HINDERER
358
HINDUISM
interdict, but this was set aside by his uncle. He
appealed to Adrian II and laid before that pope severe
accusations against his metropolitan and his king,
based on a false statement of facts. This appeal,
however, was not pursued with vigour. The complete
estrangement between the two Hincmars was evident
at the Diets of Gondreville and Attigny, in 870.
Each of them now appealed to various canons, in
order to justify his position. In spite of his renewed
appeal to the pope, Hincmar of Laon was deposed at
the Synod of Douci, in 871, in punishment of his con-
duct towards the king and the metropolitan. But
Adrian II did not sanction this step, and refrained
from appointing a successor. It was only in 87.5,
when Charles the Bald was crowned emperor, that
John VIII confirmed the removal of Hincmar, and
that Hadenulf was consecrated Bishop of Laon. In
the meantime Charles succeeded in preventing Hinc-
mar from going to Rome, and even confined him for a
while in prison, where he was deprived of his sight by a
brother-in-law of the king.
When, in 878, John VIII presided in person over the Synod of Troyes, the yoimger Hincmar presented to him in writing a complaint against his uncle of Reims. The pope then mitigated his condition by allowing him to celebrate again the Holy Sacrifice and by granting him a portion of the revenues yielded by the See of Laon. The writings of Hincmar of Laon are in P. L., CXXIV, 101-26, 1027-70.
Cellot, Vita Uincmari junioris, see Mansi, Coll. cone, XVI,688sqq.: Hefele. A'onji7i>n(7C8r/itc/i(f. 2nd ett.IV (1879), 380 sqq., 489 aqq.. 530, ^^i!?: see also the bibliography to HiNc- M.\R, Archbishop of Reims.
J. P. KlRSCH.
Hinderer, Roman (Chinese Te), a German mis- sionary in China, b. at Reiningen, near Miilhausen, in Alsace, 21 Sept., 16()S;d.24 Aug., 1744,atShang-ho,in Kiang-nan. On 6 September, 1688 he joined the Society of Jesus and became a member of the German province, whence he went to China in 1707. Here Em- peror K'ang-hi invited him liy personal request to collaborate in the great map and chart work in which the Jesuits, acting under imperial instructions, were then engaged. He lalioured with de Mailla and Regis on the mapping of the provinces of Ho-nan, Kiang-nan, Che-kiang, and Fu-kien (cf. Du Halde, "Description de la Chine", The Hague, 1736, I, pref., xliii; and Richtbofen, "China," Berlin, 1877, I, 682). Hinderer, however, was not only a man of science, but also a missionary who for forty years laboured as an apostle and by his zeal and efficiency achieved substantial results. He was twice placed at the head of the mission as visitor. He deserves special recog- nition for his introduction and ardent fostering among the neophytes of the devotion to the Sacred Heart (cf. Nilles. "De ratione festorum SS. Cordis", 5th ed., I, 323; Letierze, "Etude sur le Sacr6 Coeur", Paris, 1891, II, 104).
HuoNDER, DeutRche J esuitenmissiondre (Freiburg im Br., 1899), I8S; Platzweg. Lebenabilder dfutscher Jesuiten in auswiirtiofn Missionm (Paderbom, 1882), 199-211; de Gdil- HERMY. Mrnologie de la Compaifnie de Jrsus (German Assist- ancy). I, 156: Chaney, Vie du P. Romain Hinderer de la Com- pagnie de Jesus, I'Apdtre du Sarrc-Cerur dans VEglise de Chine (Touraay, \Sm):WeU-BoU (Vienna, 17.5.8). nos. 660-85; cf. eight published letters of Hinderer in the Welt-Bott, nos. 161, 199. 209. 293. 548, 580: excerpts by Friedrich in his Beilmge ZUT KiTchengeschichte des 18 Jahrhundcrls in Abhandl. d. k. Akad. d. Wissenschaflen (\'icnna). class III. vol, XIII, pt. II, p. 1.5; manuscript letter in the imperial archives at \'ieQna, Geistl. Angelegenheiten, no. 419, IV.
