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they are wonderful) in passing almost from one mouth to another. Mere oral tradition thus constantly expands itself even in a few hours, and in the course of a few years may do so indefinitely. How much more then in the interval of a century or two, when a whole generation has both caught from its father's lips all the expansions of their fancy, and had time to superadd those of its own? Nor does your answer satisfy me, that your sacred books, although in some cases removed from the date of the events, were still written in the age of inspiration. For although we believe firmly that the Holy Spirit of God enlightens the mind of man, we yet observe such enlightenment to have its most proper sphere as regards heavenly things, or spiritual doctrines, rather than the record of earthly events; and so far as it acts even upon this latter order of things, it does so by an extension of its purifying influence through the legitimate faculties of the understanding, rather than by setting them arbitrarily aside. For example, it would deepen a sacred writer's perception of the Divine dealings as shewn in earthly events, and by awakening in him a more reverential attention would also fortify his powers of memory, and perhaps might act in other ways of this kind. But as to any dream, that events which have happened in former generations of men are first suffered to be forgotten, and then revealed over again in circumstantial particularity in order to be recorded in writing, I have as yet found no clear instance of such a revelation in the history of mankind anywhere, and shall never admit it except upon very clear proof. For, hitherto, in proportion as any one has preferred on behalf of sacred books claims of this latter kind, either error or imposture has been found to prevail. Pardon me if I point out to yourself what a learned man (Mr Turnour) has shewn in reference to the Mahawansa. He there finds a prediction by Gótama of the conversion of Ceylon to the Bauddha faith. This book was written for Ceylon. But on referring to the continental Pitakas the whole passage containing that prediction does not occur. If it does, you can shew it me now. But if it does not, the

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inference becomes too clear, that the prophecy was one inserted after the event, not having been in the original books. Consider also that very curious story of Vigaya marrying the female Yakka. His companions have been bewitched by her. He by wisdom and firmness resists her blandishments, until with drawn sword he has both compelled their deliverance, and extorted from her a sacred oath of true alliance. Now all this story is not written in Ceylon until about 440 years after your first council (or as we should say, about 104 B. C.), whereas it had been sung in heroic verse among the Yavanas some eight hundred years earlier, being in fact an episode of the Odyssey. Now you may urge, I cannot prove that the Greek bard did not get the groundwork of his story from India; but you will observe, even if he did, the author of the Mahawansa is still necessarily wrong in placing the transaction so near his own. time as the life of Vigaya, who preceded Mahinda by only three generations. Such an error in time must be considered as confirming the mistrust which the marvellous character of the story is itself calculated to inspire; not to mention, what some critics would say, that the Greek poet was perhaps the inventor, and the Bauddha annalist a borrower." Here Wolff, interposing, said, "That would be precisely my own opinion." "But, however that may be," resumed Blancombe, "you see, my friend, the difficulty of asking persons so scrupulous as your half ally Sadananda to believe miracles ascribed to Sákya, on the strength of any inspiration which has first to be proved of books written long after his time.

"Here then it is impossible to avoid a doubt, how far stories of the kind alluded to may have been exaggerated by error, or by the overgrowth of later times. This suspicion will haunt us more, if we see reason to believe that the very doctrine and practices of Sákya have undergone some change. From what you have yourself told us, and from what I recollect of other accounts, Sákya appears to have been impressed with the transitoriness of all earthly things, and indignant at the exclusiveness practised

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by the Brahmanical priesthood. Hence he threw open the doors of his religion to every caste; and although it is disputed how far he acknowledged an Adi Buddha in some such reserved manner as yourself, it is clear that his faith had no artificial order of priesthood. His very word for religious rites, I have been told, was Pújá, or worship, as distinct from the older Brahmanic Yajna, or sacrifice. Thus he appears to have been a democrat in religion. Whereas, those successors of his who enjoyed the favour of king Asoca, or some who followed them, appear to have sought the transfer of sacerdotal dignities, rather than their annihilation. Thus their yellow-robed fraternity planted itself in the place of the Brahmans; and the number of priests who came over, as soon as this transfer was affected, helped to change the character of your faith. At least, I conceive, the gentle nature of Sákya would be surprised at the pomp of yellow robes, and incense, and chants, with which your temples are now filled; certainly, I think he would forbid the relics, consisting of his supposed bones, to be worshipped; and in many things, if Sákya was a Divine teacher, you have need to return to the first principles of his faith. To myself it appears probable, that as his practices have been changed, so the story of his life has been magnified.'

