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Justo Ucundono. Philalethes, (fl. 1845–1854).
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JUSTO UCUNDONO, PRINCE OF JAPAN.

BY

PHILALETHES.

BALTIMORE: PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURPHY & CO. 178 MARKET STREET.
LONDON: CHARLES DOLMAN, 61 NEW BOND STREET. SOLD BY BOOKSELLERS GENERALLY.

1854.
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by JOHN MURPHY AND COMPANY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Maryland.

PREFACE.

MAN was formed for truth. To enjoy it, is the natural state of his godlike mind: to be imbued with error, is a state of violence. The acquisition of truth, is, of all things created, the first and most important object of man's aspirations, by reason of the magnitude of its results on his final destiny. Truth is that one thing necessary, without which the whole world is of no value to man; and the want of which nothing earthly can supply. For, what good will all the systems of error, which have been broached in the world, from the days of the Serpent, till the hour of Anti-christ, do us, if we have not the truth? All these shall fail us in the end; truth alone will sustain our cause in the courts of earth and heaven. The end of error is death, that of truth is life eternal. Truth, then, every man is compelled to seek, not singly, in virtue of his natural constitution, and on principles of interest; but, by the irresistible impulse of self-preservation.

Now Truth, like its Almighty Author is necessarily one and indivisible. That it may seem manifold is evidnet evident from the "history of the wanderings of the human page: iv-v[View Page iv-v] mind." To distinguish, then, the reality from its mere appearance is a task much more difficult than some would have us believe. Thousands, millions, have spent their lives, groping amid shadows, and have died unable to grasp the great reality.

This applies more especially to religious truth. The world, in this phase, stands divided into hundreds of jarring sects, each claiming truth as its especial birthright, whilst reason declares aloud, that it is one, and can, under no supposition, be manifold. There can be only One God, the God of truth, and one truth, the truth of God.

If the Almighty has marked out a road, which he desires man to walk, to reach his appointed end, it is as clear as the noonday sun, that other roads differing therefrom are wrong, essentially wrong; and that, however inviting they may seem, he that treads them must perish, ere he reaches the wished-for goal. The beneficent Creator has indeed bestowed upon us Reason, to direct us through the mazes of error and doubt, inseparable from the human condition, fallen and degraded as it is from its primitive state of innocence. But this faculty cannot make that, which is wrong, right. It may indeed discover to us the proper path, but can never conduct us to our destination by an opposite one. It is very possible for us, moreover, to mistake both guide and road, and, whilst fancying ourselves conducted by reason into the bright regions of light and truth, to pursue her phantom only into the dark territories of ignorance and error. Many are the clouds that obscure the road, and obstruct the guide. Many are the causes that hinder us from discovering the one, and profiting by the other.

To present a case where uncorrupted reason may have a fair opportunity to conduct man, by her native powers, and God's grace to his appointed end,—is the object of the following pages. It is meant to show, that whenever she properly applies herself to the solution of this great Ethical problem, the invariable result must be, the discovery of God's truth, be it natural or revealed. The outlines of our plan may thus be briefly sketched—Justo Ucundono, a young Japanese Prince, in order that the resources of his mind may be developed, pure and uncontaminated by prejudice, is educated in a secluded valley, Frenoxama, far from the crimes, the errors, and the doubts of men. Knowledge of every human science calculated to give stability and character to thought is imparted to him. From religious instruction of any kind, he is carefully withheld. The name of the Deity, is not so much as mentioned in his presence. This restriction in his course of tuition, was deemed necessary to facilitate and render successful the system of education suggested by Prince Fugurundono, the chief tutor of young Justo, which proposed to keep the mind of the Prince aloof from religious bias, and free from sectarian affection of any page: vi-vii[View Page vi-vii] kind, so that his soul, being, as it were, a perfect blank with regard to religious impressions, reason, aided by the grace of God, might have the fairest scope to stamp upon it the image of the true faith, when the proper moment should have arrived.

When the prince had reached the years of maturity, the great truths of Natural and Revealed religion were unfolded before him. The existence of a Supreme being, Creator and Ruler of the Universe; the immortality of the soul; the existence of a future world; the destiny of man; the doctrine of rewards and punishments after death; the obligation of man towards God, in the state of nature, and in the supposition of revelation; the fact of revelation; the Creation and fall of the angels, and of man; his redemption, &c., are minutely discussed, before the Prince and the Emperor of Japan, by a Council of Divines assembled from all parts of the world, and embracing representatives of every known religious sect.

The truths of natural religion, and the fact of Revelation having been established, the advocates of the various systems of the latter, urge their respective claims to Orthodoxy, before the Council. The Jews, Christians, and Mahometans present the strongest arguments. The Prince after deep reflection, decides in favor of the Christian system. Next, the representatives of every shade and variety of Christianity appear, to contest the palm of superiority. The two great rival systems, whose tenets are, severally, founded on the bases of Authority, and private judgment, are discussed by their champions with great freedom and minuteness. The Bible alone and the Teaching Church are brought forward, front to front, carefully balanced, and are not dismissed until the Bible alone be found wanting. St. Francis Xavier, the renowned Apostle of the Indies and Japan, representing the Cause of Authority, pleads powerfully and convincingly in favor of the great corporation, the Teaching Church. He convinces the mind and affects the heart of Prince Justo, who forthwith decides in favor of Authority, in favor of a Teaching Church, instructing in the name and by the authority of the great infallible God.

To these results, did reason rightly applied lead the Japonian prince, and to similar results will it lead ninety-nine of every hundred sincere inquirers, actuated by a like honesty, and endowed with the same perseverance.

In the execution of our plan, we are aware that we have occasionally drawn upon the kindly aid of friends. This we have scrupled the less to do, having no ambition but to aid the cause of truth unnoticed and unknown. As we are not able however, to specify when, where, or whose labors we have made use of, we feel admonished of the propriety of here making a page: viii-ix (Table of Contents) [View Page viii-ix (Table of Contents) ] general apology for all cases, and of pleading guilty in advance to avoid litigation.

This little work lays no claim to literary excellence. We have been less attentive to points of style, than to matters of faith. The arguments being chiefly advanced in the form of discourses, there is, in the thoughts and language much of the amplification and occasional redundancy, which in a written treatise would be characterized as glaring defects, but which, in a work designed to familiarly expound, cannot well be avoided.

With these remarks, which we have deemed to be necessary, the book is submitted to our friends and the public.

OCTOBER, 1853.

Part First.

Part Second.

Part Third.

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