Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	law_n	matter_n	2,980	5	5.2921	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52346	An embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperor of China deliver'd by their excellencies, Peter de Goyer and Jacob de Keyzer, at his imperial city of Peking : wherein the cities, towns, villages, ports, rivers, &c. in their passages from Canton to Peking are ingeniously describ'd / by Mr. John Nieuhoff ... ; also an epistle of Father John Adams their antagonist, concerning the whole negotiation ; with an appendix of several remarks taken out of Father Athanasius Kircher ; English'd, and set forth with their several sculptures, by John Ogilby Esq. ...; Gezantschap der Neerlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie aan den grooten Tartarischen Cham, den tegenwoordigen keizer van China. English	Nieuhof, Johannes, 1618-1672.; Goyer, Pieter de.; Keizer, Jacob de.; Kircher, Athanasius, 1602-1680. China monumentis. Selections. English.; Ogilby, John, 1600-1676.; Schall von Bell, Johann Adam, 1592?-1666.; Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie.	1673 (1673)	Wing N1153; ESTC R3880	438,428	416

will not undertake any Business contrary to the Rules of the Religious Order I thought it necessary to bind him with an absolute Command to undertake this Function and to add the Dignity of the second Order unto the Title of the Master of the Celestial Secrets in which Office he having been employ'd for some Years hath daily increas'd his Diligence and Study And because he hath a Temple or Church near the Gate of the City nam'd Xun Che Muen in which according to the Rites of his Law or Religion he Offereth Sacrifices unto God I therefore contributed some Assistance unto him for the building and adorning of it and when I entred that Temple I discern'd the Images and Utensils of it to have the shapes of strange things and when I had ask'd him what the Books of his Religion which I found on the Table contain'd he answer'd That they contain'd the Explication of the Divine Law Indeed although I had first apply'd my Study to the Doctrine or Religion Yao Xun Cheu and learn'd some things out of their Books Cum Cu and albeit I have read somewhat in the Books Foe and Tau yet notwithstanding I can remember nothing contain'd in them and seeing I could not by reason of the Affairs of my Kingdom hitherto peruse the Books of this Divine Law but onely cursorily therefore I cannot pass an exact Iudgment out of them concerning the Law but if you reflect upon or consider Father Iohn Adam who for many years having been conversant with the Chineses and with us followeth this Law and Preacheth the same then I judge and esteem it the best for Iohn Adam doth so reverence his God that he hath dedicated this Temple unto him with so great Modesty and Integrity for so many years always conforming himself in the same method of this Law and not in the least point varying from it this indeed is an evident sign that the Law is most perfect in which Iohn Adam sheweth himself of most approved Vertue and fulfilleth that exactly by his Fidelity which that Law teacheth or commandeth viz. To serve God to obey Kings and Magistrates to do no wrong to any Person and to have respect to the Good and Welfare of the Commonwealth and our Neighbors And would to God that all my Magistrates Officers and Subjects would imitate this his Method in serving of God and keeping of this his Divine Law and at a long distance would but shadow this in the Homage they owe unto their Emperor without doubt it would fall out better and far more happily with me and my whole Empire As for my own part I praise and greatly approve of this his Belief and Law which he followeth and therefore in a perpetual Commemoration I affix this Title to his Church Tum hiuen hia Kim that is The excellent Place for ascending to Heaven Given at Peking the seventh Year of our Empire This Patent written in the Chinesian and Tartar Languages and Characters on a black Table by a polite and elegant Hand is to be seen in our Study or Gallery and the Tartar Characters do indeed resemble the form of the Syriack wholly different from those of the Chineses Now on what occasion the Tartar granted this Priviledge is related before From whence it is manifestly apparent what affection so great a Monarch had for the Christian Faith and how much he endeavor'd the promotion and promulgation thereof even to the embracing of it himself confessing the only obstacle of his Conversion was Polygamie which Doctrine being so dissonant to the Customs and Nature of the Heathen Princes made them boggle at first and then flie from that True Faith they were ready to receive to the perdition of their Souls But to return to our purpose From this most ardent propensity of the Emperor unto our Religion immediately there succeeded a great Conversion of the Ladies of Honor the Eunuchs and Mandorins the Christian Law being spread abroad in the City of Peking there were gather'd into the Bosom of the Church almost eighty thousand Converts But all this flourishing and Blooming Spring was blasted in the Bud by the sudden Death of the Emperor he not obtaining that Eternal Salvation which he so much