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not only permissible but laudable。 Samuel's hewing to pieces of
the miserable captive; sole survivor of his nation; Agag;
〃before Jahveh;〃 can hardly be viewed in any other light。
The life of Moses is redeemed from Jahveh; who 〃sought to slay
him;〃 by Zipporah's symbolical sacrifice of her child; by the
bloody operation of circumcision。 Jahveh expressly affirms that
the first…born males of men and beasts are devoted to him;
in accordance with that claim; the first…born males of the
beasts are duly sacrificed; and it is only by special permission
that the claim to the first…born of men is waived; and it is
enacted that they may be redeemed (Exod。 xiii。 12…15)。 Is it
possible to avoid the conclusion that immolation of their first…
born sons would have been incumbent on the worshippers of
Jahveh; had they not been thus specially excused? Can any other
conclusion be drawn from the history of Abraham and Isaac?
Does Abraham exhibit any indication of surprise when he receives
the astounding order to sacrifice his son? Is there the
slightest evidence that there was anything in his intimate and
personal acquaintance with the character of the Deity; who had
eaten the meat and drunk the milk which Abraham set before him
under the oaks of Mamre; to lead him to hesitateeven to wait
twelve or fourteen hours for a repetition of the command? Not a
whit。 We are told that 〃Abraham rose early in the morning〃 and
led his only child to the slaughter; as if it were the most
ordinary business imaginable。 Whether the story has any
historical foundation or not; it is valuable as showing that the
writer of it conceived Jahveh as a deity whose requirement of
such a sacrifice need excite neither astonishment nor suspicion
of mistake on the part of his devotee。 Hence; when the incessant
human sacrifices in Israel; during the age of the kings; are put
down to the influence of foreign idolatries; we may fairly
inquire whether editorial Bowdlerising has not prevailed over
historical truth。
An attempt to compare the ethical standards of two nations; one
of which has a written code; while the other has not; is beset
with difficulties。 With all that is strange and; in many cases;
repulsive to us in the social arrangements and opinions
respecting moral obligation among the Tongans; as they are
placed before us; with perfect candour; in Mariner's account;
there is much that indicates a strong ethical sense。 They showed
great kindliness to one another; and faithfulness in standing by
their comrades in war。 No people could have better observed
either the third or the fifth commandment; for they had a
particular horror of blasphemy; and their respectful tenderness
towards their parents and; indeed; towards old people in
general; was remarkable。
It cannot be said that the eighth commandment was generally
observed; especially where Europeans were concerned;
nevertheless a well…bred Tongan looked upon theft as a meanness
to which he would not condescend。 As to the seventh commandment;
any breach of it was considered scandalous in women and as
something to be avoided in self…respecting men; but; among
unmarried and widowed people; chastity was held very cheap。
Nevertheless the women were extremely well treated; and often
showed themselves capable of great devotion and entire
faithfulness。 In the matter of cruelty; treachery; and
bloodthirstiness; these islanders were neither better nor worse
than most peoples of antiquity。 It is to the credit of the
Tongans that they particularly objected to slander; nor can
covetousness be regarded as their characteristic;
for Mariner says:
When any one is about to eat; he always shares out what he has
to those about him; without any hesitation; and a contrary
conduct would be considered exceedingly vile and selfish (vol。
ii p。 145)。
In fact; they thought very badly of the English when Mariner
told them that his countrymen did not act exactly on that
principle。 It further appears that they decidedly belonged to
the school of intuitive moral philosophers; and believed that
virtue is its own reward; for
Many of the chiefs; on being asked by Mr。 Mariner what motives
they had for conducting themselves with propriety; besides the
fear of misfortunes in this life; replied; the agreeable and
happy feeling which a man experiences within himself when he
does any good action or conducts himself nobly and generously as
a man ought to do; and this question they answered as if they
wondered such a question should be asked〃 (vol。 ii。 p。 161)。
One may read from the beginning of the book of Judges to the end
of the books of Samuel without discovering that the old
Israelites had a moral standard which differs; in any essential
respect (except perhaps in regard to the chastity of unmarried
women); from that of the Tongans。 Gideon; Jephthah; Samson; and
David are strong…handed men; some of whom are not outdone by any
Polynesian chieftain in the matter of murder and treachery;
while Deborah's jubilation over Jael's violation of the primary
duty of hospitality; proffered and accepted under circumstances
which give a peculiarly atrocious character to the murder of the
guest; and her witch…like gloating over the picture of the
disappointment of the mother of the victim
The mother of Sisera cried through the lattice;
Why is his chariot so long in coming? (Jud。 v。 28。)
would not have been out of place in the choral service of the
most sanguinary god in the Polynesian pantheon。
With respect to the cannibalism which the Tongans occasionally
practised; Mariner says:
Although a few young ferocious warriors chose to imitate what
they considered a mark of courageous fierceness in a
neighbouring nation; it was held in disgust by everybody else
(vol。 ii。 p。 171)。
That the moral standard of Tongan life was less elevated than
that indicated in the 〃Book of the Covenant〃 (Exod。 xxi。…xxiii。)
may be freely admitted。 But then the evidence that this Book of
the Covenant; and even the ten commandments as given in Exodus;
were known to the Israelites of the time of Samuel and Saul; is
(to say the least) by no means conclusive。 The Deuteronomic
version of the fourth commandment is hopelessly discrepant from
that which stands in Exodus。 Would any later writer have
ventured to alter the commandments as given from Sinai; if he
had had before him that which professed to be an accurate
statement of the 〃ten words〃 in Exodus? And if the writer of
Deuteronomy had not Exodus before him; what is the value of the
claim of the version of the ten commandments therein contained
to authenticity? From one end to the other of the books of
Judges and Samuel; the only 〃commandments of Jahveh〃 which are
specially adduced refer to the prohibition of the worship of
other gods; or are orders given ad hoc; and have nothing
to do with questions of morality。
In Polynesia; the belief in witchcraft; in the appearance of
spiritual beings in dreams; in possession as the cause of
diseases; and in omens; prevailed universally。 Mariner tells a
story of a woman of rank who was greatly attached to King Finow;
and who; for the space of six months after his death; scarcely
ever slept elsewhere than on his grave; which she kept carefully
decorated with flowers:
One day she went; with the deepest affliction; to the house of
Mo…oonga Toobo; the widow of the deceased chief; to communicate
what had happened to her at the fytoca 'grave' during
several nights; and which caused her the greatest anxiety。
She related that she had dreamed that the late How 'King'
appeared to her and; with a countenance full of disappointment;
asked why there yet remained at Vavaoo so many evil…designing
persons; for he declared that; since he had been at Bolotoo; his
spirit had been disturbed by the evil machinations of wicked
men conspiring against his son; but he declared that 〃the youth〃
should not be molested nor his power shaken by the spirit of
rebellion; that he therefore came to her with a warning voice to
prevent such disastrous consequences (vol。 i。 p。 424)。
On inquiry it turned out that the charm of tattao had
been performed on Finow's grave; with the view of injuring his
son; the reigning king; and it is to be presumed that it was
this sorcerer's work which had 〃disturbed〃 Finow's spirit。 The
Rev。 Richard Taylor says in the work already cited: 〃The account
given of the witch of Endor agrees most remarkably with the
witches of New Zealand〃 (p。 45)。
The Tongans also believed in a mode of divination (essentially
similar to the casting of lots) the twirling of a cocoanut。
The object of inquiry 。。。 is chiefly whether a sick person will
recover; for this purpose the nut being placed on