COMPARATIVE RELIGION BY J. ESTLIN CARPENTER D.LITT. PRINCIPAL OF MANCHESTER COLLEGE, OXFORD NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY LONDON WILLIAMS AND NORGATE CONTENTS CHAP. I INTRODUCTORY II THE PANORAMA OF RELIGIONS III RELIGION IN THE LOWER CULTURE IV SPIRITS AND GODS V SACRED ACTS VI SACRED PRODUCTS VII RELIGION AND MORALITY VIII PROBLEMS OF LIFE AND DESTINY BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX "Those first affections, Those shadowy recollections, Which, be they what they may, Are yet the fountain light of all our day, Are yet a master light of all our seeing; Uphold us, cherish, and have power to make Our noisy years seem moments in the being Of the eternal Silence." WORDSWORTH. "To the philosopher the existence of God may seem to rest on a syllogism; in the eyes of the historian it rests on the whole evolution of human thought."--MAX MÜLLER. {7} COMPARATIVE RELIGION CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY Over the chancel-arch of the church at South Leigh, a few miles west of Oxford, is a fresco of the Last Judgment and the Resurrection, of the type well known in mediæval art. On the adjoining south wall stands the stately figure of the archangel Michael. In his right hand he holds a pair of scales. In one scale is the figure of a soul in the attitude of prayer; beside it is Our Lady carrying a rosary. The other contains an ox-headed demon blowing a horn. This scale rises steadily, though another demon has climbed to the beam above to weigh it down, and a third from hell's mouth below endeavours to drag it towards the abyss. The same theme recurs in several other English churches; and it is carved over the portals of many French cathedrals, as at Notre Dame in Paris.