Read Ebook: Illustrated history of ancient literature oriental and classical by Quackenbos John D John Duncan

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 1279 lines and 144417 words, and 26 pages

The Avesta was first made known to Europeans by a French orientalist; Anquetil Duperron , who went to India for the express purpose of discovering the sacred books of the Parsees. With great difficulty he at length possessed himself of the much-desired Avesta manuscripts, and in 1771, after long and patient effort, he gave his countrymen men the first translation of the Avesta into a European tongue. The language has since been carefully studied, and in our own day has at last been mastered. Time wrought many changes in it; the Persian of Xerxes' reign differed much more from the Avesta of antiquity than our present language does from the English of Chaucer. Further modifications and the introduction of Arabic elements have made modern Persian still more unlike the ancient vernacular.

The sacred writings of Persia just referred to are among the oldest and most important in the whole range of Indo-European literature. They contain the doctrines of Zoroaster, or Zarathushtra, the Bactrian sage who reformed the religious system of his country.

At a later date, when the Caliph Omar converted Persia to Mohammedanism with the sword , their forefathers clung to the ancient faith, and found an asylum across the Indus or in the deserts of their native land.

Zoroaster is represented in the Avesta as conversing with Ormazd, who, in answer to the inquiries of the sage, reveals his will, and prescribes the moral and ceremonial law. Thus, in the following passage, Zoroaster questions Ormazd:--

"O Ormazd , most holy spirit, creator of existent worlds, righteous One! What, O Ormazd, was the Word which you pronounced for me before the heaven, before the water, before the cow, before the tree, before the fire, before the righteous man, before the demons and noxious creatures?"

Then Ormazd replies: "I will tell thee, most holy Zoroaster, what was the Creative Word I pronounced for thee before the heaven, before the water, before the cow, before the tree, before the fire, before the righteous man, before the demons and noxious creatures, before all the universe. Such is the whole of the Creative Word, which, even when unpronounced and unrecited, outweighs a thousand breathed prayers, which are not pronounced, nor recited, nor sung. And he who in this world, O most holy Zoroaster, remembers the whole of the Creative Word, or utters it, or sings it, I will lead his soul thrice across the bridge of the better world, to the better existence, to the better truth, to the better days. I pronounced this Speech which contains the Word and its working, before the creation of this heaven, and before the creation of the earth.

"He is a holy man," says Ormazd elsewhere, "who constructs upon the earth a habitation in which he maintains fire, cattle, his wife, his children, and flocks and herds. He who makes the earth produce grain, who cultivates the fruits of the fields, he maintains purity; he promotes the law of Ormazd as much as if he offered a hundred sacrifices."

Zoroaster's mission was to exhort men to follow the right and forsake the wrong. "Choose one of these two spirits, the Good or the Evil," he said; "you cannot serve both."

"Of these two Spirits, the Wicked One chose to do evil; the Holy Spirit, whose garment is the immovable sky, chose what is right, as they also do who faithfully please Ormazd by good works.

"And between these two Spirits, the demons chose not aright. Madness came upon them, so that they chose the Worst Mind, and they went over to the side of wrath to destroy the life of mankind.

"Now then, may we be those who make this life perfect; and may Ormazd and Asha grant their aid, that he whose faith is altered may become of believing heart.

"For at the final reckoning, the blow of annihilation will come upon falsehood; but they who enjoy a good report will see their hopes fulfilled in the blessed abode of the Good Mind.

HYMN TO ORMAZD.

Praise to Ormazd, great Creator, He it was the cattle made; Lord of purity and goodness, Trees and water, sun and shade. Unto him belongs the kingdom, Unto him the might belongs; Unto him, as first of beings, Light-creator, float our songs.

Him we praise, Ahurian Mazda, With our life and bodies praise; Purer than the purest, fairest, Bright through never-ending days. What is good and what is brilliant, That we reverence in thee-- Thy good spirit, thy good kingdom, Wisdom, law, and equity.

Not far from these ruins is the famous rock of Behistun, 1,700 feet high, and inscribed with the same arrow-headed, wedge-shaped characters. Some of these, protected from the weather by a varnish of flint, have been wonderfully preserved to the present time.

Here the Persian monarch announces his dignity, while he attributes the glory of it all to the God Supreme:--

"I am Darius, the Great King, the King of Kings, the King of Persia, the King of the dependent provinces, the son of Hystaspes.