desir'd on the behalf of others and although oftentimes he requested the Ghostly Assistance of Father Adam yet by the craft and subtlety of the Lamas and Bonzii who stood before the Emperor in the last Conflict of Life and Death it so fell out that all Address to him was obstructed till it was too late for being frustrate of his hope whom he thought alive he to his incredible sorrow found dead Now when his Funeral Rites were perform'd a Pile being made of precious Wood the Treasures of so wealthy a Prince were cast into the Flames with the dead Corps which put an end to his Imperial Magnificence and Grandeur The Son of this deceased Emperor being a Youth of fourteen Years of Age succeeded him in the Government who as he was under the Discipline and Tuition of Father Adam being wholly committed unto his Care by the Emperor so he devested not himself of that innate Affection which he had to the Christian Faith and our Religious Fathers Now how much the Christian Concerns were augmented under these Emperors in respect of former Times is evidently shewn by the Inscription of the new erected and Consecrated Church at Peking which as being worthy of Consideration I shall here subjoyn in stead of a Conclusion The Inscription of the Church of Peking belonging to the Society of Iesus AFter the Faith introduc'd by St. Thomas the Apostle and after the same was again and that more largely Propagated by the Syrians in the time of the Reign of the Emperor Tam the same being again the third time divulg'd in the time of the Regency of the Emperor Mim by the Conduct of St. Francis Xavier and Father Matthew Riccius of the Society of Iesus both by Preaching and Books publish'd in the Chinesian Tongue perform'd with great Study and Labor but by reason of the inconstancy of the Nation not altogether with equal success The Empire being now devolv'd unto the Tartars the same Society for a conclusion of their Labors in restoring the Calendar call'd The XI of Hien Lie hath publickly plac'd and Dedicated this Temple to the most High God at Peking the Royal City and Palace of the Emperors of China Anno 1650. and the seventh Year of Xun Chi. Father Iohn Adam Schall of Zell a German Professor of the Society of Iesus and Author of the foremention'd Calendar out of the Labor of his Hands bequeatheth this Temple and his Patience unto Posterity P. MATTHAEVS RICCIVS MACERAT of the Society of Iesus the first propagator of the Christian Religion in the Kingdo of Cluna LY PAVLVS GREAT COLAVS OF the Chineses propagator of y christian L●w. P. ADAM SCHALIGER A GERMAN MANDARIN OF Y FIRST ORDER CHAP. VIII Of the Correction of the Chinese

the Mandorins He at our first Address readily undertook the Business and seem'd to promise himself an happy issue of it Hereupon we deliver'd him certain Heads to frame a Petition of which he accepted but a few days being pass'd when we thought he had made some progress in the Business he comes to the Christian before-mention'd and thus excuses himself Sir if those Padrees who are Strangers be ignorant yet you who are Natives must be acquainted with the manner of doing Business in this Court to wit That whose Petitions either I or any other in the same Office with me do exhibit proceeds always from these two Reasons either that we may avenge our selves of our Enemies or that we are hir'd to it by some great Reward from him in whose Name the Petition runs Now I have receiv'd no Injury from the Hollanders to be aveng'd of nor any Gratuity from those Padrees that I should thrust my my self into so much difficulty and danger for them This Man therefore we left and apply'd our selves to anther who plainly told us That if we would give him two hundred Tays he would plight his Faith to deliver our Petition with whatever Articles we should insert only he would not oblige himself that the Emperor should approve of them but if we would give him six hundred Tays more he would be bound they should be granted and in case they were not he would repay the whole Eight hundred Tays Considering the weightiness of the Mattir and the Liberty which your Lordships gave us in your Letters to undertake for any Sum of Money that we found necessary to effect this Business with your Engagement that the City of Maccow should make good the Payment we promis'd him the whole Sum ●nd upon the rehearsed Conditions before the Petition should be deliver'd ●according to this Country Custom this Master of Requests would see the whole Sum of Money ready and also receve some certain Tayes beforehand as a Pledge and Earnest of the whole which being impossible for us to do he even excus'd himself as the former had done and so forsook us but we insisted and in stead of ready Money which we wanted produc'd two rich Vests that the Emperor had bestow'd upon us and we had carefull preserv'd by us but never worn because it was the Emperor's Gift to us and that they were unsuitable to our Poverty and Religious Habit These he accepted for a hundred and fifty Tays of the Sum agreed on with all the symptomes of a great Satisfaction and really great was our Content because we now seem'd to have laid a sure Foundation for that Work we so earnestly desir'd to finish When lo this same Mandorin we