'
As regards their religion, it is a natural one for imaginative
people who know no better, and might therefore be expected to
turn to the sun and worship him as the all-Father, but it cannot
justly be called elevating or spiritual. It is true that they
do sometimes speak of the sun as the 'garment of the Spirit',
but it is a vague term, and what they really adore is the fiery
orb himself. They also call him the 'hope of eternity', but
here again the meaning is vague, and I doubt if the phrase conveys
any very clear impression to their minds. Some of them do indeed
believe in a future life for the good -- I know Nyleptha does
firmly -- but it is a private faith arising from the promptings
of the spirit, not an essential of their creed. So on the whole
I cannot say that I consider this sun-worship as a religion indicative
of a civilized people, however magnificent and imposing its ritual,
or however moral and high-sounding the maxims of its priests,
many of whom, I am sure, have their own opinions on the whole
subject; though of course they have nothing but praise for a
system which provides them with so many of the good things of
this world.
There are now only two more matters to which I need allude --
namely, the language and the system of calligraphy.
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