charity is
the greatest wealth, for though it scatters, it brings no repentance.
Better than sovereignty over the earth, better than living in heaven,
better than lordship over all the worlds, is the fruit of holiness. For
seeking true religion, there is never a time that can be inopportune.
The present reaps what the past has sown, and the future is the
product of the present. Far better is it to revere the truth than try to
appease the gods by the shedding of blood. What love can a man
possess who believes that the destruction of life will atone for evil
deeds? Can a new wrong expiate old wrongs? And can the slaughter
of an innocent victim take away the sins of mankind? This is
practicing religion by the neglect of moral conduct. The sensual man
is the slave of his passions, and pleasure-seeking is degrading and
vulgar. But to satisfy the necessities of life is not evil. To keep the
body in good health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to
trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear. There
is no savior in the world except in truth; there is no immortality
except in truth. The truth is best as it is, have faith in the truth and
live it. Not by birth does one become an outcast; not by birth does
one become a Brahman; by deeds one becomes an outcast and by
deeds one becomes a Brahman.” What could more strongly
emphasize the position of Buddha in regard to the infamy of the
caste system, as it has been developed in India, than the parable of
the low-caste girl at the well who had been asked by the disciple
Ananda for a drink. This girl, seeing that he was a Brahman, or
member of the highest caste, replied that she could not give him
even a drink of water without contaminating his holiness. To this,
Ananda promptly replied: “I ask not for caste, but for water.” And
when she came to Buddha with her heart full of gratitude and love
for Ananda, he spoke to her in the following language: “Verily, there
is great merit in the generosity of a king when he is kind to a slave,
but there is greater merit in the slave when, ignoring the wrongs
which he suffers, he cherishes kindness and good-will to all
mankind. He will cease to hate his oppressors, and even when
powerless to resist their usurpation will, with compassion, pity their
arrogance and supercilious demeanor. Blessed are thou, Prakrita, for
although you are of low caste, you will be a model for noblemen and
noblewomen. You are of low caste, but Brahmans will learn a lesson
from you. Swerve not from the path of justice and righteousness,
and you will outshine the royal glory of queens.”
Very little wonder is it that, from North Hindustan, the doctrines of
Buddha soon largely prevailed over Central, Southern, and Eastern
Asia. Of the almost numberless sects into which Buddhism is divided,
all go back for their inspiration to his teachings. In fact, he left little
for his disciples to do in the matter of enunciating a pure and
virtuous system of ethics, so thoroughly did he cover the ground
himself. When we remember that Confucius was living in China at
almost the identical time that Buddha was preaching in Hindustan,
we cannot help but wonder at the strangeness of the occurrence—
both enunciating a philosophy or system of ethics which was
destined to affect the conduct of so large a portion of the human
race. As we read Lao-Tse’s injunction to “requite hatred with
goodness,” it seems that he must have drawn his inspiration from an
Indian source.
We return now to the location in Central Asia, and to the remote
antiquity from which we digressed. At the same time the Indians in
the southeast have been developing their religion, the Iranians have
not remained quiescent. Their great sage, Zarathustra, or Zoroaster,
had been teaching his dualism—in many respects the most subtle
religious philosophy ever promulgated. From what little of the Zend
lore that has escaped the ravages of time, we are able to-day to
trace the outlines of a religion and philosophy based upon primal
polarities. Ahura is to Zoroaster the great Life-Spirit-Lord, the Great
Creator, the Great Wise One. His six characteristics are the
fundamental laws of a righteous universe; simple, clear, and pure.
