OBITUARY 247 



TIMOTHY RICHARD. 



A familiar figure has disappeared from our meetings : and a 

 representative man from foreign life in China. Dr. Timothy Richard 

 died suddenly in London on April 17th after an operation, in the 

 74th year of his age. He spent much time on his father's farm in his 

 youth, gaining such education as the state of the country then offered, 

 which was very different from the opportunities of the present day. 

 Later he entered the Baptist College at Haverfordwest to prepare for 

 the ministry. This somewhat incomplete scholastic preparation was 

 compensated for by native genuis, and by the romantic impressions of 

 the Tao stamped on his mind by nature as he communed with the hills 

 and valleys of his native place. Whether it arose from this harmony 

 and peace of nature or was a development of his religious training 

 there appeared early in his career the desire of the immediate applica- 

 tion of the Kingdom of Heaven to earthly needs. The grinding at the 

 dead languages was not long persevered in. They seemed purposeless 

 to an eager spirit. This showed that Dr. Richard had the poineer 

 spirit. This compelled him, as it did John the Baptist, to go forth 

 into the Wastes of the world. When he arrived in China the same 

 spirit led him to abandon the rendezvous of missionary societies, who 

 located themselves in the Treaty Ports, and to enter the Interior, — and 

 get to the people. When he did get there he again departed from the 

 usual custom and went out of the beaten track — he sought the Worthy, 

 the spiritually elect of the people : and once more he broke away from 

 routine and custom by appealing to leaders in authority. In all this 

 he was following apostolic injunctions and historical examples as he 

 thought. Another new idea took possession of his mind, arising from 

 the premises offered by the foregoing, and that was Conversion by 

 the Million. It was not quite easy to say what this really meant, 

 except that if the Chief is induced to accept the Gospel, he would see to 

 the rest. This did not necessarily abandon the individualistic idea of 

 evangelicalism. These departures are mentioned to show Dr. Richard's 

 trend of mind. The same tendency is seen, although it appears from 

 a different point of view, in his Catholic spirit. He would include all. 

 Possibly in this he was different from the disciples that penetrated and 

 captured the Roman Empire. They were intolerant of anything else 

 because of a great purpose and love in their own message. Dr. Richard 

 was most tolerant of all religions that had tried to comfort humanity. 

 They were exclusive in face of the immorality of the Roman religions, 

 he was inclusive because he saw a benevolence and morality in the great 

 religion of the East. His last booklet was an appeal to Buddhists on 

 common grounds. His final article was a League of Religions. He 



