Table Of ContentThe Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction by
Charles Samuel Braden
Dr. Braden was Professor of History and Literature of Religions at Northwestern University (1952). Published
by The MacMillan Company, New York, copyright 1952 by Charles S. Braden. This material was prepared for
Religion Online by Ted & Winnie Brock.
The scriptures of the world's great religions are not easily available to students. This book is an
attempt to bridge the gap. Actual quotations from the great religions are quoted and discussed.
Acknowledgments
Heavy dependence upon the labors of specialists in several religious fields is necessary in
writing a book on so many different religions. The author records his deep indebtedness to
various scholars who have spent so much study and translation of the literature discussed here.
Preface
This writing includes all of the well known religions of the world except Greek and Roman.
These cultures developed no sacred books of a canonical sort. Although it was intended to
discuss these, time and publisher’s limitations precluded their inclusion.
Chapter 1:What is Sacred Literature?
Sacred literature is distinguished from the non-sacred, not by any criteria of style, literary form,
or even content, but by the fact that in some way or other it has come to be thought of as divine
in origin, and therefore set apart from other literatures and given an authority for faith and life
quite surpassing that accorded to any other writings.
Chapter 2: Pre-literate Sacred Scriptures
Neither the Greeks nor the Romans, the Egyptians nor the Babylonians -- all highly literate
cultures -- had what may be termed sacred books with a definitely limited canon, held to be the
exclusive basis of religious faith. But all of them have writings which corresponded closely to
various portions of sacred books as found in other religions.
Chapter 3: Egyptian Sacred Literature
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
The people of Egypt never reached the stage at which they formed a definitive canon of
writings which served as the basis of their faith. But they did have a very extensive sacred
literature which was highly influential in the expression of their faith, and to some extent in the
determination of that faith. Why Egypt never reached the point of canonization of her scripture
can be a matter of conjecture only.
Chapter 4: Babylonian Sacred Literature
It was of course known from the Bible that there had been a very close relationship between the
civilizations of the Hebrews and the Babylonian-Assyrian people. Five types of Babylonian
writings are discussed: (1) The Creation Story and the Flood Story, that is, the story of
mythological beginnings; (2) hymns and prayers, including their penitential psalms; (3) ritual
texts; (4) their legal code; and (5) omens, all of which find some correspondence in the Bibles
of most people.
Chapter 5: The Sacred Literature of Hinduism
Four of the eleven principal living faiths of the world were born in India: Hinduism, Buddhism,
Jainism, and Sikhism, and all have extensive sacred literatures. Hinduism itself? from which all
the others have sprung, has a vast and highly variegated set of scriptures. In Hinduism it is to be
found heights and depths of spiritual understanding that compare favorably with the best that
have been found anywhere.
Chapter 6: The Sacred Literature of Buddhism
Buddhism started in India in the sixth century B.C., but has slowly disappeared from India and
has become a world religion, found all over eastern Asia. The sacred literature of Buddhism is
extensive--thousands of books. It is very much alive, and as our world grows smaller, the
Western world will find its ways of thought and life influenced by Buddhism.
Chapter 7: The Sacred Literature of the Jains
Jainism stresses, more than either Buddhism or Hinduism, ascetic practice as a way to salvation,
and its insistence on the principle of non-injury, Ahimsa, is more absolute and far-reaching than
that of any segment of Hinduism or Buddhism which also hold it. The three jewels, right faith,
right knowledge, and right conduct, afford the clue to the attainment of moksha, or salvation,
which to the Jain, as to the Buddhist, meant release from the wheel of birth, on which one is
held by the law of Karma.
Chapter 8: The Sacred Literature of the Sikhs
The Granth, the Sikh Bible, is not like most other sacred books in that it is exclusively in
poetry. Sikhism represents a flowing together of the bhakti Hindu faith of Ramanuja and
Ramanda, and Islamic mysticism represented by Sufism.
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
Chapter 9 The Sacred Literature of the Chinese
Insight into the religions of the Chinese: Confucianism with its high ethical standards; Taoism
and its more mystical, other-worldly point of view. Unlike the West, in China there is no sharp
separation into religious groups but rather a syncretism, so that the typical Chinese have in them
something of both tendencies, and a feeling they can express themselves in either.
