present day. "No vice or crime is more deservedly stigmatised as infamous among Bedouins than treachery. An individual in the great Arabian Desert will be forgiven if he should kill a stranger on the road, but eternal disgrace would be attached to his name, if it were known that he had robbed his companion, or his protected guest, even of a handkerchief." Wallin affirms that you may put perfect trust in the promise of a Bedouin, as soon as you have eaten salt and bread with him.2 But whilst faithfulness to a tacit or express promise is thus regarded by him as a sacred duty, lying and cheating are as prevalent in the desert as in the market-towns of Syria.3 Speaking of the Bedouins of the Euphrates, Mr. Blunt observes :-"Truth, in ordinary matters, is not regarded as a virtue by the Bedouins, nor is lying held shameful. Every man, they say, has a right to conceal his own thought. In matters of importance, the simple affirmation is confirmed by an oath, and then the fact stated may be relied on. There is only one exception to the general rule of lying among them. The Bedouin, if questioned on the breed of his mare, will not give a false answer. He may refuse to say, or he may answer that he does not know; but he will not name another breed than that to which she really belongs.... The rule, however, does not hold good on any other point of horse dealing. The age, the qualities, and the ownership of the horse may be all falsely stated." 4

Various statements of travellers thus directly contradict the common opinion that want of truthfulness is mostly a characteristic of uncivilised races.5 And we have much reason to assume that a foreigner visiting a savage tribe is apt rather to underrate than to overestimate its veracity. Mr. Savage Landor gives us a curious insight into an explorer's method of testing it. "If you were to say to an Ainu, 'You are old, are you not?' he would answer

1 Burckhardt, Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys, p. 190 sq.

2 Wallin, Reseanteckningar från Orienten, iii. 116.

3 Burckhardt, op. cit. p. 104 sq. Cf. Wallin, op. cit. iv. 89 sq.; Doughty, Arabia Deserta, i. 241.

Blunt, Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates, ii. 203 sq. Cf. Niebuhr, Travels through Arabia, ii. 302 :— There is no instance of false testi

"

mony given in respect to the descent of a horse. Every Arabian is persuaded that himself and his whole family would be ruined, if he should prevaricate in giving his oath in an affair of such consequence."

5 Burton, City of the Saints, p. 130. Vierkandt, Naturvölker und Kultur

völker, p. 273. von Jhering, Der

Zweck im Recht, ii. 606.

'Yes'; but if you asked the same man, ' You are not old, are you?' he would equally answer 'Yes.'" And then comes the conclusion :-" Knowingly speaking the truth is not one of their characteristics; indeed, they do not know the difference between falsehood and truth."1 It is hardly surprising to hear from other authorities that the Ainu are remarkably honest, and regard veracity as one of the most imperative duties.2 Speaking of the Uaupés and other Brazilian tribes, Mr. Wallace observes:

"In my communications and inquiries among the Indians on various matters, I have always found the greatest caution necessary, to prevent one's arriving at wrong conclusions. They are always apt to affirm that which they see you wish to believe, and, when they do not at all comprehend your question, will unhesitatingly answer, "Yes." 3 Savages who are inclined to give inaccurate answers to questions made by strangers, may nevertheless be truthful towards each other. As the regard for life and property, so the regard for truth varies according as the person concerned is a foreigner or a tribesman." Perfidy and faithlessness," says Crawfurd,

"are vices of the Indian islanders, and those vices of which they have been most frequently accused by strangers. This sentence against them must, however, be understood with some allowances. In their domestic and social intercourse, they are far from being a deceitful people, but in reality possess more integrity than it is reasonable to look for with so much misgovernment and barbarity. It is in their intercourse with strangers and with enemies that, like other barbarians, the treachery of their character is displayed." 4 The natives of the interior of Sumatra are "dishonest in their dealings with strangers, which they esteem no moral defect." 5 Dalager states that the same Greenlanders who, among themselves, in the sale of an object

1 Landor, Alone with the Hairy

Ainu, p. 283.

Holland, in Jour. Anthr. Inst. iii. 237. von Siebold, Aino auf der Insel Yesso, p. 25.

