Xlbe ©gen Court A MONTHLY MAGAZINE BcpotcD to tbc Science ot IReUaion, tbe IReltgton of Science, an& tbc 36iten0ion of tbe "Reliaious parliament f&ea Founded by Edwakd C Hegelex VOL. XXXI (No. 11) NOVEMBER, 1917 NO. 738 CONTENTS; VACB Frontispiece. Eros. Japanese Philosophy of Life. Eugene Parsons 641 t Our Patriotism Doubted. Discussion with the New York Tribune. Paul Carus 653 Foreign Relations of the Vatican. Otto Roese 662 Tay Tay and the Leper Colony of Culion. A. M. Reese . ; 672 The Missing Log-Book of St. Peter's Missionary Journeys. F. W. Orde Ward 682 Pro-Ally Literature. Paul Carus 690 The First Treasurer of the United States. Emil Baensch 698 An Eros of Later Greece 700 Book Reviews and Notes 700 God For Us (Song) Words and music by Charles Crozat Converse 704 Zhc ©pen Court pubUsbfna Companie CHICAGO Per copy, 10 cents (sixpence). Yearly, $1.00 (in the U.P.U., 5s. 64). Entered as Second-Cl«sa Matter March 26, 1897, at the Post Office at Chicago, lU., under Act of March 3, 1879 Copyright by The Open Court Publishing Company, 1917 ^be ©gen Court A MONTHLY MAGAZINE 2)cvoteD to tbc Science of "ReUolont tbe IReligion of Science, an& tbc Eiten0ion of tbe IReliaious parliament ir&ea Founded by Edwakd C Hegelek VOL. XXXI (No. 11) NOVEMBER, 1917 NO. 738 CONTENTS: rACB Frontispiece. Eros. Japanese Philosophy of Life. Eugene Parsons 641 Our Patriotism Doubted. Discussion with the New York Tribune. Paul Carus '. 653 Foreign Relations of the Vatican. Otto Roese 662 Tay Tay and the Leper Colony of Culion. A. M. Reese . ; 672 The Missing Log-Book of St. Peter's Missionary Journeys. F. W. Orde Ward 682 Pro-Ally Literature. Paul Carus 690 The First Treasurer of the United States. Emil Baensch 698 An Eros of Later Greece 700 Book Reviews and Notes 700 God For Us (Song) Words and music by Charles Crozat Converse 704 XLhc ©pen Court pubUsbfng Companie CHICAGO Per copy, 10 cents (sixpence). Yearly, $1.00 (in the U.P.U., Ss. 6d.). Entered as Second-Clasa Matter March 36, 1897, at the Post Office at Chicago, lU., under Act of March 3, 1879 Copyright by The Open C»urt Publishing Company, 1917 : : : THE GOSPEL ¥QF BUDDHA DR. PAUL CARUS Pocket Edition. Illustrated. Cloth, $i.oo; flexible leather, $1.50 This edition is a photographic reproduction of the edition de luxe which was printed in Leipsic in 1913 and ready for shipment in time to be caught by the embargo Great Britain put on all articles exported from Germany. Luckily two copies of the above edition escaped, and these were used to make the photographic reproduction of this latest edition. , While the Buddhist Bible could not in any way be consid- ered a contraband of war yet the publishers were forced to hold back many hundred orders for the book on account of orders in council of Great Britain. When the book was first published His Majesty, the King of Siam, sent the following communication through his private secretary "Dear Sir: I am commanded by His Most Gracious Majesty, the King of Siam, to acknowledge, with many thanks, the receipt of your letter and the book, The Gospel of Buddha, which he esteems very much; and he expresses his sincerest thanks for the very hard and difficult task of compilation you have considerately undertaken in the interest of our religion. I avail myself of this favorable oppor- tunity to wish the book every success." His Royal Highness, Prince Chandradat Chudhadham, official dele- gate of Siamese Buddhism to the Chicago Parliament of Religions, writes "As regards the contents of the book, and as far as I could see, it is one of the best Buddhist Scriptures ever published. Those who wish to know the life of Buddha and the spirit of his Dharma may be recommended to read this work which is so ably edited that it comprises almost all knowledge of Buddhism itself." The book has been introduced as a reader in private Buddhist schools of Ceylon. Mrs. Marie H. Higgins, Principal of the Musaeus School and Orphanage for Buddhist Girls, Cinnamon Gardens, Ceylon, writes as follows "It is the best work I have read on Buddhism. This opinion is endorsed by all who read it here. I propose to make it a text-book of study for my girls." THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY 122 S. MICHIGAN AVENUE CHICAGO ILLINOIS EROS. A Hellenistic bronze in the Metropolitan Museum of New York (see page 700). Frontispiece to The Open Court. The Open Court A MONTHLY MAGAZINE • Devoted to the Science of Religion, the Religion of Science, and the Extension of the Religious Parliament Idea. VOL. XXXI (No. 11) NOVEMBER, 1917 NO. 738 Copyright by The Open Court Publishing Company, 1917 JAPANESE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE. BY EUGENE PARSONS. "We feel the East