Chapter 10: The Sacred Literature of the Japanese
Shintoism is borrowed from the Chinese: Shen -- gods, and Tao -- way. Ancient history, the
Nihongi, and Norito or Shjinto Rituals are outlined.
Chapter 11: The Sacred Literature of the Persians -- Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is little known and as a living faith no longer occupies a place of great
importance, but it has been of enormous influence upon three of the main religions of the world,
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and therefore deserves to be better known. The canonical text,
the Avesta is presented in its seven divisions: Yasna, Gathas, Visparad, Yashts, some other
minor texts, the Vendidad, and some fragments.
Chapter 12: Hebreo-Christian Sacred Literature
To both Christian and Jews, the Old Testament is the word of God. To the conservative
Christian, both the Old and New Testaments contain the word of God. Various interpretations
of the Bible are discussed in three parts, the Old Testament, the New Testament, and various
translations.
Chapter 13: The Sacred Literature of the Moslems
Unlike almost all sacred literature, the Koran was written by one man, Mohammed. He
probably did not know how to read or write. His teachings were compiled after his death.
Mohammed believed his visions were from God, hence the Koran is the Word of God. It
includes regulations for community living -- laws of inheritance, responsibilities in marriage,
care of orphans and the helpless. Through Mohammed, God was setting up his rule on earth -- a
true theocracy.
Chapter 14: Modern Sacred Books
Numerous modern writings from various movements, mostly in the United States, are viewed,
many unfamiliar (The New Day, Unveiled Mysteries, The Voice of I am....) , many well known
(Christian Science, Mormonism) . It is expected that the advent of sacred writings will continue
in the future.
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
return to religion-online
The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction by
Charles Samuel Braden
Dr. Braden was Professor of History and Literature of Religions at Northwestern University (1952). Published
by The MacMillan Company, New York, copyright 1952 by Charles S. Braden. This material was prepared for
Religion Online by Ted & Winnie Brock.
Acknowledgments
One who writes on as many different religions and their literatures as are included in this book
must perforce depend heavily upon the labors of others who have specialized in the several
faiths. The author, therefore, desires to record his deep indebtedness to the devoted scholars
who have spent years in the study and translation of these literatures. Most of them are
specifically mentioned in the footnotes scattered through the book. After reading and studying
the published work of specialists, the author still felt it desirable to submit what he had written
to men well versed in each separate area, for their criticisms and suggestions. He desires here to
record his deep appreciation of the service of these men: Dr. Henry E. Allen, University of
Minnesota, read the chapter on Moslem Sacred Literature; John Clark Archer of Yale
University, on the Sikh Scriptures; Swami Akhilananda of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of
Boston, and Swami Vishwananda of the Vedanta Society of Chicago, on Hindu Scriptures; Dr.
Chan Wing-Tsit (W. T. Chan) , Dartmouth College, on the Chinese Literature; Dr. Clarence H.
Hamilton, of Oberlin Graduate School of Theology, on Buddhist Scriptures; Dr. D. C. Holtom,
on the Japanese Sacred Books; Dr. Charles F. Kraft, of Garrett Biblical Institute, on the Old
Testament; Dr. George E. Mendenhall, of Hamma Divinity School, on the Babylonian
Literature; Dr. Ernest W. Saunders of Garrett Biblical Institute, on the New Testament; and Dr.
John A. Wilson of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, on the Egyptian Literature.
Final responsibility for what went into each chapter rests not upon these esteemed colleagues
but upon the writer, who greatly profited by their corrections and suggestions.
In the preparation of the manuscript he has been greatly helped by various students and
secretaries. Mrs. Louise Baldanzi read the entire typescript and the proofs, and gave invaluable
help in making it more readable. To Ruth Glenn and Marguerite Williams, my secretaries
during the past year, and to Miss Myrtle Myer who again and again gave freely of her time to
further the work, my heartiest thanks.
