ginnoponitnrie.
LETTER FROM CHINA.
MENCIUS' DOCTRINE OF HUMAN NATURE
But the question arises, "Is the view
of Human Nature propounded by Men
cius correct ?" As far as yet appears,
the translator sees not how the question
can be answered otherwise than in the
affirmative. Man was formed for virtue.
Bo it that his conduct is very far from
being conformed to virtue, that simply
fastens on him the shame and guilt.
Man, heathen man, a Gentile without the
law is gal not without the law unto
himself. The proper use of Mencius'
principles is to reprove the Chinese,
and ourselves as well, of the thousand
acts of sin of which they and we are
guilty, that come within their sweep
and their condemnation.
From the ideal to the actual of man,
there is a vast descent. Between what
he ought to be and what he is, the con
trast is melancholy. " Benevolence,"
said our philosopher, " is the character
istic of man." It is the "wide house
in which the world should dwell," while
-1 ( propriety" is "the correct position in
which the world should ever be found,"
and " righteousness" is 4 the great path
which men should ever be pursuing."
In opposition to this, however, hatred,
improprieties and unrighteousness are
constant phenomena of human life.
Mencius is ready enough to admit the
'fact that men in general do evil and
.violate the law of their nature. They
sacrifice the noble part of themselves
for the gratification of the ignoble..; they
follow that part which is little and not
that part which is great. He can say
nothing further in explanation of the
fact, except that he points out the effect
of injurious circumstances, and the
power of evil example.
To the principle implied in the sen
tence "Losing the proper nature of one's
mind," Mencius most pertinicionely ad
heres. He will not allow that r original
badness can be predicated of human
nature from any amount of actual
wickedness. " The trees," said he, "of
the New Mountain, were once beautiful.
Being situated, however, in the borders
of a large state, they were hewn down
with axes and bills; and could they
retain their beauty ? Still, through the
activity of the vegetative life day and
night, and the - irourishing influence of
the rain and dew, they wore not without
buds and sprouts springing forth: but
then came the cattle and goats and
browsed upon them. To these things
is owing the bare and stripped appear
ance of the mountain, which, when
people see, they think it was never
finely wooded. But is this the proper
nature of the mountain ? And so also
of' what properly belongs to man; shall
it be said that the mind of any man was
without benevolence and righteousness ?
The way in which a man loses his proper
goodness of mind is like the way in
which the trees are denuded by axes
and bills. Hewn down day after day,
can the mind retain its beauty? The
nature becomes not much different from
that of the irrational animals, which,
when people see, they think it never
had those powers which I assert. But
does this condition represent the feel
ings proper to humanity ?"
Up to this point the translator fails
to perceive anything in Mencius' views
of human nature that is contrary to the
teachings of our Christian Scriptures
and that may not be employed with
advantage by the missionary in his
preaching to the Chinese. It is far
from covering what we know to be the.
whole duty of man, yet it is defective
rather than erroneous.
According to Mencius, the sages were
actually perfect, and perfection is pos
sible to all men. The actual realization
of his views he found in the, sages, and
he contended it was within the reach of
every individual. "All things which
are the same in kind," he says, " are
like one another; why should we doubt
in regard to man as if ho were a solitary
exception to this? The sage and we
are the same in kind." The feet, the
mouths, the eyes of the sage were not
different from those of other men,
neither were their minds.
Among the sages, however, Mencius
made a distinction. Yaou and Shun
exceeded all the rest, unless it might be
Confucius. Those three never came
_short of and never went beyond - the
law of their nature. The ideal and the
actual were in them always one and the
same. The others bad only attained to
perfection by vigorous effort and cul
ture. "Yaou and Shun were what they
were by nature; Tang and Woo were
so by returning to natural virtue!'
The actual result was, however, the
same,'and therefore be, could hold them
up as models to his, countrymen of the
style of man that they all ought to be
and might be. What the compass and
the square were in the bands of the
workman, enabling him to form perfect
circles and squares, that the sages," per
fectly exhibiting the human relations,"
might be to every earnest individual,
enabling him to perfect himself as they
were perfect.