3 Wallace, Travels on the Amazon, P. 494 sq.

4 Crawfurd, op. cit. i. 71 sq. Cf. Christian, Caroline Islands, p. 71 sq. Marsden, op. cit. p. 208.

which the buyer had not seen, would depreciate it rather than overpraise it-even though the seller was anxious to get rid of it-told frightful lies in their transactions with Danish traders. The Touareg, whilst scrupulously faithful to a promise given to one of their own people, do not regard as binding a promise given to a Christian; 2 and their Arab neighbours say that their word, "like water fallen on the sand, is never to be found again."3 The Masai, according to Herr Merker, hold any kind of deceit to be allowable in their relations with persons of another race. The Hovas of Madagascar even considered it a duty for anyone speaking with foreigners on political matters to state the exact opposite to the truth, and punished him who did otherwise.5

In point of truthfulness savages are in many cases superior to nations more advanced in culture. "A Chinese, says Mr. Wells Williams, "requires but little motive to falsify, and he is constantly sharpening his wits to cozen his customer-wheedle him by promises and cheat him in goods or work."6 His ordinary speech is said to be so full of insincerity that it is very difficult to learn the truth in almost any case." He feels no shame at being detected in a lie, nor does he fear any punishment from his gods for it; 8 if you call him a liar, "you arouse in him no sense of outrage, no sentiment of degradation."9 Yet the moral teachings of the Chinese inculcate truthfulness as a stringent duty. One of their injunctions is, "Let children always be taught to speak the simple truth." 10 Many sayings may be quoted from Confucius in which sincerity is celebrated as highly and demanded as urgently as it ever was by any

Christian moralist. Faithfulness and sincerity, he said, should be held as first principles. Sincerity is the way of Heaven, the end and beginning of things, without which there would be nothing. It is as necessary to truly virtuous conduct as a boat is to a man wishing to cross a river, or as oars are to a boat. The superior man ought to feel shame when his conduct is not in accord with his words.1 But there are instances in which sincerity has to yield to family duties a father should conceal the misconduct of his son, and a son that of his father.2 Moreover, the great moralists themselves did not always act up to their lofty principles. Confucius and Mencius sometimes did not hesitate to tell a lie for the sake of convenience.3 The former could excuse himself from seeing an unwelcome visitor on the ground that he was sick, when there was nothing the matter with him; and he deliberately broke an oath which he had sworn, because it had been forced from him.5 In Japan, Burma, and Siam, truth is more respected than in China. "In love of truth," says Professor Rein, "the Japanese, so far as my experience goes, are not inferior to us Europeans." 6 The Burmese, though partial to much exaggeration, are generally truthful. And" the mendacity so characteristic of Orientals is not a national defect among the Siamese. Lying, no doubt, is often resorted to as a protection against injustice and oppression, but the chances are greatly in favour of truth when evidence is sought." 8

Lying has been called the national vice of the Hindus." "It is not too much to assert that the mass of Bengalis have no notion of truth and falsehood." 10 A gentleman

1 Lun Yü, i. 8. 2; vii. 24; ix. 24; xii. 10. I; xv. 5. 2. Chung Yung, xx. 18. Douglas, Confucianism and Taouism, pp. 103, 114, 146. Legge, Chinese Classics, i. 100.

2 Lun Yü, xiii. 18. 2.

Legge, Chinese Classics, i. 100. Smith, Chinese Characteristics, p. 267. Lun Yü, vi. 13.

5 Lun Yü, xvii. 20.

• Rein, Japan, p. 393.

7 MacMahon, Far Cathay and

who has been brought into the closest intimacy with natives of all classes, declares "that when a question is asked, the full bearing of which on themselves or those connected with them they cannot see, you may rely upon it that the first answer you receive is false; but that, when they see that the truth cannot injure themselves or any one they care for, they will speak the truth." 1 The testimony of a Hindu is not generally regarded as evidence.2 Forgery is frequently resorted to, cheating is rife. "In almost all business transactions of the smallest kind a written agreement must be made on both sides, and this must be stamped and registered, because it is believed that a man's word is not binding."3 Nor is a lie held disreputable, especially if not found out. But in India, as elsewhere, the question whether truth or falsehood is to be spoken depends on the relationship between the speaker and the party addressed. In their relations with each other, says Sir W. H. Sleeman, members of a village community spoke as much truth as those of any other community in the world, but in their relations with the government they told as many lies; "if a man had told a lie to cheat his neighbour, he would have become an object of hatred and contempt if he had told a lie to save his neighbour's fields from an increase of rent or tax, he would have become an object of esteem and respect." 5 Of the Sûdra inhabitants of Central India Sir John Malcolm likewise observes that "they may be said, in their intercourse with strangers and with officers of government, to evade the truth, and often to assert positive falsehoods"; whereas," in their intercourse with each other, falsehood is not common, and many (particularly some of the cultivators) are distinguished by their adherence to truth." 6 The ancient Hindus were praised for their veracity and good faith;

1 Wilkins, Modern Hinduism, p. 399 sq.

2 Percival, Land of the Veda, p. 288. 3 Wilkins, op. cit. p. 407 sq. Ibid. p. 400. Caldwell, op. cit. p. 40.

5 Sleeman, op. cit. ii. 123. Cf.

ibid. ii. 118, 129 sq.; Crooke, Tribes and Castes of the NorthWestern Provinces and Oudh, ii. 478 (Hâbûra).

Malcolm, Memoir of Central India, ii. 171. Cf. Hislop, op. cit.

P. I.