track:--

"Now, I have always had my doubts about the existence of a God; but this
scene made me think He really must exist. At the same time, however,
I began to wonder why He did not place it in some worthy centre of
civilisation, rather than in this out-of-the-way barbarous region, where
for centuries there has been no one to enjoy its beauty. And so, on the
other hand, such waste of labour and incongruity of position disposed me
to think that there could not be a God after all."

Letter from God.--In A.D. 1008 there was a pretended revelation from God
in the form of a letter, recalling the letter from Christ on the neglect
of the Sabbath mentioned by Roger of Wendover and Hoveden, contemporary
chroniclers. The Emperor and his Court regarded this communication with
profound awe; but a high official of the day said, "I have learnt (from
the Confucian Discourses) that God does not even speak; how then should
He write a letter?"

Modern Materialism.--The philosopher and commentator, Chu Hsi, A.D.
1130-1200, whose interpretations of the Confucian Canon are the only
ones now officially recognised, has done more than any one since
Confucius himself to disseminate a rigid materialism among his
fellow-countrymen. The "God" of the Canon is explained away as an
"Eternal Principle;" the phenomena of the universe are attributed to
Nature, with its absurd personification so commonly met with in Western
writers; and spirits generally are associated with the perfervid
imaginations of sick persons and enthusiasts.

"Is consciousness dispersed after death, or does it still exist?" said
an enquirer.