Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1891-01-17

went some changes. The Brahmmns pat
two al their lower gods In opposition 10
each otrr-the kind savior liAH0 and
the cruel destroyer (Uu-~uhicrt t. tn"
direction of their highest god HIuLHl0,
thus FORMING the trinity Irinuuh. Wh"n-
ever mankind, 80 they taught, by TN.
actions Of I'Iva has lalIt II into "rouL,
Brahna sends Nlshnu, in the shape ut
man, to restore right. On the other
side, the originally pure paWhelSm OF
Sldartha did, soon after his deCcase, not
only allow The apothcoeiS Of its own
founders, hut while being propaEated,
gradually, turned into Il kind of puIythp-
ism by letting in through back doors
many lower god of the primitive Old
style.
Certainly this change in religion could
not abolish the general misery, distress
and Dependence from whi h it had
sprung, since it did not remove their
cause.-the deterioration of the Aryau
people. Yet it brought about one i'm
portant and lasting result, BY proclaim
ing the brotherhood and equality of
mankind, the Buddha doctrine had
more or less, shaken and weakened the
Brahman institutions of rank dlsunC-
ton and slavery. Hence the crossing of
castles and races became more frequent;
SO that, at present, the former are con
necttd by many intermediate gradations
and the latter by innumerabe and al
most lmperceptihe shades, 1t is obvious
too, that the degeneration Of the Hin
docs must have stopped or, at least, re.
tarded their progressive evolution. And
50 II did. But in this regard they differed
good deal from their eastern neighbOrs.
the Chinese. With them, as have re
lated, the advancement of labor and
mental power was checked, not 10y
deterioration of race, but by the vast
extent of their territory, by its geo
graphical position and by the imperfect
development of their language and writ
ing. OF these three agencies only one
might properly be claimed to have
existed with the HindOos. and this one
their secIuson from other nations by the
geographical position Of their territory
could have worked solely In an access
DRY way. The main cause of their
decline was, as mentioned above, the
degeneration Of their minds and bodies,
arising partly from the institution of
slavery with its disdain of manual
labor, and partly from the effects OF the
hot climate since on account of this
degeneration, agriculture and manufac-
ture-the principal basis of every com.
onweath--remained in very poor
condition.
But that they we've richly gifted
with mental power when they left the
plains of the Indus to conquer the low
lands of the Ganges is shown by the
high development Of their language and
writing at that time. Its phonetic and
gramnlatic structure was so perfect that
they could easily form and express alb
strart ideas. and that, consequently.
they soon cherished speculative thinking
and feeling. Thus the origin and I'M
provement of sciences and art was great
Iy facilitated and stimulated. However,
the Incidence and lauguor attending
their deterioration made them prefer
those which required the least bodily
exertion, and So it occurred that they
accomnlisha ID more in RELIGION, phiIOsO-
phy and poesy, i. e. in the products of
MEDITATION. IMAGINATION, fiction and
emotion. than in architecture, physics,
history, agriculture and manufacture,
i. in the works of lOL ical reasoning,
based on the knowledge of facts and APP
piled to the necessities of daily life.
As to the further course OF their evo,
luton, there is not much to say. SO that
it may suffice to mention only the two
most importunt events. During the
ninth century Of our era the Arabians