Ten Great Religions by James Freeman Clarke

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C.

Carthaginians, their language a form of Hebrew, 400.
Catholic religious, three, 18.
" " teach the unity of God, 18.
" " which have failed of universality, 19.
Ceres, Liber, Flora, and Pomona, rural deities, 330.
Chaldees of Ur, same as modern Curds, 405.
Chandragupta, contemporary of Alexander, 86.
Cherubim, its derivation from the Sphinx, 252.
Chinese civilization, its peculiarities, 32.
" " prose of Asia, 32.
" " its antiquity, 33.
" " its grotesque character, 36.
Chinese empire, its size, 33.
" history commences, 34.
" language, 34.
" wall and canals, 34.
" artesian wells, 34.
" inoculation, bronze money, mariner's compass, gunpowder, 35.
" art of printing, and libraries, 35.
" people possess freedom (note), 37.
" government based on education, 38.
" monarchy a family, 38.
" government a literary aristocracy, 38.
" civil-service examinations, 39.
" public boards and their duties, 42.
" viceroys, or governors of provinces, 42.
" agriculture carried to perfection, 43.
" "Kings," or sacred books, 47.
" philosophy in its later developments, 52.
" doctrine of the grand extreme, 52.
" doctrine of Yang and Yin, or the positive and negative essences,
52.
" doctrine of holy men, 53.
" people, their amiable character, 59.
" " described by Lieutenant Forbes, 59.
" " described by Du Halde, 60.
" " described by Meadows, 60.
" " treatment of woman, 61.
Christian apologists, their errors, 4.
" " have regarded most religions as human inventions, 4.
" " have considered them as debasing superstitions, 4.
Christianity adapted to the Northern races, 395.
" a pleroma, or fulness of life, 492.
" an inclusive system, not exclusive, 493.
" summary of its relation to other religions, 494.
" a religion of progress, 507.
" a religion of universal unity, 508.
" has the power of continued progress, 29.
" in its various developments,29.
" meets the positive and negative side:
of Brahmanism, 24.
of Buddhism, 25.
of Confucius, 26.
of Zoroaster, 26.
of Egypt, 27.
of Greece, 28.
Cicero, his work "De Natura Deorum," 341.
" on the speech of Caesar, 342.
Circumcision, its origin and extent, 251.
Cleanthes, the Stoic, his hymn, 285.
Comparative Philology, its discoveries, 86.
" Theology either analytical or synthetical, 2.
" " its relation to Comparative Geography, 2.
" " its relation to human progress, 2.
" " must do justice to all religions, 3.
" " is still in its infancy, 3.
" " is a science, 3.
" " will furnish new evidence to the truth of
Christianity, 13.
" " will show Christianity to be a catholic religion,
adapted to all races, 15.
" " will show Christianity to be all-sided, 21.
" " will show Christianity capable of progress, 29.
" " in its probable results, 30.
Confucius, his birth and ancestors, 44, 45.
" his influence, 44, 45.
" events of his life, 45, 46.
" edits the sacred books, or Kings, 47.
" his own writings, 47.
" his Table-Talk, extracts from, 48, 49.
" had a large organ of veneration, 50.
" had great energy and persistency, 51.
" his books distributed by tract societies, 51.
" one thousand six hundred and sixty temples erected to his memory, 51.
" defects in his doctrine, 58.
" his system compared with Christianity, 59.
" good influence of his teachings, 58.
Conversion of the German races to Christianity, 390.
Cudworth and the Platonists have defended the Greek philosophers, 5.

D.

David, his life and epoch in human history, 422.
" his great military successes, 422.
" his prudence and sagacity in affairs, 423.
" a man of genius, poet, musician, 425.
" Book of Psalms a record of his life, 425.
" his Psalms often rise to the level of Christianity, 426.
Decay of the Roman religion, 339.
Denmark and Norway converted to Christianity, 392.
Devil, the, in Old and New Testament, 498.
Divination, Cicero speaks concerning, 339-341.
Doctrinal influence of the Egyptian religion on Christianity, 258.
Downfall of German heathenism, 391.
Druids and Scalds, 355.
Duad, the, in all religions, 396.
Dualism or monotheism the doctrine of the Avesta, 203.
" of the Scandinavian system, 384.
" in Christianity, 496.
Duperron, Anquetil, his zeal for science, 178.
" " discovers the Avesta in India, 179

E.