Ahura creates the world during six periods: in the first, heaven; in
the second, water; in the third, earth; in the fourth, plants; in the
fifth, animals; and in the sixth, man. All of the human race is
descended from a primitive pair. There is a deluge, and one man is
selected to save and protect representatives of each species so that
the earth may be repeopled with a better race. Zoroaster questions
Ahura on the Mount of Holy Conversations, and receives from him
answers. So far, the parallel between Zoroastrianism and Judaism is
complete. The difference now appears, for the former held that the
world was to last four periods—during the first two, Ahura has
complete authority. Then comes Ahriman, the self-existent evil-
principle, and their conflict fills the third period. The fourth period,
which opens with the advent of Zoroaster, ends with the downfall of
Ahriman, and the resurrection of the soul for a future life. It is
entirely within the power of the individual as to whether he wishes
to come under the power of the Good or Evil Spirit, and with whom
he chooses to ally himself. But the struggle is incessant, and
watchfulness must always be maintained. So much for the religion—
now for the ethics. To the Zoroastrian, the natural and normal in life
is not derided and scorned, nor is woman looked upon as “a
necessary evil,” as is the case in Buddhism, Christianity, and
Mohammedanism. Here is a quotation from the Zend Avesta from
the mouth of Ahura himself: “Verily, I say unto you, the man who
has a wife is far above him who lives in continence; he who keeps a
house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far
above him who is childless; he who has riches is far above him who
has none.” If we can use the moral code of the only remaining
Zoroastrians in the world to-day, the Parsees, as a criterion to judge
by, we must acknowledge that no religion enjoys a purer and more
perfect course of conduct. Dr. Haug tells us that the following are
strictly denounced by its code: Murder, infanticide, poisoning,
adultery on the part of men as well as of women, sorcery, sodomy,
cheating in weight and measure, breach of promise, regardless of to
whom made, deception of any kind, false covenants, slander and
calumny, perjury, dishonest appropriation of wealth, taking bribes,
keeping back the wages of laborers, misappropriation of religious
property, removal of a boundary stone, turning people out of their
property, maladministration and defrauding, apostasy, heresy, and
rebellion. Besides these, there are a number of special precepts
relating to the enforcement of sanitary regulations, kindness to
animals, hospitality to strangers, respect to superiors, and help to
the poor and needy. The following are especially condemned—
abandoning the husband, not acknowledging the children on the
part of the father, cruelty toward subjects on the part of a ruler,
avarice, laziness, illiberality, egotism, and envy. Here we find a
system of religion whose predominating symbolism was the worship
of fire as the nearest human concept of Ahura, and well it might be,
for those primitive people who had so sacredly to cherish it. In the
Greek mythology, Prometheus was inconceivably tortured for filching
from heaven the divine fire and carrying it to mortals. But according
to the Zoroastrian philosophy, Ahura has placed all good within the
reach of man, and it is for him to choose whether he will avail
himself of this or become a slave of Ahriman. It seems strange that
from Bactria, either from the old Mazdaism or through Zoroaster, the
world should have conceived its only monotheistic conception
reasonably free from anthropomorphism, and whose associated code
of ethics was so reasonable, firm and pure. There is in
Zoroastrianism no thought of dogmatic bigotry any more than there
is in ancient Buddhism, and its philosophy of primitive polarity well
corresponds with what modern science has taught us within the last
five decades. Both of these systems are meditative rather than
militant, and, consequently, have not exercised the influence over
the destiny of the human race which Judaism has.
