Excerpt from A Dissertation on the Theology of the Chinese: With a View to the Elucidation of the Most Appropriate Term for Expressing the Deity, in the Chinese Language In translatihg the Sacred Scriptures, into the Ian guage of China, it is necessary for the translator to place himself in the position of a native of that coun try, and to endeavour to ascertain how a Chinese would think and feel with regard to expressions in use among his countrymen. For it is evident, that the very best translation of a bopk into the language of any country would be or e made by a native of that country, suppos ing him to be well acquainted with the language from which he is translating, and the subject on which it treats the next best translation that could be made would be one prepared by a foreigner, the most fami liar with the terms and idioms of the language into which he is translating all other qualifications being supposed to be equal, or nearly so. In a language like that of China, possessing a varied aspect, ancient and modern, concise and colloquial, it is necessary for a translator to aquaint himself with the original uses of terms, as well as the changes which they haye under gone to know how they are used in philosophical wri tings, and in every-day conversation what they mean when used by one class of religionists, and what when employed by another; as well as all the phases which any given expression may be made to assume, according to the points of view in which it is contemplated. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.