ake
other men share in its belief; and by the institution of an
order of religious mendicants, which increased to an immense
extent, he attached towards him, and restored to society, the
poor and unfortunate. It was, indeed, precisely because Buddha
received among his disciples miserable creatures who were
outcasts from the respectable class of India, that he became
an object of mockery to the Brahmins. But he merely replied to
their taunts, 'My law is a law of mercy for all.'"[403:1]

In the words of Viscount Amberly, we can say that, "Monasticism, in
countries where Buddhism reigns supreme, is a vast and powerful
institution."

The _Essenes_, of whom we shall speak more fully anon, were an order of
ascetics, dwelling in monasteries. Among the order of Pythagoras, which
was very similar to the Essenes, there was an order of nuns.[403:2] The
ancient Druids admitted females into their sacred order, and initiated
them into the mysteries of their religion.[403:3] The priestesses of the
Saxon Frigga devoted themselves to perpetual virginity.[403:4] The
vestal virgins[403:5] were bound by a solemn vow to preserve their
chastity for a space of thirty years.[403:6]

The Egyptian priests of Isis were obliged to observe perpetual
chastity.[403:7] They were also tonsured like the Buddhist
priests.[403:8] The Assyrian, Arabian, Persian and Egyptian priests wore
_white_ surplices,[403:9] and so did the ancient Druids. The Corinthian
Aphrodite had her Hierodoulio, the pure Gerairai ministered to the
goddess of the Parthenon, the altar of the Latin Vesta was tended by her
chosen virgins, and the Romish "Queen of Heaven" has her nuns.

When the Spaniards had established themselves in Mexico and Peru, they
were astonished to find, among other things which closely resembled
their religion, _monastic institutions_ on a large scale.

The Rev. Father Acosta, in his "Natural and Moral History of the
Indies," says:

"There is one thing worthy of special regard, the which is,
how the Devil, by his pride, hath opposed himself to God; and
that which God, by his wisdom, hath decreed for his honor and
service, and for the good and health of man, the devil strives
to imitate and pervert, to be honored, and to cause men to be
damned: for as we see the great God hath Sacrifices, Priests,
Sacraments, Religious Prophets, and Ministers, dedicated to
his divine servi