morality, and not a religion.

It is also a curious fact that throughout the _Spring and Autumn_, or
Annals of the State of Lu, which extend from B.C. 722 to B.C. 484, there
is no allusion of any kind to the interposition of God in human affairs,
although a variety of natural phenomena are recorded, such as have
always been regarded by primitive peoples as the direct acts of an
angered or benevolent Deity. Lu was the State in which Confucius was
born, and its annals were compiled by the Sage himself; and throughout
these Annals the term God is never used except in connection with the
word "King," where it always has the sense of "by the grace of God,"
and once where the suzerain is spoken of as "the Son of God," or, as we
usually phrase it, "the Son of Heaven."

How to bring rain.--In the famous Commentary by Tso-ch'iu Ming on the
_Spring and Autumn_, which imparts a human interest to the bald entries
set against each year of these annals, there are several allusions to
the Supreme Being. For instance, at a time of great drought the Duke of
Lu wished, in accordance with custom, to burn a witch and a person in
the last stage of consumption; the latter being sometimes exposed in the
sun so as to excite the compassion of God, who would then cause rain
to fall. A Minister vigorously protested against this superstition,
pointing out that the proper way to meet a drought would be to reduce
the quantity of food consumed, and to practise rigid economy in all
things. "What have these creatures to do with the matter?" he asked. "If
God had wished to put them to death, He had better not have given
them life. If they can really produce drought, to burn them will only
increase the calamity." The Duke accordingly desisted; and although
there was a famine, it is said to have been less severe than usual.