embraced, no doubt, many legal regulations that were ancient even at that distant time. The Mosaic legislation promulgated about a thousand years later presents many curious parallels.

It is, however, the old poetry that proves of the greatest value in this body of literature. There are prayers, magic formulas, and

mythological narratives. One poem describes the beginnings of creation and gives accounts of male and female gods. Another poem, the hero of which is Marduk, the god of Babylon, tells of the creation of man, followed by that of animals. Another centers in the heroic fight between Marduk and the rebellious Tiamat, and in the creation of the heavenly bodies. There are cycles of stories dealing with the eagle, and another cycle dealing with the winds.

Most famous of all is the so-called "Gilgamesh Epic," a series of twelve tablets discovered in 1872. Each tablet describes a separate episode. Gilgamesh, the hero, is represented as delivering his country from the Elamites (this must have occurred before 2000 B.C.). He then slays the divine bull which is sent against him by the god Anu, the father of the goddess Ishtar, whose love had been rejected by Gilgamesh. Ishtar visits the underworld to seek some further means of overthrowing the hero. She enters seven gates in succession and is held a prisoner, but is subsequently released. In the latter part of the poem we learn the picturesque Babylonian version of the story of the flood as told to Gilgamesh by Hasisadra, the Babylonian Noah. The Babylonian legends of the flood and of the origin of the world make an interesting study in connection with the similar traditions of the Hebrews.

There is a rhythmical quality in the Babylonian poems, but no regular meter. As in the Hebrew poetry of later times, parallelism is employed.1

CHINESE AND JAPANESE LITERATURE

In the Mongolian centers civilization developed very early. Astonishing progress was made in invention, science, art, and literature-and then was strangely checked. The conservatism of the Chinese is a marked characteristic, continuing to our day. During most of its history China has seemed like a second human race, living apart from the rest of mankind. Its literature, though undeniably important in itself since it has deeply impressed for a great period of time the life and thought of countless human beings, has had little influence upon other peoples. The same is true of the literature of Japan. Our purpose, therefore, is to devote only passing attention to the writings of these two countries.

As long ago as nineteen hundred years a catalogue of standard Chinese literature was made, including more than six hundred authors. In 1782 there was published a catalogue of the Imperial

1 Professor Toy's article in the Warner Library and the accompanying extracts from the Babylonian and Assyrian literature should be consulted by the reader.

Library in Peking, comprising seventy-five thousand volumes. Such facts will give a suggestion of the great extent of Chinese writings. These writings comprise poetry, history, biography, philosophy, science, fiction, the drama-and still the list is not complete. The central figure in the history of China is Confucius (sixth century B.C.). All Chinese literature is based on the Five Classics, works compiled in large part by Confucius, and the Four Books, in which are included his teachings. The former comprise "The Book of Changes," a very ancient work in sixty-four chapters, consisting largely of divination; "The Book of History," which contains legendary history carried forward to the twelfth century B.C.; "The Book of Odes," three hundred primitive poems and ballads collected by Confucius; "The Book of Rites," that overwhelming body of ceremonials and rules of behavior that have governed the life of the Chinese through the ages; and the "Spring and Autumn," which is a work of history concerned with the state of Lu, the birthplace of Confucius. In the Four Books the doctrines of Confucianism are set forth in the great teacher's own words. These textbooks comprise (1) the analects, or conversations of Confucius, (2) a treatise on self-culture, (3) a work in thirty-three chapters setting forth the doctrine of the "golden medium," and (4) seven books on Confucianism by his great disciple Mencius.

Poetry has enjoyed the greatest popularity in China, and the names of Chinese poets are legion, stretching over a period of over two thousand years. The short lyric is the common form; in China the epic has never flourished. An anthology made in 1707 covered some fifty thousand poems. Recently there have appeared several volumes of English renderings of Chinese poems.1 Graceful nature studies, personal confessions, and brief moralizings are the common themes. A number of these poems seem to touch our own thought with startling closeness. Interest has also been taken of late years in Chinese short stories and plays. We may expect to find that an increasing amount of the literature of China will be made available in English as a logical result of the closer contact of the West with this ancient race.

1The collection undertaken by Mr. Witter Bynner is of special interest.

In Japan the influence of China became powerful during the period subsequent to the sixth and seventh centuries of our era. Before that time a body of old Japanese literature had been produced, largely of a religious character; but now China furnished the standard for the literary work and thought of the island empire. An important original product should, however, be mentioned-the native poetry of Japan. While this poetry has not, as a whole, been as important or as influential as the poetry of China, the so-called Nō plays of Japan have attracted much attention, especially of late, and several English translations have appeared. These dramas date mostly from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. They are written in prose and poetry, but the poetical element is the larger and more significant. They are short; the actors vary usually from three to six in number; the story is slight and is subordinated to the characteristic mystical element and to the moral teaching involved. The old spirit of Japan is enshrined in these plays.

Modern Japan has been deeply influenced by Western civilization. Its literature exhibits the stages of the conflict between old and new ideas. No writers of the first importance seem to have appeared during the modern period, but the output of Japanese presses and the general intellectual acuteness of the people of the empire are certainly most impressive. The most numerous publications at the present time are works of fiction, works on general literature and art, and writings in the fields of the social sciences.

LITERATURE OF INDIA

India, like Persia, is of interest to us as an early center of the Aryan or Indo-European civilization. The Aryans pushed their way into India about two thousand years before Christ. The study of their ancient records has proved a fascinating branch of oriental research. It involves the beginnings of the Aryan speech; it discloses a wealth of literary material; most of all, it affords a glimpse of the early Aryan peoples, their ideas and their manner of life. In the Vedic hymns they sing of the glory of their gods and of the greatness of their own "Aryan" (or "noble") race. They are seen

marching in communities with the father of the family as leader and priest, and later, in their early settled home on the banks of the Indus, divided into tribes. Their civilization is relatively high; their chief wealth lies in their cattle; they use the horse as a beast of burden and as an aid in their battles; they eat beef and use fermented liquors; they sow seed in the field and they build boats for use on the river; blacksmiths, barbers, and other artisans are familiar figures among them. In short, our picture of these remote forefathers of the Aryan folk is interesting and fairly complete.

The literature of India may be divided into three periods: the Vedic, chiefly from 1500 to 1000 B.C., but persisting several centuries longer; the period of sectarian literature, dating from the time of Buddha (sixth century B.C.) and later; and the Sanskrit, which overlapped the Vedic period and extended to a period some centuries after Christ. Indian literature had a comparatively unbroken development for three thousand years. In bulk it is enormous, exceeding that of Greece and Rome combined. It is also original in form and especially important in the fields of religion and philosophy. It embodies the ritual and the doctrine of a national religion, Brahmanism, and of a world religion, Buddhism. Until a few centuries after Buddha's day the literature of India was not reduced to writing; and even then it was not ordinarily read, but was memorized and thus passed on from generation to generation. The sheer effort of the mind involved in the task seems extraordinary to us. When writing was finally employed, the style was borrowed mostly from the northern Semitic or Phoenician type. Few manuscripts have been preserved antedating the fourteenth century of our era, for the reason that perishable material, mainly birch bark and palm leaves, was used for the writing. After the Mohammedan conquest (A.D. 1000) paper was employed.

The ancient languages of India were Vedic and Sanskrit, the one related somewhat closely to the other. Popular dialects were in common use very early, and from these have sprung the native vernaculars of our own day. The Buddhistic writings made use of the popular language of the people of Buddha's day, especially in Buddha's own province. This is known as Pali.