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natural philosophy ; what difficulty is there in it ? ” And so 
he seized a stylus — for the hair-pencil, as an instrument for 
writing, had not then come into use in the “ Central Flowery 
Land” — and thus he wrote : — 
“ By all the elements five is the work of Nature done ; 
And of all the ten thousand things that are, there is no particular one.” 
And so the promised distinction was awarded to the gallant 
and learned author ; for he was none other than generalissimo 
of the Ch’in State. But no sooner was he i( invested with 
the golden goblet ” than forward sprang Wu Yuan, who de- 
clared that Chi Nien^s answer did not dispose of the theme 
in a proper and final manner. Now, Wu Yuan also was a 
military officer high in rank, generalissimo of the Ch'u State ; 
for in those early days promotion was by selection ; competi- 
tive examination was in force, and there were men who 
could wield alike the pen and sword, even as these powerful 
weapons are represented by a statue of our own Lord Law- 
rence, “ Saviour of the Punjab.” And so Wu Yuan wrote : — 
“ By truth * of the elements five can most good work be done ; 
And of all the ten thousand things that are, man is the wondrous one.” 
And so the golden goblet passed to him.” But do not the 
replies thus given represent the divergence of opinion still and 
now existing regarding the subject of this theme ? The sub- 
ject the same in the examples given in this and the preceding 
paragraph ; the language alone different, but in each ex- 
pressing its national train of thought. 
6. Returning Westward, a system of philosophy arose in 
India in the sixth century before our era, which still retains 
its hold over many millions of our race, including the ignorant 
and the very highly educated ; and which, if my interpretation 
be right, supplies the originals of many among the theories 
which at the present day are enunciated and accepted as the 
outcome of our most advanced scientific investigations in 
regard to things organic. The chief points of the philosophy 
in question necessary to be quoted for our present purpose 
are the following, namely : — This world, like others, is 
periodically destroyed. The sum of the elements of its 
inhabitants (men, animals, angels, &c.) who lived within it 
each time, produces a new world. The number of these 
beings never varies, save on those few occasions when one 
of them attains Nirvana. In every other case, as soon as an 
animal dies another is produced, under more or less material 
# Truth is said to be a moral equivalent of fire. 
