THE
ENGLISH AND FOREIGN
PHILOSOPHICAL LIBRARY.
LONDON:
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER, & CO., Ltd.
1890.
PUBLISHERS’ NOTE.
The first edition of this work was published in 1854,and, although a large one, has been long out of print. Many inquirieshaving been made for it since the recent lamented death of thetranslator, the publishers have determined to offer a second edition tothe public, and have been advised to give it a place in their“English and Foreign Philosophical Library.” It is an exactreprint of the first edition, and they trust it will be received withequal favour.
London, June 1881.[vii]
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.1
The clamour excited by the present work has notsurprised me, and hence it has not in the least moved me from myposition. On the contrary, I have once more, in all calmness, subjectedmy work to the severest scrutiny, both historical and philosophical; Ihave, as far as possible, freed it from its defects of form, andenriched it with new developments, illustrations, and historicaltestimonies,—testimonies in the highest degree striking andirrefragable. Now that I have thus verified my analysis by historicalproofs, it is to be hoped that readers whose eyes are not sealed willbe convinced and will admit, even though reluctantly, that my workcontains a faithful, correct translation of the Christian religion outof the Oriental language of imagery into plain speech. And it has nopretension to be anything more than a close translation, or, to speakliterally, an empirical or historico-