36 THEOPHILUS G. PINCHES, LL.D., M.R.A.S., ON THE 
Two papers were then read by M. Prato, the first upon 
the ancient religious beliefs of Mexico and Peru, and their 
relations with those of the ancient world; and the second 
upon the worship of Ptah, the Egyptian god of fire, 
compared with that of Hephaestes and Vulcan. 
(It will be remembered that this latter poimt was one of 
those set down for discussion in the Egyptian Section, in 
which, one would imagine, it ought to have been read. 
There may, however, have been some special reason for the 
course adopted.) 
The last paper of this section mentioned in the proces- 
verbaux is one by the indefatigable M. de la Grasserie, 
which was read by the Secretary of the Section, M. Marillier. 
It was upon non-sexuality and sexuality in divinities. 
SECTIONS B and E wnited.—TVhe Far East, India, 
and Iran. 
M. V. Henry read a study of the relations between 
3uddhism and positivism, insisting particularly upon the 
differences between them. He was followed by Mr. J. A. 
Cree, who referred to the attitude of Auguste Comte with 
regard to Buddhism. <A further contribution to the study of 
the same religion was the paper by Mr. Ryavon Fujishima, 
professor at Kyoto, upon the crisis recently experienced by 
Buddhism in Japan, and its present state. This gave 
M. Fournier de Flaix an opportunity to ask the author for 
information upon the religious statistics of Japan. The 
answer was to the effect that the constant interchanging 
( pénétration réciproque) between the sects belonging to 
Buddhism and Shintoism rendered a religious census almost 
impossible. 
The next paper was by M. Minas Tcheraz, upon some 
very curious legends concerning Alexander the Great, 
written down at the mouth of old Armenian story-tellers. 
At the next sitting of the combined sections the interesting 
question of Babism came under discussion, in consequence of 
the reading of a paper by Mr. Arkélian, who had _ studied its 
doctrines in Persia at first hand. More information was 
asked for concerning the present forms of worship and the 
literature of the Babis. 
(It will probably be remembered that the great interest of 
this new religion is that it has grown up within quite recent 
