1*6] 



version, and is sometimes met with as a Greek noun, 'O 'A^ v (never 

 heard of in the classics), when it is rendered "the Amen," which sense- 

 less rendering is no doubt intended to conceal the real and obvious 

 meaning. In Rev. i. 18 we read, "I am he that liveth and was dead, 

 and behold I, Ammon, am alive for evermore," the word 'A/x n >- being 

 rendered "Amen;" and in chap. iii. 14, " These things saith Ammon 

 [" the Amen " in the authorised version], the true and faithful witness, 

 the beginning of the creation of God." As the celestial ram or lamb, 

 Aries, Amen is again mentioned in chap. xiii. 8, " The lamb which has 

 been slain from the foundation of the world "that is, each year at the 

 vernal equinox, when the occult god rose from his hiding-place in the 

 lower hemisphere to bring salvation to the world. 



This concludes the examination of the old sun-myth religions ; but 

 there are yet three very important religious systems to be dealt with 

 viz., Confucianism, Mohammedanism, and Christianism. 



Confucianism took its birth in the sixth century B.C., at a time when 

 the old solar myth was very extensively believed in China and the neigh- 

 bouring countries, and was, strictly speaking, a system of morality and 

 conduct. Its author, Confucius (Kong-fu-tse), was born B.C. 550, in 

 Lu, a province of China, and at a very early age commenced to preach 

 a higher and purer morality among the Chinese people, many of whom 

 became regular followers of the young reformer, and followed his good 

 example by likewise teaching the people at every favourable opportunity. 

 He was strongly opposed to all false show, hypocrisy, and deceit, and 

 abhorred the life of a hermit as unnatural and mischievous. He pre- 

 ferred not to speak of heaven as a personal being, as was the habit of. 

 his countrymen, but was exceedingly fond of quoting its example as the 

 preserver of order, frequently alluding to its commands, ordinances, 

 and purposes. He attached no value to prayer, preached the doctrine 

 that good and evil are rewarded on the earth by prosperity and adversity, 

 and expressed his disbelief in special revelations to men. The canonical 

 books of the Confucians are known as the five Kings (the historical 

 Shu-King, the psalms of the Shi-King, and the ritual of the Li-ki, the 

 chronicles of the Tshun-tsiew, and the magical Yi-King), and the three 

 volumes containing the remarkable and benevolent utterances of the 

 master Confucius himself viz., the Lun-yu, the Ta-hio, and the Tshung- 

 yung. In the Ta-hio occur those celebrated and beautiful moral 

 passages which have so justly immortalised the name of Confucius. 

 The one is the 24th moral : " Do unto another what you would he 

 should do to you, and do not to another what you would should not 

 be done to you. Thou needest this law alone ; it is the foundation and 

 principle of all the rest." The other is the 53rd moral : " Acknowledge 

 thy benefits by return of other benefits, but never avenge injuries." 



