CONFUCIUS OF CHINA
BORN 551 B. C. E.
This moral teacher, religious chieftain, and philosopher,
though not subjected to the ignominious death of the cross, deserves a passing notice for the excellency of his morals and the acquisition of a world-wide fame.
In the following particulars his history bears a strong analogy to that of Jesus Christ.
1. He commenced as a religious teacher when about thirty years of age.
2. The Golden Rule was his favorite maxim.
3. Most of his moral maxims were sound and of a high order. The New American Cyclopedia says (vol. v. p. 6o4), “His writings approach the Christian standard of morality;” and in some respects they excel.
4. He traveled in different countries, preaching and teaching his doctrines.
5. He made a host of converts, amounting now to one hundred and fifty millions.
6. His religion and morals have been propagated by apostles and missionaries, some of whom are now traveling in this country, laboring to convert Christians. to their superior religion and morals. “There was a time,” says the work above quoted, “when European philosophers vied with each other in extolling Confucius as one of the sublimest teachers of truth among mankind.”
In the following respects his teachings were superior to those of Christ :
1. He taught that “the knowledge of one’s self is the basis of all real advances in morals and manners.” A lesson Christ neglected to teach.
2. “The duties man owes to society and himself are minutely defined by Confucius,” says the Cyclopedia.