know not by what means came to discover or at least to suspect the Vest to have been the Emperor's Gift unto us which was an Argument sufficient for him to decline our Business alledging not only That he was not so barbarous to receive or wear them but also That it was unworthy in us to slight the Vests which had been Presented us by the Emperor and therefore we might go look some other Person for our Business which on such Terms he would not touch with his little Finger Nor is this Answer any matter of wonder to any that are acquainted with the Dispositions of those Chineses for so timerous are they in any thing relating to their Emperor or rather so superstitious that beyond all comparison they do more dread him than they do God or his Temple But this fear and lowness is but external in reference to their Hands and where their want of Power forbids to do more but if you respect their Hearts there is no Chinese especially of the Learned sort of ingenious and liberal Education who is not a very Prince and carries not in his Plebeian Breast the Pride of the greatest Monarch And this is the Source and Fountain whence such frequent Dissentions spring up among them and the Cause of their often Changes But this is a Digression let us return Our Affliction and Trouble was not small to see our Hopes thus plung'd whereon besides the many Sacrifices of the Mass which we offer'd to God we appointed also some particular Devotions daily for this purpose Our next Application was to all Princes and Noble-men whom either we could take any occasion to visit or who took any occasion to visit us for no day pass'd wherein several Persons came not to adore the Holy Image and to view our new Church and Habitation which the Emperor had bestow'd upon us these we spar'd not to acquaint with the villanous and perfidious Disposition of the Hollanders with their Apostacy from their ancient profess'd Religion and Rebellion against their lawful Soveraign as also their Attempt upon the City of Maccow some years past where they were repell'd and indeed cut off by the brave Inhabitants few in number but mighty in Courage and Unanimity whereunto we thought fit to add That after their Repulse from Maccow they made an Invasion upon some part of the Province of Fokien and also seconded that with a forcible Seizure of an Island lying in that Sea belonging to the Chineses and by them call'd Taiwan but by us nam'd Formosa where they had erected Warlike Forts and where they had in no longer space than two or three years murder'd more than three thousand Persons of the Chineses some the ancient Inhabitants of the Island and some Merchants of the Province of Fockin and Checkin pass'd thither with their Merchandize And it appear'd in the Records of their Iudicial Proceedings that during the last King's Reign thirteen of those Hollanders which chanc'd to be taken Prisoners upon the Coast of Fockin being brought to the Court were all there Condemn'd and accordingly Executed In like manner we continu'd to alledge That under the pretence of Trade they had been admitted Footing upon the Island of Iava that notwithstanding that King weary of their Neighborhood had a long time cut off all Relief of Provisions going to them from all parts of his Territories and sometimes Besieg'd them with puissant and numerous Armies yet could he never prevail to turn them out of their Possessions from whence he might at first easily have kept them Nor was the Bond of any League strong enough to tie these Universal Robbers from offering or to secure any of their Allies from suffering Injuries by them who thought the Sea only their single due excluding all others from any Right to it and therefore never made distinction between Friend or Foe when any Ship fell into their Hands they were able to master as if Neptune had granted to them the only Patent of the Ocean And upon all this we inferr'd That to admit these Men the Exercise of a Free-Trade in China besides the domestick Perils and Mischiefs it would contract were likewise to condemn and scandalize all other Christian Princes and Rulers when they should see the great Potentate of the

Christian Religion the se ●ooks are commonly expos'd to the sight of Strangers in the Library of the Roman Colledge with the authentick Draught of the Monument it self sent from China and lastly approv'd by the whole Christian World so that it is of little concernment what an obscure Bragadocio barketh forth in the utmost Quarter of the World who if he had abstain'd from Calumnies and Scoffs and had prudently propos'd the Matter with some scrupulosity peradventure might better have sav'd his own Reputation and the Credit of his Work but so it hapneth by the just Iudgment of God that those who endeavor to traduce the Glory of the Divine Majesty by Cavils and Scoffs both contrary to Conscience and Charity for the most part at length suffer Shipwrack of their own Fame and Labors Mov'd therefore by these Reasons lest a Monument of so great Concern depriv'd of its Credit should run the hazard of being cast away I shall labor so by the Divine Assistance to establish the Truth of the Monument in this undertaken Work being my Contexture from the very bottom of the Matter confirm'd