Here we feel that the doctrine of
Mencius wants an element which Reve
lation s - appliv. He knows nothing of
the fact that by one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin, and so
death passed upon all men, because all
sinned." We have our ideal as well as
he; but for the living reality we must
go back to Adam, as he was made by
God in His own image, after His
likeness. In him the model is soon
shattered, and we do not discover it
again, till God's own Son appeared in
the world, made in the likeness of sinful
flesh, yet without sin.
When Mencius points to Yaeu, Shim
and Confucius, and says they were
perfect and all men may become perfect,
we cannot accept his statement. Un
derstanding that he is speaking of them
only in the sphere of human relations,
we must yet believe that in many
things they come short. One of the
three, the greatest of them in Mencius'
estimation, Confucius, again and again
confesses so of himself. He says be
was seventy years old before he could
follow what his heart desired, without
transgressing what was right. The
image of sagely perfecpon is ' broken
by what is implied in this admission
and confession. It proves it to be but
a brilliant and unsubstantial phantom
of our philosopher's own imagining.
When he insists again, that every indi
vidual may become what be fancies the
sages were, i. e., perfect, liang in love,
walking in righteousness, o servant - of pro
priety, approving wnatever is good and
disapproving whatever is evil; he is push
ing his doctrine beyond its proper limit.
It supplies a law of conduct; butw
, la
only gives the, knowledge of what we
are required to do; it 'does not give the
power to do it.
Mencius is not to be blamed for his
ignorance of what is to us the Doctrine
of the Pali. He bad no, means of be
coming acquainted with it. We have
to regret, however, that his study of
human nature produced in him no deep
feelings on account of men's proneness
to go astray. He is greatly lacking in
humility and in sympathy with human
error. He never betrays any conscious.
ness of his own weakness. Confucius
acknowledged that he came short of
what he knew he ought to have been.
We do not meet with this in Mencius.
His merit is that of the speculative
thinker. His glance is searching, , and
his penetration deep ; but there is want
ing that moral sensibility which would
draw him to us in our best moments, as
a man of like passions with, us. The
absence of humility 'is naturally accom
panied with a lack of sympathy. There
is a hardness about his teachings. He
is the professor in the class room, amid
a throng of pupils who are admiring his
science and his dexterity. He forgets,
in the triumph of his skill, the suffering
of the patient. The transgressors of
their nature are to Mencius the " tyrants
of themselves" or the " self-abandoned."
The utmost stretch o his commisera
tion is a contemptuous " Alas for them?"
The radical defect of the orthodox
moral school of China,—tha,t there only
needs a knowledge of duty to insure its
performance,—is in him exceedingly
apparent. Confucius and Mencius, and
others, most strangely never thought
to have called this principle in question.
It is always as in the formulary of Tsze
sze, a very eminent Chinese worthy :
" Given the sincerity, and there shall
be the intelligence ; given the intelli
gence, and there shall be the sincerity."
We - have said that Mencius' doctrine
of human nature was defective, inas
much as his ideal does not cover the
whole field of duty. He says very
little of what we owe to God. There is
no glow of natural piety in his pages.
Never once when he is treating of the
nature of man does he make mention of
any exercise of the naind,asdue directly
to God. The services of religion come,
in China, under the .principle of pro
priety, and are a cold formalism ; but
even other things come with Mencius
.before thorn. We are told : " The rich
est fruit of love is this—the serving
of one's parents; the richest fruit of
righteousness is this—the, obeying one's
elder brothers ; the richest fruit of wisdom
is this—the knowing those two things
and not departing from them ; the richest
fruit of propriety is this—the '..ordering
and adorning those two things." How
different all this, from the reiterated de
claration of the Scriptures that "the
fear of the Lord.% the beginning of wis
dom !" The first and great command
ment,." Thou .s h alt./ave. the Lord thy God
with all thy heart andsoatand mind and
strength,"- wm,x(ever, thought of,
delivered by any Chinese philoso
pher or sage. Had Mencius appre
hended this ; and seen how all our duties
PHII,.A.D'•PHIA., THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 1864.
to our fellow men are to be performed
as to God, he could not have, thought so
highly as he did of man's powers; a
suspicion might have grown up that
there is a shadow on the light ho has in
himself.