Ecclesiastes, a wonderful description of utter despair, 435.
Eddas, the, chief source of our knowledge of the early Scandinavians, 363.
" elder, or poetic, described, 364.
" its author, Saemund, 364.
" prose, by Snorro Sturteson, 369.
" " its contents, 369.
" " its account of creation, 370.
" " its account of the gods and giants, 371.
" " story of Baldur, 372.
" " adventures of Thor, 374.
" " consummation of all things, 375.
Egyptian chronology, its uncertainty, 231.
" " opinions of Egyptologists concerning, 231, 232.
" " point of contact with that of the Hebrews, 233.
Egyptian civilization, its extent, 209.
" architecture, its characteristics, 209.
" knowledge of arts, 210.
" love for making records, 210.
" mural paintings in tombs, 210.
" sphinxes discovered by Marietta, 210.
" mummies, their anatomy, 237.
" religion, its influence on Judaism, 250
" " its influence on Christianity, 253.
" " its triads, 254.
Egyptians, ancient, their great interest in religion, 214.
" their gods on the oldest monuments, 215.
" lived in order to worship, 215.
" number of their festivals, 216.
" their priests, 217.
" their doctrine of immortality, 218.
" their ritual of the dead, 219.
" their funeral ceremonies, 220.
" their domestic and social virtues, 221.
" specimen of their hymns, 222, 223.
" mysterious character of their theology, 223.
" sources of our knowledge concerning, 224.
" modern works upon (note), 225.
" their doctrine of transmigration (note), 226.
" their animal worship, 227.
" their tendency to nature-worship, 229.
" their origin, 230-236.
Epictetus, his view of religion, 343.
Epicureans, believed in God, but not in religion, 297.
Essential idea of Brahmanism, 21.
" " of Buddhism, 21.
" " of Confucius, 22.
" " of Zoroaster, 22.
" " of Egypt, 23.
" " of Greece, 24.
Ethnic religions, defined, 15.
" " most religions are such, 15.
" " related to ethnology, 15.
" " limited to races, 17.
Euripides, his tragedy anti-religious, 285.

F.

Faunus, an old Italian god, 330.
Fenrir, the wolf, how he was fastened, 382.
Feudal system, its essential character, 391.
Flamens, priests of particular deities, 336.
Fontus, god of fountains, 328.
Frey, and his daughter Freyja, 379.

G.

Geiger, Swedish history quoted, 357.
Genius, a Roman god, 329.
German races essentially Protestant, 395.
German tribes converted by Arian missionaries, 506.
Gods of Egypt, the three orders of, 239.
" " " names of the first order, 239.
" " " character of the first order, 240.
" " " significant of the divine unity, 242.
" " " second order of, their human qualities, 243.
" " " third order of, the Osiris group, 242.
Gods of Greece before Homer, 270.
" " " oldest were the Uranids, 270.
" " " second race of, the Titans, 271.
" " " third race of, the Olympians, 271.
" " " the oldest were gods of the elements, 272.
" " " worshipped by the Dorians, were Apollo and Artemis, 274.
" " " local distribution of, 275.
" " " first symbolical, afterward personal, 276.
" " " in Hesiod and Homer, 277.
" " " poetic character of, 279.
" " " in Homer very human beings, 280.
" " " as described by the lyric poets, 283.
" " " as described by the tragedians, 284.
" " " as unfolded by the artists, 286.
" " " as seen in the works of Phidias, 287.
" " " as described by the philosophers, 291.
" " " how related to Christianity, 310.
Gods of the Vedas are the evil spirits of the Avesta, 202.
Greece, its physical geography, 259.
" its mountains, climate, and soil, 260.
" its language akin to Sanskrit, 261.
" its people an Aryan race, 262.
" first inhabited by the Pelasgians, 262.
" afterward received the Dorians, 264.
" influenced powerfully by Egypt, 265.
Greek mysteries, derived from Asia and Egypt, 302.
" " gods of belong to the underworld, 302.
" " alien to the Greek mind, 303.
" " Eleusinian, in honor of Ceres, 305.
" " in honor of Bacchus, derived from India, 305.
" " Orphic, and their doctrines, 306.
" religion, an essentially human religion, 266.
" " its gods, men and women, 267.
" " has no founder or restorer or priesthood, 267.
" " its gods evolved, not emanations, 268.
" " its freedom and hilarity, 269.
" " as viewed by Paul, 308.
" " as regarded by the early Christian fathers, 312.
" " and philosophy, a preparation for Christianity, 313.
" worship, sacrifices, prayers, and festivals, 297.
" " in early times, 298.
" " had numerous festivals, 299.
" " connected with augurs and oracles, 300.
Gylfi, deluding of, in the Edda, 369.