a-calling." —Kipling. IT is said that letters and books were introduced into Japan in the latter part of the third century after Christ. During the next two hundred years the land and people were slowly emerging from barbarism. The authentic history of Nippon, therefore, begins properly in the sixth century. However, there are traditions of the olden days extant, and proverbs two thousand years old or older have come down to us, so that we may say that we know something about ancient Japan and the Japanese philosophy of life from very early times. Myths and legends also throw sidelights on the national character and the national psychology of the Nipponese before the beginning of the Christian era. Nevertheless, we are hardly on solid ground in things Japanese until we reach a period about twelve hundred years ago. Ancient Nippon had its Shinto shrines and temples. Like Palestine, the Sunrise Kingdom had its holy mountains. The Jap- anese then as now were a simple-minded people. What was more natural than that the naive islanders of Yamato should look upon the f^aming sun as a divine being? Thousands of years ago they greeted the appearance of the vast ball of fire with chants of praise at sunrise. Fujiyama, the grand old mountain of Japan, was once a volcano and was sacred to the fire-goddess, who holds the supreme place in Japanese mythology. On the top of peerless Fuji they built a shrine, which is the Mecca of all faithful Shintoists. At least once in their lives they ascend to the crater-pinnacle of the beautiful 642 THE OPEN COURT. Fujisan. After a night on the slopes or summit, the pilgrim is up before daylight, and his heart is thrilled at sight of the sun rising above the billowy horizon out at sea. The humble peasants of the land, as well as the nobles and the rulers, have stood on that majestic eminence and bowed in reverence, singing praises to the god of day. From time immemorial religion has been a part of the lives of the inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago. In a sense it is true that Shinto is a sort of state religion in the Island Empire, and has been for thousands of years. Shinto is a "patriotic" cult. It is a purely native cult, although there are points of similarity between it and some of the religious beliefs of the mainland of Asia. There are also points of difference. Shinto is a form of nature-worship something like that of ancient Hellas. The pantheon of Shinto has fourteen thousand deities. Shinto (sometimes called Shintoism) means "the way of the gods." Laf- cadio Hearn says Shinto is, "in many ways, a noble creed." An- cestral worship, filial piety, and loyalty to the sovereign ruler of the land—these are the three chief precepts of the national religion of the Island Empire. These fundamentals (to say nothing of others) of Japanese Shintoists date back to antiquity. Shinto has been described as "a bundle of miscellaneous super- stitions," some of them debased and debasing, and yet it is a power in Japan to-day. Government officials are trying to keep it alive. Shinto shrines are repaired at government expense, and a number of Shinto temples are supported by state or local authorities. With the introduction of Buddhism in the sixth century A. D., the spirit of Yamato was changed. The Buddhist missionaries, the "calm brethren of the yellow robe" with their sacred books, did a great work for Japan. The teaching of Gautama came to Nippon from India via China and Korea. It is said that Buddhism "made Asia mild." Certainly the faith of Sakya Muni had a softening and humanizing influence over the Japanese. The gorgeous ritual of Buddhism appealed to them. With many of the Japanese converts religion became an enthusiasm, the chief thing in life. An army of ecclesiastics grew up—priests, monks and nuns, who devoted their lives to the extension of the refined, speculative Hindu cult. The simple-minded people of Nippon were captivated by the new religion with its elaborate ceremonies. However, the mystical doc- trines imported from India were somewhat modified by the patriotic, practical Japanese. In their passionate zeal for the new faith, emperors, princes and nobles took to proselyting and temple-building. The founders : : JAPANESE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE. 643 of religious structures lavished on them a wealth of costly decora- tions. The artistic impulse of the race found expression in re- ligious emblems and fanciful adornments. The medieval period brought forth stately shrines and lofty towers whose architectural grandeur quite eclipsed the primitive Shinto miya, even as the pomp of ritual in the Buddhist temples was far more impressive than the simple services of the earlier times.