This. absence of the recognition of
man's highest obligations from Men
cius' ideal of our nature, is itself a
striking illustration of man's estrange
ment from God. His teaching .has pre
pared the way for the grosser concep
tions of the modern literati, who would
often seem to deny the Divine Person
ality altogether, and substitute for both
God and Heaven a mere principle of
order or fitness of things. It has done
more : it has left the people in the mass
to become an easy prey to the idolatrous
fooleries of Buddhism. Yea, the unre
ligiousness of, the teachers has helped to
deprave still more the religion of the
nation, such as it is, and make its
services a miserable pageant of irrev
erent forms.
It is time to have done with the
subject. It may be thought by some
that more;than jnstice•has been done to
Mencius in the first part of this discus
sion, and less than justice at the last,
but the translator hopes that it is not
so. A very important use is to be made
both of what he succeeds in, and where
he fails, in his discoursing on human
nature. His principles may be, and it
is conceived ought to beiturned against
himself. They should be pressed to
produce the conviction of sin.• There is
enough in them, if the conscience be but
quickened by the Spirit of - God, to make
the haughtiest scholar cry oat, "0,
wretched man that I aml who shall
deliver me from this body of death 2"
Then may it be said to him with effect,
"Behold the Lamb of God who taketh
away the sin of the world !" Then may
Christ as a new and true exemplar of
all that man, should be, be displayed
" altogether lovely" to the trembling
mind.
- One thing should be plain. In. Men
cius' lessons on human duty, there is no
hope for his countrymen. If they serve
as a sch9olmaster to bring them to.
Christ, they will have done their part;
but it is from Christ alone that the help
of the Chinese can come.
LETTER FROM INDIA.
MT DEAR BROTHER. MEARS :—Your
valuable paper comes to us-with-groat
regularity, always welcome as a repre
sentative of dear old Philadelphia, and
bringing us tidings from many dear
friends still " linked in pleasant memo-
But what a grand improvement you
have made with the new year—enlisting
the choice energies of more heads and
hearts, and sending us a double portion
of your richer fare. We feel like send
ing you a new vote of thanks. May'the
American Presbyterian live a thousand
years. Surely it should henceforth be.
come the favorite and special. organ of
"our church."
MISSION OHUROHESIN HEATHEN LANDS
And so our good friends of the N. Y.
Evangelist consent to limit our Presby
terian polity to Christendom. Are we
to understand they like it so well they
wish to keep it all to themselves; not
allowing us in heathendom to share its
blessings ? Or do they think it so poor
a commodity as not to be worth trans
portation ?
Doubtless this subject is to elicit more
thought, if not discussion, among our
intelligent patrons; and though I had
in mind only the briefest allusion to it,
let me suggest, in addition, two or three
thoughts.
1. We must teach some 'church order
and polity to our Mission Churches. If
our churches are not Presbyterian they
will be something else.
2. If there is nothing in our Presby
terian principles worth propagating,
why not call them a failure; abandon
them wherever they exist and adopt
better ?
3. The idea that Presbyterianism is
not adapted to our Mission Churches is
a fallacy. Its good order, safety-valves
and conservative power are all more
needed here than there.
You learned who was to be our
Governor-General before we did. Sir
John Lawrence's appointment is most
Welcome to all Europeans in India, ex
cept a very few of a peculiar class, who
regret that he is not "a Lord," not one
of "our nobility." His long Indian ex
perience, business habits, sterling quali
ties and Christian character give promise
of an administration highly efficient to
India. But he will exhibit special moral
courage if he varies at all from the
course of his predecessors, on religious
questions. 0 that our statesmen would
art on the belief that "India has been
given :to 'England for the good 'of her"
people'intl-the'glory of God:"
Yea will remember this Calcutta
OUR VICEROY
SIR MORDAUNT WELLS
Judge who last year perverted justice
by thrusting back a young Hindu con
vert into the power of his heathen
friends; taking occasion, at the trial, to
abuse missionaries in general, and the
venerable Dr. Duff in particular. He
has just visited Bombay en route to
England ; and in a foolish self-laudatory
speech ho gave occasion for the press of
India to visit him with a fresh infliction,
all the.more severe for being so foolishly
provoked, and so unquestionably merit
ed. The Madras News says :
"It is a melancholy thing to see a
man, who has done hard and honorable
service, digging the grave of his own
reputation, and proving out of his own
lips that whatever may be his industry
and integrity, whatever may be his
ability, and learning, he is unfit for any
position which requires common sense."