H.

Haruspices, derived from Etruria, 338.
Havamal, or proverbs of the Scandinavians, 366.
Heathen religions must contain more truth than error, 6.
" " cannot have been human inventions, 6.
" " must contain some revolution from God, 8.
" " how viewed by Christ and his apostles, 9.
" " how treated by Paul at Athens, 10.
" " how regarded by the early apologists, 12.
Heimdall, warder of the gods, 380.
Herder, his description of David, 425.
Hesiod, his account of the three groups of gods, 270.
Hindoo Epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, 128.
" " they refer to the time succeeding the Vedic age, 128.
" " composed before the time of Buddhism, 129.
Hindoos, antagonisms of their character, 82.
" acute in speculations, but superstitious, 82.
" unite luxury and asceticism, 82.
" tend to idealism and religious spiritualism, 83.
" their doctrine of Maya, 84.
Hindoo year, calendar of, 132.
" " begins in April, a sacred month, 132.
Holy of Holies, in the Egyptian and Jewish temples, 252.
Homer his description of the gods, 280.
Horace, his view of religion, 346.
Hyksos, constitute the middle monarchy, 232.
" expelled from Egypt after five hundred years, 233.
" Hebrews in Egypt during their ascendency, 234, 235.
" or Shepherd Kings in Egypt, 213.
" a Semitic people from Asia, 232.
" conquered Lower Egypt B.C. 2000, 233.
Hyndla, song of, extracts from, 366.

I.

Icelanders converted to Christianity, 394.
Incarnation, the fundamental doctrine of Christianity, 28.
India, always a land of mystery, 81.
" overrun by conquerors, 81.
Infinite and finite elements in Brahmanism and Christianity, 137.
Injustice done to ethnic religions, 4.
Inspiration, its origin in the intuitive faculty, 439.
Isis and Osiris, their legend, from Plutarch, 244.
" " " explanations of their myth, 246.
" " " identified with the first and second order, 248.

J.

Janus, one of the oldest of Roman gods, 322.
" presided over beginnings and endings, 322.
" invoked before other gods, 322.
" his temple open in war, closed in peace, 322.
" believed by Creuzer to have an Indian origin, 323.
" has his chief feast in January, 323.
" a Sabine god on Mount Janiculum, 323.
Jews, a Semitic race, 399.
Job, its grandeur of thought and expression, 438.
Jones, Sir William, his life and works, 78.
" progress since his time, 80.
Judaism, a preparation for Christianity, 444.
" monotheistic after the captivity, 444.
" influenced by Greek philosophy, 444.
" its process of development, 445.
" at first childlike and narrow, 446.
" the seed of Christianity, 446.
Juno, queen of heaven, and female Jupiter, 324.
" goddess of womanhood, 324.
" her chief feast the Matronalia in March, 324.
" her month of June favorable for wedlock, 325.
Jupiter, derived his name from the Sanskrit, 324.
" had many temples in Rome, 324.
" god of the weather, of storm, of lightning, 324.

