way of swearing, Abraham-like, by and on the virile member; the kissing by the women of India and Arabia of the sexual organ of a Dervish or a Sheik, be it active or shriveled, and be he saint or idiot, as a solemn rite for purposes of prolificacy; the feminine offerings of vows and libations, in many countries, to phallus-like relics, and the frictional consummation of the sexual act thereupon, for the same purposes; the nailing up of a horse-shoe (consciously or unconsciously as a representation of the womb of the Great Mother Protectress) "just for luck" for dwelling-houses, offices, out-buildings, etc; the obscene talk, literature, dramas, songs, pictures, daubs, sculpture, and wall-scribbling abominations, so profuse in almost every community; a great variety of "round" and "kissing" games and frolics, for chamber, hall, church, and green, all from "Copenhagen" up and down; a host of dances, especially of the "round" and "jig" and "gesture orders, accompanied by inherently lustful music, among which may be noticed certain unnamable European and American waltzes and clog-dances, the Hula-hula of the Sandwich Islands, and the "mountain" and "grove" orgical friskings of the Southern Seas, etc., etc., etc.

The following curious passage, from Captain Cook's first voyage, will show what views were entertained only the other day, as it were, by a primitive race in the Southern Seas. And these views, it seems to us, must have been suggested independently, from the generally believed complete disconnection of the islanders with the ancient world:

"On the 14th I directed that divine service should be performed at the fort. We were desirous that some of the principal Indians should be present; but when the hour came, most of them returned home. Mr. Banks, however, crossed the river, and brought back Tubourai Tamaide and his wife. Tomio, hoping that it would give occasion to some inquiries on their part, and some instruction on ours. Having seated them, he placed himself between them, and during the whole service they very attentively observed his behavior, and very exactly imitated it, standing, sitting, or kneeling as they saw him do. They were conscious that we were employed about something serious and important, as appeared by their calling

to the Indians without the fort to be silent; yet, when the service was over, neither of them asked any questions, nor would they attend to any attempt that was made to explain what had been done.

"Such were our motives: our Indians thought fit to perform vespers of a different kind. A young man near six feet high performed the rites of Venus with a little girl about eleven or twelve years of age, before several of our people and a great number of the natives, without the least sense of being indecent or improper, but, as appeared, in perfect conformity to the custom of the place. Among the spectators were several women of superior rank, particularly Oberea, who may properly be said to have assisted at the ceremony."

With this we leave the subject for the present. Those who wish to inform themselves fully upon the matter briefly noticed here are referred to a volume, the size of this, soon to appear from "The Truth Seeker " press, entitled "Sexual Theology," which will give the subject a thorough examination.

RELIGIONS OF THE HINDOOS.

It was shown in the early part of this work that India is justly regarded as the cradle of language, civilization, and religion, and that from that quarter of the globe most of the Asiatic and European nations derived their parentage. The Aryan race, probably some five or six thousand years ago, dwelt in central and southern Asia, and from that country colonists or emigrants spread over the surrounding country and eventually extended to the countries far to the northwest, into Greece, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, Iberia, Gaul, and Britain. This enterprising people carried with them such intelligence and civilization as they had, and such mythological and religious notions as they possessed. These, in time, became greatly modified, like their language, until after forty or fifty centuries only traces of similarity can be discerned.

How long this Aryan race had peopled Asia, or how many thousand years it required for man, from his lowest primitive or savage state, to reach the time when the Vedas were written, and the Vedic gods were believed in, it is impossible to determine, but that it required a long, long time, there is not the slightest doubt. As shown in the Introduction, it is believed by the best scientific scholars that the human race had dwelt upon the earth for at least one hundred thousand years, and as the earliest history hardly reaches so far back as six thousand years, there was a vast era in which man existed, but about which nothing can be known. That man, in prehistoric times, was a savage, at first a little above the brute creation, from which condition he gradually emerged to one of higher intelligence, is not to be doubted. That man once lived in caves, side by side with animals that have long since been unknown in the world, is proved by their bones being found side by side. That for a long time he knew nothing of metals, and that his implements, his axes, his knives, and his arrows

were made of stone, is proved by their being found in considerable abundance in certain localities, formed and shaped by the hand of man. Geology also affords proofs that man lived upon the earth many thousands of years ago.

From the best data we have to draw from, the ancient Aryans in Asia lived in permanent habitations, kept herds cattle, and were tillers of the soil. They were scattered over a diversity of country richly watered and well supplied with forest growths and metallic ores. The more northern regions were cold enough to invigorate the blood and to cause them. to count the years by the winters. In the more southern. portions the climate was warm and balmy, producing the rich growth of vegetation found in the tropics. They domesticated the cow, the sheep, the goat, the horse, and the dog. They used yokes and axles, rude wagons, primitive plows, and probably a few other imperfect agricultural implements. They manufactured cloths by spinning and weaving; they made vessels of various kinds of wood, and knew how to convert the hides of animals into leather. They knew something of working some of the metals, and how to make various implements of them. They made certain kinds of musical instruments of shells and reeds, upon which they were fond of playing. They could count beyond a hundred, and had a slight knowledge of the simpler mathematics. They built boats, with which they navigated rivers and lakes, propelling them with oars. They were inclined to warring, and fought with bows, clubs, bucklers, lances, and swords. They used battle-chariots, and moved to the sound of trumpets and large sea-shells, or conchs. They besieged their enemies in towns, and reduced to a species of slavery prisoners taken in battle.

Marriage existed among them and was based upon the affections. They are believed to have been monogamic in their marriage relations. The patriarchal form of government prevailed among them, but was tempered by the better natural instincts. It is said father with them meant the "protector;" mother, the "former and disposer;" brother, the "supporter;" and sister, the "careful," or the "consoling and pleasing one." They possessed a clear conception of the rights of property, and provided rules and guarantees for its protection; and

these were based upon the ownership of the soil where stood the family altar, around which clustered the members of the ́family, imbued with the religious sentiments of piety and filial duty.

They had pretty clear ideas of the necessary formalities for the transactions of sale and exchange of commodities, of the duties of employer and employee, of the payment of wages, the administration of oaths, and the simple forms of courts of justice. Law was designated by a word which meant "right;" and the notion of justice was best expressed by a straight line, suggesting at once directness and impartiality. "Transgressing meant falling off, and oath, constraint."

Johnson, in "Oriental Religions," thus speaks of this ancient people: "Their psychological insight surprises us. They seem to have distinguished clearly the principle of spiritual existence. Soul was not merely vital breath, but thinking being. Thought was recognized as the essential characteristic of man, the same word designating both. For four thousand years man has been called 'the thinker.' For consciousness, will, memory, the Aryans had words not traceable to material symbols. They even made a distinction, it is believed, between concrete existence and abstract being-a germ of the intellectual vigor which has made the Aryan race the fathers of philosophy. Their language abounded in signs of imaginative and intuitive processes. They believed in spirits, good and evil, and their medical science consisted in exorcising the latter kind by means of herbs and magical formulas.

"There are no signs of an established priesthood, nor of edifices consecrated to deities. But terms relating to faith, sacrifice, and adoration are so abundant as to prove a sincere and fervent religious sentiment. The similarity of meaning in numerous words descriptive of divine forces seemed to point to a primitive monotheism, more or less vaguely defined. Yet the Aryans had probably developed in rich mythology before their separation into different branches. They had also firm belief in immortality and in a happy heaven for those who should deserve it, beholding the soul pass forth at death as a shape of air, under watchful guardians, to its upper