This is a mere echo of the severer
utterances from all Parts of India; and
we trust it gives promise of more righ
teous decisions hereafter in our higher
courts.
HINDU REFORM
The reform party at Calcutta, con
nected with a society known as the
Brahtno Somaj, have recently sent their
Secretary Baboo Keshub. C'hunder Sen, as
their representative to visit the educa
ted young Hindus of Bombay. The
Baboo has just given a lecture to a large
audience in the Town Hall, and both
English and vernacular reports of it go
to show that genuine elements orreform
are vigorously at work in the native
mind. The Baboo appears as no advo
cate of Christianity, but certainly the
principles he maintains are always
found in close connection with the Gos
pel. He advocates female education, and
the re-marriage of Hindu widows, condemns
child-marriages, and discards all idolatry
and the whole system of _Hindu caste. He
is said to exhibit much ability and some
eloquence, and thoroughly to have
aroused the young men of Bombay. We
rejoice in all such agitation, and have
absolute confidence in the divinity and
ultimate supremacy of God's truth.
DEATH OF LITTLE PRAMA.
The Sabbath schools who feel a kind
interest in these dear children will
share in our sorrow at the death of one
of them—the first taken from our "little
flock." She was a dear little girl, the
child of our native Helper, and he some
eighty miles a.way, preaching and dis
tributing tracts and portions of Scrip
ture in the villages when she died. It
will be a heavy blow to him, poor man;
and indeed 'makes all our hearts very
sad. We know not how to spare any
one from.our little band of believers and
their baptized children. Her poor
mother is fall of grief; , but her Christian
submission, hope and trust in God shine
ont sweetly amidst her, sorrow; giving
new evidence of, the blessed change
God's grace effects in these Hindu
hearts. We hope dear friends will often
pray for these native converts who have
believed through our word.
In the service of the Gospel, yours
sincerely. R G. WILDER.
KoLAroor., April 9th, 1864.
Y. S. It is with feelings of sorrow I
know not how to describe that I open
my letter to tell you of the murder of
our beloved brother Janv,t.r. How
strange a providence that one whose
whole life and bearing was so full of
meekness, and the sweet, graces of the
gospel should become a victim of such
cruel revenge !
I send you brief details in the enclosed
extract from the " Times of India ;" all
we yet know of the sad event.
My heart grieves with no common
grief. My acquaintance, with this dear
brother originated in America, in, your
precious noon-day prayer meeting ; and
since returning to this land, though-sep
arated by almost the whole length of
India, his occasional letters have breath
ed a living interest in our common
work, with a spirit of sympathy and
Qhristian affection which- bound my
heart to him still more closely. Alas
that he has thus fallen ! But in God's
economy his death shall not be.in vain.
Dying we live—victory is ever by the Cross.
MURDER OF A MISSIONARY IN THE PUNJAB.
_Lahore ' 28th March, 1864.—We pub
lish with deep sorrow the sad details of
the murder of the Rev. Levi Jauvier, at
Aunridpoor, in the llosyarpoor district.
The 11 - olee festival commenced on the
21st and ended on the 26th instant at
Annndpoor. This place was visited on
the occasion of the above festival by the
Rev. Mr. Janvier, with his wife and
child. The unfortunate Missionary was
passing from one tent of his to the other
about S' or 9 P. M , of the 24th, when
two blows were dealt him on the side of
the head by an Akalee Seikh named
Bhau: Singh, who instantly made off, but
was apprehended a short distance away
by, some of the converts. When caught,
the Kihung said he had done the: deed
to avenge himself for certain supposed
insults he had received from the English.
lie related how he had been dismissed
from Government - ern ploy on one occa
sion, and •pn.,,parting had received. 30 .
stripes; how on a second he had not
been paid what was due to him for his
services; and on a third (and this seems
to have been. the owning point of his
grievances), how he had been one day
struck with a whip by an Officer in the
-streets of Saijapoor, near Patna, because
he had not saluted that Officer. The
Wah Googroo, i. e. Govind Singh, he
said, prompted him, probably in a dream,
to take vengeance on any European on
the first opportunity that offered. The
victim was the unoffending Missionary,
a man whose name has been associated
for so many years with the Lodianli.
