that the Bible was written by men under Divine guidance and
inspiration is unmistakable and convincing. Whether we have regard to its
prophetic utterances, its record of miracles, its plan of salvation, its
delineation of the incomparable life and character of Jesus Christ; or
whether we behold its marvellous power among men of all classes and of all
countries and tongues--all that pertain to it point unmistakably to its
divine origin.

Nor can any one fail to appreciate the beauty and sublimity of some of the
Vedic hymns of the Hindus or the profound depth of the philosophic reach
of the Upanishads, those sublime "guesses at truth," or the great
excellence of the Bhagavad-Gita which is the gem of all Hindu literature.
And yet the puerilities of many and the obscenity of others of the Vedic
songs and prayers are well-known. So are the strange vagaries and the
rambling character of many parts of the Upanishads. And as for the
Bhagavad-Gita it is simply a dialogue whose gist is the argument of
Krishna--"the Supreme God"--to urge the tender-hearted and the
conscience-smitten Arjuna to slay his relatives in war. Its argument is
that no evil which one man may do to another is of any moment, since he
cannot touch his soul which is eternal and beyond the reach of any human
power! In the destiny of a soul what can the destruction of one of its
bodies signify? This is an argument which is subversive of morality and of
social order.

When one leaves these earlier scriptures of Brahmanism and takes up the
later productions--the _Puranas_ and Tantras--he comes into a very different
atmosphere, most of which is morally pestilential and spiritually
degrading. The ascription of divine inspiration and special heavenly
guidance in the production of such literature is nought else but
blasphemy. To pass over from the study of the Bible, with its transcendent
beauty, its perfect ethics, its heavenly spirit, its Divine Saviour and
way of salvation, to the Scriptures of India, especially the more recent
parts, is to exchange the pure air of heaven for the charnel house.

The "divine brevity" of the Bible is one of its most striking features.
Few things could impress one with the heavenly source of this Book more
markedly than its wonderful omissions.

How very different when we examine the countless tomes of the sacred
literature of India! If the salvation of a soul depended upon the reading
of even a hundredth part of these, who then co