Our Oriental Heritage

  7. LITERATURE

  Texts and libraries—The Egyptian Sinbad—The Story of Sinuhe—Fiction—An amorous fragment—Love poems—History—A literary revolution

  8. SCIENCE

  Origins of Egyptian science—Mathematics—Astronomy and the calendar—Anatomy and physiology—Medicine, surgery and hygiene

  9. ART

  Architecture—Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, Empire and Saïte sculpture—Bas-relief—Painting—Minor arts—Music—The artists

  10. PHILOSOPHY

  The Instructions of Ptah-hotep—The Admonitions of lpuwer—The Dialogue of a Misanthrope—The Egyptian Ecclesiastes

  11. RELIGION

  Sky gods—The sun god—Plant gods—Animal gods—Sex gods—Human gods—Osiris—Isis and Horus—Minor deities—The priests—Immortality—The Book of the Dead—The “Negative Confession”—Magic—Corruption

  IV. THE HERETIC KING

  The character of Ikhnaton—The new religion—A hymn to the sun—Monotheism—The new dogma—The new art—Reaction—Nofretete—Break-up of the Empire—Death of Ikhnaton

  V. DECLINE AND FALL

  Tutenkhamon—The labors of Rameses II—The wealth of the clergy—The poverty of the people—The conquest of Egypt—Summary of Egyptian contributions to civilization

  Chapter IX: BABYLONIA

  I. FROM HAMMURABI TO NEBUCHADREZZAR

  Babylonian contributions to modern civilization—The Land between the Rivers-Hammurabi—His capital—The Kassite Domination—The Amarna letters—The Assyrian Conquest—Nebuchadrezzar—Babylon in the days of its glory

  II. THE TOILERS

  Hunting—Tillage—Food—Industry—Transport—The perils of commerce—Money-lenders—Slaves

  III. THE LAW

  The Code of Hammurabi—The powers of the king—Trial by ordeal—Lex Talionis—Forms of punishment—Codes of wages and prices—State restoration of stolen goods

  IV. THE GODS OF BABYLON

  Religion and the state—The functions and powers of the clergy—The lesser gods—Marduk—Ishtar—The Babylonian stories of the Creation and the Flood—The love of Ishtar and Tammuz—The descent of Ishtar into Hell—The death and resurrection of Tammuz—Ritual and prayer—Penitential psalms—Sin—Magic—Superstition

  V. THE MORALS OF BABYLON

  Religion divorced from morals—Sacred prostitution—Free love—Marriage—Adultery—Divorce—The position of woman—The relaxation of morals

  VI. LETTERS AND LITERATURE

  Cuneiform—Its decipherment—Language—Literature—The epic of Gilgamesh

  VII. ARTISTS

  The lesser arts—Music—Painting—Sculpture—Bas-relief—Architecture

  VIII. BABYLONIAN SCIENCE

  Mathematics—Astronomy—The calendar—Geography—Medicine

  IX. PHILOSOPHERS

  Religion and Philosophy—The Babylonian Job—The Babylonian Koheleth—An anticlerical

  X. EPITAPH

  Chapter X: ASSYRIA

  I. CHRONICLES

  Beginnings—Cities—Race—The conquerors—Sennacherib and Esarhaddon—“Sardanapalus”

  II. ASSYRIAN GOVERNMENT

  Imperialism—Assyrian war—The conscript gods—Law—Delicacies of penology—Administration—The violence of Oriental monarchies

  III. ASSYRIAN LIFE

  Industry and trade—Marriage and morals—Religion and science—Letters and libraries—The Assyrian ideal of a gentleman

  IV. ASSYRIAN ART

  Minor arts—Bas-relief—Statuary—Building—A page from “Sardanapalus”

  V. ASSYRIA PASSES

  The last days of a king—Sources of Assyrian decay—The fall of Nineveh

  Chapter XI: A MOTLEY OF NATIONS

  I. THE INDO-EUROPEAN PEOPLES

  The ethnic scene—Mitannians—Hittites—Armenians—Scythians—Phrygians—The Divine Mother—Lydians—Croesus—Coinage—Croesus, Solon and Cyrus

  II. THE SEMITIC PEOPLES

  The antiquity of the Arabs—Phoenicians—Their world trade—Their circumnavigation of Africa—Colonies—Tyre and Sidon—Deities—The dissemination of the alphabet-Syria—Astarte—The death and resurrection of Adoni—The sacrifice of children

  Chapter XII: JUDEA

  I. THE PROMISED LAND

  Palestine—Climate—Prehistory—Abraham’s people—The Jews in Egypt—The Exodus—The conquest of Canaan

  II. SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY

  Race—Appearance—Language—Organization—Judges and kings—Saul—David—Solomon—His wealth—The Temple—Rise of the social problem in Israel