But most of all I owe to my wife, Grace, who did not live to see the final completion of the
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
book; for her inspiration and encouragement, as well as practical suggestions. The summer in
our cottage by an inland lake in the North woods, where she painted, or worked, or later, lay
prostrated by illness, but uncomplaining, while I wrote a substantial portion of the volume, is a
precious memory time will not dim.
CHARLES S. BRADEN
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
January 3, 1952
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
return to religion-online
The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction by
Charles Samuel Braden
Dr. Braden was Professor of History and Literature of Religions at Northwestern University (1952). Published
by The MacMillan Company, New York, copyright 1952 by Charles S. Braden. This material was prepared for
Religion Online by Ted & Winnie Brock.
Preface
For a long time the writer, whose task it has been to teach the history and literature of the
world’s religions to college students, has felt the need for just such a book as this one. During
the whole of his teaching career in the field there have been available scholarly translations of
considerable quantities of sacred literature from the greater religions; for example, the great
fifty-volume series, Sacred Books of the East, each volume of which contains a learned
discussion of the particular segment of the literature presented. This has been of inestimable
value to all teachers and workers in the field for two generations. But it is very heavy reading
for the undergraduate student with little technical acquaintance with the field. Then, too, there
are admirable translations, such as those of the Pali Text Society) , covering a very wide range
of Buddhist literature, and others of similar nature, useful to the scholar, but not easily available
for the ordinary college student.
In more recent years have appeared important anthologies in which the translation is
accompanied by a minimum of introductory material which might help explain the text, which
is usually printed with few or no notes of explanation. Here the outstanding example is the
fourteen-volume Sacred Books and Literature of the East, a magnificently printed, well selected
anthology of the best in all the great sacred literatures. Smaller, single-volume anthologies
containing excellent selected material continue to appear, but most of them present only the text
with almost nothing by way of explanation of its origin or meaning. In many ways admirably
selected, they leave the reader with a great many questions, the answers to which would make
the reading vastly more intelligible and probably more valuable
There are, of course, separate volumes discussing these literatures; e.g., on the literature of
India there are at least four or more excellent, scholarly studies in existence, made by competent
scholars: Winternitz, Hopkins, Farquhar, Macdonell, and others; but they are found in
comparatively few libraries outside the larger centers. The same could be said concerning the
literatures of other religions. What is needed by the ordinary student, it seems to the writer, is a
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
single volume which will provide an adequate, if not an exhaustive, discussion of the great
sacred literatures in non-technical language, so that he may better understand and appreciate
what the anthologies so generously provide him.
One book which, for many years, served precisely this purpose was A. W. Martin’s Seven Great
Bibles; but it has long been out of print, and it covered by no means all the literatures.
Halliday’s Dawn of Civilization is a partial fulfillment of this need, but only partial.
Furthermore, it was published many years ago, though still in print.
For years the writer has given a course which he has called "The Literature of the World’s
Religions," in which he has supplied his students with much of the material here presented,
while they read extensively in the literatures themselves. His students have -- so many of them
said -- found such introductory matter helpful in an understanding of the nature and the outlook
of the several literatures. It is his hope that a greatly widened circle of readers will find it
equally helpful. Owing to limitations of space, not a great deal of illustrative material is
included in the body of the text. However, page references will be found to some of the more
popular anthologies where additional selections may be found. It may, therefore, well serve as a
reading guide to be used with any one of the better known selections from the world’s religions.
The question may very well be raised as one reads through the book: Why was there no chapter
on the Greek and Roman religions? The answer is in part that these religions developed no
sacred books of a canonical sort. But then neither did the Babylonians or the Egyptians, in a
strict sense, and they are included. The rest of the answer is that the author fully intended to
include a chapter to be called Graeco-Roman Sacred Literature. But before it was written, the
outside limit set by the publishers for the size of the book had already been exceeded, and rather
drastic cutting was indicated, even if no Graeco-Roman chapter were added. Hence it was
omitted. Had one been written it would have included some discussion at least of the following
with brief selected passages. Among the Greeks, the Homeric Epics, the Theogony of Hesiod,
which pretty well fixed the stories of the Olympian gods and their relationships; something
from the extant hymn and prayer literature including the Orphic, something from Plato and
possibly some of the other philosophers. From the Romans, probably much less, for much of
their later religion was borrowed largely from the Greeks, but certainly selections from some of
the great Roman Stoics; Seneca and Marcus Aurelius would have been included. For selections
see Ruth Smith, The Tree of Life, pp. 279-306; Grace Turnbull, Tongues of Fire, pp. 291-375.