Mission, and whose loss will be no less
felt by that body than by his family and
friends. The reverend gentleman died
at a quarter to six on the morning of
the 25th, having remained insensible
from the time he was struck.
The blows were not given &wing the
excitement of religions controversy (the
deceased had never even spoken to the
murderer), but in the cold-blooded
spirit of revenge; the Missionary died,
not a martyr to the faith which he
taught, but a victim to the sullen rage
of an Akalee fanatic. There was but
one general feeling in Anundpoor, and
it was a desire to cat in pieces Bhag
Singh. He richly deserved to have been
hanged on the spot without a trial, and
though the Government would probably
not have approved of such a summary
proceeding, yet public opinion would
not have been against , it. In a case like
this, the punishment should be sharp
and severe.
MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE ;IN THE
EARLY CHURCH.
ANOTHER SCRAP FROM ANCIENT HISTORY
Much of the history of the Church in
the first four or five centuries is taken
up with accounts of the persecutions
carried on by the Roman power—much
space is also occupied with accounts of
theological discussions of faithful bish
ops and presbyters upon the various
heresies that arose—and the machina
tions of the leading heretics to obtain
power and influence in the Church. It is
refreshing to find in the midst of such a
record, that the Church was possessed
of some true missionary zeal and enter
prise.
In the fourth eentury, a philosopher
from Tyre, from the love of travel and
research, explored the interior of what
was called India : supposed to be the
Abyssinia of the present day. He took
in his company two pious boys, relatives,
who were well educated. The whole
party was murdered except the boys,
who were retained by the royal family,
(in whose eyes they found favor) for
the purpose, among other things, of
edudating the young prince. They soon
rose to positions of importance and like
Daniel of old, one of than was appoint-:
ed prime minister. His name was Fru
nientius. With the assistance of some
Roman merchants who traded there,
he discovered a few scattered Chris
tians, collected them together and built
a church for them. By the united ef
forts of this little band of believers the
native heathen were brought in, con
verted and instructed. After a time the
brothers were reluctantly allowed to
visit their native home, Framentius im
mediately reported to Athanasius, the
Bishop of Alexandria, requesting assis
tance to evangelize the country. Athan
asius, after careful consideration, or
dained him " Bishop of the Indians"
when be returned and zealously carried
on his missonary work. " A copious out
pouring of the Spirit of God soon blessed
his labors, many churches were built and
large numbers converted. The genuine
ness of the work appears from the fact
that the Emperor Constantius found it
impossible afterward to introduce his
favorite Arian heresy into the Indian
Church, although be ordered Frumen
tins deposed - and an Arian bishop ap
pointed.
Christianity" was spread in Iberia,
bordering on the Black Sea, by a pious
woman who had been taken captive by
the Iberians. It" is said that both the
king • and queen of the country were
converted under her teaching.
Christian churches were also built in
Arabia, and a bishop appointed, through
the influence of ambassadors sent thither
by the Emperor Constantius.
The Gospel must have been carried
to Great Britain at an earlier period; as
we learn that an ecclesiastical council
was called by the Emperor Constantine
to 'consider the Arian heresy. Orders
were given by the Emperor to supply
the expenses of the bishops attending,
froin various countries, out of the public
treasury. The bishops from Britain
thought it unbecoming their position to
receive eecular maintenance, and proud
ly bore their own' expenses. Only three
of their number were too poor to refuse
the bounty of the Emperor. The accu
rate preservation of the circumstance in
history, indicates a Christian Church in
Britain at the time, of large dimensions
and considerable wealth.
Daring this fourth century Christian
ity spread itself beyond the Roman Em
pire. heathens living on the Rhine and
in the remotest parta of France had be
come Christians. The Goths, in the
country or the Danube had carried away
captives frora the 'Christian countries
they invaded, among • Whom were pibiis
bishops, who remained among them as
missionaries. Christians in Armenia and
rt , riidgb LOgaa to be numerous. They
were carried to that region by means of
the trade and commerce carried on with
the Roman Empire. So numerous were
the converts in Persia in this century
that thousands of them were severely
persecuted, refusing to worship the
Sun. The Magi and Jews assisted in
persecuting them, but their sincerity
and fortitude under suffering gave evi
dence, of a high order of piety.