Other inscriptions were cut by order of Xerxes, whose royal name and title they formally declare; but there are none of any later date. Cuneiform letters were also employed by other nations, as will be hereafter seen . Most of the ancient Persian literature was lost during the struggle with Alexander the Great, and subsequent wars and convulsions.

NOTES ON PERSIAN LITERATURE, ETC.

The kings of Persia founders of a library consisting of historical records, state archives, and royal ordinances. "The house of the rolls" at Babylon is mentioned in the book of Ezra as being searched, during the reign of Darius, for a certain volume supposed to contain a decree of Cyrus, providing for the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem.

It is interesting to notice how, in the course of ages, the old hieroglyphics have been transformed into the present characters. The symbol representing the verb to listen, two folding-doors and an ear between them is now written . Two shells exactly alike originally stood for two friends ; this symbol has been changed to . A mountain is now ; a field . The most complicated modern character is made by fifty-two strokes of the pen.

The dynasty of "the book-burner," however, was not long after overthrown; and among the succeeding princes was found a "restorer of literature," who collected and preserved for future generations the writings which, concealed by the people in the walls of their houses or buried beneath the beds of streams, had escaped destruction. To his praiseworthy efforts we are indebted for all that remains of the ancient literature,--the Sacred Books of China, edited by Confu'cius her admirable philosopher, as well as for the works of Confucius himself and his disciples.

Born in an evil age, when corruption had undermined the government, and misrule and violence were everywhere rife, Confucius early dedicated himself to the cause of social and political reform. At twenty-two he entered upon his work as a teacher, thoroughly fitted for the high vocation, for he had been so eager after knowledge as to feel no toil in its pursuit, and sometimes even to forget his food. His merits were recognized; and when at last he was raised to the position of prime-minister, he labored in season and out of season for the welfare of his people--and with the best results. But then, as now, princes were ungrateful, and the neglect of his sovereign led to his resignation. Henceforth the mission of Confucius, no less useful if humbler than before, was simply to disseminate his precepts, wandering from state to state among the fifteen millions who constituted the population of what was then China. Occupied thus and with the study of the Sacred Books, he finally found rest in his native state, and there passed his declining years in the midst of loving disciples, "unconscious," as he tells us, "that he had reached old age." He died at seventy-three, lamenting that, despite his prolonged efforts, so little had been accomplished toward elevating the moral standard of the nation.

Yet after his death, his influence was destined far to exceed his most sanguine longings; it has been greater than that of any other human teacher. No other has ever spoken to so many millions, or received such honors from posterity. For more than twenty centuries, his precepts have been taught in the schools of China ; at stated times, every scholar, on entering in the morning, still bows in adoration before a tablet sacred to Confucius. The learned can repeat page after page from his classical books; and scores of his maxims are familiar to the masses, who have positively no other moral law to guide them. His tomb, approached by an avenue of cypresses through a gate of exquisite workmanship, is inscribed with the words, "The most sagely ancient Teacher; the all-accomplished, all-informed King." About the spot are imperial tablets "with glowing tributes to the one man whom China delights to honor;" and in the city near by live 50,000 of his descendants, constituting a distinct class--the head of the family holding large estates as "Duke by imperial appointment and hereditary right, continuator of the sage." There is a temple of Confucius in every city, and Confucian priests superintend various ceremonies for both mandarins and common people.

The practical workings of this rule, as enforced by the authority of the great master, were recently exemplified in the case of an American traveller. As he and his companion were passing through a Chinese town, their strange faces and unusual costumes attracted a crowd, and hooting seemed likely to be followed by serious violence. With admirable presence of mind, one of the strangers faced the throng, and amid a shower of mud and stones exclaimed: "Is this the way, O people! that you obey the precepts of your philosophers, to treat strangers within your walls tenderly? Have you forgotten the saying of your great master Confucius,--"That which I wish another not to do to me, I must not do to him?" The effect was electric. In a moment every hand was lowered, and the recent assailants sought as best they could to make amends for their rudeness.

Little is known of the true nature of the mysterious Book of Changes; it apparently relates to divination. The Shoo King gives us the history of China from the earliest periods to about 720 B.C., and contains, besides, discourses on music, astronomy, and the principles of government. Part of it was dictated from memory by a blind man after the destruction of the original tablets.

