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CHINESE RELIGIONS AND INSTITUTIONS. 177
the " Source of True Divination."
from the preface —
:
Here are a few passages
" The secret of augury consists in communication with the gods. The
interpretations of the transformations are deep and mysterious. The
theory of the science is most intricate, the practice of it most important.
The sacred classic says, That which '
is true gives indications of the future.'
To know the condition of the dead, and hold with them intelligent intercourse
as did the ancients, produces a most salutary influence upon the
parties. . . . But when from intoxication or feasting or licentious pleasures
they proceed to invoke the gods, what infatuation to suppose that
their prayers wiU move them! Often when no response is given, or the
interpretation is not verified, they lay the blame at the door of the augur,
forgetting that their failure is due to their want of sincerity. ... It is
the great fault of augurs, too, that, from a desire of gain, they use the art
of divination as a trap to insnare the people," &c.
Naturally undemonstrative and secretive, the higher classes
of Chinamen seek to conceal their full knowledge of spirit
intercourse from foreigners, and from the inferior castes of
their own countrymen, thinking them not sufficiently intelligent
to rightly use it. The lower orders, superstitious and
money-grasping, often prostitute their mediumistic gifts to
gain and fortune-telling. These clairvoyant fortune-tellers,
surpassing wandering gypsies in " hitting " the past^ infest
the temples, streets, and roadsides, promising to find lost
property, discover precious metals, and reveal the hidden
future. What good thing is not abused ? Liberty lives,
though license prowls abroad in night-time. Christianity
wore i^e laurels it wove, though Peter denied and Judas
betrayed. Sphit-communion is a reahty, and, wisely used, a
mighty redemptive power, as well as a positive demonstration
of a future existence.
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