K.

"Kings," Chinese, names and number, 47.
" teach a personal God, 57.
" republished by Confucius, 47.

L.

Language of Ancient Egypt, 236.
Lao-tse, founder of Tao-ism, 50, 52.
" called a dragon by Confucius, 51.
" three forms of his doctrine, 54.
Lares, gods of home, 328.
Loki, the god of cunning, 381.
Lower Egypt, gods worshipped in, 248.
Lucretius, his view of religion, 343.
Luna, the moon, a Sabine deity, 327.
Lustrations, or great acts of atonement, 338.

M.

Magna Mater, a foreign worship at Rome, 330.
Maine, his work on ancient law quoted, 351.
Mann, laws of, when written, 100.
" account of Creation, 101.
" dignity of the Brahmans, 103.
" importance of the Gayatari, 104.
" account of the twice-born man, 105.
" description of ascetic duties, 106.
" the anchorite described, 107.
" duties of the ruler described, 109.
" crimes and penalties described, 110.
" the law of castes described, 110.
" penance and expiation described, 110.
" respect for cows enjoined, 111.
" transmigration and final beatitude, 112.
Maritime character of the Scandinavians, 361.
Mars, originally an agricultural god, 330.
Materialism in Christian doctrines, derived from Egypt, 256.
Mater Matuta, Latin goddess of the dawn (note), 325, 327.
Melchisedek, king of justice and king of peace, 407.
Minerva, her name derived from an Etruscan word, 325.
goddess of mental activity, 325.
one of the three deities of the capitol, 325.
Missionary work of Christianity, why checked, 506.
Moabite inscription in the Hebrew dialect, 400.
Mohammed, recent works concerning, 448.
" lives of, by Muir, Sprenger, Weil, and others, 449.
" essays on his life by Babador, 450.
" prophecies of, in the Old Testament, 451.
" lived a private life for forty years, 454.
" his early religious tendencies, 454.
" his inspirations, 454.
" his biography in the Koran, 455.
" his mother's death, 456.
" his first converts, 457.
" protected by his tribe, 458.
" his temporary relapse, 460.
" and his followers persecuted, 461.
" his first teaching a modified Judaism, 463.
" his departure to Medina with his followers, 464.
" change in his character after the Hegira, 465.
" in his last ten years a political leader, 467.
" Goethe's view of his character, 468.
" his cruel treatment of the Jews, 469.
" his numerous wives, 470.
" his death and character, 471.
Mohammedanism, its special interest, 448.
" its essential doctrine the absolute unity of God, 472.
" its teaching concerning the Bible and Koran, 472.
" does not recognize human brotherhood, 473.
" among the Turks, its character, 473.
" promotes religious feeling, 474.
" inspires courage and resignation, 474.
" in Palestine, described by Miss Rogers, 475.
" in Central Arabia, described by Mr. Palgrave, 478.
" in Central Asia, described by M. Vambery, 477.
" in Persia, described by Count Gobmeau, 477.
" in Egypt, described by Mr. Lane, 477.
" in Turkey, described by Mr. MacFarlane, 478, 484.
" in Northern Africa, described by Barth and Blerzey, 477,
485.
" its character given by M. Renan, 485.
" its monotheism lower than that of Judaism and Christianity, 481.
" does not convert the Aryan races, 500.
" pure from Polytheism, 502.
" has a tendency to catholicity, 503.
" a relapse to a lower stand point, 483.
" summary of its good and evil influence, 484.
Monotheism (or Dualism), the doctrine of the Avesta, 203.
Montesquieu quoted, 357.
Moses, his historic character, 409.
" described by Strabo (note), 410.
" his natural genius and temperament, 411.
" his seventy and tenderness, 412.
" his sense of justice embodied in law, 412.
" his object to teach the holiness of God, 413.
" defects of his character, 413.
" character of his monotheism, 414.
" his monotheism described by Stanley (note), 414.
" his anthropomorphic view of God, 415.
" his acquaintance with Egyptian learning, 416.
" nature of his inspiration, 417.
" political freedom secured to the Jews by his law, 418.
" object of his ceremonial law, 420.
Mythology of Scandinavia and that of Zoroaster compared, 384.