Let us, Christians of the highly fa
vored nineteenth century, never forget
that men lived 1500 years ago, whose
sacrifices to spread the Gospel among
the heathens amounted to more than
an annual donation to ,a. missionary
board. They gave their time, their
energy, their comforts, yea their very
lives to the cause. G. W. M.
UNION OF PBESYTHBRIANS AT THE
SOUTH.
The Pittsburg Banner gives the follow
ing from a late number of the Southern
Presbyterian :
The Presbytery of East Alabama ex
presses its approval of a proposed union
between the Southern Presbyterian
Church (0. S.) and the United Synod;
(or New School.)
On the other hand the South Carolina
Presbytery vehemently protests against
the proposed union. They affirm that
" The glorious vindication of the doc
trines of grace made by our Church in
1837 was a separation from undoubted
heretics. The joarties now proposed to
be introduced into union with us con
tinued in fellowship with those heretics
until driven out by their legislation
against the political institutions of our
oonntry. This Presbytery cannot un
derstand how it is possible for the Uni
ted Synod to have held at one and the
same time to the theology of BARNES,
BEMAN, and BEECHER, and to the theol
ogy of our Old School Standards."
They insist upon a "formal and distinct
repudiation by them of every one of
the New School errors," before the union
be consummated.
GARIBALDI ON THE ParAcY.---Amongst
the incessant deputations which Gari
baldi was good natured enough to re
ceive during his stay in London, was
one from the "Evangelical Continental
SoCiety," to an address from whom he
is reported to have replied : " You are
the trite friends of progress, and I am
glad to see you. In Italy the moral in
fluence of the Papacy is extinct, and if
the French were withdrawn from Rome
the Papacy would cease to exist in Italy.
I do not say that I am Protestant, for
if I did the priests would raise the cry
of heretic against me and my influence
would be gone. •. We are sons of the
same God."
'dew ?ad the a,,vt,o;
[NLEPARF.D FOE OUR COLUMNS]
THE OATASTBOPHE AT SHEFFIELD,
ENGLAND.
WHY THE BRADFIELD RESERVOIR EHOULD
HAVE GIVEN WAY
The fatal results and immense dam
age done by the breaking of the reser
voir is fresh before the mind of the pub
lic; and a - few suggestions gleaned from
the evidence before the Coroner's Jury,
may satisfy, the practical engineer that
there were abundant reasons ibr the
giving way of the embankment.
Ist. The drain pipes were carried
through the puddle wall, without any
flanges or collars to prevent the water
following along the pipe, as it wai cer
tain to do, for it is impossible to make a
perfect joining between clay puddle
and cast-iron pipe, as any one who has
tried it, well knows.
2. The drain pipes were laid on a bed
of puddle, the entire distance through
the embanktnent-500 feet. The irregu
lar pressure and settlement of the em
bankment, bent and perhaps broke every
one off.
- 3. The drain was composed of bat two
18 inch pipes, not of sufficient area to
vent the water co n ning into the reser
voir. •
4. Tne stops were placed at the lower
end of the pipe, outside the embank
ment, with a pressure of over 10000
pounds continually, tending to drive the
pipe apart.
5. The embankment was formed by
dumping material from 'a railroad car,
in tips of about two feet deep,—these
forming as loose and' open a bank as
possible, one totally unfit for a re.sorvoir.
6. The reservoir was 'filled suddenly,
without any testing of the embankment
by cautious filling, which should have
occupied weeks of time, careful working
and frequent inspection, by a competent
engineer.
Had these blunders been the- work of
an American engineer, whatserions and
wholesome counsel our cousins over the
water would have administered to us
for recklessness. The above suggestions
however may be of some use to young
and inexperienced engineers in this
country; but the very superior talent,
profound learning and great experience
of the world renowned engineers of
Great Britain, are no doubt beyond such
homely suggestions. B.
LOOOMOTIVE - POWER
There are about 6500 locomotives,
employed on the British railroads.
These travel yearly about 120,000,000
miles. Each engine will run about
-480,000 miles, undergoing many repairs
and renewals; which may be consider
ed the useful lfe of a locomotive. The
annual waste of locomotives, may be set
down at 400, of which 50 are destroyed
by casualties, and_ 350. worn , ,out by ac
tual service. The average consumption
of fuel is about 361 lbs of coal per mile
ron, or two millions of tons of coal per
annum.