Ancient Faiths And Modern. Thomas Inman
all respects its ruler, to repress crime, to announce to his superior officer all unusual occurrences, and to report, generally, the actual state of his division to the chief above him. All legal trials, or appeals, were decided in less than five days, and a code was established, which all might readily know, a thing only attained by the French under the first Napoleon, and long desired by England, but in vain. Punishments were never attended with torture, or unnecessary cruelty. In this respect the Peruvians differed from every other civilized nation of which I have yet read. The Chinaman methodically inflicts painful punishments which have only been surpassed by the followers of the "gentle Jesus." The Persians and Turks have, certainly, shown their capacity for giving pain to those who are brought before their ministers of justice, and the Red Indians, during their day, reduced the art of tormenting themselves, but, still more, their prisoners, almost to perfection. The Babylonians had discovered that a death of agony could be accomplished by means of myriads of ants. It was reserved to Christians, eager to uphold the faith promulgated by a God of mercy, to find out the most exquisite of torments. Even Frenchmen, who have for centuries assumed the position of leaders of civilization, were, until the great Revolution beat down their kings and prelates, more ruthlessly cruel than the most fierce redskin. The Inquisition, which arrogated to itself the power to keep the Christian religion pure, was distinguished by the atrocity with which it gave anguish to its victims, and it held its head high until it was put down, we may hope for ever, by fiery republican enthusiasts, whom priestly demons, baulked of their prey, declared to be devils incarnate. More modern hierarchs are obliged to content themselves with making a hell for their enemies—with foretelling a variety of punishments to be inflicted hereafter, which cannot be enforced here.
The Incas exacted an annual report of the lands possessed by individuals, with their condition as regards culture; and also of every family. A register of births, marriages, and deaths was regularly kept, so that the government might always know the real condition of the nation, soil, and people.
As far as possible, families remained constant to their business, thus forming a sort of trade caste, but not a rigid one. The registers were always submitted to the perusal of the Inca, and, subsequently, kept in the capital.
By the arrangement of "posts," and roads, an insurrection or invasion was readily discovered, and it was speedily announced at the capital city. The march of troops to suppress it, under these circumstances, was easy and immediate, for every requisite for war was always at hand. In all circumstances, plundering by the soldiery, whether at home or in an enemy's country, was severely punished, and war was undertaken solely with a view to peace. If a neighbour was turbulent, he was conquered, and absorbed into the old state, and if a province was rebellious, its worst inhabitants were carried away to some other locality, where their power for mischief would be curtailed; a plan which, we are told, was pursued by the Assyrian Shalmaneser (2 Kings xvii. 6), indicated by Sennacherib (2 Kings xviii. 32), and carried out by Nebuzaradan (2 Kings xxv. 11.). In fine, we may repeat, that it would be difficult for a modern philosopher to conceive a better model of a really paternal government than that which, it is asserted, was found by the Spaniards when they invaded the kingdom of the Incas. Of the respective value of Christian Spanish government, and of the so-called Pagan Inca rule, none can doubt, who reads the present by the light of the past. The Peruvians kept up their roads, protected their subjects, respected life, and fostered everything which tended to increase the general happiness and prosperity of the kingdom—all these objects, have been for a long period neglected, and Peru, which was under the Spanish rule, one of the blots on the face of civilization and Christianity, is only just emerging from a long night, under the influence of Republican institutions.
Our next step will be to ascertain the religion of the people whose political condition contrasts so favourably with that of every other nation of whom travel and history have informed us. But we may, in the first place, remark, that there is no absolute or necessary connection between the happiness, or otherwise, of a nation and its dominant religion, as Buckle has already shown in his History of Civilization. The writer of to-day can find abundant evidence in recent history to illustrate the proposition here advanced. He can point to France, and its condition under a sacerdotal rule, prior to the time of the Revolution, and contrast it with its state since its rulers have tried to make the people prosperous and happy, independently of their religious faith. He can point to Austria and Spain, when they were laid at the feet of the Pope of Rome, and everything was made subservient to the demands of a powerful hierarchy, and to the same states now, when religion is subordinate to the material welfare of the majority. Who, that has read the story of modern Italy, or heard of the atrocities committed under the priest-led Ferdinand of Naples—better known in England by the sobriquet of Bomba; who, that knew anything of his brigand-rearing towns and cities, and has visited them since they have been ruled constitutionally, and with the priestly power curbed by a strong hand, can doubt which set of directors are the best? Christian Rome was never so happy under her Popes as she is now, when the so-called head of the church is subordinate to the chief of the state. But of all priest-ridden countries, one which would never have borne the popish sway as she has done, if her chieftains had been sensible and her people thoughtful, Ireland deserves our commiseration the most. Hibernian hierarchs of the Roman faith designate their country as a land of saints. So, perhaps, it is, if by the word is meant admirers of laziness and filth, who consider that attention to religion justifies murder, and every brutal crime against purse, person, and property.
As a rule, admitting of no exceptions, civil government has preceded sacerdotal rule, and a nation is generally in a weakly and fallen condition as soon as its affairs are directed by the priestly class. When first the Aryans invaded Hindostan, the hierarchy was second to the warrior caste; but as the first aggrandized their power, the second lost their supremacy, and under Brahminic rule the foundation was laid for pusillanimous and indolent luxury in the warrior. The power to plan, and the nerve to enforce laws, for the benefit of all classes of the community, is very different to that which is requisite to exalt and enrich the priestly order; and the well-being of a state depends far more upon the exercise of the first than of the second. Whenever, therefore, the executive government is entirely independent of the influence of the hierarchy, or is itself the head of that caste, it can produce good results for the nation, no matter what may be the dogmas of the priesthood, or the nature of the gods which are reverenced.
Still following Prescott as our guide, we find that the sun was the great god of the Peruvians, and that the Incas assumed the title of his true children. To that luminary a vast temple was built in Cuzco, more radiant with gold than that of Solomon at Jerusalem. To Cuzco, as to the capital of Judea, the name of Holy City was given, and to it pilgrims resorted from every part of the empire. Blasphemy against the sun was considered as bad as treason against the Inca, and both were punished with death. A province, or city, rebellious against the sun was laid waste, and its people exterminated. When conquest over a new tribe subjugated it to Peru, the people were compelled to worship the sun, temples to whose honour were erected in their territory. To these was attached a body of priests, to instruct the people in the proper form of adoration, which consisted in a rich and stately ceremonial. The divinities of the conquered people were removed to Cuzco and established in one of the temples, where they took order amongst the inferior deities of the Peruvians.
But, though the sun was unquestionably worshipped, Prescott observes, ch. iii, "it is a remarkable fact that many, if not most, of the rude tribes inhabiting the vast American continent had attained to the sublime conception of one Great Spirit, the Creator of the universe, who, immaterial in his own nature, ought not to be dishonoured by an attempt at a visible representation, and who, pervading all space, was not to be circumscribed within the walls of any building, however grand or rich."
As civilization progressed, we are told that a separate order of men, with a liberal provision for their subsistence, was set apart for religious service, and a minute and magnificent ceremonial contrived, which challenged comparison with that of the most polished nations of Christendom. This was the case with the natives of Quita, Bogota, and others inhabiting the highlands of South America, but especially with the Peruvians, who claimed a divine origin for the founders of their empire, whose laws rested on a divine sanction, and whose domestic institutions and foreign wars were directed to preserve and to propagate their faiths. Religion was the basis of their polity, the condition of their social