Although detailed suggestions for further reading are made at the end of each chapter, it is
worth while to insert here at least a partial annotated list of the available anthologies in which
the reader may find ample selections from all of the great religions. Some one or more of these
volumes may be found even in most small libraries, and several or all of them in the greater
university or city libraries.
Multiple-Volume Anthologies:
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
Sacred Books of the East, ed. by Max Muller. 50 vols., Oxford University Press, London.
Contains at least one volume for most of the world’s religions. Highly scholarly. Not too
readable for the layman.
Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East. 14 vols., Parke, Austin, and Lipscomb, N.Y.,
1917. Contains extensive selections from all the world’s religions, a volume or more for each
one. Beautifully printed, very readable.
The Wisdom of the East Series, ed. by L. Cranmer-Byng and Dr. S. A. Kapadia. John Murray,
London. Numerous small, well printed volumes of about 100 pp. each, one to several on each
religion. Well edited, usually with a good introduction. Very readable. Pocket size.
Harvard Classics, Vols. 44 and 45. P. F. Collier & Son, N.Y.
One-Volume General Anthologies
Containing Selections from All or Most of the Sacred Literature
The Bible of the World, ed. by Robert O. Ballou. 1415 pp., Viking, N.Y., 1939. This popular
anthology has been condensed to 600 pp. and published under two titles with identical text as
The World Bible (Viking, 1944) and The Pocket World Bible (Routledge, London, 1948) .
The Bible of Mankind, ed. by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. 743 pp., Universal Publishing Co., N.Y.,
1939. Good selection, topically arranged. Very few long passages from any faith.
The World’s Great Scriptures, ed. by Lewis Browne. 559 pp., Macmillan, N.Y., 1946.
Selections primarily concerned with ethics rather than religious teachings.
The Tree of Life, ed. by Ruth P. Smith. 496 pp., Viking, N.Y., 1942. Very much briefer
selections than in The Bible of the World. Purportedly for young people.
Tongues of Fire, compiled by Grace H. Turnbull. 416 pp., Macmillan, N.Y., 1929. Excellent but
fragmentary selections.
The Sacred Writings of the World’s Great Religions, ed. by S. E. Frost, Jr. 410 pp., Garden City
Publishing Co., N.Y., 1949. Very brief selections. Costs less than a dollar.
Treasure-House of the Living Religions, ed. by Robert E. Hume. 493 pp., Scribner, N.Y., 1932.
Very brief but numerous selections, topically arranged.
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The Scriptures of Mankind: An Introduction
Limited Anthologies
Covering One or More Particular Religions
The Harvard Oriental Series. Many vols., Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. Very
scholarly and magnificently printed.
Sacred Books of the Buddhists. Highly scholarly translations with critical notes, by leading
Buddhist scholars, issued by various publishers.
Publications of the Pali Text Society. Very scholarly translations, with critical introductions and
notes, by leading Buddhist scholars, issued by various publishers.
The Wisdom of China and India, ed. by Lin Yutang. 1104 pp., Random House, N.Y., 1942.
Excellent selection, good introductions, especially to the various sections of Chinese literature.
Some of the translations are by Lin himself. Very readable.
Hindu Scriptures, ed. by Nicol Macnicol. 293 pp., Everyman’s Library, Dutton, N.Y., 1938.
Costs only a little more than a dollar. Good and representative selection.
The Gospel of Buddha, compiled by Paul Carus. 275 pp., Open Court Publishing Co., Chicago,
15th ed., 1915. Excellent and well varied selection, popular and readable. Not so easy to
identify sources.
Some Sayings of the Buddha, transl. by F. L. Woodward. 356 pp., Oxford University Press,
London, 1925. Pocket size. Wide and representative selection. Each selection documented for
easy reference to original sources.
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