84 



REV. AETHUFt ELWIN ON ANCESTRAL WORSHIP. 



worship it seems an enormous sum, but it has been calculated 

 carefully. We know how many charitable and other societies there 

 are and about how many families. It is supposed that each family 

 spends about 3.s-. a year on ancestral worship, and taking the 

 population of China, at about 400,000,000 we arrive at that figure. 

 Dr. Yates, who has been mentioned, works this out and comes to that 

 conclusion. 



It is very interesting to hear of these other places where there 

 are parallel instances of ancestral worship. 



Mr. Martin Rouse. — I do not know whether I am unduly 

 prolonging the debate ; but that question surely can be precisely 

 answered. 



From what I know of oriental antiquity, did not the Assyrians 

 worship Asshur, who the Bible informs us was their first ancestor 

 who began that kingdom, and did not Babylon, as proved by Dr. 

 Pinches, worship Nirarod under the name of Merodach* and Nebuchad- 

 nezzar calls him lord of Merodach. So I do not think there can be 

 a shadow of doubt about that. Those men, who were great 

 commanders, and who founded Empires, were doubtless the origin 

 of the worship of ancestors. We heard this afternoon that the first 

 persons we hear of as prayers being addressed to them, were kings 

 and statesmen. That, surely, is only spreading out the first idea. 

 ■ ' Mr. Storrs Turner. — But in China you find no Nimrod 

 amongst the deities. 



Mr. Martin Rouse. — But if they prayed to him as the Assyrians 

 prayed to Asshur, surely that is the original form of ancestral worship. 



Mr. Storrs Turner. — I cannot take that view at all. Those are 

 the exceptional cases. 



The Secretary. — It is clear that there is a difference of opinion 

 between Mr. El win, who read this interesting paper, and Mr. Turner, 

 whether ancestral worship is idolatrous or not. Mr. Storrs Turner 

 considers it is not so. 



Mr. Storrs Turner. — It is in a corrupt stage at the present time, 

 no doubt. 



The Meeting then closed. 



^ See Trans.y vol. xxxv, p. 27. 



