Forlong - Rivers of Life

Preface. xxix
truth, and his studiously gathered facts bearing on his subjects from all the. books, rites
or faiths he has ever come across. Of course wc all strive to stand by the traditions of
our fathers, any other course being disturbing in many ways, and oftentimes stormy.
The Searcher after truth eannot however determine his own lines; he may not trifle,
with her, but must follow where she leads, regardless of consequences. The writer
has walked on through the usual phases of faiths, but is equally ready to retrace
his steps whenever his positions are shown to be untenable, and it has ever been his
practice to seek out opponents and invite discussion. Hitherto he has seen no cause
to recede from conclusions formed nearly twenty years ago as to the roots of Faiths,
and all the friends who have carefully considered the whole general subjeet during
the long time they have watched it passing from embryo to maturity have agreed
with him, except perhaps in such details as priority of the faith lines and arrangements,
which now that all appear clearly in print, it is easy to see would have
simplified many points, especially to the unsophisticated and purely European reader.
The author can only plead the vastness of the subject and the inability of one person
to do it justice in an ordinary life time. The volumes here published are, indeed only
moiety of those in manuacript, and the prefixed list of books consulted, the more
important of which have heen carefully read and often extensively annotated, will
show under what influences the present work has been matured. 1 The two volumes
do not even reach the “Written Faiths of Man,” and all tribal and national Religions
(from those which are only to be found on tombs, tablets and papyri, to the latest
Bible of the race) had to be carefully investigated and the results generalized, before
these two volumes and chart could be properly constructed, and mature conclusions
formed about the general bases on which all Faiths rest.
The next volume—nearly ready in regard to its matter—is a compendious Polyglot
Glossary or Dictionary of Religious terms and ideas, with the names of the gods,
divine heros, rites and fêtes of all Faiths. It embraces alphabetically almost every
subject which the student of Religions and Mythologies usually seeks to know the
foundation of; and will support and elucidate much which may, from a brief allusion
in the body of the work, appear dark to the general reader. The author found, as all
students must do, that it is necessary for accuracy of thought to write a distinct article
upon each subject before treating of it in the body of the work, and especially so
1 The “Chapters to follow” will be seen on a prefixed page, also a list of some 800 volumes as
those principally laid under contribution, not counting Works of mere Reference and all good earnest
periodical literature, which has always been carefully noted.