gods of the Veda had been worshipped, and before there was a sanctuary of Zeus among the sacred oaks of Dodona, one supreme Deity had been found, had been named, had been invoked by the ancestors of our race, and had been invoked by a name which has never been excelled by any other name, Dyaus, Zeus, Jupiter, Tyr, all meaning light and brightness, sky and day?

No, if a critical examination of the ancient language of our own religion leads to no worse results than those which have followed from a careful interpretation of the petrified language of ancient India and Greece, we need not fear; we shall be gainers, not losers. Like an old precious medal, the ancient religion, after the rust of ages has been removed, will come out in all its purity and brightness: and the image which it discloses will be the image of the Father, the Father of all the nations upon earth; and the superscription, when we can read it again, will be, not in Judæa only, but in the languages of all the races of the world, the Word of God, revealed, where alone it can be revealed,-revealed in the heart of

man.

APPENDIX TO LECTURE I.

As the Emperor Akbar may be considered. the first who ventured on a comparative study of the religions of the world, the following extracts from the Ain i Akbari, the Muntakhab at Tawarikh, and the Dabistán, may be of interest at the present moment. They are taken from Dr. Blochmann's new translation of the Ain i Akbari, lately published at Calcutta, a most valuable contribution to the 'Bibliotheca Indica.' It is but seldom that we find in Eastern history an opportunity of confronting two independent witnesses, particularly contemporary witnesses, expressing the opinion of a still reigning Emperor. Abulfazl, the author of the Ain i Akbari, writes as the professed friend of Akbar, whose Vizier he was; Badáoní writes as the declared enemy of Abulfazl, and with an undisguised horror at Akbar's religious views. His work, the Muntakhab at Tawarikh, was kept secret, and

was not published till the reign of Jahángír. (Ain i Akbari, transl. by Blochmann, p. 104, note).

I first give some extracts from Abulfazl :

A'I'N 77.

HIS MAJESTY AS THE SPIRITUAL GUIDE

OF THE PEOPLE.

GOD, the Giver of intellect and the Creator of matter, forms mankind as He pleases, and gives to some comprehensiveness, and to others narrowness of disposition. Hence the origin of two opposite tendencies among men, one class of whom turn to religious (dín), and the other class to worldly thoughts (dunya). Each of these two divisions select different leaders1, and mutual repulsiveness grows to open rupture. It is then that men's blindness and silliness appear in their true light; it is then discovered how rarely mutual regard and charity are to be met with.

But have the religious and the worldly tendencies of men no common ground? Is there not everywhere the same enrapturing beauty 2 which beams forth

1 As prophets, the leaders of the Church; and kings, the leaders of the State.

2 God. He may be worshipped by the meditative, and by the active man. The former speculates on the essence of God, the latter rejoices in the beauty of the world, and does his duty as man. Both represent tendencies apparently antagonistic; but as both strive after God, there is a ground common to both. Hence mankind ought to learn that there is no real antagonism between din and dunyá. Let men rally round Akbar, who joins Çufic depth to practical wisdom. By his example, he

from so many thousand hidden places? Broad indeed is the carpet which God has spread, and beautiful the colours which He has given it.

The Lover and the Beloved are in reality one2;

Idle talkers speak of the Brahmin as distinct from his idol.

There is but one lamp in this house, in the rays of which,

Wherever I look, a bright assembly meets me.

One man thinks that by keeping his passions in subjection he worships God; and another finds selfdiscipline in watching over the destinies of a nation. The religion of thousand others consists in clinging to an idea they are happy in their sloth and unfitness of judging for themselves. But when the time. of reflection comes, and men shake off the prejudices of their education, the threads of the web of religious blindness break, and the eye sees the glory of harmoniousness.

teaches men how to adore God in doing one's duties; his superhuman knowledge proves that the light of God dwells in him. The surest way of pleasing God is to obey the king.

1 The world.

These yufic lines illustrate the idea that the same enrapturing beauty' is everywhere. God is everywhere, in everything: hence everything is God. Thus God, the Beloved, dwells in man, the lover, and both are one. Brahmin = man; the idol - God; lamp-thought of God; house man's heart. The thoughtful man sees everywhere the bright assemblage of God's works.'

=

3 The text has taqlid, which means to put a collar on one's own neck, to follow another blindly, especially in religious matters. All things which refer to prophetship and revealed religion they [Abulfazl, Hakím Abulfath, &c.] called taqlídiyát, i. e. things against reason, because they

But the ray of such wisdom does not light up every house, nor could every heart bear such knowledge. Again, although some are enlightened, many would observe silence from fear of fanatics, who lust for blood, but look like men. And should any one muster sufficient courage, and openly proclaim his enlightened thoughts, pious simpletons would call him a mad man, and throw him aside as of no account, whilst ill-stared wretches would at once think of heresy and atheism, and go about with the intention of killing him.

Whenever, from lucky circumstances, the time arrives that a nation learns to understand how to worship truth, the people will naturally look to their king, on account of the high position which he occupies, and expect him to be their spiritual leader as well for a king possesses, independent of men, the ray of Divine wisdom, which banishes from his heart. everything that is conflicting. A king will therefore sometimes observe the element of harmony in a multitude of things, or sometimes, reversely, a multitude. of things in that which is apparently one; for he sits on the throne of distinction, and is thus equally removed from joy or sorrow.

Now this is the case with the monarch of the present age, and this book is a witness of it.

Men versed in foretelling the future, knew this

put the basis of religion upon reason, not testimony. Besides, there came [during A.H. 983, or A.D. 1575] a great number of Portuguese, from whom they likewise picked up doctrines justifiable by reasoning.' Baddoni, ii p. 281.