  III. THE GOD OF HOSTS

  Polytheism—Yahveh—Henotheism—Character of the Hebrew religion—The idea of sin—Sacrifice—Circumcision--The priesthood—Strange gods

  IV. THE FIRST RADICALS

  The class war—Origin of the Prophets—Amos at Jerusalem—Isaiah—His attacks upon the rich—His doctrine of a Messiah—The influence of the Prophets

  V. THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JERUSALEM

  The birth of the Bible—The destruction of Jerusalem—The Babylonian Captivity-Jeremiah—Ezekiel—The Second Isaiah—The liberation of the Jews—The Second Temple

  VI. THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK

  The “Book of the Law”—The composition of the Pentateuch—The myths of Genesis—The Mosaic Code—The Ten Commandments—The idea of God—The sabbath—The Jewish family—Estimate of the Mosaic legislation

  VII. THE LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE

  History—Fiction—Poetry—The Psalms—The Song of Songs—Proverbs—Job—The idea of immortality—The pessimism of Ecclesiastes—The advent of Alexander

  Chapter XIII: PERSIA

  I. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MEDES

  Their origins—Rulers—The blood treaty of Sardis—Degeneration

  II. THE GREAT KINGS

  The romantic Cyrus—His enlightened policies—Cambyses—Darius the Great—The invasion of Greece

  III. PERSIAN LIFE AND INDUSTRY

  The empire—The people—The language—The peasants—The imperial highways-Trade and finance

  IV. AN EXPERIMENT IN GOVERNMENT

  The king—The nobles—The army—Law—A savage punishment—The capitals—The satrapies—An achievement in administration

  V. ZARATHUSTRA

  The coming of the Prophet—Persian religion before Zarathustra—The Bible of Persia—Ahura-Mazda—The good and the evil spirits—Their struggle for the possession of the world

  VI. ZOROASTRIAN ETHICS

  Man as a battlefield—The Undying Fire—Hell, Purgatory and Paradise—The cult of Mithra—The Magi—The Parsees

  VII. PERSIAN MANNERS AND MORALS

  Violence and honor—The code of cleanliness—Sins of the flesh—Virgins and bachelors—Marriage—Women—Children—Persian ideas of education

  VIII. SCIENCE AND ART

  Medicine—Minor arts—The tombs of Cyrus and Darius—The palaces of Persepolis-The Frieze of the Archers—Estimate of Persian art

  IX. DECADENCE

  How a nation may die—Xerxes—A paragraph of murders—Artaxerxes II—Cyrus the Younger—Darius the Little—Causes of decay: political, military, moral—Alexander conquers Persia, and advances upon India

  BOOK TWO

  INDIA AND HER NEIGHBORS

  Chronological Table of Indian History

  Chapter XIV: THE FOUNDATIONS OF INDIA

  I. SCENE OF THE DRAMA

  The rediscovery of India—A glance at the map—Climatic influences

  II. THE OLDEST CIVILIZATION?

  Prehistoric India—Mohenjo-daro—Its antiquity

  III. THE INDO-ARYANS

  The natives—The invaders—The village community—Caste—Warriors—Priests—Merchants—Workers—Outcastes

  IV. INDO-ARYAN SOCIETY

  Herders—Tillers of the soil—Craftsmen—Traders—Coinage and credit—Morals—Marriage—Woman

  V. THE RELIGION OF THE VEDAS

  Pre-Vedic re
ligion—Vedic gods—Moral gods—The Vedic story of Creation—Immortality—The horse sacrifice

  VI. THE VEDAS AS LITERATURE

  Sanskrit and English—Writing—The four Vedas—The Rig-veda—A Hymn of Creation

  VII. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE UPANISHADS

  The authors—Their theme—Intellect vs. intuition—Atman—Brahman—Their identity—A description of God—Salvation—Influence of the Upanishads—Emerson on Brahma

  Chapter XV: BUDDHA

  I. THE HERETICS

  Sceptics—Nihilists—Sophists—Atheists—Materialists—Religions without a god

  II. MAHAVIRA AND THE JAINS

  The Great Hero—The Jain creed—Atheistic polytheism—Asceticism—Salvation by suicide—Later history of the Jains

  III. THE LEGEND OF BUDDHA

  The background of Buddhism—The miraculous birth—Youth—The sorrows of life-Flight—Ascetic years—Enlightenment—A vision of Nirvana

  IV. THE TEACHING OF BUDDHA

  Portrait of the Master—His methods—The Four Noble Truths—The Eightfold Way—The Five Moral Rules—Buddha and Christ—Buddha’s agnosticism and anti-clericalism—His Atheism—His soul-less psychology—The meaning of Nirvana