In the consideration of the Jewish religion and its descendants,
Christianity and Mohammedanism, we are face to face with the most
warlike and combative monotheism which history has recorded. In
the earlier form, and as in the Hebrew worship of to-day, Jehovah
shares his authority with no one—in the Christian system, God and
Christ are equally powerful, while with Islam it would seem that
Mahomet had slightly the balance of power, notwithstanding the oft-
repeated declaration that “there is no God but Allah.” Here we have
the idea of a chosen people of God carried to its logical conclusion;
the jealousy of Jehovah being in no wise an efficient operative cause
for the terrible butcheries of men, women, and children, such as we
have described in the Old Testament, as having befallen the enemies
of the Hebrews when they were victorious. This wild and fanatical
worship of a suspicious and revengeful God, although it called for
the waging of countless wars upon his supposed orders, and even
for the immolation upon the sacrificial altar of one’s own children;
yet it did not promise, until the rise of the Pharisees into potent
influence; the pleasure of a personal immortality for his followers, or
the punishment by endless torture for his non-adherents. The effect
of the selfish idea of God-ownership we see inherited by Christianity
with the ancient heredity qualification changed to one of faith. There
can be no question that the historical Christ was, perhaps, next to
Buddha, the greatest religious reformer whom the world has known,
if we accept as a criterion the number of individuals affected, and
the nature of their work. As the enunciator of a system of ethics, it is
impossible to see how the Jew could be regarded as the equal of the
Indian; although no estimate of Christ can be consistently formed
from the St. James version of the Bible, owing to the many and
important interpolations of recent church enthusiasts. The plan of
vicarious atonement is one of the most immoral doctrines of which
the world has a record, and the contempt for woman which the
Hebrew shows is not equalled by Buddha, although he, too, was
filled with that eastern asceticism which looked with disdain upon
intersexual affection. The narrowness and bigotry which can regard
an omnipresent and omniscient deity as working for the benefit of
but a few followers as against the great proportion of human beings
who have passed through an earthly existence entirely in ignorance
of Him, and who, on account of this, have to suffer eternal torture,
has been responsible for no less than ten million murders in the
name of Christ alone, to say nothing of the numberless victims of
war and famine who have perished as a result of the insatiable thirst
of Jehovah, Christ, and Mahomet for more influence in terrestrial
affairs and an augmentation of adherents. The code of ethics
prescribed by the Jewish régime was good—far in advance of that of
the greater portion of their neighbors. But Egypt and Chaldea both
played a very important part in this matter, as we must remember
that Hebrew chronology only places the creation some four thousand
years ago, and we now know that at least three and perhaps five
thousand years previous to the possession of the Garden of Eden by
Adam and Eve, the Valley of the Nile was teeming with a well-
developed civilization. Christianity in the Egyptian City of the Greeks,
through Philo, became deeply imbued with the spirit of Zoroaster,
and the aid thus derived has been of incalculable value to it. The
religion of Islam remains much as Mahomet left it, and it has been,
and now is, well suited for much of the territory over which it has
dominion. While its code of ethics is reasonably high, its conceptions
are usually grossly sensual, and, unfortunately, since shortly after
the death of its founder, the institution of the church and the political
organization of the various countries where it prevails, have both
been under the same head, and are both, consequently, full of
corruption.
Before taking up the possibility of a religious conception based
upon the best knowledge we have, there is an interesting point to be
considered. Between the two dates of 650 B. C., and 650 A. D., we
have the work of Buddha, Confucius, Mencius, Christ, Philo, and
Mahomet, as well as a score of lesser lights; in fact, all the great
religious reformers who have been instrumental in shaping the
beliefs of the majority of mankind since their time. And, stranger
still, that since Mahomet, the world has seen no reformer who could
wrest a following of any note from the established religions,
although now, with modern facilities for publication, it would seem
to be a much easier task than formerly. And so it would be, were it
not for the dissemination of knowledge, and the influence of the
scientific system which has come about during the last century, so
that now there is not that fanaticism prevalent concerning religious
matters which was so rife at almost all stages of the world’s history
until recently. More and more are people beginning to realize the
truth which Pope so well expressed in his Alexandrine:
 “For modes of faith, let graceless zealots fight,
His can’t be wrong, whose life is in the right.”