not only by the great attestation of the Fathers of our Society which have seen it with their own Eyes but also from the testimony of the Chineses themselves that from henceforth there may no place of doubting be left and the Heterodox themselves may be forc'd to confess the Interpretation of this Syro-Chinesian Inscription being consider'd that no other Doctrine was taught above a thousand years past by the Preachers of the Gospel which is not altogether consonant and conformable yea the very same with the Orthodox Doctrine now profess'd and therefore the Gospel Preached formerly in China is the same with that which the Universal Catholick Roman Church enjoineth to be believ'd at this Day as I shall afterwards prove by manifold strength of Argument Now that the Matter may be treated of in a requisite Order and Method I thought good first of all to annex a two-fold perfect and sincere Interpretation of this Stone expounded by the Chinesian Learned Men themselves from a Book Printed in Chinesian Characters and express'd verbatim in the genuine Pronunciation of the Chinesian words by Father Michael Boim a Person excellently skill'd in the Chinese Language as it will appear anon from his Epistle to the Reader I have also adjoin'd another Exposition with the Scholiasts avoiding the Chinese Phrase not so accustom'd to our Ears and that for the more sutable apprehending of the genuine Sence of the Table And this I did the rather that I might not seem to omit any thing by which the Monument might receive the greater Illustration And by reason some may justly question how those Syrian-Chaldeans the great Propagators of the Christian Religion could penetrate into those utmost Quarters of the Earth it appear'd not only congruous but also absolutely necessary for the confirmation of this Matter to administer Aid to the perplexed Reader in this obscure Labyrinth of various Travels by the flaming Pharos of this Work that is to direct him by Geographical Demonstrations from which if I do not deceive my self the Reader shall clearly understand That not only the Christian Doctrine but also the Superstitions of the Chineses and their Fables before the coming of our Saviour deriv'd their Original from one and the same Region that is from Egypt Graecia Syria and Chaldea Now where the vast Empire of the Chineses is into which the Monument sheweth the Gospel to have had an Entrance I shall rather hint at in a few words than endeavor to describe concerning which notwithstanding if the inquisitive Reader desireth farther satisfaction I shall remit him to have recourse unto the History of Father Nicholas Trigautius and Iohn Samedius as also to the Atlas Sinicus of Martine Martinius and many others where he shall find fully describ'd whatsoever relateth unto the Situation of China and its Wonders the Nature Property and Fertility of the Regions the multitude of its great and vast Cities and their Inhabitants and lastly the Politick and Civil Government in which regard this Empire seemeth not to give place to any Monarchy in the World My Business is only to explain those things which as they are controverted so likedo wonderfully render the Readers doubtful and perplex'd about the equivocation of the Terms and also to alledge in respect to the curious Reader the more rare Curiosities and Secrets of Things observ'd to be treasur'd up in this Nation and others adjacent not observ'd hitherto by any former Authors with the Prodigies both of Nature and Art each being recorded in their proper place CHINA the largest and vastest of Kingdoms as it was confin'd unto the utmost Bounds of Asia by the Creator of the Earthly Globe so also did it remain altogether unknown unto the Ancients even unto the Year 1220. when Marcus Paulus Venetus first discover'd it unto us under the Name of Catay as afterwards shall be made manifest On the East it is encompass'd with the Eastern Ocean On the North it hath Tartary adjoining separated by a Wall whose yet undiscover'd Bounds are extended even unto the Frozen Sea and questionless they are in some part or other continu'd to the North part of America with Anian whether it be a Sraight or Isthmos although unto this very time as with great pains it was search'd after by the Fathers of our Society employ'd in China the Limits of these vast Kingdoms and Lands have as yet been detected by no Person On the West it is encompass'd partly with Ridges of most high Mountains partly a Sandy Desart and other Kingdoms which we shall discourse of anon Lastly on the South it is limited with the Sea the Kingdoms of Touchinum Cochinchina Laum and others The Latitude beginneth from 18 Degrees and extendeth it self unto 43. that is it is distended by the interval of a thousand four hundred and forty Italian Miles from South to North and from the West unto the East it almost consisteth of the same Distance whence the Chineses do express it in their Maps in the form of a Quadrate although by our Geographers that are better skill'd in the Mathematicks it is describ'd in the Figure of a Crescent Now in reference unto the confusion of the Names of it it is as great as the diversity of the adjoining Nations are the Spaniards and the Portuguese call it China the Ancients as it ●s to be seen in Ptolemy Sin and Serica the Arabians Sin and the Sarazens Catay All which Appellations are so far I may say from being in use among the Chineses themselves that the Names are not so much as known as it is hence apparent for it is an immemorial Custom among the Chineses that as often as the Right of Dominion devolv'd from one Family to another according to the mutability of Humane Affairs so also was the Kingdom dignifi'd with a new Name by him that assum'd the Regalities which he