  V. THE LAST DAYS OF BUDDHA

  His miracles—He visits his father’s house—The Buddhist monks—Death

  Chapter XVI: FROM ALEXANDER TO AURANGZEB

  I. CHANDRAGUPTA

  Alexander in India—Chandragupta the liberator—The people—The university of Taxila—The royal palace—A day in the life of a king—An older Machiavelli—Administration—Law—Public health—Transport and roads—Municipal government

  II. THE PHILOSOPHER-KING

  Ashoka—The Edict of Tolerance—Ashoka’s missionaries—His failure—His success

  III. THE GOLDEN AGE OF INDIA

  An epoch of invasions—The Kushan kings—The Gupta Empire—The travels of Fa-Hien—The revival of letters—The Huns in India—Harsha the generous—The travels of Yuan Chwang

  IV. ANNALS OF RAJPUTANA

  The Samurai of India—The age of chivalry—The fall of Chitor

  V. THE ZENITH OF THE SOUTH

  The kingdoms of the Deccan—Vijayanagar—Krishna Raya—A medieval metropolis-Laws—Arts—Religion—Tragedy

  VI. THE MOSLEM CONQUEST

  The weakening of India—Mahmud of Ghazni—The Sultanate of Delhi—Its cultural asides—Its brutal policy—The lesson of Indian history

  VII. AKBAR THE GREAT

  Tamerlane—Babur—Humayun—Akbar—His government—His character—His patronage of the arts—His passion for philosophy—His friendship for Hinduism and Christianity—His new religion—The last days of Akbar

  VIII. THE DECLINE OF THE MOGULS

  The children of great men—Jehangir—Shah Jehan—His magnificence—His fall—Aurangzeb—His fanaticism—His death—The coming of the British

  Chapter XVII: THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE

  I. THE MAKERS OF WEALTH

  The jungle background—Agriculture—Mining—Handicrafts—Commerce—Money—Taxes—Famines—Poverty and wealth

  II. THE ORGANIZATION OF SOCIETY

  The monarchy—Law—The Code of “Manu”—Development of the caste system—Rise of the Brahmans—Their privileges and powers—Their obligations—In defense of caste

  III. MORALS AND MARRIAGE

  Dharma—Children—Child marriage—The art of love—Prostitution—Romantic love—Marriage—The family—Woman—Her intellectual life—Her rights—Purdah—Suttee-The Widow

  IV. MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND CHARACTER

  Sexual modesty—Hygiene—Dress—Appearance—The gentle art among the Hindus-Faults and virtues—Games—Festivals—Death

  Chapter XVIII: THE PARADISE OF THE GODS

  I. THE LATER HISTORY OF BUDDHISM

  The Zenith of Buddhism—The Two Vehicles—Mahayana—Buddhism, Stoicism and Christianity—The decay of Buddhism—Its migrations: Ceylon, Burma, Turkestan, Tibet, Cambodia, China, Japan

  II. THE NEW DIVINITIES

  Hinduism—Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva—Krishna—Kali—Animal gods—The sacred cow-Polytheism and monotheism

  III. BELIEFS

  The Puranas—The reincarnations of the universe—The migrations of the soul—Karma—Its philosophical aspects—Life as evil—Release

  IV. CURIOSITIES OF RELIGION

  Superstitions—Astrology—Phallic worship—Ritual—Sacrifice—Purification—The sacred waters

  V. SAINTS AND SCEPTICS

  Methods of sanctity—Heretics—Toleration—General view of Hindu religion

  Chapter XIX: THE LIFE OF THE MIND

  I. HINDU SCIENCE

  Its religious origins—Astronomers—Mathematicians—The “Arabic” numerals—The decimal system—Algebra—Geometry—Physics—Chemistry—Physiology—Vedic medicine—Physicians—Surgeons—Anesthetics—Vaccination—Hypnotism

  II. THE SIX SYSTEMS OF BRAHMANICAL PHILOSOPHY

  The antiquity of Indian philosophy—Its prominent rôle—Its scholars—Forms—Conception of orthodoxy—The assumptions of Hindu philosophy

  1. THE Nyaya SYSTEM

  2. THE Vaisheshika SYSTEM

  3. THE Sankhya SYSTEM

  Its high repute—Metaphysics—Evolution—Atheism—Idealism—Spirit—Body, mind and soul—The goal of philosophy—Influence of the Sankhya

  4. THE Yoga SYSTEM

  The Holy Men—The antiquity of Yoga—Its meaning—The eight stages of discipline—The aim of Yoga—The miracles of the Yogi—The sincerity of Yoga

