chapter 13
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Again, as the absolute Diviy of loyalty taught by fucius secures the immortality of the ra the nation, so the cult of aor-worship taught in fuism secures the immortality of the ra the family. Ihe cult of aorworship in a is not founded mu the belief in a future life as in the belief of the immortality of the race. A ese, when he dies, is not soled by the belief that he will live a life hereafter, but by the belief that his children, grandchildren, great-grand-children, all those dearest to him, will remember him, think of him, love him, to the end of time, and in that way, in his imagination, dying, to a ese, is like going on a long, long journey, if not with the hope, at least with a great "perhaps" of meeting again. Thus this cult of aor-worship, together with the Diviy of loyalty, in fuism gives to the ese people the same sense of permanen their existence while they live and the same solatiohey die which the belief in a future life in religion gives to the mass of mankind in other t<samp>.</samp>ries. It is for his reason that the ese people attach the same importao this cult of aor-worship as they do to the principle of the Diviy of loyalty to the Emperor. Mencius said: "Of the three great sins against filial piety the greatest is to have no posterity." Thus the whole system of teag of fucius which I have called the State religion in a sists really only of two things, loyalty to the Emperor and filial piety to parents_in ese, g Hsiao. Intact, the three Articles of Faith, called in ese the san kang, three cardinal duties in -fuism or the State religion of a, are, in their order of importance_first, absolute duty of loyalty to the Emperor; sed, filial piety and aor-worship; third, inviolability of marriage and absolute submission of the wife to the husband. The last two of the three Articles were already in what I have called the Family religion, ion of the old dispensation in a before fucius time; but the first Article_absolute duty of loyalty to the Emperoi_was first taught by fuciu>.99lｉｂ?</a>s and laid down by him iate religion ion of the new dispensation which he gave to the ese nation. This first Article of Faith_absolute duty of loyalty to the Emperoi_ in fuism takes the plad is the equivalent of the First Article of Faith in all religions_the belief in God. It is because fuism has this equivalent for the belief in God ion that fuism, as I have shown you, take the place ion, and the ese people, even the mass of the population in a, do not feel the need ion.But now you will ask me how without a belief in God which religion teaches, how ake men, make the mass of mankind, follow and obey the moral rule which fucius teaches, the absolute duty of loyalty to the Emperor, as you by the authority of God which the belief in God gives, make men follow and obey moral rules given by religion? Before I answer your question, will you allow me first to point out to you a great mistake which people make in believing that it is the san given by the authority of God which makes mehe rules of moral duct. I told you that the san for the sacrament and inviolability of marriage in Europe is given by the
Church, and the authority for the san, the Church says, is from God. But I said that was only an outward formal san. The real true inner san for the inviolability of marriage as we see it in all tries where there is no Church religion, is the sense of honour, the law of the gentleman in the man and woman. Thus the real authority for the obligation to obey rules of moral duct is the moral sehe law of the gentleman, in man. The belief in God is, therefore, not necessary to make men obey rules of moral duct藏书网.
It is this fact which has made sceptics like Voltaire and Tom Paine in the last tury, and rationalists like Sir Hiram Maxim today, say, that the belief in God is a fraud or imposture ied by the founders ion a up by priests. But that is a gross and preposterous libel. All great men, all men with great intellect, have all always believed in God. fucius also believed in God, although he seldom spoke of it. Even Napoleon with his great, practical intellect believed in God. As the Psalmist says: "Only the fool_the man with a vulgar and shallow intellect_has said in his heart, There is no God. " But the belief in God of man of great intellect is different from the belie<s>?</s>f in God of the mass of mankind. The belief in God of men of great intellect is that of Spinoza: a belief in the Divine Order of the Universe. fucius said: "At fifty I khe Ordinance of God" * _i.e., the Divine Order of the Universe. Men of great intellect have given different o this Divine Order of the Universe. The German Fichte calls it the Divine idea of the Universe. In philosophical language in a it is called Tao_the Way. But whatever name men of great intellect may give to this Divine Order of the Universe, it is the knowledge of this Divine Order of the Universe which makes men of great intellect see the absolute y of obeying rules of moral duoral laws whi part of that Divine Order of the Universe.
Thus, although the belief in God is not necessary to make mehe rules of moral duct, yet the belief in God is necessary to make mehe absolute y of obeying these rules. It is the knowledge of the absolute y of obeying the rules of moral duct whiables and makes all men of great intellect follow and obey those rules. fucius says: "A man without a knowledge of the Ordinance of God, i.e., the Divine Order of the Universe, will not be able to be a gentleman or moral man."* But then, the mass of mankind, who have not great intellect, ot follow the reasoning which leads men of great intellect to the knowledge of the Divine Order of the Universe and ot therefore uand the absolute y of obeying moral laws. Indeed, as Matthew Arnold says:
"Moral rules, apprehended as ideas first, and then rigorously followed as laws are and must be for the sage only. The mass of mankind have her force of intelleough to apprehend them as ideas nor force of character enough to follow them strictly as laws. " It is for this reason that the philosophy and morality taught by Plato, Aristotle and Herbert Spencer have a value only for scholars.
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