"But," here the Saugata threw in a reply, "you would not retain that supposition, if it appeared that our sacred books were arranged by the early councils of our Church, before any such developments as you conceive to be corruptions had taken place in our practice." "In that case," answered Blancombe, "part of my objection would be removed; for wonderful events are better attested the nearer competent witnesses stand to them." "Well, but you know," rejoined the Saugata, "our Pitakas, were arranged at the very first council, in the year when Buddha entered on his blessedness." "On that account," resumed the other, "I feel compelled to admit the probability that such books give a sufficiently faithful account of the original doctrine of Buddha; but I have been alluding to the case of interpolations, and of wonderful stories in books of a later date. Now,

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if we examine that doctrine of your teacher Buddha, or Sákya, or Gótama, in its authorised records, has it such a character of novelty as to deserve properly the name of a revelation? You scarcely yourself affirm that it has." "Pardon me," said the Saugata, "we call Sákya the intelligent, or rather the enlightened, (Buddha,) in order to denote the fulness of Buddhahood, or Divine intelligence, which came upon him, as I have partly explained." "Yes," answered Blancombe, "and so the professors of any religion may consider Divine enlightenment necessary in order to apprehend spiritually their acknowledged truths; but that is a different sort of enlightenment, or at least is generally conceived to be so, from the one which communicates truths not previously known. For example, the A'chárya has appealed to the Vedas as the doctrinal standards of his faith, but yet he has spoken of Divine grace as necessary to each believer; and I apprehend most Christians to make generally the same sort of distinction. Am I not right, my lord," continued Blancombe, here turning to his elder friend Mountain. "Certainly," replied the other, "the revelation of a new truth. to the world, and a revealing to each person of grace to apprehend that truth, are distinct things." "Well," resumed Blancombe, when we ask what was that doctrine which Sákya taught, and in virtue of which he claimed to be a Divine teacher, we find it very much the same as the Sánkhya philosophy. If at least we were to take the old maxims of this meditative sect, and superadd to them a certain devout contemplation of the Yoga kind, we should have the original of Sákya as a founder of a religion, sufficiently explained. We should have a devout mystic endeavouring to raise himself by contemplation and benevolence above the illusions of this transitory world, while also he would possess in his philosophy a weapon keen enough to assail the received religion of his contemporaries. You will observe, I am not denying the personal virtue of the man; and we may admit that the rapid progress of his religion was due to something good in it; a re-action, as it were, of spiritualised

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humanity against the zealous sacerdotalism of the Brahmans. There is no longer, however, so much as a shadow of a pretence for considering the system of Sákya as an original downdropth from Heaven; and the very possibility of its having Divine authority at all depends upon whether your theory is correct, that nature or humanity can develope themselves, either by prayers or otherwise, into a kind of Divine enlightenment. But such a theory is the offspring of the Sánkhya philosophy. I shall, therefore, do you no injustice in classing you with our wise friend Sadánanda, and in considering both your theories as one. Or rather, I will look at the offshoot in its stem.

แ

Notwithstanding many things which puzzle me in this Sankhya system, it contains some which rather attract me. At least, I am not startled disagreeably by the subdivision of man into different parts which are called the gross and the subtile person, and the latter of which we are said to carry about with us into different forms of existence, though it consists, like the grosser, of matter, but of matter in most subtile and primary form; for in such a doctrine, when it is coupled with the idea of a soul entirely distinct from matter, I recognise a sort of confession of the truth, that the personality of Man would not exist as a whole, nor what we call humanity be entire, without two elements. Thus, in one respect you, Sadánanda, seem to be nearer the truth than either the Vedántine reasoner, who resolves everything into spirit, or any one, on the other hand, who approaches nearer to the Chárvácas, by making man consist only of sensuous body. Whatever our souls may be, there seems some reason in your belief that the consciousness we have of ourselves as a whole includes an organic development, or a balance of powers depending partly on the play of those natural forces around us, which yet we hesitate to call part of ourselves. Perhaps then you here supply an escape from a difficulty which some have keenly felt as regards the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body. It is the creed of Christians, that not only their souls will live, but their bodies be raised again. Some ingenious persons, who