About 1850 A. D., there began to be felt among scientific men a

possibility that perhaps all of the natural phenomena of which we
have knowledge are so inter-related that all of our observations are
but different views of a few fundamental primary laws. These so-
called laws or statements of facts in their natural order of sequence
were always, and under all conditions, operative in natural affairs,
had been quite thoroughly understood since Humboldt’s time. But it
remained for Herbert Spencer in England, and Ernest Haeckel in
Germany, to correlate the vast quantity of facts gained from
experiment and observation along the various lines of scientific
research. Particularly has the latter been a most potent factor in
formulating the new and necessarily predominating theology of the
future—a system of belief which is in accordance with everything
which the individual knows, and which is always ready to accept a
new fact upon demonstration, although its reception may
revolutionize even its fundamental concepts. This doctrine, which
has been most aptly termed “monism,” stands squarely upon its
basis of “empirical investigation of facts, and the rational study of
their efficient causes.” In place of worshiping the trinities of the old
superstitions, it holds for reverence the “good, the true, and the
beautiful” wherever found, and in antithesis to the sacredness of
Sabbath and the church, it holds that for the contemplation of the
objects of its trinity, “all seasons to be summer and all climates
June.” While denying the existence of a God outside of Nature, the
freedom of the human will and the possibility of an immortality for
the individual human soul, as usually understood, it does insist upon
the sequence of effect upon cause, and shows that here, in this
earthly existence, we are forced to be virtuous if we would be happy,
and that although we are not completely masters of our fates, yet it
fundamentally lies with us, in the vast majority of cases, to so
conduct our lives that either misery or happiness will result
therefrom.
 Monistic ethics differ from those of any religious system, from the
fact that the good of all is selected and digested into a code which
looks toward the “greatest good to the greatest number.” In doing
this, individual effort is lauded and not proscribed, and altruism and
egotism are developed with equal emphasis. The pleasures of this
life are not forfeited to gain delectation in another, nor is the
“illitative sense” considered a safe guide for conduct. Woman is not
looked upon as fundamentally “unclean,” nor is she denied any right
or any privilege which man enjoys. The righteousness of intersexual
love and association is maintained, when in operation within a
proper constraint, and the family is not only the social and political
unit, but the religious as well. Love is held to be more potent than
hate, and justice more beneficial than charity. There is no such thing
as either the forgiveness or remission of sins—the responsibility of
our actions is ours, and ours alone, and can be assumed by no other.
The result is the same whether our acts come through ignorance or
intention—it is for the individual to know before doing.
In the foregoing, a very brief outline of the progress which
humanity has made in historic times in religion and ethics has been
attempted, and, if an interest has been aroused in this subject, its
purpose will have been fulfilled. No matter what creed we hold, we
cannot afford to be bigoted, as simple investigation will show that in
many ways we are but little in advance of our progenitors of seven
thousand years ago. Only in the matter that we have a scientific
basis to work upon, and a vast accumulation of observed facts, have
we any reason for pride. And this has been gained, at almost all
times, against every obstacle which the church, as established at the
moment, could bring into potency.
 CHAPTER VII
Love

Without doubt, the greatest source of happiness, as known to

human beings, is love. Scott voiced the sentiment of all rational and
normal persons when he said:
“Love rules the court, the camp, the grove,
And men below and saints above,
For love is Heaven, and Heaven is love.”

It is owing to the fact that we cannot enjoy anything to the fullest

extent alone, since our nature is so constituted that we must have
company in our pleasures, that friends are indispensable. Cicero
realized this over two thousand years ago when he said that, “The
fruit of talent, and worth, and every excellence, is gathered most
fully when it is bestowed upon every one most nearly connected
with us.” Appreciating this, nature has given us the love and
friendship of parents in our childhood; of the companions of our
youth as we grow older; of our life-partner at a later period, and
last, the love of our children and grandchildren, so that, by an
interest in their lives, we may become ourselves rejuvenated. In this,
as in everything else of a physical or mental character, we start at
the bottom, and, by a crescendo movement, reach the acme of the
condition which with age diminishes, but in this instance the quality
does not deteriorate. Our likelihood of forming acquaintances and
friends in later years is very much less than in youth, and, certainly,
with our habits and idiosyncrasies established, as they are after
middle age, the possibility of forming intimate friendships is very
much decreased. In childhood and youth, we are more imaginative
and less practical, and, consequently, our inclinations in the line of
friendships will be more natural and less influenced by
considerations alien to friendship itself. Nothing can be more true
than the axiom of Cicero, “Friendship does not follow upon
advantage, but advantage upon friendship.” Clearly demonstrated as
this is, but few people seem to realize it. For the fundamental truth
at the bottom of this matter is, as he further states, “the basis of
that steadfastness and constancy which we seek in friendship is
sincerity. For nothing is enduring which is insincere.”
