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would oouverfc Buddha into the mythical Sun-hero_, must have 

 chosen his colours from more modern palettes, from the com- 

 mentary of the " Jataka/^ or even the " Pujawaliya/^ which last 

 was probably written not before the thirteenth century of the 

 Christian era. It is from the last source that the greater part 

 of S]3ence Hardy\s descriptions are drawn. Bigandet, Beal^ 

 Burnouf, and other writers on Buddhism, also draw greatly on 

 later accounts. How far even the Pitakas themselves repre- 

 sent the whole truth of original Buddhism is undoubtedly pro- 

 blematical; for, according to the Ceylon accounts they were 

 not committed to writing, but were only orally preserved, for 

 nearly 500 years. And the commentaries by Buddhaghosa, 

 so highly esteemed as exponents of Buddhist doctrine, are 

 said on the authority of the Singhalese books themselves not 

 to date farther back than 420 A.D. 



I have, however, only just grazed the surface of this 

 question of historical parallels. More I could not do in this 

 paper, though it demands and would repay ample investi- 

 gation. 



13. I must now refer to the other class of parallels between 

 Buddhism and Christianity, — the moral precepts of Buddha, 

 and the moral precepts of the Christian faith. And here I 

 feel that there is so much to be discussed, so much that is of 

 the deepest interest, not only to the Christian, but to the 

 historical inquirer, that I feel fairly at sea, when I have to 

 compress what I have to say into a few sentences. I will 

 take, therefore, only one leading thought for our consideration 

 at present ; and I take it, because it seems to me to be the 

 only true guide to the study of what is called the science of 

 Religion, — I mean the acknowledgment of a primitive revela- 

 tion, both of morality and ritual worship, before the early 

 families of mankind were dispersed. 



14. It appears to be the fashion with writers on the science 

 of Religion to regard man as having in his early history a 

 mind, which was as to Religion a tahula rasa, on which 

 any theory may be written that appears good to the writer. 

 This is a question of surpassing interest at this moment, 

 and has been brought into great prominence by Mr. Herbert 

 Spencer's article in last month's number of the Nineteenth 

 Century. It is quite relevant to the point of my argument to 

 say a few words on this subject. The '' Ghost Theory " 

 endorsed by Mr. Spencer ; the supposed indications of duality 

 of existence, first suggested by dreams, leading up to a 

 suspicion of external spiritual powers ; the theory that such 

 suspicions inspired our remote ancestors through their sub- 



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