Doctrine of the Unreality of unreality of P1010111E7117, a doctrine deeply centred in the teachings both of Brahmanism and pure Buddhism, is not less fatal to national growth. Its philosophical basis rests on the distinction between the absolutely and the relatively true— an antinomy which profoundly impressed the Oriental sages. Their solu tion of it in favor of the absolute led them and their disciples to a con tempt for the events and existences of this world as mere appearances, vain shows, " for man's delusion given," fleeting ripples on the infinite sea of life. The sage, they taught, interested himself not in such transitory things, but sought utter repose, the shouti of the Brahman, the nirvana of the Buddhist.
This doctrine is obviously disastrous to individual and national culture, and therefore the energetic nations of Western Europe have more sym pathy with the latest of all religions, which takes the other horn of the philosophic dilemma, and under the name Positivism denies altogether that there is such a thing as absolute truth, and sets up as the object of its cult the purified social instincts of humanity.
The Priestly cultivation of the religious sentiment has led in all communities to the formation of one of the most powerful classes in social life—the priesthood. Among nations of the lowest status we find this vocation represented by the shamans, magicians, or "medicine-men." They claim to be the intimates of the deities, to be able to modify their decisions with reference to human affairs, to be gifted with the power to foretell the future and the knowledge of the cure of disease. In many nations they thus exercise the functions of the physician, the priest, and the fortune-teller. This is the case with the Australian sorcerers, with those among the Lapps, with the shamans of Asiatic Russia, and with those of the Karens of Indo-China. Quite early, however, these func tions become divided. the Algonkin Indians there are different ceremonies and different professors for curing and causing disease—the two go together—and for bringing rain, foreseeing events, charming ani mals, and such purely supernatural procedures. The traveller Cavazzi describes the subdivision of the priests among the Negroes of the Congo River. Some of these give their exclusive attention to ensuring their patrons against the effects of lightning ; others predict the termination of maladies ; others protect the growing crops against worms and animals ; others prepare charms which guard the granaries against the devastations of rats and mice ; others are ready to discover the whereabouts of lost articles and the localities of buried treasure ; others possess the ability to confer success in the chase ; and so on.
Power of the is instructive to observe how the whole lives of many of these Negro tribes have been brought under the domination of the priests through the assiduous cultivation of their superstitious ten dencies. The site of a hut must not be selected until the sorcerer has pronounced the spot favorable, and a lucky day must be chosen for laying the foundation. When the building is completed a ceremony must he performed to drive away the evil spirits before the residence is occupied. Every event of importance in life, as marriage, pregnancy, birth, the entrance to the age of puberty, setting out on a journey, and the like, demands the assistance of the magician.
Armed with such powers, it is not surprising that in some instances the priests have attained a degree of control which throws into the shade the most absolute of monarchies. In sonic of the tribes near Fernando Po the high priest selects and anoints the king and instructs him as to what line of action lie is to take in all affairs of moment. Certain poisonous serpents which are kept in a pit are supposed to be the advisers of the holy man, and to transmit to him the will and decrees of the gods, of whom he represents himself as merely the minister and mouthpiece. But the chitome or chief priest of one of the Congo tribes illustrates most vividly the sacerdotal power. He is revered not merely as an agent of divinity, but as divinity itself. He sends the harvest and the rains, and can withhold them ; the life and death of the people are in his hands ; therefore no one strives with him, and if lie strikes or slays a person no one dreams of holding him accountable ; the king undertakes no act of war or diplomacy without his consent, and every appointee to a post of trust or profit must first have the approval of the chitonze; nor does he give this as a matter of form : the aspirant must prostrate himself in the dust and weep and cry, and especially he must bring presents fully com mensurate to the profits he expects from his position, before the haughty priest will, after kicking and otherwise maltreating the suppliant, finally accord his assent.