A. Hdonder.
Hinduism, in its narrower sense, is the conglom- eration of religious beliefs and practices existing in India that have grown out of ancient Brahminism, (q. v.), and which stand in sharp contrast to orthodox, traditional Brahminism to-day. Hindui.sm is the popular, di-storted, corrupted side of Brahminism. In its broad sense, it comprises those phases of re-
ligious, social, and intellectual life that are generally
recognized in India to-day as the legitimate outgrowth
of ancient Brahmin institutions, and hence are toler-
ated by the Brahmin priests as compatible with Brah-
min traditions. Far from being a uniform system of
worship, Hinduism, in this large sense, comprises,
besides orthodox Brahminism, the numerous secta-
rian developments of cult in honour of Vishnu, Siva,
and their associates, in which for centuries the great
mass of the people have found satisfaction for their
religious cravings. In Hinduism, as distinguished
from the heretical sects of India, it is of minor impor-
tance what sort of worship is adopted, provided one
recognizes the supremacy of the Brahmins and the
sacredness of Brahmin customs and traditions. In
the pantheistic all-god Brahma, the whole world of
deities, spirits, and other objects of worship is con-
tained, so that Hinduism adapts itself to every form of
religion, from the lofty monotheism of the cultivated
Brahmin to the degraded nature-worship of the igno-
rant, half savage peasant. Hinduism, to quote Monier
Williams, "has something to offer which is suited to
all minds. Its very strength lies in its infinite adapta-
bility to the infinite diversity of human characters
and human tendencies. It has its highly spiritual
and ab.stract side suited to the metaphysical philoso-
pher — its practical and concrete side suited to the
man of affairs and the man of the world — its esthetic
and ceremonial side suited to the man of poetic feeling
and imagination — its quiescent and contemplative
side suited to the man of peace and lover of seclusion.
Nay, it holds out the right hand of brotherhood to
nature-worshippers, demon-worshippers, animal-wor-
shippers, tree-worshippers, fetish-worshippers. It
does not scruple to permit the most grotesque forms
of idolatry, and the most degrading varieties of super-
stition. And it is to this latter fact that yet another
remarkable peculiarity of Hinduism is mainly due —
namely, that in no other system in the world is the
chasm more vast which sei)arates the religion of the
higher, cultured, and thoughtful cla.s.-;es from that of
the lower, uncultured, and vmthinking mas.>;es" (Brah-
manism and Hinduism, 1,S91, p. 11). Hindui.sm is
thus a national, not a world religion. It has never
made any serious effort to jiroselytize in countries
outside of India. The occasional visits of Brahmins
to countries of Europe and .Vmerica, and their lectures
on religious metaphysics are not to be mistaken for
genuine missionary enterprises. Not to speak of its
grosser phases, Hinduism, even in its highest form
known as Brahminism, could not take root and flour-
ish in countries where the caste system and the intri-
cate network of social and domestic customs it implies
do not prevail. Nor has Hinduism exercised any
notable influence on European thought and culture.
The pessimism of Schopenhauer and his school is in-
deed very like the pessimism of Buddhism and of the
Vedanta sy.stem of philosophy, and seems to have
been derived from one of these sources. But apart
from this imimportant line of modern speculation,
and from the abortive theosophic movement of more
recent times, one finds no trace of Hindu influence on
Western civilization. We have nothing lo learn from
India that makes for higher culture. On the other
hand, India has much of value to learn from Christian
civilization.
According to the census of 1001 , the total population of India is a little more than 294,000,000 souls, of which 207,000,000 are adherents of Hinduism. The provinces in which they are most numerous are As- sam, Bengal, Bombay, Berrar, Madras, Agra, and Oudh, and the Central Provinces. Of foreign re- ligions, Mohammedanism has, by dint of long domina- tion, made the deepest impression on the natives, numbering in India to-day nearly 62,500,000 adher- ents Christianity, considering the length of time it has been operative in India, has converted but an
