Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-08-08
The Childhood OF ReIIYtoDs,


The New York World, reviewing Mr.,
| Edward ClOdd's work bearing the above
! title, says: The tale of the crestiOu and
of the origin of man, as told in Genesis,
is compared in toe present volume with
the legends Of the BabyIOnians, Per
SLAMS, Hindus. ETC., and with the scien-
tific record Of geology, and the general
| resemblance Of many Of the earlier
myths is pointed out as indicating their
| probable descent from still more ar
cient common tradition. Following the
sketch OF what little is known Of pre-
historic man, comes an account Of the
migratiOns Of the ATyan tribes, carrying
with them the legends Of their birth
place, to be modified in succeeding GET
eratiOns into not only religious systems,
but much Of the folklore and fserie
which even row holds current in civil
lied lands. CinderelIs's LOST slipper ia
traced back to the Rig-Veda; many OF
EsOp's fables are shown to he borrowed
from Buddha, as half the fairy.taies of
our nursery days have their prototypes
In chronicles thousands of years old; as
the story CT the hound Gellert sis found
in China and Egypt" aud the Prov
eas Of William Tell, D1utato nOnaine,
sis told not only in Iceland, Dem
mark, Norway, Finland, Russia, Per.
STA, and perhaps India, but is COM
mon TO the Turks and MOngoliens,
while legend OF the wild Sam0yedes,
who never heard of Tell, or saw a book
in their lives, relates it, chapter and
verse, Of one OftheiT marksmen.'" An
interesting description is given of the
growth from the old Aryan creed of
Br9hmanism; Of ZOTOastrienism from
ioI tIo n IO,E
captivity derived "idsas about the i'm
mortality OF the soul which their own
religion did not contain and also boz
rowed SATAN; OF Buddhism whence,
IS the writer aTgues, desceudedtO Roman
Catholicism, the mOnastic tonsure, the
worship Of relics, holy water, the
confessional, and sundry other items of
rituaO; and of the religion OF China. !
Turning to the Semitic nations, brief
argument showing the common origin |
Of their languages and religious myths |
serves as an Introduction to an examina- !
ton OF MahOmetanisn, and this in turn !
to 3 study Of the bible, in which FHa su- |
thor sees book written by lean { ard !
unlearEed men, living in different i4.as /
and centuries apsTt, who brought 70 H., /
slow compilation the legends O. (
other races and still older times, /
recording "the experience Of the Wisest |
and best OF men of the psst in search af-
ter truth" but showing small evidence
OF the infallible inspiration claimed for /
it in later doys-an Inspiration which |
would, moreover, "be without velue I'M
less it was also bestowed upon the men
who collected them together, upon the
men who translated them, and, in short,
upon every one who in any way has
had to do with placing the bible in the
hands of people Of any age and cIime.U
In tracing the kinship of the various
the object Of the writer has
been to demonstrate that the christian
creed, "While beyond question the high
est of all, takes place not distinct from,
but among all religions, past or present.
Its relation to them is not that they are
while it alone is divine, but
it is the relation Of one mem Der OF q fam
lily to the other members, who are all
brothers, having one work, one hope,
and one All-Father.'"