Directory_and_Chronicle_1850 — Page 485

1850.

Tract upon Nourishing the Spirit.

447

In the course of his paper the Chinese author speaks of his shin, in the same language precisely as western writers speak of spirit. It has its origin in the mighty Infinite, and is the opposite of body and form. This incorporeal and invisible spirit is with difficulty comprehended; it is the most mysterious of all things; without haste it is rapid, without moving it arrives at its point, it can not be intercepted by intervening objects, it can penetrate both metals and minerals, it can not be described as either far or near, it can mount up to the heights of heaven, and dive into the depths of the earth. The spirit associates with spirit in a manner incomprehensible by those who are engrossed by mate- rial things, and yet it is the spirit with which men are born into the world, the spirit which animates them-and the spirit which they are to cultivate; in some it is neglected and can not retain its seat, but gets subverted and overturn- ed, as in the case of one foolish, drunk, or dreaming; and in others it can soar aloft till it hold intercourse with the spirits of heaven and earth-or with the Supreme. Surely, if ever there were two corresponding termis, in languages so dissimilar as the Chinese and English, none ever suited each other so exactly as do shin and spirit.

Suppose then a Chinese theologian endeavoring to prove to his countrymen the divinity of the Savior, were to bring forward the clearest evidence that Jesus is a skin-what would he have gained? He would have proved that Jesus originally was, and now is, an invisible, intelligent being. That which every inhabitant of the celestial world, every disembodied human soul, yea, every mischievous sprite is equally with the blessed Savior, i. e. a spirul. There is nothing in the term skin that would raise the individual claiming it above the nature of angels or human spirits. Jesus may be really and truly a shin, as the Chinese understand the term, and yet be far, infinitely far, from possessing a Divine nature. What a door would this open for the future Arians and Socinians of the celestial empire? And how would the stoutest defender of our Lord's divinity be able to shut the mouth of a Chinese objector who should say, “Is Jesus a shin ? that, as it regards my mental constitution, am I: wherein does your boasted sage exceed?" Let the advocates of shin reflect on this, and think on what dangerous ground they are treading.

Having undertaken to write you on the subject of the controversy which has so long been discussed in the periodicals of this country, I can not close without a few remarks on the method adopted by some of the combatants on both sides, in concealing their names. It is rather amusing to see what a number of nameless heroes have gallantly stepped forward, well screened from observation, to have their fling at opponents who really show themselves. First, we have a variety of urticles on the subject of this controversy in the Repository, not all from the pen of the Editor, without any name attached; then a series of communications from a Correspondent in Ningpo; followed by a Reader, a Constant Reader, an Impartial Reader, a Brother Missionary, an American Missionary, a Lover of plain Common Sense, and Philo; another rejoices in the name of Sciolus (in one sense perhaps not inappropriately) ; an- other reviews a pamphlet without owning himself, and not a few come out un- der the various letters of the alphabet, such as X.Y.Z., Z.Z., L.N.N, to be follow- ed, it may be, by O. Some of these may have withneld their names, in order that their arguments might be left to rest simply on their own basis, unaided by the adventitious influence which might accrue to them from the extensive reputation of the writers; others again, may have been induced to keep their names a secret, lest their announcement should lessen the effects which night otherwise be produced on the public, who look for an extensive acquaintance with a language in those who argue on philological questions. Some might be induced to appear anonymously, in order that when beaten out of their position by the arguments of their opponents, they might be able to carry on the war under another name, and thus avoid the unpleasantness of having to acknowledge their former mistakes; or a single writer may choose to adopt a variety of ap- pellations, in order to induce the impression on the public mind that there are a number of independent advocates on the same side of the question; or a man may wish to aid his cause by alluding to his own writings under another signa- ture. But you will say, we ought not to impute motives to any man, particu-