N.

Names of our week-days Scandinavian, 358.
Neptunus, origin of the name, 328.
Nestorian inscription in China, 71-78.
Njord, ruler of the winds, 378.
Northern and Southern Europe compared, 359.
Northmen in France, Spain, Italy, and Greece, 389.
Number of Christians in the world, 146.
" of Buddhists in the world, 146.
" of Jews in the world, 146.
" of Mohammedans in the world, 146.
" of Brahmans, 146.
Nyaya, system of philosophy, assumes three principles, 122.
" system of philosophy, described by Banerjea, 123.

O.

Odin, or All-father, eldest of the AEsir, 377.
" corresponds to Ormazd, 385.
" his festival in the spring, 386.
Opa, goddess of the harvest, 330.

P.

Pales, a rural god, 330.
Palestine, or the land of the Philistines, 397.
" resembles Greece and Switzerland, 397.
" its mountainous character, 397.
" a small country, 398.
" its mountains and valleys, 399.
Palgrave, note giving an extract from his book, 486.
Papacy, mediaeval, good done by it, 350.
" a reproduction of the Roman state religion, 350.
Parsi religion, its influence on Judaism, 205.
" " its influence on Christianity, 204.
" " teaches a kingdom of heaven, 207.
" " still continues in Persia and India, 208.
Parthenon, the, temple of Minerva, described, 290.
Penates, gods of home, 328.
Persepolis, ruins of the palace of Xerxes at, 170.
" inscriptions of Darius and Xerxes at, 170.
" tombs of the kings of Persia at, 174.
Pharisees, Sadducets, and Essenei, 444.
Phidias, his statue of Jupiter described, 288.
Philistines, probably Pelasgi from Crete, 421.
Philosophy, early Greek, 291.
" Greek, in Asia Minor, 291.
" in Italy, 292.
Phoenicians, their language a form of Hebrew, 400.
Plato harmonizes realism and idealism, 293.
" his philosophy completes that of Socrates, 294.
" his method that of transcendentalism, 294.
" his idea of God pure and high, 295.
" Christian element in, 295.
Pliny, the elder, his view of religion, 345.
Present work, an essay, or attempt, 1.
" " companson of religions its object, 1.
Prophecy, a modification of inspiration, 438.
Prophets of the Old Testament, men of action, 440.
" politicians and constitutional lawyers, 440.
" preferred the moral law to ceremonial, 441.
" described by Dean Stanley, 441.
" their inspiration came through a common human faculty, 442.
" their predictions not always realized, 443.
" their foresight of Christianity, 443.
" developed Judaism to its highest point, 443.
Proverbs, Book of, in the Edda, 365.
Pontiffs, their authority, 336.
Positivism, its law of progress examined, 489.
Puranas, the, much read by the common people, 130.
" devoted to the worship of Vischnu, 131.
" extol the power of penances, 132.
" ideas those of the epics, 132.
" their philosophy that of the Sunkhya, 132.

R.