In the She King, we have a collection of 305 odes and hymns. Many of them, more than three thousand years old, were written while the Chinese Empire was as yet a mere bundle of feudal states; here, as in all other lands, the first grand thoughts of the people were cast in the mould of poetry. The odes are in rhyme, and mirror the every-day life and simple manners of antiquity--often in a highly metaphorical style, but with a dignity and attractiveness which the later poetry fails to exhibit. They paint pleasing pictures of rural quiet, contain delicate touches of nature, and in some few cases display a high appreciation of woman's worth; on the whole, however, the status assigned to the gentler sex is low. Extracts from the Book of Poetry follow.

FESTAL ODE.

"See how the rushes spring Thickly along the way! Ye browsing herds, no foot Upon those rushes lay! Grown to their height ere long, They soft and rich shall shine; Close as the rushes grow, Should brethren all combine. Let all at feast appear, None absent, none thought mean. Mats for the young be spread! On stools let elders lean!

Lo! double mats are spread, And stools are featly set. Servants in waiting stand; See! host and guests are met. He pledges them; they him; He drinks, again they fill. Sauces and pickles come, Roast meat, and broiled; and still Palates and tripe are brought. Then lutes and drums appear, Singers fine concord make-- The joyous feasters hear.

The feasting o'er, from bow, Lacquered and strong and bright, Four well-poised shafts each sends, That in the target light. The guests are ranged as they The mark have nearest hit. They shoot again; the shafts Are fairly lodged in it. Their bearing then is judged; Each takes his final place, As mild propriety Has round him thrown its grace.

The long-descended king Presides and ends the feast. With spirits sweet and strong From vase he cheers each guest. And for the old he prays, While all with rapture glow, That they the wrinkled back And whitening hair may show; Striving with mutual help In virtue's onward ways, That brightest happiness May crown their latest days." LEGGE.

PASTORAL ODE.

"'Get up, husband, here's the day!' 'Not yet, wife, the dawn's still gray.' 'Get up, sir, and on the right, See the morning-star shines bright. Shake off slumber, and prepare Ducks and geese to shoot and snare.

All your darts and line may kill, I will dress for you with skill. Thus a blithesome hour we'll pass, Brightened by a cheerful glass; While your lute its aid imparts, To gratify and soothe our hearts.'" LEGGE.

ODE TO A BRIDE.

"Gay child of Spring, the garden's Queen Yon peach-tree charms the roving sight; Its fragrant leaves, how richly green! Its blossoms, how divinely bright!

The Book of Rites prescribes rules of conduct for all occasions, from the most important down to a mere interchange of greetings. With Chinamen ceremonial is everything, and the influence which this book has exerted on manners and society for three thousand years cannot be estimated. It is still the standard of etiquette, a governing board at Pekin being charged with the duty of enforcing its rigid observance.

Spring and Autumn, professedly written in the interests of morality and good order, to inspire wicked officials and undutiful sons with wholesome terror, disappoints us in the reading. It is made up of short, unconnected sentences, stating isolated facts in the baldest manner, without any attempt at rhetorical excellence or any expression of condemnation or praise. Whether a temple is struck by lightning, or a father is murdered by his son, or locusts appear, or some glorious exploit is performed, or the ruler goes on a journey, or the sun is eclipsed--it is just stated in so many words--nothing more. The historical style of Confucius is certainly not striking, and we fail to see why the guilty should have "quaked with fear" when his annals appeared.

The Analects consist of the sayings of Confucius, as they occur in conversations with his followers. Sententious, simple, and sometimes signally beautiful, they contain the very marrow of wisdom based upon observation and experience. They shine among the laconics of the world. A few specimens are subjoined.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ANALECTS.

"The Master said:'In the Book of Poetry are three hundred pieces, but the design of all may be embraced in one sentence--Have no depraved thoughts.'

There are cases in which the blade springs, but the plant does not go on to flower. There are cases where it flowers, but no fruit is subsequently produced.

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Worship as if the Deity were present.

Good government obtains when those who are near are made happy, and those who are far off are attracted.

Three friendships are advantageous,--friendship with the upright, friendship with the sincere, and friendship with the man of observation. Three are injurious,--friendship with the man of specious airs, friendship with the insinuatingly soft, and friendship with the glib-tongued.

To see what is right and not to do it, is want of courage.

The cautious seldom err.

If I am building a mountain, and stop before the last basketful of earth is placed on the summit, I have failed of my work. But if I have placed but one basketful on the plain and go on, I am really building a mountain.

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet