In religion the
Japanese
are
much the same as their neighbours of China.
much the same as their neighbours of China.
Camoes - Lusiades
Something like a
history then commences, but that is again interrupted by a wide chasm,
which the Chinese know not how to fill up otherwise, than by asserting
that a century or two elapsed in the time, and that at such a period a
new family mounted the throne. Such is the history of China, full
brother in every family feature to those Monkish tales, which sent a
daughter of Pharoah to be queen of Scotland, which sent Brutus to
England, and a grandson of Noah to teach school among the mountains in
Wales.
[662] _Immense the northern wastes their horrors spread. _--Tartary,
Siberia, Samoyada, Kamtchatka, etc. A short account of the Grand Lama of
Thibet Tartary shall complete our view of the superstitions of the East.
While the other pagans of Asia worship the most ugly monstrous idols,
the Tartars of Thibet adore a real living god. He sits cross-legged on
his throne, in the great temple, adorned with gold and diamonds. He
never speaks, but sometimes elevates his hand in token that he approves
of the prayers of his worshippers. He is a ruddy well-looking young man,
about 25 or 27, and is the most miserable wretch on earth, being the
mere puppet of his priests, who dispatch him whenever age or sickness
make any alteration in his features; and another, instructed to act his
part, is put in his place. Princes of very distant provinces send
tribute to this deity and implore his blessing, and, as Voltaire has
merrily told us, think themselves secure of benediction if favoured with
something from his godship, esteemed more sacred than the hallowed
cow-dung of the Brahmins.
[663] _How bright a silver mine. _--By this beautiful metaphor (omitted
by Castera) Camoens alludes to the great success, which in his time
attended the Jesuit missionaries in Japan. James I. sent an embassy to
the sovereign, and opened a trade with this country, but it was soon
suffered to decline. The Dutch are the only Europeans who now traffic
with the Japanese, which it is said they obtain by trampling on the
cross and by abjuring the Christian name.
In religion the Japanese are
much the same as their neighbours of China. And in the frequency of
self-murder, says Voltaire, they vie with their brother islanders of
England.
[664] _The ground they touch not. _--These are commonly called the birds
of Paradise. It was the old erroneous opinion that they always soared in
the air, and that the female hatched her young on the back of the male.
Their feathers bear a mixture of the most beautiful azure, purple, and
golden colours, which have a fine effect in the rays of the sun.
[665] _From hence the pilgrim brings the wondrous tale. _--Streams of
this kind are common in many countries. Castera attributes this quality
to the excessive coldness of the waters, but this is a mistake. The
waters of some springs are impregnated with sparry particles, which
adhering to the herbage, or the clay, on the banks of their channel,
harden into stone, and incrust the original retainers.
[666] _Here from the trees the gum. _--Benzoin, a species of
frankincense. The oil mentioned in the next line, is that called the
rock oil, petroleum, a black fetid mineral oil, good for bruises and
sprains.
[667] _Wide forests there beneath Maldivia's tide. _--A sea plant,
resembling the palm, grows in great abundance in the bays about the
Maldivian islands. The boughs rise to the top of the water, and bear a
kind of apple, called the coco of Maldivia, which is esteemed an
antidote against poison.
history then commences, but that is again interrupted by a wide chasm,
which the Chinese know not how to fill up otherwise, than by asserting
that a century or two elapsed in the time, and that at such a period a
new family mounted the throne. Such is the history of China, full
brother in every family feature to those Monkish tales, which sent a
daughter of Pharoah to be queen of Scotland, which sent Brutus to
England, and a grandson of Noah to teach school among the mountains in
Wales.
[662] _Immense the northern wastes their horrors spread. _--Tartary,
Siberia, Samoyada, Kamtchatka, etc. A short account of the Grand Lama of
Thibet Tartary shall complete our view of the superstitions of the East.
While the other pagans of Asia worship the most ugly monstrous idols,
the Tartars of Thibet adore a real living god. He sits cross-legged on
his throne, in the great temple, adorned with gold and diamonds. He
never speaks, but sometimes elevates his hand in token that he approves
of the prayers of his worshippers. He is a ruddy well-looking young man,
about 25 or 27, and is the most miserable wretch on earth, being the
mere puppet of his priests, who dispatch him whenever age or sickness
make any alteration in his features; and another, instructed to act his
part, is put in his place. Princes of very distant provinces send
tribute to this deity and implore his blessing, and, as Voltaire has
merrily told us, think themselves secure of benediction if favoured with
something from his godship, esteemed more sacred than the hallowed
cow-dung of the Brahmins.
[663] _How bright a silver mine. _--By this beautiful metaphor (omitted
by Castera) Camoens alludes to the great success, which in his time
attended the Jesuit missionaries in Japan. James I. sent an embassy to
the sovereign, and opened a trade with this country, but it was soon
suffered to decline. The Dutch are the only Europeans who now traffic
with the Japanese, which it is said they obtain by trampling on the
cross and by abjuring the Christian name.
In religion the Japanese are
much the same as their neighbours of China. And in the frequency of
self-murder, says Voltaire, they vie with their brother islanders of
England.
[664] _The ground they touch not. _--These are commonly called the birds
of Paradise. It was the old erroneous opinion that they always soared in
the air, and that the female hatched her young on the back of the male.
Their feathers bear a mixture of the most beautiful azure, purple, and
golden colours, which have a fine effect in the rays of the sun.
[665] _From hence the pilgrim brings the wondrous tale. _--Streams of
this kind are common in many countries. Castera attributes this quality
to the excessive coldness of the waters, but this is a mistake. The
waters of some springs are impregnated with sparry particles, which
adhering to the herbage, or the clay, on the banks of their channel,
harden into stone, and incrust the original retainers.
[666] _Here from the trees the gum. _--Benzoin, a species of
frankincense. The oil mentioned in the next line, is that called the
rock oil, petroleum, a black fetid mineral oil, good for bruises and
sprains.
[667] _Wide forests there beneath Maldivia's tide. _--A sea plant,
resembling the palm, grows in great abundance in the bays about the
Maldivian islands. The boughs rise to the top of the water, and bear a
kind of apple, called the coco of Maldivia, which is esteemed an
antidote against poison.