Strangers as understood not the year of Christ might here find that of Alexander which extended farth●r and with which perhaps they might be better acquainted From hence it is also manifest that the Syrian or Chaldean Tongue in those Times was common to the Churches of Syria Palestine Egypt and Babylon yea peculiar to them in Christ's time so that it is no wonder that the Gospel of Christ immediately after the Travels of the Apostles throughout the whole World was carried not only into the most remote Regions of the East but also into the adjacent Regions of Babylon Egypt and Ethiopia where as if in the native Birth-places of the Church the Syrian or Chaldean Tongue took such root that it was thereby spread throughout all the Coasts of India as I have said before and the utmost Regions of China But of this more in the following Discourses OF THE VARIOUS Voyages and Travels UNDERTAKEN INTO CHINA PART II. CHAP. I. By whom and by what means the Holy Gospel of Christ was at divers times introduc'd into the uttermost Regions of the East into India Tartaria China and other Countries of Asia SEeing that at this very Day in India China and other Regions of Asia there are yet remaining frequent footsteps of the Christian Religion as I have shew'n even now I think it will be worth while if having Explain'd the Syro-Chaldean Monument found in China I now give a brief Account by what way and occasion these Apostolical Persons penetrated into those most remote Quarters of the World for having accomplish'd this it will clearly appear that at all times Syria Egypt and Grecia have been a Seminary not only of promoting the Christian Religion in the far distant Regions but also before the coming of Christ they were the Propagators of all Superstition throughout the World And that I may proceed with the more clearness in a Matter so abstruse I shall first here set down the Opinions of some concerning them so that those things being discussed it may more evidently appear what ought to be resolv'd concerning the Matter propos'd First therefore there are some Persons who assert That these Colonies of the Christians first of all entred China and the other Regions of Asia by the assistance of that great Asiatick Emperor usually term'd Presbyter Iohn But then again seeing that this is a great Controversie amongst Authors concerning this Emperor and the Situation Quality and Condition of his Kingdom or Empire I shall in the first place alledge something concerning this Prince and his Dominions for the more clear Explication of the Matter or Subject albeit I have already treated of the same in my Prodromus Coptus Who was that famous Presbyter Iohn and whether there ever were such an Emmperor NOw therefore as the Kings of Egypt were at first call'd Pharaohs and afterwards Ptolemyes those of Mauritania Seriphii those of the Persians formerly Xerxes Artaxerxes and now Sophi so the Name of Presbyter Iohn hath now for a long time denoted the Dignity of some Christian Prince whose Dominions are plac'd by consent of the most knowing Persons not amongst the Ethiopians or in any part of Africa as some falsly suppose but in the Continent of Asia yet in what Place he Rul'd is not exactly known Now some Writers affirming that they were the Kings of Cathay have thereby rendred the Matter more doubtful seeing it hath been discover'd in these latter Years that all Cathay belongeth unto China and that there is no City or Territory call'd by this Name that is now found without the Bounds of China And in this all the Fathers of our Society who have continu'd in China for many years do agree who are Persons very well skill'd in Geographical Knowledge as Matthew Riccius Nicholas Trigautius Alvarus Samedus Michael Boi● Martin Martinius Iohn Gruberus and Iohn Adams that great Mandorin of the Kingdom of China and lastly Benedict Goes of the same Society who by order from his Superiors travell'd from the Kingdom of Magor purposely to find out Cathay by a Land-Voyage I believe that it is not far wide of the Truth that besides that portion of Land which by the Name of Cathay was found by the Fathers of our Society within the Limits of China there is another Quarter of the World much larger conterminate on the North and West unto the Empire of China But seeing that all that Region without the Walls of China is a Desart almost of two Months travel incultivated and destitute of Inhabitants it is probable that the Region of China in latter Times as being very much manur'd and abounding in all things might properly be call'd Cathay And that the Desart at this day call'd Kalmuk and the Regions confining on it without the Walls in former Ages had the Name of Cathay the Desart in the adjoining Kingdoms of which that same Presbyter Iohn of whom even now we treated Rul'd in the days of our Ancestors Marcus Paulus Venetus termeth it The Empire of the Great Cham the Holy Scriptures as Arias Montanus will have it Gog and Magog concerning which thus writeth Sybilla Heu tibi Gogque Magogque aliisque ex ordine cunctis Marson atque Angon tibi quot mala fata propinquant Now that this is the Scythian Cathay is shew'd by the Arabick Geographer throughout the four entire last Climates where he describeth it to abound in Men Animals and Minerals flourishing with Christians meer'd and inclos'd with the vast extended Skirts of Caucasus call'd Iagog and Magog Thus the Arabian Geographer in his ninth Part Climate 5. Line 21. his words are to this effect as I have translated them out of the Arabick From the Mansion Gerrada to the City Tahamet on the South Quarter are four Leucae whereof one maketh twenty five Miles from the City Geerada even unto the Mountain which is call'd Caucasus is seven days travel And this Mountain encompasseth the Regions of Iagog and Magog It hath such craggy and difficult sides that none can ascend it and if any one doth attempt it he can never arrive at the top being obstructed by continual Snows congeal'd into Ice which because they are never dissolv'd represent the similude of a Mist or thick Cloud perpetually fix'd on the top of the mountainous Caucasian Rocks On the other side the Mountain are many Cities of Iagog and Magog And it often hapneth that the Inhabitants of this Region out of a certain curiosity ascend some part of it to discover what is on the top of the Mountain and what is beyond but many never return either ●ecause they are devour'd by wild Beasts or taken by the Transmountainers but some that have return'd safe relate That in the Region on the other side of the Mountain in the Night are many Fires but in the Day nothing else but a thick Cloud mix'd with Darkness is discover'd Also in the seventh Part of the same Climate Line 34. he adds In these Regions many Christians or Nazaraeans do

Church he is termed Iohn with the addition of the word Presbyter not because he was a Priest but by reason that after the Mode and Custom of a Chief Arch-bishop he had a Cross carried before him by which he declar'd himself a Defender of the Christian Religion Whence Scaliger supposeth him to be so call'd from the Persian word Prestegiani which signifieth Apostolical which the Western People misunderstanding for the word Prestegiani they write Presbyter Iohn I will add his words In truth saith he I have very often admir'd that a Nation altogether ignorant in Navigation should be so potent both at Land and Sea as to extend the Bounds of their Empire from Ethiopia even unto China for from those very Times we have had a knowledge of that Emperor but that under the Name of Prestegiani in the Persian Tongue which is almost common over all Asia as the Latin is with us in the West signifieth Apostolical by which Name it is manifest they understand a Prince that is Christian and Orthodox for in the Persian Prestegiani in the plural Number signifieth Apostles and Prestegini Apostolical as Padischa Prestegini an Apostolical King in the Arabick Melek Arresuli in the Ethiopick Negus Havarjavi That the Empire of the Ethiopians was extended far and wide in Asia is evident by the Ethiopian Crosses which are seen in Iapan China and other Places yea and the Temple of St. Thomas the Apostle situate in the Region of Malabar is wholly Ethiopick as the Crosses the Structure and many other things yea and what you will most wonder at the very Name Thus far Scaliger From which Discourse we may well collect That certain Colonies were sent out from Ethiopia into India China and other Parts of Asia which propagated the Christian Faith in those Parts which we now endeavor to shew but in that he saith Presbyter Iohn was originally an African or that being forc'd out of Asia he should set down in Ethiopia and there Rule and Govern is altogether improbable and without any foundation as we shall see anon Now that this African and Asiatick Emperor were diverse is consented unto by the greater part of the best Authors And the Empire of the Asiatick flourish'd for many Years until it fell unto one David who as Paulus Venetus relateth being overcome or vanquish'd by a certain Commander nam'd Cingis Cublai his Uncle in a great Battel who was elected Emperor by the Scythians and in stead of Presbyter began to be call'd Uncam or Naiam unto the great loss of Christianity put an end both to the Glory of the Empire and the Name of Presbyter Iohn as we have shew'd in the History of Marcus Paulus Venetus I shall now declare by what mistake the Name of Presbyter Iohn was given unto the Emperor of the Abyssines or Ethiopians At that time in which the Portuguese by a Maritime Voyage sought after new Quarters of the Earth the Name of Presbyter Iohn was very famous through Europe for he was reported to be a most potent Emperor Lord of many Kingdoms a Christian by Religion but in what Place he Rul'd was altogether unknown Therefore when Peter Couillan was sent by Iohn the Second King of Portugal first through the Mediterranean Sea and afterwards by a Land-Voyage to find out this Prince he heard in the Asiatick India unto which he had arriv'd that in that Ethiopia which is beneath Egypt there was a certain Prince very powerful who profess'd the Christian Religion he therefore betook himself to him and when he had found many things there with him which were conformable unto the constant Fame that was reported amongst the Europeans he believ'd that that was the Presbyter Iohn so call'd He therefore was the first Person who began to call the Emperor of the Abyssines by the Name of Preste Iean that is Presbyter Iohn Others also in succeeding times who travell'd into Ethiopia imitated him and easily introduc'd the same Error into Europe All which is Learnedly shew'd by Father Balthasar Tellez in his Ethiopian History which he hath compos'd in an elegant and polite Portuguese Style unto which also subscribeth Alphonsus Mendes the most wise Patriarch of Ethiopia and the great Light of our Society in an Epistle prefix'd unto the Work of Father Tellez concerning the Ethiopick Affairs Therefore when we speak of Presbyter Iohn we understand not the Emperor of the Abyssines for besides that his Empire is situate very far distant from that of the Presbyter Iohn of Asia it is evident from the Chronology of the Emperors of Ethiopia which is to be seen in the Vatican Library that there is no mention of transplanting out of Africa into Asia or out of Asia into Africa yea Damianus a Goes in his Book of the Manners and Customs of the Ethiopians doth expresly deny him to be call'd Presbyter Iohn or that he was ever so termed which is also asserted by the Ethiopian Priests above cited but we understand that Great Prince of Asia of whom we have spoken in the precedent Discourse And certainly at this very day there remaineth some Footsteps of this formerly Great Presbyter Iohn in the Kingdom of Tanchut which the Tartars call Barantola the Saracens Boratai and the Natives Lassa as the Fathers of our Society Albert Dorville and Iohn Gruberus who travell'd through it as they return'd from China into Europe Anno 1661. sufficiently testifie who relate incredible things concerning the superstitious Adoration of this Prince Now there are in this Region two Kings the first whereof hath a regard to the Administration of the Political Government and the other whom they term God or The Celestial Father or else The Great Lama or High Priest and Pope of the Priests remaineth in the innermost Recesses of his Palace and receiveth Adoration and Worship from all his People as a Deity and they have him in such high Veneration that they foolishly persuade themselves that the very Filth of his Body and his Excrements are extremely conducing to the curing of all Distempers whence they do not only compound and mix them with their Medicines but also blush not to carry them about in a Box fastned to or hung about their Necks And by reason that Mortality cannot evade or escape the Bonds of Death his Worshippers that he may not be said to perish as other Persons the Devil their Tutor suggesting it to them have found out the following Stratagem or Device They make Inquisition throughout all the Kingdom to find out a Lama as like as may be unto the former whom when they have gotten they advance him by a clandestine and secret Machination or Plot unto the Throne of the Eternal Father as they call it pretending the feigned Deity upon the account of his likeness to the former to have been rais'd from the Dead who is now said to have been rais'd seven times The Reader may fully understand in the following Discourse the Rites and Ceremonies by which the foolish

the Fortresses of the Walls did not only reduce Pequin but like an Inundation in little space subjected all China unto their Empire Vumly Emperor of the Chineses being deserted by all and forc'd to great Exigences when no Place of Safeguard was granted unto him by his rebellious Subjects of China that he might not be compell'd to behold so great a Confluence of imminent Calamities having first with his own Hands slain both his Wife and his Daughter at length heightned unto Despair miserably concluded his Life by the Halter Concerning which Occurrences he that desireth farther to understand the Catastrophe of Humane Concernments may have recourse unto Father Martinius in his Tractate of the Tartar War and from thence he may learn not to be any farther inquisitive after the heighth of an unhappy Monarch in such sort exalted which lieth subject and expos'd unto so horrible Precipices and so great Ruines in the so great disturbance of Affairs and Confusion of the Empire The Christians plac'd between hope and fear with careful Minds expected the Inclination of the new Emperor unto the Progress of the Christian Faith and at length they found it more propitious unto them than ever they could have wish'd or desir'd in the manner that followeth There had now been residing in China for many years Father Iohn Adam Schall Native of the City of Colonia in Germany who as he was inferior to none either in respect of his Knowledge in the Mathematicks and other Sciences in which he excell'd or his excellent skill in the Chinesian Tongue or lastly his Prudence in the management of Affairs acquir'd by long Experience so was he much fam'd throughout the whole Empire concerning whom when the new Emperor had been inform'd many worthy things as in reference to a Stranger he was very much joy'd with this Information that he had found a Stranger which for a long space he had desir'd so much knowing in all the Affairs of China unto whom he might safely and securely entrust the closest Secrets of all his Councils and whom he discover'd happily to have conjoin'd the Chinesian Arts unto an European Wit or Capacity therefore having call'd him to Court he receiv'd him with great testimony of Friendship and observing the gravity of his Deportment his Candor of Life Prudence and excellent Wid at sudden Repartees he was so well pleas'd with his Conversation that he immediately created him one of his intimate Councellors a Mandorin of the prime Rank and assign'd unto him the highest Place in the Astronomical Tribanal of the Calender and commanded all throughout the whole Empire to obey his Astronomical Determinations he especially wondring at his infallible Prediction of Eclipse in which the others did so much err perform'd by his accurate Calculation he admir'd also his skill in the Mechanick Arts especially in casting of great Ordnance The Emperor being taken with these things lov'd and honor'd him as a Father looking upon him as more than Man as having something of Divinity about him and when any Address was scarcely admitted unto so sublime a Majesty besides that of the Empress and Eunuchs he obtain'd without any Prohibition a Favor granted to no other a Priviledge of coming into the Emperor's Presence whether at home or abroad and therefore he was esteem'd as his Maffa for so the Emperor call'd him that is to say Venerable Father a Priviledge never read of in the Annals of the Chineses Four times in a Year the Emperor vouchsaf'd to visit the House and Church of our Society going into all the Corners of the House he was pleas'd to converse with the Maffa privately in the Lodging-Room refusing all Ceremonies of State befitting so great a Monarch sometimes sitting upon the Bed Pallat and sometime in the old decrepit Chair condescending to view some of our Rarities not refusing to smell Flowers which he Presented him from his own Garden and never seem'd more pleasantly to recreate himself than in the House of the poor Priests and in the Church he wondred at the brightness of the Altars and the elegancy of the European Images cursorily enquiring concerning the Books their Characters and Images with the Mysteries thereof which when explain'd unto him he worshipp'd especially the Fignres of Christ and the Blessed Virgin and asserted That the Christian Religion was the best and excell'd all others that his Ancestors had formerly been of the same Persuasion And that he might not seem to esteem of the Christian Faith in words only he resolv'd to do something in honor thereof for on a great Marble Stone erected before the Doors of our Church he caus'd to be Engraven in Chinese and Tartar Characters his Will and Pleasure for the Propagation of the Faith of Christ by a Regal Edict which at this Day is to be seen Printed on a China Sheet of Paper in the Library of the Roman Colledge and is as followeth THE Heavenly Science of Astronomy which our Progenitors so highly esteem'd of as we also do who trace their Footsteps deserves to be extoll'd to the Skies especially after the same formerly under divers Emperors being almost wholly collaps'd is restor'd and especially hath been rendred more exact by Co Zeu Kim in the time of the Empire of Iuen Emperor of the Tartars who formerly Rul'd the Chineses four hundred years and lastly was become very erroneous in the latter part of the Reign of the former Emperor Mim There is found Iohn Adam Schall coming from the farthest part of the West into China who understandeth not only the Art of Calculation but also the Theory of the Planets and whatsoever doth belong unto Astronomy he being brought unto the Emperor our Antecessor by his Command took upon him the care of restoring the Mathematicks and Astronomy in the University but because that many apprehended not the Fruit that would redound unto the Commonwealth from this Science he could not then conclude that his Subjects should employ themselves in that Science but now I being come unto the Empire make the order of Time my first care as conducing to the Profit and Advantage of my Empire for in the Autumn of the first Year of my Rule demanding an Experiment in that Art which Iohn Adam hath restor'd I commanded him to observe the Ecliyse of the Sun which he had most diligently Calculated long before and having found both the Moments of Time and also the Points of the Eclipse most exactly to correspond in all Circumstances with his Calculation and also in the Spring of the following Year when there was an Eclipse of the Moon commanding him with the same Diligence to observe it I also found this not to err or differ an Hairs breadth wherefore I presently discern'd that Heaven sent this Person unto us at such a time in which I undertook the Regiment of so great an Empire whence I committed unto him the whole Government of the Mathematical Tribunal but because Iohn Adam is chaste from his Youth and