Ramses II. a powerful king B.C. 1400, 233.
" supposed to be the same as Sesostris, 234.
" birth of Moses during his reign, 335.
Recognition of God in nature, best element of Egyptian religion, 257.
Relation of the religion of the Avesta to the Vedas, 201.
Results of the survey of ten religions, 489.
" in regard to their resemblance and difference, 490.
Resemblance of the Roman Catholic ceremonies to those of Pagan Rome, 350.
Roman calendar, described, 332.
Roman Catholic Church, teaches an exclusive spiritualism, 143.
" " " is eminently a sacrificial system, 143.
" " " its monastic system an included Protestantism, 145.
Roman deities adopted from Greece, 326.
" " manufactured by the pontiffs, 326.
" " representing the powers of nature, 327.
" " representing human relations, 328.
" " presiding over rural occupations, 330.
" " derived from the Etruscans, 327.
" empire gave to Christianity its outward form (note), 350.
" " united the several states of Europe, 350.
" law, its influence on Western theology, 351.
" legal notions transferred to theology, 352.
" mind, wanting in spontaneity, 316.
" " serious, practical, hard, 316.
" religion, an established church, 317.
" " regarded chiefly external conduct, 317.
" " tolerant of questions of opinion, 317.
" " not a mere copy from Greece, 318.
" " described by Hegel, 318.
" " described by Cicero, 317-319.
" " described by Mommsen, 319.
" " a polytheism, with monotheism behind it, 320.
" " deified all events, 321.
Romans, as a race, whence derived, 319.
" " belong to the Aryan family, 319.
" " composed of Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans, 320.
" " related to the Pelasgi and Celts, 320.
" their oldest deities, Latin, Sabine, and Etruscan, 320.
Roman sepulchral monuments, their tone, 346.
Roman thought and Roman religion opposed, 342.
Roman worship, very elaborate and minute, 331.
" " full of festivals, 331.
" " distinguished between things sacred and profane, 331.
" " a yoke on the public life of the Romans, 334.
" " directed by the College of Pontiffs, 334.
" " chief seat in the Via Sacra, 335.
" " governed by etiquette, 335.
" " originally free from idolatry, 336.
" " acted like a charm, 340.
Rome, ancient, its legacy to Christianity, 353.
Runes, Odin's song of, in the Edda, 368.

S.

Salii, ancient priests of Mars, 336.
Sankhya philosophy, 114.
" founded on two principles, 120.
" considered atheistic, 120.
" the basis of Buddhism, 121.
" a very ancient system, 122.
Saturnus, Saturn, god of planting, 330.
Scandinavia, consisting of what regions, 358.
" surrounded by the sea, 358.
" its adaptation to the Teutonic race, 359.
" formerly inhabited by the Cimbri, 360.
" the home of the Northmen, 361.
Scandinavian religion, a system of dualism, 362.
" " war its essential idea, 362.
" " its virtues, truth, justice, courage, 362.
Scandinavians, their early history, 355.
" described by Caesar, 355.
" described by Tacitus, 356.
" a branch of the great German family, 357.
" their language, the Norse and its derivatives, 357.
" our inheritance from, 358.
" their manners and institutious, 387.
" their respect for women, 388.
" their Scalds, or bards, 388.
" their maritime expeditions, 389.
Sea-Kings of Norway, their discoveries, 361.
Seat of the Scandinavian race, 355.
Secrecy, the evil in Egyptian religion, 257.
Semitic races, their character and exploits, 399.
" " great navigators and discoverers, 399.
" " identity of their languages, 400.
" " nations of which they consist, 399.
" " their religion and gods, 401.
" " their tendency to monotheism, 402.
Seneca, his view of religion, 343, 344.
Serapis, the same as Osiris-Apis, 257.
Sibylline books, derived from Greece, 336.
Siculi, supposed to be Kelte (note), 320.
Silvanus, god of the woods, 330.
Siva, does not appear in the Vedas, 125.
" worshipped with Brahma and Vischnu at the present time, 127.
" worshipped in the Puranas, 132.
" girls worship him with flowers, 132.
" his wife Doorga, festival of, 134.
" men swing on hooks in honor of, 135.
Solomon, and the relapse of Judaism, 428.
" a less interesting character than David, 429.
" his unscrupulous policy, 429.
" the splendor and power of his reign, 430.
" his alliances with Egypt, Phoenicia, and Arabia, 341.
" his temple described, 432.
" his Book of Proverbs and its character, 433.
" account of his last days, 434.
" his scepticism described in Ecclesiastes, 435.
Socrates, his character and work, 293.
Sol, the sun, a Sabine deity, 327.
Soma plant of the Veda, the Haoma, 202.
Sophocles, the most devout of the Greek tragedians, 284.
Spiritualism, in Brahmanism and Christianity, 136.
Stoics, as described by Zeller, 296.