Of all virtues, sincerity is the greatest, yet, broadly speaking, how
extremely rare! There is almost no trouble and pains which people
will not take to make the world think that they are something other
than they really are, when but a fraction of the cost might make
them what they are trying to seem to be. The reciprocal relation of
friendship demands sincerity, just in proportion as it becomes
intimate, and this applies to all friendships, of whatsoever character.
The love of children is perhaps the greatest of all affections in the
aggregate, because experience has not taught them to doubt and
impugn the motives of others, since everything to them is just what
it superficially appears to be. Our most violent heartaches come
through dissimulation toward others, and nothing tends to make so
callous and blunt our finer sensibilities as this. But just in proportion
as we are sincere, must we be careful as to who arouses an interest
of more than passing moment within us, as after affection is once
started and nurtured into luxuriance, it is not within our power to
control it. While love, when reciprocated, can afford an ecstasy and
happiness, otherwise unknown, it can, also, when not returned by
the object of our affection, become the most potent cause of
superlative pain and anguish. The expression of this truth by the
greatest of all English poets, would, in itself, make his name forever
immortal had he never written another line, and constitutes not only
the soundest philosophy, but the most sublime of all sentiments
evolved from the human mind:
“Love is not love
 That alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
Oh no! It is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark
Whose worth’s unknown, altho’ his height is taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool; though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out e’en to the edge of doom.”

If all the race thoroughly understood the truth of these words,

how much more happiness there would be in the world! It is our
trifling with our affections, or the reckless manner in which we
bestow them upon others, which causes us our deepest sorrows. In
childhood, with ordinarily kind parents, we have such experiences as
afford us pleasant memories throughout life, simply because we
lived in accordance with nature’s law, which she makes easy for us
at this age to follow, when we have no experience or reason by
which we may be guided; but as we grow older, we form those
habits of dissimulation which lead us into all sorts of trouble; simply
because we can do certain things without our friends and
acquaintances becoming cognizant of our actions, we are foolish
enough to think that no harm can be done. If we would use our
intelligence at all, we would see at once, that while it may be
possible to deceive others in the matter of our thoughts and actions,
we cannot delude ourselves. We would also realize that our actions
and our thoughts are efficient causes in the making of our own
characters. We would further see that in order to get any real
enjoyment out of a friendship, of even the most Platonic kind, we
must be able to play our part sincerely; in other words, we must be
all that we attempt to make our friends think we are. The old
proverb which tells us that we should go courting in our old clothes,
is true in the largest sense in which we can apply it.
When we consider how much we are dependent upon our after-
affections and their outcome for our happiness, we see that
Coleridge resorted to no hyperbole when he wrote:
 “All thoughts, all passions, all delights,
Whatever stirs this mortal frame,
Are but the ministers of Love
And feed his sacred flame.”

Nor did he overestimate the bearing which each and every act of
our life has upon our ability to either love or to be loved, since it is
only when we are capable of returning affection as pure and
unsullied as is given us, that we achieve the acme of delight. It is on
account of the necessity of the possession of these qualities which
we have found to constitute the only possible basis for really lasting
love, that we are so much interested in those of great affection.
Emerson truly said that “all mankind loves a lover,” and equally valid
is his observation that “Love is not for levity, but for the total worth
of man.” It is the affection of any human being which constitutes his
life and his friendships, both as living and when coming into his
companionship, and when dead, as forming the memories upon
which the imagination will fondly dwell, and that bring into his life
whatever real satisfaction he may have. As a means of æsthetic
development, nothing is of higher value than the affections, and, as
a stimulant for action along this line, they are without an equal. We
have only to remember the story of Damon and Pythias, to see that
the ancients fully realized the power of affection; or to read what
Plato puts into the mouth of Phœdrus, when he has him say, “Love
will make men dare to die for their beloved, and women as well as
men.”
What we have noted, heretofore, refers to all affections. Now we
come to the culmination of all affairs of friendship,—that relationship
which is known as marriage. Upon the immensity of the importance
of this ceremony have almost all of the religious ideas of man been
built, and in many cases, if not in all, to the utter profanation of the
thing itself.
In the old tribal civilization which prevailed, the idea of marriage
was ill-defined, and it was only as the desire for the ownership of
children grew that moral ideas in this relation became at all definite.
The fact that men wished to leave to their children property and
chattels, which they might not have the opportunity of disposing of
satisfactorily before their death, brought about a desire for marriage
upon the monogamous and monandrous basis; and the fact that
man was the owner of the property, and that the wife, until recently,
had no inherent right therein, made the matter of the ownership of
the children of primal importance, so that the wishes of the father in
regard to the inheritance might be fulfilled. It was on account of the
supremacy of man in his own home that the family became the unit
upon which the State is built, just as the male individual was the unit
upon which the family was built, and citizenship was primarily
evolved and applicable only to the male portion of the population,
inasmuch as they were necessary to the State both as tax-payers
and as warriors. This idea of the ownership of children enforced
upon woman the moral code under which she lives in Occidental
countries to-day; and, at the same time, and for the reasons above
stated, kept man immune from it.
The significance attached to the sexual desire in this relationship is
and has been greatly overestimated, to the greatest disadvantage of
mankind at large. The most distinguishing feature about connubial
affection as compared with Platonic friendship, is that in matrimony
there is the added unification of the parties thereto, owing to the
community of interest between them. Their individualities are
merged into one another; their development must be along similar
or parallel lines. Richter has given us a good account of what a man
should select in the character of his wife “to whom he may be able
to give readings concerning the more essential principles of
psychology and astronomy without her bringing up the subject of his
stockings in the middle of his loftiest and fullest flights of
enthusiasm; yet he will be well content should one possessed of
moderate excellencies fall to his lot—one who shall be capable of
accompanying him, side by side, in his flights so far as they extend—
whose eyes and heart may be able to take in the blooming earth and
the shining heavens, in great, grand masses at a time, and not in
mere infinitesimal particles; one for whom this universe may be
something higher than a nursery or ball-room, and one who, with
feelings delicate and tender, both pious and wide, will be continually
making her husband better and holier.” Since the time of Jean Paul
Richter, woman has been allowed educational advantages more
nearly equal to those of her brothers than heretofore; and, as a
consequence, in many instances and quite often, do we find the lady
not only the better but the larger half of the home, intellectually.
As Geoffrey Mortimer has well shown, love among cultured people
is largely dependent upon the imagination. In savages and in the
human race, primarily, when at this period of their existence, it took
the form of hedonism, or even the more gross sex-worship, and it
was not until mankind was removed far from the brute that his
imagination developed, and his mind was capable of abstract
thought, that his æsthetic nature began to develop. As his intellect
became more profound, and his mental range wider, his power of
abstract thinking was accordingly augmented, until to-day, with the
average human being, love is only, in a restricted sense, dependent
upon physical gratification. Herbert Spencer has given a very sure
test of love, based upon its dependence upon the imaginative
faculty. According to him, when we are absent from the one we love,
the mental picture which we form of her, and the attributes which
we at that time give her, are all found in her when in her actual
presence. Then, we are really in love with the person whose faults
we cannot see. The truth of the old adage, “Absence makes the
heart grow fonder,” still further shows the part which the imagination
plays in love. There is no human being who has been so fortunate as
to marry the first object upon which his affections settled, providing,
of course, that his previous life has been spent so that he can enter
into this relationship equitably, who did not find that if his love was
reciprocated, life possessed a transcendent charm which words
cannot express. Such an affection is necessarily based upon a most
profound respect, and can only continue when this deferential
regard exists. While feeling a security in its sense of ownership of
the one loved, yet it asks and demands nothing, and can only bud,
blossom, and ripen into its fullness in the atmosphere of kindness
and absolute liberty. While sensual gratification, in the earlier stages,
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