punishment, as in Brahmanism, nor purification, as in some other systems. The soul, it is taught, must go through the round of animal existence, apparently to complete its entire education. It must be in sympathy with the Divine Mind in his whole work of creation. It must reach that state of which Wordsworth speaks when he says that"To me the smallest flower that blows can give Thoughts which do often lie too deep for tears."

And of which Coleridge speaks when he tells us"He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small,
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all."

In the first rank among the sacred books of Egypt is the "Ritual of the Dead," or the description of the passage of the soul after death into the presence of the judge Osiris. A copy of it either at full length or abridged was deposited in each mummy-case. Many parts were of the highest antiquity.

It opens with a grand dialogue which takes place when the soul leaves the body. The deceased addresses the God of Hades, and asks for admission to his realm. Finally Osiris says, “Fear nothing, but cross the threshold."

Then the soul enters the subterranean region, and is dazzled by the glory of the sun, brighter than noon. He sings a hymn to the sun and goes

on. The food which he must take with him is knowledge. Frightful obstacles are in his way; horrid monsters, servants of Typhon, oppose his power. He breaks through at last, and sings another hymn of triumph.

Next comes a period of rest and refreshment. The Goddess Nu gives him water, and at last he reaches the first gate of Heaven. Then there is a dialogue between the soul and the divine light, who instructs him in all the sublimest mysteries of

nature.

Having passed the gate, he is transformed into different animals and plants, as a hawk, an eagle, a lotus, a heron, a serpent, and a crocodile.

After this the soul is reunited to its body, for which careful embalment was so important. He reaches the bank of the subterranean river, the Egyptian Styx. A false boatman attempts to deceive him, and induce him to go the wrong way. At last he meets the right boat, but before he can enter he passes a sort of competitive examination to see if he have the right sort and amount of knowledge, the different parts of the boat speaking to him and asking their names. The rudder says: "What is my name?" He replies, "The enemy of Apis." The rope asks the same, and so on for twenty-three questions and answers.

So he enters the boat, crosses the river and arrives at the Elysian fields. Conducted by Anubis,

he goes through a difficult labyrinth, and enters the judgment hall of Osiris, where the decisive judgment is to be passed, according to his earthly character and conduct. Each of the forty-two judges questions him in turn, and he must give an account of his whole life. "I have not blasphemed," he says. "I have not stolen, I have not been cruel, not stirred up strife, not been idle, not been a drunkard, shown no improper curiosity, disclosed no man's secrets, slandered no one, not envied others, nor calumniated a slave to his master."

Then he gives an account of his positive good works, among which are: "I have given food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, and clothes to the naked."

Being justified by Osiris, the deceased man enters heaven. Then comes a third book, containing a mythical description of the higher world and life in heaven.

§ 7. Transmigration among the Buddhists.

The Buddhists seem to have taken their doctrine of transmigration directly from the Brahmans, but have developed it according to their own theory. This theory is that by a natural consequence the soul that does right goes up, and the soul which does wrong goes down. Wrong-doing in the present life is the effect and continuation of

wrong-doing in a former state. The total result of wrong-doing, and its consequence, perpetual sorrow and perpetual change, is called Sansara; the state of peace and rest opposed to this is Nirvâna. He who is not in Nirvâna is in Sansara, says the old doctrine.

In Sansara there is nothing true or real, nothing fixed and lasting, but only change and deception. All is vanity and vexation of spirit; life is uneasy and empty. All things revolve in a circle, without meaning or purpose. Birth leads to death, youth to age; grace is deceitful, and beauty vain. This emptiness of existence here below is the perpetual theme of the Buddhist teachers.

What, then, is the Buddhist doctrine of transmigration, and how far does it go ?

St. Hilaire replies that it goes as far as possible; everything migrates below the Buddha down to inert matter; and this also was taught in the Sankya philosophy in which Buddhism originated.

The Buddha himself migrated many times. Hardy tells us that he was born as an ascetic eighty-three times, as a monarch fifty-eight times, as the soul of a tree forty-three times, and many times also as ape, deer, lion, snipe, chicken, eagle, serpent, pig, frog, and so forth, being born four hnndred times in all. According to a Chinese authority he is made to say, "The number of my births and deaths can only be compared to those of all the plants in the universe."

The Buddhists believe, therefore, in hereditary depravity, and that this is the chief source of transmigration. Buddha is reported to have said that a man who has lived a good life here may yet be punished after death by being sent down into a lower form because he has not atoned for evil committed in a former state. On the other hand, a person who has done wrong here may go up hereafter, not yet having exhausted the power of good actions done in a former state of existence.

Karma, or the law of merit and demerit, governs all existence. It is the reason for the varieties in human fortunes, for differences of condition and character. Thus it is shown that all things depend on Karma, and that perfect justice presides over the universe. As a man sows, so he reaps, or shall reap hereafter. As he has sowed in former states of existence so he reaps in this world. It is also a doctrine of this system that the law of merit is more powerful than that of demerit; that is, that the consequences of doing right are much more extensive than those of doing wrong. This they admit is contrary to appearances, for evil seems to prevail over good, and punishment comes much sooner than reward. But they answer that the best things ripen most slowly; as the chicken is able to get its food as soon as it chips its shell, but a human child is helpless for many months. Moreover they say merit increases,