Page:China- Its State and Prospects.djvu/212

186 spring, and who is entitled to our first and chief regard. But it is a lamentable proof of the depravity of the human heart, that so acute, intelligent, vigorous, and independent a mind, should not have traced the generations of men up to the great Former of all, and left his followers in the dark as to the being, attributes, and perfections, of the one living and true God.

There are, in the works of this philosopher, some allusions to heaven, as the presiding power of nature; and to fate, as the determiner of all things; but he does not appear to attribute originality to the one, or rationality to the other; and thus his system remains destitute of the main truth, which lies at the basis of all truth, viz., the being of a self-existent, eternal, all-wise God. On one occasion, Confucius exclaimed, "Unless it be heaven's design that my cause should fail, what can the people of Kwang do to me?" Again, when one asked him whether it were best to worship this or that deity, he said, "You are mistaken; he that offends against heaven has no one to whom he can pray." Another passage runs thus: "Imperial heaven has no kindred to serve, and will only assist virtue." The glorious heavens are said to be "bright, accompanying us wherever we go." "When heaven sent down the inferior people, it constituted princes and instructors, directing them to assist the Supreme ruler, in manifesting kindness throughout all regions." "Life and death are decreed by fate; riches and poverty rest with heaven."

There are, besides these occasional allusions to heaven, various references to a Supreme ruler; which would seem to imply that, in the infancy of their empire, ere they were spoiled by philosophy and vain