I Then Proposed
To Try Them, By Taking The Side Of The Tuinians, While They Should Defend
The Opinions Of The Christians; But They Knew Not How To Prove Any Thing,
Except Merely By Quoting Their Scriptures.
To this I said, that these men
believed not in our Scriptures, and would oppose them by advancing contrary
opinions and positions from those books which they accounted holy.
Then I
desired that they would allow me to speak first; since if I were overcome
they would be permitted to speak, whereas if they were confuted, I would be
refused a hearing, and to this they consented.
All things being arranged, we convened at our oratory, and Mangu-khan sent
three of his secretaries, a Christian, a Saracen, and a Tuinian, to be
judges of the controversy. It was first proclaimed, "This is the order of
Mangu-khan, and none dare say that the commandment of God is otherwise. Let
none speak contentiously, or use injurious words to one another, or make
any tumult whereby this business may be hindered, upon pain of death."
There was a great assembly, as every party had convened the wisest of their
sect, and many others came flocking around to listen; but all were silent.
The Christians set me in the middle, willing that I should contend with the
Tuinians; who murmured against Mangu, as no khan had ever thus endeavoured
to search into their secrets. Yet they opposed one from Kathay to me, who
had his interpreter, while I had the son of the goldsmith to interpret my
words. The Kathayan said to me, "Friend! if you be put to a nonplus, who
must seek a wiser than thou art?" To this I made no reply. Then he demanded
whether I would dispute as to how the world was made, or as to what became
of the souls after death? For they were desirous to begin with these
questions, as they held them for the strongest in their doctrines, all the
Tuinians following the heresy of the Manicheans, believing in a good and a
bad principle, and they all believe that souls pass from body to body. In
confirmation of this, the goldsmith told me they had brought a person from
Kathay, who, by the size of his body, appeared to be only three years old,
yet was capable of reasoning, and knew how to write, and who affirmed that
he had passed through three several bodies. Even one of the wisest of the
Nestorians demanded of me whether the souls of brutes could fly to any
place after death where they should not be compelled to labour.
To the before-mentioned question of the Kathayan, I answered: "Friend, this
ought hot to be the commencement of our conference. All things are of God,
who is the fountain and head of us all; and therefore we ought first to
speak concerning God, of whom you think otherwise than you ought, and Mangu
desires to know which of us hath the better belief." The arbitrators
allowed this to be reasonable, and I proceeded: "We firmly believe that
there is but one God in perfect unity; what believe you?" He said, "Fools
say there is but one God, but wise men say there are many. There are great
lords in your country, and here is still a greater, even Mangu-khan. So it
is of the Gods, as in divers countries there are divers gods." To this I
answered: "You make a bad comparison between God and men; for in this way
every mighty man might be called a God in his own country." And when I
meant to have dissolved the similitude, he prevented me, by asking, "What
manner of God is yours, who you say is but one?" I answered: "Our God,
beside whom there is no other, is omnipotent, and therefore needeth not the
help of any other; whereas all have need of his help. It is not so with
men, as no man can do all things; wherefore there must be many lords on
earthy as no one can support all. God is omniscient, or knoweth all things;
and therefore hath no need of any counsellor, for all wisdom is from him.
God is perfectly good; and needs not therefore any good from us. In God we
live and move and have our being. Such is our God, and you must not hold
that there is any other." "It is not so," said he; "for there is one
highest in heaven, whose origin or generation we know not, and there are
ten under him, and on earth they are infinite in number." To this he would
have added other fables. I asked him respecting the highest God, of whom he
had spoken, whether he were omnipotent, or if any of the inferior Gods were
so? And fearing to answer this, he demanded, "Why, since our God was
perfectly good, he had made the half of all things evil?" To this I
answered, that this was false; for whosoever maketh any evil is no God, and
all things whatsoever are good. At this all the Tuiuians were astonished,
and set it down in writing as false or impossible. He then asked me,
"Whence cometh evil?" "You ask amiss," said I, "for you ought first to
inquire what evil is, before you ask whence it comes: But let us return to
the first question, whether do you believe that any God is omnipotent? and
when that is discussed, I will answer whatever you may demand." On this he
sat a long time without speaking, and the judges appointed by the khan
commanded him to make answer. At length he said, that no God was
omnipotent; on which all the Saracens broke out into great laughter. When
silence was restored, I said, "None of your gods, therefore, can save you
in all dangers, since chances may happen in which they have no power.
Besides, no man can serve two masters; how, therefore, can you serve so
many Gods in heaven and in earth?" The auditory decreed that he should make
answer to this, but he held his peace.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 103 of 217
Words from 104601 to 105631
of 222093
