THE WORLD’S FIRST WORSHIP. I have laid it down as an invariable maxim constantly to follow historical tradition, and to hold fast by that clew, even when many things, in the testimony and declarations of tradition, appear strange and almost inexplicable, or at least enigmatical; for so soon in the investigation of ancient history as we let slip that Ariadne’s thread we can find no outlet from the labyrinth of fanciful theories, and the chaos of clashing opinions.--F. VON SCHLEGEL. There are many systems of worship in the world. Some of these are limited to single nations, others extend themselves over different nations, and in history we read of certain religions which no longer exist. For instance--of those systems limited to a nation, there is the worship of ancestors, as taught by Confucius, in China; the worship of the idol gods Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and a multitude of other gods, more numerous than their worshipers, in India; and Shintoism, the nature-worship of Japan. Of those which have extended to other lands, there is the worship of the hero-saint, Gautama Buddha, in all southern and eastern Asia; and Mohammedanism, the fierce opponent of idolatry, and the system of the prophet Mohammed, in India, Turkey, Egypt and in China. Of the dead religions, there are those of Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome. These are but a few of the many forms of worship that we find in glancing over the world’s history, or in looking at its present condition. There are wide differences between these systems of worship and also many resemblances among them. Where did these systems all come from? Where and how did they start? They differ very materially one from another. Some worship one God and have no idols, others worship millions of gods and have multitudes of idols. Their temples are of different styles. Their sacred books and ceremonies are extremely varied. Can they have started from one source, or did each start independently of the rest? TESTIMONY OF AN OLD RECORD AND OF LANGUAGE. How shall we find out about this? We have one record that will help us and upon which we can depend. This is the oldest history of mankind. There were a great many of these histories written later, but for no one of them is there a tenth part of the evidence as to its being genuine, which there is for this one old record. It has been tested in every possible way and no flaw has yet been found. Ancient monuments and their inscriptions, the oldest traditions of the most ancient peoples, all confirm its statements. But these monuments and the written histories of nations go back but a few thousand years, and this one record is older than they all. So traditions only remain to be compared with it. No, there is one thing left that is related to tradition. It is language.