SACRED ANTHOLOGY. LAWS. I. The Inward Sinai. Heb. This commandment which I command thee this day, is not hidden from thee, nor is it far off. It is Deut. not in the heavens, that thou shouldst say, Who will go up for us to the heavens, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? Nor is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who will go over tho sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh to thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. Laws. II. Thou shalt not make for thyself a graven image, nor any likeness of what is in heaven above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the water under the earth thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor shalt thou serve them. Honour thy father and thy mother. A Heb. Gen. Lev. Thou shalt not commit murder. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet anything which is thy neighbour's. Thou shalt not injure a stranger nor oppress him. Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. Ye shall do no injustice in judgment, in meting, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. III. Siam. Budh. Prohibitions. Thou shalt abstain from acquiring or keeping, by fraud or violence, the property of another. Thou shalt abstain from those who are not the proper objects of thy desire. Thou shalt abstain from deceiving others by word or deed. Thou shalt abstain from intoxication. IV. Siam. Budh. Four Virtuous Inclinations. Seeking for others the happiness one desires for one's self. Compassionate interest in the welfare of all beings. Impartiality, preventing preference or prejudice. The Eightfold Path. T. Siam. 1, Correct religious ideas; 2, correct thought; 3, correct speaking (exactitude in words); 4, correct con- Budh. duct; 5, correct life (free from sin and ambition); 6, correct application (or energy in seeking Nirvána, the supreme Felicity); 7, correct memory; 8, correct meditation in perfect tranquillity. VI. False Reliances. Be not presumptuous through any advantage in the world. Be not too much world-adorning. Be not reliant on much wealth. Be not reliant on monarchs. Be not reliant on excessive respect. Be not reliant on kindred or great ancestry. Be not reliant on life; for death comes at last. Parsi. VII. Morality. Hindu. To a man contaminated by sensuality, neither the Vedas, nor liberality, nor sacrifices, nor observances, Manu. nor pious austerities will procure felicity. A wise man must faithfully discharge all his moral duties, even though he does not constantly perform the ceremonies of religion. He will fall very low if he performs ceremonial acts only, and fails to discharge his moral duties. comp. There are two roads which conduct to perfect virtue, to be true, and to do no evil to any crea ture. VIII. Hindu. Seed and Fruit. Brighu, whose heart was the pure essence of virtue, who proceeded from Manu himself, thus addressed the great Sages:-Hear the infallible rules for the fruit of deeds in this universe. Action, either mental, verbal, or corporeal, bears good or evil fruit as itself is good or evil; and from the actions of men proceed their various transmigrations in the highest, the mean, and the lowest degree. Of that threefold action, be it known in this world that the heart is the instigator. Goodness is declared to be true knowledge; darkness, gross ignorance; passion, an emotion of desire or aversion: these qualities attend all souls. Study of sacred knowledge, devotion, purity, selfcontrol, performance of duty, meditation on the divine being, accompany the quality of goodness. Interested motives for acts of religion or morality, perturbation of mind on slight occasions, commission of acts forbidden by law, and habitual indulgence in selfish gratifications, are attendant on the quality of passion. Covetousness, ignorance, avarice, detraction, impiety, a habit of soliciting favours, and inattention to necessary business, belong to the quality of dark ness. To the quality of darkness belongs every act of which a man is ashamed: to passion, every act by |