Page:Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion volume 1.djvu/356

 honour to the law; his subjects have only to give the homage to himself which he renders to the law. The Emperor brings offerings. This means nothing else than that the Emperor prostrates himself and reverences the law. Among the few Chinese festivals, that of agriculture is one of the principal. The Emperor presides over it; on the day of the festival he himself ploughs the field; the corn which grows upon this field is used for offerings. The Empress has the rearing of silk-worms under her direction, for this supplies the material for clothing, just as agriculture is the source of all nourishment. When floods, drought, and the like lay waste and scourge the country, this concerns the Emperor alone; he recognises his officials, and especially himself, as being the cause of misfortune; if he and his magistrates had properly maintained the law, the misfortune would not have taken place. The Emperor, therefore, commands the officials to examine themselves, and to see wherein they have failed in duty; and he in like manner devotes himself to meditation and repentance on account of his not having acted rightly. Upon the fulfilment of duty, therefore, depends the prosperity both of the empire and the individual. In this way the entire worship of God reduces itself for the subjects to a moral life. The Chinese religion may thus be called a moral religion, and it is from this point of view that it has been found possible to hold that the Chinese are atheists. These definite laws of measure and specific rules of duty are due for the most part to Confucius; his works are principally occupied with moral questions of this kind.

This power of the laws and of the rules of Measure is an aggregate of many special rules and laws. These special rules must now be known as activities too; in this particular or special aspect they are subjected to the universal activity, namely, to the Emperor, who is the power over the collective activities. These special