Some Observations Upon the Civilization of the Western Barbarians, Particularly of the English / made during the residence of some years in those parts.

by John B. Swazey

To my poor mind, were all these innumerable productions of gloomy and bewildered intellects—misled and crazed by a monstrous Idolatry—swept for ever away, nothing would be lost—nothing, unless the most astonishing monument ever builded by man. However, it is doubtful whether to lose even this is not better than to have anything left of so monstrous a Pretension.

Whilst thus the Barbarian brain wasted itself in this wretched work, and piled up its ponderous tomes of useless, and worse than useless, Literature—holding knowledge in general as vain, and Science, when, in Priestly interpretation, not according to the barbarous Sacred Writings, as a thing to be accursed—activity of body, during the same ages, did its dreadful work. Directed by the Priests, one Sect denounced another as damnable, and the stronger attempted to destroy the weaker by "fire and sword." New contentions would arise, to be crushed out by bloody execution; only to spring up again, to be again extirpated. Every Sect as it appeared would fight for supremacy. All worshipped the Christ-God, and sought the same Sacred Writings; and all invoked His aid, and pointed to those Writings for their authority—to exterminate a weaker Sect; to deliver over whole provinces to rapine, slaughter, burning, destruction; cities in conflagration; women, children, as well as men, not merely slain, but put to death with tortures unspeakable; massacres, by treachery and surprise, of thousands and tens of thousands! To such work was the activity of body largely directed by Priests and the savage chiefs. For ages these atrocities were perpetrated. History has no parallel of horror; human nature seemed to have become possessed by the Devil of the Superstition, and exceeded its diabolism [pau-di-ki]. In the name of Christ, fire, slaughter, and rapine, spread over the whole immense world. Wherever the Priests of this dark superstition became powerful, everything which opposed them perished. It was a cardinal principle that men could be saved from the dreadful Hell only by the aid of the Priests, and by accepting of their interpretation of the Sacred Writings. The system erected by the Priests was called the Church, and none could be saved unless they were in the pale of Holy Church—unless they, in the manner directed by the Priests, performed all the rites of worship. These not merely were directed to the worship of the Sacred Writings, the Christ-God and Jah, but to the mother of God and to the Pope. In England, by and by, the Priests threw off the Roman Pope, and set up the English Sovereign, for the time being, as Pope, and put men and women to death by fire and torture for still preferring the older Idol.

Nor is this madness, this fanatical fury, wholly expended. Education has not yet raised these Western tribes into the enjoyment of a rational worship—of a rational morality—of a life, calm, tolerant, and beneficent. They have never attained the civilisation of our Central Kingdom, and to the wisdom of our illuminated Confutse.

There is morality to be found among them, and a few worship, purely and simply, the God of Heaven, and look with untroubled hearts upon the senseless superstitions. The masses are, however, still held in them; and the High Castes either hold to the prevailing idolatries, or pretend to do so. This old Jewish Worship, with its rites and pretensions, fastened upon tribes by Priests and the Roman power, is still dominant in the West. In England to-day it is the same superstition, only the Queen is Pope, instead of the Man at Rome. For this the English are damned, as worthy of Hell-fire, by Roman Pope worshippers; and the English return the curse. A constant Bugbear [Do-nki] to the English mind is, that the more powerful Roman Pope may get into England again; then, what horrors! Nor does this frightful chimera alone alarm the lower people; the most learned Englishmen, and their wisest, exert their minds in writing and in preaching against this terrible thing.

To me this seemed strange—incredible. The English Barbarians are, in general, sharp enough; they are learned in many things; they can see the absurdity of Eastern superstitions; they denounce the Roman-Pope worship as worthy of hell; but they worship a Queen-pope at home, and the same Christ-Jah-god and "sacred writings" which the Romans worship. They believe, as do the Roman-pope worshippers, that all who do not worship the sacred writings and the Christ-Jah-god, and accept of the Priest-Church, will inevitably burn for ever in fires of Hell; yet, because of the separation as to Pope worship, each regards the other sect with a hatred only appeased by sending each the other to the dreadful Hell! How incredible that the human mind—the active and skilled human mind—should alarm itself and others for fear of the worship of a Pope—a man: and really think the condition of the human soul would be hopelessly wretched—if it mistook the right object of worship—the idol of Rome, or the idol of England! The intellect truly employed would be directed to the overthrow of the superstition and its objects of idolatry altogether. The Roman or the English Pope—the Roman or the English sect—what matter? Both alike indifferent and worthless to an intelligent worshipper of the Supreme Lord of Heaven (Hoang-chan-ti). His worship is elevating, supporting a clean morality, tolerant, benevolent—a morality found wherever man is found; debased, more or less, as man be debased, or as he may be sunken in vicious or cruel superstitions.

To restore a pure worship is to help on a better civilisation among the Barbarians. Nor would a respect for the morality ascribed to Christ do other than help in the same way. The misfortune is, that that morality has been overlaid with Jewish and Priestly additions and inventions. There are some of the English literati who dare to teach a purer worship, discarding the superstition in its grosser pretensions; but they are not listened to.

It is difficult to understand what is accepted as true by the differing Sects—but their differences may be disregarded—and I will refer to what all the Sects of the Great Superstition subscribe to, aside from the matter of Pope.

One, only God: in three parts—each part a very God!