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THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



In regard to general culture and intelligence, 

 mankind may be divided into: (1) Savages, 

 those who are scarcely elevated above the 

 brutes, live in tribes, and subsist by hunting 

 and fishing; (2) Barbarians, those who have 

 possessions, as flocks and herds, and practice 

 agriculture to sonie extent, yet have made no 

 progress in arts and sciences ; (3) Half-civilized, 

 those who have made some progress in the arts, 

 have towns and cities, but depend chiefly upon 

 agriculture; (4) Civilized, those who have made 

 considerable progress in science and art, engage 

 in commerce, and have a written language ; (5) 

 Enlightened, those who stand at the head of 

 the scale, have a division of labor, systems of 

 education, and have made the greatest progress 

 in science, art, and in morality. 



The Jewish Religion. In their relig- 

 ious observances modern Jews adhere to the 

 rules of the Mosaic dispensation. Their serv- 

 ice consists chiefly in reading the law in their 

 synagogues, together with a variety of prayers. 

 They abstain from the meats prohibited by the 

 Levitical law, and they continue to observe 

 the ceremonies of the Passover, as nearly as 

 possible. They offer prayers for the dead, 

 because they believe that the souls of the 

 wicked go to a place of temporary punishment, 

 where they remain under trial a year, and 

 they think that very few will be condemned to 

 suffer eternally. We give a summary of the 

 confession of faith, in which all orthodox Jews 

 must live and die. It is made up of thirteen 

 articles, and was drawn up in the eleventh 

 century by a celebrated rabbi named Maimoni- 

 des. These articles declare in substance : (1) 

 That there is one God, creator of all things, 

 who may exist without any part of the uni- 

 verse, but without whom nothing can main- 

 tain existence ; (2) that God is uncompounded 

 and indivisible, but different from all other 

 unities ; (3) that God is an immaterial being, 

 without any admixture of corporeal substance ; 

 (4) that God is eternal, but everything else 

 had a beginning in time ; (5) that God alone 

 ought to be worshiped, without mediators or 

 intercessors ; (6) that there have been inspired 

 prophets, and may be more ; (7) that Moses 

 was the grandest prophet that ever appeared ; 



(8) that the law of Moses was, in every sylla- 

 ble, dictated by the Almighty, not only in its 

 written letter, but in traditionary exposition ; 



(9) that this law is immutable, neither to be 

 added to nor diminished ; (10) that God 

 knows all our actions and governs them as He 

 will; (IT) that the observance of the law is 

 rewarded and its violation punished in this 

 world, but in a greater degree in the next ; 

 (12) that a Messiah is yet to appear, the time 

 of whose coming may not be prescribed or 



foretold ; and (13) that God will raise the 

 dead at the last day and pass judgment upon 

 all. 



. Quakers. The Society of Friends or 

 Quakers was founded in 1646, by George 

 Fox, a shoemaker of Drayton, in Leicester- 

 shire. They believe in the main fundamental 

 principles of what is called "Orthodox Chris- 

 tianity," but they express their religious creed 

 in the very words of the New Testament 

 Scripture, and each member has the liberty of 

 interpreting the words. Their main specialty 

 is the belief of " The Light of Christ in man," 

 and hence they entertain a broader view of the 

 Spirit's influence than other Christians. In 

 morals, propriety of conduct, good order, and 

 philanthropy, the Quakers are a pattern so- 

 ciety. 



The Peabody Education Fund. In 

 1867 and 1869 George Peabody established a 

 fund of $3,500,000 to be devoted to education 

 in the Southern states of the Union. Unfor- 

 tunately, $1,380,000 of this amount was in 

 Mississippi and Florida bonds, which those 

 states have repudiated. The fund was placed 

 in the charge and control of fifteen trustees, of 

 which the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop of Massa- 

 chusetts was the chairman. Mr. Peabody died 

 in London in 1869. The trustees hold meet- 

 ings annually, usually in New York. They 

 fill vacancies caused by death or resignation. 

 But one of the original trustees survives Ex- 

 Senator Evarts. The present trustees are : 

 William M. Evarts, who is president of the 

 board ; Chief Justice Fuller, first vice-presi- 

 dent; Rt. Rev. Bishop Whipple, second vice- 

 president; Hon. Jabez L. M. Curry, LL. D., 

 general agent; Joseph H. Choate, J. Pier- 

 pont Morgan, of New York ; ex-President 

 Grover Cleveland, of New Jersey ; Samuel A. 

 Green, Richard Olney, and George F. Hoar, 

 of Massachusetts ; William Wirt Henry, of 

 Virginia; ex-Mayor William A. Courtenay, of 

 South Carolina ; James D. Porter, of Tennes- 

 see ; Henderson M. Somerville, of New York : 

 President D. C. Gilman, of Johns Hopkins 

 University ; George Peabody Wetmore, of 

 Rhode Island, and Charles E. Fenner, of Lou- 

 isiana. Dr. Curry is general agent of the 

 fund, with headquarters at Washington, D. C., 

 and has charge of the distribution of the fund 

 in the several Southern states. In its earlier 

 history the chief aim of the fund was to en- 

 courage and secure the establishment of public 

 school systems for the free education of all 

 children. That having been accomplished, 

 the income of the fund is now used for the 

 training of teachers through normal schools 

 and teachers' institutes. At its session in 

 October , 1896, the board declared it to be iu- 