  5. THE Purva Mimansa

  6. THE Vedanta SYSTEM

  Origin—Shankara—Logic—Epistemology—Maya—Psychology—Theology—God—Ethics—Difficulties of the system—Death of Shankara

  III. THE CONCLUSIONS OF HINDU PHILOSOPHY

  Decadence—Summary—Criticism—Influence

  Chapter XX: THE LITERATURE OF INDIA

  I. THE LANGUAGES OF INDIA

  Sanskrit—The vernaculars—Grammar

  II. EDUCATION

  Schools—Methods—Universities—Moslem education—An emperor on education

  III. THE EPICS

  The Mahabharata—Its story—Its form—The Bhagavad-Gita—The metaphysics of war—The price of freedom—The Ramayana—A forest idyl—The rape of Sita—The Hindu epics and the Greek

  IV. DRAMA

  Origins—The Clay Cart—Characteristics of Hindu drama—Kalidasa—The story of Shakuntala—Estimate of Indian drama

  V. PROSE AND POETRY

  Their unity in India—Fables—History—Tales—Minor poets—Rise of the vernacular literature—Chandi Das—Tulsi Das—Poets of the south—Kabir

  Chapter XXI INDIAN ART

  I. THE MINOR ARTS

  The great age of Indian art—Its uniqueness—Its association with industry—Pottery-Metal—Wood—Ivory—Jewelry—Textiles

  II. MUSIC

  A concert in India—Music and the dance—Musicians—Scale and forms—Themes-Music and philosophy

  III. PAINTING

  Prehistoric—The frescoes of Ajanta—Rajput miniatures—The Mogul school—The painters—The theorists

  IV. SCULPTURE

  Primitive—Buddhist—Gandhara—Gupta—“Colonial”—Estimate

  V. ARCHITECTURE

  1. HINDU ARCHITECTURE

  Before Ashoka—Ashokan—Buddhist—Jain—The masterpieces of the north—Their destruction—The southern style—Monolithic temples—Structural temples

  2. “COLONIAL” ARCHITECTURE

  Ceylon—Java—Cambodia—The Khmers—Their religion—Angkor—Fall of the Khmers—Siam—Burma

  3. MOSLEM ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA

  The Afghan style—The Mogul style—Delhi—Agra—The Taj Mahal

  4. INDIAN ARCHITECTURE AND CIVILIZATION

  Decay of Indian art—Hindu and Moslem architecture compared—General view of Indian civilization

  Chapter XXII: A CHRISTIAN EPILOGUE

  I. THE JOLLY BUCCANEERS

>   The arrival of the Europeans—The British Conquest—The Sepoy Mutiny—Advantages and disadvantages of British rule

  II. LATTER-DAY SAINTS

  Christianity in India—The Brahma-Somaj—Mohammedanism—Ramakrishna—Vivekananda

  III. TAGORE

  Science and art—A family of geniuses—Youth of Rabindranath—His poetry—His politics—His school

  IV. EAST IS WEST

  Changing India—Economic changes—Social—The decaying caste system—Castes and guilds—Untouchables—The emergence of woman

  V. THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT

  The westernized students—The secularization of heaven—The Indian National Congress

  VI. MAHATMA GANDHI

  Portrait of a saint—The ascetic—The Christian—The education of Gandhi—In Africa—The Revolt of 1921—“I am the man”—Prison years—Young India—The revolution of the spinning-wheel—The achievements of Gandhi

  VII. FAREWELL TO INDIA

  The revivification of India—The gifts of India

  BOOK THREE

  THE FAR EAST

  A. CHINA

  Chronology of Chinese Civilization

  Chapter XXIII: THE AGE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS

  I. THE BEGINNINGS

  1. ESTIMATES OF THE CHINESE

  2. THE MIDDLE FLOWERY KINGDOM

  Geography—Race—Prehistory

  3. THE UNKNOWN CENTURIES

  The Creation according to China—The coming of culture—Wine and chopsticks—The virtuous emperors—A royal atheist

  4. THE FIRST CHINESE CIVILIZATION

  The Feudal Age in China—An able minister—The struggle between custom and law—Culture and anarchy—Love lyrics from the Book of Odes

  5. THE PRE-CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHERS

  The Book of Changes—The yang and the yin—The Chinese Enlightenment—Teng Shih, the Socrates of China

  6. THE OLD MASTER

  Lao-tze—The Tao—On intellectuals in government—The foolishness of laws—A Rousseauian Utopia and a Christian ethic—Portrait of a wise man—The meeting of Lao-tze and Confucius

  II. CONFUCIUS

  1. THE SAGE IN SEARCH OF A STATE

  Birth and youth—Marriage and divorce—Pupils and methods—Appearance and character—The lady and the tiger—A definition of good government—Confucius in office—Wander-years—The consolations of old age