entitled to do, the vague word "religion" for the equally vague word "rites" (which in fact were the only ancient Chinese religion); if we substitute the empty Christian churches of to- day, and the too little scrupulous ambitions of rival European Powers, for the neglected _tao_ of the Chou ideal, and for the savage rivalry of the great Chinese vassals; we obtain an almost precisely similar situation in modern Europe. If we can imagine a great Pope, or a great philosopher, taking advantage of a turn in the European conscience to bring back the simple ideals of Christianity, we can easily imagine this European Confucius being universally hailed in future times as the saviour of a parlous situation; which, in Europe now, as 2000 years ago in China, entails on the people so much misery and suffering. Confucius was, in short, in a way, a Chinese Pius X. declaiming against Modernism. Confucius' only certain original work was the "Springs and Autumns," which is practically a continuation (with the necessary introductory years) of the ancient Book edited or, as some think, composed by him. He brought the former, this history of his, down from 722 to 481 B.C. and died in 479. His pupil Tso K'iu-ming, who was official historian to the Lu court, annotated and expounded Confucius' bald annals, bringing the narrative down from 481 to 468; and Tso's delightful work forms the chief, but by no means the sole, basis for what we have to say in the present book of sketches. CHAPTER XLV CONFUCIUS AND LAO-TSZ