absence of denunciations against the Egyptian worship noticeable in the Hebrew writings.

The Hebrews, however, repeatedly reverted to the forbidden practices of the old faith, and this went on more or less until the Babylonish captivity, when contact with the highly refined system of the Persian fire worshippers, combined with the fiery trials of their captivity-passing them, as it were, through a moral and physical furnace, purged away their corrupting dross, and sent them back to their native land with one of the purest forms of faith which the world has ever known.

Whether the Jews ever came into contact with the disciples of the Buddha it is at present impossible to say the followers of that self-denying ascetic, from their own stand-point, certainly aimed at a purity of life and motive which could not well be rivalled; if their influence did reach the Jews, it could only have had upon them a beneficial effect. Probably the influence, if any, did not tell until a later period of history, and affected early Christianity more than Judaism.

Even down to the Christian era the Jews, in common with the Persians, Babylonians, and others, retained distinct remnants of primeval animism, such as the belief in demons, magic, sorcery and witchcraft and Christianity itself, the outcome of Judaism organized by Greek philosophy, has

never entirely shaken off the same belief, which has come down to the present day and still exists amongst us.

It is neither necessary nor desirable here to discuss such a subject as the evolution of Christianity. The history of Christianity, its doctrines and its champions; the authenticity of its records and evidences; its influence and its prospects; have formed, and still form, the most voluminous subject of literature which the world has ever seen. It is sufficient to know that, as a fact, and as it now exists, the Christian religion is recognized as embodying the most enlightened system of ethics, and the purest moral code, that have ever been promulgated; and that in comparison with its light, all other systems appear in semi or complete obscurity.

Buddhism

Mohammedanism, Confucianism and all boast a standard of moral excellence worthy of comparison with that of Christianity, and the boasting is not wholly vain; passages in ancient records of Egypt, Assyria, and in the Greek and Latin classics, attest that light was never absent from the cultured races and the touching child-like faith of many a savage race of modern times, reflecting as it undoubtedly does, much that has always been common in such races, show that veneration, faith and charity have always existed, sufficient to furnish a ground-work for the development of those higher

systems, which are now regarded as representing the highest good.

But the passage from the Earth to Heaven, which the human mind has made, has been like an aërial ascent, in which, at every stage, it has been necessary to cast out the earthy ballast which dragged man down. As faith soared into purer light, these weights were cast adrift, and, being left behind, appeared like earthly things; although the time was when they were seen as bright lights, shining in the heavens. Man's gaze is upwards, and when he glances down below, from the point he has attained he sees the things he cast away-his stepping-stones to light-as plunged in sombre gloom, and, forgetful of their history, despises them.

The first outcome of animism was fetishism, arising from the belief that a material body was necessary for every soul or spirit, and that, when a soul or spirit found itself disembodied, it was rest. less, intractable, and incapable of communication with material man; and, at most, could only appear to him in dreams and trances. Something of this idea is discernible in the Odyssey, where the unsubstantial shades of the departed are described as incapable of rational action, until feasted on the lifeblood of the recently slain victims :—